Falls Count Anywhere

06-21-07

Westercon, HO!

RAW thoughts
I’m annoyed. You see, they gave Sensational Sherri a graphic and a note, but they still carried on with the Vince angle. They also so overwhelmed everything else that it was just pointless. They know they need to get ratings higher, and I don’t see this path working, but they have taken the focus off of the people that most need a TV push.

They did do some good, like programming Regal with Santino Morella and the Ladies' stuff, but mostly it was awful. A good indicator is that they did an in-ring promo that just served this mystery instead of actually having a match headline. True, it was the return of Stephanie McMahon to TV, but it wasn’t what they should be doing.

They had London and Kendrick wrestle Benjamin and Haas. This was obviously a throw-away match just to intro London and Kendrick, but they got a good ovation when they came out. The match with Haas and Benjamin was quite short, too. They are really blowing it with The World’s Greatest Tag Team. They had Kendrick do the land on his feet thing out of a Benjamin Suplex and then hit Sliced Bread #2 for the pin. A feud between these two would be a really good idea.

There was a lot of McMahon-type stuff that just felt terrible. There was a Daivari vs. Jeff Hardy match followed by a promo from Cade and Murdoch that was OK. The overall problem was McMahon overshadowing everything.

William Regal managed to slightly step out of the shadows and get some good attention. He’s always good in the backstage angles, even if folks don’t think he’s a great promo. He introduced himself to Maria and Santino came out and they exchanged glances. It was a good way to get these two together and I’m betting Regal will help him improve. Each brand needs a Finlay, and it looks like Benoit is doing it for ECW and Regal for RAW.

Mick Foley jumped Umaga, but he came back and destroyed Foley with the butt attack. It was a good way to get Foley out of the Main Event on Sunday, if they’re going that way, but it’s also a way to add heat, if they need to. They’re worried about ratings and buyrates like the last few have had have not been good.

Mr. Kennedy is a star. He got a good reaction, even when he said he was dedicating his career to Mr. McMahon. He’s got a lot of swagger, and let’s hope the see-saw booking doesn’t hurt him.

Because we owed you...

In a match that I rather liked, Jillian Hall and Melina beat Micky and Candice. The girls worked hard and while they weren’t fluid, they looked good as well as sexy. Melina’s really improved. The finish was Melina using a Splits-Legdrop Neckbreaker, which was very cool. That’s something that most women wrestlers don’t get: cool finishers. You had Trish with Stratusfaction, Lita’s Moonsault, Victoria’s Widows Peak, but the Melina thing is awesome. I want them to call it the Hollywood Bomb. Jillian was much better than usual, as was Candice. I see good things, and it’s a shame they did a really big build up to Mr. McMahon’s supposed death here.

Randy Orton and King Booker beat John Cena and Bobby Lashley. This wasn’t a bad match at all, but it didn’t feel like a high quality main event. Booker’s still a little rusty, and Lashley was good here, especially since he was working with Booker, who he has already had a long feud with. Cena was Cena and the response was what you’d expect. Orton hit the RKO kinda out of nowhere to pin Lashley. That’s a weird finish as you’d think they’d be priming Lashley for a feud with Cena that might actually make a little money.

Too much McMahon in life leads to way too much McMahon in ‘death’. Stephanie came out and said they were doing a three hour tribute to Vince next week. Great, just great. They’ve totally overdone it already and they’re giving us another three hours of it. Wonderful.

The show did a 4.1, which is good, up about a full point over last week. That may mean there’s a lot more of this that we’re going to be getting. Then again, they were hoping for sustained ratings of 4.0 for this angle, so a starting point of 4.1 isn’t a great sign.

News
Konan and "The Truth" Ron Killings both quit TNA before the tapings this week. They’re going to AAA where they’re going to be main eventing the next big Triplemania show. AAA is good stuff, especially since you’ve got Sean Waltman working there and he looks awesome working with a lot of guys who aren’t on his level.

No word on the cause of death for Sensational Sherri. It might be another month before toxicology comes back.

Say it ain't so, Joe...

There’s word that Samoa Joe is very unhappy with the position he’s been put in. It’s no secret he was told that he’d be given the World Title more than a year ago, but they’ve kept putting it off and he’s kept losing steam. The sad thing is he can’t even go to the WWE because they’ll force him into their style, won’t let him be the bad ass that he was. WWE’s version of Samoa Joe is Umaga. Look at the difference in character and style, but the WWE would see them both as the same thing. I expect Joe will sign with Japan on a more permanent basis.

Royce Gracie tested positive for steroids before his match with Sakuraba. It was a shocker, that’s for sure. He’s being fined and suspended, so I wouldn’t expect a match out of him for at least a year.

Brock is still listening to offers. There’s talk of Strike Force bringing him in to face one of those folks. I doubt they can offer him the money that he’d want. There is giant money in Brock vs. Angle no matter where it’s done and in Bob Sapp vs. Brock in Japan. I’d expect we’ll hear about his next match right around the time his plane needs to be refueled.

This coming Friday is Strike Forces Judgment Day in San Jose. The main event is Frank Shamrock vs. Phil Boroni. I’m picking Shamrock if it goes the distance. Boroni’s only chance is to KO Frank early and I just don’t see it happening.

That’s all for this week. More on Monday!

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Chris Garcia