It’s been a quiet week in pro wrestling, although a few headlines got some attention here and there.
After WWE aired another horrendous edition of The Great American Bash last week, the main story wasn’t The Punjabi Prison match, but rather the three superstars that were supposed to be on the card, but were taken out last minute. The Great Khali, originally scheduled to face The Undertaker in the above-mentioned match was replaced last minute by The Big Show due to a liver problem. The same diagnosis was also the reason for Bobby Lashley to be removed from the Triple Threat Match for the US Championship that turned into a singles bout between William Regal and Fit Finlay instead. In Gregory Helms’ open challenge for the Cruiserweight Championship, originally scheduled (though never officially announced) Super Crazy was replaced by Matt Hardy, due to – you guessed it – a high count of enzymes in his liver.
Things started looking up as Bobby Lashley was cleared to return to the ring a few days after the Sunday PPV. This was enough of a proof that the feared by many wasn’t happening – no form of Hepatitis was spreading through the locker room. Tatanka and Matt Hardy were let go the days afterwards as well, but for unknown at this time reasons (though Tatanka is believed to be a 30 day personal leave). Unfortunately, another explanation for a larger-than-normal amount of enzymes in one’s liver is the use of steroids, that work their way into a human body through the blood depot – the liver. Thanks to WWE’s wellness program, these things are now caught on time and seem to be working much better than before. It is certainly farfetched for one to say that the wellness program has changed everything around and wrestlers are no longer using steroids, or other substances, which is definitely not the case. However, one can’t help but admit that the program has left its impact on the business already, as several wrestlers that have failed tests have indeed been suspended and dealt with.
There is a WWE Supershow tomorrow night in East Rutherford, NJ, as both RAW and SmackDown! will be in the house for a dual TV taping. ECW has an exclusive show on Tuesday night in New York, as the Hammerstein Ballroom will serve as the death place for the next John Cena fan, as well as anyone who has the balls to cheer during the already-announced main event of The Big Show vs. Batista. TNA is taping two weeks of television on Monday night in Orlando, and the word we’re getting is that both Sting and Cornette will be there.
With RAW and SmackDown! both in NJ on Monday, logic would have me expect that there might be some brand cross-over appearances, especially if WWE is looking to set up inter-promotional feuds for SummerSlam. There’s people on the RAW roster, such as Kane, who haven’t been used on TV lately and have nothing to do, while due to the health issues discussed above, Friday’s brand is going through a lot of booking issues, as their original plans of turning Finlay face due to Lashley’s absence, will now probably change again. With Mark Henry’s injury, and Benoit still out of action, there’s really not much going on these days on SmackDown!. As far as SummerSlam goes from the Friday brand, the last plan was for a Batista vs. Booker T title match, and my assumption will be that Mysterio vs. Chavo Guerrero will be added. If the latter doesn’t take place, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Mysterio added to the title match, making it a Triple Threat. Other than that, The Undertaker, Bobby Lashley, Fit Finlay, William Regal, Mr. Kennedy, and Briand Kendricks & Paul London will also probably somehow manage into the plans. I wonder how JBL feels now in his commentary spot.
Things on RAW are just as shady in most areas, although there seems to be more of a direction with the brand. Due to Stephanie McMahon‘s going into labor on Monday, which to WWE was more important than anything else, as made public on RAW, Vince McMahon, Triple H McMahon, and Shane McMahon were all absent from the show, making the DX/McMahons storyline take a break. Umaga was introduced the picture, as he destroyed Michaels. We were supposed to get the start of a SummerSlam feud for DX, but due to the circumstances, my guess is that got pushed a week. I would expect another meeting with the Spirit Squad, but the most likely scenario for the PPV would be to have DX vs. Vince/Shane in some kind of a gimmicked match, with tons of interferences. Umaga might figure into the picture as well.
Elsewhere on RAW, Hulk Hogan and Randy Orton continued their storyline on Monday night with some decent mic work. Hogan got a pretty wild pop, which he milked for all it was worth. That really is the right way to go with Hogan. Although he’s proven to be a failure when it comes to ratings (see: Saturday Night Main Event, and even this past week’s RAW), his PPV matches seem to bump up the buying rate a bit, although it’s hard to argue if he’s the reason, or if it’s the fact that he appears on WWE’s biggest PPVs (WrestleMania, SummerSlam) that tend to get a higher buy rate in general. I would expect Orton to get the pin here, as there were big plans for him to be the top heel on RAW for the remainder of the year and some of next. He’s to feud Triple H down the line, as well, last I heard.
In perhaps another “last-minute” decisions, they had a Carlito/Benjamin rematch from last week, and they reversed the #1 contender spot (for the IC Championship, despite what Todd Grisham says) and gave it to Benjamin. These two had a really good match that unfortunately ended in a botched spot, but was still worth the time. Fans are starting to rally behind Carlito more and more. Whether it is the fabulous job he’s done in changing his in-ring presence by including more high-flying moves, mixed with some different grappling maneuvers, or it’s just the fact that they’ve slapped Trish on him is a different question. The bottom line is that the crowd on RAW made Carlito look really good, and he has a very bright future with the company, considering that management is behind him as well. I hope they will be protective of him down the line, because there really isn’t anyone out there that gives me any hope for the future, other than him and Benjamin. And we already know what they did to Benjamin.
Mick Foley continues to deliver amazing promos week after week, making his program with Ric Flair perhaps the best thing to watch on RAW. Foley has always been amazing on the microphone, and his ability to prolong yet keep his storylines fresh is a prime example of long-term planning, something the company has suffered from in the past years. I have enjoyed every single video shoot he’s done in the Flair storyline, as well as the very unique feel to this storyline – Foley saying he doesn’t want a match, and he doesn’t want to fight, and he never will. That way, once the match does occur (and it’s looking to happen at SummerSlam), the payoff will be even better. The downside of this is that Flair has been buried here, as they have not allowed him to get a verbal rebuttal yet. On Monday’s RAW, Foley will be appearing live, and it will be the key appearance to the storyline. They have to be careful of how they book the segment, and how much they’ll let the two talk, and who will get on top. It promises to be good as both guys are amazing on the microphone, but one can’t help but think there’s a chance they’ll screw this up, as well.
Edge seems to be lost on the card more and more, ever since losing the WWE Championship. Although he was finally given the main event spot this past week, it was only due to the fact that Triple H and Vince weren’t there. Putting DX on top of the card has buried the belt, and naturally, the champion that holds it. Hopefully things will improve in that area. They need to think of something new and fresh to introduce into the Cena/Edge storyline, because we’ve seen that match way too many times for it to mean anything. I hope they don’t go with a title switch at SummerSlam, because a second transitional champion run might be vital for Edge.
One can’t help but discuss the “Tuesday night show” (credit: Joe) as well. The next few weeks are of big importance for ECW, as Kurt Angle makes his return to the brand on Tuesday, and Rob Van Dam is also close to returning. To make matters even better, C.M. Punk is also schedule to debut on the next show. This is the breaking point of the brand, as these three should be the main event players here. All three are in good shape (minus Angle’s poor health which he’s suffered many times from), and if creative focuses more of the future storyline around them, ECW will become a brand of its own. The main point here is that the constant RAW/SmackDown! interference on the show needs to end. The idea of the brand is that it’s an alternative to the other two, but the main event on the show for the past few weeks (including next show) is Big Show defending his ECW Championship against a RAW or a SmackDown Superstar (Ric Flair, Kane, The Undertaker, Batista). While this was good at first when WWE wanted to get “WWE” fans to tune in and introduce the brand, and considering Angle and RVD were out, it needs to end as soon as after this week for things to work. ECW has upset a lot of people, and rightfully so. However, as long as the brand exists, there’s always the possibility of turning things around. It is, unfortunately, reached a point where that can happen only through a 180 turn.
