War of Words

It’s possible you’re missing one of WWE’s liveliest feuds right now. Why? Because it’s not happening on TV.

It began at the InterContinental Hotel in Miami during WrestleMania weekend. Developmental wrestler Dean Ambrose confronted Mick Foley in the hotel’s lobby, telling him he should be held accountable for ruining a generation of wrestlers and branding him a criminal. Ambrose’s reasoning was that Foley had raised the metaphorical bar of stunt matches so high while earning his ‘Hardcore Legend’ moniker that the young wrestlers following in his footsteps had to ruin their bodies attempting to top his work.

Foley asked what Ambrose meant by accountable. He didn’t get an answer. Instead the former indy standout simply repeated his statement before leaving through the crowd. It was a well-executed beginning to the feud that fooled those that witnessed it. Both men played their parts well. Foley in particular was great, his reaction gave the confrontation the aura of credibility it needed. Had he not taken Ambrose as seriously as he did the entire thing would have looked laughable.

Will Dean Ambrose me the man to give Mick Foley the final iconic bump of his career?

The feud has continued on Twitter with Ambrose using the hashtag #thanksMick to highlight what he considers Foley’s reckless and irresponsible attitude. He started using the tag after mentioning that he’d watched Edge’s Hall of Fame induction speech before inferring that he’d had to retire so young because of injuries he’d sustained trying to top Foley’s antics. That’s a worryingly good point, sadly.

For the most part Foley has ignored Ambrose’s Twitter rants, only addressing the situation a few times to say that he was writing a blog detailing his views on the allegations made against him and the man making them. It’s the right approach: as the bigger star Foley doesn’t need to go off on crazy rants against a guy in FCW. If he did it would be grossly out of character and ruin the air of believability the two have built.

The latest development was Ambrose being sent home from last week’s live Super SmackDown. He (naturally) blamed Mick Foley for that, claiming that the former WWE champions has a vendetta against him and is scared to face him.

Dean Ambrose is a very talented wrestler who is capable of cutting white hot promos when given the opportunity. If allowed some creative freedom he would make a great foil for Mick Foley. With Mick saying he has one more iconic big bump left in him I think Ambrose is going to have a very memorable WWE debut.

It may not be a conventional way of having two feuding wrestlers interact with one another but this Twitter war has been effective so far. I hope it continues for a while longer before progressing onto WWE television. As good as it is if it doesn’t result in Ambrose being called up to TV it will have been a waste of time. That shouldn’t be an issue though as the current plan is apparently to have Ambrose and Foley to be a big rivalry and culminate in a pay-per-view match.

If this approach succeeds it could change the way WWE calls up stars and promotes rivalries between its wrestlers in the future. They have flirted with the method before, a notable example being Eve Torres tweeting in character after her heel turn on Zack Ryder in February. What’s happening now is far bigger as it’s completely separate from the TV product rather than enhancing what’s already been established (as was the case with Eve). It’s an important experiment for WWE and one they need to get right if they’re going to be using social media more in the future. 

Lockdown preview

When a stipulation bout is overused it becomes less meaningful. They need to be booked sporadically in order to preserve their aura and make them feel special, only being wheeled out when a feud needs them, otherwise wrestling promotions runs the risk of boring their fans and losing out on ticket and pay-per-view purchases.

You may think I’m talking about Extreme Rules. You’d be wrong. While what I’ve written above does apply to WWE’s next pay-per-view I’m actually thinking more of TNA’s Lockdown show. Every match is scheduled to take place inside a steel cage. That may sound like a novel and interesting idea but in reality all it does is place restraints on the booking team and run the risk of making the cage meaningless to TNA fans.

Why does it affect the booking of the show? Because there are only a handful of credible finishes to a cage match. They’re mostly variations on a theme anyway so TNA and its talent will have to work unnecessarily hard in order to make the seven matches scheduled for the show feel varied.

Personally I think a better approach to the annual Lockdown show would be to select two or three of the company’s top feuds and have them culminate in cage bouts, with everything else on the show occurring in regular contests (or at least introducing other stipulations to the event). But we have what we have.

Lockdown 2012 has been built around three feuds. Of these the rivalry between former tag team partners Bobby Roode and James Storm is by far the biggest. In the past six months the promotion has done an excellent job of making both men look like they belong in the main event. Bobby Roode has become a credible heel champion while James Storm has developed a great rapport with fans and become a surprise hit as the promotion’s lead babyface. I’ve written more on the subject here. In short: job well done.

Lockdown is a chance for Bobby Roode and James Storm to prove they can succeed on top

I’d expect Storm v Roode to go on last and get a lot of time. The men need to be able to tell a story and make this clash memorable. I’m predicting that ‘The Cowboy’ will leave as the new TNA world champion. Last time TNA seemed like they were on the verge of turning a corner and establishing new top line talent (at Bound for Glory last year) they messed things up. Hopefully that won’t happen this time and Storm will leave holding the gold having beaten the villainous and cowardly ‘It Factor’.

That’s the result TNA desperately need to get right. If they don’t they’ll risk undoing the good work of the last six months.

The second biggest rivalry is at the opposite end of the Getting Things Right scale. Garrett Bischoff and Eric Bischoff will lead opposing teams into a Lethal Lockdown match. What are the rules of that? One man from each team will wrestle for a few minutes before being joined by a member of one team. Each team will then send a man into the match at predetermined intervals until everyone is in the ring and eliminations start happening. Eric’s team will have the entrance advantage, meaning that his wrestler’s will begin entering first. It’s basically War Games under a different name (because WWE owns the rights to War Games).

There are some additional whacky stipulations. If Eric’s team wins Garrett Bischoff leaves TNA forever. If Garrett’s team wins Eric Bischoff can no longer use his own birth name. Why? Because this is TNA and logic is unpopular.

Team Eric consists of Gunner, Kazarian, Christopher Daniels, Bully Ray and Eric Bischoff himself, while Team Garrett consists of AJ Styles, recently-turned Austin Aries, recently-returned Rob Van Dam, Mr Anderson and Garrett Bischoff. I’m expecting the face team to win but I’d love the heels to go over so that Garrett is gone from our TV screens.

The third and final big feud for Lockdown is Jeff Hardy v Kurt Angle. They’re two of TNA’s top names and most talented in-ring performers. If they’re given enough time they’ll put on a great match. I expect they’ll get enough time for that to happen. ‘The Olympic Hero’ won their match at last month’s Victory Road so it’s probably ‘The Charismatic Enigma’s’ turn tonight.

Lockdown is an important show for TNA. Its level of success will allow the true popularity of Bobby Roode and James Storm as main event level talents to be gauged. For that reason alone I hope it’s a successful event. ‘The Cowboy’ and ‘The It Factor’ have been doing fantastic work and deserve the chance to continue. Good luck to them and TNA.

Predictions summary:

James Storm to defeat Bobby Roode for the TNA world championship

Team Garrett to defeat Team Eric
Jeff Hardy to defeat Kurt Angle
Magnus and Samoa Joe to defeat The Motor Coty Machine Guns
Velvet Sky to defeat Gail Kim for the TNA Knockouts championship
Crimson to defeat Matt Morgan
Robbie E to defeat Devon

The Terminator

A fortnight ago Ryback made his SmackDown debut with a dominant squash match victory over a jobber named Benny Stevens. He followed that this week with a similarly impressive showing against Benny Camer (also a random jobber). It’s still very early going for the Ryback character but it’s been an impressive start.

Ryan Reeves originally made his WWE television debut on the 2004 run of Tough Enough. He was ultimately unsuccessful on the show but did well enough to be offered a developmental contract. He accepted (obviously) and spent a few years in WWE’s training companies DSW and OVW.

He was eventually chosen to be one of the contestants for the first series of NXT in 2010, playing an amiably and likeable babyface named Skip Sheffield. That stint could have easily been a disaster but Reeves made it work and got over as a fan favourite thanks to his charisma and willingness to not take himself too seriously. His ‘Cornfed Meathead’ moniker and “Yip yip yip” catchphrase caught on to the point that it wasn’t inconceivable that, given enough time, Sheffield could have made it to the top of the promotion.

That wasn’t to be. The formation of the Nexus faction ensured Sheffield appearances on RAW for several months but he was relegated to a bit part player. The real push belonged to Wade Barrett. That meant a heel turn, which halted his chances of establishing himself as a babyface. When Sheffield get to wrestle he usually lost short matches in which he wasn’t permitted to look especially dominant. He’s not a particularly bad wrestler, but with his look he needs to be booked to overpower all but the biggest of opponents.

Bad luck came his way again in August when he suffered a broken ankle on a WWE house show in Hawaii. It was a painfully long time before Reeves could resume training again, finally making it back into a WWE ring in early 2012. He’s been winning untelevised matches at RAW and SmackDown tapings, and appearing on house shows, since January. By all accounts they have been similar to what we’ve seen in his two TV bouts this year.

It may have taken a long time to get back to TV but it seems the wait has paid off. Reeves is seemingly going to receive a healthy push and has been permitted to wrestle as a more serious character than ‘The Cornfed Meathead’. While I enjoyed the gimmick I think the Ryback character is a better choice in the long run as WWE are more likely to push a less comedic wrestler to the top. The NXT persona would have been less impactful now we have the likes of Brodus Clay and Santino getting strong pushes.

It should be pointed out that this is not the first time in Reeves’ career he has gone under the Ryback name. In 2007 he was released from his developmental contract, only to be re-signed in January of 2008 (illustrating the indecisive nature of WWE management perfectly). When he showed back up in OVW he was announced as Ryback. The character was based on The Terminator, with Reeves no-selling opponents’ offence and dominating them with power moves. He was also billed as being from “the future.” Hopefully that’s an aspect the SmackDown writing team don’t revive.

Ryback could be a future world champion

We’ll be able to tell how serious WWE are about this push when Ryback graduates from squashing random indy workers to full-fledged members of the SmackDown roster. If he’s booked to defeat confirmed WWE Superstars™ in the same decisive manner it will indicate that the promotion wants the man to make it and that fans should view him as a star on the rise.

I’m hopeful that WWE are going to give him a fair chance at success. Ryback has the look, the moves and the verbal skills to be a solid part of the WWE roster. I could certainly see him being a mainstay of a rejuvinated mid-card scene and it’s not impossible to imagine him winning a world championship sometime within a couple of years. He’s also proven (as ‘The Cornfed Meathead’) that he can get over as a babyface with limited exposure. That’s a very useful skill for a newcomer to have.

Ryback may no longer be from the future but he could still be an integral part of it.

SmackTalk 13.04.12

With this week’s SmackDown being billed as a Blast From The Past it would have been very easy for WWE to overload on nonsensical skits and forget about their regular performers. Thankfully that didn’t happen. The Legends’ (yep, WWE uses a capital L when referring to its retired performers) involvement was kept to a minimum, most of them acting as filler in backstage segments rather than monopolising the show. That was the right thing to do.

The central Legend of the show was ‘Rowdy’ Roddy Piper. As you’ll read during my tweets I’ve never been a massive fan of ‘Hotrod’. That could stem from him having been long gone from the WWF by the time I started watching in the late nineties. Although it can’t help that I’ve only ever experienced him returning to WWE occasionally and that he’s never really elevated anyone on the roster. I find it hard to find a reason to like him.

His contribution to the show was Piper’s Pit (that’s an interview in front of the crowd with the ring decked out in tartan). That turned out better than expected, thanks mainly to Piper’s guest: Daniel Bryan. At the start of the segment the former ROH world champion received cheers and chants of “Yes!” which he did nothing to discourage. There was no point trying to force the audience into booing him early on: it clearly wouldn’t have worked. Bryan took the smart approach and let them realise for themselves that he’s not playing a nice guy and they turned on him quickly enough.

Piper’s Pit was the best thing on the show as it got Bryan over as the heel and furthered the breakup storyline between him and AJ. It was also announced that Bryan will receive his rematch for the World Heavyweight championship at Extreme Rules in a decidedly un-extreme two-out-of three falls match. The twist (revealed during the show’s opening segment) is that Sheamus will be fired if he lays his hands on a WWE official (because of his actions on last week’s show). That could indicate a title change or loss of a fall for Sheamus but it’s too early to be sure.

The Kane v Orton feud rumbled on. It’s still ridiculous and a waste of time but WWE is going to see it through so there’s no point complaining about it. At least Kane seems to understand that it’s not the liveliest feud ever and is attempting to envigorate things up with hammy acting. It’s appreciated, Glenn.

The final thing worthy of mention is the use of Heath Slater. After months of aimless drifting ‘The One Man Rock Band’ may have found his niche as a comedic pseudo-tweener foil to Tyson Kidd’s babyface straight man. Their brief interaction backstage on SuperSmackDown was enjoyable for WWE’s mid-card. I hope the writing team noticed and keep the two together as a regular combo. It’s the best work I’ve seen Slater do in his two years on TV and it will get Tyson Kidd more television time. Two birds. One stone.

Opening segment, featuring Sheamus, John Laurinaitis and Mean Gene Okerlund

Tweet 1: SuperSmackDown Blast From The Past starring Hillbilly Jim. There's no way THIS can go wrong.
Tweet 2: Bryan and AJ's breakup was just referred to as "devastating and shocking". Hilarity is ensuing.
Tweet 3: Mean Gene opening the show! Let me tell you something, brother...
Tweet 4: Sheamus is one of Gene's favourites. That'll get the champion over.
Tweet 5: "Thank you, Mean Gene. It's an absolute honour to be in the ring with a legend such as yourself." That's not how you address, Gene...
Tweet 6: You should ALWAYS start with either "Let me tell you something, brother" or...
Tweet 7: "MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAN... WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO BY GOD... GENE!!"
Tweet 8: Anyway... Sheamus was just apologising for kicking a referee in the face and now John Laurinaitis has joined him.
Tweet 9: There were chants for Daniel Bryan as Sheamus was talking.
Tweet 10: Ricardo Rodriguez is brilliant.
Tweet 11: Sheamus gets fired if he touches a referee. Just don't touch a ref then. Simple.
Tweet 12: Sheamus gets fined half a million dollars. Course he does.
Tweet 13: Mean Gene wrestling on this show will be painful.

John Laurinaitis is not a Sheamus fan

Kane v Randy Orton

Tweet 14: Randy Orton saunters to the ring looking like a baby oiled reprobate.

Tweet 15: Orton v Henry. This match happened on pay-per-view twice last year. Henry won clean. His push has slowed down since then.
Tweet 16: If this is a Blast From The Past episode then shouldn't there be some old school commentators? How about Jim Ross and Mick Foley? Or JBL?
Tweet 17: As you may have gathered the match isn't really holding my interest.
Tweet 18: I like the idea of Mark Henry and Booker T talking about championships backstage.
Tweet 19: I have JUST realised that the Mark Henry v CM Punk match they're talking about will main event the RAW I'm seeing. I'll enjoy that.
Tweet 20: Where's Abraham Washington? Click here.

Kane and randy Orton’s surreal backstage shenanigans

Tweet 21: Oh no. Kane's pyro and music. And now Kane's going to cut one of his legendarily terrible promos on the Titantron!

Tweet 22: Kane has attacked 'Cowboy' Bob backstage. How villainous!
Tweet 23: Orton struggled to open some door handles there. He should've RKO'd them.
Tweet 24: "I'm a sucker for family reunions" - Kane, having just attacked Bob and Randy Orton backstage
Tweet 25: That Kane line took the Kane v Orton rivalry even further into the realms of unmitigated lunacy.
Tweet 26: How much will Kane’s fine be?
Tweet 27: "That was just... a blast!" - Booker T, somehow making the nonsense worse

Ryback v Benny Camer

Tweet 28: Benny Camer promo time is interrupted by Ryback. If he carries on like this Ryback is going to get some serious heat.

Tweet 29: Pat Patterson enjoyed that showing from the muscular youngster.

Heath Slater and Tyson Kidd v The Usos

Tweet 30: #HeathSlatercomedysegment

Tweet 31: I think the Tyson Kidd and Heath Slater pairing could work if they got vignettes like that every week. Slater actually works as a babyface foil.
Tweet 32: Mick Foley doing commentary. No reason has been given but why not?
Tweet 33: I like Jimmy Hart being at ringside. I'm not so keen on the Usos green trunks...
Tweet 34: Jimmy Hart talking about being the best manager ever. He's not. That's Bobby Heenan.
Tweet 35: The Usos win by pinning Slater after an elevated Samoan drop and a top rope splash. Took a lot to keep him down.
Tweet 36: Mick Foley looks like he's been volunteering at a soup kitchen.

Piper’s Pit with Daniel Bryan and AJ

Tweet 37: Piper's Pit. I've never been a huge fan of Piper.

Tweet 38: "Roddy looks great," says Michael Cole. He doesn't.
Tweet 39: I want Bryan to refer to AJ as a succubus.
Tweet 40: Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!
Tweet 41: YES!!
Tweet 42: I love the "Yes!" chants. Click here.
Tweet 43: Bryan v Sheamus in a two-out-of-three falls match at Extreme Rules. That's an extreme stipulation right there.
Tweet 44: Bryan needs to stiff AJ with an elbow as she comes through the ropes.
Tweet 45: She's getting light boos. AJ comes across as whiney. Very few people will cheer her over Bryan.
Tweet 46: "I've been watching you since your debut" - Roddy Piper to AJ
Tweet 47: Daniel Bryan. Heel extraordinaire.
Tweet 48: I can see the Sheamus v Bryan match going to Bryan after Sheamus gets DQed on the third fall.
Tweet 49: Bryan bitch-slapping Roddy Piper? Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!

The Great Khali, Natalya and Alicia Fox v Drew McIntyre, Brie Bella and Nikki Bella

Tweet 50: Great Khali dancing? Really?

Tweet 51: This show has been noticeably light on Blasts From The Past so far.
Tweet 52: Alicia Fox pins a Bella. It doesn't matter which one. They're interchangeable.
Tweet 53: Yeah, that was a great use of Natalya.
Tweet 54: Mae Young. Michael Cole gets in early with an age gag. It was probably supplied by Jerry Lawler.

Damien Sandow, a RAW recap and Sheamus and Mean Gene in a locker room

Tweet 55: The Damien Sandow gimmick is just good enough for me to overlook the fact that he looks like Sylvester Terkay.

Tweet 56: The "You're welcome" catchphrase is a nice heel touch.
Tweet 57: RAW footage. I wonder if Triple H tries to enforce the WWE dress code with Lesnar.
Tweet 58: Mixed reaction for Cena. What a shock.
Tweet 59: David Otunga is ridiculous. #Otungapose
Tweet 60: "How can you smile?" - Mean Gene to Sheamus (while smiling)
Tweet 61: There was something sinister about Sheamus putting his arm around Gene there...

Hunico v ‘Hacksaw’ Jim Duggan

Tweet 62: Hunico on a bike!!

Tweet 63: Hunico on the mic!!
Tweet 64: Hunico is cutting a promo about people not caring about legends. That means he'll lose to Jim Duggan.
Tweet 65: Sergeant Slaughter has pretty cool entrance music.
Tweet 66: Hunico jobs to Duggan, Slaughter and a piece of wood. Brilliant.
Tweet 67:  The highlight of that segment was Cole's comment about Slaughter being "straight from World War One."

Cody Rhodes promo

Tweet 68: Cody's right. We should look forward to him being IC champion again.

Tweet 69: Dusty Rhodes interrupting Cody Rhodes. Last time he appeared on WWE TV he turned heel on Mysterio. That won't be referenced.
Tweet 70: #eefyooweel
Tweet 71: 'Dashing' Cody Rhodes was a great gimmick. I enjoyed seeing that clip again.
Tweet 72: That was a peculiar segment. The commentary team didn't know what to make of it either.

Father and son

Daniel Bryan and Alberto Del Rio v Sheamus and Mean Gene Okerlund

Tweet 73: Aberdeen, Washington. Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!

Tweet 74: Ricardo Rodriguez time…
Tweet 75: Albertooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Del Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiioooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!
Tweet 76: Did I just hear that Extreme Rules is going to be in Chicago? If that's right then I predict that Bryan will get heavy cheers.
Tweet 77: #Finkelpop
Tweet 78: Anyone else the bizarre Howard Finkel heel turn on Lilian Garcia and Trish Stratus?
Tweet 79: "They have till a five count" - Michael Cole on Alberto Del Rio and Daniel Bryan #Ihavetillfive
Tweet 80: Roddy Piper is clearly going to come out.
Tweet 81: Not just Piper but a whole bundle of old-timers.
Tweet 82: Even the commentary team laugh at Pat Patterson.
Tweet 83: Ricardo taking bumps from everyone is a solid end to the show.
Tweet 84: Scratch that. It was topped by Sheamus hugging Patterson and smacking him on the backside. Suddenly this World title reign makes sense.

American Wolf, Canadian Nightmare

Last weekend Ring of Honor made the match fans have been waiting months for. On saturday 12^th May in Toronto, live on internet pay-per-view, Davey Richards will defend his ROH world championship against 'Wrestling's Worst Nightmare' Kevin Steen.
 
Since being reinstated in December Steen has been taunting Richards and other top wrestlers with boasts that it's just a matter of time until he wins ROH gold. Richards, the fighting champion, has wanted the match made for some time but Executive Producer Jim Cornette has been against the move, reasoning that he cannot reward Steen's outrageous behaviour or (more importantly) run the risk of him actually winning the Ring of Honor title.
 
Cornette's ruling has been taken by Steen as protection of Richards. Even before he returned to the company he was describing 'The American Wolf' as the promotion's golden boy and Cornette's ruling has only lent credence to that argument. Since he came back that's only gotten worse. My favourite aspect of 'Mr Wrestling's' feud with Cornette and Richards is the way he's taken to carrying a tennis racket with a picture of Davey Richards on it around with him.

Kevin Steen has pulled a trick from the Jim Cornette playbook and adopted that rather fetching tennis racket as his signature foreign object

The constant jabs are part of the reason the title bout has finally been sanctioned. Richards, wanting to shut Steen up and prove he deserves to wear the belt, gave Cornette an ultimatum: make the match or he would vacate the championship (thereby tarnishing its legacy and prestige) and go and wrestle in Japan full time. Cornette's hands were tied and the competitors and fans have the contest they want.
 
Since returning to ROH iPPV 'The American Wolf' has had nothing but great matches. I'm expecting this to be another electric title defence for him. It will need to be something special to top his stellar performance against the House of Truth's Michael Elgin at Showdown in the Sun Night Two but I think if any opponent can help Davey achieve that task it's Kevin Steen. With the match being in Canada Richards is going to find himself as the heel, with Steen likely to be welcomed as a national hero. It should make for an interesting and slightly unpredictable match dynamic. I'll be interested to see how far Richards goes in the heel role.
 
Also worthy of note is that ROH have confirmed they will have a new iPPV provider for the broadcast. That's a good move: the shoddy service provided by Go Fight Live had become intolerable and was going to cost Ring of Honor business. Whoever they go with is almost certainly going to be an improvement. It would be hard to be worse than GFL!
 
It's a little early for predictions but I'm going to go wild and make one anyway. I think 'The American Wolf' will retain the title either via a time limit draw or some out-of-character shady heel tactics (which may or may not lead to an official turn at some point in the not too distant future). I'm fairly confident Steen will be the man to end Richards' title reign but I don't think it will happen quite yet.
 
When the Steen title reign comes I think it will be a great success. 'Mr Wrestling' is one of the most charismatic and popular men in wrestling and ROH's most reliable all-rounder. His promos and matches are brilliant. When his time comes, and it will, he will make an excellent ROH champion.