It Was A Monster Mash!

I don't plan on watching Raw tonight. Yes, it does happen to be because of who the guest stars will be. I think I became too old for that kind of thing almost two decades ago. It would be kind of stupid for a 25-year old guy to eagerly tune in to Raw to see Kermit. I'll read about what happens. I guess I'll just watch football. Is SpongeBob on?

I did not get to mention Big Show and Mark Henry's match at Vengeance last week, and it is worth mentioning. If extreme stunts are one of the draws for Mark Henry's current big push, the WWE delivered again. It has happened before, I know, but it is still exciting to see the ring collapse like that.

The feud between Mark Henry and Big Show is obviously not over yet. I would have them have a rematch on Smackdown. Have them captain teams at Survivor Series, then have the feud end at TLC. Perfect PPV to end this. Ladder match? Chair match? Tables match? TLC itself is also an option, but maybe too much? It would make for plenty of extreme spots. There is still a lot of potential left in this feud and in Mark Henry's overall title reign. A lot of people were saying how great Kane's title reign was around this time last year. I honestly think Mark Henry's push is delivering even better.

Maryse Released

Maryse has been released by the WWE. Judging by her first comments on it, no big sorrow.

What does this mean for the diva division? Nothing of value was lost. Maryse was a failed centerpiece, much like Candice Michelle. Remember what happened to Candice? She got injured multiple times, lost much of her promise in terms of wrestling ability, the WWE gave up on pushing her as Raw's centerpiece in 2008, and she was released a few months later in 2009. Maryse follows pretty much the same story. She never botched as hard as Candice did before her fall from the top, but she wasn't showing the signs of solid ability in the ring. As it stands, she was out for a while with another injury. What good would she be when she did return, even if she still wanted to wrestle? They could have pushed her on the periphery, but she was not that over anyway. It is interesting how she went her entire career without ever really being a true face.

Nothing of value was lost, but I do not hate Maryse. She's sexy and cute. What I hated was the WWE trying to push her as a centerpiece. It was not helping the division. I can say the same thing for Kelly Kelly's current treatment. I'm not going to miss Maryse, and I'm not going to complain that the WWE misused her, but I don't think she needs pro wrestling anyway. She'll find something else to do.

Kevin Nash Takes Out Triple H

If pro wrestling really was about trying to hurt your opponent, Kevin Nash would have one of the greatest finisher moves ever. That huge attack he gave Triple H on Raw was to write Triple H off due to the injury he had suffered the night before. Triple H will be out for at least a month, meaning he will miss Survivor Series. The WWE's own website is reporting it, and I doubt it is all kayfabe.

Obviously, this will put a dent in the WWE's plans. Triple H was one of the top guys on Raw since his return. He was involved in a power struggle with John Laurinaitis, feuding against Miz & R-Truth, and looked to be going back into his singles feud with Kevin Nash. If anything, his feud with Kevin Nash just got raised to an even higher level.

The dent is not too huge. CM Punk will get his feud with Alberto Del Rio. John Cena and The Rock move on to Miz & R-Truth. You have a lot of midcarders on both brands who can make for a classic Survivor Series match. The divas look like they may be heading into a large match too. If not, Alicia Fox is heading into a title feud against Beth Phoenix? Large tag match makes more sense, since it is Survivor Series coming up. Big Show and Mark Henry are not finished yet, although I wouldn't mind them being involved in one of the elimination tag matches as captains for their respective teams. Leave Big Show's rematch for Smackdown or the PPV after Survivor Series. Point is, not much harm was done to the potential of the Survivor Series card because of Triple H's injury. The main draw was going to be The Rock anyway.

One last point on Triple H. I am not usually the guy who says that the WWE is doing something that makes no sense at all. When I see other people doing that, I can usually either see the WWE's side of what they are doing or just feel the whole thing is so trivial, it can be overlooked. On Raw, Triple H revealed he was still COO. That means he was still technically overseeing everything. All he lost was control of Raw to Laurinaitis. But if he still outranks him, doesn't that make all the protesting the WWE had going on seem meaningless? So what gave Triple H the right to run Raw in the first place? What happened to the Anonymous Raw GM? And if Triple H only lost control of Raw, why can't he still push his weight over on Smackdown? If control of Raw was all he lost, why were Smackdown workers against him too? I can understand the WWE's dilemma a little. If they take away Triple H's COO position and name Laurinaitis new interim Raw GM, who is the new COO? Why could they not just name Laurinaitis interim COO until the Board of Directors chooses a new one? The way things are working out, Triple H still should have had the authority to overrule whatever unfair decisions he felt Laurinaitis made. Also, Triple H would still have power, which would make a lot of the wrestlers who protested against him unhappy, especially the heels. Moreover, Triple H still had the title, but he was not doing anything too major with it. So what's the point? They should have just given it to Laurinaitis. Hopefully, when Triple H returns, they can pretend he is no longer COO, just like they are pretending a computer no longer runs Raw.

Dolph Ziggler Still Has Mason Ryan

Dolph Ziggler has been busy lately. He is still United States Champion. Sadly, he still seems to be feuding with Mason Ryan. Mason made himself known on Raw this week by running off Ziggler and Swagger.

I still do not see this push for Mason Ryan going anywhere for the big guy. He is not being pushed very uniquely or in a way that will make him stand out much. This all just seems like a waste of space. Even though I do not care about him much, it would have been better to just give this push to Zack Ryder. Have Kofi Kingston or Evan Bourne go after Ziggler's title. Why not? Ziggler has been going after the tag titles, right? If John Morrison does somehow stick around, he can be a good candidate to end Ziggler's reign. Turn Jack Swagger face and have him feud with Ziggler. In other words, I think anyone on the Raw roster would be better suited for this push.

On another note concerning Dolph Ziggler, notice how it looked like Vickie Guerrero was really forming a stable just a few weeks ago? In addition to Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger, Cody Rhodes and Christian also seemed to be involved in the mix. This was back when many wrestlers were protesting against Triple H. After the angle ended, this stable soon just became an afterthought. They could have really had a great stable there. It would have involved guys from both brands. All of these guys have held titles before, including two current Champions. From all that potential, you have Christian running a stale feud with Sheamus, Cody feuding with Randy Orton, and Ziggler and Swagger messing around with Mason Ryan. I don't think the WWE will try to salvage the stable they could have had.

John Cena And The Rock Team Up

I know Cena's slobbering in anticipation of what is coming at Survivor Series. He will team up with The Rock to face Awesome Truth (Miz & R-Truth).

It has been known for a while that The Rock was coming back and going to wrestle at Survivor Series. The WWE even advertised it on Raw tonight before Cena's announcing it. That I find stupid. Yeah, advertising The Rock will make sure tickets sell, but you could have kept it a surprise until this point and tickets still would have sold. If this is supposed to be the era of reality, where angles spill over into the Internet, Twitter, WWE's website, and so on, handling Cena choosing The Rock like that is kind of a disappointment. A lot of people already knew it was coming.

The Rock is also scheduled to be on Raw in a few weeks. Ratings should be very good for that show. It will not be enough by itself to save the yearly average for the show from being the most horrible in over 10 years, but The Rock has to be a guy who will bring it better than almost any other former wrestler the WWE can get.

One last thing. I know a lot of fans hated the idea of The Rock and John Cena teaming up when word of this first came up weeks ago. Speaking for myself, I like it. Neither of these guys are heels. Cena may be hated by many, but he is still a face. I think this is good progression of this epic feud. Have them keep that mutual respect for each other up for the moment. When the time is right, then have them go at it. If they get into a scuffle at Survivor Series or Raw, fine. That's just a taste of what will come at Wrestlemania. Aside from spoiling things so soon and still treating it like it is surprising, I like how this is going.

Mark Henry Defends Against Big Show At Vengeance

The World's Heavyweight title match for this Sunday features Mark Henry and Big Show. Not only is the centerpiece of Smackdown, Randy Orton, not present, but he is not involved in a feud that is worth more than the title feud for Smackdown. That is a bit of freshness.

Is this the kind of feud that can draw? Even though I like Mark Henry's push and think it is great that a fresh feud like this is going on, it could have been handled better. I am saying this while Smackdown is enjoying some of the best ratings it has had in a while. Nevertheless, I don't like how Randy Orton has still been inserted in this feud at a few points in the last few weeks. Even worse, he has been slowly getting the better of Mark Henry. Mark Henry's dominance is slowly fading. Of course, it had to sooner or later. I believe part of what little drawing power has been invested in Mark Henry has come from all the extreme stunts they have been pulling with him in the last few months. Remember what he did to Big Show and the cage on Raw? That can definitely get people interested in Mark Henry. But if you start taking that away, you better hope the rest of Smackdown is strong enough to keep the ratings.

Sheamus is still looking strong. Because of that, I cannot see the WWE ending Mark Henry's title reign at the hands of Big Show just yet. You can complain about Mark Henry and Sheamus already fighting each other a few months ago, but Big Show and Mark Henry did too. Neither Sheamus nor Mark Henry took a decisive victory in their brief feud a few months ago. I cannot believe it will end like that. While Orton continues a feud with Cody Rhodes and tends to whatever other Survivor Series matters, Smackdown can have another fresh title feud between Sheamus and Mark Henry. For that reason, I am hoping for Mark Henry to retain against Big Show. No matter where he goes after this Sunday, his reign can still be developed a little more while ratings seem to indicate that the fans are tuning in.

Gail Kim Back To TNA

Don't want to spoil too much, but with her WWE contract officially expired, Gail Kim has wasted no time in returning to TNA. She will appear on this week's episode.

Overall, this is a great thing for TNA. The KO division was already more respectable than the diva division, but regaining one of the women that helped to really create it will definitely help. Gail Kim was the first true centerpiece of the division. Things have changed in some way since she left, but I know a lot of fans are happy about this move. Gail Kim is too.

There is one obvious problem. I have pointed out many times that there seems to be a lack of continuity in some TNA matters when it comes to the women. This is due to the fact that they have multiple women whom they want to treat well. If this was the WWE, 9 out of 10 women would be getting screwed over for the benefit of one being made to look great. TNA is not like that. That is respectable, but it can be a problem when you have too many women.

ODB and Jackie returned a few months ago. Since they have become official members of the roster, what have they done? I heard ODB is losing to Brooke at house shows, but that really is nothing.

Christina Von Eerie debuted in TNA with Ink Inc. to feud against Mexican America. As long as that feud is going on, she has a purpose. Even after, she might be left as part of the stable. That is fine.

Velvet Sky is the new Knockout's Champion. That is fine. With the way the feud was going, it does not surprise me. For as long as I could remember, TNA has always tried to find something for her. She has definitely been one of their centerpieces, despite never being one of their best female wrestlers pushed in the ring.

And Mickie James? She is one of the highest paid female wrestlers in TNA for a reason. They want her. She is popular and she works to promote TNA. Don't forget that she was in TNA even before Gail Kim. While Gail Kim deserves a lot of praise for her involvement in helping TNA make their KO division, Alexis Laree was proving her worth at a time when there was no title for the women to aim for in TNA. Mickie James definitely deserves some credit for what she has done in her first year back in TNA.

I can run through the list of other women, but I don't think I need to now. They're all working hard, but not all are bringing the same kind of results as others. How can TNA really keep them all and use them all right? It is a good thing Gail Kim is back, but the division is not the same as it was back when she left. TNA has been leaning slightly towards the diva side. Look who has the KO title. Velvet Sky is pretty much TNA's Kelly Kelly. And with TNA rotating the women who get pushed, you may not be seeing Gail Kim every week. Would be kind of unfair if you did. Why can't more of the other women get that regular treatment? In any case, I am sure she is being paid better than before. That is why she left TNA in the first place. With TNA becoming a little more successful, they can definitely afford to pay the women they feel will draw well for them better. Gail Kim deserves to be in a TNA that will pay her what she deserves. Mickie James deserves to be in a WWE that will treat her as she deserves. As it stands, both are in a TNA with a whole lot of other women TNA will have to try to juggle around to use well. This does not look good.

Eve And Beth Phoenix At Vengeance

In case you missed it, the WWE is treating the match Kelly Kelly and Beth Phoenix had last Smackdown as Kelly's rematch. That clears the path for Beth Phoenix and Eve to face each other for the Diva's Championship at Vengeance. Had they have gone with Kelly Kelly vs. Beth Phoenix at the PPV, that would have been the 4th consecutive time these two same women fought over the title without the type of match being changed or the bar being raised in some other way, which is what I was hoping for. That would have made it even worse than Orton vs. Christian. Keep in mind that their third PPV encounter had a stipulation in it that favored Christian and their fourth PPV match was No Holds Barred.

It has only been 3 weeks since the last PPV. I can understand them wanting to put in a filler title defense here. Break up the monotony. I do not see any reason why the WWE might be giving up on Kelly Kelly as centerpiece. She has been a little shaky on a few spots that I have seen, but so has Eve in that same amount of time. Nothing too serious. Kelly Kelly seems to be still more over than Eve too, although I would say Eve can be more exciting in the ring. Point is, this does not look like the end of Kelly Kelly and Eve becoming the top face of the diva division.

Beth Phoenix will most likely retain here. If Kelly Kelly is still centerpiece, the only reason they would have for putting the title on Eve is if either Eve or Kelly Kelly will be turning heel. It would be stupid for them to use Eve to transition the title to another heel to put over Kelly Kelly. Kelly Kelly could still get more value out of a feud with Beth Phoenix. Are they trying to have Kelly Kelly and Beth Phoenix last until at least TLC? You can have a gimmick match there that can put over Kelly Kelly as more than just a hot blonde. Until then, I do not see the WWE tossing the Diva's title around so soon as they have the WWE Championship.

The build for Eve vs. Beth has been pretty poor. A little more will happen on this week's Smackdown, but not too much. After Hell in a Cell, focus was still on Kelly Kelly, who attacked Beth in a rage on Raw. Week after that, Eve scored the pin in the tag match. Signs right there of the push that she now has. Kelly Kelly lost to Beth later that week on Smackdown. This week, Eve beats Natalya. Anything outside of just matches to promote this match? You will see it on Smackdown, but again, that is not too much in my book. Filler feud. Can you even call it a feud? Remember that saga Orton and Christian had earlier this year? Orton had a filler title defense against Sheamus. That match was really just an extension of Orton's feud with Christian. Orton and Sheamus never really feuded there. That is what I see going on here. It really isn't too much about Eve and Beth. This is just being used to prolong the feud a little more and build Beth's momentum up further. The only way I see myself being wrong is if either Kelly or Eve turns heel or the WWE really has lost confidence in Kelly Kelly. I doubt these things. In the meantime, the poor build just adds to the overall poor hype for the coming PPV. It may be worth it in the long run with Kelly Kelly's feud with Beth Phoenix, but it will not be a great draw for Vengeance. Eve is being used as a credible jobber.

Alberto Del Rio And Cena At Vengeance

Alberto Del Rio will defend his WWE title once again against John Cena. This time, it will be at Vengeance in a Last Man Standing Match. Prior to that, Del Rio got his night in Mexico while being Champion. That is why they put the belt on him, right? Still does not give a good reason as to why they needed to take it off him so Cena can have a very brief reign a few weeks ago.

It is good that they are raising the bar in this match. That is how you make things interesting. If you are booking the same people in matches again and again, at least make the matches different or put different things on the line. But is that enough hype to make the match interesting? How about the build of the feud? I have pointed this out before. It was more about Alberto Del Rio and CM Punk last week than it was about Del Rio and Cena. Week before that, there was a huge tag match that did not do too much to further just Cena and Del Rio. Tonight, they did a nice video package to make it seem like there is more to this title feud than there really is. So what if Del Rio locked Cena out at Hell in a Cell? Cena wants vengeance for losing the title like that? The WWE should have done more to build Del Rio up against Cena since the last PPV. Tonight's tag match was okay. It continued issues between Michael Cole and Jim Ross. I just hope they do not make this a regular thing again. No need for that. Del Rio did look strong in the match, but Cena getting beaten down in a long match and winning it in the end is a trademark he gets criticized for from many fans. In other words, nothing new. Not enough epic feel here.

Who wins? You asking me? Cena has too much momentum, while Alberto Del Rio has very little going into the match. Traditional WWE logic would have Del Rio retain, but they did have him drop it to Cena last month in a similar fashion. If they do it again, not only will it be very stupid, but it would have accomplished nothing of real value to make Del Rio over. Holding a title will only convince so many people you are awesome. What do you do while you hold that title? What has Alberto Del Rio done while holding his second title in the WWE? Nothing too great. What has shooting the title to Cena really done for him? He would have broken records and set new ones without this kind of booking. Are the people who love him supposed to love him even more now? The people who hate him definitely have reason to hate him more for hogging the title. The Rock is coming back next month. Will the WWE like Cena to be holding the title for when they meet again? That question is why I would not be surprised if Cena does win again. Nevertheless, I am still pulling for Del Rio. There was so much potential there to build him into a great character. He was a great character. WWE's booking of him since winning the title has gone downhill.

Centerpiece Orton Vs. Mark Henry, Again

Randy Orton won the right to face Mark Henry for the World title by winning a battle royal. He already used that title shot later in the show. How would people have felt if the WWE had instead used this as a way to slide Orton somehow into the match coming up between Big Show and Mark Henry? Of course, it did not happen.

Let me point out something I think was smart here. They had a pretty big match early in the show, then used that to hype another big match later in the show. There was build there. The centerpiece of Smackdown faced the top heel in the main event for the most important title of the brand. Going back to what I said about this week's Raw, that is what was missing there. The WWE revealed all the surprises and answered all the questions in the first hour. In the second hour, all they had being advertised the most was CM Punk vs. Alberto Del Rio in a non-title match. No sign of Cena, who is centerpiece there. No Triple H advertised. R-Truth and Miz returning not teased, not that I am saying it should have been. I am just pointing out that it was nothing big that could draw in the second hour as compared to the first. Smackdown ratings are obviously not in yet, but they did better progressing the show.

Tired of seeing Orton take on Mark Henry? It's not as bad as Beth and Kelly, who also faced off again in a regular match on Smackdown. Cody Rhodes ran in to continue his feud with Orton. Big Show did his part to continue his feud with Mark Henry. I just do not think enough is being done with Orton/Rhodes. Cody can definitely be made to look stronger than he has been. The title feud is doing fine. The predictable tag match will probably follow. But I don't like how they are almost selling it like Orton can shrug off Cody Rhodes and still focus on Mark Henry, or even handle both if he really had to. Does anyone really take Cody seriously in this feud? Personally, I don't. I was not expecting Cody Rhodes to walk out of this thing being treated like John Cena, but he is just not being pushed right to Orton's level. And he definitely does not need to hold the Intercontinental title for this feud. When this feud really does make it to that level where Orton is pushed too far by Rhodes, I would expect Orton to somehow cost Cody his title. It would be good feud progression, while getting the title on another face who can use it in their own feud or build. Cody getting a feud with a guy like Orton is worth more than holding a midcard title. But they have to do the feud right. Less Mark Henry.

Up High, Down Low

Raw managed a 3.25 rating this week. Compared to how it has been doing in the past few months, that is great. But there is more to the story. The first hour received over a 3.4 in the ratings. The second, on the other hand, dropped to the same area you would expect from the recent numbers, a 3.02. That is a clear sign of something.

Raw did start with the controversy that started at the end of last week. The wrestlers and other workers walked out. How did Triple H handle the situation? Not surprisingly, John Cena was the first guy out to support him. Sheamus and CM Punk followed. While Sheamus and Cena were going at it, Vince McMahon made his return. He announced that Triple H was going to be relieved of his COO duties. Up to this point, things were progressing fine. I believe the big mistake the WWE made was revealing John Laurinaitis has the new guy in charge so fast. Obviously, a lot of people were expecting this guy. I was hoping for a swerve myself, but choosing him makes sense in the storyline. But the problem was not drawing the moment out. Have Vince announce that there will be a new COO, Raw GM, or whatever they want to do, announced later in the night. Make it seem like the Board of Directors is finalizing the decision. Leave Triple H in charge until the decision is announced. Have the workers who are on strike return, since Triple H will no longer be COO anyway. He would simply be serving out his remaining hour or so. The mystery of who will be in charge will lead to fans tuning in. It may not have been as much as the first hour got, but it would be better than a 3.02. Would the new GM be Mick Foley? Announced as The Rock, who would then appear live via satellite? Austin? Stephanie? Vickie Guerrero? All the surprises were really killed in the first hour. Yes, Miz and R-Truth "returned" in the main event, but that was not teased throughout the night, so how could that draw anyone very well? They could have had Laurinaitis be announced as the new boss between the start of the second hour and the main event. Let him then set up CM Punk vs. Alberto Del Rio, and then change it to a tag match later on to include Miz and R-Truth. Triple H could have booked all the other matches on the card. Having Laurinaitis be in charge may not help ratings too much in the long run, but doing things this way might have helped salvage the ratings for at least this Raw. Nevertheless, ratings were still up overall.

John Cena was not in the main event. Did that impact anything? CM Punk was. Triple H came out to make the save for him. CM Punk is pretty much becoming Triple H's sidekick. But let me go back. CM Punk took on Alberto Del Rio in a non-title match. After it was changed to a tag match, Del Rio walked out on Punk. That is not surprising from a heel. No sign of Cena. I see a problem there. John Cena is the one getting his rematch at a PPV, but with the way things went down in this match, you would think Del Rio and Punk had a feud going on. Obviously, this whole picture could have broken down two ways. Triple H was not going to feud with Del Rio right now, so he is going after Miz and R-Truth. Who joins him? Both CM Punk and John Cena were attacked by Miz and R-Truth. Punk and Cena are both self-righteous guys, which would make it easy for them to side with Triple H and go after Miz and Truth. Cena has a rematch coming from Alberto Del Rio. CM Punk is the one who Del Rio walked out on this week. Both guys have an issue with Del Rio there. I would have rushed Cena's rematch on Raw prior to the next PPV, and possibly have Truth and Miz get involved. That would leave Cena to team with Triple H against those two. Punk could then be given or earn a singles shot at Del Rio at Vengeance. This would not be a depush for Cena. The storyline involving Triple H is currently the major storyline, not the WWE title feud. As I said before, Cena wasn't even seen during the main event this week, even though his opponent for Vengeance was there. The way things are going down, Cena may actually be losing some momentum. Is that a good thing or bad thing?

Raw started out well, went stale, and ended a little messy. They did not do a proper job of keeping suspense going into the second hour. They did not do a proper job of promoting the feud between Cena and Del Rio as best as they could. That 3.25 will not help them save this year from being the worst in terms of average yearly rating in over a decade. People do not like Laurinaitis, but that does not mean people will tune in to see what evil things he will do or see him eventually get a Pedigree. The WWE has to step things up more than that.

Melina And Mickie James Speak Up

Melina recently made a few comments following the recent major angle going on currently in the WWE. I won't copy & paste the whole thing. I'm sure you have either read it yourself or can look it up without me. I will quote certain parts that interest me.

I would have walked out on the people who tell lies to the WWE Universe who say they fight for them and that they are trying to make a change but they aren’t trying at all.

I have made a similar comment a lot myself. The WWE liked to pretend that Kofi Kingston and Evan Bourne were improving the tag division a few weeks ago. It was really just all hype. Hot air. They were just repackaging the standard push a popular midcard face team would get while holding the titles. The tag division has not really improved just because these two guys are pushed better as a unit and guys like Swagger and Ziggler are tagging up. These are all guys who were pushed very well in singles action previously. In time, that is where they will go again. Same tag division the WWE has liked to push recently. That is just the tag division, so I don't think I even need to mention anything else, including CM Punk's inability to bring any real change.

I do believe the fans deserve 2C what THEY want & not be told what they “should” C. Stop playing & give the fans what they want!

That is pretty much my belief and what I will say is the honest truth about the WWE. The WWE does not care about pleasing the majority of fans, the Internet fans, and certainly not any elitist 10% or less. The WWE's major goal is to push who they want and try to get the fans to buy into it and enjoy it. I have spoken many times about how they have done this in the diva division. One of the best examples is Michelle McCool's feud with Mickie James. McCool was a centerpiece failing to connect with the majority of fans. Does the WWE depush her because the fans aren't too interested? No. They rework things to try to make the fans interested. She can't get heat? Use Mickie James to try to get her a great reaction. I am not saying the WWE has no right to push people they believe have promise over certain other individuals, but when someone they want to work out is just failing hard and still getting overpushed, or when someone they never intended to work out is bringing great results and still not getting good pushes, the WWE pretty much deserves to have crappy ratings and everything else it currently faces. Not all fans are easily swayed by WWE propaganda.

How do I think a lot of the Ignorant Wrestling Community might view Melina's words? Many will view her as just trying to be self-righteous or bitter about how the WWE used her. She is just letting out emotion. Nothing she says is really grounded in fact. Thing is, if you think about it, it really is grounded in fact. I believe the reason some people keep coming back to my blog every week is because I can do somewhat of a good job in arguing that things like what Melina was talking about are sometimes logical conclusions that even a fan can come to by just analyzing what the WWE is doing and has done in the past. Make a prediction off that. If that prediction should happen, you might just have a theory on your hands that really does explain something about what the WWE is doing. I predicted Melina would get released a few months before it did happen. I didn't want it to happen, but my analysis of how the WWE was treating her seemed to have some merit to it. What am I predicting now? No genuine change will come from Melina's words. At the end of the day, it is the same old story and most fans are failing to take it seriously enough.

I always wondered how Vince McMahon felt about the greatest diva his diva division ever created getting booed at Wrestlemania against a new diva on the roster he was simply using to put the centerpiece over. The centerpiece was the face. The new diva was the heel. There had never been anything like that since the diva division was created.

But that is completely irrelevant to what I am about to talk about, right? Mickie James did the "V Lick" to Trish at Wrestlemania in 2006. I ordered that Wrestlemania. I loved that match. That moment did not bother me at all. I loved it. And this was still more than a year before I officially started calling myself a Mickie James fan. In other words, it was not blind love for Mickie that made me enjoy the match, the moment, or her entire gimmick. Problem is, Vince McMahon himself hated it. That is what Mickie James has revealed in a recent interview.

I'm sorry, but was the WWE PG back in 2006 too? No, it was not. Neverthless, I can imagine that some things should just never be done by a performer or promotion because it is in bad taste, too violent, or so on. But who really decides? Let me look back at the WWE history. In 1999, the WWE allowed The Big Bossman to have at least two very tasteless and insensitive storylines. Are you a fan of necrophilia? I'm a probably a pervert in a lot of ways, I'll admit that, but that storyline in the feud between Triple H and Kane was just stupid. How about Vince McMahon exposing his own ass and having people kiss it? Did you watch a certain Hell in a Cell match where Big Show's huge ass was exposed and Vince McMahon's bloody face was shoved right into it? That was just wrong on so many levels. Nudity, disgusting violence, and I do not even want to consider any sexual ideas that may spring from that image. Seriously, I don't. You know what the funniest thing about this sick moment was? It happened months after Mickie's match at Wrestlemania against Trish. Speaking for myself, I don't think Mickie James grabbing Trish's crotch and licking her fingers after is as horrible a scene as Vince McMahon and Big Show getting it on. Ric Flair has been a master of the testicular claw himself. Mickie James played her role as a psycho lesbian and the fans liked it.

Vince McMahon yells at Mickie James because she did something she thought the fans would be drawn to, which would then please Vince himself. As I have just pointed out, the WWE has done many outrageous things over the years, many of which were more tasteless and less effective in entertaining the fans than what Mickie James did. That being said, why would Vince be mad at Mickie? She is trying to do a good job and please him. Thing is, and this goes back to what I always say, it was never Mickie's job do get liked. The WWE did not want her to have the freedom to become as over as possible in that debut storyline. The goal was to put Trish over, like most other instances of diva centerpiece vs. credible diva jobber. Mickie James getting over was never a problem to Vince McMahon? Really? I'm not convinced.

Alex Riley To Zack Ryder To Mason Ryan

Mason Ryan, who recently turned face a few weeks ago, looks to be heading into a feud with U.S. Champion Dolph Ziggler. A few weeks before tonight, it looked like Zack Ryder was getting some kind of push against Ziggler. Before that, Alex Riley was the face who stood up against Ziggler.

Just looking at the last two challengers, I don't feel the WWE followed through with either feud well enough. Both Riley and Ryder are over guys. My pick out of the two is Riley. I like him more. He also was showing some good promise in being the kind of star the WWE would like to have. I can understand that the WWE does not like pushing goofy gimmicks like what Ryder has. But it really would be better if they pushed Riley instead of Mason Ryan.

Mason Ryan is the new Batista. That has been said many times and you can see it yourself. That being said, this guy will not get properly over unless they give him the kind of push they gave Batista. Without that, Mason Ryan will become Raw's Zeke. What has Zeke been doing on Smackdown since losing the Intercontinental Championship? Not a thing. Should Mason Ryan win the United States title, I can only see the same end for him, unless that monster push does come. If it never comes, I think the WWE wasted a shot with Riley.

A Fresh Smackdown Main Event Without Randy Orton

Before I get into what I want to talk about from Smackdown, let me comment about my little mission to get people to understand the theory I believe in about the diva division and getting them to consider another explanation for why Mickie James was released. I'm not 100% talk and no action. I'm 99% talk and 1% action. That 1% was going to have to kick in sooner or later. For a while now, I was waiting for one last thing to motivate me. Strike 1 was Melina. Strike 2 was Gail Kim. Today, I came across someone who said Mickie James was released from the WWE for doing drugs. He had no real evidence. Being the open-minded person I try to be and not being afraid to research something until I am satisfied, I searched it anyway. No, I did not come across anything to make me believe Mickie James is an addict. But I did come across a topic on a Wrestlezone forum that listed why other women, including Mickie, were released. That site was one of the places I was considering really jumping in when I was ready. I just took this all as the final bit of motivation I needed.

So I make a topic about Mickie James on Wrestlezone. I was interested on starting there because they list new topics right on the front page. I knew people who visited that dirtsheet would see it. Wow! Very negative response. I approached making the topic in a conversational way. Ask a question, see how much people already know about the matter, then take it from there. I get myself bashed for not using Google to find the answer to my question? Uhh...okay. I asked the question to start a discussion. How am I supposed to have an intelligent discussion with a search engine? I don't believe Google has developed that yet. And I didn't want to act like I'm preaching down at people who have no idea what is going on. This is the exact lion's den that I knew would be difficult to crack. It's discouraging. More people are interested in making the whole diva division seem trivial, bash Mickie James, or cling to rumors and reports that have not ever been verified, than those who actually want to understand why she was released. While discussing her release, I would have also been talking about my views of how the WWE books the diva division. Didn't work out well, but I expected that. I'm not leaving the discussion quite yet. Needless to say, they have not broken my theory at all. I'll probably get tired of it and give up soon. I honestly got a headache from that topic. That isn't even one of my bad jokes.

And I'll just add this part in now. Seems they deleted the topic. Oh well! I'll rework how to better do this and try again soon. I'm no expert on spreading ideas the vast majority of people do not understand. I'll keep working and reworking.

Onto Mark Henry. Tonight's Smackdown featured the showdown between the World Champion and the returning Big Show. An altercation between these two was the closing segment of Smackdown tonight. Big Show will get a title shot. Randy Orton was featured in a tag match, teaming with Sheamus to take on Christian and Cody Rhodes. Yes, a title feud and main-event segment not involving the centerpiece, Orton. This is great. This is what I wanted to see for Christian. There is really no good reason why they could not have done something like this for Christian for either of his 2 reigns this year. Just out of respect and pleasing his fans, it would have been great. I think it might have done better for his main-event credibility than the path the WWE did choose.

Wouldn't it be funny if the WWE still inserted Orton into this feud somehow? I don't feel a strong direction pointing to Orton/Rhodes anymore. Could still happen, but they could have done better pushing it there. Don't forget that Mark Henry and Randy Orton did go at it on Raw. Can't Orton just stay out for one PPV? I wouldn't mind seeing Mark Henry vs. Big Show go at it in a title match.

Kelly Kelly Rages

The WWE pretty much had to raise the stakes with this Kelly Kelly feud against Beth Phoenix. Just tossing the title to Beth and having a blow-off match with Kelly was not going to happen. Beth is not the important one in the WWE's booking. Beth is the tool. Kelly Kelly is the centerpiece. How may she benefit?

The WWE has already proven that Kelly Kelly can endure Beth Phoenix and squeak out a victory. They did that twice. They ruined a potential undefeated streak for Beth at Summerslam and had her lose in her own hometown at another PPV to do it. But what now? Eve and Kelly took on Beth and Natalya on Raw. I think this match sounds a little familiar. My memory is too horrible, but I believe this same match may have happened before. Just maybe. Point is, this time around, no match really happened. They used the segment to have Kelly Kelly show a vicious side. That is part of what they have to show. It is obvious that she is hot. You can look at her and see that. You did not need her stripping on ECW to sell that, but they did that anyway. But if you are going to push her as a centerpiece, you have to develop other aspects of her character. Build that she can wrestle, can show a vicious side, is charismatic, is respected, and do whatever you have to do to have her connect with as many fans across the board. Don't let Michelle McCool's run as centerpiece fool you, a diva who the WWE chooses to center the major focus of the division around is not getting that treatment to connect with 2% of the fans. How exactly did Kelly show this vicious side? She brutally attacked Beth Phoenix just after the match had started. She had to be pulled off Beth. Would this same thing have looked as impressive if Kelly Kelly raged against Alicia Fox? Kelly would still be showing that anger, but the target does help to make the picture more impressive. John Cena beating up Hornswoggle would not look too impressive. But John Cena doing the same to Big Show? Not backing down to Big Show? Showing he can handle Big Show? Taking down Big Show? That makes him look stronger. My example was extreme, but my point is that Kelly Kelly is meant to look impressive at Beth's expense. Credible jobber.

Will the stakes be raised for the rematch? The stakes have been raised in the feud itself. But the match? You have to make it a No DQ, Street Fight, or something along those lines. Whether Kelly wins or not, they will have to give her the space to show that same vicious side without getting a DQ. If not, it would be stupid to have Kelly just go back to the regular smiling act. The WWE wants to develop Kelly Kelly to connect with the fans. They know that this is a great opportunity to do it using Beth Phoenix. I doubt they will pass it up.

One last thing. What development has Beth Phoenix really had for her character? She turned heel, but is that supposed to help her connect with the fans? Remember Melina's final heel turn? That was not done to help her connect better with the fans. They needed a new Jillian. And Beth? They needed a new heel to work against Kelly after The Bellas. Turning heel was not done to help Beth's character connect better with the fans. Okay, what else has the WWE pushed with Beth's character? They had her team with Natalya and run this angle where they are sick of the eye-candy divas. Is that supposed to help them connect with the fans better? I know there are groups out there who hate the eye-candy women getting pushed too, but these same people are usually Beth and Natalya fans whether or not the two are heels attacking eye-candy faces or faces teaming with eye-candy faces. What about the rest of the fans? The average fans? The majority? The WWE wants Beth to be hated. They will settle for people not caring too much about her at all. Is this angle doing anything for Beth with the average fans, whether to get her massively hated or somehow over due to Beth's own ability to connect or fans being sick of the diva division? I don't think so. I'm not talking about a hometown crowd or hot PPV audience. I don't feel the fans really rallying behind Beth, whether to hate her or love her. They are not supposed to. The storyline is designed for Kelly Kelly to go over a credible wrestler and develop her own character in relation to the gimmick Beth and Natalya are now doing. Just want to make that difference clear. Real character development is meant for Kelly Kelly, not Beth Phoenix.

Triple H Stands Alone

This angle involving Triple H as COO has led to a lot of changes recently. I am not talking kayfabe (storyline) changes. I am talking in terms of pushes. One clear example, Otunga and McGillicutty have split as a tag team and their tag angle with Lawler was dropped just as suddenly as their own alliance. Lawler was taken out by Mark Henry to sell Mark Henry's dominance and the chaos that is happening on Raw. Otunga now has a gimmick working for him and is involved in the major angle. McGillicutty has...yeah.

Jerry Lawler returned to Raw this week to get involved in the major angle in a big way. As a face that many fans love, having him not taking Triple H's side in the vote of confidence was the first sharp nail in the coffin in the segment. After that, Lawler himself was the first to walk out on Triple H. Everyone followed, even cameramen. This made it one of those surreal moments. It felt good. It reminded me of when Nexus first introduced themselves to Raw on their first night of rampage. You can also say CM Punk's infamous promo was surreal, but I did not enjoy it as much as others.

Once again, great storyline development. There definitely has been reason built up for people to be unhappy with the job Triple H is doing, while also leaving room for saying it was not all his fault. More than that, this is something that has the potential to actually draw. What will Triple H do? What will the superstars who walked out do? What will guys like Cena, Punk, and Orton, all of whom were not involved in the segment, do? Whose side are they on? Who is trying to screw Triple H? The obvious answer is still John Laurinaitis. Could the WWE pull a swerve?

Did I mention John Cena? Yes, what will the hero do? The CM Punk plot from a few months ago definitely put over John Cena's character in numerous ways, so I am expecting him to look good from all this too. It does get kind of boring after a while. You can almost predict what the typical thing for Cena to do will be. At the end of it all, the WWE will still sell him as a respectable guy.

And Punk? He has been giving bitter, arrogant promos for weeks now. He has pointed the finger all over the place, including at Triple H. Was he right about some conspiracy? Yes. Will he take a prominent role in this angle? I doubt it.

Who is still the top face of this storyline? Not Randy Orton. It is still Triple H. I believe I compared Triple H and CM Punk's feud to Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho from 2008. CM Punk is currently in the same position in the card as Jericho was back then. Shawn Michaels was the kind of guy who did not need the title to have a purpose out there. COO Triple H is just like that. I think it is easy to see that Triple H will not be challenging Del Rio for the title in the coming weeks. John Cena has already beaten Del Rio for the title last month, so having him win it again so soon from the same guy would be stupid. Yes, I remember what the WWE pulled with Christian and Orton on Smackdown, but I still say it would be stupid to do it with Orton and Del Rio. Cena may have more to gain from the standpoint of putting over his character from siding with Triple H in this angle than still hunting after the title. Leave the title matters to the new Chris Jericho, CM Punk. Then again, with so few weeks until another PPV, and things still a mess after Raw, the WWE can go in any direction with the title match. But my point is, the title match is not the main storyline currently. It is Triple H's storyline that is the main one. Right now, he stands alone. Which other top faces will join him? Any surprises?

And That Leaves Kelly Kelly

I've been noticing Smackdown's diva matters being used for the benefit of Raw's diva feud lately. That may not sound too important, and it isn't, but it is a sign of a change in the diva division.

Who is the centerpiece over on Raw? Even though she lost the title, it is Kelly Kelly. Who is the centerpiece over on Smackdown? None. Smackdown has been used to further the feud between Kelly Kelly and Beth Phoenix. No centerpiece, or even interim centerpiece, has been getting attention. When Michelle McCool left, it looked like they would still treat Layla as the center of attention on Smackdown. Raw had Kelly Kelly. Layla got injured. AJ Lee's debut followed. It looked like she would get the spot Layla left. The WWE was working on some kind of angle featuring AJ, Kaitlyn, and Natalya as the faces. Alicia, Tamina, and Rosa were heels. Things sure have changed since then. The biggest change is that Natalya turned heel and joined Beth Phoenix. Whatever feud was brewing there is gone. Smackdown has no true diva feud of its own being furthered. They have Aksana, but that is another topic for another day.

This is somewhat like how things went before separate brands and two distinct titles. Let me just go back to 2008. From the time the Diva's Championship was created, Michelle McCool was the centerpiece of Smackdown, while Candice Michelle, even though she was injured at the time, was centerpiece of Raw. Candice flopped as centerpiece. Raw went a few months without a true centerpiece. Maryse moved to Raw with the Diva's Championship, sending Melina to Smackdown with the Women's Championship. Maryse was Raw's new centerpiece. McCool was still centerpiece of Smackdown, and had pretty much become the main focus of the whole division. Maryse flopped in 2010. The two titles were soon unified under McCool, surprisingly? Through it all, she failed to get over. In a kind of reverse to the bad luck Raw has had with finding a centerpiece since 2008, Smackdown is now the show without a focus. And the WWE does not seem too interested to get one. Using Smackdown to help further Raw's diva feud seems to be working for them. They get to build up more momentum.

Quick Thoughts On Hell In A Cell 2011

Just want to give my brief thoughts on the World title matches from the PPV.

First, Mark Henry did defeat Randy Orton. That was not shocking. But clean? I don't think that was too necessary. Cody Rhodes was not a factor either. Whether Rhodes and Orton do feud or not, that is choppy storytelling in my eyes. Randy Orton destroys Cody Rhodes two weeks ago. This would naturally want Rhodes to get payback, unless the WWE wants to sell him as too afraid of Orton. Obviously, that is not the path they took. Rhodes did attack Orton on Smackdown this week. That shows that he wants some payback. But just helping Christian beat Orton down in a non-title match? Why not have Rhodes get his hands on Orton at the PPV too? Because then he would be used too much in one night? They couldn't find some other filler match? Yeah, probably not. Still, a chance to add more to a future feud between Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton was lost.

And then, the main event of the PPV. John Cena defended the title against Alberto Del Rio and CM Punk. Del Rio is the new WWE Champion, again. I am a big Del Rio fan, but that was very stupid booking. John Cena did not need a title reign rushed on him so he could make history with his reign count that fast. Del Rio did not need to become a 2-time Champion so fast. That does not automatically make him more popular. Once again, I would have had John Cena win their previous PPV match by DQ. That would have left a reason why he deserves another rematch, while also inserting CM Punk, who never got his rematch. Your triple threat is still there. And Del Rio could still win the same way he did tonight. The title is flying all over the place, but ratings are not improving, PPV buyrates for Summerslam were down this year as compared to 2010, and I don't think everyone who is getting their 10 seconds with the title is selling thousands of shirts because of the title. CM Punk probably has. I don't see this as intriguing the fans. It certainly annoys me. John Cena ends up with 3 title wins in 2011, assuming he does not win it again in the next few months.