Intercontinental #1 Contender Tourney

As you all may know: there is a HUGE #1 Contender's Tournament with the winner getting an Intercontinental title shot going on on RAW right now. As of now Kofi Kingston has advanced by defeating Kane, although via disqualification. Rey Mysterio handed The Miz his own butt on a silver platter and completely dismantled him with one arm... literally. John Morrison easily defeated Finlay, and CM Punk squeaked out a victory over Snitsky... and just when it looked like they were going to give him a push.
Tournaments in wrestling has always been a favorite of mine. Since the Wrestlemania IV tourney when Macho Man Randy Savage won the Championship gold, to all of the King of the Rings, even to the ROH tourney that me and Ropes had the pleasure of seeing live this past year where Kevin Steen won the #1 contender spot for the World title. I'm very interested to see how THIS one is going to pan out. I'm going to start by first giving a little opinion of each wrestler left in the tournament.


First is Kofi "Jamaican Me Crazy" Kingston. Former Intercontinental Champion, he never officially lost the title. It was Mickey James' fault that he no longer holds the title. But he would have lost it eventually, and I don't think that it's his time to retrieve it. Don't get me wrong, I'm all about the young blood in the WWE making a name for themselves and winning titles, but he's already Tag Team Champion, which I already think is being booked incredibly poorly, and if he wins the Intercontinental Championship, the Tag Titles or the Intercontinental Title will have less meaning. I feel that the booking for these titles is poor enough, and this would definitely push them over the edge of boredom.



Rey Rey Mysterio...... Mysterio. This man really personifies what an Intercontinental Champion should be. He's athletic, exciting to watch, and puts it all on the line every time. You know that he would be a fighting champion, and not just a paper champion. AND the Intercontinental Championship Title is one of the only ones that he hasn't held yet. All he needs to work on is his promo chops a little bit, but I think it would be great to see the title around his waist. He is sure to put on an epic showing for the remainder of his time in this tournament. Now, does that mean that I think that he will win the tournament, and ultimately win the championship? Just keep reading to find out what my predictions are.


John Morrison... wait...
<---- Wrong John Morrison. (I found this while Google Image searching for John Morrison)





Here he is, Former ECW Champion... Former Tag Team Champion... Former Intercontinental Champion...The Shaman of Sexy, the Palace of Wisdom guy, the chick magnet... wait that's his tag partner The Miz. I firmly believe that John Morrison has the most potential to make a great champion out of all of these competitors. He's charismatic, he's athletic as heck, and he's innovative. He's also the type of guy that can cheat to win, but doesn't always do so, which garners a little bit more respect. He is the next Shawn Michaels, and those aren't small shoes to fill. After their short feud with DX, he really showed how he could be the next Shawn Michaels, specifically by stealing his move Sweet Chin Music. I would love to see this guy win the Championship and regain the Intercontinental Championship. However, it would leave his protege The Miz left in the dust. The Miz may have what it takes, but not yet, and under the tutelage of Nitro, The Miz can be a contender. Is the WWE really ready to give up on the Miz yet?




When you Google Image CM Punk, you are bound to find this image... at least a thousand times... the image of a man who lives a straight edge lifestyle with his arms crossed in order to prevent bad people from imposing their will upon him. CM Punk is a former ECW Champion, former WWE Champion, and current Tag Team Champion. He has all the makings of an Intercontinental Champion. The crowd would love it, but as I mentioned before, he is the current Tag Team Champion, and if he wins the Intercontinental gold, then either the singles title or the tag title will lose meaning, and neither of those titles can take it to lose any more meaning than the WWE has already taken from them. But will he win the gold?




Ladies and Gentlemen it's time for.........................


Tony Slammetie's Intercontinental # 1Contender Tournament Prediction!Kofi Kingston is going to pull of an upset victory over Rey Mysterio, and CM Punk is going to pull one out against John Morrison, leading to the much anticipated Kofi Kingston vs CM Punk battle, Tag Team Champions facing off against each other in a battle to see who the best really is. CM Punk is going to get the better of Kofi this time, but it won't be the last time that these two face off against each other, but for now it is. So my prediction for the winner of the #1 Contender for the Intercontinental tournament is... CM PUNK. But at the end of the day, when all is said and done ....

This guy will still be Champion.

I'm Tony Slammetie, and keep on Rollin'

And now for an intelligent point of view, it’s ROPES!


The WWE is trying to add some weight to the Intercontinental title with the new Intercontinental title DVD and this Intercontinental title tournament (I think the Honk-o-Meter helped a bit, too- no joke). Good for WWE. The IC title has had an uneven history as the #2 title in the company. Remember when Albert and The Godfather were IC champions? I rest my case.
The glory that goes along with being IC champion will never be the same as when a man like Randy Savage held the title, but the WWE is trying to do the best it can to make the IC title a title worth having. William Regal is a great choice as champion because he is a great wrestler and he is a badass. Having a tournament to decide who can fight for the title gives the idea that it’s a title that’s incredibly desired by the WWE roster (or at least Raw’s roster).
C.M. Punk and Rey Mysterio will fight in the finals of the tournament with Punk coming out on top. I think seniority is the key with the Kingston-Mysterio match, and since Rey is more senior, he will win. Punk and Morrison will be a nice callback to their 2007 feud, with Punk coming out on top because…

PUNK WILL WIN THE TOURNAMENT!

The prospect of Punk winning brings about a conundrum of sorts. When he does face William Regal, Regal will retain the belt. I can see fans thinking to themselves “What the heck was the point of the tournament if the winner of the tournament didn’t win the belt?” That’s a good question, especially since I thought of it. For one thing, Regal should have a nice long title reign. The guy might never be world champion, but he can certainly play a good supporting role to the world champion. Regal needs a win over Punk more than Punk needs a win over Regal.
So if Punk loses to Regal, what direction will Punk’s character go in? Punk and Kingston are going to lose the tag team titles and Punk is going to go heel, which I think Punk’s character needs or else he will become a stale face.
While you’re waiting to see who wins, though, I suggest you go to YouTube and look up some great IC matches from back in the day, including Savage vs. Steamboat, Perfect vs. Hart, Michaels vs. Ramon, and Jarrett vs. D-Lo Brown…..on second thought, forget that last one.

"The Icon" Sting

The question is; "The Icon" Sting; is he an icon; what makes you an icon; who else (if anyone) would you consider an icon from the past, or present?

Tony Slammetie here, and it's time for me to give my thoughts on this topic. I've thought feverishly to give you the best possible point of view on it, so enough beating around the bush.

First of all, to answer this question, we need to first establish what makes an "Icon." According to "Slammetie's" Dictionary: The highest authority of wrestling definitions, 3 things are needed to make a wrestler an "Icon."

1. Maintain a high level of deserved popularity for over a baker's dozen years. (13 for you non-bakers) This is subjective, but still valid. There are some wrestlers out there who are popular and don't deserve it, and the greatest wrestling minds in the game will agree for the most part on who these wrestlers are... but that's for a different time.
2. Be able to silence the crowd by simply picking up the microphone. It's easy to establish yourself as a face and have the fans cheer whenever you pick up the mic. It's even easier to establish yourself as a heel and have people boo at the sight of you holding a microphone... heck, even Vicki Guerrero can do it. But it takes an "Icon" to command the full and utter attention from the audience
3. Every time you enter the ring, you put it all on the line, every time. Many older wrestlers go out there, and just go through the motions, or even younger wrestlers for that matter. They go out there, hit their spots and exit. It takes an "Icon" to continue telling a story with each match, every time.

And remember, this comes from the highest authorities, and is where I get all of my information from. And slightly off the matter, just comment on this or any other blog if you have questions about anything wrestling... I'll confer "Slammetie's" Dictionary, and we'll find out the answer lickety split.

But I digress.

Many people consider Sting to be "The Icon" and by the end of this blog I intend to prove my point to you. I agree and disagree with these people. Sting is indeed an icon in wrestling.
He has maintained his well deserved popularity for well over a baker's dozen years. From his Warrior face paint, hard working, strong monster of a wrestler; to his dark, Crow reincarnation, bat wielding, psychopathic son of a gun, he has been around and garnered a boatload of respect as both incarnations.
He commands respect on the microphone, and will go down as one of the best promo men in the history of the business. Turn on TNA any Thursday night, and you will see the crowd hush as he raises the microphone to his lips. Even as a heel, they respect his skills.
But most importantly, he tells a story with each match. Meaning that he has a beginning, a middle, and incredible climax, and a finish. These are the main components in a story, and are the main components in making a match memorable. Sure, he hits the stinger splash, the revers DDT, and on occasion the Scorpion deathlock, but what makes him different from people that people may consider icons... like Bret Hart for example... he will use them only to enhance the story of the match, and not to enhance himself.
That being said, it is clear to see that Sting IS and icon.

(I only mention Hart because he has a new book coming out, and though many may consider him one of the best of all times, he is not an "Icon" which is what this article is about.)

But is Sting THE Icon. This to to assume that he is the only icon in wrestling history, and to say this would be ABSOLUTELY FALSE!

The Undertaker may be the only "Phenom"...a word they had to make up just for this man. The Hulkster and his legacy is certainly deserving of the title "Immortal." But can we honestly say that the Stinger is the only icon, thus deserving to be called "THE ICON."
Off the top of my head I can think of two men that can be considered Icons. Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels. These men absolutely deserve (or deserved in Flair's case) their popularity for well over 2 decades, and both clearly command(ed) respect on the mic. And they go (went) out there each and every and put on the greatest show they could, and always try to top the last one. Their match together I believe can be called Iconic.

To me, the Stinger is a first ballot hall of famer. He is a man of men, a champion of champions.
Sting is truly... an ICON!