DaveyBoy’s Wrestling Menu #185 – RVD/Sabu, SNMEvent Review + GABash Predictions
Submitted by DaveyBoy on Wednesday, July 19, 2006 at 3:08 AM EST






THE WRESTLING MENU #185

Welcome one and all to the 185th edition of The Wrestling Menu, the column that is sure to satisfy your taste buds when it comes to discussing all things wrestling.

Oh man, just when it seemed like I was marching towards my aim of posting a weekly column for a year straight, circumstances are going to make it a mighty difficult task now. On the weekend just gone, my computer decided it was ready for retirement & packed up & left. Well, not exactly… But you get my drift. The early prognosis suggests that the hard drive is gone & I will struggle to get all of my stored information back! Oh well, I will look at the positives & state that worse things could happen in life.

Bottom line: If you sent me an email prior to Sunday the 16th & I haven’t replied to you, I unfortunately do not have access to it anymore. I will also have only limited access to any emails sent to me after this date, so I would suggest that LOP Forums members leave any feedback for me in the thread that I will provide a link to at the end of this column. Finally, I had to run around like a headless chook to get this column written & posted, so (a) forgive me if the formatting of this column doesn’t quite look right, and (b) there are no guarantees for weekly columns from this point on.

Enough already… Let’s get into it…..


APPETIZERS – RVD & Sabu

I know that this isn’t the timeliest topic in the wrestling world right now. Nor am I going to claim to adding much more scintillating opinion to the debate. But I felt if I wasn’t going to crap on about it this week, then I would never do it! Plus, as I am still not able to view the weekly ECW show, I should take every opportunity to write on the brand that I can.

Both the opening line & conclusion of this topic should be the same: Dumba$$es! And remember that it’s best said in either Beavis’ or Butthead’s voice. Seriously, what were they thinking? I mean, it probably shouldn’t be excused at any time. But now, just when these 2 were basically headlining/main-eventing a new brand of their current employer... It’s akin to working hard to win over a brand new client at work & then missing your opening meeting with them, thus jeopardizing their future business!

Not only that, but Rob Van Dam just happened to not only be the ECW World Champion at the time, but also the WWE Champion, which is widely seen as being the #1 guy in the entire professional wrestling industry at any one point in time. As they should, the WWE take the behavior of their on-screen figure-head very importantly, as they are often the public face to the mainstream audience. And trust me, the WWE have stopped wrestlers before from attaining this goal due to real-life misdemeanors. Jimmy ‘Superfly’ Snuka comes to mind immediately.

Now I’m not going to get into an argument over the legalizing of marijuana or anything like that. Call me naïve or ignorant, but it’s never been a subject that has really interested me. It sounds strange, but I find the topic & arguments boring, and I tend to switch off if I have to listen to it. But the bottom line is that smoking and/or possessing pot is illegal in the USA. That’s it! No ifs, buts or maybes, it’s illegal. And whatever Sabu was charged for; That’s illegal as well obviously. Whether they’re right or wrong, these are the laws that we have to live by. So there is simply no excuse.

I also don’t want to get into an argument about the positives & negatives of the WWE’s new drug policies, or it’s effectiveness. While it was actually made available to us fans via the WWE’s website, I still think there is more behind it than we actually know. And I’m not going to hazard a guess at what those facts are. There is no point in me giving an opinion, if I don’t have the facts to give a proper opinion from. Hey, for all we know, the system is 100% foolproof & RVD or Sabu haven’t used drugs for over a year. They would still be dumba$$es for getting caught with some then!

I think that the more interesting parts of this discussion revolves around the penalties imposed & the adverse effect that has occurred to ECW as a result of all this. Firstly, to the penalties; It’s fair to say that they were light. In fact, considering the timing, they were very light. But it may actually be because of the timing that they were so light. The ECW brand almost cannot afford to lose these 2 at this stage, so don’t totally bet against some sort of (hidden) suspended sentence so to speak. Considering the disappearances of the likes of Chris Masters & Joey Mercury, it is arguable that RVD (especially) could well have been suspended for 3 months or more as a result of all this. But with ECW’s current contract on the Sci-Fi network approximately lasting 3 months, the brand cannot afford to be without these 2 right now, resulting in RVD being back on our screens soon & Sabu already having returned.

Can ECW recover from this? Of course they can. In fact, the best things in life often occur through adversity. Moving forward with the push of newer talents early, in combination with a continued cross-promotion with both Raw & SmackDown, could result in those extra rating points which sees ECW remain on television & not solely on the internet. But that may be putting too positive a spin on this situation, as the same could have been done with RVD & Sabu still available to wrestle over the past couple of weeks.

Another interesting question is would either of them still be employed with the WWE if the ECW brand had not been created & TNA was ready to swoop? I think the question is almost irrelevant (or easily answered) with Sabu as he has performed in TNA before & was unlikely to have earnt a job in the WWE if there was no ECW brand. With regards to Rob Van Dam, my guess is that the question is very relevant. Despite his limitations, I’m guessing that the WWE wouldn’t want TNA to get their hands on someone like RVD. He’s just that kind of wrestler that could earn a real following over there… especially following a WWE Championship reign. If there was simply no ECW brand right now, I don’t think the WWE would have fired RVD, but they may have lengthened his suspension to 3 months.

At the end of the day, the ECW brand is all the better for the appearances of RVD & Sabu on their shows. Oh well, it’s too bad they’re dumba$$es! Let’s just hope they learn something from this & bounce back to help the brand out to the best of their abilities.


MAIN – SNMEvent Review

Thought I might throw in this review as we got to see ‘Saturday Nights Main Event’ rather timely down under & I haven’t written a Raw review for a couple of months. For those unfamiliar with my tv show reviews, they are not as structured as my PPV reviews, carry no match ratings & also tend to not be as serious… So pardon any sarcasm that’s included.

- “Real American” blaring over the PA system to begin a ‘Saturday Night’s Main Event’ show made me feel as if I had jumped into a time machine & transported back 20 years! Where’s Bundy? Daughter Brooke speaks (quite well) & she looks like a Diva Search escapee. Actually, she looks quite good… under all that make-up! Orton comes out & challenges Hulkster to a match at SummerSlam… Hogan accepts & that’s pretty much it. The short length of this segment was wise, even though the lack of any real intensity gave it an anti-climactic feeling.

- The SmackDown 6 man tag match is up next & thank goodness we were spared half of King Booker’s entrance! In fact, it probably wasn’t the best opening match to have, as any casual fan had to sit through 6 separate entrance themes, before seeing some action. Then, just as the bout begins, we go to a commercial break! Little Ba$tard makes an early appearance, but the story of this understandably disjointed match was Mark Henry’s knee injury. You can clearly see him look hurt, even before Rey starts to kick him. Not good, seeing as though he was scheduled to be involved in a big ppv match just 8 days later. The remainder of the bout sees the other 5 men working out how to skip planned spots & get to the roughly planned ending. Flat match, but nothing too terrible when considering the circumstances.

- Clever & sufficiently humorous backstage segment that saw DeGeneration X provide voiceovers for Vince McMahon & The Spirit Squad. Not side-splitting, but funny enough for me.

- Our Raw mixed tag match is up next & we begin with Trish vs Melina, which clearly silences the crowd. A couple of Carlito spots wake them up, but then before we know it, the bout is over with only a 3 minute duration! Well there went an opportunity to have some decent wrestling on this show.

- Ringside cages lower for the handicap elimination match between DX & The Spirit Squad. They were a little too much like the ones used during TNA’s King of the Mountain match for my liking. Thieves! Mitch gets eliminated in less than 2 minutes & that can only improve the quality of this bout. We return from another mid-match commercial break to see Johnny get eliminated, which results in Kenny leading HBK up the entrance-ramp, to enable Vince to come out & clock HBK with a steel chair. This evens things up for a few minutes, but not too long, as DX run through the remaining 3 members in approximately 2 minutes. Practically a squash & must be the end of the feud! The aftermath sees Vince super-kicked into the cage & Triple H scared to climb to the top of it. Not much of a match, but achieved its purpose I suppose. I presume DX vs Vince & Shane is up next at SummerSlam.

- But the quality of wrestling is definitely about to improve as The Great Khali is standing in the ring! And here comes The Big Show to test the strength of the ring. The 2 big heels share pick-up lines before The Undertaker graces us with his presence & takes on both men. He fares well until a double chokeslam puts him out for the count. Not a bad segment at all, but took up way too much time in total. What segment that includes a full entrance for ‘Taker doesn’t? Following a commercial break, more shilling occurs as The Big Show challenges The Undertaker to a title match on Tuesday. And it’s in Texas, which means the omens are good for ‘Taker… if you can take omens back 15 odd years!

- Sabu is out next & his mystery opponent is… drum roll… Stevie Richards! Wow… that was worth promoting! Sabu performs a couple of decent spots to an almost silent crowd & then hits a terribly botched top-rope spot through a table for the win at the 2 minute mark. Worse yet, he shows us how it should have been performed (minus the table) afterwards! Another waste of time!

- We then have the pleasure of listening to Brooke Hogan’s new single (which does nothing for me at all), before heading to the car-park to see Randy Orton chatting her up. The Hulkster saves the day, but gets an RKO for his trouble. Nice little segment that completes the opening in-ring segment. Although, I think a comedic line from Randy to answer Brooke’s question of “what happened” would have went down well. Something like “I think he slipped on a banana peel”.

- Next up is Victoria vs Michelle McCool in a Bikini Bull-Riding Contest. The bull seems to move twice as fast for Victoria, who resultantly loses the contest by 4 seconds. Yet another waste of time… Although Victoria looked good. Maybe the WWE will let her win a match one day soon!

- It’s main-event time now & the usual high-quality feud promo precedes both men being introduced in the ring (it looks as if the WWE is indeed watching TNA). A botched superplex early in the match doesn’t bode well for the quality of this bout, but the 2 combatants end up putting together a satisfactory match, even if we’ve seen it all before. Cena pretty much dominates the shortish match & ends up winning the bout (but not the title) by DQ when Lita keeps stopping the referee from doing his job. Typical ending to a SNME episode, but made better afterwards as Cena F-U’s Edge from the ring-steps through an announce table. Overall, this main-event was sufficient.


Well, I’m unsure that you could tell, but this show left me rather underwhelmed. It was quite disappointing & won’t do the WWE any favors when it comes to further discussion concerning US network television with the NBC network. Almost the entire show seemed like one big commercial for future WWE programming. This is the wrong way to go about such an opportunity. They should be trying to win over casual fans with these events, not sell upcoming shows/events to fans that will already watch whatever you dish up! Obviously, a combination of both is what should be aimed for, but this seemed to be almost exclusively the former. And I do understand that Saturday Night’s Main Event has often been used for set-up purposes in the past, but it hasn’t been as much at the expense of quality programming as this.

I also understand the requirement to concentrate heavily on the entertainment perspective, but this only partially succeeded anyway. So why not give us some quality matches, rather than the short, disappointing & botch-filled bouts that we did receive!? This show was sorely lacking some sort of quality tag-team or multi-man match that involved the likes of Shelton Benjamin, Carlito, Super Crazy or London & Kendrick. There was just no action involved!

It also seemed the WWE had an awful lot of trouble combining the 3 brands into one show & the inconsistent crowd let them know that. The fans live in attendance would pop for entrances, but they lasted so long, that the first couple of minutes of each match were practically met with silence. And when some bouts don’t last longer than a couple of minutes, then that definitely is NOT a good thing! Overall, I realize this wasn’t a pay-per-view, but I was left underwhelmed & disappointed.


DESSERT

G. A. Bash Predictions

PAUL LONDON & BRIAN KENDRICK vs JAMIE NOBLE & KID KASH for the WWE Tag-Team Championships: I like the teaming of Noble & Kash. It’s the perfect case of 2 undercard wrestlers who seem to be hard-workers, teaming together in order to move up the card. I’m not so keen on their ‘pit-bull’ gimmick, but it’s not too difficult to look past it as they don’t overplay it anyway. It’s a bit of a shame that they couldn’t have had more build-up before gaining a pay-per-view title shot, but such is life in a WWE tag-team division these days. The good thing is that the match-up pits them against a quality team whose styles should mix with them in order to create a quality bout. Let’s just hope that this is booked carefully & logically in a way that sees the live crowd get behind the face champs & it all results in some quality action spread throughout the match. As for the result, it’s always a coin toss in the tag-team division, but I really hope the champs retain & this feud continues. Plus, I feel that they deserve at least another month in order to win over the fans with their entertaining offense. Winners: London & Kendrick

ASHLEY vs KRYSTAL: If they’re lucky, half the people in attendance will know who these 2 women are. This will probably be a straight singles wrestling match to allow the women of the diva search to do something more gimmicky… And that’s not a good thing for this bout! When Ashley is the most experienced wrestler in a match, you know you’re in trouble. And who the hell is the heel here? I presume they will make out as if it’s Krystal, but who knows? This will simply be filler. Winner: Ashley

SUPER CRAZY vs PSICOSIS: I would have definitely preferred if The MexiCools has stayed together longer & even captured the tag-team titles some time later in the year, but this is the WWE & all tag-teams must be broken up sooner, rather than later. I can’t say that the break-up was done in a dramatic fashion either… It just sort of happened. And now these 2 must literally fend for themselves in the world of the WWE. I can see Super Crazy succeeding if used correctly, but I’m not so sure about Psicosis… ECW may be the best bet for him. This match should be quite good though, as these 2 should know each other back to front. The question is will they be given enough time to show what they have? About 8-10 minutes should suffice & I see no reason why these 2 guys shouldn’t be allowed to just go hell for leather. Winner: Super Crazy

FINLAY vs BOBBY LASHLEY vs WILLIAM REGAL in a Triple-Threat Match for the United States Title: As strange as this may sound, I think that Finlay coming into this match as champion actually helps the bout out. If Lashley came in as champ, then there would be that feeling of unbelievability about him taking on & defeating 2 men that have been siding together of late. This way, it’s more realistic that there could be dissension between the 2 heels as Finlay comes in with the gold around his waist. It also adds some unpredictability to the result for mine. Quality-wise, this could be anything from a mundane mish-mash, to a well-crafted match. This is where the booking needs to use the triple-threat stipulation to its advantage. The positive here is that Finlay is involved & the guy is basically a trainer & booker in the ring. He knows what he is doing & can even call a match such as this all by his lonesome! As for the result, I think the main-event is a little too crowded for Lashley right now, which means he should stick around at this level for a few more months. My guess is that the Little Ba$tard may finally cause Finlay to lose a match, resulting in more comedy hijinx! Winner: Bobby Lashley

THE UNDERTAKER vs THE GREAT KHALI in a Punjabi Prison Match: The match we’ve all been waiting for! Actually, my feedback has suggested that fans really can’t wait for this… So that the feud can be ended & The Great Khali can go back to where he came from! LOL! I didn’t find their previous bout too terrible, but it didn’t exactly leave me wanting a rematch. And the lack of clarity concerning what exactly a Punjabi Prison Match is hasn’t exactly raised fan conjecture either. As for the result, I’m dreading a Khali win that will result in a ‘Hell in a Jungle’ rematch at SummerSlam. But I’m hoping that ‘Taker emerges victorious, despite the possibility of a rematch anyway. Actually, I’m unsure that I care too much either way, now that I think of it. Just entertain me a little dammit. Winner: The Undertaker

BATISTA vs KEN KENNEDY: This may sound strange, but I’m actually a little disappointed that Batista vs Henry isn’t going ahead. No matter what you think of Mark Henry as a wrestler, I feel that the WWE had built this feud up tremendously. They had made both men appear strong, but more importantly, built up Henry so that Batista can look all the more stronger after defeating him. News of Henry’s injury this past Saturday night must have sent the WWE into fits of hysteria concerning this ppv event. I personally would have made Booker do double-duty to set up a title match at SummerSlam, but it looks as if Mr Kennedy has been chosen instead. That might not be a bad thing, as Kennedy hasn’t exactly been booked anywhere near the main-event since his return from injury. Of course, the danger here is that he may get squashed. I hope that’s not the case & they can put together a half-decent bout, although I do think this will be short & the result is beyond doubt. Winner: Batista

REY MYSTERIO vs KING BOOKER (T) for the World HeavyWeight Title: This could appear anywhere on the card, considering what happened to the RVD vs Edge ‘Vengeance’ title bout. It’s placing also heavily depends on what is planned for Batista. I have to be honest & state that I was all for Booker T winning the King of the Ring tournament as I felt that it would add to his character. But they have gone the annoying route with putting it over & I am compelled to change the channel or go for a wander when I hear the very first “All hail King Booker”. I think it would almost be a little sad if Booker won his first major WWE title (even though it’s sort of the WCW Title that he has already won 5 times) with such a gimmick. And that’s not taking anything away from him personally, as he is playing the role to a treat.

At least the character doesn’t effect Booker too much in the ring, and because of that, there is no reason why this can’t be a good quality match. I get the feeling it may be slowed down to a large extent though & that means that it better be setting up a good story, or else this could be more boring than it should be. Just let the 2 of them bring their best is what I say, as they are both very talented in the ring. I’m really torn over the result as well, as I’d love to see Rey holding on to the title for another month. But I just get the feeling that the WWE are fast-tracking Batista back towards the main-event by SummerSlam & I’m not too keen on a ppv match between the 2 faces who are very over right now. So, I’m guessing that we are in for a royal title reign….. Winner: King Booker (T)


I can’t say that I am too confident with some of those predictions. I think I was more in the mood to predict who I think should win, as opposed to who I think will win. Oh well. Can’t say that the Great American Bash looks too great of a card. In fact, when a tag-team title match is what you are looking forward to most these days, you know the event could be in trouble. And this is an event that doesn’t have a great recent history either! I’ll say it again though; The WWE tends to come through with the goods come ppv time, so let’s hope they do it once more here.

Well, only 5 of those matches listed above are official. I threw in Ashley vs Krystal & Crazy vs Psicosis just because I felt as if they were the only other feuds of any note going on right now. Hell, I don’t even know if Ashley is fit enough to wrestle a singles match as yet! I’m guessing that some sort of gimmicky diva search segment will waste some time also. And there will probably be an 8th match, where either Gregory Helms will retain his cruiserweight title against a random face, OR Vito or Matt Hardy will defeat some random heel like Sylvan, Simon Dean or one of The Gymini.


Oh man, that was a tough one to churn out… Trust me. Anyway, I hope it was worth all the effort & you enjoyed reading it. As stated at the top of my column, computer problems have left me with limited access to my email. I should be able to view them, but replying may be a little more tricky. Still, my e-mail address is DaveyBoy123@bigpond.com, but if you are an LOP Forums member, it would be much appreciated if you could leave feedback on my thread at http://www.lopforums.com/showthread.php?t=4889

Who knows if I will be able to post a column next Wednesday. In fact, I am spewing because I had one topic pre-written especially for it & now it’s lost. Oh well, I better not dwell on it, or else I’ll start throwing things around the room. Hehe… just kidding… Unless it will fix the computer! If you do see a column, it will obviously include my review of The Great American Bash. Until whenever, 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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