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Submitted by Al Boo Boo on Saturday, September 8, 2007 at 8:05 PM EST
 When the “New ECW” came about, I wrote a column that stated the FIRST person they need to put on the ECW roster was Christopher Michael Punkington (Yeah, that’s his real name). And they did. Shortly after the debut, Punk shows up and takes ECW by storm. Going undefeated for SIX months. He finally made his WM debut in the Money in the Bank match – which he had a great showing in. Punk would continue on to put on a great feud with Elijah Burke, and earn himself a shot at the ECW title – but a certain Double Murder/Suicide would change plans of said match, and the then, to quote Joey Styles Johnny Nitro??? would play as a sub and win the belt. The feud would continue, and punk would lose right in front of my very own eyes at the GAB. It hurt… it really did. He then lost again at Summerslam. And then… Just when I was about to give up on the whole situation, BOOM – there it is. Out of nowhere, on a normal ass Tuesday Nights ECW, where I though the only excitement we’d get is the Boogeyman drowning under the left bosom of Big Daddy V, we get the most anticipated title win in years. I speak of the conclusion of CM Punks journey to the ECW World Title. People argue that ECWs title means nothing – People argue that the only reason he won is because Morrison is suspended – and people argue that he’s NOT all he’s cracked up to be. And in one match, he proved all of you wrong. Punk and Morrison put on what a lot of people are saying, myself included, one of the top-runner for TV Match Of The Year. If you’re confused on what “Storytelling” is, watch this match. Punk and Morrison tell the story of two bitter rivals who have each other scouted to perfection. And, to boot, Taz and Styles did a fantastic job in explaining and pointing out this fact. EVERYONE in the crowd was on the edge of their seats, and every single time there was a 2-pin, they reacted. Relief for Morrison, grief for Punk. These two had the 1.6 million people at home, plus (especially) the people in attendance, people out of their hands. And that’s the key ingredient for a “big match feel”, which is what this impromptu title match. But people, let us not forget, WWE just LOVES to put the belt on those “young, promising Heels”. Initial reports (rumors) are that the belt will be given back to Morrison as soon as he returns. Lame. Don’t get me wrong. I have nothing against the guy. I think the whole revamp of that character is awesome, and he plays it just as good as anyone can. Let’s take a look at a couple of reasons this SHOULDN’T happen. 1 – How does giving the title right back to Morrison him at all? He gets a vacation basically, and upon return he gets right back into the top spot he was in, and he gets the name of “Two Time ECW Champion”. Not exactly a bad deal, and an even worse punishment. When he returns, at best he should be thrown into a feud with, let’s say Stevie Richards, or even a Face Marcus Cor Von. Even a feud for Number 1 contendership would be suitable – but he can’t and shouldn’t be thrown right back into the title picture. 2 – Punk is OVER. And really, he’s done it all on his own. He doesn’t have the kind of character that lends itself to being a super-face. The straight-edge gimmick it just too “extreme” for the children. But Punk isn’t only over with the kids, he’s over with the ladies and the grown ass men. Of course the IWC loves him, but this guy is so charismatic that without being shoved down our throats week after week, he’s found a way to get over. And even though he lost repeatedly, the people continue to cheer. THAT’S what being over is. And Punks got it. 3 – He’s the only face that is Main-Event material on ECW. Who’s the second top face? Steve Richards? The Boogeyman? As much as I’m a fan of both of them, they won’t and shouldn’t ever hold that belt. Punk has a plethora of feuds lined up. One that was already really successful – Punk v Burke. These two young guys can wrestle for hours and have proven they have great chemistry together. How about Punk v Cor Von? Punk v Thorn? Or, and sadly, the more than likely Punk v Big Daddy V-cup? * Shudders * Punk would get lost under one of his fat flaps. Regardless of what happens, I haven’t been so happy about a title win since god knows when. Seeing Punk hold that title is just awesome, and I still haven’t got over it. It’s just a sight to see for someone that has been a fan since his RoH days. I honestly didn’t think it would happen this quick, but I did expect to see it one day. It’s just… awesome. Congrats, Punk. I, WOOOOOOOO! QUIT! Whaaaaaat? Quit? Say it ain’t so, Ric. This isn’t exactly the way I thought the Flair would go out. Although, leave it up to Naitch to go out in a blaze of F-bombs and Shoot interviews. Honestly, I really hope this isn’t the last we see of Flair. And I’m sure It won’t be. Hopefully, he and WWE can work it out and plans of that “one last push” can go on as planned (which the tabloids are reporting that it will take place just around Wrestlemania time). To go along with this last push, will be Flairs final match – At WM 24 – and his induction into the WWE Hall of Fame – which hopefully I’ll be at. That’s the way Flair should go out. But this is The Natureboy we’re talking about, and if I had to guess, I’d guess that the last thing he ever wants to do is just fizzle out. And the route he is going, he may feel that that is what is happening. Is WWE wrong for not putting him on TV? Hell yeah they are. Flair is still a better wrestler that more than half the roster, and specifically to Smackdown, he’s better than ¾ of the roster. If he’s unhappy on Smackdown – and they are adamant there is no place for him on Raw (which there really isn’t) send him on ‘down’ to ECW. He can play the role that “He who shall not be named” was going to. Teaching the young guys the WWE has their high hopes on how to work. Flair such a versatile character, he can switch roles at any time. Wanna feud him with Punk? Turn him heel. Want him to work a program with Elijah Burke? Flip him face. If they honestly feel he has NO PLACE on Smackdown, ECW is his best chance. I’d happily substitute Big Daddy V’s chesticles to see Flair’s flab. I just can’t seem to put myself in his mindset and figure out what the hell he think he’s going to do if he’s not with Vince and CO. It’s really the only platform for him to be comfortable and safe in. There’s three options I can see him taking – none of which I would chose over him staying in the ‘E, but viable options none the lest. And I’ve divided these options into three sections. And to use a a very overused phrase – I’ve named them “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly”. Picture it – Flair returns to his old stomping grounds. The NWA. I know, it’s hardly ever a shadow of what it once was, but honestly how classic would it be to see Flair holding that old-school NWA belt one last time. Although it wasn’t a (indy)star-studded event, there were a couple “big names” in the recent NWA Title tournament. One of the most hated heels in the Indy scene, Adam Pearce, won that tournament and currently holds the title. This guy Pearce isn’t your normal indy kid – he actually isn’t a kid at all. He’s 29 and has been wrestling since ’96. The guy knows what he’s doing and has wrestling all over the world form Japan to Mexico to everywhere in the US. And I’m sure he’d bite at the opportunity to pick up some pointers from Mr. Flair. As well as the rest of the young roster NWA has managed to get their hands on. Of course, they won’t work the old-style NWA “Work a 60-minute draw everyday twice on Sundays” style. Flair of course, at the tender age of Fifty-Eight might NAWT be able to handle that. It also can’t be the ROH stiff style. Flair matches will more than likely be just like his WWE matches – shorter, but longer enough to entertain. Of course, it’ll be a way lighter work load (not that he’s over-worked in WWE). Unless he goes indy booking crazy and starts to take bookings left and right. A couple small matches, with two “Big Matches” a month would fit right into his plate. The best part of this deal, though? All the shoot interviews we’d see. Not just the negative ones, but the “secrets of the ring” or he and Steamboat sitting down and just telling their stories about life on the road. And believe me, I’m sure they have a good amount. I would say a Flair and Foley shoot – but uh… that might end up bad. To get to my transition, most shoot interviews these days are put together by Gabe Sapolsky – the guy who owns RoH. And… ROH coincidently leads us too… The music hits and “WOOOOOOOOO” Ric Flair is in ROH and thousands of ROHbots all around the world have to change their Chris Daniels underroo’s). There are plenty of students there that would literally kill (I guess I shouldn’t really say that about over-worked wrestlers anymore) to be trained by the greatest of all time. He’d be the most over guy in the company the second he stepped in the door, and he’d be respected by every single guy in the company (not that he isn’t now). But most than anything, he’d be the company’s BIGGEST star, and not by a little bit – the margin wouldn’t even be close. If Ring of Honor could get him their name out there, and get the word out that Flair is wearing the ROH jersey now, they could blow up in a second. Not to mention if they weren’t already the top Indy promotion, they’d become it because of the demand there would be for independent wrestlers to work with The Natureboy. That’s the only “good” thing that would come from this situation. Flair helping build RoH. But in doing so, Flair would be killing his own body as he definitely would not be able to work a RoH style match. And even if the guys tried to water down the matches and ‘take it easy’ on Ric, the fans wouldn’t like it. Nor would Flair, I’d presume. To make this “bad” situation even worse, he would more than likely be persuaded into going to Japan where they would (WOOOOO!) Chop him right into cardiac arrest. I can just see it “Legendary Wrestler Ric Flair dies in ring” – the autopsy reporting that his heart was literally smashed. Ha. That’s just not cool to think about. However, the pop he would get from the Japanese crowd would be AMAZING. It’d be somewhat of a ‘reunion’ tour. And he’d be received as the true legend he is over here, but multiplied by 10 because of how long it’s been since he’s been in the “Land of the Rising Sun”. Regardless of how the crowd treats him, as I said before – what most concerns me would be his body. As I stated before, Flair is a “older than I feel” 58. In the real world, this isn’t considered “old”, but if we’ve learned anything over that last couple months in the wrestling world, it’s that wrestlers bodies seem to age much faster than A calendar does. I just pray that if he does go this route, he’ll be smart enough not to throw his life away by participation in a chopfest with every Strong Style grappler in Japan. Well, what’s the ugliest thing in the world of wrestling besides Big Daddy V’s bust? TNA Think of it – Flair would be reunited with two of his best friends – Vinnie Russo and Double J Jeff Jarrett. I just… I… I don’t really want to talk about this one. I’ll just leave it at “It wouldn’t be good” Whatever Flair does decide to do, he’ll always be the BEST to ever do it. No matter what anyone says, no one has been better over such a long period of time. Is this the ending that I would like to see? No. But it ain’t over yet. And I’m sure ever if Flair does retire at ‘Mania and ride off on his horse into the proverbial sunset, we’ll see him around the wrestling ring again. That’s it and that’s all folks. Two of the biggest stories in the wrestling world – and these were my thoughts on ‘em. Hope you enjoyed it, and I’ll be back next week with another NEW Friday Night Write. Send all feedback to: Fridaynightwrite@yahoo.com Sign up for LOPforums.com and find my thread in the Feedback forum. LOP Forums While there check out LPW: The Worlds BEST E-Fed And also – The Columns Forum Along with the current Tournament "WARGAMES" You might’ve seen the signs on Raw – How check out “Hustle Is Posting Right Now One of my biggest fans – and a kid who’s improving with every column – Dangerous Dustin Maybe the best new comer of the CF, JetSetPoker puts out good columns every week. Check him out. That’s all for me, people. Check out these columns, and check out THIS column – next week. Peace and Love. Enjoy your wrestling. *NEW GALLERY* Go Directly to a RANDOM HOT BABE & DIVAS GALLERY! Check It Out!
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