I've got several posts I want to blog about, so let's get started with this first one.

I'm watching a recap of TNA iMPACT! from Jan. 8th, and between segments and matches, they hyped seeing TNA Knockouts Champion Awesome Kong in action.  Then all of a sudden, it just hit me...

...you ever notice how championship histories don't amount to much in TNA?

Awesome Kong, for example; Kong is a 2-time TNA Knockouts Champion, but by listening to Tenay and West hyping her match, I didn't get that feeling.  Whenever you watch a WWE product, you will hear several times over and over whether or not a given superstar has held a given title a given number of times.  By doing this, not only does the title have a heightened level of prestige behind it, but it also makes the champion/former champion seem like a very credible and formidable opponent.  Unfortunately, I didn't get that from the hype they gave Awesome Kong, and thus I didn't feel like the Knockouts Championship was worth two red nickels.  And the sad part is, the Knockouts Division is arguably the most exciting, fast-paced, action packed division in TNA right now.

Don't get me wrong; Awesome Kong's match against Madison Rayne was pretty intense, and that devastating Awesome Bomb she gave that poor girl was SICK!  But, it's the little things that mean the most, and Tenay's or West's commentary should have been sprinkled with the fact that Kong is a 2-time TNA Knockouts Champion, and that Madison Rayne had an opportunity to skyrocket to the top of the Knockouts division by managing to topple this beast of a woman - not just because she's physically intimidating, but also because she's proven two times that she's the best in TNA when it comes to women's wrestling.  In other words, the championship shouldn't be an accessory, but a testimony to those other competitors that were pwned by the holder of the title. 

I'll post my thoughts on championships later on today.

If I ran the show, here's what I'd do...

J.R. welcomes us back to Smackdown! from a commercial break.  In the ring stands a very pissed off The Brian Kendrick, accompanied with an even angrier looking Ezekiel Jackson.  The Brian Kendrick is sporting a neck brace and a fresh black eye.

J.R. - "Welcome back to Smackdown!  It seems like The Brian Kendrick has something he wants to get off his chest...

Tazz - "I know!  I've never seen the little guy this pissed before.  Where'd he get that shiner from?"

The Brian Kendrick - "I know you're probably wondering how a pretty face such as mine got...hmm...as the French say, "jacked up?"  Well, take a look at this...**points to the Titantron**

We're shown a video of a ritzy club somewhere where people with money hang out.  Outside is a long line of patrons waiting to get in, and that standard huge, bald-headed bodyguard with the black shirt that says SECURITY across the front in white letters.  Wearing his trademark white jacket and wrestling gear, The Brian Kendrick approaches the security guard with Ezekiel, clad in his white linen suit that he doesn't seem to wash but manages to keep immaculately clean.  The two men casually skip every single person in line, which causes everyone to moan and yell and complain.  The two are immediately stopped by the security guard.

The Brian Kendrick - "Hey, hey, hey, watch the threads, meat monkey!"

Security Guard - Excuse me, sir.  You're gonna have to go to the back of the line.

The Brian Kendrick - "Back of the line?  Back of the line? Don't you know who I am?  I'm THE The Brian Kendrick - the best thing to happen to Smackdown! since Smackdown!

Security Guard - "...?"

The Brian Kendrick - "I'm THE The Brian Kendrick!  Smackdown!  The WWE's flagship show?"

Security Guard - "Oh, you're a wrestler?"

The Brian Kendrick - "No.  I'm not just a wrestler, I'm THE The Briank Kendrick...now if you'll excuse me...**tries to scoot past the security guard**

Security Guard - **stops The Brian Kendrick; Ezekiel frowns and huffs and puffs** "That's good sir, but I'm gonna have to see some i.d."

The Brian Kendrick - "Zeke?!  Do you believe this?  I'm getting carded!"

Voice-over from J.R. and Tazz...

J.R. - "Seems like The Brian Kendrick ran into a little trouble trying to get into a night club..."

Tazz - "Yeah, guess that guard doesn't recognize star power when he sees it.  J.R., who's filmed this?"

Back to video...

The Brian Kendrick - **pats legs and chest...b/c he's wearing his ring gear** "It seems as if I left my i.d. at home.  But, don't fret, I think my bodyguard has some proper identification for me...Zeke?"

Ezekiel walks up to the security guard, then headbutts him!  A brawl between the two ensues as The Brian Kendrick hops up and down behind the two men, instigating the fight.

Voice-over from J.R. and Tazz...

J.R. - "Oh my goodness..."

Tazz - "Things really picked up quickly, J.R.!  I'm still trying to figure out who was filming this..."

J.R. - "Our cameramen don't get paid that much...or do they...?"

Back to video...

People begin to run into the club, pushing violently to get in.  More security guards come out to try to break up the melee.  A woman accidently elbows The Brian Kendrick in the eye as she rushes to get in the club.  He screams like a pre-pubescent girl and falls to the ground...

The Brian Kendrick - "Ahhh!  My eye!"

Ezekiel stops fighting with the security guard long enough to pick up The Brian Kendrick.  He slings his boss over his shoulder, as a massive horde of security guards glare menacingly at the two men.  Ezekiel turns and carries The Brian Kendrick away, just as the latter looks up while covering his bruised eye.  The camera pans away back towards the entrance of the club, long enough to see Chavo Guerrero and Bam Neely laughing and pointing at him as they are given entrance into the club.

Back to the ring...

The Brian Kendrick is holding his eye, scowling, while Ezekiel stands fuming over the video.

The Brian Kendrick - "Did you see that?!  Did you?!  It's Chavo Guerrero's fault that your hero's face is all battered and bruised!"

J.R. - "What?  Chavo wasn't even anywhere near Kendrick!  He's lost his mind!"

Tazz - "Yeah.  Whatever goofy juice Kendrick is on definately has him seeing things."

The Brian Kendrick - "How did a no talent hack like Guerrero manage to get into the club, anyway!  Clearly he bribed his way in!  There's no way he's got more zest and charm than yours truly!"

The crowd boos.

The Brian Kendrick - "Chavo Guerrero!  If you've got the cajones, you'd bring your ugly, talentless carcass out here right now!"

Crowd boos some more.  Chavo's music hits, and he comes out with Bam Neely, both of whom are laughing hysterically and pointing towards The Brian Kendrick.  They stand at the top of the ramp and address the men in the ring.

The Brian Kendrick - "What's so funny Guerrero?"

Chavo G. - "Are you serious?  You're blaming that on me?" **looks at Neely, who's doubled over in laughter**

The Brian Kendrick - "You know that it's your fault I've got this black eye and injured neck!"

Chavo G. - **stops laughing** "Seriously, gringo, I'd be more concerned about that lady that gave you that shiner!"

The Brian Kendrick - "I know what's hilarious to you, Chavo!  I know why you're laughing?"

Chavo G. - "Oh..wait, wait..."**Chavo sits down, Bam kneels next to him** "Go ahead...I've got to hear this..."

The Brian Kendrick - "See, you're laughing because that's the only way you can mask the tears you want to cry b/c of the thought of me coming down there and beating the tar out of you!"

Chavo and Bam laugh even harder...the crowd joins in the laughter.

The Brian Kendrick - "Yeah, go ahead and laugh.  The truth of the matter is, I'm way better looking that you, I'm more popular than you, and I'm one hell of a threat to everyone in that locker room...and an even bigger threat to that pathetic, insignificant piece of **** you call a wrestling career!"

Chavo and Bam continue to laugh, and are literally rolling around on the ramp.

J.R. - "I don't think Chavo's capable of taking Kendrick seriously..."

Tazz - "You gotta admit, J.R., this is pretty funny! Ha-ha!"

The Brian Kendrick - "Tell me Chavo, how does it feel to know that you're worthless without your Uncle Eddie?"

The crowd boos.  Chavo and Bam stop laughing...

Chavo G. - **stands up slowly* "Say that again?"

The Brian Kendrick - "Yeah...the last best thing you did in your career was drop that Kerwin White gimmick you had going, and the sad part is the only person that misses it is YOU!"

Chavo G. - **wipes laughter tears from his eyes** "Okay, that's a good enough...now I'll come down there and beat you for real.  Let's go Bam..."

Chavo and Bam start walking towards the ring.  The Brian Kendrick drops the mic, and he and Ezekiel prepare for a confrontation.

J.R. - "Business has picked up here on Smackdown!"

Tazz - "This looks like it's gonna get nasty!"

As Chavo and Bam approach the ring, Vickie Guerrero steps out on the ramp...

Vickie G. - "Excuse me!!!"

Crowd boos loudly!  Chavo and Bam stop, but don't turn around.

Vickie G. -  "Excuse me!!!  Chavo and Bam, where do you think you're going?!"  This is MY show!!!"

Chavo and Bam turn to Vickie and yell back at her.

Vickie G. -  "Who here wants to see Chavo and Brian tear each other apart?"

Crowd boos.

Vickie G. -  "That's what I thought.  Chavo, you and Bam come right back here this instant!"

The Brian Kendrick picks up the microphone.

The Brian Kendrick - "Vickie, wait!  Are you really going to let Kerwin ruin the Guerrero name by attacking defenseless wrestlers outside of your ring!  I can sue you and him!"

Vickie G. - "Brian, it..."

The Brian Kendrick - **yells** "It's THE BRIAN KENDRICK!"

Vickie G. - "Okay okay, calm down Spanky.  THE Brian Kendrick, I think I'd get more ratings by having Brie Bella face you instead of Chavo...but if you really want to get embarrassed by a Guerrero, so be it!  You've got your match...you vs. Chavo tonight on Smackdown!"

Chavo and Bam nod in agreement and smile, just as The Brian Kendrick does the same.  Ezekiel just stands there frowning.

J.R. - "Tazz, can you believe what just happened?"

Tazz - "I'm telling you J.R., this is one of those dream matches that you'd only witness on the Smackdown! video game!  But we get to see it live!  Ha-ha!"

J.R. - "This ought to be one hell of a match!"

That's what I'd do...

The WWE's annual Royal Rumble ppv takes place on Sunday, January 25, 2009 at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan.  So far, WWE Universers have been posting their predictions on the superstar that will walk away from the 30-man over-the-top-rope brouhaha with the chance to main event at Wrestlemania, facing a WWE Heavyweight Champion.  Also, with the Road to Wrestlemania officially beginning with the Royal Rumble, Universers are also anxious to see how the Grandaddy of them All will be shaped by the winner of the Rumble.

Unfortunately, Money doesn't do well with ppv predictions of this magnitude.  So, seeing as I can't accurately predict who will win the Rumble - after all, there's a 1 in 30 chance I'll be right - I'll just go a different route and aimlessy throw names out to you all to see how you feel about...well, whatever it is I'm suggesting. 

*Warning!!! - This blog lacks directions, so if you are easily confused or frustrated with things that don't have direction, you might want to stop reading now.

Ryan Braddock/Gavin Spears
I'd SOOOOOOO like to see these two guys in the Rumble, perhaps pulling off the upset of the year by managing to sneak past 29 other competitors to win a shot at the brass ring at Wrestlemania.  Think about it - how awesome would it be for Teddy Long and ECW to have one of the newly scouted superstars from his New Talent Initiative to win the Royal Rumble?  Think of how fast the stock would rise in the NTI superstars!  We might even see RAW and Smackdown! try to horn in on the next big thing by initiating NTI's on their shows!  We could have the largest influx of new WWE superstars in 2009, simply b/c Ryan Braddock or Gavin Spears beat the likes of The Undertaker, Randy Orton, The Big Show, etc!  It'd be great!!!

Okay okay okay...I do realize that the combined loss record of Spears/Braddock rivals the death toll from The Civil War, but that's just so besides the point!  All these two guys have to do is show up, and not get thrown out of the ring!  I'd put my money on them...but it'sprobably a good thing that a) I don't have money to put on them, and b) I don't bet.

Kizarny
I just saw his match from the 1/2/09 episode of Smackdown!, and I'm now thinking of how great it'd be to have a carny main event at Wrestlemania.  He's so weird and eclectic, how could you not want him winning the Rumble?  Imagine that: Hornswaggle, The Human Oddities, Howard Finkel, Sgt. Slaughter, Ron Simmons, Doink, Mae Young, Big Dick Johnson, and all sorts of other wrestling big-wigs would rush the ring and celebrate with Kizarny, moments after he eliminates Triple H from the Royal Rumble for the win!  It'd be a crowning moment for carnies all over the world!  Think about the Cirque du Soleil tickets that will be given away b/c of the win!  Think about the tons of free stuffed animals Ringling Bros, Barnum and Bailey will give away!  Think about how many rides at the county fair you'll be able to go on when you mention to the people that you celebrated with Kizarny and his Rumble win!  It'd be awesome!  The cotton candy, the candy apples, the one smelly guy that cleans up after everyone!  I can see it now!  I'd buy into a Kizarny win!

John Cena
Now I know what you're thinking - John Cena is already the champ, and he has a match at the Royal Rumble already.  BUT, to my recollection, and I could be wrong, a Heavyweight Champion has never competed in the actual Royal Rumble, and think of how fast the stock in Cena will rise if he becomes the first champion to actually compete in the Rumble and then go on to win!  I mean, if you thought he was big NOW....think about that Wrestlemania 25 match...John Cena vs. John Cena for the WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE!!!  I know you guys are assuming I'm full of it, but lets not forget the fact that Cody Rhodes defeated himself to win the Tag Team titles with Ted DiBiase....anything is possible in the WWE.

Beth Phoenix
Beth Phoenix could reach Chyna-like status if she enters the Royal Rumble and proceeds to win.  But unfortunately, there is only one Hulk Ho..I mean, John Cena, and my money is split between him/Braddock/Spears winning the Rumble.  Besides, Melina is going to mop the floor with Phoenix, so she's gonna be too incapacitated to even know what city she's in to compete in the Rumble.

Christian Cage
Okay; out of all the people I've mentioned, this might actually happen and could possibly be a decent pick to win the Rumble.  Universers have been speculating on his return, and it'd be a good segue for a match between him and Jeff Hardy for him to win the Rumble, or at least make an appearance in the Rumble.  I think it'd be better for Christian's WWE stock to appear in the Rumble, lose, then fight his way to the MITB match at WM 25, which gives him 3 months to connect with the fans and prove that he can carry a WWE main event match.

I'll post more of my Rumble thoughts later...

I'm watching the most recent Friday night episode of Smackdown!, where next week's episode was advertised as having a match for the World Tag Team Championships between Carlito and Primo Colon vs. The Brian Kendrick and Ezekiel Jackson.  I had to shake my head at this one, and I decided to post my thoughts about this whole scenario.

The Brian Kendrick blew up on Smackdown! around the same time RAW got all chaotic without a General Manager.  Things got even more interesting when The Brian Kendrick's bodyguard, Ezekiel, began to get physically involved in his boss' matches.  It seemed that The Brian Kendrick's stock among the WWE superstar wrestling elite was rising fast...

...then all of a sudden, he was saddled with 'Zeke as his tag partner.

Follow my logic here - the tag team division in the WWE is no longer as glorious as it once was.  For the most part, the tag team division was made up of individuals who pretty much did everything with one another and who had grown accustomed to wrestling with one another.  Tag teams were fluid entities that worked as one solid machine of power, bent on reaching the top of the tag ranks. 

Nowadays, however, that ain't the case.  Even in TNA, we've witnessed single competitors, sometimes bitter enemies, casually thrown together in tag teams and making huge strides in the tag team division.  This so totally goes against what we have all been conditioned to believe what a tag team consisted of.  We're hard-pressed to believe that a former World Heavyweight Champion, and the man he defeated for that championship, now pose a serious threat to the current tag team champions floating around whichever show you happen to be watching.  To put it bluntly, in some cases it's a step down for the atheletes involved.  This is what I feel has happened to The Brian Kendrick.

Someone somewhere made a prediction that in 2009, we would see Evan Bourne and Rey Mysterio tag together.  As "cool" as that seems, it'd be a really goofy ass decision to pair those two together.   To me, Evan Bourne has a seriously bright future as a singles competitor, UNLESS someone is brought in as his tag partner that can keep up with him - and that's not Rey Mysterio.  But, if you keep Bourne as a singles competitor, you could throw him up against people like....I don't know...THE BRIAN KENDRICK?!?!?! 

The action in the ring should be complimented by the storylines and drama that drive us to see competitors battle it out in the ring - a circle of non-stop action, if you will.  Storylines for wrestlers are often recycled and told from several different viewpoints and angles in order to keep things "fresh."  Is it really all that difficult to come up with a good storyline that keeps both The Brian Kendrick and Ezekiel Jackson strong as a unit and as single superstars?  Honestly, they were probably tagged together because Ezekiel wasn't getting over as a singles competitor.  I guess Bam Neely didn't do much for the whole bodyguard thing, did he?

I look forward to next week's episode of Smackdown! to see how the tag championship match turns out, but I'd really like to see The Brian Kendrick return to singles action.  With Evan Bourne making his return soon, Hurricane Helms back in action, and Kofi Kingston not really involved in anything right now, it's not like he doesn't have any opponents to start a lengthy feud with.

I don't like this idea.

The lastest news floating around the WWE Universe, and even on other sites as well, is that MVP is in for a run as a babyface in 2009.  A lot of fans are predicting that this will happen as well. 

Let me start off my thoughts on this by saying that I thoroughly enjoy MVP, and if he were to turn face in the near future, I would support him just as much as I do now.  HOWEVER, am I sold on or in love of the idea of him turning face?

ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!

First things first: if they're not doing much with him now as a heel, what can you possibly do with him as a face?  Most folks now are highly upset b/c we all believe that MVP is way overdue for a main event push or spot.  But, for whatever reason, the suits aren't sold on his ability to a) retain heel heat (they told him to watch Shelton Benjamin matches to learn how to get heat....BENJAMIN?!?!?!?!), and b) to carry a main event match.  I believe this is jive, but that's just my opinion.

Turning MVP face soon, or even before the middle of the year, seems pointless to me simply because he's yet to really capitalize off of being a heel.  Now especially with him on this losing streak, he's getting to a point where the fans aren't really sold on him at all anymore.  With rosters laden with faces, MVP should stand out on Smackdown (I feel he should be drafted to RAW) as a heel to watch out for.  With Jeff Hardy as champion, MVP would be a good challenger to that #1 spot, but it's not going to happen and I'm not holding my breath for it.  Why isn't it going to happen?  At this point, MVP can't beat the Brooklyn Brawler, and with the prospect of him turning face, it seems to me as if a championship run as a heel for him is about as likely as iMPACT! beating RAW in the ratings in 2009.

I say keep him heel, and give him at least a feud with the WWE Champion within the year before even considering making him a face.  I mean, it did wonders for The Great Khali, but how many times was he a heavyweight champion before he was turned into a face?  Now how many times was MVP a heavyweight champion?  Thank you.