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?.
JAMES RODAY & DULE HILL WILL BE THE BEST RAW GUEST HOSTS TO DATE!
Yes, you read that correctly. This week will feature the two guys who I firmly believe will be the best guest hosts to date, and potentially the best RAW will ever feature.
This is not as bold as a prediction as you might think. Granted, some people might not know these two actors. For our purposes, all you need to know is that they star in USA’s hit TV show Psych. I?ve been a fan of the show since Season, so I?m biased. I know, big surprise. Here’s the thing, the most successful hosts that we have had so far have been true wrestling fans. None fit this bill better than James Roday. Psych is constantly full of pop culture references, including those from professional wrestling. In fact, James Roday personally requested that Mickie James play a role last season that he knew it was perfect for her when he read the script. Trust me, come Monday night you will not be disappointed. The banter these guys have back and forth will be dynamic and epic.
Alright, I?m not going to say anything more because I?m either going to be right, or shove my foot quite far into my mouth. Hopefully next week’s column will be a gloatfest, but in case I?m wrong, now is the time to move on!
Random Thought
So? does ECW now stand for Entertainment Championship Wrestling? ?Cause there is absolutely nothing ?extreme? about the current incarnation. This is not a problem, but a rebranding to a more appropriate style and name is needed
What’s in the News?
All news is gathered from WrestleView.com unless otherwise noted
Hulk Hogan, Eric Bischoff and Dixie Carter all met with Spike TV officials last week and were reportedly trying to convince the network to give them a weekly Monday night live show for Impact reports The Figure Four Weekly Newsletter. Hogan even spoke about this meeting during a recent interview with IGN.com at this link. While there has yet to be an official announcement, the feeling is that it is eventually going to happen. When that will come remains to be seen as there are at least no plans to push for a weekly live Monday night show in the next few weeks. The other situation at hand is if the show would run from 8:00-10:00 p.m. ET (airing an hour before WWE Monday Night Raw) or 9:00-11:00 p.m. ET (going head-to-head with Raw).
I?m all for it! I?m really trying to get behind TNA right now because they are the best shot the business currently has to compete with the WWE. While they have nowhere near the pocket book of Vince’s company, they COULD make a push towards success, only time will tell
As of this week, The Figure Four Weekly Newsletter is reporting that Ken Anderson (former WWE star Mr. Kennedy) is believed to be working on a show-to-show basis for TNA and did not agree to a long-term deal of any kind.
Not a surprise, all indications have suggested he would like to eventually return to the WWE. For the time being, I?m ok with him in TNA because he looked great this past week at Genesis!
TNA Knockout ODB has been working with a popped breast implant as of late and is slated to get surgery to fix the problem in the next week or so reports The Figure Four Weekly Newsletter. She suffered the injury a few weeks ago and seemed to do some more damage at the Genesis PPV on Sunday during her match with Tara. ODB has been apparently toughing it out with the goal being she would get it fixed after this week’s Impact TV tapings in Orlando.
This seems to happen to female wrestlers a lot (yes, I realize saying ?female? was unnecessary, but there is bound to be someone reading this who would have otherwise e-mailed me to correct my otherwise gender ambiguous statement).
The Wrestling Observer is reporting that Knockouts tag team champion Awesome Kong was sent home by TNA management last night after allegedly attacking controversial talk jock Bubba The Sponge. Kong was understandably upset about Bubba’s comments regarding Haiti. Kong had done a fund raising campaign for the earthquake victims.
The incident was talked about on Bubba’s morning show as Hulk Hogan was a guest. Hogan commented that Kong “beat the hell” out of Bubba last night. The jock didn’t want to talk about it, but did describe it as a “sucker punch.”
I know everybody and their mother hates Bubba, but I was willing to give him a chance. So far I have not been impressed and his work has been less than stellar for the company. Combined with the enormous amount of heat he reportedly has within the organization, his days could well be numbered
“Stone Cold” Steve Austin will be a guest star on next Monday’s “Chuck” on NBC. Here’s the preview for next week’s episode, courtesy of NBC.com
“Chuck vs. First Class” On his first solo mission, Chuck battles a Ring agent at 30,000 feet. Kristin Kreuk and Stone Cold Steve Austin guest star. (TV-PG)
Such a good show, can?t wait for this episode.
Jim Ross has a new entry on his website, this time talking about tonight’s WWE Raw, his thoughts on 6 sided rings and more.
“Another funny Q&A asked if WWE was going to go to a 6 sided ring in the future. I served my time on the ring crew many years ago and have since sort of moved on from that task but it was a funny question. For those to say that a 6 sided , pro wrestling ring separates promotions, I say that is awfully weak ground to stand on if one is looking to be different. The in ring product and the presentation thereof is what separates wrestling companies.”
Well, with the 6 sides gone from TNA that just about eliminates this style from the US. The Six-Sides are still used pretty heavily in Mexico, but their reasons for standing apart from other promotions go well beyond the number of sides on the ring.
As of January 16, current ECW Champion Christian has held the title for over 175 days now. He is already the longest reigning ECW Champion in the WWE era. He is currently sixth in the all-time longest reigning list, and fifth in all-time combined reigns of days as champion.
I touched on this in my ECW Recap, but as far as I?m concerned it is time for Christian’s reign to end. He has been a great Champion, but his list of potential opponents is nearly exhausted. I?m hoping Ezekiel Jackson can pull of the victory at the Rumble, and thus bring about a new era for the formerly hardcore brand
Ratings
RAW 1/11 ? 3.6
ECW 1/12 ? 1.0
iMpact 1/14 ? 1.26
Superstars 1/14 ? 0.8
WWE Stock Update
Week Ending January 15th 2010
Open ? 16.38
High ? 16.43
Low ? 15.78
Close ? 15.99
Volume ? 748,733
Quick Results
RAW January 18th
-WWE Champion Sheamus def. Evan Bourne
-Mark Henry def. Jack Swagger in an “All-American American” Challenge
-John Cena & Kofi Kingston def. The Legacy
-Eve & Gail Kim def. Maryse & Alicia Fox
-Randy Orton def. Chris Masters
-Unified Tag Team Champions DX & Hornswoggle def. United States Champion The Miz, Big Show & Jon Heder
ECW January 19th
-Trent Barreta & Caylen Croft vs. Goldust & Yoshi Tatsu
-ECW Champion Christian def. William Regal (Disqualification)
Superstars January 14th
-Primo & Gail Kim def. Chavo Guerrero & Jillian
-Chris Masters def. Carlito
-Jimmy Wang Yang & Slam Master J def. Mike Knox & Charlie Haas
-ECW Champion Christian def. William Regal
TNA Impact January 14th
-Generation Me (Max & Jeremy) def. Motor City Machine Guns
-Awesome Kong & Hamada def. The Beautiful People w/Lacey Von Erich
-Team 3D def. Lethal Consequences
-?Super Mex? Hernandez & ?The Blueprint? Matt Morgan def. Beer Money Inc.
-Desmond Wolfe def. ?Samoan Submission Machine? Samoa Joe
-Main Event TNA World Heavyweight Championship: ?The Phenomenal? AJ Styles (c) def. Tomko
Smackdown January 15th
-Chris Jericho def. John Morrison
-CM Punk & Luke Gallows def. The Great Khali & Matt Hardy, Cryme Tyme and The Hart Dynasty (Fatal Four-Way Tag Team Match)
-Mickie James def. Beth Phoenix by disqualification
-Kane def. Dolph Ziggler
-Rey Mysterio def. Batista (Steel Cage Match)
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