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Submitted by Wevv Mang on Monday, August 28, 2006 at 12:53 AM EST
Ridin’ With The Bossman – SummerSlam, A Tale Of Three Legends Greetings! Welcome to another edition of Ridin’ With The Bossman! The column that isn't afraid to say “I told you so”. What a week of wrestling. We’ve got a PPV, and three TV shows to cover, some big news, and plenty of reviews and opinions. It’s also a very special time of the year. The start of Fantasy Football season. For myself, two drafts down, and two more to go. One tomorrow night. So, my brain is on football overload. Trying to spot those sleeper picks and looking for reliable wide receivers, and debating the merits of picking Ronnie Brown over Cadillac Williams and Steven Jackson. Factor in wrestling and well, you got yourself a column. WWE TV – The Series SummerSlam Recap info courtesy of Chad Matthews I’ll start things off with my opinion of the whole show. First hour, great, second hour, not so great, and third hour, disappointing. Each match got about twenty minutes to tell their stories. In was a show that gave viewers not what they expected. For example, who could have thought that Hulk Hogan vs Randy Orton would have been the match of the night? Or that Edge and Cena would be the guys to have the best wrestling match, when you had Ric Flair and Mick Foley and Rey vs Chavo? Let’s take a closer look, and since there were only seven matches, this should go quick. Rey vs Chavo Sounds great on paper. Hot angle, great wrestlers, but it’s easy to not think about Vickie Guerrero being involved. Did she kill the match? No, but she didn't help, and if she hadn't been there at all, it might have gone better. Rey is getting knee surgery, and is expected out for quite some time. He still moved well, but I guess the cover was Vickie coming in and costing Rey the match. Still, a solid opener. Big Show vs Sabu Not a good match, and it wasn’t Show’s fault. Sabu kept botching spots. Still, it had intensity, and brutality. A nice change of pace match, and Big Show won. Diva’s Hijinks Layla walks into the Divas locker-room and we get a run down of all the horrible stuff that has been done to the chicks. Jillian deserves a medal for the Boogie Man skit. But it was all to tease Layla, and then the chicks had some shower fun. It made me laugh, and was a good break between matches. Good stuff. Hogan vs Orton I’ll say it right now. All the Hogan Haters can kiss my ass. Hogan was the fucking man that night. He didn't move much. He didn't do any high flying. But man, he had that crowd eating out of the palm of his hand and reacting to everything he did. A great, classic match out of the 80’s, and that’s not a knock, but a compliment. All the wrestlers should watch that match and learn from it. Classic comeback, classic selling, screwjob ending, and the psychology was unbelievable. Fantastic match. And Vince put it on third. Silly Vince. It would be tough to follow that match. Mick vs Flair I’ll say it now. I thought this match was disappointing. It was brutal, it was violent, it was creative in the execution of said violence, but it came off as flat in the emotional department. I was really hoping to see Ric and Mick actually wrestle. Instead it went Hardcore right away. It also probably cost the WWE a pretty penny in mics, as I’m sure they were taping them together for the rest of the show. Yeah, dropping mics is a bad thing. Flair got the crap kicked out of him, as did Foley. Melina-ference when Ric threatened to attack Melina made Mick say “I quit”. Tangent This feud has been well thought out, but the weak link in this angle is Flair. I love Ric. The guy is an Icon. But Ric has been beaten down so much, and lost to so many people that it’s hard to make Ric credible. Which is a shame. Ric WAS one of the best, but Hardcore Ric is not something I want to see ever again. I respected him the first time he did it. Now, it’s not amusing, it’s not dramatic, it’s disturbing to me. Let’s review Ric’s career in WWE shall we? Ric came into WWE this century as the new owner of WCW. He was red hot. Until he got his ass beaten by Vince. Then, for three solid months, Undertaker beat Ric’s ass. Ric got NO measure of revenge, not verbally and certainly not physically. Hell, Undertaker kicked David Flair’s ass, and Ric came looking for revenge and got his dick knocked in the dirt. Ric was turned into a total pussy. Everyone beat Ric. One year later (or about) Ric’s first victory was Rico. During this time, he was adopted by H, and turned into his pet. Seriously, after beating Rico, H came into the ring and patted Ric on the head. It was a shocker that Ric won. Over Rico. H then kept Ric on a tight leash for the next few years. It has only been since Evolution fully vanished that Ric has been allowed to be a human being. But the will seems to be gone. Well, maybe not the will, but the talent seems diminished shall we say. The Ric Flair we see today is not the Ric Flair of the late 80’s early 90’s. That has been made clear. Mick tried his best, and it was a good angle, but the ending was flat, mainly because I don't think Ric could keep up. So, Melina was brought it to help. I think. I’m not sure what the deal with Melina is. Unless Vince has a creepy plan up his sleeve, because this show, and Raw the next night, was, well, creepy. Booker vs Batista Slow match, but not bad. It could have been worse. The ending was a dud, but it did what was needed, and kept the title on Booker. Degeneration X vs the McMahons Started off with Spirit Squad, your tag team champions, running out to the ring, getting beaten up, and cleared out in a manner of seconds. Then, more guys ran out. Finlay (US Champion), Regal, Ken Kennedy, Big Show (ECW Champion) all came out, and got beaten up, but this time, it took a while longer. Funny spot was when H crashed into the announce table and lay there, feeding lines to JR. really horrible camerawork as well during the beat down. Just awful, missing most of the good spots, and spending too much time on pointless close ups and on H. Better match than Booker vs Batista, but still not that great. Some good spots, and HBK carried the workload. Umaga did come out, and do some damage. To HBK. Finish was Shane setting up for a Van Terminator, but HBK blocked him in mid-flight, and H got Vince with a pedigree for the pin. Edge vs Cena Solid match with a good stipulation. If Edge gets DQ’D, he loses the belt. So, Lita kept trying to interfere, and Edge had to keep telling her no. Nice work from Cena as well. But, the end was still a screwjob ending. Lita did run in, but no DQ. Cena then did a double FU, with Lita on top of Edge. Edge escaped after Lita flew off, and nailed Edge with brass knuckles and got the pin. So, all in all, I still think this was a disappointing PPV. Not a bad show, but it didn't live up to my expectations on several matches. But, the matches got plenty of time, and some of the angles got a good boost. Then there is the Hogan factor. I think the reaction Hogan got really shocked WWE management. I think it threw their game plan off, and they tried to over compensate, in trying to generate fan reaction in other matches. Raw Recap courtesy of Chad Matthews Edge started off the show. He had Lita throw the old Spinny Belt in the river, lake, whatever. He then debuted a new belt, this one with the faceplate of the Spinny part removed (The part that has WWE on it), and put a sticker over the metal backing plate, that had a big “R” on it. Good idea, but it looks like a cheap imitation. Jeff Hardy then came out, and Edge acted surprised and a little afraid. Melee and we got us a match. Later on. The Coach, Pimp Daddy After a forgettable four-man tag match, with the Goofs vs the Punished, Edge went into Vince’s office and found Coach. Working out on a Bowflex. Nice product placement, and Coach even had the good sense to say what a good product it was. Nicely done, and good for you Coach. Tangent You know, WWE can make quite a few extra bucks from those product placement spots. Money that they lost off the new deal with USA. I have no problem with WWE using the products, but it does mean that creative has to come up with ways to use said products in a skit, and well, that could be a promotional disaster waiting to happen. Vince does love creepy. Randy Orton So, Randy was involved in one of the best match on the SummerSlam card. He lost, but it was to Hogan, so that really doesn't count. He is now directionless, but has momentum. So, what does WWE do? They start a program with Carlito (Which could be very good) and feed him Ric Flair, who looked like he was in a car wreck (Not good). Ric Flair is a legend. Ric Flair is also an old man who went from being a sixteen time world champion, to being a hardcore opening act. Hogan. Flair. Big difference. Honestly, there was NO ONE else Randy could get a win over? Ric has to be his jobber? Randy did a good job in first promo, and that was what he got. Tangent Yes, I know, I’m having a lot of them. But this one is funny. I had a good idea while watching SummerSlam. Have Hogan bring in Kevin Nash to keep Randy away from his daughter. I could just picture Randy heading to Brooke’s locker room, and there’s Nash standing there, and he stops Randy with a “Rannn-dy? Where do you think you’re going? What are you up to buddy? I got my eye on you, pal.” One further advantage is that Nash could appear on Hogan Knows Best, which would help that show I think. Lots of potential tie ins, and hijinks. Finally, Nash could be funny. Well, to me at least. Speaking of hijinks DX Hijinks DX stole Vince’s plane, and painted DX on the side. Funniest part of this skit was HBK acting like a total goofball. Even H looked surprised by it. Also, DX painted Titan Towers with a big green X. In a funny bit of news, I did read that some kids were arrested for vandalism after a house show. It seems that as they were driving home, they were spray painting DX logos on schools, houses, stop signs and stuff. Now that is funny. Oh, and about the plane? It’s just paint. It’s not like you have to buy a new one. Just paint it over. Probably only a couple grand. Dock their pay. Simple as that. Mick Foley So, this is Mick Foley’s curtain call. Mick walked up to Vince and called him Vince. Vince got mad. Vince said that some one should kiss his ass, or get fired. Mick did kiss Vince’s ass, to save Melina’s job. Mick cut one hell of a promo, but the ending was not quite there. I do think the best line was Mick ordering Vince to drop his pants. That cracked me up to no end. Big time flashback to Angle telling Vince to pull his pants down a few years ago. Melina then turned on Foley, and told him he was fired. That was the end of the show. Mick is gone, and Melina is in for some big time creepiness with Vince. The rest of the show was just kind of there. Lots of DX skits, lots of Vince, and lots of Mick. The whole Melina and Mick angle is weird, and frankly, I’m glad that part is over. Mick did put on some great matches, and cut some of the best promos of this year. Mick will be back, I think we can count on that. How? I’m not sure. Maybe Steph will bring him in. Which reminds me. Steph is going to be coming back. When, not sure, but she will be back on TV before this year is out. Why? To get her kid on TV, and be able to cry “NO! NOT MY BABY! STAY AWAY FROM MY BABY!” ECW Recap courtesy of Jason Five matches packed into one hour. Show starts off with hot chicks Never a bad thing. Torrie looks amazing. Damn you Billy Kidman. But then again, I’m getting married soon, and I know one Internet columnist who won't be invited to the wedding. HA HA HA! Trish made that perfectly clear. It turns into a fracas, as Knoxx and Test run in, and then Sandman and Dreamer, and it’s a six way mixed tag. And for a change, Dreamer and Sandman win. Torrie brings them luck. Matt Striker is in ECW Interesting, and I think his gimmick will work well here. Kevin Thorne vs Balls Mahoney Good match. Quick, but effective. Damn, Ariel is a hot chick. She’s got that Goth thing down, and well, that’s a good thing. Kev is also pretty good in the ring, but he needs a longer match some time soon. He did beat Balls though. Shannon Moore Speaks! I missed this segment. But I can guess what he said. “Please. Don't Fire Me.” CM Punk vs CW Anderson Only he’s called Christopher now. Honestly, CW’s big line was saying that he’s an ANDERSON! Not CW. So, why not call him Joe? Of Ted? I mean Christopher is a lot to speak and type. Ted? Easy. Punk does win. Just thought I’d mention that. Hardcore Holly OK, the guy has some fans, and is a big dude who likes beating up rookies. Vince likes him. But come on now. You really want the guy with the health risk on ECW, where he’s going to have to wrestle a hardcore match sometime soon? Steph infection. Nearly killed him. So, let’s put him where the wrestlers bleed. A lot. Not a good idea. RVD vs Danny Doring RVD wins in a short match. I used to like Doring. Now, eh. He needs Roadkill. Hardcore then runs out and now I see why he’s on ECW. To punish Van Dam. Big Show vs Sabu Another ugly match. Big Show sold like a trooper though and took some hard and nasty shots. TO really put Sabu over, he took a wicked bump, which he should never take. He bled. He then fell off the ring, through a table, twisting as he did so. Just looked evil. A good show, that focuses on their talent and matches. I can't wait for that second hour. Kurt Angle has been released Surprising, but not really if you know what I mean. Kurt has a lot of health issues. Two neck surgeries, plenty of other nagging, serious injuries and the guy keeps coming back for more. Fans have said it before that Kurt needs to take time off. He got some, but it wasn’t enough. He’s got personal problems as well. That’s not a good combination. Frankly, I’m glad that WWE stepped up and forced Kurt to take a break, and make sure it was long enough that he really could get better, both emotionally, physically, and domestically. It was the right thing to do. It was mutual, so it finally reached Kurt that something had to give. The door is open for a return, and that is a good thing. Kurt is still a young man. Who knows what a year off will do to him. It could help him tremendously. I wish Kurt all the best, and hope to see him in a WWE ring someday. Because we all know that if he went to TNA, he’d beat Christian, Sting, Steiner, Samoa Joe, and everyone else, and then, in his big match against Jarrett for the title, after he did the job to the guitar, he’d align himself with Jarrett. Smackdown Recap courtesy of Jason I only watched half the show. I was watching a disgusting football game, taped the show, and only made it through half. Rex Grossman sucks ass, that is all. King Booker OK, I’m getting tired of King Booker. The guy can act, I knew that already. But this shtick is getting way old. I liked the old Booker. That’s the guy I want to see. I want to hear him say “Can you dig it, SUCKAAA??”. I know, he’ll be cheered when he says it, but the guy can easily make himself a heel again. I will say that Regal was cracking me up during this skit. Just hilarious, the way he looked like he was about to cry tears of joy, when Booker knighted him. Kennedy vs Matt Hardy Sugar Shane was at ringside. That’s right, your longest reigning title holding in the WWE, was reduced to kissing JBL’s ass. JBL did say some nice things before them, but Helms had to pay the favor back immediately. The match was pretty equal, in that Matt got some offense in, and Kennedy didn't just squash him. Helms ran in for the interference, and gave Ken the win for the end. Match got a lot of time, and was solid. Miz Good grief, the guy is annoying, and now he has a match next week. Tatanka vs Terkay Thank you videotape. I do think that Terkay will be facing Undertaker sooner or later. Taker does love MMA style, and Terkay is a big guy. So, that’s my call. Taker vs Terkay for Survivor Series. Vickie Guerrero OK, I haven't read anything about how the Latinos are flocking to Smackdown. That’s not good news. If it was happening, I’m sure there would be newsblurbs galore about it. So, instead we got zip. Nadda. That’s not good. So, it might be time to put the Kibosh on this angle. I mean, it’s not like WWE really has a plan for how this is going to play out now. What, she turns on Chavo? Come on. So, what did I miss? Tag Team action They now have THREE, count em, THREE tag teams on Smackdown! Way to go Smackdown! Leading the pack! Hot Chicks Apparently, it was a good match between Jillian and Krystal. Vito vs Sylvan No loss missng that. Booker, Finlay, Regal vs Lashley and Batista It’s a three on two. Not counting Sharmell, so it’s really 4 on 2. And guess what? Batista and Lashley win. How? Ineffective cheating and Batista beating everyone up. How sad is that? But you know what’s funny? That they had to pair up Batista and Lashley. That’s funny. Batista needs Lashley, because: A) Lashley is solidly over, and Batista can now leech his heat, B) Some one has to job, and Batista isn't going to. Because it would weaken his character, and his character is already weak. Yes, it’s a tough time for Batista. WWE wants to push him to the moon. Fans still cheer for him, even if they go quiet soon. Is Batista done? No, but it’s not going to be easy getting back on top. Well, that pretty much covers the week. The next WWE PPV is Unforgiven, which is a Raw PPV. The next Smackdown PPV is on October 8th. So, there is a lot of time until they have to put together angles for Smackdown, and Raw has quite a few in place. While looking up that information, I came across this: 28 Segundos It’s the Spanish announce team. Those skits are fucking hilarious. Well, Stu sent me in another Not Kane’s House, but this column is running long. So, next week. Sorry Stu and Stu fans. But it is coming up. Stay tuned. Over-Analyzing Wrestling Today’s Topic: Fantasy Madness The clock is ticking to the start of the football season. The real season, not this pre-season stuff. The time when all those stats really matter. Not just to the teams involved, but to the millions and millions of people who will be watching not just the game on their TV, but also as those stats make their way to another world. The world of the Internet, and more importantly, to the companies running fantasy football sites. Where that information will be turned into something worth more than gold to those fantasy players. Points. I read an article somewhere that said that over 16 million people are playing fantasy football. On one site. Now, there are quite a few sites that host fantasy football. It’s a billion dollar business, and competition is fierce. Some of those sixteen million fans probably play on other sites. Still, that is one hell of an impressive number. Fantasy sports in general, from football to baseball, and soccer, and hockey, are a big business. The sports themselves are feeling the pressure to keep it interesting. Hell, I think it was last year that Peyton Manning was going off on how people kept coming up to him and asking him why he wasn’t throwing more touchdown passes, since it was messing up their league. More tickers have been added to the games, along with more stats. I think part of the reason that the NFL Rookie Draft is getting so popular is that people are watching it to see who’s going to be a sleeper in the coming year. Part of the fun of fantasy football is the draft. The time when you get to pick the players to make up your team. You can do the draft online, or sometimes get together in person and make your picks. I’ve had one of each this weekend. Good times. Ripping on people for making bad picks, that we all fear will come back and be good players, and make us eat our words. Waiting to make that favorite pick, only to get screwed by the guy right ahead of you taking him. The one pick that no one noticed was still there, and you get to grab. It’s comedy, it’s drama, it’s fun. You can study and study, but come draft day, nothing is certain. Until you make your pick, anything can happen. Even when you make that pick, it’s still not a sure thing. An injury could happen, and your first round pick is out for the season. Your first round pick could be arrested for drunken driving, and cut from the team. A contract dispute could keep your player out for weeks. It’s the thrill of the game. It’s enough to drag at least 16 million into that topsy-turvy world. Where real life friendships can end over an imaginary game. There’s one every year. A screwy trade that ends in heated words and a vow to never pay the entrance fee or prize money. A close game that ends in a tie, that goes against you. There’s drama, tears, anger, and discord. It’s a great time of year to be a football fan. One thing I have noticed about playing fantasy football, is that you spend a lot of time learning about the players. Who had a good year last year, who is coming off an injury. It’s almost impossible to get the same players every year. So, there is usually some one new to pay attention to and root for. It makes you pay attention to all the games, since players are usually from different teams. When two teams in which you have players on opposite sides square off, it gets even more interesting. Indeed, I would say that fantasy football has really grow the fanbase. It’s one of the reasons that football is popular across the globe, as people who may not even get the games on television play fantasy football. People who never watched a game are not immune to the lure of fantasy football, usually getting roped in by some one looking to fill that last spot in their league. Now, what does this have to do with wrestling? Simple. WWE has a fantasy league. You didn't know or thought they weren’t running it anymore? Wrong. It’s still there. In it’s eight season. Which is starting soon. WWE offers prizes to weekly high scoring winners. They even have their own webshow. Yet, and yet, it’s not the same. For one thing, the one time I played, I didn't like the way the system works. It’s a salary-based system, meaning that you have a certain amount of money you can spend on wrestlers. Each wrestler has a value assigned to them. The higher up the card the wrestler is, the more you have to pay for them. So, while one guy could have ten guys on his roster, you may only have decided to spend the money on the “big names” and thus, have only six. And you can have the same guy as some one else. Most fantasy football leagues only allow one person to have a player at one time. There are leagues set up similar to the WWE, but the one that has sixteen million players doesn’t. It’s a one player per person system that seems to be the most popular. Now, wrestling is predetermined, unlike football. But to the fans at home, and even us net know it alls, don't know who is going to win for 100% certain who is going to win any given match. We can make educated guesses, but until the pin happens, or the tap, or the DQ, it’s not a given. Hell, some matches that are advertised never even happen. In other words, wrestling is more unpredictable than football. So, what’s the deal? How come the millions of wrestling fans aren't signing up for fantasy wrestling? I think it’s because the wrestling fan with a computer is a bit too jaded. Also, the system is not really that much fun to play, at least for me. WWE could change the system, and add a live draft feature, no problem. That might help. But again, I think it’s the smark in the die hard fans that can't get past the wrestling is fake mentality. But there is an option. Go after the fantasy football fans. Just think of it. Millions of fantasy football fans will be frantically scouring the net, going over their rosters for those who have already drafted before the season officially starts. One ad in the background on the websites that host the games will attract attention. You already know that those customers are interested in sports. They like to play fantasy football. Offer them a fantasy wrestling league, and well, you might get a fraction of them to sign up and try it for a week or two. Now, a fraction of 16 million is a lot of people. And one other benefit. They will turn into wrestling those first few weeks. To root for their picks. Give them something good and they might stay. Let’s throw out a number to really gauge the impact of attracting fantasy football fans. Let’s say 20 million fantasy football players see that ad. Let’s say 5 percent click on that add. Let’s say half that number actually sign up and play. That’s 500,000 people. That’s half a ratings point. Or a .5. TNA is getting roughly a 1. Raw is getting around a 4. A half a point is nothing to sneeze at. And if those curious new viewers get something good and pass the word on to others in their league, and they tell two people, and then they go to tell two people, well, that number might get a little higher each week. The NFL has taken from the WWE, why not turn the tables, eh? And that’s all for today. One last thing to ramble on about and then it’s time to call it a night. ECW on SCI-FI WWE and Sci-Fi are negotiating a new deal for ECW. There were some contract problems, and money problems, but that appears to have been worked out. Sci-Fi announced earlier in the week that it was canceling Stargate, SG-1. Now, that free up a ton of money. WWE wanted to get paid for repeats of ECW, and they should. I believe there is going to be a second hour of ECW as well. So, all in all, it looks good for the future of ECW. Oh, and ECW is basically the number 1 rated show on Sci-Fi. And that’s it for today. I’ll have more on that story next week. Once I get to actually researching the details. QUICK PLUGS! LOP FORUMS New and Improved! LOP COLUMNS FORUM THE MOVIE BAR! Great place for reviews of DVD's, Music, and special video clips. Your one stop review spot. THE PROJECT LIVES! Looking for submission of creative writing. A great way to get your work published, and noticed. LOP'S PWA E-FED. Best E-Fed on the net. Period. That's all for this week. Thanks for Readin' and Thanks For Ridin' Wevv Mang mrwevv@mac.com - PLEASE LABEL ALL EMAIL AS FEEDBACK. THANK YOU.
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