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Updated daily 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 Wednesday, July 9, 2008

ECW last night was quite the rough episode of TV. Just like John Cena's character regressing on Monday night, the overall presentation of the ECW brand simply fell off the table.

One of the central problems is with the "new wrestler initiative" that has delivered the likes of "Ricky" Atlas DaBone and Chris Harris with an unmemorable ring name and look. The announcers (actually, just Tazz) are attempting to establish personalities for these individuals, but to the live audience, there's nothing to be excited for.

The issue is a lack of background before putting newer wrestlers on TV. There are no introductory vignettes or video packages promising a fresh debut in three weeks, then two weeks, then next week. WWE isn't willing to make the pre-introductory investment in the new talent for the ECW brand, which means the live and TV audience has no reason to invest in the characters.

There was a time when Colin Delaney was one of the featured acts on ECW TV after WWE took its time introducing Colin with the squash-a-wrestler program. WWE allowed Colin to show personality before tossing him into the fire wrestling regular matches.

Granted, Colin has become a tackling dummy hanging around the likes of Tommy Dreamer, but his longevity is the product of WWE taking its time introducing Colin to the audience. The longevity of "Ricky" and Harris remains to be seen after underwhelming WWE in-ring debuts.

If ECW is going to be the national TV version of WWE's developmental program, the audience needs a reason to invest in unknown characters. Evan Bourne has delivered plenty of sizzle to keep viewers interested in his three-minute matches, but Ricky and Harris weren't able to connect with the audience in their respective WWE debuts the last two weeks.

Right now, Mark Henry has all the opportunity in the world to carry the ECW brand. Hopefully Tony Atlas will become a regularly featured character on the show beyond the one week cameo. Last night, he brought poise and charisma that the show desperately needs. Meanwhile, Matt Hardy is still spending more time on Smackdown than ECW, rendering the June 23 Draft a complete plundering of the ECW brand.

If ECW Developmental is going to supplement the top two or three stars on the show, WWE needs to invest more time and energy into introducing these characters. Otherwise, we're in for more dead air on the broadcast where the only way to get through the show is the Mike Adamle drinking game. That's one shot for every goof, like calling Nunzio a former ECW champion.

***

Updated Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Was this the same group of people writing last night's Raw that wrote last week's stellar show? It's not possible. Sure, Cena has a bathroom joke or two every week, but it's never been this bad. Honestly, there has to be concern for the people writing his material.

How else do you explain a show where the main protagonist makes jokes about making a trip to the restroom earlier in the day, then turns around and spraypaints "poopy" on the hood of a limousine? Unfathomable.

The same people who paid attention to detail, focused on the youth movement, and wrote compelling TV last week couldn't have possibly turned around and decided on Punk vs. Snitsky, Kofi in a throwaway match, Kane with voices in his head, and left the tag champs off the show.

It has to be the curse of Stephanie McMahon. Yeah, that's it. There's no way a show could turn upside down in just one week. There's no way Michael Cole could sound halfway decent one week, then put his name in the conversation with Mike Adamle for worst announcer of the year.

Maybe it was the overseas trip. Maybe the writers somehow found themselves on the trip and ate something they shouldn't have. Yeah, that it's. Maybe Triple H was so upset about having to join the Raw tour that he decided to sabotage Raw. Ya know, convince some writers to make Cena look like a complete idiot.

OK, enough with that. The theories will abound as to what happened on this week's show. Some people will vow to never watch Raw ever again. Ever. And I mean it this time! Others will simply vote by tuning out and catching the show next time a friend sends a text that something important actually happened.

The takeaway is that WWE has two paths going forward with Raw. They can re-focus on the youth movement featuring Punk, Kofi, and Cody & Ted. Or, they can continue down this slippery path of poopy jokes, blonde bimbos, short and ineffective TV matches, and appealing to the lowest of the lowest common denominators.

WWE tried to take a shortcut last night and the show stunk as a result. Michaels vs. Jericho was the saving grace, but it was too late after one too many Cena appearances appealing to whatever demo enjoys a good ole fashioned tale about human excrement.

***

Updated Monday, July 7, 2008

Reflecting on the weekend, I took in several different aspects of pro wrestling content ranging from Smackdown to Ted DiBiase's book to ROH's 6th Anniversary show DVD. All were quite enjoyable with some stand-out performances worth noting.

Smackdown - July 4. The stand-out performance of the show (and possibly the year) goes to Edge, who has simply mastered his character's insecurities, outbursts, facial expressions, mannerisms, and even the placement of his hair. He was the reason to watch Smackdown earlier this year when the show was simply floating in the water not really trying to do much.

Now with Smackdown adding the likes of Triple H, Jeff Hardy, and Jim Ross, everyone is raising his or her game with the show taking on a much more important role in the company. Edge surpassed everyone on this week's Smackdown, though. Whereas Triple H is starting off his Smackdown run by living off reputation and insider jokes, Edge is making a case for himself as the top performer in the company, right up there with Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho.

Hunter, Hardy, and Ross are bringing new eyeballs to Smackdown, but Edge is the measuring stick. It will be interesting to see how the storyline plays out going forward with Edge and Vickie now warring against each other as the top two heels on Smackdown. Good television in the making here.

Ted DiBiase's book. I'll have a full review of DiBiase's book in this week's Torch Newsletter, but I'll drop some thoughts here. The book isn't so much a newsworthy story, but an honest and smart look at the wrestling business. Despite his concerns about the nature of wrestling these days, DiBiase doesn't condemn wrestling. He has his misgivings about his sons entering the business, but DiBiase's account focuses more on the positives from his experiences from the territory era to just a few years ago as a WWE producer and consultant.

The book is refreshing and doesn't try to be more than a simple story about one of the top performers and most-recognizable characters in wrestling. I read the book in two sittings on the beach this weekend, as the story flies by and is easy to relate to without taking a too-serious look at the wrestling business.

The best portion of the book comes at the end with DiBiase's scary-yet-hilarious stories about Vince McMahon's volatile attitude and behavior backstage a few years ago, followed by DiBiase's testimony on becoming a Christian. DiBiase skims the details of his career, but his honest and simple approach to his time in the wrestling business - and then finding the elusive redemption that saved his life - is well worth reading.

ROH 6th Anniversary show. Later this week, we'll have audio analysis of ROH's 6th Anniversary show for VIP members, but it's worth noting a stand-out performance by Nigel McGuinness on this DVD. Whereas Edge plays the perfect heel for WWE's audience with broad strokes that a worldwide audience can relate to, Nigel plays a more psychological heel with his actions and words aimed at a smarter, more specific audience. Edge and Nigel are equally proficient relating the character to the intended audience in and out of the ring.

On the DVD, Nigel vs. Bryan Danielson for the ROH Title is a very good main event. They laid out an intelligent story early in the show, then let it play out during the match with Danielson conflicted on whether to keep his word about not striking Nigel in the head. Very smart match with state-of-the-art competition in the ring.

The other stand-out match was clearly Austin Aries vs. Go Shiozaki. This was a stiff, competitive match that was in the four-and-a-half star range. At exactly 20 minutes, there wasn't a dull moment in the match. It's well worth your time watching the main event and this match.

As for the ROH "rape angle" on the DVD, I suppose timing is everything. On Thursday night, TNA delivered a trashy episode of Impact that featured more offensive angles than the one segment involving Larry Sweeney. ROH's angle certainly was a poor judgment call and not one of ROH's finer moments, but compared to what TNA put on TV this week, it was rather tame.

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