Reported by Mike Siciliano of WrestleView.com
On Monday, September 24, 2007 at 5:24 PM EST

I'm sitting here waiting for the time to tick by so I can actually have a chance to watch Raw as it happens on television tonight, and it's troubling to me that I can't find a topic to discuss for column 204. With the new steroid bust looming over most all of sports, and the lack of truly decent captivating storylines throughout WWE, it's truly a transitional time for the business, and one that I hope ends soon. I had thought the knowledge of looking forward to working my first Smackdown vs. Raw video game in November when I pick it up for the DS would be good enough to keep me rolling, but truth be told, it's not.

Smackdown's wedding this past week was ridiculous and so poorly conjured it just wasn't funny. It seemed forced, it seemed put together at the absolute last minute, and it just makes zero sense. Now, I know if Vickie Guerrero, who obviously will take over the reigns with Teddy now on the shelf, literally and figuratively, if Vickie turns "heel" so to speak, then the whole thing has some assemblance of meaning, but I don't see that happening, because Vickie went down that road, and went down it recently, and she's been spending a lot of television time trying to build herself back up as a face assistant GM, and turning heel again so fast would be redundant to say the least.

What truly positive aspect would you have gotten out of this? We got another comedic sketch between McMahon, Coachman, and Hornswoggle, we got Kristal losing her mind, literally, and figuratively, and we have the entire male population of Smackdown and ECW literally tripping over themselves to take a ride on the Ho train. Don't get me wrong, seeing the Godfather was terrific, and a nice touch to a sad state of affairs, but when you put it down to brass tax, the fans are right, from what I read from the spoilers, they screamed "we want wrestling", and damnit, they're right. This wasn't wrestling, and this wasn't entertaining. It was dumb, it was pointless, and it was time I personally am never going to get back, and that pains me to no end.

What is truly sad is you have the idiocy of the wedding overshadowing what has turned in to one of the best feuds I have seen in some time with MVP and Matt Hardy. I've gone in to this one from pillar to post, and truthfully, both men have delivered time and again for weeks on end, and they should be commended. Right now, truth be told, I'm watching Smackdown to see what happens with the WWE Tag Team titles and the US title a hell of a lot more than the World title.

Now, going to Raw, we've got Orton/Cena III, Last Man Standing. And I have to say, they've done this well. If Orton does win the match and the title at No Mercy, he's earned it. I can't dispute it any which way to sunday. My only question is this, does WWE feel that Orton/Triple H will draw? Because that's probably your Royal Rumble Main event waiting to happen, and does WWE think Orton/Triple H at that major PPV will draw? Because if they do, then we know who'll win the match at No Mercy. Because win, lose, or draw, whoever comes out of No Mercy with the strap, will most likely make it to at least the Royal Rumble with the title, because there is not soul one ready or poised to take the belt once this feud is completed. Unless Lashley makes a miraculous recovery, or some major transaction is done, whoever comes out of Orton vs. Cena will be the champ till the Game takes the throne again.

By the way, for what it's worth, I think WWE's opinion would be, if they had the choice of Orton vs. HHH for the title, or Cena vs. HHH for the title, that they'll choose Cena. It's the perfect avenue for the Game to turn heel and win the title, and it further elevates Cena, and the championship to a level it hasn't been in some time. And trust me, for all the people who think I'm some 'insignificant Cena mark', let's just say this right now, Will it surprise me if Orton wins the title? Not on your life. But, will I say it will happen? I've said twice that Cena was going to lose the title and got burned both times. I'm not going to do it a third time. Call that whatever way you like.

So, it appears Ric Flair and Booker T, or King BOOKAH, as the case may be, are in the process of re-negotiating their deals to return to WWE in the not too distant future. While I applaud WWE for doing the right thing with Flair, because A) Flair's future is much more shorter in tenure, and B) Flair is not the type of pesonality that can just up and 'disappear', I question their motives with keeping Booker. It's obvious Booker has some issues with the company by what's been transpiring with his promotion in Texas, and the use of TNA talent. It's obvious that he has some beefs with the brass for his suspension from the wellness policy issues that has cropped up, and its obvious that the true authority in this pair, his wife, and the Queen, as you were, doesn't seem to be stopping him one bit from taking the step and walking away.

Don't get me wrong, losing Booker T is a hit for World Wrestling Entertainment. But, think about this, is it wise to have someone on the roster that doesn't seem to be 1,000 percent loyal to the product, and the people around it? It doesn't appear to me that Booker has the best interests of the company and himself in mind, and with that being said, perhaps a new direction would be beneficial to all parties involved. But, as I have said many times before, it's just one man's opinion.

I saw the Fall Preview of WWE Magazine, where they rank all the members of the 3 brands on the WWE marquis. I thought it'd be terrific fodder to work out a column. Trust me, its not. Its terrific pictures, don't get me wrong, but if you're looking for meat and potatoes spoiler work or forecasting material, it's not going to come from this issue by any stretch of the imagination. And it's sad. It'd be nice to get a leak from the inside and try to forecast what may happen down the line.

Moving forward to TNA, it's just pathetic. It's so damn predictable what's going to happen at Bound for Glory with the tag team straps, and its the biggest miscarriage of justice. Yes, AJ Styles deserves to wear the title, any time he can, and with anybody, but the fact that A) Pacman Jones is wearing a TNA Wrestling championship is a travesty, and B) the fact that Jeff Jarrett has wasted so much television time on this ridiculous excuse for a human being is equally rephrensible. If you want my honest opinion, Pacman Jones isn't much better than the other football so called icon that has been having his own legal problems lately. I won't mention names, but trust me, the comparisons are pretty damn close.

I read a story that multiple talents are talking about asking for their releases, including the Motor City Machine Guns, LAX, Sonjay Dutt, and others. I WONDER WHY. Could it be that TNA has turned in to WCW 2007? Rick Steiner. Scott Steiner. Sting. Kurt Angle. KAREN ANGLE. And meanwhile, the talent and absolute artistry of guys like the MCMGs, Dutt, and LAX are languishing in midcard hell. I still believe in my heart of hearts that Samoa Joe, and now probably, Homicide, are thinking they made collective mistakes when they left Ring of Honor. And that's not because I'm a fan of the product in ROH, it's because that's how bad TNA has become.

By the way, who here thinks Kurt Angle has been stealing his wardrobe from old Triple H Evolution tapes, or old Four Horsemen videos?

I watched the ROH video wire released recently, featuring the video of the new "Project 161" tag team of Necro Butcher, Jimmy Jacobs, and Tyler Black, and what they did to the Briscoe Brothers at their debut, the subsequent bloodbath that Jacobs endured with Jay Briscoe's blood, as he hung upside down above Jacobs. This footage is uber-creepy, and I hope, I truly hope, that this is not the depths that ROH is going to sink to. I am not saying I didn't think the idea worked, because it did. I like the tag team, I like the ferocity of the promo, and I liked almost everything about it, but I still felt uneasy watching it. Yes, its contradictory, but truth be told, it's the way I felt. It MADE THE IMPACT IT WAS SUPPOSED TO MAKE, but damnit, it was almost too damn real, if you want me to be brutally honest. I look forward to hopefully seeing highlights of the upcoming program with the Age of the Fall and the Briscoes. It should be uber violent. My only question is, due to the roster transformation in Ring of Honor, has the days of the athleticism and pure wrestling that once ruled the ROH ring gone the way of the commercialized giant in favor of deeper, darker, storylines, and more violent matches?

I know this is incredibly against what I've said in the past. I'm always good for a chair shot to the skull, or a ladder to the UH-OH, but there are limits. And I am concerned ROH may have usurped their limits already with their new found popularity and notoreity nationally and on PPV. We'll just wait and see, I guess.

Kind of ironic, quickly wrapping up the ROH bit, how Black and Jacobs could be such opposites as a tag team in WSX, and now, in ROH, they morph in to this destructive force. It's a little weird to me, but that's just my emotions talking.

Going back to WWE, here's what I hope to be a good debate question for you guys. Who do you think is next to be brought up from the developmentals? One of the known former indy guys that are down there, like a Colt Cabana, Matt Sydal, or an Ace Steel, a known former indy tag team like the New Hart Foundation and Nattie Neidhart, or someone totally off the beaten path? Who would be your pick to come up to the roster, where would you put them, and why? I'll put your opinions on this question up on the Palace column blog.

I really stretched it this week. I hope I got enough for a good column. I'd love to hear your feedback, ladies and gentlemen. Please take a minute to visit my blog at mikesiciliano.blogspot.com byclicking here. There's a link to my email address at the bottom of the recent posts on the home page, as well as poll questions, past column links, other websites I frequent, and pics of championship belts that I have found through various sites that I enjoy looking at. I hope you guys take the time to check it out, and make your presence known.

Until next time, take care everyone.

NOTE: The opinions of this column do not represent those of the administrator of this website.