Handicapping the News 06.15.12

Welcome to the magical place we call Friday. I’m Gavin Napier, and this where I get to vent. You’ll notice that there are shiny new banners in place, for that I have 411’s own Scott Rutherford to thank. They’re definitely an upgrade over the shabby graphics I was able to cobble together on my own, and I’m grateful for his help.

For the last couple of weeks, I’ve been promising some sort of reward for my readership. Well, I think I’ve figured it out.

Since the comment system on 411 makes it sort of impossible to verify that the same person who gets the Reader Spotlight contacts me to claim a reward, I’ve decided to add a new feature that runs alongside the Reader Spotlight. It may fail miserably, but I’m going to give it a whirl. We’ll call it the Tweet of the Week, and it’s going to be exactly what it sounds like. You guys send me some tweets regarding the column, and I’ll pick one of them for a weekly prize. What’s the prize? Take a chance, tweet me, and maybe you’ll find out! Our first recipient will be announced next week, right here in this very space. This week, though, it’s just another boring old Reader Spotlight.

Guest#5689 offers me a welcome opportunity to shut the door on the Randy Orton discussion for a while.

I think Orton has become the new Shawn Michaels for Vince. Good performer, horrible draw, backstage poison, but yet loved by Vince like no other. Orton will be cut if he fails another test, but they’ll simply resign him as soon as they can legally.

While I wouldn’t say “like no other”, Randy certainly has found favor with Vince until very recently. Word came out this week that Vince was irate about Randy’s apparent ambivalence to his suspension and second strike under the current Wellness Policy. The more that this drags out, and the more information that we get, it becomes apparent that Randy Orton isn’t doing a lot to endear himself to the powers that be in World Wrestling Entertainment. There are continual reports that there are people pushing for him to be fired outright, and that John Cena is one of the loudest voices in the group. There are a few things that I feel need to be established here before I stop talking about Orton for a while.

1. There’s always the possibility that we’re being worked with the “insider information” that keeps “leaking” out. A good possibility? No, but no worse than 50/50. I’m sure people are annoyed by the situation, but a lot of what is being reported is speculation and guesswork. Like most of what you see online. I’ve mentioned that before.

2. Vince isn’t worried about Randy Orton going to TNA. Would he be one of their biggest signings to date? Sure he would. However, if Kurt Angle, Sting, Jeff Hardy, Rob Van Dam, and Hulk Hogan didn’t consistently move the ratings needle for TNA, Randy Orton isn’t going to, either. It’s not like Orton would sign a long term deal, and it’s not like he wouldn’t go back as soon as it was possible.

3. To those that say that Shawn Michaels is proof that people can change, I’ll grant you that Michaels seems to be a much more stable person outside of the wrestling business. Within the business? I’ll direct you to his match against Hulk Hogan.

4. In a business climate where they’re attempting to launch a network as well as manage a Linda McMahon senatorial campaign, nobody is too high up on the card to be fired. As unlikely as it sounds, even John Cena isn’t 100% safe. Why? Because if you think that Vince McMahon cares about anything more than he cares about seeing his wife in a legitimate position of power that could benefit the company long term, you don’t understand how Vince thinks. I won’t pretend to be the authority on Vincent K. McMahon’s thought processes, but history has taught us enough to know where his true priorities are in this situation.

And that ends our discussion on Randy Orton for a while. Hopefully.

There’s a pay per view coming this Sunday, so our first section will be devoted to it. Let’s get the ball rolling, shall we?

No Way Out has made its way to June, replacing Capitol Punishment, which replaced Fatal 4 Way, which replaced Extreme Rules, which replaced One Night Stand, which replaced King of the Ring. Previously held in February, the event usually plays on the gimmick of having some sort of match that cages wrestlers in, be it Hell In A Cell, the Elimination Chamber, or a steel cage match. There are currently 5 matches announced for the main show, four of which are title matches. David Otunga vs. Brodus Clay has also been announced for the YouTube pre-show. The build to the show has been pretty good, all things considered. They’ve done an excellent job of using AJ to make Kane relevant to the CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan story. Dolph Ziggler just got thrown in at the last minute due to the fact that Alberto Del Rio is injured, but should have a solid match with Sheamus at the very least. Christian and Cody Rhodes are hopefully just getting started. Then there’s Cena vs. Big Show.

I’m not sure what to think of the build for this one. They’re trying hard, that’s for sure. Given that it was originally intended to be Tensai in this spot, they’ve done a fair job of changing course on short notice. Something still seems missing, though. Despite the fact that Big Show has amazingly become one of the best promos in the business over the last month, I’m just not interested in seeing this match. Maybe it’s because we’ve seen it before and it wasn’t all that great. It wasn’t far from awful, but it wasn’t exactly a Match of the Year candidate either.

What does my not so magical crystal ball say is going to happen at No Way Out?

More than 1 title change: 10 to 1

There are 4 title matches announced for the show. The odds of half of those titles changing hands isn’t as farfetched as it seems. I do think that the safest title on the show is Christian’s Intercontinental title. Why? You’ll have to read my input in the 411 Pay Per View Roundtable for that answer. I don’t find it likely, but I can see them putting the title on Dolph Ziggler as a “shock” move. The Divas title is always fair game for a meaningless switch, and CM Punk doesn’t have the same 141 2/3 percent chance of winning the three way match that Scott Steiner would. I wouldn’t classify it as likely, but I can definitely envision scenarios involving two of the four belts shifting around.

More than 1 unannounced match: 6 to 1

This is the norm these days. We had another match announced for the show on Thursday, as Santino and Ricardo will square off in a Tuxedo Match. The roster is thin, right now, but I’d venture a guess that you can count on seeing a Ryback squash and maybe something for Tensai to do on the show. There’s an outside possibility of seeing Sandow or Kofi make the show as well, just in matches that they didn’t care enough to actually build towards.

The overbooking of the Cena vs. Big Show match: Even odds

The stipulations alone virtually guarantee that we’re going to get multiple levels of shenanigan-ry taking place. It’s a cage match. There are multiple firings in play. It should bring a conclusion or at least significant progression to the John Lauranitis angle. Vince McMahon is almost certain to be involved. WWE’s creative team would have to work really hard to surprise me on this one, and we all know that WWE’s creative team isn’t interested in working hard. Heyooooooooooo.

It has been theorized that Scott Steiner’s Twitter war against Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff is somehow related to assisting Jeff Jarrett in his attempt to regain some semblance of power in TNA. While this is much less entertaining than the idea that Scott Steiner one day woke up, decided he hated Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff, and decided to make their life a living hell on social media, it’s probably more likely. Well, maybe just as likely, not more so.

It should tell you how slow of a news week this was for wrestling if I’m devoting a section of the column to pure speculation. At the very least, it’s fun speculation, right?

Jarrett lost controlling interest of TNA to Panda Energy, and was allegedly against bringing in Hogan and Bischoff. Jarrett had firsthand experience with both men in WCW, and probably wasn’t eager to relive those days. No matter who was at fault, by all accounts the working conditions were absolutely miserable. In launching into tirades against Bischoff and Hogan that cross well over into personal attacks, Steiner may feel like he’s doing Jarrett a favor…somehow. I don’t think Eric and Hulk will be harassed into leaving the promotion via Twitter, though. Just a hunch.

If Eric and Hulk are there to stay, what will the constant barrage of Twitter attacks accomplish?

A TNA return for Scott Stiener: 75 to 1

As much as I would love this, it’s probably not going to happen. I don’t care how much the IWC hates him, I continue to be entertained by Scott Steiner. For all of his general insanity, the guy is an asset to any promotion, large or small. During his last run with TNA, he was involved in better than expected matches and was absolutely golden on the microphone…even if some of his greatest promos weren’t delivered quite as he intended. He has no issues with putting over younger talent, he still looks the part of being a world beater, and still gets reactions. I once speculated that this was all likely an angle. I was, unfortunately, wrong. It makes me sad that Scottie’s big time wrestling career is probably over.

Jarrett returns to some form of authority in TNA: 100 to 1

As entertaining as Steiner’s rants are, they don’t put money in Jeff’s pockets. Without money, he’s not going to get controlling interest back. Bischoff and Hogan are the direction the company has chosen to go at this point, and it doesn’t look like they’re going to move away from that any time soon, for better or worse. It must be frustrating for Jarrett, but there’s not much that can be done about it at this point.

Things quietly die down over time: 3 to 1

Eventually, reactions will either stop or involve lawyers, and that will be that. I hope that’s not any time soon, though. This is the closest I get to Steiner’s promo magic these days.

When Kia Stevens, then known as Awesome Kong, was signed to a WWE contract on December 29, 2010, it was assumed that the landscape had truly shifted in terms of women’s wrestling in North America. With Awesome Kong, Beth Phoenix, Natalya, and Gail Kim all under contract, there was no reason that WWE’s Divas division couldn’t overtake TNA’s Knockout division as the home of the best women’s wrestling in America. After all, the names Velvet Sky, Angelina Love, Madison Rayne, and ODB just don’t compare to the four women previously mentioned. Things started promisingly enough, with the newly christened Kharma coming out and destroying the other women on the roster. Why? Because she could. She didn’t need to talk, cut promos, give reasons, or anything else. It was simply a tour of destruction through the division that would inevitably lead to a title match and win.

Fate had other ideas. Less than a month after her debut, Kharma came to the ring, and cried. Then she informed the audience that she was pregnant and would have to take a leave of absence from WWE. I think, at that point, nearly everyone expected a layoff that lasted right at a year, if not a little less. She announced the birth of her son on December 30, 2011. Unfortunately, that announcement wasn’t true. Kia Stevens’ child did not survive the full term of the pregnancy. Stevens made the announcement of a successful birth because she was emotionally overwhelmed. If you’re expecting me to judge her for that, you’re wasting your time. After a loss like that, she gets a pass on pretty much anything she said or did. She made an appearance at the Royal Rumble, but later said that she just wasn’t ready to resume professional wrestling yet.

We’re now 18 months past her original signing, and just over a year past her announcement of pregnancy and a leave of absence. A picture of her training for what is presumed to be an in-ring return leaked on Twitter and was quickly taken down.

What, if anything, will we see from Kharma in the future?

A return to the ring at or before Summerslam: 7 to 1

I don’t think she’d be training hard if she weren’t ready to take that step. I fully expect to see her in the ring, tearing through the Divas division as nature intended before the end of summer. The idea of a Beth Phoenix vs. Kharma match that is given the proper time to develop both on television and in the ring at a pay per view is mind bogglingly good. It’s a can’t miss idea, which makes me wish someone other than WWE’s creative team was at the helm.

A return to the ring after Summerslam, before 12/31/12: 20 to 1

If she doesn’t make it back before Summerslam, I’ll start to worry that this is just one of those things that wasn’t meant to be. I certainly hope that we get to see her in a WWE ring, for her sake and ours. This young woman is arguably the best female wrestler on the planet, and would provide instant credibility to the women’s division in WWE and make the product that much more watchable. If not by Summerslam, when? I don’t begrudge her any amount of time she feels is necessary to grieve, recover emotionally, and get herself into prime physical condition to be an effective talent. After nearly two years of inactivity, though, it’s only going to keep getting harder.

Kharma never reappears, Awesome Kong resurfaces in TNA: 30 to 1

While I don’t think that the powers that be in WWE will wait indefinitely for her, they have certainly proven to be gracious enough not to push or rush her back into the spotlight after suffering such an intimate loss. At some point, though, business does matter, and WWE will cut their losses if they don’t see a potential return on investment. I don’t think that this is very likely; I think that WWE will only release her or let the contract lapse as an absolute last resort. She brings too much to the table to allow her to return to TNA without getting anything out of her.

Dave Prazak took to Facebook last week to complain about Wal Mart illegally distributing SHIMMER and other wrestling videos on their VuDu streaming video service. The long and short of it is that High Spots is the sole distributor of SHIMMER and several other independent promotions’ videos. The other promotions that found their videos on the service without notice or permission include Full Impact Pro, IWA Japan, and CHIKARA. As independent promotions go, these are obviously among the most popular in America. Dave Prazak is part owner in both SHIMMER and FIP, and he took it upon himself to contact Mike Quackenbush, who owns CHIKARA.

The group that distributed the videos was listed as Gravitas Ventures, LLC, and has mostly otherwise distributed non-Region 1 dvds for the BBC. How they managed to represent themselves as the distributors for various wrestling promotions that have sole distributorship deals with High Spots, Smart Mark, and others, remains unknown.

Prazak deleted the Facebook post a few days later, and hasn’t commented on the situation further. Whether or not the post was deleted because it’s now a pending legal matter, a misunderstanding on his part, or something else entirely remains to be seen.

What’s next?

It becomes a simple legal matter that is quickly resolved: 7 to 1

If indeed Gravitas Ventures misrepresented themselves as the distributors of the video footage of these promotions, it should be a fairly quick and easy case and settlement. Any judgment in the matter would certainly favor Dave Prazak, Mike Quackenbush, High Spots, Smart Mark, and others affected negatively by it, and things can return to normal.

It ends up being a good thing: Even odds

This is a no lose situation for Prazak and company. They’ll get a settlement that will likely involve being reimbursed for any payment offered for views of the events on the Vudu service. There’s no way to make anyone that watched the events unsee them, so they’ve gotten extra exposure out of it, at the very least. Exposure is good. I would also imagine, as a part of any settlement, they’ll push to remain on the service legally with Wal Mart, thus further increasing their exposure and revenue.

It’s a ridiculous angle that results in a feud with Wal Mart before officially shipping DVDs to their shelves: 100 to 1

A long shot, but not impossible. This IS wrestling, after all.

I never cared much for Christian in WWE. I was indifferent towards the Edge and Christian duo, and like many people, I mistakenly saw him as a bit player, a sideshow, but not someone that deserved the spotlight. Shame on me.

Once Christian jumped to TNA, and was given a chance to fly or fail on his own merits, I realized just how wrong I had been. Christian’s motivation for becoming Christian Cage in TNA was to prove to everyone that he was good enough to be something other than Edge’s tag team partner, or ultimately an enhancement talent for the flavor of the week in the WWE locker room. Mission accomplished.

Regardless of your opinion of TNA as a whole, Christian Cage was excellent there. His matches with AJ Styles and Kurt Angle proved that he was capable of keeping up with the best wrestlers on the planet. More than keeping up, but in matching them move for move in the ring. His natural charisma got a chance to shine through not as part of a combo act or a tag team, but as himself. He proved that he can do business the right way, putting over the Main Event Mafia on his way out the door, even as he was reportedly unhappy with the way things were going in TNA.

Upon his return to WWE, Christian found himself with greater responsibility than he previously had there. He was carrying the ball for the ECW brand. He wound up in a feud with Randy Orton and two unfortunately short reigns as World Heavyweight Champion. Then, last Sunday, Christian Cage became, to my knowledge, the first wrestler actively under WWE contract (much less a reigning champion under contract) to appear on pay per view for another company.

I enjoyed seeing Christian Cage return for one night. It was obvious that he didn’t want to be there. It was a surreal moment, and that’s hard to accomplish in the world of professional wrestling. This business is innately bizarre, and to do something that stands out as remarkably weird is hard to accomplish. Christian Cage managed to do that as a part of a “trade” for Ric Flair.

So what’s so unpopular about all this? There’s a big part of me that wishes that Christian had never left TNA. I don’t blame him for wanting to prove that he does in fact belong at Wrestlemania in the main event, or at least high on the card. It’s 99.99% of all professional wrestler’s goals. For my part, though, I’d rather see Christian consistently main eventing against Angle, Styles, Aries, Roode, Storm than taking on the WWE roster that’s perpetually depleted. I don’t expect to see Christian ever return to TNA. Again, I don’t blame him. I’m a fan of Christian, don’t get me wrong. I’ve enjoyed his return immensely and hope to see this Intercontinental title run last for a long time.

But the full time return of Christian Cage?

I’d mark out like a schoolgirl.

That’s it for me. I’ll try to do better next time. You can message me on Twitter @GavinNapier411 if you want to tell me how much you love me or hate me, or just say hi. Odds are I’ll be back next week.