2017 WWE HALL OF FAME CLASS SHOWS WHAT WWE IS MISSING

On March 31st, the WWE will present the Hall of Fame the Friday before Wrestlemania 33. Kurt Angle, Teddy Long, and The Rock N' Roll Express have been announced as inductees. Those 4 individuals reflect what makes the wrestling business great and shows what WWE is missing in today's wrestling product. Let's take a look at each inductee's contribution. 



KURT ANGLE

Kurt Angle is one of the most decorated wrestlers in the world. He is an Olympic Gold Medalist from the "96 Olympics in Atlanta. After his debut in WWE at the 2000 Royal Rumble, Kurt Angle slowly rose up the ranks to become a main event superstar. Angle won the WWE European, Intercontinental, Tag-Team and World Championships. Kurt Angle gained the respect of fans with great feuds with Chris Benoit, Triple H, The Rock, and Stone Cold Steve Austin. In those days, WWE had a deep roster full of stars. Roman Reigns is one of  today's stars but he isn't the biggest star that WWE has. If Roman Reigns had that kind of roster on his side he would be a much stronger star in WWE. 



THE ROCK N' ROLL EXPRESS

Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson have been a team for over 30 years. In the 1980's with their teen idol good looks, the Rock N' Roll Express were one of the most popular tag teams in the world. They first started teaming in Memphis under Jerry Jarrett. They moved to Louisiana with Bill Watts and Mid-South Wrestling where they started their most famous feud with The Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton and Dennis Condrey and later Stan Lane). Their greatest success came in the NWA during the 1980's with feuds with The Midnight Express, Rick Rude and Manny Fernandez, and Ivan Koloff and Krusher Krushev. One of the reasons that wrestling was so popular was because of tag-teams that have been around for many years that went back and forth from NWA/WCW to WWE from The Steiner Brothers to the Legion of Doom. WWE needs teams like that to make their tag division special. There are great teams in Ring of Honor and New Japan that are great teams that should be in WWE. 


TEDDY LONG W/ BUTCH REED AND RON SIMMONS

Teddy Long has been in wrestling for over three decades. He started out as a referee for the NWA/WCW in 1985. Long turned into a villain referee and then villain manager in the late 80's with one of his most well-known tandems being Ron Simmons and Butch Reed as Doom. By 1998, Long came to WWE as a referee until 2004 when he became an on-air character as a General Manager from 2004-2008. WWE doesn't use managers much anymore with the exception of Lana with Rusev. In it's heyday managers like Bobby Heenan and Jimmy Hart were very entertaining and made wrestling great. WWE needs managers especially since they have such a young roster that needs help getting over. 

As big as WWE is now, its popularity is down. The 2017 Hall of Fame Class shows some things that WWE could do to bring fans back in. Kurt Angle, Teddy Long, and The Rock N' Roll Express are great examples of what WWE needs right now. 

Class Dismissed,
THE PROFESSOR

TERI HATCHER JOINS SUPERGIRL TV SHOW IN SEASON 2

Teri Hatcher

Teri Hatcher is coming to the Supergirl universe. Bleeding Cool reports that Hatcher will join the cast during season 2. Hatcher will reportedly play a villain. 

Dean Cain as Superman and Teri Hatcher as Lois Lane

This isn't Ms. Hatcher's first time in the Superman universe. She rose to fame playing Lois Lane opposite Dean Cain on Lois and Clark:The New Adventures of Superman. 

Supergirl has plenty of other guest stars that have appeared in other Superman shows. Dean Cain stars as Jeremiah Danvers on Supergirl. Laura Vandervoort who played Supergirl on Smallville guest starred as Indigo on the show. 

It will be interesting to see how Supergirl will bring Dean Cain and Teri Hatcher will come together on the show. It should be fun. 

Class Dismissed, 

The Professor

SAMOA JOE DEBUTS ON RAW

SAMOA JOE

 Last night, on Monday Night RAW, Samoa Joe made his WWE main roster debut. Joe blindsided and beat up Seth Rollins as he was coming down to the ring to confront Triple H. Rollins has been in a feud with Triple H since he helped Kevin Owens become the Universal Champion. Samoa Joe seems to be acting as Triple H's hired hitman.

Samoa Joe will be a great addition to the WWE roster. With his aggressive style and his mix of wrestling amd MMA techniques, he is one of the most unique wrestlers in the world. He has won titles in every major wrestling promotion in the United States and Japan including Ring of Honor, and TNA Impact Wrestling. When he arrived in NXT in May of 2015, wrestling fans knew it was only a matter of time before he would be on the WWE main roster. 

On the RAW roster there are many different opponents that Joe could face and have epic confrontations. Superstars like Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar would have great feuds with Samoa Joe. 

The RAW roster just gained someone who can make a tremendous impact and his name is Samoa Joe. 

Class Dismissed, 
THE PROFESSOR

WITCHBLADE IS COMING TO NBC

SARA PEZZINI WITH THE WITCHBLADE

NBC is bringing Sara Pezzini and the Witchblade to network TV. TVLINE reports that NBC is developing a Witchblade series based off of the Top Cow comic book. 

Witchblade centers around a homicide detective named Sara Pezzini who comes across an ancient artifact called the Witchblade which gives her supernatural powers and supernatural enemies. The pilot will be written by Caroline Dries, the showrunner of the Vampire Diaries. Also Carol Mendelsohn, producer of CSI will executive produce the series. 


Yancy Butler as Sara Pezzini

This isn't the first time that Witchblade has been adapted for television. For two seasons on TNT from 2001 to 2002, Yancy Butler portrayed the character. 

In the 15 years since that show was cancelled, comic book movies and TV shows have exploded. Also with the initiative to have women in stronger roles on screen, Witchblade could be an incredible success for NBC just like Supergirl on the CW.

Class Dismissed, 
THE PROFESSOR

A NEW SHAFT REBOOT IS IN THE WORKS

Richard Roundtree as Shaft

A new Shaft movie is in the works at New Line. BLEEDING COOL reports that Tim Story, who directed Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Ride Along, and Ride Along 2 has been chosen to direct this new version of Shaft. 

The character of Shaft was created by Ernest Tidyman who wrote 7 books throughout the 1970's about the black private detective. Shaft became popular in the mainstream culture when he was portrayed by Richard Roundtree in 1970. Roundtree would go on to play Shaft in 2 sequels. Samuel L. Jackson would go on to play John Shaft, the nephew of Roundtree's character in a 2000 movie. 

The plot for this new movie is not known as of yet, but I think that Shaft does not need to be a period piece stuck in the 1970's. Many of the elements that worked for the character in the 1970's are still present today if not more so. I would love to see how John Shaft would work in today's society. 

Only time will tell how audiences will react but if done correctly, this new Shaft movie could be a big hit for New Line.

Class Dismissed, 
THE PROFESSOR

KURT ANGLE TO BE INDUCTED INTO WWE HALL OF FAME 2017

Kurt Angle as TNA and IWGP Champion

On Monday Night Raw last night, it was announced that Kurt Angle will be inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame this year. Angle who won an Olympic gold medal in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta wrestled for WWE from 2000-2006. Angle had a quick rise to the top and had various feuds with Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Brock Lesnar, The Rock, and Stone Cold Steve Austin.

In 2006, Kurt Angle left WWE and went to TNA (Total Non-Stop Action) Wrestling. He spent 10 years there and was one of the top stars there for a long time as well as Sting. Kurt Angle had memorable feuds with Samoa Joe, A.J. Styles, Sting, Jeff Jarrett, Matt Morgan, Drew Galloway, and Bobby Lashley. 

In pro wrestling, Angle has won 21 championships in multiple organizations including WWE, WCW, TNA, and IWGP (International Wrestling Grand Prix). Kurt Angle is considered one of the best athletes to ever compete in wrestling. He brought credibility to the sport with his Olympic background and he is one of the best all-around performers to ever wrestle in the business. 

Congratulations on your Hall of Fame Induction Mr. Angle, you're the greatest. 

Class Dismissed, 
THE PROFESSOR

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!