Bleacher Report - Articles by Lamar Bolton

Jeff Jarrett's Plan A and B

Lamar Bolton — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 22:50:33 -0400

With the noose slowly tightening around Jeff Jarrett's professional career, I can't help but think what are his options are.

I don't think he will be satisfied to return as on-air talent without any creative control of the company he helped found.

And Dixie cant just fire someone that owns a part of the company, so this is going to cost her money to get Jarrett out of the picture. What if there were another party interested in Jarrett's part of TNA.

I say call up Stamford, Conn., and find out if Vince is interested. If it can be worked out to where the companies can be run independent of one and other and still have some crossover on both sides to where its profitable for everyone.

We all know that the WWE botched the Invasion story and this would be the chance to get it right.

Plan B would be this. Its widely believed that Hulk Hogan is looking for something to do to keep his mind off his troubles.

You contact Hogan and his boy, Eric Bischoff, and either sell them a seat at the table in TNA or make a deal and let Bischoff and Hogan piggyback in on Jarrett's interest.

This move is much more risky, TNA is already headed down the WCW path any way. This would make it a much more interesting ride in in the long run. Any way you look at this its going to get ugly before it gets settled.

Kurt Angle made his first statement on his problems today, and I have to say that his side of it makes more sense then her side, of which we really haven't heard.

Kurt claims that she took his car and said she was going to the store. Instead, she went to the police and filed a protection order against him and had him removed from his own house.

Whether he was stalking her is definitely up for debate. One thing's for sure, both of them need to get away from each other and the wrestling business for a while.

Reds Mid Way Grades: Half Way in Cinn-City

Lamar Bolton — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 17:30:51 -0400

I have resisted talking about the Reds for quite a long time, in hopes that I might see somthing that would indicate that they are redy to get over the hump. But based on this past weekend's series with the front running Cards, our Reds have a ways to go.

In my mind this team's offense, defense, and pitching haven't been in sync for a long time. At present they are at .500 and unless there is a big time power infusion from the right handed side of home plate, they just have too many teams to jump over to get to the top.

For the first time in a long time, the front line pitchers for this team match up with any one else in the NL Central. Edinson Volquez is on the DL right know but Johnny Cueto has taken up a lot of that slack. Harang is doing his usual good job but with little if any run support, and newcommer Micah Owings has put in some quality innings and helped his own causes out greatly with his bat.

Then, there is Mister Arroyo. Bronson Arroyo is going through his mid season bout of getting lit up by every team he faces. With Homer Bailey finally getting his head and his arm on the same page, one would think that would make Bronson expendable .

The only thing I can really say about the defense is that the loss of Alex Gonzalez is a problem, and they need him back up through the middle. Edwin Encarnacion is back from an extended stay on the DL, fully aware that his spot isn't safe. Phillips is working on another gold glove season and young mister Votto at first has improved his defense a great deal over last year.

The offense this season is at best inconsistant, they have little of anything from the right side plate other then Phillips. The whole "small ball" thing just doesnt really work when you have to force it with no power threat to back it up. Votto is having a banner year but with not much going on past number five, runs are going to be coming at a premium. If that continunes, they won't get past third place.

Raw Trumped: What Will They Think of Next?

Lamar Bolton — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 11:29:50 -0400

Well Monday has come and gone and the big news this week was that Vince has "sold" the WWE's flagship show, Raw, to none other than Donald Trump.

No mention of Ric Flair, no new GM, just Trump going no-commercial next week, and making a last man standing match between HHH and Orton.

First off, I just know this has something to do with the Apprentice. Either Vince is going to use Raw to cross-promote the show or have some of his talent appear on it.

While I have no real problem with that, I do have a problem with a novice making matches and running the show.

Trump does not have the presence to work in front of a live audience and I'm not really sure that the Demographics from The Apprentice match up with the ones from Raw.

Next, with the sudden departure of Vickie Guerrero, there is a vacuum at the GM position. One would have thought that being in Flair Country and him being at the show in the back, they would have at the very least clarified Flair's status with the company.

Lastly, this is at most a Band-Aid solution to a hemorrhaging problem. Ratings have been slipping on Raw for a little while. Trump's presence will only do so much to help that.

When you put on the same boring matches month after month and the majority of your Main Event guys are on the shelf hurt, the presence of one outsider running around like pompous Jackass wont help things at all.

Start working on creating some new programs and feuds. Maybe push the tag teams a little. Maybe even giving the Diva's more time on Raw.

In the end, I'm sure they will get a bounce out of this, but what they really need to do is fix that slow leak or Raw will likely flatten out yet again.

Ray Mysterio: Should He Be Unmasked?

Lamar Bolton — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 22:10:17 -0400

One of the things that stuck with me after the PPV last night was the fight between Rey Mysterio and Chris Jericho when they put on a no-holds-barred match like only they could.

Let's back track a bit. The whole reasoning behind the PG rating and having Rey back on SmackDown was to make the show more kid friendly. And the reasoning for not turning John Cena into a heel is that they will lose out on all the T shirt and other Merchandise sales.

Yet, someone thought it would be a good idea for Jericho to take Rey's mask last night. Do they not see the little kids lined up down the ramp waiting on him as he heads to the ring?

Yeah, they must have; they had Jericho hiding among them a couple of weeks ago waiting to jump Rey for a beat down.

I have no problem with Jericho beating Rey. It sets up a longer program for the two of them. But taking Rey's mask has been done before and it didn't work back in the WCW days and there is nothing to indicate that taking the mask off of Rey will do anything for him now.

If they claim to be marketing to kids, then why would they alienate part of their fan base by unmasking it's Hero. If they're brave enough to do that, they then should also turn Cena into a heel to see what might happen.

Unthinkable: Turning John Cena Heel...Can It Be Done? Should It Be Done

Lamar Bolton — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 21:00:48 -0400

I have had this notion in the back of my head for a very long time and when I read that someone in a creative team meeting brought it up and it was quickly shot down by Vince.

I thought it was time to at least explore the option. It couldn't be any worse than the product they are putting out now.

First of all can it be done? Simple answer yes. When it is painfully obvious that his support among the live crowd is 60-40 at best, it shouldn't be that hard to push him over the edge.

What needs to happen is for him to have to make an alliance with somebody to get something, whether it be a title or time off with his new bride or maybe a plum movie part.

To get what ever he wants, he is sent on tasks that on TV don't make him look good. His alliance is revealed and he gets left twisting in the wind and has to go underground and maybe makes himself over a little different.

He comes back and has to start at the bottom and fight his way back up.

Now for the big one: should it be done? Well, if you follow Vince's logic, the answer is no, but let me point out the three letter in wrestling history that nearly toppled his empire: nWo.

Now let me be the first to say that I'm not one of Eric Bischoff's biggest fans. But there is very few people that can deny turning icon Hulk hogan heel was a risk that turned out to be a stroke of genius that threw the Monday Night Wars into high gear.

While I'm sure that the loss of Hogan merchandise in the short term was nothing to sneeze at, the jump in ratings points made up for that lost not to mention they did sell a few nWo Tshirts .

The point in all of this is that Cena is getting Stale , really stale . Combine this with the fact that some of their top guys are fighting injury and father time, a big play has to be made and made soon.

Its just a question of who has the Grapefruits to do it.

Random Notes from the Cyber Square Circle

Lamar Bolton — Mon, 04 May 2009 20:12:38 -0400

Big news coming off the net, it seems that the Undertaker will be going knife soon. The injuries are starting to mount and from what I've read its looking like they are going in to take a look at his knee's and his hip. They also seem to be more then a little worried what they might find when they open him up.

In other news, it would seem that Creative is finally going to pull the trigger on the new Hart foundation, pairing DH Smith with his former Tag partner Tyson Kidd and Natalya on ECW. They have been threatening to do this for well over a year and if they finally do, what does this mean for Legacy.

Having the two feud over two different shows wont be easy since it has come down that their will be little if any Cross brand matches. I would think the best idea was to make all three a member of legacy to expand legacy's sphere of influence over the whole company.

Then you could have them play off each others paranoia if and when you wont to split them up.

Also pertaining to the land of Extreme , Tiffany may be on her way out as general manager of ECW. Her Mic work is not up to snuff and since Tommy Dreamer's contract is up is up soon, it would seem that he is the next in line for the job.

The $64 question is, does he want it. I kinda hope he doesn't so that they can lay to rest the spirit of the Original ECW and let it die the long over death its do. You do that and then your clear to give Tuesday nights to the Divas and let them run with it.

I was sorry to hear that Roxi asked for her release after serving a part of a suspension for a physical l altercation with fellow knockout Rhakka Kahn. Apparently it was about her ability and her relationship with Angle behind the sciences.

Anyway, I think Roxxi is an untapped talent that could be the next Lita if she caught a break or two. WWE, if you really want to add an original Diva that defiantly goes against your cookie cutter type, you should check this hardcore Knockout.

Finally, an interesting little blip from the MMA scene. Nineteen-year-old Colt Toombs is making a little name for himself in the world of the octagon.

The son of WWE Hall of Famer Roddy Piper, said growing up with his dad their was a lot of Boxing and wrestling and he has had some Judo training form legend Gene Lebell. Toombs uses his Given name so he doesn't trade off of any of his dad's fame.

Tag Teams: Barely Hanging on Or About to Make a Comeback?

Lamar Bolton — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 14:09:36 -0400

As the evil empire continues to shrink its tag team ranks down to the Colons, Cryme Tyme, and Priceless, it should be noted that a tag team that the WWE really didn't want anymore is sponsoring a tournament to pick their No. 1 contender for their TNA Championship belts.

I find this rather unique that Team 3D can put on a crazy match like they did at Lock down and then turn around and put their name on a tournament to see who's first in line to have a crack out them.

I caught the Lockdown match and it was vintage ECW. Team 3D and Beer Money chased each other from one end of the arena to the other in one of the best tag matches I have seen in a long time.

Why is it TNA can do this and a title unification match for the WWE gets bumped off of WrestleMania?

Lets start with some new teams. The obvious one would be to team up Rey Mysterio and Evan Bourne. These two high flyers would match up very well with the teams they have already, and since there is only one set of belts now, it would mean you could have contender matches and title matches on all four shows.

Another sort of oddball pairing, I think might work is Finlay and and William Regal. Those two know each other really well and if it doesn't work, you could have them feud and maybe recreate the Junkyard match from the WCW days.

K and K , Kane and Mike Knox would make a good team also. They worked real good together a few months ago when they were both going after Rey. These two would make a great heel team who would mow down most of the competition.

Then you have the on-again, off-again saga of the new Hart Foundation. Tyson Kidd is already up and Harry Smith has been on his way up for a while.

So the excuse can't be that they don't have enough teams. If they're going to have just one set of belts, they have plenty of bodies.

WWE Backlash Predictions

Lamar Bolton — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 14:15:52 -0400

Less then eight hours from Backlash and I thought i get my predictions down for the record. For the record I have very little interest in the outcome of this PPV other then the Hardy Boys and which belt is going to Smack Down.

Right off the bat, Santino's Twin sister is going to be on the Khali kisscam one way or another. You know Santino is funny at times, I just dont know how long they cane keep this bit going.and another thing do you really want your crowd laughing at the start of the show or rev ed up and ready to go. Unless Santino has a way out of this he either gets squashed or "she " gets kissed.

The Kane CM Punk match will be a great indicator as to whether Punk will use the MITB case tonight. if he takes a bad enough beating , he most likely wont. But if the match is fairly short with a Punk win , or even A Kane squash you might see the case come into play tonight. Given how bad their match was last Monday, this one wont go long either way. Punk beats Kane with a quick GTS and the case is definitely in play tonight.

Next up is what you should have gotten at the legends match at WM25. Ricky "the Dragon" Steamboat takes on Chris Jericho one on one. This one i think is a test to see what kinda pop Steamboat gets on his own.

I don't think hell be coming back full time but if they can set it up right. He'll have his uses. I think Steamboat wins this because I think they want to stretch this out for at least one more PPV.

Next up , Hardy Vs Hardy, an "I quit Match". I have hated this thing from the start and now with Jeff Saying he wont renew his contract after it expires soon Whats the point.

The fact that this Lame Duck feud is going to be the end of Jeff Hardy is a perfect example of who some one can get buried if they don't fit into the mold they are suppose to fit in. what a waist. Matt takes this in a stain of a match in which both of them will need help to get to the back.

Six man tag is next , I am so over this whole thing. what started out as real promising feud has just fallen apart. Orton will win this and then starts the endless parade of people that orton has punted in the head starting with Batista. dont rule out some McMahon family swerve just make ting interesting.

For the ECW belt, It's Jack Swagger vs. Christian. Since all of the plans for Christian have been scrapped , he wins this and Swagger moved to another show based on his match with Cena two weeks ago.

Christian is the next in line to prop up the ECW brand and he will do well. The one thing I would say about ECW is , throw Finlay a bone and let him have the belt for a little run.

WWE Draft Night: Here We Go Again

Lamar Bolton — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 18:01:41 -0400

Closing in on the draft Raw show, and I can hardly wait. Everytime they do one of these things it's like watching a train wreck about to happen and hoping the damage isn't too bad.

Right out of the chute, they have a little problem with their second tier titles and the men that are holding them. Both Rey Mysterio and MVP are more then likely going to switch shows, so what do you do about the belts they are wearing right now?

The easy answer will be to let the belts go with them.

But the problem might be that the IC belt has been associated with Raw for so long, there might be some back lash about moving it, and replacing it with a belt that was once the property of WCW. I personally don't mind the switch; it might put some fresh ideas in creative's heads.

Next up is howthey are they going to split up the women.

It leaked out on the net over the weekend that Maryse and Melina might be switching shows. This one I really like because it splits up Maryse and Michelle McCool, which really needs to be done, Bringing Melina to Smackdown upgrades the in-ring quality of the SD Women.

I can see a Gail Kim-Melina feud in the near future.

Finally, Triple H wants back on Raw, and this one should be obvious. If they are going to continue this Orton thing, then they have to move one of them. Same with Cena. If Triple H moves to Raw, then Cena has got to move as well. Cena is much more kid-friendly, and since they will need to have a big name on Smackdown, it's the obvious choice.

For any of you that might be interested, I think I'm gonna be live blogging from my alter ego's blog tonight. Just go to my Bleacher profile, and click on Lamar's Web site button.

Hardy Feud; Cain and Abel or Pointless Violence?

Lamar Bolton — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 22:43:52 -0400

One of the few good matches to come out of Sunday's Wrestlemania 25 was the extreme rules match pitting brothers Matt and Jeff Hardy in a battle that pretty much involved everything but the kitchen sink.

While this contest was completely riveting for the fans, the road they took to get to this one was pointless and didn't need to happen.

This all came about because of Vince's paranoia about Internet leaks. Around the time that Jeff won the belt, it came out that Christian was leaving TNA and getting ready to come back to the dark side.

This all started to come out right about the time that all of Jeff's little accidents started to happen. People started putting two and two together and came up with four.

I think it would have worked fine but noooo, Instead of a logical progression into reuniting edge and Christian in a big feud with the Hardys and then branching out into other that point, they chose to take a very different approach.

The WWE approach was to have brother Matt, ECW champ at the time, to turn on his brother and exploit the very problems they claim are the reasons why Jeff won't have a prolonged title run.

Jeff is a risk, I get it, but Jeff by himself and the brothers together still get some of the biggest pop in the company coming down the ramp.

The promos Matt cut to push this feud were creepy at best and hardly PG-rated. when you think about what WM25 and what it ended up, there is a whole lot of room for improvement.

You could have had a Jeff and Edge in a feud and Jeff lose the belt because of Christian. You could have had Edge and Christian set it up to look like Matt was doing it and have Matt and Jeff fight as a distraction.

There are many different ways they could have run this up to WM25 that would have been so much better than what they did.

Booking a Match For Survivor Series

Lamar Bolton — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 07:47:19 -0400

With the resurgence of the tag team division in the WWE, I had a thought about the upcoming PPV Survivor series.

I don't know how many actual Survivor series matches they plan on having that night, but since they have thoughts of having a second generation stable have been around a bit, why not have the SmackDown champs, the Colon Brothers, team up with the former Raw Champs, Rhodes and Dibiase? Then they would take on the new RAW champs, CM Punk and Kofi Kingston and the Miz and John Morrison.

This would expand the idea of a second generation stable to SmackDown and you could have a lot more interaction between the shows. You could have some of the newer guys who aren't second generation band together because they are tired of those guys thinking a name only gets you to the main event card.

All I have read over the past few months is how bad the ratings are on the shows well this would be the ideal storyline that you could run through the week. On all of the shows and keep the people following it to each night. Any way, I'm glad to see that the tag teams are getting their time on TV again, it been a long time coming

If you are interested in any more of my thoughts follow the link below.