Instant Feedback: Bearded Giraffes

I didn't expect anything major to happen tonight, being that holiday RAWs rarely ever do anything. I was somewhat wrong, at least towards the beginning of the show, although the end reinforced the notion that nothing ever happens except for standard "faces win out" on these kinds of shows. I guess that's why I could palate John Cena standing tall over both Jack SWAGGAH and Alberto del Rio here. There would be plenty of time next week when more people presumably are watching to give del Rio some shine. Plus, the context surrounding the Swagger counter and tap was pretty good. In the main event, they managed to further one of my favorite stories, Dolph Ziggler and SWAGGAH's rivalry for the affections of Vickie Guerrero. del Rio, who was the other star of the show through his Sean O'Haire-esque backstage segments trying to rally troops to do his bidding for him, played into that as well, planting seeds into Ziggler's head about what Swagger's true intentions for Vickie were. Lost in the trailers for shitty movies and the Triple H/Kevin Nash/CM Punk top storyline spinning wheels, there's a really good midcard angle going on here.

That being said, when one top storyline is glossed over and the other gets the standard SuperCena Über Alles ending, it might seem like a terrible RAW. Let's look at the former now. The show started off with a lacking start, even though Punk did his best to save it. I thought he was much better actually wrestling, which people seem to discount because of the whole PIPEBOMB shtick. We know he's great on the mic, but when he gets people to care about a match with R-Truth that doesn't have a whole lot of context around it other than "Hey, he wrestled his tag partner last week", then that's mastery. I do like Punk's paranoia here concerning Trips' intentions towards Nash, but I think a lot of the peripheral stuff has come off pretty badly. One, the narrative still has Punk coming off as, well, a punk to some of the audience. Two, Trips putting his COO position on the line so soon into the narrative? Maybe I can dig it, but it feels too soon for me, even if I feel like the match itself isn't too soon. Third, if Nash is really gone (and with him getting in Funkhauser's limo in the second segment means he's not, more than likely), then it's been spinning wheels since his reintroduction at SummerSlam. Four, there is no four, only Zuul. Finally, the payoff that Nash was the one who sent the text was lame. Like, beyond lame. It pretty much insisted that he's a main player when he's not, and really, no one watching the show for the last three months buys that Trips, if he's a fair arbiter (and to their credit, he has been portrayed as such), is going to choose a guy who showed up, waltzed in and gave an ultimatum over the guy who has sold out a shit-ton of t-shirts and gotten Trips a lot of positive press, if we can blur the lines between kayfabe and "real" for a moment.

Also, I couldn't help but smile at the video package for Zack Ryder, and letting him get the win to a deafening pop was proof enough for me that the guy has arrived and that the fans do have a voice. When Michael Cole is ripping on a guy, you know they've arrived. Ryder's exuberance with Cena afterwards was really cool too, almost like it was as real as it was supposed to be part of the narrative. I really like a good success story. That being said, the pretense behind the match, that Lawler doesn't like David Otunga and Michael McGillicutty because they have "no charisma", is starting to grate on me. I think I see what all these people who think that "personality" is a funny thing to kayfabe feud over.

Also, the sooner they get Eve out of an active wrestler role, the better. Beth Phoenix may have flubbed the Glama-Slam, but she at least looks like a pro wrestler in there. Eve does not. I do find it funny though that they're using that Katie Raymond article as a talking point on TV. Again, K. Sawyer Paul is a guru at this kind of thing. Speaking of people who shouldn't be on camera? Jinder Mahal and Great Khali suck out loud in the ring. Not even Evan Bourne's masterful bumping could make them look good. Also, when Heath Slater and Randy Orton is a RAW match? Well, let's backtrack on that. It was a decent match. And I get the reasoning for it. However, it's something that might have been better suited for Superstars. Then again, what match would replace it? A Mark Henry squash? No better. Eh, I guess I can't complain, especially since Orton, I feel, has started becoming more comfortable wrestling as a good guy. I really like that he's actually setting up spots, especially his stump DDT, rather than, oops, guy's on the apron, let's drag him in and DDT him. Forcing the setup just looks cool.

But if we're going back to the wrestling, the main event tag match was as good a wrestling match as you'll get on a RAW main event. Just excellent pacing and storytelling all around. I liked the interplay between Ziggler and Swagger, the fact that Swagger got to attain beast mode early on, Sheamus taking out centuries of Irish frustration on the proxy for English oppression, Wade Barrett, and especially the spot where Christian's slap enraged Sheamus so much that it got both of them counted out. Really solid action for a show that was actually better than the impression I gave off on Twitter tonight. It was very much a holiday RAW, but it was a somewhat well-executed holiday RAW. It had its flaws, but I enjoyed it for the most part.

Future Endeavors 9/1 Power Poll: The Game Is King

Green Ant and Tadasuke tangling from King of Trios '10. They tangled again last week and both got rankings.

Welcome to yet another edition of the Future Endeavors Power Poll, a poll ranking wrestlers on a weekly basis based on how awesomely they performed or were portrayed on a Tuesday-to-Monday cycle. It is voted by a who's-who of wrestling bloggers, including my blogging Sergei Bo-Bro-vsky PizzaBodySlam. I will list the top ten, and then post and comment on my ballot. Here goes:

1. Triple H (Last Week: NR)
2. CM Punk (4)
3. Randy Orton (3)
4. John Cena (5)
5. Mark Henry (2)
6. Shemus (NR)
7. The Ghan-Am Connection (Kofi Kingston/Evan Bourne) (6)
8. Kevin Nash (9)
9. Sin Cara (NR)
10. The Awesome Truth (The Miz/R-Truth) (10)

NOTE: I refuse to use the name Air Boom. Brandon Stroud (who got the name actually from Dave Shoemaker and someone named @sweatingmullets... don't ask) had it right the first time.

And now, my ballot:

1. Tadasuke - For winning the Young Lions Cup and continuing to piss off the small, lonely people who have nothing better to do than populate Internet message boards and complain about wrestling in all its forms.

2. Mark Henry - Mark Henry, splitter of wigs, destroyer of worlds. My dream WrestleMania match is now Mark Henry vs. Galactus, which I'm sure Henry would win via World's Strongest Slam and the Death from Above Splash. BECAUSE HE'S FUCKING AWESOME THAT'S WHY SHUT UP.

3. CM Punk - Okay, so he did his best work of the week AFTER the ballot deadline. BFD. He should get ranked in perpetuity.

4. The Miz - Why just Miz and not Miz and R-Truth? Well, to be fair, Truth only came out to get mollywopped by CM Punk post-match.

5. Green Ant - Four wins in five matches, plus he got himself an article written about him by me. What do you mean circular logic?

6. Icarus - How could I vote for Icarus over Randy Orton? Because I can.

7. Sheamus - Fella.

8. John Cena - Y'know what I'd like to see? Cena vs. Icarus. Why? Fuck you, that's why.

9. Daniel Bryan - Stock Daniel Bryan ranking.

10. Drew McIntyre - Yeah, he lost his Superstars match against Bryan, but it was good. Plus, I feel bad for poor Drew. His improvement is inversely proportional to his push.

Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein - Please visit his site to view the plentiful amounts of pictures he's taken for DGUSA, ROH and other indie feds: Get Lost Photography

Punk/HHH Is a Lot of Things, but Not a Hotshot

Is Punk a folk hero or an unlikable dick?
Photo Credit: WWE.com

There were a lot of differing criticisms about the end of RAW last night and the announcement that it would be Triple H taking on CM Punk at Night of Champions instead of Kevin Nash challenging the Straight Edge Savior. The one that seems to come up the most is that it's a hotshot. The announcement was abrupt, yes. They were building towards Punk/Nash since SummerSlam, yes. However, despite all that, this is not a hotshot. If you think about it, they've actually been building to this match since 6/27. Yeah, remember? Doofus son-in-law? Two months, Punk has been taking shots at Triple H, and for the most part, Trips took the shots in humor. Last night was his breaking point. There's nothing to suggest that this was the hotshot.

Now, that doesn't mean it's a good idea. Again, if Triple H was the endgame for Night of Champions, why misdirect with Kevin Nash of all people? Maybe it was a way to get everyone's hopes depressed for the prospect of Punk having to carry his 51-year old carcass around the ring for an extended period of time to the point where Trips would seem like an improvement. While there's reason to believe that this was the story all along (although the reasoning on the surface seems flimsy at best), it comes off so much like swerve storytelling, stuff that gets a company like Impact lambasted (rightfully so, by the way).

Secondly, and most importantly, the narrative is screwed up. How's Punk getting underneath Trips' skin. He's insinuating that his wife keeps his balls in her purse. While that's good for occasional ball-busting among friends in a fratboy douchebag sort of way, the longer it's kept up, the more people are going to want to see Trips deck Punk, not for Punk to prevail over his "evil" boss (who's totally not being portrayed as evil).

Again, the story isn't flawed because it's being rushed. Hardly. Unless the endgame is Punk/Trips at WrestleMania, then a two-to-three PPV arc between the two should start right now if that's the case. Hell, it could end up that the two bury the hatchet and join forces because they're being set up by whoever it was who sent the text to Nash in the first place. The story is fatally flawed because it's a bad story in the context of the direction they've set forth.

Punk is supposed to be a folk hero, right? While this course he's on makes him a folk hero by the very definition of the word, those kinds of niche characters don't get over the way that wrestling characters are SUPPOSED to get over. Wrestling caters to a specific audience, and usually the kinds of people who gravitate to a caustic troll (which is what Punk's character is) don't gravitate to wrestling. Steve Austin was a folk hero, but he was an oxymoronic folk hero who had broad appeal. He raged against his corrupt boss. Triple H hasn't proven himself corrupt, so Punk comes off as a dick. Yeah, he's a dick who got screwed over, but until/unless Triple H is revealed as a liar, the more he goads the Game, the more he seems like he deserves to get screwed.

But as badly framed as the narrative is, it's not too soon for a match between the doofus son-in-law and the pipebomb-wielding future star of the company. To call this a hotshot is to do the same thing that people accuse WWE of doing all the time, ignoring longer-term history. That doesn't mean you have to like the story, but at least be honest in criticizing it instead of using smark buzzwords to frame an argument that doesn't fit the thing you're raging against.

Instant Feedback: Super Dud

It appears brand extension has ended with a whimper rather than a bang, or at least it's been put on hold. Funny, but it makes almost total sense for it to end this way, because it seems some old habits are hard to break. Tonight's show seemed like a placeholder in every sense of the word, but instead of those places being held being current, they felt like they were out of a RAW from last year rather than this year. I understand that it's not really feasible to expect them to launch it out of the park every week, but tonight more than any other show between Money in the Bank and now felt like regression.

For one the sense of dread that I had when CM Punk and Kevin Nash were officially announced to have a match at Night of Champions actually materialized. I thought I'd be alright with it, but really, Kevin Nash wrestling in 2011 is just a losing proposition anymore. So you'd think I'd be alright with them switching out to Punk/Triple H, right? Well, only slightly. From a match quality standpoint, it works, but I don't know. I'm starting to get flashbacks to late 2010 with them rushing the story again. Punk/Trips feels like something that could be stretched out a bit, but then again, I get the feeling that after Night of Champions, the two are going to be aligned. Call me crazy...

Also, no Alberto del Rio on the show? C'mon now. I want to know how you're going to have a supershow and not have the WWE Champion. I don't know. I really don't know about most of this show. IT was just so confusingly and befuddlingly boring and uneventful. Like, how am I going to comment on something that felt so warmed over? Then again, at least the wrestling was good. It's a big saving grace, and I'm glad that they are really focusing on providing a decent in-ring product. That being said, if you make me feel like I'm wasting my time out of the ring, then it's just so draining as a fan. Ugh.

Future Endeavors 8/24 Power Poll: ...BAAAAAHT Chu Already Knew That

TAKE THAT CAPITALIST AMERICAN PIG
Photo Credit: WWE.com

Welcome to yet another edition of the Future Endeavors Power Poll, a poll ranking wrestlers on a weekly basis based on how awesomely they performed or were portrayed on a Tuesday-to-Monday cycle. It is voted by a who's-who of wrestling bloggers, including my blogging Bro-nan the Bar-bro-nian (credit Vince Mancini of Film Drunk), PizzaBodySlam. I will list the top ten, and then post and comment on my ballot. Here goes:

1. Alberto Del Rio (Last Week: 1)
2. Mark Henry (NR)
3. Randy Orton (3)
4. CM Punk (2)
5. John Cena (4)
6. The Ghan-Am Connection (Kofi Kingston and Evan Bourne) (credit: Brandon Stroud) (NR)
7. John Morrison (NR)
8. Daniel Bryan (8)
9. Kevin Nash (9)
10. The Awesome Truth (The Miz and R-Truth) (NR)

And now, my ballot!

1. Alberto del Rio - He makes the cross armbreaker look suave.

2. El Generico - Your 2011 Battle of Los Angeles winner. No word yet on whether he'll be entering any other events named after Rage against the Machine albums this year or not.

3. Mark Henry - He threw an Uso onto Booker T. OF COURSE HE'S GOING TO BE HERE.

4. CM Punk - Mostly for how stylishly he wore del Rio's scarf after the match.

5. John Cena - I would have docked him for openly exposing del Rio as a gimmick, but he won me over in the main event. Also, because I don't vote on this thing like I'm Bryan Alvarez with a log wedged up my ass about shit like that.

6. Daniel Bryan - Stock Daniel Bryan ranking.

7. Evan Bourne - America > Ghana, that's why

8. Kofi Kingston - But I guess Ghana's snazzy too.

9. Shawn Vexx - He beat Jerry Lynn in Texas this past weekend, and I quite enjoy it when young men beat the crap out of our senior citizens.

10. Arik Cannon - Defeated Steve Corino at the AAW main event this weekend. However, I'm not sure if he avoided the Thumb in the Bum, so I can't rank him any higher than 10th.

Instant Feedback: EAT SHIT LOGAN

So, did anyone else catch the not-so-PG sign in the crowd during the Alberto del Rio/John Morrison match? It made me giggle.

Anyway, yeah, the main event stuff tonight was hit or miss for me. Punk seemed off on his promo game tonight, but at the same time, you can't expect a guy to spit each week at the highest level. That being said, Punk at B+ is better than a lot of guys at their A+++ material, so it's okay. Here's what I liked about the main event angle. I loved the Cena/Punk match, up to the finish. I liked that Nash pulled a slick outsmarting move to get Triple H out of the building. What I didn't like? I didn't like the segment in the middle where Nash and Trips confronted each other. I didn't like the finish of the main event. It's not that Cena won at all. I think it's par for the course. Neither guy can seem to put the other away without help. I think it sets the stage for the ultimate showdown, maybe at Hell in the Cell. What I didn't like was the tired "distract the loser" finish with Nash distracting Punk. I feel like they do this too much. I'm in the middle on the opening segment. So yeah, there's that.

I also almost (and probably should have) fast forwarded through the Divas match completely (I started late because I was putting together a crib... FUN!). Also, Morrison has the worst strikes ever, really. He fooled me against Sheamus last year, but mostly because all he was doing were punches. Break anything else out and he sucks. Those lariats... good God, Stan Hansen in 2080 is rolling over in his grave every time Morrison breaks one of those out. And the Jack Swagger/Alex Riley match was subpar.

That being said, a lot of what went down tonight was fucking awesome. The Tag Pennies match was pretty good. Yes, I'm pretty high on the Nexus as a tag team, although I'm psyched that Evan Bourne and Kofi Kingston have them the belts. Aside from the actual match, I'm excited about the prospect of either an alliance between Swagger and Dolph Ziggler or, where I want it to go, a feud where we'll get fucking awesome matches with a lot of amateur influence and great counters and I have to stop writing about it because I'll start fantasy booking and I don't want to do that right now because I'm tired.

The Miz/R-Truth dual promo was so, so, SO FUCKING AWESOME that I couldn't stop smiling. Both men proved they could hang with Punk in the blurring of the edge, and both guys just delivered. They're a perfect duo, with Truth bringing the absurdity and Miz being the intense straight man. Man, I want to see more of these guys.

So yeah, there were a few really big spots on RAW tonight, but it was an overall uneven episode. That being said, the main event narrative can't be awesome every week, but overall, I'm still on board.

The One Where TH Brings up Nitro Parties

Photo Credit: WWE.com

Fair to Flair Episode 8: He's Got Great Hair

It's my Fair to Flair podcast debut! I join Razor of House Kick-Out!!, Jason Mann and K. Sawyer Paul to discuss SummerSlam, Alberto del Rio, a little bit about Matt Hardy and somehow, Nitro Parties and Kevin Nash's hair. It's a quick jaunt comparatively speaking to the other FtF podcasts, but it's got some nice discussion. LISTEN!

Future Endeavors 8/17 Power Poll: Quick Turnaround, This Time!

CHAMPION! ...baaaht, chu already knew that
Photo Credit: WWE.com

Welcome to yet another edition of the Future Endeavors Power Poll, a poll ranking wrestlers on a weekly basis based on how awesomely they performed or were portrayed on a Tuesday-to-Monday cycle. It is voted by a who's-who of wrestling bloggers, including my blogging Khal Bro-go, PizzaBodySlam. I will list the top ten, and then post and comment on my ballot. Here goes:

1. Alberto Del Rio (Last week: NR)
2. CM Punk (1)
3. Randy Orton (5)
4. John Cena (2)
5. Christian (3)
6. Cody Rhodes (NR)
7. Wade Barrett (NR)
8. Daniel Bryan (6)
9. Kevin Nash (NR)
10. Kelly Kelly (NR)

And now, my ballot!

1. Alberto del Rio - Who knew it'd take cashing in Money in the Bank, opening RAW with one of the swarthiest displays of cockery ever and having a legit Match of the Year candidate with Rey Mysterio to knock CM Punk from the top spot?

2. CM Punk - Any other week, "omg Kevin Nash? wtf, I thought he was dead lol" would have landed him at #1.

3. John Cena - He had a tremendous match at SummerSlam, got his foot on the ropes and then when TrollFace asked him "u mad?" he was all like "YEAH I REAL MAD!" In fact, he was way madder at Alberto del Rio for cashing in than the guy who ended up as his victim did.

4. Mark Henry - He won HOSS FIGHT 2K11, so he gets this spot. I'm pretty sure that what he did to Sheamus at the end of that match constituted a wig splitting, don't you think?

5. Jay Lethal - He caused an inception moment between me and Cameron Riley. Oh yeah, and won the ROH TV Title. But yeah, INCEPTION *BRAAAAAAAAHM*

6. Wade Barrett - RED BELLY got some of his mojo back with a win over Daniel Bryan in what was probably the finest match of his career. Yep, the funniest thing I have to say about this is the year-old meme that I created and am the only one to really use. THEY CAN'T ALL BE GOLD.

7. Kelly Kelly - She not only got through her match with Beth Phoenix without embarrassing herself or mortally wounding either herself or her opponent, but she actually looked good. Maybe next, she'll wrestle a 60 minute Iron Woman classic with Akira Hokuto at Differ Ariake? Okay, baby steps.

8. Jack Swagger - Deal with a sandbagging rookie and then afterwards, mack on some cougar action back stage? Pffft, NBD for the All-American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American American.

9. Daniel Bryan - Stock Daniel Bryan Ranking ®

10. Nigel McGuinness - He came back to ROH after being used up and spit out by Impact. If he had decapitated broadcast partner Kevin Kelly and put his head on a pike afterwards? He'd have gotten #3 easy.

I Want Seth Mates to Book the Punk/Trips Storyline

Under Mates' plan, we'd see a lot more Big Sexy
Photo Credit: WWE.com

Seth Mates is a former WWE Creative Team member. He took to Twitter to criticize the main angle with CM Punk, Triple H, Kevin Nash and such as "messy", saying simplicity is the key. He then went into how he'd book the whole thing. It's really quite brilliant. Here are the links to his Tweets, and here's the whole thing transcribed:

Here's a thought on where I'd go with the story, if these are the pieces in place. Reveal Nash as the Raw GM and bring in HBK for SmackDown. Keep Stephanie as HHH ally. Then [d]o a seg w/HHH, Nash, Michaels, Steph in ring. HHH cuts promo about Shane leaving WWE, Linda running for Senate (ha!), Vince pushed out, then HHH says "and now plan comes to fruition. After years, I have what I need - the company is mine. And Stephanie - you're fired! Story is, HHH/Michaels/Nash been collaborating for years to screw McMahons & steal [the] company, strategically getting rid of 1 McMahon at a time, [l]eading up to HHH firing his own wife and taking full control with each of his buddies running one of the shows. They mess with Punk b/c he represents everything they hate -- and he becomes the white knight and savior of company.

Yeah, that may be fantasy booking, but it's good fantasy booking from a guy who used to be in the business. This wouldn't be the only satisfying conclusion to the story, but I think it'd be the best way to set up a complex authority figure structure. Granted, it would very much depend on the authority figures wrestling, and HBK could balk at that. That being said, he could easily be replaced by Sean Waltman, who proved at King of Trios he could still go.

I could also see where this is problematic as well, but it has promise. I really like the way he thinks, at least regarding this angle.

Last Night's Epic Line in .gif Form

Via Dead N---- Storage Via Flubby

Seriously, there's no one better than CM Punk right now. NO ONE.

Instant Feedback: OMG Kevin Nash WTF I Thought He Was Dead LOL

After Kevin Nash cost CM Punk the Undisputed WWE Championship last night, I know I was looking forward to the promo confrontation tonight. It had to happen. Nash was one of the savviest talkers in this sort of environment, and Punk, well, Punk's been proving it every week save one for the last two months. So yeah, I was a bit disappointed with the way Nash didn't show up. Punk ran circles around him, which is okay given that Punk makes everything alright, y'know?

That being said, I liked the way the segment played out. While Nash's delivery was rusty and his "shooty" material felt the most Russo-ish of the insider stuff, I thought nearly everything else surrounding it was interesting. Johnny Ace and Nash as cohorts was a wrinkle that I saw coming, but still welcomed. Stephanie's continued existence is troubling a bit, since I'm still unsure whether she can keep her raging ego in check, but it makes sense.

However, the undisputed star of this show was Alberto del Rio. His promo at the beginning (after shooing Triple H from the ring after a record low seven minutes of promo time) was amazing. People like to knock him for being one-dimensional or "comedic" or whatever, but he's a swarthy, cocky dickhead who just fulfilled his destiny. That gave his promo so much weight, and it was mollified by his awesome facial expressions and body language. One-dimensional? If he's like this in August 2012 or '13, maybe, but right now, he's still technically in his rookie year. It's his first act, and what a first act it's been.

His match with Rey Mysterio was great too. Man, those two don't have bad matches with each other. They really played up Mysterio's title history, and it really put an air of uncertainty on the match. Mysterio took a big bump across the guardrail, and then del Rio said "Heeeeeyy, I can do better!" and leaped out of the ring on a spill of his own. The finish was utter brilliance too. Mysterio landed a 619, making everyone think he was going to win, and then the counter to the Tadpole Splash (lol, love that call) was just the best way to end the match. Seriously, anyone who says WWE doesn't give you wrestling is full of shit.

The post-match stuff worked for me too. John Cena, although many could say that he was hypocritically (although could that be the point?), spat fire, and it was intense and effective.

Of course, RAW wasn't all peaches and cream. Specifically, the Riley/Swagger match segment was dreadful. Vickie Guerrero and Dolph Ziggler bickering didn't click for me (although I appreciated where it was going). Dumping on JR was lame. The match sucked, and yeah, Riley clearly sandbagged Swagger at the end. Credit to Swagger for handling it like a pro and still coming out looking all beast mode, but still, Riley is either a dick (not likely) or just showing how green he is still (more likely). I will say this; the finish of that match made me appreciate that they're maybe going for a Swagger/Ziggler feud in the near future with Swagger moving in on Vickie in the next segment.

All in all, a solid if unspectacular show. They still kept me interested, and the main event was boss though, so yeah, it was more win than loss for me.

Big Sexy Destiny: WWE SummerSlam 2011 Review

I did not see this one coming in the least, did you?
Photo Credit: WWE.com

Personally, if you laid out all the finishes to SummerSlam that I thought would happen, I didn't think in a million years that Kevin Nash, acting apparently independently of Triple H, laying out CM Punk after he had questionably defeated John Cena to unify the titles to set up Alberto del Rio cashing in his Money in the Bank contract, would be the end game. Given all the agita that some folks on the Internet were giving themselves over this, the fact that Triple H's biggest impact in this match was him putting over the importance of having a title, i.e. putting Cena and Punk over his own supposed MO, should be the biggest relief in the world to those who thought he'd end up jizzing all over the ring, and I'm left feeling much easier about things going forward. With all that being said, SummerSlam was a damn fine PPV, and a fitting follow up to the white hot Money in the Bank.

Let's start from the top, after LEGENDARY guitarist Adam Jones played the National Anthem, we were treated to a surprise match. Miz came out, doing his best dime store Rock impression. I like Miz a lot, but c'mon son, you're better than that. That elicited R-Truth, which then elicited Alberto del Rio, and boom, there was team #1 for the six man tag. The faces, John Morrison, Kofi Kingston and Rey Mysterio came out with no real promos or frills. That's how I'd describe this match, at least for the first part of it. There was good tag team work from both squads, which leads me to believe that there's good potential for a tag division if WWE would get their heads out of their asses to build one and not wait for the Kings of Wrestling to magically save them. Oh well.

Anyway, there was a really good bit of cohesive spot-fu here by Kingston and Morrison against their heel counterparts, mainly Miz. The Awesome One tried a hair pull takedown on that hippie Morrison, but JoMo countered with a mock Pele kick. At another point, Miz and Kingston were tangled together, with the former going for his Skull Crushing Finale and the latter segueing into the SOS for a two count. The end sequence probably had the biggest firework display from Kingston of them all. Mysterio went for a double 619 attempt on Miz and Truth, but Miz slipped away, leaving Truth to take the brunt of the kicks. Thinking he was home free, Miz turned around only to see Kingston leaping at him from the top rope to the outside of the ring with a splash. When I tell you that Kofi got mad air on this splash, the guy got MAD FUCKING AIR. Rey finished off Truth in the ring with what friend of TWB and fellow PPV-watcher Jesse Draham termed the "tadpole splash", and the PPV got started off with a high note.

Between matches, we got our first Punk sighting of the night, sarcastically acquiescing to John "Funkhauser" Laurinitis' request for an apology, and encountering Stephanie McMahon for the first time since he called her idiotic in Vegas. She wished him luck, although Punk was skeptical. Afterwards, she offered her hand, but Punk "knew where it's been" and refused. Awesome segment. Seriously, there is no better all-around performer in all of wrestling right now than Punk. Steph was tolerable here too. I'd say if she didn't shriek and took more of a neutral character like her husband is right now, then I wouldn't mind her back on WWE TV on an occasional basis. Yes, I just wrote that. No, I don't know why you're all coming at me with pitchforks and torches. Was it something I said?

The second match of the evening was HOSS FIGHT 2K11, aka Mark Henry vs. Sheamus, and it was probably my second favorite match on the card. When you get two big guys in the ring like that, the tendency is for slow, plodding and boring. I think with Sheamus in there, you get a new breed of big guy. He's so much crisper, so much stiffer-looking and has an agility that most guys his size don't possess. Henry's got athletic qualities too, even if they're more understated.

That's why this match worked. Sheamus clubbed hard with his strikes, and Henry moved around the ring, acquitting himself just fine. There was one point in the match where Sheamus was resting over the second rope in the classic 619 position, and Henry charged in like a locomotive at full steam, leaping in a Big Bossman-style hip attack, only he went through the ropes and to the floor. Christ, it was a mean looking attack. Sheamus looked the part of a mold-breaking wrestler, showing his strength at one point breaking out of a Canadian backbreaker by Henry by ripping his arms apart, and then his agility at another, flying from the top with a big shoulderblock. The finish of the match is what made it for me though. It was a countout, but it was such a well-done count out and one that made so much sense that I feel like it was the only right way to go. The two were brawling around on the outside when Henry scooped up Sheamus, slammed him against the ringpost and then barreled through the guardrail, busting a giant hole through it, leaving Sheamus in the wreckage. Henry struggled back to the ring, but Sheamus couldn't answer the bell and was counted out. See, that's the kind of countout finish I can dig. The visual of the rail breaking open was way cool, and it would make sense that an impact that broke steel, padding and other hard materials would take Sheamus out for at least 10 seconds.

While I was left with a positive imprint of the PPV to this point and for the most part thereafter, SummerSlam was not without its glaring flaws, and they all seemed to be compressed within the 20 or so minutes between HOSS FIGHT and the Divas Championship match. The sequence went as such where there was a commercial for a fucking movie, Cee-Lo Green performing and then ANOTHER commercial, this time for Slim Jim. First off, I pay $44.99 plus taxes and fees so that I get wrestling, resolution, banter and the occasional WWE hype piece. The reason for the payment is so that I, and everyone else, aren't bogged the fuck down by idiotic commercials made by terrible companies with terrible ad departments (for the most part). If you're going to have advertisements during PPV, then for Christ's sake, don't charge $45-$55+ per buy.

Secondly, and I'm going to try and be as fair to this as possible because he wasn't terrible, but I think Cee-Lo's performance here is the big reason why televised wrestling and live music don't mix. Again, he wasn't bad, and I realize that the wrestlers all marked out like schoolchildren to have him there. Punk, William Regal and several other wrestlers Tweeted things about how awesome it was to have him there. In theory, the live crowd probably should have dug him too. However, there are a lot of things that work for a live crowd that don't play off well for the audience at home. Dance-offs on RAW fall in this category. Talent shows are another. Singers performing stand-alone at a wrestling event? They definitely fall into this category.

The strange thing was though, the live crowd didn't even eat this up. Even during its deadest during the matches, they were still able to generate some buzz for each match. Aside from the random lip-syncing girl in the crowd they panned to, no one really seemed to be into Cee-Lo. It's a shame, because he's a higher caliber performer than, say, the Chris Warren band or even Kid Rock (whom I think with his last album or two has turned into an alright singer, but he definitely appeals to a wrestling crowd more than Cee-Lo). And I kinda dug him. But at the same time, it didn't feel right to me, and I'm not sure I was the only one who felt this way.

The Divas Championship, as I mentioned before, was next, but a funny thing happened. It wasn't a murderific squishy-squash, but it wasn't terrible either. Either Kelly Kelly got better by osmosis of being in there with Beth Phoenix, or maybe Kelly just needed more of a stage and a better opponent than, say, Brie Bella, to ply her wares. I don't know, but this was actually bordering on a good match. A lot of it had to do with Phoenix openly mocking Kelly's moves, especially the stink face, which I thought was a great bit of dickery. A lot of it had to with Kelly's bumping, it being really the only thing she does well. I thought the flash pin coming out of the way-too-long setup for the Glama-Slam was a really good finish too. I don't think this was meant to be the finish to the feud, and with it starting a couple of weeks prior, I didn't think it should have been either.

Back to the back, Stephanie was shown coming out of Cena's locker room to throw in a bit more drama. Then, another commercial. ANOTHER FUCKING COMMERCIAL GAWD ASDFKASfda;sdfh... this time, that godawful Twix spot with the two cops singing the theme song from Mannequin. At this point, I thought we'd see a commercial for Suits or In Plain Sight or whatever other formula drama USA Network was coming out with next.

Daniel Bryan and Wade Barrett would be the next match, and it was a fine match indeed. Then again, it's Daniel Bryan. He could have wrestled Moppy to an adequate at least match, and Wade Barrett is hardly Moppy. I don't know if I was the only one who picked up on this or not, but towards the beginning of the match, it felt like both guys were channeling the World of Sport and Johnny Saint with the escapes and the grappling sequences. As someone whose memory is still fresh with Chikarasaurus Rex and the wonderment of Saint, Johnny Kidd, Colt Cabana and Mike Quackenbush, I thought that was a great little sequence, almost an Easter egg for folks like me who are familiar with the style.

It was clear that Barrett, who still needs some seasoning to me, had a great rapport with Bryan last night, but again, it's Bryan. Still, some guys look better in there with the erstwhile Best in the World, and this has been the best Barrett has looked ever in a WWE ring. It was the little things, really, like his almost seamless reaction to Bryan's matrix-in-the-corner escape into a waiting Black Hole Slam, or the fact that Bryan had to resort to crawling between Barrett's legs to escape him. I really liked his slingshot backbreaker too. It was innovative offense without really needing to make things complex. Obviously, Bryan brought his A-game too, but does he ever not come ready to dazzle? I loved the sequence out of the first Wasteland attempt where Bryan went from the guillotine choke into the LeBell Lock, into the KICKS~! after the rope break. Seriously, watching Bryan wrestle is the major perk of being a fan right here and right now.

I thought the finish was really well done too. You had Barrett in the corner, ready to take a Frankensteiner from the top, and then he just shoved Bryan onto the ropes. Crotching Bryan would have been good, but they went the extra mile by having Barrett clothesline Bryan off the ropes before going into Wasteland. Really slick match. I want to see more of this, and if Barrett is going to be in the main event without needing Money in the Bank, then he really should work more with Bryan so he can get a bit of a shine on him. They got del Rio acclimatized to WWE by having him work with Mysterio, so why not let it work with another guy they have big plans for?

The World Heavyweight Championship NO HOLDS BARRED match was next on the docket, and Christian had some words for Randy Orton. He brought out his insurance policy, Edge, who got a pretty decent pop. There was a love-in at first, but then Edge started berating Christian for his whiny behavior as of late. Anticipating the swerve with promo swerve... it was so meta. A lot of people thought this was the match of the night, and I'm not going to sit here and say that it wasn't a good garbage brawl. It was. I enjoyed a lot of it, but at the same time, parts felt needlessly excessive, and I didn't feel like Orton took enough big bumps to really put the match in doubt. I mean, three tables were broken. All three of them had Christian going through them. Yeah, Orton took a few Kendo stick shots, but at the same time, he dished out a bunch of them too. The Con-Chair-To was foiled. Christian took the stump DDT on the trashcan, the flip onto the steel steps on the outside and the big finish with the RKO on the steps. Orton really came out of the match unscathed.

Now, I'm not one to harp on a guy looking stronger than the other guy because that's pedantic and I fucking hate when people judge their enjoyment of a match based on parity. That being said, the story didn't draw me in nearly as much as it might have if Orton's health and well-being was put into jeopardy more than just taking a random Kendo shot or the Killswitch. People complain about John Cena being SUPERCENA, but Orton as the destroyer of worlds doesn't draw me in all that much. Remember when I talked about vulnerability being key for a good performer? Orton didn't put that vibe out for me, and he really hasn't for a good long time now. So yeah, he'll have good matches, even great ones, but it's times like these where he really hampers himself with the lack of big spots he takes. The no-DQ match was a perfect place for Orton to show that he could really generate something more than a pop for his RKO. He didn't. That's why this, for me, was maybe my fourth favorite match on the card rather than my favorite.

And now, after a shot with Stephanie giving Trips a good luck smooch, it was time for the main event. This is the match that is going to be dissected the most by everyone who watched and even those who didn't care to tune in at all. Cena and Punk had a very, very tough act to follow, but I thought that if any two guys in WWE right now were up to the task whose names weren't Bryan, it was these two. I thought Cena's entrance was really cool in turning to the camera and waxing about how this was the arena where it all got started for him. I thought it was really cool. The crowd, which was on the quiet side most of the night (although they were hot for certain guys, more on that later), came alive for this match, going into the "LET'S GO CENA/CENA SUCKS" routine every chance they could. It was so weird, there were barely any "CM PUNK!" chants, although he got a lot of the positive cheers for things he did. It was almost like this match was a referendum on Cena more than anything else. Something to chew on.

Anyway, the match at the beginning felt like it was your standard feeling-out process. Lots of headlocks and whips, strikes and rope-runs. Actually, I felt like most of the story revolved around how evenly matched the two were, even as they went deeper into the match. Case in point, Cena went for the Five Knuckle Shuffle, and Punk, like he did at Money in the Bank, went to kick Cena in the head. Cena, knowing that the counter was coming, blocked it and segued into the STF. That was brilliant storytelling. That was brilliant wrestling. That set off a stretch where guys were countering and countering and countering some more with some damn good submission wrestling from both men until Punk, while in the Crippler Crossface (!), gained the ropes.

The moment of the match for me came when Punk hit his plancha to the outside. This was the only spot in the match where Triple H stood out to me, and it was for the right reasons. Punk nailed Cena with his suicide dive, and then there was a double countout tease, mainly because Punk hit his face flush against the rail. Trips got to 9, and then said "fuck it". He decided he wasn't going to let the match end on a BS double countout, so he fetched both Cena and Punk. This interjection was positive because it ensured we were going to get a true winner. Trips got involved, yeah, but it was in a way that put the other guys over, put the match over. I dug it a lot.

From there, we went into a prolonged sequence of finishers and big spots. Punk and Cena traded strikes in BOO!/YAY! crowd reaction format. Punk got a majority of the YAY! cheers. There were a bunch of AA teases, a few GTS teases. Each guy kicked out of each other's finisher. At one point, Cena slickly countered Punk's springboard dive into a STF, something that I didn't think could be humanly possible. Punk elicited a "Randy Savage!" chant with a flying elbow from the top. Then, Punk just started laying into Cena, getting a buisaku knee to the gut, a few more kicks and a second GTS for the pin. Cena got his foot on the ropes, yes, which I thought at the time would be the source of controversy going forward, but Trips shrugged it off. Punk won, and all was right with the world. Hell, he even refused to shake Triple H's hand. SummerSlam would end with a happy ending...

...but then Kevin Nash came out of the crowd and all hell broke loose. A clothesline and a Jackknife powerbomb later, and Alberto del Rio comes in to cash his briefcase with a glimmering warlock and the 1-2-3.

This is the point of contention where most people will bicker as to the worth of this event. Personally, I loved it, and I'll tell you why. One, Nash's involvement, and then Triple H's bewilderment over it, gives the ending so much doubt and so many directions where they can go. Nash and Trips have a long history, and not just in character either. In fact, I'm not sure how far back their in-ring characters go. This was very much a wink-nudge moment that this top story has been built upon ever since Punk sat Indian style on top of the stage in Las Vegas and "spoke his mind". Secondly, it preserves both Punk and Cena as three-dimensional, rootable characters and gives an external villain for either of them to chase. Thirdly, it allowed for Triple H to have a moment at the end of the event without overshadowing anything. Fourth, it was genuinely shocking and at the same time, it still felt fresh.

All in all, I thought this show was a GREAT SUCCESS. It had its problems - the commercials and having Stephanie McMahon there almost superfluously being the worst - and it didn't really have that special atmosphere that Money in the Bank did (but then again, that's a minor quibble since MitB '11 is in at least the top five if not top three WWE shows since 1996). That being said, there really were not patently offensively bad matches, there were some great moments, and I thought the end, though admittedly polarizing, was memorable and sets up so many great options for storytelling going forward. Yeah, maybe Punk winning should have gotten more breathing room, but then again, he got his super happy ending in Chicago. I don't want to see CM Punk's super hot resolutions lose their specialness right away, y'know? That's why I'm more than okay with SummerSlam and its end. This caps off what has been an amazing summer for the Worldwide Leader in Sports Entertainment, and I'll be awaiting RAW tonight with baited bated breath.

Weekend Wrap-Up: Mad at Oz

I'm sure he's not too happy with Vinnie Vegas either.

- SummerSlam was last night, and yes, a longer review is forthcoming. Really shorthand results though are these. CM Punk defeated John Cena and was then cashed in upon by Alberto del Rio after Kevin Nash ran in and blindsided Punk afterwards, causing what you see in the picture. Randy Orton defeated Christian to regain the World Heavyweight Championship. Wade Barrett, Mark Henry and Kelly Kelly all won their matches. SURPRISE! six-man to start the show saw Kofi Kingston, Rey Mysterio and John Morrison defeat del Rio, R-Truth and The Miz. There were also commercials... YES COMMERCIALS ON A PPV FFFFFUUUUUUUU...

- ROH TV tapings were Saturday, and Nigel McGuinness made his return to the company as the color commentator, alongside Kevin Kelly. He teased a return to the ring, saving Eddie Edwards from The House of Truth. Also on the taping slate, El Generico dropped the Television Championship to Jay Lethal.

- NWA Hollywood taped yesterday, and again, I really don't have taping results to post. So why post a bit about it? Err, well... HEY LOOK OVER THERE, IT'S EVE TORRES UNRHYTHMICLY SHAKING HER ASS!

Your Favorite Wrestlers Ever: K. Sawyer Paul

Now that my own favorites list is out of the way, I posed the question to some of my colleagues in the fan/writer community. Who are your favorite five wrestlers?

Next up in the favorites queue is my Fair to Flair colleague K. Sawyer Paul, who curates International Object on Tumblr. He has a very different way of looking at wrestling than most of us, so while his list may include a lot of the same guys others would, his reasonings for them are different.

And I like different.

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Holzerman asked me to give him my top 5 wrestlers, but failed to mention criteria. Top 5 best wrestlers? Best talkers? Best money makers? Best choke slammers? The field was wide open. I went instead with my top 5 wrestlers as great examples of wrestlers as people, as influencers of wrestlers and people, as examples to us all how to make it in the workplace of wrestling.

1. Bret Hart - Bret never took a sick day, never took time off, and never asked for a vacation from the day he signed in WWE to Wrestlemania 12. After that, his record gets spottier, but some of his best work was still to come. Let that be a lesson to you: work your ass off, then be a diva. Bret is still my childhood hero, and I’m proud to say those values he extolled to his fan base still hold up to this day. Also, wear a steel chest plate and you will win the day, every time.

Number 1 and number 2 on a recent RAW
Photo Credit: WWE.com

2. CM Punk - Great wrestlers stick very, very close to their principles, and whether you love them or hate them depend largely on what you think of those principles. CM Punk believes in his friends, his straight edge ethos, saying what’s on his mind, rarely smiling in pictures and taking delight in the moral failings of others. Because Punk has wrestled almost entirely in the age of social media, we can actually trace his steps from 2003 to today, through several different wrestling companies, and confirm these things. Be true to yourself despite popular opinion, career opportunities, and making the people around you happy. Be true to yourself despite yourself. Things will work out in the end.

3. The Miz - The Miz’s rise to the top of WWE is one of the great hard-working stories of our time. Though he’s a villain, he simply loves wrestling so much you can’t really help but root for the guy. God knows, there was a long time where the only person who believed he would make it was himself. The lesson the Miz gives us? If you want something, never, ever give up. You’ll one day get to pin John Cena at Wrestlemania.

4. Bryan Danielson/Daniel Bryan/"Bridey" - Sense of humour does a lot to endear me to a person. For instance, I honestly had no interest in the career of Brian Danielson until I saw his sense of humour. WWE gets a lot of things wrong. God knows, they’ve ruined as many careers as they’ve made. But I honestly believe that letting Bridey’s sense of humour shine has been the turning point of his career. He was a great professional wrestler. He was always going to go down in history as one of the best technicians in the art. But he’s becoming a fuller character.

What’s the lesson learned from Bridey? Show your heart, your humour, and your love at all corners, especially when burying people.

5. Kevin Nash - Surely I’ve gone crazy. Nash has a reputation as a lazy worker, a backstabbing politician, and a turncoat professional. Why is he on this list? The wink. Professional wrestling is a deep, difficult, and nearly-impenetrable form (just listen to an argument about art vs sport if you want to get a headache), but I honestly believe Nash understands the business and the practice better than almost anyone. Nash has winked at the camera more than anyone, because he wants the audience to get it like he gets it. He doesn’t want you to suspend your belief: he wants to realize what you’re watching is a farce. There’s beauty in farce, of course. Wrestling is nothing if not a beautiful depiction of ugly people. Nash wants us to get to that level, to realize that underneath the pomp and circumstance, we’re all manner of scum and villainy — and that’s okay.

Your Favorite Wrestlers Ever: Don Owens

Now that my own favorites list is out of the way, I posed the question to some of my colleagues in the fan/writer community. Who are your favorite five wrestlers?

Today's list comes from Don Owens of the Future Endeavors podcast. He's a fun guy, and I enjoy him both on Twitter and when he guests on Jason Mann's podcast after WWE PPVs. Here is his list, back do descending order:

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1. Shawn Michaels - THE Greatest of All Time! There is no doubt that HBK is #1. This is the man that has blown away audiences for decades. His list of accolades is long - the 1st Grand Slam Champion, Tag Titles, IC Title, European Title, World Title, WWE Title, 1st Hell In A Cell Match, Elimination Chamber match, 2 Royal Rumble wins, revolutionized the ladder match, best Iron man match, best WrestleMania match. The list goes on and on. No one made their oponent look as good as Shawn Michaels did. The greatest to ever do it, NO DOUBT!

Don's top two
Photo Credit: WWE.com

2. Triple H - The King Of Kings is easily one of the greatest of all time, a true student of the game. I was a major fan of his since the day I saw his debut on WWF Superstars and saw him hit the move known as the pedigree for the 1st time. I said, "That Hunter Hearst Helmsley is gonna be a big star!" and boy was I correct.

His transition into Triple H was amazing - so many good feuds and another Grand Slam Champion. Triple H has done it all. He was a part of D-Generation X, then lead the group when HBK retired, went on to form and lead Evolution. He was the 1st WWE World Heavyweight Champion. As with HBK, Triple H could make a match work with anyone, a true in ring general. In the last year he has become more of an office hand backstage, but when the time calls for it as we saw at Wrestlemania 27 with his amazing match with Undertaker, he can still hang with the best of them.

3. Kevin Nash (Diesel) - My favorite big man ever. The day Diesel made his debut as HBK's bodyguard I knew I saw a star in the making. Seeing in that 1st year in the WWF, Diesel won the Intercontinental Championship, Tag Titles and the WWF Championship in a record 8 seconds from Bob Backlund to become a Triple Crown winner, and he went on to be WWE champ for almost a full year. Big Daddy Cool was the Man! He dominated in Rumbles, had a great feud with HBK, had the best WrestleMania match with the Undertaker (at the time) and had the match of his carreer with HBK in his last WWF match before going to WCW at In Your House: Good Friends, Better Enemies. Diesel went to WCW and went by his real name, Kevin Nash. He was the single reason why I started watching WCW, and then we saw the birth of the nWo, one of the greatest factions and most influental groups in all of sports entertainment. Nash went on to win more titles and had a great run in WCW.

After the company went out of business Nash did some movies and returned to wrestling and the WWE with Hulk Hogan and Scott Hall to debut the WWE version of the nWo. After some ups and downs in WWE, Nash left again and had a good run in TNA. At the 2011 Royal Rumble, Diesel returned and a surprise entrant. One of the greatest moments for me as a wrestling fan. Kevin "Diesel" Nash is now back as part of the WWE Family. What his future hold no one knows, But for me, he will go down as one of the best.

4. The Rock - Not much to say here for the Most Electrying Man in Sports, wait I mean ALL of Entertainment. Rock is easily the most entertaining man ever on the mic, and that definately translated into the ring. A superstar who has done it all, left WWE to become a true Hollywood actor and successfully made the transition better then anyone that tried before him. Rock's charisma made him a huge bankable star, and just when we thought we would never see him back in a WWE ring, 7 years later, he returned! He electrified audiences again like he never left, instantly he went from Dwayne back to The Rock. He went on to host WrestleMania 27, and will lace up the boots once again to take on John Cena at WrestleMania 28. FINALLY!!!! The Rock is back and is no doubt in my top 5 of all time.

5. Rob Van Dam - I have lost a lot of respect for RVD since he joined TNA, but I cant let that take away my love for him the rest of his career. RVD amazed me in ECW and instantly became one of my favorites to watch. The guy I always hoped would make it to WWE one day. Then that day finally happened. He came over after the buy out of WCW and was a part of The Alliance. His first ppv match in WWE against Jeff Hardy for the Hardcore Championship at the Invasion PPV was a classic. I was hooked and wanted more. For years I got to witness amazing matches with RVD and many other great opponents. He had great runs as Tag and IC Champion, but one belt always eluded him, the WWE title. At WrestleMania, RVD won the MITB briefcase and cashed in against John Cena at One Night Stand to become WWE Champion finally! Not only was he the WWE Champion, he was also awarded the ECW Championship for relaunch of that brand. RVD had made history. Unfortunately some bad things happened shortly after his win that led to him losing the WWE and ECW Titles back-to-back in the same week. RVD retired soon later after being frustrated with the direction of the new ECW. He made a couple surprise appearances that made me totally mark out for a full-time return. Unfortunately that never happened in WWE as he decided to join TNA. Although I'm not happy with him there, I am proud that he became TNA World Champion and had a great run. He definately deserves it. The Whole F'n Show!

Happy Anniversary, New World Order

A moment that will live in infamy
Screen Grab Credit: Mike Bridenstine

Fifteen years ago today, arguably the most important angle in wrestling history took place at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, FL. WCW's Bash at the Beach pay-per-view event saw the official formation of the New World Order, the "invading" faction of Kevin Nash, Scott Hall and Hulk Hogan, at the expense of Lex Luger, Sting and (who else) Randy Savage. Eric Gargiulo has a comprehensive recap of the actual event and the months leading up to it at the Camel Clutch Blog. For a guy who bungled a lot of other stuff in the following years and even decades, Eric Bischoff really got it right here. Just reading that article reinforces that, as even now, I got goosebumps just reading the transcript of Hogan's promo after the turn.

Of course, Bischoff couldn't follow up on this moment in the long term, which is why WCW no longer exists as an independent entity today. Since I write about those transgressions a lot, I'm going to pass now and instead focus on the influence of this singular moment in time. Within the wrestling industry, you could argue that this was perhaps the most influential moment ever. There were so many elements at play here that have been attempted to be aped by any wrestling company. You have the top draw in wrestling history to that point turning against the fans. It was a ballsy move, even if Hogan's welcome in WCW was wearing thin by that time.

It was also the moment where WCW truly went national. Like Gargiulo wrote in his recap, until 1994, WCW was really only national in name only, as it was still more or less a "Southern" promotion. When they went out and got Hogan, Savage, Bobby Heenan, Gene Okerlund and recouped Ric Flair and Luger, the company really put the full court press on trying to expand its reach. It wasn't until BatB '96 when they had their huge moment. It was at a perfect time too, as the WWF was at a crossroads. Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart had taken them as far as they could, and while the wheels were turning on Steve Austin, who had just won King of the Ring, it'd be a few months before his run would get started in earnest.

I think the most influential part of this event though was Hogan's promo at the end. It really was one of the first legit teases of breaking the fourth wall that I can remember happening at that level. Obviously, ECW had guys potshotting WWF and WCW, but they were still in the underground. The newly minted invaders had a national stage. Hogan was liberally referring to the company "up North" and talking about money and other things that guys didn't talk about back then on pay-per-view or nationally-broadcast cable TV.

The event even has had mainstream implications. Any time there's a betrayal or anything that the media likes to purport as betrayal, someone, somewhere is comparing it to Hogan's turn. The most recent example was last year, when LeBron James made the hideously misinformed decision to announce his intentions of signing with the Heat on ESPN. No sooner did he say "I'm taking my talents to South Beach" then did the comparisons to Hogan dropping the leg on Savage begin. They were a propos too, but only if you consider the fans of Cleveland to be WCW and not the Cavs organization. However, that's a whole other blog for a whole other blogger to tackle.

However, I think the lasting implication, at least for today and for future anniversaries, is that damn, it's been 15 years already? Fuck, I feel old. Seriously, while it does feel like it has taken place a long time ago (unlike 2000-01 WWF, which I feel is still fresh in my mind for whatever reason), it still is staggering to think that babies born on today's date in 1996 are in the middle of high school. And to see Hogan staggering around the Impact Zone, a shell of his former self, only hammers that point home harder. (And that's not even putting into context how the other players are faring from that night...)

Still, even for as much as the wrestling industry has changed in 15 years, it's still cool to look back on the dates that mattered. July 7, 1996 may have been the date that mattered most, regardless of how badly Bischoff and his cronies paid it off (or in a sense never paid it off).

The Best Moves Ever: Jackknife Powerbomb

Kevin Nash has earned a reputation for being "lazy" over the years. I'm not here to dispute or mollify that claim, but I have to wonder if part of that has to do with the execution on his signature jackknife powerbomb. He releases mid air rather than guiding the victim down. I'm not sure of how "lazy" that is or not, but regardless, it looks cooler than a regular powerbomb. Here's a 60 montage of jackknifes!



Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!