Well again some computer problems. Really this time it’s hotmail problems. I have not been able to get my email since Thursday. And from the looks of it I will never get my email. They are saying it’s my settings, however when my friend Lee suggested I open up a new account, bingo, I had no trouble. So it’s safe to say Hotmail is definitely to blame. I’m sorry about not being able to respond to any of you and I would like it if you could now to email me at lindarobin3@yahoo.com. I think my Hotmail days are OVER, thanks to all the misery they have put me through. And speaking of misery, 10 WWE superstars were released this past week. For the most part the ones that were let go I could see but there were three that I hated to see released.
First, here’s the list of names that got the slip this week. Chuck Palumbo, Billy Gunn, Test, Rodney Mack, Jazz, Johnny Stamboli, A-Train, Gail Kim, Rico and Nidia. Quite a list isn’t it? Well let me take each one and just add my thoughts. Just remember one thing my comments are not personal, they are comments about the way that WWE used these wrestlers. Chuck Palumbo- He never caught on. Sure he was one half of Chuckie and Billy the “gay couple” and part of the FBI, which by the way never took off, but really what did WWE do with this guy? I don’t doubt that Palumbo is a worker in the ring. But out of the ring what I saw was basically nothing. If Palumbo had it, then Vince wasn’t going to let the fans see it. I have been waiting for a long time for Chuck to be released so his firing was definitely not a shock to me.
Billy Gunn. Ah I have many pleasant memories of the New Age Outlaws. Billy and Road Dogg had some great days in the WWE but like so many other gimmicks that tag team became stale. And when Billy was solo he might have had a good run with the regrouping of DX with Hunter, X-Pac, and Road Dogg but a rotator cuff injury quickly stopped Billy from working with that group. When Billy returned almost a year later he was paired with Chyna for a short time, but nothing really clicked for Billy. He did lose the Mr. Ass title when he lost a bet to RTC. And that loss definitely didn’t help things. But Billy seemed to be plagued by injuries, and even with his partner Palumbo, Billy wasn’t what he was or at least wasn’t built up the way that he used to be. Again seeing him go was something I definitely expected and he will be back with Road Dogg I’m sure soon with TNA. Rumors have it that he already signed with them.
Test. I think most of you know that I never could take to him. And this guy believe me was given more than enough time and gimmicks to make it in the business. But his poor mic work, (and his average and I’m being kind when using the word average) in ring work just proved time and time again WWE didn’t need to carry him at all. I have no idea how he lasted as long as he did. He was another guy that supposedly was late many times and fined, or having backstage attitude problems, Test too me was one lucky guy to last as long as he did. Now here’s where I might sound like a totally heartless bitch, but I do know that many are very upset about Vince dropping Test after his neck surgery. I see it differently. I feel his poor attitude alone brought on a quicker release. Sure I might not have done that, but I can’t say I am totally upset about it being done this way. As my friend said it’s a business and you do what you have too.
Rodney Mack and Jazz – I bet a lot of us saw this coming. I mean come on as talented as Jazz is she was NEVER used right. Her heel character didn’t seem to catch on, so I always thought why not turn her into a face? Again I believe this is a woman that came from ECW not OVW and that was the reason why Jazz was used but not really used. And her husband Rodney Mack? Again, he was thrown out there with Mark Henry and Theodore Long to a crowd of silence. He then got hurt and after many months returned mainly on heat bopping around with Jazz right next to him but making no impact at all. Rodney was going absolutely now where and I wonder if he was kept on because of Jazz.
Johnny Stamboli –I think in the ring this guy has it. But like so many others out of the ring he was given so much to work with. We all know that with the FBI he had some comic tendencies, but like that group Stamboli just didn’t catch on. I blame the creative team for not finding the right gimmick for him. How many times was he just put out there to wrestle but didn’t have a feud to work with? And like a few others I never thought Vince would keep him as long as he did.
A-Train- Again he definitely can wrestle, but no matter how Train was pushed nothing worked. Here’ a case of Vince not giving up on him to quickly. Remember last year when he was put on the Brock Lesnar team at the Survivor Series? I think for most of us thought this was a nightmare but Vince wanted to get this guy out there, the only problem was he never got over at all. Except for Shave Your Back chants that was all the fans could muster up where A-Train was concerned.
The last three are the ones that really surprised me and I feel like WWE made an awfully quick judgment about releasing them. I’m talking about Nidia, Gail Kim and Rico. Nidia granted wasn’t the best in the ring but since she came to Raw I don’t feel she really spent enough time with one on one matches. One thing about Nidia, you could see she wanted to be there, her enthusiasm was always showing, and I have to wonder if there’s more to her release than WWE is letting on too. Gail Kim, again not the smoothest in the ring, yet she has been improving when she is out there which isn’t often. This girl had the mic skills, I remember her coming on to Eric last year, but Vince seemed to want to keep the mic out of her range. I think Gail had it and letting her go again is something I wouldn’t have done. And finally Rico. The man is an ambassador for the WWE. He’s a sweetheart at live performances, talking and signing for the fans. His personality was so out there how many of us couldn’t wait to see him prancing around and adding some well needed humor on Raw and Smackdown. He and Charlie Haas had a good thing going along with Miss Jackie. The fans seemed to be enjoying this new tag team. But like Gunn, Rico was injured and missed several months. And when he returned he got very little to do.
This week has been a shock and somewhat sad time for the WWE fan, but for these men and women that lost their jobs I can’t even imagine what they are going through. I wish every one of them the very best, and I will guarantee you the majority will be picked up by TNA and those that aren’t will find work with other companies. But that doesn’t change the fact that each one of now is unemployed. I want to give you this email link. I say email WWE let them know how you feel. FanServices@wwecorp.com
Okay tonight is Victory Road and I hope those who see it enjoy it. I will give you just my picks. I’m not a seasoned enough TNA fan to really do a whole column on it. But just for fun I’m going with, Jeff Jarrett, and I definitely see Kevin Nash ruining it for Jeff Hardy and joining Scott Hall and Jarrett for a big celebration. I’ll pick Abyss, Team Canada, America’s Most Wanted, Petey Williams, Chris Sabin, Johnny B Badd/Killings/Kenney and Watts, Sagrada and Dusty beats out Russo. I’m sure this is going to be a super pay per view and if it is, Vince now may get the competition that he so needs. Okay and tomorrow night on Raw in Austin, Tx., it’s Edge vs. Benoit. This should be excellent. Hunter comes back and I want to see how all three Evolution guy interact with each other, especially Ric Flair and Batista since Batista wanted no part of Ric after the loss last week. I still feel a Flair turn is coming at next week’s pay per view. Okay don’t foget email me at lindarobin3@yahoo.com
Email lindarobin3@yahoo.com
