Hot Threads: The Rock and Thuganomics Connection, Mark Henry's First Day As Champion, Punk Trips and Falls, and More

From WorldWrestlingInsanity.com

Other Columns
Hot Threads: The Rock and Thuganomics Connection, Mark Henry's First Day As Champion, Punk Trips and Falls, and More
By Corey Letson
Sep 21, 2011 - 1:06 PM

It's time for another look at the free Wrestling Insanity Message Boards, with your host, "The Great White Dope" Corey Letson ...

Welcome one and all to the weekly "Best of" The World Wrestling Insanity Message Boards. Here at Hot Threads we aim to give you the cream of the crop when it comes to our fabulous residents. We'll be spending time jumping from the WWE to TNA to almost anything in the 'verse.

This week is kind of a special one. While I spent time returning phone calls, managing the message boards, sending out mail, rejecting midget wrestlers asking if we'll book them for a show, and checking to see if Ralph is still breathing; the guys (Bulldog, Wood, Guttman, and Dawg) made their way to Manhattan to get a sweet piece of that Ring of Honor iPPV action. So while I hide my pain by using the company credit card let us make our way to the land of WWE.

World Wrestling Entertainment has had themselves a doosey of a time over the past few months. Let's sum this up in the simplest way possible: Imagine if Fozzy Bear thought he wasn't be used properly. So Fozzy, being a man who thinks highly of his own personal value to the company, decides he is going to leave when his contract comes up. The problem is that Fozzy starts getting tons of television time on The Muppet Show because the crowd really liked seeing him vent his issues in front of them. Fozzy luckily gets to take Kermit's hosting gig after usurping him in Fozzy's home town (The Wakka-Wakka Hut) even though Nanny tried to stop him. You see Nanny's biggest problem with Fozzy is she didn't think he was being reasonable. Fozzy responded with "Wakka Wakka" and then flipped Nanny off. At this point Nanny decides that the show needs a formal host so she holds a talent show contest to see who it'll be.

Kermit won the hosting gig after beating the crap of talent show winner, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, and then threatening to cut "the next motherf'n muppet that steps in his way". Seconds after victory is obtained Fozzy comes out to show off that he is still in fact the true host of The Muppet Show because he never lost a talent show contest to anyone. This then spills over into the fifth straight-to-dvd muppet movie "MuppetFest". Within a matter of moments Statler and Waldorf decide that the Muppet Show is getting such good ratings because of Kermit and Fozzy that this whole thing should be about if they are friends. Fozzy steps up and challenges Waldorf to a one-on-one talent show contest battle at Night of the Gonzo after about fifteen other ultimately ridiculous things happen within weeks. How did the WWI forum members take this final fight and these gigantic revelations between Fozzy, Waldorf, and Statler? We'll jump right on in:

Night of Champions

The Chosen 1

AWESOME Main Event

I think finally getting over the whole real life HHH is an asshole who puts himself over thing, and just enjoying the actual match, was completely the best decision I've ever made.

If HHH is gonna be THE man, then fuck it... as long as CM Punk doesn't look like a bitch, I'm all in.

SabuIsGod

So the mighty H to the third power beat Punk. So punk goes to smackdown or what? Im scratching my head for a logical end to this story....

PeterDawson

Seriously, I hated Cena beating ADR. I mean, why have another WWE title change? CM Punk is still owed his rematch, and now ADR's got one. We've been having rematch stacks since before Summerslam and you'd think they'd try to clear that up by now but nope. WWE Title picture's still a giant mess and Cena beat ADR clean so we've seen a guy who beat Rey Mysterio, John Morrison and Daniel Bryan in a single week turn into a cowardly wimp. Del Rio's big appeal for me is dead, it died when Cena powered out of the arm-breaker.

As for the main event... well, the match itself was awesome. Johnny Ace pulling something wasn't a shocker, and Triple H winning the hard way worked I guess. it really was a TNA finish though and its the second one in a row. Still we did at least see this coming so its at least semi-logical.

The Chosen 1

Having Awesome Truth who have been building for weeks they believe HHH is behind a conspiracy against them surprisingly attack HHH & Punk, and then BRUTALLY assault a referee (after the ref gets a hell of a pop for popping Miz) then having Laurinitis subtly seemingly want to keep HHH from winning and appearing to text message someone, then Nash show up and lay out Punk and get caught with a sledgehammer... is complete chaos yes... but it interwove pieces of one big concise and logical storyline. Something that is far different from TNA...

All I know is that when watching the match with a casual fan who doesn't know all the bullshit that fills my head I found myself flipping out and losing my mind over the big moments... in a GREAT way.

And that's why I say this finish to Punk-HHH wasn't TNA style... every single bit of it makes sense. Whether someone LIKES the story or not doesn't matter... it at least MAKES SENSE which makes it better than TNA.

Awesome Truth have completely snapped because of a conspiracy they feel HHH has set up against them and they saw this as their chance to end it, but R-Truth acting out of short-sighted revenge against CM Punk for actually ends up costing him the match at one point.

The referee kept his composure for a long time but feeling physically threatened by Miz & R-Truth's actions not only against him but EARLIER in the night punches The Miz out of self defense.

Johnny Ace misdirects a new ref to the fallen ref when HHH is winning, then tells the new ref to get in the ring when he's losing. It doesn't work so Johnny texts Nash saying "Already Plan B, get out here and lay out Hunter." Nash comes out, tries to lay out Hunter, Punk gets in the way, Punk gets laid out. Nash goes to lay out Hunter again, HHH hits him with the sledgehammer knocking him out, HHH capitalizes on Punk, pedigrees him and wins.

Perfect sense. Hate Johnny Ace, Nash & HHH? Doesn't matter... At least the thing you hate makes sense,.. which is why its at least better than TNA.

Sprout1883

Hunter v Punk. No suprise a HHH win and at least Punk didn't lose clean. Tonnes of intereference and Miz and R-Truth getting involved makes some interesting possibilities. Something says to me we will see HHH and Punk on the same page (at least for a bit) and we will get some sort of Survivors possibility. a Johhny Ace stable???? Nash/Miz/Truth/?? v Punk/HHH/?/?

PeterDawson

Still, I think the main event does show they're forming a new stable, and I really hope I don't have to put quotes around the world 'new' just like that. Nash and a legit authority figure leading a group of guys who try to take over? That is completely original! Of course given that Johnny Ace is the figure ten to one he's a puppet for Vince and this is some kind of twisted Corporation versus Evolution kind of deal. Could actually explain Suvivor Series though if this is where they're going with it, having one team be Nash, Truth, Miz and two other heels take on Triple H, Cena, CM Punk and The Rock as well as a fifth guy. It actually works sort of well for the Rock's return as Triple H would want some big guns for the event and thus call in one of the best he could get. Ace could even pull this as well, and I'm sure that'll lead to Jericho and/or Batista speculation.

All I know is having Nash, the Miz and R-Truth together would be a pretty good stable in terms of talking.

Canadian Bulldog

I didn't hate the main event, but I didn't love it, either. The thing is, at least they have some possibilities now. Maybe its a Nash/Miz/Truth/Laurinitis stable, which would be fine. Maybe they go the route where Punk sees that he can't get a fair shake and keeps "shooting" (not that you can really put that angle back in the bottle, but I could see them trying). Maybe it sets up Nash/Miz/Truth vs. Cena/Rock/Punk at Survivor Series, which would not only be different, but makes for an interesting dynamic. Or.... maybe they do the predictable and have HHH join Team Corporate, which I think could STILL be very well done, even if it is a poor man's rehash of Vince in 98.

I'd be okay with pretty much any of that unfolding, rather than more of the same.

Nuwanda

Concerning the main-event, I got mixed feelings. The ending, although it was not that bad, reminded me to much of an TNA-finish for me to enjoy it (thanks TNA for spoiling me that!). The run-in of Awesome Truth was in some way "announced", as was Ace's behaviour. But I like the fact how they combine 2 before rather separated stories. FOr me, the Nash run-in simply was the overkill and too much. Nontheless, I think Punk hasn't been buried too much, so I'm rather fine with the ending, as long as Punk gets the win further down the feud. I'd just like to know (if this continues till Survivor Series), how the teams are gonna be because after tonight, I don't can really define Awesome Truth or Nash as being on one particular side. Unless they go for a team Johnny Ace (who might get Awesome Truth on his side by granting them another TT-title match/ Nahs could be on that team to, as he wouldn't have to do too much wrestling there) against an alliance of HHH and Punk (with maybe here some of Punk's buddies). But: then there would be 2 Series-matches with two feuding people on one team, so I don't really know....

James Guttman

I love how TNA has the market cornered on bad endings so much that when another company does it, its almost gimmick infringement.

As for the Hunter thing, imagine it was July and I said that within two months, the story would center mostly on Trips and Nash with Hunter pinning Punk legally (it was no DQ) on PPV, people would have laughed and accused me of being cynical. Just knowing that is enough to drive the point home about how crappy this all has become.

It's all about the Game and...that's it. Just all about the Game.

Mike Johns

Actually, we're cynical either way. Even when we're right. Because, like, we're supposed to just sit back and let ourselves be entertained.

So, just for fun, let's see how many of you can sit though this and let yourself be entertained -

Does the fact that you either -A- did not enjoy this, or -B- simply did not understand what the hell you just forced yourself to watch, make you cynical? And, if it does, it it really a bad thing?

Exx

I hated the main, but not because Punk lost. The minute they put the COO title on the line, Hunter had to win. I hated it because I'm beyond sick of the brawl through the crowd matches that have been done to death. I was actually happy to see the interference cause I wasn't enjoying the match at all. Storylinewise, I understood why Laurentis was trying to eff over Hunter to steal his job. The thing that made no sense was why truth broke up the pin when Punk had Hunter covered after the GTS. All I can think is its leading to Punk and Hunter vs. Nash, Miz and Truth at HIAC.

James Guttman

I think the thing everyone needs to remember - and is often how these political games get muddied up - is that we're not looking at the specific instance of last night. That's how they always spin it.

It's not how they did a good finish by not having Punk lose totally clean or how Hunter had to go over given the stip. All that's true. They engineered it that way. The real problem goes back to the start with how it was wrong to hijack the storyline for Hunter/Nash in the first place.

He wrote himself into a story that he had nothing to do with and then created a situation where his victories seemed logical and made sense given the context. The real problem was writing himself in the story to start with.

The Chosen 1

At the end of the day we all agree that we wanted the Punk story to be Nash-less and more focused on Punk then HHH.

I guess its just a matter of what we do from here.... hardcore wrestling fans are a strange breed because unlike most TV shows, the entire show's storylines can change and be complete opposite from what you were enjoying months or years earlier...but we REFUSE to accept that and stop watching. We all just watch every week anyway. FlashForward was a show a lot of people were in to for a few weeks, but the show quickly went from interesting to stupid and people lost interest in characters and stories they had weeks earlier found entertaining.... so people stopped watching, and the show got canceled. We don't stop watching WWE, no matter how much we threaten to... RKO said Eddie was in hell back in '06 and I VOWED to never watch Smackdown! again yet here I am... we all do it.

There's NO way to get this story back to where it was @MITB, no dream sequences, this is where the story is now. The logical thing to do is not watch the show...but we don't do that. We put the show on and curse it hoping one day something we want to happen happens.

The another piece of interesting news hitting the WWE System of our message board is that THE ROCK and JOHN CENA will be teaming up at Survivor Series for, one would presume, a traditional Survivor Series match. Five months before The Rock and John Cena battle for the WWE Title they shall team up on pay-per-view. Great news for anyone who was on the edge of spending about eighty bucks on Wrestlemania to see The Rock back in the ring, you'll only have to shell out forty.

Aaron Wood

Feels like it'll take a shine off of the Mania match...

PeterDawson

They flat-out can't have the Rock and Cena really go at it against each other, so instead we can have them bicker over who is in charge for their team going up against someone else. Too soon to say who their opponent would be, though for history's sake The Miz would be an ideal choice. I'm hoping CM Punk won't be available for it.

Aaron Wood

I'd imagine it'll be Cena, Rock, Orton, Sheamus & CM Punk (or any other babyface of that level) vs. Del Rio, Miz, Truth, Christian & Mark Henry (or similarly any combo of heels). It'll be that sort of match.

Exx

I don't think they need to load the teams that much. Need to save some guys for the WWE title and world title matches. I see it more with Cena and Rock with the Kofi Kingston/Daniel Bryan level guys.

I hope they at least have some kind of angle to explain why Cena and Rock would be teaming together after all the stuff they've said to each other in the past.

James Guttman

I can see Cena, Rock, Hunter, and Punk on one side with Nash, Miz, Truth, and Del Rio on the other. Add in one random one to each side. As the main event played out, I thought it looked like that was how it was being flushed out.

While I can't just throw it into this entire column you should really go check out Aaron Wood's blog on the message board, hell, I'll make this easy for you. http://s14.zetaboards.com/Wrestling_Insanity/topic/6676384/1/

Here is a simple secret to having a good, long career on the independent scene or even in the big time: be safe. That is what it is all about. If you work safe you'll make a positive name for yourself hundreds of times better than the awesome spot-monkey who bruises bones or is careless every single night. Mark Henry is one such safe individual. He is a gigantic man and has never really hurt anyone throughout his entire career. As a person who has been in the ring with someone Henry's size, if not a bit bigger, it is still a tad intimidating to get thrown around by a man that huge. But with someone as safe as Henry a splash off the top rope would barely feel worse than Evan Bourne hitting a splash. Unfortunately last Monday Henry's record was blemished by no fault of his own. WWI members, sans-Matt Dawg surprisingly, has weighed in on the subject.

Mark Henry & The King (Not a Children's story...although...money opportunity there)

Peter Dawson

So it's being reported that the WWE crew messed up last night and failed to rig the announcer's table to break easier, resulting in King now having back problems thanks to that pointless slam. So yeah, not only did Mark Henry slamming King seem pointless, it legitimately hurt the guy!

ZAH

It's also being reported that Henry is REALLY upset about it, too.

That's one of the things that makes you a reputation in the business...whether or not you're safe in the ring. Henry is pretty damn safe considering his size. Let's face it...his "world's strongest slam" would severely injure somebody if his weight wasn't all on his arms and was in his massive torso as intended. So to know that he unintentionally injured somebody doing a spot...especially when the result wasn't his own fault yet was still by his own hands...that's gotta be infuriating to a guy like Henry.

Lawler may not even be back by next Monday's show...that's how bad he's hurt.

Just a shitty, unnecessary situation all around.

Mike Johns

This is something most of us don't give Henry enough credit for, really. A guy with his size, power, and build should, by all means, be taking people out right and left. But when you look over his career, it's hard, if not nearly impossible; to name people he's hurt. Or, at least it WAS until this.

You'd think something like "making sure the table will break away" is something you quadruple check before showtime, especially when you're having a non-wrestler (which Lawler essentially is) taking the bump.

If this happened to say, Vince McMahon, you'd imagine the person who made the mistake would be fired on the spot, you know?

Sprout1883

it's a good job Henry has been there 15 years and has a good record. Sucks for both guys

The Chosen 1

There's no way that anyone is blaming Henry for it, its not his responsibility to make sure the announce table was gimmicked and I'm sure that He slammed him in a way that if the table was gimmicked he would have been fine. I'm pretty sure considering they've been in the company for 15 years together and probably respects Lawler a whole lot, that he's pissed at the people who messed up because now he has to deal, personally, with the fact that he hurt a guy he respects because of them.

I'm sure that he's not selfishly concerned that he now has a blemish on his injury record.

What would be a weekly section here on Hot Threads is probably going to be a weekly hotlink because I don't want to deal with spending much time on him. With everyone else out of the office and no one to proof read I get away with it at least this week. Anyways Jeff Hardy's idiot brother did another impressive thing. Want to get the details then just go here: http://s14.zetaboards.com/Wrestling_Insanity/single/?p=8120047&t=6650783

This Week in WWI Forum History

This is actually my favorite section of Hot Threads every week. It's fun to go back and see the things that happened last year then think "wait, wasn't that like five years ago?". It's actually the exact thing that will be happening with Summer of Punk '11 just next year. We're just one year removed from The Nexus no less. Here is the problem and vow all in one. School, work, school work, tests, studying, some resemblance of a social life, lion king 3D, Dumbo on Blu-ray, new season of NFL and Always Sunny, and basically almost anything else under the sun has kind of prevented this week's section of Forum History. It will come back with a month-spanning vengeance next week. I can leave you with another favorite of mine though:

Random Insane Pictures From The Past – Sept 11^th-21^st

With that we've reached the end of Hot Threads for the current week. I only have two pieces of advice for any of you reading this column right now:

1) If you're reading this and have yet to join the World Wrestling Insanity Forums you really need to. You can join a fantastic community of people and also maybe get your thoughts put out on a website. Granted, when you post it on the forums it will be on a website...this would be a .com.

2) While you're on the World Wrestling Insanity Forums why don't you join Season 2 of WWI fantasy Wrestling (Link right HERE http://s14.zetaboards.com/Wrestling_Insanity/topic/6671769/ ) The rules are simple and it only takes, maybe, 5 minutes out of YOUR MONTH! So go ahead and join for a chance to win prizes, have fun, and see if you're better at knowing what will happen than everyone else.

Until next time.....

WorldWrestlingInsanity.com is not affiliated with any wrestling promotion.