Around THE Horn
– The world of wrestling, among other things, from the perspective of a couch potatoe fan who happens to be a lazy college student who just got off for winter break. Plus who got lucky and scored a Playstation 3, zing!
The Shows:
RAW
“Paul and Michael” must have seen the new Superman movie:
Ok, I have to admit that I marked out huge when DX returned. I loved it- and actually saw nothing bad with it. But now”¦ ok, I’m not in the same band wagon that is “VKM” in how they feel Hunter and Shawn is destroying the legacy (because “Dogg and Gunn” taking the credit for DX is just laughable at best). But it is getting kind of old when the new heel team Rated RKennyO is trying their best to get the upper hand in this feud by destroying Ric Flair and sometimes getting the jump on DX, yet they get nowhere. Due to the simple fact that all HHH has to do is pull out the equalizer and Edge and Co. runs away like a scalded dog. This whole Superman/ Invincible act is exactly the reason why I’ve been pushed away to having any cheer for Cena.
Football still seems to be getting more of my attention on Monday nights- even if it is Rams vs. Bears. I’m more intrigued right now to see if Rex Grossman loses his job to Brian Griese than to see what Cena is going to do in a basic beat up the heel match against AAE. Plus, they don’t seem to be pushing anything else other than Cena and the DX feud.
Rating: C
ECW
The Falling ECW Empire:
Well as many of you know by now- ECW looks to be hitting a very hard skid. With the disaster that was the PPV December to Dismember, Paul Heyman received the heavy blame for it and was shown the door. And I guess we should have all started to predict he was going to get the short end of the stick when RVD and Sabu got arrested. Kurt Angle was suspended, then released. Big Show won the title. Fewer and fewer “hardcore” matches. Then the “ok” booking started to drag on and become predictable with the “new blood” going WAY over the “old blood” foundation of ECW. Now we have Heyman out, Big Show gone, and Lashley (not RVD or even CM Punk) as the new ECW champion. Well I’m not entirely against Lashley as the champ- it was way too rushed and the general consensus is that nobody cares.
The past few shows were a lame setup to the PPV, and the past show was Lashley/ Show with not even an ounce of the Extreme Rules that should be in EVERY title match. A new direction should start up this Saturday, but sadly to say- it may be more ECWWE than anything. Not impressed.
Rating: D
Smackdown!
All Hail King”¦ Batista?
I’m actually really surprised that they decided to pull the trigger on giving Batista the title at this point. I haven’t seen any lag in Booker carrying the title, and yes the feud is starting to feel a bit long- it’s just gonna continue either way with Booker now being the one chasing the title now.
To say the least, I think Smackdown is the better of the three shows the “E” has on, unlike RAW, they are actually showcasing some feuds with Benoit/ Chavo (actual wrestling) getting Miz involve albeit looking like its going to be with the Boogeyman, Kane/MVP, and Mr. Kennedy taking on Undertaker (which lets hope he gives the cheesehead the rub). But we cant say that Smackdown is the flag ship show, can we?
Rating: B
TNA
Oh you didn’t know”¦
Yes the headline of this all is VKM “trying” to make waves in the wrestling industry by attacking big brother. Although waves being little ones as the only ones being effected are those who are actually reading these posts and those who actually watch TNA. Like I mentioned earlier, if it’s a shoot or not with the comments that the are making, to believe that James and Gunn are the ones behind DX’s success back in the hayday is pretty laughable, considering the best incarnation of DX (in my opinion) was the original that started with H and Shawn. They can keep on flapping their arms in the water all they want, but it doesn’t seem as the waves are getting bigger. TNA needs to focus on what they are doing first than poking fun at the competition.
Speaking of which, Joe vs. Angle has actually been doing pretty good. Unfortunately I didn’t catch the last act, but I heard it was pretty good. Good one for TNA on putting this up, but Angle “shoot” fighting pretty soon gets the thumbs down as that actually worries me.
Rating: B-
The Extras:
— Putting on the Mask:
RVD:
I think it’s safe to say that my run as any kind of main eventer in this new ECW is over. First of all, my only supporter, Paul E., is gone. I got bypassed in the ECW PPV (which sucked by the way dude) to win my second ECW title over another WWE guy (who man, chances are is on steroids). What am I doing? All I did was take a smoke but nnnoooo, Vince has to make an example out of me. I should just go back home, read some comic books and find a bag a fritos. I deserve better than this- because I’m R-V-Damn that was some good stuff”¦.
— The Cheap Shot:
I’m sure this has been mentioned numerous times- but is anybody else sick of the ref bumps!?!? And to top it all off, does anyone even believe them. If this is the case, the WWE (and every other wrestling biz) needs to go over to the NFL and hire some of their refs because they can actually take a shot. This past week, I think I actually saw 2-3 refs getting run over by fullbacks, trampled by linebackers, and getting popped in the head with a football by Quarterbacks. And what happens? They pop right back up as if nothing has happened. If they can get back up from those hits- the wrestling refs can get back up (quickly!) after getting tossed aside or smashed in between a wrestler and the corner. Message to all wrestling refs: GROW SOME BALLS!!!!
The Wrap-up:
— Football Fix:
Thank goodness the Saints walked over the Cowboys this past week. And for Sean Payton to sit on the ball with 3 minutes left in the game wasn’t a sign of respect- it was a slap in the face by saying “We really don’t want to kick your ass anymore!” Saints are my new favorite team for doing that.
Key Picks: 49ERS over Seahawks, FALCONS over Cowboys, SAINTS over Redskins, and BENGALS over Colts
— Last Word:
That’s it- hope you enjoyed another go around the horn that is this crazy column. Again open for any comments, just click on the link that’s floating around here somewhere. And if there’s anybody who you would like to see me put on the mask for let me know. Ok, back to some one-on-one quality Playstation 3 time. Be back in two weeks.
