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Submitted by Wevv Mang on Sunday, September 25, 2005 at 5:48 PM EST
Ridin’ With The Bossman – Kill Vince Greetings! Welcome to another edition of Ridin’ With The Bossman! The column that networks executives at Spike love to quote at Vince. Last week it was a PPV, this week it’s a root canal for Wevv AND a cold. But damn, these drugs are good, so you get a column. The countdown is on for WWE to jump to USA. Friday nights look all right for Smackdown, and there’s plenty to ramble on about. So let’s get this bad boy under way. WWE TV – The Series A big week for WWE. One PPV wrapped up with new champions, Smackdown got some competition from new shows on Friday night, and Raw is starting the hype for their move in a mere eight days to a new network home. The recap thoughts are going to be brief as there are some ideas I’d like to float out there, and some in depth observations to make. Let’s start at the beginning of the week. Unforgiven Recap info provided by Carl Walsh Just quick match results and notes. Ric Flair beat Carlito Ric Flair is now the Intercontinental champion. It’s a belt he hasn’t held before. Ric celebrated by popping some Viagra and banging some chicks. All show long. WWE loves their geezer porn. Hey, after the criticism of Ric grabbing Carlito’s balls, they decided to go to the other extreme. There is no middle ground for WWE. - You know, I just read about it in the recaps and thought to myself, “What the fuck?” and asked myself. Is it any worse than sticking Ric in an Insane Asylum? He just won the championship belt and this is what he gets. Torrie Wilson and Victoria lost to Ashley and Trish Well, we all knew it was going to happen. No big deal. Big Show beat Gene Snitsky Another match that was no big deal. I’m glad Big Show won, but that’s about it. Shelton Benjamin beat Kerwin White And the next step is…? Hopefully nothing. Matt Hardy beat Edge in a Steel Cage Supposed to have been pretty good. Nice to see Matt finally get a win over Edge. Dick Murdoch and Lance Cade beat Hurricane and Rosey to become Tag Team Champions Just about everyone thought it would happen and it did. Now, does this mean that tag team wrestling is back? No, not in the least. It just means that the same problems that faced Hurricane and Rosey will now face these two guys, who got rushed up. There’s still no division to speak of. Rosey and Hurricane were as over as these two guys, but since there was no division, they got phased out. Same problem, different team. HBK beat Chris Masters And you expected something else? Kurt Angle beat John Cena by DQ Another supposedly good match, with a BS ending. Though it does advance the angle. There were a lot of predictions going into the PPV. Many folks said that the tag titles would change hands when Cade and Murdoch showed up. When it was announced that Flair would be going after the IC title, and that it was a belt he never held before, it was expected that Flair would win, and he did. In fact, most of the matches were fairly predictable. The only real questions were how they would get there. From reading the recaps, the PPV comes across as a Raw show. Not having seen the show, I don’t know about the quality of matches, but I am glad that I didn’t pay to see it. Raw Recap info provided by Carl Walsh Raw was a show with something to say. Unfortunately, they weren’t allowed to say it. Raw is moving, and there are big plans, and we know when it’s going to happen, but we’re not sure where. But it’s going to be big. It’s a strange thing. Shows have moved between networks before, but there was usually after an off-season. Or the shows had it written into their new contract, in the case of sports, that they would be allowed to say where they were going. Or the new networks would heavily advertise that NFL can now be seen on NBC, or that Buffy was going to UPN. The only ones making a lot of noise about the move is WWE. Apparently, they can’t say WHERE they’re going. But when they do, it’s going to be BIG! Bischoff and Friends Bischoff was ready to name Angle champion, much like he did with H, only there was a slight snag. Vince came out. Vince then proceeded to belittle Bischoff, slight Angle, while those two had to sit there and take it. Vince was offended that Bisch would give the belt to some one other than H. Well, he didn’t say H, but last time this happened, no problem. Vince then made announcements for the Big Homecoming. He listed names that would be there, and the only name to not draw a strong reaction? H. Go figure. Vince then makes a match that no one wants to see. Bischoff vs Cena. -You know, it always amazes me that when Bischoff starts to get rolling as the GM, with power, that Vince or some one shows up and puts him down. Vince even said “who are you to make decisions?” Well, from everything we’ve been told on TV, he’s the GM. That’s his job. Isn’t it? So, if that’s not his job, then what’s the point? It’s just frustrating that the characters who are supposed to have power get none. -Speaking of neutered characters, one way to allow Bischoff to get some strength back, would be to give him some muscle, since every single fan knows he’s not a wrestler and has seen him beaten silly at least once, so they know the drill. Give Bischoff Tomko as his enforcer. Tomko is getting a push, which I like. Tomko knows how to play the role, and does it well. Call him the Head Of The Complaint Department, and now, when Tomko gets those jobber matches, they serve a purpose. Chicks It’s filler material, but highly enjoyable filler material. But I’m not sure where this is going, and frankly, I don’t think creative has a plan either. Trish is solid as a face, as she is that good. But I haven’t heard her speak yet. So, since I’m in a fantasy-booking mood, let’s see what we can come up with. First, some character development. -Mean Girls – Torrie, Candace, and Vicki. Torrie should go more Valley, Candace go more annoying (think Fran Drescher) and Vicki can just be the Tough Chick. She knows that part. Vicki can talk, so let her. She’s not nameless muscle, she’s a known wrestler and known as a good one. Vicki is also a former champion. Torrie is a former Playboy cover girl and Candace is going to be one. Use those. - Nice Girls: Trish is fine as a face, and she doesn’t need an explanation. She’s the Woman’s Champion, and that’s all she needs to be. Role Model, Inspiration, etc. Ashley is the Rookie, and Trish is her mentor. She’s also a contest winner with heart. So, what to do? Plan for Ashley to turn on Trish and join Torrie and friends. Trish is good enough to feud with ALL of them. Ashley wants to fit in, and the Mean Girls are popular. They’re hot chicks (yes, Vicki is a hot chick) and they get what they want, except that pesky Trish Stratus always spoils their fun. Ashley wants to fit in, and while Trish teaches her, she sees the Mean Girls getting their way, and being liked and she wants that. Most of all, she wants the Championship. Now, this is a long angle. And can last for months, as Trish faces off against one of the Mean Girls every week, in singles or tag. The Mean girls can use their looks to get male wrestlers in mixed tags against Trish, and set up other filler angles for the guys. But when the turn comes, the more time it takes the better, as Trish and Ashley can work together to make it something special. Carlito and Flair Well the build had a lot of potential and this last match was solid. Flair has the belt and Carlito has….nothing. Well, that’s not true. Carlito has a foundation, but what’s to put on it? More of the same? A prolonged feud with Flair could be good, as it’s Raw’s answer to the Eddie-Rey feud. The two men have very complimentary styles. Carlito is a classic heel. Flair is a classic. But every week may wear off the specialty of this match up. Time is what is needed to keep it fresh. Time and a change of opponents. For the short term. Long term, I think that Carlito should get the belt back, as he was learning how to make the belt special. Flair wrestling every week is not a good thing. We’ve seen the toll it takes on him physically. With H returning to the picture and claiming his pet back, that puts a new spin on things. I think it’s time for Carlito and Ric to move this past the physical and take it to the verbal level for a while. Hardy and Edge Loser leaves Raw? I guess the possibility of Mick Foley making something out of this angle scares them. It’s funny, when Edge was coming back from injury, most of the net fans thought he should go to Smackdown. H pulled him to Raw. Hardy on Smackdown was doing fine, but Johnny Ace hates the guy, and Matt made the most out of his opportunities, but was always buried. Now, one of these guys is going to leave Raw. While Edge leaving makes more sense, as from a backstage perspective it’s delayed punishment and will keep Edge and Lita apart on TV, it’s more likely that Matt will be leaving, as they go through the motions of “reviving the Cruiser, take 189”. Matt as a cruiser is not a good idea, as he has established himself as bigger than the belt. Funaki with the belt against Ken Kennedy will do the same, and possibly more. And when the angle catches on, and the rug gets pulled out from under it, the Funaki angle will do less long-term damage than another aborted Matt push. It’s a topic that has been done before, and will be again. Some other time. Eight Man Tag Big Show, HBK, Cena and Matt Hardy vs Edge, Masters, Snitsky, and Angle A filler main event, that at least had all the names actually doing something other than just talking and pulling a Taker. In other words, taking the night off. Folks got to see guys they paid for and the ending was a crowd pleaser, and that’s a good thing. An angle advancement show. Not a bad show, but still a filler show, as the big move consumes all. WWE has learned a lesson from the Smackdown move and actually has a plan, a NEW plan, and is working towards it. Not a bad thing. Smackdown Recap Info provided by Chad Matthews Smackdown faced some strong competition. New shows made a return and Smackdown finished in a tie for fourth. The rating (according to Zap2it.come) was a 3.0. However, that is not bad news, but actually good news. See, the big winner for the night, “Ghost Whisperer” got a 7.3. On the whole, CBS got a 6.7 for the night. The margin of victory is no longer over ten points away from WWE, but only a few points. The wrestling audience has moved to Friday, where the normal 3.0 is now a strong number. And if they get their shit together, that number can go higher. UPN was right. So, what plans does Smackdown have? Let’s take a look. Booker vs Christian Sharmell was at ringside and helped Booker win. Booker was then unhappy that he won. Why? Who knows. Look, just turn Booker and Sharmell heel, and let then be happy. That’s a radical idea that may work. Heidenreich and Animal over Jobbers They still have the tag belts? Why? How long has it been now? Too long. However, I can think of one good thing about them having the belts, but it galls me to even say it. At least the Tag Team Champions aren’t getting squashed by one guy, even if it is the Heavyweight Champion. Amazing that they figured this out now, eh? Hardcore Holly vs Sylvan Grenier Again, they have no idea what to do with the chicks. Sylvan is now a male model. Hardcore beats him up. Bah. Cowboy Bob and Randy So Taker gets to beat up Randy and his dad. While they get to sell Taker’s DVD. So Taker gets a squash match before taking his next vacation. So that taker can get his pin back. Even though Randy was getting his pin back after losing at WM. It just makes no sense, but if it keeps Randy away from Batista, then well, I can stomach it. I just hope it’s quick. Ken Kennedy and Rey Mysterio I think I figured out why that Cheesehead is so popular. Let me know if this rings any bells: “Ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages, the World Wrestling Federations proudly brings to you, the TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS OF THE WOOOORRRRLLLLDDD! The Road Dog Jesse James! The Bad Ass Billy Gun! The NEW AGE OUTLAWS!!!” Yes folks, Ken Kenned figured out how to make something old new again. And I give the guy props. He did it well. And it’s good. If he could stop being so goofy, and a little more focused, I think he’d been awesome. The bad part about this match, wasn’t Ken. No, it was JBL costing Rey the match. By riding out on a horse. He got nowhere near the ring, but cost Rey the match, which is just stupid. So, let’s talk about JBL. JBL speaks. Some one needs to just walk up to Jillian and rip that damn thing off her face and ask her what the hell she was thinking. JBL speaks and tries to tap every single angle that got him some form of heat in the past year. And fails. Folks really didn’t give a flying fig about him. It was desperation, pure and simple. JBL is done as a credible champion. He’s still a main-eventer, but as a challenger, no one is buying it. Eddie and Dave Eddie is faking being sick. So, it’s comedy time for Eddie and Dave. Was it good? No, not really. Eddie, get your ass on a TV show, if this is the best they have in mind. Lots of skits, and Eddie made them amusing, but the end saw a doctor shove his hand up Eddie’s ass, and when it came time for the main event, Eddie came out holding his butt. Ha. Heh. Blah. Whatever. Batista held his own against the tag team, and it was close to a squash, but not quite. But there was a bright spot on Smackdown. Bobby Lashely vs Simon Dean Lashley is a huge guy, who apparently has a strong amateur background. And Simon Dean is a damn good guy for him to feud against to get his feet wet. I really liked the match up, both physically, and from an entertainment standpoint. Honestly, if this goes for three more weeks, I think it will be good. If Simon gets some revenge, that is. It’s nice to see a rookie not be thrown into the spotlight right off the bat, but have some time to take effect on the crowd. Masters was announced and paraded, and folks pissed on him because here was another scrub being shoved down our throats. Master’s needed some time to get adjusted and is now a strong entertainer. In other words, he had to overcome his first impression. Bobby had the announcement, and no hype, and just came in and impressed. Is he any good? Not sure, but he made a good first impression, and that’s half the battle. So, Smackdown is in rebuild mode, with no real plan to rebuild. They have some ideas laid out, and nothing to fill the bullet points on the list. There’s a PPV, but the Raw show is taking the spotlight from it. While on the one hand this gives Creative some time to actually, you know, try something new, it also limits what they can do, since they’re not allowed to put together a bigger show than the Raw debut. On a final note, Cannon Palmer is pointless and useless. Good thing they trotted that guy out. The only one who seems to have a clue how to use him is Eddie. Now, you may have wondered about the title of my column, I didn’t say anything too bad about Vince in my recap of his appearance, so you probably figure it’s going to be a long rant on Vince in the OAW. Well, that’s not right either. The title is not just the title of the column this week, but also the working title of an angle I had for WWE. I’m in a giving mood. Kill Vince H is coming back. We al have a feeling of what that means. “Nothing But H!”. So, if H is going to get a ton of TV time, why not do something different with him. We all know H is married to Steph, and that is the main reason he’s always booked so strong. WWE loves the soap opera shit. They also love to blur the lines between reality and fantasy, even though they say they hate “exposing” the business. So, let’s combine all these factors and make an angle that might, just might, create some entertaining TV. Let’s have H try to “kill” Vince and take control of the company. We’ve seen H take on just about anyone, but the one person that is still higher up on the charts, the one person who looks strong no matter what, is Vince. The net crowd knows the story, the causal crowd knows the story, and both sides can talk to the other about what is really going on behind the scenes and not have a clue how it will end. Hell, you could even bring in Steph, since that’s the plan anyway. Storylines be dammed, as no one buys that H and Steph are apart. It’s been mentioned on too many talk shows to pretend it doesn’t exist. The story is one that is very familiar, that the fans can latch onto without a lot of explanation, and understand all the way through, no matter how many times the plot takes a fall. Both guys need to look weak for a while. H isn’t going to sell for anyone other than HBK on Raw. Yes, he lost to Batista, but Batista isn’t there anymore. So the point is moot. HBK is ore heel than face at the moment, and I don’t think anyone wants to see them go at it. Been there, done that, way too many times. Let HBK and H be buddies for a while. Let HBK and H relive the glory days of DX, when they ran the show. Let HBK put H up to taking down Vince. Let Vince fight against some one he won’t mind making look good, as he can finally show these wrestlers what he’s talking about when he say to make H look good. At the price of his own pride. Now, Vince doesn’t have to wrestle. Vince is above that. A match can happen, but not until a long bitter feud between H and Vince’ hand picked guys that he keeps forcing on TV have fallen. To some one who supposedly backed Vince up. WWE has been trying to remake the Vince Austin Feud, and just copied the original plan, and failed. Now, here is the same them, with a different take. And it could work. The drawback? H, and Steph all over TV again. The Plus? H, Vince and Steph, all fighting each other. On TV. It might force Vince to back John Cena is more than words. It might make Vince let Cena look strong against H, instead of blatantly setting him up for H. The cronies were going to get a lot of TV time anyway and made to look strong. Now, it won’t be just squash matches but serve a purpose. Each guy involved in this angle will be looked at. If they are against each other, H’s opponents have to look strong, since they will represent Vince. Vince’s opponents were already going to be made to look strong, since H and friends are H and friends and they have huge backstage stroke. With this angle, I’m hoping for balance. Something to counter the planned squashing, as the magical ratings jump that just being on USA is supposed to accomplish. That since they are on USA, all the crappy angles that failed on Spike will now work, since they’re on USA, and the USA network has magical powers to turn crap into gold. Cynical already? Yes. Because I have watched WWE programming closely for the past four years, and written about it for three. I’ve learned to the pattern. Or “cycle”. Cynicism and pessimism may have fueled the idea for this angle, but that doesn’t mean that I hope the show fails. I’m just bracing for the worst and hoping for the best. And working with what WWE gives me. The Words Of The Evil Internet Overlord That Evil son of a bitch didn’t show up this week. No word, nothing. Man, that guy is evil. Over-Analyzing Wrestling Today’s Topic: The New Klique On October 24th, 2003, an event happened that changed the wrestling business. The effects leading up to this event shook WWE from it’s lofty perch years in advance. But the actual event went almost unnoticed. On that day, the deal was finally sealed. Triple H married Vince’s daughter. The event itself was kept as secret as WWE can keep things, which is to say, it leaked out well before, and reports came quickly. The event was covered in local newspapers. A new Klique was solidified that day, as the writing on the wall was lit up with giant spotlights. There was a new power couple and they were the center of attention. The New Klique was born and began to grow. The Original Klique consisted of Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, Shawn Michaels, and Triple H. Soon, X-Pac joined the group, as did Justin Credible. Hanger-ons were Road Dogg and Billy Gunn. But those two were not core members. This newer version could be said to be after the same thing the old one was, to keep their members strong on TV, and get the most out of it. But this newer version had stronger members, more experienced members, and the stakes were much higher than simply getting titles and TV time. A company was at stake. For real. Who was there? Let’s take a look at this newsblurb. "For those curious, Triple H’s father was his best man. The Wedding party for Stephanie McMahon and Paul Levesque (Triple H) consisted of William Regal, Kevin Nash, Shawn Michaels, Ric Flair, Undertaker, Paul’s brother in law, Marissa McMahon (who is due to have her first baby in February), Taker’s wife Sara and some long time friends of Stephanie's. Some of the people who attended were: Shane McMahon, Vince's brother Rod, Chris Benoit & Nancy(Woman)Benoit, Stone Cold and companion, Killer Kowalski and companion, Paul Heyman, Sgt. Slaughter, Tazz, Michael Cole and wife, Michael Hayes and wife Lori, The Prichard’s, Jim Ross & Wife, Mike Chioda with girlfriend, Harvey Whippleman, Big Show & wife Bess, Fatu, Earl & Dave Hebner, Booker T, Fabulous Moolah, Mae Young, Steve Lombardi, Miyako Blassie, Eddie Guerrero, Edge, Arnie Skaaland & wife Betty, Mick Foley, Tim White, Howard Finkel & his wife, Arn Anderson and Bradshaw. Also many from the WWE office were in attendance. There were 320 invited guests in all." Noticable by his absence was Rock. Those are the folks who went. The ones who had TV gigs in the wedding party were rewarded with pushes and TV time. Well, except for Ric Flair, who was made into a pet. The ones in the crowd? Well, they had no choice but to go. It was a company wedding after all. Some used that time to network. Folks like Bradshaw. For some, it was the beginning of the end of their WWE tenure, for reasons broad and varied. Tim White was injured after one too many ref bumps and unable to return. Mick Foley left before the wedding, and would come back, but only for brief appearances. Shane was shoved right out of power. Rikishi Fatu was let go not too long after. Stone Cold was soon brought to heel from his errant ways. The New Klique is different, but has more power than the old, as they actually include members of Upper management. They have he ear of Vince like never before. There are some familiar faces and some familiar names, but in reality, at least for one member, very little is known about him. I believe that the New Klique consists of: Triple H, Steph, HBK, Undertaker, Johnny Ace, Regal, and Kevin Dunn. Ric Flair is filling the Justin Credible slot. He’s there, but has no real power, but is used to sway the locker room to their way of thinking. In other words, he’s just a tool. But these unseen members may wield the most power, short of Steph herself. Kevin Dunn His bio on WWE Corp Biz can be found here All you really need to know about him is this. He was the one that was the primary force in killing the Invasion Angle. He was the one who kept pushing that WCW guys shouldn’t be made to look strong. It was this attitude that destroyed a potentially epic money making angle. Without Dunn’s support, Steph would never have killed the angle for good, after the ECW return gave the angle new life and a second chance. He was promoted to Executive Vice President from Executive Producer in June 2003. I have only seen Kevin Dunn once, on the set of the first Tough Enough, when Vince and Dunn showed up to “scout” talent. Other than that, I don’t think he has showed up on TV. John Laurinaitis – AKA Johnny Ace - Bio can be found here He’s the guy that got Jim Ross’s job as head Of Talent Relations. He was named a Vice President in June 2004. Before that, he made a bunch of silly rules, and codes. He also is famous for singing the one legged wrestling dude. The one not named Zack Gowan. There was more than one? Yes. But the difference was night and day, one could wrestle, had a name on the Indy circuit, and was making waves. The other was just big. Period. He may have been blonde Guess which one Johnny signed? Johnny was a booker in WCW, where his revolutionary finishes that didn’t consist of a ref bump or a run in were considered new and unique. Actual pins got Johnny praise. Submissions made a slight comeback as well, though a DQ was more common than not. But Johnny made some changes and after two weeks, he was out of ideas. SO he stuck with this new thing called a “clean finish” and by God, those fans liked it. These two are tight with Steph. Dunn knows that Steph is a player and probably going to take over the company when Vince dies. Johnny knows who got him the job and who is keeping him on the job. Both of these guys have a strong say on what gets on TV. They, along with Steph basically control TV, with only Vince, who relies on Dunn and Steph to make decisions, can say no. It was two years ago that the big power plays were made. The Kilque took control, ran roughshod over the TV product and failed. Blame was placed, but they managed to dodge the bullets. Other took the fired ones placed, and when the next play failed those ones were fired. The New Klique is running out of excuses. The only ones that remained unaffected, indeed, the only ones who got rewarded, are the ones calling the failed shots. H had to leave TV, Taker had to come back from Vacation, HBK got a chance to run, and run well, but he’s in a Billy Gunn position, friends with H, but not really politically on the same page as H. It’s a new game and he doesn’t have the clout he once had. Notice the backpedaling about the Hogan Match. Regal isn’t a power, and Flair never really was. Respected as a wrestler, yes, as a politician, and businessman, no. Flair has made too many mistakes with his money. The locker room can also see Flair’s judgment when it comes to material for themselves. Foley was right, Flair was wrong. The most important time is upon the New Klique. The Old Klique ended when they broke kayfabe and hugged in the ring. The New Klique’s in ring hug may be the move to USA. The first six weeks of viewer trends will be. Well that’s all for today. Quick plugs and then I’m outta here. QUICK PLUGS! The Movie Bar! The Movie Bar Forums The Project LOP Forums! LOP Columns Forum! LOP's Very Own PWA, Best E-Fed on the net. Period. All Your DVD Review Needs can be filled at : DVDFANATIC.COM Until Next Time, Thanks For Readin' and Thanks For Ridin' Wevv Mang mrwevv@mac.com Please label all email FEEDBACK. *NEW GALLERY* Even MORE Hot Shots of TORRIE WILSON Tearing the Night Up!
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