Lansdell’s Sunday Brunch News Report 06.15.08

RESPECT to Meehan!

The Spread~!

Work or Shoot? Carlito loses his mind…or does he?

Million Dollar Letdown!

The Week in Links!

Angle’s at it again!

Random Video Interlude!

TNA England tour going well!

The Feedback Card!

Future Endeavours or Future Champ?
Carlito shoots off at the mouth…or is he working the rubes

In what is, on the face of it at least, possibly the DUMBEST move in recent memory, Carlito had this to say on an interview promoting WWE’s South American tour:

“I may get in trouble, but that’s why I’m here. My opinion is that it was a smart move by [HHH]. I think that’s why he’s champion now and has been champion in the past, it’s easier to him. We, the real wrestlers, don’t depend on people in the business. We don’t have that benefit. We have to deliver the maximum in the ring. Others are given championships in a plate of gold or platinum, I’m happy for him.”

Of course, he’s talking about HHH’s marriage to Stephanie. He may also be signing his release forms. This opinion is a prevalent one in the IWC, and even hearing it from a wrestler is nothing new. What IS unusual is hearing it from a wrestler who is still under contract with WWE. We had heard earlier in the week that Carlito was once again unhappy with his role in WWE, so this looks like nothing more than a guy about to resign taking an opportunity to vent on the person he perceives as holding him back. Before we get to that, let’s spend a little time analysing what he said.

Defending Triple H has been done and done, and frankly none of the arguments have changed. However, given the fact that Carlito’s father is as a huge name in Puerto Rican wrestling, an argument could be made that Carlito wouldn’t be where HE is without family ties. Of course, he can’t help who his father is. Triple H was a main eventer before he married Stephanie, and likely would have been a multiple champion without doing so. Carlito, had he grown up as anyone else’s child, would likely be in a small fed in the Caribbean. As for having to deliver the maximum in the ring…well, when i see Carlito doing that, maybe I’ll be convinced he’s being held back. If Carlito honestly thinks that HHH hasn’t worked to get where he is, then he’ll be lucky to be fired before Wellness catches the LSD that must be in his system.

That being said, I can’t help but wonder about the possibility that this is a work. I’ll agree that it’s 85% likely to be Carlito’s parting shots, but there’s something not quite right about the whole situation that makes me wonder. First, Carlito has spoken out like this before, and it led to his last aborted push. We know that WWE is bordering on desperate to keep Carlito. He has said nothing new or earth-shattering, and WWE themselves have acknowledged the HHH-Steph marriage in the past. This remark will likely never reach anyone but the net fans, who already either agree with the sentiments, or vehemently disagree. Making these comments has already raised his visibility more than any match he’s had, making him all the more valuable to TNA, who doubtless would love to have him. A title program with Triple H would no doubt make him happy, give him the chance he claims he’s never had, and please the Latino viewers that WWE craves. Alternatively, he could be used as the mouthpiece for the rumoured stable of next generation guys, all made because they are being held out of the big time by old guys hanging on too long and people who are politicians. It’s a role he could excel in and may even enjoy.

A lot of people have reacted to this news as if the firing of Carlito is a foregone conclusion to be announced on Monday on WWE.com, but again I’m not so sure. They’d have a hard time making it look like anything but nepotism, which is exactly what they’re being accused of. I’ve long believed that you cannot judge someone’s in-ring ability solely on their work in WWE. Carlito has show such flashes of greatness that you have to presume he is capable of more. Is he inconsistent, is he a lazy waste of talent, is he discouraged because of bad treatment, or is he being told by the referee via relay to cut out the flashy stuff? Carlito in TNA could be a totally different worker, much like Christian has been, and may make the McMahon’s wishing they had handled him better.

In the interview, Carlito also says he’s been discriminated against because he’s Latino (yeah, poor Rey Misterio and Chavo and Eddie never got a push), that Triple H never goes overseas to promote the brand (despite him wrestling at the very event that Carlito was promoting…), put over John Cena’s hard work and attacked the fans for not getting behind him.

When a RickRoll is the most entertaining part, you have issues
As details and reaction to the Million Dollar Mania emerge, rumours begin

That’s really the only way to describe Vince’s bright idea. Apart from the ratings drop I covered on Wednesday, we are hearing now that many in WWE were displeased with the segments as a whole, and with Vince’s performance. As others have reported, Vince looked old, clueless and desperate while giving away the money, kind of like your grandfather trying to figure out these new-fangled cellaphones ($1 to Tony Atlas). If the time has come for Vince to take a back seat and be on TV less, that performance will do nothing to negate the opinion.

WWE also made the decision to pre-warn the winners that they would or could be called. By doing so they avoided a potentially embarrassing situation where the person they called was out/on the crapper/watching TNA DVDs, but they also removed the spontaneous reactions that make people care about money giveaways. It would not surprise me if the guy who swore was asked to act happy when he was called. There’s also a rumour now circulating that the first winner added his RickRoll ring track after finding out that he was likely to be called. If this is true, it’s gold. You can’t blame WWE for doing this, after all, imagine how disastrous any of these would have been:

Hearing pre-recorded hype for Slammiversary replay/next Impact

Vince: What’s your name son?
Perp: Chris Benoit. Baba Booey Baba Booey!

Vince: Who’s this?
Perp: Who’s THIS?
Vince: I’m Vince McMahon!
Perp: Never heard of you.

Vince: Are you watching Raw?
Perp: I was, but it sucked so I’m watching CSI reruns/RoH DVDs/porn

Vince: Who’s this?
Child perp: STRANGER DANGER! STRANGER DANGER!

Vince: Who’s this?
Perp with strangely familiar voice: Bruce from Connecticut…

There is some thought now that tomorrow night may be the last giveaway, especially with the draft scheduled for the week after. If that is the case, then I can’t help but draw parallels to TNA and Russo-style booking: throw stuff at the wall, and if it doesn’t stick, forget it ever happened.

The Week In Links
After all, what’s a Sunday brunch without the paper?

The shows
Just like a TV Guide that’s a week old

Dunn’s RAWtopsy
Bauer’s ECW Report
Larrold W Csonka’s Impact Report
Dunn’s Slammiversary Review
Lansdell’s Slammiversary Instant Analysis

Required Reading
Best of the week’s editorials

Cook’s Ask411 really doesn’t get enough love. You da man, Cookie!
Julian Bond does a damn good job of defending Russo. On a pole!
Julian Williams, who I rarely miss reading, gives us five weeks in one!

Crazy Kurt Angle moment number 4738
Angle shows once again that he is clueless in an interview in England…or does he?

Wrestlers really need to stop going on radio and TV. Kurt Angle, making an appearance on a Liverpool radio station to hype the TNA tour (more on that below), once again showed that he is a far better wrestler than booker with the mention of a stable he was pushing for. Apparently, Angle wants to bring in Johnny Storm and/or Doug Williams and put them with Booker T in a stable called “Cuppa T”. He feels the stable would be “a better version of William Regal”, although presumably with fewer drugs. Obviously, the name of the stable is ridiculous, and Booker and Williams are far from young.

However, the idea is not that bad. Storm would be a good addition to TNA, as he is different and exciting enough to distinguish himself from the vanilla X-Division guys that were let go (people like Roderick Strong and Jerelle Clark). He has buckets of charisma, and if the Florida audience can get past his accent, he cuts a decent promo too.

Something else that sprung out at me from this story was that the guys doing the interview appeared to be unaware of the TNA product and Kurt’s injury history. This makes me wonder if the “Cuppa T” remark wasn’t a subtle rib at the idiot DJs who didn’t do their homework before interviewing the man.