From the Desk of Mr. V #79
July 22, 2010
By: Anthony J. Valvo of Wrestleview.com
Introduction
I did not get a fancy introduction because, well, I did not ask for one. So with that…
Welcome to the latest 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.
Before I go on, I was asked by a few of you how my miniature golf tournament turned out. Well, after 90 degree weather and 72 mini golf holes (4 different courses) I came in 3rd place. There was one hole at Scally’s that I finally overcame (Humpty Dumpty) and for that I am truly happy. See Gold Stars for who won the whole thing (and the glass vase trophy).
So sit back and grab some iced coffee. Relax as you read the 79th Installment of “From the Desk of Mr. V”.
Quote of the Week
“Accept challenges, so that you may feel the exhilaration of victory” – Gen. George S. Patton
Honestly, what would people rather do? I know many that complain about certain things in life, but they keep going because it is “easy” for them. It is as if they have no daily challenge that keeps them on their toes. I also know many that are willing to accept difficult challenges and it those people succeed from those tasks then they feel enlightened. I ask all of you to take that chance and accept a difficult challenge or two. If the challenged is accomplished successfully, then I hope you feel true exhilaration.
Teacher’s Lecture
1) Mr. V saw “them ” invade TNA.
Last week I will admit I did not see the Invasion that “ECW” or “riot makers” did on last Thursday’s Impact. On a couple of websites, it was stated that “The ECW Invasion on TNA was better than anything Nexus has done on Raw”. Well, because the fine wrestling columnist that I strive to be I caught both angles and I can say this about them.
Nexus was fresh and was planned very well. There were no hints that those NXT Season 1 guys would form a union and they efficiently took out everyone in sight. Yes, it did start to lose a bit of punch later on but I honestly felt that it got stronger and more intense now that John Cena has a team to face them at SummerSlam. Sure, people will say it was a remake of NWO but this is a bit different. With the NWO you had proven guys. Nexus is still unproven, but some of these guys really have a future.
ECW or “The Riot Makers” invaded another company once again. When ECW invaded the WWF and Lawler was feuding with Tommy Dreamer in 1997, I really enjoyed it. When ECW had One Night Stand as a “Tribute” to the ECW name in 2005, that was a nice way to end the letters. But now with guys like Raven, Dreamer, Stevie Richards, and Rhino invading TNA and Dixie Carter personally invited them? That I can’t really get into because TNA is fully relying on these wrestlers who most are past their prime and some that are pretty close to it.
Long story short the WWE are experimenting with younger superstars to see if it would work. After weeks and the release of Bryan Danielson, I feel the WWE has done a terrific job making Nexus a very powerful force that could take over the Raw brand. This story now has a twist with Cena and six guys that the Nexus took out earlier. Nexus vs. Cena’s Army right now is good television.
TNA with these ECW guys? Not so much. It did not give them that short term ratings boost. It seemed rushed and since Heyman said no, Dixie Carter is in charge of this ECW group? With all due respect I am just confused. The jury is still out on this angle as I think more will follow this week. However, I thought that this angle showed a little intensity, but it lacked a lot in the means of a story.
To conclude on this if anyone can say that ECW’s angle is much better than Nexus, I ask you to watch Impact from July 15th and then watch Raw from July 19th. There is a HUGE difference.
And in conclusion if one thinks I am just ripping on TNA just because it is TNA, well that is wrong. I want TNA to succeed because, like I said before, WWE needs competition. What TNA is doing right now reminds me of ECW and WCW in their last years in business, and both failed. Someone needs to E-mail, Facebook, or Twitter Dixie Carter (I am sure she will get your “tweets”) and tell her to be original. Don’t rely on these older names and if you have to close shop for a few months to re-evaluate her product, then do so. Because of “some” of the decision she made, “everyone” in that company could soon be out of the job.
2) Cena’s Army is assembled.
Here is my quick take on each partner of Cena’s. I am guessing the plan is to have both teams compete at SummerSlam, which should be an amazing battle. I don’t think this will end it all, but this will be excellent television.
Cena – He is the captain and extremely frustrated with Nexus. Nexus cost him pretty much everything since the invaded the ring weeks ago. Now that Cena has reinforcements, he is out for vengeance.
So, who is joining Cena in battle?
Chris Jericho and Edge – What a difference a week does. They hated each other to start and now after Nexus destroyed both men, they are joining Cena’s army. WWE understood that Cena needed some top guys and although they are heels, Edge and Jericho should have a lot on their minds after Nexus took them out on Last Monday’s Raw. However, I would not be surprised if one of them turns on Cena’s team at Summerslam. But this was a good for by Creative to give Cena two bonafide main event talents to join his force.
R-Truth and John Morrison – Both guys have been off the radar and there are many reasons. Both had minor injuries and some question if these guys are buried. In my opinion, I just don’t think there is room on this roster for a Truth push or a Morrison push. Both are very good and I still think Morrison would have been a main event guy on Smackdown. But now both are in need of some rejuvenation, and I think after the Nexus feud both will be pushed a little bit more. Once Summerslam ends, I can see Truth feuding in the mid-card and getting his fair share of wins. As for Morrison, I don’t think he will main event Raw. But I can see Morrison using this momentum and feuding with The Miz over the United States Championship.
Bret Hart – He won’t do much, but the Nexus did drive him out of town for about a month due to the limo attack. When Cena asked for help and Hart was booked to join him, that was a pretty good idea. Again, the name value of Hart is still huge in the WWE and adding him to the mix will make this feud very interesting.
The Great Khali – Your guess is as good as mine. Maybe he will be there to brain chop Heath Slater.
The Cena army is going headstrong into battle now. With the mix of egos on that team, will they be able to co-exist against The Nexus, a team that really goes by one name? Only time will tell. Here is hoping for a more intense feud leading up to SummerSlam because I may fork over my share to see this play out.
And that is pretty much it for the lecture. I was going to add something about Martha Hart’s Good Morning America Appearance, but I am going to gather my thoughts on that more carefully and provide them on The Teacher’s Lounge, which you can catch this Saturday on the WrestleView Radio Network
Detentions
“Jersey Shore” – I saw only one show of this and I thought it was a bigger waste than even Wrestlicious (yes, I went there). Well, the cast will potentially make $30,000 an episode to show how big of a poser they are. Honestly, I dislike all of them. Every single one of them. As a journalist on ESPN said “They are one season away from having to work at Wendy’s”.
Quizno’s – It like they are not even trying with their commercials.
Alicia Fox – In case you are not a WrestleView VIP member, due to her consistent botching and Mr. Stephens hatred toward Ms. Fox she will be in Eternal Detention until further notice.
My mini-golf putters – I blame them for my loss this weekend (I dedicate that to Travis Thomas, who thinks I have an excuse for everyting).
Oddmakers that make Tiger Woods a favorite in golf tournaments – When will they learn?
Hulk Hogan – For someone that said months ago that he is 100% TNA. I know he had back surgery, but I mean at least make an appearance.
Dixie Carter – I don’t think I need a reason to put her in there. She is the mastermind of “them”? See this is what happens when you put all your eggs in one basket (Heyman).
Abyss – For ruining a fine piece of meat by destroying it with my 7th Grade Wood Shop Project…then eating it raw. That was pretty disgusting. Also…
Abyss again – For being a demented Gallagher the Comedian. I mean, TNA copied stuff off of some weird things, but I never would have thought they would copy Gallagher.
Enjoy the comedy! This is actually funny! The Watermelon Smash is at the 5:30-6:30 mark.
Darren Young’s hair – Seriously, what on earth was that style Last Monday?
Eternal Detention (Dedicated to those voted by Mr. V and David Stephens on The Teacher’s Lounge)
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
The dorky fan caught on YouTube yelling at The Miz at E3.
Alicia Fox
Mr. V’s Weekly Honor Roll for the week of July 12 – July 18, 2010
7/12 – Graded WWE Monday Night Raw Matches
7/13 – Graded WWE NXT Matches
7/14 – Column Writing. After that, I watched ROH on YouTube and recap the show.
7/15 – Graded WWE Superstars and TNA Impact Matches.
7/16 – Graded Smackdown Matches
7/17 – OFF DAY
7/18 – OFF DAY (Miniature Golf Tournament. I finished 3rd place.)
Distinguished Honors – Chris Jericho vs. Yoshi Tatsu, WWE Superstars, July 15.
How it ended – Even though Tatsu gave Jericho everything he could, Jericho ended the match by making Tatsu tap out from what the announcers called Walls of Jericho (though I thought for a minute it was the Lion Tamer).
Grade: B.
Why it was distinguished honors-worthy? Did it enhance either one’s status? Probably not. But I for one was entertained with the start and how surprisingly well they were in the ring together. Jericho, as usual, had great psychology in this match and ate up the head from the fans along the way. In my opinion, thanks to Jericho this was Tatsu’s best match since the dark match victory at WrestleMania 26. Though they are not involved with a storyline together, they both told a great story in the ring. Tatsu was great with his strikes and kicks, but he just could not get the victory over a huge star like Jericho. The right man did win this contest and though it did not do anything in a storyline, but wrestlers did a pretty good job with the control and pacing of this contest.
High Honors – Kofi Kingston vs. Cody Rhodes, Friday Night Smackdown, July 16.
How it ended – After an intense back and forth showing by both men, Kane came out and destroyed both wrestlers. This was a rare occurrence in which a no contest was deemed Honor Roll list-worthy.
Grade: B-.
Why it was high honors-worthy? At first, I really enjoyed the start of this and it showed the improvement of Kingston’s mat work. That is pretty good because we all know how well Kingston can fly. The first half was mainly dominated by Rhodes and he used a few holds to wear Kingston down. When not applying a chinlock or headlock, Rhodes continued the control with basic moves like the knee drop and the side Russian leg sweep. Though near the end it was pretty spotty both performed very well until Kane’s pyro hit and well, we all should know what happened. Kane is in arguably the main story right now and needed to make a statement. Outside of the no contest finish, I thought both wrestlers in this match improved the in-ring work and all moves were done well.
Honors – Edge vs. Randy Orton, Monday Night Raw, July 12.
How it ended: After Chris Jericho threw his jacket at Orton, Edge hit what I thought was the Edge-O-Matic and scored the victory over The Viper.
Grade: B-.
Why it was honors-worthy? This match got a leg up of the other B- matches because it involved a good story on WWE’s top show. I liked how slow the start was, as it was more effective than if Orton would have pounded Edge and then dumped him over the top. Though there were times of no-selling and maybe a miscue, the chemistry that these two had offset the minuses. It was great back and forth action and it was great theater during and after the match. I actually liked the ending with Jericho’s distraction. Jericho distracted Orton, Edge won, Jericho then took out Edge, Orton RKO’d Jericho, Evan Bourne got a bit of revenge on Orton, and Orton his an AMAZING RKO while Bourne was in the air. THAT was the way to sell what one may see at the Money in the Bank PPV.
Believe me, this was tough to pick a top three this week. It was a tossup between the 2nd and 3rd ranked match this past week, the ROH 6-Man Main Event, and Christian vs. Drew McIntyre from Smackdown. I did not give it to ROH because though the moves were good, there was tons of no selling and it went crazy. Christian and McIntyre were a bit off in their match. It seemed at times they did not know where they were at. The Edge vs. Orton match just was a bit better than those two because of the ending. All four involved (Jericho, Edge, Orton, and Bourne) showed the audience that it was every man for himself, and it was done perfectly.
Mr. V’s Grade Book for the past week
A+, A, or A-: None to Report.
B+: None to Report.
B: Chris Jericho vs. Yoshi Tatsu (Superstars)
B-: Austin Aries, Rhett Titus, and Kenny King vs. Jerry Lynn, Delirious, and Tyler Black (ROH); Edge vs. Randy Orton (RAW); Kofi Kingston vs. Cody Rhodes (Smackdown); and Drew McIntyre vs. Christian (Smackdown)
C+: The Nexus vs. John Cena (RAW); Lucky Cannon and Mark Henry vs. The Miz and Alex Riley (NXT); Sarita vs. Taylor Wilde (TNA); James Storm and Robert Roode vs. Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin (TNA); and Dolph Ziggler vs. Matt Hardy (Smackdown)
C: The 20 Man Battle Royal won by The Nexus (NXT); Chavo Guerrero vs. JTG (Superstars); Brian Kendrick vs. Douglas Williams (TNA); and Jeff Hardy vs. Jay Lethal (TNA).
C-: Eddie Edwards vs. Andy Ridge (ROH); Jimmy Uso, Jey Uso, and Tamina vs. Tyson Kidd, David Hart Smith, and Natalya (RAW); Brie Bella and Nikki Bella vs. Maryse and Jillian (Superstars); and Samoa Joe vs. Rob Terry vs. Desmond Wolfe (TNA).
D+, D, or D-: Necro Butcher vs. Bobby Beverly (ROH); Alicia Fox vs. Gail Kim (RAW); Curt Hawkins and Vance Archer vs. Jamin Canceco and Matt Cross (Superstars); D’Angelo Dinero vs. Matt Morgan (TNA); and Kelly Kelly and Chris Masters vs. Layla and Trent Barreta (Smackdown).
F or INC: The Miz vs. Mark Henry (RAW) and Santino Marella, Vladimir Kozlov, Goldust, and Great Khali vs. William Regal, Primo, Zack Ryder, and Doink The Clown (RAW).
Current Predictions from the Faculty Standings
Here are the standings and some notes from the Predictions article as of WWE’s Money in the Bank PPV. If you would like to send me your predictions during each PPV you can do so at mistervwv@hotmail.com. The next PPV will be TNA’s Hard Justice.
2010-2011 Season (As of WWE’s Money in the Bank)
1) David Stephens (That’s a Wrap and RAW Recapper)………….57-32 (4-3)
2) Josh Boutwell (Viva La Raza and TNA Recapper)……………….57-32 (4-3)
3) Jose Marrero (Wrestling Rumblings)……………………………………57-32 (4-3)
4) Students of the Week (The Best from Prev. PPV)………………54-35 (5-2)*
5) Daniel Browne (For Queen and Country)……………………………..53-36 (4-3)
6) Matt O’Brien (Notes From The Nosebleeds)…………………………53-36 (5-2)
7) Anthony Valvo (From the Desk of Mr. V/ROH Recaps)……….52-37 (5-2)
8) Doug Lackey (Reality From Ringside)…………………………………..51-38 (6-1)
9) WrestleView Students (The Loyal Readers)………………………..51-38 (4-3)
10) Mike Tedesco (Smackdown and NXT Recapper)…………………42-32 (3-4)
11) Jeff Springer (WWE Superstars Recapper)……………………………38-31 (3-4)
12) Sean Hurley (The Sharpshooter)………………………………………..28-32 (NR)
13) Joe Baiamonte (Baiamonte’s Casa/2009 WV Champ)………24-20 (NR)
The next PPV will be TNA’s Hard Justice. Frank Contorno will be the Student of the Week for that edition. He posted a perfect 7-0 record.
*None of the students of the week from Money in the Bank retained. Paul Meade went 6-1, Austen Allen went 5-2, and Brian Czygan went 4-3 (Brian did send his picks after the press release).
Among the Faculty, Doug Lackey got the best record on the single PPV. Doug went 6-1.
Overall, we had 28 “WV Students” and the average amount of wins was 3.92. Since I estimate their results I averaged it out as a 4-3 record for the Students.
Mr. V’s Gold Star Segment (Brought to you by JR’s BBQ. Even though the WWE won’t air his voice on the intro, he will never leave the sponsorship of this segment unless someone pays for this spot).
TJ Patton – Not only was he a Student of the Week twice earlier this year, but he also defeated everyone in the miniature golf tournament that we had this past weekend. He won the tournament after making a long putt on the final hole.
Doug Lackey – Doug posted a 6-1 record for Money in the Bank and thus got the best record among the columnists.
Frank Contorno – He was the only one out of the WV Students to go 7-0 for the Money in the Bank PPV. He earned this one because if he went 6-1, a Student of the Week would have retained.
Paul Meade – He was a student of the week that posted a 6-1 record. It was tough luck that someone beat him with a 7-0 record.
Austen Allen and Brian Czygan – Thanks to the both of you for taking part of the columns as well.
David Stephens, Josh Boutwell, and Jose Marrero – These three all posted 4-3 PPV records, but they all still held on to the Dean’s Position after five months of PPV Predictions.
The Miz and Kane – Though some may disagree, but they did win their Money in the Bank Ladder matches.
Kane – He earned one for cashing in his case at the right time and pinned Rey Mysterio quickly to get his 2nd World Championship. As I am typing this Kane’s 2nd reign is officially longer than his 1st.
To all that retained their titles – Congratulations on still holding on to the championships.
Randy Orton – In case I did not give him an RKO from his move on July 12th. He landed it perfectly on Evan Bourne.
Evan Bourne – May your push continue. First he was part of arguably the spot of the year with Orton and he gave Sheamus a run for his money in a non-title match.
SummerSlam buildup – I just felt that everything was rushed recently on Raw. Well, they have nearly four weeks to build on the WWE Championship match and feud with Nexus and Team Cena. The WWE may have won over a few people for this PPV. I know I will be interested in it.
The Shoedini – I think this product is useless, but it is not the product that gets the Gold Star. It is Gilbert Gottfried’s voiceover on this commercial. It is brilliant! It is a shoehorn on a stick! You don’t have to bend over! For the record, Mr. V does not need a shoehorn on a stick. I don’t mind if my pants get wrinkled by sitting down and putting my shoe on.
Bobby Eaton – He left the hospital with a clean bill of health.
CM Punk and Desmond Wolfe – Because it appears that the WWE (Punk) and TNA (Wolfe) are not giving you a push right now.
Claudio Castagnoli – He earned one for staying “Very European” and for updating his Claudio’s Café #5 because FIFA cried foul over some of the footage.
AJ Styles – He earned the #1 spot on the 2010 PWI 500. I am not going to really complain about this, but I thought it should have went to Chris Jericho based on what he did in the past 12 months than Styles.
Josh Koscheck – The Edinboro University Alumni is now going to be a trainer for the upcoming Ultimate Fighter. I don’t follow MMA much, but I will be certain to check it out. This will lead to a fight between George St. Pierre. He may be the underdog in this fight (and many say he is a huge underdog), but I will support a fellow Fighting Scot! When he wins, I will be blaring this out of my window.
Why this? It is the Edinboro Fighting Scots fight song. That THAT Division I schools!
Mongo McMichael – I am serious here! He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. Congrats!
Honestly, that is all. I don’t know if anything else is Gold Star worthy this week. Any suggestions let me know at mistervwv@hotmail.com.
Homework Assignment (Assignment will begin within 2 weeks)
(From Mr. V #77)
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
And so many more!
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!!!!
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NEW MATERIAL definitely coming soon, got everything situated now. (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.
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