This week, being one of those slow, between PPV weeks that it is, I thought would be a great time to wheel out the now monthly classic Random Bits n Pieces columns! See, I told you I didn’t have a clue...
~~~~
Teddy Long is on a roll right now. He’s easily the best mouthpiece for anyone in the WWE, ya feel me playa? I’m actually looking forward to Rodney Mack’s matches now, just to hear Long commentating on the haterising goin’ down while Rodney does his thuggin’ and buggin’ - all of these catchphrases and more, courtesy of one man. Genius.
~~~~
Raw this week was one of the best in a long time for my money. The return of The Man, and I don’t mean Goldberg... Ric Flair, looking as good as he has since WrestleMania 18 stepped into the ring against Trips, on a mission from God... or HBK, whichever’s easier, y’know. His mission was to not stink the joint out... which he achieved admirably.
This was not only Slick Ric’s best match in a long time, but for my money, Trips’ best solo match of the year too. Isn’t it amazing what can happen when he works with someone that : a) knows how to string some moves together b) he WANTS to work well with and c) knows how to fire up a crowd to maybe inject some excitement...
~~~~
Has Lance Storm ran over Stephanie’s dog or something? less than a minute in the IC Battle Royal at Judgment Day; just over a minute against Goldberg, and a mere pawn in an elaborate set-up angle... c’mon guys - Lance is a lot better than that. Even JR grudgingly acknowledged that Lance was one of the top athletes on Raw.
Storm’s gimmick in WCW, the Team Canada angle, and the “If I can be serious for a moment” routine on the mic put him amongst the top liners while he was there - surely something could be worked out to give him something better to do on Raw, even put him back in the tag team ranks again if need be - he’s too good to be jobbed out in seconds.
~~~~
John Cena and Spanky continue to put their stamp all over Smackdown. For me, these two are beginning to shine, and deserve a good 15-20 minutes on the July Smackdown Only PPV to showcase what they can really do. Cena’s gimmick is a joy to behold, and he walks a fine line between turning face every time he opens his mouth...
Spanky? If they use this guy right, then they have a huge star in the making. I’m talking Shawn Michaels level huge. Problem is, he’ll be pegged back because a) he’s a midget and b) he’s young - both of which are no-no’s in the WWE right now.
~~~~
Please, just stop this Mr. America nonsense now. It was amusing at first, but now has gone on too long. It should have been over at Judgment Day. Get O’Haire the hell away from Hogan, and start using Piper to put him over. O’Haire is being wasted right now.
~~~~
Steve Austin and Eric Bischoff may just be the best double act on TV right now - they are rapidly approaching the legendary status that Austin and Kurt Angle had during the Invasion angle, something I never thought would happen. I wonder who will be on the receiving end when Austin finally decides to lose his composure...
~~~~
Kurt Angle back in 2 weeks - Whooo!
~~~~
I checked out Heat this week and watched the Women’s tag match - pretty damned good it was too - the match was good, and an angle was set up in it between Jaqueline and Jazz for a feud - forward thinking... wow!
~~~~
When Tazz had water poured on him, and shot out of his seat in a rage, didn’t you long for him to flip out and start Tazplexing people all over the place? Taz (one z) was an awesome sight to behold in his ECW days, it’s a pity he never really got a fair crack of the whip in the WWE. His commentary is great, but that look of anger on his face on Smackdown this week just reminded me of the ball of fire he used to be...
~~~~
Team Angle put in a great performance on Smackdown this week, as did Eddie & Tajiri - loved the smart finish, with Eddie hitting the referee and Charlie Haas getting caught with the smoking gun (or chair, in this case) in his hand... DQ finishes usually annoy me, but this one was intelligently booked.
~~~~
If Stephanie ever leaves the WWE, I don’t think she’ll be taking over from Larry King... her interviewing technique stinks about as much as her taste in men.
~~~~
I really wish Brock would stop smiling. It’s worrying. I always think he’s been inhaling laughing gas backstage or something.
~~~~
Operation Get Goldbore Over continues in earnest on Raw... I still get the feeling the chants are being piped in as they sound exactly the same every week, but sooner or later, he’s gonna catch on. They’re doing a nice job of keeping him away from Trips too...
~~~~
Chris Jericho may be king of the world, but he must be colour blind, or get dressed in the dark.
~~~~
Just to end on a sad note, this week’s edition of The Live Wire is dedicated to the memory of Owen Hart... Last Friday was the 4th anniversary of The Rocket’s untimely death... rest easy, Owen... we still remember.
~~~~
Until next time, have fun, go mad.
Back