You might not have liked his performance behind the ECW microphone, but you can't deny the quality moves Mike Adamle has made in his short tenure as Raw's General Manager.
Monday night, Adamle made yet another Solomon-like decision, making Chris Jericho's nemesis, Shawn Michaels, the No. 1 Contender for Jericho's World Heavyweight Title, and making their No Mercy match a Ladder Match.
The decision brought the crowd in Memphis, Tenn. (and on the Fan Nation Live Blog) to its feet. And Adamle also solved Cyber Sunday's No. 1 Contendership issue in one fell swoop, pitting Batista vs. JBL for the honor at No Mercy in just three weeks. The winner will face the winner of HBK-Jericho.
While neither of these decisions were "Adamle Originals", they show that the former American Gladiators host and NFL veteran has a flair for matchmaking and a natural knack for fairness. Yes, Michaels defeated Jericho last, so he deserves the title opportunity at No Mercy. And with HBK's expertise in Ladder Matches (Jericho's no slouch on a ladder either), this match should compete with Jeff Hardy and Triple H's WWE Championship tilt as the match of the night.
Talking to Adamle before the Unforgiven pay-per-view in Cleveland, he told me that he enjoys learning on the job, and that he would make mistakes like anyone else, but learn from them quickly.
So far, so good. The only major mistake Adamle has made was putting Michael Cole in a match on his very first night on the job. Live and learn ... sorry Mike! No hard feelings?
From watching him in his new role, Adamle's greatest strength is weakness ... or his perceived weakness by the Superstars.
Many have underestimated the new GM, but he's delivered night after night. He's signed new Superstars like Primo Colon and Dolph Ziggler (seen last night). He implimented the Championship Scramble Match -- a future staple of WWE pay-per-views, I hope. He's negotiated with ECW GM Theodore Long to bring the best and brightest extreme talent to WWE's flagship program.
Just like his idol, President Ronald Reagan, Adamle continues to turn his "lack of experience" on its ear, and produce quality matches. And as Adamle faces the McMahons in his "quarterly review" in the near future, we can't see anything but high marks for the ambitious GM. Keep it up, Mike!



He's certainly made some original stipulations so far, and so far, I like how he's giving all the top superstars the chance to shine and go for the World Heavyweight Championship. I think for Chris Jericho/Shawn Michaels v. Batista/JBL at Cyber Sunday, he should make three very original stipulation choices for the fans to choose. I'm thinking of them fighting in a MMA-style Octagon until one is KO'd or taps out, or they fight above the ring that's full of tables in a tribute to the original ECW, or a match where the put cactus needles on the ropes, since Cyber Sunday will be in Phoenix.
ChaosNOrder02:24 AM EST