The Sun's Lead Wrestling reporter, Football365's referee correspondent and creator and producer of The One Sided Ring podcast. http://robmcnichol.blogspot.com
1. The Undertaker's confrontation with Brock Lesnar has received quite a bit of mainstream attention, much less the wrestling community. What do you think went down.
Rob:I think it comes down to the wording. Taker said "You wanna do it?" WWE need Brock more than he needs them. I'd suggest it's likely they sent him an offer, to which no firm response has been received. That was Mark Calaway taking it upon himself to drum up a bit of publicity. Harmless fun.
2. One one would be hard pressed to say this is not a down period for the WWE. Raw ratings are down, Smackdown's ratings are disappointing, and PPV buys are near an all time low. Why do you think the WWE product is struggling as of late?
Rob:Wow. Difficult to give a quickfire answer to this. I could probably do a special podcast devoted to this and it would run longer than a PPV!! I'm not sure the 'as of late' part of your question is the key. I think wrestling fans have been told for too long, too often, that what they watch isn't important. It's two hours of frothy, throwaway light-entertainment that you can dip in and out of as you please. I don't think fans want that. I think people want, and gravitate to, a hard-hitting serious product they can get behind (UFC) with a genuine sporting feel (NFL). I think WWE has been much better for longer stretches in 2010 than it was in 2009, when the guest host nonsense kicked into overdrive. But they are suffering for not taking the product seriously for a long time.
3. In my opinion the creation of Nexus was one of the most exciting things to come down the pike in years. What's your take on how the WWE has handled this angle?(the whole thing and the recent developments with Cena)
Rob:I'd probably give them 6.5, maybe 7 out of ten for it. The first chapter was phenomenal. The Nexus debut was a stunning moment. (It came during a God awful show, but the moment was terrific.) I think everyone could see that booking them to lose at Summerslam was idiotic and killed a lot of their heat. Their ace in the hole is Wade Barrett. He is one of the best talkers I have heard in a very long time. He just has 'it'. Without him, this angle would have struggled. But it does have him, and I think the subtle development of Otunga as an underlying threat to his leadership is excellent. Gabriel looks like he could be a decent enough midcarder, too. I'm not crazy about the latest angle with Cena, because I feel it has too many plotholes, but if they time it right, Cena v Barrett in a blow-off match could do decent business, possibly at Royal Rumble.
4. As a face there's just something about Randy Orton that doesn't work for me. Something's missing what do you think it is?
Rob:I don't think he ever really turned, and to me that hurts him. It didn't have to be a change of attitude per se, but I would have liked to have seen him help a babyface or simply RKO a heel that was annoying the hell out of the crowd. The fans that started cheering him started cheering a cool heel. But there are certain things he can't do as a babyface to make him cool, so some of those cheers have dissipated. I'd give it time, though. Randy is one of the best workers in the world right now. He'll come through.
5. What do you think wrestling will look like in ten years?
Rob:Hindsight is 20/20, but foresight to the year 2020? That's impossible to say. Do that for the last thirty years. in 2000 WCW was alive but dying, and the WWF was on fire. in 1990 Hulkamania was around, and things were cartoony. in 1980 the territories ruled. I think the evolution of the next ten years will depend on TNA getting a decent booker; on how any handover from Vince to Steph/Triple H is handled; on whether ROH can survive with it's present outlook; on whether TV companies continue to support wrestling; on whether the current top stars help develop new ones; and various other individual factors. I don't even Vince or Dixie could answer your question satisfactorily.
6. Who do you think the Undertaker will face at Wrestlemania?
Rob:You want me to say Lesnar, right? (laughs). A couple of weeks ago I'd have said realistically it's between two men. John Cena and Sheamus. Personally I'd book him with Cena, but it's all dependent on when Taker wants to hang up his boots. If he wants to retire fully next year, then book him with Sheamus and let the Irishman end the streak. I've always been of the opinion the streak should end to put someone over, but only when Taker is done. If he is to carry on, then lets do Taker/Cena now while they can. It would have genuine big-match buzz, and you can actually get people believing Cena might be booked to go over.
The enigma in the equation is Wade Barrett. The Nexus attacking Taker angle at Bragging Rights was interesting If WWE believe in him enough, they could do Barrett v Taker. Taker would win to keep the streak alive, but booking Barrett in that spot would tell the world he is a main eventer. He wouldn't have to win to get over.
7. If you were going to give the Hogan/Biscshoff regime a grade so far what would it be? Why?
Rob:I'd say D-. Put simply, their influence in the past 12 months has seen TNA massively increase their spending, and it's gained nothing. They've added RVD, Hardy, Flair, Anderson, Tommy Dreamer and others, all on decent contracts, but it's done little. House show business is up because they do more shows, but the attendances aren't skyrocketing. Buy rates are negligible, and their ratings are no different to what they were before Hogan and Bischoff turned up. The average rating in 2010 so far is lower than in 2009, although this obviously does include some ratings up against Raw.
More importantly, I guess, is that the quality of shows is low. I liked TNA's show in the back end of 2009. When got out of the Main Event Mafia, pushed Wolfe, Angle, AJ, Morgan in the right places, I thought they were onto something. But for the most part, Impact this year has been very poor. Often nonsensical and head-scratching, and at worst simply boring. It's damaged goods, and the worst thing for Hogan/Bischoff is they talk about TNA needing more exposure, but the facts are that they are able to pop a short-term rating, but the fans soon disappear because they don't like what they are presented with.
It's a D- because they haven't gone out of business. The mark is in red ink, with "must do better" written in large lettering.
8. Who's the most underused wrestler in the business today?
Rob:Another massively difficult question to answer, because there is a difference between underused, underrated and used wrongly. Samoa Joe, for example, is on TV a lot, so to call him underused would be wrong, but I'm not crazy about how he has been booked. You could look to a few guys like Petey Williams and Jimmy Rave, who I think are great talents but don't have a job. You could argue it's someone like Shingo, Christopher Daniels or Davey Richards, who happen to work for small promotions and don't get the international TV exposure their talent deserves.
If we're talking talent signed to the big two that don't get enough high profile airtime, I'd say before he got injured WWE didn't get enough out of Christian. I don't understand why there wasn't a major feud between him and Edge or Jericho. I think Gail Kim is probably the best female wrestler in WWE, but it's easy to forget she even works there. It's ridiculous. I don't know what the unexplained reason for the absence of Desmond Wolfe is, but TNA's booking of him was nothing short of a joke.
9. What is your reaction to the Hardy heel turn and how do you think it's played out so far.
Rob:It's still early days. His promos have been better than I expected, but it's wrestling style I'm worried about. He just isn't suited to being a heel in the ring. Heels have to work a 'bump-and-feed' style, and I can't see Jeff pulling it off. I hope to be wrong, but that's my fear. I also think to get him over as a heel World Champ he will be win by cheating all the time. I'm utterly sick of seeing heels with no credibility.
I think they turned Hardy because they wanted to do something shocking, as opposed to be it being a cleverly plotted out plan.
10. Who are some of your all time favorite wrestlers?
Rob:I was a huge Bret Hart fan growing up, and watching old tapes and spending time with the man just strengthens his position in my head as my favourite ever. I think Shawn Michaels' body of work, all round performance and consistency stakes him a claim for being the best of all time.
I've always been a 'wrestling' guy. I like smaller guys who work realistically. The tragedy aside, Chris Benoit was a phenomenal worker. Being at Wrestlemania to see Rick Steamboat was a highlight of my wrestling viewing life. I've always thought the Dragon was underrated. You have to include Kurt Angle in any of these lists, too. Curt Hennig and Chris Jericho would make my top ten.
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