Powell's Blog Ric Flair retirement spoof, TNA seems hesitant to hype a match stipulation, ticking off one of Shark Boy's friends By Jason Powell Apr 7, 2008 - 10:30 AM Email This Article | Printer Friendly Page Send Us News & Results | Back to Main Listing Monday, APRIL 7 - 10:30 A.M. -If I were booking WWE, I'd mock the Ric Flair tribute on tonight's Raw. Hear me out. I'd put the heat on Randy Orton by having the Legend Killer hold a tribute to himself for retaining the WWE Title at WrestleMania 24. I'd have another heel such as Carlito or Mr. Kennedy play the Triple H emcee role and then I'd mock the tribute in an over the top manner. Don't get me wrong, I loved the Flair tribute and I wouldn't set out to offend the guy in any way. Heck, I'd even call him to get his blessing if I felt it were necessary. It's just that after reading Paul Heyman's rant yesterday, it became obvious that the entire tribute ceremony is prime to be spoofed. Can you think of a better way to put heat on a heel than to have him openly mock Flair and that tribute? I'm sure Naitch realizes he's an emotional guy. If I thought he could laugh at himself, I'd have Orton mock his high tear count by pretending to weep over the introduction of his wife, his father, various heels, and a few meaningless individuals with the joke being that Flair wept over anyone and everyone who walked through the curtain last week. Maybe Kennedy and Orton could show off a couple of ridiculously cheap watches and read mock inscriptions to play on the classy watches that HBK purchased for himself and Flair. Of course, the segment would conclude with one of the babyfaces taking offense and crashing the party. -TNA seems to be reluctant to hype the Kurt Angle vs. Samoa Joe match as something other than a pro wrestling match. Angle stated during a recent radio interview that they intend to wear MMA gloves and fight the match in MMA style, yet TNA hasn't mentioned anything like that on Impact. Granted, this could be another case of Angle overstating things during a radio interview, but the fact that he's taken part in the MMA-style workouts and Joe's been shown working with MMA fighters on Impact suggests that there's some truth to what Kurt said. Our weekend poll asked Dot Net readers whether the MMA-style match they are teasing appeals to them. The readers who took the poll were split down the middle. 50 percent liked the stipulation, while the other 50 percent wanted to see them work a standard match. I think these two are the perfect for the style, but they definitely risk upsetting fans if they work a ground based submission-style match and don't advertise the stipulations ahead of time. -WWE's decision to move JBL into the title picture is perplexing. His feud with Chris Jericho bombed. His feud and WrestleMania 24 match with Finlay were disappointments. Yet somehow WWE decided he's ready for a pay-per-view main event role in an awkward heel vs. heel program with Randy Orton. My guess is that Triple H will be added to the mix tonight and the Backlash main event will be another three-way. -The Shawn Michaels and Batista feud should be interesting. HBK can sell the big man's moves and make Batista look like a million bucks, assuming Big Dave doesn't trip over his own feet like he did at WrestleMania. Batista had a nice series of matches with MVP on Smackdown recently, but it's going to take a while to wash that lousy WrestleMania match out of my mind. -We're about to enter non-wrestling territory, so check out now if you're not interested in reading about something other than pro wrestling on this website (see how easy that is, TNA?). I had a really cool experience at Mall of America's Underwater World on Saturday night. My girlfriend and I took my niece to the amazing indoor aquarium. We went late enough in the evening that there was no crowd, so we were able to spend as much time as we wanted checking out all the exhibits. I'm not a huge nature buff or sea lover. Heck, I didn't even watch "Crocodile Hunter" (although I did see a stingray up close on Saturday night). Even so, the entire experience was awesome and I definitely intend to go back again soon. As if the aquarium wasn't cool enough, they have a tank set up at the end of the tour where you can reach in and touch sharks and some other crazy looking creatures. I think it's primarily for kids, but I didn't hesitate to reach in. I even pissed off one of the creatures because it flipped my hand away and then splashed water at me. Sorry, dude. Maybe he read my review of the "Shark Boy turns Stone Cold" skits. Anyway, I highly recommend this tour to anyone who lives within driving distance of the Mall of America. And, yes, I realize I'm probably last person in the area to check this out, but it was very cool and I thought I'd spread the word just in case. HELP SUPPORT DOT NET! BECOME A MEMBER AT OUR CHARTER RATE OF JUST $5 A MONTH - GET THE FIRST LOOK AT EXCLUSIVE INSIDER DOT NET NEWS, TONS OF EXCLUSIVE AUDIO SHOWS, MESSAGE BOARD ACCESS, START YOUR OWN BLOG, AD-FREE MAIN LISTING: SIGN ME UP (or MORE INFO) GOT AN IPHONE OR IPOD TOUCH? THEN BE SURE TO DOWNLOAD OUR NEW FREE iPhone APP: (click here!) (or SEARCH "pro wrestling" in iTunes App Store) FOR MORE BREAKING WWE & TNA NEWS AND COMMENTARY, VISIT OUR AFFILIATE PWTORCH.COM (click here!) FOR MORE MMA & UFC NEWS AND COMMENTARY, VISIT OUR AFFILIATE MMATORCH.COM (click here!) 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