The Steel Cage

A happy belated Thanksgiving to all. I hope everyone enjoyed the holiday weekend with good food, good company, and good wrestling. I chose to view Survivor Series 1994 as I tidied up the dining room. I still get a kick out of the Bret Hart-Bob Backlund submission match. Owen was such a great heel.

Some thoughts on recent news items:

. I was surprised to hear that longtime Vince McMahon "yes man," Bruce Prichard, got the axe – but, then, maybe I shouldn’t be. If I’ve learned anything from my years following WWE, it’s that – no matter how much blood, sweat, tears and years you put into WWE – McMahon’s loyalty only goes so far. Anyone remember WWE senior referee Earl Hebner? I interviewed Earl soon after his firing, and there was definitely another side to the argument that cost him his job. But even if he was in the wrong, I was surprised that he’d be rather unceremoniously dumped after 20 years of service. A few years back, I came pretty close to landing a job at WWE – making it past a few rounds of interviews at Titan Tower, meeting Shane and Vince, before they decided to go a different direction. I was, of course, bummed – especially since I really hit it off with the head of the department for which I was interviewing. He had been there for some ten years. About a month after I was rejected, that guy was fired. It really opened my eyes to how fickle WWE could be, and made me appreciate the bullet I dodged by not going to work there. I’d probably be unemployed right now.

. I was excited to hear about the return of the Fan Axxess events leading up to WrestleMania 25 in Houston. For several years, WWE held these events at convention halls or sports complexes for 2 to 3 days before the big show, and they were an absolute blast. Autograph signings, memorabilia, live matches – They were a WWE fan’s dream. Then in the last several years they’ve replaced the events with “Fan Axxess Tours,” where they’d run stripped down version of the shows at various malls in the weeks leading up to WrestleMania, with some D-list superstars making appearances. They’re smart to bring back the original versions, especially considering the revenue possibilities. They used to sell tickets to the events for something like $40 and have up to three sessions a day. And they’d all get packed.

. Some Raw thoughts: Chris Jericho is just so great. I’m not always a fan of seeing the exact same match with the same stipulations headline two pay per views in a row, but since we didn’t get to have any interplay between Jericho and John Cena in the weeks leading up to Survivor Series, I don’t mind a second helping now. Jericho’s promo that kicked off the show once again showed why he is one of WWE smartest performers. It was so much deeper than what we usually get.

. It was actually a heck of a night for heel promos, as JBL also came up with a gem in his segment with Shawn Michaels. I am just so impressed by JBL’s mic skills, in part because they are so natural. As great as Jericho is, you can tell that there’s a lot of memorizing that goes into them. JBl seems to be flying off the cuff at any given moment, and always delivers. That said, Michaels’ Bambi eyes were a bit much.

. Mike Knox looks huge – and not in a “I’ve been taking my special vitamins” sort of way. It may just be the long hair and scraggly beard, but he’s starting to look like a money monster heel.

. I’m sick of Stephanie McMahon already. She’s got that smarmy, smug Eric Bischoff go-away heat, in part because, like Bischoff, you can tell she’s just so proud of herself. Bring back Shane, or better, leave the McMahons off TV all together.

. I can’t believe WWE would build up Dolph Zeigler for so long to debut him in a squash match against Batista. That’s not to say I’m sold on the character anyway. We get it: He likes to introduce himself. Where exactly do you go with that? For one, it’s a bit too much like Mr. Kennedy. I’m amazed by the lack of creativity in the creation of WWE characters these days.

. I hate when the members of a tag team – especially tag team champions – have separate ring introductions, like C.M. Punk and Kofi Kingston do. How are we supposed to take them seriously as some kind of unified force if they can’t even bother to walk to the ring together? I can just see Kofi and Punk in the back now: “No, we’ll use my entrance music.” “No, mine! I’ve got pyro!” “Ah, screw it. Let’s just go out there separately.” How silly.

. Speaking of tag teams, I’m amazed by how much “Priceless” has cooled off since the red-hot debut of Cody Rhodes and Ted Dibiase as a pair a few months back. One part of the problem is that Manu is a sorry replacement for Dibiase, who had the talent, the look and the charisma to be a star. I’ve seen none of those attributes in Manu so far, and he’s really weighing down his team (almost literally.)

. A rare Smackdown note: I really enjoyed how the Beat the Clock series at last week’s show played out. The concept is one that I’ve always enjoyed, and WWE came up with a very creative and intriguing pay off – Jeff Hardy and Triple H winning their respective matches in the exact same time. That’s good storytelling – reminiscent of Hulk Hogan and Paul Orndorf dropping off the side of the cage and having their feet touch the ringside floor simultaneously 22 years ago. Can you believe it’s been that long?

. I also got a kick out of The Miz & John Morrison’s bell-ringing routine with Festus. I’m usually not big on too much comedy in my wrestling, but there were some really funny, incredibly silly moments there. Overall, the Miz and Morrison have become one of WWE’s hottest acts. I hope they get another run with the tag titles, and a nice long reign filled with meaningful feuds and pay per view matches.