Matt Dawgs T.G.I.F. with Matt Dawgs... Rey Miss-Surgery, The Celtic Warrior's Big Break, Ziggling Down The Ladder, Flopamania I, AJ Styles is a Good Kid, Shane's Still Got Stock, Twilight Heroin, Matt Wishes He Had a PS3, and More
By Matt Dawgs
Nov 27, 2009 - 9:02 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.
MATT NOTE:R.I.P. Noah Biorkman. If you don’t know the story of Noah Biorkman, he was a 5-year old boy who was dying of Neuroblastoma cancer. In order to have one last shot of fun and life for the young boy, his family requested, per Noah’s request, that people send him Christmas cards in November. Reason being was that he wasn’t expected to make his 5th Christmas. Over 1,000,000 Christmas cards were received at the Biorkman home and to say the least, the boy was overjoyed. Unfortunately though, his parents were correct. Noah did not make it to Christmas. Thankfully, he isn’t suffering anymore and managed to celebrate one last Christmas with his family.
1)WWE News and Notes
- Survivor Series has come and gone and it was a pretty good show. Cena/HBK/HHH was a damn good main event featuring an unusual opening seconds. Most people expected it to be Shawn and HHH working together until one of them broke up a pin on Cena by the other. Instead, as the bell rung, Shawn immediately super-kicked HHH with no warning and the crowd completely didn’t expect it. That was an awesome twist.
- The major theme of Survivor Series is that WWE proved their seriousness of elevating talent when Kofi Kingston was the sole survivor of his match and he won by eliminating CM Punk and Randy Orton by himself to get the win. No one expected that.
- The other big “elevations” were Miz, Sheamus and Drew McIntyre who were the survivors of their match.
- Hopefully they keep Kofi with a push. Good to see Orton doing the right thing by not complaining about jobbing to Kofi. Problem is, WWE loves “even-steven” booking so I can totally see Orton getting a clean win back at the next PPV.
- Cute writing with Christian’s Survivor Series promo. For those who missed it, Christian was backstage with his partners (Mark Henry, MVP, Kofi Kingston and R-Truth) and pointed out that he is different than all of them. He then noted that it was because he was the only guy from ECW. Get it? HAHA
- As I said last week, if you see an injury angle with Rey Mysterio, it’s because he is really injured and will be undergoing knee surgery. Problem is that the injury is more severe than originally thought and his recovery time from major ACL surgery is an estimated 9 months. WWE Management is thinking that he may not come back at all.
- Rey in his infinite wisdom has decided upon getting a lesser knee surgery so that he can come back sooner than expected. Problem is, with the lesser surgery, he is still going to need the bigger surgery down the line and thus, it may be time to look for a new career for Rey as his knee is completely shot. Sad but true.
- The angle itself was very well done and while Batista was cheered for it (he was in his hometown), it did well to get him heel heat for the future. He is fitting into his role nicely as a bully big man. Honest opinion, he should have done it sooner. Hopefully he stays in this role for a long, long time.
- In an interesting note/turn of events, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has said in a bunch of interviews that he is indeed negotiating with WWE to do something “significant” with the WWE again but it would not be wrestling. He also said he doesn’t just want to be a guest host. Not sure exactly what he is getting at but it is practically set in stone that he will be doing something on RAW in either January or February.
- My only problem with Rock returning for one night as a host or whatever it is he has planned is the fact that he is so far superior to everyone on the current roster right now. Seeing him and Cena in the ring together is only going to serve as evidence that Cena isn’t where WWE Management thinks he should be. Plus, once it’s over, old fans are going to get disappointed because the show won’t be as entertaining the following week without him.
- Mike Johnsonis reporting that Big Show will also be undergoing knee surgery as well (Hence why he was choked out by the Undertaker at the PPV). I fully expect that Jericho and Show will drop the tag team titles shortly (probably to DX).
- WWE departs to the GULF (Iraq) following next Monday’s RAW in Maryland. There isn’t word on the talent appearing on that show as of yet other than John Cena will not be attending as he is filming his new movie in New Orleans. The show will air on NBC on Saturday, December 19, 2009.
- Jesse Ventura was probably one of, if not THE best guest host to date. Completely likeable, good in his role and great on the mic. Love his commentary with Vince McMahon too. Solid GOLD.
- Referee Scott Armstrong is doing better after being concussed by a kick to the head by Sheamus at Survivor Series. Hopefully they will give him a few nights off to recover but he was diagnosed with a concussion after the match.
- Speaking of Sheamus, He is the new number 1 contender to John Cena’s WWE title. I’m on the fence about this. While I love the fact that he is being pushed to the moon, it may be too soon to put the strap on him. Problem is, doing a clean job to Cena would do more harm than good. Back in the day, WWE strapped a rocket to the back of Brock Lesnar and I know that a lot of casual fans didn’t expect him to beat the Rock at Summerslam. He did and the rest was history. So could this be a case of history repeating itself? Time will tell.
- Also at the TLC PPV, Jericho and Big Show defend the tag titles against DX.
- Also happening at TLC? Jericho and Big Show LOSING the tag titles to DX.
- Anyone know why giving away Punk vs. Cena on FREE TV was a good idea? If you have a match that can be considered “special” by some people, why not save it for when people can pay for it? Just seems like business sense to me no?
- Did anyone else cringe when they saw the Mickie James “Piggy James”video by Michelle McCool on Smackdown? Really? That was necessary? I don’t get the WWE writers hatred for woman. Mickie is BY FAR not “fat”. So what if she doesn’t fit the cookie cutter portrait of a female that most of the WWE Diva’s do? Who cares? She is still hot. WTF?
- And for those of you who say it was “just an angle” I’d like to ask you, if it was “just an angle” then why in the world did Kelly Kelly eliminate Layla and Melina eliminate Michelle McCool in the Survivor Series Divas match and why didn’t Mickie get any ring time with either of them? That video was purposely made to humiliate and embarrass her. Unbelievable.
- One of the next WWE films is an origin film on The Undertaker. Of course when they say origin of the Undertaker, they mean the character, not the wrestler. The Undertaker character apparently started in the 1800’s and in the western times. LOL. I can’t make this stuff up even if I tried.
- Do you guys remember when Dolph Ziggler was a big deal and was feuding with Rey Mysterio and was about to become Intercontinental Champion? HAHA. Fun times. Ziggler is no longer on the list. See above about aborted pushes and see last week’s column about guys who have “IT”.
- Tonight on Smackdown (SPOILER ALERT), Festus is found. He is debuted as no longer being Festus and he is now CM Punk’s bodyguard. Apparently Punk has exposed that Festus wasn’t “slow” and instead, he was on anti-depressants that kept him in that altered state that he was in when teamed with Jesse.
- Also…..WWE has smartened up and removed Vicki Guerrero from Eric Escobar. Not the best situation for Escobar to be in but I’m not really a fan of his so far so I don’t really care. It’s a better situation for Guerrero.
- The William Regal/Ezekiel Jackson/Vladimir Koslov stable is no more…already.
- Kaval (Low-Ki) defeated Paul Burchill in a dark match prior to Smackdown. That is one step closer for Ki to be called up!!!!
- Bye-Bye Lauren. Lauren Mayhew who WWE hired a few months ago and was hoping to groom into the new Lillian Garcia has been released from the company.
- Former WWE wrestler/manager Armando Estrada announced that he will be wrestling his final match on December 5 against Mr. Ken Anderson.
Estrada has grown a successful restaurant business; Baby’s Steak & Lemonadein Glendale, Arizona and is in the works of opening more franchises in the near future.
- The Hulkamania Tourof Australia is a FLOP. Drawing a crowd of 7,000 in an arena that holds 15,000+ is not a good thing.
- The match with Flair basically summed up what Hogan has been saying about his signing with TNA all along, HE’S DONE IN THE RING. Hogan took zero bumps during his match with Flair, couldn’t perform the leg drop and basically moved like an 80 year old man in the ring. Flair did all he could do to carry him but….Flair is 61 now and this isn’t 1992.
- To give you hardcore TNA fans a glimmer of hope on TNA’s future, Hulk Hogan, in a recent interview said, “And now there’s a new kid that’s coming up through the ranks and is doing pretty good – a kid named AJ Styles”. That has to make you feel good about TNA’s chances going forward. AJ Styles, the TNA World Heavyweight Champion who has been with the company since day 1 and has been wrestling for over 10 years is….a new kid coming up through the ranks that’s doing pretty good. HAHAHAHAHAHA.
- Hulk Hogan at a pool with
?????????????If you guessed his daughter Brooke Hogan you’d be wrong. That is his fiancé. And yes, your eyes aren’t broken; she looks similar to Brooke Hogan. Scary huh?
- Homicide will be wrestling Masato Tanaka (of ECW fame) at a Jersey All Pro Wrestling show in Rahway NJ in January. That is going to be fantastic.
- I still miss Shelly Martinez. She had so much potential and was so drastically different than the “cookie cutter” mold that WWE has for females.
- This PICTUREwas taken at Smackdown tapings in Philadelphia last week. Interesting no?
- Jushin “Thunder” Liger returns to Ring of Honor on January 30, 2010 vs. Davey Richards.
- A great “American Dragon” Bryan Danielson FAREWELL VIDEOby ROH.
- Jim Cornette is awesome. That is all.
- Someone had asked me who Becky Bayless was from last week’s column. THISis Becky.
- Add Mike Quackenbush to the list of names working for the “EVOLVE” promotion. Quackenbush is probably one of the most underrated talents to ever wrestle on the independent scene. He has never really found great success when in fact, he is extremely talented.
- Also debuting for EVOLVE are Arik Cannon, Brad Allen & Kyle O'Reilly. Arik Cannon used to train a friend of mine in Minnesota. Have heard about him for years now, just never seen him in action. Heard he’s good though.
- Finally, they first tag team entrants to EVOLVE were announced. None other than ROH’s own, Dark City Fight Club.
ROH FINAL BATTLE: is on December 19, 2009 from New York City and the line up is as follows:
Teddy Hart & Alex Koslov vs. Jack Evans & Rocky Romero
5) MMA News and Notes
- There are several uncomfirmed rumblings going around that Shane McMahon may be investing somewhere in the ballpark of $50 - $80 million of his own personal fortune (he is worth $100 million plus) and has agreed to purchase a 10% ownership stake in UFC. I know why some non-wrestling, hardcore MMA fans would be disgusted by this but with Shane McMahon on the UFC team, he can open a lot of doors internationally and a ton of television clearances that Dana White was having a hard time getting through. If this is indeed the case, it wouldn't be made official until January 2010. And it will DEFINITELY PISS OFF VINCE MCMAHON.
- The only problem with these rumors of Shane buying into UFC is that most of the places reporting them have stated that Shane has sold a ton of stock already. Unfortunately that is not the case. In order for Shane to sell stock, being that he is an officer in the company, those shares sold would have to be made public (since WWE is a publically traded company) in an SEC filing. According to WWE's official SEC FILING PAGE that has not happened as of yet. Once it does, it would be posted there.
- Tito Ortiz made his big comeback to UFC last weekend and…..LOST. He lost by split decision to Forrest Griffith in what Tito claims was a robbery. I saw the fight and while I can understand why some people may have thought Tito won, he didn’t. Griffith had that fight in the bag. Tito came out strong in the first and definitely won that round. The second round was close but I think Forrest pulled it out. The third round was completely Griffith and he deserved the W in the end. Now their career series is tied at 1-1 so I think that they should go for the tie-breaker.
- I do believe that Tito is the better fighter. There are a number of factors that went into him losing including the fact that he originally started training for Mark Coleman and in October was told that Coleman was pulling out and he had to change his game plan. While not a major setback, was a setback nonetheless.
- Secondly, rust. Tito was out of action for a VERY LONG time. Jumping back into the octagon after that long of a layoff (his last fight was May 24, 2008) isn’t easy for anyone.
- Finally, and most importantly, this fight with Griffith was fought at 205 lbs. The day before the weigh in (and 2 days before the fight), Tito was weighing 226 lbs. He had to cut 21 pounds in one day. That takes a lot out of you. He made weight and then gained back 20 pounds in a day. So there was an over/under of 40 pounds in 2 days. NOT GOOD.
- As I said, that is the main reason for Tito’s loss. He was exhausted by the 3rd round and it was noticeable. He was lethargic and moving slowly and looked weak. Had he been in better shape, he probably would have squeaked through that round.
- Kimbo Slice is confirmed to be fighting on the LIVE Spike TV on December 5th from Las Vegas. His opponent is scheduled to be Houston Alexander.
- The rematch between Lyoto Machida vs. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua has been signed for May 1, 2010 in Montreal.
- Former NFL running back 47-year-old Herschel Walker makes his Strikeforce debut on January 30, 2010.
- Boxing news: Negotiations between representatives of Floyd “Money” Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao have officially begun. The mega-fight, if signed, is expected to become have the highest pay per view buy rate in the history of boxing.
UFC 107 is on December 12, 2009 fromMemphis Tennessee and the line-up is as follows:
- B.J. Penn vs. Diego Sanchez
- Frank Mir vs. Cheick Kongo
- Jon Fitch vs. Mike Pierce
- Kenny Florian vs. Clay Guida
- Paul Buentello vs. Stefan Struve
Strikeforce is on December 19, 2009 from San Jose California and the line-up is as follows:
- Cung Le vs. Scott Smith
- Matt Lindland vs. Jacare
- Robbie Lawler vs. King Mo
UFC 108 is on January 2, 2010 from Las Vegas Nevada and the line-up is as follows:
- Rashad Evans vs. Thiago Silva
- Tyson Griffin vs. Jim Miller
- Carlos Condit vs. Paul Daley
- Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Junior Dos Santos
UFC 109 is on February 6, 2010 from Las Vegas Nevada and the line-up is as follows:
- Love Twilight? Then you’ll adore the new TWILIGHT HEROIN!!! True story. Heroin dealers in New York have been selling heroin with Robin Pattenson’s picture on and calling it Twilight. You know, like how Frank Lucas used to sell Blue Magic? Same thing.
- Speaking of Twilight, I saw “New Moon” (give me a break ok, it was my wedding anniversary. The Mrs. wanted to see it in the movies). I say it was definitely A LOT better than the first part but still not as good as the book.
- The Wrestlermakes its cable debut on Saturday on HBO. If you haven’t sent his movie yet, make an effort to DVR/Tape it because it is a fantastic and eye opening look at the world of impendent wrestling.
- Ice-T’s wife COCO bought a new camera. Check out the camera HEREand HERE.
- I feel like a broken record saying this but Sons of Anarchy is by far the best show on all of television. Jesus H. Christ it is good. Please....PLEASE netflix it or something.
- If you haven’t watched the new ABC comedy “Modern Family” then here is a great reason to watch. CLICK ME.
- I’m a Wii player and PS2 player. I don’t have either an Xbox or PS3 and basically keep my game playing simple to sports games, etc. The reason I am saying that is to preface the following statement. I was at Best Buy last weekend and managed to play a level of Batman: Arkum Asylum for PS3. HOLY F’N SH*T it was completely amazing. I love every second of it and it was by far probably the best video game I have played this year.
- “The Yeti”. That is my pitch. That’s it right there. If you’re not interested in listening to the infamous “Yeti” of WCW fame then I don’t know what to tell you. You must be insane. IT’S THE F*CKING YETI PEOPLE!!!! He has absolutely incredible stories about that time, the mindset for booking, who thought of the idea was it to be a giant F’N Mummy, the infamous “Double Bear Hug”, etc. Hilarious stuff. If you haven’t done so by now, do yourself a favor and Join CLUBWWI.COMright TODAY!!!!
- ACE Pro Wrestling(The future of independent wrestling. A Virtual “Who’s Who” of East Coast talent have wrestled here at one point in time or another)
Ok kiddies, classes are over for now. See you soon!!!!!!!!!
Feel free to discuss whatever you’d like in the “Anger Management” section of the message board or whichever section you see fit.
~ Matt Dawgs
World Wrestling Insanity writer Matt Dawgs is the bread and butter of the World Wrestling Insanity family. His future is bright and once James Guttman comes into a large sum of money, you can expect Matt will be getting tons of it thrown at him, at least half of it. Matt used to moonlight as a professional wrestler/manager in the NY/NJ Indy scene. He is legit afraid of getting on Homicide’s bad side but thinks he is a cool dude in general. He also is a funny guy. If you have any questions, corrections, feedback, comments and ideas, he can be reached at Matt@worldwrestlinginsanity.com. If the feedback is negative, you can e-mail Matt at insanity@worldwrestlinginsanity.com.
P.S. – In case you didn’t know, James Guttman has a new WRESTLING BOOK out titled “Shoot First, Ask Questions Later”. It is a damn fun read so I suggest you run out and get it today. If you already have your copy, read it. If you already read your copy, read it again. It is funny; like me.
Also, don’t forget to check out CLUB WWI. It can be found by clicking the banner at the top of this page. Check out all the new audio updates and features found there. Some good stuff including all of James Guttman’s past Radio Free Insanity broadcasts as well as all new, uncut interviews with some of wrestling past and present names. Good stuff people.