Colour Commentary: The Birth of the NXT Generation

We're going to cut it a little simple this week in Colour Commentary since it's been a busy week personally, simply we're going to look at the first of Generation NXT, the rookies who will be taking up WWE's new show and their associated WWE Pro's.

Michael Tarver and Carlito
I feel rather bad for Mr Tarver, he's got the look, from what I've seen his got the skill, but he's been put with probably the worst possible person I ever could've considered for a teacher - I'm sure everyone had one, the teacher who just phoned it in? Yeah, that's Carlito when he's in the ring for himself, so I dread how he's going to be with his pupil. From what I gather these guys are meant to be help train the rookies both on screen and behind them, so whilst it might create some great on-screen tension, I can't imagine Tarver learning anything from Carlito except how to slack off.

Skip Sheffield and MVP William Regal
Let the rumour mill roll as to why MVP's out, but as far as Sheffield goes, he couldn't ask for a better pro, why Regal wasn't involved in the first place I don't know (he and Finlay would be PERFECT for this, and imagine the rivalry between the two) but Skip best be a glad of this, because quite frankly he looks like a man going through a mid-life crisis who wants to be a wrestler - here's to hoping he performs better than he looks.

David Otunga and R-Truth
Two ethnic gents put together as a team? There's a surprise WWE! In all seriousness, if Otunga claims to be the "Kanye West of WWE", then R-Truth should be a great match who can make him a bit more down to earth whilst still retaining his personality. Otunga could be a our next MNM with his celebrity links and he looks like he could hurt you, which never hur-... oh wait it does hurt.

Wade Barrett and Chris Jericho
Wow, did Wade Barrett get the luck of the draw or what? Wade is sure to get some real benefit from working with a showman like Jericho and the fact he "never bites his tongue" could create some great chemistry with his mentor, whether it be in the form of friction or traction.

Justin Gabriel and Matt Hardy
If he's going by Justin Gabriel, I want DJ Gabriel back. Just sayin'. But as far as potential goes, the former Justin Angel is one who should go far in WWE, he's got the skills, he's got the look (tell me there won't be some Twilight-esque slashfic in his future and I'll be showing you it - but don't call me on that, I really don't want to have to hunt that out) and he's got a trainer who's got a dedication to the business and fans.

Heath Slater and Christian
Oh man, there's two guys in these rookies that need a haircut, and Heath is one, it makes him look really odd with his red skin tone. Heath reminds me a lot of Christian in personality from the little I've seen, and considering how well Christian has done with getting over the ECW talent, Heath is in for an absolute treat.

Darren Young and CM Punk
From this point on (and once before on Twitter), I'm referring to Darren Young as "Pineapple Head", if CM Punk is going to shave anyone's hair, I pray it's his. Please Straight Edge Saviour! I can see shades of Zack Ryder in young Pineapple Head, so here's to hoping it's not just imitation, it's innovation from this young fruit from South Beach.

Daniel Bryan and The Miz
OF COURSE I saved these two for last, like there was going to be any other pairing I could leave to the main event. And do you know why that is? Because people are idiots. Pure and simple. The amount of whining I've heard about this is ridiculous. Do you know what's good about this pairing? Everything. It's got people talking. It's got built-in tension between the likely face Bryan and the heel Miz. It's got a man who knows a lot about showmanship teaching a guy who wrestles like a master but doesn't have great personality. It's got a man who is a wrestling master likely showing up a guy who's pretty average in the ring. It's got BRYAN FREAKING DANIELSON AND THE MIZ - how could this pairing be any more... wait for it... awwwweesooooommmee! If you have issues with this pairing, well done, you've finally turned into the mark that WWE wanted you to be all along, welcome to our world.

Colour Commentary: Branding

There's been a lot of rebranding within the big two of North American wrestling so far year, for WWE it comes on the heels of a major change in their PPV schedule, for TNA it comes into a logical progression of taking their next step, but how much does it help and how much does it hinder?

We'll start with the easiest of the two – TNA. The little company that shouldn't but have done just keeps on going from strength to strength, and as apprehensive as people were about the arrival of Hogan, you can't deny the initial numbers. To say Hogan and Bischoff have overhauled TNA would be an understatement, they've done away with the iconic six sides, they've brought in many new names and they've managed to give us a much more coherent power structure on TV. For TNA this is a logical step, and whilst I personally would've kept the six sides, I think the four sides has a more epic look to it, the six sides just doesn't seem like it would feel right if it were trying to produce a card the level of a WWE event. For TNA rebranding is an absolutely essential step, and as much as certain “hardcore” fans might dislike it, it's a necessary evil for a company they claim to love and want to succeed. The only major issue I have is the fact that they're talking about being "wrestling" rather than "sports entertainment", which is all nice in concept, but isn't being practised, if you're going to make a claim you back it up, people wouldn't notice if you didn't mention it!

WWE is different, they don't need to rebrand in the interest of getting bigger, they need to do it in the interest of keeping things fresh. As much as some people might say “ECW died years ago”, ECW will never die, as sad as that makes me feel to say, and whilst ECW can be felt in every crowd chant, it can also be felt in every modern wrestler who's suffered from taking too many chair shots and worked themselves so hard that they need to take pills just to go to the toilet, but that's a rant for another day. The death of ECW is a blessing to me, it will allow WWE to try some fresh programming, people don't tune in for those three letters anymore, the name had got as much of a run as it was ever going to get, I'd much rather see a fresh show than a show that's got the name of a company from ten years ago and is not even a watered down version of a style that's died a death.

As for the Survivor Series issue, again, it's a good move, with Bragging Rights having taken its place, Survivor Series hasn't really been relevant in the last decade. As has been pointed out in numerous placed, 5-on-5 matches often top RAW (and yet rarely ever Smackdown, which is very odd), it's just the elimination concept (which is totally underused in all multiman matches in my opinion) that was protected. I welcome the change if it means one of the following:

● The revival of King of the Ring as a PPV, which I don't see happening since WWE didn't even care enough to have it free on TV last year, which is a total shame, because despite the fact it only works about 50% of the time, it can be a real elevator and makes any show truly feel different.

● The long awaited return of War Games, and anyone who's ever seen this match will tell you, it could be an absolutely amazing thing to behold, especially in modern WWE where such innovative concepts don't come up too often these days.

● The return of Lethal Lottery/Battlebowl/RAW Roullette/anything featuring randomly thrown together wrestlers, I'm a sucker for these kinds of things because they can really help spark a feud, and considering that Survivor Series was the unofficial start of the build to WrestleMania it just makes sense.

● An all tag team PPV, since we might want to keep the team concept and the WWE seems to want to start pushing the tag titles as important this last year, what better than to have a show highlighting team accomplishment, and this could even be worked into the above Lottery concepts, or still retain 5-on-5 matches like Survivor Series if required.

So all in all, I guess you could say that whilst rebranding/change is scary, there's always positives in it, if it weren't for change we'd still be seeing Hulk Hogan, Mick Foley, Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart at the top of the card, right guys? Guys?

Colour Commentary: Mission Statement

Let's face it, being a smark means nothing. The term is thrown around far too often to refer fans who enjoy the inside of the pro wrestling product, but it has come with a stigma industry insiders. The smarks I refer to are not a rare breed of person, they're just human, they love to bitch, and bitch they will - hell, I've been guilty of it on more than one occasion. The difference I say between a "smart mark" and a "smark" is that smart marks don't just criticise, they enjoy the product and when they don't, they will happily suggest ways of bettering it. To a degree we're all armchair bookers, creating our own fantasy of what pro wrestling is about but I think along the way, we've forgotten what it's actually about. You see, pro wrestling isn't just about championships, it isn't just about the wrestlers, it isn't even just about the money (after all, what do we, as fans, really care about how many PPV's are sold except as bragging rights for our preferred company). At the end of the day, pro wrestling is about fun, it's about sitting with friends and relatives, it's an industry that thrived on memes before the internet, its catchphrases, flashiness and competition are instant eye-catchers, and the only reason people talk it down is because it's not considered cool right now.

But over the past months I have begun to become more vocal about my love for pro wrestling and it's done some wonders, I've managed to re-initiate or bring people in who were never fans. How did I do it? I just talked about it, I didn't go on the defensive, I didn't talk certain parts down, I just talked about the events themselves and it got people enjoying the discussion enough to tune in. I've never denied my love for this form of entertainment, but I've never been explicit about discussing it either, and I think that's formed a vicious cycle to make the industry a stigma, we're worried about not being considered "cool" by liking wrestling, and as a result no-one talks about it and it remains uncool.

So I ask you, as part of our mission statement as wrestling fans, do something that you would do about any other TV show you watch, go to school, go to work, go to meet someone and just do this one thing for the entertainment you love - talk about it.