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

The Wrestling Podcast, Episode 17: Butch Rosser and Ken Borsuk

Pictured: Ken Borsuk (not really)

Mellow Goldust

For the first time, The Wrestling Podcast has two guests the whole way through. Butch Rosser and Ken Borsuk stop by and we talk everything about the current WWE direction. We eulogize Todd Grisham's career and lavish great praise on The Miz, Alberto del Rio and CM Punk/ Also, we totally get into the tag team division, wax nostalgic about WWECW and even parse the English language. In the coup de grace, we fantasy cast a WWE Films remake of Blazing Saddles. It's a must listen.

Direct link for your downloading pleasure

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.

Future Endeavors 8/12 Power Poll: Punk. Cena. YEAH.

1, 2 and two corporate goons
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-dongo, PizzaBodySlam. I will list the top ten, and then post and comment on my ballot. Here goes:

1. CM Punk (Last Week: 1)
2. John Cena (2)
3. Christian (3)
4. R-Truth (8)
5. The Miz (9)
6. Daniel Bryan (NR)
7. Sheamus (4)
8. Randy Orton (5)
9. Mark Henry (NR)
10. Kurt Angle (NR)

And now, my ballot:

1. CM Punk - Duh.

2. John Cena - Double duh.

3. The Miz - Channeling Bruiser Brody, the Tasmanian Devil and Jeff Gilooly, Miz set out to rid the world of Rey Mysterio, and he did, at least for Monday night. If wrestling were real, then I'd probably hire Miz to go and take out my foes. At least I'd know the job would get done right.

4. R-Truth - Little Jimmy origin story. Your argument is invalid.

5. Kurt Angle - Winning the Impact Wrestling World Championship and looking like the crazy dude who led the Heaven's Gate cult in the process got him here. If he ends up getting Bischoff, Russo, Dixie and Jarrett to drink some Kool-Aid and "head up on the spaceship", he'd get #1.

6. Mercedes Martinez - She went 73 minutes with Lexus, thus taking that phrase back from lesbian porn.

7. Brian Kendrick - He retained his X-Division Championship at Hardcore Justice. Sadly, I have no sarcastic entry for him.

8. Daniel Bryan - Stock Daniel Bryan ranking

9. Sheamus - I'm amped for his HOSS FIGHT at SummerSlam tomorrow. That doesn't explain why I ranked him, but yeah, I just thought I'd pass that along.

10. Lexus - The other competitor in that 73 minute match. In other news, I'm not sure that the combined time for WWE's Diva matches this year approaches 73 minutes yet, and she and Mercedes topped that in one match. Imagine that.

Instant Feedback: Triple H Is Solar Powered

Any momentum that was lost last week from the main angle was regained. Why did we have any doubt? Did we think the soul-sucking WWE machine could take CM Punk and rob him of his ability to entrance crowds? Turns out the answer to that is now. Punk, who got loud reactions from an iffy crowd all night, a crowd that faded in and out all night long, showed that he can curry interest for a wrestling match by opening his mouth, not by holding a belt up to new theme music.

And let's not take credit away from Cena. He went meta at one point, mentioning workrate in his nerdy voice, and that was great from a different standpoint, but the rest of his delivery showed him at his best. He needs to be the strong, moral, lawful good voice that counterbalances the Punk who's chaotic good persona draws in the male fans who like people who like to watch the world burn. The WWE could really be onto something if they cultivate a split fanbase and start exploring the fact that different wrestlers appeal to different demographics.

They'd also be wise to have Triple H play as much of a background role as possible. Of course, his forced star turn tonight couldn't come at a worse time in terms of selfish reasons, as I'm planning a bunch of entries that look to reconcile my past as a wrestling fan re: Trips, and if I end up coming to a conclusion that forgives him and he ends up fucking up SummerSlam? Yeah, I don't even want to imagine that. Triple H as a forefront character for this angle is bad. As someone in the background, he works, especially if he lets Funkhauser, err, I mean Super Dave Osbourne, err, I mean John Laryngitis... err, Laurinitis become the real lightning rod proxy. It also helps that Mr. Ace has a puro education, because I doubt that flash kick from Punk was the last bump he'll be taking.

Of course, the perfect contract signing wasn't the only thing going on here. A lot of stuff happened on RAW tonight, including two potential SummerSlam matches being taken off the card. The first saw Miz continue Rey Mysterio's injury angle with a STELLAR beatdown. Again, he shows why he's the best at the Pearl Harbor, bar none. Obviously, since Rey will be back next week for his rematch, it lends credence to the report that his injury is just a "tweak". The other match taken off the books potentially has been R-Truth/John Morrison. Some have been speculating that it's a warning shot to go along with Melina's firing. It makes sense to me, but again, no primary source, no reporting as fact. That being said, with those two matches being moved off the card ostensibly, is it too much to ask to see Miz and Truf win the Tag Pennies and become JeriShow 2K11 at SummerSlam? Please?

This was a banner night for promos. Alberto del Rio's spot before his match with Punk was pretty good. Truf was hilarious as always. Punk's line of "Triple H needing the spotlight so much that he's solar powered" was GOLD, JERRY, GOLD. Of course, the wrestling was good for the most part too. Cena/Swagger was good. Kofi/Truth was deceptively excellent. After a week where they may have taken off, RAW bounced back with a strong show, one that gives me hope that maybe, just maybe, they won't fuck up SummerSlam.

Instant Feedback: Like Mussolini, and Kennedy

I'm getting the feeling that I got back in 1998, like RAW was going to be an event. Only I'm not. You see, would we have gotten three PPV quality matches on the show in 1998? Miz/Rey, Dolph/Bourne and Rey/Cena were all fucking amazing matches. del Rio/Kofi wasn't bad, although Kofi was a bit sloppy. Still, regardless of the execution, the intent was there to have a show jam packed with great wrestling. In that regard, there were no qualms, and it was way better than what we'd get in the Attitude Era.

That being said, there's a buzz around the show like there was back in that era. They seem to be hitting on all cylinders again with the strong character work and hooks that leave people astounded. I mean, there have been great shows in the last couple of years, but only one moment before 6/27 has left me with the feeling I've been having regularly in the last month. That was the Nexus' debut. Since then, you have CM Punk, John Cena, Vince McMahon, Triple H, Jim Ross, Michael Cole, R-Truth and now Zack Ryder giving me these moments. It's great.

The Triple H state of the WWE address was as well-done as anything he's done in the last three years. I know some people can't palate his comedy, but that's when I really get him best. He's naturally funny to me, and his interplay with Truth was outstanding. I think it helped that Truth is just the funniest guy out there right now. And hey, how about the Ryder cameo? It's almost like everything about this show was geared towards sending some section of the fans home happy.

That includes the end. Is the WWE running a bit too fast with Punk's return? Maybe they are, but conversely, Punk's iron is hot right now. I can understand wanting to capitalize on having the hottest property in pro wrestling on my program, whether he's been away for too long or not long enough. And to me, it doesn't matter when or where he comes back, it matters the execution. Tonight, it was executed perfectly. Cena winning the paper title, "Cult of Personality" blaring over the speakers, Punk coming out with a new Titantron, wearing his eBay hot property tee? Christ, I got goosebumps.

So yeah, if this is a taste of how things are going to run with Trips in charge, then I'm all aboard. IF we can get to a return of buzzworthy wrestling without the impetus of another company pushing them, then fuck, I love it. Tonight was a special show, another in a line of three or four in the last month.

R-Truth Is the New Tracy Morgan

My funny bone done gets okeydoked by Truf every Monday
Photo Credit: WWE.com

Tracy Morgan's career is over. Well, okay, maybe it's not over, but after he went on stage and proclaimed that if his son were gay, he'd stab him as part of his act, it's going to take some rehab for him to get back in the swing of things. What does this have to do with pro wrestling? Well, Morgan's style of humor was always saying crazy shit that may or may not have made sense. That remind you of anyone currently on the RAW roster?

Yep, R-Truth has basically become the new Tracy Morgan on RAW, and thank for that, because if he didn't find that niche, I'd probably have to fight the urge to blow my brains out every time he came on screen. This past week on RAW may have been the funniest promo Truf has ever cut, and that's saying something given that he's labeled everyone in the world a "Jimmy" of some sort, little, big or even señor for the Spanish-speaking ones. In an aside, the only way that I think this character arc can really end is by having him be cornered and swarmed by a bunch of people wearing "Jimmy" tee-shirts. Almost like his worst nightmares coming true.

Anyway, this past week, he came out talking starting to talk about something called agraphobia or acrophobia or something (both are legit phobias, look 'em up) and then finished with something about spiders in a briefcase or some shit like that. I didn't try to understand it, but it was fuckin' funny. I think a lot of it has to do with his delivery too. I don't know if he's just that good an actor, or if he really is crazy, but it just comes off as so unhinged that it adds to the comedic value, kinda like how Tracy Morgan's delivery is. Now, if only Truf will stay away from making overtly homophobic remarks as part of his promos, then he'll be in better shape than Morgan ever was. Then again, he works for WWE, so that's not out of the question...

Instant Feedback: PUNK HARDER AGAIN

If tonight was any indication, the WWE is going to miss CM Punk if he's really leaving. While all this pomp and build makes me believe that they're not going to be letting him walk, well, tonight he proved that when he's on, he can take wrestling to another level. Even though it was a little crass, he was right when he said the only times wrestling gets front page pub is when he talks or a wrestler dies. That's publicity you can't buy. And really, this is only half of what Punk can do. He wrestles just as well as he talks, and he'll prove that at Money in the Bank, because Cena can too.

Speaking of Cena, outside of the beginning of his spiel after interrupting the contract negotiations, where Bad Goofy Cena reared his ugly head again, he was on point when he was serious. Hell, both bookend segments were outstanding. Vince McMahon acquitted himself well too, but he almost always does. He even broke out the "LET'S HEAR IT FOR VINCE MCMAHON" schtick again. Love that. Although one last note, is it a sad commentary on the city of Boston that it was Punk calling Cena the Yankees that made him snap? I'm from Philly, and we take sports very seriously, but even I think that's an almost sad breaking point.

Anyway, the rest of the show was just there, but it didn't really have to be anything but just there. The Money in the Bank prep was hit or miss. I will say that R-Truth talking about being afraid of spiders and the grits hitting the fan was again surreally entertaining. Christ, he should just do stand-up. He'd be like Tracy Morgan, only less controversial. Other than that, it felt warmed over. Miz was okay in his promo. Swagger was good. Bourne was actually decent on the mic, and then Kofi comes out and cuts the most generic promo I've ever heard. I mean, he's got good delivery... but who's writing this bullshit for him? Then after Truth's manic awesomeness, we get Alex Riley clearing the ring in the most nonsensical fashion ever... like, wouldn't he want to come out before SWAGGAH BOMBU? I don't know. The match was okay though.

Also, the Bella Twins should probably stay away from weight-based insults altogether. Calling Kharma fat is the wrong message. Calling Kelly Kelly overly skinny? Uh, have these twins looked in the mirror lately? Nattie, Beth Phoenix, Eve and Melina all have great body types. The Bellas are just as bad as K2. Maybe they should eat something more than bean sprouts and their fingers. And if you want to get a good reaction over the number of handicap matches on the show, just ask Razor. He'll give you the what for.

But then again, the sandwich portion of RAW could have been 90 minutes of monkeys on tricycles trying to fling poop at Santino and Hornswoggle and it wouldn't have mattered. Punk, McMahon and to a lesser extent Cena made this show. Is wrestling back? I'm not qualified to make that statement, because I'll probably continue to watch even if it turtles into further cultural obscurity. That, and if Punk leaves after Sunday, it's all for naught. However, RAW for the last three weeks has felt special, a certain kind of specialness it's lacked for a long time. Vince, Cena and ESPECIALLY Punk are the reasons why.

Future Endeavors 7/7 Power Poll: Cena Is Beloved by the Net, Down Is Now Up

Was I the only guy to vote for McMahon?
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 Bilbro Baggins, PizzaBodySlam. I will list the top ten, and then post and comment on my ballot. Here goes:

1. John Cena (Last Week: 8)
2. CM Punk (1)
3. Randy Orton (4)
4. Alberto Del Rio (7)
5. Sheamus (NR)
6. Christian (9)
7. Mark Henry (2)
8. R-Truth (5)
9. Alex Riley (NR)
10. Zack Ryder (NR)

And now, my ballot:

1. John Cena
2. Vince McMahon - I'm not sure that final segment works the way it does if one of these two guys is missing. They totally made up for Punk not being on the telecast "live", and it was great TV, especially from Cena.

3. Daniel Bryan - Guys, I think they really believe in Daniel Bryan. The next person who says they don't emphasize him despite the fact he's in a prominent feud is getting my e-foot up their cyber-ass.

4. Sheamus - He ruined a contract signing and turned it into a fellabration by putting his real boot up the corporeal asses of both Randy Orton and Christian. This gets four thumbs up from Wrestling Fan Goro.

5. Alex Riley - BACKSLIDE~!

6. Christian - I'd say being the first guy to beat Sin Cara is worthy of getting on my ballot.

7. The Miz - He basically teabagged Riley after their match was over. Is there anyone better in WWE at doing the post-match beatdown than Miz right now?

8. Alberto del Rio - He got a big win on RAW that meant nothing in the long run. But hey, a clean win over Rey Mysterio with the cross armbreaker is no joke.

9. R-Truth - He saved 15% on his car insurance by switching to Geico despite the fact he was talking to Flo the whole time. That's impressive!

10. Zack Ryder - Yeah, I voted for him just for coming out and fist-pumping for a minute. So what, want to fight about it?

Instant Feedback: John Cena, a Real American Hero

Usually, whenever they tape two RAWs at the same time, the second show is flat, the crowd sucks and nothing really ever happens. Reading some of the spoilers for this show, my hopes weren't high. But that's the thing about spoilers; usually, they only tell part of the story. Verily, tonight's RAW was awesome from top to bottom. How fitting that in this year of upside-down and inside-out that the show that was taped after one two-hour show was among the best of the year, eh?

A lot of that comes from John Cena. He is counted on as WWE's workhorse and their top star, but sometimes, he can come off as trite or insincere. When he does, it makes for bad television. Tonight, he sounded sincere. His promo to kick the show off was about as good as I remember him being. When he's out there, standing up for Hustle, Loyalty and Respect, he is a tremendous, must-see character. Him standing up for his rival, for free speech and for the integrity of the match was riveting and the perfect way to kick off RAW. Even more stunning was his faceoff with Vince McMahon at the end of the show. Let's not get it twisted. McMahon was good in that segment, but Cena carried it. So much forceful emotion... when he feels genuine, I see why he's the top guy in WWE. IT didn't matter to me that they teased another firing, even if they teased and followed through with it to rushed results (even if I thought the story they told with him and Nexus/Wade Barrett was good in theory). The tension of the segment would have sold me on the PPV if I wasn't already sold on it before any match was announced.

And the bookends weren't the only things that sold this show on me. The wrestling was good, even if it wasn't spectacular. The segment with Evan Bourne, Sgt. Slaughter and Jack SWAGGAH~! was epic, especially with Swagger bringing up Sarge's early '90s defection to Iraq. R-Truth on the phone with Flo and plugging the wrong insurance company was epic. Alex Riley winning with a backslide and then Miz doing everything but teabagging him was fitting. Hell, even the Divas got time and had a decent match, which for them was akin to Savage/Steamboat from WM III.

And hey... ZACK RYDER SIGHTING! Here's hoping he and Curt Hawkins, or Chris Masters, or even his father get a shot at the Tag Pennies and more exposure on my RAW program.

For whatever reason, RAW clicked tonight, all 125 minutes of it. Looks like summer is heating up for WWE.

Wrestling Oddsmakers: RAW's Money in the Bank Match

Will del Rio accessorize his cars with a briefcase?
Photo Credit: WWE.com

It's that time of the year again, wrestling fans! Money in the Bank is a scant two-and-a-half weeks away, and the lineup for the RAW match was announced this past Monday. Here it is, as follows:

• Alberto del Rio
• Alex Riley
• Evan Bourne
• Jack SWAGGAH~!
• Kofi Kingston
• The Miz
• R-Truth
• Rey Mysterio

That's a very interesting lineup, one that will provide some MitB experience, some fresh faces, a gallery of guys who, with the exception of Miz and maybe Mysterio, would feel fresh in the title scene and with Bourne, Kingston and Rey, guys who know how to bring fireworks to a match like this. While I have little doubt this match will deliver, I'm not sure who's going to win. There are a few good choices, but rather than just singling those guys out, why not give odds for everyone, starting with the longest shot and going down to the favorite? Here goes:

Alex Riley
Odds: 500-1

I think WWE likes A-Ry. I really do. He wouldn't be getting this full-faith push if they didn't. I like him too. I think he's got great character chops and if he gets a polish on his ring work, he'll be a good fit for the main event. However, I'll be utterly shocked if he walks away with the briefcase here. It's too soon, and I think they realize it too. Yeah, they're giving him a lot of heat in his feud with Miz, but at the same time, that kind of thing can be a red herring. I mean, look at Kofi after his feud where we all thought he was "made" against Randy Orton. Again, Riley's awesome right now, and he'll get his time in the sun. That time just isn't now.

Evan Bourne
Odds: 250-1

This match is why Bourne is on the roster and probably will remain on the roster. He'll always get prominently featured in it, thanks mostly to the urging of his friends in WWE like John Cena and Randy Orton, but once it's over, management goes back to having him bump for big guys and do his Air Bourne on Superstars. It's a shame, because much like Mysterio, Bourne is fucking exciting to watch, man. While I'll be rooting my hardest for him to win this match, I think those cries will end up being in vain.

Kofi Kingston
Odds: 75-1

If this Money in the Bank were held in December of 2009, then I'd be all-in on Kofi winning. But much like I mentioned before, he's lost his mojo and hasn't really gotten it back, unless being in a perpetual feud with Dolph Ziggler that seems to be personal hell of one Brandon Stroud counts as mojo (hint: it doesn't). Then again, what other face on the RAW side than Cena and Mysterio get the kind of pops that Kofi even still gets? Not John Morrison, he's hurt anyway. I mean, I don't see him winning, but at the same time, I thought that Swagger didn't have a chance in hell in the last WM MitB match, did I?

Jack Swagger
Odds: 40-1

Speaking of SWAGGAH BOMBU~!, this is his first MitB match since that aforementioned briefcase snagging at WrestleMania XXVI. That led to him not being in Smackdown's match last year because he was trying to regain the World Championship from Rey Mysterio. I'm hesitant to say he has a great shot because he's been jobbing to Bourne a lot lately, but then again, they seem to like to break guys down before giving them the briefcase, don't they? Plus, he still has that broken association with Michael Cole going for him, which would segue nice into an angle. He's middling at best, but I give him a better than 50-1 chance because hey, I've been burned once before.

R-Truth
Odds: 25-1

You would think that Truth would be a favorite for this match, given that he's fresh off a WWE Championship opportunity, right? Well no, I'm not sure if that's the case, given that WWE and I seem to be on a similar wavelength as to how to keep Truf fresh and interesting. Sure, Money in the Bank would be a great way to circumvent a conspiracy theory against him, but at the same time, why not have circumstance "screw" Truth here like it did at Capitol Punishment, when he done got got by Little Jimmy? At the same time though, he is a prior contender with a beef with Cena, so he's still more viable than the bottom half of the odds sheet.

Rey Mysterio
Odds: 10-1

Mysterio is always hurt, begging for vacation or if you believe the nebulous sources within WWE, is ready to either retire or take a break. So why give him these kinds of odds? Well, he's probably the most over guy in the match, face or heel, for one. Two, him winning gives them the option of realistically having a cash-in be predetermined because hey, he's an honorable face... stop snickering! Faces still act honor... okay, you win. Still, any match where he's in, he's gotta be a favorite to win.

The Miz
Odds: 5-1

It would be old hat, but in a way, it's a propos, right? Miz has the preeminent experience given his big win last year with a better field (or at least one that had Orton in it), plus WWE is known to do a repeat result. They did it with CM Punk directly, and with Edge, I'm sure they were wishing they'd have had him win two briefcases in a row in the MitB match rather than having to beat Mr. Glass Kennedy for his second one. Also, it sets up an intriguing story where Miz is the first to fail at cashing in, be it clean or through A-Ry-generated shenanigans.

Alberto del Rio
Odds: Even Money

It's his DESTINY. Well, we all thought it was his destiny after winning the Royal Rumble, but he was struck by a Smooth Criminal Rated R Superstar in what turned out to be his last match ever. Such is life. However, you don't get to win the Royal Rumble and not be high on their list, so an ADR title reign is inevitable, right? Plus, he's got Cena at SummerSlam, or at least that's the plan according to an interview he did. There are many different ways this could be set up, but I'm thinking a rematch clause after del Rio takes out Cena, who would have just taken out CM Punk, at that very show, would be the most logical one...

...baaaaht... chu already knew that. *wink*

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!

Promoting the Ultimate Conspiracy Theory: Why R-Truth Should NOT Get a Rematch

Little Jimmy gets his revenge and Truf bitching about it would be gold!
Photo Credit: See the watermark to the left

R-Truth got his first-ever shot at the WWE Championship last night at Capitol Punishment. It was an unsuccessful endeavor after a "Little Jimmy" threw soda in his face, the ultimate full-circle moment in the five-week build that allowed John Cena enough of a distraction to put Truf down with an Attitude Adjustment. While the match felt like a blowoff to most who watched last night, (and reading recaps, it read just like a blowoff as well) the trend in WWE is that when you get one PPV title match, you usually get three or four of them, regardless of how many of them in a row you lose. I fully expect Truth to come out and blather on about how he was robbed and expect to get a title shot.

And that's exactly why he shouldn't get one. Because once he gets denied, are you going to doubt that the meltdown will be anything less than epic? I don't. The thing with Truth is that as great a character as he's become in the last month, he really hasn't evolved in the ring to match his character. Yeah, we all loved his Larry Z stall-job to earn said title shot, but at the same time, that was wholly independent of anything he could do in terms of moves, selling, pacing etc. He played cat and mouse, and while it was great theater and awesome storytelling, what would come to pass when he had to actually wrestle?

If you give Truth the title shot at Money in the Bank, that's what you're banking on, Truth carrying a rematch angle on the promise he and Cena can deliver a good match. Even worse, the other scenario would be the GM giving Truth what he wants, and then making it a steel cage match so that the "Little Jimmies" of the world can't get involved. From a traditional storytelling background, that is obviously the best thing to do, but at the same time, this really isn't a traditional character. Well, scratch that, the conspiracy victim IS a traditional character, but it's not a character where this traditional storytelling trope works.

Keeping Truth away from the WWE Championship would create, in my mind, a better opportunity for a very limited WWE Creative team to generate a memorable story. I'd say have Truth beg for his shot because he was done in by a fan who had no business interfering. The GM denies it, citing the numerous shots Christian got on Smackdown as an example of guys who clearly don't deserve it continuing to get shots, and saying he doesn't want to be like Teddy Long because Teddy Long is an awful human being. The ensuing meltdown would be epic, and the next couple of months could see Truth trying like hell to get his shot back, either by legal means or by continually calling the GM to the carpet for trying to screw him out of his rightful second title opportunity. Or better yet, have Truth win Money in the Bank for RAW and every time he goes to cash it in, have some sort of nefarious circumstance prevent him from cashing it in. That would keep the story going and it would give Truth an out to get his title opportunity down the line.

Besides, we all know the money program here is to start prepping Alberto del Rio for his SummerSlam title opportunity. I mean, they already tipped their hand with this Youtube video that WWE Games put on their channel. They told as good a story with as good an ending for the time being in five weeks as they could have, which is more an argument to me for eliminating the number of PPVs and extending time between them than it is continuing the program with Truth for the time being. Let it go for now and start ramping up to SummerSlam.

I know that Truth has gained a lot of fans over the last month. I know, I'm sort of one of them. However, the idea that titles are the only thing that mean importance nowadays is pretty antiquated. A title means something in the right situation. For Truth, the lack of a title in his future is the best story. In the modern day, and really, any time in wrestling history for that matter, the story is always the most important thing. What's the better story that can be told? TO me, it's R-Truth complaining about The Man keeping him from a title opportunity, not him getting the obligatory, warmed-over weaksauce build that tends to happen in the second PPV of a several-PPV-title-feud.

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!

Weekend Wrap-Up: There Was a Payoff to the Obama Dream Sequences

Jesus Christ, no
Photo Credit: WWE.com

- Capitol Punishment was last night, and it was actually a pretty eventful PPV. Both secondary titles changed hands (Ziggler and Zeke, your new US and IC Champions respectively!), CM Punk beat Rey Mysterio cleanly(-ish) and Evan Bourne and Jack Swagger had a PPV match. None of that was enough to make the consensus positive for the show though. Both John Cena and Randy Orton retained their titles, which for some reason shocked and appalled some of the more hardcore smarks on the web. For one, Cena winning should have been a foregone conclusion, and really, Truf shouldn't be Champ just yet (although when he does win, I expect theatrics and histrionics the level we haven't seen since... errr, King Joffrey's reign of terror in the last four episodes of Game of Thrones this season... seriously, go back and watch this before HBO takes it off On Demand... expect a review of the season for TWIOT).

Orton winning though? Well, I'm ambivalent to it anymore, mainly because I didn't watch the event. However, the way it played out sounded a bit cheap to me. That being said, I don't think Christian is really going anywhere, so settle your tea kettles₁. If you really want to get up in arms about something, do it over the Obama impersonator. That shit wasn't funny when it was Clinton, or for the millisecond that it was Bush. It's so cheap and cheesy. It's the kind of thing... hell, it's one of the ONLY things that makes me ashamed to be a wrestling fan. Ugh.

- Alex Riley got his DUI charges dismissed. Good news for him, I suppose, but hopefully, he doesn't see this as license to continue to drive intoxicated.

- There was an indie show this weekend, out in Berwyn, IL at the Eagles Club. AAW ran Day of Defiance. In the main event, Rhino defeated Silas Young. Also on the card, Jimmy Jacobs tapped Christian Hayme to win a multi-man scramble match that also included Sami Callihan, Samuray del Sol and Alex Colon, and the Awesome Threesome became new AAW Tag Champs by defeating Zero Gravity.

1 - Nattie Neidhart's greatest non-in-ring contribution to the wrestling tapestry.

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!

Your Midweek Links: BUY THE QUARTERLY

2/3s of the ultimate Fire Pro Trio, according to Brandon Stroud
Photo Credit: WWE.com

It's hump day, so here are some links to get you through the rest of the week.

Self-Shilling:

- Me and my blogging Bro-bert Plant Mitch from PizzaBodySlam did a podcast that had our fellow Fair to Flair cohort K. Sawyer Paul run in and cause outside interference. [Episode 6: Darkness on the Edge and Christian of Town]

- My Camel Clutch Blog column this week, all about my begrudging acceptance of Christian's new role as Smackdown's top heel. [Learning to Live with Christian's Heel Turn]

- My latest for Fair to Flair, on whether the WWE needs CM Punk or not... now with DISQUS comments! [Does WWE Need CM Punk?]

- Fair to Flair Quarterly! Have you ordered your copy yet? I keep telling you the best deal is $10 for the e-reader copy. It's cheaper and greener! PLUS you support about a dozen websites doing good work in the field of wrestling journalism. [A Beautiful Neighborhood]

Wrestling Links:

- 10 Questions with Kellie Skater [Dirty Dirty Sheets]

- You Can't See the Dallas Mavericks [South Atlanta Wrestling]

- Randy Orton gets propositioned for sodomy on Twitter. Hilarity ensues. [PizzaBodySlam Tumblr]

- Jerome Willen argues that R-Truth should be WWE Champion... [Camel Clutch Blog]

- ...but Trey Irby thinks that Truth should really be nowhere near the title for the time being (ditto Cody Rhodes) [Wrestling Theory]

- Razor flashes back to a year ago, when the Nexus changed the WWE landscape [Kick-Out Wrestling]

- Andre Harrison, meanwhile, takes the opportunity on the anniversary of its beginning to look at where the angle ultimately went wrong. [The Harrison Analysis]

- Beth Phoenix says the Divas aren't this close-knit sorority that is sometimes alluded to on screen. I AM SO SHOCKED. [Diva Dirt]

- Stephen T. Stone looks at Slammiversary. [Grapple Kingdom]

- The most compelling argument for wrestling as theater you'll ever read. [Fair to Flair]

- Does Mick Foley regret leaving Impact Wrestling? [Cageside Seats]

- 24 Biggest Wrestling Conspiracies Ever [TruTV]

- Dave Lagana podcasts with the barrister of the Embassy, Robert Evans [I Want Wrestling]

- The Best and Worst of RAW, 6/13, or how Big Zeke, Sin Cara and AmDrag are the best Fire Pro tag team in WWE history [With Leather]

Jamie Dobson Interviews:

- Super Tiger II

- Mike Dennis

Non-Wrestling Links:

- Charity alert! Kisses for Kyle Phillies block party is June 23rd! If you're in the area, go and help support childhood cancer research! [I Want to Go to the Zoo with Roy Halladay]

- Von Miller is... FOOTBALL HIPSTER [Kissing Suzy Kolber]

- Gwyneth Paltrow - Fat Shamer (Click through to see a .gif of Harley Morenstein from Epic Meal Time saying FUCK SALAD) [Uproxx]

- Speaking of EMT... bacon weave manicotti, for the haters. Smart. [Epic Meal Time]

- Cole Hamels is probably the best non-Roy Halladay pitcher on the Phillies staff right now. The only bad news to that? He's gonna want to get paid, and soon. [Phillies Nation]

- Is it bad for you to hold farts in? Yes, Drew Magary got that exact question at Deadspin. [Deadspin]

- The pros and cons of owning a smartphone [The Oatmeal]

- Still reeling from Sunday's episode of Game of Thrones? Read this! [Unreality Mag]

- Still reeling even after reading that recap? Here's some catharsis in the form of Tyrion slapping the shit out of Joffrey on loop set to Led Zeppelin. [Topless Robot]

- Bill Simmons' Game 6 NBA Finals retro diary [Grantland]

- If only LeBron played hockey... [Sports Pickle]

- Review of X-Men: Overnight Mail [Comic Books and Whatever]

- Did you want to see a collection of pictures of celebrities holding vinyl records? Of course you did! Plus, Joan Collins used to be smoking hot. [Buzz Feed]

- Terry Pratchett and the case for dying with dignity [Gamma Squad]

- Wear sunscreen, and by sunscreen, I mean human blood [The Onion]

- Schwetty Balls: The Ice Cream [Warming Glow]

- Absolutely brilliant. [Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal]

- A Knicks fan reflects on the NBA season [Hugging Harold Reynolds]

- Super cool retro poster for The First Avenger: Captain America [Blast-o-Rama]

- Hey, you a gamer? Well, prepare to get fucked by the industry. [Cracked]

- Dan Shanoff with a thoughtful response to the NBA Finals [Quickish]

- Terrelle Pryor leaves Ohio State to go to... Ohio State? [Every Day Should Be Saturday]

- Move over Chuck Norris, Sean Bean, aka Alec Trevalyan, Boromir and Ned Stark, is the new most badass mofo ever. [Film Drunk]

- Why dead kids make bad laws [Reason]

- Is the Heisman Andrew Luck's to lose? [Dr. Saturday]

- A look at new head coaches for three NHL teams [Puck Daddy]

- iTunes Store costs Apple $1.3 billion a year to maintain. [Cult of Mac]

- And if you weren't sick of the basketball links here already, Burnsy tells LeBron James how he can deal with his haters in a way that isn't "Haha, you have crappy lives and I don't" [With Leather]

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!

Future Endeavors 6/11 Power Poll: Tough Enough to the Top

TE winner and top of the power poll
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 Rocca, PizzaBodySlam. I will list the top ten, and then post and comment on my ballot. Here goes:

1. Andy Leavine (Last week: NR)
2. R-Truth (1)
3. Christian (5)
4. Randy Orton (3)
5. Alex Riley (2)
6. John Cena (NR)
7. Booker T (NR)
8. The Miz (NR)
9. Daniel Bryan (6)
10. Sin Cara (8)

And now, my ballot:

1. Andy Leavine - I know I didn't watch Tough Enough, but hey, this is as good a consolation prize for him getting slapped and Stunnered in his first action as an official WWE wrestler.

2. Christian - He finally turned heel, keeping Sheamus from winning the World Championship and walloping Randy Orton with it after the match. Big waves for a guy who's been the focus of Smackdown for the better part of two months now.

3. YAMATO - He made it out of the weekend as the Open the Freedom Gate Champion, which given how infrequent title switches happen in DGUSA may not be impressive, but then again, he did defeat the English Jumping Bean PAC.

4. R-Truth - Despite the inappropriate wardrobe choice, he was again on fire Monday. My favorite was when he accused Obama of wanting to throw him off a boat. Must be stumping for Republican support.

5. Booker T - NOSTALGIA!

6. Alex Riley - Three weeks, and his push isn't derailed. They just might be serious about him.

7. John Cena - Stock John Ce... wait, wrong wrestler for a stock ranking. Okay.

8. The Miz - Yes, I did vote for all the members in the main event tag match on RAW. Why do you ask?

9. Johnny Gargano - He traded wins with Austin Aries, getting the win in the stable war over him. Also, he's the whole shebang.

10. Evan Bourne - DIRECT BENEFICIARY OF NOSTALGIA!

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!

The Wrestling Podcast, Episode 6: Mitch (PizzaBodySlam) f/ K. Sawyer Paul

Christian was one of the topics for this episode
Photo Credit: WWE.com

Episode 6: Darkness on the Edge and Christian of Town

Episode 6! And this is a landmark episode in that not only did I finally corner the wily Mitch of PizzaBodySlam, my blogging Bro-berto Luong-bro, but I also had a special run-in guest… K. Sawyer Paul, who came in at about the 55 minute mark. We pretty much talk about everything, including Fair to Flair, the quarterly, bad wrestling journalism, ROH, live wrestling, Christian, R-Truth and of course, the Stanley Cup Finals. As an aside, this was recorded Thursday, before the Canucks took a 3-2 series lead. Anyway, give it a listen, it’s a rollicking, fun podcast, even though it’s the longest one.

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!

The WWE Has Lost Their Collective Mind (Truth/Confederate Uniform)

Not exactly how I'd have dressed if I were Truth...
Photo Credit: WWE.com

Like I said last night on Instant Feedback, I very much enjoyed the opening segment to RAW. The promo work from everyone involved was good, even Cena being in smart-ass mode worked as he didn't get too smarmy. Every part of the segment worked except for one. R-Truth's wardrobe was really, really galling to me. I get the reason why they had him dress up in the grey jacket of the Confederacy, or why he himself volunteered. I don't know whose idea it was.

I do know it was a terrible one though.

There are certain things associated with the Confederacy that come to mind to anyone who is reminded of the Civil War. While they seceded from the union over states' rights, and the Civil War itself wasn't fought with the freedom of the slaves in mind as a primary focus (a common fallacy held by many today), it's still an undeniable fact that each one of the Confederate States was a slave state. It's also an undeniable fact that a vast majority, if not the entirety, of slaves at the time of the Civil War were black.

It'd have been in poor taste for someone who wasn't black to wear the uniform. It was not only borderline racist, but obliviously stupid to have Truth, or another black wrestler, wear it. Whether or not you thought the writers and Truth himself, by acquiescing to the request if he wasn't the one whose idea it was anyway, were being racist, and I fully believe they weren't, the actions still don't speak well of the intent, especially today. So much groundwork has been laid to try and create a post-racial society, but at the same time, you're never going to eliminate bad feelings between races, or ethnic groups or any kind of division. It's human nature to be somewhat exclusionary with people who don't look, talk or behave like you.

SO yeah, even if they didn't mean to do so, they offended some of their fans last night with that gesture. The sad part was, Truth could have cut the EXACT same promo last night without wearing the grey jacket and still had it come across as effective. That's where the idiocy lies in this situation. It's not like the Confederate uniform could be chalked up to "heels being heels" like, say, the Piggie James angle or other things that heels do that could be considered edgy. The lone exception would be if he was maybe feuding with another black wrestler, but even then, I'm sure I wouldn't be the only one to find it in poor taste.

The WWE put a huge blemish on their opening segment last night, a segment that otherwise might have been pitch-perfect, by the absolutely braindead blunder of outfitting R-Truth in a Confederate uniform. While they may not have intended to come across as racist, well, sometimes intent can be garbled within action. It's not especially wise, especially for a company that is already on thin ice with one minority lobby in the gay community.

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!

Instant Feedback: R-Truth, You Probably Shouldn't Wear That

Full disclosure: I thought the opening segment to RAW, which was really the closing segment to Tough Enough bleeding into RAW in something surreal, was entertaining as hell. I thought Truf's rambling was hilarious. I liked what I saw from Miz and Alex Riley. Cena was... Cena. It was clusterfucky, and reminiscent of 1999-2000 in a weird but good way. I dug it.

That being said, whose fucking idea was it to have R-Truth wear a Confederate soldier's uniform? There's edgy, and there's stupid. While I didn't have a problem with it, it's stupid to tempt outcry like that. Then again, it did lead to a really good main event with some really good moments, like Miz jaw-jacking with Austin, Riley getting a really loud chant followed by the most nuclear hot tag for Cena that I've ever heard in my life. The finish was... well yeah, it was fanservice. At the same time, they did it a couple of weeks ago with Bret Hart. A bit more creativity needed from WWE Creative... haha, yeah right.

I was pretty baffled though... why the fuck would the RAW GM give Austin his job right after undermining his decision? Christ, these writers were in rare form tonight. Ugh.

Anyway, outside of the main angle, this was an all-over-the-place RAW. There were good spots, like the wrestling, Punk's pre-match promo and Booker T (!) wrestling in a singles match for the first time in like five years in WWE. It was pretty nice too. Plus, they continue to build the Jack Swagger/Evan Bourne feud nicely. It's also always good to see Zack Ryder on RAW, even when he's jobbing, and Dolph Ziggler on commentary was really, really pointed and fit well. Seriously, talking about the US Championship like it's important? Tommy likey.

However, the bullshit parity booking reared its ugly head again, with a mini-program between CM Punk and Rey Mysterio wrapping up neatly in two weeks. We got two great matches out of it yeah. I'm not complaining about that. But would it kill them to use two of their strongest characters in something more than trading wins with no other storyline advancement? Weak. Then you have Alberto del Rio, who's usually on point. I got excited when I saw him, but then he rolled out Ricardo Rodriguez as a dimestore Big Show. No. People say feuds with Big Show are momentum killers. However, is it the act of feuding with Show, or is it that Creative doesn't give a shit with Show, since they know he's probably just going be in a tag filler match or wrestle in a celebrity match at WrestleMania, and thus his endgame is really, really unimportant. I don't know.

Mixed bag tonight, the very definition. Next week's a three hour RAW though, so you know it'll be heavy on the wrestling. At least we have that going for us.

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!

Future Endeavors 6/5 Power Poll: The Truth Has Set Us Free

Truf giving those Cena plants fans the what for
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 Brogo, PizzaBodySlam. I will list the top ten, and then post and comment on my ballot. Here goes:

1. R-Truth (Last Week: 4)
2. Alex Riley (3)
3. Randy Orton (1)
4. Sheamus (8)
5. Christian (2)
6. Daniel Bryan (NR)
7. CM Punk (7)
8. Sin Cara (9)
9. Ezekiel Jackson (10)
10. Evan Bourne (NR)

And now, my ballot!

1. R-Truth - Little Jimmy got chided. Big Jimmy got a face full of soda. And John Cena got trolled hardcore into a WWE Championship match at Capitol Punishment... of course, if Truth apologizes. I'm sure he'll find a way around it. I'm finally on the Truf-Train now, mainly because he was so awesome on RAW last week.

2. Claudio Castagnoli - Two successful PWG title defenses last weekend get the Very European superstar here. His first title defense even came against his oldest friend and rival Chris Hero despite the fact that the top rope on the ring broke a third of the way into the match. That takes steely resolve.

3. Alex Riley - Another week, another step forward for Miz's former lackey. If WWE's not careful, they may have a budding superstar on their hands.

4. Alex Shelley - He was the bringer of fanservice last weekend, promising both a MCMG/American Wolves match and putting his name on the bottom line for a Generation Next reunion against the Young Bucks and a hired hand of their choice. Oh yeah, he also wrestled in two tremendous matches.

5. Daniel Bryan - Stock Daniel Bry... wait, what do you mean he won a match against Cody Rhodes last week on Smackdown? YAY!

6. Evan Bourne - SURPRISE win against Jack SWAGGAH~! on RAW and because, according to reader Dorian, I have a mancrush on him. Well, I will neither confirm nor deny that.

7. CM Punk - I think if you get a clean win over Rey Mysterio, you get a spot on this list. I love the Tajiri Kick as a new alternate finisher as well.

8. The Young Bucks - Survived the weekend as PWG Tag Champions, including against the reformed team of Austin Aries and Roderick Strong.

9. Akira Tozawa - Ended his whirlwind run in PWG for the time being with three standout performances, including an emotional, action-packed affair against Chris Hero. Tozawa is the man, folks.

10. Sheamus - For earning a title shot, fella.

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!

Quick Hits: On Stranger Quick Hits

- After RAW went off the air last night, the RAW GM announced that R-Truth, by virtue of his count out victory over John Cena, deserves another match with Cena for the title at Capitol Punishment under one condition - he has to apologize on the air next week for his "abhorrent behavior" (and given they show two replays of him throwing soda in the "fan's" face after, that's what they're referring to). That should be amusing to say the least.

- ROH has announced when that Eddie Edwards/Davey Richards World Championship match will take place June 26th at their iPPV event The Best in the World, to be held at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City. This will be the same event Jay Lethal makes his ROH return at, as well as promised title defenses from both the World's Greatest Tag Team as well as Christopher Daniels. My early feeling is that Edwards wins here to set up Davey chasing a "final" opportunity for the belt to cash in at Final Battle. But that's just me.

- WWE announced today that they're changing the name of their video game franchise from Smackdown vs. RAW to just WWE '(year), starting with WWE '12. You can see the trailer here.

- There was a big deal made of TNA cracking down on cell phone usage in the Impact Zone and spoiler reports, to the point where a correspondent from PW Insider (LOL) was thrown out of the building. In what can only be surmised as a big FUCK YOU to Universal Studios (since they're more the ones who are pushing this rather than TNA itself), F4W Online has spoilers for the next episode of Impact. I've been hard on Alvarez and Co. lately, but this is pretty awesome. Also, I don't usually like posting spoilers without extensive care to hide them, but at the same time? This just goes to show that no matter how hard you try, you're not going to totally prevent the leakage of pre-taped shows. Not at all.

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!