Sometimes it makes you wonder if the WWE has any clue whatsoever to promoting sports entertainment in today’s marketplace — especially one with essentially no competition but themselves. Really. How else can anyone explain the curious booking of the returning Big Show matching up against boxing great Floyd Mayweather Jr.? 

Big Show — bloodied here, bloodied by Floyd — should be the face

Back after a lengthy sabbatical from the pro wrestling ring (not to mention a soujourn from the buffet lines Show looked to be frequenting a little too much at the end of his last WWE stay) the former WCW Giant received a huge ovation at his surprise return at this past Sunday’s No Way Out PPV. And rightly so. The WWE has been bouyed by some other recent returns (Jericho and JBL, to name two) and Show is also a nice addition back into the WWE mix. So how does the WWE capitalize on this? Turning him heel within moments by going after an injured Rey Mysterio for no apparent reason. Even more confusing is who came in for the save on Rey — one of the most hated boxers on the planet — Floyd Mayweather.

It’s a headscratcher of the itchiest degree, says Mr. Mal.

It was embarassing on RAW last night to see Mayweather almost get booed out of the arena when trying to advance the storyline between Show and himself. He is obviously trying to play his part well, but being humble has never been his strong point. Mr. Mal knows this, as I am a BIG Mayweather fan. But most people aren’t — including the boxing fans Shane McMahon is obviously trying to tap into for this angle. They would LOVE to see the man pummelled by Big Show, not run around like some modern day Robin Hood saving poor helpless Luchadors. So why continue along this path?

Shane needs to rework this angle immediately in order for it to have the maximum impact that it rightly should have. The No Way Out clash received big mainstream coverage, and no doubt, a few more people probably turned on RAW last night to see what this was all about. But to then be treated to an arrogant “this-is-the-storyline-and-we-ain’t-changing-it-regardless-of-the-crowd-reaction” is exactly what’s wrong with today’s pro wrestling, particularly the WWE. Everything is scripted nowadays — and it needs to change. Back in the day, artisans were allowed to gauge the crowd and tell their story accordingly, weaving a tale with their performance like jazz musicians riffing down at Birdland. Nowadays, they come out to the ring like robots and spew forth their horribly written, sitcom-rejected dialogue like Charlie McCarthy.  Get a clue, WWE. Don’t be a dummy yourself, Shane — make a change before it’s too late. You can send the residual cheque to Mr. Mal c/o WrestlersRamblings.com . . .

- Mr. Mal

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Another week has gone by in the world of pro wrestling, and you know what that means: welcome to another edition of The Eagle’s column we call Catch or Release, a rating of the week that was in the world of pro wrestling, divided up into two categories: Catch being good and Release meaning it needs to go. Simple right? Let’s begin. PLEASE drop me a comment to let me know your thoughts on the segment. Thanks for visiting pro wrestling’s fastest growing site!

Catch…. Jamie Nobles current push. He is a very talented wrestler and The Eagle is happy to see him show that off. The only downside to this is that there is no Cruiserweight Title.

Release…. The Hornswoggle storyline. At first this was somewhat humorous but now its just getting old. I liked it better when he just interfered in Finley’s matches.

Catch…. The Rey Mysterio/MVP feud brewing. These two men were very impressive in their match on WWE SmackDown this week. The Eagle wants to see more.

Release…. The lack of competition for ECW Champion CM Punk. There are some people who could make legit run at the title but I don’t see Punk facing any of them. How about Elijah Burke, Kevin Thorne, or Tommy Dreamer? WWE has a thing going with the brand exchange between ECW and SmackDown so they can find someone who give Punk a run for his money.

Catch…. Booker T’s return to TV. I am still not completely sold on Booker T coming back for a number of reasons. I am not sure who to believe in the steroid issue and I think he would have been better off concentrating on his own promotion. The reason I say this is a Catch is cause the look in his eye when he took out Christian Cage. I haven’t seen that look for a long time. Maybe this will turn out to be a good thing.

Release…. The lack of a decent feud for Santino Marella. The Jerry Lawyer feud was ok but he is an announcer so Marella cant get into a long running program with him. I was thinking about Marella and Jeff Hardy going at it. (The Eagle will send WWE a memo about that)

Catch…. The Cody Rhodes/Hardcore Holly feud/tag team. These guys put on some good matches whether as a tag team or against each other. I would have them team for a long time…. Maybe even holding the titles for a little.

Release… TNA’s X Division not being able to show off their skills. How is having the X division title stolen by a heavyweight helping them? Let the X Division fight among themselves… its better action.

Drum roll please… Time for The Eagles Catch and Release of the week…

Catch…. Chris Jericho’s return. Oh yeah…Raw is Jericho, finally. I think this is great as long as they don’t give him the title to quickly. Let the Randy Orton feud build for a while then have them meet at WrestleMania.

Release… The Edge/Vickie Guerrero storyline. Maybe its just he respect I have for Eddie Guerrero or its just that this storyline sucks. It’s been done before and it didn’t work then. Edge has enough talent that he doesn’t need a woman beside him.

Catch and Release matches of the week

Catch… Christian Cage vs Kaz at TNA’s Genesis PPV. I know this is 2 weeks old but because Catch and Release didn’t appear last week I thought I’d throw this one in. These two are extremely talented. They bring out the best in each other. I wouldn’t surprised to see Kaz hold the title sometime next year.

Release… Fit Finley and Hornswoggle vs Mark Henry on WWE’s Friday Night SmackDown this week. Finley’s timing was all off in this one. Henry over sold some of the moves. It was just a lazy match. All the competitors looked lost in this one.

As always if you a match or situation to nominate for next weeks Catch and Release column please drop The Eagle a line.

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Use without prior permission is prohibited.

 

 

Another week has gone by in the world of pro wrestling, and you know what that means: welcome to another edition of The Eagle’s column we call Catch or Release, a rating of the week that was in the world of pro wrestling, divided up into two categories: Catch being good and Release meaning it needs to go. Before I start I would like to send out my sympathy to Fabulous Moolah’s family and friends. She will be missed greatly. She will always be a true legend that will never be forgotten. This edition of The Eagle’s Catch and Release is dedicated to her, her career, her memory, and all the great times she gave us. Now on to the business at hand. PLEASE drop me a comment to let me know your thoughts on the segment.  Thanks for visiting pro wrestling’s fastest growing site! 

CATCH —Festus and Jesse. These two are actually pretty impressive in the ring. Their gimmick is awesome and is really over with the crowd. The Eagle sees great things in their future.

RELEASE – The Chuck Palumbo/Kenny Dykstra feud. This is getting boring folks. I have seen both of these men do great things in the ring…. And they are being wasted right now.

CATCH —Scott Hall returning to wrestling. I cant wait to see “The Bad Guy” back in the ring. I have been told he looks great. Even if its just for a little while… this will give him a chance to go out with some pride.

RELEASE – Team 3D beating up the X Division. Now I’ll admit I popped for the X Division giving Team 3D a beat down this week…. But theres more to do with the X Division and Team 3D, TNA.

CATCH —Samoa Joe and Robert Roode. This was an impressive showdown on Impact this week. It ended with Joe being busted up. This is the push that Roode needs to show off his talent. Lets hope this continues.

RELEASE – Once again… the Hornswoggle saga. Ok this week wasn’t that bad but its still useless. The Eagle is all for comedy breaks but this just isn’t funny anymore.

CATCH —The development of Cody Rhodes. Rhodes has the talent and putting him with Hardcore Holly is really helping his development.

RELEASE – Junior Fatu asking for more money. There is no doubt that this guy is a asset to any company but to go in wrestle 5 matches and then ask for more money is just crazy. He has a chance and he blew it cause he got greedy.

CATCH —Tommy Dreamer’s match against Nunzio this week. This week we all seen the Tommy Dreamer we grew to love. He was aggressive and to make it better…. He didn’t job out.

Drum roll time - the biggest Catch and Release items of the week:

CATCH —JBL returning to the ring. If his attack Friday night on Undertaker and Batista wasn’t evidence that he is coming back… I don’t know what is. His comment afterwards saying “This is what I do” just adds to the conclusion he is coming back. The Eagle thinks this is great. I will say it again… JBL’s heel gimmick is only second to Edge.

RELEASE –  D.H. (Harry) Smith getting suspended for violating WWE’s wellness policy. The Eagle is very disappointed in him. His own father fell victim to steroids and at one point Harry said he wouldn’t go down that road. Another liar among the ones caught? The Eagle thinks so. At least I expected it from Chris Masters. The Eagle lost hope for him along time ago.

As promised I have added something to my Catch and Release column. It’s time for the Catch and Release matches of the week.

CATCH —Christian Cage vs Chris Harris on TNA Impact. These two men really showed off their talent this week when they went at it in The Fight For The Right Tournament. These are the kinds of match I love to see every week. When you got the talent…. Use them.

RELEASE – Coachman vs Mick Foley on Friday Night SmackDown. It was useless and predictable… need I say more?

If you would like to nominate a match for either category, drop me a line. See ya next week!

- The Eagle

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