Last year, C.M. Punk was booked to capture one of the “big two” world titles in the WWE (sorry Matt Hardy). I wonder…will we see another young WWE superstar put in a situation like that this year?

There’s no sure answer, but I think there is one question we can debate: which young WWE star will have the best 2009?

Here are the candidates:

• John Morrison
• The Miz
• Evan Bourne
• Jack Swagger
• Brian Kendrick
• Kofi Kingston
• Cody Rhodes

What do these guys have in common? They are all under the age of 30. While we might consider guys like Shelton Benjamin, MVP and Mr. Kennedy young superstars, they are actually in their 30s.

The way I see it, the guys on the list above are the most likely candidates to have an outstanding 2009. But which one will get pushed the most?

If I had to guess, I’d say John Morrison, although Evan Bourne is a close second when he comes back from his injury–I could easily see either of them main-eventing a PPV in the later stages of 2009.

I wish WWE would pull the trigger on some of these guys like they did a few years ago with the New Year’s Revolution Elimination Chamber match; rememember when the match came down to Cena, Carlito and Chris Masters? That was a cool finish to the match, and I’d love to see a champion put in the position defending against one of these guys in 2009.

So let’s debate: which one of these guys will it be? Is there anyone under 30 I left off the list? You be the judge.

Yesterday, I wrote a post about TNA’s PPV buys, terming them “minor league.” I think that’s a pretty accurate statement at this point. Looking at the numbers, you can see TNA has a long way to go until they are able to compete with the WWE.

Like most level-headed wrestling fans, I want TNA to provide some competition for the WWE. As we saw during the Monday Night Wars, competition breeds excitement. As soon as WCW was gone, WWE’s product began a slow decline that still hasn’t been reversed.

I think the closest we’ve come to a “Monday Night Wars” moment was the signing of Kurt Angle to TNA. Still, TNA’s ratings haven’t gone above 1.3. Sting hasn’t done it. Mick Foley hasn’t done it. TNA’s exisiting talent hasn’t done it. It’s time to shake things up.

Pole Foam made an interesting point during yesterday’s discussion: the Angle/Joe match at Lockdown did the most buys this year (55k), so perhaps fan want a more of a shoot style. I’d agree with that–I’m not saying I want to see mocked up MMA matches, but I think some of the silliness could be cut out to create more of a realistic style. For a model, I’d look back to that Global Impact special that TNA did last year. That was easily some of the best wrestling television I’ve seen since the 1990s.

JSN also had some great points during yesterday’s discussion–he thinks TNA should do more live editions of Impact!, get new writers (like Paul Heyman), and stop doing PPVs in the Impact! zone. I couldn’t agree more. The live edition of Impact! in Las Vegas had a totally different feel to it, and that’s a good thing.

I’m assuming it’s more expensive for TNA to leave the Impact Zone to put on shows, but they are already doing house shows in smaller venues. Why not go live with Impact! in the same smaller venues that they are doing house shows from–I think it would really improve the product. I’m sick and tired of seeing the same “smart” TNA fans in Orlando every week.

And as for new writers, I think that’s a must. As Pole Foam points out, fans want a more realistic style, so stop with the Sarah Palin crap and the XYZ on a pole matches.

But TNA can’t stop there. They have to make some drastic changes. Off the top of my head, I’ve got one that will probably piss a lot of people off: bring in “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan as a heel manager for the Main Event Mafia, no matter how much it costs. You can’t deny it: Hogan equals ratings. He doesn’t have to wrestle, he just has to be there, cut promos and help with a beat down every now and then. His presence would bring in a lot more casual wrestling fans. I’m thoroughly convinced that if casual wrestling fans saw guys like Samoa Joe, AJ Stlyes and Christopher Daniels wrestle, that they’d be hooked on the product. After all, good wrestlers can get over in the WWE–just look at how popular Evan Bourne has become. The reason more wrestling fans don’t watch TNA right now is because they just don’t pay attention–Hogan might be able to change that.

What else can TNA do? I’m not sure, but I think we’ve got a good list going here. So let’s get the debate going: how can TNA compete with the WWE?

In the inagural “Sunday Debate,” we had a great discussion on the greatest wrestler of all-time.

Since there’s no wrestling pay-per-view today, it’s time for another “Sunday Debate.” As we move toward 2009, I figured that there’s no better time to discuss the year that was 2008. So that brings me to today’s debate question: which wrestler had the best 2008?

Much like the last debate on the greatest wrestler of all-time, I think you have to factor in a variety of things, including match quality and level of entertainment. Read on to see my pick, and to discuss your own. (more…)

Sundays with no wrestling PPVs tend to equal no wrestling news. Because of that, I’ve decided I’ll start a new tradition here at PWB: the Sunday Debate.

Let’s start off with a simple topic that we always like to debate: who is the greatest professional wrestler of all-time?

This is really a tough one. There have been great wrestlers in every decade: guys like Lou Thesz, Gorgeous George, Buddy Rogers, Freddy Blassie, Bruno Sammartino and Harley Race and Andre the Giant eventually gave way to guys like Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, Terry Funk and Dusty Rhodes in the 1980s. But who can forget Ricky Steamboat, “The Macho Man” Randy Savage, and Bret Hart? And what about a guy like Shawn Michaels, who rose to prominence in the late 80s and early 90s and is still wrestling? The Undertaker falls in that category, as well. So does Sting.

Then, of course, you’ve got the new stars of the mid-90s and the Attitude Era: “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, The Rock, Mick Foley, Chris Jericho, Triple H, Booker T, DDP, Scott Hall and Kevin Nash. Then there’s the newer crop of top guys: Kurt Angle, Edge, AJ Styles, Christian Cage, Samoa Joe, John Cena, Rey Mysterio, Eddie Guerrero (R.I.P.), Jeff Hardy and The Miz (OK, just kidding on that one). But seriously, one of those guys might be on their way to being one of the greatest of all-time.

There are a lot of different things that go into this debate: wrestling ability, persona and drawing power have to be the most important things to consider. Also, you have to look at it from this angle: is the guy a household name?

Those are just names off the top of my head. I know I’m leaving some big names out. But let’s get the debate going: who do you think is the greatest professional wrestler of all-time?

I’ll give you my top 5:

1. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin - As if I would choose someone else. He made the WWE relevant and cool during the hottest era of professional wrestling.

2. The Rock - He also made the WWE cool during the Attitude Era and early 2000s. In fact, he was so popular, he cut his career short and became a bona-fide movie star. His rise to stardom is so unique I think you have to put him near the top.

3. Hulk Hogan - Wow, I hate to do this, but you can’t deny the guy’s star power. He wasn’t much of a wrestler, but then again, he never really had to be thanks to his persona.

4. (Tie) Bret Hart - Simpy the best technical wrestler ever. This guy could make any stiff look good.

4. (Tie) Ric Flair - I think it’s only fitting that these two guys who didn’t really seem to like each other tie for fourth place. Flair was the man, especially in the Southern United States.

5. Undertaker - Just look at this guy’s longevity and drawing power–it’s ridiculous. Also, his ability as a big man is truly unmatched. I’ve never seen such a big man wrestle so well. I put Undertaker at number five instead of Shawn Michaels simply because he can make any feud popular, with or without a championship belt inovlved. Like it or not, more people seem to be interested in a random Undertaker feud than the greatness that was Chris Jericho and HBK earlier this year. That definately counts for something in my book.

There are really some tough choices involved in deciding who’s the best–I always have to throw a lot of my personal biases out the window. Granted, I’ve got Stone Cold first, but I actually put Hulk Hogan on this list, and that pains me. It also pains me to leave HBK and Mick Foley off, but you gotta do what you gotta do.