Prime Time Comedy

Last Friday WWE released Brian ‘Abraham Washington’ Jossie from his contract. The only thing that surprises me about the situation is the amount of time it took.

The reason for his release is no secret. On the July 30^th edition of Monday Night RAW (episode 1001, fact fans,) during a match between the Prime Time Players and Epico and Primo, AW made an inappropriate joke over the microphone about NBA player Kobe Bryant and rape. After realising how inappropriate the comment was AW fell silent for a few moments.

He eventually regained his composure and continued making less controversial remarks from his station at ringside. After the match he headed backstage and immediately apologised to WWE management and the performers who had been in the segment with him. Meanwhile the job of apologising to viewers was left to commentator Michael Cole. The promotion also released a formal apology after RAW went off the air via TMZ.

The brass were said to be furious with the All World proprietor, which is understandable, but the fact that he was wired up with a microphone headset at the following evening’s SmackDown taping indicated that no serious action would be taken against him.

AW has stated that there was no malicious intent behind the remark. I believe him. That still doesn’t mean it was something that could or should be overlooked.

Since being released on Friday Brian ‘AW’ Jossie has mentioned various instances of similarly controversial matterial broadcast by WWE. The examples he has given have included another comment made about Bryant by Big Show on a 2003 episode of SmackDown, John Cena making homophobic slurs (which he did regularly up until a year or so ago), fat jokes directed at Vickie Guerrero, and Vince McMahon poking fun at Bells Palsy sufferer Jim Ross.

He’s correct. None of the above should have been aired. But it doesn’t excuse his mistake, nor does pointing it out mean he will be rehired. The fact is that the above examples have not resulted in formal reprimands or firings for a reason.

Vince McMahon is the boss. As such he will do and say whatever he likes on WWE television. If he makes a comment that causes a severe backlash against the company he will issue an apology but won’t be fired. That covers the fat jokes too: they are made at Vince’s direction because it amuses him.

As for John Cena: it would take a lot for WWE to fire him. If he made a similar remark it’s likely the most he’d receive is a fine and a suspension. As WWE’s biggest merchandise seller his position within the promotion is as safe as an active wrestler’s can be.

As for Big Show making a similar comment: not only was he a more valuable performer to WWE in 2003 than Jossie is in 2012 but it was made before WWE’s shift to PG. It is the responsibility of the performer to think about whether what they’re saying will fit with the tone and direction of the company when they have a microphone in their hand.

AW wasn't an integral part of the act: he didn't even dance!

The comment had caused only a relatively minor media backlash against the federation but it wasn’t AW’s only blunder. He had also sent out a message via Twitter stating that he and the Prime Time Players supported Linda McMahon’s recent political campaign. He ended said tweet with the unorthodox hashtag “#voteordie4linda.”

Whether it was meant in jest or not doesn’t matter: it was a stupid thing to do and Jossie should understand that. He has been released in order to safeguard Linda’s political aspirations. All WWE employees are well aware of Linda’s senate campaign and should understand that it means WWE is being extra cautious regarding their media image. The guy has nobody to blame but himself.

I imagine Darren Young and Titus O’Neil will be largely unharmed by this unforeseen setback. Young is decent enough on the microphone to handle promo duties for the pair but if WWE is desperate for them to have a second then they can simply promote someone else from developmental. Byron Saxton could work in the role. Or perhaps Rosa Mendes could turn on Epico and Primo.

Whatever direction is taken with that unit I imagine it will be the original plan. The loss of a manager isn’t enough to alter WWE’s plans for the tag belts.

         
What’s next for Brian ‘AW’ Jossie? According to some the fact that he has been vocal about his release may help him to regain his job once things have blown over. Apparently Vince doesn’t rehire people who just accept a sacking. To me this seems unlikely, at least for the time being. While I can imagine this being Vince’s logic I just don’t think the promotion would be desperate to reintroduce a manager to TV.

AW’s promotion from developmental earlier in the year could be considered a test to see whether or not the manager role would still work in 2012. I believe AW did a good job in the position and made the Prime Time Players a more palatable act but he was far from a revelation. It’s difficult to imagine any decision makers in WWE desperate to have a bit-part player back on TV.

If he’s going to remain relevant within the wrestling business the most obvious place for him to seek employment is TNA. I think the chances of him getting a gig there are good. Not only is he a former WWE performer but he’s a decent talker and could perhaps attract some media attention (this is TNA, they don’t care whether media attention is good or bad).

Most importantly the soon-to-debut Aces and Eights faction provides an excellent way to introduce him. Apparently the gang is going to have a big role at Bound for Glory. AW’s no compete clause will expire around a month after that event. It would take very little effort for him to be built up as one of the mastermind’s of the angle and be revealed on an episode of IMPACT in mid-November.

The man himself has talked about pursuing a career in comedy. Judging by how well his comment on July 30^th was received I’d advise against it.

Prime Time

At No Way Out, in one of the many unadvertised matches to make it on to a WWE pay-per-view this year, Abraham Washington (who now bills himself simply as AW) turned on his clients Epico, Primo and Rosa Mendes and helped the Prime Time Players win a four team number one contenders match, which also included the Usos and Justin Gabriel and Tyson Kidd. The likelihood is that this swerve turn was not the plan when AW originally became the manager of Epico and Primo. That doesn’t matter. It was a good move.

Since being placed with AW in the weeks following WrestleMania the former tag team champions have done very little. They originally joined AW’s All World talent stable because they were tired of being left off television. Ironically their affiliation with AW resulted in them getting even fewer matches but it didn’t matter, we were told they were biding their time and waiting before instigating their contractually obligated championship rematch.

AW becoming the agent for the Prime Time Players is a much better use of him. Titus O’Neil and Darren Young have few things going for them but they are at least enthusiastic about their job and appear dedicated to improving. AW will help cover their weaknesses and make them a more rounded act.

AW and the Prime Time Players: for better or for worse the future of WWE's tag team division

The PTPs have been getting regular matches on RAW and SmackDown, winning a lot, and have been allowed to experiment with their on-screen characters. Those are all signs that somebody in the organisation thinks they have potential. While I don’t agree with that view at least WWE are giving a new act a consistent push that is mindful of their current skill level.

I actually think part of the reason for switching AW over to the Prime Time Players was to allow WWE to book a tag team feud. With R-Truth injured he and championship partner Kofi Kingston are unable to engage in a proper feud right now. Using Epico and Primo as avenging babyfaces is a good way to keep building Young and O’Neil before they’re able to take the gold from Kingston and Truth. In the long run it will be good too: a deep doubles division needs more than one face unit and if Epico and Primo are handled well they could fit the bill nicely.

I would assume WWE will either wait until Truth is injury free or, if too much time elapses, book either some sort of injury angle with ‘The Suntan Superman’ that means Kofi must defend alone or find a replacement partner (I’ve suggested Zack Ryder for the role). Of those options I think the injury angle and handicap match approach is best as it clearly illustrates the underhanded nature of the Prime Time Players, and the unjust nature of the title change would make people anticpate a rematch that little bit more.

What scant future the WWE tag team division has is linked to the Prime Time Players. They may not be great but they’re better than nothing. On the bright side WWE clearly has interest in them and AW should help them a more bearable act. Sooner or later they’ll get their hands on the ugly tag straps: that’s when they’ll really have their chance to prove they belong.

SmackTalk 04.05.12

It's all too easy to have a feud end decisively one night before starting a brand new one the next. It’s a very convenient approach that may make the lives of the booking team slightly easier but it can be a little dull for viewers. It makes the product formulaic and predictable. I understand why it's the norm but it's nice when the pace is changed a little to allow the transition from one feud to another to occur more naturally.
 
This is an approach that has been taken with Sheamus over the last month. He's been embroiled in his rivalry with Daniel Bryan since February's Elimination Chamber and together they have taken in WrestleMania and Extreme Rules, with a handful of gripping confrontations on RAW and SmackDown thrown in for good measure along the way. Rather than simply end the feud with Bryan WWE reintroduced Alberto Del Rio as a secondary foil to the World Heavyweight champion a month ago, getting a new program for the champion started before one had finished.
 
That rivalry begun to take proper shape on this week's SmackDown with ADR sending his manservant Ricardo Rodriguez into the ring during the show-opening Sheamus v Bryan clash, causing a disqualification. That Del Rio had made his intentions clear regarding Sheamus several weeks ago meant that what could have been seen as a cheap DQ finish made sense from a booking standpoint as it enhanced a fresh feud. It wasn’t just done to start up a new feud, it had been building for a while.
 
It's a small point in the grand scheme of things but it's nice to see as it shows WWE are booking with long term plans in mind.
 
Bryan v Sheamus ended up happening twice (because of the shady goings on mentioned above). Their first bout was enjoyable enough but was kept short and sweet in order to set up the second match later on in the broadcast. That was a very impressive display. It was (predictably) a notch or two below their Extreme Rules encounter but it was still much better than the average WWE TV match.

That the two men can have such good matches despite their size difference and the awkward heel and face roles (it's normally easier for the bigger man to play heel when there's such a pronounced size difference) is a testament to the talent of both men. You will read in the tweets section below that I believe Bryan is the best opponent WWE has for Sheamus and I stand by that: his stiff style is a perfect match for 'Great White's'.

Bryan and Sheamus have great chemistry in the ring

 
The good work being done introducing and building new stars continued this week. The best example was Damien Sandow, who chose not to wrestle his debut match against Derrick Bateman (who could be considered a new star too, I suppose) and instead gave the crowd a lecture to demonstrate his intellectual superiority. ‘Self-Professed Intellectual Saviour of the Masses’ indeed.
 
Everything about the Sandow character’s first televised in-ring appearance was excellent. The music he entered to, his monk-like robe, the crisp delivery of his promo, his “You’re welcome” signoff and the simple fact that he chose not to wrestle: it was all tremendous. It helped set him apart from his peers, something most WWE newcomers over the last five years have struggled with. I predict he'll go far in the company.
 
A complete contrast to the eloquent Sandow was the snorting, snarling Ryback. He came out to squash Bateman after Sandow bowed out. He displayed his impressive power moves and grunting ability again. I think WWE are actually putting a little too much into his push: he shouldn't be pausing for a promo or hanging around in the ring after he's won, he should just stride down the ramp, batter his opponent and then leave. No posing. No pausing. Just make the guy all business.
 
As for the evening's tag outings: they were forgettable. R-Truth and Kofi Kingston are not a bad unit and made perfectly adequate tag team champions. I just find it hard to care about their partnership when there are no other units of any worth for them to tangle with. I did find it interesting that Abraham Washington seemed keen to unite Hunico and Camacho with Epico, Primo and Rosa Mendes though. I'm sure I've come across that idea somewhere before...
 
The Orton and Big Show v Kane and Cody Rhodes match was a little slow and was built around two feuds that have outstayed their welcome. Orton should be put to use feuding with a young star that needs a boost while Cody should become a centrepiece for a revived mid-card scene. I couldn't care less about Show and Kane in 2012.

The important thing about this week’s show was that it continued preparing new characters for the future of the company. That’s something WWE has neglected to do for far too long. To see them doing it on a weekly basis is reassuring and I’m keen to see how Ryback, Damien Sandow and Antonio Cesaro develop.

Sheamus v Daniel Bryan

Tweet 1: Bang on the hour... It's SmackDown time!

Tweet 2: Why do they still have Cena saying "The champ is here!"? He's not used that phrase for years.
Tweet 3: They're opening the show by promising us recaps of RAW. Not the best way to keep viewers I'd think...
Tweet 4: Ah, here's Sheamus in his naff T-shirt.
Tweet 5: Sheamus is out there to "do what he loves: foit!" But what he's actually doing here is talking.
Tweet 6: "Yes!" chants. This will NEVER get old.
Tweet 7: Bryan's facial expression at Sheamus nicking his chant is priceless. He is the best character in WWE. #fact
Tweet 8: #signaturephrase
Tweet 9: Referee pulling Bryan off of Sheamus but... HE HAS TILL FIVE.
Tweet 10: Ricardo Rodriguez with a beautiful crossbody. Where did he come from? In a very real way it doesn't matter.
Tweet 11: Bryan and ADR exhuming the old "bickering heels" routine. I can't remember the last time WWE booked that.
Tweet 12: I'm looking at WWE's UK autumn tour dates. London gets one show? ONE? We're the captial!
Tweet 13: A three-way feud between a heel Del Rio, a face Sheamus and a tweener Bryan would be great. We're not getting it though.

Air Truth v Hunico and Camacho

Tweet 14: Kofi Kingston and R-Truth as tag champs: why not? It's not like the belts mean anything.

Tweet 15: I read the other day that Charlie Haas said the WWE tag belts look like pennies. It amused me.
Tweet 16: Hunico on a bike!!
Tweet 17: Josh just said "very formidable tag team." Not clear who he's talking about. That doesn't matter because it's clearly not true for either.
Tweet 18: AW, Rosa, Epico and Primo come out to watch Hunico and Camacho. My cheque's in the post I assume...
Tweet 19: Huncio slapping Little Jimmy was funny.
Tweet 20: Hunico can “do it all” according to Booker T.
Tweet 21: AW and company are sitting on stools on the entrance ramp. Why are the stools there?!
Tweet 22: Are we to assume a stagehand just happened to leave them there? WWE really ought to address things like this.
Tweet 23: Have Cole drop it into his scintillating commentary.
Tweet 24: It saddens me that Booker seems perfectly happy to put over this horrendous excuse for a doubles division considering he made his name in tags.
Tweet 25: Anyway... that was a decent match. Truth is not as good a fit as a partner for Kofi as Evan Bourne but they're okay together.

Brodus Clay v Jack Swagger

Tweet 26: Disco ball. That means The Undertaker's coming out, right?

Tweet 27: Cameron and Naomi. #Funkadactyls
Tweet 28: I'm not tired of the Funkasaurus gimmick yet. I don't think I ever will be. WWE have done a surprisingly good job of pacing the push.
Tweet 29: All Booker's done so far is laugh and make strange noises.
Tweet 30: Vickie Guerrero stole the "Excuse me!" phrase from Cyrus. I'll never get bored of pointing that out.
Tweet 31: ZIGGLER!!
Tweet 32: Jack Swagger with some wonderfully generic athletic-heel-slapping-himself-in-the-face taunting there.
Tweet 33: Nobody bumps like Dolph Ziggler. He makes a headbutt look lethal. A HEADBUTT!
Tweet 34: Cameron and Naomi are VERY keen on dancing.
Tweet 35: WHAT IS THIS? WHAT ACTUALLY IS THIS?! Kids have been pulled into the ring to dance and look petrified.
Tweet 36: What sort of example are the WWE employees setting here? Clay is massively overweight and the Funkadactyls are dressed like prostitutes.

RAW Recap and thoughts on Eve’s recent change in style

Tweet 37: "Your opponent, at the Over The Limit, is me!" - John Laurinaitis, not bothering to properly learn pay-per-view names

Tweet 38: It's not actually been made clear WHY Laurinaitis wants to face Cena in a match.
Tweet 39: Eve has an administrative job and so have taken to wearing glasses, It's the law.

Damien Sandow appearance, leading to Ryback v Derrick Bateman

Tweet 40: Damien Sandow in action! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!

Tweet 41: 'The Intellectual Saviour of the Masses.' This gimmick is tremendous. The entrance music is perfect.
Tweet 42: He's set to face Derrick Bateman. Didn't he go heel...?
Tweet 43: "I cannot, and will not, engage this miscreant in the ring this evening" - Damien Sandow
Tweet 44: The Damien Sandow gimmick is a wonderful creation.
Tweet 45: Ryback doesn't need a pyro. Make him the opposite of Sandow. He should walk to the ring with no posing or special lighting, job someone out, and leave.
Tweet 46: Goldberg chants, you say?

Stop the pyro and the post-match shouting and make this guy all business

Cody Rhodes and Kane v Big Show and Randy Orton

Tweet 47: The obligatory Kane anti-pop.

Tweet 48: WWE's booking squad did Cody no favours when they took the belt off him for a month. Read this for more on that. 
Tweet 49: For a guy who's been treading water for months Orton is very over.
Tweet 50: Can this match be the final match in the Kane v Orton series? Please?
Tweet 51: Booker T and Michael Cole are telling us Orton is SmackDown's franchise player.
Tweet 52: How are they working that out? Sheamus is the champion and Bryan is incredibly over. Both are more relevant and higher up the card than Orton.
Tweet 53: Are Kane and Show no longer BFFs?
Tweet 54: I would much rather see Rhodes v Orton in a singles match than watch this tedious tag team affair.
Tweet 55: WWE's tag division is so shallow this is practically a number one contenders match.
Tweet 56: Kane and Cody Rhodes v Air Truth. I’d watch that.
Tweet 57: "That was about a fifteen foot drop for Cody Rhodes, right there!" - Booker T after the seven foot tall Big Show back body dropped Rhodes
Tweet 58: Show and Orton win. I find it hard to care.

Matt Striker interviews Sheamus

Tweet 59: STRIKER KLAXON.

Tweet 60: Sheamus has confirmed he turned up at SmackDown to fight and so he'll have a match.
Tweet 61: Doctors' opinions weren't mentioned. Sheamus doesn't care if he's medically cleared. He only cares about FOIGHTING!!

Layla v Natalya

Tweet 62: Layla's from Miami? Since when?

Tweet 63: Booker does know he can be heard, right?
Tweet 64: Cole just referenced that Layla's from England. Miami, England?

An Antonio Ceasro photoshoot and a chat between AJ and Kaitlyn

Tweet 65: Claudio! Eyyyyy!!

Tweet 66: What's the point of all of this? Aksana and Antonio are getting a photoshoot done in the middle of a show? Not a priority, surely?
Tweet 67: Claudio's been called up to be part of the Teddy Long storyline then? Wasteful much?
Tweet 68: AJ and Kaitlyn segment. This will get the ratings up.
Tweet 69: That was a slap and a half. I want AJ to turn heel and squash everyone in the Divas division. Including Kharma.

Daniel Bryan v Sheamus with Alberto Del Rio on commentary

Tweet 70: Albertooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Del Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiioooooooooooooooo!!
Tweet 71: So they're doing Daniel Bryan v Sheamus for the second time tonight? Fair enough. Bryan is probably the best opponent WWE has for Sheamus.
Tweet 72: Bryan's entrance was cut? Poor, WWE. Poor.
Tweet 73: He just told the ref he has till five! #markingout
Tweet 74: "From the shoulder to the elbow, bicep, all of it!" - Booker T helpfully telling us what an arm consists of
Tweet 75: Punch in the ropes spot. That'll get the crowd popping...
Tweet 76: Sheamus and Bryan just stiffing each other there. #notlikethat
Tweet 77: The Brogue Kick is a boring finisher. That they're going to such lengths to build up as a strong move is very irritating.
Tweet 78: That annoyance aside: great match. Sheamus and Bryan are a good fit as opponents.
Tweet 79: The show goes off the air with Sheamus shouting "FELLAAAA" into the camera. He hadn't said it all episode so I s'pose they had to get it in.

Escorts

With the recent reappearance of Abraham Washington on RAW it looks like WWE may have finally lifted its unofficial ban on the manager role. If that's the case then they've made the right call: a good manager can help disguise the weaknesses of a grappler by cutting their promos for them and getting them extra heat with antics at ringside. Reinstating people in the position will help the process of making new stars (which WWE seems to getting serious about) that much easier.
 
It's difficult to understand why WWE scrapped managers in the first place. The eighties and nineties saw Bobby Heenan, Jim Cornette, and Paul Bearer in prominent managerial positions helping to hide the weaknesses of both their charges and the men they were feuding with. That's an impressive list including big names such as The Undertaker, the Ultimate Warrior, Kane, and Vader among many others. Further down the card the likes of Tennessee Lee, Harvey Whippleman, and Paul Ellering helped out with the federation's mid-card.

These men were an integral part of the WWF product for many years but were gradually phased out during the popular Attitude Era. In their place came female valets: Debra, Trish Stratus and Terri Runnels being three of the most prominent. There was also Chyna, though she was an anomaly in that she was booked to physically involve herself in matches in a way most women in wrestling simply couldn't.
 
The female valet suited the racy Attitude Era far better than the likes of Paul Bearer and Jim Cornette. They may not have been quite as good at getting heat (although they could when booked correctly) but they were able to show some skin, which was then one of Vince McMahon's top priorities.
 
This approach gradually led to the situation we have now, where any Diva (WWE's term, not mine) with nothing to do gets paired up with a suitable male Superstar. That's a problem. Not because WWE's female performers aren't talented (they are, for the most part) but because they're being tossed out in front of crowds as an afterthought without a clearly defined character or motive. Nobody stands a chance of success in today's WWE without the support of the writing team.

Can Abraham Washington help Mark Henry become a world champion again?

In the last decade the only managers to appear on WWE programming have been Vickie Guerrero and Paul Heyman. Guerrero started her on-screen career as an authority figure on SmackDown and gradually morphed into a manager over time (and the main reason she's been able to maintain a position on WWE TV over the years is that her screeching and "Excuse me!" catchphrase draw such intense heat). Meanwhile the main reason Heyman was used as a manager was to disguise the general greenness of Brock Lesnar upon his debut in 2002. Were it not for Heyman 'The Next Big Thing' would have found success far harder to come by. 
 
When Abraham Washington returned to our screens and offered 'The World's Strongest Man' Mark Henry his managerial services on the April 2^nd RAW the manager role received a ray of hope. I'm hoping Henry isn't the only one who gets paired up with Washington: established acts would be reenergised with the youngster at their side while newcomers would feel less pressure if they had somebody out there with them.
 
If Washington is deemed a success he'll have paved the way for more managers and agents to debut. There are plenty of men out there who don't have the WWE physique who could work as a mouthpiece for inexperienced newcomers. It would be a fine use of Michael Cole too. His antagonistic approach to play-by-play has been hampering RAW and SmackDown for too long. If he were a manager then the nonsense he spouts would at least be serving a purpose: it would rile fans in arenas rather than detracting from the enjoyment of those watching at home.
 
I'd like to see the role enter a renaissance period. It's high time managers made a return to ringside. Abraham Washington is a good start.