Hey guys, that's right, I'm back. It's been a while yes, but I've been fairly busy with some "offline life stuff", and haven't had a lot of free time or energy to write to the level I would like.
But, I'm back. It may or may not be back to regular posts, I'm hoping that is the case, but if not, I will try to write some stuff every now and then.
I have however, been keeping up with the wrestling. I've really been enjoying the Punk/Bryan/AJ storyline, and I feel like the quality of RAW has been stepped up a little, probably to help the 1000th episode of RAW.
But let's get down to business shall we?
Chris Jericho. I see all these comments and posts and what not about "Jericho hasn't won a match since his return" or "Why are the WWE burying Jericho?" .. And this week on Raw it was even brought into a promo, with Ziggler asking Jericho if he'd "lost his touch".
Now, I am, and have been of the opinion since before Mania that the WWE are not burying Jericho. Wrestling isn't about wins and losses people.. remember? It's a pre-determined contest... it's about the performance. And if you look purely at performance, Jericho has been performing at the same level, if not a little better than before he left.
Let's look at the way Jericho came back. The video packages.. the creepy children talking about the end of the world as we know it.. the build up. The hype. And then back comes Jericho, making his return in an LED-festooned jacket. He grabs the mic, stands in the middle of the ring and says.. nothing.
This happened for a few weeks if my memory serves me correctly, and then he gave us just that one line promo.
This was Jericho's way of manipulating the crowd into booing him. When anyone of note returns, the crowd will always cheer for them. The only guy who would still get booed today if he returned, would be mohammad hassan. Anyone else, cheers. JBL would get cheered, and he was the biggest heel in the company for a number of years.
Jericho took that, and turned it against the crowd, showing us how easy it was to manipulate us, and control us, just by throwing his hands up and shouting.
He said he would win the royal rumble. But he didn't.
He said he would beat CM Punk at Wrestlemania. But he didn't.
He said he would win the Money In The Bank Ladder match. But he didn't.
So I've had this theory running around my head for a little while now, but then I read an article on a Wrestling news website, talking about the original plans for the Money in The Bank. Apparently there was an idea floating about that Jericho would win, but then be the first guy to try to cash it in, and lose the match.
That's when it hit me, and I totally got it. Chris Jericho is still trolling us.
All the losses, it's all a big rib. Not on him, on the fans. Jericho is losing every match he's a part of essentially, and yet, he's arguably the most entertaining guy on Raw each week. Think about this. Jericho has been a top star for what.. 11 years nearly? It was December 2001 when he became the first Undisputed champion. The man has been wrestling at least 10 years more than that. So that's a 20+ year career.
It seems to me, that just the same as back in 2008 or so, when he dropped the Y2J gimmick, donned the suit, spoke softly and slowly, and coined the phrase "I am the best in the world, at what I do", Jericho is trying something new. He's managed to lose all the big matches, and yet never diminish in the eyes of the public. If he did have the MITB briefcase and ran down to cash it in, every single person would be sure that he would win the title. And THAT is why Jericho would want to lose.
He said it best on his "Breaking the code" DVD, when he talked about the way he left in 2005.. carried out by "security" screaming and whining and crying for his job. He talked about that being the best way for a heel to leave, and let's face it, Jericho is such a great heel, deep down he always wants us to boo him.
So before you start talking about how much Jericho has been buried, or used incorrectly, or "why isn't he champion?".. Think about it in these terms. This is all Jericho's master plan. He isn't champion because he doesn't want, or need it.
He is losing because he's working everyone on a whole different level to anyone else. We all expect he'll pick up a victory eventually right? We say.. "this time he'll win". It's keeping us tuned in, it's keeping us invested, and more importantly, it's keeping us entertained.
Jericho won't be around for much longer (as far as this run in the WWE goes), and for me, what he's doing with this run is some of the most original stuff, as far as character, and giving us little peeks behind the curtain. I especially enjoyed the little promo he cut about having a lot of catchphrases, and then rattling them off one at a time to get reactions from the crowd.. once again showing how easy it is to manipulate the WWE Universe.
So enjoy it while he's around, because when he leaves (apparently after Summerslam), we will miss it a lot.
Ok that's about it for now. What do you all think about what I've written? Do you agree? Disagree? Let me know by leaving a comment on here, or on my twitter (@TheOzMouthpiece), and while you're at it, follow me on there as well.
Until next time, I'm the Aussie Mouthpiece, and my business is concluded. For now...
Showing posts with label wrestling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wrestling. Show all posts
July 20, 2012
May 5, 2012
Home Schooling No. 15
Hello there readers, it's me, the Aussie Mouthpiece, and it's time for another weekly dose of home schooling. This week I'll cover Monday Night Raw, iMPACT, and I'll even go back and talk a little about the repercussions from Extreme Rules.
How long have the fans been crying out for a return to the attitude era? How long have there been fans saying "PG wrestling is terrible"? How long have they been saying "bring back blood", or "we want blood"
So let's get down to business.
Having had a few days to digest the events of Extreme Rules, I've come to realise how important the match between Brock Lesnar and John Cena was.
Think about it.
How long have the fans been crying out for a return to the attitude era? How long have there been fans saying "PG wrestling is terrible"? How long have they been saying "bring back blood", or "we want blood"
Most people would say too long. The match between Cena and Lesnar changed all that. In the space of just 20 minutes, Vince, the writers, and the entire WWE showed us what we've been waiting for for the longest time: a return to a more bloody, violent product.
Yes, there has been blood in recent memory, Lesnar's attack on Cena a couple of weeks ago, and Triple H vs Undertaker. But, the difference here is that they were accidental. Clearly, the elbows Lesnar rained down on Cena were planned beforehand. This match looked, and felt so different to anything I've seen in the last few years. Brock Lesnar's reputation obviously had a lot to do with that, but I'm not sure that people are giving the WWE enough credit.
This match was (for the most part) a masterpiece in psychology. Lesnar completely dominated Cena. It wasn't a wrestling match. It wasn't even an extreme rules match. The way that Lesnar, and his MMA skills were used in this match made it feel like the beginning of a new era.
I do think however, that they faltered in one area, which showed that the WWE aren't entirely ready to shift into a new era. I'm talking about having Cena win.
This is the one time I kind of agree with the Cena haters. It really looked like Super-cena. Brock dominated the match for near 20 minutes, and yet Cena can keep him down for a 3 count with a punch to the head and an Attitude Adjustment onto stairs? and more to the point, Brock can't keep Cena down with the 20 minutes of violence he laid on him?
It felt like the wrong decision is all I'm saying.
I'm going to disagree with some people here though, and say that it didn't really hurt Lesnar at all. It seems that people consider a loss to be a guy getting "buried". Jericho is a popular topic for that. He's lost at every pay per view since his return, so therefore he must be getting buried.
No. He's not.
He's basically headlined Wrestlemania this year, in the sense that he was in the WWE title match. He's had another title match at the last pay per view. He was in the final part of the Royal Rumble. And he's featured every week on RAW heavily, and usually getting the better of CM Punk, or delivering really strong promos.
That is not burying. Not seeing someone for ages, and then seeing them only losing and being used badly, is burying. Some might say Zack Ryder is being buried at the moment.
That is not burying. Not seeing someone for ages, and then seeing them only losing and being used badly, is burying. Some might say Zack Ryder is being buried at the moment.
But back to what I was saying, Lesnar losing, didn't hurt him. Anyone who's seen the match, or highlights of the match, saw that Lesnar dominated, cut open, and basically tore Cena's arm off. I just think that if he had won it really would have signified the beginning of a new era, rather than a timid step over the line.
Ok let's move on to Raw.
Like I was saying in my Extreme Rules review, something that deviates from the norm is usually good. And this is the case with the Beat the Clock challenge. It gives the matches a different feel, and connects all the matches together in a unique way. So I'm glad they decided to bring that back. And I'm also glad we have a different challenger for the WWE title. CM Punk vs Daniel Bryan is a dream PPV match. I just don't understand why it's happening on Over the Limit...and not a bigger stage like Summerslam or Survivor Series. Maybe it's a case of the WWE not having a lot of faith that this match can draw big numbers.
The other match that was announced this week, really befuddles me. John Cena's next opponent is.. John Laurinitis? Didn't CM Punk want to fight Ace last time I checked? And, moreso, why would anyone think that Cena would even have the slightest problem kicking Ace's ass, if he can overcome the crazy beating Lesnar dished out, and beat Lesnar!
I just don't understand this match. I get that they can play up the injured arm and that gives Laurinitis an easy target to work on, but the man hasn't wrestled in something like 10 years, and he's spent a good part of that last 10 years in a suit, as a corporate man. Lesnar was a UFC heavyweight champion, and Cena beat him.
It's like a story Jim Cornette told on one of his Kayfabe Commentaries dvds. He was talking about Marc Mero and Sable (History time kiddies). Mero was either just having a match with, or was supposed to be starting a feud with the then up and coming Stone Cold Steve Austin. So the story goes that Marc Mero let Sable powerbomb him on TV.
Then soon after, Steve was talking to Vince and the writing team saying "Well who am I wrestling next week then? Because he just let his wife powerbomb him, so why would anyone think I would have the slightest problem beating him?" Granted this is a different circumstance, but the argument is still sound. If Cena can overcome Lesnar, why would Laurinitis pose any threat? And, more to the point, why would anyone pay to see it?
Speaking of Lesnar, we had this opening segment with Triple H coming out and tearing up Lesnar's list of demands, and then Lesnar "breaking" Triple H's arm. I was a bit ambivalent about this segment honestly. I just don't understand why they did it. I hear it could be because Lesnar has a set number of TV appearances in his contract, and they didn't want to use them up before the year is up or something. I guess as well that it puts him over even more as a ruthless animal. But it's all a bit confusing. I'm still not sure whether the WWE want the crowd to cheer for him, or to boo him. He acts like a heel, but then does really awesome stuff that we love seeing. Maybe they're not trying to sway the crowds one way or the other. Maybe they're letting Lesnar be Lesnar.
I also saw that it's come out this week that Rey Mysterio got suspended for violating the wellness policy, and that he was not/is not going to be getting a push when he returns. Now to me that's gotta be blown a little out of proportion (the second thing I mean). There will have to be some kind of announcement and big return. My theory is that they meant he won't be moving straight into the title picture or anything, but maybe will feud around the mid card level with someone. I think he and Ziggler could put on a good match.
Impact Wrestling.. I mean I'm trying to get into it.. I really am. But what with the crazy music going on during the "Gut check contract" segment, and Flair flipping and flopping around from a No to a yes after the dude delivered a crappy promo, and the heavy editing that's really badly done, I'm finding it really hard to keep watching. I did like the Bully Ray/Austin Aries segment though. Bully/Bubba has come so far lately I think.
I just can't get past his name though. Imagine that.. "And the new TNA World Heavyweight champion.. Bully.. Ray!".. It sounds like a children's cartoon character. I understand they wanted to keep the similarity to Bubba Ray and Brother Ray, but surely they could have just used Ray, or his real name or something. We can figure out that it's still the same guy.
What about this? He comes out and says "Brother Ray was the name keeping me down for so many years, but now that I've rid myself of my "brother", you people, can call me ____________" Or something.
That's about all I have to say this week, so until next time, you can follow me on twitter @TheOZMouthpiece if you're not already, and also check out my writing at the following sites:
http://sltdwrestling.blogspot.com
http://pwjournal.wordpress.com
www.wrestlingheads.com
I'm the Aussie Mouthpiece, and my business is concluded, for now.
April 4, 2012
Home Schooling No.11
Well.. what a week it's been in the world of wrestling. Wrestlemania, the Hall of Fame, and two epic episodes of Raw. And that was just on the WWE side of things. I think it's safe to say that this week has been one of the best Wrestling weeks for a long time.
Before we get into this weeks' episode of Raw, and the Hall of Fame special, let's talk a little bit more about Wrestlemania.
Having watched it a few more times, I'm even more convinced that Wrestlemania 28 is one of the better Mania's ever. Everyone put in a good performance, all of the matches had some memorable moments (yes, even the Orton/Kane and Cody/Big Show matches) and all the big matches lived up to the hype, and in the case of the Hell in a Cell match, exceeded expectations.
I said last night that out of all the 'Mania matches that Triple H, Undertaker and Shawn have had in this 4 year journey, last night's was easily the second best. I don't think anything could top the first Taker/Shawn match, but this was a close second. The emotion, the story told, the brutality, it was all amazing.
The other thing is that the CM Punk/Jericho match is better the second time you watch it. You're not coming down from watching Taker/HHH for the first time, so you get a better appreciation for what they did with the match. I highly recommend checking it out again if you can.
If you haven't already, check out my full Wrestlemania review on here by viewing the previous post to this one.
So let's talk a little about the expectations of this week's Raw.
The post-wrestlemania Raw.. To me it is the episode with the most chance to be a total let down. What rivalries would continue? What new conflicts would begin? Where would the WWE go? And especially this year, with Wrestlemania's theme being the End of an Era, what would the start of the new era be like?
So let's get down to business and talk about Raw.
The first episode of the new era. The first episode of John Laurinitis' total control of the WWE. And the start of the new year, at least in terms of wrestling.
Initially I was thinking that all of the rivalries that we saw at Wrestlemania would end, and it would be a clean slate. But I'm glad that this wasn't the case, and we saw the Chris Jericho/CM Punk rivalry continue. It felt like it had a lot more that could be done with it, and now it appears we're going to get at least one more PPV match.
And it also appears that Big Show and Cody will be continuing for a little longer. Cody needs to get his rematch at least. As does Daniel Bryan.
Before I get into the specifics of the events on Raw this week, let's talk about Daniel Bryan. WWE have been building him as a heel, and doing a fairly good job of it. There were still smatterings of cheers for him, which I can understand. The guy went through a lot just to get to the WWE, and you could tell that winning the World title meant a lot to him.
But then, in one moment, everything changed. Well, to be specific, in 18 seconds, everything changed. Maybe this was the WWE's plan all along, but I don't think so. Daniel Bryan, because of being beaten so quickly, and having a simple, catchy catchphrase (that sounds weird), has become a fan favourite again it seems. How many times did a YES! YES! YES! chant break out on Raw this week? And more to the point, how many times did a Daniel Bryan chant break out at Wrestlemania and Raw?
And speaking of the Yes chant, I have to agree with a few people's posts I've seen in forums and on twitter, in that this chant is going to be as big as Stone Cold's "what?". It's so easy to fit into a wide range of situations during matches and promos, and it's catchy. Let's just hope that it doesn't become as over-used as What? is. And let's also hope that Bryan Danielson's biggest legacy is NOT the introduction of this chant. He deserves better. For now though, it's awesome. YES! YES! YES!
Now let's get to the events of RAW.
John Laurinitis continues to portray himself as a fair general manager, while still favouring the heels. It's a really well done and quite tricky thing to do I think. I mean really, it would be much easier for him to not be seemingly staying impartial, and being a flat out heel. I kind of like it. Don't get me wrong, I completely agree with CM Punk, Johnny Ace is a giant toolbox. I mean, last week on Raw he got his own team's name wrong. That can't be done on purpose. Really. It can't. He's just bad.
We got to see the debut of Lord Tensai this week. I'm quite surprised there were no Shave your Back chants (unless I missed something). I was glad that Michael Cole at least referenced the fact that he'd been in the WWE before. It shows that they don't think we're all idiots and have no long term memory.
I'll be honest, I was never a big fan of A-Train back in 2003. It may have been because he was in a feud with the Undertaker and I was a bit of a mark, but something about him just didn't click with me. What's clear though is that he's improved amazingly since then. I haven't seen a lot of his work from Japan, but I was really impressed with his match this week on Raw. He looks great too. I mean, it's hard to make an american guy look japanese, but they've done quite well.
You can tell he's still getting used to the new character, but it was still a really good debut. I'm a big fan of his stalling underhook suplex just quietly as well. All in all it wasn't a let down, and that's the best thing. So welcome back to Prince Albert/A-Train/Giant Bernard/Lord Tensai. Hopefully we get some really good stuff out of it.
I'll get to the other return towards the end of this post. There's still quite a bit to talk about first. Like CM Punk and Jericho.
CM Punk ... he's becoming the guy who can have a great match with anybody. What a great match he had with Mark Henry this week. And what an amazing crowd. At some points, it felt like they were more amped for Raw than the crowd at Wrestlemania was. So many YES! chants. And even a couple of No chants.
But the real story here was after the match. Punk was laid out by Mark Henry, which gave Chris Jericho the opportunity to come out and make their feud even more personal. I wasn't sure it could get more intense, but seeing as how he poured one bottle of .. "alcohol" into his mouth, and broke a second one over the back of his head.. it's safe to say it has.
I was genuinely shocked with that bottle smash. Even though it clearly was designed to break with any kind of impact, it was still a very graphic thing to see. I hope that it wasn't really alcohol in the bottles, I would imagine it was cold tea rather than actual Jack Daniels.. I'm fairly sure that the WWE wouldn't put Cm Punk in that position.
So where is this all heading? To me it's got to be a rematch, with some kind of gimmick or stipulation added to the match at Extreme Rules. Maybe a Street fight, and if Jericho wins, Cm Punk has to drink a shot or something. To me that would be an interesting stipulation. Especially if CM Punk lost.
But well done to the WWE for intensifying this rivalry even more, and keeping it interesting beyond the Wrestlemania match.
Great to see Alberto back.. but you already knew that. Hopefully he gets a slight character change so he's not quite so bland this time.
I found it interesting that Sheamus was getting a few boos as well. Sheamus vs Bryan has a lot of life left in it. Hopefully WWE capitalises on that.
And now, probably for the last time for a while, let's talk about Rock and Cena. Oh and that other guy who came back.. Lesnar I think his name is?
Rocky had the first in-ring segment this week. It was mostly just standard Rock stuff, which is fine. Those people who were chanting "same old shit" to Cena need to realise that most established wrestlers do the "same old shit" because it's what made them who they are, and get off of the anti-Cena bandwagon.
He did make the announcement that he wants to be WWE champ again however. I'm intrigued by this. To do that, he would have to be coming back for a full time spot, at least for a couple of months. Which, let's face it, as long as he remembers how to be The Rock, can only be a good thing.
I'm glad that both Rock and Cena showed respect to each other by thanking each other. It didn't feel scripted either. It felt real. It felt like it was from the heart.
Rocky delivered a great Rock promo. I just hope he sticks to his word, and doesn't stay away for too long, proving those right who said he was lying when he said he was never leaving.
Before i get to Cena, I just have to say.. that crowd was one of the loudest I think I've ever heard for a Monday Night Raw. Absolutely awesome.
Ok let's skip ahead to the end of the show, and John Cena. Cena came out and, just like The Rock, he cut a very "cena" promo.
The greatest thing about this yes chant is it's ability to very simply and very directly tell the WWE exactly what we, the fans, want to see.
It seemed like John wanted to react to the "You're a loser" chant too. Unfortunately it seems like a different plan is in effect.
But as clear as day, take another look at the part of Cena's promo where he says "would this finally be the day where I lash out at the WWE universe?"
The crowd chants louder than ever, YES! Cena's response is "I hate to be the bearer of bad news" etc.. and the crowd erupt in boos.
Why can't the WWE see that this is what we all want to see? I honestly think that Cena would get cheered if he "turned heel". Based on the crowd's reaction this week, he might get the biggest babyface pop of the night. The one saving grace is that the longer it takes for Cena to turn (he will at some point), the better it's going to be when he finally does make that switch.
I did like that Cena chanted along with the fans at one point during a Yes chant.
But then.. that familiar music hits, and out walks Brock Lesnar! And what a reaction from that amazing crowd. And he looked great too. What we need to remember is that back in 2002/03 Cena and Lesnar were both coming up the ranks. Lesnar made it a little quicker than Cena, but they both started right around the same time. But we never really saw them feud.
So it's two established guys who have never really touched in the ring before. I'm sure they have had a few interactions, but it's basically new. And that's something that, aside from Rock/Cena, hasn't happened a lot lately. All the top guys have wrestled each other. Really think about it, which of the "top guys" at the moment, haven't had some kind of feud with each other. By top guys I mean CM Punk, Orton, Cena, Jericho, Miz and Kane.
Brock Lesnar coming back to the WWE is massive. It's bigger than massive. There will be a slew of people who discovered Brock when he started fighting in the UFC and became massive Lesnar fans. And now that he's back on TV, you would have to imagine they will start tuning in. It gives the WWE more credibility as well. A legitimate fighter coming back to Pro Wrestling. We've seen wrestlers go to the UFC, but I'm certain we've never seen it the other way around. Maybe that Daniel Puder, but he doesn't really count.
You could tell Brock was happy to be back as well. Sure, he left under.. interesting circumstances, but all that is in the past, and everyone has forgotten and forgiven. I think it will take a little time for the character to come back out in him, he seemed a little subdued this week. I would imagine that's just from being in the UFC for that long, and also it's been 8 years since he was in the WWE. He's matured a lot since then. But give it a couple of weeks for him to get back into the swing of things, to get comfortable, and I'm sure we'll get more of a character out of Brock Lesnar.
I'm excited about the potential this has. Listen to the crowd during his entrance. It was almost like they were chanting holy shit to say "the wwe actually gave us what we wanted? Holy shit!" .. Maybe this is a turning point. Whatever the case, Lesnar is going to give the WWE a big injection of big name star-power that's definitely going to be welcomed with open arms.
Just quickly on the hall of fame special, I really enjoyed the whole thing, even though it was so cut down and shortened. Hopefully the DVD/Bluray release of Wrestlmania will have the entire show on it. But the parts that were shown were great. It was awesome to see Ric Flair on WWE programming again, Shawn and Triple H were really funny, and Edge's speech (at least the parts shown) was wonderful. He deserved to be the main guy.
Speaking of Edge (I swear this is the last thing) I watched Bending the Rules today as well. I actually didn't mind it. It's no classic by any means, but it didn't suck. If you like action comedies, it's worth watching. Edge gives a really good performance, even if the story is slightly hard to follow at some points.
Ok that's about all I have to say this week. Oh, no it's not. I've started writing articles for We Want Wrestling, which can be found at http://pwjournal.wordpress.com/ and my first article can be found at http://pwjournal.wordpress.com/2012/04/03/the-aussie-mouthpiece-is-here-2/ Check them both out!
Until next time you can follow me on twitter if you don't already @TheOZMouthpiece and you should leave me a comment and let me know what you think.
Business is over.
Before we get into this weeks' episode of Raw, and the Hall of Fame special, let's talk a little bit more about Wrestlemania.
Having watched it a few more times, I'm even more convinced that Wrestlemania 28 is one of the better Mania's ever. Everyone put in a good performance, all of the matches had some memorable moments (yes, even the Orton/Kane and Cody/Big Show matches) and all the big matches lived up to the hype, and in the case of the Hell in a Cell match, exceeded expectations.
I said last night that out of all the 'Mania matches that Triple H, Undertaker and Shawn have had in this 4 year journey, last night's was easily the second best. I don't think anything could top the first Taker/Shawn match, but this was a close second. The emotion, the story told, the brutality, it was all amazing.
The other thing is that the CM Punk/Jericho match is better the second time you watch it. You're not coming down from watching Taker/HHH for the first time, so you get a better appreciation for what they did with the match. I highly recommend checking it out again if you can.
If you haven't already, check out my full Wrestlemania review on here by viewing the previous post to this one.
So let's talk a little about the expectations of this week's Raw.
The post-wrestlemania Raw.. To me it is the episode with the most chance to be a total let down. What rivalries would continue? What new conflicts would begin? Where would the WWE go? And especially this year, with Wrestlemania's theme being the End of an Era, what would the start of the new era be like?
So let's get down to business and talk about Raw.
The first episode of the new era. The first episode of John Laurinitis' total control of the WWE. And the start of the new year, at least in terms of wrestling.
Initially I was thinking that all of the rivalries that we saw at Wrestlemania would end, and it would be a clean slate. But I'm glad that this wasn't the case, and we saw the Chris Jericho/CM Punk rivalry continue. It felt like it had a lot more that could be done with it, and now it appears we're going to get at least one more PPV match.
And it also appears that Big Show and Cody will be continuing for a little longer. Cody needs to get his rematch at least. As does Daniel Bryan.
Before I get into the specifics of the events on Raw this week, let's talk about Daniel Bryan. WWE have been building him as a heel, and doing a fairly good job of it. There were still smatterings of cheers for him, which I can understand. The guy went through a lot just to get to the WWE, and you could tell that winning the World title meant a lot to him.
But then, in one moment, everything changed. Well, to be specific, in 18 seconds, everything changed. Maybe this was the WWE's plan all along, but I don't think so. Daniel Bryan, because of being beaten so quickly, and having a simple, catchy catchphrase (that sounds weird), has become a fan favourite again it seems. How many times did a YES! YES! YES! chant break out on Raw this week? And more to the point, how many times did a Daniel Bryan chant break out at Wrestlemania and Raw?
And speaking of the Yes chant, I have to agree with a few people's posts I've seen in forums and on twitter, in that this chant is going to be as big as Stone Cold's "what?". It's so easy to fit into a wide range of situations during matches and promos, and it's catchy. Let's just hope that it doesn't become as over-used as What? is. And let's also hope that Bryan Danielson's biggest legacy is NOT the introduction of this chant. He deserves better. For now though, it's awesome. YES! YES! YES!
Now let's get to the events of RAW.
John Laurinitis continues to portray himself as a fair general manager, while still favouring the heels. It's a really well done and quite tricky thing to do I think. I mean really, it would be much easier for him to not be seemingly staying impartial, and being a flat out heel. I kind of like it. Don't get me wrong, I completely agree with CM Punk, Johnny Ace is a giant toolbox. I mean, last week on Raw he got his own team's name wrong. That can't be done on purpose. Really. It can't. He's just bad.
We got to see the debut of Lord Tensai this week. I'm quite surprised there were no Shave your Back chants (unless I missed something). I was glad that Michael Cole at least referenced the fact that he'd been in the WWE before. It shows that they don't think we're all idiots and have no long term memory.
I'll be honest, I was never a big fan of A-Train back in 2003. It may have been because he was in a feud with the Undertaker and I was a bit of a mark, but something about him just didn't click with me. What's clear though is that he's improved amazingly since then. I haven't seen a lot of his work from Japan, but I was really impressed with his match this week on Raw. He looks great too. I mean, it's hard to make an american guy look japanese, but they've done quite well.
You can tell he's still getting used to the new character, but it was still a really good debut. I'm a big fan of his stalling underhook suplex just quietly as well. All in all it wasn't a let down, and that's the best thing. So welcome back to Prince Albert/A-Train/Giant Bernard/Lord Tensai. Hopefully we get some really good stuff out of it.
I'll get to the other return towards the end of this post. There's still quite a bit to talk about first. Like CM Punk and Jericho.
CM Punk ... he's becoming the guy who can have a great match with anybody. What a great match he had with Mark Henry this week. And what an amazing crowd. At some points, it felt like they were more amped for Raw than the crowd at Wrestlemania was. So many YES! chants. And even a couple of No chants.
But the real story here was after the match. Punk was laid out by Mark Henry, which gave Chris Jericho the opportunity to come out and make their feud even more personal. I wasn't sure it could get more intense, but seeing as how he poured one bottle of .. "alcohol" into his mouth, and broke a second one over the back of his head.. it's safe to say it has.
I was genuinely shocked with that bottle smash. Even though it clearly was designed to break with any kind of impact, it was still a very graphic thing to see. I hope that it wasn't really alcohol in the bottles, I would imagine it was cold tea rather than actual Jack Daniels.. I'm fairly sure that the WWE wouldn't put Cm Punk in that position.
So where is this all heading? To me it's got to be a rematch, with some kind of gimmick or stipulation added to the match at Extreme Rules. Maybe a Street fight, and if Jericho wins, Cm Punk has to drink a shot or something. To me that would be an interesting stipulation. Especially if CM Punk lost.
But well done to the WWE for intensifying this rivalry even more, and keeping it interesting beyond the Wrestlemania match.
Great to see Alberto back.. but you already knew that. Hopefully he gets a slight character change so he's not quite so bland this time.
I found it interesting that Sheamus was getting a few boos as well. Sheamus vs Bryan has a lot of life left in it. Hopefully WWE capitalises on that.
And now, probably for the last time for a while, let's talk about Rock and Cena. Oh and that other guy who came back.. Lesnar I think his name is?
Rocky had the first in-ring segment this week. It was mostly just standard Rock stuff, which is fine. Those people who were chanting "same old shit" to Cena need to realise that most established wrestlers do the "same old shit" because it's what made them who they are, and get off of the anti-Cena bandwagon.
He did make the announcement that he wants to be WWE champ again however. I'm intrigued by this. To do that, he would have to be coming back for a full time spot, at least for a couple of months. Which, let's face it, as long as he remembers how to be The Rock, can only be a good thing.
I'm glad that both Rock and Cena showed respect to each other by thanking each other. It didn't feel scripted either. It felt real. It felt like it was from the heart.
Rocky delivered a great Rock promo. I just hope he sticks to his word, and doesn't stay away for too long, proving those right who said he was lying when he said he was never leaving.
Before i get to Cena, I just have to say.. that crowd was one of the loudest I think I've ever heard for a Monday Night Raw. Absolutely awesome.
Ok let's skip ahead to the end of the show, and John Cena. Cena came out and, just like The Rock, he cut a very "cena" promo.
The greatest thing about this yes chant is it's ability to very simply and very directly tell the WWE exactly what we, the fans, want to see.
It seemed like John wanted to react to the "You're a loser" chant too. Unfortunately it seems like a different plan is in effect.
But as clear as day, take another look at the part of Cena's promo where he says "would this finally be the day where I lash out at the WWE universe?"
The crowd chants louder than ever, YES! Cena's response is "I hate to be the bearer of bad news" etc.. and the crowd erupt in boos.
Why can't the WWE see that this is what we all want to see? I honestly think that Cena would get cheered if he "turned heel". Based on the crowd's reaction this week, he might get the biggest babyface pop of the night. The one saving grace is that the longer it takes for Cena to turn (he will at some point), the better it's going to be when he finally does make that switch.
I did like that Cena chanted along with the fans at one point during a Yes chant.
But then.. that familiar music hits, and out walks Brock Lesnar! And what a reaction from that amazing crowd. And he looked great too. What we need to remember is that back in 2002/03 Cena and Lesnar were both coming up the ranks. Lesnar made it a little quicker than Cena, but they both started right around the same time. But we never really saw them feud.
So it's two established guys who have never really touched in the ring before. I'm sure they have had a few interactions, but it's basically new. And that's something that, aside from Rock/Cena, hasn't happened a lot lately. All the top guys have wrestled each other. Really think about it, which of the "top guys" at the moment, haven't had some kind of feud with each other. By top guys I mean CM Punk, Orton, Cena, Jericho, Miz and Kane.
Brock Lesnar coming back to the WWE is massive. It's bigger than massive. There will be a slew of people who discovered Brock when he started fighting in the UFC and became massive Lesnar fans. And now that he's back on TV, you would have to imagine they will start tuning in. It gives the WWE more credibility as well. A legitimate fighter coming back to Pro Wrestling. We've seen wrestlers go to the UFC, but I'm certain we've never seen it the other way around. Maybe that Daniel Puder, but he doesn't really count.
You could tell Brock was happy to be back as well. Sure, he left under.. interesting circumstances, but all that is in the past, and everyone has forgotten and forgiven. I think it will take a little time for the character to come back out in him, he seemed a little subdued this week. I would imagine that's just from being in the UFC for that long, and also it's been 8 years since he was in the WWE. He's matured a lot since then. But give it a couple of weeks for him to get back into the swing of things, to get comfortable, and I'm sure we'll get more of a character out of Brock Lesnar.
I'm excited about the potential this has. Listen to the crowd during his entrance. It was almost like they were chanting holy shit to say "the wwe actually gave us what we wanted? Holy shit!" .. Maybe this is a turning point. Whatever the case, Lesnar is going to give the WWE a big injection of big name star-power that's definitely going to be welcomed with open arms.
Just quickly on the hall of fame special, I really enjoyed the whole thing, even though it was so cut down and shortened. Hopefully the DVD/Bluray release of Wrestlmania will have the entire show on it. But the parts that were shown were great. It was awesome to see Ric Flair on WWE programming again, Shawn and Triple H were really funny, and Edge's speech (at least the parts shown) was wonderful. He deserved to be the main guy.
Speaking of Edge (I swear this is the last thing) I watched Bending the Rules today as well. I actually didn't mind it. It's no classic by any means, but it didn't suck. If you like action comedies, it's worth watching. Edge gives a really good performance, even if the story is slightly hard to follow at some points.
Ok that's about all I have to say this week. Oh, no it's not. I've started writing articles for We Want Wrestling, which can be found at http://pwjournal.wordpress.com/ and my first article can be found at http://pwjournal.wordpress.com/2012/04/03/the-aussie-mouthpiece-is-here-2/ Check them both out!
Until next time you can follow me on twitter if you don't already @TheOZMouthpiece and you should leave me a comment and let me know what you think.
Business is over.
March 28, 2012
Home Schooling No.9
It's that time again, another week has come and gone, another episode of RAW, and that means it's time for another installment of Home Schooling. This week is going to be a little different. The first half of this post will be about Raw, and the second will be my regular "pre pay-per-view" blog, The Calm Before the Storm, which will be my rundown and predictions for the Wrestlemania card. I'll try to keep everything nice and concise so this doesn't turn into a short novel.
So let's get down to business.
I thought this week's RAW was a decent episode, but I was a bit disappointed with it, seeing as though it was the "go home" show for Wrestlemania. To me, this show is meant to be the one that "talks people into the building". I know that with Wrestlemania it's obviously different, because you have people who will be buying it no matter what, and also that most people will have already made up their minds about buying it or not, but still, it lacked that extra something for me.
Maybe it was that Chris Jericho wasn't "live" in the arena. Maybe because we just got a video package for one of the top 3 matches for Wrestlemania. Maybe it was because the last 25 minutes of the show were set aside for Rock and Cena. Probably not that last one. I really enjoyed that whole segment. Especially once Cena came out. But I'll get to that later.
The other thing that bothered me, is that we seem to have lost a lot of that "Pay per view" feel. Take the opening match. Sheamus and Orton vs Daniel Bryan and Kane. I would have thought the way to have this match work, would be to tease Orton and Kane (and Bryan and Sheamus) being in the ring together, not have the two sets of opponents spend a good majority of the match wrestling each other. To me it's now kind of like (especially with Orton and Kane) I've seen a lot of the match I'm going to see at Wrestlemania already, and I didn't have to pay for it. So why do I care about this match now?
One quick thing about Team Johnny/Team Teddy.. Laurinitis can't even deliver a one line promo correctly. That says just about everything that needs to be said about this match.
Part of me thinks that there's a little too much emphasis on the Rock and Cena. Yes, it's a huge match. Yes, it's "once in a lifetime". But the WWE Title should be just as important I think. So why wasn't Chris Jericho wrestling a singles match this week? All we've seen is Jericho talk for the last few weeks. Why is that? Do we not need to see that Jericho is a great wrestler? Something doesn't quite feel right in that sense, and I can't really figure out why they wouldn't have him wrestling, or at least interfering in a match or something.
Unless Jericho is slightly injured. Hopefully that's not the case.
Jericho's promos have been entertaining, and edgy. They have made the feud personal. Now I don't really see that the whole "bastard" thing is a big deal, or why that's a bigger deal than saying things about CM Punk's family. But that's neither here nor there.
Punk taking his anger out on Christian was the right move. It shows us that Punk IS angry about this, and also that Jericho has gotten to him, which in turn adds a little bit of doubt into whether Punk will retain the title. And also, apparently Christian isn't 100%, so it was a good way to write him out of the Tag match.
Incidentally, I really like the way Punk delivers those kicks to the head.
Did anyone else notice that this week's Jericho promo looked exactly the same as last weeks? As in, it was recorded the same time as last weeks? Lazy bit of TV right there.
Now, about this "End of an Era" video package. I understand that Triple H and Undertaker have basically said everything they could possibly say, but I think we, the viewers, and more importantly the people who paid to be at the show deserved to see these guys. Originally I was thinking the way it should have been done, would have been to show the video package last week, and then have the in ring segment from last week, on this week's show. But I've come up with a second theory.
What if this week, Triple H came down to the ring, and called out Shawn? They have some kind of heated words about Shawn's ego, about what Undertaker said, and maybe it gets a little phyiscal, maybe they push each other, get in each other's face? And then, the lights go out. When they come back on, Undertaker is at the top of the stage, looking at the ring, and all he does is smile. I don't know, it just felt like only having a video package detracted from how big this match is.
Cody Rhodes delivered probably the second best moment of the episode for me this week. His promo was great. And the best part, it actually got me interested in the Intercontinental title match. Well done to Cody. Hopefully this continues after Wrestlemania, and we see him getting a shot at the World title/WWE Title soon.
Ok onto The Rock, and John Cena. Rock spends way too much time standing there with a cheesy grin on his face. So let's just get that out of the way right now. Rock talks about all the young starlets throwing themselves at him. That's only a little bit creepy Rocky. But let's move on.
Yes. Rock delivered a great promo. It was the same stuff though. My biggest problem with all this though, is yes, The Rock will be on RAW next week. But after that, he's gone again right? So really, regardless of the result, John Cena will be proven right (at least temporarily if Rock is going to be part of WM 29).
So let's talk about Cena for a minute here. His promo was the best part of the night. He talked about how the fans boo him. He talked about it not bothering him. That was expected. But after a few minutes it got real good, real quick. It got into that weird area of "is this a shoot?" for a little bit there as well. But once again, as has happened in the last few weeks, John Cena basically owned The Rock on the microphone.
He talked about how he's been the only guy who's gotten booed and never turned heel. And then antagonised the booing crowd, saying that he always wins. That part to me was the most interesting, because if you think about it from a non-kayfabe perspective, he's saying "The office knows that I'm the man, and that's why I always win". Very interesting. Of course, kayfabe wise, it was just saying "you can hate me all you want, but i'll still find a way". I think that may have been my favourite part of Cena's promo.
He talked about how The Rock was there when it was "cool" to be a WWE Superstar, but Cena has been the face of the company when it's been going through harder times. This is why Cena has been better than The Rock in these promos. Rock has insulted everything Cena wears, cares about, says, his family, and basically been a schoolyard bully.
Cena, has been saying things that are fact, yet things that show the Rock in a poor light, like the notes on the wrist, like Rock being there when it was "cool". Not insulting what makes the Rock, The Rock.
Ok scratch what I said about my favourite part. Cena calling the Rock a visitor, and then Rock's response. That is my favourite part of the night, and this entire feud. Because Rock delivered his response with passion. Not trying to get things trending, not trying to say new cool catchphrases, just speaking from the heart. Also, Cena's response to Rock's response was just as good. All in all a brilliant final segment, and thinking about it, definitely worth giving them the 20 minutes at the end of RAW.
One last thing about Rock/Cena, I think they should have made a slightly bigger deal about Rock wanting to be the greatest of all time by being the first guy to beat Hogan, Austin and Cena, instead of the ladyparts/transvestite wonder woman/barney's turd crap that we had to put up with. I would have been much more interested, and, now that I think about it, probably have been wanting The Rock to win if it had gone that way. Oh what could have been....
Ok so that's all for this week, I'll be on twitter during Wrestlemania so I'll be joining in with the crazy tweet barrage that happens. Until next week's blog, follow me on twitter if you're not already @TheOZMouthpiece and leave me a comment on here if you like, or dislike, or have something interesting to say.
Business.. is concluded.
So let's get down to business.
I thought this week's RAW was a decent episode, but I was a bit disappointed with it, seeing as though it was the "go home" show for Wrestlemania. To me, this show is meant to be the one that "talks people into the building". I know that with Wrestlemania it's obviously different, because you have people who will be buying it no matter what, and also that most people will have already made up their minds about buying it or not, but still, it lacked that extra something for me.
Maybe it was that Chris Jericho wasn't "live" in the arena. Maybe because we just got a video package for one of the top 3 matches for Wrestlemania. Maybe it was because the last 25 minutes of the show were set aside for Rock and Cena. Probably not that last one. I really enjoyed that whole segment. Especially once Cena came out. But I'll get to that later.
The other thing that bothered me, is that we seem to have lost a lot of that "Pay per view" feel. Take the opening match. Sheamus and Orton vs Daniel Bryan and Kane. I would have thought the way to have this match work, would be to tease Orton and Kane (and Bryan and Sheamus) being in the ring together, not have the two sets of opponents spend a good majority of the match wrestling each other. To me it's now kind of like (especially with Orton and Kane) I've seen a lot of the match I'm going to see at Wrestlemania already, and I didn't have to pay for it. So why do I care about this match now?
One quick thing about Team Johnny/Team Teddy.. Laurinitis can't even deliver a one line promo correctly. That says just about everything that needs to be said about this match.
Part of me thinks that there's a little too much emphasis on the Rock and Cena. Yes, it's a huge match. Yes, it's "once in a lifetime". But the WWE Title should be just as important I think. So why wasn't Chris Jericho wrestling a singles match this week? All we've seen is Jericho talk for the last few weeks. Why is that? Do we not need to see that Jericho is a great wrestler? Something doesn't quite feel right in that sense, and I can't really figure out why they wouldn't have him wrestling, or at least interfering in a match or something.
Unless Jericho is slightly injured. Hopefully that's not the case.
Jericho's promos have been entertaining, and edgy. They have made the feud personal. Now I don't really see that the whole "bastard" thing is a big deal, or why that's a bigger deal than saying things about CM Punk's family. But that's neither here nor there.
Punk taking his anger out on Christian was the right move. It shows us that Punk IS angry about this, and also that Jericho has gotten to him, which in turn adds a little bit of doubt into whether Punk will retain the title. And also, apparently Christian isn't 100%, so it was a good way to write him out of the Tag match.
Incidentally, I really like the way Punk delivers those kicks to the head.
Did anyone else notice that this week's Jericho promo looked exactly the same as last weeks? As in, it was recorded the same time as last weeks? Lazy bit of TV right there.
Now, about this "End of an Era" video package. I understand that Triple H and Undertaker have basically said everything they could possibly say, but I think we, the viewers, and more importantly the people who paid to be at the show deserved to see these guys. Originally I was thinking the way it should have been done, would have been to show the video package last week, and then have the in ring segment from last week, on this week's show. But I've come up with a second theory.
What if this week, Triple H came down to the ring, and called out Shawn? They have some kind of heated words about Shawn's ego, about what Undertaker said, and maybe it gets a little phyiscal, maybe they push each other, get in each other's face? And then, the lights go out. When they come back on, Undertaker is at the top of the stage, looking at the ring, and all he does is smile. I don't know, it just felt like only having a video package detracted from how big this match is.
Cody Rhodes delivered probably the second best moment of the episode for me this week. His promo was great. And the best part, it actually got me interested in the Intercontinental title match. Well done to Cody. Hopefully this continues after Wrestlemania, and we see him getting a shot at the World title/WWE Title soon.
Ok onto The Rock, and John Cena. Rock spends way too much time standing there with a cheesy grin on his face. So let's just get that out of the way right now. Rock talks about all the young starlets throwing themselves at him. That's only a little bit creepy Rocky. But let's move on.
Yes. Rock delivered a great promo. It was the same stuff though. My biggest problem with all this though, is yes, The Rock will be on RAW next week. But after that, he's gone again right? So really, regardless of the result, John Cena will be proven right (at least temporarily if Rock is going to be part of WM 29).
So let's talk about Cena for a minute here. His promo was the best part of the night. He talked about how the fans boo him. He talked about it not bothering him. That was expected. But after a few minutes it got real good, real quick. It got into that weird area of "is this a shoot?" for a little bit there as well. But once again, as has happened in the last few weeks, John Cena basically owned The Rock on the microphone.
He talked about how he's been the only guy who's gotten booed and never turned heel. And then antagonised the booing crowd, saying that he always wins. That part to me was the most interesting, because if you think about it from a non-kayfabe perspective, he's saying "The office knows that I'm the man, and that's why I always win". Very interesting. Of course, kayfabe wise, it was just saying "you can hate me all you want, but i'll still find a way". I think that may have been my favourite part of Cena's promo.
He talked about how The Rock was there when it was "cool" to be a WWE Superstar, but Cena has been the face of the company when it's been going through harder times. This is why Cena has been better than The Rock in these promos. Rock has insulted everything Cena wears, cares about, says, his family, and basically been a schoolyard bully.
Cena, has been saying things that are fact, yet things that show the Rock in a poor light, like the notes on the wrist, like Rock being there when it was "cool". Not insulting what makes the Rock, The Rock.
Ok scratch what I said about my favourite part. Cena calling the Rock a visitor, and then Rock's response. That is my favourite part of the night, and this entire feud. Because Rock delivered his response with passion. Not trying to get things trending, not trying to say new cool catchphrases, just speaking from the heart. Also, Cena's response to Rock's response was just as good. All in all a brilliant final segment, and thinking about it, definitely worth giving them the 20 minutes at the end of RAW.
One last thing about Rock/Cena, I think they should have made a slightly bigger deal about Rock wanting to be the greatest of all time by being the first guy to beat Hogan, Austin and Cena, instead of the ladyparts/transvestite wonder woman/barney's turd crap that we had to put up with. I would have been much more interested, and, now that I think about it, probably have been wanting The Rock to win if it had gone that way. Oh what could have been....
Ok so that's all for this week, I'll be on twitter during Wrestlemania so I'll be joining in with the crazy tweet barrage that happens. Until next week's blog, follow me on twitter if you're not already @TheOZMouthpiece and leave me a comment on here if you like, or dislike, or have something interesting to say.
Business.. is concluded.
March 21, 2012
Home Schooling no.8
It's that time again, another week has come and gone, we're one step closer to Wrestlemania, and I am back to talk about the goings on in the last week, in the world of Spor.. I mean Professional Wrestling.
It's been an interesting week. The main focus for me this week has been RAW, and the WWE in general, so that's what I'll be focusing on, and I may just touch on TNA's Victory Road pay per view as well. And possibly on this discussion about Sting, and if he is an "icon" or not.
So let's get down to business.
Last week the CM Punk/Chris Jericho feud finally got a little bit of personal tension about it. I've always thought the best feuds were the ones that had "real" pieces alongside the dramatic storylines, like Austin/McMahon, Shawn/Bret, Edge/Matt Hardy, and even Austin/Bischoff's GM feud in 2003. They stand out because they feel different. They feel well, real.
Punk/Jericho has been good at times, a bit off at times, but last week we finally got the injection of realism that has been lacking. Also, why have the "it begins" videos not been explained? But, let's get back on track.
So this week was CM Punk's response to Jericho's promo about his alcoholic father. From what i've read, this is apparently similar to a feud Punk had with Raven in 2005 (correct me if i'm wrong on the year). It makes sense for Raven to use mind games, psychological games etc to get inside his opponent's head, but it doesn't seem like a Jericho thing as much.
Having said that, Chris is making it work really well. Punk is great, as always. I really liked the line "if there's a devil in my DNA, it's now your problem". The only thing that bothers me about this, is while CM Punk is still being edgy, and being himself, a couple of the other lines, such as the "there isn't a person on this planet who should let a past nightmare dictate or cloud their future dreams", while it's an awesome line, and I agree with it, it's very... babyface. CM Punk to me is at his best when he's still saying things he would say if he was a heel. The switch to babyface took a little of the edge off. But having said that, he still delivered a brilliant promo.
Jericho's "via satellite" response was even better. I was going back and forth as to whether or not going down the "sister" road was too much, but I'm of the mindset that it isn't. It works. It makes it even more personal. I did find it quite funny that in one sentence Jericho said "I'll never talk about your father again" and within 1 minute, he mentioned Punk's father. I guess that's all part of being a heel, being completely disingenuous with everything you say.
People seem to be making a big deal about whatever it was that CM Punk said that got censored. Apparently he repeated himself, saying "you're bullsh*t" both times, the second one you can clearly see. To me this is really good. Think about it. If someone was digging up your family's personal issues in a public forum, how would you react? You'd lose it, you'd say things you wouldn't normally say in a public setting. It does nothing but help this feud. Bit annoying that it was censored, especially considering all the things that The Rock is allowed to say and get away with. But I'll get to him later.
I'm not sure why Big Show was made to look so weak this week. Yes I know he was handcuffed, but that match was so quick as well. The only reason I can think of is to give the fans the impression that Cody has a chance to beat him. Which if you think about it, makes Show a great guy. I get the feeling that it's going to end up with Show getting the big payoff at Wrestlemania, while making Cody look good at the same time.
Kane... so much for the dominant monster returning. Maybe it's a case of all the big matches already being set in stone. I think Kane vs Orton will be good, but I could be wrong. Randy Orton's promo this week was just ok, and really didn't make a lot of sense. Yes. Your name is Randy Orton. Well done. Why do I care about your match?
I have to say, I was probably the opposite of a fan of David Otunga, but that's changed a bit in the last few weeks. He's come into his own lately, probably just because he's had time to develop more of a character, he's not getting ridiculed every week by the good guys, or the cool guys. He's still not great in the ring, and that finishing move is pretty bad, but give it time. Johnny/Teddy however, I'm not sure. I said last week I was hoping Dolph Ziggler wouldn't get put into this match, because he deserved a bigger spot on the card. But it seems to be happening now, so hopefully he'll get a chance to do something memorable at least. Unless the match is really short. Which is likely.
Something that seems to never get cut short is the amount of time given to The Rock, and to a lesser extent, John Cena. And this week we got yet another pre-recorded promo from The Rock, talking about the city he's in, looking all intense, and flashing that hollywood smile.
Funnily enough however, this week Rock started by saying that Cena is on the same level as Austin and Hogan. That was interesting to me. He then talked about how beating Cena would make Rock the greatest of all time. What he did not do this week, is pick on Cena's clothes, or hair, or friends, or family, or his fans. I get the feeling that there might have been some kind of heat for all the constant bullying tactics in Rock's promos of late, and really, since april last year.
I really liked The Rock's promo this week. THAT is the kind of thing that Rock can do. That's why he's so good, why he's one of the best ever. He doesn't need to be a bully. And it was really awesome to hear Randy Savage mentioned. The only thing that I didn't like is it seemed a little like The Rock was playing to the crowd with the whole Philadelphia and Rocky Balboa thing. But overall it was a great promo, and a lot better than the last few weeks.
Which brings me to one other point about the Rock/Cena feud. It seems that this week was meant to be Rock's week. Cena didn't have any promo time or anything, he had the match with Mark Henry, which he did win, but the win was kinda negated by The Rock coming out and hitting the Rock Bottom on Henry afterwards, kind of sending the message of "I can do anything you can do". The difference is though (if we suspend disbelief for a minute here), The Rock did hit a Rock Bottom on Mark Henry. Impressive. But he hit the Rock Bottom on a Mark Henry who'd just been in a match with Cena, and in that match Cena hit his own finisher in that match. So Rock's finisher, not so impressive.
Also, I think having Cena come out this week as the smiling, camo-short wearing, rise above hate Cena has kind of hurt him, after last week's RAW. I think it would have been better for him to keep that "character" going, at least until the Raw after Wrestlemania. Rock has basically said he's fake, and that is also part of the problem people who boo Cena has. And by having that "rapper" Cena only around for one week, it felt like it was just something he did for the show, and not something he believes in.
Now, with that done, that really only leaves one thing to talk about from RAW this week, that being the "end of an era" match.
Now i'm a massive Undertaker fan, as I'm sure I've said before. But that doesn't mean I'm going to say everything that happens with him is great. Undertaker vs Kahli? Not great. Undertaker vs Undertaker? Interesting, not great. And this week's promo segment on Raw? Not great.
The problem is that there's nothing left to say. Where can it go? We already had the promos last year about how much Undertaker and HHH respect each other. We've already had the promos about Shawn and Undertaker and how much they respect each other. And we know that Triple H and HBK are best friends.
So what's left to say?
The focus is still not where it should be. What would have been better this week, is to show video packages of Triple H's Hell in a Cell matches, Undertaker's Hell In A Cell matches (with special attention paid to the Undertaker/HBK cell match), and maybe even a package of Shawn Michaels' appearances as Special referee. Save the 3 person in ring promo for the RAW before Mania, not two weeks before. Who knows though, they're probably going to show a Cell package (unless they already have and I missed it) next week.
But what happens with this feud next week?
My guess is it's going to be Shawn and HHH talking about the last thing that Undertaker said, which i'll get to in a minute. But basically it was that Shawn is better. So HHH and HBK will argue about that, Undertaker will interrupt, and then we might get Shawn hitting a Sweet Chin Music on one of them. Or at least feigning one. But which guy? Maybe he goes to hit it on Undertaker but Taker moves, and it hits HHH. Or the reverse of that.
But that ending.. Undertaker's last words this week. "You remember when I said Shawn is better? .... He is!"
Umm.. Sorry did I miss something? Were you not serious the first time you said it Undertaker? That really, was an awful way to end it. With how long of a pause he took between the two lines, I was sure he was going to say something like "Remember when I said Shawn is better? Well I'm better than Shawn". I get that the idea would be to cause tension between HHH and HBK, but really, there must be some other way to have said that. Maybe Taker forgot what he wanted to say and improvised. Maybe he didn't deliver it the way he wanted to. But it was really sub-par. Even an extra line.. "He is. And he couldn't beat me. What chance do you have?" ANYTHING would have been better. Not saying "he is" would have been better.
Just quickly, why has there been no mention of Taker's videos that were shown a bunch of weeks ago, especially when he cut his hair? That to me was a big deal. Why would Taker cut his hair off? But, once again, like Chris Jericho's "it begins" videos, it's been forgotten about apparently.
So next week, to build to Wrestlemania, I would have Shawn kick Undertaker after HHH moves out of the way, which knocks him down and also knocks the hood off so his baldness is revealed. Which would then (feasibly) make Undertaker even more angry, give the impression that Shawn will screw over Taker (not going to happen), and then if Shawn and HHH share a smile, it wouldn't do anything to Triple H either.
But that's just me. I highly doubt the WWE thinks the same way I do. But if they did, it wouldn't be the worst way to head into Wrestlemania would it?
So that's all I've got to say about Raw this week, I think it was a fairly good episode, but it could have been better. Hopefully next week changes that.
Onto other business now, TNA's Victory Road, which I only saw a little of, had quite an interesting main event, or at least finish to the main event. I guess they're really trying hard to push Bobby Roode as the biggest heel in wrestling, duct-taping Sting to the ropes and threatening Dixie Carter. It was a little unsettling, which is good, makes people question how "worked" things are when that happens. But honestly, I haven't been paying a whole lot of attention to TNA lately, but I do think their product is a lot better than it was say, 6 months ago.
Speaking of Sting, there's a big debate about whether Sting is an icon going on right now. One argument is that without going to the WWE, he can't be an Icon. But what does the term icon mean? He's a legend, he's one of the best ever, but does that make him an icon? An Icon to me is someone like Hogan. Like Flair. Someone that everyone, even if they're not a fan, would know as a wrestler. For example, I'm not a fan of Baseball let's say, but I know exactly who Babe Ruth is, because he's an Icon. If I asked my non-wrestling fan friends who Sting was, I would say all of them would talk about the guy who plays bass guitar.
But, within the wrestling business, I think Sting IS an icon. He is WCW's icon. He was the only guy who never left WCW. And he's never left TNA either. I think that makes him iconic for those companies.
So that's about all I have to say for this week, next week I'll give my Wrestlemania predictions, and give a rundown of the full card. Until then, if you're not already, follow me @TheOZMouthpiece on twitter, and leave me a comment to let me know what you think.
Business is concluded.
It's been an interesting week. The main focus for me this week has been RAW, and the WWE in general, so that's what I'll be focusing on, and I may just touch on TNA's Victory Road pay per view as well. And possibly on this discussion about Sting, and if he is an "icon" or not.
So let's get down to business.
Last week the CM Punk/Chris Jericho feud finally got a little bit of personal tension about it. I've always thought the best feuds were the ones that had "real" pieces alongside the dramatic storylines, like Austin/McMahon, Shawn/Bret, Edge/Matt Hardy, and even Austin/Bischoff's GM feud in 2003. They stand out because they feel different. They feel well, real.
Punk/Jericho has been good at times, a bit off at times, but last week we finally got the injection of realism that has been lacking. Also, why have the "it begins" videos not been explained? But, let's get back on track.
So this week was CM Punk's response to Jericho's promo about his alcoholic father. From what i've read, this is apparently similar to a feud Punk had with Raven in 2005 (correct me if i'm wrong on the year). It makes sense for Raven to use mind games, psychological games etc to get inside his opponent's head, but it doesn't seem like a Jericho thing as much.
Having said that, Chris is making it work really well. Punk is great, as always. I really liked the line "if there's a devil in my DNA, it's now your problem". The only thing that bothers me about this, is while CM Punk is still being edgy, and being himself, a couple of the other lines, such as the "there isn't a person on this planet who should let a past nightmare dictate or cloud their future dreams", while it's an awesome line, and I agree with it, it's very... babyface. CM Punk to me is at his best when he's still saying things he would say if he was a heel. The switch to babyface took a little of the edge off. But having said that, he still delivered a brilliant promo.
Jericho's "via satellite" response was even better. I was going back and forth as to whether or not going down the "sister" road was too much, but I'm of the mindset that it isn't. It works. It makes it even more personal. I did find it quite funny that in one sentence Jericho said "I'll never talk about your father again" and within 1 minute, he mentioned Punk's father. I guess that's all part of being a heel, being completely disingenuous with everything you say.
People seem to be making a big deal about whatever it was that CM Punk said that got censored. Apparently he repeated himself, saying "you're bullsh*t" both times, the second one you can clearly see. To me this is really good. Think about it. If someone was digging up your family's personal issues in a public forum, how would you react? You'd lose it, you'd say things you wouldn't normally say in a public setting. It does nothing but help this feud. Bit annoying that it was censored, especially considering all the things that The Rock is allowed to say and get away with. But I'll get to him later.
I'm not sure why Big Show was made to look so weak this week. Yes I know he was handcuffed, but that match was so quick as well. The only reason I can think of is to give the fans the impression that Cody has a chance to beat him. Which if you think about it, makes Show a great guy. I get the feeling that it's going to end up with Show getting the big payoff at Wrestlemania, while making Cody look good at the same time.
Kane... so much for the dominant monster returning. Maybe it's a case of all the big matches already being set in stone. I think Kane vs Orton will be good, but I could be wrong. Randy Orton's promo this week was just ok, and really didn't make a lot of sense. Yes. Your name is Randy Orton. Well done. Why do I care about your match?
I have to say, I was probably the opposite of a fan of David Otunga, but that's changed a bit in the last few weeks. He's come into his own lately, probably just because he's had time to develop more of a character, he's not getting ridiculed every week by the good guys, or the cool guys. He's still not great in the ring, and that finishing move is pretty bad, but give it time. Johnny/Teddy however, I'm not sure. I said last week I was hoping Dolph Ziggler wouldn't get put into this match, because he deserved a bigger spot on the card. But it seems to be happening now, so hopefully he'll get a chance to do something memorable at least. Unless the match is really short. Which is likely.
Something that seems to never get cut short is the amount of time given to The Rock, and to a lesser extent, John Cena. And this week we got yet another pre-recorded promo from The Rock, talking about the city he's in, looking all intense, and flashing that hollywood smile.
Funnily enough however, this week Rock started by saying that Cena is on the same level as Austin and Hogan. That was interesting to me. He then talked about how beating Cena would make Rock the greatest of all time. What he did not do this week, is pick on Cena's clothes, or hair, or friends, or family, or his fans. I get the feeling that there might have been some kind of heat for all the constant bullying tactics in Rock's promos of late, and really, since april last year.
I really liked The Rock's promo this week. THAT is the kind of thing that Rock can do. That's why he's so good, why he's one of the best ever. He doesn't need to be a bully. And it was really awesome to hear Randy Savage mentioned. The only thing that I didn't like is it seemed a little like The Rock was playing to the crowd with the whole Philadelphia and Rocky Balboa thing. But overall it was a great promo, and a lot better than the last few weeks.
Which brings me to one other point about the Rock/Cena feud. It seems that this week was meant to be Rock's week. Cena didn't have any promo time or anything, he had the match with Mark Henry, which he did win, but the win was kinda negated by The Rock coming out and hitting the Rock Bottom on Henry afterwards, kind of sending the message of "I can do anything you can do". The difference is though (if we suspend disbelief for a minute here), The Rock did hit a Rock Bottom on Mark Henry. Impressive. But he hit the Rock Bottom on a Mark Henry who'd just been in a match with Cena, and in that match Cena hit his own finisher in that match. So Rock's finisher, not so impressive.
Also, I think having Cena come out this week as the smiling, camo-short wearing, rise above hate Cena has kind of hurt him, after last week's RAW. I think it would have been better for him to keep that "character" going, at least until the Raw after Wrestlemania. Rock has basically said he's fake, and that is also part of the problem people who boo Cena has. And by having that "rapper" Cena only around for one week, it felt like it was just something he did for the show, and not something he believes in.
Now, with that done, that really only leaves one thing to talk about from RAW this week, that being the "end of an era" match.
Now i'm a massive Undertaker fan, as I'm sure I've said before. But that doesn't mean I'm going to say everything that happens with him is great. Undertaker vs Kahli? Not great. Undertaker vs Undertaker? Interesting, not great. And this week's promo segment on Raw? Not great.
The problem is that there's nothing left to say. Where can it go? We already had the promos last year about how much Undertaker and HHH respect each other. We've already had the promos about Shawn and Undertaker and how much they respect each other. And we know that Triple H and HBK are best friends.
So what's left to say?
The focus is still not where it should be. What would have been better this week, is to show video packages of Triple H's Hell in a Cell matches, Undertaker's Hell In A Cell matches (with special attention paid to the Undertaker/HBK cell match), and maybe even a package of Shawn Michaels' appearances as Special referee. Save the 3 person in ring promo for the RAW before Mania, not two weeks before. Who knows though, they're probably going to show a Cell package (unless they already have and I missed it) next week.
But what happens with this feud next week?
My guess is it's going to be Shawn and HHH talking about the last thing that Undertaker said, which i'll get to in a minute. But basically it was that Shawn is better. So HHH and HBK will argue about that, Undertaker will interrupt, and then we might get Shawn hitting a Sweet Chin Music on one of them. Or at least feigning one. But which guy? Maybe he goes to hit it on Undertaker but Taker moves, and it hits HHH. Or the reverse of that.
But that ending.. Undertaker's last words this week. "You remember when I said Shawn is better? .... He is!"
Umm.. Sorry did I miss something? Were you not serious the first time you said it Undertaker? That really, was an awful way to end it. With how long of a pause he took between the two lines, I was sure he was going to say something like "Remember when I said Shawn is better? Well I'm better than Shawn". I get that the idea would be to cause tension between HHH and HBK, but really, there must be some other way to have said that. Maybe Taker forgot what he wanted to say and improvised. Maybe he didn't deliver it the way he wanted to. But it was really sub-par. Even an extra line.. "He is. And he couldn't beat me. What chance do you have?" ANYTHING would have been better. Not saying "he is" would have been better.
Just quickly, why has there been no mention of Taker's videos that were shown a bunch of weeks ago, especially when he cut his hair? That to me was a big deal. Why would Taker cut his hair off? But, once again, like Chris Jericho's "it begins" videos, it's been forgotten about apparently.
So next week, to build to Wrestlemania, I would have Shawn kick Undertaker after HHH moves out of the way, which knocks him down and also knocks the hood off so his baldness is revealed. Which would then (feasibly) make Undertaker even more angry, give the impression that Shawn will screw over Taker (not going to happen), and then if Shawn and HHH share a smile, it wouldn't do anything to Triple H either.
But that's just me. I highly doubt the WWE thinks the same way I do. But if they did, it wouldn't be the worst way to head into Wrestlemania would it?
So that's all I've got to say about Raw this week, I think it was a fairly good episode, but it could have been better. Hopefully next week changes that.
Onto other business now, TNA's Victory Road, which I only saw a little of, had quite an interesting main event, or at least finish to the main event. I guess they're really trying hard to push Bobby Roode as the biggest heel in wrestling, duct-taping Sting to the ropes and threatening Dixie Carter. It was a little unsettling, which is good, makes people question how "worked" things are when that happens. But honestly, I haven't been paying a whole lot of attention to TNA lately, but I do think their product is a lot better than it was say, 6 months ago.
Speaking of Sting, there's a big debate about whether Sting is an icon going on right now. One argument is that without going to the WWE, he can't be an Icon. But what does the term icon mean? He's a legend, he's one of the best ever, but does that make him an icon? An Icon to me is someone like Hogan. Like Flair. Someone that everyone, even if they're not a fan, would know as a wrestler. For example, I'm not a fan of Baseball let's say, but I know exactly who Babe Ruth is, because he's an Icon. If I asked my non-wrestling fan friends who Sting was, I would say all of them would talk about the guy who plays bass guitar.
But, within the wrestling business, I think Sting IS an icon. He is WCW's icon. He was the only guy who never left WCW. And he's never left TNA either. I think that makes him iconic for those companies.
So that's about all I have to say for this week, next week I'll give my Wrestlemania predictions, and give a rundown of the full card. Until then, if you're not already, follow me @TheOZMouthpiece on twitter, and leave me a comment to let me know what you think.
Business is concluded.
March 15, 2012
Home Schooling No.7
It's time for another dose of home schooling from me, the Aussie Mouthpiece. So get set for my weekly round-up of what's interested me, both the good, and the bad.
It's been another big week for wrestling, with the "Road to Wrestlemania" taking more twists and turns as we get closer to the big day. So this week I will be talking once again about the main storylines on RAW and Smackdown, but as an extra added bonus, I want to talk about one small part of TNA this week as well. And, if there's time and I don't forget, a slight ROH mention too.
So let's get down to business.
This week's episode of Raw was billed as the Cena Rap/Rock Concert (or something), therefore I'll start off this week talking about them.
Now this might not be popular opinion, but John Cena "won" again. I don't know if it's scripted that way, or if (at least to me) what Cena is saying, or his side makes more sense to me than The Rock's, but as far as I'm concerned, John Cena is winning the verbal battle.
You can hear it even just from the crowd reactions. Sure, The Rock will always get cheered by most of the people. But in the last couple of weeks, Cena has been getting a solid cheer for his efforts. And that's more than has been happening in about 4 or 5 years.
So let's talk about Cena first. And this isn't fruity pebble Cena, or Rise Above Cena, this was old school Cena, the Cena that used to get cheered by just about everyone. Seriously, go back and watch Smackdown in 2004 after he won the US title, or even just watch Wrestlemania 20's opening match. No dog tags and camo shorts this week, we get basketball jersey and chain and padlock Cena. And I for one, was really happy and excited for that.
I've seen comments like "now he's just trying to be a rapper again"... isn't the Rock still using the same gimmick from oh.. what 15 years ago? You use what works. John Cena was (and probably still is) into rap and hip hop in "real life", he got over with his rapper gimmick, and then slowly toned it down when the WWE was changing eras. But there's no doubt that even though this is a different side of Cena, it's not anything that he's pretending to be.
Best of all, he did what the Rock couldn't do, and he didn't take 20 minutes and other people's music to do it. Cena was in the ring for about 3 and a half minutes. Listen to the crowd after each of his "rhymes". Listen especially to when he walked out of the ring. Everyone who has ever said "we want cena to turn heel" or something like it, well.. you just got it.
I'm not saying he's "heel" now, but what I am saying is that, at least on screen, John Cena's attitude has changed. This week there was no pandering to the children, no talking to the cameraman on the stage, no salute, and we got swearing and innuendo. But it probably won't be enough for those people either.
I have a feeling though, that it may not be a permanent change, that this may have been a once off. But, even if it is, it was worth it just for the "boobies" lines.
So on the other side of things, we have The Rock.
Now, I could write an entire blog about why I think The Rock isn't all he's cracked up to be, and I probably will eventually get around to it as well, but for now, let's talk about this week specifically.
First of all, this is the 2nd time in what.. 3 weeks that we've had a 20 minute plus Rock segment to end Raw.Yes, i know that the first one (which was 2 weeks ago) was interrupted by Cena, but still, at least this week I thought the two segments (Cena's Rap and the "Rock" concert) should have been put closer together.
Also, the way it was advertised seemed like the rapping and singing would be happening in the same segment, like a battle. Maybe WWE was afraid Cena would get cheered louder than the Rock.
Rock took longer to say one word, than Cena's entire promo ran for. Yeah, he's The Great One, but still.
And then one of the first things he talked about was how Cena had been "running around here for 8 years, looking like vanilla ice banged a tellytubby"... So somebody forgot to mention to the Rock, that, even before he left the first time, Cena was doing the rapper gimmick, wearing basically what he wore this week on RAW? Wasn't Rock on smackdown at the start of 2003?
Something else that really gets to me, is the Rock's flashy hollywood grin. It worked when he was a heel, but now it looks condescending or something. Ok that's not really a big deal, but I have a lot of problems with the way the Rock is going about attacking Cena.
See, the way I see it, The Rock is essentially a schoolyard bully. I think i said this last week, but he's attacking what somebody else wears, has interest in, and basically just picking on someone because he's different to the Rock.
We get constant references to Cena being a bitch, or having no balls, having "ladyparts".. oh and this week some kind of inference about being gay. Be a star huh WWE? So don't bully people unless you're The Rock. That's the message apparently.
Ok now we're at the part that has really pissed me off. So... Rock. You're not a "real man" if you are a fan of John Cena, or Star Wars, or Lord of the Rings? And anyone who is, must be a virgin? You sir, are an asshole. You're a bully, you're just some jock who tries to be cool by making fun of people who have different interests to you.
Ok i'm done ranting, that part just really pissed me off. But on the flipside, before I get to the complete trashing of a classic Queen song, the verse about Eve and Cena was really good. See if that kinda stuff was the main part of Rock's promos I would probably be leaning towards him for who i'd want to win at mania. It was on a different level to the "kung pow bitch" crap.
Ok and just quickly about the We Will Rock You .. um.. "cover".. Awful. That's it. Just plain bad. And full of the same kind of repetition that Rock talks about Cena using.
Right, time to move on!
Let's quickly talk about Dolph Ziggler. The fact that this guy doesn't have a match at Mania yet is a damn shame. I hope he doesn't just get put into the Laurinitis/Long tag match, because he deserves a much bigger spot than that. Unfortunatlely, with Santino being in said tag match, and Cody Rhodes wrestling the Big Show for the IC title (why?) There's not really a lot they can do with him, other than maybe a Tag Title match, with he and Swagger teaming up. But that probably won't happen because Swagger is who Santino beat for the US title, so Swagger will want on the Laurinitis team.
But more likely than not, he (Ziggler) will do something memorable during the match, and I get the feeling that this time next year we might be seeing him in a title match.
I'm not really going to talk about the Laurinitis/Long tag match, because I really don't care right now. They've got two more weeks to make me care.
Funkasaurus was back on Raw! .. Different finisher though. Maybe a splash is safer than a cross-body.
Jericho and Punk got a lot more interesting this week. Now there's that personal .. thing, that is going to make CM Punk care more about this match than any other match he's had in a while. It was so well done, and a lot of that credit I think must go to Punk. I remember seeing an interview about the Austin/McMahon rivalry, and whoever it was, was talking about how without McMahon's visual reactions to Austin's actions, that rivalry wouldn't have gotten as hot as it did.
Punk's reaction was exactly what it needed to be. We haven't seen Punk look that way before. Something finally got to him. He's not the carefree guy who will drop a pipebomb now and then. Suddenly he's dealing with something he's (storyline wise at least) tried to forget about.
But let's not forget Chris Jericho.
That was one of the better promos I've seen in a long time. At first, I thought the "i'm going to make you drink" was a bit off, a little odd, but thinking about it a bit more, because of CM Punk's beliefs, saying that would be like saying "i'm going to destroy everything you believe in" to him. So it makes sense.
All in all, this promo has me excited for this match again, after a couple of weeks of just coasting.
Ok lastly let's talk about Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, and Triple H.
I didn't love the whole segment this week. So far, it feels like Triple H is the third wheel. Shawn and 'Taker's battle seems like the focus right now, and it really shouldn't be like that. It gives the impression that it doesn't matter what Triple H does in the match, because Shawn is basically the more important factor. And it really shouldn't be like that.
The promos were really good this week. However, Undertaker sometimes is a bit of a mystery. He looks all demonic and kind of "ministry-esque" with the hood, yet he's talking more like Big Evil. Also Undertaker's eyes tell a lot of the story I think, and it's hard to see them with that hood covering up his baldness.
So what's going to happen? Well, if you take what you saw at the end of the segment at face value, Shawn and Triple H are back on the same page, and Shawn is going to "screw" Undertaker. Of course, this is WWE, so the more likely option would appear to be that Shawn will swerve Triple H. Why? Who knows. But what I think will happen, is Shawn will call it down the middle. Which kind of begs the question.. why do we need him there at all?
I'm not complaining that we get to see Shawn Michaels in the ring again, don't get me wrong. I just don't think this match NEEDS him to be a part of it. You've already got 20-0 on the horizon, which should be a really big deal. You've got the rematch aspect, the fact that last year they did the "Taker on a stretcher" bit after the match, and the Hell in a Cell. Adding Shawn seems like overkill. I just hope it doesn't take away from the match.
Oh and you also have this whole "end of an era" thing. Which intrigues me. Does this mean that it will be an attitude era style match? I still think we're going to see blood in this match. Obviously we're not going to see anyone fall off of the cell, not unless Mick Foley does a run in of course..
And yes, Taker said the wrong date. People make mistakes. CM Punk fumbled his words during his promo with Jericho a couple of weeks ago. Rock fumbled his words this week, last week, the week before. Nobody is perfect.
I really like Shawn's angle in this though, even though it could be overkill. I like his line about it being ironic that he could still "be the guy to possibly end the streak". He's not saying he's going to screw Undertaker. He said possibly. Undertaker's reply was just as strong. "If you don't do the right thing, I will officially end.. you". Awesome. 22 years on, and the guy can still garner as strong a reaction as ever. Maybe not the best ever, but definitely the best character ever.
I would have liked to see Triple H go down to the ring to confront Undertaker, but as I was watching it, I just thought to myself.. What are they going to say to each other? There's really not much more to be said. Maybe that's why Shawn was brought in. I have a feeling next week, we might get a solo Undertaker promo. I hope so. I really liked the couple he's done in the past few years.
This match will obviously be good, probably great. Just hopefully all of the different aspects of the match don't weaken the match as a whole.
Another long one this week folks, but I'm done for now. So until next time, leave me a comment to let me know what you think, follow me on twitter @TheOZMouthpiece and until then, business is done.
PS. I know i didn't get around to the TNA or ROH stuff, so really REALLY quickly. TNA: Joseph Parks = awesome. ROH: Kevin Steen = awesome. there you go.
It's been another big week for wrestling, with the "Road to Wrestlemania" taking more twists and turns as we get closer to the big day. So this week I will be talking once again about the main storylines on RAW and Smackdown, but as an extra added bonus, I want to talk about one small part of TNA this week as well. And, if there's time and I don't forget, a slight ROH mention too.
So let's get down to business.
This week's episode of Raw was billed as the Cena Rap/Rock Concert (or something), therefore I'll start off this week talking about them.
Now this might not be popular opinion, but John Cena "won" again. I don't know if it's scripted that way, or if (at least to me) what Cena is saying, or his side makes more sense to me than The Rock's, but as far as I'm concerned, John Cena is winning the verbal battle.
You can hear it even just from the crowd reactions. Sure, The Rock will always get cheered by most of the people. But in the last couple of weeks, Cena has been getting a solid cheer for his efforts. And that's more than has been happening in about 4 or 5 years.
So let's talk about Cena first. And this isn't fruity pebble Cena, or Rise Above Cena, this was old school Cena, the Cena that used to get cheered by just about everyone. Seriously, go back and watch Smackdown in 2004 after he won the US title, or even just watch Wrestlemania 20's opening match. No dog tags and camo shorts this week, we get basketball jersey and chain and padlock Cena. And I for one, was really happy and excited for that.
I've seen comments like "now he's just trying to be a rapper again"... isn't the Rock still using the same gimmick from oh.. what 15 years ago? You use what works. John Cena was (and probably still is) into rap and hip hop in "real life", he got over with his rapper gimmick, and then slowly toned it down when the WWE was changing eras. But there's no doubt that even though this is a different side of Cena, it's not anything that he's pretending to be.
Best of all, he did what the Rock couldn't do, and he didn't take 20 minutes and other people's music to do it. Cena was in the ring for about 3 and a half minutes. Listen to the crowd after each of his "rhymes". Listen especially to when he walked out of the ring. Everyone who has ever said "we want cena to turn heel" or something like it, well.. you just got it.
I'm not saying he's "heel" now, but what I am saying is that, at least on screen, John Cena's attitude has changed. This week there was no pandering to the children, no talking to the cameraman on the stage, no salute, and we got swearing and innuendo. But it probably won't be enough for those people either.
I have a feeling though, that it may not be a permanent change, that this may have been a once off. But, even if it is, it was worth it just for the "boobies" lines.
So on the other side of things, we have The Rock.
Now, I could write an entire blog about why I think The Rock isn't all he's cracked up to be, and I probably will eventually get around to it as well, but for now, let's talk about this week specifically.
First of all, this is the 2nd time in what.. 3 weeks that we've had a 20 minute plus Rock segment to end Raw.Yes, i know that the first one (which was 2 weeks ago) was interrupted by Cena, but still, at least this week I thought the two segments (Cena's Rap and the "Rock" concert) should have been put closer together.
Also, the way it was advertised seemed like the rapping and singing would be happening in the same segment, like a battle. Maybe WWE was afraid Cena would get cheered louder than the Rock.
Rock took longer to say one word, than Cena's entire promo ran for. Yeah, he's The Great One, but still.
And then one of the first things he talked about was how Cena had been "running around here for 8 years, looking like vanilla ice banged a tellytubby"... So somebody forgot to mention to the Rock, that, even before he left the first time, Cena was doing the rapper gimmick, wearing basically what he wore this week on RAW? Wasn't Rock on smackdown at the start of 2003?
Something else that really gets to me, is the Rock's flashy hollywood grin. It worked when he was a heel, but now it looks condescending or something. Ok that's not really a big deal, but I have a lot of problems with the way the Rock is going about attacking Cena.
See, the way I see it, The Rock is essentially a schoolyard bully. I think i said this last week, but he's attacking what somebody else wears, has interest in, and basically just picking on someone because he's different to the Rock.
We get constant references to Cena being a bitch, or having no balls, having "ladyparts".. oh and this week some kind of inference about being gay. Be a star huh WWE? So don't bully people unless you're The Rock. That's the message apparently.
Ok now we're at the part that has really pissed me off. So... Rock. You're not a "real man" if you are a fan of John Cena, or Star Wars, or Lord of the Rings? And anyone who is, must be a virgin? You sir, are an asshole. You're a bully, you're just some jock who tries to be cool by making fun of people who have different interests to you.
Ok i'm done ranting, that part just really pissed me off. But on the flipside, before I get to the complete trashing of a classic Queen song, the verse about Eve and Cena was really good. See if that kinda stuff was the main part of Rock's promos I would probably be leaning towards him for who i'd want to win at mania. It was on a different level to the "kung pow bitch" crap.
Ok and just quickly about the We Will Rock You .. um.. "cover".. Awful. That's it. Just plain bad. And full of the same kind of repetition that Rock talks about Cena using.
Right, time to move on!
Let's quickly talk about Dolph Ziggler. The fact that this guy doesn't have a match at Mania yet is a damn shame. I hope he doesn't just get put into the Laurinitis/Long tag match, because he deserves a much bigger spot than that. Unfortunatlely, with Santino being in said tag match, and Cody Rhodes wrestling the Big Show for the IC title (why?) There's not really a lot they can do with him, other than maybe a Tag Title match, with he and Swagger teaming up. But that probably won't happen because Swagger is who Santino beat for the US title, so Swagger will want on the Laurinitis team.
But more likely than not, he (Ziggler) will do something memorable during the match, and I get the feeling that this time next year we might be seeing him in a title match.
I'm not really going to talk about the Laurinitis/Long tag match, because I really don't care right now. They've got two more weeks to make me care.
Funkasaurus was back on Raw! .. Different finisher though. Maybe a splash is safer than a cross-body.
Jericho and Punk got a lot more interesting this week. Now there's that personal .. thing, that is going to make CM Punk care more about this match than any other match he's had in a while. It was so well done, and a lot of that credit I think must go to Punk. I remember seeing an interview about the Austin/McMahon rivalry, and whoever it was, was talking about how without McMahon's visual reactions to Austin's actions, that rivalry wouldn't have gotten as hot as it did.
Punk's reaction was exactly what it needed to be. We haven't seen Punk look that way before. Something finally got to him. He's not the carefree guy who will drop a pipebomb now and then. Suddenly he's dealing with something he's (storyline wise at least) tried to forget about.
But let's not forget Chris Jericho.
That was one of the better promos I've seen in a long time. At first, I thought the "i'm going to make you drink" was a bit off, a little odd, but thinking about it a bit more, because of CM Punk's beliefs, saying that would be like saying "i'm going to destroy everything you believe in" to him. So it makes sense.
All in all, this promo has me excited for this match again, after a couple of weeks of just coasting.
Ok lastly let's talk about Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, and Triple H.
I didn't love the whole segment this week. So far, it feels like Triple H is the third wheel. Shawn and 'Taker's battle seems like the focus right now, and it really shouldn't be like that. It gives the impression that it doesn't matter what Triple H does in the match, because Shawn is basically the more important factor. And it really shouldn't be like that.
The promos were really good this week. However, Undertaker sometimes is a bit of a mystery. He looks all demonic and kind of "ministry-esque" with the hood, yet he's talking more like Big Evil. Also Undertaker's eyes tell a lot of the story I think, and it's hard to see them with that hood covering up his baldness.
So what's going to happen? Well, if you take what you saw at the end of the segment at face value, Shawn and Triple H are back on the same page, and Shawn is going to "screw" Undertaker. Of course, this is WWE, so the more likely option would appear to be that Shawn will swerve Triple H. Why? Who knows. But what I think will happen, is Shawn will call it down the middle. Which kind of begs the question.. why do we need him there at all?
I'm not complaining that we get to see Shawn Michaels in the ring again, don't get me wrong. I just don't think this match NEEDS him to be a part of it. You've already got 20-0 on the horizon, which should be a really big deal. You've got the rematch aspect, the fact that last year they did the "Taker on a stretcher" bit after the match, and the Hell in a Cell. Adding Shawn seems like overkill. I just hope it doesn't take away from the match.
Oh and you also have this whole "end of an era" thing. Which intrigues me. Does this mean that it will be an attitude era style match? I still think we're going to see blood in this match. Obviously we're not going to see anyone fall off of the cell, not unless Mick Foley does a run in of course..
And yes, Taker said the wrong date. People make mistakes. CM Punk fumbled his words during his promo with Jericho a couple of weeks ago. Rock fumbled his words this week, last week, the week before. Nobody is perfect.
I really like Shawn's angle in this though, even though it could be overkill. I like his line about it being ironic that he could still "be the guy to possibly end the streak". He's not saying he's going to screw Undertaker. He said possibly. Undertaker's reply was just as strong. "If you don't do the right thing, I will officially end.. you". Awesome. 22 years on, and the guy can still garner as strong a reaction as ever. Maybe not the best ever, but definitely the best character ever.
I would have liked to see Triple H go down to the ring to confront Undertaker, but as I was watching it, I just thought to myself.. What are they going to say to each other? There's really not much more to be said. Maybe that's why Shawn was brought in. I have a feeling next week, we might get a solo Undertaker promo. I hope so. I really liked the couple he's done in the past few years.
This match will obviously be good, probably great. Just hopefully all of the different aspects of the match don't weaken the match as a whole.
Another long one this week folks, but I'm done for now. So until next time, leave me a comment to let me know what you think, follow me on twitter @TheOZMouthpiece and until then, business is done.
PS. I know i didn't get around to the TNA or ROH stuff, so really REALLY quickly. TNA: Joseph Parks = awesome. ROH: Kevin Steen = awesome. there you go.
January 3, 2012
I'm back babydolls!
Wow, I haven't written anything since Survivor Series. I'll admit, I kind of stopped caring about the wrestling stuff for a while there. Maybe it had something to do with Skyrim. Maybe it was because the product (with the exception of a few I'll mention in due course) sucked. Maybe a little of both.
I had thought that it would have been amazing if the first thing he actually said was something like "And that's how easy it is to control you people... you sheep.. you "insert big long jericho style word here".. you really think I'm here to please you??" Etc.
Either way, I'm back! I find the new year so exciting, the "Road To Wrestlemania" is beginning, it feels like the WWE always lifts it's programming up a notch or two in these months. Wouldn't it be great if it held to that standard for a whole year...
And then there's the returns. Wow.. so much to talk about. Where do I even begin...
I guess like any good return, it begins (see what i did there) with an intro. For those of you reading my page for the first time, I am the Aussie Mouthpiece. There you go, intro done.
Returns seem like a good place to start. Well, technically one return, and one re-imagining. I'm talking about Kane and *spoiler alert.. oh just go watch RAW already* Jericho.
So Kane first of all. I am a huge fan of "new Kane". I saw some people get all upset because he started talking and cut a long promo. Here's what I think about that. Kane is a great talker. Why would you want him not to use that to further storylines, and entertain you? What, just because he puts the mask on suddenly he's a mute again? He talked before he took his mask off in the first place. He also had facial hair. My point is, having him suddenly become silent again, would be a step backwards for his character.
The one thing that I think maybe needs to change (and this is just a purely aesthetic thing) is the design on his tights.. the bright yellow part of the flames and then everything else is red... it just looks a bit silly. A bit cartoony. Make it more subtle I think, because his character is coming across as a little unstable, and very dangerous and kind of psychotic. bright yellow does not reflect this image.
However the way Kane has been used since making his return has been great. The end of this week's RAW especially. I've always loved that slightly hokey, yet really "supernatural" style stuff that they've done with both he and Undertaker in the past. I hope they keep it up, and Kane gets a really good spot on the Wrestlemania card, and not just as part of a ladder match again.
And the other return. The one everyone's been talking about since that first It Begins video. The one everyone has speculated on.. is it Shane and Stephanie.. is it Y2J... is it Undertaker.. I think i saw that "is it Skip Sheffield"... Seriously? Skip Sheffield? I mean I've read this thing about this Ryback character.. but man.. I never really got it with that guy. Looked like a meathead, sounded like a meathead... but then Batista had a fairly good run with WWE so I guess that kind of person works for them.
But back to the It Begins clips. Amazing stuff. I was hooked from the first one. Trying to play them back in slow motion to get any kind of hint about who it might be. Part of me really didn't want it to be Jericho. Because it seemed so obvious. And that if it was him, the surprise would be lessened with the live crowd chanting his name and bringing signs.
I wanted it to be Undertaker. I think he is due for a change in character, especially to wind down his career. But in the end, I'm really glad it was Jericho.
Here's the rub though. How many people watched his return and felt like something was a little off, or hated it? Here comes the babyface Jericho and all he does for near 10 mins or something is pander to the crowd?
I'll admit it, I was of that mindset until about 5 minutes into it. Then I (like a few other people I've noticed) figured it out. He's not pandering, he's showing how easy it is to lead the crowd, to have them follow him. To make them sheep essentially. He had that entire place eating out of the palm of his hand for 10 mins. Brilliant.
And there were just a couple of subtle signs that he wasn't sincere. Don't get me wrong, the initial couple of minutes was all real as far as I can tell. Jericho has got to be happy to be back and get that kind of reaction. Who wouldn't want 15000 people cheering for them? But there were a couple of times where the smile faded, and you could see the "Best in the world at what he does" Jericho face.
I had thought that it would have been amazing if the first thing he actually said was something like "And that's how easy it is to control you people... you sheep.. you "insert big long jericho style word here".. you really think I'm here to please you??" Etc.
But I love the way this played out. The lack of talking makes people go .. "what...?" And more importantly, will make them tune in next week to see if he says anything.
As with most other people, I think that this is leading into a Punk/Jericho feud. Which I am more than happy with.
So those were the returns. But we've got some more returns happening in the near future I dare say. The biggest one being Undertaker of course. Which will probably happen after the Rumble, maybe at the Rumble depending on who he will be facing at mania. I really hope they don't go with HHH again. It's a totally different situation to Taker and HBK. There's really nothing more they can add to what Taker and HHH did last year. I would love to see Taker and Kane, I think with Kane's resurrection, it could make for a really interesting story, and really, a good way for Taker to go out (if that's what he's planning to do). 20-0 seems an appropriate number to retire on I think.
But really, it's still 3 months until Wrestlemania, and they have a ton of options.
Taker vs Sheamus (they would have to turn sheamus heel though)
Taker vs Cody Rhodes (doesn't make a lot of sense though, if Cody is still IC champ)
Taker vs Ziggler (I would like to see this as Ziggler rules, but I can't figure out the story behind it other than Ziggler saying "i can beat the streak".. and we've seen that a lot)
Taker vs CM Punk .. if they decide to go down a different road with Punk of course
And then by that logic, Taker vs Jericho. That would be an amazing match.
I'll even throw out there Taker vs HBK III ... So unlikely that it would happen, but it would still be amazing.
Ok I think i'll leave it there for now, I'm going to try to get back into this writing thing a lot more regularly. So I'll be back in a few days or a week or so to write about some of the other stuff that's been happening in the last few weeks. Like Cena still not turning heel. That's going to be a long blog.
Until then, follow me @TheOZMouthpiece on twitter and if you like what you've read, leave me a comment and check out my older posts.
Done.
October 19, 2011
Home Schooling no.4
Welcome to another edition of Home schooling, my weekly blog about the goings on in this funny little thing we call professional wrestling. Or maybe that should be this funny massive thing. Anyway, I am The Aussie Mouthpiece, and hopefully you like what I have to say, and that's why you're here reading this.
Topics covered this week will include RAW, TNA's bound for glory (which I haven't seen, but I did read about and have some thoughts), Secrets of the Ring with Raven (all 5 volumes), and Mick Foley. I'm also in the process of writing a more specific blog about great promos, so that should also be up in the next few days.
I'm going to start with Bound for Glory. Now as I've said in the past, I haven't watched TNA for a long time. since around Destination X i'm talking about. I've been keeping up to date on what's been happening mostly through news sites, reading the results of the iMPACT shows, and then more recently today, the Bound For Glory results.
I don't have a lot to talk about, just a few things that intrigued me. Firstly, Hogan did the job. I assume you all know what I mean. I was kind of shocked when I saw that result. Hogan lost? Really? .. Wow. Maybe the 5th back surgery removed a part of his ego as well as fixing his back.
All i really have to say about Hogan losing is.. GOOD. Sting is still wrestling full time, and especially because Hogan said he wouldn't take bumps, if he had won it would have crapped all over Sting, and TNA in general.
While i'm talking about Hogan I want to mention Robert Roode not winning the title. Now, this whole Bound for Glory series was a tournament and the payoff was getting a match against the champion at Bound for glory right? Sounds kind of similar to the Royal Rumble concept, in the sense that it's pushing a new face up to the World title picture.
So why did the guy who won this *really* long tournament (only thing longer has been NXT.. week 142 i think we're up to now right?).. why did he not win? That just completely takes all the momentum out of his push. Bad decision. I read maybe they're thinking of having him win at Impact or the next ppv?.. How is that going to mean anywhere near as much as winning at TNA's "wrestlemania"? Dropping the ball.. well i guess in TNA's case it's more like.. "still not picking up the ball and it fell down a drain into the sewer".
And Hogan was talking on Radio or something saying that Roode wasn't ready? and that he isn't a main event guy or something? Before the event? Burying the guy before the pay per view? If the guy in control is saying Roode isn't ready, and you can't tell if it's a work or not.. why would that make anyone want to buy the PPV?
And then Hogan took a shot at AJ Styles because Styles stood up for Roode and TNA in general? Hogan.. just leave. You're only there for a paycheck and to boost your own ego. TNA would do better without you.
Ok onto cheery happy things, Velvet Sky won the Knockouts title. That is awesome! She was a favourite of mine when I watched, both for the obvious reasons, and also because you could see her trying (and succeeding) to improve in the ring, and you could tell she loved wrestling and wasn't there to be a model.
So congratulations to her.
I just quickly watched RAW tonight, didn't see everything, most of it bored me. Most of it felt like stuff i'd already seen.
I have a few comments about the show though.
Why did Laurinitis get so much promo time this week, when he is absolutely terrible, and yet, CM Punk, the guy who really shot to the level he's at right now because of his promo work YET AGAIN have no mic time?
Sure, his reactions to what Miz and Truth said were really good, and really funny, but the guy is known (at the moment) for saying controversial things, for his "pipebombs" .. and he doesn't get a chance to talk?? What is that??
David Otunga on WWE is a waste of time. Stiff as a board, Laurinitis is a better talker than him (yep, i said it), and more importantly, not really talented. I get the feeling he's going to be known as "the guy who sipped out of the tartan cup" ... or whatever the hell that is.
Immigration problems? And yet again Laurinitis stops a match half way through. Abusing power? Yes. Entertaining tv? No. Makes me stop watching? Yes.
At least J.R got a positive send off this time, no colon surgery spoof, or any other embarassing final moment. A match with Cena, and also getting to make Cole tap out. Problem is now we're going to have to hear Cole's whining about it.
One positive to me was Dolph Ziggler. So good on the microphone. And he's been really entertaining doing his little Ask the Heel spots on Zack Ryder's youtube show. Maybe instead of adding heel to the list of names he used this week, the show stealer.. i don't remember the other one, he should keep the gimmick going of finishing an "Ask the heel" by saying "Hashtag Heel". That would work well in this social networking era.
That's about it for RAW, other than it's getting less interesting to me. Hopefully things pick up again before Survivor Series. I really want it to be good. At this stage i'm not ordering Vengeance because again, it's another pay per view what.. 3 weeks after the last one? Space it out more WWE...
Ok onto Secrets of the Ring. For those who don't know or haven't heard of it, the Secrets of the Ring with Raven is a shoot style interview series that Ring Of Honor did I think something like 6 years ago with Raven, and I think also a few other people have done a Secrets of the Ring. I know that Jim Cornette and Al Snow have done an edition.
Anyway, I couldn't talk about everything in Raven's series (5 dvds!) even if i had 3 hours to do so. Basically each dvd covers a different part about wrestling. How to be a Babyface, Star power and Charisma, Odds and Ends (like etiquette), how to be a heel, and how to work angles. Anyone who's seen any of them I'm sure would agree with me that listening to Raven talk about this stuff is amazing. I watched all 5 dvds in one day, so we're talking nearly 10 hours of basically watching someone sit on a chair and talk.
He covers so much stuff, talks about his experiences, even gives a few demonstrations, and it's really just opened my eyes to a new way of looking at matches and what makes them good and what makes them bad.
I will probably even go back and watch them a second, third, maybe fourth time in the near future. They're that good.
I highly, highly recommend them if you can find good copies. (or illegal copies, you dirty pirates.. har har har...)
Last but most certainly not least, Mick Foley. Again wanting to talk about him came about from watching his Straight Shootin dvd, once again also from Ring of Honor. It came out I think maybe 2005, it was before the first ECW one night stand I think. I'm not entirely sure,but I do know that the last match he talks about wrestling in the WWE on this dvd is the amazing match he had at Backlash 2004 with Orton.
I'll never forget the first time I watched that match. Seeing (at the time) "pretty boy" Randy Orton bleeding, and then dropping into those tacks.. my jaw was on the floor. Also at seeing Mick still take that beating. Of course at the time I was upset that Mick didn't win, but of course now I realise he was putting Orton over to help get him over.
So I watched his shoot, he talked about Ric Flair a lot. Which was really interesting to hear parts of that, that I hadn't heard before, not having read Flair's (or Foley's) books. Mick always speaks very well, speaks from the heart, and it's always entertaining to listen to him.
I've since started reading his first book, and really liking it so far. I would imagine once i get through it (i'm not a huge book reader) I'll want to read his other two as well. But once again I definitely recommend getting the Straight Shootin with Mick Foley, and also Mick Foley's Greatest Hits and Misses, especially for the Mick/Vader match where Vader breaks Mick's nose.
While you're at it, get the straight shootin with Jim Cornette and Percy Pringle DVD. The stories are amazing and funny. Especially a gem about Undertaker.
That's about all I have to say for this week, hopefully i'll have my extra blog up in the next couple of days, so keep checking my twitter or just keep checking this page. I'm going to start doing more of them, reviewing old pay per views, talking about specific wrestlers etc. So hopefully I get some positive feedback on this first one.
Until then, don't forget you can follow me on Twitter if you're not already at @TheOZMouthpiece .. leave me a comment if you want, and for now, that's it and that's all!
Topics covered this week will include RAW, TNA's bound for glory (which I haven't seen, but I did read about and have some thoughts), Secrets of the Ring with Raven (all 5 volumes), and Mick Foley. I'm also in the process of writing a more specific blog about great promos, so that should also be up in the next few days.
I'm going to start with Bound for Glory. Now as I've said in the past, I haven't watched TNA for a long time. since around Destination X i'm talking about. I've been keeping up to date on what's been happening mostly through news sites, reading the results of the iMPACT shows, and then more recently today, the Bound For Glory results.
I don't have a lot to talk about, just a few things that intrigued me. Firstly, Hogan did the job. I assume you all know what I mean. I was kind of shocked when I saw that result. Hogan lost? Really? .. Wow. Maybe the 5th back surgery removed a part of his ego as well as fixing his back.
All i really have to say about Hogan losing is.. GOOD. Sting is still wrestling full time, and especially because Hogan said he wouldn't take bumps, if he had won it would have crapped all over Sting, and TNA in general.
While i'm talking about Hogan I want to mention Robert Roode not winning the title. Now, this whole Bound for Glory series was a tournament and the payoff was getting a match against the champion at Bound for glory right? Sounds kind of similar to the Royal Rumble concept, in the sense that it's pushing a new face up to the World title picture.
So why did the guy who won this *really* long tournament (only thing longer has been NXT.. week 142 i think we're up to now right?).. why did he not win? That just completely takes all the momentum out of his push. Bad decision. I read maybe they're thinking of having him win at Impact or the next ppv?.. How is that going to mean anywhere near as much as winning at TNA's "wrestlemania"? Dropping the ball.. well i guess in TNA's case it's more like.. "still not picking up the ball and it fell down a drain into the sewer".
And Hogan was talking on Radio or something saying that Roode wasn't ready? and that he isn't a main event guy or something? Before the event? Burying the guy before the pay per view? If the guy in control is saying Roode isn't ready, and you can't tell if it's a work or not.. why would that make anyone want to buy the PPV?
And then Hogan took a shot at AJ Styles because Styles stood up for Roode and TNA in general? Hogan.. just leave. You're only there for a paycheck and to boost your own ego. TNA would do better without you.
Ok onto cheery happy things, Velvet Sky won the Knockouts title. That is awesome! She was a favourite of mine when I watched, both for the obvious reasons, and also because you could see her trying (and succeeding) to improve in the ring, and you could tell she loved wrestling and wasn't there to be a model.
So congratulations to her.
I just quickly watched RAW tonight, didn't see everything, most of it bored me. Most of it felt like stuff i'd already seen.
I have a few comments about the show though.
Why did Laurinitis get so much promo time this week, when he is absolutely terrible, and yet, CM Punk, the guy who really shot to the level he's at right now because of his promo work YET AGAIN have no mic time?
Sure, his reactions to what Miz and Truth said were really good, and really funny, but the guy is known (at the moment) for saying controversial things, for his "pipebombs" .. and he doesn't get a chance to talk?? What is that??
David Otunga on WWE is a waste of time. Stiff as a board, Laurinitis is a better talker than him (yep, i said it), and more importantly, not really talented. I get the feeling he's going to be known as "the guy who sipped out of the tartan cup" ... or whatever the hell that is.
Immigration problems? And yet again Laurinitis stops a match half way through. Abusing power? Yes. Entertaining tv? No. Makes me stop watching? Yes.
At least J.R got a positive send off this time, no colon surgery spoof, or any other embarassing final moment. A match with Cena, and also getting to make Cole tap out. Problem is now we're going to have to hear Cole's whining about it.
One positive to me was Dolph Ziggler. So good on the microphone. And he's been really entertaining doing his little Ask the Heel spots on Zack Ryder's youtube show. Maybe instead of adding heel to the list of names he used this week, the show stealer.. i don't remember the other one, he should keep the gimmick going of finishing an "Ask the heel" by saying "Hashtag Heel". That would work well in this social networking era.
That's about it for RAW, other than it's getting less interesting to me. Hopefully things pick up again before Survivor Series. I really want it to be good. At this stage i'm not ordering Vengeance because again, it's another pay per view what.. 3 weeks after the last one? Space it out more WWE...
Ok onto Secrets of the Ring. For those who don't know or haven't heard of it, the Secrets of the Ring with Raven is a shoot style interview series that Ring Of Honor did I think something like 6 years ago with Raven, and I think also a few other people have done a Secrets of the Ring. I know that Jim Cornette and Al Snow have done an edition.
Anyway, I couldn't talk about everything in Raven's series (5 dvds!) even if i had 3 hours to do so. Basically each dvd covers a different part about wrestling. How to be a Babyface, Star power and Charisma, Odds and Ends (like etiquette), how to be a heel, and how to work angles. Anyone who's seen any of them I'm sure would agree with me that listening to Raven talk about this stuff is amazing. I watched all 5 dvds in one day, so we're talking nearly 10 hours of basically watching someone sit on a chair and talk.
He covers so much stuff, talks about his experiences, even gives a few demonstrations, and it's really just opened my eyes to a new way of looking at matches and what makes them good and what makes them bad.
I will probably even go back and watch them a second, third, maybe fourth time in the near future. They're that good.
I highly, highly recommend them if you can find good copies. (or illegal copies, you dirty pirates.. har har har...)
Last but most certainly not least, Mick Foley. Again wanting to talk about him came about from watching his Straight Shootin dvd, once again also from Ring of Honor. It came out I think maybe 2005, it was before the first ECW one night stand I think. I'm not entirely sure,but I do know that the last match he talks about wrestling in the WWE on this dvd is the amazing match he had at Backlash 2004 with Orton.
I'll never forget the first time I watched that match. Seeing (at the time) "pretty boy" Randy Orton bleeding, and then dropping into those tacks.. my jaw was on the floor. Also at seeing Mick still take that beating. Of course at the time I was upset that Mick didn't win, but of course now I realise he was putting Orton over to help get him over.
So I watched his shoot, he talked about Ric Flair a lot. Which was really interesting to hear parts of that, that I hadn't heard before, not having read Flair's (or Foley's) books. Mick always speaks very well, speaks from the heart, and it's always entertaining to listen to him.
I've since started reading his first book, and really liking it so far. I would imagine once i get through it (i'm not a huge book reader) I'll want to read his other two as well. But once again I definitely recommend getting the Straight Shootin with Mick Foley, and also Mick Foley's Greatest Hits and Misses, especially for the Mick/Vader match where Vader breaks Mick's nose.
While you're at it, get the straight shootin with Jim Cornette and Percy Pringle DVD. The stories are amazing and funny. Especially a gem about Undertaker.
That's about all I have to say for this week, hopefully i'll have my extra blog up in the next couple of days, so keep checking my twitter or just keep checking this page. I'm going to start doing more of them, reviewing old pay per views, talking about specific wrestlers etc. So hopefully I get some positive feedback on this first one.
Until then, don't forget you can follow me on Twitter if you're not already at @TheOZMouthpiece .. leave me a comment if you want, and for now, that's it and that's all!
July 27, 2011
The Champ is here.. and .. here.. ? Where do they go now?
Yeah I'm back again, two posts in one day, but that's what happens when too many truthfacts are buzzing around your head, as they are mine.
Let me start off with a statement that i absolutely 100% disagree with:
"John Cena winning the title back is the Same old Sh*t and has killed the C.M. Punk angle"
Now I'm not quoting anyone directly, but I've seen a few posts and things to this effect. I mean, what was "the same" about Raw?
First of all, we had TWO championship matches in two hours. Not only that, we had two great championship matches. No squashes, no quick matches. Two quality matches.
That was different.
Yes, John Cena won the title. Yes, John Cena has been champion many times. 11 times i think is the number right now. Why did he win? Well, one opinion is just what i said before "To kill the CM Punk angle and go back to the same old stuff". I call shenanigans on that. And by that i mean, Horsesh*t!
Who has CM Punk been in a feud with for the last month or so? That would be John Cena. Who did CM Punk beat to win the WWE championship that he walked out of the company with? That would be umm... oh right, John Cena. Who did he talk about the most in his promos? Oh yeah.. JOHN CENA!
So who is the right person for CM Punk to direct his anger towards, talking about "You are not the real WWE champion, I am!" Why, it has to be the one and the same .. John Cena.
Summerslam is the WWE's second biggest Pay Per View. Doesn't it make sense to have your two biggest stars right now (being CM Punk and John Cena) in the main event? I know I want to see that match. Sure, Rey vs Cena was good, but the smart choice is CM and Cena.
This opens it up to the "who's the real champion" stuff that was really cool with Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon back in '93 and 94. Only difference is CM Punk isn't coming back as a heel.
People seem to be upset that this isn't working out the way everyone thought it would. I've probably already said that, but I mean, maybe the WWE have been keeping an eye on what the fans thought might happen, and have tried to go in a different direction. Different doesn't mean bad either. Things change, things don't go the way you originally thought, but that doesn't mean things can't work out. Not just with wrestling... that's a life truthfact right there. Philosophicalised.
I was thinking about this, talking to a friend tonight (who's not that into wrestling.. yet... ) What if Punk isn't back? We saw him walk out to new music, and hold up his title yes... but what about this? .. You ready?
You sure?
Ok i'll take you back just a few days. CM Punk "invades" the Comic-con press conference. Amazing. revolutionary some might say. Think about what he said.. he talked about the Title.. and then Triple H said to him "anytime you want to come back to perform, give me a call"... What if, and this is the rub.. storyline wise, Punk is back for one more match, against the new WWE champion. at Summerslam.
Ok I will admit I haven't thought this idea through totally, like why would he come back.. the only thing i can think of is some kind of bargain where HHH is lying to him, saying he'll give Punk all this stuff, when in reality HHH is just trying to get the WWE Title back... This would of course turn HHH into the evil boss. Could be interesting.
One other idea i had is that this whole Punk/Cena thing is just a small part of a much bigger angle. Being that HHH was behind all this Punk not resigning business, all to get control of the WWE from Vince. Think about where they could go with that.. Vince trying to get control of his company back.. Cena snapping? (unlikely).. Who knows.. Just remember that everything happens for a reason, especially in wrestling.
So that's about it, Let me know what you think, leave me a comment, follow me on twitter @TheACMouthpiece ... Enjoy.
Also seriously stop hating on John Cena. That man puts in so much time for everyone. Do you really think he only knows 5 moves? Watch some 2002-2003 Cena matches. And just remember that the main event of money in the bank was as good as it was not just because of Punk, but Cena too.
What's it like to be me? You will never, ever know!
#CenaIsBeets
Let me start off with a statement that i absolutely 100% disagree with:
"John Cena winning the title back is the Same old Sh*t and has killed the C.M. Punk angle"
Now I'm not quoting anyone directly, but I've seen a few posts and things to this effect. I mean, what was "the same" about Raw?
First of all, we had TWO championship matches in two hours. Not only that, we had two great championship matches. No squashes, no quick matches. Two quality matches.
That was different.
Yes, John Cena won the title. Yes, John Cena has been champion many times. 11 times i think is the number right now. Why did he win? Well, one opinion is just what i said before "To kill the CM Punk angle and go back to the same old stuff". I call shenanigans on that. And by that i mean, Horsesh*t!
Who has CM Punk been in a feud with for the last month or so? That would be John Cena. Who did CM Punk beat to win the WWE championship that he walked out of the company with? That would be umm... oh right, John Cena. Who did he talk about the most in his promos? Oh yeah.. JOHN CENA!
So who is the right person for CM Punk to direct his anger towards, talking about "You are not the real WWE champion, I am!" Why, it has to be the one and the same .. John Cena.
Summerslam is the WWE's second biggest Pay Per View. Doesn't it make sense to have your two biggest stars right now (being CM Punk and John Cena) in the main event? I know I want to see that match. Sure, Rey vs Cena was good, but the smart choice is CM and Cena.
This opens it up to the "who's the real champion" stuff that was really cool with Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon back in '93 and 94. Only difference is CM Punk isn't coming back as a heel.
People seem to be upset that this isn't working out the way everyone thought it would. I've probably already said that, but I mean, maybe the WWE have been keeping an eye on what the fans thought might happen, and have tried to go in a different direction. Different doesn't mean bad either. Things change, things don't go the way you originally thought, but that doesn't mean things can't work out. Not just with wrestling... that's a life truthfact right there. Philosophicalised.
I was thinking about this, talking to a friend tonight (who's not that into wrestling.. yet... ) What if Punk isn't back? We saw him walk out to new music, and hold up his title yes... but what about this? .. You ready?
You sure?
Ok i'll take you back just a few days. CM Punk "invades" the Comic-con press conference. Amazing. revolutionary some might say. Think about what he said.. he talked about the Title.. and then Triple H said to him "anytime you want to come back to perform, give me a call"... What if, and this is the rub.. storyline wise, Punk is back for one more match, against the new WWE champion. at Summerslam.
Ok I will admit I haven't thought this idea through totally, like why would he come back.. the only thing i can think of is some kind of bargain where HHH is lying to him, saying he'll give Punk all this stuff, when in reality HHH is just trying to get the WWE Title back... This would of course turn HHH into the evil boss. Could be interesting.
One other idea i had is that this whole Punk/Cena thing is just a small part of a much bigger angle. Being that HHH was behind all this Punk not resigning business, all to get control of the WWE from Vince. Think about where they could go with that.. Vince trying to get control of his company back.. Cena snapping? (unlikely).. Who knows.. Just remember that everything happens for a reason, especially in wrestling.
So that's about it, Let me know what you think, leave me a comment, follow me on twitter @TheACMouthpiece ... Enjoy.
Also seriously stop hating on John Cena. That man puts in so much time for everyone. Do you really think he only knows 5 moves? Watch some 2002-2003 Cena matches. And just remember that the main event of money in the bank was as good as it was not just because of Punk, but Cena too.
What's it like to be me? You will never, ever know!
#CenaIsBeets
July 23, 2011
Totally not-that-good at-anything.. or TNA
Hello again, it is I, the armchair mouthpiece, truthfacts in hand, ready to spill some knowledge, all over this blog.
Ok so TNA... Total Nonstop Action.. Impact Wrestling.. where wrestling matters... I like the wrestling matters thing personally, but .. it almost seems like while wrestling matters, talent doesn't. Sure, there are talented guys on that roster, AJ Styles, Samoa Joe (when he makes an effort), Kazarian, Beer Money etc.. but who is the focus of iMPACT Wrestling on? As usual when he's involved, Hulk Hogan. Everything centres around Hogan, and Immortal.. who.. I mean I haven't been watching a lot of TNA lately, mainly because of this.. but from what i can tell right now.. Immortal is Hogan (who doesn't wrestle), Bischoff (who doesn't wrestle).. Abyss, Anderson, Gunner (did i miss the push or something?), and Bully Ray.. Oh and Jarrett, but he was in mexico or something?
Now it seems like a decent sized group, but .. I mean a couple of months ago wasn't there Matt Hardy, Jeff Hardy (...), Murphy, Ric Flair (who i'll get to in a minute).. i'm sure there were more people involved in it. It just feels like as the group has gotten smaller it's lost it's momentum, and the angle is just dragging on to what is apparently going to be a Hulk Hogan face turn. Now, is Bischoff going to turn too? Coz i don't see that happening honestly, but I also know that I wouldn't believe Hogan would turn on Bischoff, being that they've been business partners for what.. 10+ years? No storyline that TNA can come up with will make it believable that Hogan and Bischoff will part ways. Also, I'm not interested in seeing Hogan on TV anymore, like, the gimmick is kinda done.. sure Hulkamania will never die and he'll always get that pop, and always be "Hulk Hogan".. but the business, from what i can see, has changed a lot since he was really "the hulk".. remember that match he had with Shawn Michaels at Summerslam? me either, but what i do remember is Shawn hamming it up like crazy and overselling to the point of it being funny. Great work on that Shawn by the way, absolutely loved it.
So what about isntead of it being the same guys in the title picture for what.. the last ... i don't know 4 or 5 months?... throw someone else up there.. just for kicks if nothing else.. Angle vs Sting could be a good match, lets face it, Angle is the man. But, it kinda feels a little WCW, where are the new stars being pushed into the main event slot?.. Sure, Beer Money have the Tag Team Titles. Tag Team wrestling actually means something in TNA. But it's not on the same level as the World title. Having said that, I'm not sure if there are any new stars who are ready to be pushed into the main event level.. he's not a new star, but a lot of people are mentioning Bobby Roode, I can see that. But what happens to Storm?.. he's too good to be the "janetty".. I just don't know if he can be a single's success.. the other problem with TNA is they don't have a mid-card title.. sure there's the TV title, but it's not exactly being defended or involved in any serious way. I love what Eric Young is doing though. Personally I don't think he needs the TV title, I think it would be funnier if he just used the old world title belt, and "defended" that. If they used the TV title properly, it could be a launching pad, like the Intercontinental or US titles are.
So who else on the roster is ready? What about Matt Morgan? I like him, but I don't really buy him as "that guy".. something doesn't click, but it could work because of his size. What about Kazarian?.. that, i think, could also work. I also think that Sabin has the potential to be in that main event level. I can hear the arguments .. he's a smaller guy.. Shawn Michaels is a smaller guy. Sting isn't a big guy.. AJ isn't a big guy. Now what about Ric Flair?
You read that right.. I saw an article today with Ric Flair saying he's going to be challenging for the World Heavyweight title after Hardcore Justice (i hate that they're using that name by the way). To quote Zack Ryder.. Are you serious bro? .... Ric Flair is challenging for the Title? What the hell is going on? I really hope it's not going to happen, because A: No-one has seen him on tv for a while... B: He doesn't need it, and it would do nothing for the company.. and C: you're too damn old Ric! Seriously, I love Ric Flair, I respect the hell out of him and what he's done. But it's a dumb move to make this Ric Flair your champion. His matches these days aren't lets say.. up to the standard of even 10 years ago.. he doesn't look like a champion anymore, he looks like a manager.. and I personally only understand about 50% of what he says on the mic nowadays.
I agree with what a lot of people are saying, Ric has damaged his legacy by going to TNA, and damaged it further by actually wrestling again. That match at Wrestlemania 24 with Shawn, was amazing. It was the greatest way to end a career you could ever imagine... and that next night on Raw.. amazing. Hell, Undertaker came out and BROKE CHARACTER! That never happens! And then just a short while later, he's back on worldwide Tv wrestling again like it never happened? Not cool. So please TNA... don't put the belt on Flair.
The other thing I want to mention is the Women's division.. the Knockouts. Much better name than Divas first of all. Implies much less attitude, yet the knockouts have more of a right to have an attitude, because... well they can wrestle. Angelina Love, Velvet Skye, Mickie James, Tara, Sarita, Winter (i think she can wrestle, I haven't seen her in a match for a while).. All these women are amazing athletes. I actually enjoy watching the women's matches on Impact, wheras on Raw or smackdown I do something more interesting like trim my fingernails, sometimes my nose hair on a longer match. There are exceptions of course with WWE, Beth Phoenix, Gail Kim (if she's ever used).. umm.. Oh that AJ girl from NXT was pretty good i think.. But TNA's knockouts are far and away the best womens division going. My only problem is since Bishcoff and Hogan came along, we're seeing less diversity in the division. Remember a few years ago...Roxxi, Awesome Kong, Taylor Wilde, ODB, Alissa Flash, Hamada... I know ODB has been on Tv recently, but they're going with the "no contract" angle so that's why I included her. Now that was a strong womens division. Now it's still good, but a little ... eh...seen it already. Except Velvet, i never get tired of seeing her!
So I think that's about all I wanted to say... I'm not going to go off on a rant and say "they should get rid of hogan and bischoff" or "fire russo"..... Personally i think their product was better before Hogan.. I still remember watching that first Impact, he and Bischoff are standing in a 4 sided ring getting booed, and Hogan said something about that 6-sided ring not being any good ( can't remember the exact words).. but that right there was the first clue that this wasn't really all about TNA, it was about making TNA TNHogAn.. Also the X division was a lot more prevalent before Hogan and Bischoff.. I just hope that Destination X this year wasn't their way of saying "ok we gave you this whole pay per view of X division, now you fans can't complain when we don't do any x division stuff".. that would be terrible, but also not unexpected. Bischoff...
And while i think of it.. losing Jay Lethal is a massive blow to them, that guy is awesome! And if they don't sign Low-Ki, there is definitely something wrong in the "office"...
So lets hope that TNA can become true competition, because that would make everything better.
That's it, that's all i've got for now, hope you enjoyed it, leave a comment if you've got something to say, follow me on twitter @TheACMouthpiece, and keep reading!
What's it like to be me? You.. will never, ever know.
Ok so TNA... Total Nonstop Action.. Impact Wrestling.. where wrestling matters... I like the wrestling matters thing personally, but .. it almost seems like while wrestling matters, talent doesn't. Sure, there are talented guys on that roster, AJ Styles, Samoa Joe (when he makes an effort), Kazarian, Beer Money etc.. but who is the focus of iMPACT Wrestling on? As usual when he's involved, Hulk Hogan. Everything centres around Hogan, and Immortal.. who.. I mean I haven't been watching a lot of TNA lately, mainly because of this.. but from what i can tell right now.. Immortal is Hogan (who doesn't wrestle), Bischoff (who doesn't wrestle).. Abyss, Anderson, Gunner (did i miss the push or something?), and Bully Ray.. Oh and Jarrett, but he was in mexico or something?
Now it seems like a decent sized group, but .. I mean a couple of months ago wasn't there Matt Hardy, Jeff Hardy (...), Murphy, Ric Flair (who i'll get to in a minute).. i'm sure there were more people involved in it. It just feels like as the group has gotten smaller it's lost it's momentum, and the angle is just dragging on to what is apparently going to be a Hulk Hogan face turn. Now, is Bischoff going to turn too? Coz i don't see that happening honestly, but I also know that I wouldn't believe Hogan would turn on Bischoff, being that they've been business partners for what.. 10+ years? No storyline that TNA can come up with will make it believable that Hogan and Bischoff will part ways. Also, I'm not interested in seeing Hogan on TV anymore, like, the gimmick is kinda done.. sure Hulkamania will never die and he'll always get that pop, and always be "Hulk Hogan".. but the business, from what i can see, has changed a lot since he was really "the hulk".. remember that match he had with Shawn Michaels at Summerslam? me either, but what i do remember is Shawn hamming it up like crazy and overselling to the point of it being funny. Great work on that Shawn by the way, absolutely loved it.
So what about isntead of it being the same guys in the title picture for what.. the last ... i don't know 4 or 5 months?... throw someone else up there.. just for kicks if nothing else.. Angle vs Sting could be a good match, lets face it, Angle is the man. But, it kinda feels a little WCW, where are the new stars being pushed into the main event slot?.. Sure, Beer Money have the Tag Team Titles. Tag Team wrestling actually means something in TNA. But it's not on the same level as the World title. Having said that, I'm not sure if there are any new stars who are ready to be pushed into the main event level.. he's not a new star, but a lot of people are mentioning Bobby Roode, I can see that. But what happens to Storm?.. he's too good to be the "janetty".. I just don't know if he can be a single's success.. the other problem with TNA is they don't have a mid-card title.. sure there's the TV title, but it's not exactly being defended or involved in any serious way. I love what Eric Young is doing though. Personally I don't think he needs the TV title, I think it would be funnier if he just used the old world title belt, and "defended" that. If they used the TV title properly, it could be a launching pad, like the Intercontinental or US titles are.
So who else on the roster is ready? What about Matt Morgan? I like him, but I don't really buy him as "that guy".. something doesn't click, but it could work because of his size. What about Kazarian?.. that, i think, could also work. I also think that Sabin has the potential to be in that main event level. I can hear the arguments .. he's a smaller guy.. Shawn Michaels is a smaller guy. Sting isn't a big guy.. AJ isn't a big guy. Now what about Ric Flair?
You read that right.. I saw an article today with Ric Flair saying he's going to be challenging for the World Heavyweight title after Hardcore Justice (i hate that they're using that name by the way). To quote Zack Ryder.. Are you serious bro? .... Ric Flair is challenging for the Title? What the hell is going on? I really hope it's not going to happen, because A: No-one has seen him on tv for a while... B: He doesn't need it, and it would do nothing for the company.. and C: you're too damn old Ric! Seriously, I love Ric Flair, I respect the hell out of him and what he's done. But it's a dumb move to make this Ric Flair your champion. His matches these days aren't lets say.. up to the standard of even 10 years ago.. he doesn't look like a champion anymore, he looks like a manager.. and I personally only understand about 50% of what he says on the mic nowadays.
I agree with what a lot of people are saying, Ric has damaged his legacy by going to TNA, and damaged it further by actually wrestling again. That match at Wrestlemania 24 with Shawn, was amazing. It was the greatest way to end a career you could ever imagine... and that next night on Raw.. amazing. Hell, Undertaker came out and BROKE CHARACTER! That never happens! And then just a short while later, he's back on worldwide Tv wrestling again like it never happened? Not cool. So please TNA... don't put the belt on Flair.
The other thing I want to mention is the Women's division.. the Knockouts. Much better name than Divas first of all. Implies much less attitude, yet the knockouts have more of a right to have an attitude, because... well they can wrestle. Angelina Love, Velvet Skye, Mickie James, Tara, Sarita, Winter (i think she can wrestle, I haven't seen her in a match for a while).. All these women are amazing athletes. I actually enjoy watching the women's matches on Impact, wheras on Raw or smackdown I do something more interesting like trim my fingernails, sometimes my nose hair on a longer match. There are exceptions of course with WWE, Beth Phoenix, Gail Kim (if she's ever used).. umm.. Oh that AJ girl from NXT was pretty good i think.. But TNA's knockouts are far and away the best womens division going. My only problem is since Bishcoff and Hogan came along, we're seeing less diversity in the division. Remember a few years ago...Roxxi, Awesome Kong, Taylor Wilde, ODB, Alissa Flash, Hamada... I know ODB has been on Tv recently, but they're going with the "no contract" angle so that's why I included her. Now that was a strong womens division. Now it's still good, but a little ... eh...seen it already. Except Velvet, i never get tired of seeing her!
So I think that's about all I wanted to say... I'm not going to go off on a rant and say "they should get rid of hogan and bischoff" or "fire russo"..... Personally i think their product was better before Hogan.. I still remember watching that first Impact, he and Bischoff are standing in a 4 sided ring getting booed, and Hogan said something about that 6-sided ring not being any good ( can't remember the exact words).. but that right there was the first clue that this wasn't really all about TNA, it was about making TNA TNHogAn.. Also the X division was a lot more prevalent before Hogan and Bischoff.. I just hope that Destination X this year wasn't their way of saying "ok we gave you this whole pay per view of X division, now you fans can't complain when we don't do any x division stuff".. that would be terrible, but also not unexpected. Bischoff...
And while i think of it.. losing Jay Lethal is a massive blow to them, that guy is awesome! And if they don't sign Low-Ki, there is definitely something wrong in the "office"...
So lets hope that TNA can become true competition, because that would make everything better.
That's it, that's all i've got for now, hope you enjoyed it, leave a comment if you've got something to say, follow me on twitter @TheACMouthpiece, and keep reading!
What's it like to be me? You.. will never, ever know.
July 18, 2011
The calm before the storm
Welcome! Once again i am the armchair mouthpiece, shooting opinions and truthfacts your way from the comfort and relative safety of the couch. I was going to wait until after Money in the Bank to write my second post, but, as i'm sure a lot of people are, I can't stop thinking about what may happen tomorrow. I've read a lot of different people's ideas on what could happen, and i agree with what a lot of them are saying, that the most likely scenario is that Punk will win, but someone will cash in their money in the bank that night. I did read one column (possibly Mark Madden?) where they were talking about "what if _______ cashes in the briefcase, and loses the match?? We've never seen that before I think was the argument. Interesting, but that kind of leaves more questions unanswered I think.
I would LOVE to see Punk win full stop. But think of the possibilities for the end of this match. I'll list a few that have popped into my head in the last week.
1. Vince screws CM Punk to keep the belt in the WWE
2. Vince screws Cena, revealing it was all a scheme and he and CM Punk have "joined forces" so to speak, causing Cena to be "fired".. but eventually return with an attitude.
3. Colt Cabana does a run in. We're led to believe it's not planned at all. He and Punk screw Cena and Punk wins.
4. Cena turns heel.
5. (and this is remote, because let's face it, Rock isn't the most WWE guy there is) Rock makes a run in. Screws Cena building more heat for mania.
6. Rock runs in, screws Punk, using the "I respect the belt" angle. Cena gets pissed saying he doesn't need Rock's help, Cena turns heel.
7. Someone else (Mick Foley, Stone Cold) make a run in.
Now those last 2 i just thought of as i'm writing this, so they might not be any good. But what i'm trying to get at is that I hope that the ending to this pay per view is worthy of the storyline, worthy of the buildup. As far as wether Punk is really leaving, who knows? Part of me thinks it's just another "take time off" storyline, part of me thinks he's really done, which would be a huge mistake on WWE's part. Part of me thinks it's all an angle. Let's face it though, I think it's fairly safe to say this is the best thing WWE has done in a long time. I'm trying to remember the last time i was this excited about a Pay per view that wasn't one of the big 4.. I may have to go all the way back to the Armageddon with Undertaker vs Randy Orton in the hell in a cell match. Certainly the last time i was this excited about any WWE programming was the Undertaker/Shawn Michaels II, just based on the hype from the first match at WM 25.
To sum up, i sincerely hope that we don't get a boring, predictable super-cena comeback finish, with Punk's last moments in WWE being embarassing and having him leave in a bad way. Remember the way Vickie Guerrero left the first time? They called her all kinds of names and it was disgraceful. Remember the way Lita left? With her underwear being sold to the crowd? I'm not saying Vince McMahon will come out with some CM Punk drawers trying to hock them for $20, but I just hope they give us something amazing. This is the first time in about 3 years i've bought a WWE pay per view that wasn't Mania or the Rumble. Please don't make me regret my purchase WWE...
With all that being said, I'm going to wrap this up now, so until i write again. *I still have no idea on a finishing catchphrase*
I would LOVE to see Punk win full stop. But think of the possibilities for the end of this match. I'll list a few that have popped into my head in the last week.
1. Vince screws CM Punk to keep the belt in the WWE
2. Vince screws Cena, revealing it was all a scheme and he and CM Punk have "joined forces" so to speak, causing Cena to be "fired".. but eventually return with an attitude.
3. Colt Cabana does a run in. We're led to believe it's not planned at all. He and Punk screw Cena and Punk wins.
4. Cena turns heel.
5. (and this is remote, because let's face it, Rock isn't the most WWE guy there is) Rock makes a run in. Screws Cena building more heat for mania.
6. Rock runs in, screws Punk, using the "I respect the belt" angle. Cena gets pissed saying he doesn't need Rock's help, Cena turns heel.
7. Someone else (Mick Foley, Stone Cold) make a run in.
Now those last 2 i just thought of as i'm writing this, so they might not be any good. But what i'm trying to get at is that I hope that the ending to this pay per view is worthy of the storyline, worthy of the buildup. As far as wether Punk is really leaving, who knows? Part of me thinks it's just another "take time off" storyline, part of me thinks he's really done, which would be a huge mistake on WWE's part. Part of me thinks it's all an angle. Let's face it though, I think it's fairly safe to say this is the best thing WWE has done in a long time. I'm trying to remember the last time i was this excited about a Pay per view that wasn't one of the big 4.. I may have to go all the way back to the Armageddon with Undertaker vs Randy Orton in the hell in a cell match. Certainly the last time i was this excited about any WWE programming was the Undertaker/Shawn Michaels II, just based on the hype from the first match at WM 25.
To sum up, i sincerely hope that we don't get a boring, predictable super-cena comeback finish, with Punk's last moments in WWE being embarassing and having him leave in a bad way. Remember the way Vickie Guerrero left the first time? They called her all kinds of names and it was disgraceful. Remember the way Lita left? With her underwear being sold to the crowd? I'm not saying Vince McMahon will come out with some CM Punk drawers trying to hock them for $20, but I just hope they give us something amazing. This is the first time in about 3 years i've bought a WWE pay per view that wasn't Mania or the Rumble. Please don't make me regret my purchase WWE...
With all that being said, I'm going to wrap this up now, so until i write again. *I still have no idea on a finishing catchphrase*
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