DaveyBoy’s Wrestling Menu #210 – Armageddon Review + Carlito’s De-Push
Submitted by DaveyBoy on Wednesday, December 20, 2006 at 12:06 AM EST






THE WRESTLING MENU #210

Welcome one and all to the 210th edition of The Wrestling Menu, the column that is sure to satisfy your taste buds when it comes to discussing all things wrestling.

My columns have been rather lengthy of late & I couldn’t be stuffed writing a 3rd topic today… So the banter that usually takes place in this section of my column will be your ‘Appetizer’ for today!

On with the show.....


APPETIZERS - Stuff

I tell you what; I must be getting old because this time of the year has taken its toll on me here in 2006. I feel damn lethargic, can’t be stuffed working & everything seems too difficult right now. Hell, I only just got this column up at its usual posting time. Why? A combination of this, that & the other I think. I’ve left Christmas shopping as late as ever & have been devoid of ideas this year. Add to that a Christmas party, catching up with friends & family (including a really late poker night), and trying to still watch all the sport in the world & I’m demanding 40 hour days right now!

So I sat there the other day thinking about a 3rd topic to write about today & I must have come up with a good half a dozen options. Some of them were even good, yet I just can’t be stuffed writing about them. So instead you get this rant which I think may be doubling as therapy. Deal with it! Actually, I remember not being in the mood to even watch Armageddon when it came on, so a big thank-you to the WWE for putting on a decent ppv & providing some alternate therapy as well.

What next? How about some sport? Well, I am through to the final of my fantasy league in the NFL. I think I almost won the semi-final with only 2 players (Tomlinson & Clark). I have enjoyed playing my first season of fantasy NFL. The draft was fun. But seriously, if a first-timer can do this well, it’s really not that hard! And what was with all the recommendations to stock up on running backs before the start of he year? That’s the area where there is the greatest depth. Sure, it’s easy for me to say that with Tomlinson at pick 3. But after that, I chose WR, QB, WR in that order. Anyway, LT will probably be rested next week & I’ll get f**ked over more than a Western Conference NBA team!

More on the NFL, it was great to see some top-notch games this past weekend; Tampa at Chicago, Philly & the Giants, LT running riot again & the Monday night game were all a good watch. It’s very much getting down to the business end of the season now. Do I have a SuperBowl tip? Not really… It may be the Colts turn though & recent losses could actually help their mindset. And my complex mathematical formula suggests that if the temperature is exactly 83.7 degrees on December-31 in Miami Florida, at the exact time that Kevin Federline becomes WWE Champion, then my Bills still have a chance of making the playoffs!

Over the pond to England & guess what? I’m leading my fantasy league over there! Not bad since I was 10th of 16 teams about 2 months ago. I even am around the lead in the LOP forums EPL Prediction Contest! It’s all too easy for DaveyBoy! Of course, as the participants over there know, if Watford finish 2006 on the bottom, I may take a fall in the standings. I mean, seriously Watford, how f**ken hard is to be above the pathetic Charlton right now?

And there were some great games to watch in the EPL over the weekend as well. The 2-2 draw between Arsenal & Portsmouth was good stuff, while the 3-2 win to Chelsea was tremendously entertaining & I think Everton can feel a little hard done by having 3 goals all scored against them from outside of the penalty box. Of course, I am in the strange situation of actually cheering for a team that I don’t really like right now, as I couldn’t resist the ‘double your money’ odds on Chelsea when they got 8 points behind Manchester United a week or so back. I plonked on $50!

Ok, what else? I can’t think of anything. Oh hang on… “Hardcore Holly sucks”. Ahhh, that feels better!


MAIN – Armageddon Review

<50: Ask for a refund for not only your money, but also your time. [F] (Armageddon '04)
50-54: Mediocre & disappointing. [D] (EG: December To Dismember '06)
55-59: Average. [C] (EG: Cyber Sunday '06)
60-64: Worth A Watch. [C+] (EG: No Mercy '06)
65-69: Good event that was worth the money. [B] (EG: Survivor Series '06)
70-74: Very good. [B+] (EG: Unforgiven '06)
75-79: Make sure you add this ppv to your video or dvd collection. [A] (EG: One Night Stand '05)
80+ : Make sure that the video or dvd is locked in a safe & cannot be erased. Memorable. [A+]

KANE defeated MVP in an Inferno Match: This match opened the show for logistical reasons, but it wasn’t a bad choice in a different way. The rookie displays all the expected emotions while being totally surrounded by flames & while he doesn’t get a lot of offense in, he sneaks in an interesting combination ranging from a big boot to a top-rope cross body block! Following a mid-match chokeslam, Kane sets a turnbuckle pad on fire trying to end the match, but MVP counters with a low blow & then goes for successive low dropkicks to get Kane burnt. That fails & MVP then gets pushed off the top-rope to the outside, where Kane follows up with a top-rope clothesline. The 2 then battle it out at ringside, where Kane gets the upper hand with a big boot & then sets MVP’s a$$ on fire for the win. Kept relatively short at 8 minutes & the 2 combatants thankfully filled that time with enough variety. The match type fortunately didn’t dominate the bout, although it obviously limited it to some extent. Decent spectacle & ok match, but I’m unsure it was really all worth it for entertainment or even storyline purposes. Match Rating…6.5

PAUL LONDON / BRIAN KENDRICK defeated THE HARDYZ, MNM & WILLIAM REGAL / DAVE TAYLOR in a 4 Team Ladder Match to Retain the WWE Tag-Team Championships: Teddy Long announces the match type change & addition of 2 teams pre-match & I’m starting to think that the WWE reads my column! I actually get the feeling that this idea was a little “sorry” to all those fans that paid for December To Dismember. The match is fought under tornado rules & begins with the 2 face teams clearing the ring of the 2 heel teams. It doesn’t take long for ladders to get involved & the spots to begin. For the most part, only 2 of the 4 teams take turns battling it out in the ring, but there are sufficient moments when more than 4 men are involved. Plus, it gets a little difficult to follow the action when 8 men are involved at once anyway. Regal & Taylor are wisely used sparingly to add some story & variety to the bout, while MnM are taken out for a while in a spot that sees 4 men carry a ladder-riding Mercury to the outside on to his partner!

London & Kendrick are booked well to hold their own against the legendary Hardyz, but neither team gets the win to thankfully prolong the bout. In a truly scary moment at the 10 minute mark, Mercury is taken from the match after a dangerous slingshot ladder spot closes his eye & opens a deep gash on the bridge of his nose! The spots don’t stop though as a nice new variation sees Nitro come from nowhere to dropkick a ringside ladder to hang Jeff up on the top-rope! The absence of Mercury is seamlessly played over as Nitro puts together some offense & almost grabs the title. But that’s only a prelude to an extended finishing sequence predominantly involving the 2 face teams & spot after spot. A huge back body-drop off a ladder is followed by a huge sunset-flip powerbomb. And if that wasn’t enough, Kendrick then has the crazy notion that he can hit his ‘sliced bread’ finisher off the top of the ladder! It didn’t quite come off, but very much put over what these guys were willing to do. The bout finally ends at the 20 minute mark when London emerges victorious after dueling it out with Matt atop a ladder.

Absolutely sensational match & as JBL said afterwards, this was “nothing short of phenomenal”. Exciting, if obviously spotty, this was non-stop action that was fast-paced & high-flying. It was also very well booked to last 20 minutes as it hinted at ending many times from the 5 minute mark onwards! Finally, the correct team was put over. Wow… What an unexpected pleasant surprise that practically on its own restores some faith that a WWE PPV can deliver something positive when you least expect it to. A genuine match of the year contender… In fact, my match rating suggests that it indeed was the match of the year! Match Rating…9.5

THE BOOGEYMAN defeated MIKE MIZANIN: Miz takes a couple of clotheslines to begin with & decides to stall for a moment on the outside. But he gets dragged back into the ring by his Mohawk where he falls victim to some standard big man offense. Miz turns the tide though when he thrusts Old Man Boogey into the steel corner post. Miz then works the arm/shoulder region quite well with a whipper-snapper type of move & an arm-breaker, but heading to the top-rope proves fatal as Boogeyman catches Miz in mid-air & then awkwardly hits his choke-bomb finisher for the victory at the 3 minute mark. Basic stuff & it’s obvious that Boogeyman can only wrestle for so long. Miz tried I suppose, but even Benoit would struggle with the worm-eater! I’ll be nice & give one rating point for each minute it lasted. Match Rating…3

CHRIS BENOIT defeated CHAVO GUERRERO to Retain the United States Title: Chavo gets things going by attacking from behind, but that only fuels Benoit who hits one hell of a snap suplex & then follows it up with more intense offense. A failed sharpshooter attempt only leads to Benoit’s triple German Suplexes, but Chavo stems the tide by halting the champs Swan-Dive headbutt with a superplex. The heel then wraps Benoit’s body around the ringpost & follows up by working on his back with a combination of blows & restholds. The challenger misses a baseball slide though & pays the penalty by taking 8 more German Suplexes! Vicki then enters the ring to break up another sharpshooter, but Benoit rolls through on a subsequent rollup by Chavo to get the submission victory at the 12 minute mark via the sharpshooter. A nice step up from their previous ppv encounter with better match structure, more intensity (mainly from Benoit) & more length! I was still disappointed a little by Chavo who could have increased the pace & intensity during the middle stages, while the Vicki stuff was thankfully used wisely. Solid. Match Rating…7.5

GREGORY HELMS defeated JIMMY WANG YANG to Retain the Cruiserweight Title: The 2 trade counters at a great pace to begin with & some crisp offense from Yang is halted by the champ through some standard heel work, as he goes to work on slowing the pace down. A super loud chop & top-rope cross-body to the outside is about all Yang gets in for minutes on end, until the former Akio hits a big clothesline to kickstart some offense that ends the crowd’s “boring” chants. A missed charge to the corner from the challenger allows Helms to hit a top-rope spinning neckbreaker, but the top-rope follow-up is countered by a leg lariat that allows Yang to attempt his corkscrew moonsault variation. He misses it though & Helms follows up with a modified jaw-breaker (using his knee) for the pinfall after 11 minutes. There were some really good signs in this cw bout, but it didn’t work as a whole. A very well-paced back & forth start moved into some very impressive work by Yang, but Helms’ slowing of the pace lasted too long & Yang’s follow-up offense was a little too sluggish for my liking. This was still fairly solid & something to build upon though. Hopefully, the feud between these 2 will continue. Match Rating…7

THE UNDERTAKER defeated KEN KENNEDY in a Last Ride Match: Kennedy does some standard pre-match mic work & then spends the first minute attempting to avoid the dead man. ‘Taker catches him though & heads straight for the Spanish announce table which he uses to batter the 2nd year WWE man. Back in the ring, The Undertaker misses a big boot & KK steps up his intensity with some offense on the outside. Some good back & forth action ensues with ‘Taker countering a move from the apron & Kennedy then gaining the momentum nearer to the hearse to end a very good first 5 minutes of the bout. Back toward the ring, the pace only slows down for a little while, as ‘Taker hits a superplex & then carries KK back to the hearse. But Kennedy maneuvers himself into a sleeper-hold position & holds onto it long enough to be able to put the dead man into the hearse. But he can’t get in the driver’s seat as the phenom emerges & heads back to the ring. KK then uses a chair to hammer away at the dead man, but the big fella keeps getting up, which frustrates Kennedy toward the back.

The 2 combatants then climb the castle-like set, where following some standard brawling, the heel throws the veteran down about 12-15 feet to a stage area. KK then drags the dead weight into the hearse suggesting a likely upset, but the phenom sits up in the back of the car & the match continues. ‘Taker busts KK open with a huge chair-shot & then chokeslams him on top of the hearse, before following it up with a tombstone at the same location. That’s all she wrote & The Undertaker gets the win at the 19 minute mark. Excellent match that was booked very well indeed. A well-paced & hard-hitting first 5 minutes was simply a prelude to the rest of the match that used the gimmick stipulation tremendously. A few good spots were combined with some genuinely intense action, while the best thing was that both men emerged looking extremely strong. This was another pleasant surprise & Kennedy has emerged as a genuine main-eventer, while ‘Taker has arguably taken part in 2 of the best 5 WWE matches of the year! Match Rating…8.5

DIVA NAUGHTY OR NICE LINGERIE CONTEST: The second winding down segment following a long & brutal match takes place here with Santa Claus hosting Krsytal, Layla, Jillian & Ashley in your standard lingerie contest. All 4 ladies looked sensational & it’s amazing how much better the filler seems following a good match. It’s a shame that Santa had to be revealed as Big Dick Johnson, but you could see that coming from a mile away anyway. 10 minutes in length & I’ll give one rating point for each lovely diva. Match Rating…4

JOHN CENA & BATISTA defeated KING BOOKER & FINLAY: The face team get a great crowd reaction to begin with, as Cena & Booker kick things off at a decent rate. Batista gets tagged in & uses his greater strength to overpower both opponents, with Cena following up & looking to end the match early. His momentum is halted though when Booker strikes him with his scepter, which begins the usual face-in-peril sequence. It doesn’t last long though as Cena DDTs Booker & gets the hot tag to Batista. Some fast paced, if rather messy, action ensues with both teams looking like getting the win at various stages. Batista is the one to finish things off at the 11 minute mark with a Batista Bomb on the King. Run of the mill main-event that really didn’t deliver a whole lot more than a few crowd-popping & energetic sequences. Disappointingly messy (mainly from Batista) on more than one occasion, this was a touch better than the Booker/Batista bout from Survivor Series, but so it should have been with 2 extra men. Match Rating…6.5

PPV RATING (52.5/80) = 66

Looking at the key, I have basically given the 2006 version of Armageddon a ‘B’ grade & said that it was a “good event that was worth the money”. I think that comment is spot on & if anything, I feel that it probably should have been rated at the top end of that range, rather than the lower end. Included were 2 very good matches that I would easily rank in the top 10 WWE bouts of the year, plus 4 solid matches that usually would be acceptable midcard bouts had not one of them actually been the main-event! While I couldn’t pass the 2 filler segments, at least they were correctly placed following the 2 long & action-packed bouts & actually served some a purpose. In some ways, this was very much like an old-style WWE event & I think that’s not necessarily a bad thing. While the 66 rating may not suggest so, I would rank this as the 3rd best WWE pay-per-view of the year & it could have easily been the best if the main-event & filler were better! Very enjoyable & entertaining, this was a top-notch effort by all involved.


DESSERT – Carlito’s De-Push

I should warn you all that this topic was originally planned as being one which looked at both Carlito & Ken Kennedy. But since I have spoken here & there about Kennedy over the past month or so, I thought I better at least attempt to concentrate on the wrestler that has been depushed down the card of late. Plus, I didn’t want to give the impression to anyone that I have fallen in love with Misterrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr Kennedy….. Kennedy! But anyway, I only say this all because I will compare the 2 a fair bit in looking at the current plight of the man that has gone from CCC to simply C.

The comparisons between Carlito & Kennedy are aplenty. Carlito was my 2004 Rookie of the Year & Kennedy was my 2005 Rookie of the Year. They both debuted as heels on SmackDown where they won midcard titles fairly briskly, but both have characteristics that would make them play successful faces as well. Both men are great on the microphone & have a rather natural charisma that connects with the crowd. I could probably list some more that are debatable if I wanted to. But the bottom line is why does it appear that one man is currently heading up the card, while the other is going in the opposite direction…???

Initially, you would think that there are many possible reasons, but I’m unsure that there are all that many! Sure, there is the size factor as Carlito isn’t exactly the tallest man in the world & we all know how much the WWE love size. But that only accounts for so much. There is also the brand factor with Carlito currently a roster member on the Raw brand which clearly has more main-event depth. But other than that, there isn’t a whole lot more. And “the WWE isn’t using him correctly” is not a reason. That’s the effect rather than the cause.

But there is one factor which really stands out as far as I am concerned with regards to why Carlito is currently suffering a depush of sorts. That factor is that he was turned face way too early. I’ve touched on this before with other wrestlers, but have never really written on the topic in any depth. And when all is said & done, it’s all about patience & holding off on a turn for the maximum desired effect. It’s not always easy for the WWE to do to be honest. Sometimes they feel that their hands are forced by the fans themselves & that definitely is a partial defense in Carlito’s case.

Who knows… Maybe it was Carlito’s inability to keep the fans booing him which was the problem in the first place. Despite hints of cheers here & there, Kennedy has done enough to keep himself heel & I genuinely believe that will be to his advantage in the long run. Why couldn’t Carlito do that last year? Was it a chink in his armor? I don’t think so. If anything, maybe Carlito, like the WWE, was a little impatient & felt that his career would skyrocket if turned face. But with such booking, everyone must consider the medium to long-term & not just the initial 3-6 months! Looking back on it, maybe Jesus Aguilera playing the role of Carlito’s thug bodyguard was more useful than I thought, because who would cheer him?

So what now? Does DaveyBoy suggest a simple & immediate heel turn OR do I suggest a simple pushing of Carlito as a face? Well, sort of neither & sort of a combination of both. You see, I don’t blame the WWE a great deal for the way they have booked Carlito of late. Now before you have a hernia & start swearing at me via email, I ask you all to not fall victim to the same problem that has caused all this; A lack of patience. Please remember that Carlito spent his first year in the WWE in 2004. That’s all of 2 years ago! He is still a young man & will undoubtedly further improve with more experience in upcoming years.

But anyway, how I was trying to defend the WWE a little was that I actually agree that Carlito is not yet ready for a main-event position… Especially on the Raw brand. And I still probably would have said that had he been a heel. If he is not ready for the main-event, then he should fit into the midcard somewhere & while I do agree that the WWE have depushed him way too much & below the midcard, it seems he has predominantly fallen victim to the huge talent depth on Raw & the lack of a clear match-up for the time being. In fact, I feel that the reigniting of the tag-team division has probably hurt Carlito the most as it’s kept the Jeff Hardy & Johnny Nitro feud going.

So what is my confusing remedy to reinstate Carlito where he should be on the Raw card. Well, because I think an immediate heel turn would reek of desperation & have only initial effects, I’d slowly build up his face character over the next 3-6 months. Nothing special, just to a level slightly above the midcard. But I wouldn’t continue on with that. Just when it seems like he is gaining some momentum as a face, it would be then that I would turn him heel. That way, I think more importance is placed on the heel turn & it genuinely means something.

I know some fans have there doubts as to whether Carlito plays a heel or face character better (both in & out of the ring). I actually have faith in Carlito that he is just as adept at both. And if he is turned heel just when he is gaining some momentum, I actually think that would make the fans practically feel cheated by his (storyline) deception. This should earn him even more heel heat than what he garnered upon debut & in my opinion is that final deciding factor as to what side of the good & evil fence that Carlito should sit on.


Ok, that’s #210 in the books. I hope you enjoyed it & didn’t mind the filler first section. Hopefully, the final 2 topics made up for that. As per usual, if you have anything you would like to provide feedback on, you may do so by emailing me on 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=217&page=2. Obviously, in either case, you may have to be patient in waiting for my reply considering what time of the year it is.

Next Wednesday in ‘The Wrestling Menu’, it’s that time when another year is put to rest with DaveyBoy’s famous ‘Year-End Awards’. Some of the award winners are clear, while others are not so clear. In fact, Armageddon alone will probably make me have to re-watch the 3 best WWE matches of the year this weekend! Like last year, I will also attempt to add a report card of sorts for the WWE in 2006. As per usual, my column will be posted at the same Wednesday time (possibly a little later than usual) on the same LOP channel. Until then, this is DaveyBoy signing off & asking you to remember that dinner is best served in 3 courses.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL




DaveyBoy’s Wrestling Menu. 2002-2006

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