From the Desk of Mr. V #54
February 11, 2010
By: Anthony J. Valvo of WrestleView.com
Greetings, my loyal students! For the 54th straight week I say welcome to ?From the Desk of Mr. V?. I am your ?teacher? once again and I will provide you with the good, the bad, and the interesting in the world of professional wrestling from this past week.
Before I go on, I will be serious here and hope that my students from the Eastern part of the United States are warm and safe. I know in my area we got over two feet of snow dumped on us this past week. We only lost power here for a few minutes, but my Internet/Cable provider were very poor in bring back service to my area. I am still a bit upset that I did not watch the Super Bowl this year, so right now Mr. V is in line of hoping to get a credit from ?an evil empire? that will be spending time in Mr. V’s detention for a bit.
But, you are not reading this to listen to me complain. You students read my columns to escape from the real world and into a world where a teacher (such as myself) listens to your every word. Now I did read all your e-mails and I am sorry for not answering them this week, as I am still catching up on my Internet content since I still have to work on my Examiner columns.
So, what is new this week? Well, I did grade FCW matches for the first time and let me tell you, I was impressed with the show. But I will save that for later. All I ask from my students is to sit back and relax. Enjoy a cup of coffee or hot chocolate. School is in session and it is now time to educate!
Quote of the Week
?Trust me … I know where my heart is and my heart’s right here. I?m going to keep doing everything because I love to do it, but I will never sacrifice my time between the ropes. That’s no shot to anybody. Everybody got different career paths. This is mine?. – John Cena
Now before my students throw apples at me instead of placing them so gently on my desk, let me explain why I picked a quote from Cena.
First off, I think this quote made me respect Cena even more. Sure, he starred in movies and done parades for college bowl games. However, he always finds time to grant every wish from the Make-a-Wish Foundation and he is not shy about his love for the business. For that, I give John Cena a TON of credit for what he does. Honestly, you can tell which wrestlers are in the business for moments or money (like Cena mentioned on Monday). I can definitely say that Cena is in the business for the love of it. I just wish more wrestlers were like Cena.
Second, his merchandise often has the #54 on them. This is my 54th Column, so it makes sense. Let’s move on?
Headlines
Again, I thought wrestling was pretty light this past week. No headlines this week, but maybe something will come up next week.
Detentions
OH MY, we have plenty of these! Here are the people and companies that almost made this teacher’s head explode! Including a particular cable/Internet provider
On a side note class, I am going to take off ?Team LayCool? from the list. Though I still feel appalled from this recent storyline I got a few students that gave me good reasoning as to why I should take them off the list. One was Suzanne Abshire and for a couple weeks she gave me a good reason as to why I should take them off the list. The other was Crystal Mai (columnist for diva-dirt.com, and I plug this because she does outstanding work for them.) who pleaded her case as to why this storyline was a great thing for the WWE Divas. Well, in conclusion they are right.
This storyline is making all of us talk about the Divas in the WWE. Smackdown Divas have a good storyline going for them. Now the reason why I put them on this list was simple.
I am a teacher that sees this reality happen in real life. Now I hope the principals at the school I teach at do not get upset for what I type, but usually I type from the heart. I see this happen in real life. Sadly, unlike Mickie James getting her ?revenge? and capturing the title a little over a week ago there are MANY girls that do not get that happy ending. They fall into depression and isolation because of the teasing.
As a teacher, I try to have an even playing field with unbiased tactics. It makes me sick to see it in real life and that was why I think the WWE still needs to be real careful about this. TV is contagious, and some little girls out there will copy this storyline in real life.
Ok, enough with my rant on this subject. The following dubiously earned a spot on this dreadful list.
Comcast – For shutting down my Internet service (due to inclement weather) for OVER TWO DAYS, causing me to rush all my wrestling material.
Comcast – For not providing me with Cable access when it was a clear day outside the day after the storm and our road was clear. I guess the employees cared more about the Super Bowl. If it was WrestleMania weekend, I would have torched the place down (just kidding Comcast, don?t bring in Homeland Security).
Comcast – Another one for giving me a reason to now hate Ben Stein.
Comcast – For raising my costs for High-Speed Internet.
Comcast – Finally, for not crediting me for the service you did not provide for me!
Batista – for just walking away from your match against CM Punk for a shot at the title. Then again, I think he is going to feud with Cena and Bret Hart anyway. So in that case, it might be a smart move.
Spike TV – They are on this list because Impact cut out on me ELEVEN times during the episode of TNA Impact! So if my analysis of Impact was choppy, I am sorry.
Drew McIntyre – Intercontinental Titles should be for those who are one step away of being in the main event. Mr. McIntyre is nowhere near that. But hey, at least he is engaged to Lame Duck ECW GM Tiffany.
Suicide or Frankie Kazarian – For cheating on your wife/fianc?e/girlfriend in Traci Brooks. It is very shameful that men or women do that.
ETS and The Praxis Series – You think I forgot about them?
Vince McMahon – For doing such a great job with this Bret Hart storyline that I absolutely hate you right now. One must wonder if he actually treated former wrestlers like this, but not this dramatic.
ESPN, Fox Sports, and any other ‘sports? site bashing on pro wrestling – Why don?t you all do yourselves a favor and just kiss the @$$ of ACC Basketball, Kobe Bryant, and of course that QB of the Vikings that does not know what pair of Wrangler Jeans to put on each day (and no not Tavarias Jackson).
NFL’s Concussion Committee – (by: Chris Elgee) I agree with the fact that they should be on here for their treatment to these former NFL players. It is a shame with what Mike Webster’s family had to go through.
Mister V’s Honor Roll for the Week of February 1 – February 7, 2010
Here is Mr. V’s schedule in regards to grading these matches.
2/1 – Graded WWE Monday Night Raw matches
2/2 – Graded ECW Matches
2/3 – Column Writing. Afterwards, I watch ROH on YouTube and recap it.
2/4 – Graded WWE Superstars and TNA Impact matches (usually called ?the grind?)
2/5 – Graded Smackdown Matches
2/6 – OFF DAY
2/7 – Graded FCW Matches.
So, before I go on I will address the top three matches this week. After that, I will open the grade book out and if you like what you see let me know and I will keep it that way. If not I will go back to my Worst Match and Dishonorable Mention portion.
Distinguished Honors – Rey Mysterio vs. Dolph Ziggler, Friday Night Smackdown, February 5.
Winner: Rey Mysterio via roll-up
Grade: B+
Overall thoughts on match: I liked how Dolph controlled the match to start. I really enjoyed the chemistry between these two individuals; they put on a strong show from start to finish and told a great story in the ring. Best moves of the match were Mysterio’s over the top rope splash onto the floor and Ziggler’s Superplex from the top turnbuckle.
High Honors – Kaval vs. Bryan Danielson, FCW, February 7.
Winner: Kaval via Top Rope Warrior’s Way
Grade: B (but leaned towards B+)
Overall thoughts on match: First off, for an FCW match this was really strong. At the start, both men exchanged various arm takedowns and knucklelocks. It was a back and forth contest mainly featuring Danielson’s technical work vs. Kaval’s ability to destroy with his leg strikes. I mentioned in my notes that Danielson had a GREAT FCW debut and Kaval’s kicks were near lethal. The grade went down a bit because the wrestlers did not sell the other’s offense that well. Finally, why isn?t Kaval in RAW or Smackdown yet?
Honors – Randy Orton vs. Shawn Michaels, Monday Night Raw, February 1.
Winner: Randy Orton via roll-up
Grade: B
Overall thoughts on match: It was slow-paced, but in a great way. Both men were very crisp in this program. After Orton’s victory, the look on Michaels? face was great. This match was graded high based on the storytelling between these two men. Content it was not fully there, but it told a heck of a story in the books of these two heading into Elimination Chamber and WrestleMania
Mr. V’s Grade Book
A+, A, or A- matches: none this week.
B+ matches: Mysterio vs. Ziggler (Smackdown) and Kaval vs. Danielson (FCW)
B matches: Orton vs. Michaels (RAW); Delirious vs. Rhett Titus (ROH on HDNet); Bourne vs. Carlito (WWE Superstars); Dinero vs. Styles (TNA Impact); Angel vs. Tarver (FCW)
B- matches: Christian vs. Zack Ryder (ECW); Black vs. Strong (ROH on HDNet); Morrison vs. McIntyre (Smackdown); Jericho vs. M. Hardy (Smackdown); and B. DiBiase/J. Hennig vs. Croft/Barreta/Hawkins (FCW)
C+ matches: Cena vs. Rhodes (RAW); Kingston vs. Big Show (RAW); Archer vs. Benjamin (ECW); Morrison/Khali/M. Hardy vs. McIntyre/Kidd/Smith (WWE Superstars); and Tara vs. Love (TNA Impact)
C matches: HHH vs. Swagger (RAW); T. DiBiase vs. Henry (RAW); Tatsu vs. Barreta (ECW); Cabana vs. Dutt (ROH on HDNet); Mr. Anderson vs. Magnus (TNA Impact); Hernandez/Morgan vs. Ray/Devon (TNA Impact); Angle vs. Tomko (TNA Impact); James/Phoenix vs. McCool/Layla (Smackdown); and AJ Lee/Eve vs. Liviana/Knight (FCW).
C- matches: R-Truth vs. Mike Knox (Smackdown)
D+ matches: Fox/Katie Lea vs. Eve/Kelly (WWE Superstars)
D matches: Joe vs. Neal (TNA Impact) and Nash vs. Foley (TNA Impact)
D- matches: none this week
F or INC matches: CM Punk vs. Batista (Smackdown)
Commentator Report Card
Ok, so if you read the last column (as my students should) you know that I have a new layout. However, since ECW will be off the air at the time I grade them I moved them up a week. This past week, I paid close attention to the commentary teams of Smackdown and FCW.
Team Smackdown
Todd Grisham – B-
Matt Striker – B
Grisham did call some matches on 2/5. Todd was pretty solid in his play-by-play, but was often asking questions to Striker that was not related to the action. I was not disappointed, but this was pretty average for Grisham. Striker was disappointing this past week due to a few errors in his commentary. He did correct himself almost instantly, and that was a bit of redemption. Striker was spot on when recapping each match on TV, but during the contest he may have taken away a bit of the action with his overusage of adjectives. Overall, I was pleased with the commentary from the Smackdown team. They communicated well and showed brief moments of humor during the show. However, they had better weeks.
Team FCW
Byron Saxton – A-
Wade Barrett – A
Saxton as an ECW heelish commentator has been good. But his work as a play-by-play was so much better for FCW this past week. He called every match almost move-for-move and did not get distracted by what was going on around him or in the ring. Barrett is an occasional wrestler that happened to recently be a color commentator for FCW, and it is working out very well for him as well. He was humorous throughout the Divas match and probably outside of Danielson and Kaval the most interesting man on the show. Overall, they had tremendous chemistry. They knew when to talk and when to be off-topic. The teams from the ?WWE brands? should learn a thing or two from that program.
Upcoming Report Cards:
Column #55 (week of 2/8 – 2/13) – Team ROH (Hogewood and Prazak) and Team ECW (Mathews and Saxton)
Column #56 (week of 2/15 – 2/20) – Team Impact (Tenay and Taz) and Team Raw (Cole and Lawler)
Mister V’s Gold Star Segment (Presented by: JR’s Family Bar-B-Q!! With Chipotle Ketchup like his it truly does not get better than that.)
Gold Stars plenty this week (thought might not be as much as last week). Here are the names of the following that earned a ?Gold Star? From the Desk of Mr. V.
Jack Brisco – RIP.
WWE – For having a video tribute to Jack Briscoe.
Steve Keirn – The FCW director at the beginning of the show paid tribute to Jack Brisco with a 10-bell salute before the show.
CJ Bowman – for giving me a shoutout in a recent column done for NoDQ.com. Thank you very much.
Crystal Mai – Great job on diva-dirt. Along with CJ, I am proud to see my students do their columns online.
New Orleans Saints – Congratulations on a Super Bowl Victory! To the ?Who Dat? nation, enjoy the victory.
Mike Tedesco – Our WWE Superstars and Smackdown recap specialist mentioned my favorite WWE referee in his recent recaps. I won?t tell you who it is, you have to read his recaps. Thanks, Professor Tedesco!
Ted DiBiase Sr. – Congratulations for your induction in the 2010 WWE Hall of Fame. Honestly who here would like to job out to DiBiase just to get a Benjamin shoved down your mouth?
Joe Baiamonte – Thank you for inviting me to you ?Casa? this week. I swear I did not steal the Imported Virgin Olive Oil to make my latest Italian Cuisine.
Personal Trainer: Cooking for the Nintendo DS – It is simply a great cookbook for the inexperienced. Mr. V made an awesome Apple Crumble last week.
Hernandez and Matt Morgan – You earn one for retaining your Tag Titles against Team 3D.
D?Angelo Dinero – Congrats for a job well done against AJ Styles. Too bad it was a non-title match.
Samoa Joe – Thanks to your recent promo on Impact, for a moment I forgot about your run in 2009.
FCW Wrestling – For those who saw it, FCW had a fantastic show last weekend. For those that did not and are snowed in, give it a look.
The Miz and The Big Show – ?Show Miz? won the Unified Tag Team Titles on the 2/8 episode of Monday Night Raw. For that, accept the stars.
Jose Marrero – For his help on all that I might be doing in the future with Dave Stephens. I will be sure to check all that out.
Bryan Danielson – An impressive showing in your debut match in FCW earned you one this week.
Tyler Black – For maintaining your spot in the Pick 6 Contender Series match, though I thought it was a bit lackluster.
WWE – For bringing in some pretty decent storylines heading into WrestleMania.
To all of my students – Thanks for reading the column.
Tara – STILL your TNA Knockout’s Champion!
Justin Angel – STILL your FCW Champion!
Brett DiBiase and Joe Hennig – STILL your FCW Tag Team Champions!
To those that completed the Semi-Finals Dream Tournament Homework assignment, thanks to all of you for being a part of this column.
Homework (Due in the next week or so)
1) The Results are in for the Finals of the 2009 are in. As voted by over twenty students, the Finals for the Dream Tournament is?
(13) CM Punk defeated (1) Chris Jericho 13-9
(7) Randy Orton defeated (3) Kurt Angle 12-10
So, the finals of the Dream Tournament for 2009 will be: CM PUNK VS. RANDY ORTON!! Please vote by sending me an e-mail at mistervwv@hotmail.com or send me a message on Facebook. Thanks to all of you for participating.
2) We saw many breakthrough superstars in the WWE, TNA, and even ROH in 2009. Since we are pretty early in 2010 (and WrestleView staff is welcome to answer this as well) here is my question.
Who WILL be the Breakout Superstar for 2010? You can choose up to three for each wrestling company. I will post results when it is time to turn in your assignment.
I will provide my answers next week.
Dismissal
Well, that does it for me this week. I thank you all for reading and I hope you did enjoy this column as much as I typed it out. If you want to get a hold of me during the week, please e-mail me at mistervwv@hotmail.com or by leaving me a message on Facebook.
Now, students you are allowed to leave the classroom. Please push in your chairs, line up straight, and exit to the closest door around you. Until the ROH Recap, you are??DISMISSED!!!!
Mr. V does read e-mail, so drop the teacher a line: mistervwv@hotmail.com.
Look for Mr. V on Facebook under Anthony J. Valvo in the Pittsburgh Network
More work on my other site The Examiner
Check out my recent Examiner articles! Heck, you can even subscribe to my articles! Help me earn a little bit more cash by just going to the link, please. I have been updating my page each week with ?assignments? based on what I saw on television this past week. Give it a look at:
http://www.examiner.com/x-26526-Pittsburgh-Pro-Wrestling-Examiner
New content on the Examiner this week (I hope the powers do not get mad) starting Thursday.
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