WWE Extreme Rules Reaction!

WWE Extreme Rules is in the books and I must say, this was a great show. Sure it had some low points here and there, but overall this show delivered. I had to really think about some stuff before I posted this, so here we go with the reaction! I'm gonna go from the opening match all the way down to the Main Event!

I guess I should start with the pre-show match: Santino vs The Miz for the US Title. The match itself was ok. Nothing really to write Home about. It felt a tad repetitive at times. Santino hits The Cobra and gets the win.

Although, I liked promo Miz cut before the match. Awesome indeed.

Good way to open the show. This match was pretty much what I expected. A nice brawl that went all over the arena. It's like I said in my prediction post, although the story for this match doesn't have much substance, these two seem to have such great chemistry in the ring together and have made the best of the times they've been in the ring together. They really put on a great match that was really back and forth and a lot of good spots. But Orton gets the win here and I think this is the end of their feud. Time for these two to move onto other things.

What'd I tell ya? Funkasaurus and Ziggler with a filler match.

Well, nonetheless, this was Clay's coming out party. A match with a solid upper mid-carder like Ziggler on Extreme Rules. He didn't get a lot of love since the show was in Chicago, but Clay gets the win anyway. What made this match is Ziggler's selling. He's the best seller in the business. If you don't know, now you know.

This match was actually.....pretty solid. I enjoyed this match a lot more than their WrestleMania showdown. Show didn't dominate the whole match and Rhodes got some offense in. I know it followed the same formula as their last match, but something about this showdown made it better. I guess it was the Table stipulation so it allowed for some bending of the rules for better spots.

But the funniest spot was how the match ended. Big Show gets dropkicked off the apron and his foot goes through the table, breaking it, and Rhodes gets the win. That was a bit weird, but also funny in my opinion. But then Show gets angry and smashes Rhodes afterwards. Rhodes took a pretty sick bump being tossed outside the ring and through a table. Props to him for that. Although Rhodes regained his title, I don't think this is the last we've heard of these two. The way this match ended, no way this over.

Sheamus vs Daniel Bryan........MATCH OF THE NIGHT!

If you didn't think this was the best wrestling match of the night, then there's something wrong with you. Daniel Bryan really showcased how extremely skilled he is in the ring. He showed that he's great at telling a story in the ring and he's a masterful submission specialist. I was paying attention to all these new submissions and holds that I've never seen before and I was in awe.

This match also showed how ridiculously over Daniel Bryan. At one point in the match when Sheamus was being checked on by doctors, Bryan led the crowd in a YES! Chant for what seemed like a couple minutes. The atmosphere was absolutely brilliant. The fans would go YES! NO! and back and forth. Un-freaking-believable.

But getting back to the match, Bryan told a good story here. He continuously worked on the arm of Sheamus and intentionally got himself disqualified so that he could lock in the submission hold and it worked as he won the second fall. I was really impressed as to the great chemistry these two have in the ring. They didn't wrestle stiff, and the match flowed very well.  But after a momentary cocky streak, Sheamus took advantage and got the win, leaving a lot of Daniel Bryan fans unhappy. It's hard to say if their feud ends here though.

A little surprised as to why AJ didn't interfere. Maybe it was a little too soon to do whatever it is they're planning with her. I like it. The more we wait, the better the payoff will be. Whatever they do with her.

Ryback made his pay-per-view debut taking down two jobbers with ease.

The fans didn't seem into him, but I like the guy. I can't tell whether or not he's face of heel. Let me see how he does against somebody that's actually his size or close to his size.

Shoutout to the fans who chanted "Goldberg!"

Ahh yes, The Chicago Street Fight for the WWE Championship. While I don't think this was better than their technical match was WrestleMania, it was an average Street Fight to me. Nothing really out of the ordinary except for that cool spot where Punk dove off the top rope through Jericho smashing the announce table.

It was just your average street fight. It was good, don't get me wrong. I liked Punk's Family getting involved. I even like Punk's sister slapping the taste out of Jericho's mouth earlier on in the match, and Jericho once again bringing out the beer and do his thing. The elements surrounding this match was superb and the Street Fight was great, but it wasn't anything spectacular or earth shattering.

Punk gets the win and celebrates with his friends and family. Now, it's time that these two go their separate ways. I think this feud got the proper end that it needed.

Allow me to set the story:

Beth Phoenix tells The Bella Twins that she won't be able to compete. The Bella Twins come out and defend their titles anyway, but challenge anybody in the back to come and get a shot. You would think Kharma would come out, right? Nope, it was Layla.

I was so happy to see her back. But the Chicago fans could care less. But anyway, Layla wins the Divas Title and ends the short lived run of The Bellas. Good win for my boo-boo.

And now, it time! The match everybody's been waiting for: Brock Lesnar vs John Cena in an Extreme Rules Match. I thought long and hard about what I was gonna say about this match, but after taking a lot of things into account, I think I understand.

But before I get there, let's break down the match. The atmosphere is electric and the fans are roaring for Cena and Lesnar. The bell rings and Lesnar immediately takes Cena down and starts punching the holy hell out of him. Cena immediately is cut open and the rampage begins. I don't know how long it was for, but Lesnar DOMINATED Cena. He just kept beating on him and beating on him and beating on him. At this point in the match, you already knew how it was going to end, but you were never sure of when. This match did what it had to do. It was physical and bloody, just as expected, and what was cool was how they threw in a little MMA and mixed it with wrestling from time to time. Cena really sold Lesnar's beating and made him look like an absolute BEAST. I won't mention the one bad botch from Brock because that speaks for itself.

But how it ended really annoyed me. Cena literally got two hits on Brock and won the match. Brock got a little too cocky at the end and Cena took advantage. He hit Brock with the chain and an AA on the steps and the match is over. I really don't like how that match ended. I understand selling the story of Brock being a legit badass, but I really don't like how that show ended. Not at all. That was Super Cena at his finest moment. Cena gets the win and the little kiddies are happy. But now, it's time to address what happened after the match.

So, Cena calls for mic, sits on the steps and speaks the following words:

"I'm probably going to get sent home for speaking when I'm not spoken to, but I think I'm headed home anyway," Cena said after the match. "And if I know my boss, he's going to kick me out the door, but he's going to do it on air, so I hope this is for the world to see."

"Chicago, I know this is CM Punk's town, but above all else, this is a wrestling town. Tonight, you people were supposed to see the extreme. I've got no left arm, I'm tasting my own blood... and I'm damn proud to say it was in Chicago, IL."

"All of us -- good guys, bad guys, big guys, small guys -- all of us give everything we have every night for you guys. And if I gotta take a vacation, so be it. If I'm going away for a while, I just wanna say thanks for one hell of a last ride. I feel great tonight, even with this Chicago crowd that may or may not like me. I listen to that and I think, if I'm going out, I wouldn't want to do it any other way! Thank you guys, go home safe!"

Now, I really don't know what to make of all this. At first, I was a tad upset, because if Cena really is going away, wouldn't it make more sense for Lesnar to win, go on a rampage and then have Cena make his triumphant return at Summerslam to vanquish the beast once and for all. But after really pondering this, I get it now. Hear me out:

Cena came off a BIG loss against The Rock at WrestleMania and was getting his ass kicked all month long before his match with Lesnar and needed to make Cena still the "The Man". The way this match went, if you thought Cena was going to lose, you're delusional. Nobody can really get dominated like that the entire match and still lose. Especially when it's somebody like Cena. So, Cena winning here, while surprising makes sense.

But this is what makes the story even more compelling: What will Brock Lesnar do now? After all he said, he LOST to John Cena. The man he had no business losing to. Lesnar can still go on his rampage built up of all the anger inside him after losing to Cena. He can still do that and have Cena come back and beat him again at Summerslam. Either way you spin it, Lesnar will still be pissed off after his loss. He's going to be looking to make an example out of somebody. Since Cena isn't gonna be there, he'll take it out on everybody. For all we know, this loss opened the door for a new, more vicious angry Lesnar. There's no telling where they'll go with this and I like it.

As far as Cena leaving is concerned, he deserves some time off. After all, he's been there day in, day out. So, the way I see things, he's gonna go film The Marine 3, chill for a while and come back in the Summertime. I don't think he's legit injured I think it's mostly a work, but hey you never know. Now that Cena is gone, it's CM Punk's turn to the "The Man" of the WWE. All this time invested in Punk and here's the time to see if it was really worth and if Punk can carry the business.

Best of luck to you Cena. You'll NEVER be as big as Rock, or Austin, but I'm still a fan of yours dude. 

Overall, WWE hit it out of the park again. The marquee match of Lesnar and Cena saved this show and we got a great ppv. Well, I liked it. I'd watch it again as a matter of fact. WWE is slowly starting to get it's edge back. Can't wait to see how RAW is tomorrow.

Feel free to Comment.

By: Gerald "Showstopper" Prophete

WWE Extreme Rules Predicitions!!

Fresh off the biggest stage in the WWE, WrestleMania 28, it's time for Extreme Rules. The Chicago fans are always a good crowd, so this show is gonna be even more enjoyable. I expect this pay-per-view to be the show that puts an end to the feuds that have carried over from WrestleMania so some people can move on to new feuds. This is probably gonna be a short one, but let's get right to the predictions!

This is the headlining, showstopping, main event of the night! Brock Lesnar vs John Cena in an Extreme Rules match. Well, here's how things set up so far, Brock Lesnar made his return to oust John Cena out as the poster boy and take over as face of the WWE like he was before he left in 2004. 

What has me confused about this is John Cena. I have no idea what they're doing with his character. He comes off arguably one of the best feuds in his career with The Rock where the WWE made him look like Rock's equal (when he's really not) and pretty damn good. Now, he's a whole new person against Lesnar? Lesnar comes back and gives Cena the F5, the next week on RAW, Cena comes out and slaps Brock in the face! We've been waiting for Cena to have a backbone and that was a sign of things to come! But then, last week, John Cena goes back to the......I don't even know what it is he's doing now. He stood in the ring with a chain wrapped around his fist and stared down Lesnar. Are we supposed to forget that he slapped Brock in the face? Where's his edge? Where's the fire he had when he slapped Lesnar?

Meh, whatever. Nonetheless, this is gonna be the first time these two have gone one-on-one since Backlash 9 years ago close to this day. Ironic, right? But getting back to the match, this is an Extreme Rules Match which means there are no rules and these two, hopefully, are gonna give the fans their money's worth and bring the house down and really make this match as "Extreme" as possible. Given the fact that these two hate each other in real life, this is gonna be good. I want this to be a knock down, drag out fight! I can't wait! Weapons and maybe a little blood! 

It's hard to pick a winner because it's hard to see where they're going with this. On one hand, you can't have Lesnar lose his first match back, but you can't really have Cena lose again, right? Also, I doubt this is the last time Cena and Lesnar are gonna square off. It would make sense if these two fight until there is no winner. But if there's gonna be a winner, I'm gonna give Round 1 to Lesnar tonight. Maybe Cena loses his cool and explodes on Lesnar after the match is over so that Cena is the last image we see as we go off the air.

Showstopper Prediction: Brock Lesnar defeats John Cena 

This has been my favorite feud in the WWE so far. Jericho has done a masterful job at making this feud so interesting and fresh with his promos and actions week after week. It's evolved from being the Best in the World to a personal battle and the feud has worked so well with these two. It started with a great match at WrestleMania and now we have a Chicago Street Fight in CM Punk's Hometown.

The thing is, I want Jericho to win this match, but I don't see it happening. Jericho hasn't won a ppv match since his return and I want Jericho to finally capture the WWE Championship and really take this feud to another level. Let's look at this way, if Jericho does win, now you've got Punk chasing the WWE Title and Punk is a better chaser than title holder. And it'll be so interesting to see what Jericho does as WWE Champion.

But, we're in CM Punk's Hometown and it's hard to go against somebody in his Hometown. 

I think this should be the last installment in the Punk/Jericho story, and after tonight, have both men go their separate ways. Jericho has been putting over Punk for the past two months. They've done all that there is to do in this feud. There's really nothing left in this feud to take it to another level should they have Punk retain, and it's time to put this great feud to rest. So, I say Punk gets the win and moves onto another superstar to feud with. I don't where Jericho goes from here. If he stays, it'll be interesting to see who he feuds with, but I think he's going on tour with Fozzy again. 

Showstopper Prediction: CM Punk defeats Chris Jericho

This is gonna be an interesting one to pick no doubt about it. Sheamus hasn't gotten over as World Champion like WWE wanted because of the surge of popularity Daniel Bryan got since he lost at WrestleMania and the Chicago fans will be chanting YES! all night long! 

But, I don't see Daniel Bryan winning the World Heavyweight Championship back. SmackDown invested a lot of time in Sheamus and they can't give Bryan the World Title back already especially after all the bad things that have happened to Sheamus like being screwed by Bryan last week on RAW and being "fined". All this can't end in a Sheamus loss because of Bryan's popularity. If anything, it's going to make Bryan even more popular.

Since this is two out of three falls, I see this one going to three falls. Maybe Bryan gets a quick win over Sheamus much like Sheamus did to him at WrestleMania. Then, it gets serious and I say Sheamus wins the next two falls. 

If they do have Bryan win, then is has to be because of AJ. This is what makes this even more interesting. Is she going to make her presence felt, turn heel, and align herself with Daniel Bryan? The seeds have quietly been sown for a heel turn for AJ. Or will she finally come to her senses and cost Bryan the title? Definitely an X-Factor that should be taken into account. If she does indeed turn heel and go with Bryan, I would love it, but I gotta go with The Champ. I will, however, be VERY surprised if AJ doesn't make an appearance in this one.

Showstopper Prediction: Sheamus defeats Daniel Bryan

What I just noticed about this feud is that we still don't know why they're fighting. The story they tried to give  us lacked substance and it was just a reason to throw both of these guys together. Over a handshake? I mean, I understand, but I don't at the same time. And it seems like now, they went the Punk/Jericho way and tried getting family involved. I feel like both of these guys have played each other's roles very well. They're just stuck in a feud that really came out of nowhere.

The interaction they had on RAW this past week was very well and validated their feud, and now it's time to end it. Kane won at WrestleMania and Orton won on SmackDown the following week. And now, it's time to settle the score in a Falls Count Anywhere match. I expect this to be slugfest and in JR's words, a "slobberknocker." But once all is said and done, Orton gets the win and puts this feud to rest. There's no other way to stretch this feud out one more month.

Showstopper Prediction: Randy Orton defeats Kane

The rematch is on for the Intercontinental Championship is on, but the question is.....who wins and why?

Well, it's tough to say. On one hand, why would Cody Rhodes regain the Intercontinental Championship one month after he lost it? And say he does win, who in the hell is he going to feud with? Because he did absolutely nothing with the belt the first time and had like one legit feud with Booker. As for Big Show, a feud seems to be developing with Alberto Del Rio and that looks like where he's gonna go next. 

I don't expect Rhodes to regain the Intercontinental Championship back. Rhodes loses tonight and moves on to the upper card and hopefully to the Main Event scene. I think the kid is ready. This feud has already gone on long enough, and I give the win to Big Show and he moves on to feud with Del Rio.

Showstopper Prediction: Big Show defeats Cody Rhodes

I don't really have much to say about this match. Last week on RAW, Beth Phoenix legit injured her ankle and lost the Divas Championship to Nikki Bella. And now she has a rematch. There are sources that still say the injury is all storyline no matter how legit it looked. If it was all story, then Beth is a damn good actor.

Well, this match can go one of three ways:

1) Nikki Bella retains clean, Beth goes on to have surgery and everybody moves on with their lives.

2) Beth Phoenix wins back her title and proves that her "injury" was all story.

2) Nikki Bella retains, and then Kharma comes out and destroys her.

Either way, there's a lot of angles that go into this match....too bad nobody cares about but me. Oh well.

Showstopper Prediction: Nikki Bella defeats Beth Phoenix

Don't get all excited, this is on the pre-show. Yes, the pre-show, as in not on the actual pay-per-view. I understand that WWE wants to draw in more viewers to order the show, bring in more fans, and this is why WWE is holding this match on Youtube. But these two guys can't get on the main card? You couldn't have Brodus Clay face Ziggler or something?

As to who I see winning, I don't think Miz really needs the United States Championship at this point in his career and Santino is mega-over with the fans so it wouldn't make sense. Besides, the only guy I see Santino dropping the US Title to is David Otunga. 

Should be good match though. You know, a good match that should on the MAIN CARD.

Showstopper Prediction: Santino defeats The Miz

So, not counting the pre-show match, Extreme Rules has a grand total of 6 matches. Which means, you can expect a filler match with Brodus Clay, Ryback, or Lord Tensai to fill up some time.

I have high hopes for this show with the marquee of Lesnar vs Cena carrying the bulk, but hopefully the card doesn't disappoint. Most of these feuds should end tonight, but we'll see how things go. Depending on if I liked the show or not, maybe I'll throw in a reaction post afterwards. 

Feel free to Comment and Enjoy the show!

By: Gerald "Showstopper" Prophete

NBA Playoffs!!! WHO YA GOT?!?!

If you haven't heard by now, the NBA Playoffs start tomorrow! This is one of the most interesting playoff brackets we've had in a long time. I'm gonna break down the matchups and give you my predictions and thoughts for each one.

East:


(1) Chicago Bulls vs (8) Philadelphia Sixers -  Saturday, 1pm on TNT


The Bulls REALLY lucked out here by not having to face The Knicks in the first round because if there was any lower seeded team that could beat The Bulls, it would be The Knicks.

Nonetheless, The Bulls are gonna gain back reigning MVP Derrick Rose and head into the battle against The Sixers. At one point in time, The Sixers were looking impressive with a better win percentage than last season, but then they hit a skid and a had a bad month of March where they lost 9 out of 16 games and began looking like the Sixers of old. Not to mention, they had to Forrest Gump their way into the playoffs and make up a lot of games to get here, but they have their work cut out for them....or do they?

Chicago leads the league in defense while the Sixers barely break the Top 10. But when The Sixers play the Bulls, they get more physical in the paint and are able to score more down low. The Bulls need to exploit one of the Sixers weaknesses: defending the perimeter. They rank 22nd in the league and allow a high percentage of mid-range and perimeter shooting and The Bulls have some shooters. You look at guys like Kyle Korver, Luol Deng, John Lucas III, and the list doesn't stop there.

You factor in all that with the Sixers poor road record, and the atmosphere that will surround Chicago, it's gonna be a long series.

Showstopper Prediction: Chicago Bulls in 5 games.


(2) Miami Heat vs (7) New York Knicks - Saturday, 3:30pm on ABC


Well, and now we come to one of the most interesting games in the playoffs. The New York Knicks and The Miami Heat. Right off the bat, this series won't be as close as most people think. I'm not saying the Knicks will get swept like they did last year, but they got some bad luck with this one.

For starters, Miami holds the best Home Record in the NBA, they got some off-season acquisitions by getting a great defender and perimeter shooter in Shane Battier, but other than that, The Heat are pretty much the same team from last season. The Big 3 have gotten better at floor chemistry and facilitating the ball around for everybody to get shots and their defensive is suffocating when they're at Home. To put it short and sweet, at Home they're nearly unbeatable.

Now, The Knicks were fueled by Linsanity earlier on in the season. Once Lin went down with an injury, Carmelo came back and picked up where Lin left off. Lin will not be returning for the playoffs because he's still injured. But there are several X-Factors within The Knicks. For starters, Tyson Chandler. The man who holds a portion of the responsibilities for bringing Dallas their first ring and a man who should be Defensive player of the year with about 10 RPG. Now we move to the bench where Steve Novak has hit corner 3s for the Knicks for the last month or so and where JR Smith has made his case for 6th man of the year. And then, we bring ourselves to Carmelo Anthony who's been playing extremely well scoring 22 PPG. The Knicks are stacked, but even with all that and even with Amare back in the lineup, they can't match up with Miami.

The Heat have a 40% FG percentage against The Knicks while New York has a 24% percentage scoring in the paint and 32% when it comes to perimeter shooting. Needless to say The Heat have been the Knicks Achilles heel. The Knicks need to get physical with Miami and force them into tough shots while Miami has to play their game and not try anything erratic.

Showstopper Prediction: Miami Heat in 6 games.


(3) Indiana Pacers vs (6) Orlando Magic - Saturday, 7pm on ESPN


If Dwight Howard was playing in this game, then I would say to you, it'd be a bad first round match for the Pacers, but Dwight Howard is not playing in the playoffs. Let me repeat that: DWIGHT HOWARD IS NOT PLAYING IN THE PLAYOFFS!

What used to work for The Magic is that they would feed Howard down low and sometimes use him to draw away the defense and shoot corner 3s and whatever. But now, with Howard out indefinitely, The Magic have to live and die by the 3. They need to depend on guys like Ryan Anderson, JJ Redick and Jason Richardson to sink 3s and provide mismatches if they want to get out of this series with a win.

Without a force like Dwight out there, Tyler Hansbrough, Paul George and Roy Hibbert are going to have their way in the paint. The Pacers are the #3 seed which is surprising in its own right, but they're a dangerous team. I mentioned their forces down low, but Danny Granger and Darren Collison have come into their own and have a 58% FG percentage against the Magic already. Sorry Orlando.

Showstopper Prediction: Indiana Pacers in 6 games.


(4) Boston Celtics vs (5) Atlanta Hawks - Sunday, 7pm on TNT


The Boston Celtics have been gaining momentum as of late, but are still not nearly as good as they were as few years ago. But there is a silver lining in this cloud: the emergence of the Celtics shooters. When they needed guys to step up, they would look to their bench with the shooters they have on the bench, they've been able to fight back and not fall back into obscurity.

The Hawks however have an advantage in that they have Homecourt. Josh Smith is still Josh Smith, but he still doesn't feel like the man like he used to be. It falls onto the shoulders of Joe Johnson and Marvin Williams to carry this team and get everybody involved. Normally, they play well against The Celtics, they have a poor percentage in scoring in the paint and Boston defends the 3 very well.....well, they used to anyway.

Showstopper Prediction: Boston Celtics in 6 games.



West:


(1) San Antonio Spurs vs (8) Utah Jazz) - Sunday, 1pm on ESPN


The Spurs are the #1 seed again and congratulations, but remember last season? You know, when they lost to the Memphis Grizzlies in 7 games? Well, I don't see that happening again. I don't see The Spurs making it to the Finals, but they'll get out of the first round at least. They are quietly one of the top defensive teams in the league and are the #2 ranked scoring team in the league. Tony Parker has been playing at an MVP level, Manu Ginobli is going to be at full health, and we already know how good Tim Duncan is.

The Utah Jazz only advantage is that they get a few home games. The Jazz Forrest Gumped their way into the playoffs by beating The Suns a few days ago. They're going to have to depend on guys like Devin Harris and Al Jefferson to carry the offensive load and be the equivalent to Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer when they were there.

To be honest, this is the least interesting of all the playoff series in my opinion. While The Spurs should win, I wouldn't be surprised if they lose.

Showstopper Prediction: San Antonio Spurs in 5 games.




(2) Oklahoma City Thunder vs (7) Dallas Mavericks - Saturday, 9:30pm on ESPN


The defending NBA Champions taking on the team that A LOT of people have picked to win the NBA Title. Well, The Mavericks have been very quiet during this season and rightfully so. They haven't done anything fantastic since winning the Championship. They let go of Tyson Chandler and JJ Barea, then they get Lamar Odom, and send him to the D-League mid-season. On top of that, they've been laughably inconsistent throughout the season not playing like they won the NBA Championship last season. They're #20 in PPG and #11 in total defensive stats. But against OKC this season, they lacked substance in the paint.

We already know how good OKC is. Kevin Durant is winning the scoring title, might win the MVP, and their Home Crowd is the loudest in the NBA. And if there's one thing that makes OKC dominant is that they can shoot the basketball from the perimeter due to guys like Durant, Westbrook, Harden, Fisher, Sefolosha, Cook, and list may as well continue. They don't need to depend on an inside game, but when they do, they can always go to Perkins inside. Without Chandler there for the Mavs, it'll be less of a challenge down low for The Thunder.

Showstopper Prediction: Oklahoma City Thunder in 6 games.




(3) Los Angeles Lakers vs (6) Denver Nuggets - Sunday, 3:30pm on ABC


The Lakers clearly aren't the same team they were with Phil Jackson, but have still managed to snag the #3 seed in the West. I feel like The Lakers will only go as far as Kobe Bryant takes them. Yeah, Andrew Bynum had some great games when Kobe was out, but who would you depend on more: Kobe or Bynum? Bynum and Pau down low are problems for anybody. Pau Gasol, though. has prove himself to be a little soft and you don't have to look any further than the Clippers game where Griffin dunked on him twice. And now, they lost one of the team's best defenders in Ron Artest....er Metta World Peace. But they still have Kobe and he makes everybody around him better which is what he does best. When he plays well, the whole team will follow suit.

The Nuggets compiled a great season and lead the NBA in PPG surprisingly enough. Aaron Afflalo has really played well for this team, Ty Lawson has really made that leap and become a special PG and they have great talented players in Harrington and Rudy Fernandez. But what could kill Denver is defending against Gasol and Bynum. JaVale McGee still has yet to get a grip on the offense, and who else is going to guard those two guys? They don't have Kenyon Martin anymore. Not to mention Birdman has been subsequently absent the whole season.

But let's be real, they're playing The Lakers.

Showstopper Prediction: Los Angeles Lakers in 5 games.




(4) Memphis Grizzlies vs (5) Los Angeles Clippers - Sunday, 9:30pm on TNT


THIS is the series I'm most interested in seeing for a couple reasons:

1) The Grizzlies nearly went to the Western Conference Finals last season without Rudy Gay. He's back this season and it'll be interesting to see how they play with him back in the lineup.

2) Blake Griffin's playoff debut.

The Clippers right away have an advantage down low as they lead the league in rebounding. It's truly been Lob City with Blake Griffin and Deandre Jordan catching alley-oops from Chris Paul. Speaking of CP3, he originally wanted to go to The Lakers, but he has truly put the Clippers in a complete 360 as they are now a viable threat. Why isn't CP3 mentioned in the MVP category again? I'm pretty sure right behind Steve Nash, he leads the Western Conference in Points and Assists. Who knows where this team would be without CP3?

But getting back to the subject, The Clippers have a dominant force inside and have a PG who can facilitate and create opportunities to set up shots and let's not forget the bench. They were a force with Mr. Big Shot Chauncey, but with gone for the season, they have to look to Caron Butler, Mo Williams, Marcus Camby and others. Along with Blake, a key factor is if Jordan can defend against Marc Gasol which will be a very tough test indeed.

It's no surprise that The Grizzlies have the #4 seed. They shocked everybody last season when they ousted The Spurs and nearly beat The Thunder in seven games. But they have Rudy Gay back now and it'll be interesting seeing how different their team plays. Rudy has always been one that needs the ball in certain situations, but they can't play that way or they WILL lose. They need to play balanced basketball and shoot only when they have to, share the ball and feed the big man Gasol when they have to.

Los Angeles Clippers in 7 games.




So, there you have it, my picks for the first round of the playoffs. 16 Teams. 1 NBA Champion. Let the games begin.


Feel free to Comment.


By: Gerald "Showstopper" Prophete

Cleveland Browns to trade Colt McCoy?

The Cleveland Browns are wasting no time trying to get rid of Colt McCoy after drafting Brandon Weeden with the 22nd overall pick in the Draft last night. Now, The Browns are looking to trade Colt McCoy to the Green Bay Packers, or whatever team needs a backup Quarterback. Although, Colt himself isn't seeking a trade, I don't think it's entirely up to him.

What bothers me about this more than anything is that if I remember correctly, The Browns told Colt McCoy they weren't gonna draft a QB because they thought he was "the guy" and they expected him to make a big leap in his third season. Now, not only do they draft a QB, but they're looking to get rid of Colt McCoy the next day. I understand why The Browns are doing this because I guess they believe Colt McCoy isn't a starter in the league, but the way they went about things were very shady.

The Browns need to understand a few things. First of all, he's playing in a division that has the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers. Already, that's a tough spot to be in. Secondly, look at the team he has around him. Who's the man throwing to? Josh Cribbs? He's a RETURNER!

I'm defending Colt McCoy because he's better than most people give him credit for. His team is so poor and his stats suffer because of that. When you have absolutely nobody that's even remotely credible around you, it's hard to make progress in this league. Matt Ryan came in and had Roddy White, Cam Newton came in and had Steve Smith. Who did Colt have? Peyton Hillis? Where is he now?

You put a solid receiving core and good defense around McCoy and he'll do big things. You put Colt McCoy on a team like The Arizona Cardinals, and I guarantee you they make the playoffs.

Cam Newton came out and broke the record for most pass yards for a rookie and Matt Ryan came out and played like a vet and led his team to the playoffs. These two guys set the precedent that if you're a rookie and you don't produce in your first year in the NFL, then you're a bust.

I know Colt McCoy isn't the only QB with these troubles, but the way The Browns are doing things, it's rather unfair. I hope McCoy goes to a team where he can start that actually has talent and a defense. If I were Colt, I'd call up Arizona.

Check out the link below for further details.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d828a9842/article/colt-mccoy-on-the-way-out-of-cleveland?module=HP11_headline_stack


Feel free to Comment.


By: Gerald "Showstopper" Prophete

Monday Night RAW Review!!! (4/23/12)

Detroit, Michigan is the site for tonight's 3-Hour Monday Night RAW! This is the Go-Home show for Extreme Rules this Sunday on ppv. I wonder what they're going to do for all 3 hours. Guess we'll see. Let's get this review underway! Oh and by the way, I'm gonna try and not mention some of the backstage stuff unless it's completely relevant.

It's Edge! Surprising way to kick off RAW here. Nice way to keep his return very hush hush. I also like the new haircut he's sporting by the way.

Nonetheless, Lesnar and Cena was supposed to start things off, but he "wasn't here yet."  Edge came out here and laid down the pep talk on Cena. Edge still got it when it comes to doing promos and this promo was great telling Cena to find that inner Cena that kicked Edge's ass back in the day. Only one problem with it though: Somebody needs to show Edge the RAW episode where Cena slapped the taste out of Lesnar's mouth.

But on another note, this was a great thing seeing these two face to face like in the old days.

It reminded me of the InVasion angle back in 2001 and Vince McMahon said he wanted the "Old" Stone Cold back. Like And now it's Edge saying, he wants the "Old" John Cena back.

Chris Jericho vs Kofi Kingston

Jericho having his first match on RAW since late February I believe and he and Kofi always put on good matches, so I wasn't surprised at how solid this was. There was a great spot where Jericho caught Kofi in mid-air and hit a Codebreaker! Great match and a solid Jericho promo afterwards. Wonder what gift he has in mind....



CM Punk Backstage:


Hahaha, Jericho got him a Liquor basket. Nice and kinda got me to chuckle a little bit. But Punk kept that one bottle of Jack. Hmm....

Tensai vs Truth

Well, nice to see Truth looked like a Jobber out there. As much as I don't like Lord Tensai, this is a good win for his character, as if a win over Cena last week wasn't enough. I think this is a sign that he's going to start running through actual everyday wrestlers around here, and not just be fed Jobbers.

Kane/Randy Orton Segment


I don't care what other people say, I enjoyed this promo. Kane had me glued to everything he was saying. Albeit, it was nothing new, but nonetheless, he really got over the fact that he truly is the emotionless Monster that haunts Randy Orton's dreams and turns them into nightmares and how he can never wake up from this Monster. Nice promo really getting to the meat of the matter. I forgot that Kane could actually cut decent promos.

Orton with Paul Bearer? o_O I like it. I mean, they can only have Orton run down and attack Kane so many times. They needed something with a little substance, and with Orton tying up Kane's "Father" responding to what Kane did was pretty cool. But what made this especially good is that Kane wasn't going to save him. Monsters are Heartless and have no care for anybody else. Great job here.

And then, we have the obligatory Orton/Kane brawl and Kane is sent hightailing it into the crowd for safety. Good build heading towards their match on Sunday.

Show/Khali vs Del Rio/Rhodes


Meh, this match was ok. Really nothing to write Home about. I like that they didn't make this a total squash and Rhodes and Del Rio actually got a little offense in on these guys. But nonetheless, Del Rio leaves Rhodes to get beat down by Show and lose.

I really hope these two don't challenge for the Tag Titles. I mean it'd be cool if they did, but I don't want them to.

Oh and by the way, Big Show defends The Intercontinental Championship against Cody Rhodes this Sunday. It only took them 3 weeks to announce the rematch anyway.

Oh and here's a kicker, The Miz will challenge Santino for the United States Championship......on the pre-show before Extreme Rules this Sunday. My, it's amazing how far The Miz has fallen, and how little WWE really cares about the US Title. I understand trying to get a few buyers before the show, but let's be serious now, these two guys can't even get on the main card.....?

Divas Championship Match
Beth Phoenix vs Nikki Bella


The Divas? Actually on Monday Night RAW? How about that? And Nikki is getting a Divas Title shot for a Non-Title match she won like two weeks ago. What started out as a solid match, turned bad as Beth Phoenix looked like she legit got hurt, landing wrong suffering a sprained/twisted ankle. It looked really bad.

But let's not stop there, Nikki Bella has become the Divas Champion. I guess the rumor about The Bella Twins leaving has been put to death here tonight.

Punk/Jericho segment


CM Punk is Drunk. Well, at least he was pretending to be drunk. I think this is the first time we had a field sobriety test on RAW. This was well done. Punk played a pretty good drunk, but if he wanted to really nail it........well let me not go into great detail.

As soon as the Cops left, Punk wanted to show up Jericho and Laurinatis and faking out everybody by not only walking the line, but saying the Alphabet backwards, which is hard to do drunk or sober, but he pulled it off nonetheless and looked cool doing it, although he did mess up a little bit.

And then we had the obligatory brawl right afterwards as Punk finally got his hands on Jericho and sent him heading for higher ground. This feud has really been great and I've been enjoying every bit of it. Can't wait for Punk/Jericho II on Sunday. Should be good.

Sheamus vs Mark Henry 
Guest Referee- Daniel Bryan


This was pretty much what I expected. Sheamus and Henry brawl and Bryan fast counts Sheamus to a loss. I figured the match would last a little longer is all. Sheamus and Henry have good in-ring chemistry, but I guess they really wanted to sell Bryan screwing over Sheamus, but it was a little too sudden.

Either way, Bryan comes out on top after making Sheamus tap to the YES! Lock pushing the momentum for their match this Sunday. It must really get to Sheamus that since he won the World Title at WrestleMania that Bryan has been getting a much better crowd reaction than him. Oh well....



Ryder & Santino vs The Colons


So......the Tag Team Champions job to thrown together teams two weeks in a row? Meh. Won't even go into that honestly. I remember a time when the Tag Team Champions were actually relevant and didn't job week after week to..."non" tag teams. Oh well, life goes on I guess.



Brodus Clay & Hornswoggle vs Ziggler and Swagger

As much as I love Brodus Clay and Dolph Ziggler, the only thing interesting about this match was Hornswoggle biting Vickie's ass.

John Cena/Brock Lesnar Contract Signing 


Well....I really don't like how this turned out.

For starters, it took Cena 10 minutes to come out and Lesnar prattled on about demands and revisions in his contract. Similar to what Punk did with Mr. McMahon back in July except for the fact that Punk is better at promos than Lesnar is. But getting back to Lesnar, his promo was meh. It did get a little on the boring side and it just didn't sound right. I'm not saying he was God awful, but he couldn't get the crowd interested in him. I think he needs Heyman back.

And finally here comes John Cena! Walking down to the ring with a chain around his neck. He stands in the middle of the ring and Lesnar goads him into signing the contract. Once he does, we have probably the longest staredown in history. Lesnar leaves the ring and Cena stands in the ring holding his chain. Very anticlimactic. Everything these two did up until this week has been great, but this just....I don't know what to say.

When Edge said he wanted the "Old" Cena back, I'm sure he wanted Cena to walk down to the ring and stand there with a chain wrapped around his fist and not attack Lesnar at all. I don't want to hear the argument about saving it for Sunday. These two had physical contact the past 3 weeks and on the night before their BIG showdown, we get.......a lackluster Lesnar promo and a silent Cena standing in the ring with a chain wrapped around his fist. No back and forth on the mic, and not even a brawl.

I understand the message they're sending: Cena won't back down from "The Bully" Brock Lesnar, but I thought Cena slapping Lesnar in the face a few weeks back was a turn in the right direction for this feud. What happened to that Cena? Did he all of a sudden forget? I really didn't mind if we got a repeat of that brawl where every WWE superstar had to separate them.

In my opinion, poor end to what was a really good RAW.

Thoughts on NFL Schedule

This has been a long overdue post, but here it is anyway. The NFL Schedule was released last Tuesday and man, there was A LOT of buzz about it already. Now, I'm not gonna go through the entire schedule. I'm just going to give some feedback on some of the games that I find interesting, along with my thoughts of which team starts 0-2.


Now, let's start with Week 1:

Wednesday, Sept 5th: 

Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants

Sunday, Sept 9th:

Chicago Bears at Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars at Minnesota Vikings

Buffalo Bills at New York Jets

Miami Dolphins at Houston Texans

New England Patriots at Tennessee Titans

St. Louis Rams at Detroit Lions

Washington Redskins at New Orleans Saints

Philadelphia Eagles at Cleveland Browns

Atlanta Falcons at Kansas City Chiefs

San Francisco 49ers at Green Bay Packers

Seattle Seahawks at Arizona Cardinals

Carolina Panthers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Pittsburgh Steelers at Denver Broncos

Monday, Sept. 10th:

Cincinnati Bengals at Baltimore Ravens

San Diego Chargers at Oakland Raiders

From top to bottom, looking at every single game from Week 1, the one game that really JUMPS out at me is The Niners heading to Lambeau Field to battle Green Bay. I mean, could you ask for a better match in the first week of the season? This is essentially a playoff game here. The Niners came off a great season and had a case of bad luck and the same can be said for Green Bay. Both teams are clearly going to get better, and it's going to be really amazing to see how Aaron Rodgers competes against The Niners defense. To take it a step further, it'll be even more interesting seeing how Alex Smith connects with his new receivers. We're in store for a treat in Week 1.

Continuing on with the schedule, The Giants and Cowboys open the season. Now, this a BIG statement game for both teams. The Giants already have an insanely tough schedule as it is, and a win against Dallas would make quite the statement. A win for Dallas would be an even bigger statement. It's the fact that they came into the Giants' Home stadium on the night where they raise the banner I believe and if they can escape with a win, that can damage the Giants' psyche. Not to mention, they travel to Seattle the week after which is not an easy place to play. Dallas can't afford to start 0-2.

Let's go a little further with this. The Pittsburgh Steelers start their season in the same place they ended it: Denver. But this time, they're not facing Tebow, they're facing Peyton Manning. That is a different level without a doubt. If Peyton Manning shows up and plays like the Peyton Manning we all know, the Steelers don't stand a chance, and that's putting it nicely. That may sound a bit arrogant, but let's be honest here. Peyton Manning is arguably one the best QBs of all time and can turn nobodys into superstars. Imagine what he'll do with guys like Decker and Thomas. But, if Manning plays like a man that's had five neck surgeries, he could be in for a long season. They start with Pittsburgh and then travel to Atlanta where Matt Ryan is seemingly undefeated. I can't imagine the media coverage if Peyton Manning and the Broncos start 0-2.

What about the rookies? Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III. Peyton Manning's old team, The Colts host The Bears and what a game to welcome Andrew Luck into the league. He's gonna have Urlacher, Briggs, and Peppers all coming after him. I'll be watching this one. And then we have RGIII vs The Saints. If they presumably make Griffin the starter, this another Welcome to the NFL game for the rookie, playing against The Saints in the Super Dome. The rookie sensations are in for some tough tests to start up the season.

Another slate of games that people usually can't wait for is Thanksgiving Day. People will make plans weeks or months in advance to make sure they're ready and have everything set when the weekend arrives. Well, this year, this may be the best slate of Thanksgiving games in quite some time. Here's how it looks:

Houston Texans at Detroit Lions

Washington Redskins at Dallas Cowboys

New England Patriots at New York Jets

My goodness. I mean, you wake up, shower, get dressed and the day starts off with The Texans and The Lions. Two young QBs, two great offenses, and two aggressive defenses going at it. And let's not forget we have the two best receivers in the league facing off: Calvin Johnson and Andre Johnson. The Texans are looking like a team that can get back to the playoffs and the same goes for Detroit. The Lions finally at a stage where they aren't the team that'll be easy to beat anymore. They're now a legitimate threat in the NFC and this should be a slobber-knocker.

But it doesn't end there, RGIII (maybe) leads The Redskins into Dallas to face the Cowboys. The Redskins improved a great deal last season and if they start RGIII and he really lives up to the hype, then this should be an interesting game. Besides, these guys always give Dallas fits.

And then, there's the night game. When the Turkey and Stuffing has been put away, you got The Jets and The Patriots. What a game to close out the night on Thanksgiving. Ever since Rex Ryan took over The Jets, he's made them more a challenge to The Patriots, that is until last season when they got swept and that includes an embarrassing 21 point blowout in New York. But now, there's an interesting story added to this: Tim Tebow. I think it's a foregone conclusion that a lot of people believe Tebow can steal the starting job from Mark Sanchez sooner than later and...well, that would make things very interesting. Tebow vs Brady on Thanksgiving Day? Enough said. It'll be a Zoo and the media will eat it up. Look at how ESPN reacted when Tebow was getting ready to face Brady last season. They talked about Tebow the whole day pretty much and ESPN2 had like a 3-Hour long "Life of Tim Tebow" thing.


Playoff Teams that might start 0-2


Now, another thing I noticed about this schedule is that some teams have a lot of tough back to back games.

The Broncos have The Steelers Week 1 and go to Atlanta to face Matt Ryan where, at Home, he's nearly invincible. It would behoove Peyton Manning and The Broncos to be on their A-Game, it's not going to be good for them if they start 0-2.

Speaking of Matt Ryan, he needs to be careful as well. His woes on the road have been his Achilles Heel and he opens the season at Kansas City. A lot of people may not think that this game is that big of a deal, but The Chiefs defense was lethal towards the end of the season when Crennel took over as The Head Coach. If The Falcons fall to the Chiefs, they have to rebound against Peyton Manning.

The 49ers have a tough game against Green Bay, and the week after host the Detroit Lions and if you remember what happened the last time these two teams faced off, you'll understand why this game is even more interesting.

While we're on Green Bay, they came off a disappointing playoff loss to the Giants and start off with The Niners who are every bit as physical. And then, they host The Chicago Bears the week after. With Cutler, Forte, and Knox back healthy and the addition of Brandon Marshall, a win that looked easy, might not be as easy as people think.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are also in a bind as well. Not only do they have to start the season in Denver, but they now have Peyton Manning to deal with and this is no small feat to overcome. The week after, they host The New York Jets. The last time these two played was in the AFC Championship game last year. And in the Regular Season, The Jets beat Pittsburgh IN Pittsburgh. Two must win games indeed.

And since we're on The Jets, they're in a state of total disarray. Some team players don't like Sanchez, and now you have the signing of Tim Tebow. These are two important games for Mark Sanchez, he has to prove himself in order to keep his job. The Bills aren't as easy as people think. The Bills have a habit of coming out of the gate Hot, but cooling down later on in the season. The Jets better take them seriously, because if they don't, Pittsburgh will be waiting for them and it's not gonna be easy for Mark. He struggled at the end of last season and these first few games don't do him any favors: Bills, Steelers, Dolphins, 49ers and The Texans. If the Jets end up 2-3, 1-4, or God Forbid, 0-5, the fans will clamor for Tebow without hesitation. Sanchez won't make it to The Jets bye week and the way this schedule is lined up, it looks like the beginning of the end.


So, there you have it, all my thoughts on the schedule. I can't really say a lot more than this until the Draft, and ultimately until preseason. All in all, this is going to be a fun season like always.


Feel free to Comment.


By: Gerald "Showstopper" Prophete

Monday Night RAW Review!!! (4/16/12)

Alright, so it's time to get down to business as usual and it means it's time to review Monday Night RAW!

So, RAW is coming from London, England and these crowds are always entertaining, and it was a great night.

CM Punk vs Mark Henry


It's been a while since we had a WWE Championship Match open up Monday Night RAW. This match was solid. It wasn't as good as the match they had the night after WrestleMania, but good nonetheless. This felt like a throwaway match to me and the No DQ, No Countout thing was meh. Because they spent most of the time in the ring, and barely used any weapons. But nonetheless, Punk retains.

And then Jericho comes on and keeps on making this feud interesting. There's a tape of Punk walking into a pub and now we know it'll be Jericho and Punk in a Chicago Street Fight at Extreme Rules for the WWE Championship. This feud keeps on getting more and more interesting by the week. It's something new every week and it keeps me interested. If you're not hooked into this feud, then I can't help you.

United States Championship
Santino (c) vs David Otunga


This was nothing more than filler, which really says what the United States Championship means to the WWE nowadays. But the match was a bit sloppy at times and almost forgettable. Santino retains, but I would like to see this actually turn into a feud where Otunga ends up winning the US Title in the near future. He got a good push leading into WrestleMania and the US Title could be the thing he needs to really get over.

Brock Lesnar Interview


Well, this was rather interesting. Lesnar's interview was ok. I agreed with some things and disagreed with some things as well.

He went a bit overboard saying things like he was the most dominant collegiate athlete or something along those lines, because both Kurt Angle and Bobby Lashley were better mat wrestlers than Lesnar in my opinion.

Then he said Cena wouldn't be the man if Lesnar hadn't left. This isn't entirely true.

Cena would've eventually taken over as the face of the company, but it probably wouldn't have happened as fast as it did. Lesnar leaving opened up the door for Cena in a HUGE way to emerge and become the company's top man.

Sounds like a bit of jealousy on Lesnar's part. Maybe if Lesnar had actually stayed in WWE, he wouldn't be so bitter and upset that John Cena is "The Man" right now. Because Lesnar was still a Big star before he left in 2004 and there's no telling where his career would've gone from there, but he chose to leave and try out for the NFL and eventually end up going to UFC.

But already off the bat, this feud is personal and I Love it. This promo not only made their feud so interesting already, but it really got the point across that Brock Lesnar really doesn't like Cena.

Kane vs Zack Ryder


Remember when Zack Ryder was the United States Champion and looked like a legit star? Me neither.

Ever since his involvement in the Cena/Kane feud, he's been forgettable and now he's pretty much a jobber and getting buried. I mean, first it was Miz last week and now Kane. Just remember that he didn't get any offense in this match. Let's move on.

Kane's little promo afterwards was ok. It helped to push along the feud rather nicely.



Daniel Bryan/Kofi/AJ Segment


YES! YES! YES!

I remember when people didn't like Daniel Bryan and his character was annoying. I defended him and said he got better each week and is over. But now it looks like his loss at Mania was a blessing in disguise. He's more over with the fans than he was when he was Champion, got a new shirt, and has fans all around the world saying YES! YES! YES! Not only is Daniel Bryan the best wrestler in the WWE right now, but his character is getting over like never before.

Take this segment for example. He appeared and the fans erupted in YES! Chants. And now he changed the name of his finisher to the YES! Lock. I don't know how long the YES! Chants are gonna be around for, but this segment was a perfect way to milk it a little bit.

Say what you want about Bryan, but the man is over and I love this.

John Cena Promo


*Sigh*

What happened to the John Cena that had personal barbs to throw at The Rock? What happened to the John Cena who slapped Brock Lesnar in the face last week?

Tonight, he came out and went back to cutting a cheesy promo. Pretty much what he said was: "Brock Lesnar is a Monster and even though I may get my ass kicked, I'm showing up to fight!"

Once again: *Sigh*

Just when I was starting to like Cena again, he goes back to cutting cheesy promos and showing off the good guy attitude. Now look, there's nothing wrong with that, but for god sakes at least come at your opponent. I was expecting Cena to come at Lesnar like he did with The Rock: Making it personal. Lesnar pretty much said: "You wouldn't have been shit if I didn't leave." And that is your best comeback? When Rock went in on Cena, he had comebacks. Where is that?

Well, they have a Contract Signing next week on RAW, so let's see if he acts any different.

Daniel Bryan vs Kofi Kingston


This was the best match of the night by far. The flow of this match was good, and that pace was average. It wasn't too fast, nor was it too slow to the point where you got bored. It was a very good TV match. Kofi continues to look like a Million Bucks even though he loses, and in the meanwhile Bryan gets the win and looks good heading into his rematch with Sheamus for the World Heavyweight Championship.

But he is showing more of a violent side when he went back to attack Kofi again. His YES! thing combined with his character is working for him. He looks better than Sheamus and he's the World Heavyweight Champion!

Brodus Clay vs Dolph Ziggler


This match barely got underway as Swagger got involved. Long story short, Clay squashed both Ziggler and Swagger and Brodus' dancers got into it with Vickie Guerrero. Forgettable segment really even though I really like Brodus Clay's character.


R-Truth as Sherlock Holmes


Maybe I'd care a little more about this if they had given Truth more than one segment. But whatever, Truth is funny, so it works.

Big Show and Great Khali vs Primo & Epico


First of all, Big Show and Khali as a tag team? o_O

Anyway, nice way of squashing the WWE Tag Team Champions....again, making them even more irrelevant than they already were.

No Cody Rhodes sighting? Hmm...

Extreme Rules Match
John Cena vs Lord Tensai


This match upset me in so many different ways, but I'll get to that in a second.


As far as the match goes, it wasn't anything special. Lord Tensai's first RAW Main Event against John Cena and he was ok I guess. I feel like it was a bit too soon because the man had what....2 matches? I would've much rather had Kane face Cena. But getting back to the match, I knew the pace was going to be slow, but sheesh! Tensai pretty much dominated the whole match. Face superstars don't get too much offense in these days do they?

Also, I don't see the point of an "Extreme Rules" match if there's nothing "Extreme" about it. There was nothing Extreme about this match at all. I mean they didn't even use a Chair for God sakes!

Now here's what got me upset. Why in the hell did John Cena lose? This has to be the most ridiculous thing I think I've ever seen. Lord Tensai has two wins under his belt and beat John Cena? Not only did he beat Cena, but he beat him clean pretty much.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think John Cena has a Pay-Per-View match coming up against Brock Lesnar. Right? I thought so. So, to get him ready for the match, he loses to Lord Tensai? I expected John Cena to go apeshit and beat down Tensai, Otunga, and Laurinatis sending a message to Lesnar. The show goes off the air with Cena standing tall giving him momentum against Lesnar.

But instead, the lasting image of RAW tonight is a guy that most people don't know, or care about. The lasting image of RAW was Prince Albert.

The only explanation I have for this is that they're going somewhere with Cena's character. Why in God's name would the top superstar in the WWE right now lose to guy who's only had two matches since re-debuting? I hope Vince knows what he's doing with this. A win over John Cena shows that you're going to get pushed sooner or later.


Overall, this RAW was pretty bland. The only good parts about to me was the Punk/Jericho segment and Bryan vs Kofi. Last week's RAW was better and it's not even close. But next week is a 3-Hour RAW show before Extreme Rules next Sunday. So, it should be a HUGE show. See you guys then!


Feel free to Comment.


By: Gerald "Showstopper" Prophete

Ozzie Guillen Suspended!!!

I guess Freedom of Speech really doesn't fly around the United States anymore.

The new look Miami Marlins are off to a mediocre 2-3 start and if that isn't bad enough, Ozzie Guillen has already lit a fire under his own behind.

A Time Magazine article that appeared last Friday online begins by quoting Guillen as saying, "I love Fidel Castro." But then he continues.

"I respect Fidel Castro." Guillen said. "You know why? A lot of people have wanted to kill Fidel Castro for the last 60 years, but that [expletive] is still here."

Because of his comments, Ozzie Guillen has been suspended for five games.

For those of who of you who need a little history lesson, Fidel Castro was the Prime Minister of Cuba serving under the Communist Party ruling for 32 years before finally stepping down in 2008. Let's just say, he wasn't a man of the people.

I like to look at this from both sides. I understand the frustration of certain people. Especially the Cuban people who lived during the the Fidel Castro rule. They don't take kindly to the comments Guillen said about Fidel Castro. Why would someone like Ozzie Guillen come out and say he respected someone like Fidel Castro? They feel hurt and disrespected.

Looking at Ozzie's point of view, who knows what drove him to say something like this? Maybe he respects the amount of time he stayed in power. Is it really that big of a deal? Will Guillen suddenly turn into a Communist and control his own country for an unlimited amount of time? I highly doubt it. The man was speaking his mind. Can he really be held at fault for that?

I think we are looking too much into this. I understand where people's frustration are coming from, but Castro is out of power, shouldn't we let this sort of thing go? In a country where free speech is backed up by the First Amendment, it really doesn't seem to be that way anymore. People can come out and speak their mind, and get in loads of trouble for it. I guess nowadays Freedom of Speech only counts if we keep it to ourselves.

Personally, I'm not a fan of what he said because as a manager of a Baseball team, he has a certain image to uphold. If he was retired or something, I wouldn't care as much. But he's in control of a new franchise and he has to watch what he says sometimes because something like this can happen and his words can ricochet and have an effect that everybody will notice. There are already enough eyes on him as it is being in control of the New Miami Marlins, but when you say things like this, you attract a whole bunch of unwanted attention.

He should apologize because it'd be the right thing to do, and he should be honest. He shouldn't come out and try to backtrack what he said, he needs to just say sorry and move on with the rest of his Life.

Ozzie Guillen is in Miami as I type this meeting with the media for a press conference at 10:30 a.m.


Feel free to Comment.

By: Gerald "Showstopper" Prophete