WWE Has Mishandled Mysterio
Official X-3 Hater
WWE has mishandled Mysterio
By Mike Mooneyham
May 28, 2006
There's no denying that Rey Mysterio is one of the most entertaining and
talented workers in the entire WWE. It was a classic feel-good moment when
the Hispanic star won the Smackdown version of the world title at
Wrestlemania and dedicated the victory to fallen friend Eddie Guerrero.
But it's time to give up the gold.
The problem lies beyond Mysterio's 5-2, 170-pound frame. WWE has done a
terrible job of booking him, especially in recent weeks, as the undersized
wrestler has been matched against monsters such as JBL, Mark Henry and Great
Khali. Having Rey booked as the "underdog champion" week after week with
stiffs like the seven-foot-tall Khali and the 380-pound Henry hasn't helped
the cause and has only served to undermine Rey's title reign.
"I have never seen a babyface champion so poorly treated," Lance Storm
commented last week on his Web site. "He has been destroyed four weeks in a
row. He's doing more jobs than I did on WWE TV and he's the world champ. Rey
is such an amazing, one-in-a-million kind of performer. If they don't want
the title on him, just beat him for the title, don't completely destroy him
and the world title in the process."
Knee problems have continued to plague Mysterio, and he needs surgery that
is expected to sideline him for several months. While it appears that a
ready-made program will be waiting for him when he returns, unfortunately it
looks to be with Chavo Guerrero, which means we'll get to see yet another
round of the Eddie Guerrero exploitation storyline.
- The Smackdown tag-team division took a big hit with the dismantling of the
MNM combo of Joey Mercury and Johnny Nitro. Last week's storyline firing of
Nitro and Melina resulted from real-life backstage unrest involving the two.
Both reportedly have generated heat in the Smackdown locker room and are
expected to be moved to either the Raw or ECW brand. Mercury is expected to
stay put on the Smackdown roster.
- Shawn Michaels, who is scheduled to reform DX with Triple H in time for
the June 25 Vengeance pay-per-view in Charlotte, has been working with a
sore knee and is scheduled to undergo an MRI.
Smackdown brand stars Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle also are spending time on
the sidelines. Benoit is out of action with a shoulder injury, while Angle
was ordered to take time off due to his recurring neck problems.
- The rash of recent injuries may precipitate the return of WWE bad boy
Randy Orton.
Orton, who received a 60-day suspension for unprofessional conduct over
Wrestlemania weekend, is now scheduled to return immediately after
completing his sentence. Initial reports indicated that Orton might have to
serve an extended suspension in order to send him a strong message.
- Former U.S. heavyweight champ Orlando Jordan was released by WWE last
week.
Jordan, who had spent several years with the company, was pulled from last
week's scheduled Smackdown match with Tatanka and given the news.
There had been plans for Jordan, who had served as JBL's "Chief of Staff,"
to play a bisexual character, but it was never introduced on television.
- John Cena's exchange with Rob Van Dam last week on Raw doesn't bode well
for their title match at the ECW One Night Stand pay-per-view June 10. RVD's
a little past his prime in terms of in-ring ability, Cena remains a
less-than-stellar worker, and it may be difficult for the two to put
together a main-event worthy PPV bout. Paul Heyman's involvement in the
match, however, could make a difference.
- The heavily hyped blood-and-gore horror flick "See No Evil," featuring WWE
star Kane (Glen Jacobs), ranked No. 6 on the top-10 list for the domestic
box office marketplace. The low-budget movie, which reportedly costs $8
million to make, took in an estimated $4.35 million in its first weekend.
The film's per-theater average of $3,460, however, was higher than the
per-theater averages of the three movies above it: "RV," "Poseidon" and
"Mission: Impossible III."
A Motley Fool reviewer found the news mildly encouraging and downplayed the
relatively anemic box-office estimates.
"Even with marketing costs, I think the 'See No Evil' experiment was a
worthy risk - the budget wasn't overly high, and the company has the
opportunity to amortize costs through the DVD/pay-TV channels.
"So what's the bottom line? 'See No Evil' didn't fare as well as John Cena
at the last Wrestlemania, but WWE should continue making films targeted
toward a young audience. The company can eventually make a good deal of cash
from a film library, and the operating segment will add diversification to
the core wrestling business; if WWE can make enough low-budget, low-risk
films, a few hits will surely arise. The synergy case between the wrestling
platform and celluloid production is too compelling to shut down just
because of a lukewarm response to this movie - Linda and Vince McMahon won't
be that easily dissuaded."
The Associated Press was less than favorable with its review of "See No
Evil."
"Nothing about 'See No Evil' is scary," noted the AP review. "With its
run-down, abandoned setting, which is lousy with roaches, rats and flies,
it's just dark, dirty and gross. And the killings themselves, while gory,
are also unintentionally hilarious. As for the acting - and the action -
it's more believable in any given episode of WWE Raw.'
- Even "God" couldn't help the buyrates for WWE's Vengeance pay-per-view.
Early estimates came in at a disappointing 220,000 buys, down almost 100,000
buys from last year.
- WWE officially announced last week that its ECW TV show will debut June 13
in a 10 p.m. time slot on the Sci Fi Channel.
The yet-to-be-titled series will air through the rest of the summer. Bonnie
Hammer, president of USA and Sci Fi, hopes the latter channel gets the same
ratings lift that USA has gotten from WWE's Raw.
"This is going to be a great summer series for us," Hammer told the
Hollywood Reporter.
She cited research documenting an overlap among Sci Fi's viewers and WWE
fans. "It's a huge duplication," she said. "Close to 50 percent who watch
Raw watch Sci Fi as well."
Hammer said the series is being developed to match the sensibility of the
channel's "stretching the imagination" theme. "It will have a nice little
twist that will fit in the brand," she said.
WWE owner Vince McMahon said on the company's Web site that he realized the
new ECW would have to be different than its predecessor.
"It can't be the same. That's pretty much impossible. It's now five years
later. A lot of the performers now have five more years under their belt,
and the ECW style has taken a great deal out of them. This is something that
the ECW audience already realizes. They know that if ECW was still in
business today, they would be very different from what they were five years
ago."
The first ECW house show is scheduled to be held June 24 at ECW Arena in
Philadelphia. The second ECW house show will take place June 25 at the Court
Time Sports Center in Elizabeth, Pa.
- Cowboy Bob Yuma, a headliner in Arizona during the '70s, passed away May
23 at the age of 54 from lung disease.
- Sioux Falls-based Hot Stuff Foods has filed a lawsuit against wrestling
announcer "Mean" Gene Okerlund. The company has accused Okerlund of trying
to steal the "Mean Gene Burgers" brand bearing his name.
Web site ArgusLeader.com reported that Hot Stuff says its has paid Okerlund
more than $1,000,000 to appear at events and in advertisements calling the
food products "the burger that says bite me." The dispute is over Okerlund's
alleged attempt to solicit Hot Stuff vendors in an effort to bypass "Hot
Stuff" and to deal directly with the vendors.
"Mean Gene signed a personality endorsement agreement that we believe he's
violating," said Stephen Landon, a lawyer for Hot Stuff Foods.
Okerlund's son, Todd; his nephew, Blaze; and a former Hot Stuff Foods
employee, Mark McKee, also are named as defendants in the lawsuit.
a.. Original article/Charleston Post and Courier
--
Beating a dead horse one X-Men at a time.
trijcomm
in the heavyweight category. So if they are going to book him as their
champion, they cannot ignore the fact that there are guys much, much
bigger than him in that brand. You can't continue to book him against
smaller guys without ignoring that fact. Thus, you have to deal with
that somehow if you are going to have him be the champ. The WWE is
booking him the best they can, given the situation at hand.
Double T the Legally Blind Referee
when will the idiots learn that when it's the comic and movie star it's
spelled ROGUE
there is no fucking "a" anywhere's in it.
--
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Double T the legally blind referee
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Like you read the bullshit down here
mWO 4 a long time baby
"The Degenerate" Luke Michaels
> Poorly done piece. Everybody knows Rey is way, way too small to compete
> in the heavyweight category.
SHUT THE FUCK UP.
GET THE FUCK OUT.
THIS ARGUMENT IS STUPID. STUPID.
--
"The Degenerate" Luke Michaels
BREAK IT DOWN! Degeneration-X!