Looking Back at Raw Last Night

There’s been a lot of mixed reactions about Raw on Monday Night.  A lot of people were probably expecting yours truly to not like it also.  However, that wasn’t the case for me and I’m going to explain exactly why that is.  First off before I go any further, I want to set the record straight that just because I was fine with Raw on Monday, doesn’t mean it’s one of the best Raw’s that I’ve seen in my entire life because that wasn’t the case.  The reasons that I wasn’t bothered by Raw was because of the fact that I recognized what it needed to be and what it needed to do in being a lighting of the fuse and kicking off the countdown to Wrestlemania and in that regard, the show did its job.  That being said, here’s the breakdown of Monday’s edition of Raw.

Eve’s heel turn while talked about for a while was kind of sudden and I thought that the Bella Twins having some sense of conscious with her about how she used Zack Ryder and planned to use John Cena was confusing and kinda stupid.  However, I give John Cena props because “Broski for a Hoeski” was hilarious and I loved that a lot. Eve’s emotional breakdown was just cruel, sad and tragic that you couldn’t help but laugh at it.  Primo & Epico vs R-Truth & Kofi Kingston didn’t make much sense to me because as much as WWE’s Tag Team division is just suffering, Kofi doesn’t need to be in a tag team and neither does Truth.

Speaking of fillers, we also got a backstage segment between Teddy Long and John Laryngitis complete with the bastard son of Carlton Banks and WWE Dead Weight in David Otunga. This setup for a match between Otunga and Big Zeke.  There real isn’t a whole lot to write about with that match except that it put over Otunga and made Ezekiel Jackson look like a chump with muscles. I get that they’re trying to do some power struggle story between Long and Johnny Ace but it doesn’t mean I like it.  I also don’t like the idea of having one guy run both shows because if you do that, you might as well just merge the brands entirely because otherwise, it doesn’t make much sense. That and people hate seeing Johnny Boy on one show and I want to think that the hatred will increase a hundred fold if you have him on both shows. He may be getting the hang of his character and making something out of it, but he’s not a long term solution and to have him on both shows is over saturation and just plain overkill. It’s a good chunk of the hatred for Michael Cole because you don’t get a break from him. He’s on every show and the people are sick of him.

Taker came out to confront Triple H and the two went back and forth and finally after refusing the challenge, Taker finally hit the right button and Triple H not only accepted the match, but said that it will take place inside Hell in a Cell.  I like this idea and I said that this was the best option for these two as you needed something to make this match stand apart from the last one.  This match has more than enough to do just that, but it needs to be violent, brutal and bloody.  The concept of “Going Down in a Blaze of Glory” comes to mind because this match between the two, there may be no way to top this off and that no match these two can have against each other will topple this one if it’s done the right way. If the streak is gonna end, this is the way for it to end but even if it doesn’t, this could very well cement the legacy of The Undertaker.

Ron Simmons is going into the WWE Hall of Fame.  I have no problem with that and I remembered watching that match where he defeated Big Van Vader and became the first African-American to win the WCW World Title. I remember many guys getting in the ring to celebrate and put the belt around his waist and I remember Dusty Rhodes getting in the ring and raising his arm up before the crowd.  I was also a fan of the APA and I always found them to be entertaining in their segments. I’m not against him being in the Hall of Fame and if anything, it’s truly well deserved.

There are a lot of people who say things about the Divas division and ripping into it.  Kelly Kelly & Aksana vs The Bellas is a good example of why they do such a thing.  Seriously, I’ve always tried my best to not be critical about Diva Wrestling, but the Bellas give me no choice in the matter. I’m sick of “twin magic” and I just feel that they can’t wrestle worth a damn. Kelly Kelly is at least trying and is showing signs of improvement, but the Bellas wouldn’t even have a job if they weren’t twins, and they’re not even the hottest twins. I”m sure you can find any set of twins that are hotter than Nikki and Brie Bella.

I give all the credit in the world to John Cena as I felt that what he said about The Rock was calling his shot and setting up for Wrestlemania. That and I thought “Skank-opottamus” used for Eve was funny as hell. He didn’t have to rap or anything, he just simply called it as is by tearing on the Rock about how he up and left while John Cena stayed put and didn’t forget that he was a pro wrestler. He even went as far as to say that The Rock is not the People’s Champion anymore and hasn’t been for some time. Those were some strong words and it was finally having John Cena strike back at The Rock, something that he had seldom done if at all.

The Battle Royal felt like a filler match for a main event.  We all knew Chris Jericho was gonna win and that he’d be going on to face CM Punk.  There was really no need for it and to make matters worse, you had 3 guys get banged up as Dolph Ziggler took a nasty hit against the announcer’s table, R-Truth got a little banged up and to make matters worse, Wade Barrett ended up getting hurt with a dislocated elbow.  Reports are that Barrett will be about for 6-8 weeks, which means he can kiss Wrestlemania goodbye and the chances of Randy Orton vs Wade Barrett at Mania is not going to happen.  If you had a Fatal-Four Way or a Triple Threat match, either one of those would have been better instead of a Battle Royal full of the losers of the Elimination Chamber matches.  Kofi Kingston even took a nasty dive that could have been a lot worse (That’s Kofi Kingston and not Kofi Rhodes, Cole. Open your ears there, Jackass!)

Bottom line is that this past Raw was to be nothing more than a setup for Maina. The point of this show was to start the countdown and get stories to start in motion for the big event.  It was not a great show but it did what it was supposed to do.

Triple H vs Undertaker One More Time.

That’s right, boys and girls. Tonight it was made official.  Triple H vs The Undertaker in one more match. This time, it will be in what could be the only structure that keep the magnitude of this match in check: HELL IN A CELL!  I had said that this match needed to stand apart from the last match and I felt that the most fitting way to do that would be Hell in a Cell.  Triple H has had more victories in that cage, but Taker has had the more memorable moments in that cage.  Though it’s Wrestlemania, there’s not really a bar set that high in terms of Hell in a Cell at Mania, considering that the last time they did it, it was Taker vs Big Bossman where Taker hung him after the match.  It was needless to say one of the most lackluster of Hell in a Cell matches.  Nevertheless, I see this shaping up to be one of the biggest Wrestlemanias that I’ve seen in a really long time.

I can’t help but look at this match as being the peek for the Undertaker and especially for the Mania streak.  Personally, I don’t want to see this streak come to an end and at the same time, I don’t think there’s anybody left AFTER Triple H.  This will be Taker taking on Triple H at his best in fighting him in a structure where he doesn’t hold back. Before the cage known as Hell In A Cell was crammed into a themed PPV, the cage was known on different occasions for ending feuds. Triple H ended many angles for himself against Kevin Nash, Shawn Michaels, Chris Jericho and Batista.  However, with everything that is being put into this match and the build up, they need to make sure that this match is violent on a scale that matches last year if not surpassing it. Now I’m not saying that guys need to be thrown off the top of the cage or even through the top of the cage. What I’m saying is that it has to be bloody, brutal and maybe see one or both of them go through the side of the cage.

Now, I feel that having this match take place inside the cage is as far as you need to go. No adding outside ring enforcers or special referees because honestly, if the streak is gonna end, than I want to see Triple H do it legit and by legit since Triple H is no stranger to breaking the rules, I mean doing it on his own.  Look if he takes a sledge hammer to Taker, it’s still technically him winning by his own merit.  Triple H wins the match, and his legacy will be complete and the guy will pretty much be immortal.  Something that is kinda fitting for somebody the caliber of Triple H.  The guy has won many championships and wrestled against some very memorable names.  This is really the only thing that he has not accomplished and if he succeeds in beating Taker and ending the streak, he will have literally completed everything that he has done in his career.

Now, if Taker wins the match and makes it to 20-0, there’s nothing more to prove.  The legacy of the Undertaker will be cemented in and will be known as somebody who could never be taken down at Wrestlemania.  He will be known as somebody who took on all comers and the biggest names in the business and overcame all of them. And if he overcomes Triple H, he will have overcome the best the WWE had to offer and the guy who has stood for years at the top as the King of the Mountain in the WWE. This match can serve as a “going down in a Blaze of Glory” and really if there was a match that would fit as a last hurrah for The Undertaker, this would be that match.

So far we have The Rock vs John Cena, Sheamus vs Daniel Bryan, CM Punk vs Chris Jericho, and now Triple H vs Undertaker 3 inside Hell in a Cell.  This is looking to be one seriously stacked card for Wrestlemania.  All we need is to see Money in the Bank return to Mania and for the love of God, do not let Michael Cole wrestle again.

TNA Shows Vince Russo the Door, One Down and Two to Go

NA NA NA NA. NA NA NA NA. HEY HEY HEY. GOODBYE. NA NA NA NA. NA NA NA NA. HEY HEY HEY. GOODBYE.

TNA does the smartest move that they could have done in months. Vince Russo is officially GONE from TNA.  Yes, that’s right. The same guy that gave us the “Last Rights” match and the “Electrified Cage” match, the stupid heel turn of Chris Sabin and God knows the list goes on and on, is officially done in TNA.  I can’t express this enough when I say this but here goes:

YAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Him being let go is not the biggest shock here. The only real shock of all this is that it took this long for TNA to actually do it.   The guy didn’t make their product any better and this is the same guy who played a big part in WCW’s downfall.  Set aside the AOL/Time Warner deal because the fact of the matter is that what company would want to be part of a wrestling product that was clearly inferior and circling the drain? TNA should take notes that if you want your product to work that you don’t hire the guys responsible for bringing one wrestling company to the ground. Eric Bischoff acted like it was own personal ATM machine and Vince Russo tried to be the next Vince McMahon.  And as far as Hulk Hogan, he simply bled the company dry and when the ship started sinking, he jumped ship faster than a rat on the Titanic.

What good has come out of TNA since these guys became part of it? The six-sided ring was taken away and with it, Six Sides of Steel. The King of the Mountain match has become extinct and Ultimate X barely on life-support along with the X-Division itself.  The X-Division is also not even close to what it used to be as it’s now Austin Aries and whoever is left.  Nobody knows who is holding what belt anymore except maybe for Bobby Roode and the world title.  Nobody knows who is holding the tag team titles and when asked about the TV title, the only reaction people have is: “TNA has a TV Title?”

Then you have the talk about Spike TV’s deal with TNA coming to a head in the Fall of this year. Ironically enough, it’s the same time that Hogan and Bischoff’s deals come to an end. I’d say if TNA was smart they’d let those two leave and not re-sign them.  Then again, if TNA was smart, they wouldn’t have re-signed them this past year.  They’d have let them go so they can rebuild, but Dixie Carter seems to think that Hogan is still a draw and Bischoff is still some kind of genius with tricks up his sleeve that we’ve yet to see.  In order, let me say it simply like this:  He isn’t, he’s not and he doesn’t.  Bischoff is still under the delusion or belief, however you want to look at it, that controversy creates cash but the only problem is that Eric Bischoff doesn’t know how to be controversial.  Hell, he doesn’t know how to cut a promo anymore without crowd getting bored within five seconds of it.  And if he’s not doing that, he’s taking the Bill Watts & Erik Watts approach with his own son who nobody gives a damn about and look at it as being force fed like David Flair was to the Nitro crowd. Only difference there is that they didn’t take a prestigious title belt and hand it to him on a silver platter like David Flair was with the U.S. Title in WCW. Then again, give TNA one week and they’ll do just that with one of their belts. Of course, none of their belts have prestige anymore.

Bottom line is that if Spike TV doesn’t sign a new deal with TNA, TNA doesn’t survive. They got lucky when they had Fox Sports and got a new deal with Spike TV. They won’t get that lucky again, especially when back then, they had a product to actually sell.  It may not have been as mainstream as the WWE , but TNA was a lot more presentable and a far better product back then than it is now. They had an X-Division and they had a solid tag team division to rely on.  They don’t have that anymore nor do they have good stories, rivalries or championships that mean a damn.  Neither Hogan or Bischoff care if TNA does go under, they’ll be happy as long as they get the last bit of blood money that the bleed out of Dixie Carter and this company.

Interview with Four Time NWA World Heavyweight Champion Adam Pearce

This past weekend, I had the privilege to talk with NWA World Heavyweight Champion “Scrap Iron” Adam Pearce. Pearce who is currently in his fourth reign as NWA World Champion took time the time to chat with yours truly and talked about his days before wrestling and the many places he’s wrestled in as well as his recalling title win.  Here is the interview conducted on Saturday and you can find Adam and the rest of the NWA Roster on the NWA Hollywood TV Show. Check your local listings to see where it is available in your area and for those on the west coast, you can check it out Sunday morning at 1 am on channel 56 in Los Angeles.  You can also keep up with the stars of the NWA at http://www.nwahollywood.com  Without further a due, here is the interview with “Scrap Iron” Adam Pearce.

Adam Pearce interview

Big thank you to Adam Pearce for his time and for giving me the privilege of interviewing him.

How Much Trouble is The Miz In with WWE?

We all know that The Miz has been in a slump and is nowhere near the level he was at last year when he was the WWE Champion.  When he lost the belt, he started to lose matches, knocked out of the title picture and was even forced back into Tag Team action in an already weakened to the point of flatlining tag team division.  The closest he got to the title picture was a TLC match featuring himself, Del Rio and champion CM Punk.  Then he was back to being on the losing end and getting his ass kicked by R-Truth.  Top that off with Survivor Series having an abysmal butyrate and he’s taking the blame for it.  Last night’s horrible Monday Night Raw didn’t do him any favors and seemed to make things so much worse.

The Six Pack Challenge, the only watchable match on the entire card last night, had The Miz mess up huge by missing his spot when R-Truth did a somersault dive over the top rope. This lead to Truth hitting the ground hard and the back of his head hitting the ground just as hard to the point he had to be taken out of the match.  It couldn’t have gotten worse than a guy being hurt because of him, right? Wrong!  There was horrible miscommunication between himself and Chris Jericho when they were squaring off in that same match. The Miz screwed up and fell when he wasn’t supposed to and you pretty much see the exchange of words between him and Jericho which is something we’re not supposed to see, but needless to say that The Miz was making rookie mistakes in the ring. The problem is that this was on live TV and Miz ain’t a rookie anymore.  He hasn’t been for sometime and considering the position he was in last year when he was at the top, he should be above doing crap like this.

Now, how much trouble is he in? I don’t hold him responsible for Survivor Series bombing because that PPV was not that great to begin with and when you’ve done so little with R-Truth and Miz as a team and you’re hyping them to go against John Cena and The Rock, the match on paper doesn’t give the two a chance in hell against Rock and Cena and just makes Miz and Truth look like lambs being lead to slaughter. As for what happened on Raw, that was a huge screw-up and Miz is lucky that Truth didn’t get hurt worse than he probably could’ve.  As for what happened with Jericho and Miz, Miz should know better than to mess up like that because he’s been in the ring and doing this long enough to avoid mistakes like that and the fact that he was going against a veteran like Chris Jericho shouldn’t have made a difference.   Now the big question circulating around the net and most likely in the forums too is whether or not The Miz is finished with some saying things along the lines of “remember what happened with Mr. Kennedy.”

The circumstances there are different because of the fact that I’m pretty sure that before now, Vinny Mac had serious love for Miz and not so much for Kennedy/Anderson.  Top that off with Kennedy was injury prone and you can say a lot about The Miz but him being injury prone is not one of them.  Miz unfortunately is just the fall guy for the WWE trying to make excuses for the shortcomings of Survivor Series.  They’re simply desperate for an excuse to the PPV lacking. You can’t dodge what happened with Truth though. That incident unfortunately is on him and it’s definitely a mark that he doesn’t need considering his character has already been circling mediocrity.  He hasn’t been in the title picture and hasn’t held any kind of gold much less the WWE or World Title for sometime and his heel character is pretty much getting stale and to the point where he’s not doing anything we haven’t already seen before. While I don’t think that he’s in trouble to the point of getting a pink slip, he’s definitely in trouble to the point where the guy needs to be a complete boy scout. Top that off with he needs to make sure that the next time he’s in a main event whether it’s on a PPV, Raw or Smackdown, that he doesn’t let incidents like this past Raw happen again, but it could be a while before WWE does that again after this past Monday.  The Miz has to be careful from this point on or his next catchphrase can be “I’m the Miz. And I’m….Unemployed.”

Monday Night Raw Pulls a 180

Last week I was ready to crack open champagne bottles and celebrate Raw actually being good for once.  The show started off strong from start to finish and there was solid wrestling mixed in there too. I was happy and I was starting to think that maybe just maybe there was a sign of hope.  That was until I watched tonight’s Raw and tried giving it every benefit of the doubt that I could think of, but it was all in vain.  Even when you don’t compare it to last week’s Raw which did raise the bar pretty high, this was still weak and when you’re counting down and heading to Wrestlemania, the biggest PPV of the year and the biggest paycheck for most of that roster, you’re left with VERY little room for error.

The start of Raw was pretty strong as you had Triple H picking up exactly where Raw left off with last week.  You had Triple H talking about firing John Laryngitis and for some reason they’re continuing that storyline.  Why? I don’t have the slightest clue because honestly I think the ratings were going up in part because people want to see Johnny Boy gone from Raw and off of TV.  You had Triple H clarify that he doesn’t want to fight The Undertaker at Mania again only to have Undertaker with a vignette on the TitanTron issuing the challenge and saying that he doesn’t want the legacy of the Phenom to be him being carried out and that last year’s win over Triple H because of that meant nothing.  He issued the ultimatum for Triple H to give Taker his vengeance and in return, Triple H gets his shot at immortality.  Let’s face it, we all know that is something that The Game would give anything and will go to any lengths to achieve and doesn’t want the one mark on his legacy to be that The Undertaker was the only one that The Game couldn’t stop.  This segment, not the problem for Raw.

You had Big Show vs Daniel Bryan and continuing the whole storyline between the two and Daniel Bryan blaming Big Show for what happened to AJ.  I know I’m not as detailed about this, but I’m pretty sick of this storyline and I’m trying to give Daniel Bryan’s character a chance considering that at least he has one, but this at the moment is pretty weak. Then you had David “Dead Weight” Otunga in street clothes taking on Sheamus. Yeah, way to build up Sheamus following his Rumble win. This match was just like every other they’ve given Sheamus as of late.  It was throwing a porterhouse to a hungry dog. Seriously, if you want Sheamus to be billed a legit contender, stop throwing tackling dummies for opponents.

Chris Jericho’s segment I thought was great as he made his motives known and called everybody wannabes.  Given, I thought using Kofi Kingston for an example was weak.  I’m one of the few that liked when CM Punk came out, had the microphone and said nothing and just left like he was trying to get into Jericho’s head. And it worked because Jericho was fuming over it and Punk just ignored him completely.  It was like Punk’s way of showing how easy it is to do what Jericho did to the crowd with the silent treatment and that as good as Jericho may have been at it, Punk is just simply better. This match is gonna be epic and it’s gonna be a money match. It could end up being the match much like Ricky Steamboat vs Randy Savage at Mania 3, But I’m sure the WWE is hoping that doesn’t happen considering they need The Rock vs John Cena to pay off and work.

Then you have Wade Barrett & Cody Rhodes vs Randy Orton and……The Great Khali. Think really really carefully with this one and tell me which doesn’t belong. Why is Khali in the mix of this and why is he pinning Cody Rhodes? I have said some things about Wade Barrett and I stand by them.  But even he has purpose in the WWE more than the Great Khali. Khali in the whole time he’s been there regardless of titles he has held has been 400 plus pounds of slow moving dead weight.  Even they way he took an RKO was dumb.  Waste of a match and an even bigger waste of the talent in the ring aside from Khali and one huge black eye for Cody Rhodes who is trying to climb up.

John Laryngitis returns and tells Triple H that there will be an announcement made tomorrow on if Johnny Boy stays or if Triple H goes.  IF you listen really carefully you can hear the ratings start to drop.  Shawn Michaels is announced for next week as well as Kane vs John Cena at Elimination Chamber in an Ambulance Match.  Top that off with Triple H threatening John Laryngitis to where it leaves people wondering why the guy doesn’t just knock him on his ass already.  As for the Cena vs. Kane match, you can call it a  stretcher match or ambulance match it is still a street fight and just for show.

You had the six pack challenge with R-Truth getting hurt, Miz botching a move, the announcer botching the announcing and Jericho winning and stealing the match, further building up Punk vs Jericho.  Then you had the whole Kane confronting Eve to further the embrace hate crap.  I’m getting so sick of this angle to the point I don’t even care what Kane has to say anymore and up close, his new mask really does look stupid. At least his old one had some style to it with the scar marks or whatever they were, the point is that at least the mask showed something. This one really doesn’t show much of anything except a half-assed attempt.

How is it that Raw can come off as strong as it did last week and fall so short to where “lackluster” would be a compliment? It’s more than last week being after the PPV.  You can’t afford any Raw to have shortcomings and just be lackluster.  Not when you’re heading to Wrestlemania because every single move that is made heading into that PPV and building up stories counts and the mistakes there are made count just as much and will have an effect.  Last week, we got something different and we got things changing while this week all we got was more of the same that we’ve seen for the last several months.  I thought the WWE was starting to get it and the ratings were up last week and should’ve been enough of a sign. But oh no, we’re back to square one again. Well the nostalgia was fun while it lasted.

Advice for Natalya: RUN LIKE HELL!!!!!

It’s bad enough that the Divas division is treated as poorly if not worse than tag team wrestling in the WWE, but still you have moments where WWE just seems to give stupidity a whole new meaning and exhibit A would be Natalya’s current gimmick. You know what gimmick, it’s the one where she has a bit of a gas problem and as shown this week where she let a few rip, ran to the bathroom and Santino caught a whiff of it and ended up puking in a trash can. Oh the humanity.

There is always stupid gimmicks in wrestling and ones that we wish we could avoid or forget. Some examples would be Avatar (Al Snow), Phantasio, Mantaur, Aldo Montoya (it was Justin Credible with a yellow jockstrap for a mask for God’s sake), Disco Inferno, and of course The Red Rooster. The last two especially because Terry Taylor and Glen Gilberti will never be known for anything else than those two stupid gimmicks and believe me, they’ve tried. Terry Taylor can’t go without people picturing him crowing like a rooster or wearing the stupid headpiece on top of his head. He tried to escape that in WCW as either Terry Taylor, Terrence Taylor or the Taylor-Made Man. None of them worked because the Red Rooster gimmick was his black spot in his wrestling legacy, his death sentence.

Back to Natalya, I thought that the Harts and Neidharts and VKM buried the hatchet. But I guess I’m wrong considering the reactions of Diana Hart-Smith and DH Smith over his firing, maybe this is just blowback for that. That is the only explanation I can think of for why they would label Natalya with this stupid gimmick. I can imagine Vinny Mac laughing about this in a room full of people, but with himself being the only one laughing about it. Chances are that it’s not the first time that’s happened lately. It’s like how he thinks Michael Cole and Booker T’s commentary is innovative (though Booker has gotten better.)

TNA once did a gimmick like this with the Jackass gimmick with Sonjay Dutt, Chris Sabin, and Jay Lethal. It bombed miserably as was proven with trying to interact in the matches with Petey Williams who supposedly drank water with a laxative in it or Sabin vs Senshi and throwing in the rubber woman in place of Sabin. The gimmick was not well received and the fans chanted various things such as “This is Bullsh*t” and “No More Jackass.”. The flatulent Natalya gimmick is no different and there is no way that this will be well received nor will be able to work in a match. Why? Because even if you have the TV crowd hear it through some sound byte or whatever, the live crowd won’t hear it and they will be expected to presume something happened. A strategy that never bodes well in wrestling, ever.

What is the payoff for this gimmick anyway? Splitting up the Divas of Doom? You don’t need that gimmick for that to happen. How about the fact that Beth Phoenix has the belt or that Natalya is always on the losing end while Beth is riding cloud 9? Any of those would be better than this stupid gimmick. Like it wasn’t bad enough when they had Lay-Cool pulling their kindergarten name-calling crap on girls like Kelly Kelly, Melina or especially Mickie James. During her last run in WWE, she was taking jab after jab about her weight and it was not even funny or entertaining. It just made you feel bad for Mickie James and made Lay-Cool look like nothing but a bunch of bimbos. If we wanted to see the “Plastics,” we’d go rent Mean Girls since it belongs in the movie or in high school, not in wrestling.

The sad thing for Natalya is that she can actually wrestle. She is one of those divas that can wrestle and she is being misused and labeled with this godawful gimmick while other divas that can’t are given more of a shot. I don’t think much on Alicia Fox or Eve Torres. Kelly Kelly is still trying but not there yet and the Bellas can’t wrestle to save their own life. Take away the twin magic and they’ve got nothing. Yeah they’re twins but so what? I’ve seen hotter twins than the Bella Twins, much hotter even. Is this really what Natalya wants to be known for? The daughter of The Anvil with a massive gas problem? Things like that will stay with you for a long time. Just ask Lita about her last few years in wrestling. She was one of the divas that helped kickstart things for the Divas Division and she spent the last few years being known as the tramp for the Matt Hardy/Edge incident to the point that when her last match took place, she was still being hit with that and pretty much told “don’t let the door hit your ass on the way out.” it’s a shame and wasn’t right back then and it’s not right for Natalya to be labeled with this stupid gimmick that could end up crapping on her legacy.

My advice to Natalya is to quit. Run as fast as you can from the WWE and don’t look back. You’re a wrestler, not a sideshow act and I can guarantee plenty of places will let you showcase what you can really do. And I can definitely guarantee that you won’t even have to carry some stupid gimmick that will make you look weird or gassy. I know some people would say “it’s her job, it’s what she gets paid to do.” So her job is to demean herself and piss away whatever dignity, pride and self-respect she has? I’m sure some would call that being somewhere along the lines of prostitution, and while I won’t go that far, it definitely falls under the similar lines of selling out your pride and self-respect. And besides, the last I checked, she was a wrestler and not a comedy act so start acting like a wrestler.

“I’m The Miz. And I’m…..” Getting the Short End of the Stick

That’s right, boys and girls. The PPV buys for Survivor Series sucked. The same Survivor Series where CM Punk won the WWE title form Alberto Del Rio. The same Survivor Series that featured John Cena teaming up with The Rock to take on R-Truth and The Miz. So, who does the WWE blame for the PPV tanking? They blame The Miz for it, forgetting the fact completely that the guy fell from grace since losing the belt to John Cena. Seriously, you push the guy to win Money in the Bank in 2010, beat Randy Orton to win the belt and hold on to the belt through Wrestlemania and the second he loses the belt, he can’t stop losing matches and is even thrown back into the tag team picture in a weak tag team division with R-Truth. So is the Miz really to blame or do you blame WWE Creative for being too stupid or lazy or maybe both to come up with something better for the guy?

I didn’t have a problem with The Miz holding the belt. My only problem with him was that he couldn’t win a match on his own. Given the fact that heels are supposed to cheat to win a lot of the time, but sometimes there is that one crazy little moment where you actually have them win a match on their own somehow. Miz didn’t do that in any of his matches with Randy Orton after winning the belt. If it wasn’t Alex Riley helping him out, it was CM Punk and the Nexus attacking Orton. If you want to say that he beat John Morrison on his own, I say to you that “Like they were going to give Morrison the belt in the first place.” If you want to say he beat Jerry Lawler, I say to you “he beat a semi-retired veteran in his late 50’s to early 60’s, so what?” He couldn’t even beat John Cena on his own because the only reason he beat him at Mania was because of The Rock attacking Cena.

Michael Cole was of course the Miz’s biggest cheerleader, but that didn’t help him whatsoever because honestly, it just made it look like one laughable (to the point of being pathetic) man-crush that Cole had for the Miz. Besides, the Miz is capable of getting heat on his own without having the shrieking monkey at the announcer’s table praising his sexuality questioning love for the Miz. There was reports a while back that Vince McMahon saw the Miz as the future and that he had big plans for him. Does the phrase “big plans” all of a sudden mean “plummet to irrelevancy?” The guy hasn’t taste any kind of gold since losing the WWE title and no matter how many times he says “I’m Awseome,” he keeps losing and losing. So that leaves one last alternative that could send the guy right back up: a face turn.

There’s been so much talk about John Cena turning heel, what about The Miz turning face? Mostly because what can you do with him as a heel that we haven’t already seen from him already. Top that off with there has been little to nothing done to push him back into the title picture with CM Punk. Why not turn him face? The crowd already reacts whenever he does his whole “I’m the Miz…” catchphrase and also when he does his whole “Really? Really? Really” bit which is very similar to Ken Anderson repeating his name twice or whatever the hell The Rock ended up saying on the microphone. Will a face turn help revive The Miz and bring him right back up? It couldn’t possibly do any further damage for him.