Tuesday, July 7, 2009

The Million Dollar Man


Wow does this guy still have it on the mic! Easily the most entertaining part of RAW this past Monday. From his opening promo, his confrontation with his son and his hilarious speech about how much he hates Dusty Rhodes you can not argue that the Million Dollar Man was a hit. On top of that he came out with the Million Dollar belt! How sweet is that!

I've been watching bits and pieces of the Macho Man DVD (review coming when I finish it) and the more I see of these older, eccentric characters from the 80's and early 90's the more I miss them. The Million Dollar Man reminded me just how vanilla the majority of these guys are now. Obviously there are exceptions like the phenomenal Santino Marella, but I think a good portion of the roster (on all shows) could try to be a little more over the top with their characters.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

New Topics In the Blog

I've been thinking about different things I can write about in this blog that are wrestling related and a few ideas have come to mind.

- DVD reviews
- Wrestling programs other than WWE. ROH and TNA
- Attending live events and posting photos. I'm very interested in attending some NWA On Fire shows and hopefully I will get a chance soon.

If you have any other ideas or anything you would like to see then please let me know. I'm open to new ideas and I am always looking to interact with more wrestling fans out there.

On a side note, I hope The Miz destroys Cena at The Bash.

Best wrestling show?

I asked myself this evening "Which WWE show is the best?". I thought about it for a bit and weighed the pros and cons of each show but came to the conclusion that the best overall show, in my opinion, is ECW.

For a show that is half the length of RAW and Smackdown, it has just as much actual wrestling. Match quality is a big thing for me. I prefer a back and forth match with a variety of holds that is not formulaic. It's difficult not to find a match like that when watching ECW. You will also note the surprising amount of clean finishes for a WWE program. Call me old fashioned but I like seeing those, a significant loss or win is enough motivation for any wrestlers character in my book. Overall you can expect fast paced and interesting matches by a good mix of up and coming talent and seasoned pros. Why wouldn't you enjoy that?

That brings me to my next reason for loving ECW so much, the roster. The young talent on this show is pretty exceptional. You may remember me shitting all over the Hart Dynasty for their name but in the ring they are a boat load of fun to watch. Jack Swagger, already a former champion, is simply impressive. He has excellent mat skills and his size and power are over the top. Evan Bourne is quite possibly the next Rey Mysterio in my opinion, always a blast to watch him perform. In addition to these new guys you have a sound mix of veterans like Christian, Tommy Dreamer and Finlay. They may not be the biggest names in the business but they know how to put on a show and they do it every week.

The announce team is another pro for me. Josh Matthews and Matt Stryker are entertaining to listen to and they provide poignant commentary. Who would have thought such a combination was still a possibility nowadays. I especially love that Matt Stryker is a heel commentator. Finally a commentator helping to put over heel talent! It feels like no one has done that since Bobby Heenan, I know that's not true but it is how I feel.

If you have been missing this show because you don't feel like it's that important or it's lame then I highly suggest you re-think your position on this. Set your DVR or download the weekly episodes. ECW is a strong hour of wrestling that will remind you just what pro wrestling is all about.

Monday, June 22, 2009

Cena has a crappy new shirt!



Get a load of this piece of shit! You too can now demonstrate your love of poorly re-named finishing maneuvers and John Deere tractors all in one shirt!

TRACTORS! What does John Cena's character have to do with this? Nothing! Cena's character is supposed to be "hard" and "from the streets"! The last time I checked there were not a lot of fields that needed tilling in the heart of Compton.

How shitty is the name the Attitude Adjuster? I'll answer that for you, it is epically shitty. Moms say little kids need an attitude adjustment, it's like putting someone in the corner for time out. It's not tough, it's soccer mom jargon.

This shirt and matching hat and sweat bands are bullshit. This is more of the same Cena crap that makes me hate his character so much. He's only around for merchandising.

U Can't See Me? Fuck, I honestly wish I could not!

Sunday, June 7, 2009

EXTREME Rules


- For a PPV called Extreme Rules there was not a lot of hardcore elements to the matches. They should have called it Night of Entertaining Gimmick Matches because it was not extreme or even x-treme. Thankfully the ladder match at the end of the show made up for the lack of extremeness that I felt was missing. And yes I know the ECW title match had trashcans and kendo sticks but it didn't do anything for me, mayhaps the days where a kendo stick shot would excite me are gone, it is a sad day.

- How about Tommy Dreamer! I can't say I'm that psyched as I am not a huge Dreamer fan but that does not mean I'm upset either. His title reign will probably be an entertaining one, probably keep defending it until he loses and thus is banished from ECW.

- Jericho and Mysterio put on an excellent match in my opinion and I'm looking forward to this feud continuing. Good call on not showing Mysterio's face, the kids don't need to lose the mystery. It's also nice to see my favorite wrestler increase his IC title record by another win!

- I wasn't sure how the Samoan strap match was going to go this evening. Mostly because I was confused as to what was so Samoan about it. Did the Samoan people become so fond of straps that they named a type of strap after themselves? Then once said strap was claimed they then used it to beat up people by tying it to their wrists and whipping them into things? I think I need to do more research about Samoans because this does not sound right? Anyways... It took me, and the crowd, a bit to get into it but it once it got going I enjoyed myself. They had some good spots and a quality ending, not to mention a helpful graphic which showed you who was winning.

- The hog pen match was cute, my pizza showed up during that match and I wasn't really upset about leaving so I could go get it. I would like to note though that the guy who delivered my pizza looked like a fucking murderer. Seriously, big bald guy, sweaty and a low voice. I was ten seconds away from having my limbs cut off and being left in a ditch tonight.

- The steel cage match was pretty quick, I read afterward Batista is injured...again, so that explains it. I was bummed Batista won the title and by pin fall no less. I really think they should amend the steel cage rules to be that you have to escape, this pinning and submitting crap is weak.

- Submission match was good but I was hoping that Cena might pull out a new submission move, show he has some depth to his mat wrestling. The finish was clever though, albeit Big Shows foot did come undone from the ropes. Overall I think they told a good story and if you were a fan of either guy you were pleased by this match, I would think.

- The ladder match was the reason why I bought this PPV and I was not disappointed. Some pretty big bumps from these two but it looked like Edge took the worst of it for this match. Despite Jeff Hardy's victory I did really like the finish, Jeff standing over Edge while he was stuck in the rungs of the ladder and then leaning down and staring at him as he held the belt smiling was quite an image. In fact you can see it off to the right, how convenient!

- Going into the ladder match I knew Jeff Hardy had not signed a new contract with the WWE. Once I saw him holding the belt I figured he had but then CM Punk comes out and cashes in the money in the bank contract and then I thought well maybe not. This was quite a surprise to me as it was a face screwing a face over for the title. I was hoping that they would not go this route with this MITB contract, picking the bones after a hard fought match, but they did and it was okay but certainly not great. I don't think the crowd really knew what to think and neither did I, all we knew is that CM Punk is world champ and that's that.

All in all it was a good show but I was really hoping for some more over the top hardcore wrestling. This was not really any different from any other WWE PPV in terms of content and certainly not the one night that the WWE goes extreme as Michael Cole mentioned 45 fucking times during the broadcast. Fun show but One Night Stand 1 & 2 it ain't.

Monday, June 1, 2009

Much Ado About Ken Kennedy


Ken Kennedy was recently released by the WWE and if you had seen RAW last week it really was not a big surprise. Numerous injuries and a touch of green with his ring work has cut short what was supposed to be a promising WWE career for the time being.

Keep in mind I'm a big fan of Ken Kennedy. If you don't believe me then check my photos on myspace, you will see one of me in a sports bar yelling "Kennedy!" into my cell phone as if I was the wrestler himself. I loved the gimmick and thought he was fun to watch in the ring but in terms of his release you really have to face the facts.

Wrestlers take bumps, it's a pretty big part of the job. Kennedy was injury prone and it screwed up major story lines on two occasions I can remember. The first being when he was supposed to be revealed as Mr. McMahon's illegitimate son. After months of buildup the big reveal is right around the corner and then whammo he's shelved. Rewrites ensue and instead we get the leprechaun being Vince's kid and not Kennedy. It was kinda funny but really the people, and me, wanted it to be Kennedy. The second was right after he wins the money in the bank contract at Wrestlemania. That's the company saying they want you to be champion at some point, which is quite a vote of confidence. Shortly after he wins it he gets injured and ends up dropping it to Edge. Instead of being champion he ends up being sidelined for months. That is two major opportunities that were blown due to injury right there which caused the WWE to have to do some major re-writes.

Then to make things worse for himself he makes a hell of a blunder in his return match on RAW. Kennedy is revealed as a mystery entrant in the five on five Lakers Vs. Nuggets tag match. Plenty of attention is on this match as it is because it features the top faces and heels on RAW and it is receiving media coverage due to the recent debacle with the Denver Nuggets. Mix in that this is his big return, have him come out and tell Randy Orton off prior to the match while receiving a good pop from the crowd and this should be a slam dunk (pardon the pun) for him. What does he do? He comes out and looks sloppy in the ring and nearly injures Randy Orton's (a.k.a the WWE champ) shoulder and collar bone.

Say what you will about the WWE and Vince but you can only give a guy the ball so many times before enough is enough. At the end of the day it is a business and you need guys who can do what you need to be done.

What's next for Kennedy? Many assume he will head to TNA but for his sake I hope he does not. TNA, in my humble opinion, is quickly becoming a boys club for former WWE stars that stopped drawing crowds. I can only see Kennedy being buried there or given a ridiculous gimmick that weakens his credibility with the fans. Personally I think it would be best for Kennedy to try and work in New Japan and really hone his mat skills and hopefully stay injury free. That way he can become a better wrestler and gain some valuable experience in one of the major wrestling promotions on Earth. If he is successful there I don't see why the WWE wouldn't want him back and then you would assume the sky is the limit.

Kennedy is promising wrestler that has hit a ridiculous amount of road blocks as of late. Hopefully his luck will change in the future and we will see the return of Mr. Kennedy........KENNEDY!

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Check out that header picture!

Decided the blog needed a bit of a face lift so I went on the hunt for a good picture to use in the header. After a bit of searching I found this awesome painting of Blue Demon and decided it was perfect.

The artist is Jorg Dubin and you can check out a bunch of his work here, I think his work is pretty rad personally.

http://www.sdgallery.com/catalogs/dubin/gallery/index.htm


Be forewarned there are paintings of women with their naughty bits exposed to the world so don't say I didn't warn all of you folks with delicate constitutions out there.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

The Hart Dynasty


I am really not into the name of this new group on ECW. Where do you get off throwing around a word like dynasty when a group has just begun? Usually a group has to establish themselves over time, in any sport or historical event, to be referred to as a dynasty. You can't just walk off the street and say you're a dynasty! We have rules for this shit for a reason! I can't just say I'm the grand chancellor of pizza! I have to be appointed that position!

Let's take a look at some famous dynasties!

Ming Dynasty: Led a revolt against the Yuan Dynasty and the Mongols, built the Great Wall of China and lasted from 1368 - 1644 A.D. as the rulers of freakin' China.

Chicago Bulls: Led by Michael Jordan considered to be the greatest to play the game, a total of 6 NBA championships that consist of two three-peats. 1990-91, 1991-92, 1992-93, 1995-96, 1996-97, 1997-98. No other team has ever been able to do two three-peats!

Now let's list the Hart Dynasty's accomplishments

Hart Dynasty: Has a penchant for leather vests, wears neon pink spandex, beat up an Irish guy two weeks ago on ECW.

Not really much of a comparison here folks!

You could argue that the definition of dynasty would give them the go ahead to use such a term.

Dynasty: a series of members of a family who are distinguished for their success, wealth, etc.

You could try and say that as all three are related or affiliated with the original Hart family members. While you could say that, it does seems pretty presumptuous at this point to assume that all three of these members will be future legends. Let's take it down a few notches here with the name, perhaps the Hart Coalition, Hart Inc. or even recycle the old Hart Foundation name but screw dynasty!

I am not going to say that these three aren't talented wrestlers who have the potential to go far, because they do. However, let's not count our chickens before they are hatched with using a name like dynasty.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

17 Time World Champion

Ric Flair is currently the man who holds the most world title reigns in the history of wrestling with 16. 16 world title reigns is an amazing and staggering accomplishment. Very few wrestlers have ever achieved obtaining double digits in terms of world title reigns. For example Hulk Hogan has held the WWF/E and WCW world titles 12 times collectively, Stone Cold Steve Austin 6 times, The Rock 9 times and Shawn Michaels has held the belt only 3 times. The wrestlers mentioned there are all legends in my opinion but you will notice the numbers for their title reigns differ greatly. Notoriety does not always equate multiple title reigns.

HHH currently has 13 title reigns under his belt and would seem to be the prime candidate to become the man who either ties Ric Flair or captures the unthinkable 17th title reign. It's hard to say how much longer HHH will be around given how prone his leg muscles are to serious injury. He's already come back from two "career ending" injuries which is incredible to say the least but could his body handle a third? It's difficult to say if HHH could capture 4 more world titles before something gives.

If you want to know who I really think will beat Ric Flairs record? My money is on the Rated R Superstar himself, Edge. Keep in mind that they may seem like a silly proclamation as Edge only has 9 title reigns at this time. Having 9 reigns is impressive but it's a far cry from 16. Understood, but what makes the reigns unique as that his first world title reign was in 2006. That means in the past 3 years Edge has managed to capture the world championship 9 times. In 3 years he has managed to become more than halfway to the dream of 17 world championships. That's an unprecedented climb up the ladder!

Let's do some math here shall we. HHH won his first world title in 1999 so in a decade and he has won the belt 13 times. That means on average HHH wins a world title 1.3 times a year where as Edge wins 3 world titles a year. Given that Edge (35) is younger than HHH (39) and is less injury prone it is likely that not only will Edge surpass HHH but will even surpass Ric Flair as well. Statistically speaking it would seem like a sure thing. The only thing you can't factor into those numbers is poor life choices or serious injuries.

Given that Edge is a very good wrestler, has fantastic mic skills and a good mind for the business I don't see him going anywhere any time soon. Expect him to stay in the world title scene for some time to come and eventually break Ric Flairs record. Take a good long look at the picture below. I have a feeling you'll be seeing this image at least 8 more times.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

What's old is new again

While watching RAW the past few weeks I noticed that RAW has rehashed a couple of ideas from the past as of late. Any wrestling fan worth a lick knows what I'm talking about here and is probably just as excited as I am that it is happening.

The first being the return of the cast! According to Matt Hardy his hand is broken and now he has to wear an arm cast whenever he wrestles, usually in protest. When he cuts promos he'll whine and complain how painful it is to wrestle and how no one in management will listen to his complaints. Naturally the fans berate him because they don't believe his hand is really injured. Why would they? It seems to be just fine when he uses it to clobber his opponents over the head with it. This gimmick works on a lot of levels and it really makes the person perpetrating it look like a scumbag because he is feigning an injury, whining and then cheating. Boo that man! He is dishonest!

For those not in the know this idea was made famous by Cowboy Bob Orton and it worked very well for the now Hall of Famer. It's simple enough and it works like a charm with the right person, in this case Matt Hardy. Kudos to the creative department for bringing this idea back into fray.

The second rehash is in action every time The Miz hits the ring. The Miz has been coming out and calling out John Cena. Insulting his in ring talent, hometown and his not so successful movie career. Overall I think it's been hilarious as The Miz has been taking some pretty low blows at Cena. That type of attitude is something that has been missing since...well the Attitude Era! Anyways, The Miz will spew of all of his insults when John Cena is unable to come out and actually defend himself, conveniently enough. When Cena does not appear The Miz declares himself the winner and has been keeping a tally of his "victories" since. The crowd boos because The Miz is insulting a man while he isn't even around to defend himself, which of course The Miz knows. It's a cowardly move and of course the crowd eats it up. Eventually Cena will get his hands on him and leave him looking like he was on the ass end of an ass whuppin'. It's nature people, it makes sense.

Where have you seen this before? If you look back you will see an almost exact scenario between Chris Jericho and Goldberg back in WCW. Chris Jericho would run his mouth when Goldberg wasn't around racking up "victories" along the way. Eventually Goldberg caught up to him and speared the bejeezus out of him. It was a satisfying TV moment for all involved. It was the storyline that got me back into wrestling when I was younger as a matter of fact. I suggest reading Jericho's book if you want to read about the behind the scenes of that particular storyline.

What am I getting at here? You don't always need to do something new for every storyline. There are a plethora of gimmicks and stories from the past that can be told again by new talent. These two examples show how you can use past ideas to bring something fresh to the show. I'm all about moving forward and not focusing on the past constantly but why not take proven gimmicks and tweaking them to work for today? It makes sense to me.

Sunday, May 10, 2009

What's in a Finisher?

What the hell is going on with finishers nowadays? Why is it that no one can use a flying elbow or a perfectplex? These are legitimate finishers which when used properly could easily signal the end of the match with little setup. Not these 30 second convoluted train wrecks I see being performed as of late.

New wrestling talent seems to be on a kick lately of trying to reinvent the wheel when it comes to the finishing maneuver. I'm not sure if they are trying to hard to invent a new move to cement their legacy with a timeless maneuver or if these older finishers are just off limits to them. Either way something has to give here because the majority of these finishers require too much setup with a little or no payoff.

A prime example of this is MVP's Playmaker. The picture to your right shows how the move begins. Right off the bat this thing looks awkward. It requires several seconds for MVP to place his opponent in this position and on top of that you will notice his opponent will actually hold his leg in order to help him keep his balance! Why would your opponent help you to knock them unconscious? To finish the move MVP falls forward and no matter the angle you see it from you are never quite sure what this move actually does to his opponent. Perhaps the sheer embarrassment of being looked in this awkward yoga position causes his opponent to lose consciousness, who's to say really. I'm a big fan of MVP but I think he needs a simpler finishing maneuver that actually looks like it does something.

If you look back on popular finishing maneuvers you will find that they really are simple. Sweet chin music is a kick to the face, the choke slam is well...a choke slam,the million dollar dream was a sleeper hold and the perfectplex was just a fisherman's suplex. It's easy to understand what is going on when these moves occur and you can use them at any point during the match. What makes them special is the person performing these moves. For example, a regular flying elbow does not mean much, but if the Macho Man drops a flying elbow you know that was a significant piece of offense. It's a simple maneuver but with the proper build up and delivery it becomes something more.

I feel as though new talent is letting the finishers define them as opposed to making them work for them. If it is the case where the WWE is not letting them use older moves because they feel as though retired wrestlers have some type of entitlement to them then I suggest management needs to move on from this stance. The WWE has a wealth of young talent right now on the verge of becoming big names, with the right finishers a good majority of them could cross that threshold.

Your thoughts are welcome on this matter.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

WGN America

"We need to find a new network to air WWE Superstars!"

"How about WGN America?"

"I have never heard of that station before!"

"They're a Chicago based TV station!"

"Wow! What channel can I watch them on?"

"Well if you have cable you probably can't, BUT! If you have Dish Network or Direct TV it will be located in upper 300's of channels."

"Well what shows do they air?"

"They air reruns of Alf and Moesha!"

"So we're going to make a new wrestling show and then put it on a network that mainly airs reruns of old sitcoms and has a limited viewing audience?"

"That is what I'm suggesting, yes."

"If they were going to redefine "success" in the dictionary they would cite this programming choice as THE example. Let's do this!"

"Agreed!"

Thoughts on the Draft

Well the WWE certainly made some interesting decisions for the draft this year. I'll detail my thoughts and what transpired on the draft aired on TV and the supplemental draft which occurred on WWE.com.

I don't really understand why HBK, HHH, Cena, Batista, Randy Orton, and the Big Show all need to be on RAW. The main event part of RAW roster is now bloated in my opinion, complete with two world champions. This does make it a really difficult time for anyone who is in the mid card area to try and move up the ranks. I hope that guys like MVP, Matt Hardy and The Miz do not get buried during this time as they have all had good years and I would hate to see there futures cut short due to this.

Having The Miz attack Morrison was foolish to me. They already wrestled on every show anyways despite the fact they were ECW guys so why not let them just stay friends but be on separate brands? They work well together and they could always help each other out in the singles careers by randomly getting involved in matches to help the other cheat. You get to keep The Dirt Sheet and you get them building their own careers, win/win in my book.

While having The Miz attack Morrison was foolish in my book nothing was as foolish as splitting Hornswaggle and Finlay. Am I to believe that the WWE has plans for Hornswaggle, the leprechaun midget is you are unfamiliar, to be a singles wrestler? I'll have to wait and see I guess but it has left me scratching my head.

Smackdown has the potential to be a solid wrestling show now. This is assuming that they stop having it be a 2 hour recap for RAW as it has been lately.

ECW lost some good talent which has helped make it a quality show as of late. I hope that their new talent initiative will bring in some fresh faces who can capture the recent magic the show has had.

Overall the draft has left me a little confused. I am thinking things will be clearer once Backlash comes to a close at the end of this month but for the moment I'm left wondering who thought the majority of these moves were a good decision for the future.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Bring back the Anaconda Vice!

Take a good look at this photo! This is what is missing from CM Punk!

When CM Punk debuted in the WWE on ECW he was intense, passionate and brutal. Every match saw different moves applied, a lot of screaming and his submission finisher the Anaconda Vice. The vice had similar setup to the Rock Bottom but once he brought his opponent down to the mat he locked them up in what you see pictured to the left. This move really showed you what CM Punk was all about. He was intense, unorthodox, techincally sound and tough. Combine the above with a heavy metal entrance theme and a bunch of tattoos and it is no wonder as to why the fans embraced him. They embraced him so much it became a no brainer to put him on RAW.

Since being on RAW it seems that Punk has lost what made him connect with the fans so much in the first place. He moves have become formulaic, you know what you are getting in every match now. Not like before where you were not sure what was going to happen. You might get a scream out of him but he seems to have quieted down. I'd like to say we still get to see the Anaconda Vice but we don't. Instead we get the GTS, a fireman's carry which ends with a knee to the skull. It isn't a bad move but with John Cena on the same show you can not help but reminded of the FU. I don't want to be reminded of Cena, I want to see the bad ass, straight edge guy, covered in tattoos I saw busting skulls on ECW!

This guy is a talented wrestler but I feel like the WWE is letting him rest on his laurels as of late. Sure people are wearing his shirts and cheering for him now but if he doesn't change then I do not see this lasting forever. If you don't believe me then you should note the boos he received last Sunday when he won the money in the bank ladder match. He is a great talent to have but the WWE doesn't seem to want to explore his potential as a character and as a wrestler. We want to see the guy we thought was cool in the first place.

What can be done to help this? Let him do what he does so well and be a talented wrestler with diverse move set. Let him have long matches and meaningful feuds. Let him scream and yell and go crazy. Let him cut promos. Let him get in some faces and start fights. He can still be face but just let him have his edge back. More importantly let him have the Anaconda Vice back!

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Wrestlemania Results

Well I didn't fare to well with my predictions this time around. Let's take a look and see how everything turned out.

25 Diva Battle Royal:
(Wrong)

I had a hard time figuring out who was even in this match and I did not envy the announce team while this mess took place. Santina Marella was crowned the first ever Ms. Wrestlemania, winning the hearts of millions.

Money in the Bank Ladder Match: (Wrong)

CM Punk? Seriously? I would hope the WWE took note that when Christian, MVP and Shelton Benjamin were climbing the ladders the place was losing it. CM Punk wins and I hear boos and see garbage tossed into the ring. There was a lot of cool moves in this, especially from Kingston and Benjamin, and I think it would have been a real standout with a better choice of a winner.

This match also featured my favorite move of the night. It came after the botched sunset flip power bomb with Benjamin and MVP. Benjamin the picks up MVP like he is going to power bomb him and simply throws him over the top rope into a wall. That is what I like to call bad ass.

Chris Jericho Vs. Jimmy Snuka, Ricky Steamboat and Roddy Piper: (Wrong)

I'm not sure what the bigger surprise was, Chris Jericho winning or Ricky Steamboat's performance! This was a great match and watching Jericho wrestle Steamboat one on one was awesome. The interaction between those two was more entertaining than the main events we saw tonight, amazing. You also got to see Flair mix it up in the ring and Mickey Rourke too!

Shawn Michaels Vs. The Undertaker: (Correct)

This was an awesome match and love it or hate it the streak lives on. This was by far the best match of the night for me and judging by the crowd in Austin I don't think I am alone in that. I would like to give props to the cameraman who was crushed by the Undertaker during this match. Whoever he is, he took one of the hardest bumps of the night.

Jeff Hardy Vs. Matt Hardy (Extreme Rules): (Wrong)

Matt ditched the Hardy Boyz look and wins! So much for my Jeff Hardy guess. All in all it was a cool match with some pretty nasty bumps and high spots. Jeff's coccyx probably exploded after missing that leapfrog dropkick off of the ladder. Matt's twist of fate with the chair at the end was brutal too! I also think this was the first Wrestlemania where someone was hit with a shop vac, I could be wrong though.

JBL Vs. Rey Mysterio (Intercontinental Title): (Correct)

Rey Mysterio comes out as The Joker and beats JBL so quickly he gets upset and quits. It was an odd match but at least I guessed it correctly.


The Miz & Morrison Vs. The Colons (Tag Team Unification): (Wrong)

The Colons beat The Miz and Morrison and become the unified tag champs. Somewhere a child cries and wonders if god really exists.

Edge (c) Vs. Big Show Vs. John Cena (World Heavyweight Championship): (Correct)

First off, John Cena's introduction was lame as lame can be. The WWE continues to bury their heads in the sand by putting the belt back on Cena, ignoring the boos and garbage thrown in the ring as he holds the belt high.

HHH (c) Vs. Randy Orton (WWE Championship): (Wrong)

This match was a big let down for me. The crowd was not into it and they seemed to be more distracted with something happening in the crowd behind the announce tables. It was oddly paced and did anyone think the finish of this match was anticlimactic like I did? I think the WWE missed a real opportunity by not putting the belt on Orton.

If you are keeping score that means I went 3/9 with my predictions. Not my best outing but better luck next time I suppose. I enjoyed watching the whole show but was disappointed with the main events. The draft and Backlash are coming up soon so hopefully some of these "wrongs" can be righted then, fingers are crossed.

Please feel free to leave your thoughts on the show as well.

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Thoughts on the Week 3/30 -4/4

I had a few ideas for some articles this week but really I am so overwhelmed with excitement for Wrestlemania I thought I would just touch on some things that caught my eye this past week.

- Randy Orton has really become an amazing in ring talent. The promo he cut on RAW this past Monday was excellent. He has great mic skills but he also uses body language perfectly to put emphasis on his words. The similarities between his current run now and that of HHH's back in 1999 are remarkable. It is only fitting that he should be going up against HHH tomorrow night for the WWE title. It only seems right that the torch be passed to Orton at this time.

- The new Legacy shirt is alright but did they only print two of them? How come Dibiase doesn't get one? I understand that the economy is in turmoil right now but get the kid a fucking shirt for crying out loud.

- Santino's Mankini...












AMAZING!!

- Enjoyed the main event on ECW this week mainly because of John Morrison. For those who missed it the Bella Twins fought each other with Miz and Morrison in one corner while The Colons were in the other. Morrison spent the match texting on his cell phone and when he looked up to see what was going on he asked the Miz what color tights their Bella was wearing. The Miz responded with red so Morrison yelled "Go red!" and went back to texting.

- The US Title rematch between MVP and Shelton Benjamin was a good outing in my opinion. There is some good chemistry between these two in the ring and during promos. MVP received another check in the "W" column which I would think signifies the end of this feud. I still think it is a fair bet that Benjamin is the winner of the Money in the Bank match tomorrow night.

- Earlier today I heard a radio DJ say that he thinks Ken Kennedy will show up and win the Money in the Bank match. I would love to see that happen! I would love to see Ken Kennedy come back period for that matter!

- Is it not odd that when they show the commercial for the hall of fame and they mention the future they show a picture of Jack Swagger? I think it is odd because he hasn't been on television in about a month and he is the ECW champion. Wrestlemania is a four hour program and we could not give this kid a five minute match? He was obviously bumped for that member of the Pussycat Dolls.

- I also want you all to take note that on Smackdown this week Ezekiel Jackson had his own match against Jeff Hardy. THE Brian Kendrick has a new jacket (pictured to the right) too and it actually sucks more than the last one.

That's all for right now! Everyone enjoy Wrestlemania tomorrow night and I am sure I will have plenty to talk about next week!

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Do Not Push Brian Kendrick


See this guy pictured to the left here? His name is The Brian Kendrick and I'm officially over this guy. He needs to go away. Allow me to elaborate on why I think this should be.

First off his name is terrible, it means nothing to the audience. The word "the" should only be placed in front of action verbs with an -er for a wrestler name, like The Crusher or The Tickler. You know what you are getting there, a guy who crushes things and a guy who tickles things. With The Brian Kendrick I guess I am getting the best of all the Brian Kendricks. That would be okay if I had a frame of reference, like if I knew other guys named Brian Kendrick and they were all over the top people. Then I could say "Wow, the five Brian Kendricks I know are infamous! This guy must be outrageous since he is THE Brian Kendrick!". That would be great if it was the case but it is not. He is not the very best of a group of outrageous individuals that all share the same name. He is a guy that can not think of a cool name to save his life.

There is also the matter of his attire. Look at that jacket pictured above, it's terrible. It is slightly cooky but not enough to really say that you are really an outrageous person. Especially considering in contrast to other more wilder looking wrestlers on the roster. This coat looks like he dug out of the closet in the WWE wardrobe room, no one was ever going to wear that thing. It also does not really fit him, it is too long for his arms so he looks like a child in it. That does not really help him since he is a small competitor already. If you want to have your character wear outrageous clothing then go over the top with it. A fine example is Shawn Michaels, pictured to the right. Shawn understood what I am talking about since day one. A wrestler is like a living comic book character, so dress like it. Since Kendrick is a graduate of Shawn Michaels wrestling school you would think he would know this. Instead I have this guy prancing around in a jacket that even Haddaway would not be caught dead wearing.

Then there is his adviser Ezekiel Jackson, pictured to the right. He is a big man and he definitely looks like he could beat people up...but why does he always come out dressed in white linen? He is way too casual for my tastes. He dresses like a guy that should be walking the beach in the Caribbean. He just hangs out on the outside of the ring in his loose fitting, breathable clothes and watches The Brian Kendrick toodle around the ring. It bores me and I wish it would go away. They should really set Ezekiel Jackson up with a good gimmick and run with that instead.

To Kendricks credit I do think he has some talent in the ring itself, he is a capable wrestler. I just can not get over how lame his character is. He has had many opportunities to let us know who The Brian Kendrick is but it just has not worked. He has had his time in the sun now please let another wrestler try their hand in the spotlight. I know a certain individual that looks like a viking that could use it.

Monday, March 23, 2009

Push Mike Knox



When Mike Knox (pictured on the right booting that fool in the face) first debuted on the new ECW he was Kelly Kellys jealous boyfriend he looked more sleazy than intimidating. He maintained his heat by covering Kelly up whenever she felt the need to start stripping her clothes off, she was an exhibitionist then you see. Naturally his actions upset the male demographic, I can sum this up easily below...


1. Am I going to see a naked woman? Yes. Hooray!

2. Am I going to see a naked woman? No. I hate this

It's a simple concept for a character which works and couple that with his size, strength and speed and you have the tools for something decent. His mic skills are either non existent or have yet to be explored, I have not seen this from him yet so I can not say for sure. I think in time though it could be something that could be taught, assuming they're bad.

Anyways, he goes on a hiatus for a bit and then debuts on RAW. Now a single man who is silent, brutal and has long hair and an amazing beard much like a viking. Now he looks badass, we're making strides here. Then his first action is to attack Rey Mysterio and beat him viciously and appear out of nowhere when he does. Now he is a badass, mysterious, viking looking guy who is beating up a former world champion with ease. I am still into this at this point. Then when finally asked why he is doing what he has been doing to Rey Mysterio he says he does not know, he just does it... at this point I am sold. He is just a brutal looking guy who just beats people up, it is simple and I'm officially into this.

I feel like Knox has a lot of potential for growth if they give him the right opponents. I don't really feel that is what has been done for him thus far. Squash matches don't really do anything for character development to me. I know Mike Knox can beat up Johnny Red Trunks from Hoboken with ease, a jobber can be seen from a mile away. I want to see him beat people who matter with meaningful feuds. While he was in the elimination chamber at No Way Out he was eliminated early and has not really been seen much since. I am nervous that he is going to fade away at this point, which would be a shame. He needs a standout match with a legitimate opponent so the audience knows he will be around long enough so they can get behind him.

An example I often use when I talk about making new characters seem legitimate is when Gene Snitsky first fought Kane. This was back during the time when Lita had a miscarriage, while carrying Kane's bastard child, due to Gene Snitsky knocking her over. Naturally Kane is upset as we all find out that Kane has apparently always dreamed of being a daddy so he challenges Snitsky to a match! You can't just let a guy get away with this after all. What was supposed to be Kane getting the last laugh turned into Gene Snitsky crushing his windpipe with a steel chair. Snitsky won and all of sudden you know that Snitsky is serious now.

Mike Knox needs a match like this before the WWE creative team lets him fade into obscurity. He has a good look, good movement in the ring for a large man and he is young. Give this guy a legitimate push already.

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Wrestlemania Predictions

I recently, 3/17/09 to be exact, made up my mind about who was going to win what at Wrestlemania 25 this year. One of my choices has already lead my friend Bobby to tell me I'm an idiot so please feel free to comment on my choices.

25 Diva Battle Royal:

Mae Young? I would think so as they seem to enjoy wheeling her out and having her put on geriatric strip shows.

Money in the Bank Ladder Match:

I'm picking Shelton Benjamin to win this. Out of all the participants I only see two that could believably beat a champion, Christian and Shelton Benjamin. While I do like Christian I do know that Vince doesn't so that leaves me with option two. Benjamin has been involved in every Money in the Bank match and is always a noteworthy participant. He finally has a gimmick that is decent and his mic skills have improved over this past year. He is an amazing wrestler in the ring, good enough that if you had to face him out of the blue your championship would be in jeopardy.

Shawn Michaels Vs. The Undertaker:

Taker is going to keep the streak alive and defeat the Heartbreak Kid...not without putting on a sensational match though.

Jeff Hardy Vs. Matt Hardy (Extreme Rules):

EXTREME! Jeff is going to win this match for sure. The build up for this has been lackluster which explains why they made it an extreme rules match so that people will be more interested. I love those types of matches and I'm sure these two will put on a quality match. Hopefully this will have Matt Hardy change his look after this and drop all those trinkets he wears on his pants...trinkets are not extreme.

JBL Vs. Rey Mysterio (Intercontinental Title):

Hey hey hey! An IC title bout at Wrestlemania! People love watching rich guys from New York who dress like cowboys getting beat up by masked men so expect Mysterio to gain the IC title.

The Miz & Morrison Vs. The Colons (Tag Team Unification):

The Miz and Morrison beat these guys every time they fight and they stole their girlfirends last week, burn! As a tag team The Colons are lame and should lose to Miz and Morrison at Wrestlemania, especially if we are trying to decided who the real tag champs are. I am hoping this match will be a showstealer as all the talent involved are capable of putting on an awesome match.

Edge (c) Vs. Big Show Vs. John Cena (World Heavyweight Championship):

Expect Cena to walk out as the champion as he usually does at Wrestlemania. With any luck this will finally end Edge and Vicky being "married" as the idea of anyone sleeping with her makes me pray for death.

HHH (c) Vs. Randy Orton (WWE Championship):

This is the one where Bobby told me I was an idiot! Randy Orton is going to win this match! Will HHH beat the hell out of him? Definately, but it is Ortons time and mark my words he will be WWE champion after Wrestlemania.

There you have it folks! I'll check back to this in a couple weeks to see what I got right. Feel free to post your predictions in the comments below...or just tell me I'm an idiot.

**UPDATE** Added 3/24/09

Chris Jericho Vs. Jimmy Snuka, Ricky Steamboat and Roddy Piper:

I am a Jerichoholic through and through but I'd be a fool to think you can beat up old men and harass a movie star for a couple of months and not get what is coming to you at Wrestlemania. I love Chris Jericho but the legends will have their day in the sun in this one.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

More Intercontinental fodder

Just to show that I'm not the only one, here is what ol' JR had to say when asked about an IC title match at Wrestlemania.

On JBL Defending the IC Title at WrestleMania: Is there an IC Title bout in WM25's future now that JBL is the new Intercontinental Champion? How long has it been since there has been a hot, IC Title bout at Wrestlemania? Just like those old, Wolf Brand Chili commercials, "Well, that's too long." It will be difficult for any IC Title bout to ever overshadow Steamboat-Savage from WM3. Nonetheless it is good to see the IC Title get some "shine" at 'Mania if that does occur.

Needs to happen!

Saturday, March 14, 2009

A return to intercontinental glory?

In late 2008, when William Regal was the champion, they set up an Intercontinental tournament to see who would face him for the title. This was an effort to help restore the prestige to the title that has been lost in recent years. It made for some quality matches involving both new and old talent which made people think that this is something the wrestlers cared about again. CM Punk ended up winning the tournament and after a few meh matches on RAW against Regal was able to capture the title.

This was supposed to be the beginning of a return to greatness for the title. I was hoping for the current mid carders to really turn it up and put on some show stealing matches at pay per views, cut some quality promos on RAW, make themselves look like they could someday win the world or WWE title. It would be like how it used to be with the IC title being a stepping stone to the major championship. I tried to ignore the fact that the history of the IC title dvd set came out the same time the tournament took place, hoping this wasn't just a marketing scheme.

Instead CM Punk got a fashion accessory. He defended the title against Regal one more time which ended up being the blow off for the feud. After that he didn't defend it all, not on RAW or a pay per view. I still held out hope though knowing that Wrestlemania 25 is right around the corner. Perhaps this could be CM Punk's big moment to have a show stealing IC title match at Wrestlemania much like Savage Vs. Steamboat. He needs a high quality match for his career, in my opinion anyways. What better place for him to do it than the grandest stage of them all with the IC title on the line? It's a win win!

Instead he beats John Morrison and The Miz in a three way to qualify for the money in the bank match at Wrestlemania. Seriously? We just spent months talking about how important and prestigious the title is and then you have the current champion say to hell with it, I want the world/wwe title instead? That is the opposite of what you were trying to do! I look over at my IC title history DVD set and feel as if Vince got the drop on me.

More time goes by and I hope that maybe CM Punk will get into a feud with someone and drop out of the MITB match so he can defend the IC title at Mania 25. I begin to lose hope until I see that he will defend the IC belt against JBL on the 3/9/09 edition of RAW. I thought it was kind of an odd pairing but JBL did need a match for Mania so I had my fingers crossed. Instead of building a feud JBL just wins the title in another meh match. It was good in a way because now the IC champ wasn't in the MITB match...but JBL? I'll take anything at this point as long as we start getting some serious matches involving this belt.

Now my hopes and prayers rest in JBL's hands. Will JBL defend the IC title at Mania and maybe, just maybe, put on a stellar match? I certainly hope so for the sake of the title itself. It was supposed to be a return to greatness in recent months but it has only been a large reminder as to what is wrong with the IC title scene. It has become irrelevant in the eyes of the bookers. Which is sad due to the amount of young talent they could be prepping for the world/WWE title scene in the future. Maybe the bookers and writers should go watch the DVD set they just spent so much effort getting you to buy, maybe then they will get it.

May the wrestling god himself find a way to save it.