I'm ZAH...the casual smart-mark. And I' ve got a couple of things to talk about.

Boo-yah...here we go!! 

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Item # 1 – Didja miss me?

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Well you can thank reader Drewcifer for the following:

What...you don't see that?  Right over Batista's shoulder.  Here...let me narrow-it-down for you:

Yeah…that 3-piece Aaron Wood Sux sign is the single, solitary reason that I’ve come back from my self-imposed sabbatical at this time.   If you remember, way back in January I had created a joint contest with Canadian Bulldog called the “ Aaron Wood Sucks” contest.  

Basically, we both said that we’d do something together and that we’d dedicate a column or something to whomever could get an “Aaron Wood Sucks” sign on WWE television (or TNA or ROH…didn’t really matter).  

And on Monday, April 13^th…Drewcifer along with his buddy J-Zilla and his wife Kate held-up this 3-piece sign that has forever placed him in my list of all-time favorite-readers-ever-of-all-time-infinity.

Boo-yah...here we go!! 

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Item # 1 – CM Punk is IC champion FTW~!!!.

,,

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I might be slightly biased in how I perceived Monday night's match between William Regal and CM Punk for the Intercontinental title because of my multi-year man-crush for Punk (although he never returns my calls...huh), but I was extremely impressed with the No-DQ match he had with Regal from beginning to end.

The thing with Regal is that he's at his best when he's allowed to fight somebody. The best matches I've ever seen of Regal's were him against Chris Benoit because they would literally beat the ever-loving snot out of each other.   They went at it with such ferocity that you couldn’t help but believe it was real.

Monday night came close, imo.

“ Isolation is the oxygen mask... "

Boo-yah...here we go!! 

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Item # 1 – There were a couple of releases this week.

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Well, the WWE ax fell on quite a few recognizable names over this past week…even though not nearly as many as some had predicted.

Once again…Funaki is safe.

Basically, WWE announced that it was be cutting approximately 10 percent of its work force as part of the program to cut $20 million in costs in fiscal 2009. The cuts were expected to save the company $8 million. Talent cuts, as expected, were part of the layoffs.

The first casualty?

Item # 1 – So I saw “The Wrestler”…

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I gotta say…if you’re looking for a wrestling movie, this may not be for you.   The wrestling could have very easily been boxing or football or baseball or golf.   While it’s a focus of the movie, it’s not the end-all to be-all.

That’s not to say there isn’t a ton of wrestling “stuff” in there, cause there is.   A simple little indie match showcases how to blade (for those not “in the know”).   A hardcore match featuring Necro Butcher in CZW is a major focal point of the movie (and the close-ups are quite graphic).   A Ring of Honor show has Randy “The Ram” Robinson in the main event.  

But that, to me, is really just secondary.   The story is truly about Randy’s search for himself…who he is vs. who he used to be.   Who he wants to be vs. who he has no choice but being.   The struggles of wanting to improve his lot in life vs. the realities of the situation he is in and the choices that he makes.

Item # 1 –  He f*cking lost?

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Topping off my list this week...out of all things that made me shake my head over the past seven days was the debut of Jimmy Wang Yang.

For weeks, WWE has promoted this guy as a good ol’ Southern boy who just happens to be of Oriental decent.  He’s a redneck who just happens to be your boy.  Yee-haw.  Giddy-up.

The strange part?   This gimmick was actually getting over.  Whether that was the intent of WWE Creative or not...the gimmick was actually getting over.  When Yang debuted last week, he got a pretty good pop and the crowd seemed to be solidly behind him.  He was borderline-spectacular in the match, too.  Then, of course, he lost.

WHAT???