Impact vs RAW thoughts by Sir Ian Trumps

[Black Death]

Any thoughts? Yeah... it makes sense.

Therefore probably won't happen.

agree

Ian you forget , you are pretty damn smart and logical when it comes to wrestling ,  the many minds behind the WWE creative  just does not match you in the brain power department .  you put forth something in truth would make for a nice WM card .  Here to hope that maybe the E is thinking down  that lines ... it more than likely not going to happen , but one can wish

[Kieran King]

Two minor errors, Ian:

1) The Rumble participants are coming in at 90 seconds rather than 2 minutes this year.

I suspect the only reason for the 40-man Rumble is to accommodate the Nexus and the Corre. They're still trying to keep it in the region of a one-hour match though, hence less time between. Hopefully that works, because the most disappointing thing about last year's was that it finished in only 49 minutes. I suppose it was a trade-off though, because between CM Punk preaching, Shawn Michaels' match-long story, Edge's surprise return, and Batista solidifying his newish role as a heel, there wasn't much down time when nothing was happening.

2) You left Mason Ryan out of the Nexus, which effectively puts them at one higher member, a problem that could be remedied by Skip Sheffield returning to health.

[Ian "Wolfie" Trumps]

Two minor errors, Ian:

1) The Rumble participants are coming in at 90 seconds rather than 2 minutes this year.

I suspect the only reason for the 40-man Rumble is to accommodate the Nexus and the Corre. They're still trying to keep it in the region of a one-hour match though, hence less time between. Hopefully that works, because the most disappointing thing about last year's was that it finished in only 49 minutes. I suppose it was a trade-off though, because between CM Punk preaching, Shawn Michaels' match-long story, Edge's surprise return, and Batista solidifying his newish role as a heel, there wasn't much down time when nothing was happening.

2) You left Mason Ryan out of the Nexus, which effectively puts them at one higher member, a problem that could be remedied by Skip Sheffield returning to health.

Ohhhh excellent point there Kieran especially numero 2. Now you got me thinking again, though Skip makes sense to join back with Core I would have thought.

[Ian "Wolfie" Trumps]

Trump Thinks!

Blog Two: Rumbling Down Hill


Well, I was wrong, although my boy Wade Barrett did get to the final four of the Rumble, he was ousted and we were left with Alberto Del Rio as our winner. The flatness of my remark there, best describes to me the flatness I felt by the end of the Royal Rumble as a whole. With such a tremendous start it seemed that WWE was really in my opinion going to set it alight with this PPV. Ziggler proved without a shadow of a doubt he is worth something to the WWE in the near future, his selling alone was a sight to behold. Edge had the crowd in the palm of his hand most the match and God bless dumpy Vickie Guerrero, I don’t think there is a better heel in wrestling right about now than her. Orton and Miz was typically boring. Outside an impact finisher, great presence on the mic and a menacing stare which to be fair to him is great, Orton doesn’t really do it for me in the ring. Miz much like Orton has the superstar package in terms of what WWE wants, but together the match was almost worthy of a piss break. What shocked me though was leaving the Divas match that nobody really cared about till last, further shocking was the fact Eve was randomly inserted in the match and the jaw dropper was for some reason WWE thought it was a good idea to put the strap back on her...and here was me begging, pleading, on my knees to Big Vinnie to allow the Kong to race down and kick some serious buttocks. To say that these three matches coupled with yet more investment in the fact Daniel Bryan is a virgin not up for a threesome with the Bellas apparently, summed up to me that the rumble was rumbling dramatically downhill in terms of entertainment.



Then from nowhere there was a little light at the end of the tunnel. Light which saw them seemingly going to invest some more time into Nexus vs. Corre...and sadly they didn’t. Kevin Nash and Booker T crowd popping moments aside, it was apparently more important for the WWE to completely switch the Main Event over on RAW giving HEEL A to FACE B and HEEL B to FACE A...it was more important to the WWE to once again show us John Cena is pretty much immortal...that a midget is more important in the rumble than getting over a ton of other potential stars. It turned into a comedy farce of a rumble with the jewel in the crown for me allowing an up and coming B show heel to win the whole thing.



Now I hear people cry to the Trumpers...you cad, we didn’t want Cena or Orton or one of those dudes to win it again and I agree, but you got to be kidding me Alberto Del Rio is the best alternative and to top it off...realize readers...this guy is going to Main Event Wrestlemania...and probably just lose.



To say the Rumble was a massive disappointment to me is saying it lightly. I wanted to see Kong debut, I wanted to see HHH come back and get to Sheamus...hell even a stronger run for the Corre would have been great as I think these guys since they got bumped from RAW, deserve something on Smackdown. I was left thinking is the best thing WWE can come up with for their flag ship show is to reverse the top two heels and top two faces? Does the Divas title mean so little they can change the match at the last moment and give it to a woman who proved last time she couldn’t get over with the crowd? Does a 2 foot tall green piece of poop that has hardly been seen for months on WWE programming warrant the amount of time he had in the Rumble? Just disappointed is the best way I can some up my feelings...



RAW this week did little to encourage me further. The elimination chamber PPV is going to be headlined by Jerry the King Lawler vs. Miz. Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind King at all, but the WWE are NEVER going to put the strap on him. Hell, he even won the RAW rumble in a chumpy fashion and as a few people have already buzzed about...are they going to set up Lawler vs. Sheamus at Mania? Please for the love of God no! On top of this we were treated to some weird dance off match...more of Daniel Bryan’s sex life in question...and all the participants of the RAW elimination chamber being made up of spot monkeys and WTF guys outside John Cena. I mean come on, help us suspend some disbelief Vince...please!



It worries me a lot about Mania has a whole. I am not saying I could book a better Mania, cause I am not in the wrestling business and wouldn’t have a clue where to start. What I am saying is the Rumble has always been the road to Mania in some form or another even when they had 4 PPVs a year.  This road looks like a dirt track going down the side of a hill that nobody can be arsed to travel on.



Still, there might be something to get excited about. Back again after some absence is the mysterious vignettes dealy of someone coming back or debuting. The place is buzzing with rumours such as Lesnar, Sting (personally I think it’s Kong! Lol) and the returning Undertaker. Now here is where for me WWE has a chance to not short change the fans with it being Taker. I mean I love Taker to death don’t get me wrong, but the guy returning to a company we all know he is a part of isn’t worth a mysterious segment for me. In fact he should just show up. Cause to put into place something like that for it to JUST BE TAKER...feels like I will have been shafted twice in a very short space of time by WWE. If it’s Sting...Vince...you are the man!



Speaking of being the man, over in the land of TNA, things haven’t been going so well for ‘the man’ Ric Flair. Off TNA TV after getting pissed drunk with Hornswoggle’s Mum in Ireland it seems Flair’s days are numbered. With the loss of Nash and Booker to WWE. TNA swerved us all by turning Fortune face...and having them go against Immortal. An Immortal which consists of two GMs, The Hardy Boys...Abyss, Rob Terry and apparently Hernandez. Jesus Christ TNA...what the hell is this. You have effectively lumbered Immortal with a ton of guys who aren’t immortal...made Fortune look stupid...and on top of that are running a match where two dudes fight over the custody of one of the dudes kids. I have defended TNA as much as I can over time, mostly because I love their wrestling and I like the fact they are trying to do SOMETHING to offer mainstream wrestling fans an alternative, but these last two moves take the cake for me. I hope my beloved TNA can do something to change my mind, but I am afraid this constant change in alignments is becoming almost too difficult to follow. While some wrestling fans are excited about a foreshadowed run on the top for some of the younger stars, I am not so sure it’s going to work now. I don’t think TNA has enough veteran talent to help showcase these guys anymore.



Some time ago, I argued that the interesting thing was the drop off in TNA’s ratings (which everyone wants to discuss) in percentage terms was nowhere near WWE’s drop off. I attributed that to the inclusion of guys like Hogan, Bischoff and what not. Guys who could help stabilize a ship of ratings in a time when most wrestling fans of my age have gone off to watch UFC or just don’t watch wrestling at all. My fear is that there isn’t enough names in TNA now to do this long term. I am not saying Kevin Nash or Booker T is the be all and end all, but with them out the market and Sting as well. Why would a veteran wrestling fan with a tint of nostalgia in his mind want to turn channels to watch...the Hardys...and that is pretty much it? Hogan and Flair haven’t been on programming too much recently and that to me is a reason why casual fans or old school fans would watch TNA.



My prediction is now there is every possibility that the ratings will plummet. Like it or not, or like them or not...Hogan and co. are big draws and while TNA might have spiked some ratings recently with the return of Scott Steiner, this blog man, doesn’t think that there is enough there to do it. What I think we will see is TNA turning to their younger talent, that although good in the ring...will not help maintain wrestling fans to TNA. That is what wrestling is now, it’s about maintaining a fan base because it’s not a growing market in the USA for fans. That fan base is off watching UFC etc..

Is there a solution to bring fans back into wrestling? I don’t think so. People were intrigued in the 90s with the behind the curtain look at the likes of WWE and WCW or even more so when you couldn’t. Now we know the story. It’s like a magician has got a 100 more people to his show because he is GOING TO REVEAL HIS TRICKS...and after he has shown them...why is there still a reason to spend disbelief...



Still there are fans like me who just are always going to love wrestling whether it’s because of the drama, the corny way it’s done, the legit athletes in the ring, the spots...whatever. Let’s hope that WWE and TNA can find a way to keep these fans happy...and maintain...rather than worrying about the fans they haven’t got. A great deal of account management is needed here...not looking for new business.

[Ian "Wolfie" Trumps]

TRUMP THINKS!
Blog Three: If You Smeeeellllllll.....Ratings!

So welcome back to another Blog-tastic moment in the life of wrestling. I am keeping it as short as I can this week because well...we are all too excited about the news out of WWE to do anything else. Finally...Vince has given us a surprise we can all be happy about. The Rock is back!
An electric performance from the man of a thousand one liners on RAW, coupled with not only a promo to die for, but also news he will be hosting Wrestlemania. This made me sad only that if I had been in discussions with an Atlanta based buddy of mine who has connections to said arena that Mania is being hosted at, to attend the event in some capacity. With pending marriages on the horizon, this is no longer possible and to think one of my favourite all time stars would be hosting it.
It’s a massive boost for WWE which in all fairness is what they needed. Since the Rumble they seem to have done some rather bizarre booking. Eve Mendes for no apparent reason is the Womens Champion, we are suppose to hate the evil Bella twins kind of like we hated those evil Cobra twins from the animated series of GI Joe...and Mark Henry and Sheamus are working a program. On Smackdown of course the World title has about as much meaning as Eve’s current run as Diva’s Champion with restarts, returning GMs and vacated belts galore alongside the firing of Dolph Ziggler which makes no sense or indeed could be the most complicated way to ever include The Undertaker in the Elimination Chamber. All this is somewhat swept under the rug because the Rock is back. As stated by an EFKer...he made John Cena a heel in about 2 minutes. Brilliant!
But I feel sorry for Cena. He opened the show with a promo like the Rock...the constraints obvious. Cena comes to the ring looking like a ‘bowl full of Pebbles’ and the best he can do is gently mock the fact Michael Cole might well indeed NOT be a man (clarification not required John)...Rock had more ass and damns in his promo than WWE has aired in about 3 years. The question I often pose to myself, is if WWE would have allowed Cena to continue on with his gimmick he originally got going with...would he in fact be universally loved like The Rock by all age groups? I think so and for that John Cena cannot be blamed. I mean he has about the same 5-6 moves as The Rock...he can cut a good promo whether you like it or not, but he just looks like a giant douchebag when he comes to the ring and almost seems like he is going to put 10 cents in the swear jar if he says ‘Poopy’. WWE fans don’t want to be treated like idiots, that is why Orton got over as a face cause the cold calculated approach he had to business in the ring was what the fans wanted. Not a cartoon cut out.
To crow bar this back in, it is smart for WWE to bring back The Rock. He is without a doubt the reason a lot of fans will buy Mania and will create yet more mainstream media for the WWE on his return. That alongside what they have been doing with the Miz and NFL shows that marketing is good now in WWE. They have even marketed the return of Taker well with these vignettes.
Still enough speculation there...with people claiming cause ‘Taker is in the house’ and the coat is ‘outside’ that it could indeed be Sting and let’s face facts...Sting as far as we know hasn’t resigned with TNA. Would it be a smart move for WWE? Absolutely! But playing devil’s advocate, I wouldn’t want to see Sting do the job in Atlanta and I NEVER EVER want to see the Streak end.
The other potential rumour is HHH will come back to face Taker...which makes no real sense, but then if the creative team is now having Sheamus in a feud with Kool Aid...then maybe that is were it is going. I personally feel WWE has dropped the booking a lot recently. I think Kozlov and Satino have been booked too strong...Nexus and Corre have been booked too weak...Alberto Del Rio isn’t hardly been booked at all (match with Kofi at Elimination Chamber WTF!)...the Divas titles, the


Bellas, Daniel Bryan’s sex life have all had too much airtime...Dolph Ziggler’s one billion attempts at the World title...Michael Cole’s inability to have effective and sensical quips as a heel (See weird Divas match jibes at Natalia and Kindergarten) just not great booking and yet...they can totally redeem themselves with one major move. The Rock at Wrestlemania...

TNA on the other hand are apparently changing direction or so I here. Rumour is they are going to put stock back into the younger guys again. Which isn’t a bad thing since they pretty much failed to sign every older guy back to the promotion. The one thing that was the kicker for me this week is putting the belt back on Pills O’Shootup...for all of Hardy’s ability in the ring, he is a liability in the ring as well and I don’t think having someone like Mr. Anderson holding the strap was a bad thing at all. In fact that is what TNA is really lacking badly right now. Someone to care about holding their belt. My hope is sooner or later they get the idea to put the gold on AJ Styles again or maybe even give Matt Morgan a real go with the Championship. Something needs to happen for TNA. For those caring about Ratings...TNA seems to be more steady right now, which doesn’t surprise me. Wrestling seems a bit more steady right now and I have argued this time and time again. MMA has won the hearts of the wrestling fans...but all the stuff with The Miz, The Packers and NFL and now The Rock on the lead up to Mania will have its trickledown effect to TNA. So although you are cursing them stealing Booker and Nash...you can thank them for bringing some fans back to the dance...and no Matt Hardy it had nothing to do with you or Pills.

[MattWard]

CORRE: Wendy, Gay-briel, Zeke and Tarver

Justin is actually dating Kelly Kelly, that why Justin went to smackdown to team up with Wade. Tarver is not going to be in the corre, it Wade, Heath,Justin and Zeke.

So i am looking for Big Show to take Ziggler EC spot to enhance the fued with Barrett and The Corre