Welcome to another edition of my Sunday thoughts for this week. I gave in and watched the UFC 124 main event just to see Koscheck get beaten down and I was not disappointed. Because of that, you will get some UFC thoughts along with the usual WWE thoughts.
– I was amazed when talking with friends (who do not watch wrestling) how excited they were for the GSP vs Koscheck fight. They sighted watching the Ultimate Fighter as their primary motivation for watching. Remember when people used to feel this way about wrestling?
– What was it exactly that made people want to watch this fight? Could it have been the classic heel gets under the skin of the babyface antics that they saw on that show?
– Could WWE make people that passionate about their product today? Maybe restarting Tough Enough (the forerunner of Ultimate Fighter) could be the first step.
– Enough with the UFC talk, did anyone see the highly realistic and extremely compelling ending to Smackdown this week? Yeah, neither did I. In fact, all I saw was silliness that will not sell a PPV at all in the future.
– On top of that silliness, seeing Paul Bearer laying on the ground after his fall was surprisingly dark. I wouldn’t have expected that when WWE was at their edgiest and especially not now.
– Since Paul Bearer is gone and Undertaker is injured, can we finally just take the World Heavyweight Championship off of Kane? I don’t know who will challenge Edge for the championship, but anything is better than these Kane matches.
– Question: Does Smackdown have enough stars to fill the Elimination Chamber in two months? Edge, Kane, Kofi Kingston, Jack Swagger, Rey Mysterio and Big Show could fill the match, but it looks weak. Does this look exciting at all?
– Alberto Del Rio will face Rey Mysterio in a Chairs Match. How is this different than any match where a chair is used? I get that they have a PPV concept to fill, but that is no reason to create a lackluster concept match.
– It may be surprising, but I think Santino and Vladimir Kozlov could get more exposure for the WWE Tag Team Championships than the last two sets of champions.
– Where does WWE go with John Cena this week? I’ve been constantly surprised by the twists in the Cena and Nexus story, but I don’t see them doing anything but giving Cena his job back this week. What does that do to the Nexus?
– Can The Nexus be a strong unit without Wade Barrett? I don’t believe that they can. He has saved this program more than it deserved to be saved and WWE truly struck gold with him. The Nexus needs him, or it will be gone within four months.
– What happens to John Cena after he is rehired and beats Wade Barrett? What is left for him to do?
– Will The Miz be the change that WWE’s main event scene really needs? Here’s hoping he has a quality title reign and is able to attract some viewers to the product as Monday Night Football ends.
– I’m surprised by the mainstream appearances The Miz is making. He did the ESPN podcast and hosted TMZ. This is a huge deal for WWE, since it exposes them to viewers who aren’t watching their product. If they become interested in the personality, they will be interested in the show.
– I actually watched the NXT season four premier this week. It was rather refreshing to see the show being taken seriously. Sure, we saw a silly contest but we also got to see a decent tag team match and great video packages about the rookies.
– I’m a fan of Daniel Bryan’s rookie Jason Bateman. With Bryan to help get him over in his own nerdy way, Bateman could become a crowd favorite pretty quickly. He was also impressive in the ring in the tag team main event.
– I would just like the point out again that Sheamus looked silly on Raw, but I am looking forward to his rubber match with John Morrison.
– Ted DiBiase could get his personality back on track with this NXT run. He has a rookie that is sure to garner attention (Brodus Clay) which will hopefully mean big things for DiBiase.
– In April of this year did anyone expect to be hearing a Jack Swagger promo about wanting a shot at the Intercontinental Championship? It is truly a bummer that what should have been the best year of his career fizzled out so quickly.
– Would you guys be interested in year in review columns about various superstars? Much like I wrote for the Slammy nominees, but possibly longer and with predictions for 2011? If yes, who’s years would you like me to review?
– After hearing about the Jeff Hardy situation at this Sunday’s PPV, I have to say that TNA needs to make sure they are not making a big mistake with their championship and overall brand. They are risking everything and hoping to get a major reward, but nothing has came.
– Will adding Matt Hardy to TNA actually help Jeff? A recent video shot in a diner tells me that they will not encourage good behavior in each other.
– Why doesn’t WWE sell Slammy Award replicas? I would most likely buy one as a gag for some friends.
– Which way would TNA have gone in their proposed Matt Morgan vs Jeff Jarrett vs Mr Anderson World Championship Match (if Jeff Hardy had not been able to perform)? None of these options seem ideal for the company. Jarrett is not a main event star (and never has been, but don’t tell him). Morgan and Anderson are both babyfaces. With two out of the top three heels in the company not being wrestlers, we have to wonder who would challenge a babyface?
– TNA has booked themselves into a corner where they have to have a heel World Champion or else they’ll have to do another fresh round of character turns.
– One bright spot in TNA is the restarting of the rivalry between the best two tag teams in wrestling. Thank you TNA for giving us more Motor City Machineguns vs Beer Money.
– Is anyone really watching TNA to see how the saga between Eric Bischoff and Dixie Carter plays out? For anyone who really watches the product on a regular basis, I have to believe that they are just sitting through this waiting to get to the actual wrestling. Is there anything redeeming to come out of this story?
– In 1999 I have to say that I believe that WWE went on too long with the Steve Austin vs Vince McMahon story. When it extended to the King of the Ring 1999, it was just another silly match in a once special program. Now, as we look at Dixie vs Bischoff do we see anything special, or just another TNA mess that will be replaced by the next shocking idea within a year?
That’s all for this week folks! Sorry if I was unnecessarily negative about wrestling this week. I just felt the need to vent a little bit and this is the place to do so for me. I’ll be back tomorrow night with my 10 Thoughts on Raw!
