First news first. I've been wildly sidetracked from the Leopold project, and now it's more a matter of getting back and finishing than giving updates. Speaking of updates, it looks as if my personal website might finally be returning. Thanks to Webspawner, the new age of Mouldwarp might finally be upon us. I tried to transfer the file of the previous version to the computer I'm presently using, but as it turns out, either I can't or Trellix Web is finicky. I found out it was a paid service after visiting the product's site, something I didn't need to bother with previously because the software had been bundled in with my previous computer.
At any rate, that's a personal update. Last Friday I watched TNA !mpact! for the first time, and got to see Petey Williams in action. It was a fine match. The last match of the hour, however, was both the figurative and literal showstopper, as the Naturals took on and defeated America's Most Wanted for the NWA world tag team championship, with the help of Chris Candido in his final appearance in the promotion before his untimely death. This has never been a blog interested in speculating in the personal lives of professional wrestlers (which is one reason why I can't directly address the Matt Hardy-Edge-Lita drama), so I can say is that the one-time Bodydonna will be missed, as he was always an asset to sports entertainment, whether he was competing in WWE, WCW, TNA or any of the many smaller promotions out there. In this era that explores as much what professional wrestling has been as what it is capable of becoming, he was a signal entity within it.
TNA, as it turns out, in the meantime, is good television. It's weird to think that all the action it sees is one hour of free television a week, and one PPV a month. Obviously a lot of competitors go unused, at least as part of TNA, in this context. Fox Sports Network, which TNA pays to air its hour of programming on, is gracious enough to broadcast the show at a reasonable time, Fridays at 4 in the afternoon, and again several more times throughout the rest of the day, which makes the notion of WWE's abundance of scheduling, over several networks, all the more generous, which we can sometimes take for granted. Men like A.J. Styles, Monty Brown and Sonjay Dutt (whom I also saw compete, against Shocker, current contender for the X-division title) shouldn't have to wait so long for their share of the spotlight, but often it's not what we deserve that we get, but rather what we can afford, and that leaves plenty of room for growth. TNA seems to be managing its fledgling existence, with bumps here and there, fairly well. If there's room for another large-scale competitor again, as there was in the '90s, to WWE, TNA would do that spot proud.
WWE, meanwhile, is approaching another draft lottery. Last year's turned out better than some of the naysayers (including, unfortunately, the Monk) would have led you to believe. This year it appears Christian is a lock to make the jump, from Raw to Smackdown, being that he's already picking a fight with WWE champion John Cena. I guess I'm fine with that. Kane is another guy who could use a change of scenery, but I wonder how likely that would be, given his current attachment to Lita. Would both go, as a package deal? Unlikely, given Edge would be left behind (or maybe this would be one way to hush up some of that murmuring). Chris Jericho would be another fine choice from Raw's side. There's also word Randy Orton would be trading sides, but that's one I would rather not see, since I still want that epic feud with Batista.
Smackdown, meanwhile, is replete with possibilities that started out on Raw or were there just last year. Big Show could use a change of address (a feud with Triple H would do both men good, and he's already be rumored there anyway), Booker T might be ready to go back, having reestablished himself. Charlie Haas is a current fantasy for some to transfer, so he could feud with Shelton Benjamin, his former partner in the (Self-Proclaimed) World's Greatest Tag Team. But I really don't know what'll happen at the draft. And that's half the fun, I guess...Both brands are doing fine right now anyway, having finally shook loose the uncertainty of 2004 and the blocks that were built during it.
I found a comic book store near me, which is the first one I've now regularly visited in more than six years. It's bizarre to be able to say that, surreal. All I need are the funds to support this patronage. I've been working at breaking into the business, too, at the forums of Digital Webbing, honing my scripting craft and helping to realize the skills it takes to create a story worth reading. I'll talk more about this at some future time. I've probably already yacked on for long enough...
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