Bleacher Report - Articles by brian kelly

TNA vs WWE

brian kelly — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 11:32:34 -0500

There a lot of people who think TNA is not up to par with WWE and they would be correct when it comes to production however if you watch TNA Turning Point 2008 you would see that TNA is an amazing and very entertaining product.

TNA's X-Division alone is far better than WWE's cruiserweight division and let's not even talk about the women's division because there is no comparison between TNA and WWE, TNA over shadows WWE in that respect. So before you criticize TNA watch the matches especially the X-Division matches and you might change your mind.

WCW and ECW Championships

brian kelly — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 16:34:16 -0400

Ok straight to the point in my opinion every WCW championship and the ECW title that have been defended after the WWE purchased those two company's (WCW AND ECW) do not count.

They would have counted if those titles where defended under there respective company's banner however because they where defended under the WWE banner they should not count, so Booker T. is not a five time WCW champion, The Hardy Boyz, Kane, The Undertaker, and The Dudley Boys are not former WCW Tag Team champs.

As for the ECW championship the last offical title holder is Rhyno. Adding everyone who had won the title after the WWE bought ECW does not count towards the ECW title history. This is my opinion.

Mick Foley Confirms Possible WWE Departure

brian kelly — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 09:43:02 -0400

Various wrestling websites have been reporting for the past week that Mick Foley may soon be leaving the WWE, just months after starting as an announcer on WWE Smackdown. Foley confirmed the story with The Long Island Press.

"I can't say much until after my contract expires, which is September 1st. But at this point, there is a good chance, through mutual agreement, that I will not be renewing the contract," Foley said while leaving a phone message Thursday evening with the newspaper. "Creatively, the announcing job wasn't working out too well."

The other wrestling websites had reported earlier that it was believed that Foley was fed up with constantly getting yelled at in his headset by Vince McMahon and was disgruntled with his current arrangement. Foley debuted as an announcer at WWE Backlash on April 27th of this year, replacing Jonathan Coachman.

Randy Orton Injured in Motorcycle Accident

brian kelly — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 09:30:44 -0400

Randy Orton was involved in a motorcycle accident resulting in re-injury to his collarbone.

Orton had initially injured his collarbone last June at One Night Stand, during his confrontation with Triple H in a Last Man Standing Match for the WWE Championship. As a result of re-injuring the collarbone, Orton will be out of action for three months.

Did Hardcore Wrestling Die With the New Millennium?

brian kelly — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 17:37:35 -0400

I am sick to death with hearing that hardcore wrestling died with the new millennium.

The powers that be or the executives of wrestling companies—mainly WWE—say that the old ECW-type wrestling, meaning hardcore wrestling, is a thing of the past. They say that fans dont' want that anymore.

I don't know who they are talking to, but people, I've spoken to would love to have that type of wrestling back because this current wrestling is stale and boring.

It's not that the fans don't want it, it's that they don't want it—they being the WWE head guys. What's surprising to me is that Vince McMahon loves money, yet he won't give the fans—who are the reason he is a billionaire—what they want.

He did that whole "fan appreciation night" where he gave away money. If he wants to appreciate the fans, give them what they ask for. Give us better storylines, give us the true ECW and stop cramming this garbage down our throats.

I've also read people saying that the new ECW is a launching pad for new talent. I'm all for giving wrestlers a chance to show their talents, but don't use the ECW name for that. Bring back Sunday Night Heat or Velocity so guys could show off their talents. Don't taint the ECW name any more.

Why the WWECW Is a Waste of Time

brian kelly — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 15:27:48 -0400

2006 was the year that I, like many others, thought that the re-formation of the ECW was going to be something great—instead we got the WWECW.

Vince McMahon and the WWE has destroyed what was once a great wrestling company and turned it into your typical WWE program. They let go many of the ECW stars, except for Stevie Richards and Tommy Dreamer—and the two of them have been WWE stars for quite some time now, so there's no big surprise that they were kept in the company (to be used as jobbers).

This new ECW follows the same rules as the rest of the WWE: each match has pin fals, submissions, and DQ's, unlike the original ECW where there were no DQ's in any match.

Now they decided to change the ECW title. ECW was a much smaller company than WWE and WCW, but they still managed to create a title that was visually good. However, the WWE, being a multi-billion dollar company, created a title that is visually awful—the strap alone looks like it could fall apart at any time.

One more thing I'm sick to death of is the announcers referring to the ECW as the "land of extreme" when in reality there's nothing extreme about it.

The WWE hasn't destroyed 10 years of ECW memories, but it has tainted what was once a great wrestling and entertainment show.