Post by Dr. Wrestling on Aug 16, 2008 2:45:35 GMT -5
I already posted a column this week but there have been some recent releases that I'm going to take some time to discuss. Some were surprising while others weren't but it will be interesting to see if some of these recently released wrestlers continue their careers elsewhere. Some of the wrestlers that are now taking a number in the unemployment line were recently on T.V. and a few of them were even getting somewhat of a push so it has to make you wonder, when the WWE decides to give a wrestler a push is because they think the wrestle can become a star or is it because the WWE is trying anything to make new stars? Don't get me wrong here, I understand the WWE is always trying to generate new stars but how valuable is a wrestler that they are pushing when they're getting released in the middle of the push? I just don't see the point of investing T.V. time into a character and then releasing them mid way through the push. Logically, wouldn't it make more sense to at least see if the push is effective? That's being said, Let's discuss some of the releases.
Little Guido-He will probably always be best known for his success as a member of the Full Blooded Italians and tag champion in ECW but what most fans don't realize is that aside from the comedy gimmick in ECW or jobber status recently in the WWE, Guido has alot of wrestling skill, which can be contributed to his training with Billy Robinson. I have to say I was surprised that Guido was released because he seemed like one of the WWE's most solid jobbers in terms of making someone look good in the ring and I guess you could say Guido had "Val Venis status" in the WWE because you would assume they would continue to have a job in the WWE despite being a jobber on T.V. for years. As for Guido's future, I could see him going back to ROH because his in ring style would mesh well with the ROH product and he wrestled for the company back in 2002 before he debuted in the WWE.
Shannon Moore-I can't say this was a surprising release considering that Moore was released before and hasn't done anything worth while in the WWE for a few months other then forming a jobber tag team with Jimmy Wang Yang. It will be interesting to see if Moore would attempt to go back to TNA or if TNA would even be willing to give Moore another chance with the company. During Moore's short run with the company he was given a solid push, more of a push then he had ever been given in the WWE and to help his push he pinned A.J. Styles but the week after that he resigned with the WWE. Hine sight is 20/20 so it would be unfair to say now that Moore made the wrong decision resigning with the WWE when he did but you have to wonder if he would have done anything note worthy if he would have stayed in TNA. If not in TNA, I'd expect Moore to continue wrestling on the indy scene in the U.S. but I wouldn't expect any international tours such as Japan because of the state of the wrestling business in Japan at the moment. If there's anything internationally on the table for Moore it would probably be in Mexico for AAA or CMLL but currently there's already alot of U.S. talent working south of the boarder so there may not be opportunities for Moore in Mexico at the moment.
Domino-I can't say I'm surprised about this one either because Domino hasn't been on T.V. for a while and I think his former tag partner, Deuce will soon be joining the second generation stable with Rhodes and Dibiase considering that Deuce is the son of WWE Hall of Fame member, Jimmy "Super Fly" Snuka. With Duece possibly in that stable, it doesn't really seem like there was much of a place for Domino because even his manager, Cherry had started wrestling in the Divas division on Smackdown. A side note about Domino, following his release from the company he had posted a video on the You Tube website of what seems to be a new gimmick where he would want to feud with the top stars in the WWE. At the conclusion of the video, Domino uses a chain saw to cut the head off of a Batista cardboard cut out and when you take into account the Coolio Demento videos, there really should be some type of rule against former bitter WWE wrestlers posting videos on You Tube...Ha Ha
Cherry-She had really been getting alot of T.V. time on Smackdown and seemed to even be improved in the ring, which could have led to her being a staple of the Divas division so it doesn't really make sense that she was suddenly released from the company. The WWE seems to be trying to create a difference between the Women's title on Raw and the Divas title on Smackdown. The Women's title was being portrayed as the "tougher" title for lack of a better term with Mickie throwing fore arms and Beth Phoenix being the impressive power house she is as well as physical matches. The Divas division seems to have more of a technical sense about it and that’s where I think Cherry could have helped the Divas division because she has more of a “diva look” so to speak then looking like a wrestler. That’s not to discount the wrestling ability of the divas on Smackdown, it’s just the difference that there’s seems to be between the two women’s divisions in the WWE.
The Highlanders-You had to see this coming after Robbie was shown on camera during an episode of Impact earlier this year. Ironically enough The Highlanders were actually given a going away present this past week on Raw when they were squashed by Cryme Tyme in about two minutes. At one point during their WWE run, The Highlanders could have been legitimate tag team champions so it’s funny to see how the wrestling industry works considering that now they have been given their pink slips. I wonder if TNA will offer them a job? It would really only be fair considering that TNA probably cost them their WWE careers…Ha Ha
Colin Delany-He didn’t have much of a WWE career to speak of but I think his heel turn could have worked if he wasn’t paired with Henry, who is still trying (again) to get over with the crowd himself. Colin’s size could have been used for the cowardly and sneakly type of heel, which could have worked if it was given some time to develop. Delany had just turned heel but before he could make any progress he was shown the door. I think the feud with Dreamer could have established Delany but that isn’t going to happen at this point. Before debuting in the WWE, Delany was known as Colin Olsen in Chikara, which is a well known indy company that runs shows in the north east so I would expect him to return there to continue wrestling.
Stevie Richards-This is another one that surprised me. Much like Guido or Val Venis, I expected Richards to always have a job with the WWE until he decided to retire. It really wouldn’t have been a surprise if Richards would have become a trainer or was given some type of office job in a few years but now Richards is fired. Stevie is under ratted to some extent but part of that is his own fault for leaving ECW the way he did and if Stevie had stayed in ECW his career would probably be a little more distinguished. That being said, Stevie does deserve some credit for what he’s accomplished in his career. He was in part of the main event of ECW’s first PPV, Barely Legal and to be put in such an important spot on such an important show is an accomplishment. As for Stevie’s future, he’s mentioned wrestling for Ring Of Honor and it’s possible he could appear there because the ROH booker, Gabe Spolsky was associated with the original ECW.
Trevor Murdouch-The former WWE tag champion should have been given more of a chance to become established on his own but after Lance Cade was given somewhat of a push by being paired with Chris Jericho, the writing was on the wall that Murdouch’s days in the WWE at least for the immediate future were number. Murdoch has some skill and from what I read, he already has offers to go to Japan if he chooses to do so. If Murdouch would go to Japan I think he could be successful similar to other former WWE stars, Tomko and A Train. New Japan is considered by many to be Japan’s number one company and that’s where Tomko as well as A Train are wrestling full time at this point so even though the state of Japanese wrestling is currently on a down slide, I think Murdouch would be one of the few U.S. wrestlers that could be successful there.
That’s about it for this column and feel free to e mail me you’re thoughts on releases, Summer Slam, etc. Speaking of Summer Slam, anyone that’s watching the show I hope you enjoy it and hopefully the PPV is worth the price it costs to watch it.
Until next week
That’s My Story and I’m Sticking To It
Dr. Wrestling
E mail:drwrestlingallpro@yahoo.com
Little Guido-He will probably always be best known for his success as a member of the Full Blooded Italians and tag champion in ECW but what most fans don't realize is that aside from the comedy gimmick in ECW or jobber status recently in the WWE, Guido has alot of wrestling skill, which can be contributed to his training with Billy Robinson. I have to say I was surprised that Guido was released because he seemed like one of the WWE's most solid jobbers in terms of making someone look good in the ring and I guess you could say Guido had "Val Venis status" in the WWE because you would assume they would continue to have a job in the WWE despite being a jobber on T.V. for years. As for Guido's future, I could see him going back to ROH because his in ring style would mesh well with the ROH product and he wrestled for the company back in 2002 before he debuted in the WWE.
Shannon Moore-I can't say this was a surprising release considering that Moore was released before and hasn't done anything worth while in the WWE for a few months other then forming a jobber tag team with Jimmy Wang Yang. It will be interesting to see if Moore would attempt to go back to TNA or if TNA would even be willing to give Moore another chance with the company. During Moore's short run with the company he was given a solid push, more of a push then he had ever been given in the WWE and to help his push he pinned A.J. Styles but the week after that he resigned with the WWE. Hine sight is 20/20 so it would be unfair to say now that Moore made the wrong decision resigning with the WWE when he did but you have to wonder if he would have done anything note worthy if he would have stayed in TNA. If not in TNA, I'd expect Moore to continue wrestling on the indy scene in the U.S. but I wouldn't expect any international tours such as Japan because of the state of the wrestling business in Japan at the moment. If there's anything internationally on the table for Moore it would probably be in Mexico for AAA or CMLL but currently there's already alot of U.S. talent working south of the boarder so there may not be opportunities for Moore in Mexico at the moment.
Domino-I can't say I'm surprised about this one either because Domino hasn't been on T.V. for a while and I think his former tag partner, Deuce will soon be joining the second generation stable with Rhodes and Dibiase considering that Deuce is the son of WWE Hall of Fame member, Jimmy "Super Fly" Snuka. With Duece possibly in that stable, it doesn't really seem like there was much of a place for Domino because even his manager, Cherry had started wrestling in the Divas division on Smackdown. A side note about Domino, following his release from the company he had posted a video on the You Tube website of what seems to be a new gimmick where he would want to feud with the top stars in the WWE. At the conclusion of the video, Domino uses a chain saw to cut the head off of a Batista cardboard cut out and when you take into account the Coolio Demento videos, there really should be some type of rule against former bitter WWE wrestlers posting videos on You Tube...Ha Ha
Cherry-She had really been getting alot of T.V. time on Smackdown and seemed to even be improved in the ring, which could have led to her being a staple of the Divas division so it doesn't really make sense that she was suddenly released from the company. The WWE seems to be trying to create a difference between the Women's title on Raw and the Divas title on Smackdown. The Women's title was being portrayed as the "tougher" title for lack of a better term with Mickie throwing fore arms and Beth Phoenix being the impressive power house she is as well as physical matches. The Divas division seems to have more of a technical sense about it and that’s where I think Cherry could have helped the Divas division because she has more of a “diva look” so to speak then looking like a wrestler. That’s not to discount the wrestling ability of the divas on Smackdown, it’s just the difference that there’s seems to be between the two women’s divisions in the WWE.
The Highlanders-You had to see this coming after Robbie was shown on camera during an episode of Impact earlier this year. Ironically enough The Highlanders were actually given a going away present this past week on Raw when they were squashed by Cryme Tyme in about two minutes. At one point during their WWE run, The Highlanders could have been legitimate tag team champions so it’s funny to see how the wrestling industry works considering that now they have been given their pink slips. I wonder if TNA will offer them a job? It would really only be fair considering that TNA probably cost them their WWE careers…Ha Ha
Colin Delany-He didn’t have much of a WWE career to speak of but I think his heel turn could have worked if he wasn’t paired with Henry, who is still trying (again) to get over with the crowd himself. Colin’s size could have been used for the cowardly and sneakly type of heel, which could have worked if it was given some time to develop. Delany had just turned heel but before he could make any progress he was shown the door. I think the feud with Dreamer could have established Delany but that isn’t going to happen at this point. Before debuting in the WWE, Delany was known as Colin Olsen in Chikara, which is a well known indy company that runs shows in the north east so I would expect him to return there to continue wrestling.
Stevie Richards-This is another one that surprised me. Much like Guido or Val Venis, I expected Richards to always have a job with the WWE until he decided to retire. It really wouldn’t have been a surprise if Richards would have become a trainer or was given some type of office job in a few years but now Richards is fired. Stevie is under ratted to some extent but part of that is his own fault for leaving ECW the way he did and if Stevie had stayed in ECW his career would probably be a little more distinguished. That being said, Stevie does deserve some credit for what he’s accomplished in his career. He was in part of the main event of ECW’s first PPV, Barely Legal and to be put in such an important spot on such an important show is an accomplishment. As for Stevie’s future, he’s mentioned wrestling for Ring Of Honor and it’s possible he could appear there because the ROH booker, Gabe Spolsky was associated with the original ECW.
Trevor Murdouch-The former WWE tag champion should have been given more of a chance to become established on his own but after Lance Cade was given somewhat of a push by being paired with Chris Jericho, the writing was on the wall that Murdouch’s days in the WWE at least for the immediate future were number. Murdoch has some skill and from what I read, he already has offers to go to Japan if he chooses to do so. If Murdouch would go to Japan I think he could be successful similar to other former WWE stars, Tomko and A Train. New Japan is considered by many to be Japan’s number one company and that’s where Tomko as well as A Train are wrestling full time at this point so even though the state of Japanese wrestling is currently on a down slide, I think Murdouch would be one of the few U.S. wrestlers that could be successful there.
That’s about it for this column and feel free to e mail me you’re thoughts on releases, Summer Slam, etc. Speaking of Summer Slam, anyone that’s watching the show I hope you enjoy it and hopefully the PPV is worth the price it costs to watch it.
Until next week
That’s My Story and I’m Sticking To It
Dr. Wrestling
E mail:drwrestlingallpro@yahoo.com