An Event for the Ages.

Lets get something straight there is only one pro wrestling company. That is the WWE. Though there are others they are not in the same league. By the same token the UFC is the only mma promotion in the U.S. Both Strikeforce and TNA are clear seconds but distant seconds. Both the WWE and the UFC are so firmly established they are pretty much synonymous with their respective sport in the way the NFL is with football and the NBA is with basketball. In all likely hood that won't change. Even though strikeforce has has the #1 ranked heavyweight in the world and a deal with a major network and TNA has some of the best in ring talent and the biggest wrestling draw of all time(even if its a decade past his expiration date) but that doesn't mean much.

Both pro wrestling and mma live and die with their stars. In mma star power is measured in wins and losses. So While Fedor may be the best in the world all the other major heavyweights are in the UFC. Same thing with most of the other weight classes. Strikeforce may have one or two great fighters in each weight class, but for the most part the best in the world reside in the UFC. Since pro wrestling is scripted TNA has a different problem. They lack visibility. Their only stars reconizeable to the main stream are ex wwe and wcw guys way past their heyday. While they may be doing a good good building up new stars now, pushes don't make stars recognizable to the mainstream. It dosen't bring in a new audience. So what ever good work they do it wont mean anything if no one watches.

In order to truly compete Strikeforce and TNA need to do something big. Something that will catch the attention of everyone. Something like compete with each other in a joint event. Crazy I know. Wrestling is scripted mma is not. However there are several wrestlers in TNA that train in mma. For starters a certain gold medalist who may be the best prowrestler to ever live, TNAs most recognizable name and some1 who has been training in and talking about making the leap into mma. Set him up with a fight with the new strikeforce light heavyweight Jake Shields. If Kurt wins strikeforce gets the largest draw since Brock Lesner. If Kurt loses Jake shields gets the largest possible rub defeating a former gold metalist and mainstream celebrity.

Another guy who is actually trying to do both mma and wrestling Bobbey Lashley could make his Strikeforce debut at this event. TNA's largest home grown talent Samoa Joe is known to train avidly in judo and jin jitsu with Team Punishment, Tito Ortiz's training camp. James Storm was a state wrestling champion in high school and A.J. Styles has an impressive wrestling background and they both could possibly be competent mix martial artist as well. Let's not forget Tara's altercation with Kim Coulter at Bound For Glory that was to set up a mma fight between the two. An event between these two promotions would be a promoters wet dream and if done right could bring in major audiences that not only currently watch only the WWE or the UFC but could also bring in new fans who don't watch mma or pro wrestling.

#1 Contender Concept

Welcome to The Daily Slam!

Last nights 3 hour edition of Raw with Jesse "The Governor" (because The Body isn't cool enough to say) Ventura was one of most dynamic and interesting one in quite some time. I have always admired and respected the man for his independent views on politics and going against the ordinary life style he lives. Then he does it again with an amazing concept to livin up the show. Jesse says he's tired of seeing the same guys getting title shots and he isn't the only one. His Breakthrough Battle Royal Qualifying Matches and the Battle Royal to be #1 contender brought about some amazing matches and kept me entertained for the complete 3 hours.

Now we all know we can't have these kind of matches after every pay per view so this has myself and TheApostateoftheAgeofPisces brainstorming of a new concept to award a new #1 contender. It's almost like the wwe.com's Power Rankings. Every brand would have it's own #1 Contender Rankings. So for example as it would stand right, November 24th '09, Sheamus would hold the #1 spot on the list. The only way to become the #1 contender would be to challenge him for his spot but only if you were ranked at #2. They could do this with the top 5 and this could also help build small feuds. The superstar in the fifth spot can only advance up the ladder by defeating the number 4, 3, and 2 wrestlers on the list.

Now what about the Champion? If he loses his belt he automatically becomes #1 Contender. This doesn't mean he is guaranteed a title shot because he would have to defend that spot against #2. This means no more rematch clause. This concept would help keep things fresh for the championship titles. I guess I'm just really tired of seeing these wrestlers granted title shots by the guest hosts for no apparent reason (you know who I'm talking about).


Until Next Time..

WWE"S Triple thre- I mean Survivor Series.

The original branded ppv is upon us. Here are my predictions.

1)Team Mickie (Mickie James, Eve Torres, Kelly Kelly, Melina, and Gail Kim) vs. Team Michelle (Michelle McCool, Jillian Hall, Beth Phoenix, Layla, and Alicia Fox)

Lets start by separating the good from the bad on each team. Melina has been good, Mickie and Gail are both capable but haven't been setting the world on fire as of late and Eve and Kelly Kelly both bring the looks but that's about it. Beth is a god, Michelle McCool and Jillian Hall are both capable and Layla Alica Fox are well ...yeah. Long story short team Michelle is better on paper and should pull off a victory.

2)Team Morrison (John Morrison, Matt Hardy, Evan Bourne, Shelton Benjamin, and Finlay) vs. Team Miz (The Miz, Drew McIntyre, Sheamus, Dolph Ziggler, and Jack Swagger)

Miz is coming into this with a victory will he and his team make it 2 for 2. I think he will. All the members on his team are coming in with some momentum. the Miz obviously coming in off a win over Morrison but also his successful us title reign. Matt Hardy Evan Bourne and Finlay haven't been on a roll lately and Shelton is coming off a loss to Sheamus. On the other hand Drew Sheamus Ziggler and Swagger are coming into this with more momentum.

3)Team Kingston (Kofi Kingston, Montel Vontavious Porter, Mark Henry, R-Truth, and Christian) vs. Team Orton (Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes, Ted DiBiase, CM Punk, and William Regal)

The main advantage team Orton has coming in to this is that they have more experience as a unit. Punk Orton Henry Christian are all former world champions and Regal and Mvp have been in title contention. Kofi dose have momentum R-Truth is picking some up mvp and Henry are gelling as a unit and christian is well christian as well the ecw champion. Ill go with team Kofi here.

4) Batista vs Rey Mysterio

Batista is pissed Rey is injured. This will be brutal and quick and will put Batista over as a monster.

5)John Cena vs HHH vs Shawn Michaels

Will the champ leave as champ or Will the mid life crisis overcome. Shawn hasn't been the most loyal of friends through out his career and HHH has done pretty shitty things to get his double digit title reigns so the doctor of thuganomics is right to bank on dx imploding but how much damage will they do before then. Still I think Dx and Jerrishow have a title match so the champ retains.

6)The Undertaker vs Chris Jericho vs Big Show

Jericho and Show have been a great tag team the past year but now must face each other and the Deadman. I expect show and Jericho to show more unity than dx and may not turn against each other and as cool as it would be to see one of these two as a double champ I see the undertaker retaining.

Competition

Welcome to The Daily Slam!

Back In the late 90's we were witnessing the greatest time on television for professional wrestling. The two biggest wrestling promotions were fighting for the tv ratings and creating new stars at the same time. I'm not going to get into this feud between WWF/E and WCW too much since we all know and watched these events. Now going into the 2010 decade, the WWE rules with an iron fist over any other wrestling promotion out there. TNA has its good pay per views but lacks star power and fan base.ROH and Dragons Gate has young and amazingly talented wrestlers that unfortunately don't get paid enough for their abilities. That is why they leave after they make an name for themselves to earn the big bucks on the higher two wrestling businesses.

The biggest problem going for the WWE right now is their lack of good storylines and not developing new stars. I think the reason for this is not the talent but the lack of creativity. Most creative ideas come from aggressive competition or deadlines. When you have to compete with other promotions you are forced to go above and beyond, out of the box, and accomplish the unpredictable. This is why the WWE needs for TNA to be become more competitive with them. I think the WWE could benefit from TNA moving Impact to Monday nights and even starting a second show on either Tuesday or Thursday. Now that Hulkamania is going to be running wild on TNA, this could boost their fan base a little bit and help persuade Dixie Carter to look into moving their only weekly episodic show to Mondays to compete with the E.

If this should happen in the next few years, I can see the WWE being forced to convert back to the PG-13 rated show because people want things like they were back in the attitude era. Fans are becoming bored with the same drawn out feuds that the WWE is producing. It's not like TNA is any better but at least they have a few young guys to keep things fresh. AJ Styles, Daniels, and Samoa Joe could possibly be as good as Stone Cold and the Rock when it comes to entertaining if they were used properly. Don't get me wrong, the E has some young guys who have tremendous talent such as CM Punk, Morrison, Miz, and Swagger. The only problem is they have that glass ceiling they have to break through. They almost have to pray the top guys such as HHH, HBK, Cena, and Batista take some time off or get hurt so they get their shot.

WCW vs WWF/E developed great stars such as Stone Cold, The Rock, Goldberg, and Chris Jericho. With Hogan and Bischoff now working with TNA can only mean two things; either TNA will become more successful causing the WWE to produce a better product or they will diminish and the fans will be left with just the E to get their daily wrestling fix. Let's hope this brings back the good ol' days of the Monday Night Wars so we can once again be proud wrestling fans.


Until Next Time...

Survivor Series

Well it's that time of year where wrestlers are separated into teams and must compete against each other (normally faces vs heels). Wait didn't that ppv just happen. Hmm..... I think it must be deja vu. These are Erickson's Survivor Series 2009 Pay Per View Predictions.

Team Mickie (Mickie James, Eve Torres, Kelly Kelly, Melina, and Gail Kim) vs. Team Michelle (Michelle McCool, Jillian Hall, Beth Phoenix, Layla, and Alicia Fox)

These diva matches are always the hardest to predict since they really have no meaning on story lines, at least not anymore. I'm leaning towards the good girls to pull out the victory. I hope there is a little tension between Beth and Michelle that could lead into a good feud for the title.
Winner- Team Mickie


Team Morrison (John Morrison, Matt Hardy, Evan Bourne, Shelton Benjamin, and Finlay) vs. Team Miz (The Miz, Drew McIntyre, Sheamus, Dolph Ziggler, and Jack Swagger)
Miz vs Morrison two pay per views in a row can only mean this match ends up being... Awesome! Not sure where Shelton fits into all of this seeing that he is neither face or heel, but it does give a good boost to team Morrison who gets the nod from me for the win.
Winner- Team Morrison


Team Kingston (Kofi Kingston, Montel Vontavious Porter, Mark Henry, R-Truth, and Christian) vs. Team Orton (Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes, Ted DiBiase, CM Punk, and William Regal)
Very unusual team here. The ECW Champion is forced to join the thugs and Punk has nothing to do with anyone on either team. I don't like it when things are thrown together just for convenience. Let's hope we see Orton punt someone... either team... I don't care. We've seen this Orton gets his ass kicked on Raw right before a ppv too many times. RKO to Kofi for the big W. Maybe something like this...

Winner- Team Orton


Batista vs Rey Mysterio
Well this match wasn't built up to it's potential just yet but I think this isn't a one and done kind of feud. It would be better if one of them were holding the title. With this being the only singles match-up on the card, I have a feeling it could have the best performance. Batista needs to win this one in order to develop the heel gimmick to the level it should be at.
Winner-Batista


John Cena vs HHH vs Shawn Michaels
Awe yes, the match that has no reason to be billed. DX gets a a title shot even though they lost at the last ppv. I can only see the title going to HHH or HBK if they wanted to split them up in the near future. But right before X-Mas when they sell the most merchandise. Not a chance. Cena retains in a most likely boring match.
Winner- John Cena


The Undertaker vs Chris Jericho vs Big Show
This is the toughest call of the night. I'm surprised the Deadman has held the gold this long but maybe his body is in better shape than he leads on. If this match is last on the list than I think there could be a good twist in it. Unfortunately Edge won't be making it three years in a row with a surprising appearance at Survivor Series. Or will he? Dun dun dun. Most likely not, but it would be awesome. I would love to see Y2J walk away the victor to solidify my pick for him to win wrestler of the year. Should be an amazing match and in the end I think the Undertaker pulls of the win via Tombstone Piledriver.
Winner- Undertaker


Until Next Time...
... and now to leave you with a glimmer of hope:

Wrestler of the Year '09

Welcome to The Daily Slam!

As the year comes closer to its ending point we start reflecting on what has happened in the wrestling business for the year 2009. With the Slammy Awards right around the corner I ponder on who could be win some of this year's prestigious awards. I will have a Slammy Awards Prediction post when all the categories are announced but for this article I want to reflect on one individual who has single handily carried the WWE this year. This man won the Wrestler of the Year Slammy in '08 and could, and should, walk away with it again this year. The man I am talking about is the the Ayatollah of Rock 'n' Rolla, Chris Jericho.

Jericho has perfected his heel gimmick and has had some of the best promo workings I have seen in a very long time. Yes he has always been amazing on the mic but this year he has gone above and beyond to even make the other people in the promos look better. Let's not forget his amazing feuds and title reigns. He played the perfect ego maniac wrestler dissing the old timers when he embarrassed Piper, Snuka, Steamboat, and even Flair. We all know most, if not all, of them couldn't hold their own in the ring today but Jericho managed to carry their old wrinkly asses all around squared circle and put on terrific performances. You can even give Y2J credit for Big Show's solid bounce back year by those two holding the Unified Tag Titles since July. They make the perfect brain and brawn team. Jericho also had that incredible feud with Rey Mysterio for the Intercontinental Title earlier in the year that helped SmackDown become the more superior show. I'm sure those two will be nominated for Best Match Slammy for one of their countless altercations.

Chris Jericho has gone above and beyond for the WWE this year and deserves more credit than he received last year. He has carried not only SD for most of '09 but also Raw since he can appear on both brands while he carries Tag Team gold around his waist (and the other on his shoulder). The man even took a punch from Bob Barker, and Mickey Rourke, on national tv and that alone deserves a standing ovation for his dedication to the wrestling business. Hate him or love him, Chris Jericho is the reason people tune in every Monday and Friday nights. This future Hall of Fame inductee is the wrestler of the year in my book. Just when you think he's done it all, he pulls something else out of his sleeve.

Until Next Time...

That Other Championship

ECW! ECW! ECW! Those chants were heard loud and clear from the audience back in the mid-90's. It was once a business that prided itself on going above and beyond for the fans. The ECW Championship was the most prestige belt in the company and has been held by some of the greatest entertainers of our time. Superstars like the first title holder Jimmy Snuka, to The Sandman, Sabu, Raven Taz, and even RVD represented the gold to the current and reformed version of WWE ECW with champs such as Bobby Lashley, CM Punk, and Chritstian.

This title was won over blood, sweat and tears back in day in some of the most daredevil matches ever imagined. In our PG Rated day in age of wrestling means less blood is shed but doesn't mean the title has lost it's importance. To some of us who tune-in ever Tuesday to watch the current state of ECW think this belt means more than the others in the WWE. The WWE Championship and the HeavyWeight Title might get more promo time, bigger ppv build-ups, and even recognized as the foundation of the business doesn't mean the ECW title should get over looked like a second rate belt. That title gets defended more than the other two and in my personal opinion has had better title defenses as well. When people complain about seeing only HHH, Orton, or Cena holding the WWE title need to tune in and see how the current ECW might change hands on any given Tuesday. It seems like the title holder is defending the ECW Championship every other week and there is always a #1 contender match on the show or being built-up for next week.

We all know Vince puts ECW on the back burner when it comes to a title defense at pay per views so of course the title needs to be defended on its weekly episodic show. This is better in my eyes because a majority of people don't buy ppv's anymore because of the expensive prices. This gives the show more of that "what will happen tonight" kind of feeling. Many of today's up and coming stars have held the prestigious championship. ECW may not be on the greatest network or even time-slot but the ECW title holds a lot of importance and will continue to get over looked, but for some of us die-hard fans... that's fine with us.