TLC Review

 This past week, the WWE championship was not defended because of a knee injury that required surgery for champion, CM Punk, but despite the lack of a title defense, the WWE booked one of their most solid pay-per-view events of 2012 and set the stage for an interesting start to next year. The show opener was the tables match, which featured Rhodes Scholars vs. the team of Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara. First, Cody Rhodes deserves major credit for being back in the ring less than a month after suffering multiple injuries after taking a back drop during a tag match. The match showcased both teams well and had good psychology to use an unpredictable finish that saw Sin Cara sail from the ring through a table. As far as the teams go, as I mentioned before, the Rey/Cara team is an attempt to give Cara creditably among the Mysterio fans, which might not work because there's only one Mysterio, but it makes sense and Cara has improved since teaming with Mysterio. Obviously, Sandow and Rhodes have main event potential outside of a tag team, but at this point, it gives them a platform to be pushed while CM Punk is the champion. Rhodes Scholars won the match to become the number one contenders, which could be an indication that they will win the tag titles.

Antonio Cesaro defeated R Truth to retain the US title and it was a decent match. Cesaro is getting a solid run as US champion, but if you've seen his work on the independent scene prior to his WWE debut, you know he has a lot more to bring to the table, which will probably be displayed as his character evolves. That being said, I don't understand why the WWE had Cesaro job to Ryback on Smackdown because it doesn't help push Cesaro or the US title. I get that they want to make Ryback look strong after TLC, but isn't Tensai the standard jobber on Raw? Despite the defeat on Smackdown, I think Cesaro will continue to have a successful run as US champion.

The Intercontinental title match was solid and picked up the tempo of the show to lead into the TLC match. Kofi retained the title and seems to be a solid performer for the company, but I don't think he will jump to the main event scene because while he's improved on the mic, he just doesn't have the mic skills of a main event star. Anything is possible, but it seems as though Kofi is in the IC title spot, where he has decent match and is over with the crowd, but not exactly a main event level performer. However, Wade Barrett has evolved his character since his return from an injury earlier this year and it will be interesting to see if he is pushed to the main event after the botched Nexus storyline a few years ago.

The Shield vs. Daniel Bryan, Kane, and Ryback was a great match. It was definitely match of the night and The Shield proved they are ready for the main stage of the WWE. It's also good to see The Shield get the win because it gives them credibility and they are an established stable in the WWE. Seth Rollins, who completed in Ring Of Honor, is thought by many to eventually be the emerging star of the faction and he certainly has the skills to be a major star for the company, but I think Dean Ambrose will be the biggest star to debut in The Shield. Ambrose has already shown his tremendous promo ability on WWE TV and the TLC match showed he can go in the ring so don't under estimate Ambrose. Roman Reigns shouldn't be over looked either because while he has the least hype prior to his debut, many think there's a bright future for him. The comparison to the NWO makes sense, but The Shield is definitely a more current for the hostile takeover angle, which is what the WWE needs right now, considering one of the main criticisms for WWE is they need a more current product. The storyline gives people a reason to tune into Raw and it will be extremely interesting to see how the storyline evolves the next few months.

Eve Torres defeated Naomi in a Divas title match and it was booked to properly pace the show after the crazy spot in the TLC match, which it did well. There's not much to say about the match because it was just a random match booked to pace the show without a storyline. That being said, Eve has some decent matches as champion, but there's not too many storylines in the divas division.

The Big Show and Sheamus added another good match to their series at TLC and The Big Show retained the title. The match had good psychology and some good spots, but the finish with the giant chair was tacky. However, it was a good title match and Big Show is  getting a good run as World Heavyweight champion, which is something most fans probably didn't think would happen at this point in his career. Since Big Show retained and Sheamus has already had a few matches for the title, you have to wonder, who is the next challanger for The Big Show? Randy Orton might be the next contender, considering that Smackdown is low on star power and there are rumors that he would be in the title picture for Wrestlemania.

The Miz, Alberto Del Rio, and The Brooklyn Brawler vs. 3MB was another random match that was booked more to pace the show than anything else, but it was kept short and it was entertaining to see the Brawler get a win in his hometown so it accomplished the goal of getting the crowd ready for the main event. Some fans have speculated that it could be a face turn for Del Rio, but he stated on twitter that he's not a "good guys" so he might have been booked in the match just to be added to the card. However, The Miz has actually turned face of the past few weeks and despite some of the promos, it just doesn't seem like The Miz is going to be an effective "good guy" not because of a lack of mic skills, but because he's a better heel in the WWE.

The main event was a solid match and it proved Dolph Ziggler can main event a show. The AJ heel turn was predictable, but it worked well and since Dolph won the match for the money in the bank contract, I think he will eventually win the title when he cashes in the title shot. Ziggler has all the skills to be the champion and it would be interesting if he wins the title.

Kenta Kobashi Announces Retirement

Last week, the Japanese wrestling world was shocked when Pro Wrestling NOAH announced that the legendary, Kenta Kobashi, was released from his contract, which prompted several other wrestlers to announce that they wouldn't resign with the company out of respect for Kobashi. While Kobashi is without a doubt one of the greatest wrestlers to step into a ring, he's had several injuries over the past few years and it would probably be a wise decision for him to retire, but he deserves a better conclusion to his career than to be released without a retirement show, which is why in some ways it's good to see the rest of the roster show respect for him to announce they wouldn't resign if he was released because NOAH can't afford the contract. However, this is just the latest in a laundry list of problems for the promotion in the past few years, as the company has declined since the death of the founder, Mitsuhara Misawa, who formed the company in 2000 after several stars left All Japan because of a disagreement with management. After Misawa's death, the promotion had their TV slot moved to a smaller network and has sporadic TV spots since the show was canceled from the Nippon network. The lack of new stars has been the least of the company problems, as earlier this year, it became public that the was a yakuza ties in the promotion, which lead to the dismissal of some NOAH officials and new rules were enforced to prevent further dealings with the yakuza. An organized crime scandal itself can be enough to cause an organization to shut down, which is evident in the damage it did to Pride a few years ago in Japan, but NOAH survived and continued to promote shows.

Following the news that several wrestlers wouldn't resign because of Kobashi's release, the NOAH officials went into damage control and made an agreement that Kobashi could finish his career in a NOAH ring in February of next year, which would allow the promotion to cut costs, while also giving Kobashi the proper retirement that he deserves after a stellar career. With the organization looking to cut expenses and rumors of possibly shutting down after the Yakuza incident, it could be an indication that the promotion might close, which would be a statement about not just the current state of the industry in Japan, but it would also impact the business from a historical stand point as well. As I mentioned earlier, NOAH was formed using much of the roster of All Japan Pro Wrestling, which was started when the legendary, Giant Baba promoted shows and All Japan showcased some of the greatest matches in pro wrestling history, including many NWA world title matches. If NOAH closes, it would be the conclusion of the last link to the classic All Japan that Giant Baba promoted. From a modern prospective, it shows the over saturation of the pro wrestling market in Japan, which is mostly because many wrestlers will form their own company when there's no reason for it and much of the land scape of the business in Japan is an alphabet soup of promotions that don't have any major impact on the business. New Japan Pro Wrestling, which is now under new ownership after it was sold a few months ago, is the only promotion that is garnering moderate success at the moment because they are doing what the business in Japan has needed for years, the new stars are used to draw for the promotion.

As great as the legends are, they can't continue to main event shows when they are past their prime or injuries begin to pile up, which has been the case for Kobashi, as he's had several injuries over the past few years. If Ric Flair was still a main event wrestler in the WWE, it wouldn't have the same draw as if there was a current star and while Japan featured more of the history of the business, there needs to be a new generation of stars for the company to be profitable. Just an example of this is in the 80s All Japan had Baba as one of the main event stars as well as several foreign wrestlers, including Bruiser Brody, Stan Hansen, Terry Funk, and others. While All Japan had the foreign stars, New Japan founder, Antonio Inoki was the top draw for NJPW and then there was a transition to the new stars. All Japan passes the torch to Misawa, Kobashi, and Kawada while New Japan used The Great Muta, Chono, and Hashimoto in the main event in the 90s. Since then, there hasn't been a real next generation promoted in Japan to draw crowds comparable to previous years. New Japan has the right idea and recently started running Internet pay-per-views, which actually gives them a better way to distribute shows, as not nearly the amount of people in Japan have access to traditional PPV channels as people in the United States so iPPV for New Japan gives more people the chance to see the product.

The point being here, the entire NOAH situation could be an indication of what could take place in the other major companies in Japan if new stars aren't featured in the main event. Specifically, the only major draw All Japan has in recent years is The Great Muta, who will probably retire soon so again, it's another company that could scramble to rebuild themselves if they don't promote new stars. It will be interesting to see if NOAH continues to promote shows after Kobashi's retirement and it will also be interesting to see the direction of Japanese wrestling in a few years.