Friday Night Fallout: Tha VIP Lounge

Alright O-sters, it's that time once again. Another week in wrestling has come and gone, and to cap off the week's events, settle in and prepare for the 'Fallout'.

"SmackDown!" opened, much as it should with the feud that is, well...interesting. MVP and Matt Hardy: these two guys have both the marks and the smarks in their pockets for the most part.

Tha VIP lounge was introduced to the Friday night lineup, but I wonder, was this just a vehicle to get the Hardy/MVP feud over a bit more, or is it something that they are going to do to elevate MVP to the next level? The reason I'm asking this is because MVP is that good. He can talk, and with the exception of his finishing move, he can flat out work.

I'll admit I was quick to take a dump on MVP, but only because I have always hated the "hot-free-agent-even-though-we've-never-seen-him-wrestle" gimmick. It isn't a gimmick that always pans out. This time, however, it did. He asked for John Cena money, plus a dollar, I now feel as though he's worth John Cena money, plus Triple H money.

Tha VIP lounge itself was set up quite nicely. No palm trees, no Jeritron 5000, no cocunuts. It's a gimmick that could stand on it's own. MVP is the kind of guy, who with his serious heart condition could do something like this to stay relevant to the story.

Good thing is however, that his serious heart condition is GREAT for the current storyline. It's been corrected, and he should be ready to go, but he's milking it, and in true heel fashion, the people are booing him as hard as they possibly can. Plain and simple, he's 'Ballin'.

Matt Hardy got his first true mic time with MVP two weeks ago when he made the "open challenge," challenge. He got it again this week, and in my opinion, he did quite well. To those out there who say Hardy isn't a talker, I'm going to have to disagree. Hardy doesn't have the greatest voice in the world, but damn, it's not like we chose our southern accents.

Matt Hardy, in typical babyface fashion, put himself over as being one of US. The whole, "people like you could never hang with people like me" gimmick has been used, but in this situation, I think it can be used to elevate both performers, although in slightly different directions.

If MVP does indeed lose his United States Championship to Matt Hardy at SummerSlam, it will be beneficial to both individuals. MVP, to me, is at the level Orton was when he had his stranglehold on the Intercontinental Championship on "Raw" as a member of Evolution. People were begging for him to drop it, because at that point, with the steam he was building, that championship was a hindrance.

As is the case with MVP. I know MVP has only held the United States Championship for what will be three months plus at SummerSlam, compared to Orton's near seven month reign, but with "SmackDown!"'s roster being on the slim side, MVP could make that Randy Orton-esque jump.

Losing the United States title could realistically throw MVP into a feud with a World Champion. I don't want to say who that World Champion would be, but he could more than carry his own. The Undertaker and Mark Henry will be most likely engaging in a lengthy feud, barring injury for either man. Batista and Khali will likely not continue their feud, unless the incredible clusterfuck of feuds seperates back into singles feuds...but more on that later.

All I'm saying is that if a babyface holds the World Heavyweight Championship anytime soon, and the E needs a red-hot heel, I don't think they'd have to look any further than "SmackDown!"'s Most Valuable Player. While losing the championship could be a boost to MVP, winning it could have an equal effect for Matt Hardy.

Hardy is the guy who has worked and worked, gotten fired, re-hired and then worked some more. He's the guy that was going to be the next champion for the past 4-5 years. I think it's now or never with Hardy. Sure he's been a Cruiserweight Champion, European Champion, Tag Team Champion, and I'm sure he had 15-20 Hardcore Championship reigns as did the rest of the roster, but those titles are either defunct, are no longer in his weight class, or do not elevate a singles wrestler.

The vehicle is either in motion to push Hardy hard, or the writers for "SmackDown!", (WWE writers as a whole actually) really, really hate Chris Masters. Matt Hardy had the most success at the Masterlock Challenge than anyone other than Bobby Lashley, and the soldier in Iraq. Not only did he almost break it, he won by a DQ, and MVP had to interfere.

You see, it's things like that, the things that make you feel as if that push that is finally coming, never happens. So you wonder if they were moving to elevate Hardy, or further bury Masters. I truly hope that it was done to elevate Hardy. I do see him as the kind of champion that holds the United States Championship for either a lengthy run, several runs, or a combination of the two. MVP however, isn't in that position. He had his run with United States gold, but now it's time for World domination. Chris Masters and Matt Hardy could possibly have an interesting feud.

I think Masters has tremendous upside. I know I may be alone in that category, but he has the look that WWE is after. He can play a good heel, and his selling ability isn't too shabby either. If Matt Hardy does indeed win his first major singles title, a program with Masters could do great things for both men.

They could trade off the title, and in the process, that would give Masters his first legitimate program, and first major singles championship. All this talk of elevation has got me thinking abouit who is being elevated and who isn't.

It's obvious I think both MVP and Matt Hardy are being elevated. Adversely however, Chavo Guerrero is in for the burial of a lifetime. He's got people booing as always, and even has more heat by carrying the Mysterio mask, but honestly, Mysterio is probably going to squash him. Even if the feud lasts for a few more months, where does Chavo go? Back to the Cruiserweight division where he hardly gets TV time? Or to "Raw" where he will be forgotten?

Or does he simply sit at home and collect his downside guarantee? Who knows, maybe there are big plans for Chavo, but I bet if he brought back Pepe, and Pepe wore the Mysterio mask, it'd be more over.

I liked several things that happened this week, but as I alluded to earlier, this clusterfuckage of several storylines needs to end. Kane is fighting Khali again, but he's also fighting Finlay, who is fighting Jamie Noble, but that's only because Noble is fighting Hornswoggle. But since Kane was fighting Khali, Batista is involved. So we have six guys, with little to no WWE TV history, feuding for two championships.

These six include, but are not limited to a midget, a redneck, three freaks and a brawler. Feel free to insert your own label for these six guys. I'm sure a decent tag program with Finlay and Khali, Kane and Batista could be salvaged from this, but where exactly do Jamie Noble and Hornswoggle fit in?

It's basically the old TNA philosophy of getting everbody face time. I could be wrong, but that one sure is a thinker. Wait, maybe it's because Batista and Khali couldn't put on a decent match together if their lives depended on it. Yeah, that might be it.

Well O-sters, I've said my piece and I'm done. Stay tuned next week, because a very special guest edition will be posted. That's right D.J.B will be in Mexico away from all things internet. Have no fear, in two weeks I will return, and "Friday Night Fallout" will be back to normal. So until an extra long next time, Ooooooooooooooooooooo!

O-sters, don't forget to enter our contest by purchasing a Dan-e-o CD or Tha O Show t-shirt before SummerSlam. After making your order, e-mail your name, address and phone number to info@thaoshow.com and/or info@dan-e-o.com.

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