Its been a while...and just like a bad penny, I keep turning up. Welcome everyone to 2008 and I hope and trust everyone is having a good new year thus far. My year is turning out quite well and I am hoping it will only get better.

Lets get started with the winners of the last Brainbuster. They are:

Mr. Zaremba, Jimmy D, Jeff Jasniewski, Armin Leg, Brian Smart, Terry Tumbarello, Scott Maclean, Packrat, Stephen Wilson, Robert Cooper.

Congrats to all those above and to all of you who got it right!!

There is a lot to discuss, so lets get to the meat and potatoes...

I found myself rather shocked and bewildered as I pushed the "Purchase" button on my remote to order No Way Out this past Sunday. The WWE hasn't been putting out the best in a while and I am not quite sure what intrigued me about this PPV. Was it the 2 Chamber matches? Perhaps. Was it seeing Ric Flairs career possibly coming to an end?? Who knows.

Before I start this paragraph, let me preface this by saying I am giving spoilers to the PPV. So if you haven't seen it or don't want to know the results, skip this paragraph. I was rather pleased overall, however at the show. Seeing Chavo come away with a clean victory over CM Punk was a decent opener. I was a little surprised at how early they placed the Smackdown Chamber match. This was a decent match, although I thought they completely jobbed MVP. His character is really growing on me. I mean what was the point of his being there if they were going to play him like that? I can honestly say I didn't expect him to win, but jeez. He gets his ass beat by Taker before he even gets out of his cubical. He finally recovers and gets a few moves off before he gets choke slammed off the top of a cubical...and its "Thanks for coming, MVP!" The next match was ok, as we all knew Rey wasn't going to win the belt with a torn bicep. The thing that sucked about this match though, was the ending. We have seen it before...with Rey getting Speared by Edge as Rey is diving off the ropes. I will speak more on this topic later.

Floyd Mayweather Jr is no joke! Completely busted Big Show and broke his nose. Looks like it will be a WrestleMania event. Oh whoops...I missed the Ric Flair match. It was ok...think I somehow expected a little more from both guys given it was a PPV. But, Flairs career is still intact. Orton vs Cena...the way Orton got himself disqualified...at first I didn't like it. But the more I thought about it, the more I liked it. The more it seemed old school. And finally, The Raw Chamber match. This one was a bit of a surprise. Everyone, including myself, thought Hardy had the win. In retrospect, it made sense for him to lose. I can just see Vince or the booker saying...ok...everyone is expecting him to win, but lets give it a twist and he will lose. That way later down the road when he DOES win, it will be that much better. However, I have my own opinions on Jeff Hardy which I will touch upon.

Jeff Hardy....plain and simple...I don't think he is ready for the title. He has the popularity...the crowd is behind him, but he still has a few things to learn. Like how to sell an injury. Let me take you back to Raw...Jeff Hardy vs HBK. HBK locks in a modified Indian Death Lock in the middle of the ring. At this point, Hardy is selling...screaming and such. He manages, after a minute or two, to get to the ropes to break the hold. This is where the no sell of any kind of injury comes into play. Jeff gets up and barely shows any signs of effects from being in the hold, didn't limp. Nothing! You know the guys in the back who review the matches saw that. What makes a wrestler great? Someone who can get the crowd behind them, sell an injury and make it look like he has to take every ounce of strength and heart to win. For example...how much more exciting would it have been had Hardy sold the injury...hobbled around...fighting to get to the ropes...dragging himself up...slowly creeping up the turnbuckles to the top, and finally hitting the Swanton!!?? To me that builds up the excitement, the suspense and the overall performance. With Hulk Hogan...How many times was it that he seemed like he was down and out? That there was no chance he could pull it off? Bundy breaking the ribs before WM 2. The Mountain that was the late great Andre The Giant. I mean, we all knew it was a matter of time before he Hulked up and kicked ass. But there was that element of...what if?! I think if Hardy can add some actual wrestling moves to his arsenal, and get some mic skills and learn to sell a hold and injury and use that to his advantage to win on heart, then he will be ready.

I know I am a little (and I use that word loosely) behind on the wrestling books but I recently received a copy of the Rocks book...The Rock Says...and I have to say, I am having a hard time putting it down. I find myself laughing hysterically at the stories he tells and the people he is talking about as I can just envision the scenarios. If you haven't read it yet, I suggest picking it up...its easy reading and very well done.

I don't know about you, but while I still watch WWE, I am finding it stale. The matches especially. I mean how many more HBK matches can we watch where he gets his ass beat from pillar to post and then he suddenly hits the flying forearm, followed by the nip up, then the reverse atomic drop, followed by a few clotheslines and then a body slam. Then he goes to the top, hits a flying elbow and then tunes up the band for Sweet Chin music. Whether he actually hits it or not doesn't matter. Its the fact that it is the same moves, in the same order and sequence in every match. I am not trying to single him out in any way as quite a few of the WWE superstars have the same thing. I think what it is, is that you have superstars vs superstars week in and week out.

Growing up, I had to wait all week until Saturday to watch a superstar take on some no namer. And then you'd have interviews. And on occasions you'd have a match with a superstar vs a no name and another superstar would do a run in to create a feud to set up a match for later down the road or at a PPV. The Saturday morning show would end with a decent main event. But see...that made the superstar vs superstar matches that much more special. And now that you have PPV's every month...and sometimes two a month, it just isn't as special and you really don't get a chance to set up a good story/angle. I mean now, you have guys that are all superstars. There are not really any jobbers anymore. That's a damn shame!

You do still see good matches, but somehow...they just aren't quite as special.

So now that I have moved into the 21st Century and gotten an HD cable box with DVR, I have been DVR'ing TNA. And I am really impressed with their shows. A lot more action, less talking and drama. The only thing holding them back is lack of any real star power. By that I mean they don't have any real big names. The biggest they have is Kurt Angle. As they say...Man cannot live on bread alone. Same can be said about a fed.

A fed cannot live on one superstar name alone. That's a lot on Kurt's shoulders. Sure, they just got Booker T. Not to take anything away from the former five time, five time, five time, five time, five time WCW World champ, but I don't think he has a lot of draw. And the same for Big Papa Pump. And Kevin Nash. Now don't get me wrong...TNA is LOADED with talent and up and coming stars. Tyson Tomko...former WWE bodyguard for Christian, is making a name for himself in TNA. Christian too. AJ Style, Samoa Joe, and the list goes on. But if you don't watch TNA...you are probably saying WHO THE $*&% ARE THESE GUYS?! AJ Styles...probably have heard of him. Maybe Samoa Joe...maybe not. But I suggest...watch their show...it may not be the huge budgeted show of WWE...but they put on some incredible matches that to me, a lot of them are unpredictable endings. Like I have said, not to take anything away from the guys in TNA, but it just seems like Kurt Angle doesn't fit there somehow, if you know what I mean. It would be like Shaq playing at the pro levels for a High School or College team.
It just doesn't seem right somehow. Hopefully if they can find some really big names...maybe a handful or so, they may just make it eventually to be able to compete with WWE in the next 5 years. Speaking of competition...

I have been reading reports that Hulk Hogan is nearing a deal to create a new wrestling promotion. All that's left allegedly, is to wrap up the licensing and merchandising. At that point Hulk and Eric Bischoff will sign for the TV end of things. This should be really interesting!!

It seems that in an interview done with Paul Heyman by The Sun, he has confirmed Vince McMahon is a control freak. He has to have everything HIS way and if it wasn't his creation in the first place, he has to destroy it his way. Which is what happened with Heyman leaving WWE over creative control issues of ECW. I liked the ideas Heyman had for December To Dismember, and even The Big Show liked the idea. As Heyman said in the interview, Vince hated it...so it obviously went Vince's way. Vince killed the nWo, Goldberg's character and so on. I don't hate Vince...he and the WWE are creative...as long as they can create it. If it isn't their idea...forget it.

Just a little spot here to say congrats to Steph and HHH on their new pregnancy!! Good luck.

In what I thought was a big surprise, WWE released Bobby Lashley. I thought Lashley is a decent wrestler. I guess he was the one who asked for his release...due to his real life girlfriend, Kristal Marshall, having been let go by the company a few months ago. Glad he is standing up for her, but I hope he can show up in TNA...and most importantly, I hope she is worth it for his career. Also in a surprise was the release of Al Snow. Probably not as big a surprise as Lashley, but surprising just the same. Good luck Al!!

I am noticing more and more boo's from the crowd when Cena comes out. I think he either needs to go heel for a while or his character needs a change. It may just be getting stale...go figure for WWE. How long did they drag out that horrible "King Bookaaaa" angle??!! It was beyond ridiculous. Not sure what they can do at this point with Cena. Even at the No Way Out PPV, the crowd was completely split....with half cheering...lets go Cena...and the other half cheering lets go Orton. When a crowd is cheering for Orton, something isn't right!! I know. I picked him a couple years ago to be a World Champ...and he did that. And now he is WWE Champ. The sad truth is...he is just boring. And I am not the only one to think so. He...drags...out...everything...he...is...saying. Get with it Randy!! Or maybe the tech crew could speed up his segments?!!

Now...you got from Jeff Hardy not selling to Lance Cade. I have to give this guy some credit. If they could give him a good push, I think he could really be a top level guy someday. He knows how to sell...now if they would give him some mic time we might just see what he can do!!

Before I finish for today, I guess as we saw this past Monday it isn't going to happen, but there was a rumor going around that Hogan wanted to take on Flair at WrestleMania and be the one to end Flair's career. Two Hall Of Famers who are up there in years, but I think they could still show the younger guys how it is done!!

And with that, lets get to...

***The Last Brainbuster***

Q: He was the first major person from his country to become champion of a major U.S. group In The 70's and into the 80's. He won the WWF World Title, Intercontinental Title, U.S. Title, and Tag Belts with Bob Backlund. He even had a great 75 Minute draw match with Bruno Sammartino at Shea Stadium. Who is he??

A: Pedro Morales

***This Weeks Brainbuster***
(Be sure to send all answers and/or comments to ericknudsen@aroundthering.com. Remember to include your name.)

Q: What Polish strongman, who starred in the AWA, Puerto Rico and the IWA in the 1970's, was known to break bricks over his head? *Hint: He has since passed away*


Well that's it for me. Thank you for joining me for this edition of Around The Ring. I am Eric, that's my opinion and I am standing by it!!