Week of April 6th ? 12th 2009
By: David Stephens of WrestleView.com
Ousta! Welcome back to the only WrestleView column covering topics both nowhere yet everywhere at once. If you are new to the column you are probably going to hate us for the first couple weeks, but then you are going to hit a point where you say ?oh wait a minute, I think he gets it?. Don?t worry, that’s exactly how it is designed to be. This column is all about gut reactions and traveling thoughts. As the great Andy Kaufman once said: ?I just want real reactions. I want people to laugh from the gut, be sad from the gut, or get angry from the gut?.
This isn?t a Saturday column?
That’s a legitimate fact. Sorry for the delay in getting this column to you this week. I was working on some profile information for the site and my first column didn?t really pan out how I had hoped. My editor was gracious enough to let me post later in the week ? so enjoy!
ECW Draft
I?m happy. I know, I know, some of you aren?t too thrilled. Last year I was really unhappy with the draft. I believe I even went as far as to say ECW got ‘screwed?. I stand before you today to admit two things. First, I was wrong. I don?t know how it came about but this past year of ECW was off the hook. Second, I think I can present this year’s draft to you in a positive light. I see nothing but good things ahead for my favorite brand.
Lost:
The Miz & John Morrison ? Going into the draft I fully expected to lose both members of MizMo as well as Finlay and Christian. So honestly I wasn’t surprised by their loss and as such didn’t get too upset over it. Finlay and Christian even got to stay on the brand which is awesome.
Hornswoggle ? It was a sad, sad moment when I heard about losing one of my favorite on screen personalities. I have a hunch that after a bit of time he?ll end up back with his father. I don?t see him fitting in on RAW, and definitely not in the great managerial position he ended up playing on ECW
Ricky Ortiz ? I gotta admit that I wasn’t his biggest fan. At the start I liked him but his wrestling was just missing something for me. That’s a matter of personal taste
Gained:
Kozlov ? First of all apologies for spelling his name wrong every single time in my ECW recap this past week. Truth be told I definitely thought his named was spelled ?Koslov?, sorry Vlad! This is actually the only thing out of the entire draft that I’m not thrilled about. I don’t think he really fits into the brand, but since we kept Finlay, Christian, Mark Henry and gained Zeke I have a different outlook.
Ezekial Jackson ? He is another element contributing to the chance that Kozlov won’t just run wild and will have some actual competition. I just don’t want another case like ECW had with Mark Henry where there was nobody on the brand who seemed legitimately able to beat him. That’s not the case with Kozlov, thankfully, and I believe Zeke works in to that equation.
Zach Ryder ? ECW has proved itself as a great training ground for young talent or stale talent. It is an almost fresh start in which they can get over and then move on to a bigger brand. Just take the examples of Matt Hardy and Mark Henry.
Shane Helms ? He fits into the same design that I just gave for Ryder. Helms hasn’t been able to do much since coming back from injury so this is a great way to build him back up.
DH Smith ? I’m thrilled about this pick! By drafting Smith and Natalya (who is already teamed up with Tyson Kidd) we know officially have the NEW Hart Foundation on ECW! I’m looking forward to watching their build.
What’s in the News?
Wrestlemania 25 grossed $6.3 million breaking the record for highest WWE live gate gross
That being said it was NOT a record breaking attendance figure for Reliant Stadium. Wrestlemania 25 had 72,744 in attendance which was about a thousand shy of a Miley Cyrus concert in 2008 that drew 73,459
As someone who happens to be a fan of both, I actually am not sure which would have been more enjoyable this past year [did I just admit to being a Miley Cyrus fan? [there goes about half my readers [or maybe they are accepting enough to enjoy my quirks? [probably not [whoops I did the multiple bracket thing again [sorry!]]]]]
JBL Stated in a blog post that he is done with the WWE for now and has no plans to play an on screen character
Teddy Hart stated that he would like to return to the WWE at some point, but right now he is happy working in AAA
Teddy, as far as I?m concerned you are welcome on ECW any day, but NOT before you wrestle an Indy match against Paul London!
The 2009 Hall of Fame ceremony was sold out at 11,000 fans making it the highest attended Hall of Fame ceremony in the company’s history
WWE Magazine in Germany has been renewed for another 4 years
Bryan Danielson has yet to renew his ROH contract which is up in May and is continuing his MMA training. He has informed ROH’s owner that he will continue to work for the company, but not under contract which will give him the freedom to tryout and work for other companies
If that is the route he chooses I support him. He has done pretty much everything he can on the Indy circuit and despite tryouts and matches the WWE seems to have no interest
The Larry Sweeney/ROH controversy continues and it looks like the head of Sweet & Sour Inc. will not be returning to the company in the near future
According to article by The Sun in the UK, the Hillsborough County medical examiner has announced that the cause of death for former WWE star Andrew “Test” Martin was accidental Oxycodone intoxication ruling the death as an accidental overdose. Oxycodone is the addictive ingredient found in the painkiller OxyContin. The pill has been dubbed as “Hillbilly Heroin” and was linked to the deaths of WWE Hall of Famer “Sensation” Sherri Martel and Hollywood actor Heath Ledger.
TNA is encouraged by the increase in ratings and expects the Lockdown PPV buy rate to be the highest of the year
WWE loses its contracts in South Korea and will no longer be broadcast in the country
reports say that is unlikely the product will be picked up by other stations due to the difficulty in finding advertisers
Ratings
WWE RAW ? 3.92
ECW on Sci-Fi ? 1.23
TNA Impact ? 1.3
WWE Smackdown ? 2.0
WWE Stock Update
Week Ending April 9th 2009
Open ? 12.85
Close ? 11.71
Low ? 11.37
High ? 12.85
Quick Results
RAW
Mr. McMahon vs. Randy Orton ended in a no contest
Miss WrestleMania Santina Marella def. Beth Phoenix
World Heavyweight Champion John Cena, Intercontinental Champion Rey Mysterio, Jeff Hardy, CM Punk, & Ricky Steamboat def. Edge, Big Show, Chris Jericho, Matt Hardy & Kane
Women’s Champion Melina, Kelly Kelly, Mickie James, Layla & Jillian def. Divas Champion Maryse, Maria, Eve, Gail Kim & Natalya
WWE Unified Tag Team Champions Carlito & Primo def. The Miz & John Morrison
ECW
Unified WWE Tag Team Champions Carlito & Primo & Evan Bourne def. John Morrison, The Miz, & Tyson Kidd (Six-Man Tag Match)
Mark Henry eliminated from Elimination Chase to Backlash Fatal Four Way Match involving Finlay, Christian and Tommy Dreamer.
TNA Impact
Sheik Abdul Bashir w/Kiyoshi & No Limit def. Suicide
?Samoan Submission Machine? Samoa Joe def. Booker T. w/Kurt Angle
?Cowboy? James Storm w/Robert Roode def. ?Big Poppa Pump? Scott Steiner w/Kevin Nash [DQ]Awesome Kong def. Velvet Sky & Madison Rayne w/Angelina Love
First Blood Match: Motor City Machine Guns def. ?Hardcore Legend? Mick Foley, Special Enforcer: Sting
Smackdown
Big Show def. Kofi Kingston
The Great Khali def. Santino Marella
Gail Kim def. Michelle McCool
Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase def. Unified WWE Tag Team Champions Carlito & Primo (Non-title)
Matt Hardy def. Jeff Hardy (Stretcher Match)
Loose Ends
– So yeah, Taylor Swift is awesome! I finally started to listen to some more of her stuff this week and I gotta tell you ? I?m really digging it. ?Love Song? and ?Should?ve Said No? have made their way onto my playlist for car music. You know what? I?m just gonna stop now, I already professed my love for Miley Cyrus this column so I?m just going to
– I have a column up on the Fan Page that was too controversial for WrestleView to publish. Click the Facebook button below and join the ?That’s A Wrap? Fan Page for that column plus more including Fan Page exclusive: posts, thoughts, columns, as well as being the first to know the new fantasy draft pick of the week!
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So ?that’s a wrap??. Love it? Hate it? Disagree with everything I said? Just want to chat wrestling? I?m always up for reading your thoughts so send them ?em on over.