It’s the 2010 Halloween Edition of the Sound Off!! Solomonster has a funny Halloween costume tale to share, then gives his thoughts on who the best opponent for Undertaker would be at WrestleMania, giving TNA props for doing the right thing, some harsh words for Michael Benoit, Guerrero’s daughter headed to FCW, Regal re-signs, WWE releasing “Old School” merchandise and is it time for Undertaker to revert back to his biker gimmick?
(submit YOUR questions to sescoops@gmail.com)
Q: I’m a big fan of monster heels, so I’m just wondering how far the new pushes of big Zeke and Tyler Reks will go? – Southjerz856
A: Apparently, not very far for Ezekiel Jackson seeing as how he was completely left off of last Monday’s Raw show. I always thought a Terry Tate, Reebok-like reintroduction of the character (sans the football mentions) through a series of vignettes would have been a great way to get him over. The jury is still out on what they will do with him. As for Rob Zomb…ermm, I mean Tyler Reks, so long as there is a heel World champion on the Smackdown brand, he won’t be challenging for the top belt anytime soon. We also presently have a heel in Dolph Ziggler as IC champion, so scratch that off the list. I can appreciate them trying to put over new talent, but I think they put the wrong talent over when they gave him Kaval’s spot in that Bragging Rights match.
Q: I’ve been seeing things on other sites about a “silver” unified title. Why would WWE want to combine two gold championships and make it silver? Everyone knows silver is of lesser value than gold. – Ryan Begley
A: Don’t let former ECW champion Matt Hardy hear you say that. But gold is currently valued at $1,331 per ounce, so you would be correct. That said, I don’t know what sites you are referring to, but I don’t believe that was posted on SEScoops. I certainly have heard no such rumor, nor do I put much stock into it. WWE already created one silver championship and it didn’t last long before it was retired.
Q: What has Viscera been doing with himself lately? I haven’t heard anything about him since WWE released him because of his weight.
A: Nelson Frazier has been doing acting work, in addition to wrestling overseas. There’s a YouTube match floating around of him in All Japan Pro Wrestling as Big Daddy Voodoo facing off with Akebono from August that you can check out. He also has a small role in the movie “Wrong Side of Town” with Rob Van Dam and Big Dave Batista. I don’t want to give it away, but the best part of that film includes Batista, rapper Ja Rule, and a gunshot wound to the head.
Q: I don’t get HDNet and the YouTube channel I was watching ROH on was recently shut down. Would you ever consider posting results/spoilers of ROH television shows on the website and maybe even other televised wrestling shows across the globe, like AAA or CMLL? – Brock Benningfield
A: We are always open to suggestions. If there is enough demand for added coverage of ROH, AAA or CMLL shows, the best thing to do is to drop us an e-mail at sescoops@gmail.com and let us know. Cool name, by the way.
Q: How many times have groups like NWO, Four Horsemen or DX joined together and disbanded? When thinking back, it’s hard to place a date or incident where they officially disbanded. For example, after the NWO came The Wolfpac, then a rejoining, a Japan NWO and they even had an LWO, but I can’t remember what made each of these incarnations come to fruition and eventually dissolve away. – Geremy Kerr
A: Many times. There were multiple factions that splintered off of the original now and several incarnations of the Horsemen and DX. Sometimes there is an angle shot that leads to the formation of a group, like the Hart Foundation in 1997 or WCW/ECW Alliance in 2001, while other times a collection of guys are simply put together with no explanation, such as D.O.A. or Los Boricuas. Many of them did just sort of died off without much fanfare, but for most of the bigger ones, that was not the case. With Evolution, for example, they kicked out Randy Orton and Batista later turned on Triple H and Ric Flair. But you can also point to the Main Event Mafia in TNA where there was no such angle. Poor Scott Steiner is still holding team meetings by himself.
Q: Will WWE ever bring back their juniors division? Also, what was the deal with Randy Orton using Killswitch Engage’s “This Fire Burns” for one night on Smackdown back in 2006? – Justin (J.R.399)
A: For some background, as I had nearly forgotten about this myself, WWE created a “Juniors” division back in October 2005 as a Smackdown property. It featured a number of midget wrestlers from Mexico that mostly appeared in comedy skits before the division was abruptly dropped in March 2006 and all the minis were released. WWE has no plans that I’m aware of to resurrect this division, which is a shame because I still look back fondly on the mid-90’s WWF and the days of Max Mini, Mini Mankind and Mini Vader. As for Orton’s theme, they used it once, realized it wasn’t a good fit for his character and it later went to CM Punk. This is not the first time such a thing has occurred with the most famous example being Rick Derringer’s “Real American”, originally intended for the U.S. Express (Barry Windham and Mike Rotundo), going to some dude named Hulk Hogan.
Q: Do you think if Miz cashed in his Money in the Bank at WrestleMania, which he would have announced ahead of time, and lost a close, hard-fought match that it would do more for his career than winning the title after the champion has just had a match or been beaten up? – Keith
A: Absolutely. The worst thing that could happen is for Miz to cash in on a vulnerable champion after their match, lose, and look like a complete goofball. The best thing would be for him to show some guts, announce in advance his intentions to go to the main event of WrestleMania to challenge for the title and have a competitive match, win or lose. One idea I suggested on a recent episode of the Sound Off is that if WWE is seriously considering turning John Cena heel, start planting the seeds now and build to a double turn at Mania with him defending the title against Miz.
Q: What do you think of CM Punk being groomed as the next color commentator for Raw? I think it would be a brilliant move. His mic skills are great and I think Jerry Lawler’s schtick is getting old. – Vic from Vegas
A: Punk has been incredible the few times I’ve heard him on commentary, namely Raw last Monday and NXT. He’s far more valuable as an in-ring performer, so I would hate to see him announcing right now, but he would be an asset in that role when he’s ready to hang up the boots, or if he were sidelined with an injury for an extended period of time (he recently underwent an MRI for a nagging hip issue). I also think Big Show has been tremendous on commentary the few times I’ve heard him. As for Jerry Lawler, he is a shell of his former self, but I can’t lay the blame totally at his feet. He’s doing what Vince McMahon tells him to do and playing the role of wacky heel announcer with TV-14 one liners doesn’t fit into today’s PG environment. To see what I’m talking about, click here and take a look at this classic Jerry Lawler promo from Raw in 1997. All these years later, this segment still makes my jaw drop.
Keep those questions coming to sescoops@gmail.com and remember to include your name!
Solomonster has some colorful thoughts on an amazing Impact that went OVER AN HOUR without any actual wrestling, plus thoughts on Bound for Glory and Jeff Hardy’s heel turn, a fun Raw show, Matt Hardy gets his release, Tyler Reks replacing Kaval on Team Smackdown (really), names being talked about for the Hall of Fame, and my review of the Chris Jericho DVD documentary. Does it live up to expectations?
(submit YOUR questions to sescoops@gmail.com)
Q: Where was the William Regal, King of the Ring/Raw GM angle meant to end up? The lights going out early on RAW was a pretty big thing! – Alex L.
A: At the very least, his run as Raw GM would have continued for far longer than it did had he not been suspended for a second time for violating WWE’s Wellness Policy. I know there had even been some discussion of a possible short reign with the title, given how much heat Regal was generating at the time.
Q: The title of Goldust’s new book begins with the words “Cross Rhodes”, which is also the name of his brother’s finishing move. Is it likely that one or the other will be renamed or was this done on purpose? – Frank
A: This was not done by accident. One really doesn’t have anything to do with the other, anyway. It’s not exactly the same thing as WWE changing Regal’s name from Steven to William because they already had two Steve’s (Austin and Blackman), or changing Lance Cade’s name to Garrison because Lance Storm already worked there.
Q: With occasional mentions of JR in light of Michael Cole being the most hated announcer in WWE by the majority of fans, and remembering Edge’s words in his recent segment with Cole and the GM, I wonder what Jim really thinks when he hears his name mentioned from time to time? Would he ever call another match if he decided to return for one night only? – Kirk R.
A: I can’t speak for him, but I’d guess it makes him both happy and frustrated. Happy that his name is being kept out there, which is good for his BBQ business, and frustrated in that they mention his name on TV as being the greatest of all time, yet have no use for him on television. Of course, when I say “they”, I’m really talking about Vince McMahon (not to be confused with friends of Abyss). As for whether he would ever call another match if he decided to come back for one night … I think you answered your own question there, buddy.
Q: Why do WWE and TNA continue to tape main TV shows, namely Smackdown and Impact? The spoilers I’m sure hurt their ratings and the fake crowd cheering that WWE inserts into the broadcast is just plain bad! – Mike Cornblatt
A: The piped in cheers on Smackdown can be rather annoying at times, but it’s no different than what they did for years with the old Superstars and Wrestling Challenge syndicated shows. Smackdown and Impact are taped as a way to save money, simple as that. Airing live each week is a great expense, and while you may think it hurts their ratings, you provide no clear cut evidence that this is true. The most recent taped edition of Raw performed poorly because of Monday Night Football.
Q: How long does it take WWE to set up an arena for TV? About how much money is used in pyrotechnics per show? – Big Mike
A: It depends on the arena setup. An elaborate set designed for a pay-per-view like WrestleMania could take WEEKS to erect, while the setup for Raw and Smackdown typically takes the better part of a day. As for pyro, not sure of an exact figure, but I do know that it costs many thousands.
Q: I would like to know when on earth Triple H is coming back to Raw because I keep hearing rumors that he is working in an office now. – Anonymous
A: Triple H is expected to be cleared to work as early as the end of this month from his most recent injury, assuming rehab has gone well. At that point, he would be free to return to TV whenever creative wants him to do so. His status as an office employee is more of a formality than anything else. He’s essentially been working under his father-in-law for years, but only recently was it made official. The big thing would be with Hunter now being recognized as a WWE employee, he is likely entitled to many benefits (including insurance and a 401k retirement plan) he did not have as an independent contractor. Not that he needs it or anything.
Q: What is the deal with the Hart Dynasty? Last Monday night on RAW, Michael Cole said that David Hart Smith was nowhere to be found. Obviously, WWE is planning on splitting them up with Smith turning heel, but that wouldn’t exactly explain why he wasn’t there at all. – Nick Adams
A: Never assume anything with WWE or TNA these days, but it’s called long-term build. Of course, the definition of “long-term” in 2010 is far different than it was, say, 20 years ago when the Mega Powers ran roughshod for months before splitting up. He may show up next week and beat up Tyson, but I’m thinking they will milk this for a while before someone does the big turn.
Q: Do you think it would be a good idea to bring in John Cena Sr. to do his Johnny Fabulous gimmick managing a heel against his son? – Matt
A: I’d rather his son go heel first, but that’s me. Mister Cena is actually quite the accomplished performer up in Boston as part of the Millennium Wrestling Federation (MWF) and would make a fine manager, but aside from Paul Bearer who was brought in primarily as a chess piece in an ongoing storyline, WWE doesn’t much care for managers these days. It’s worth noting that a few years ago, none other than Vince McMahon himself made an appearance at an MWF event and ended up on the receiving end of an Attitude Adjustment from Cena Jr.
Q: Why do you think The Miz has been given such a big push over the past year and a half or so? – madslam2009
A: Because he’s awesome.
Keep those questions coming to sescoops@gmail.com and remember to include your name!
Solomonster liked Raw but SNAPS on one particular segment that almost ruined it, plus thoughts on Hell in a Cell, the wretched live Impact special, a Bound for Glory preview, TNA drug testing and Steve Austin teasing one more match. Then, we have a special treat (or trick?) for you just in time for HALLOWEEN!!!
Can a Solomonster and a Zombie co-exist? We’ll find out as “The Arsonist” Tim Arson, perhaps best known as the ECW ZOMBIE, sounds off with The Solomonster in an exclusive interview. We’ll talk about the best way to kill a Zombie, a passion of his not many people may know about, WWF’s old LJN figures (oh yes), Primetime Wrestling, training with Johnny Rodz, his pact with Matt Striker, why Puerto Rico is called the last great territory, how Tommy Dreamer gave life to the Zombie, Paul Heyman and Vince McMahon’s PRICELESS reactions to the character, whether he might return to WWE, and brutally honest thoughts on the current product–including a debate regarding the new diva season of NXT! BRRRRAAAIIINNSSSS!!!!
(submit YOUR questions to sescoops@gmail.com)
Q: What is the story behind the episode of Raw where Steve Austin walked out back in 2002? – Keith
A: Austin was already on shaky ground with WWE creative as he was not a fan of many of their ideas. Moreover, the belief is that he was not 100% healthy and things simply boiled over when he was told he would be doing a job for Brock Lesnar in a throwaway “King of the Ring” qualifying match on Raw. Austin has claimed he had no problem with putting Lesnar over, who was being groomed to be the next big star in the company, and told him that directly at the time. His issue came with putting together the first ever Austin/Lesnar match and giving it away for free on TV with no build. When Vince wouldn’t budge on that decision, Austin packed his bags and went home. In a panic, WWE bumped up The Rock’s return (he wasn’t slated to come back to TV for another month) and had him cut a scathing promo on Raw where he essentially buried Austin without mentioning him by name.
Q: What is the status of Shane Douglas? He didn’t appear at Hardcore Justice because TNA wouldn’t give him a match with Ric Flair, but it still seems only fitting that “The Franchise” would be leading the EV2 faction. – Andrew B.
A: Douglas did not part ways with TNA on the best of terms years ago when he worked there as an agent. He’s had bad blood with Flair for years (worked or otherwise) and went into business for himself by issuing that very public challenge. It would have made little sense to have Flair on what was meant to be a reunion of ECW originals. In any event, Douglas likely would have had little interest in leading EV2 and I think it’s safe to say that TNA would have felt the same way. As for what he’s been up to of late, I know he had gone back into teaching some time ago, but do not know if that is still the case.
Q: I just had an epiphany about Matt Hardy. In 2005, when Lita cheated on Matt, he was fired and began doing interviews trashing Edge, etc. Eventually, WWE re-hired Matt and turned it into a storyline, which was probably Matt’s last big run with the company. So it makes me wonder with Matt’s antics now on YouTube, trashing WWE and being flat out weird, if Matt is using the same formula to get WWE or another company to pick him up and run with it. If you think about it, it makes sense. Matt got rehired by the WWE by making an interesting story idea from his rants and interviews. – Shaun McCall
A: Matt has claimed to certain people who have direct-messaged him that it’s all a storyline with a payoff at the end. In his mind, he may think this will result in a big angle for his character on Smackdown, but there’s absolutely no reason to believe that is the case right now. There are many people backstage in WWE who are not happy with Matt Hardy for various reasons. He’s likely trying to get himself fired and WWE won’t bite (yet). Either way, he has done himself no favors with these ridiculous YouTube videos and his grape-loving alter ego, Matthew. Fact is, he still gets cheered by much of the crowd when he’s out there, so crowd support was never an issue for him. If he would have gotten himself back in shape sooner, made a few tweaks to his stale persona and taken a hiatus from Twitter, he wouldn’t have to try so hard to come up with wacky ideas like this to get himself over with management. Contrary to what some may think, his lack of push also has NOTHING to do with his brother jumping to TNA.
Q: What was going to be the outcome of the Kane vs. Fake Kane storyline had it not become so unpopular with fans? It seemed like it was leaning toward a molestation angle given how little Kane wished to speak of him. – Ryan Begley
A: I don’t remember hearing of WWE having an end game in mind for the angle, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t have one. I heard nothing of a molestation twist to the storyline and quite frankly, the thought of Glen Jacobs and Luke Gallows partaking in a storyline where one molested the other as a child has rendered me unable to conceive children. Thanks for that.
Q: Do you know if the TV show “Sports Science” has conducted any experiments that show the toll wrestling takes on the body? – Nate O’B
A: I don’t think so, but it would make for a fine idea for an episode. HBO “Real Sports” should do the same, but only if they keep Armen Keteyian and his papers away from Vince McMahon.
Q: I was just watching WWE’s “Greatest Hell in a Cell Matches of All Time” and was wondering what other wrestling DVD’s would you recommend that have great matches and lots of violence? – Kieran
A: That’s a pretty broad question. WWE has produced lots of DVD’s with great wrestling matches, as evidenced by their releases for Ric Flair, Ricky Steamboat, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Chris Jericho, Eddie Guerrero and others. If you want lots of violence, check out www.czwrestling.com for Combat Zone Wrestling if you’re into light tubes, thumbtacks and barbed wire.
Q: Since John Cena is a part of Nexus, the GM said that he has to follow the orders of Wade Barrett or he will be fired. Do you think that WWE has planned to actually fire Cena at some point as part of this storyline and then bring him back? – Sharla Guinn
A: I don’t believe so as I fail to see the purpose that would serve, other than to further drive home that stipulations don’t mean anything. There’s no way they would take Cena off TV for an extended period of time, anyway. It’s interesting to note that WWE did something similar to this in storyline at the Judgment Day 1998 PPV when Vince McMahon fired Steve Austin. He was back the next night, but not before WWE offices were flooded with angry phone calls and letters deriding them for terminating their biggest superstar. Judging by the reaction shots of fans in the crowd during this angle thus far, you’d likely have a fair amount of parents who would storm Titan Tower with pitchforks and torches in protest. What’s more, that poor kid on YouTube might self-combust.
Q: Is it true that Dixie Carter shares a birthday today with a certain handsome member of the SEScoops roster? – T. Solomonster
A: What a fantastic question! You would be correct, The Solomonster (who hosts the weekly Sound Off here on SEScoops.com) shares the same October 6th birthday with TNA President Dixie Carter, who turns 46 today. I’m sure she’s a big fan.
Keep those questions coming to sescoops@gmail.com and remember to include your name!
Solomonster with reaction to last week’s special Sound Off, why Chris Jericho will be missed, Flair and Foley on Impact, shitty Smackdown premiere, Raw sinks to new lows, WWE kissing Foley’s ass, Summerslam buyrate, Tyler Black’s new name and more!
It’s a special TWO-HOUR edition of the Sound Off as Solomonster puts his money where his mouth is and presents his own business plan for WWE. Also, thoughts on Paul Bearer’s return, Mickie James in TNA, Giant Gonzalez dies, more Matt Hardy hyjinx and an EXCLUSIVE preview of Jeff Hardy’s new song before it debuts at Bound for Glory! New listeners, I promise these shows are not usually this long, but you’ll want to listen to this.
(submit YOUR questions to sescoops@gmail.com)
Q: Whose idea was it to get Kane to take his mask off? Was it legitimately Eric Bischoff’s idea? – Fabian
A: No, Eric Bischoff did not have any say in the creative direction of WWE while he worked there. It was Vince McMahon’s call to unmask Kane.
Q: Do you think WWE will continue pushing the same people or will they eventually see that they have other talented wrestlers like Matt Hardy, Christian, R-Truth, John Morrison and so on? – Joseph
A: The only place they’re pushing Matt Hardy is out the door at this point. Christian is most definitely underutilized by the company. R-Truth is exactly where he should be right now. Morrison appears to be getting a push with two, consecutive clean pinfall wins over Chris Jericho and a competitive showing with the WWE champion a few weeks back. In addition, they’re trying hard to get Alberto Del Rio over on Smackdown and have at least tried to get Nexus over (though they’ve cooled off quite a bit). Yes, they’re still pushing many of the same tired faces, but you can’t say they’re not trying to get some of those younger, newer faces over.
Q: Can you tell me who wrestled as Leatherface in the IWA King of the Deathmatch against Terry Funk? Also, I vaguely remember an early TNA masked wrestler called Mr. X and can’t find anything on him either. – Jolietjonblues
A: The original Leatherface character was played by the former Corporal Kirchner of WWF fame. He created the character (which borrowed the name of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie villain) and used it in Japan for years before going to jail. At that point, the character was given to Rick Patterson who used it for his match with Funk in 1995. As for Mr. X, I cannot remember this. Perhaps someone can shed some more light on this in the comments section below.
Q: Is Mike Tenay still paranoid about his job now that Jim Ross has re-signed with WWE? – Lenny
A: He should be after CM Punk’s performance on NXT this week.
Q: The TNA Knockout Tag team Championships have certainly lost their luster since the early part of this year. Do you think TNA should retire the belts or do you think they might be able to rejuvenate the Knockouts tag division? – madslam2009
A: They never should have created Tag belts for the Knockouts division in the first place. Why do you need them? Were there really THAT many talented female performers featured on Impact each week? A singles title is enough. It’s like promotions of old that used to have a set of belts that were defended during 6-man tag bouts. At that time, it may have been a fine idea, but it just doesn’t work in 2010. Less is more.
Q: Is Dwayne Johnson still going to return this year and do something with WWE? He didn’t get to host Raw as a special guest. And how come WWE doesn’t film live Raw and Smackdown in Australia when they do in other countries like England? – Elizabeth
A: Nobody knows for sure except Rock whether or not he is going to come back. He has said he would love to guest host and had intended to do something this summer, but his film schedule got in the way. He has even more projects lined up now. As for Raw and Smackdown airing live down under, it’s an issue of cost and the time zone difference.
Q: What’s happened to MVP the past year or so? I saw this guy being a potential main eventer, but now he’s wrestling guys like Luke Gallows on Superstars. Have I missed something? – Mark
A: He’s been in and out of the doghouse numerous times now, going back to an “incident†backstage where he got a bit testy with a drug tester. As the story goes, he was asked to pee in a cup and remarked to the person, “So you went to college to grow up and do THIS?†The moral of the story is in WWE, keep your mouth shut and do what you’re told.
Q: When is WWE coming to san diego my name is ken I always wanted be a wrestler if i made it i call myself vocano.
A: Good luck with that.
Q: I just want to know why does WWE slap an “Urban/Hip Hop” gimmick on every black wrestler (MVP, R-Truth, JTG, etc.) with the exception of Shad and Ezekiel? Do they do it to try to appeal to the black crowd or is that how they feel? Also, when will Kofi main event on Smackdown? – Chris
A: You just mentioned Kofi’s name and last I checked, he was pretty black and did not have such a gimmick. Neither did Shelton Benjamin. However, your point is a valid one. Keep in mind, this is the same company that is responsible for The Slickster, Akeem the African Dream, and Saba Simba. Their taste is questionable at best. As for Kofi in the main event, since they cut his legs off during the feud with Randy Orton, he’s never fully recovered the momentum he had. Unless he can find a way to recapture that, it’s not likely to happen anytime soon.
Q: Since WWE is now accepting that smaller talent such as Daniel Bryan and Evan Bourne can be big draws, is there any reason why WWE hasn’t looked at former TNA X-Division champion Petey Williams, or even Christopher Daniels? – Nate O.
A: First of all, I don’t think WWE has accepted that Evan Bourne can be a “big†draw. In spite of the great reactions he continues to get, they still squash him at every opportunity. The fact is, John Cena went to bat for him with Vince and as a result, Evan got a nice push there for a while. With Bryan, there were people backstage who went to bat for him. In WWE, you need allies to put in a good word for you backstage. Otherwise, someone with the size of Petey Williams is not likely to get a second look. As for Chris Daniels, from what I understand, there are people backstage who don’t like him for one reason or another. Their loss is Ring of Honor’s gain.
Q: Where are John Cena’s balls? He seems to have lost them. Does Vince have them or did he take Cena’s balls and give them to Linda? Would somebody please ask Linda for John Cena’s balls? – Andrew
A: Oh, how I hope this question comes up during Linda’s debate with Richard Blumenthal.
Keep those questions coming to sescoops@gmail.com and remember to include your name!
Solomonster leads off with some thoughts on stupidity and two individuals who win the award for it this week, plus thoughts on WWE’s ban on muscle relaxers, Connecticut investigating the company, the real reason Desmond Wolfe is out of TNA for a while, the best line of the week from Michael Cole of all people on NXT, and a word about next week’s special show!
(submit YOUR questions to sescoops@gmail.com)
Q: Is there any reason why recent tag teams in WWE have gone by the wrestlers names (eg Cade and Murdoch, Miz and Morrison) and not by team names like The Headbangers, Legion of Doom etc? I can’t be the only one that misses the proper tag teams of the old tag team division. – Phill M.
A: Watch any episode of Raw or Smackdown and it is painfully obvious that WWE does not care about its tag team division. Why bother putting in the effort to come up with team names for teams that will likely be dropped or broken up a few weeks later? Rumor has it they want to change this over the next few months to build some credible challengers for the belts.
Q: Do you think we’ll ever see a midget in the WWE Hall of Fame? I know several have been inducted into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame, including Sky Low Low, Lord Littlebrook, and Little Beaver, but as far as I know none have made it to the WWE HOF. – Jack (stratojaxter)
A: Absolutely. They will eventually start running out of names and will put at least one or two midgets in there as a novelty, if nothing else. It would not surprise me at all to see Hornswoggle in there one day. Say what you will, but he is the only midget in WWE history to be prominently featured in a main event angle and he sells a ton of merchandise.
Q: Why haven’t we ever seen a Teddy Hart (Bret’s nephew) vs. Matt Bentley (HBK’s cousin) match/program anywhere? Do you think it will ever happen? WWP perhaps? – Jay
A: If a promoter thinks he can make money marketing the match, then it will happen. Now that Bret and Shawn have made their peace, it seems less likely.
Q: Do the majority of people still view wrestling as simply fake without any understanding of how dangerous it can be, or do you believe people today understand that wrestling actually can be a dangerous game? – Joey
A: We haven’t done a poll to find out, but there are plenty of people who cannot fathom the notion that “fake†wrestlers really do get injured. Three words sum this up best: ignorance is bliss. To give an analogy, you may recall hearing about this two-wheeled electric vehicle called The Segway many years ago that was going to revolutionize the way we all move around. It didn’t quite work out that way, though I do see them used these days by police officers and mall cops. It was designed to be practically impossible to fall off of… except the US president went and fell off the thing in an infamous faux pas. The point is that sh*t happens and injuries in wrestling are no different.
Q: Why is Matt Stryker still on commentary when he keeps making stuff up? Does he actually do any research before giving us his ‘fun facts’? Lawler hates him and he adds nothing to the product. – Anonymous
A: Stryker is actually quite knowledgeable about the business and its history. He was doing a fine job of doling out legit facts until Kevin Dunn (EVP, TV Production) told him to stop talking about old wrestlers that nobody would know about. Once Vince McMahon started getting in his ear, he just started making stuff up to please the boss.
Q: Is it true that Christian was originally meant to be the person that had been attacking Jeff Hardy last year? – Michael
A: Yes it is. When Vince McMahon realized that everyone knew this, he decided to swerve us all and have Matt Hardy go heel on his brother at the Royal Rumble. Of course, they only swerved themselves because the payoff made little sense and the Hardys ended up making up months later while Christian wasted away in ECW.
Q: Sorry, what I meant to ask last time was if it’s possible for me to join WWE without a high school deploma? Like is it required for me to have a high school deploma or can I just go join FCW and hopefully get into the WWE from there? Also, has there ever been a wrestler who didn’t finish school? – Johnny
A: So you know, it’s spelled “diploma†(another reason to attend high school). To answer your question, I’m not aware of any requirement that says you need such a diploma to work as an independent contractor for WWE. I’m certain you would need that and a college degree to even get a second look as an employee working at Titan Tower. As for wrestlers who didn’t finish school, I’m sure there are plenty of examples, but the best one I can think of is the one and only Bobby “The Brain†Heenan. He was a wrestler long before he started managing or announcing and has said that he never made it past the eighth grade.
Q: How long do you see Undertaker holding the World title after he gets it from Kane? – Randy
A: That’s quite the prognostication there. History (and his health) would indicate not very long. Out of all his title reigns, I believe his longest successive reign was his second from 1997, which spanned the period from WrestleMania to Summerslam. Taker has never really proven to be a great ratings or PPV draw as champion, and wrestling a reduced schedule is also an ominous sign.
Q: Why did WWE hire Joey styles back if he simply dissed them when he supposedly quit? – Ricardo
A: Vince McMahon and Joey both determined he was not a good fit as an announcer who “tells storiesâ€, so they decided to shift him over to other duties. The infamous worked-shoot on Raw was all an angle and they gave Joey the freedom to write his own promo. He currently runs WWE.com and is seemingly very happy in the role.
Q: With all the money Vince has, why doesn’t he start his own channel? He’s got shows all over the week and can show re-runs thrice a day like other sports and not have to worry about preemptions or the network taking away the show as is happening with NXT. It would be nice to know why Vince doesn’t want to run a TV channel like Ted Turner did. – Prasanna
A: First of all, SyFy is not “taking away†NXT. The network has chosen not to renew their deal for the show, which is their perogative. If it had done better ratings, it would remain on the air. When your lead announcer is on the show openly mocking how crappy it is, you can blame WWE for that one. Secondly, Vince McMahon is definitely interested in launching his own cable channel and has said he wants to see it on the air by late 2011. The company has already hired additional staff to make the necessary preparations to their video library and will begin making presentations to the various cable companies this January to get them on board to carry the proposed station. This does NOT mean all of their programming will air on their own channel and, in fact, that is not what they want. It would behoove them to maintain their relationship with NBC Universal/USA Network.
Q: Will Cena ever turn heel? – Keysean
A: Everyone does at some point. Unless your name is Ricky Steamboat.
Q: What is the point of dark match main events? – Jolietjonblues
A: To send the fans home happy. If you ever go to a massage parlor, ask for the “dark match†when it’s over and you may go home happy, too.
Keep those questions coming to sescoops@gmail.com and remember to include your name!
Solomonster discusses Kevin Nash and Matt Hardy’s Twitter meltdowns, putting RVD in his place, breaking news on another wrestler death, Jim Neidhart’s arrest, Hulk Hogan’s hospital stay, Bound for Glory kickoff, ROH “Glory by Honor IX†results, Regal rapping on Superstars and a heartfelt PSA.
(submit YOUR questions to sescoops@gmail.com)
Q: I don’t know if I missed an episode of Impact or not, but I remember a segment where Samoa Joe was kidnapped and thrown in the back of a van and then he just suddenly reappeared a few months later. Did we ever find out who was behind the attack or am I just dumb? – Kieran A.
A: Nope, they never did follow through on who his attacker(s) were. TNA would have you believe that continuity is a dirty word. In any event, stay vigilant as these mystery ninjas continue to hide among us and may strike at anytime.
Q: I know that it is a real long shot, but do you think that we might see Evan Bourne in a championship position? Maybe for the US or IC title? I just think he has a huge amount of talent that WWE doesn’t utilize. What is your opinion? – Joe D
A: Absolutely, it wouldn’t surprise me at all to see Evan with gold around his waist at some point, be it Tag Team, US or IC. Reportedly, it was John Cena who went to bat for him with Vince McMahon some time ago when Evan was getting a bit of a push on Raw, though that seems to have subsided. Point is, he is well-liked and has his supporters backstage.
Q: Is there any chance WWE can bring back Fatu to manage his sons? And why do you guys think WWE did away with managers in general? – David
A: Very little chance Fatu (Rikishi) is brought back in any capacity unless he loses significant pounds. Based on recent appearances on the indy scene, his weight has spiraled out of control and he’s having a great deal of problems with his knees as a result. As for why WWE did away with managers, you can point the finger squarely at Vince McMahon on that one as he feels it’s too “wrasslin” to work in today’s environment. Meanwhile, men like Jim “Sinister Minister” Mitchell and Joel Gertner sit on the sidelines.
Q: Okay, so at WrestleMania 15, there was a Hell in the Cell match between the Undertaker and the Big Boss Man. The match concluded with the Brood (Edge and Christian) coming down from the ceiling on top of the cell with a noose and the Boss Man was hung. How was that possible? It’s been bugging me for years. – Nathan O.
A: It was quite an elaborate stunt pulled off by WWE. I believe Bossman was rigged pre-match under his attire with some sort of stunt harness. Upon being hoisted into the air, it was made to look as though he was hanging by his neck when in reality, he was being hoisted up rather safely by the harness. There are actually people out there who still believe he was really being hanged and was simply holding his breath the entire time.
Q: Will WWE ever go back to PG-14 and, if they do, how do you think they will make the switch? – Justin
A: First of all, there’s no such thing as PG-14, that’s an oxymoron. I suppose if John Cena and Steve Austin were siamese twins, you could call it PG-14 (that would actually be rather entertaining watching Austin cuss and Cena just shake his head in disgust). Regardless, if it’s TV-14 you mean, when ratings slip even further and their revenue streams begin to dry up, then they will likely consider a return to edgy programming. In other words, it’s not happening anytime soon. When they do, it will be gradual. Don’t expect to turn on Raw one week and suddenly see beer drinking, stripteases and crotch-grabbing. If you want that, fly to Vegas.
Q: Is smackdown will be spoilers when it live in syfy? – Soud
A: I swear to god this was a real question. People, please don’t drunk text. Thanks.
Q: With WWE unifying the Women’s and Divas titles and there being 16 Divas and one title, do you think they will fire some Divas in the near future, because you can’t have 16 Divas going after one belt? –Victor
A: Who says all 16 Divas have to compete for a title? Most don’t know how to wrestle, anyway. They hire most of these women with very little, if any, experience who look like Playboy models (though oddly enough, they won’t allow Playboy shoots anymore due to the PG product). Besides, we don’t yet know what will happen once the titles are unified. Will the champion travel across both brands? If so, then anyone can go after the belt.
Q: Why did Shawn Michaels use the DX theme music at WrestleMania 23 instead of his normal music? He was tag team champion with someone else and Triple H had been out injured for months at that point. – Joanna
A: I think it had more to do with keeping DX fresh in people’s minds for when Triple H was able to return. They likely did not want people to think the unit was dead. I remember asking myself this same question at the time, and it bugged me too, but there are far more important things for us to worry over.
Q: What was supposed to be the outcome of Vince McMahon’s staged death a few years ago? I know Chris Benoit was found dead and that was the end of that storyline, but do you know where that idea was supposed to go? – Jack
A: From what I can recall, one idea being toyed with was having Linda McMahon be fingered (sorry, poor choice of words) as the culprit. However, it would later be revealed that she was wrongly accused and someone else would have been revealed as the true mastermind. I don’t believe they knew who that person would be as many times, these angles are made up as they go along. For example, WWE certainly did not have Rikishi in mind when Steve Austin first got run down by a car at the 1999 Survivor Series. The other idea was that Vince would reveal at some point that he staged his own death for reasons that would later be explained.
Keep those questions coming to sescoops@gmail.com and remember to include your name!
Solomonster has a vicious, pre-Labor Day rant on Raw’s 900th episode from last Monday, reveals the wrestling show that actually has more episodes, discusses TNA going live on 10/7, who was conspicuously absent from their recent drug test, the NXT debacle, a scary stat on John Cena, Tyler Black threatening to take the ROH title to WWE, and learn how YOU can hear your voice on the Sound Off!
(submit YOUR questions to sescoops@gmail.com)
Q: I know this would never happen, but seeing that football season is coming up soon and that tends to drag down Raw’s rating for 4 months, do you think WWE would be able to perform better in the male demographic on a Tuesday or Wednesday? – Donnie P.
A: Maybe, but the difference would be slight. Raw has shifted to Thursdays on occasion and always performed worse because people are creatures of habit. Monday has always been wrestling night and moving Raw to a different slot would harm their viewership rather than help it.
Q: When will WWE expose who the mystery GM is? – Justin
A: When Michael Cole is good and ready. Oops.
Q: Did the old territory system die before or after WrestleMania 3? – Andrew
A: Certain territories were still alive after that third Mania show. It wasn’t a singular date where they all dropped dead, they were phased out through the late 80s/early 90s.
Q: Do I need to graduate from high school in order to join WWE? -Johnny
A: You need to graduate from high school regardless of whether or not you join WWE.
Q: On the “Rise and Fall of ECW†DVD, it states that ECW was the highest rated show on TNN, or at least that’s what Ron Buffone says. What sort of numbers was the show doing and how did it compare with what Raw and Nitro were doing at the time? Also, what was the best PPV number ECW ever did? – Paul Snaith
A: The numbers the TNN show got were nowhere close to what Raw and Nitro were doing, even in the dying days of WCW. They were more comparable to TNA Impact or NXT on SyFy, generally wavering between an 0.7 and 1.1. Highest rated edition was a 1.3 (1/21/00 and 3/3/00) while the lowest rated was the final episode (10/6/00) at an 0.6. As for their PPV numbers, I believe the best one the original ECW ever did was for their second to last show, “Massacre on 34th Street†(12/3/00), but I don’t have the exact number. For the record, the first ECW “One Night Stand†show in 2005 did the greatest number of buys by leaps and bounds, though it was a WWE production that received hype on their programming leading up to the event.
Q: Which gimmick match do you consider pretty funny when watching it now? For example, Abdullah the Butcher getting the electric chair, Giant-Hogan monster truck tug-of-war, Big Bossman vs. Al Snow double cage match with guard dogs, or Triple H vs. Henry Godwin “Hog Pen†match). – Anonymous
A: They’re all pretty ridiculous to look back on. I recall years ago on Raw during the Attitude Era there being a divas match on some sort aptly dubbed an “Over the Top, Off with Your Top†match by Jerry Lawler. Not necessarily as ridiculous as the ones you mentioned, but I still laugh when I think of that clever match title.
Q: This is in regards to the recent A.J. Styles interview where he seemed uncharacteristically critical toward TNA management. As we all know, Fortune launched a program with EV2.0 shortly afterward. Do you think the fans get worked? Seems right up Russo’s alley and the timing seems to point in that direction. – Mike
A: It’s entirely possible. Styles does not seem to have a history of working his public interviews in that manner, and many of the points he hit on are factually true. It is a fact that other wrestlers in TNA legitimately feel the way, so if it was Russo pulling the wool over everyone’s eyes, congratulations. But that doesn’t change the fact that you still have people working in your company who are unhappy and turning it into a storyline won’t do much to help locker room morale.
Q: I’ve been watching wrestling since I was a kid in the early 70’s and was of the mind that Bruno Sammartino was a God. I understand the situation between Bruno and Vince is pretty bad, so I’m not getting my hopes up for the Hall of Fame. I was able to take some comfort in the fact that he was at least pictured in the opening montage that runs prior to every WWE show. However, I’ve noticed he’s been replaced. Is there any reason behind slighting the guy who carried the (then) WWWF title, if not the company, for a total combined twelve years over his two reigns? – Bill (War Machine) Lawless
A: I wouldn’t read too much into it. Yes, there is still animosity between the two sides, mostly from Bruno’s side as WWE has made numerous attempts to get him into the HOF before and he’s always turned them down. They featured him in their opening montage for quite some time before replacing him, but they also replaced others recently including Jim Ross and Gorilla Monsoon, who has always been one of Vince’s favorites. They simply felt it was time to update the montage.
Q: Where do you go to watch Ring of Honor? Is it not on TV because I can’t find it, is it an online thing? – Nathan B.
A: ROH is most definitely on television and can be found Monday nights on HDNet. If you’re cable provider does not offer HDNet, you can easily find full episodes on YouTube.
Keep those questions coming to sescoops@gmail.com and remember to include your name!
Solomonster missed Raw, but did see Dixie Carter’s husband get beat down on Impact, plus thoughts on the death of Luna Vachon, Serena released by WWE, Jake Roberts retires, Scott Hall vacations in rehab, a setback (and name) for the new Florida promotion, and a tearjerker of a shout out. That’ right, get the tissues ready!
(submit YOUR questions to sescoops@gmail.com)
Q: How did the Dungeon of Doom stable finally end in WCW? I know Chris Benoit and Kevin Sullivan had a long series of matches culminating with the “Taskmaster’s” retirement, but I can’t remember if the Dungeon of Doom had been disbanded at this point or not. – Geremy Kerr
A: The Dungeon essentially faded away at that point. The New World Order became the hot commodity once Kevin Sullivan retired, and when The Giant joined the nWo, that was truly the death knell.
Q: What will WrestleMania’s big gimmick match be now that MITB has it’s own PPV? – K.K.
A: If their mentality is still to fit as many guys on the Mania show as possible to get everyone a payday, they can simply go back to sticking them all in a meaningless Battle Royal as they’ve done many times before.
Q: What is your prediction for the LayCool/Melina storyline? -madslam2009
A: It can really only go one of two ways. Either they ask Melina to join their group and she refuses, or they have some sort of title unification bout, which would probably be for the better. I’d guess unification.
Q: Thanks for the new mailbag. I think it’s a great idea. What is the real story behind Tod Gordon, Paul E. and ECW? When did Gordon sell ECW? Was he telling WCW about wrestlers that were leaving? I guess it was a hot topic with the recent TNA PPV. – David Profeta
A: Tod Gordon sold ECW to Paul Heyman in 1996 and stayed on in a figurehead role. As more and more ECW stars began to defect to WCW, the belief was that there was a mole in the ECW locker room and Tod Gordon was later fired from the company. The idea was that instead of an ECW wrestler speaking directly with WCW, Gordon was serving as a liason between the two parties as a way to avoid potential contract tampering. There was also a rumor that Gordon was overheard on an answering machine speaking to Terry Taylor (then working in the WCW front office) about signing certain ECW stars. As best as we can tell, none of this has ever been substantiated and Gordon himself remarked in an interview several years ago that the whole “ECW mole” story was merely a work created to help ECW save face when they started losing so much talent.
Q: Would you like to see WWE go back to where every month either Raw or Smackdown has their own PPV like they did for a few years a while back? I know I would. – Mike
A: Absolutely not! The reason they stopped doing them was because the rosters for each brand, on their own, lacked enough depth to justify devoting an entire PPV to each. That and they performed poorly. Now, that’s not to say their PPV numbers are doing much better these days (they’re not), but people pay to see stars and a Smackdown PPV, with the lack of starpower on that show and lack of attention the brand itself gets from WWE (at least until the SyFy debut in October) would do quite poorly.
Q: Can you tell me when TNA is planning on “de-helmeting” Tara? It’s about time. – Nathan Bryan
A: Hold on, let me ask Dixie. I’ll be right back.
Q: Why did Hulk Hogan beat Yokozuna right after Yokozuna defeated Bret Hart for the WWF Title? Is there like a story or a reason? – Fabian
A: Hogan convinced Vince McMahon it was the right thing to do for business. Bret Hart worked hard as champion, but that did little to turn around WWF’s business at the time. Hogan didn’t turn business around either and was scheduled to face off with Hart at Summerslam for the title, likely doing the job, but felt that Bret was too small and instead dropped the belt back to Yoko at the first King of the Ring PPV three months later. He did work a few house shows after that, but then disappeared from the WWF before joining WCW a year later.
Q: Was Rey Mysterio ever a heel? – Steven K.
A: I believe the only time Mysterio might have ever been considered a heel was when he was part of the Filthy Animals faction with Konnan in WCW. This was also during the period where he was unmasked.
Q: Is there any update on that new Florida promotion funded by members of the Wilpon family? The Wilpons own my favorite baseball team, the Mets, and I’m trying to keep up with what they’re doing with this new promotion. Thanks in advance. – A.J.
A: First of all, the Wilpons have NOTHING to do with this new promotion. The supposed “Milton Wilpon” is likely not even really a member of their family. Second, the group now officially has a name (Worldwide Wrestling Promotions), but is now not expected to host their first event until early 2011. Third, my condolences on being a Mets fan. I share your pain.
Keep those questions coming to sescoops@gmail.com and remember to include your name!
Solomonster watched a lot of TV this week and rants about the good and the (mostly) bad on Raw, NXT, Impact and Smackdown, as well as thoughts on Skip Sheffield’s injury, Bobby Lashley’s Strikeforce loss and potential fight with Batista, why Mick Foley is behaving like a whiny little bitch and YOUR mailbag questions answered!
Very sad to report the deaths of two more wrestlers on the heels of Lance Cade’s death last week.
Legendary wrestling manager General Skandor Akbar (James Wehbna), 75, best known for his work in World Class Championship Wrestling and Mid South/UWF, was found dead yesterday at his home in Texas. He remained active on the independent scene until his death and had just recently made an appearance at the NWA Legends Convention, which Jim Ross talked about in a recent blog. Ross even noted that Akbar greatly influenced a young Steve Austin during his time in Dallas.
Also, “Nightmare” Ted Allen, 54, a staple of the southeast wrestling scene for nearly 35 years, was found dead in his home earlier this week. The cause of death is believed to have been a massive heart attack. Allen is perhaps best known for having trained the likes of Arn Anderson, Scotty Riggs and the late Ray Traylor (Big Bossman).
We extend our deepest condolences to their families and friends.
Thanks to everyone who submitted questions for our new mailbag feature here on SEScoops.com! We’ll try to get to as many as we can each week, and remember, there’s no such thing as stupid questions … only stupid wrestling angles!
Q: Was the whole Daniel Bryan getting fired thing a work? Getting an entrance theme and video doesn’t happen in one day. Him having this already leads me to believe they have been working on it for a while. – Kenny B.
A: For the record, it does not take weeks to assemble a TitanTron video and assign generic entrance music to someone, so your logic is flawed. No, Daniel Bryan getting fired was NOT a work, he was really fired by Vince McMahon. The belief is that the pressure for Vince to fire him came from within NBC Universal (not Mattel or Linda McMahon’s campaign as originally speculated) as a result of choking Justin Roberts with his tie during the initial NXT invasion angle on the June 7th Raw. As far as when Bryan knew of his return, that would have likely been at least 7-10 days before Summerslam.
Q: Do you think The Miz will be the first to fail with the MITB briefcase? I personally think he will be. He had a perfect opportunity to cash in at Summerslam when Sheamus was RKO’d on the announce table. – Jayson Cooper
A: At some point, you need to break up the predictability of every MITB winner cashing in successfully. Now that they have an entire PPV devoted to the concept, now would be a good time to do that. To keep Miz looking strong, why not have him wait until next year and announce that he’s cashing in against John Cena (or whoever the champion is) at WrestleMania? It would make him look like anything but a coward to announce this in advance as opposed to beating up on someone after they’ve already wrestled a match. Even if he loses, he can still challenge for the title again, and being in the main event of Mania would mean far more to his career than some cheap B-show title win.
Q: With the unfortunate loss of Darren Young, it seems the end of Nexus is near with “Super Cena” and Friends forcing them to pick off the remaining members one-by-one until what seems like an eventual Cena vs. Barrett match. Is there any chance Nexus makes it to WrestleMania, let alone the end of the year? – Michael
A: It’s absolutely possible that Nexus can continue in some form through WrestleMania 27. I didn’t say it was likely, but it’s possible. Case in point, what happens to the NXT Season 2 rookies once that season has run its course? It’s entirely possible some or all of those rookies will be incorporated into the Nexus faction. My guess is they stick around until the end of the year before splintering off completely.
Q:Â Will Friday Night Smackdown go live once they move to SyFy or will it be taped on Tuesdays like it is now? – Anonymous
A: The very first edition of Smackdown on SyFy on October 1st will be airing live. However, all subsequent episodes will be taped on Tuesdays to air on Fridays as is the case right now. Going live adds a great deal of expense for little return.
Q: Why does Rey Mysterio constantly pass kids with no masks to touch heads and give masks to those who already have one? Those young fans with no mask paid to see their hero, too. What’s up with that??? – Shelley
A:Â It’s a great way to encourage people to buy his mask at the shows!
Q: Why does Kurt Angle not wear his gold medal anymore? Did WWE copyright it? – Brobowski
A: I’m fairly certain WWE cannot “copyright” Olympic gold medals. Granted, when Kurt used to wear them, they were not the real thing. In any event, I’ve never heard a definitive answer for why he stopped wearing it other than he simply wanted to.
Q: Me and my friend have a bet going… I say Edge and Christian were “brothers” when they first came to the WWF and he says they weren’t. Who is right? – Anonymous
A: Hope your friend didn’t bet his life on that. If so, make sure he doesn’t go out in any thunderstorms. You win, sir.
Q:Â Do you think Nexus will break up eventually? – Jesse Wagstaff
A:Â Yes.
Q:Â What is the closest indy promotion to Salt Lake City? Â WWE only visits the area once or twice a year and TNA has never performed in Salt Lake City as far as I know. – Frank
A: The closest promotions would be American Championship Wrestling, American Xtreme Wrestling and Ultra Championship Wrestling Zero (UCW-Zero), which is affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance. We encourage you support your local indy promotion(s) as you never know where the next breakout star may come from.
Keep those questions coming to sescoops@gmail.com and remember to include your name!
The fine folks at SEScoops have dug deep into their pockets and purchased their very own MAILBAG! There’s just one problem — this big ‘ol sack is sitting here in front of us and it’s empty. That’s where you guys come in … send in your wrestling and MMA-related questions to sescoops@gmail.com and each week, we’ll pick a whole bunch to answer right here on the website!
Got a question about something that happened on Raw last night? How about that WCW pay-per-view from 15 years ago? Whatever your question is, send it to us at sescoops@gmail.com and we’ll do our best to answer it right here for all the world to see!
Solomonster gives a complete review of Summerslam (with an infuriating finish), thoughts on the death of Lance Cade, Tiffany suspended by WWE, Adam Pearce fired as ROH booker, thoughts on TNA Impact/Reaction, a review of The Expendables and A SONG!!!
WWE’s 23rd annual Summerslam will emanate this Sunday, August 15th, from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, it’s home the last two years and likely for many years to come. Summerslam has had its share of great matches and memorable moments over the last several years, but I can’t help but think the event has lost much of the luster it once had. On top of that, WWE pay-per-view buyrates have hit near rockbottom lows these past few months. On a positive note, we’ve also had a focused, lengthy storyline that revolves around a bunch of fresh faces in the main event picture, which has been a welcome change. But now, these rookies need to actually, you know… work a real match, and a PPV main event at that.
Will Summerslam mark the end of the Nexus storyline, or do they have an ace up their sleeve and a way to drag this out for another couple of months while keeping them strong with a victory? Let’s run down the card with some predictions:
Dolph Ziggler (c) v. Kofi Kingston for the Intercontinental Title
Congrats to Dolph, who while he can’t sing for shit, finally won the big one when he defeated Kofi Kingston for the IC title. Of course, when you keep feeding title shots to the same person over and over, he’s bound to win one at some point. Hence why titles mean nothing. Regardless, it would be ridiculous to take the title off Ziggler so soon after finally capturing it, so he has my vote to retain.
Big Show vs. CM Punk, Luke Gallows and Joey Mercury, 3-on-1 Handicap Match
CM Punk has been fantastic these past few months, in spite of his elbow injury, and his facials during the unmasking a few weeks back on Smackdown was a true gem. That said, I know he’s been hurt, but it makes me sad to see where Punk is on the card this year relative to where he was just one year ago, winning the World title from Jeff Hardy in a fantastic TLC Match. It would be far worse to see he and his Straight Edge Society squashed 3-on-1 by Big Show in this match. They may not be made to look strong, but I can’t see them losing in the end, so I predict victory for the SES. For the love of god, re-hire Colt “Don’t Call Me Scotty Goldman” Cabana and have him interfere as the newest member of Punk’s crew because, shaved head or not, he deserves the chance and is to Punk what Abbott was to Costello. What an act those two would make.
Alicia Fox (c) v. Melina for the Divas Championship
Melina made her triumphant return to Raw two weeks ago and was immediately thrust into a non-title match with the champion… on free TV one week before the PPV. Alrighty then. Now the title is on the line and Melina has her hands full in trying to avoid Alicia’s AXE KICK OF DEATH, which has overtaken Randy Orton’s punt as the most dangerous maneuver in WWE (at least in terms of the way it is executed). I honestly believe she is going to accidentally decapitate someone one of these days with that kick and heads are going to roll… literally, roll right out of the ring and onto the floor. Anyway, Melina just came back and they really don’t have another big name diva for her to feud with just yet unless they turn Eve heel, so my bet is that Alicia retains here.
Kane (c) v. Rey Mysterio for the World Heavyweight Championship
Kane fans rejoice, he has held on to the World title for longer than 24 hours… eat that, Stone Cold! With that out of the way, I don’t think anyone expects Rey Mysterio to cleanly defeat Kane for his THIRD World title reign. Note my use of the word “clean” – it’s painfully obvious that VEGETABLE UNDERTAKER will (sprout?) from the grave once more and make his presence felt either during or after this match. Does he have to be there in the flesh? Of course not. We’ve seen Kane get flummoxed before just by the sound of his brother’s dong (boy, poor choice of words there) or the sight of a spooky TitanTron video, so perhaps a well-placed distraction allows Mysterio to cradle Kane for the victory. Or maybe Undertaker does, in fact, show up and beats the piss out of his younger brother. I predict Undertaker WILL make his presence felt in some way, shape or form, which is hardly a shocking prediction. However, I say Kane retains the title. I didn’t say he wins the match, per se, but no way he drops the strap here. It’s just too soon and dammit, he deserves more time before Undertaker obliterates him!
Sheamus (c) v. Randy Orton for the WWE Championship
The stipulation here is that if anyone interferes in the match on the champion’s behalf, they will be suspended. Conversely, if Orton should lose, he gets no rematch and moves back down to the bottom of the food chain. And really, why not? If you are the challenger to the title and you fall short, what entitles you to a rematch, anyway? I must say, their first singles encounter earlier this year at the Royal Rumble did not blow me away, but it wasn’t a bad match. Sheamus has improved a great deal since that time and I think this could be the sleeper match of the show. He and Orton shined big time during their segment on Raw this past Monday, which essentially was just each man saying he’s going to beat the other because the title means that much to them. Quite a simple formula, no? Sheamus retains, perhaps on some sort of flukey DQ finish that allows Orton to get a rematch anyway at the Night of Champions PPV.
7-on-6 Elimination Match
Team WWE (John Cena, Bret Hart, Edge, Chris Jericho, John Morrison, R-Truth and ?) vs. Nexus (Wade Barrett, David Otunga, Michael Tarver, Skip Sheffield, Justin Gabriel, Heath Slater and Darren Young)
Survivor Series comes early with this rare elimination tag bout that may have big-time storyline repercussions, unless they kill it dead. This will be a huge test for Nexus, who find themselves in the biggest match of their lives. Barrett has clearly been the standout performer on the mic, and from what we’ve seen of him inside the ring, he’s acceptable. But the rest of the group is a big question mark. Fortunately, any weaknesses they may have can more easily be hidden in a format like this.
Meanwhile, after weeks of falling apart at the seams, Team WWE appeared united at the end of Raw this past Monday. Bret “Batman” Hart takes the place of an injured Ricky Steamboat as the resident legend on this team, and while he won’t be able to do much, he still brings some added starpower to this match. The question is, unless his team wins and he is one of the lone survivors (which would be a mistake), how do you eliminate him? A count-out or DQ of some sort would seem to make sense. Unless of course, Bret were to cost his team the match and go heel. General consensus seems to be that someone is turning heel this Sunday, which doesn’t mean it will happen, but it would certainly add intrigue to things and give Nexus the win they need to keep this storyline going for a few more months. For what it’s worth, I don’t believe it will be Bret Hart. If anyone’s going heel, it’s John Morrison. As if the scruffy beard on Monday wasn’t a sign, it’s painfully obvious that when it comes to promos at least, Morrison is much better as a heel. Would Cena screw over his own team? That would hardly make sense, and while I’d love to see him go heel, it doesn’t seem like the right time for it.
Which brings us to the seventh man. Last Monday, Nexus became babyfaces (to me anyway) by taking The Great Khali out of this match by attacking his knee. That leaves Team WWE at a disadvantage and the question is who, if anyone, will fill Khali’s shoes? Well, literally, nobody can fill his shoes, but I do expect Miz to play into this. Whether he actually accepts the spot or not, he should be there and deserves to be there. It makes for an interesting little twist, regardless of who it turns out to be, and it should be fun to see how they handle this. Remember, Evan Bourne doesn’t have a match on Sunday… just saying.
This entire Nexus angle appears to be building to something bigger, and before Triple H went down with yet another injury, there was serious talk of either he or John Cena going heel to align with the group. That could still happen, but it’s unlikely to happen on Sunday. Whatever happens, Nexus HAS to win this match. This show should do a far better buyrate than their most recent PPV offerings and there is more money to be made if they play their cards right. Remember, Team WWF got screwed over by Steve Austin and lost to Team WCW/ECW at the Invasion PPV back in 2001 (a show that did the company’s biggest buyrate ever for a non-Mania show). Granted, they greatly bungled the invasion storyline after that, but they were able to keep things going through Survivor Series that year. Being that they’re already giving away the elimination match, why not build to a WAR GAMES match in November? Make it happen!
So, what do YOU think will happen this Sunday at Summerslam? Will you be ordering the event and why? Leave your comments below and let your voice be heard!
Solomonster talks Hardcore Justice, Samoa Joe’s suspension, AJ Styles tells it like it is, Tyler Black signing with WWE, heel turn at Summerslam, World’s Greatest Tag Team in ROH and a look back at Summerslam 1997!
First off, I need to thank my buddy Webmaster Mike for allowing me to post this up on the site.  It certainly may not fall under wrestling news, but we have plenty of loyal visitors logging on to SEScoops on a daily basis and if even a few of you contribute, it can make a world of difference.
If you’re a fan of the Sound Off, you’re likely aware that my aunt passed away last week. We were very close and while the whole ordeal dragged out through most of July, the way everything went down was still quite sudden and unexpected. It just goes to show you must appreciate what you have now because it may not be here tomorrow.
It is quite likely my aunt’s diabetes played a role in her death. As such, I’ve had people ask me what they can do to help or where they can send donations in her memory.  I’ve been in touch with the folks at Columbia University Medical Center in New York, which has a terrific diabetes program, and am happy to work with them on this. If you would like to make a donation, all gifts will go to benefit the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center, specifically intended to support their research and education program. It is very active in pursuing treatments and cures for Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.
Checks can be made payable to: Columbia University
-On the Memo line, please write: ***Berrie Center – IMO Cecelia Katz***
-Checks should then be mailed to the attention of:
Sally Benner
CUMC Development
100 Haven Avenue, Suite 29D
New York NY 10032
• From the drop-down menu, select Columbia University Medical Center “Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center”
• then “Gift for Diabetes Care and Research”
• enter gift amount, then on next screen, choose “in memory”
• in the Notes box, mention that the gift is made IMO of Cecelia Katz
All donations are, of course, tax deductible (US-only). Whatever you’d like to give, however big or small, will be going toward a great cause. Much love and appreciation from me if you do so.
