The New Blood

Sure he is pretty to watch fly over the top rope...but main eventer??

Think back to WCW in the year 2000. Don't think too hard or your nose will start to bleed. But just try to get a picture of what was going on with the company. In simple terms, things weren't going very well with WCW losing money and the talent losing moral. Kevin Sullivan was booking badly so managment decided to bring back Eric Bischoff and Vince Russo...the booking dream team... who were both sent home months earlier, in order to turn the ship around.

But Vince Russo did have a unique idea. Something that had never been done before in the history of the business. That idea was dividing the roster in half. Now that has been done plenty of times before, too often in fact , but never have the rosters been divided in such a way that Vince Russo dreampt up in 2000.

On one side, The New Blood. On the other The Millionaires Club. Take all the legit superstars on one side of the fence...and on the other you put all the hungry talent that has been held down by their superstardom aka egos.

I was going through my awesome wrestling dvd collection and ran across WCW Slamboree 2000. The opening segment had The Millionaires Club tour bus pull up to the arena. One by one the wrestlers came out... Ric Flair, Sting, DDP, Terry Funk, Hulk Hogan, Lex Luger, Kevin Nash, Curt Hennig, Randy Savage (what is that like 40 world title reigns combined??) All of these names, on the same page, teaming up for survival of their 'spots'. And I marked out like a little girl seeing John Cena perform the five knuckle shuffle.

The idea is simple, take all the greatest stars on your roster...have them form an alliance to fend off the talent that wants what they have had for years. Simple yet awesome.

So why didn't it work? The names I just laid out for you that were walking off that bus are some of the greatest names to ever lace up a pair of wrestling boots.

Flair, Sting, Hogan, Savage? IT HAD TO WORK!!!

..

..

...

But it didn't.

Business didn't turn around and moral didn't get any better. In fact WCW folded despite a creative idea that could have made them #1 once again. But it didn't...and here is why.

-The New Blood just didn't have enough legit stars. I mean when your pitting Billy Kidman against Hulk Hogan...there is something wrong. I like Kidman, he is a nice talent who can carry an average match with almost anybody. But Jesus Christ. I don't care how Hulk Hogan was portrayed at the time, he is the biggest name in the history of the sport. He has grossed more money than anybody who has ever stepped foot inside of any wrestling ring on any continent. It was obvious that Vince Russo didn't like the guy...fine. Billy Kidman does NOT belong in a feud with Hogan. Forget about Hogan being a legend, he is also a fairly large man. Hogan could use Kidman as a tooth pick. The whole storyline was doomed for failure from the start.

Sure The New Blood had Shane Douglas and Jeff Jarrett and Vampiro, guys who most wrestling fans would recognize. But the match ups just didn't...well match up. I could survive Sting vs. Vampiro because they actually put time into building up that feud. But look at the other feuds WCW was working on.

Curt Hennig vs Shawn Stasiak...what?

Chuck Palumbo vs Lex Luger...what?

Mike Awesome vs Kevin Nash...what?

Shane Douglas vs Ric Flair...what?

Hogan vs Billy Kidman..AWFUL

I know WCW was planning on building new talent which is a GREAT idea. Every wrestling promotion must build new talent in order to survive. But you can't build all the new talent at the same time. Mike Awesome, Chuck Palumbo, Shawn Stasiak were put in major storylines without ever developing on their own first.

-Not only did The New Blood not have legit members...but the so called legends in The Millionaires Club hadn't been booked like legends in years. Sting was delegated as a mid card wrestler, Vince Russo tried to kill any credibility Hogan had left, Flair jobbed to everybody and their mothers, Terry Funk was nothing more than a prop in hardcore matches and Randy Savage was barely on television anymore.

I realize the wrestlers were passed their prime, WAY passed their prime to be honest. But these were the guys WCW decided to build their company on...and they weren't booked as if they were the foundation of a federation. They basically only saw them as 'legends' when they needed to split the roster and get the new blood over. If they booked them as legends to begin with when Shane Douglas beats Ric Flair, or Shawn Stasiak beats Hennig...it would actually be a big deal.

So what do you have during 2000. You have a bunch of New Blood that nobody cares about due to the lack of character development, and you have a bunch of Legends who were booked like a bunch of old guys. The bare bones of The New Blood vs The Millionaires Club is genius. Like I said..It's simple, but it's awesome. But WCW didn't prepare for it proplery...and it showed during, and after it all fell apart.

Regal Suspended

Credit WWE.COM
STAMFORD, Conn., May 20, 2008 - In accordance with its Substance Abuse and Drug Testing Policy, WWE has suspended Darren Matthews (William Regal) for 60 days for his second violation of the company's policy.

Let me just say that I am and have been a huge fan of William Regal since his days in WCW. His unique in ring ability matched with his great charisma has been entertaining us for well over 10 years on a national level. I've often said Vince McMahon has the best facial expressions in the wrestling business...but William Regal isn't far behind. Cocky, comedic, serious he is one gifted performer.

Believe it or not I was actually happy when I heard William Regal got busted by WWE's wellness program. Because whether some wrestling fans know it or not, Regal has had many substance abuse related problems in the past. In fact his first stint in WWF ended in 1999 due to a drug problem. Nobody in WWE will comment on the substance Regal tested positive for.

As talented as Regal may be this is his second strike which led to the 60 day suspension. The next strike is a firing. It would be a shame for Regal to be fired from the greatest wrestling company in the world because he couldn't pass a drug test. In the midst of a very nice push and King of the Ring win...he needs to get his life in order so he can continue entertaining the fans and more importantly...make a living.

Venting On TNA

...What?

Of course, WWE is a much more famous company than TNA. People used to turn for WWE for the great booking, great storylines, entertainment, and of course the wrestling. And then when they just felt like watching amazing spots, bumps, and the always insane X Division, they turned to TNA.

Now? It’s a completely different story.

TNA has had many chances for huge face turns, and great matches and storylines, but the poor booking has just killed every single chance. Watching TNA is more like a chore now, plus, you have to sit through long promos by Jim Cornette *shudders*. They’ve also used their gimmick matches so much, it’s killing the excitement. When you heard about an Ultimate X match, you used to say “Holyshit that’s going to be sick.” Now? “Another one?”

Like I said, the poor booking is KILLING the company. They’re using the wrong people as heels, AJ Styles for example. He’s one of the most athletic and entertaining wrestler TNA has to offer. Seeing him in action was a very special treat. But now he’s in a tough spot. His gimmick outside of the ring is a fun babyface, inside the ring? He’s the perfect heel. He taunts every time he pulls off a dropkick, and what’s even worse is that he can’t use any of his incredible moves. They could’ve jumped at the chance of giving him a proper feud with Angle. They missed it. Then they had the chance with Tomko. They missed it, and they instead turned him into a full fledged heel.

Another problem is that they waste all their stars in Tag Team matches at the PPV. Instead of gunning for the title, the leaders run around frantically looking for tag partners. What would really help this company is maybe adding a Midcard Title, that gives the Eric Young’s of TNA something to do, while the Main Eventers like Christian Cage, Sting, Booker T, etc etc. are fighting in quality feuds. NOT fighting in Tag Team matches at PPV’s.

But now, TNA is wasting their top stars by placing them in the Deuces Wild tournament. It’s a tag team tournament, featuring basically everybody on the roster, excluding Angle, Big Poppa Pump, Petey Williams, some of the Knockout Division, and of course the Champ Samoa Joe. Yes I said SOME of the Knockouts. Awesome Kong is in it. This tournament ends at Sacrifice, with the winning team becoming the Tag champs.
Honestly, what I would’ve done is just had a tournament with actual Tag Teams. Motor City Machine Guns, Dudleyz, Reign & RelliK, AJ & Tomko, and whoever else is there. But instead, they include guys like Sting and Booker T, which in my opinion would’ve made for one HELL of a PPV match.

At Sacrifice so far only two matches have been made. The Main Event, being Kurt Angle & Scotty Boy taking on Joe for the World Heavyweight Title. Ok, fair enough, it makes sense. Big Poppa Pump is cashing in his…briefcase? Christ this seems awfully familiar, but I’ll get into that a little bit later. Next, there is the Women’s match. This match has to be the most retarded thing TNA has ever done. If there’s one thing TNA needs to do, its stop with the ridiculous gimmick matches that make no sense at all. I understand that they’re trying to be original, but all these gimmicks are just making them look silly and unprofessional.

Here’s how it goes, it starts out as a reverse Cage match. The Knockouts start on the outside of the ring, and the first to people to make it into the cage are the winners.

Then, a ladder comes into play. They have to climb up the ladder and get a contract that gives them a title shot against Awesome Kong. Ok, so the winner (probably Gail Kim) gets the contract, but it’s not over yet. The loser then gets her head shaved (possibly ODB). So all in all, this is a Reverse Cage Ladder Hair vs. Hair match. Wow.

To be honest, TNA is up shits creek without a paddle. But if there is one thing they’re good at…it’s ripping off WWE.

It all started with the Macho Man Randy Savage rip off, Jay Lethal. I was a little angry, but I thought oh well, as I read online (IGN.com) in a Jay Lethal interview that he actually spoke to the Macho Man himself, and talked about the gimmick. Macho Man didn’t mind, so it’s ok. Soon TNA started pushing the envelope…

For example there was the Shark Boy/Austin gimmick, a blatant rip off of one WWE’s most memorable stars Stone Cold Steve Austin, who I’d like to note actually MADE him into the star he is. Now I’m sure Shark Boy didn’t have a conversation with Stone Cold asking him if he could use his gimmick. I could just picture the conversation.

“Hey Steve, I was wondering if I could use your gimmick in TNA?”
“What?”
Click.

But it didn’t stop there, they started ripping off quotes. Kevin Nash quoting the Hulkster, the Dudleyz mentioning ECW and WWE in there promos. It just never ended. After some time it got increasingly annoying. During the WrestleMania weekend, TNA actually showed Rory (or Robbie) McAllister sitting in the audience of a TNA iMPACT event. They kept the camera on him for a good 5-6 seconds, they showed his name, and even put that he was a WWE superstar.

After a while of not watching TNA, because I simply couldn’t take it anymore, I turned it on yesterday night, for the iMPACT replay. And what I tuned into was LAX defeating Kaz and Eric Young in the Deuces Wild tournament. When LAX won, they called Hector Guerrero, the Spanish Commentator for TNA, who’s also the late Eddie Guerrero’s brother to the ring. Homicide went on this entire speech about how much he respected The Guerrero name, how much he respected Eddie, Chavo, and most of all Hector. Yeah, you respect a freakin commentator more than one of the greatest performers of All Time. Sure. Anyways, they said that they wanted Hector in their corner, so they could have the strength to win the belts.
TNA is frantically trying to get on the same level with WWE. They’re way of doing it? Ripping off WWE and bringing in “new” and “innovative” matches. My way of doing it? Better booking.

This is only the start, as I will be reviewing the weekly Battle for Power between TNA and WWE. Does this have the potential to blow up into a Wrestling War? Possibly. But the real question is…does TNA have the strength to do it?

-Spencer aka 'The Icon'

Catching Up..

MRRRRRRRRR....face?

Ok it’s been a while since my last Godly blog update and a lot has happened in WWE since then. Lets take a look!!

Triple H winning world title


I figured it was going to happen sooner rather than later. The only thing that confused me was...why save the world title change for Backlash? Wouldn't it make sense for Triple H to win his 12th World Title at WrestleMania? Really no problem with Hunter winning the World Title, he’s arguably the biggest face in the company right now.



Besides who else is left? Cena champ again? JBL? I would enjoy seeing HBK get a nice title reign though.


Randy Orton losing World Title
I figured it was going to happen sooner rather than later. Seriously, ever now and again Orton shows his true colors by doing something stupid and immature in his personal life. For those who missed it...


Randy Orton had another incident on the recent European tour. Orton was upset that the hotel staff woke him up earlier than he scheduled. Orton then put clothes on, took his food from room service, went down the hall and threw the food on the staff that woke him up. Orton reportedly laughed after the incident and went back to his room.

- Credit The Wrestling Observer Newsletter


Orton has to realize, especially when he is champion, he is representing not only a wrestling company...but a corporate business in WWE. He is literally the face of the company when holding the gold, he can’t live his gimmick. Until he realizes that, I don’t see WWE making him their champion for a while.


William Regal winning KOTR



It was a nice surprise but I’ll only agree with it if Regal becomes active in ring again…which it looks like they are heading towards. The heel GM role on Raw has become stale…but having the GM also actively compete is something fresh and could be interesting if booked properly.


Mr. Kennedy turning face?



It’s only natural for Kennedy to turn face. I found it rather odd instead of pulling the trigger in a big money making storyline…they seem to be testing the waters against Regal. I guess it makes sense to try it out before you put a lot of time and money into it…but I believe the fans have been dying to cheer Kennedy for quite some time and would have embraced him in a main event role as a good guy.


Honestly WWE should have made him a face as soon as he came to Raw. Do you remember the draft when they announced he was coming to Raw and he came out to a huge ovation? That was a great shot at getting him over as a face. Now? We’ll see what they have up their sleeves to make it work.


Jericho-HBK storyline



Just a side note. I’m not sure if this is a coincidence or WWE is doing it purposely…but HBK rarely wrestles on Raw anymore. Think about how matches he’s had since WrestleMania…not many. And I for one am happy they are cutting back his schedule to prolong his career. Besides his charisma alone is enough to carry storylines on Raw without wrestling. Speaking of carrying storylines…


So far so good with Jericho vs. HBK. Chris Jericho has ALWAYS been a better heel than face…and he may not be there yet but it’s getting close. I for one am very excited about this storyline since their Mania match from a few years ago is one of my all time favorites. HBK vs. Batista was good…this is going to be even better. Can’t wait.


Mick Foley becoming commentator of Smackdown



Well it’s about damn time they have found something for that fat ass to do. Seriously, the guy is collecting a weekly paycheck…probably a decent sized one, at least have him do something to earn it. And that’s not knocking Mick Foley…if WWE wanted to pay me big bucks just to sit at home and eat cheese doodles sign me up.


Foley is a very gifted performer but at this point in his career he’s best suited using his vocal abilities. Besides this leaves open one last feud for him to retire with….you know the wrestler picking on Michael Cole, Mick Foley stands up for him, magic happens.