SPOTLIGHT: BRANDED
By Joel C Croyle on 1/19/2008 5:24 PM
Introduction:
Welcome back Spotlighters to a brand new edition of SPOTLIGHT. In this issue I am going to discuss the ever burning question in every wrestling fans hearts; who has the best brand? I am going to take a look at each of the four main television wrestling shows on each week: Raw, Smackdown, Tna Impact, and Ecw. For each of the brands we are going to look at the key players and angle’s that particular show is giving us. Let’s begin!
RAW
The Top Five Talent:
HHH: He is married to the daughter of the owner of the company, yet does not rest on that laurel and gives it 100% every time he is out there. His move set seems to grow every month or so. He has been part of Evolution, DX and either with or against every other major faction created. He is an eleven time world champion. His promos only seem to get better every week. If there is a downside to the man, it is that he is over used on occasion.
John Cena: Currently he is on the IR list but you can’t talk about RAW without discussing the longest reigning champion of the brand in the last few years. He gives great promos. While he doesn’t seem to have an extensive move set, he still does all the moves really well. Did I mention he can talk? He sells merchandise even when half the population boos him and half love him. He has been part of almost every major angle of the year and let’s not forget, we don’t know what would have happened when Orton was to face him at No Mercy 2007. It might have been that Cena was to carry the torch.
Jeff Hardy: he is arguably the breakout star of 2007 and yet is a veteran. His move set is insane and he seems to be willing to take any risk (I.e. Raw from this past Monday) at any time. He has never been much of a talker though and one has to wonder if putting the belt on him could be a risk. However, his matches more than make up for his verbal assault.
Randy Orton: he isn’t my favorite wrestler and when I speak to my wrestling pals they pretty much agree. I don’t think WWE did themselves any favors putting the belt around his waist. Who knows though, maybe he has drawn money. He can wrestle, that is an undeniable fact. But is he better than the other main eventers on the other brands?
Ric Flair: 16 time world champion. Could be retiring at the grand daddy of them all in 2008. Master of the figure four leg lock and uses it to perfection. Possibly the greatest on air mic talent the worlds ever seen. He is also somebody’s grandfather and is scary sometimes to watch him get hurt in the ring. But he gives the fans a sense of loyalty and we appreciate that.
Other:
The Tag Division
The tag division of Raw is pretty weak. Cody Rhodes and Hardcore Holly make an interesting tag team but still haven’t translated into anything “special†yet... However, I think if WWE creative gave these guys half a chance at a promo they’d sell merchandise. The Highlanders and London and Kendrick seem to be non-existent. Cade and Murdoch were a solid heel tag team but lately have been doing solo acts. The tag division on RAW needs a clean sweep and a fresh start. I will say I like the idea of Carlito and Santino with Maria and it could make for strong TV.
The Intercontinental Division
Jeff Hardy currently holds the IC title yet is in the hunt for the Raw championship. They really should have taken the belt off him and put some emphasis on the title. There are a lot of guys such as Snitsky, Kennedy, and Lance Cade that they could have done something with while making the title an important thing again. Time will tell.
The Women’s Division
It has its ups and its downs. It has some good talent in Candice Michelle and Micki James but they really are the only two who can go and are both faces. Beth Phoenix is one of the worst champions in the history of WWE and it isn’t because of a lack of talent. She has a lot of solid material to work with but she is green. There is no reason why WWE should have given her a title run right now. Ashley, Maria, Jillian and Melina have had some good matches but none of them are currently or ever going to be a Lita or Trish with maybe the exception of Melina.
The Storylines:
When looking at the angle’s of the past few months or so sometimes you just have to shake your head. The retirement storyline with Ric Flair is great but periodically they keep dropping the ball with that. JBL and Jericho ’s affair has been a bit lackluster especially for two amazing, returning, gifted, athletes. If there is anywhere that needs help on Raw it is in the writing portion.
RAW Overall
RAW has great talent. Possibly the best in the entire WWE mainframe. What they don’t have is good undercard feuds or divisions. Many of the promos we hear sound extremely lackluster and rehearsed. Creatively the storylines are dry.
ECW
The Top Five Talent
CM Punk: Most of the crowd doesn’t watch this guy on a weekly basis yet everytime he steps through the curtain people are chanting his name. He has amazing leg work and great submission tactics. He has one of the most impressive move sets and on occasion the guy can cut a good promo. He is an independent guy that is getting himself over and that is a plus in my column.
Chavo Guerrero: The guy is golden on the mic whether he is a heel or a face. He has a great background story and he is easy to integrate into all three of the brands. He is one of the most exciting talents to watch in the ring and he has only gotten better as time has moved on. The guy has dealt with so much tragedy in his life and yet is a beacon of positivity. Simply Amazing.
Yang and Moore : They are two of the brightest stars in the entire wrestling scene yet are on a show with officially no tag title. It makes no sense. Their in ring work is fantastic and everyone they work with such as Miz and Morrison are getting better, Yang is a high risk, low profile performer and could be the next Rey Mysterio if WWE ran with him properly.
Matt Striker: Many people won’t agree that he is a top five guy on any television show but I would say that is a fact. Striker could be the next Bobby Heenan. He is one of the greatest mouth pieces on the planet right now and he can back up what he says when needed in the ring. The guy stood toe to toe with Undertaker last week and had Mark Henry on one side and BDV on the other, yet Striker made everyone look fantastic and he looked like the big man on campus.
Big Daddy V
He is a big man. He also has a tremendous in0ring work rate and has ever since being Mable of Men on a Mission . The guy deserves to be in the spot that he is or maybe even world champion. He doesn’t get half the credit he deserves.
Other:
ECW Overall
There is no other title but the world title on ECW and that hurts them. However, ECW is only a one hour show and they don’t have time for it. They can’t seem to devise good storylines with the exception of Miz and Morrison and Yang and Moore . In that case however, it was a feud that really originated from Smackdown. CM Punk needs a good storyline. They have Kelly Kelly and Laya El, neither can wrestle but they do add some nice T and A to the show. ECW can only get better as time goes on.
Smackdown:
Edge: He is the greatest heel in the wrestling business today. His matches for the most part are must see no matter who is on the other side of the ring. He has had grand feuds with John Cena, Mysterio, Batista, and the Undertaker this past year or so just to name a few. He is high level talent and he is going non stop. He is the premiere world champion of WWE right now and is carrying the name.
Undertaker: he is the Phenom. He carries with him words like authority, veteran, darkness, invaluable, menacing, and some might say, greatest of all time. His matches are always good, sometimes great and in certain cases hard to top. He has been a major player this year on Smackdown and headlined last year’s wrestlemania. He is simply one of the best in the business today
MVP: he is certainly most improved and if Edge wasn’t around would be the greatest heel in the biz. His feud with Matt Hardy (which I hope resurfaces at the Royal Rumble) was to me the greatest feud of the last 3 years until matt got hurt. He has a tremendous amount of talent in the ring but nothing compares to the guy’s vocals. He is just “money, money yeah yeah†on the mic and when he says he is half-man/half-amazing…he can back it up. He is the future of this business
Matt Hardy: Great Worker with a feasible goal of carrying the company on the back in a couple years. He can be used as a singles wrestler; he can be used in the tag division. If they want to put a formidable challenger to the world title in the picture but not give the title to that challenger – you call Matt. He is the go to guy and he is great at it.
Rey Mysterio: He simply is the greatest little big man walking the face of the earth. He is undeniably one of the most charismatic acceptable champions’ in history. He defines the working class hero with a taste of “mama’s boy†thrown in for good measure.
Other:
The US Title Division
This division, because of its current champion, is possibly the best undercard division of any brand. MVP has had multiple good US Title feuds and matches over the last few months and it shows the title itself in a strong light.
The Tag Division
Well, smackdown’s tag titles seem to be drifting over to ECW and that might not be a bad thing except ECW doesn’t have the time needed to make anything good out of that situation. Smackdown has a few good teams - Yang and Moore , Jesse and Festus, and Deuce and Domino can really go. It needs some help though because it seems to be fair weather at best.
The storylines
For the most part I feel Smackdown has very good storylines. The feud between Hardy and MVP was the best this year. Chuck Palumbo and Jamie Noble have been fun. The title hunt with Batista, Rey, Edge and the Undertaker was very good. They sometimes tend to drop the ball though on this program and forget all the major pieces.
Smackdown Overall:
Smackdown every week pretty much gives us really good angle’s and fair wrestling matches. They have a very strong Undercard that usually isn’t involved with titles which tells me that the wrestlers themselves are telling the stories. Fans don’t have to be brought in over a feud over the title.
TNA
The Top Five Talent:
Kurt Angle: If you need to verify his talent go look at Global Impact from January 17th, 2008. His match with Japan ’s great wrestler Yuji Nagata is nothing short of amazing. He is a 12 time world champion. A national and world amateur champion. Several time holder of the IC and tag straps. And if that wasn’t enough he is a verified Olympic Gold Medalist. Oh yeah….and if you need more gas on the fire, he can cut a promo too,
AJ Styles: Possibly the greatest in-ting performer today. He can leap better and faster and with more accuracy than any other main event player. He is magic on the mic and tells a story every time he is in the ring. He makes others look good and that by far is his best trait
Christian Cage: A midcard WWE guy who made himself into a main event star of TNA overnight. He has a great move set and charisma dripping from his nose. He can go with the best of them or lead someone down the right path if need be. He can play face or heel and sometimes both at the same time.
Samoa Joe: The man that should not be. He doesn’t look the part but yet is one of the greatest wrestlers of our age. He is as fast as a cruiserweight and as strong as the Great Khali. And no matter who he is in the ring with he seems to exude the presence of Andre the Giant. Remember – Joe’s gonna kill you.
Booker T: Another former WWE player with great mic skills and an endearing character. He and his wife Sharmell play off each other with precision. He also has a great move set and a move set that he can change anytime. He is a former WWE and WCW champion that always gets the job done
Other:
The X Division
X seems to stand for everything else in TNA but the women and the main event guys. It is a strong division that has great undercard talent like Eric Young and Petey Williams leading the charge. It is strong and capable enough to headline a TNA PPV
The Knockouts
You simply cannot deny that TNA has the greatest female division the world has ever seen. Gail Kim, Awesome Kong, ODB, Miss Jackie, and Ms Brooks are just five of the gals who can get it on and there in lies the difference between the TNA females and those of WWE. Every single female star TNA has can go in any kind of match but in WWE that is not the case. It is what makes these ladies so special
The Tag Team Division
Again, quite simply the greatest in ring tag workers on the scene today. Team 3D, the Steiner’s and VKM take care of making the division have a legitimate veteran legacy. The Motor City machineguns, XXX, Styles and Tomko and LAX prove to the world that the young can dominate if given the chance. It is simply the best Tag division possibly in history.
TNA Overall:
TNA in my opinion has the strongest roster of in-ring talent. What they are missing is two things. They need more talent who can cut a good promo and tell a good story. The other thing they need is better storytelling and writing from their creative department. There are a lot of angle’s that make no sense, too many face/heel turns, and things that just never have a pay off.
In the end:
If you want to watch great wrestling you should watch TNA. If you want a show that might not have the best talent but has good storylines you need to go with Smackdown. If you want to see up and comers applying their craft then watch ECW. If you want a show that is always middle of the road but has the most recognizable faces go with RAW. I personally take the time to watch all four of them and almost always their PPV’s. In the end if I had to pick one I think I’d mark out for RAW but always sneak in TNA.
Till next time Spotlighters!
