Happy New Year!

And PLEASE take a moment to vote in my WWE 2010 Year End Survey:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/3HZ6G5M

Have a safe and fun night.

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CM Punk & Nexus - What's next?

Those of you who watched Raw last night caught CM Punk emerge as the new leader of Nexus, as Wade Barrett has apparently been ousted from the group. It’s GREAT seeing CM Punk in such a critical role on Raw, and I really hope that this feud lasts until WrestleMania. After his stellar work the past couple of years, he really deserves a high profile match. And Nexus is an established group that I think has a lot of fuel left in its tank, so I’m glad that they’ve figured out a way to keep them as a focal point of the show. I’m really intrigued with the possibilities, and I’m really anxious to see what’s going to happen next. However, there are a few things I really hope they don’t do:

DON’T reveal that CM Punk was the mastermind behind Nexus. There’s no need to rewrite history here. And, for that matter, going back and saying that Punk was behind it all would cause more headaches than necessary. As many of you recall, CM Punk was wrestling John Cena the night Nexus debuted, and they beat the tar out of Punk and the rest of the Straight Edge Society as well. Why would they do that if Punk was in actuality their leader? To simply say it was a ruse is lazy and unconvincing. Why bother pretending to beat him up? It certainly wasn’t to Punk’s benefit.

And that’s the other problem. While Nexus was dominating Raw, Punk was getting his ass handed to him by the Big Show on Smackdown. What sort of mastermind would CM Punk be if his underlings were garnering all of this success while he was struggling to stay afloat?

Basically, they’re better off just saying that Punk seized an opportunity and made a deal with the remaining members of Nexus while Barrett was out of commission. One of those “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” deals.

DON’T drape CM Punk in yellow and black N’s. Back when Stone Cold Steve Austin joined the Alliance during the Invasion angle, it was imperative that Austin wore the WCW logo t-shirt in order to establish that he’s part of this team. For a long time, he didn’t, and quite honestly the angle struggled. Austin was acting like his WWE personality and really didn’t seem like he was part of this group. Yet the whole angle was built on the premise of him being their leader.

However, I take the opposite stance with CM Punk. He has a unique and gravitating look and personality, and it would be a mistake to have him conform so that he’s just another member of this group. I don’t have a problem with him wearing the Nexus arm band (it would be strange if he didn’t), but I don’t think he should wear the logo t-shirt or replace the color scheme of his Chicago-inspired trunks. Nor should he ditch his current and recognizable theme music. As the expression goes, go with what brought you to the dance. Don’t change what made Punk successful.

DON’T turn Wade Barrett face. One of the biggest questions being asked is, “Where does this leave Wade Barrett?” Honestly, I don’t know. Does he stay with Nexus under Punk’s leadership? Does he distance himself from the group and drift into obscurity like Darren Young? Or does he return as a face, fighting against the group he once led? While the last option would be something different, I think it would be a mistake. Barrett is a natural heel, and there’s a lot more he can offer as a main event level villain. Why not move him over to Smackdown, where he can continue his routine with a whole new crop of Superstars? When Edge is finished with Kane, he’s going to need a new heel to feud with (after Alberto Del Rio, is there anybody left?) The WrestleMania possibilities are wide open, and I could easily see matches against Mysterio, Edge, Taker, or Big Show. Now is not the time for Barrett to turn face.

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WWE 2010 Year-End Survey

I hope everybody had a great holiday, and unlike me, I hope you're not snowed in! But with the year coming to a close, now is the time to reflect. So, please take a moment to fill out this WWE Year-End Survey!

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/3HZ6G5M

Check back for the results (as well as my thoughts) next week, provided I get enough feedback! Thanks!

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Merry Christmas!!

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Take a look back at what we expected from 2010

I'm going to post a link for a 2010 year-end survey for WWE and TV, but before I do that I thought I'd post the results of last year's survey:

http://acaseoftheblog.blogspot.com/2009/12/2009-wwe-year-end-awards.html

What did we expect for 2010? For one - a big year for Kofi Kingston. Did it come to fruition? Most would likely say no (at least not to the extent that we expected). I actually referred to it as a "no brainer."

Keep checking over the next couple of days for the new survey. Hope everybody has a wonderful Christmas Eve!

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Don't be a jerk, it's Christmas!

I'm not even a Sponge Bob, but I found this hilarious. Enjoy!

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LIVE Raw Smackdown thoughts

11:06 - I know Cole is pro-Cena, which is fine, but his sudden anti-Vickie-ness is extremely strange. He goes on and on about how hot and gorgeous she is, but is now calling her fat and proclaiming that Cena "has guts" for kissing her?

Great seeing Punk again, and YAY!! He's wearing some snazzy new blue trunks. Will miss him on the Raw commentating team, though.

Overall, a lackluster show and a waste of WWE Week.

10:55 - Great, now Michael Cole is chiming in with the fat jokes as well.

10:50 - Between his stellar matches with Daniel Bryan, his lengthy Intercontinental Title reign, and his competitive battle with John Cena, Dolph Ziggler has been getting a lot of attention lately. Notably, with the main event of this highly hyped edition of Smackdown. This attention is well deserved. I wasn't a big fan of Dolph when he debuted with this new character, but over the past couple of months he's really flourished and improved. Bravo to him.

10:32 - Has any Superstar ever relied on the drop toe hold more than Rey Mysterio? Talk about having a go-to move!

10:15 - Can you claim that something is the first time ever when it's an encore showing?

10:11 - Another curious segment. Kaval is a really entertaining and unique Superstar. Why waste him in a segment such as this? Fans are already familiar with McIntyre, so they didn't need to showcase him in such a dominant fashion. A disappointing show so far.

10:09 - Am I the only one who thinks that Smackdown feels a bit more like Raw than usual? Granted, I don't see Smackdown every week, but don't they typically not show the Superstars' entrance videos on the big screen? Instead, the graphics that appear near the entry take up the entire screen. And there's also graphics on the ring from the lights above. Instead, we see the usual Raw routine.

9:58 - Believe it or not, it's been over a year and a half since Edge has been World Champion.

9:51 - I'm glad they're at least using the Cobra as a distraction so that he can transition into a roll up, opposed to a legitimate finishing maneuver that puts somebody out, but it's still a little TOO silly. If nothing else, why not use it as a distraction so he can use that Stunner-esque move?

9:40 - Doing a Raw Recap, which in and of itself includes a Slammy recap, is like a dream within a dream.

9:32 - How does Cody attacking Hornswoggle mean that he doesn't believe in Santa Claus? That was an awful segment. Terrible way to use this opportunity to hold onto viewers who might be tuning in for a change.

9:15 - I know people find Michael Cole's heel spiel annoying or unwatchable (I love it), but I appreciate the fact that he's bringing up the very valid point that the Miz didn't do anything that every other MITB winner didn't do as well (except RVD, which Cole didn't mention).

9:06 - Visiting WWEShop.com, I come to see this new item, which continues Edge's trend of wearing mismatched wristbands:

http://www.wweshop.com/item/edge-rated-r-ockstar-wristbands/edge/50-07267

9:02 - Welcome to a special Smackdown edition of my ongoing LIVE thoughts. Quick observation - I find it curious that Smackdown seems to get a new theme music, intro video, and graphics theme every 6 months or so. Yet Raw constantly gets into these funks where they use the same theme and intro video (altered slightly to acknowledge debuts/departures/roster changes) for numerous years. Like, 4+ years. Possibly why Smackdown always seems younger and fresher.

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Random, for your enjoyment...

While perusing YouTube this afternoon I came across this clip, which I believe is the greatest scene of The O.C. in the series' history. No surprise, but it also features my favorite person in the whole world (that I don't actually know). ENJOY!:

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A Case of the.... Smallville - Episode 10-11

So are the holidays kicking anybody else’s arse as well? I promise, once we return with new episodes in January, I’ll be better about getting these reviews up in a timely fashion.

Anyway, before moving onto last week’s episode, I wanted to respond to the comment Wally Kovacs left regarding the prior episode. I’ve really come to enjoy Wally’s insight, as he certainly knows a great deal about the various comic book allusions (a lot of my knowledge is limited to what is commonly known), so I hope he continues supplementing my reviews with his comments. Here’s what Wally had to say:

It was bit interesting as they used Ultraman despite most of the rest of the universe being different seemingly only because of a single difference (Lionel got to Clark first) while the Ultraman of the comics is from a universe where everything is reversed (Evil tends to win instead of good, etc). However, they do sort of allude to that in that alternate universe Lionel is right handed instead of left.

I’ll admit that I don’t know much of anything about the comic book Ultraman, but that’s an awesome catch with Lionel being right handed instead of left. Bravo, sir!

Lionel was (nearly) redeemed near the end of the series because of a combination of Jor-El’s influence, Martha Kent, and Clark. In the alternate reality, Clark wasn’t influenced by the Kent’s (and thus couldn’t have a positive effect on Lionel). Similarly, without the Kent’s finding Clark as a child, they never entered into Clark’s circle and thus couldn’t impact Lionel that way. Also, in that universe, Lionel went out of his way to supress Jor-El, so he was never “enlightened” as he was in the real world.

I agree with Wally’s assessment that Lionel reformed because of Clark and the Kents’ influence. To clarify on my comments from last week, I don’t have an issue with the fact that Lionel was completely evil in the alternate universe. That made sense to me. My problem was with Clark’s revisionist memory of Lionel. Clark condemning Lionel as something poisonous and vile discounts the close relationship they had developed over the last few years of Lionel’s life. Like I said, when Lionel died, Clark’s funeral scene quite purposefully mirrored the scene when Clark buried Jonathan. Clark was impacted by Lionel’s death and for him to view him as this completely malicious sociopath discounts the story of his character.

Similarly, it seems that Lionel isolated Clark from most of the positive influences of his life … not only was he not with Kent’s, nor able to learn much of his Kryptonian history and responsibilities from Jor-El, but he also never went to Smallville high, so he didn’t have Lana, Pete or Chloe … If anything, it makes sense how Clark Luthor would be even worse than Lex, as basically he was raised much like Lex was, but without the positive influences that Lex ended up encountering.

So, while the idea of “Lex was the way he was because of Lionel” is a bit of a cop out … ultimately Clark was calling Lionel evil one way or the other in terms of nature vs. nurture argument he made earlier. He realizes that, even he and his parents weren’t enough to disuade Lex off his path, Lex was his father’s son. Even with Lionel changing near the end, the damage was done.

Lex in Smallville is set as a tragic figure, simultaneously trying to escape his legacy but being defined by it either way. Although, even while rejecting his father, he didn’t really reject what his father taught him, only really how his father treated him. He wasn’t really able to walk away from the Machiavelian mindset that pretty much drives him constantly.

To be perfectly honest, my issues with Clark being swayed by the darkside were relatively minute. And it also occurs to me that one of my favorite modern comic books (although I admittedly don’t read them much) is the Superman/Batman Absolute Power story in which Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne are raised by evil time travelers, turning both heroes into murderous killers. This is essentially the same story, so I don’t really have much of a problem with it.

Anyway, onto last week’s thrilling episode – the last before a long hiatus (damn you, CW!)

Continue reading "A Case of the.... Smallville - Episode 10-11"....

The episode kicked off with a bang, as Clark proposed to Lois. I wish I could say I was surprised, but the scene was spoiled by a recent edition of Entertainment Weekly. Sure, they wrote “Spoiler Alert” in bold, but that didn’t stop them from plastering the photo of Clark on his knee presenting Lois with a ring on half of the page. Actually, this isn’t the first time EW has spoiled a major plot point. They nonchalantly revealed the killer of Monk’s wife weeks before the series finale. Nice, real nice.

Anyway, I thought it was a sweet scene and I’m glad they didn’t wait until the final episodes to have them take this plunge. As I’ve said a number of times, this is their final season and they have A LOT of big moments to cover. Not all of them have to wait until the last couple of episodes. Space them out a bit. They’ve done a nice job of this so far.

I also really enjoyed the brief Chloe cameo. At first I wasn’t sure if I was seeing a flashback of footage we’ve seen before. When it became clear it wasn’t, it made me pay even closer attention to what was being said. I loved Chloe’s genuine smile when she put together the pieces that Lois had figured out Clark’s secret. However, I could have done without the Lana mention. For one, we don’t need to tie every significant Clark/Lois moment to Lana. Second, it wasn’t really historically accurate. Lana was willing to let Clark be the hero he needs to be. The problem was that she became so consumed with hate and revenge that she was forced to make decisions that ultimately cost her her relationship with Clark. It was a sweet enough moment that it didn’t need the obligatory and awkward former lover mention.

I also enjoyed the surprise engagement party. Many of these characters only come out to play when it comes time for an epic battle, and even then their relationships seem professional. Sometimes even competitive and abrasive. It’s nice to see that they actually like and care about one another, and that they can also share their happiness with one another. To paraphrase what Clark said to Oliver when he asked him to be his best man, they’re out there together for their worst moments, so they might as well be together for their best too. It was nice seeing everyone happy.

Of course, the happiness didn’t last as this episode also saw the demise of Hawkman. I was really saddened to see this happen, as Smallville portrayed him as a genuinely bad ass character. He looked cool, he talked tough, and unlike virtually every other character on the show – where their costumes take a modern, realistic turn – he looked exactly like he does in the comics. Except even more awesome – with the helmet and wings and everything.

Then again, I probably should have seen it coming. Hawkman got the traditional action movie hero send off. He had a sweet, bonding moment with somebody he never quite saw eye to eye with (Oliver) and an exciting, epic fight scene in which he got to display his abilities (in this case, fight and flight) before succumbing to his dirty fighting opponent. And while I was disappointed to see him go, I loved the way the scene played out. I really enjoyed the fact that he was the one who rescued Lois, despite his debilitating state. And his dying line of “it can’t always be you, Clark” was poignant in its simplicity. Clark can’t be everywhere at all times, so there is a need for all of these other heroes.

The final scene, with all of the heroes in their respective costumes paying their respect to Hawkman was rather great, as well. Honestly, I just love seeing them all in their costumes. And hey, Oliver actually decided to wear the hood and sunglasses.

Anyway, that’s it for me. Sorry again for taking so long to post this. I hope everybody has a great Christmas, if you celebrate, and a safe and happy new year. See you guys in 2011. Until then, be sure to visit my blog and follow me on Twitter! Be well!

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LIVE Raw thoughts (Slammy Edition)

11:10 - So I wasn't completely off the mark on Nexus turning on Otunga. However, the ending to this match made me realize that a Chairs match is probably the least enjoyable of any match being offered on Sunday (for the competitors, anyway). There's very little give with a steel chair, and with the competitors not allowed to hit each other in the head (something I agree with), there's not really a chairshot that'll truly excite the audience. In many ways it's a no win situation.

But I did love Punk saying, "Stay down David!"

11:00 - I don't have a problem with Cena winning Superstar of the Year. If this recent angle with Wade Barrett showed anything, it's how immensely over John Cena truly is.

10:41 - Bravo to David Arquette for taking a powerbomb through a table. Apparently David Arquette donated 100% of the money he made during his time with WCW to Owen Hart's widow (or perhaps it was Pillman's widow), so as far as I'm concerned he's a stand up guy.

10:29 - Glad to see HBK win. And once again, a wonderful video package for the nominees.

10:24 - CM Punk looks like Abe from Clone High.

10:14 - Edge's wrist bands don't match (one is the classic Rated R Superstar logo, the other one is the "sleazy" one) and it bothers me.

10:06 - Divas Tables Match? Interesting idea. They at least seem to be doing more with the TLC gimmick this year than they did last year.

10:04 - Quite honestly, LayCool does deserve the Divas of the Year award. But did they forget to turn Melina heel?

9:46 - I find it interesting that Raw gets the ladder match, table match, and chair match. Or is Mysterio/Del Rio a chair match also?

9:43 - I liked Sheamus' leather crown more. It was something different and unique.

9:39 - Isn't it a conflict of interest for Edge to be presenting for an award in which he's a nominee? Also, Edge needs to grow his crazy beard back. And bring back the sunglasses.

9:38 - EDGE AND CHRISTIAN REUNION!!!! YAY!!!

9:29 - A bit surreal seeing Punk assist Mysterio (by preventing Cole from interfering), eh?

9:21 - We missed out on a great opportunity to see Miz/Kane vs. Rated RKO tonight. Too bad.

9:19 - Awesome that they got the girl to actually appear. Cool for her. And actually, after hearing Miz's accolades for the year (WWE, US, Tag Team title holder, and Money in the Bank winner), he actually is pretty deserving of the Slammy.

9:15 - I always have a little more respect for the celebrities that are willing to make themselves heels. Oh, and Miz girl is totally winning this.

9:09 - So where were all of those Cena allies when Nexus attacked him? Also, I loved Otunga's sly smile when Barrett announced the match, knowing full well what the Nexus leader was up to.

9:05 - I'm guessing that Barrett rehires Cena, and Nexus turns on Otunga.

9:01 - I have to admit, Randy Orton should have won that last Slammy for that awesome RKO on Evan Bourne. Also, Vickie Guerrero has some immensely thick skin -- it's amazing she OK's all of these weight jokes, especially since she HAS lost a considerable amount of weight. Good for her for slimming down to a healthier weight.

8:46 - I'm going to have to agree with the popular opinion that Shatner was robbed. And man, how long was Pee Wee's acceptance speech? I also enjoyed the continued dissension between Nexus, however I think it would have been a nice touch by having Otunga and crew wearing a different Nexus t-shirt. It would have shown the division.

8:30 - Oh, I also loved Punk's big hug to Cole, and yelling "Tyson! I did it!" as he ran up the ramp.

8:24 - Still getting used to Punk without the mustache, but it was great seeing him with an open mic, uninterrupted, for an extended period of time. So.....who do you think he was talking about?

8:15 - I honestly don't know who should win Superstar of the Year. The Miz is the easy option, but I'm not really sure. 2010 was undoubtedly the Miz's year....but was it the year of the Miz? That is to say, this past year was the best year of his career, but when we look back at 2010 as a whole, is the Miz the person we'll be thinking of? Perhaps he is, I'm not sure. I just don't think it's as much of a foregone conclusion as we may think. Even though I don't particularly like him, a strong argument could be made for Randy Orton.

8:09 - I was glad to see Nexus win the Most Shocking Moment, because it truly was. Could anybody have expected that the rookies from season one of NXT would go on to become the focal point of the flagship program for the latter half of 2010? And those nominee videos are pretty damn sleek, too.

8:01 - Clever idea promoting the show as the Slammy Awards, instead of a typical Raw. I like. Although Punk ditched the mustache, which bothers me.

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