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MCNEILL'S TAKE
McNEILL's "Who's Hot, Who's Not" for Week of 4/22: Regal, Clinton, McCain, Obama Apr 22, 2008 - 3:40:00 PM
Time for our weekly look at the yin and yang of the pro wrestling business as we bask in the YouTube memory of seeing the next leader of the free world cutting a wrestling promo during last night's "King of the Ring" tournament.
WHO'S HOT?
William Regal: Regal's character stacked the deck for himself and won the once-prestigious honor of WWE King of the Ring. That's not the honor it used to be, and Regal's three matches were far from spectacular. But if it leads to Regal's return as an active wrestler, it's wonderful news. It would be even better news if Jonathan Coachman returned to replace Regal as Raw's general manager.
The Undertaker: The Dead Man remains a consistent top force on WWE Smackdown, despite being almost overexposed lately on WWE's network television program. The absence of celebrities and retirement matches means that the Smackdown champ's match with Edge on Sunday won't be overshadowed the way his WrestleMania main event match was.
Jim Cornette: The storyline authority figure apologized in advance for the stupidity of last week's TNA Impact, then delivered a blistering reality-based promo on the women of the TNA locker room, who evidently feel entitled to decent treatment because they consistently score the highest television ratings on the program. It should be mandatory for TNA to have the Louisville Lip cut an angry promo every week on Spike TV.
Jimmy Jacobs: The Age of the Fall leader reportedly managed to steal the show Saturday night in Chicago Ridge without wrestling. Plus, the Emo Warrior managed to bust out a Moulin Rouge reference in the middle of a serious promo, which we like.
WHO'S NOT?
Mike Adamle: When mediocre sportscasters with little knowledge of this business meet live wrestling play-by-play, live wrestling play-by-play wins. Adamle and The Tazz tried, and maybe they tried too hard, but all last week's ECW television show did was raise Joey Styles' stature in professional wrestling. Jamaican me crazy, Mike!
Barack Obama, Hilary Clinton & John McCain: This week, it was lame wrestling-themed promos on Raw. Next week, maybe the three presidential candidates can share the backyard hot tub on "Big Brother." This narrowly edged out President Bush's guest shot on "Deal Or No Deal" as the Most Ridiculous Item Of The Night. Vince McMahon made sure to thank Clinton and Obama for their taped messages by doing the same parody match he had planned before the candidates agreed to appear. The good news for Republicans is that McCain's handlers at least know who Ric Flair is.
Glenn Gilbertti: Former WCW wrestler turned TNA agent Glenn "Disco Inferno" Gilbertti bashed Torch coverage of TNA Impact in his column on another website. Among the Gilbertti gems were:
- the notion that TNA shouldn't worry about getting fans to suspend their disbelief, because everyone knows that wrestling's fake.
- the Ric Flair retirement ceremony was "boring."
- the reason there are so many tag teams splitting up in TNA is because there's no "contraversy" when teams stay together.
Remember, kids, don't try this at home.
Ring of Honor: Bad news for Ring of Honor fans. Mark Briscoe needs surgery on his arm and will be out for months, causing the promotion to lose on of its top acts. The good news is, there's a big merchandise sale at the ROH website store!
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