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First off, I’d like to thank everyone for the feedback and am glad it’s mostly been good! You can continue to send me your thoughts at ncattles@gmail.com. Well, now that that’s out of the way, let’s take a look at the draft and some of my ROH thoughts.
When looking back at my draft column from earlier in the week, it seems that I did pretty well with my breakdown. If I don’t count the two diva selections, which I won’t because I don’t ever predict those, I believe I ended up with 7 out of 10. Not bad. I will say though, that I believe in the end, a couple more of my selections will come to fruition.
I won’t be shocked if Randy Orton and Legacy go to Smackdown in the next couple of weeks, while Vickie Guerrero somehow gets her husband on the “A-Show”. Each brand needs a heavyweight title and each will get one. Many think that Edge will beat Cena and that could happen. My idea? Well, I think that HHH loses the WWE Championship at Backlash thanks to Batista. Legacy jumps to Smackdown with the strap (will be written in somehow), while Batista and HHH feud on Raw. The WWE poster boy keeps his strap for the time being.
Now, as for some other quick thoughts on what went down this week, I’d say that some guys ended up with the bad luck of the draw. Since Raw did go top heavy, as I had predicted, Matt Hardy and Mr. Kennedy have a tough year coming up. Look, I like both guys (love Kennedy’s potential), but with so many top stars on Raw already I’m left wondering how these two are going to crack the glass?
If there’s one guy that I think has that chance, it’s the guy I figured would head to Raw – MVP. If the creative team gives him a chance and he stays healthy (Kennedy’s problem), then I think MVP could be a big time WWE player within six months. One guy who I think could hold a secondary title within 4-6 months and be successful at it unfortunately also landed on Raw – The Brian Kendrick. I still believe having Kendrick light up ECW with other high flyers, while giving him plenty of TV time to further develop his character would’ve been the best option. Kendrick vs. Bourne you ask? Yes please.
As for moves (and non-moves) that I think will pay off in the long run, I’ll start with CM Punk and Jeff Hardy. Get ready if you’re a Punk or Hardy fan, because I think this is their year. Keeping Hardy on Smackdown will give him a shot at great feuds with Chris Jericho and Orton (if my prediction comes through) and a chance at truly carrying the ball up top. I believe the same can be said for Punk. I know some Punk fans are a little disappointed with his short World Title reign, but looking at the big picture, Punk had a seismic shift in his WWE popularity and status. That now continues on Friday nights.
I also really liked the Jericho and Morrison moves. Jericho has a chance at some fresh feuds, while Morrison might have an opportunity at higher profile matches. Looking at the Smackdown roster now, you’ve got several guys who can flat out get it done in the squared circle with them. The list starts with Edge (I believe Orton soon) and Jericho and continues with names like Mysterio, Punk, Benjamin and Hardy. I have more things I could write about the rosters and how they shaped up, but to be honest, I’ve written enough about the topic.
Instead I’d like to weigh in on another national wrestling promotion and give my recent thoughts on ROH. Let me first say that I’m fan of professional wrestling/sports entertainment and truly root for every promotion to succeed. Before I receive any hate mail from loyal ROH fans, I’ll also say that I own a few of their DVD’s, immensely enjoy much of their work, and was looking forward to their debut on HDNet.
Now, with that said…I’m disappointed. I wanted to give the program a few weeks until I wrote about it, figuring it wouldn’t be fair to lash out after one or two episodes. Well, we’re past the first few and the show just doesn’t “have me”. It may eventually, but right now, it doesn’t. Most of the guys/girls need time to hone their craft on the stick and because of that, the mike work comes across as third rate/independent level.
Another problem I have is the production. Now let me state that the value of said production is ions ahead of the older ROH stuff, but the show comes across as small time in a tiny dark building. That environment and a crowd that mostly sits on their hands doesn’t make me feel excited about what I’m watching.
I’ve heard some say that they think the look is old school and cool. Well, I agree it looks old school, but another term that could be used would be “outdated”. ROH is supposed to be the exciting, new, fresh promotion on the scene and instead the show looks like it could be set in the early 80’s. Not only that, but the product hasn’t screamed edgy in the first few episodes.
The biggest nuisance to me though would easily be the announce team. I know that Dave Prazak has been with the promotion and has done an Ok job, but he doesn’t come across as a standout and I’d like a wrestler in that spot. In all honesty, though, I could live with Prazak. The same can’t be said so far for Mike Hogewood.
I know that he just started out and I am willing to give him time to get better. But so far, I just can’t get through an episode of ROH without thinking of Ed Ferrara’s old “Oklahoma” character on Nitro years ago. The random screams that accompany a simple dropkick are too much for me. I also wonder if he’s being fed a lot of move names as the show goes on. Why do I say that? Well, one minute he seemingly doesn’t know what to call a back body drop, while the next minute he’s calling a moonsault and the finish of a wrestler. Those kinds of details seem to hint at being produced.
I truly hope that ROH does better with the next round of taped episodes and news of a hotly received Ric Flair promo only spike those wishes. Some of the problems, such as the environment, can easily be fixed and I believe they will be. I also hope that Mike Hogewood improves and seeing that he is an absolute professional and experienced in broadcasting, I anticipate he will. ROH still has given us some really good wrestling over the first few episodes and can continue to do so quite easily with their roster. Here’s looking with optimism at ROH’s next month, as I believe they’ll eventually deliver.
Next time on “Walking the Aisle” I’ll take a look at TNA Impact and why the show has improved over the past few weeks. I hope you all enjoyed my latest piece and look forward to more feedback at ncattles@gmail.com. Until then, remember to suspend your disbelief.
