From MOP Squad Sports

Columnists : Palace 3.0
The Palace Report: Opinions from the mind of a fan
By MIKE SICILIANO - MOP Squad Sports Staff Writer
Aug 25, 2008 - 12:54:26 PM

Hey, a little weekday action here at the Palace, but of course, there's a secondary motive for this. I am writing this little piece to prime my brain for my return to the radio airwaves this coming Saturday night on the Pro Wrestling Rewind. Check wrestleview.com/rewind for information on when the mp3 will be up and running.

Ok, cheap pop out of the way, time to get to work.

Goldberg is making waves about a comeback in wrestling. I don't know how old Goldberg is, but I can't say he's too young. However, Goldberg's name recognition in itself would be money for someone to take a crack on, I would think. Personally, I'm a Goldberg fan, I always have been. His style may not be flashy and technical, but I'm never one to look away from someone who walks up to you, cracks you in the mouth, and then smiles about it. (Sorry for the pun, Deuce & Domino.)

Question is, where does he go, if he does go through with this? That's where things get fishy. I don't think there's a chance in the pits of Hades that Goldberg's ego could coincide alongside the mastodonic size ego that is Vince McMahon again. I would say the chances are slim and none about Goldberg in WWE, and slim just slipped on a banana peel heading out the door.

Could Jeff Jarrett take a snap at Goldberg in TNA? Short term, hell yeah, I think so. Unfortunately, TNA has become riddled with "short term" superstars that haven't figured out when it's time to pass the torch, but I'll get to that later. I think it's rather feasible to see Goldberg in the six sided ring.

Simply put, I doubt ROH could afford him. While I think Goldberg ought to take in to consideration the RABID following that paces behind Ring of Honor, I simply doubt he will, and the dollars and cents signs will force ROH to back out of any potential negotiations with Goldberg. However, think about this for one second. Goldberg vs. Morishima. Bowling shoe ugly, but damn, I would love to see it.

Here's a shot of where I think Goldberg will end up, if he does go through with this comeback idea.

The National Wrestling Alliance.

Since the NWA took control of their titles from the hostages that was TNA, they need credibility. Badly. They need name recognition. More so. Yes, they have name recognition as in Adam Pearce, Brent Albright, Bryan Danielson & others, but they need big name recognition. No offense to the men I mentioned, but I mean serious star power. This is the same organization that took a stab at Sid, and it appears, from all likelihood, that Sid took full advantage of that, but again, I'll get to that later.

While Goldberg will NOT be used to performing in front of generally small crowds in smaller arenas, the chances are superb that they would immediately sell out and quickly graduate up to the bigger venues. Once that occurs, the sky's the limit. However, when reality sets in, and reality is always the buzz kill, chances are good none of this will happen, and this comeback will die a quick and quiet death.

One can dream. At least, I can, since, as I said, I am a fan of Goldberg. Anyone who's interested, on my facebook page is a pic of Goldberg with my youngest son back at the WM XX press conference, before he was embarassed out of WWE against Brock at WM XX. I can't think to high heaven that Goldberg wants that to be his last match in pro wrestling, win, lose, or draw.

Ok, one way or another, I hope Goldberg makes it back to the squared circle, which brings me to my next topic. Ric Flair and Ring of Honor.

Never thought I'd say those two phrases in the same sentence, but apparently, Flair & ROH have been talking about appearances. While I do not discount one bit the need for Naitch to make a living, and the sky's the limit regarding the moolah that can come in, now that he's out of the strangle hold that is WWE, I think that his inability to come to a deal with ROH is troubling. The reason is simple. ROH has probably the third most exposure in the US next to TNA and WWE, and when WWE is not in the picture, and its highly doubtful that Jeff Jarrett will take a flyer on another non-wrestling personality to join up with TNA, ROH is the semi-perfect fit. It puts Flair on the map globally with ROH's connections to NOAH and Dragon Gate in Japan, and leads to God knows what other kinds of possibilities in the States and abroad. Perhaps he can get those opportunities through the NWA, and if so, so be it, as he obviously has much more ties to the National Wrestling Alliance rather than Ring of Honor, but from a fan's perspective, I would've liked to see Ric "give back" to the fans a little bit, take a little less money, come to the show, and do what he does best, entertain. It's a lock that Flair will do tremendous with these engagements, and again, I don't discount him one penny, but it does get a little sad, once in a while, when you are so hopeful to get a chance to see someone you look up to once again, and it doesn't happen because of the $ sign, it's depressing.

I know people are gonna scream at me for that one, but hey, it's one man's opinion.

Let's look over the scrambles for Unforgiven. This match seems dangerously close to an ROH style match, which almost frightens me. What I don't like about these matches is the 5 minute interval thing. It makes it almost like a Royal Rumble Ironman match. I know the champion has no advantage, which I do like, a lot, but if we're gonna make it like a Royal Rumble with a tiered appearance system, then increase the participants. Whoever comes out last will have 5 minutes to do the deal before the time expires, which turns this thing in to a luck of the draw type of match, which makes it insanely predictable from a WWE creative standpoint.

The Raw scramble is dangerously predictable with the same guys. Cena, Batista, JBL and Kane, alongside the champion Punk. I won't go in to who wins and loses, but this match does not intrigue me one bit, because there's no chance of something new & fresh here, and I would assume that's what WWE is trying to accomplish here with this style of a match. Difficult to achieve that, me thinks, when the participants are pretty much the same guys that have been at the top rung of the ladder from day one.

The SmackDown! scramble, on the other hand, intrigues me tremendously. I would have never dreamed Jeff Hardy would be close to WWE gold this soon, if ever, again, MVP is close as hell to WWE championship status, and this match will provide him with infinite experience in a title match situation, the US champion as a contender in this match leads to the possibility of a double champion. While doubtful, the chance is there, and that's definitely something out of the ordinary. Of course, then there's the champ, who will more than likely do what he does, and keep the belt for now, but the one part of this match I am most intrigued about is to see how THE Brian Kendrick performs in the biggest match of his WWE career. Who would've thought Spanky the streaker would be competing for WWE championship gold. It's definitely something that's got my interest peaked.

Going forward, R - Truth Ron Killings is set to debut this coming week on SmackDown!. Bottom line here is simple, if WWE lets Ron Killings be "The Truth", the dumb gimmick name won't matter, and WWE will have a talented athlete on their roster that could feud with Shelton or MVP right out of the gate. If WWE makes him morph back in to the "K-Kwik" character from back in the day, well, Ron Killings' career in WWE will be short lived. Sad that an athlete's future has to be depended on a bunch of suits with no creative ability. Oops, did I just insult Freddie Prinze, Jr.? Guess I did. Sorry. Wait, no I'm not.

Quick aside, how funny is it that Carlito's brother Eddy (Primo) Colon is getting more air time on WWE programming than Carlito. How many times are we going to have to hear that Carlito is upset about his push and wants out? Do us a favor, Mr. Apple Eater, and shut your pie hole. Either put up, shut up, or get out. One way or the other, your whining is going to cost you your job, because I can bet its wearing awfully thin on the Terror of Titan Towers, Vince McMahon. And quite frankly, I'm sick of hearing about this guy bitching and complaining all the time. He sounds like a baseball player to me. Whoops, that'll make my kid mad that I said that.

I read a report that Mike Adamle is working with a personal trainer because WWE has plans to have him wrestle. As God as my witness, I may be forced to stop writing this column and watching WWE as a whole if Mike Adamle starts wrestling. I actually think he has a position that will benefit himself and the company, and if WWE is smart, they'll leave him the hell alone. Somehow, though, I doubt it.

Speaking of the Big Sid, the rumors are floating around that Sid is closer to signing with WWE. If Sid can handle the workload, I hope he can make it, and succeed. I am worried, though, for the big man, because I can tell you of a big man that is loitering on TNA programming that has a similar build to Sid and is barely mobile to say the least. I hope and pray that Sid is in better condition from a leg perspective than someone like Kevin Nash, who is as mobile as I am. If the legs are fresh, go for it. If not, then stop now, and go out with dignity. I'd welcome him in though, if the health is there.

I am not happy at all with the possibilities of Rey Mysterio feuding with Kane. I read a report that Rey is considered by suits in WWE to be too injury prone. While I suspect the possibility is there that Rey is injury prone, putting him in feuds with men that can break him in half, almost literally, is not doing the sport, or this talent, any justice for getting your money's worth. This brings up the usual debate of the destruction of the cruiserweight division. I don't know, just call me biased here, but I am becoming more of a fan of the athletic high flyers going against each other, than trying to climb mountains that are virtually impossible.

I know I am being contradictory here, so let me try this. I got no problem with talents facing off that have some equality, ala Samoa Joe & AJ Styles, or Umaga & Jeff Hardy, but when the weight difference gets to be triple digits, as the case is pretty simple to see here with Mysterio & Kane, it's a bit much to try and stomach. It reminds me of when Rey took the shot on the pole while strapped to the med board at a Backlash event from the Big Show. That was hard to watch, and I see that happening again with this feud with the Big Red Monster, and that's not something I want to see.

I am really stunned with Gail Kim's departure from TNA. I would've thought a pioneer of the Knockouts division would have stayed in Orlando for the forseeable future. I would have to believe that WWE knocked her socks clean off with an offer to return to WWE to assist the depleted women's roster, because personally, I thought Kim had the rep to be a major player in TNA for the long haul. I will say this, though, Gail Kim vs. Natalya Neidhart, I would pay to see that. Book it now.

Is it me, or does anyone else NOT want to see Travis Tyson Tomko return to WWE? Tomko is an adequate wrestler at best, who has difficulty showing any significant charisma during his matches. I recently saw the No DQ match he had with Abyss when he took a hideous beating, and it really looked like he was going through the motions, which made the match less attractive when you look at it more closely. Obviously, the casual fan is going to like what Tomko brings from an asethetic concept, but the cover doesn't always tell you what's inside, and in this case, I would like to see WWE pass here. Tomko oughta go back to New Japan, and get his bridges in order there, & try and return to the US after a while, honing his skills in the ring in the meantime.

It is pretty heir apparent that Mick Foley is done with WWE. Simply put here, I don't want Mick in TNA at all. I want Mick to return to ROH, do what he did back before going back to WWE, and bring ROH back to Long Island in some way, shape, or form. I am fearful Mick would be lost in the shuffle in TNA with all the superstars down there, and that would not be beneficial to Foley's legacy. Foley has nothing left to prove, and his time could be much more well spent with the younger, fresher talents of Ring of Honor. In simpler terms, until TNA gets rid of the albatross that is Kevin Nash, any older legend is going to find it nearly impossible to make it at all on the TNA scene. End of story.

Two quick notes to end this. If Kurt Angle truly wants to kill himself, he'll continue this potential charade of getting in to an MMA fight. With the way Brock Lesnar took Heath Herring apart, Angle wouldn't stand a chance at that level, at that intensity, and at that ferocity. I don't care how much experience wrestling Angle has. MMA for Angle with his current health level is suicide. I hope, for his sake, and his children's, his head out thinks his heart.

And lastly, this four way match for the World title at No Surrender. Samoa Joe defending against Booker T., the winner of Angle vs. Nash, and one more talent to be determined next week. Can I ask you something? Where's the alternative? Where's the new talent? Where's the freshness? TNA is so desperate to be on the map from a star power perspective to keep their television ratings up that they're killing their product, slowly but surely. It's truly pathetic.

Well, one thing is for certain, when a forum is given, opinions are mandated. I hope I gave some of you some food for thought, debate, and/or flames. You want some, come get some. While you're at it, be sure and check out wrestleview.com/rewind on saturday night/sunday morning to hear my appearance on the Pro Wrestling Rewind with "The Power" Andy Knowles. I'm doing the whole two hours, and believe me, I hope to stir up some trouble when I'm done.

Take care, and thanks for reading.

My email is Klac1102@aol.com.

My blog is at http://mikesiciliano.blogspot.com.

 



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