Greetings all, after a very long break,THT returns… After 4 very eventful months in the beautiful country of India, I am back on UK soil… and back to writing WZ’s hottest column!
As ever, I first need to comment on some stuff that’s been going down… I have a lot to catch up with 🙂
Kurt Angle To TNA: Shock Of The Year… Not Quite… It was starred a long time ago this was gonna happen, once the suspensions kicked in and even his title win in January seemed like an appeasement… He is in TNA and it is a bad thing for him… a great thing for TNA… WWE…they won’t care, they lost Diesel and Ramon 10 years ago… Angle is the same level both were at that point… He is not the messiah many have made him out to be, he could have been… But his deck was stacked the day he broke his neck… Kurt could have been the greatest, and he is great at what he does… but he will never win that accolade he is willing to risk it all for… Will Jericho? that is another question…especially if he does go to TNA…
WWE has been signing some “veterans”, I won’t call them legends cos few are… but IRS showing up on RAW was interesting, if Duggan can team with someone, he certainly can… Flash Funk… I must admit as a guilty pleasure, I look forward to the first time I hear the “FLAASH, You’re SOOO Funkayy” again… To me the gimmick never was given the time it needed… Cruiser champ all the way…against an alleged playa like Helms… that will be fun to watch… Henry Godwinn…not so enthusiastic to see back but hey, I guess he is worth a if only so they can show the Hog Pen match one more time…thats one vid I doubt DX will be showing in a hurry…
Jeff Hardy back in WWE is a good thing, and it is building to a Hardyz reunion at WM… I have had many thoughts on who they should face, but right now my faves are The World’s Greatest Tag Team…as interesting as Kane and Taker would be, I can;t imagine WWE doing it…and by WM I can’t imagine Shelton having anything better on the cards…but devils advocate…would Matt Vs Jeff be better?
Finlay has impressed me in recent months, the guy is barely quarter of a step from being a legit main eventer right now… Give him the belt Vince, if only for a night… the guy has earned it…
Conversely, Lashley is not ready… it shows…neither is Kennedy, which showed in his relatively short reign with the US title… another year of solid feuds will see both make it but WWE seems to be smart enough to realise not to blow these two (keep your minds clean folks).
The rumors of Big Show retiring have me a little sad… this guy is finally ready to pop…and it’s too late for his body to handle… I hope he gets the Hogan match at WM, I even hope Hogan has the grace to job or let it be a no contest… He discovered him, and it would be fitting to go out together in a match… just don’t let Nick or Brooke be at ringside lol
So onto the Hot Topic and it is Cyber Sunday…
My first thought… Why?
Taboo Tuesday failed as a concept, no one really cared… It shows that Sky TV were not even gonna show Cyber Sunday untill a late non-PPV showing was announced in the last couple of days… a WWE PPV, not being show at all, with no plans a week before… that sums up what Cyber Sunday truly means to the rest of the world… and to most WWE fans…
The concept is great, but the problem is people know WWE will load the votes and still run the show as they like… Case in point, this time we have a “choice” to vote for a tag partner for Flair… Dusty, Piper or Slaughter… We all know it will be Piper… it is almost pre-ordained… Rhodes would be more interesting, as the two had more of a history of feuding, but those fans who remember it are not those who watch WWE right now… so they will go with Hot Rod… cos he is more familiar and a WWE guy… Interesting thought, if by karma or whatever, Rhodes won, would they use the “American Dream” music and have him wear the Polka Dots? A Sad day if they do!
The main event of Cyber Sunday, like that of the Survivor Series seems dull and pointless… If there is no real prize on the line why does it matter… Now if they say whichever brand gets pinned at SS is cancelled, then that is worth it… but otherwise…what is the point? I would much rather see a meaningful main event coming out… with a true vote for the title matches, like CM Punk voted for a shot against Show something like that…
But no, Cyber Sunday is clearly a throwaway/Cash Cow PPV for WWE… a chance for Americans to pay to watch a lame show… I am glad we get it for free…Will I watch… recorded, maybe a week later, if the reviews are good… but thats the problem… there is no factor that makes me say. “I need to see this show…”
This is a bad thing for WWE, at this point with Kurt in TNA and Jericho seemingly not far behind, there is no room for throwaway shows… no room for cash cows, cos the more talent TNA leeches/signs, the better competition their shows will be compared to WWE…
TNA will agressively recruit now, you can bet anyone WWE is thought to be signing, TNA will, Shamrock will probably end up in TNA… Jericho, I think will end up there soon…
Cyber Sunday is a dangerous show for WWE, someone on it has to pull out a starmaking performance or WWE will have a lot of egg on its face and will have to ask serious questions of it’s PPV policy…
That’s my two rupees worth… Am I right am I wrong…my god what I have I done…
Tell me at robwilltaylor@hotmail.com