NHL Predictions, WWE/TNA Problems and More!

First and foremost, a big congrats to Jon Cutler. To anyone minimizing his accomplishment, they really are jealous, bitter or simply ignorant. Jon obviously impressed someone enough to earn a spot on a live show. He's a great guy and deserves the recognition.



This really speaks to those people who constantly whine about how shitty the Winnipeg wrestling scene is. Certainly, many aspects of the local industry ARE shitty. RME comes to mind (more on their latest gaffe in a bit). But when you consider Jon's RAW match, Kenny's WWE contract and continued success in the US, Mentallo in Mexico and Adam Knight getting the opportunity in Japan it really shows the high level of talent we have here. That is something we should be celebrating and supporting.





We briefly touched on WWE and TNA on last week's The Squared Circle radio program. I think it's worth mentioning that both promotions have been producing some of the most boring, cookie-cutter shows in a long time and both have been "rewarded" with rapidly plummeting ratings.



Paul Heyman made mention of TNA's ratings issues in a recent newspaper article. He made a great point in saying that TNA hasn't really seemed dedicated to branding themselves and marketing that brand to a wide audience. When you consider the vast millions of dollars the have spent to garner a 1.0 rating, a greater investment with a reputable marketing firm might have produced better results.



I think one of their biggest problems is that they don't have a brand. What is TNA? It used to be the alternative to WWE. Before they had the big monthly PPV's and prime time weekly TV, they had a lot of positive wrestling press. They had momentum. They were the anti-WWE, pushing athletic guys in high impact matches, showcasing the type of wrestling you couldn't see in WWE. Now, they are WWE-light.



You will never be successful being WWE-light. Their booking is atrocious and bi-polar, all over the place. You have multiple angles that are essentially the same. You have multiple comedy routines. You have lame rip offs of WWE characters from years ago. I don't care how nice of a guy "Super Eric" is, he doesn't belong on Television at this level. It's embarrassing. The majority of Kurt Angle's most recent title reign was terribly sad with him doing bad comedy with a spotlight on Karen more so than Kurt's opponents.



The biggest example of TNA's problems has been the rise of Samoa Joe to TNA World Champion. This is a move that is about two years two late. Joe should have been pushed to the top when he was on fire and unique and fresh, not now that he's been exposed as over-rated and lazy and his once sterling reputation on the indies has been somewhat soiled. TNA fans spoke with their remotes in rejecting Joe as top guy. It's that simple. And it's not Joe's fault. It's TNA's.



Adding a guy like Booker T is great. He's one of my all time favourite wrestlers. And it's awesome that he's willing to put over a guy like Bobby Roode. But months later, has Roode been elevated to Booker's position or has Booker been dropped to Roode's level? Bad booking, plain and simple. I really think TNA should ditch the X Division title and replace it with a more general secont teir championship. I dont think they understand the purpose of the X title anymore and dont know how to market or book it. A secondary title would help guys like Roode.



TNA's PPV buys have actually decreased as their TV viewers increased over the past few years. What does that tell you? They need a serious over-all. They need to release a bunch of guys, including their entire creative team. Most importantly, they need to decide what they are...what their brand is. If they want to succeed, they should be an alternative to WWE. Imagine if TNA had actually been growing as a company and was pulling in ratings close to a 2.0. With WWE sinking towards a 3.0...suddenly you'd have the makings of another wrestling war. TNA's failings have kept WWE from looking far worse than they do.



But make no mistake, WWE sucks right now. Bad. When was the last time ratings were consistently in the low 3's for RAW? The usuaally strong period right before WM was flat, indicating fans just weren't interested in what WWE was selling. Randy Orton has been the lowest rated WWE champion of the last few years (statistically, ratings averaged 3.47 for his two reigns while Edge drew a 4.07 average for his two reigns). It seems WWE finally panicked a bit and shotgunned the title onto HHH, resulting in...even lower ratings.



This isn't a sudden thing. There has been a very clear downward trend for awhile. Ratings usually take a while to respond to good or bad TV and they finally are in a big way. Reading recaps of RAW from ten years ago is depressing. How can a company that got it right so much in the past, have it so wrong now?



I'd love to hear people add their two cents to this question: What is wrong with WWE right now?





In the comments section of this blog, I was asked about RME's use of the word "Premier" on their website in relation to their announcement of Ozz joining them. I find it amusing, especially when they used "Premiere" instead and still haven't fixed it. They even had Robby Royce's name wrong on their site until Royce asked them to correct it. How can you be in the business this long and not know the guys you're bringing in?? What a mess. It's all fine and good to make talent announcements...but having Ozz and Royce on your website isn't the same as having them on your shows. You have to actually have shows for that to happen. RME will announce a bunch of out of town shows this summer and make a big deal out of it, even though they run those same shows every year. They've been bragging about running Winnipeg since last fall...shit or get off the pot.



Quite honestly, I'd love to see RME run Winnipeg. Watching their shows reinforces to me that I know what I'm doing. If you produce a show and it does not look anything like an RME show, you're doing something right. Plus, I'd love to see Wayne Stanton embarrass RME at their own game. Wayne did in a two week period what RME bragged for months and months they were going to do and never did - he ran a great show in Winnipeg. And he had better talent and a larger crew than RME ever has. Good for Wayne.



I had a brief conversation with Ryan Wood today who wanted to let me know that he has no idea why he's on RME's website and has let Angus know to remove him. RME got one thing right - Woody does want to work for the best promotion in town. It's just not them.



As I have repeatedly stated, my e-mail in box is wide open. Unfortunately, there are those who would rather fail on their own than to be apart of something better.





Well I was 2 for 4 in my Playoff picks this past round. I can't believe San Jose choked again. Colorado was squashed by Detroit but they were decimated by injuries and had no hope.



Here are my Conference Finals Predictions:



Detroit vs Dallas: Detroit in six. The Stars' only hope is to expose Detroit's goaltending. I have a feeling Chris Osgood will be pulled at some point, only to have Hasek steal a game. Call me crazy, but thats what I see happening. The Wings are too deep and talented.



Pittsburgh vs Philadelphia: My Penguins continue to role and overcame a lot of adversity against New York. I was glad to see them lose a game and deal with that. Rumours are that Sidney Crosby is injured. This is the match up the Pens didn't want in the opening round. The Flyers will attack and pound the Pens and play them hard and dirty. This round will show what the Penguins are really made of - they cant let Philly push them around. And if the Flyers come after Crosby, Briere should have his head taken off. Pens are too deep, fast, talented and on the verge of a new dynasty. Penguins in 6.



In Playoff Pool news, I enter the Conference Finals in Third place with eight players (all Penguins and Flyers). Second place has only one guy left so I should overcome him. First place is still Manos who, remarkably, has all his guys left.



The hockey-confused Rawskillz began making his move, rising to seventh place with 3 players left. Markswell fell to last place and only has Hasek remaining.