HTQ's Thoughts - 6/1/06. Inc. some MMA.
Kane vs. Kane II: This sounded interesting enough that I made the time to watch a clip of it. It was well executed, in that it played out exactly like Kane’s debut; Kane was on the verge of victory when Kane II came out, and Kane looked at Kane II not knowing what was going on. The one thing I take issue with is that the scenario as it played out made Shelton Benjamin and the IC title come off as secondary. Shelton pulled a David Copperfield when the angle started, vanishing from sight and was never seen again. If they were going to have Kane II debut in the same manner as the original, they could have at least had Benjamin drape an arm over Kane to get a win. That way, Kane II would, not only have attacked Kane and laid him out, but would also have cost him the IC Title. It would have given them more an issue to fight over, and would have done something to make the IC Title more important, because Kane would have, theoretically, been angered over being cheated out of the belt.
Kurt Angle joins ECW: Kurt Angle was vociferously anti-ECW last year, and got choked out by Tazz, so why would he join ECW and not seem to care? Would it not have made sense for him to attack Heyman on Raw or do something to show how unhappy he was with being drafted to ECW? For all intents and purposes he seemed quite fine with being drafted and was more than happy to attack Mick Foley, a staunchly pro-WWE person, someone who Kurt should have sided with? I’m guessing, or more accurately hoping, that this gets explained in some fashion, but I won’t hold my breath.
Sabu vs. Rey Mysterio for the World Heavyweight title at One Night Stand: It doesn’t make sense on the surface for Sabu to get a World title shot at One Night Stand. After all, from a storyline standpoint he’s done nothing to earn a title match, and Sabu isn’t winning the belt which means he’s very likely losing, and given that Sabu is meant to help ECW draw on the road beating him clean, one assumes, on his first match back as part of the reformed ECW seems totally illogical. However, from an ECW standpoint, it makes sense. It will be the first ever match between a guy who helped make ECW what it was and is an ECW legend, and a revolutionary high flyer who ECW fans loved and took to their hearts. For ECW fans it won’t be the result that matters, as long as Sabu looks competitive against Rey before getting beaten. What matters to them is that they are getting to see a historic match and as long as the match isn’t terrible, I think ECW fans will be happy enough with seeing history being made, rather than unhappy with Sabu losing.
ECW’s summer tour schedule: WWE announced a 28-date ECW for the summer, from June 20th to August 15th. In the fifteen days from July 15th to July 30th, there will be ten dates, with two runs of four dates in a row. As anybody who worked the ECW style can tell you, working that style more than twice a week takes its toll, not only on the body but on the quality of work. If this ECW is, from a style and presentation standpoint, going to anything close to how the original ECW was, then the guys on the roster are going to hurting a hell of a lot when the summer tour ends. ECW was more than just crazy brawling and weapon shots mixed in with insane spots. It was also a work ethic that made the wrestlers give everything they had for the fans, night in and night out, and, for better or for worse, that isn’t something a wrestler can do for four nights a week and expect to have prolonged career. And that’s just for the ‘safe’ WWE style. Imagine what’s going to happen if the new ECW style is even half as punishing as the old ECW style, and you’ve got wrestlers working that style four nights a week, combined with the oft-forgotten work ethic that prevailed in ECW? We could see a lot of battered and broken people come August 15th, and if you think the Smackdown roster was decimated in recent weeks, you might have only seen the beginning.
Smackdown’s depleted roster: Smackdown has had the heart of its roster taken out in the last two weeks. They’ve lost Kurt Angle, JBL and Chris Benoit, with Angle having been drafted to ECW and JBL and Benoit out with injuries, and neither man coming back any time soon. Without those three, the top pushed talent on Smackdown is Rey Mysterio, Mark Henry, and The Great Khali. Mysterio has been so badly booked the last three months that his value is nowhere near what it could or should be. Henry, despite what the bandwagon fans think, is below average at best. And despite the awe some people have for Khali, he is not someone you can build around or really push in the main event scene; he’s just far too terrible and limited in the ring. What can Smackdown do? Well, Batista is coming back in about six weeks, which is good for Smackdown, but carries a lot of risk. Batista is coming back around two to three months sooner than his doctors advised him to just after his surgery, which, combined with his fragility, means that building around him, which seems a forgone conclusions, is an incredibly risky thing to do. When it comes to elevating people, the most likely candidate seems to be Mr Kennedy, who is a favorite of Vince’s. Kennedy is good enough in the ring that he could be carried to something decent, has a great presence and is very good on the mic, which are two factors that WWE favor over ring skills, so he has a great shot at getting pushed enough to the point that, eventually, he’ll catch on as being credible in the main event scene. Apart from Batista and Kennedy, and Batista won’t be returning for over a month, who else is there for them to elevated on Smackdown? Booker T? He’s a good hand, and makes for fine midcard comedy, but he doesn’t have the talent or credibility to play any more than a passing role in the main event.
Matt Hughes destroys Royce Gracie: I gave Gracie far too much credit when I thought he’d last at least a round or two with Hughes. Matt just took Gracie apart and it was clear from watching the PPV, and the reaction on various MMA boards and sites, that a lot of people were genuinely shocked and stunned that Hughes, not only beat Gracie, but did so in such a decisive and dominating manner. As much of a legend as Gracie is, it was clear before he even stepped into the octagon last Saturday that time has passed him by and he is no longer this great fighter who can beat just about anyone. Times change and standards improve, and Gracie, while a great fighter for his time, just doesn’t have the all-round skills to hang with top fighters like Matt Hughes. Gracie is great at Gracie Ju-Jitsu, but just being great at one discipline, even Gracie Ju-Jitsu, isn’t going to cut it today, and Royce showed that his time has long since gone.
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