Dying A Slow Death

I will give you three guesses as to what this entry is dedicated to. . .

Ever since Season 3 of NXT began, I have been considering just not writing about it anymore in my weekly column over at ProWrestlingPonderings.com. The all-female roster is dreadful. The challenges and obstacle courses make for terrible television. The actual wrestling is no better and the promos are painfully cringe worthy. Worst of all (depending on your point of view I suppose), this ridiculous excuse for a show won't even be on the air shortly. With Smackdown moving back to Syfy at the beginning of October, the network has decided there is no need to keep both shows on board, thus it is dumping NXT in favour of WWE's B-show. You couldn't make up a worst array of reasons not to write about, let alone watch, this crap.

And yet, when I finally forced myself to watch an entire episode of NXT this week, I realised how fascinating it actually is when you break it down. I found there was too much to talk about for my relatively small PWP article. As I said, the show is being pulled from tv and is believed to be moving to an Internet-only format before long. That means only four weeks of a twelve-week season will actually be aired on television, which has essentially lead to near-to-nobody caring about it, including the commentators.

This week's episode began with a recap of the previous week's show, which ended with Michael Cole walking out and just leaving the commentary team, primarily because it was a "joke." From this point on, they were openly admitting that NXT was pure muck. Josh Matthews was alone on the announce desk before he was joined by none other than CM Punk in a tweed jacket, who almost immediately described the show as a "car crash." Pure muck was somehow turned into pure gold momentarily:

The whole thing was incredibly surreal. For the majority of that hour, I couldn't believe I was watching a wrestling show. Yet, for all its craptacular insufferability, it made for great television. I gained far more enjoyment from watching this God awful laughing stock than I ever did watching the usual boring stuff they generally stick on NXT. It would appear that terrible beats mediocre anyday.

Why Cody Rhodes Is So Dashing

Cody Rhodes

In a previous blog post, Making New Ground. Sort Of, I wrote that under the wings of Randy Orton the members of Legacy - Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase - didn't make much, if any, ground during the time of that particular stable. That's undoubtedly a miserable failure if one of your main eventers can't elevate two mid-card wrestlers -- when it's specifically what he's supposed to be doing! What was the point of Legacy in the first place if it did nothing for the younger guys involved?

Cody as a member of Legacy

It was Randy Orton who eventually went over at Wrestlemania 26 in a Triple Threat match between himself and his former protegés. But when the feud ended there, the beaten men were back at square one. It was now completely up to them to try and elevate themselves up to the upper-mid-card or main event level.

Ted DiBiase stayed on Raw and found it hard getting a push at the best of times. On one episode, he was totally jobbed out by John Cena, who showed the second-generation superstar absolutely no respect. It was the low point of his post-Mania solo run. In an effort to put his career back on track, he resurrected the Million Dollar Man persona that his father used to such great effect in the eighties. It's not a great sign when you have to resort to a gimmick that your dad employed several years ago. . .

Cody, on the other hand, didn't seem to be going anywhere either, at first. He was moved to Smackdown! in the WWE Draft and then paired with a Rookie, Husky Harris, on NXT. It was apparent that he was not high priority for Creative.

In need of a push in the right direction, Cody revealed his brand new disposition:

I must admit, I love this new side of Cody. It's unleashed something in him that we're only beginning to see. He's brash, confident, cocky and tremendously suave on-screen right now. In my opinion, a lot of the best stuff in pro-wrestling is the really simple stuff. Cody's personality is simple: he's a good-looking guy and he knows it. There's nothing that a crowd finds more boo-inducing than someone who likes to tell you how good he is while insulting the viewers at the same time. The same goes for someone who continually tells you how handsome and "dashing" he is, and then says the opposite about his audience. Rhodes has just about perfected it really, and generates a great deal of heat on SD! now. The real test will be to stick him on Raw, and if he can make it work there, then he will have synched it.

I just hope he can continue to be as entertaining in his promos as he has been over the past two months:

His character has also been moulded effectively in a number of ways as well. Most notably, there's the mirror beneath the titantron that he uses for his entrance...

...and, of course, his fantastic Grooming Tips that we've been seeing for the past six or so weeks on SD!

Considering how SD! was practically pillaged in the aforementioned Draft, Cody Rhodes is one of the best things on display every Friday night. Even better is the fact that he's getting a bit of a push at the moment. He recently defeated both Matt Hardy and Christian in consecutive weeks and it now appears that he'll be in a mini-feud involving them, himself and Drew McIntyre. Hopefully that will go somewhere, but with the "sinister Scotsman" involved, Gods only knows if it will go anywhere at all.

As I said earlier, Cody has also been appearing on NXT, where he was mentoring his Rookie Husky Harris until he was eliminated just over two weeks ago. In my estimation, Rhodes has been one of the best Pros in the show's entirety, perhaps only bettered by The Miz, which is understandable once you consider the roll that Mr.MITB has been on this year. He's shot some amusing and entertaining promos on this Tuesday night programme, including this one: 

I always got the feeling on NXT that Cody did the best job at trying to put his Rookie over, aside from maybe LayCool (Michelle McCool and Layla) and their great work with Kaval. I think that's partly evidenced in his reaction (or overreaction, depending on how you look at it) to Husky's elimination. And Cody is still going great on the show without Harris, cutting another good promo last week and won in a decent, if long, match against MVP.

It certainly looks as if the son of Dusty Rhodes and brother of Dustin "Goldust" Runnels is finally getting somewhere. Let's just hope he can stay. . . dashing!

Podcast Of The Week: Smart Wrestling Fan

Welcome to podcast number three in the POTW series!

If you've been following this column, you'll know that it is usually found on my main blog, The Novelty Act, but this week I wanted to do something a little different and, considering the content, felt it deserved to be posted on The Unfinished Article.

As the mere existence of this particular blog will suggest, I'm a big wrestling fan. Unfortunately, it's not terribly easy to follow pro wrestling in Ireland unless you have Sky Digital, which I don't. Instead I must catch up on the week's WWE action every Sunday morning on Sky1 or watch it illegally on the Internet. That's where the AWARD WINNING Smart Wrestling Fan comes in. . .

SWF is a weekly wrestling review show that airs every Tuesday and subsequently podcasted on Wednesday. The show is hosted by "Smart" Joe Negron and Max Laughton, who is affectionately known to listeners as The Dshban. Notwithstanding that, Dshban co-hosts the show all the way from Australia. Even more incredible in my mind is the fact that he's only 18, a mere two months older than myself!

Dshban meets Layla at a WWE signing in Australia

Joe Negron and his other hobby -- video games.

I had never been one for wrestling podcasts until I found SWF. For months before then, I had been a subscriber to the CHIKARA Podcast-A-Go-Go, which is how I came across Joe Negron's SWF, but that was about it. You see, most wrestling podcasts are far shorter (SWF is usually an incredible three hours long) and rather than run through all of the week's action from each show in full, they tend to skim through the finer details. SWF, on the other hand, covers each show on their programme, from NXT to Raw and even TNA iMPACT! They even covered Chris Jericho's game show, Downfall, while it was on the air and towards the end of each show there is a brief recap on the week's Ring Of Honor.

Joe and Dshban don't just cover the week in pro wrestling though -- they cover it with considerable proficiency, which is why it's considered one of the best podcasts around by their fans and separates it from many other ones as well. They know their wrestling, that's for sure, but they also don't enter the obnoxious smarky territory that can be a real turn-off for the casual listener. They're not afraid to give their opinions either, as can be seen by this clip where Joe criticises TNA:

That extract is from a slightly old episode sans Dshban, but it is Joe at his best -- himself and Dshban are not afraid to tell it as it is, and they certainly don't shy away from criticising TNA. Of course, it is argued that they let each other go a bit too far with their antics, but I think that's a matter of opinion. I, for one, find it amusing and enjoyable.

So beloved of SWF are their fans, that they go to great lengths for one of their favourite shows. Some of them make one-off or weekly donations in order to keep the show running from week to week. . .

. . . some fans create fantastic artwork in dedication to the show. . .

. . . some fans even go as far as composing songs!

These creative fans have made such an emotional investment in SWF, because it is simply one of the most enlightening (as enlightening as pro wrestling can be) and entertaining podcasts around! Three hours can be a bit much for even the best of us, but it definitely grows on you as you begin to listen in on a weekly basis. Like I said before, I never was one for wrestling podcasts/radio shows. But now, whenever I finish one episode, I want to be able to download the next one right away!

And if you just so happen to be a big fan of SWF, then you can help out the show while looking good at the same time by purchasing some merchandise at Café Press.

You can also help the show by buying items from Joe's Crazy Auction Store (ebay) or his Amazon wishlist.


iTunes Description:

Joe Negron and Dshban discuss the week in Pro Wrestling. WWE, TNA, ROH and MORE.

Joe Negron and Dshban bring you show number 267 of the AWARD WINNING Smart Wrestling Fan Wrestling Review Show. Monday Night RAW, Friday Night Smackdown, TNA Impact, NXT, Lucha Libre USA, Ring of Honor, Mr. Mutant Larry's Song, and lots more!

 
If you want to find out even more about Smart Wrestling Fan there are plenty of places for you look. Their official website is brilliant and there are plenty of links there too, of course. Undoubtedly, they have a fan page on Facebook, so you can join up there and take part in the forums. Join SWF on Stickam as well, which is where the show is broadcast live every Tuesday.
 
 

 
 Related Podcasts:

Chikara Podcast-A-Go-Go
Smart Video Game Fan
Pro Wrestling Ponderings
Angry Marks
A Wiggly World 
We Talk Games
Pro Wrestling Report
Off The Ropes

You're Either Nexus Or Against Us

On June 7th we were greeted to the terrifying image of Michael Tarver in a mask at ringside, just before he and the other NXT rookies stormed the ring as a Cena-CM Punk match was reaching its climax on Monday night Raw. Lead by Season 1 winner Wade Barrett, the eight-man group lay waste to everything in sight -- the wrestlers, the announcers, the timekeeper, the ring and Justin Roberts' necktie. . .

No one could believe their eyes at what had just transpired. It was the must-see segment of the week for wrestling fans (in what was an otherwise dour episode of Raw).

Unfortunately, everyone's eyes were turned to a different story over the coming days as news of Daniel Bryan's (Bryan Danielson) release filtered through. Danielson was fired after the aforementioned necktie incident (which you can read more about on The Unfinished Article in the post titled The Bryan Danielson Saga). In my opinion, getting fired is not such a bad thing for the American Dragon. Firstly, he will be rehired sometime in the near future once this whole thing blows off, he's too good not to be. Secondly, he's far better off without the Nexus. Apart from Wade Barrett, all of the members are jobbers and need this storyline to elevate them to a certain degree. Danielson on the other hand does not.

Now, back to the Nexus.

On the following week's Raw, Wade Barrett explained that his newly-formed faction were seeking contracts to join the main roster. But why was Wade leading them in their search for WWE stardom? He had already secured a contract and a guaranteed title shot after all. The answer is simple: loyalty, apparently. They had all previously made a pact to stick together no matter who won.

There was a lot of speculation among smarks on who was the driver at the end of that clip, but it seems inconsequential now several weeks later. The Nexus would continue these beat downs routinely, including this one on Vince McMahon of all people:

This kind of scene repeated itself at the PPV Fatal 4-Way. The Nexus interrupted the main event, a WWE Championship match between John Cena, Sheamus, Randy Orton and Edge, which allowed the Celtic Warrior to cheekily take the title for a second time.

The Nexus were at it again at Money At The Bank, when it was all but a given that they would intrude upon the apparently impenetrable steel cage match between Sheamus and Cena. So, not only was it no surprise that they interfered with yet another main event on a PPV, but it also led to a very crappy finish. The Rookies, if you can still call them that, prevented Cena from climbing down off the cage before the Irishman could in what was a very frustrating end to the best WWE PPV in a long time.

It's hard to see where The Nexus are going at this point. In truth, a lot of their angles and promos have been the best thing on WWE television in quite a while, especially in the absence of the likes of Triple H, The Undertaker and the recently retired Shawn Michaels, but at the same time some of those angles and promos haven't been so good (I'm perhaps being a tad unfair in that regard -- you can say the same thing about any wrestler after all). We are continually reminded on-screen about Nexus' "bigger picture," but you get the feeling that that's just codeword for "Creative haven't written that part of the script yet."

I think I speak for everyone when I say that we all want to see Nexus achieve something tangible, not something forgettable. The faction already has a natural born winner and main eventer in the shape of Wade Barrett as it's leader, and it's also acted as a vehicle for successfully moving the NXT jobbers onto the main roster. WWE now needs to let the group push on, but can it do that when they put them in overbooked matches like that at the upcoming Summerslam? (If you haven't the booking yet, it's a seven-on-seven match between The Nexus versus John Cena's team, which includes The Great Khali and Bret Hart. . .)

With any luck, Summerslam will be another stepping stone for this band of youngsters. If not, it could mean a continuation of  the low ratings and PPV buys that we've seen of late.

The Bryan Danielson Saga

Considering how much time and space I've dedicated to NXT, and the part that Daniel Bryan has played in it, on The Unfinished Article, it would be amiss of me not to comment on the story at the very least.

OK, so where do you start with a story that has caused more controversy and anger among wrestling fans than any other firing of a low-card performer in WWE history? It's arguable to say in history perhaps, but definitely in my lifetime, and considering the ultra-advanced information age I've grown up in, it's been a source of considerable gossip for marks all over the Internet.

But of course, when it comes to getting the marks out here to talk, WWE have been on their A-game ever since the inception of NXT. First, there was the repackaging of Danielson as Daniel Bryan, a Rookie in season one of the show, and his subsequent pairing with WWE Pro The Miz, which had the fans going crazy. You could not put two more polar opposites together.

 Then, on the opening night, Danielson faced Chris Jericho in the main event, which I'm sure no one ever imagined seeing. Notwithstanding that, he was allowed to look very competitive against Y2J, which he would not be able to do on Smackdown or Raw. He also took some tremendous bumps in that match to put Jericho over, which reminded me a lot of Shawn Michaels (on his latest DVD, Michaels openly says that when he first came into WWE, himself and Marty Janetti would throw themselves all over the place in order to make their opponents look good). Fans were also sent into an online-frenzy when WWE paired Kaval, known to ROH fans as Low Ki, with. . . LayCool (Michelle McCool and Layla). Oh my. It certainly got us talking anyway.

This time, however, it was unintentional. Or, at least we think so. Following the most exciting ending to Raw in years, Daniel Bryan was released, after he choked ring announcer Justin Roberts with a tie. Someone complained and that was that. WWE do have a policy on choking after the Chris Benoit double-murder suicide, so they had to set an example, especially with Linda McMahon's election coming up. Now, I don't want to dwell on this, but I did read one blogger who was so enraged with the firing that he referred back to the Benoit thing and called him a coward and so on, which I totally disagree with altogether. I don't see the point in blaming this whole saga on something that happened nearly three years ago, especially something so tragic. I could go on for hours about the toll the business takes on one's body and mind.

Getting back to the story at hand, many have speculated that this is a fake firing, that it's an elaborate work that WWE have devised. In my opinion, that's pure bull. It's very much legit. His Twitter, the username of which he changed from DanielBryanNXT to bryandanielson, says as much really. On June 13th, he tweeted "Biding my time, waiting for the right moment to speak"; three days later, he said "Still not the right time, other than to say this: I am now available for independent bookings"; and most recently on Friday 18th, he wrote "Looks like my return to the independents will be next Saturday for @chikarapro in Detroit, MI. I'm stoked to be working with Chikara again!" That confirms it so. In one week's time, he will return to the indie scene with CHIKARA Pro Wrestling, and is also expected to perform at Absolute Intense Wrestling (AIW) that same weekend, while he's also rumoured to make an appearance at Dragon Gate (DGUSA) and Ring Of Honor (ROH) in the next few weeks (although the latter is unlikely as he will be unable to feature on TV or PPV). He has definitely severed ties with WWE. For now.

While some would feel that this is the end of Daniel Bryan and his career in the E, I'm inclined to think otherwise. This whole incident will blow over, and once the heat subsides (and Linda loses her election), Danielson will be resigned and start again. Hopefully. For pessimistic fans of the American Dragon's chances of a return, I offer this reminder, and another comparison with Shawn Michaels. The Rockers (HBK and Janetti) were impressive when they started out in the WWF/E, but had to leave the company after an incident in a bar. The two men returned a year later, and while Janetti could never make an impact as a singles competitor, Michaels went on to become arguably the greatest performer and entertainer of his generation. It would be outlandish to suggest that Danielson will replicate that, but it is important to remember that example when considering this firing. For now, let's just enjoy watching AmDrag getting back to doing what he does best on the indie circuit.

Here are a list of web pages and links, Facebook or otherwise, about Bryan Danielson:

• 
  
  Bryan "American Dragon" Danielson FB fan page.
• 
  
  Daniel Bryan FB page.
• 
  
  Wear A Tie For Bryan Danielson FB page.
• 
  
  Reinstate Bryan Danielson Petition at http://www.petitiononline.com/.
• 
  
  Facebook Group Petition To Rehire Daniel Bryan.
• 
  
  Dragon Undone: The End of Bryan Danielson in WWE (For Now) article at 411mania.com.
• 
  
  Whatever happened to The Final Countdown Tour? at prowrestlingponderings.com
• 
  
  DGUSA Enter The Dragon PPV featuring Bryan Danielson!

Now That You've Gotten My Attention..

Simply put, this was one of the best, possibly the most captivating, angle in a long time.

Watch the clips, they say it all. . .

So, on the eve of Season 2 of NXT, all of the participants of NXT Season 1 invade Raw, beat the holy hell out of John Cena, CM Punk, the Straight-Edge Society (SES), the announcers and other randomers, as well tearing the ring to shreds and leaving the place in a heap. . . Wow. All I can say is, thank God WWE have finally moved out of their comfort zone and done something innovative to recapture the fan's attention and imagination. More of the same, please.

OMG, WTF? and NXT.

The decline in quality that we've witnessed in NXT over the past two months has been fairly
painful. That is, if you've been watching the show at all. And considering the ratings of late, that's very likely indeed. The show has become a bit bland and it's format was never going to keep viewers consistently interested for longer than a month or so.

Nonetheless, one of the highlights of NXT since the opening show was Daniel Bryan, or better known to the indie scene as The Greatest Wrestler In The World, Bryan Danielson. From then on, he went on a losing streak before being eliminated from the competition on last week's episode. However, Bryan cut this very intriguing promo afterwards:

For some reason, the cameraman starts shaking like mad towards the end of the segment, as if this promo hasn't gone according to plan. But I think this was a work. Why else would they break "kayfabe," so to speak, and have him say his real name on tv? They wouldn't, so it has to be part of a proper storyline, and not just a shoot. Daniel Bryan then shot another promo the following week on NXT, and this probably confirms that Danialeson has a future on the main roster:

There are so many things to love about this promo. Firstly, his mic skills are astonishing. Secondly, he doesn't hold back on anything. I'm pretty sure he's the first wrestler to talk about muscular guys being pushed ahead of others on WWE television. When he claims that he's better than the Miz, you can clearly see that both William Regal and CM Punk nod in wholehearted agreement. Priceless. If you listen closely, you can also hear Regal saying "Miz, he is better than you." And it just keeps getting better. Next, he turns to commentator Michael Cole, and verbally tears him to shreds, before physically pummeling him too. Thus completing Cole's heel turn I would assume.

I am not exaggerating when I say this: this was quite possibly the greatest promo I have ever seen. I mean, I used to be a big fan of The Rock and I could watch his promos from noon till night. But the raw emotion and passion that Danielson revealed here was truly mesmerising. It could be the biggest talent-related mistake WWE have ever made if they let him go.

Some Catching Up To Do..

OK, so it's a been a while. . .

I know I still haven't posted a review on WrestleMania 26, it's still unfinished in my drafts (fail to see the irony?), cause I haven't had the time to write a full-length one, what with school work and study and all.

So I'll try and post as much as possible between now and the summer holidays, and may even get that WM entry in, but no promises. In the meantime, I'll be posting my thoughts on recent happenings in WWE and so on. Right now, I'll be concentrating on NXT and the Draft, and other things related to that.

I know I said previously that NXT was a great show in the beginning, but I have to admit that it's gone slightly stale in the past couple of weeks. Probably because nothing happens on the show! I did see Heath Slater beating Chris Jericho on last week's show though, so he's the first and only Rookie to defeat a Pro so far. Michael Cole continues to confuse me with his heelish commentary and constant bashing of Daniel Bryan (which he's obviously been told to do so by Vince McMahon through his headset). In an odd way however, it works! It's just different, I couldn't see Cole and Josh Matthews working together as well as they do here on a normal commentary format. David Otunga has certainly been one of the most impressive on-screen personas and I expect him to beat a Pro soon as well. Wade Barrett is also right up there in terms of charisma and talent. You could put this guy on either Smackdown or Raw tomorrow and he'd fit right in, he's that good in my opinion. Along with Daniel Bryan, these three are the standout performers.

I thought that this year's annual Draft was fairly solid as far as these things go. There have been shambolic ones in the past. The biggest moves of the night were Edge and Chris Jericho to Raw, who I imagine are being rewarded for the brilliant work they've done on Smackdown over the past year. Especially Jericho, who really made that main-event spot his own after Edge suffered a torn achilles tendon last year.

During the show itself, Edge was involved in a segment that made little sense, when he cost Randy Orton a title shot in his triple threat match with Sheamus and Batista. Is Edge reverting to a heel turn already? This might be for the best, considering he's not quite as good a face.

In other news from the Raw Draft show:

• 
  
  
  R-Truth and John Morrison also moved to the red brand, a transfer the Shaman of Sexy really needs to take advantage of at this point of his career. While he's still young, and has plenty more years in him, I think he must make the headline breakthrough sooner rather than later. 
• 
  
  
  The Hart Dynasty (Tyson Kidd & David Hart Smith) df. Show-Miz for the Unified Tag Team Titles in a superb match. I'm becoming increasingly impressed with THD, after it seemed for ages that Creative had nothing for them to do. The win was also the catalyst for Big Show and The Miz splitting up, the former was later drafted to the blue brand, making the split complete.
• 
  
  
  Christian, who was languishing in the now defunct ECW for the past year, finally made the move to one of the top brands and I expect him to flourish on SD. Knowing WWE though, I could very easily be wrong about that.
• 
  
  
  MVP, Kofi Kingston, Kelly Kelly and Rosa Mendes were drafted to SD. A good move for all of the aforementioned people.
• 
  
  
  A final note on Jack Swagger: I have been pleasantly surprised with the All-American American's title run so far. In fact, that doesn't begin to describe how impressed I am with his in-ring performances. Since being elevated to the top spot, we've been able to see his great strength and charisma.

In the next entry, I'll probably be discussing the silly themed pay-per-views that WWE are persisting with and how they can utilise the moves in the Draft to improve their product, which has been lagging of late. I may also divulge into the general dreadfulness of TNA and the Monday Night Massacre.

See you then. . .