Even though William Regal is suspended I bet he’ll still get more TV time that Robbie McAllister.
Opening Witty Banter
I hope your Memorial Day weekend has been eventful. I saw some old high school classmates, took in a wedding and had my share of booze on Saturday night. Now I’m relaxing comfortably as I watch the Sean Connery-Nic Cage movie The Rock. “Your best? Losers whine about their best. Winners go home and f*@$ the prom queen.†I love Sean Connery.
The Big Story
It should have been obvious when William Regal lost to Mr. Kennedy last week on RAW in a “loser gets fired†match, but I didn’t see it coming. Tuesday morning it was announced on wwe.com that William Regal had been suspended for sixty days for his second wellness program violation. There has still been no official word on what caused the violation on Regal’s part, but those in the know seem to believe that Regal hasn’t “fallen off the wagon†and returned to his old drug habits. It seems to be that a trace amount of something in a supplement that Regal uses may have been enough to trigger the sensors, but I don’t want to speculate without knowing the facts.
There’s never really a fortunate time to get caught by WWE’s wellness program, but for Regal it couldn’t have happened at a worse time. At the time he was riding the biggest push he’d had since late 2000 and looked to be in a major program with Mr. Kennedy that could have helped Kennedy really establish himself as a major star. Regal’s push has been a constant yo-yo since his debut almost a decade ago, and now the big question will be how the character will be used upon his return. Men like Umaga, Jeff Hardy and John Morrison returned from their recent “time outs†in positions equal to or better than we they left so there’s a chance that Regal could do the same.
Everything Else Fit For Print
The other big news of the week is that starting in June following the company’s tour of Australia, Heat will be ending as a web series and concept altogether. The ECW brand will take its place as the forerunner to RAW an thus will taped on Monday nights. The thought is that ECW may bolster its ratings by being paired with the company’s flagship show and could provide for some interesting crossovers. There has been no mention of how this will affect the storyline SmackDown!-ECW merger or what will happen to champions like Kane, who is a SmackDown! talent, or the WWE Tag Championships, which are held by ECW’s Miz and Morrison. It is also assumed that ECW will also be folded into RAW house shows as well while SmackDown! will tour on its own.
As for Heat, it would be ten years in August that the show has been “on-air.†It originally started as the b-show to supplement RAW with storylines and featured major stars. Once SmackDown! started in 2000 Heat fell into its now familiar show as a “c-show†just to give the under card talent a place to work.
I don’t really know how this affect the rosters, but I would anticipate a draft or something to compensate for all those guys that were on Heat now with nowhere to go. I’m sure there’ll be some sort of storyline explanation for the SmackDown!-ECW merger as well. I’m kind of excited to see how this all works out as cosmetically there isn’t anything that differentiates any of the three shows anyways so the regular Joe Schmoe fan may not even notice the difference watching it on TV.
WWE is planning to produce this year’s “Tribute to the Troops†special and have a special screening for it to so that it can be placed into consideration for an Emmy nomination.
WWE has always remained nice and altruistic in regards to their “Tribute†shows, but this year’s show could actually be broadcast on the flagship NBC network as opposed to the USA Network and so WWE wants as much publicity as humanely possible. Detractors will say that is a ploy by WWE to pat itself on the back and try to regain some publicity in the mainstream media. Apologists will say that this will only help WWE’s stock in the long run and isn’t any different than any other show flaunting what they have to gain more viewers, money, advertising and everything else. It’ll be interesting to see what comes of this.
Hacksaw Jim Duggan has been moved from a regular WWE contract into a much more suitable “legends†deal.
I ask why he wasn’t under this deal in the first place? There really isn’t a need for old Hacksaw to be on TV every week anyways. And now with Heat going away there really won’t be a viable spot for ol’ Hacksaw anymore.
Billy Kidman is reportedly working with WWE’s new Divas down in the Florida Championship Wrestling territory as sort of a trainer/agent.
Seriously is Kidman hung like a stallion or something? First he spends years with Torrie Wilson and now he’s working with the newest Divas in the company on a daily basis. Who knew being Billy Kidman would be such a good job?
This past Friday was the ninth anniversary of Owen Hart’s fateful death at the Kemper Arena in Kansas City. He would be 43 if he were still alive today.
He’s still the one I miss the most of all the untimely wrestling deaths that have now seemed to become commonplace in the industry.
RAW’s On Tonight!
RAW is only hours away and so far nothing substantial has been announced for the broadcast. There is sure to be more hype for the marquee matches at One Night Stand but you shouldn’t have to read this to know that. Plus what will happen with Mr. Kennedy now that he has gotten rid of King Regal? Oh I’m sure there should be some matches too because they’ve got to fill the rest of the time somehow.
On Last Week’s Episode…
Daniels gives his esteemed thoughts on SmackDown!
Daniels also chimes in about ECW based off of boss man Widro’s comment about the brand: “It’s nothing but scrubs doing ridiculous things. It’s great.†Blatt is also around to provide a straight recap if you’re into that thing. And yes, Mike Adamle did ask if Chavo Guerrero was “pimpin’ or limping†as he made his way to the ring for the main event. Mike Adamle rules you all.
Marshall continues his trend of solid play-by-play for WWE’s flagship brand.
How They Rated
A.M. RAW (5.18.07) – .7
RAW (5.19.08) – 3.2
ECW (5.20.08) – 1.1
SmackDown! (5.23.08) – 2.3
This is Boring, What Else is There to Read?
Bones talks about the Aries-Jacobs feud and what went wrong.
Kirschner drops in for a preview of CHIKARA’s upcoming shows.
Glazer gives you all a heads up on what ROH DVDs you should buy.
Wiswell brings up a good discussion about stiffness…in the ring.
