Hello everyone and welcome to another edition of TWIW! Before I start off I want to apologize for not posting the special weekend edition like I promised. I came down with some sort of stomach virus and was incapacitated for a while, but I seem to be doing better! With that bright note, let’s get right into this week’s top five.
5. Did you guys see the bump Benoit took in his match on Smackdown? All I can say is that it had to hurt. Chris Benoit has always been one of my favorites and I will not hesitate to say that he is easily one of the best wrestlers in the world. He had a quality match with Booker T last Friday but I was sad to see him lose the US Championship. He gave is such credibility. I found that it was a bit tainted after Orlando Jordan’s masquerade as champ. Hopefully Booker and Benoit can work to give it the respect it truly deserves.
4. If you could allow me to switch gears for a few moments, TNA just hosted their big PPV event, Bound for Glory. It was originally scheduled to be headlined by Jeff Jarrett and Kevin Nash. I’ve always liked Nash but I did not want to see this match. Fortunately we didn’t have to because of Nash’s health issues. Granted, I hope he is doing ok and makes a full recovery!
Instead we saw Rhino take his place after getting involved in the promo at the beginning of the PPV, competing in the Monster’s Ball 2 match with Sabu, Abyss, and Jeff Hardy, and then winning a battle royal. To top it all off he won the TNA World Championship! I’m glad to see the belt off of Jarrett, but I’m not a big Rhino fan either. It won’t be long before it is back around Jarrett’s waist in my humble opinion.
3. Bound for Glory did have its moments. The 30 minute Iron Man Match between Christopher Daniels and AJ Styles was pretty much what I expected: excellent. These two have superb in ring chemistry and can put on a heck of a show. I can’t really complain about the match itself, it was great.
I will say, however, that I think TNA is really giving us “too much of a good thing”. It bothers me that their feuds and matches are very unoriginal and repetitive. Another great example of this is the “Ultimate X match”. It’s a cool concept and the matches in and of themselves are very exciting, but there are way to many of them! I think it’d be smart for TNA to step back from them for a while and allow us to have a break, so the next one means a little more.
2. But back to the WWE. On Monday’s RAW, we saw more build up to Taboo Tuesday. Though the WWE gives us “choices” on the matches we can see it is obvious which ones they want us to vote for and which will actually end up on the PPV. The opening match was, in my mind, a push for us to vote for Shawn Michaels in the main event. But then again, any chance to see Kurt Angle and HBK working in the same ring, I’m going to take it!
And then there was Flair screaming into the microphone “Please put me in a cage!” If that weren’t obvious I don’t know what is! But again, the cage match seems to be the most exciting of the three. Wasn’t Flair in a cage last Taboo Tuesday with Randy Orton?
I placed my votes Monday night, but I refused to vote for the women’s match. I guess when I watch wrestling, that’s what I want to see: wrestling. I have nothing against women wrestling, but in the fashion that it is taking place at Taboo Tuesday just isn’t my cup of tea.
I’m actually pretty interested to see which two Smackdown stars make it onto the show. I know they’ve been angling for JBL and Rey Mysterio to get the votes, but it actually seems like Matt Hardy has a decent chance as well. I think that particular vote is the hardest to predict.
1.Getting back to RAW, I wanted to address Vince McMahon’s skit. The Attitude Era is over. It seemed to me like a blatant attempt to return to a type of humor that just, in my eyes, doesn’t work anymore. I thought it was inappropriate, and not even very funny. The entire thing was way too long for me.
As a matter of fact, the way the WWE has been doing this entire JR segment has left a sour taste in my mouth. It is unknown, truth be told, if their plan was to have JR really leave for good or to come back in the near future. If he is returning I guess I can see the way things have played out to be “ok” from a story perspective, but none the less I wish things were done differently. I give thumbs down to the entire situation!
Speaking of announcers, I read a really good column by a very talented writer recently. His name is Joey MacQueen and his column is called “The X Factor”. This particular column was entitled “Announce of Respect”. You can click here to read it, because it is my spotlight column for the week. The column deals with four legends: Bobby Heenan, Gorilla Monsoon, Jerry Lawler, and Good Ol’ JR! Announcers are an important part to the entire wrestling experience and this column helps you to remember just that.
I don’t have much to plug this week, but I will say that I’ve taken over the Admin position at WZforums.com. I may have a bit too much on my plate, with two columns as well as acting at Wrestlezone Columns Administrator and now WZForums Administrator. Only time will tell, but be sure to come by the forums and check them out if you get the chance!
Also, if you get the chance be sure to check out my latest edition of “Real Talk”, Athens, Rome, and Madison Square Garden. You can click here to go there now!
If you have any questions or comments, make sure you email me at jprealtalk@yahoo.com.
