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Handoffs & Headlocks Update
Just to give a little update on the radio show status. The show will resume at the latest September 5. Our radio station has changed locations to the new student union here at Auburn and the move is going slowly. We are awaiting some furniture and attempting to get up and broadcasting before too long. Thanks for being patient and hopefully the column is satisfying your H&H craving for the time being. Thanks for the support.
Sticking It to the Fans
Pay-Per-Views are supposed to be about wrestling and either furthering feuds by the heel getting the upper hand or issues not being resolved. Television, in logical wrestling booking, sets up angles that will resolve on PPV. In the late 80s and early 90s before the debut of monthly PPVs, wrestlers would get attacked or get involved in other wrestlers’ matches causing two men to clash at the next PPV.
These days PPVs are filled with angles, interview segments and commercials. The fact that WWE had a movie advertisement during the PPV is insane. Street Kings sponsored the show, but don’t we see enough commercials during free TV? Wrestling fans are notoriously cheap and probably do not want to pay $40 to see an advertisement. I know if I wanted to see a commercial, I’ll watch Raw for free.
WWE is supposed to be a publicly traded company that cares about the consumer. The thought that WWE cares about the consumer is laughable, especially if you are a wrestling fan. For those of us in the know, WWE very rarely gives fans a value. Remember how WrestleMania was almost $60? How many times has a Pay-Per-Views gone off the air 20 or 30 minutes early? Value is a foreign word and concept to WWE just like a clean finish is foreign to TNA.
SummerSlam: Are 2 Matches & An Angle Worth $40?
Sunday night was the third of the “Big Four” for WWE. There were several good storylines going into Sunday night. Going into this card, I fully expected a fantastic three hours of wrestling action with a good amount of heat on almost all the matches. What WWE gave us were two really good/great matches and an angle that probably would be better served to have taken place on Raw.
Jeff Hardy and MVP have started an interesting feud that began with MVP ragging on Hardy for getting suspended and basically being his own worst enemy. This match was short and with Shelton Benjamin interfering the feud will continue. The match overall was underwhelming considering the talent of MVP and Hardy. Hopefully, this feud will get some heat on Smackdown in the coming weeks. I’m definitely looking forward to another match between these two because they were able to scratch the surface of countering some of each others signature moves which brings a great dynamic into an interesting feud.
The Cock-Eyed Kid-Chris Jericho angle was really well done. If you are a smart fan, you knew that Michaels was coming out to “retire.” Jericho punching Whisper, Mrs. Cock-Eyed Kid, in the face was a surprise. But if they are making you pay money to see an angle, at least it was a pretty good one. Jericho and Michaels will build this feud hopefully to a match that leaves their classic at WrestleMania XIX in dust.
The majority of the card was just throw away. Mark Henry-Matt Hardy was a one-minute confrontation that pretty much was a waste of time. Santino did not talk on the mic that much and the whole idea of the inter-gender, all the belts on the line match was a bit convoluted. JBL is not a main event material and nor should he be treated as such. The JBL-Punk match got me wanting WWE to insert Gorilla Monsoon saying “Double-Noggin Knocker” when Punk split his head open. Khali needs to wished good luck on his future endeavors because God knows we need him to be gone. For the first half, if not longer, of the show SummerSlam brought back memories of Great American Bash 2004. Then WWE decided to wake up and allow four men to save the show.
Batista and John Cena have both been accused of being stiffs in the ring. The two men, when paired with Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Undertaker or Edge have had great matches. Both men have also improved their work rate over time, except the occasional sluggish work from Batista when he isn’t going over. Batista and Cena with their limitations had a great match. Granted, we aren’t talking Flair-Steamboat but more along the lines of Hogan-Warrior. The only thing that would have made this match great would have been a better build.
The return of the Undertaker was built to properly. He stayed off of TV and they didn’t even go to the mind games of turning out the lights on Edge periodically. These two guys displayed the kind of hate and excitement you would expect for two guys that are supposed to want the other one dead or badly injured. This Hell in the Cell, for my money, was one of the best I’ve seen. Sick spot after sick spot in this match would excite and draw in the most cynical of people. From the cell wall falling to the double table spot and even the choke slam through the ring was really well done. Usually I’m averse to the hole in the ring spot but they built to it really well. The lasting visual of the match and for SummerSlam 2008, for me, will be the view of the Undertaker through the flames in the hole in the ring.
WWE Brings Back Wrestling Challenge/Superstars and Vince Russo?
Raw began easily enough with Chris Jericho talking about the angle from the night before and how it was the Cock-Eyed Kid’s fault Whisper got clocked. Then it took a turn for the worse. Batista, main event star, squashes Paul Burchill. WWE has been bringing back the lost art of the TV squash match. Remember the days when all WWE TV was squash matches with the occasional main event of Bret Hart against the Repo Man? If that doesn’t spell ratings I don’t know what does.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not comparing Batista to Bret Hart or Paul Burchill to the Repo Man. I’m just wondering why WWE can’t put matches on TV that mean something and don’t squash young interesting talent.
Speaking of wasted talent. WWE had one of their main event stars beat the tag champions. Haven’t we seen this before? DiBiase and Rhodes had such bright futures not even three weeks ago. They were on the cusp of starting what would seemingly be an interesting feud with Cryme Tyme. Then they lost the titles, won them back then lost to one guy all in three weeks. Apparently DiBiase and Rhodes are on the career roller coaster of misguided booking.
Dave always talks about how JBL has a spot because he is friends with Vince. Doesn’t Vince see that his friend sucks? Doesn’t Vince see that JBL is not in any better shape against Jamie Noble than he was the night of a million balloons? JBL is not even remotely enjoyable to watch, actually almost painful. We’ve seen fat wrestlers before in WWE. I enjoyed watching Earthquake, Typhoon/Tugboat and Yokosuna. Hell, I even enjoy watching Jerry Blackwell on old AWA more than I do watching JBL. JBL has a lot of money and obviously doesn’t want to work out. He needs to get liposuction and then I still think he would suck, but it’s a start.
The Championship Scramble sounds as exciting as the Reverse Battle Royal or the Rat on a Pole Match in TNA. Who honestly thought it was a good idea to book this? If you have to explain the rules more than once, it’s probably too convoluted and more than likely stupid. There is a reason TNA can’t get better ratings than ECW and it’s matches like the Scramble. WWE, wake up before The Goon challenges Santino Marella next week on Superstars.
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My column here is an extension of the topics I cover on my radio show on WEGL 91.1 FM on the campus of Auburn University in Auburn, Ala. You can listen to the show “Handoffs and Headlocks” online at www.wegl91.com by clicking streaming and selecting a media player. The show airs in the fall on Tuesday and Thursday from 2-3 p.m. (Note: All times are Central Standard Time).
Thank you for reading and if you would like to give feedback please send me an email at handoffsandheadlocks@gmail.com or DudleyAU@aol.com. You can also contact me on Facebook on my name in the Auburn network.
Handoffs and Headlocks: No Hype Necessary, Just That Damn Good
