A lot of news fell out of Titan Towers this week and in the fall John Cena hurt himself once again. Plus Mike Adamle trains for a debut in the ring while Sid readies for a possible comeback. If those two aren’t World Tag Team Champions in 2009 I would be severely disappointed.
Opening Witty Banter
Welcome to another week in your wonderful life. Since we last met a week ago I drank way too much, spent too much money and took in the Minnesota State Fair. It’s apparently true that you can put any type of food on a stick or deep fat fry it and midwesteners will buy it. Meanwhile WWE has gone crazy with their new “Scramble†concept match as they continue to try and brand each of their pay per views. I’ve got an idea to carry the company into 2009 and make the next couple of PPVs seem relevant: The Team Challenge Series. It worked for the AWA; I know I watched with baited breath to see who was going to win that $1 million check on Friday’s AWA show on ESPN Classic.
Anyways…let’s get on with the important stuff.
The Top Story
The Champ is…hurt.
WWE’s flagship, bread-and-butter, and altogether number one guy John Cena has gone out with an unexpected and severe neck injury. It was announced that since SummerSlam Cena had been experiencing 20% loss of mobility in his arm each day. It was discovered he suffered a herniated disc in his neck. He was scheduled to meet with WWE’s resident neck guru Dr. Lloyd Youngblood this past Thursday, but on Tuesday the surgery was performed by noted neurosurgeon Dr. Joseph Maroon at the doctor’s offices in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. During the procedure, it was discovered that Cena’s injury was not as serious as some in the company and elsewhere had initially feared.
Dr. Maroon told WWE.com:
“We performed a microsurgical removal of a large disk fragment compression on the spinal cord which was weakening the nerve leading to the right arm. We created a small incision in the front of the neck, using an operating microscope, to remove the fragment from the spinal cord and nerve. The operation took approximately an hour and a half.”
Later that same afternoon Cena and the good doctor were backstage at the SmackDown! tapings. By all approximations Cena should be out 2-4 months.
Remember the last time Cena went out with a severe injury, he was back in roughly half the time that everyone was expecting. The fact that Cena showed up at the arena just hours after the surgery shows that either the surgery wasn’t that severe, Cena was completely hopped up on drugs, or he really is a genetic freak and he can regenerate like some sort of superhero. Cena’s injury really caps off a pretty rough 2008 for the company poster boy. However I feel this is only a minor setback for John as he’s everything that Vince McMahon and WWE wants as the company leader. For more on what I’m talking about in that regard, please read Paul Heyman’s article on why he (and WWE) loves Cena.
Everything Else Fit For Print
As a follow-up to last week’s piece about Raven’s lawsuit regarding to WWE’s claim that their wrestling talent are “independent contractors†as opposed to company employees, it has been revealed that Mike Sanders and Chris Kanyon are named as co-plaintiffs in the suit. WWE lawyer Jerry McDevitt calls the wrestlers’ claim “bogus†and dismisses the allegations altogether. The reasons he thinks the lawsuit is bogus are because all WWE talent acknowledge that they are independent contractors when they sign their contracts and state that they will take care of their own health benefits. Plus he said WWE has been audited several times and the IRS has never raised an issue with the status of their wrestlers.
I’m not much on legal issues, but I’m really intrigued in regards to where this lawsuit ends up. I would like to see the status of WWE talent as “independent contractors†finally cleared up. I’m sure there will be more information on this story as the weeks progress.
Mike Adamle is apparently working with a personal trainer because he may be stepping in the wrestling ring sometime soon.
Ugggh….Adamle’s already 58 years old. I can’t imagine him stepping in the ring will do the company any good or make them any money.
It is strongly rumored that Sid is on his way back to WWE. WWE head of talent relations Johnny Ace is good friends with Sid and wants him to bring back for one more run within the company.
Sid has always had the size, imposing look and goofy charisma that made him a crowd favorite. I myself enjoy watching Sid in some sort of perverse way. That being said I don’t know how he’d really fit in the company’s new climate. He seems like a walking steroid and could succumb to injury at a moment’s notice. At this point Sid might work better under a Legends deal. He’s already 48 years old, and would probably be much more effective in random special appearances as opposed to working as a full-time competitor.
Joey Matthews apparently cut a promo at a Maryland indy show last weekend where he said he and his old partner Christian York would be heading to WWE in December. Matthews and York used to be a top tag team on the indy scene in the late ‘90s and early millennium, making their most notable mark in the last months of ECW. The duo also have their ties to The Hardy Boyz’ old OMEGA federation.
I’ve always like Matthews’ work and I always thought York should have gotten exposure on a bigger spotlight, but keep in mind that Matthews said this on a Maryland independent card. If they show up in WWE, I’ll believe it when I see it.
Walter “Killer†Kowalski passed away at the age of 81 on Saturday, August 30. He had been on life support since suffering a heart attack a few weeks ago, and was taken off of life support on August 18.
In this day and age it’s refreshing to hear about a professional wrestler living a long and prosperous life. Kowalski was and is a true legend in the business. He made his mark in the ring as one of the top heels of his era and a tag champion with twelve different partners. He then made himself a new legacy as an outside trainer. The talent who came through Kowalski’s wrestling school is a virtual who’s who, including John Kronus, Perry Saturn, Giant Bernard, Kenny Dykstra, Chyna and Triple H, among others.
Mick Foley has been removed from the SmackDown! roster page. His contract with the company will have expired by the time you read this.
There hasn’t been anything official from either camp whether Foley is going to TNA or re-sign with WWE, but all signs seem to point to him going to TNA. Frankly at this point in regards to Foley, I say good luck and good riddance. Go wreck your legacy some more by getting caught up in the TNA circus.
According to PWInsider, Ken Kennedy had shoulder surgery on Friday. Kennedy injured his shoulder earlier this month at a house show in a match with Shelton Benjamin. He suffered a torn labrum and damage to his rotator cuff. Dr. James Andrews performed the surgery, and Kennedy is expected to be out 4-6 months.
Kennedy really has had a string of bad luck in his fairly short WWE career. I’ve always been a fan of Kennedy’s and hope this most recent injury isn’t the straw that sends Kennedy out of the company for good.
Wrestler of the Week
I’m trying to think of new ways to change up/improve this column so each week I will highlight who I think was WWE’s Wrestler of the Week, kind of like what JR does on wwe.com. As this is still in its early stages I don’t really have any criteria, but I’m sure my choice will come from a combination of kayfabe and real-life factors.
Week of August 25 – 31: Matt Hardy
Hardy and John Morrison had an absolutely phenomenal free TV match this past week in ECW. It takes both men to put on a good match, but I give Hardy the nod strictly for the kayfabe reason that he won the match. So far Hardy has had an absolutely stellar 2008, and if he keeps putting on matches like he did this past Tuesday with Morrison his stock will continue to rise. Of the three Scramble matches at next week’s Unforgiven, the ECW Championship one looks to be the one most likely to feature a Title change, and I wouldn’t be surprised one bit to see Hardy walk out with his first “World†Championship.
RAW’s On Tonight!
RAW was taped on Sunday night as part of a supershow with ECW and SmackDown! The show is already in the can so without spoiling it for you expect a heated Chris Jericho-Shawn Michaels promo segment, a couple battle royals featuring the World Championship Scramble guys and the ECW Championship Scramble guys, and the return of Randy Orton. So the motorcycle injury was a work?
On Last Week’s Episode…
SmackDown! was a really great show last week. I was pleasantly surprised with both the Hardy-Porter and HHH-Benjamin matches.
Blatt and Barkley provided analysis of a really good episode of ECW. Matt Hardy and John Morrison was easily one of the best free TV matches of 2008.
Marshall and Scott Keith cover the first RAW I’ve missed in how I don’t know how long.
How They Rated
A.M. RAW (8.24.08) – .4
RAW (8.25.08) – 2.84
ECW (8.26.08) – 1.3
SmackDown! (8.29.08) –
This is Boring, What Else is There to Read?
Wiswell tries to define what it means to be the best in the world.
Kirschner continues the story of Shane Storm.
Glazer reshuffles the deck in regards to whose the top challenger for Nigel McGuiness.
Buckeldee educates me on the goings on of the Far East.
