Hey yo!!! So, yea, like a couple weeks back, I complained about the crap I saw on ECW that made me a very upset wrestling fan, but two weeks ago, I couldn’t be happier. I mean, it was a week’s worth of wrestling. This is like a once in a lifetime opportunity to just enjoy wrestling every day of the week. This is the Diary of a Happy Wrestling Fan.
Monday: It is time for Raw and I had to work until 9:30 p.m. I got home at 10, but thankfully, I have taped the first hour. While I cook some eggs and wait for my girlfriend to meet me, I watch the second hour of the program and then the first hour second. Kind of weird, but that’s the way I did it.
Mick Foley just cut the most awesome promo I have heard from him in a long time. Both he and Ric Flair have been beaten and battered and maybe they can’t wrestle like they used to, but in a war of words, this feud is money in the bank. I couldn’t even keep my eyes off the television as Foley made sense with every comment he made. And now that it seems like they are gearing up for a hardcore match, I am stoked for what’s to come.
But here comes the Big Show with Paul Heyman and somehow, the master genius that Heyman is, there is a segue way from Foley to ECW that leads to Ric Flair receiving the opportunity of a lifetime; a shot at a 17th World title – this time in the one wrestling company he never even bothered wrestling in during his lengthy reign as the real King of the Mountain. This match excites me, because on paper, it sounds really cool to have a 16-time champ fight the only guy to hold a world title in each of the federations from the old wrestling wars. Plus, you know Mick Foley is going to get involved and who knows, maybe make ECW his permanent home.
Only problem here is this: didn’t Big Show attack HHH for disrespecting a legend like Ric Flair back when the WWE first came home to USA Network? What do you call attacking Ric Flair from behind and manhandling him? Keep storylines tight, please?
I enjoyed the DX angle to a degree. I actually enjoyed Eugene’s involvement. Maybe, slowly, they can move him up the ranks again. The fans don’t seem that against him as they did in the past. In fact, I think he gets a lot more cheers these days. Damn, I think even Snitsky gets some cheers lately, which is just incredibly odd. What interested me the most is the history between HHH and Eugene and as a real wrestling fan, I want to see how Creative handles that if their paths cross once more as I am sure it will. I mean, Vince McMahon is going to want some revenge on Eugene.
I loved the John Cena vs. Edge angle leading to Saturday Night’s Main Event. This is actually a feud over a title belt. There really is nothing personal; just two guys fighting over the world title. I like it and how long has it been since we saw something like John Cena attacking Edge in a hotel room? I mean, that was very Stone Cold Steven Austin-like.
Going back a little, I know WWE Classics is on MSG on Wednesday, but when did the WWE resign the Bushwhackers. The Highlanders sort of suck. But I will give them a chance. Maybe they will grow on me.
Matt Striker does a lot of the little things that matter.
Would love to see what they can do with Rob Conway as a face. Maybe they can bring back Rene Dupree as a face and reform La Resistance under a new name. We need some new tag-teams; teams that make sense.
On that note, do not put Charlie Haas and Viscera together. If anything, put Haas back with Shelton Benjamin, who by the way, had a fun match with John Cena that I would like to see more of in the future. Benjamin could be the next Ricky Steamboat of the WWE.
Finally, it is going to so suck not to see Trish in the WWE if she does not resign. She’s one of my favorites of all time. And I like her chemistry with Carlito, who I feel is so not being pushed the way he deserves to be pushed.
Tuesday: It’s ECW and I am not expecting much. I mean, last week was crap and I am expecting pretty much the same this week. Looking back at the Big Show vs. RVD match, I have to say that the match itself was really, really good, but the ending was just messed up. Paul Heyman’s reasoning behind it was just not well done at all. I didn’t like his Messiah speech. I didn’t get it. Sorry. Heyman still has good delivery though.
Loved Tommy Dreamer’s match with Test. I thought Dreamer would be brutalized and he sort of was, but if you were listening, he managed to get the fans behind him and I like that. Maybe, over time, Dreamer will be more popular than he ever was. When he ripped his shirt to produce the ECW t-shirt underneath, the fans popped and I don’t think they were all ECW fans. Test cheating doesn’t hurt Dreamer and sets up another possible feud.
Candice dancing with Kelly just proved how amateurish Kelly is. She looked lost in there while Candice controlled the show. This is the girl you want to give a weekly segment to. Please stop. But on the same note; thanks for this week, because I slightly enjoyed it. I also liked Mike Knox finally facing the consequences for his actions and in the way I booked a few weeks back. Yes, McMahon steals all my ideas. Anyways, while I thought there was something a little awkward about Sandman’s attack, it was good to see another storyline being built up.
CM Punk is awesome. I can’t wait to see him wrestle. He really belongs and he is a future star. Ball Mahoney finally got to say something. Thanks. I was tired of seeing him take a backseat when he was just as much an ECW favorite as Sandman and Dreamer. Shannon Moore!!! I actually am looking forward to that. Vampires are cool. Looks like they are finally going somewhere with that angle, too.
I can’t believe I actually heard for real that certain matches were not extreme rules matches. What makes ECW any different from the WWE? This makes no sense. And they disqualified Sabu?! I can’t believe there was a DQ in ECW. Is this the only way Justin Credible can get a win? He deserves so much more than this. I feel bad for this guy. Maybe he will finally get a promo in a few weeks. Maybe they will allow him to do something. This is ridiculous.
I am not upset about Ric Flair being in ECW. The company has always respected its legends and I remember when Dusty Rhodes tore it up in ECW. It actually seems fitting to see Flair there. He wrestled a pretty good match. I was upset that Foley did not come down, but Flair definitely mocked him and set up a future match between the two. The only problem in his battle with the Big Show was how this giant wrestler sold those chair shots. He literally put his head into the chair. It was whack. Big Show is not made for ECW if he can’t take a chair shot like a man and/or sell it the right way.
This show was better than last week. I enjoyed it for what it was. I am not putting too many expectations into ECW anymore. I am enjoying it for what it is, a third brand giving some wrestlers that normally wouldn’t get a chance to shine an opportunity to earn a paycheck.
Wednesday: This is what I have been looking forward to. These are probably matches I have never seen before, because I didn’t have cable back in the day. Yes, I have probably seen the wrestlers fight each other, but MSG always brings out the best in all the stars and I am excited to watch feuds I remember in matches that were very different from your normal television matches. Plus, back in the day, the WWE put a lot of emphasis on its house shows, especially its matches at MSG.
And what a lineup. You can’t get better than The Rockers vs. The Brainbusters. I forgot how different HBK looked back in the day. Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard were the greatest tag-team, or at least one of them. The WWE needs to do a Four Horsemen DVD. I miss Ted Dibiase as a wrestler and I can’t believe how much I missed the classic Hulk Hogan. Wow. But the second hour was my favorite. I never saw these matches. I remember Pedro Morales, but more as a glorified jobber toward the end of his run. It was amazing to see him in action with Jimmy Snuka. And wow, what a sight to see Andre the Giant again. But why was Bob Backlund so special? He was a good wrestler, but my feeling is that the WWE let him hold that title far too long. Maybe this classic show will allow me to see other match with Backlund that will make me change my mind.
I want to see Hogan vs. Randy Savage before their Wrestlemania V clash. I want to see Hogan vs. Ric Flair in their only WWE battle before they both locked up in WCW. I think it happened in MSG. I would love to see Hogan vs. Paul Orndorff or Bret Hart vs. Bad News Brown. I would really like to see some Jake Roberts matches again and possibly some Killer Bees or British Bulldogs vs. Hart Foundation battles. It would be great to see Demolition. I am just really excited. I hope MSG and WWE find a way to keep this series alive. So many memories.
Thursday: Finally, they are disbanding Team Canada. I was getting so sick of that team. They need to get rid of both A1 and Bobby Roode. I don’t even know why they are high on Roode. I think he’s garbage. He’ll never be a big time player. Eric Young is awesome. I would actually like to see him feud with Petey Williams. I think that would be a fun feud and one with a story. Williams always used to abuse Young. Now, it would be time for Young to get a little revenge. There would be no doubt that he would be a face when he leaves the team. No Team Canada opens up far more possibilities and less predictable storylines in the future. I am excited.
Wow. I love the team of Paparazzi. They were sort of brought together out of nowhere, but they really make the tag-team scene rather exciting. Who needs AMW, The James Gang, Team 3D, LAX or Team Canada in the title hunt when you have these four guys going at it. AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels are the perfect tag-team. They should have put them together a long time ago. It’s only a shame that Senshi, who was phenomenal again, wasn’t around during the whole Samoa Joe angle, because I would have loved to have seen AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels vs. Samoa Joe and Senshi.
Abyss does not belong with the James Gang. It doesn’t make sense.
I can’t wait until the Naturals are back in the mix. Oh, just let them wrestle. Stop nitpicking at the haircut issue. Play nice.
Wow. I can’t wait to see where they go with Rhino attacking ECW the way they did. Awesome. TNA can beat ECW. It’s actually a very good target and a great way to stick it to the WWE, too.
Friday: I think Creative has lost their mind. They actually rushed an angle they knew they would have awhile back when Batista and Booker T had that big fight. Booker T lost to the U.S. Champion and had an army to help him, but even after the loss, he gets pushed into a program with the World Heavyweight champ. He is bound to beat Mysterio to set up a feud between himself and Batista for Summerslam. But if you knew that ahead of time, why waste our time with Booker T vs. Lashley? Why not get the ball rolling right away?
Did Matt Hardy get a big win? Whoa!! This is really big. I mean, Ken Kennedy has future star written all over him. I know; they are just setting up for the PPV rematch that Kennedy will win.
So, like I said earlier, Booker T had an army of help and couldn’t beat Lashley for the U.S. title, but Finley takes the belt with the help of a little midget. Huh? What just happened to Lashley’s push? Oh, right; he will win the title back at the Great American Bash where the ex-military officer will be most proud to have won the belt.
Damn, I can’t wait to see The Pitbulls vs. Paul London and Brian Kendrick. That match has show stealer written all over it. Wow.
Saturday: Saturday Night’s Main Event was not all it was cracked up to be itself. The best part of the show was Hulk Hogan getting attacked by Randy Orton. It was just a cool looking scene and you knew it was coming, but it still had that feel that it came out of nowhere and that’s what’s cool. But everything else was whack.
Mark Henry injured himself and I still wonder how. I mean, was it from the running splash? I didn’t see anything amazing that led to the injury. Did Kevin Nash somehow channel himself into Mark Henry’s massive frame? Sure felt like it. Don’t trip.
The women were not even hot riding a bull.
Did I see two squash matches? DX destroyed the Spirit Squad. Sabu destroyed Steven Richards. Did I just watch an old episode of Wrestling Challenge? Saturday Night’s Main Event it about PPV quality matches. This was a letdown and totally unacceptable.
How did Khali destroy the Undertaker just a few months ago? I mean, it took two giants to destroy him this time and he actually had the upper hand for a little while. You cannot build up a match between Undertaker and Khali by making Khali look weak and in need of The Big Show’s help. That was poor booking.
How do you end the show with a DQ finish? This was ridiculous. I came to watch a PPV-caliber show on free television and I got a Raw-style finish that seemed like it was selling a PPV rematch. It was just utterly disappointing.
Sunday: Over on TNA, I didn’t love the PPV. It was fun to a degree, but I did not like the card and couldn’t get into the show as I did in the past. That said, I am loving some of the plans for the future. I mean, this may be giving some spoilers away, but Rhino vs. Monty Brown vs. Samoa Joe is just sick. It’s definitely the way to top Samoa Joe vs. Scott Steiner.
I also can’t wait for a Christian heel turn. It has been hinted at for some time and that is exciting. Christian is better as a heel. Doing his promos as a face, it’s as if he has to hold himself back. Now, he can let loose. That’s if he actually turns in the future, but I think that is a given.
I can’t wait to see what they do with Jerry Lynn after Victory Road. He is one of my favorite most unused wrestlers and someone that ECW is definitely missing right now.
To end my TNA talk, I must say that despite him denying it, TNA is one Chris Jericho away from going over the top. He’s a big piece of their puzzle, but the fact that he is writing his book pre-WWE suggests that he will be back with the WWE and tell his story there. It’s almost obvious where his loyalty lies.
And that’s all. Damn, I haven’t written that long in awhile. Hope you enjoyed it. Share your thoughts. Check out my Myspace page and drop me a line or a comment. Comments are fun. Until next time, keep it in the ring.
