WWE Predictions: What We Know vs What We Hope

For the last few months, I keep reading predictions from all kinds of sources - personal opinions and credible sources - that have made me laugh, and also made me sigh in disbelief. It astounds me that people are making somewhat crazy predictions based on hope, more than using the information that we have at hand.

I like to think that any of my predictions in my Raw rants have been made based on what I've seen on that episode of Raw. I try to base them on who's feuding with who and having interactions with one another.

This morning I saw that Seth Rollins had tweeted about The Shield dealing with injustices. Chris Jericho decided to reply to this, asking what he was talking about before calling Rollins 'junior' and 'flash in the pan'. I instantly thought I'd jump on the bandwagon and predict that if Jericho were to return (which has been rumoured), then I felt that this war of words on Twitter could lead to The Shield dealing with Jericho should he come back. I instantly felt dirty. How could I predict such a thing when this was the first interaction that The Shield and Jericho have had? The one thing that I took comfort in was that at least I had took some information that I had at hand and used it to make a prediction.

There have been some predictions just lately that have been 'hope' over information-at-hand. Here's a few I can think of:

Brock Lesnar
With the short term contract that Brock has, there will be very few appearances where we'll see him. It will have to be an epic encounter for him to return. This has been the case with both the John Cena and Triple H matches. This trend will not stop whilst Brock has this contract/restriction on appearances. This is why it baffled me when people predicted that he would return to screw Ryback out of the WWE Title at the TLC pay-per-view.

I read several predictions as if people KNEW this would happen. This prediction kind of angered me - why would Brock come back at a pay-per-view that had no hype/wasn't expected to do well? If you're going to use Brock Lesnar to sell tickets/a pay-per-view, you would promote it weeks in advance. Brock is not going to be used as a surprise person to screw Ryback (or anyone else) as that would be wasting one of his appearances.Especially on a pay-per-view where you would use that guy to make you money leading into it.

I have to admit that I'm not a fan of the money making side to wrestling. I get that that's what they need to do to survive, but I hate it. I want things to surprise me; not be so predictable. But I fully understand that using Brock Lesnar in a situation that isn't going to make money is just NOT GOING TO HAPPEN.

A more realistic prediction would be that Brock comes back at the Rumble in some way - maybe even to screw The Rock. This PPV has already sold itself because The Rock is going to be there so this would be a much more ideal situation to bring back Lesnar.

WWE/World Title unification
Another prediction that has been thrown around is that of a unification match at Wrestlemania 29. Why would this happen? As it stands, we have a dominant World Champion in the Big Show, and a credible title length in CM Punk's WWE Title reign. Now, you could look at this and say that both champions are on the sort of form that could warrant a unification match - for the first time in a long time we have two strong champions. But below these guys are several up-and-comers that deserve their chance to be at the top of the mountain.

By unifying these titles, you take away the chances of these future players. You also have one, undisputed champion and with that comes a lot of prestige - something that a lot of the up-and-comers haven't got the name to match. Wade Barrett is a good example of someone who has been waiting a while to get his opportunity to become a main event mainstay, and by having one World Champion you reduce his chance of getting there anytime soon.

Who would be part of this unification match? Well, if The Rock wins at the Royal Rumble, would this mean that he would be the WWE Title's representative in this match? I sincerely hope not. Although there's a lot of money to be made with him regaining the belt, I think it would be a terrible move to have him part of such a prestigious match - especially as he is a part timer; not having a regular WWE run since 2002. This would highlight the lack of megastars further.

IF this type of match were to happen it should be to elevate someone as it did the first time around in 2001 when Chris Jericho became the first-ever Undisputed Champion. That night he beat The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin to achieve greatness. Things have changed a hell of a lot since then and I don't think anyone can take the role that Jericho played there. No one has that 'star quality' to make that big a step up.

Undertaker & Wrestlemania
This is another one where people are adamant that their theory will happen.

Originally, I read several opinions that Taker would face Brock Lesnar. I didn't see the point of this as Taker has become SO undefeatable at Wrestlemania that only God or Sting would cause doubt in my mind that he could be beaten. It also makes no sense to me because Brock hasn't really been around enough, and been dominating enough to cause people to think that he's a threat. He came back and manhandled Cena and LOST. Then he came back and beat Triple H... since then he hasn't been seen. Everytime he becomes a dominant monster, he leaves again. There's no momentum at all.

The latest view is that CM Punk will be Taker's Wrestlemania opponent. This is more interesting but again, has no basis. It says to me that the people making this assumption believe that Punk will lose at the Royal Rumble. Either that or they believe that Punk will go to 'Mania as Champion and have a (Championship) streak vs (Wrestlemania) streak. For me that would be interesting - Taker just does not lose at Mania, but he also doesn't wrestle past it, either. Punk defeating Taker in 'his yard' would be a massive feather in his cap - I'm not sure that that's something that the WWE are willing to give him.

The only thing that we can say about the Undertaker, with certainty, was summed up by Triple H at The Slammys - we haven't seen the last of the Undertaker. Prediction over.

Summary
Basically, I know people will always make their 'hopeful' predictions. I just wish that they wouldn't be so sure that they're right THREE months in advance?!

As I've said before, I'd like to think that my predictions are based on the information that I've been given. In reality, I don't really want to make any predictions - I'd rather sit back, enjoy what I'm watching, and be thoroughly surprised by what I'm witnessing. I want it to be completely unpredictable. These are my HOPES.

WWE Main Event 26/12/2012

Main Event is fast becoming my favourite show that WWE produces. It's easy on the eye (and the watch) and GETS TO THE POINT (as I've said several times before!). It gives the mid-card and below some much needed time to shine - also showing a Raw Rebound to remind us of the goings on on Monday nights. This was an especially important Rebound, as it focused on the Santa/Alberto Del Rio incident from Christmas Eve edition of Raw.

The main event of Main Event was the Battle Royal to determine the number one contender to Antonio Cesaro's United States Championship. This match was full of tag teams that you could pretty much rule out winning this from the get go. Singles wrestlers that you could see winning this included Wade Barrett, Brodus Clay, Santino, the King of the Jobbers Zack Ryder, and, of course, the Great Khali (on the back of his huge wins over David Otunga and Brad Maddox in the last few weeks...)

The winner; Khali, was a bit of a surprise to me as I narrowed it down to Brodus, Santino or Zack for the win. Barrett is a fellow heel and in a program with Kofi over the IC, Santino is far too comedy and not a serious threat and Brodus and Zack have had chances recently and come up short. I suppose the only choice was Khali - a big challenge for Cesaro, but one that will, no doubt, be the 'biggest' achievement Cesaro has completed to date. I look forward to the Neutraliser on Khali as they search for the perfect opponent to dethrone Cesaro.

The last match of the show (but NOT the main event of the evening?) was between 3MB members Jinder Mahal and Drew McIntyre (accompanied by Heath Slater) against Justin Gabriel/Tyson Kidd. This was set up as the four eliminated each other during the Battle Royal earlier in the show. I predicted this being a Superstars main event, but I suppose this feud is slightly above that show... for now. A good win for Gabriel and Kidd (after a team-Blockbuster); hopefully there will be a tag team turmoil match in the near future as WWE has some bright, young tag teams and a lot of them have shone just lately.

Unfortunately, my prediction of Miz winning the Battle Royal didn't happen. I suppose his commentary and talkshow duties got in the way of actually competing. After Khali becomes Cesaro's next victim I hope they throw Miz into a program with the US Champion. I'm not sure how that would go down though as Miz hasn't been a very convincing face as yet and Cesaro has been on such a roll that I'm not sure that (possibly) losing the belt to Miz would do him any good. It's a possibility though, just to keep both occupied - maybe they could do with these two what they should've done further with Kofi and Miz before pulling the trigger and making Miz a face.

WWE Raw 24/12/2012 (pre-taped on 18/12/2012)

This weeks Raw was taped last Tuesday night after the commercial free Smackdown (part of WWE week). The crowd must have been pretty wiped out after going through both Smackdown and a three hour Raw... luckily, it was pretty fun (or should I say cheesy?!).

Raw started with all the superstars singing a carol, conducted by John Cena - leader of the Cenation AND the WWE Superstars here. This was really cringey as some of the main players had lines that referred to themselves. Merry Christmas everyone...

There wasn't much continuation of storylines here apart from AJ and Dolph showing they're together further, and also mocking Cena for the TLC ending. This was done in a few backstage/hotel room skits where they'd be snuggled and mocking John-boy. I suppose it showed them getting closer in a romantic and festive set-up as well as giving them the night off (pre-taped skits). These segments all culminated in a Edge/Lita style kiss that got so out of hand that they ended up knocking the tree over.

The main story of the night surrounded newly-turned-face Alberto Del Rio. At the start of the show, stand in Raw host Santa Claus (yes, this is how cheesy/festive/kid-like this episode of Raw was?!) was giving out presents to the crowd, when Del Rio's music played, seemingly to bring Del Rio out for a match? What happened next could've ruined Christmas for us all...

As Del Rio came out in his BMW, honking his horn (you'd have thought this was warning enough to St. Nick) he viciously mowed down Santa at approximately 1 mph. In my opinion, Santa turned round and rolled down the bonnet - a complete over-sell there! This then led to medics, referees (useful?) and others to attend to help Santa - all the while, Ricardo Rodriguez and Alberto were in shock at what just happened. Alberto would then protest his innocence, and that it was an accident, to the distraught WWE Superstars backstage who still think that Santa is real. This led Booker to choose Cena (who else?) to fight Del Rio in a Miracle on 34th Street Fight in honour of Santa...cue Santa chant from the losers in the back...

Throughout Raw there were several updates on Santa's condition a la Jerry Lawler's heart attack. Wow, they really will do ANYTHING!

This all ended with a comedy match as the main event, with Cena using several 'presents' along the way (bowling ball, chair, tv monitor) to counter Del Rio's arsenal of weapons, including a pie and a teddy bear that Cena no-sold. Typical Super Cena. This ended with a Santa run-in, Mr Socko (ah it was Foley all along! That's the guy I'd want to be Santa!) followed by an AA by Cena for the ultimate Christmas win. Fun match. Not sure if this was wise in the eyes of the kids for Del Rio to be the guy to run Santa over if they want him to be cheered; I know Raw was a bit of fun this week but still; pick a proper, 100% heel to do the deed if Cena's going to eat him up anyway?! Ricardo was comedy gold though; blubbering like it was the end of his world!

Again, Punk came out to show his face despite his injury. Without wrestling this guy is still undoubtedly the best in the world on the mic. The usual stuff from him and Heyman here: 400 days as WWE Champ (technically 394 at the time). Also, Punk said that Ryback needs to be punished as not only did he injure Punk, but he single handed RUINED Christmas for everyone by doing so. He also ate the whole turkey - damn him and his appetite! This section ended with a Ryback promo to forget (as they all are), where he says they'll have a TLC match on January 7th (first Raw of 2013). He then started a 'T-L-C' chant a la 'Feed Me More!'. Wow, talented.

A special mention now for the match of the night - which had the most at stake - the King of the Jobbers match between Zack Ryder and David Otunga. Otunga started off by explaining how educated he is...ZZZZzzzzzz... before Ryder came out to save the day (a new direction for him). Ryder won with the Rough Ryder for his first win this year? Winner, and OFFICIAL King of the Jobbers: Zack Ryder.

Other Raw highlights;

• Miz seems to be R-Truth's replacement to challenge (and lose) to Cesaro after getting the pin on Barrett during the Miz/Kofi vs Cesaro/Barrett-let's-combine-the-mid-card-titles match. Prediction: Battle royal (for No.1 contendership to US title) on Main Event will probably be won by Miz
• Cody (and mustache) couldn't get revenge on Kane for putting them out for 25 days
• Sheamus beat Show in a LumberJack Frost match...
• Shockingly, the divas all dressed as naughty Christmas sluts... didn't see that coming
• Maddox got ANOTHER chance at a contract (seeing as he's had about four opportunities; can I have just ONE??) - and lost to Khali (w/ Hornswoggle) Khali managed a few words in English but I think maybe he was just drunk...
• Tag division: 12-man tag match (not 6-man this week!) featured the Usos, Prime Time Players, Gabriel/Kidd and 3MB (oh and jobbers Brodus and Tensai) - Usos got the win again - GOOD!
• Kane and Daniel Bryan exchanged gifts: Kane gave DB a Slammy (DB very happy!) and DB gave Kane a puppy to which Kane said 'Thanks! I'm starving'.
• No Shield or Big E Langston... no harm done as it was the Christmas edition and I suppose everything was babyface-winning-focused.

Merry Christmas everyone... back to normality with Raw next week I hope!!

@jimmosangle

Foley is Good: WWE/Home Alone comparison

As Christmas is upon us, I got thinking of one of my favourite books, Foley is Good (written by Mick Foley), and a section of the book that pleased me, and also made me laugh. Towards the back of the book there is an epilogue - written by Foley in February 2001 updating everyone on what he had done from the time he'd finished writing the book up until that time.

Most notably was that of a study that Foley had done in response to an Indiana University study into how 'filthy', distasteful and violent Raw was at that time (February '98 - January '99). Foley broke down his findings of the violent acts that he witnessed, and then compared them to the Christmas family favourite film, Home Alone. These findings were gathered by Foley, partly in jest, but show that back then - and maybe still a little today - wrestling was seen as the bad guy, even though there's a lot of other unsavoury shows/films out there that are readily available to children.

The following is an extract from the book; highlighting the results of his research in comparison to the events/violence that happens in Home Alone:

"...I wasn't able to itemize Dr. Ganz's incidents of violence, so instead chose to go with my list of 169 (which was multiplied by 2.5 to give a fifty-week total of 422), which can be itemized as follows:

1. chair - 48
2. garbage can or cookie sheet - 34
3. title belt - 19
4. kendo stick - 17
5. mannequin head - 11
6. brass knuckles - 7
7. broomstick - 4
8. table piece - 3
9. stairs - 11
10. timekeeper's bell - 4
11. shovel - 2
12. road sign - 2
13. acoustic guitar - 4
14. coffeemaker - 1
15. pipe - 1
16. sledgehammer - 1
17. turnbuckle - 1

As part of my research I went to the video store, where I picked out the PG-rated family favourite Home Alone and took inventory of the violence that transpired therein. The results were impressive:

1. shot from one-foot range with pellet gun to testicles
2. shot from one-foot range from pellet gun to head
3. four-foot fall from slip on ice to concrete
4. fall down icy flight of stairs
5. fall on back of head after slip on ice
6. steam iron falling fifteen feet onto victim's face
7. hand on red-hot doorknob
8. nail in foot, followed by a six-foot fall backward onto concrete
9. blowtorch sets head on fire for seven seconds
10. slip on concrete
11. step with bare feet on glass
12. two slips on toys and fall backward on concrete
13. two swinging paint cans, making direct contact with human face after fifteen-foot swing
14. tarantula bite
15. blow to ribs with crowbar
16. fifteen-foot swing directly into brick wall
17. two blows with a snow shovel to the head

While traveling with the World Wrestling Federation, I consulted Dr. Robert Quarrels, who is a board-certified family practitioner, with an emphasis on sports medicine. I asked Dr. Quarrels to look at the separate lists of violent acts and to offer his expert explanation of the expected consequences of such acts.
First the wrestling:

1. chair - possible concussion, laceration, contusion
2. garbage can or cookie sheet - possible laceration and contusion
3. title belt - contusion, possible laceration, possible concussion
4. kendo stick - contusion, possible laceration
5. mannequin head - too ridiculous to warrant a medical opinion

I think you get the idea. With the exception of the sledgehammer shot, which was to the knee, and the brass knuckles, which were only used in one match, we're basically talking about cuts, bruises, and possible concussions. Now let's look at the movie.
Home Alone:

1. pellet to testicles - penetrate scrotum, severe contusion of testicle, and could disrupt small vessels that conduct seminal fluids. May result in complete dysfunction of testicle
2. pellet to head - severe contusion, no probable penetration
3. four-foot fall from slip on ice - concussion, possible vertebral fractures at various levels, bulging or herniated discs. Subdural hematoma, or other forms of cerebral hemorrhage. Possible broken hip or pelvis
4. fall down stairs - concussion, intracranial bleeding, possible lower external fracture, vertebral fracture, hip fracture
5. fall on head following slip on ice - see #3
6. iron on face - skull fractures, blow-out fracture of orbit, facial nerve disruption, concussion, intracranial bleeds
7. hand on red-hot doorknob - severe second-degree burns
8. nail in foot - puncture wound could disrupt vessels in foot, exposure to tetanus, severe soft-tissue infection
9. blowtorch - third-degree burns, tissue loses all function
10. slip on concrete - see #3
11. bare feet on glass - multiple puncture wounds, risk of tetanus and infection
12. two slips on toys - see #3
13. swinging paint cans - blow-out fracture of orbit, facial fractures, dental fractures, disruption of nasal cartilage, concussion, intracranial bleeding
14. tarantula bite - possible T-toxin infection, possible neurotoxicity
15. crowbar to ribs - rib fracture, possible lung puncture and deflation due to broken rib, possible ruptured spleen
16. swing into wall - multiple fractures
17. snow shovel to head - concussion, laceration, possible skull fracture

I was so impressed with my Home Alone results that I decided to investigate the sequel, Home Alone 2. I could feel for the director while I watched this one. In some ways, I'm sure he felt the pressure to top the first one, much as I have felt pressure to top some of the big matches of my past. Here's how they topped it:

1. four bricks to the head, from a height of four stories
2. staple gun to buttocks
3. ten-foot fall backward onto concrete
4. twenty-foot fall face-first onto concrete
5. sixteen-second electrocution
6. blowtorch sets hair on fire for seven seconds
7. hundred-pound sandbag drops on head from twenty feet
8. steel object swinging ten feet into faces of two men, followed by simultaneous twenty-five-foot falls onto concrete. Steel object then drops twenty-five feet on top of them
9. heavy tool cart goes down flight of stairs and sandwiches men into wall
10. two simultaneous thirty-foot falls off a rope onto concrete

I then spoke with Dr. Quarrels about the fate of the two victims. Things were not looking too good for them. Let's take a look.

1. bricks to head - death, skull fracture, intracranial bleeding
2. staple gun to buttocks - puncture wounds
3. ten-foot fall onto concrete - impact fracture where skull caves in, various vertebral fractures, herniated discs, soft-tissue injury, lacerations, contusions, organ contusions
4. twenty-foot face-first fall on concrete - death. High likelihood of multiple skeletal extremity fractures, organ contusions, and possible ruptures, intra-abdominal bleeds, cranial injuries and bleeds
5. sixteen-second electrocution - cardiac arrest, possible death
6. blowtorch to head - flames would engulf head, definite third-degree burns, skin meltdown
7. hundred-pound sandbag - skull fracture, vertebral fracture, intracranial bleeds, paralysis, death
8. steel object to face followed by twenty-five-foot fall onto concrete - blow-out fractures of orbit, dental fractures, intracranial bleeds
9. tool cart - possible death, rib fractures, pneumothorax, organ puncture
10. thirty-foot falls - see #1, followed by contusions, facial fractures, broken bones

Pretty devastating stuff, huh? It kind of makes you wonder why Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern,the victims of this deadly abuse, aren't kicking ass and taking names in the World Wrestling Federation."

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As I mentioned before, Foley collected these results as a comedic response to the unfair, and negative, attention that the University study gave to the WWE (WWF at the time). I hope you've enjoyed reading this somewhat brutal breakdown of a Christmas favourite! I can imagine that you won't watch Home Alone in the same way again!!

If you haven't already; get yourself a copy of Foley is Good. It's over 11 years old now but will still have you in stitches!

Merry Christmas! @jimmosangle

Film Review: The Time Traveller's Wife

Friday 21st August 2009

I'd been thinking of going to see this film as soon as I saw it advertised. I just saw the title, along with Rachel McAdams, and thought – I need to see this film. I'm a bit of a 'time travel film' fan so I jump at these types of films even if I'm told it could be a letdown...

I started my day going to the gym with my niece, who when I told her I wanted to see this film, told me the usual, that a friend of a friend said that it wasn't as good as they thought it'd be. This didn't deter me though as I wanted to give it the chance that I'd given previous time travel-esque films. So when I got home and checked the show times, I realised that I only had about thirty minutes to spare before it started so I hurried along to my local cinema to catch it.

My interest started back with stuff like Flight of the Navigator through to Back to the Future and then more recently The Butterfly Effect and, on TV, with Journeyman (which I'm still bitter they cancelled!!). I love the idea of these films and the 'trouble' it causes by accidently changing things in the past. I also still think that it's really cool - even after 20 years - the thought and magic of being able to travel through time. More recently with Journeyman, I became interested in the stress and strain that time travel has on marriages and relationships. This is one of the main themes of The Time Traveller's Wife.

The Time Traveller's Wife sees Henry, a 30-something guy, who inexplicably time travels without warning. This has been happening to him the majority of his life. The main focus is, obviously, with his wife, Clare who has to deal with the disappearance of her husband at random times. It also touches on other relationships that are strained through his 'condition' as he refers to it. It also show the great love and heartache that this situation causes the characters.

When I went to see this film, I only had one worry – Eric Bana – maybe I hadn't given him the amount of attention he deserves, but for me The Incredible Hulk did him no favours and I haven't bothered with him since! But I'm willing to give him some credit now as he does put in a good and believable performance – something I still think is hard to come by when trying to emit emotions to going through time! Because of the length of time he has been travelling, he seems to be at ease with it and it doesn't cause him too much stress. Added to this, Rachel McAdams seems used to it too – patience of a saint to be honest with you. As the cracks appear in their relationship, it's really different and refreshing to see the pain it causes them, as this is rarely shown in other films I've seen. My experiences of Rachel McAdams really only come from Wedding Crashers and Red Eye, but when you get past her beauty (and huge smile) this is a great performance – really portraying the naivety to the situation well.

As I've touched on before – this film really does have the feel of a combination of The Butterfly Effect and of Journeyman. For me most notably Journeyman (which was cut off in its prime!). So if you want to reignite the spark that was put out there then this is a must see, whether you catch it on the big screen or have to wait until the DVD comes out.

Jimmo's rating: 4 (out of 5)

WWE Main Event 19/12/2012

As I've said before; Main Event is really growing on me - it's only on for an hour (forty minutes without commercials) and gets straight to the point. It seems to have an aim each week and a focus on one group of wrestlers - this week was the turn of the tag team division.

The 'main event' of Main Event was the Tag Team Championship match between Kane/Daniel Bryan (Champions) against the number one contenders Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow. This match was given about twenty minutes or so and delivered. I could realistically see the titles changing hands on this show as this happened a few months ago when Kofi won the Intercontinental Title. This was almost the case as there was a great sequence where Sandow connected with The Terminus before it was broken up and Rhodes then delivered a Disaster Kick which also got a two-count. Close/exciting stuff.

Ultimately, the champs came out on top when Kane dished out a chokeslam, which was followed up by a diving headbutt from Bryan (nod to Dynamite/Benoit?). This match really helped this feud as it teased a Rhodes Scholars win before the champs got the better of them. I think this is just the beginning (again; after Cody's injury last month) of this feud though, as Rhodes and Sandow have got their names all over them titles. There have been calls for The Shield to have the belts but I think they should be kept in the main parts of Raw, beating on anyone and everyone. Belts aren't needed just yet with them guys.

The second (and final) match of Main Event saw The Prime Time Players taking on Team Co-Job (Santino & Zack Ryder). I was rooting for Titus and Darren as they've lost any momentum that they had a few months ago in the tag division. They're in desperate need of stringing a few wins together and being genuine contenders again. Unfortunately, since Kane, Daniel Bryan, Cody and Damien have all formed teams, the actual tag team of Prime Time Players have had to be patient and take a backseat. Somewhere down the road, when Kane and Bryan eventually split up, they'll undoubtedly get their chance to shine at the top of the pile.

I was slightly worried that they were going to give the comedy pairing of Santino and Zack the win here. Luckily, the right decision was made and the Players got the win after Titus gave Ryder a Sky High for the three-count. Santino and Zack team up as they have nothing better to do at the moment (especially Ryder) so it seems ridiculous to give them wins (especially clean wins) over future contenders of the tag titles.

Overall, a really good show that highlighted the tag division; Raw and Smackdown focus heavily on their respective World Champions and the main players to them. Main Event does a nice job of focusing on the secondary titles and giving them some well deserved, and much needed, spotlight to show that they'll be up in the big leagues somewhere down the line. It also doesn't take three hours to get to the point and give them that spotlight.

The only worry of this show is that Miz is commentating and not competing. This, along with his talkshow begs the question: are they ever going to have a proper run with face Miz? Or are they hoping that he'll get less annoying and more popular, the more he talks in these two roles he now has?

WWE Smackdown 18/12/2012

This is the first time in a long time that I have bothered to watch Smackdown. I thought I'd give it a try as it was commercial free and was on the back of the Raw that debuted another NXTer (NXT Champion, Big E Langston). Also, where it's WWE week, I thought Smackdown would have something about it worth watching.

The main, and pretty much only, story of the show was the Cena/AJ/Dolph situation. At least after the last couple of months of crap love triange (square?) they have had a decent payoff to this all - predictable, but finally gone somewhere!

AJ and Dolph came out (for Miz TV) and kissed on the entrance ramp. Oh, so they are together then? That wasn't clear from their kiss at the Slammys?! Obviously, they were accompanied by Big E Langston. AJ finally explained herself - John Cena broke her heart - join the club AJ; he breaks mine every time he brown-noses all the time and doesn't get pissed about losses... or anything?!

This segment ended with Dolph berating Miz before giving Big E the nod to destroy him. Miz was knocked down before taking the Big Ending finsher. I've looked into this guy and he's a former Powerlifter - Mark Henry v2.0 then.

Teddy Long convinced Booker to give Brad Maddox a tryout (third time's a charm). Later in the night Maddox would face Brodus Clay for another chance at a contract - I suppose after Monday's win over JTG, Clay might be on the way back up, so any chance Maddox had went straight out of the window. Clay would dispose of Maddox and then became another victim of The Shield.

Speaking of The Shield; they continued to add new Superstars to the list that had seemingly caused injustices to fellow heels. This week, Sin Cara felt their wrath - his knee taking a beating, which is kind of fitting that now he can have the time off to sort out that nagging injury. I suppose the injustice is that he should have sorted the injury out sooner?! It was also revealed a little later in the show that Rey (who hadn't accompanied Sin Cara to ringside) had been ambushed before the show and had a 'severe' neck injury to go with Sin Cara's 'severe' knee injury - does that mean they'll both be out for a while then?

If they, or just Sin Cara, are out for a while that might explain The Usos decent showing on Raw last week - when Cody and Damien eventually win the tag titles, they're going to need a credible face team to get wins over until they face Kane/Daniel Bryan again.

The show started and finished the same way; AJ kissing Dolph's face off and Big E looking mean and moody.

The main event was a rematch of Raw from a couple of weeks ago; John Cena and Milky-white Cena (Sheamus) vs Big Show and Dolph Ziggler (now accompanied by AJ & Big E Langston). The end of this match came when Big E got the nod from AJ to get involved and destroy Cena again (same finish as Raw).

Other notes from Smackdown;

• Punk/Heyman out to keep Punk's face on TV. Smart move - he might not be able to wrestle at the moment but he's doing something else that he does best - talk. Quote of the night was when he asked what's more impressive: Winning a title 16 times over a 95 year old career; or winning it once and holding it for nearly 400 days?
• Ryback beat Cesaro clean. I suppose this was always going to happen after the Raw finish to the match. Good offence from Cesaro throughout, but a bit of an easy finish for Ryback. Two bright stars here.
• Kaitlyn and AJ confrontation in the back to show AJ's heel side further.
• Sheamus explaining Father Ted to Cena would have been totally lost on the American audience?! Cena then explained all the gory details of he and AJ to Sheamus (whispering) which was pretty funny due to Sheamus' facial responses to it all... ah you guys! It's like you're made out of the same mould...

WWE Raw rant 17/12/2012

The Slammy Awards

This week a lot happened throughout the show so I'll break it down into sections: Matches, Slammy Awards and then the best bits of this weeks Raw.

Matches

• Rey (w/Sin Cara) defeated Damien Sandow (w/Cody Rhodes & mustache) after a 619/Splash from the top corner. Does this mean Rey/Sin Cara are back in contention?
• Kaitlyn defeated Diva's Champion Eve after a Gutbuster in about 2 minutes
• IC Champion Kofi Kingston defeated Tensai with Trouble in Paradise after a minute. Wade Barrett then attacked Kofi; pushing him into the ring post before hitting The Bullhammer. Feud continues...
• Great Khali (w/Natalya) defeated David Otunga with the chop in about a minute or so
• Brodus Clay defeated JTG with a splash in 2 minutes
• Cody Rhodes (w/Damien Sandow) defeated Sin Cara (w/Rey) with Cross Rhodes accompanied by yellow light throughout the match
• The Miz, Alberto Del Rio & Tommy Dreamer defeated 3MB (Slater, McIntyre & Mahal) when Dreamer hit the DDT
• Ryback defeated US Champion Antonio Cesaro via countout when Cesaro grabbed his belt and left. Therefore no actual loss for either - both strong
• Vickie & John Cena defeated AJ & Dolph Ziggler by DQ due to Big E Langston's interference

 Slammy Awards

• 'Tell Me I Did Not Just See That' Award presented by Smackdown GM Booker T. Boogeyman made an appearance which prompted Booker to coin his catchphrase / the award's name. Winner: Kofi Kingston for his Royal Rumble handstand.
• 'Comeback of the Year' Award presented by The New Age Outlaws (Road Dogg & BA Billy Gunn). Winner: Jerry Lawler (obviously?!). In this segment, JBL gave credit to Lawler, ranking him with the likes of Bobby Heenan and Jesse Ventura as the best Colour Commentators in history. Richly deserved.
• 'Kiss of the Year' Award presented by Vickie Guerrero. AJ is nominated each time but with a different guy - Kane, Punk, Bryan & Cena. Winner: AJ & John Cena. This was followed up by AJ not wanting to explain her actions from TLC. She then kissed Dolph, who got into it, too. Slut!
• 'Superstar of the Year' Award presented by Ric Flair. Winner: John Cena who then gave up the award to Ric Flair? Why? God, he's such an ass kisser - if you want to give respect to a legend, don't give up the award you've just been given. Flair hasn't been around in 2012 so giving him that award is irrelevant.
• 'LOL Moment of the Year' presented by Santino & Tensai. Santino with a nice piss-take of Tensai referring to him as Albert! Also, "Tensai is Japanese for 'Fat Albert'". Winner: The Rock (who isn't there to receive the award). Daniel Bryan comes out to say he should have won - comedy!
• '#Trending Now' Award presented by Layla & Zack Jobber. Winner: #FeedMeMore.
• 'Newcomer of the Year' Award presented by Sheamus. Winner: Ryback who then quoted Owen Hart - "Enough is enough & it's time for a change". Respect to the big man for that.
• 'Match of the Year' Award presented by 'Mean' Gene Okerlund, Ricky Steamboat & Jim Ross. Winner: Undertaker vs Triple H - End of an Era (Wrestlemania XXVIII). Triple H (& haircut) out to accept. Most notable part of the speech was when he said that we haven't seen the last of the Undertaker. Big Pop.

Best of the rest

After the apparent surprise that Ric Flair was out to present an award (even though I swear I heard a 'wooo!' and his voice leading to the reveal), Cena decided to honour Flair in his acceptance speech before giving him the award that he just won. We get it John, you're such a good guy... blah blah blah. Cena then left and out came CM Punk and Heyman to verbally smash Flair. Punk also said that Cena has had an awful year so how does he get 'Superstar of the Year'? Oh and also to add to Punk's case; he's now been Champion for 393 days. Wow - respect earned.

This then led to Punk saying he could kick Flair's ass with the one good leg that he has. Flair accepted and made his way to the ring. Punk was then true to his word and knocked Flair silly with a crutch before being knocked out the ring. This then leads to Heyman getting tangled in a Figure Four. Flair then had a bit of mic time - notably letting Jerry Lawler know that he loves him. Great respect between two absolute legends.

Next up, The Shield made their way through the crowd to confront Flair. Luckily, Kane and Daniel Bryan came down to make the save, but were overpowered by the numbers game. Shield are making a name for themselves by doing this. Just as it looked as though Flair was going through the announce table, Ryback storms to the ring to make the save. The Shield leaves as the numbers are now against them. Flair then thanks Ryback, Kane and DBryan which leads to a backstage segment of Kane shouting 'YES!', Bryan shouting 'NO!' and Flair shouting 'Wooooo!!' before Ron Simmons ends the comedy with a 'DAMN!'. Huge segment there. Where was Cena to save Flair after all that went down? Respect my arse!

More Big Show/Sheamus... please let this be over now; it's gone three months already. Let's have some variation now. Segment ended with Show laid out on the mat, which brought out Ziggler to cash in! There was a massive buzz from the crowd at this possibility before Cena came out to mess it up. Bastard! Cena should be pissed at AJ, not Dolph, for what went down at TLC.

The Shield continued their assault on anyone and everyone as it was shown them beating on Dreamer backstage. This then brought Ricardo to try to help out before he received a beatdown, too. I assume this will mean another 6-man match involving Miz teaming with Del Rio and another mystery partner?

The Dolph/AJ vs Cena/Vickie match started with AJ on top of a giant ladder about to explain herself. This didn't materialise though as the other competitors then came out. The match came down to Ziggler and Cena as AJ and Vickie left not long into it. AJ then came out with NXTer Big E Langston (Ryblack). He looked mad, and when he got to the ring he destroyed Cena to end the show. I love it when he gets levelled!

So we have another NXTer in the mix. I'd heard that Big E was making waves in NXT but that they didn't want to bring him through yet as he's very similar to Ryback. But I suppose it's good that AJ has some muscle in her corner against Cena - even though Cena didn't seem fussed that she'd turned on him, let alone lost the match at TLC. Shrug it off John, you'll have another shot soon enough.

My only worry is that they feed Big E to Cena quite soon. I hope they give him a dominant, Mark Henry-like, monster build so that he isn't just fodder straightaway. If he's going to feud with Cena and lose, make him strong like they have with Ryback.

As I said at the start, a lot of stuff happened here. It was good that they had something like The Slammys to take most of the time up this week. The three hours didn't drag so much. It was surprising how short most of the matches were though - some were completely pointless unless they've got plans going forward. JBL was commentary-gold again this week. He was a great ass kicker in his day and will be an even better commentator.

WWE TLC - Sunday 16th December 2012

This was the first pay-per-view that I'd seen in full in a long time. It didn't disappoint - some excellent matches and some much needed and rightful winners.

No. 1 Contenders (Tag Team Championship) Tables match:
Team Rhodes Scholars vs Rey Mysterio & Sin Cara
A nice opener here with some good back and forth between these four. A simple finish, too, with Sin Cara springing to the top rope and Cody (and his 'tache) pushing him off, resulting in Sin Cara falling through the tables set up at ringside.

This was the right finish as Rhodes and Sandow deserved the win - seeing as they qualified for this match; whereas Rey/Sin Cara were just inserted into it without earning their spot. Hopefully now, with a fully fit Cody, we'll see new tag champs quite soon.

Other things of note here was JBL really promoting Rhodes and his previous accomplishments. Lawler tried to add to this by saying Cody's got the hardest job as he has to battle to get out of his father's shadow - I'd never really felt that Cody was overshadowed by his old man until Lawler brought it up. Fair play to JBL for trying to be positive about the one of the future stars/leaders of the WWE.
Winners (& No.1 contenders to the Tag Team Championship): Team Rhodes Scholars

United States Championship: Antonio Cesaro (c) vs R-Truth
JBL again gave credit to the up-and-comer Cesaro by reminding everyone that he won the title on the pre-show of Summerslam - I think that's over 100 days now that he's been the US Champion.

This match had some ok offence from Truth but there was only going to be one winner here. Cesaro hit an uppercut to the back of Truth's neck, followed it up with a Neutraliser for the easy finish. Truth was definitely not going to be the best American to defeat Cesaro - but who can? Swagger? Hmmm...
Winner: Antonio Cesaro (c)

Miz TV
Miz came out to present Miz TV. I noticed three mics in the ring. Out came his guests, 3MB to trash the set. After some awful banter, they decided to switch their attention to the Spanish Announce Team - what did they do wrong? This then brought out Ricardo Rodriguez to defend them and I think we know where this was going.

Out came Del Rio to the aid of Ricardo. This was strange as Del Rio is definitely a heel, no? After the odds were evened by Miz, 3MB retreated and suggested a 6-man tag later that night, pitting themselves against Miz, Del Rio and a partner of their choosing. Ok, so we're just meant to see Del Rio as a face now? I suppose he'd lost steam just lately and needs something new - wow, this is definitely new - a face Miz and a few weeks later a face Del Rio.

Intercontinental Championship: Kofi Kingston (c) vs Wade Barrett
Highlights from this match were JBL and Lawler's banter over Barrett's nose; this really showed the chemistry that these two have/could have on commentary. They also made reference to Kofi competing against Orton at the 2009 edition of TLC - this didn't seem to be relevant as back then Kofi had half a chance of rising to the main event. All it really showed is that Kofi is exactly in the same spot that he has been for over three years now. Good job.

Towards the end there was a nice variation of a Full Nelson Slam before Barrett attempted The Bullhammer, which Kofi cleverly turned into Trouble in Paradise. Nice. Was quite surprised as I was sure Barrett was going to go over here. I suppose they will take this feud further and that'll probably still happen anyway.
Winner: Kofi Kingston (c)

CM Punk
CM Punk and Paul Heyman were then shown in their private skybox. Punk went onto talk about why he's not competing and why that's a good and a bad thing for Ryback. Good to have him on the show in someway. Very good t-shirt too - 'Knees to Faces' - might have to look into that one...

6-Man Tag Team - TLC match - Pins/Submissions only:
Ryback/Kane/Daniel Bryan vs The Shield (Ambrose, Rollins & Reigns)
This was by far the match of the night (yes, even topping the Ziggler vs Cena match!). This also showed that it didn't actually get the main event spot. It didn't matter.

Lots of great spots throughout this match;

• Ryback double suplexed Rollins and Ambrose; which Ambrose really sold well - great reaction on his face to that. Then an attempt at Shellshocked before Reigns saved the day and destroyed Ryback.
• Ryback put through the Spanish Announce table.
• Rollins and Ambrose double superplexed Bryan.
• After attempting the same on Kane, he got the better of them and did his trademark jump from the corner and nearly took Ambrose's head off - wow, Ambrose can sell really well.
• Reigns speared Kane through the timekeeper's area - this was the last action that Kane saw as they then buried him with chairs.
• Ryback then got up after an age down. This comeback was short lived though; he Shellshocked Ambrose but Reigns and Rollins made the save.
• The sickest spot of the night belonged to Rollins though who was put through a bunch of tables from the top of a monster ladder. This was just before Bryan was put through a table by Reigns and Ambrose for the win.

Lots of action and excitement. The Shield came out of this looking strong, putting in an excellent showing on their debut. Kane had some good offence before his night being ended through the Timekeeper's area. Little disappointed that that was his last action as he was down for quite a while between then and the end of the match.

Ryback looked quite weak in this match. Even though The Shield worked extremely well as a team throughout the match, he only had a couple of comeback spots in the match. In the end, he didn't really get the revenge that he was after - this won't quite be over yet then. Daniel Bryan took the fall as expected, but as I've said before, he and Kane will move straight on to other things now. No damage done to them.

I also think there's no damage done to Ryback. Although this is his third straight pay-per-view loss, he still hasn't lost decisively - he only missed out on making the save in this match due to putting Rollins through the table near the top of the entrance ramp. The Shield needed this more anyway.
Winners: The Shield

Diva's Championship: Eve (c) vs Naomi (one of Brodus' bitches)
Naomi won the Santa's Helpers Diva Battle Royal on the pre-show to earn her spot in this match. Unfortunately, there was only going to be one winner here though. I was half tempted to forward it at this match but Naomi did come up with some decent athletic stuff that caught my eye - possible potential? She messed up a little towards the end of the match but I suppose that's to be expected as she's new to matches? Prolonged the Eve vs Kaitlyn crap though...
Winner: Eve (c)

World Heavyweight Championship - Chairs match:
Big Show (c) vs Sheamus
I thought this match might have had half a chance of being the main event seeing as Punk is injured and there was no WWE Title match on the card. Clearly, the WHC still isn't worthy of that position.

These two gave another great showing - I'm always weary with Big Show matches as the guy is too big to have a 'great' match but by the sounds of the last two months, coupled with this one; these two have put on some really watchable bouts.

Really liked seeing White Noise through the chairs - love how Show joins hands round Sheamus' body so he doesn't go anywhere during this move! Looks very impressive every time though. Finish was decisive as Show got a Big Show-sized chair to put Sheamus down for the fall. Hopefully the end of this feud now as three months is more than you get for a feud these days.
Winner: Big Show (c)

All Champions have successfully defended their Championships at TLC this year. I think that's quite important that this happens more often than not, as hopefully somewhere in the future, these Championships will be as important as they deserve to be. Hopefully people will start to say how much they want to be champion in future - that would be better than just wanting to fight the champion just for the sake of fighting! Wade Barrett's the only one I can think of that wants the belt that he's challenging for - all the others just want to beat up the guy that they're chasing.

3MB vs The Miz, Alberto Del Rio & The Brooklyn Brawler
Winners: Miz, ADR & Brawler after Brawler with the Walls of Jericho (Brooklyn Crab)

Ladder match for World Heavyweight Championship MITB:
Dolph Ziggler (holder) vs John Cena
A well deserved main event spot if they were going to do the right thing in this match. Luckily, they did do the right thing in letting Ziggler go over Cena. It wasn't clean, but that doesn't matter - Dolph was atop of the ladder as the pay-per-view ended.

And as predicted, AJ turned on Cena. Good. This will be explored further tomorrow on Raw, but hopefully it won't overshadow Dolph's win - he deserves and needs the spotlight after this win - it will add to his momentum.

A sour note for me was that at the end, Cena was almost smiling?! I really wish he would be pissed about losing a match for once - this is possibly why there is so much anger towards him. He just shrugs off losses like they don't mean anything. Even though he gets opportunity after opportunity, he should be pissed with the last loss as if it was his last chance - not like he knows he'll get another shot a week later.

Some really encouraging positives to this event;

• JBL really impressed me on commentary in this event - he really promoted guys that needed it - Cesaro, Rhodes, Sandow, The Shield - Michael Cole said that The Shield had the numbers advantage to which JBL corrected him and said that the numbers were even; it was that The Shield worked better as a unit - that was the difference. Excellent points made throughout by the wrestling god.
• All 'future' WWE stars got the attention and promo time needed to get their points/voices across: Rhodes and Sandow started this trend at the start of the night, Cesaro had an after match interview and Barrett and Ziggler (in particular) got interviewed backstage to complete this deserved spotlight on the guys that will carry the company in the future.

WWE TLC Preview

This Sunday sees, quite possibly, the most important, intriguing and unpredictable pay-per-views of the year. This is the first time in a very long time. It also sees some new talent being showcased (some for the first time), and some opportunities that MUST be taken.

The undercard sees some opportunities to elevate some very talented individuals - Antonio Cesaro and Wade Barrett - both involved in mid-card title matches.

Cesaro will, again, defend his US Championship against R-Truth. I still don't understand why they are taking this onto another month. Cesaro defeated Truth cleanly last outing and that should've been the last of this. Truth is not good enough (IMO) to be competing for any title - apart from the tag titles - he's been doing the same thing for ten years now (apart from this stupid Little Jimmy crap). Is this really the American that's going to dethrone Cesaro? I think not.

Barrett will challenge Kofi Kingston for the Intercontinental Championship. These two have been thrown together due to outside circumstances - Barrett can't be entered into the World Title picture just yet as Show/Sheamus/Ziggler/Cena are probably going to be the main players there for the foreseeable future, and Kofi's feud with Miz, after defeating him for the strap, got cut off so that Miz could attempt to become a face...

I'm really hoping that this will steal the show as both guys need it. Barrett needs a good showing and will probably win the belt. This alone will keep his momentum going as he's doing well at the moment and can handle himself on the mic. Kofi, on the other hand, needs something special to come of this match. The newly titled 'Wildcat' has been in the same spot since his debut a few years ago. I'm not quite sure what this new tagline refers to - does it mean he's got a bit more of a wild side? If so, I haven't seen it yet; same old Kofi, if you ask me.

With the tag champions in the main event (I'm still assuming the main event is the 6-man tag?), there will be a number one contenders match between Team Rhodes Scholars and Rey/Sin Cara. Rhodes returned (#cody'smustache) on Raw this week and he and Sandow won a fatal four way, elimination match over Primo/Epico, The Prime Time Players and The Usos. It still baffles me as to why Rey and his apprentice were automatically inserted into this match? I think a better way to play this would've been a Tag Team Turmoil match with all the tag teams there are at the moment. Either that or have the fatal four way but have Rey/Sin Cara replace Primo/Epico - they job to everyone from Ryback to Khali so it would be no loss. I'm thinking the only outcome here is a Rhodes/Sandow win.

There are three decent looking main events on offer;

Big Show vs Sheamus could've taken over the main event spot with CM Punk out. It hasn't though, and seems as though this must be the last in their series of matches. In recent weeks Ziggler and Cena have been pushed further towards these two and the World Title, and this leads me to think that the two matches will be connected in some way - I think all things point towards a cash in - more on this later.

Ryback seems to have kept his main event spot on the card even though the match has changed. Instead of challenging for the WWE Title for a third PPV running, The Hungry One will team with Kane and Daniel Bryan to take on the troublesome Shield faction. This is an adequate replacement for the Championship match as it highlights the newcomers and gives the WWE Title a well-deserved break. The biggest problem to this match is who will win?

Ryback has lost the last two PPV main events and could really do with a win - without this there is a chance that this seemingly unstoppable force's credibility could be dented. On the other hand, The Shield could also do with the debut win. They have caused havoc in the last few weeks and have picked off such guys as Cena, Miz and Orton (as well as their three opponents at the PPV) and have some great potential going forward. A loss so soon could make the last month for nothing.

I think an easy way out would be for Kane or Bryan to take the fall. It wouldn't hurt the Tag Champs to lose as after this match they will go onto other ventures. This result would mean that The Shield have their debut win and Ryback hasn't taken the fall - hopefully keeping him strong. I suppose a Shield win could then result in Ryback destroying the three at the end of the PPV, thus getting his revenge.

The most important match of the night comes in the form of a Ladder match for the MITB briefcase between holder Dolph Ziggler and John Cena.

This match has come as a result of an awful angle in which Cena and AJ Lee were accused of having a scandalous affair. Shocking eh? Despite this, we have the match that we've hoped for. There is a real opportunity to get Ziggler to that next stage in his career. It's an opportunity that can't be missed.

The problem is there is a genuine threat, and possibility, that Cena could walk away with the briefcase - and possibly the World Title - if he were to cash in on the same night. This is a scenario that should not happen if they want to 'blood' a new star and make him (Ziggler) a genuine contender. Cena doesn't need the MITB briefcase - he's the first guy to win MITB (back in July) only to cash in and be the first to fail in his attempt. Only Cena could get away with doing so. Since then he has had at least two WWE Championship matches that I can think of - so clearly there is absolutely no need to have him take Ziggler's spotlight. It just doesn't seem to make sense at all. If they REALLY want Cena in the World Title picture at the moment, why not just give him a match for it? This is common practice for him to be apart of a championship match whenever it suits, so why not?

If they really have faith in Ziggler and want a new and genuine threat to the main event scene then they have to have him go over Cena - clean or not - and then possibly cash in on the winner of the World Title match (possibly Sheamus to set up a feud for the Rumble?).

Fantasy booking: With ultra-crazy AJ back in full force, I'm still going with AJ screwing Cena out of the win, but now with a little extra twist; maybe in the ladder match, AJ 'accidently' causes Cena to lose and then, if/when Ziggler cashes in, she comes out to ruin it for Ziggler (after messing the ladder match up) but then instead helps him to win the big one - revealing that she's been with Dolph all this time. Crazy maybe, but everyone seems to be throwing their predictions about, so there's mine.

Of course, this could all be crap and they could have the World Title match on before the Ladder match. Either way, we've got some unpredictability about this pay-per-view and that can only be a positive. We just don't know what's going to happen. Enjoy TLC on Sunday...

WWE Raw rant 10/12/2012

I've decided to shorten my Raw rants from this week on as the three hour shows, as well as making notes on everything throughout, is sucking the life out of me! I also decided that I would try to watch the show and try not to jot everything down, every minute! I need to start to enjoy Raw again as the three hours is really becoming a chore - it's been said before, and it'll continue to be said by everyone, that the three hours unneeded - matches have become longer and in some ways this is a good thing. On the other hand, some of these matches result in a non-finish or run-in and this makes that 10-15 minutes given to a match seem for nothing  if you're going to screw a match then do it after 3 minutes! Everything else feels like way too much filler.

From now on I'm going to focus on the main parts and anything else that REALLY stood out - as I did a few weeks ago. For some reason, in the last few weeks since then I've commented (or felt like I have) on everything that's gone on. I mean, my time shouldn't be taken by The Great Khali and Hornswoggle for even a minute?!

The show kicked off with Dolph Ziggler atop of a ladder, with the MITB briefcase hanging from the ceiling. This was another good promo from the man that is a World Title run away from being a main event mainstay. He rightly pointed out how many opportunities Cena's had and how many he's squandered - and now Vince is dangling ANOTHER carrot (briefcase) for Cena to get ANOTHER chance at gold. Sheamus and Show came out to continue their non-contact crap to end this segment.

I feel as though Cena is part of this situation as they want to keep him occupied whilst the Punk/Rock match at Royal Rumble is around the corner. I've also read several articles that have predicted that Rock vs Cena at Wrestlemania could be a unification match - I really don't think this will happen and I really hope it doesn't either. Rocky doesn't deserve that type of match - he's going to be about on-and-off for three months before leaving again and that magnitude of match should be reserved for the guys that are about 365 days of the year. Also, DO NOT give that briefcase to Cena - he messed up the WWE Title contract so why does he get a crack at the other one?

This week saw the return of 'crazy' AJ. In the last few weeks, AJ has been fairly sane compared with earlier this year when she was involved with Daniel Bryan and CM Punk. After being given a 'main event' level match with Vickie later in the night, she seemed to regain her ultra-unstable tendencies - going in the men's locker room and embarrassing Cena, and later, going psycho when she lost to Vickie. Towards the end of the show she wanted to accompany Cena to the ring but was told to stay back as it could be dangerous. I don't think this sat well with her.

As I said at the start of the last paragraph; I felt that she returned the craziness this week - and with my (as others have) prediction that she might ruin Cena's chances in the ladder match with Ziggler, this is fitting for her to act this way, and this extreme, again.

The fatal four way tag team match (elimination match, apparently) featured the return of Cody Rhodes. This return wasn't hyped at all. He was teaming up with usual tag partner Damien Sandow to face The Usos, The Prime Time Players and Primo/Epico. The winner of this would then go on to face Rey and Sin Cara at TLC to determine the number one contenders. Why are they automatically in that match? Did I miss something?

It's good that now Cody is back the tag team division can resume. The champions have been involved with The Shield seeing as Punk is out for a few weeks and with Cody out, the tag division went a bit quiet. Now it's back; we have a mustache'd Cody, Team Rhodes Scholars can now finally get the gold, and the Usos gave a great showing in this match - eliminating both Primo/Epico and the Prime Time Players. It was pretty easy to see Cody/Damien winning this match and probably going on to beat Rey/Sin Cara (again) at TLC.

Later on MizTV, Cody and Damien were promoted further. Miz tried his hardest to get one over on them but was put in his place by Sandow mocking him. Babyface Miz has a lot of work to do - repeating 'really?' over and over and over again is going to get REALLY boring, REALLY quickly.

Raw finished with a good old fashioned mass-brawl involving all the main event guys from the TLC matches - with the exception of Sheamus and Show not being able to touch each other. The Shield kicked this off by attacking Cena for the first time - leading many to jump on the theory that they are working for Ziggler - hmmm not sure about that one; he was probably the only top level face they hadn't gone for.

This brought out Bryan/Kane/Sheamus to add numbers to the faces. The only thing left after this was the 'Austin' style run-in by the popular monster face - in this case the role of Austin was played by Ryback. Kind of like the watered down, PG era version of an Austin, breaking glass entrance!

Last note of this last segment/match on Raw was Lawler's comment to Ziggler with regards to the upcoming ladder/MITB match at TLC: I could've sworn Lawler said that the briefcase 'was' Ziggler's. Is that a Michael Cole-esque, Wrestlemania 15 cock-ups letting us know that he'll lose the contract to Cena on Sunday??

Other notes from Raw;

• They combined the IC and US title storylines again this week. Fair enough having Cesaro, Barrett and Kofi (just) but Truth needs to go away. Cesaro with more momentum this week - star in the making!
• Zack Ryder continues to job to Del Rio - he managed to last over 5 minutes this time around though. With more Cena plugging on Twitter, Ryder will soon have another crappy mid-card title run...
• Get Khali and Hornswoggle off my TV/laptop!!!
• Vince had his hand up Vickie's arse again this week - getting her to take the fall for his decisions. Let her do her job or get rid of her!
• The Best in the World (and Raw) made an appearance to reinforce that he's the reason we tune into Raw each week - even with a dodgy knee, Punk MUST be on Raw every week - we need him. I think he's still suffering from the effects of his surgery though as he seems to think he's been champ for 388 days? Last week was 379 so this week must be 386! I suppose even Punk's allowed a mistake every now and then...

The End of the 'Part-Timers'

Before I get into this, I want to make it clear that I fully understand why the following argument won't happen. The WWE is a business and has dollars signs in its eyes, and unfortunately always will have. As a fan, I don't really care about this side of things - I want to see good old fashioned story telling and attention stealing matches. That's all I want. Surely that's going to make them millions not just in the short term, but more importantly, the long term?

My problem is the part time wrestlers that come and go when they please. I realise that when they do then it adds to the PPV buys and raises the viewership for that particular Raw/Smackdown etc, but then what? It benefits them and no one else as far as the following six months to a year go. The 'casual' fan that tuned into see them return will soon go back to what they were watching before; very few will stay after, say, The Rock leaves again.

I'll start with this gentleman: The Rock will, once again, return to the WWE at the Royal Rumble and have a undeserved WWE Championship match against whoever that may be - despite the injury it will be CM Punk. Although I love to see The Rock back, it's never going to be a long term thing. He'll be there for the build up to the Rumble, then the PPV, and then again at Wrestlemania.

A friend and I were talking a few months ago and we predicted that Punk would keep the belt until the Rumble, lose it to Rock, who in turn would lose it to Cena at 'mania. The closer we get to RR, the bigger the nightmare this prospect is beginning to be. I don't want The Rock to win - and I'm a massive fan of his from over ten years ago. I just don't see what good (apart from financially) comes from this? And why should wrestling be that predictable that we can have such a good idea of what's to come so far in advance?

If Rock wins the title then he's hardly going to appear on Raw/WWE TV until Wrestlemania where he will probably drop the belt to Cena or back to Punk. How are we any further forward by doing so? There is so much wrong with him winning that belt:

• No belt/champion on TV through the majority of February and March 2013
• It's a slap in the face to Punk after holding the belt for so long
• It's a slap in the face to all the contenders that have been defeated by Punk along the way in the last 383+ days of his reign. They are full timers and couldn't get the job done, but a guy who's been away for the best part of ten years comes in and wins
• It's a slap in the face to the current crop of up-and-comers who work their arses off all year round to gain a top spot, and then a movie star is just going to come in and be handed the belt

If you must have Rock back then just have him in money making, nothing matches that don't have an impact on things that are of value. He's not going to be around for long enough for it to be important. It's too predictable as he will lose the belt.

I've read several things that said if he were to win the title, he could parade it around movie premiers and other Hollywood gatherings to gain exposure for the WWE - really? Wrestling would then continue to be the laughing stock when the media asks him about why he's parading around with it when he hasn't been in the WWE properly since 2003. It'll be their excuse to belittle this sparkly, blingy trophy over his shoulder.

As I've said before, this will gain more viewers for the Wrestlemania season but then they will stop viewing as soon as Rock leaves - and he will leave. All that will be left is the 'second rate' superstars, who aren't trusted enough to carry the show and that had to play second fiddle to him through the first quarter of the year. Who wants to see them losers? Casual fans won't.

Others of note that have come back (briefly) are Triple H and Brock Lesnar.

Triple H has got it made; a job for life; he doesn't need to come back at all. He had the 'end of era' match with Taker earlier this year at Wrestlemania 28 and stole the show. Again. Although a match of this magnitude was needed to continue Taker's streak and better the previous year, it overshadowed the new breed of guys trying to be the next megastars. Hunter then came back again to engage in a feud with Brock Lesnar - another match that was great, made dollars, but didn't elevate anyone new and ultimately took the spotlight at Summerslam. It again saw the disappearance of Brock from WWE TV - and we're now in December and he still hasn't come back.

Speaking of Brock; the last eight months seem to have been for nothing. He came back just after Wrestlemania to an ovation I haven't heard in a very long time. This still confuses me as the audience in attendance would've been made up of adults that would know who Lesnar is/was, but mainly kids who have no clue who he is, and what he's done before, no? Still an epic pop, though.

Overall, Brock hasn't been used very well. If he's there to generate money then fair enough - he's done this twice this year with his matches with Cena and Hunter. He hasn't really benefited anything else though. He hasn't elevated anyone or been associated with anyone (apart from Paul Heyman, who doesn't need any elevation/promoting). Obviously he has a limited amount of appearances and they are clearly saving him for the Wrestlemania season. I suppose the obvious choice is a rematch with Hunter. Again, with all the good they're doing at the moment with Punk's reign, The Shield, Ziggler on the up, Cesaro, Barrett, Miz etc, how is a HHH vs Brock match benefiting these developments/the future? Please do not renew Brock's appearance-based contract...

Other people who could be classed as 'part time' are Chris Jericho and Undertaker:

Jericho has come and gone in the last few years and this is to be expected with his music career - fair play to him for doing everything that he has in his wrestling career and managing to find something that isn't going to wreck his body. He also deserves credit as his return this year attempted to benefit others around him - he started the year by feuding and losing to Punk at Wrestlemania - what a great notch for Punk to knock off a guy that's been all over the world and done everything in wrestling. Punk solidified the 'best in the world' tag after that one. Jericho also helped with Sheamus over on Smackdown for a time, but his biggest contribution could be to Dolph Ziggler.

After an awesome match at Summerslam that helped Ziggler even though he lost, Jericho then put him over on Raw the following night and also gave Ziggler the chance to brag that he 'exiled' Jericho from the WWE. This is what should be done on the way out - pass the torch.

Undertaker is a special case. From day one he has been a top star and has had something different to every other main event guy since. He has stood the test of time, changed with the times and has always been 'must see'. The Streak has reached 20-0 and I really don't see anyone breaking that - if someone ever did then it would be a huge deal; I just don't see anyone worthy of that gift. It's become something that should be unblemished. Although, Taker is a part timer, he is a Wrestlemania attraction and deserves the schedule he has had. He is the longest serving (current) superstar and respect has been earned. If he were to finally retire, I'm sure he wouldn't risk hurting his legacy with a return years later.

To sum up, I feel that part timers need to contribute something other than money in the future - preferably not coming back at all. The Rock winning the WWE Championship does nothing for the future - if anything, it halts things as a guy who won't be about by the end of April is going to win the title that has regained some of its prestige in recent months. It's also made things more predictable in the last few months as it's been known that The Rock was going to compete for the title as long ago as Raw 1000 in July. This was the same case when it was known a year in advance that he would headline Wrestlemania earlier this year with Cena.

Triple H needs to stick to the corporate role and look forward to running things from top to bottom. He's part of the furniture now, has a new haircut and has done everything in wrestling - end of an era should have been the end.

Brock Lesnar should not come back for another years worth of 'appearances' unless he's going to become a mainstay - something that will never happen as he's too much of a big deal without wrestling. Also, his style/attitude/strengths would not work in the WWE's PG world.

Thank you to Chris Jericho for investing in the future and giving the rub where needed. Good luck in your future endeavours sir...

Finally... Rock, please come back if you really, really have to - you are still electrifying when you come back, but you're now a movie star - come back in matches that don't hurt great work (Punk's reign) and future chances (all the up-and-comers trying to get in the main event picture). Even though you think you're doing good, you're just delaying others making the top. Also, by potentially parading around Hollywood with the WWE title and gaining attention for the WWE; you will highlight to a wider audience that the current crop of stars aren't up to standard yet and that's why your presence has been needed the last few Wrestlemanias.

Rock, simply pass the torch and go...

WWE Raw rant 3/12/2012 + Punk/TLC update

I watched Raw in full at my brother's this week. Them three hours really dragged! It's probably just a rumour and a mistake by the TV guide(s) in America, but I hope they do go back to two hours again - just do it and don't even make mention to it - I'll forgive you instantly and get on with my life!

This weeks edition of Raw gave us a lot of The Shield - creating more enemies that will eventually come back to bite them in the arse. Two enemies that continued from last week were Kane and Daniel Bryan; these two starting off Raw 'united' - walking to the ring together and DB in a more serious mood (no 'no' chants/shouting). They started off against The Prime Time Players - a cover for the inevitable decent from the sky box of The Shield. This all ended with a win for Kane and D Bryan and a beatdown from the three former NXTers.

In the backstage, there was a nice arse-licking segment between the ultimate good guys - John Cena and Sheamus - is Sheamus Cena's apprentice; to get him to be as annoying as him when he finally hangs his boots up?

AJ vs Tamina free on TV? So they're not going with this on a PPV at some point? This makes me think further that they're going to ditch this angle and have AJ turn on Cena at TLC. I'm unsure where that leaves Tamina though? Would she instantly turn face as a result?

Punk out next with Heyman. He rants that it's unfair that he has to defend against Ryback for a third time. He also goes onto say that he's the reason that people tune into watch - also agreeing with us all that three hours is a chore! Please have a word with Vince...

Out comes Miz to confront him about taking a lie detector test to prove that he has no connection to The Shield. Along the way there was a very interesting personal aspect to this. As well as getting Miz in contention for a future WWE Title challenge, I think there was possibly some true feelings brought out in this segment. There were a few hints to how Punk feels about Miz backstage - this was evident in the CM Punk dvd when Punk said that he wasn't best pleased that Miz main evented 'Mania a couple of years ago.

Really not a big fan of the Cena/Sheamus vs Ziggler/Show match - stereo finishers followed by a Cena pin on Ziggler. Second week running. This surely makes it inevitable that Ziggler will retain the MITB at TLC? Cena already had the WWE MITB contract and messed it up so why does he deserve a shot at the World Title contract? Also, Dolph has been on a good run since Survivor Series and after the last two weeks needs to beat Cena to carry that on. If he loses at TLC, he's back to square one. How many chances will Cena keep getting??

Brad Maddox and Vickie have a conversation about him getting another shot at getting a contract. After sucking up a bit he gets that opportunity - against Randy Orton. Nice, simple squash - followed by The Shield beating down Orton. Maddox definitely needs to be part of this group eventually otherwise he'll be back on NXT for good if he keeps getting battered after two minutes. I got thinking about these four new guys - how come The Shield can just run riot and that's ok, but Maddox has to earn a contract? They're both former NXTers so why can't he just be part of Raw as they've done? Flaw...

I keep reading how the Alberto Del Rio vs Sin Cara match was so good. It was pretty good, but I swear Sin Cara messed quite a few moves/spots? Most notably for me was the Handspring Back Elbow that he just about connected with. Maybe I was being too picky here.

I always like seeing Vince back but not sure about pushing Vickie into decisions like he has the last couple of appearances on Raw. He put her in that role and now seems to monitor how she's doing from time to time - she's had this type of role before so what's the need for his appearance? Take your hand from out of her arse! As well as making Ziggler vs Cena at TLC (Ladder match; MITB contract on the line), she (Vince) also makes it that if Punk lies in lie detector test, then Heyman has to face Ryback next week.

Vickie is confronted in the back, first by Dolph - not impressed by having to defend the briefcase (again) and then by Heyman - great little stare down; I wondered who was going to blink first?!
Prediction: Just lately, Vickie hasn't overdone the 'excuse me' crap and has been bullied a lot. She's also had Dolph read her the riot act. If AJ does align with him at TLC, I can see Vickie becoming face sometime soon - her and AJ can't both be heel? Still not sure exactly of AJ's motives but they can always go with the 'crazy' card again.

Tag match between Cesaro/Barrett vs Kofi/R-Truth is ready and waiting before Teddy Long comes out. He decides that either the US or IC title will be on the line and a Raw Active vote will decide which. Three minutes later and the votes are in(??) - the heel champion has to defend. Shock there, eh?

This was a great move by Long - maybe he should make fatal four ways in future as they turn out better than his usual favourite match type! A really entertaining match was topped off by a great finish - everyone performing their finishers before Cesaro caught Kofi in the Neutraliser (complete with hands connected at the last minute, so that it's not a Styles Clash!) for another deserved win. His build has been great since day one and this goes nicely before their Champion vs Champion match on Main Event. It's no bother to Kofi that he lost this - he's been in the same spot for a few years now. I still hope that he and Barrett do each other proud and up the value of that great title. Please do not devalue the US belt by giving it to Truth at TLC, though...

The Main Event was the lie detector test on MizTV. As I said before, there was a lot of personal digs here between Punk and Miz - I hope this gets Miz in contention as Raw is in dire need of another/different face challenging. The Miz isn't quite ready but he's (worryingly) possibly the best hope there is at the moment.

When the test came down to the all-important question of whether Punk is in cahoots with The Shield, the three newbies entered the scene to beat on Miz and trash the MizTV set. After Kane, Daniel Bryan and eventually Ryback cleared the ring, Punk was left alone with Miz. After berating him and kicking him out of 'his' ring, Ryback appeared behind him and used a table, a ladder and a chair to leave the champion in a heap as Raw ended. What match are they meant to be having at TLC?...

Verdict
Again, there were some positives this week. Unfortunately the three hours really did me in this week!

The Shield were all over the show this week and it was nice to see that they made some new enemies (Orton/Miz). The only worry here is that all these new foes will all gang up on the three and send them packing. Although my prediction of a Ryback/Kane/D Bryan vs The Shield main event this week didn't happen,there is news today (Wednesday) that I've read that Punk's out of TLC (knee injury) and the 6-man tag is in place as the new main event. I'll take that one.

Even though Punk can't wrestle at TLC, it's good that they're giving the WWE Title a break for one PPV - they should've taken this opportunity at Survivor Series and left him in the 5on5). I hope that the World Title gets top billing as a result - this will give it a bit of worth back. Either that or the 6-man tag will stay as the main event; there will need to be a prize in this match though and I'm not sure if the Tag Titles will cut it.

• Last note on Raw was another nice promo from Damien Sandow followed a comedy match with Santino - by far the funniest guy on Raw. Sandow reacted accordingly and got an easy win. You're Welcome!

Gimmick Pay-Per-Views (Part 3)

This is the third and final part of my look at the gimmick pay-per-views that the WWE give to us each year. This section will look at quite possibly the gimmickiest part of the year.

Events discussed here will be Hell in a Cell, Survivor Series and TLC (Tables, Ladders and Chairs). This will be followed by my verdict on what these gimmick pay-per-views brings - and takes away - to/from feuds and the wrestling year.

Hell in a Cell - October

"Hell in a Cell matches are rare in the WWE as it is designed to be the climax to most feuds. There have only been 26 such matches in WWE, 23 of which have been broadcast on pay-per-view events due to the logistical difficulty in setting them up and it's perception as a special attraction due to the nature of the match." - Wikipedia

I found this description and it sums up this match type very well. The Hell in a Cell ppv debuted in 2009, but the actual match type was first presented to us in October 1997 when Shawn Michaels defeated Undertaker after interference from a debuting Kane.

Throughout the years, the Hell in a Cell match has been seen as a - if not the most - brutal match type where there is no way out - this match will end by pinfall or submission. It always was the way to finish a feud - Michaels/Taker, Triple H v Cactus Jack at No Way Out 2000, Undertaker vs Randy Orton at Armageddon 2005. This last feud in particular ran nearly all of 2005 before ending in the cell match.

This match type should not be restricted to October only, though. It should be utilised as and when a feud needs it. By having it in the October slot every year, we know that the WWE Title will be defended in this type of match a year in advance - what if that feud isn't ready for a Hell in a Cell?

One match that has always stood out to me as being this case is CM Punk vs Undertaker from the Hell in a Cell ppv in 2009. After winning the World Title at Summerslam, it was announced that Punk would defend the title against Undertaker at the following Breaking Point ppv. After the disputed finish to that match a rematch was to take place at the debuting Hell in a Cell ppv in October of that year - I never felt that this feud warranted this match type at that point. It seems that it was simply because that pay-per-view was happening in October so that was the match type that was going to happen regardless.

Survivor Series - November
Survivor Series was the second main pay-per-view put in place in 1987. This would be a Thanksgiving night tradition that would rival Starrcade (NWA/WCW).

The first four events, between 1987 and 1990 would see four man teams taking on each other to see who could 'survive' the match. These matches also included the WWE champion, whoever that was each year. This would change from 1991, when Undertaker defeated Hulk Hogan in a separate singles match for his first title reign in WWE.

This tradition of four man teams continued until the 1998 edition where a tournament was put in place to determine a new WWE Champion. This would be the start of the death of how the Survivor Series should be. 1999 saw a return to the 4on4 team set up and then from 2000 onwards there have been no more than three survival matches on the card (usually there is only one). This years Survivor Series added a 5on5 elimination match at the last minute to highlight the growing tag team division - this is also what Survivor Series is about - teams. It's a great way of showing off the tag teams that there are each year; therefore strengthening that area and giving them some much needed exposure.

There seems to be such a great opportunity with this pay-per-view to take a break from the usual. By having survival matches throughout the card - including the WWE Champion - means that titles can be rested for a month and feuds can continue but in a different way. There are several ways that a person can be eliminated in this match type and feel hard done by, leading to a continuation of that particular feud. It seems to make sense to the feud and the tradition of this great event.

TLC (Tables, Ladders and Chairs) - December
The TLC match is a glorified ladder match, with the addition of tables and chairs. The first match of this type was at Summerslam in 2000 between Edge/Christian v Dudley Boys v Hardy Boys. These six men made this match a must see and followed it up with a rematch on a slighty grander scale at Wrestlemania the following year.

Over the years there have been a little over ten such matches used at various times throughout the year. There have also been ladder matches and tables matches. This is the beauty and versatility of this match type as there are three match types coming together to make a standard ladder match look a million dollars. This match type/ppv gives a chairs match a higher standing, too, as this could be seen as boring in comparison to the other two.

I don't think this particular pay-per-view is a bad thing. It's exciting and brings together different match types into one massive opportunity to highlight the different combinations that you can use these weapons in.

The Verdict
After looking through the pay-per-view calender, I can see some positives and potential mainstays. Unfortunately, there are a lot of gimmicky pay-per-views that need to be reduced to 'as and when' they are needed.

It goes without saying that Wrestlemania, Summerslam, Royal Rumble and Survivor Series have got to remain. They are traditions and each bring something different to the table - if not for match type, they are a presence purely because of their name.

I think a lot of themed ppvs could be toned down to simply singles/title matches instead of the need for a fixed stipulation main event each year. Extreme Rules, Over the Limit and No Way Out could just be regular pay-per-views with added stipulations when they are needed. With all the other gimmick ppvs throughout the year, it would be nice to simply have a event of regular matches. I think when you look at Money in the Bank and TLC they are very similar - basically ladder matches with a prize hanging (Title/Contract) - therefore I would say that the Money in the Bank ppv could be sacrificed and simply have the match back on the card at Wrestlemania - it would give the winner more of a rub. It should only be one match, too. As I've said before, if there is only one Mr MITB then there is an even bigger unpredictability of when they are going to cash in and WHO they might cash in on. It also means the sole focus is on that one guy.

Wrestlemania is the main show of the year but it's not so much the titles that take centre stage as it is the spectacle of the night and the boiling points of the feuds. Therefore Night of Champions is a welcome addition to the calender. It focuses on the titles - something that doesn't happen too often these days. If done right, this ppv could help to reclaim the different title's prestige so that they mean something again.

The two pay-per-views that I have the biggest issues with are the Elimination Chamber and Hell in a Cell events. These two match types are brutal and career changing. They need to be utilised as and when they are needed along the way of a feud - preferably ending a feud. They are such attractions that having them annually (in the same spot in the calender) will dilute the perception that they are dangerous and a last resort to ending a heated rivalry. Maybe the Chamber ppv could stay as it is harder to get six guys together in one match without the excuse of this match. The Hell in a Cell needs to remain a match type used when it's absolutely necessary, though.

Of course, I realise that the point of all these events ultimately is money. The WWE is a business and as long as the dollars keep rolling in then they're happy. The downside to this is that the product is going to suffer in the long term. I worry that one day, the writers will forget how to put a great feud together and tell a compelling story. If gimmick pay-per-views continue to populate the calender then all we're going to get is exciting matches with no investment in the characters themselves. I need to care about a person in order for me to care if they're going to win a match or not.

(Hope you enjoyed my look at the WWE's Pay-Per-View calender. For more posts read the rest of my blog and follow me on Twitter: @jimmosangle for future notifications of posts!)