theFRANCHISE

I think Kaval's loss to Reks plants an early seed for that rumored heel turn that was reported a few weeks ago. Even though I disagree with turning Kaval heel given that he could be a top face for SmackDown if given the chance, it would at least make his character somewhat compelling. Right now, he's bland with no direction, which doesn't do his immense in-ring talent any justice. If Kaval can be given a decent angle, he could probably run with it, heel or face.

The first Dump Thread was a monster of a thread, but this one's growing at a fairly fast rate as well.

You're right, TNA is not worth watching or defending at this point. There is little to no redeeming value in what they bring to the table. That said, TNA does have a lot of great young talent, but a lot of our assessments of their talent is based on what they did either before they came to TNA or while they were in TNA prior to the Hogan-Bischoff era. TNA picked up a following because many of their guys were big on the international or independent scene. The power of the Internet made it possible for these guys to get any measure of exposure. Also, many underutilized WWE cast-offs got a better shot in TNA to show what they could do. However, you're right in that, for the majority of the viewing audience, there is no evidence that the young roster is as talented as some of us say they are, as they're not given enough opportunities to prove it. I will continue to praise WWE for what they've done the past 2-4 years with their gradual youth movement, even as the main event picture has remained similar in that span. Once all of the main eventers retire or step down, there is a great nucleus that will just begin to hit its peak. There's more than a handful of guys who are bubbling under that top tier and ready to step up at any moment, which excites me. I'll gladly take an overachieving mid-carder over an underachieving main eventer any day. In a sense, by taking the belt from Sheamus and temporarily removing him from the title picture, they're forcing him to respond and prove to the audience and to the higher-ups that he deserves his spot. Thus far, he's won me over...which I thought was impossible two months ago. The Miz, meanwhile, is getting over even without a title, so for management to stick Alex Riley with him for the rub, that speaks volumes as to the respect he's earned. John Morrison has been booked to look like a future champion with short vignettes and being booked strong in victory and defeat, and he's responded by putting on some quality matches even with limited time. TNA is doing none of this, as there has been virtually no upward mobility in the past 6 months for most of the younger guys. Some vested veterans and most of the big name cast-offs from other companies have gotten the most shine.

Yeah, the general consensus is that TNA has as talented a young roster as WWE, if not more talented. The only problem is the booking, which in this case, has overshadowed the matches in TNA so much that even Vince McMahon can claim he has a purer wrestling product. I've noticed a trend in the past couple of months where matches on RAW are lasting longer, even if there are fewer matches on the card. A year ago, you might get just the two main events taking a commercial break during matches. Now you're getting opening bouts and secondary matches getting commercial breaks, which shows that there's a new emphasis on the in-ring talent than on storylines. Part of this is because there aren't as many guys who can shine on the mic as during the Attitude Era, but another reason could be that the loud minority of loyal, hardcore fans in WWE's audience is being heard. WWE still has a long, long way to go in order to garner my interest the same way it used to a decade ago. But, I've found myself complaining far less about the product on television than even six months ago. Sheamus is finally coming into his own and I don't mind him as much as I used to -- it took a herculean effort from both Sheamus and the writing staff to sell me on him as a credible main eventer, and now that he doesn't have the belt and is being booked as a monster again, I don't mind him. The Miz's development in just a year's time is astronomical, almost on the level of The Rock and Stone Cold's huge rise after their repackaging. John Morrison is being made to look like a genuine star even though his mic skills as a babyface are lacking. Alberto Del Rio appears to be well-deserving of the huge push he's being given. Cody Rhodes found a way to get over even without a significant program or stable to carry him. Randy Orton has become the mega-face that he was supposed to be back in 2004 and has never been better in the ring or on the mic. WWE's future looks bright. TNA, on the other hand, has guys being wasted left and right. Samoa Joe is left without a significant program yet again, especially with the departure of Kevin Nash. The entire Knockouts division has become an afterthought instead of a special attraction similar to the WCW cruiserweights. The X-Division guys are going the way of the cruiserweights in WWE. Instead of pushing the homegrown talent, the veterans are still eating up the spotlight.

I think Angle's comments are a worked shoot, but I can see where he'd definitely be frustrated with TNA in real life sooner than later, as they're doing everything to go out of business. As one of my radio colleagues put it: "First order of business: Bring ECW back. Second order of business: Bring the nWo back. Third order of business: Go out of business." Meanwhile...Jeff Hardy's heel turn. No comment. Even Cena's half-hearted tease is better right now.

Yeah, that's why Y2J's WWF debut in 1999 still stands as one of the best, if not the absolute best, debut of any wrestler ever. People didn't really know it was Jericho and the reaction he got when his name flashed on the Titantron was amazing.

Just the way they ruined the surprise of Mickie James' return and then tried to act like it was a surprise, was horrible. They show a shot of her arriving in a car backstage, and then when she's announced as the guest referee for the Knockouts match, they act as if they're surprised to see her. In a way, it's similar to how WWE ruined Jericho's Second Coming with the shot of him clotheslining the torch-bearer backstage and doing his signature pose before he came out; but, at least in the case of Jericho, they didn't try to play it off as if fans didn't know he was coming, as they went immediately to shots of Y2J signs and the announcers acknowledged it was him throughout the extended video package for his entrance.

Team 3-D was already re-signed by TNA, soooo...possibility of that match happening. But let's be serious. TNA wouldn't promote a program with those teams properly. Asking them to do Basic Booking 101 is too much.

TNA is still minor-league and I still believe they regressed when they brought in Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff. The company was making small but steady improvements prior to the Hogan-Bischoff era. Dixie Carter panicked in bringing them in; she got desperate and thought she needed to compete with WWE on every level. She failed to realize that, in providing an alternative, all she had to do was bide her time and TNA would eventually start gaining a larger following by virtue of WWE's miscues. Instead, TNA missed that window of opportunity when WWE hit yet another low point and then rebounded for a bit. WWE continues to stay alive because they do a reasonably good job of infusing the roster with young talent, even when they're not handling some of their talent properly. TNA is stuck in nostalgia mode and doesn't know how to use the veterans while making new stars of the younger guys.

If Edge holds true to his word, he'll retire within the next year or two. Edge is known to shoot more in his non-WWE interviews than most guys, so I'll take him at his word. He had a good run but he just hasn't been the same since the last two injuries.

The seeds for the splinter have been planted, but oddly, I can see a point where the group goes the Nation of Domination route and has Cena become the new Rock (ironic, I know) by ousting Wade Barrett (Faarooq) as the leader. I don't think it'd work since the roles are reversed in terms of experience, but I could see the storyline basis for it. I just don't buy Cena as a heel leading a heel faction on his own with Barrett turning face, nor do I buy Cena leading a heel faction as a face and Barrett having success on his own against the group. I just know that, if WWE goes through with the heel turn, they won't stick with it and they'll find the cheap way out by saying it was part of Cena's plan all along. Then, he'll do a hokey apology to the WWE Universe (because that's what parents want their kids to learn), and we'll all go back to the days of Super-Cena. Nothing will change my opinion of Cena's ring work unless he goes on a sabbatical and comes back with a new moveset. But, as a heel, he's bound to be better on the microphone and more entertaining.

It bothers me that there's all these parents complaining about their kids crying over the results of the match. It's wrestling! It's entertainment! It's no different than seeing a good guy get hurt in a movie or TV show. News flash to these parents: Vince McMahon should not be babysitting their kids and teaching them life lessons about how the good guy doesn't always win! If these parents are annoyed by the inconvenience of actually having to teach their kids a life lesson, then they're in for a rude awakening because they have essentially failed as parents. I've had to teach my niece and nephew (yes, not my own kids, my niece and nephew) life lessons when watching wrestling and playing video games and I've had no problems with giving them serious talks. In fact, it's good for me to sit down with them because, since these talks happen so infrequently, they actually listen and know to take me seriously. These lackadaisical parents should do the same with their own children.

As I was saying on Twitter, a full-fledged Cena heel turn will probably happen at Survivor Series next month, where he will tow the company line and then act out of his best interest, similar to Austin's heel turn at Invasion 2001. Cena will be a reluctant member of Nexus, be the wild card in an elimination tag match in the main event, then pull off the swerve. Sure, it's been done before, but in this case, it'll be done out of necessity to give Cena new life and extend Nexus beyond its shelf life.

Cole's done surprisingly well in his role as the heel announcer; I'd be ok with him being named the mystery GM, even though I was so opposed to the idea only a few months ago. I think part of the reason why he's so good in the role is because he gets to shoot on the fans and take out his frustration after all these years of getting go-away heat from them.

John Morrison is interesting in that he'll be pushed to the moon one day, have his push stop the next week, and then suddenly be made to look like a star again. The brief segment where he demonstrated his parkour workout was meant to make him look like a star, and it certainly worked. He has all of the physical tools and a decent gimmick, he just needs to learn how to put the total package together. His work on the mic is shaky; his sarcasm works well with his gimmick, but he needs to find a way to be taken seriously when he has to be serious.

Awww, but AJ was my favorite! On an unrelated note, I'm amazed that WWE hasn't promoted Monday's RAW with Chad Ochocinco more in an effort to draw away some of the NFL's audience who are disinterested (for whatever reason) in the Ravens-Jets or Chargers-Chiefs games.

Yeah, I'll be honest, the majority of us will be watching the Ravens-Jets game, unless that game really starts to get out of hand for either team. That's what YouTube and DVRs are for, though!

As do I. On a related note, Miz was awesome during the live stream of the SvR 2011 THQ roster reveal on Gamespot.com yesterday. He's just so naturally charismatic. The fans in attendance couldn't help but cheer for him, even as he tried to maintain kayfabe and play the heel in a tongue-in-cheek way.

I'm starting to believe Tie-Gate was a worked shoot. "Firing" Bryan had a two-fold effect, as it gave a new wrinkle to the NXT angle while also giving them one less thing for Linda McMahon's political opponents to use as ammunition against her. The funny thing is, I don't think a single candidate brought up that incident, probably because it was so brief and talked about so little outside of the Internet Wrestling Community.

It was just another excuse to send her back to FCW; she's just entirely too green and I guess they wanted to nip her ego in the bud since they planned on pushing her as a special attraction similar to how The Great Khali is pushed.

I'll say this: even though Vince probably doesn't really care about half the guys he's employed, past and present, at least his willingness to pay for drug rehab is offering a helping hand, regardless of whether it's mostly for good publicity.

The best part is, they can actually wrestle decently, too. Well, Angelina and Velvet more than Maryse, but Maryse is serviceable in her own right.

They could have him feud with Miz temporarily by having him interrupt Miz when he's going after a championship. That way, it's two birds with one stone: Miz stays busy while being built as a credible threat to a world title with his MitB briefcase, and Kaval gets booked against an upper-mid-card talent to see if he's deserving of being in the world title picture. Alex Riley could be thrown in the mix as Miz's lackey, which gives him exposure and a true roster spot in the process.

Yeah, it's looking like the only viable option is to fast-track this third "season" of NXT by having some spillover onto SmackDown and RAW while keeping the eliminations mostly to the actual NXT show itself.

I like the idea of unifying the ancillary titles (the Divas/Womens and Tag Team championships), but the IC and US titles should stay show-exclusive, as well as the two World titles. The brand extension was created out of necessity because there wasn't enough TV time for all of the stars that WWE acquired from WCW and ECW, so it made sense to split them up. Additionally, new stars were created because of the extra TV time; there would arguably be no Miz or Kofi Kingston or CM Punk if not for the brand split because the veterans would take up all the air time. Keep the titles separate so that there are separate main event-level and mid-tier feuds on each show, and unify the Womens and Tag titles because both divisions are too thin to have separate titles.