Bleacher Report - Articles by Ray Bogusz

CvC: Mick on The Moon; Mickie James is The Greatest Women's Wrestling Champ

Ray Bogusz — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 23:04:54 -0400

If you believe they put a man on the moon...

Women's wrestling is a funny thing; some people will say women's wrestling is something you see on the second disc of a two disc set of "Girls Gone Wild" DVDs. Others will immediately say the Lelani Kai-Wendi Richter feud of the mid-80's was the absolute peak of the women's division—Richter and manager Cyndi Lauper fighting against Lelani and her manager, Fabulous Moolah: a legend in her own right.

The point is that the women's sport didn't really have the same history, much less the same kind of advantageous starting point, that the men's sport had. While the men were carving out huge markets on the new frontier of television in the 40's and 50's, women were restricted to being valets, sideshows, or wrestling in seedy back alleys where they encouraged to show their...er...gams...more often than any kind of wrestling skill was acknowledged.

It's from that background that Mickie Laree James comes to us today.

How she got into wrestling reads more like an ironic Shakespearian play than something from the annals of women's wrestling lore. A failed trigonometry class sent the future women's wrestling icon off the path of college (for a while anyway) and sent her looking to carve out a living elsewhere: Professional Wrestling.

Mickie went around and trained with anybody and everybody; excelling, but being told that her short stature and more countrified appearance would hold her success back.

If you believe there's nothing up there to see...

After bumming around various backwater promotions and holding a plethora of titles from one Indy or another, Mickie went to a fledgling Ring of Honor and continued her Alexis Laree gimmick.

While there, she also made appearances on TNA, where she became a charter member of Raven's stable, The Gathering.

Mickie continued to work in TNA, not getting involved with women's belts and instead getting right in with the boys in what were titled "Clockwork Orange House of Fun" matches. While they aren't inherently bad, they are most often referred to as worth watching because of her work within them, not because of the other wrestlers.

With her mark already made on TNA, Mickie was finally given a developmental contract with OVW, and she left to begin her journey to WWE.

Nothing is cool...

After her almost fly-by-night stopover at OVW, Mickie would come up to the ranks of WWE where she was booked as Trish Stratus' obsessed stalker fan. Mickie played the part to a tee, even managing to confront Trish outside, in the shower, in the ring, and really anywhere else on planet earth.

Mickie then began to actually feud with Trish after constant rejection and became one of the more villified heels in WWE history by constantly harrassing the beloved Stratus.

However, as WrestleMania 22 approached, fans began to fall in love with the little energy ball who kept trying to win the affection (and physical love) of Trish. Despite being booked to win as a heel, the WrestleMania 22 crowd continually cheered for Mickie whenever she did well, and booed Stratus intensely whenever she would hit a move.

A star had been born.

Trish eventually left WWE, and Mickie then began a second signature feud; this time with Lita.

The two feuded over the title which was vacated by Stratus' legitimate injury and retirement. Lita, playing her well crafted role of heel, would wrestle Mickie in matches with stipulations designed to ground the high flyer from Virginia.

With increasing crowd unappreciation towards Lita, the heel end announced that she would defend her title at Survivor Series and retire: win, lose, or double count out.

That night came and again, Mickie and the crowd rose up for a win. Mickie had now retired two of the most prolific divas either, giving both of them what would go down as their signature feuds and twice culminating them with a won Women's championship.

From there, Mickie gave Victoria a feud, and then continued to run around the women's division, eventually getting into a title feud with former OVW nemesis, Beth Phoenix.

Mickie had a completely different booking with Beth; her smaller size wasn't as big of a deal against Trish Stratus, Lita, or even Victoria. Against, Beth Phoenix it was a different story. The pure size and strength of "The Glamazon" was an obvious problem to the significantly smaller Mickie James, and she had to play the part.

Mickie was repeatedly beaten back by Phoenix, and when the time came to fight for the Women's Championship on RAW, it wasn't a miracle kick or a botched slam attempt from Phoenix that gave Mickie the win.

Instead, she rolled up Beth from a fall off the second rope—winning with ring savvy that one would expect from a veteran of any sport.

After that feud, the entire women's division began to fall apart...

The Women's Title was put on the backburner in favor of a crossdressing Italian.

The Diva's Title looked to be dead in the water.

Barbie look-a-like Kelly Kelly seemed to be getting a push against herself.

Then, Diva's champion Maryse began dodging none other than Women's division mainstay, Mickie James.

Nobody had really cared about the Diva's belt before Mickie got involved, and as soon as she first got in the ring against Maryse, the Diva's belt became a topic and the calls for her to be the first to win both the Women's belt and Diva's belt began.

Mickie might not have gotten that honor first, but a lot more people were happy that she did. With the pressure of coming after the WWE Championship match at Night of Champions, Mickie James did what she always did: Delivered a great match.

Mickie James became champion on Night of Champions...poetic isn't it?

If you believe they put Mick on the moon...

It's not very often that women wrestlers survive recessions in their sport.

Trish and Lita never had to do that in the first place. Moolah survived, but her record is more because people stopped booking her and forgot to disband the title. Rockin' Robin managed to keep the early women's division of Richter and Kai alive almost singlehandedly, but even she had a near death experience.

Mickie James joins those three as the only women to survive a downturn in women's wrestling. She joins Moolah as the only two to come out with arguably stronger legacys and she stands alone as the only one to usher a division through with her.

She's stayed on top despite failed angles, poor opponent quality, and a PG push from WWE that would normally cripple someone who had once posed for fetish magazines to make ends meet on the Indy scene.

She's given the signature feud to the hands down two most prolific women wrestlers of their era.

She's a four time women's champion.

She was the first name off everyone's lips when talks of building the Diva's belt into something came up.

She survived a women's wrestling recession.

She's generated fan reaction and interest everywhere she's gone.

If this isn't the resume of the greatest women's wrestler ever, I'm just not sure what is.

Mickie James: Professional Champion

Thanks for a great time, B/R. Be sure to check out the site that's going to be getting most of my work now: The Wrestling Daily.com and if you're interested in writing for it, send an email to either rbogusz@thewrestlingdaily.com or jleblanc@thewrestlingdaily.com. We're still looking for the best of the best before the site launches. I'll see you around.

W2YMS!

Night of Champions Super-Penultimate Review

Ray Bogusz — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 15:17:43 -0400

I never know what to expect when I do one of these reviews/recaps.

Personally, I never thought any recaps I've ever written about anything were all that great. Then again, the last time I sat down and penned one of these bad boys, it was in the form of a report card for WrestleMania XXV and it caused such an uproar that the B/R wrestling community saw an uprising that resulted in two new CL's, lots of drama, and a whole lot of comments for moi. Well...when you're this good...

Anyway, last night was Night of Champions and if you paid full price by yourself (I did not) you're out $50 whether the show was good or bad.

To be honest, after I watched it very early this morning, I had a pretty wide array of emotions ranging from good to "why?"

Last time I wrote a review, I had a pretty negative view all around; this time, not so much. I think if you pitched in with some friends, you definitely got your money's worth; the same going for anyone who paid for a ticket at the venue.

But what happened at NoC, and where does WWE go from here? There's a marquee PPV event coming up, the build is going to have to be good. Onward!

Unified Tag Team Match

What Went Down: Big Show turned out to be Y2J's partner and they didn't have all that difficult of a time knocking off Legacy to retain the belts.

On a personal level, I'm very happy that Big Show turned out to be the partner. After a few months of watching one of my preferred wrestlers job to Cena, it's good to see him with a belt—a belt under reconstruction no less.

He's also a great partner for Jericho; Big Show is big enough both literally and marketability wise, that Jericho won't totally overshadow him, however, thanks to the aforementioned jobbing, Show did need a boost to jump out of mid-card Hell.

Match Grade: B+. Show could have been introduced better and Legacy didn't need to look as bad as they did.

Looking Ahead: Show and Jericho should look to head over to SD, where the Tag Team pastures are much greener. Hopefully the Hart Dynasty ends their feud with Cryme Time or finds a way to make it a three way feud for the titles.

Women's Championship

What Went Down: Melina lost her rematch against McCool, giving one of the Women's Division's most polarizing figures a more secure lock on the belt. I'll give McCool and her supposed fans the point that she is getting better—not that I think she's belt material yet. The match was okay, I'm in the minority who thinks the Diva's Belt match was better.

Match Grade: C+ Pending Review. I'm still not sold on McCool as a champion and she looks like she's got another situation on her hands where she has a belt and no challengers.

Looking Ahead: The loss, combined with persistent rumblings of backstage heat for Melina, point towards McCool having to tread water for a bit; something I'm not sure she's capable of doing.

On the plus side, Natalya is wrestling again and Eve Torres has turned into everything WWE had hoped Maria would. Hopefully they both get in on the title chase...sooner rather than later.

Diva's Championship

What Went Down: Mickie James got justice, finally receiving the Diva's Belt. The match was good because frankly, it was more compelling. Maryse is looking like a great heel and Mickie...well, she's Mickie. The two traded DDTs and then one counter later, Mickie became the second woman to hold both belts, but the first one anybody is going to remember.

Match Grade: A-. There was a real chance that Mickie would drop the match here, and with both women being compelling both in and out of ring, the match just had a throwback feel. I like throwback feel.

Looking Ahead: The key here is to keep this feud going until Gail Kim, Rosa Mendez, and Beth Phoenix are more established within the roster. Don't let it die, WWE. This belt needs prestige and should have a match at SummerSlam as well, preferably somehow involving ECW's Katie Lea.

United States Championship

What Went Down: Kofi Kingston retained in the six-pack match. Primo Colon was inserted for Big Show and the match was hectic, as is to be expected in matches that have no place on PPV cards.

Match Grade: B-. I'm not a fan of these matches, they don't really have the oomph that they should considering the U.S. Title needs a major recovery from the bottom of the WWE Belt Tier. That being said, it wasn't awful.

Looking Ahead: Kingston is putting a nice run together with the U.S. Title, but now he needs to find a real feud partner. Swagger and MVP would appear to be out of the running since they supposedly have a feud with each other that doesn't need the added allure of a belt, and the Colon's seem stuck in limbo.

Enter Miz. He's consistently looked good and it would force Kofi to develop mic skills and a more flushed personality.

Intercontinental Championship

What Went Down: Rey Mysterio retained in one of the night's odder matches. Ziggler continues to look good and this rivalry is going places. The IC title isn't where it needs to be in prestige yet, but it's getting there and getting there fast.

Maria's heel turn is already starting to look bust, which doesn't bode well for her chances at scoring the bigger contract she's supposedly aiming for. Hopefully, she becomes more heelish in the coming weeks, with an emphasis hopefully placed on the outside chances she turns into a witch and makes Ziggler her man bitch.

Match Grade: B. I realize full well this isn't how it works, but after the hit Mysterio took on Friday, he should have dropped here. As long as this feud keeps going we'll probably look back at this match with better feelings than the "B" I gave it.

ECW Championship

What Went Down: Tommy Dreamer dropped the title, at least in his adopted home of Philly. So much for the Christian heel turn too, although we'll get a better reading on that Tuesday. ECW will be interesting this week; hopefully Tommy retires (it's time) and he leaves with quiet dignity, something his beloved ECW wasn't allowed to do under WWE's watch.

Match Grade: B+. A Dreamer match that doesn't involve wood and or metal just isn't "A" material for me, but I can't deny that it was a solid match worked by two guys at vastly different points in their careers.

Looking Ahead: If Tommy retires, that opens up a spot for the ECW title. Who comes up will depend on how Christian gets received. If he gets accepted as a face, look for either Shelton Benjamin, William Regal, or Goldust to get in on the mix; heel should result in the wildly over Yoshi Tatsu getting in, even though he might need some more development first.

WWE Championship

What Went Down: Randy Orton retained, giving him possession of the belt for another 40 plus day reign. The result wasn't too desirable, as the end was convoluted and didn't make Orton the dominate force he needs to be portrayed as. John Cena apparently has super spidey sense and Triple-H seemed a bit like the odd man out.

Match Grade: B-. That ending really killed it for me.

Looking Ahead: Hopefully, I get my wish and the feud between Orton and Trips either ends or moves away from the title before or at SummerSlam. John Cena should get in on the title mix, although who would be in with him is still slightly up in the air. Hey, DiBiase has that movie coming out and did almost pin Orton in their match...

World Heavyweight Championship

What Went Down: Against all odds and business sense, Jeff Hardy won back the WHC over your friend and mine, CM Punk. This feud doesn't look to be going anywhere immediately, which leave John Morrison in Limbo.

Match Grade: F. Seriously, this move made zero sense.

Looking Ahead: With Hardy's contract supposedly ending soon with no renewal agreement in sight, the belt is going to have to change hands again fast. We might as well just let Hardy keep it until he's ready to go, then have Punk beat the hell out of him.

Synopsis

What went down: A fairly solid PPV took place, with only one really out of line move. WWE looks to have a strong foundation for SummerSlam. In reality, you could have put HBK vs. Undertaker, a celebrity, a few legends, and a bigger venue in this match, called it WrestleMania XXV, and everyone would have been happy with it.

PPV Grade: A-.

Looking Ahead: The two Women's divisions and the Tag scene will be most interesting. The two other gripping storylines will be who comes out of ECW for the title and where John Morrison goes while Jeff Hardy continues to smell up the WHC scene.

www.wspa-usa.org

W2YMS! (Go ahead and skip to the 49 second mark)

Night Of Champions Preview: What Should, Not Will, Happen

Ray Bogusz — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 01:59:18 -0400

About a month ago, WWE had this thing called "The Bash" and I wrote a totally super awesome preview for it where I looked at what should happen, not necessarily what would happen.

Like everything else I do (including racy posing in magazines) it was met with rave reviews from children and adults alike.

The "Idealist" Preview is back, and looking at Night of Champions.

Now, to quote some of the most famous people ever to fancy themselves as journalists (key phrase being "fancy"): We've got a lot to get to, so let's get started, shall we?

Champion listed first.

Women's Title: Michelle McCool vs. Melina

I'm just assuming this is the women's title match because, surprise surprise, now that Michelle McCool won the belt, it's already managed to slip into the SmackDown Netherworld.

Melina should win.

McCool is a serviceable chaser, but she's the J.P. Losman of champions or in other words, she sucks with a belt.

Having McCool lose would keep her in a feud which would appease the fans she apparently has, and would give the belt back to Melina who, until Natalya decides to get in the mix, is just the best damn thing going on the SD women's card.

Ideal Winner: Melina

Diva's Title: Maryse vs. Mickie James

In the evening's slightly (vastly) superior women's match, two divas will fight it out for the Lil' Bratz belt.

Everyone who has ever had a bit of contact with me knows that I am a hardcore Mickie James mark. Nothing will make my women's wrestling viewing better until she gets the belt.

However: The ideal scenario here is a Maryse retainment.

This feud has been a consistent bright spot on a drearily inconsistent RAW, and last week topped the cake by having an interview segment that had a very old school feel. With the blacked out lights, the stage at the front of the audience instead of the ring, and opponents coming out of the shadows, WWE went back in time to use the same setup that worked great with Gene Okerlund during the Mega Powers split.

Besides that, Mickie should take the crown at what's arguably WWE's No. 2 event of the year: SummerSlam.

I'll gladly see a Mickie loss if she gets a win at SummerSlam.

Ideal Winner: Maryse, even though I'll gladly take a Mickie win on Sunday.

Unified Tag Title: Chris Jericho & ??? vs. Legacy

There is absolutely no reason Legacy should pick these titles up.

Jericho is a huge name for a title that is rebuilding itself, and he has no other place to go on SD. Meanwhile, Priceless hasn't exactly had enough good showing to justify them getting one by on ol' Y2J. For Christ's sake, Cody got chopped by friggin' Seth Green.

Whoever scores a win with Jericho would get a huge boost; I'm sure he'll need it.

Ideal Winner: Y2Who

US Championship: Kofi Kingston vs. Miz vs. MVP vs. Carlito vs. Swagger vs. Big Show

Step by step, I'm going to show everyone why the U.S. Title needs to be retained by Kofi here.

MVP and Swagger are already set to feud without a belt; adding the U.S. Title to this does nothing for anybody and kills some of Kofi's much needed momentum as an actual baby face; not that Cena/Hardy pushing the envelope face crap.

Carlito should seriously consider just making up with Primo. Barring that, they should engage in a brother vs. brother feud which would be a repeat of a repeat.

Thanks, Hart brothers, at least one set made it memorable.

That leaves Big Show and Kofi. I'm all for these two feuding, but Big Show smacked Evan Bourne around two weeks ago; what would smacking Kofi around and then taking his belt do for anybody? Show has his strength back...apparently.

Besides, the U.S. Title needs a nice long run with somebody who people give a damn about.

Ideal winner: Kofi Kingston

Intercontinental Championship: Rey Mysterio vs Dolph Ziggler

Slightly under 140 days ago, JBL won the IC belt off CM Punk on RAW and ever since then, it's been held by a shoo-in Hall of Famer. (Punk's career is too young to include him in that group, even though I do happen to think he's got the goods.)

Ziggler is already getting top heel reactions---for the love of God, he got fans to get behind Great Khali...Great frikkin' Khali.

Couple that with Ziggler's lack of a belt to this point and the fact that he's only starting, not finishing a feud with Rey, and the answer of why Ziggler should win is clear.

A Ziggler loss leaves little room for the feud to progress and then where will both of these guys go? Mysterio looks to be out of the WHC picture and Ziggler isn't going to get moved ahead of Punk for the WHC heel spot.

Besides, Ziggy has shown a lot now that he's doing more than incessantly repeating his name all the time.

Ideal Winner: Dolph "I need my old entrance music back" Ziggler

ECW Championship: Tommy Dreamer vs. Christian

I realize I'm probably a hypocrite for saying this, since I rip on TNA for being too old all the time. I'm justified there though, I mean honestly how can you call yourself Big Sexy when you look like somebody who might be running from Duane Chapman?

Anyway, the point is that Tommy Dreamer should win here.

Whether the retirement angle was just an angle or there's some truth in it meaning he'll leave once he drops the title, he should retain for two reasons.

One, he's given a lot to the business and is still very over. While he has a huge following in Philly because of his work in the real ECW, Night of Champions just isn't a big enough show for someone who means what Tommy means to go out.

Dreamer shouldn't drop the belt until SummerSlam, and then only if he's legitimately looking to retire because the second reason is that this title run is just a lot of fun.

Face it, ECW isn't exactly a hot feud breeding ground since we all know Goldust and anybody with the last name Burchill can't get a push in WWE to save their life (get Katie Lea in a title mix damnit).

The Dreamer run is really fun for a lot of people, and Christian is NOT the person to take the belt from him...ever...

Ideal Winner: Tommy Dreamer

WWE Championship: Randy Orton vs. John Cena vs. Triple-H

Ladies and Gentlemen, stop the presses and phone your local television stations, because I'm about to do something I've never even thought before.

John Cena should win here.

RAW has seemed a bit lost at the top with Cena out of the title picture; as nice as it is to have his silly ass nowhere near the WWE belt, putting it there is better than watching the rest of the product flounder.

A Cena win gives Orton his rematch on RAW or at SummerSlam. Triple-H can interfere somewhere, and the feud can go away from the belt, opening a slot for a main event push for a young talent. Although with my luck, Vince will read this preview and misinterpret "young talent" to either mean a returning HBK or Mark Henry...fml.

Ideal Winner: John Cena

World Heavyweight Championship: CM Punk vs. Jeff Hardy

Jeff Hardy hasn't re-signed. Punk needs to finally finish the heel turn. Hello beatdown of Jeff leading to time off screen to do his art or whatever other stupid projects he wants to do.

Na na na na.

Hey hey hey.

Hardy sucks.

Na na na na.

HEY HEY HEY.

GOOD BYE!

Ideal Winner: CM Punk

Epilogue

I guess that's it. JLB and I will be announcing something megaspectacular on Monday. Keep your eyes peeled.

Next week: Ray writes something in Chaucerian meter!

www.wspa-usa.org

W2YMS!

Royal Misuse: Katie Lea Burchill Deserves Her Push

Ray Bogusz — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 00:38:21 -0400

Preface: I hope y'all are clicking the links at the end. One is something I actually care about, and the W2YMS changes every article. Check both out.

Sometimes, I sit back and look at WWE—proud I am a fan of their product as opposed to the decade-old rancid milk spewed upon me week after week by TNA.

Swagger is getting his push; Mickie is going to get a belt soon; CM Punk might finally be turning heel; Jeff Hardy still hasn't been re-signed; Goldust finally showed up on ECW...and even got some support. These are the things which make me watch a professional wrestling program and smile.

However, there are some things that just scratch my head—and some are more egregious than others.

I don't know why Mark Henry got to turn face and get a damn story instead of Big Show; I don't know why John Cena keeps winning PPV matches; I don't understand John Morrison not being picked over Jeff Hardy, and I really just don't know what Mike Knox has to do to get some airtime.

That all pales in comparison to my personal gripe with WWE (the one that doesn't involve not having signed Grizzly Redwood).

If you're like me, you're a good wrestling fan and you either watched or TiVo'd ECW last night.

You turned it on, then went upstairs and got brownies while some Canadian loser got it on in the ring with some black kid who apparently hasn't been told that humanity's darker members (including Hispanics and overly tan white dudes) look cartoonish with blonde hair.

The next match looked a little more promising, as promising FCW call up, Yoshi Tatsu, got ready to face off against a returning Paul Burchill, escorted by his far more important sister, Katie Lea.

The match wasn't bad, especially considering Burchill has been off due to his brother's death and Tatsu is still fairly green. Tatsu totally botched a move that appeared to only hurt himself, but ended up winning anyway.

To be honest, I couldn't have cared less about the outcome. Tatsu is making the rounds for a push at a later date, and I've never been too into Paul.

The problem was Katie Lea did nothing, and isn't doing anything on ECW.

Katie Lea Burchill is one talented woman, and if you don't want to take my word for it, head over to YouTube. Or, better yet, just go ask all her old cohorts at OVW.

Katie Lea had it going on: Ring skills, mic skills, eye candy skills. If you can name an attribute for a successful female wrestler, Katie has it.

However, she's floundering on ECW while the Women's divisions continue to lack character. I say boo. Katie is getting royally screwed (and not by William Regal...ah yes, I'm a saucy fellow.)

RAW's Women's division needs heels badly. While the face section on RAW is loaded with Mickie, Gail, and Kelly dominating the top three spots, poor Maryse is stuck watching two imbecils without a lick of talent between them vie for heel spots two and three.

That's right, I said it. Rosa Mendez isn't good at all, and Alicia "The Hair" Fox just plain sucks, too. Honestly, McCool has already gotten less annoying since Fox's departure. To have those two clowns of the Women's division bumbling around RAW while Katie slowly dies on ECW is beyond me.

SmackDown's situation isn't any better: Natalya doesn't seem as if she's going to be busting heads any time soon and outside of Melina and sometimes Michelle, the rest of their Women's division is about as good as "The Hair."

Having not moved Katie to RAW or SmackDown is an absolute disgrace to the talent—and a slap in the face to Burchill.

She's now looking to be Paul's nonexistent manager and to start a feud with...the Bella Twins.

The Bella Twins? Are we serious? Those girls do not have an ounce of wrestling talent or charisma between the two of them. Like I told AkD earlier: I'm not sure the effervescent conversations between the 16-year old girls running the local drive-in pizza stand are hands down better than anything the Bella Twins are throwing out there, but it's got to be close.

Simply put: Katie Lea is far too talented to be wasting away on ECW. Like anyone else, her clock is ticking and it makes no sense whatsoever to keep her buried—especially since her body of work holds major titles everywhere else she's gone.

Not only that, but she can work a stick, too. Don't believe me? Click here.

Oh, and she's wrestled some of the boys, too. Don't believe me? Click here.

Oh, and she did one hell of a ladder match, too. Don't believe that either? Click here.

Yeah, that standing jump off the ropes is pretty impressive. And that mic work is pretty well composed...unlike most other Divas...

Now that you've watched all of those videos and are, like me, in awe of this strangely unused talent, here's a short list of talent that has more airtime than Katie Lea on ECW the past three weeks: Brie Bella, Nikki Bella, a general manager, a supposed FCW call-up, various territorial jobbers, and Abraham Washington.

If this isn't a miscarriage of wrestling justice, I don't have the slightest clue what is.

Go to shows and demand Katie. If you're bored enough that you go over to WWE Universe, raise hell until Katie shows up more.

For the love of gingy, she's an honest to goodness wrestler—let's not waste her.

Same old story: Let's get Grizzly Redwood and Katie Lea their pushes. Oh, and JLB and I are getting a huge thingy together. Details forthcoming.

P.S. This needs front page time. Seriously.

www.wspa-usa.org

W2YMS!

No Push Required: Excuses and Whining From Christian Marks Must End

Ray Bogusz — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 00:08:34 -0400

Preface: Damnit, Shane. Why'd you have to go stealin' mah thundah?

It's rare someone so mediocre gains such a large following no matter what the sport. Sure, there are the exceptions who become cult icons like Vince Young or John Daly, but for the most part, if you're mediocre, you have an equally mediocre following. WWE is no exception here, and one of the best--if not the best--example of this is Christian.

Christian is strange in that people either seem to think he's a main event singles Godsend, or he's some bottom of the barrel hack. I'm in the distinct minority that finds him to be neither: He's not bad per say, he's just not good either.

Normally, we'd all go about our business and collide only when one side gets particularly uppity--though that'd be hard for my side to do for Christian as we're rather apathetic to the whole shebang. The problem is that his fans, or "Peeps" as they refer to themselves, tend to rise out of the ground in untold droves at every opportunity they get to talk about topics including but not limited to: why Christian is great; why Christian needs to be pushed more; why Vince McMahon is the only thing holding Christian from being the next Austin; blah blah blah.

This behavior and thought process must stop.

First, Christian is okay. TNA tried hardcore to push him to the top, yet he didn't dominate TNA the way his Peeps seem to think he will dominate WWE. This train of thought makes little to no sense when looked at piece by piece. How is Christian a legitimate name to throw out for "potential WWE cash cow" when he didn't even catch on at a company which desperately wanted him to succeed? More importantly, if he was so great before leaving WWE the first time, why aren't the promotions in a ratings war? Surely Christian should have propelled TNA to the highest of heights! Or maybe just to a 1.2 on the Neilsen rating scale.

Do you get it yet? Christian hasn't ever proven he's a sustainable main event wrestler--even though TNA did everything but sacrifice the first born of every employee to get him over as a top star. If he wasn't even hacking it in TNA, how can he possibly fare well in the company that is even bigger and more demanding?

Hell, his best success has been as a nine time Tag Team Champion. That's right: His best work has been done with a partner--namely Edge--and not by himself. Christian is best known as Edge's sidekick and here's the real kicker: He's never even sniffed a WWE or World Heavyweight Title.

The closest he's come to one of the two major belts is the ECW title, which based on fan reaction was lackluster at best.

Speaking of that, the more important point is that it isn't Vince McMahon who is holding back Captain Charisma, it's his fans.

Peeps will often argue that there are strong reports Michael Hayes is high on Christian and that it is Vince who holds him back. However, if we look at the timeline of Christian's return, this just doesn't seem 100 percent right.

I personally don't think Hayes is high on Christian at all, but even if I'm dead wrong, it's fans and not Vince holding Christian back.

Assume I'm wrong and Michael Hayes is fighting tooth and nail to get Christian a push. Christian was supposed to be Jeff Hardy's attacker but eager Christian marks kept spreading that word like butter on toast. Eventually, the suspense was gone before Christian could even debut and then Vince probably pulled the plug and switched with Matt.

Fine.

Normally, if Vince wasn't high on someone, this would be the end of it. However, Christian was then supposed to show up on RAW or SmackDown, meaning that either Vince really does want him to succeed, or Hayes had it out with Vince and got his way.

That secret stayed under wraps for all of about four seconds. However, again, Christian was merely rewritten to show up somewhere else...meaning either Vince is really high on him, or Hayes once again got his way.

Finally, Christian had to be rewritten for the umpteenth time and was given a shot on ECW...where he quickly got in on--and cashed in on--the title picture.

Working off the premise that you're all right, and Vince wants to crush Christian, I've showed that Hayes would have had to go into battle with Vince--and...haha...win--no less than three times, and probably more.

I ask you: If Vince McMahon and Michael Hayes really didn't want him to succeed, would Christian have been given chance after chance to debut? Would he have been practically handed the ECW belt? Would he still be in the title picture today?

The answer is no. Jason Reso aka Christian is talented, and WWE desperately wants him to succeed but his fans keep killing him.

Either, they leak his storylines before they come out forcing constant changes, or they're dead at shows. That's right, you people are dead.

I'm hard pressed to find many matches between Christian and anybody that got any pop. Sure, the title matches on PPVs got some pop...after Tommy Dreamer won. Christian was an afterthought to the fans who overwhelmingly supported somebody who has been a jobber since the original ECW folded.

The title rematch on the RAW "Three For All" was a joke. I have heard high school girls basketball games with better crowds.

The bottom line is that if you want someone to succeed, you have to show that he's going to get the support a top billed star will get. He's got good tools, his mic skills have improved, and hell--he even looks like a wrestler. But if he was that big, and that overwhelmingly talented, he'd get stellar fan support week in and week out.

Christian hasn't gotten that yet, and his fans need to shut up until they decide to show he can.

To close, let this be a challenge to "Peeps" worldwide: Prove me wrong. Prove you can give him the support he needs to get pushed. Prove we can get into his promos; his matches; his career. Prove. Me. Wrong.

Don't forget to go to the ROH forums and demand more Grizzly Redwood, and to WWE Universe so you can help start the movement to push Katie Lea Burchill out of obscurity.

W2YMS!

Ric Flop: Flair, Ring Of Honor, Should Part Ways For Everyone's Benefit

Ray Bogusz — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 23:33:11 -0400

I don't remember where, but I recently described Ric Flair as a "vapid waste of space." I'm a little surprised I didn't catch insurmountable backlash there, but even if I had, I'd still not back down from my position. Ric Flair hasn't done a damn thing for a while now, and it's time he was finally called on it.

Let's look at Ric Flair's recent past. He had a retirement at WrestleMania XXIV that was one of the most poignant moments in wrestling history. Almost immediately afterwards, he began showing signs that he didn't want to retire--outside of kayfabe mind you.

Flair then signed on as an "ambassador" for WWE and even had some storylines where he tried to get back involved in the business. Flair kept hanging around, tarnishing his legacy, and got involved in the seemingly haphazard Chris Jericho storyline going into WrestleMania XXV.

Flair wasn't wrestling, but he might as well have been. There he was, not even a full year later, at a WrestleMania. Sure, he didn't technically fight Jericho, but he got in the ring and practically guided Mickey Rourke's hands.

Later on, Flair was on RAW...coming out and challenging Randy Orton to a parking lot brawl. Flair was promptly beaten down by Legacy. Is this what the career of the limousine ridin' son of a gun has come to? Unsanctioned parking lot brawls and being made to look like the feeble old man at the hands of Legacy while simultaneously taking time away from a young star who could have come to Batista's aide and gotten a push of his own? For shame, Nature Boy.

While all this has been going on over in WWE, Flair had the stones to start robbing Ring of Honor blind. That's right, I said Flair is robbing Ring of Honor.

Flair signed on with Ring of Honor to be the ambassador to ROH, which is kind of like if I declared myself my apartment complex's ambassador to the local mini-mart/laundromat/hospital.

What the whole deal really meant was that Flair was going to show up on ROH to help give it some pizazz and draw in the interest of more casual wrestling fans who might very well have otherwise not explored the pleasure cornucopia that is ROH programming.

I guess the first one wasn't abysmal by any means. Flair came out and endorsed the product (good), there was lots of "woooo"ing (also good), and in general everything seemed to play off Flair's initial energy boost nicely...the cunning plan had worked!

Skip forward to now. Every city Flair stops in on behalf of ROH is apparently "the best city I've ever wrestled in" and the promos...well they leave a lot to be desired. The speech is almost exactly the same, and it's delivered in a manner that makes me swear Jeff "Professional Promo Butcher" Hardy is the one actually giving it. There's lots of "woooo"ing and beyond that...not a lot happens.

The endorsement sounds forced.

Talent doesn't get over.

Flair isn't energetic.

In short: Flair is a cancer in Ring of Honor. His presence, while nice for anybody with a ticket, just isn't translating into the break into mainstream wrestling fans consciousness that ROH was hoping for.

What's happened is that Flair has begun to come around more and more reluctantly as he continues his insane quest to return to WWE...as if he wasn't old enough to be a grandfather to some of you reading this.

Flair now sucks up money that ROH desperately needs for other places, and time that could be used to showcase other talent--like Grizzly Redwood. He's not bringing the "Ric Flair Pop" to the table for Ring of Honor, and it's time this stopped.

Ring of Honor gained its following because it went against the mainstream and hasn't relied on WWE rejects...something that can't be said of TNA (apologies to Mr. Testa). It's time they cut their ties with Flair since nobody is getting anything positive, and talent like Ernie Osiris and future wrestling God, Grizzly Redwood, are being relegated as afterthoughts and bumbling sidekicks.

Ring of Honor never needed Flair, and they should cut their losses sooner rather than later. Besides, he'll not be missed by a damn anybody watching ROH--least of all me.

Don't forget to go to the ROH forums and let them know we want more Grizzly. Also, go to WWE Universe and demand that Katie Lea Burchill gets a push.

www.aspca.org

W2YMS!

Controlling The Flow: Criticism Of McCool Is Warranted; Attacks Are Not

Ray Bogusz — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 00:25:38 -0400

A few months back, I wrote what is probably the most ringing endorsement Mickie James has gotten since she was recommended to WWE all those years ago. I called for an immediate push and layed out a simply stunning case that she, and only she, was the top candidate to be the first woman to hold both the Women's and Diva's belts.

Back when I wrote the article on Mickie, a sort of "Women's Renaissance" followed, helped mostly by the momentum boost caused by its winning the Article of the Day and being followed by an equally important piece written by our very own guru of the abstract, AkD (which won the same award 24 hours later).

AkD penned a defense of Michelle McCool, declaring the hatred and anger spewed forth towards her was unfounded and unwarranted. To his credit, I agreed that things often get taken a big too far with McCool, but also said that there are times her push seems far too forced--especially since I have the utmost respect for Michael Hayes as a booker.

Fast forward to now. WWE seems to have taken me up on my idea, since Mickie's days of being the invisible tag partner of Kelly Kelly were dropped almost immediately and ever since then she's been embroiled in a feud with Maryse that's been slowly reaching a boil. It's pretty cool to see my dictations actually be paid attention to--even if it's just a nice coincidence.

My desires didn't totally come to pass, however. While Mickie looks set to either get the Diva's title at Night of Champions or SummerSlam, she'll become the second woman to hold both--not the first--although she'll probably be the one remembered more. You see, at The Bash, Michelle McCool and Melina traded a few punches then traded ownership of the belt. McCool had won a title at The Bash for the second time in as many years and had, in fact, become the first woman to hold both the Women's and Diva's titles.

The McCool directed vitriol resurfaced about as quickly as...well as quickly as she'd won the match, really. No sooner had she wrapped the Women's belt around herself when the anger towards McCool started.

And therein lies the problem.

No, it's not criticism of McCool. As a public figure she's open to scrutiny, and as someone who had a long term relationship with Callaway, her pushes are always open to question.

In fact, given the circumstances, any responsible journalist *should* question her credentials for a push with the information at hand.

Let's be honest with ourselves: Michelle McCool wasn't exactly headlining a lot of viable candidates lists for the first woman to hold both the Women's and Diva's titles. Mickie James, Gail Kim, Beth Phoenix, Melina, and Natalya were all better candidates for one reason or another, and some of them hadn't even won one of them yet. Hell, my list put Katie Lea Burchill ahead of McCool and Katie hasn't even competed for a belt yet. (Speaking of egregious misuse, why is "The Hair" allowed to get top shelf time on RAW, yet Katie wallows in ECW against the useless Bella Twins?)

Just as importantly, despite her undeniable athletic ability, McCool isn't even topping the lists of top talent on SmackDown. In fact, most rational people will place her between second and fifth depending on factors that include: perceived potential of Eve Torres; perceived improvement and continued marketability of Maria; how soon Nattie Neidhart gets back into a title picture. The point here is that McCool wasn't even getting a lot of nods to be the next in line for a backwater title, much less an immortal spot in women's wrestling lore.

Given that information and combining it with her known relationship with Mark Callaway, it's perfectly responsible of a writer to call attention to the information, and that's what I've done here.

Not calling it would be irresponsible of me as a writer who wants to have an ounce of credibility to what he writes. If she didn't have the relationship, there'd be no reason to suspect anything other than Michael Hayes had lost his mind.

However, McCool did have the pull with Callaway, who in turn could probably sell Vince's grandkids to Somali pirates and still get whatever he wanted. With McCool's lack of prestige, and lack of fan following, the decision to make her the first woman to hold both titles has to come into question...especially with the lukewarm response she's received since.

In fact, given the information available, it is this writer's opinion that whether she and Mr. Callaway are still what TMZ would dub an "item", McCool's continued pushes are a direct correlation and as such have to be looked at with some scrutiny.

Again, this isn't inappropriate to set forth in the least. I haven't railed on her for a lack of athletic ability (which would be a lie) and haven't debased myself or my work by making false accusations or resorting to childish name calling. It's also true that if I said the same thing about Mickie's push, or a push for someone like Katie Lea, Gail Kim, or Melina, it would be highly inappropriate because none of them have nearly the same pull as McCool would with her connection to Callaway.

That's no different than if your wife and the wife of a judge were up for the same promotion within the court system which ultimately went to the wife of the judge. Had it gone to your wife, there'd be no grounds for suspicion: after all, your wife is married to a lowly peon (or in Mickie's case, she's probably dating whoever does the lowly peon's laundry). The judge's wife, however, shares a bed, house, car payment, and Mexican time share with someone who would have immense pull in said area.

All that aside, there's a line that's far too often crossed by wrestling journalists.

Lowering yourself to accusations that she is only in the company because The Undertaker gets to see what's between her legs is outlandish and forgetful of her physical ability which is on a level that if she ever could match her charisma, she'd be ready for something special. Names like McCrabs, McSleaze, McWhore, et. al aren't acceptable no matter who you are or what your story is.

By all means, question her place. There's been nothing to justify her push.

Question her place because you want an answer to what seems like a slap in the face to the litany of other women who put more into the show; not because you want to tar and feather a woman from behind your keyboard.

Call attention to the questionable pushes she's gotten over legions of superior candidates because they reek of nepotism and subsequent poor booking; not to yourself for childish and unfounded attacks on a woman's moral character.

Whether it's McCool, or Big Show, or John Cena, or anybody else; when you question their push, their place, or their talent, be a damn journalist, not a vandal.

Don't forget to go to the ROH forums and start demanding we see more Grizzly Redwood; while you're at it, go to WWE Universe and raise hell until Katie Lea gets some freaking recognition.

W2YMS!

ROH and SHIMMER Newsfeed and Recap: July 9-10

Ray Bogusz — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 00:10:59 -0400

Hey look at this! It's a cheesy introduction!

Death Before Dishonor VII

Death Before Dishonor VII happens in just a few short weeks in Toronto. The program is scheduled to run half on one day, and half the next, July 24-25. It's one of ROH's bigger nights and they seem to be trying to bring in every big name possible.

Lance Storm will be there ready to wrestle, and it was hinted by Cary Silken that ROH would be watching him in hopes of being able to extend a contract offer to work full-time with the company. Storm is said to be in excellent shape, hopefully that's the case.

In addition to that, Bret Hart and Ric Flair will also be making personal appearances before the shows. Hart will be making his appearance before the 24th show, and Flair before the 25th show.

Hart's time is 6-8 p.m. and tickets cost $25; Flair is from 5:30-7:30 p.m. and will cost $30s.

While Flair shouldn't be a big draw anymore (seriously, kids, he's everywhere), Hart should be a huge draw anywhere, especially in home Canada.

The card for the first night is as follows:

ROH World Title Four Corners Defense

Austin Aries defends vs. Tyler Black vs. Jerry Lynn vs. Nigel McGuinness

Tag Team Grudge Match

Lance Storm and Kevin Steen vs. Davey Richards and Chris Hero (w/Shane Hagadorn)

Special Challenge Match

Kenny Omega vs. Kenny King

Tag Team Action

Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. The Super Smash Brothers

The following talents are also scheduled to appear:

El Generico
Jimmy Rave
Colt Cabana
Sonjay Dutt
The Necro Butcher
D’Lo Brown
Frankie the Mobster
Brent Albright
Joey Ryan
Rhett Titus
Bison Smith
Claudio Castagnoli

The card for the second night is as follows:

Grudge Match

Lance Storm vs. Chris Hero with Shane Hagadorn

Toronto Gauntlet

D-Lo Brown vs. Sonjay Dutt vs. The Necro Butcher vs. Jimmy Rave vs. Jerry Lynn vs. Davey Richards. (Winner to receive future shot at ROH World Title.)

Grudge Match

Colt Cabana vs. Joey Ryan

Other talents scheduled to appear include:

ROH World Champion Austin Aries
Tyler Black
Kevin Steen
El Generico
Jay & Mark Briscoe
The Super Smash Brothers
Nigel McGuinness
Kenny Omega
Frankie the Mobster
Brent Albright
Kenny King
Rhett Titus
Bison Smith
Claudio Castagnoli

Tickets can be purchased through www.rohwrestling.com, www.tickets.com, or by calling Ring of Honor's listed number.

Did anyone notice the problem with all of this? Grizzly Redwood isn't booked to be there. This is an outrage, and details on the movement to rectify it are coming later in the newswire.

Return to Television

ROH on HDNet will return to television this week. Although the full card hasn't been uncovered by the newswire, we do know the main event will be Jay Briscoe vs. Roderick Strong.

This return comes after a week off, which prompted rumors of HDNet being dumped or cutting its ties with ROH. Those rumors have been dispelled by all parties, however, as both Cary Silken and HDNet have affirmed this is not the case.

This past Wednesday on Hit the Ropes Radio, Cary Silken said among other things that HDNet is strong and that ROH is not looking into any backup plans at this time.

HDNet has also stepped in, confirming the week off was only to allow for special holiday broadcasting.

The new episode can be seen in its premiere this Saturday, at 8 p.m. EDT.

Taping Cancellation

ROH has noted a cancellation of their tapings for the upcoming dates of July 17-18.

The reason behind the cancellation is noted as being that ROH and HDNet already have enough footage to create episodes through September.

While the newswire doesn't find this to be a sound decision, there's obviously a reason they passed on gate revenue for a taping. You could look for the details yourself, but we're sure the WWN will get it before you.

The tapings scheduled for Aug. 28 and 29 at the Arena in Philadelphia are still scheduled to take place as advertised, details forthcoming.

SHIMMER news

ROH sister promotion, SHIMMER, has announced that Serena Deeb has signed a contract with WWE.

SHIMMER issued a statement on its website dated July 2, wishing her the best and giving a brief summary of her career.

Deeb is primarily a face wrestler, and the newswire is speculating that she was signed to be brought along as an eventual replacement for the oft-injured, though always seen, Candice Michelle.

SHIMMER also has announced that Portia Perez will debut as an announcer. Perez already has extensive experience within the promotion as a tag team wrestler and should transition to announcer fine.

Finally, SHIMMER is letting fans choose the cover art for SHIMMER vol. 23 as was announced in a bulletin contained in full here. You will have to register a forum account to vote.

Grizzly Redwood Update

Cary Silken showed some faith in Grizzly during his HTR interview, but it wasn't what we're looking for. We need to show ROH that Grizzly will be the future of the company.

An official "More Grizzly Please" site is currently being planned out by the newswire, but in the mean time everyone is encouraged to go to the Ring of Honor Forums (click here) and make it known that we want more Grizzly Redwood bookings.

The Redwood Revolution marches on!

While you're clicking on all these links, why not join the ROH Community on B/R, then write about it yourself?

Man, newswires are easy to throw together after all. No wonder Burgett cranks out this crap for WWE every day.

W2YMS!

Information credited from: www.rohwrestling.com, www.prowrestling.com, www.hittheropes.com, www.hd.net

WWE vs. Ring of Honor at WrestleMania XXVI

Ray Bogusz — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 20:29:51 -0400

There comes a time in a young boy's life when he begins to ask himself "What if?" For some, that age is 12 and the "what if" is "What if instead of working a trade for Tommy's mint condition Raichu, I just beat the crap out of him and take it?" Then again, for some on B/R, that time is somewhere between the ages of 14 and 44 and the question is more like: "What if I was the booker on a wrestling promotion with no boundaries, no money worries, no back stage egos, no expiring contracts, no obligated pushes, no injuries, and no necessarry recovery time?" That, my friends, is called "Fantasy Crap" and it's not healthy. You have to remember that I feel partially responsible for starting that whole trainwreck though, so while I might openly mock y'all for starting a pretend promotion that inexplicably has Chuck Palumbo, A.J. Styles, and Edge all on the same card, a small piece of that is tongue in cheek. That's not what we're here for though. You see, there's a cousin to the fantasy realm and it's called the "dream what if" realm. It's not nearly as inherently bad because it's prevalent in all sports, since they all have their own "what if's" and "dream matches" What if Lou Gherig hadn't had a crippling disease manifest itself at the peak of his career? What if the 1972 Dolphins played the 2007 Patriots? What if Muhammad Ali had been able to fight Mike Tyson? What if Tiger Woods played against Bobby Jones? What if Ray Bogusz got five minutes alone with Keith Olbermann and a shotgun? The point is that they're everywhere in sports and wrestling is no exception. The problem is that sometimes, certain irresponsible wrestling "journalists" postulate that some of these will actually happen. While I can't say I disagree that I'd have peed my pants with excitement at Stone Cold vs Hulk Hogan, it never did and never will happen. Neither would agree to lose to the other and if he wasn't about to lay down to Hulk when he was healthy, I'm pretty positive that Steve Austin sure as hell won't lay down to Hogan now that there's a slightly greater than 100 percent chance he'll turn into Christopher Reeve if he steps into a ring. However, we've seen WWE buy up independent promotions and have "invasion" storylines before; having another for Ring of Honor isn't all that impossible albeit highly improbable. So, what would happen if Ring of Honor squared off against WWE at WrestleMania XXVI? Onward!

Begin Slideshow

Profiles of the Non-Mainstream: Ring of Honor's MsChif

Ray Bogusz — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 01:58:25 -0400

I guess I started out with a lie here.

No, it's not that I'm exactly lying when I say "Ring of Honor's MsChif." What it's more about is that I'm doing MsChif, Rachel Donaldson, a disservice by limiting her to only Ring of Honor.

If anything, Ring of Honor is just another side project to her, since she's also affiliated with the NWA and with ROH sister promotion: Shimmer, a program all of you should acquaint yourselves with.

While it's not so uncommon for an independent talent to work for several companies, it's a little rarer for one to hold almost every belt you're eligible for. MsChif currently holds the NWA Midwest Women's Championship, NWA World Women's Championship, and the Shimmer Women's Championship. That's right, kids, she's got almost as many belts as the WWE Unified Tag Champion partners have combined.

Dressed like a banshee and howling most of the time, MsChif portrays the perfect girl to bring home to mom...especially if mom is scheduled to be a human sacrifice. Simply put, MsChif is one scary woman, which makes her long-time, cross-promotional rivalries with Daizee Haze and her newer feuds with Cheerleader Melissa that much better. She is their polar opposite after all.

Starting in Gateway Championship Wrestling, Donaldson had already graduated with a degree when she began training and making appearances, mostly against men. It was here in GCW that she picked up her rivalry with Daizee Haze back in 2001; it managed to carry through to today.

MsChif worked the GCW for three years and even managed to headline cards against men before moving on the the NWA. Here she managed to hold the Midwest belt...twice and then moved to the World belt...again twice.

She also moved into Shimmer, where she won the belt off Sara Del Rey, and has engaged in a very watchable feud with Cheerleader Melissa.

The bad part about all of this is that I'm skimming hardcore here. MsChif's career could already make up at least one book of Paradise Lost, if not two or three.

So what exactly makes her so great to watch?

First, she's insanely dedicated to the part. Go ahead and try to find information on Rachael Donaldson, it's not going to happen. Appropriate to character, she's kept herself shrouded in a bit of secrecy, or green mist.

Second, she's got some top-notch moves. Thanks to her aforementioned flexibility, MsChif can apply and be put in just about every modified submission maneuver known to man, and probably a few that haven't even been invented yet. On top of all that, she's got one of the sickest finishers I've ever seen in the women's realm. Seriously, check this out.

She has appeared on every major promotion except WWE, I'm guessing because she's a bit edgy...even for the Attitude Era. That shouldn't stop you from checking her out though. YouTube is full of great matches, including a great one against Awesome Kong from a Shimmer taping.

Ring of Honor can be seen on its YouTube channel, or on HDNet. While you're clicking on all these links, why not join the ROH Community?

See also:

Profiles of the Non-Mainstream: Ring of Honor's El Generico

Ray Bogusz — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 01:22:41 -0400

I have a framed "Peanuts" comic on my desk. Snoopy and Woodstock are eating ice cream, Snoopy ridicules Woodstock for liking vanilla, and it ends with the realization that "it takes all kinds to make a world."

While I'm sure that the goal of my parents was to get me to use that as a reminder, using it as a set up for this profile is the most useful it has ever been other than being another piece in a rather extensive collection of Snoopy mementos. You see, the phrase "it takes all kinds" really does need to be taken to heart when discussing the subject of today's profile: El Generico.

While fellow ROHer, Grizzly Redwood, may have a better singles future and a totally awesome gimmick, it's key to remember that Generico is worth checking out for very different reasons: He is a top, and I do mean top, level tag team talent and he is a true throwback to the outlandishness of wrestling's Golden Age.

What exactly do I mean by that? I mean that Generico (real name Rami Sahied) is simultaneously one of the strangest and best competitors on the independent circuit today.

Using the same gimmick from day one, Generico actually debuted in the International Wrestling Syndicate where he had an immediate affinity for tag style wrestling and from there he went to the PWG, where again he showed an affinity for Tag Team style wrestling.

What was even better, however, was that he held the PWG Tag and Heavyweight titles at the same time...a feat he's also managed to attain in the IWS. Generico then began picking up matches in Ring of Honor with long time partner, Kevin Steen.

Steen and Generico, known as El Steenerico, debuted as a tag team and made an immediate impact on the division. They worked great matches for a few years and then finally won the Tag Team belts Sept. 19, 2008, and held them until April of this year, finally dropping them to the American Werewolves.

What makes Generico so worth checking out?

Other than the fact that he's primarily tag based, a lost art in and of itself, he's a great throwback to the 80's wrestling boom, when colorful characters dominated the spotlight.

Think about this: Generico is a pasty Canadian, gimmicking as a Mexican luchador who shouts Ole! How cool is that?

He has high-flying moves and a giant exclaimation point on his mask. He also has dolls of himself and runs around the ring like a madman. Simply put, watching Generico is just a good use of your wrestling tiem.

On top of the awesome gimmick, Generico has a ridiculously catchy and cool finisher entitled the Brainbuster (pronounced brainbustaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.) To get a better feel for how ridiculous and awesome it is to see, click here.

It's kind of like a pedigree meets the swanton bomb. It's funny how to useless moves could combine to make something so awesome.

Generico, like a lot of other Independent wrestlers, really does seem to relish the part. Be sure to check him and all the other ROH stars on HDNet or on their YouTube channel which has every episode archived in full.

You should also be sure to join the Ring of Honor community too and start writing!

Also see:

Grizzly Redwood

Profiles of the Non-Mainstream: Ring Of Honor's Grizzly Redwood

Ray Bogusz — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 23:35:59 -0400

Look at the wrestling article above yours; now below yours; now yours. Studies show that three out of those three articles are about Randy Orton and/or "The Bash."

While I do think it's great that everyone has an opinion (and I will read yours, don't worry) about this past weekend's PPV, I'd like to remind all of you that it is Thursday, Goldust needs to start rocking ECW's world by bringing back "Shattered Dreams," and there are actually really kickass wrestlers outside of WWE.

Anyone who doesn't live under a rock has heard of Tyler Black, and depending on whether or not the latest plagiarized bio has been deleted or not, you can probably get a read in about Nigel McGuinness right here on B/R.

I don't want to promote them though. Yeah, they're not part of one of the two big companies, but people know them.

I can engage a wrestling fan in a conversation about Bryan Danielson, or Ric Flair's ROH appearances. The people I want to promote are different...people like Grizzly Redwood.

So, who is this man whom I hype so much? In a nutshell, he's what would happen if Paul Bunyan and Rey Mysterio bumped into each other in a supercollider; Evan Bourne with a beard; Mike Knox if he had charisma and were a little person.

One of the reasons you probably don't know much about him: He wasn't always known as Grizzly Redwood. Redwood's real name is Mitch Franklin and that's how he debuted in Ring of Honor on Oct. 29, 2005, with a loss to Ricky Reyes.

Franklin worked fairly well for a few years, but much like a certain Gold Standard fellow over in WWE, the following was clear: He had all the tools, something just wasn't clicking.

After a loss in the scramble match at Night of the Butcher II, Franklin went away for a month and when he returned, he'd been given a brand-new gimmick: Grizzly Redwood, the Littlest Lumberjack.

What makes this persona great: It just works. Besides carrying a log into the ring (completely awesome in and of itself) Redwood's in-ring style actually helps make good on his signature line of "chopping the opponents down to size."

In reality, Redwood's style seems more realistic than the high flyers of WWE or TNA.

When he mounts the ropes, it's not to do some ridiculous maneuver that makes you say "really? Nobody saw that coming?" It's to chop you in the throat, then jump on you.

It's not that he doesn't do some acrobatics, it's that they aren't totally unbelievable.

Giving a quick look back and then delivering an elbow drop from the second rope is a whole lot more believable than getting on the top rope, preening to the audience for five minutes, then backflipping onto the opponent with them never moving an inch.

There are no wildly unbelievable kicks mid-ring. He whips opponents off the ropes, then stops short and quite literally chops their legs down.

It's fun because he's a real wrestler, using a believable skill set that ties in with his gimmick (which rules, by the way) and is all combined with some damn fine mic skills.

If you really don't believe me, check out his debut as Grizzly here. The man went from being told to shut the...well...you know...up to being cheered for by the entire arena in a matter of a minute or two.

Did it help he was up against one of wrestling's more self-absorbed talents not named Chris Jericho? You bet, but plenty of other men have tried to get over against heat magnets and failed.

Take it all in, watch him believably use his size to his advantage. Sure, he loses; when you're not even a full six feet tall that will happen every once in a while.

The point is the match itself was great, and Grizzly looked and fit great and has done so in all his other matches since then.

The acrobatic moves, the sudden shift in popularity, it's not just because ROH fans are the descendants of the ECW.

The love (and sometimes hate) is there because he's talented and fans can appreciate it when given a chance to see it; for confirmation, just ask Colt Cabana.

Redwood is the kind of talent that thrives outside of WWE. Yes, I'm well aware that if he had a shot at the big time as it stands, he'd be buried.

Evan Bourne and Rey Mysterio are the only little men who get any exposure, and Mysterio is the only one who gets attention of any significance.

The best aspect, though, is that he seems to really enjoy the part. It makes watching the character a lot more fun.

Dusty Rhodes said it best: "If someone doesn't look like a wrestler, you throw a gimmick on them and then they take off."

Hopefully, that's the case for Redwood, a gimmick and wrestler who certainly are entertaining enough to qualify to keep rising.

The next time you're in the mood for a change of pace, watch some matches with "The Littlest Lumberjack." I promise you won't be disappointed.

The Bash: What Should, Not Will, Happen

Ray Bogusz — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 00:29:38 -0400

Surely, Dilbert must not be a lowly engineer with a suspiciously Beelzebub-like looking boss. Instead, I submit that he works at the creative department of a major wrestling promotion. Ring of Honor is probably a bit too mid-major for my line of thinking here. I'm looking more for a WWE...although, given my selected picture and the recently transpired at Slammiversary, TNA seems to be the more logical conclusion, albeit not by much. However, I digress.

This article isn't about how much excelleawesomness "Dilbert" encapsulates—although it does rule pretty hard, especially if you've ever worked for a bunch of imbeciles or had an editor break up every paragraph into individual sentences.

That's right, Buster Brown, that really pisses me off. Let it be known right now: If I come back to this and see that an editor broke all my paragraphs up into individual sentences, I will hunt you down and kill your pet. If you don't have a pet, I'll make you buy one, then kill it.

It also isn't about how profoundly, mentally retarded TNA's creative staff is, although I'm sure the APA would confirm that, in a game of "IQ Temperature," TNA Creative would score a whopping zero degrees kelvin. (Link provided for those not familiar with Biochemistry.)

What this article is about is "The PPV Formerly Known As 'The Great American Bash,'" which has now been shortened to "The Bash" in an effort to not anger Jeff Hardy's undoubtedly illiterate fanbase and avoid a lawsuit from the Litigation-Happy Artist Formerly Known As Prince. Boo-yah.

I feel pretty safe publishing this now, because at eight matches already, I highly doubt one more will be added between now and Sunday, but since Vince McMahon totally monitors my computer, my parents' computer, my friends' computers, and above all: my brain, he'll probably schedule a crazy twist match just to spite me. Sometimes, it just sucks to be a gangsta.

Anyway, into the preview we venture.

Randy Orton vs Triple-H: Three Stages of Hell for the WWE Championship

As much as I would love to see him steam through this match in two, whoever manages to win this will have to do it in three, because the WWE just can't see the value in not having that third stage. Le sigh.

Anyway, in a perfect world: Randy Orton should win. This feud has too much steam and too much history for Randy Orton to take a fall at the on-again, off-again fifth major PPV.

Orton has a full head of steam, is bringing some life back to the WWE belt, and is pulling this whole "heel" thing off pretty well, a statement that is doubly impressive given that his stick skills are comparable to that of a stroke victim. Burn, baby.

While the good guy should win in the end of this particular feud, a storyline that has gotten the attention and level of success that this one has should end at one of the biggest three PPVs. I'd say "Big Four" to keep tradition alive, but who circles Survivor Series on their WWE calendar anymore?

Triple H is still a fine wrestler, but now is his time to make Randy look good for a while.

Ideal Winner: Randy Orton

CM Punk vs Jeff Hardy: World Heavyweight Championship Match

If Tommy Dreamer has proven anything, it's that chasers aren't champions and aren't for champions if you catch my drift.

Much like T-Drizzle (that nickname sound pathetic, doesn't it), Jeff Hardy isn't known for a title reign as much as he's known for chasing one.

Why should CM Punk win? He'll finally be able to turn full heel. This tweener crap is just not flying with me, or anybody else with cognitive function. Punk needs a full-on heel turn, and there has not been an opportunity this good since the Russians offered to sell Alaska to Seward.

Punk winning in some sick heel fashion—either by DQ or some sneak tactic—would not only give some justification to Edge not being around the title scene, but would set up for what would potentially be the best heel run since The Rock. You read that right. If you don't believe me, check out Punk's heel work in ROH. Then, come back and apologize to me.

On top of that, there's no reason to take the belt from Punk since he has done a good job with it and, frankly, deserves it after getting reamed last year.

Ideal Winner: CM Punk via DQ.

Dreamer vs Swagger vs Finlay vs Henry vs Christian: ECW Scramble Match

Realistically and ideally, we can eliminate Henry and Finlay because they're both filler for the match and just suck eggs. So, let's treat this like the triple threat match that it is.

Christian has no business being around the belt. He hasn't exactly gotten the best receptions from his peeps and would be better served finding a partner and teaming against the Hart Dynasty.

In reality, Dreamer should retain and drop the belt at SummerSlam. Not only will a one-on-one feud help Swagger get some major heat, but there's another key reason why Dreamer should retain: the point of no return.

WWE ran his retirement into a belt angle too far to just have it fizzle out. All it would do is give Swagger a belt without a marquee win. Beating Dreamer at SummerSlam, in some sort of Extreme Rules match, would do that.

Ideal Winner: Tommy Dreamer

Chris Jericho vs Rey Mysterio: Intercontinental Championship Match

In all fairness, I've never been a fan of the "6-1-9" (an inferior area code to both 2-1-9 and 8-1-5) and at this point in his career, Mysterio does nothing for me.

Jericho, having an extended Intercontinental Championship reign, is giving a lot of meaning back in holding that belt. While a Mysterio win here wouldn't hurt that, the key is that it wouldn't help. Who Jericho should be dropping the belt to is a younger star who is set to be a main-eventer down the line.

On top of all that, a Mysterio unmasking could lead to a heel turn. Scary as it sounds, that might actually intrigue me.

Ideal Winner: Chris Jericho

The Colons vs Priceless: Unified Tag Match

Priceless needs a win here like I need a Jethro Tull reunion tour.

Let's get serious: The Colons are lost on RAW right now had have become virtual ghosts since winning the tag belts in the WrestleMania dark match. Now that I read that, I'm angry, but whatever.

The point is that Priceless is way more visible and would be doing the Unified Tag belts more good than the now non-existent Colons.

The only way to justify a Primo and Carlito win would be if they were actually going to get some exposure afterwards and feud against the junior cadets of Legacy. That would be pretty cool no matter who wins, but for now Priceless should win the belts and go from there.

Besides, Rhodes and DiBiase really do need a win, lest they begin to look like henchmen from episodes of Batman.

Ideal Winners: Priceless

Melina vs Michelle McCool: Women's Championship

Melina is actually a very solid champion, not to mention that McCool just doesn't have the fan-base to justify her being the first woman ever to hold the Diva's and Women's belts.

Alicia "The Hair" Fox is the only reason she gets any heat, and it's bad heat at that.

With Melina still being the complete women's package, and Mickie James as the more deserving woman to be the first to hold both belts, a Michelle McCool win here wouldn't do a damn thing for anybody. Sure, I mark for Mickie, but prove my sentiment wrong. I dare you. I double dare you. Where's Gail Kim when you need her?

Ideal Winner: Melina

John Cena vs The Miz

Apparently, Cena's days of working with Big Show are behind him. It's probably for the best, since I'm positive that most of the time they were working on their feud Cena was soaking his pants from awe at Big Show's awesomeness. On to the match.

A Miz win here would do a lot for this feud. It doesn't have to be clean, but think about what a Miz win would do entertainment wise. He's already getting some heat as a heel, and can you imagine how hard those eight-year-olds would boo after Miz cheats to beat John Cena? Even I was angry at Miz when he ripped on a personal favorite of mine: Goldust.

Look, I've liked what WWE has done with Miz so far, but it's time to take it to the next level. Cena hasn't had a loss at a Pay Per View not caused by interference in a long damn time. Now is a great point to give him one.

Miz winning would give him a feud for another few Pay Per Views and keep Cena out of the title picture, something that's proving key for Orton's development.

There are also a host of angles this feud could take from there, including a few that might just happen.

Ideal Winner: The Miz

Epilogue

Anywho, thanks for wasting your time reading this. I hope it was as enjoyable for you to read as it was for me to craft, as I sit at a computer, drinking bourbon straight from the bottle, and rocking out to techno remixes of rock classics.

This article dedicated to the Magnificent M. You're my boy, blue.

Far Below Standard: Why Shelton Benjamin Is Overrated and Should Be Released

Ray Bogusz — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 02:27:58 -0400

From a pure wrestling standpoint, Shelton Benjamin is about as good as you can get.

Given what I titled this little number, I bet that I just shocked all of you with my opening line. However, it's quite plausible for both to exist rather peacefully because in reality, they're mutually exclusive.

Wrestling—professional wrestling—is as much about the story being told as it is about the inverted neckbreakers.

While being a phenomenal wrestler with in-ring skill that borders on anal retentive flawlessness definitely helps—a point to which Bret Hart's career stands as an eternal testament—it certainly isn't necessary—a point to which Hulk Hogan's career stands as an eternal testament.

The difference between the two Hall of Fame wrestlers I just mentioned and Shelton Benjamin—a man who at any rate will at least get into the Hype Hall of Fame—is that Shelton isn't a good story teller at all.

One of the most frequent Shelton arguments is that he's never been given a gimmick worth a damn and I'll grant you he's been hit with bad ideas about as many times as Gary Busey has been beaten with the ugly stick.

Shelton's Mama, “The World's Greatest Tag Team,” and “The Gold Standard” all reek of that '60s Batman camp appeal that hasn't seen any real success since Mark Callaway debuted as The Undertaker.

The problem is that two out of those three angles really could have worked. I don't think anybody expected him to do a damn thing while being hampered by that abysmal Mama gimmick—an idea which, by the way, is on the same level of bad as Beaver Cleavage—but “World's Greatest Tag Team” isn't the cheesiest name and “The Gold Standard” really could have worked if it ever looked like Shelton gave a damn.

Honestly, if Shelton Benjamin was half as talented as his minuscule yet vocal fan base makes him out to be, he'd be able to have make the Gold Standard work.

It wouldn't be the first time a superior storyteller had made something work when—on initial glance—it seems like just the dumbest idea ever. Don't believe me? Let's take a one-sentence look at a few examples:

Hulk Hogan is the most famous wrestler of all time and his gimmick: “A real American” dressed in condiment colored tearaway clothes overcomes incredible by “hulking up” off the power of his “hulkamaniacs.” Dumb.

Bret Hart is a vicious hitman (hence the nickname)...dressed in pink spandex. Dumb.

Roddy Piper is a smacktalking Scotsman who wears a kilt and pokes people in the eye. Dumb.

Stone Cold Steve Austin is a hillbilly who drinks beer when he wins. Dumb.

Kane is a mental patient from beyond who wears a mask to hide his hideous face. Dumb, and partially plagiarized from his “brother” Undertaker.

Hell—in comparison to that lineup of gimmicks—a self absorbed megatalent who holds himself to the highest standard (hence the name, “Gold Standard”) seems pretty damn desirable. The problem is that Shelton has never...and I mean never...made it work.

At no point has he ever had a memorable title run. Sure, you could run in here and say: “Oh but Ray, WWE just won't let his feuds develop.”

You're right. The reason they stop his feuds is because nobody cares about them—there's no reason to continue in the first place.

Let's look at his recently (and mercifully) deceased United States Championship run. Shelton held the belt for the better part of a full year (240 days to be precise). During that time, he had a few lackluster feuds including a particularly brutal one with MVP. Other than that, WWE has tried him against some of the best pops on the roster including: R-Truth, Undertaker, and now John Morrison.

Shelton couldn't get over with *any * of them, and while it's one thing to say that a given wrestler couldn't make it work with a TNA castoff and a fairly new to the spotlight up and comer, it's a real condemnation when I can look a Shelton mark square in the eye and tell them he couldn't make a feud with the freaking Undertaker.

The matches were well worked—all of them actually—but the problem was the same: Shelton either can't or flat out refuses to make people give a damn about him.

To get a real handle on that, we only need to look to his most recent feud (a term I'm using with a fair amount of liberty here) with John Morrison. Heck, we only have to look to this past week's SmackDown to know what I'm talking about.

After weeks of Shelton “being aggressive,” knocking teammates around, and doing the whole “Shelton's getting mad so now he's going to shake a lot and make his eyes wide” routine, absolutely nobody gave a damn what he did in that ring.

He didn't get a heel reaction when he attacked Morrison, he got a “you need to go join Ken Anderson” reaction. He didn't get booed, or jeered, or hissed. He did, however, keep his streak of getting “dead silence” alive.

There was cheering when Morrison did anything, but Shelton got nothing. No heel reaction, no nothing.

That's the story it's always been with Shelton. R-Truth may not have my favorite gimmick on earth, but it's over—big time. The fact that Shelton still got deadpan silence when WWE tried to pair the two is about as ultimate a testament as one can get as to how bad a storyteller he is.

People like to mention Benjamin as highly underutilized, a great talent, and a future heavyweight champion—WWE Title material. I say nuts to all those notions.

The aforementioned Bret Hart was a champion and a great talent. Sure, he had the same unparalleled for his generation mat skills, but Bret Hart could weave a story like nobody else before or since.

I'm pretty sure I'm not the only person who says that if Bret Hart was wrestling a sack of hammers in the middle of the Sahara Desert, I'd find a way to see it come Hell or high water.

Shelton on the other hand...I don't think he could generate interest if he was in a match to unify the WWE and World Heavyweight Championships.

It's time to face up to the fact that Shelton Benjamin just isn't good. I am therefore, officially starting the “Shelton Benjamin for Future Endeavors” movement.

It'll work out for everybody: Shelton can go coach wrestling at some SEC school and WWE can give a push to a wrestler that anybody on this planet cares about.

I wish I was being tongue in cheek there, but sadly, I'm not. After seven years, six total title runs with various belts, and feuds involving some of wrestling's all time greats (remember, he had some matches with Flair that developed into complete bupkus too) with not a damn memorable rivalry to show for it, it's time Shelton Benjamin walked away to a different career, for his sake and ours.

His spot on the WWE roster is impeding pushes for other wrestlers. He continues to throw up lame-duck work after lame-duck work and Mike Knox and Jimmy Wang Yang get to waste away at the bottom of the card?

Granted, they're not exactly belt holding material right now either, but people give reactions for both of them which is a hell of a lot more than I can say about Shelton.

He hasn't made us care about him yet, and he probably isn't going to start—that's why he should be released. After seven years, the six title runs, and some very workable feuds—the man hasn't shown us squat.

Let's have everyone cut their losses and move on—for the sake of all of us...Shelton, WWE, and the fans who are forced to his unending run of poorly run feuds.

Shelton Benjamin: Your Next Future Endeavor for 2009.

This article for Dad, who taught me that if you're not going to do something right, you might as well not do the damn thing at all—a lesson Benjamin could use about now.

∞

An Analysis of Ring Of Honor's Television Deal and Future

Ray Bogusz — Sat, 16 May 2009 01:26:14 -0400

I really like Ring of Honor Wrestling.

The talking is minimal, the talent is phenomenal, the matches are incredible, and the production value is out of this world considering they're essentially just the Kings of the Underground.

I'll go so far as to say that if Mickie James and Big Show (the only two people in WWE I will just completely mark out for) were to for some inexplicable reason move to ROH today, I would abandon WWE until they got their act together.

I know, that's a sad statement about the value of the products of WWE and TNA as a whole. I guess it's also a pretty powerful statement about how bad I mark out for Mickie and Show, but that's a whole different topic.

The point is, the ROH product itself stellar and exudes awesomeness at near toxic levels—awesomeness that looks really good on the channel known as HD Net.

I also love HD Net—the concept, the channel itself, the awesome picture; it's all pretty sweet.

Of course, as someone who has at least a rudimentary awareness of his world, I wouldn't expect any of you to know a damn thing about HD Net—or by proxy, ROH.

You see, HD Net is kind of available to me, and possibly anyone who lives on the moon. However, those are just about the only two places they've managed to gain broadcasting rights.

I hesitate to even say it's available to me. The primary cable provider for my particular neck of the woods, Comcast, doesn't offer it and the provider that does—MediaNet—hardly exists, and won't even agree to sell it to you unless you buy a complete HD package, which they won't sell to you until you're locked in for about $70 worth of programming...

Yuck.

I've never owned a business, and statistics dictate that most of the people who read what I write probably haven't either, but keeping HD Net's highly limited national audience in mind: Would you sign your relatively unknown company to that network for a TV deal—or would it seem to make more sense to take less money up front, but be on a far more accessible network?

One of the real handicaps against ROH is that outside of people who are really into their wrestling, nobody knows it exists, or they've merely heard its name dropped here and there. This is, of course, in spite of the fact that they have a television deal...but it's with HD Net.

A television deal is usually something that helps really propel what you have to the next level—unless of course you're TNA, in which case you can't help but screw up a good thing.

The point is that with a television deal, a given promotion should see some sort of rise in popularity and the wrestling public should at least be cognizant of its existence.

That has happened, but it's happened on a microscopic level. While all publicity is good publicity (a statement all Chrysler employees who are privy to the company's recent bottom line upturn will help me defend), with the current dissension of wrestling fans and the opportunity to win people over, they could be doing so much more.

So, is there more than one underlying problem to ROH's recent plateau in ratings and expansion?

The promos are less frequent and cruder, but that should be a non-factor: One of the big criticisms against WWE and TNA is that there is too much talking and besides, most of the people you'd get to immediately switch over aren't exactly watching for the promo quality.

It probably isn't about talent quality—no offense to the contingent of Orton marks out there, but Nigel McGuinness is twice as talented and twice as interesting as the human oil slick known as “Legend Killer” and El Generico is the not-so-boring-either other half of one of ROH's most prominent tag teams—yes, ROH has tag champions and they sometimes...compete.

No, the issue can—and should—be traced back to their television deal with HD Net. The underwhelming response is appropriate since HD Net has an underwhelming number of households in which they broadcast.

I might have this whole “money making” thing totally backwards, but it seems a greater, long term success would be more attractive than a short term success which may initially pay bigger, but whose long term dividends will steadily—and often rapidly—decrease. That second is a trend ROH is seeing right before its very eyes, I'm sure much to its chagrin.

ROH obviously doesn't, or at least initially didn't, think that way, and they're paying the price for it now.

One of the problems with this argument against HD Net is that it can be countered by saying that ROH essentially had nowhere else to go—and to an extent, I have to give some credit to that counter.

Vinny Mac has broadcasting rights under NBC Universal, thus eliminating those channels, and Viacom picking up a competing promotion to TNA just wouldn't be economically viable unless both promotions began to draw huge ratings.

We have to remember to look on cable, as network TV is pretty much out at this point. FOX would normally have been a dark horse in this whole thing, but look at their current lineup: The days of “Who Wants to Marry a Millionaire?”, “Celebrity Boxing”, and “Steel-Cage Bear Baiting” are long gone, thus making the somewhat sensationalism driven wrestling a long-shot at best for network TV.

That, however, doesn't mean you should totally eliminate FOX subsidiaries, as their cable packages would be more than lucrative for both sides. Unlike most corporations, the FOX parent company News Corp actually has money to spend and cable subsidiary F/X has plenty of time to kill and plenty of viewers to reach.

Even an AOL-Time Warner company might be interested if given the right offer. Granted, executives there are gun-shy about wrestling after the money burning operation known as WCW murdered their books for a few years, but their cable packages are struggling to keep viewers amid a myriad of B movies and mid-90's TV reruns. A zero liability syndicate deal would have to at least get a second look from the powers that be.

Obviously, none of us was there at the negotiations, but HD Net probably won out for two reasons.

One, they probably ponied up a whole lot more up-front money than anybody else. Cary Silken isn't exactly a billionaire, and ROH does still need what equates to seed money. An offer of significantly more money would have had to at least be in the running from a strictly business perspective.

The second reason is to have the tie-in to Mark Cuban. Cuban is a nice name to be connected to and, provided he wanted to make wrestling big, he could.

The problem with those reasons is that Cuban sticking with something like wrestling is a major gamble. Cuban is still highly involved with the Dallas Mavericks and isn't going to rest until he has a baseball team, too. Those factors are going to take precedent to wrestling, making the tie-in far less lucrative.

The other problem is that HD Net does almost nothing to increase the fan base—something ROH needs to see desperately. As mentioned before, the downside to HD Net is that almost nobody on this planet gets it.

If you're not gaining fans, your revenue stream can't increase—which ultimately leads to your company going bankrupt (Hello, WCW).

Not to mention, HD Net costing an arm and a leg in other subscriptions just for the provider to sell it to you is the rule, not the exception—thus not only has ROH put themselves on a channel almost nobody gets in the first place, but they've followed the ingenious plan of locking into terms with a channel that prices itself out of a lot of demographics.

The problem is that they've handicapped themselves for what I'd assume is a multi-year block—television deals usually work that way. What's bad about that is that the longer almost nobody gets to see ROH, the less likely it is that the promotion itself will catch on.

ROH views themselves as the new alternative promotion, a sentiment confirmed by their own Bobby Cruise during an interview on Hit the Ropes Radio, makes that much worse—an alternative generally needs to be able to reach as many people as possible to gain an early foothold.

That they're locked in to this television deal with seemingly no plans to expand further is frustrating to those of us who are familiar with the product and know it can succeed, and should be frustrating to new fans who would enjoy the product itself thoroughly.

What I'm writing shouldn't be taken as a slam against ROH because the thing is, I want ROH to succeed—badly.

Nothing would make me happier to see a promotion that really is about the wrestling see some real success, not to mention that WWE has yet to suffer from a little healthy competition.

The real problem is that ROH has conducted what equates to flat-out bad business. It's hard enough to find anything from them on the Internet, and following a promotion without a television package is expensive—bundling themselves onto HD Net may have put them on television, but it did nothing to advance the product.

It's still just as expensive to follow, and just as inaccessible to the casual fan—which happens to be the demographic they so desperately need to attract.

So, ROH powers that be, I close with an open letter of sorts in hopes that someone within your company bothers to read it and that you do what I ask:

Please, promote yourself. Make people aware of you and what you are. Get on a station that has some relevance.

Make people know about you.

Make people aware that you exist and that your talent is damn good.

Invest in yourself and reap longterm benefits later.

Stop languishing in the dark and come grab some spotlight from the struggling giants of WWE and TNA, they and wrestling fandom need it.

As for the rest of the readers: Educate yourselves about ROH and about other independent promotions.

Most of them are quite watchable and often even feature a novel concept called wrestling—something that happens will diminishing frequency on WWE programming and was last seen on TNA sometime around the Main Event Mafia's debut.

Check out their website, look on youtube for matches, heck if you're in the area of a taping, go see a show. It's wrestling entertainment in a format that most of us aren't even used to anymore.

Do it for yourself; just because ROH is handicapping themselves doesn't mean they have to die immediately—besides, your inner wrestling fan will thank me.

Mick-Kick: Not Building a Mickie James Push Would Be Inexcusable

Ray Bogusz — Sat, 09 May 2009 00:39:27 -0400

This past Monday on RAW, something amazing happened: Wrestling fans around the world didn't want to put their foot through the TV when the Divas segment came on.

Instead of being slapped in the face with yet another continuance of the Santina Marella Calamity, we were given a very legitimate Divas match between two legitimate wrestlers: Maryse Oulet and Mickie James.

That was a welcome sight, as the Divas belt has looked ready to fold ever since Michelle McCool got to wear it, and because Women's wrestling is in serious need of help.

The days of Wendi Richter and Leilani Kai appearing near the top of a marquee are long gone, and the void left from the departure of Trish Stratus could by no means have looked like anything close to an easy task when confronted by WWE. However, the grave dug for their Women's division has been of their own doing.

Women wrestlers like Torrie Wilson, Victoria, and the aforementioned Mickie James were shelved for a variety of reasons in favor of girls whose talent was, at best, sketchy.

Maria, Jillian Hall, Michelle McCool, The Bella Twins, Kelly Kelly, and even Candice Michelle are nice to look at and do have some skill, but they all either have underwhelming talent for the level they were placed or have injury records that would be considered inexcusable in a male wrestler. (I'm looking at Candice for that one.)

The point is that for about a year and a half, the Women's divisions have sputtered along, intermittently gaining momentum when bonafide wrestlers were allowed to compete against each other—the most recent incarnation of this seemingly in Monday night's match between Mickie and Maryse.

Maryse getting any recognition is nice in and of itself. She's shown a lot of promise and—provided she wants to continue to wrestle and continue to work hard at it—should be a standout heel for a while.

The fact that she has the Divas belt only helps fuel any potential feud, and given her talent level she should at least “be around” anything of significance within the ranks of the WWE Divas.

The far more important part of last Monday's events was the involvement of James. With Beth Phoenix lost amid the Sea of Abomination that is the Santina angle, James was the only legitimate title threat in RAW's Women's stable; yet she happened to be buried as the entranceless tag partner of Kelly Kelly.

Don't confuse what I'm about to say with an accusation that Kelly should just be shoved to the side, because I don't think that in the least. However: As much as I'm all for Kelly working with someone who has the experience and knowledge that Mickie does, relegating Ms. James to barely recognized tag partner was inexcusable and inexplicable, assuming WWE is still operating on the premise that they are a for profit-corporation and thus wouldn't want to harm its own product divisions.

While somehow one of the more senior Divas, at 29 years old James is hardly on a career downslope either. On top of that, she has and still can literally do it all.

Before her arrival to WWE as Trish Stratus' obsessed stalker, James had a solid career in various Independent promotions and—more importantly—TNA, where she worked with the boys in Clockwork Orange House of Fun Matches which, partly due to her strong work in them, are still worth checking out today.

Since then she managed to get onto WWE and has managed to—at least in some way—bridge the gap between the era of Stratus and today.

In fact, she's carried the belt better than anyone since Stratus and since her face turn has arguably been WWE's best Women's champion.

Her track record as a reaction getting hard worker who can put on a wide variety of matches makes the previous decision to hide her behind this Santina angle all the more perplexing but that's not the here and now.

What matters now is that she's finally been given a chance to shine in the spotlight again, and if done correctly it can have incredibly positive effects on the Women's division.

Having a marquee Women's name like Mickie James is exactly what the floundering Maryse angle—and the equally floundering Diva's belt—needs.

While Maryse is a key second half of that feud and important in her own right, her and the Divas belt have never gotten traction on their own and a star with Mickie James' talent is exactly what both of them need.

The problem with the Diva's belt and with Maryse in particular is that both of them have been reviewed as boring.

The Diva's belt was a top candidate for “Worst Belt in WWE” when then face Michelle McCool held it and Maryse has been hampered with the criticism that she is a character with no substance—essentially just another pretty face.

Now that she's been paired against James, this potential push needs to build steam and if it does, it would solve two problems.

First, it would lend some much needed credence to the Diva's belt. James is a bonafide title contender and, unlike many of the women WWE had sniffing around the Diva's title after Natalya lost the initial title match, she has credibility with fans of the Women's division and the championship runs to back it up.

The Diva's belt got created last year and, while asking it to gain any respectability in under 12 months seems a little insane, it can. The problem is that it hasn't had a real chance to start. Excluding their reigns as Diva's champion, Michelle McCool and Maryse have held exactly zero titles.

The fact that Mickie James has at least one gives her infinitely more title reigns than those two outside of the Diva's belt realm.

That she is a four-time Women's champion means that even if you doubled Maryse and McCool's combined title reigns, they'd still only be tied with Mickie—if that doesn't show you she can add relevance to a title, nothing will.

Second, James will be able to bring out qualities that can make us either love or hate Maryse. James made Beth Phoenix interesting, I'm sure she can make the thickly accented, yet more talented, Maryse interesting.

Let's face it; Beth Phoenix is a good wrestler and the entire persona that she's built of “I'm big and bad now get in the ring so I can beat you senseless” is, quite frankly, good for the Women's sport.

Unfortunately, Beth is about as captivating as a tin of sardines and that's proven by her total disappearance now that she isn't in the ring regularly competing against other top wrestlers—namely Mickie.

What's more important than that, however, is that both women be given the spotlight. On a regular basis. What would be ridiculous is if WWE once again began relegating the title bouts to the middle of RAW episodes and PPV dark matches.

James can be the face the Diva's belt, division, and Maryse desperately need. Therefore, I must implore WWE to continue to give this legs. Don't let the Women's concept continue to flounder in obscurity.

It will never be a main event, but it doesn't have to be as irrelevant as it's been made to be. You have a real, interesting, heel in Maryse and thanks to Mickie James you finally have a face to pair her against.

Mickie can give credence to your Diva's belt: A title that at one point was so low on the totem pole Maria was within theoretical inches of wearing it.

Maryse can bring the title over and be a stellar heel, but it has been lacking a stand out talent to carry it and you've finally done something right by giving it the start of the long credibility building process last week.

The Women's division is in serious need of assistance and the talent who can help the rebuilding process are together—on your supposed flagship show no less.

Please, WWE, don't let last week be a one time occurrence. Keep this going and let the Women of your show shine as brightly as they possibly can. Not doing so would be cheating the wrestlers, the fans, and even yourselves.

Ricky Steamboat Holds News Conference; Confirms No WWE Return Imminent (HUMOR)

Ray Bogusz — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 00:02:29 -0400

Editors: I have blocked the quotes the way I did on purpose. Please do not change them.

A late night news conference from Hawaii confirmed that Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat was not going to make a return to WWE as a full time competitor.

“I hadn't been watching the product until it was confirmed that I'd be competing at WrestleMania” said Steamboat.

“To be honest, I'm embarrassed I was ever a part of this train-wreck. When I first agreed to do WrestleMania, I thought maybe I could come back so I could help my son get established, but I'd rather be shot in the face with a harpoon than keep showing up on this pageantry of suck.”

Steamboat's announcement came as a bit of a shock, as he had been expected to confirm a return to RAW in order to feud with The Miz. He went on to elaborate on many of the problems he saw in the WWE.

“I have a lot of respect for Women wrestlers too, and frankly the way WWE treats their girls is a disgrace. I had expected them to be on top since they have both wrestling ability and sex appeal, but instead they're playing second fiddle to something I'd expect to see on a special episode of Cops. The fact that Mickie James has to be subjected to this crap just makes me want to beat Vince McMahon with a sack of hammers.”

“I wouldn't be caught dead making regular appearances for them, and to be quite honest I don't even think I want my son going there either. At this point, I'm already planning on trying to get him into ROH...hell, even the PWA would be a step up from WWE right now.”

Steamboat raised a lot of eyebrows when he moved on to discussing the main event situation on WWE.

“WWE wanted me to come back to help push Miz and bring an ounce of respectability to a mid-card title somewhere down the line, but I couldn't possibly live with myself if I was on a show that had as awful of champions as WWE. I don't know what Vince is smoking, but it must be killer if he thinks John Cena is a viable title holder.”

“John friggin Cena, are you kidding me? He sure gets booed a lot for a face, but damned if WWE wants to recognize that. John Cena? More like John Hogan—the kid has as much charisma as a boiled potato and a move set that looks and sounds like it was designed by a learning disabled anteater.”

“What the hell are the attitude adjustment and the five knuckle shuffle anyway? If he'd ever been booked to do either of those to me I swear to Jesus Christ I'd break script and just horse whip the troglodyte. Who the hell outside of Jeff Hardy fans is stupid enough to believe that somebody would just lie there and watch you wave your hand in their face. I can't see you? The hell I can't, I see your dumb ass every time I turn on WWE programming.”

“We're totally buying that some idiot making a mockery of dog tags can regularly beat a 7' giant with the same fighting experience. Way to sell the product you talentless cretin.”

Steamboat would continue on by talking about factions in WWE.

“I hope ECW gets around to forming that rumored New Hart Foundation, because WWE could sure use a faction that doesn't suck eggs. The Legacy, really? What a Legacy you've got, kids. What the hell legacy does the Orton family have? I'm pretty sure even wrestling aficionados have no idea who the hell Cowboy Bob was, what a legacy. Ted DiBiase Jr. doesn't have much of a legacy either. You're the Million Dollar Man's son? Well that's just grand, if he hadn't been a glorified manager with a sleeperhold he'd be irrelevant to wrestling—hell, he's barely relevant now.”

“What a faction—a whole three guys; I don't care how reckless and bad Sim Snuka was, wrestling with him couldn't have been a bigger ordeal than going against Khali or Santino. Even if they had Sim, that faction would still suck. I mean come on, it's led by someone with mic skills that are comparable to my neighbor's deaf son.”

“And what a push they're getting! Randy Orton, the man who looks like the Exxon Valdez let loose on his skin, leads two winged monkeys as they struggle to beat up Hunter, an old man, and some imbecile who constantly gets hurt and needed the legendary Undertaker just to reach mediocrity. Honestly, Vince, the only people satisfied with that push are the lowest common denominator of wrestling fans—aka, anybody who is brain dead enough to publicly say that Triple-H doesn't do enough to help put new guys over.”

Before he wrapped up the press conference, Steamboat discussed how the “insider” community affected his decision.

“Yeah, that's exactly what I wanted to deal with, a bunch of monkeys on typewriters furiously jotting down whatever wildly untrue drivel percolates in their microscopic brains—if you can call what's lodged in those thick skulls of theirs a brain in the first place.”

“Their stories are ridiculous; did you know that in the week leading up to WrestleMania it was reported that I was fine, had tuberculosis, was nursing a sprained ankle, had to pull out due to family issues, had been abducted by aliens, had no interest in helping my son wrestle, and had gotten confirmation that I am indeed Hornswoggle's biological father? I didn't know any of that stuff either until I happened upon one of those 'news' sites.”

“All those sites can just feel free to shove it. I bet if I personally told lordsofpain exactly what my plans are, they'd still manage to report it wrong. I never could have been happy during a comeback if they'd constantly been making up stuff about me. I'd have spent no time working on matches and all of my time writing emails encouraging anybody who writes for, reads the content of, defends, or acknowledges the existence of those sites to leap head first into an active volcano.”

Steamboat thanked the reporters for showing up and told them he'd be flying back to Mount Olympus where he would continue to live with other wrestling dignitaries including: George Steele, King Kong Bundy, Wendi Richter, Trish Stratus, Bruno Sammartino, and Goldberg among others.

When asked if Randy Savage was one of the “others”, Steamboat replied that he wasn't because when they called him “...[Savage] just kept screaming 'Bonesaw is ready' and making grunting noises, so we figured he was insane or just an idiot. His brother Lanny lives with us though, he's alright.”

Steamboat then ascended a crystal staircase which presumably led to Pizza Hut since he had a coupon.

Video Killed the Radio Star: How Modern Times Killed the Tag Team Titles

Ray Bogusz — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 00:31:44 -0400

For years and years, wrestling matches didn’t always come in singles. Before triple threats, ladder matches, and elimination chambers, wrestling found a way to work in more action—and more names—without resorting to needing a cage, tools, or a singles match with a third wheel.

Names like Hart Foundation, Ax and Smash, Colossal Connection, The Mega Powers, and DX, decorate wrestling’s past, just as modern times have our own set of characters: MNM2, The Colons, Biscuits and Gravy, and Cryme Tyme.

However, those mentioned last are part of a dying breed. Tag Team Titles just aren’t defended that often anymore, and unlike two wrestling generations ago, they never…ever main event.

The question becomes, how did this happen? How did the tag team wrestling, and the tag titles, fall from main event studs to mid-card gingers?

When and why did tag teams stop being WrestleMania Main Event material and start being something that doesn’t always even make it onto the bottom rung of an episode of SmackDown?

The answer lies in the very progress we’ve made both in wrestling, and in the technology used to promote it so heavily. The Tag Division and its title are as much victims of Darwin as they are of creative’s inability to write a match involving teams.

As for specifics, those are threefold. But, to start at the most logical point (the beginning): Today’s wrestler is wildly different from 1989’s wrestler, and as such, is not nearly as conducive to a tag team match. To fully understand this, we need to look at what happened starting with WrestleMania XIII.

The Monday Night Wars were still about a year away. However, WrestleMania XIII, specifically Bret Hart’s submission match with Steve Austin, is (more or less) considered to be the birthplace of the “Attitude Era.”

With this new shift came new trends: Mic skills were far more valuable. At the time, finding people who could wrestle wasn’t nearly as hard as today—but finding wrestlers who could talk was harder.

Hell, we were just exiting a time when Macho Man Randy Savage was actually given an actual, factual, commentary job at WrestleMania IX.

Now, the more you could talk, the more you did—and the better you got paid. And the better you got paid, the more likely you were out front, which meant your face got put on more stuff, which in turn meant you were more valuable, which meant more money.

Wrestlers now faced a dilemma. Never before had wrestling on one’s own been this much more valuable. Sure, singles stars had always had more glory, but good tag teams had always been in high demand…until now.

The rapidly increasing money for singles wrestlers led most people to break off and do their own thing. Sure, there were always a few tag teams, but the glory (and money) just wasn’t there anymore.

Second, there are simply too many pay-per-views for tag divisions to compete. Again, this needs elaboration.

Back during the time of the dinosaurs, there were four WWE(F) PPVs: Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series.

They were well spaced, and the ample time between meant that tag titles could thrive—something had to happen in the ring for all those non-PPV or closed circuit television shows, and there were only so many singles feuds to go around.

Then came the competition with WCW. In order to keep up, the mid-'90s through the early ‘00s saw a rapid expansion of PPV events, which meant that creative had to continue to generate feuds—each more shocking than the last—in order to keep up with competition.

However, for the tag titles, this presented a bit of a problem. The focus had to constantly stay on the singles feuds—building up perpetual hype for the unending onslaught of PPV matches.

On top of that, non-wrestling in-ring segments became drastically important for keeping views wondering what level the shock would go to next. Unfortunately, that meant more time cut from the Tag Teams.

With no time on TV to build, tags stopped showing at PPVs as well. As TV was created by man and therefore imperfect, it can’t manage to fit infinite material into a finite space the Tags started to eventually lose ground there too.

The final reason is that, bluntly stated, the Tag Titles just aren’t needed any more. While wrestling has been on some sort of TV in some form (usually in an extremely local capacity), it wasn’t until Raw started in the early to mid-90s that it was on in one spot, across the nation, with regularity.

Now that people could see their favorite wrestlers every week, one of the initial needs that tag teams filled no longer existed: maximum on stage (screen) talent.

Back in the pre-Raw days, being able to catch the big name wrestlers was more of a treat—it wasn’t every day that Andre the Giant or Yokozuna came to town.

As such, promoters knew that in order to get people to come back next time—and to prevent negative word of mouth from spreading—they needed to pack in as much talent as possible.

They could either have the show run five hours…or they could pair people up in tag teams. Understanding that sitting anywhere for five hours is a little extreme, they chose the latter.

However, when wrestling began to be a weekly thing, there was a change in need. You no longer had to worry about somebody missing their favorite star…he’d be on the same channel in seven days.

The need for the tag division to pack in as much as possible was over…in fact, promoters wanted to sometimes leave fans without seeing their favorite star. It would guarantee they’d come back the next week looking.

And so we come to the present day: a place where there is simply no need for the tag team. Will it die out completely?

Probably not—unlike titles such as the European and Hardcore championships, the Tag Titles both have some significant history to them, aren’t as easily wiped from our minds, and offer a totally unique brand of wrestling (yes, I’m aware of Hardcore Holly’s epic battle for the Hardcore belt. Can you think of anything else relevant about that title? I didn’t think so).

The Tag titles are, however, doomed to stay mid-card titles where people go to get a head start on making it to the singles bracket.

If we didn’t have proof enough of this already, the Tag Title Unification Match at WrestleMania was seen by approximately two people who weren’t at Reliant Stadium—that’s right, it was the dark match.

That there is damning—a match involving two titles and it can’t even get on TV.

Obviously, the longer this goes on, the more blame has to go on Vince McMahon. Whether you think it’s the best product out there right now or not, I for one do not, WWE is the leader for wrestling and he’s its dictatorial leader.

This past week’s draft is just another in a long list of signs that McMahon simply does not care about the tag division—an irony not lost on me given that he claims to “know what the fans want.”

On the flip side, some onus also has to fall on the other two promotions with major following: TNA and ROH. Their usage of tag wrestling isn’t all that much better, and it’s just another step in the race to never catch WWE by thinking outside the box.

When it’s all said and done, however, this whole mess is put best by paraphrasing an old saying about vaudeville: “The Tag Titles are dead, and TV is the box they buried it in.”

Creature Vs. Creature: Andre The Giant Is the Greatest Wrestler of All Time

Ray Bogusz — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 01:55:19 -0400

Who is the greatest wrestler of all time?

One could debate this topic for countless hours—mostly because the criteria for this are absolutely endless, and because a good case can be made for just about anyone.

Being from a further gone era doesn't necessarily qualify one more than another—just as being fresher in one's mind shouldn't score a wrestler any extra points.

Names like Londos, Kowalski, Sammartino, Hogan, Piper, Savage, Undertaker, Austin, Angle, and Sting permeate our beloved sport's rich tapestry that is its history—each one absolutely critical to very lifeblood of the sport today.

However, at the end of the day, the nature of the question leads us to eventually have to pick one name from the hundreds of deserving wrestlers at our disposal, and one name stands above all—literally and figuratively.

That name is the second half of a match considered to be the crown jewel in the crowning achievement of the '80s wrestling boom. He redefined wrestling and is still recognized today. That name is Andre.

Andre the Giant is, was, and always will be, the greatest wrestler of all time. Known primarily as a heel for his work later in his career, Andre doesn't get this honor because of championships won (or given, the nature of wrestling is kayfabe after all), and isn't the holder of this great honor because he was a merchandise king like Hogan.

The Eighth Wonder of the World garners this honor because he didn't just revolutionize wrestling for its day—he revolutionized it for all time. Without him, the sport we have today wouldn't be what it was. Without him, WWE may not have created a Hall of Fame for years—if at all.

When Andre started wrestling, the wrestling scene was fiercely territorial. In fact, to even conceive of an international wrestling promotion back in the '60s would have been laughable. There was no need to have much cross territorial promotion, and the people running them were not of the sharing mindset.

Over in France, however, Andre Roussimoff was training with then well known wrestler Edouard Carpentier—a man who would be his manager as well. From the '60s until the early '70s, Andre toured the world, wrestling in carnivals, arenas, and anywhere else that would have him.

Eventually, he came to Canada where he found the same immediate success. However, there was a problem that had permeated throughout.

Andre ran out of plausible opponents in a given territory rather quickly, and tickets would always dwindle after very short stints. He also had a habit of wearing out his welcome in any given territory—his enormous size and needs being the primary culprit.

Carpentier eventually was at his wits' end, and reached out to the then still fledgling WWWF (later WWF later WWE) and its late chairman, Vincent McMahon Sr. for advice and help to promote the big man.

McMahon then did something that hadn't been done on a mass scale before. He suggested a travel intensive schedule for Andre—even more so than the WWWF already underwent (actually much closer to the modern day schedule).

The elder McMahon also suggested billing him as Andre the Giant, so they could draw a bigger crowd and hopefully spread some word of mouth for increased ticket sales later on.

Granted, a territory or two working together wasn't uncommon—Sammartino and Sheik used to leave the northeast corridor and go out as far as Michigan—but McMahon's plans for Andre were far larger. If it was on planet earth, the Giant was going there.

So Andre toured the nation, revolutionizing the industry—his ability to attract crowds helping almost single handedly ushering in the modern national wrestling promotion.

As time wore on, Andre began touring with a blonde, tanned, California dude with 24 inch pythons. This (then) young man had incredible in-ring chemistry with Andre, and their feuds were well met wherever they went. His name was Hollywood Hogan, and with the help of Andre the Giant, he became an international phenomenon in his own right.

The two played to sold out arenas and stadiums across the nation, including a packed Shea Stadium in the early '80s. Hogan was often viciously booed—turning him into one of the most effective heels of the era.

As the novelty of the feud wound down, the two began to be paired together as a tag team—and were portrayed as good friends. (Which in many respects they were, Hogan had been Andre's traveling understudy in Japan and the two had developed a friendship that was between business and casual.)

As Andre's friend, Hogan could flourish. The mere fact that he was the giant's buddy made him popular.

However, even as Hogan's Hulkamania grew (often on the back of Andre's work in ring before Hogan was tagged in) Andre still managed to outstrip him.

By the time the inaugural WrestleMania came along, Hogan may have had the final event of the evening (along with Roddy Piper, Mr. Wonderful, and Mr. T) but it was Andre who still managed to draw the biggest headlines.

Andre's match against Big John Studd that March afternoon is the stuff of legends.

Andre had agreed to stake his career against John Studd for $15,000. To say the build up to the match was intense would be a vast understatement.

In the weeks before hand, Heenan had sent people to attack Andre. Andre had issued retorts to the Heenan Stable. Match day finally came—nobody wanted to see Andre retire.

When he finally slammed Studd, Madison Square Garden erupted. Once the money was handed to the giant, Andre proceeded to throw the money to the crowd—it what is still an iconic WrestleMania moment.

Andre then carried the momentum all the way through to WrestleMania II, where he won the main event of the Chicago portion of the promotion—a 20-man battle royal, last eliminating Bret Hart.

In 1987, Andre was set to do battle with Hulkamania itself as the headlining event of WrestleMania III in Detroit. The build up was like nothing before or since—that video of Piper's Pit when Andre ripped off Hogan's shirt and crucifix while demanding a title match is still legendary.

Nobody else could have given Hogan that build up. He'd faced Bundy for the title at WrestleMania II in what is still the only steel cage match in WrestleMania history—yet it was an afterthought of the event.

Piper hadn't gotten build for Hulkamania—neither had Bundy, Studd, Mr. Wonderful, Savage, or anyone else in the WWF.

At WrestleMania III, that changed. Andre the Giant, the immovable object, squared off against Hogan after a build up of epic proportions. Andre played the part of disgusted shadow dweller perfectly.

Savage couldn't have played the part—neither could have anyone else in the WWF, except the monster Andre, who had never been given a heavyweight title shot before.

The night came, and after an epic night that featured Bundy vs. Hillbilly Jim co-starring the WWF midgets, Randy Savage vs. Ricky Steamboat, and Rowdy Piper vs. Adorable Adrian Adonis, nothing could have topped the night...except Andre.

The main event was announced and Andre came out first, to a massive chorus of boos. He'd managed to turn from the WWF's most beloved face, into its most reviled heel—almost overnight.

Andre spent most of the match flawlessly selling Hogan's moves and then making it look as if Hogan was taking the beating of a lifetime.

That iconic body slam was executed on Andre—pre-approved by the Giant of course—and Hulkamania could finally run wild. Nobody could have given it that boost. Not Savage, not Piper, not even if Ric Flair had been involved could it have gotten that build.

Andre would eventually be employed by Ted DiBiase to take the title from Hogan and sell it to the Million Dollar Man, which happened at The Main Event. Andre played the part perfectly again, and despite crippling back pain, he sold every move to perfection.

From there, Andre had a run as a heel, culminating at WrestleMania VI, where he turned back to face after paint brushing Bobby Heenan after a confrontation following a tag team loss. All those years later, and the love for Andre resurfaced in one heart-stopping instant.

The Giant got on the cart, and rode off into the sunset—to a standing ovation.

When his career is looked at, one can't help but admit that there is a noticeable lack of titles. Granted that's true, but it shouldn't count against him in the consideration of the greatest wrestler of all time.

Most of his career was spent during times when titles weren't handed out—and even today those are meaningless to a wrestler's legacy.

Titles are given as part of the scripted storylines—technically speaking Hornswoggle is as capable of winning a title as Undertaker, although it's far less likely.

That Andre holds only a handful of titles for his career and is still so well known and loved today only stands as further testament to his greatness.

That the WWE Hall of Fame was initially created almost solely to enshrine his legacy to the wrestling world cements that greatness.

Only one wrestler has a posse. Only one person needs only to be called Andre and gain recognition. Only one man in the WWF needed no entrance theme, and only one wrestler is mentioned by name every time WWE programming airs.

It's not Hogan or Flair, not Austin or Rock, not Undertaker, Triple-H, or Randy Orton. It's Andre the Giant—the greatest wrestler of all.

From The Nosebleeds: CM Punk Set For Castration Again

Ray Bogusz — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 18:59:54 -0400

Every once in a great while, WWE manages to pull a completely nonsensical move. I know, that's shocking.

In all seriousness, there have been a lot of great moments in WWE's history. Randy Savage's reunion with Ms. Elizabeth and subsequent retirement at WrestleMania VII, Stone Cold v The Rock at WrestleMania XV, and as much as I hate to give either of them credit, John Cena's feud with Triple-H a few years back are just a sliver of WWE giving us top quality entertainment and storylines with appropriate character pushes.

However, for every one of those great moments and storylines, there are those that just make my blood boil. Andre the Giant essentially turning into a jobber for three years is practically unforgivable, Undertaker turning into the “American Badass” was inexcusable (totally awesome return aside), and as much as do profess to love all big men, Great Khali has no business being around a title push.

If the rumors are true, WWE is looking to add another notch to that latter category.

The widely reported story is that JBL will be feuding with CM Punk for the Intercontinental Title.

The first credible reports came out Saturday, the same day as I began to be subjected to torrential rainfall. I'll take that as proof that even Mother Nature is a wrestling fan—she too is weeping at the thought of this feud.

The entire justification for this seems to be that since CM Punk is in the MITB match, he should be title free. While that sounds all well and good at first, I can't help but raise some serious issues.

First, that would crush the value of the IC title. Fights for the IC title used to be major deal—often playing second fiddle only to the former WWF (now WWE) Championship. For further proof, let's look to WrestleMania III. The build up to the fight between Randy Savage and Ricky Steamboat was incredible, with a culminating match to equal.

There was a legitimate story line behind that feud, and it wasn't about to be thrown together at the last second the way a Punk v JBL feud would. In fact, while Randy Savage and Ricky Steamboat were considered to be two of the premier wrestlers in the promotion, CM Punk has never been given a legit push and JBL is considered to be washed up—push or no push.

If Punk retains the title (and subsequently loses the MITB match or wins but drops the major title shot), the IC Belt would look like it was for hasbeens and washups who just couldn't cut it at the top. If Punk drops the title, it'll still be devalued, by virtue of it being in JBL's hands.

Second, if we're going to treat one mid-level belt that way, we need to treat the other mid-level belt that way. Shelton Benjamin is in the MITB match too—complete with a United States Championship belt. If he doesn't lose that belt before WrestleMania and CM Punk does, you'll not only have devalued the IC belt by giving it to JBL (more on that later), but , as mentioned earlier, you'll have further devalued the U.S. Belt by allowing Benjamin to keep it.

The secondary problem with the U.S. Belt is that there are (or were) two really legitimate contenders for it. The first was MVP—the same MVP who happens to also be in the MITB match. By virtue of him being in that same match with Benjamin, a title change between those two would be a lateral move at best and not solve any of WWE's problems.

The other legitimate contender was Hurricane Helms. Helms returned to SmackDown in December to considerable fanfare and immediately began to dominate anybody in the United States Championship picture. However, he has been nonexistent since. He disappeared for a few weeks, then came back just in time to have Matt Hardy beat the crap out of him. At this point, putting the belt around Helms (however desirable that may sound) would seem nearly as convoluted as just throwing Big Show into the World Heavyweight Championship picture. Oops.

The third concern is what this would do to poor CM Punk. Should this feud take place, he's stuck in Wrestling Hell. If he holds off JBL's IC title grab, he'll be virtually guaranteed to not win the MITB match—and what then? He continues to feud with JBL?

If he loses the title and wins the MITB, he can't come out a winner either. Assume he loses the title, wins the MITB, and then drops his chance at a belt. (It's currently looking like that would be the WWE championship.)

Where would he be then? He'll have lost his shot at the big time, and returning to the IC title would not only make him look weak—it would mean feuding with JBL too.

If he were to cash in on a MITB victory, he'd still be screwed. Nobody would think of him as “CM Punk—WWE Champion.” We'd think of him as “CM Punk—that guy who dropped a title to JBL.”

That brings us to the fourth (and greatest) problem: He's set to feud with JBL. JBL has been trying to get something meaningful going for months, and the importance of what he's been trying to get going has been significantly decreasing.

First, he essentially bought the rights to use Shawn Michaels as a slave in an attempt to win the World Heavyweight Championship. That failed.

Then, he turned that failure into a fight with Shawn Michaels for who would get to face Undertaker at WrestleMania XXV. That failed too.

Now, word on the street is that he's going to go for CM Punk's belt. I say again, JBL couldn't beat Doink the Clown right now—if he feuds with CM Punk, nothing good would come of it.

Again, assume he beats CM Punk. The means Punk just dropped a title to somebody who has spent the past few months looking like a wannabe DiBiase Sr. If he doesn't take Punk's title, it means CM will more than likely lose the MITB match and (shudder) have to go back to possibly engage in an actual storyline with JBL.

So what is WWE to do? First, they should at least take Punk's title from him for the MITB match, if not the U.S. Title from Benjamin as well. The latter seems a bit trickier as for who it should go to. MVP would be the legit No. 1 contender, but as he's also in the MITB match, it would preferably go to Helms or R-Truth. However, with no back story, both of them would seem like forced champions.

As for the former, Raw actually has a few names that could have been thrown out. We could either see if Dolph Ziggler would be able to handle a real push, or finally give Kofi Kingston his due. I'm a bit more partial to the latter, but the former wouldn't upset me as we need to find out what Ziggler is made of.

Whether any of this is true or not will be made clear Monday night—if the rumors are true, JBL should be granted a non-title match against CM Punk. He'll win by disqualification, setting up a title match.

B/R's own Josh Swell reported that WWE has been leaking false rumors in order to stop storylines from getting out ahead of time. For the sake of CM Punk and the IC Title, let's hope that's the case here.

From the Nosebleeds: Chris Benoit Vanishing Act Shows WWE's Real Wellness Policy

Ray Bogusz — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 23:15:13 -0500

Preface: Shane has "My Latest Gripe", JLB has "Revolution Will Be Published", and a whole host of others have their own titled series. Consider "From the Nosebleeds" mine.

Little things tend to be what really annoy me. I have to run to McDonald's every time I need to use the bathroom because the entire building's septic system is backed up? That's fine, I guess I'll just be cooking less for a few days. (Although I won't be enjoying it.)

On the flip side, when Volvo started using Boston's "Peace of Mind" for their commercials, I about had an aneurysm. How the hell was I supposed to continue to look like a badass when the song I like to fly around to is being used by a company whose target demographic is middle-aged, pregnant women?

So too are my feelings on the fine company we all know as WWE. Major storylines that are just awful don't bother me—watching John Cena flame out every time he touches a mic is comical, if a little frustrating. Big Show can't get a decent storyline to save his life, despite the fact that he's one of the best things the WWE has going? Okay, keep putting him in half baked story lines with the other best talent left, Undertaker.

Sure, the poorly written stories are infinitely frustrating because of how good those two are, but if I'm only interested in one match, there's way more time to re-watch the best of Andre the Giant (which is really all of Andre the Giant...more on that as we get closer to WrestleMania).

Just like the rest of life, it's a little thing the WWE is doing that's driving me to the brink of insanity. To get a better idea of what this "little thing" is, re-watch WrestleManias XVI-XXIII. Watch for Chris Benoit. If you don't see him, you're watching something with the WWE "stamp of approval" right on the cover.

I'm not going to rehash his death, we should all be quite familiar with it (if you're not, email me for a complete history lesson on the WWF/E).

The long and short is that Benoit is gone, and in more ways than one.

Ever since his death was sorted out, Vince McMahon and WWE have done everything they can to scrape Benoit from the memory of their lore and their fans. He no longer has a profile on WWE.com, he is glazed over on newer DVDs, history pieces are all but void of Benoit's presence—even if he was a major part of the match.

What happened to Benoit was a shame, and what's happening now is no better.

Ever since 2006, the WWE has ramped up its promotion of "wellness", whatever the hell that means.

You can read the initial release in laymen's terms here, in plain English, on WWE's own website.

They were actively promoting the damn thing for over a year when Benoit went all roid rage on us, once again tarnishing the WWE—ruining the work they'd tried to do with the policy.

Benoit got a tribute, then we learned that he'd been given the steroids in question—along with friend and fellow dead wrestler, Eddie Guerrero. After that, the aforementioned scraping began.

Benoit's death and subsequent disappearing act highlight WWE's real wellness policy: Wellness for Vince, and nobody else.

The circumstances had showed that the WWE hadn't been serious about promoting safe habits and medically sound practices.

They could have turned that into a positive—use the same policy, just actually enforce it this time. Benoit could have been put front and center—greatness tarnished by steroids. In his death, he could have been the seminal example why steroid use should be discouraged—helping not only the wrestlers the policy is supposed to protect, but the image of McMahon's billion dollar fantasy as well.

Instead, WWE continues to bury its head in the sand—choosing to ignore its mistake and push the same line in leiu of making a change that would help everybody in the long run, all because the McMahons don't want to say "We messed up."

Shame on you, Vince McMahon. We've lost Chris Benoit twice, and to show for it—we have the same line you've been spewing for years.

What's your reason for doing this? Do you think if we watch Benoit wrestle that we'll all go ape and kill our families too? Are you of the opinion that if we watch classic Benoit, we'll all get the idea that injecting ourselves with anabolic steroids is just tops?

Or, is it because Benoit is the ultimate blemish on that ugly sow you call a wellness policy?

Spare me your answer, Vince. I've got a VCR, and lots of VHS tapes that will help me gear up for WrestleMania XXV. After I watch Andre the Giant a few times, I'll watch Chris Benoit...and I'll like it.

Christian Cage Moves to ECW: Why WWE Dropped the Ball Again

Ray Bogusz — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 01:42:50 -0500

Last night, I hopped on my computer after some Tuesday evening socializing (going to class is for dorks) and was greeted with a flurry of breaking news articles which declared that Christian Cage had returned to ECW.

Most of these articles met the minimum requirements of being a breaking news piece by informing me that, indeed, Cage had made a dramatic and wildly unexpected return to the WWE on its ECW brand. They then turned into editorials as the articles speculated what this meant—not just for ECW, but for all of WWE.

The general consensus was that this was great—ECW needed a big name, and Cage needed to finally land somewhere. I'm not going to argue with either of those points; they're both very correct. Before Cage's return, ECW was where careers went to flounder and/or die, and the Christian Hype Machine needed to finally be put to rest.

There are two general schools of thought—either Cage will stay as the leader of ECW rebirth, or he'll be quickly moved.

The problem with the first theory is that his return is being hyped as a Godsend to ECW—the savior of its mortal soul. Ladies and Gentlemen, allow me to put that theory to bed.

The first faulty claim to begin to surface from this is that Cage can now be involved in a five star feud, thus giving viewers a reason to tune into ECW. While Cage may be a legitimate name for a headlining feud, there is a slight problem with the logic that his presence will create such a thing.

A good feud takes two big names to be good. Cage may be headlining material, but as far as the ECW roster is concerned, he's the be all-end all for headlining talent. Honestly think about it—who will he headline with?

Miz and Morrison are essentially a tag team only gig; Boogeyman is lost amid poor stories from writers who can't seem to figure out how to use him right; Jack Swagger just isn't ready yet; Findlay may have a special place in my heart, but his career is past the stage where he can be part of a flagship feud.

There are very few wrestlers in history that can carry a feud on their own. Most are long retired and/or dead, and those that are left are closer to falling into that category than not. While I'd love to say that Cage is part of that group, he's not.

Even if he had another top tier talent to feud with (keeping Matt Hardy around would have been a great way to fix that), the problems with ECW run far deeper than anything Cage can fix on his own.

The show is still too short. A one-hour block not only restricts sponsorship dollars and mid-card matches (which are half the damn fun of a WWE television event), it also makes getting feuds going incredibly difficult. Hell, Raw and SmackDown are each two hours and they still have trouble developing feuds.

The mid-cards, which are both entertaining and serve as a way to begin to push new talent, are all but forgotten on an hour long show. If you add those matches, you end up having to cut in-ring interviews and backstage segments.

Those help drive plot—which, by the way, is the driving force behind any good feud between good wrestlers. (You wouldn't want to watch Andre the Giant feud with Stone Cold Steve Austin over who gets to play with a tonka truck, would you?)

There is still no legitimate Diva battle; even if Christi Lott's speculation that Natalya will be moving to ECW soon is correct, there is no title there for the Divas to feud over. In fact, outside of the actual ECW belt, there are no championships there...period. Miz and Morrison may have the World Tag Team Championship, but that's a Raw title.

Cage doesn't fix any of those things. His presence won't add championship belts to feud for; it won't extend the broadcast or even get it off the culturally irrelevant Sci-Fi Network; it definitely won't add a second headlining caliber talent.

By putting Christian Cage on ECW, the WWE just makes another talent totally irrelevant. While ECW will assuredly see a ratings boost initially, it will drop off because of the lack of a good feud. This is the equivalent putting Peyton Manning on the Detroit Lions. While Manning may be a huge draw, there's nothing around him to make the product as a whole successful.

The second theory is that he will be quickly moved. This too, is a rather stupid idea for WWE. If Cage is quickly removed, it will do two terrible things for WWE and its ECW brand.

First, an immediate move will cause any time spent on ECW to be wasted time. Cage needs to be involved now, not wasting his time on a series he'd be leaving.

Second, it will leave loyal ECW fans feeling jerked around. It's a feeling they'd be entitled to have. Should he pack his bags for one of the two larger brands in a matter of a few weeks, ECW will be left once again with no top tier talent and no foreseeable intriguing feud.

Those aforementioned loyal ECW fans will probably begin to abandon the product for more relevant programming (Raw, SmackDown, Golden Girls) out of indignation—it's not like they'd be missing anything relevant to the WWE universe.

Such is the way of WWE, and the fate of ECW.

Cage coming back is great, and I'm sure he'll do his best to create a feud on ECW anybody could possibly care about. But he's not the brand's savior, let's not forget that.

In the Wake of the Storm: An Honest Look at Kizarny

Ray Bogusz — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 13:29:38 -0500

Sometimes, extenuating circumstances don't let people give something an honest look.

It was a little under a month ago now that Kizarny finally made his WWE debut. Normally, I'm pretty critical of the SmackDown broadcast pair of Jim Ross and Tazz, but I don't think I could have done a better job than them calling that match.

They were at a loss for words, and frankly so was I. Unfortunately, the Christian Cage hype machine was in full on production mode back then, so honest assessments of Kizarny were few and far between, if at all existent.

I'm sure that like me, all of you figured he was gone. But, after his appearance on SmackDown this past Friday, I started to think. “What is the deal with Kizarny? Could there possibly be something there that we've all missed?”

Honestly, I had thought the WWE had written him off entirely, yet there he was, getting some air-time instead of Jimmy Wang Yang.

I followed my inquisitive nature about Kizarny, and to satiate it, began to look extensively at his minor league footage. What had the WWE seen in this man? Was there anything there? Can an honest assessment of Kizarny ever happen?

Friends, colleagues, people whose choices in life I'll never fully understand, allow me to break down Kizarny for you, as well as assess if he'll ever get a shot at the WWE again, as Kizarny or something else. (Hopefully something else.)

Let's start with the bad.

Kizarny was a terrible gimmick.

I always feel a little hypocritical calling somebody out for their gimmick. This is coming from somebody who has a special place in his heart for Doink the Clown. But in the land of gimmicks, Kizarny was lord of the idiots.

A carnival worker? Seriously? I didn't know real life occupations could be wrestling gimmicks now. My dad is a pretty big guy, and he's only a few years older than Undertaker, maybe he can join the WWE as “Wrencho: The old-school mechanic who drinks on camera and hits people...with wrenches!”

Sure, I'm kidding (Dad wouldn't hit people with wrenches), but the point is still there. Hell, the damn thing might have worked if anything about his in-ring appearances other than his music had anything to do with carnivals.

Kizarny was annoying.

He talked like a learning disabled gangster wanna-be. His promos were annoying—not as bad as the Khali Kiss Cam, but still bad enough that whenever they came on, I'd ask myself why I wasn't out bar-hopping.

His entire gimmick revolved around his promos, which he didn't translate to the ring. Granted, it's hard to bring the carnival to the ring, but if I hadn't been for his promos and entrance music I'd have had no idea he was supposed to have anything to do with a circus.

Kizarny gives terrible interviews.

If you ever get a chance to watch Florida Championship Wrestling footage, do so. Most of them are actually as good as 99 percent of the WWE talent as far as wrestling skills go, and many of them give better interviews than some of the WWE's less-skilled talent.

Kizarny is not one of them. As if promos of him talking like a jabbering imbecile weren't enough, he keeps it going for interviews. On the flip side, when he's not trying to sound like an idiot, he actually can manage to spit out a cogent thought or two...which is more than I can say for some of the WWE's bigger stars.

All that being said, there's some really great qualities to Kizarny.

The man is articulate.

He's just not well spoken as Kizarny. Nicholas (his real name) can actually speak in a manner that doesn't grate on every intelligent fiber in your body. For proof: Watch that aforementioned FCW footage if you get a chance; before he gets into his Kizarny persona, he's well spoken...intelligent even.

A gimmick that didn't revolve around him being a jackanape might lend him the ability to give a good in-ring interview, and possibly even a promo one day!

If he could be as good as I've seen is obviously speculative. No doubt my standards have been lowered from years of listening to Jeff Hardy yammer on like a verbally challenged chimp. Still, there's no way he could be worse than some of the talent the WWE is pushing right now.

The man can wrestle.

In fact, he does it rather well. Talk about MVP carrying their SmackDown encounter all you want, if nothing else, Kizarny has some serious wrestling capability.

First, unlike some superstars, he's not just all flash. Sometimes, he even uses actual wrestling moves. A bold move to be sure, but fact nonetheless. His finishing move is both highly technical and...rather cool. He's like R-Truth but with the ability to perform basic wrestling maneuvers.

I know, comparing anybody's in-ring ability to R-Truth seems like an insult, but both of these guys have some really cool moves. The difference is that Kizarny can do the little things, not just punch people then twist around in the air.

I know, some people aren't even able to do that. I'll just chalk it up to the WWE not having as deep of a talent pool as they used to.

He has the bizarre ability to actually make the moves look real instead of highly choreographed. The flips, the rolls, the flying kicks, could that have been a wrestling match. While his gimmick left a lot to be desired, even Dr. T.J. Eckleburg was impressed at his actual in-ring capabilities.

The man can act.

I might not give a whole hell of a lot of props for a carny act, and it might not have the most “street cred”, but it does take one hell of a good actor to pull it off—especially when you add in some rather difficult (albeit choreographed) wrestling moves.

His ability to act would give the WWE something both rosters are desperately lacking—somebody who can cut a decent backstage segment.

Final Synopsis

So will we see Kizarny again? Who is to say really. His vignettes have been dropped (thank God), and he's all but non-existent on the WWE Web site. However, he did make an appearance in the recent Battle Royal, even getting his name mentioned on air.

Personally, I'd like to see him return with a different gig. Lord only know the WWE needs people who can do more than flail around on the top rope (Jeff Hardy) and since they're sure as hell not about to use Undertaker or Big Show properly, it'd be nice to see somebody who can wrestle.

End Note: For those of you who just couldn't get it, this was as much to take pot shots at Cena and Jeff Hardy as it was to talk about how poorly used Kizarny is. I don't care that you're mad at me for doing so. I don't care for either of them.

Wrestling History: George "The Animal" Steele

Ray Bogusz — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 17:14:48 -0500

Today's wrestling scene is, in a nutshell, an astounding combination of boring and sketchy. Wrestlers are in and out of rehab for drug issues, and as for the entertainment part...well, that's lacking too. When we look back in the history of wrestling, it's nice to see somebody who wasn't either of those.

George "The Animal" Steele was born William James Meyers in Detroit, Michigan. He grew up not paying attention to any kind of wrestling (it was easier to do back then; wrestling wasn't nearly as available in the '40s). He had actually grown up loving football; however, he would be unable to play professionally on account of him having blown out his knee.

Meyers went off to Michigan State and became a teacher—a job that payed $4,400 a year. He needed to do something to supplement the income, so he looked into a rising sport: wrestling.

Steele admits that he wasn't doing it for any love of wrestling. In fact, as a former football player, he initially felt that wrestling was below his athletic talent. However, he quickly learned the "art" of wrestling, and began to appreciate it.

Steele recounted how back then, it was significantly harder for up and coming wrestlers. He himself had to work from 8 am-6 pm, then drive to Grand Rapids to train for professional wrestling. He'd usually be able to arrive on time (although some times he managed to get a speeding ticket or two) and train for a few hours. Then he'd get home at 2 am, go to sleep, and start all over again in a few hours.

When he graduated from wrestling school, he wrestled around the Detroit area under the moniker "The Student." Initially managed by Owen Hart, Steele was able to learn further from him, as well as from the original Shiek, who would often come around the area. In 1967, Bruno Sammartino would come through the area for a show and scout Steele. He was so impressed he asked Steele to come out to Pittsburgh.

The only stipulation was that Steele could no longer wear a mask. Pittsburgh didn't need a mask wearing character—Steele dropped accordingly, and he was finally a part of the WWF.

Upon his arrival, Steele was teamed with Bill Miller and would often face the team of Sammartino and Batman in the WWF main events. Soon, however, the headlines would read merely "Sammartino v Steele."

Steele was incredibly popular and even managed to wrestle Sammartino to a draw, although he would lose the rematch. However, the WWF didn't like his character development and he was eventually relegated to smaller matches as the '70s marched on. He would finally take a brief hiatus to re-invent himself. "The Animal" would be born.

When Steele returned, he came in as a horrifying heel. Playing off his massive quantities of body hair, he entered with a stooped posture and mic skills that would even make Jeff Hardy cringe (maybe).

"The Animal" didn't need them. He was a compelling enough character. He had wild eyes, wild hair (except on his head), and howled as much as talked. He was so good one could say he chewed the scenery, literally. Steele would often chew right through a turnbuckle cover, thus spilling its guts all over the mat.

He initially wrestled alongside "The Iron Sheik" and Nikolai Volkov, however, they made him a face when they turned on him. Captain Lou Albano came to Steele's aid, and another fan favorite was born.

After that, Steele became smitten by Randy Savage's escort (and my personal favorite manager), Ms. Elizabeth. This feud was only meant to last a brief span, but fans adored George so much that it just kept going, helping to seal his legacy as one of the most loved wrestlers of all time.

During it, Savage became one of the most hated wrestlers ever, and Steele was constantly rejected by Ms. Elizabeth. Out of frustration from that and from losing to Savage in an Intercontinental Championship match, Steele would make Savage pay at Wrestlemania III.

During Savage's title match agaisnt Ricky Steamboat, Steele ran into the ring and took Savage over the ropes, giving the momentum back to Steamboat and costing Savage his title.

Despite the fact that he was still on top of his game, Steele was forced to retire in 1989 because he had developed Crohn's Disease. He was, however able to beat it (despite that there is no known cure), a feat he attributes to God.

Like his initial savior Albano, Steele would make one brief return to the WWF in 1997 as a member of the oddities.

Although Steele does still make appearances on the independent circuits, he has distanced himself from the WWE, citing a difference in values.

While I can't agree with all of his values (I miss my raunchy WWE/F), I can agree that the WWE has gone far downhill, and could use more wrestlers like him.

The first hand account from Steele is paraphrased from a larger interview conducted on a Detroit Radio Station during August of last year. To hear it in full, click here.

As the road to Wrestlemania XXV heats up, I'll be doing these as often as possible, but no less than one in a week. I'll also be doing a look at the previous 24 Wrestlemanias as we get closer to the Big Day.

Wrestling History: Captain Lou Albano

Ray Bogusz — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 19:06:21 -0500

Flamboyant, loud, outrageous—those are just a few of the ways you could describe wrestling's first great manager: Lou Albano. The above picture shows him in traditional garb, looking more like a vagrant than a professional wrestler, much less a manager.

Albano was a unique mix of the old school of wrestling and what was to become modern sports entertainment.

He used his real name, and did not wear a mask, as were the conventions of wrestling's early days. But in other ways, he was ahead of his time. Albano was a character. Early wrestlers (even including Albano himself) were just that: wrestlers. Back then, the man we know as The Undertaker probably would have gone by his given name—Mark Callaway—and John Cena almost assuredly never would have gone by "The Prototype" or "Mr. P," his various aliases during his time in the developmental territories.

Albano ushered in the "rock" era of wrestling. He wore bizarre costumes; he stuck plastic earrings on his face; he even dangled rubberbands from his beard. "Captain" Lou Albano looked nothing like the everyday Louis Albano (who, by the way, bears an uncanny resemblance to James Lipton of "Inside the Actor's Studio" fame). He even had something few had experimented with before: a faux gimmick.

Albano got his start after his discharge from the United States Army in the '50s. He teamed with Tony Altimore to form a tag team known as "The Sicilians." They toured the Mid West, fighting in a tandem that featured two highly-stereotypical mobster Italians. Although the act was toned down, the success was not. They became Mid-West Tag Team Champions and WWWF United States Tag Team Champions.

After his success as a tag team member, Albano began to change into the character he's remembered for today. At the encouragement of his friend (and fellow Wrestling History featured grappler) Bruno Sammartino, Albano developed "The Captain."

Captain Lou Albano was flamboyant and ill-liked. It was the Captain who first set up challenges to Sammartino's reign as champion, which made him an instant heel. He managed Ivan Koloff, and then in 1971, managed Koloff all the way to the World Heavyweight championship—his only title win as a manager.

Despite never managing the World Heavyweight Champion again, Albano would go on to manage other wrestlers to a plethora of titles during the '70s and '80s. He led Don Muraco, Pat Patterson, and Greg Valentine to the Intercontinental Championship and a still-unmatched 15 different teams to Tag Team gold, including The Valiant Brothers, The British Bulldogs, and The Wild Samoans.

Albano even managed to get embroiled in a feud with Cindi Lauper, whom he claimed owed her success to him. After The Fabulous Moolah (then his wrestler) lost the title to Cindi Lauper's friend, Wendi Richter, Albano apologized and became an instant fan favorite after years as a hated heel.

His wild popularity was second only to Hulkamania, and was an intergral part of the WWF's unprecedented success in the '80s.

With his incredible success in (and around) the ring, Albano left the WWF in 1986 to focus on other projects. He made frequent guest appearances on TV shows and even made a movie entitled "BodySlam" with fellow WWF Superstar, Roddy Piper.

Albano did return once—in 1994 to co-manage "The Headshrinkers."

Since his final retirement, Albano has mostly shyed away from professional wrestling, although he has made a few select appearances at reunions and WWE specials.

Hopefully he'll be at Wrestlemania XXV. Often imitated but never duplicated, Lou Albano will live in wrestling lore forever.

Wrestling History: King Kong Bundy

Ray Bogusz — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 03:31:48 -0500

Imagine a hairless gorilla in a black leotard. Back in the heyday of wrestling (i.e. when even the undercard fights were good) there was a big name who looked like this.

He had all the color of a lump of mashed potatoes and while Andre Roussimoff might have been "The Giant," there was actually another who if not as tall, at times was somehow heavier. His name was King Kong Bundy.

Born Chris Pailles, Bundy got his start in the junior leagues like most wrestlers. He started in the AWA, NWA, and WCCW. It was in the last that he would team with then manager Gary Hart, who would make him into King Kong Bundy and bring him to the WWF.

Bundy came into the WWF as a highly interesting character complete with a fully developed set of gimmicks. One he had developed while part of Mid-South Wrestling is still famous today: asking for a five-count because, "When you're beat by Bundy, I want you to know you've been beat."

By the first Wrestlemania, Bundy was already recognized enough to get a spot; he'd make great use of it. Bundy would defeat S.D. Jones in what was later referred to on his billing as a "nine second match". (The official clock reads 23 seconds, but since that's still impressive even with kayfabe, we'll look the other way.)

After this, he would begin the first of his two memorable feuds; this one would be with Andre the Giant.

That angle would begin when The Giant was wrestling Big John Studd in Toronto. Studd had attempted to cut Andre's hair, but The Giant had managed to wrestle the scissors away from Studd and had gone to do the same to Big John. However, Bundy would enter the ring to come to the assistance of Studd.

Studd held Andre down and Bundy would deliver several splashes to Andre's sternum. After what Gorilla Monsoon described as a "cavalry of do-gooders" chased Studd and Bundy from the ring, Andre would arise and after some time off, would engage in a heated feud with Bundy.

The feud would culminate with a few tag team matches on Saturday Night Main Event. Bundy, paired with Studd as part of the Heenan family, would ultimately lose out to The Giant and Hulk Hogan.

As the build up to Wrestlemania II began, Bundy began to feud with the aforementioned Hogan. Bundy began the feud by interfering in a match between the Hulkster and Don Muraco.

Hogan was reported as having needed "medical attention" thus setting up the feud; however, in a show of how strong he actually was, Bundy had actually managed to crack every single rib in Hogan's body, despite the kayfabe nature of wrestling.

The feud would culminate in a WWF Title Match at Wrestlemania II. Bundy and Hogan would be paired in a cage for the title.

Despite having Hogan crushed for most of the match, Bundy would lose on account of his inability to get out of the cage faster than Hogan.

(That particular match, by the way, is by far Bundy's best effort. It's easy to find if you know where to look; I highly recommend everyone does.)

After his failed title bid at Wrestlemania II, Bundy would slowly fizzle out. He left the WWF in 1988, but returned in 1994 as part of the "Million Dollar Corporation." Despite some moderate success and even a feud with Undertaker that ended at Wrestlemania XI, Bundy just wasn't the same and he eventually left the WWF.

Bundy still wrestles on the semi-pro circuit, although it's rather sparingly (he's into his 50s now).

He's not a member of the WWE Hall of Fame, and whether he should be is actually debatable. All of his partners, managers, and those he feuded with (Hogan, Andre the Giant, Big John Studd, and Bobby Heenan) are part of the HoF. However, unlike them, Bundy didn't have the longevity or success outside of those few years.

No matter how you feel on his HoF status, Bundy was still an integral part of some of wrestling's biggest early feuds, and he shouldn't be forgotten.

End Note: As the lead up to Wrestlemania XXV begins, I'm going to start hosting these once a week. I'm sure all of you are thrilled.

I have my five favorite characters planned for the end, as well as a look at the previous 24 Wrestlemanias. Here's hoping I pull it off. Thanks for reading!

Wrestling History: Big John Studd

Ray Bogusz — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 01:38:44 -0500

Everyone, probably rightly so, remembers Andre the Giant as wrestling's historic big man. However, standing at a conservative 6'10", Big John Studd (John Minton) loomed nearly as large both in and out of the ring.

Studd was originally trained by fellow wrestling great, Killer Kowalski, with whom he made his debut in his first trip through the WWE. Along side Kowalski, Studd would originally wrestle as a member of "The Masked Executioners" and quickly attain the tag team title.

Studd would leave the then WWWF to wrestle in various regional outfits going under the names: Chuck O'Connor, Captain USA, and Masked Superstar II. During this time he would also team with Ken Patera to win the Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Title.

After being unmasked during a match with Blackjack Mulligan, Studd would find his way to Florida, where he would begin his career as a heel. There, he would feud with a few notable wrestlers, the most important of those being Dusty Rhodes. In Florida, he would also have his first real gimmick: bringing out a stretcher with him so he could beat his opponents to the point that they had to be carried off on it.

The year 1982 began the part of Studd's career he is best remembered for. After an eventful feud over the NWA Championship with Ric Flair, Studd was given a chance to jump back to the WWF(E), which he jumped on.

Having proven an excellent heel, Studd was adopted into the Heenan Family and quickly began one of wrestling's most famous feuds with Andre the Giant. Studd proclaimed himself to be the real giant.

He would cut Andre's hair during a tag team match. Later that year at the inaugural Wrestlemania, The Giant would slam Studd for $15,000; the crowd would go wild, and would eerily do so again three years later when Andre would be slammed by Hulk Hogan at the Silverdome.

Studd teamed with King Kong Bundy as a heel tag team and had success as well. Studd and Bundy would team to take on Andre two against one after a match. Studd would hold Andre down and Bundy would deliver several devastating splashes, thus completing Studd's most infamous moment.

Then at Wrestlemania II he wrestled alone in the Twenty Man Battle Royal. There he would eliminate William Perry (of Bears fame) and would then be tricked out of the ring by Perry to be eliminated from the event (his rival, Andre, would go on to win).

The feud with Andre would die down, and Studd would team with Bundy more and more frequently, eventually winning the WWF Tag Team Title. Studd would then retire, but return three years later. Bobby Heenan attempted to greet him on set, but Studd ran him off, thus turning Studd back to a face after years of being a heel.

During this last run, Studd would win the 1989 Royal Rumble by last elminating Ted DiBiase; to this day most within wrestling list that as Studd's crowning achievement.

He would guest referee at Wrestlemania V as well in a match between Andre the Giant and Jake "The Snake" Roberts. Although it was met with success and enthusiasm, Studd was unable to continue the feud through to the end thanks to declining health. With his body in serious decline, he retired soon after, this time for good.

Studd sadly passed away in 1995 from a variety of complications. He had liver cancer, Hodgkins disease, and was suffering from complications related to years of having taken growth hormones. During the time he was coming up, you couldn't get noticed unless you were a big man. Because Studd wasn't naturally huge, he took them in higher quantities than normal for a wrestler and it had finally worn him down.

Outside the ring, Studd was known as one of wrestling's nicest guys, even if he was known as a jerk inside. He was also popular amongst his fellow wrestlers, an oddity for the time.

Thankfully, he was inducted into the WWE's Hall of Fame in 2004 by another big man, Big Show. He is sadly, not yet a member of the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame.

A Plea to Brett Favre: Go Away

Ray Bogusz — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 16:38:58 -0500

Pictured above: Brett Favre, throwing what was most likely his Elventy-Billionth interception of the season.

It's about to start, fellow NFL writers. OK, so technically it started in the days leading up to Week 17, but the point is, we're not even close to full steam yet.

The Brett Favre "Will I or Won't I Retire" circus is about to descend upon us in all its mighty wrath and sickening glory. Much like the famous protester at Tiananmen Square, I realize that one man cannot stop the onslaught of what is the most sickening, mind boggling, and flat out aggravating media blitz that can ever take place. Life is no fun when the odds are in your favor, so here goes nothing.

Brett, we (humanity) are sick of you.

For the past few seasons, you've done the retirement dance. It's gotten pretty old, to be quite honest. You go up to the podium sometime near or at the end of the season, tear up really nice, and begin to whine to us in that annoying hillbilly drawl of yours about how you just don't know if you've got the drive left in you.

As my dad might have said to me when I acted up in public: "I'm sick of this crap; go to your room."

People always seem to rush to his defense with phrases like, "He's a great quarterback who has accomplished a lot," and, "He's a gunslinger; he just knows how to win. Besides, after all he's done for the team you love so much, can't you give the man a little leeway to decide what he wants to do?"

The answer, blunt and unforgiving though it may be, is no. It's not that I get a sick pleasure of hating on Favre, I just don't buy any of those other points you've made.

He's a gunslinger who just knows how to win? Really?

We are talking about the man with one Super Bowl ring, right? The same man who was routinely pulverized by Troy Aikman and the Cowboys?

I'll give you that he's a gunslinger, mostly because the only other word that comes to mind when I think of people who throw into triple coverage as often as he does is idiot. But a guy who just knows how to win?

His only championship came on the back of Dorsey Levens. He managed to routinely not put up points, despite, at one point, having the option of throwing to: Robert Brooks, Antonio Freeman, Mark Chmura, Don Beebe, or William Henderson, Dorsey Levens, and Edgar Bennett out of the backfield.

All those come-from-behind victories? They could easily be brutal losses. Most of the time, he was bailing himself out of mistakes he'd made. Most of those come-from-behind victories feature turnovers that are costly and bizarre when reviewed.

You have to wonder how many times he was giving up short fields, too. His defenses at one point had: Reggie White, Santana Dotson, Gilbert Brown, Craig Newsome, Leroy Butler, and Darren Sharper.

You have to wonder how many of those come-from-behind wins were from teams that were just marching up the field left and right, and how many were because he kept giving up the ball with a short field. (Hint: It's a lot of the latter.)

What's worst about this is that it seems as if Favre is about to destroy yet another coach.

Far be it from me to call Mangini a coaching prodigy (or even an able coach), but you have to wonder if there was any way he could win in this situation.

From the very beginning of training camp, it seemed as if the possibility of not starting Favre would be ridiculous.

If Mangini never started Favre, he'd have been blamed for holding back the immediate success of the franchise. When he disciplined Favre, he was the bad guy; how dare he bench the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ...I mean Brett Favre.

Of course, leaving in the quarterback you'd swear was color blind was a loss for Mangini, too. He'd stuck with Favre too long. It didn't help matters that the Mangini offense is not what Brett Favre likes to do. Mangini comes from a ball-control school of mind—run first, pass second, and only go long when you have to.

Dare I suggest that Favre's unhappiness forced out yet another coach?

Long before Mangini grew weary of Favre's inability to throw a pass to anybody except people wearing the opposite color of his uniform, other coaches had done the same.

Holmgren grew so sick of it that it turned out to be the final nail in the coffin of his tenure as Packers head coach. Holmgren then went off to Seattle and did all but raise the dead for the Seahawks franchise.

When Ray Rhodes came in, he didn't command enough respect for Favre to listen. Granted, it didn't help that nobody else respected Rhodes either, but the point is still the same.

Mike Sherman came in and re-instituted the "go long" offense Favre liked so much. When Sherman began to see a spike in interceptions, he started reeling the offense back. Seeing as Ahman Green was looking like a world-beater at the time, it was a move that made sense.

Favre, unhappy with this sudden loss of power, decided to just keep throwing the ball all over anyway. Queue the only bad season Sherman ever had and presto, he's fired in a move that still has us intelligent Packer-backers scratching our noggins.

Sure, some of Sherman's moves as GM were questionable, but he'd only had one losing season; hardly enough to condemn the man. (In a twist of ironic fate, two years ago's team that went on that white hot start was comprised almost entirely of Sherman draft picks and free-agent signings, but who's counting?)

Enter Mike McCarthy.

McCarthy wasn't about to just let Brett Favre run his team, and the internal conflicts were there, even during the miracle season of two years ago. Favre did his usual media dance, and then, for once, actually decided to retire. Yippie. Hooray. We have Aaron Rodgers, and everybody has moved on.

Wrong.

As soon as Green Bay had spent an entire offseason based on the premise that Favre was retired, he began to talk about wanting to come back. Which would have been great, except that he wanted to be handed back the starting job.

McCarthy, being a man of principle (and cajones) flatly said, "hell no".

And so Favre went to be the Jets' savior, once again leading the league in interceptions along the way.

Now his offensive opposite, Mangini, is gone and the Jets' current name getting the most press: Jeff Jagodzinski.

Jagodzinski has a Favre connection and runs his type of offense. The fact that the Jets are even entertaining a coach that would coach to Favre is preposterous.

He will not save your franchise; in fact, he's probably already set it back a few years. Thomas Jones is a stud h-back, but how much longer do you really think he has left?

I have no doubt a less turnover-prone quarterback would have taken New York to the playoffs and at least made a legitimate run.

Brett, I hope the New York media does what it does to every other whiny, sniveling, overrated, agitator like you and just runs you clear off the face of the earth.

I hope that at the next press conference you have, somebody tells you to shove it, shut up, and then walks out of the room. Go, stay, whatever. We don't care anymore, because you're not going to win anymore, no matter what your grossly inflated opinion of yourself says.

It's time people woke up and saw you for the slightly better than average, blessed to have spend most of his career surrounded by ungodly talent, egomaniac, coach killer that you are.

Your records don't mean squat: Play long enough and you'll get them all.

Your come-from-behind victories are meaningless: Dig enough holes, you're bound to find your way out of some.

Go away and take your media circus with you.

Wrestling History: Bruno Sammartino

Ray Bogusz — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 11:14:46 -0500

In the months leading up to Wrestlemania XXV, I'll be looking back at the history of wrestling through the great wrestlers and managers that have come before.

Throughout the history of professional wrestling, there have been prolific figures to feud with the boss, legendary title runs and reigns, and characters whose every move seemed to make you say "Oh dear Lord."

Although his career was already winding down by the time professional wrestling hit its first big stage, Bruno Sammartino was all of those. His temper was legendary, his relationship with the McMahons was volatile, and his title reigns may forever go unmatched. The epitome of wrestling endurance, Sammartino helped lay the foundation for wrestling today.

Born in Italy's Abruzzo area, Sammartino initially grew up to become a weak and sickly person. Once he came to America to live with his father, he began devoting himself to weight training.

Thanks to a poor grasp of English, Sammartino had trouble finding work and began to make money as a strong man. He eventually was found by a wrestling promoter named Rudy Miller, who wanted him because of the appeal of an ethnic strongman to the Italian wrestling fans.

Sammartino began wrestling for Pittsburgh based "Spectator Sports" which he eventually bought in 1966. During that time, he not only owned one of the launching pads for names like Gorilla Monsoon and George Steele, he was also the Canadian Champion and a serious contender for the World Championship.

That title of contender would change to champion on May 17, 1963, when he defeated Buddy Rogers to win the WWWF title. He then went on a run that will never be seen again, wherein he held the title for seven years, eight months and one day.

During that run, Sammartino used his showmanship and massive fan base to launch a one man crusade to establish the WWWF as the legitimate wrestling circuit in America. He would defeat (and help launch to fame) nearly every known wrestler from the area.

He was a champion beloved in a way that would only be rivaled by Hogan's championship runs later on. When he finally lost the title on January 18, 1971, the crowd fell so silent that those in the ring thought they'd lost their hearing.

The WWWF then tried to find a way to continue to draw the massive crowds that Sammartino drew, but nobody could even come close. The fans wanted Sammartino, and Chairman McMahon Sr. knew it.

When Sammartino was asked to return as champion, he demanded to get a percentage of every gate, unheard of at the time. He got it.

Sammartino would lose in his initial match, and then go on to win nine days later.

He would next be paired against Billy Graham, who he would lose the title to and never regain.

As the '80s dawned, Sammartino would go into his waning days. He would have violent feuds with more modern names like Roddy Piper and Randy Savage, of course winning them all. He would also have one of his seminal matches at this time: a steel cage match against Larry Zbysko at Shea Stadium—which he again won.

As the '80s began to wind down, Sammartino would move into more of a promoter role for his son, making his last real appearance at the inaugural Wrestlemania.

Despite working so hard for professional wrestling, and being a consummate kayfabe champion, Sammartino has had a harsh falling out with the WWE. He has been highly critical of the industry, in particular of Vince McMahon, going as far as to claim that he has ruined what his father has created.

Sammartino knew wrestling was fake, but he knew there was no reason it needed to be known. The show was fun, the people still athletic, and the entire experience still thrilling.

That steroids and ludicrous storylines had invaded the WWE angered and saddened Sammartino, who is also highly critical of Triple H; he's gone so far as to say he'd never watch Triple H wrestle, in fact saying that to his face although Sammartino was unaware that it was Triple H at the time.

Despite his differences, Sammartino cannot be forgotten. He singlehandedly promoted the earliest incarnations of professional wrestling, that he is not honored by the WWE in their hall of fame is a shame.

Let's not forget what he did.

Divas Title: In the Wake of Maryse's Injury, WWE Can Begin to Right the Ship.

Ray Bogusz — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 06:15:17 -0500

In its current state, the Divas Championship sucks.

There, I said it.

But seriously, it has more problems than Madonna.

And she's got issues. But I digress.

The point is this—the entire Divas division is in a perpetual state of suck, and drastic changes need to be made.

I'll only talk about the most pressing today: the Champion herself. (I have some other issues, but they're more minor.)

Let me start by being blunt: If you still think Michelle McCool can carry a brand as its champion, you're either living in a cave, or have serious denial issues. I'm sure she's a fine human being, a great worker, blah blah blah.

Champions need to be exciting. They need to be able to draw more than polite applause when entering the ring. Their characters need to do more than grunt and scream. If McCool could do any of those things, I'd be less worried about giving her back the Divas belt.

Even when Maryse won, it seemed like the WWE went in the wrong direction. Maryse's character is virtually untested, and from what I've seen, would make a stellar heel. Not that a heel can't hold a title, just that it isn't recommended for something that's about to be dead in the water.

They really could have made it work, I guess, but it wasn't what seemed to be the best option. With Maryse now on the sidelines, I fear the worst: McCool will be given back the title.

Meanwhile, somebody who fits all of the above criteria is sitting around waiting. She's dynamic, a great showman (woman?), and wildly popular. Her name is Maria.

Everything seemed to be setting up for Maria to win the Divas Championship. She had won the dice match in Las Vegas. McCool was set up to be her heel (something the latter would be much better at). And then, just like that, Maryse became the No. 1 contender.

It's inexplicable, and frankly, it was in poor judgement.

Maria gets by far the best reception of any active Diva—hell, outside of Undertaker and Triple H, she might get the best reception on the entire SmackDown brand, period.

If anything, she comes overqualified for the title. Let's go through this again:

She's wildly popular. She's dynamic in and out of the ring. She knows actual wrestling moves. She's outgoing, engaging, and a great face.

So, to close, I'd like to leave with an open letter to the WWE:

Dear WWE,

We all make mistakes. We all have lapses in judgement, and we all have the opportunity to right them.

If you want to save the Divas championship, please make Maria the champion and have Maryse return as a heel to challenge her for it.

The less this can involve McCool, the better.

Thanks,

Ray Bogusz