I finally got a chance to watch Smackdown, and a buddy of mine warned me about the debut of Drew McIntyre.  I had already seen some of his work in FCW, so I was thrilled to hear that he got called up to the main roster.  From what I read, it wouldn't be too far from accurate to say that most people thought McIntyre was being fed to R-Truth.

If you thought that, boy were you wrong.

McIntyre didn't get a spiffy entrance like Sheamus did, equipped with cool Celtic music and a cocky swagger that screamed of years of Irish bloodshed and a disdain for the English since birth.  Nope.  Drew was simply standing in the ring, scowling like a pony-tailed Randy Orton impersonator.  Not intimidating in the least.

R-Truth bounced down the aisle towards the ring, singing his rap son and high-fiving the kiddies along the way.  Smiling, grinning, just'a happy to be in Phoenix, AZ for this particular taping of Smackdown.  He got up on the ring apron, tried to step thru the ropes.....

BAM!!!!  Kick to the head by McIntyre, who then proceeds to beat him, eventually leveling R-Truth with what looked to be a double-underhook leaping DDT.  He then picks up the mic and then proceeds to tell the crowd that "the party was over," in his own lil' Scottish way.  How cool was that?!?!

Now don't get me wrong: I like R-Truth, and I'm actually amazed that he's getting over with the fans (I guess they like that whole "What's UP?" thing he's got going for him); BUT, what I do find interesting is that he's being used to put over McIntyre, a man whom most fans aren't familiar with.  However, with every cloud there's a silver lining, and fortunately for the WWE Universers, there are TWO silver linings to a McIntyre/R-Truth feud:

1) Apparently, wrestlers from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland don't "play" when it comes to wrestling.
Sheamus is serious.  William Regal is serious.  Finlay is serious.  Drew McIntyre is nooooo exception.

2) R-Truth is the 2009 version of King Booker.
I figure R-Truth will be a WWE Heavyweight Champion by 2014.  It took Booker T 6 years to get that championship around his waist, and just about that same amount of time for Beniot and Guerrero.  I figure the WWE wants to remove the stench of TNA from R-Truth's persona before making him a WWE Orginal.

At any rate, here's to the smashing (pun intended) debut of Drew McIntyre; let's hope he doesn't end up being The Great Khali's whipping boy.

Hey folks!

Have you noticed the recent treatment of our favorite TNA star? 

Optimists and fans of the TNA product will say that the current storyline for A.J. Styles has our hero doubting his usefullness in the wrestling business after suffering staggering losses, particularly against up-and-coming TNA superstar, Matt Morgan.  Apparently, Sting has decided to take Styles under his wing to motivate and mentor him back to the "Phenomenal One" that he once was.

You realize that Styles hasn't been a World Champion since 2005, and that even though he's had 3 runs as NWA-TNA World Heavyweight Champion, he's never held the TNA World Heavyweight Championship.  Not only that, in the past he's had to play flunkie to Christian Cage, become second banana to Tyson Tomko, and now he had to put over a man who's gimmick in the WWE was of a studdering mid-carder.

Do you think A.J. Styles deserves this type of push, esp. given the fact that he is possibly the most recognizeable TNA original superstar?

Don't get me wrong; Smackdown is becoming my favorite WWE television show (which is sad, b/c I've been watching RAW for as long as it has been a television show...literally), but it seems to me that everytime Vince McMahon makes an appearance on the show, he's placing Teddy Long, Smackdown's beloved GM, on probation!

This does bring a certain level of excitement to Smackdown's show, a level that's missing from RAW (imo), but dag....can't Teddy get it right?  This is like, the 40th time McMahon has placed him on probation...that can't look good for Teddy once evaluation time comes around.

And while I'm on the subject, what is it with R-Truth being used as "enhancement talent?"  It baffles me how someone who is over with the fans can't catch a break.  Oh well...I guess I can only hope for a GM Mode in SD v. RAW '10.

Mike Knox rules.

Nope.

But is interesting to note that with half of TNA's lockeroom consisting of former WWE wrestlers, half of TNA's angles come straight from the dying years of WCW, and most of TNA's "Original" talent being buried by a healthy combination of both of the aforementioned, I must admit that their recent signee is a sign of the that silver lining the TNA dark cloud that's been hovering over Universal Studios for awhile now.

Nope, and I'm not talking about Bobby Lashley...

According to Gerweck.net, Elijah Burke has signed a deal with TNA.  Sweet.

Any one with at least one working eye and twelve brain cells knows that TNA is quick to pick up people that have either been fired from, or quit, their job with Titan Sports (aka the WWE).  This is the same thing WCW did back during the Monday Night Wars, but it's also the same thing Vince McMahon did one he took the company over from his father and made it the pro wrestling monster that we know and love today. 

Vince's m.o. consisted of taking well known stars from territories all over the US, bringing them into his org, and marketing the hell out of them to make them known around the world.  WCW had fresh, young talent, that all took a back seat to the big stars from the WWF that were paid mucho WCW $$$ to jump ship and perform or sit at home...mostly sit at home.  TNA seems to be doing a weird combination of both; they've taken WWE verterans and used them to build up notoriety for their product, but also picked up their underrated talent and have actually made them well known in TNA wrestling...of course, this is all at the expense of their own underrated talent, who have either had to sit on the bleachers due to crappy storylines or being buried by the WWE guys, or were just fired for lack of creative direction.

But, with the acquisition of Burke, and possibly a future acquisition of Ken Anderson, TNA could definately have a roster of young lions grizzled enough to go agaist McMahon's legion of superstars and burgeoning talent.  Could this spell doom for the mighty McMahon empire???

Nope.

TNA's problems will keep them where they are, despite whomever is on the roster.  I've said it once before and I'll continue to say it: TNA does NOT know how to market their stars, and TNA buries them to the point where it doesn't matter who AJ Styles, MCMG, Beer Money, Lethal Consequences, Samoa Joe, or Chris Daniels are...b/c they'll all play second banana to the likes of Angle, Morgan, Sting, Foley, Nash, Steiner, Booker T, Team 3D, and a slew of other superstars from their "competition."  But, I surmise that if TNA can properly utilize the talents of stars such as Burke and Anderson, then they could possibly in the next 5 years become serious competition for the WWE.

But, much like great storylines and excellent ppvs with TNA, that possibility is highly unlikely.

Abraham Washington.  Cryme Tyme.  R-Truth.  What do these four men have in common?

I know what the obvious answer is, but that's not what I'm going for.  After reading some reviews, it seems as if these four men are unofficially in the running for the "Worst Segment Ever" award from WWE fans and reviewers.

In case you missed these segments, here's a recap:

Abraham Washington has a segment during ECW's Tuesday Night Show, which is much like MVP's VIP Lounge, Edge's Cutting Edge, Christian's Peep Show, and Chris Jericho's Highlight Reel...except people don't think it's funny.
Cryme Tyme's Word Up segment during Friday Night Smackdown only gets funny when Jesse (fomerly of the tag team Jesse and Festus) shows up attempting to mimic Cryme Tyme's swagger.  It was noted by one reviewer that Jesse was the only funny thing from this segment.
R-Truth did a vignette during Friday Night Smackdown where he referred to himself as "Pretty Ricky," and his "government name" was "Delicious,." and he tries unsuccessfully to get into the building.

For the most part, it seems as if people do not care for these segments with these superstars, and I'm not mad at that.  What I am mad at is the fact that fans groan at their vignettes, but pop for yet another HHH/Orton/Cena matchup, while these younger superstars have to weakly stammer through their promos.  I don't think any of them are all that bad, myself.

Hopefully, this week will be better for these superstars.