Posts Tagged ‘part’

WWE: Problems with the Product, Part Three!

August 18th, 2010

Welcome to the third installment of my series in which I offer constructive criticism of WWE's current product.

This article will address the Divas and Tag Team divisions, the state of WWE's champions/championships, and the WWE ''Universe.''

It is most likely the final article of the series, unless I find something else to write about!

 

Weak Champions/Weak Championships

Absolutely no segueway needed here—you all know what I'm talking about.

World Wrestling Entertainment has been paying ''Pass the parcel'' with the world titles for the last few years. Long gone are the days of Triple H's seven-month title reigns.

I have to admit, it has been more prominent in the Smackdown brand though.

Since October of 2009 we have had five world heavyweight champions.

  • Undertaker defeated CM Punk at Hell in a Cell on October 4th, 2009. His reign lasted 140 days.
  • Chris Jericho won the title by defeating Undertaker at Elimination Chamber on February 21st, 2010 after interference from Shawn Michaels. His reign lasted 37 days.
  • Jack Swagger cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase and defeated Chris Jericho on March 30th, 2010. The show aired on Friday, April 2nd. His reign lasted 82 days.
  • Rey Mysterio won the championship at WWE Fatal Fourway on June 20th, 2010. His reign lasted 28 days.
  • Kane captured the title on July 18th, 2010 after cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase on Rey Mysterio. As of publishing time, his reign currently stands at 31 days.

Now, compare those reigns to the reigns of Triple H and Batista in 2002 and 2005 respectively. These reigns lasted 280 days and 282 days respectively.

They pale in comparison, don't they?

On the Raw side of things, we have had five championship reigns and three different champions—Sheamus(2), Batista(1) and John Cena(2).

The reason I mention the WWE Championship is because it brings me to my next point, weak champions.

Sheamus won the WWE Title at Fatal Fourway on June 20th, 2010. This marked the 100th WWE Championship reign in WWE's history. As of publishing, Sheamus' reign currently stands at 58 days.

During Sheamus' two reigns he has defended the championship on seven different occasions—including against John Cena and Randy Orton.

On those seven occasions he has never, I repeat never, picked up a clean victory.

Whether it's outside interference, self- inflicted disqualification, or count-outs, he has never won a match by pinfall or submission.

That, to me, is a weak champion.

Sheamus is continually branded as the ''Future'' by WWE management, yet it hasn't booked him in a clean finish.

Also, look at Summerslam and last Monday's Raw. He was dominated by Randy Orton after the match—making him look even weaker!

That is either lazy booking or idiotic writers. I'll let you decide.

Severity: 10/10

 

Tag Team/Divas Division

Maybe that sub-headline would be more apt if the words ''Lack of'' preceded it.

We all know that both divisions are on life support at the moment, although there has been a nice improvement in the divas division on Raw in the last few weeks.

Firstly, the divas.

Today it's more about your looks rather than your wrestling ability. If you've got good looks and you're between the ages of 18 and 30, chances are Vince will hire you.

It's the classic case of throwing crap at the wall and seeing what sticks.

I know that the division has suffered because of the losses of Melina and Beth Phoenix to injury.

However, WWE still has no excuses. It still has had talents like Michelle McCool, Tamina, Natalya, and Maryse. By the way, you can add Alicia Fox and Layla to those names as both are improving.

The division seems to have had a new life breathed into it as of late, mostly because of the return of Melina, who captured the divas title almost instantly.

Perhaps the return of Melina, and later Phoenix, and more importantly the possible unification of both women's titles will further improve the division.

Now, onto the tag team division.

If memory serves me, the only real teams currently in WWE are The Hart Dynasty, The Usos, Hawkins and Archer, and The Dudebusters or whatever they are called.

Other than that, you have random pairings including R-Truth and John Morrison, and in the past Rated Y2J.

Go back a year or two, and the division was in a better state with teams like The Colons, Miz and Morrison, Showmiz, Jerishow, DX, and Rated Y2J.

Now, all of these teams are gone with the possible exception of Rated Y2J, which may be reforming in the future.

TNA has WWE beaten in this department hands down.

Look no further than Victory Road. TNA booked a great match between Beer Money Inc and the Motor City Machine Guns.

They then topped that with a best-of-five series between the two that produced five amazing matches.

The best part was that the most deserving team won the series.

TNA listened to its fans and responded accordingly.

WWE, if you're reading, and I suspect somebody from your company is, take a leaf out of TNA's book—listen to your fans.

We want decent tag team and divas divisions with credible matches and some emphasis on the relevant titles.

Severity: 10/10

 

The WWE Universe

Many of wrestling's trademarks are lost on today's target audience. The fans are too young to understand the true meaning/history of certain matches or segments.

Hear me out before you go crazy. I'm not talking about anybody who is reading this. I'm talking about anybody who is under the age of 13 or 14.

For example, remember when Edge left Smackdown after the draft?

Christian tried to start the classic ''Nah nah nah nah, hey hey hey, goodbye,'' song. But only a minority of the audience joined in, as the majority didn't know the words of the song.

Need another example?

I'm your man!

Remember when Matt Hardy and Christian had that brilliant promo before Money in the Bank?

The IWC, myself included, raved about how great a segment it was—and with good reason!

However, the fan reaction to the segment was very poor simply because the children didn't understand the history between the two athletes nor the nostalgic stigma attached to it.

As far as they knew, Christian and Matt were just two good guys who shouldn't have been fighting with each other.

They also just knew Christian and Matt Hardy as the characters they are portrayed as today—talents who rarely face the main event guys in WWE and who job to other up-and-coming stars.

But, that's not the fans fault. It's not WWE's fault either.

However, it is a problem.

Severity: 10/10

 

Well, that raps it up for part three. To be perfectly honest, I don't know when part four will be published.

I'm heading back to school soon, so my articles will be few and far between. So don't expect a lot of activity from me after next week!

Thanks for reading and, as always, please let your opinions be known....

Until next time!

Charger Fans Think That AJ Smith is a Genius and Mike Florio is a Clown

August 15th, 2010

 

I don't know about all of you, but I am tired of hearing from Mike Florio of profootballtalk.com.

This guy has disrespected the Chargers organization all offseason because he feels like the Chargers are screwing Vincent Jackson and Marcus McNeill by not offering them longterm deals.

VidCast: Part One Part Two

Here is a national sports writer who has his hand in way too many cookie jars. There is a reason the Chargers make the playoffs every year.

They plan in advance.

Making rash decisions, like the Cleveland Browns signing Derek Anderson to a ridiculous deal after one season of productivity, can set a team back years.

If you, as a Chargers fan, have already forgotten the end of the Bobby Beathard reign in San Diego, there is not much I can tell you that you'll actually listen to.

Florio claims that since the Chargers gave No. 1 draft pick Ryan Mathews a longterm deal, it proves that the Chargers are full of hot air for saying that they want to wait until the league and players come to an agreement before handing out big contracts.

Is anyone really stupid enough to listen to that angle (actually yes)? A draft pick is a special circumstance and Ryan Mathews isn't trying to get paid $10 million per season.

The Chargers are smart for taking their time with Vincent Jackson.

V-Jax has been harassed by the cops not once, not twice, but THREE TIMES in his tenure as a Charger. Unlike a lot of young black and Latino men (especially in San Diego) who have legitimate gripes with the police for being stopped for no reason, the police were correct every time they stopped Vincent Jackson.

I wouldn't trust this guy with a dollar, let alone the $40 million over four years he wants. Malcolm Floyd has identical stats (based on the number of times he was thrown to) and could be resigned for much, much less than that.

This is common knowledge to many Charger fans, but over Mike Florio's head.

These same fans will turn around and forget what they know and allow themselves to be swayed by a national writer, simply because they are on a well known website.

The Chargers are smart for taking their time with McNeill because of his injury history.

Marcus McNeill is smart for holding out because of this injury history.

There is no guarantee that he won't suffer a career ending neck injury sooner or later. With McNeill's spinal stenosis, the Chargers are going to have a heck of a time coming up with a long term deal for Big Mac that makes sense for both parties.



Logan Mankins: Three Potential Outcomes of Contract Quandary

August 14th, 2010

Holdouts are just another part of the NFL offseason.

Sometimes, though, they become part of training camp, preseason, and even the regular season.

Oftentimes, the situation gets better before it gets to that point.

Such is not the case with Logan Mankins, who wants to be traded after feeling snubbed by the Patriots front office.

Mankins was told after the '08 season that his contract would be addressed after the '09 season.

He played out what he calls an "undervalued contract," and is telling the Patriots exactly how he feels by sitting out until he is heard.

The Boston Globe recently interviewed Mankins' agent, Frank Bauer, who told the Globe that the Patriots have "totally lost this player mentally" as the saga continues.

It seems that re-signing Mankins is all but ruled out of the equation.

At this stage, there are really only a pair of potential outcomes.

Begin Slideshow

NFL Predictions for 2010 Season: Philadelphia Eagles 2010 Preview Part 2

August 14th, 2010

The Philadelphia Eagles enter this season with many new and younger faces, and Kevin Kolb is now running the show.

This is the second of a three part look at the 2010 Eagles schedule, focusing on weeks six through twelve, and looking at the Eagles' main strengths and concerns heading into each game.

Once again, it is still week one of the preseason, so we will learn new things about every team along the way and as always, injuries can change the course of the season for any team.

With that said, the Eagles have the daunting task of playing the entire AFC South and the NFC North. Their other two non-division opponents are the Falcons and 49ers (because all three teams finished second in their respective divisions).

If you missed part one and would like to read it, you can find it here:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/433672-philadelphia-eagles-2010-preview-part-1

Begin Slideshow

Nick Saban Working Double Duty at Alabama These Days

August 14th, 2010

Nick Saban is a coach who likes to get involved, to be on the field rather than in a tower, to be hands on rather than simply delegate.

He has always had a soft spot in his heart when it comes to defensive backs, and he always put time in working with them. Even when he is working out with other position players, defensive backs know he rarely misses anything important that goes on at practice.

Last year, defensive coordinator Kirby Smart pulled double duty. He was defensive backs coach as well as coordinator. Saban, of course, helped out an awful lot, too.

This year, Alabama is rich in talent and short on experience in only one spot: the defensive backfield. To add to a potential problem, this is the first year Jeremy Pruitt has coached defensive backs on a college level as an assistant coach.

With Kirby Smart moving to take on the linebackers, who lost their coach at the end of the season, James Willis, who re-united with Tommy Tuberville as defensive coordinator at Texas Tech, leaves Saban and the new coach to whip this talent into shape.

While Pruitt is a former Alabama defensive himself, and does a have high school coaching background working with defensive backs, Saban is putting in even more extra time working with this group.

And he's loving it.

"Nick loves working with and developing players in practice and seeing them grow gives him more satisfaction than any other part of his job." Terry Saban, Nick's wife, told me last season.

And even Saban has echoed that he loves coaching in practice more than any other part of his job, so this season should see Saban smiling a lot more in practice. The results he's bound to get from this talented group of defensive backs are sure to leave the fans smiling, too.




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