From the Desk of Mr. V #20
June 18, 2009
By: Anthony J. Valvo of WrestleView.com
WE WON THE CUP!!! WE WON THE CUP!!! WE WON THE CUP!!!
Congratulations to the Pittsburgh Penguins – 2009 Stanley Cup Champions!!!
Hello everyone!! Once again welcome to From the Desk of Mr. V #20! Actually, I like to call this From the Summer Vacation of Mr. V #3, but who cares. Before I begin with my 20th column, I would like to thank all the readers on WrestleView.com, Hunter Golden, Adam Martin, and the columnists for appreciating my work each week. Heck, some readers of mine say this is a highlight of their week. For that, I am truly honored and I hope I can continue to produce great journalism each week.
No Quote of the Week this week because Classroom Rules have taken over. It seems like the students from Mr. V’s classroom are taking full advantage of creating them for the next few weeks. So, let’s go over the rules of the week, shall we?
CLASSROOM RULES (Not by Mr. V, but by the students of WrestleView)
** Students, this is YOUR opportunity to provide some classroom rules for the WrestleView classroom! Any suggestions can be sent to me at mistervwv@yahoo.com. Usually I will place them on this column and provide my take on them, so fire away!!**
56) Don’t release two of your talented stars when you have a lack of star power in you company. (By Jamel Watson)
Student Explanation: With the release of both Kennedy and Umaga over the past few weeks that leaves the WWE without two of their projects that they have been working on over the past few years. Umaga and Kennedy both have shown that they can put on good matches (look at the 2007 Royal Rumble for proof) and can make a program good, especially Umaga with his outstanding program with Cena. Kennedy had the mic skills to become legendary and his ring work was slowly starting to improve, if the ‘E had given him more time he could have been a big star. WWE is in desperate need of stars to get over with both Taker and HBK taking time off and the ratings been down, releasing Umaga and Kennedy is not good for business and will eventually catch up to the WWE in about 2-5 years when their a lot of their top talent will either be retired or about ready to call it a career and you need guys like Kennedy to keep the business strong. Really hope Morrison, Benjamin, Punk, and the Hardy’s are doing well because they will have to carry the company. WWE creative and Vince especially need to be put in eternal detention and need about 1000 demerits.
Mr. V’s Take: Though they are two talents, that is correct. However, I think if all is true that Umaga refused rehab and failed the Wellness Policy twice, he needed to go. Kennedy I am still upset about, but that is because I am a fan of Kennedy. I think the WWE jumped the gun on him too early. Sure, he failed the Wellness Policy once (I believe), but who do they have to fill that spot? MVP is probably my best guess. It just seems like the WWE are trying to develop some strong talent, but it bites them sometimes. As for the next superstars? I think John Morrison will as good as Shawn Michaels (if not better when his career ends), CM Punk is still a year away, The Hardys are in a roadblock, and Shelton will never be more than a mid-card (sadly) guy in the company. Look out for Ted DiBiase Jr. to be the next superstar in five years as well. Ted is a natural at the mic and his in-ring skills are really panning out.
57) Don?t make your top money draws (MEM) job out to one man in a first blood gauntlet match. (By: Spaceship Ohayses)
Student Explanation: It didn?t really do anything, in my opinion, for Samoa Joe’s character…..and then, even though AJ Styles is out there while Daniels is getting beat up, Joe makes the save…….so does he care or not?……his Nation of Violence is a Nation of one remember??
Mr. V’s Take: I think it did something for Joe’s character actually. He wanted to take out the MEM, and he took two birds out with one stone (Booker and Scott Steiner). I just think how TNA Creative is treating Booker T is abysmal. Booker T left the WWE because they were not treating him right. Well, at least Booker had a few World Title reigns in the WWE. What has he done in TNA so far? Anyone? A Legend’s Title? A guy of his caliber should be right up there in the world title picture. As for Joe, I don?t know what TNA is doing now. He was to be a nation of one, but now wants to make amends with AJ and Daniels. I am a bit confused with this one. I guess we will have to wait to see how it goes.
58) If one of your brand’s stars makes a heel/face turn, at least make SOME mention of it. (By: Bond7 aka Luke)
Student Explanation: Last week I was watching ECW and Vladimir Kozlov comes out for his usual handicap match/squash match against two nobodies. But did anyone else notice that he was pandering to the crowd for applause? He was actually smiling to the crowd the whole time! That’s going completely 180 degrees from the character he’s been built up as for his stint in WWE. So, I guess, he’s turned face. Hasn’t he? I question this only because his new personality has come way out of left field, with no clues to it or built whatsoever, one week after he comes out on ECW to do his usual scowling “I vill break you” promo. And when Kozlov went through his squash match with seemingly a total personality transplant, the announcers made ZERO mention of it. What was that all about?! The whole experience! What was that?!
Mr. V’s Take: I noticed this as well when I watched ECW on June 9th when Vlad destroyed the jobbers. He was in fact smiling! I like it actually. But still, another one of those ?Jumping the Shark? (if one does not know this phrase, look it up) moments in which out of nowhere, a wrestler goes out of character (ex: Umaga speaking English). My take on it is that Vlad is not out of character, but is a little full of himself. He goes around saying he will destroy everyone in his Russian/Borat accent and he does it! If I was him, I would be smiling too. To Bond7, I think this is a great rule. However, I would not go as far as saying it is a face turn yet. But in the future, companies like the WWE should take notice.
59) If you have the toughest guy on your show turning heel, don?t have him leave to the leprechaun’s music. (By: Paul Meade, Mr. V’s favorite Red Wings Fan)
Student Explanation: Last Tuesday on ECW, Finlay attacked Christian, Tommy Dreamer, and Jack Swagger possibly turning him heel. I was not sure because he also hit Swagger, but still. When he life the ring, they played the music that was originally given to Hornswoggle. As our friendly neighborhood Hurricane Helms put it; Wassupwidat?
Mr. V’s Take: Well, the way I see Finlay is that he wanted to retaliate. He wanted to attack Christian and Dreamer because they took him out of a 6 man tag team match because of their selfishness (both would lose to the team of Swagger and the Hart Dynasty that night) and he attacked Swagger for attacking his eye on Superstars the following Thursday (in a Swagger near-squash). So, I don?t think he is turning heel, but it probably going to happen. Now as for Hornswoggle’s music, I am annoyed by it! Since ?Swoggle is now on RAW, why not have Finlay go back to his ?Love to Fight? theme song. I actually like the Irish-ness in it. I accepted this rule just because I want Finlay to have a new theme song (or go back to his previous song since his son is going to be become Goldswoggle soon).
60) If you build up an ECW Original to finally win the title, don?t have him lose to a contender who does not even use his finishing move. (By: Paul Meade)
Student Explanation: Tuesday Night on ECW, Jack Swagger beat Dreamer with a roll-up after a match of both guys attempting finishing maneuvers but Swagger not succeeding until finally winning with a roll-up.
Mr. V’s Take: I agree, to a point. I hate when a champion of any brand loses by a roll-up, except when Steamboat rolled-up Macho Man in WrestleMania III. But when it is a non-title match, I am ok with that. A roll-up win means, to me at least, there will be more to come in this rivalry. If a title did in fact change hands because of a roll-up in this case, I would have been disappointed. For now though, let’s see where this goes. Who is going to be the champion of ECW by the end of the summer? I don?t think anyone knows. Personally, I sense two title transitions before the new school year starts for ECW.
61) When one of your superstars leaves the company, use it! (By: Jeff Knott)
Student Explanation: With the recent releases of Ken Kennedy and Youmanga, I can’t help but notice that WWE seems to have stopped turning these into an angle. They’ve done it before where an angle gets built up leading to a loser leaves town match (eg. Jericho) or even an injury angle (eg. Rob Van Dam). While this still happens with injuries such as Batista’s, why were Kennedy and Youmanga just dropped? To the casual fan not checking websites, they would just have disappeared. Why not use the fact someone’s leaving to elevate one of the stars who is staying? Have Youmanga not lose a daft strap match, but a hellacious loser leaves town match. Have Kennedy put his career on the line, even at such a young age, for one more (ultimately unsuccessful) shot at the belt.
Mr. V’s Take: I agree, I did not like the way both were just thrown out of the WWE. However, these two were released just abruptly and creative had nothing to do with this in my opinion. Umaga messed up and refused to get cleaned up, so I don?t think he should have a nice send-off from the WWE. But that issue is still speculated and no one will know the real truth in all of this. Kennedy though, it would have been nice to have a ?Belt vs. Career? match with him, but I think Orton would turn that down right away. I think the WWE just wanted to rid of these two wrestlers quickly and it is a shame that both had to go.
Wow, so many rules this week. Now, let’s look at the Headlines that caught my eye this past week on WrestleView.com
Headline #1: RIP Mitsuharu Misawa
I know many of us had paid respects to this fallen Japanese legend, but I had to do it. I was checking the greatest wrestling website in the world before I went to a friend’s wedding when I found out. Now, not knowing a thing about Japanese Wrestling, I wanted to do research before I paid my respects to Misawa. Misawa, from what I read about, is arguably the hardest working wrestler ever. Dave Meltzer gave TWENTY FOUR of Misawa’s matches the legendary ?5 star match?. He formed Pro Wrestling NOAH and was a Heavyweight Champion multiple times. He had great feuds and great matches. Sadly, it all ended for this 46-year-old legend that left the world too soon. It is believed that he died due to a cervical cord injury (In Japan, if the family wants to keep the cause of death confidential, they can). It resulted in a back suplex executed by Akitoshi Saito. It was sad to read the stories on this tragedy and the instant reaction by the fans that saw the event live. It reminds us all as wrestling fans to remember this wonderful scene in which this guy performed in. If reminds us to respect EVERYTHING a wrestler gives to us, from a simple Irish Whip to a Shooting Star Press. We will never know when wrestlers pass away. We should show respect to every wrestler who performs in the ring. To the Misawa family, my prayers, sympathies and condolences to all of you. I may not have watched a whole lot of Misawa’s contests, but for what he did in Japan was legendary. RIP Misawa.
What happens next?: Hopefully nothing. Let Misawa rest in peace. As for Saito, I hope it does not rattle him too much. He will have this burden for the rest of his life, but do not be too hard on Saito. We as fans and wrestlers know the consequences of professional wrestling and accidents do in fact happen. Let’s just hope that no one does anything bad to Saito. He had no control over it.
Headline #2: RAW is TRUMP!!
At first, I rolled my eyes. I thought I would never have to see the man with ?The Onion Hairstyle? after he shaved Vince’s head at WrestleMania a couple years ago. But with Raw’s struggling ratings, I think Vince wanted to shake things up and have Trump as the Owner/GM of Monday Night Raw! I don?t think anyone guessed that one! Well, I now am a bit interested to see what Trump does. First, RAW will be commercial-free next week. What is next: Michael Cole being fired and in place one of those ?Apprentice? winners? Maybe that was the reward for winning Celebrity Apprentice, so Joan Rivers will be the next play-by-play announcer for RAW (would be better than Adamle AND Lawler will talk to someone his age). Anyway, to close this I think it is going to be interesting to see where it goes. Also, how long will this gimmick last? Donald Trump has a lot on his table as it is, and I don?t think he will put much time in this. I think we will see someone next in charge of RAW (GM or Owner) in about a couple months. But I have been wrong before.
How long will Trump do this? I think he does it as long as RAW ratings improve. I don?t think it will hurt the WWE, but it won?t help either. However, when fans tune out RAW (like they did with Million Dollar Mania), then there will be a change. I think Trump will last a couple more months on this and see what happens. Then either Vince will take over again, Shane will be in charge after his ?injury?, or Ric Flair accepts a longer deal with WWE.
Headline #3: Gerald Brisco’s surgery
I actually see this as a big deal when someone goes under the knife because of a blocked artery. Let’s just hope that the surgery went well and Brisco and his family are alright. Let’s all hope for a speedy recovery from one of the well-known wrestlers in the world.
Headline #4: New Ring of Honor Champion!!
I am sure the ROH fans wanted Tyler Black to win the match last weekend, but I actually like the move. Jerry Lynn defended his title against Austin Aries and Tyler Black to those who had yet to know. As a result, Austin Aries won the ROH Heavyweight Title for a second time (no one has won it more than once). From what I heard, it was a great match and I think it will be on HDNet in the future (I hope). Jerry Lynn was a good champion for ROH. He brought name recognition and an uncanny work ethic that apparently some fans forgot he had (see Eternal Detention later). Lynn should be respected for what he has done for the past couple decades in this sport and he was a good champion. Tyler Black, I still has a lot of potential. I know that Black is groomed to be the man for ROH, but it is not right now. I think it will be soon, but sometimes it is better to chase for a title than to win it in points of a career. Jerry Lynn has always been chasing titles and eventually he won his shares of championships. Tyler’s time will come, just not right now.
How long will Aries stay as champion?: I am a fan of Aries. I hope he holds onto the title for a long time. I am not a long time follower of ROH, but I do know that when champion, they hold onto it for months (sometimes years). Aries is NO transition champion. I can even see him with it for as much as a year. However, my prediction is that he will have a nice, solid reign as ROH Champion (at least 5-8 months).
Who’s the Next ROH Champion?: I wanted to use this as a homework question, but many of Mr. V’s students are not consistent viewers of ROH. I can see a long program with many wrestlers fighting to win Aries? newly won title. However in the long run, I can see Tyler Black, Nigel McGuinness, or Brain Danielson winning the title. If I am a betting man, I would go with Tyler Black winning it in about six months (though some ROH fans won?t like my pick).
DEMERITS
The quest of ?Who is Suicide??
Don West’s lack of wrestling maneuvers.
Michael Cole’s lack of effective adjectives.
Lawler’s catcalling.
Jenna Morasca.
Samoa Joe.
?Slap The Poipoise!?
DETENTION
Booker T – For talking the way you are talking in TNA. Here I thought that his British accent was bad.
ODB and Deaner – Those vignettes of Deaner’s training is nothing more than a bathroom break for Mr. V. If I had students in the classroom seeing that, I would have a line of students who want to use the hall pass.
RAW Creative – You know why?.At least they made it right by giving Orton back the title.
Jeremy Borash – Well, since I can tolerate Don West’s commentary now, I am just going to rip on backstage interviewers. Since Mathews, Helms, and Durden are not bad, guess who I deem the worst? Maybe EY slapped some sense into you, JB. Angelina Love was right about one thing, Borash is ICKY!
That Guy #1 – Boy, I have a lot of that guys today! #1 was caught dressed up like Jeff Hardy from head to toe by one of my readers who watched ?Extreme Rules?. Attire like that is not tolerable (unless you dress like anyone from Right to Censor).
That Guy #2 – The mark who stole a hat on RAW when John Cena gave it to a kid. I hope someone saw that because that guy is a moron! Let the child have their moment, please.
That Guy #3 – Last Monday when Donald Trump’s music is playing, someone behind Vince was caught dancing, a la Curry Man, to the Donald’s theme. Shame on YOU!!
That Guy #4 – The one on ROH on HDNet who stared at the camera shouting ?ROH and RING OF HONOR?. That guy should have looked at the camera and said ?I?M A DORK!!? More on a select few ROH fans later.
That Guy #5 – Who was dressed in green from head to toe. An e-mail suggested this one and I agree. The only person or thing that should be green from head to toe is Gumby.
The Miz – for shooting a T-Shirt gun at Hornswoggle. C?mon, even I hate Hornswoggle and I have a heart.
Tara (Victoria) – You did not have to apply all that lipstick on ya!
Marian Hossa – In the words of the Dread Pirate Roberts (Princess Bride) ?You chose wrong?. Now go leave Detroit (rumor is either L.A. or Edmonton) and have more fans boo you out of your building (from what I hear, Red Wing nation is more crazy than Pens fans)
Santina Marella and Batista – for making one of my readers tune out wrestling for a bit. I hope I don?t lose him as a reader.
ETERNAL DETENTION
Vince McMahon – For the reasons I mentioned in column #19, you stay there!!
ETS and the Praxis Series – I had one e-mailer state the following: There is a special place in Hades for these people! I can not say it better.
Brooke Hogan – For actually thinking you are a success. Worry about your own life and not your parents! You are old enough
Whopper Jr. Ads – Boy, those are irritating, aren?t they?
Pittsburgh Pirates Ownership – For reasons on Column #19.
A few fans from ROH who were swearing and flicking off Jerry Lynn – Honestly, what happened was uncalled for! I mean, I want to see them wrestle a 25 minute match and get applauded for it! I know 99.99% of ROH fans don?t act like this. To those guys the .001%, grow up, get a life, and respect guys who break their backs for those who watch them perform! Most fans are smart and want to have a good time watching a live show. But some idiots out there are just?.well?.for the sake of keeping my column ?PG? (since I am a teacher), I will stop at that.
Mike Ashley – This is for reader Jeff Knott. Mike Ashley is the current owner for Newcastle and fans like Knott are upset with him. Five years ago, they were a pretty good Premier League team. Now, they are relegated to a lower status. Mike Ashley is the Bob Nutting of English football! Ashley now wants to sell the club for 100 pounds (I don?t have the sign for that on my computer). If I could buy the team Jeff, I would run it like Mark Cuban does his Dallas Mavericks of the NBA.
Well, it is 6:20 PM on Wednesday and we are under a SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING. I will be back right, take time to use the restroom and get a drink now. Mr. V. never uses a computer during a thunderstorm.
………………..
Well, it is now 7:45 PM and after a Warning of both Severe Thurderstorms and Tornados I am back on the scene. I hope you all enjoyed your break. Since I only have four hours left until the deadline, I will continue. Now, it is time for the Honor Roll for this past week.
MISTER V?S HONOR ROLL FOR THE WEEK OF JUNE 6 – JUNE 12, 2009
There was a lot of good wrestling this week from the Cable TV package. All six shows produced a strong match. The best match this week was a no-brainer, while it was pretty tough to pick the other two matches, as I had many that got the ?B? grade. However, I think these were the three best matches this past week. Debate them with your friends or fellow students, but I am sticking with these ones?
Distinguished Honors – Jerry Lynn vs. Austin Aries vs. Brian Danielson vs. Tyler Black, ROH on HDNet, June 6.
This was one of only three matches that received the most prestigious A+ rating. This match was just simply the best match I have seen, a true 2009 Match of the Year candidate. All four wrestlers hit the notes perfectly. I did not notice one botched move, nor anything that went sloppy. Aries played his heel character real well and hit his strides throughout the match. Danielson’s submission holds really stood strong in this contest. Tyler Black did well, but he did not have as many daring moves as the other three. Jerry Lynn continues to impress me with his tactics. Let’s face it, a guy his age should be limited, but Lynn pushed the limits and defended his title in a very hellacious battle. Remember, after the match at least a dozen fans were caught flicking off and cursing at Jerry Lynn. I give Lynn all the credit in the world for not clocking those people with the title belt. I would not blame him if he did. Overall, this is the best match of 2009, and I am counting the Taker vs. HBK match a couple months ago on this one.
High Honors – Hart Dynasty vs. Christian/Jack Swagger, ECW, June 9
The Hart Dynasty needed a good win to keep their momentum. Pinning (though with help) the former ECW Champion helps that momentum. Jack Swagger played his part very well. He did not get involved a lot against his opponents and really attacked Christian outside the ropes. Tyson Kidd executed his submissions and strikes well, but I am a little worried that they are under-utilizing him because that is all he is doing right now. I just hope to see more of Tyson Kidd. DH Smith continues to impress since he debuted in ECW. His delayed suplex does remind me of his father and I am sure looking down, Davey Boy is very proud of his boy. He clearly shows great power, but at times he is a little choppy. I think with more in-ring experience in a WWE ring, he will do fine. Christian showed great endurance and stole the show in this match. Sure, his stuff is not getting repetitive. However he does his moves real well and continues to remind TNA what they are missing. Overall, all four wrestlers did a great job and deserve to be ranked this high.
Honors – John Morrison vs. Chris Jericho, WWE Superstars, June 11.
John Morrison is turning face, we all know this. The problem is Morrison is not World Title material (though he is very close to it). Putting him in a match against a solid veteran like Chris Jericho really helps his character out. Morrison really wowed the crowd with his corkscrew dive (or dive) off the top rope. He showed great promise and I think Morrison is going to break out by the end of 2009. Jericho knows his role on Smackdown, and he is taking that role great. He used his heat to his advantage and was able to hit his wide array of moves effectively. The cheat win by Jericho shows to me that though Jericho is successful with his win, Morrison’s stock is continuing to increase in the WWE ranks. The WWE needs a new face wrestler with Punk’s possible heel turn, Jeff’s possible departure, and Rey’s future. Smackdown has it right by giving Morrison an opportunity.
Honorable Mention goes to: Colt Cabana/Brett Albright vs. Claudio Castagnoli/Ernie Osiris on 6/6; MVP vs. Matt Hardy on 6/8; Tony Atlas vs. Evan Bourne on 6/9; Evan Bourne vs. Zach Ryder on 6/11; Alex Shelley/Jay Lethal vs. Team 3D on 6/11; Scott Steiner/Booker T vs. Samoa Joe on 6/11; Madison Rayne vs. Tara on 6/11; Sting vs. Kurt Angle on 6/11; Shelton Benjamin/Charlie Haas vs. John Morrison/R-Truth on 6/12; Chris Jericho vs. CM Punk on 6/12; and Jeff Hardy vs. Edge on 6/12.
WORST MATCH OF THE WEEK – Dolph Ziggler vs. The Great Khali, Friday Night Smackdown, June 12.
I did not like this match and I really did not want to make this the worst match. But to open your show with this made it happen. I feel bad to Dolph, I mean he is trying to make this work. Khali just has no speed and lacks to execute some basic moves. How the match ended still scratches my head, but at least I give Ziggler the credit for winning by count out.
Dishonorable Mention: Bobby Dempsey vs. Sal Rinauro on 6/6; Santino/Goldust/Festus vs. Kendrick/Noble/Chavo on 6/8; Vladimir Kozlov vs. Luke Hawk/Chris Lewie on 6/9; Beth Phoenix/Rosa Mendez vs. The Bella Twins on 6/11; and Michelle McCool/Layla vs. Melina/Eve Torres on 6/12.
WEEKLY TV WARS
Ring of Honor on HDNet (June 6) – I was actually impressed with the show in a wrestling standpoint. They had a great opening bout and the main even needs no more explanation on how awesome it was. The only knocks were the squash involving Dempsey (I don?t know what the fascination is with him) and the Flair interview (because we all know he is not there for the passion). Zero Points.
Monday Night Raw (June 8) – The wrestling was par at best. None of the matches on the start that actually took place stood out. What did stand involved the continuing quest of Miz calling out Cena, Orton’s quest to get the Title back, and Vickie quitting Raw. Throw in HHH’s violent return and in a scene, the show was good and I picked it as the second best show of the week. One Point from Mr. V.
ECW (June 9) – This show was the student’s pick as the Show of the Week. I agree that the show had great moments, especially the opening segment (Nice bump from Dreamer on a table) and the main event was nice. Also, hinting ?The Hurricane? is interesting. Though it was only a one hour show, I expect it to be solid. There was something missing this past week. Raw had the storylines that caught my eye and sadly, ECW just missed that. One Point from the students of Mr. V.
WWE Superstars (June 11) – Well, there were no on-screen segments (unless you count Batista breaking his arm for the nineteenth time), and that hurt the overall grade. The wrestling in this show was actually good. Other than the main event which I put in this week’s honor roll, the Zach Ryder/Evan Bourne match was a real good one and was the sleeper for the week. I thought the wrestling was Good, but since there was no segments during the show, I did not issue any points. Zero Points.
TNA Impact (June 11) – They efficiently are building up for their big Slammiversary PPV. Every storyline and contest tied in to the PPV or ?the big picture? (ex: Joe’s quest to take out the mafia and Matt Morgan’s quest to join the mafia). Each match was good, but not great. Plus, someone slapping Jeremy Borash makes for good TV. It needs to happen more often. I gave this show the award for ?Show of the Week? this week because nothing was too powerful, but the overall show was entertaining and fun to watch. Two Points from Mr. V.
Friday Night Smackdown (June 12) – You would think this show would be great with the second half having excellent wrestling and a quality segment by Jericho calling fans hypocritical parasites eating off every word?.blah blah blah. CM Punk’s segment with Jeff and Edge was good. However, what really brought this down was the first two matches. Both were sloppy and were very uneventful. I can?t stand bad wrestling, and Smackdown gave us two awful matches in which Layla, Eve, McCool, and Khali were all guity of bad spots. For that I offer zero points, but without these talents it will get only better. Zero Points.
Overall Standings
1) Friday Night Smackdown (34 Points)
2) Monday Night Raw (26 Points)
3) ECW (12 Points)
4) TNA Impact (10 Points)
5) ROH on HDNet (5 Points)
6) WWE Superstars (0 Points)
COMMENTATOR REPORT CARD
Michael Cole – C (2009 Grade: C)
He actually called some good matches at times. However, I am tired of hearing Randy Orton as ?the viper? and Legacy as ?pack of dogs/wolves/hyenas?. Still, not a bad showing.
Jerry Lawler – C- (2009 Grade: C)
During the second half of RAW, he did a nice job. His performance in the first half was terrible. Anyone else STILL find it really bad that he wants to clone Kelly Kelly. Kelly probably reminds Jerry of Miss Kitty (I know they were married and divorced). Jerry needs to lay off the sleazy comments towards the divas and call the matches.
Josh Mathews – C (2009 Grade: C+)
I think I saw on the back of a milk carton MISSING: Josh Mathews ability to call matches for one hour?If seen, call Vince McMahon’s earpiece. Josh has been inconsistent recently and it is worrying me. In the beginning, he looked like a good fit to work with Matt Striker. Now, he is reading the book of commentary by Michael Cole.
Matt Striker – A- (2009 Grade: A)
Matt was very good at commentary this week. He showed strong emotions, his background wrestling knowledge, and was able to humor the audience occasionally. Also, he was able to call each match well. I just hope he finds out what Woo Woo Woo means, because I am eagerly waiting to find out. I smell a homework assignment?.
Todd Grisham – C (2009 Grade: B-)
This was a bit of an off week for Todd. One moment, he was doing a good job moderating the matches. The other moments, he was too busy asking questions to JR or CM Punk. It was just inconsistent and I know we will see a better offering from him soon.
Jim Ross – B+ (2009 Grade: B+)
Good Ol? JR is the only commentator this week to call over 50% of the moves in the WWE. It made a lackluster Smackdown more entertaining with JR at the table. I just hope next week he will have better match-ups to call in the first half of the show.
Mike Tenay – B (2009 Grade: C)
I was really impressed with his play-by-play this week. He was clear in his calls, concise in storylines, and developed some good chemistry with Don West. I think this was his best performance since January.
Don West – B- (2009 Grade: D-)
For once, I gave a good grade huh? Well, I think he has improved drastically in the past few weeks because he is entertaining. Sure, he only called a couple moves throughout the show. But he was entertaining and I think kept the viewer interested at times. Finally, a good grade for Mr. West. Now he can put that up on the refrigerator (probably a big fridge at that).
Mike Hogewood – B- (2009 Grade: C-)
Hogewood was not great, but did call the action adequately. He still lacks a lot in the wrestling part of it. But his emotions at times were good and much better than when he started a few months ago. Also, he is showing strong chemistry with his color commentator, a huge plus when it comes to grading the commentary.
Dave Prazak – B+ (2009 Grade: A-)
Prazak is going places with his commentary. He is emotional (which was lacking during the first month or so), entertains the crowd (by going to heel commentary at times), and knows his wrestling holds and maneuvers. To future commentators out that, follow the lead of this guy because you can?t go wrong if you do.
MISTER V?S GOLD STAR SEGMENT (Presented by the Prego Pasta Sauce, It’s in there!!)
Randy Orton – Congratulations on your 4th World Title Run. Let’s hope it lasts longer than five weeks!
Austin Aries – For being the FIRST 2-time ROH Champion!
Pittsburgh Penguins – For winning your Third Stanley Cup. In my opinion the Stanley Cup is the best looking trophy in all sports. For a team that filed for bankruptcy twice and almost moved, you can tell how happy I am with this!
Maxime Talbot – For all your hard work in Game 7!! I had to give him the Superstar treatment in my column this week!
Lilian Garcia – for not messing up your lines this week during the three hour show. Fink, where are you?
To all those on the honor roll – Thank you for keeping us entertained this past week.
Mister V’s friends on Facebook – for making my page a success.
Too all that completed the homework assigned two weeks ago – So this gold stars goes out to David Stephens (Mr. ECW), Spaceship Ohayses, Chris Elgee, Kevin Kups, Robert D., Jeff Knott, Superstarzz, Mark Turland, Jakeb Smith, Halfsized Russ, Jamel Watson, Ben Phillips, Paul Pomykala, Jay Klinkhammer, and to anyone that I forgot to mention.
Chris Elgee – for reminding me to keep the faith for the Pittsburgh Pirates. I know it is going to be tough, but maybe there is hope. Also, I am honored to have another teacher as a reader.
Chris Kelly – you got your gold star, happy :p
To all those who gave me classroom rules – I am surprised that it took off, thank to all of you.
Eric Young – for slapping Jeremy Borash.
Victoria (Tara) – a very nice debut match on TNA. I still think you got robbed in the WWE.
Detroit Red Wings and their fans – you are still a classy team and the fans are all good because they read the column. Thanks for a great series.
Los Angeles Lakers – On your fifteenth NBA Title, now Shaq can?t bash Kobe anymore about not winning one without him.
Ricky Langston – One of my original readers who graduated high school this past week. Congrats, Ricky!
HOMEWORK ANALYSIS
Well, I ended up getting fourteen students (well 13 and 1 faculty member) giving me their picks on who they want out of the WWE, TNA, or ROH. The students have spoken and here are the results:
Top four to be released according to the WrestleView students:
1) Mike Knox (6 votes)
2) Santino Marella (4 votes)
3) Jim Duggan (4 votes)
4) The Great Khali (4 votes)
Others receiving votes of three or less: Mark Henry, Vladimir Kozlov, Jack Swagger, Batista, Hornswoggle, Festus, Shark Boy, Kip James, Don West, Suicide, Chavo Guerrero, Bella Twins, Mick Foley, MVP, Ted DiBiase Jr., R-Truth, Ric Flair, Finlay, Big Show, Kane, Jimmy Wang Yang, Kevin Nash, Scott Steiner, Charlie Haas, Kurt Angle, Zach Ryder, Goldust, Shawn Michaels, Cody Deaner, ODB, Jethro Holliday, Rhett Titus, and any female wrestler that can?t wrestle.
Mr. V’s Take: I read all of the e-mails and thought some of them were very funny and all of them were very good. I mean, Don West got some votes..how funny was that?
Some of the students picked wrestlers that they just want eliminated and some eliminated the wrestlers because they were a threat to their title. So the question was a bit vague and I am sorry about that. Though it still made for great debate.
Mr. V is going to go with two different scenarios. One in which if I was the champion whom will I ask to be let go. The other one will be I just want these people gone just for the heck of it. Without much explanation, here they are:
Whom if I was champion to let go because they are threats: Batista (may injure me), Jack Swagger (will take my title and make a huge run with it), Mike Knox (I saw what he did to Jamie Noble and I won?t want that happen to me), and Big Show (because he can literally kill me, I am almost two and a half feet smaller than him).
Whom I would just for the heck of it: Mike Knox (I see no potential in him), Jim Duggan (He is still on the roster?), Santino Marella (at least get rid of his twin sister), and Hornswoggle (no more silly gimmicks).
HOMEWORK QUESTION (Due July 2, 2009)
I was going to be silly and ask my student what ?woowoowoo? means, but I don?t think any of us would know it. So, here is a good question to ask all of you. Students and WrestleView faculty members can answer this question.
1) You are the booker for WWE, TNA, or ROH. You are tired of wrestlers holding the title because of the stupid polictics in professional wrestling. For one gold star (maybe two). I want to you answer this question: Who would you book as the World Champions for the WWE, TNA, and ROH? (Due on July 2, Approved by: AJV)
Well, after a couple of weather warnings and two power outages, this concludes the 20th column from the Desk of Mr. V. I would like to thank all of you for reading the column and appreciate your continued support. And as always if you have a question about wrestling, comments, concerns, or even have a school questions about business ethics, you may e-mail me at mistervwv@yahoo.com. Also, Mr. V is on Facebook as well and always enjoys finding out where my readers are from. Just search Anthony J. Valvo and you got it! I hope you all have a great week and enjoy the theatre of professional wrestling. Until Sunday’s Predictions from the Faculty, this is your resident teacher Mr. V saying stay safe and stay out of trouble. You are…DISMISSED!!
As my old saying goes without the students, there would be no Mr. V. Thank you very much for reading this week.