8/1 Wednesday One Shots: The Dot Net staff give their quick thoughts from the previous week in WWE, TNA, MMA and indie wrestling

Welcome to the Wednesday One Shot. Each week, we will present a quick "one shot" thought from each staff member about the previous week in each of the following areas: WWE, TNA and Other (MMA, Indies, etc).

WWE

Will Pruett (Twitter - @itswilltime): Daniel Bryan has become one of the most consistent and dependable performers in WWE today. It's not about his wrestling talent (which is off the charts), it's about his ability to entertain. Now that Raw is three hours, we are seeing a heavy emphasis put on Bryan, in both a wrestling and entertainment role. Who would have thought that possible when he was in ROH?

Mark Gessner (Twitter - @MarkGessner): The subtlety that C.M. Punk used in his promo to open Raw and his logic just shows why he is one of, if not the best "sports entertainer" today. He didn't have a drastic change in personality which is common when wrestlers turn heel or face. He was equally good on commentary during the main event. Plus, his GTS on Rock, and Rock's announcement that he will face the champion at Royal Rumble all but guarantees Punk will hold the title until then. I'm all for title reigns last over a year.

Ryan Kester (Twitter - @TheRyanKester): From a first impressions standpoint, I'm not convinced the three hour idea is the greatest. Monday's show lagged and lagged. WWE really needs to work on the flow of their show and keeping things feeling fresh if they want to get the most out of Raw each week. What they did on Monday wasn't enough.

Chris Shore (Twitter - @TheShoreSlant): WWE Raw ratings tanked this week, scoring much worse than I thought they would. WWE has failed at every opportunity to capture fan interest when having these big shows featuring big stars. The "big star" paradox is not just confined to the indies. WWE has to do a better job of telling stories throughout the entire broadcast if the three hour expansion is going to succeed.

TNA

Will Pruett: I still worry about the ongoing push of James Storm. I love this character, but I worry about diminishing his potential by causing people to doubt him. After Lockdown, Storm went home and gave fans a reason to wonder if he would still wrestle. He lost his smile. Now, other trustworthy babyfaces on the roster are questioning Storm's motivations in the Aces and Eights story. Is Storm's connection with the fans established enough to survive this? I don't believe so.

Mark Gessner: Due to a thunderstorm and power outage last Thursday, I was unable to watch this past week's TV show, and I am upset by that. If you told me that sentence would come out of my mouth last year, I would have laughed in your face. That said, Ryan Kester does a phenomenal job with his weekly live coverage and Will's audio reviews every week are well worth the price of Dot Net Membership.

Ryan Kester: Open Fight Night came a week after it was supposed to and Impact suffered for uit. I am high on most of the TNA product right now, but Open Fight Night, especially its Gut Checks, need to go the way of the weekly TV Title defense.

Chris Shore: I'm a more than a little annoyed by the announcement that there will be BFG series matches on Hardcore Justice. It's not that the ten point penalty for a DQ is now moot, though that irks me a little. To me, it's lazy booking. Instead of coming up with something for whoever ends up these matches, they are marrying them on a PPV for no other reason than for a future PPV.

Other (MMA, Indies, Etc)

Will Pruett (PWG): I recently got around to watching PWG's Death to All But Metal show from earlier this year. It featured great wrestling, exciting stories, and a unique environment. I love watching PWG shows and would highly recommend this one. It's one of the top indie promotions in the country right now and deserves your attention.

Mark Gessner (UFC): UFC in Fox 4 is this Saturday night from Los Angeles is stacked at the top with the main event of Shogun Rua vs. Brandon Vera and Ryan Bader vs. Lyoto Machida. Who ever has the most impressive winning performance this Saturday will now be getting the opportunity to face the winner of Jon Jones vs. Dan Henderson for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. Look for phenomenal performances from all four fighters looking for an opportunity to challenge for the title. Quick predictions: Rua knocks Vera out and Bader goes to his wrestling and ground and pound to beat Machida via decision.

Ryan Kester (ROH): What has happened to this company? The buzz around ROH has nearly completely died down. Normally a big tournament to replace a champion would garner a lot of attention and talk among my group of friends and in our forums, but both have been nearly silent for some time. ROH is in a bad way and they need to do something soon to both increase buzz about their product and bring new fans into the fold.

Chris Shore (Kamala): I am personally disgusted at James Harris (a/k/a Kamala) for how he has handled the situation with MWF raising funds for him. MWF held an auction of merchandise with the money going to Kamala in the wake of his surgeries to remove both feet from complications related to diabetes. The fact that Kamala hasn't received that money after a mere two weeks, and especially considering that he was sent an email explaining what the delay was, gives him no reason to attack the promotion and its owner. Kamala said he doesn't want the money now. The promoter has promised to send it anyway. I'll bet anything Harris cashes the check.