Thoughts on the Daniel Bryan/Randy Orton Storyline

WE'RE BACK!!!

After a rather long hiatus, The Sports Monarchy Dynamic Duo is back looking to expand our horizons and achieve greater heights. We're back to talk NFL, NBA, WWE, TNA, and once in a while we'll go off topic and discuss movies and music.


For the first topic back, I want to talk about something that's been irritating me: Namely, this Daniel Bryan/Randy Orton storyline. When Triple H screwed Daniel Bryan out of the WWE Championship at Summerslam and sided with Randy Orton, the Attitude Era fan in me was excited to see a Corporation 2.0 and how they would do it. But they messed it up. ROYALLY. Shocker. Last night was the first time that I was interested to see where this angle goes next.

The night after Summerslam, Orton should've come out in a Suit and Tie and cut a nice, lengthy promo on why he did what he did. Instead, Triple H talked for 10 minutes and Orton had something along the lines of 2 sentences.

And that brings me to my main problem with this storyline: Triple H. I was a big Triple H fan in the Attitude Era, but him taking center stage in a feud that is supposed to be about Randy Orton and Daniel Bryan is beginning to get on my nerves. Randy Orton is the Corporate sellout. He should be coming out cutting promos in a suit and tie telling the people what he thinks about them and how he is everything Daniel Bryan isn't. But Triple H is doing the bulk of the talking and Orton is getting no chance to garner heat on his own. The feud is now Daniel Bryan vs Triple H and Orton is just in the background. Orton's not even the WWE Champion anymore!

In 1998, when they ran this Corporation Angle with The Rock. Yes, the premise was Mr. McMahon getting the belt of Stone Cold and onto somebody who he felt was "worthy" of wearing it, namely The Rock. But Mr. McMahon never did ALL the talking for The Rock. The Rock was able to cut promos and gain heat on his own. Not one time did The Rock become an afterthought in an angle that was about him selling out to become the WWF Champion. Randy Orton became an afterthought long ago.

Also, RAW didn't end 4 weeks straight with Austin getting his ass handed to him by The Corporation.

The build to their match at Night of Champions was horrible. Instead of building a proper story and balancing out Bryan and Orton getting the upper hand on each other, it was Bryan getting laid out EVERY SINGLE WEEK. Your challenger is supposed to look strong to feel like he has a shot against the dominant Champion. But instead, he looked weak heading into this match. Still over, still sympathetic, but weak.

I personally believe it was too early for Bryan to win the WWE Championship anyway. Having the fast count ref as a fail safe in case Orton lost was cool, but executed a little poorly. Orton should've beat Bryan one-on-one in classic heel fashion. Striking him with the belt, or low blow followed by RKO. Orton retains in heel fashion, but Bryan doesn't lose any steam.

But no, Bryan had to get stripped of the title. Bryan is a two time WWE Champion and he hasn't even held the belt for a full day. The booking of the WWE Championship is absolutely horrid. But last night was a glimmer of hope that they're gonna put this angle on the right track.

Since the WWE Championship is vacated, this is what I would personally do:

Triple H comes out announces there will be a Deadly Game Tournament at Survivor Series to crown a new WWE Champion. For those unfamiliar, The Deadly Game Tournament was used in 1998 and was a 1 night tournament to crown a new Champion because the title was vacated around that time as well.

ALL are able to compete except for Daniel Bryan. Triple H then strikes Bryan a deal. It'll be Daniel Bryan vs Triple H at the October ppv. If Bryan wins, he's in the tournament. He loses, Bryan never gets a shot at the title again. Bryan beats Triple H, gets in the tournament, faces Randy Orton in the Tournament Finals and beats him to FINALLY win the WWE Championship.

The angle literally writes itself. But somehow, WWE will find a way to mess this up. Hopefully, they get things right sooner or later.

This poor excuse of this new Corporation, McMahon-Helmsley Era rehash, or whatever it is they're doing is losing steam. It had initial appeal, but repetition and having ONE guy taking the bulk of the storyline and making the anti-authority character look WEAK is dragging it down.

They need to pick it up and make this thing interesting.

My two cents.


By: Gerald "Showstopper" Prophete



Also, we'll be launching a Youtube page very soon for Vlog posts and discussions on a variety of topics. It may take a little time, but this is just the beginning!

WrestleMania 29 Reaction!

WrestleMania. The biggest show in WWE's industry. The showcase of Immortals. Let's see how the show went. BIG crowd. BIG arena. LITTLE hype.

Pre-Show:

The Pre-Show was pretty damn good. Reminded me of Sunday Night Heat. An hour long, covering all the matches, and we have a panel now. This Scott Sanford guy, Jim Ross (who should be commentating), Kofi Kingston, and The "American Dream" Dusty Rhodes.

WWE Intercontinental Championship Match

Wade Barrett (c) vs The Miz

Not much of a feud between these two, but these two had a nice little match. Back and forth and not much lagging or lull in the action. I'm not a fan of the characters, but I know Barrett and Miz can go in the ring. A short match to set the pace, and Miz wins with the figure four. Miz is the new IC Champion like I called.

The Pre-Show closed with one last look at The Rock and John Cena.

Not a bad Pre-Show. I remember when they had Sunday Night Heat before each pay-per-view in the Attitude Era showing promo packages highlighting the main feuds and I loved that. This was a nice little show to get everybody hyped and ready for WrestleMania. JR and Kofi were the two best commentators/analysts. I would've preferred it was just those two to be honest.

And now, on to WrestleMania!

WrestleMania 29:

No celebrity singing the National Anthem. We instead get a video covering Hurricane Sandy. Ok? Moving on.

We get a pretty sweet video package and it's time to get this show started!

6 Man Tag Team Match
Randy Orton, Sheamus, & The Big Show vs The Shield

WrestleMania kicks off with the The Shield taking on Randy Orton, Big Show, and Sheamus. The fans were HOT for The Shield. Everything about these guys is great. I've said it on many occassions, so I won't repeat myself. I'll get to the match.

Definitely one of The Shield's shorter matches, but you don't want a LONG opener for WrestleMania, so this match was satisfying. The Shield looked great in their Mania debut. They kept that fast pace and quick tags. Rollins looked like he took one too many flying moves because when went for a suicide dive, he looked he flew right into the barricade.

Show was in for a while, but Sheamus was the best member of that team. He brought it tonight. The ending saw Orton reaching out and stealing a tag from Show and that was a theme in this match. Orton didn't want to tag Big Show. Reigns hit his HUGE spear on Orton and Ambrose got the cover and win while Show didn't do anything.

After the match, Show knocked out both Orton and Sheamus because he literally only got ONE tag in the match. Specifically, it was Orton who didn't want to tag him in. So, this whole time, I thought Orton would turn heel, but he sort of did. He acted a little heelish to a Big Show who was trying to be good.

Maybe a Show/Orton feud in the works?

All in all, The Shield looked great in their WrestleMania debut and scored a strong win over Show, Sheamus, and Orton. It was a decent opener missing a little something, but a good match to get the crowd riled up. Maybe now, The Shield can move on to other things. Sheamus can move on. Show will probably go on to feud with Orton after tonight.

But what does The Shield move on to? They've beaten every top star in the WWE? Where is this going? We'll have to wait and see.

Ryback vs Mark Henry

This is one of the matches I was looking forward and I was underwhelmed.

Love Mark Henry. His attitude, theme music and Monster gimmick. Ryback was supposed to be his Kryptonite, but didn't look like it here.

The started with a staredown and got it on. Mark Henry dominated pretty much the whole match, making Ryback look very weak in the bulk of the match.

Here's where I get confused. Ryback start to build momentum and hits the meat hook clothesline. He gets him up for the Shellshock, but Henry grabs the rope, Ryback crumbles under the weight and falls and Henry gets the win. What?

But then Ryback hits the Shellshock and celebrates. He didn't win the match. Yeah, he looks strong, but HE DIDN'T WIN THE MATCH. Ryback has jobbed the last 5 pay-per-views. I'm not a big Ryback fan, but constantly losing makes him look very weak.

That was bad. Really one sided and Ryback didn't get the win. And they were pushing him as one of the top faces? He needs to WIN some pay-per-view matches first.

WWE Tag Team Championship Match
Team Hell No (c) vs Dolph Ziggler & Big E. Langston (w/AJ Lee)

Tag Team Championship Match for the first time in 3 years. I was excited to see this match. I was hoping Team Hell No dropped the belts, but boy was I wrong.

The match itself was another short one. Bryan and Ziggler worked a bulk of the match. Big E. looked strong in his debut. He manhandled Kane and when he was in, he displayed a lot of power moves. I'm not a fan of this guy yet, but he could grow on me.

I like the tease they did with Bryan/Ziggler/AJ. They were trying to do to Ziggler what Sheamus did to Bryan last year. That was funny. I would've been legit upset if the match ended there.

Not much to say with this match. It was a good match, don't get me wrong. I felt like it could've been a little longer. Too short, and seemed rushed. Kane and Bryan double team Ziggler and Bryan picks up the win after a flying headbutt.

Team Hell No wins and retains the tag titles. Ok, I like Team Hell No. I really do, but their tag team title reign has gotten very stale. This was a fresh feud for the tag team scene, and I really thought Ziggler and Big E. were going to walk away with the belts, but I guess WWE still wants Team Hell No to parade around with the tag titles. I hope this feud isn't over. I would like to see these two teams feud a little more.

Chris Jericho vs Fandango

The WrestleMania debut for FANDANGO and he's taking on Chris Jericho. Fandango had a pretty cool entrance with multiple exotic dancers. Fancy entrance for a guy who's making his debut at WrestleMania.

I was excited to see this match and it didn't disappoint. Jericho dominated a bulk of the match, but when Fandango got it going, he pulled off some great moves. The kid sold moves well, when he countered Jericho, he hit a great kick, and he can get some air when he wants to. I thought it was over when he hit that legdrop. Jericho wasn't going to be outdone hitting the spot of the match with a BIG cross body on the outside.

Something I liked about this match is that it had a fast pace to it. When they moved slow, it wasn't for the whole match, it would be for a little while. These two guys put on a show in that ring and told a good story. It was physical, fast, and had a good pace. Not too long, or short. Great match. Ending saw Fandango counter Jericho and get him into a small package for the upset win. It could'be been executed better, but it was nice that the upstart heel got the win over the top face.

Not surprised here in the least to be honest. Who didn't think Fandango would win? For a guy who's first match was at WrestleMania, I say he did a damn good job. It also helped that he had a guy like Chris Jericho to work with. The ending was VERY sloppy, but the rest of the match was good.

I don't think this feud is over. I'm not sure how long Jericho is around for after tonight, but if he's sticking around for a while, I would love to see this feud continue.

Match of the Night so far for me. I may be biased because I like this Fandango guy, but this was still a good match.

For all the people complaining about Jericho losing, he's back to PUT PEOPLE OVER. Get over it. It's his job. You can't build new stars by having them lose. Jericho is being a company guy.

World Heavyweight Championship Match
Alberto Del Rio (c) vs Jack Swagger

The World Heavyweight Championship didn't last 18 seconds this year. Good start. Jack Swagger got a jobber entrance. As in, we didn't get to see him even enter the ring. I knew then, he wasn't going to win.

I'll keep this brief. The crowd was dead, but the match was pretty solid to me. It seemed sluggish and lagged at times, but it kept a consistent pace and we got to see a little interaction with Zeb Coulter and Ricardo on the outside. I really can't say much about this match. It was a good, solid match with one cool spot where Del Rio countered the ankle lock into his cross arm breaker. That was a great reversal. Never seen somebody counter the ankle lock like that before. Del Rio and Swagger wrestled as good as they could, but in the end, it felt like I was watching a SmackDown Main Event.

It's a shame. I had high hopes for this match. Don't get me wrong, it was good. I just felt like more could've been done with it.

Del Rio retains and Ziggler does NOT cash in. Told ya.

The Undertaker vs CM Punk

Most of the hype was on this match. A LOT of people were calling this the match of the show. I thought it was going to be slow and methodical, but I was blown away. Taker maybe an old man, but he can still work a damn good match and move like he's around his 30s.

This match started off fast and the crowd was HOT. Some of what Punk did in this match reminded me of what Randy Orton did in his match Undertaker at WrestleMania 21. He slapped Taker a few times to set the tone and get him riled up. They took it to the outside where Taker beat him down and dominated the early goings in this match. Taker missed a big boot in the corner and Punk took advantage. He hit a great crossbody, did old school, and dominated the latter parts of this match. They went back and forth a few times, but ultimately, they wanted to make Punk look dominant for most of this match and this man was good. Punk hasn't wrestled in a while, so I forgot how good he actually is in the ring.

Let's move on a little bit. Punk tries to pull a Shane McMahon later in the match hit an elbow from the turnbuckle to Taker on the announce table. Unfortunately for them, the tables don't break as easily as they used to. The ref gets knocked out and Punk uses the urn to drop the Undertaker. Punk does Undertaker's pin much like HHH at WrestleMania 27 and he kicks out! Taker hits the Tombstone and Punk kicks out! I gotta admit, I'm not a fan of the whole kicking out of finishers thing except when it's at WrestleMania.

CM Punk goes for the GTS one last time, but Taker comes back with a sweet reversal and hits the Tombstone for the 2nd time. 1, 2, 3!

21-0.

THAT is now Match of the Night. It's gonna be a tough act to follow without question. The pace in this match was so well done. Taker proved he can still work a good match at his age and Punk showed he can hang with The Deadman. This was a great match. BUT Taker vs HHH in Hell in a Cell last year was better, and there no point where I said, "OMG IT'S OVER!" but this was a great match for those who said Taker didn't have it anymore. I'll put this in Taker's top 10. Maybe.

This match really reminded me of Orton vs Taker at WrestleMania 21. Go back and watch that match. You'll see I'm right. Only difference here is the crowd was better and the match was longer.

The Streak will never die. Is Taker done? After tonight, he can probably do this for one more year or two. I heard Punk was going to take time off so I'm not sure if he'll be on RAW tomorrow night.

This will be a tough act to follow.

No Holds Barred
Triple H vs Brock Lesnar

This was the match I thought would be match of the night, but it didn't really live up to what I thought.

This was a GREAT brawl, but I expected a little more from it. There was a lack with weapon use. They barely used the chairs and HHH only used the sledgehammer ONCE. It started out fast and Lesnar suplexed HHH through the announce table that Punk tried to break earlier. I liked the story they built. Lesnar is a Monster so I'm not surprised that he dominated almost the whole match. I think it would've been better that instead of punishing him with wrestling holds, it would've been more suitable in a No Holds Barred Match to punish him with weapons, make him bleed, make him suffer. This is what this match needed.

Anyway, it picked up more towards the end when Brock Lesnar introduced the steps into the match hitting Triple H with them twice. Triple H came back and tried to use Brock Lesnar's submission move to beat him and Lesnar powered out of it THREE times, showing how strong he is. It would've been pretty weak to make Lesnar, a former UFC Heavyweight Champion, TAP OUT to his own submission move.

Triple H hits the pedigree on the steps for the win over Lesnar. Not too surprised there.

Great brawl. I'll say that. It towed the line between wrestling and brawling. Lesnar dominated the match to push his Monster gimmick so that HHH could stage that comeback. The fans were drained from Taker/Punk so they didn't get loud until the closing moments of this match. It got good and they turned it up. As a old school guy, I needed to see more violence in this match. It seemed too laid back and normal for a No Holds Barred match. The match told a great story, but more violence, adds to that story. Great match though. I'm not taking anything away from the match. They worked their asses off. Just expected a little more.

8 Person Intergender Tag Team Match
Tons of Funk & The Funkadactyls vs Team Rhodes Scholars & The Bella Twins

The match didn't happen. All 8 of them got hosed. Poor Damien Sandow. Moving on.

WWE Championship Match
The Rock (c) vs John Cena

No special entrances for either men and no last minute hype/sell right before the match. Interesting.

Right off the bat, the crowd was a dud for a good portion of the match. The match started out much slower than last year. They spent like 5-10 minutes in the feeling out process trying to get the upper hand on each other. The crowd was bored. I liked the storytelling early on, but they spent just a tad bit too much time on it. It took a while for the match to really get going. There were a lot of holds and a very slow, methodical pace. And no, it wasn't because Rock was gassed. It's called selling. Sheesh.

Let's get to the part where the crowd woke up. Cena was going for the 5 knuckle shuffle and the crowd exploded with boos. Rock counters and goes for the People's Elbow and the crowd erupts! From that point on, it was an endless number of reversals, near falls, kicking out of finishers, and etc. Too much for me to even go into. I do know that Cena kicked out of THREE Rock Bottoms. THREE. Sheesh. I knew that only one thing could make this match better: Using each other's finishers! Cena used The Rock Bottom and I was waiting for Rock to use the AA, but it never happened. Cena reversed the Rock Bottom for the umpteenth time and hit the AA for the third time, if I remember correctly and got the win.

Rock and Cena then pulled a Rock/Hogan and shook hands in the middle of the ring. Cena left and Rock soaked in the cheers. This is most likely his sendoff. I'll miss The Rock unlike some marks that confuse him with David Arquette circa 2000. But The Rock made WWE watchable for a while when it was unwatchable. I thought he was advertised for Extreme Rules but I guess not.

Rock and Cena raise each other's arms at the top of the set and the pyro goes off.

Show ends.

NO CENA HEEL TURN! I told you WWE doesn't have the guts to turn Cena heel. Maybe now people will drop that subject because it's not going to happen. Cena is once again WWE Champion. Lord help us.

I'll admit, last year's Rock/Cena was better. Much better. Even the crowd was better last year. There was no 10 minute feeling out process and it was more fluid. It's weird because that was their FIRST meeting. You would think Part 2 would be better. As much as I don't like Cena, I admire the whole Rock/Hogan way to end the show. The match didn't have that one HUGE moment. It had good moments, but you kinda expected what was going to happen in this match.


So, THAT was WrestleMania. I will say this. WrestleMania 28 was better. MUCH better. It started off really good. I thought we were in for a show that blew WrestleMania 28 away, but nope. WM 29 was good, but I was expecting more. It didn't beat WrestleMania 28 in my view. I'll give it a 7/10. Generous number. Henry/Ryback was horrible, Rock/Cena was a letdown, and only ONE title changed hands. Tag Title match and Jericho/Fandango was too short, Del Rio/Swagger was meh, The Shield match was good, HHH/Lesnar was still good, but missed something, and Punk/Taker stole the show.

I enjoyed the show, but nothing about it was exciting. No twists, no turns, no HUGE moment that you'll go back watch over and over.

Let me know what you think.


Feel free to Comment.


By: Gerald "Showstopper" Prophete

WrestleMania Predictions

This Sunday is WrestleMania 29. I sound excited don't I? WWE's biggest show. The grandest stage of them all. The showcase of Immortals. The build has been very lackluster, but it's WrestleMania. When you've been a fan for as long as I've been, you don't miss a WrestleMania. If you're going to watch at least ONE WWE show, make it WrestleMania.

9 matches, 3 titles on the line and 3 HUGE Main Events. Despite the poor build, I'm sure this show will deliver. The crowd is sure to be hot. It's in New York. These crowds are almost always HOT. Let's get right down to the card and my predictions and thoughts for each match.

The Rock vs John Cena. One more time for the WWE Championship. It's no secret who I'm gonna be rooting for. Last year, the build these two had was pretty good cause it was the first time encounter and we got to see them interact with each other and build their feud every week leading up to Mania. This year, the WWE Championship was thrown into the mix and Cena is looking for redemption. That makes sense, but what doesn't make sense is that he's saying his loss to The Rock ruined his whole year? I guess headlining every pay-per-view and even becoming Mr. Money in the Bank since then must've been really depressing. 

But anyway, Rock/Cena has been fine this year. They weren't at each other's throats every week, because too much would be an overkill. That's why Rock was gone for a few weeks. There's a difference between selling and overselling. There were two face offs and then the final words between both men last Monday on RAW. It was also wise not to have them face to face too. Adds tension to their match. I think these two will put on a better match than last year. Their match was last year wasn't garbage, but it was solid. It was neither man's fault. Just a lack of chemistry between the two. But there has been a lingering question going on....

Will John Cena turn heel? They've been teasing it an awful lot. The way he ended his promo on RAW by dropping the mic and soaking in the boos, a few weeks ago he said, the people might see something they've never seen before, and even the return of John Laurinatis teasing maybe Cena joining him. I don't think they'll do it. I don't think they'll turn their top draw into a heel. They could do it with Austin because they had other top faces to carry the load. I don't think WWE has the guts to flip the switch and turn John Cena heel and lose all the little kiddies. If they do it, then it's a HUGE move. If they don't, they teased it awfully well. But as for now, John Cena beats The Rock. This is one is terribly predicable. Cena wins and he rides off into the sunset with the WWE Championship. I hope he is prepared to get booed HEAVILY. 

Prediction: John Cena wins the WWE Championship -____-

CM Punk vs The Undertaker. The Best in the World vs The Streak. This feud has been a colossal let down, in my opinion. They focused this storyline TOO much on the death of Paul Bearer. That would be fine if it was a normal feud, but this is The Undertaker's Streak. That should've been the central theme of this feud. Interrupting Paul Bearer's tribute was a good touch, but that should've been the end of it. Now, we'll never know what it is they were going to do with these two had Paul Bearer not died. Instead, we get Punk doing funny voices with the urn, and no sense of consistency during the feud. 

Last Monday on RAW was the only time I felt like Punk truly got the upper hand on Taker and looked a threat to the streak. Everything before that fell flat. They were milking the whole Paul Bearer thing to death. It just felt lazy. But of course the Punk marks are saying Punk is a legitimate threat to the streak. If there was anything this feud told me is that Punk has absolutely no shot of ending the streak this Sunday. This is wrestling 101, when the bully keeps poking and prodding at the face, eventually he's gonna get what's coming to him. The feud has really been one sided and that's why I think Punk has no shot. 

It's going to be a solid match. I love Punk's work in the ring and I think he and Taker are gonna have a good match. Great storytelling and it should be a classic. I had high hopes for this feud and it's a shame that it only got good last Monday. Despite all that, the match is still going to deliver. I'm not too worried about that. But Taker goes 21-0.

Prediction: Undertaker defeats CM Punk and goes 21-0

I personally don't get how Triple H's career is on the line when he barely wrestles to begin with. It should've just been a typical No Holds Barred match. You don't always need a stipulation thrown in. I liked the base for how this feud started. Triple H said he was waiting for a reason to come back and Brock Lesnar gave him that reason by attacking Vince. I liked that. Paul Heyman's been the best on the mic in this feud since Lesnar can't speak for himself. And now there's the ace in the hole in HBK. He will be in Triple H's corner this Sunday. Last Monday's segment was anti climactic. Very poor final sell before WrestleMania. 

The match itself is gonna be physical. In a normal match, these two worked well, but in a No Holds Barred match at WrestleMania, I hope Vince lets these guys loose. Lots of weapons, violence, and at LEAST some  blood. I'm expecting a knock down, drag out, WAR between these two. Triple H used to be THE MAN in these types of matches. I'm hoping he taps into his inner Triple H. I don't care very much for the stipulation, but I'm looking forward to this match. Hopefully it doesn't disappoint.

As far as my prediction goes, it's gonna be Triple H. Lesnar won at Summerslam and "broke" his arm. He's not only fighting for himself, but he's fighting his career and the McMahon name. No way he loses this match.

Prediction: Triple H defeats Brock Lesnar

For the first time in two years, the World Heavyweight Championship scene has a decent feud behind it. 2 years ago, Del Rio was a heel challenging for the World Title. Fast forward to today, and he's a face defending it. Not bad. Then you have his challenger, Jack Swagger. I'll tell you, if not for Zeb Coulter, I don't know if I would've bought into old Jack Swagger.

This feud started out with some potential, but the build slowly started to fall flat in my opinion. They sort of wasted all their ammo in the beginning. That segment with Del Rio/Ricardo/Swagger/Coulter on MizTV happened a little too soon in my opinion. Especially if they couldn't keep the feud interesting for the next few weeks. Last Monday, Swagger cut a decent promo about what winning the World Title means to him and what it could mean for the people of America. It was good, but the brawl on RAW needed something more. I should've ended with Swagger posing with the World Title over Del Rio's body with his music playing. The heel has to pose with the title at least once. I felt like this feud was inconsistent at times and very on and off. One week they would pull off something good, but do something stupid the next, so on and so on. 

I had high hopes for this feud and it delivered for the most part, so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. They're really pushing Swagger being the next American Patriot heel type of character. But will they give him the win over Del Rio? I don't see it happening. I feel that Swagger will win the World Title in the near future, but we'll just have to wait for Jack Swagger's America. I see Del Rio retaining, and then MAYBE Dolph Ziggler cashes in the Money in the Bank. But seeing as how that would be a little too predictable as everyone's been saying it for quite some time, I don't think it'll happen. I think Del Rio will have his moment on top this Sunday.

Prediction: Alberto Del Rio retains the World Heavyweight Championship

Oh yes. The WrestleMania debut of The Shield. It's no secret that these guys are one of my favorites of the WWE right now and they're undefeated on pay-per-views at the moment. I've mentioned this before, but even their wrestling styles are amazing. I love the fast pace, quick tags, power of Reigns, speed and agility of Rollins and mixed with the technical prowess of Ambrose and The Shield is one hell of a unit. Love these guys.

I enjoyed the early stages of this feud for a few reasons. The Shield were attacking a heel character for once in Big Show, and instead of being The Shield for injustice, they were dealing a thorn in their side. And then, there was the variable of can Big Show get along with Randy Orton and Sheamus? It seemed like they finally got their act together on RAW last Monday. I like they kept it simple between the three. They didn't over do it by Show, Sheamus, and Orton being all buddy buddy. Let's not forget Show and Sheamus feuded a few months ago as well.

This feud hasn't been really eye popping either in the last few weeks. It was just lacking something. The Shield cut good promos and I like the whole Big Show/Sheamus/Orton trust angle, but it was just missing something. It was already solid, but it needed something more to make it good.

I think The Shield takes this one. Why? Because I think Randy Orton will turn heel. Orton will turn, screw Sheamus and Big Show allowing The Shield to pick up the win. Orton's been wanting to turn heel for a while. Orton turns, The Shield get the win and everybody goes home happy. Besides, if Sheamus can't beat The Shield with Ryback and John Cena of all people, what makes you think he can get it done with Randy Orton and The Big Show?

BELIEVE IN THE SHIELD!!

Prediction: The Shield defeats Randy Orton, Big Show, and Sheamus

One of the matches I'm looking forward to. It's been a while since WrestleMania had this kind of "Invincible Force meets Immovable Object" type of match. Mark Henry has been another favorite of mine since he returned and his attitude fits him perfectly. The way we walks, how he cuts his promos now, and even his music have evolved his character so much.

And now, he's gotta face Mr. "FEED ME MORE" in Ryback. The feud was pretty decent, it kinda spiced things up with the no contact clause and it adds some tension and makes the people excited to see them finally get their hands on each other at WrestleMania. I think these two can put on a good, short match. They don't need 20 minutes. These two big guys can make a 10 minute match look good. Start with a staredown, a few power moves, and we're gonna find out if Ryback can get Mark Henry up for the Shellshock.

Ryback struggled to do his finisher on Paul Heyman for God sakes. Mark Henry is going to have to REALLY help out Ryback to make sure he hits it. This is Ryback's WrestleMania moment right here.

Prediction: Ryback defeats Mark Henry

THIS match is going to be GOOD. This is the ONE match that I'm legit excited to see. Everything they've done in this feud has been amazing. From the moment Jericho and Fandango had that backstage segment, I knew they would have a good feud. I just didn't know they would have these two face off at WrestleMania. At first, the only thing I liked about Fandango was his cool ballroom dance entrance music, but the more he teased wrestling, and left, he sorta grew on me. 

His feud with Jericho has been good. Because you know what it has? Consistency. Jericho made fun of Fandango, Fandango struck back by attacking him, Jericho jumped him the following week, and then last Monday, Fandango held up scoring cards rating Jericho on his moves during his match with Cesaro. Once Jericho got the win, he attacked him and hit his legdrop twice on him. 

Whether people want to believe it or not, Fandango's got potential to be a star in this company. You give him and Jericho 15 minutes at Mania and they can steal the show, no match would come close. Fandango has the traits of an old school heel. He's got character, he's got a mean streak, he's got the looks, and loves shouting "WHAT'S MY NAME?!?!" in people's faces and has a valet. This kid has all the traits. He and Jericho are going to have a good match. Fandango should go over Jericho here to give his career a proper start, but there is a way that Jericho can win and still make Fandango look like a stud. If anyone can make somebody look good in a loss besides HBK, it's Y2J.

There literally is not one bad thing I can say about this. The feud's been good and the match will be even better. Can't wait.

Prediction: Fandango defeats Chris Jericho

Another match that I'm excited to see. I'll say this, I'm more excited about WrestleMania's undercard than their Main Events. That's....sad. 

But getting to this match, it's 3 years since the Tag Titles have been defended at WrestleMania and this is going to be a great match. Team Hell No dominated the Fall season as one of the best acts in the tag team division and slowly fizzled out around Winter time. Ziggler and Big E. are the biggest challenge to the Tag Team Champions by far. Their feud with The Rhodes Scholars was so one sided. 

What I like about this feud is a few things. For starters, they're bringing up the past between AJ/Bryan/Kane and using that in this feud. Also, all four guys bring something to the table. Ziggler's selling and athleticism, Bryan's wrestling expertise, Kane's Mania experience, and then you have the mystery of Big E. Langston. All we've seen is his finisher. What can he do in a full match? What role will AJ play? A lot of variables go into this tag team title match. I personally think Kane and Bryan's time as the Tag Team Champions are up. They haven't done much with them. These four guys are gonna bring it and I can't wait. This is going to be a really great match, and I have a feeling we might crown new tag team champions.

NOTE: This match may be changed to include AJ and Kaitlyn to make this a Winner Take All match for the tag tiles and Divas title. That's what they should've done IN THE FIRST PLACE.

Prediction: Ziggler and Big E. win the WWE Tag Team Titles

I'm a BIG fan of Damien Sandow and Cody Rhodes. I'm happy these two made it onto the main card for WrestleMania, but it's a shame that this is the match they're in. A match they're probably going to lose.

The team of Brodus and Tensai has been ok. They're like a wannabe Too Cool, but at least they don't over do the childish antics and humor.No offense to Cameron and The Bellas, but Naomi is the best Diva wrestler out of the four. Not saying they're all bad, but Naomi is an exceptional athlete. Rhodes Scholars and Bella Twins are a solid on-screen unit and have the momentum going into this match. I think they can add a lot to The Rhodes Scholars.

As much as I would like to see the heels pull this one out, it's not going to happen. Tons of Funk and the Funkadactyls are gonna get the win which means all the kiddies are gonna get to dance in the ring. Lovely.

Prediction: Tons of Funk and the Funkadactyls defeat Team Rhodes Scholars and The Bella Twins

Two years ago, The Miz headlined WrestleMania and beat John Cena. Two years later, he's facing Wade Barrett on the WrestleMania PRE-SHOW. This match WAS a part of the card, but it was moved to the pre-show.

I really could care less about this match. It's a shame because the Intercontinental Championship is supposed to be a major title. It hasn't been since last year when Cody Rhodes held it. Miz's face turn has fell flat. His jokes are forced and corny and he's much better as a heel. Wade Barrett has had almost no air time, no promo time and is on a losing streak as the Intercontinental Champion. It'a amazing how the Intercontinental Champion is a weekly jobber.

Anyway, I see Miz winning this. Having the face win sets the tone for the show and Miz wins the Intercontinental Championship. They can put on a solid wrestling match, but I'm not invested in it at all.

Prediction: The Miz wins the Intercontinental Championship

Ok, so there you have it. My WrestleMania predictions. Oh and let's not forget, the Hall of Fame Inductees will be there and P. Diddy will be performing. 

All in all, WrestleMania should be a great show. It's a shame that the build wasn't good enough to justify looking forward to the payoff for all the matches. I mean, I'm more excited to see Jericho vs Fandango than Punk vs Undertaker. But of course, it's WrestleMania. It always delivers one way or another. 

For those will be going, I hope you all have fun. I'll be watching from my house and I hope to see some great wrestling and an overall great show. And of course, I'll be back Sunday Night with my post WrestleMania reaction blog.

Feel free to comment.

By: Gerald "Showstopper" Prophete

WrestleMania Season?

Is it WrestleMania Season? Besides all the returns, I haven't noticed. There's still two weeks of build left, but it's been bad. I mean, really, REALLY bad. Did anybody watch RAW last Monday? Last year's build to Mania was MUCH better. For the first time in a long time, EVERY match had a decent story and build behind it. All these storylines, and of course Rock vs Cena, is what got WrestleMania 28 its 1 Million buys. I have no doubt WrestleMania 29 will be great, but the build has been subpar at best.


The Rock vs John Cena for the WWE Championship

- I've heard A LOT of pissing and moaning about how The Rock hasn't been on TV in 2 weeks to promote his match with John Cena. First of all, the match is already sold. It's THE ROCK VS JOHN CENA. What more do you want? They already sold the match with their amazing promo on Old School RAW a few weeks back. Secondly, there's a difference between selling and OVER-selling. Having Rock and Cena take jabs at each other EVERY week would get boring. It got a little boring last year. What more can be said between the two?

The RAW ratings have dropped week after week on this Road to WrestleMania and people are blaming The Rock for that? It's not The Rock's fault that 90% of the roster can't keep the people entertained for 3 hours. It's not his fault that his match is already hyped. If you think ratings are bad now, wait until you see how they are when Rock, Lesnar, HHH, Jericho, and Undertaker all leave. You'll be begging for them to come back.


CM Punk vs The Undertaker

- A lot of Punk marks have been saying this is the best feud going into Mania and how Punk is a legitimate threat to the streak. You have got to be kidding me. I love CM Punk just as much as the next guy, but I am not convinced Punk is a threat to the streak. I understand what they're doing. They're making Punk use the whole Paul Bearer thing to get under the skin of Taker. They're trying to have Punk be the first guy to play mind games with Undertaker so that the "jackass" will finally get what's coming to him. Too bad it's already been done before. Remember DDP from 2001? This isn't the first time somebody's tried to play mind games with The Deadman. It's just expert timing to do it at WrestleMania with the streak on the line.

That would work in a normal feud. But at WRESTLEMANIA with THE STREAK on the line, it's time to get serious. Show us how aggressive CM Punk can be and prove to us that he might have a legitimate shot at ending the streak. So far, this feud is telling that Punk has absolutely no shot in ending the streak. The last time I thought somebody had a legit shot at ending the streak was Triple H last year and before that Randy Orton in 2005.

This is what the feud should be. Not CM Punk making funny voices with Paul Bearer's urn:

Triple H vs Brock Lesnar

- THIS is the match I'm looking forward too. Brock vs Triple H in a No Holds Barred match at Mania. I can't see this being a normal match with chairs involved. These two are gonna go the extra mile. It's WRESTLEMANIA. As for the build.....it's lacking. How can you put Triple H in a Retirement match when the man barely wrestles as it is? Maybe if the stipulation was, he must step down as COO if he loses, then that's better I guess, but this seems...meh. That contract signing on RAW dragged on forever and it took a long time to get to the point. They have two weeks to make people interested again.


Alberto Del Rio vs Jack Swagger for the World Title

- If not for last Monday on RAW, I would have zero interest in this match. When the feud first got started, it started off a little slow. It got a little TOO political for my taste and drifted away for the central objective and that's the World Heavyweight Championship. What happened on RAW got me right back into it. That Del Rio/Swagger brawl on RAW was very well done and gave the World Title match some much needed build up. For a while, I thought they forgot about it. But it's sad that this match is the only match with some decent build behind it.


As far as the other matches go, there isn't much to talk about. The Shield vs Orton/Sheamus/Show is intriguing, but I don't why they had that to go with that charade of putting Ryback in the match only to take him out after he had a face to face to Mark Henry and The Shield clearly wasn't bothering him anymore. But whatever. Most of the build for this has been on SmackDown. Nuff said. While we're on Ryback, I can probably already tell how they're gonna build the feud with him and Mark Henry: a bunch of staredowns. But seriously, Ryback has lost some steam lately and this is the feud to get him back on track. And then we have Ziggler/Big E vs Hell No for the Tag Titles. I don't mind this match. I'll leave it alone because the Tag Titles haven't been defended at WrestleMania since WrestleMania 26 and NO the preshow match last year didn't count.

This leaves us without no US Championship match, no Intercontinental Title match, no match for the Divas, and Jericho is probably going to face Fandango. The US Championship hasn't been defended at WrestleMania in 6 years. Let me repeat, SIX YEARS.

The build has definitely been underwhelming, but the card leaves me optimistic that every match will deliver. It's WRESTLEMANIA. A lot people like me may bash the card, but am I really going to NOT watch WrestleMania? Of course not. I may be opinionated, but I'm not stupid. I've been a fan of the WWE for a VERY long time. WrestleMania is still WrestleMania. I'm going to be watching, and I know you will be too.

They have 2 weeks left and I feel like they haven't really kicked it into full gear. I mean, a complete kickass show from start to finish. They've got 2 weeks to really put some intrigue in these matches and make us feel like WrestleMania is upon us. So far they haven't and the ratings have clearly shown that.

People have been blaming low ratings on The Rock because the rest of the roster can't pick up the slack. But when The Rock shows up for the home stretch, all they'll do is complain. Fans are hard to please these days.

How do you feel about the build?


Feel free to Comment.



By: Gerald "Showstopper" Prophete

WWE SummerSlam 2012 Reaction

While SummerSlam was billed as "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it wasn't really hyped as much as it should've been. But it still delivered on some levels. It wasn't mind blowing amazing, but it was a solid pay-per-view with great wrestling throughout.

SummerSlam Pre-Show: 

United States Championship Match

Santino (c) vs Antonio Cesaro

For the hardcore wrestling fans, this match is Santino vs Claudio Castagnoli. But anyway, let's get to the match. I personally haven't seen Cesaro wrestle, so this was a real treat. The guy is extremely talented, got the body type, looks like he doesn't botch, and is a great mix of a brawler and grappler type wrestler. The match was pretty solid, with a funny spot for the kids where Santino pulls out a spare cobra from his ass after the first was torn earlier on in the match. But let's get to the important part...

There is a NEW United States Champion. Let me repeat, a NEW United States Champion! FINALLY! Santino was doing absolutely nothing with that Championship and certainly devalued the belt in the process. I certainly hope that they book Cesaro to do something with the belt and not just drop it to Santino at the next ppv, or at worst, tomorrow night on RAW. Keep the belt on this guy for a while and let's see what he can do.


 

After a meh intro and a good pyro display, we get introduced by Cole and Lawler. Before they can finish, we get interrupted by a very loud EXCUSE ME! I guess we know what match is gonna kick this show off and I don't have a problem with it one bit.

Chris Jericho vs Dolph Ziggler (w/ Vickie Guerrero)

This match was great. I mean, it was a really well done match. It started pretty basic with Jericho getting in early offense and Ziggler dominating for a good portion of the match, but once it got going, it got really good. It was so fast pace with great back and forth action. Match ends with Jericho forcing Ziggler tapout to the Walls of Jericho. Amazing match to kick off the show.

My only problem was that the whole theme Cole and Lawler were building throughout the match, and even when the match ended, was that Jericho couldn't win "The Big One." I understand that he hasn't won a ppv match since his return but, how is beating Dolph Ziggler winning "The Big One?" They act like Jericho just won the WWE Championship. No, he just beat Dolph Ziggler. Winning "The Big One" would be winning the WWE Championship, not beating an upper mid-carder at SummerSlam. C'mon now...

I don't think Ziggler loses anything from this loss, but Jericho leaves on a positive note.

Kane vs Daniel Bryan

A pretty ok match for the time it was given. This match proved that Kane can still get it done in the ring and Daniel Bryan is the best wrestler in the WWE right now. It was your average big man vs little man match with Kane bringing the power and Bryan to quicken the pace and wear him down. I thought it was a solid match. Didn't bore me one bit. I was a little shocked to see Daniel Bryan get the win here. The man is on fire, and I pondered how they were going to book this to have Bryan win and wins with a rollup after avoiding the tombstone piledriver. Solid match. After the match, Kane tore apart the locker room looking for Bryan. I see this angle is going to continue. They didn't this feud any life, or any story. Wonder where they go from here.

Intercontinental Championship Match
The Miz (c) vs Rey Mysterio

Here's where the string of good matches stop. Ok, let me not be that mean. It was a good match, but after the last two matches, this one falls just short. And it's a title match! Nothing really stuck out to me about this match. The close calls at the end saved it a little bit, but the match seemed a little too slow and stagnant for my taste. Miz wins via Skull Crushing Finale.

World Heavyweight Championship Match
Sheamus (c) vs Alberto Del Rio

I've been so tired of Sheamus' run as World Champion. It's not necessarily his fault, but rather the lack of top stars for him to face. And Del Rio is dull as dishwater. They've given Del Rio multiple times to get over, but he still can't get it done. That's my gripe with these two and this feud has been so boring, so poorly built, that I really didn't care that much about this match. Both men are great wrestlers, don't get me wrong, but they have ZERO chemistry with each other. This match was one of their better ones, but the meh storyline kind of takes away from it.

Then there's the lackluster finish. Sheamus hits Del Rio with a shoe, then hits the Irish Curse Backbreaker, and covers him. Del Rio puts his foot on the ropes, but the ref doesn't see it and counts to three. Sheamus knocks the foot off after the ropes. There seems to be some confusion as the Sheamus' music didn't play right away making the finish look that much more bad. Sheamus wins, but this ending tells us to that this feud is not over............great.




 

WWE Tag Team Championship MatchKofi & Truth (c) vs Primetime Players

Not a lot to say about this match. That's too bad because I like the Primetime Players. They're a simple, basic heel tag team. The match didn't really do anything for me. It seemed like just another filler match with no story attached, no matter how hard they try. But Kofi & Truth win a short, but good tag team match. This begs the question, now what? There's really no other teams left for Kofi & Truth to face and they really haven't done much with the tag titles. And since the kids love them, they won't drop the belts any time soon. I mean, as much as I like the Primetime Players, I don't feel like seeing these two teams going at it for the umpteenth time. Let's move on, shall we?

Triple Threat Match for the WWE Championship
CM Punk (c) vs John Cena vs Big Show

One word for this match: Weird.

I did like this match, but there were a few things I didn't like. First of all, their main selling point during this match was making the Big Show look dominant and they got the job done to perfection. I thought I was watching a handicap match. It was all about which man can get the Big Show down for the count first. Big Show was dominant throughout the match. I have to admit, I don't think I've ever seen a triple threat match go down like that. It Show vs Punk, then Show vs Cena, and so on, and so on. They were trying to get Show down, but the Big Man was dominant. That was very well booked on their part.

Here's my problem with this match: CM Punk and John Cena had two....TWO interactions with each other throughout the match. Once when Punk interrupted the five knuckle shuffle and another at the end. There was no trash talking and no wrestling between both men whatsoever. I mean, there was never even a staredown between these two. Really? It's Summerslam. Are they trying to save these two fighting for the next ppv? We've seen them wrestle before. It's not groundbreaking if these two face off.

It wasn't your average triple threat match, but it was still good. It didn't live up to the hype, but it still delivered. The cool spot at the end was interesting when Punk and Cena both had submissions on Big Show and he tapped. AJ came out and restarted the match. I thought Big Show had the match won after that double chokeslam, but I knew better. Cena hits the AA, Punk throws him out of the ring and pins Big Show for the win.

This match tells me two things:

1) I don't expect Big Show to win the WWE Championship one last time before he retires.

2) I expect that they're going to have Punk face Cena at Night of Champions seeing as how they had almost no interaction with each other throughout the match.

Match was good, Punk retains and I'm happy with that.

SummerSlam Concert:

Mr. One-hit-wonder Kevin Rudolf and his band performed the SummerSlam theme song, "Be A Star" with the Divas dancing in the background. I'm gonna be blunt. This thing sucked. Who really cares about Rudolf since "Let it Rock" anyway? I didn't even watch it. I switched away when he was being announced. They scrapped Damien Sandow for this? THIS? The next great heel in the WWE was scrapped for a Kevin Rudolf Concert. Good to know where WWE stands with its future stars. I feel like these concerts are going to be a yearly thing now at SummerSlam. Great.

Triple H vs Brock Lesnar

This match was really interesting. Unlike the Lesnar/Cena bout, HHH wasn't a bloody mess that got zero offense on Brock the entire match. The match started with Triple H actually getting the best of Lesnar. Lesnar takes his gloves off and it's on. Lesnar gets serious and starts his dominance of this match with a takedown and stiff shot to the neck. For a while, it's all Lesnar, but Triple H comes back and starts getting some more offense in on Brock. Another thing different from Brock/Cena is that there was less ground and pound. Brock didn't throw as many punches or implement UFC style holds and tactics like he did against Cena. My guess is HHH didn't feel like taking all those fist and knee shots. He wanted to work clean and be safe. Lesnar does work more stiff now since he's been in UFC and has the whole "fighter" gimmick. One day, he's gonna hurt someone.

Back to the match, after Triple H hits his second pedigree, Lesnar immediately gets up in locks Triple H in that Komura Lock and The Game has to tap out. I thought the match lagged a lot, but it was still an enjoyable bout. Lesnar gets the win and leaves with Paul Heyman. Triple H stays in the middle of the ring for a while and keeps saying I'm sorry. He leaves the ring, walks up the ramp, and says goodbye. He walks to the back and the show ends.

Does this mean Triple H will be off TV for an extended period of time? Is he done as a wrestler? Has Lesnar gotten his groove back? What happens with Lesnar and Heyman now? I guess RAW will answer all of that. 

Final Thoughts:

The show was solid. Not worthy of a 25th Anniversary version of SummerSlam, but it was ok.

The only title change was on the pre-show, the next great heel in the WWE in Damien Sandow was scrapped for a horrible concert, and pretty much everything after Jericho/Ziggler up until the WWE Championship match was forgettable except for the Kane/Bryan match, which was pretty solid. I feel like if these matches, or even the overall pay-per-view was hyped better than maybe it would've been more enjoyable. I like the wrestling in the show, but everything in between was meh. I feel like I would've been more invested in these matches if they had at least, semi-decent buildup. The only matches that had any sort of good build was the WWE Championship match, Jericho/Ziggler, and HHH/Lesnar.

All that being said, SummerSlam gets a 6/10 for me. And I'm being very generous with that. RAW tomorrow night should be quite the show.

Feel free to Comment.

By: Gerald "Showstopper" Prophete