Canton’s Corner: The Wrestling Week in Review – December 3
Canton’s Corner: The Wrestling Week in Review – December 3
By John Canton
Follow me on Twitter at @johnreport
Welcome to Canton’s Corner. We’ve got a loaded edition this weekend as always with the poll, plus my thoughts on WWE Raw, Smackdown & TNA Impact Wrestling. There’s also the Twitter Ten where I answer some of your questions plus the random video and Melo Out brings it home. It might be brief in some parts this week due to a lack of time on my part. Tis the season to work an insane amount of hours! Let’s roll.
Last Week’s Poll Results
The poll question was: What has been the best WWE PPV in 2011? In this case I asked you to pick three choices. After The results:
Money in the Bank 42.96%
Survivor Series 14.39%
Summerslam 13.15%
WrestleMania 27 8.23%
Elimination Chamber 7.71%
Royal Rumble 6.56%
The other six PPVs got less than 4% of the vote. My order was Money in the Bank, Summerslam and Elimination Chamber, so at least we agree on those three being among the best. No surprise that Money in the Bank ran away with it. It wasn’t just a great main event. The undercard was strong too.
This Week’s Poll Question: Do you watch TNA Wrestling?
It’s about TNA. Stop booing me.
I voted for the first one. I wonder what will win. I honestly have no idea.
I already wrote about Raw on Tuesday, so here are some more thoughts on Monday’s show.
LIKE – Dolph Ziggler over Randy Orton
It wasn’t totally a clean win as Wade Barrett distracted Orton, but it was close enough with Ziggler pinning Orton after hitting the Zig Zag. They need to capitalize on this by having Ziggler brag about it incessantly while also getting other wins over top guys in the very near future. Ziggler’s stock is rising. Plus, they are doing a good job of building up Zack Ryder, so the eventual US Title change (I’m guessing it will be at TLC) will be a bigger deal than it usually is.
DISLIKE – Ignoring the tag team titles
Evan Bourne, who was suspended for 30 days for failing a Wellness Test, is due back on the road this weekend. It’s expected he’ll be at Raw. They didn’t mention him at all in the last month. I’d expect a quick title change when he gets back. To whom? I think any two members of that new Hunico/Primo/Epico group might be the ones to get the tag team gold sooner rather than later. That doesn’t mean Air Boom should break up. I just think it’s likely that there will be a title change soon.
LIKE – CM Punk over Alberto Del Rio
A very strong wrestling match that was given a good amount of time, which is absolutely fine by me. It’s great to see a week of Raw end this way. It doesn’t always have to end with an attack or with some kind of controversial finish. Now that Punk vs. Del Rio is over as a singles feud, what’s next?
DISLIKE – Uncertainty for TLC
With two Raw episodes left before WWE’s TLC PPV, no matches have been announced from the Raw side of the roster. The PPV business is clearly down, yet WWE doesn’t seem like they are pushing PPVs more when they should be doing it. It came out this week that Vengeance did one of the lowest numbers in company history in terms of PPV buys. No surprise there. So what’s the Vengeance main event? I have no idea. It appears as if Nash vs. Triple H will be held off until the Royal Rumble too. My guess is the TLC main event will be a 4 way TLC match with Punk defending against Del Rio, Cena & Miz. My prediction of that is Punk will retain and then at the Rumble it will be The Miz as his opponent. Like I said that’s just a guest more than anything.
The last two weeks of Raw have been good. I gave this week’s show a 7.5 while last week’s Raw was a 7. If they keep doing that every week I’ll be a happy wrestling fan.
The first poll for The WWE Johnny Awards is up. It’s a vote to determine the Best Wrestler.
2011 WWE Johnny Awards – Best Wrestler
For more info on The WWE Johnny Awards click here. You need to keep visiting thejohnreport.net since the polls will be posted all throughout this month in anticipation of prestigious awards on December 19th.
As always, TJR’s Christian Michael covered Tuesday’s Smackdown with his thoughts on the show. I didn’t like it so much this week after last week’s great episode, so only a few points to go over.
LIKE – Mark Henry defeats Daniel Bryan in the Steel Cage match
The match wasn’t great, but it’s Mark Henry, so you can never expect great when it comes to his matches. Still, they booked it in a way that made Bryan look competitive. They could have made him look a lot worse, so I’m glad it turned out how it did. I really hope they don’t turn Bryan a heel. His babyface work is great. He shows the kind of competitive fire that you want to see and he’s earned the support of the crowd by showing so much heart when he makes his comebacks. I think he’ll be the World Champion at WrestleMania. I’m glad that they are building to it, especially because I will be there.
DISLIKE – The usage of Mick Foley
So far I haven’t been impressed with how WWE has utilized Mick Foley since his return to the company. His first appearance was, in his words, an intentionally cheesy segment with the “John Cena – This is your life” thing on Raw. This appearance was Foley hosting a Christmas edition of Smackdown. The jokes were pretty bad too. They need to find a better, more consistent role for him. He’s too good to be wasted like this.
LIKE – Randy Orton beats Otunga
Why a like? Because I don’t like Otunga and question why he’s still on the roster when they have let better people go. This was a fun beating that also involved Orton taking a bite out of a cookie. That’s some good work, Mr. RKO.
DISLIKE – The awful divas Mistletoe on a Pole Match
To quote Booker T: “WHAT DA HAYELL!?!?” Brutal match or whatever you want to call it. Brie won, so she wins a kiss with any Superstar before Christmas. I really hope this doesn’t get as much hype as a Money in the Bank contract.
LIKE – Cody attacks Booker
I was upset that they announced Booker’s in-ring return vs. Cody on this show without much of a build. As Booker was doing his backstage promo, Cody jumped him and the match got cancelled. They’ve been working together at house shows over the weekend. I think when they do have the match, pencil it in for TLC, the chemistry should be there. As much as I like Booker on commentary (I seriously consider him a guilty pleasure), it will be cool to see him in the ring for a bit too.
DISLIKE – Hornswoggle can finally talk
Oh crap does that mean they are going to be using him more? Please no. I’m tired of the act. I doubt I’m alone in thinking that. Throw in Hornswoggle winning a battle royal as another dislike, by the way.
I’ll give them a mulligan for this show, which I would have rated at about a 4 out of 10. I hope a good episode of Smackdown is in store next week.
It’s Twitter Ten time. Did it last week here on CC, then in the Raw Deal and here we go again. You can follow me on Twitter @johnreport and fire questions at me any time you want. I’m answering questions on there all the time, so ask me anything you want. If I don’t answer don’t get mad. Sometimes it’s hard to find the time to reply because I get hundreds of tweets in a day. I’ll post Twitter handles of the questioners, which will be in italics, so follow them too if you want. My answers may exceed the 140 character limit, but I will try to be concise as best I can.
@JCWonka How do you make another Kane return interesting?
With a mask apparently! Not just that though. I think they need to make him a dark villain type who barely speaks. I’d prefer him as a heel, but wouldn’t be shocked if they used him as a veteran type of face.
@THudson13 In your opinion, who’s the greatest wrestler of all time to never win a World Championship?
I think Curt Hennig aka Mr. Perfect is the best. Then there are guys like Roddy Piper, Ted Dibiase Sr. and Owen Hart to name a few.
@TheFoxUK1988 With the current WWE product as it is how would you go about improving it but while keeping it as PG?
The PG rating isn’t as bad as most things. Compelling stories can draw people in. Look at the Punk angle in the summer. They just need fresh ideas not the same stale things all the time. I covered a lot of things in my 20 Ideas for WWE to Consider column.
@burninpaperhart Why is this ‘season’ of nxt still going, hasn’t any one won yet?
Still no winner. I have heard no explanation of it. I think they just want a show for lower card guys. It’s odd though.
@KDorau21 With the Royal Rumble coming up relatively soon, who would be your top bets to make a surprise entry? Foley? Piper?
I think Foley is likely because he doesn’t have to do a lot in there. I didn’t expect Booker & Nash this year, so I’m terrible at predicting this stuff. I’ll guess Batista although I don’t think he will be back. That’s why it’s a guess!
@LukeTheMorgz How would you book D-Bryan going forward?
He’d rack up wins over midcard talent on every PPV and go higher up the card as the months went on. Then he’d win the World Title at WrestleMania. I’m not sure if the champ would be Henry or Orton or make it a three way.
@3l337Gamers Whose entrance music could handle a dubstep remix?
Not much of a music expert, but I’d say Ziggler. They’ve changed his song up a bunch.
@NeHumanesCrede Thoughts on a potential Cody vs. Goldust match at Mania?
I’d love to see it. I assume Cody’s not in the World Title picture at WM27, so why not? Dustin would be motivated to come back strong against his brother, he’d put over the younger Cody and they’d likely have great chemistry. It would be fun. I’m in support of the idea that Goldie has put on Twitter.
@ThisIsSimonP Do you believe that hardcore WWE fans are expecting way too much toward the product? PG doesn’t bother me since then.
Some do. That’s life. We can’t just sit back and enjoy a great show like Money in the Bank. We have to wonder what’s next. It’s how the wrestling business is. At least we watch though. That’s the key. To keep watching. It’s not like fans are leaving the product. PPV numbers aren’t great, but TV numbers are around the same. People still watch.
@stattosteve Will they ever have Wrestlemania or another big PPV in UK/overseas (like Summerslam 92) in your opinion??
Not a WrestleMania because they have proven they can get 70,000+ in a number of big US/Canada markets for Mania. Maybe another PPV, but the logistics is an issue. I don’t think it would be bad thing to do a summer PPV there, make it at 8pmUK time, 3pmET time for a change. It wouldn’t matter that much here in North America. We used to have Sunday afternoon PPVs. Why not give it a try again?
That was ten. Follow me on Twitter @johnreport to find out when I do it again. It will likely be on Monday afternoon.
Like every week, I watched Impact Wrestling. Some likes/dislikes for the show.
LIKE – Jeff Hardy being booked like a superstar
The biggest star that TNA has is Jeff Hardy. Second place is far behind him at least on the babyface side. That’s not a knock on AJ Styles, James Storm or anybody else. He gets the biggest pops and looks like the biggest star on there too. I’ve always liked Jeff Hardy, especially when he’s got his head screwed on right. That appears to be the case these days, which is great to see considering where he was in March. Turning him heel in the past was stupid. He’s much better in the babyface role.
DISLIKE – Gunner searches for Garett Bischoff
He never found him, but he beat people up along the way. I could care less.
LIKE – Mickie James vs. ODB in a Street Fight
They had a really good brawl that went about seven minutes. It was basically an enhancement match for MJ to build her up for the title match at Final Resolution versus Gail Kim, but ODB got a lot of offense in. They fought on the floor, which led to really stiff powerbomb by ODB onto Mickie on the floor. It looked very painful.
DISLIKE – Kid Kash as Austin Aries’ next opponent
Really? That’s the best you can do? Kid Kash? The guy is in his 40s. The X-Division is supposed to be about excitement, youth, talent on the rise – that kind of thing. Not a guy like Kid Kash, who adds nothing to the X-Division. Now it looks like they’re turning him face too, which is also bizarre.
LIKE – Bobby Roode wins the main event over Styles & Hardy
Not much to say here, except I loved it. They got about 15 minutes and Roode won the match as he should have. Of course there was interference in the finish, but this is TNA. That’s how they always book things. At least it added to the Hardy/Jarrett story, which has been built up well. The deal is that if Jarrett wins then Jeff leaves, but if Jeff wins he gets the next title shot. Obviously that means Roode will go over Styles in the 30 minute Ironman match while Hardy goes over Jarrett to set up the Roode/Hardy feud going into the new year that could lead to a title change.
Other thoughts:
– I don’t miss Hogan. At all.
– Chicks in bikinis. What a use of talent.
Random Clip of the Week
Since I’m on a bit of a Mick Foley kick lately, here’s my favorite promo of his. It’s from his ECW days. A true classic. It’s one of my favorite promos ever.
Those are the kind of promos that we need in wrestling more often. There just aren’t enough quality writers or performers as good as Mick Foley. That’s what makes him the legend he is. True passion, knowledge & talent go a long way.
Melo Out with Steve Melo
Ho Ho Ho! Merry Christmas! Wait, it’s not Christmas yet. Makes me wonder why WWE had a Christmas themed live edition of Smackdown this past Tuesday. Couldn’t they have waited until Christmas time actually was upon us to give us that utter garbage of an episode? I’m sorry if I am offending you but that was one of the worst episodes of Smackdown I have ever seen. I’m sure all the little kids who still believe in Santa Claus and go pee pee in their panamas every time Hornswoggle farts enjoyed it. Yes, I made a fart joke. If Cena can get away with poopy jokes than so can I dammit. I could sit here and nick pick the crap out of this episode, but that’s already been done by Christian Michael & his weekly Smacked Up column. The only good thing about this show was Daniel Bryan in the main event and Randy Orton enjoying a Christmas cookie during his street fight with Otunga. That and it would appear Hunico has a new theme song. I guess someone at WWE actually reads my shit? Awesome!
Speaking of theme songs changing, it would appear that WWE has been doing that a lot as of late with various superstars, in particular the ones they seem to be trying to build as future superstars. Just recently we have seen new music for Cody Rhodes, Daniel Bryan, Dolph Ziggler and now Hunico as I mentioned. My apologies if I missed anyone but those are the main ones that stand out off the top of my head. The thing with theme songs is that in order for them to be great, you need to apply the 3 second rule. For those of you that have never heard of this before, it’s a rule that applys to entrance themes. The audience should recognize exactly what the song is within the first three seconds. The best wrestling themes have are recognizable right when they begin playing. When you hear glass shatter, you know it’s Austin. When you hear a gong sound, you know it’s Undertaker. If girls start moaning in a sexual but pleasing manner then you know it’s HBK. I could go on of course but you get the general idea I’m sure. I preferred Ziggler’s previous theme because as soon as you heard “I am perfection” you knew who it was right away. His new theme? Not so much. Then again it is new so I’ll give it a chance along with the rest.
RAW was great. I have to mention Daniel Bryan again here. He did an excellent job cutting one of the better promos I have heard from him. It just goes to show that the guy truly does have talent in the ring and on the mic. A heel Bryan vs. a face CM Punk would be amazing. I’m sure it is going to happen one day.
Lastly, I made these this week & thought I would share it in case you missed it.
Until next week, sit back, relax and Melo Out…because that’s what wrestling is all about.
Steve “The Melo Man” Melo
Facebook: MeloOutTJR
Twitter: @MeloOutTJR
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That’s a wrap for this week. The Melo Man, myself and some friends are heading to meet Mick Foley tonight at a comedy show. Here’s an article I wrote about Mick back
Thanks for reading.
John Canton – [email protected]
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