Random Thoughts

First of all, since I have been seemingly covering only wrestling stuff as of late, I wanted to say congratulations to Michelle Wie for making the U.S. Solheim Cup team. She definitely earned her spot and should make an impact quickly.

Now, onto wrestling matters:

1) People are now saying that Jeff Hardy will be leaving WWE after SummerSlam. This would be a huge blow, obviously, to Smackdown because Hardy has such a large following. However, from a storyline standpoint, this should be the final piece of the puzzle to spring John Morrison completely to the World Heavyweight Title picture. This would likely mean the title goes back to Punk...or we could see Morrison crafted into the title picture immediately to make it a triple threat match, and Morrison could win the title at that point. Regardless of what happens, John Morrison is undoubtedly the most successful Tough Enough graduate.

2) Please...turn Gail Kim heel. The women's title picture needs more than the girl next door, Mickie James, holding the belt. We all know - or should be led to believe - that Beth Phoenix is a force already, so having her feud with Mickie straight up would again leave others on RAW out in the cold. Instead, WWE should go through with what the rumor mill has been stirring for a while now. Turn Gail heel. We might actually have a RAW worth watching if so (if you've been keeping track of my ratings, RAW has been disastrous, while the other shows have been decent).

3) Eliminate the guest host aspect of RAW. It cements what we already knew: RAW has become nothing more than a carnival sideshow, allowing celebrities to come in and plug their work more than the upcoming PPVs or storylines. Furthermore, poor Chavo Guerrero has lost five times, in some capacity, to 4-foot Hornswoggle. Check my ratings...I don't think I gave any of those matches above a DUD.

Chavo was once part of the 2002 Smackdown Six. He has talent. Use the guy properly!

4) Elevate Kofi Kingston, MVP, Jack Swagger, and Mark Henry...fast. I am sick and tired of seeing the same guys on RAW fighting for the belt. For the last few months, it's only been HHH, Cena, Orton, Big Show, etc. Now that HHH is seemingly bringing back Shawn Michaels to reform DX and feud with Legacy, this leaves Cena battling for the gold once again. I do not want to see a Cena/Orton crapfest anymore. I want to see fresh faces battling for the top prize on RAW.

5) To me, the Unified Tag Team Titles went to the wrong people. Chris Jericho deserves more than tag team gold. He deserves a long run as a world champion. Big Show, on the other hand, needs to retire. The guy is now less mobile in the ring than before, and because he supposedly now has a devastating punch, he can't punch anyone in the face unless he wants to utilize one of his finishers. I think Big Show is now down to about 10 moves in the ring. At least John Cena moves faster. The tag titles should either have gone to Legacy or stayed with the Colons (in other words, the Colons should not have been broken up either).

6) For the love of God, can someone in WWE creative cancel the Abraham Washington Show?! Fans in attendance reported that there was a loud "This is stupid!" chant during the segment that had to be edited out. I couldn't agree more. Abraham Washington is a pathetic character and the skit is usually only saved by whatever guests he brings on his show. ECW is only one hour long, and whatever time he takes up should be used to elevate talent. Many unused wrestlers would kill for air time, and instead, it is devoted to a meaningless talk show segment?!

7) Find people to replace what is left of the 2009 Smackdown Six. We're down to CM Punk, John Morrison, Rey Mysterio, Jeff Hardy, and Chris Jericho. If Hardy does indeed leave, we are down to four. Dolph Ziggler impressed me with his match against Mysterio, and that feud should continue. Punk and Morrison, as I said earlier, should feud with each other next. Undertaker should be back at some point, and even if he's used sparingly, he should feud with Jericho once Y2J's tag title run is over. Just like that, there is a new Smackdown Six.

8) Can we please use Shelton Benjamin properly? The guy has been poorly used for the last so many years now. He should be a main eventer but instead now is in a program with Zack Ryder. Nothing against Mr. Wooo Wooo Wooo, but Shelton needs a serious feud, and I think Shelton vs. Christian would actually be excellent.

9) I'm actually interested in where this feud between Ezekiel Jackson and Vladimir Kozlov is going. This match could either be very good or very bad, and signs do point to very bad. However, you never know.

10) Finally, let's look at the title holders right now and my thoughts on each one:

WWE Title (Randy Orton): Good choice, but not the best. He is the top heel on RAW and plays the character well. But then again, something inside me wants Jack Swagger to work his way up to second-best heel and slyly get into the title picture. Can we also get fresh meat for Randy to face? How about Evan Bourne?

World Heavyweight Title (Jeff Hardy): Great choice, but not excellent anymore because Hardy is likely leaving the company. Nevertheless, Smackdown's booking is outstanding, and the title picture will not miss Hardy if and when he decides to part ways with WWE.

ECW Title (Christian): I like this choice because it gives Christian a great role as a top face, even if it's supposed to be the C show. This would have been a great time to start a nice feud with Shelton Benjamin.

United States Title (Kofi Kingston): Solid choice. The Six-Pack Challenge at Night of Champions was one of my favorite matches on that card, and if he feuds with the right people, we should see some quality stuff here.

Intercontinental Title (Rey Mysterio): Love this choice. Any match featuring Rey Mysterio should be exciting. It's also a perfect setup to elevate Dolph Ziggler and attempt to repair some of the void Edge left behind.

Unified Tag Team Titles (Chris Jericho & The Big Show): Jericho deserves more and should be a world champ. Big Show is expendable and should just retire. I like the idea of unified tag gold because the tag division sucks. However, we have Legacy, Hart Dynasty, and Cryme Tyme for starters. And who knows, if one of those teams gets the titles, we could theoretically toss makeshift tag teams comprised of unused talent to be jobbers and elevate whomever the champs may be.

Divas Title (Mickie James): I like this because the belt is on someone new and gives someone else a chance to shine. As a note, this is the one title that has been properly transitioned (McCool and Maryse had long reigns with the belt). Maryse's knee surgery opened the door for a new champ, so Mickie hopefully will follow suit and get a good amount of time with the title. Again, I want a Mickie/Gail feud!

Women's Title (Michelle McCool): The proper person is holding the belt here. The problem is the lack of challengers. So we have Melina, Maria, Eve Torres, Natalya, and Layla? Other than Melina, that's not much to choose from. We could turn Natalya face, but I like the Hart Dynasty as a brash, young heel stable. My solution? Do a trade. Put Beth Phoenix on Smackdown as a face and send Eve to RAW (I picked Eve just to keep the heel-face balance; Maria is popular on Smackdown so I left her there).