Bleacher Report - Articles by Dan Telek

Thoughts On Kurt Angle's Arrest: Where Does TNA Go Next?

Dan Telek — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 21:01:52 -0400

As many of us know so far Kurt Angle was arrested early this morning. If you did not know that yet, then you should read Hayley Graham's article on the subject as well as the one by Jim McKinnon on the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette website.

Until the whole ordeal is situated, then I reserve judgement for Angle. My opinion has in no way been changed.

Currently Angle is scheduled to in court on Tuesday, two days after the Hard Justice pay-per-view. There he is scheduled to defend his TNA World Heavyweight Championship in a Triple Threat Match between himself, Sting, and Matt Morgan. With this complication, Angle might not be able to defend his title.

TNA currently has a few options to handle the situation.

Find a replacement

TNA could go the route of finding a replacement competitor for the match. It would be interesting to see who TNA puts in the match if they decide to put a replacement in.

A.J. Styles would be an obvious choice for most, but he is currently suffering from staph infection and is out until September.

Another guy I personally would like to see out into the match is Robert Roode. Roode was poised to be the next big star in TNA in late 2007 and early 2008. He formed Beer Money, Inc. with James Storm and has dominated tag team wrestling since. Even though Beer Money is extremely over and one of the best tag teams, it would be okay for Roode to have one title match. If Roode were to win then Beer Money's spot could easily be taken by the Motor City Machine Guns.

Have a match between Sting and Matt Morgan

Morgan and Sting had a good match at Slammiversary, but it was screwed up when Sting messed up the finish.

The two are known to work well together and would be a plausible main event if Morgan can look strong and get rub from Sting.

The only problem is that TNA might not want to have just a Sting and Morgan match as a main event because it was an undercard bout just two pay-per-views ago.

Make the title vacant and have a tournament

This by far, in my opinion, is the best option. TNA could hold a 16 man tournament to crown the next champion. This could give TNA the opportunity to put the spotlight younger talent.

In the tournament it would be nice to see guys like Abyss, Chris Sabin, and Robert Roode advance somewhat.

TNA could build it up as sort of a King of the Ring type match and have two brackets where the winners face off for the title.

TNA Starting an All X-Division Show: Could it Revive the X-Division?

Dan Telek — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 00:31:10 -0400

For a while now, Spike TV has been asing TNA to pitch a new idea for a TV show on the network. According to various wrestling outlets, TNA has pitched an idea to Spike for an all X-Division show. This could be the adrenaline shot TNA needs to make the X-Division what it was.

Currently on the TNA roster there is 10 active members of the roster who are considered X-Division competitors. They are: Sucide/Kaz, Homicide, Jay Lethal, Consequences Creed, Kiyoshi, Sheik Abdul Bashir, Amazing Red, Eric Young, Alex Shelley, and Chris Sabin.

This is a very strong group of talent, but I fear that is not a big enough roster to fill an hour timeslot which is most likely what Spike would want.

For TNA to successfully make this show work, I believe TNA should bring in Japanese talent for matches. TNA, I believe, has a working relationship with New Japan Pro Wrestling and could bring in talent from the promotion for matches.

Another possibility could be that TNA could bring in independent workers and workers from Mexico, Europe and Japan. Guys like Jack Evans, Teddy Hart, Shiima Xion, and Trent Acid would be great additions to matches.

We could also see the rebirth of the Super X Cup. Tournaments for No. 1 contenders or even for vacant championships.

The X-Division has been, and always will be, one of the most exciting and electrifying types of wrestling. If TNA properly books this show then we could see the rebirth of what made most of us TNA fans.

A Little Bit Past Half Year Awards

Dan Telek — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 18:54:07 -0400

I originally planned for this to be released on July 31, but I am such a procrastonator. I got some inspiration from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards so off to the awards. I will feature such catergories as Wrestler of the Year, Most Overrated, Most Underrated, Best High Flyer. Hope you enjoy the show.

Begin Slideshow

What If: Triple H Was Fired for the MSG Incident

Dan Telek — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 06:50:15 -0400

This is my first in a new series in which I examine historical moments in wrestling history and changes in history that could have occurred because of them. Enjoy.

Back in the middle 1990s, a large amount of the booking power in the World Wrestling Federation was held by The Kliq. The Kliq consisted of backstage friends Shawn Michaels, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, Triple H, and Sean Waltman.

Justin Credible was also close friends with the group, but was not usually considered a member. In the early stages of the group, Bret Hart was asked to join, but Hart decided against it.

The main focus of the group was to keep the five on top. At In Your House 4: Great White North in 1995, Shawn Michaels was supposed to lose his Intercontinental Championship to Dean Douglas, better known as Shane Douglas. Michaels did not want to put Douglas over, so he insisted that Douglas win by forfeit.

The match went on as Michaels had planned and Douglas won by forfeit. Later in the night though Scott Hall, who wrestled as Razor Ramon, defeated Douglas for the Intercontinental Championship. Douglas, outraged by the sequence of events, threatened legal action with the company and left for Extreme Championship Wrestling.

One of the most memorable moments with the Kliq was what is known as the Madison Square Garden Incident. While performing a major WWF house show at one of the most famous sporting venues four members of the Kliq Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Shawn Michaels, and Triple H all broke character.

Scott Hall and Kevin Nash were leaving WWF for rival promotion World Championship Wrestling and Shawn Michaels and Scott Hall embraced each other with a hug. Then Triple H, who was working as a heel, came in and gave Hall a hug. Nash, who was also a heel, followed suit and the group embraced each other at once.

The problem at the time was that the WWF was still trying to keep kayfabe real. The WWF wanted fans to believe that only face wrestlers hung out with each other outside of the ring and had no association with heel wrestlers.

WWF Management was sent into a flurry because a fan had snuck in a camcorder and taped the whole MSG Incident. Management had to punish the Kliq, but there were many problems. Kevin Nash and Scott Hall were leaving for WCW and were untouchable.

Shawn Michaels was the WWF Champion and was WWF's highing drawing superstar so was nonpunishable. All of the punishment was placed onto non-other than Triple H.

See for all of this, Triple H was quite close to losing his job because of the MSG Incident, but he was not. Instead he lost his massive push and was booked to win the King of the Ring which was instead won by "Stone Cold Steve" Austin. We all know what happened to Austin afterward.

Triple H instead was put on jobber status and even had to be in a Hog Pen Match.

Now it is time to partake in my favorite activity, the What If Game. Now what if Triple H was fired? Here is how I think it would go down. Scott Hall and Kevin Nash would have gone to WCW and started the New World Order.

After a few months along with Ted DiBiase, Sean Waltman, and the Giant would have joined the New World Order. After a few years of moderate success, he would have finally won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship in 2000.

After WCW would fold and be bought out by WWF Triple H, who would be wrestling under his real name Paul Levesque, would be one of the contracts bought out by WWF.

During the Invasion angle, Levesque would be one of the top Alliance members. He would be one of the members of the Alliance to be apart of the Winner Take All match at Survivor Series.

After the whole Invasion story line would end, Triple H would be sent to the mid-card of WWF, which would turn into World Wrestling Entertainment. Triple H would be successful here and there winning the Intercontinental Championship or two.

After a few years of heavy travel schedule, Levesque would head over to rival promotion Total Nonstop Action Wrestling and win a few TNA World Heavyweight Championships. He would also be one of the founding members of the Main Event Mafia.

Now that we saw through his WCW days, let's look at what the WWF would look like if Levesque was fired.

Triple H has been in the forefront was most of WWE's storylines for the better part of the past ten years.

First and foremost, there would be no D-Generation X. One of the most beloved factions of all time would have never existed and X-Pac would have never made his way back to WWF.

Also at the beginning of Triple H's success was in the McMahon-Helmsley Era. Triple H, in storyline, drugged Stephanie McMahon during her storyline wedding with Test in November of 1999.

Triple H had no prior relationship with Stephanie before the storyline and married her four years later. It was the same situation with Test and the two could have actually been married

D-Generation X was one of the driving forces that pushed WWF over the WCW and WWF could have possibly failed if DX was not apparent during the late 90s.

The McMahon-Helmsley Era was one of the most dominant factions at the time. Instead it could have been the McMahon-Test Era. Test could have received a huge for the World Heavyweight Championship. But for the storyline to happen, they would have to have someone interrupt the wedding. Who would it have been.

I think the WWF would have pushed Kurt Angle in the place of Triple H. Even though Angle debuted two weeks before this wedding took place, I believe Angle's debuted would have been moved up many months before hand, seeing how WWF is missing top stars.

The McMahon-Angle Era would be in full effect and Angle would be winning many WWF Championships. Even though Angle was already married in real life at the time, Triple H was dating Chyna when he storyline married Stephanie.

Angle would not have to be a defector in the Invasion storyline and would have been the hero fighting against the evil WCW.

Another major point in WWE history is the stable Evolution. The stable would never had existed without Triple H. The stars in the group would not be who they are today without Evolution.

Batista, who has to be one of the worst wrestlers on the roster, was first stuck on Smackdown with the crappy gimmick as the enforcer for Reverend D-Von. When Batista first was told when he tried out for the Power Plant that he would never make it in the wrestling business.

After he was done with D-Von and moved to Raw, he joined Evolution. After Evolution disbanded, Batista received the push of his life after he feuded with Triple H. Batista became friends with Triple H when Batista joined Evolution.

Batista has also had backstage issues with his quick success and many believe his rise to the main event was because of his friendship with Triple H. If Triple H was not around then Batista would have probably been released sometime after the partnership with D-Von ended.

Another star who's career was greatly affected by Triple H was Randy Orton. I know he is one of the top stars in WWE, but he has had a lot of help from Triple H. Randy Orton was destined to be successful since he graduated wrestling school, but he maxed his potential during his time in Evolution.

Orton was barely in the WWE and was put into Evolution after suffering a shoulder injury. Orton had one of the longest Intercontinental Championship reigns in recent memory and became the youngest World Champion at the age of 24 at Summerslam in 2004.

As of 2009, Randy Orton is one of the top heels in WWE and has been a five-time World Champion.

Randy Orton would not have been pushed as quickly as he was to the top had it not been for his time in Evolution. Orton would be as successful now without Evolution, but would still be a main eventer.

Much of wrestling's history would be much different without Triple H and the WWE might not even be existent without Triple H. Triple H is one of the greatest and most dominant stars of all time and wrestling would be much different without him.

Developmental Scouting Report: Dylan Klein

Dan Telek — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 00:55:18 -0400

Allow me introduce you trend setting, attention getting, one of a kind Dylan Klein. Klein is one of the young stars in WWE's developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling.

Klein, who is managed by Wesley Holliday, is extremely cocky and has a ton of charisma.

Klein's offense is primarily based around strikes and mat-based offense. His strikes and submissions make of for his lack of high impact moves.

If I was to compare to compare Klein's offensive style to one person it would have to be Stone Cold Steve Austin. I am not saying that Dylan Klein is the next Steve Austin, but his in-ring work is similar to Austin.

Dylan could be easily compared to the Dolph Ziggler because of his cockiness and personality. I would also say that Klein is a hybrid of the Miz and Zack Ryder.

Klein sports a hairstyle that is half blond and half brown. He is managed by one of the hottest girls in FCW, Wesley Holliday, and has a very cocky attitude.

Klein isn't a superstar on the mic, but he isn't terrible, either. He cuts promos claiming he is the attention getting, trend setting, and one of a kind. Announcer Dusty Rhodes has described him as very Hollywood.

I do not being called up to the main roster anytime soon, but by the end of next year or 2011 we could see Klein on WWE TV.

Strengths

Great charisma and ability to play the crowd
Good mat-based wrestling and technique

Weakness

Mic skills are only decent
No definite finishing move
Needs to build the character a little more

Room For Improvement

His mic skills can use a lot of work
Creating a move-set involving more than just strike, body slams, and elbow drops

Grading

Wrestling Skill: 6/10

Charisma: 8/10

Mic Skills: 5/10

Overall: 19/30 or 6/10

It's Alive: Seth Green Is Named the Next Raw Guest Host

Dan Telek — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 22:28:22 -0400

When I read the prowrestling.net article about Robot Chicken creator Seth Green being the Raw Special Guest Host, I was in shock. I was in shock because I am a huge fan of both Seth Green and Robot Chicken.

Besides Green being an actor, producer, and writer on Robot Chicken, he also voices Chris Griffin on Family Guy.

In the past he has stared in such films as the Austin Powers series, the remake of The Italian Job, Rat Race, Without a Paddle, and Sexdrive. He was also on the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

As a fan of Robot Chicken who owns all the seasons on DVD, I was instantly excited. Robot Chicken is an incredibly hilarious show and they have done quite a few wrestling parodies.

One of my favorite sketches that sticks out is a Hogan's Heroes parody featuring Hulk Hogan and Roddy Piper.

Actors portray the likes of Randy Savage, the Iron Sheik, "Mean" Gene Okerlund, and Sgt. Slaughter. King Kong Bundy, Afa the Wild Samon, and Jimmy Hart make appearances as action figures.

Looking at a realistic standpoint I think Green hosting is a good idea as he is probably a pro wrestling fan. Green can appreciate what the sport is and will probably feel comfortable in his role.

Also, the season 4.5 premiere will have Triple H play a voice in a sketch. WWE plans to play a preview of the season on Raw, but there is one major problem: WWE is PG and Robot Chicken is TV-MA.

I am starting to think that Raw is going to be an adventure with Green and I hope to see it.

Is Michelle McCool Really the Best?

Dan Telek — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 02:39:01 -0400

I recently read an article on WWE.com where Michelle McCool claimed herself to be the greatest Diva of all time. At the Bash, McCool defeated Melina to become the first Diva to win the Women's Championship and the Diva's Championship.

McCool went on to say this: “Being the first to win both the WWE Women's Title and WWE Divas Championship is just the latest reason why I am better than all of the so-called 'Divas' who preceded me,” McCool said.

McCool is basically saying she is better than Trish Stratus, who is a seven time Women's Champion. She is also saying she is better than the Fabulous Moolah, who had a title reign lasted more than 30 years.

I have to say I completely disagree with McCool's claims.

Now I respect that McCool has reached an amazing accomplishment, but there are some flaws in her theory.

The first one is that there have been only two Divas to hold the Diva's Championship. The two being Michelle McCool and current Diva's Champion Maryse.

What problem arises from this is that the Diva's Championship barely has any prestige at all. Compared to the 40 different Women's Champions since being reactivated in 1998.

Divas such as Chyna, Trish Stratus, Lita, and Ivory have held the Women's Championship while only McCool and Maryse have held the Diva's Championship.

The second flaw is that Michelle McCool lacks the charisma for many fans to care about the accomplishment.

Whenever McCool first won the Diva's Championship at the Great American Bash in 2008 the crowd was virtually silent when McCool was victorious over Natalya. McCool received the same reaction when she beat Melina.

If you ever watch a McCool match, she does very little to work over the crowd. The only thing she really does is the spin in her entrance.

Looking at other top heel Maryse, she spends most of the match trying to work over the crowd. She does the taunt with her hand, flips the hair, and mocks her opponent, but she ends up getting cheered because she is extremely attractive.

Because of her lack of charisma, no one is going to remember the fact she was the first Diva's and Women's Champion.

What I think needs to happen is for her to get more mic time. She really needs to solidify the fact that she is the first to accomplish her feat.

I will give McCool the praise she deserves for her in-ring work, but she needs to work on the charisma. She is great in the ring and has great intensity, but she also receives some undeserved criticism.

Some say that McCool receives her push because of her relationship with Undertaker; I have heard some call her the "John Cena with A-Cups", and some criticize her on her looks. None of that has anything to do with her wrestling ability.

Some Divas I feel that deserve this accomplishment like Beth Phoenix, Mickie James, or even now TNA Knockout's Champion Victoria.

McCool might not be the greatest, but we must live with the fact that she is the first to be Diva's and Women's Champion and not those mentioned before.

Independent Spotlight: Ring Of Honor's Davey Richards

Dan Telek — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 23:17:13 -0400

After reading Ray Bogusz's articles on Grizzly Redwood and El Generico, I decided to write an article about my favorite Ring of Honor star Davey Richards.

Richards is one half of the tag team the "American Wolves," who are currently the reigning ROH World Tag Team Champions. He is also the current World Heavyweight Champion in Full Impact Pro, one of ROH sister promotions.

Before becoming a professional wrestler, Richards was an accomplished amateur wrestler and had an extensive training in Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Richards began his career in California-based Pro Wrestling Guerrilla. He found a partnership with Super Dragon and became PWG Tag Team Champions twice. He also had a third reign with Roderick Strong.

In 2006, he won the Battle of Los Angeles tournament by defeating CIMA from the Dragon Gate promotion in the finals.

Also in 2006, Richards made his way to Ring of Honor. He began a mentorship with Pro Wrestling Noah phenomenon KENTA.

Richards then formed a partnership with former PWG tag team partnet Roderick Strong and formed the No Remorse Corps. They were later joined by Rocky Romero to feud with the Resilience led by Austin Aries.

In June of 2007, ROH announced that Richards was chosen to represent ROH on a three week tour of Pro Wrestling Noah.

In Januray of 2008, Richards and Romero won the ROH World Tag Team Championships from The Age of the Fall members Jimmy Jacobs and Tyler Black, a match also featuring B.J. Whitmer and Brent Albright as the Hangm3n and the team of Bryan Danielson and Austin Aries.

They held the tag titles until April when they lost the titles to Jay and Mark Briscoe at Injustice.

Later, at the Fight Without Honor show, Richards turned on Strong and joined Larry Sweeney's "Sweet and Sour Inc." Richards spent some time in Pro Wrestling Noah and Sweeney kayfabed saying it was to keep Richards away from Strong.

When Richards returned, Sweeney paired him and Sweet and Sour Inc. member Eddie Edwards as the "American Wolves."

Currently, The Wolves have been in an intense feud with the team of Kevin Steen and El Generico.

On the April 10 edition of the ROH HDnet tapings, the Wolves defeated Kevin Steen and El Genercio in a Tables Are Legal match.

If you thought that TNA's Tag Team Division was a big deal, you have never seen a ROH title change. The Wolves winning the match was a huge deal and a big moment.

Richards is arguably one of the top 10 performers in North America today. His wide variety of moves and ability is hardly matched. I recommend watching the American Wolves finisher the "Day of the Wolves."

Thank you again to Ray Bogusz. Check out the ROH Community and the ROH Youtube page.

IWC Spotlight: "Fabulous" John McChesney

Dan Telek — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 13:51:40 -0400

I would like to thank editor Jeff D Gorman for all the help he has given me so far on this project I am currently working on.

I will be writing a mini-series on Pittsburgh independent wrestling promotion International Wrestling Cartel. This first article is on one of the top stars in IWC, "Fabulous" John McChesney.

The second will be on promoter Norm Connors and a third will be done on an event I attended in 2005.

A native of Erie, Pa., John McChesney is one of the top stars in Ohio and Pennsylvania. Trained by J-Rocc, McChesney, known for his versatility and incredible in-ring ability, quickly shot to the top.

Bleacher Report editor Jeff D. Gorman had this to say about McChesney:

"What I like about McChesney is his versatility. He can be a great underdog babyface (vs. Low Ki) and an outstanding cocky, rich jerk heel.

And he WEARS A SUIT before the show like Ric Flair to stay in gimmick. Super.

I would love to see McChesney follow the lead of our first Firestorm champion, "The Deviant" Michael Hutter, who got signed to a WWE developmental deal."

One of McChesney's first matches in IWC was against Chris Sabin. IWC promoter Norm Connors had faith in the young Erie kid. He placed him in matches with the likes of Low Ki, A.J. Styles, and Chris Sabin.

McChesney also appeared on the NWA-TNA syndicated program Xplosion. He faced the likes of Jerry Lynn, Chris Sabin, Sabu, The Naturals, and Sonny Siaki. Even though he did not come out victorious in any of the match ups, he always put up a great fight.

In 2005, he wrestled as Matt McChesney against Johnny Swinger, wrestling as Johnny Parisi, on the July 25 edition of Monday Night Raw.

Fabulous has been a four-time IWC Super Indy Champion as well as the Super Indy IV winner. He was also named "IWC Wrestler of the Year" in 2005.

McChesney works also in Ohio-based Firestorm Pro. He portrays a very rich, cocky heel and goes by the nickname "Big League" and is the champion.

Firestorm owner J.C. built an entire brand around a feud between himself and McChesney. The feud will accumulate to a War Games match with the title and the company on the line on July 10 at the Phantasy Theatre in Lakewood, Ohio (11800 Detroit Ave.).

McChesney's "Team Big League" takes on "Team Firestorm" at War Games. If McChesney wins, he gets control of Firestorm.

McChesney is a big deal on the independent circuit in Pennsylvania and Ohio and there is not a reason why not. He is immensely talented and has a very bright future. I would not be shocked if WWE came knocking on McChesney's door.

I would again like to thank Jeff D Gorman for all the help he gave me on this article; I would not be able to complete it without him.

Misfits and Mistakes: A Look at the WWE Draft

Dan Telek — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 04:20:34 -0400

Tonight on Raw it was revealed Donald Trump made a trade where each brand would receive five new superstars.

Also on Raw, Special Guest Host Batista revealed WWE Champion Randy Orton would face three superstars who were heading to Raw to face Orton in a 3-on-1 Gauntlet Match.

The first competitor in the Gauntlet Match was the young ECW highflyer Evan Bourne. Bourne had an impressive showing against Orton, lasting nearly five minutes against the champion, but was pinned cleanly after an RKO off the top.

The second opponent was the former two time All-American and former ECW Champion the "All-American American" Jack Swagger. Swagger came down in an extremely cocky manner doing push-ups in on the ramp and taunting the crowd and Randy Orton.

Swagger came in and did a double leg take-down. He then proceeded to leave the ring and stand on the apron while senior referee Mike Chioda counted Swagger out.

Swagger took the mic and said that he always liked and respected Orton and wanted to make a long-lasting impression on his Raw debut.

The final person to enter the gauntlet was the "World's Strongest Man" Mark Henry. Henry said basically the same thing as Swagger and started the match with Orton.

Henry shoved Orton to the mat and went to stand on the apron like Swagger. When Chioda got to a count of five, Henry stopped him and entered the ring to a babyface pop. Henry went on to do the World's Strongest Slam to pin WWE Champion Orton.

It was also announced that Smackdown divas Gail Kim and Alicia Fox were also traded to Raw.

What Evan Bourne brings to Raw is a great young talent who can work with the likes of Kofi Kingston, Miz, and MVP. I do not know if Bourne was ready to leave ECW, but I think he will find a nice place on Raw.

Jack Swagger moving to Raw is something that Swagger has been ready for for a long time. Swagger could easily be the breath of fresh air Raw needs in the main event picture.

I can expect Swagger to see WWE title shots whenever a babyface win the title in a few months. I honestly expect Swagger to pursue the United States Championship first and then move on to the main event.

Mark Henry was a pleasant surprise during his match. Henry's face turn could help establish himself has an upper-mid card contender. I would expect Henry to main event a Pay-Per-View every now and then, but nothing to major.

Gail Kim being moved to Raw has been the best decision by WWE regarding Kim during her whole return. She has been completely buried by Michelle McCool and could work with some of the real talent on Raw.

She is one of the best workers in the women's division and having her work with Beth Phoenix, Mickie James, and Maryse could be great.

Alicia Fox moving to Raw is a real head scratcher, because she has not really established herself in the ring yet, and she was just beginning a partnership with Michelle McCool.

ECW completely lost this trade because they lose Swagger, Bourne, Henry, Finlay, and the Hart Dynasty, but they only get Shelton Benjamin, William Regal, Goldust, and the Bella Twins.

The only person who seems to matter coming to ECW is Shelton Benjamin. William Regal is a nice veteran touch, but losing so much talent has made ECW look weak on paper.

Shelton could easily be put in the ECW Championship picture right away. He has the talent, but he needs to get over immediately. It may seem like a demotion from the best wrestling show on TV, but I think Shelton needs to make the best of the opportunity.

William Regal is one of the most underrated wrestlers today. He has skills and is a great mat wrestler, but will probably only be wrestling in the mid-card.

Goldust's partnership with Hornswoggle is obviously over and for some reason I can see Goldust being wished on his future endeavours soon. I also have a strange feeling Goldust is going to take time away from guys like Shelton Benjamin and Zack Ryder.

The Bella Twins, like Alicia Fox, is a head scratcher. Since they are the only divas on ECW, I can see them being valets for an up-and-comer like Shelton Benjamin, Zack Ryder, or an FCW Star.

Smackdown got the best of the trades and are now even better. They received Matt Hardy, Finlay, and the Hart Dynasty.

Matt Hardy adds a potential heel that John Morrison can work with or a babyface because Smackdown seems low on faces in the mid-card.

Many can speculate why Hardy was moved to Smackdown, but I think that it is because Hardy was lost in the shuffle on Raw very quickly and Smackdown might want to reunite the Hardy Brothers.

Hardy might enter the Intercontinental Championship picture first, trying to reunite with his brother.

Finlay was always a great fit on ECW after Hornswoggle left. I think Finlay will fit great on the Smackdown mid-card along with other great workers like Rey Mysterio, John Morrison, and Dolph Ziggler.

Now the biggest steal of the draft was the Hart Dynasty. Smackdown gets Tyson Kidd who is one of the most talented workers in the WWE, David Hart Smith who is an incredible big man, and Natalya who is one of the best women's wrestlers.

The Hart Dynasty has endless possibilities on Smackdown. One of the best options is to join Edge and Chris Jericho as a dominant Canadian faction.

Chris Jericho and Edge could be the World Champion or Intercontinental Champion while the Dynasty could be Tag Team Champions and Natayla could be Women's Champion. The faction could also feud with Legacy.

Looking at the trades, ECW was definitely the losers while Smackdown was yet again the winners. It is good WWE acknowledged they needed to makes moves. Some big moves were made that could help the product overall.

Grasp the Spotlight: WWE's Post-Bash Direction

Dan Telek — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 01:19:23 -0400

Well the Bash has come and gone, and it is time to see where the WWE goes from here.

The show opened with the ECW Championship Scramble. Tommy Dreamer won a match that had a confusing ending. Even though he was already the interim champion, he was attempting to make a pin.

With the next Pay-Per-View being Night of Champions, I think there will be a Fatal Four Way or Elimination match featuring Tommy Dreamer defending his title against a combination of Jack Swagger, Christian, Finlay, and Evan Bourne.

The Chris Jericho and Rey Mysterio feud could be over because a match that happened later in the night. The match was excellent featuring a spot where Jericho pulled off Mysterio's mask only to reveal Mysterio had a second mask on.

Jericho went on to give Mysterio high praise about the match on his Twitter page. I can see Mysterio facing John Morrison at Night of Champions for the Intercontinental Championship.

Dolph Ziggler definitely impressed many of us in his No-Countout, No-Disqualification match against the Great Khali. What the big surprise was that Kane made his return and attacked the Great Khali.

I thought Ziggler was going to roll-up Khali and Kane would attack both. I cringe at the feeling of a Khali and Kane feud, unless Kane is going to attack all of the babyfaces.

The highlight of the night was Chris Jericho and Edge being put into the tag team match. Jericho and Edge came away with the titles in a great match. The Colons and Priceless, especially Ted DiBiase Jr., were visibly upset.

The Colons marched into Theodore Long's office angry. I can see a rematch between Edge and Jericho against The Colons on Raw tomorrow and a match between the team of Jericho and Edge against Cryme Tyme.

The inevitable happened when Michelle McCool defeated Melina to become the first to become Women's and Diva's Champion. There was a repeat of last year's Bash where there was absolutely no reaction when McCool won.

Now is a time for Vince to realize that he should be thankful he has Gail Kim on the Smackdown roster. We will get a rematch at Night of Champions and then Kim vs. McCool at Summerslam.

The Jeff Hardy and C.M. Punk match is where we finally saw Punk turn heel. The finish was logical and I would not mind seeing a rematch at Night of Champions. I think in the next few weeks we will see Punk's real heel side show.

Well Miz versus John Cena is less than forgettable and ended in six minutes with Miz tapping out. Weeks of stellar mic work by Miz saw him completely buried by everyone's favorite Superman.

Miz will most likely be pushed down the mid card and fight for the United States Championship at Night of Champions. John Cena will most likely be reinserted into the WWE Championship picture.

Randy Orton and Triple H 3 Stages of Hell Match was quite disappointing. The match proved that Orton can only win with Priceless. The match did not have the same feel it could have had because they just had a Last Man Standing Match. There will most like be an Orton versus Triple H match at Night of Champions with one or two participants.

Projected Night of Champions Card:

Diva's Championship Match

Mickie James vs. Maryse (c)

Women's Championship Match

Melina vs. Michelle McCool (c)

Intercontinental Championship

Rey Mysterio (c) vs. John Morrison

United States Championship

Kofi Kingston (c) vs. The Miz

Unified Tag Team Championship

The Colons vs. Edge and Chris Jericho (c)

ECW Championship

Jack Swagger vs. Tommy Dreamer (c) vs. Evan Bourne vs. Finlay

World Heavyweight Championship

Jeff Hardy vs. C.M. Punk (c)

WWE Championship

Triple H vs. John Cena vs. Randy Orton (c)

From the P.O.V. of a Fan: A Look at Raw

Dan Telek — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 05:43:41 -0400

We fans, B/R maniacs, and critics always think we know what is best for WWE. We think we could perfectly book weeks worth of television and give every person the right they deserve. We all say we could make it better and fix all the problems.

Raw averages a 3.5 rating, almost 4 million viewers per show, and is one of the highest rated shows on U.S. television. Vince does not need our help to make a great sports-entertainment show.

Another thing we need to know is that Vince does not care so much about his die hard fans. He is more worried about bringing in the casual fan.

Voodoo Kin Mafia........I mean Vincent Kennedy McMahon knows we will always blindly follow wrestling always.

Do not get offended and angry at me, but what I say is true. Let's take a look at a few examples shall we.

Beaver Cleavage. That is all I need to say.

During the build-up of the Triple H and Kane feud for the World Heavyweight Championship, Triple H accused Kane of murdering a woman by the name of Katie Vick.

Triple H went as far to say Kane had sex with her dead body. He went even farther by dressing up like Kane and dry humping a mannequin in a casket.

After that, we all still watched wrestling.

Kane impregnated Lita, and there was a huge miscarriage storyline. We are still watching.

After one of the most beloved wrestlers Eddie Guerrero died, his name was brought up in way too many posthumous storylines and angles in which many like to call "Eddieploitation". Randy Orton was even forced to say that Guerrero wasn't in heaven, but in hell.

Yet to this day, we are still watch wrestling.

My point is that we hardcore fans will always avidly follow wrestling.

Raw right now might not be everyone's favorite brand, but it is the most watched and considered the flagship show.

Let's take a look at the main event level.

The current main event picture is made up of WWE Champion Randy Orton, Triple H, John Cena, and the Big Show.

Now Randy Orton is considered the only actual heel in the main event because people seem to not care about the Big Show as a heel.

Currently Randy Orton and Triple H are feuding over the WWE Championship, which has been happening since before Wrestlemania.

Randy Orton, Ted DiBiase, and Cody Rhodes, known as Legacy, defeated the team of WWE Champion Triple H, Batista, and Shane McMahon at Backlash.

As part of a pre-match stipulation, if Legacy won, Randy Orton became WWE Champion. Orton punted Triple H to win the match and Triple H was out of action for two months.

Batista would go on to feud with Orton. The two had a match at Judgment Day which Batista won by disqualification. The two had a rematch at Extreme Rules in a Steel Cage match which Batista won in seven minutes.

Batista's win was obviously a ploy for a ratings spike, as the next night on Raw he was brutally attacked by Legacy in an assault where Batista's arm was broken.

Randy Orton issued his rematch clause later in the night. Batista would have a count to ten to make his way to the ring. At a count of nine, referee Mike Chioda stopped the count when an ambulance appeared on the Titantron.

Triple H appeared out of the ambulance and completely decimated the entire Legacy faction leading to a Fatal Four Way match between Randy Orton, Triple H, John Cena, and the Big Show for the WWE Championship on the 3-For-All three-hour Raw special.

The match was won by a Randy Orton and a 10-man battle royal was planned to see who would face Orton for the WWE Championship at the Bash.

Triple H won the battle royal, and new Raw Owner Donald Trump announced there would be a Last Man Standing Match between Orton and Triple H on the next episode of Raw.

The Last Man Standing match ended in a no contest as neither man could make it up after a 10 count.

Mr. McMahon later announced in the show that at the Bash, Randy Orton and Triple H would face off in a Three Stages of Hell Match. The first match being a Singles match, the second being Falls Count Anywhere, and the third being a Stretcher Match. Whoever wins two falls wins the match.

As for John Cena, he has been feuding with both the Big Show and the Miz. Big Show and Cena have faced off at Judgment Day and Extreme Rules with John Cena winning both matches.

The Miz has spent weeks ridiculing John Cena about his failing movie career, being an overrated superstar, and many other things. Miz has successfully ducked Cena during the whole ordeal, but the two face off in a match at the Bash.

In a side-plot to the storyline, Miz has been trying to do whatever it takes to impress Divas Champion Maryse. She has said once Miz does something impressive with Cena, she will pay attention to Miz.

A wrestler in the mid-card who is on the outside looking in is MVP. He stood up to Randy Orton on his first night on Raw and threw his name into the hat for the WWE Championship match.

MVP was eliminated fairly quickly from the 10-man battle royal for the No. 1 Contendership of the WWE Championship and might need some more wins before solidifying himself as a regular main eventer.

In the mid-card scene, there are many talented performers. They include MVP, Matt Hardy, The Brian Kendrick, Kofi Kingston, William Regal, Jamie Noble, and Chavo Guerrero.

A veteran like Matt Hardy is believed by many to be fighting for the WWE Championship just like his brother Jeff. He is good in the ring and has above average mic skills. He turned heel in January at the Royal Rumble and started to feud with Jeff Hardy.

He started to pick up a lot of much needed momentum after failing to recapture the ECW Championship from Jack Swagger. He defeated Jeff in an Extreme Rules match. All the momentum was ruined after losing an I Quit match to Jeff at Backlash and subsequently broke his hand.

Matt started pursuing the United States Championship, but has failed in all attempts.

The Brian Kendrick and Jamie Noble are two of the most underrated and underutilized stars on the WWE rosters. Kendrick can actually talk and is great in the ring, as is Noble, but neither is nearly considered for the U.S. Championship.

Reasons like these cause some to be upset that WWE has two women's championships while WWE has failed to resurrect the Cruiserweight Championship.

Another star who is unappreciated is William Regal. Regal has always been great in roles as Commissioner and General Manager, as European and Intercontinental Champion, and as a part of the Un-Americans.

Regal has always been a great heel and can always be a great mid to upper carder. Regal could also help put over younger stars and ascend them to main event status.

Stars like Hardy and Kendrick can become great heels, but they need a chance to shine like Miz is getting.

Kofi Kingston is a young, fresh star who is getting over more and more lately. His athletic moveset and natural charisma get him over with fans young and old alike.

I think WWE needs to really market guys like Kofi. I was watching WWE Superstars a few weeks ago and a quick promo was shown for Kofi. It put over his athletic ability and charisma.

If WWE can capitalize of marketing mid-carders like MVP, Matt Hardy, and Kofi Kingston, when the time comes for these stars to develop into main eventers, the fans will be ready to react accordingly.

The Women's Division has shown promise lately mostly because Mickie James is finally back into the hunt. Many are hoping that Mickie becomes the first women's wrestler to be the Diva's and Women's Champion. Most likely at Night of Champions we will see Mickie go over Maryse.

I think Maryse is great at being the,"I am hotter than every other diva, over-confident, and foreign heel".

My only problem with her as champion is that I see her as an extremely sloppy worker. She seems to botch a lot of moves and I close my eyes every time she attempts the Blackhole Slam onto her knee.

Beth Phoenix should be one of the most dominant female wrestlers in the world, but her recent booking has been less than stellar. She had been caught up in the horrible Santina feud and has not been near the Women's Championship since her rematch for the title in February.

She should be comparable to Awesome Kong in TNA's Knockout Division. If Mickie James wins the Diva's Championship at Night of Champions, WWE really needs to jump on top of a Beth and Mickie feud, because the last feud ended too quickly.

Kelly Kelly has sort of blossomed as a Diva competitor. The Kelly and Maryse feud did not work because both still need some work in the ring. While Kelly Kelly seems to be one of the most popular divas, her in-ring works still needs help, beyond the massive improvement she has already experienced.

Once her in-ring work is at a level of regular competition, she could be a regular in the hunt for the Diva's Championship.

The Bella Twins are two of the divas with a huge upside. They both have potential to be great divas and are exciting to watch.

The tag team dynamic they have is great and could be great if there was a Women's Tag Team Championship. Even though the switch places thing is completely copied from the Harris Twins, it can only go such a long way.

Jillian Hall is actually quite a talented diva who is just stuck with the absolute most annoying gimmick of all time. The singing gimmick is only used to get heat, a lot which I might add, but she should try to drop the gimmick and try a shot as a face.

Rosa Mendes is fairly new to the ring, but she has been quite impressive thus far. She seems to have some upside and could be moderately successful. The only thing is she does absolutely nothing for the Beth Phoenix character.

I think the Women's Division needs some better booking and writing and it could be at the point of 2003 when Jazz, Trish, Lita, and Victoria were competing.The Tag Team Division could be getting a huge adrenaline shot if Legacy were to win the Unified Tag Team Championship and have a meaningful feud with the Colons. I can even see Priceless taking on Triple H and Batista at Summerslam.

As you can see, Raw is a show with some flaws. It does have an enormous upside and WWE just needs to start pushing it mid-carders like how Smackdown is.

The Main Event picture could use some fresh blood like MVP or Matt Hardy and different match ups.

The mid card is full of talented workers who need to be showcased.

The Women's Division has lots of upside and just needs better booking.

The Tag Division is still need of desperate help and is not close to help.

A Look at the International Wrestling Cartel

Dan Telek — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 22:39:08 -0400

One of the most popular and fastest rising promotions in Western Pennsylvania is the International Wrestling Cartel, otherwise known as the IWC.

The IWC was founded, and is booked, by Norm Connors. Connors portrays an evil, power-drunk promoter, but he is actually a very kind man outside of the ring.

The IWC contains many homegrown stars like John McChesney, Shima Xion, Jason Gory, Justin Idol, Eric Xtasy, Michael "the Bomber" Facade, and many others.

International Wrestling Cartel also has featured Ring of Honor stars like Austin Aries, Davey Richards, Nigel McGuinness, The Irish Airborne, and Eddie Kingston.

IWC has also had stars A.J. Styles, Matt Hardy, Raven, C.M. Punk, Colt Cabana, Eddie Guerrero, Matt Sydal (Evan Bourne), and Bret Hart grace the presence of the ring.

IWC's current champion is Shima Xion. He was named Newcomer of the Year in 2004 after his manager rigged the voting. He will be joining the Asistencia Asesoría y Administración roster later in the summer.

IWC also has an event called Night of Legends. Legends like Larry Zbyszko, Dustry Rhodes, Sgt. Slaughter, Jim Neidhart, Mick Foley, and Brunno Sammartino have appeared at the event.

Bleacher Report's favorite editor, Jeff D. Gorman, was also an announcer for International Wrestling Cartel.

IWC events always feature time before the show in which fans can go up to talent and get a chance to talk to them and get autographs.

The action-packed events are highly recommended for viewing. You can check out DVDs at iwcwrestling.com.

Five Former WWE Stars TNA Should Sign

Dan Telek — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 01:02:16 -0400

Many people call TNA the land for WWE castoffs. I say this is untrue. I will not go into it, but you can read my reason in my last article. Mr. Kennedy is obviously one star TNA has their eyes on. Kennedy has a lot of talent on the mic and decent skill in the ring. Many have complained of sloppy work from Kenndy in the ring. Another recently released star is Umaga. TNA thinks they could have a money feud between Umaga and Samoa Joe. These are some you would not think of or have forgotten about and I hope TNA takes into consideration.

Begin Slideshow

Why TNA is Not WCW or WWE

Dan Telek — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 22:35:33 -0400

I have been reading a lot of articles recently, maybe too many, how TNA is just going to die like WCW. They also say how TNA is just a copy of WCW and I am here to tell why TNA is not just another WCW remake.

The main reason why people compare TNA to WCW is because of the talent involved. I can only think of seven stars on the active roster who are from WCW:

Booker T
Daffney
Jeff Jarrett
Kevin Nash
Scott Steiner
Shane Douglas
Sting

Is that really that many? Only two are featured in the main event picture and that is Jeff Jarrett and Sting.

Everyone complains that Mick Foley is holding the title, but wasn't the build up genius? He gave the Hardcore History segments, which reminded us how hardcore and crazy he was. So far, Foley's talking has made him a great champion, but he does not wrestle regularly enough to be a Heavyweight Champion.

Also many say that TNA should go through an "Attitude Era". My question is: Why?

TNA is supposed to be an alternative to WWE and doing what the competition did to become popular means nothing. It lacks creativity and originality. Also, Impact is shown on Thursdays and has no WWE show to compete with, which would cause no purpose of an Attitude Era.

Many complain that TNA does not push it's younger stars like WCW did. Well let me ask you this. Name any TNA young stars that actually deserve the TNA World Heavyweight Championship.

There is A.J. Styles and Samoa Joe. And there is Robert Roode and Kaz?

A.J. Styles and Samoa Joe are the only TNA Originals deserving a title shot and they are both in the Slammiversary King of the Mountain match.

People say the likes of Eric Young, Matt Morgan, Lethal Consequences, and the Motor City Machine Guns should be in the TNA main events. I know all of them are exciting to watch, but do any of them actually deserve a TNA Championship push? Maybe a Legends or X-Division shot, but World Heavyweight?

Eric Young is just starting a promising heel turn, but he has only held tag team gold and hasn't even been X-Division Champion. Young needs to be built more as a heel before he could be more of a main eventer.

Jay Lethal has been a three time X-Division Champion and was Tag Team Champion for a forgettable three days and is only 23, which is a pro and a con in itself. He is young and entertaining, but does not have enough experience to be a main eventer.

Consequences Creed has barely been a TNA superstar for over a year. Creed should be more focused as a tag team and X-Division competitor.

Matt Morgan is obviously in the midst of a push and we need to see where it goes. Morgan is a legitimate giant and could be a great face in the main event.

Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley are both talkers and wrestlers, but they are X-Division royalty. They have done nothing in recent memory to constitute them as TNA main eventers.

If TNA is WCW, then let's compare an average Nitro to an average Impact.

The show would begin with some crappy nWo segment. Impact always begins with a segment with whoever is in the Heavyweight Championship title picture.

Every single week of Nitro consisted of the WCW Championship changing hands and were monotonous because they happened each week. It is special whenever the TNA Championship is defended.

People always say WWE does this and TNA doesn't do this. Well, shouldn't we be happy about that? TNA is trying to be an alternative to WWE.

These are the same people who complain how Raw sucks right now and that WWE should go back to the Attitude Era and stop being PG. Half of you people do not even watch TNA and see Mick Foley as champion and just make guesses.

I hope I have convinced some of you or change some of your opinions.

Predictable Raw Becoming More Like a Children's Cartoon

Dan Telek — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 15:00:25 -0400

"We are reaching the 15 minute point of the match and John Cena is still getting manhandled, King."

"I do not know if Cena can mount the comeback...wait here he comes!"

John Cena runs off the rope and hits a shoulder block. His opponent misses a clothesline. Cena hits a spin-out powerbomb and hits the Five-Knuckle Shuffle. Cena sets up for the F...Attitude Adjustment and wins.

That is your typical John Cena match without the against all odds B.S., like it or not.

Lately Raw has seemed like an episode of some show on Cartoon Network. I know WWE is trying to be more family friendly, but this isn't G.I. Joe.

Lately, it seems like the heels cannot touch the invincible faces. Take a look at the recent Big Show and John Cena feud.

Big Show, first, threw John Cena through a searchlight, a freaking searchlight. During a No. 1 Contender Match between the Big Show and Batista, the night after Big Show's attack on Cena, Cena miraculously appeared—wobbling and looking constipated. This shocked and displeased many, and Big Show looked like an idiot because this caused him to be counted out.

John Cena was supposed to be some underdog at Judgment Day against the Big Show, but prevailed as usual. Doing so was terrible booking by WWE and destroyed the feud as it was just beginning.

Then it was announced that the two would face off in a Submission Match at Extreme Rules. Hooray! Big Show spent the next three weeks attacking him and putting him in what is supposed to be a Camel Clutch.

Guess what happened at Extreme Rules. John Cena beat Big Show by using the bottom rope, after the magnificent Intercontinental Title match; and then he lasted 12 minutes more than the WWE Championship match.

Now, John Cena is in the WWE Championship match in the Raw Three for All. Any competitor in that match, except John Cena and Triple H, could come out with the title, which leads me to another topic.

Why is the Raw writing staff booking Randy Orton in the worst ways? One week Batista annihilates Randy Orton. The next week Ric Flair gets the best of him and he needs help from Priceless. Now Triple H comes back and destroys Orton.

What has all this solved?

Now I know WWE is TV-PG, but that does not mean everyone watching WWE is a 10-year-old. The writing is completely lowered and the storylines have no depth. Now the stories just consist of the all-powerful face destroying the heel.

Randy Orton is one of the worst-booked WWE Champions since C.M. Punk's first World Heavyweight Championship reign. Instead of booking him as the sinister viper he is, the writing team has booked him as a coward, which is unneeded for the WWE Champion.

As for this cartoon B.S., I don't need to see another Attitude Era. I want multi-dimensional storylines and superhuman characters who always have to defy odds.

What a Returning Chris Masters Could Do For WWE

Dan Telek — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 19:41:46 -0400

In case you have not read already, WWE has apparently re-signed former superstar Chris Masters. Masters could positively effect WWE in a lot of ways.

Masters has called off recent independent bookings citing his re-signing with WWE, reports PWinsider and Prowrestling.net.

Masters could end up on any brand, and I will take a look at Masters on each.

An obvious choice for Masters would be Raw, where we all remember Masters. He would be the most successful on Raw for a variety of reasons.

One reason would be that Raw is super face-heavy. Raw does not seem to have that No. 2 heel. It seems to be Randy Orton and everyone else. Big Show could be the No. 2 heel, but too many people are cheering for him, and WWE killed his legitimacy when he lost to John Cena at Judgment Day.

Matt Hardy plays the whiner heel to perfection, but WWE is keeping him in the U.S. Title picture. The Miz does not have the in-ring legitimacy to be high on the pecking order.

Masters was always a heel and could be the No. 2 heel Raw needs. When Mr. Kennedy returned for five days, WWE should have capitalized on him being a No. 2 heel.

Masters could easily move up to WWE Championship contender if he came back as a heel. He could do all Kennedy said he would and then some. Masters could be in the title match at either No Mercy or Survivor Series.

If Masters were to go the Christian route, in which he makes a sudden debut that doesn't make any sense, I think we will see the revival of the Master Lock Challenge.

It could be WWE's way of building up Masters as a heel. After a few weeks of the Challenge, Masters could set his sights on the ECW Championship. It all depends on if either Christian or Tommy Dreamer is champion.

Masters could possibly be a face on ECW, but it would not seem right.

Smackdown is where Masters could be an ultimate babyface. Seeing how Jeff Hardy might be taking time off, Masters could be that top face. He could have a Christian effect by being the top face.

If Masters were to go to Smackdown and be a face, he would most likely be in the Intercontinental Championship picture with the likes of Rey Mysterio, Chris Jericho, John Morrison, and Shelton Benjamin. Masters would most likely win the Intercontinental Championship first.

Maybe Masters could be as successful as Jeff Hardy. They seem to be almost alike. They both have failed the drug tests twice, and they would both be coming back after time off.

The thing is that Chris Masters has not gone to TNA like Christian and Jeff Hardy did. I do not see why Masters couldn't be as successful as Jeff Hardy and Christian.

CvC: Mordecai Is the Worst Gimmick of All Time

Dan Telek — Sat, 30 May 2009 20:51:14 -0400

Mordecai is the worst gimmick of all time.

To understand who Mordecai is in the ring, we have to learn a little about him.

His real name is Kevin Fertig and is from Memphis, Tenn. Fertig first wrestled in Memphis Championship Wrestling as Seven. He then signed with WWE and was sent to developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling.

He joined the Disciples of Synn stable. He won OVW Southern Tag Team Championship with Tyson Tomko.

In April of 2004, Kevin got his call up to WWE and it all began.

Mordecai was first shown to us in a series of vignettes on Smackdown as a religious Zealot. He proclaimed we are all sinners and shall all pay. Basically he was the opposite of Sean O'Haire.

Mordecai made his debut against Scotty 2 Hotty at Judgment Day 2004. If you watch the match, his entrance takes forever and it's even longer than the Undertaker's.

He wore all white, had white hair, and a white beard. This was all meant to show he was full of purity. He claimed sin was everywhere and God had chosen him to rid the world of sin.

Each week he squashed someone and then condemned us to hell. He never seemed to do anything besides condemn the fans and never had a real feud until one day a vignette came.

It went on to say Mordecai's usual fluff until he said he would stop the one who "Lies, Cheats, and Steals."

This only meant one thing: Mordecai was being pushed to the main event after two months of squashes. Actually it was not.

Mordecai did not even appear the next week on Smackdown and Kevin Fertig was sent down to OVW, first appearing as a masked character named Vengeance then he went back to the Seven gimmick again.

Mordecai won the Memphis Wrestling Southern Title in 2005, but was released from WWE in July 2005.

Fertig made his way back to WWE as Kevin Thorn on ECW. He was more successful, but was taken off television after being eliminated from the No Mercy Elimination Chase in 2007. He was sent to WWE developmental again and was released in January 2009.

To see clips of Mordecai:

His debut, go to this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxHqLMMk8e8

A vingette, go here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-y7bjrlX98

Telek's Theory: Vince McMahon Hates Wrestling Fans

Dan Telek — Tue, 26 May 2009 16:23:35 -0400

This is my first in a new series, hope you enjoy.

Last night's Monday Night Raw was absolutely atrocious. It was the most embarrassing episodes of Raw I have ever witnessed. Honestly, Vince McMahon, do you hate us?

You opened the episode with some lame skit with a Stan Kroenke impersonator as well as Jerry Buss, David Stern, and Jack Nicholson impersonators who were even lamer.

I have never heard of Stan Kroenke before the Denver Debacle. I think Vince is the only person who still cares and thought this was funny.

Vince went out and tried to make Kroenke look like Satan and Kroenke never seemed to care. Vince made many comments like how Kroenke didn't believe his team would make it far into the playoffs and how he was a bad businessman.

Kroenke could have said many things to Vince like how he was connected to steroids in the 1990s, how controversial the Attitude Era was, or the whole Chris Benoit situation from two years ago.

But guess what Vince, Kroenke didn't say anything. He kept his mouth shut and gave you the cold shoulder.

You gave us the worst Raw in recent memory and the Denver Nuggets beat the Lakers last night.

Unless your Vince McMahon, Brian Gewirtz, or live in Los Angeles, no one found last night's Raw watchable.

Vince got so much media attention that it seemed Vince could have had a great show, but it bombed.

The whole show was just ridiculous. They tried to make Kroenke look like an idiot, but who actually outside of Denver knew who Kroenke was before this Denver Debacle. If it was Mark Cuban who screwed over Vince, I will pay attention.

The first match was Maryse vs. Kelly Kelly for the Diva's Championship. The match was so sloppy and the match ending was just lazy. When did pushing someone over a table become a disqualification? I got detention for that in fifth grade.

The only good match was Kofi vs. William Regal vs. Matt Hardy. That was the only actual match.

All the meaningless comedy was horrible. Why everything have to involve comedy? Where is my wrestling? Why is Vickie Guerrero wrestling, again?

The whole night was basically a reminder that the Nuggets and the Lakers are playing. They actually had the 10-man main event wrestle with jerseys. I actually turned the channel to ESPN to watch a little of the game.

Now I do not mind a little sports entertainment, but last night was overboard. Your name is World Wrestling Entertainment. If the wrestling is going to suck, then take a week off and show a best of show.

See Vince, you wonder why wrestling is given such a bad reputation. It's not the scantly dressed women that used to be around.

It's not the violence that is disappeared. It's not how it effects young children. It how you get so much media attention and screw it up and make wrestling fans look like inbred, toothless, poor idiots.

If the whole situation continues on ECW and Smackdown, I might have to instigate the 2009 WWE Boycott.

You better go out next week and give us the show of the year next and get us excited. I think for now I will get the bad taste of Raw out of my mouth and just watch Smackdown, ECW, and Impact for now.

VTV

An Offer You Can't Refuse: Guys In TNA Who Deserve Pushes

Dan Telek — Wed, 20 May 2009 21:34:57 -0400

This is article I have been waiting to write, and one I am surprised Adam Testa was not written.

This article will be in almost two part. One will be my distaste for the Main Event Mafia, and one will be about guys in TNA who should be featured more predominantly than the Mafia.

As we all know, the Main Event Mafia was formed in October of 2008 on an episode of Impact that was shot in Las Vegas. It was formed headed by the "Godfather" Kurt Angle, Kevin Nash, Booker T, and the surprise Sting. The next week of Impact featured Scott Steiner.

Two things are wrong with the whole formation. One is that neither Kevin Nash and Scott Steiner have held a World Title since 2001, and let's face it, Nash was a booker in WCW and Steiner won it when the title was passed around every episode of Nitro.

The second is we all knew it was an nWo reincarnation.

Week in and week out, we have to watch guys like A.J. Styles, Christopher Daniels, and the Guns put over the Mafia. A few weeks ago Styles faced Kevin Nash in a match for the Legends Championship. I think we all expected Styles to win cleanly, but no, Nash had to be disqualified to win the match.

Another thing I hate about the Mafia is that most of the people involved either come off as annoying, passive, or lazy.

Whenever Scott Steiner opens his mouth to talk I cringe. His voice is just so annoying and his lines are atrocious.

When Sharmell or Jenna the Surviver girl get involved, they are also annoying. They just do not seem to care about the fans or how the segments ends up audience wise.

Whenever you see Kevin Nash talk he just seems so bored and lazy that you cannot get into what he is saying.

The only two who seem to give a damn about the fans are Kurt Angle and Sting. They come in every night and give us what they got.

Now onto the brighter spots on TNA, the young fresh talent.

Why is A.J. Styles not the TNA Champions? I know he is Legends Champion, but only two people have held the title. Here are just some of A.J. Styles few TNA accolades:

NWA-TNA World Heavyweight Champion-

3 Time TNA Tag Team Champion-

5 Times with four different partners

TNA X-Division Champion- 6 Times

TNA Legends Champion- 1 Time

TNA's first Grand Slam Champion

Is that not enough for TNA? Just because he adds Kurt Angle, Sting, and others does not mean that A.J. has to take the backseat to older wrestlers past there prime.

We all know that Mick Foley is champion, but A.J. should be given the title. WWE is currently on a downhill slide and if TNA wants to be the WWE alternative it used to be and what Ring of Honor is now, give A.J. the title and market the hell out of him.

A.J. is so entertaining to watch and can wrestle on a regular basis and does not need help getting out of bed in the morning.

A.J. is just 30 years old and is still fresh in the minds of many fans. I am talking about fans who want TNA to succeed and have been TNA fans since Trytan and the FSN days.

Another star who is similar to A.J. is the "Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels, or now just Daniels apparently.

TNA made Daniels wrestle as Curry Man for almost a complete year. Daniels stands out in every match he wrestles in. Take example from his last match with Chris Sabin. Even though it lasted only five minutes, darn you TNA, those made the match incredible.

Daniels gives his all for us and has had his eye on the TNA Championship for years. His matches are just so entertaining, his matches are only disappointing when he wrestles as Curry Man. He is now back as himself and doesn't need to pull double duty for the next man.

The "Future" Frankie Kazarian, or just Kaz as we know him, could obviously be a top star for TNA. Just go back when he won the Fight for the Right Tournament and faced Kurt Angle for the title. He was so entertaining that we wanted more and TNA answered. He was added to the TNA Championship match between Samoa Joe and Scott Steiner, sigh, taking Kurt Angle's place.

He shined throughout his career as an X-Division talent, winning the title on three occasions. Once he is done with being Suicide, I think TNA could have a main eventer.

Detroit's finest The Motor City Machine Guns, Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin are two of the most talented stars in TNA.

Alex Shelley is one of the best talkers in TNA not named Jim Cornette. The current feud between The Guns and Daniels will show you his Jericho-like mic skills. He also great in the ring and should be a main eventer this instant.

Chris Sabin is one of the best wrestlers in TNA as I write. After Samoa Joe and A.J. Styles became typical main eventers, Sabin carried the X-Division. He and Petey Williams had one of the best feuds of 2004 over the X-Division.

Sabin is awesome in the ring and Shelley is awesome on the mic. Sabin is good on the mic and Shelley is good in the ring.

The "Blueprint" and "Self-Proclaimed DNA of TNA" Matt Morgan is a legitimate monster. He is probably the best monster in TNA since Abyss was the twisted, psycho version of himself.

Standing in at nearly seven feet tall and weighing almost 300 pounds, Morgan could definitely be a future champion.

Some promoters try to put some 6' 10 350 pound musclehead with no ring skill and try to put them off as monsters, but Morgan actually has skills in the ring and on the mic. I think Morgan could pick up the Legends title and then he'd be on his way to the main event.

Beer Money members Robert Roode and James Storm are both great talents, but just like in Miz and Morrison, Roode is the champion of the two.

Both are great singles competitors as we saw Storm after the AMW split and Roode in last years King of the Mountain.

Roode could be pushed and I would love it. Roode is a great wrestler and just has that look. He isn't a roided musclehead and isn't a bony, flimsy scrub either.

Storm I don't think could be TNA Championship material, but could be that guy who gets a title shot here and there.

Amazing Red, who just returned recently, could be the one who gives the X-Division the much needed adrenaline shot.

Even though he has lost a step or two since coming back, he could still wow the crowd. I would like to see him get the X-Division titile at least once before his time is done.

Others who deserve a push:

Eric Young

British Invasion and Sheik Abdul Bashir's Anti-American faction

Lethal Consequences

Abyss (twisted monster)

Daffney

Thanks for reading. Comments, criticism, concerns, and points of interest are welcome.

Could Zack Ryder Succeed on ECW? You Know It!

Dan Telek — Sat, 16 May 2009 16:18:45 -0400

When Zack Ryder was drafted to ECW during the Supplemental Draft, I had no idea what to expect. He had not been on TV since he and Curt Hawkins lost the Tag Team Championship to The Colons, which was in September and appeared in the tag team gauntlet against Jeff Hardy and Triple H in December.

Ryder appeared first as Brett Major with Curt Hawkins as Brian Major and they were known as the Major Brothers. They never really had much success until they were repackaged as Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder, the Edgeheads.

They joined Edge's La Familia faction with Edge, Chavo Guerrero, and Vickie Guerrero and won the tag titles from Miz and Morrison in a match at the Great American Bash that included Jesse and Festus and Finlay and Hornswoggle.

After they lost the titles to the newly formed Colons, they only appeared sporadically.

During the draft we all felt a ,Woah!, when Ryder was drafted to the Land of Entertainment.

Ryder debuted talking to ECW Interim-GM Tiffany with a new look. He said something about not wanting to mess up his new hairstyle.

Tiffany stated that Ryder would face Finlay on WWE Superstars. Even though he lost in a match that barely lasted four minutes, Ryder looked strong in the showing.

Since ECW is very heel heavy at this time, I think he could be a face. Even though he's mostly been a heel, he could pull off a face tenure.

When he was in Tiffany's office and Paul and Katie Lea Burchill walked in and Ryder did the, "Woo Woo Woo, you know it!" I laughed pretty hard. I don't think it was supposed to be funny, but it was. Everybody had to have a little chuckle from it.

Ryder's persona could be one of a cocky face who is sometimes above himself.

I am not saying Ryder should be pushed to ECW Champion contender, but maybe have a program with Paul Burchill or Tyson Kidd and David Hart Smith.

Ryder in a year or two could be a top player on ECW, especially if they added a second title to the brand.

Smackdown Needs a Top Babyface

Dan Telek — Thu, 14 May 2009 16:55:14 -0400

Since the rumor going around is that Jeff Hardy is leaving WWE because of burnout for a while and Undertaker is battling nagging injuries, the WWE needs to a new top babyface for Smackdown.

Current Money in the Bank briefcase holder C.M. Punk has been seen as a guy who could take over that top slot. Newly turned face John Morrison has been seen as one who could take the spot, as has fan favorite Rey Mysterio.

C.M. Punk is the one out of the group I just named who is plausible enough to take that spot. Punk has held most of the gold WWE has to offer, except the United States title.

Even though Punk's World title reign was less than stellar, I think he is ready to be Smackdown's top face and have a title reign.

Punk is a great wrestler and is one of the most talented performers in the WWE.

John Morrison, in my opinion, is not ready to be a No. 1 babyface. He could be a two or three, but not one. He has just turned face and hasn't won over the crowd just yet.

If Morrison won the Intercontinental Championship one or two more times and wins over the crowd more, then he could be a No. 1 face.

Rey Mysterio does have the fan following to be the top face, but his injury history could keep him from reaching the spot.

Also Mysterio's small stature could keep him from being a legitimate title contender. I for one don't think that Mysterio could be a champion contender just because his title reign was mediocre.

If these three can't be a top face, then who else?

Shelton Benjamin is ready for a push to the top and a face turn could help. Shelton had a great face run in 2004 to 2006 when in the first Money in the Bank and during his Intercontinental title runs.

Benjamin feuding with Edge could put him over greatly and lead to many title reigns. Some like Benjamin as heel, like myself, but a possible face turn could do wonders for his career.

Chris Jericho could be another awesome face. But the thing is, he is way too good of a heel. I wouldn't mind seeing another Ayatollah of Rock and Rolla-esque Jericho, but he could be a great heel.

Jericho should not have to fight over the Intercontinental title, and a face turn could throw him right up to championship status. I don't think PG would allow Jericho to be the face we all remember he was during the Invasion.

Any other ideas?

Feuds I Would Like to See in WWE and TNA

Dan Telek — Mon, 11 May 2009 22:39:00 -0400

Some feuds seem to last a year and blow us away like has Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H from a few years ago.

Some come and go quicker than Goldust's matches like the Kane, Kelly Kelly, Randy Orton, and Miz love square. I thing some of these feuds could be entertaining and maybe captivate us.

Matt Morgan vs. Kevin Nash

Matt Morgan has recently been trying to gain access as a member of the Main Event Mafia. If Morgan is denied entry, then I think he should feud with Big Sexy.

Kevin Nash has recently said he wants to pass the torch, and passing to Morgan would be a great giant-to-giant.

Maybe seeing Morgan go over Nash in his last match at Bound For Glory V would be fitting.

William Regal vs. Finlay

A great throwback to old-school brawling and mat-based style of yesterday. I know Finlay is getting to the stage of his career where he is trying to elevate young talent, but I believe we could get a few quality matches between these two.

I don't think there needs to be a storyline between these two, just matches. Maybe Regal would be able to bring out Finlay's mean streak again.

CM Punk vs. Jeff Hardy

A feud that many have been taking about on B/R and I think this would be a feud of the year candidate.

One idea I heard that was great was having Punk use his straight-edge and I'm better than you against Jeff's personal history. I don't know if Jeff would feel comfortable bringing out his demons into the angle.

The angle would bring out match of the year contenders and the title would only make it better.

Edge vs. Chris Jericho

Is the WWE ready for a heel vs. heel feud? I think yes.

These two would bring out the best promos of recent memory. I don't think a title would have to be involved, but maybe if Jericho wins at Judgment Day, the Intercontinental Title could be involved and bring the much want prestige back.

The matches would be so good I will be having wet dreams about them tonight.

Sting vs. Robert Roode or A.J. Styles

Sting is most likely going to retire towards the end of the summer as he is turning 50. Robert Roode was someone most saw as a future title contender at this time last year, but he formed Beer Money with James Storm instead.

Roode was in the King of the Mountain match last year and I think he could again. Maybe Sting putting over Roode would be a huge sky rocket for his career. I would believe that a match like this will occur at Hard Justice.

A.J. Styles is a guy we all see as the face of TNA, but is being held back. I think A.J. going over Sting at Hard Justice would make TNA a young guys company again. TNA has the talent to compete with WWE, but does not utilize it. A.J. could take TNA to the next level.

Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley vs. Jeff Jarrett

The Guns are some of the most talented stars in TNA. It's funny to think TNA was thinking of not resigning them. Shelley is an all-star on the mic and Sabin is an all-star in the ring. I am not saying Sabin isn't that good on the mic and Shelley isn't that good in the ring, but one as better at the other.

These to young guys could easily carry the X-Division or even the main event. They have recently gone after Christopher Daniels and Mick Foley, going after the founder would send them to big time.

Imagine them talking down Jarrett because he has lost control to Mick Foley and that he is laying down for the Mafia. Shelley would give promos that would rival Chris Jericho or even Jim Cornette.

A Few Questions for WWE

Dan Telek — Thu, 07 May 2009 16:09:34 -0400

Sometimes when I watch WWE, I sometimes laugh, get extremely pissed, and sometimes even cry. I have a few question I hope will get answered.

"Why hasn't Paul Birchill been given a push yet?"

After I watched his match with Evan Bourne on Superstars this past week, I was thinking why he wasn't fighting for the ECW Championship.

He is actually a good wrestler when he is given more than three minutes. I think we have all moved on from the pirate gimmick. I think he has an edge because he has the valet services of Katie Lea.

The 10-minute plus match vs. Evan Bourne made me crave more. There are talks of WWE wanting to re-brand ECW and I have a few ideas.

Expand it to maybe an extra hour to two hours and put back on the Television Title. If WWE does this, I think Burchill would a great candidate for the re-inaugurated championship as the first champion.

"What happened to the manager, valets, and mouthpieces?"

After watching the Miz last Monday I thought he should join the Big Show and be his mouthpiece. I mean he could still wrestle and hide behind the Big Show.

I cannot remember the last time Santino Marella wrestled a real match since losing the Intercontinental Championship to William Regal.

As I mentioned, these guys are great talkers, but not the greatest wrestlers. Note that Miz has gotten a lot better in the ring, but is not World Champion material, yet.

Some guys who are great wrestlers are held down because they are not that great on the stick. Some great talkers are held down because of small stature or limited ring ability.

A mouthpiece can really help put someone over. Remember when Brock Lesnar first became World Champion, Paul Heyman was his mouthpiece?

What about when Umaga first appeared on the scene, Armondo Alijandro Esssssssssssssssssstrada was his mouthpiece and put him over as a legitimate monster. Same for Muhammed Hussain with Daivari.

Guys like Mike Knox and Vladimir Kozlov need someone like Santino Marella and The Miz to be mouthpieces. It adds some legitimacy to these guys characters.

"Why are there two women's championships?"

I do not want to offend anyone, but the recent women's division in WWE has bored me to death. F**king Santino Marella winning the Wrestlemania battle royal. This took away the one-time appearences of Victoria and Sunny.

With the state of the current division, we do not need two titles. WWE realized this with the tag team division and unified them. The same needs to be done and bring back the Cruiserweight title.

Sometimes we see an 18-woman tag match that lasts three minutes and only feature four divas.

The return of Gail Kim has been so atrocious I sometimes completely forget about her.

Maybe a unification of the title would be a good for the WWE.

"What is up with John Cena?"

Long gone are the days when a star wasn't getting over as well or needed a heel change, they would get "hurt" during a match and be gone for three or four months.

But no, John Cena get thrown into an f'n searchlight and comes back the next night. Even worse at the Smackdown tapings in Pittsburgh two days ago, he didn't even sell the injury in the dark match.

I know WWE is trying to make Cena look like the toughest S.O.B. on the planet (wait, that's Stone Cold), but being thrown through a massive search light and coming back the next night pisses me off.

That kind of reminds me of a line from the greatest wrestling movie "Ready To Rumble" when David Arqutte's character Gordy is talking to Oliver Platt's character Jimmy the King.

"Remember when Sting hit you with a bat and paralyzed you? Well two weeks later you got up out of that wheelchair and kicked his ass!"

That line popped in my head whenever I saw Cena wobble out like Hulk Hogan during the Hollywood days. I think Cena could have at least comeback during Judgment Day and screwed over the Big Show in whatever match he was in.

"Why did you break up all your tag teams?"

As of right now, we only have three plausible tag teams: The Colons, Priceless, and Cryme Tyme.

Tag teams that were broken up during the draft were: Miz and Morrison (the greatest tag team in recent memory), Jesse and Festus (at least it was a team), Brian Kendrick and the big Zeke', and Hawkins and Ryder (whoo whoo whoo).

I know we expect the New Hart Foundation to become a team, but we do not know yet.

WWE obviously needs to make new tag teams. I can think of a monster team of Kane and Mike Knox possibly managed by the Miz (but would require either a move by Miz to SD who is red hot, or both Kane and Knox, who will be successful on SD, to move to Raw.)

Also a reunion of the World Greatest Tag Team. Benjamin and Haas are two great and relatively young stars and are great wrestlers.

Thanks for reading. Comments, feedback, criticism and answers are all welcome.

TNA and WWE: The Best and Worst Theme Songs

Dan Telek — Sat, 02 May 2009 16:51:40 -0400

As Krut pointed out in one of his articles, a theme song sets the tone for the superstar. Some wrestlers have great theme songs, some... not so much.

WWE Best

1. Jack Swagger "Down On Your Knee"- Age Against the Machine

Now some of you might be surprised that I put this on the list, but "Down on Your Knees" is an incredible song. The Rage Against the Machine cover band is spot on. The song is also very coherent to Jack Swagger's cocky attitude.

The guitar rift is awesome as well.

2. C.M. Punk "This Fire Burns"- Killswitch Engage

Originally used by Randy Orton to promote the Wreckless Intent CD, this song completely describes Punk.

He just has the look of a person who would use this song. He is covered up with tattoos, his last name is Punk (Phil Brooks), and he just fits that persona. The song is also kickass and I use it as a pump up song for football and as a weight lifting song.

3. John Morrison "Ain't No Make Believe" Stonefree Experience

Morrison has become one of my favorite wrestlers since he and The Miz became the stellar tag team they were. One of the biggest things that drew me to him was his theme song. The song has a great intro that just sucks you in and the lyrics are great.

*Honorable Mentions: "Metalingus"- Alter Bridge (Edge), "Just Close Your Eyes"-Story of the Year (Christian), "Voices"- Rev Theory (Randy Orton), "Break The Walls Down" (Chris Jericho)

WWE Worst

1. Dolph Ziggler

Dolph Ziggler comes out to some generic theme song of just guitar.

The song basically describe his character: basic and generic.

He is a great wrestler and all, but his theme song sucks. It's so bad, I don't think it even has a name.

2. John Cena "Time Is Now"- John Cena

Basic Thuganomics was probably the greatest theme of the 2000s.

Time Is Now is just stupid. Cena: great guy, great wrestler, not a great theme song.

The album "You Can't See Me" was awesome, but this song doesn't seem to click for me. Cena has been now for about 5 years.

3. Great Khali "Land of Five Rivers" Punjabi MC

This is just one of those that is just made for the gimmick. I just don't like the song. Enough said.

TNA Best

1. Matt Morgan "Sleeping Giant"- 10 Fold

This song is a song that just clicks. The song has a great guitar rifts, and fits Morgan. Most TNA songs suck, but this is a surprisingly good one.

2. A.J. Styles "Get Ready to Fly"- GRITZ

Basically a remix of his former theme "I Am". The only problem I hated about A.J.'s theme was the awful lyrics. The beat and riff are incredible.

3. Shiek Abdul Bashir

I have no idea what the name is, but I absolutely this song.

The beat is phenomenal and I like the Arabic beats in the background. became Daivari is the "Middle Eastern Nightmare", this song definitely suits him. Unlike the Great Khali, this song fits his nationality, character, and is a great song.

Honorable Mention: "TNA Impact Theme", " To Live and Die in LAX", "My World" (Jeff Jarrett)

TNA Worst

1. Motor City Machine Guns "1967" Gears

I am a huge fan of the Guns, Sabin's in ring ability and Shelley's mic work, but this song is awful. The rift is atrocious as well are the lyrics. The only lyrics to the song are, "I'm gonna go to the Motor City, I'm gonna fight and it won't be pretty, I'm gonna fight in the Motor City tonight."

I can bet Shelly and Sabin hate that song.

2. Jay Lethal "Randy Savage Knockoff"

My only real problem with this theme is that I hate the gimmick.

TNA tries to copy old, successful gimmick that are not the same. It's also worse when they try the Rated-RKO method of combining songs. (RKO worked well).

3. Kurt Angle "Gold Metal" Tha Trademarc

This songs instrumental is also used as the Main Event Mafia theme as well if I believe correctly. This song does not fit Angle. We are all too used to Angles "You Suck" from WWE and this sort of rap song doesn't fit him.

It's promising in the beginning, then dies away.

Grasp the Spotlight: Will TNA and Ring of Honor Ever Be WWE Contenders?

Dan Telek — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 17:19:52 -0400

As everybody knows, WWE is the pinnacle of wrestling (sports entertainment). TNA is one alternative that is available to almost everyone. Ring Of Honor is a rising company that has an ECW cult-like following. So the question is: Will TNA or Ring of Honor ever be on the same level as WWE?

TNA was a company started by Jeff and Jerry Jarrett (you probably know that if you watch TNA for the first five seconds) in 2002. They had some recognizable stars like Raven, Scott Hall, Ken Shamrock, and Jeff Jarrett. TNA also featured up-and-comers like A.J. Styles, Abyss, and Monty Brown.

TNA became my ECW because many of my friends did not know what TNA was before 2005 when it appeared on Spike TV. It did appear on Fox Sports Net, but only lasted a year because of low ratings and the fact it was on at 3 PM.

The biggest standout of TNA was it's high-octane X-Division. A.J. Styles, Low Ki, Christopher Daniels, and Chris Sabin have all made names for themselves there.

Fast-forwarding to present day, I currently have a love-hate relationship with TNA. I love the fact that some of my favorites like A.J. Styles, Chris Sabin, Kurt Angle, and Christopher Daniels are available to me each week.

I hate the fact that they all have to take the backseat (excluding Angle) to guys like Mick Foley (should not even be wrestling), Scott Steiner (respect the guy, but his body has seen better days), Kevin Nash (who is just about 50), and Jeff Jarrett (who we see way, way too much of).

The way TNA has been treating younger talent lately is troubling to me. Mick Foley should not be champion, nor wrestling for a matter of fact. If I would have booked TNA Lockdown, I would have had Sting face Samoa Joe, A.J. Styles, or the returning Christopher Daniels.

Too much focus is put on the older veterans. If TNA wants to gain new fans, more matches need to be put on. There is usually only about four to six minutes of wrestling in the first hour.

Also TNA needs to let gimmick matches have more build and length. The Knockouts Number One Contendership ladder match had no build whatsoever and lasted all but three minutes.

A match before Destination X was a fatal four way for the X-Division title. The match actually had build and there was 15 minutes left in Impact, so I expected an awesome match with some time. Actually the match lasted five minutes and a stupid Mafia segment ended the show.

If TNA main events featured different people not name Jeff Jarrett, Main Event Mafia, or Mick Foley, I believe the ratings and fans would go up.

Main Events should be A.J. Styles vs. Kurt Angle, Suicide vs. Chris Sabin, or Samoa Joe vs. Matt Morgan. I am not saying the people mentioned before should never be in main events again, just not each week.

Now for JLB's favorite East Coast-based wrestling promotion, Ring of Honor.

Ring of Honor has gained an almost ECW like following. Many stars including C.M. Punk, Samoa Joe, Homicide, and Colt Cabana (What's Crackin', Scotty Goldman?) got their start in Ring of Honor. Many of today's stars, including Bryan Danielson, Nigel McGuinness, and Austin Aries, work in Ring of Honor.

I think if Ring of Honor had a TV contract that reached more people, they could easily compete with WWE.

Many people say they do not get HDnet because it is usually carried only on satellite. I think if they had a contract with a channel like Versus or Fox, they could reach a larger national audience.

Many people already know what Ring of Honor is, so after the HDnet contract is done, they could give Versus or Fox a try.

Ring of Honor featured some of the best wrestling in the business. The technical prowess of some of the stars there is phenomenal.

Two who stand out are Nigel McGuinness and Bryan Danielson. They also have excellent future stars like Austin Aries, Tyler Black, and Jimmy Jacobs.

They also had one of the best managers in Larry Sweeney, who is also a great wrestler, but apparently he went crazy, and I hope he get well because I want to see him in IWC again.

So there you have it. Both are plausible contenders, but I think Ring of Honor has a little better of a chance.

Grasp the Spotlight: Where Does WWE Go After Backlash?

Dan Telek — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 16:06:48 -0400

Welcome to the second coming of the Age of Orton. Since the six man tag match was instituted for Backlash, I wanted Orton to pin Triple H for the title and it happened.

The question is now: Where does WWE go from here?

Many of us were obviously suprised at the quality of Backlash and now we look forward to Judgement Day.

I can see Jack Swagger using the exposed turnbuckle as an excuse for losing. Christian's backstage confrontation with Edge was what we were all waiting for.

Obviously, Swagger is going to have his rematch at Judgement Day. A fun twist would be to add Evan Bourne and Tyson Kidd to make it a more interesting match, but I'd rather see those two face off in a singles match.

Christian and Swagger's matches together have been extremely entertaining(pardon the pun) and I would not complain to see more.

I do not see Swagger regaining the title at Judgement Day, but the build to Backlash was stellar and made the title seem more important.

I think the build up to Judgement Day will be just as good, or even better in fact.

If Bourne and Kidd are not added to the ECW title match, which if they are not I would not mind, I would like to see D.H. Smith make his debut at Judgement Day and start the Hart Foundation 2.0.

As for the Undisputed Tag Team Championship(which I think sounds better) there should feature a feud between Priceless and the Colons.

The match between these two teams was excellent on Smackdown a few weeks ago. I think Priceless winning could help solidify Legacy as a dominant faction we all want them to be.

If Priceless wins, I can see a face turn for D.H. Smith and Tyson Kidd and see a second generation feud going on.

The matches put on between Priceless, Colons, and Hart Foundation would be amazing. Anyone feeling a TLC?

As for the Intercontinental Championship, a great way to bring some legitimacy to the buried title would be Chris Jericho vs. Rey Mysterio.

Jericho is one of the greatest Intercontinental Champions of all time and we could see some great matches between the two, but I do not see the title changing hands between Y2J and Rey.

I think Dolph Ziggler and MVP's United States championship will end with MVP most likely winning. The match could go either way.

If MVP loses, I see him winning a number one contender match and facing Orton at Judgement Day for the title, but that is a major if.

I think we could see either the Miz or Matt Hardy challenge for the United States championship. I think Matt Hardy would try to go for the top heel spot on Raw behind Randy Orton, but things seem to change.

I think this could be Miz's first sort of single's push going for the United States title.

As for the World Heavyweight Championship against Edge, I want to see a young guy step up and try for the title.

We all know C.M. Punk is going to face Edge at Judgement Day and cash in the MITB contract for a match because it is in Chicago, I want to see either Shelton Benjamin or John Morrison try, too. But Shelton and JoMo will be put in the Intercontinental Championship picture.

I think it is safe to say Randy Orton is going up against Botchtista for the WWE title, yawn.

Orton will definately win the match, but Batista will be shoved down our throats. I like the MVP idea better, but the WWE Creative team will make the revenge for Batista against Orton.

Another feud I would like to see happen would be Mike Knox vs. Kane. Kane is so over because he is so respected among fans and is hard to hate. I think Knox should attack Kane during a match and set up a good big man vs. big man match. Maybe Knox will think of a good reason to fight Kane instead of not knowing why.

As of writing this, these are my predictions for Judgement Day:

Evan Bourne vs. Tyson Kidd

Kidd goes over after an interference by D.H. Smith.

Mike Knox vs. Kane

Knox goes over for a nice singles push.

Christian vs. Jack Swagger for ECW Championship

Christian retains and feud continues.

Priceless vs. Colons for Tag Titles

Priceless goes over.

Rey Mysterio vs. Chris Jericho for Intercontinental Championship

Rey holds onto title then loses it to Jericho on a later date.

MVP vs. Matt Hardy vs. Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler for United States Championship

MVP holds onto the gold.

Randy Orton vs. Batista for WWE Championship

Orton wins, duh.

Edge vs. C.M. Punk for World Heavyweight Championship

Edge goes over, but at Extreme Rules, it will be Edge vs. Punk vs. Benjamin vs. Morrison.

Thanks for reading this edition of GTS.

Grasp the Spotlight: New Solutions for the X-Division

Dan Telek — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 15:48:12 -0400

Many of us have noticed TNA's X-Division has been lagging lately. Suicide was a great addition, but I think I have a better solution:

THE AMAZING RED!

In case you do not know who Amazing Red is, he was in TNA in the way early days (when it was still NWA-TNA). He was an X-Division Champion and an NWA Tag Champ with Jerry Lynn.

In the X-Division, there should be a lot of high-flying action, but Suicide and sometimes the MCMG seem the only one who fly. Red practically lives in the air.

Just watching his matches are a spectacle. He is one of the best high flyers in history. I think he could definitely give the X-Division a massive adrenaline boost.

Watch this match with Low Ki and you will agree with me.

Another solution is Paul London. Don't prejudge because he is a WWE castoff (Stevie Richards and Foley are cast-offs). You have to think about the long run.

When London was in Ring of Honor, fans would cheer, "PLEASE DON'T DIE" because he would do the most death-defying spots.

London is exciting to watch every time. He would be good in a feud with Suicide. Have them face off in ladder and asylum matches.

I don't know if there is anyone who watched him in ROH that would say he wouldn't be fun to watch. (JLB)

I hope these two find their way to TNA, but I have doubts about Amazing Red.

Thanks for reading this GTS.

Grasp The Spotlight: Where Does TNA Go After Lockdown?

Dan Telek — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 16:49:15 -0400

We are all shocked, and most likely disappointed, after Mick Foley defeated Sting for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. So, where does TNA go from here?

One, I think Mick Foley should join the Main Event Mafia and Sting should leave the Mafia. I think this Thursday on Impact, Mick should face Sting in rematch for the title and the Mafia should help Foley win.

Then Sting could do something like feud with Matt Morgan, which could lead Morgan to main event status.

As for Bobby Lashley, if he does join the Mafia, he could do one of two things. He could form a tag team with Booker T and seek the tag team gold, or he could feud with A.J. Styles over the Legend's Championship.

Samoa Joe is rumored to be mentored by Taz. I think this could go either way with successful and dreadful.

Joe's new persona is too far from his old one and the Rambo knife does nothing for the gimmick. I think Taz could take Joe back to his credible state from last summer. Also, the Guns vs. L.A.X. vs. No Limit makes me want to see a long program between the Guns and L.A.X.

As for the other tag team situation, I want more of 3-D and Beer Money. The match made Beer Money look like superstars and I think the feud with 3-D could really excel both, but mostly Robert Roode.

A fun program to see would be Suicide vs. Christopher Daniels over the X-Division title. It would be nice irony and some entertaining matches.

I have heard reports that Angelina Love might have suffered a concussion; knowing first-hand they are very scary, it will be interesting to see Awesome Kong try to tear through every Knockout to get to Love.

I have no idea what will become of Abyss and Stevie Richards; maybe some good hardcore matches between the two are on the slate. Richards is a very entertaining wrestler and I am excited for a feud.

The Queen of the Cage match seemed very filler and Cody Deaner has seemed very funny and entertaining so far. He might beat out Santino for funniest guy in wrestling (Larry Sweeney is probably funnier than both).

TNA has been picking up the pace lately and hopefully they can take advantage of the momentum they have been on and the recent Lockdown Pay-Per-View, which wasn't half bad. Just because Foley won didn't make it bad; Sting was 50 and holding the title.

This has been Grasp The Spotlight, thanks for reading. You stay classy, Bleacher Report.

Not Even Eric Young Could Make Danny Bonaduce Good

Dan Telek — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 20:05:17 -0400

In the pre-show for TNA Lockdown, Eric Young faced Danny Bonaduce. The match was kind of hard to watch. Also, Eric Young gave most of the better offense.

Some fan, who was obviously placed, yelled at Bonaduce and he bit his finger and punched the fan. The fan was then taken away from the arena.

Bonaduce showed off some nunchucks and E.Y. came in. Bonaduce gave him a kick. Then they did some moves and Bonaduce gave him the worst attempt of Senton ever. He basically rolled on top of E.Y. from the top rope.

E.Y. attempted a moonsault and missed. Some other crap happened and E.Y. rolled up Bonaduce for the win.

After the match, Bonaduce hit E.Y. with the numb-chucks. He started stomping on Young until Rhino (remember him?) came in and Gored Bonaduce to make the Philly crowd happy.

The match lasted three minutes and was atrocious. Thank God it wasn't on the main card.