TWFnews X-Blog

Knee-Jerk Reaction (RAW 01/30/12)

2012-01-30T22:22:00.000-06:00

Lowered Expectations...

Yes, that's a MADtv reference. If you haven't guessed by now, I'm a television junkie. But that reference fits because after the Royal Rumble PPV last night where I had extremely high expectations, only to be disappointed, I'm going into tonight's RAW with a level head. Well, not completely level. If the secret of Chris Jericho's return isn't revealed tonight, I'm gonna pissed. It's been too long. It should have been revealed last night.

WHAT I LIKED:
Champion vs Champion: Really? A match featuring the World Heavyweight Champion vs the WWE Champion can't be the main event of the night? It has to take a backseat to not only Cena & Kane, but to Triple H & Laurinaitis as well? Way to value your champions, WWE. Great, great, great, great, great match ruined by a dirty finish. But you know, I really didn't mind it too much. Around the tenth near-fall, I was starting to wonder who would possibly win this match. There was no way to really end it cleanly unless Daniel Bryan won. I don't think a clean loss would have made Punk any weaker, but the same can't be said of Daniel Bryan, who has barely even had a clean win since he's become champion. As for Jericho, at least he did something. I still need more.

Mike Tyson: WWE's celebrity wing of the Hall of Fame has always been a bit of a mixed card. On one hand, you have celebrities who really made a mark in pro-wrestling like Andy Kaufman. And then you have celebrities who just made one or two sporadic appearances, doing nothing significant or memorable like Drew Carey. Unfortunately, WWE seems to favor the latter of those two. Mike Tyson, thankfully, falls into the former category. His stint with/against Steve Austin was a huge turning point in Stone Cold's career. Hell, it even affected HBK's career, albeit not as positively as Austin's. I'm completely in favor of this inductee.

Cena/Kane: Nice segment. I like the announcers pointing out something that I pointed out last night, a smile on Cena's face as he hurt Kane. Embracing the hate much, are we? I'm not a big fan of Kane running away, but I doubt he'll be running for too much longer. Well, I hope he won't be running for long. It's gonna be a sucky rematch if Cena just dominates Kane from here on out. But tonight was the logical response to Kane's over-powering performance last night. Next week, it should be a more even playing field.

HHH/Laurinaitis/Undertaker: Hypocrisy, thy name is Hunter Heart Helmsley. HHH accused John Laurinaitis of using his position as GM to make himself a star and he inserted himself into matches for his own personal gain. Hmm. That sounds familiar. Does CM Punk vs Triple H @ Summerslam ring a bell? Speaking of bells (I swear, I did not plan ahead for that segue), Undertaker is back. Notice the lack of exclamation points at the end of that sentence. 'Interjections show excitement or emotion. They're generally set apart from a sentence by an exclamation point, or by a comma when the feeling's not as strong.' (Can anyone guess that reference?) How many times can WWE expect us to get excited for an Undertaker return? This has to be the 76th time he's returned. I'm done marking out. I'm also done with Triple H vs Undertaker @ Wrestlemania. Two times was enough. Three is just overkill. Undertaker will get to 20-0. It's all but written.

WHAT I HATED:
Nervous Johnny: I don't know if John Laurinaitis was actually nervous or not but he made a lot of mistakes in his opening promo. He choked out some names, missed some words and a couple other Adamle-esque mistakes. If he was playing the part of the nervous man who may lose his job, then he did it well. If not, well, he's taken a few steps back from how far he's come. At least he knew how to announce the Daniel Bryan vs CM Punk match legibly. I'm pumped for that.

Elimination Chamber: As fun a match as the Elimination Chamber is, I think it's in the wrong place. I think the Champions that leave Royal Rumble should be grandfathered into Wrestlemania. Elimination Chamber should be moved to a different point on the PPV schedule. It's too daunting, too easy and - for the WWE brass - too tempting for a reigning champion to lose their title. I already know that at least one of the champions Sheamus spoke to tonight will not be champion when Wrestlemania rolls around. And it'll be that title that Sheamus competes for. Most likely, it'll be the World Heavyweight Championship. I'm all but certain Randy Orton will win the World Title @ Elimination Chamber and Sheamus will face him for the title. Daniel Bryan will be in the match too, due to his rematch clause and I'm expecting Christian to weasel his way in somehow.

Orton vs Ziggler: This match was always going to be good. I knew it as soon as it was announced. And it did not disappoint. However, certain other things around this match disappointed very much. Like the treatment of Dolph Ziggler, who just a week ago was the #1 contender for the WWE Championship. What is he now? SUPERFACE food. Orton just beat the guy cleanly. And why wouldn't he? After the way CM Punk just abused Dolph in the WWE Championship match last night and after Ziggler took a finisher from a diva - a HUGE diva, but a diva nonetheless - in the Royal Rumble, how can anyone take him seriously ever again? This is now twice that Ziggler performed admirably while facing a World Champion, only to be forgotten about directly afterwards. And to think, the first time it happened was right after his World Title match at the Royal Rumble PPV last year. I'm thinking the Royal Rumble is not Ziggler's lucky PPV.

Funkasaurus vs T-Reks: That was actually a pretty good analogy that King said. I just hope Vince does get any ideas and starts making Tyler Reks dance too. I still haven't warmed up to this new Brodus Clay character, but I am warming up to the dancing divas. I guess I can give WWE some credit because they are systematically making Clay's opponents more and more formidable... but they're still a bunch of squash matches.

Kofi Kingston vs The Miz: Really? Look, I'm glad that Kofi is getting a bit of a resurgence after being left holding his dick in his hand after Evan Bourne screwed him. But doing it at the expense of The Miz, who was also left holding his dick in his hand after R-Truth's suspension, is pushing it. It's not like Kofi Kingston is really a threat to win the Elimination Chamber match. Here's an idea, why don't you push the guys who actually have a chance of winning - especially since the PPV itself is only three weeks away.

Divas Championship: What exactly was it that made Eve the #1 contender for the Divas Title? Losing in the tag team match last night? Horribly bad acting? Was Kelly too busy with her court-appointed driving classes? Doesn't matter anyway because this was a quick match. It was all a set-up to a Kane/Cena showdown. Way to value a Championship, WWE. Just dangle a title match as a tertiary segue to a more important rivalry.

QUOTE OF THE NIGHT: "I'm a role model. I'm a vegan!" - Daniel Bryan
For no real reason except that it made me laugh. I liked how they later made a comparison to Bryan's vegan(ism?) and Punk's straight-edge(ness?). They're not exactly the same, but I give Bryan and Punk credit for doing such things. Neither is very easy to accomplish in a world that markets against both beliefs. I'm not a vegan at all. I'm a carnivore. I have given up most red meat, but that's due more to a medical issue than respect for animals. I'm sort of straight-edge, except that I do enjoy a beer ever so often. Using illegal drugs and smoking cigarettes, however, aren't even tempting to me.

Knee-Jerk Reaction (Royal Rumble 2012)

2012-01-29T22:23:00.001-06:00

I might sound like a little kid here (something I'm sure Vince would appreciate), but I'm marking out already over the possibilities of this PPV. I love the Royal Rumble. I always have. And this year is different because there is no real favorite to win the Royal Rumble match. WWE pretty much showed their hand last year with Alberto Del Rio, but this year they've been stoic. I'm more than certain that Jericho is nothing more than a bluff. With that in mind, my official pick is Sheamus. However, I'm expecting The Miz to be active coming from the prime position.

Daniel Bryan def. Big Show & Mark Henry, retaining the World Heavyweight Title:
WHAT I LIKED: This was never going to be a technically sound match, given the opponents Daniel Bryan had to face. But I have to give him a lot of credit for making himself viable throughout this entire match. There were points where Henry and Big Show basically just disappeared, but not D. Bryan. He stayed active pretty much the whole time.
- And I absolutely loved the mixed reaction Daniel Bryan received for two reasons: 1) a mixed reaction is better than no reaction and B) his heel turn is going swimmingly. Keep running with the ball, Brian. Don't drop it.
WHAT I HATED: Cage matches annoy me. They're so impractical. All you have to do is walk out of the goddamn door! Yet, for some reason, the wrestlers always (ALWAYS!) gingerly walk towards the door when it's open or the crawl towards it. Why not just take off in a dead sprint and leap out of the door. Daniel Bryan does the suicide dive out of the ring all the time. How is this any different?
- Oh, and I have to call SHENANIGANS! as I promised to do every time Big Show and/or Mark Henry competes in a cage match. Last time they faced each other in a cage match, they destroyed the whole cage. Hell, Mark Henry ripped the lock off of the door. Why couldn't he do it this time? It would have been a much easier win. And let's not forget the time that Lashley leaped into the cage wall and simply knocked it down. I know Henry and Show are heavier than Lashley. Maybe the ring crew just did shoddy work that night.

Beth Phoenix, Natalya & The Bella Twins def. Kelly, Eve, Alicia & Tamina:
WHAT I LIKED: Grumble. Grumble. Grumble. At least the right team won. And Beth was pretty awesome at the end.
WHAT I HATED: You know what I hate more than impromptu PPV matches? Impromptu PPV Diva matches. You know what's worse than impromptu PPV Diva matches? Impromptu PPV Diva Eight Person Tag Team matches. You know what's worse than... you get the point. I could go all day.

John Cena vs. Kane ends in a Double Count-Out:
WHAT I LIKED: It's difficult for me to applaud St. Louis after the events that occurred in the World Series (yes I'm still bitter), but kudos for giving John Cena the ovation he deserves. I didn't think St. Louis was a Cena-hating town.
- I might be wrong, but I think I saw a little bit of heel Cena peek through. When he did the Five-Knuckle Shuffle from the turnbuckle, he had this grin on his face like he was absorbing in the jeers. Small sample, I know, but it was something.
- Maybe it was the crowd's intensity, but this was a pretty good match considering the two parties involved. Cena and Kane were basically the prototypes of themselves and their wrestling abilities, but the absolute best prototypes of themselves. They hit their prototypical moves and did their typical gestures. It was simple, but I guess in this case, simple was good enough.
- Alright, Kane is officially awesome again. I am doing a little revisionist history of my own and wiping away any memory of Kane sans-mask. I didn't expect Kane to walk away from this match as the dominant party. I said in my preview that Cena had to win this match concisely. Boy, was I wrong! I've never been so happy to be so wrong. If I would have changed anything about the post-match proceedings, it would be Cena who received the Tombstone Piledriver instead of Zack Ryder.
WHAT I HATED: Bullshit ending to the match. I should've guessed a double count-out was how the match would end. Some asked why this match didn't have a No DQ stipulation. The answer was so that it could end dirty. Not that the ending mattered anyway. I mean, the only thing everyone was anticipating was what would happen after the match was over.

Brodus Clay def. Drew McIntyre:
WHAT I LIKED: The cameraman caught Naomi & Cameron in a perfect position during the entrance. That was hot!
WHAT I HATED: Pretty much everything else. It might take me some time to warm up to this character. As of right now, I just groan every time I hear that damn music. If this match means we won't have to endure a 'dance break' during the Royal Rumble match, then I can deal with it.

CM Punk def. Dolph Ziggler, retaining the WWE Championship:
WHAT I LIKED: I had forgotten all about the stipulation of Vickie Guerrero being banned from ringside. Good job by WWE of being consistent. Listen to the ovations that CM Punk is receiving from places other than his hometown of Chicago. Hell, this is St. Louis, MO. They can't stand Chicago, but they still love Punk, who embodies that city like no one else.
WHAT I HATED: Even in the pre-match hype video, they made this match look more like CM Punk vs John Laurinaitis than CM Punk vs Dolph Ziggler. I know Ziggler isn't technically a main-eventer and he's just barely a former World Champion, but give the guy a little credit. If you believe that video, it looks like Ziggler just lucked his way into this match, instead of fighting hard from the bottom of the roster to get to where he is today.
- I feel like they were so entranced with furthering the Punk/Laurinaitis storyline that they forgot to plan this match! It was over far too soon. Punk and Ziggler had a better match than this on RAW a few months ago. Probably longer, too. WTF!?
- They made Dolph look like a ragdoll, taking that many GTS's in one match. Dolph is a formidable opponent for CM Punk. A more than formidable opponent for anyone. But he looked like he was back in the Spirit Squad tonight. They practically buried Dolph tonight. This just pisses me off right. And right before the Royal Rumble match, too.

Sheamus wins the Royal Rumble!!!:
WHAT I LIKED:Miz delivering a promo to start the match showed me two things: 1) he wasn't going to win the Royal Rumble and B) WWE still values him. I have to admit, lately I've been worried about that last one. I like how they had Miz face his two main opponents throughout the year to start the match off and eliminate them both. It's a small gesture, but it backs up that second point. If Morrison was still employed, I'm sure he would have been the third.
- Ricardo Rodriguez was genius. He's hilarious. I must admit though, I popped a little when I thought it was Alberto Del Rio.
- "I didn't much care for Mr. Socko. Back in my day, socks didn't talk." Does anyone else get that reference? 30 Rock? No? Oh, well. The Socko vs Cobra thing was a nice touch.
- Cody Rhodes has a new nickname: The Legend Eliminator. He eliminated most of the legends in this match: Mick Foley, Jim Duggan, Jerry Lawler & Booker T. The only one he didn't get to was Road Dogg.
- Kofi Kingston's handstand and walk was fabulous. I don't if anyone else could have pulled that off. Except for maybe...
- Dolph Ziggler! I had my doubts about him entering the match after that horrible abuse of his character in the WWE Championship match. Hopefully, they make him look strong during the Royal Rumble. Well, at least last throughout a few eliminations.
- KHARMA is back. A very welcome addition to the roster. The divas can use an injection of excitement back in their division. And right after Beth Phoenix just looked unstoppable. This should be good. (Save it for Wrestlemania, WWE, if you know what's good for you.)
- What a pop for Randy Orton. That's the only thing I like about his entrance. I'll elaborate more in the HATE category.
- Jericho vs Sheamus are the final two. I honestly don't know who to root for. I can see legitimate Wrestlemania buildups for both of these guys against almost any competitor and for either championship. But since I still forsee Jericho facing Undertaker at Wrestlemania, I gotta root for Sheamus.
- "No Cena. No Cena. La-la-la-la-la-la." Come on, you have to get that reference. It's the Lion King. "You idiots, there will be a king. I will be King!"
- And Sheamus it is! I called it. I called it. I called it. I have proof that I called it. I gave Sheamus the highest odds (20%) to win and I was right. Suck on that, left brain! I figured it'd be a first time winner, if nothing else. How awesome would it be if Sheamus faced Daniel Bryan for the World Heavyweight Championship @ Wrestlemania, after their scheduled Wrestlemania match last year was cut? The difference a year makes.
WHAT I HATED: As WWE is ripe to do, they used up too many jobbers too soon. By the time #15 rolled around, there were only two legit threats to win in the match - Miz & Rhodes - and they both came out in the top three. The next viable contender wasn't until #18 when Dolph Ziggler joined in. Which leads me to my next point...
- Why wait so long to bring out the big guns? Sheamus at #22. Orton at #28. Jericho at #29. Big Show at #30. Three of the final four were the last three to enter the match. Did the main-eventers and favorites just happen to have the luck of the draw tonight or what? Come on, WWE, you pay these guys handsomely to main-event your shows, so make them work harder than the guys scraping by on peanuts.
- ANNOUNCERS!!!! Gawd, I hate the fucking announcers. I don't remember where I stopped on the Pet Peeves list (which I plan on continuing - this week, if I have time), but rest assured that this is one of the top fucking annoyances. All three of the motherfuckers were in the match. I hate when announcers get involved in storylines and matches. Just call the damn match already. You can't tell me that nobody noticed that Booker T wasn't wearing pants all night long.
- My final gripe about this Royal Rumble is that there were just too many wrestlers missing. Where was Kane? He had a record going, mind you. He was less hurt after his match than Dolph Ziggler or Big Show was. Surely, he could have competed. And on the same note, where was Mark Henry? He had the same amount of rest time as Big Show did. And even though I wasn't paying much attention to Brodus Clay vs Drew McIntyre, I'm pretty sure I heard them say that match was for entrance into the Royal Rumble. Yet, Brodus Clay was passed over again. Not that I'm a big fan, but where was Mason Ryan? I just read they were renewing his push. I figured Christian would return for sure. I think he's more than ready. Maybe if they had not included the announcers and maybe even some of the legends, the entire 'wrestling' roster could have competed.

Those last grievances aside, I was hyped for this Royal Rumble and it didn't completely let me down. I wish Punk vs Ziggler had been more of a match. I wish Jericho would have done, I don't know, something towards his 'end of the world' promo. I wish Kane had did a little more than just chokeslam Cena to leave an exclamation point after that match. I'm just left with this feeling of being unfulfilled. Maybe I was just expecting too much. I never thought that I'd have to tell myself to lower my expectations when it comes to WWE. I won't make that mistake again...

Royal Rumble 2012 Preview: 'Oddsmakers'

2012-01-28T12:36:00.001-06:00

The start of every new year is a great time for myself and the X-Blog because the Royal Rumble is my odds-on favorite PPV of the year.

I did this blog last year before the Royal Rumble and gave Alberto Del Rio a 10% chance of winning it. Not bad. But considering I gave Cena a 30% chance, Triple H a 20% chance and CM Punk a 15% chance, I'm counting that as a predictive failure.

The best and worst part about the Royal Rumble is that it is so unpredictable. There are too many contenders in the match alone. Sure, it's easy to predict that Jimmy Uso won't win the damn thing. But can you ever really count out John Cena? Or Randy Orton? Chris Jericho? Or even The Miz? It's not an easy match to predict, especially with the returnees who come about each year. But that doesn't stop us wrestling fans from trying (and failing) every year.

With abject failure close in mind, here are my official odds for the 2012 Royal Rumble:

RAW Main-Eventers

Let's just be honest here. The odds are clearly in the favor of the wrestlers residing in this category. Odds are that a main-eventer will win the Royal Rumble. (Even if a mid-carder does win, he won't be a mid-carder any longer.) Odds are that the winner will come from RAW. RAW is the A show, and even if a Smackdown winner does pull it out, he'd be featured more on RAW than Smackdown anyway.

John Cena - The Safe Bet: SUPERFACE? Check! Main-Eventer? Check! Previous Royal Rumble winner? Check! SUPERFACE? Did I already ask that? Well check it again! You can't go wrong picking John Cena to be the winner of the Royal Rumble. Hell, he wins everything else. But this year, I think there's one significant little piece of the puzzle that may give Cena an edge: the heel turn. WWE has been hinting at this for weeks, and after Cena's adorable angry face book-ended this RAW week, I think he's starting to embrace the hate. I can't see Cena losing to Kane before the Royal Rumble because that would take a lot of the momentum away from him, something WWE is not likely to do. But imagine if Cena destroys Kane and then enters the Royal Rumble still sporting the anger and goes crazy eliminating everyone in sight, including hometown boy, Randy Orton. As Cena celebrates in the ring, do you really think it'll be to a chorus of cheers? No. He'd be booed out of the building. For maybe the first time ever, someone could win the Rumble match and turn heel at the same time. If this scenario happens, it's the only way I'll cheer for a Cena victory.
Odds of Winning: 15%. Half of what I gave him last year. While the above scenario would be awesome, it probably won't happen.

CM Punk - The Fallen Champion: This scenario only works if CM Punk loses his WWE Championship to Dolph Ziggler earlier in the day. I doubt that will happen, but it's always a possibility. And I'm not against that possibility at all. I would love for Ziggler to become WWE Champion. He's worked hard for it. I would love it even more if Punk lost the WWE Title, turned around and won the Royal Rumble. How awesome would that be? Come on. That would set up a good two month rivalry for two of the best in-ring performers in WWE, as well as continue the anti-authority storyline between Punk and John Laurinaitis that has become more and more interesting as John Laurinaitis has gotten better on the mic. He could use some work on his facial expressions, but in time, people, in time. I don't know exactly how this would work with the 'rematch clause' every WWE Champion seems to have these days, but WWE could always find a way around that... especially since they have a lawyer on the roster now.
Odds of Winning: 10%. I don't forsee Punk losing the title before Wrestlemania. However, if he does and if he enters the Royal Rumble, there's no way he's not winning it.

Chris Jericho - The Doomsayer: The Royal Rumble will be the end of the world as we know it. If Jericho's promise and this oddly awesome storyline doesn't live up to the hype and to Jericho's impossible standards, it sure as hell will be the end of the world. The long con is a hard con to pull off. It requires subtlety and genius - two things Jericho doesn't lack for. WWE could easily have just had Jericho to return at the Royal Rumble and do whatever it is that he has planned en route to winning the match, but instead they brought him back weeks before. I don't know if this was necessarily to make him an odds-on favorite to win the Royal Rumble, but to do something during the match that would change everything. My prediction for Chris Jericho is not that he leaves the Royal Rumble as the number one contender, but that he leaves as the number 20 contender. As in 20-0. That's right, I'm predicting Chris Jericho vs Undertaker at Wrestlemania. Silly little thing like a Royal Rumble match almost pales in comparison, huh?
Odds of Winning: 10%. There's always a chance I'm wrong, but even then, I think I'll get over it.

The Miz - The Must-See Loser: So far, Miz is the only wrestler guaranteed to enter at a certain position in the Royal Rumble and also the only wrestler guaranteed to lose. Or is he? Number one is not a completely unheralded spot in the Royal Rumble match. It could be that a third #1 is set to win the whole shebang. The Miz has been held back for no obvious reason as of late and I have to think it's because something big is in the works for him. Something big like winning the Royal Rumble. It's not impossible, however implausible it may be. In any case, I'm not putting much stock into it. There are too many other options on the table for Miz to come from #1 to the eventual winner. But odder things have happened.
Odds of Winning: 3.45%. It's 100% divided by 29. Hey, I rounded up!

Kane - The Eliminator: There's no way Kane doesn't enter the Royal Rumble this year. He's riding a record streak of eleven straight appearances and there's no reason not to make it twelve. Plus, he could overtake HBK's overall elimination record this year. But here's the potential problem with that. John Cena has to win the match versus Kane earlier in the night. And Cena has to do it convincingly, as he embraces his hate. So that means he has to basically destroy Kane, right? Correct. But Kane is in full-on 'beast mode' right now. So what if after the Cena vs Kane match - where Cena tosses Kane into oncoming traffic or something - he miraculously reappears in the Royal Rumble no worse for wear. Not necessarily to win the Rumble, but just to show Cena that it'll take more than that to beat him.
Odds of Winning: .55%. (Just trying to get the number back in order.) Come on, Kane isn't winning the Royal Rumble. He never does. He's just the guy WWE uses to clear the ring when need be. The above scenario really only gives more credence to John Cena winning anyway.

Triple H - The Corporate Plant: There's nothing hinting that Triple H will enter the Royal Rumble match. But there's also nothing saying that he won't. I don't think Triple H's time in the ring is done for just yet. I doubt it ever will be, so he's always a threat to enter a match like the Royal Rumble, just like Vince McMahon was. After all, if he decides he wants in, who's going to stop him?
Odds of Winning: 6%. Again, if he wants to win, who's gonna protest?

Smackdown Main-Eventers

I know I shat all over the Smackdown wrestlers earlier by saying that the winner will most likely come from RAW. That still remains true, in my opinion, but Smackdown still has some very viable options, including my personal odds-on favorite. You might be surprised to find out who it is.

Randy Orton - The Hometown Hero: Has anyone ever won the Royal Rumble in their hometown? That requires research that I am in no mood to do, so for the sake of sanity, let's just puts the odds clearly against it. If you want to hear one of the loudest ovations ever for a Royal Rumble winner, this is it. If Randy Orton wins the match in his hometown, he might receive a pop bigger than CM Punk's in Chicago at Money in the Bank. Plus, Orton's checklist is just the same as Cena's. He's a SUPERFACE, he's a main-eventer, he's a former winner, and he's a SUPERFACE. Albeit, now that I think about it, being a previous winner might be a negative. When was the last time a previous winner won a Royal Rumble? That's some research that should be simple to accomplish. Steve Austin in 2001. His record 3rd win. 11 year ago. Not since then has anyone ever won the Royal Rumble who had won it previously. This doesn't take any odds away from Orton, but it doesn't add any either.
Odds of Winning: 15%. Call it the SUPERFACE bump. He's almost as a safe a bet to win as Cena is. But if history is any indication, WWE doesn't like to have hometown boys win at PPVs. Just ask Bret Hart.

Sheamus - The Great White Hope: Last year at this time, King Sheamus was 'on a roll' which, if you follow this blog, means he was losing almost all of his matches, but still being hyped as a threat to win by the announcers. This year is an entirely different story. He really is on a roll. Sheamus is tearing it up on Smackdown and looks damn near unstoppable. And he's doing it all as a babyface now. Hell, he's basically a SUPERFACE at this juncture. We all know what that means...
Odds of Winning: 20%. Yes, Sheamus is my odds-on favorite to win. He's a SUPERFACE, a main-eventer and he's never won it before. No time like the present.

Daniel Bryan - The Giant Killer: If the giant in question are the odds set against him, then he's been slaying giants since he arrived in WWE. I figured D. Bryan would linger around the US/IC championships his entire career in WWE, taking a detour only for some Tag Team gold. I never would have thought he'd be a World Champion and definitely not this soon. But congrats to him. He deserves it. Unfortunately, I can't see Daniel Bryan holding that World Title until Wrestlemania. So, if he loses it earlier in the night, I expect him to participate int he Royal Rumble. Of course, that means he'd have been taken out by the giants in the World Title match, and prime meat for the giants in the Royal Rumble. That doesn't do him any good as far as his odds go.
Odds of Winning: 1%. He won Money in the Bank, so I guess anything it possible. Albeit, I doubt he'll lose the World Title match. It's a cage match, which gives him plenty of opportunity to sneak out a victory.

Big Show - The Big Show: Big Show's name suits him so well. He's a BIG man and as far as WWE is concerned, it's all just for show. Big Show has never won the Royal Rumble, and I doubt he ever will. His odds deplete every year he gets older. The closest he ever came was in 2004, where he lasted until the final two against Chris Benoit, but was only used to make Benoit's victory even more improbable after entering at #1.
Odds of Winning: 0%. He won't win the World Title at Royal Rumble and he won't win the Royal Rumble match either.

Mark Henry - The BIG Threat: I've had some fun at Mark Henry's expense over the years. I've made an issue of WWE always pushing Mark Henry as this HUGE threat to win the Royal Rumble every year, only for him come up short. Last year, I even gave him -1% chance to win. Consider my foot squarely in my mouth. While he didn't win the Royal Rumble last year, he had a career year overall. He was World Champion. He beat Randy Orton clean... twice. He established himself as a real threat. Kudos, Mark. Kudos. However, he's still not going to win this year's Royal Rumble. Or the World Title. At least not right now.
Odds of Winning: 0%. It's more than I gave him last year...

RAW Mid-Carders

Mid-carders don't generally do well in Royal Rumble matches. But the Royal Rumble is one definitive way to make that jump from mid-card to main-event. It's been done before. (Rey Mysterio, Chris Benoit, Alberto Del Rio)

Dolph Ziggler - The Show-off: Ziggler has adopted the nickname 'The Show-Off' for his persona, but for this blog, I'm nicknaming him 'The Show-Off' because WWE likes to show Ziggler off a lot. In multiple PPVs over the past months, Dolph has competed in two matches. I think WWE loves this guy, and why wouldn't they? I akin this to a baseball organization who grooms a young player from the minor leagues, through the developmental farms, and finally gets a chance to show-off all their hard work in the majors. Dolph has come a long way from his days as 'caddy' Nick Nemeth and the Spirit Squad. He's worked his way from the bottom to the top. There's no way WWE doesn't show him off in both the WWE Championship match and later on in the Royal Rumble, should he lose the championship match. And let's face it, he's going to lose the championship match.
Odds of Winning: 5%. Just imagine the CM Punk scenario above, just vice-versa. Still just as awesome.

R-Truth - Little Jimmy's Pick: The difference a year makes, huh? Last year in the lead-up to the Royal Rumble, R-Truth was losing multiple televised matches to Alberto Del Rio, who became the eventual winner. In fact, R-Truth had the shortest time in the Royal Rumble match last year, clocking in at only 30 seconds. This year, R-Truth is winning matches en route to the Royal Rumble and is clearly being pushed as a top babyface in the company. I'm pretty certain he'll be in the match longer than 30 seconds this year. While this won't necessarily translate to a win, he's gotta be enjoying the turnaround. I am.
Odds of Winning: 1%. Little Jimmy = Little kids. Little kids are starting to love R-Truth's new character. Little kids run WWE. Simple.

Jack Swagger - The Oversight: Jack Swagger's World Title reign wasn't really that bad. He suffered from a lack of suitable challengers. His two real opponents during his title reign was Rey Mysterio, who is undersized and Big Show, who is oversized. Swagger comes from an amateur background, where he is used to facing opponents in his weight class. Had he competed against challengers like CM Punk or Randy Orton, I'm sure Swagger would have excelled. But now he's overlooked in this and pretty much all of his matches because of his failed reign as champion. I wouldn't overlook Swagger too much, though. He's not done as champion.
Odds of Winning: 2%. I hope I didn't give the impression that he's a favorite to win. Not at all. Albeit, it would be fun to see what could happen if Swagger won the Royal Rumble and Ziggler won the WWE Championship...

Kofi Kingston - The Hard Luck Loser: For a guys as talented and athletically gifted as Kofi Kingston is, he's sure had a hard time breaking out of this category. I think the reason why is because he's too much of a babyface. He's the guy everyone loves to see jump and fly around the ring. But here's what some people don't know - Kingston is an amazing heel. He's so good at being a heel, he had some people, including myself, wondering if he's be able to make it in WWE as a babyface. If WWE were smart, they'd turn Kingston heel as soon as possible and there's no better time to do it than right now, since he'd be legitimately frustrated after the bullshit he's had to endure at his former tag team partner's expense.
Odds of Winning: 0%. With the 'roll' he's on, I wouldn't be surprised if he clocked in with the shortest time this year.

Zack Ryder - Mr. Popularity: I question why WWE would take Ryder off of television right before they could feature him in a match as crucial as the Royal Rumble. Not that he'd be any threat to win, but his popularity is on the rise and he could have had a segment of the Royal Rumble where he was dominant, even if it just leads to him being eliminated. Bad move, WWE.
Odds of Winning: 0%. For obvious reasons.

Smackdown Mid-Carders

There aren't many mid-carders on Smackdown that I consider to be even somewhat a contender to win the Royal Rumble, which adds more credence to my assertion that the winner will be from RAW. And the two that are contenders, are primed to jump into the main-event at any given time.

Cody Rhodes - The Dark Horse: It's easy to count Cody Rhodes out of the Royal Rumble because he's the Intercontinental Champion and current champions don't win Royal Rumble matches. But here's the thing, Cody Rhodes will be a main-eventer someday. He's already ready for it right now. And all he needs to get there is a little push. Like maybe the Royal Rumble push? It's a longshot, but it's not beyond the realm of possibility.
Odds of Winning: 3%. The Rhodes/Orton rivalry was teased a bit earlier this year. If Orton wins Elimination Chamber as I expect him to, this could always be in the cards for Wrestlemania. Of course, it could happen even without the Royal Rumble.

Wade Barrett - The Target: You never want to enter a Royal Rumble match with a target on your back. It never tends to work out for you so well. Also, you never want your predator to be a SUPERFACE. They tend to make a beeline for you. Wade Barrett is on the uprise and I expect WWE to feature heavily come Wrestlemania in some way or another. I mean, his Wrestlemania can't be any worse than it was last year - losing in 45 seconds. One way to ensure an excellent Wrestlemania experience is to win the Royal Rumble.
Odds of Winning: 1%. Only because he's never won it and I expect Orton to enter Wrestlemania as World Champion. There is still a lot of ground to cover in their rivalry.

Surprise Entrants

It's become more of a guessing game than anything else. You know there will be at least one surprise entrant every year, and the rumors run rampant with names big and small.

The Undertaker - Deadman Walking: Can Taker even walk? He's so fragile these days that I think it's a tenable question. Now, Undertaker will return. That's not even a debate. It's just a question of when. I don't know if Undertaker has the durability to compete in a Royal Rumble, let alone if WWE trusts his health in the right with multiple other wrestlers. I suppose he could enter at #30, when there's just a couple guys left in the ring, where they'd be given specific orders to be safe. But what fun would that be?
Odds of Returning: 20%. It's gotta happen at sometime.
Odds of Winning: 5%. He's past his time as champion and/or contender. No need for it.

Brock Lesnar - The Next Big Return: Look, for anyone rolling their eyes at this name, as I am apt to do myself, Brock Lesnar will return to WWE. I doubt it'll be right now, but it will happen. He left UFC clouded in embarassment and shame. Relevancy is something he's not looking for right now. Solitude is. I think Brock would want to stay out of the public spotlight for the time being to allow his name to die out a little bit. I have no doubt that Vince has been in contact with him and is pushing for a return, but I don't think Brock is mentally in any shape for it.
Odds of Returning: 0%. For now.
Odds of Winning: 100%. However, if Lesnar does return, he has to win.

Christian - Edge-light: Another returnee who is all but set to return at anytime. There were rumors that Christian wasn't as hurt as he was advertised to be. I don't have any proof of that, but it's good news to me. When Christian does return, he'll have to work his way from heel to babyface in a short period of time since he's the favorite to induct Edge into the Hall of Fame. I know they allow a bit of kayfabe-breaking in the HOF Induction Ceremony, but a heel can't induct the marquee entrant. That would be a little too much. It sucks because WWE takes Christian much more seriously as a heel. I do too.
Odds of Returning: 50%. It'll happen.
Odds of Winning: 0%. This won't.

Rey Mysterio - The Underdog: There has been radio silence on Mysterio since he left. I've read no updates. No rumors. Nothing. Just his appearance at the Slammy Awards, which I didn't even see. I don't even remember the timetable of his injury. But given that the wrestler who 'injured' him most likely won't be in the match, I doubt Mysterio will either.
Odds of Returning: 10%. You never know.
Odds of Winning: 0%. But this, I know.

Alberto Del Rio - The Incumbent: Again, I can't remember if the timetable for Del Rio's injury has him missing the Royal Rumble altogether. But since I've heard no rumors about Del Rio participating, I have to imagine he won't be. He'll still have the sweet memories from last year.
Odds of Returning: 1%. Eh...
Odds of Winning: 1%. Ditto.

Knee-Jerk Reaction (RAW 01/23/12)

2012-01-23T22:16:00.000-06:00

Internet issues kept me from writing the blog last week and from doing pretty much anything remotely web-related all last week. Thankfully, everything was resolved by Thursday. Those were the worst four days of my life. How did people live without the internet? How could you possibly function? Thank goodness those ridiculous SOPA & PIPA bills didn't pass.

WHAT I LIKED:
Opening Segment/Match: I like it when the opening segments go from promos to a match. It makes it seem like less of a waste of time. Waste of time, I say, because everyone seemed to be off their game tonight. Ziggler & Swagger aren't known as great promo delivery guys, but Punk & Cena are. Neither of them seemed to know exactly how to navigate that segment. There were a lot of awkward pauses. It's a shame when you have to rely on John Laurinaitis to bail you out of a promo. As for the match, I couldn't help but think of the sing-song diddy, "One of these things is not like the other" for so many reasons. Technically speaking, all of these wrestlers are former World Champions, but Ziggler's title reign just barely counts. As far as current standing goes, Jack Swagger is the odd man out. But the most glaring difference was that of John Cena. I wonder if in matches like these, he looks around and wishes he had even a smidgen of wrestling ability that the other three wrestlers in the match have. Knowing Cena, he probably thinks he's already on their level. He's not.

Chris Jericho: I would say that I'm disappointed that I missed Jericho last week, but I guess I didn't really miss anything because he's yet to do (or say) anything. Personally, I would love it if he kept this up for a while longer, but for the sake of the blog and the sanity of wrestling fans everywhere, he's gotta do something eventually. Well, at least he spoke this time. If you ask me, this is leading up to something great - I just don't know what it is. I doubt Chris Jericho would come back and agree to this storyline unless it was something amazing. If nothing else, it just shows how fickle we are as fans. We want the Jericho we know and love or love to hate. This entire storyline so far has shown me (and hopefully everyone in WWE) not only how polarizing Chris Jericho is in the world or professional wresting, but exactly how much he holds us all in the palm of his hands.

Punk vs Laurinaitis: I honestly didn't think they have Punk do it, but I am so glad he did. I almost marked out. He had to do it, though. Since they are currently trying to build Punk as the anti-authority, voice of the people's champion (ala Steve Austin), he has to take his shots when they're available. He has to adopt the mentality of 'act now, deal with the consequences later'. After all, Austin never passed up an opportunity to stun Vince McMahon. I'm sure there will be consequences from this GTS. If those consequences just happen to be that Punk loses to Dolph Ziggler at Royal Rumble, then so be it. I won't be happy about it, but I won't be sad either. I win either way!

WHAT I HATED:
Ryder vs Kane: Man, do they want to push John Cena using Zack Ryder or what? It's ridiculous. I mean it is actually ridiculous. Based on the amount of jeers Cena received tonight, it's obviously an abject failure and therefore it is laughable. It is worthy of ridicule. Ergo, ridiculous. You know what else was ridiculous? THIS ENTIRE MATCH! Seriously, they could have done this exact same thing in a regular match with the same stipulations. Why make it a Falls Count Anywhere match if there is no fall in the end? Perhaps the most ridiculous thing about the whole match was the after Kane dispatched of Ryder and began stalking Eve, you see a cameraman walking pace for pace with Eve down the ramp and two of 'em sitting next to the bannister - none of them moved a muscle to help the damsel in distress. I know, I know. Kayfabe. But still. WWE's cameramen are worse then their security. Nope, I was wrong. John Cena's 'angry orgasm face' was much more ridiculous than anything else that transpired around this match.

Sheamus vs Mahal: I was all set to call this a boring squash match but thankfully Wade Barrett entered the fray. The match itself was still pretty much a squash what with Sheamus being basically a SUPERFACE now. But having Wade Barrett at ringside spruced it up a little bit. Just a little bit. I have Sheamus as a statistical favorite to win the Royal Rumble. But I'm not going to release my numbers just yet. I will have my official 'Odds of Winning' blog up by the end of the week.

Clay vs Slater: It was only amusing the first time. Even then it was absurd.

Miz vs Truth: I don't think anyone has said this just yet, but this is a weak rivalry. I love The Miz and I think he's a superstar, but this is just below him. No disrespect to R-Truth because I like him as well. Miz was on a roll before R-Truth made his triumphant return and its only gone downhill from there. I don't understand why Miz has to suffer, when it was R-Truth who got suspended and forced the breakup of The Awesome Truth. But then again, this could all just be a smokescreen. King & Cole talked a lot about winning the Royal Rumble after entering #1. It's possible, if not improbable, that Miz could be the third wrestler to do so. I don't think he will, but I'm tossing that out as a possibility. Regardless, they need to do something to start Miz's motor as they head down the road to Wrestlemania.

QUOTE OF THE NIGHT: "When it comes to this year's Royal Rumble, it might be the biggest ever." - Jerry Lawler
Don't start this bullshit. Last year's Royal Rumble was literally the biggest ever. 40 is mathematically more than 30. I will not argue semantics here. Revisionist history is not history at all.

I was glad to see the return and updated Royal Rumble 'numbers' video. Being a numbers man myself, I love that video. Of course, there is one glaring omission... a rabid one. However, while the video does not show Chris Benoit as a winner and #1 entrant, it does reference his win by including him in the number of wrestlers who won the match after entering at #1. I can live with that. It's the best we will ever get. I just wonder how WWE will respond to the new Crippler movie currently in production. Personally, I just want to know who will be playing the wrestlers.

Knee-Jerk Reaction (RAW 01/09/12)

2012-01-09T22:16:00.000-06:00

Last week, Chris Jericho did what he always does... left us wanting more. He did it in the most unusual, unorthodox & un-Jericho-like way imaginable - he said nothing. Well, tonight it's been promised that he will speak. If I know Jericho, then I know that even then he'll find some way to surprise us and keep us wanting more.

WHAT I LIKED:
EDGE!!!: King said that Edge accomplished a lot in a short career in WWE. In what way was Edge's career short? Sure, he still had a couple more years left in his body before being unceremoniously forced to retire, but Edge had a nice long career in WWE. I think what King was alluding to was that Edge's career in the main-event was short. Think about all the things Edge did as a mid-carder: the multiple Tag Team Championships, helping to create a legacy in the TLC matches, his kayfabe-breaking rivalry with Matt Hardy. Now imagine what Edge could have accomplished if he wasn't a mid-carder for all those years. I wouldn't take those years back for anything and I doubt Edge would either, but I can't help but to think of what could have been. CM Punk was correct in that video package where he said that because the powers that be in WWE took a chance on Edge, it enabled them to take on chance on Punk as well. What he forgot to mention was that not only did the PTB take a chance on Edge, but Edge succeeded beyond their wildest dreams. If there's anything I have to nitpick about with Edge's induction into the HOF, it's that it's a bit too soon. WWE should have some type of gap between retirement and eligibility status. I don't think five years is too long. Maybe two years since the mortality rates of pro-wrestlers are suspect.

The Four Horsemen: Life is full of coincidences. I was just talking about the Four Horsemen at work today with a couple of co-workers. There's nothing to be said about Ric Flair that hasn't been said already. Of all the horsemen, my absolute favorite was Arn Anderson. Double-A was a tough son of a bitch. A lot of people, a lot of wrestling fans don't have the fond memories of Anderson that I do. He earned the name 'The Enforcer' and wore it well. I was hoping that Arn Anderson would be inducted into the HOF by himself, but adding all members of the 4 Horsemen is icing on the cake. I wonder which all members of the Horsemen will be inducted. I figure Flair, Anderson and Tully Blanchard are givens. From the video, it seems Barry Windham will be inducted as well. I think I saw J.J. Dillon in the video as well. But what about Ole Anderson? He was part of the founding group, after all. If they include Windham, does it mean they have to include Lex Luger too? Gawd, I hope not. And what about Sting? Or Sid Vicious? Brian Pillman? Steve McMicheal? Dean Malenko? Chris Benoit? I figure that last one is a bit of a stretch. No way that ever happens no matter how much he deserves it! I think they should just stick to the original 1986 incarnation of the Andersons, Flair and Blanchard. No need to get too convoluted. It's not like the young audiences of today really know much about them anyway.

Kingston vs Bryan: I hate that I can't watch Smackdown anymore. I don't want to miss the moment that Daniel Bryan turns heel. I know it's coming and coming soon. I think this is the best possible scenario for Daniel Bryan, who just isn't getting over consistently in WWE. I absolutely love Daniel Bryan, I absolutely love the path his storyline has him going down and I absolutely love that WWE is taking him seriously. Now, if only we could get the fans to follow suit. I think he'll be embraced well as a heel. I have to find someway to watch Smackdown on Friday because that is when I believe the heel turn will take place.

Punk vs Swagger: Great choice for the long match of the night. It's nice to see Jack Swagger doing something besides losing to Sheamus for a change. Much like Santino below, I miss the days when Jack Swagger was looked upon as a legitimate wrestler and not just a glorified jobber. While Swagger's World Title run wasn't the stuff legends are made of, it wasn't exactly a complete failure, in my opinion. I mean, just look at the two wrestlers he feuded with during his title run: Rey Mysterio and Big Show - undersized and oversized competition. A mat-based wrestler liked Swagger really could have benefited from someone equal to his size and his talent. As for this match, it was just as good as I'd figured it'd be from the talent of the two wrestlers involved. The finish was kind of wonky though, but I liked it. I expect there to be ramifications coming from it in the coming weeks.

Y2J: 'Jericho wept.' - John 11:35. How awesome was that!? I never know what to expect from Chris Jericho, but I certainly didn't expect that. Like I said, Jericho knows how to surprise us and keep us entertained.

Cena/Kane/Ryder: Have I mentioned how much I love this incarnation of Kane? I love how WWE is treating him even more! He is basically feuding with two of WWE's most popular babyfaces and he's single-handedly destroying them both. I don't expect this to last too much longer before they eventually gain the upper-hand, but for now I love it. With as psychologically stirring as this rivalry has been, I'm almost to the point where I don't even care about Cena and The Rock anymore. Almost.

WHAT I HATED:
Embrace The Hate: Wow. What a contrived way for WWE to get us to stop hating Cena - by insinuating that the reason we hate Cena is because we really hate ourselves. No. We hate Cena because we love wrestling and Cena is almost single-handedly destroying it. But nice try, WWE. I'm sure somebody somewhere bought that for some reason. But not me. You can't bullshit a bullshitter.

Sheamus/Santino vs Mahal/Barrett: I just happened to dust off an old DVD recording of RAW I wrote a couple years back where Santino Marella was not only a legitimate wrestler, but also a heel - and a pretty good heel at that. I actually like Santino as a babyface, but I miss the days when he wasn't just comic relief. Hopefully a match involving three legitimate wrestlers will put him back in the wrestling game.

Brodus Clay: What the fuck? WWE has a legitimate oppotunity to create a monster heel and capitalize on the months of build up and anticipation that we have endured and they ruin with... that? After that public disgrace, I was happier to see Curt Hawkins on RAW than anything dealing with Brodus Clay. And no, I did not see that coming. I wish I didn't see it at all.

QUOTE OF THE NIGHT: "I'm not Little Jimmy. I'm Big Johnny." - John Laurinaitis
That might be the best line John Laurinaitis has ever delivered in his life - well, at least on-screen. I don't know about the rest of you all, but I'm really warming up to Mr. Excitement as the RAW GM. My one criticism is his gravelly voice, but that's not something he's doing wrong - it's just his regular voice. I'm sure playing off of CM Punk and Triple H has had a lot to do with how much he's grown in this short period of time. I could see him playing the 'evil boss' role for the long run.

Knee-Jerk Reaction (RAW 01/02/12)

2012-01-02T22:14:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year! I think WWE is starting 2012 off correctly. We're all looking forward towards the Punk vs Ziggler WWE Championship match. We're all wondering exactly how the Cena & Kane storyline will play out. And I know we're wondering who the 'It Begins' person is. Well, tonight's the night. I'm going on record and saying it is not Chris Jericho. Other than that, I have no idea. But I'm anxious to find out.

WHAT I LIKED:
Bryan vs Rhodes: What a difference a year makes, eh? Who would have thought Daniel Bryan would be the World Heavyweight Champion at the beginning of 2012? Last year at this time Daniel Bryan was well on his way to being left off the card of Wrestlemania XXVII. Cody Rhodes is a different story. I knew full well he'd be where he is right now. I've known it since Cody was in Legacy. The two of them being in the first match of 2012, and it being a Champion vs Champion match, is a great omen of what's to come for this year.

Punk vs Ziggler: I don't even have to comment of the match itself. If it's between these two wrestlers, it's gonna be awesome. No doubt about it. I actually liked the finish to the match. I usually hate these kind of finishes to title matches. But maybe since it's not a PPV match, I'm okay with it. Plus, there's always the fact that since Ziggler has beaten Punk once again, we're promised at least one more rematch. I even liked John Laurinaitis' interference. He played it off very well. Very Austin/Vince-like rivalry developing between these two.

The End of the World: Fuckballs, it was Jericho! I should have guessed. I mean, if there's one person in pro-wrestling who not only knows how to make a return, but also knows how to constantly re-invent himself, it's Chris Jericho. Apparently, he's come back this time as a babyface. Not just any babyface, but an annoying one. That was classic Chris Jericho. He always keeps you guessing. After all of those doom & gloom, apocalyptic messages, he comes out with the biggest smile on his face, happy as happy can be, rouses the crowd into a complete frenzy and then he just leaves. Who does that? Jericho, that's who. I'm not convinced he's come back as a babyface. Me thinks this is something much more sinister.

KANE!!!: That was better than I could have hoped for. When WWE really puts their mind to something, they know how to make even the most simplest of segments really interesting. Fair play to Zack Ryder for really playing scared while Kane was 'dragging him into the abyss'. I don't know how this rendition of Kane fits in with the philosophical one from last week, though. But hey, who's to say a person can't be philosophical and evil at the same time? This new Kane just continues to amaze me. I can't wait to see more. Hopefully he isn't destroyed by SUPERCENA. That would suck.

WHAT I HATED:
Opening Segment: Yes, in my opening statement I said I'm looking forward to seeing how this all plays out between Kane & Cena. Aside from the last couple minutes of this segment, it had nothing to do with Kane vs Cena. It was just John Cena, once again, begging for the audience to like him. They say that whatever you do to start the year, that's what you'll be doing all year long. If that's true, we have a year full of Cena being in denial about people not liking him to look forward to. Yay?

Barrett vs Marella: I was ready to put this in the LIKE category because of Wade Barrett, who has been amazing over the past couple months. I have him penciled in as a favorite to win the Royal Rumble. Not the favorite, a favorite. But then they had to ruin it with Santino Marella. I like Santino as a comic character, and I admit that I LOL'ed at his 'Choo-choo train' comment, but I think comic characters should kept away from the serious ones.

Sheamus/Miz/Truth: I feel like this segment looked better on paper. The execution was just a little off. Kudos to Miz for taking the beating for the second consecutive week. I'm fine with the Miz vs R-Truth storyline. I'm fine with Truth edict of attacking Miz every week. I even kind of liked Truth 'stalking' Miz backstage. I just wanna know why they had to bring Sheamus into this. I guess Sheamus has to do something, but having him be the third wheel was just wasteful. I'd have rather seen him beat Jack Swagger for 975th time. I think WWE is just keeping Sheamus safe so that he's around for the Royal Rumble. He's a favorite to win it as well.

Divas Tag: Are we back to these four again? I thought that's why Pinup Strong was formed, so we wouldn't have to watch these four waste valuable time. I did like the costumes the Bella Sluts were wearing. And that was a near-perfect moonsault that Eve pulled off. Anybody else notice that one of the Bellas almost forgot to do 'Twin Magic'? I mean, that's the only significant move they have and she almost forgot to do it. And don't get started on the roll-up. What the hell was that? Please come back soon, Kharma.

QUOTE OF THE NIGHT: "You know, Vickie Guerrero is probably responsible for that huge head of Dolph Ziggler. All she does all do is pipe out of her mouth..." - Jerry Lawler

So much for that PG era, eh? Obviously, Lawler didn't say this with any sexual connotation, but that doesn't make it any less hilarious. In all seriousness though, I think Vickie Guerrero is responsible for Dolph Ziggler's success. Not all of it, of course, as Dolph does all of the in-ring work. But Vickie's presence definitely got him over. She's amazing as a heel manager. People love to hate her and by proxy whichever wrestler(s) she happens to be managing. I do think that Dolph could have gotten over on his own eventually, but Vickie sped up the process.

Knee-Jerk Reaction (RAW 12/26/11)

2011-12-26T22:22:00.000-06:00

CHICAGO! I missed you. Good things happen in Chicago because the fans are amazing! I know WWE doesn't have a home base like TNA does with Orlando or ECW did with Philly, but if ever they chose to select a 'home field', it'd have to be Chicago. No other city gets as amped up for pro-wrestling. I know its not a PPV tonight, but please give these awesome fans (and by proxy, the fans at home) something good to cheer about. End 2011 on a good note.

WHAT I LIKED:
Opening Segment: Capitalizing on Punk's popularity in his hometown was a neat touch, but nothing that hasn't been done before. Laurinaitis' edict of giving Punk the night off, was obviously a red herring. No way that would go over well with the home crowd. The opposite isn't too appealing either. Punk wrestling 3 matches in one night seems good on paper, but I doubt the opponents will be anyone legitimate. At least not the first two. The third opponent will probably be more of a threat but since they added a fourth match against Laurinaitis himself, I'm not expecting anything more than a go-home happy match for the crowd.

Rhodes vs Booker: Much better outing than the match at TLC. I was hoping the crowd would start a 'You Still Got It' chant for Booker T. But then again, Booker hasn't been retired for that long. I'm actually glad they allowed Booker to defeat Cody Rhodes cleanly. It sends a message that Cody is good, but he's not ready for the main-event just yet. That's exactly how I feel about Cody. He will make it to the main-event eventually - he's too talented not to - but he still has a bit of work to do. I wonder if Cody using Goldust's move (as well as Booker T being Goldust's former tag team partner) are signs that Goldust will get his request to face Cody at Wrestlemania XXVIII. I wouldn't be too against that, especially if they integrate Dusty Rhodes into the storyline.

R-Truth: I forgot about him during the time he was gone. Not so much forgot about him, I just didn't give him much thought. I'm glad he's back and I'm even more glad that he kept his 'crazy' gimmick. It's gonna take some time for the audience to assess that he's a babyface again - mostly because he was so much fun as a heel. If WWE were smart, they'd make him a tweener. His gimmick just calls for a tweener role.

Gauntlet Match: I figured Jack Swagger would be a part of the Gauntlet match. I wasn't expecting Dolph Ziggler to be the second entrant, though. I figured WWE thought more of Dolph than to make him the second entrant. That's always an automatic loss. For some odd reason, two/three fall matches always seem to make it to the final fall. I don't think I've ever seen a Gauntlet match end before the final competitor wrestles. I've never seen a 2-out-of-3 falls match end on the second fall. I've never seen a 3 Stages of Hell match only get to the second stage of hell. It's almost like these are scripted... Well, look at that. It's a first time for everything. Consider my foot firmly in my mouth. I'll do it proudly too because this means WWE does think more of Ziggler than just being a toss-away in a gauntlet match. Should be an amazing match next week for the WWE Championship.

WHAT I HATED:
Mixed Tag: Are there any worse words in the WWE lexicon other than 'mixed tag'? It just means that the male wrestlers will be held back by the divas. Natalya isn't too bad on her own, but Eve as an opponent negates Natalya. In my opinion, Tyson Kidd vs Zack Ryder would be a pretty awesome match to see. If they had a good five minutes in the ring, they could probably hold a decent match. Ryder isn't the best in-ring competitor, but Kidd could make him look like a star. I never understood why WWE soured on Tyson Kidd. I think it had more to do with DH Smith and Kidd was just an innocent bystander. If nothing else, his appearance on RAW should keep him in the minds of the casual fans and hopefully WWE brass. He's too good a talent to be forgotten about.

Cena's Promo: Wasn't he supposed to be calling out Kane? He spent the first five minutes of his promo time sucking Chicago's dick and begging for them to like him.

The Miz: 2011 really was 'The Year of The Miz'. Well, the first half of it was anyway. In the second half, he kind of tailed off. He was reduced to doing Subway promos and jobbing to The Rock & Cena. I hope better things are in store in 2012 for The Miz.

Big Show vs Otunga: Really? There was no way this match was going to be exciting. Why would you add a stipulation to limit the already limited wrestling ability of a slow wrestler? I never thought I'd say this, but thank god Mark Henry showed up to make it interesting.

Alberto Del Rio: How awesome is Ricardo Rodriguez? He's hilarious without even trying. Unfortunately, he was the best part of this otherwise wasted segment. The crowd couldn't have cared less for Del Rio or his cries of pain. Bringing out the Bella Sluts didn't make it any better. I guess Del Rio's injury means he won't be able to attempt a back-to-back Royal Rumble win.

PUSH:
Kane/Cena: I haven't had a PUSH category in a while. I mostly put this here because, much like Cena, I don't know what to make of all of this. I don't know what to make of Kane. On one hand, I'm glad that they didn't make him come back as a monster heel because it would have ruined all the growth he's experienced over the past 10 or so years. I know a lot of fans wanted him to go back to how he was before with the mask, but moving forward by going back isn't moving forward at all. On the other hand, I didn't want him to attempt to be some type of intellectual. I know Kane is smart - well, Glen Jacobs is smart. He has a political blog online that I've read before. He's not just a dumb jock. But I don't think that's going to play well in WWE. Wrestling fans aren't the most educated of people in the world. I include myself in that statement. Sure, there are some educated wrestling fans, but the majority are not. I don't think anyone would disagree with that. When you have 15,000+ fans in one arena, the more uneducated, drunk, bloodthirsty of us are going to be the loudest voice. They're not going to want to sit back and listen to Kane deliver a soliloquy. As for the Kane/Cena storyline, I do like that its not just a 'beatdown' story. I like that Kane has a deeper motive for attacking Cena other than just being a bully heel. I'm interested in where WWE is going with this. Added with the Roddy Piper segment, it looks like a heel turn, but I'm not counting on that. I'm hoping for it, but I'm not counting on it.

Knee-Jerk Reaction (RAW 12/19/11)

2011-12-19T22:13:00.000-06:00

After a fun PPV last night with some very interesting developments, I'm eager if not giddy to see where WWE goes from here. I hope they have some reference or continuation from Daniel Bryan's World Title win today and they don't wait 'til Smackdown on Friday because odds are, I won't be able to watch it. I also hope they have a continuation on that whole 'No John Cena' storyline. I feel that storyline has legs...

WHAT I LIKED:
THE Opening Segment: Every episode of RAW, Smackdown and each PPv should open just like this. With three talented wrestlers holding the three top titles in WWE. They can even include Cody Rhodes in the mix, except that he's a heel. I was so proud to see those three guys standing atop of the mountain. It feels like everything I've blogged and complained about wasn't for naught. I know I've done nothing significant, but I think that together all us wrestling smarks helped to create a change in WWE. I don't know how long it'll last, but I'll enjoy it while its here. I am a little disappointed in Philadelphia, though. I've always put that city on the top of the 'Best Cities of Pro-Wrestling' list. They gave a little due to Ryder, Bryan and Punk, but not near as much as they deserve.

Orton vs Barrett: Good match. Perfect ending. I was afraid that they'd have Orton win the match cleanly over Barrett, effectively ending this rivalry too soon. I'm happy to see the DQ win for Randy and the post-match activities from Wade. I'm glad this rivalry will continue because it means we won't have a Christian 'two-day title run' situation for Daniel Bryan. At least not from Orton. You never know what WWE has up their sleeves. If they thought the IWC was outraged about Christian, we'd burn down Titan Towers if they did the same to Daniel Bryan. Anyway, like I said, I'm happy to see the continuation of Orton vs Barrett. It's doing wonders for Barrett and Orton isn't losing any ground in making Barrett look good.

Alicia Fox!!!: Wow. She beat Beth Phoenix and actually looked pretty good doing it. I've said in the past that I liked Fox's attitude and intensity in the ring and it showed tonight. I think she was a little too rough, as that sidewalk slam and subsequent leg drop looked like it really hurt. But if Beth is going to be a physical in-ring competitor, she's got to be willing to take what she dishes out. Not a bad showing from Alicia Fox. I could have done without the mini-promo, though.

Primo & Epico vs The Usos: I loved that tribal dance from The Usos. Not because I like tribal dances or even understand the rituals, but because it shows some growth for these guys and the WWE is putting some effort into the tag division. I think right now these two teams are the only two other tag teams in WWE, so its slim pickings for opponents for AirBoom. However, I think both of these teams have potential if WWE gives them the chance to succeed. So far, so good. I only wish the Philly crowd were more into this match. But to be fair, I don't think they knew who the babyfaces or heels were.

Big Show: He did a really good job at showing how conflicted he was over Daniel Bryan cashing in MITB against him. I liked Josh Mathews instigating the point about Big Show's title lasting only 45 seconds - even though it did not. Regardless, I'm anxious to see how Big Show responds.

Six-Man Tag Match: Love the entrances through the crowd. I even loved Micheal Cole's ranting throughout it. I loved that John Cena wasn't involved in this match. I loved that it involved six young-to-relatively-young wrestlers that can actually wrestle. You know what I loved best about this match, though? It involved Dolph Ziggler in the main event. Sure, his opponent from last night Zack Ryder was in the match as well, and he's a way away from the main event. But this could be a crossover for Ziggler to eventually feud with CM Punk. Who wouldn't want to see that? I don't why WWE has finally decided to listen to the outcries of the IWC and I don't want to know why. I just want to enjoy it while I can. This is the only Christmas gift I will ever need.

WHAT I HATED:
Sheamus vs Jinder Mahal: Why have a return match if its just going to end the same way as the first - basically a squash. They went through the whole song & dance of recapping what transpired on RAW last week and showing what happened on Smackdown, just for this match to be about two minutes long. What a waste of time.

Cena/Henry/Kane: Can Cena deliver a promo without the jokes? I just roll my eyes and wait for him to get to point. It was the usual 'If you want some...' promo that he always gives. I don't know why Mark Henry was involved. I thought they'd have Kane 'injure' Mark Henry to take him off television while he recuperates from the legitimate injury he sustained while facing Cena last week, but no. I give Philly a reprieve for the 'Sexual Chocolate' chant. I hate that I missed Kane's return last week. I always enjoy Cena being laid out. I don't know where they're going with this Kane/Cena storyline, but I can't imagine it'd end well for Kane. Cena is just gonna SUPERFACE all over his return push. How comical and poignant was it to see those two little girls chanting 'Cena' while he was laid out on the announce table. Those are your fans, Cena. Two little girls.

Santino vs Rhodes: Where is the competition? Don't get me wrong, I liked Rhodes' feud with Booker T, but he was never going to be more than a one PPV feud and he wasn't a legitimate threat to the Intercontinental Championship. Santino Marella might be less of a threat than Booker T was. I hope someone rises to the challenge and faces Cody Rhodes on Smackdown. The only problem is that there are no young, decent babyfaces for Cody to feud with. I don't know if Justin Gabriel is an option to face Cody, but I wouldn't mind seeing if he's up to the challenge.

Prophetless: Is that even a word? My auto-correct doesn't seem to think so. Regardless, I am not going to break this video down and attempt to figure out who this may or may not signify. I know what I've been told and I'll wait to see. No more. No less.

QUOTE OF THE NIGHT: "I want him to ride in on an elephant." - Micheal Cole (in reference to Jinder Mahal)
Racist much, Cole? I know that some people might think that this was not a racist statement, but think about this: Would he ever have said this about John Cena? Or CM Punk? Or any other wrestler on the WWE roster? No. He said it because Jinder Mahal is Indian and he attributed that comment to his race and only his race. I wonder if Micheal Cole even knows that Jinder Mahal is actually Canadian. Did you even know that?

My Top Ten Pet Peeves in Pro-Wrestling, Part Three

2011-12-19T16:52:00.000-06:00

Continuing on from the first two parts of the series, here are my next two top pet peeves of pro-wrestling...

6. The BIG man fetish

WWE has gone against their natural grain over the past couple months, as an asserted effort seems to have been made to push the smaller, talented superstars. I mean, look at all the current champions in the company right now:

CM Punk - 6ft 2in, 218lbs.
Daniel Bryan - 5ft 10in, 210lbs.
Zack Ryder - 6ft 2in, 214lbs.
Cody Rhodes - 6ft 2in, 215lbs.
Evan Bourne - 5ft 9in, 165lbs.
Kofi Kingston - 6ft, 212lbs.

None of these guys weigh more than 220lbs, the usual cut-off point for heavyweights. Kudos to WWE for giving the smaller guys a chance, but no one can doubt that this is not the rule for WWE and co., this is the exception.

WWE has a long, storied history of bringing in and pushing the bigger guys who have little to no talent, rather than pushing the smaller guys who work their asses off. I'm not talking about guys like Undertaker, Kane, Big Show, Andre' and even Mark Henry, who has proved he was well worth the wait. I'm talking about the big guys that WWE tried like hell to push down our throats, only for them to end up as epic failures. BIG men like The Great Khali, Giant Gonzales, Viscera/Mabel/Big Daddy V, Snitsky, Nathan Jones, Vader and Umaga. Albeit, I think Umaga worked for a little while, but only because of his manager. Once WWE took Estrada away, it exposed Umaga to be pretty bad on his own. None of those guys will have a lasting impact in WWE or professional wrestling history. They tried, they failed and eventually WWE moved on. No harm, no foul, right?

Wrong. Because there's another side of this equation that even worse than the failures - the successes. Every now and again, not only does WWE bring in the BIG guys who really can't wrestle, but they actually succeed and we are forced to watch them destroy the legacy of the BIG men who actually deserve to be in the ring. I'm talking about people like Batista, Lashley, Rikishi and yes, even Brock Lesnar. Now, Lesnar could wrestle and he deserved to be at the top of the WWE, but I doubt Vince cared. That was nothing more than icing on the cake. If Brock was as bad in the ring as John Cena is now, he still would have pushed him just as hard as he did. Some of that statement even applies to Bobby Lashley. Batista is the main wrestler I took offense to. Batista was slow and almost machine-like in the ring, but dammit if Vince didn't push the hell out of him. Unfortunately, he developed a following and gained success off of being nothing but a BIG guy. Perhaps the worst thing about a guy like Batista is that he actually thinks he was respected for his wrestling ability. He actually spoke out today to criticize WWE for having Daniel Bryan as World Champion, not realizing that for Bryan's lack of size, he's got more talent in his pinky finger than Batista has altogether.

5. Gimmicks Gone Too Far

I understand that the gimmick was what professional wrestling was built upon. Some of these gimmicks are time-tested and are responsible for some of the best that wresting has ever had to offer. I mean, what would Undertaker be without his 'Deadman' gimmick? Or the Ultimate Warrior? Even Hulk Hogan. Those were gimmicks that needed to happen. They defined wrestling. but for every good gimmick, you had a bad one. Like Zeus or Isaac Yankem or The Mountie. In fact, I'm sure if you thought about it, you'd realize that there are many more bad gimmicks than good ones.

These days, the gimmicks don't just extend to wrestlers, they breach out to television shows and pay-per-views. Those are the gimmicks I'm really talking about.

This past Monday's RAW was a three-hour RAW broadcast for the annual Slammy Awards. Quick, name one person who won a slammy three years ago. Hard to think of it, isn't it? Because these are useless awards and the entire awards ceremony is a useless gimmick, wasting a three hour segment of television and my life in general. If you don't believe me, ask Dennis Miller. I bet he'd never come back to host the Slammy's in his life. If you noticed, I did not do a KJR for the Slammy Awards, even though I could have watched RAW that night. I chose not to because I knew it would be a huge waste of time and energy. And based on some of the stuff I heard that occurred on that night (i.e. Ziggler stole Ryder's slammy, Laurinaitis accepted on Punk's behalf), I think I was right. Any wrestler worth their salt shouldn't care for a Slammy Award anyway. There is only one type of award in wrestling - the championship belts.

But it doesn't just stop there. Smackdown has at least one 'Beat The Clock' episode each year. The gimmick seems fun on paper, but when you think about it, all they are really doing is making you happy to see shorter matches as the program progresses. How is that fun? RAW has the RAW Roulette show every year, where wrestlers spin the wheel to see what type of match they will have. Again, on paper that seems fun. However, the fact that they have so many different gimmick matches that they can put them on a wheel is disturbing. Have you ever seen the match types on that wheel?

What reason does WWE have to use all of those matches? And if they were so important, why don't ever use any of them, aside from that one night?

And then you have the gimmick PPVs. I hate gimmick PPVs with a passion. This past PPV: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, is a shining example. TLC started with a great tradition. Edge & Christian, The Hardy Boyz and The Dudleys had such epic TLC matches that WWE wanted to capitalize on the fun. The match became a regular in the lexicon of WWE matches, and the became a PPV centered around one match. That's right, an entire event centered around one match. That's fine for events like Royal Rumble because the match itself is a staple of wrestling tradition and it begins and ends there. There are no mini-Rumble matches. (Although there was a Divas Royal Rumble one year.) But not with TLC. No, almost every match has to have a little bit of the TLC flair. Tables matches. Ladder matches. Chairs matches. Who the fuck came up with a Chairs match? Hell, with the way steel chairs are used in WWE, almost every match is a Chairs match. Then this PPV had to take it just one step further and introduce a Sledgehammer Ladder match. I can't even imagine where they'll go from here.

Knee-Jerk Reaction (TLC 2011)

2011-12-18T22:05:00.000-06:00

"The one PPV in WWE where everything is legal... "

That's a line Micheal Cole used to describe this PPV. They also use that line to promote Extreme Rules. It's just like the whole Elimination Chamber vs Hell In A Cell debacle. They have to figure which structure is the 'most ominous obstacle'. My point is that WWE recycles things a lot and then acts like they don't realize it - which is one of the pet peeves I have yet to get to in the ongoing series, which should be updated tomorrow. I am looking forward to this PPV tonight, however, because chances are there will be no John Cena involved. I know that's probably improbable, but I did say chances...

Zack Ryder def. Dolph Ziggler, becoming the new United States Champion:
WHAT I LIKED: Like Zack Ryder or not, you have to love how he got himself over and how the crowd has responded to him. He went from having a small following online to perhaps being more popular than John Cena himself - so much so, that Cena has to use him to get a rub. Awesome! Did you hear the reaction from the crowd when Ryder won the match? That was amazing. Ryder deserves it for a lot of hard work to make the people in the WWE offices pay attention to him. Imagine where he could be right now if they'd only cared about him a year ago?
WHAT I HATED: I'm never happy to see a talent like Ziggler lose, but if WWE is smart, they'd push him hard as a potential Royal Rumble winner. They'd have him be the Alberto Del Rio from last year. Ziggler is perhaps the best young talent WWE has and that's saying something, considering the rises of Barrett, Rhodes, Ryder and others. I put this in the HATED category because WWE isn't good at doing what's best for them. So, you never really know how they're going to have Ziggler rebound from this loss, if at all. For now, I have to be skeptical.

AirBoom def. Primo & Epico, retaining the WWE Tag Team Champions:
WHAT I LIKED: The match itself was a solid tag team contest. I really hate that I can't watch Smackdown during the week because this was my first time ever seeing Epico wrestle, let alone team with Primo. They make a good team. If WWE sticks with them, they could become a pretty decent tandem - and definite contenders for the Tag Team Titles.
WHAT I HATED: Welcome back, Evan Bourne. I think its stupid that anyone gets suspended for using synthetic marijuana, but rules are rules. And because he broke that rule, I felt that Evan Bourne should have lost the Tag Team Title. It's not fair to Kofi Kingston, but I know if Evan had been a singles title-holder he would have lost his return match. Also, I think I've mentioned before that impromptu PPV matches is a pet peeve of mine. Not on the top ten list, but pretty damn close.\

Randy Orton def. Wade Barrett in a Tables Match
WHAT I LIKED: I like being surprised, sort of. I figured that since this was a Tables Match and Orton couldn't be pinned or made to submit, that Barrett would win this one easy. I forgot about the rule of SUPERFACES: one of them has to win. Cena isn't competing tonight and neither is SUPERFACE-In-Training, Sheamus. Of course, Randy Orton was going to win. The good thing is that the same laws apply to Barrett in this match that I figure would apply to Orton, he didn't get pinned and he didn't submit. That usually means that this rivalry will continue. That's a good thing.
WHAT I HATED: Tables matches in general are laughable because they're so easy to win, if you think about it. Look at what Orton did with the RKO through the table. You just have to lull your opponent into jumping off of the turnbuckle and then move. Simple. So simple that Orton could have done the exact thing 5 minutes earlier when Barrett was going to jump off of the apron. Instead, Orton rolled off the table before Barrett could jump. The announcers, who usually try to spin mistakes in their favor, even wondered why Orton would move.

Beth Phoenix def. Kelly Kelly, retaining the Divas Championship:
WHAT I LIKED: Three words: Leopard. Print. Panties. Good job, Beth! Sexy!
WHAT I HATED: Divas Match + Impromptu Match = a match I was never going to like. I don't know if anyone else saw it, but when Beth was standing on Kelly's back, Kelly moved forward and Beth's heels dug into Kelly's lower back. Kelly's usual fake yelling turned into a legitimate scream. She was really in pain. I have to give Kelly credit for enduring that. It looked bad.

Cody Rhodes vs. Booker T ends in No Decision:
WHAT I LIKED: ...
WHAT I HATED: I don't which one is more annoying, impromptu matches forming out of nowhere or scheduled matches being canceled. I was actually looking forward to this match. I wanted to see if Booker still had it. Announcers being involved in storylines/matches is actually one of my top ten pet peeves. I won't say which number it clocks in at, though. I'll wait until I get there in the series. This match is different though because I don't see Booker as an announcer. He's more of a wrestler who announces. I know that he's said that he is at the end of his career, but I don't know that I believe him.

Triple H def. Kevin Nash:
WHAT I LIKED: Every time Kevin Nash takes a step I think his knee is going to blow out. WWE must've been really confident that Nash's knees would hold up because they had no qualms about attacking them. To Nash's credit, they held up well. The same goes for Triple H. For two old wounded dogs, this was a pretty physical contest. But it if wasn't physical, I don't think anyone would have cared about it. There hasn't been much interest in this match since Triple H went out with injury. So, a brutal match was just what was needed.
WHAT I HATED: Surprisingly enough, there was nothing I hated about this match. I expected this portion of the KJR to be the most extensive, but I guess not.

Sheamus def. Jack Swagger:
WHAT I LIKED: As much as I would like to HATE this match, I just can't. Sure, its yet another impromtu match in this PPV (I count 3 so far), but I really like both of these wrestlers. Imagine what WWE could have done if they'd actually built these guys up to face each other instead of a match instantly materializing over a stupid 'Santa Clause' sketch.
WHAT I HATED: See above.

Big Show def. Mark Henry, winning the World Heavyweight Championship:
WHAT I LIKED: There's a joke in there somewhere about this being a 'heavyweight' title match. Didn't I just say I liked being surprised? Well, you can probably imagine how I feel now. First of all, I did not expect Big Show to beat Mark Henry. Henry has been a great heel champion, whether you like him or not. There was no reason for Big Show to win the title. But that doesn't even matter anymore because DANIEL BRYAN IS THE NEW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION!!! I'm sure there's a different joke about 'heavyweight' in there... one that Vince wouldn't like at all. I thought I would mark out over Daniel Bryan's World Title win, but I just laughed uncontrollably. It was too funny. He pretty much did the exact same thing he did when he first cashed it in and Teddy Long reversed it. I hope they turn Daniel Bryan into a heel. I really do. I think he'd be so much better as a heel and he'd get over better as well.
WHAT I HATED: I love Daniel Bryan and I'm so happy he won the World Title, but I really wish he had waited 'til Wrestlemania like he said he would. That would have put him in a special place amongst all of the MITB winners. But what I really hated about Daniel Bryan's win was that WWE just changed the freaking rules again. (And yes, that is a major pet peeve of mine.) The rules for cashing in MITB before was that you had to wait until the opponent could stand and put up some type of fight, even if it wasn't much at all. Instead, Daniel Bryan just pinned Big Show when he was already down. The referee didn't even have time to hand the briefcase to the timekeeper. WWE needs to set rules for the MITB winners and honor them.

Cody Rhodes def. Booker T, retaining the Intercontinental Championship:
WHAT I LIKED: I thought for sure that this match would not happen. Just see the first attempt I had at recapping it. But I like how WWE booked this match. Having Cody attack Booker T twice added an element of intensity to this match.
WHAT I HATED: However, for all of the added intensity, this match kind of sucked. I don't know if it was because Booker was playing the disoriented/injured card or because he was just out of his comfort zone, but he didn't look right and because of it, Cody Rhodes didn't look good either. I wonder if the finish was supposed to be like that because it looked like it was botched. I guess Booker T doesn't still have it. Now, I can look at him as an announcer.

CM Punk def. The Miz & Alberto Del Rio, retaining the WWE Championship:
WHAT I LIKED: I fell in love with Alberto Del Rio all over again in this match. He really brought some intensity. Plus, I love that they had him attack Punk while he was already down after going through the table. I've always wondered why no one else has ever done that. I mean, they get back up anyway, so why not? This was a pretty fun match. I actually liked the handcuffs coming into play. Punk unscrewing the turnbuckle to get free was interesting to see because in a 'sport' where its almost all about fisticuffs, it's nice to see smarts coming into play. I thought the same thing when Del Rio locked Cena out of the Hell In A Cell match.
WHAT I HATED: Wow, those are some flimsy ladders. It took Punk only one kick to break the metal connector on the ladder. I'm surprised more people haven't been hurt using those things.

Surprise seemed to be a running theme in this PPV. All the surprise impromptu matches. The surprisingly brutal match between Nash and HHH. Two surprising new World Heavyweight Champions. And perhaps the biggest surprise of all, there was actually no John Cena! No promos, no interference, no Special Guest referee - which I would have hated by the way. Nothing at all. And it turns out, it was actually a decent PPV. See Vince, you actually don't need John Cena if you take time to build up your other wrestlers. Fire him. Fire him right now.

I'm just kidding. Or am I...?

My Top Ten Pet Peeves in Pro-Wrestling, Part Two

2011-12-10T16:27:00.001-06:00

Continuing on from part one of the series, here are my next two top pet peeves of pro-wrestling...

8. Special Privileges for Main-Event Talent

There is a theory in the world called The Law of Averages. Basically, it means that the outcomes of random events will eventually balance itself out. A streak of bad luck will eventually turn good. Now, this theory isn't exactly scientific, its more of a statistical probability or wishful thinking. If you flip a coin 100 times, it's not going to land on heads and tails an equal 50 times, but the number will almost always end closer to a 60-40 split than 90-10. What does the law of averages have to do with pro-wrestling? I'll tell you.

WWE has what they call a Wellness Policy that cracks down on the wrestlers who use illegal drugs. Since its inception, multiple wrestlers have been suspended and/or fired for their use of such illegal drugs. The full list of WWE wrestlers who have violated the Wellness Policy as of today are:

» Afa Anoa'i, Jr. - Suspended for 30 days on March 20, 2008
» Andy Leavine - Suspended for 30 days in August 2011
» Balls Mahoney - Suspended for 30 days in September 2006
» Booker T - Suspended for 30 days in 2007
» Booker T - Suspended for 60 days on August 30, 2007
» Carlito - Contract terminated on May 21, 2010
» Charlie Haas - Suspended for 30 days on August 30, 2007
» Chavo Guerrero - Suspended for 30 days in 2006 or 2007
» Chavo Guerrero - Suspended for 60 days on August 30, 2007
» Chris Kay - Suspended for 30 days in 2007
» Chris Kay - Suspended for 60 days in April 2007
» Chris Masters - Suspended for 30 days on August 30, 2007
» Chris Masters - Suspended for 60 days on November 2, 2007
» Darren Young - Suspended for 30 days on October 5, 2011
» Derrick Neikirk - Suspended for 30 days on January 15, 2008
» DH Smith - Suspended for 30 days on November 2, 2007
» Dolph Ziggler - Suspended for 30 days on October 10, 2008
» Drew Hankinson - Suspended for 30 days in October 2006
» Edge - Suspended for 30 days on August 30, 2007
» Evan Bourne - Suspended for 30 days on November 1, 2011
» Funaki - Suspended for 30 days on August 30, 2007
» Gregory Helms - Suspended for 30 days on August 30, 2007
» Heath Slater - Suspended for 30 days on October 17, 2011
» Jeff Hardy - Suspended for 30 days in July 2007
» Jeff Hardy - Suspended for 60 days on March 11, 2008
» Jimmy Wang Yang - Suspended for 30 days on June 9, 2008
» John Morrison - Suspended for 30 days on August 30, 2007
» Kid Kash - Suspended for 30 days in July 2006
» Kurt Angle - Suspended for 30 days in June or July 2006
» Mike Chioda - Suspended for 30 days on August 15, 2011
» Mr. Kennedy - Suspended for 30 days on August 30, 2007
» Neil Bzibziak - Suspended for 30 days on January 15, 2008
» Randy Orton - Suspended for 30 days in August 2006
» Rene Dupree - Suspended for 30 days in June 2006
» Rene Dupree - Suspended for 60 days in February 2007
» Rey Mysterio - Suspended for 30 days on August 27, 2009
» Rob Van Dam - Suspended for 30 days in July 2006
» R-Truth - Suspended for 30 days on November 22, 2011
» Ryan O'Reilly - Suspended for 30 days in September 2006
» Ryan Reeves - Suspended for 30 days in July 2006
» Sin Cara - Suspended for 30 days on July 18, 2011
» Snitsky - Suspended for 30 days on August 30, 2007
» Test - Suspended for 30 days in February 2007
» Umaga - Suspended for 30 days on August 30, 2007
» Umaga - Contract terminated on June 8, 2009
» William Regal - Suspended for 30 days on August 30, 2007
» William Regal - Suspended for 60 days on May 20, 2008

Booker T, Edge, Kurt Angle, Randy Orton, Rey Mysterio and Rob Van Dam are the only five main-eventers on that list. Five out of thirty-nine. That's only 12%. Pretty damn close to that 90-10 split that is almost statistically impossible. Now, I'm not saying that any particular wrestler has used illegal drugs or not. I'm just saying that I think WWE uses this policy to their own advantage. I've written about this offense before in a blog entitled:WWE Gets Political and So Do I, where in that blog, I show where WWE admits that they "should not be under the purview of the antiquated rules and regulations of State Athletic Commissions" because are sheer entertainment. All that means is that they get to regulate who they enforce their own rules against. I can't see how this could possibly be fair to non-main-event talent. It's their own fault for using the banned substances, but there should be no double standards.

A prime example of this happened only a few weeks ago. Evan Bourne was suspended for thirty days after testing positive for using synthetic marijuana. But Evan Bourne wasn't alone. R-Truth also tested positive for the exact same substance, only he was not immediately suspended. R-Truth is not main-event talent just yet in WWE, but he was booked in a PPV match against two guys who WWE hold in the highest regards, John Cena and The Rock. Because of this match, WWE waited to suspend R-Truth until after the PPV. Does that seem fair to Evan Bourne? He is half of the WWE Tag Team Champions, and was also booked in a PPV match at the time. They just simply took him out pf the 5-on-5 Tag match and inserted someone else into his place. Apparently, the match featuring Cena and The Rock was more important.

7. Ending Storylines Too Soon or Just Forgetting They Ever Existed

I admit this one is a little petty because not everyone has the same feel of when a storyline has more to offer or when it has run its course. So, instead of going over each example from the past, I'll just stick mainly with the most recent, and probably the most prevalent of all the events, CM Punk's amazing storyline this summer.

We all know it well, Punk delivers an award-worthy shoot promo at the end of RAW and it catches the WWE Universe by complete surprise. After a short suspension, Punk receives a title match against John Cena at Summerslam and proceeds to win the WWE Championship. Then, as promised, he leaves WWE as champion. During his time away, Punk makes appearances at Comic-Con, leaves messages on Twitter and does other things away from the WWE spotlight that arouses the Internet Wrestling Community into a tizzy. This was the single most well executed program that WWE has run in years. I was on the edge of my seat. But then, WWE pulled the plug too quickly. Only two weeks after leaving, CM Punk makes a miraculous return. He's signed a new contract and he's back in WWE. Cena receives his rematch for the WWE Title and promptly loses. However, Kevin Nash of all people, attacks Punk after the match and Alberto Del Rio cashes in MITB, to win the WWE Title. I could not believe this. CM Punk was, at that time, the hottest thing going in WWE. And in one fell swoop, they just knocked him right off the pedestal he had earned the right to sit on. Then to make matters worse, as they always do, they involved Punk in a storyline with old, creaky Kevin Nash. Thankfully, they came to their senses and didn't make Punk face Nash, but Triple H instead. Not that Triple H was too much better, but anything was better than Nash. After the match with Triple H, Punk just faded into the background. WWE became all about Triple H, Kevin Nash and John Laurinaitis. They just effectively killed the best thing going for them at the height of it's run so they could put the son-in-law in the spotlight. As difficult as it is to determine timing, I don't think anyone would disagree that CM Punk's run was cut off too soon.

And it doesn't just end there. There are still some parts to the above storyline that I have questions about. For instance...

Why would Kevin Nash break into Triple H's office and send himself a text message? I mean, he could have just paid someone to do it. Or he could have never done it and feigned the text altogether. Or, and this is the best one, he could have still done exactly what he did and never even brought up the text message that wasn't. Either way, it would have had the same result. This was just another storyline that they squashed because they didn't plan it out well enough.

Why hasn't CM Punk still not exacted revenge on Kevin Nash for costing him the WWE Title? Sure, Punk is champion again, so its possible that he's just allowed bygones to be bygones. But come on, this is pro-wrestling - there is no such thing.

Who was the Anonymous RAW General Manager?
What happened to The Conspiracy everyone was talking about?
When did the New Nexus disband?
Who was the 'higher power' controlling the original Nexus?
Why didn't the original Nexus go after WWE Management as they planned?

What secret did Beth Phoenix have against Mickie James when she debuted?
Who raised the briefcase at King of the Ring in 1999?
Who dropped the cinder-block on Steve Austin's head?
Who all knew about the Montreal Incident?

I could go on...

(Part Three of this series will be up on Monday before RAW)

My Top Ten Pet Peeves in Pro-Wrestling, Part One

2011-12-09T13:10:00.001-06:00

I figure it's high time I got back to blogging in general - not just recapping the weekly programs. I thought I'd start off with a blog that I've been promising myself and others I'd do for a while now. These are really pet peeves for WWE, since that's the only company I watch regularly, but I'm sure some of them apply to other companies as well.

Considering the amount of vile I have for these pet peeves, this blog has the propensity to be very long. And I know not everyone has the attention span necessary to read a long blog entry. Because of that, I will split this up into five parts - two pet peeves per entry. The next one will be up tomorrow.

10. Non-Wrestling Divas Wrestling, Divas Wrestling Who Can't Wrestle and Wrestling Divas Being Overlooked

Miss Elizabeth. Did she ever wrestle in a match? I know she was involved in some matches. Maybe she had a wrestling match or two, but I'm sure it was storyline based and not just for the hell of it. Still, she's remembered as one of the best women of wrestling of all time.

I cringe everytime I see Vickie Guerrero in spandex. And not just for the spandex itself. It usually means that she's been booked to compete in a match, and it always means it's gonna be an eyesore. Don't get me wrong, I love Vickie Guerrero. I think she's an excellent heel and an excellent manager. But having her wrestle is a travesty to everyone forced to watch and damning to the words 'professional wrestling' altogether.

This also applies to Divas like Kelly Kelly, who try as they might, can't wrestle to save their lives. Yet, for some reason, Kelly Kelly was actual the Divas Champion earlier this year. That's right. Someone who can't wrestle is a wrestling champion. Pathetic, right? It's even more pathetic when the ballad of Gail Kim is introduced in the story. Gail Kim, an actual female wrestler, was completely ignored by WWE in her second stint with the company, so that they could focus on Kelly and Eve as champions.

It pisses me off when wrestlers like Gail Kim who, in my opinion, isn't any less beautiful or hot than Kelly is left to sit on the sidelines despite her ability to actually produce a watchable match. I would think WWE would want to put their best foot forward by having competitive matches featuring female wrestlers who are both nice to look at and can actually perform. Gail Kim, Natalya and Beth Phoenix fit that bill perfectly. However, WWE chose to ignore them until recently and focus all their attention on Kelly, Eve and the Bella Twins. Thankfully, they've come to their senses and stopped this idiocy. I only wish Gail Kim had stuck around long enough to be featured in this turnaround as well.

9. Changing Traditional Wrestling Rules & Terminology

Speaking of Divas, I hate that name for the female wrestlers of WWE. I hate the name Knockouts for the female wrestlers of TNA. I definitely hate the term Superstars for the male wrestlers of WWE. I don't understand why they can't all be called wrestlers. After all, that is what they do.

Vince McMahon is the main perpetrator of this particular pet peeve. I understand that in pro-wrestling, he is the cock of the walk. But that doesn't give him the right to completely change the landscape that was there before he was. Calling your own wrestlers 'superstars' is one thing. They're under contract with you. They have to go with what you say. But when you try to get rid of the word 'wrestling' altogether, that's just bold. You can call it sports-entertainment all you want, but it will always be wrestling. You can branch out to all types of other media outlets, but there will always be wrestling. It's the foundation that the company was built on and removing that foundation could potentially destroy the whole thing.

PPVs also fall under this category of pet peeves. It seems that every year, WWE pulls out a rotating crop of PPVs. Either the PPVs are switched in the schedule, has its name changed or deleted from the rotation altogether. Nothing bothered me more than the announcement that WWE was set to get rid of the PPV Survivor Series. I mean, this isn't just some random gimmick PPV - it's one of the Big 4. Wrestlemania, Royal Rumble, Summerslam and Survivor Series have been around since I can remember. Survivor Series is the second longest running PPV in pro-wrestling - second only to Wrestlemania. Of course, WWE attributed the removal of Survivor Series to low buyrates. They didn't realize that the reason for low buyrates of PPVs is because they've lost their individuality. PPVs are supposed to be better than an episode of RAW or Smackdown. But lately, aside from a few outliers, they've been about on par with regular weekly programming. Also, WWE has been ignoring the tradition of Survivor Series - the Traditional Survivor Series match itself. Instead of using the time before Survivor Series to build an actual Survivor Series match, they just take a couple of smaller individual feuds and throw them against each other, heels vs babyfaces. In earlier Survivor Series PPVs, the Traditional Survivor Series matches were not only the featured match of the PPV, but they involved the top wrestlers in the company, not the mid-to-lower carders. They've also reduced the number of Traditional Survivor Series matches involved in each PPV. This year and last year, there's only been one, when in almost every year before then there had been two or more.

The announcement to change the Royal Rumble from its traditional 30-man format to a 40-man Royal Rumble match last year got me pretty fired up. 10 more wrestlers in the match is a good thing on paper. It means its harder to win and more wrestlers had a chance to win, right? No, this is scripted wrestling. The winner is determined before the match even begins. The ten extra wrestlers were only added to pad the stats of the main-eventers in the match. And, of course, it was John Cena who benefited from it because he had the most eliminations. Changing the rules of tradition invalidates almost all of the records set in the Royal Rumble. HBK's elimination record, Kane's single match elimination record, Mysterio's length of time record and others were all in jeopardy of being overtaken just because of the change. Thankfully, none of them were, but if they had been, would WWE put an asterisk next to the new records?

Knee-Jerk Reaction (RAW 12/05/11)

2011-12-05T22:10:00.003-06:00

The best laid plans of mice and men sometimes go awry. I know I've been promising to start back recapping Smackdown on Friday nights, and I had every intention of doing so. But it seems like everytime I try to get home in time for Smackdown, something gets in the way. Be it long lines at the supermarket (although, it's my own fault for shopping on Black Friday), or somebody just having to stay late at work (I have to be the last person to leave - I'm the supervisor so I have the keys). It shouldn't be an every Friday ordeal, but so far, so bad. I will continue to try, however. I really miss watching Smackdown...

WHAT I LIKED:
Opening Segment: Before the matches to determine who CM Punk faces at TLC for the WWE Championship have even begun, how amazing are the possibilities? Punk vs Miz? Yes, please! Punk vs Del Rio? Just saw it, but still amazing! Punk vs Ziggler? Hell yeah! Punk vs Ziggler vs Miz vs Del Rio? How can that not be awesome? The best part about it is that Cena won't be a part of it. The set-up for this series of matches might have been drawn out, and the delivery from the larynx of John Laurinaitis may have been boring, but you gotta love the results.

Cena's Reaction: On one hand, I love that the announcers are finally admitting the boos are there for Cena. On the other hand, Jerry Lawler still tries to spin it into Cena's favor by saying, "No matter what the reaction, no one gets a bigger one." That's not true. Have you heard the pops for CM Punk lately?

Laurinaitis' Social Experiment: I found myself breaking out into a Herman Cain-esque slow grin after this match was announced. I think it's awesome. And giving both Cena & Ryder something to fight for was the icing on the cake. Very vindictive. The only thing I don't like about it was Cena & Ryder's reactions to the match itself. What, all of a sudden babyfaces can't wrestle each other? It used to happen all the time. In the SUPERFACE era, however, it's so taboo that the audience boos it. It used to be that the audience wanted to see two of their favorites compete against each other. God forbid that the kiddies have to cheer for both sides. But maybe they were just booing because Cena had to wrestle. Why can't it be like last week when Cena was in the opening segment and wasn't heard from again for the rest of the night?

Contract Signing: Come on, Lawler, tell me that Cena's reactions are better than Punk's these days. I dare you. I've noticed something in all of Punk promos recently. He's just like Steve Austin. Seriously, during Punk's promos just imagine it's Austin talking and see if you don't notice it too. That's a good thing. Austin was a great promo guy. It's a good thing Punk doesn't wrestle like Austin, though, because well... I have to give Del Rio some credit for working on his promos. He stayed stride for stride with Miz & Punk, two of the best in the game today. I don't like it that CM Punk was kept off-screen for almost the entirety of the program, but at least it ended with him on top. And I guess the WWE lexicon just got one phrase bigger: Pier 6 brawl is going to be trending on Twitter and vomited from Micheal Cole's mouth on a nightly basis.

WHAT I HATED:
The Miz vs Randy Orton: Who woulda thunk it that a match with these two wrestlers would go into the HATE category? I didn't hate it as much as I would have if it were a dirty finish for no reason. I understand WWE's thinking to have Orton lose the match via count-out to A) put The Miz in the match for the WWE Title and B) further the rivalry between Orton and Wade Barrett. I just can't bring myself to put a short, dirty match into the LIKE category.

WWE Network: You have got to be kidding me, right? What the fuck? Who would watch this network? Live in-ring action will probably only equate to watching RAW, Smackdown, NXT, Superstars (if that even still exists), and free PPVs. All of which can be seen without the network. The classic shows, while interesting, will not be a big selling point - especially since WWE's target audience could care less about the classics. And then their big selling point is reality television? Legends House? Who would watch that crap? I'm going on record right now and giving the WWE Network less than two years of existence. And I'm being generous with the second year.

Alberto Del Rio vs Daniel Bryan: Before I get to this match, I just have to do something I promised to do. SHENANIGANS! I said that I would call shenanigans from here on out everytime Mark Henry or Big Show competed in a match involving a cage because they completely destroyed a cage last time they faced each other. Mark Henry even ripped the lock off of the cage with his bare hands last time. Why couldn't he do the same thing on Friday night? Now, onto this match, it was just as disappointing as Miz vs Orton, but for good reason again. WWE is putting over Daniel Bryan's injuries from Friday, so of course he was gonna lose this match. Even though I understand the reasons, I can't put a short squash match into the LIKE category.

Look Within: And the plot thickens. These videos are still cliche'. They're still not worth deliberating over. It's still not Chris Jericho. And I still don't care. I'll wait 'til 01/02/12 just like everyone else. Unless this is a return completely out of left field like HBK, I doubt I'll mark out too much.

Zack Ryder vs John Cena: Was it just me, or did neither of them get much of a response during their entrances? I'll be honest, Lawler and Cole pissed me the fuck off during this match - attributing all of Zack Ryder's recent success to John Cena. No, it was people like me and the online community that stood behind Zack Ryder and watched his Youtube videos and chanted for him in the arenas. John Cena didn't give a fuck about Ryder until his popularity got high enough to give Cena a rub. If any wrestler was behind Zack Ryder getting pushed on television, it was CM Punk. Fucking announcers. Fuck you both. I don't even care about the reversal afterwards. Everyone knows Zack Ryder needs a US Title match much more than Cena needs another WWE Championship match. That was just a given. I'm even more pissed off that Cena had the audacity to yell about people in the office not giving Zack Ryder a chance. What the fuck does he know about that? In WWE, John Cena is the rich, entitled 1%. Zack Ryder is the poor, forgotten 99%. Cena has no idea how the other half lives. I guess WWE thinks if they make Cena stand up for the little guy, we'll find it appealing and we'll cheer for him again. Never. Gonna. Happen.

Zack Ryder vs Mark Henry: Don't get me wrong, I love that Zack Ryder won and will get a chance at the US Title. I'm even happier that John Cena had to forfeit his WWE Championship match in order for it to happen. But I don't like it that they pretty much proved that Zack Ryder can't win a match on his own. Or that John Cena used Ryder to once again improve his own dwindling popularity. And just like with the first two matches of the night, while I understand them doing what they had to finally give Zack Ryder his deserved US Title match, I can't bring myself to put a short, dirty match into the LIKE category. Especially not one that included John Cena.

Kevin Nash vs Santino Marella: Really? This match? This is supposed to tune Nash up to face Triple H at TLC? A complete waste of time. I've said it before: if Triple H isn't about to return at that very moment, no one cares about Kevin Nash. WWE missed their opportunity to keep Kevin Nash relevant after they sat on him for 9 months after his huge return at Royal Rumble.

Sheamus vs Dolph Ziggler: In my opinion, Dolph Ziggler was the only contender who truly deserved to wrestle for the WWE Championship. If only one of the possible entrants could have advanced to face CM Punk, I'd rather it had been Ziggler more than anyone else. I understand why WWE wanted to keep Ziggler out of the Championship mix for now. He has to lose the United States Title before moving on to the top tier. Otherwise, the US Title would be in danger of becoming irrelevant like it did when The Miz carried it along with the Unified Tag Team Titles. Albeit, I completely comprehend all of the reasons I just mentioned, I cannot put this match into the LIKE category. It was short and had a dirty finish. Both Dolph and Sheamus have much more than this match to offer. If only they'd allow them to have the time from the Santino/Nash match added on, they could have had a longer, better match than they did. Even with the same finish, it would've been better.

QUOTE OF THE NIGHT:
"If you don't watch, we don't work." - John Cena
If this was the case, the workload for WWE wrestlers should be going down every week. Because their ratings are...

Knee-Jerk Reaction (RAW 11/28/11)

2011-11-28T22:12:00.000-06:00

Following last week's RAW, I'm looking forward to... well, nothing really. I would love to see the immediate fallout of Miz & R-Truth's breakup, but it looks like we'll have to wait a month for that one. My hope is that the quality of matches remain the same or as close as possible. There is a WWE Championship rematch scheduled, but no way that match is on par with the match at Survivor Series. And there were rumblings of a Roddy Piper appearance...

WHAT I LIKED:
Hot Rod!: Looks like the rumors were true. Right off the back they begin the night with Piper. I'll give this a passing grade because of Piper and only because of Piper. But basing this whole segment on a word association game, and going to crowd response is volatile, not to mention risky. The crowd tonight was mostly pro-Cena. Not what WWE was anticipating. I do like that the groundwork is being laid for a John Cena heel turn. Pretty good storyline to have Cena just be in denial about the audience starting to get to him.

Miz vs Morrison: How fitting is it that Morrison wrestles his last match against the man that rode his curtails to the top? I had my doubts about Morrison actually leaving WWE, but after that attack from The Miz, I figure it's pretty much written in stone. Wasn't the WWE Championship match between these two guys to start the year a Falls Count Anywhere match? If so, that was a nice little shout-out from WWE. It's also a sad reminder about how far John Morrison has fallen in the span of only 11 months. Good luck in TNA! I hope you show WWE up, I really do.

Orton vs Ziggler: I would salivate over this matchup, if one of the participants weren't a SUPERFACE. Has Ziggler ever pinned Orton? I know they've wrestled plenty of times before. They've had some decent to amazing matches, but I don't remember Ziggler ever winning. Speaking of Ziggler winning, I love the jacket and shorts with the hash-tag #HEEL on it, even though I despise Twitter. I read that Vince doesn't like the use of so-called 'insider' words on social media sites. The fact that Ziggler is wearing that just shows that he has cajones. This match didn't go anything like I figured. Ziggler actually won! Of course, he could only do that due to interference from Wade Barrett. But I'll take it as I can get it!

Daniel Bryan: Why does everyone act like its such a disrespectful act when a MITB winner cashes the briefcase in on a fallen champion? Everybody does that. Just another example of WWE twisting events around to fit their own agenda. Other than that, I loved this segment. I loved it on Smackdown when Daniel Bryan won the World Title. I'm not ashamed to say that I marked out. I saw the reversal coming from a mile away, but I still enjoyed the moment. Eventually, it will really come and I will mark out at that moment as well. I would have written a Smackdown KJR for Friday, but I wasn't at home when I was watching Smackdown. I will be tomorrow, though and I will be watching the Smackdown Holiday Special live.

Swagger vs Ryder: I love that while Zack Ryder is more of a comic character, much like Santino Marella, he can still perform in the ring. None of his matches since he's been featured have been easy wins. Even when he's assisted by the Guest Host (Hugh Jackman), it's still in a match against quality opponents and the match itself is still a decent contest.

Del Rio vs Punk: After some thought, I guess its a little presumptuous for me to expect this match to be on par with the match at Survivor Series. The match started at 9:50 CST, so it can only go 15 minutes, maybe 20 if WWE really wanted to stretch the run-over. Plus, this match will have at least on commercial break. I hate those. With the DQ stipulation in place, I wonder if Del Rio will pull an Eddie Guerrero-esque move with a weapon. That would be awesome. It'd be even more awesome if CM Punk did it. This wasn't a bad match at all. I felt it got a little lazy in the middle, but other than that, it was good. I totally called the Eddie Guerrero move with the chair.

WHAT I HATED:
Divas Tag Match: Just because...

WWE '12: Okay, the game itself is pretty good. Quite possibly the best wrestling game since Smackdown!: Here Comes The Pain. However, I forgot about WWE and their penchant to pimp the hell out of whatever merchandise they currently have available. And don't let the merchandise actually receive positive reviews... we'll never hear the end of it. And that's exactly what's happening with WWE '12. I don't hear them giving any credit to THQ, though. They were the brains behind the operation, after all.

Mick Foley: If this is what I have to look forward to tomorrow, I might just catch the late bus...

QUOTES OF THE NIGHT:
"When you cheered me, I felt good, so I did good things. When you booed me, I felt bad, so I did rotten things." - Roddy Piper
For god's sake, keeping booing Cena so he'll do rotten things and turn heel!

"You see those two kids in the front row? They're having the time of their lives." - John Cena
Cut to the two kids in the front row, one is doing the 'You Can't See Me' gesture, the other is slumped over the barricade, bored out of his mind. He was half right.

Knee-Jerk Reaction (RAW 11/21/11)

2011-11-21T22:11:00.001-06:00

For the first Monday in months, I'm not rushing home through traffic to watch RAW or trying to quietly watch a stream online at work. I'm actually at home ready to watch it live. Feels good. Feels even better that (with any luck) starting this Friday, I'll be able to do the same for Smackdown, which means the Smackdown KJRs are back as well. To accomplish this, I had to work pretty much eight days straight, which is why I missed RAW last week. But if that 'This Is Your Life' segment was as brutal as it seemed, I think I picked a good week to make the switch...

WHAT I LIKED:
The New WWE Champion, CM Punk!: Like music to my ears. And not just his theme music, which I've always loved. It'll be nice having a professional wrestler as WWE Champion. Albeit, I'll admit it'd be pretty cool to have Teen Wolf as champ! I loved the Office Space reference. I can totally see Laurinaitis saying, "Yeah, I'm gonna need to you to come in on Sunday." For as much as I want Ryder just as the masses do, I'm salivating over a Punk vs Ziggler match. How can that not be awesome?

Ryder vs Del Rio: Showing The Rock give credit to Zack Ryder was great. It shows WWE is buying into Zack Ryder just as much as we are. Two matches announced so far and they're both, at least on paper, between two talented wrestlers who can put on a good match. If this is the direction WWE is headed in, me likey a lot. I'm not upset that Zack Ryder lost this match. He had to lose this match. Del Rio is the former champion and he needed a win much more than Ryder did. However, they could allow Ryder to tough out the Cross Armbreaker for a little while longer.

Swagger vs Sheamus: And a third match featuring WWE's best 'wrestlers'. Gotta love it, fella! Furthermore, this match features a clash in styles: Sheamus' physicality and Swagger's technical ability. Both of which, were on full display. I thought Swagger should have won this match, since it was only on RAW and Sheamus has nothing to lose, but whatever. I can't complain too much when WWE gives me a good 7 minute television match uninterrupted by commercial. I'll take it!

Champion vs Champion: First, how awesome is it that both Ziggler and Punk are champs to begin with? The WWE & United States Titles are being held by wrestlers with actual wrestling ability. Add in Cody Rhodes' Intercontinental Championship and Beth Phoenix as the Divas Champion and it's almost a clean sweep of wrestling champions. I don't know how to categorize Kofi Kingston & Evan Bourne as Tag Champs. Neither of them are horrible in the ring, but I wouldn't classify either of them as classic wrestlers. Mark Henry is the only champion that shouldn't be in possession of a wrestling title. Hopefully, something will be done to rectify that soon - and I don't mean Big Show. Back to this match, I almost don't have to tell you that I liked it, but I will. Dolph's headstand was too cool. Come on, who else would do something like that? Ziggler is perfection. This match was just plain exciting. Both of these guys are just so good. I don't understand why people get on me so much when I wish that Cena had even a smidgen of the ability either of these guys do. You just watched what every match featuring a wrestling champion should be - even a non-title match.

Barrett vs Kingston: I'm a big fan of the Barrett barrage. I'm an even bigger fan of the Barrett push. Wade Barrett is a walking success story of NXT. Actually, both Barrett and Daniel Bryan are success stories of NXT, but given that Bryan was the darling of the show and Barrett was a veritable unknown, I'd say he was the star. It doesn't hurt that he had Chris Jericho as his pro, either. I can't wait until the day comes that Barrett actually wins a World Championship. Actually I can wait. He's an important cog in the future of WWE. I wouldn't want them to use him up too quickly. I'd rather they didn't have Orton at ringside, as I felt it took too much emphasis off of the stellar match that Kofi & Wade put on. However, as far as a rivalry between Randy & Wade goes, it should be good. Really good.

Miz/Truth: I'm devastated at the demise of The Awesome Truth. But after the way WWE made them look again Rocky & Cena last night, they needed to break up. Both of them are amazing competitors in their own right and are better off as singles wrestlers. I only hope that if/when R-Truth goes back to being a babyface, he doesn't lose his crazy persona. It works for him and I really don't want to see the old dancing and rapping R-Truth again. As far as The Miz goes, I would love to see the old Miz return. Maybe even see him return to the WWE Championship chase.

WHAT I HATED:
Kevin Nash: What was the point of that promo? If Triple H wasn't going to return or anything, I don't see the point. Nobody cares about Kevin Nash. (Apparently, no one in WWE cares about Sean Waltman, since Nash conveniently left him out of that promo.) WWE fans care about Triple H. Everytime we see Kevin Nash, all we ask ourselves is, "Is this the moment where Triple H returns?" If the answer is no, we couldn't really care less.

Big Show's Promo: See above. No one cares about the World Heavyweight Title anymore... not as long as Mark Henry is holding it and the quality of opponents he's facing is Big Show. That's actually kind of sad because it was the World Title that had so much intrigue when Christian and Randy Orton were feuding over it. How far we've fallen...

Rhodes vs Santino: What a difference a town makes. The New York fans loved Cody. They chanted his name. They respected all the work he's put into his craft. Tonight, the Philly fans were nowhere as good as New York. They cheered for Santino. They chanted his name. If anyone deserves to be booed in WWE, it's Santino. What has he ever done besides deliver a few good comedic lines? Thankfully, this match was short. And for as much as I hate it when announcers get involved in the ring, I don't really see Booker T as an announcer. I might like a rivalry between Booker and Cody. Time will tell.

"It Begins" 2012: If you noticed, WWE put a Youtube link up tonight that showed a video with a little boy saying:

“Come my people and shut thy doors about thee. For a power should come to punish the meek for their inequity. For on the second day of 2012, a familiar force shall arrive to claim what is his. And it will be the end of the world as you know it.”

Then the words: "It Begins" appears. The video can be seen HERE. It smells like a Kane or Undertaker video, outside possibility being Chris Jericho because he likes to do the whole doomsday scenarios. But regardless of who it signifies, I don't really care. These videos has become passe'. Cliche' even. And they are almost always disappointing.

John Cena's Promo: I would go the 'who cares' route for this promo as well, but the truth is, people do care. I don't see why, but they do. The positive side is that people are beginning to care less, but the stragglers do what they do and hang on despite the best efforts of everyone else. Did anybody notice how Cena's promo was about... nothing really? He just sort of told us what we already knew until The Miz & R-Truth interrupted. Notice how he still didn't do anything regarding The Rock, after the announcers had been promising some sort of retort by Cena towards The Rock? What a letdown.

Knee-Jerk Reaction (Survivor Series 2011)

2011-11-20T22:06:00.001-06:00

I've been burned before by WWE, but I don't think there's ever been a better platform for a John Cena heel turn than right now. Save for the kiddies, the fans are clearly behind The Rock in their little feud and at this point there's almost no use in trying to get more fans on Cena's side. It's never gonna happen. I expect something to happen in their match - either someone is going to walk out or someone is going to turn on their partner. I'm hoping it's Cena, but like I said, I've been burned before...

Dolph Ziggler def. John Morrison to retain the United States Championship:
WHAT I LIKED: Did you hear the boos for John Morrison? Man, I know Ryder is popular right now, but Morrison had nothing to do with him being slighted in this match. Don't get me wrong, I love the fact that the fans "Want Ryder" because I do too. If they're this rowdy against John Morrison, I can't wait to see how they treat John Cena. Lack of Ryder aside, this match didn't deserve the "Boring" chants it got at the beginning. I want Ryder to succeed as much as the next Broski, but you can't disrespect the two extraordinarily talented guys in the ring. Ziggler & Morrison are both amazing talents and they put on a really good match despite the crowd.
WHAT I HATED: The story WWE doesn't want you to know about why they've all of a sudden pushed John Morrison again is that Morrison's contract is almost up. I doubt Morrison would resign with WWE if they kept treating him the way they had been. Personally, I hope Morrison does give WWE the finger and goes to TNA, where they'd respect a man of his talents.

Beth Phoenix def. Eve Torres, retaining the Divas Championship:
WHAT I LIKED: Is there something I was supposed to like? (Okay, the top-rope Glam Slam was pretty awesome...) This match is just filler. Hell, all these diva matches are just filler until Kharma returns and injects some much needed novelty into this division.
WHAT I HATED: Has it been a year yet? WWE sat on Kharma (no pun intended) for so long before finally allowing her to debut and it backfired on them. I know they have to be kicking themselves that they only got a month or two out of her before she was ineligible to compete. Sad thing is, I strongly doubt Kharma will be coming back after her baby is born. There's a lot more to motherhood than just giving birth.

The Rock's Promo:
WHAT I LIKED: I usually don't recap promos in the PPV KJRs, but Rocky was so on his game tonight that I had to make an exception. Eat you heart out John Cena, you'll never cut a promo this good on your best day. You'll never have the crowd eating out of the palm of your hand like this. Unless, of course, your palm is filled with Skittles and the crowd is filled with eight-year olds.
WHAT I HATED: If I have to nitpick, I have to mention that this was just done to be filler because once again, WWE didn't book enough matches to fill the entire three hours. Don't get me wrong, it was a great way to fill time, but even the best filler in the world is still just filler.

Team Barrett def. Team Orton, with Barrett & Rhodes as the 'sole' survivors:
WHAT I LIKED: If there's one thing about this match that I realized above anything else, it's that it's been a long time since I've been able to watch Smackdown. That might change starting next week. If Barrett & Rhodes are as on fire as they showed in this match, I almost have to start back watching Smackdown.
WHAT I HATED: I know Ziggler had already performed, but it wasn't cool having him eliminated so early in the match. Despite his match earlier, his beatdown via Ryder and subsequent elimination will be what the lay-fan remembers about Ziggler tonight. On one hand, I liked that Sheamus was eliminated via DQ because it adds to the rage they attribute to him. But I also know that the reason why he was eliminated via DQ was because they wanted to save him from a pinfall or submission elimination. After all, he is a SUPERFACE-in-training. Can't have both SUPERFACES pinned, huh?

Big Show def. Mark Henry via DQ, Henry retains the World Heavyweight Championship:
WHAT I LIKED: The top-rope elbow drop was hilarious... mostly because he totally missed. Yes, he technically did hit Mark Henry with an elbow, but his ass hit the mat first. I call that a miss. I also liked the intentional DQ, if for nothing else than to put me out of my misery.
WHAT I HATED: The law of averages must be correct because this is something I haven't missed on Smackdown. The "Boring" chants were correct. Hell, this match was so boring, the crowd started chanting for Daniel Bryan, and we all know how boring Vince thinks he is. I don't understand why anyone thinks we want to see two big behemoths try to wrestle a technically sound match. Especially, two BIG OLD guys. It's not these two are spring chickens. They've each been in WWE for over 10 years and wrestling for longer than that. I thought they'd spare us the agony of more after destroying the barricade, but that was just a red herring. I was hoping that Daniel Bryan would come out and cash in MITB to save us from this reign of horror with Mark Henry as World Champion. But then again, I kind of like Bryan's decree to wait 'til Wrestlemania.

CM Punk def. Alberto Del Rio, becoming the new WWE Champion:
WHAT I LIKED: Howard Finkel! That was a classic moment. CM Punk's reaction when he finally came out was just perfect. You can't script stuff like that. WWE's writers definitely can't. What a great match! I couldn't even come back and update this portion of the blog because I was so entranced in this match. I knew it would be a technically sound, very competitive match and I wasn't disappointed. I hope CM Punk has a lengthy title run because god knows he deserves it. And was it foreshadowing that they put the ad about Steve Austin after Punk's title win? I sure hope so. Personally, I'd rather see a Punk/Austin match than Cena/Rock at Wrestlemania XXVIII.
WHAT I HATED: I wonder if WWE gets paid for advertising the cars that Del Rio drive into the arena. I've noticed now that they almost always tell us what type of car it is, when they didn't before. I'll admit, its great advertising, but to the wrong demographic. Let's face it, the majority of WWE fans can't afford those vehicles. I know I can't. When Del Rio starts driving '04 Ford Explorers, then we'll talk.

The Rock & John Cena def. The Miz & R-Truth:
WHAT I LIKED: Thank you, New York City for giving Cena the ovation he deserves! And for blowing the roof off of Madison Square Garden for The Great One! I liked that Miz & Truth turned their backs to Cena and Rock as they entered. That was a nice touch.
WHAT I HATED: I don't know who the old lady was that Cena gave his shirt to - somebody's widow, apparently - but leave it to Cena to play the role of public relations. Did anybody else wish that the announcers would just shut up and let the NYC crowd carry the match? They were awesome, but the announcers just shrugged off everything that they chanted so that Cena wouldn't look bad. For the last time, I don't 'have to respect Cena.' And he isn't 'the most controversial figure in WWE,' he's the most hated. The match itself really pissed me off. Rock & Cena were just throwing Truth & Miz around like ragdolls. After everything they've done to make WWE interesting over the past few months, they deserve better than to be treated like jobbers.

QUOTE OF THE NIGHT: "That's all you got!" - Dolph Ziggler
I don't know if everyone heard this quote, but it was awesome in the moment. As Mason Ryan was posing on the ring during his entrance of the Traditional Survivor Series match, Ziggler screamed this at him. And how true is this quote? Ryan has absolutely nothing to offer in the ring other than an amazing physique. Cue CM Punk's 'BIG man fetish' rant that Triple H adamantly denied, but he knows its true.

I have to give R-Truth an honorable mention with his "Nothing... pigeons don't talk," quote. I was rolling during that exchange. The audience didn't even 'WHAT' him after that. It was too funny.

Overall, not a bad PPV. Albeit, I wish they had done just a little bit more in the Rock/Cena confrontation. One of them needs to be a clear heel in this match, and that person is John Cena. If they want, they could change him back right after Wrestlemania, but it needs to happen for now.

This PPV was almost garnered towards the IWC, what with Team Orton losing, Beth Phoenix winning and CM Punk becoming WWE Champion. All that needed to happen was for Cena to turn heel for it to be perfect. Oh, and for Zack Ryder to actually be in a match. Can't forget about that.

Knee-Jerk Reaction (RAW 11/07/11)

2011-11-07T22:06:00.000-06:00

I love it when WWE broadcasts from other countries. The fans there are usually so much more rowdy because it's not an everyday (or every year, for that matter) event for them. WWE is already touting the "history" card because this is the first time they've ever held RAW in Liverpool. First doesn't make history - best makes history. WWE should focus on making the best shows they possibly can, not the first. But then again, by proxy, the first is technically the best. It's also technically the worst...

WHAT I LIKED:
Morrison vs Ziggler: Wow! Morrison wins. Who would have... who could have thought? This coming on the heels of rumors circulating that he and Melina have broken up. If that was all he needed to finally end his losing streak, he should have done it a long time ago. Backstage politics aside, it's about damn time they allowed Morrison to get back to his winning ways. He rung in this year with a stellar match against The Miz for the WWE Championship. I thought for sure he'd only get better from there. Morrison is a talent that WWE can't afford to lose. He'd likely go to another company like TNA and become a mega-star with all the talent he has. See what happens when you play nice with the Guest Hosts and Hornswoggle? I only hate his revival had to come at the expense of Dolph Ziggler, the United States Champion, of whom I don't understand why is losing so much lately. I hope it's not more politics.

Swagger vs Santino: No Muppets. No cobra. No silliness. Just a straight match with a clean submission finish. All is right with the world again! For now, at least.

Kevin Nash: What's this? A decent promo from Nash? This absolutely has to go in the LIKE category. Don't get me wrong, I'm not looking forward to any kind of match that Kevin Nash is in, but as far as hype goes, he's two-for-two since his return. I liked (and agree) with Nash about the Royal Rumble, albeit he has to know that a lot of that pop had to do with surprise from the audience. I popped at home due to the same reasons, but it's not because I actually liked the guy. I do have to criticize one thing, however: "Not only do I get a 'no', but I don't even receive a response." I'm pretty sure the word 'no' is a response.

Cena/Ryder vs Miz/Truth: Thanks for the boos, Liverpool! And for the "Wee Want Ryder" chants. Cena could barely throw a punch in this match before they called for Ryder. And the "Cena Sucks" chants. It's always nice to hear the crowd give Cena what he so rightly deserves. I appreciate WWE finally utilizing Zack Ryder, but calling him a future Hall of Famer is a bit much. Also, how ironic is it that WWE is having to rely on Ryder's popularity to give Cena a boost? Ryder & Cena are the poster children for how to make it in WWE, but in two completely different ways. Ryder worked to get himself over via the internet and gained a cult following online despite constantly being overlooked and undervalued. Cena caught fire with a timely gimmick and subsequently got everything handed to him because he sells merchandise to kids. I really wasn't expecting Ryder & Cena to lose this match, let alone for Cena to be the one to get pinned. But then again, it took two guys to do it, so they're still protecting the guy.

WHAT I HATED:
Mason Ryan vs JTG: Just when I give credit to Liverpool for booing John Cena, they go and cheer for this meathead. I'm sure Vince is going to take this one-time positive reaction and assume he's ready for the main-event. I have him as World Champion by this time next year.

Team Orton vs Team Barrett: Why the fuck is Cody Rhodes on Team Barrett? Cody Rhodes should be on Team Rhodes. Wade Barrett should be on Team Rhodes. Basically what I'm saying is Cody Rhodes > Wade Barrett. I suppose I can't hate WWE for giving Wade Barrett a well-deserved push, but it shouldn't come at the expense of the Intercontinental Champion.

Del Rio vs Kingston: Poor Kofi. I knew Evan Bourne's suspension would affect him negatively. He didn't do anything wrong. If nothing else, at least they allowed Del Rio to look strong in this match. Too bad it came at the expense of yet another reigning Champion. This seems to be a trend...

Punk/Del Rio:This Alberto Del Rio vs CM Punk rivalry isn't anywhere near as exciting as it would have been if WWE had run with it directly after Summerslam, when Del Rio had gained a lot of momentum after cashing in MITB. But instead WWE decided that Punk needed to face Kevin Nash and that John Cena needed to win the WWE Championship for the umpteenth time, and they completely ruined this matchup. I thought they had a good thing going by having Punk jump through hoops in order to get this match, but they ended that abruptly last week. I'm sure the match itself at Survivor Series will be awesome, but the build-up has been anything but entertaining. Can WWE just paint a bulls-eye on Ricardo Rodriguez? Everytime he's in the ring, you know he's going to bite the bullet for Del Rio. It's already getting old.

Kelly Kelly: From Muppets to Maxim, eh WWE? They'll pimp out anything if it'll gain them notoriety and money. Remember when they used to go through all of this trouble for Playboy? Good times. But I do have to question the logic of introducing a Maxim magazine cover in the United Kingdom when the magazine will be released in the United States. The UK has their own Maxim division. Hell, the UK has far better lad-mags than the US altogether. Have you ever seen Zoo or Nuts or Loaded? They're AWESOME!!! I doubt anyone there is too excited for Maxim.

QUOTE OF THE NIGHT: "It's a match that has been anticipated for a long time." - Rey Mysterio
He's talking about the Rock vs Cena match at Wrestlemania XXVIII, of course. And he couldn't be more wrong. I have only been anticipating this match since February 15th, 2011... because that's the day The Rock returned to WWE for the first time in seven years. Because that's the day that That Rock called out John Cena and forever correlated Cena to Fruity Pebbles. Because it doesn't take a genius to figure out that this match would happen eventually. I don't know if I'd count 8 months as a long time.

And how annoying is it going to be having to hear WWE lament about how quickly Wrestlemania tickets sold out? It's still five months 'til Wrestlemania XXVIII and that's how long we're going to have to hear about it. That's definitely going to seem like a long time.

Knee-Jerk Reaction (RAW 10/31/11)

2011-10-31T22:13:00.000-05:00

I'm intrigued by tonight's RAW. It's Halloween, so you know there's going to be a sexy Divas Costume Match/Contest. But, the Muppets will also be guest starring. How do you blend those two elements without offending the kiddies? You also know there's going to be comedy segments galore. No way WWE wastes this perfect opportunity to draw in more kiddy viewers... on the one night kids can care less about WWE. I strongly doubt there are many kids rushing through trick-or-treating just so they can see John Cena. Candy > Cena.

WHAT I LIKED:
The Muppets: I have to admit, they picked the right people to interact with the Muppets. Christian, Santino and Swagger all have great comedic timing. (Santino's 'John Laryngitis' comment was not only funny, but spot on. I'm upset at myself for not making such an obvious reference when I was making fun of John Laurinaitis last week.) Sheamus did pretty good as well. He and Beaker do share a few similarities. And who knew, they did exactly what I wondered... mixed the Divas and the Muppets together and it wasn't as weird as I thought it'd be.

Bourne & Kingston vs Barrett & Rhodes: I haven't been able to watch Smackdown in weeks, so I don't know how well Barrett & Rhodes have been doing there lately. But I know on RAW and on PPV, they've been getting the short end of the stick. Plus, Micheal Cole said they've been "on a roll" and we all know what that means. It was nice to see Wade Barrett get the win in this match cleanly, albeit I think he had the wrong partner. Drew McIntyre would be an excellent partner for Barrett if they really wanted him to contend for the Tag Team Titles. The post-match brawl was out of left field. I don't see any reason for Christian to attack Kofi. I guess they just wanted to add some physicality in the Christian/Sheamus feud without putting them in an actual match. One thing is for sure, they made the wrong man take the Brogue Kick. How is Cody Rhodes supposed to convince everyone he's on Randy Orton's level when he's getting taken out by Sheamus is one kick?

Divas Costume Battle Royal: How funny would it have been if the had Miss Piggy wearing Mickie James' outfit and come out to her theme music? Don't get me wrong, I think the 'Piggy James' storyline was crude (and incorrect because even with a curvy body, Mickie James was still the hottest diva in WWE), but it would have been a neat little easter egg. Oh and if you're wondering why a Divas costume match made it into the LIKE category, you're doing it wrong. The Bella Sluts dressing as the Mario Bros was a stroke of genius. AJ was pretty hot as Kitana. I also really liked Kaitlyn as Dog the Bounty Hunter. Only she could pull that off.

Santino vs Swagger & Ziggler vs Ryder: I know these were separate contests, but aren't they basically the same matches? A serious, former heavyweight champion heel versus a comedic, crowd-pleasing babyface. And both matches had a muppet at ringside... Vickie Guerrero. I keed. I keed. I actually love Vickie in her managerial role. The Ziggler/Ryder match was more of a serious and competitive contest, but they both ended the same way - with the crowd-pleaser pleasing the crowd. The only other difference between these two matches is that I actually like one of the comedic crowd-pleasers. Guess which one? Woo, woo, woo. You know it!

Miz vs Cena: If only the rules of Halloween really applied to real life. Cena claims no one can see him anyway, so would it be so bad if he were a ghost for one night? At least there were a pretty decent amount of anti-Cena fans in attendance. Not a bad short match between these two guys. It's sad to say that this TV match was probably better than their PPV match at Entertainia. At least this time Cena looked like he actually cared about the match. Probably because he was scripted to win. I loved the attack by Ghostface. I only wish it was the real Ghostface. "Hello, Cena... what's your favorite scary movie?" "The Marine."

WHAT I HATED:
Rocky Horror Picture Show: Decent way to start the night, but come on, WWE has already stated on television that The Rock would wrestle at Survivor Series. And even if they hadn't already said it on television, it's been all over the internet. There's no suspense of whether or not they would team together. doubt anyone was surprised. Rocky does look like he's been working out, though. The guns are well defined. Unfortunately, the gray hair in his beard didn't exude the youthful vibe WWE likes to emit. They made Kevin Nash dye his hair, after all. By the way, Rocky, you can't talk admonish Miz & R-Truth for attacking people from behind when you can't even be bothered to give this promo live in person. For the record, I think it's a mistake for WWE to team up Rocky & Cena before their Wrestlemania match. It was already presumptuous to announce the match one year in advance. I didn't want to see the match when it was announced. I still don't want to see it now. And I can't imagine anything will change by April.

Punk vs Henry: Really? What a waste of CM Punk's time and ability. From the start, you know this is not going to be a quality match - not with Mark Henry in the contest. Then, it's ruined due to interference after a short and unmemorable stint. I hope they allow Punk to wrestle again later on in the show. And in a quality contest, please.

Del Rio vs Big Show: Not that I don't appreciate the effort, but this was not the right pick to be the long match of the night. Half the match consisted of rest holds and rest periods. I don't have the stats to back this up, but I'm pretty sure that sleeper hold was five minutes long. Good thing Del Rio is a technical/submission wrestler, so it wasn't too painfully obvious. And it was nice to hear some 'Del Rio' chants coming from the audience. Then WWE ruins it by having Del Rio, the WWE Champion, lose cleanly. Not just lose cleanly, but get embarassed. No way they ever do something like that to a SUPERFACE. It's hard out there for a heel. WWE has too quick of a hook. I was looking forward to Punk having to jump through one hoop after another to get his title match at Survivor Series. Maybe something will change next week.

Micheal Cole Challenge: Great, now I have to wait another week before I can wipe this match from my memory. Do they really think people want to see this match so bad that it's worth postponing?

QUOTE OF THE NIGHT: "I've never seen anything like this in my life!" - Jerry Lawler
Okay, its one thing to rehash your own storylines. I get that - there's only a finite amount of things that can be done in the ring, especially when you have writers as inept as WWE. But to claim that its never been done before is pushing it. Its a slap to the face of every fan who watched that exact scenario occur between Big Show and Brock Lesnar. I didn't have a problem with them emulating the infamous Montreal Screwjob at Money in The Bank, because they didn't copy it exactly and then misremember history. They paid homage to a historic moment and it worked very well.

Knee-Jerk Reaction (RAW 10/24/11)

2011-10-24T22:13:00.000-05:00

Double duty tonight again. Last night it wasn't so bad. But then again, both shows were good - mostly because it worked out in my favor. Not looking so good tonight, though. The Rangers are already down 2-0 because CJ Wilson suddenly forgot how to pitch this postseason. WWE could stand to do a little better as well. Ryder & Rhodes deserved wins last night and I hope they get featured tonight. Last night, they were in San Antonio, but no HBK. Tonight, it's Austin, TX. I wonder if we'll see Stone Cold Steve Austin? I doubt it...

WHAT I LIKED:
Opening Segment: Awww, Twipsy has a broken heart. Thump. Thump. He's sad. Kevin Nash betrayed him. Thump. Thump. Not a single cheer for Sean Waltman? Here comes FUNKMAN! Thump. Thump. (Those thumps are the bruising that his larynx must go through. I wanna offer him a lozenge everytime I hear him speak.) Triple H threatens to kick Nash's ass, Lauranitis' ass. The man just needs some ass! And the biggest THUMP of the night is Kevin Nash giving Triple H a taste of his own medicine - a sledgehammer to the back. Not a bad way to start off this RAW. I thought for sure we'd be in for a John Cena bitch-fest. They're wasting no time in setting up Survivor Series. I loved the backstage bit after the commercial break. Nash showed off some strength picking up dead weight like that. WWE Security makes another bid for Worst Security Ever by waiting until after Nash assaults Triple H again before subduing him.

Orton/Sheamus vs Christian/Rhodes: How can this match not be good? It's a return of Christian vs Orton, which had to be the best series of matches this year. I only wish Christian had earned a single clean victory over Orton during that entire rivalry. A clean victory is what Cody Rhodes should have gotten last night, but I guess WWE didn't want Orton to lose in 3 straight PPVs. Not a SUPERFACE! And am I the only one who sees a SUPERFACE in training in The Great White Sheamus? We really don't need a third. Where's Ishmael when you need him? Another loss for both Christian and Rhodes, after they both lost singles matches last night. Abandon all hope, ye heels who enter here.

Del Rio/Punk/Lauranitis: Show of hands. Who didn't see CM Punk being the next challenger for the WWE Championship? Anyone? Anyone at all? Don't get me wrong, I'm excited for this match, especially since there's no John Cena involved. Didn't want (nor need) to see Lauranitis again. Seriously, is this guy the voice of Batman in the Nolan films? Actually, Lauranitis wasn't half bad on the mic during this segment, aside from the part where he stumbled over the word 'universe'. Big Brother is not pleased. But, I'm sure most of that is because CM Punk was his opponent in jaw-jacking. Punk can make anyone look good... even the Most Uninteresting Man in the World.

WHAT I HATED:
All A-Twitter: Is WWE really this enamored with Twitter? It's annoying that they now post all the superstars' Twitter handles under their nameplates. Now they actually show tweets from the superstars as well? We get it. Twitter exists and Vince just found out. I think Vince thinks that this is what social relevancy is. I'm sure some things do trend on Twitter during RAW, but I doubt it's every single match. Me thinks they doest protest too much.

Ziggler vs Santino: Really? After showcasing Ziggler in two matches last night, his follow-up is Santino Marella? This is how WWE keeps their young heels down. They bury them right as their star is shining brightest. And Mason Ryan? Is that the reason that Zack Ryder couldn't win the US Title last night? Because they're reserving that for him? Ugh. Sorry, Mason, but I just don't see you ever getting over. Not as a heel. Not as a babyface. But Vince won't give up until he satisfies his BIG MAN fetish.

Natalya vs Alicia Fox: I was tempted to put this in the LIKE category just because it was Alicia Fox playing the role of the busty bimbo babyface diva instead of Yelly Kelly and her siren song. But alas, the divas matches are relegated to their place in life.... the HATE category. Divas: Can't watch their matches, can't go one show without 'em apparently.

Barrett vs Morrison: I tawt I taw a Morrison... I did, I did taw a Morrison. Too bad we can't see a Morrison win. I'm kind of fed up with them burying this guy. Backstage problems aside, he's talented in the ring. Even backstage, he's not a trouble-maker, he just happened to be dating one. If WWE doesn't stop with the backstage politicking, they're going to lose a lot of talented wrestlers. Morrison, to his credit, keeps coming out and competing hard. I have to give him a lot of credit. No credit to Wade Barrett, who totally screwed up his Wasteland finisher.

Micheal Cole: Should I even say anything about this? Vince was supposedly upset when his announcers received a better response from the crowd during the 'walkout' segment then the wrestlers did. Maybe it's because of crap like this. Keep the announcers out of the ring and off of the mic and maybe we won't have this problem. I know one match I won't be watching next week on RAW. Besides, we all know that Micheal Cole is just crying wolf about quitting. It's never going to happen. He is Vince's little ventriloquist dummy after all.

Miz & Truth vs Cena & ???: Did anybody catch a word of what Cena said backstage to John Lauranitis? I'm pretty sure it was a rolling mix of poop jokes and catchphrases, and I know I heard something about Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. (Probably a joke at David Otunga's expense, the Atticus Finch of WWE.) Did he say something about a skateboard at the end? I don't know. Whenever Cena talks, I just hear dead air... probably because I hit the mute button. So much for Zack Ryder being Cena's partner. I was hoping he'd get a bit of a rub from this match. Even in a handicap match, two heels can't legitimately beat a SUPERFACE. Figures. And the big post-match announcement of Cena teaming with The Rock was not a surprise to anyone. The surprise is that this won't be part of a Traditional Survivor Series Tag Match. With these three superstars here being so involved in the main ongoing angle, I thought for sure this was be a Traditional SS matchup. Now, I don't see who, how or what they're going to do to fill that match slot. And they better fill it. If WWE attempts to have a Survivor Series without a Survivor Series match, I won't be happy.

Knee-Jerk Reaction (Vengeance 2011)

2011-10-23T22:20:00.002-05:00

I'm pulling double duty tonight in watching & recapping Vengeance, while also keeping up with the Rangers in the World Series. I don't want to miss either. This PPV has a pretty good card. I'm mostly excited for Rhodes vs Orton because I'm hoping this match will be Cody Rhodes' break-out match. I'm also extremely excited that someone in WWE is finally taking Zack Ryder seriously. I could care less about the main event title matches, but what else is new?

Bourne & Kingston def. Swagger & Ziggler, retaining the Tag Team Championships:
WHAT I LIKED: I liked Booker T, of all people, noticing that having Ziggler start the match was a bad idea given he had another match later that night. I said it before, I'll say it again - I like the small elements of realism. And what an opening contest overall. These four young guys will be the future of WWE. Well, three of 'em anyway. WWE will never come around to pushing little guys. Sorry, Evan.
WHAT I HATED:

Dolph Ziggler def. Zack Ryder, retaining the United States Championship:
WHAT I LIKED: Zack Ryder lost. There's nothing I like about this.
WHAT I HATED: I figured Ryder would lose once they scheduled this match directly after the Tag Team Championship match. Ziggler is a - maybe even the - star of the future. No way he loses both matches, even as a heel. The placement of this match made it seem like Ryder was cashing in Money in the Bank or something. And how fair is it that Swagger & Guerrero stayed outside, and Bourne & Kingston left the ringside area? I thought they were bros.

Beth Phoenix def. Eve Torres, retaining the Divas Championship:
WHAT I LIKED: I got to pay attention to the World Series during this match. Derek Holland pitched his way out of a one-out double during this contest. The Rangers are up 1-0!!!
WHAT I HATED: I don't like King commentating on the Divas matches anymore. Now that he can't yell 'puppies' anymore, he's lost his edge. During this match, he asked Booker 'how he would like to be married to Beth Phoenix.' Booker pretty much avoided the question, so King continued talking about how brutishly manly Beth Phoenix is. Beth may be a muscular woman, but she is in no way brutish. There's a fine line with female bodybuilders, but I think Beth is still on the side of attractiveness.

Sheamus def. Christian via Pinfall:
WHAT I LIKED: I don't know if I've mentioned this, but I love the 'Great White' as a moniker for Sheamus, even if it may be a little intimidating to my race. This was the match that I really wanted to see on this PPV. I absolutely love Christian, and Sheamus has been a favorite of mine for a while now. The two of them matchup so well in the ring and this rivalry has been overlooked, but very fun so far. I figured Christian would pull a dirty finish out of this match, to allow the rivalry to last longer. I wish the match itself had lasted longer.
WHAT I HATED: Micheal Cole made an 'Albert Pujols' joke during this match. Not cool. WWE is always so aware of what's going on in other sports... especially if its relevant to the town they're currently in.

The Miz & R-Truth def. CM Punk & HHH via Pinfall:
WHAT I LIKED: San Antonio, I had no idea you were so rowdy! Even before the interference of Kevin Nash, the crowd was hot for this match. Punk & HHH got some of the biggest ovations I've heard in a while. Too bad they could care less for Miz & R-Truth. And in return, the four of these guys put on a quality tag team match. No one person outshined the others. The offense was pretty much even all around. I honestly had no idea who would win this match. The only thing that made me guess that Miz & Truth would win is that Survivor Series is the next PPV and I gotta figure these four superstars will be featured heavily in on of the Traditional SS matches.
WHAT I HATED: Kevin Nash looks jacked! Too bad he's still Kevin Nash. There's an injury lurking in that jacked body somewhere... I just know it. I gotta assume they'll keep Nash out of action until the PPV match itself. Was I the only one expecting HBK to come to Triple H's rescue? I mean it is his hometown after all and if it'd be anyone, it'd be HBK.

Cody Rhodes def. Randy Orton:
WHAT I LIKED: I said in the opener that this could be Cody Rhodes' break-out match. An argument could be made that Cody Rhodes has already had his break-out match. I thought for sure he'd be elevated into the main event after he defeated Rey Mysterio at Wrestlemania, but they really squandered that push. He is in need of another break-out match so he can open the door to the main event. A win over Orton would kick that door open right off the hinges. Or not...
WHAT I HATED: Randy Orton is from St. Louis. I'm certain he's a Cardinal fan. If I didn't already want him to lose tonight, it doubles now. There was no reason for Randy Orton to win this match. This rivalry wasn't for anything and a win can't possibly help Orton at all. It could help Rhodes, though. Even a dirty win, would elevate Rhodes a bit. But I guess at least one SUPERFACE has to notch a 'W' and I don't expect Cena to win tonight.

Mark Henry vs. Big Show ends in a No Contest:
WHAT I LIKED: Was there something I was supposed to like about this match? It's two of the slowest and easily fatigued guys in the company trying to put on an entertaining match. I guess, if nothing else, it allowed me to pay attention to the game again. Update: Rangers are threatening in the 6th and have chased Jackson from the mound. MIKE NAPOLI hits a HOMER! Rangers up 4-0!
WHAT I HATED: Lawler: "These guys are doing moves like Evan Bourne and Kofi Kingston." Not exactly, King, but I appreciate the effort. I'll never understand why WWE likes to make matches like this that should be brutal and physical, and tries to make them technically sound. I don't get it. Henry & Big Show kicking out of each other finishers, while unexpected, were just ways to lengthen this match. I rolled my eyes when Mark Henry kicked out of a chokeslam from the top rope. That was literally unbelievable. Speaking of unbelievable, that ring explosion spot was a complete ripoff. WWE finally gets Lesnar talking about a possible return and they proceed to ripoff one of his defining moments. Come on, writers, do something new for a change. (They really milked that last segment, huh? Short on time... maybe you could have allowed the Christian/Sheamus match to last a bit longer.)

Alberto Del Rio def. John Cena, retaining the WWE Championship:
WHAT I LIKED: I knew from the moment Cena announced that this match would be a Last Man Standing match, Alberto Del Rio was going to win. I mean this is a match where Cena can't be pinned or made to submit. It has dirty finish written all over it. You know me, I'll take a Cena loss however I can get it. I liked how they had the match start in the collapsed ring instead of repairing it. I liked it even more that they still actually competed in the ring for most the match despite its current condition. I also liked not only the fact that Del Rio used a sleeper in this match, but that Cole called Booker on Del Rio releasing the hold.
WHAT I HATED: Great, Cena has new gear... complete with a new slogan. That should be awesome. At least it's black this time and not orange or purple or some other color in the fruity pebble rainbow. I assume this was done in anticipation of Rocky's return. No need to put more ammunition in an already loaded firearm. The first half of this match had to be the most unconventional Last Man Standing match in WWE history. Almost all of them throughout the history of WWE has pretty much been a hardcore match with a KO finish. But in the end WWE stays true to form - taking what could have been novel, and making it status quo.

QUOTE OF THE NIGHT: "Tonight is the night that we settle all rivalries." - Booker T
Yeah... no. Tonight is the night that all the matches that matter end somewhat dirty so that they can stretch out to Survivor Series. PPVs called Vengeance should always follow a Big-4 PPV. The same way Backlash did for Wrestlemania for so long. It means more when the name has a meaning. (Over The Limit, I'm looking at you.)

Cena loses. Rangers win. Good night!

Knee-Jerk Reaction (RAW 10/10/11)

2011-10-10T22:10:00.002-05:00

So, I know I missed a good one last week. Who would've thought that we'd see a walkout en masse? Man, I wish I had watched RAW last week, but I'm sure I'll get the gist of it via replay ad nauseum tonight. WWE likes to really drive their angles into the ground. It's difficult right now to pick and choose what to watch between RAW, new network television shows, Monday Night Football & the MLB playoffs. Last week I chose the playoffs. This week I choose RAW. I'll most likely choose RAW each week unless my hometown Texas Rangers are in action. If they make it to the World Series - which I completely expect them to do - all bets are off. You've been warned.

CRUUUUUUUUUUUUZZZZZZZZ!!!!!!

WHAT I LIKED:
Morrison vs Christian: I noticed that they didn't have Morrison's pyro and special effects queued up right away. That's continuity! After all, no one was expected to compete tonight. It shows even the pyro guys walked out last week. Not a big fan of the match itself, as it could have been better, longer & more competitive. Who the hell did Morrison piss off? He's the first casualty of the new regime. I would care more about Morrison if I liked him at all. I think he's about to join his woman in the unemployment line.

Six Man Tag: Mason Ryan is back? Mason Ryan is a babyface now? Where the hell have I been? It's only been a week! I wonder whose bright idea this was. I don't see him getting over as a babyface, but WWE will try anything to get their muscleheads overs. I guess I'll give him a try. It helps partnering him up with the best babyface team on the roster in Air Boom. It also helps to keep him out of the ring for any elongated time. Let Kingston and Bourne, otherwise known as the talented ones, work the majority of the match. The same rule goes for David Otunga on the heel side. I can't help thinking that one of these things are no like the others when I look at the heel team in this match. Not because of Otunga's skin color, but because he has no wrestling ability whatsoever.

CM Punk vs Del Rio: Hey, I remember this match. It's the match that should have been before Cena interjected himself into the fray for no reason whatsoever. It's the match that would have kept Punk in the Championship shuffle had they not inexplicably put Cena in it. Instead Punk's rivalry with Triple H and Kevin Nash, while amusing, really dropped the ball on his push. This is the match... that just got interrupted again. Who didn't see this one coming? Albeit, I thought for sure Miz & R-Truth would make their returns against Cena and give him a beatdown. I was hoping Miz would cut a promo when he came out, but no, just a rap. Yep, that's what we've all been missing. Good to see them back, though.

WHAT I HATED:
Opening Segment: This whole ordeal only gives WWE a reason to not show any actual wrestling. Don't get me wrong, I like this whole 'No Confidence' storyline. It's entertaining. But this opening segment is so predictable. Of course all of the faces (and yes, SUPERFACES) are going to come out and say how much they love the WWE. If this were two months ago, Sheamus & CM Punk would be on the other side of the picket line as well. It's annoying. This was shameless pandering to the live audience. You wanna make the faces even more face-like, make them come to the ring, declare their solidarity and yell MONDAY NIGHT RAW! a couple of times. And what's up with them saying the other guys are in the parking lot. Don't they know how to strike? Dude, stay at home. Don't spend money to come to the arena. That, WWE, is how you make it believable.

Sheamus vs Cena: What am I writing? Punk is on commentary, yet this is in the HATED category? That'll almost always get a LIKE. What I didn't like about it was them tossing it to commercial just seconds after Punk starts talking. Then we don't even get a full match because Vince makes his triumphant(?) return. Like I said, this is all an excuse to not show any actual wrestling. Pathetic.

Jim Ross: Sorry, JR, I love ya but your Oklahoma Sooners just blew out my Texas Longhorns in my hometown and I'm not excited to hear the Boomer Sooner theme song right now. I had to mute his entrance music.

Mark Henry: Just one title defense into his World Championship reign and the PTB are already making Mark Henry out to be a coward. He's running scared from the Big Show, the man he took out single-handedly. I know when babyfaces return, they come back like a man possessed, but this just spits directly into the face of continuity. Why can't WWE have just one dominant heel World Champion? Henry hasn't been Champion for two months and already he's on the decline of his monster push. They could really build him up over time and make him look completely unstoppable. A long title run could make him a permanent main-eventer. But this era of WWE doesn't like to have lengthy Championship runs.

Henry vs Orton: When you have a guy with limited durability like Mark Henry, why would you air the first part of his match during commercial? When they cut back to the match, Henry already looked winded and fatigued. Funny how Orton couldn't utilize most of his maneuvers during the PPV match, but he can do it all tonight. What'd I tell you about the Rope-Assisted DDT? I do like that they're continuing the Orton/Rhodes feud. There is history there and they already have a lot of chemistry with each other. I would think we're in for another Orton/Christian-esque series of matches between these two marvelous superstars. You gotta work on your evil cackle, Cody... Dr. Doom is not pleased.

Yelly Kelly: As much as I would love to hear Kelly Kelly yelling [my name] in the right circumstances, she's really starting to annoy me in the ring. All she does is scream and yell, and I guess that's supposed to show intensity. It doesn't.

John Laurinitis: Funk Man! I wish he had better mic skills. After years of hearing and reading about Johnny Ace, it was nice to put a face to the name. I mean, I knew how he looked, but I'd never seen him on television before. I would think he'd be better versed on how to cut a promo after years of watching pros like The Rock and Jericho do it. After all, I'm pretty sure he fired Shelton Benjamin for that exact reason. It's gonna be hard having to watch him and hear his gravelly voice cut General Manager promos for the next month or so. I figure this storyline will come to a head at Survivor Series with Team HHH vs Team Laurinitis. {I guess this means we're never gonna find out who AnonGM is, huh? I was hoping for JBL.}

The Reunion: Are they ever going to give up on John Cena being a movie star? I didn't even watch the trailer for this new movie and I muted the screen so I wouldn't have to hear it. I know that there's no way in hell I'm going to see that movie. They're just giving The Rock more ammo in his inevitable return.

QUOTE OF THE NIGHT: "There might not even be a Wrestlemania next year is this walk-out continues." - Vince McMahon
Funny, there wasn't a Wrestlemania this year either. It was replaced by a show that looked like Wrestlemania and smelled like Wrestlemania. It even aired in Wrestlemania's normal time-slot. But IT WAS NOT WRESTLEMANIA!!!

Knee-Jerk Reaction (RAW 09/19/11)

2011-09-19T22:13:00.000-05:00

Dammit. News came down today that Linda McMahon will be running for Senate again. That means there will be no end to the PG era anytime soon. And look, right on cue we have a Guest Host: Hugh Jackman. I think Hugh Jackman is probably the most reputable actor/performer WWE has ever had as a guest host. I would rate him a A-List actor. Is it weird that everytime I think about Jackman, all I can think of is Dr. Cox's intense hatred of him?

WHAT I LIKED:
Hugh Jackman: I almost forget that Hugh Jackman is Australian. It was sort of off-putting to hear him speak in his natural dialect. It was a good move to put him in a segment with Vicki & Dolph Ziggler. They're very entertaining and Jackman held his own against them. How great is it that the crowd not only chants for Zack Ryder when no one even mentioned him, and Hugh Jackman holds up a sign for him? That's gotta be the biggest rub Zack Ryder has ever gotten. I hope it is Ryder that is chosen to face Ziggler tonight. But after that, even if it wasn't him originally, I bet it will be now.

Cara vs Cara: That was confusing... but I liked it! It was supposed to be confusing and head-scratching because all the backstage drama involving Sin Cara has been as well. Eventually they'll make a way to identify the 'real' Sin Cara over the 'fake' one, but for now, I like the fact that they're relying on the audience's perception to determine who is genuine and who is not. It's one of the few times WWE isn't treating us like we're fucking idiots.

Mark Henry: He might be injury prone, he might an over-achiever (under-achiever, maybe?), but the one thing no one will ever accuse Mark Henry of is having mic skills. I think they should stick to having Mark Henry attack random superstars and keep him as far away from microphones as possible. Now, here is a superstar that can use a good manager to do his talking for him. And I don't mean Tony Atlas, I mean a Paul Heyman type. Henry corrected his earlier spoken mistake by taking out Jerry 'The King' Lawler. That's always a welcome sight in my eyes.

Ziggler vs Ryder: Yeah, there was no way this wasn't going to be Zack Ryder. WWE even forfeited the whole 'surprise' entrant ruse because everyone knew who it was going to be. How stupid did Hugh Jackman look with a 'Broski' headband on? Even though this was mostly for entertainment purposes and most likely won't carry over, it was nice to see Zack Ryder in a match against a champion. As much as I like Ryder, I hope WWE doesn't forget about Jack Swagger in all of this. His rivalry with Ziggler is still important and I think a face turn would do wonders for him.

WHAT I HATED:
Triple Threat Hell in A Cell: How is it that both Punk & Del Rio can get their rematches in one match, but just last month, Triple H said only one of Cena or Punk could cash in their rematch clause from Summerslam? That's not consistency. Not that they care. While I do like the triple threat factor of this match, I don't like the relativity of the three opponents inside. John Cena and CM Punk had a pretty intense rivalry that stretched over three months and caught the world by storm. Cena and Alberto Del Rio had a short, under-whelming rivalry highlighted(?) by Cena stealing Del Rio's car. That doesn't begin to compare with the Cena/Punk rivalry. And there's pretty much no ill will between Del Rio and Punk whatsoever. Sure, Del Rio cashed in MITB on Punk, but Punk himself said he respects Del Rio for doing that. He's done it twice himself. I just don't see how this match will gain any momentum, given that Punk is more interested in the ongoing 'conspiracy' than the WWE Championship at this point. They have two weeks to figure it out.

Eight Man Tag: I literally sighed when I saw that Christian was in this match. I mean, the guy has just main-evented four the last five PPVs with stellar performances - yet he's tossed into a tag match with Otunga & McGillicutty? The nerve! At least they made the finish all about Sheamus & Christian, which has the makings to be an excellent feud if it's done correctly. I gotta give big credit to Sheamus for hitting the Celtic Cross on David Otunga. I think that's the biggest superstar he's ever hit that on... at least on television.

Del Rio vs Morrison: Who the hell did John Morrison piss off? Ricardo Rodriguez's introduction of Del Rio lasted longer than this match did. I expect John Morrison to join the 'Future Endeavored' list right alongside his girlfriend in the next couple months. He's fallen really far, really fast.

Divas Tag: It seems this 'Divas of Doom' thing is going nowhere. That's all I got.

Miz & Truth vs Cena & Punk: I was hoping they'd allow The Miz to receive some hometown love, but they cut his entrance off short so R-Truth can rap. Really? Oh, and I'm supposed to buy Cena & Punk as a team? Really? Really? I think not. But it is ironic that they're banking on Punk's popularity to stop the fans from booing Cena. At least for one night. And it was Punk who got the win for the team. In WWE's eyes, this pairing of opponents adds a layer to the story for their upcoming match. To me, it takes away from the amazing story they had over the past few months and makes the Hell in A Cell match even more convoluted than I described before. The emotion that fueled and drove the Cena/Punk rivalry is gone and now it's back to pure kayfabe. That's not a good thing.

QUOTE OF THE NIGHT: "Punk, good match. Miz, Truth, you're fired." - Triple H
Wow! I was not expecting that. I know it's all storyline, but that came out of left field, even when it really shouldn't have. I should have figured that would happen. It seems this is the first step towards turning Triple H into the evil bossman that Vince McMahon once portrayed. I hope WWE.com goes the reality route and releases 'Future Endeavored' statements for both R-Truth & The Miz.

Knee-Jerk Reaction (Night of Champions 2011)

2011-09-18T22:13:00.001-05:00

This is the busy season for me. I'm already multi-tasking on the RAW KJR's because I'm watching Monday Night Football at the same time. But tonight I'm really stretching myself thin because I'm watching Sunday Night Football, the Emmy's and Night of Champions all at the same time. The good news is that Night of Champions has priorities. This is one of my favorite current PPVs because WWE is forced by their own stipulations to pay attention to their own goddamned titles. They shouldn't need a PPV to roll around once a year to do that.

Kingston & Bourne def. Miz & R-Truth via DQ, retaining the Tag Team Championships:
WHAT I LIKED: I'm glad they started with this match. (And not just because I guessed this would be the opening match in the PPV League.) I didn't want this match to be lost in the shuffle of all the other title matches because it's the one title match that needs to matter. It needs a good match with good competition. I like how they made the referee screw Miz & R-Truth out of a couple of calls. It gives credence to their claims of a conspiracy.
WHAT I HATED: The finish. What the hell? I just said the Tag Titles needed good competition (which it got) and a good match (which it got), but it also needed a good finish. That finish was weak. Miz & Truth deserve better. Kofi & Evan did a really good job working off of each other's strengths tonight, but it wasn't really tag team wrestling. I don't think their individual styles work well together. And Air Boom is still a stupid name. (How ironic is it that WWE runs an anti-bullying video directly after Miz & Truth attack a referee? Can you say conflict of interest?)

Cody Rhodes def. Ted DiBiase, Jr., retaining the Intercontinental Championship:
WHAT I LIKED: I hope this babyface turn helps Ted DiBiase. He needs the help really bad. I would hate for him to end up being a bust because he has a lot to offer - he just hasn't caught fire with the live audience just yet. In contrast, I hope Cody Rhodes loses the Intercontinental Title soon. As much as the announcers try to put the IC Title over as a "gateway to the World Title," it's really a black hole in WWE these days. Once you become the IC Champion, you just linger on the top of the mid-card and the title itself just lingers on your waist, almost never being defended. It's time for Cody to move into the main-event.
WHAT I HATED: First, I have to apologize. Ricky Gervais was doing a bit on the Emmy broadcast during the opening of this match and I love Ricky Gervais. I lost focus just a little bit. Remember that black hole I mentioned earlier, it seems the audience fell into it during this match. Does WWE have to put up a sign telling them that it's okay to root for Ted DiBiase now? I mean, come on, this was a pretty physical match between what could be two future World Champions, yet the audience couldn't seem to give a damn - at least not until DiBiase took off Rhodes' mask. It's not like Rhodes' mask is like Rey Mysterio's... you already know what he looks like. Removing a transparent mask should not evoke the only decent pop in the whole match.

Dolph Ziggler def. John Morrison, Jack Swagger & Alex Riley, retaining the United States Championship:
WHAT I LIKED: I know I said the additions of Alex Riley & John Morrison to this match was overkill, and it was, but I never once thought it'd take away from the quality of this match. Morrison alone brings an entertainment value that is almost unmatched by anyone in WWE. I'm actually glad they made this a Fatal 4-Way match now because after the dead crowd reaction in the last match, the PPV could use some excitement. I have to give credit to Jack Swagger for doing most of the work in this match. That's the one thing I love about Swagger - he's a workhorse. He can wrestle. He just can't over as a heel, and the one time he did get over as a heel (i.e. with Micheal Cole), they just forgot about him. He needs to become a babyface as soon as possible, and following the ending of this match, I think that's all but imminent.
WHAT I HATED: There really wasn't much I hated in this match. I have to give credit where credit it due. The Fatal 4-Way was a good idea. If I had one thing that I just had to nitpick over, it was the amount of time this match received. With four young, talented superstars in the match, it could have went longer than it did without losing any of the quality. But this is Night of Champions, and I know they have a lot of matches to squeeze into three hours, so I won't harp on this too much. Albeit, if this was any other PPV, I would be pissed.

Mark Henry def. Randy Orton, becoming the new World Heavyweight Champion:
WHAT I LIKED: Wow! I had my doubts. I didn't think WWE would actually allow Mark Henry to win the World Title. He deserves it, though. He's been a brute force for the past few months and WWE would be idiots if they didn't capitalize on the biggest heel in WWE right now! It's even better because Henry won the match clean. My jaw is on the floor. Going in, I already knew this match wouldn't be on par with the matches Orton had against Christian in terms of quality. Mark Henry doesn't have near the durability of Christian. Good thing he's wrestling the man formerly known as 'Captain Resthold'. My concern is that a series of slow matches against Mark Henry will return Orton to his restholding ways. I hope that doesn't happen because Orton has easily (easily!) been the most consistent in-ring performer in WWE over the past couple months. And for a SUPERFACE, who doesn't even have to try hard, that means a lot.
WHAT I HATED: The announcers' constant "can Orton do this" comments were a little annoying. Okay, very annoying. First of all, the RKO is a move that can be hit on damned near anyone. It's pretty much the same as the Stone Cold Stunner - and Austin hit that on everybody. Everybody! And Orton's Rope-Assisted DDT is a little more difficult with heavier opponents, but the ropes themselves take a little of the weight off - that's why it's called a Rope-Assisted DDT. I am a little surprised/disappointed that none of the announce tables or barricades or anything else were destroyed during this match. So much for the Hall of Pain, huh?

Kelly Kelly def. Beth Phoenix, retaining the new Divas Champion:
WHAT I LIKED: Mags Bennett just won an Emmy! (If you don't watch Justified, that won't make sense to you. It was the one win I really wanted to happen.) Onto business. I tell you, fate really must love me. The stream I've been using to watch this PPV has been stellar all night long... until this match began. It's like it just knows I don't really care about the divas. When it finally comes back on, I hear the announcers saying Kelly won in an upset. You know who isn't upset? This guy! Picture me pointing to myself with my two thumbs to get the full affect of that exclamatory statement.
WHAT I HATED: I had no idea that this PPV was in Beth Phoenix's hometown. I had no idea Buffalo even was her hometown. WWE really missed a good chance to mirror the Punk/Cena storyline from Summerslam with this match. I mean, as far as the Divas are concerned Beth & Kelly are about as equal as Punk & Cena are in terms of talent/popularity disparity. That could have been good... if I really cared.

John Cena def. Alberto Del Rio, becoming the new WWE Champion:
WHAT I LIKED: I'll be honest here, there was actually a lot to like about this match. It was a lot more competitive than I thought it would be. If nothing else, the crowd was very into it. But the pre-match activities (which I elaborate on below) really took me out of this match. Whatever. Cena wins... what else is new? There has to be at least one SUPERFACE Champion. I think that's in the WWE by-laws.
WHAT I HATED: "Holding that title doesn't make you a Champion." Only John Cena, the man who had a shirt with the title imprinted on it and says "The Champ is here," even when he isn't holding the championship can make such an inane statement. If that statement is true, then I'm assuming that selling a lot of merchandise shouldn't qualify you as a main-eventer. Yet, for some reason, it does. I was really not a fan of the pre-match activities. Really? Cena stole Del Rio's car? Really? If there's not going to be any legal actions behind it, why should I care? Then, Cena taking the opportunity to introduce himself in typical 'comedic' fashion. None of that stuff matters. It's all just fluff. But then again, that's pretty much what Cena is - fluff. Get to the match already! The sooner the match begins, the quicker it can end. Twelve Championship reigns for Cena in eight years. That's just too much. I did the math in my '5 Reasons Why John Cena is Bad for WWE' blog, and it calculated out to about 42 Championship reigns by the time Cena retires. I don't know if it's going to go that high, but his title reigns will eclipse Ric Flair's record of 17 by the time he's done. Trust me.

Triple H def. CM Punk:
WHAT I LIKED: Normally, I'm not a fan of non-title matches main-eventing PPVs. But if the alternative was the above match, I'm all for it. Besides, this is the most hyped match going into the PPV. "I don't know where to begin to recap everything that we just saw," said Jerry Lawler. Neither do I. I figured with the 'No DQ' rule, there would be interference from Kevin Nash and others. I was right. I figured that since Triple H's COO position was on the line, he would win the match. I was right about that too. I figured this wouldn't be so much a wrestling match as it was a street fight. I was right about that too. However...
WHAT I HATED:... for as much as I love to be right, I wish I had been wrong on all counts. This was a fun match, but I would have loved to have seen more wrestling involved. The first half of the match was just to destroy all the outside structures - no wonder they didn't have Mark Henry do any of that, they had to save it all for this match. I could have done with a little less interference, too. Kevin Nash was pretty much a given. But Miz & R-Truth was overkill. While it does continue their anti-authority angle, it should have been done at some other time. Punk & HHH was supposed to be established as a personal feud - bringing Miz & R-Truth into the fray made it about business. I don't really care that Triple H won. It was pretty much of no consequence whatsoever. Punk doesn't look weak due to the loss, so I'm fine with it.

Overall, I have to give this PPV a passing grade. I mean, there were six title matches! Of course, that'd mean more if the PPV wasn't specifically structured for that, but nonetheless. Pretty much all the titles left the PPV with a storyline attached, so if (or rather when) WWE buries one of the titles in the following months, everyone will know it's because they refused to put the time and effort in developing that story - not because there wasn't one to develop. Even though this PPV was called 'Night of Champions', which match got the most time, press, attention, etc.? That's right, the only non-title match on the card. I guess I can't expect change to come immediately, but it was a start.

There is a lot to build on from what has happened tonight.

Knee-Jerk Reaction (RAW 09/12/11)

2011-09-12T22:22:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone had a happy 9/11!! Oh, you mean that wasn't a holiday yesterday? It sure as hell seemed like it was. There were parades and television shows were preempted. That's the same crap they pull on Thanksgiving every year. I have as much sympathy as the next person over what happened ten years ago, but come on, it was ten years ago. All the coverage that the anniversary of 9/11 received was overkill. But it won't be anything compared to what WWE will probably do tonight. They can get real political if you let them. I just wonder how political and emotional they can get while they're in Canada. You'd think someone would have noticed that.

WHAT I LIKED:
Opening Segment: It's about time we got an opening promo that didn't include some mixture of CM Punk, Triple H, Kevin Nash and John Cena. Sometimes novelty is a good thing... sometimes it's not. While I love Bret Hart, he isn't the man he used to be anymore. That promo was cringe-worthy. "World WWE World Championship?" Come on, Bret, has it really been that long? Then enter John Cena with not just juvenile jokes, but racist ones as well. What a twist! And finally, the coup de grace is John Laurinaitis (that's the first time I've ever had to spell his last name - it took me a couple tries to get it right) and his hoarse voice doing his best Teddy Long impression. He should work on putting all of his emphasis on the last name he mentions - it works well for Teddy. And all of this just to set up a match between Cena & Hart versus Del Rio & Ricardo Rodriguez? A SUPERFACE and a Hall of Famer Canadian in Canada against a heel WWE Champion and his ring announcer. I wonder who the favorites are... It's really use in even recapping the match itself.

The Real Truth: Is that what they're calling the Tag Team of The Miz & R-Truth? Ninja, please! I like it, but The Awesome Truth is much better. Sure, 'The Real Truth' sounds like more of a real name, but since when has WWE Tag Teams been forced to have real names? It's not like Air Boom is credible. Air Boom sounds like something a non-english speaker would say to describe an airplane explosion. Regardless of the name, Miz & R-Truth have a possibility to become a pretty dominant tag team. They're pretty damned good on the mic, too. "'C.M.' should change his name to B.S." "COO twice is coo-coo [cuckoo]" Those are both such easy manipulations of names that I'm surprised no one has made those jokes before. It doesn't bode well that Miz pinned Kofi Kingston tonight, though. The usual trend is that the big winner on RAW before the PPV, loses at the PPV itself.

Triple H Video Package: I was gonna be a prick and ask if we really needed a video package of Triple H. But then I realized it's been a pretty long time since Triple H wrestled, so maybe the video package is warranted. I, for one, haven't forgotten what The Game is capable of. But you know kids these days, short memory spans.

Rhodes vs Orton: Wow. Cody Rhodes actually pinned Randy Orton! And somewhat cleanly at that! This match wasn't near the match that Orton vs Ziggler had two weeks ago on RAW or on the level that most of the matches in the Orton vs Christian rivalry was, but it wasn't bad. These two guys have a lot of chemistry and I think they are saving their best match for when they inevitably meet for the World Title. Also surprisingly, I have to give credit to the announcers of all people for actually making some pretty decent points during this match. Randy Orton won't be able to execute most of his high-impact offensive maneuvers on Mark Henry. Of course, that's not as boggling as they made it seem. All it really means is that the World Title match will be short and slow come Sunday, but I give them credit for trying to spin it in their favor. However, the insinuation that Orton won't be able to RKO Mark Henry is too much. It's not the RKO takes a lot of strength to pull off.

WHAT I HATED:
Ziggler & Swagger vs Morrison & Riley: Man, when was the last time Dolph Ziggler made it into a HATED category? Two weeks ago, he's putting on a headlining match with Randy Orton. Then last week, he's a pawn for Cena to destroy. Now, he's in a tag match that barely goes three minutes. This 'SuperShow' idea is going great for him, isn't it? I know this tag match was really just to further the ongoing rivalry between Ziggler and Swagger, but it could have went a little longer. All four of these guys have talent, and a story can be told just as well in a lengthy match. I guess it's all well and good because slowly, yet surely, Jack Swagger is turning into a babyface. If the two of them face off at Night of Champions, it could be a great match... assuming WWE allows them to actually have a lengthy contest.

Fatal 4-Way United States Championship: What does Alex Riley and John Morrison have to do with anything? This is such crap. I just said that a match between Ziggler & Swagger could be great, and WWE immediately refutes that by making the match more convoluted than it has to be. But then again, that is their status quo.

Otunga & McGillicutty vs Sheamus & Lawler: I was pulled away from my desk during this match and I can't be happier. Fate, you awesome bitch, sometimes I love you!

Kelly vs Vicki: Fate giveth and she taketh away. I guess this match was made while I was away from my computer as well. Seriously, how can anyone think this is a match that we want to see?

9/11 Tribute: Seriously, how does John Cena do the voice-over for the 9/11 tribute when he wasn't even in WWE when they assembled for the first time afterwards? This is just one of the reasons why I hate John Cena. I'm sure there are plenty of superstars who would have loved to be a part of a tribute for 9/11, but it Cena and only Cena who they allow to be the voice of the WWE. It makes it seem like no one else gives a damn.

Punk/HHH: I don't know if I've ever heard such bullshit spouted on television before... maybe in George Bush's "Mission Accomplished" speech. But aside from that, this was pure fiction. Triple H saying that you win over the WWE Universe in order to get ahead in this business is a damnable lie. Everyone knows CM Punk is right about the 'bodybuilder' fetish in WWE. It's no secret. And don't even get me started on Triple H's comments that nobody gets handed anything in WWE. That's just pure bullshit. But that's not even the reason this segment is HATED. Like Triple H said, this promo just went around in circles. All of these unscripted promos are starting to head in that direction. CM Punk going off-script was fun when it was new and he had a lot to say, but now it seems he's aired all the dirty laundry he's allow to air. He's out of things to rant about. I never thought I'd say this, but please go back to scripted promos.

QUOTE OF THE NIGHT: "You're watching the longest running episodic program in history. This is RAW SuperShow." - Michael Cole
Here's a question for ya: Since WWE has in essence changed the name of RAW to 'RAW SuperShow', is it still added onto the episodes of RAW? Sure, it's all canon, but once MASH ended and After-MASH began, they had to start over from episode one. I'm just wondering...

Knee-Jerk Reaction (RAW 09/05/11)

2011-09-05T22:14:00.000-05:00

I never understood why today is called Labor Day, yet most people get the day off work today. It's an oxymoron. A paradox. Are we celebrating all the other days of the year that we have to work? And if so, why would you celebrate working by not working? That's like celebrating a birthday by getting younger. If you ask me, I think Labor Day should be a day where you have to go to work, but you get to slack off all day without any punishment. Now, that's a holiday!

WHAT I LIKED:
Bourne/Kingston vs Mahal/Khali: I continue to waver on the Tag Team scene. There was a lot to like about this match, the foremost being offense displayed by Jinder Mahal during this match. I want to see what Mahal is all about, and this match was a pretty decent showing, but then again it was against Evan Bourne. He's not exactly the most difficult guy to look dominant against. I liked that Mahal & Khali faced the Tag Champions because it solidifies them as one of the many Tag Teams in formation to challenge for the Tag Titles. I would have liked this match better if any indication was given towards who Air Boom's opponents will be at Night of Champions. WWE took the first step in making the Tag Titles relevant again, but they're still not giving them any competition worthy of a title match.

The Miz & R-Truth: This was an amazing mini-promo. I didn't think Miz & Truth had that much chemistry with each other. It's pretty awesome. I like the touch of having Miz & Truth not only challenge Evan Bourne and Kofi Kingston to Tag Team Title match, but accepting it on their behalf as well. The best part about these two guys is that even though they are both heels, the audience loves to play along with their quirks and catchphrases. These are two polarizing, entertaining heels who have a lot of talent. There's no excuse for overlooking them.

Punk vs Truth: This was a pretty decent match. Right on par with Miz vs Punk from last week... except for two distinct changes: 1) There was an actual finish and 2) The crowd knew they could cheer for Punk. If I had to nitpick, and I do, one thing I noticed was that the ending of this match eerily similar to the ending of the Punk vs Cena match from a couple weeks ago when Cena became #1 Contender. Only this time, when Punk turned around he reversed R-Truth and hit the GTS. Why couldn't he have done the same thing then? If a distraction is so distracting that it costs you one match, why doesn't it do the same for the other? Because Cena is a SUPERFACE, that's why. That's not continuity.

Punk/HHH: First of all, how can you change a match after you've already signed the contract? That's why those stupid contract signing segments are on the long list of my pet peeves. The No Disqualification stipulation all but guarantees that Kevin Nash (and possibly others from The Kliq) will interfere in the match. Punk's additional stipulation of Triple H resigning as COO, all but guarantees Punk is going to lose the match.

Zack Ryder!!!: Zack Ryder not only appearing in a match on RAW, but winning the match too, is always going to be in the LIKED category... even though everything else about the match totally sucked. I'm choosing to ignore Jerry Lawler because announcers getting involved in storylines is one of my biggest pet peeves of pro-wrestling. And burying Otunga & McGillicutty will never get them over.

WHAT I HATED:
Opening Segment: What. A. Letdown. It was Kevin Nash all along. He sent the text to himself. That's a worse twist then Rikishi running over Steve Austin. I mean, if he were going to lie about it, why go through the hassle of sending the text in the first place? Nash could've just attacked Punk on his own accord and it'd have the exact same impact as it has now. The added element of the 'whodunit' mystery is what made this storyline exciting. I was hoping for Stephanie McMahon to be involved somehow. Aside from that, I didn't like this segment because it's becoming easily noticable that these conversations aren't scripted. CM Punk is great off-script. Triple H is okay, but Kevin Nash is not.

Orton vs Slater: This match was pretty much a squash save for about one minute of offense from Heath Slater. But my real problem with this match is - if this new 'RAW Supershow' is for Smackdown & RAW superstars to appear together, why have two Smackdown superstars face each other? I mean, like the announcers said, Heath Slater had nothing to lose in this match and he sure as hell wasn't going to win, so what was the point of having this match? Just for Orton to notch another win on his belt? Yeah, probably so.

PUSH:
Eight-Man Tag Match: Man, tonight's episode is just chocked full of pet peeves. I absolutely hate impromptu matches like these. Especially in the main event. It's ten minutes before the scheduled end of RAW when Teddy Long makes this match and then it's straight to commercial. Even with the usual overrun, this match won't last any longer than 10 minutes. And since Cena's team pretty much have to win, it means the heels will be pretty much buried. And for a superstar like Dolph Ziggler, who had an excellent match against Randy Orton last week, it's one hell of a turnaround. Albeit, this match did have some good points. I like the interaction between Sheamus & Christian. That could be a really fun rivalry if they allow it to play out. And I thought they would allow this entire episode of RAW to pass without any mention of the ongoing Ziggler/Swagger/Vicki storyline. How they weaved this into the impromptu match was actually pretty impressive. However, I wasn't a fan of how they made Cena defeat them both single-handedly... and still be able to take out Del Rio after the match. But that's SUPERCENA for ya!

QUOTE OF THE NIGHT: "The WWE Universe doesn't know what's good for them. The WWE Universe wants candy, and candy rots their teeth. Beth & I are here to educate them on what's good for them, and it might just be vegetables." - Natalya
Excellent line, Natalya. Just excellent. It's almost likening the WWE universe to... KIDS!!! It's funny because it's true. I've been reading about that article concerning the Divas and more importantly, the Divas reaction to said article. I find it funny that the Divas who disagree with the article are the diva-dolls and the divas who agree with it have put time and effort into their craft. I don't really care which side is right or wrong, I just like that some movement is happening in the divas division, and that this might give the divas who have been banking on their looks to actually put in that same effort to become better. This is a win-win situation.

Knee-Jerk Reaction (Smackdown 08/30/11)

2011-08-30T21:08:00.000-05:00

Another day, another SUPERSHOW. I really don't mind the SUPERSHOWS, as yesterday's rant might have made it seem. I wanted the brand extension to end, so I like the shows that feature all of the talent WWE has to offer. My problem are the inane reasons given for airing the SUPERSHOWS. Last week, Bret Hart says this SUPERSHOW is because he requested it. Yeah, right. It's because WWE doesn't want to lose viewers due to the Labor Day Weekend. There's nothing wrong with that. I don't see why they have to lie to their fans.

WHAT I LIKED:
Daniel Bryan vs Sin Cara: This match was slower than I thought it'd be. But then again, Hunico isn't near as quick as Mistico... and that's not a bad thing. What worries me is that Daniel Bryan seems to be on a losing streak and I don't understand why. I figure something will happen between now and when he cashes in the Money in the Bank briefcase, so I'm not going to fret over it for now. The aftermath of the match was a bit of a surprise. I was expecting a heel turn once they did the handshake, but I was expecting it to be Daniel Bryan. Sin Cara turning heel is something I never thought I'd see... not this soon. Maybe they will run with my proposed 'imposter' storyline after all. I hope they do. It could be great.

Divas Tag: I must not have watched Smackdown in a while. I had no idea that Alicia Fox was a babyface now. I'm tempted to put this in the LIKE category simply because Eve and/or The Bellas were not involved in this Tag match. But it loses points because Aksana was the 'Guest Ring Announcer' for some reason. Albeit, I can ignore that since Kelly Kelly lost a match for the second day in a row. You know what, I think I will put this in the LIKE category. I can't wait until whatever is brewing with Beth & Natalya actually comes to fruition.

Punk/HHH: Now that's more like it! Triple H and CM Punk are both big talkers, so that confrontation was the best one yet. I don't like how they keep trying to build CM Punk as anti-WWE. It's reminiscent of how the powers that be treat the IWC as anti-WWE. We're not against WWE and neither is CM Punk. We just want WWE to be enjoyable again. Triple H was right, there are some people that are fine with WWE the way it is now. They like it. They enjoy watching it every week. But there are also people who don't enjoy it every week. That's not to say we don't enjoy some parts of it, but not the majority. All we want is to be able to enjoy it like the others. If we didn't like it, we wouldn't watch. We're not gluttons for punishment, after all. If we did stop watching, stop paying for live events, stop paying for PPVs, stop buying merchandise, etc., WWE would have near the profit margin they do now. It's the adult males who bring their kids, who cheer for Cena. It's the adult males who buy the Cena merchandise for their kids. It's the adult males who pay for PPVs, so their kids can root for Cena. Give us a little credit by giving us something to cheer for as well. Is that really so bad? I know I went off on a tangent of my own, and I digress. Who would've thought that Kevin Nash could bring the intensity? I cringed a little when he stepped into the ring. I thought that knee was going to give out again. Maybe it's a little better than I thought.

WHAT I HATED:
John Cena vs Wade Barrett: And here I thought Wade Barrett was supposed to be in a push... Of course, that means absolutely nothing when you're facing a SUPERFACE. I'm not even upset that Barrett lost. I'm upset that it was a quick loss. It was a prototypical Cena match, complete with a prototypical Cena match ending. Yes, the six moves of doom. It's really annoying how WWE uses their young heels. This match should have been the level that Orton vs Ziggler was last night. It should have made Barrett look good despite the loss. Instead, Wade Barrett looked like a jobber tonight.

Sheamus vs Khali: "I can finally cheer for Sheamus." Nice sign! I have to comment on the storyline between Khali & Jinder Mahal. Basically, if I understand this correctly, Khali & Mahal are brothers-in-law. Mahal is rich and if Khali doesn't do what he says, he'll cut Khali's family off from his riches. Did I get that right? How idiotic is that? What rich man cares about what happens in pro-wrestling? Whatever. While I didn't like this matchup with Khali & Sheamus, I'm betting that I will like a rivalry between Sheamus & Mahal. I need to see what Mahal can do in the ring and I want to see Sheamus grow as a babyface.

World Heavyweight Championship: 'Who has the advantage in the steel cage match?' asks WWE. Oh, you mean between the guy who had a very good match last night and gained a lot of momentum or the guy who ended RAW on his back? Or do you mean between the SUPERFACE or the heel? I think we all know who has the advantage in this match. Don't patronize me. Though it's not a pet peeve, it is irritating when they allow pinfall & submission in a Cage match. What's the use of even having a cage then? Ideally, it's so no one can interfere in the match, but that went out of the window when Mark Henry tore the cage door off it's hinges to get to Big Show. Oh, and guess who the main threat is to interfere in this cage match? That's right, Mark Henry. All of that aside, this was another good match in the lexicon of Christian vs Randy Orton. These guys have such excellent chemistry with each other, that it's a shame to see this rivalry end. Or is it? It's ending just like I thought it would - with Randy Orton on top and leaving with the World Title. In fact, throughout the entirety of this so-called rivalry, Christian has only won once when it mattered and it had to be by DQ. Can you really even call that rivalry? The Yankees and Red Sox are playing tonight - that's a rivalry. It wouldn't be called a rivalry if the Yankees beat the Red Sox all but one time, and that one time the Red Sox won on a bad call. It wouldn't be much of a rivalry at all. Neither was this. There were a lot of great matches, but this was a failed rivalry.

QUOTE OF THE NIGHT: "Christian made history when he was the first superstar to win the World Title by disqualification." - Michael Cole
Uh, no. Dolph Ziggler did just that against Edge not more than a year ago. Remember, Edge was banned from using the spear in the match. So when he did, he was disqualified and Ziggler became World Champion for a brief period of time. Still counts, though! I can't remember if anyone did it before Dolph Ziggler, but I'm pretty sure even he wasn't the first.

Knee-Jerk Reaction (RAW 08/29/11)

2011-08-29T23:07:00.000-05:00

Tonight's RAW is no regular RAW. No, it's a SUPER-RAW. What is it with our habit of adding prefixes like 'super' to things and expecting them to be better than normal? It doesn't change anything. The Superbowl is still just a football game. A supermarket is still a grocery store. Superman is still just a - okay, maybe you got me there. However, this is still the same show with the same wrestlers and the same writers and the same flaws. And how do you even quantify these prefixes? Sure, 'super' is better than normal. But is 'mega' better than 'super'? What about 'hyper'? And where does 'grand' rank? I could go on...

WHAT I LIKED:
Opening Segment: Sure, it had it's issues - like Kevin Nash still being horrible on the mic, despite being off-script now. And CM Punk imitating vomiting for over a minute. (Yeah, that went over well with my nosy co-workers.) However, Triple H basically announced that the Brand Extension is over! Hallelujah!!! Of course, he couldn't just say that - no he had to make it a SUPERSHOW from here on out, but I'll take what I can get. I feel like this is the New Testament and Triple H is the prophesied son, who despite saying he's keeping his father's (or in this case, father-in-law's) rules, is changing them all one by one - giving hope to us fallen, forgotten about fan-base. Thank you Triple H! But I'm not going to see your movie. It looks like it suuucks.

Orton vs Ziggler: Hot damn! What a match! I couldn't leave my seat during this match. I thought for sure that since Dolph was in control for the first part of the match (before the commercial break) that Orton would dominate for the second half. I've never been more happy to be more wrong. Orton really allowed Ziggler to showcase his offense. Of course, Orton was going to win in the end - no question about that. But Dolph did not leave that match looking like a loser. He was amazing. Orton was amazing. He proved that he can have a decent contest with someone other than Christian. I LOVED this match. If this match is any indication of the what the end of the brand extension will look like, then I am game. Props to Orton for that flapjack-to-RKO move as well. That look brutal.

CM Punk vs The Miz: This was actually a really good match. It just didn't seem like it because the crowd wasn't very into it. I guess the marks haven't been told that it's okay to cheer for CM Punk now. Maybe they should do like WCW and light up an applause sign when he comes out. Of course I liked this matchup. It's two of my favorites in the ring together. What's not to like? I was even okay with the dirty finish. It pushes the Punk/Nash storyline further and it keeps the continuity of Miz & R-Truth's new alliance.

Sin Cara vs Jack Swagger: I couldn't tell who was under the Sin Cara mask tonight. Was it Hunico? Was it Mistico? Who knows? Who cares? All I know (and care about) was that Sin Cara was on his game tonight. Whomever it was under the mask did a very good job. As far as the whole Sin Cara drama goes, I think it's gotten so much press from the IWC that WWE should incorporate it into an actual storyline. What better way to introduce Hunico than to start a rivalry with Sin Cara? It could be all about how Hunico impersonated Sin Cara while the real Sin Cara was injured. Then you have two cruiserweights ready and waiting for that cruiserweight division revival that has been mentioned a lot in the rumor mill. As for the other guy in this match, I've changed my mind. I want it to be Jack Swagger who turns babyface - not Dolph Ziggler. I think Swagger would benefit more from it because his character is so animated and he's not a bad actor at all. Albeit, if WWE could parlay this pairing into a tag team, I wouldn't mind that at all either.

The Epilogue: I didn't expect for the change to occur and Triple H to take Kevin Nash's place at Night of Champions, but I sure am glad it happened. I respect Kevin Nash, but everytime I think of him wrestling, I flashback to 2002 when Kevin Nash, fresh off a return from injury, stepped into the ring for a tag match and subsequently blew out his knee again. He's gimpy. He cannot wrestle anymore. I'm glad Triple H will be facing Punk, but I feel like this is too easy. The Punk/HHH match should be fleshed out more. They should maybe wait until Survivor Series or something before this match happens.

WHAT I HATED:
Cena, Henry, Christian & Sheamus: Ummm, where the hell was Alberto Del Rio? Did you guys forget something? Like your WWE Champion, perhaps? Maybe one of his cars stalled out on the way to the arena or something. How can you promote the end of the brand extension and a SUPERSHOW without your champion? No way they pull this if Cena was champion. Whatever. All this did was put Cena in the middle of something that he has absolutely nothing to do with. But then again, this is basically what happened when he made the 'save' against Del Rio a couple weeks ago anyway. So, I guess it's nothing new. I do like the pop that Sheamus receives as a face now. I haven't watched Smackdown in a while, so I hadn't heard how the crowd reacts to him until now.

Cena & Sheamus vs Henry & Christian: I could have just added this to the above, but I know I'm going to rant and I wanted it to be a standalone. Here we go: How the fuck are we supposed to buy Christian as a viable contender in the World Title cage match tomorrow night when he ends RAW on his back? I knew this would happen the second they made the match official. Mark Henry wasn't going to be pinned - not with his push. Cena sure as hell wasn't gonna lose. And since Sheamus was on Team Cena tonight (which I'll get to in a bit), that leaves Christian with his dick in his hand. You have to know already that Christian isn't going to win the cage match anyway, but dammit couldn't he at least look strong going in? I hate how WWE books heels. I fuckin' hate it. Now onto Sheamus who, like I said before, I like as a babyface. But him teaming with Cena - the man who called him 'a jar of mayonaisse' and other juvenile analogies - is just unbelievable. Are we supposed to believe that once a superstar becomes a babyface, his dignity no longer matters to him? I'm calling bullshit on this one. At least they allowed the announcers to remind people of their feud. Usually, we don't even get that.

Tag Team Championship: Air Boom? Really? And not just because it's a silly name. It's almost the ten year anniversary to 9/11, WWE makes a Tag Team called Air Boom. That should go over well. How does no one think about this? I'm not at all a politically correct person and even I see the problem there. Silly and offending names aside, last week I was just happy to see a Tag Team Title match. This week, I'm already over it. I'm glad they allowed Otunga & McGillicutty to have a rematch, but this was barely a rematch. It was blink-and-you-miss-it. Then they just had to commit the damnable sin and once again bring Jerry Lawler into the fray. Look, last week I would have loved for someone to slap Lawler after his annoying comments, but a storyline involving him is too much. Announcers should just be announcers and not a part of the show itself. That's one of my pet peeves with professional wrestling. I may just write a blog about all my pet peeves later this week, just so you all know what ticks me off.

Knee-Jerk Reaction (RAW 08/22/11)

2011-08-22T23:03:00.000-05:00

Just so you all know the RAW KJRs will be done semi-live from henceforth, as I've found a way to work around my schedule. Smackdown is a different story. I get off work @ midnight on Friday nights, then have to go right back @ 6:00 AM Saturday morning. I am off on Sundays, but it's pretty much too late to write a blog called a 'knee-jerk reaction' two days after I'm supposed to be reacting to the show. I'll figure something out, but for the time being don't expect a Smackdown KJR regularly.

WHAT I LIKED:
Del Rio vs Morrison: Fun match. Of course everyone knew that Del Rio was going to win. There's no way they'd allow Morrison to pick up a win over the reigning champion - not with the heat that's on him. However, I have to give Morrison a lot of credit for ignoring all the backstage stuff surrounding him and his girlfriend, Melina. There are a lot of guys who would turn their back on their company after firing their girlfriend, but not Morrison. He's still a very consistent performer in the ring and it doesn't seem like he's affected by this one bit. Good for him.

Swagger vs Riley: This one has me intrigued. I'm intrigued by the fact that Vickie might be managing Jack Swagger. I've said before that all he needs is a good manager to get him over. Vickie Guerrero = Good Manager. I've also said that Dolph and Vickie need to break up, and all signs point to that happening sooner or later. Then I just have to wonder if Jack Swagger is going to turn babyface or if Dolph Ziggler will? I hope it's Dolph. I think he could gather quite the following as a babyface. And this is coming from a guy who loves heels.

HHH/Punk/Nash: Now this segment was much better than last week's, where it seemed tossed together at the last possible segment. No, this week had a point. It's clearly setting up Punk vs Triple H for some point of time in the future. Triple H even made a point of acknowledging his promise not to get physical. A promise that every wrestling fan knows will get broken. It always does. But for now, Punk has to deal with Kevin Nash. I'm not really interested in seeing Punk vs Nash because well, it's Kevin Nash. He's gimpy. We're not going to see the quality of match I know Punk is capable of because he'll have to tone down his aggressiveness to account for Nash's ailing knee and his limited mobility.

WHAT I HATED:
Opening Segment: I know WWE still has all their eggs in the John Cena basket, but Alberto Del Rio is the current WWE Champion. Give the man some time to speak before interrupting him, please. And whatever happened to SUPERSERIOUSCENA? Did the Creative Team realize that it's not what the kiddies pay to see? Oh, that's right, they don't pay. Regardless, it was right back to poop-joke Cena tonight. I don't know who scripted that opening segment or if it even was scripted, but it was cringe-worthy. I could tell all three guys were just waiting for Triple H to interrupt and make the matches for the night. Tough. Also, I didn't like how Triple H just pushed Del Rio to the side so he could talk to Cena & Punk. Del Rio is the champion. He deserves the attention now.

Eve vs Nikki: Never mind the fact that this was another divas match, which almost always makes it into the HATED category. What really irked me was the video clip they played of Beth & Natalya before the match started, where they're saying they don't want to be beautiful and voluptuous like Eve and Kelly Kelly. Uh, who the hell said Beth & Natalya isn't beautiful or voluptuous? I think Natalya is damned hot, and while Beth's muscular body isn't exactly my type, I could understand why a guy (like CM Punk) would date her. She's not ugly or unattractive by any means. I think that was a classless move to even insinuate that Beth & Natalya aren't sexy.

The Truth is AWESOME!!!: Or is it? Jumping Santino Marella, while it will garner some boos, is not a good opening statement. I mean, what has Santino done lately? Exactly. He hasn't been on RAW in a while and his former tag partner just got released. I don't think he qualifies as someone who has benefited from the so-called 'new regime'. That aside, Miz & Truth have a valid argument. They have been looked over. Look no further than last week, where Miz had to pitch Subway. Both of these guys are talented heels and can anchor a rivalry with any babyface. The problem is... there are no babyfaces to feud with. Not of their caliber. I wouldn't mind seeing a rivalry between say, Kofi Kingston and R-Truth, but Kofi is otherwise engaged right now. And after that, who is left? The conspiracy is simple: WWE is busy trying to get Cena over with the IWC - something that will never happen - and they are ignoring the rest of their babyfaces. There shouldn't be that big a dropoff from the top babyface on RAW (John Cena) to the second (Kofi Kingston). I'm not including Rey Mysterio because he's out of action right now.

CM Punk vs John Cena: If I had been allowed to be in that arena, I would have punched out Jerry Lawler tonight. He was as irritating as, well, a proto-typical Cena fan. He cried about how both times Punk beat Cena, there was outside interference and even had the audacity to say that CM Punk wasn't as good as Cena. The nerve! Add that to all the spin the announcers normally heave onto the crowd-booing Cena, and I could barely watch this match. I'm so tired of JR and King saying that Cena "illicits emotions". No, people just don't like him. If all booing is just 'illiciting emotion', then there's not a heel in WWE who is actually a heel... just emotion illiciters. Kudos to the fans who tossed Cena's shirt back into the ring, twice! How's that for emotion? And notice that the guy who caught Punk's shirt was holding it proudly while those transactions were occurring? Now, none of the above has anything to do with the match itself, but why should it? I knew going in that Cena would win. As soon as Kevin Nash hit Punk earlier in the show, I knew something would happen to make Cena win. Plus, you can't pin Cena three times in a row. I thought hell froze over when it was done twice. As for the aftermath of the match, which saw Del Rio attack John Cena, well, it's the same old, same old. Cena will get beat down a couple times between now and Night of Champions, only to win the match when it really counts. SSDD.

PUSH:
Tag Team Championships: I haven't had a PUSH in a while because I've pretty much been able to separate what I LIKE and HATE. But this has me torn. On one hand, I am glad the Tag Team Titles have been push back out into the forefront. Albeit if it weren't for Night of Champions being around the corner, I question whether or not this would be happening. Whatever. Sometimes the timing is just what is needed. I said last week I don't like the tag team of Kofi Kingston and Evan Bourne. I still don't. Just because they both fly around in the ring, doesn't make them compatible. Kofi is athletic. Bourne is not. Bourne is a high-flyer. Kofi is not. I think WWE confuses those two qualities. In my opinion, Kofi Kingston would be a better match with John Morrison. And Morrison & Kingston would be a much formidable tag team than Bourne & Kingston. I would have preferred, however, that WWE kept the Tag Titles on Otunga & McGillicutty instead. Here me out. Neither of those guys are without an upside. Otunga is horrible on the mic, but he's still got a great look. He only needs to get better in the ring. McGillicutty is, well, Joe freakin' Hennig - son of the late, beyond-great Mr. Perfect. All WWE needs to do is let that fact out and he'd be beloved by all. WWE has this all wrong. It's not the Tag Titles that needs a revival, it's the Tag Team Division. And you don't make a better division by ousting the reigning champions, you make the champions better. Better champions lead to better challengers which to better competition which leads to more challengers and ultimately a better division altogether.

Knee-Jerk Reaction (RAW 08/15/11)

2011-08-16T19:26:00.001-05:00

Man, this feels like the first RAW KJR I've done in ages. (Even longer for Smackdown.) But there's no better way to clear the cobwebs than to jump right back onto the bicycle, and yes, I'm sure I mixed a bunch of different cliches there. But who cares?

WHAT I LIKED:
HHH/Nash: Call me crazy, but I like this whole 'whodunit' angle they have going on here. I'm sure it'll be revealed that it was Stephanie who sent the text to Kevin Nash telling him to take out the winner - because it's that obvious, but who cares? It's fun. Also, I was one of the millions who wondered how long it'd take before we saw The Cliq in the Triple H-run WWE. Answer: Not long at all. I fully expect to see Waltman at some point of time and definitely an appearance or twelve from HBK, but WWE would be foolish to give Scott Hall any kind of cash.

Alberto Del Rio: I'm excited that he's WWE Champion. I don't know about anyone else. Of course, I'm a big Del Rio mark. But even if I wasn't, it should always be exciting to see a brand new champion. We know who Cena is as a champion, the same goes for Orton. The Miz surprised everyone as champion, myself included. It'll be interesting to see if Del Rio is a bomb or a bust. However, recent history has led me to believe, he's gonna be just fine. I liked his speech about beating Rey Mysterio. I laughed when he said he wakes up in the morning and thinks about beating Rey Mysterio... although he probably should have added a "No Homo" tag at the end of that.

Vickie/Dolph: How annoying was this? Answer: Very. But then again, I think that was the point. It was supposed to annoying and it did its job. I like this for the simple fact that it signifies an end to Vicki Guerrero being Ziggler's manager. Don't get me wrong, I really like Vicki as a manager, but I think Dolph has grown to the point where he can get over on his own. All the dirty finishes he receives on the account of Vicki's interference is seriously taking away from his in-ring ability, something he doesn't lack at all.

Kingston/Bourne vs McGillicutty/Otunga: I'm tempted to put this in the LIKE category just because some leeway was made in the tag team division. Must be time for Night of Champions... the one PPV where WWE is almost forced at gunpoint by their own rules to pay attention to the other championship titles in the company. I LOVE it! In fact, this is going into the LIKE category just for that, even though this match was awful and I don't like the pairing of Bourne and Kingston at all. Bring back the real Sin Cara and pair him with Evan Bourne.

Del Rio vs Mysterio: I have to admit, with the way WWE was hyping up Rey Mysterio all night long, I had my doubts about whether or not Del Rio would keep his newly won title. WWE isn't exactly against super short title reigns - just ask Rey Mysterio. And by they way, since Rey is now a 3-time World Champion, can he lose the whole 'underdog' tag? You know who's an underdog? Zack Ryder is. Not Rey Mysterio. This was a decent match, but it was ruined by Rey Mysterio's knee injury. Props to Rey for gutting it out, though, and to WWE for keeping their promise of a title match despite Rey not being 100%.

WHAT I HATED:
The Miz: There are better things, much better things, WWE could be doing with The Miz instead of having him be a pitchman for Subway. They tried to play it off as Miz making fun of Jared and Subway itself, but really that was just a big wad of cash going into Vince's pocket for that five minute segment. I guess a small Miz promo is better than no Miz at all, though. That's something we've been heading towards very steadily lately.

Punk/Nash: Nash bombed that entire promo. He even took Punk off his game - something not easily done. Then again, Kevin Nash was never the best promo guy, even in his prime. Before anyone asks, no, I have never been a big Diesel fan. I enjoyed him in nWo, but that was about all. Come to think of it, I wonder when Punk was naming off Nash's alter egos (Oz, Vinny Vegas, etc.), how many kids in the audience even knew what the hell he was talking about? Probably none. I doubt they were even born when Nash was wrestling in the early 90's. Yet, WWE insists on catering to that demographic. Justin Roberts should never have had to list off all of Kevin Nash's accomplishments before he entered. It's pathetic.

R-Truth vs John Morrison: This is a singles match with a built-in rivalry that could have been featured at Summerslam. But no, because neither guy is important (nor has a future beyond where they are now), it was thrown together on RAW. And you could tell it was literally thrown together, too. There was no rhythm to this match. Just one near fall after another. And nobody, not even the crowd, was into it. Hopefully this feud is over with now because WWE ruined it.

John Cena: SUPERCENA is SUPERSERIOUSCENA now. Uh-oh. Everybody better watch out because now he's unstoppable - which is different than before, how? Exactly. John Cena can't fool me by adopting a serious tone and a monotone voice. You're still the same old Cena. Nothing has changed. Nothing will ever change. The one thing I took from that promo is that I was right - Cena is nothing without the WWE Championship. He has nothing to do with Alberto Del Rio, yet he puts himself in the fray because it's the only thing there for him. The writers know it. Vince knows it. If Cena is not the current champion or in the championship hunt, he's vanilla. Even more vanilla than normal. They seem to think that this change in demeanor is a new thing, but we've seen this plenty of times before... against Nexus, against The Miz, against everyone he's ever faced. Then he's gonna revert right back to the juvenile-joke-making Cena because those are his only two modes.

On an unrelated note, I wonder how many times in this rivalry will Del Rio be allowed to pin Cena cleanly. Hell, Punk didn't even get to do it in his two PPV wins over Cena, so what hope is there for Del Rio?

A lot of the reviews I read rated the Punk/Nash face-off as the most positive portion of this program. I rate it there too, but only slightly. And if that was the best part of an otherwise poor episode of RAW, then WWE has some work to do. Aside from finding out who actually sent the text to Nash (and why Nash is taking orders from a telephone?), I have nothing to look forward to from this episode. That's it. That's all I got.

Knee-Jerk Reaction (Summerslam 2011)

2011-08-14T22:07:00.000-05:00

Rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated... I hope I have been missed because I have certainly missed writing these KJR's. I missed wrestling altogether. I haven't watched any wrestling of any kind since Money in the Bank, and even then I had to download it. Tonight will be the first time in over a month that I'm watching wrestling live. I took on an extra responsibility that severely limited my free time, but now that's over. So, with fingers firmly crossed, the KJR's and the X-Blog is back baby!!! And right in time for the biggest party of the summer!

Right off the bat, I have say how concerned I am about the lack of a strong card for this PPV. This Punk/Cena storyline has given WWE a lot of exposure, of which they used solely to push the "Triple H is now in charge storyline." They didn't do anything to bolster anyone else on the roster or any other title. They just made the past month all about Triple H, CM Punk and John Cena. Now, they have to anchor an entire PPV around those three guys as well. I think the main event will be fun to watch and I'm almost certain there will be some controversy and maybe a surprise or two, but that's only the last thirty minutes. What will they do to fill the first 2 and a half hours? Orton/Christian will be fine. Bryan/Barrett will be entertaining. But how much can Sheamus/Henry really do? Henry doesn't have the stamina for a clock-eating contest. And don't even get me started on the divas. Odds are, there will be some impromptu matches, which I hate. Or there'll be a lot of backstage vignettes featuring the 'stars' in Los Angeles (ala Wrestlemania XVIII), which I hate even more. I don't want to be a spoil-sport on my first day back, but I'm not expecting much of anything aside from the two main events.

Rey Mysterio, Kofi Kingston & John Morrison def. The Miz, R-Truth & Alberto Del Rio
WHAT I LIKED: As much as I hate impromptu matches at PPVs, I'm always happy to see The Miz & Alberto Del Rio. These are six of WWE's most popular superstars. Every last one of them are far over with the fans and very talented. One of them was even WWE Champion not three weeks ago. This six-man tag team match was a great way to kick off Summerslam, even though it would've been much better if this match was advertised.
WHAT I HATED: Way to give away your opening, WWE. Everyone could see the 'AWESOME' bubble-letters on the stage during the opening pyro. These are six of WWE's most popular superstars. Every last one of them are far over with the fans and very talented. One of them was WWE Champion not three weeks ago. (Sound familiar?) Why are any of them being dropped into a last minute contest? I swear, if you're not John Cena, currently feuding with John Cena or interjecting yourself into John Cena's feud, WWE just doesn't give a damn about you. There is no reason why this six-man tag team match couldn't have been three different singles matches since they've all feuded with each other in the past month. Or in the case of John Morrison & R-Truth, for the past couple months. And given WWE has already scheduled a WWE Championship match tomorrow night, The Miz and Rey Mysterio could have had a #1 Contender's Match. It's pathetic to see such excellent talent wasted. Plus, did anyone really expect for Rey Mysterio to lose this match? It wouldn't make much sense if he lost tonight and then had a WWE Championship match tomorrow. Way to tip your pitches, WWE.

Sheamus def. Mark Henry
WHAT I LIKED: Have I mentioned how much I like Sheamus as a babyface? Well, I guess I haven't because I haven't blogged while he's been a babyface. In case you were wondering, I like Sheamus as a babyface. I hope it doesn't last very long, but I like it right now. I liked the broken barricade spot. I think the barricade broke a little too easily, however. It looked like that section of the barricade was barely even attached to the rest of it. Come on, WWE, you're better than that.
WHAT I HATED: The only main thing I dislike about Sheamus' babyface turn is that it takes him out of the running for the World Heavyweight Title. How so, you ask? Follow my logic here: Randy Orton is a babyface. Randy Orton is feuding with Christian, the current World Champion. For all intents and purposes, Orton will win the 'go-away' match between the two and end the feud as World Champion. Orton will then be a babyface champion, looking for his next heel challenger. If Sheamus is still a babyface by then, he won't qualify. I know it seems like I'm bogging WWE down to heels vs babyfaces, but when you think about it, that's all it really is. Good thing this match wasn't the opening contest because it was pretty slow. While I did like the broken barricade spot, I didn't like the count-out finish. It was a weak finish for two strong brawlers like Sheamus and Mark Henry.

Kelly Kelly def. Beth Phoenix, retaining the Divas Championship
WHAT I LIKED: I have to give it to Kelly Kelly for learning some moves for this match. I know Beth Phoenix had a lot to do with it, but this wasn't the worst divas match in the world.
WHAT I HATED: Kelly Kelly is still Divas Champion... that says it all. Also, I saw that finish coming from a mile away.

Daniel Bryan def. Wade Barrett
WHAT I LIKED: This match started off pretty plain, but then it got really physical. Wade Barrett flying forearm and Daniel Bryan's knee off the apron were just two of the physical highlights of the match. Wade Barrett winning the match was a complete surprise, but it's just fine with me. Especially if I think this is going where I think it's going... and that's the rumored return of The Undertaker. Barrett is going to need to look strong if that's the plan.
WHAT I HATED: I couldn't find much to hate about this match, but if I'm going to nitpick... the crowd could have responded a little better to both of these future World Champions. That's right, I'm calling it right now!

Randy Orton def. Christian, becoming the new World Heavyweight Champion
WHAT I LIKED: Edge! Fuck Yeah! They have to find something for Edge to do onscreen regularly because he's too young to be retired. He's too popular to just make sporadic appearances. He would be great as the RAW AnonGM, you know, if he didn't have a feud with the guy. But there's always something he can do. I just know it. As a former ECW fanatic, I love the hardcore element of this match. But, I miss the quality of the first two PPV matches these two guys had. The stipulations added in these last two, while fun to watch, have seriously affected the quality.
WHAT I HATED: While it was great to see Edge again, he gets my ire for the night. Edge said he didn't know Christian was a "whiny, crying little bitch." Really? Because I did. Hell, for a good time in WWE, being a 'crybaby' was his entire gimmick. Remember when Christian used to throw fits in the ring after every loss? I'm sure Edge does, but for the sake of the fans who can't remember before 2005, he had to misremember it. I hate that. And I hate that Christian lost the World Title. I think Christian should have won at least one clean match over Orton at a PPV. The best opportunity he had was tonight because it's easier to win clean over a SUPERFACE if weapons are allowed, but no. It seems the only way Christian can beat Orton is for Orton to lose, not for Christian to win.

CM Punk def. John Cena, becoming the Undisputed WWE Champion
WHAT I LIKED: This match, this crowd, this entire situation was nowhere on par with Money in the Bank. It didn't have to be, but it would've been nice. Still, there were a lot of dueling "Let's Go Cena" and "CM Punk" chants. And the crowd did stay in the match, which is all I ask of them. The match itself was fun to watch, but Triple H's presence was too distracting. I spent the whole match wondering what he was going to do. Or who he would hit. That takes away from the match itself.
WHAT I HATED: The finish. This is just going to give all of Cena's kiddy-bopper fans something to cry over. I knew that Triple H would make some kind of mistake to cost Cena the title because heaven forbid CM Punk win the match cleanly. Here's one thing I've always wondered... if you have the sense of mind to put your foot on the rope, why not just kick out instead? WWE referees miss the foot on the rope so often, you'd think a smart person would just stop utilizing that as a kick-out method. But it fits the script, so whatever...

Alberto Del Rio def. CM Punk, becoming the new WWE Champion
WHAT I LIKED: Big Daddy Cool Diesel went against his Cliq buddy, Triple H!? I wonder if Stephanie McMahon is behind this at all. Maybe she picked a side between her dad and her husband, and daddy won out. I don't know. All I know is Alberto Del Rio is (finally!) WWE Champion and it's about damn time.
WHAT I HATED: n/a

QUOTE OF THE NIGHT: "Some people may not like John Cena, but everyone respects him." - Jerry Lawler
Ummmm, no. That was basically The Rock's entire message on RAW this past Monday - that the longtime male fans of this business don't respect Cena because he's a phony. I know Lawler heard that, he was in the arena when the video aired. Although, I'm sure he was too busy trying to come up with his next zinger.

I figured there'd be a lot of vignettes and interview segments to cover the obvious time disparity WWE created for themselves. I noticed that almost everyone milked their entrances a bit to make up some time as well. I could have done without the Cee-Lo Green performance (Really, Cee-Lo? Sequins?). And the National Anthem, while awesomely done(!), was also just another time killer. I did like seeing Stephanie McMahon, who I hope will make more onscreen performances in the near future if Triple H could stop knocking her up for a year or so - but who could blame the guy!?. In the first thirty minutes, they'd already had an interview/backstage segment with two of the main-eventers. They almost never do that. The R-Truth/Jimmy Hart segment was pretty funny. I don't know how I didn't make the correlation between Jimmy Hart and Lil' Jimmy. Hart was right about one thing, though. R-Truth could use a manager to get him over.

This PPV was a poor follow-up to the epic Money In The Bank. It was like MITB-redux. Both main-events were just rematches from MITB, with a stipulation thrown in. Bryan/Barrett came about off the heels of MITB. All the wrestlers in the Six-Man Tag match were in the MITB Ladder match, so it was almost a rematch as well.

Alberto Del Rio winning the WWE Championship was an excellent note to end on because now I'm actually looking forward to RAW tomorrow night. Whereas before that transpired, I was uninspired. I am interested in the returns of both Stephanie McMahon and Kevin Nash, and I hope the two are directly related.

Knee-Jerk Reaction (Money in The Bank 2011)

2011-07-18T16:24:00.000-05:00

I wasn't this excited for the past couple of Wrestlemanias. This PPV has far too much to look forward to. The Money in the Bank Ladder matches, while jumbled and repetitive, are always good for their entertainment value. Then Orton vs Christian has been a great rivalry so far. None of their PPV matches have been bad. And to top ot all off, Cena vs Punk has so many possible endings that I, nor anyone else, knows what will happen right now. This all makes for one hell of a great PPV and here we go...

Daniel Bryan wins the Smackdown Money in the Bank Ladder Match:
WHAT I LIKED: Holy shit! I did not see this one coming. This had to whet the appetite of every smark everywhere in terms of things to come tonight. It’s gonna be great watching Daniel Bryan carry that briefcase around because there is just so many implications that come with it. Implications like WWE seemingly having faith in Daniel Bryan. That they see him as Championship worthy. That they respect his wrestling ability. Of course, it could also just mean that they want him to be the first stooge who loses their title match. But I prefer to think positively. As far as the match goes, it was done almost perfectly. The spots were, anyway. Justin Gabriel took his first step towards becoming the next Jeff hardy with that 450-splash off the ladder on the top rope. The Sin Cara injury (now known to be an angle, due to a Wellness violation) looked really legitimate. Good job by Sin Cara and Sheamus to pull that off. And it was nice to see WWE pay tribute to LOD with the Doomsday Device. Right in Chicago!
WHAT I HATED: There wasn’t much to hate in this match. However, my pick going in was Cody Rhodes. I felt that he was the only person in this match who was right on the cusp of the main event (aside from Sheamus & Kane, who have been Champion already) and he could use the MITB to take that last step. Plus, there is already a long history between him and Randy Orton. Am I upset that Rhodes didn’t win? No. Am I going to complain about it? Not at all. Rhodes will have his time. He’s far too good to pass over. The same goes for Wade Barrett, who is a star waiting in the wings.

Kelly Kelly def. Brie Bella, retaining the Divas Championship:
WHAT I LIKED: I liked that this match was short and it didn’t take too much away from the rest of the matches. Albeit, that’s more of a credit to the raucous Chicago crowd than anything else.
WHAT I HATED: I hate that this match, this rivalry even exists. No way are the Bellas and Kelly the top divas in WWE.

Mark Henry def. The Big Show:
WHAT I LIKED: This was a tale of two segments. The match itself was boring and stagnant, but the post match was what everyone was expecting. Even though all that was used was a chair and Mark Henry’s body weight, that was a pretty decent spot.
WHAT I HATED: The entire build up to this match has seen Mark Henry and Big Show destroy each other and almost everything surrounding them. Whose bright idea was it to have the PPV match be nothing like the build up? The match barely even left the ring. This was a lot of promise with no pay off. Typical.

Alberto Del Rio wins the RAW Money in the Bank Ladder Match:
WHAT I LIKED: Well, I saw this one coming. Hell, I think everyone saw this one coming. I picked R-Truth just hoping for a surprise twist, but in the end it was Del Rio all along. And deservingly so. Just because this wasn’t a surprise victory doesn’t mean it wasn’t well-deserved. Everything I hope WWE sees in Daniel Bryan, I know they already see in Del Rio. It’s pretty good to see two mat-based, technical wrestlers next in line to be World Champion. This match wasn’t as good as the Smackdown Money in the Bank, even though this one had the bigger stars. Speaking of stars, the Shooting Star Press that Evan Bourne pulled off from the huge ladder was spectacular. I knew he’d have the biggest spot of the night. Unlike with Sin Cara, Miz’s injury actually was legitimate. His kneecap looked to be out of place and they took him to the back to reset it. Kudos to Miz for coming back out and continuing the match. I hope this injury doesn’t keep him out for long.
WHAT I HATED: I did not like the ‘unmasking’ angle. There have been too many storylines of late where Rey Mysterio is attempted to be unmasked by someone (CM Punk, Del Rio & Rhodes). It never quite happens during those feuds, but it happens when it’s not even a stake in the match? Ridiculous. Also, it makes Rey seem petty. I mean, you’d think the ultimate goal in WWE is the World/WWE Title. Rey Mysterio is at the top of the ladder, briefcase in his grasp, but instead of reaching for it, he’s covering his face. Which then allows Del Rio to capture the briefcase and win the match. You have to ask yourself, or rather ask Rey Mysterio, which is more important, the mask or the championship? I know it’s scripted. I know that part of Rey’s character is his mask. But Del Rio, who actually wrestled in Mexico under a mask and was scrutinized heavily for removing it in WWE, seems to be doing just fine without his mask.

Christian def. Randy Orton via DQ, winning the World Heavyweight Championship:
WHAT I LIKED: Christian is the World Champion once again! Excellent! This match was not as good as their other PPV matches of months past, but it was okay. I think the stipulations that were in play really had an adverse effect on this match. A lot of people will say that they didn’t like the ending, but I actually did. Christian outsmarted Orton. WWE has almost always made the heels smarter than their babyface counterparts, something that has stopped in the era of the SUPERFACE. It’s nice to see a heel win using his head. Of course, this win gives Orton a loss without him having to look weak in the process, but it’s a win for Christian nonetheless.
WHAT I HATED: Remember what I said about Orton not looking weak? Well, WWE made damn sure of that. Usually, I’m a sucker for a good post-match beatdown, but this was too much. I know they wanted to make it seem that Randy Orton just lost it (and they succeeded), but it made Christian look too weak in the process. Heel or no, Christian is the World Champion now. Your World Champion shouldn’t be getting destroyed like this right after winning the championship. It’s pathetic. And, of course, we’re going to have to hear that Orton got screwed out of the title, when that’s just not true at all. He knew the rules going into the match and he broke ‘em. If nothing else, it means this feud will continue, which is just fine with me.

CM Punk def. John Cena, becoming the new WWE Champion:
WHAT I LIKED: CM Punk def. John Cena, becoming the new WWE Champion… yeah, that’s what I liked! No, it’s what I loved! I have to give John Cena a lot of credit because he worked tonight. I don’t if he just understood the levity of this match on this night in this city, or if it was Chavo Guerrero calling him out, but he came to work tonight. The last PPV match Cena went into knowing he was going to lose (vs. The Miz @ Wrestlemania XXVII), he didn’t even attempt to make it a good match. So, kudos to Cena for you know, actually doing what you’re paid to do. But the majority of the credit has to go to CM Punk. He wrestled an amazing match. The footage of CM Punk leaving with the WWE Championship through the Chicago crowd is a moment that will be remembered forever in the annals of pro-wrestling history. CM Punk, and I guess John Cena, too, made history tonight.
WHAT I HATED: The only thing that I rolled my eyes about was Cena stopping Vince from another Montreal Incident, saying he wants to do it “the right way.” I’ve said it before that I don’t like Cena’s good-guy routine and this was right on par. Even when the odds are stacked against him, he still has to be the goody-two-shoes. I know it’s not him, it’s the writing, but it’s still annoying. Also, I’m not thrilled we’re apparently going to have to bear witness to yet another Cena ‘fired’ storyline. Because it went so well last time.

Before I talk anymore about the PPV itself, I have to give it up to the Chicago fans. They were simply amazing tonight. They were rowdy, loud and proud. Chicago is the #1 wrestling audience out there right now, with cities like New York, Toronto and Philadelphia not too far behind. I think WWE knows that the right crowd can boost your show and the wrong crowd can destroy it. Just compare this crowd to the one at Wrestlemania XXVII in Phoenix, Arizona for proof.

I feel like with this PPV, WWE is taking the Internet Wrestling Community into account. I mean Daniel Bryan won Money in the Bank, so did Alberto Del Rio. Then Christian won the World Heavyweight Title. And the coup de grace being CM Punk not only winning the WWE Championship, but doing what he promised and leaving with it. I hope this isn’t a one-time deal, where WWE tries to appease a very loud and annoyed portion of their fan base. One PPV is good, but we’d like to see this level of entertainment more often. I’m thinking that with Bryan & Del Rio carrying around those title shots, WWE is at least willing to try this for the next year or so.

CM Punk turned a pretty good phrase last Monday on RAW. He deemed the term ‘socially relevant’ as what he made WWE with his promo from three weeks ago. I think he is correct. All of a sudden, ESPN and other news organizations are chomping at the bit to get interviews and run stories about the event. Facebook and Twitter have never been more on fire. I think Vince McMahon loves this. All the good press, all the advertisements in the world can’t match being socially relevant. Everyone knows that the best advertisement is word of mouth. I think Vince McMahon would give up everything he’s been fighting for (i.e. making WWE PG and kid/advertisement-friendly) if he can attain the level of social relevancy that he has right now. And to think, all he had to do was allow one wrestler to speak his mind. After all, that is what drove the Attitude Era. That is what kept people watching and talking .

Now, there’s this air of the unknown. Where does WWE go from here? Do they continue down the path of PG or do they take these past couple of weeks and expand on them? I don’t know. No one knows. But I can guarantee that people will be watching.

Knee-Jerk Reaction (RAW 07/11/11)

2011-07-12T18:51:00.001-05:00

I could list the many reasons for my two week absence from this blog, but it wouldn't do anyone any good. I would like to thank everyone who emailed me and missed the KJRs. I'm still not settled to the point that I can get back on my usual grind, but it's getting there. That being said, it's time to get back on the bicycle...

WHAT I LIKED:
Opening Segment: I liked how CM Punk cut off the opening montage before we had to hear Cena's "The champ is here" portion. The megaphone was a nice touch. Although, if they really want to make Punk's plight believable, he really shouldn't be wearing a Nexus T-Shirt. One of his motives is that he isn't one of the public faces of WWE. Well, he could start by wearing his own damn T-shirt! I know it's technically his shirt too, but there are other T-shirts that only feature Punk and not the failed experiment that was Nexus. How does no one think of these things? I miss the rowdy crowds like this one. Boston. And just imagine how much better Chicago will be on Sunday! Boston even booed the hometown boy, John Cena. I know Cena is playing the role of 'the good guy', but boy does he suck the fun out of everything. I give him credit for mentioning Kurt Angle on the list of wrestlers he disappointed, but let's not act like Cena entered a technical wrestling match with any of those guys. Because I'm certain that if amateur or even RoH rules applied, Kurt, Eddie and pretty much everyone else he mentioned could wipe the floor with him. Maybe not JBL. AnonGM's inclusion didn't help the downward spiral of this segment started by Cena, but it still gets a LIKE just for CM Punk.

Mark Henry Video: WWE must be really putting a lot behind Mark Henry these days. And I have to admit, they're doing a really good job of it. He looks to be damn near unstoppable and a legitimate threat. Now when you can do that for a guy who has been made to look like a fool on many an occasion, that's progress. I noticed in that video, they had footage of him dominating Randy Orton. WWE almost never puts their top superstars in vulnerable positions to help push mediocre ones. I guess it just shows how much Smackdown needs a villain and how much WWE is willing to sacrifice to make Mark Henry fit that role. Unfortunately, it also shows how little faith they have in Christian to maintain the role of the top heel threat. But, you take what you can get.

Vickie, Dolph & Drew: This is small LIKE, in case you were wondering. The segment itself was beyond predictable (of course Vince was gonna walk in on them), but it showed a lot of realism. Everyone knows that when one person shows the audacity to stand up to authority, the smaller peons usually follow suit. Punk is a leader. That's been shown with the Straight-Edge Society (which sounds like it could the name of a salon) and the New Nexus. I didn't say he was a great leader, but he is a leader. Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre are followers, shown by their inability to get over on their own. I like how the mid-card wrestlers are talking about Vince as well, because that's what would happen in real life. That's what does happen in real life. Although, I doubt his breath is a area of contention.

Contract Negotiations: Love Vince or hate him, he's awesome. I like how he kept coming out and going back until he got the ovation that he deserved. THAT HE DESERVES! I may not agree with all of his decisions, but his creation has brought me years of enjoyment. Nice job by the fan with the Zack Ryder sign. Face, McMahon, face. CM Punk is the real joy to watch here yet again. I think I popped a little at the WWE Ice Cream bars. Not that I ever ate one of 'em, but I do remember them. His jokes about The Chaperone were great as well. I didn't see The Chaperone and I never will. The only WWE produced movie I have seen was Kane's See No Evil. It sucked and it set the standard for the rest of 'em. Nice mention of Colt Cabana, there. I don't know about Luke Gallows, though. The apology thing was kind of useless. Who cares if Vince apologizes? A provision in the contract should be that Vince changes WWE, not apologizes for the stuff he already fucked up. Cena comes out and instantly diffuses the rowdy crowd by reminding them that Punk is still ready to walk out on them... something Cena attempted to do just last week! Somehow, in Cena's twisted mind, this makes Punk bad and him good. I don't get it either. Cena then analogizes Vince to a crappy floormat and compares CM Punk to The Rock because Rock left and Punk is leaving... again forgetting, with record brain loss, that he attempted to do the exact same thing last week when he didn't get his way. Seriously, can no one connect dots? The only difference is Cena gave up the WWE Title when he walked out. Punk wants to take a souvenir. I liked the comparisons Punk made of Cena and Boston itself being a dynasty, and not the underdogs they think they are. I literally LOL'ed as a mention of the New York Yankees earned Punk a right hand to the jaw. I'm sure that would happen for real in any bar in Boston if those lecherous words escaped anybody's mouth. And to think that around the same time, Robison Cano, a New York Yankee was defeating Adrian Gonzales, a Boston Red Sox (Sock?) in the Home Run Derby. Seriously, I know it's our past-time, and I am a HUGE Texas Ranger fan, but is baseball really worth fighting over?

WHAT I HATED:
Champion > Champions?: Seriously, did it matter what kind of match AnonGM made for John Cena? He was never going to lose. Not his 'last match on RAW.' I really wish WWE would stop burying their young talent to push Cena. They got lucky with Alex Riley - that they're severe abuse of him didn't cost him in the long run. But that has more to do with The Miz and an excellent storyline than anything else. Lightning doesn't strike twice. ~~McGillicutty~~ Joe Hennig is a great young talent and has a lot of upside, but having him lose a handicap match to Cena isn't helping. Plus, THESE GUYS ARE THE TAG TEAM CHAMPS!!! Why would you want to bury your own Tag Team Champions!? You're effectively pissing all over the entire tag team division... not that they have one in the first place.

Divas: Need I say more? I'm sure Moolah rolls over in her grave and Trish Stratus dies a little more inside everytime they see Kelly Kelly with the Divas Title. Or the Bellas being the contenders. Whatever happened to the divas who could actually wrestle being the ones who hold the title and the ones who can't just being the eye candy? I know I gave the Bella Sluts a lot of grief for being the crutches of male Guest Host, but that's what they were best suited to do. And Melina... how the mighty has fallen. Melina isn't the best wrestling diva, but she isn't the worst by far. She's good on the mic and over with the fans. She just has backstage issues. If she'd just shutup and do her job, she would still be in contention for the Divas Title instead of jobbing to Kelly in less than two minutes. Brutal.

Vince & Cena from Last Week: A lot of people & bloggers liked the promo involving Vince McMahon and John Cena last week. I didn't. There are too many implications from that. I don't like John Cena standing up for CM Punk. I don't like Cena's good guy routine regularly, and I don't like it even when he's using it to the advantage of one of my favorites. Did anyone actually believe Cena would walk out of WWE, relinquish the WWE Title and abandon all his kiddy fans? Come on. No way. Then Vince makes the ruling that Cena would be fired if Punk leaves Chicago as WWE Champion. Not if Cena loses, but if Punk leaves Chicago as WWE Champion. Yeah, that's not foreshadowing at all. It's a red herring if there ever was one. Plus, we've all seen John Cena when he's fired. It's not a pretty sight. The man is clingy, to say the least.

Ziggler/McIntyre vs Big Show: Two handicap matches in one night? Lack of creativity much? If they were short of ideas, they could just check the RAW Roulette wheel from two weeks ago. I've liked this rivalry between Mark Henry & Big Show so far. But this showing was very weak. They fell off the stage and landed on a wooden pallete. Is that supposed to hurt? It didn't look like it.

PUSH:
RAW MITB Promo: Nice thinking to have the two former winners/champions start off the promo for this segment. I figure each competitor will come out one at a time and have their say about why they deserve to win the MITB Ladder match and the contract that comes with it. Let's see if I can pick out one statement from each one and if I agree with it. The Miz: "I am still the future." I think he is. One championship run means almost nothing. It's too easy to be a one-hit wonder in WWE. How Miz stays relevant between now and if/when he ever becomes World Champion again will define his legacy. Jack Swagger: Nothing. I mean, I guess I agree that he did win MITB and did become World Champion - you can't change history. But is that anything he should really be proud of? Remember what I said about being a one-hit wonder? Evan Bourne: "I'm going to steal the show." No doubt about it. I don't know about stealing the show, as Punk has dibs on that, but he's definitely going to steal the match. He's going to do some crazy stuff off of that ladder and I wanna see it. Kofi Kingston: "If I win, it's not gonna be about what I say here tonight." It really isn't, is it? WWE isn't just giving anyone a fair shot to win MITB. No. It's their pick. WWE has already handpicked someone to win this match and the other seven guys are just there to make him look good doing it. R-Truth: "Surprise, surprise, surprise." That's right. He's my surprise pick. I should probably pick Alberto Del Rio, given he won a #1 contenders match last week on RAW. But, I'm going with R-Truth. I think Vince realizes how entertaining R-Truth is now. He's caught fire with this new gimmick. Acrophobia is the fear of heights by the way. Truth was close. Alex Riley: Nada. As in he said as much. I guess he's not promo-ready just yet. Alberto Del Rio: "This is an absolute vergüenza... a disgrace!!!" I know, right! Every single time there is a match involving multiple superstars, WWE feels the need to have a promo like this one - where everyone is saying they are going to win. You don't believe me? Check the episodes of RAW and Smackdown before the Royal Rumble every year. Or the Elimination Chamber. Or Survivor Series. And now Money in the Bank. I'm just glad Rey Mysterio didn't add his two cents in the equation. I guarantee it would have included either the word 'underdog' or the phrase 'the size of my heart.'

Six-Man Tag: Talk about generic. The precluding promo that occurred was stale and uncreative. And so was this match. It wasn't a bad match by any means. I just knew going into it that the babyfaces would win. Hell, I knew during the promo that it would parlay into a tag match, given all the competitors came out in their wrestling gear. And of course, after the match someone stands tall over everybody else's fallen bodies, giving him all the momentum going into the PPV. Because that hasn't been done ad nauseum. In this case, I think it's good because almost everyone expects Del Rio to not only win MITB, but to cash it in that very night. I don't think that's going to happen, but I'm very concerned as to what actually will.

Smackdown on Syfy: In WWE's latest 'look at how much better we are' promotion, they made sure to mention that Smackdown has been SyFy's most watched original program for 40 straight weeks. Well, this week SyFy's original programming returns as Eureka, Warehouse 13 and Haven, all shows I love by the way, are having their season premiere. And another show I'm very interested in, Alphas, will be debuting. I doubt Smackdown will continue to have the stranglehold on that statistic for too much longer, which is why WWE decided to get that mention in while they could.

QUOTE OF THE NIGHT: "In the real world, WWE has always gotten a mention for two reasons... the second one being because somebody died." - CM Punk
The audience didn't really respond very well to that statement and a lot of the bloggers didn't spend too much time writing about it. Could it be because the death of Randy Savage is still too fresh? Or are the ghosts of the many, many, many fallen pro-wrestlers keeping this a mum issue. The truth of the matter is CM Punk is right. When else do we hear about WWE on ESPN, CNN or any other news station? For as much as Vince tries to make WWE 'socially relevant', as Punk says, he fails at every turn. Kids movies, PG ratings, Tribute to the Troops, etc. They're all well and good, but professional wrestling has a stigma attached to it. That stigma being drug use, violence and death. WWE can't escape that stigma just by changing their name and/or content rating.

Thinking back to how the show ended with Punk calling Cena and Boston the New York Yankees, basically telling Cena that he's not fighting against the man anymore... because he is the man. That is something that I think John Cena really needed to hear. It's a lesson he really needs to learn. That is one thing about him that I honestly think he doesn't believe. I don't think John Cena believes that he is the man. Sure, he's on top of the organization right now as WWE Champion. He's the face of the entire company. But he doesn't act like it.

When you become the man, you embrace it. Look at Derek Jeter. He just got his 3,000th hit last week. He's a sure-fire Hall of Famer. He's the Yankees' Captain. He knows this and he takes responsibility for everything the Yankees are today. When my Texas Rangers eliminated them from the World Series last year, Jeter congratulated them and then commenced to consoling his teammates and getting ready for this year... even though there were rumors swirling that he might get traded. Jeter is a true captain of his ship.

I know you think those comparisons have nothing to do with John Cena, but they do. WWE is not a team sport like baseball is, but it is an organization. The wrestlers travel with each other, practice with each other and perform with each other just like baseball players do. They spend more time on the road with each other than with their own families. It's like a family in and of itself. The difference is in baseball, it's all about the team first. It doesn't matter how many All-Star games or MVPs or Gold Gloves that Derek Jeter wins, if the Yankees are not the World Series Champions, it's a failure. In WWE, it's quite different. Cena is a 10-time World Champion. Everybody else just doesn't matter. These are guys that Cena spend a lot of time with. Guys he represents in all the campaigns he's a part of. Yet, he could care less if any of them ascended to his level. I've never heard the stories of Cena trying to get someone over by jobbing to them. I heard stories of Edge doing it. The same for Triple H. HBK. The Rock. Steve Austin. I'm not saying Cena doesn't do it because he's selfish. No, it's because he doesn't realize he's achieved that status yet. He honestly still believes he's the underdog. Cena still thinks he's fighting to get where he is. I don't know who he's fighting because he's already won. He's already there.

It's time for John Cena to start acting like he is the man behind the scenes. CM Punk asked for an apology from Vince McMahon for firing his buddies Colt Cabana and Drew Hankinson (Luke Gallows). He's standing up for people who aren't even there anymore. And you can tell from the look in his eyes that he really cares. I don't see that from Cena. At all. I'm sure, no I'm certain, that if John Cena walked into Vince's office and told him, not asked, told him to push Zack Ryder based on the overwhelming fan support he has online, Vince would do it. But Cena wouldn't do that. Again, it's not because he doesn't care. He just doesn't know he has a dog in this fight.

This is my plea to John Cena. 'You have made it to the top of the ladder, with virtually no chance of falling back down. The view is nice from atop, but it's also lonely up there. It's time you took one step down so others can step up. Realize the power you wield as the man and use it to make the company better. That's all I ask of you.' I don't want Cena to leave WWE. Really, I don't. I understand the many pros of having him around. I understand why his fan base connects to him so much. But this SUPERFACE has to stop. It's destroying everyone else in the progress; the company itself included. The only way it gets better is if John Cena makes the first step. So, yeah, the entire WWE rests on John Cena's Atlas-like shoulders. But far more than he knows it.

Knee-Jerk Reaction (RAW 06/27/11)

2011-06-28T21:06:00.000-05:00

Enough with the gimmick RAW's already. We get it... your ratings are tanking and you need to do something to get 'em up. Well, the proof is in the pudding, Vince. Your ratings were never higher than in the 90's during the Attitude Era. You never had more exposure or more fans than then either. If you want to increase your ratings, well...

WHAT I LIKED:
Punk/HBK: Lost in the 'RAW Roulette' debacle, I forgot that HBK was going to be the special guest host(?) tonight. Good to see him. Looks like he's busy working on that post-retirement gut. He should ask Roddy Piper for advice on how to gain it, lose it and gain it right back. By the way, Shawn, it's not hard to stay away. All you have to do is block Vince's number. Not his phone number, his bank account number. CM Punk is a idiot, and it's awesome! Superkicking the camera and shooting an imaginary arrows at HBK was hilarious. I love this 'fire me' attitude from Punk. I might be having a wrestlegasm here. It's one of my current favorites in the ring with my one of my all-time favorites. What could go wrong? Well, for starters, having HBK back is already wrong. I don't want HBK back. I love the guy, but I don't want him back. Yes, it's for one night only, but it's one night too many. In my 'Why the Wrestling World Doesn't Need Shawn Michaels' blog, I gave my reasons why I didn't want him back. If you didn't read it or need a refresher, give it another look. Also, I didn't like the decision to have HBK superkick both Otunga & McGillicutty. Way to make your Tag Team champs look, well, like anything. I forgot they were Tag Team Champions until I saw them tonight.

Evan Bourne vs Sin Cara: It's about fucking time! And I don't mean since last week. I mean since Evan Bourne came into WWE. He hasn't had a decent challenger that can keep up with him yet. Then when Sin Cara comes into WWE, they put him against Primo and Chavo? WTF!? (By the way, I am going to write a blog about Chavo's release later.) Both of those guys are cruiserweights, but they're not high-flyers. Because WWE never allowed them to face each other, even at house shows, they have no chemistry in the ring against each other. This match had a lot of high spots, but there were also a lot of slow spots and looks of confusion on Bourne's face and Sin Cara's mask. A lot of this is due to WWE making these guys wrestle the 'WWE way'. I can only imagine what this match would look like in ROH. And you can't tell me the lights didn't distract from this match. I know it did. Cheers to the audience for the 'Power Rangers' chant. Ugly finish there. Again, you gotta let these guys gain chemistry. If it were me, I would take the public's blatant campaigning for these guys and put them on the fast track to the Tag Team Championship.

Ziggler vs Kingston: Come on. That wheel spin had to be rigged. It takes either a lot of luck or a lot of grease to make that wheel spin exactly where it favors Kofi Kingston. Bullshit. Albeit, a match between these two guys who have a lot chemistry with each other and Vickie is banned from ringside is actually pretty damn good. I only wish they'd ban her from Dolph Ziggler's side forever. I like Vickie as a manager, but I want to see Dolph make it on his own. WWE seems to always choose the wrong match to interrupt with commercials. The better contested matches shouldn't be interrupted. It's the slower matches that we don't care to see. I was upset last week that Kofi won dirty because he's not a SUPERFACE, but it seems to me that he just may be. He only loses when there's cheating involved, and he wins clean when the manager is banned from ringside. That sounds like the ending to every rivalry that Cena & Orton has had in the last year. Furthermore, it sucks that Dolph had to lose this match cleanly. That doesn't do much to help him seem legitimate without Vickie around.

Diamond Dallas Page: BANG! It was pretty awesome to see him. He's one guy who left the business and stayed out of the spotlight for a good while. Too bad he's just hocking another WWE product. Vince's pocketbook has some power...

Mysterio/Riley vs Miz/Swagger: Good idea for WWE to promote the upcoming Money in the Bank PPV with The Miz and Jack Swagger in this match. They are two 'surprise' winners and former champions resulting from those wins. Of course one of them had better luck or more success, whichever you accredit it to, than the other one did, but they both succeded regardless. I don't like WWE putting both of them back in the match because it seems like a retrogression, but everyone can't be champion. PPV implications aside, this wasn't too bad a match. With three former World Champions in the match, it better be decent. I haven't seen a good ol' fashioned tornado tag match since... well probably since WCW. Hmm, maybe that's why they had this match after blatantly promoting the Best of WCW DVD. After that ending, I can all but guarantee that Jack Swagger won't be winning the MITB match. It's sad how far he's fallen lately. I thought he caught his fire back while 'training' Micheal Cole, but WWE made damn sure they stopped that momentum.

Punk Unhinged: I absolutely, positively, unequivocally loved Punk's post-main event promo. He's right about everything. He is the best on the mic, in the ring at commentary and etc. He is the best wrestler in WWE - perhaps even in the world. I couldn't even keep writing this because of how much I enjoyed this promo. I know it was a work, I know it was a shoot, but dammit it was amazing! I think the best thing about it was Cena's facial expression during the promo... there wasn't one. There was nothing he could refute about anything. Cena knows he's an ass kisser. Hogan knew it. The Rock knew it. It's not a bad thing, necessarily. If that's what you have to do to get ahead, then by all means do it. It gets you rich, it gets you popular. But it doesn't get you respect. There are so many things I agree with Punk about here, including the fact that Paul Heyman is the reall genius of pro-wrestling. He didn't say that, but it was inferred. I have to calm down. It's not easy writing about this while the elation of it all is triggering every endorphin in my body. More on this later.

WHAT I HATED:
Del Rio vs Big Show: Another questionable wheel turn. Well, there's already a cage above the ring just in case of a cage match. There sure as hell better be a cage match, or that's just some unneeded labor. Of course there was gonna be a cage match. Is it sad that I almost popped for Mark Henry? They are really using him correctly lately. I like it. But it's not good when Mark Henry overshadows Alberto Del Rio. They're using him very, very wrong these days. Here's a question: why doesn't every super-heavyweight just launch themselves into the cage during the match? We've seen it give way twice already. It's an easy way to win because all you have to do is escape from the cage. It's doesn't say how. Or of course, they could just rip the door off it's hinges. The next time Mark Henry is in a cage match and he doesn't rip the door off, I'm calling shenanigans.

Divas Submission Match: This would be an excellent pick if it were Natalya vs Gail Kim. But Kelly Kelly and Nikki Bella can barely put on a wrestling match, let alone a submission match. Picking a body part to torque while screaming and moaning is does not a submission match make. It's great for sexual deviancy, but not wrestling. WWE just ruined submission wrestling.

Cena vs R-Truth: The last time John Cena was in a tables match, he accidentally fell through a table and lost the WWE Championship to Sheamus. No, I am not kidding. It was one of the worst finishes for a Cena match so far, but not the worst. No, that dishonor goes to Cena making Big Show tap while using the ropes in a Submission match. Back to this tables match. It's a good thing they made sure to have extra tables lying around and that they were in a close enough proximity to the stage entrance just in case a tables match was chosen. I would be upset that Cena lost only because of CM Punk's interference, but he lost and I can take solace in that. There's not really a dirty loss in a tables match because there's no DQ anyway.

QUOTE OF THE NIGHT: "If I charge for air, you keep yo bill paid." - Mark Henry
Brilliant! I'm gonna use that the next time I have to knock somebody out. It might be very soon since my new girlfriend and I are currently dealing with her crazy ex-boyfriend.

How is it that everytime WWE holds one of these RAW roulettes, there's never a match 'randomly selected' twice? The odds of that happening is less than you might think. You could pick thirty random strangers off the street and there's more than a 50% chance, at least two of them have the same birthday. There's only one 'Bankruptcy' selection on the Wheel of Fortune wheel, yet it almost always gets picked twice or more during each program. The roulette wheel is rigged. WWE should just propagating these 'Power to the People' and 'RAW Roulette' programs. They should just make the matches the want, because that's what is going to happen anyway.

To be honest, almost everything that happened on RAW tonight could've been put in the PUSH category had I made one for tonight. There was an upside and a downside to almost every match and/or segment. For some of 'em, I had trouble deciding whether the good outweighed the bad, or vice-versa.

Kelly Kelly - Divas Champion

2011-06-28T19:10:00.002-05:00

Knee-Jerk Reaction (RAW 06/20/11)

2011-06-20T22:09:00.000-05:00

Last week's 3-hour RAW caught me completely off guard. I knew that it would be three hours long, I just didn't remember it. So, when I got off work last Monday, I didn't come straight home. I ran some errands and got in about 7:45. I sit down at my computer, ready to hammer out a KJR. I turn on the television and RAW is already on. I don't know about you guys, but I don't like to do things half-assed. That's why there was no RAW KJR for last week. This week, I'm prepared.

WHAT I LIKED:
CM PUNK!!!: "I am the best wrestler in the world." Yes, you are Punk and thank you for using that word. I think CM Punk is playing with house money right now. He is at the end of his contract and WWE ~~wants~~, no needs, to keep the guy on the roster because... HE IS THE BEST WRESTLER IN THE WORLD. He can say whatever the hell he wants. He can do whatever the hell he wants. Like make snow angels in the ring. Of course, because he's a heel, he has to be embarrassed in the process, but I think Punk's point is well across.

R-Truth/Christian/Miz: R-Truth got got by Little Jimmy. If 'Little Jimmy' is an acronym for WWE politics, then yes. I like the idea to put Christian and R-Truth together. One is a crybaby and one is a crazy person. Add The Miz to the mix, and this is a veritable threesome of losers - to WWE, that is. To me, they're all very good competitors who deserve their opportunities, but are held down by the SUPERFACES. And, according to Teddy Long's ruling, it only looks to continue tonight. By the way, I thought tonight was supposed to be Power to the People, yet both GMs have already made matches tonight.

Kingston vs Ziggler: Finally! The right choice! Albeit, there was really no wrong choice to be made for this match, 2 out of 3 falls was the absolute correct choice. We get three matches for the price of one involving two amazing superstars. How can this go wrong!? Well, having the first fall take place off-air is a start. It's a 3-hour program for heaven's sake. If they knew all three falls couldn't be aired, why have this as an option? Ugh. At least the final fall was hotly contested. I like the fingertip near-fall. Even though it looked like a mistake on Dolph's part, the announcers played it off well. I didn't like the DQ finish for the final fall, though. Kofi Kingston is not a SUPERFACE. He can lose cleanly.

Punk vs Mysterio vs Del Rio: Well, the Punk vs Mysterio match last night was Aces, so adding another technical wrestler to the mix should be a good idea, right? Well, it all depends on the stipulation and a Falls Count Anywhere match takes a lot of the technical wrestling out of the question. Not completely, but a lot. Regardless, this was a decent match. I really didn't care who amongst the heels won the match, but you knew it was gonna be Punk all along. I guess they're saving Del Rio for Summerslam. As they should. All I could think during this match is how much I would love to see a Punk vs Del Rio submission match. That would be a dream match.

Punk, Part Two: Wow, talk about brutal honesty. I don't want CM Punk to leave. I never want him to leave. But if he does leave, I'd love to see him leave with the WWE Title. Of course, the simple fact that he's told us when his contract is up and that he is leaving, means he either won't leave at all or won't win the WWE Title on his way out. If Punk does leave, I hope it's just to take a small sabbatical. I hope he doesn't go anywhere else. I need CM Punk in WWE. I'm already down Chris Jericho and Edge. I can't lose Punk, too. Who does that leave me then?

Bryan vs Rhodes: Well, it'll leave me these two guys, both of whom I enjoy watching. A No Count-Out match, huh? I guess that's better than a Paper Bag match, whatever the hell that is. If a Collegiate Rules match is what I think it is, meaning Amateur Wrestling, then once again, the WWE fans made the wrong choice. It's hard to go wrong when dealing with two young talented superstars like Rhodes & Bryan are in the ring. Unless, of course, the match lasts for less than five minutes. If this rivalry continues and is made PPV-worthy, then this non-match is a good thing.

WHAT I HATED:
Power To The People: Cyber Sunday? Taboo Tuesday? Viewer's Choice? No matter what you want to call it, WWE, it's still a flat out lie. I have no doubt they'll allow the fans to actually pick who faces the Divas Champion, or other trivial choices. But when it comes to the real money, like the main event, it's not really up to the fans. We all know that. When it comes to decisions that really matter, WWE won't leave it in the hands of their juvenile fans or their long-term fans, because either side will mess up what they really want to happen.

Divas Championship: The first bad choice of the day. Instead of Beth Phoenix, who actually has wrestling ability and who would be a valiant and valid champion, the 'fans' choose Kelly Kelly to be Brie Bella's opponent. Therefore ensuring that regardless who wins, we all lose. Yes, I understand that Kelly Kelly is hotter than Beth Phoenix, but she's not competing in a Bra & Panties match. If so, then Kelly was the absolute right choice. But in a match for the Divas Title, Beth Phoenix would have been the right choice. I can't believe Kelly Kelly is the Divas Champion. This has to be the lowest point for the Divas division since, well, Brie Bella held it.

Bourne vs ???: Is it really a prize to face Evan Bourne? I guess for someone as huge as Mason Ryan, it is. I hold that the correct choice was Sin Cara. That matchup would have been AWESOME! But, I can see the draw of a David vs Goliath matchup. Everyone loves to see the underdog win and that was the thinking behind the fans choosing Mason Ryan. Unfortunately for them, WWE loves Goliath. Slow, stumbling Goliath. This wasn't really a wrong choice, just not the best choice.

Mark Henry vs Kane: After the power display last night by Mark Henry, why on earth would WWE have an 'Arm Wrestling Match' as a choice for his match tonight. They need to take that power and build on it. They could legitimately and believably make him a threat. But no. WWE is more worried about the present than the future. WWE fans are idiots. Yes, I include myself in that. And everytime we make a stupid decision like this, we only feed into Vince's idea that we want more entertainment than wrestling. Thank you to the small gathering of fans who were chanting "This is stupid!" It really was. What's even more stupid is having to hear the announcers call an arm wrestling match. Thank goodness that Mark Henry ended it early. Slamming Kane through the announce table isn't as impressive as Big Show, but it's still nice to see. I liked Mark Henry's pleas to 'let him suffer, like I suffered.' Who knew Mark Henry was an existentialist.

Dance Contest: Really? Seriously? Are you kidding me? What the fuck!? Not that I care about this at all, but shouldn't the person who gets the least amount of 'boos' win? If more cheers equals a win, then less boos should be the same.

Six Man Tag Match: I was hoping for the Elimination Match because then it means that Cena and/or Orton might, just might, be pinned tonight. If it was One Fall to a Finish, there's no way it would happen and a time limit match just gives WWE another outlet for an unnecessary dirty finish. I saw A-Ry's elimination coming from a mile away. By the way, he was just as at odds with Orton when Miz & Orton were feuding. Yet everything seems to be okay now that he's a babyface, huh? I figured once A-Ry was eliminated, the heels would be eliminated in succession. Sure, Orton was eliminated too, but he still got his obligatory RKO off to add to the victory. Typical.

Zack Ryder? Where the hell was Zack Ryder? This is a Power to the People episode of RAW. And the people want to see Zack Ryder. They chanted it last night. They've been bringing signs for him nightly. They beg for him on Twitter. Where was he on the one night when the people were supposed to be in charge?

Gail Kim - Sitting Pretty

2011-06-20T18:55:00.000-05:00

Knee-Jerk Reaction (Capitol Punishment 2011)

2011-06-20T14:37:00.000-05:00

I don't know if anyone noticed this, but this PPV is made up completely of singles matches. So, with 7 matches on the card, that equates to only 14 superstars in action tonight. 14 out of about 60. This is just one of the many reasons why WWE needs a tag team division - it creates more work for more superstars. After all, they are in the nation's capitol, and unemployment is a huge concern. At least there are no diva matches on the card. But, with no work for more than half the roster, you can only wonder how they'll be used backstage...

Dolph Ziggler def. Kofi Kingston, becoming the new United States Championship:
WHAT I LIKED: This was a great opening match. It always is. They seem to almost always open PPVs with a match involving some of the young talent they consistently undervalue. Could it be because they know what we've known all along? That these young superstars are AWESOME!? And that they can pull off much, much better matches than the main-eventers on a consistent basis. And this match was really good, too! I especially liked the ending. I liked how there was a small time in which you didn't know who won. It was the referee's decision. (By the way, has anyone else noticed a lot of referee involvement in decisions lately?) Very MMA-like. It was a good maneuver.
WHAT I HATED: Alright, Dolph! Way to win the US Title just months after "winning" the World Title. Yes, I am being facetious here. Even Dolph himself didn't do too much celebrating after winning the title. This was a demotion. Edge did a hell of a lot to put Dolph over on Smackdown and one move to RAW later, he's back straddling the mid-card line. I'm happy that Dolph won the US Title because he's a great title-holder (not champion, but title-holder). But, he deserves a push into the main event, and he can't get that on RAW.

Alex Riley def. The Miz:
WHAT I LIKED: They are building Alex Riley up to be a star. There's no other way to put it. It's unfortunate that they had to tear him all the way down to build him up, but that's just the WWE way. I was expecting The Miz to go over here, and for this rivalry to continue until Riley can finally get over on him, therefore the student will finally defeat the teacher. I don't understand the knowledge of having Riley beat Miz on the first try... Miz is a former WWE Champion, after all. I have to give credit to WWE for allowing Micheal Cole to be a part of this match (continuity!) and to Micheal Cole for playing his part well.
WHAT I HATED: This match was nothing more than a fight, which it was built up to be. But a fight doesn't exactly show Riley's ability in the ring. Not to mention that he barely had any offense in the match. The Miz was on offense for 90% of the match, and considering that half the match was just punches & kicks, that's even worse. Then Riley's "finisher," being Edge's old DDT finisher, that he stopped using as a finisher years ago, just makes The Miz look weak. Just like a gave WWE & Cole credit for continuity, I have to discredit Lawler. For months, he was involved in a fervent rivalry with Cole, Riley & Miz, and now all of a sudden he's Riley's biggest fan!? That does not compute.

Alberto Del Rio def. Big Show
WHAT I LIKED: Never thought I'd see the day where Mark Henry ends up in the LIKED category. Fucking Mark Henry! He not only lifted Big Show, he carried him, double-clutched as Booker said, and slammed him through the announce table. Holy shit is right! Forget what I said in my Smackdown KJR about him missing time or not being a convincing main-eventer... THIS IS HOW YOU DO IT!!! I also liked how Del Rio used a Cross Legbreaker instead of a Cross Armbreaker to defeat Big Show. Smart! And yet another referee's decision, another MMA-esque ending. I like it!
WHAT I HATED: It didn't sound right having Alberto del Rio introduced by anyone other than Ricardo Rodriguez. I hope they bring him back because I like the prestige it gives Del Rio to have his very own ring announcer, plus Ricardo does an excellent job playing his role. This match was much more about Mark Henry than Del Rio, but Del Rio does get the victory, so it should set him up for a WWE Title match at Summerslam against John Cena. If it doesn't, I'm gonna be piiiissed.

Ezekiel Jackson def. Wade Barrett, becoming the new Intercontinental Champion:
WHAT I LIKED: I have to give a lot of credit to both of these guys for hosting a very entertaining storyline throughout the duration of this rivalry. It was, like a said on Smackdown, very understated yet very interesting for anyone who cared to pay attention to it. I'm glad that Big Zeke has won the Intercontinental Title. Maybe now they can push him the way they intended to when he won the ECW Championship on the last show. A year from now, I can see Ezekiel in the main event, but if he's going to do it as a babyface, it's going to take a lot of work.
WHAT I HATED: An anti-American rant for Wade Barrett is needed to elicit a response from the common audience because WWE doesn't think their lay-fans care about this rivalry. They don't. They didn't even cheer for Ezekiel Jackson much, if at all, during his entrance. They rooted 'USA' during the match, even though neither competitor is American. There were even some "We Want Ryder" chants interspersed throughout this match. And while I agree with that particular chant, it only took away from what has been a pretty damned good rivalry leading up to this match, where Ezekiel Jackson won the IC Title for the first time. God, I hate marks. If the babyface isn't catering to them and kissing their ass, they just don't try to care.

CM Punk def. Rey Mysterio:
WHAT I LIKED: Now I'm torn. With this victory Punk has to be on the fast track to a WWE Championship match. But I just said that Del Rio should be the one to face Cena at Summerslam. Both guys are deserving and they're definitely the two of the top three heels on RAW right now, the third being The Miz - with no disrespect to R-Truth. It'll probably be Punk at Summerslam because he's the bigger name and I figure WWE will want to keep him happy. But then again, the next PPV is in Chicago, CM Punk's hometown. Talk about keeping someone happy... As for this match tonight, it was a great match. Possibly the Match of the Night. Mysterio & Punk have a lot of chemistry in the ring and it shows in every match that have against each other. I'm glad the edict to keep the Nexus away from the match stood true and they didn't interfere. Punk got a clean victory over a babyface, something not done much in WWE. But then again, Mysterio isn't a SUPERFACE. He's a superhero, but not a SUPERFACE.
WHAT I HATED: I know I'm no fashionista, nor am I WWE's fashion consultant. But it seems to me that somebody mixed up the attire for these two superstars. CM Punk is wearing red, white & blue, the nation's colors, while Mysterio is wearing all black. At a nationalistic PPV like this one, shouldn't the babyface be the one wearing the patriotic colors? I know Mysterio isn't American, but that didn't stop him from dressing like Captain America at Wrestlemania. It just seems odd.

Randy Orton def. Christian, retaining the World Heavyweight Championship:
WHAT I LIKED: This was another great match between these two superstars. Two in a row! I think the OTL match was better, but this one wasn't much worse. I put this match over Punk/Mysterio for Match of the Night just because the rivalry surrounding it has been just that much more intense. Hell, this rivalry has been amazing. It's the frontrunner so far for the Best Feud of the Year and it'll take a lot to beat it. I have to give Randy Orton credit for selling his concussion during the match. Orton usually can't sell a thing. The ending to the match was yet another questionable call by a referee, but if it means that this nice rivalry continues, it's a good thing.
WHAT I HATED: I think WWE knows how much better this rivalry has been, and how much better this match will be than Cena vs R-Truth. Cena and Truth are better talkers than wrestlers, while Orton & Christian are better in-ring competitors. Christian is a good talker, but he's much better in the ring. Now, I would have put this match as the main event of the night, but that's not the WWE way. They feel like the audience has to be involved positively for the main event and they think the audience cares more about the WWE Title than the World Heavyweight Title, more about RAW than Smackdown, more about Cena than anyone else. Unfortunately, they're right. I also didn't like how they had Randy Orton hit Christian with the title after the match. I know, like Orton said, payback is a bitch, but if Orton's going to be a SUPERFACE, he needs to act like it. Kicking Sheamus when he's down and hitting Christian after the match, are not only heel techniques, but bully moves. I thought WWE and Orton in particular, are supposed to be against bullying. Don't be a bully, Randy. Be a STAR!

Evan Bourne def. Jack Swagger
WHAT I LIKED: I would like to enjoy this push Evan Bourne is receiving, but I just can't. We've seen this before. We've seen Evan Bourne catch fire and receive a push over former champions before, only for nothing to come of it. This one doesn't look any different, but only time will tell. I'm rooting for Bourne, but I'm keeping my seat in the process.
WHAT I HATED: The decimation of Jack Swagger continues... on PPV. You know, Money in the Bank is coming up next month. Jack Swagger won Money in the Bank to become World Champion. A smart fan, like myself, would wonder why WWE is making Jack Swagger, one of the MITB winners, look so horrible in the months leading up to the event. It doesn't bode very well for whomever wins MITB next month if this is their not-too-distant future.

John Cena def. R-Truth, retaining the WWE Championship:
WHAT I LIKED: NOTHING. AT ALL.
WHAT I HATED: Another match where the crowd overshadowed the wrestling. Don't get me wrong, I love the "Cena Sucks" chants, but it's doesn't help the in-ring action at all. And I'm getting tired of the announcers attributing those chants to Cena 'sparking emotion' from the fans. Some fans, like myself, just flat out don't like Cena. That's not emotion, it's animosity. Cena barely even showed up for this match. It was just like at Wrestlemania. R-Truth was on offense for a good 90% of the match, yet at the end, SUPERCENA arrives, hits a couple BIG moves and wins it. And it's never a good thing when there has to be a plant in the crowd for the match to have an ending. R-Truth was never going to win in the first place. Nobody had him winning and no one would have believed it if he did. It would have been nice if WWE had given R-Truth even an inkling of a chance, but winning the build-up matches via count-out doesn't do much to help. CM Punk pinned Cena on this past RAW, and he wasn't even involved in the rivalry. Why couldn't R-Truth have been the one to pin him? He would've been the one to benefit from it. One thing that really bothered me about Cena during this match was that he kept kicking out of R-Truth's big moves at 2. Early at 2. He couldn't even give R-Truth a near-fall. R-Truth did all of the work tonight, the least he could have gotten was a near-fall or two.

The parody segments with Barack Obama only got increasingly more embarrassing. Who writes these segments? Who approves them? Does anyone actually think this shit is funny? I'm sure Vince is rolling backstage, but everyone else is just trying to forget them as soon as they're over. And don't even get me started on why the Bella Twins are escorting Keith Stone to the ring. Is WWE promoting alcohol now? Keystone Light sucks! Drink a Heineken!

This PPV was saved by three things: Kofi/Dolph, Punk/Mysterio, and Orton/Christian. All the rest of the matches were easily forgettable. I am glad Ezekiel Jackson won the Intercontinental Title, but the match wasn't anything special. I'm glad this Capitol Punishment PPV is a one-off ordeal. I doubt WWE will hold a PPV in Washington, D.C. every year, and it won't make much sense to hold this PPV anywhere else. Besides, I'm certain Obama will make an amendment after this PPV to keep WWE out of D.C. I would. I can't help but wonder if this is Vince's idea of nationalism. It's no secret that the McMahons are Republican, after all. Without getting too political, maybe this is Vince trying to get back at Washington for Linda losing her election. Or maybe he's just mad that Donald Trump won't be asking him to be his running mate. I don't know. But thank goodness WWE operates in a country where you can openly mock a standing president, or else Vince might be drawn and quartered on the spot.

AJ Lee - On The Spot

2011-06-20T11:27:00.000-05:00

Knee-Jerk Reaction (Smackdown 06/17/11)

2011-06-18T18:23:00.000-05:00

A day late and a dollar short, I know. It's the story of my life. I managed to wiggle some free time this Saturday, which is a rarity, and I figured the best way to spend that free time is writing a KJR for Smackdown. You're welcome.

WHAT I LIKED:
Sheamus: In all of the muck and confusion in the opening promo, the only person who actually brought some sense into the equation was the odd man out. I said it last week - I don't like that Sheamus is being used as a pawn in the feud between Orton & Christian. I like the feud between them, just not that Sheamus is being wasted on it. He could be doing something much better, or at least something different, that would give him a push so that when this World Title feud is over, Sheamus would be the next in line and he'd be already ready already.

Six-Man Tag: I liked this match on RAW this past Monday and it played the same part last night. All of the storylines that merge into this six-man tag match have all been very understated, yet very fun to follow. The storyline involving The Corre has been so perplexing, that I have no idea what it going to happen at the PPV this coming Sunday between Jackson & Barrett. I can only wonder how Slater & Gabriel are going to play a role. I was critical of putting DiBiase & Rhodes back together, but so far it's been very beneficial for DiBiase and Rhodes hasn't suffered too much. Hell, it's even allowed Daniel Bryan to get regular screen time due to his friendship with Sin Cara. I only wish the storyline between Sin Cara, Bryan, Rhodes & DiBiase were to make it to PPV as well... especially after that ending. Was that planned or what? Like I said - perplexing and understated. I like it!

Mahal vs Kozlov: Yet another storyline that has been really interesting, albeit under the radar. The only criticism I've had about this storyline and about Jinder Mahal himself, was that he'd only competed in squash matches. That doesn't do much to show anyone what he's really made of. And while Vladimir Kozlov isn't exactly top-level competition, he's better than Yoshi Tatsu and Trent Barreta in matters of competition. This match did more for Mahal than either of his first two matches did.

The Usos vs Slater/Gabriel: The crowd could have cared less for The Usos when they were in the ring. Maybe that's because WWE buried them for so long. Now, they can't actually expect them to turn into babyfaces and just catch fire, can they? Don't get me wrong, I would love it if they did because WWE could use a tag team revolution, and The Usos are pretty damn good in the ring. Just stop with the pop-locking or whatever it's called. If you notice, though, by the end of the match, the audience was sorely behind them. WWE needs to keep this going and ride The Usos to a tag team title run.

WHAT I HATED:
Big Show/Del Rio: Did we really need two separate segments to push this storyline? You know, what really makes me hate this storyline is how unbelievable it all is. Yes, I know it's television and I know it's fake, but at least try to make it look real. The car accident itself was questionable enough, but the aftermath was even worse. Then after being hit by a car, Big Show is back in action less than a month later? Yeah, right. Now 'criminal charges' are being contemplated against Big Show for attacking Ricardo Rodriguez. Yet, no criminal charges were filed against Ricardo for a hit & run, which actually happens to be a crime. I guess if there's anything I do like about this storyline, its that it's turning Big Show back into a monster. That's something he and we sorely need.

Mark Henry: How bad is this for Mark Henry? He was brought over to Smackdown and put into the main event storyline only a couple months ago. I didn't like it, but it happened anyway. Now, he's being taken off television for a while with a kayfabe injury. That doesn't help convince me or anyone else that he's actually a main-eventer.

Main-Event Aftermath: Does every freakin' heel have to be a coward? Does everyone have to sneak attack and run away from the SUPERFACES? I'm getting damned tired of this. Christian hasn't been timid towards Orton once throughout this entire rivalry until after he turned heel. And furthermore, why did Orton have to punt Sheamus in the head? What did he do besides ask for a title match that he really deserved? I guess you have to send the kids home happy and what better way to do that than to literally kick a man when he's down? I know I've said this plenty of times before, but I really hate how WWE treats Sheamus.

Rosa Mendes - Classic Beauty

2011-06-18T16:58:00.000-05:00

US versus THEM

2011-06-13T10:58:00.001-05:00

Being a part of the so-called Internet Wrestling Community (IWC), I'm deemed an enemy of WWE programming. THEY see me and other bloggers like myself as being detrimental to pro-wrestling and WE, for the most part, blame THEM for exactly the same thing. There's a clear 'US vs THEM' mentality right now. And for as much as WE disagree, somebody has to be right and somebody has to be wrong. But who is it?

I don't know if you all have noticed lately, but there's been a severe lack of effort in this blog over the past month or so. I still do my KJRs each week, for the most part, but I haven't done a real blog since The G.O.A.T. on April 18th, and I was asked to do that one and it was only for TWFnews. Before that, I did the Double-Edged Sword blog, but that was only because Edge's retirement couldn't go unnoticed. So, in essence, the last blog I did on my own because I was motivated to do so was Welcome to Entertainia!- a blog done because of the sheer anger I felt towards WWE for their pisspoor showing of Wrestlemania XXVII this year. I think it's because of Wrestlemania XXVII that I've been a little dejected towards professional wrestling for the past couple of months.

Wrestlemania XXVII was a statement - it was WWE saying simply: This is how THEY will be from here on out and whomever doesn't like it, aka US, can hit the door. Professional wrestling is now all about entertainment. But isn't that the way it always was?

It struck me when Randy Savage died earlier last month. I never liked Randy Savage for mostly the same reasons I never liked Hulk Hogan - THEY were entertainers. There are some people who will argue (ad nauseum) that Randy Savage could wrestle as well. I think he was better in the ring than Hulk Hogan, but that wasn't a hard thing to accomplish. But he was an entertainer at his core. The flamboyant outfits, the catchphrases, the commercials - Randy Savage was an entertainer. For the most part, everyone who wrestled back in the eighties, when pro-wrestling really broke into the mainstream were entertainers. The wrestling game was all about gimmicks and promos and entertaining the masses. So, why do WE wish it was any different now?

I didn't start watching wrestling until 1994. And when I did, it was Shawn Micheals - perhaps the greatest entertainer of THEM all - who caught my eye. To his credit, HBK had a lot of in-ring ability and presence as well, but he was also an entertainer at his core. D-Generation X, which was founded by Shawn Micheals, and the stable that I adopted my namesake from, wasn't a wrestling stable like The Hart Foundation. THEY were all about entertainment. The more I think about the wrestlers and stables that I grew up liking, the more I realize that THEY caught my eye due to their entertainment value.

Of course, there were other wrestlers - more capable in-ring wrestlers - that I grew up loving too. Ricky Steamboat is in my top 10 wrestlers of all-time list, Bret Hart is in top three and Kurt Angle is #1. But, it took me a while to appreciate them for their wrestling ability. Steamboat, Angle & Hart were entertainers as well, but they were wrestlers who could entertain, not entertainers who could wrestle, like Shawn Micheals.

In 1994, I was seven years old. Even though professional wrestling wasn't directly marketed to children back then, it was during OUR childhood periods that most of US became fans. Like it or not, professional wrestling will always and has always appealed more to kids rather than adults. But for some reason WE admonish THEM for appealing more to kids than to US. Why would THEY do anything different than what has worked for years? And why would WE expect them to? It's a tried and true ploy - you hook US as kids and WE will stick around as adults. Every advertisement agency knows this. Every political party, every television/movie network, every religion knows this and THEY use it effectively. Why wouldn't WWE do the same?

Back in the late 80's and early '90s kids were into violence and sexuality, so that's what THEY used to draw US in. Nowadays, children's programming is mild and politically correct, so WWE conformed in an effort to keep a stranglehold on that ripe demographic. Every other company in the world would or has done the exact same thing, so why do WE berate THEM for it?

I think in the end, WE know what WE want. THEY know what WE want and THEY want to give it to US. But THEY can't. Lest they abandon a promising demographic and are willing to suffer the consequences of losing the big money advertisers THEY have working with THEM. That's something THEY can't afford to do, especially in this economy that WE all suffer through today.

Writing this blog made me feel like a hypocrite. Partly because I'm so outspoken against the pro-wrestling landscape of today, even though I helped to make it what is. And partly because even though I dislike the current status of pro-wrestling, I still watch it and pay for it. I guess I'm one of the many who were hooked as kids and find it hard to abandon. The scheme works and I'm living proof. I assume you are too.

So, are THEY right? Well, in a business sense, yes. It's good business acumen to follow the market trends and adjust to them. Sure, it might irritate some of your long-term investors who enjoyed the company the way it was, but new business opportunities are always more exciting.

However, in a passion sense, WE are right. WE bought into a product that gave US what WE wanted. WE loved it. In return, WE built THEM up, sung THEIR praises and watched THEM get rich and successful off of US. Only to see THEM take OUR money and run to the next big payday. I have a lot of respect for those of US who speak out against a stalwart who is unwilling to change. WE know OUR words don't hold much weight nor do they pack much of a punch, but WE speak them anyway. And every time THEY make US feel like fools, like hypocrites for being passionate about something THEY hooked US on.

The one good thing about all of this is that business constantly changes. It cycles. Eventually, the business of pro-wresting will circle back to more risque and hardcore entertainment. It might take ten years. It might take thirty. But it will happen. Passion never dies. So, when pro-wrestling does come to that inevitable turn, WE will win in the end. It's only a matter of time.

Knee-Jerk Reaction (Smackdown 06/10/11)

2011-06-10T22:37:00.000-05:00

I missed Smackdown last week, so I missed the Christian heel turn that I had been waiting for. Dammit! Oh well, at least I'm here tonight to witness the aftermath. That's what I really care about - the story. The explanation. And for Christian, and for the possibility of this rivalry, they better have a damned good one...

WHAT I LIKED:
Christian: Okay, so I like the explanation of Christian blaming the fans for him losing the World Title. It's a good move that instantly puts him at odds with the 'peeps'. However, it would be much better if he did it one month ago when the issue was actually relevant. I don't like them aligning him with Micheal Cole, just so he can get a rub from the audience's dislike of Cole. Christian is more than capable of garnering heat by himself. This was a rough start, but I see good things in the future for HEEL! Christian.

Six-Man Tag: I love this ongoing feud between The Corre and Ezekiel Jackson. It's turning Big Zeke into a star! Throw in the rift between Wade Barrett and Slater/Gabriel, and it's an even more tangled web. I don't know where they're going with all of this, but it's doing wonders for everyone involved (even The Usos!). I don't even want to know where it's going, I just want them to keep it up.

AJ LEE!!!: It's official. I love this chick. In a few short weeks, she's just jumped over every other diva on the WWE roster and took over Maria's former place as the hottest diva. Obviously, this is my own personal opinion. AJ fits my "type" perfectly. She's short, ridiculously cute, exotic, energetic and if what the announcers are saying about her is correct, she's a comic book fan and a nerd! AKA Perfection! Gotta do something about that lime green attire, though. It's like watching an animated neon sign in the ring. Albeit, it does help to keep my focus solely on her, which it would be regardless...

Bryan/Cara vs Rhodes/DiBiase: I'm torn here. On one hand, I expressly asserted that Rhodes & DiBiase need not to be put back together on the same team. I also intimated that Sin Cara's initial rivalry be against Cody Rhodes. Nothing occurred the way I wanted it to, but somehow this tag team match came about and I couldn't be more satisfied. I'm definitely glad the lights went back to normal for the duration of the tag team match - and, look, Sin Cara looks no different wrestling under normal lights. So stop it! Obviously, of the four involved, Ted DiBiase is the weakest link, but even he held his own in this match. Of course, when you're in the ring with three of the most talented wrestlers in the company, you come off smelling pretty damn good.

WHAT I HATED:
Mahal vs Barreta: Somehow, I thought Jinder Mahal was much taller than he is. Maybe it was the angle they were filming him in. Khali is actually a good seven inches taller than Mahal, so I guess that 'Twin Towers' quip I made a couple weeks ago was not only crude, but incorrect. I missed Mahal's in-ring debut last week, so I can only hope it was much better than the showing this week, which was disappointing, considering the buzz I'd heard about the guy. It's not Mahal's fault, though, it's WWE. They believe that the way to get new talent over is to have them win one SQUASH match after another. What they should really do is have them compete against quality talent (sorry, Trent Barreta) and defeat them in a decent contest. Unfortunately, WWE will never change.

Orton/Christian: It's sad how enthusiastically the crowd responds to Randy Orton's cached and boring retorts. Must be because he's a SUPERFACE. It's sad how ignorant the crowd reacts to Christian challenging for the World Heavyweight Title, even though you have to already know that the match is going to take place. That segment was awkward and strange and really unnecessary. I would say the audience ruined it, but it wasn't scripted well from the start. Smackdown's writers are usually much better than this.

Johnny Curtis: Last week, apparently, he cried over spilled milk, or so I'm told. And this week, he has a chip on his shoulder. I get it. WWE is mocking themselves. That's a good thing for a company to do - have self-awareness when they're not living up to their own rules/words. However, when it's WWE, it just feels like they're giving us the finger and telling us that they make the rules, so they can break 'em.

Orton vs Sheamus: I really hate that Sheamus is caught in the middle of this Orton/Christian feud. For one, I like the feud, especially now that Christian is heel, and having Sheamus in the middle just mucks it all up. And two, Sheamus is one of my favorite heels, and my reigning SUPERSTAR OF THE YEAR. I want more for him. He's the odd man out in this ordeal and nothing good can come of that. He's a solid main-eventer and an excellent heel. Surely, there must be something better he could be doing. Other than that, this was a pretty physical match, par for the course when Sheamus and Orton are involved. In far more important news, Randy Orton suffers his first loss on Smackdown. Heavens be praised. Including his PPV victory, he was 7-0 before tonight. I figured he'd make it at least ten straight before the first loss was counted, but I guess not. Of course, it wasn't a clean loss, but a loss nonetheless. I'm beginning to approach Orton's matches the same way I do Cena. I just wait for them to either make a stunning, dare I say HEROIC, comeback out of nowhere or I wait for someone to interfere and cost them the match. Clean losses are a thing of the past for SUPERFACES.

QUOTE OF THE NIGHT: "Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase used to be together in Legacy...they were one of the most successful teams in WWE history." - Micheal Cole
Uhhh, no! Legacy was a very good idea that WWE completely destroyed. In my opinion, Legacy was a failure. It might be the most unsuccessful stable in WWE history, with apologies to X-Factor, Right to Censor and the Spirit Squad. Yes, Legacy was Cody Rhodes' launching pad and he wouldn't be where is now without it, but Legacy was initially formed specifically to push Ted DiBiase, Jr. Look how well that worked out. When a stable fails to do what it was meant to do, then by definition, it's a failure. No amount of spin can fix that.

Maryse - Material Girl

2011-06-10T18:53:00.000-05:00

Knee-Jerk Reaction (RAW 06/06/11)

2011-06-06T22:12:00.000-05:00

Sorry I missed Smackdown this past Friday night. I had a special event come up at work and that always equals overtime! I never turn down money. My mother didn't raise a fool... albeit she turned into one a bit later in life. But that's a story for a different episode. When I miss Smackdown on Friday night, it's hard to make up for it because I work all weekend. So, if you don't see a KJR up for Smackdown by Saturday morning, odds are there won't be one.

WHAT I LIKED:
Tough Enough: Cards on the table, I didn't watch more than the first five minutes of Tough Enough. Once I saw that they would be living in a house together while training, it became too much reality television for me. But from the few minutes I saw tonight of the two finalists in the ring, it seems to me that the right guy won. He seemed to be more into it than the pretty boy. I may be wrong, but that's my five-minute assessment. Let's see how long it takes WWE to forget about him like they did with the winners from NXT seasons 2, 3 & 4.

R-Truth: This new character started off pretty damn rough, but week by week he gets more and more entertaining. I love this character! He managed to stand in the ring with Vince McMahon and Steve Austin and steal the spotlight from them. The live audience wanted to hear him talk more than they did Vince! Unfortunately this segment went belly-up once Miz, Riley and Cena joined in, but R-Truth's time on the mic was definitely the high point.

Punk vs Mysterio: CM Punk going for victory #601 tonight. Punk is amazing, even when he's not on the mic. At the start of the match he told Mysterio "don't worry about [Mason Ryan], worry about [Punk's right foot]." That was hilarious. No one else aside from Chris Jericho would think to say that. I like that the announcers are speaking about the rivalry that Punk & Mysterio endured last year and not acting like this is a fresh rivalry just because it's on RAW. Sometimes history in a rivalry can be just as important as novelty. I don't think that's the case in this scenario, however. But only because their rivalry last year was so personal when it first began. There's no way WWE can emulate the emotions in that initial feud. At least, if nothing else, their matches never disappoint.

Kingston vs Ryder: I gotta LIKE this match because Zack Ryder is getting a chance to shine on RAW! Well, maybe not shine, but at least emit a sparkle or two. In my opinion, Zack Ryder is WWE's second most underused talent. Second only to William Regal, of course! Also, I wonder what was the point of showing Zack Ryder in all those shots with John Cena, if they were just gonna keep him as a heel? I think maybe someone didn't think his association with Cena all the way through. There are times when having superstars on commentary helps a match and times when they hinder it. This one was the latter. I could barely understand what anyone was saying because they were trying to talk so fast and talk over one another. Micheal Cole should know that you allow the guest commentator to do most of the talking - after all, he's there for a reason. Poor King barely got a word in edgewise, but that's probably a good thing since all he was gonna do was make another fat joke aimed at Vickie Guerrero.

WHAT I HATED:
Santino vs McGillicutty: What is this? Superstars? This match was slow and boooring. I hate that I have to write McGillicutty instead of Hennig. Hennig is wrestling royalty. You'd think WWE would want to profit off of such a well-known and respected name. You'd be wrong, but you'd think that. I can't believe there's a title in WWE with the name McGillicutty written on it. If this match is any indication, there won't be for very long.

Divas Tag: I'm not a fan of this storyline with The Bellas making fun of Kharma's weight. It's no better than the 'Piggie James' storyline that ran Mickie James out of WWE. And having Kelly Kelly come to Kharma's rescue makes no sense since it seemed to be Kelly who Kharma was stalking in the first place. Remember Kelly cowering in the corner, quivering in fear? (No, remember it... don't fantasize about it!) Now, all of a sudden, Kharma didn't bulldoze her way through the divas as a megaheel. She's a babyface with a baby on the way and she has to be avenged - because you don't mock a pregnant woman. That's not politically correct.

Alberto Del Rio: I can count the amount of times Del Rio ended up in the HATED category on one finger while he was on Smackdown. However on RAW, it's been happening far too often. I wonder if there's a correlation... of course there is! It's RAW and their stupid writers! Here you have an amazing in-ring talent like Del Rio and he hasn't wrestled a match in three weeks. Yes, he's decent on the mic, and I'm glad he's getting his face time, but I'd much rather see him in the ring - and against someone who can hold their own against him. (Read: Not Big Show or Kane)

Swagger vs Booker T: What a DUD. Nothing more than a throwaway match that could have been used to give Swagger a little push. Booker T had nothing to gain from a win, even a count-out win. But Swagger is just falling further down the RAW rabbit-hole with every loss/embarrassment he takes from Evan Bourne. I like Bourne, and I would love it if WWE gave him an actual push, but they won't. Therefore, I think it makes more sense to use this quasi-rivalry to push Jack Swagger instead. He's the former World Champion of the two and of the two he's the one most likely to return to that level.

Tag Team Match: I figured once Alex Riley turned babyface he'd be tagging with John Cena in no time. I was right. It's almost like the past couple months never even happened, huh? At least they did hint at the fact that A-Ry has been in a feud with John Cena just as long as The Miz had, but still, it's a bit unbelievable that these two would be tagging so soon. The ending to this match was all kinds of screwed up. Never mind the botched briefcase shot that was in FULL view of referee Austin, but then having Austin help Cena & Riley win... just more blatant babyface loving. I hate it. Austin even screwed up the three count - or rather Cena jumped off of Miz a count too early.

I was thinking at the conclusion of this match... shouldn't Austin stun Cena, given the feud between him & Rocky? I mean, Austin & Rocky are friends, after all. Maybe it'll happen next week when Austin is the General Manager... but I doubt it will.

QUOTE OF THE NIGHT: "Conspiracy! C-O-N..." - R-Truth
That was pretty funny, even though it's a bit cliche' and a tad bit racist. But sometimes it isn't about the quote, it's about the delivery, and R-Truth has been spot-on!

Kaitlyn - Lethal in Leather

2011-06-06T20:01:00.000-05:00

Knee-Jerk Reaction (RAW 05/30/11)

2011-05-30T22:16:00.003-05:00

Great... With today being Memorial Day, the next PPV being Capital Punishment and Vince loving to suck up to the military, I just know tonight's RAW is going to be very patriotic. I mean like disgustingly patriotic. It doesn't help that Cena's new colors are red, white & blue either. I'm hedging bets on two things: 1) Cena leads the crowd in a 'USA' chant, and 2) they play that ridiculous Barack Obama video and show that stupid caricature picture of Obama at least twice. Because making fun of the President of the United States is how you show your patriotism...

WHAT I LIKED:
Technical Difficulties: Just when I was beginning to roll my eyes at the opening Memorial Day video, I get a reprieve from the Gods of false patriotism. It was pretty funny to see R-Truth rambling and not being able to hear him. He's as crazy when he's mute. But I gotta give a huge discredit to Jerry Lawler for blaming the technical difficulties on R-Truth. "He might have pulled a plug." Only in your hair, Jerry. WWE is usualy much, much better than this. I'm honestly surprised the technical issues lasted as long as they did. Rest assured that Vince is somewhere backstage tossing steel chairs around and elbow dropping them. Somebody's job is in jeopardy.

Ziggler vs Kofi: What was the point of cutting Ziggler's hair and coloring it brown, if they were just going to go back to bleach blonde? I get the feeling they were trying to make Ziggler look like more of a top-level superstar, but I thought he looked just fine the way he did. WWE might not have bought him as World Champion during his feud with Edge, but I did. Edge did a marvelous job of putting him over - and WWE did a great job of destroying everything Edge did. Figures. Now, he's back to challenging for a mid-card title instead of being in the upper echelon. They really should have left him on Smackdown. The same goes for Kofi Kingston. Albeit, this was a Smackdown-esque match, which is a good thing. A very good thing. These are the kind of matches they should feature on RAW more often.

Alex Riley: Lost in the Cena/babyface bashing last week, I didn't remark on how excellent the segment between The Miz & Alex Riley was done. And it was done to perfection. I have to give credit where it's due and both Miz & Riley deserve a lot of it. That was awesome! This segment... not so much. But it was Micheal Cole in place of The Miz, so what could you expect? It's annoying how fickle the crowd is. Two weeks ago, they were booing Alex Riley's head off and now they're cheering him like he's a SUPERFACE or something. I am so glad I am not a mark. I liked Alex Riley in NXT. I liked him as The Miz's suitcase holder and so far, I like him as a babyface. He's doing a great job of erasing all the embarrassing memories of the very recent past. Remember the "That's why they call you John," toilet joke from about a month ago? Yeah, he still has a ways to go before I forget that.

Mysterio vs Punk: This match had to receive a LIKED commendation. The rivalry between these two men last year won my award for BEST RIVALRY OF THE YEAR. Punk was also the BEST HEEL THE YEAR and Mysterio the BEST BABYFACE OF THE YEAR. That just shows you how much I loved that rivalry - before Wrestlemania 26, that is. Afterwards, it got a little hokey. It's weird how many superstars RAW poached from Smackdown in the draft and in trades. It seems like almost every decent match that occurs on RAW these days come from superstars who were on Smackdown less than a year ago. Also, I noticed that Punk was back in black tonight. I'm sure Vince gave him a stern licking over wearing gear akin to Randy Savage last week. Mysterio, oddly enough, was wearing the Nexus colors of black and yellow. You'd think somebody would have noticed that and made him change. I like that they went straight from CM Punk to Stone Cold Steve Austin. If Austin were ever to come back for one more match, Punk is the only guy I'd want to see him face off against.

Kharma: I've never said this before, but Fuck You, Jim Ross! How dare you tell anyone that they're too fat to do anything. That'd be like me telling someone they have too big an ego. Kudos to Kharma for telling it like it is. Kudos to WWE for allowing Kharma to be honest about her pregnancy. I thought for sure they'd come up with some asinine excuse to explain away her absence. No offense to Kharma, but I hope in one year, if she does comes back, that the Bella Twins will have been gone from WWE for a whole year.

WHAT I HATED:
Alberto Del Rio: Another guy that Edge put over big-time and WWE is currently dragging down. I thought he was drafted on RAW to feud with Cena and remain a main-eventer. Instead, he's being put in a rivalry with Kane & Big Show? Don't get me wrong - I like Kane, but he's nowhere near the caliber of opponent that Del Rio deserves in the ring. Not that Cena is any kind of wrestling aficionado, but at least then Del Rio gets the push of being in the ring with the top superstar in the company.

Divas: Being a PG-rated, family-friendly show, WWE can't exactly show the divas in all manners of undress anymore. So, what do they do? Show Eve Torres and Kelly Kelly, stretching and bending over backstage. Real subtle. My only question in relation to the divas is a simple one: Where do they go from here? Kharma won't be around anymore, and I can only assume the reason why they put the title on one of the Bella Sluts was so Kharma could destroy them and take it. Whatever they do, or wherever they go from here, they must get that title off of Brie Bella posthaste. It loses what little credibility it had to begin with every second. A tag team match with probably the four worst wrestling divas is not a good start.

Swagger vs Bourne: I can't believe they're making an entire rivalry off of Jack Swagger's victory lap. There are so many other things they could be doing with Jack Swagger right about now to capitalize off the boost he received from being associated with Micheal Cole. That was the one good thing to come out of that ordeal. Instead, he's being wasted on Evan Bourne, who was never going anywhere in this company and getting there pretty damn fast.

Cena vs Truth: Well, there was no USA chant, but they made sure to get John Cena a photo-op next to a National Guardsman. I guess Cena is the only superstar in the WWE who loves the USA. At least that's what WWE would have me believe. Last week, I said that R-Truth should have done something after the match to make himself look good, given the push he's currently receiving, since he & Punk were never going to win that tag team match. Tonight, I stand by my assessment. He's not going to win a one-on-one match with John Cena cleanly. It's never going to happen. And it didn't. R-Truth wins via count-out. I'm guessing that in the WWE rulebook - that changes to fit the current situation - R-Truth now deserves a WWE Championship match. I would think that since you can't win the title via count-out, you shouldn't be able to get a title shot via count-out either. Whatever. The post match was the best part of this entire match. I loved how they made it a black guy that Cena came to the rescue of. Another "we're not racist" statement from WWE. And the father looked like he was gonna cry when Cena was wiping the soda from his face. Seriously! Way to stand up for your little boy. No wonder R-Truth wants his son back! I wonder if his son's name is Jimmy... By the way, if R-Truth doesn't want people to say "What's Up" anymore, maybe he should wear it on his pants. Seriously, how does no one catch these things?

QUOTE OF THE NIGHT: "The Miz was like a father to you... he thought of you like a brother." - Micheal Cole
A father who is also a brother... it could happen. They were in Nebraska, after all. Come on, Cole, get it straight. The Brain would never make that mistake. Speaking of, they have to get Micheal Cole situated. If he's going to be the loudmouth heel, then make him so. If he's going to be the subdued announcer, then make it so. I know which one I hope for, but it's confusing to see him go from one extreme to the other every night.

Knee-Jerk Reaction (Smackdown 05/27/11)

2011-05-27T21:25:00.000-05:00

So, Vince McMahon says Randy Savage was a "building block" of WWE... that doesn't sound like something Vince would say when Savage was alive. He would never say it when Savage was alive. However, now that Macho Man has passed and he's currently in the hearts and (more importantly) minds of professional wrestling fans everywhere, Vince is going to do everything he can to be associated with the positive memories of Randy Savage. Mark my words: Vince will put Randy Savage in the Hall of Fame at Wrestlemania 28 - years after he should have been inducted... and just one year too late.

WHAT I LIKED:
Guerrero vs Sin Cara: Enough with the lights! I know I sound like a broken record, but those damn lights are distracting. Chavo and Sin Cara look like they used a little too much spray tan. Other than that, this was a decent match to start off the program. Chavo Guerrero is a cruiserweight, but he's not as athletic as Sin Cara is, which limits Sin Cara in the ring. But then again, most of the superstars in WWE aren't as athletic as Sin Cara is. Chavo is probably the best bet. Eventually they have to get Sin Cara in the ring with Evan Bourne, who is probably the only other superstar in the company who can hang in the ring with him.

Rhodes vs Bryan: I don't have a LOVED category but if I did, this match would make the cut. Not just the match itself, which was pretty damn good, but the matchup! This is one of my favorite heels against one of the few babyfaces I like. The only thing I hate about Daniel Bryan's matches is Micheal Cole. He's too busy calling Bryan a nerd or a loser to actually call the play-by-play, which if he did anyway, he'd be out of his element. Daniel Bryan's offense is innovative - like that surfboard stretch he turned into a double knee stomp(?). I don't even know what to call that, but it was cool. Even though I think that Cody Rhodes is better than a mid-card feud at this point, I'm going to love this rivalry!

Ezekiel Jackson: I honestly wouldn't mind it if Ezekiel Jackson was in the place that Mark Henry is in right now. (I wouldn't mind it if anyone was, TBH.) This feud with his former team, The Corre, has been more interesting than I thought it'd be. It's all because of Jackson and Barrett, but Jackson does the heavy lifting - no pun intended. I like the multiple bodyslams and the use of the torture rack. It's so vintage! I love it! Not to mention that he's actually not horrible on the mic, and he's built like a mack truck. I forsee big things for Big Zeke in the near future, if the creative team doesn't completely destroy him.

Kaitlyn & AJ Lee: Two super-hot divas making their Smackdown debut? Yes, that's going in the LIKED category. Well technically, this isn't Kaitlyn's debut, but it has been a while since she has "wrestled" on television. I'm especially happy to see AJ Lee because she's so cute and spunky - and she actually can wrestle. Also, they have to get more work for Alicia Fox. I love her attitude in the ring and that scissors kick she hit on Kaitlyn looked like it had some enmity in it. I love me some bad girls.

WHAT I HATED:
Opening ~~Promo~~ Sentence: "My name is Randy Orton and I'm still World Heavyweight Champion." First things first, Randy Orton really needs to shave off that playoff beard. He's already sluggish in the ring and boooring on the mic, so the beard just makes him look as feeble as he wrestles and sounds. Really, Orton? Really? That's what you have to say to open the program? We deduced that in one second just by lookin' at 'cha. How is it that Mark Henry, of all people, has more to say and has better ad-libbing skills than the erstwhile World Champion?

The Monster's Brawl: Come on, you had to know this was gonna be HATED. The name alone is exasperating, plus Josh Mathews pitched by name-dropping Lady Gaga. She might be the one person in the entire world who has absolutely no correlation to pro-wrestling. Anyone remember this match from Wrestlemania 23? I do, although I really wish I didn't. It was five minutes of my life that I'm never getting back. At least this rendition was saved by Jinder Mahal and a heel turn! I hope they turn Khali & Mahal into a tag team. Would it be wrong if they called them the 'Twin Towers'? I mean, it's been almost ten years...

Booker/Cole: We neither needed or wanted this segment. I'm sure everyone is happy to see a crestfallen Micheal Cole, but I'd enjoy it more if they just put this entire ordeal to rest. WWE is good at acting like things didn't happen (i.e. Taker & HHH's first Wrestlemania match, John Cena's years as a heel, Chris Benoit's entire career), so I'm going to have selective memory too as pertains to this rivalry. What rivalry? Exactly!

PUSH:
#1 Contenders Triple Threat: I initially had this in the HATED category when Christian lost the match. But then I thought about it and realized that even though Christian lost, Sheamus won! I like Sheamus. I don't like how WWE books Sheamus when he is Champion or when he's going against a SUPERFACE, but I do like Sheamus. Plus, that was RAW and this is Smackdown. The two shows have different writers and the Smackdown writers don't have a reputation of burying heels against SUPERFACES. But then again, they haven't had a SUPERFACE on Smackdown until now, so time will tell. But for now, I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt.

As for Christian, I told myself when he lost the title that a month from then, I was going to look back and see how I felt. It's not a good outlook. Had Christian turned heel when he had the opportunity to do it, I would like it. But he didn't and I don't. I hope the heel turn is coming soon, but it seems that WWE is content at keeping him a babyface and being the second fiddle to Randy Orton.

QUOTE OF THE NIGHT: "If he wins this match here, it won't only be an upset, it'll be the breakout of Daniel Bryan." - Booker T
How quickly we forget, eh? By 'we', I don't mean me - or any of the fans, I mean WWE. Do they not remember when Daniel Bryan defeated The Miz for the United States Championship in not one, not two, but three straight PPVs!? And he made The Miz tap out in two of 'em. Not to mention he had a MOTY candidate with Dolph Ziggler directly after that. Now, WWE did proceed to bury him in a stupid storyline with The Bella Sluts, but that wasn't his fault.

SHOUT-OUT!:
Lately, I've been getting a lot of feedback from readers that I didn't even know I had. I love feedback from readers, rather if it's positive or negative. So, first of all, I have to say thanks to those of you who have emailed me to say you enjoy reading the blogs. I'm glad you enjoy it. For anyone else who wants to contact me or give me feedback about the blog, I can be reached at derekx2007@yahoo.com.

First, I want to give a shout-out to all the readers at Wrestlenews.com who give me a lot of feedback. I usually try to respond to you guys on the website, but if I don't, that doesn't mean I didn't read the comments. I always read the comments.

I have to give a special shout out to Jay Bradshaw for introducing me to IHeartFreeTV.com, where I can watch and/or download WWE PPVs when I miss them live. Thanks a lot, Jay, and welcome to the forum! You've been a great addition so far. Anyone else looking for intelligent wrestling discussion, need only to come over to TWFnews.com and join in. We'd be happy to have you!

Lastly, I want to respond to Shay Dickerhoff, who requested I make the Top 50 of All-Time list I alluded to in my last KJR. Well, Shay, it'll take some thinking to break that list out, but I will do it soon. In the meantime, this is my Top 25 of All-Time list that I made on the forum at the beginning of this year:

1) Kurt Angle

2) Bret Hart

3) Shawn Micheals

4) Ric Flair

5) Chris Benoit

6) Steve Austin

7) Curt Hennig

8) Ricky Steamboat

9) The Rock

10) Eddie Guerrero

11) Chris Jericho

12) Ted DiBiase, Sr.

13) Brian Danielson

14) Harley Race

15) The Undertaker

16) Davey Boy Smith

17) Roddy Piper

18) CM Punk

19) Dean Malenko

20) William Regal

21) Arn Anderson

22) Booker T

23) Edge

24) Triple H

25) Mick Foley

And to see who the members of the forum picked as the overall Top 10, follow this link: TWF Top 10 Wrestlers of All-Time.

Bella Twins - Army Strong

2011-05-27T18:55:00.000-05:00

Knee-Jerk Reaction (RAW 05/23/11)

2011-05-23T22:14:00.000-05:00

A couple quick notes before I begin: 1) I have not watched Over the Limit yet, so these KJR's are gonna be a bit out of order. I plan on downloading it tonight and watching it in the morning. And B) My Dallas Mavericks are playing in the NBA playoffs tonight at the same time as RAW, so I'll be channel-switching quite extensively. If there's a particularly interesting stretch during the game, it'll take precedence over RAW. The playoffs are unpredictable and unscripted, WWE is the exact opposite. I'm sure you understand.

WHAT I LIKED:
R-Truth: "I'm a good R-Truth now." I loved that quote and I love this new character. Sometimes it can be a bit confusing, but overall, it's pretty good acting on the part of R-Truth. Like or hate this new R-Truth, he's speaking the truth when it comes to how politics work in WWE. It's not about wins and losses and it's not about the work you put in. No, it's all about popularity and whose ass you kiss. Speaking of, it's John Cena. If ever there was a prime example of someone spring-boarding to the top with no discernible talent, here he is.

Tag Team Championships: If for no other reason, I enjoyed this match because CM Punk was back on commentary! He was only there for a short while, but he's been sorely missed. I'm not too happy that Nexus won the titles because it means Punk will continue to be bogged down with this ragtag group of green rookies, but I am happy that Joe Hennig has won his first WWE title!

WHAT I HATED:
Big Show Down: ...and that's why you don't keep cars inside of arenas. There's just so many jokes to be made here. Starting with the fact that it was a mexican driving the car and ending with how fake that entire segment looked. Like how did Big Show get in front of the camera man, the car hits him and he's on the ground before anything was shown? Seriously, that was one of the worst editing jobs WWE has ever done. Fitting that the next PPV is called Capitol Punishment because I a hit & run is worth about 5 years in prison.

Swagger vs Bourne: I like both of these guys a lot. Any decent length match between these two should be pretty good. However, I think both of these guys are on the wrong show. Jack Swagger's technical ability would much better served on Smackdown. And Evan Bourne should definitely be on Smackdown with the majority of the cruiserweights. This match was nothing more than a squash. An interesting squash, but a squash nonetheless.

Micheal Cole: Cry me a river. I'm just glad that stupid storyline is over. Or is it...?

Eight Diva Tag Match: I can't believe that between Maryse & Melina, it's one of the Bella Sluts who hold the Divas Championship. It's even worse that talentless Kelly Kelly is 'leading' a group of divas that involve Gail Kim & Beth Pheonix - who are far superior than she is. Oh well, at least this match didn't last long because it's dinner time for Kharma. Or not. WTF? That dragged on far too long.

McIntyre vs Kingston: I feel about these two superstars exactly the same way I do about Swagger & Bourne. They would be (read: were) better served on Smackdown. Again, both of these guys usually put on a good match when given the time to do so, and tonight was no different. I would hope this is going somewhere between these two and not just a random matchup, but seeing Dolph & Vickie watching backstage doesn't spell good things for Drew McIntyre. I'm glad Bret Hart has this guy's back... because somebody needs to. Oh, and by the way, there are a lot of superstars who could use pyro in their entrance for effect and it makes it better. Drew McIntyre is not one of those superstars.

Punk/Truth vs Mysterio/Cena: Respect to CM Punk for wearing the pink and yellow in an obvious homage to Randy Savage. I wonder if Vince okay-ed that choice of wardrobe. I called it in my WWE Draft blog that Rey Mysterio would eventually become the choice partner for John Cena on RAW. One is a SUPERFACE and the other is a superhero. Go figure. Of course, with Bret Hart as the Special Guest Referee, there was no way Punk and R-Truth could win this match. This match wasn't even done to setup a surprise go-away ending or anything. Just to put a loss on Truth & Punk's record and a win on Mysterio & Cena's record. If anything, given the push they're giving to R-Truth, he either should have won this match or done something at the end to give him some credence. In WWE's mind, R-Truth wasn't pinned, so he loses no momentum. That's just not true. Truth was the outright star of this night. He deserved to end RAW on top - one way or the other.

PUSH:
Alex Riley: I'm as happy as anyone that Alex Riley is stepping out of The Miz's shadow because I know what he's capable of. Unfortunately, all of those silly and embarrassing losses he had to John Cena over the past couple months did him no justice in the 'being taken seriously' department. It's funny how sorry and talentless he was booked in the past year or so as a heel, yet five minutes as a babyface and he's taking out a former WWE champion. WWE really needs to work on their balancing act.

Macho Man: There you go, WWE! That was a great tribute with one of my favorite bands - Coldplay. I took some flack for my views on Macho Man written in Smackdown's KJR. Look, I do think Macho Man is a legend of this company. His face is almost synonymous with professional wrestling in the 80's. His name is as recognizable as Hulk Hogan. But when I think of Macho Man, I don't think of any great, unforgettable matches. I think of Slim Jim commercials and the increasingly more flamboyant costumes he wore to the ring. That is what I correlate to Randy Savage. And if that's my lasting memory of any professional wrestler, it's not necessarily a good one. I respect Randy Savage and I do think of him as a legend, but he's on the low end of my list. I doubt he'd even make it in a Top 50 of All-Time list, were I to make one.

QUOTE OF THE NIGHT: "I want my son back!" - R-Truth
I literally LOL'ed on that one. That was awesome!

Kelly Kelly - Killer in Cream

2011-05-23T19:45:00.000-05:00

Knee-Jerk Reaction (Smackdown 05/20/11)

2011-05-20T21:05:00.000-05:00

How is it that in a world full of technological advances, the one thing that science hasn't found an answer to is how to negate the effects of rain and storm clouds on satellite television? I completely missed RAW because it drizzled here on Monday night. That's right... drizzled. It wasn't even a heavy rain. Everything from my cell phone to my wireless internet is run using satellite technology, yet they seem to still work during inclement weather. I just don't get it.

WHAT I LIKED:
Christian vs Sheamus: Nice physical and competitive match to start off a show. Coming off the past couple weeks of awkward opening promos, it's about damn time they went back to opening shows with a good match. That's how you whet the appetite of a wresting fan. I wish the ending was more believable than a roll-up, but I understand they had to keep Sheamus somewhat fresh enough to participate in the post-match beat-down.

Bryan vs Guerrero: I'm not liking how Daniel Bryan is being used as a pawn in the Sin Cara & Chavo Guerrero rivalry, but at least he is being used. I also don't like Daniel Bryan's matches having time limits involved. But again, at least he is in a match. I do, however, like the fact that Chavo is in a match on television without it being on Superstars or against Hornswoggle. I think Chavo Guerrero is an amazing talent and I'm glad he's being given a push, although I'm not sold on it being against Sin Cara. This match and last week's Sin Cara vs Daniel Bryan match are just two reasons why I think WWE should bring back the Cruiserweight Title. And there's no one better to bring it back than the man who had perhaps the most memorable Cruiserweight Title reign before it was retired in Chavo Guerrero.

Khali vs Uso: Is it just me or does Jey Uso look exactly like The Great Khali... only about a foot and a half shorter and with a less defined jawline? The hair, the skin color - they look like they could be brothers or at least cousins. Speaking of brothers, I really like this ongoing storyline with Jinder Mahal, who I believe is being pushed as Khali's brother or something like that. I don't know, I just wanted to segue from one topic to another. Jinder Mahal looks the part and he's pretty tall, as he could stand face to face with Khali. I'm sure Vince ejaculated a little bit during that staredown. Yes, this storyline has consequences - including Khali possibly making it back to the main event, but so far it's been pretty interesting.

WHAT I HATED:
The Bella Sluts: The one bad thing about Kharma putting the divas division back in the spotlight is that it means all the divas are back in the spotlight, including The Bella Twins. Now, why either of them holds the Divas Title is beyond me. That promo they had on Smackdown tonight was cringeworthy. It makes no sense to have them bicker about one leaving the other in the ring to be crushed by Kharma, only for them to kiss and makeup later. The only way I'd believe that less is if they actually kissed and made up! Oh, and by the way, having Nikki Bella on Smackdown just days after she was crushed by Kharma on RAW does no favors for Kharma's effect. Maryse, Alicia Fox, Layla, Eve Torres and Michelle McCool were all also taken out by Kharma and they're nowhere to be found. Is Nikki Bella really tougher than them?

Six Man Tag Match: How lengthy does WWE think the average wrestling fans' mind is? Shorter than three weeks, maybe? Because I remember when Ezekiel Jackson was dominating Kane & Big Show no less than a month ago and now he's tagging with them and there is absolutely no ill-will? I don't buy it. Also, a couple weeks ago I credited Big Show and Kane for fighting a war on two fronts. They're in a rivalry with Nexus on RAW and The Corre on Smackdown. In my opinion, their rivalry with The Corre has the most history and should be the more important one. Instead, it's CM Punk and Mason Ryan they'll be defending the Tag Team Titles against at Over The Limit. This is only being done to make Mason Ryan look like the mega-heel that he's not. He's not ready. He looks lost in the ring everytime he's in it and he can't cut a promo to save his life. I guess it's a good thing he has CM Punk as his hype man, but don't get me started on how wasteful that is.

Rhodes & DiBiase: Weren't these two just opponents last week? Didn't Cody Rhodes take a few jabs at Ted DiBiase last week? Seriously, how short does WWE think our memories are? I said last week that it would be a bad idea to put Rhodes & DiBiase back together and right on cue, WWE does it. They are the best when it comes to doing the worst possible thing imaginable. I have to give Ted DiBiase credit for nailing a mexican accent, regardless of how racially insensitive it is. The way he said the word 'hideous' was spot on!

Orton vs Henry: Is there a reason why we are treating Mark Henry like he's a main-eventer? He's not. And why do the announcers keep saying this a 'new attitude' from Mark Henry? It's not. We've seen this before... when Mark Henry was drafted to RAW last year and they tried to push him. It failed then and it's going to fail now. Mark Henry is just not a main-eventer. Since this match was a DQ, I won't put it on Orton's win-loss record, but he's still undefeated with no loss in sight in the near future.

PUSH:
'Macho Man' Randy Savage: I'm sure we've all heard or read the devastating news that Randy Savage died today. Maybe I should have lead with this instead of bitching about my satellite, but you know, priorities. I was not a fan of Randy Savage. Honestly, I never once saw the appeal of this guy. He was a big body with marketable commercial appeal, limited in-ring ability and a cache of catchphrases. Reminds me of a certain current WWE champion. Albeit, it's always sad when someone dies, regardless of who it is. I hope Savage's family and friends can find some peace in these trying times and I wish them all the condolences in the world.

By the way, I know Smackdown is pre-taped on Tuesdays and Savage only died today, but some kind of memorial could have been made this morning and added to the broadcast to commemorate Randy Savage's passing. It's been done before and WWE has probably the greatest graphics team in entertainment. They could have made something in short notice and it would have been pretty decent. I'm all but certain this was a no-call on the part of Vince McMahon, who hated Randy Savage something fierce. But here's the kicker, I guarantee that come RAW, or probably the Over The Limit PPV this Sunday, there will be a memorial for Randy Savage shown. Then Vince will milk his passing for all the publicity and money that he possibly can, culminating in doing the one thing that he's refused to do for the past five years - placing Randy Savage in the WWE Hall of Fame postmortem. The one thing that Randy Savage has wanted and couldn't get, Vince is finally going to give it to him when he's no longer around to enjoy it. That, my friends, is why Vince McMahon is an evil genius!

Maryse - All That Glitters

2011-05-20T18:51:00.000-05:00