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CALDWELL'S TAKE
CALDWELL & PARKS WEEKLY CHAT 5/26: In-depth discussion of Raw, Kharma, Truth, Riley, Sin Cara, Cena's next challenger(s), NXT, Smackdown, Impact tonight

May 26, 2011 - 3:26:23 PM
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Every Thursday or Friday, PWTorch staffers James Caldwell and Greg Parks have a Lounge-style chat reviewing the week in TV wrestling and looking ahead to what's next for key storylines, matches, and future events. Sometimes, there's an occasional "Seinfeld" or "The Office" reference related to pro wrestling mixed in for good measure.

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James Caldwell: This is PWTorch assistant editor James Caldwell joined by PWTorch columnist Greg Parks back in our regular timeslot for a weekly discussion of TV wrestling this week. Greg, let's start it off talking about Monday's Raw. I want to get your thoughts on the top two or three things that stood out to you Monday coming off the Over the Limit PPV.

Greg Parks: First is Kharma's breakdown. Totally out of left field and before you analyzed it, you almost knew there was another shoe yet to drop, and it did later this week. That and Michael Cole coming back to commentary and back to being a regular guy, for now I guess. Finally, R-Truth continues to shine and Alex Riley....a viable babyface? Zuh? So yeah, there was a lot going on this Monday on Raw.

Caldwell: You could even add in the Randy Savage video tribute, Big Show giving birth to a Ferrari, John Cena's leaping celebration in the main event a la Randy Orton's gymnastics explosion last Friday on Smackdown - there were a lot of things that stood out, but did you get a sense WWE has a clear direction for where they want to this spring and summer? I still don't sense that.

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Parks: Not really, but I think once we get past Miz vs. Cena, which we seemed to this past Monday, then we'll see who's next for Cena, and then I think things will shake out from there on down the card.

Caldwell: Who do you think will be next, and it could just be for Capitol Punishment? I'm looking at R-Truth, Punk, perhaps even Rey, perhaps a four-way with all of the players involved in the Raw TV main event.

Parks: I could see that. Punk seems to be the hot rumor right now, while they may be saving Del Rio for later in the Summer, since it appears he's being readied for a feud with Big Show.

Caldwell: They would have to reverse so much damage done to Punk, especially through his relationship with the stale and impotent Nexus group, for anyone to take him seriously as a threat to Cena. You look at the end of Raw - Punk took the Sharpshooter from ref Hart and took the fall. WWE could go with Punk - and further fuel Truth's conspiracy theory program since he didn't lose the tag match - but Punk would have to dismember Cena or something to make him a believable threat to Cena. I don't see it right now, but who knows. Right now, I'm leaning to a multiple-man match or even a face vs. face battle with Rey. I don't like either scenario, but I think WWE needs to take their time with Truth and Punk isn't credible. It will be interesting to see where they go, but I agree they'll eventually get to Cena vs. Del Rio.

Parks: Yeah, I think putting Truth with Cena right now would be rushing it. Let him do his thing with Mysterio to further establish his heel character and get a little momentum before putting him with Cena. Weird to think now there are a few top heels (Miz, Truth, Punk, Del Rio) who are knocking on Cena's doorstep, when just a month ago we were wondering where the heel depth was.

Caldwell: It points to the strength of Truth's heel run! He's doing absolutely great work right now and might be the most-compelling character on Raw. The problem is there isn't that Imminent Threat to Cena, then again, he's Super Cena, so who could pose a threat? They need an Umaga-like heel - an imposing figure who could be built up as a monster heel. They don't have anyone credible like that right now. Along those lines, you mentioned Kharma at the top of the chat. The change in direction to her character was preceded by news of her reportedly being out nine months. Now, she's announced for her first WWE TV promo this Monday on Raw. What do you make of everything and where does WWE go with Kharma and/or the Divas division?

Parks: I have no clue how they'll address things on Monday, but for now, I'm cautiously optimistic and glad they didn't just leave it at last week's angle and write her off by that. The Divas division is going to have to take a major turn now, because Kharma was the one big story they were building. The only other story they had was Layla's babyface turn and her redemption on the Smackdown side, but now she's out for an extended time, too. They've got some work to do to build up some more Divas in that division now.

Caldwell: They pretty much put all of their eggs in one basket with the Divas division. After Lay-Cool's split and putting the Divas Title on the Bellas, it pretty much came down to Kharma vs. Everyone and how that story would progress. I agree - I have no clue where they're going yet, but that makes it intriguing. Unfortunately, it could be a problem if Kharma leaves TV during her time off because, like you said, the Divas division has no other prospects. Some of the NXT3 Rookie Divas could fill some slots, but this whole division was built on Kharma. It was somewhat symbolic on Monday when pretty much the entire Raw Divas roster was watching Kharma in the ring since they all revolve around her right now... Greg, you also mentioned Cole's return to commentary and Riley snapping on Miz. Do you think Humble Cole is a set-up for another chapter of Heel Cole and where does WWE go with Riley to follow-up and keep his momentum?

Parks: My immediate thought when I saw that Kharma and Layla would be out is that it would give Kaitlyn some more TV time, but you're right, women like Naomi or A.J. could get a well-earned shot as well. I think having Cole go back to his former persona of regular announcer would be a mistake, given the time they've put into his heel character. People would feel ripped off that, in the end, nothing changed and we're back to square one. I would assume Riley has to go to Smackdown now, but I think to keep him hot, he has to stay on Raw. That's the audience that saw his big turns, and I think that's the audience that would give him the biggest reaction. Plus, he could play off a top heel like Miz to keep himself over as a face; he'll quickly fizzle out if he's paired with a mid-level heel on Smackdown.

Caldwell: With Riley, it felt like the absolute peak of his character. The crowd pop, the intense brawl, playing off Miz's strong promo work - it was like, how can WWE top that in the follow-up? So, they have their work cut out for them translating that into something sustainable. I agree it won't mean anything if he goes to Smackdown and just becomes another guy. The problem with Cole's character now is that viewers will have that uncomfortable feeling listening to Cole, wondering when and if he'll snap again. He teased it during the Raw main event, even. So, I think it's best at some point just to move him into a managerial role to help establish some heels. But, I don't see it happening, unfortunately. We'll see how this plays out, but I'm slightly concerned. Greg, anything else on Raw worth breaking down?

Parks: Yeah, I'm not sure WWE knew what they had in Riley. I think they may have been surprised by the crowd reaction...I know I was. It was just nice to see them pull the trigger, because I remember a year or so ago, they had Randy Orton vs. Ted DiBiase in that match while both were in Legacy- crowd was begging for DiBiase to turn and he got a strong babyface reaction, but they booked Orton to win and DiBiase not to attack, and after that, they couldn't get that moment back again.

Caldwell: Great point there. Yeah, I remember us talking about that very subject in the Chat. And DiBiase's character has been screwed ever since. Perhaps WWE learned from that mistake - or it's independent situations - but they have a chance to do something big with Riley. Final thought on Raw - Big Show's injury angle and apparent feud with Del Rio starting up. What are your thoughts on how that played out?

Parks: Eh. I'm pretty over the "run over a guy" angle to get a feud going. But if there's anyone that can pull it off, I think Del Rio can. That said, I'm not too excited about a Del Rio vs. Big Show feud.

Caldwell: I think it'll lead to weeks and weeks of Ricardo being fed to the wolves to bump around for Show & Kane until Show ultimately gets his revenge on Del Rio. I'm not anticipating this one much either. Greg, let's talk some NXT from Tuesday night. Next week is Elimination #2 and this week's show featured the apparent conclusion to the Hornswoggle/Titus vs. Chavo/Young feud. It makes me think Young could be eliminated next week, although if this were based on performance, O'Brian would be next to go. Your thoughts on NXT?

Parks: Well, I think Kane is on Smackdown and now that he's not tag champion, he shouldn't be on Raw anymore. I don't know if they'd telegraph an elimination a week ahead like that, given how the voting is supposed to go. I think O'Brian deserves to go ahead of Young though, I'll agree with you there.

Caldwell: Ah, great point on Kane now being confined to the Smackdown Chambers after dropping the Tag Titles. Although, that hasn't stopped WWE before. On NXT, I'm somewhat surprised they've toned down Lucky Cannon's involvement in the show lately. The focus has shifted more toward Yoshi, who I think is doing the most compelling work of his WWE career on a show no one is watching. Who do you have #1 right now - Lucky or Titus, or someone else?

Parks: Probably Titus, by a hair, if only because I'm projecting them partly based on how I think WWE will use them. Then again, Titus has a bigger, more powerful version of him in WWE right now in Zeke Jackson, so I don't know where O'Neill would immediately fit on the roster if he won. Then again, even if he did win, they could just choose to keep him off TV, a la last season's winner, Johnny Curtis.

Caldwell: You touched on something there that WWE has a glut of similar-looking wrestlers who wrestle the same style, and not just the Mason Ryans & Ezekiel Jacksons of the big-man world. Titus's slot is already filled on the roster, so you're right I don't see where he would fit in. I'm just waiting for this season to end to look at some new talent on NXT6. I feel like we've been looking at the same guys doing the same things for about five months. Greg, any other NXT thoughts?

Parks: I think you know me well enough by now that I don't ever have any other thoughts on NXT.

Caldwell: I thought perhaps you might have a contention with JTG appearing on the show after his Rookie's elimination last week. Just checking! On we go to Smackdown. Greg, we'll see the fall-out from Over the Limit this Friday on the show. Your thoughts on the World Title picture after Orton and Christian's excellent PPV match and where they go from here with Sin Cara after his *ordinary* match with Chavo at the PPV.

Parks: I'm really wondering if WWE is going to cool on Cara based on that PPV match. To me, and WWE has done this before, that's a match where I think people are going to second-guess his push right now. I don't know where Christian goes from here...he could go back to the mid-card as a babyface, or he could stay in the main events by turning heel. It's up in the air right now.

Caldwell: I think people's concerns when Sin Cara was first signed are coming true - how does someone who can't do facial expressions, can't talk, and wrestles a completely different style than WWE Style fit in and connect with the audience? If WWE is truly committed to Sin Cara, they need to go back to the basics of slowly, very slowly, establishing his character. Don't feature him in the ring every week on TV, do some vignettes talking about this mystical character or something, and have the heels talk about being intimidated by his presence. They need to try a different approach. What about Cody Rhodes right now on Smackdown? He's in a program with DiBiase right now - how do you see this playing out?

Parks: Good question. First, we have to know why DiBiase is kow-towing to Rhodes, or at least was last week. Upon first blush, it seems to indicate a Bully Ray-Tommy Dreamer-like relationship where Rhodes has something on DiBiase to where Teddy is under Cody's power. I think that could be intriguing given their past history, and it's nice to see they're actually using DiBiase in a worthwhile role.

Caldwell: Hopefully there's more of an explanation in the coming weeks on Smackdown. Maybe DiBiase blew his inheritance on Maryse and Rhodes is forcing him to work for him. There could be something along those lines. I just don't know who they (or just Rhodes) picks up a feud with. Could you see a Rhodes vs. Christian feud to elevate Rhodes, since Christian was just in the title picture, and give Christian something worthwhile working with a future top heel?

Parks: Sure, but I'm sure all the Peeps will be upset that Christian would be taken down a notch by that one. I don't know where the issue would be between those two, but that's a minor problem. Both can handle themselves on the mic and in the ring, but I don't know if going from Rhodes-Rey to Rhodes-Christian is a step up for him.

Caldwell: I think it would depend on how WWE presents it and, like you said, what issue would be created between them. I see WWE leaning more toward a potential Christian vs. Mark Henry feud, which would date back to Henry turning on Christian and Cena on the Raw Draft show. I'm not excited about that, but it's hard to get excited about the Smackdown roster right now. Greg, any additional thoughts on Smackdown?

Parks: I think we're good there, considering we hit most of last week's stuff in our chat last Saturday night.

Caldwell: Agreed. Greg, we also hit the big topics in TNA during our Saturday chat. Tonight, TNA has an RVD vs. Angle main event, some other developments ahead of Slammiversary, and Hogan & Foley back on TV. Anything jump out at you for tonight's show?

Parks: I haven't really heard/seen much in the way of previews for tonight, so I'm going in pretty blind. That said, I'm hoping they do more to focus on "wrestling" than last week.

Caldwell: At least they have a main event announced this week, unlike last week when there was no main event. I want to talk through something, though. And perhaps it will make sense once the show airs, but it concerns A.J. Styles. Okay, so Styles is "injured" after the awful piledriver from Dreamer at the Sacrifice PPV. Styles comes on Impact and says he's out for a few weeks due to injury, per the storyline. Then, he's attacked by Dreamer and Ray, which would put him out even longer, presumably. But, now, he's advertised for a Street Fight with Daniels against Ray & Dreamer on tonight's Impact. How is this possible?

Parks: Hey, what The Network wants, the network gets. Or, did Hogan and Bischoff make this one, since they're heels and they'd want the injured Styles to fight, and possibly get more injured? Then again, couldn't The Network (or Foley) overrule them?

Caldwell: Exactly! I understand Hogan and Bischoff would want Styles to wrestle hurt, but wouldn't Foley and/or The Network over-rule? Or, has Foley's character already been castrated one week after the Big Reveal he's the rep? Perhaps it'll all make sense tonight, but it's been bothering me. Good therapy session. Greg, anything else on Impact?

Parks: Let's play wait-and-see for tonight.

Caldwell: Sounds good to me. I think that'll about do it for us this week. Greg, we'll look forward to your return to the Livecast today!

Parks: I look forward to it too, James!

***

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