1. Mr. Kennedy....KENNEDY!!!
Well this is awkward. Here is a sample of my first draft of this column...
"Mr. Kennedy came back to Raw this past week, but as a big time face confronting Randy Orton. Personally I would have held off on the return til after Extreme Rules so it would have given Mr. RKO another challenger, but I like that they established he will go straight into the main event picture. Shame it looks like he jumped right over MVP to do so, but so be it. Let's just hope he stays healthy."
Yikes. Sad to see the man go. I remember him debuting a while back around the same time as the Boogeyman and a few other crummy gimmicks. His was the only that stood out and it gave a lot of fans, including myself, a ton of hope for the WWE's future. I spoke about the matter a little while back, but I think the writing was on the wall during the Cena-Swagger confrontation when Cena made fun of Swagger for being the All-American American, calling it dumb to repeat your name. I say give Mr. Kennedy a few months off, shave the blonde beard, and recharge his batteries. TNA would be fools not to give him a chance after the WWE wished him well in his future endeavors...endeavors.
2. WWE Gimmick PPVs
Interesting move this week by the WWE changing Unforgiven into Breaking Point, a submission themed PPV. So if we have this straight now... January - Royal Rumble, Feb - No Way Out [Elimination Chambers], March - Wrestlemania, April - Backlash, May - Judgment Day, June - Extreme Rules, Bash, July - Night of Champions, August - Summerslam, September - Breaking Point, October - No Mercy [Scramble Matches], Cyber Sunday, November - Survivor Series, December - Armaggedon. Therefore, there are just four PPVs that are not the big four without gimmicks attached, being Backlash, Judgment Day, Bash, and Armaggedon. How long do you think that is going to last?
3. New TNA Arrivals
So TNA is getting some fresh blood in their ranks with Raven, The Franchise, and Victoria. I always like to see fresh faces in the company, but like most of what TNA does, I do have a beef with what they are doing. Apparently Elijah Burke wrestled Gavin Spears in a dark match this week. Would I prefer to see them two on tv before the ECW originals? Of course. But just the fact that they brought the two youngsters in for tryouts is a pretty good sign that TNA is looking into some better talent.
4. The Talkative Samoan Bulldozer
Great feud so far between Umaga and Punk, and the addition of the strap is pretty cool to add another element to Extreme Rules. Did not expect for him to start speaking though. I'm fine with it as of now, but in October if we end up with The Samoa Talk Show with Umaga...actually that might not be such a bad idea after all.
5. The Hart Dynasty
Would you look at ECW this past week. After nearly two years of talking about it, the Hart Dynasty is in full force. I see nothing but positives for the group. They're all great workers and can bring a nice amount of viewers to Syfy on Tuesday nights. My prediction - Breaking Point in September is in Montreal. Wouldn't it be nice for them to open the show and take the unified titles from the Colons with a dual sharpshooter?
6. TNA Ladder Match Fun
So I've done some thinking. The WWE's last three ladder matches were Edge-Jeff Hardy, Money in the Bank, and Michaels-Jericho. TNA's last three ladder matches were Cody Deaner - Doug Williams, Sojo-Wilde, and I want to say Rhino-Bashir-Shelly. I think the boys up north know how to use a ladder better than the ones in Orlando, just saying.
7. Miz-Cena at The Bash
Lord help us, but I think we are in for that match after Extreme Rules this month. They are doing a super slow build, and I think 99% of the population would rather see this than another Big Show-Cena rematch. It's a nice rub for the former MTV star and I think the WWE is actually doing a good job building the kid from Cleveland. Well done all parties involved.
8. Santina-Vicki-Chavo Garbage
I've been a bit overly generous to the WWE, so let me put a stop to that right now. The only enjoyable part of RAW right now is MVP and Kofi Kingston. The rest, like the Nuggets-Lakers garbage, is horrid. And Santina-Vickie is infuriating to me. Here's my prediction. Beth throws Santina into the mud. Santina backdrops Chavo into the mud, and [s]he sneaks up behind Vickie and pushes her in too. Great wrestling does not ensue...how about putting a Benjamin-Morrison rematch on please.
9. Bringing Up Shaemus
So here's my idea, I've always thought we bring Shaemus up as a heel, but why not a face. How about he comes to Finlay as a protege. The two tag up for a while, and the he eventually turns on him. Who better to learn from than Finlay, and the two could use their Irish heritage as a linking point. A bit of a simple idea, but I think it could work here.
10. Four Random Thoughts
A. I'm still under the impression Tiffany will soon become Swagger's valet and Dreamer will become the next GM of ECW. But truth be told, he would fit in very well in TNA. Raven, Douglas, Tazz, Dudleys, Richards, he might feel just at home there.
B. Oh so I was in Barnes and Noble earlier and took a peak at the WWE Encyclopedia. I was surprised who they put in there. A half page on Gunner Scott? A portion on Muhammed Hassan? Well done WWE factfinders.
C. Interesting comments from Shane Sewell about Booker T. Kinda cool to see someone at least come clean and voice their feelings about the background in TNA.
D. Didn't care much bout EY as a face, and now a heel...still meh. Try something new there and maybe I'll get into the character.
