WWE Draft rib, TNA making the right call by having Samoa Joe work with Booker T and Kevin Nash, Impact and Smackdown thoughts

Saturday, JUNE 21 - 1:30 P.M.

-It probably shouldn't surprise anyone that some WWE wrestlers and announcers use the paranoia surrounding the draft to rib one another. I was told earlier this week that Michael Cole ribbed Tazz by telling him that Mike Adamle was moving to Raw. As I understand it, Tazz was hot because he has more tenure and feels he would be more deserving of a promotion to one of the bigger shows.

-Don't look now, but TNA has strung together two solid episodes of Impact. Thursday's show featured a nice mix of good in-ring wrestling and soap opera drama. Some fans will credit the World X Cup matches, but I think it goes beyond that.

The strength of the X Cup is that it provides viewers with some fresh faces that deliver quality matches. Ultimately, though, it's presented as a group of random wrestlers working tournament style matches (I still don't know the rules of this thing) with very little storyline support. They don't get mic time and they're not being presented in a manner that's going to get these wrestlers over. In other words, the strength of the last two shows has very little to do with the World X Cup.

-I'm more impressed with the way the TNA creative team has managed to get Samoa Joe back on track. His character was hard to relate to when he was hanging out with Kevin Nash and griping about his contact every week. They've transitioned out of that nicely by having Joe turn over the keys to his cushy dressing room for a spot in the regular locker room.

They've also set up Joe with a pair of name opponents in Nash and Booker T. Better yet, the creative staff has solid storylines for both feuds. I don't think anyone would accept a Joe vs. Nash feud if TNA just threw them out there. The key is in the presentation and TNA is doing a very nice job of building toward that match.

I know there are a group of younger wrestlers who are grumbling about Nash getting so much camera time, but I think it makes sense to put Joe in there with two veterans who still have some star power. The focus should be on elevating Joe and making him seem like a worthy TNA Champion, not just putting him in the ring with guys with guys he can have good matches with. Nash and Booker can provide Joe with the rub that the younger wrestlers can't give him.

Of course, I'd like to see TNA do a better job of building up some of those younger wrestlers, but after seeing how poorly Joe was pushed over the last year, I'll settle for one step at a time.

-On the other hand, Smackdown was a mostly forgettable show. The Hitlist isn't always a good barometer for the overall quality of a wrestling show. For instance, last night's show had a few entertaining segments that I rated as "Hits," but there were also several forgettable segments that didn't qualify as "Misses," yet still brought down the quality of the show. The overall show didn't really fit into the "Hit" or "Miss" categories, but rather somewhere in between.

-Special thanks to the reader (you know who you are) who was nice enough to forward me the Guns-n-Roses tracks that leaked earlier this week. I've heard most of these songs before, but the porno music track "If the World" is a new gem.

-There's a classic car show in my neighborhood this weekend and I've been in awe over the last two days while watching some of these awesome vehicles drive by my house. I don't change my own oil, but even I can appreciate how cool some these cars are. Local readers, you can check them out at the State Fairgrounds this weekend with an admission price of $10 for adults and kids under 12 get in free with a paying adult. Maybe I'll see you out there. Just look for the confused bald guy who's desperately pretending to know what the car owners are talking about when they start discussing engine sizes and horsepower.

Thursday, JUNE 19 - 1:42 P.M.

-TNA (known as NWA-TNA at the time) held it's first pay-per-view six years ago today in Huntsville, Ala. at the Von Braun Center. Below are the results of the five-match show.

1. The Flying Elvises (Jimmy Yang, Sonny Siaki, Jorge Estrada) beat A.J. Styles and Jerry Lynn and Low Ki.

2. Teo pinned Hollywood in a midget match.

3. The Johnsons (w/Mortimer Plumtree) defeated James Storm and Psicosis.

4. The Dupps beat Christian York and Joey Matthews.

5. Ken Shamrock and Malice were the last two standing in a Gauntlet for the Gold match and then Shamrock pinned Malice to become the NWA Champion.

-Other wrestlers who appeared on the pay-per-view: Jeff Jarrett, Scott Hall, Buff Bagwell, Lash LaRoux, Norman Smiley, Apollo, Ron Killings, Slash, Del Rios, Justice, Konnan, Lenny (Lane) and Bruce, Rick Steiner, Chris Harris, Gangrel, Devon Storm, Steve Corino, Brian Christopher.

-Other legends, females, and personalities who appeared on the pay-per-view: Jerry Jarrett, Jeremy Borash, Mike Tenay, Don West, Ed Ferrara, Harley Race, James Mitchell, Dory Funk Jr., Jackie Fargo, Bob Armstrong, Corsica Joe, Sara Lee, Bill Behrens, Ricky Steamboat, Francine, Miss Joanie, Shannon (a/k/a Daffney), Alexis, Sasha, Aaron, Elektra, Taylor, Teresa, Alicia Webb (a/k/a Ryan Shamrock), Hermie Sadler, Sterling Marlin, Jackie Fargo, Toby Keith.

-Of the wrestlers who appeared on that show, only A.J. Styles, James Storm, and Jeff Jarrett are regulars on today's TNA roster (or working behind the scenes in Jarrett's case). James Mitchell, who worked as a manager on the first show, is still under contract but hasn't appeared on television in months. The broadcast team (minus Ed Ferrara) remains the same with Mike Tenay and Don West in the booth, and Jeremy Borash as an on-air personality.

-The following is the report I filed on the first show for the Pro Wrestling Torch Newsletter (for subscription information visit PWTorch.com.)

To paraphrase something (Torch columnist) Bruce Mitchell once wrote, a 6.0 rating for NWA-TNA means a lot less than the same rating for a WWE pay-per-view. NWA-TNA isn't even in WWE's league, but this was still fun for a first pay-per-view.

Although there was plenty to dislike about this show, it was still the smoothest first PPV effort I've seen in years, and that includes ECW's debut show. Keep in mind that by the time ECW aired its first PPV, the company had previous television experience, pre-existing storylines, and a crew that was familiar with one another.

The NWA-TNA promotion had none of those advantages heading into its first venture, yet still came through with a better than anticipated debut. The show wouldn't have been good enough to persuade viewers to purchase a PPV season pass if they had been available, but it wasn't bad enough that viewers will rule out giving the promotion a second look.

The main problem I had with the show was it felt too much like WCW. Everything from Mike Tenay, to the corny gimmicks, to the look of the ring and set, to the corny gimmicks, to the cheap and poorly mixed music, to the corny gimmicks, to too much Jeff Jarrett, to the... did I mention the corny gimmicks?

At least the idea behind The Johnsons is that Mortimer Plumtree is forcing them to wear those outfits against their will, but what excuse do the Flying Elvises have? The cruiserweight action was indeed non-stop, but I don't know that dressing up three talented wrestlers in matching Elvis costumes is the message any promotion should send during its first match. And speaking of the Johnsons, I never thought I'd say this, but they should have gone with the dickhead masks after all because that gimmick was beyond bad.

Speaking beyond bad, Ed Ferrara and Don West were awful. I'm talking Lee Marshall and Mongo McMichael awful. And just when I thought the Johnsons tag team was lamest gimmick since the Ding Dongs, out walked The Dupps with their fingers in their noses, doing a gimmick so cartoonish that David MacLaine wouldn't touch it.


Notes: I was starting to believe that Jeff Jarrett had packed on a few pounds, but then Lash LeRoux walked out and made him look like Francine, who looked as if she hadn't eaten since the last time one of her ECW checks cleared... The only things softer than Konnan's battle royal elimination bump were Steve Corino and Justice's midsections...

It was nice to see that NWA-TNA helped Lenny & Lodi get even with WWE for stealing their gimmick by having Ken Shamrock dress up like Rico... So that's what Scott Steiner would look like if he were a baseball player and the union gave in and allowed the owners to test for steroids...

Okay, sorry for all of the cheap one-liners, but seeing some of these old familiar WCW faces really brings back memories. The big question is whether I'm looking forward to future NWA-TNA events. There is a lot of work to do and a lot of gimmicks to give up on, but yes, I am looking forward to next week and it is nice to have another wrestling option.

Wednesday, JUNE 18 - 1:33 P.M.

WWE hasn't provided its viewers with any details on how the draft process will work this year. Will it be like the last draft where wrestlers face off in matches with the goal of winning the matches to earn a pick for their brand? Will it be a lottery style draft? There are plenty of questions about the format, but there's on that sticks out in my mind.

Who will represent the Raw brand?

Raw has been without a general manager since William Regal was suspended for 60 days due to a Wellness Policy violation. WWE hasn't done anything to make us believe that a new general manager will be announced this week and you'd think they'd advertise something like that in advance. Then again, I thought they would advertise Ric Flair's return to television in advance and that never happened.

I suppose Vince McMahon could represent the brand, but that would be overkill given his role in the 12 money prizes they are giving away this week. What about Shane McMahon? I've felt for a while now that Raw was due for a babyface general manager and Shane would be a good foil for his father's heel character. That being said, I have no idea whether Shane has interest in playing a weekly role on television.

Perhaps Teddy Long could run both brands since ECW is moving to Mondays. Then again, it would be odd for Long to pick wrestlers for both brands, so scratch that idea.

How about Flair? He just appeared on Raw. The storyline would have to be that the board of directors made the call since it was established on television that Vince doesn't want the Nature Boy on his show. I'm reluctant to endorse such a move, though. Flair was solid in the general manager role before, but I think it would be wise to keep Flair off television for a while to sell his retirement and make his next return to television mean something. I wasn't a big fan of him returning as quickly as he did and I hated the idea of not advertising him in advance.

My guess is that WWE won't name a new general manager on Monday and the creative staff instead works around it by using a lottery style draft. I'm assuming they'll go with the slot machine approach where the big screen flashes the faces of all the wrestlers and magically stops on the face of one wrestler.

Too bad if that's the case. I've always enjoyed the verbal exchanges between the general managers because it adds to the feeling that there's really something at stake at the draft and that there's legitimate competition between the brands. We might get a couple of scenes with Long and Vickie Guerrero, but I don't expect them to play major roles if there's not a figurehead representing Raw.

Wednesday, JUNE 18 - 9:55 A.M.

-I'm still amazed by how much press Dwayne Johnson is getting these days. I don't even think he's promoting a movie, yet he's appearing on "The Tonight Show," was featured on the cover of Entertainment Weekly, and was the subject of a lengthy story in the L.A. Times. Meanwhile, Vince McMahon is giving away a million dollars on television every week and he's managed to get a quick appearance on "The Today Show" and some of the cable news shows. Ouch.

-Editor's late addition: I finished my blog and hopped in the car to run an errand and was immediately greeted with the voice of Steve Carrell, who was promoting "Get Smart." You'd think with all the pub that Rock is getting for being part of that movie that I would have remembered that he does have a flick to promote. Duh.

-It's not all bad for Vince. His ratings stunt paid off with a 3.3 rating on Raw the other night. Granted, the rating dropped in the second hour compared to the first hour and he had to pay another million dollars of his own money just to get the rating to move, but at least it didn't drop again this week.

-TNA officials should be very happy that the NBA Finals wrapped up on Tuesday. TNA Impact went head-to-head with two games of the Celtics vs. Lakers series and would have done so again had the series gone seven games. I won't be surprised if the Impact rating increases this week. The NBA Finals are finished, "Lost" wrapped up it's glorious fourth season a couple weeks ago, and the rest of the strong NBC Thursday night shows are in rerun mode. In other words, TNA won't be facing heavy hitter competition for a while.

-Can you imagine what the reaction would be like if Brett Favre made a surprise return to the field for the Green Bay Packers? Do you think the Packers would make a little fuss over it on their own website? Yeah, me too. I know Ric Flair didn't exactly return to the ring on Monday, but the fact that he made his first appearance on Raw should be enough to justify the idea of featuring his photo on the main page at WWE.com on Tuesday.

-My girlfriend doesn't watch much wrestling with me, but she is fully aware of the pay-per-view schedule because of the way it affects our weekend plans. As such, she made a solid observation recently when she sarcastically quipped, "They scheduled a wrestling pay-per-view on Mother's Day, but they don't have one on Father's Day?" Um, good point.

-Analyze this dream: I was watching the FOX Sunday night animated lineup and decided to flip channels during a commercial break. I stumbled upon a WWE pay-per-view that I was supposed to be covering live on the website and the show was already at least 45 minutes in. I immediately noticed that Jim Ross wasn't calling the match. Rather, it was former AWA broadcaster Rod Trongard. I immediately woke up from this nightmare and I couldn't get back to sleep for about 30 minutes.

-Speaking of J.R., I finally tried his BBQ sauce on a batch of grilled chicken the other night. I thought it was fantastic, but the real test would be my girlfriend, who is picky about her BBQ. She started off with a "Not bad," which told me she still really hadn't decided anything. A couple bites later, she noted that it was sweet, yet still had a little kick to it, and admitted she was impressed. "It's not as good as my mom's sauce, though," she said. J.R. shouldn't take it personally. He makes a great BBQ sauce and it's highly recommended. For ordering information, check out JRsbarbq.com.