A Look on the Bright Side

Columns

Greetings everyone. Welcome back to your weekly installment of the Internet Wrestling Community’s only happy place, A Look on the Bright Side.

Around the Pulse

If you’re a wrestling fan and will be in Detroit this weekend: Win ROH Tickets!

In Iain’s recent news post, he lists the ‘big nine’ stars of the WWE. Sing with me: “One of these things is not like the others, one of these things does not belong…”

RobTrain writes about a movie that I am still, quite honestly, in shock got made. In two parts. And apparently, it’s going to be a trilogy. Whoo.

Cynthia covers the concept of making sure you don’t over-exposure yourself to just one political mindset (a problem common amongst the blogs, both liberal and conversative).

The Week That Was

And now, we get to the meat of the column. The idea is fairly simple: I point out (at least) 5 things from each major show that should be getting more attention, but aren’t. (And occasionally, I just point out some absurdity just to tweak the rest of the IWC.) There’s way too much negativity infused into columnists who write about pro wrestling: this is just my little attempt to balance it out a bit.

Love the concept? Hate it? ink I missed something important from last week? See something this week that you think should be here? Email me by Tuesday evening.

And be sure to take part in the Insidepulse Forum for A Look on the Bright Side thread too.

Friday Night Smackdown

1. Let’s get this clear right off the bat: I do not care at all who gets their head shaved at Wrestlemania (because I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that it’ll be McMahon). I really could not possibly care less about Donald Trump whatsoever. The fact that Vince is dominating the build-up to WM is really quite annoying. However, this is all building to a monster push for Bobby Lashley, who I’ve been high on since his debut. So, I can deal with this for another week.

2. Believe it or not, this was my first real exposure to Jimmy Wang Yang in an actual match: he showed up on Smackdown just before I took my haitus back in October or so. Gotta say – me likey. That move where he put one foot between Chavo’s shoulder blades in the corner and did a full backwards flip was very visually impressive.

3. Hold on – are they saying that the concept of The Condemned is that this whole “set ten guys from death row loose in the jungle and let them kill each other” is meant to be a freakin’ reality TV show? Oh, COME ON. I could barely suspend my disbelief for Truman. I’m supposed to actually believe that this could even come close to happening?

4. Speaking of guys that were just showing up when I went on hiatus – I would have lost a lot of money betting on the chances that MVP would still be around in March, let alone preparing for an actual match at Wrestlemania. I have to admit, he’s better than I expected – at least the squash matches have been entertaining, and the idea of promoting the U.S. title by beating “champions from around the world” is amusing. (But I have to say, that is the lamest finishing move I’ve seen since the Stroke.)

5. Wow. A clean win over two guys that are in the Money in the Bank match. Honestly, my feelings are kinda torn on this one: I really do love Lashley’s work in the ring, but if feels like they’re trying to build him up into the true “next big thing” – the next Rock or Austin. And that simply isn’t going to happen, unless he gets a visit from The Magic Promo Fairy. (Not to mention a complete voice replacement so he doesn’t sound 13 years old.)

Monday Night Raw

1. Chicago, IL, the last Raw before Wrestlemania. If you can pick out Eric S in the crowd, you win a prize.

2. I missed Austin’s previous recent appearances, so I have to admit – I marked out for his entrace. He still represents to me the greatest era of pro wrestling/sports entertainment EVER, and was directly responsible for my re-interest in wrestling back in the late 90’s. So, I’m willing to give him a break, and I still enjoy seeing him show up on my screen. (Although I have to admit, the corner pose without the double-birds is a bit disappointing.)

3. Insyder CaptainMadballs (Popcorn Junkies own Danny Cox): “Coach just straight up Rock-sold that stunner.” Actually, I was thinking of Shane McMahon, who gave the greatest sell of a Stunner I’ve ever seen. But yes, Coach was awesome.

4. So hey – why is Vince 12 minutes late to his own show?

5. Alright some quick comments about the women’s division: a) so Micki’s biggest offense is that she’s a babyface who hasn’t been in Playboy, despite being the best wrestler and entertainer on the roster, so no WM match for her; b) Candace was falling *under* her top, which I am not complaining about; c) Ashley should not stand next to Torrie, since she looks to be about 4 foot tall in comparison; d) Candace learned how to do a leg lariat? and did it in THAT outfit? oh bra-f*cking-o; e) women’s wrestling matches are definitely not enhanced by the occasional high pitched screech – you expect someone to throw their shoe next.

6. Seeing this Punk/Kenny match made me realize something: there’s a Money in the Bank ladder match at Wrestlemania, and neither Shelton Benjamin nor Kenny are involved. Okay, WWE – WTF? Why do you keep these young guys on the roster if you aren’t going to sacrifice them for the sake of an insane, suicidal, bump-until-you-cripple-yourself match? (Oh, and speaking of suicidal – where the f*ck is Super Crazy?) I mean, I appreciate Finlay’s style as much as anyone, and I love Booker T – but this match was DESIGNED to make superstars, not serve as a build-up for guys that are teetering on the brink of the upper tier anyway.

7. I was going along just fine with the MitB group promo, when Finlay broke out, towards Edge: “You didn’t like that, Chisel Chin?” BWAHAHA. And hey, say what you will about Jeff Hardy, but he was right – if he has a ladder match on the card, he does invariably steal that show. Look around that group – who’s going to take the insane bump off the top of the 12 foot ladder? Finlay? Kennedy? Meh.

8. Let’s make some snap decisions based upon who is shown in the advertisement for the WM 23 press conference: Stone Cold is very important, Vince and Trump are right behind him, and the two wrestlers involved are an afterthought; however, they still count more then Undertaker, who is challengng for the WWE title but does not appear at all, despite the fact that Batista, and Cena and HBK, and the freaking WOMEN’S title participants do. C’mon – does the WWE really believe that a one-time appearance in Playboy is worth more than 15 years of loyal service? (Oh, they do? Well, nevermind.)

9. Wow, Orton and Kennedy got quite the face pop for their win over the Hardys, didn’t they? Gotta admit, I’m quite shocked at that – I knew Kennedy was getting over nicely, but Orton seemed to be getting a lot of “the crowd goes mild” reactions recently.

10. Jim Ross deserves to be inducted in the Hall of Fame simply for having the class to never respond to that disgusting “Oklahoma” crap that Ed Ferraro pulled on Nitro. That made me sick at the time.

11. I would like to thank The Great Khali for not accidentally killing Ric Flair in the ring. (Ha! Betcha thought I couldn’t find something positive in that clusterf*ck, eh?)

ECW on Sci Fi

1. I’m agreeing with the announcers: I’ve never seen anyone counter out of a bridge the way Elijah Burke did. Considering I’ve been watching wrestling for about 27 years, I really do appreciate it when someone pulls out a new move, even if it’s a minor transition.

2. A Texas Cloverleaf? Really? Haven’t seen that since Malenko retired. And an excellent point by Taz: RVD’s flexibility should make him somewhat resistent to any sort of “stretching” submission move. (Of course, that kind of psychology would be difficult to get across to your typical wrestling fan, sadly enough.)

3. Gotta admit – I hadn’t understood what Eric was seeing in Elijah Burke until this match. This really flowed well, and RVD’s style oftentimes makes that very feat rather difficult. He absolutely impressed me here. (My only complaint: not nearly enough close-ups of Ariel after the match in that (alleged) top.)

4. Wait – is that Layla in the center of this Expose thingie? She straightened her hair? Wow – 1000% improvement. (And I thought she was hot before.)

5. So, all 8 guys in the MitB are out here, and I still don’t have a clue who I’m picking in the WM Roundtable this weekend: not a freakin’ clue. The only thing I’m sure of is that it won’t be one of the Hardys, it won’t be Punk, and it won’t be Finlay. The other four? I see reasons for and against each of them.

See ya next week, folks.