The Dish From The Mish!

[Guest Mishmow]

Here's the one I did prior to the other one I posted. Tell me what you think!

 

 

Hello, and welcome back to The Dish from the Mish! It’s been a looong while since I’ve done this column, and it’s about time I get back up and running. I’ve got a lot for you to read, and have implemented many a new feature, all of which should entertain my faithful readers (all 12 of you ). I would really appreciate feedback, because I’d like to start doing a mailbag, so get started on writing those e-mails, readers!

 

First off, I would like to talk to you about a certain film. A film that has revolutionized my feelings towards Johnny Depp. This film is possibly my favorite of all time. That’s right, Pirates of the Carribean. Everyone put in a magnificent effort, and with a great script to work with, the movie was a nailed in success. The story was fantastic, and I loved the scenes taken from the ride at Disneyland in California; my home away from home, and keeper of my favorite childhood ride, Pirates of the Carribean. Of course, the single greatest factor in making this movie what it was, to me anyway, was Johnny Depp. I was astounded by his character, with some of the greatest one-liners ever. His mannerisms and reactions were fantastic, and his attitude towards everything was terrific. I would definitely say he is my favorite movie character of all time, which means I would give Pirates of the Carribean my highest honors. Go see it while you still can!

 

But wait! This column is supposed to be about wrestling, and I know you don’t want me to keep blabbing on, so onto the Raw thoughts....

 

 

Well, Monday’s Raw was certainly not a must see. Opening the show with Coach vs the King? When would you ever think of that match to be opening Raw? Al Snow got his heel turn, so now Heat is run by three of em. Snow, Coach and Stevie Richards. Welcome to the WWE, where we push announcers over wrestlers.

 

Terri really can’t act. I mean, REALLY can’t act.

 

Raw is really losing it. Stone Cold destroyed Jericho’s set....What a bastard. Of course, he lets the Jeritron 5000 go unharmed. Then he announces JR vs Coach at Unforgiven! Man, I think Vince really is out to destroy what his father built. Michaels vs Orton will be good, however, because I know that Shawn will a) carry the match, and B) do the right thing and put Orton over. Jericho and Christian come out, and to everyone’s surprise ([/sarcasm]) they face each other in a match for the IC title. Jericho has gained even more respect from me by putting Christian over. I would like to see them try and get Goldberg to do that....

 

Triple H ironically speaks the truth about Goldberg, calling him an over hyped marketing machine, which made me feel a little better about Trips for about ten minutes. Goldberg comes in and blabs about whatever. I don’t care for him much, but he will be a topic in next week’s column...

 

Now, don’t get me wrong, I think the women’s division has improved drastically, but they’ve produced the same thing every week for months. I’m now bored, and not interested at all in these matches. Until this “anti Trish” storyline actually develops, I’m switching the channel whenever either Victoria, Molly, Jazz, Trish or Ivory are on screen.

 

I think the direction they’re taking with Kane is brilliant. Although this segment was very cheesy, and lame, it helped develop his character by showing the evils he is capable of. It also set RVD vs Kane in a cage, which should finally get Kane the break he needs to move up the card into the main event. All the writers need to do now is make sure Kane goes over convincingly.

 

I’m loving the Superheroes more and more, and am liking La Resistance and the Dudleys less and less. Hurricane is the only passable wrestler in the match, which already ruined it, and they need another formula for getting people over. They can’t have Rob Conway interfere in EVERY match and expect the crowd to give him heat. They’ll just moan and groan when he comes out. Also, the Dudleys have really lost their touch. I guess people realized that without workers like the Hardy’s and Edge & Christian to take the big bumps, the Dudleys can’t really do anything...

 

Complete shambles. Those are two words to describe both the Steiner vs Test feud, and the mixed tag team match. It’s the same thing for every match. Stacy’s about to get beaten, but Scott Steiner saves the day, and leaves unharmed as Test watches. Get this feud over with, already! Stevie needs to go back to his “comedy match” gimmick.

 

The 6-Man Tag match was alright, and served its purpose, but still failed to spark any interest into the HHH vs Goldberg feud. It’s obvious Goldberg’s going to win at Unforgiven, and so we have no need to keep watching. That is the most fatal mistake they could make, yet they pulled it off. Now what do they do?

 

Overall, I’d say Raw was a general failure. They made poor attempts at developing any feuds, and now people just don’t care about the match that they’re banking the ENTIRE PPV on. I just pray the writing staff can get some new ideas going....

 

After that awful attempt at an entertaining show, let’s see if SmackDown could do better...

 

 

The opening tag match was a bit of a mess. I’ve finally gotten used to Bradshaw’s new look, but that didn’t help my opinions. There were plenty of blown spots, and the most over used finish in the WWE today was once again used. Seriously, how many times can a champion use the belt to win? Christian does it, WGTT do it, Eddie does it. It’s unbelievable.

 

Vince preps Brock for something....

 

Eddie and Cena really work well together. Cena clearly gets the upper hand this week. An offensive rap towards Eddie, and the heinous crime of stealing the Lowrider.

 

A-Train vs Benoit. Think about that. You have the best wrestler in the world, wrestling one of the worst. Luckily, he has a semi-interesting feud with Rhyno going on, so that may give us some hope. Let’s just pray Heyman gets involved in this.

 

A bunch of useless backstage shenanigans happen, which lead to one of Undertaker’s best matches ever. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, Kurt Angle will be considered the greatest of all time when he retires. He can make anyone look good. ANYONE. Undertaker is in the best shape he’s been in since the early nineties, maybe even the best of his life. Unfortunately, Brock comes in for the DQ, which really made me angry. That’s good however, because it get’s me, and the fans, to hate Brock. He is now an effective heel.

 

No one, and I mean NO ONE, can say “damn” like Faarooq. Too bad that doesn’t do anything for the APA....The butler’s pretty cool.

 

Tajiri is one of my all time favorites, and Rey never fails to disappoint, so this is a killer feud for me. I can’t wait until their PPV showdown. Rey does too many Hurricanranas...

 

Brock once again establishes himself as a monster by pushing Zach Gowen off of some stairs. Wow, that’s borderline over the top behavior. Any worse than that, and the WWE’s going to get sued.

 

Great show from Smackdown. I really think they’re going in the right direction, with four good feuds developing, and one of Undertaker’s best matches, I have high hopes for the near future.

 

 

This week’s focus is something I’ve been wanting to address for quite some time now. That something is, in fact, the live audience and its significance. You see, many people neglect the audience, and don’t see the real meaning to it. I am here to argue otherwise. I feel that the crowd is the most important part of this industry. Furthermore, it is something the WWE needs to take a much closer look into.

 

First of all, reaction towards a wrestler is the most important sign as to whether or not a wrestler is over. The louder the reaction, the more over you are. A heel will go for the loud booing, while a face will attempt to get the cheers. This is but an obvious indication. However, in the WWE this is neglected. Notice how the crowd are nearly silent for most of the material that is being put out. Notice how people actually boo for a face at times such as Scott Steiner at the Royal Rumble. The WWE is straight up ignoring the crowd now.

 

When the Rock first started out he was supposed to be a babyface. Eventually, he was being booed out of arenas, and no one knew why. Vince then had the idea to turn him heel. This, of course, worked brilliantly, and helped the Rock get extremely over. That was an example of Vince taking the time to listen to his fans. Now, he just neglects them. A-Train and Big Show get almost no reaction. Does Vince realize that they’re worthless? Probably. Does he care? No. He won’t even push the guys who are pulling in the big reactions. Chris Jericho, Benoit, Cena, Eddie and many other GREAT wrestlers are being held back, having their time taken up by the likes of Triple H, Kevin Nash, Big Show, Goldberg (although he gets a large reaction) and other useless names. The WWE even has the entrance music drown out the crowd so the viewers at home don’t get to hear the real reaction!

 

Often, big name losers such as Goldberg and Scott Steiner get a large reaction from the crowd, and so they have SOME right in being out there, but others are just taking advantage of Vince’s neglect. Vince only wants what’s most entertaining for himself. But Vince, house show attendances are dropping dramatically, as are television events. You thought people would never turn on you no matter what, but they have, and you’re suffering for it. Hate and spite are what flow through peoples’ minds when they hear the three initials of your promotion, and you’re not doing a god damn thing about it. I say, LISTEN to your fans, and give them what THEY want. All this will do is make people happy, and bring in more revenue, so why not? Your company were booking wizards, Vince, so why does it have to be different now?

 

Phew, that was strenuous. Anyway, now it is time to introduce a new weekly feature called “Mish’s Top Ten.” In this new feature, I will give an opinionated top ten list on a subject each week. I certainly will enjoy this feature, and I hope you will too!

 

 

Welcome to Mish’s Top Ten! This week, I’m going to give you my Top Ten break out stars of this year. Hold on tight, you’re in for a wild ride.

 

10. Trish Stratus - Higher than ten on many peoples’ lists, but I still think she has a long way to go. Her matches are very repetitive, but I can’t fault her improvement, so she gets number ten.

 

9. Theodore Long - Even though he is a manager, he is at his best, delivering great interviews and getting his catchphrases over. He certainly deserves a mention on this list.

 

8. Brock Lesner - Perhaps he should be higher, but he was already riding high when the year began. He got the big wins at Wrestlemania and Royal Rumble, but didn’t really “break out,” par say.

 

7. Christian - With a new look and the IC title, Christian has been revamped and ready for the push he deserves. He has improved a lot in the ring, and always delivers on the mic.

 

6. Eddie Guerrero - Now, I know he’s been wrestling for many years, but Eddie Guerrero is now at the height of his popularity, and giving the most consistency in his matches he’s ever given. After recovering from many problems, now he’s more ready than ever, with a great gimmick and a smooth ride.

 

5. Raven - This man has done so much, and has worked so hard. Unfortunately, he was completely neglected by the WWE. When he was released, he was wuickly picked up by TNA, and this year, he broke out of his hiatus and is in the World Title scene for the number two promotion. Well done!

 

4. America’s Most Wanted and Simon & Swinger - These two TNA teams have really made large improvements in their wrestling ability, and have recently been in one of the best feuds of the year, establishing the two teams as one of the most over workers in the company. I look forward to the end match of this feud.

 

3. Matt Hardy Version 1.0 - I’m sure many of you could have predicted this. Matt was always held back by the less talented Jeff Hardy, since Jeff took more popular bumps, but Matt was always there, working hard. When he was split away from Jeff, I saw big things ahead. Never was I expecting such an awesome gimmick. His mic skills have improved a ton, and so have his wrestling skills. His gimmick never fails to entertain, and he gets his own spotlight, no longer having to be shadowed by his younger brother. He’s captured the Cruiserweight title, and it’s not long before he moves up to the US belt. Kudos, brother.

 

2. AJ Styles - What can I say? From being a highly entertaining wrestler in the X-Division, to being tag champs with Jerry Lynn, everyone saw great things to come for this young phenomenon. He worked hard, and did what he was told, which finally moved him to the ranking he deserved, World Title contender. Then he won the belt to finally secure his breaking out year. I can’t wait to see what’s in the future for AJ.

 

Finally....

 

1. John Cena - Many will argue with this decision, but I’ve been following John since he was the Prototype. When he debuted in the WWE, he produced a great exhibition will Kurt Angle. After that he was merely a blue chipper, until he finally broke out of his shell with his new gimmick. Rapping his way up the ranks, Cena gained overness by the week. He has been a World Title contender, and is surely level with the US title superstars, so I say, keep going John, I look forward to many WWE title reigns in the future!

 

Honorable mention to Rey Mysterio, who certainly was a contender for being on this list, but did nothing during the beginning of the year, which prevented him from qualifying.

 

Thanks very much for reading! I hope to hear from you - [email protected]. Please send feedback, so I can do a mailbag. Once again, thank you, I look forward to next week, and I hope you do also, but until then, you’ve just had !