wrestling / Columns

The Wrestling 5&1 08.25.12: Maria Kanellis vs. AJ Lee!

August 25, 2012 | Posted by Greg De Marco

Welcome to my 97th edition of The Wrestling 5&1. This is a supersized edition, but I didn’t want to go “Preshow” with it. I actually hate doing that, I’d prefer everything stays in one column. So sit back, read, vote, and enjoy!

Listen while you read as we’re joined by star of Shine & Shimmer, Leva Bates!

Listen to internet radio with Greg DeMarco on Blog Talk Radio

BRING ON THE GIRLS!

Last Week:Maria joins AJ Lee as the newest member of the Hall of Bang! Lita put up a fight, but she was no match for Mike Bennett’s better half.

Welcome Maria Kanellis to the Hall of Bang!

Future Versus Updates:
* Brooke Tessmacher has two wins, two away from a return engagement with the Hall of Bang…
* Candice Michelle has two wins, and will continue her own journey…
* AJ Lee will soon begin her own “Battle of the Bang” to determine her position in the Hall…
* Tiffany will receive a new opportunity at the Hall as soon as the opportunity is available…

This Week: With two brand new members, it’s definitely time for the Battle of the Bang to commence. Two natural beauties go one on one for the chance to face Kaitlyn. Who wins…it’s up to you!

MARIA KANELLIS!

AJ Lee!

The Choice Is Yours!

MARIA vs. AJ
Take your pick and vote in the poll below!


Remember, you can vote multiple times—once every 12 hours.
And you can track the results right here, too!





Last week in The Wrestling 5&1…

The entire Roode/Storm was based around the title. TNA pushed the panic button with low ratings and threw the gold on Aries.
He has hardly been the focus as champion thus far, and Roode/Storm seems like an aftethought. Bad move all around.
Posted By: P.S. Turn off the radio sound!

Everything seems like an afterthought in TNA. This is because they won’t put the central focus on one item, but they are spreading the love. I fully expect Roode-Storm to ramp up sooner rather than later.

You’re not getting many comments anymore because your 5&1 gimmick has run out. Instead of pictures, try witing something for hits.
Posted By: Guest#0737

You think so? Do you actually read the column?

I feel like you’re stacking the deck for Maria by posting some pretty bad pics of Lita…
Posted By: Guest#3262

You need me to post pics for you to know what either woman looks like?

Big Show to win? I hope you remember that asinine prediction next week when it’s wrong.
Posted By: Guest#9911

Of course I remember it! I even commented on my show that I was dead wrong. Pay attention. I’ve never shied away from being wrong or admitting that I was.

The only thing I don’t like about Jericho/Ziggler is I can’t shake how much better it would be with the roles reversed.
Antonio vs Kingston or Rey would be amazing, he’s probably the best base for smaller guys I’ve ever seen.
Posted By: @ScottotD

Ziggler vs. Jericho was going to be great no matter what. Antonio Cesaro would indeed be great with Rey Mysterio or Kofi Kingston. And the abbreviated version of versus ends with a period.

Roode and Storm going at it at Bound For Glory without the title could end up being TNA’s version of the Austin/ Hart match at Wrestlemania 13. That one had a chance to be for the title and it was a super hot feud but they screwed each other out of the title picture and they ended up having the most memorable and significant match of that night.
Posted By: Guest#3299

Wait, you have an open mind? Are you sure you’re in the right place?

and i agree with demarco, the bfg series was at risk of getting stale… when roode was champ i know most, including my self kenw storm was gonna win…
thats simply no fun, why have a tournament if we all know whos gonna win?
now, with aries as champ, who knows who will win… but im positive any of the top 6 would put on a great match against aries…
Posted By: Guest#6877

I’m not gonna lie, I really like the points you made. Also, you gave me a headache.

I think Storm will still win the BFG series and challenge Aries for the title. Think about it.I don’t think anyone other than Storm can be viewed as a threat to Aries at BFG. Do you really believe that Joe can take the title away from Aries ? HELL NO. They already thrashed the BFG Series reputation by having Roode lose last year. They have to re-establish it this year. So the person winning the series should win the Title at BFG. That’s Storm.
So, Storm wins the title at BFG, feud with Aries for 2-3 months than move on to Roode for a lengthy feud as the champion. How’s that sound ?
Also, i don’t wanna say this but..
Face ARIES > Face PUNK
Posted By: Jar Jar Binks

See, I really think Aries is going over at BFG, and holds the belt through January. He has a lot of main events available to him, whereas someone like James Storm (or Samoa Joe) just spent months wrestling his potential competition in the BFG Series.

so did u make the font bigger so it would look like you actually wrote alot instead of just pluggin ur show and pics
Posted By: Guest#0757

OR, I forgot to close my html code. Forgot one of these: >

Lita will always hold a special place in my heart. Greatest of all time. End of discussion.
Posted By: MBD

I’m not trying to argue, I just want to hear your perspective: What makes Lita the greatest of all time?

CORRECTION: The Body Donnas became WWF Tag Team champs on the WrestleMania XII Free-For-All, not the Smoking Gunns. Other than that, terrific article!!!
Posted By: Mike “Balls” Dolan

You’re 100% right. I even looked it up, and immediately had The Smoking Gunns on the brain since Sunny managed them, too. In fact, that was when they bounced her around different teams like an opportunistic whore. Funny how that turned out.


Then the winner fights the winner of the AA/BFGS winer.
Posted By: Guest#9814

Maybe. Roode-Storm might go on past BFG.

You’re not getting many comments anymore because your 5&1 gimmick has run out. Instead of pictures, try writing something for hits.
Posted By: Guest#0737

I love when idiots post and the good readers take care of the dirty work for me. Oh, by the way…

It’s because the voting is no longer done in the comment section. Dumbass.
Posted By: Dubhagan

Dubhagan, thank you sir!

There is no reasoning with TNA fanboys, the money match being built up all year long was Roode-Storm for the TNA title at Bound For Glory and they know TNA screwed it up by putting the title on Aries but that doesn’t stop them convincing themselves and no one else that TNA did the right thing.
Posted By: Guest#7090

There is no reasoning with armchair bookers who can’t be happy with any product unless it’s booked as they would have booked it.

Storm/Roode is going to be fine, and both guys are good and over, but the reason everyone talks about how it needs to be for the title is because the title is the whole reason Roode screwed Storm over. Remember that. If Storm never won the title, there’s every reason to expect that Beer Money would still be together. That’s why the belt it so key to this feud, and why it loses something without it.
To use your own words:
“Bobby Roode didn’t resent James Storm for their entire four year partnership because he wanted to be the star?”
Now, I only watch Impact off and on, so maybe Roode did say that and I missed it. But even if true, we got no evidence of that during their partnership. No seeds of dissent were sown. Roode didn’t turn until AFTER the title match, and TNA (to their credit) did a good job of making Roode seem obsessed with being champion, even before BFG 11 with the video packages. It’s clear that the title is a big deal for Roode and it was his direct motivation to do what he did.
“Storm didn’t win the title before Roode, causing Roode to get desperate turn heel?”
That’s 100% right, but you’re missing the point of your own statement. It’s not that James Storm got all the attention; it’s that he won the title that Roode wanted so desparately.
It’s going to be a great match and elevate both guys, but it would have been such a better story with the belt in play.
Posted By: Ryan Byers’ Japanese GF

Roode gave the comments I listed as part of his explanation of his actions when he initially turned heel. Thus, the storyline appears to explain that he would have eventually turned on Storm, as he admitted to hating him the entire time. Which is a great heel thing to do. And there’s one point you’re missing—I’ve repeatedly said Bobby Roode vs. James Storm would have been better with it being for the World Championship. But the product—the entire card from top to bottom—is better the way it is now. But Roode-Storm, by itself in a vacuum? Definitely better if it’s for the title.

if both Maria and Candice are almost in the hall, why not set them against eachother next week? see who REALLY deserves it. Maria this week.
Posted By: Guest#3204

Maria is already in, now. Candice & Brooke have the same amount of votes, so Candice vs. Brooke isn’t a bad idea.

TNA is still the money mark owned, incompetently led, minor league. They are the new ROH, a small, regional, indy promotion for “hardcore” fans and I won’t waste my time.
Posted By: Guest#0865

That’s fine, miss out. It’s been a good show for the better part of a year now.

Thus, obviously…

Since each man’s return in 2012, both Chris Jericho and Brock Lesnar have made waves both online and on television. Both have had a sporadic role in the WWE (Lesnar due to his limited contract and Jericho due to his Fozzy commitments) and drawn both criticism (Lesnar) and praise (Jericho). Given the similarities we do have, I pose the question: Who had had a better return?

I don’t think this question can be answered in one week, so I’ll take a few to develop a good analysis of the return of each man. We’ll look at “The Big Return,” “Short Term Impact,” and “The Long Term Impact” of each return.

If you haven’t aready done so, check out stage one…
Stage 1: The Big Return – Brock Lesnar (Read the column here)

Stage 2: Short Term Impact
In all honesty, this is the most difficult of the three stages to evaluate. Who is having a run that benefits the WWE most—right now. For stage one, I evaluated each person separately. This time, I am going to look at the different factors of the short term impact.

Buzz
There was a buzz around Chris Jericho’s return. The vignettes that aired created a sense of excitement, and when it came time for Jericho to appear, everyone was more than ready for it. The return itself got everyone talking—except for Jericho. It was weeks before he said anything. Some people loved it (Patrick O’Dowd) and others hated it (me). But it got people talking. The rumors of Chris Jericho winning the Royal Rumble got people talking. CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho got people talking. The flag incident got people talking. The feud with Dolph Ziggler got people talking.

Jericho definitely generated a lot of buzz during his return stint. It pales in comparison to the buzz around Brock Lesnar’s return. The entire WrestleMania weekend saw talks of returns for Lesnar and Batista. Hell, Batista was even sighted in Miami. But the night after, when John Cena stood in the center of the ring calling out The Rock, the fans wanted Brock. The fans wanted to see Brock Lesnar and no The Rock–IN MIAMI. Brock’s initial attack on John Cena had fans, casual and hardcore, salivating at the thought of the returning star and a new direction. Brock represented the continued change in John Cena (even if it never came to fruition). All of Brock’s appearances have a buzz around them. With Paul Heyman by his side, every Brock Lesnar appearance has fans excited to see what will happen next.

The buzz factor goes to Brock Lesnar.

In-Ring Performance
Brock Lesnar and Chris Jericho each have very different in-ring style. Brock returned as the MMA representative, complete with boxing style shorts, gloves, and even his own sponsors. Chris Jericho performs in the most traditional wrestling gear possible (well, and a sparkly light-up jacket). Brock Lesnar has had two matches since his return, one with John Cena and one with Triple H. Your mileage may vary, but I rather liked each match. He also had a few pull-a-part brawls, and two of them were awesome.

Chris Jericho is highly regarded as a great in-ring performer. He had legendary matches as a cruiserweight in WCW, and really flourished against Triple H, Steve Austin, The Rock, Chris Benoit, Christian, Shawn Michaels, Daniel Bryan and so many others in the WWE. Since his return, he’s had some great matches with CM Punk (including WrestleMania 28), was in a great four-way at Over The Limit, and had a great run with Dolph Ziggler to close out his current run.

I rather enjoyed Brock Lesnar’s matches, but I loved most of what Chris Jericho did. The in-ring performance factor goes to Chris Jericho.

Advancing The Product
When you reach a level high up the card in the WWE, there’s a lot of give and take. There are times where you’re going to look great, and times where you won’t. Sometimes you have to put someone over, and that doesn’t mean lose. You have to let someone look great. Brock Lesnar has had feuds with John Cena and Triple H since returning. He lost to Cena, but Cena got his ass whipped during the match. He beat Triple H after having his prior condition come into play. Did either of those feuds help John Cena or Triple H? Did either of them help Brock Lesnar? In all honesty, the only people put over by Brock’s return are Paul Heyman and Stephanie McMahon.

Since Chris Jericho came back, he’s been the man eliminated by Sheamus in the Royal Rumble, lost clean to CM Punk in an amazing match at WrestleMania, put over Sheamus at Over The Limit, and had Dolph Ziggler “end his career.” Those are huge, unselfish moves by a guy who, despite losing, is still one of the most over guys on the roster. After losing and putting everyone over, I’d argue that we appreciate Chris Jericho now more than when he returned. The opposite seems to be true for Brock Lesnar.

The advancing the product factor goes to Chris Jericho.

DeMarco’s Take: In the short term, the WWE has seen bigger rewards out of Chris Jericho’s return. Brock hasn’t grown the business by leaps and bounds, and he hasn’t improved anything for anybody. He hasn’t put on amazing matches, and if he were gone tomorrow I don’t think it would take us that long to get over the loss. The opposite holds true for Chris Jericho.

Stage 1: The Big Return – Brock Lesnar (Read the column here)
Stage 2: Short-Term Impact – Chris Jericho

You Decide: Please share your thoughts in the comments section…who has had the greatest positive short term impact on the WWE with their return, Brock Lesnar or Chris Jericho?

So with “The 25th24th Anniversary of SummerSlam” in the books, it’s time to take a look back at the event itself, and a look at where we’re headed. And we’ll do that in a very specific format.

Looking back: I’ll take a look at the match itself, and more importantly, the result.
Looking ahead: I’ll take a look at what lies ahead, most likely what should lie ahead.

Shall we? (We shall.)

Antonio Cesaro pins Santino Marella to win the United States Championship

Looking back: Five minutes is a little short for a title change at the company’s second most important event, but that’s what being on a Free For All will do for you! The right man went over, and it says something that the WWE chose to put Cesaro’s big win in a position to boost their online viewership.

Looking ahead: Santino is a comedy wrestler, and needs to stay that way. I really liked his work with Vladimir Koslov, so I might suggest finding him another straight-man to play off of. In the week leading up to SummerSlam, it was reported that the WWE has a “now or never” viewpoint towards Antonio. Apparently they’re taking the “now” approach, and I’m quite happy about that. He needs to make quick work of any rematches Santino has, and move on to someone more meaningful. Perhaps a feud with Christian? I’d also love to see him against Sin Cara.

Chris Jericho forces Dolph Ziggler to submit

Looking back: The match was great, and Jericho really made Dolph look like a star. Prior to seeing RAW, it’s easy to question the finish. Jericho going over via submission should hurt Dolph, but he’s so damn over it won’t. They got 13 minutes and could have gone twice as long and delivered an equally entertaining match.

Looking ahead: Jericho’s fate was already determined when he lost a match against Ziggler on RAW that terminated his contract. I’d have preferred at least a week of build, but that’s apparently asking too much. Plus, Jericho has a tour to tend to. Ziggler got the final win in their feud, and can now move on. To what? I’d love a feud with Randy Orton, but I think we’ll see him inserted into the world title picture on Smackdown.

Daniel Bryan pins Kane

Looking back: This match easily exceeded expectations, and that’s the fault of those setting their expectations. Their work together has been solid, and they really clicked. Plus, Daniel Bryan got the surprise win, sending Kane into an angered state, setting up the his continued involvement in the Bryan-AJ “anger management” angle.

Looking ahead: You can get another match or two out of them, but I think Daniel Bryan needs to go over in the end. If AJ Lee continues to become stale as general manager, we could see a double turn. My initial thinking would be against that, but Daniel Bryan has proven to be money regardless of what side of the fence he resides.

The Miz pins Rey Mysterio and retains the Intercontinental Championship

Looking back: Good effort out of both men in a match that I easily thought would kick off the event due to Rey Mysterio’s involvement. Despite being only nine minutes long, this match exceeded last summer’s RAW opener on the night where Rey pinned Miz to win the WWE Championship in a tournament final. Of course, that six minute match simply lead to John Cena winning the championship at the end of the night, only to get shown up by CM Punk immediately after.

Looking ahead: Both guys need something—anything—to do. Once Sin Cara is done feuding with Cody Rhodes, a “super team” partnership with Rey Rey would be great for both guys. Plus, it would likely lead to their inevitable WrestleMania 29 match. The Miz needs a good challenger, and I would love to see that challenger be Kofi Kingston. I think they could put on some great matches and both men can be built in the feud, as could the title.

Sheamus pins Alberto Del Rio to retain the World Heavyweight Championship

Looking back: You could rename this one “what should have happened.” Sheamus should have gone over clean and moved on to a feud with Randy Orton. Instead he blatantly cheated at least twice, great for a face (albeit a car-thief face). I feel like this feud did neither guy any favors, and this would have been a great place to end it.

Looking ahead: We already know where this is headed. The feud will continue, and Randy Orton will be inserted as well. Possible involvement from Dolph Ziggler can also be on the menu, but I don’t see it happening. Either way, we’re simply not done with this feud yet.

R-Truth & Kofi Kingston beat The Prime Time Players to retain the WWE Tag Team Championships

Looking back: There were four African Americans on the SummerSlam card. And all of them were in this match. I doubt it was on purpose, but it’s still a weird occurrence. Nothing offensive about the match, as it was great to see a tag team title match this high on the card. They were given seven minutes, not a ton of time, but far more than they’d have gotten on RAW.

Looking ahead: The belts will find their way to The Prime Time Players, likely sooner rather than later. But then what? Kofi needs to break out of the makeshift tag team role he’s fallen into and have a singles run. Truth? Maybe he can form a comedy team with Santino.

CM Punk pins The Big Show to win a triple threat match that also included John Cena and retains the WWE Championship

Looking back: I’m surprised this match only got 14 minutes, but hey, there was a concert that needed to go on! This match exceeded my expectations, and was especially surprising in its protection of Big Show and continued elevation of CM Punk. Cena is at a level where wins and losses really don’ matter. No matter what, he’ll always be Cena.

Looking ahead: We already know that we’re getting CM Punk feuding with John Cena through the fall. They won’t recapture the magic of last summer, and in some cities we’ll actually end up with a heel-heel dynamic. I’d rather have seen something else, but this proves that the WWE has done a terrible job establishing a RAW main event picture outside of Punk & Cena. As for Show, he needs someone to feud with. Who is the big question, and one to which I do not have an answer.

Brock Lesnar forced Triple H to tap out

Looking back: The match was slower than what many wanted to see, but this Triple H and Brock Lesnar, not Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara. The match was enjoyable and told the right story. The right guy went over.

Looking ahead: Triple H is out for a while, and I appears Brock is out until Survivor Series? If that’s the case, then we have to look a little further ahead. Triple H is likely out until the SS build, and if Brock were staying around he’d need a damn feud. But both of your main eventers are taking some time off.

Overall Thoughts

Looking back: This was an okay SummerSlam. No major complaints, but nothing that really felt important. Jericho-Ziggler upped the ante the next night on RAW, nothing was settled in either world title match, the lone title change wasn’t even on the PPV, and the main event saw its build peak at RAW1000.

Looking ahead: This “looking ahead” pertains to future SummerSlam cards. The show needs to get out of Los Angeles, even if for a year. Use The Rock next year and put this thing in a stadium. Even better? Put it back in Wembley Stadium and watch it sell out. They have some options to make next year’s SummerSlam be the big deal it’s supposed to be. And what better year to do that than the true “25th Anniversary of SummerSlam?”

You Decide: Where does SummerSlam 2012 rank amongst the entire set of 25?

If you haven’t heard, the crappy actress playing Claire Lynch in TNA is really just that—a crappy actress. And one who apparently doesn’t know a damn thing about the crazy world of professional wrestling. Julia Reilly was playing the role of Claire Lynch in TNA (not porn star Kimberly Kole as some originally suggested) and her run has already come to an end. Looking back, we should be surprised it took the Internet Wrestling Community as long as it did to out her. Many sites are reporting, but the good folks at TNAInsider.com actually deserve the credit—they reported it first.

Just who is Julia Reilly?
Julia (pictured to the right) is a commercial actress based out of Orlando. In fact, she works at the very same Universal Studios that plays host to Impact Wrestling each Thursday, playing Olive Oyl of Popeye fame. Once her identity came out, her official website (http://www.juliareilly.net) was taken down—err, placed under construction. Her YouTube account was closed, and the only video remaining of her cannot be embedded. It’s her in an 8-minute infomercial for 360 cookware, found here. Her Linkedin account has apparently been shut down as well.

So a commercial actress, who works as a character at Universal Studios, gets hired to play a character on a television show seen by over one million people each week in the US, plus the international broadcasts of the show. Once someone figures out who she is—so she actually starts getting exposure for this gig—she quits? How does that make sense? Well, the recent reports indicate that the accounts were closed because of the comments left about the storyline, her acting ability and her appearance. She is routinely auditioning for roles, and didn’t want this to be all over all of her professional accounts. Now, this angle had already started getting old, likely due to the fact that Claire wasn’t working out. And while I was willing to see the thing through, it was a hell of a lot more fun when everyone thought AJ was banging Dixie, not Claire.

By the way, all of her work is nearly impossible to find and/or share now, but Julia Reilly can’t stop us from embedding these examples of her bad acting!

Kinda makes wish you wish it really was pornstar Kimberly Kole, huh? (pictured right).

Is here someone to blame? (You betcha!)
For once, we can thank the IWC for this one. The internet made the discovery of Claire Lynch’s real identity, and effectively put an end to this storyline. But the fault there really lies with TNA. Why in the hell did they hire her in the first place? There are tons of female independent wrestlers more capable of playing that role than Julia Reilly, and they could have eventually been outed as a fake and turned into a Knockout. It’s not like TNA hasn’t done this before. They used Rain when they needed Ms. Payton Banks (Bobby Roode’s admirer eventually turned Knockout) and they used Santana Garrett when they needed someone to hang out with Orlando Jordan. Both Florida based indy wrestlers—no harm, no foul. The worst part is that Leva Bates, a professional wrestler, not only lives in Orlando, she also works as a character at Universal Studios! Several of them, actually. She was this week’s guest on The Greg DeMarco Show, and she was trained to wrestle by—get this—The 3D Academy! That’s right, right under TNA’s nose, working at Universal Studios in the same damn job as Julia Reilly was a trained, beautiful, and talented professional wrestler. And she was trained by freaking Bully Ray and Devon! She still gets ring work at their school today! And you can’t tell me that TNA doesn’t know who she is, because when they gave Isis The Amazon (formerly Alouisa of Tough Enough fame) a tryout, guess who her opponent was? That’s right, Leva Bates!


Hey, who is that referee back there?

You know I love TNA, and I’ll still support them after Brooke Hogan & Miss Tessmacher team up against Gail Kim & Madison Rayne at Bound For Glory, but I gotta call a spade a spade here. TNA made a piss poor decision in hiring an actress to do a wrestler’s job. And they didn’t get to pay off their creative storyline because of it. I’d call on WrestleCrap to close this thing out, but you know they’re already on the job.

You Decide: How glad are you that this whole thing fell apart?

Brian Green vs. Kimbo Slice took place on March 24, 2012 in Springfield, Missouri. Green, who took the fight on three day’s notice, gives the crowd a show by rocking Kimbo on several occasions. There are multiple points where you can Green’s confidence increase, and other points where you can plainly see he wasn’t prepared for this fight.

The point of this video is that Green, who is in Nicaragua teaching MMA skills to kids, is trying to refute claims that he took a dive in the fight. Green isn’t a boxer, taking the Kimbo slice as a replacement opponent. He details this on his site, bg2nica.com:

“I had nothing to lose, and everything to gain replacing the originally scheduled opponent. It was a big opportunity to get my name out there, and being used to getting hit with 4oz MMA gloves compared to 10oz Boxing gloves, without worrying about getting kicked, kneed, elbowed, taken down, or submitted. I figured i’ve got a decent shot at it. And I ALMOST won.”

Did Brian Green take a dive? That’s your call to make (and you can do so in the comments section!). Personally, the slow-motion of the final three punch combination is the proof I need to see that it’s a legit knockout. Remember, knocking people out is what Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson does. Add in the fact that Green took the fight on three day’s notice, and that he’s a professional MMA fighter of 46 fights (with a 31-13 record, plus 2 no-contests).

I have five points to use per column, so I’m giving the spot I traditionally use for my radio show to Brian. That’s why I have a section labeled bonus coverage, right? Brian Green (or his organization) doesn’t know this is in my column—that’s not why I put it here. The guy admittedly took this fight for exposure, and later ended up on a mission trip that changed his life. Ironically, neither the fight nor the mission trip were originally planned for Brian, he was a fill-in for both. But I think we all have stories that start out that way, and I hope this one has a great ending. The fight he took for exposure—which could have aided his MMA career, just might help the ministry he’s started in Nicaragua.

If you feel so inclined, help them out. You can buy the DVD of his Kimbo Slice fight, you can make a donation, or you can merely just share this site on Facebook or Twitter.

Check out the website here: BG2Nica.com
Like the Facebook page here:
Facebook.com/BG2Nica

Follow Brian on Twitter here: Twitter.com/BG2Nica

And please, at minimum, help spread the word and share his site!

You Decide: Did Brian Green take a dive against Kimbo Slice?

We tend to have a segment on The Greg DeMarco Show titled Quick Hits, where Patrick and myself give a shout out to something going on in the world of wrestling, usually something we’re personally connected to or something that stood out to us. This is different, as I’ll focus on some newsbites that can’t occupy an entire point. This might catch on, it might not. We’ll see.

Tyler Reks asks for, and receives, his WWE release
On Wednesday, news came out that Tyler Reks (real name Gabe Tuft) had asked for and received his release from the WWE. The company also confirmed it on WWE.com. Reks himself came out and said he did it for his family, wanting to spend more time with his family, specifically referencing his young daughter.

As I said in the Yes! Yes! Yes! group on Facebook, I applaud his decision. He’s focusing on what’s important to him, and by doing that he’s getting out of a business that hasn’t historically been great to families. Good for Reks, he’s doing what he feels is best and is a great example for us all.

The Prime Time Players originally slated to win belts at SummerSlam
According to reports, the WWE had originally planned to put the Tag Team Championships on The Prime Time Players at SummerSlam, having them go over R-Truth and Kofi Kingston. Nothing is known about why the chance didn’t happen, but it’s still expected to happen.

Personally, I don’t see why they don’t make the change on the PPV. Yes, more people will see the title change if it happens on TV, and in the grand scheme of things the change won’t really register anywhere they do it. But that’s the problem. The WWE (and TNA, for that matter) has rendered their tag team championships useless. Putting this change on PPV would have been one small step in the right direction.

Rey Mysterio suffers concussion at SummerSlam
The WWE itself actually reported this story, that Rey Mysterio had suffered a concussion in a head specific bump. Tests further confirmed the concussion.

It sucks for Rey, but it is a hazard of the job. The WWE has been much safer since the Wade Barrett injury (Brock Lesnar notwithstanding), and this is a freak occurrence. I’m holding out hope for a regular pairing with Sin Cara that leads to a WrestleMania 29 showdown between the two, and I suspect Rey will be back with plenty of time for that build. Regardless of what the future holds, I hope Rey has a speedy recovery and can take the proper steps to be free from future issues.

Taryn Terrell is officially a Knockout
Taryn Terrell, formerly Tiffany in WWE/ECW (for former 5&1 Hall of Bang member), appeared on Impact Wrestling last week, revealed to be the special guest referee for Miss Tessmacher’s title win over Madison Rayne. Well you can take “guest” out of her title, as she will be the Knockouts’ ref moving forward.

For me, this is a great move. She was never great in the ring, but she’s a beautiful woman with an ability to contribute. As a referee, they can develop her character slowly. TNA actually has a great track record with ex-WWE women, including Gail Kim, Christy Hemme, Brooke Tessmacher, Tara and, Mickie James. Taryn Terrell should fit right in, and her role is something unique to TNA. Props to them for that.

There were also reports that the company was surprised by the lack of response she got, as many former WWE stars get a bigger reaction. My response to that? It’s Tiffany…what did you expect? While she was released in November of 2010, she hadn’t appeared regularly since July of the same year, over two years ago. I seriously doubt that people have really followed her since she left the WWE (except for that one Hall of Bang run in this here column!). Plus, it’s Tiffany. We’re not talking about Mr. Anderson, Jeff Hardy or even Mickie James or Tara. I’d imagine her response was like that of “The Pope” D’Angelo Dinero. On top of that, Brooke Hogan did an absolutely terrible job of making the announcement. There was no “oomph” behind the announcement. It wasn’t “TARYN TERRELL!”, it was “Taryn Terell…”. Not exactly the way to elicit a big crowd response. Plus, Brooke Hogan fell on her ass at that precise second, which kinda took away from Taryn’s “moment.” Finally, and I don’t frequent Rajah to know where this news really came from (I don’t believe they’re very connected), this sounds speculative at best. Like someone say the reactin taryn got, immediately thought “I’d bet that’s not what TNA expected” and reported it as news. In fact, one look at Rajah shows that their source is 4FWOnline. Yup, Meltzer special on that one!

TNA sends Douglas Williams to OVW…to be a trainer!
In what has to be regarded as a great move, TNA star Douglas Williams is headed to OVW as a trainer. Williams, who turns 40 on September 1, is a great in-ring performer who always does “the little things” well. He will be a great person for the future TNA talents to learn from.

Howard Stern interviews Dolph Ziggler’s ex-girlfriend
You can find the info here. They talk about sex with Dolph. Twitter fan girls went nuts. I want to report on this as much as I wanted to report on John Cena’s divorce. And I’m a big Ziggler fan!

Buggy wasn’t released from FCW/NXT
The former Buggy Nova, now known as Skyler Moon, had her FCW/NXT profile taken down. The twitter-verse reacted in kind, thinking she got released. Well, pulling the bio is common practice. Problem is, she never really had a bio to begin with, just some pictures. So they took it down to add a bio! It will be back shortly. Speaking of Buggy/Skyler, you’ll see her in this week’s video below!

Alex Shelley signs with the WWE? Are you sure?
SuperLuchas.net, a site I refuse to link to because they make Dave Meltzer look like a credible news source, is reporting that Alex Shelley signed a WWE contract. Meanwhile, Shelley is getting ready to travel to Japan and working for CLASH Wrestling this weekend. SuperLuchas is known for their reporting—of stuff that isn’t true. So I wouldn’t put much stock, if any, into this report.

Brooke Hogan to wrestle at Bound For Glory?
There are rumors circulating that Brooke Hogan might wrestle at Bound For Glory. Now, she initially said she didn’t want to wrestle, but c’mon…she’s a Hogan! She can’t sing and she’s getting worse in her role as “Executive in Charge of the Knockouts” (what the hell kind of title is that, anyway?). Might as well try something she also can’t do—wrestle! A rumored feud with Madison Rayne would make the most sense—and as long as we get more Madison Rayne promos like the one below, I’m fine with that aspect.

Because she’s a Hogan, I do buy in to this report. However, I don’t see her going one-on-one with Madison. Plus, that essentially leaves Brooke Tessmacher off of the company’s biggest card of the year. I see Madison Rayne & Gail Kim vs. Miss Tessmacher & Brooke Hogan taking place at Bound For Glory.

You Decide: Do you like the quick hits format? Do you want to see it continue?

Post-RAW discussion, special guest Leva Bates, “Odds Makers” and more on this week’s show!

The Greg DeMarco Show with Greg DeMarco and Patrick O’Dowd, presented by 411Mania.com/Wrestling, aired Monday night at 11:00 PM eastern and will stream all weekend at VOCNation.com.

This week: We made the big move to Mondays! The gang was joined by The 411 on Wrestling Podcast’s Andy Critchell to review RAW, kicked it old school with Justin Freemyer, and Chad Perry hosts another outstanding installment of “Odds Makers!”

Star of Shine and Shimmer, Leva Bates, joined the show to talk about her training with the 3D Academy, the inspiration and evolution of her gimmick, the tag team title challenge laid out for the fall’s Shimmer tapings, her latest appearance for Shine Wrestling and much more! Outside the world of wrestling, Leva talks about her character and dancer at Universal Studios in Orlando, and shares her love for comics, TV, books and movies with cohost Patrick O’Dowd! Check out Leva Bates like you’ve never seen heard her before!

Click here to listen or listen here:

Listen to internet radio with Greg DeMarco on Blog Talk Radio

About The Greg DeMarco Show:
Discussing current events in professional wrestling—including WWE RAW, Smackdown, TNA Impact Wrestling, Ring of Honor and many US independent promotions and regularly featuring guests from Ring of Honor, Chikara, Extreme Reunion and countless other promotions, Greg DeMarco and Patrick O’Dowd present opinionated analysis on the wrestling world that remains rooted in a love, passion and respect for the industry. The show is presented live on Tuesday nights by 411Mania at http://www.411wrestling.com/wrestling and streams worldwide each weekend via Bruce Wirt’s Voice of Choice Nation at http://www.vocnation.com. You can reach the show via e-mail at [email protected], Facebook by searching for “Greg DeMarco Show” or Twitter @gregdemarcoshow.

Didn’t like the Leva graphic? That’s okay, I have another!

We have a DeMarcette related video this week, as our own Buggy Nova (NXT’s Skyler Moon) recently saw competition against Audrey Marie and Emma (Tenille Tayla) in Florida. It’s your typical triple threat match involving two heels, meaning the action breaks down between the heels towards the end. But the real treat? Skyler Moon’s finisher. Seriously, if you don’t have the seven-plus minutes to check out the entire video, skip to the end and check out Buggy’s new finisher—The Merry-Go-Round-Of-Doom—it’s 100% awesome.

Skyler Moon vs. Audrey vs. Emma
NXT 8/18/12 NXT/FCW Plant City Armory, FL

By the way, Buggy herself wanted it to be known that she credits her trainer, Shannon Ballard, for that move.

Hit up the ‘Mania on the TWITTER (so Ashish will like me, okay?)

http://www.twitter.com/411mania
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http://www.twitter.com/gregdemarcoshow – that’s me!

A few weeks ago, we hosted independent superstar Matt Taven to the Greg DeMarco Show, and I used this picture as the advertisement…

And, of course, I got one question more than any, even during the live recording of the interview: “Who’s the girl?” That would be his valet, manager, real life girlfriend and your “And 1” Model of the Week—Kasey Ray!

Get reading!

Randle’s Wrestling News Experience!
The News from Cook’s Corner!
Marisco’s Wednesday Wire!
Kelly’s Thursday Sports Entertainment News!
Napier’s Handicapping the News!
Fact or Fiction featuring James Wright and Michael Ornelas…one of whom regular participates in the TNA PPV Roundtables that I coordinate! (and the other…his name is Michael Ornelas!)

Tony Acero presents The Low End Theory!

Plenty to talk about in the comments!
Who has had the best immediate impact with their return…Chris Jericho or Brock Lesnar?
What do you want to see coming out of SummerSlam?
Will you be sad to see Claire Lynch disappear from TNA’s Impact Wrestling?
Did Brian Green take a dive?
Do you like the Quick Hits news format?
And this week’s Versus Battle of the Bang—Maria vs. AJ—You Make the Call!

Note about the Indy Spotlight:
The card I had planned to cover this week was cancelled, and replacing it would have actually caused the column to be too long (thus, not fit and need to be broken up into two again). The feature will return next week!

Until next time…

Find me:

Listen to the show!

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