A mouthpiece opinion No.1 - The Jeri-troll

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...

Home Schooling No.16

Hello again readers, I'm (finally) back. I do have to apologise for not keeping up with the regular blogging, I've had a fair bit of stuff happening and it's been hard to find the time to write anything of substance. But I am back now, and I will endeavour to write at least one post a week, with a semi-regular article now and then on sltdwrestling and pwjournal as well.

So... what exactly do I plan to talk about, I hear you ask? Well, this week I'm going to focus on a few key points that I've been wanting to talk about. Over the Limit was just about a week ago, and I'm still thinking about it. I made a last minute decision to order the Pay Per View, and I have to say, overall I wasn't disappointed. Well, up until the Fatal 4-way match I wasn't overly impressed, but that match, along with CM Punk/Daniel Bryan and also the Cena/Laurinitis match really made it worthwhile, in my opinion at least.

So Over the Limit will be one topic of conversation, namely the two main event matches. This week's episode of Monday Night Raw will be another, and finally I will probably get into some of the news items that I've read in the last week or so, like the announcement of Raw going to 3 hours, the recent news of Jericho's suspension, and a couple of interesting TNA news bits as well.

So let's get down to business.

Over the Limit. A decent event with a terrible name. What's wrong with Judgement Day, Unforgiven, Backlash, or No Mercy? But I'm not here to talk about the name.

I want to talk about two of the matches. Namely, CM Punk vs Daniel Bryan, and John Cena vs John Laurinitis. The Fatal 4-way was a really good match as well, and just quickly, I thought Jericho's performance in said match was right up there with the best performance of the night. And he hasn't been "buried". Zack Ryder has been buried. Look at the difference.

Ok enough about that.

Let's start with Punk and Bryan.

A classic. A possible match of the year candidate. But more than that, this match proved that the WWE is moving into a new era. Or at least, if they keep this feud going it will. This is what people have been asking for, and in some cases demanding for years. Wanting WRESTLING. When is the last time we saw a surfboard submission hold, or a curb stomp kind of move?

The crowd was into this match so much because it's what we've wanted to see. It feels like somebody in the WWE has finally listened to the people. Punk and Bryan told an amazing story with what they did, with all the counters and moves that weren't just a part of their normal everyday repetoire, showing that they can adapt and bring something new to the table. Having had such similar careers, having had so many matches in the past, we're getting to see a polished version of a Punk/Danielson match.

Punk and Bryan are so similar, which I think is another reason that they work so well together. They both know submission wrestling, both of them use martial arts kicks, but guys are of that size that can perform power moves and look convincing, yet still small enough to do a bit of high-flying wrestling as well. To me that's the perfect type of wrestler, the combination of powerhouse and high-flyer, because it provides more opportunities for different matches, as opposed to someone like Batista, or Cena, who are more limited because of their size. Shawn Michaels is another guy who fits into that same build as Punk and Bryan, and we all know how good Shawn is.

What else can I say? It was just an amazing match. I thought the finish was great, a little bit less of a gap between the pinfall and Punk tapping would have made it just that little bit better, but I still can't really fault it. It leaves the story open for more matches, and hopefully the WWE lets this feud continue, at least until Money in the Bank, or possible Summerslam. The fact that they let Punk and Bryan go out there and put on this match for 30 minutes or so gives me a lot of hope.


Ok now let's talk about Cena and Laurinitis.

I saw a lot of people complaining on Twitter about this match, saying that it was a disgrace, it shouldn't have been the main event, and a lot of other negative things. But, I have quite a different point of view.

This match was just about as entertaining as Punk and Bryan. Sure, it was never going to be a wrestling classic, but for what it was, which really was what everyone has wanted to see ever since Laurinitis has been on TV, it was great.

If you can, watch it again, and listen to the commentary. Even Michael Cole was taking shots at Johnny Ace. It was hilarious. Speaking of commentary, the little spot they did where Cena and Ace had the headphones on and were doing impressions of Cole and Booker T... absolutely great.

Now this is where I'm probably going to rub people the wrong way. John Laurinitis earned my respect with this match. Let's talk in terms of the real side of wrestling. John Laurinitis let himself be humiliated for nearly 15 minutes at the start of this match. He had water poured down his pants, a fire extinguisher emptied onto him, and a trash can dumped on to him, and a bunch of other stuff. Plus that outfit.. if that's not embarrassing I don't know what is. Also, he showed that he can actually move somewhat decently in the ring, and deliver a damn good chair shot.

Now it was obvious to everyone with a brain cell that Big Show was going to come back, and help Johnny win. It was done well, but it was predictable. Sometimes predictable is good, but surprises to me are always better.

Anyway, I think this match deserves a second look, and more than that, needs to be viewed from the point of view that even though Johnny Ace isn't the greatest on the mic, and he's not that entertaining when he's talking, when he's being beaten up, he's not half bad.

And if you can't, just remember that at one time, Vince McMahon pissed his pants on Raw. Making an ass out of yourself when you're the boss helps get you over, and helps get over the guy beating you up.


Ok let's talk quickly about RAW.

I liked Big Show's promo, but it still feels just like more of the same from heel Big Show. I hope that the writers, or even Show himself can take it in a slightly different direction, just to keep it feeling a little fresh.

I also liked the little revenge segment with CM Punk and Bryan during Bryan's match with Kane. Any time that CM Punk is on commentary you know it's going to be entertaining. "I hate to see anybody get chokeslammed twice in a row".. He's so good on the microphone. I really wish that the WWE would give Punk more time on the mic, let him get back to what he was doing in July and August last year.

It does indeed appear that this feud is going to keep going. It might be a bit early to call this, but I feel like, if booked right, Punk/Bryan has the potential to get to the same level as Rock/Austin, or maybe Cena/Edge. But it has to be done right, and that possibility isn't the highest with the way the WWE has been going lately.

Speaking of Punk, that backstage segment with AJ was brilliant. Yet again Punk shows he's multi-faceted and talented in so many different ways. Subtle little movements and little words. Also I think AJ deserves a lot of credit for her extremely well played crazy chick, especially when Punk said "stop cyring" and she looked up at him all doe eyed and slightly smiling.. that was creepy.

I thought the very end of RAW was good as well, Big Show's punch to me came out of nowhere. It was well done, and helps re-establish Big Show as a legitimate threat to Cena, as opposed to the week before where he was a blubbering mess on his knees in the ring.

Ok and a few loose ends.

When are we going to get Kharma back? From what I've read, she's ready to come back, but the writers have nothing for her.. nothing for her??? She's the most dominant female wrestler of the last.. well possibly forever. Bring her back exactly the same way she was brought in last year. It worked then, it will work now. Job done WWE writers.. hire me instead!

Jericho has been suspended for messing with the Brazilian flag... We certainly are in a different era to 15 years ago when Shawn Michaels stuck the canadian flag up his nose aren't we? I understand it though, clearly there were some legal ramifications, and the WWE had to take some kind of action. Whether it's all a storyline or not, I like this reality era that we're getting at the moment, because we do get these instances of "is this real?" Which hasn't been around for a long time.

Ok that's about it for now, once again I apologise for how long it's taken me to write this. But fear not, I will be back to my regularly scheduled programming from now on.

Don't forget you can follow me on twitter if you're not already, at @TheOZMouthpiece and also check out my writing on sltdwrestling.blogspot.com
There's only two or three pieces up on there, but I think they're quite good, so if you haven't seen them, go there and click on the writers tab, find me, and take a look.

Also take a look at these two fine sites, which I have done writing for in the past.

http://pwjournal.wordpress.com

www.wrestlingheads.com

Until next time, I'm the Aussie Mouthpiece, and my business is concluded.

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. 

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.

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.

The calm before the storm: Extreme Rules

Hey guys, it's me, The Aussie Mouthpiece, and i'm back with my Extreme Rules predictions and preview.

So let's get right to it shall we?

Big Show vs Cody Rhodes

I'm not really sure what to say about this one. I would imagine that the WWE isn't done pushing Cody Rhodes, but I'm not really too interested in this feud to be perfectly honest. So I really don't have a lot to say about it. But, considering that Big Show won at Wrestlemania, and he's probably in that position these days of pushing younger talent, I'm going to say that Cody Rhodes is going to win this match.

Randy Orton vs Kane (Falls Count Anywhere)

Once again I'm not really sure what to say. Up until this latest episode of Raw I once again wasn't that interested in this feud. I think the writers really don't know what to do with it, even bringing in Bob Orton Jr, and Paul Bearer hasn't managed to make this rivalry much more interesting. Kane is always great when it comes to promos, but Orton is ... well... Orton. His character to me at least, has become stale and boring, and somewhat routine. I'm not really sure where this is going, but hopefully this is the end of this rivalry.

I'm going with Kane to win this one.


Nikki Bella vs Beth Phoenix (Diva's Championship)

I get the feeling there won't be much of a match, because the story here is going to be that Beth is injured. Whether it's a work or for real doesn't really matter, I think the general consensus (which i agree with) is that  Kharma is going to make her return and run through the Bellas, as their contract is up. I would be ok with this. It's beyond about time that some legitimate female competition happened in the WWE. For some reason they don't want the Beth vs Natalya match, but at least we'll get the Beth vs Kharma match. Which will be great.

Nikki Bella wins but gets destroyed by Kharma afterwards.


Sheamus vs Daniel Bryan (2 out of 3 falls)

At least we know this will be longer than 18 seconds. Unless it's three 6 second pinfalls. But surely the WWE won't do that. Right?

I have a feeling this will be a decent match. Daniel Bryan is developing somewhat of a cult following, and the Yes chants are, in a strange way, refreshing. I haven't seen a lot of smackdown recently honestly, but I have a feeling that Sheamus is going to keep the belt for a fair while longer.


CM Punk vs Chris Jericho (Chicago Street Fight)

Now we're getting into the interesting matches. Punk in his hometown defending the WWE championship. Jericho doing some really good heel work. It all adds up to what should be a really great match. Punk and Jericho have a really good chemistry in the ring, but with this being a street fight, it gives them a chance to show a different type of match to us.
My only problem will be that this match should be the main event. CM Punk is the WWE champion, and it's also his hometown. But I get the feeling that Lesnar and Cena will be in the top spot.

I'm not sure about who will win this match. Everything points to CM Punk retaining, with Jericho needing to get his come-uppance, and also because he's only there for a couple more months, but I have a seed of doubt, something saying that they might give Jericho the belt.

However, it's CM Punk's hometown, and they obviously have a lot of time and money invested in Punk. So my pick is that CM Punk wins, and retains the WWE Championship.


John Cena vs Brock Lesnar (Extreme Rules)

Ok. This match is interesting purely because it is Brock Lesnar's first match (in the WWE) for over 8 years. It's worth watching just to see if he's still got it, how he's changed his style with the MMA stuff, and if he's worth all the effort the WWE have put into him.

The way I see it, this match can go two or three ways. One is that Brock completely dominates Cena, and basically takes him out. Cena is out for a few months, and comes back just before Summerslam with a massive re-invention of his character.
Two: Cena comes out as a re-invented character, maybe new music, a new look, something. The chain was there in his second appearance on Raw, as opposed to the dog tags, but it's not enough. In this situation, I'm really not sure who would win.
Three: Brock wins, but without taking Cena out.

Either way, I can't see Lesnar not winning, and the final shot of the PPV being Lesnar on the turnbuckles, hands raised. Maybe there will be blood. Doubtful. But maybe.
Cena needs a revamp. I know they've just come out with the new colour of the cena shirt, but really, it's time. Edge said it. The Rock said it for a year. CM Punk has said it. Brock even said something about it.

It's time.

What I hope doesn't happen is John Cena winning. Not because I don't like him, or think he sucks, but it would kill Lesnar's momentum. He comes back as a massive animal, destroying everything in his path, and yet he gets beaten in his first actual match back? Why would I want to pay to see him in any other matches after that?

So, my pick is Brock Lesnar winning. and (hopefully) some kind of change for John Cena.


That's about it really. Oh wait, the pre-show match.
Santino vs The Miz (US Title).

The Miz is on the pre-show?? Wow. Last year he was in the main event. Ok then... Anyway, maybe this is the start of a push for him. He made a great US champion, so I guess lighning could strike twice, but I think Santino will retain for now.

That's it then. Hopefully it should be a decent show. I'll be tweeting along with all of you tomorrow live during the pay per view, so if you're not already, follow me @TheOZMouthpiece

That's about it really, my business is concluded.

Home Schooling No.12

Hello again faithful readers, it's time again for another class of home schooling, my weekly recap of the best in wrestling action, in my opinion at least.

This week as usual I will be talking about Monday Night Raw, but as an extra added bonus I will also talk about the live Smackdown special episode, as there were some interesting segments that warrant talking about.


It amazes me how fast things can change in wrestling. It's only been two episodes of Raw since Wrestlemania, and in fact only one episode since The Rock left again, but already it feels like a new beginning. I think we have Brock Lesnar's return to thank for that. It was literally in two hours, from the beginning of Raw with Rock thanking everyone, to the end of Raw last week, with Lesnar's return. That's how quick things can happen. And already it feels like a completely different show, even though the bulk of the feuds have been carried on from Wrestlemania.

Before I get into specifics, I want to talk about one other thing. I really like what they've done with Mark Henry in the last couple of weeks. I feel like he's been floundering a bit since he lost the World Heavyweight title. He was still a badass and really impressive, but it felt like he'd moved down a couple of steps. In a way that's a good thing, because it opens the door for new people to step up.
But in the last couple of weeks, with him in title matches against CM Punk, and especially with him getting victories over him, albeit dirty wins, it's really pushed him back into that top spot. I think it's highly possible that Jericho and Henry might form some kind of alliance in the coming weeks, especially if Punk and Jericho's feud is to continue after Extreme Rules.

Ok so let's talk about Raw to start off with.

And we'll start with the beginning. Lesnar and Cena. It just feels.. big. Like the Rock/Cena feud did. But in a way, bigger, because even though Lesnar left, he left for different reasons. And, with his career in the UFC .. he immediately has more legitimacy than just about anyone in wrestling, save maybe Kurt Angle. Broken freakin' necks give you tons of legitimacy.

So Lesnar is in the ring with Johnny Ace. Now it's pretty much solidified that they are trying to bring him in as a heel. Or at least, a heel in the eyes of Cena's fans. To everyone else it seems, Lesnar is definitely a babyface. How could he not be? This massive beast of a dude who has legitimately beaten up people is now back in the WWE? Of course he's going to get massive cheers. And then add into the mix that he's beating up Cena, who a decent portion of the fans love to hate, and there you have it: instant good guy. But a good guy in the same sense that Austin was a good guy. And, for the past 6 months or so, in the same way that Rock was a good guy.

One of my favourite things on Raw this week was that slap. Cena says with no microphone "I never got to thank you for last week" and then slaps Lesnar? Worked or not, the dude has some balls. I don't know if Lesnar was handing Cena a reciept with that shot that busted up Cena's lip, or if it was just an accident or an old habit, but because of the blood, everything was more intense.

I thought having just about the entire locker room come out to hold both guys back was a great touch too. Legitimacy seems to be the theme for my blog this week, but it really added credibility and realism to this situation. I know that wrestling isn't as guarded as it used to be and we see the heels and babyfaces interacting with each other sometimes, but even so, you've got Sheamus and Mark Henry next to each other, trying to hold Lesnar back. And what's more, Goldust was out there as well, but out of character, and in a suit. Realism. That's what's going on right now.

Really quickly, I see good things for Santino and Brodus in the future. Santino needs a storyline that is a bit more serious, to make him (I swear it's the theme this week) more legitimate. And Brodus is that guy. He's not so serious that it would be stupid for him to team with Santino, but he's also a badass. As long as the team isn't just used for a couple of weeks and then disbanded, things could really develop there. And Santino's backstage antics (until he met up with the stooges.. but i'll get to them later) were great. His interaction with Kane... brilliant.

Getting back to Cena for a minute, his backstage segment/promo/whatever we're calling those things these days.. was really good. As much as the WWE seem to be against it, this week was a perfect example of blood enhancing things, and making them bigger, and better. I'm not sure what Cena's promo would have been like, had he not been able to use the fat lip as a part of it. Hopefully the powers that be realise this, and figure out that blood, if used correctly, won't just look like excessive violence.
And.. as much as I don't want to admit it.. Laurinitis' work has gotten a lot better too.  Hopefully it's a consistent improvement. Because bad Johnny Ace can be good tv, but really bad Johnny Ace is almost unwatchable.


Once again this week.. Lord Tensai proves that even if you have a really silly name, you can still be a badass. I mean even if they took the "Lord" part of the name away, and just called him Tensai.. that would be better. I don't really get what the point of ending the match without a pinfall is, other than giving Albert a chance to put that mist into his mouth.
Overall though, he's a different character type that we haven't really seen for a while in WWE.. he reminds me a bit of Hakushi, but I get the feeling he'll have more success than Hakushi did. I think we need to give him a few more weeks to grow and get comfortable in the character. Then we'll see some unique qualities come out, other than the moves and words he yells, that have already been figured out.


I've talked about Mark Henry, but let's talk about CM Punk. We all know that his character has become slightly less volatile, less of a cheered heel and more of a straight up babyface with an attitude, but this week CM Punk delivered a promo that was, to me, probably the best he's done this year. I don't know if the storyline stuff about his father is true in real life as well (my feeling is that it is), but when he talks about his father, and especially when he talked about the smell of the alcohol on him reminded him of his dad, it became real, worked or not. That kind of true emotion, that kind of real feeling.. that's what makes a good promo great. That's what pushes a wrestler to a top spot.

I actually kind of liked what Jericho did with his promo this week. It's a bit silly, saying Punk needed to start the 12 step program.. but he's a heel. Heels can get away with saying things that are completely stupid, but because they believe them, they seem credible. I liked his line about unleashing the "demon alcohol genes".
CM "drunk" is a little hokey though. It fits sure, but it's just feels a little.. off.

What I do like about this feud, is they're not having Punk and Jericho in matches involving each other every week. It makes the times that they do actually get in the ring together for a match special. It's the way it used to be done.

Now.. once again after the match with Mark Henry, Jericho attacks a hurt CM Punk and pours alcohol all over him. This is the second week in a row we've seen this, and to me, we don't need to see it any more. I did like Jericho's one line "Drink it in ya stupid idiot".. I love how he uses really childish insults like that, and still makes them seem really .. well really insulting.

What I did not like is that they used real beer to pour on CM Punk. I know that Punk would have been told about it before hand, and I know that they wouldn't have done it without Punk saying he was ok with it, but still, the guy is legitimately straight edge, and yet he's had beer poured into his mouth this week. I'm also sure that Jericho would have done his best to not be excessive with the beer around Punk's face, which is why most of it went on his shoulder and back/stomach as well. But really, in a more general sense, it's the WWE not caring about CM Punk's lifestyle choice.

Yes, this is the realism era, it's all about legitimacy, but surely they could have used non-alcoholic beer. Or just used the whiskey again. In the end though, it seems fairly obvious that CM Punk will get his revenge, and I'm starting to get the feeling that it might be some kind of I quit match that it happens in, where if Jericho loses, he has to leave WWE. Could be a good way to end things.

Just quickly before I finish up the Raw section, I said I'd mention the Three Stooges. Will Sasso delivered an amazing impersonation of Hogan. The crowd seemed a bit shocked more than anything.. and I was with them the first time I watched it. Hogan is working for TNA, so why would they want to do anything that promotes him? The only thing I can think of is that Will Sasso is a massive wrestling, and more specifically Hogan fan, so they let him do that bit. And let's face it, he nailed Hogan. Not just the voice, the body movements. And, even better, he took Kane's chokeslam amazingly well. I love that guy's work.


Ok let's talk about the main event. I'm impressed with Otunga more and more every week. He's finally gotten a decent character happening with some signature kind of movments and mannerisms, and his work in the ring has improved immensely since he was in NXT and the nexus.

And once again this week's episode ends with Lesnar getting the better of Cena. This time with a Low blow before the F-5. I've noticed though that Lesnar is executing his finisher differently these days. He's not doing the rotation part of the move that he used to. If you go back and watch an F-5 from 2003, it looks quite different to the 2012 version. In the 2012 version, he lifts his opponent over his head to get him in position for the "ddt" part, whereas back in 2003 he would turn him at the same time. Check it out. I prefer the 2003 version.


So overall a decent episode of RAW. I think the pattern needs to change for next week though, mainly with Punk and Jericho. No more alcohol baths. I do think that Lesnar is going to keep being booked as an unstoppable machine though. Which as long as it's done right, will work well.


Now let's talk quickly about smackdown before this turns into a short novel.

Daniel Bryan delivered a great promo last week, breaking up with his "girlfriend" AJ. And this week we were going to be treated to a very special Piper's Pit. Now, normally when I write my blog, I've watched everything I'm going to write about. I haven't watched Piper's pit yet, so I'm going to write the following part of this post as I watch for the first time. And then I'll get into a couple of other parts of Smackdown.

It's always great to see a Piper's pit. Rowdy is one of my favourite talkers out of anyone. His Piper's Pit from Wrestlemania 5 is one of my favourite non-wrestling wrestling segments ever.

I really hope this Yes chant catches on heaps more. It's such a simple thing, but works so well with just about everything.

I don't really like that they're portraying AJ as someone who seems to be completely clueless. I mean yeah, they can portray her as in love with him, but I don't really understand why she wouldn't have figured out that Bryan is using her. The rest of her character doesn't seem that dumb.

Piper got really intense talking about the "no's". I love Roddy. All in all it was a pretty good segment. Probably not right up there as one of the best Piper's pit episodes ever, but it was good. And we learned that it's going to be a 2 out of 3 falls match between Daniel Bryan and Sheamus, which should be a really good match. Hopefully they don't just squash Bryan again .. only this time in 36 seconds.

The last thing I'm going to talk about, and it's just a quick one, is Ryback. This character is so much better than the Skip Sheffield character. It's more believable, yet still larger than life. From what I've read about the way Ryback was originally, it's a slightly different version in 2012, but it's still impressive, and again something slightly different. Like a combination of Goldberg and Rhyno or something. I'm definitely interested to see where it goes.

Ok that's about all for this week. Until next time, you can follow me on twitter at @TheOZMouthpiece , leave me a comment on here to let me know what you think, and also, check out my articles on http://pwjournal.wordpress.com There's only two on there for now, but check it out nonetheless.

I'm the Aussie Mouthpiece, and now, my business is concluded.

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.

Who's your (big) Daddy?

Well... time for a Summerslam roundup, review, and general recapping. Let me say this now. If you haven't watched Summerslam, maybe don't read this, because SPOILERS abound.

First general thoughts.. there were way too many ads in the first half of the pay per view.

6-man tag was a good way to get a lot of faces on the show, but didn't really serve any real purpose other than that.

Morrison didn't botch!

The musical guests bored me.

Ok onto the matches.

We open with an unscheduled 6-man tag match.

Miz cuts a promo and gets interrupted by R-Truth who cuts a promo and gets interrupted. This all feels really thrown together at the last minute. It's a shame that they couldn't have done a little more than this.
R-Truth's vest is now "Little Jimmy Proof".

I understand why they did the match, it gets these guys on the pay per view, even if there's nothing really going on with any of them at the moment. Maybe a better idea would have been take out 2 of them, take your pick really.. and add in Dolph, and Riley, and change it to a battle royal for the US title. Just for fun.

The match was pretty good however, and I definitely think the guys made the best of what they got. I'm pretty sure Rey's knee was troubling him though, he didn't get involved until the end of the match really.
Kofi Kingston is really talented, but it feels like he's stuck in this spot at the moment.. he needs to make something happen if he wants to rise up the ranks, so to speak. His crazy high clothesline/cross body thing at the end of the match was amazing though.

R-Truth is less of a joke tonight. Good to see.

Morrison is not as good as Morrison thinks he is.

I gotta stop talking about the match for a second though. The commentary from Booker T (and Cole at points) is awful. I can't believe that they went with Booker over Jim Ross. JR explained on twitter that Booker helps represent smackdown, but, I don't know, it feels like if you're going to bring him back, you'd want him commentating on your big events.

Ok back to the rest of the match.

Miz did something i've never seen before. It looks like a version of a Cutter, except that Miz dropped to his knees not his back. Kind of like a Cutter, mixed with a Stunner.. A... Stutter?

Not much else to say, the finish was fairly obvious, especially after 10 minutes and Rey Mysterio not being in the ring.. But what I did like is that having Del Rio in the opening match maybe took away a bit of the idea that he would cash in his money in the bank..... little did we know...

Was a good finish, and man... Rey kicked Truth in the head so hard! Morrison hit a great spinning plancha, and Kofi hit that huge clothesline. Rey with the 619 and splash for the win.

Solid opening match, especially given no prior notice for us. I give it... 6.5/10

Laurnintis is a tool. CM Punk needs to kick him in the head again.

Was really surprised to see Stephanie, but it definitely makes sense, seeing that CM Punk has brought her up in recent weeks. And it highlights the importance of the main event, that she would show up as a corprorate figure.

I love the crowd reaction to seeing Stephanie. Wooooaaaahhhhhh instead of the usual cheer.

One of the best lines of the night at the end of this segment. "I would, but uh.. i know where that hand's been". Hahaha. Punk delivers again. Damn he is on fire at the moment.

So Sheamus and Mark Henry is up next.

I gotta be honest, I wasn't looking forward to this match. I haven't watched a lot of Smackdown lately, and I'm not a believer that Mark Henry is talented enough to go higher than mid-card. I figured that out when he wrestled Undertaker at WM 22.
Sheamus, I hadn't really seen as a babyface yet, still wasn't sure how that would go.

I was pleasantly surprised on both fronts.

Mark Henry is doing really well with this push he's being given. It's believable. Just as Sheamus is, with the Irish warrior thing he's got going on.

From thinking about how this could go, it didn't make sense to have Sheamus win. If Sheamus beats Henry, Henry loses all momentum.
But if Sheamus loses, it doesn't do anything for Sheamus.
Absolute best line of the night was "Oh man... he just left a skidmark on that boy". Thankyou Booker T. Thankyou so much.

Sheamus is excellent as a babyface. The crowd seemed really into him every time he tried to make a comeback. And when he tied Henry up in the ropes and started pounding his chest, man.. Henry looked like he couldn't take it. Those shots sounded brutal.

The finish was great, and worked so well to keep both guys going. It put Henry over as a monster who can dominate anyone, and with Sheamus not being pinned, it didn't make him look weak either. If you get to watch a replay, check out the guy directly to the right of the impact in the front row, his reaction is priceless.

All in all, a much better match than I originally thought, Sheamus is going to go a long way. 7/10 (just for the finish!)

Cee Lo did some singing. I was hoping Mo and Mabel would come out and join him, we could have had a men on a mission reunion.
Divas joined him for whatever the second song was... and even that didn't make it more interesting for me.
Nuff said.

So the Diva's title match is up next.
This was a match I was looking forward to, not because it was going to be a classic or anything, mainly because I, like a lot of people, wanted to see Beth Phoenix knock the crap out of Kelly Kelly.
I don't buy Kelly as a tough wrestling type girl. Not in the slightest.
So there's not a lot to say about this match either, Beth had new ring gear.. I'm not sure about it, kinda liked the old stuff, but it's not bad by any stretch.
I didn't like the ending at first, with Kelly getting the quick pin, but thinking about it, it does make more sense to keep her (kelly) the champion, maybe next month's pay per view will be the changing of the times. Let them build Beth and Natalya up a bit more, have them destroy the Bellas (please) or something.

One other thing, Kelly Kelly needs to learn how to hit the ropes. It annoys me every single time i see it. The point of hitting the ropes is to get extra speed right? She turns, stops, and just touches them. It's ridiculous.

Anyway, Beth was great, Kelly wasn't. I hope we have a new Women's champion soon. 5/10

Stephanie on camera again, coming out of Cena's dressing room. I love what they're doing with this angle.

Great to see Jimmy Hart too. Although you could see the Little Jimmy coming miles away.

Wade Barrett vs Daniel Bryan.
I was looking forward to this one. Bryan is great, and i'm really starting to love what Barrett is doing. He comes across legitametly tough, reminds me of William Regal.
What i was NOT looking forward to was Michael Cole talking. Enough with the nerd crap Cole, you were a damn cheerleader!
Anyway, as I said I was really looking forward to this match. And i wasn't disappointed.
Lots of great back and forth action, Bryan showing a lot of submissions and locks and stuff you don't usually see in WWE matches.
Oh and his kicks look amazingly brutal.
Barrett hit some awesome moves too. that swinging sidewalk slam, and springboard backbreaker were two highlights for me.
Other highlights, Daniel Bryan's knee into Barrett's head. Owch.
The clothesline when Bryan was straddling the top rope.
Anyway, Barrett is awesome, Bryan is awesome. Let's hope we see more of these two in matches. 8/10

Orton and Christian ... I was hoping this would be good, but i wasn't expecting it to be.
Man was I wrong.

I think like everyone, knowing that this was going to be the 4th time in a row it would be Orton vs Christian for the WHC, I was kind of at that point of "again?..."

Again was worth it.

And we got the added surprise of Edge.
Now that was good, I got a little excited when he came out. But then I started thinking, Edge retired as a face, and the crowd are cheering him now... why would he side with the heel in this match?
So I was glad when he called Christian a bitch and left.

And the match was amazing. Orton was bleeding from 3 or 4 different places at the end of it, you could tell it was really brutal.
I loved the use of the table, leaving it flat on the ring mat instead of setting it up and then hitting the superplex on it. That was really different, and great. I guess it helped make it easier to put christian through it when Orton powerslammed him through it.
Orton still looks like Giant Gonzales to me, but with a lot more talent.
I was thinking for a while we'd see Edge again towards the end of this match, especially when Christian began to set up the Con-chair-to. The setup reminded me of the spot at the Royal Rumble a couple of years ago when Matt turned on Jeff Hardy. Sort of, I don't know, I just remembered that when he went for the chair. But I think it was right that we didn't see Edge, it was more like he said his piece and that was enough.
Also this is just a personal thing, but spitting on someone else is disgusting. I'm glad Orton beat the snot out of Christian after that.

So many brutal spots in this match, though the two that stand out for me were the RKO through the announce table, and the DDT onto the trash can.
Randy seemed like the obvious choice to have win this match, hopefully this is the finish of this feud, and we can move on to something new going forward.
Overall .. easily the 2nd best match of the night. 8.5/10.

One other thing, it's amazing how much of a reaction Orton could get, just by putting Christian's head on those steps and then placing his foot on top.. really, watch that part back again if you can. Sometimes it's what you don't do that leaves more of an impression. Sometimes you leave someone's face impression on a garbage can too.

And now we have the main event.
I love CM Punk's thing of sitting cross legged in the ring. just sayin.
I'm trying to understand the relevance of Cena saying to the camera "This is where i started. I used to walk the concourse of this place.. in gimmick".. I guess he just wanted to say it. Weird.

This match had so much hype to live up to, not just from Money in The Bank, but all of the promos on RAW. CM Punk was going to have to back up what he said, and Cena was going to have to prove he is who he said he was.
And HHH added into the mix just added to the expectations.

There were so many ideas floating around for the finish. HHH screws Punk, ADR cashes in his money in the bank.
HHH screws Cena.
Cena turns heel. (not going to happen)
I don't think most people were expecting that kind of finish though. I mean, apart from the foot on the rope, it was basically a clean finish. As i said in my previous blog what I thought might've happened is HHH ended up screwing Cena.. So i guess in a way I was right. But it was "accidental".

Oh yeah.. Why the hell is Michael Cole telling us which wrestler is which? First of all, even if someone hadn't watched before tonight, they've just seen a promo package of the events leading up to this match, they've both made their entrances with their names on the tron, and they've just been introduced by the ring announcer. WE KNOW WHO THEY ARE! Where's JR... seriously!

Ok onto the actual match.

Cena pulled out a lot of different moves in this match, I was really impressed with him. More so than usual. Because he's always consistent, he's always good at what he does, but there was a lot of new stuff. Maybe he's trying to show he can be more than the 5 moves of doom, not for the people who hate him, but for himself. I believe that's the only reason he'd change. Cena is not going to bow to pressure just to get people to like him. Best example, he hit a rolling sideslam/rock bottom looking thing.

Having said that, I loved the "Fruity Pebbles" chants.

Another thing i loved about this match was they went out there trying to do something different than Money in the Bank. There was a deliberate pace, lots of headlocks, lots of submission type moves, they didn't just go out there and try to recreate what they did a month ago. Punk even pulled out the Koji-Clutch.
So like i said, lots of different moves, lots of originality. Also, the way that Punk and Cena broke up each other's standard "routines" was great. Makes it feel different.

And man, Punk hit his head hard on that dive through the ropes onto Cena/the barricade. Sure, it's padded.. but so are boxing gloves. But it did lead to that awesome little spot of Triple H throwing them both back into the ring to stop the double count-out.

Favourite part of the match was CM Punk hitting the Macho Man elbow and the crowd going nuts chanting "Randy Savage".

I was really surprised at the finish, it seemed to happen very quickly, at a different pace to the rest of the match. Maybe they were running low on time or something. Not anything hugely different or anything, just we had Cena looking like he was making a comeback, but then within 10 seconds Punk hit his finisher and Cena's foot was on the rope.

Now, after thinking about this for a few hours.. I love this ending. Neither guy looks bad, because of the shady finish.
I was almost sure HHH was going to pedigree CM Punk when he raised his hand as the winner.. But as i've said before, it's all the little things that they're doing that make this feud, this storyline so great. Punk didn't take his eyes off of HHH so that there would be no way he could surprise him.
And then Holy SHIT... it's Kevin Nash! (with a sweet goatee by the way) That was the best moment of the whole show. Sure, he left Punk laying on the mat, but it's Kevin Nash!

And then... Alberto cashes his money in the bank. I've seen a few people talking about how in the past there's been rules like "the champ must be able to defend himself" but I think that goes against the whole idea of the briefcase. Remember the first time it was cashed in.. Edge on John Cena? Cena was bloodied, and had just gone through an elimination chamber match. That's what the briefcase is for.. for a guy to take advantage of a situation. I have no problem with that part of it.

Here's why Kevin Nash being the guy to attack Punk is brilliant. Kevin Nash, is Triple H's friend. We know this. Kevin Nash talked about coming back on the road full time, mentioning Cm Punk on twitter. Kevin Nash has been a bodyguard before. So the question now is why? Why did he do it?
CM Punk is going to think it was HHH's plan all along. Cena is going to be pissed with HHH for missing the foot on the rope. See where it's headed? It elevates this story even further.

So why did Nash do it? Well.. I have a feeling we didn't see Stephanie McMahon for no reason. Nash has said for years, that he's about money. Hopefully we get some answers on RAW this week. And Rey gets his championship match this week too, against Del Rio. That should be interesting.. But what will be even more interesting is how HHH sorts all of this out. The way he played the end of Summerslam was great, looking confused, and worried, and like he knew this was all going to come back to him because he was the special guest ref.

So for the last match, overall.. I think it lived up to the hype, it was easily as good as money in the bank, wrestling wise. 9/10

So overall, I really enjoyed Summerslam, and still i'm really excited for RAW this week. I can't wait to see where this is heading.. will Nash be back for a while, was it a one time deal with someone? How will Triple H try to solve all the problems that were caused?.. Who gets a rematch for the title?

What do you all think? Leave me a comment, or follow me on twitter at @TheACMouthpiece and tell me.

And if you don't like what i've said, go suck a lemon.

The Calm before the storm No. 2

Welcome back to the couch of creativity, with me, The Armchair Mouthpiece. I'm here to shoot some truthfacts right in your learning holes.

So I did something like this just before money in the bank. Basically, just going to give my thoughts on everything that's led us up to where we are at this point.

So I find it a bit strange that there are only 5 matches on the card right now for Summerslam. Thinking about it, there's a few reasons I've come up with as to why. Maybe we'll get some unnannounced matches, maybe for the Tag Team titles, maybe the US title.. Miz has to be involved somehow too.

Maybe there's going to be a crazy ending. Like money in the bank, but a lot longer. I don't mean the same as money in the bank, what i mean is where the end of the last match isn't the end of the pay per view.. where there's maybe a run in, or a return of some kind. I find it interesting that Paul Bearer is headed to L.A this weekend. Coincidence? maybe. Undertaker returning with Paul Bearer for one final run up to Mania? Well, like i said, only 5 matches on the card.. and 180 minutes of Pay Per View to fill. Remember the Royal Rumble 2006 where he came back at the end of the main event? ....

The other possibility I thought of was that maybe one of the MiTB winners will be cashing in their championship match. I mean think about it. 180 minutes.. 5 matches. the main events usually go 20-30 minutes.. Punk/Cena at mitb went about 45. But even so, say three 20 minute matches, that's one hour, 2 main event matches makes up maybe another hour and a quarter.. that leaves 45 minutes. enough time for another match, some kind of returning character, some kind of surprise anyway. Who knows, anything seems possible with what's been happening lately..

I would imagine though, we're going to see more than 5 matches.

Now what do I think are the matches to look forward to? Well, Cena/Punk is obvious. But the other two that i'm going to pick are the Diva's Title match, simply because of the storyline, and also Daniel Bryan/Wade Barrett. The only thing I'm not looking forward to is Michael Cole's commentary. Let's hope JR gets a lot of air time, I'm sick of hearing how "daniel bryan is a nerd".

Wade Barrett is definitely doing well for himself lately, he comes across as a legitimate tough guy, kind of like William Regal. Sure, maybe it's got something to do with the accent, but whatever works, you run with right? So that match is definitely one to watch out for.

I'm not doing predictions of who I think is going to win, because more often than not i'm wrong when i do that. So I'll just leave it at that.

The Diva's title match. I doubt it's going to be a wrestling classic, you need two great wrestlers, not just one, to pull that off. What it should be, is a changing of the times. As Beth Phoenix said, enough of the pretty perky divas. Let's have a champion that can actually wrestle, going against opponents that can actually wrestle. Except.. there's not that many on the roster that have that ability. I mean to the level that Beth Phoenix, Natalya, .. does Kharma still count?

Honestly it seems a little strange that 2 of their more talented female wrestlers have been let go or have quit in the past week. The skeptic in me wants to say that it's an angle with Gail Kim, but who knows? As long as we don't have to see hair takedowns in every diva's match, i'll be happy.

I think the Orton/Christian match is one match too many. Times have changed, at first I thought.. "but rememeber when feuds would last an entire year, building to a wrestlemania.. with the two opponents actually wrestling each other for that whole year? or at least longer than 2 months before people get bored. The last time any rivalry wokred that well was Edge vs Cena. And before you yell at me, Rock/Cena isn't the same thing because the rock ISN'T there. Which makes me feel like he's the heel. I don't care what he says, he's not showing up for more than a few "special appearances" before mania. And I'm fairly sure we won't see him before Survivor Series actually in a WWE ring.

So onto the main event. The big questions.. Why did Triple H insert himself into the match.. I see people writing about how it's an ego thing behind the scenes, HHH can't help but put himself into the spotlight.. These people seem to think Vince isn't running the show anymore. Hey people... wake up! Vincent K McMahon is still running the show.
So what's going to happen? Is HHH going to screw one of them? Well, from what we saw on RAW, they're trying to get us to think that CM Punk is under the impression that HHH and Cena have worked this all out, that the "fix is in" as he put it. I think we're going to see HHH and Cena come to blows honestly. I think there will be some kind of swerve. And I think by the end of the night, we will know for sure wether or not Triple H is a heel or a face in this new role.

I vote for heel.

Please, Heel Triple H is awesome. Remember 2003? Evolution? Amazing.

I HOPE CM Punk retains. John Cena doesn't need the title right now. He's got the feud with the Rock. Just off the top of my head.. here's a "how i might book it".

Cena gets screwed by HHH, siding with Punk (everything we've seen so far has been a swerve to get our minds away from that). This ushers in a slightly less PG environment. Punk goes on to feud with Mysterio, Miz, whoever is in the title picture. Hell he and John morrison had some amazing matches on ECW.
Cena meanwhile is pissed with HHH, and challenges him to a match at.. Vengeance? apt name. Maybe HHH says no, but you can fight this guy.. we get Nash back in the ring as Diesel.

So this keeps Cena in the main event picture, but not in the title picture. Then we're leading up to survivor series, Punk and HHH come to blows somehow, and the angle that i've seen on wrestling news sites takes place and we get Punk/HHH at Survivor Series. Maybe HHH gets involved with a Punk title defense and costs him the title inadvertently again at Vengeance.

As to who the WWE champion may be if all that happened.. who knows.. Rey (if he's healthy).. if not, Miz is the obvious choice. Or push a new guy for a few months. See if he can handle it. I'm talking Ziggler, or Morrison (let's hope not morrison). Del Rio even.

Here's a thought. Undertaker has been mentioned in WWE magazine in an article about the Vengeance PPV. Maybe, and again, off the top of my head... Taker returns at Vengeance, basically calls out Cena ( I don't know why!) But we get Cena/Taker at survivor series, in which Rock interferes.I don't know, I know that you need to keep Cena relevant though, which means either Title matches or big name matches.


I'd be interested to know what people think of that, it's the first time i've done anything like that, thinking about how i'd have a story go. Now obviously I claim no experience in actually booking anything, it's just some ideas i have. Please let me know what you think.

So to sum up, looking forward to CM Punk/Cena, and Bryan/Barrett mainly. Hopefully we get something extra, a surprise of some kind.

Summerslam awaits.
Until next time, this is the Armchair Mouthpiece, returning to the couch.

All knowledge, no matter how miniscule, how minute, will always be of use eventually.

But that was such a good year.. must be a bad vintage.

Welcome back to the Lounge of linguistics, where I, the Armchair Mouthpiece, yet have more to say. This time, on a topic i haven't really spoken on before now.

Michael Cole.

What happened? Seriously, I watched the first season of NXT, because.. well.. it was different, and actually slightly entertaining, especially knowing a little about Daniel/Bryan/Danielson and the WWE not being huge fans of talking about anything other than the WWE.

Personally, I think a sign that a character or wrestler, personality, whatever is getting over is that you feel something kinda strong about them. So therefore, to me, a heel character is getting over when you feel a strong dislike about them. But i think when it gets to the point that you would rather not watch any of the program than hear them/see them.. then it's getting a bit too much. That's what's happening with Michael Cole right now.

I actually enjoyed Cole on NXT, especially the season 3 stuff where he basically picked apart the program. Whoever came up with that idea should be given a medal. Or at least one of Cole's slammys. I didn't watch a lot of RAW and Smackdown before the Royal Rumble this year, so i didn't see too much of the beginnings of the Lawler/Cole feud. But what I did see was really a testament to Jerry Lawler and how good a guy he is. I mean, letting Cole talk about his mother, so soon after she passed, I have a lot of respect for Lawler, and always will. By the way, Michael Cole... if you want to know how to be a heel commentator and not alienate your audience, listen to King from about 1994 to 2004. That's how you do it! Not by burying everyone you apparently "don't like" and just talking about yourself.

That's where my problem lies with Michael Cole, at least commentary wise. If you watch Wrestlemania 27, there are at least a few instances during the matches where he just starts talking about his match with Lawler.. I mean, on RAW it's one thing, but Wrestlemania? You're going to draw people's attention away from matches they've paid to see, and make then think about you? I don't care if it's not his idea, it's a stupid idea. It didn't work, it was annoying, it made the matches less enjoyable. And especially in the Rey/Cody match, his commentary didn't make sense. Talking about how Cody is afraid to show his face.. at one point Jerry Lawler just says "his mask is clear you idiot" or something like that. I get that he's trying to side with the heel and be the "bad guy" commentator, but you shouldn't do that at the expense of other talent.
The other problem is the massive difference between how it feels when Cole is on commentary, and how it feels when Jim Ross is on commentary. JR is far and away so much better, regardless of heel/face alignment.
And when they are swapped halfway through a show, like Wrestlemania or this past week's Raw, you really notice the difference.

Which brings me to the other part of the Michael Cole issue... the matches.

Awful. I feel so bad for Jerry Lawler. That he had to try to make Cole look good in that terrible Ankle Lock at Mania, that the match had to go for so long, and in the end that the match ended up as a victory for Cole. I mean, people have been saying for ages that "we need change, different stuff should be happening".. but I don't think that Michael Cole, the commentator, beating Jerry "The King" Lawler, the what... 40 year pro or so, is what fans had in mind. That didn't make sense, Wrestlemania was the right time for that feud to end. Why not have your good guy come out on top at the biggest show of the year? Sure he got to beat up Cole a bit, and i know everyone loved that, but it shouldn't have ended up that way.

Oh and one more thing. I'm kinda sick of Michael Cole referring to Daniel Bryan as a nerd. What the hell is so wrong with being a geek or a nerd? And seriously, if Daniel Bryan is a nerd, what does that make Cole, other than a chubby bully? It's not like he's the epitome of a "jock".. maybe a jock-strap.. I have a big problem with that, because it's so high-school. Maybe it's just that I have experience with bullying, and it just disgusts me.

I get that he's just doing what the company wants, and he's just doing "business", but it's getting old. Actually, let me correct that. It was getting old back in march. Now it's beyond that. It's getting to the point where hearing his voice and his constant putting down of other people to make himself look good a: isn't working, and b: makes me want to change the channel. In fact, I think he is the reason i'm not watching Smackdown at the moment.

So it's time for a change. What i'm hoping happens is that with Jim Ross coming back to Raw, we get the set commentary teams, in the same vein as 2003 or so. I don't mean the same combinations obviously, but more that there is one Commentary team for RAW, and one for smackdown. And for the Pay per views we get a combination. The obvious choice is JR and King, and then Michael Cole and Josh matthews. I don't know where that leaves Booker T, but .. maybe he can have a fave five segment each week or something... does it matter? Put him back in the ring even!

That's it, not much else i want to say on the matter. Other than HHH seems to be making his mark, and let's hope it continues

What's it like to be me? You will never, ever know!