The Steel Cage

This promises to be a big weekend for the country's number three promotion, Ring of Honor. If you've heard all the buzz about ROH's stellar wrestling quality but still haven't sampled the product, you'll have plenty of opportunity this weekend, both on television and in person.

Tonight, ROH's latest pay per view, Respect Is Earned II, premieres on IN DEMAND at 10 p.m. and midnight. There will be other replays throughout the weekend, and Dish will make the show available starting Sunday.

As is usually the case with ROH pay per views, I've heard nothing but good things about the show, which is headlined by Bryan Danielson & Austin Aries taking on Tyler Black and Jimmy Jacobs for the ROH tag team championship and Nigel McGuinness defending the ROH heavyweight title against Go Shiozaki.

Then on Saturday night, ROH returns to the Hammerstein Ballroom for "Death Before Dishonor VI." The main event features four of ROH's very top talents as McGuinness puts the title up in an elimination match that includes Danielson, Black and Claudio Castignoli. If you've never seen ROH live, this is a great place to start as the Hammerstein offers an incredible, major league feel and, undoubtedly, a red hot crowd. Get more information at ROH's official website.

At the center of both this weekend's pay per view and live card is McGuinness, who has held ROH's top title for nearly ten months, and over that time has had matches against the likes of Danielson, Black and Castignoli that have all been worthy of match of the year consideration. Besides that, McGuinness - who a year ago was a popular and sympathetic babyface, has transformed into one of wrestling's hottest heels.

In this extensive interview, conducted earlier this week, Nigel talks about his transformation, as well as ROH's prospects for a television deal, C.M. Punk's world heavyweight title win, and Nigel's thoughts on joining WWE someday.

AC: Last time we spoke, you were just weeks into your reign as the ROH heavyweight champion. Now you’ve held the title for nearly ten months. What’s the last year been like for you?

NM: It’s picked up. When you talked to me I had a torn biceps, so I didn’t even know if I was going to be champion for another month, let alone for another nine months. But luckily, Ring of Honor was very supportive of me taking the time off for the torn biceps. And then, of course, in December I got a concussion in my first match back with (Austin) Aries. And they luckily gave me the night off for that as well the next night. So they were very understanding. Unfortunately, the fans, at least some of the fans weren’t so understanding and actually were very disrespectful in the way they took me having to take the day off that night. So consequently, I've become somewhat of a “heel” - for the lack of a better phrase - since then. I guess I’ve grown leaps and bounds in terms of being a champion, as well. In a way, having that sort of reaction has spurred me to prove that I am a worthy champion.

Continue reading "Interview with ROH Champion Nigel McGuinness" »

This from Business Wire. A lot of people will have some fun with this story, but it's a harmless enough grab for some publicity. At least they're not putting the world title on Prinze, ala Vince Russo. While Prinze's star may have faded a bit in recent years, he certainly has been involved in enough high-level Hollywood productions to be able to contribute something to WWE. I'd rather WWE go the route of hiring a legitimate player in the showbiz industry, like Prinze, than one of the many Hollywood wannabes that have been brought on board over the years. Either way, I can't imagine Prinze is actually going to be sitting at creative meetings or anything like that.

Who knows? Putting his "Scooby Doo" background to use, perhaps Prinze's first idea will be to have Mike Adamle remove his mask to unveil a competent television performer. "I could have continued doing play-by-play on ECW if it wasn't for you meddling kids!"

Freddie Prinze, Jr., a long-time fan of World Wrestling Entertainment®, joins WWE®'s creative team. Prinze, Jr. will now have a behind the scenes role contributing to WWE's weekly television and pay-per-view programs.

"Freddie Prinze, Jr.'s passion, energy and creativity make him an excellent fit for WWE," said Chairman Vince McMahon.

"Bringing on board an experienced Hollywood writer, actor and producer like Freddie Prinze, Jr. will only increase the level of entertainment to millions of viewers and passionate WWE fans every Monday on USA," said Chris McCumber, Executive Vice President Marketing Digital & Brand Strategy, USA Network.

Before Monday Night Raw or monthly pay per views were even a spark in the imagination of Vince McMahon, I’ve been attending WWE events, usually with my friends or family members. But since the birth of weekly television, TitanTrons, and jarring pyrotechnics, it’s become harder and harder for me to find someone to accompany me to a good old fashion house show on the rare occasions that one comes to town.

“You know nothing is going to happen if there are no television cameras there,” is usually the response I hear. They couldn’t be more wrong. As I was reminded this past Sunday when I attended a Smackdown live event at the Westchester County Center, something pretty amazing happens every week at house shows — something almost magical. Fans are transported back in time.

Continue reading "The Forgotten Magic of The House Show" »

This should be a busy week here in the Steel Cage. Here's a preview of some what I hope to get to this week:

. An exclusive interview with Paul Heyman, in which he discusses the differences of Long Island fans and other wrestling fans, the night Brock Lesnar won the WWE title, the night he lashed out on unruly Nassau Coliseum fans, and more.

. A preview of this weekend's Ring of Honor pay per view, and the major ROH house show taking place this Saturday at the Hammerstein Ballroom in NYC.

. An exclusive interview with ROH champion Nigel McGuinness.

. A column taking a look at the WWE house show experience, stemming from my trip to White Plains last Sunday for a Smackdown live event.

. The conclusion of my ranking of 20 years of SummerSlam.

. Possibly, a column on the history of Saturday Night's Main Event.

Here's the second, and last (I promise), part of my recent interview ith the Ultimate Warrior. You can read the first part here.

In this part, the Warrior discusses getting into "ring shape" for his return, and rumors of him getting involved with TNA or being part of WrestleMania:

Warrior on training for his return alongside RVD:“That was one part of the deal too that was workable, too - the timing of it. I had three months to get ready. So in my head, I know what my self discipline is. I know what I continue to do. Of course, I’ve taken some long hiatuses in the past. The longest one was from 1992 to 1996. I didn’t get back in the ring and get any training before then. I knew I definitely needed to do that this time.

Continue reading "Ultimate Warrior Interview, Part 2" »

. I'm willing to give the Mike Adamle storyline a little time to play out, but there's no question that the announcement at the end of Raw that the embattled play-by-play man was taking over GM duties on the brand was a colossal dud. Some might argue that WWE WANTED fans to be upset with the decision, as they clearly chose Adamle because of the controversy he brings with him. But the reaction the announcement received was not the vehement, impassioned "booing" that WWE might have hoped for. Rather it was a mixture of eye-rolling, dead silence, and the kind of boos that communicate disappointment, not heat.

. The bombshell was especially poorly timed to coincide with what should have been a blockbuster announcement of the booking of one of the few first time "dream matches" left in WWE - John Cena vs. Batista. Cena was right when he said that the match could headline WrestleMania - and I expected it would. But I don't have a problem with it being booked for what is traditionally the second biggest show of the year. Unfortunately, with only a few weeks to build it up and with no title at stake, their contest will probably a midcard attraction instead of the showcase match it should be. Again, it was too bad that they decided to make the Adamle announcement at the same time as they announced the match, because fans were sitting on their hands for what should have been an epic moment.

. It was bittersweet seeing William Regal return to Raw. On one hand, I'm glad he's back, and instantly adds another layer of depth to WWE's heel roster. On the other hand, with Adamle getting Regal's old GM job, and Regal doing a relatively short, clean, job in the midcard to C.M. Punk, it's apparent that he will not be returning to the mega-push that he was receiving before he was suspended for 60 days for a wellness policy violation. While it may be frustrating for some fans to see Regal "get the shaft," the reality is that we don't know what WWE officials know about Regal's health and dependability. We can only hope that Regal stays on the straight and narrow and eventually returns to the top of the cards. He's certainly not getting any younger.

. With Adamle becoming GM, Michael Cole being put on the DL, Ross revisiting the Raw announce team, and Todd Grisham making a special appearance, it appears we may be in for yet another shift involving WWE announcers. I'd like to see WWE give the Cole-Raw experiment a little more time to play out. After more than ten years with the company, Cole deserves at least that much. I'm happy to get Adamle away from an announce table, although I'm not sure if the trade off of having him as Raw's GM is worth it. I'm also all for getting Grisham into the mix, as I've long thought he was one of WWE's more capable D-string announcers, and certainly worlds better than Adamle. Of course, Joey Styles is still on the payroll, but bringing him back to ECW would require Vince McMahon to eat some crow.

. SummerSlam is shaping up to be just an OK show, driven not by its world title matches, but two non-title grudge matches: Edge vs. Taker in Hell in a Cell, and Batista vs. Cena. The Smackdown title match between Triple H and Khali had many of us thinking, “There has to be some kind of swerve between now and the PPV, because this can’t possibly be the Smackdown main event.” But, alas, it is. I guess with Edge busy with Taker, there is something of a shortage of challengers for Triple H, but I would have much rather seen Big Show get a shot at the title, or even somebody like MVP or Mr. Kennedy get elevated into the slot. On the Raw side, it looks like we’re in for either a Triple Threat match for the world heavyweight title involving Punk, Kane and JBL or a Fatal Four Way with Chris Jericho added. Either combination should allow Punk to get a much-needed clean win in a big match.

In honor of 20 years of SummerSlam, I started to put together a ranking of sorts of all the events, dating back to the MegaPowers vs. The MegaBucks in 1988. I tried to organize them into a few different categories: Bad, OK, Good and Great.

I discovered something interesting. I ended up putting most of the SummerSlams in the good or fair category. The last five years of the event have been especially good.

Indeed, WWE has a pretty good track record for delivering on what is traditionally the second biggest show of the year. Hopefully that will remain the case with the 21st installment next month - although, if you've heard about Smackdown's WWE title match, that may seem doubtful.

Most of the past SummerSlams have had at least one strong match that remains memorable today, as well as those "moments" that can give a show a historical gravitas.

So this is the first part of my attempt to rank all the SummerSlams ever. I'll be back soon with my top ten.

20. SummerSlam 99: This event took place at the peak of the "Attitude Era" and was highlighted by recently elected Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura refereeing the main event of Triple H vs. Steve Austin vs. Mankind. As odd as it may sound now, back then Triple H was the Internet wrestling community's darling, who many fans felt was being unfairly held back by Austin. In fact, most fans were hoping this match would be a one-on-one between HHH and Austin, but Foley was added, and ended up winning the thing. This whole event showcased Vince Russo at his worst, and had very little substance.

Continue reading "Ranking 20 Years of SummerSlam: 20-11" »

I had the opportunity to briefly sit down with the Ultimate Warrior this past Sunday and talk to him about his recent return match with the European promotion New Wrestling Evolution, as well as his fitness regimen, and his thoughts on returning to WWE or TNA.

Here's is the first half of our short interview, along with some photos from the NWE match last month. You can also see video highlights of our conversation here.

I'll be back tomorrow with the second installment.

Warrior on how his first match in ten years with the NWE came about:

"It was just the timing of things. I've been doing a lot of different things in my life entrepreneurly. I have a family, a couple of young children - a couple of beautiful young girls. I've been living in New Mexico keeping myself busy doing a bunch of other stuff other than wrestling. This company had contacted me a couple of years ago and told me some of their ideas they had about what they wanted to do. Actually they’re a media company and they wanted to do wrestling as part of what they do. They’re a huge print publisher of magazines and stuff and I guess they started printing and publishing their own wrestling magazine and it became very popular.

The producer, Roberto Indiano, actually worked with WWE a few years ago and then he left there and wanted to stay there in Italy. They’ve been doing shows there for the last three or four years. When they contacted me a few years ago, it just didn’t work out. They didn’t have their act together. They basically just presented me their ideas of what they wanted to do. And then they called me a few months ago and said they were ready to reach out and develop television programming. They wanted to get attention and they wanted to see if there was a chance we could work something out for me to make a ring return.

Continue reading "Ultimate Warrior Interview, Part 1" »

Victory Pro Wrestling debuts in Deer Park this Saturday, July 26, with a special fund raiser for the Deer Park Community Center, where the event is being held.

Doors open 6:30pm with an approximate 7:00pm bell time. Advance tickets are available at the center, at 41 Homer Avenue. For more information, email info@victoryprowrestling.com, call 631-667-6665 or visit VPW's official web site.

For more info on the card, click here to read VPW's press release on the event.

Continue reading "Victory Pro Wrestling On LI Saturday" »

There are some reports circulating throughout the Internet that WWE is changing all its ratings for its television programs to TV-PG from the previous TV-14 to help attract a younger demo.

Indeed, that change appears to be effective immediately, as WWE posted the following on WWEParents.com:

All WWE television programs are rated PG in recognition of the growing appeal of our programs to all ages and as intergenerational family viewing. If parents make the decision to allow their children to watch our programming, we encourage those parents to watch with their children. We urge parents who allow younger children to watch our programming to explain that what our Superstars do on television should not be emulated or attempted in real life.

I, for one, say kudos. While I am far from a prude, I think WWE only stands to gain by toning down some of its content to appeal to a broader fan base. Really, what do we stand to lose? Fifth grade toilet humor? Our umpteenth Diva thong contest? Over the top violence, such as setting a car on fire with a wrestler inside?

The only thing I would potentially miss - and I'm not sure if it would be affected by the change - would be the occasional bloodletting in matches. Some wrestling promotions have relied too heavily on blading over the years, but there's no question that, when done right and reserved for special occasions, some juicing can go a long way toward telling an intensely dramatic story in a match. Just watch the Chris Jericho - Shawn Michaels match from last Sunday from proof.

When I was watching the WWF as a kid, it was a very child-oriented product - complete with a Saturday morning cartoon. Obviously, that was going a bit too far in one direction, but as an expectant father, I certainly want to be able to watch wrestling with my kid and not have to question if I'm being a lousy parent by doing so.

There's a middleground between overly cartoonish kid stuff and smut, and I hope WWE is moving in that direction. Stars like Rey Mysterio, John Cena and the Undertaker are perfect examples of characters that can appeal to all ages.

Another option that I would like to see WWE make better use of is a separate WWE kids show, perhaps airing on a Saturday morning, that recaps the week's programming in a cleaned-up, family-friendly fashion, and also offers features that would appeal to children. With WWE recently creating a separate WWE Magazine for kids, this idea may not be far behind.

In fact, the little-watched "A.M. Raw" was originally intended as just such a program, but it was moved to the ridiculous 2 a.m. Saturday night slot. Even I'm not up that late on most nights.

As for encouraging children not to "try this at home" - Good luck. I would venture to guess that just about every male wrestling fan over the age of 6 with a brother, a bed mattress - or at least a carpeted floor - occasionally plays make-believe Monday Night Raw at home.

I can still remember the day when I upset my big brother for the Rosedale Wrestling Federation Heavyweight Championship in my parents' basement.