James Casey

I thought he took time off to get that fixed, though. He seems to have gone back to the trousers over tights because of the weight. I don't know what it is - I used to be a big fan. When he was doing the stuff with MVP he seemed set to finally make the step up. It's amazing that after years of being seen as the more talented Hardy, he was really showing charisma in a big feud that had the crowd's interest... And then he got injured. Ever since he came back from that, it just seems to have been one thing after another. It's strange. I like Goldust. I see the point of Finlay. It's just seems like WWE seem to be keeping Matt Hardy around just in case it all clicks into place and he gets up a head of steam again. In the last year alone he's turned on Jeff, reunited with Jeff, teamed with Khali, hooked up with Maria for two weeks before she got released, and now he's a trainer on NXT. He keeps getting time, keeps getting decent reactions... But he's now actively annoying me whenever he shows up on TV.

So I'm watching Smackdown, and I'm trying to work out: What is the point of Matt Hardy? Can anyone help me out? When was the last time he had a memorable match? When was the last time, come to that, that he did anything memorable that wasn't related to Jeff in some way? I get that he's a good wrestler, and he's popular with the fans, but WWE seems to push him for a month once a year or so, and then forget about him. And boy, he's getting a gut on him.

...http://www.nintendomaine.com/site/test/nds/supermario64ds/art-bowser.jpg.

Bryan's a star like Puder was a star for taking down Angle. One night alone will not a star make. However, if Bryan continues to get airtime like he did on NXT then yes, it could happen. He does stand out in the average WWE crowd, no question, but if WWE sells it the right way that needn't be a minus. I am curious about whether the other rookies will get the same centre stage treatment that Bryan got this week, though. I've only caught the highlight videos on wee.com, but he's all over the place. And Cole vs. the IWC is awesome. NXT is such a smarky show concept anyway, it's the perfect place for him to do it. If he's a little less blatantly heelish I wouldn't complain, but I love the concept of him being pro-WWE, anti-internet.

So, who will be the 'Pros' who get paired with the 'Rookies'? I'm guessing that people like Matt Hardy, Finlay and Charlie Haas will be in the training roles, rather than HHH and Cena?

War Games is on PPV, so not as controlled as the TV environment. Besides, violence =/= blood necessarily. In any case, it's nine months until the show, so if they do go with War Games then the Hart Dynasty, Straight Edge Society, Legacy or whoever have plenty of time to get built up to be the heel side. Heck, Undertaker could reform the Ministry in that time. As for They Live, it's good, but Princess Bride is better. With regard to gimmick match PPVs, I agree they're not a great idea, but so long as you limit the gimmicks elsewhere I don't have a problem with it especially. TLC (or even just ladder or table) matches taking place outside the TLC show is pointless, for example. On Danielson, literally the first thing that sprang to mind when I saw his new name was "Hmmm... Daniel 'the Dragon' Bryan... Could work." As for renaming workers, it happened in WWF right the way up until 1993 or so and the arrival of Lex Luger, who was too big a name to change. Roughly speaking, we notice it more because workers are being renamed to normal names. Workers less and less get given gimmick names now (Mr. Perfect, British Bulldog, Grandmaster Sexy, Scotty Too Hotty, Mankind, The Rock, even Stone Cold Steve Austin and Hunter Hearst Helmsley) but they still get renamed. All so Vince can rebuild them from scratch, as he ever has done. You only keep your name if there's no other way - the Radicals, Goldberg, the nWo and WCW/ECW invaders were reliant on that name recognition. Evan Bourne wasn't. Braden Walker wasn't. Punk is a rare exception, AJ Styles might be another - but probably not.

Paying for a draft? Forget that. Legends? One or two matches a year is a nostalgia pop. An entire show? Maybe IRS and Steamboat could pull it off, just about, but an entire show? No. As noted, a Street Fight PPV would just be bad business in between the other gimmicks - especially as Breaking Point has several no DQ matches anyway. Money in the Bank is an intriguing idea, not the least the possibility of having two winners at the same time, with possibly one cashing in and winning, and the other cashing in immediately and losing. Still, an entire PPV dedicated to that? Thanks, but no - MITB is meant to be the midcard show stealer, not HHH vs. Orton vs.... A show built around a tournament where the winner gets... Oh. A title match. No - tangible prizes please. Leave the #1 contender tournaments for TV. Roulette? Spin the wheel, make the deal! Coal Miners Glove matches all round! Just no. Clearly the answer has to be War Games. It's been ten years, WWE. Please, please let us have War Games. Make it brutal. Make it bloody. Make it everything that War Games is supposed to be. It's pay-per-view. I'll forget about you neutering Hell in a Cell and taking away my favourite pay-per-view of the year if you give me balls to the wall War Games matches in its place.

Vicky remains one of the WWE's most over heels. I rather like that she only gets one or two minutes a week right now, as it allows her to remain over without her being overexposed. Orton's whole gimmick is that he's incredibly focused on his own goals. Entertaining the crowd, delivering stirring promos and all that aren't what he's there for - he's just a machine.

Did anyone else think Cena sounded very Southern last night? Borderline Cajun, almost.

Yeah, same here. I can see HHH/HBK at the next pay per view. Killing off DX could be hard for WWE, but they seem set for the occasional reunion/merch shilling spot regardless of what else they might be doing. As for the Mania card, something like this is how I imagine it: Jericho/Edge - possibly. If Edge is fit, this would be good. If not, why not Jericho/Christian? That would pave the way for an eventual feud between Jericho/Edge, with Christian caught between the two. Undertaker/Michaels - Almost certain, with Hart/McMahon in their corners. Sheamus/HHH - Yeah. This one might as well be advertised now. Legacy triple threat - Or possibly Orton/Dibiase, but Legacy are imploding slowly, and the only question is what Cody Rhodes gets out of it all. MITB - Kofi to win this. Can't see any other outcome. Would very much love for this match not to have Kane/Henry/Khali in, please WWE. Let the lightweights go nuts. Ideally, this'll be Kofi, Miz, Morrison, Mcintyre, Bourne, Tatsu and (why not?) the Hart Dynasty. As much as Shelton Benjamin and Matt Hardy excel in MITB, having a few new guys in there can't hurt. Diva match - Who can say? There may even be two. How about Gail/Maryse and Mickie/Beth/Michelle? Mysterio/Punk or Mysterio/Matt vs. Punk/Gallows - A bit of a stretch, but Mysterio is a third wheel in the main event scene on SmackDown, so who knows? Cena/Batista - Otherwise they're left off the big show Their only other match wasn't too bad, if memory serves, and it's been a while since that one, so why not?

Maria came out on Mickie's side last week, but as the face contingent on Smackdown right now is Mickie and Maria, and Maria's Apprentice contract apparently blocks her from appearing on other TV shows during it's run (or at least while she's in it) then she's going to vanish again soon. As for Mickie going to AA, well, this is WWE. Besides, if the heels get to her, she could go down that route in the storyline. Again, done sensitively, this could end up being WWE's very special episode on eating disorders. Done improperly it's 'Molly's got a big ass' all over again.

Agree with Shape. Is it distasteful? Yes. It's two/three women ganging up on another and bullying her because of her supposed weight problem. However, Mickie James probably does weigh in towards the top end of the scale of the Divas - and it's already been noted that Beth is bigger than (WWE) average, too. It's not beyond the realms of possibility that Mickie, hanging around Eve Torres, Maria, Layla etc. could develop a complex about her weight. An enemy may then exploit that complex to distract her ahead of an upcoming match. Eating disorders and body image disorders have been caused by far fewer things, and if the WWE writers deserve a slapping for allowing McCool to sing/writing some awful segments, then equally they deserve a pat on the back if this ends up going somewhere positive. Mickie promoting a healthy, balanced lifestyle? Berating McCool and Layla for promoting size zero etc? That's fine. As much as I don't want to see the storyline brushed aside after the Rumble without a decent resolution, however, I really don't want to see 'Mickie goes to Anorexics Anonymous' segments between here and Mania. It's probably too much to hope for, but who knows? The lesbian stalker thing turned out decent (by wrestling standards) so who's to say that this can't end up somewhere heartwarming - or, at least, logical and coherent?

I know Adam has said this, but it'd be awesome if there were an alt that suggested a title, a transparent outline, or a faint smoky haze

ReapeR, just wanted to say how much I love those WCW belts. Some of my favourite RW belts, and you've done a stunning job on them here.

If that Kong story is true, then TNA need a slap. Why would you make an unmotivated and upset worker fly halfway aroudn the world? Yes, she's an attraction - but it's not like they're so desperately short of big name talent right now that they need her to suck it up and keep working. If it's true

Well, if you're still vacillating then MAW would be a cool next set But I suspect that NOTBPW or CGC would be welcome as well.

Upper Midcard. Below the main event, but above the people going nowhere and doing nothing. Miz, MVP, Jack Swagger - that sort of worker. WWE seems to prefer the stutter push to the top. Mega pushes create mega egos (Brock!), while having someone move up one level at a time (Angle, Punk) tends to work better as they're shown to be earning (and learning) their way along. There's also the situation that the current main event scene have largely been on top for five years (or fifteen in some cases) now. Becoming a part of that group is going to be hard work. Bigpapa talked about this in his SWF diary: You can notionally have a worker as popular as a Cena or Orton, but until they start picking up the wins over the main event talent, they won't be perceived as such. But how do they get that popularity in the first place? By beating those same workers... And, of course, it's a lot easier to rely on the proven draws than make new ones. We can say that WWE should push new talent, but it's not easy to strike gold. Who in the current WWE roster has the qualities to make it at the top? And who can be trusted to take the ball and run with it. Kofi and Miz seem the most likely to me to break through in the coming year, but a year ago Jeff Hardy had just won his first World title and seemed set for a long run up top. Undertaker, Michaels, Edge, Orton, Mysterio and Batista have all had lengthy injuries, so time they may have spent working with others bringing them up is gone.

Eh, fair point. I haven't seen it since it happened, and thought it was the other way round - Kennedy botching a move he did to Cena. I suspect that Orton over-compensated because he was lifted too high. That was certainly my reading of it - and that would be Kennedy's problem. If you're in the ring with Randy Orton the one thing you don't do is risk injuring his neck. I'm sure Kennedy didn't do it deliberately - chances are he was just amped to be back in the ring, following a big build, in a major program, on the flagship show. However, he had to shoulder the blame (no pun intended). However, I also have a suspicion that Kennedy's derailing may also have had something to do with his performances overall. I watch everything WWE puts out (bar ECW most weeks) and my memory of his career is basically: Blah US title run Shockingly good match with Batista MitB winner Constantly injured Made to look like a jackass over the steroid stuff. Again and again. And again. It seemed like he was always on the cusp of doing something, but then what with one thing or another he never cracked the top tier. Maybe if he'd been given a little more tolerance he could have done a Jeff Hardy and exploded... but it just seems like he was on his very last chance, and when the World champion turns around and says he botched a simple move and nearly injured him, well, his last chance was gone.

Strictly speaking, he got a huge build-up, came back poised for a feud with Randy Orton, and after a string of injuries and suspensions he came recklessly close in his first match back to causing a serious injury to the World champion, who has a history of neck and shoulder injuries. Kennedy screwed up a move you'd expect him to hit every time. He did it in the main event of Raw, against one of the company's most valuable workers, and did so in a way that made me sit up and go 'he blew that' - and I'm not a wrestler or anything, just a fan. Given that Kennedy was the one who popped Cena's shoulder muscle, which led to him vacating the title, WWE seem to have taken the view that he'd had all his chances.

Yeah. He just seemed to lack anything to make him stand out in WWE, and while you can argue that WWE likes their wrestlers to look big, strong and atheltic, they also want something on top of that. Escobar just did nothing, as far as I can tell.

It's an Internet forum. It's unlikely I don't think there's a conscious effort to target teenage girls in terms of the action or characters (most likely there'd be a Twilight-esque chiselled cheekbone guy if there was). That said, it's obvious that a lot of young girls/women do fancy Cena, Kofi or whoever, so that's welcome. But yeah: Kids and families, definitely. The young adult demographic is no longer a key one for them, I would say.

I'm assuming that the WM match is going to be Shawn w. Vince against Undertaker w. Bret. Vince can play games with Shawn to get him to agree - the only way he can face Undertaker, etc. He can then spend weeks making Michaels back into the 'old' HBK, only at the end for it to turn out that it was all an act - Michaels never turned back to the old him, and he's still at peace with Bret. Taker makes sense for Bret - the only other veteran around from that time (bar Kane). Also someone he respects a lot. And at the end I wouldn't mind seeing a gesture of respect/forgiveness/whatever - no sharpshooter on Vince, just Bret extending the hand of friendship.

Let's see what the rating for next week is, though. If reports I've read are accurate, it wasn't a great show - and overloaded with has-beens and never-weres. Will people want to watch that week in, week out? I have to say, I'm not going to go out of my way to catch it when it shows over here.

Just glorious. Thanks!

This is just amazing - I think I might have to throw that one onto SWF in my current game to get me pysched for my diary! A banner for this would be amazing, thanks.