The Axeman Speaks 1-7-10

January 7, 2010

The opinions expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Hollywood Jimmy Blaylock, the Webmaster, or anyone else connected with this site. They are mine, and mine alone. If you agree with me, OK, and if you don’t, that’s OK. The fact is, you are reading this column, and that's what counts!

Greetings wrestling fans! This may come as a shock to many of you - brace yourself - it has been less than a month since I last updated this column, lol. Try not to become overcome by the shock....

Much has een written the last several days about TNA Impact vs. WWE RAW. I would like to give my thoughts about Monday night, so here we go.

We'll start with RAW:

First of all, It was good to see Bret Hart back. I have always been a big fan of Hart, and I never thought I would see him in a WWE ring or on a WWE show again. Getting to see him and Vinny Mac face each other all these years after what happened in Montreal was almost unreal. The Hart - McMahon face off went like everyone figured it would go. No surprises there. So welcome back, Bret.

Maryse is gorgeous! I am crazy about her. She is a great lady heel wrestler. The Bella twins seemed a little slow or sluggish or something, but the way Maryse out foxed them was good.

The Miz is a brash, arrogant, snobbish, conceited, mouth-running ass hole - but he is a very good brash, arrogant, snobbish, conceited, mouth-running ass hole, and I guess that's why he is enjoying his success in WWE right now. He's someone we all love to hate.

Why does WWE continue to put MVP, Mark Henry, Carlito and Jack Swagger in a match working each other over and over and over again? It's getting old, Vince....

I admit Hornswoggle is sort of funny, but he also gets on my nerves pretty fast.

Legacy standing up to Randy Orton - now that's something I didn't think WWE would do - yet. The Orton & Vince segment was just a Royal Rumble commercial. Could've done without that.

Sheamus Vs. Bourne was a decent match, albeit a short match. Sheamus is talented. Look for big things from him in the future. He will be around a long time if he can stay healthy.

Another Orton Vs. Kingston match. It was not a bad match, but can't WWE come up with something else? Is anyone else tired of seeing the same matches week after week?

So - what is my over all opinion of the Jan. 4 edition of RAW? On a scale of
1 to 10, I would give it a 5. Week after week of the same guys working the same guys is just plain boring. All the show had going for it was Bret Hart. Oh, and Maryse, of course.

Is that all WWE has to offer? Is that the best they've got? Is Vince so not-worried about TNA that he just answered their challenge with a bunch of repeat matches that were about half boring? It seems to me that he would have brought in the best of the best from Smackdown, ECW, & RAW and put on a much stronger show. Or, is that the best they can do?

OK, let's take a look at TNA Impact....

The nWo rides again! Scott Hall, Waltman and Nash in the ring with Hogan and Bischoff brought back a lot of memories. But Hogan and TNA would do well to remember that, while it was a good angle for WCW in the beginning, it did eventually get stale and lost its appeal. When it got old, WCW had nowhere to go with it - they had painted themselves into a corner, so to speak - and that led to the eventual downfall of WCW. Now, after all this time, those guys are older. The nWo is an idea that has come and gone. TNA would do well to come up with something fresh instead of doing the nWo stuff again. OK, with that said, let's talk about the rest of the show....

TNA needed to pull out all the stops on the entire show, but they started off with a crappy opening match. Jeff Hardy was all that saved this train wreck. TNA did not start off strong.

Then we see ODB Vs. Tara. Again. A repeat of a match that we have seen before. So TNA pulls a WWE and shoves it at us again. Not smart.

Ric Flair's participation in the show was a pleasant surprise. Sure, we've been hearing and reading all the hype about Flair coming to TNA for weeks. However, I figured that it would be later rather than sooner when he got involved - if at all. I guess this proves that Hogan can deliver - at least he did manage to get Flair on board - or did he? I read where Mick Foley is taking credit for convincing Flair to join TNA - but I guess it does not really matter, because Flair did get on board. I don't care what anyone says, Flair is still one of the hottest commodities in professional wrestling today. Can't believe Vince let him get away. Flair's presence in TNA will come back to bite Vince on the ass - big time.

Mick Foley trying to get into the event was really kind of dumb. They are obviously building to some sort of angle. It might be interesting to see how it all plays out -then again, maybe not. We'll see.

Val Venis and Beautiful People playing strip poker... typically Russo all the way! He obviously wrote one segment anyway.

Sting in the house. In the rafters somewhere. What's the point? If you're gonna bring him in, use him in a more productive way!

Sags and Knobs? I didn't really think that they would actually be brought back - at least not right away. Sags is sagging and Knobs is knobby lol. Both these guys are high mileage. Their upcoming feud with Team 3-D will probably be good, but I think it will be short-lived. Sags & Knobs are over the hill - but again, so is Team 3-D.

TNA showed, in a grand style, a major difference between TNA and WWE with the Knockouts Tag Team Championship Match. Kong is so... so... BIG & powerful, and Hamada is as rough as they come. They are not eye candy... not Diva's. TNA really drove that point home with that match. As D-Rock would say, "good call!"

Raven and Stevie Richards are back. Ho hum... yawn. Matt Morgan & Hernandez did a good job, however, so it was a decent match. I have never been impressed with Raven or Stevie Richards. I am still unimpressed.

Abyss Vs. Samoa Joe: Great match between these two big guys. Joe won the match, but both of them did a great job. Also showcased the tremendous talent and potential that TNA has.

Kurt Angle Vs. AJ Styles: To say it was an outstanding match would be the understatement of the month. Nobody in WWE, Ring of Honor, Chikara, or any other organization could have done it better. These two extremely talented guys put on a phenominal match, with some of the best in ring work I have seen in a very long time.
On a scale of 1 to 10, I would give that match about a 12.

The segments where TNA originals are being laid out backstage by an unknown attacker wreaked of nWo. Again, TNA must be careful not to overdo the nWo type angle. We've been there & seen that.

So... Did TNA or WWE win round one?

If you are talking about ratings, WWE won the ratings battle, largely because of Bret Hart. However, TNA had the best over all show, no doubt about it. It was a surprise that WWE did not put on a better show, but maybe that's all they've got.

So, the battle will no doubt go to round two. It will be interesting to see if Vince offers up anything better next time TNA comes calling. Has TNA got your attention yet, Vince?