Happy New Year to one and all! I’d hope each and every single one of you have been ploughing merrily into the beer/wine/champagne/snakebite (?) by now and simply having a ball of a time. Here’s to a good 2011, both in wrestling and for everybody personally. On with the topics!

  • Matt Hardy Says He Will Change Pro-Wrestling in 2011..

The saga of one Matt Hardy continues to be ongoing into the new year it seems, with this latest video tirade from the former WWE mid-card star. In his most recent video, Matt (who was wearing a “PG SUX!” t-shirt) asked his loyal fans how he should get his hair cut. Adding to this, the man decreed that he would make 2011 his year and would definitely “change pro wrestling forever”.

Having been a big Hardy Boys fan over the years, I’ve enjoyed pretty much everything Matt has been associated with. His much-lauded tag-team with brother Jeff was responsible for many fantastic matches in the late 1990’s/early 2000’s and I loved his initial solo run as “Matt Hardy: Version 1”. It’s therefore pretty sad to see where he’s ended up, even if the guy himself appears to be pretty happy with life. Sure, this writer is all for engaging your fan-base. However, didn’t Matt say almost exactly the same things last year?

It’s seen as fact now that Matt will join his sibling in the merry land of TNA when his no-compete clause with WWE expires. Will he become just another WWE release who is pushed to the moon by the fine folks at Orlando? Or will he show his true potential as a star and further his career in the iMPACT! Zone? Only time will tell. One thing’s for sure, taking cheap clothing-related shots at your former employers is hardly professional or befitting of a man who was such a company man up until recently.

  • FCW Champion to be Pushed Upon Main Roster Arrival..

It seems the youth initiative in WWE is set to proceed, with Welsh grappler Mason Ryan the next in line to receive a shot at stardom. Company officials are apparently extremely high on Ryan, who stands 6 ft 6 in and weighs in at around 280 lbs. What won’t be hurting his career is his striking resemblance to huge WWE name Dave Batista, who had recently left the company in the Summer.

Word is that the promotion are looking to almost immediately push Mason to the moon and have him slot comfortably into a high position on the card. Ryan (real name; Barri Griffiths) has an impressive physique and an intimidating presence, something us fans know will stand him in good stead.

Having seen the man perform in person, he does come across scarily similar to Batista, albeit a very raw and untested Batista. There was also a lot there to remind me of a younger Brock Lesnar too. This might be one to keep your eye on for the new year. Perhaps a move to the struggling Smackdown brand is in the Welshman’s near future, where they are in dire need of some top-line help.

  • TNA Star Set To Return North of the Border..

Having been one of the young wrestlers TNA hoped would become a major player, Shawn Hernandez is ready to return to the company early in the new year. The big man has been plying his trade in Mexico for the past while, on extended leave from the Orlando-based group. Featuring on cards promoted by Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA), it now seems as though he’s ready to have another crack at success in North America.

In my humble opinion, I was really disappointed by Hernandez feud with fellow man-mountain, Matt Morgan last year in TNA and would love for him to be given another chance in a profiled program. It just seemed to be a case of the pair not gelling with one another inside the ring, failing to capture the fans imaginations and leading to some stifled and rather uninteresting matches. Hopefully, we can chalk this one up to experience and both men will find their rhythm with other opponents in the future.

Hernandez was clearly the stand-out from the well received “LAX” team with Homicide and would have been a clear favourite to become a main event-level performer in 2010. This never seemed to happen for the big guy, and while we can argue about why not – he obviously deserves another shot.

I’d love to hear YOUR opinion on the topics discussed here. Quite frankly, they’re as important as mine. Sometimes even more so! The banter and chatter amongst fans is truly what makes pro wrestling such an amazing form of entertainment. Almost everybody has something to say. I love that. You can leave a comment below or send a quickfire email my way – jamiekennedy@live.com I’ll be sure to respond to anything and everything. Quite frankly, I just love talking to people about the wild and wacky world of wrasslin’! TAKE IT HOME!

4 Comments

  1. Matt Hardy probably will end up in TNA, I'd bet. The big question to me, however, is what happens to Jeff who is supposedly pleading guilty to at least one of the drug possession charges. Or so the PWI is reporting. This happens on January 20th, which makes me wonder if Hardy will still have his title after the Jan. 9th PPV. Good call on Matt's promise being the same as last year… I had forgotten about that.

    What type of move set does Mason Ryan bring to the table? Does he tend towards matt-based power moves? What really separated Brock from Batista, was the Brock possessed that amateur wrestling background as well was willing to perform the occasional high flying move… so if you are comparing Mason to Brock, I am intrigued. I was never a huge Batista fan, personally.

    Speaking of big-guys who can fly, if Super-Mex is coming back, that should be a good thing. I really miss the LAX angle, but with Homicide back in ROH, I guess Hernandez will continue a singles run.


  2. That's a very good point regarding Jeff, Gee. I hadn't thought of that! (even though Jeff's trial has dominated a lot of news sources for the past year or so..) I'd imagine he'd have to then lose the belt, surely? This just makes the entire re-design of the title a colossal waste of time, which is a shame but surely something the company should have at least thought of?

    Ryan appeared to be very-Vince friendly, if that makes sense! He has a stock WWE-main event workstyle which focuses on punches, kicks and various power moves. Still, he did seem to move around a bit more freely than "Big Dave" and likely has the potential to come off the top rope too. Admittedly, what I did see what in limited scope as it was a house show match against Chavo Guerrero but I was impressed. My comparison to Brock was born more out of agility and presence, rather than the Amateur stylings of Mr. UFC. Still, he's certainly one to keep a look out for!

    Totally agree with you about missing LAX. I'd love for that team to come back, mainly because I'm a sucker for tag teams in general. I can recall some of the great matches they had in 2008 with Beer Money. Come to think of it, Robert Roode and James Storm seem to have good matches with pretty much everybody they step foot inside the ring with!


  3. Well, Matt Hardy changed (his hair to look like Tyler Rekks) and Ken Anderson picks up the title… better safe than sorry if your champion might serve time…


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