Jim Ross

Hi all - a quiet weekend in wrestling and a guest for the weekend (thus a busy one) in mine has led to not having much to say but I did want to comment on Jim Ross's suggestion this weekend that he won't be returning to weekly commentary; while this is sad to hear, if he is happy with this situation from a health and time (to focus on his burgeoning restaurant business and his family), I wish him all the best. While expressing interest in commentating at Wrestlemania, and stating he'd be there at least as a fan, but sort of indicating he hadn't been asked to commentating, though, I felt the need to insist that JR's commentary is a MUST to give the Shawn Michaels-Undertaker match the gravitas and historical importance it needs. WWE officials - pick up the galdarned phone!

ITVR

Up on time as we'd hoped. A bit short but not too bad. Click the post heading and enjoy everyone.

Unbeknownst to me ...

Well - beknownst to me, but forgotten by me (as you've seen in the last couple of busy weeks, my head has been elsewhere, and I apologize for that), TNA made its Monday night debut this week, against a fairly good Raw. Not a huge Criss Angel fan but he did OK. Really enjoyed the stip they threw into the Shawn Michaels-Undertaker match making it no-DQ, no-countout. I didn't figure in a match of this magnitude they'd do a weaselly ending anyhow, but at least now that's a sure thing. MITB is shaping up to be great, and while I'm not terribly impressed with how they're building up the McMahon-Hart feud (Shore over on prowrestling.net brought up the point this is probably a good thing in the long run lest WWE be accused of putting over non-wrestlers), but Cena-Batista are doing well and I enjoyed the Legacy's work this week as well - although it makes me wonder just where they're going for WM, since they effectively just had the three of them fight.

The wrestling on the show was weak, as not one match (until the Gauntlet) lasted over 3 minutes, and the Gauntlet again semi-gave away Cena-Batista getting on each other; but they're doing a good job with those two of giving us just enough without giving away the match. Overall a strong build to Mania which should only continue with Steve Austin hosting next Monday.

On the TNA side, well ... didn't see it, although the impression I get from reviews is they tried to do the same as they did back in January, with too much all at once. On a night Jeff Hardy and RVD returned, they also had Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair return to the ring, as well as Sting's return and heel turn. An AWFUL lot of stuff that they could have played out over the ensuing weeks and still had some strong TV. It will be interesting to see how TNA does on Monday nights going forward ... while I doubt they are anywhere near even approaching Raw's juggernaut ratings, it'll be interesting to see if they can hold their own and if this is an 'all or nothing' proposition - can they survive being the #2 wrestling show on Monday nights?

All this and more tomorrow night on our podcast - be sure and check it out right here ... In This Very Ring. (check in around 11pm or so Eastern).

Congrats to the McMahon-Levesque family

* Note: This weekend got away from us folks, we're sorry. We don't figure we're awful to have taken the time to enjoy a lovely weekend outside in the warmth and sun with our ... well ... son. :) Back on the bus next week we promise. *

A big CONGRATULATIONS goes out to Stephane McMahon-Levesque, creative head of WWE, and her husband, Paul "Triple H" Levesque as McMahon matriarch Linda confirmed today they are expecting their third child together. They already have two daughters, Aurora Rose and Murphy Claire. All the best to the entire McClan.

On an unrelated note, be sure and check out Rob Van Dam's latest comments; he has an interesting perception on WWE's crackdown on marijuana and how it has led many of the boys to turn to alcohol, which he considers to be more dangerous from a performance perspective.

** ITVR TOMORROW **

Promise we'll post it tomorrow evening and include tonight's Smackdown coverage - unfortunately Little Tyke decided tonight would be a good one on which to stay up until half past ten. Thanks for the patience all!

RIP Angelo Poffo

Hi all - a quick note to say Ari and I will be podcasting tonight (tomorrow at the latest, as I do have some work to do this evening, but hopefully I'll wrap it up before airtime) as usual, but I just heard of the death of former wrestler Angelo Poffo, perhaps best known as the father of Randy "Macho Man" Savage and Lanny "The Genius" Poffo at the age of 84. According to Lanny, Poffo passed away peacefully in his sleep. ITVR's condolences are extended to the friends and family of Angelo Poffo at this time, and we wish him a peaceful rest.

Raw Thoughts

So last night's Raw was very talk-heavy, moreso than usual, with incredibly short and mostly-predictable matches. That said, that's not necessarily a bad thing where segments work. Many last night did - others didn't. To-wit;

• I liked the DX recap of the Shawn-UT promo last week and Triple H's expressing his support of Shawn's quest to end Taker's Wrestlemania win streak. We'll see if that support remains now that Shawn cost them their rematch for Show-Miz's tag titles. I figured that match was in place either to set up a DX breakup or, more likely (as that would be convoluting an already-complex and intriguing picture) to set up Triple H's WM opponent down the stretch, which turned out to be true. Without the world title in play, I'm curious as to how they will keep this, effectively a midcard match, interesting.
• Cheech and Chong, however, were weak - mixing the most kid-friendly character on Raw these days - Hornswoggle - with a couple of trippers, who proceed to get high on the leprechaun's Lucky Charms, attempts to get everyone of all ages in on the skit, and as a result fails to ... ahem ... charm anyone.
• John Cena as the smiling, baby-kissing, hardworking face and Batista as the heel with the chip on his shoulder looking for a good payday and perhaps a championship belt or two works, as it fits both of their reputations onscreen and off. These two, as Batista rightly pointed out last night, have had almost parallel careers since coming up from the heyday of the Ohio Valley farm system, without having truly engaged one another in any kind of lasting feud. Now they have the chance and are running with it.
• It must speak well of the WM card so far that perhaps the least intriguing match so far (to ME, a lifelong Canadian Hitman fan) is Bret Hart vs. Vince McMahon. MITB is always good, Edge-Jericho will steal the show, Cena-Tista has also been a long time coming, and Shawn Michaels-Undertaker, in terms of mainstream attention, is the showpiece of the night. Not that Hart-McMahon isn't interesting ... and I think they did an OK job last night in their roles ... this isn't an insult to them so much as a compliment to the 'Mania WWE is setting up. Let's hope it doesn't disappoint, as so many promising cards do.
• All for Mad Dog Vachon being inducted into the Hall of Fame by fellow French Canadian Pat Patterson. Good choice for entrant #4.
• In terms of the matches now ... MITB qualifiers aren't necessarily meant to be show-stealing, but they should at least not be so predictable as the round from last night. No one would assume Santino Marella would get an MITB shot over Jack Swagger, for example. That was unfortunate. The main matches that caught my attention - DX vs. Show-Miz and Ted Dibiase vs. Randy Orton - were not bad matches, but were also more intriguing in terms of how they pushed plot forward; a good thing for WWE to keep in mind and continue honing, as they do a good job of it when they let themselves - stories CAN be told in rings, without mics in hand. TNA is weak at this with Vince Russo at the writing helm; WWE can excel at this if they allow it.

So yes - a mixed-bag Raw, but one that confirmed up a couple more matches and participants for Wrestlemania and did it's job - they can't all be winners, and this one was at least not a total loser. One last note - Jim Ross was in attendance last night and made an appearance before the live crowd. Hopefully this speaks well of (a) his recovery and (b) the state of his negotiations with the WWE, that his wishes, as outlined in his blog (Google JR's BBQ), to return for WM26 can be realized. :)

Meanwhile, be sure and stay tuned here through the week as we continue to post thoughts on wrestling news as it comes up - Thursday is ITVR podcast as always, and hope to see you there. Peace and love all!