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!
Tuesday, 6 March 2012
Sunday, 26 February 2012
Tis the season for picking a fight.
Yes. Yes I said I was back about a month ago, and then poof! I was gone again. The short version is I had some personal stuff to deal with and writing of any kind was just about the furthest thing from my mind.
But, that doesn't change the fact that I am indeed back.
And what a time to get back into this. Really, is there any better time for a wrestling fan that Wrestlemania "season"? Let's face it, the storylines (generally) get better, the quality of matches goes up, and then in turn, other companies try to lift their game/s to keep people interested in their product. It's a win/win.
I thought I might just pick a couple of the bigger news items of late and give my insightful opinions and thoughts on them, as well as where Wrestlemania is headed as of right now.. and probably some other small things that have caught my attention lately.
So where to begin? Let's go with... the CM Punk/Chris Brown twitter thing.
As far as I could tell this whole thing just kinda came out of nowhere, and was started by Punk. Now, I don't mean that in a bad way.. from what I've read, he was answering a question about who he'd like to see fight, or who he'd like to fight at wrestlemania or something, and gave a joking response saying that he'd "love to curb stomp that turd at 'mania".
The "turd" being Chris Brown.
Now I'm about the furthest thing from a "popular" music fan, so it's fair to say I have no idea what Chris Brown has done in the last few years. But he won a grammy.. so I guess that shows where the current music scene is, and how bad it's gotten. Seriously, don't get me started on music, or we'll be here until Wrestlemania. I could start an entirely new blog about the decline of skill, talent, creativity, and originality in music.
Some might say the music industry and Pro-Wrestling have a lot in common.
But, let's get back on topic.
So Brown replies with some remark about Punk being on steroids (I can't remember it, and one of Chris Brown's "staff" has deleted all the tweets). Way to come up with something original in response Chris Brown.. Oh.. wait.. the music thing.. I get it, there isn't any originality anywhere inside Chris Brown.
I'm right in thinking he's one of those guys who dances EXACTLY like Michael Jackson and calls it his own style aren't I? ... Nuff said.
Anyway, he takes the most general, first thought response to a wrestler.. "you're on steroids". Anyone who knows anything about CM Punk, would know he's straight-edge. Also..umm.. take a look at the guy? If it was Triple H or John Cena that had opened this up, you could almost forgive the guy for jumping on the steroid bandwagon. But Punk kinda just looks like a regular (albeit solid and much bigger) guy.
So after the steroid thing, he starts on the whole "I don't even know who CM Punk is" stuff. You may not know who he is Chris Brown, but I am damn sure he's much more respected by the general public that DO know who he is, because he stands for something, and doesn't abuse people. I'm not going to go into my own version of Punk's video, but it's safe to say that I agree with CM Punk's side of things.
You never hit women. It's cowardly. It's weak. It's a lack of respect, and it's disgusting that someone would need to make himself feel powerful at the expense of someone who at that time, would have trusted and loved (I assume) him. And giving celebrities special treatment and relaxed punishment because they are in the public eye is also disgusting.
Anyway, I digress again. Punk posted a video response, and it was amazing. Not a "promo" as such, and definitely not a work. Just a clear message. And amazingly well delivered. Oh, and Chris Brown?.. It wasn't defensive. It's not defensive to say "I am straight edge. I don't do drugs, I don't smoke, I don't drink, and I don't hit women"..
In the end nothing is going to come from this really, it's just CM Punk standing up for what he believes in, and it just proves even more that Chris Brown is exactly what Punk said he was.
I definitely do NOT want to see a match in WWE with these two. Chris Brown deserves no publicity for these kinds of actions, and WWE would, I'm sure, not want to do business with someone who conducts themselves in the way Chris Brown does. So, I think it should be left to settle.
I'll get to the other big thing I wanted to talk about soon, but I thought i'd just stop and lighten things up for a minute with some short opinions or reviews on some stuff i've watched lately.
Elimination Chamber: Decent PPV, found it really strange that the namesake match of this Pay Per View wasn't the main event. Marked out for Santino's near fall. Ziggler took so many crazy falls on the steel.. that guy is the man. Thought the Cena win over Kane was too clean, but I understand it as a definitive end to that feud. 6/10
Undertaker/HHH at Mania
I could write an entire post on this. Undertaker wearing a wig... HHH kind of being put in the same position as Punk put him in (as in pushing his buttons until he makes a rash decision), the Shawn Michaels factor.. the Hell in a Cell, but for now I'll just say... 20-0 ! Also I can't wait to see bald 'Taker! Who's with me?
The Punk/Jericho Feud
Ok this has been added in after I first posted, so i'll make it really short and elaborate in my next post after RAW this week. I really like how this started, the It Begins videos were interesting, Jericho not talking was great, and now that he's started talking he's stepped it up again. Punk is just being Punk. Which is awesome. Going to be great.
Eve turning heel/Cena on RAW this past week
FINALLY! I'm talking about Cena with attitude, not Eve turning heel. It was too quick, and felt forced. But Cena's Skank juice/Skankapottamus lines.. and then that promo at the end of RAW .. simply amazing. I agree with a few others that i've heard/read lately.. Cena is the babyface in this.
Which leads me into the second big news item I wanted to talk about.
The Rock is not all that popular backstage apparently, and people are talking about how he's just taking up a main event spot, yet he's not a full-time guy.
Now, there's an argument to be made about the 3rd highest match on the card.. which involves two part-time guys (Taker/HHH) and how it's hypocritical not to have the same feelings towards these guys, but I think the difference is that Triple H has been around this year, not to mention it's gotta be safe to assume he's backstage most of the time, and Undertaker is Undertaker. 21.. going on 22 years in the WWE... he can show up once a year and no-one would have anything to say about it.
The other difference, is that Rock has been booked in the main event since the day after Wrestlemania last year. Yet he's been seen on what.. two different occasions, actually live in the ring? He came back on his birthday or something, and then he was back around Survivor Series. That's it.. right? Correct me if i'm wrong, please.
But we have 5 episodes of RAW left before mania. Only five.
John Cena has been at oh.. 44 or so more episodes of RAW than Rock.
But the biggest thing to me, as a fan now more than trying to look at the wrestler's opinions, is Rock saying "I'm back.. and I am never leaving again" .. and as John Cena said.. "and then you left.. again!" ..
It's a joke.
Rock should have been around more. He did some "live via satellite" things during the year, why not do a few more of those last month? Surely one night out of a month wouldn't have been too hard to make it to a RAW and come out and just cut a promo about Mania. I know Cena was in a feud with Kane and they probably didn't want to blur the two feuds, but the problem with building and booking this match for a year in advance, is that we knew that the Kane feud would end. It had to.
Here's an idea for what WWE could have done.. at Survivor Series.. Rock takes Cena out. And I mean (kayfabe) injures Cena. Cena is now focused on recovering and rehabbing himself to get to mania. Keep him off of TV (Punk's merchandise would cover the costs, seeing as how that would be a major concern over quality tv) but have him do interviews from home.. in a cast, in a wheelchair.. something. Have vignettes like they have had with the two training, but without Cena being focused on someone else.
Just a thought..
But i think that the other WWE wrestlers have every right to feel the way they do. Sure, Rock will draw money, and it does make sense to put him in a marquee match, but Rock hasn't made the effort, and I hope, I wish, I plead with WWE... make Rock the heel. It won't happen, he's going to come out on RAW this week, run down John Cena, the We hate Cena crowd will love it.. and we'll have this weird "both guys are faces and heels" situation.
Imagine how shocked some people will be if The Rock comes out and says something like (read this part in the Rock's voice for added effect) No no no no no no NO! The Rock would have come back earlier, but The Rock has had so many movie premieres, so many interviews, so many media appearances, that quite frankly, The Rock just could not bring himself to come here. In Hollywood, The Rock can hang with (Insert b grade celebrity here), be seen by the millions... no no, the real millions. But here.. all the Rock has is a bunch of fruity pebble yabba dabbas chanting You can't see me at The Rock! How could the Rock not see you? You all look like Rainbows!" Or something. Just imagine that. (Of course Rock would be better than my small attempt at writing a Rock promo)
But you see where I'm going.. Rock the hollywood type heel... vs Cena.. the company guy. Picture it.
Ok, this is quite long now, so i'm going to finish up. But as always, leave me a comment, or let me know what you think on Twitter @TheOZMouthpiece and follow me on there so you can get spammed whenever I write a new post.
So until next time, I am the Aussie Mouthpiece, and I come from a land Down Under.
But, that doesn't change the fact that I am indeed back.
And what a time to get back into this. Really, is there any better time for a wrestling fan that Wrestlemania "season"? Let's face it, the storylines (generally) get better, the quality of matches goes up, and then in turn, other companies try to lift their game/s to keep people interested in their product. It's a win/win.
I thought I might just pick a couple of the bigger news items of late and give my insightful opinions and thoughts on them, as well as where Wrestlemania is headed as of right now.. and probably some other small things that have caught my attention lately.
So where to begin? Let's go with... the CM Punk/Chris Brown twitter thing.
As far as I could tell this whole thing just kinda came out of nowhere, and was started by Punk. Now, I don't mean that in a bad way.. from what I've read, he was answering a question about who he'd like to see fight, or who he'd like to fight at wrestlemania or something, and gave a joking response saying that he'd "love to curb stomp that turd at 'mania".
The "turd" being Chris Brown.
Now I'm about the furthest thing from a "popular" music fan, so it's fair to say I have no idea what Chris Brown has done in the last few years. But he won a grammy.. so I guess that shows where the current music scene is, and how bad it's gotten. Seriously, don't get me started on music, or we'll be here until Wrestlemania. I could start an entirely new blog about the decline of skill, talent, creativity, and originality in music.
Some might say the music industry and Pro-Wrestling have a lot in common.
But, let's get back on topic.
So Brown replies with some remark about Punk being on steroids (I can't remember it, and one of Chris Brown's "staff" has deleted all the tweets). Way to come up with something original in response Chris Brown.. Oh.. wait.. the music thing.. I get it, there isn't any originality anywhere inside Chris Brown.
I'm right in thinking he's one of those guys who dances EXACTLY like Michael Jackson and calls it his own style aren't I? ... Nuff said.
Anyway, he takes the most general, first thought response to a wrestler.. "you're on steroids". Anyone who knows anything about CM Punk, would know he's straight-edge. Also..umm.. take a look at the guy? If it was Triple H or John Cena that had opened this up, you could almost forgive the guy for jumping on the steroid bandwagon. But Punk kinda just looks like a regular (albeit solid and much bigger) guy.
So after the steroid thing, he starts on the whole "I don't even know who CM Punk is" stuff. You may not know who he is Chris Brown, but I am damn sure he's much more respected by the general public that DO know who he is, because he stands for something, and doesn't abuse people. I'm not going to go into my own version of Punk's video, but it's safe to say that I agree with CM Punk's side of things.
You never hit women. It's cowardly. It's weak. It's a lack of respect, and it's disgusting that someone would need to make himself feel powerful at the expense of someone who at that time, would have trusted and loved (I assume) him. And giving celebrities special treatment and relaxed punishment because they are in the public eye is also disgusting.
Anyway, I digress again. Punk posted a video response, and it was amazing. Not a "promo" as such, and definitely not a work. Just a clear message. And amazingly well delivered. Oh, and Chris Brown?.. It wasn't defensive. It's not defensive to say "I am straight edge. I don't do drugs, I don't smoke, I don't drink, and I don't hit women"..
In the end nothing is going to come from this really, it's just CM Punk standing up for what he believes in, and it just proves even more that Chris Brown is exactly what Punk said he was.
I definitely do NOT want to see a match in WWE with these two. Chris Brown deserves no publicity for these kinds of actions, and WWE would, I'm sure, not want to do business with someone who conducts themselves in the way Chris Brown does. So, I think it should be left to settle.
I'll get to the other big thing I wanted to talk about soon, but I thought i'd just stop and lighten things up for a minute with some short opinions or reviews on some stuff i've watched lately.
Elimination Chamber: Decent PPV, found it really strange that the namesake match of this Pay Per View wasn't the main event. Marked out for Santino's near fall. Ziggler took so many crazy falls on the steel.. that guy is the man. Thought the Cena win over Kane was too clean, but I understand it as a definitive end to that feud. 6/10
Undertaker/HHH at Mania
I could write an entire post on this. Undertaker wearing a wig... HHH kind of being put in the same position as Punk put him in (as in pushing his buttons until he makes a rash decision), the Shawn Michaels factor.. the Hell in a Cell, but for now I'll just say... 20-0 ! Also I can't wait to see bald 'Taker! Who's with me?
The Punk/Jericho Feud
Ok this has been added in after I first posted, so i'll make it really short and elaborate in my next post after RAW this week. I really like how this started, the It Begins videos were interesting, Jericho not talking was great, and now that he's started talking he's stepped it up again. Punk is just being Punk. Which is awesome. Going to be great.
Eve turning heel/Cena on RAW this past week
FINALLY! I'm talking about Cena with attitude, not Eve turning heel. It was too quick, and felt forced. But Cena's Skank juice/Skankapottamus lines.. and then that promo at the end of RAW .. simply amazing. I agree with a few others that i've heard/read lately.. Cena is the babyface in this.
Which leads me into the second big news item I wanted to talk about.
The Rock is not all that popular backstage apparently, and people are talking about how he's just taking up a main event spot, yet he's not a full-time guy.
Now, there's an argument to be made about the 3rd highest match on the card.. which involves two part-time guys (Taker/HHH) and how it's hypocritical not to have the same feelings towards these guys, but I think the difference is that Triple H has been around this year, not to mention it's gotta be safe to assume he's backstage most of the time, and Undertaker is Undertaker. 21.. going on 22 years in the WWE... he can show up once a year and no-one would have anything to say about it.
The other difference, is that Rock has been booked in the main event since the day after Wrestlemania last year. Yet he's been seen on what.. two different occasions, actually live in the ring? He came back on his birthday or something, and then he was back around Survivor Series. That's it.. right? Correct me if i'm wrong, please.
But we have 5 episodes of RAW left before mania. Only five.
John Cena has been at oh.. 44 or so more episodes of RAW than Rock.
But the biggest thing to me, as a fan now more than trying to look at the wrestler's opinions, is Rock saying "I'm back.. and I am never leaving again" .. and as John Cena said.. "and then you left.. again!" ..
It's a joke.
Rock should have been around more. He did some "live via satellite" things during the year, why not do a few more of those last month? Surely one night out of a month wouldn't have been too hard to make it to a RAW and come out and just cut a promo about Mania. I know Cena was in a feud with Kane and they probably didn't want to blur the two feuds, but the problem with building and booking this match for a year in advance, is that we knew that the Kane feud would end. It had to.
Here's an idea for what WWE could have done.. at Survivor Series.. Rock takes Cena out. And I mean (kayfabe) injures Cena. Cena is now focused on recovering and rehabbing himself to get to mania. Keep him off of TV (Punk's merchandise would cover the costs, seeing as how that would be a major concern over quality tv) but have him do interviews from home.. in a cast, in a wheelchair.. something. Have vignettes like they have had with the two training, but without Cena being focused on someone else.
Just a thought..
But i think that the other WWE wrestlers have every right to feel the way they do. Sure, Rock will draw money, and it does make sense to put him in a marquee match, but Rock hasn't made the effort, and I hope, I wish, I plead with WWE... make Rock the heel. It won't happen, he's going to come out on RAW this week, run down John Cena, the We hate Cena crowd will love it.. and we'll have this weird "both guys are faces and heels" situation.
Imagine how shocked some people will be if The Rock comes out and says something like (read this part in the Rock's voice for added effect) No no no no no no NO! The Rock would have come back earlier, but The Rock has had so many movie premieres, so many interviews, so many media appearances, that quite frankly, The Rock just could not bring himself to come here. In Hollywood, The Rock can hang with (Insert b grade celebrity here), be seen by the millions... no no, the real millions. But here.. all the Rock has is a bunch of fruity pebble yabba dabbas chanting You can't see me at The Rock! How could the Rock not see you? You all look like Rainbows!" Or something. Just imagine that. (Of course Rock would be better than my small attempt at writing a Rock promo)
But you see where I'm going.. Rock the hollywood type heel... vs Cena.. the company guy. Picture it.
Ok, this is quite long now, so i'm going to finish up. But as always, leave me a comment, or let me know what you think on Twitter @TheOZMouthpiece and follow me on there so you can get spammed whenever I write a new post.
So until next time, I am the Aussie Mouthpiece, and I come from a land Down Under.
Tuesday, 3 January 2012
I'm back babydolls!
Wow, I haven't written anything since Survivor Series. I'll admit, I kind of stopped caring about the wrestling stuff for a while there. Maybe it had something to do with Skyrim. Maybe it was because the product (with the exception of a few I'll mention in due course) sucked. Maybe a little of both.
I had thought that it would have been amazing if the first thing he actually said was something like "And that's how easy it is to control you people... you sheep.. you "insert big long jericho style word here".. you really think I'm here to please you??" Etc.
Either way, I'm back! I find the new year so exciting, the "Road To Wrestlemania" is beginning, it feels like the WWE always lifts it's programming up a notch or two in these months. Wouldn't it be great if it held to that standard for a whole year...
And then there's the returns. Wow.. so much to talk about. Where do I even begin...
I guess like any good return, it begins (see what i did there) with an intro. For those of you reading my page for the first time, I am the Aussie Mouthpiece. There you go, intro done.
Returns seem like a good place to start. Well, technically one return, and one re-imagining. I'm talking about Kane and *spoiler alert.. oh just go watch RAW already* Jericho.
So Kane first of all. I am a huge fan of "new Kane". I saw some people get all upset because he started talking and cut a long promo. Here's what I think about that. Kane is a great talker. Why would you want him not to use that to further storylines, and entertain you? What, just because he puts the mask on suddenly he's a mute again? He talked before he took his mask off in the first place. He also had facial hair. My point is, having him suddenly become silent again, would be a step backwards for his character.
The one thing that I think maybe needs to change (and this is just a purely aesthetic thing) is the design on his tights.. the bright yellow part of the flames and then everything else is red... it just looks a bit silly. A bit cartoony. Make it more subtle I think, because his character is coming across as a little unstable, and very dangerous and kind of psychotic. bright yellow does not reflect this image.
However the way Kane has been used since making his return has been great. The end of this week's RAW especially. I've always loved that slightly hokey, yet really "supernatural" style stuff that they've done with both he and Undertaker in the past. I hope they keep it up, and Kane gets a really good spot on the Wrestlemania card, and not just as part of a ladder match again.
And the other return. The one everyone's been talking about since that first It Begins video. The one everyone has speculated on.. is it Shane and Stephanie.. is it Y2J... is it Undertaker.. I think i saw that "is it Skip Sheffield"... Seriously? Skip Sheffield? I mean I've read this thing about this Ryback character.. but man.. I never really got it with that guy. Looked like a meathead, sounded like a meathead... but then Batista had a fairly good run with WWE so I guess that kind of person works for them.
But back to the It Begins clips. Amazing stuff. I was hooked from the first one. Trying to play them back in slow motion to get any kind of hint about who it might be. Part of me really didn't want it to be Jericho. Because it seemed so obvious. And that if it was him, the surprise would be lessened with the live crowd chanting his name and bringing signs.
I wanted it to be Undertaker. I think he is due for a change in character, especially to wind down his career. But in the end, I'm really glad it was Jericho.
Here's the rub though. How many people watched his return and felt like something was a little off, or hated it? Here comes the babyface Jericho and all he does for near 10 mins or something is pander to the crowd?
I'll admit it, I was of that mindset until about 5 minutes into it. Then I (like a few other people I've noticed) figured it out. He's not pandering, he's showing how easy it is to lead the crowd, to have them follow him. To make them sheep essentially. He had that entire place eating out of the palm of his hand for 10 mins. Brilliant.
And there were just a couple of subtle signs that he wasn't sincere. Don't get me wrong, the initial couple of minutes was all real as far as I can tell. Jericho has got to be happy to be back and get that kind of reaction. Who wouldn't want 15000 people cheering for them? But there were a couple of times where the smile faded, and you could see the "Best in the world at what he does" Jericho face.
I had thought that it would have been amazing if the first thing he actually said was something like "And that's how easy it is to control you people... you sheep.. you "insert big long jericho style word here".. you really think I'm here to please you??" Etc.
But I love the way this played out. The lack of talking makes people go .. "what...?" And more importantly, will make them tune in next week to see if he says anything.
As with most other people, I think that this is leading into a Punk/Jericho feud. Which I am more than happy with.
So those were the returns. But we've got some more returns happening in the near future I dare say. The biggest one being Undertaker of course. Which will probably happen after the Rumble, maybe at the Rumble depending on who he will be facing at mania. I really hope they don't go with HHH again. It's a totally different situation to Taker and HBK. There's really nothing more they can add to what Taker and HHH did last year. I would love to see Taker and Kane, I think with Kane's resurrection, it could make for a really interesting story, and really, a good way for Taker to go out (if that's what he's planning to do). 20-0 seems an appropriate number to retire on I think.
But really, it's still 3 months until Wrestlemania, and they have a ton of options.
Taker vs Sheamus (they would have to turn sheamus heel though)
Taker vs Cody Rhodes (doesn't make a lot of sense though, if Cody is still IC champ)
Taker vs Ziggler (I would like to see this as Ziggler rules, but I can't figure out the story behind it other than Ziggler saying "i can beat the streak".. and we've seen that a lot)
Taker vs CM Punk .. if they decide to go down a different road with Punk of course
And then by that logic, Taker vs Jericho. That would be an amazing match.
I'll even throw out there Taker vs HBK III ... So unlikely that it would happen, but it would still be amazing.
Ok I think i'll leave it there for now, I'm going to try to get back into this writing thing a lot more regularly. So I'll be back in a few days or a week or so to write about some of the other stuff that's been happening in the last few weeks. Like Cena still not turning heel. That's going to be a long blog.
Until then, follow me @TheOZMouthpiece on twitter and if you like what you've read, leave me a comment and check out my older posts.
Done.
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.
Wednesday, 26 October 2011
Home Schooling No. 5
It's another week, and time again for another edition of Home schooling, my weekly RAW recap, along with a few other topics about wrestling that i've had on my mind during the week.
This week I'll talk about RAW, mention a little more about Vengeance, and maybe a couple of other things.
Firstly coming off of Vengeance, there were some questions that were definitely left unanswered. Like when is it going to be "revealed" that Laurinitis is behind Nash's attacks? Or is it Laurinitis... maybe there's a higher power. Let's hope not. I don't think that needs to be re-visited.
Why did Zack Ryder lose? I saw a few people upset about that. Well.. has everyone forgotten the way things used to, and should be done? Won't it mean more if Ryder has to fight through another month of adversity and THEN win the title? I see "oh they've stopped his push" or "he was never really getting pushed". Just because he loses doesn't mean he's done being pushed. People just want a quick fix nowadays. It means more if it's long term. Think about it.
Think about the guys who were pushed way too quickly. There's one name in particular that springs to mind. Brock Lesnar. He left after not even 2 years in the WWE. Bobby Lashley is another one.
Slower builds mean more. And they seem to provide longevity.
I'm not upset Ryder lost. No-one else should be, except as a work.
I'm still amazed at how good the main event was. Especially in a broken ring. It's lucky that it was a last man standing match. I really can't think of any other type of match, except for an I Quit match that would work in a broken ring. Maybe a hardcore match, or a street fight, but a last man standing match is really just an extension of a street fight. As is an I Quit match. But, having said that, hardcore matches, street fights, they have to have a pinfall or submission.
Ok so let's move onto Raw.
I loved the opening of the show. Triple H seems like he's "back" .. as a wrestler I mean. No suit this week. That could be a telling factor.
Laurinitis is REALLY boring. But you already know that.
Triple H did deliver quite a good promo, talking about how he thought he and Nash were cool buds forever, and that the kliq sign meant something. The best promos, interviews, whatever you want to call them, they always have something "real" about them. I'll talk more about that in the post i'm writing about great promos.
But man, I honestly did not expect Nash to come out and hit Triple H with that sledgehammer. Very surprising, very brutal looking.
And then the second attack, while Triple H was strapped to that stretcher? Anyone remember the last time something like that happened? We had a stretcher match after that between Lesnar and Big Show. Man, I'll never forget that image of Rey Mysterio being slammed into the ring post.
I could write a whole post on why John Laurinitis is one of the worst talkers in the WWE right now. Hell, Mike Adamle might have been better. Laurinitis sounds like he's reading from a script, which is a problem for a lot of the WWE at the moment, but the thing is, he's the least believable guy. Everything is so stiff, so forced, there's no expression, no feeling behind what he's saying.
He needs to become more believable. Otherwise the only way they'll get out of this Interim GM storyline is if it's revealed that John Laurinitis is actually a robot, and someone has a remote control in the back somewhere.
Also he looks like a muppet when he talks. Kind of fitting if you think about it.
Ok I got off track there. Like I said, I coudl write a whole post on him.
Back to Nash and Triple H. Oh one thing though, Laurinitis isn't all bad. When he was checking on HHH, it felt a lot more real than anything else he'd done.
Nash's expressions after he'd hit HHH were brilliant. He looks like he's a lot more comfortable now. And my god he's in good shape.
Here's the thing though. They show Nash walking backstage, that was good. But what I found a little weird, he walks past at least 4 active WWE wrestlers. Now, as far as storyline goes, Nash doesn't work there. Why wouldn't the people with jobs stand up for their boss? Sure, Nash had a sledgehammer, but DiBiase standing there with a dumb look on his face didn't really do anything good for the angle. Made it look less real if anything.
So the second attack, like I said was amazing. That felt really different again to what has been happening in recent months with storylines. I hope it's heading for a stretcher match. You really don't see those all that often, and it would mean that they could rely less on "wrestling" and use objects and what not to make a great match. And Nash and HHH have had great gimmick matches before. Hell in a Cell from Bad Blood in 2003 springs to mind.
So I've called it. Stretcher match. I'll probably be wrong.
The idea of the supershow must be to get the smackdown guys used to working live every week. Right? Why else have them on the show? We can see them every week on Smackdown.
Looks like Cena's had enough of John Laurinitis as well. I really hope we do get to see someone, Punk, Triple H, Cena, all of the above, let's hope we get to see Laurinitis get the crap beaten out of him.
Dolph will be world champion before the end of next year. And not just for one night. He is arguably the best thing going today. He and Punk are neck and neck. Here's an idea. After Wrestlemania, have Punk as champion, and have he and Ziggler get into a feud. Ziggler doesn't need to turn face, he's too good of a heel.
Santino reminds me of early 90's WWE. And.. I'm not sure it's a good thing. The Cobra, the over the top sillyness.. It's a shame that he's stuck in that character, I remember when he started, he was a great heel. Now he's essentially a job guy this week.
Mason "batista with hair" Ryan.. I don't get it.
I tell you what was good this week. CM Punk got to speak. And it wasn't just a short little thing. We got some pipebombs. Finally. It's been about 3 weeks? The guy got over with his mic work, so he should be given time to use that which got him to this point every week.
As usual though, Punk was on fire. The best part is that Punk and Laurinitis having a conversation in the ring, just shows how bad Laurinitis is, and how good Punk is. The thing that makes Punk so good, is everything feels real. Whenever he's cutting someone down, like Laurinitis this week, it feels like a shoot. Sure, we know it's more like a worked shoot, but no-one else (maybe except Cena) is doing that.
Hey Wade Barrett! I forgot he had a job. Too bad they screwed up the finish.
Michael Cole's "JR" segment was disgusting. WWE don't seem to get the difference between a heel getting heat, and people wanting to see them get beaten up, as opposed to Cole's heat, where no one wants to see him at all.
I hope the idea is that JR is going to win this challenge thing, put Cole back on Smackdown. Or maybe he's going to take some much needed time off.
More than likely someone will interfere and JR will get screwed over again.
And the last thing I want to talk about is Cena announcing the Rock as his partner for Survivor Series. The idea of not having a traditional Survivor Series match is going to take so much steam away from this angle. Same as the decision to have the focus not be on CM Punk, who started everything. Hopefully, as the guys on Chair shot reality said, it'll become a 6-man tag at the very least.
Speaking of which, just quickly, everyone should check out Chair Shot Reality on Wrestlezone.com when you finish reading this. It's a great show, they're in the middle of their 100th episode at the moment. It's awesome.
I found it kind of funny that Cena was selling the beating Miz and Truth gave him until he "realised" he could choose The Rock.
Hopefully we get some more of the same kind of stuff next week on Raw. More CM Punk getting to talk. More good wrestling. And more Nash. But, one thing, Triple H should NOT be there. Maybe an interview "via satellite". Keep the angle going, but really sell the injury. It'll make Nash look even stronger than he already does, and it will help get across the fact that Nash, who (to the WWE audience) hasn't wrestled there for what.. 8 years? (and to the rest of us, like a year or so since he left TNA), but it will help get the fact that Nash would even be a decent opponent for Triple H over.
That's about it really, I'm working on this promos blog, hopefully have that done in the next week or so. It's gonna be a long one folks. But until then, you can follow me on twitter at @TheOZMouthpiece .. let me know what you think of the blog, read some of my other posts, even leave me a comment on here. But for now, that's it and that's all!.
This week I'll talk about RAW, mention a little more about Vengeance, and maybe a couple of other things.
Firstly coming off of Vengeance, there were some questions that were definitely left unanswered. Like when is it going to be "revealed" that Laurinitis is behind Nash's attacks? Or is it Laurinitis... maybe there's a higher power. Let's hope not. I don't think that needs to be re-visited.
Why did Zack Ryder lose? I saw a few people upset about that. Well.. has everyone forgotten the way things used to, and should be done? Won't it mean more if Ryder has to fight through another month of adversity and THEN win the title? I see "oh they've stopped his push" or "he was never really getting pushed". Just because he loses doesn't mean he's done being pushed. People just want a quick fix nowadays. It means more if it's long term. Think about it.
Think about the guys who were pushed way too quickly. There's one name in particular that springs to mind. Brock Lesnar. He left after not even 2 years in the WWE. Bobby Lashley is another one.
Slower builds mean more. And they seem to provide longevity.
I'm not upset Ryder lost. No-one else should be, except as a work.
I'm still amazed at how good the main event was. Especially in a broken ring. It's lucky that it was a last man standing match. I really can't think of any other type of match, except for an I Quit match that would work in a broken ring. Maybe a hardcore match, or a street fight, but a last man standing match is really just an extension of a street fight. As is an I Quit match. But, having said that, hardcore matches, street fights, they have to have a pinfall or submission.
Ok so let's move onto Raw.
I loved the opening of the show. Triple H seems like he's "back" .. as a wrestler I mean. No suit this week. That could be a telling factor.
Laurinitis is REALLY boring. But you already know that.
Triple H did deliver quite a good promo, talking about how he thought he and Nash were cool buds forever, and that the kliq sign meant something. The best promos, interviews, whatever you want to call them, they always have something "real" about them. I'll talk more about that in the post i'm writing about great promos.
But man, I honestly did not expect Nash to come out and hit Triple H with that sledgehammer. Very surprising, very brutal looking.
And then the second attack, while Triple H was strapped to that stretcher? Anyone remember the last time something like that happened? We had a stretcher match after that between Lesnar and Big Show. Man, I'll never forget that image of Rey Mysterio being slammed into the ring post.
I could write a whole post on why John Laurinitis is one of the worst talkers in the WWE right now. Hell, Mike Adamle might have been better. Laurinitis sounds like he's reading from a script, which is a problem for a lot of the WWE at the moment, but the thing is, he's the least believable guy. Everything is so stiff, so forced, there's no expression, no feeling behind what he's saying.
He needs to become more believable. Otherwise the only way they'll get out of this Interim GM storyline is if it's revealed that John Laurinitis is actually a robot, and someone has a remote control in the back somewhere.
Also he looks like a muppet when he talks. Kind of fitting if you think about it.
Ok I got off track there. Like I said, I coudl write a whole post on him.
Back to Nash and Triple H. Oh one thing though, Laurinitis isn't all bad. When he was checking on HHH, it felt a lot more real than anything else he'd done.
Nash's expressions after he'd hit HHH were brilliant. He looks like he's a lot more comfortable now. And my god he's in good shape.
Here's the thing though. They show Nash walking backstage, that was good. But what I found a little weird, he walks past at least 4 active WWE wrestlers. Now, as far as storyline goes, Nash doesn't work there. Why wouldn't the people with jobs stand up for their boss? Sure, Nash had a sledgehammer, but DiBiase standing there with a dumb look on his face didn't really do anything good for the angle. Made it look less real if anything.
So the second attack, like I said was amazing. That felt really different again to what has been happening in recent months with storylines. I hope it's heading for a stretcher match. You really don't see those all that often, and it would mean that they could rely less on "wrestling" and use objects and what not to make a great match. And Nash and HHH have had great gimmick matches before. Hell in a Cell from Bad Blood in 2003 springs to mind.
So I've called it. Stretcher match. I'll probably be wrong.
The idea of the supershow must be to get the smackdown guys used to working live every week. Right? Why else have them on the show? We can see them every week on Smackdown.
Looks like Cena's had enough of John Laurinitis as well. I really hope we do get to see someone, Punk, Triple H, Cena, all of the above, let's hope we get to see Laurinitis get the crap beaten out of him.
Dolph will be world champion before the end of next year. And not just for one night. He is arguably the best thing going today. He and Punk are neck and neck. Here's an idea. After Wrestlemania, have Punk as champion, and have he and Ziggler get into a feud. Ziggler doesn't need to turn face, he's too good of a heel.
Santino reminds me of early 90's WWE. And.. I'm not sure it's a good thing. The Cobra, the over the top sillyness.. It's a shame that he's stuck in that character, I remember when he started, he was a great heel. Now he's essentially a job guy this week.
Mason "batista with hair" Ryan.. I don't get it.
I tell you what was good this week. CM Punk got to speak. And it wasn't just a short little thing. We got some pipebombs. Finally. It's been about 3 weeks? The guy got over with his mic work, so he should be given time to use that which got him to this point every week.
As usual though, Punk was on fire. The best part is that Punk and Laurinitis having a conversation in the ring, just shows how bad Laurinitis is, and how good Punk is. The thing that makes Punk so good, is everything feels real. Whenever he's cutting someone down, like Laurinitis this week, it feels like a shoot. Sure, we know it's more like a worked shoot, but no-one else (maybe except Cena) is doing that.
Hey Wade Barrett! I forgot he had a job. Too bad they screwed up the finish.
Michael Cole's "JR" segment was disgusting. WWE don't seem to get the difference between a heel getting heat, and people wanting to see them get beaten up, as opposed to Cole's heat, where no one wants to see him at all.
I hope the idea is that JR is going to win this challenge thing, put Cole back on Smackdown. Or maybe he's going to take some much needed time off.
More than likely someone will interfere and JR will get screwed over again.
And the last thing I want to talk about is Cena announcing the Rock as his partner for Survivor Series. The idea of not having a traditional Survivor Series match is going to take so much steam away from this angle. Same as the decision to have the focus not be on CM Punk, who started everything. Hopefully, as the guys on Chair shot reality said, it'll become a 6-man tag at the very least.
Speaking of which, just quickly, everyone should check out Chair Shot Reality on Wrestlezone.com when you finish reading this. It's a great show, they're in the middle of their 100th episode at the moment. It's awesome.
I found it kind of funny that Cena was selling the beating Miz and Truth gave him until he "realised" he could choose The Rock.
Hopefully we get some more of the same kind of stuff next week on Raw. More CM Punk getting to talk. More good wrestling. And more Nash. But, one thing, Triple H should NOT be there. Maybe an interview "via satellite". Keep the angle going, but really sell the injury. It'll make Nash look even stronger than he already does, and it will help get across the fact that Nash, who (to the WWE audience) hasn't wrestled there for what.. 8 years? (and to the rest of us, like a year or so since he left TNA), but it will help get the fact that Nash would even be a decent opponent for Triple H over.
That's about it really, I'm working on this promos blog, hopefully have that done in the next week or so. It's gonna be a long one folks. But until then, you can follow me on twitter at @TheOZMouthpiece .. let me know what you think of the blog, read some of my other posts, even leave me a comment on here. But for now, that's it and that's all!.
Sunday, 23 October 2011
best served cold
Welcome to this post-vengeance edition of The Aussie Mouthpiece blog. Let's get straight into it. It's vengeance time.
Decent video package to open up talking about chaos, which was really the theme througout the night, as we would soon find out.
So we start with the Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger vs AirBoom for the Tag Team Titles. I think this was the right way to start, but I didn't like the idea of Ziggler having to wrestle stwo matches in a row. Could have swapped Sheamus and Christian for Ziggler and Ryder.
Anyway, onto the match. I'm not going to go through everything, no play by play results here, just in case you were wondering.
Was a really good match, good to see a few double team moves by AirBoom. Kofi hit a huge monkey flip on Dolph, which, in all fairness was made so huge by the way Dolph made it look. He is so good. Seriously. World title for Dolph. It's going to happen soon.
Speaking of Dolph, he was wearing some new ring attire. Looked kind of like a singlet, similar to Swagger's gear, but he hadn't "put the straps on". He didn't pull it up for either match, which I found a bit odd. But it looked decent.
One of the weirder points in the match was Evan Bourne knocking Swagger down, going for a pin, and then when Swagger kicked out, he didn't get up. Instead he stayed laying on the ground and Bourne tried to hit the Airbourne. It makes sense I guess, it just seemed weird. If the guy was down on the ground, hit the finisher and then go for the pin instead of essentially giving him time to recover.
The crowd didn't seem to be into the match all that much either. A few cheers, but no huge pops or anything.
Another thing, you can really notice the difference between how good Dolph is, and how only ok Swagger is. There's just something that Ziggler has that Swagger doesn't.
I liked the finish, with Kofi and Evan both hitting their finishers, but Ziggler getting pinned doesn't make sense. It should have been Swagger.
So now, it makes Ryder look weaker if he wins, because he beat someone who had been hit with two finishers just minutes earlier, and if he doesn't win, it makes him look weaker because he can't even beat a guy who's had two other finishers hit on him, only minutes earlier. It's a no-win situation.
It helps make Dolph look good though if Dolph wins.
So let's get into the US Title match
Airboom and Swagger remain at ringside, but what was interesting is that it was AirBoom interfered, throwing Ziggler back into the ring, and therefore getting ejected from ringside by the referee. it was good to see it's not just the heels that get that treatment.
So like i said earlier, Ziggler didn't show off his new attire in either match. Kinda strange. And Ryder looked like he'd dyed his hair... red? orange?.. maybe some fake tan went into his hair.
I liked the finish with the super kick. Ziggler is money. Once again though, the problem is now Ryder is the guy who couldn't beat the guy who got pinned 10 mins earlier.
I am really sick of Michael Cole. It's the wrong kind of heat. The product would be better without his constant banter, his constant jokes at the expense of JR, and also, the fact that he spent a fair bit of time talking about what was trending on twitter, rather than talking about what happened in the ring.
I get that it's about telling stories for the WWE commentators, but surely you can spend two seconds and say "he's got him in a boston crab", rather than "so and so is trending worldwide on twitter"
Beth Phoenix vs Eve (Diva's title match)
What the hell kind of "music" is that? Here's the answer. Eve's new music is only a little worse than the skills of MOST of the divas. So it was pretty bad.
Not really a lot to say about this match, I like the running story of Beth wanting Eve to cry. I liked Eve using a triangle choke, even though her legs weren't locked half the time. And I liked that Beth won. That's really about it.
Sheamus vs Christian
Once again the crowd didn't seem to care too much about this match. Quite frankly neither did I. I really like sheamus, but Christian is really boring to me. I wish he was better. I remember hearing when he won the Title in TNA. I was just like, Really? that guy??
I really hope that was the end of this little feud, Sheamus should be in the title picture. Henry vs Sheamus was a surprisingly good match at Summerslam, I'm sure they could do it again.
Punk/HHH vs Awesome truth.
First of all, that "promo" by Miz and Truth was awful. "You know who sucks?" YOU TWO DO! Childish humor. It would have been funnier if they were trying to be dirty with it. Who really believes that's how Miz and Truth would talk to each other backstage? And if you do, you may need to have your head examined.
Good slower pace to this match, Triple H looks in good shape, Punk looks like he's having fun.
Really good match, great old school vibe.
And then of course, the "complete shocker" of Kevin Nash returning. I mean, I guess it was a shock, but it was an expected shock I guess. But even though it was not shocking, he definitely made a big impact.
The Jacknife always looks great, but man, Triple H landed awkwardly. It looked brutal. I don't think Triple H was hurt, but he certainly sold it like he was. Really good finish though, and it was the right decision to have Truth and Miz win, and definitely the right decision to have them win the way they did.
Cody Rhodes vs Randy Orton.
I really liked the promo package for this match. We even saw some blood.
The match was good, not great, but once again, the crowd wasn't interested for the most part.
Best part of the match was the TWO moonsaults by Cody Rhodes. The first one that missed looked absolutely flawless.
The match was for the most part, predictable though. Good ending, with the "baggers" getting involved, but once again.. predictable.
Big Show vs Mark Henry
Great promo package once again. These video packages make you excited for the matches. Hopefully the WWE keep it up.
The start of the match was pretty awesome, two spots in particular. Mark henry was thrown, almost hip tossed back into the ring, and also Big Show hit him with a superkick. I love seeing guys this size doing things that you wouldn't expect them to do.
The rest of the match up until the ending was decent, with one huge double clothesline to start heading towards the finish.
And then the ending. Sure, it's been done before, but that doesn't lessen the impact. Show climbed the ropes, and Henry superplex-ed him, and the ring broke.
The big difference between this and the last time it was done (in WWE at least), is that the Brock Lesnar/Big Show spot ended the show. There was still one more match to go at Vengeance.
The other thing that made this such a great finish, was Laurinitis and Teddy Long coming out, helped sell the idea that it wasn't supposed to happen, and also the way Mark Henry walked out, instead of being stretchered out. That was awesome, he is so improved this year.
John Laurinitis gets a microphone and tells us that the show will go on, but not before introducing himself to us. Why did he need to introduce himself? He didn't. We've seen him on TV. I mean we've fallen asleep after seeing him, but we've seen him. No personality at all.
John Cena vs Alberto Del Rio - Last Man Standing (in a broken ring)
Straight away I want to watch this match, simply because the ring is broken. It means they have to do things differently,and any time things have to change, it always makes more interesting viewing. Think about it. No irish whips, no coming off of the top rope, no shooting a guy into the turnbuckles. Even further than that, it made it harder to use the apron, the ring posts, and the ring itself.
Del rio's reaction to the broken ring was priceless. His face looked like he just smelled something really bad or something.
Cena has a new shirt, new shorts, new colour. He's wearing camo shorts, and his new shrit is black with the words "Rise above hate" on it. I guess because he's wearing black we're back to getting serious Cena. No more fruity pebbles?
The start of the match was decent, but I think the fact that it was unique was the main draw at the start. Having a broken ring adds so much to the match.
There was a really nice spot with Alberto Del Rio being thrown from the ring, through where the ropes would have been, into the guardrail. It looked like a really hard landing, fairly brutal.
Also, the whole nut shot on the ring post with Rodriguez and Del Rio was great. Yes a funny spot, but it was a nice little break from the seriousness of the match, and really of the whole night.
And the fight went backstage! I don't remember the last time I've seen that. Brings back memories of amazing matches, Kane and Shane from Survivor Series 2003.. many hardcore matches.. I always enjoyed the backstage stuff.
And this was no exception. Cena toppling over that huge equipment case, and it really looking (at least for a second) that it had landed on Del Rio. Then a slam on top of the tipped over case. And finally the interview area basically being dropped onto John Cena. To me that looked like it would be the finish.
Now some people I noticed on twitter were saying "oh Cena just keeps getting up". But, I mean it's a last man standing match, not just a regular match. It's kind of a given that people tend to take more punishment in these matches. It wasn't about Cena not selling, it was about Cena not giving up. That's kind of one of his mottos. Del Rio didn't sell things for ages either.
Like falling through a table. He got up at 8. That's 8 seconds and he's back on his feet. From falling through a table onto concrete. Any other match that's not selling. Last man Standing, it's having the guts to keep fighting.
That's what I really like about Last man Standing matches. There's a ton of "this has to be it" moments.
And we get the amazing finish of Del Rio being smashed through a table by Cena, and then Miz and Truth running in and destroying Cena. But that wasn't the finish. The Ref was distracted by Miz and Truth, and therefore not counting Del Rio. So Cena is up at the count of 9, and then Del Rio gets the title belt and blasts Cena in the head with it, and that is the finish.
Really great match, especially because they had a broken ring. To me it sets up the survivor series match really well. something like Triple H, CM Punk, Rock and Cena on one team, with Nash, Del Rio, Miz and Truth on the other.
Overall I think this was a really good Pay per view, all decent matches, and the two main events really lifted the quality.
I'll give it.... 8/10.
Ok that's about it, I'll be back with my weekly blog in a few days, but until then, tha'ts it, and that's all.
People complain about cena's work, but it was a lst man standing match. they have to build to those "he got up at 9" moments.
Decent video package to open up talking about chaos, which was really the theme througout the night, as we would soon find out.
So we start with the Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger vs AirBoom for the Tag Team Titles. I think this was the right way to start, but I didn't like the idea of Ziggler having to wrestle stwo matches in a row. Could have swapped Sheamus and Christian for Ziggler and Ryder.
Anyway, onto the match. I'm not going to go through everything, no play by play results here, just in case you were wondering.
Was a really good match, good to see a few double team moves by AirBoom. Kofi hit a huge monkey flip on Dolph, which, in all fairness was made so huge by the way Dolph made it look. He is so good. Seriously. World title for Dolph. It's going to happen soon.
Speaking of Dolph, he was wearing some new ring attire. Looked kind of like a singlet, similar to Swagger's gear, but he hadn't "put the straps on". He didn't pull it up for either match, which I found a bit odd. But it looked decent.
One of the weirder points in the match was Evan Bourne knocking Swagger down, going for a pin, and then when Swagger kicked out, he didn't get up. Instead he stayed laying on the ground and Bourne tried to hit the Airbourne. It makes sense I guess, it just seemed weird. If the guy was down on the ground, hit the finisher and then go for the pin instead of essentially giving him time to recover.
The crowd didn't seem to be into the match all that much either. A few cheers, but no huge pops or anything.
Another thing, you can really notice the difference between how good Dolph is, and how only ok Swagger is. There's just something that Ziggler has that Swagger doesn't.
I liked the finish, with Kofi and Evan both hitting their finishers, but Ziggler getting pinned doesn't make sense. It should have been Swagger.
So now, it makes Ryder look weaker if he wins, because he beat someone who had been hit with two finishers just minutes earlier, and if he doesn't win, it makes him look weaker because he can't even beat a guy who's had two other finishers hit on him, only minutes earlier. It's a no-win situation.
It helps make Dolph look good though if Dolph wins.
So let's get into the US Title match
Airboom and Swagger remain at ringside, but what was interesting is that it was AirBoom interfered, throwing Ziggler back into the ring, and therefore getting ejected from ringside by the referee. it was good to see it's not just the heels that get that treatment.
So like i said earlier, Ziggler didn't show off his new attire in either match. Kinda strange. And Ryder looked like he'd dyed his hair... red? orange?.. maybe some fake tan went into his hair.
I liked the finish with the super kick. Ziggler is money. Once again though, the problem is now Ryder is the guy who couldn't beat the guy who got pinned 10 mins earlier.
I am really sick of Michael Cole. It's the wrong kind of heat. The product would be better without his constant banter, his constant jokes at the expense of JR, and also, the fact that he spent a fair bit of time talking about what was trending on twitter, rather than talking about what happened in the ring.
I get that it's about telling stories for the WWE commentators, but surely you can spend two seconds and say "he's got him in a boston crab", rather than "so and so is trending worldwide on twitter"
Beth Phoenix vs Eve (Diva's title match)
What the hell kind of "music" is that? Here's the answer. Eve's new music is only a little worse than the skills of MOST of the divas. So it was pretty bad.
Not really a lot to say about this match, I like the running story of Beth wanting Eve to cry. I liked Eve using a triangle choke, even though her legs weren't locked half the time. And I liked that Beth won. That's really about it.
Sheamus vs Christian
Once again the crowd didn't seem to care too much about this match. Quite frankly neither did I. I really like sheamus, but Christian is really boring to me. I wish he was better. I remember hearing when he won the Title in TNA. I was just like, Really? that guy??
I really hope that was the end of this little feud, Sheamus should be in the title picture. Henry vs Sheamus was a surprisingly good match at Summerslam, I'm sure they could do it again.
Punk/HHH vs Awesome truth.
First of all, that "promo" by Miz and Truth was awful. "You know who sucks?" YOU TWO DO! Childish humor. It would have been funnier if they were trying to be dirty with it. Who really believes that's how Miz and Truth would talk to each other backstage? And if you do, you may need to have your head examined.
Good slower pace to this match, Triple H looks in good shape, Punk looks like he's having fun.
Really good match, great old school vibe.
And then of course, the "complete shocker" of Kevin Nash returning. I mean, I guess it was a shock, but it was an expected shock I guess. But even though it was not shocking, he definitely made a big impact.
The Jacknife always looks great, but man, Triple H landed awkwardly. It looked brutal. I don't think Triple H was hurt, but he certainly sold it like he was. Really good finish though, and it was the right decision to have Truth and Miz win, and definitely the right decision to have them win the way they did.
Cody Rhodes vs Randy Orton.
I really liked the promo package for this match. We even saw some blood.
The match was good, not great, but once again, the crowd wasn't interested for the most part.
Best part of the match was the TWO moonsaults by Cody Rhodes. The first one that missed looked absolutely flawless.
The match was for the most part, predictable though. Good ending, with the "baggers" getting involved, but once again.. predictable.
Big Show vs Mark Henry
Great promo package once again. These video packages make you excited for the matches. Hopefully the WWE keep it up.
The start of the match was pretty awesome, two spots in particular. Mark henry was thrown, almost hip tossed back into the ring, and also Big Show hit him with a superkick. I love seeing guys this size doing things that you wouldn't expect them to do.
The rest of the match up until the ending was decent, with one huge double clothesline to start heading towards the finish.
And then the ending. Sure, it's been done before, but that doesn't lessen the impact. Show climbed the ropes, and Henry superplex-ed him, and the ring broke.
The big difference between this and the last time it was done (in WWE at least), is that the Brock Lesnar/Big Show spot ended the show. There was still one more match to go at Vengeance.
The other thing that made this such a great finish, was Laurinitis and Teddy Long coming out, helped sell the idea that it wasn't supposed to happen, and also the way Mark Henry walked out, instead of being stretchered out. That was awesome, he is so improved this year.
John Laurinitis gets a microphone and tells us that the show will go on, but not before introducing himself to us. Why did he need to introduce himself? He didn't. We've seen him on TV. I mean we've fallen asleep after seeing him, but we've seen him. No personality at all.
John Cena vs Alberto Del Rio - Last Man Standing (in a broken ring)
Straight away I want to watch this match, simply because the ring is broken. It means they have to do things differently,and any time things have to change, it always makes more interesting viewing. Think about it. No irish whips, no coming off of the top rope, no shooting a guy into the turnbuckles. Even further than that, it made it harder to use the apron, the ring posts, and the ring itself.
Del rio's reaction to the broken ring was priceless. His face looked like he just smelled something really bad or something.
Cena has a new shirt, new shorts, new colour. He's wearing camo shorts, and his new shrit is black with the words "Rise above hate" on it. I guess because he's wearing black we're back to getting serious Cena. No more fruity pebbles?
The start of the match was decent, but I think the fact that it was unique was the main draw at the start. Having a broken ring adds so much to the match.
There was a really nice spot with Alberto Del Rio being thrown from the ring, through where the ropes would have been, into the guardrail. It looked like a really hard landing, fairly brutal.
Also, the whole nut shot on the ring post with Rodriguez and Del Rio was great. Yes a funny spot, but it was a nice little break from the seriousness of the match, and really of the whole night.
And the fight went backstage! I don't remember the last time I've seen that. Brings back memories of amazing matches, Kane and Shane from Survivor Series 2003.. many hardcore matches.. I always enjoyed the backstage stuff.
And this was no exception. Cena toppling over that huge equipment case, and it really looking (at least for a second) that it had landed on Del Rio. Then a slam on top of the tipped over case. And finally the interview area basically being dropped onto John Cena. To me that looked like it would be the finish.
Now some people I noticed on twitter were saying "oh Cena just keeps getting up". But, I mean it's a last man standing match, not just a regular match. It's kind of a given that people tend to take more punishment in these matches. It wasn't about Cena not selling, it was about Cena not giving up. That's kind of one of his mottos. Del Rio didn't sell things for ages either.
Like falling through a table. He got up at 8. That's 8 seconds and he's back on his feet. From falling through a table onto concrete. Any other match that's not selling. Last man Standing, it's having the guts to keep fighting.
That's what I really like about Last man Standing matches. There's a ton of "this has to be it" moments.
And we get the amazing finish of Del Rio being smashed through a table by Cena, and then Miz and Truth running in and destroying Cena. But that wasn't the finish. The Ref was distracted by Miz and Truth, and therefore not counting Del Rio. So Cena is up at the count of 9, and then Del Rio gets the title belt and blasts Cena in the head with it, and that is the finish.
Really great match, especially because they had a broken ring. To me it sets up the survivor series match really well. something like Triple H, CM Punk, Rock and Cena on one team, with Nash, Del Rio, Miz and Truth on the other.
Overall I think this was a really good Pay per view, all decent matches, and the two main events really lifted the quality.
I'll give it.... 8/10.
Ok that's about it, I'll be back with my weekly blog in a few days, but until then, tha'ts it, and that's all.
People complain about cena's work, but it was a lst man standing match. they have to build to those "he got up at 9" moments.
The Calm before the storm No. 3
Welcome to another edition of the Aussie Mouthpiece blog. This quick post is the 3rd post in my Calm before the Storm series, which I write the day before Pay per views. Or in this case, hours before Vengeance.
So I'll run down the card and give some thoughts.
I should point out this was a last minute decision to order Vengeance. I just have this feeling that something big is going to happen. And even so, seeing that Dolph Ziggler is wrestling twice, is a big enough deal for me to get it.
So the card.
Sheamus vs Christian.
I'm guessing either this or the Tag Team Titles match will open the show. I'd go with the Tag Team match, with the US title match later in the card, to give Dolph some time to catch his breath.
Anyway, Sheamus is really coming along well as a babyface, it still feels a little strange to me though.
I think that's just because I was watching when he first started, as a heel and working with Triple H. Then I stopped watching for a while, and when I start again, he's a babyface. Strange indeed.
But, Christian is obviously getting over as a heel, because he annoys the hell out of me. Should be a decent match. I'd like to see Sheamus in the title picture soon. Doesn't he have some unfinished business with Mark Henry?
I would like to see Sheamus win, but I won't mind either way.
Airboom vs Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger
I don't have much to say about this match. I guess it's there to try to keep the tag belts relevant, but what's going to happen? Are the newly formed "tag team".. and I use that term loosely.. are they going to drop the titles? What happens to them if they do?
I'll add into this Dolph Ziggler vs Zack Ryder (US Title match). The reason being that my predictions relate to both matches.
I like that Dolph is getting to defend his singles title. It's about time. Ryder getting a title shot is a really good thing too.
I just hope that it's not a once-off. Hopefully this all isn't a ploy by the WWE to get him to stop his youtube show.
I think we're going to see Ryder win the US title, while Ziggler and Swagger get the Tag Team Title belts. AirBoom can be built up more if they are chasing belts, rather than defending belts and barely scraping by.
Diva's title match.
At least it's not Kelly kelly. But.. did she get her re-match? Do diva's contracts not have that stipulation in them?
Ok not much to say. Beth will be great. Eve will look ok, and probably do a moonsault. But if Eve wins, it will kill the angle, kill all the momentum of Beth and Natalya, and basically cement the divas division as a joke.
Beth needs to keep the title, at least until survivor series, maybe even until Kong can return. Because really, there's no other Diva on the WWE roster, other than Natalya, that could give her a great match.
Beth has to win.
Randy Orton vs Cody Rhodes
This could steal the show. Because of Cody, and also because of the history between the two guys. They know each other well, both in terms of storylines and I would assume in real life as well.
I see Cody going over in this one. Vengeance on a whole feels like it's supposed to be building everything up, rather than solving problems and finishing feuds. So it would make sense to have Rhodes win. Build him up, make that Intercontinental title mean something.
Mark Henry vs Big Show (WHC)
I haven't watched Smackdown for the past few weeks. It's good to see Big Show back, but, let's face it. Big man vs Big man matches are never "5 star classics", but the last time these two met it was a decent match. Hopefully the same will go for this match.
Henry will win, but maybe not cleanly. Big Show might snap and get a chair and try to get revenge, something like that. Maybe someone interferes and starts an issue with Show.
Del Rio vs Cena (WWE Title)
Last man standing. These matches seem like they must be a lot harder to work out finishes for than they would have been 5 years ago. No chair shots to the head, or much of anything to the head really. Problem there is.. how do you knock someone out if you can't hit them in the head?
But, Cena has been good in these matches in the past. I think this will be a fairly good match. Will be a good test for Del Rio, and will maybe show a slightly different side of his character. Expect some interference, especially for the finish.
I think Alberto Del Rio will win. I hope Del Rio will win. Cena winning makes no sense, that would make 3 title changes in a month. Ridiculous. What does a belt mean if it's so easy to get? Where's the struggle.. the obstacles to get past?.. Del Rio has to retain the title.
CM Punk & Triple H vs Awesome Truth
I agree with whoever said it or wrote it, this has to/will be the main event. I'm seeing a fairly standard kind of a match, but the finish will be something akin to Night of Champions, but hopefully will make more sense.
I see Nash returning to at least try to cost Punk and HHH the match. I see Laurinitis making his presence felt, hopefully by nothing more than appearing at the entrance. Not by talking, that would put everyone to sleep.
I think the right thing to do is have Awesome truth get the pin, but once again definitely not clean. I'd like to see Punk and HHH win, but I think it would build Survivor Series more if they lose.
So that's about it. Will someone else interfere? Will we see Shawn Michaels, or Sean Waltman? BG James maybe? Who knows. But I think if all goes well, Vengeance could be a really decent Pay Per View.
That's about all I have to say, I'll be tweeting tomorrow during Vengeance, so if you read this and aren't following me on Twitter you can do so @TheOZMouthpiece
That's it, and that's all!
So I'll run down the card and give some thoughts.
I should point out this was a last minute decision to order Vengeance. I just have this feeling that something big is going to happen. And even so, seeing that Dolph Ziggler is wrestling twice, is a big enough deal for me to get it.
So the card.
Sheamus vs Christian.
I'm guessing either this or the Tag Team Titles match will open the show. I'd go with the Tag Team match, with the US title match later in the card, to give Dolph some time to catch his breath.
Anyway, Sheamus is really coming along well as a babyface, it still feels a little strange to me though.
I think that's just because I was watching when he first started, as a heel and working with Triple H. Then I stopped watching for a while, and when I start again, he's a babyface. Strange indeed.
But, Christian is obviously getting over as a heel, because he annoys the hell out of me. Should be a decent match. I'd like to see Sheamus in the title picture soon. Doesn't he have some unfinished business with Mark Henry?
I would like to see Sheamus win, but I won't mind either way.
Airboom vs Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger
I don't have much to say about this match. I guess it's there to try to keep the tag belts relevant, but what's going to happen? Are the newly formed "tag team".. and I use that term loosely.. are they going to drop the titles? What happens to them if they do?
I'll add into this Dolph Ziggler vs Zack Ryder (US Title match). The reason being that my predictions relate to both matches.
I like that Dolph is getting to defend his singles title. It's about time. Ryder getting a title shot is a really good thing too.
I just hope that it's not a once-off. Hopefully this all isn't a ploy by the WWE to get him to stop his youtube show.
I think we're going to see Ryder win the US title, while Ziggler and Swagger get the Tag Team Title belts. AirBoom can be built up more if they are chasing belts, rather than defending belts and barely scraping by.
Diva's title match.
At least it's not Kelly kelly. But.. did she get her re-match? Do diva's contracts not have that stipulation in them?
Ok not much to say. Beth will be great. Eve will look ok, and probably do a moonsault. But if Eve wins, it will kill the angle, kill all the momentum of Beth and Natalya, and basically cement the divas division as a joke.
Beth needs to keep the title, at least until survivor series, maybe even until Kong can return. Because really, there's no other Diva on the WWE roster, other than Natalya, that could give her a great match.
Beth has to win.
Randy Orton vs Cody Rhodes
This could steal the show. Because of Cody, and also because of the history between the two guys. They know each other well, both in terms of storylines and I would assume in real life as well.
I see Cody going over in this one. Vengeance on a whole feels like it's supposed to be building everything up, rather than solving problems and finishing feuds. So it would make sense to have Rhodes win. Build him up, make that Intercontinental title mean something.
Mark Henry vs Big Show (WHC)
I haven't watched Smackdown for the past few weeks. It's good to see Big Show back, but, let's face it. Big man vs Big man matches are never "5 star classics", but the last time these two met it was a decent match. Hopefully the same will go for this match.
Henry will win, but maybe not cleanly. Big Show might snap and get a chair and try to get revenge, something like that. Maybe someone interferes and starts an issue with Show.
Del Rio vs Cena (WWE Title)
Last man standing. These matches seem like they must be a lot harder to work out finishes for than they would have been 5 years ago. No chair shots to the head, or much of anything to the head really. Problem there is.. how do you knock someone out if you can't hit them in the head?
But, Cena has been good in these matches in the past. I think this will be a fairly good match. Will be a good test for Del Rio, and will maybe show a slightly different side of his character. Expect some interference, especially for the finish.
I think Alberto Del Rio will win. I hope Del Rio will win. Cena winning makes no sense, that would make 3 title changes in a month. Ridiculous. What does a belt mean if it's so easy to get? Where's the struggle.. the obstacles to get past?.. Del Rio has to retain the title.
CM Punk & Triple H vs Awesome Truth
I agree with whoever said it or wrote it, this has to/will be the main event. I'm seeing a fairly standard kind of a match, but the finish will be something akin to Night of Champions, but hopefully will make more sense.
I see Nash returning to at least try to cost Punk and HHH the match. I see Laurinitis making his presence felt, hopefully by nothing more than appearing at the entrance. Not by talking, that would put everyone to sleep.
I think the right thing to do is have Awesome truth get the pin, but once again definitely not clean. I'd like to see Punk and HHH win, but I think it would build Survivor Series more if they lose.
So that's about it. Will someone else interfere? Will we see Shawn Michaels, or Sean Waltman? BG James maybe? Who knows. But I think if all goes well, Vengeance could be a really decent Pay Per View.
That's about all I have to say, I'll be tweeting tomorrow during Vengeance, so if you read this and aren't following me on Twitter you can do so @TheOZMouthpiece
That's it, and that's all!
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