Reported by Mike Siciliano of WrestleView.com
On Friday, September 7, 2007 at 11:34 PM EST

This was strictly going to be a column for the picks for No Surrender, or as I am calling it, the Kurt Angle showcase PPV, but I have to address something that really made me uncomfortable while watching Smackdown tonight.

I am an avid reader of the spoilers. I admit it. I read them every week, without fail. I try my best to watch Smackdown every week without fail because it fits in to my schedule. Even with all the bull that is going on this past few weeks with the drug scandals, I am still watching. Tonight made me 10 times more uncomfortable watching Smackdown at the end than anything else that I have seen in a long time.

Look, I don't know squat from shine-ola about the preparation that these talents do inside and outside the ring. More often than not, they can make something look horrible to the naked eye, and it ends up being, hypothetically speaking, a skinned knee or something significantly less severe. Tonight, I hope, was a skinned knee. When Rey Mysterio was placed in the vice grip of the Great Khali, and then lifted in the air, and began spitting up blood, a significant amount of blood, it was damn uneasy to watch.

If people know me, they know I have a child with a condition that affects the brain. Seeing something that graphic, while it didn't relate to anything personal that I am dealing with at the present time, it made me very uncomfortable that either A) Khali's grip is that severe that it could cause a reaction such as that, or B) WWE is dumb enough with its current state of affairs to portray a scene like that.

Now, I'm not going to hypothesize whichever way it was, because I'm not the insider that some people may believe. I am simply saying this. If you're going to put it on television as to how Khali destroys Mysterio to allow Batista a shot to get in to the match, I think there is a million different ways to do it that are significantly less grotesque from a visual standpoint, yet still make the same amount of impact.

I don't know about you, but this Mysterio vs. Khali thing, even before it became a triple threat match, reminded me of Backlash back when Rock main evented against Goldberg. Mysterio met Big Show, and Big Show ended up squashing Mysterio like a grape, and then throwing Mysterio in to the pole while attached to the gurney. Differences here are two fold. One. Big Show is an accomplished "wrestler" who would know how to pull it back to keep his opponent safe, and two, Mysterio did have something to 'cushion' the blow, the bodyboard. Still the same impact, I think, but significantly safer, I think. This episode tonight was damn dangerous. I'm sorry, but as far I can tell, WWE oughta be damn happy and elated that Mysterio wasn't seriously hurt during that encounter, as something like that, for that amount of time, being squeezed in the temple like Khali did to Mysterio, could kill a man. And I believe Khali is not even a tenth as talented as, to use my comparison, Big Show, during the incident I tried to use to make my point.

You want a bottom line. Here it is. Two fold. 1. Rey Mysterio is being pushed way too far, too fast, for his own health. And right now, WWE is desperate to keep their stars healthy, and I think at the rate Mysterio is headed, that's not going to last very long. And 2. The Great Khali as world champion is an absolute disaster waiting to happen, and more than likely, is going to place WWE in 100 times worse of a position when he legitimately injures someone severely. It's not a question of if he will, it's a question of when. I want someone to debate me as to why they would think otherwise.

Moving forward....I'd be a fool not to comment on the Ric Flair situation.

If the last time the world sees Ric Flair in a wrestling ring was the time when his skull was crushed like a grape by the Great Khali, then that is beyond a shadow of a doubt, an absolute crime.

Is Ric Flair needing to retire from pro wrestling? Yes. He does need to retire. But on his own terms, and when he's ready to. Not when WWE decides, or Flair gets frustrated from the lack of creativity behind his character, which is allegedly the reason why he gave his notice. Is there potentially a link between his notice, the alleged reason, and the possibility of being linked in one of the drug scandal problems? Sure there is. You'd be crazy not to think so. Those two reasons alone, more than likely, caused Flair to snap emotionally, and make the choice that he did. I don't discount him the opportunity to walk away, but he needs to go out on top of the world, like his career has been from the word go, and if he goes out flat on his back, if this is it for Ric Flair, the last time people saw him on television was being destroyed by a man who couldn't carry Flair's jock, even at 420 pounds, that is the utmost show of disrespect to a first ballot hall of famer. I don't give a damn what's happened elsewhere, or anything else. Ric Flair deserves the right to walk away with pride, and if something happened that caused that to not occur, it should be fixed, fixed immediately, and then hopefully, cooler heads prevail. Because, here, with this current scenario, there's only one loser, and that's the fans. I got in to this sport because the fans were treated properly. This will damage my feelings for this sport. Significantly.

If I'm WWE, I apologize to Ric Flair, and then give him all the time he needs to charge his batteries and be prepared to return. And then when he says go, let him back in. No questions asked.

One last comment. I know Ken Kennedy is a hypocrite, and I stand by what I said about him last week. But his comments about the wrestling business needing an off season may be so Nostradamus like it's uncanny. And the perfect example of what I mean with that is Ric Flair. I believe if Flair was given the chance, as a lot of these talens, were given the chance to recouperate naturally, with time and the proper medicine, this whole mess or bunch of messes, as the case may be, would not be taking place.

Let's go forward with picks for the Kurt Angle Showcase Pay Per View, which is officially titled as TNA No Surrender.

10 team Gauntlet Match for a shot at the TNA World Tag Team Championships
VOODOO KIN MAFIA vs. LATIN AMERICAN XCHANGE vs. TEAM 3D vs. MOTOR CITY MACHINEGUNS vs. TRIPLE X vs. AJ STYLES & TOMKO vs. SONJAY DUTT & PETEY WILLIAMS vs. ERIC YOUNG & SHARK BOY vs. LANCE HOYT & JIMMY RAVE vs. HAVOK & RAVEN

A few one liners to open for this preview paragraph. 1. It's good to see Raven back in action. I hope its for the long term, and I hope he stays healthy. 2. I think Jimmy Rave signing with TNA is a good move for TNA. Rave is young with a bright future, and can provide some damn good heel heat, as evident by his work in Ring of Honor. However, TNA will probably squash him in midcards with Big Lance, so he'll end up regretting this move, but for now, good for Rave. (Sorry, not a one liner). 3. What the hell does Sonjay Dutt and Petey Williams have in common to be tag team partners? Hell, I can say the same for Hoyt & Rave, but I commented on Rave already, so I'll pass. In other words, 4. What a way for TNA to bring in the rest of its roster. Man, if they are hemorraghing money as its reported, this type of match doesn't help, because so many of these guys would never have a chance to be even in contention for a title with the current state of TNA.

Ok. Let's eliminate Dutt & Petey before we even get out of the blocks. Also Sharkie & Young are gone. Why? Young needs to be returning to his roots of feuding with Robert Roode. Just kidding. Sharkie is the 'cult hero' of the Impact Zone. You know what that means? It means neither of these guys, however talented they may be, will see any hint of a championship. Moving on. 2 down, 8 to go. Hoyt & Rave will also be eliminated for one simple reason. Lance Hoyt. He has done absolutely zip since Kid Kash left the company, and after a brief moment making out with Christy Hemme, (which is not a bad thing), he's been put back in to obscurity. My only complaint is letting Jimmy Rave debut in a match like this, because it doesn't allow him a chance to show what he can do.

3 down. 7 to go. Take out Styles & Tomko becaus Styles will do something stupid, like he's done with his character. Anyone who has the collector's edition of PWI with the grades for all the talents need to read the point on Styles. It's so damn true it's not even funny, and it's so sad how pathetic his stock in TNA has become. Also, as long as Tomko holds a belt in New Japan, I doubt that he'd ever even come close to holding a belt in the US. Too many scheduling conflicts. I guess Havok & Raven are also eliminated, although I'd like to see them compete for the titles, I don't think it's that time yet for the man from the Bowery, especially since he's just returned to active duty. These guys, Havok & Raven may be eliminated quickly during the match to preserve Raven's health.

Ok, we're down to 5. All 5 named teams. VKM, LAX, 3D, the McMGs and Triple X. I don't believe VKM or 3D will win this match because A) they don't have a clue how to classify 3D, heels or faces, and they wouldn't need to win a contenders match to have enough juice push wise for a title opportunity. and B) if TNA wasn't smart enough to put it on VKM yet, they'll never do it. That leaves LAX, the Guns, and Triple X.

If you have those three left, you've struck gold. LAX is the best tag team in TNA. The Guns are the future of tag team wrestling, and not many can do it better than Daniels & Senshi. Now it's time to pick a winner.

WINNERS: Triple X

They were reformed to either capture or chase the TNA tag titles. Here's where it starts.

No Disqualification
BLACK REIGN vs. CHRIS HARRIS

Has Rhodes made one appearance on Impact since debuting this character last month? One? I don't think so. This is so damn predictable its scary. Rhodes loses, and goes nuts, 'injuring' Harris for a spell.. Not much else to say here.

WINNER: Chris Harris

KAZ vs. ROBERT ROODE

What? What? Has the moon been shifted out of alignment? Roode isn't fighting Eric Young? I'm, uh, amazed. Stunned, even. This one is good, but not great. Brooks is probably the prize for Kaz once he beats Roode up a bit, but this one will probably drag out a little causing some decent midcard level heat in a feud that is at least refreshing, but not much to write home about, yet. Roode wins, yells at Traci, and Kaz gets the sympathy. Looks like something we all have been seeing with a misfit on ECW. Question is, who did it first?

WINNER: Robert Roode

RHINO vs. JAMES STORM

The implication of alcohol in this feud disgusts me personally. I was excited to see these two guys hook up, but after suffering through the Cowboy's pub crawl, I could care less. Rhino wins, to hopefully put a necessary stake in the heart of this 'feud', if you want to call it that.

WINNER: Rhino

SAMOA JOE vs. CHRISTIAN CAGE

You cannot tell me that as a human being, Samoa Joe is happy with his status in TNA. Relegated to being the world's whipping Samoan, Joe is back in a match with Cage at a pay per view. I watched the Destination X match earlier this year where Joe met Cage for the NWA World title, and Joe nearly took Cage's head off. Cage now has his goons to back him up, and Joe is out there on an island by himself. Joe will probably win, but end up taking yet another beating, and further cementing his decline in the status of TNA, which is the biggest miscarriage of justice I have ever seen, whether you're a fan of Samoa Joe or not.

WINNER: Samoa Joe

And now, it's time for the Kurt Angle showcase... or more appropriately titled, three ways to decimate a hall of fame worthy performer, and turn him in to a joke.

TNA X Division Championship
KURT ANGLE vs. JAY LETHAL

It's a non-X Divsion wrestler as the X Division champion meeting a former champion for two days who lost the belt so this ridiculous angle of merging the titles could begin when Joe beat Lethal to regain the X title back before the match of champions pay per view (I forget that one's name). Anyway, I read a rumor where Angle was scheduled to win all the title matches he's supposed to participate in, which is even more of a miscarriage of justice, and supreme stupidity on TNA's part. While there's an obvious finish waiting in the world title match, and the deck stacked in the tag title match, if there's one that could change, this one is it. Lethal is so deserving of another shot it's not funny, and I'm going to pick him to win, but it will not surprise me one bit if Angle retains.

WINNER: Jay Lethal

TNA World Tag Team Championship
KURT ANGLE & STING vs. RON "THE TRUTH" KILLINGS & ADAM "PACMAN"JONES

I can't stand this match from the word go. Angle & Sting should be competing against each other, not with each other as tag team champions, especially after the way he won the title, (Angle), and how badly Sting had to be beaten up in the four way to become his 'partner' a couple of weeks ago. And this Team Pacman thing is just so pathetic its not capable of describing in words. Let's use this analogy.

I was watching DX 2007 this week, and the Last Rites match with Sting and Abyss. And in the back, totally ignored by Tenay and West, was "Fire Russo" chants. I pray that in some way, shape, or form, the fans in the Impact Zone show their displeasure for this match, if for no other reason, than to say that Adam Jones has no business in a wrestling ring, and more than ever, not in a wrestling ring with two bonafide hall of famers competing for a world championship.

WINNERS: Sting & Kurt Angle

TNA World Championship
KURT ANGLE vs. ABYSS

If it's not painfully obvious that James Mitchell returns this match with Ricky Banderas in two as Judas Mesias to begin a blood feud with the monster Abyss, then I want to know what you're watching. This match is just the precursor for that eventual beginning, and man, did it take a while. I don't know how it's going to "finish", obviously, but Angle will retain, and Abyss will be headlong in to a path leading to the depths of hell as Mitchell's adversary, instead of Mitchell's weapon of mass destruction. I have to admit, I am looking forward to that, as I expect some definite blood baths to ensue.

On a side note, how cool would it be if Abyss went and hired or recruited Sabu to come in to TNA and help him in this feud with Mitchell when it opens up. It would be damn fun to watch, and even more hardcore than some of the matches Abyss and Sabu had back in the day. I mention this as reports surfaced of Sabu visiting at TNA recently potentially trying to land a job. It would be the proper niche to bring the homicidal one back in to the fray, where he was by far, much more vicious and destructive than any time he competed in WWE.

WINNER: Kurt Angle

Ok, in closing, let's talk about this, really quickly. Like I said, I was reading the 'report card' issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated, and I like the idea. So, here's my idea to you for my 200th column, a little late due to obvious reasons, but let's still do it.

I offer you, my readers, the chance to email me a name of someone you'd like to read my opinion on. Whether its WWE, TNA, ROH, the indies, whomever. If I have the knowledge, I'll grade them. A through F. That's it. I'll offer some of my own grades, but I thought you'd all like this as more of an interactive column. Also, if you have some observations you'd like, send them to me, and if I can use them, I will. Call it a wrestler's report card, made by the true critics of pro wrestling, the fans.

Your thoughts on that, the WWE issues with Rey and everything else going on, or the picks for the Kurt Angle show case pay per view? Email them to at Palace@wrestleview.com

I will no longer be providing my myspace link, as my page has effectively been closed. It remains active, but I can't blog. And if I can't blog, I won't be updating it as much as I use to. When I come up with a new blog site for the column, it will be listed here.

Thanks much for reading, and emailing. Keep in touch, everybody.

NOTE: The views of this column do not represent the views of the administration of this website.