Matt Dawgs
T.G.I.F. with Matt Dawgs: Undertaker's Burning, Batista The Awesome Animal, NXT Time, The Ultimate Invitation Denied, Flair Wrestles Matches Even At Home, Vince Russo Says Flair and Hogan Are Too Old To Wrestle...11 Years Ago, Frank Mir Doesn't Think Before Speaking, Ivan Putski, and More
By Matt Dawgs
Feb 26, 2010 - 8:09 AM

Matt Dawgs Presents: Thank Goodness It's Friday!!!!!

Hello all. Welcome back and Happy Friday. Let’s just get right to it. In my previous column on this site titled “Matt Dawgs’ Random Thoughts, Opinions, Questions and Observations”, I wrote exactly what the title says I wrote. While this column will definitely hit you with that from time to time, I am also going just basically switch up the formula a bit with my random thoughts from each wrestling PROMOTION this week. Of course I will also throw in some thoughts on real world news, sports, entertainment and gossip. Please feel free to provide any thoughts or feedback on the new format. Enjoy.

1) WWE News and Notes

- WWE used Elimination Chamber to show us the shape that Wrestlemania is taking with some shocking twists and turns.

- Firstly, We had two WWE Title shifts in one night. John Cena won the Elimination Chamber bout by making HHH tap out to the STF to win the WWE title. However….Vince McMahon came out and revealed that he hired Batista to help take out Bret Hart and in exchange, he promised Batista a title shot. Well that title shot came now. Batista then defeated Cena to win the WWE title. This more than likely changes Wrestlemania two-fold. It now guarantees Batista vs. Cena which was penciled in as one of the top matches, to go on last and close the show. Secondly, and this is just a guess, is that Bret Hart realizes that he cannot put on a match as originally planned, hence why they had the “broken leg” angle. He physically, even if it is just a street fight, cannot go it alone. So my guess is that he is going to be in Cena’s corner while Vince is in Batista’s and the show is going to end with Vince tapping out to Bret’s sharpshooter. I don’t think the Bret/Vince match is going to take place.

- The second major angle of the show is that Shawn Michaels came through one of the metal grates below the ring during the Smackdown Chamber match and ended up super kicking Undertaker thus costing him the World title. The new champion is Chris Jericho. This sets up two matches. Taker is obviously going to want revenge and accept Shawn’s challenge for Mania which is going to steal the show. Secondly, it sets up Edge vs. Jericho for the World title with Edge using his Royal Rumble win to challenge his former tag team partner.

- In a HUGE event that didn’t make it on the air, before coming to ringside for the Smackdown chamber, Undertaker’s coat caught fire due to a pyro mishap while he was wearing it and he was severely burned on his neck and chest. He immediately removed the coat and ran to ringside where he was doused with water bottles by the referees. He spent the majority of time in his pod pouring water on himself until it was time to work. This is simply AMAZING that he may have had 1^st and 2^nd degree burns on himself yet still wrestled a match. WOW.

- INSANE .

- Props to Matt Striker who slipped in a Steve “Monsta Mack” (of the Hit Squad) mention during the MVP vs. Miz match at Elimination Chamber. That was incredible.

- Monday Night RAW was simply AMAZING. RAW was a solid show from beginning to end. Even the bull riding segment which I absolutely thought I was going to hate managed to entertain me.

- The major news coming out of RAW is that Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker has been made official for Mania only with Shawn’s career on the line. This is fantastic booking only because it now leaves people doubting if Taker is going to walk out the winner. I personally, who have been a wrestling fan for 25 years now even have my doubts and think that WWE management is considering having Shawn end the streak. On the flip side, Shawn has said many times in the past that he wants his final match to be at Wrestlemania and he wants a Ric Flair like send-off. Jim Ross has even said so after the Flair match that Shawn was planning on making Mania 26^th his last and then suddenly stopped mentioning it. So….maybe this is it for Shawn. Either way, I am stoked.

- They can also mention that roughly 12 years ago, Undertaker was the man who almost ended Shawn’s career. This time Taker plans on finishing the job for good.

- The Shawn/Taker “ Running Up That Hill ” video was probably top 6 of all time WWE video packages. It ranks right up there with the original Steve Austin “ My Sacrifice ” video, the HHH “ Beautiful Day ” video, The Rock vs. Steve Austin “ My Way ” video, Kurt Angle’s “ Clocks ” video and the WWE History “ Lon ely Road of Faith ” video. When WWE’s production staff wants something to look special, it always does.

- Batista as a bully/prick heel = AWESOME. I’ve been saying it for weeks now but RAW just cemented that fact. The entire angle/match with John Cena was probably one of the best segments on RAW to ever air.

- Batista’s AWESOMENESS continues to the movies as well. Check out a CLIP from his role in “the Wrong Side of Town” starring Rob Van Dam.

- Surprisingly, Jewel and Ty Murray were ok hosts. I thought they were going to bomb miserably but both seemed comfortable out there and completely not out of place. Especially Murray. He seemed to be enjoying himself.

- Jewel really laid that slap into JILLIAN HALL (shown in the link at a recent WWE houseshow). She even tweeted that she hurt her hand slapping Jillian.

- For those wondering where HHH will end up at Mania, he is going to face off with Sheamus. He was held off of RAW because Sheamus was LEGIT held off RAW. The line by Michael Cole about Sheamus suffering a concussion at Elimination Chamber was true. Sheamus suffered one and was held off television by WWE medical. So management felt they should just keep HHH off and build that match next week. It was the right call in my book since they had a lot of other things to push anyway.

- Although wouldn’t it be awesome if HHH and Sheamus were both in MITB? Perhaps HHH winning and then cashing it in later on the show?

- No more DX. DX was removed from the opening RAW video package and HHH and HBK were both shown separately in non-DX gear. There will not be a “blow off” to their angle and there is no word on what they plan on doing with Hornswoggle going forward.

- For some unknown reason, MVP was removed as Skip Sheffield’s “mentor” on WWE NXT and replaced by William Regal.

- WWE is moving full steam ahead with a Miz vs. Daniel Bryan feud due to NXT as they are mentioning it on camera frequently during the PPV and the entire first episode of NXT was practically the Miz/Bryan show. This should lay to rest any doubts that WWE plans on pushing him right out of the gate.

- Now that we are on the subject of NXT, I must say that the first episode was a mixed bag for me. I appreciate the fact that they are actually wrestling rather than just having off camera interaction; I would also enjoy some more off camera interaction. Show them in a training facility. Have interviews from their homes or something. Make it more of a reality show and less of a strictly wrestling show. The way Vince McMahon made it seem was that it was “groundbreaking”. It really wasn’t. It was just another show.

- I do like the pre-recorded intro promos. That is certainly entertaining. David Otunga has “IT” as a character. Daniel Bryan seemed a bit nervous when cutting his promos but his in-ring work definitely speaks for itself. His match with Jericho was FANTASTIC. I also enjoy the new camera angles/shots used during production. Hopefully this is implemented across WWE television as they could use some freshening up.

- Chris Jericho on his Twitter talking about his title win: “Wow, World Champion for the sixth time. This could never happen in TNA.” This was basically a shot at TNA’s Eric Bischoff who said that Jericho wouldn’t be a world champion if he were in TNA.

- So Michael Cole is starting a feud with the internet? Really?

- CM Punk – “I have no idea why I’m on this show and I don’t know who Darren Young is. I’ve mentored Luke and Serena, so if he wants to be mentored by me, he’d better be ready to accept straight edge into his life”

- On Monday April 26, 2010, RAW will be 3 hours. This will be this year's WWE Draft per the website of the Richmond Coliseum .

- Former ECW Champion Ezekiel Jackson has been officially added to the Smackdown roster. So have Trent Baretta and Caylon Croft a.k.a. “The Dudebusters”

- Christian, Yoshi Tatsu and William Regal are going to be on RAW.

- Former WWE Woman’s champion and one of the main people involved in the “Rock and Wrestling” connection that made WWE a household name, Wendy Richter has been officially announced as being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame this year. She will be inducted by Rowdy Roddy Piper.

- In what is probably one of the most hilarious things I have ever seen, during Wendy’s induction package, the FOLLOWING magazine cover was shown. The reason that is so hilarious is because THIS is what the real cover looked like. Notice the difference? LOL.

- WWE 2010 HALL OF FAME CLASS:

• “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase inducted by Ted & Brett DiBiase
• Antonio Inoki inducted by Stan “The Lariat” Hansen
• Wendy Richter inducted by Rowdy Roddy Piper
• Stu Hart inducted by Bret “Hitman” Hart

- According to PWInsider.com , WWE did in fact reach out to The Ultimate Warrior to be inducted into the 2010 Hall of Fame. He initially accepted but then in the past week he turned them down, most likely over money issues. WWE is now going with the plan on having Stu Hart as the centerpiece of the HOF this year. Originally it was Warrior.

- WWE has begun work on a Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat DVD project. This = Awesome.

- WWE Ring Announcer Savannah (aka Angela Fong) TOPLESS in the new National Lampoon film titled: “Ratko: The Dictator’s Son”.

- Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong better known as Cheech and Chong will host RAW next week. The following week against the Live Impact will be Magician Criss Angel and on March 15^th, it will be WWE Hall of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin.

- The following message is from the Midwest Ambulance Service which was used in the Bret Hart angle on RAW two weeks ago: “ATTENTION: Please do not call 222-2222 regarding the condition of Bret "Hit Man" Hart. Contact the WWE for updates. Our number is for emergency calls only. Thank you." This was a result of Monday’s RAW which showed the angle again the phone number was listed on the back of the ambulance.

- WWE plans on filming Smackdown for the Friday before Wrestlemania from WWE Axxess the Thursday before it airs. This will be a first for the company.

- Cliff Compton (Domino of Deuce and Domino fame) is working in FCW.

- Also, Sarona Snuka (daughter to WWE Hall of Famer Jimmy Snuka) debuts in FCW on March 18^th.

- Good thing WWE dropped Backlash because this years Backlash POSTER might have caused some legal trouble for them.

- EPIC WIN for a WWE Poster.

- Candice Michelle PREGGO .

- WWE has purchased the Ultimate Pro Wrestling tape library. UPW was owned and operated by Rick Bassman who is best known for finding and launching the careers of The Ultimate Warrior and Sting. This library features all of the early footage of John Cena (as The Prototype), Christopher Daniels, Samoa Joe, Chris Masters, Melina and The Miz and Heidenreich.

- Not exactly sure what this means (probably nothing) but WWE.com has deleted all of their upcoming PPV’s after Wrestlemania from their website. This could be because they haven’t formally announced them so they don’t want them posted or….it could be because they have decided against some of their choices and will make some changes.

- WWE has signed Jemma Palmer also known as Inferno on UK Gladiators to a developmental deal.

- THIS could have been my sister in law. She had a chance to meet him and she blew it. Oh well.

- G-Rilla a.k.a. George Murdoch has been added to the FCW roster. Murdoch is the son of wrestling legend Dick Murdoch.

- Also added to FCW is Jules Uso. Uso is Joseph Fatu. His brother Jimmy has been a part of FCW for some time. They are the sons of former WWE star Rikishi. FCW has a hell of a lot of 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th generation talent for everyone who has been complaining about lack of talent in developmental.

2) WRESTLEMANIA 26 LINE-UP:

• WWE TITLE: Batista © vs. John Cena
• WORLD TITLE: Chris Jericho © vs. Edge
• STREET FIGHT: Bret “Hitman” Hart vs. Vince McMahon (99.9% probable)
• STREAK VS. CAREER: Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels
• UNIFIED TAG TEAM TITLES: Show-Miz © vs. ???
• MONEY IN THE BANK: Christian vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Kane vs. Shelton Benjamin vs. ??? vs. ??? vs. ??? vs. ???
• Sheamus vs. HHH (99.9% probable)
• Randy Orton vs. Ted DiBiase vs. Cody Rhodes (99.9% probable)
• MASK VS. HAIR: Rey Mysterio vs. CM Punk (99.9% probable)

3) TNA News and Notes

- Ric Flair’s 4^th (and current) wife, Jacqueline Beems was arrested on Sunday and charged with misdemeanor assault in what was classified as “an apparent domestic assault” meaning she was arrested for assaulting Flair. I think it would be a pretty fair assessment that Flair has NO LUCK with women.

- According to the local ABC affiliate in North Carolina, Flair was actually hospitalized after the incident.

- Per Spike TV, the March 8^th Impact is scheduled to air from 9:00 pm ET until 11:08 pm ET. Which means it will end when RAW ends as both shows have the same scheduled overrun.

- With all that is going on with the new regime and changes on television and new characters being focused on, no one has noticed that TNA has quietly phased out Sting. His name has not been mentioned. Nothing has been built in regards to him since the January 4^th Impact. If he’s gone from TNA, chances are, as long as Bischoff and Hogan are running things, he isn’t going to come back.

- Awesome Kong has filed a LAWSUIT against Bubba the Love Sponge. Now before you get all "But she hit him" on me, Read the story HERE. If this is in fact true, Bubba needs to have his balls cut off cause he is more of a douche than I originally thought.

- I’m not digging AJ Styles as 2010 Flair. While I have knocked him in the past for “overkill”, Austin “Starr” Aries would have been fantastic in the role as the new Flair.

- You can run a list of all the Commissioners, General Managers, Owners, CEO’s, Chairmen, Consultants, ETC and none have EVER been a better heel-with-power that Eric Bischoff. He is AMAZING in his role. And for those who ask, YES that list includes Vince. Bischoff, since his role as RAW GM to today is the best heel authority figure EVER.

- Kaz has been added to the TNA website roster page.

- Suicide worked TNA house shows this weekend.

- Mick Foley has finished his latest book titled “Countdown to Lockdown” which discusses the end of his WWE career, beginning of his TNA career all the way to his TNA title win at Lockdown.

- Abyss will be undergoing a gimmick change with this Hulk Hogan angle. Hogan is really behind Abyss both as a worker and as a character and has BIG plans for him.

- The Nasty Boys have privately said that they want their feud with Team 3D to last at least 6 months. Team 3D have privately said that they DO NOT want their feud to last 6 months. HA!!!

- Shannon Moore officially signed a TNA contract per Dixie Carter’s Twitter. Hopefully Jeff Hardy does not follow suit.

- I also hope that Rob Van Dam doesn’t sign here. While competition is better for everyone, the fact is that TNA hasn’t righted their ship so to speak and I do not think that TNA will do the right thing by him or Jeff.

- TNA has halted all live events until after March 8^th to give time to everyone on the roster to rest up and re-charge before the permanent move to Monday Nights.

- Can anyone explain to me why Kurt Angle squashed Christopher Daniels last week? If it was to get Angle over, there are a MILLION people they could have used to do it instead of Daniels. Then again, in my eyes, things aren’t looking promising for Samoa Joe and Daniels in TNA. New bookers = new favorites.

- Thanks to Sean "The Mic" McCaffery at the " Declaration of Independents" website for this little gem. He is currently reading Vince Russo's new book, "Rope Opera" and on page 32 is the following quote about a 1999 match in Long Island between Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan: "A few weeks prior to signing with WCW, I witnessed Hogan wrestle Flair on Nitro. Now strictly from a fan perspective, it was very hard to watch. What I witnessed that night was two legends that were shells of their former selves still trying to do it. WATCHING HOGAN & FLAIR THAT NIGHT JUST WASN'T RIGHT. IN MY OPINION THE BOOKERS WERE JUST EXPLOITING THEM TO TRY TO POP A NUMBER. IT WAS A DESPERATE SITUATION AND THAT'S EXACTLY THE WAY IT CAME ACROSS ON TV." So much irony in that statement. I'm sure Russo is looking forward to March 8, 2010. HAHA!! 

- Last week I reported that Booker T and Sharmell were expecting their first child together. Turns out, they are expecting their first AND second children together as Sharmell is expecting twins.

- Christy Hemme, just BECAUSE she is HOT.