The People’s Column: Sunday’s Random WWE and TNA Thoughts

Columns, Top Story

Happy Sunday! We’re doing this again folks. As I sit down and watch some football and get ready to type out another blog on my iPad, I must think about just how nice it is to not have a pay per view today, especially after last week’s uneventful TNA outing.

A reminder to everyone at Pulse that my blog has a few exclusive features on Jeff Hardy, Matt Morgan and remember Eddie Guerrero up right now. You can see those at itswilltime.wordpress.com.

Now, on with the randomness.

– I mentioned on my blog last week how much I enjoy visual changes to the WWE product. Something I noticed for the first time this week was the way that Smackdown has started displaying wrestler’s names. I love how they actually show a color scheme and logo for the wrestler while still conforming to the Smackdown aesthetic. Nice work.

– Also on Smackdown, was Vickie Guerrero a babyface on Friday night?

– How odd was it to see Edge and Vickie in the ring together without a mention of their history?

– Was Michael Cole drunk on Monday night? If he and Josh Matthews are going to be the Raw team for more than a week (and it looks like they will at this point) then they need to pick up the professionalism. They are selling WWE’s product on the A show. Leave the jokes for NXT.

– I’m pretty sure that the commentary is the only reason to watch NXT.

– How exactly did Kurt Angle get back into the Impact Zone this week? I’m happy to see him back, but was it odd to anyone else that the “fired” Angle was suddenly doing run ins?

– How ridiculously nWo did that opening promo on TNA Impact feel? Eric Bischoff usually does good work, but seeing him once again walk down to the ring bowing and tapping his heart reminded me why I turned the channel so often in 1998.

– Remember when Jay Leno wrestled? That was awful, but not as bad as Leno’s act.

– I know I mentioned this in my Remembering Eddie blog yesterday, but I must say again how good Michael Cole was calling the WWE Championship win of Eddie Guerrero. Cole can be a great broadcaster when he is presented with legitimacy and is given a good story to call.

– Am I the only fan that Jeff Jarrett is not clicking with? I know he can be a valuable player and a pretty decent heel, but something just is not working with his act.

– Speaking of an act that isn’t working for me, DiAngelo Dinero falls into that category as well. He really seems like more of a heel than a babyface with the way he degrades women and kidnaps helpless managers. His act almost seems left over from the lat ’90s when those things were cool and it does not fit in today where society largely frowns on such things.

– I wish Jay Lethal meant more today. He has had amazing promos this year, but his character is being terribly misrepresented as a mama’s boy. The gimmick didn’t work for Shelton Benjamin and it won’t work for Lethal.

– Why is there one chuck of the entrance ramp wall in TNA that always breaks? You’d think they would reenforce that.

– Okay, so the Jeff Hardy championship belt, does anyone think it looks cool? When I think of custom championships, I think of Steve Austin’s Smoking Skull belt that was actually gold and actually looked cool. Hardy’s TNA Championship looks like something I would have made out of construction paper when I was eight years old.

– I sincerely wish that TNA would have had one of the babyfaces that marched out in Impact’s opening say what a disease to the TNA Championship it was to see it thrown in the trash if TNA wants to make a big deal out of Hardy’s belt it would benefit them to have the babyfaces talk about what the old belt meant.

– I like that Matt Morgan is still being pushed as the lead babyface in TNA. I was worried that he would have no momentum after last Sunday and TNA is doing a good job with him.

– Morgan is being presented as a true athlete, unlike how anyone else in wrestling is presented today. He is just a talented athlete.

– Will Mr Anderson ever actually get a title shot that he is scheduled to? The guy is cursed.

– Paul Bearer is not really relevant outside of a program between Kane and Undertaker. I like the work that he does, but he is not a character that Kane needs to get over.

– This week I was thinking of the awesome push that Kofi Kingston was getting a year ago. I cannot wait to see him get back on track. Kofi has all of the tools, he just needs to put them together in the right combination and watch as he becomes a main event star.

– Could it be possible that Kofi’s in-ring style is actually hurting him? How often does it look like Kofi is in a fight instead of in a choreographed match?

– I like Sheamus’ in-ring performances for this reason, he looks like he is actually fighting someone.

– Segment of the week on wrestling television is Tea Time with Santino. I’d be okay with this becoming a regular talk show for Santino.

– Is Santino in this Morrison vs Sheamus program because John Morrison cannot cut a babyface promo to save his life?

– Does it seem like the main event for Survivor Series came together too fast? I think WWE has been having to tread water since setting up the Cena’s dilemma story for Survivor Series because they had the match made in week one.

– If John Cena is fired, will he be rehired as a referee? He definitely is getting plenty of experience at the moment.

– If Wade Barrett becomes the WWE champion will he be presented as credible? I get the idea that heels cheat to win, but in order to make it look like your babyface challenger has accomplished something, your heels need to look legitimate. This is someone missing from both companies at this moment.

– What will Daniel Bryan end up doing at Survivor Series? Hopefully we will et to see a little but of what the UK got this week with Bryan vs William Regal.

– I have been enjoying the fire we’ve seen from MVP these last couple weeks. Can he continue this even after his loss on Friday?

– I have said for quite a while that WWE needs Samoa Joe (and that Joe needs WWE) but I do not know if that is true now. Husky Harris, while not the talented performer that Joe is, might just have more upside, especially as a part of the WWE machine.

– It may not be a classic show, but I am looking forward to Old School Raw on Monday night. With any luck, they will use some semblance of the Old School Raw set and make it look like a special evening.

– How cool would it be to see Raw from the Manhattan Center in NYC again?

– I wish there were an old school color commentator that could still perform for WWE. It would be amazing to hear Bobby Heenan’s voice on commentary.

– How will WWE feature The Miz at Survivor Series? I don’t see him being left off of the announced card, but he is not in a rivalry that warrants a PPV match right now. I could see him cashing in his Money in the Bank next Sunday, but I would like for him to have an announced match to distract from that possibility too.

– Kaval losing consistently on Smackdown needs to have a storyline purpose. Has there ever been another period in wrestling history when a company expected a losing streak to get a talent over? WWE has tried to do this far too often (MVP and Daniel Bryan) recently.

– Tommy Dreamer looks awful in his new gear. There is no reason for him to be in that silly MMA style getup. Changing up one’s look is one thing, but looking ridiculous and minor league is not the smart way to do so.

I think that’s all the thinking I have in me for this week. Since you have made it this far in my Sunday ramblings, I have a couple questions for you. Would anyone be interested in a Q&A column where I answer reader questions? Also, what star are you most looking forward to seeing on the Old School Raw this week?

Will is a 23 year old graduate student at UC Irvine. He is going to school for Stage Management and has always been passionate about pro wrestling. He began writing "The People's Column" in 2009. In 2010 he started his own wrestling blog, which is growing at an alarming rate. He is married to a beautiful woman (pictured on his profile) who accompanies him to most wrestling events that he goes to. Will is thankful for everyone who reads and interacts with him on Pulse and on his blog.