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SEScoops Mailbag for October 28th
(submit YOUR questions to [email protected])
Q: I’m a big fan of monster heels, so I’m just wondering how far the new pushes of big Zeke and Tyler Reks will go? – Southjerz856
A: Apparently, not very far for Ezekiel Jackson seeing as how he was completely left off of last Monday’s Raw show. I always thought a Terry Tate, Reebok-like reintroduction of the character (sans the football mentions) through a series of vignettes would have been a great way to get him over. The jury is still out on what they will do with him. As for Rob Zomb…ermm, I mean Tyler Reks, so long as there is a heel World champion on the Smackdown brand, he won’t be challenging for the top belt anytime soon. We also presently have a heel in Dolph Ziggler as IC champion, so scratch that off the list. I can appreciate them trying to put over new talent, but I think they put the wrong talent over when they gave him Kaval’s spot in that Bragging Rights match.
Q: I’ve been seeing things on other sites about a “silver” unified title. Why would WWE want to combine two gold championships and make it silver? Everyone knows silver is of lesser value than gold. – Ryan Begley
A: Don’t let former ECW champion Matt Hardy hear you say that. But gold is currently valued at $1,331 per ounce, so you would be correct. That said, I don’t know what sites you are referring to, but I don’t believe that was posted on SEScoops. I certainly have heard no such rumor, nor do I put much stock into it. WWE already created one silver championship and it didn’t last long before it was retired.
Q: What has Viscera been doing with himself lately? I haven’t heard anything about him since WWE released him because of his weight.
A: Nelson Frazier has been doing acting work, in addition to wrestling overseas. There’s a YouTube match floating around of him in All Japan Pro Wrestling as Big Daddy Voodoo facing off with Akebono from August that you can check out. He also has a small role in the movie “Wrong Side of Town” with Rob Van Dam and Big Dave Batista. I don’t want to give it away, but the best part of that film includes Batista, rapper Ja Rule, and a gunshot wound to the head.
Q: I don’t get HDNet and the YouTube channel I was watching ROH on was recently shut down. Would you ever consider posting results/spoilers of ROH television shows on the website and maybe even other televised wrestling shows across the globe, like AAA or CMLL? – Brock Benningfield
A: We are always open to suggestions. If there is enough demand for added coverage of ROH, AAA or CMLL shows, the best thing to do is to drop us an e-mail at [email protected] and let us know. Cool name, by the way.
Q: How many times have groups like NWO, Four Horsemen or DX joined together and disbanded? When thinking back, it’s hard to place a date or incident where they officially disbanded. For example, after the NWO came The Wolfpac, then a rejoining, a Japan NWO and they even had an LWO, but I can’t remember what made each of these incarnations come to fruition and eventually dissolve away. – Geremy Kerr
A: Many times. There were multiple factions that splintered off of the original now and several incarnations of the Horsemen and DX. Sometimes there is an angle shot that leads to the formation of a group, like the Hart Foundation in 1997 or WCW/ECW Alliance in 2001, while other times a collection of guys are simply put together with no explanation, such as D.O.A. or Los Boricuas. Many of them did just sort of died off without much fanfare, but for most of the bigger ones, that was not the case. With Evolution, for example, they kicked out Randy Orton and Batista later turned on Triple H and Ric Flair. But you can also point to the Main Event Mafia in TNA where there was no such angle. Poor Scott Steiner is still holding team meetings by himself.
Q: Will WWE ever bring back their juniors division? Also, what was the deal with Randy Orton using Killswitch Engage’s “This Fire Burns” for one night on Smackdown back in 2006? – Justin (J.R.399)
A: For some background, as I had nearly forgotten about this myself, WWE created a “Juniors” division back in October 2005 as a Smackdown property. It featured a number of midget wrestlers from Mexico that mostly appeared in comedy skits before the division was abruptly dropped in March 2006 and all the minis were released. WWE has no plans that I’m aware of to resurrect this division, which is a shame because I still look back fondly on the mid-90’s WWF and the days of Max Mini, Mini Mankind and Mini Vader. As for Orton’s theme, they used it once, realized it wasn’t a good fit for his character and it later went to CM Punk. This is not the first time such a thing has occurred with the most famous example being Rick Derringer’s “Real American”, originally intended for the U.S. Express (Barry Windham and Mike Rotundo), going to some dude named Hulk Hogan.
Q: Do you think if Miz cashed in his Money in the Bank at WrestleMania, which he would have announced ahead of time, and lost a close, hard-fought match that it would do more for his career than winning the title after the champion has just had a match or been beaten up? – Keith
A: Absolutely. The worst thing that could happen is for Miz to cash in on a vulnerable champion after their match, lose, and look like a complete goofball. The best thing would be for him to show some guts, announce in advance his intentions to go to the main event of WrestleMania to challenge for the title and have a competitive match, win or lose. One idea I suggested on a recent episode of the Sound Off is that if WWE is seriously considering turning John Cena heel, start planting the seeds now and build to a double turn at Mania with him defending the title against Miz.
Q: What do you think of CM Punk being groomed as the next color commentator for Raw? I think it would be a brilliant move. His mic skills are great and I think Jerry Lawler’s schtick is getting old. – Vic from Vegas
A: Punk has been incredible the few times I’ve heard him on commentary, namely Raw last Monday and NXT. He’s far more valuable as an in-ring performer, so I would hate to see him announcing right now, but he would be an asset in that role when he’s ready to hang up the boots, or if he were sidelined with an injury for an extended period of time (he recently underwent an MRI for a nagging hip issue). I also think Big Show has been tremendous on commentary the few times I’ve heard him. As for Jerry Lawler, he is a shell of his former self, but I can’t lay the blame totally at his feet. He’s doing what Vince McMahon tells him to do and playing the role of wacky heel announcer with TV-14 one liners doesn’t fit into today’s PG environment. To see what I’m talking about, click here and take a look at this classic Jerry Lawler promo from Raw in 1997. All these years later, this segment still makes my jaw drop.
Keep those questions coming to [email protected] and remember to include your name!
