Brief Thoughts on Survivor Series 2011

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Last night was pretty decent for a WWE event:

Dolph Ziggler def. John Morrison via pinfall...here's hoping that Morrison will make the jump to TNA after being consistently buried in WWE (Gail Kim anyone?).

Beth Phoenix def. Eve Torres via pinfall...total no brainer (and a waste of time).

Team Barrett def. Team Orton...Barrett and Cody Rhodes were the sole survivors on their team, which is good news for Rhodes, as I see greatness in his future.

Big Show def. Mark Henry via DQ...which means that the World Title stayed with Henry (who killed the match by ending it with a low blow), but both men really entertained and actually WRESTLED well for two big men.  The highlight was The Big Show delivering an elbow to Henry from the top rope.  AWESOME!

CM Punk def. Alberto Del Rio via pinfall...FINALLY!  The age of Punk begins.  This was easily the best match of the night.  I sincerely hope that WWE does the right thing with Punk because he has the potential to be HUGE!  This is not an exaggeration.

The Rock & John Cena def. The Awesome Truth via pinfall...to see The Rock back in action was almost surreal and the man has not lost a step.  As expected, Cena did most of the ringwork, but The Rock's antics and psychology made up for it.  Cena was thoroughly booed by the New York audience throughout the match, but I think I can see where they are going with this.  If you remember, Rocky Maivia was raucously booed as a fan favorite until he turned heel and became the star that we know today.  Could it be that the WWE is going to try to make lightening strike twice by attempting to do the same thing with Cena, but using The Rock to put him over?  Hmmmm?  Stay tuned...and hopefully it won't be a train wreck!

The truth hurts...

Astronomical Disappointment in Astro

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Astro was definitely one of my favorites to win X-Factor, but his behavior last night was disappointing on so many levels.

First, he's 15-years-old, and though he has notoriety...he is not a superstar yet...so he shouldn't be acting like one.  To even have the gall to ask if he should perform on a competition that he should be trying to win is one of the most absurd things that I've ever seen on television...especially from a child.

Second, during his performance, he just gave up.  This is not a good message to send to kids that may be looking up to him, for he has been promoting a "believe in yourself" message, which he totally crapped on last night.  He also sent the message that it's okay to quit when things don't go your way.

Finally, as Simon pointed out, the disrespect that he showed was through the roof...to the point where the audience in attendance began to boo.  In all of my years of watching television, I have never witnessed the booing of a child.  That's what disrespect gets you.  Being from Newark, NJ, which is not very far from Astro's Brooklyn home, I totally understand his not wanting to show that he was upset about being in the bottom two and to act like it didn't bother him, but to say that he didn't want to perform in front of the fans who got him to where he is was shameful...not to mention unprofessional. 

I understand the bravado that comes along with being a rapper, but there is a time to show it and a time to be a pro.  Astro needs to decipher between the two and act accordingly going forward, as his antics last night were very ugly and unbecoming.  I hope his mom barked on him when he got home...he deserved it.

The truth hurts...

TNA DOES SOMETHING RIGHT!!!

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Finally, TNA has made a smart decision by putting the tag team titles on Crimson & Matt Morgan.  Great Move!  Mexican America is possibly the stalest faction ever (except maybe for Immortal), and needed to be put to rest....hopefully put out to pasture.

A perfect name for the new TNA World Tag Team Champions would be THE CRIMSON MORG!

Let's just hope that TNA creative handles this correctly.

The truth hurts...

Herman Cain...Public Idiot #1

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I for one have never really believed most of the sexual harassment claims being hurled towards Herman Cain, for if there were any validity to them, then why wait so many years later (during his campaign) to speak out?  Ridiculous.

However, this man's stupidity is clearly undeniable.  Of course, his 9-9-9 plan was pure trash, but when recently asked about President Obama's handling of the Libyan situation in a televised interview...this fool knew NOTHING.  He couldn't even get a complete thought together.  He had no idea about the facts, and soon he just shut down...answering the poor interviewer with naught but silence.

Seriously Republicans?  This is the man that you guys were in love with a few weeks ago?  His moronish display was not only worse than the sexual harassment allegations (although the man does give off perv vibes), but it really made the GOP look nice and stupid.  Now they've jumped on the Newt Ginrich bandwagon...knowing full well that his humiliation of their party is just a matter of time.

Face it Repubs...you don't have an answer for Obama in 2012.  Your whole crop of candidates are laughable at best, but Herman Cain was the nail in the proverbial coffin.

Better luck in 2016 guys!

The truth hurts...

Does TNA Wrestling Know What It's Doing?

Fact:  I am a life long pro-wrestling fan.
Fact:  I know the "sport" inside and out.

In 2006, I became very disenchanted with WWE and its monopoly on the genre, which caused me to start watching TNA Impact (now Impact Wrestling).  The product was awesome!  They had great matches, good storylines, and the best thing that they had going for them was their six-sided ring, as it gave them their identity and made them a great alternative to WWE's boredom-fest because they were doing something different.

Flash forward to 2011...

The six-sided ring is gone.  The matches are short and not very spectacular.  The storylines may be the worst in wrestling history.  And Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff are in charge...two men who tanked the former pro-wrestling giant...WCW.

Can anyone explain what has happened?

No?

I'd like to take a stab at it.

Dixie Carter is the problem.  Not to take anything away from her, as she seems like a very intelligent business person with tons of moxie, but she has taken the helm of a company in a profession that she knows very little about.  Bad move.  Pro-wrestling is a form of entertainment that takes historical knowledge and appreciation to run it effectively.  You must know what the fans enjoy and hate.  You must be able to deal with the varying personalities of the wrestlers.  You must know how to build characters, and in doing so...you build a brand.  Vince McMahon knows this...and look at his juggernaut.

It takes a wrestling person to run a wrestling company...not a marketing executive, which is exactly what Dixie Carter is.  She honestly doesn't know what she's doing, and I'm sure she knows that, but she has hired the wrong people to guide her ship.  Vince Russo?  He had been the head creative person in TNA almost from its inception, and there were times when he did great things, but it seems like he just stopped using his intelligence once Hogan and Bischoff joined the company.

Instead of trying to build their own identity, they are banking on former WWE stars to carry them, but it's not working because once they make an acquisition, they handle him/her like an idiot. From WWE, they have gotten Jeff Hardy, Bobby Lashley, Kurt Angle, Mick Foley, RVD, Christian, Orlando Jordan, Brian Kendrick, Tommy Dreamer...none of whom have catapulted their ratings (except for Kurt Angle with the Main Event Mafia, but they were silly enough to kill that money in the bank).

TNA has extremely talented non-former WWE employees on their roster, the likes of AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels, Samoa Joe, Kaz, Austin Aries, Alex Shelley, Crimson, Eric Young, and coupled with their WWE acquisitions, there is no way that this company should be as lackluster as it is.  Impact Wrestling should be a joy to watch every week, but if you don't know how to use the talent that you have...then you have NOTHING.

A few weeks back, James Storm (another TNA original) was graced with their World Title, but only to have it quickly taken away by Robert Roode in the worst swerve in recent history.  Why?  Storm winning the belt actually felt monumental (a feeling that I haven't gotten from TNA in a long time) and it was different.  Again...it all comes from their creative team not knowing what to do.  Dixie needs someone who puts the best interests of the company first instead of their pockets.  Hopefully Bruce Prichard (their new head of creative) will do something interesting, but it's not looking good thus far.

She needs to call Paul Heyman as soon as humanly possible and beg him to reconsider.  If something isn't done, TNA won't be around much longer.

The truth hurts...