So TWIW has actually made it to its second week. A weekly column is a great idea in practice but I’ve already discovered that it’s a real challenge. A lot of credit goes out to those who can write on a weekly basis. It’s amazing, because there some really great columnists out there who constantly put out great material every single week.
I said last week that TWIW will be constantly evolving and changing. It is definitely a huge work in progress. This week is no different. I decided to adopt a sort of “top five” approach to TWIW. I’m going to pick five issues, good or bad, that I want to look into which occurred throughout the week. They could range from news items, to promos, to matches, to larger story line arches, etc. So here we go!
5. Jim Ross and the WWE: As we all know Good Ol’ JR was “fired” on RAW last week by Linda McMahon. Shortly thereafter the WWE posted “hate mail” on their website pushing the fact that a lot of viewers were very unhappy with the sacking of Ross. JR also recently went in for surgery which was publicized on WWE.com.
I think many fans are genuinely disappointed to see JR off the air, especially the way he left. Yet I also believe that we’ll see him again. WWE is still keeping him in the spotlight, with his career being decided at Taboo Tuesday as Stone Cold Steve Austin takes on the Coach. I think there is a reason WWE has kept JR in the spotlight, so I’m not too worried yet. And speaking of the Coach, I thought he did a sub-par job on RAW. I’m going to be very disappointed if it keeps up like this for too much longer.
4. The Juniors Division: Smackdown recently announced that it will soon have a new division on Friday night’s, the “Junior” Division. It will consist of wrestlers five feet and under. I have mixed feelings about that. It could be a interesting novelty. And in actuality I’m sure there are some very talented little guys out there. If they will truly get to showcase their talent on Smackdown is yet to be seen. I just hope it doesn’t turn into a side show act. I can see this angle being misused already. I really don’t want to see them turn into rag dolls for the big men on Smackdown’s roster. Only time will tell.
3. Kevin Nash’s recent TNA interview: Kevin Nash recently took place in a promotional interview about his most recent appearances on TNA. He made it very clear that he is working a very flexible schedule with TNA right now. He can come and go as he pleases. He also made it no secret that his knee is not in the best of shape and he’s not going to be around very much.
I can’t see this as being a good way to push Nash in the main event of their PPV coming up this Sunday, Bound for Glory. This is supposed to be their equivalent to Wrestlemania and the man who is headlining it is openly speaking of his not so concrete status with the company and his reduced in ring capabilities. I think this all but guarantees a Jeff Jarrett win. But this was obvious from the beginning. I do plan on watching Bound for Glory, but it is definitely not to see Jeff Jarrett!
2. Ric Flair’s Promo on Monday Night Raw: Boy was Flair fired up Monday night! I absolutely loved his promo. I thought it was classic Flair and makes me realize why he is one of the best ever. It was in my mind the highlight of the evening. Granted, the excessive bleeding was a bit much, but he brought a fire, passion, and energy to the ring that can only be duplicated by very few, if any. I hope that his match with the Game at Taboo Tuesday lives up to this awesome promo.
1. And Speaking of Taboo Tuesday… RAW really set the stage for their second edition of this “interactive” PPV. I think this time around it is going to be a lot better than last year. The main event will be John Cena taking on Kurt Angle and either HBK, Kane, or the Big Show. (It was nice to see the Big Show actually pick up the win over Edge. The Smackdown/RAW feud should make Survivor Series interesting this year.) My guess is it will be HBK getting the pick. Angle and HBK should be able to carry Cena through this match nicely. It might very well be one to remember.
Both Foley and Austin will return to the ring at Taboo Tuesday. I don’t think Austin will have to do much in the way of wrestling when he takes on the Coach, but Foley will be taking on Carlito. Rumors are floating around that the stipulation to vote on will be if Foley appears at Cactus Jack, Dude Love, or Mankind. If this is the case, I’m not really sure who to vote for at this point. I love all three of his alter egos!
I also mentioned earlier that Triple H will be taking on the Nature Boy. I’m not sure what the stipulation will be here, but I think the two of them will put on a really good match. I’m a big fan of both, so it should be good!
This week’s edition is sort of like TWIW-lite. I promised that this week would feature the follow up to Joe Pritchett’s Real Talk: Lists, which you can read by clicking here. While this will be the Spotlight for this week, it won’t be appearing till this weekend. A special edition of TWIW will be appearing this weekend featuring the Spotlight and Column Corner. Make sure you check it out!
I don’t have a lot to plug this week. The forums are still down at TWV so we don’t have the Triad 48 contest going on at the moment. Don’t worry though, because once it gets going it will be a lot of fun!
And as far as the Column’s Lounge at wzforums.com goes, still no big announcements. BUT I ask all of you to keep your eyes open this weekend, because there is going to be three very exciting things announced at the Columns Lounge very soon. WZforums.com as a whole will also soon be seeing some major changes. It’s going to be a lot of fun and really exciting. I will say that I’m going to be personally involved in some of this but I won’t go beyond that!
Well I guess that about wraps things up for now. Make sure you check out the second part to TWIW over the weekend, and if you have any questions or comments email me at jprealtalk@yahoo.com!
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!
