DaveyBoy's Wrestling Menu #180 - O.N.Stand Review, Cross-Promotion + TNA Thoughts
Submitted by DaveyBoy on Wednesday, June 14, 2006 at 8:25 AM EST






THE WRESTLING MENU #180

Welcome one and all to the 180th edition of The Wrestling Menu, the column that is sure to satisfy your taste buds when it comes to discussing all things wrestling.

The streak continues! I'm now past 8 months with at least one column every week. Can I get to that magical 1 year mark? Well, you can bet that's my objective.

It's fair to say that it's been a big week in the world of professional wrestling. ECW has seemingly taken over. We do get the weekly show down here, but it's not until the weekend, so I will hold off on making further comment for now. I may well do so next Wednesday. If not, I definitely will the following week.

Personally, I've been slowly getting into the World Cup (of soccer/football). Australia being there for once very much helps. So does Monday's amazing result where the SoccerRoos fought back from 1-0 down with less than 10 minutes to play & ended up winning 3-1. Of course, it's the best team in the world (Brazil) up next. In true Aussie spirit, I think they should go the biff!

Apart from that, I've dabbled in the current worldwide phenomenon/fad of poker. For the past 7 or 8 weeks I have been playing in a league of sorts, where literally thousands of players earn & accumulate points from tournaments. At the end of the season (this Sunday), the top 100 people in each state of Australia go through to a Grand Final. I'm pleased to announce I have just qualified for that honor. I'm definitely not the greatest player in the world, but if luck falls my way on the night of the Grand Final, then you may very well see me with free entry (not to mention free airfares & accommodation) into a Las Vegas 'World Series of Poker' event later this year! Chances of that happening: About 1 in 500!

Anyway, enough with my daydreams & lets go "ALL IN" to DaveyBoy's Wrestling Menu…..


APPETIZERS - TNA Thoughts

Believe it or not, this was going to be a predictions column! That’s correct; I was going to predict a pay-per-view for a promotion that I hadn’t seen for over a year, including some wrestlers that I had never seen before! LOL… That would have been fun. But the reason for that was because I found out a month or 2 back that us Aussies were finally able to view TNA once more on pay-per-view. But what I didn’t know was the catch; We get each event on a 12 day delay! So it doesn’t really help much when it comes to my PPV Predictions & Reviews.

So this is probably what I will do; I will become a casual TNA fan, just like many are with the WWE. I will only purchase the events I deem to be worth purchasing. If they don’t deliver, the next event that I buy will have to have a great card on paper. I don’t know if that’s fair to the promotion, but I do know what is fair on my wallet & that’s the most likely way I will go. Who knows, this ECW relaunch may make TNA really get their butt into gear & get me hooked monthly. Despite the lack of timeliness, I will most likely attempt (at least to start off with) reviews for the ppv events that I do choose to purchase. So expect a review of Slammiversary in my July-5 column.

My history with TNA is limited. At the beginning, I did have access to the weekly shows free, but very delayed. I also did have access to some pay-per-view events in 2004. My general thoughts were mixed, but the X-Division & Tag-Team Division very much impressed me. Obviously, a lack of demand & success in Australia meant that the local carrier pulled the plug. The only taste of TNA that I have had since was an independent tour of Australia featuring the likes of Styles, Daniels, Jarrett & Samoa Joe.

I wouldn’t say that I am drooling at the mouth to view TNA once more, but I am most definitely interested & curious. The main reason for this though is to see wrestlers that I have yet to view at all. Although, looking at the current Slammiversary card, the only man on there who I have yet to view in a full bout is Bobby Roode! Hmmm, does that say something? I hope not. I really am crossing my fingers that other members of Team Canada perform, along with the likes of Jay lethal, Austin Aries, Roderick Strong & Sonjay Dutt (although I have seen Dutt before).

Just taking a look at the card in isolation, it’s dominated by the 5 man main-event. I suppose that any gimmick match viewed for the first time captures the imagination. The ‘King Of The Mountain’ bout is no exception & just like the Elimination Chamber or a Survivor Series match, it should all depend on the logic & quality of the booking. There is an interesting list of participants taking part in the bout. I’m obviously interested to view Christian & Killings again to see if they have gone forwards or backwards. The same can be said for Abyss & I am curious as to how well he will fit into such a bout. Sting is Sting & Jarrett is Jarrett, but I’m hopeful that their experience will improve the match quality.

From a personal point of view, I would have preferred to see Samoa Joe against a more talented in-ring performer than Scott Steiner. The match I saw him in live was against Test of all people, so I really need to look up his bouts against Styles and/or Daniels. But realistically, this is also a huge test for Joe, as it could be the match that tells TNA whether he is genuinely ready for a main-event spot. If he makes Steiner look like a million dollars, expect Joe to be champ by the end of the year.

I like the quartet of Harris, Storm, Styles & Daniels, so their tag-team match appeals to me. Daniels is up & down, but very good when he is on. Styles simply entertains me & every time I see The Spiral Tap, I gaze at the screen in amazement. AMW are a solid tag-team that work very well together & that’s a good thing in this day & age. Moving on, I’ve never been a fan of Rhino, but the fact that he is wrestling someone I’ve never seen before will keep me interested in this bout.

This is where the card gets shaky. The James Gang vs Team 3D could be scary. But I’ve heard good things about their ppv match last month, so hopefully they can repeat the dose for me. I suppose these guys can be entertaining when booked correctly. As for Kevin Nash vs Chris Sabin, I’m going to postpone my comments concerning this storyline until after this event. I just pray that TNA know where they are going with this & that it helps their product.

Oh yeah, speaking of shaky & scary; The new face of TNA Management debuts! One of the final TNA ppvs that I watched in 2004 included the return of Vince Russo. So forgive me if I approach this announcement with apprehension! Actually, I’m not a Russo-hater, but I’m not a fan of his either. I tell you who I don’t like though; Larry Zybysko. Whatever that guy is doing on TNA will annoy me. Almost the same can be said for Konnan. Golly gosh, I’m worried now! Is Eric Bischoff free from his WWE contract to save us all?


MAIN - One Night Stand Review

For those that cannot recall my previous PPV review columns, this is the key that explains what the final PPV Rating means:

<50: Ask for a refund for not only your money, but also your time. [F] (Armageddon '04)
50-54: Mediocre & disappointing. [D] (EG: Royal Rumble '06)
55-59: Average. [C] (EG: New Years Revolution '06)
60-64: Worth A Watch. [C+] (EG: Judgment Day '06)
65-69: Good event that was worth the money. [B] (EG: Backlash '06)
70-74: Very good. [B+] (EG: No Way Out '06)
75-79: Make sure you add this ppv to your video or dvd collection. [A] (EG: ECW: One Night Stand)
80+ : Make sure that the video or dvd is locked in a safe & cannot be erased. Memorable. [A+]

TAZZ defeated JERRY 'THE KING' LAWLER: I wanted Tazz to come out to his WWE music, but I guess tradition comes ahead of atmosphere. Lawler slaps Joey Styles on the way to the ring & following a resultant distraction by Styles, Tazz chokes out Lawler with the Tazmission in under a minute! How the hell do I rate this, if at all? Sorry, I have to, because it couldn't have been too difficult to work out a 5 minute bout here. Only the sight of Styles' glasses flying so far after Lawler's slap earns a rating point! Match Rating...1

KURT ANGLE defeated RANDY ORTON: The first 6 minutes of this bout is a combination of Orton avoiding Angle & Kurt schooling Randy on mat wrestling. He even went as far as asking Orton to put him in a hold a few times, just so he could escape from them! A mis-timed charge into the corner by Angle turns the tide, as Orton slows the pace down to the dismay of the live crowd. To this stage of the match (nearing the 10 minute mark), this wasn't bad, but it was a little disappointing for mine. But it very much kicks into a higher gear afterwards, as these 2 go at it in an even & hard-fought match full of counters & near-falls. Angle eventually gets the predictable victory at the 15 minute mark with an Ankle-Lock. Overall, the final 5 minutes really made this match quite good. I could see the story that was attempting to be told earlier, but it only worked to some extent. Kudos should also be given to Orton, who handled the attention he was getting from the crowd very well. Match Rating...7

THE FBI (Little Guido & Tony Mamaluke) defeated TAJIRI & SUPER CRAZY: Very entertaining tag-team match. What I liked most about it was that they resisted the urge to go immediately into high spots, instead choosing to showcase some mat & submission wrestling. Great idea, as Guido has always been very good when getting technical, while Tajiri & Crazy are underrated & bring enough variation to make it interesting. I've only seen Mamaluke a few times before & he very much seems to have improved sufficiently to earn an ECW roster spot.

Obviously, the pace & spots stepped up as the bout went on, although the spots were of the type that played to the crowd more, rather than be amazing. Great stuff all-around though, as The FBI get the victory at the 12 minute mark with a double Fisherman's Buster. Not exactly the most psychological of matches, but being the huge fan of Tajiri & Crazy that I am, it's difficult for me to not rate this high. Better than last years triple-threat match that involved 3 of these guys & kudos to all 4 men involved. Afterwards, The Big Show comes out (with a remixed entrance theme) to clean house. Match Rating...8.5

JBL PROMO: I don't usually rate segments or promos that last for shorter than 7 minutes, but I will make an exception here since I rated the Tazz vs Lawler opener. Great idea here as JBL was always going to get a stormy reaction. And his mic work (even the ad-libbing) was tremendous once more! To cap it all off, JBL announces that he will fill the void left by Tazz as SmackDown announcer later this week. Some may question the placement & need for this promo, but I feel it's quality is enough of an answer. Strong promo. Segment Rating...7

REY MYSTERIO & SABU Wrestled to a No Contest for the World HeavyWeight Title: Even better than I expected it to be… up until the slightly disappointing ending. Rey really adapted well here & even made his opponent part of the story of the bout by trying to outdo Sabu at his own game of musical chairs. Obviously, that could only last so long though, as Sabu gradually worked his way on top. This is where the match really kicked into gear & what was especially impressive was the lack of any botched moves, considering the spots performed & the lack of time these 2 would have had to plan & rehearse this bout. Very entertaining & both men were extremely impressive in showing that they still have what it takes. The match was disappointingly called off at the 9 minute mark when Sabu gave Rey a triple-jump DDT into a table (not long after another huge table spot). It looked as if a Sabu injury was legitimate, but apparently this was the planned ending. That’s slightly disappointing, but I’m only going to take a half of a rating point off for that, as this was a fantastic match up until then. Match Rating...8.5

EDGE, MICK FOLEY & LITA defeated TERRY FUNK, TOMMY DREAMER & BEULAH McGILLICUTTY: Great mic work (especially by Foley) before the match begins & the ensuing discussion results in the bout being changed to a 6 person match involving Beulah & Lita. Pretty much breaks down into a tornado match immediately from the beginning, as Foley & Funk fight out of the ring, while Edge & Dreamer go at it in the ring. Meanwhile, Lita & Beulah just stand there! The usual foreign objects of trash cans, road signs & ladders are also used, although a huge barbed-wire covered board also makes an appearance! Foley then uses a single piece of barbed-wire to slice Funk’s forehead open, resulting in Terry heading to the dressing room. And then… Out comes Barbie to become acquainted with Dreamer’s crotch!

A bandaged Funk returns with his own barbed-wire instrument, which he sets on fire (to the delight of the crowd) & uses on Foley. And while both Foley & Funk are literally locked up in barbed-wire on that huge board, Edge removes Dreamer from the equation & spears Beulah for the pinfall at the 18 minute mark. I presume that hardcore wrestling fans would have loved this. I can’t go quite that far & the opening few minutes did not impress me at all. But at the end of the day, these guys worked so hard to get all fans (live & at home) into the match. Bottom line: It came off as entertaining. Better than I could have hoped for & kudos to all 4 men (& 2 ladies) involved. Match Rating...8

BALLS MAHONEY defeated MASATO TANAKA: This was definitely no Awesome vs Tanaka from 2005, but Balls has always been a rather limited wrestler. The one thing he does do though is get a good reaction from the ECW crowd… That was no exception here. Sufficiently entertaining, although nothing too special, this was kept short with Balls winning at the 5 minute mark with a huge chair-shot to Tanaka’s head. Standard ECW stuff with Tanaka not really being allowed to show his stuff to the match’s detriment. Match Rating...6

EUGENE & SANDMAN Segment: Clever idea & I think it actually took the live crowd by surprise, as they were slow to get on Eugene’s case. His poems actually got a giggle out of me, until Sandman predictably came out to greet him with a Singapore Cane. Without Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” though, the entrance just didn’t have the same feel about it & was, as per usual, way too long. 9 minutes in length, this was passable, but could have been better. Segment Rating...5

ROB VAN DAM defeated JOHN CENA to Win the WWE Championship: There was a great atmosphere to this title match, as it genuinely felt like a main-event thanks to the WWE’s build-up & the fantastic live crowd. It was actually an interesting first few minutes wrestling-wise, as RVD looked a little out of it. I’m unsure if he copped a knock or was over-selling a little, but it seemed to be Cena carrying the load for quite some time. Even when RVD eventually worked his way on top, his famous flurry of offense didn’t seem to have the same oomph as usual. Obviously, a good distraction from all of this was the crowd’s taunting of Cena (& Cena’s very good reactions).

Then, in an overbooked finishing sequence, 2 ref bumps & a run in by Edge (complete with motorcycle helmet) leads to a 5 star frog-splash & Paul Heyman counting the pinfall at the 20 minute mark. The controversial finish is a good way to build interest for the ECW brand launch & the Vengeance ppv, but it probably detracted from the moment a little here. Overall, it was an uneven, but successful match. Cena appeared to really step up, but (being critical) RVD didn’t. That’s the last thing I expected to say at an ECW ppv. Very much a sufficient main event though & it’s difficult to rate due to the extraordinary crowd involvement. Not too dissimilar to the Wrestlemania 22 main event between Cena & HHH in fact, so I will rate it the same. Match Rating...7.5

PPV RATING (58.5/90) = 65

Looking at the key, I have basically given the 2006 version of 'One Night Stand' a 'B' grade & said that it was a ‘good event that was worth the money‘. I have no problem with that grade & comment because the rating just snuck into that region, but that is offset by the fact that a 1 minute opener brought the rating down a fair bit. I don’t think that there is any doubt that this year’s ECW ppv was not as good as the 2005 version. But in no way should it be considered a failure because of that. This was still a very solid & entertaining event that is still possibly a contender for ‘PPV of the Year’ approaching the halfway mark of 2006. While there was no standout bout, 4 matches rating 7.5 or above is an excellent effort. And remember that the Tazz vs Lawler aberration severely hurt the PPV rating on my system. Furthermore, the non-match segments & promos were all passable & everything on the night seemed to do a good job of building momentum for the brand relaunch this week. Well done to all involved.


DESSERT - Cross-Promotion

I’ve actually been meaning to tackle this topic for a few months now. And I know other columnists have touched on it in one form or another. But I think that almost all of us underestimate the importance & power of cross-promotion. Cross-promotion on WWE programming can appear in all kinds of forms & has varying levels of success. In fact, sometimes, it can have no positive value (at a point in time) to the WWE at all. But you never know when a favor to one company can come in handy in the future.

The topic resurfaced in my mind a couple of months back when Raw showed a 1-2 minute segment of John Cena driving around in a nascar. I’m not a fan of car racing at all… Except when it pi$$es down with rain… then it’s entertaining. So I reached for the remote control at the time or went to shake hands with Sir Richard. But I thought about the benefits of such cross-promotion a little later on. It’s probably a long bow to draw, but it’s possible that some nascar fan may have resultantly watched an episode of Raw after seeing, hearing or meeting Cena on that particular day.

A better example is a wrestler appearing on a talk show or something similar to that. Many people under-estimate the importance to the WWE of such an appearance. I’m telling you right now that if a professional wrestler makes a positive impact to a non-wrestling fan from an interview on a popular television show, then it’s only natural for that person to check out what the person does for a living. Yes, it may be only once. But once is all that is required to get a person hooked sometimes. A person may watch SmackDown because they saw The Great Khali’s imposing figure on a television show. But it may actually be Rey Mysterio, Brian Kendrick or Kurt Angle that then turns them into a regular wrestling fan.

This is where The Rock was/is invaluable. As a figurehead for the WWE to the mainstream audience, Dwayne Johnson is probably the best ever at tempting non-wrestling fans to watch the WWE product. And that is not because he is arguably the biggest & most successful wrestler turned movie star ever. I meant it more from a perspective that he comes off so well to the general public. He is intelligent, funny, handsome (so the women tell me) & speaks in a way that you can’t help but be impressed. Don’t tell me that casual fans never used to tune into see what he did for a living.

Whether you love him or hate him, John Cena has similar potential in tempting some of the mainstream audience to watch the WWE product. Maybe not identical, but similar. He has handled some difficult situations fairly well already & carried himself like a gentleman more often than not. Furthermore, whether you think his music is crap or not, there is another audience he can possibly get to tune into the WWE, if only for just one week.

Speaking of music, another example of excellent cross-promotion was shown in my column from 2-3 weeks ago. Entrance (pay-per-view) themes. I will tell you right now that while I was in the States last year, I purchased 2 cds. One was by Trust Company & the other was by 12 Stones. I wouldn’t even know who these groups were if it wasn’t for the WWE. And I have to think that many of their strong fans were won after listening to their songs as ppv themes. Furthermore, I don’t think I ever would have purchased a Rob Zombie cd if I didn’t hear 2 tracks on WWE programming.

In this case, it’s arguable (and probably correct) that the musical artist gets more promotion out of the deal than the WWE. But do we know if there is other monies exchanged in such a deal? I don’t. Plus, I do feel that the WWE gains benefits from using music from such artists as it may somehow make their product better in some sort of way. For example; Is Edge’s character just that little bit more successful now due to his new entrance theme…??? It’s a serious question & a case can be made that the answer is yes.

But maybe we have only touched the tip of the iceberg! Maybe there is a larger cross-promotion with a mainstream audience to come! Maybe that time is very soon! Maybe the perfect time is within the next 9 months, as next April there is one hell of a large event happening on the WWE calendar. It’s also happening in one hell of a large stadium, which the WWE would desperately like to sell out. The city in which this event (WrestleMania 23) is taking place in (Detroit), just happens to be the well publicized hometown of a certain world-renowned (& rather controversial) musical artist whose last album wasn’t as successful as usual.

To me, if the monetary figures can be worked out, then it’s a no-brainer that Eminem should appear at WrestleMania 23… For the good of both the WWE & Eminem! This is an example of perfect cross-promotion & the WWE would (presuming that the asking price was not too ridiculous) end out in front on such a deal.


Ok, that about does it for edition #180 of 'The Wrestling Menu. I really hope you enjoyed what I feel was an interesting read this week. What did you think of 'One Night Stand' if you saw it? Were my ratings on the mark or not? How about my thoughts on TNA? And I am over-rating the usefulness of cross-promotion to the WWE? You know that I will reply to all feedback. My e-mail address is DaveyBoy123@bigpond.com

Or alternately, if you are an LOPForums member, you may also leave feedback by clicking on the following link: http://www.lopforums.com/showthread.php?t=4889

I am very unsure of what will be served up to you next Wednesday in 'The Wrestling Menu', apart from saying that the column will include my predictions for the Vengeance pay-per-view. So whatever else the column will include, look out for it same Wednesday time & same LOP channel next week. Until then, this is DaveyBoy signing off & asking you to remember that dinner is best served in 3 courses.


DaveyBoy's Wrestling Menu. 2002-2006

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