CALDWELL'S TAKE CORNER CUBE FRIDAY: Smackdown and PWG previews, Feud of the Year, Impact thoughts Jan 4, 2008 - 6:55:13 PM

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By James Caldwell, Torch columnist

Updated throughout the day from the corner cubicle, Torch columnist James Caldwell's weekday blog focuses on hot topic current events and other items of interest from around wrestling.

Updated Friday, January 4

6:55 p.m. On the television tonight, Smackdown revolves around the Beat the Clock challenge to determine the #1 contender to Edge's World Hvt. Title for a match at the Royal Rumble. GM Vickie Guerrero will also reveal the new color commentator to replace...yawn...sorry, to replace JBL.

BTC match-ups tonight include Finlay vs. MVP, Chavo Guerrero vs. Funaki, Batista vs. a stacked deck, The Undertaker vs. Mark Henry, and Rey Mysterio vs. Edge. A good line-up tonight, although the matches will be abbreviated per the stipulation.

Caldwell's bi-yearly PWG road trip commences Saturday morning for PWG's All-Star Weekend VI shows on Saturday and Sunday. Barring California freezing out and airports shutting down for the weekend, I'll have live reports from the shows, which will feature a nice line-up of local and global stars.

Plus, the first-ever C&R Summit between myself and Mike Roe is going down this weekend. Barring technological mishaps (which is always a very real possibility when I'm involved), we'll talk TNA, Smackdown, and PWG this weekend in the VIP audio section.

As for the PWG line-ups this weekend, Saturday night features a main event of PWG champion Bryan Danielson vs. Battle of L.A. tournament winner CIMA. Dragon Gate will also be represented by Naruki Doi, Masato Yoshino, and Susumu Yokosuka. Also signed are Tyler Black & Jimmy Jacobs, Joey Ryan, Alex Koslov, El Generico, Super Dragon, Karl Anderson, Claudio Castagnoli, Chris Hero & Necro Butcher.

Sunday night has a main event of Bryan Danielson vs. Roderick Strong, plus Jack Evans vs. CIMA, El Generico vs. Susumu Yokosuka, and the above list of wrestlers in action. If you're not frozen solid and plan on attending the shows, stop by and say hi to myself and/or Mike Roe.

***

3:45 p.m. Check out all the year-end awards polls currently on the main listing. I'll get to the Career Tailspin category in a few days, but I'll comment on Samoa Joe currently tied for the top spot in the Torch poll.

Although Samoa Joe is still highlighted as a main event wrestler on Impact, I think our online voters are looking at how much potential there is for Joe in TNA. At the beginning of the year, he was in the dream series with Kurt Angle. Now, he's bickering with Jim Cornette and Kevin Nash. In between, it just doesn't seem like he did much in 2007. Long-time fans of Joe know how much more he's capable of. TNA not capitalizing on what Joe brings to the table has left many fans disappointed and frustrated with Joe's prospects going forward.

OK, as for today's award: best feud of the year. WWE offered The Undertaker vs. Batista and Shawn Michaels vs. John Cena. TNA offered Samoa Joe vs. Kurt Angle, mainly because that feud lingered around for months following their best-of-three series from December '06 to February '07. It's a great feud, but the writers just couldn't get that feud out of their system to move on. Meanwhile, ROH offers my pick for the top feud of the year in 2007.

(7) Best Feud - Briscoes vs. Kevin Steen & El Generico. Steen & Generico never could grab the belts from The Briscoes, who finally had that elusive successful year. But, the matches along the way were classic bouts. The teams main evented several shows against each other, including ROH's third PPV. The matches were so brutal, though, which made me hesitate for a second to give this feud top honors based on what I wrote yesterday.

Placing that aside for just a second, there wasn't a more passionate display of pro wrestling competition over the course of their feud this year. Steen & Generico went from opening-card acts in ROH to the main eventers I knew they were capable of becoming based on the great wrestling I saw from them in PWG three years ago. The Briscoes, meanwhile, became the measuring stick for other tag teams in wrestling. Both teams were elevated. Both teams delivered in big-match situations. And both teams deserve that recognition.

***

10:50 a.m. Ah, Impact. With a PPV in three days, they book a swerve finish in the main event after three other silly gauntlet matches, focus on the challenger to the World Hvt. Title cowering ringside to avoid Samoa Joe, reveal that the champion, Kurt Angle, doesn't have any brains, and string along another week of A.J. Styles's indecision for another non-finish.

But, none of that bothered me. It's simply part of the TNA formula for hyping PPVs. Main eventers look weak. A storyline centered on indecision is strung out until the PPV. The multiple-persons main event match on the show before the PPV ends with a convoluted finish. That's the formula. It doesn't work, but it's the formula. So, it doesn't bother me.

But, for the first time I can remember watching Impact, I was bothered by the crude factor on the show. And there wasn't even a rope-burn entrance from Velvet and Angelina.

Words like skank, ho, etc. have become customary in our culture to describe women, unfortunately, and TNA features a wide variety of synonymous to get the point across on a weekly basis. For whatever reason, last night was too much. I was surprised that I was bothered by it, since I usually just let it roll right over, considering how many times I hear it on TV, in music, and in everyday life.

I'm just tired of the weekly run-down of Sharmell, and the scripting of Robert Roode's promo on Ms. Brooks was way over the top. At a time when WWE has toned down the crude factor (mainly because they want to avoid watchdog eyes when they are marketing to kids so heavily), TNA continues to push the envelope. While I think about it, there was also plenty of cursing last night that was bleeped out.

For a company that prides itself on being a "family business," which I saw firsthand in St. Louis in 2007, it surprises me how much crudeness gets on the air when the shows are taped well in advance of airing. Sure, it's an attempt to appeal to the young male demographic they're looking for, but I look at it as pandering to the audience by thinking the demo wants crudeness with their wrestling. I'm sure the same audience would stick around if the crude factor was turned down, and the level of action in the ring was turned up.

To be fair, TNA has taken the women's division and developed it into their best, most consistent division. Gail Kim vs. Amazing Kong is the best feud they have. But, for every step forward with the women's division, it's one step back when TNA continues to turn up the dial on crudeness. It doesn't have to be that way.

Updated Thursday, January 3

6:15 p.m. Three days before the Final Resolution PPV to kick off the 2008 PPV season, TNA will run four gauntlet matches on Impact tonight. The matches will presumably shake out the rankings in the World Hvt. division, X Division, Tag division, and Women's division. So, if you're a fan of a bunch of people in the ring all-night-long to water down the competition's Royal Rumble PPV, tonight is your night.

TNAWrestling.com has the list of wrestlers scheduled for the matches. The Heavyweight division gauntlet will feature 14 wrestlers. No word on how Black Reign is depositing his paycheck if Dustin Rhodes doesn't know he exists. Actually, that would make a heck of a TV segment with Rellik peering over Dustin's shoulder as he verifies his account balance to find deposited checks signed "BR" with a tiny paw print from the Arctic Fox.

I digress. Meanwhile, the X Division gauntlet only has six wrestlers booked, including Petey Williams, who has a TNA Hvt. Title shot in his back pocket. Moving along, the Knockouts gauntlet is scheduled for seven participants. The tag gauntlet has five teams of ten wrestlers, including the team that doesn't get along, VKM.

Also scheduled is a follow-up with A.J. Styles as he tries to make a decision on whether he's on Angle or Christian's side. Oh, and there's a TNA Title match at the PPV between Angle and Christian that should get some pub.

***

1:45 p.m. Breaking down the match of the year candidates is an apples vs. oranges comparison. How does a WWE main event-style match compare to a state-of-the-art Ring of Honor contest? Plus, having just written a column for this week's Newsletter on whether we learned anything from the long-term effect of injuries and concussions in 2007, it's difficult to glorify three of ROH's contenders.

The B.J. Whitmer vs. Jimmy Jacobs cage match at ROH's second WrestleMania weekend show, the ladder war on ROH's third PPV between the Briscoes and Steen & Generico (which ROH has since banned), and Bryan Danielson vs. Morishima from Manhattan Mayhem II all deserve consideration. However, in all three matches, the competitors took unprecedented risk by placing their bodies on the line. Jimmy suffered a serious leg injury in the cage match. Danielson's eye was severely injured in the match against Morishima, putting him on the shelf for several weeks. Who knows what the long-term ramifications will be from the matches between the Briscoes and Steen & Generico.

Out of the three contenders from ROH, Whitmer vs. Jacobs was the most amazing live match I've ever seen. The passion from both men in the ring and the passion in the crowd was unlike anything I had ever experienced. But, after the bell sounded to end the match, I paused and asked myself what my cheers were encouraging. More blood? More violence? More potential for injury? I had a mix of joy after watching a great wresting match and guilt over encouraging more bodily harm to the wrestlers in the ring. These are questions we all have to ask ourselves when the risk factor continues to increase, while more information is out there about the potential for long-term damage.

Heavy stuff to think about! On the WWE front, three contenders come to mind. Batista vs. Undertaker at WrestleMania benefited from its place on the card, but the story was the show-stealing action that had the crowd on its feet. It was WWE main event-style done right. Another contender is the four-way WWE Title match at Backlash between champion John Cena, Shawn Michaels, Randy Orton, and Edge. The finishing sequence of that match was put together beautifully to cap off a great main event. But, my match of the year was from six days before that Backlash PPV.

(6) Match of the Year - John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels goes 57 minutes on April 24. From a business perspective, the Cena vs. Michaels classic didn't sell the Backlash PPV as well as WWE would have liked, but the match will stand the test of time as one of top TV matches this decade. It's easy to say Shawn Michaels carried the match, but that wouldn't be accurate. Cena also rose to the occasion and proved to be in tremendous shape to keep pace with Michaels.

The match probably wouldn't have played well in front of the majority of American audiences with short attention spans, but in front of wrestling-hungry fans in the U.K., the energy never subsided from bell-to-bell. The only drawback is, of course, commercials, but the commercials may have helped by providing a breather for viewers at home (instead of watching a three-minute rest hold if this were on PPV) and to build anticipation for each segment of the match.

Tomorrow: Best feud.

Updated Wednesday, January 2

6:55 p.m. In 2006, the best TV show pick was tough because Raw, Smackdown, ECW, and Impact were very consistent. 2007 featured more inconsistency, but Smackdown at least stuck to a basic formula of solid wrestling, some angles, and a strong push for the main event feuds.

Raw was up and down for some months, great for other months, and terrible other months. ECW was fundamentally basic, sometimes drab, and featured a lameduck champion with either Morrison or Punk for most of the year. Impact was, well, it was a show. I'll quickly slide past that. Thus, my top pick for TV show of the year is Smackdown.

(5) Best TV show - Smackdown. There were some moments when Raw was really, really on its game, but the show slipped into the McMahon family therapy hour too often, which took away from the brand's potential throughout the year. Smackdown drifted away from the formula of great matches and angles at the end of the summer and beginning of the fall, but the Hardy vs. MVP feud created at least 20 minutes of must-see TV on Friday nights that kept the show adrift during those stormy months.

Otherwise, the quality of wrestling at the beginning of the year and during the last two months of 2007 made the show stand out above the rest. MVP became a break-out star. Batista vs. Undertaker delivered great main event angles. JBL's color commentary, which will be sorely missed, at least made Smackdown seem like a big deal, and not a "B" show. It was a good year for Smackdown.

Tomorrow: Match of the Year.

***

12:10 p.m. TNA Impact drew a very strong audience for last Thursday's show. That's not an indication that the product is getting any better, because it's not. The audience is just steadfastly loyal to the show, and new or returning viewers are sampling the product.

Some credit has to be given to the exposure from the new TNA video game, which is set for release in a few months. There's assuredly a significant portion of casual wrestling fans who have never heard of TNA, or have only heard a few things about the promotion, but haven't found the weekly TV show.

Fans in the younger male demographic play video games, though. They check out video game websites, where there are sharp trailers for the video game. At the very least, it's enough to create awareness that there is another wrestling promotion besides WWE on TV. It helps that TNA's product caters to that audience with a fast-paced style of action that is different than WWE's more methodical and deliberate offering.

The issue is that people aren't buying the PPVs. In a good month, five percent of the TV audience is ordering a PPV. On the average month, it's about two percent. That doesn't seem to bother anyone in TNA, as they continue to book TV exactly the same - more focus on TV storylines than selling PPV matches. The video game will be a welcome boost to TNA's bottom line, but PPV business is going to stay the same barring drastic changes to the TV product.

***

10:55 a.m. Happy New Year! If you're like me, you're still recovering from great college football to start the day, blow-outs to end the day proving the BCS matchmakers are idiots, and a whole lot of junk food throughout the day.

Going back to Monday night, I thought Raw was a good show to close 2007. Hardy vs. Orton was good. JBL vs. Jericho was good, although the fireworks were a bit much. Flair vs. Hunter has been done so many times before in WWE, but this match-up was unique and simply great. The convergence of Flair's career against Hunter's Rumble spot and his streak of bad luck in big matches made for a fascinating match. That's what pro wrestling is about. It's about big stars in big match-ups with a conflict and something tangible on the line.

With the show already taped, I thought the emotion of the match wouldn't be quite the same as if it were live. In fact, it was the opposite, as the story of the match was so great, even after reading the spoilers beforehand. It helped that the audience was red-hot throughout, the announcers talked up the match like Hall of Famers, and the figure four spot was a memorable scene.

I can probably count on my hand the number of times I haven't been bothered by a non-finish, but the match was too great for a run-in to spoil the match. What made it excusable was that it sets up a myriad of storyline options going forward. What does Hunter do about Regal's interference? Vince McMahon seemingly wanted Flair's career to end, or did he? What is his reaction to Regal choosing to end Hunter's Rumble bid instead of Flair's career?

ECW TV from last night was also a good show. It's a very simple, yet effective show. For the first time in months, C.M. Punk wasn't presented like the lucky guy who just so happened to be holding the ECW Title. At times, it seemed like the longest transitional champion reign in wrestling history.

Last night, they restored an edge to Punk that was missing at the end of 2007. During the opening promo exchange with Chavo, Punk looked more serious and in control of the situation. He wrestled a good match against Chavo in the main event. And, he didn't end up flat on his back with another post-match beating. It's as if a giant weight was removed from his shoulders when his night wouldn't consist of slugging around the ring with the likes of Big Daddy V or Mark Henry.

The tag title situation between Miz & Morrison and Moore & Yang gives ECW a feud unique to the show that viewers can look forward to each week. The 15-minute iron man match next week should be good, considering there will be a sense of urgency throughout the contest and they've had two good tag matches recently.

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