Twilling's Blog Followup on Jim Ross and why Night of Champions is a horrible concept By Rich Twilling Jun 29, 2008 - 03:34 PM Email This Article | Printer Friendly Page Send Us News & Results | Back to Main Listing Sunday, JUNE 29 – 3:34 P.M. -My previous blog regarding Jim Ross prompted a lot of feedback, most of which was surprisingly positive. Those of you who disagreed wrote respectful and articulate rebuttals, which I appreciated. Before I close that particular topic, I want to be perfectly clear. I think Vince McMahon not telling J.R. about his moving to Smackdown ahead of time was extremely unprofessional. I also have no problem with people standing up for themselves to their bosses. However, certain things should be done behind closed doors. McMahon’s game playing was petty and unprofessional, as was the behavior of Jim Ross. However, he went to Smackdown and called the show as only J.R. could. I am excited and happy that Ross let professionalism prevail. I echo the comments made by Triple H in his promo and hope J.R. continues to elevate the quality of Smackdown. -Tonight is the Night of Champions pay-per-view. I have a problem with the concept of a night where every championship is defended and a big deal is made of it. A lot of people will argue that there are too many championships in WWE. I am one of those people. I realize, due to having separate brands, that more titles are necessary. However, when so many of the titles are basically meaningless, there is no reason to have so many. The problem with Night of Champions is that every title should be defended on every PPV, not just this PPV. It is a basic, old school thought, but each respective championship should be the most important prize to those feuding over that particular championship. If someone is holding a championship belt, there should be enough prestige behind the title to defend it at every major event, i.e. a PPV. Former WWE superstar Lance Storm has expressed this as well numerous times, including in his current Q&A column. If a title is not being defended, why does it even exist? Two recent examples immediately spring to mind. First, when DX reunited, they feuded with the World Tag Team Champions, The Spirit Squad, for months. However, they never once wrestled for or showed interest in the titles. If a team could so easily win the titles but show no interest in doing so, why should the fans care about the titles and the wrestlers holding them? Secondly, we have current Intercontinental Champion Chris Jericho. He rarely defends his title and even when he does, it is in an under-promoted, soon forgotten match. Jericho does not have a match yet (as I write this) for Night of Champions because he is currently feuding with Shawn Michaels, who is “above” the Intercontinental Championship. Granted, I appreciate the slow build to a big Michaels vs. Jericho match, but the lack of desire over the title does it no favors. Beyond that, the Intercontinental Championship has not been defended at Wrestlemania since Wrestlemania 18. Going from previous classics such as Randy Savage vs. Ricky Steamboat and Razor Ramon vs. Shawn Michaels to this is pathetic. -The show tonight looks decent and the fact that there should be a major title change is intriguing. However, the whole concept is just wrong. I hope everyone enjoys the show tonight. Feel free to follow along with Jason Powell as he covers the show live. I will be back soon to talk about the show, my thoughts of each show post-draft, and more. Thank you for reading. Thursday, JUNE 26 - 12:26 P.M. Welcome to round two of my blog. Thank you for your return patronage. After reading this blog, feel free to check out my mini-biography at the bottom of the page. -The fallout from the WWE draft continues to be a hot topic. The supplemental draft took place on Wednesday, moving some mid-card performers to different shows. The most notable move was the final one; Kofi Kingston moving from ECW to Raw. I am slightly surprised since I assumed he would continue to cut his teeth on Tuesday nights. As I mentioned in my ECW TV report this week, Kofi has the charisma that Shelton Benjamin is devoid of. Kofi is going to be a star, and an Intercontinental Championship run could come sooner rather than later. -The most surprising move of the supplemental draft was one that did not take place. Jim Ross did not move back to Raw, so I guess we will be seeing him on Friday nights for the indefinite future. J.R. is actually going to be the central figure of this blog. Let me preface this by saying I have a lot of respect for J.R., but at the same time, this needs to be said and in the process, I am sure I will ruffle some feathers. Ross is the Brett Favre of WWE. The football media never criticized Favre for anything. Brett Favre’s horrible play was the reason the Packers did not go to Super Bowl XLII. Whenever Favre made a stupid, ill-advised throw, announcers spun it as Favre being gutsy, gritty, and trying to make something out of nothing. They never criticized his play like they would Eli Manning or any younger quarterback. I compare J.R. to Favre in that sense because wrestling fans give Ross a pass about everything. However, the comparisons stop there. Favre was a gridiron warrior. Ross, as great as he is (and I think he is a legend), is a crybaby. Someone should have given him a bottle and binky on Monday night. I know he was pissed; I was pissed too, but his behavior was hardly appropriate for someone of his stature. Ross is an old school tough guy who marches to the beat of his own drum. That would work just fine if his only jobs were his restaurant and barbecue business. However, he works for World Wrestling Entertainment and more specifically, Vince McMahon. When you work for someone else, you cannot and do not always get your way. Ross seems to forget that. McMahon has fired Ross in the past. He has shown Ross disrespect as well, definitely onscreen and probably off of it as well. He has also made Ross a very wealthy man, which has allowed him to branch out into his other ventures. Most importantly, despite their past, Ross always comes back to work for Vince. J.R. was thrown a curveball on Monday night, and he immediately considered taking his ball and going home. It is no surprise that Ross is a good friend of Steve Austin, who did the exact same thing. It is also no secret that Jim Ross uses his internet blog to give his fans a window into his thoughts. However, his chooses his words very strategically. Ross was upset and let everyone know it. However, even in his bounce-back blog, it still had a “poor me” vain to it. He knows he is going to get a slew of emails saying it was wrong that this “happened” to him, and he acts like that is exactly what he wants. I mentioned to Dot Net Smackdown TV reporter Chris Shore that I think J.R. could single-handedly turn Smackdown into a much better show and with the help of others, perhaps turn it into the “A” show. However, if Ross is going to piss and moan, he would just make Smackdown worse, tarnish his own legacy, and maybe he should hang up his microphone for good and focus on the restaurant business. J.R. is the best wrestling announcer in the world. However, his relationship with Vince McMahon is give and take; thus, Vince McMahon owes him nothing. J.R. has a job many of us would dream of; if he is really that unhappy, he should step down. If he stays, he should be happy to be where he is. -In addition to writing here at Dot Net, I am 29 years old and live in Roseville, California, just northeast of Sacramento. I am a Health Science and Physical Education teacher at the high school and adult education levels. My hobbies outside of work could actually be considered work as well. I love movies—old and new—and am involved in an extras casting agency. My favorite movies are actually two complete sagas: Rocky and The Godfather. I was fortunate enough to be seen on screen in Rocky Balboa. I have completed a screenplay and a novel and am looking to get them published. I may end up doing it myself. On top of that, I used to be heavily involved in boxing and am currently very active in MMA. My first official fight may come within the next year. Once again, I appreciate your support of Dot Net. I can be reached by shooting an email to dotnetrich@gmail.com. Tuesday, JUNE 24 - 12:29 P.M. Before I begin, please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Rich Twilling and I currently write television reports here at Dot Net. With this blog, my intent is to give a unique perspective on the hot topics in professional wrestling. Whether I am being serious or humorous, and whether you agree or disagree with me, I will always be professional. I hope you enjoy my blog and your continued support of Dot Net is appreciated very much. -First and foremost, WWE Raw delivered in a big way last night. I am indifferent over the Vince McMahon “tragedy,” but the draft exceeded my expectations. Some huge stars were moved and the upper midcard to main event programs were positively overhauled. -The two biggest surprises of the night were Jim Ross and WWE Champion Triple H moving to Smackdown. Regarding JR, I would not be at all surprised to see him traded back to Raw. I hope that is the case. Michael Cole can be a decent or even very good announcer, but JR is the class of the flagship show. He belongs on Raw more than just about anyone. Triple H moved to Smackdown once before, however, he was traded back to Raw before making an appearance on Smackdown. I doubt they will go down that road again and I hope he stays put on Friday night. With Edge, MVP, Umaga, Jeff Hardy, and potentially The Undertaker on the show, Triple H has a plethora of potential opponents. However, they could all be big money programs so WWE really needs to decide which feuds to hold off on. -The big question that comes to mind is who will lose their championship on Sunday, Edge or Triple H? Barring one of them being traded, one of them will probably lose their championship. Next Monday, Raw will have John Cena as WWE Champion, or Batista as the World Heavyweight Champion. I prefer the latter, but either way, I would start the very slow build to Cena vs. Batista at Wrestlemania XXV. -One of the quickly glazed over moves in the draft was Mr. Kennedy moving to Smackdown. Kennedy is the single largest disappointment in WWE right now. He was white hot when he won the Money in the Bank ladder match at Wrestlemania 23 and subsequently announced he would be in a championship match at Wrestlemania XXIV. By now, most people had Kennedy pegged as a main eventer. Yes, he was affected greatly by his suspension, but I think a lot of people overestimated his talent because of his cool ring introduction. Kennedy is not close to being in main events; he cannot even find his way onto a secondary PPV card. On top of that, he has no direction. His face turn came out of nowhere and made little sense. He was much more interesting as a heel, but he has Edge and MVP ahead of him in line right now. Kennedy seemed to be in a better place in his first appearance with the company. Time will tell if he can get his car back on the road to the top, but right now, his car is on blocks. -I echo Jason Powell’s sentiment in saying RIP to George Carlin. I had the pleasure of speaking with George in trying to get him to perform at my college. Although he could not fit it into his schedule, he was the ultimate professional, both on and off the stage. Thank you for reading my first blog on Dot Net. I always have plenty to say so they will be coming frequently. You are always welcome to email me at dotnetrich@gmail.com to give me your thoughts. 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!) CLICK TO RETURN TO DOT NET MAIN LISTING OR SELECT A LINK BELOW FROM THIS CATEGORY Twilling's Blog Latest Twelve Articles Twilling's Blog: If you haven't heard yet, Hulk Hogan has signed with TNA and that is a good thing Twilling's Blog: Looking at Shane McMahon leaving WWE, Nigel McGuinness going to TNA, where the best place for Nigel and Bryan Danielson is Twilling's Blog: Less is more; why the WWE Raw guest host gimmick is watering down the overall product Twilling's Blog: Did Chris Jericho make the Tag Team Championships so relevant that DX finally wants them? Twilling's Blog: Was Hulk Hogan's 80s run as bad as John Cena's current run? What was different about the times and why Chris Jericho is so valuable Twilling's Blog: Why are the fans accepting decent as good or great? Why finding the next Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin or The Rock cannot be forced