After an absence last week, you have a guest writer filling in for Aaron since he hates his life now that Ring of Honor is now considered TNA-Lite. I figured since Norine helped me with RAW coverage tonight, that I’d return the favor and provide some commentary. So let’s get this show started.
I am the Whole Damned Show, and you know it.
Quick News
Vince McMahon does not like The Wrestler.
He hates it because it is doing better than the wrestling related moves he has ever produced. No Holds Barred, anyone? What a difference nearly 20 years make.
Who wants the wrestlers to be involved with the Screen Writers Guild? Not Vince.
To be honest, when they went on strike, wrestling in general seen a slight jump in ratings since it was one of few original programs that was running during the Writer’s strike. So, as a wrestling fan, I would hate if this happens. As a businessman, I’d be for this since it would give the wrestlers a bigger voice. Unfortunately, there will be people saying that a wrestler’s union would kill wrestling.
Joanie “Chyna” Lauer celebrated her birthday and was taken to the hospital afterwards.
I won’t necessarily go much lower with this because let’s face it, she’s human and we all do things that have consequences. Hopefully she recovers and receives proper counseling.
If you want more comments from Vince’s empire, look no further than this week’s ‘E report.
Wrestling the Issue
Jim Ross has been busy blogging his barbeque blog off the last week. The one issue I want to look into is about sign censorship. I’ll also talk about my experiences as it relates to censorship at wrestling venues. I won’t post the blogs, so feel free to give J.R. some page views while you listen to this spiel.
From the 12/28/2008 & 12/26/2008 BBQ-Blog:
The Issue with Wrestling Censorship: It seems that some signs have gathered the wrong kind of attention in many of WWE’s live events. Signs such as “We’ve Cena Nuff”, “Cuck Fena”, and some others have been not allowed. At least we know that J.R. does not check the signs at every event. I’ve been to four live events in my life and the one sign that I knew would be taken away, but wasn’t was my “Vince Fears V.K.M.” sign that I don’t know if it was seen on TV during the RAW that had Rosie O’Donnell and Donald Trump impersonators. During a commercial break, Vince was looking at my row and I had my sign up. He gave me a stink eye and went back to watching the match. In my opinion, the WWE has more things to worry about than sign censorship.
To switch gears a little bit, I went to a Judgment Day Pay-Per-View back in 2007 and I couldn’t take pictures for my great nephew at home because there was a new rule that wasn’t posted at the venue that you couldn’t use a cell phone to take pictures. I was warned by security that if they seen the phone out again that I’d be ejected from the building. The worst thing, there were several others using their phones to do the same. The official reason I was given is how cell phones can transmit images and video to the internet. That’s fine and dandy if I actually had internet on my phone. That was the only downside to being at a live event. I haven’t been to one since and I don’t know if I’ll spend that kind of money on tickets after how unfairly I was treated.
We all know WWE has these policies in place, but sometimes they can be too much. While standing in line waiting to get into Judgment Day back in 2007, I actually talked to one of the venue staff members and, I kid you not, they get a list from the WWE before the shows of what signs they don’t want and it’s not one page, it’s several. Some are vague, like “No signs relating to other companies”, “no signs relating to a specific person”, or it could be signs that scream obscene, but isn’t when written in proper context (like Cuck Fena). If I ever go to a live event again, I might bring my own dry erase board or a blank piece of poster paper and make my sign during the show.
The RAW Short Form for 12.29.2008
I’m not going to go into specifics. If you want real-time coverage, check Norine’s report out. I’ll be painless this week.
Cody Rhodes d. CM Punk (COR, William Regal Distraction, Cody Rhodes is in Legacy) – Tonight’s theme was that Orton has challenged Manu, Rhodes, and Snuka to win their matches if they want to be a part of Legacy. Not a bad match to kick things off and the distraction ended on a good note with Regal giving us a reason to watch RAW next week so that CM Punk can win the Intercontinental Championship. Cody gets punked after the match and all was right until the knee by Regal.
Melina d. five other divas (eliminates Mickie James for the win, New #1 Contender for the Women’s Title) – Was this was necessary as much as the WWE has been pushing for a Melina/Beth Phoenix feud? The only other comment I have is about Kelly Kelly’s tights. They were so tight that you could tell that she wasn’t wearing any underwear. No, I don’t have a screen cap, but damn.
Sim Snuka d. “Super Haas” Charlie Snuka (Jumping Kick to Side of Head, Sim Snuka is in Legacy) – I will admit that I enjoyed Charlie’s latest impersonation. How fitting for him to pretend to be the Superfly. He did a good job, but it goes to foregone conclusion that Sim Snuka knows his dad very well. Okay match, but wrong execution.
Cena, Mysterio, Kingston & Cryme Tyme d. Knox, Kane, Ziggler, & The Shaman of Reality (Mysterio pins Knox, F-U & Splash) – So the options were either to listen to Cena on commentary or watch him whip some ass. Sometimes, more can be a bad thing. This was a standard tag match that the crowd really ate up. Does this mean the Knox/Mysterio feud is over? I hope so.
Matt Hardy d. Manu (Twist of Fate, Manu is NOT in Legacy) – Manu gave Hardy a fight, but Hardy shows us just why he is such a dominant champion of ECW. I wonder where this takes us next week becuase I can guess that Manu complains that he had the toughest opponent and Randy takes him in anyway for the added muscle.
John Bradshaw Layfield d. (in order of elimination) Chris Jericho, Randy Orton, & Shawn Michaels (Stan Hansen Lariat, Layfield is the #1 Contender to the WWE Title) – I liked the format of the elimination match and the angle between employee and boss was very evident to the very end. Shawn did all the work while JBL picked up the scraps. The only sad thing to this is that we get to see Cena/Layfield at the Royal Rumble. I’ll be optimistic and say that the match will be good, but with Batista out of the picture, who knows where the WWE road map will take us.
The Middle W
This isn’t a reference to our soon to be ex-President, but rather the Wrestling in World Wrestling Entertainment. Jim Cornette once said “Wrestling fans tune into a wrestling show to watch wrestlers wrestle.” I’ll admit that I don’t get out much, so my view of wrestling beyond WWE and TNA is limited. This week, I’m going to recap the match between CM Punk and Homicide in ROH from 9/14/2004.
ROH Gold “Vaulted Classics”
CM Punk v. Homicide
9/14/2004
The bout begins with the two beating the hell out of each other. Punk with a back body drop and the fight goes to the outside quickly. Homicide takes it to Punk at the barricade, but Punk rakes the eyes. Punk sends Homicide to another barricade and SUPLEXES HIM OVER THE BARRICADE! He suplexes Homicide back ON THE CHAIRS! Damn this is ugly early on. Holy Sh*t chants from the crowd as the match heads back in the ring. Homicide is in control at the corner. He chops and thrusts away before raking the back. Pillar to post and POWERBOMB by Punk! That gets two. Sunset flip gets two for Punk. Homicide is in the corner and Punk puts the boots to him. He goes opposite the corner and Homicide takes a powder. Punk flies out on Homicide and Rocky Romero, who is at ringside supporting Homicide. Back in the ring..TILT-A-WHIRL BY PUNK! Back drop by Punk and he locks on the Torture Rack! Romero is there for the distraction and it pays dividends. Punk gets sent to the floor and we go back to the brawl. SICK NECKBREAKER ON THE HARDWOOD FLOOR! Homicide is back up and he takes Punk back inside.
He chops and punches away at Punk. Pillar to Post we go and Homicide snaps the neck off the ropes and drops the knee. Punk is in trouble and Homicide is favoring the ankle and back. Snapmare connects and Homicide continues on the neck. Punk is battling back, but eats a dropkick. Homicide transitions from a Boston Crab to a STF. Punk reaches the ropes, but Homicide continues on the attack. T-Bone Suplex connects for TWO! Punk hits a timely jawbreaker, but runs into a lariat for two. Punk won’t go down and that pisses Homicide off. Small Package by Punk gets two, but Homicide hits a clothesline and we go back out of the ring. Romero attacks on the outside. Punk comes back in with a sunset flip for two. Homicide won’t let up as he hits the stiff shots. Punk fires back with some chops, but a thumb to the eye stops this. Homicide picks Punk up and gets scoop slammed. To the top Homicide goes and he hits the flying headbutt for two.
Homicide takes it to the top again, but he wastes time and that allows Punk to get up and they go toe to toe on the turnbuckle. Homicide pushes Punk off, but Punk hits the SUPERPLEX! Both men are down! The referee is up to seven. Both men are up at nine. Punk builds up momentum and Homicide sends him to the ropes. Down goes Homicide and DOUBLE ARM BACKBREAKER GETS A CLOSE TWO! Punk tries the move again, but Homicide blocks it. RELEASE OVERHEAD SUPLEX GETS A NEARFALL ON Homicide. This is the opening match of the show, but it’s a main event to me. Piledriver attempt by Homicide is countered with a backslide for TWO! HOMICIDE HITS THE SPIKE PILEDRIVER AND PUNK IS DEAD! Parts of Punk’s body is under the rope, so there was no count. Homicide unloads with body shots and he sets Punk up on the turnbuckle. Hurrancuarana is countered! Punk bails and he misses Homicide. Clothesline by Homicide and the CM PUNK ORIGINAL CONNECTS FOR TWO! Punk loads with the MMA kicks and the AGE CRUSHER CONNECTS! Punk kicks out just before three!
Homicide is signaling for the end of Punk. Knee to the head and the Cop-Killa is countered! Punk ATTEMPTS THE COP-KILLA, but Homicde shifts his weight, preventing the move. Romero distracts again and Homicide has the belt! Low blow by Homicide, followed by a belt shot and PUNK WILL STILL NOT DIE! Romero is pissed and Homicide is wondering what he has to do. He takes Punk to the corner and we go on the turnbuckle. Punk headbutts his way out…PEPSI PLUNGE is blocked as Romero wants to interfer again. Romero is taken out, but Homicide nails Punk in the back of the neck with a chair! LARIAT CONNECTS AND THAT IS ALL!
Winner: Homicide
Rating: ****
With this match, Homicide goes 3-0 on Punk and I am amazed at how good this match was. The distrations by Romero took a little bit out, but it was nice to review something that isn’t WWE or TNA. Positive recommendation from me. If you want to see this, it’s in two parts.
