theFRANCHISE

That's got to be pretty bad, that TNA talent would actually consider going to WWE, even just as a move strictly for financial security. There were tons of guys in the past who signed with TNA just for the chance to be a in a start-up company with an emphasis on wrestling ability, rather than take the guaranteed money and languish in obscurity. Vince McMahon, if smart, would put his ego aside just this once and welcome the TNA talent, and then allow them to build off their past success rather than do a complete reboot. Let them use their reputations and the company will be even bigger than it was before. It'll be similar to the WWF/E in 2001-2003, when they had never housed so many big and internationally-known names before. Just off the top of my head, guys working for the WWF/E in that span: The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Triple H, The Undertaker, Kane, Big Show, Shawn Michaels, Ric Flair, Mick Foley, Booker T, Rob Van Dam, Edge, Christian, The Dudley Boyz, The Hardy Boyz, Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, Brock Lesnar, Goldberg, Rey Mysterio, Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit, Kurt Angle, Randy Orton, Batista, John Cena, Chris Jericho, Diamond Dallas Page, Scott Steiner... And those are just the guys who've been in the main event picture or the upper-tier in the past two decades. That's not to mention internationally-known or underappreciated talent like Ultimo Dragon, Perry Saturn, Dean Malenko, Tazz, William Regal, Billy Kidman, Lance Storm, Mike Awesome, Stevie Richards, etc. That's a ton of talent under one roof, and more than enough guys to make the most stacked promotion ever. And that's not even including the mid-card and lower-card guys. If WWE does the same with the TNA talent that may defect, they could conceivably have the world's most talented roster once again.

I hope so. But that doesn't mean I'll be holding my breath for a better product after a month has passed.

Too bad Jerry Lynn reaggravated his injury and had to pull out of the main event. I wonder what Jeff Jarrett's big (non-wrestling) surprise is...

I was thinking of briefly turning 'Taker heel. He would side with Kane and take out Mysterio, even though there's no proof that Mysterio did it. He wouldn't have to wrestle as much because he has Kane as his muscle, doing his bidding while 'Taker just does freaky stunts with lightning and some occasional beatdowns and ambushes. I don't really have a resolution to the feud, I'd just want to see something different. Turning Mysterio and joining the SES, as you suggested, would be a nice idea but I feel as if that was something that should've been months ago, back when membership was the stipulation for two of Mysterio's matches with Punk. I agree that there'd be less risk in turning Mysterio, especially since SmackDown's move to SyFy will lose some of their targeted Hispanic demographic anyway; it was reported in a trade magazine that the loss of that demographic (as well as the segment of Middle America that doesn't have cable) would possibly happen, given that The CW (formerly UPN) was more widely available than SyFy. So, in terms of business, it would make sense to do it soon, even if it's a brief move. Additionally, with WWE's brief interest in bringing in and repackaging more well-known luchadores, that market share can still be regained.

It'd be interesting if there was a swerve and a mini-heel turn and 'Taker takes out Mysterio instead of Kane.

Also: - Shawn Michaels retired in real life after wrestling The Undertaker at WrestleMania in a rematch of their encounter last year - Triple H was written off television after a storyline injury caused by Sheamus, which was an excuse for Hunter to go film a movie; ironically, Triple H sustained a real injury during filming and is currently rehabbing - The Legacy (Randy Orton, Ted DiBiase, and Cody Rhodes) disbanded; Orton has turned into a no-nonsense babyface (similar to Stone Cold Steve Austin), Ted DiBiase has taken on his father's Million Dollar Man gimmick, and Cody Rhodes has taken on a narcissistic gimmick as "Dashing" Cody Rhodes - The Hart Dynasty got a big push by their association with Bret Hart upon Hart's return to WWE; Hart culminated his comeback with a poorly-worked match against Mr. McMahon at WrestleMania - CM Punk has continued his heel Straightedge Society stable with more elements of his gimmick resembling Charles Manson - The RAW guest host concept is slowly being deemphasized and phased out - As part of WWE's youth movement, Drew McIntyre was annointed "The Chosen One" by Mr. McMahon on television and has received a moderate push in the midcard tier

In a way, the only way I'll be satisfied with Kane being revealed as the attacker is if he brings back the mask and goes into beast mode, basically just destroying everyone in his path. Promos done only on occasion (but to great effect) and just methodical attacks on random guys. Otherwise, I'm disappointed in the predictable reveal, if that was truly it.

There's already a TV channel called WE -- Women's Entertainment. My sister-in-law loves it. She makes me wanna gouge my eyes out when she turns the channel to it.

True. But, at the same time, as with any media, the truth is always somewhere in-between two different accounts of the same story. So, chances are, there's a shred of truth in some of the rumor-mongering. For instance, Triple H probably isn't as big of a backstage egomaniac as he's made out to be in the sheets, but he probably does a little politicking given his marriage into the McMahon family.

That's probably photoshopped. Look at the USA Network logo in the corner (odd for concept art), as well as the low resolution of the logo compared to the USA Network logo. Additionally, someone could've easily taken the classic WWF logo and added that extra leg at the end to form an 'E'

Given that Triple H will probably need to take time to promote the movie he just finished wrapping, a move to SmackDown would make sense for his schedule. He would be able to do taped backstage segments on different days of the week, as well as do full TV tapings structured to fit his schedule; remember, they tape the show out-of-sequence at times. Further motivation for Triple H to attack the Undertaker besides HBK's retirement and never having had a WrestleMania moment himself: - Constant references to commentary referring to 'Taker as the conscience and face of WWE, when Triple H has more ties to the company - Triple H not liking being upstaged on the WrestleMania card (inserting, perhaps, a shoot element to the angle) - Triple H wanting to exert his power and show that even the most unstoppable of forces can be stopped I still need to see a Cena heel turn to make SummerSlam and the next few months compelling. Even if the heel turn is half-hearted and Cena turns face again by the end of the calendar year, Cena needs a new edge to his gimmick and this would be the shot in the arm. He wouldn't even have to change his in-ring style or attire or entrance music, he just has to take the fans' emotions and turn them on their head.

As much as the storyline is leading towards another Undertaker and Kane match, I don't want it to happen. It's too, too obvious, and we've seen the match done to death. They have the chance to make Kane the red herring in this storyline and make the culprit someone else. Perhaps Triple H? That'd be something out of left-field, but it'd make sense if you were to throw in how he was angry that 'Taker retired his best friend. Also, it could go back to Triple H having never had his WrestleMania moment despite having a more accomplished career (similar reasoning for a Triple H-HBK non-wrestling feud if it were to happen) and it would give Triple H something to do after he takes care of Sheamus. It'd turn Triple H back into the egomaniac of a heel he used to be, and it'd make him somewhat sympathetic if he were to turn face again.

Those were the original plans, but that's likely scrapped because DiBiase isn't getting over.

Best part is, Melina can actually wrestle! Looking forward to her match with Alicia Fox. I always thought Alicia's in-ring skills were underrated, largely because her matches (even on PPV) have been so short or against opponents that couldn't keep up with her. She and Melina should have a good first encounter.

In other WWE news, former WWE wrestler Batista has a new project called "Batista vs. Cancer," a new initiative geared towards raising cancer awareness. The accompanying video to the project was not what I expected at all for a former pro wrestler. It was very sweet and very sentimental with lots of humor sprinkled in. I just about cried during some of the more tender moments, especially when he was with his ex-wife. Cancer is something that's hurt my family in the past and has reared its ugly head once again, so I was really touched by how genuine the video was. YouTube - Batista Hates Cancer

Think of the ratings, though. WWE would bring in an even larger audience while still keeping the kids with guys like Rey Mysterio, Triple H, and Randy Orton as the top faces. Though Cena is the biggest cash-cow, his fans are getting older and will eventually get sick of him. He needs to refresh his character, and what better way than to add an edge? If they stay the course with Cena, they'll make money in the short-term but these kids will continue to age and out-grow him. If they switch things up, they might lose some kids, but they'll gain back some of the older audience they've lost who are able to directly support the company financially.

At first, I thought I'd be happy enough with a Triple H heel turn. But nope, a Cena heel turn needs to happen. If it doesn't happen, I'll be disappointed with this angle, even if Triple H returns.

I would get into plans that I'd have for rebuilding WWE, but I'm too tired to go through all that. Needless to say, revamping the women's division would surprisingly be one of my top priorities. There was a lot of potential there before Lita and Trish both retired.

He's getting old, you can't fault the man for being senile.

Savannah could've had potential as a ring announcer if they really wanted to use her that way. They just used ring announcing as an excuse to get her on TV.

Just Japan because they're Japanese. There haven't been any wrestlers of Chinese descent as of late that I know of, and I think Jimmy Wang Yang was Korean.

He's just playing his cards right. But yeah, it's been well-known that certain stars have sway because of their appeal to certain demographics. It's all about ratings. The reason why Rey has been largely kept on SmackDown is because UPN and The CW had been more widely available to Hispanic households than the channels that housed RAW. Khali is kept on the roster because he is a goodwill ambassador for the company when they tour India. William Regal is their ambassador when they tour the UK. Sheamus and Drew McIntyre have jobs because of their appeal to Ireland and Scotland, respectively. The idea of WWE being an international company in every sense is represented by their roster, as their roster intentionally has worldwide appeal. That's also why there's many gimmicks that take on a nationalist slant, like Canadian wrestlers playing up their Canadian citizenship. It's all about the ratings.

Rey didn't put over Ziggler when they were feuding for the IC Title. Ziggler was becoming a star and the crowd got behind him during a couple of their matches, and he was just on the cusp. But Mysterio didn't want to do the job and, because Mysterio knows he's so crucial to their Latino demographic, he has a lot of sway backstage and they decided to keep the belt on him.

There's no point in doing that because it'd only further solidify the notion that there are barely any guys within the faction that will go on to have successful singles careers after the group breaks up. Outside of Wade Barrett and Justin Gabriel, none of them really seem like they'd make it on their own and WWE needs to continue to build them up as a threat, both individually and as a group. To add NXT 2 guys to the mix would make the group less effectively, as it'd make it seem like anyone can join the faction randomly. It smacks too much of what killed the nWo (and eventually WCW as a company)

That was a little-remembered gem, primarily because people tend to want to forget the Invasion angle. Rock and Austin in the ring for maybe 20 minutes, trading sly insults, singing songs together and then ending with a fake-out handshake leading into a Rock Bottom. The way Rock said, "The Rock will never, EVER forget" gave me goosebumps.