Wasting Wade

Wade Barrett with Chad & Drew McIntyre at FCW 2008

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger on Twitter

Thirteen months ago I think most fans would agree that Wade Barrett was the hottest prospect in the WWE.  He was the leader of the renegade group The Nexus.  The 8 members attacked John Cena, CM Punk, Luke Gallows, Justin Roberts, and Jerry Lawler on the June 1, 2010 edition of Monday Night Raw.

The attack was the talk of the wrestling world for the weeks that followed.  This group was made to look like unstoppable.  They were ruthless and attacked other wrestlers and Hall of Famers in the months that followed.

Photo courtesy: WWE

Barrett was put in charge of the group.  It was a role that made sense at the time.  He had just been crowned the winner of the first season of NXT.  He had a good look.  He was decent on the mic, and he could wrestle.  Then for some ridiculous reason they fed Wade Barrett and the rest of the Nexus to John Cena.  One by one, Super Cena made all these future superstars look like chumps.

The group teased several breakups, and by the start of 2011, they had fractured and CM Punk took the reigns of Nexus.  Barrett moved to SmackDown! with Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel.  The trio was joined by Ezekiel Jackson to create the Corre.  I think they chose that name because it rhymes with bore.

They got booked into some crappy angles, including a mini feud with Apple.  Ugh.  During this time, Barrett did win the Intercontinental championship.  But for the most part it was a pretty lackluster run.  He didn't defend the title at Wrestlemania.  Instead, he and the Corre were booked in a 92 second match against Kane, Big Show, Kofi Kingston, and Santino Marella.  By the way, Snooki's match went longer than that.  Just sayin'...

In the few months that have passed, Barrett has now dropped the IC title to former Corre mate Ezkeil Jackson.  And most recently, he jobbed to Kane on SmackDown!  There's nothing wrong with losing to Kane, but when you've got a guy who is climbing up through the ranks, I think a guy who's been around for 14 years should put him over.  That's a big problem in the WWE right now.  They've lost top talents like Undertaker, Triple H, Batista, Shawn Michaels, and Chris Jericho, yet they've still not pushed anyone into those spots.  We've still got Cena and Randy Orton as the companies top two.  But after that, who is there?

When I first started this blog in September 2010, I wrote about ending the Undertaker's streak and named Wade Barrett as the man to do it.  I have since change my opinion to say that I don't think the streak should ever end, and I definitely don't think it should be Barrett to do it.  This is no fault to Barrett.  He just seems to be lost in the shuffle.  I had hoped the IC title run would have been a bit more dominate and would have propelled him to the next level.

But what I think happened with him and all the original Nexus members is they got caught up in that early feud with John Cena.  That should have come further down the road.  Besides attacking and beating up guys, they weren't put over anyone in the ring.  It hurt their credibility.  It's still having an effect on Wade Barrett, the most gifted one of the group.

Wade & Drew in 2008 at FCW

Now that it appears he's through with the Corre, I hope they put a focus back on him as a singles competitor.  Quit trying to make him the leader of a group.  Instead, pair him  up with a manager.  In the past I've suggested William Regal, and I stand by that idea.  Push him as the tough guy he really is.  Or there's the option of killing two birds with one stone, and give him a tag team partner.  Actually, kill 3 birds and team him up again with Drew McIntyre. You give two guys who have a ton of potential something to do and help to revive the tag team situation.

I still think there's hope for Wade, but the company needs to get behind him, and he needs to run with the ball if and when they finally hand it to him.  Not that I think he's reading this, but Wade you can do it!

To everyone else, thanks for reading.  Check out the Facebook page.  Follow our tweets on Twitter.  And check out the amazingly awesome videos on YouTube.  While you're there, hit "Subscribe"

Someone's Missing

By Chad Smart

Actually there are several people missing.  We’re a week away from Wrestlemania 27 and looking at the current card, there are a lot of guys, who just two months ago would have seemed like sure bets to having a match, sitting on the sidelines. I still expect one or two matches to be added before next April 3 gets here. Until those matches are actually announced lets look at the guys who as of today will be in Atlanta hanging out at Axxess and not trying to achieve their Wrestlemania moment.

THE CORRE: Wade Barrett won the Intercontinental title from Kofi Kingston on the 3/25/11 episode of Smackdown.  Why couldn’t that match have been saved for Wrestlemania? Am I wrong for thinking titles should be defended at Wrestlemania? It’s the biggest show of the year; championships should be given the spotlight in which to shine.

Speaking of championships, Justin Gabriel/Heath Slater are Tag Team Champions without challengers. I don’t know if they’re feuding with Big Show/Kane or if that’s an all encompassing Corre feud, but it’s another match that would make sense to have at Wrestlemania.

Big Zeke is also without an opponent.  There are rumors of a Corre vs. Kane/Big Show/Santino/Koslov or Kane/Big Show/Khali/Diesel match happening. I think the first option is the most likely given the history of Santino/Koslov and Gabriel/Slater.  Again I ask why hasn’t this match been made official? Granted it probably won’t lead to people who weren’t going to buy the show to changing their minds, but it would be nice to have the match given some promotion instead of just thrown out there.

NEW NEXUS: Randy Orton took care of apparently doing the job John Cena started by getting Nexus off the WWE main roster. I could write a whole piece about how WWE dropped the ball with Nexus. A Nexus vs. Corre match would have made sense with CM Punk leading the new group against their former teammates. Instead, Punk decided after two years it was time to seek revenge on Randy Orton for costing him the WWE title.

CHRISTIAN: He’s beaten the number one contender for the World Title two weeks in a row. He’s been in the mix of the Edge/Alberto Del Rio feud for the past five weeks. Why hasn’t he been added to the match in some capacity?   If he wasn’t going to be added to the match, why have him beat Del Rio?  At this point, I’d settle for Christian and Brodus Clay being handcuffed together to prevent each other from interfering.

DREW MCINTYRE: He’s the chosen one. Wait, I thought Jeff Jarrett was the chosen one?  Oh well. After a year where Drew was seemingly being set up as one of the young stars to get a chance to break through the glass ceiling and become a main eventer. That seems like a thousand years ago as he has floundered for the past few months trying to get the attention of Kelly Kelly.

KOFI KINGSTON: Kofi lost the I-C title to Wade Barrett 9 days before Wrestlemania. What could have been his best chance to get onto the show has now been lost. Unless they throw a re-match with Barrett onto the show, Kofi doesn’t have any other sensible matches to be plugged into.

ZACK RYDER: The most entertaining guy on the roster. If you don’t believe me, check out his youtube channel. Why he doesn’t get more airtime is a mystery to me.

As of this writing, that is all the B-level wrestlers still without a match at Wrestlemania. There’s always the possibility of the pre-show battle royale for these guys. Really, most of those guys should just be thankful they’ll get to be in attendance to see Snooki make her Wrestlemania debut.  

Firing Up the Tag Team Division & Other SD Thoughts

Kane & the Big Show's pyro at Mania 22

By Kevin Hunsperger

Friday Night SmackDown! offered us some insight into some possible new life in the tag team division.  Kane and the Big Show reunited to take on Corre members Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater.  The match didn't last long before the remaining Corre members hit the ring and ran roughshod on the faces.

I'm not sure if this is just to set up to a four on four match at Wrestlemania (I've read rumors that we're going to see that match, but it's not been confirmed) or if this is a legit reunion and a step in creating some new (or old) tag teams.  Personally,  I hope it's the reformation of the tag team.  While they may not be the greatest duo ever formed, Kane and the Big Show are seemingly lost in the shuffle now and the tag team ranks needs a make over.  Adding them back into the mix can make things interesting over the next few months.  Because lets face it, they'll probably be feuding with each other by the time Survivor Series rolls around.

I'll admit it now, I missed SmackDown! last week because I was out of town and never had a chance to catch up with it on DVR.  So I missed Cody Rhodes' promo and the fact that he's ditching the "dashing" gimmick.  I'm not so sure though why he wrestled Trent Barreta in a suit.  Seemed kinda weird to me, can't imagine it's very comfortable either.

On my DVR it was teasing the reunion of Edge and Christian against the Corre, but clearly we didn't get that.  I think they could have waited on the Christian-Alberto Del Rio match, especially since they did it in a cage.  I'm wondering where this feud goes from here.  Is it over?  Does Christian get into the World title match to create a 3 way contest (that's my hope), or does he ever get a match at all?  If he's not in the world title match, I wouldn't mind seeing him and Kofi Kingston battle it out for the Intercontinental title.  Speaking of Kofi, it seems like he's doing a lot of jobs lately.  And all of his merchandise on Shop WWE has deep discounts.  Hope this isn't a sign of something bad in his future.

I'll say it again, I'm enjoying Michael Cole doing his commentary in the "Cole Mine."  But I'd really like to see him leave the announce team and become a manager for Jack Swagger (and Alex Riley).

Is Brodus Clay the Clay Aiken of Season 4 of Tough Enough?  He finished second and he see him more than winner Johnny Curtis.  Just sayin'...

In case you missed it, Hornswoggle made a video at my house the other day.  Head to My 1-2-3 Cents over on YouTube to check that out.  Subscribe and tell you friends too.  Also, visit us over on Facebook and "like it".  Chad and I have a ton of pictures from our various wrestling experiences posted.

Kelly Kelly, Giant Slayers, & Midget Stomping

Kelly Kelly & me in Poplar Bluff back in 2006

SmackDown! 2/4/11: 

Kelly Kelly has always been one of my favorite divas.  While her skills in the ring aren't on the same level as Natalya or Beth Phoenix, Kelly has certainly developed as a performer over the last few years.  Not only have her wrestling skills gotten better, but she seems more confident during her back stage segments too.

She's involved in a pretty big angle on SmackDown!, and even Dolph Ziggler had twitted something about "Kelly Kelly defending the World Heavyweight title" prior to the match Friday night.  I thought that was pretty funny.

I had watched the match totally expecting Kelly to take the fall and lose the title for Edge.  I was pleasantly surprised that she didn't.  And not only did she not end up losing, she won the match for her team.  Nice spear by Kelly.  But now that she's "fired" from SD, I'm curious to see how she ends up back on the show or if she's heading back to Raw.  She'll definitely be one I'll continue to watch in 2011, and hope for big things for her.

Other SmackDown! thoughts:

The Corre has pretty has pretty much slain the Big Show.  It seemed as if Show as getting a pretty decent push, but after relatively quick exit from the Royal Rumble (thanks to Ezekiel).  Then Friday night Wade Barrett beat the big man to advance on to the Elimination Chamber.  After the Rumble I thought maybe they were leading us to a Big Show-Diesel match at Wrestlemania.  Now I'm wondering if they're building to a battle with Zeke.  Or maybe Diesel and Show against the Corre. Or at least three of the members.  We'll have to wait and see.

What's the point of the number one contender to the world title beating up a little person?  I  know it was to get cheap heat, but really, I would like to think there are other ways to get Alberto Del Rio over as your top heel.  And your number one contender.  I would have rather seen him in a match Friday night.  Put him over someone and make the fans buy the fact that he's a contender for the title.

Booker T at Wrestlemania 22

Booker T is back on Friday nights too.  Personally, I wasn't sure how I was going to like him being on the announce team.  But again, like Kelly Kelly's performance in the ring last night, I was pleasantly surprised with Booker's announcing.  Michael Cole however is a whole other story.

Cole needs to leave SmackDown! or Raw.  We don't need him on both.  And they can call him the "voice of the WWE" all they want, but that doesn't mean we have to accept it.  I really wish they'd bring JR back to Raw.  But that's not likely to happen either.

Next week we get another title match between Ziggler and Edge.  This time Vickie Guerrero herself will referee the affair.  I'm not sure why they keep going back to the well on this one and stacking the deck against Edge.  Ziggler has really improved a lot and in my opinion has the skills to win the title without all these extra stipulations.  I still predict somehow Edge will come out on top of this one.  If Zig does win, I could see Edge regaining the title at the Elimination Chamber, as it's highly unlikely we'll get a Ziggler-Del Rio match at Mania.  While these are two rising stars, it's too risky to have both of them involved in one of the most important matches on the biggest card of the year.

I didn't take notes during SmackDown!, so I think that's all I wanted to talk about.  Nothing else is sticking out to me.  Oh yeah, the Chamber match is shaping up nicely.  I like McIntyre being in it.  Had to expect Rey just because.  I'm guessing we'll get Kofi Kingston vs. Jack Swagger on the undercard.  Thanks for reading, and check out My 1-2-3 Cents on YouTube too.  Also, leave your comments, both good and bad.  I appreciate it!

Let's Skip, Sheffield Please!

Courtesy: WWE

Okay, I don't write this to be mean or cruel.  Let's get that out of the way.

I have read several online reports that former WWE creative team member John Piermarini has started a blog.  I tried to get on the site today, but it just has the message: "Be Back Soon" so I can't confirm what I'm reading in these reports with his actual site.

But anyway, the claim is that Vince McMahon at some point saw or sees Skip Sheffield as the number 2 babyface in the company, behind John Cena.  Wow.  Really?  I find this claim hard to believe.  I can't imagine anyone in their right mind thinking Skip Sheffield should be the company's second highest profile figure.

Of course, maybe they're talking down the road, I don't know.  What I do know is what I saw of Skip on the first season of NXT I was not impressed.  To me, he seemed to try to hard to be like Stone Cold Steve Austin.  The look, the talk, even his finisher is similar to the Stone Cold Stunner.  I know they say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but we've been there and done that.  And I do still have the t-shirt.

One reason I believe this online report may be true is due to the fact that Skip was listed pretty high on the WWE.com list "the Top 11 to Watch in 2011."  In fact, he was fifth, and that's saying a lot because he's been out with an injury since August.  

I think if creative could come up with something for him and repackage him, he'd be a legitimate threat, but right now I just see him as another Stone Cold wannabe.  I'll be curious to see if he ends up in the Corre or with Nexus upon his return.  Or will he end up like Darren Young and Michael Tarver lost in the shuffle?

I'm also curious to know what you think?  Am I too harsh?  Am I missing something here?  I'm sure my thoughts were similar back in 2002 when a fresh faced John Cena was on the scene and look where that took us...

Layin' the Smackdown on SmackDown!

Courtesy: WWE.com

Delayed reaction to Friday Night SmackDown! as I was hosting poker last night and didn't get to watch the show live.

Some quick notes and thoughts.  I like the idea behind the Corre.  Wade Barrett is a natural leader I think and if the creative team gets behind him and this group, I think it can achieve success.  I just hope we don't see the typical implosion of the group/team dynamic we've come to see so often before in the WWE.

I'm not sure why Michael Cole is on Raw and SmackDown!  Honestly, I think the guy is a tool and don't really care to hear him on either show, but I realize he is now the "voice of the WWE."  I'd rather see the WWE get behind another announcer and actually push them.  It's important to give the announcers time to develop just like the in ring talent.  I have no problem with the team of Josh Matthews and Matt Stryker calling the show.

Why was Michael Tarver inexplicably backstage when they found the unconscious Teddy Long?  Is he on SmackDown! now?  We haven't seen or heard from this guy since the Nexus fired him.

I can understand why the Miz and Alex Riley showed up on the show, but why in the world are we still getting Alberto Del Rio vs. R-Truth?  This feud should have never happened in the first place.  It's two guys from different shows.  Wasn't there someone else Del Rio could be put over?  Is he really going to be the new "Mr. Wrestlemania"?  I'm still not ready to hang my hat on those claims.  We'll wait and see.

Speaking of A-Ri, I like the character, but I think the guy has enough talent to step out of the flunky role.  It's like a modern day Virgil, only I think he gets smacked around more than Virgil and has a heck of a lot more talent than the former Million Dollar champion.

I would have liked to see Cody Rhodes get a win.  I really think it's time for Ted DiBiase to move to SmackDown! and a Priceless reunion.  That way you help two guys lost in the shuffle and make a step toward revitalizing the fledgling tag team divison.

Some wrestlers should be seen and not heard.  Yes Heath Slater, I'm talking to you.  I'm glad to see Justin Gabriel pick up a win over Edge, even if it was under nefarious circumstances.  I think he's the breakout star of Corre group and hope to see him shine a little brighter in 2011.

I never understood why wrestlers in the back don't come out to help another wrestler when they're getting attack by a group like Corre.  Especially the Big Show.  The guy should have been charging to the ring and kicking @$$.  Did they say he was on the shelf?  I did fast forward through parts of the show.  And what was the final condition on Teddy Long?  Oh well, I guess we'll find out next week, right?

I must admit, I'm really stepping onto the Dolph Ziggler bandwagon.  I liked him before, but I really think his work in recent weeks has helped him climb a few notches.  I still don't think he's going to win the title at the Royal Rumble, but I am happy to see that someone who's not been in the title picture before is getting a shot.  And I'm disappointed that Randy Orton pinned him on Raw earlier this week.
Ziggler is another one who I think will make a big mark this year.  Hope he stays healthy and creative doesn't lose him in the shuffle.