Linda McMahon as said that "it's an option" that she'll run for Connecticut's other seat in 2012. She's not doing anything WWE-related as of now, and it doesn't look like she will any time soon.
Two more surprises on the roster for WWE All-Stars. The Ultimate Warrior, who was thoroughly berated on a DVD by WWE (but has a special licensing deal with THQ), and TNA's Hulk Hogan! It's possible that Hogan had a deal with them before he signed with TNA last year, though. Maybe THQ has some kind of independent control from WWE in who gets on the roster.
Taz opened his dojo/"finishing school" today to help groom trained wrestlers to "be noticed" by WWE and TNA. I'm very interested to see who comes out of this school to be signed by the major companies. Former WWE Creative member and current ROH producer Dave Lagana puts over Taz and his school here.
Much more news and opinion after the bump!
Ric Flair can't legally appear as a TNA action figure due to a contract he signed with Mattel during his WWE run. Once those rights expire, you can bet that TNA will have a Nature Boy figure.
Yet more news on TNA's Impact tapings. The show in Fayetteville will absolutely NOT be live. And the reason that they canceled the Orlando tapings was that they'd be taping shows that took place after Victory Road at that point, before that PPV took place.
Sarita has signed a new deal with TNA. The time range is not known. Her bullying gimmick isn't good, but she's not a bad worker. I'd keep her around.
Former WCW wrestler Lenny Lane has a pretty interesting interview here. I can't comment on his WCW gimmicks because I never watched WCW (I started watching WWF in '98 and at that time one company was enough for me), but if you're familiar with them he says that they were similar to some later WWE gimmicks.
He then talks about how his segments did better than Hogan's in the ratings, so they put them on in the same quarter-hour to make it look like Hogan was a bigger draw than he actually was. This goes along with the stories where people were told not to have good matches right before Hogan so his would look better. Suffice it to say that there was resentment towards Hogan in those days. Lane also talks about his brief run in the chaos of (NWA-)TNA's early years. This would be another story I've heard of a wrestler getting over well but not sticking around because he might have outshined Jeff Jarrett. Crazy days for sure.
All that news and we're just now at questions? Wow. Let's get right to it then. Yes, only Kane and Undertaker can do piledrivers in WWE. It makes the moves seem more important when only those guys do them or similar moves.
Someone points out that the last 3 Rumble winners have lost at WrestleMania. It's got to be coincidence. They go with who they see as the best choice to win or retain at Mania. I don't think it's an attempt to pull one over on long-time fans. Buck Woodward says that they should drop the stipulation that the winner gets a title match at Mania, which is the whole point of the match. That's a great idea. Then the main event title match shouldn't be for the title, and Undertaker's match shouldn't count towards his streak. It has literally never occurred to me as an idea to drop that stipulation because it's such a well-established and successful way to build to the Mania match.
Yes, it means that there are some people who are obviously not going to win the Rumble, but that doesn't mean there still aren't multiple good choices to win the match, and it means more to outlast 29 (or 39) other guys even if those people aren't title contenders. And some of the eliminations are upsets and so on. Part of the draw of the match is how many people are there and all the chaos of that many people in one match. That's like saying they should eliminate squash matched because the other person's obviously going to lose. It's a good way to show dominance by someone without having a top draw lose.
Someone asks if we'll see Cena vs. Orton at WrestleMania. That's a tricky one for WWE. Obviously it's been done a lot before. Hmm, I don't really want to see Cena vs. Miz (because I think Cena'd have to go over there). Tell you what, here's what I'd think of booking: Triple H vs. Sheamus, Wade Barrett vs. The Undertaker, The Miz vs. Chris Jericho (if he's available), Edge vs. Alberto Del Rio, Kofi Kingston vs. Kane, Big Show vs. Dolph Ziggler, John Cena vs. Jack Swagger, Jerry Lawler and R-Truth vs. Alex Riley and Michael Cole, Natalya vs. Beth Phoenix and C.M. Punk vs. Randy Orton. It's not perfect, but I didn't want to spend TOO much time on this.
In a related question, someone asks why WWE feels that big names sell WrestleMania as opposed to solid wrestling. Probably because the evidence supports it. Although having stellar matches is also something they go for. Having both is fantastic, but they make more money off of big names than 5 star matches. Most successful wrestling companies do. This isn't to say that they should just go with a bunch of talentless hacks with name value. I mean it in a way like "wrestlers they've built up". Daniel Bryan vs. Tyson Kidd would be a very good match, but I don't think your average WWE fan would be too excited over two guys who are mostly in brief midcard matches facing off.
Kevin Nash is negotiating a return to TNA. Apparently the two sides have talked about it off and on since his last deal expired. I don't see much left that he brings to the table other than name value (and possibly merch sales and the like). The days of Kevin Nash the wrestler need to be over I think.
Jeff Hardy's criminal case has received yet another continuance today. I'm sure you're all as shocked as I am. Both sides are currently negotiating a potential deal. Hardy's able to stay with TNA for the time being. No details are available on this proposed deal yet, and there's no word on a new court date. I'm about ready for this to be decided one way or another...
Update: The next court date is February 16, so they're apparently somewhat close to an agreement.
WWE is obviously expecting big things from Mason Ryan, as he's signed to a 5-year deal dating back to last summer. I haven't seen him wrestle yet. It'll be tough to live up to the hype right off the bat, so maybe people won't be TOO harsh on him. Ahh, who am I kidding? They're probably bashing him already.
Chris Jericho also has an insightful interview up online with Pro Wrestling Illustrated. He says that he never intended to stay after his 3-year deal was up. He's moved on for now, stating that he doesn't plan on returning to WWE any time soon. Then again, didn't he say that before his 3-year comeback? He says that his leaving means that WWE is forced to make changes and use new guys. That's how the business works. He says that WWE won't be in a lurch for long.
He talks about how the days of having a lot of experience around the world before going to WWE are gone. He has a very good analogy about sports teams and older guys. Sometimes a talent can be around or over 40 and be on top of their game, and there are some guys who peak before 30. You never really know. This is important to remember. I talk about younger stars and older stars a lot, and it isn't just a case of age. It's a case of fresh vs. stale and how much they still have left in the tank.
He also mentions that someone shouldn't be on top of the card just because of name value from the '90s, and how you can't just use the same people in the same way over and over. How I wish he was booking TNA. He says that he'll only wrestle for WWE from know on, which he decided upon when he first started there.
He then talks about his successful transition from the Y2J character to his heel turn, showing how different he was as a heel. Too often characters are too similar as faces and heels. Some of the best character turns to me (other than Jericho) were when Triple H turned to the Game character, Kane de-masked, and The Undertaker became the biker character. It really rejuvenated their careers. The Rock as Corporate Champion who shouted down his old fans was pretty solid as well. I like how Jericho goes after "cool heels" interview. Mr. Anderson comes to mind as someone who tries to be a cool heel who still pops the crowd. If you're a heel, the crowd should be booing you. If the crowd is chanting your name, you're not doing your job. Sometimes it's a sign you need to go face, but sometimes it's a sign of you not clicking or working well as a heel.
Here's another good quote that a lot of people don't understand "Wins and losses mean nothing if you know how to do them properly". So true. Chris Jericho could be the epitome of undertsanding what makes wrestling work if this interview is any indication.
The rest of the interview says that he's going to be doing Fozzy and hosting and acting in the near future. His wrestling future is a question mark at this point. Any developments on that front will be covered here. Obviously he can very much still "go" in the ring and on the mic, and everyone would be thrilled for a comeback.
That's all for today's news. More tomorrow as always.
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