From the Desk of Mr. V #77
July 4, 2010
By: Anthony J. Valvo of Wrestleview.com
Introduction
Welcome to a “Dashing” edition of “From the Desk of Mr. V”. I am Anthony “Mr. V” Valvo, your WrestleView resident teacher with the same material as last time, but different names, matches, and articles.
I did not get an introduction this week because, well, I did not ask for one. Plus, it is way too hot in the suburbs of Pittsburgh this week. So sit back and grab some iced coffee. Relax as you read the 77th Installment (and 1st “Dashing installment”) of From the Desk of Mr. V.
Quote of the Week
“The point of living and of being an optimist is to be foolish enough to believe the best is yet to come.”
– Peter Ustinov
We live in a world in which is more negative than positive. If one is foolish enough to know that the best is yet to come, then the foolish one will be a pretty successful fool. I ask my readers to digest that quote for a moment.
Teacher’s Lecture
1) Ricky Steamboat’s Injury
If you did not read up on the recent news after Monday, WWE Legend Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat was involved in an angle in which the WWE Nexus faction took out him along with five other legends from wrestling’s past. A few days later, Steamboat was still in pain and went to a hospital where he is still in at the time I typed this out.
After speculation that it was a brain aneurysm, it turned out that Steamboat had a Capillary Burst. The doctors, according to the Wrestling Observer, stated that the stunt on Monday did not cause this to happen.
Want information on this? Well, check this link out to find some information on Capillary telangiectasias.
Though the doctors said that what happened on Monday did not cause this, I wonder still. As much as I am a Steamboat fan (one of my favorite wrestlers in case you are wondering), I cringed when Nexus attacked him. Someone of his age can’t take that punishment and even though he allowed this to happen, there could have been a better way. Maybe after a commercial break have Steamboat laid out backstage with Nexus looking down. It would make a statement and not hurt Steamboat.
I am sure the WWE breathed a HUGE sigh of relief when the words “events from Monday did not cause this” appeared in reports. With all the controversy the WWE is in right now this would be a blow to the company. Let’s just hope this is a wakeup call to the WWE that they can’t be so reckless with their legends, unless they do want to be put in danger.
All I can say is I thank God that Steamboat is ok. He will still be in the hospital but reports are saying that he will be out in a few days. I am so happy that his career is out on DVD and would have hated to see that right after he got a DVD out he was critically injured. A nice guy like Steamboat does not deserve it. Just pray and if any of my friends or readers ever approaches Steamboat, say thank you.
2) Bret Harts approves of Owen’s likeness in DVD, has choice words for Martha Hart
A couple weeks ago, I wrote a rough draft on the Martha Hart Lawsuit and after reading it I deleted the whole section because I did not want to just read one side of the story.
A week later, Bret Hart comes out with a statement that said it would shock the fans. It turned out that he was in favor of what the WWE did with the Hart Family DVD. The WWE honored Owen Hart when they produced the DVD and soon I will purchase it because though I was not a fan of Bret as much when I was younger, I was always a fan of Owen Hart.
What Bret said made me very happy to be a fan of Owen, and not a fan of Martha right now.
In an article that Steve Gerweck posted on WrestleView.com, Bret mentioned the first line that I wanted to say but actually was worried to type down since I don’t know the Hart family at all.
The line “I feel that it’s ridiculous for anyone to think they are serving the best interests of Owen’s memory or his children to pretend he wasn’t a wrestler” spoke volumes. How do we all know Owen Hart? We know him as one of the best wrestlers of all time. To take that away from the newer fans to the WWE is simply absurd.
When I teach at the schools here, some know that I am a columnist here (their parents sometimes read my work). They talk to me about what was going on in Raw and talked about Bret Hart. I told them that even though Owen Hart was not as popular as Bret, he probably was the better wrestler. Then the students would ask “Who is Owen Hart?”
I agree with Bret when he said that “Martha has done nothing to keep his memory alive”. The only sign of an Owen reference outside of The Hart DVD was when Bret came out wearing a shirt with Owen on it and I remember hearing that crowd chanting his name a little bit. I admit I shed a tear in my eye when I heard the chant.
Owen’s life needs to be celebrated and honored, not mourned. I just hope most of you agree with me.
3) TNA extends deals with Magnus and Douglas Williams
I had to add some TNA news in here, don’t I? I will say that TNA did a good thing when they kept Velvet Sky. TNA extending Williams’ deal is a very good idea, but keeping Magnus may not be a good one unless he has time to train and develop.
Williams is a proven pro wrestler. He is 38 and has won titles in over fifteen wrestling promotions. I still enjoy it that he is booked as the TNA X Division Champion. TNA wants to slow down the spots and focus on the fundamentals, and who is better than Williams on that TNA roster? Williams is a guy that I think can put some of these young guys over and his mic skills have improved.
I fear that pretty soon Williams is going to be losing that X Title to Brian Kendrick. I am not making that pick just yet, but a guy like Williams is going to be big for the mid-card talent and the X Division. He is not a main event guy, but his style can work against any wrestler and his in-ring psychology may be the best in TNA. It is a good contract extension move by TNA.
With Magnus, I am not so sure. I think he was good on the mic and cut a decent promo, but he is not a guy who screams “the best”. There is room to grow with him and that is a plus. Magnus is only 23 and is in excellent condition. However TNA has really no room for him in any storyline. This is where TNA needs to demand an additional hour of programming to Spike TV. TNA does have some good talent, but it seems like the only want to focus on wrestlers that had success at one time or another and put them on Impact.
When Magnus was a part of World Elite, I thought it was a great move. Eric Young was a great leader in this faction and Magnus was even a champion thanks in part to being in this faction. I thought it was fresh and something TNA should have used. But now for some reason TNA disbanded World Elite earlier this year and Magnus was buried and is rarely heard from. I don’t know if Magnus made a good career move by re-signing with TNA. I think he could have signed a deal with WWE and he could train in FCW for a year or two to refine his skills. He is a great speaker, but he could be a terrific wrestler if developed right. His basic stats are that he is only 23, weighs 240 and is 6’4. He is a project that I think the WWE would manage well.
So TNA, you did well with both signing. Williams is a great mid-card guy that wrestles with ease. I just hope that TNA can develop Magnus and I hope he can crack that Impact lineup somehow.
4) Vince McMahon bans “The Chop”
I am already getting e-mails and Facebook messages thinking that Vince McMahon is crazy for banning “The Chop”. The Chop is a simple move there one could use the back or side of their hand and swing for the fences. Even though the move is simple, I think McMahon is banning this for a really dumb reason.
If the move hurt someone, by all means ban it. But McMahon’s reason is because the fans say “wooo” after a chop is administered. That is foolish. Sometimes, McMahon is a genius and sometimes he is uptight. But I guess I can understand McMahon not wanting to think of Flair after all that he did for him.
Sure, Flair is a guy that lives his gimmick and that is pretty sad. But to ban a move just because the fans are into it is just mind-boggling. I wonder what Shawn Michaels could have done to The Undertaker had that rule been in place before WrestleMania 26. The match may not have been that spectacular. Think about that for a moment.
Sure, Flair may have screwed Vince by jumping to Ring of Honor. Flair screwed both WWE and ROH by jumping to TNA and wrestling. Vince needs not to be uptight about banning Flair’s move. Besides, are more people watching TNA since Flair debuted?
5) Brock Lesnar wins via Submission over Shane Carwin
I saw the fight and I came up with three things to type in quick order since I am not really a big MMA/UFC fan.
1) Lesnar is not a robot, he bled in this fight. Lesnar took a whooping to the face and I actually thought that Carwin was going to take him to task. Then Lesnar applied the Triangle Choke and Carwin tapped out. Still, it looked like Lesnar was in a good bit of trouble during the first round.
2) Lesnar is a beast in the octagon and should not be booed because he was a “wrestler”. I have friends and family who are fans of the MMA game and they hate Lesnar. I ask why and the answer was “he was a pro wrestler”. BIG F’N DEAL! Before he was in the WWE, he was a collegiate champion for Minnesota (NCAA) Golden Gophers. He guy is big, agile, and a very dangerous man. All I can say is if fans think he is fake, Lesnar should have a right to challenge them without discipline from the law.
3) I just hope that pro wrestlers now don’t look at Lesnar and say “I can do that”. Lashley is in MMA, Victoria wanted to do it, and now Batista was thinking about it. Sorry, but there is only one Brock Lesnar. I am no fighter, but I assume it is very hard to be a fighter. My advice is unless you are a beast, stay in the squared circle.
Detentions
**If you have any nominations for detention, send them my way at mistervwv@hotmail.com. I will post them next week**.
As of now, I can’t think of any detentions this week. I think those in detention last week as served their time and now I have to wait and see who gets placed in Summer Detention next week. Sorry to disappoint.
Ok, I lied. I have one person to put in detention and I will ask my students if he should be in Eternal Detention for his stupidity. Just when I was going to give everyone a free pass, I see this.
I have quickly learned that some fans want to be in the action and want to participate and have a good time. However there is a time when a fan can be border line pathetic. I will send him to detention and hope that he gets a haircut, a shower, and hopefully some help. Give credit to The Miz for not losing his cool and just poking fun right back. I have more respect for The Miz because of this. I regret that I wanted him gone a couple years ago.
The Eternal Detention List
Michael Cole has been RELEASED from Eternal Detention. He has proved some value in recent weeks. However these names, teams, and wrestling personalities have earned a spot in detention until further notice.
The 2010 French Soccer Team
Praxis and the ETS Series
Teachers that get arrested
Ryan Clark
The Bee and Wasp family
Bubba The Love Sponge
The Pittsburgh Pirates Front Office
Mr. V’s Honor Roll for the Week of June 28 – July 4, 2010
6/28 – Graded WWE Monday Night Raw Matches
6/29 – Graded WWE NXT Matches
6/30 – Column Writing. After that, I watched ROH on YouTube and recap the show.
7/01 – Graded WWE Superstars and TNA Impact Matches.
7/02 – Graded Smackdown Matches
7/03 – OFF DAY (Mentally preparing for mini-golf tournament in which I will lose)
7/04 – OFF DAY (Celebrated Fireworks)
Was it easy to pick the Honor Roll this week? Yes, it was! The wrestling that I saw this week was booked poorly and it showed in the ring. However, there were three matches that salvaged what was considered an average week in wrestling.
Distinguished Honors – R-Truth, John Morrison, Evan Bourne, and Randy Orton vs. Edge, Chris Jericho, The Miz, and Ted DiBiase, Jr., Monday Night Raw, June 28th.
The Finish: Randy Orton took a hot tag and delivered the RKO on Ted DiBiase, Jr. Orton pinned DiBiase, Jr. for the victory.
The Grade: B+.
The reason for Distinguished Honors: I don’t say this much, but this 8-man tag match was fantastic. At the start of this contest, Jericho stood out by bullying Bourne around and others. Bourne did respond and his quickness and speed was a very strong weapon during the course of this match. Morrison had a very good showing this past week as well, his high-risk moves were more crisp then they were in weeks past.
I liked the pace and flow, it was a great mixture. When the faces were in control, it was quick, fast, and amazing to watch. When the heels were in control, they were more diabolical and had a ground-based attack set. For how long it was, it was very surprising to see how quick it ended. However with Orton’s injury to his shoulder, it could not have been done better. I thought overall the stories in this match intervened very well and it was great buildup for the Money in the Bank Ladder Match for the Raw Brand. Most of Raw was subpar (as you will see in my Grade Book), but this match was worth the wait.
High Honors – El Generico vs. Tyler Black, ROH on HDNet, June 28th
The Finish: After El Generico hit his Coast-to-Coast Flip Dropkick on Tyler Black, Generico looked like he was about to go for the Ole Kick. However Kevin Steen grabbed hold of Generico and pulled him to the ring post. The match was awarded to El Generico by Disqualification
Grade: B (leaned toward a B-).
The reason for High Honors: I was impressed with the back and forth wrestling to start. Black controlled the match afterwards, and it was actually pretty impressive when he was holding his own with Generico. Both guys were pretty aware around the ring and were pretty close during the first half. That led to some crisp and well-executed wrestling. Both had good transitions and kept the spots to a minimum towards the end. Though it ended by DQ, it did not hurt each wrestler and actually may have helped Generico. Generico is still feuding with Steen, and I think they kept each chapter of their story very fresh. The fans in the match chanted that it was “awesome”. I disagree with it being awesome, but it was a very good main event that ROH produced.
Honors – Rey Mysterio and The Big Show vs. “Dashing” Cody Rhodes and Jack Swagger, Friday Night Smackdown, July 2nd.
The Finish: When Rey Mysterio was about to finish Jack Swagger with the 619, Swagger grabbed Mysterio’s legs. Swagger then applied the Ankle Lock while Mysterio held the ropes. The referee not named Goose Mahoney counted to five and Swagger did not release the hold. Because of that Mysterio and Show won by disqualification.
The Grade: B-.
The reason for Honors: I was impressed with Swagger and Rhodes chemistry as a team. Both wrestlers have exciting career on Smackdown if they continue this mean streak. Show and Mysterio were both pretty limited, but both reversed and countered pretty good throughout the contest. The overall performance was clean and effective and really made up for what I saw before this match on Smackdown. In regards to Swagger’s newfound mean streak, all I have to say is we should have seen this while he was champion. Swagger’s intensity now would have made him a better champion.
Mr. V’s Grade Book for this past week
A+, A, or A-: None to Report.
B+: R-Truth, John Morrison, Evan Bourne, and Randy Orton vs. Edge, Chris Jericho, The Miz, and Ted DiBiase, Jr (RAW)
B: El Generico vs. Tyler Black (ROH)
B-: Rey Mysterio and The Big Show vs. Jack Swagger and “Dashing” Cody Rhodes (Smackdown)
C+: Grizzly Redwood vs. Erick Stevens (ROH); MVP vs. Husky Harris (NXT); Kaval, Lucky Cannon, and Michael McGillicutty vs. Eli Cottonwood, Alex Riley, and Titus O’Neil (NXT); Primo and Zack Ryder vs. Yoshi Tatsu and Goldust (Superstars); Christian vs. Curt Hawkins (Superstars); Samoa Joe vs. AJ Styles (TNA); and Kofi Kingston vs. Dolph Ziggler (Smackdown)
C: Christian Able and Josh Raymond vs. Cheech and Cloudy (ROH); Nikki Bella vs. Jillian Hall (Superstars); Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley vs. Jesse Neal and Shannon Moore (TNA); Jay Lethal vs. Matt Morgan (TNA); and Jeff Hardy vs. Abyss (TNA);
C-: Kevin Steen vs. Bobby Shields (ROH); Sheamus vs. Mark Henry (RAW); and Brian Kendrick vs. Desmond Wolfe (TNA)
D+, D, or D-: Vladimir Kozlov vs. Santino Marella (RAW); Alicia Fox and Maryse vs. Eve Torres and Gail Kim (RAW); Madison Rayne vs. Taylor Wilde (TNA); Kane vs. Luke Gallows (Smackdown); and Kelly Kelly vs. Michelle McCool (Smackdown)
F or INC: DH Smith, Tyson Kidd, and Natalya vs. Jimmy Uso, Jey Uso, and Tamina (RAW)
Current Predictions from the Faculty Standings
2010-2011 Season (As of WWE’s Fatal 4-Way)
1) David Stephens (That’s a Wrap and RAW Recapper)………….46-28 (2-3)
2) Josh Boutwell (Viva La Raza and TNA Recapper)……………….45-29 (2-3)
3) Jose Marrero (Wrestling Rumblings)……………………………………45-29 (2-3)
4) Students of the Week (The Best from Prev. PPV)………………43-31 (1-4)*
5) Daniel Browne (For Queen and Country)……………………………..42-32 (2-3)
6) Matt O’Brien (Notes From The Nosebleeds)…………………………41-33 (1-4)
7) WrestleView Students (The Loyal Readers)………………………..41-33 (2-3)
8) Anthony Valvo (From the Desk of Mr. V/ROH Recaps)……….41-33 (3-2)
9) Mike Tedesco (Smackdown and NXT Recapper)…………………39-28 (2-3)
10) Doug Lackey (Reality From Ringside)………………………………….39-35 (3-2)
11) Jeff Springer (WWE Superstars Recapper)……………………………31-23 (1-4)
12) Sean Hurley (The Sharpshooter)………………………………………..28-32 (0-0)
13) Joe Baiamonte (Baiamonte’s Casa/2009 WV Champ)………24-20 (0-0)
Bond7 will be the Student of the Week this Sunday for TNA’s Victory Road.
Mr. V’s Gold Star Segment (Sponsored by JR’s Bar-B-Q Sauce)
Chris Jericho – Usually main event wrestlers do not want younger talents to go over them, but Jericho consistently allows young guys to have their moment and help further their careers.
Kurt Angle – Not only because he is from a great city, but for his work against Desmond Wolfe despite only having 4 or 5 minutes.
I Fight Dragons – Their Theme “Money” for the next WWE Pay-Per-View is pretty good, but their music as a whole is pretty impressive. I never though NES-Rock had a genre and how awesome it was.
The Miz – He is clearly over as a heel and loves it. Here is a guy that may have broken out already. Now all he needs is the WWE Championship.
SHIMMER – Because they are not making women’s wrestling a joke. Also, I saw a DVD of their work. I was quite pleased.
Alex Riley – I heard that he had a minor injury recently. I hope he comes out ok or else him winning NXT will be another prediction I got wrong.
Sean Martin – It was his birthday this week, yet he did not supply his teacher with a slice of cookie cake or any kind of treat. No worries though, happy birthday to you Sean.
Kory Chavis – The ROH wrestler is celebrating a birthday this week as well. I have enjoyed his work as a power wrestler on a very powerful tag team in the Dark City Fight Club. I hope this year goes well for you, Mr. Chavis.
Those Pizzas at Wal-Mart – I usually hate shopping there, but they got 12″ pies for five bucks. And I have never been disappointed with those investments.
Steve Corino and Kevin Steen – For their very humorous comedy/commentary bit they did on ROH on HDNet. For those who did not see it, check out my recap. It was a treat.
Speaking of recappers…
David Stephens, Mike Tedesco, Josh Boutwell, and Jeff Springer – WrestleView truly has the best, unbiased recaps in the internet world today and I suggest you take a look at all of them.
Fireworks – Because they are awesome.
A Bright Gold Star goes out to Bob Probert. I actually met the man once when they traveled to play the Pittsburgh Penguins and I feared for my life when I approached him. Lucky for me, he was an amazing guy who happened to kick some legit butt in ice hockey.
His best year in the NHL had to be when he was with the Detroit Red Wings. He has stats that most pro hockey players and enforcers (the fighters in hockey) wished they had in one year.
1987-1988: 74 Games Played, 29 Goals, 33 Assists, 62 Points…398 PIMS. Yes, the man was productive when on the ice and an intimidating force before he entered the Penalty Box.
Clips of the damage he caused in many years for our entertainment. God definitely got a great enforcer. RIP Bob Probert.
Oh, and who could forget that Probert was in a wrestling ring?
Homework Assignment
This week, I will not give you a due date to complete this assignment. Why? Well, because I don’t have a due date for it yet. But I will share with you what the next assignment will be and I think the Students will like it.
Last year on WrestleView, columnists on the site came together and provided a Half-Year Awards article that spanned for a few days. After that I took all the Faculty’s selections and made a ballot. With that ballot, we had our first ever WrestleView Student Half-Year Awards. It turned out to be a pretty solid showing from the readers.
This year we will be doing it again. Dave Stephens and I started off on The Teacher’s Lounge and we will rundown our selections for another couple shows. I will have a few more columnists to provide their thoughts as well. Overall, it should be a pretty good article when completed.
So here is your homework that will be due sometime this month:
Think of your choices for the Best of the Half-Year 2010.
I am not sure how many categories there will be, but right now there are twenty four topics, but I may cut it down to twenty. I will give you a few of the categories so you can figure out what you would select.
Best Wrestler of the Half-Year
Most Outstanding (Pound-for-Pound) Wrestler of the Half-Year
Best Feud
Most Undeserved Push
Bold Prediction for the Second Half of 2010
Of course there will be more, so stay tuned and I will add more categories next week. For the next couple weeks, I ask my students to consider your selections wisely because some of your comments will be posted on the 2010 WrestleView Students Half-Year Awards. Good Luck!
Dismissal
Well, that does it for me this week. I thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoyed 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. I do get a lot of e-mails and may not reply in a timely fashion, but I will do my best to give you a quicker reply.
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 my latest ROH recap, you are all……DISMISSED!!!!
Look for Mr. V on Facebook under Anthony J. Valvo in the Pittsburgh Network
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NEW MATERIAL!!! Starting July 5th (Please check it out and help me earn a penny or two)!
http://www.examiner.com/x-26526-Pittsburgh-Pro-Wrestling-Examiner
THE TEACHER’S LOUNGE IS NOW PLAYING ON SATURDAYS!
Already on the archives we interviewed Jose Marrero (Wrestling Rumblings), Matt O’Brien (Notes from the Nosebleeds), Crystal Mai from Diva-Dirt.com, and The YouTube Sensation who had choice words to CM Punk.
David Stephens (That’s A Wrap and Raw recapper) and I have a weekly Internet show only on the WrestleView Radio Network. It does cost a bit of money, but we will do our best to make it worth it. If you want to be a part of the Lounge for our “E-mails” section, you may drop us a line at teacherslounge@hotmail.com.
To sign up, click here.