goodhelmet Posted July 8, 2005 Report Share Posted July 8, 2005 WO News and Notes: I usually receive these on Friday but it didn?t drop until Wednesday, two days before I am supposed to get my next issue. So, I?ll try to post as much today since I?ll probably do another one of later on today. Judgment Day Star Ratings: Carlito v. Shelton Benjamin **1/2 Victoria v. Christy Hemme *1/2 Kane v. Edge **3/4 Shawn Michaels v. Kurt Angle ****1/2 John Cena v. Chris Jericho v. Christian ***3/4 HHH v. Batista (Hell in a Cell) ****1/2 Meltz analysis of the draft results: --- John Cena for Batista ? Meltz feels RAW gets the advantage here. He thinks that Batista?s successful run so far was a result of his interaction with Flair and HHH, not because people want to see Batista. He thinks HHH v. Cena will be a fresh program but that a Batista v. JBL program would be much better if JBL held the belt. Then again, he thinks Batista would lose any steam he has if he lost a match. --- Chris Benoit for Kurt Angle ? Not surprisingly, Meltz feels this is another advantage for RAW. He feels Angle is a star no matter where he is at on the card where Benoit is only a star when set with other stars. --- Carlito for Hassan ? Again, he feels Raw got the better end of the stick. He calls the Hassan and Daivari team a one-trick pony. --- Big Show for Christian- Meltz calls it a wash. He thinks Show has more chances of being in a top program on RAW than Christian has of being a top draw on SD! However, he says Christian in the mid-card would be better than Show being stuck in the midcard. --- RVD for Randy Orton ? As injured guys go, Meltz says that since Orton is being groomed for a top spot, this appears to benefit SD! ? except moving RVD to RAW kills almost any shot of doing a SD! vs. ECW feud (this issue was before the roster cuts). Random star ratings: Kurt Angle vs. Ric Flair (Raw) ***1/2 Kanemaru & Sugiura vs. KENTA & MArufuji (Noah 6/6/05) ****3/4 CM Punk vs. Austin Aries (ROH 6/18/05) ****1/2 Hall of Fame Notes: --- Meltz says he has received criticism that it is harder for stars of the 60s and 70s to make it in the Hall of Fame. He argues that half the inductees worked in those eras. He also said that in that time, there was more wrestling because of the territories. However, since wrestling grew exponentially in the 80s, a guy like Sting would be an automatic choice if he wrestled from 1959-1970 instead of from 1989-2000 and verbatim ?And he?s a guy that will never get in.? ---When people argue that the Hall of Fame should not be a quota system, he agrees but also states that it would be reasonable to think that the number of guys in the late 90s (when business was at its peak) would be higher than the number of inductees from AWA in the 1970s. ---He also argues that those early regions hardly ever carried more than 30 wrestlers at any given time where there are at least 125 workers in the WWF in 1999-2000. ---This was a response to a bio on Bill Miller that Steve Yohe wrote in argument for Miller?s induction in this week?s WO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted July 8, 2005 Report Share Posted July 8, 2005 Melz has a hard-on for "real" fighters, I'd be willing to bet thats why Kurt Angle got in, since he has the "real cred". He's almost as bad as Vince when it comes to wanting to be seen as someone legit rather than a rasslin' guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted July 8, 2005 Report Share Posted July 8, 2005 Judgment Day Star Ratings: Carlito v. Shelton Benjamin **1/2 Victoria v. Christy Hemme *1/2 Kane v. Edge **3/4 Shawn Michaels v. Kurt Angle ****1/2 John Cena v. Chris Jericho v. Christian ***3/4 HHH v. Batista (Hell in a Cell) ****1/2 Something tells me the last three matches are far higher than they should be, considering that Angle/Michaels is going to be an automatic ****1/2 before the bell even rings from many. I still need to see the show, but I'm skeptical. I'd be very surprised if HIAC is even a good match, considering the horrible match HHH and Batista had at Wrestlemania XXI. Jericho and Christian have worked three-ways with tons of guys and worked the same spots in tons of those matches. This probably isn't anything new. --- John Cena for Batista ? Meltz feels RAW gets the advantage here. He thinks that Batista?s successful run so far was a result of his interaction with Flair and HHH, not because people want to see Batista. He thinks HHH v. Cena will be a fresh program but that a Batista v. JBL program would be much better if JBL held the belt. Then again, he thinks Batista would lose any steam he has if he lost a match. I agree that RAW came out ahead here, although Batista will have more steam than Cena if Cena continues to work in #2 and #3 feuds on the flagship show while Batista has JBL to work with on top before going into a feud with a returning Brock Lesnar. They do have quite the heel machine lined up for Cena. My suggestion would be to keep the belt on him and not take it off, having him hold it for 1-year+. There's no reason to take the belt off of Cena, and he has TONS of challengers in Jericho, Angle, Edge, Michaels and HHH. --- Chris Benoit for Kurt Angle ? Not surprisingly, Meltz feels this is another advantage for RAW. He feels Angle is a star no matter where he is at on the card where Benoit is only a star when set with other stars. I don't know that that's true. Benoit gets the superstar reaction pretty consistently these days. Angle is washed up, and at best, he'll be competitive with Jericho and Edge for that #2 heel spot. Benoit could easily turn and be the top heel or he could be pushed into the top face position if Batista fizzled out without a problem. --- Carlito for Hassan ? Again, he feels Raw got the better end of the stick. He calls the Hassan and Daivari team a one-trick pony. That's one more trick than Carlito has been able to pull off thus far, actually. Admittedly though, he shows great promise on the mic and the jury is still very much out on him in the ring. I will say Benjamin had a better match with Hassan than he has with Carlito. I'm undecided - I think Hassan is on the verge of turning away viewers though. --- Big Show for Christian- Meltz calls it a wash. He thinks Show has more chances of being in a top program on RAW than Christian has of being a top draw on SD! However, he says Christian in the mid-card would be better than Show being stuck in the midcard. Christian will excel on Smackdown, and he's a fresher face on the top level than Big Show. It's still a wash though, because Show is the type that you can bury for months on end and push to the top at any time. I worry that all the good will and attitude Show had built up about working hard will not disappear now that he's in a more cutthroat locker room. --- RVD for Randy Orton ? As injured guys go, Meltz says that since Orton is being groomed for a top spot, this appears to benefit SD! ? except moving RVD to RAW kills almost any shot of doing a SD! vs. ECW feud (this issue was before the roster cuts). RVD, when Hogan goes away, can be the #2 face behind Cena. The problem comes when we see how much of a gap there is between the #1 face and #2 face. It's fine for RVD to be in Cena's shadow for now, but Rob still needs plenty of interaction with the big guns. That segment on RAW with Carlito beating him up just killed the idea of bringing him back as a top guy, which is what they should have done. Kurt Angle vs. Ric Flair (Raw) ***1/2 Match I enjoyed at times, but am afraid to watch again, just because it's hard to enjoy Flair taking bumps at 56 years old. --- Meltz says he has received criticism that it is harder for stars of the 60s and 70s to make it in the Hall of Fame. He argues that half the inductees worked in those eras. He also said that in that time, there was more wrestling because of the territories. However, since wrestling grew exponentially in the 80s, a guy like Sting would be an automatic choice if he wrestled from 1959-1970 instead of from 1989-2000 and verbatim ?And he?s a guy that will never get in.? I actually agree with this and think there are just way too many people all around in the HOF. ---When people argue that the Hall of Fame should not be a quota system, he agrees but also states that it would be reasonable to think that the number of guys in the late 90s (when business was at its peak) would be higher than the number of inductees from AWA in the 1970s. That *would* be reasonable, but Austin and Rock were the stars of the era, whereas past boom periods have had more top guys. Hogan, Savage and Piper are the only guys inducted in the HOF in 80s WWF, and Austin, Rock and Foley are already in. That peak also was sustained for a far longer period of time than the Attitude era was. ---He also argues that those early regions hardly ever carried more than 30 wrestlers at any given time where there are at least 125 workers in the WWF in 1999-2000. I don't see how this makes a difference. There are lots of factors here in how shows are promoted (one-match shows v top-to-bottom shows) that make a difference. I'd venture to say that even at the height of Austin and Rock, the WWF brand name was as big a draw as they were, if not more so. I don't think you could say that for any other company's boom periods at any time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted July 8, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2005 LOL, I'll pretend you said 18 --- As mentioned before, Rf is getting back into the wrestling scene. He is going to be combining ownership with Johnny Kashmere's Pro Wrestling Unplugged promotion. The first show under the ownership will be on 7/30 at the Animal House in Philly. --- Bad press got out just hours after this was announced, as Kashmere released a statement that the ownership is with RFVideo and not Feinstein himself. Kashmere said it would be Doug Gentry that would be representing RFVideo and Feinstein would have no front office involvement. --- Meltz feels that a war with ROH over talent will happen. Meltz reminds us that this is wrestling and since social morality isn't prevalent, few wrestlers will refuse to work with RF. The real problem will be outside the wrestling community and partnerships with people outside the company. More stuff: ---CM Punk put over Colt Cabana in FIP in a 50 minute farewell match. --- Matt Hardy debuts in ROH on 7/16 --- What wrestlers are charging on the indy circuit= Road Warrior Animal = $2500 King Kong Bundy = $750 Honky Tonk Man= $1000 Jimmy Snuka = $1000 Missing Link = $750 Lanny Poffo = $600 Tony Atlas = $500 Al Snow = $1250 Ricky Morton = $400 TNA: --- Sentiment in the locker room is Jeff Jarrett should have been suspended for refusing to work on the PPV since he wasn't going over. --- Right now, Jeff and Jerry Jarrett have no support in the company except for a couple of hand-picked friends such as Dutch Mantel and Jeremy Borash (who are on the booking committee). --- Jeff Jarrett's actions at the PPV made Panda realize he isn't a team player. His actions also showed that the Jarretts' only interest was to control a bleeding company and use it for Jeff to play Jerry Lawler. --- Matt Hardy has not committed to the company because people in WWE are telling him not to sign with TNA. However, Meltz feels if he goes back to WWE, he would be proven to just be a puppet for McMahon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sek69 Posted July 8, 2005 Report Share Posted July 8, 2005 Road Warrior Animal = $2500 Is it 1986 again and no one told me? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Dog Posted July 8, 2005 Report Share Posted July 8, 2005 Wow, the Missing Link is still wrestling. I saw good old Demolition Ax works for NWA: Ohio from time to time as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted July 8, 2005 Report Share Posted July 8, 2005 Ricky Morton should ask for more money. He has a better track record on the indies of drawing money than almost any of those guys. Then again, I think he's afraid to push things. "I couldn't get a job popping fucking popcorn in WCW." -- Morton, in his Highspots shoot interview Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted July 8, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2005 More WWE notes: --- There is interest in bringing in Balls MAhoney and Axl Rotten in as a tag team. They will be given tryouts starting on 7/11. The company is also interested in Danny Doring and Roadkill since Vince McMahon has been on Johnny Ace about the weakness of the tag division. --- Kid Kash has likely signed a develomental deal and will start working OVW. --- Sandman has been cmaiming that Tommy Dreamer told him he is in. However, Meltz said, besides the music issue, if he can't drink, smoke, use a cane and stay protected like in ECW, there is nothing there. --- Bonnie Hammer, current President of USA credits herself with the success of WWE ratings during the peak. --- The Backlash PPV Buyrate estimate was down to 280,000 as it was predicted as high as 295,000. --- He gives Eddy vs. Rey from the 6/23 SD! ****. --- Heenan Jokes: On marital issues between Flair and his wife Beth "He'd better watch it, because f they get divorced, she's going to wind up with full custody of Arn." "Do you know why Hogan and his wife never got divorced? Both were afraid they would wind up with custody of Beefcake". --- John Cena will do his first real concert on 7/26 in Cleveland --- Angle is really making a push to get the title on RAW. He says his neck is recovered and he can work a full time schedule. --- On the JBL Nazi walk in Germany: The use of Nazi symbolism of any kind is illegal in Germany with one exception: if there is a play or movie where the symbolism is essential to the story. Since the law went into effect, no wrestler has ever used a Nazi gimmick in Germany and it is doubtful JBL needed to do the goosestep to establish the match. JBL was told after the incident to never let it happen again however Ace, Malenko and JBL are not aware what a slap in the face to the live crowd that it was. The German press didn't pick up on the story for two wrestlers: First, even though the story is significant, wrestling isn't significant in Germany. Next, a WWE associate used a favor to keep the one reporter at the Munich show to not acknowledge the incident so it would not damage business. ---Shawn Michael's autobiography "Heartbreak and Triumph" is to be released in the UK on 11/7. No U.S. date was given. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Dog Posted July 8, 2005 Report Share Posted July 8, 2005 Yeah, he could easily ask more than what Lanny Poffo makes for a date. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted July 8, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2005 Wow, the Missing Link is still wrestling. I saw good old Demolition Ax works for NWA: Ohio from time to time as well. Bill Eadie (as Demolition AX or Masked Superstar ): $800 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted July 8, 2005 Report Share Posted July 8, 2005 I guess that means Shawn will be a babyface again by fall so he can promote his book. That's also not the first time I've heard Bonnie Hammer's name. IIRC, she was the USA exec that demanded answers when Nitro started spanking RAW and began leading focus groups trying to figure out what needed to be changed on RAW and making major suggestions, most of which were taken. She also helped implement the RAW Is War/The War Zone format, which allowed WWE to sell ad times for two different shows as opposed to one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted July 8, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2005 In the article, Meltz calls her the new Vince Russo. She claims that when Rod Perth put her in charge of RAW, the show did a 2.6 and it went from 2s and 3s to more than 8.0 average... when in actuality the show hit 8 only once (?) and the show never averaged more than a 6.6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Dog Posted July 8, 2005 Report Share Posted July 8, 2005 It makes me really happy to know that she'll be sticking her nose in everything and constantly interfering with the WWF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Sass Posted July 8, 2005 Report Share Posted July 8, 2005 How would that be a bad thing? She actually asked the *fans* what they wanted. Vince hasn't been booking for them since Stephanie botched the love triangle between HHH, Angle and herself. The jury is still out on Hammer but she's already done more to gauge the fans' interest than Vince or the WWE has done since booking Austin as the ace of the company in '98. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodhelmet Posted July 8, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2005 We can only pray someone fucks with this company. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Dog Posted July 8, 2005 Report Share Posted July 8, 2005 Because you can't pay for entertainment like this. This is going to turn into a huge battle as the WWF doesn't want to hear anything other than their vision. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Sass Posted July 8, 2005 Report Share Posted July 8, 2005 Then the WWE is in the wrong. Hell, they've been in the wrong for years when it comes to butting heads with their staff over creative issues. So sad, too bad, Vince's dad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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