Colling’s Corner: Volume Five

Some thoughts about various happenings in wrestling…

I recently attended the ROH War Of The Worlds PPV from the Hammerstein Ballroom in NYC. I mostly went because the Hammerstein has been a venue that I’ve always wanted to go to and because couple of my friends have gotten me to appreciate Japanese wrestling more in recent years. The trip from Syracuse would normally take four hours or so, but with traffic it took us six hours. Once I got to my seat I was disappointed to see that a wooden pillar was right in my view. Literally took up the middle of the ring. Of course, its a PPV and everything is going to happen in the middle of the ring. From what I managed to see, it seemed like a good show. I think it’s a little pathetic that I’m going to have to re-watch the event to really get an appreciation of what I watched. Anyway, the Hammerstein is a lot smaller in person than you’d probably think.

Over the past week there was a debate on Twitter prompted by Rip Rogers and his comments about wrestlers diving. Randy Orton got in on it and a lot of wrestlers who perform the dives chimed in. Mostly, their defense was that they are having fun and making money. Rogers is an old timer, but he makes a lot of sense. When you continually do insane spots, they have little value and you’re killing yourself for a diminished pop. There is no denying that the wrestlers today have a lot more ability and athleticism because the times have changed. However, when everyone does the same moves over and over again, the spots mean less and less. The reason the moves got over in WCW with Cruiserweights is because guys like Hogan and Savage weren’t doing them. However, in companies likes ROH, you’ll see a crazy spot in the opener and then likely eight times throughout the show. Plus, Rogers is accurate about not allowing things to breath and let fans enjoy what they are watching.

Well, Jinder Mahal is the WWE Heavyweight Champion after defeating Randy Orton at WWE Backlash. The same guy who couldn’t beat Curtis Axel on WWE Main Event six months ago is now the champion. Yeah, he won due to distraction, but this is mainly being done to get WWE over in the India market. Mahal is limited in the ring and his body has clearly endured some performance enhancement considering his body is riddled with acne, a known cause for abuse. While the push was out of nowhere and likely diminishes the Smackdown brand, it’s at least something different and got the belt off of Orton.

Apparently, Sami Callihan is leading the creative direction for Combat Zone Wrestling moving forward. I recently saw results of their latest show, and i must say… I wouldn’t be opposed to checking it out at some point. The idea of a wrestler being involved in the booking process is usually never a good idea. However, Sami doesn’t seem to mind doing jobs, and hopefully he doesn’t implement him into the top angles and overbook himself as a top guy. The temptation is always there. Hopefully he manages to avoid it.

That’s all I got for this edition of Colling’s Corner. See ya next time.

Thanks for reading.