Leaning Towards That Orton/Cody Feud?

Another sign that Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes may be entering a feud soon. Cody ran in during Orton's match on Smackdown to attack him. He didn't look too strong before Sheamus ran in to get some of Christian, while taking Cody out too, but it is a sign that the WWE will not have Cody blow off what Orton did to him before. Mark Henry then came down to further the feud between him and Orton, but that is another issue.

Will Cody Rhodes have a hand in costing Orton the title this Sunday? Once again, I do not believe it would be a good idea to end Mark Henry's reign so soon. Smackdown has not had a heel with a good World title reign all year. Does that mean Mark Henry needs to go over Orton clean? No. Mark Henry, the heel, has already proven he can dominate Orton, the face and Smackdown centerpiece. There is no need to have Orton lose clean again, especially when having him lose through Rhodes interference can lead to a real feud between the two. In fact, I think it would have been smarter to leave Cody off TV this week. Have him pop back up during Orton's rematch. Would have had more shock value to it, even though a lot of smarter wrestling fans would have been expecting it. The way they have done things, many more fans are now expecting Rhodes to get involved for payback. Having him not follow through will be more of a letdown, not a positive shock to intrigue fans and interest them in the feud.

The WWE did not do what I think would have been the smarter move. They not only featured Cody on both Raw and Smackdown, they had him defend his title defenses on both nights. I like title defenses. I remember the good old days where title defenses were a mix of feuds with a storyline not connected to the title and occasional random title defenses. Over the past few weeks, you have definitely gotten that mix out of how they are booking Cody Rhodes. His title match with Ted DiBiase had a storyline to it. His defenses on Raw and Smackdown were more random and an extension of another feud. What I mean is, Sheamus is really feuding with Christian right now, not Cody Rhodes.All that being said, something still does not sit right with me about the recent booking of Cody Rhodes. The main part of it definitely is that I would have left him off for a while to sell his injury and build his return to screw Orton. But I am also thinking more could have been done with his storyline feud with DiBiase to make that interesting. Overall, still good use of him. Just because I think it is good use, does that mean it will draw? You cannot overdo title defenses, but I do not think that is the problem here. The problem is the lack of build in the title defenses. This does not apply to the defenses that happened this week. Putting the title on the line in a battle royal was a good idea. Would Rhodes retain? Not only is there that question, but who would win the title if not him? Not just one challenger there. There was some excitement to that. But not putting much creative energy into his title feuds outside of this week is not good. A midcard title cannot be a huge draw by itself. You have to allow the person who is holding it and the main guy going after it to do some interesting things over a few weeks to build intrigue. That is lacking. Many fans will say Cody Rhodes is one of the greatest Intercontinental Champions in a while because of all these title defenses, but is the WWE using him as best as they could they draw fans who want a little more? I doubt it.

All that out of the way, I am still hoping for a good feud between Rhodes and Orton. They made Rhodes look good against Rey Mysterio this year already. Doing it again could please a lot of the regular fan base and help to develop Rhodes into a regular star to draw fans in down the line.

Del Rio Looks Strong Against Cena And Punk

My favorite part of Raw this week was definitely seeing Alberto Del Rio looking good when the cage got lowered around Del Rio himself and his two fellow competitors at Hell in a Cell. John Cena and CM Punk did indeed put him over there. Del Rio was once again looking dominant, and against two multi-time World Champions.

Problem is, I've seen this same thing before. I remember how great Del Rio looked against Big Show a few months ago. He was even dominating Cena a few weeks ago. That happens all the time, I know, but things really went downhill from there. Del Rio looked weak heading into Night of Champions and lost to Cena. After that, they rebuilt him strong again. He squashed Morrison last week. I already mentioned this week. I would have switched around how they booked the diva feud with how they booked Cena/Del Rio. Have Del Rio retain at Night of Champions (by DQ, if necessary), then have Cena win it at Hell in a Cell. For the diva feud, have Beth win at Night of Champions (again, by DQ, if necessary), then have the match at Hell in a Cell either end with Beth winning the title, if she had won by DQ before, or retaining the title (you guessed it, by DQ, if necessary). That would give reason for the Kelly/Beth feud to continue to at least one more match, which would hopefully be more than a regular match. Back to Del Rio, it would be pretty stupid to hand him back the title now. What would have been the point? Rushing another reign on Cena did not shoot ratings up that much. I still liked seeing him look strong. I buy him better than I do Miz.

Beth And Kelly lll

Beth Phoenix will once again go after Kelly Kelly's Diva's Championship at Hell in a Cell. Makes sense. With so little time since the last PPV, what other feud did they really have time to further? A triple threat or four-way match with Eve and/or Natalya? Maybe, but they did not go that way.

This is not classic diva booking, but it is the similar type of booking Natalya got last year against LayCool. Natalya failed to win the title on her first two PPV attempts, but did on her third. However, there is one important difference between this feud and last year's feud. LayCool did not win both of the first two matches. One was a DQ. To me, that helped to progress the booking better than what is going on with Kelly Kelly and Beth Phoenix now. Kelly Kelly already beat Beth Phoenix twice, including once in Beth's own hometown. They couldn't let that be the match with the shady ending? Have Natalya or Eve get involved to cause the DQ. Have the match end by No Contest. Raise the stakes for the third encounter. It might have even made things more interesting by leading to a No DQ match, a tag match where the person who scores the pin gets the title, or any other idea more interesting than seeing these same two women at a PPV in a regular match for the third time in a row. This is getting as bad as Orton/Christian. And it can only get worse.

Kelly Kelly will have to lose that title sooner or later. It might as well be to Beth on the third time. I just pointed out two instances where a title changed hands on the third attempt. I won't go into too much more detail on how they progressed Natalya/LayCool, even though I could, but what about Orton/Christian? Orton retained against Christian when Christian was a face, again when Christian was a heel, then lost to him in a match that favored Christian. In other words, there was some progression in the booking there too. The WWE failed to build his second World title win mean as much as the first and the reign itself was weak, like I say all the time, but it still looks a lot better in retrospect compared to this diva feud going on now. Because I see the WWE failing to capitalize on how this feud has progressed, I still believe having Beth win back in Buffalo might have been the better option. I see her winning now. Then it gets worse. How? Kelly Kelly gets a rematch. That means these two will go at it again. Will the stakes at least be raised next time? I want to believe they pretty much have to be.

As a reminder, Beth Phoenix is the credible jobber here. Kelly is the centerpiece. Remember the last credible jobber(s) to work with Kelly Kelly?

It's Brie & Nikki! Yeah, they're hot. Never said they weren't. Just once again want to take a moment to point out what happens to the credible jobbers who are used to put over the centerpiece. It is sad how models are now being used as the credible jobbers due to the lack of fresh women coming in with true wrestling experience, but that is another issue. The Bellas were on Superstars this week. After their feud with Kelly Kelly ended, they have done nothing important whatsoever. Wrestling on Superstars is also pretty much nothing important whatsoever. It won't help them get majorly over. Had they gained any major overness from their last feud, Superstars treatment now would not be helping much. Will the WWE do better with Natalya and Beth when the time comes?

A United Front Against The COO

Tonight showcased the development in the major storyline going on right now that I wanted to see. More heels are starting to show more displeasure in the job Triple H is doing as COO. Included in the mix are Dolph Ziggler, Vickie Guerrero, Jack Swagger, Cody Rhodes, and Otunga. Otunga? That is another issue entirely.

This is good storyline development. It is a bit annoying to hear the commentators spell out that this is chaotic. Just show it and let the audience's own emotions feel it. However, just because I like how the storyline is now shaping, including involvement of midcarders, that does not mean ratings will come. Who can compete with the NFL game tonight? What is going on with the storyline is building up to something that has promise, but it is not exciting in itself. It is dull. A lot of people stand to get a rub from it, which may lead to some star power in the future, as long as the WWE does not burn it for the sake of established stars, but nothing too great is going on right now. Tonight simply sold the coming PPV and laid more seeds for the major HHH storyline. At least, it tried to accomplish these things. Overall, most of the show was still dry.

Another Step Up For Cody?

Another sign that Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes may eventually feud in the near future? Randy Orton destroyed Cody on Smackdown. Of course, Randy Orton's feud with Mark Henry is not over yet. They will face each other again in a week. A week? Another PPV that fast? Yeah, there really is something wrong with the PPV schedule, but that is another issue.

It will be kind of stupid for Orton to regain the title against Mark Henry so soon. This year alone, Smackdown has seen joke World title reigns from Dolph Ziggler, Christian, and Christian again. Face it, Christian's 2nd title win this year was lame and the reign that followed did not deliver well enough. Should Mark Henry retain, where would that leave Orton? That feud with Cody Rhodes? Sheamus has been looking pretty strong himself recently. I can picture him feuding with Mark Henry. Of course, even if Orton does win back the title, that does not mean that Cody Rhodes might not still be in the picture.

If Orton and Rhodes do not feud in the coming months, Cody was pretty much just buried for the sake of making Orton look ferocious before Hell in a Cell, and Cody will not really benefit too much from the destruction himself. Unless they tie it in with his gimmick somehow. That would make things fun, if done right.

One last note. Should Cody get a non-title push against Orton, I see this as very similar to Orton/Kofi and Mysterio/Cody. Kofi Kingston was built up hugely a few years ago to feud with Orton, actually beat him, but remained in the midcard at the end of the day. Cody Rhodes feuded with Rey Mysterio just this year. He beat Rey at Wrestlemania. After that big rub from a main-eventer, he fell back into the midcard. Yes, he eventually won a midcard title, but has the WWE been booking strongly as Intercontinental Champion? Great title feuds? No, not really. Point is, do not automatically expect Cody Rhodes to be winning the Royal Rumble next year or anything like that. This might just be a filler feud for Orton outside the main event. Cody will look good, but that does not mean they are going to push him hard in the main event after.

John Morrison Jobs And Jobs

John Morrison did not have any real focus on him last week. It was not surprising that he lost at Night of Champions. His loss to Alberto Del Rio this week was somewhat surprising, and sad. It was a squash.

Del Rio had just lost the WWE title to Cena the night before. I can understand wanting to make him look strong right after, especially since he is getting a rematch, but you needed to squash John Morrison? This is supposed to be entertaining to the general fans? Of course not. But it does sell that Alberto Del Rio is still dangerous and angry. Morrison was just the tool used to convey that point.

People can say that Morrison is being punished for his relationship with Melina right now. I wouldn't say that is entirely it. Morrison did get a very impressive win against R-Truth on Raw a few weeks ago, and that was after Melina was released. This was also before R-Truth and Miz officially got this storyline they now have. Why bring that up? Some people might have thought that Morrison would be the one getting a good push after that win, but the WWE are now pushing R-Truth better. Moreover, things may look depressing for Morrison now, but it will have to end sooner or later.

Does Morrison deserve heat for his relationship with Melina? Whether it come backstage or from fans? I don't think so. Many of Melina's issues in the WWE in the last few months revolved around the WWE mistreating the diva division for the benefit of Trish Stratus and recreating a Trish Stratus. Melina, being a credible jobber, was released because she was no longer needed anyway. Morrison is supposed to be blamed for siding with his girl? Even now, you need good, exciting performances to draw people to as much of your show as possible. Having John Morrison not do his fancy stunts as much does not help that. Is the WWE hurting John Morrison or their own product? Alberto Del Rio squashing him may register for those fans who never change the channel and sat through the match, but what about those fans who are not into that kind of thing? John Morrison is worth more to the WWE than Melina, I will admit that, but if you do not use him correctly, he's nothing.

The Conspiracy Continues?

I am glad with how the major storyline going on right now has progressed recently. Triple H defeated CM Punk to stay COO. Prior to that, there were some issues with R-Truth and Miz. Those issues came up again on Raw. This all eventually led to Miz and R-Truth being released in kayfabe (storyline). Go back a step. Kevin Nash did show up to try to get involved in the match. John Laurinaitis definitely does want some power.

Things are getting drawn out. This is exactly what I wanted to see. This is storyline development. No wasted promos about ice cream and being held back, all of which seems to lead to no real end in the plot. How could it be even better? How about some swerves? Kevin Nash returning did not surprise me. He has issues with both CM Punk and Triple H. If you were watching Raw and Smackdown, you know why. Laurinaitis getting involved in all this does not surprise me either. He is either out for power or the pawn of someone else. Even R-Truth and Miz doing there thing on Raw did not surprise me. They were talking about the job Triple H was doing and all that for weeks now. The WWE was not giving a good reason for them to really be against Triple H, but they brought it recently. You can see why these guys would want to really align with Laurinaitis now. Everything is making sense, and that is good, but I would still like to see a good shocker. Have someone join the heels that would be totally unexpected. Cena? Would the WWE do it? The way things are going, a bitter Del Rio will probably be released and joining Laurinaitis next. In any case, if not having someone turn, have someone else return and join in this. Nash's return was somewhat surprising, but he did return earlier this year and had been waiting for something to do for months. Can the WWE do better? In any case, things do seem to be getting interesting again.

CM Punk. He wasn't hitting Triple H with the mic this week. And he didn't kick Cena in the head after tagging with him in the main event. He is pretty much a face now. He was a tweener before. How does that make CM Punk fans feel? He did this whole bitter, self-righteous rant a few months ago. He sold thousands of shirts and could barely get Raw ratings above a 3.2. He is the savior of pro wrestling. In the end, nothing has really changed. It helped to start this storyline that is now going on, but no legitimate change has been made. But he now seems to be getting tamed. His promos are no longer really about overrating himself and putting down those with whom he is feuding or the status quo. His promos now revolve around continuing the storyline. Of course, I am only basing this off of one night. Then again, I really can't picture the WWE spending too much more time on having Punk rant needlessly. He is not The Rock. He is not drawing that epically. I am not complaining about this, and I certainly am not doing this to really point out that I saw it coming, but I am pointing this out to show that this really is how the WWE typically handles things. CM Punk will get his rematch for the WWE title, but who is now holding the title? The man who holds the record for holding it more times than anyone else. He has not beaten Ric Flair's record yet, but why not? Who else is the WWE going to have do it? CM Punk?

Divas Of Doom Change Nothing

The Divas of Doom (Beth and Natalya) are not looking that great at all. Beth Phoenix lost once again at Night of Champions against Kelly Kelly, and in her own hometown this time. Yes, that was a booking decision I did not call. They should have given it to Beth. It would have given the storyline they are doing more momentum on the side of the heels. Of course, it would not have been too much momentum. Beth failed to win the title at Summerslam. Kelly Kelly has had numerous wins prior to Night of Champions. This whole idea of Beth Phoenix and Natalya changing the diva division would have been taken to a higher level and looked good.

Tonight, things get even worse. Beth and Natalya lost to Kelly Kelly and Eve. Eve won the match this time. They then teased the idea of the Divas of Doom not being able to get the job done and having issues. This storyline is already starting to head south. I knew it would. CM Punk brought no real change at all and the tag division has not really improved. But can't they at least sell the illusion for a while for the sake of the storyline? I mean, Mark Henry did win the World title. I am glad. Tonight on Raw, he was still looking monstrous. This title reign will last longer than Christian's first World title run this year. This is good. Bringing reality into the mix, you know it will not last. Orton will eventually regain the title. If Orton should get injured or quit the WWE for a full-time acting career, the WWE will just find another centerpiece for Smackdown, and I doubt it will be Mark Henry. Nevertheless, for the short-term storyline and feud, it is good to see Mark Henry used like this. They could not do this for Beth and Natalya?

The storyline is not over yet. Beth and Natalya still have the most momentum on them than other heels. There are not a ton of other credible heel jobbers in the entire WWE diva division. This crappy booking, however, does not even have the intensity and drama to it that Christian getting screwed over this year had. To me, this is just regular poor diva booking. They should have given Beth the title, have her hold it for a few months, give it back to Kelly, have it go to Natalya, and then have it go back to Kelly Kelly in a triple threat or fatal four-way match (including Eve), where they could also push the demise of Natalya and Beth as a team. The centerpiece gets the title back, the two heel credible jobbers each get attention on each of them as they hold the title, and the storyline they were pushing gets to be developed through all this. They could have done a lot better. Again, I never expected Beth and Natalya to change the diva division, but things could have been done a lot more interestingly.

Will Mark Henry's Push End With A Title Run

Randy Orton will defend his World title against Mark Henry at Night of Champions. This is really the match I am most looking forward to at the PPV. I have never considered myself a big Mark Henry fan, but I respect the guy and like it when they give him pushes like this. He has been looking good for months now. Thing is, his past pushes like this have never ended with a major title win. Do you consider the WWE's ECW title a major title? If Mark Henry beat Orton for the WWE World's Heavyweight Championship this Sunday, there would be no question that he won a big one.

If I frequently say that pro wrestling is more about giving the fans a show than handing out titles, and also say that the WWE continuously uses titles to build people they want over, why do I still care about Mark Henry winning the title? It's still real to part of me. More importantly, the credibility-builder reason does not apply to Mark Henry. He has beaten World Champions before. He has been in main events. He has credibility. In addition, he has definitely grown on a lot of fans in the many years he has been in the WWE. Just as many fans bought into the carnage he has unleashed in the last few months, they can buy into him holding the title. This can make the main-event scene interesting. It is better than Orton making guys like Christian look like cowardly, ineffective heels. To put it simply, putting the belt on Mark Henry would not seem forced to me and it would create a new top guy for someone to get the title off of. Besides that, Mark Henry deserves the attention for his loyalty to the company.

How could the WWE ruin it? Aside from doing something similar to what they did with both of Christian's World title reigns on Smackdown? Aside from the WWE still booking Orton as above World Champion Mark Henry? They could not give him the title at all. I could easily picture the WWE moving Orton into a feud with Cody Rhodes over the title. I don't think it would be a good idea. Orton does seem to have very little momentum going into the title match. Henry looks way too strong. Nevertheless, it has been a good few months for Mark Henry.

Raw Meets Football 2011

I want to talk about Raw's rating this week and pick up on the scraps of certain other things that happened on Raw that I did not mention before. First, Raw received a 2.72. That actually does not surprise me at all. Football is back on Mondays. NFL, the big stuff. Tom Brady, a bigger draw than CM Punk. Raw will rebound in the weeks to come, but its yearly average will be damaged. The Rock will be coming back to bail them out in a few months.

In comparison, TNA Impact received an 1.02 in the ratings last week. Football was a factor there too. TNA did not drop below that 1.0. I am not talking about quarterly ratings or hourly ratings. I am talking about the overall average for the whole show. How long can Impact go without dropping below that benchmark? Raw has already dipped below that 3.0 several times in 2011. Just for the sake of mentioning it, Smackdown has rebounded well in the ratings recently.

What did the 2.72 Raw feature? WWE knew what they were up against, so what did they pull out to try to make their show stronger? There is also the fact that a PPV is coming up. Let's start with Bret Hart. Raw was in Canada, so they brought in a Canadian legend to please the live audience and try to draw viewers that way. The fact that Raw could not average over 4 million viewers against football should not say anything about Bret Hart no longer being a draw. In terms of the quality of performance Bret brought with him, I would have changed the channel myself. Wasn't TNA the retirement home for wrestlers? If you want to have Bret cut a promo or ref a match, fine. Still trying to sell this guy like he can still go in the ring creates a pathetic illusion. He is not Shawn Michaels.

The tag title match got hyped and furthered pretty simply. Heels cut a promo, beat faces in a singles match, and that is it. Aside from the promo, nothing really stood out.

The diva match was stupid. Vickie Guerrero learning to take a few bumps and do a few moves does not mean she belongs in the ring at all. The only furthering the diva match at Night of Champions had was when Kelly Kelly escaped Beth Phoenix. Kelly Kelly looks strong on Raw. Considering she already beat Beth once, I expect the title to change hands. Big deal? No, not really. Beth winning will make the Buffalo fans happy. She is female CM Punk, isn't she? That would make Kelly Kelly a female John Cena. At the end of the day, Kelly Kelly will win it back and I doubt the WWE will push Beth Phoenix well on the periphery, so nothing will really change.

It surprised me that the WWE actually used the diva match to further the US title feud as well. Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger got into it again over Vickie Guerrero. They were also involved in a tag match earlier in the night. Alex Riley was the one made to look impressive in the match. John Morrison is the 4th man involved in this, and he seems like the odd man out. I see no reason at all for him winning this Sunday. The storyline between Ziggler and Swagger is the interesting thing here. Riley is the one they seem to be putting good attention on. Morrison is just there.

Randy Orton took on Cody Rhodes. Mark Henry once again did his thing. I'll probably talk about this feud again before Sunday, so let me not say too much about that. I will say that Cody Rhodes pinning Orton is a good sign for Cody.

There is only one thing left to talk about. John Cena and Alberto Del Rio. So sad. The WWE has been breaking Del Rio to pieces in the last few weeks. He starts out beating Rey Mysterio cleanly in the main event of Raw. The week after that, he attacks John Cena after Cena earns the right to face him for the title. Nothing the following week. When he returns, he talks a few heels into going after John Cena for him. After they fail to put Cena out, Del Rio tries to take advantage of Cena again and gets the AA. This week, Del Rio is trying to send Ricardo to do his dirty work. Del Rio is acting scared of Cena and isn't even getting fresh and credible people to stand between him and Cena. Del Rio looks so weak, I doubt he will lose the title to Cena just yet. Nevertheless, pretty sad direction after he looked so strong not too long ago. He is gradually becoming an typical heel again. I knew the WWE would do that to him eventually, but I was hoping they would at least keep him more fresh for the storyline.

Looking it over, Raw was not too horrible. There is an actual storyline going on in the midcard, they are bringing in legends, and young talent is still getting developed. It cannot stand against football, obviously. You need major excitement and suspense for that. But if Raw can keep up this minimal amount of attention, including the angle between CM Punk and Triple H, there is no way the show can be coming up with 2.72 every week. 3.2 will still bring the average down, but it is better than anything under a 3.0.

The King And The Best

Raw closed with a long promo between Triple H and CM Punk. I will be very surprised if this match does not close the show at Night of Champions. Even though the WWE title is not involved, and no Cena either, it is still elaborate and effects the entire company in terms of the storyline. Besides all that, Triple H is involved. Why not make it the main event?

Looking at just the promo itself, I liked it about as much as the segment John Cena and Punk had before Summerslam. I'm not a big football fan, but I doubt the back and forth Triple H and Punk had will seem more exciting than NFL action. Yes, it is back. Watching that promo, it was like seeing an argument on wrestling message boards get dramatized. Would that make it better? In terms of a good argument, it is easier to have it on a message board. You get to take your time to plan, while looking back at what was said before, and might even rely on others to join your side and argue for you. But that is not what this was about on Raw. They were obviously not out to deepen the understanding of what is going on or come to a compromise. They were there to hype their match.

Honestly, I forgot why they were even feuding while listening to that promo. It does not help that they have been developing this thing a little sloppily over the past few weeks. This all started when Kevin Nash attacked CM Punk and cost him the WWE title. There was a controversy as to who told Nash to do it. Punk pointed fingers all over the place, including Triple H. Triple H denied it, and Kevin Nash even later confirmed that he did it on his own. Triple H even fires Nash. While this is going on, Punk keeps pushing Triple H's buttons, which leads to this feud. There are a few more details here and there, but the overall message I am seeing is that this is CM Punk's fault. In terms of the storyline, Triple H tried to call things fairly and do his job right. Then they have CM Punk act arrogant and bitter about what is going on. He makes it seem like he is still being held down, like this was 2006 to him all over again. So they put the COO position at stake. There I see a mistake. Again, Triple H has not really done anything wrong. Miz and R-Truth are also taking jabs at how things are being run under Triple H, but there issues always happens to jobbers after they are built up and fed to a centerpiece, which would be Cena in both of these guys' situations. I don't see anything special for Triple H to be criticized for. That is another reason why I would have drawn this thing out a little more. Have CM Punk face Nash at Night of Champions. Have CM Punk face Triple H at Survivor Series. In the two months until then, really build up that some people dislike what Triple H is doing as COO with some good evidence for the storyline. Build the heat. From what I am seeing, they are only building it now by having CM Punk be annoying and pandering to the fans. The promo they had on Raw put over John Cena for no good reason whatsoever, revisited Punk's history of why he believes he has been mistreated, and talked about the idea that the WWE likes pushing big guys as their major stars. Oh, and ice cream. From what I can see, nothing was really resolved whatsoever.

The saving grace of the whole segment, for me, was when Punk's mic got cut off. This led to Punk eventually attacking Triple H with the pipe bomb. That brought back in some real hatred into what is going on. Aside from that, all I see is bitterness from Punk and Triple H defending himself and the WWE product. I see holes in both of their sides, some of which the other brought up. But of course, this was not about being a real debate anyway. For what it was, I found it pretty stupid.

What happens at Night of Champions? You have Kevin Nash released, but John Laurinaitis seemingly taking his side. If Triple H loses his position, who takes over? Notice Laurinaitis casually making a few decisions over the past few weeks in booking matches? In other words, I think you can see the obvious route this may go. I just hope they tease it out a little. Add some suspense to it.

Be Thankful It Isn't A Midget

The good? Otunga and McGillicutty are still being used regularly after losing the tag titles. The WWE could push some people even less worthy than these two.

The bad? They are being humiliated and jobbing. The WWE continues to have this idea pushed that they are boring. With the way they are having them job to Lawler and a mystery partner so much, this reminds me of Chavo Guerrero and his "feud" with Hornswoggle. Chavo looked like a complete joke. I am expecting Hornswoggle to be used to humiliate Otunga and McGillicutty sooner or later too. Why not? The longer this goes on, the more likely it will happen.

I was expecting a little better when it first looked like a feud would be starting between these two heels and Lawler, but there is no one to blame for my expectations not being met but me. This is the WWE. Then again, at least it is some kind of storyline. And I do like that they are at least giving them some time to talk. Too many diva feuds have I seen that were a lot more linear and boring than this. The WWE might even bring in a good surprise to be Lawler's partner eventually. A legend? That might actually make things a little more interesting. Yes, the idea of who the mystery partner of the week will be can interest some fans, but only if it is sometimes someone more than a regular WWE guy. Ryder is a jobber and Sheamus has his own thing going on right now. There is still some potential here, but I am not liking what it means for the two heels involved.

Jeff Hardy Returns To TNA

On this week's Impact, Jeff Hardy returned after taking a few months off after a certain incident. Everyone probably knows what I mean. Are his drug problems cleared up for good? He will be serving a little bit of time in jail. Will that be enough to set him straight? Interestingly enough, TNA had the opportunity to treat Jeff's return in a very similar manner as to what the WWE has been doing with CM Punk. Jeff Hardy had a pipe bomb in his hand. Of course, doing what CM Punk did in this kind of situation would have angered a lot of fans. You do not want to sound too arrogant when you have drug problems and are responsible for negative controversy towards yourself and your company. How important is Jeff Hardy to TNA? Very. He is popular. He can definitely move merchandise. The WWE did not want to lose this guy, although he was close to getting released if his drug problems persisted. TNA has gotten by with Jeff Hardy gone these few months, but having him back and at 100% can only help them.

I spend a lot of time talking about Raw ratings. Let me switch to TNA. As usual, I get my ratings data from here. Impact is not beating Raw in the ratings. Impact is not beating Smackdown in the ratings. If Superstars was not canned earlier in the year, Impact would at least be beating that. Done? Not quite. Believe it or not, I like the direction TNA seems to be going based on its ratings. For this year so far, Impact has not had one weekly rating drop below a 1.0. From what I am seeing, that is the first time the show has gone this long in a year without going that low. That will probably end when football comes into the equation, but it is still a good sign. Even more interestingly, TNA stands to have its best year in the ratings. Their yearly average in 2009 was 1.14. As of right now, their 2011 average is around a 1.19. All this may sound pitiful. Getting excited over a 1.19? It is still improvement. And it is not improvement that I can easily latch onto one performer or change. Sting returned back in March, but ratings were still pretty good for some of the weeks prior to that. Jeff Hardy left shortly after Sting's return, but ratings did not die off without him. I am considering any weekly rating above a 1.19 good, since that will strengthen or maintain the average. Depending on how soon TNA can really count on Jeff Hardy, and how they choose to use him, ratings may benefit from that. Again, you still have football looming. But if TNA can survive it, this might be a record year for them.

Alberto Del Rio: The Master Heel

Alberto Del Rio returned to Raw this week. They ran a little angle of him being scared of John Cena to explain why he was not around last week. They also did something else I liked. They had Del Rio go around and manipulate other heels into trying to take out Cena for him. This led to the main event. This put over Del Rio very well. He is crafty. He has henchmen. He failed to attack Cena at the end of Raw. Can't win them all, can you? Nevertheless, this is good build. Del Rio did not even have to step into the ring for a match for any of this to happen. This once again illustrates that the WWE cares more about character than actual wrestling. If they are spending a lot of time developing and hyping your character, they most likely care about you, whether building you up for your own sake or to job to another. If they only regularly push you in the ring, you are either a simple jobber to them or being used as filler.

One last thing I want to say about Alberto Del Rio. Yes, he is one of my favorites. I think he has potential to be very over. However, I am not stupid enough to believe he is there yet. Also, I do not believe this monster push he has gotten since last year and the other advantages they have given him (gimmick) automatically make him a success. They have done much to build his credibility, but credibility is not the same as entertaining. The WWE seems to want to push the success they have had with this guy, but I think they are getting ahead of themselves a bit. Is he over? Can he really draw? Can he make money? Being a kayfabe success is not enough. Then again, I remember riding on the subway a few months ago and noticing someone had carved in Del Rio's crown symbol and "ADR" underneath it on the bench. Thugs like him. Who am I to argue against those who have the power to mug me? All this being said, I would be very interested to see how they treat this guy after Cena does eventually win back the title in the future and feuds with another heel. I cannot picture all this investment going down the drain, but who will get screwed over for Del Rio's benefit?

Kelly Kelly Will Face Beth Phoenix Again

This is indeed typical diva division booking. Kelly Kelly defeated Beth Phoenix the first time around at Summerslam to retain the Diva's Championship. On Raw, Beth defeated Eve to get another shot at Kelly Kelly. Who do you think will win this time? History has shown multiple examples where this happens between a centerpiece and a credible jobber. And if Kelly Kelly does eventually regain the title from Beth Phoenix, it will again fit right in. I am already predicting Beth to win the title. If they wanted to give it to someone like Natalya or Tamina, they would not waste time giving Beth this shot.

And you have this great debate springing up from comments some of the divas have made about this whole angle involving Beth & Natalya and the other divas. I find it very disheartening. At the same time, very smart move by the WWE. They are getting the fans involved in what is going on. They are playing with the idea that the opinions of the fans matter. If you feel you actually matter in something, is it hard to believe you will more likely take more interest in it? Fact is, WWE is still controlling what will happen. And that is why I find this disheartening. They are framing the debate. Should the diva division die to be more pleasing to fans of serious wrestling and wrestlers like Beth and Natalya? Or are women like Kelly Kelly and Eve working hard and earning their spot? Which side are the various fans on? What is their opinion? My opinion? The eye-candy divas definitely can prove themselves. But that is not my issue. I am going beyond opinion. I, and I know you are as sick of me saying it as I am, am doing analysis. My major issue is how the WWE is actually running the division. I do have some issues with certain women here and there, such as Michelle McCool and her inability to get properly over, despite her monster push, but I do not praise all the serious female wrestlers used as jobbers and bash the Diva Search contestants who have taken a prominent position on the roster over the years. I believe it is easy to have an opinion. When it comes to actually thinking and figuring out what the WWE is really doing, that is harder, that is analysis, and that is not what the WWE is trying to get the fans to do. They are basically telling them to let their feelings out. This is exactly the kind of environment where I will have a tough time trying to explain that the WWE chooses the type of women they want to make into the centerpieces, uses women with wrestling ability to help get the centerpieces over, and then mistreats these jobbers for the simple reason that they were never meant to get very over themselves in the first place. This is the booking practice I want changed. Getting rid of the eye-candy divas is not my concern. I think asking for that is pretty stupid, and not something the WWE will do anyway. The WWE itself is the target to me, not any type of diva or one individual diva...except Michelle McCool.

One last thing. Gail Kim. Last time I checked, the WWE still has not made an official statement on her release. Unless I missed it, which could have happened, they are not wanting to let her go. It is funny. They did not appreciate her at all for years. Even when she did get a push or a storyline, it was crap. Her romance angle with Daniel Bryan? How did that end again? Pretty much the same way as John Cena and Mickie James? Then there was her push in early 2010 against Maryse. She got it because Melina was injured and she was the only credible face jobber with solid experience. She jobbed to Maryse, and that was it. All the build they gave her went nowhere else. Her recent situation could have really brought light to what the WWE is doing to their diva division, which would have been exactly the kind of thing I would want. Here you have another reason I dislike what the WWE is doing by treating this current Raw diva feud between Kelly Kelly and Beth Phoenix like it is a debate. It is burying Gail Kim's situation. The Bellas and all the other divas can point fingers all over the place and praise whoever else they want, but what Gail Kim was doing was genuine. They can ask why the mistreatment is happening, but your answer is found right with Gail Kim. It is not enough to say the WWE does not care about the divas and have mistreated so many women. Someone can come up with reasons to say otherwise. But when you go down to the foundation of what the WWE is really doing, there is no way out for the WWE. They are guilty. And now, they are exploiting the situation, similar to how they did with CM Punk, to get people talking and interested. I hope their ratings come in at a 3.2.

One Big Happy Family

My brief thoughts on the idea of these super shows they are having. Wrestlers from both of the major brands appear on both Raw and Smackdown. That is what you had last week. Having these kind of things for non-televised house shows is not uncommon at all, but what does it mean that they did this for the major shows?

The rosters are thin. More importantly, star power is thin. Rey Mysterio just recently took time off for an injury. Alberto Del Rio had a little bit of trouble last week, but he should be back. Even then, although he is WWE Champion, he is still in the process of being developed as a star. Sin Cara matches are often a little messy, regardless of who is at fault in a particular mistake. The WWE can have Triple H sell whatever excuse when he announced this, but it all comes down to pretty much the same reason TNA had to move Impact back to Thursdays last year. If they did not, the shows would suffer. TNA could not compete head-to-head with Raw. Raw and Smackdown are running stale as it stands now. Changes had to be done.

Of course, there has been some blur in the brands for a while now. Just look at the diva division. Layla and Michelle McCool would show up on Raw, even after they lost their title. Recently, Natalya and Beth Phoenix would appear on whichever show the WWE needed them. The blur would also be there around Wrestlemania and for special 3-hour Raws. But now? That blur is now necessary to help keep things fresh. The brand split does still exist in that there are separate rosters. Depending on how WWE treats things, that could still make for some very creative feuds, matches, and overall storylines. Thing is, they just cannot throw two guys from separate shows against each other as filler. If they don't do things creatively, the product will still look stale.

TNA's Birthday Gift To Mickie James

Yes, I know Mickie's birthday was August 31st. I know this week's Impact was taped before this week. Nevertheless, Mickie James has regained the Knockout's Championship on tonight's Impact.

First, Winter. Tears for her? Her reign only lasted a few weeks and she did not have any successful title defenses. Fact is, TNA has done much worse. They have had people win titles in boxes. They have had people win titles by DQ, then have the title taken back because losing a title like that is stupid. Of course, my favorite one is when the WWE handed Dolph Ziggler a World Championship on Smackdown after he never beat Edge at all, then had Edge win it back the same night. But this is about the stupid stuff TNA does, right? Or was I talking about Winter? Winter actually won a title in TNA before Mickie James. Winter and Angelina Love won the tag titles. They held those titles for a few months, having some successful defenses. By winning the Knockout's title, Winter has actually held both of the women's titles in TNA before Mickie James. That is an accomplishment too. Because I have seen worse than this and Winter does not look in horrible shape as far as titles in TNA goes, I will not cry for her.

Time to celebrate! Just a bit. 2x TNA Knockout's Champion. 1x WWE Diva's Champion. 5x WWE Women's Champion. That is 8 total female titles from major promotions. That beats out the record of Trish Stratus, which is set at 7. Trish will forever hold the record for most WWE Women's Championship reigns, since that title is retired. How can I still say Mickie James beat the record? Without getting too much into it, Triple H did not win 13 major World titles with the same title. The same goes for guys like Cena and Orton, whenever the WWE mentions their World title counts. Ric Flair, the man whose official 16x World title record everyone talks about and speculates who will be the one to break it, did not win them all in one promotion. His title count actually gets more convoluted than that, but you get the idea. Fact is, Mickie James, as far as title reigns go, is finally starting to step out of Trish's shadow. This is what the WWE did not want to do for her.

Also, this is a sign that Mickie James is being booked as a centerpiece in TNA. The fact that she is making in the $100,000 a year range, while other women in TNA are making less than half of that, is another sign. TNA must have learned a little after they lost women like Gail Kim and Awesome Kong to pay issues. Fact is, a centerpiece who has been solidified in that position by the WWE is probably making at least $300,000 a year. Face it, midcarders in the WWE make more than $100,000 a year. I am saying this to illustrate that it may sound like Mickie James is making a lot, but the WWE would have still paid better, if they valued the results she was bringing and wanted her to bring them. And what did I mean when I said Mickie James was being booked as a centerpiece? Title matters revolving around her. Consistent pushes. As centerpiece, they will be upward with her treatment. Most importantly, they are not doing this because the woman they would rather push is injured, retired, or just flopped. This booking is meant for Mickie.

Let me say a little about what I do not like about all this. I think TNA should have spent more time actually developing a storyline or built up the momentum better. Make things more interesting. Obviously, they are not ignoring doing this because they do not value Mickie James. They are not doing this because they do not value their women. I see some storylines going on. Winter and Angelina still have an angle going on. I wish there was better development there too, but it leads to some segments and opportunity to portray a gimmick. If they made things more entertaining in general, I believe they would be able to draw a wider audience. Mickie James can very much help them there. But if they stifle her, like I see them unintentionally doing, it can hurt her overall overness, not to mention hold the TNA product back.

A very happy birthday to Mickie James. This is her year. Life still isn't a luxury cruise to her, but she has earned what she is now getting. She has shown she could bring results, she is working for a company that needs people who can bring results in order to even try to compete with the WWE, and she is receiving the type of booking that I am happy with. If they get better writers, it could only get better for her.