The Gorilla Press: Monday Night Wars Cool Down, MITB Adds 64th Participant
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Monday, March 15, 2010
THE SHEET
Rating in for Impact/RAW [Ring Posts Blog]
Jim Ross signs contract extension with WWE [PW Torch]
Sgt. Slaughter re-signs legend deal with WWE [PW Torch]
Roddy Piper appears on Cold Case [PW Torch]
GORILLA CLIP OF THE WEEK
In what was one of the greatest Wrestlemania main events of all time, as part of one of the greatest Wrestlemanias of all time, it is only fitting that this build up video (featuring Limp Bizkit’s My Way) was one of the greatest Wrestlemania build up videos of all time.
SHOWSTOPPER
FROM RAW
What, exactly, will Randy Orton be doing? Let’s just relax on the Randy Orton/Legacy build, okay? The WWE may have taken the REAAAAALLY SLOOOOW burn approach for this feud, but I’d rather have a slow burning feud than a shotgunned feud such as the Truth/Morrison pairing that has suddenly pitted against ShoMiz. Orton will likely have a match against his former Legacy brethren, and guessing how this match will come together is half the fun. There is even a possibility of Kofi Kingston being involved in this feud which would be intriguing, but with the Money in the Bank match expanding to 45 participants, Kofi will probably be involved in that match.
Not so fast, Hunter. RAW provided some notable comedy segments this past Monday, the most notable being this comical monologue from Triple H.
Triple H submits that every superstar he has defeated at Wrestlemania has become a footnote in WWE history. Really? REALLY?! Let’s keep him honest.
Superstars Triple H defeated at Wrestlemania
Wrestlemania 13: Triple H defeats Goldust. At that point, The Goldust character was one of the hottest things going on the WWE card and, to this day, not only does Goldust still continues to be a good hand in the ring but he is still over with the fans. Footnote? I think not.
Wrestlemania 14: Triple H defeates Owen Hart. The late Owen Hart is perhaps one of the most underrated superstars in WWE history and while he may have been somewhat floundering as The Blue Blazer at the time of his death, it is believed by many that Hart was seriously considered for a WWE title run prior to his untimely death. It is also worth mentioning that Hart’s career speaks for itself with many great tag team runs as well as a standout performance against Bret Hart at Wrestlemania 10. The only thing currently keeping Owen Hart out of The Hall of Fame is the still-touchy subject of his death. Footnote? I think not.
Wrestlemania 2000: Triple H defeats The Big Show, Mick Foley, and The Rock. All three of those defeated superstars are future hall of famers with The WWE provided Vince McMahon is in his right state of mind which is not always a lock. Footnotes? I think not.
Wrestlemania 18: Triple H defeats Chris Jericho. Keep in mind that Chris Jericho is the current World Heavyweight Champion and will be headlining this year’s Wrestlemania opposite Edge. Footnote? I think not.
Wrestlemania 19: Triple H defeats Booker T. Booker T has been a champion in every promotion he’s been a part of and is a virtual lock for The WWE Hall of Fame the next time Wrestlemania is held in the Houston/Texas area. Footnote? I think not.
Wrestlemania 25: Triple H defeats Randy Orton. Randy Orton is a six time heavyweight champion with more title reigns sure to come. He also beat Triple H for The WWE Championship a month later at The Backlash pay per view. Footnote? I think not.
Shit, if these are Triple H’s idea of footnotes, maybe Sheamus should do the job.
FROM iMPACT!
RVD enjoys 15 seconds of fame. The one good thing that came out of The RVD return angle, as RVD made his TNA debut, was that TNA really hammered home the fact that Sting was a heel. Literally. Sting’s extended beatdown of RVD after turning heel earlier in the broadcast was perhaps one of the few scenario that could make yet another attempt at a Sting heel turn work. The bad part? This entire feud seemed to be booked in the matter of one segment sans The RVD comeback.
Oh Brother! Seeing Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair slither around in the ring (and not Jake Roberts/Randy Orton slithering, I’m talking senior citizen walrus slithering) was a sight that screamed RETIRE ALREADY! These two could not have been used any more incorrectly with Flair overshadowing A.J. and Hulk using a borderline comedy gimmick to attempt to get the always-floundering Abyss over. Now there’s talk of an angle borrowed from The Wrestler with Hulk Hogan playing the role of Randy “The Ram” Robinson. Well TNA got off to a good start of impersonating The Wrestler as *SPOILER ALERT* the show went to black while Jeff Hardy was just about to leave the top rope.
The Band continues to play sour note. There is a sick feeling in my stomach that we may be seeing the finger poke of doom with the ‘lose and go home’ stipulation applying to team ‘Last Call’. This would be typical TNA as Nash, Hall, and Pac have been at each others throats and fighting with metal rods only to reveal that the whole thing was a rouse. If this, happens and it doesn’t get Vince Russo fired, TNA is dead in the water. Period.
FROM SMACKDOWN!
Money in the Bank adds 64th participant. This Money in the Bank situation has become quite cartoonish. We understand that The WWE may be saving the bigger guns for the upcoming Money in the Bank Pay-per-view in June, however what we don’t understand is the fact that The Money in the Bank ladder match seems to be expanding into a Royal Rumble with a ladder. Drew McIntyre’s win against a rare jobber this past Friday on Smackdown! made him the 9th participant in The Money in the Bank match at Wrestlemania, the most to ever participate in the event. With Kofi still on the outside looking in, expect that number to be rounded up to a nice even ’10.’ I have no doubts that this still should be a good match, but The WWE is pushing it here.
Edge/Jericho bookers listen to The Gorilla Press. Last week we pleaded that The Edge/Jericho feud be more focused on the fact that these two have built animosity against one another from their brief run as tag team champions and The Smackdown! powers that be listened. Jericho berating Edge for being injured and contrasting Edge’s laundry list of injuries to Jericho’s relatively injury-free career was exactly what we had in mind for this feud from day one. This makes the most sense. This would create the most conflict. Weeks of Edge spearing Jericho, however, would not.
TIP THE HOST
I like magic, and 10 years into the century Criss Angel was selected as the Magician of the Century. Now THERE’S a magic trick. We leave Mr. Angel with a $7 tip.
THE SHOOT
TNA Ratings do not live up to name of the show. TNA’s ratings for its first Monday Night Show since January 4th did anything but make an impact. The sorry 1.0 (rounded up from a .98) rating was likely a direct result of TNA refusing to promote the intriguing talent that was going to be on the show, and instead opting to go with a ‘we’ve got a surprise, so tune in!’ approach.
TNA does not have the credibility to jump their ratings thought ‘surprise’ campaigns. When TNA, a very distant second to The WWE machine, is asking the casual viewer to tune in without telling them exactly what they will be watching, they are virtually asking the casual viewer to get into the car with a stranger. As you may know, Americans were taught at an early age to never get into the car with a stranger.
People don’t trust TNA yet. TNA does not have the leverage to hold out on advertising big names that will be appearing on their show and Monday’s rating showed it. The WWE can jump their ratings with a promise of a surprise because they are a trusted brand name that has such a rich history of delivering on big surprises dating back to The Ultimate Warrior appearing at Wreatlemania 8 as well as their old tagline that read Anything can happe in in the WWF!
TNA needs to worry about building itself into a brand name product before they plan any surprises, and they do that by putting their best foot forward and telling the consumers what they have in store for them.
FINISHERS
We leave you with our second ever edition of The Monday Night War SpreadSHREDDER.
Monday Night War SpreadSHREDDER: WWE RAW (-2.5) over TNA iMPACT!
With The WWE heavily promoting a Wrestlemania Rewind night featuring three main-event level matches, and ratings darling Stone Cold Steve Austin making a guest hosting appearance and expected to be involved in multiple segments during the heart of Wrestlemania season, TNA will not stand a chance this week. It should be noted that TNA’s major attraction this week will be a should-be pay per view main event between A.J. Styles and Jeff Hardy. RAW 3.8, iMPACT! 1.2
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Tags: Gorilla Press Pro Wrestling Blog, TNA Impact Rating March 8, Wrestlemania 26
