Saturday brought new PWInsider.com questions. Here's my take on them:
1. They don't have enough Divas! They'd go through every matchup rather quickly that way. There are other talents they can probably make more money off of that they feature more.
2. Until I remembered it as Rock's hometown, I immediately said "Cena". I picture something like Rock vs. Hogan at WM18 where Rock got the better of Hogan and they shook hands afterward in one of the biggest moments (if not the single biggest) I remember in wrestling. But that wasn't in Hulk's hometown, so I guess things have to be a little different. Hmmm.... it should be a hell of a match, for sure. If Rock does win, it should be somewhat close and Cena should "earn his respect" anyway. If they put the WWE Title on the line (which I wouldn't do as booker), I think I'd pick Cena by an inch. It's a tough one, for sure.
3. It's not a mandatory role, but it's a heck of a gesture. Ryder's getting over pretty well for someone who's rarely on TV, and there are a good number of signs for him every week. I think he earned a spot on the show. I don't think he'll necessarily become a huge star in WWE, but I think he's earned props for how hard he's working.
4. Are you serious, bro? No, I definitely see some similarities. I bet there are people there who watch the show given how many people have plugged it on Twitter (Stone Cold and John Cena included). Curtis had some kind of out there promos/segments on NXT as well, so it could be coincidence I suppose. If Ryder has "WWE" or a cutout of Curtis putting his action figure in a copying machine, it would add more weight to that theory.
5. Maybe she's a fan of Triple H's promos from the Attitude Era? The Rock used to bust on him for the same thing. Yeah, I assume she's trying to accomplish what you mentioned. Some say other ring announcers do it, too.
All of the rest of the day's news is after the break.
Goldy Locks, from the early days of TNA and currently singing some of the Knockouts' theme songs, gave an interview recently. I'm not really familiar with her outside of her doing Winter's theme, which I really like (I have weird tastes in music).
Chavo Guerrero has asked for and received his release from WWE. I was a bit surprised at this one. Chavo went into detail about it on Twitter. Here's a partial recap. He was in a tough spot in WWE. I can definitely see him getting frustrated at being used solely to get new/other talent over, but I think that's how he would be best used at this stage of his career there (outside of an agent/trainer role). He's 40 and has wrestled on TV for over a decade at a time when WWE is looking for younger and fresher talent. I always enjoyed his work on the show, but there are other people I'd rather see pushed who have brighter futures in the business. He definitely was entertaining in whatever role he was put in. But if he wasn't happy, and I can see why he wouldn't be given how he's been booked in the past, I can't say I blame him for moving on. What's best for WWE might not be what's best for Chavo and vice versa.
I hope his post-WWE career treats him well. I think he might still have some gas left in the tank. I actually wouldn't mind him doing a stint in TNA. Even if he isn't able to reinvent himself like, say, Bully Ray, there's still use there for a veteran of the industry. Him being with or against Mexican America would be natural considering they took out his uncle Hector. But that's all speculative, and he presumably has a 90-day period before he'd be eligible to work there. Other promotions and countries are certainly on the table as well, and might be better fits, but that's probably the only way I'd see him again.
Here's my look back at his career so far with comments on how I remember it:
I didn't catch his WCW work, but the pattern of bizarre booking started there. He teamed with his famous uncle Eddie (which makes sense), but then he went crazy and ran around with a toy horse. I'm not making that up. As much as I'm generally entertained by goofiness (this sounds pretty similar to the Moppy angle Perry Saturn went through), I generally think there are better (and more profitable) uses for talents.
Then he became part of he Misfits in Action, which is generally lumped in with the other "what on Earth were they thinking" gimmicks from the Attitude Era. I didn't see it first hand, but the names alone would pretty much sink it.
Also at some point in WCW he was given a salesman gimmick, which was somewhat amusing given how well he played it. I've seen clips of this since, but I first saw Chavo on TV when he came to WWE after the buyout.
He came to WWE with Eddie as a tag team. I loved his work here. Fantastic gimmick. Things started off well for the two of them. Then, after a couple of years, they split. Eddie went on to be a successful main eventer. Chavo went to the Cruiserweight Division. Here's where things start going downhill.
He lost the title to WWE Diva Jacqueline. Not a bad angle, although on paper (screen) it seems that way. He eventually won it back, then lost it in a triple threat match to... his 50+ year-old father who was pretty much there as a comedy character. Again, entertaining in its own way, but didn't do much for Chavo's credibility.
He would be injured in a match with Billy Kidman and return in a pretty good angle against him over that. He won the CW Title back in a gauntlet, then lost it in a battle royal due to another legitimate injury. At some point the decision was made to move him to Raw, where he completely changed his character to...
Kerwin White, a stereotypical middle class "white guy" who played golf and had a pretty goofy outfit and Titantron to match. I personally found the gimmick hysterical, and he played it very well, but again, I have a goofy sense of humor. Was it the best use for him? Probably not. Plus, the gimmick had some racial undertones that I wasn't so keen on.
Anyway, after Eddie passed away, he had another chance to be taken seriously. He adopted his uncle's mannerisms and did pretty well with that for a while. Then he "quit WWE" after not winning the IC Title. He came back and had fantastic feuds with old friends Mysterio and Benoit before becoming Cruiserweight Champion again.
After that... a certain leprechaun popped up. Chavo lost the CW title (but wasn't pinned) in a match where Hornswoggle won the title. I get that kids like the little guy, but there's a time and a place for him. Anyway, Chavo violated the Wellness Policy and was written off after another brief feud with Mysterio which I also enjoyed.
It pretty much went downhill from there. He went to WWE ECW and challenged C.M. Punk for that brand's championship. Not a bad storyline at the beginning, but I'd have rather seen Punk as champion than him. Chavo lost to Punk via DQ and Count Out before getting a win due to Edge's interference. So-so stuff, which I don't fault Chavo for. He was a part of La Familia with Edge, Hawkins, Ryder, Vickie, and eventually Bam Neely (a bodyguard who was basically the 2008 version of Jackson Andrews. Show up, make a big first impression, then disappear at the end of the angle). This was fine as well (wasn't crazy about Neely though).
Then came WrestleMania 24. Before the show, a #1 Contender was made in a 24-man battle royal. Kane won, then beat Chavo in 8 seconds. The shortest match in Mania history. Chavo probably should have quit around this time as things got worse (yes, it gets worse than losing in 8 seconds).
He feuded with Santino Marella... in drag... in a hog pen match. I wish I could forget that. Almost as much as I wish I could forget his drawn-out feud with Hornswoggle. It was basically "the guest hosts come up with ways for Chavo to look ridiculous and lose week in and week out". They even had him dressed as a cow, lassoed by a "leprechaun".
Some minor feuds followed on Superstars, which Chavo of course lost.
Then he went to Smackdown and teamed with Vickie and Dolph Ziggler. This didn't last long, either.
His feud with Sin Cara was a nice boost for the latter as he continues to learn the ropes in WWE.
And he finished up by being a pro on NXT. At this point he was pretty much stuck in the Regal/Goldust role of "guy they trot out to have good matches with younger guys" role. I wish he would have stuck around another 2 weeks for the end of the season and to have one last match, but things don't always work out that well. As for what they should do on NXT in his absence, here's what I'd cook up:
The show starts with Matt Striker telling the audience about a clip from "earlier in the day" backstage:
Darren Young's on a cell phone "talking to Chavo": (this is all paraphrased)
"Where are you, man? The show's about to start... What do you mean, you quit the company? Who's going to be my Pro?"
As he's hanging up in frustration, JTG happens to walk by.
"Yoyoyoyoyoyoyoyo. Yo. Yo. YO. I heard you need a Pro for the rest of the season? Check this. How about you get hooked up with the flyest of the fly, and the BEST pro this show's ever seen. J. T. G?"
"You know what. I don't even need a pro. I can do this on my own."
He shoves JTG and walks past him. When the Rookies are introduced, JTG interrupts and says that this is his show, etc. and challenges Darren to a match. They face off later in the show. Also Yoshi faces Tyson and Conor faces Titus.
All that just for that story? Wow.
Matt Hardy, still under suspension from TNA due to multiple occurrences of lateness, went to Twitter to ask fans about stories of them asking for refunds to house shows because he wasn't performing on them. Do any other WWE or TNA talents create this much controversy online to warrant the amount of coverage he gets? He also says that he's done nothing wrong, so take that for what it's worth. I wonder if this ever gets to a point where TNA decides the Hardys aren't worth keeping around? I'm sure there are plenty of talents who would love to step it up in their absence who wouldn't cause as many issues. This is coming from a NC resident who grew up loving the Hardys, too.
Finally, Jim Ross has more details on the Michaels-Hart DVD among many other topics at his latest blog.
That's all for Saturday's news. More to come tomorrow. Thanks for reading as always!
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