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By Jonathan Bain, PWTorch Specialist

TNA IMPACT
August 14, 2008

Welcome everybody to the first edition of Depth Perception! My name is Jonathan Bain and I'm a 19 year old WWE fan from the U.K. I began watching back in 1998 and have been loyal ever since. I'm a big fan of PWTorch and am excited to be contributing to this great website! Each week with Depth Perception I will be taking a look at the Champions of the WWE and their challengers and analysing who had the strongest and weakest week on TV. At the end of the column I'll be ranking the Champions in a Power-style league. As SummerSlam is this Sunday there's potential for a lot of change from this week's rankings and I'll be including SummerSlam performances next week. So, introduction aside, I hope you enjoy the column!

World Heavyweight Champion - C.M. Punk

C.M. Punk got a chance to really show some personality in his in-ring "drinking contest" with JBL this week. Punk's refusal to go against his morals and drink whiskey for JBL showed strength of character and made him come across as admirable. Also, the fact that he actually got to end a segment standing tall for once was good in helping him come across as a strong champion heading into SummerSlam. I do have some issues with his continued placement on the show, the top of hour one isn't a place for the World Heavyweight Champion but regardless of that, he still had a strong showing.

Challengers:

JBL. JBL was good on the microphone this week in his "Drinking Challenge" to C.M. Punk, his taunting of C.M. Punk's straight edge lifestyle worked well in making his challenge a little more interesting. JBL came out of The Great American Bash with the strongest argument for deserving a championship match but losing to C.M. Punk on Raw a few weeks ago has damaged him in this feud. JBL's verbal skills are his strength and this week he used them well to seem like a threat at SummerSlam despite being embarrassed by Punk.

Chris Jericho. Like JBL, Chris Jericho also had a good claim for title contention coming out of The Great American Bash. This week, Jericho got a pinfall victory over Kane, albeit with the help of a distraction from General Manager Mike Adamle and his security. Jericho has been booked strongly lately and his involvement in the championship scene will become clearer depending on whether or not his feud with Shawn Michaels continues after this Sunday.

Batista. Batista and John Cena lost their Tag Team Championships this week on Raw but the loss isn't too big a deal for them, both were portrayed as strong individual wrestlers but just a bad tag team. They also had a good in-ring promo exchange. This along with their post-match beat down of Rhodes and DiBiase and their pull apart brawl sent both Batista and Cena into SummerSlam looking good, in spite of their loss.

John Cena. John Cena heads into SummerSlam this Sunday with a loss. He suffered the pinfall to Ted DiBiase but managed to make up for it by brawling with Batista and beating down the new champs. The loss aside, Cena is looking strong after this week's Raw. The winner of their match at SummerSlam will likely have a good claim for a title match.

WWE Champion - Triple H
This week, Triple H won a squash match over Kenny Dykstra after a short backstage promo between the two in which Triple H came across as a confident champion. Standard showcase squash match for The Game to send him into SummerSlam with a win. He was impressive in challenging Khali to a fight after the match and coming out on top. It was good for Triple H to get the upper hand this week following Khali's assault on him last week but I do think he should have been featured more.

Challengers:

The Great Khali. Over the past few weeks, The Great Khali has been booked strong but this week Triple H got the upper hand. Runjin Singh did well in putting Khali over in his promo before The Game's match and during it whilst on commentary. Singh made Khali seem like a valid threat this week. Good work from him.

Edge. Edge is looking great heading into SummerSlam, his character has had even more layers added to it in recent weeks and like Cena Vs. Batista, it's reasonable to think of his Hell in a Cell match with The Undertaker as a #1 contender's match in disguise.

The Undertaker. Will be appearing at SummerSlam in Hell in a Cell and a win would definitely put him back into the World Championship picture against the winner of Triple H Vs. The Great Khali.

The Big Show. The Big Show won a squash match this week and looked good in doing, he could in line for a title shot in the coming months.

ECW Champion - Mark Henry

The World's Strongest Champion had a great week, not only was he involved in a winning effort with Matt Hardy against The Miz and John Morrison, but he also got to stand tall over his rival, Hardy to close the show. Henry was good in his brief backstage promo with Matt and really came across strong this week. It was also interesting that Henry was the only one of the three main Heavyweight Champions to close his show.


Challengers:

Matt Hardy. Matt Hardy pinned John Morrison this week in the tag team main event of ECW, the end of the match seemed to come out of nowhere but put over Matt's side-effect move. The win for Matt is good and his brief encounter backstage with Mark Henry also made him look strong, however, he did come across very foolish for trusting Henry at the end of the show, especially as he told him that he didn't trust him earlier in the show. Matt is definitely the underdog in the match on Sunday but has been put over as brave and determined up until this moment of weakness, but it's a necessary blip to set up some heat for the match on Sunday.

The Miz. Lost to Hardy and Henry in the main event but was able to show personality in his backstage promo with Morrison. Not the best week for him and Morrison but I can see them lingering around the ECW Championship scene for a little while.
John Morrison. Was pinned by Matt Hardy in the tag match but also showed charisma in his promo earlier in the show. Both he and his partner could do with a good win next week.

Evan Bourne. Evan Bourne continues to pick up wins on ECW and could be a contender for the title a few months down the line.

Intercontinental Champion - Kofi Kingston

Kofi Kingston has been receiving a good push since coming to Raw and winning the Intercontinental Championship but he didn't have the chance to showcase himself this week. His inactivity in the ring this week was disappointing as he's a lot of fun to watch. Kofi came across a little naïve for allowing Mickie to accept Santino's challenge of a match when we all knew Santino would have something up his sleeve. He looked weak for allowing himself to be fooled but it's not a huge problem and I'm sure he'll bounce back if he can retain this Sunday

Challengers:

Santino Marella. As much as I like Santino, he hasn't been booked as a strong Intercontinental Championship contender, he got a pinfall victory over Mickie James this week but even that was due to outside interference from The Glamazon! He was entertaining on the microphone and came across as the crafty heel who is due his comeuppance but I'm not sure if he's a believable challenge for Kingston at this stage of the their rivalry.

Paul Burchill. Paul Burchill was nowhere to be seen this week following his loss to Kofi Kingston last Monday.

United States Champion - Shelton Benjamin

The United States Championship was defended on Smackdown! this week as Shelton took on Jeff Hardy. The match ended in a disqualification win for Jeff when MVP interfered. Shelton and Jeff wrestled a good, back and forth match and both men looked good, even with the DQ finish. A match this Sunday would have helpled Shelton to be perceived as a bigger deal as the United States Champion but maybe there'll be a chance for him to shine on PPV next month.

Challengers:

Jeff Hardy. Had a competitive title match with Champion Shelton Benjamin and won by DQ when MVP interfered. Jeff looked strong in delivering two senton bombs after the match.

MVP. MVP was on the receiving end of a Jeff Hardy senton bomb after attacking Hardy in his match with Shelton Benjamin on Smackdown! this week. Later in the show, MVP cut a very good backstage promo which sends him into SummerSlam looking dangerous against Jeff. With his accidental kick to the head of Shelton earlier in the show, it seems possible that MVP could move into the U.S. title picture soon.

Brian Kendrick. Another week, another win for Kendrick, this time against the debuting Scotty 'Colt Cobana' Goldman. Kendrick could be in line for a push at the title somewhere down the road. His promo wasn't bad and it was good to hear Ezekial speak. The pair continue to look strong.

New World Tag Team Champions - Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase

Their win may have been treated as an afterthought to the Batista and John Cena rivalry and they may have been able to take advantage of their opponents' lack of concentration but a win is a win and a win over Cena and Batista is a great thing to have for these young guys. Rhodes and DiBiase also delivered in their backstage promo earlier in the night, overall a good night for them, the only thing that's missing is a match this Sunday!

Challengers:

John Cena and Batista. Cena and Batista could use their rematch clause for another match with the new champions Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase. As I wrote earlier, Cena and Batista were able to look strong despite their loss so a rematch isn't out of the question.

Cryme Tyme. JTG and Shad got a strong win over The Highlanders on Raw this week and look to be in line for a future title shot. Their profile has been raised over the past couple of months and they look like good contenders.

WWE Tag Team Champions - Curt Hawkins and Zach Ryder

Hawkins and Ryder weren't featured on Smackdown! this week and last time they were seen was last week where there were left unconscious in the backstage area. This team could really do with a high profile win to get them some credibility. Since Edge has severed ties with LaFamilia, Hawkins and Ryder have suffered the most, not having a chance to shine without him beside them. At least they have good entrance music..

Challengers:

Jesse and Festus. Festus was in one on one action against the undefeated Vladimir Kozlov this week and was defeated by the Russian. With the absence of Hawkins and Ryder, Jesse and Festus may be done with their challenge for the Tag Team Championships but I can't see any other teams challenging at the moment.

Women's Champion - Mickie James

Mickie James was challenged by Santino Marella to a match in her hometown this week and she looked good for accepting it. It was obvious that Santino had something up his sleeve but Mickie came across as confident rather than foolish. Beth Phoenix' interference protected Mickie so not too bad of a week for her, even if she did lose.

Challengers:

Beth Phoenix. The Glamazon has been treading water for a while now but has finally got back into the Women's title scene. Her relationship with Santino this week remained comical but Phoenix got to show her serious side in a win over Kelly Kelly. Following her impressive performance this week, Beth is definitely a strong threat to Mickie James, much more of a threat than her other half has been shown to be against Kofi Kingston.

Katie Lea Burchill. Like 'brother' Paul, Katie Lea was absent from action this week on Raw but could be slotted back into the title picture depending on what happens between Beth and Mickie at the PPV.

Diva's Champion - Michelle McCool

Michelle suffers a loss in a tag match for the second week running on Smackdown!, this week, she teamed with Maria to face Maryse and Natalya Neidhart. Michelle was somewhat protected though as she was distracted by Maryse. I'm puzzled by the booking of McCool since she won the first ever Diva's Championship at The Great American Bash, she has lost two matches in a row and was absent from the show the week before the first of those two losses. She could really do with a win sometime soon.

Challengers:

Natalya Neidhart. Natalya pinned the Diva's Champion, Michelle McCool, in a tag team match this week. Neidhart continues to look strong and a future championship match seems on the cards for her.

Maryse. Shared victory with Natalya and caused the distraction that led to McCool's loss.

Championship Rankings Week One:

Rank 1. ECW Champion Mark Henry
Rank 2. WWE Champion Triple H
Rank 3. World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk
Rank 4. World Tag Team Champions Ted DiBiase and Cody Rhodes
Rank 5. United States Champion Shelton Benjamin
Rank 6. Women's Champion Mickie James
Rank 7. Intercontinental Champion Kofi Kingston
Rank 8. Diva's Champion Michelle McCool
Rank 9. WWE Tag Team Champions Curt Hawkins and Zach Ryder

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