The Way I See It: The Return
Posted by TWV Guest Columnists
on 10/21/2006
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Guest Column By Josh Garzoli
After a couple of years of an unexpected hiatus, I'm back to typing up columns again. I can't give an explanation as to why I stopped typing up columns to begin with because I just don't have one. I did and that's just the way it is. I haven't decided yet if I'm going to start typing them up again regularly or not, but I will be typing up bits & pieces often. If this column isn't as in-depth as my past ones have been, I apologize in advance.
Like all of the other pro wrestling fans that constantly read up to date news off the internet & news reporters themselves, I was shocked when I found out Kurt Angle signed with TNA. I wasn't fortunate enough to be able to see it live during the TNA PPV like everyone else because I was out of state, but when I heard about it, the word shocked can't describe what I was thinking. It was just flat out mind blowing that a month or less after being released from WWE because of health issues, he was already joining TNA. It's good for TNA that they've got a former legitimate star power from WWE. Kurt Angle, to this date, is the biggest acquisition for TNA. But I've got to question Kurt Angle's decision for joining another pro wrestling promotion this early when he's, in fact, still beaten up pretty bad. Now before I go any further, I have all of the respect in the world for Kurt Angle and I'm not in anyway criticizing him. Any pro wrestling fan that doesn't realize how dedicated he is is blind as a bat and I don't know what to say about them.
He can try hiding it all he wants, but the IWC knows that he still is hurting. His history of having a bad neck isn't any secret either. In April 2003, he took time off to get neck surgery to take care of his neck; only problem with that was it wasn't the proper surgery to get one hundred percent healed, but instead a temporary fix and he was back in three months. He came back and not too long after that, he hurt his neck again by taking an unprotected chair shot, didn't take time off, but was on an easy schedule so he could stick around. Then after WrestleMania XX, he took five months off from the ring to rest his neck, but instead of getting it properly taken care of, he became a GM for SmackDown! for a short time and in my & most of the other fans' opinion bombed big time and was glad when he started wrestling again. I also should note that after returning to the ring from his GM stint, he remained active up until his release. I'm not going to go further into depth because you all know what went down with his release from WWE and that's why I question him going to TNA already. Hopefully with the light schedule that TNA does, he will this time do what needs to be done to get himself healed up properly so his career doesn't get shortened like Steve Austin's did.
After a year of Edge being in a storyline with Cena off & on over the WWE title, it's looking like he's going to be involved in a feud with Orton teaming up against DX for the next couple of months. I'm glad to see that he's still going to be involved with a high profile feud, although I would've preferred if he was the champ still. When the stipulation with his match against Cena for the WWE Title that if Cena lost he'd have go to SmackDown! at Unforgiven, I was hoping, but not expecting, to see Cena lose the match and go back to SmackDown! It would've been naive of me to actually think he was going to lose the title because WWE clearly thinks he needs to be the champ when he's already an established star & with all the promotional appearances that he does, which in reality, he does need to be a star. RAW is already overloaded with star power though and SmackDown! could use him again. He could still do the promotional appearances that he does without the WWE Title and still remain a big focus for the company, the same way Edge has been used now for the past couple of years actually, even though he doesn't have the belt. Cena will still be liked with or without the title. The two times that Edge had the WWE Title, his only feud during those title reigns were with Cena and Edge should've had the chance to feud with others with the WWE Title. I'm not saying for one second that he's lost his buzz, because matter of fact, he's clearly more popular than ever. I just hope WWE will act on it and not let him hit rock bottom like Orton and have to build himself back up again in the fans eyes.
It'll be good to see Orton in a high profile feud again, after his losses to Kurt Angle & Undertaker during his SmackDown! feuds with them & after being embarrassed by Hogan at Summerslam, he could use some wins again and hopefully by the end of the year, he'll have a title or at least be at the top again in the fans eyes. I'm not saying he deserves much sympathy because of the things that he has pulled this year, but you can't forget when his buzz was killed and it started at Unforgiven 2004 when HHH beat him for the World Title after only having it for a month. It's been down hill for him ever since; maybe he had it all coming to him or maybe he didn't. I personally think he deserves some for how he was used back in 2004 when he was taken to the top and then dropped quickly like a bad habit. But from 2005 to now is debatable and I say that because I question just how much that was reported about him is true. When it was leaked to other pro wrestling websites that he had failed a drug test shortly after returning from his two month suspension, it turned out to be false and that's why I question the credibility of the time he came off of his suspension to the present day. Fans still wonder why Vince doesn't like other pro wrestling websites?
Another quick note before I finish up this column, I think it's pathetic how WWE has used Shelton Benjamin as of late. Here's a person that instantly became a star when being drafted to RAW back in 2004 and they now have turned him into a jobber as evident by watching RAW this past Monday when he didn't even get a chance to have a decent match with Benoit, which could've been a match of the year candidate. Actually, I don't know if that's an indication or having him pull the racial card three weeks ago during the "Vince McMahon get well bit." It's obvious that ECW has once again (like the original) became the place for pro wrestlers to actually shine as wrestlers and not sports entertainers and since it doesn't look like Benjamin is going to be pushed again anytime soon because of his lack of mike skills, he should be sent there where he can shine instead of being wasted.
Well that's it for this edition of "The Way I See It" and I hope you all liked it. When I first started typing this out, I didn't plan on typing out a lot, but as I was typing, more thoughts came to my head and so here you go, a good sized thing that you've read.
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