The Steel Cage

Can I curse on a Newsday.com blog? Because there's a word that would follow "Holy" that is the only fair assessment of what I just witnessed. C.M. Punk is the new world heavyweight champion!

I am loving the mood Vince McMahon has been in over the last week. Those of us who have been crying for some fresh faces in WWE's cards can feel vindicated, because our message is getting through. Kofi Kingston is the Intercontinental champion. Ted Dibiase and Cody Rhodes are world tag team champions. Lance Cade is involved in a program with Shawn Michaels. And C.M. Punk - a man who made a name for himself in little old Ring of Honor - is the world champion.

What's this strange feeling I'm experiencing? Why, it's a bona fide "mark out" moment.

I really enjoyed last night's pay per view - especially the final hour, which delivered two of the more fun and exciting WWE world title matches in a while. I was consistently entertained throughout the night, and I'm intrigued about where WWE is going forward, especially without a world champion on the supposed A-brand.

Here are some quick thoughts, match by match:

WWE Tag Team Champions The Miz & Morrison defeated Finlay and Hornswoggle: It was somewhat eye-opening to watch this match with my father, who is 76, and was beyond amused by the sight of a little person holding his own in the ring. Hornswoggle definitely has his audience. This match was fine comedy, but in the end I'm glad they're sticking with the Miz and Morrison as tag team champions. They've developed into one of the Smackdown/ECW's hottest acts.

U.S. Champion Matt Hardy defeated Chavo Guerrero: This was a battle between two of WWE's most talented and bland wrestlers. It's got to be frustrating for Matt Hardy. He's a good worker, a company guy, and has mostly kept his nose clean. And for that, he is exiled to ECW. His brother Jeff is perpetually screwing up, and he gets one big push after another. That said, I totally understand why that's the case. This match was another good example of how, despite Matt being perfectly capable, he just doesn't connect with fans.

Ted Dibiase and Cody Rhodes defeated Hardcore Holly and Cody Rhodes (?!) for the world tag team championship: A lot of us saw this turn coming a mile away, but it was still well executed and fun to see play out. The team of Dibiase and Rhodes could be a hot young act if they're given a real tag team division in which to compete. I'm still curious as to what Ted Jr. can do in the ring. All we know right now is that he has a decent amount of charisma, passable mic skills, and an awful theme song.

Mark Henry defeated Kane and Big Show to win the ECW championship: With these three involved, there was no way this match could be any good, and it wasn't. But nonetheless, you had to smile about Mark Henry winning his first "major" singles title. He may not be very good in the ring, but after being signed 12 years ago to an inflated contract without having wrestled a single match, Henry has worked hard to earn his keep and has survived a lot of hurdles along the way. I was glad to see him have his moment in the sun.

Women's Champion Mickie James defeated Katie Leah Burchill: James was good as always, but Katie looked pretty green in there. Still, there was some good intensity here and I wouldn't mind seeing more of these two together.

Kofi Kingston defeated Chris Jericho for the Intercontinental Title: I really enjoyed this, and was thrilled to see WWE take yet another step in freshening up its product. Kingston is exactly the kind of guy they should be getting behind - young, exciting, and very unique. I'm not saying he should be wrestling in main events any time soon, but he could be a big benefit to Raw's mid card. It's also good for the IC title to be around the waist of someone who will actually defend it.

World Heavyweight Champion Edge defeated Batista: One of the big surprises of 2008 may be Vickie Guerrero, who went from almost being a cruel joke to the Guerrero family to being one of the most entertaining characters on WWE TV. She was at her irritating best getting involved in this match, and who didn't get a kick out of seeing Batista send her flying? This was a fun finish that helped further Edge's role as the ultimate opportunist, and make Batista the sympathetic babyface as he comes to Raw. Batista also deserves a lot of credit for having come a long way in the ring over the last year.

WWE Champion Triple H defeated John Cena: I don't dispute that Cena and Triple H are two of WWE's biggest stars, but after having seen them interact so much in recent months, I wasn't too excited about this match. But they definitely won me over with what felt like a truly epic showdown between two modern wrestling greats. The final minutes of this match were as good as anything I've seen in a WWE main event since Kurt Angle left the company - innovative reversals, dramatic nearfalls, amazing feats of strength, and a decisive, satisfying finish. This was one of the best matches I've seen all year.

It's amazing how much difference a week can make. Coming off last week's historic draft and last night's pay per view, the same WWE that just days ago seemed as stale and flat as I could remember now seems re-energized and filled with possibilities. This should be a fun summer for wrestling fans.

Six days removed from the 2008 WWE Draft Lottery (which is neither a draft, nor a lottery -- discuss) is the second-annual Night of Champions Pay-Per-View, the first of which was more memorable for what happened in a house down in Atlanta while the show was going on than it was for anything that happened at the actual show.

This year's show actually has some potential to build on the draft and set up some interesting stories for the coming year. Here's my thoughts and predictions.

Did I say Destrucity? I meant Metamucil ... thanks to a friend from pulsewrestling.com for sending this along ...

... that Saturday was TEN YEARS since THIS happened:

From KHOU-TV in Houston. Wow. It sounds serious:

WWE chairman hurt in freak accident

WWE stars were scheduled to be on hand at the Toyota Center before filming SmackDown and ECW at the arena.

So D.H. Smith moves to SmackDown, the same place where his cousin Natalya is, potentially setting up a longterm storyline with next-generationers. Though Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase Jr. remain on Raw (for now), this makes me four-for-four with my draft predictions from earlier in the week.

But don't give me any of the credit. Actually, give the credit to WWE.

Because my predictions were just based on common sense, on what would be the most logical thing to do booking-wise.

And they actually did it. So kudos to them for the longterm foresight.

(And here's hoping that they do some kind of storyline with Triple H and Edge where Triple H is outraged that the only reason Edge is the champion is because his romantic interest is the boss. Remember, Vince -- reality sells!)

That being said, let's look at the rest of the moves in this afternoon's under-the-radar supplemental draft.

First, let me do some self-back patting. In case you missed it, I went five for six with my draft predictions yesterday. Not bad, if I do say so myself.

WWE praise may be scarce these days, but I have to give it to the powers that be over in Titanland for what may have been the biggest and best WWE drafts to date last night. Not only was every move newsworthy, but every one made a lot of sense and worked toward what should be WWE's single most important goal these days - freshening up an incredibly stale product.

I didn't even have a problem with the most controversial move of the night - Jim Ross leaving Raw.

Let's go over all the changes, in what I consider to be their order of importance.

Steel Cage fans will enjoy this blog about last night's WWE Draft from the Baltimore Sun's Kevin Eck:

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/wrestling/blog/2008/06/its_deja_vu_for_vince_mcmahon_at_wwe_draft.html

So a really bad stomach bug kept me out of work today, which served the purpose of actually allowing me to see Raw for the first time in a while.

After three hours of the 2008 Draft Lottery, my stomach's not feeling any better.

Some thoughts:

WWE hasn't given us many details of tonight's WWE draft, but if it's anything like last year, we'll probably see every brand lose about five wrestlers, and pick up about five. As well, I imagine there will also be a supplemental draft handled on WWE.com to move around some of the midcard talent.

With that in mind, here are some quick predictions on who's going where. Obviously, these are far from complete, and don't take into account what poor shlubs will be sent over to ECW.

The draft is one of the more fun nights of the year on Raw, as it (along with the Royal Rumble match) is one of WWE's few events where it seems like anything can happen.

While the draft has lost much of its oomph in recent years with the increase in cross-branded Pay-Per-Views and TVs, it'll still be interesting to see what happens tonight.

That being said, here's a few quick thoughts as to what might go down, and then I'd like to hear yours.

I get asked pretty frequently: Does WWE pay attention to the news, rumors, gossip and feedback on the Internet?

It's a simple, to-the-point answer: You bet your butt they do.

I know because for years, it was my job to compile it.

I trekked into Greenwich Village last week to catch Chris Bell’s documentary “Bigger, Stronger Faster,” which explores anabolic steroids and their role in American culture. While not exclusively dealing with pro wrestling, the business was a major part of the movie.

Although it ran a bit long for my tastes, I enjoyed the film, and came away from it with a few new insights into one of the biggest debates facing not only wrestling but all pro sports.

The movie deals with Bell’s own moral struggle of whether or not he should follow the same path his two older brothers did and use steroids. Like so many American kids who grew up in the 80s, the Bell brothers idolized Hulk Hogan, and home video footage shows them imitating the Hulkster and other wrestling heroes in the basement of their Poughkeepsie, NY home.

One of WWE 24/7's offerings this month is last year's Vengeance, an otherwise forgettable show except for the fact that it's the show that Chris Benoit missed for "personal reasons" the weekend of the murder-suicide.

I watched the chapter with the ECW Title match last night (which Benoit was to have competed against C.M. Punk in -- and by all reports, was to have triumphed in).

It was a very weird experience. I hadn't seen the show before, so I don't know how much was edited out, but there are long stretches where there's just no audio, where I assume the announcers were mentioning Benoit in some form. The look on both Punk's face and substitute opponent Johnny Nitro's face seem to include a little confusion as well.

In some unfortunate show planning, the chapter on 24/7 with the ECW Title match actually opens with a recap of Vince McMahon's limousine blowing up and that whole angle, which when it happened I thought was just an awesome idea for a storyline, for the record (no sarcasm intended -- I thought it was great).

Then, I put on the "shorty" where Mikey Whipwreck won the ECW Title from the Sandman. The pre-match hoopla (which could have been edited out, but wasn't) featured Steve Austin (complete with long blond hair and bandana) verbally abusing Nancy Sullivan to the Nth degree.

So have we started weaning ourselves back onto the Benoits, a year after the tragedy? The Vengeance thing is more a "historical context" Benoit moment than an in-ring one, but was still very odd to watch, knowing what was happening in Atlanta at the same time.

Their personal lives aside, Chris and Nancy's contributions to the wrestling product of the past 20 years in incredible. To forever edit them out of history would not only be nearly impossible, but would also be wrong on a lot of levels. Perhaps my being uncomfortable watching these few moments on WWE 24-7 is just a transition process. Or maybe it's my way of saying that I won't be able to enjoy Nancy and Chris as entertainers anymore.

I don't know how I feel about it. What do you guys think? A year later, with some time to think about everything, should we still be forgetting about Chris and Nancy, the performers?

John Cena comparing his current rivalry with Triple H to that of two years ago:
"Not a damn thing has changed!"
So sad, but true, John.

Mr. McMahon Freudian Slipping while trying to convey the "suspense" of a calling his next prize winner.
"Suspension!"
Lots of those going round these days, huh Vince?

First off, I have to apologize for the infrequent posts as of late. I’ve been quite busy, as evidenced in pages A6 and A7 of your Newsday.

This may be a bit late, but I wanted to ring in about what I thought was the most intriguing moment of last Monday’s Raw. Even more intriguing – none of us saw it on television.

I’m speaking about the 12-minute dark match that took place before the show went on the air. In one corner was Lance Cade – the five-year WWE veteran who seemed poised to get a decent push as a mid-card heel after breaking up with his tag team partner Trevor Murdoch.

In the other corner was a pale, plain, light heavyweight – likely unrecognizable to the majority of the fans. Yet somehow, this relative unknown made Cade tap out.

The mystery man’s name – Bryan Danielson.

So I return to my desk today after enjoying a nice outdoor lunch, and what do I find waiting for me?

A WWE "pimp cup," among other things.

Apparently, to promote "McMahon's Million Dollar Mania," which I have spent much of the last week bashing as a terrible, desperate idea, WWE sent Newsday a lovely money-themed gift basket. I don't believe the basket was addressed directly to me, but as the paper's resident wrestling writer, it was courteously redirected my way by my Newsday colleagues.

Here's a quick inventory of the basket's contents:
. Three T-shirts bearing Vince McMahon's head on a dollar bill.
. Assorted currency-themed candies, including gold chocolate coins, 100 Grand chocolate bars, gummy candies with "$" on them, Gold Diggers gum, and, of course, fortune cookies.
. Three more cookies in the shape of the letters, "W," "W," and "E."
. The aforementioned glass pimp cup with "WWE" in sparkling rhinestones.
. A postcard telling me that Vince McMahon - "The man who pioneered an industry, took on Ted Turner and spun Trump's hair into pay per view gold" will receive a lifetime achievment award from some marketing company on June 19.
. And, last but not least, $4.94 in cash (a $1 bill and assorted loose change that took forever to shake out of the basket and count.)

The contents were neatly nestled in more shredded currency, as pictured in the photo to the right, taken on a cell phone camera.

I guess the point of the basket, which I imagine was sent to various news outlets, was to win over the media in promoting the contest, which was intended to boost ratings for Raw, but drew a dismal 3.0 Monday night.

So let it be said: I'm sold! I mean, I thought this idea stunk before, but now it's looking a whole lot better. Why, who needs fresh match ups, young superstars being elevated, and longer matches? WWE knows what fans want: A sweepstakes!

Of course, I jest. Speaking on behalf of Newsday, I sincerely appreciate the basket, WWE friends. Speaking on behalf of WWE fans, this idea still stinks. The sooner you make it go away and focus your time, efforts and money on your actual product, the sooner the mainstream press will catch on that WWE is worth checking out.

Having learned in my journalism 101 class not accept cash gifts from sources, I have already written a $5 check to WWE with a courteous, "Thanks anyway" in the memo field. As well I have distributed the candy throughout the newsroom.

I am, however, keeping the pimp cup.

Wow, that was a disaster.

As bad an idea as I thought the whole $1 million giveaway was, I went into tonight's show with an open mind, thinking that, while this certainly could not be the answer to WWE's slipping ratings, maybe it could be an entertaining diversion.

But this wasn't harmless entertainment. It was a clumsy, awkward, boring, time consuming, colossal flop that was poorly conceived and even more poorly executed.

So, no, I didn't like it.

I didn't sit down with a stop watch, but I imagine all those terrible skits must have eaten up at least a half hour of the show. You can't tell me that those 30 minutes couldn't have been spent better trying to get over WWE's actual product. After weeks of build up, the Mr. Kennedy - Paul Burchill "feud" culminated in a 3 minute match. Eliminate just one of McMahon's awful segments, and that match could have meant so much more.

And ending Raw with another boring giveaway in the over run was just idiotic. The reality is that even if as many as 20 percent of Raw' viewers registered for the giveaway (and I'm sure it wasn't that much), then there was no reason for 80 percent of its viewers to watch the final segment.

WWE's defenders said the giveaway would just be a tool to lure in fans and then wallop them with sports entertainment as only WWE could deliver. But this Raw was no different than most I've seen in the last several months - but for McMahon's phone dialing troubles.

Unfortunately, McMahon would sooner sacrifice quality programming than admit he was wrong (See Mike Adamle) so I fear that we are in for this garbage for several more weeks.

Someone passed along a question about just how much was known about Eric Bischoff's WWE debut in July 2002.

WWE.com's preview of July's WWE 24/7 programming schedule says that the "shorties" feature for July will feature War Games matches.

I am SO there.

I remember watching War Games on Pay-Per-View in 1992 when Sting's Squadron took on the Dangerous Alliance, and to this day, it's one of my favorite matches, ever.

I think I've told the story about why WWE doesn't do War Games anymore -- sensitivies with the actual war going on in Iraq led to the formation of the Elimination Chamber match.

WWE 24/7 continues to be absolutely awesome.

So I caught WWE AM RAW late last night (yup, I'm the guy that watches that show), and saw Vince's claim that those who don't watch Raw are elitists who thumb their noses at wrestling fans.

Ya gotta love them going for the most simplistic, backwards explanations to try to net some cheap heat from the live crowd.

Vince, here's some real reasons why a lot of people don't watch your shows:

I’m sure Seth could shed much more light on this subject than I could, but reading all about Hulk Hogan’s embarrassing behavior as of late, and checking out this interview with Jeff Jarrett on Between the Ropes, I got to thinking about wrestling’s nice people, and wrestling’s jerks.

I’ve defended Hulk Hogan on occasion over the years as he’s received often-justifiable bashings from his critics, but if ever I had a doubt about the Hulkster’s true make up, it’s been erased over the last several weeks as his dirty laundry has been out there for all to see.

Listening to the taped jailhouse conversations between Hogan and his son Nick in which both badmouthed John Graziano - Nick’s teenage passenger who remains in a comatose state after Nick was involved in a high-speed crash - was sickening. If that wasn’t enough, in the same conversation the two Hogans brainstormed ideas for a reality show based on Nick trying to better himself after being released from prison. Way to have your priorities straight, brother.

On the other end of the spectrum are wrestling’s true “good guys.” Over the years, I’ve interviewed a number of pro wrestlers, and while I’m sure it’s impossible to get a true sense of a person just by a few brief conversations, I do feel like I’ve gotten glimpses at what lies underneath the characters we see on TV.

And, it may sound odd, but I can honestly say that the most genuine wrestler I’ve ever had the opportunity to speak with was Jeff Jarrett.

-- This whole million-dollar giveaway thing has been the proverbial fart in church so far. If Vince really has extra money sitting around and wants to better his product, why not invest in health care, vacation time, or whatnot for his wrestlers? He could even make a Pay-Per-View out of it -- a Dental Insurance on a pole match, Cage match where the first guy who escapes gets a week off, a jobber battle royal where the winner gets his rental car comped. Seems silly for all this extra money -- earned off the backs of wrestlers breaking themselves physically and mentally -- to go to a couple of random fans, rather than to the people who need and deserve it most.

-- Don't know about you, but I can't WAIT for the "Undertaker returns" build-up a few months from now. I can only hope his return is as exciting as his return at SummerSlam 1994. Or Survivor Series 1996. Or Judgment Day 2000. Or Royal Rumble 2003. Or WrestleMania XX. I'm probably forgetting a few dozen.

-- Isn't it amazing how, with Michael Hayes' suspension set to end any day now, that "sources" are burying Brian Gewirtz online? I'm just saying ...

I've done a bit of comparing here over the last few days between WWE and Ring of Honor. It got me thinking about this little treasure that I came across on Youtube some time ago. Some of you may have already seen this.

If there is such a thing as an interpromotional dream match between ROH and WWE, this might be it: WWE's top star, John Cena, taking on ROH's top star, "The American Dragon" Bryan Danielson. And it actually happened five years ago, when Danielson was still a relative newcomer to ROH and occasionally appeared as a WWE jobber, and Cena was only beginning to discover the character that would make him wrestling's biggest attraction.

I admit, it doesn't quite mean what Flair vs. Hogan would have in the mid 1980s, but it's a neat little web gem nonetheless. Enjoy.

Some might look at all the debate back and forth on the merits of Vince McMahon’s $1 million giveaway as proof that the idea is working as designed. It’s creating a buzz, and that buzz could translate to extra viewers.

I doubt it. I think it’s fair that the overwhelming reaction by fans to the sweepstakes has been negative – as evidenced by the audible boos McMahon received when he offered details of the contest on Monday night.

Just a few weeks ago, the Internet was similarly buzzing over what a terrible job Mike Adamle did in his first week as ECW’s lead play by play man. WWE turned it into an angle and the result was… lower ratings.

Now, I don’t think the giveaway will hurt WWE ratings, and in fact I could see a small jump in the first week or two of the contest. But it’s clearly not the answer to WWE’s sinking ratings. So what is?

On Raw last night, and at a press conference this afternoon, we got some more details of Vince McMahon's much-ballyhooed $1 million giveaway. And, despite the hopes from some WWE loyalists that there would be a lot more to it than originally appeared, there really isn't. This is not an angle designed to get over an up and coming wrestler, nor evolve into a hot storyline - It is, quite simply, a sweepstakes.

I understand the argument that the giveaway should not be judged solely on its own entertainment value, but rather as a tool to draw in new viewers and win them over with a quality wrestling product. But since when do wrestling promoters turn around business during a slow period by buying off fans?

WCW Nitro became the number one show on television not buy giving away a million bucks, but by reinventing Monday night wrestling through marquee match-ups and big ideas like the nWo and cruiserweight wrestling, and hot new stars, like Goldberg.

WWE had its hottest business period ever not by giving fans a secret code on a web site each week, but through fresh new acts like Steve Austin and the Rock, and by redefining the product during the "Attitude" era.

Historically, it's been new faces and innovative concepts that have sparked boon periods and made wrestling must-see viewing. While I agree that WWE, for the most part, provides a consistently adequate product, it's hardly groundbreaking these days. It's almost laughable that McMahon would seem baffled as to why viewers are leaving at the very same time that he just headlined four straight pay per views with Triple H vs. Randy Orton and Edge vs. The Undertaker - not to mention that two of those four men have been featured in the main event picture for at least a decade.

To be honest, there was something rather sad and pathetic about McMahon going out on the stage last night and essentially admitting that he would pay people out of his own pocket to watch Raw. Whatever happened to the guy who revolutionized the wrestling world in the mid-80s and again in the mid 90s? That McMahon wouldn't have won fans over with a box of cash. He would have won them over by pushing the next big star or by completely overhauling his operation.

What's more, it simply won't work. WWE actually has put on some fantastic shows, compelling angles, historic matches, and created megastars over the last several years without seeing the ratings budge. So, while I could see a very short term bump, I can't imagine that a desperate prize giveaway is going to be the panacea WWE has been hoping for.

To you WWE loyalists who thought we should all give the company the benefit of the doubt before blasting Vince McMahon's $1 million giveway as a lame and desperate ratings ploy: Are you still so confident that this won't totally stink?

This from the AP:

Wrestling fans eager to get their hands on Vince McMahon's money will have to jump through a few hoops first.

The World Wrestling Entertainment chairman announced during last week's "Monday Night Raw" that he would give away $1 million of his own wealth to viewers, but he didn't specify when or how it would be distributed.

The cash will be given away as part of a lengthy promotional sweepstakes, McMahon and the WWE told The Associated Press.

For a chance to win a part but not all of the $1 million, viewers must pre-register on WWE.com and then watch the beginning of "Raw" each week to receive a special code, which viewers must tell McMahon if he calls them during the live broadcast.

The code will change each week of the promotion and will not be revealed until the beginning of each episode.

"People can view this as my own version of an economic stimulus plan to benefit our viewers," McMahon told The Associated Press.

While the USA Network series continues to be one of the most watched shows on cable TV, its ratings have recently declined. Last Monday's episode received the lowest ratings in five years, according to Nielsen Media Research.

McMahon said his goal with the giveaway, which begins June 9, is to reward loyal "Raw" fans and draw new and former viewers back to the show.

I wrote here last Friday that I expected that the weekend's best pay per view would come from Ring of Honor, and not WWE. So was I right? I guess it depends on your tastes.

I'll say this much - neither company came through with an A+ effort, but if you bought either show, you probably don't feel like you got robbed.

I know WWE has gone out of their way this year not to promote One Night Stand as an ECW show, but given the emphasis on extreme matches and given the show's history, the fact that ECW Champion Kane isn't in a match is a little ludicrous to me.

And the fact that WWE seems to think that the ECW brand and fans are just interested in crazy match stipulations and violence alone shows exactly why their version of the ECW brand has failed so spectacularly.

And shows like this do nothing but raise the violence bar to such unsafe and career-shortening levels that ultimately, the guys who take part in this "fake violence" drop dead at 40 because their bodies just can't handle the years of physical and chemical abuse.

But that's a rant for another time. For now, on with the predictions!

Been out of town for the past week; time to get back to posting!

Coming up this week: Answering your questions, thoughts on the Bret Hart book and both upcoming Benoit books, PPV predictions, and more.

For now, if you're interested, you can check out my appearance this past week on WrestleCrap radio ...