Right, it's been a long time between drinks (or diet sodas), but it's finally time for another dose of home schooling, from me, The Aussie Mouthpiece.
So we're getting into the meat of the Road to Wrestlemania, so this installment will be focused purely on what's happening on Raw, and to a lesser extent, Smackdown as well. Also, I haven't really been watching TNA so .. there's not a lot I can say about it.
So let's talk about the major storylines going on at the moment.
This year's Wrestlemania, for me at least, seems bigger than the last few years. In fact, I'm struggling to remember what the title matches were for Wrestlemania 25 and 26. 27 was only one year ago so I do remember those. But for Mania 25 and 26, the first, and really only thing that comes into my head is Undertaker and Michaels.
This year seems bigger though as I said. There's the year long build of Rock/Cena (which I will get to in great length I'm sure), Undertaker/HHH (and HBK now I guess) and Punk/Jericho. It's almost a shame that the World Heavyweight Title doesn't seem that important, but I guess maybe it can open the show like it did last year.
So before I get to the big 3, let's talk about the other parts of RAW, and what else is happening this year.
Santino Marella. That guy put on one hell of a performance at the Elimination Chamber last month. I, like a lot of people I'm sure, was nearly convinced he was going to win the title. I'll admit, I marked out when he hit the Cobra, as ridiculous a move as it is.
But it seems that somebody took notice, because this week he won the US championship.
Now don't get me wrong, that's probably the title with the least amount of prestige at the moment. Ziggler and Ryder made it interesting, but once Swagger got it I pretty much lost interest. On a side note, check out Back to the Future, and tell me Swagger isn't Biff's identical twin. Seriously.
But it's still a pat on the back for Santino. Hopefully he gets to hold it until after Wrestlemania at least.
I have a feeling though, that this is actually leading to a match between Swagger and Ziggler for Wrestlemania. I'm not sure how they'll get there, one of them would have to switch, but Ziggler calls himself the #Heel, and Swagger I don't think is over enough. And plus, people don't want to hear him talk.
Santino is going to be a part of the Laurinitis/Long thing, with Otunga. So who knows. Maybe Swagger and Ziggler won't feud, but instead go for the Tag Title belts. Maybe this was a way to get the singles title away from Swagger, and focus he and Ziggler as a tag team more.
The GM story is kind of interesting as well, but I'm worried that we're going to get Mr Excitement shoved down our throats way too much. Sure it's fun to boo him, but unless he's tripping on his words and fumbling sentences on purpose (which would be an amazing work if he was), it's going to get to the point, if it hasn't already, where people don't boo because he's a bad guy, they boo because they don't want to see him.
I have a feeling that this might end up with Triple H as the GM, because let's face it, he's really the only person suited for it, unless good guy Vince wants to make a comeback, or Stephanie McMahon returns to Tv. But I don't see either of those things happening. Triple H makes sense.
Zack Ryder.
Really? Eve kisses him and he's suddenly love struck again like he's in a crappy teen movie? Only thing I can think of is he starts defending her to other people and becomes a heel? but, why would they do that? I am assuming here that the merch the WWE makes of Heel wrestlers doesn't sell as well as the babyfaces. That makes sense right?
Hopefully this gets back onto a decent track, even if it's just Eve and _________ vs Zack and Kelly Kelly or something. Or hell, even Zack and Beth Phoenix, seeing as how it's what, 4 weeks away from Mania and there's been nothing done with the women's title?
Miz.
Wow. How far one man can fall in one year. If it's because they lump Survivor Series on his shoulders, that's completely ridiculous. Blame the guy who's the biggest name if you're going to blame anyone. Oh you can't, he doesn't really work for you. Say what you will about some of the other part time guys, but at least they re-invent themselves, or at least refresh themselves a little. Rock is the same Rock, spouting the same old crap. But I'll get to that soon. I hope Miz gets some kind of spot at Wrestlemania. He's not my favourite guy, but considering where he was last year, he deserves a spot.
Big Show/Cody Rhodes.
Huh? Why is Show getting a shot at the IC title, at this stage in his career? That title is about giving a younger guy the opportunity to show he can be a top guy. I don't get this at all. That's really all i'm going to say about it. Not a fan at all.
Ok, so that's the undercard stuff I guess, so let's move on to the main events. And also from this point i'm going to be talking about last week's RAW as well, seeing as how I didn't post anything last week.
Let's start with Punk/Jericho.
"Screw your stupid, Light-brite jacket". Brilliant.
Ok to elaborate, these two guys can obviously talk. Punk hasn't really been given as good of a foil lately, as opposed to 4 or 5 months ago, but now with Chris Jericho, he's got someone who he can really go toe-to-toe verbally with. I really liked that they got to talk for as long as they did, and you could clearly tell it wasn't a script, maybe just some notes (but not written on their bodies anywhere..but i'll get to that) but for the most part, it was on the fly. The way it SHOULD be done.
It looks as if Jericho is getting ahead on the one-upsmanship for now, but that's ok. Punk doesn't look worse for it at all, because we all know what he can do. I'm hoping they go for the sort of "Punk is the champion but still the underdog" kind of thing, because I always enjoyed the matches where the guy chasing the title wins at Mania, and really, Punk will win at Mania because he's, as he said "the man right now".
Undertaker/HHH/HBK
OK, I've said it before, Undertaker is my favourite wrestler, so I'm probably biased here, because HBK is 2nd on my favourites list.
But I really like where this is going. The special referee thing is a little odd, because Shawn isn't going to come out of retirement for a 'payback' match, so I don't see him really turning on either guy. In fact, the only way I could see that, is if he caused 'Taker to lose the match, therefore ending the streak, and also therefore 'Taker would be retired I guess, so there wouldn't be any payback.
But that won't happen. 20-0 looks and sounds too good.
It's strange, but even now, Triple H looks kind of like the third wheel in this whole thing. Maybe that's intentional, a part of the "Shawn is better than you" thing. Maybe it's just because of how things have gone for the last couple of weeks, with Shawn's "phone interview" on the WWE website, and with next week the advertisement being "Undertaker returns, and HBK will be there to see what he says".. but it's odd that the opponent for 'Taker isn't the focus right now.
I really like the idea of the Hell In a Cell, and honestly, I couldn't care less about all of this "how will they set it up" stuff. It doesn't matter, it's about the match. And plus, it's the WWE. They'll find a way.
I would expect to see a really brutal match, and I wouldn't be surprised if there was even some blood. Because of the history of these 3, and also because of who they are within the company. It's not some young guy trying to make a name for himself. It's not outlandish to imagine that inside this cage, with the weapons available etc, that someone would get cut open. If this is the "reality era", then blood is a possiblity in this match, because it would be realistic.
Obviously Undertaker will win though. Unless he's announced as going into the hall of fame, which won't happen. Also, I hope he takes his damn hood off at least once before 'Mania, and they bring the cutting of the hair into the storyline.
Ok onto the main event. John Cena and The Rock.
Well. There's certainly a lot to cover. I hope your eyes aren't too tired to read all of this. Cena's promo 2 weeks ago (best of his career indeed), the Rock's return last week (complete with cheat sheet on his wrist) and then this week with the Rock's history lessons... yawn.
Honestly, is anyone else getting bored with the Rock? He comes out every week (well.. not every week because he's not there every week) but whenever he comes out, it's the same old stuff. Making fun of the way Cena dresses. Saying he has no balls/ladyparts/pink parts. Calling him a bitch. I mean, to me that just sounds like a schoolyard bully picking on someone because they're different to themselves. Which is a jerk move.
And it's stale and boring. And also seems like a lot of PR crap. Trying to get things trending on twitter. Like twitter is what the entire world is actually talking about. Isn't it only a small percentage of WWE fans that are on twitter?
I know that Rock's biggest catchphrases are obviously something he would say every time he's around, but for over a year not, he's been spouting on about Cena being less than a man, because he wears coloured shirts or something. So much for the anti-bullying campaign right?
Anyway, so last week we get a twenty minute Rock promo/twitter advertisement, and the Rock has notes on his arm? Now I for one don't believe that was done intentionally, nor do I believe that Rock knew Cena would bring it up. But I'm really glad he did, because, if you paid close attention to this week's Cena/Rock stuff (live in the ring i mean) there were smatterings, and sometimes halfway decent Rocky Sucks chants going on. And more to the point, Cena was absolutely spot on. Rock got shaken up.
After Cena left the ring last week, Rock repeated himself, stumbled over words (which I can never remember him doing) and then reverted to the catchphrases he made so famous 14 years ago. Wait, didn't he accuse Cena of saying the same old .. "hot garbage".. last year? Talk about your hypocrites.
Anyway, Cena is, on purpose or not (and my vote is for not) looking so much better than Rock right now. As far as I'm concerned, Rock is the heel in this situation. He's a bully, he's overbearing, and Cena is standing up for himself.
But regardless of whatever people think of either guy, this feud is heating up in a big way, and has the makings of being one of the biggest matches ever, and really, that can only be good for everyone. Even if you don't like Cena, or don't like the Rock, or don't like the match, it's going to bring more people in to watch the shows. And, probably more importantly, it's going to get the other guys to lift their game to try and get into those kinds of spots down the line.
I could go on and on about Rock, and Undertaker, and HBK, but my fingers are about to fall off from typing so much, so until next time, remember to leave me a comment, cut a promo on me if you don't like what i've said, and if you're not doing so already, follow me on twitter @TheOZMouthpiece and remember, I come from a land down where? Down UNDER!
Showing posts with label Rock. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rock. Show all posts
Tuesday, 6 March 2012
Saturday, 19 November 2011
The Calm before the storm No. 4
That's right, I'm back!
Yes, I've been away from the blog for a while. I'll be honest. The Muppets on RAW pissed me off, and I didn't want to write a completely negative post. And I needed a break from writing.
But Survivor Series is right around the corner, and shaping up to be something quite interesting. So let's talk about that.
However, before I get to that, seeing as how I haven't written anything for a couple of weeks, there are a couple of things I do want to talk about first.
Let's start with RAW getting Rocked.
I am SICK of the treatment of Jim Ross. WWE is all about anti-bullying, unless it's one of their own (and longest-tenured) employees apparently.
Michael Cole is boring, they have him talk about himself instead of the match that is happening in the ring, he's not entertaining as a heel, and he's certainly not at the level of Jim Ross or Joey Styles commentary wise.
As an on-screen heel character, it's a different story however. So, less Cole on commentary.
I was really appalled when Cole was brought out to replace JR what.. not even half way through RAW? That first part with JR calling the matches.. so great. So fluid. It felt good. Then Cole comes out, and just rants about himself. It made me want to fast forward.
Ok enough about Cole.
The other thing I wanted to talk about is something I just read. Matt Hardy has been kicked out of rehab and arrested. I mean..... there's not a lot to say really is there? Well done, you moron. You get the opportunity to sort your life out paid for by a company you were no longer employed by, and you blow it? (pun intended)
Matt Hardy, you sir, are a fool. Enjoy sitting in jail. $1,000,000 bail fee... seems excessive. Maybe Jeff can scrape the cash together so the hardy boyz can make more "youtube eps".
Ok onto Survivor Series.
First off, bold prediction. Undertaker will be making an appearance. Think about it. 20 years ago, at Survivor Series 1991, 'Taker won the WWE(F) Championship for the first time. Survivor Series is when he made his debut, one year earlier. It's a special night for Undertaker. Maybe we'll see him.
Strangely the card isn't that enticing, at least on paper.
Aside from Rock/Cena vs Miz/Truth, which, honestly is only a draw because people want to see what happens between Rock and Cena.. there's the obvious draw of CM Punk, and I would also say Dolph Ziggler, wrestling twice in one night again.
I would say though that the "traditional survivor series match" doesn't seem that interesting to me. And once again, why is Daniel Bryan not at least in that match? He has a MiTB Case.. which is basically a way of saying "he's at the main event level, or thereabouts".. yet we haven't seen him wrestle on Pay Per View since Summerslam...
As far as the matches go, let's take them one by one.
Diva's championship match:
Seriously, who cares? They have had Beth/Natalya lose on RAW every time i've seen them wrestle lately. Doesn't make sense. I don't buy Kelly Kelly being able to beat Beth Phoenix. Or.. really anyone for that matter. Yes, I know it's Eve wrestling Beth, so that means that the match will be slightly better, but still... I'm not expecting anything amazing. And it's a shame, because Beth is a really good wrestler.
Beth Wins.
US Title Match: Morrison Vs Ziggler
Short but sweet for this one. Morrison is leaving (as far as we know) so he won't win. I expect Ryder to be involved somehow, or maybe it becomes a triple threat on the night.
Ziggler wins (Unless Ryder is in the match)
Traditional Survivor Series match:
Easy pick. Babyface team wins. OR... Heel team wins with Cody Rhodes being the sole survivor. Nothing else needs to be said really.
World Heavyweight Championship - Mark Henry vs Big Show
I am actually a fan of these matches. You don't get to see two huge human beings who actually have skill and co-ordination wrestle all that often. Sure, they aren't "5 star classics", but they're great for what they are. I would imagine this will be a fairly short match. I have a couple of ideas about the finish.. one being Henry wins, but 'Taker comes back to challenge for the title at the next two Pay Per views. Another being Henry wins by DQ because Show goes crazy.
Either way, Mark Henry wins this match.
WWE Championship match: CM Punk vs Alberto Del Rio
This is a tougher one to call. I would love to see Punk win, and I'm leaning more towards that. Maybe Cole will try to get involved in the match, as revenge for this week's RAW, but I think that's a very unlikely scenario.
Will be a good match, but as I said, I see Punk winning.
Winner: CM Punk.
Main Event: Rock/Cena vs Awesome Truth.
Now we're getting into the interesting stuff. Will Cena turn heel? That's the biggest question that is floating around I think. I would really like to see it, I think his character would benefit greatly from a change like that, and would help give Cena some more fire, doing something different after the same character for what.. 5 .. 6 years now?
How will Rock and Cena work together? Well.. there's a pretty easy answer to that.. Story-wise.. terribly. But they will both be on top of their games, and it will be really entertaining.
The almost sad thing is, as the Miz said, Awesome Truth almost feel like an afterthought. Like it could be any two opponents against Rock and Cena, because that's where the story is, not in the match itself. I agree to some extent, but I think this will be a really good match.
And, if nothing else, it'll be good to see if The Rock can still go. I'm betting he can.
As far as the finish.. I see Rock and Cena winning, because the people will want to see Rock win. But after the match, I see an altercation happening between Cena and Rock. Possibly Rock laying out Cena with a Rock Bottom, in order to set things in motion for the Wrestlemania match.
But, if they want to turn Cena heel, it would be John Cena F-Uing (or AA-ing, whatever) Rock, and leaving him in the middle of the ring, ripping off his own armbands and wristbands, and dropping them on Rock's chest, giving him the "You can't see me".. but then maybe flipping him (or the crowd) off afterwards.
Ok the last part is far-fetched I know, but how awesome would it be?
To sum up... Winners: Rock and Cena.
So that's it, Survivor Series is not far away at all, and looks like it could be quite the event. So follow me on twitter, I'll be tweeting during the Pay Per View @TheOZMouthpiece
Leave me a comment on here as well.
That's it, and that's all.
Yes, I've been away from the blog for a while. I'll be honest. The Muppets on RAW pissed me off, and I didn't want to write a completely negative post. And I needed a break from writing.
But Survivor Series is right around the corner, and shaping up to be something quite interesting. So let's talk about that.
However, before I get to that, seeing as how I haven't written anything for a couple of weeks, there are a couple of things I do want to talk about first.
Let's start with RAW getting Rocked.
I am SICK of the treatment of Jim Ross. WWE is all about anti-bullying, unless it's one of their own (and longest-tenured) employees apparently.
Michael Cole is boring, they have him talk about himself instead of the match that is happening in the ring, he's not entertaining as a heel, and he's certainly not at the level of Jim Ross or Joey Styles commentary wise.
As an on-screen heel character, it's a different story however. So, less Cole on commentary.
I was really appalled when Cole was brought out to replace JR what.. not even half way through RAW? That first part with JR calling the matches.. so great. So fluid. It felt good. Then Cole comes out, and just rants about himself. It made me want to fast forward.
Ok enough about Cole.
The other thing I wanted to talk about is something I just read. Matt Hardy has been kicked out of rehab and arrested. I mean..... there's not a lot to say really is there? Well done, you moron. You get the opportunity to sort your life out paid for by a company you were no longer employed by, and you blow it? (pun intended)
Matt Hardy, you sir, are a fool. Enjoy sitting in jail. $1,000,000 bail fee... seems excessive. Maybe Jeff can scrape the cash together so the hardy boyz can make more "youtube eps".
Ok onto Survivor Series.
First off, bold prediction. Undertaker will be making an appearance. Think about it. 20 years ago, at Survivor Series 1991, 'Taker won the WWE(F) Championship for the first time. Survivor Series is when he made his debut, one year earlier. It's a special night for Undertaker. Maybe we'll see him.
Strangely the card isn't that enticing, at least on paper.
Aside from Rock/Cena vs Miz/Truth, which, honestly is only a draw because people want to see what happens between Rock and Cena.. there's the obvious draw of CM Punk, and I would also say Dolph Ziggler, wrestling twice in one night again.
I would say though that the "traditional survivor series match" doesn't seem that interesting to me. And once again, why is Daniel Bryan not at least in that match? He has a MiTB Case.. which is basically a way of saying "he's at the main event level, or thereabouts".. yet we haven't seen him wrestle on Pay Per View since Summerslam...
As far as the matches go, let's take them one by one.
Diva's championship match:
Seriously, who cares? They have had Beth/Natalya lose on RAW every time i've seen them wrestle lately. Doesn't make sense. I don't buy Kelly Kelly being able to beat Beth Phoenix. Or.. really anyone for that matter. Yes, I know it's Eve wrestling Beth, so that means that the match will be slightly better, but still... I'm not expecting anything amazing. And it's a shame, because Beth is a really good wrestler.
Beth Wins.
US Title Match: Morrison Vs Ziggler
Short but sweet for this one. Morrison is leaving (as far as we know) so he won't win. I expect Ryder to be involved somehow, or maybe it becomes a triple threat on the night.
Ziggler wins (Unless Ryder is in the match)
Traditional Survivor Series match:
Easy pick. Babyface team wins. OR... Heel team wins with Cody Rhodes being the sole survivor. Nothing else needs to be said really.
World Heavyweight Championship - Mark Henry vs Big Show
I am actually a fan of these matches. You don't get to see two huge human beings who actually have skill and co-ordination wrestle all that often. Sure, they aren't "5 star classics", but they're great for what they are. I would imagine this will be a fairly short match. I have a couple of ideas about the finish.. one being Henry wins, but 'Taker comes back to challenge for the title at the next two Pay Per views. Another being Henry wins by DQ because Show goes crazy.
Either way, Mark Henry wins this match.
WWE Championship match: CM Punk vs Alberto Del Rio
This is a tougher one to call. I would love to see Punk win, and I'm leaning more towards that. Maybe Cole will try to get involved in the match, as revenge for this week's RAW, but I think that's a very unlikely scenario.
Will be a good match, but as I said, I see Punk winning.
Winner: CM Punk.
Main Event: Rock/Cena vs Awesome Truth.
Now we're getting into the interesting stuff. Will Cena turn heel? That's the biggest question that is floating around I think. I would really like to see it, I think his character would benefit greatly from a change like that, and would help give Cena some more fire, doing something different after the same character for what.. 5 .. 6 years now?
How will Rock and Cena work together? Well.. there's a pretty easy answer to that.. Story-wise.. terribly. But they will both be on top of their games, and it will be really entertaining.
The almost sad thing is, as the Miz said, Awesome Truth almost feel like an afterthought. Like it could be any two opponents against Rock and Cena, because that's where the story is, not in the match itself. I agree to some extent, but I think this will be a really good match.
And, if nothing else, it'll be good to see if The Rock can still go. I'm betting he can.
As far as the finish.. I see Rock and Cena winning, because the people will want to see Rock win. But after the match, I see an altercation happening between Cena and Rock. Possibly Rock laying out Cena with a Rock Bottom, in order to set things in motion for the Wrestlemania match.
But, if they want to turn Cena heel, it would be John Cena F-Uing (or AA-ing, whatever) Rock, and leaving him in the middle of the ring, ripping off his own armbands and wristbands, and dropping them on Rock's chest, giving him the "You can't see me".. but then maybe flipping him (or the crowd) off afterwards.
Ok the last part is far-fetched I know, but how awesome would it be?
To sum up... Winners: Rock and Cena.
So that's it, Survivor Series is not far away at all, and looks like it could be quite the event. So follow me on twitter, I'll be tweeting during the Pay Per View @TheOZMouthpiece
Leave me a comment on here as well.
That's it, and that's all.
Tuesday, 9 August 2011
Is the fix in?
Welcome back once again. I am the Armchair Mouthpiece, the lord of the lazyboy. And i'm here to hit you with the truthfacts.
It's that time again, another Raw has come along. So it's time for me to give my thoughts about it. What I think. You, the readers can think what you like, feel what you like. This is what I think. It's just me saying "here's my opinion, do you agree? why/why not?" If you don't like it, go suck a lemon.
So I'll be honest. I, like I'm sure a lot of people are focused on the main storyline that we're seeing at the moment, the CM Punk, John Cena, HHH and Rock saga. So once again most of what i'm writing will be to do with that.
I don't like that there's been no build up for anything else on Summerslam, at least from the RAW side of things. I mean aside from the Diva's Championship match. Which, for once, I'm at least a little interested in seeing. Mostly because Beth Phoenix is going to destroy Kelly Kelly. I know that it's Randy Orton vs Christian in a no holds barred match.. I always hated that name.. No Holds Barred.. it doesn't apply these days. Just call it a No DQ match, or a street fight. And Sheamus vs Mark Henry. That's all we have so far for the 2nd biggest pay per view of the year? ... I mean yes, everything is kind of revolving around Punk/Cena (and now HHH), but if this pay per view is second only to Wrestlemania, then there should be a better card, now what... only 5 days from the pay per view? Imagine if Wrestlemania was booked this way.. terrible.
But now onto RAW and what stood out for me. I'll get to the obvious in a little bit, but to begin, I am sick of Michael Cole. Why did JR come back if he's not going to be the lead play-by-play guy? Doesn't make sense to me. JR isn't a 3rd man kinda guy. Not anymore. I was watching Survivor Series 1995 last night, even then when he WAS the 3rd guy on the commentary team he still stood out, and i'm talking 16 years ago.
I get the feeling the angle shot with Miz and Mysterio was just in case Rey's knee is injured again, I read that he got hurt at a house show. So hopefully Rey isn't hurt too badly, and we can at least get some kind of match at Summerslam. Having said that, Miz hasn't been champion for about 3 or 4 months now, he lost the title at Extreme Rules if i'm correct, and he's not in the title picture now.. He's still calling himself the most "must see WWE champion" though.. I get what he means, but i think it would make more sense now to say something like "most must-see WWE superstar". But his promo was solid, really good I thought, he's one of those guys who just "has it".. and from what I understand he's had to go through some hard times to get there, so he definitely has my respect.
Am I the only one that doesn't think John Morrison lives up to his hype? he keeps botching movies.. people talk about Sin Cara botching moves.. look at Morrison though. I don't actually remember him hitting his finishing move cleanly, ever. It's always off target and he only hits with his arm or something. I remember not too long ago people were calling him "the next shawn michaels"... not a chance in hell. Seriously, Shawn Michaels, compared to John Morrison? there is no comparison. Morrison is good in the ring, and that parkour stuff is awesome to watch. But he's terrible on the mic. And without that getting better, he's not going to be able to connect in the same way that Michaels, Austin, Rock, CM Punk have.
HHH made himself the special referee for the Summerslam main event. I love this move. As soon as he started talking about it, you could see there was just a hint of what could happen if he turns Heel. He started talking about "how do you ensure one undisputed champion? You put someone in there who can control everything" (i'm paraphrasing.) He talked about change, how it's been a theme lately. He's right, and as far as I can tell, things are going to keep changing. Has anyone else noticed they're using "Anything can happen" again.. just like back in 1995/96. Just a nice little coincidence.
Now when he started talking about who the guy he picked was.. that was the start of the Heel turn. As he started reeling off the "larger than life" stuff, for about 5 seconds four or five names ran through my head. Who's he talking about? First I thought himself (always go with your first instincts is the lesson). Then as he said that man "towers over not only John Cena, but CM Punk" I started thinking Big Show? no.. Undertaker? Why would he come and referee.. then i thought Diesel/Kevin Nash... he's under contract with WWE, he's larger than life and towers over everyo.. oh what HHH said it was himself. Damn. Seriously though, I would've bought Kevin Nash being the Ref. He's buddies with HHH, he's talked about (and to) Punk on twitter.. it could have worked.
But I think HHH being the referee makes sense if the plan is to make him a bad guy.
And then we are told that there's going to be a contract signing. That peaked my interest, because it meant that CM Punk and Cena would be on the mic.
One thing i really liked was the little exchange between Cena and Triple H during Cena's entrance. Everything about this angle is really well done, and feels different. They played it perfectly. Cena trying to keep his words hidden from the camera's microphone, but not really at the same time.. and questioning HHH's motives. Really well done.
I'll be honest, I kind of skipped through most of the matches this week. For a few reasons. One, because i was watching at about 3am. 2, and this is more specific. I do not like Jack Swagger. He looks like Biff from Back To The Future. And that running around the ring gimmick, is kinda awful. Cena wins, nuff said.
R-Truth has become a joke. Sucks, coz Truth is awesome. Spider Soup? really?
Oh and another thing. Kofi Kingston is great, but pastel colours make him look weak. He is not weak.
Alberto Del Rio is awesome. But he needs a finisher that isn't a submission. It limits what stories can be told in a match if he always has to "work on a body part". He used a backstabber in his match on RAW with Punk this week.. Make that his second finisher or something. Give him a bit more freedom.
Ok onto the contract signing.
Oh wait, Divas. The gap in talent between the few that can actually wrestle well and the ones that can't is huge. Beth Phoenix, Natalya, ...who else is there?.. Oh right they fired one other one with talent, and the other quit. Beth Phoenix spoke the truth after decimating Eve this week. It should be about WRESTLING! Not perving.
Kelly Kelly looks unsure about everything she does. If change is really in the air, we will see a new Women's champion at Summerslam.
Dolph Ziggler will be in the title picture for real soon. He's one of the best things going today.
Ok onto the contract signing for real this time.
I love that Punk is given the freedom to say things that seem "contreversial" Talking about how what the contract signing segment is really used for was great.
Using the Rock's facebook video was interesting, but I'm guessing it was just used to keep the rivalry going between Rock and Cena. One a side note, Rock is boring. Yup i said it. I'm not a massive Cena fan, but Rock is coming across like a bully to me. Taking shots at Cena because of how he looks/dresses/what music he likes. And Rock? I'm a man, and you DON'T represent me.
But this isn't about the Rock, that's for another blog.
I LOVE Cena's promo on the haters. "maybe i could increase my workrate, maybe i could add to the 5 moves of doom, maybe i could let my heel persona shine through".. Ha! Brilliant. All signs of change. Cena said Punk (and the voiceless) think maybe he's a "product of the system". I think that's true. He's been marketed to kids. He did change.
He said maybe he's a little "too pg for ya". It's not him, it's the product as a whole. Cena being the face of said product, he gets the brunt of the criticism. Now I may not be a huge Cena fan, but i've said it before, I respect him for sticking to his guns, for not pandering to the people who hate him. Sure he's a product of the system, but he's not changing who he is to fit in with what other people want. And really, isn't that what CM Punk is doing too? Just in a different way?
But back to Punk.
It looked like to me after HHH called him gutless and Cena called him a phony, Punk actually got legitimately mad.
Maybe that's why he dropped the names of the released wrestlers. Laurinitis sure didn't look happy when Kozlov, Smith and Masters were mentioned. But then, maybe it's all part of the story and really, isn't that the mark of a good promo or angle? When we, the so called smart wrestling fans question wether something is real or not?
Only problem is dropping names has lost a little of it's effect since the first time he did it.
Punk was at his best as usual though, telling Cena he gave up on his dreams etc. It's all great stuff, it's all the signs of change happening.
Cena having the last word was great. He delivered that last little part so well. "You will be a loudmouth, one hit wonder". Punk calling Cena a phony seemed to get under his skin a little too.
The last thing i want to talk about is the ending of the show. It was, without a doubt, the best part of the entire show.
It was so well done, all the little things that came together to set up this match.
I'm talking about after the predictable table thrown aside spot.
Punk and Cena get in each other's faces, and Laurinitis breaks them up, firstly pushing Punk back, and then turning around to Cena to push him back. Now this is where it gets brilliant.
Punk goes to kick Cena in the head, but hits Laurinitis and MISSES Cena. Laurinitis goes down (which I'm always happy to see), and the HHH gets in front of Punk. Now Cena, in retaliation, goes to Punch CM Punk in the face, kind of hits HHH but actually CONNECTS with Punk.
That's important. That Punk missed, but Cena hit. Because what happened is Punk didn't see HHH and Cena argue and shove each other because he was knocked down and rolling out of the ring. So as far as Punk sees, he gets hit in the face with HHH holding him back, and then the next thing he sees, is HHH and Cena standing next to each other in the ring.
I can't stress enough how awesome that was. It sets up the match perfectly. Cena won't back down from HHH or Punk, Punk now thinks, as he said .. that "the fix is in" and Cena and HHH are working together, and everything will go back to the soul crushing status quo. Triple H is, at least appearing to be trying to maintain order, and send the impression that that's what he's going to do as the referee. But, let me take you back to the opening segment. He never said "I'm going to call it right down the middle." He said "I will call it, as I see it". And we all know, if the ref doesn't see it, it never really happened. Little touches like that are what the WWE has been missing, the little things that push the storylines over the edge and make them great, instead of good.
Absolutely brilliant ending. If you can, really go back and watch it to see what i'm talking about. CM Punk as the underdog, the guy that doesn't fit what society (or in this case, the WWE) says is "the norm", which I relate to. This match has a lot to live up to, but adding the special Ref element will give it a different flavour.
Let's just hope that the rest of the card will be as entertaining at the last 45 minutes or so are sure to be.
That's it. I hope you enjoyed reading this, leave me a comment, follow me on twitter at @TheACMouthpiece and remember, you only get truthfacts from the couch. and Cena is the beets of pro-wrestling. #CenaIsBeets
It's that time again, another Raw has come along. So it's time for me to give my thoughts about it. What I think. You, the readers can think what you like, feel what you like. This is what I think. It's just me saying "here's my opinion, do you agree? why/why not?" If you don't like it, go suck a lemon.
So I'll be honest. I, like I'm sure a lot of people are focused on the main storyline that we're seeing at the moment, the CM Punk, John Cena, HHH and Rock saga. So once again most of what i'm writing will be to do with that.
I don't like that there's been no build up for anything else on Summerslam, at least from the RAW side of things. I mean aside from the Diva's Championship match. Which, for once, I'm at least a little interested in seeing. Mostly because Beth Phoenix is going to destroy Kelly Kelly. I know that it's Randy Orton vs Christian in a no holds barred match.. I always hated that name.. No Holds Barred.. it doesn't apply these days. Just call it a No DQ match, or a street fight. And Sheamus vs Mark Henry. That's all we have so far for the 2nd biggest pay per view of the year? ... I mean yes, everything is kind of revolving around Punk/Cena (and now HHH), but if this pay per view is second only to Wrestlemania, then there should be a better card, now what... only 5 days from the pay per view? Imagine if Wrestlemania was booked this way.. terrible.
But now onto RAW and what stood out for me. I'll get to the obvious in a little bit, but to begin, I am sick of Michael Cole. Why did JR come back if he's not going to be the lead play-by-play guy? Doesn't make sense to me. JR isn't a 3rd man kinda guy. Not anymore. I was watching Survivor Series 1995 last night, even then when he WAS the 3rd guy on the commentary team he still stood out, and i'm talking 16 years ago.
I get the feeling the angle shot with Miz and Mysterio was just in case Rey's knee is injured again, I read that he got hurt at a house show. So hopefully Rey isn't hurt too badly, and we can at least get some kind of match at Summerslam. Having said that, Miz hasn't been champion for about 3 or 4 months now, he lost the title at Extreme Rules if i'm correct, and he's not in the title picture now.. He's still calling himself the most "must see WWE champion" though.. I get what he means, but i think it would make more sense now to say something like "most must-see WWE superstar". But his promo was solid, really good I thought, he's one of those guys who just "has it".. and from what I understand he's had to go through some hard times to get there, so he definitely has my respect.
Am I the only one that doesn't think John Morrison lives up to his hype? he keeps botching movies.. people talk about Sin Cara botching moves.. look at Morrison though. I don't actually remember him hitting his finishing move cleanly, ever. It's always off target and he only hits with his arm or something. I remember not too long ago people were calling him "the next shawn michaels"... not a chance in hell. Seriously, Shawn Michaels, compared to John Morrison? there is no comparison. Morrison is good in the ring, and that parkour stuff is awesome to watch. But he's terrible on the mic. And without that getting better, he's not going to be able to connect in the same way that Michaels, Austin, Rock, CM Punk have.
HHH made himself the special referee for the Summerslam main event. I love this move. As soon as he started talking about it, you could see there was just a hint of what could happen if he turns Heel. He started talking about "how do you ensure one undisputed champion? You put someone in there who can control everything" (i'm paraphrasing.) He talked about change, how it's been a theme lately. He's right, and as far as I can tell, things are going to keep changing. Has anyone else noticed they're using "Anything can happen" again.. just like back in 1995/96. Just a nice little coincidence.
Now when he started talking about who the guy he picked was.. that was the start of the Heel turn. As he started reeling off the "larger than life" stuff, for about 5 seconds four or five names ran through my head. Who's he talking about? First I thought himself (always go with your first instincts is the lesson). Then as he said that man "towers over not only John Cena, but CM Punk" I started thinking Big Show? no.. Undertaker? Why would he come and referee.. then i thought Diesel/Kevin Nash... he's under contract with WWE, he's larger than life and towers over everyo.. oh what HHH said it was himself. Damn. Seriously though, I would've bought Kevin Nash being the Ref. He's buddies with HHH, he's talked about (and to) Punk on twitter.. it could have worked.
But I think HHH being the referee makes sense if the plan is to make him a bad guy.
And then we are told that there's going to be a contract signing. That peaked my interest, because it meant that CM Punk and Cena would be on the mic.
One thing i really liked was the little exchange between Cena and Triple H during Cena's entrance. Everything about this angle is really well done, and feels different. They played it perfectly. Cena trying to keep his words hidden from the camera's microphone, but not really at the same time.. and questioning HHH's motives. Really well done.
I'll be honest, I kind of skipped through most of the matches this week. For a few reasons. One, because i was watching at about 3am. 2, and this is more specific. I do not like Jack Swagger. He looks like Biff from Back To The Future. And that running around the ring gimmick, is kinda awful. Cena wins, nuff said.
R-Truth has become a joke. Sucks, coz Truth is awesome. Spider Soup? really?
Oh and another thing. Kofi Kingston is great, but pastel colours make him look weak. He is not weak.
Alberto Del Rio is awesome. But he needs a finisher that isn't a submission. It limits what stories can be told in a match if he always has to "work on a body part". He used a backstabber in his match on RAW with Punk this week.. Make that his second finisher or something. Give him a bit more freedom.
Ok onto the contract signing.
Oh wait, Divas. The gap in talent between the few that can actually wrestle well and the ones that can't is huge. Beth Phoenix, Natalya, ...who else is there?.. Oh right they fired one other one with talent, and the other quit. Beth Phoenix spoke the truth after decimating Eve this week. It should be about WRESTLING! Not perving.
Kelly Kelly looks unsure about everything she does. If change is really in the air, we will see a new Women's champion at Summerslam.
Dolph Ziggler will be in the title picture for real soon. He's one of the best things going today.
Ok onto the contract signing for real this time.
I love that Punk is given the freedom to say things that seem "contreversial" Talking about how what the contract signing segment is really used for was great.
Using the Rock's facebook video was interesting, but I'm guessing it was just used to keep the rivalry going between Rock and Cena. One a side note, Rock is boring. Yup i said it. I'm not a massive Cena fan, but Rock is coming across like a bully to me. Taking shots at Cena because of how he looks/dresses/what music he likes. And Rock? I'm a man, and you DON'T represent me.
But this isn't about the Rock, that's for another blog.
I LOVE Cena's promo on the haters. "maybe i could increase my workrate, maybe i could add to the 5 moves of doom, maybe i could let my heel persona shine through".. Ha! Brilliant. All signs of change. Cena said Punk (and the voiceless) think maybe he's a "product of the system". I think that's true. He's been marketed to kids. He did change.
He said maybe he's a little "too pg for ya". It's not him, it's the product as a whole. Cena being the face of said product, he gets the brunt of the criticism. Now I may not be a huge Cena fan, but i've said it before, I respect him for sticking to his guns, for not pandering to the people who hate him. Sure he's a product of the system, but he's not changing who he is to fit in with what other people want. And really, isn't that what CM Punk is doing too? Just in a different way?
But back to Punk.
It looked like to me after HHH called him gutless and Cena called him a phony, Punk actually got legitimately mad.
Maybe that's why he dropped the names of the released wrestlers. Laurinitis sure didn't look happy when Kozlov, Smith and Masters were mentioned. But then, maybe it's all part of the story and really, isn't that the mark of a good promo or angle? When we, the so called smart wrestling fans question wether something is real or not?
Only problem is dropping names has lost a little of it's effect since the first time he did it.
Punk was at his best as usual though, telling Cena he gave up on his dreams etc. It's all great stuff, it's all the signs of change happening.
Cena having the last word was great. He delivered that last little part so well. "You will be a loudmouth, one hit wonder". Punk calling Cena a phony seemed to get under his skin a little too.
The last thing i want to talk about is the ending of the show. It was, without a doubt, the best part of the entire show.
It was so well done, all the little things that came together to set up this match.
I'm talking about after the predictable table thrown aside spot.
Punk and Cena get in each other's faces, and Laurinitis breaks them up, firstly pushing Punk back, and then turning around to Cena to push him back. Now this is where it gets brilliant.
Punk goes to kick Cena in the head, but hits Laurinitis and MISSES Cena. Laurinitis goes down (which I'm always happy to see), and the HHH gets in front of Punk. Now Cena, in retaliation, goes to Punch CM Punk in the face, kind of hits HHH but actually CONNECTS with Punk.
That's important. That Punk missed, but Cena hit. Because what happened is Punk didn't see HHH and Cena argue and shove each other because he was knocked down and rolling out of the ring. So as far as Punk sees, he gets hit in the face with HHH holding him back, and then the next thing he sees, is HHH and Cena standing next to each other in the ring.
I can't stress enough how awesome that was. It sets up the match perfectly. Cena won't back down from HHH or Punk, Punk now thinks, as he said .. that "the fix is in" and Cena and HHH are working together, and everything will go back to the soul crushing status quo. Triple H is, at least appearing to be trying to maintain order, and send the impression that that's what he's going to do as the referee. But, let me take you back to the opening segment. He never said "I'm going to call it right down the middle." He said "I will call it, as I see it". And we all know, if the ref doesn't see it, it never really happened. Little touches like that are what the WWE has been missing, the little things that push the storylines over the edge and make them great, instead of good.
Absolutely brilliant ending. If you can, really go back and watch it to see what i'm talking about. CM Punk as the underdog, the guy that doesn't fit what society (or in this case, the WWE) says is "the norm", which I relate to. This match has a lot to live up to, but adding the special Ref element will give it a different flavour.
Let's just hope that the rest of the card will be as entertaining at the last 45 minutes or so are sure to be.
That's it. I hope you enjoyed reading this, leave me a comment, follow me on twitter at @TheACMouthpiece and remember, you only get truthfacts from the couch. and Cena is the beets of pro-wrestling. #CenaIsBeets
Sunday, 17 July 2011
The calm before the storm
Welcome! Once again i am the armchair mouthpiece, shooting opinions and truthfacts your way from the comfort and relative safety of the couch. I was going to wait until after Money in the Bank to write my second post, but, as i'm sure a lot of people are, I can't stop thinking about what may happen tomorrow. I've read a lot of different people's ideas on what could happen, and i agree with what a lot of them are saying, that the most likely scenario is that Punk will win, but someone will cash in their money in the bank that night. I did read one column (possibly Mark Madden?) where they were talking about "what if _______ cashes in the briefcase, and loses the match?? We've never seen that before I think was the argument. Interesting, but that kind of leaves more questions unanswered I think.
I would LOVE to see Punk win full stop. But think of the possibilities for the end of this match. I'll list a few that have popped into my head in the last week.
1. Vince screws CM Punk to keep the belt in the WWE
2. Vince screws Cena, revealing it was all a scheme and he and CM Punk have "joined forces" so to speak, causing Cena to be "fired".. but eventually return with an attitude.
3. Colt Cabana does a run in. We're led to believe it's not planned at all. He and Punk screw Cena and Punk wins.
4. Cena turns heel.
5. (and this is remote, because let's face it, Rock isn't the most WWE guy there is) Rock makes a run in. Screws Cena building more heat for mania.
6. Rock runs in, screws Punk, using the "I respect the belt" angle. Cena gets pissed saying he doesn't need Rock's help, Cena turns heel.
7. Someone else (Mick Foley, Stone Cold) make a run in.
Now those last 2 i just thought of as i'm writing this, so they might not be any good. But what i'm trying to get at is that I hope that the ending to this pay per view is worthy of the storyline, worthy of the buildup. As far as wether Punk is really leaving, who knows? Part of me thinks it's just another "take time off" storyline, part of me thinks he's really done, which would be a huge mistake on WWE's part. Part of me thinks it's all an angle. Let's face it though, I think it's fairly safe to say this is the best thing WWE has done in a long time. I'm trying to remember the last time i was this excited about a Pay per view that wasn't one of the big 4.. I may have to go all the way back to the Armageddon with Undertaker vs Randy Orton in the hell in a cell match. Certainly the last time i was this excited about any WWE programming was the Undertaker/Shawn Michaels II, just based on the hype from the first match at WM 25.
To sum up, i sincerely hope that we don't get a boring, predictable super-cena comeback finish, with Punk's last moments in WWE being embarassing and having him leave in a bad way. Remember the way Vickie Guerrero left the first time? They called her all kinds of names and it was disgraceful. Remember the way Lita left? With her underwear being sold to the crowd? I'm not saying Vince McMahon will come out with some CM Punk drawers trying to hock them for $20, but I just hope they give us something amazing. This is the first time in about 3 years i've bought a WWE pay per view that wasn't Mania or the Rumble. Please don't make me regret my purchase WWE...
With all that being said, I'm going to wrap this up now, so until i write again. *I still have no idea on a finishing catchphrase*
I would LOVE to see Punk win full stop. But think of the possibilities for the end of this match. I'll list a few that have popped into my head in the last week.
1. Vince screws CM Punk to keep the belt in the WWE
2. Vince screws Cena, revealing it was all a scheme and he and CM Punk have "joined forces" so to speak, causing Cena to be "fired".. but eventually return with an attitude.
3. Colt Cabana does a run in. We're led to believe it's not planned at all. He and Punk screw Cena and Punk wins.
4. Cena turns heel.
5. (and this is remote, because let's face it, Rock isn't the most WWE guy there is) Rock makes a run in. Screws Cena building more heat for mania.
6. Rock runs in, screws Punk, using the "I respect the belt" angle. Cena gets pissed saying he doesn't need Rock's help, Cena turns heel.
7. Someone else (Mick Foley, Stone Cold) make a run in.
Now those last 2 i just thought of as i'm writing this, so they might not be any good. But what i'm trying to get at is that I hope that the ending to this pay per view is worthy of the storyline, worthy of the buildup. As far as wether Punk is really leaving, who knows? Part of me thinks it's just another "take time off" storyline, part of me thinks he's really done, which would be a huge mistake on WWE's part. Part of me thinks it's all an angle. Let's face it though, I think it's fairly safe to say this is the best thing WWE has done in a long time. I'm trying to remember the last time i was this excited about a Pay per view that wasn't one of the big 4.. I may have to go all the way back to the Armageddon with Undertaker vs Randy Orton in the hell in a cell match. Certainly the last time i was this excited about any WWE programming was the Undertaker/Shawn Michaels II, just based on the hype from the first match at WM 25.
To sum up, i sincerely hope that we don't get a boring, predictable super-cena comeback finish, with Punk's last moments in WWE being embarassing and having him leave in a bad way. Remember the way Vickie Guerrero left the first time? They called her all kinds of names and it was disgraceful. Remember the way Lita left? With her underwear being sold to the crowd? I'm not saying Vince McMahon will come out with some CM Punk drawers trying to hock them for $20, but I just hope they give us something amazing. This is the first time in about 3 years i've bought a WWE pay per view that wasn't Mania or the Rumble. Please don't make me regret my purchase WWE...
With all that being said, I'm going to wrap this up now, so until i write again. *I still have no idea on a finishing catchphrase*
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