| From WorldWrestlingInsanity.com ZAH
Boo-yah...here we go!!
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Item # 1 – WWE cuts: fall edition.
,
It’s not a huge deal, but both Paul London and Chuck Palumbo were released today by WWE and sent along on the “endeavors” road. While not surprising, there are some interesting (to me at least) notes to consider here.
WWE has a history of releasing bigger guys who don’t get over huge. Guys who are “decent hands” like Rob Conway, Trevor Murdoch, Doug Basham & the Damaja, and Mark Jindrak get released when they could all fill roles that WWE obviously has a hard time filling now.
So while never a “superstar” in the making (although upon his re-debut on Smackdown I thought there was a legit shot at a U.S. title reign in his future), I thought Palumbo could always be used as a guy who helped others get over. Similar to the current Snitsky role, I guess. But for whatever reason, they feel that guys like Snitsky and Kung Fu Naki can be bigger superstars. I dunno…seems like there is so much wasted television time on guys like Ricky Ortiz when at least you know you’d get a semi-decent match out of Palumbo when putting somebody else over.
Palumbo’s contract was expiring soon and it was fully expected that he wouldn’t be picked-up again.
In fact, he’s already getting feelers from
With
There are conspiracy theories, no doubt.
The one I find most amusing is that
Ha.
No, I think those in management simply saw
I totally expect
And yes, James…I fully expect interviews with both Palumbo and
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Item # 2 –
I really shouldn’t have doubted WWE. I’m sorry, WWE…can you ever forgive me?
I was one of the first to speak out in udder disbelief and disdain at the misguided World title victory by Batista over Chris Jericho at Cyber Sunday.
Yes, WWE had backed itself into a corner with the match but there were options and alternatives that could have saved both
I don’t really care for Batista.
Do I dislike the guy?
No.
I just don’t care for him too much.
He’s an okay big man who deserves to be at the main-event level because of his popularity.
That’s fine.
Is he championship material?
Absolutely…when there aren’t any other options.
In the case of RAW,
Last week I had a glimmer of hope that the Batista reign would be a short one:
“…when he makes a decision, you have to go with it.
Vince usually has a lot of different plans, and whether it’s the end of it for good or whether I win the title again, I’m not sure, but it doesn’t matter to me.
I think there’s a lot of over-analyzing of different things.
TO me, the most important thing was that I got it in the first place, which was never supposed to be the case.”
And while that may be the case, I still don’t agree with the timing of the Batista run.
I stand by that last statement, too.
While I’m happy to see
And that’s what makes this even worse for Batista.
He now looks like a fluke for his win at Cyber Sunday…and I think that takes away from his high-profile wins over Michaels and Cena.
Jeez…he couldn’t even beat
And that’s the new question. Where do you go now? The steel cage match is, in its essence, the final battle in a feud. There shouldn’t be any more Jericho/Batista matches, in theory. Both men need to start new feuds and move on. But there isn’t anything out there for either one of them, at least not off the top of my head.
Oh yeah…Cena’s back. F*ck.
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Item # 3 –Adamle quits?
I don’t get it. This is going in one of two directions. Either Mike Adamle is going to come back as a heel manager or under Vince’s tutelage in some manner (i.e. to continue a storyline against Stephanie and/or Shane), or WWE legitimately let Adamle go and decided to bury him on the way out.
The way things are going, it appears as though we’re going to get another McMahon vs. McMahon power feud between Shane and Stephanie. Should Adamle be part of this or is his about to be wished well on his future endeavors?
For the reported $300,000 salary he receives, I imagine he’ll be seeking other employment sooner rather than later unless WWE creative have some new crazy role for him.
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Item # 4 – WHERE IN THE BLUE HELL IS ELIJAH BURKE?!?!?!?
Somebody get a milk carton out for this man.
Truly a waste of immense talent.
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Item # 5 – Low-Ki in WWE?
Indy wrestler Low Ki was backstage at the RAW show this past Monday. It was immediately suggested that he would get a tryout match before RAW started, but instead that slot was given to Mike Knox and D-Lo Brown.
The good news, though, is that he was given a dark match tryout with Primo Colon before the Smackdown tapings (he lost after a missile dropkick).
Why Ki? Well, apparently both MVP and Rey Mysterio are high on him and are pushing to give him a shot at the big time. The rumors floating around are that Low Ki would be thrown into a program with Rey Mysterio, either playing a heel Rey Mysterio “imposter” or a new masked character to feud with Mysterio.
I gotta admit…I love both ideas. I’ve always been an admirer of Low Ki and his abilities. Would he have to change his style to work in WWE? Sure…but so do 99% of all wrestlers who come into the company.
I would like to believe that Ki has brutalized his body enough that he’s willing to try sports entertainment and maybe take it easy on his body in order to get the big payday. I mean, if the guy can lower himself to be called “Senshi” and work TNA as a jobber…surely he’d be excited at being placed under a mask to have a high-profile feud with Mysterio.
I love the idea, personally.
Plus with smaller guys like Kendrick and Bourne and
Can Low Ki do it? Can he alter his style to become an entertainer? I honestly don’t know…but I’m certainly cheering for him.
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Item # 6 – Pre-orders have already arrived in mailboxes!
Grab a copy of James Guttman’s newest book, “
Shoot First…Ask Questions Later
”, which is available
NOW for sale on Amazon.com
!
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Item # 7 – DX was okay for one night.
But that’s it…don’t do it again.
I’ll be the first to admit…begrudgingly…that I really enjoyed the (admittedly lame) comedy bit that DX did before their match with Miz & Morrison on RAW.
Hunter’s nose? Yes…it’s been made fun of before by others, but never by HBK.
Michaels’ hair loss? I’ve made fun of it…but it’s never been addressed by him.
It’s okay to punch my wife but don’t make fun of the chaps? I lol’d.
Triple H saying Miz and Morrison are allowed to get married in this day and age before doing the “Let’s get ready to suck it” line? C’mon…that’s good stuff.
Once a year I can handle. That’s it. Don’t bring it back full time or part time. Once a year. Make it a big deal that people will turn in for. And then leave it dead and buried until next year.
Please.
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Item # 8 – Turning Point predictions.
Sting vs. A.J. Styles for the TNA title
Booker T vs. Christian Cage for the TNA “Legends title”
Beer Money vs. The
Abyss vs. Kurt Angle
Sheik Abdul Bashir vs. Rhino in a non-title grudge match
An X Division championship seeding match to determine the top contenders to Bashir's title…
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Item # 9 – Super Crazy quits!
Y’know, it’s only surprising that Crazy took this long to make the decision to leave WWE due to how he was being used.
It’s already being reported that AAA has been in discussions with him, as I had expected immediately after the story broke.
He apparently doesn’t want to go to TNA anyway, so him going back “home” makes sense.
AAA is wanting to put up as much of a fight against WWE as possible, especially with WWE killing in the Mexican ratings recently. They made a legit 7-figure offer to Rey Mysterio that he turned down to remain with WWE…so don’t think Super Crazy wouldn’t be a solid pick-up to the promotion. I mean, he’s no Rey Mysterio…but he’s definitely a draw in that country.
He’s super…and he’s crazy…and he’s now free.
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Item # 10 – LOSER OF THE WEEK.
Each and every week, I pick somebody (not necessarily always from wrestling) who has either acted in a dumb way, said something stupid, or generally was an idiot in some way, shape, or form. This week’s winner has been a winner previously and only has to appear in public to win again.
This
time around, ZAH's Loser of the Week is...
Amy Winehouse
!!!
Look at this junkie crack-whore.
Seriously…look at that.
She has to be a f*ckin’ zombie…that just can’t be alive.
So yeah…just for appearing in public looking like the very definition of “death warmed over”, you automatically become ZAH's "Loser of the Week"!
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PILLAR TO POST
WHO ARE YOUR FIVE FAVORITE HEELS OF ALL TIME AND WHY? ,
My guest this week is another
CHIKARA standout.
I’m a big fan of this guy and his character/gimmick.
Not only that, he’s KILLER on the mic when doing commentary.
He has been a member of Sweet & Sour International, formed The Dark Breed with Hallowicked, but is probably better known for being the leader of the Order of the
ULTRA MANTIS BLACK!!!
The top heel of all time. To me, Gilbert represents everything that is righteous and good about old school southern professional wrestling. Using time tested heel tactics alongside never before used, cutting edge antics to generate heat, Gilbert raised the bar that very few have been able to meet since. Easily one of the greatest minds in the history of the business, most of the the angles he shaped or created were near genius with his booking run in Continental in '88, in my opinion, being the most entertaining chapter of pro wrestling ever.
There are a few things I liked about Art Barr. He was one of the first smaller guys to start breaking through in the mainstream. He was using lucha stateside in decidedly non-Latino territories at a time when absolutely nobody else was. And most of it all, because he was, and to this day still is, one of the greatest heels Mexican lucha libre has ever seen. Everything he did as "Love Machine" in Mexico was golden - from the authenticity of his in-ring work, to his ability to make every single fan in a packed arena hate his guts within minutes of getting to the ring. His sneer alone was enough to enrage a crowd.
The character Kevin Sullivan created for himself in
Borrowed from Gorgeous George (and others) but just went completely over the top with it. Adrian Adonis stole the gimmick and became famous with it. He'll forever be underrated, but
Broke all stereotypes about the the levels of ferocity and venom thereunto seen in women's wrestling. Watch any Bull Nakano match at her peak in AJW, and you will see one of the most hated heels ever in not only women's wrestling but in all of wrestling period. She used her size, her outlandish appearance, and her sheer brutality to not only build her own image as a genuine monster, but also, and more importantly, to elevate the status of her opponents tenfold in the fans' eyes when they came out on top.
”
Fantastic stuff, UMB!!
I really appreciate you taking the time out to participate in the column and absolutely love your old-school picks.
And if you want to know more about the great leader of the
Of course that’s not all this week.
Ya’ll know that ultimately this part of the column is all about YOU...the reader.
So having said that, I now hand over the floor to two of the Insanity faithful so they can provide their own thoughts on the topic at hand and become guest columnists for a week.
This week I bring you a great readers in Lionheart and the Insanity’s own TNA recapper Fritz Stephey!
,
I'm a little biased because he's my favorite wrestler back to his WCW days, but I love the cocky/silly heel
When I was growing up, like most kids, I had a wrestling buddy. No it wasn't Hulk Hogan or Ultimate Warrior. I owned the Macho King wrestling buddy. I grew up watching Savage and Sensational Sherri steal wins each week from the babyfaces. Later, I went back and watched older footage and saw Savage's turn on Hogan leading up to the great Mega Powers Collide match at WM V. His days in WCW didn't do much for me, but then he went against your friendly neighborhood Spiderman as "BoneSaw" and he won me over again.
He was better than anyone he went up against, and he would let them know it. The Fourhorsemen were hated, yet respected by every wrestling fan. Flair was on top of his game as a heel who did everything to win; he was the dirtiest player in the game.I never rooted for Flair to win, whether he was feuding with Sting, Lex Luger, Triple H, Randy Savage, etc., he was a guy I always wanted to see lose. He won way more than he lost, and looking back, I see why he is considered one of, if not the best all time.
Another of my favorites, Orton came into his own as a heel just before his latest injury. He gets natural heat from wrestling fans for his robotic delivery and constant use of rest holds, but the psycho Orton with his head punting ways led him to the championship. That doesn't even mention the great "Legend Killer" days and his great match with Mick Foley.
Another of my favorites growing up. Henning never held the WWF Championship, but he was still perfect. With Bobby the Brain by his side, wrestling fans booed him for his cockiness. But he could be cocky because he was that good.
Definitely my all time favorite Heel. Hot Rod was pure insanity every step of the way...and I can't watch all the stock footage enough.
He pulled off the punk ass kid...for real.
Purely because that's what I grew up on. I remember watching the heel turn, which was shocker in itself, but what followed was some of the best of wrestling. Plus, I never can resist calling rich people "Billionaire Ted".
People may not like me throwing out Orton's name, since he's still recent in terms...but damn. Never have I been driven to hate someone during a promo OR a match to a level Randy Orton has. More than solid on a mic, and pretty damned good in the ring...he is at his greatest as a heel.
What do I really HAVE to say about Edge? Charisma? He's spot-on crazy-ass performances? They way he pulls off anything manipulative? What CAN'T Edge do?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Great job, guys!
Your effort into these answers is MUCH appreciated….wait, what…Mr. America?
Really?
That’s okay, it’s all good.
And guess what, kids...EVERYBODY has a shot at being a volunteer for a future Pillar to Post.
The great thing about this new format is that it's not time-sensitive and you don't need to watch every wrestling show on the planet every single week in order to answer a topic. Hey...I wonder who my special guests will be next week?
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So that's it for this week.
I appreciate you clicking the link that brought you here and for reading the column every week. I mean, if it weren't for all of you reading I would just be blogging to myself...
Got something to say?
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Zah@worldwrestlinginsanity.com
, hitting me up at
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(found on the
Insanity Message Board
), or letting me know that you'd like to participate by checking out my new online blog
The World According to ZAH
!
And then there's the
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(add me...you know you want to). Oh...and then join the
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Whew!
Got all that?
Good.
That's all I got for now, kids.
Until next week...take care.
,
, ,
Oh yeah...it was Aaron Wood's birthday yesterday. So happy birthday, Mr. Suck. ,
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