Marshall

Absolutely raging i didn't get my Burchill/Katie Lea return on Raw...

ha, one of the best things on NXT this week was trying to work out if Aksana was legitimately freaked out by Goldust playing his character - she looked confused a lot of the time. Goldust is a great man, and time on-air for Primo works for me.

The thing i just realised about this season of NXT is that we're probably going to see primo vs goldust in some form many times over the season - i'm not sure if that's a good thing yet

I like the Beautiful People, but just so I'm clear, they think they invented the snotty bitch gimmick and thereby no one else can use it? Pretty sure Trish Stratus was doing the gimmick when she turned heel way before the BP even existed. I also like the way they seem to believe gimmicks have never been recycled before in wrestling and that they're totally original. As i say, i like them, but i think they need to get over themselves a little bit tbh.

I can't stop watching Jericho call Cena a stupid man - too funny...

Just caught Raw and the ending with Cena beating up Darren Young reminded me of that Summerslam match between the two Undertakers - Young looks that much like Cena!

They're not just young - wild and young, i've heard.

Yeah, but won't he be anti-WWE, like a substantial part of the ROH crowd?

Of course they'd let him back - why wouldn't they let one of their most famous and most successful stars come back to heighten some dvd sales for a month or two, as well as gaining exposure for a star that was on WWE programming laying out John Cena on his last appearance?

Ok, fair enough - that's a bit of a mistype. i'm guessing though that a lot of ROH viewers are turned off towards WWE programming, and although they probably were aware enough to catch the angle from Raw, it probably won't be enough to turn them back onto WWE programming. Having Danielson go to the indies and sound off on the company adds legitimacy to the angle and gets the ROH loyalists etc perhaps getting passionate about Danielson's treatment over the release. Though saying that, I'm sure Vince and Stephanie don't particularly care about the indie fans whatsoever, so i might be off completely. Plus, in the storyline, Danielson technically doesn't have a WWE contract atm, having lost NXT, so it does seem a logical plothole for the WWE to announce that he's been released from a contract he never had unless it was a legitimate firing. It's a case of wait and see i guess.

Didn't Brian Pillman get legit released from WCW to go work for ECW to legitimise the beginnings of his loose cannon personna? Apparently, Bischoff and Pillman agreed to terminate Pillman's contract so he could develop the character in ECW, and then come back again. Ultimately he didn't go back, but i can see this being the same sort of arrangement - Danielson is released and by extension can say anything about WWE that is not PG and work the angle in ROH and other indies, reaching a wider audience. I find it hard to believe that Vince would give Danielson so much air time and then release him off the back of the most newsworthy angle on Raw for a long time.

<p>Well, it looks like the writing crew wrote the NXT segment first, felt so chuffed with themselves and didn't bother with the rest of the show. Fascinating end to a substandard Raw. Tarver's look with the bandana over his face in the crowd was perfect for the beginning of a very real-feeling angle. </p><p> </p><p> Barrett's the natural leader, just immense in his role. When they said the NXT winner would get a PPV title match, did it mean in a properly sanctioned, announced-ahead-of-time match, or could it mean a match similar to the MITB wins of the past? If it means a MITB style match, Cena retains at Fatal 4 Way and loses the belt straight after to Barrett. Really interesting angle.</p>

I love the idea, but i really wish tna would slow down - i could see a nice storyline to pull out over six months or something that would see Kaz increasingly prove to Naitch that he's the real new Nature Boy, and AJ has failed in his new role. Build the tension in Flair's new faction over months, with AJ getting jealous and then have AJ turn face and break from the faction feuding with Kaz at say Bound For Glory in October. That would elevate Kaz as a ****y top heel, lets AJ play an honourable face again and give tna some different angles to use over the next few months, rather than the same run-in over and over again. I just feel that they introduced Kaz into the Flair fold last week and now he's feuding with AJ? Way too soon... Plus, I don't really want to see Naitch taking back body drops in angles - ok, Ric, we get that you can still do them, just relax a bit eh? Also, Abyss is a disgusting excuse for an upper level face - this Chelsea angle is backwards and weird. That is all

Someone's probably said this already, but as far as Shelton goes, I can see him going back to WWE after a year or something if TNA don't pick him up - the 'E have a track record of rehiring workers e.g. Chuck Palumbo, Lance Cade, Joey Mercury and team-mate Charlie Haas. His release is probably a good thing - lets him go out and regain the passion that hasn't shown through in his work for years. If he finds it and something clicks for him as a worker, you can bet they'd have him back.

Just a thought, Katie Lea would've been perfect with Desmond Wolfe as well as wrestling on the side. Damn timing

Impact was right on the money last night - they established the world title as a really, really big deal, and RVD's win gives TNA so many options going forward. Couple of good matches from RVD and he finally gets a chance to run with the ball. Little disappointed AJ lost the belt though - could really see a long term run as the face of the company, maybe breaking from Flair and turning face at the end of the year as a bonafide superstar, but they went for the instant recognition route, which is just fine tbh. Also, had the sound off for most of the show - but did the announcers talk about Pope much? Seems they planned to push him hard, then brought in RVD and changed their minds. I'd rationalised that AJ was going to have a long run, which is why he retained over Pope at Lockdown, but if they were having him drop the belt, I would've liked to see it on Pope - granted, he's not as popular as RVD yet, but he's fairly over, and it would've been someone completely new and just as charismatic, but nevermind. Avoiding spoiler issues, the mystery partner in the 8 man tag was perfect - really good booking and the characterisation was flawless. Simple and effective, something TNA seems to be learning, and good for them. Great show maybe helped by a really lacklustre Raw understandably. You never know, a freak incident like the volcano could cause a swing in momentum - sometimes it's the coincidences that start to turn the tide. Be interesting to see the ratings when they come out.

Maybe I worded that a little strong, but this is what I meant when comparing the over-built physique to the unprotected chairshot: it still exists in professional wrestling in 2010, but I'm wondering if it really should. Much like the chairshots, shouldn't wrestling be trying to move on from the sideshow freak aspect? Taking what Hive said, Matt Morgan does Rob Terry's schtick much better and doesn't look like he's going to explode when someone hits him. Someone should write to Russo and tell him not to put Terry in a thumbtack match with Abyss, otherwise there will be a worse mark on the mat than a spraypaint body outline

I'd debate this. In 2010 moving forward, I don't think he looks the part of a champion - his over-muscled Scott Steiner-tribute physique belongs in another decade imo. He just looks outdated in today's wrestling culture, the same as an unprotected chairshot to the head.

Not so sure about that - being from the UK, I for one can't stand him. He's no Davey Boy Smith, put it that way.

Got to say this made me laugh. Does make me wonder though - how did Ted DiBiase get so f'n rich? And on the Heenan subject, he was absolute gold - you can't debate his legacy. It's the same situation as Jesse Ventura - I went through the Macho Man dvd set recently and it really makes you realise how poor the commentary is these days.

That's a fair point, particularly regarding HBK's knees and Taker's hips being well-documented troubles for them at this advanced stage of their careers. In response i'd say that no-one expected HBK to return from his supposed career-ending back injury and he's still wrestling 8 years later. Taker's tough-as-nails and could grit out a quality performance - after all, he did wrestle inside hell in a cell with mankind with a broken foot. To take another example from the same breed of competitor, if you asked me whether Kurt Angle would still be wrestling to the standard he is now 4 years ago when he left WWE, i would've said no. i was sure he was going to fall apart within a couple of years, but he's still going very strong to this day. Competitors of Kurt Angle, HBK and Taker's quality and ability will still be able to perform from time to time to world class standard (hopefully in a more limited capacity as their bodies further fall apart).

I'll preface this by saying that I agree with the majority of this, and in my opinion, Taker should remain undefeated at Mania. But playing devil's advocate, I could see the appeal of Taker-Michaels III in a rubber match next year at WM27. On last monday's Raw, Taker did say that he thought HBK was the best wrestler ever in what sounded like a particularly genuine statement. In that sense, Taker may drop the streak in order to further the feud. From a business standpoint, if this year's match lives up to the mythic status that last year's has gained already, I can see that a third and final match between the two will have a ton of interest still. Also, when I think of great WM storylines, my mind goes back to the Mega Powers exploding at WM4. Hogan and Savage built that storyline over a year from the previous WM, and it led to an epic culmination. In the wrestling world, you rarely see such patience and careful nurturing of a conflict, and a feud based around a 3 year period combined with figures of such status as Taker and Michaels makes this a once-in-a-lifetime programme. As much as I don't think Taker should lose the streak, part of me would be interested to take this feud to WM27 for the final conclusion.

True - but only for michaels atm. if hbk wins this year, and they have the rubber match next year, put both career's on the line next year and have a definitive end to an epic feud spanning three Mania's. i expect taker to keep his undefeated streak this year though - it's such a unique part of his legacy that he deserves to keep it. can't help but wonder though about this year

As much as I don't want to see the streak end, I can see HBK winning this year and coming back for the rubber match at Wrestlemania 27. As much as Taker deserves his legacy of being undefeated at WM, imagine how amazing the build will be for WM27 if it's HBK vs Taker all or nothing? so excited for Mania right now

No, Benson is class, Heath Slater's not I'm thinking Justin Gabriel or David Otunga will win the show, with Bryan breaking off feuding with Miz anyway. Obviously, we still don't know what's going to happen by the season's end - in all likelihood, most of the Rookies will probably end up on Raw or Smackdown anyway. I can see Wade Barrett ending up siding with Regal and beating up Sheffield by show's end, as well as Darren Young becoming a permanent member of Punk's SES for starters.