My last blog post got me a response that "proved" that Christian is the man behind the Jeff Hardy attacks.  In fact, the response included a link which proved that I was wrong.  Here's the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eb9w--Z38r8

I shake my head at this.  Okay, let me clarify a few things here, b/c apparently I wasn't crystal clear enough on my stance.  To reiterate what that stance was/is, I'll say it again:

It makes no sense to me to have Christian Cage as the man behind the attacks on Jeff Hardy.

I'll repeat it for those of you that missed it...

It makes no sense to me to have Christian Cage as the man behind the attacks on Jeff Hardy.

All caps this time, and three (3) exclamation points at the end:

IT MAKES NO SENSE TO ME TO HAVE CHRISTIAN CAGE AS THE MAN BEHIND THE ATTACTS ON JEFF HARDY!!!

#1 - Never, ever at any point in the previous blog did I deny the idea or fact that Christian Cage was on his way back into the WWE.  I stated, as a matter of fact, that it would make more sense to have him make an appearance in the Royal Rumble, and NOT as Jeff's attacker.

#2 - This "proof" really says nothing in the grand scheme of things.  A few months ago, people were sure Team 3D was coming back to the WWE...and they didn't.  After that, people were sure Kevin Nash was coming back to the WWE...and he didn't.  So really, given the fact that Vince Russo writes for TNA, and the fact that TNA mentions the WWE every 10 seconds on iMPACT, can you realllllly believe what Kurt Angle says in "proof" that was given to me?  Did you realllly actually believe the Katy Vick storyline, that HBK is broke and works for JBL, that MVP is the highest paid athelete on Smackdown, that Chris Jericho was fired, and that Vince McMahon has an actual concussion?  So what makes this angle any different?  The fact that Kurt Angle said WWE?  AGAIN, I'm not saying that the angle didn't have elements of truth to it, but never ever ever base your argument squarely off of a promo inside of a wrestling ring.  For most of my life, I believed Yokozuna was Japanese....

#3 - HAVE YOU NOT BEEN PAYING ATTENTION TO THE MATT HARDY STORYLINE?!?!  Didn't you see him rush to the ring to beat up Edge to "defend" his brother's honor?  Clearly CLEARLY Matt has some involvement in all of this.  He lost his belt to Jack Swagger, and Tommy Dreamer has vowed to win the ECW title before June. HELLO?!?!?!  That's a Swagger/Dreamer feud all the way.  Would YOU really pay money to see Hardy/Dreamer at Wrestlemania?  And everyone knows that Swagger is being groomed to be the next big thing...I don't know why, but whatev.  Matt Hardy has something to do with it, and I think it's funny how people have so much respect for Matt the singles wrestler, but they immediately want to saddle him with Jeff for a tag match with Edge and Christian at WM.

Again, I never denied that Christian was on his way to the WWE.  But, I would not waste his talent and re-debut as Jeff Hardy's stalker, b/c he has no logical reason to be involved in this storyline in that manner.  However, the real signs all point to Matt - Jeff's more popular, Jeff's had some bad breaks but still managed to get a chance at the title, and Jeff didn't even beat Triple H, the Champ he COULDN'T beat, to win the title.  Matt...he has nothing.  If anything, Christian will be a surprise entrant into the Royal Rumble, and will move on to challenge Edge for the WWE Title he's going to win from Jeff Hardy tomorrow.

That's what I think.  If I'm wrong, I'm wrong, and I'll be the first to admit it here in the Universe with a blog.  But, if you think I'm wrong, please give me better proof than bad booking from Russo's TNA.

A lot of people think Christian is going to return to the WWE at the Royal Rumble ppv, which takes place tomorrow at the Joe Louis arena in Detroit, Michigan.  While some will argue that Christian will participate in the actual Royal Rumble match, most folks are convinced that Christian will be revealed as the mystery Jeff Hardy assailant.

I don't particularly believe in either one. 

But, if I had a choice, I'd place my money on Christian being a surprise entrant in the Royal Rumble match-up, perhaps going on to win the dance, guaranteeing him a spot in at Wrestlemania 25.  As a matter of fact, now that I think about it, it would make perfect sense to have him return as an entrant in the rumble match, which would set the stage for an awesome match at the rumble.

Follow me:
Early in the evening, perhaps even the first match of the night, Matt Hardy fails to regain his ECW Championship from Jack Swagger.  Don't forget - Tommy Dreamer has already stated that if he doesn't win the ECW Title by June 6th (when his contract is up), he'd retire from wrestling; this HUGE storyline pretty much keeps Swagger tied up with Dreamer, with no real room for Matt Hardy.

So, Matt Hardy is skulking around b/c he couldn't beat Swagger, and he begrudgingly wishes Jeff good luck on his championship defense against Edge later on in the night.  The match takes place, and after a ref bump, someone comes down to the ring to help Edge - perhaps Swagger and Mark Henry.  All of a sudden, Matt Hardy storms the ring to help Jeff, and he clears the ring of everyone.  He turns around to check on Jeff, and then lays him out with the Twist of Fate.  He slides out the ring, Edge wakes up the ref, pins Jeff, and becomes the new WWE Heavyweight Champion.

Later on in the night, if they haven't done so before, the announcers mention that 7 spots in the Rumble haven't been mentioned, so there will be 7 surprise entrants during the match.  Perhaps Charlie Haas comes out 3 times as 3 different people; maybe Low-Ki makes his first appearance in the Royal Rumble and goes at it with Rey Mysterio; maybe two more wrestlers on the roster we didn't even think of...then all of a sudden, his music hits, and Christian returns!  He lasts til the end, and Christian is going to Wrestlemania!

Then we get some filler matches before No Way Out, some kinda match that gets both Hardys, Edge, and Christian involved in the same storyline, and BAM! - Wrestlemania 25, for the WWE Heavyweight Championship, Edge vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Matt Hardy vs. Christian in a Fatal Four-Way TLC Match. 

This makes much more sense to me than to waste Christian on a stalker storyline that seems to be pointing towards Matt Hardy.  What do you think?

I haven't blogged for awhile, and in Universe terms, that means I've missed out on the equivalent of 12 years of wrestling talk.  But, don't fret, here's something to quench your thirst for my wrestling ranting.

I thoroughly enjoyed RAW, and I thought it was the best episode in a long time.  I do feel bad, however, that ratings spike whenever McMahon gets hurt.  I guess he's out for another six months.

From every post I've read about RAW, most folks enjoyed the Goldust/Cody Rhodes exchange.  I don't understand why that was a highlight for most folks, but I'll pose this question to you: do you really want to see a Cody Rhodes/Goldust match at No Way Out?

On fourdown.com, I predicted that Santino will last at least 1 minute in the ring.  Please pray with me that he does last at least sixty seconds.

No MVP on this week's episode of Smackdown...geez, when is he going to get a break?

Maria was playing pattycake with Michelle McCool.  That was the sorriest attack from the back I've seen since Vader made a cameo at that RAW not too long ago and he fell trying to get out of the ring.

I'm watching the Starrcade dvd, and I'm watching the 3-Way Tag Team Cruiserweight Ladder Match between 3 Count (Gregory "Shame" Helms and Shannon Moore), Evan Karagias/Jamie Noble, and the Jung Dragons (Jimmy "Akio" Wang Yang and Kaz Hayashi).  While watching this match, I realized that most of the men in this match have worked for the WWE.  Then I realized something else: Does Jimmy Wang Yang still work for the WWE?  What about Festus and Jesse?

I realized something else while watching this dvd...a lot of times, in WCW, the fans were more interested in seeing themselves on the big screens than there were interested in seeing the match in the ring...

I know it's taking me a minute to get around to my Title Prestige, Pt. 2 post, but I really need to write this one in order to be succinct and concise with that post.

Last Sunday, TNA held Genesis, its first pay-per-view of 2009, in the Bojangles' Coliseum in Charlotte, NC.  If you didn't catch it, then don't worry about it.  The highlight of the event was the match between Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley for the TNA X-Division Championship, in which Alex Shelley won his first TNA championship.  Sweet.

But, there were other debacles that made this evening less than memorable for wrestling fans.  It is our hope that this PPV is not the genesis of things to come for Jeff Jarrett's growing promotion.  What where those debacles, you ask?  Well...

3 Way Dance for the TNA World Tag Team Championships
Beer Money, Inc. vs. "The Blueprint" Matt Morgan & Abyss vs. "Lethal Consequences" - Jay Lethal and Consequences Creed (c)

Before we get into this match, I've got to do the background history on it. 

On Jan. 8, 2009, Robert Roode was in singles action against "The Blueprint" Matt Morgan.  In this match, Roode "injured" his knee, and thus forfeited the match to Morgan.  At that moment, Jay Lethal and Consequences Creed rushed to the ring and cashed in their Feast or Fired briefcases, essentially engaging James Storm - Roode's tag partner that came to the ring to help his injured teammate - in a handicap match.  Baaaaaaaaad Move.

The match actually went on for a good amount of time, with Roode even managing to get some time in the ring against his opponents.  After some back and forth action, one of the Feast or Fired briefcases makes its way into the ring, and after avoiding being hit by it, Jay Lethal uses it to clock [  ] over the head.  This gets him the 3-count, and Lethal and Creed are your NEW TNA World Tag Team Champions.

Awful.

Creed and Lethal were babyfaces up until they used heel tactics to win their match.  It's not that I disagree with what they did, but I disagree with what they did and how they did it.  As a matter of fact, here were Mike Tenay's exact words:

"If there has ever been the definition of opportunistic, we have seen it here tonight on iMPACT!"

As hated by the fans as Beer Money, Inc. is, they've yet to do something so dastardly that would warrant someone to cheat in order to beat them.  But before I even harp on the briefcase shot, let me get on that opportunistic tip.  Remember CM Punk's run as World Heavyweight Champion?  Remember how long it lasted?  Remember how he won that title?  Now put 2 and 2 together........ExAcTLy!  The fact that the babyfaces had to face half a team silently says that they aren't even qualified enough to face Beer Money straight up.  It would have been one thing to face Roode and Storm after a grueling match, but to face Storm with Roode "injured" was just something "The Franchise" Shane Douglas or Edge would do...and not as faces.  In other words, Creed and Lethal don't have the brass to face Beer Money head to head on for the titles, so the "faces" have to stoop low just to get a taste of the gold.  Think I'm jiving?  Which team won the belts during the ppv?  Beer...Money...Inc.  To add to that, Lethal had to use an illegal object to secure a win over Beer Money, Inc.  Sorry tag teams devalue the belt, but that's another post another day.

TNA World Heavyweight Championship
Rhino vs. Sting(c)

So, the ppv started off with people looking for Rhino and Kevin Nash.  It's then reported that Rhino was injured.  Then Rhino shows up a bloody mess, has a short match with Sting, and loses.

First off, there's no Power 25 or rankings system present in TNA, so Rhino was given this shot because he went the distance with Kurt Angle during an episode of iMPACT, and to be honest with you, his character was more concerned with beating Sting up than with acquiring the belt.  Then, the crowd at home, and in the arena, are told that Rhino has been hurt, only to have him show up and lose in a short match to a man that only defends his title once a month or so.  Next to the Six-Man tag, tons of people commented that this match was the worst of the night.  Oh yeah!  Let's not forget that this wasn't the main event.  The main event was...

Six-Man Tag Match
AJ Styles, Brother Devon, and Mick Foley vs. Booker T, Scott Steiner, and...Cute Kip...???

You read that correctly.  You see, Kevin Nash was actually in a Charlotte hospital after suffering from a staph infection, so he couldn't make the ppv.  In his place...Kip James.  People who witnessed this ppv and commented on the match stated that there were plenty of missed spots and that Mick Foley seemed to be way out of shape.  And out of all the people you could've put into that match, you choose Cute Kip?!?!?!  What the frisbee?!?!?!  I don't even have to say anymore to prove my point on that one.

With the Shelley/Sabin match really stealing the show, it amazes me that the creative staff of TNA still puts all of it's money on the Main Event Mafia storyline.  Clearly if you've got talented athletes as young as Sabin and Shelley shining in the spotlight, you'd push them as fast and as far as you can.  You might even be able to market the both of them and gain some nationwide recognition.  But alas, that ain't finna happen under Russo's watch, b/c Russo gave you this ppv in the first place.  What makes it sad is that AJ Styles will face Sting next for the title...Lord knows how that's gonna turn out.

I'm glad I got this all out the way.  Keep your eyes peeled for Title Prestige, Pt. 2, b/c it's going to borrow a lot from this post.

Title Prestige, Pt. 2 is coming soon...had to get this thought out before it's too late

Matt Hardy lost his ECW Championship to Jack Swagger Tuesday night on ECW.

Most of us are 110% positive that Christian Cage will be revealed as the superstar behind these attacks on current WWE Heavyweight Champion Jeff Hardy. However, as each day goes by, it seems to me that the WWE is teasing a Hardy Boyz feud, and I for one am eagerly anticipating the payoff for this storyline. This is what makes Smackdown, ECW, and RAW must-see TV; this storyline is compelling, and because it stretches across 2 brands, it makes you want to tune in each Tuesday and Friday night to see what's going to happen. Also, there are multiple storylines interweaving in and out of this Jeff Hardy WWE Championship run, and that makes the importance of his run, and the championship, that much more significant.

Argument #1 - Tommy Dreamer Retirement Announcement

I'm not even gonna be cute about this one: Tommy Dreamer IS ECW! The last true ECW icon on WWE television, Dreamer's going to be around for as long as his body holds up. I had the "extreme" pleasure of meeting Tommy Dreamer in person during a RAW show that was in Birmingham, AL about 3 years ago or so, and I admire the fact that after wrestling a grueling match that night, he came outside the arena and signed autographs, talked with us and took pictures with fans, even though it was very obvious that he was in huge amounts of pain. I can't imagine ECW without Dreamer, as he and Tazz are the only ones on TV that remind us that there use to be an ECW. With Dreamer dropping his ultimatum - that he'll retire when his contract is up on June 6^th - it's hard for me to believe that he won't win the title.

With Jack Swagger defeating Matt Hardy for the ECW Championship, it now seems that we're due for another Dreamer/Swagger feud for this coveted championship. Say what you will about ECW, it can't be denied that Dreamer will put in work for the brand, and having him do so as the champ would temporarily satiate those fans that miss the die hard days of Extreme Championship Wrestling. But, with Matt Hardy without a title, what is he left to do? Sure he can fight his way back up the ladder, or even get a rematch against Swagger for the title. BUT, the fact that the title changed hands on a weekly show and not a pay-per-view suggests to me that it may be a "southern" second before Hardy gets that belt wrapped back around his waist. The WWE is expecting us to expect Hardy to stay in the chase for the ECW championship, but how big would the swerve be for us to find out that he was behind the attacks on his brother? He's no longer champion, Jeff's win was kind of bittersweet for Matt, seeing as Matt is the Hardy that's straight as an arrow...at least we've got motive, here. The only thing left is for us to find the smoking gun, and guns don't smoke until you pull the trigger...

Argument #2 - "The Ultimate Opportunist" Edge

Edge is gallivanting around as if he's sorry for Jeff Hardy, but also refers to his championship reign as an accident, citing that a "black cloud" is constantly following and hovering over Jeff Hardy's head.

Edge's mode of operation is one of a person that seeks out opportunities to capitalize off of someone's miscalculation, misfortune, or ineptitude. In this case, Edge is trying to capitalize off of whoever is causing grief for Jeff Hardy. I find it interesting that Edge won the WWE Championship when he returned to the ring after a hiatus, only to turn around and lose it in a few weeks; this is interesting to me b/c he's really yet to cement himself back into the WWE fold, that is to say he's hasn't really crept back into the main event or title scene picture, so I can't really see him walking away from the Royal Rumble with the title, and I can't see him being the one that's actually attacking Jeff Hardy. With Christian Cage waiting in the wings, it's possible that Edge is the mastermind behind the Jeff Hardy attacks, but either way, I do believe he's waiting for the perfect opportunity to get back into the spotlight on Smackdown. Until then, he's going to stay in the shadows, waiting for that perfect opportunity to reclaim the title. This goes back to title prestige; Edge's quest to be champion may not necessarily involve the noblest of intentions, but he desires to be recognized as the best in the business, if not on Smackdown. The title means something to him, and acquiring it by any means available is exactly how he operates (b/c he's a heel! Check out Title Prestige, Pt. 2).

That's all I got about this right now. Stay tuned for more!