Thoughts on Jack Swagger

Unless you've been away from your phone, computer, Twitter etc. in the last few hours, you probably know by now that Jack Swagger was arrested last night after the Smackdown taping in Mississippi. He was arrested for DUI and marijuana possession. It should be noted that Swagger was under the influence of marijuana, not alcohol. That doesn't change the fact that what Swagger did was absolutely stupid for somebody in his position.

Swagger was put in possibly the biggest position of his WWE career. He had just won the Elimination Chamber match on Sunday to earn a World Title shot at Wrestlemania. To me, that is bigger than him winning the World Title in 2010. Swagger gets the chance to be in a Title match at Wrestlemania. If you would have told me Jack Swagger was going to be in a Title match at Mania two months ago, I would've assumed you were talking about the United States Title. I would have never guessed that Swagger was going to receive the push that he did.

Who Will Win Their First WWE or World Title This Year?

For the first time in a long time, something didn't happen in the WWE last year. No superstar one their first WWE or World Title last year. C.M. Punk held the WWE Title the entire calendar year of 2012. On the World Title side, Sheamus won at Wrestlemania (had previously won WWE Title) and Big Show defeated him for it (previously held both WWE and World Title). Since the inception of the World Title in the WWE, this has never happened. Every year, someone has catapulted into the main event scene and won their first WWE or World Title.

So is this a sign of future booking from the WWE? Or just a one year anomaly? My guess would be the latter. Once The Rock announced his WWE Title Match at the Royal Rumble, you could almost guarantee that C.M. Punk was going to hold the WWE Title until then. On the World Title side, I expected Sheamus to drop the Title to either Dolph Ziggler or Wade Barrett eventually, and that did not happen. Instead Big Show got himself a World Title run.

WWE Titles: Do They Even Mean Anything Anymore?

Remember back in the 1980s/1990s? When Hulk Hogan dominated the WWE Championship scene? Pretty much every single PPV involved Hulk Hogan either winning the WWE Title, retaining the WWE Title, or winning the WWE Title. After Hulk Hogan won the WWE Title in 1984, he held onto it until 1988. Hogan had two other long title reigns: 364 days between Wresltemania 5 and 6, and 248 days between Wrestlemania 7 and Survivor Series 1991. Even in the mid-1990s Kevin Nash, Bret Hart, and Shawn Michaels had Title reigns of 200+ days. Nash's was almost a year long.

Of course things were different back in the 80s and 90s. Wrestling was perceived differently and storylines were much simpler. People wanted to see the top babyface on top of the promotion. Nowadays, certain fans cringe at the idea of John Cena having an extended title reign. It's part of the reason fans turned on John Cena in 2006 and 2007. Between the years of 2005 and 2007 Cena had three different title reigns of the following lengths: 280 days, 133 days, and 380 days. And the only reason Cena lost the WWE Title during his third reign is because he tore his pectoral muscle. I'm actually surprised Super Cena didn't magically heal that injury. The problem with faces being on top for extended periods of time nowadays is that having them win all the time becomes stagnant and the same. Plus the heels looks weak. Dominant heels have been missing from the WWE the last couple years, which is why Mark Henry has been such a breath of fresh air.

Now while extended Title reigns aren't a necessity, the amount of Title changes that have taken place in the WWE in recent years is quite disturbing. 13 Title changes in the last 20 months. 32 in the last 5 years. That's an average of a title change every 2 months. Compare that to the early 1990s, when where there were 8 Title changes between Wrestlemania 6 and 9. WWE Title changes seemed a lot bigger back then, and the fewer amount of reigns were a big part of the reason for it. It probably was the reason the fans never turned on Hulk Hogan when he regained the WWE Title after long absences from the Title picture.

In this day in age in the WWE, it seems like the Title is nothing more than a prop to carry around. Hell, the Title has changed hands 6 times in the last three months, including twice in the last month alone. Alberto del Rio had a 5 week Title reign, Rey Mysterio has a 90 minute Title reign. Then at the end of that 90 minute Title reign there were 2 WWE Champions at the end of the show. And of course we can't forget the World Title, which has had 7 different reigns this year alone. Hopefully Mark Henry has a bit longer reign to establish some credibility to the World Title, which will then make whoever wins it off of him a big star and the Title change a big deal.

And lets not even get into the secondary titles known as the Intercontinental and United States Championships. Those have pretty much become non-existent. Until Cody Rhodes brought back the old school Intercontinental Title, I probably couldn't even have told you who the IC Champion was. it was that non-existent. Dolph Ziggler has had the United States Title for a while now, but it's not even like it is there half the time. Back in the day, being the IC Champ in the WWE or the US Champion in WCW often meant you were one of the best, sometimes the second best worker in the Company. Now? It means you either get pinned in a Tag Title match on PPV, or get pinned in non-title matches like Cody at Vengeance or Dolph on RAW against Zack Ryder. I'm not even going to get into the Tag Team Titles.

And of course, the booking of certain Champions has been highly questionable in recent years. Rey Mysterio and Jack Swagger were both booked terribly during their first reigns. Rey constantly lost matches as did Swagger. And this week on RAW, Alberto del Rio lost clean to Big Show. If you read my review of RAW, you know that pissed me off tremendously. How are people suppose to believe them as a credible Champion if they are losing non-Title matches cleanly? It's a joke. Who cares about Big Show's mystique? He can take a loss.

So what am I getting at with all of this? The WWE has done a poor job of booking their Champions over the last few years. The constant Title changes as well as questionable booking of champions pretty much just makes the title belts look like props at times. Aside from John Cena, nobody really gets a strong Title reign anymore. The Miz had a long reign, but look at his PPV matches:

TLC: Won a Tables Match against Randy Orton after Alex Riley interfered
Royal Rumble: Beat Randy Orton after interference from C.M. Punk/Nexus
Elimination Chamber: Beat Jerry Lawler
Wrestlemania: Beat John Cena after a restart and interference from The Rock

Sure The Miz can talk some heat back onto him, but it is tough to take him seriously as a fan if he can't beat anyone without help. Up until the current reign of Mark Henry, heels were basically booked as wimps as Champions. They rarely if ever won a match clean, and of course they could never beat John Cena clean one-on-one. Heels have taken a turn for the worse in booking over the last few years. Hopefully that's something Mark Henry can correct with a long World Title reign.

The one thing I want to make clear here is that, face or heel, the WWE needs to bring credibility back to their Championships. Extended title reigns have become a thing of the past, but they need to become a thing of the present. Not only extended Title reigns, but Champions need to be booked strongly too. You can't have Cody Rhodes lose a match on a PPV, then a match on RAW and expect fans to take him as Intercontinental Champion seriously. The WWE feels that having the top Titles on faces brings in more money and ratings, but having a strong heel could do the exact same thing. Adult males get sick of seeing John Cena on top because he always wins. Did the WWE ever think that if Cena lost a couple times to a credible, dominant heel THEN won the WWE Title that some fans might actually like him. I'm a firm believer that long run, their is more money in a face chasing a heel champion than random heels chasing a face champion.

The WWE is facing an important period of time ahead. The Rock is going to be on TV more frequently in the coming weeks and months, which means they will have more viewers tuning in. With Rock/Cena more than likely not being for the WWE Title, it's an opportunity for two other workers to wrestle for that Title and make the match seem like a big deal. Imagine if Alberto del Rio held onto the WWE Title until Wrestlemania. If he was facing an underdog face, it could make that face an instant star. Same goes with Mark Henry. The WWE needs to show the viewers tuning in during the next few months that their Championships are more than prop belts. They need to establish a meaning to each Title and make fans give a damn about their Champions.

Until Next Time,
Justin C
Follow Me on Twitter @JCWonka

The WWE's "Youth Movement": 6 Months Later

So about 6 months ago I wrote a blog piece talking about the supposed youth movement that was happening in the WWE. During one of his conference calls, Vince McMahon said that the WWE was in a youth movement face and that they were going to focus on pushing the young talent that they had in the company. You can read that full piece here: http://jctopropereport.blogspot.com/2011/03/jcs-take-analyzing-wwes-youth-movement.html

Well, it's been a little over 6 months since I wrote that column, and to say things didn't exactly go as planned might be a little bit of an understatement. Lots of factors probably went into that. One: nobody saw C.M. Punk coming. He had been stagnant for years, and all of the sudden he just exploded onto the main event scene and looks to be there to stay. I didn't think it would ever happen. Another factor into all of this is the success that was The Rock's return. The Rock helped Wrestlemania top 1 million buys. Many people also didn't expect The Rock to agree to wrestle at Survivor Series, Wrestlemania, and whenever else he agrees to wrestle. Then of course there was the big Vince McMahon/HHH/CEO storyline that brought back Kevin Nash and basically needed to involve the veteran key players.

But with that being said lets take a look back, and a look forward, to see what is in these stars' futures.

JOHN MORRISON

What I Said 6 Months Ago

-After The Miz and Alberto del Rio, I think John Morrison would have to be considered the next breakout star in the WWE.

-Morrison's parkour style gives him a unique offensive move set that makes him different from any other star in the WWE.

-Many people are comparing John Morrison to Jeff Hardy. That is a fair comparison. Obviously Morrison has his personal life in better order than Hardy.

-So when does the WWE pull the trigger on John Morrison? If it was up to me, I'd say SummerSlam.

Morrison was the first name on my list, so that's why I start with him. To say things have taken a turn for the worse for Morrison is quite the understatement. Morrison appeared to still be in for some type of push after Wrestlemania, but his behavior during the lead up to Wrestlemania really effected all of that. Morrison apparently had problems with Trish Stratus being in his match rather than his real life girlfriend Melina. Melina was apparently in Morrison's ear, and because of that he gave the cold shoulder to Stratus. That's a big no-no for a young guy looking to breakout in the business. Morrison still was in the main event of the next PPV, Extreme Rules, but it never really amounted to anything. Morrison dealt with a neck injury that made him miss most of the summer. But after that? He's basically been a flashy jobber since his return.

John Morrison's backstage reputation has been nothing to write home about if you believe the stories you hear. He apparently did everything Melina asked him to do. Vince McMahon was also apparently never that high on Morrison, mostly because he didn't believe Morrison looked like a guy that could "win a real fight." It pretty much seems like Morrison's main event opportunity has come and gone. If he stays with the WWE and re-signs, I highly doubt he gets any closer to the main event than he was. I will firmly say this right now: John Morrison will never be WWE or World Champion.

Dolph Ziggler

What I Said 6 Months Ago

-I don't think I've been more impressed with the overall improvement of one wrestler in the ring like I have been with Dolph Ziggler in the last few months.

-When Dolph Ziggler first debuted with his new gimmick, I thought there'd be no way he would get to where he is today. "Hi, I'm Dolph Ziggler." just seemed very stale and bad. But to his credit, Dolph has done very well over the last couple months.

-I don't have an exact scenario to play out for Ziggler, but I do think he will have the World Title again before the end of 2011, with Survivor Series being my first guess as to when he will win it.

Well, obviously Dolph Ziggler won't be getting his next World Title reign at Survivor Series. I hate having to consider this Dolph's second reign, because his hour long reign on an episode of Smackdown meant so much. But that's not to say that Dolph won't be getting one in the near future. Dolph still has all the potential in the world. He's one of the WWE's best workers in the ring, probably in the Top 5. And in the past few weeks, Dolph has been given more time to talk on the mic. And you know what? He is doing a hell of a job coming off as a serious threat. Dolph is apparently getting praise backstage for carrying the bulk of his program with Mason Ryan. I'm sure the WWE brass actually sees potential in Ziggler.

I think Ziggler was hurt when he was forced to move to RAW. If Ziggler was on Smackdown right now he would probably have more of an opportunity to main event. But on RAW, he plays second fiddle to John Cena, C.M. Punk, Alberto del Rio, Miz and HHH. Ziggler has held onto the United States Championship for a while now, but sooner or later he has to lose it if the WWE gets serious about moving him up the card. With Rock/Cena headlining Wrestlemania, the WWE can take risks about who will appear in their World and WWE Title matches. Ziggler doesn't scream main event, but he's somebody the WWE could take a chance on in one of those spots. I would be very surprised if Ziggler hasn't had a World or WWE Title run by the summer of 2012. The guy definitely deserves it. A WWE Title program with C.M. Punk would be a great thing to watch.

SHEAMUS

What I Said 6 Months Ago

-Even though he won the King of the Ring Tournament, he hasn't done much with it. First of all, he looks like a goof wearing the king attire. Second of all, he hasn't done anything worthy since winning it

-I think the best thing that could happen for Sheamus right now would be a move to Smackdown. There is nothing left for him on RAW.

-Sheamus is the type of guy that if re-established properly can be a top wrestler in this company down the line. He has the ability to slide into the main event slot and hold his own with the top guys in the company. Sheamus is in the position where instead of worrying about his next title reign, he needs to worry about re-establishing himself as a threat in the eyes of fans who now look at him as an afterthought

I don't know if anyone I wrote about has gone through a bigger resurgence than Sheamus. When I wrote about Sheamus 6 months ago, he was on a big losing streak. HHH demolished him on RAW in minutes, and he wasn't even on Wrestlemania. He wrestled Daniel Bryan in a dark match on the show. Sheamus eventually got his much needed move to Smackdown. At the time I suggested feuds with Rey Mysterio, Edge, and The Undertaker. Well: Rey moved to RAW, Edge retired, and Taker disappeared after Mania. All hope seemed lost for Sheamus, but little did I know his Irish luck was about to change.

In July, Sheamus turned face when he challenged Mark Henry to a match at SummerSlam. It was as simple a face turn as you could imagine. All he did was go into the ring, look at Henry, and say "I'll fight him." And to my surprise, Sheamus has gotten over quite well as a face. His reactions from the crowd are great, and Sheamus has seemed to embrace his role as a face. You can tell he is enjoying himself in front of the crowd. Once Henry finishes up his program with the Big Show, I wouldn't be surprised if Henry revisits his feud with Sheamus. Sheamus is over and he seems like the next logical choice for Henry to move onto.

WADE BARRETT

What I Said 6 Months Ago

-It's a shame that it died the way it did. It would have been nice and refreshing to see a dominant heel faction on top of the WWE. But there is no denying that Barrett showed his worth to the WWE long term as a main event talent. He was outstanding on the mic while he was on top.

-If he can stay strong enough in the eyes of fans, I could see him as the leading candidate to win next year's Royal Rumble and headline Wrestlemania.

-Barrett needs to continue to improve in the ring. He already has the talent on the mic to be in the main event, now he just needs to add a bit more to his in ring work in order to maintain his status as a top guy now and down the line.

Wade Barrett has been very up and down this year. The Corre pretty much was a minuscule version of the Nexus. It never amounted to anything. Barrett won the Intercontinental Title but never really did much with it. He was jobbed out to Ezekiel Jackson and never really did much this summer. He did beat Daniel Bryan at SummerSlam. I thought Barrett might have been a prime candidate to win the Smackdown Money in the Bank but it didn't come to fruition. Now Wade Barrett is going through what he is calling his "Resurrection." Hopefully it leads to something. At this point, I will take an actual program with someone. I've seen house shows where Barrett is scheduled to face Randy Orton. That's a good start.

Hopefully this Resurrection does lead to something for Barrett. I really enjoyed his work as leader of Nexus. His mic skills haven't gone anywhere and he can still put on a good match with the right partner in the ring. A program with Randy Orton would do wonders for Barrett's ascent up the card. He may not win the program, but if he won a match or two over Orton, it would be great. Barrett's problem is that he has some competition on Smackdown for the next top spot with the next guy on my list. But if Barrett continues his "Resurrection," we may see him on top sooner than you think.

CODY RHODES

What I Said 6 Months Ago

-It will take some work, but Cody's gimmick is very much over as a heel right now.

-His mic work with this Dashing gimmick is very good. I didn't think the gimmick would last this long, but Cody is doing a tremendous job of making it work.

-Cody Rhodes is somebody I can see in the Spring or Summer of 2012 as a man ready to finally compete for a World Title, and ready to win it as well.

I think one could argue that Cody Rhodes is ahead of everyone else on this list. Rhodes continues to take his gimmick to the next level. He did a great thing in bringing back the old school Intercontinental Title. Rhodes has also looked very strong during his program with Randy Orton. Sure, he didn't win his match at Vengeance, but the program seems to be continuing on Smackdown. Rhodes has gone from a goofball gimmick to a gimmick that is a serious threat and one that the fans have to take seriously. Rhodes isn't going away anytime soon as he continues to fine tune his character.

The problem Rhodes is facing right now is that he is stuck behind Mark Henry on Smackdown. Rhodes is actually benefiting from all of the time he is getting on RAW. It is exposing him to the people who don't watch Smackdown. Rhodes might actually benefit from a permanent move to RAW. Programs with John Cena, C.M. Punk, and maybe even Zack Ryder all sound like good ideas. I thought Rhodes had a good shot of winning Money in the Bank this year, but obviously that didn't happen. Rhodes time will come. I would peg Rhodes and Barrett as two dark horse candidates to win the Royal Rumble. Even if he doesn't win the Royal Rumble, I think Rhodes is World Champion by the Summer of 2012.

DANIEL BRYAN

What I Said 6 Months Ago

-Daniel Bryan is a favorite amongst the "smart" wrestling fans. Bryan is everything they like. A good worker in the ring capable of putting on an entertaining match with anyone.

-From my standpoint, I think Daniel Bryan has the potential to be a main event guy. From a WRESTLING standpoint, he reminds me a lot of Chris Benoit. I know that's a name people hate to bring up, and I'm sure there will be people who hate me for using him to compare with Daniel Bryan, but they do have some similarities.

-I think Bryan is the type of guy who can main event Wrestlemania if built up like Benoit was during his run to the World Title at Wrestlemania XX. I would say to watch for the Summer of 2012 or maybe even as late as Wrestlemania 29 for Bryan's first main event title run.

Well, it looks like I was off by a full year with Daniel Bryan's push. Of course that is if the WWE decided to go through with Bryan's push. Daniel Bryan surprised everyone with his win of the Smackdown Money in the Bank briefcase. I didn't see it coming at all. There was no indication at all that Bryan even had a chance of winning. Not only did Bryan surprise with his MITB win, but he surprised many by actually announcing when he would cash in. Bryan said he believed surprise cash-ins on vulnerable opponents did nothing, so he decided to cash in his MITB Briefcase at Wrestlemania.

But since Bryan won the MITB Briefcase, he's gone on a bit of a losing streak. He hasn't had any set program for a while. Some people think a heel turn may be on the horizon, but Smackdown is already filled with young heels and Bryan doesn't need to fall behind them. While the WWE can take the risk of having Bryan in the World Title match at Wrestlemania, it also doesn't scream "World Title Match." Now of course, a David vs Goliath type match with Bryan taking on Henry could be quite interesting. I think Bryan needs to be built back up a bit more though before anything can happen. At this point, no one is buying him as a World Champion. Bryan needs a major face lift in the next couple of months.

That's all from me this week.

Until next time,

Justin C

Follow Me on Twitter @JCWonka

WWE Hell in a Cell Preview

Sorry, but I am not using the John Cena poster for the main graphic. Too corny.
Hello everyone. After a couple of days off, it's time to jump back into everything with my Hell in a Cell Preview. It's the WWE's second PPV in the span of two weeks, which I still maintain is a dumb idea. You can't continue to charge $50 a PPV, have 3 in the span of 5 weeks, and think people will continue to buy them, especially with some of the stuff WWE has done in the last few weeks. I think the product has gone downhill a bit since before Night of Champions. Then, John Cena won and C.M. Punk lost. Back to status quo in the WWE.

Hell In A Cell doesn't have quite the buzz to it. Again, the Cell is being used just as a gimmick and not as a blow off to a hot feud like it should be. Sure the Cell might pop a few more buyrates, but it should be used as the final match to a long feud. Plus, just like SummerSlam, there are only 5 matches currently announced for the card. But unlike SummerSlam, there is no big time match that makes you want to buy this PPV. SummerSlam had Cena/Punk and Orton/Christian No Holds Barred. Those matches had some intrigue and were guaranteed to be good. Hell in a Cell doesn't have that added on to it. Plus, the WWE's top angle, their big Conspiracy Angle, is pretty much a non factor in this match. Although I guess it could play into the WWE Championship match.

But, with all of that being said, lets dive into the Preview for the show.

Divas Championship: Kelly Kelly (c) vs Beth Phoenix

So, is the third time the charm for Beth Phoenix? Beth failed to win the Title at SummerSlam, then failed again to win it in her hometown of Buffalo at Night of Champions. Now the WWE just seems to be spinning circles with Kelly/Eve and the Divas of Doom, or Destruction, or whatever they are being called now. The WWE apparently feels that Kelly is getting over as Champion, but that doesn't mean the WWE can't change things up every now and then. I really think Beth should have won the Title at NOC, but Kelly won the exact same way she did at SummerSlam, with a roll up during a GlamSlam attempt by  Beth. Kelly tries to do the same thing here, but Beth kicks out of it. Kelly goes for her finisher, but Beth counters into a GlamSlam and FINALLY wins the Divas Championship. If for some reason she doesn't, expect Natalya to get the next shot. But I think Beth finally wins here.

WINNER: Beth Phoenix

*Smackdown Spoiler ALERT!!!*


EVILLLLL Sin Cara vs GOOD Sin Cara

This is a battle over? Yeah your guess is as good as mine. There have been two Sin Caras for the last couple of weeks on WWE TV. The original Sin Cara was suspended, so the WWE got developmental talent Hunico to portray Sin Cara until the original Sin Cara came back. Now they are both around and like pointing at each other and try to get the crowd on their side. The good Sin Cara has a bleach blond mohawk sticking out of his mask. But now, as evident on Smackdown, EVILLLLL Sin Cara is now wearing all black, just to show that he is EVILLLLL. This feud can't go on much longer with the two men just pointing at each other and interrupting each other on a constant basis. Neither man can really speak English, especially GOOD Sin Cara. Everyone keeps talking about a potential Mask vs Mask match when the WWE hits up Mexico in October. I could see that happening. And if that is the case, i think EVILLLLL Sin Cara wins here. There'd be no reason for GOOD Sin Cara to win then decide to put his mask on the line.

WINNER: EVILLLLL Sin Cara

Sheamus vs Christian

There has been something brewing between these two for weeks now. Sheamus called out Christian a while ago for being a whiner and complainer. As much as I hate to admit it, I'm also starting to get bored with Christian as well. They need to move Christian away from the World Title picture for a bit. I think Christian getting involved with this potential new Lawsuit Angle is a good thing, especially if it A) Gets him away from the World Title picture and B) Exposes him more to the audience on RAW. Christian, just like EVERY wrestler (I'm looking at you John Cena), needs time away from the Title scene so when they get back into it they are fresh and not old and stale.

Who would have ever thought Sheamus would be this good as a face? I think this is some of his best work so far in his career. I liked his first WWE Title run, but this is probably right behind it. Sheamus seems to be enjoying himself more as a face as well. The crowd buys into him too, which is the most important thing. I think if the WWE wanted too, they could transition from Randy Orton to Sheamus in a  World Title program. There's still some unfinished business between the two. They put on two quality big man matches at SummerSlam and on Smackdown, and I think they could do the same on PPV. If they want to put Randy Orton on Rock/Cena's team at Survivor Series, they could do Sheamus/Mark Henry for the World Title. I'm giving Sheamus the win here because of that.

WINNER: Sheamus  

World Heavyweight Championship: Mark Henry (c) vs Randy Orton 

I was quite surprised the WWE decided to pull the trigger on Mark Henry's World Title win at Night of Champions. With so many PPVs in the coming weeks, I thought for sure they would hold off until here at Hell in A Cell to give Henry the win. I was expecting a DQ finish at NOC. But I was quite pleasantly surprised to see Henry win. The WWE had to pull the trigger on the Henry Title win otherwise it would have been a complete waste of the whole summer for Henry, who is easily doing the best work of his 15 year career right now. Now it is up to the WWE to show continued faith in Mark Henry and allow him to continue to do what he is doing as World Champion. If the WWE gives Henry a monster run with the World Title, then whoever takes it off of him will become an instant star in the eyes of the fans. Smackdown also had one of its highest ratings this past week in quite sometime, which can easily be attributed to the run Mark Henry has had.

Now I have to admit, Randy Orton has been no slouch these last couple of months either. He had a great series of matches with Christian, and his match with Mark Henry at Night of Champions, while not a technical master piece, was good and told a great story. I've always maintained that Orton is at his best as a face when he is chasing the Title. He was very good in the month after Money in the Bank when he lost the World Title to Christian, and he was good again last week on Smackdown during his attack on Cody Rhodes. Orton finally got the better of Mark Henry on Smackdown this week, connecting with an RKO. It gives Orton fans a glimmer of hope heading into Sunday. 

So who wins here? Mark Henry for multiple reasons. One: There is no reason for another quick Title change again. Two: A title loss here, even inside the Cell, would damage Mark Henry's push. Three: Just like Christian, Randy Orton could use some time away from the Title scene as well. I expect Orton to be involved with the Title match at Vengeance, but after that I would slowly transition Orton away from the Title scene, and put him in a program with Cody Rhodes, leading to their involvement with the  Rock/Cena Elimination Match at Survivor Series. So Henry wins here again, after a World's Strongest Slam onto the steel steps.

WINNER: Mark Henry

WWE Championship: C.M. Punk vs John Cena (c) vs Alberto del Rio

 

A triple threat match? Inside a hell in a cell? Oh my! Again, this match doesn't need the cell. I can't begin to explain how much the WWE has ruined gimmick matches over the last few years. But alas, these three men do battle inside the Cell this Sunday for the WWE Championship. The main issue here is really between John Cena and Alberto del Rio. C.M. Punk is pretty much the third wheel in this match. They tried to make him fit in this week on RAW, but I don't think they did a good job. The whole "Conspiracy Angle" still needs to be fully played out, and C.M. Punk will be a key part of that when it does. For this PPV, however, Punk needed a spot on the card and this seemed like the only logical place for him.

 

The WWE has really been all over the place the last couple of months. C.M. Punk was the guy in July and August. Alberto del Rio was the guy in late August to Night of Champions, and now the focus is back on John Cena. Vince just can't make up his mind about who to keep on top. The ratings weren't great with Del Rio on top, but that can't all be put on Del Rio's shoulders. The WWE has done a poor job of booking him as Champion. And Del Rio couldn't get over because of that. Del Rio seemed to be a product of the "anti-Cena crowd." People didn't like Del Rio, they hated Cena. So they cheered against Cena, not for Del Rio. The opposite would be said about C.M. Punk. People cheered him AND booed Cena.

 

So who walks out with the WWE Championship? I would take C.M. Punk out almost immediately. When he wins the WWE Title back, in needs to be a major happening. It shouldn't happen in a Triple Threat Match and on a secondary PPV. Alberto del Rio deserves another run with the WWE Title, but I don't think the Title changes hands here. Cena just won the Championship two weeks ago, he probably isn't losing it again this quickly. But I wouldn't put it out of the question to see Del Rio win the Title in Mexico in a few weeks. Something major needs to happen with Del Rio there. If you are not going to have him walk in with the Title, you should probably have him walk out with it. Plus Del Rio ended RAW on top, which more than likely means he isn't winning. The WWE needed to build him up as a credible threat for the match, and they did a good job of it. John Cena walks out with the WWE Title here. There's no reason for Cena to lose it quickly, and quick Title changes make the Title seem worthless.

 

WINNER: John Cena

 

Well there you have it. There's a rumor that another match may be added, possibly Air Boom vs Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger. I think Air Boom wins either way, causing more friction between Dolph & Swagger.

 

I won't be watching the PPV live. Blame work. I will try to watch it either late Sunday night or early Monday, then have a review up Monday afternoon.

 

NFL Picks Saturday morning.

 

Until next time,

Justin C

Follow Me on Twitter @JCWonka

The Monster Mark Henry: What Took So Long?

They say good things come to those who wait. Sometimes you have to wait a bit longer to get what you want. It takes a lot of patience, but in the end, if you work hard, you will ultimately get what you desire. Sometimes it takes months, or a few years. But for Mark Henry, it took 15 years for the WWE to finally realize how to properly use him. But for Henry now, that 15 year wait was worth it, as he is now the World Heavyweight Champion for the first time in his professional career.

Henry debuted in the WWE in 1996 after competing in the 96 Summer Olympics. His first match was against Jerry Lawler. Upon his debut, Henry was billed as "The World's Strongest Man." In his first two years in the WWE, Henry was basically squashing opponents because he wasn't ready to work regular matches in the ring. In 98, Henry turned heel and joined the Nation of Domination. After spending the early part of 1998 in the group, Henry eventually broke away. He was awarded the European Title by Jeff Jarrett after Henry helped him win that Title as well as the Intercontinental Title.

After his heel turn, Henry turned face and was given the infamous "Sexual Chocolate" gimmick. Looking back on it, it was one of the more embarrassing gimmicks the WWE ever did. Henry engaged in on air relationships with Chyna and Mae Young. He also was seduced by a transvestite. During his relationship with Young, the couple announced that Young was pregnant and expecting a child. In one of the most memorable moments in WWE history, Young gave birth to a full grown hand on TV. Sure, this gimmick fit the Attitude Era booking, but it was a demeaning gimmick that made Henry look like a fool. He left wrestling briefly after this to get more training and focus on his weight lifting.

Despite the smile, I'm sure Mark Henry didn't think this was one of his best moments

Henry returned in 2002 but was rarely used. In 2003, he had a short program with Goldberg as well as Shawn Michaels and Booker T. He tore his quadriceps in early 2004 and did not return to WWE TV until late 2005. Henry looked to finally be receiving a main event push in early 2006, as a program with World Champion Batista seemed on the horizon. Batista, however, was injured during a match with Henry. Henry fought Kurt Angle for the World Title at the Royal Rumble, losing. Henry went on to feud with The Undertaker leading to a casket match at Wrestlemania, which Henry also lost. Henry then went on his "Path of Destruction," which was very similar to what he is doing today. Henry caused injuries to the likes of Chris Benoit and Rey Mysterio. During this time, Batista returned and a big match between the two was imminent, but Henry suffered tore his patella tendon completely off the bone, putting him out of action for almost a year.

Henry returned in 2008 and eventually started his feud back up with The Undertaker. He then moved over to the ECW brand, where he won the ECW Title, his first Title win since being awarded the European Title in 1999. After losing the Title, Henry moved over to the RAW brand and turned face, forming tag teams with various partners for almost a whole year and a half. In my opinion, Henry never worked well as a face. sure, everyone loves a big lovable monster. But there's no money in that. Nobody wants to see the big giant good guy win the World Title. There's always more money in big men being pushed as monster heels. Henry as a face could have worked in only two scenarios. The first being if Henry was actually a very good wrestler for his size, which he wasn't. The second would have been if the WWE had taken Henry's story of being in the company for 10+ years and never winning the World Title and used it as a face. Crowds can get behind stories like that. The reason it didn't work for Rey Mysterio was because they were exploiting Eddie Guerrero's death with it as well. But while doing that as a face might have worked, what was in store for Henry in 2011 was much better.

In April 2011 Henry was drafted to the Smackdown brand. On his last night on RAW, Henry turned heel on his partners John Cena and Christian in a 6 man tag match. His first program at Smackdown was with the Big Show. Henry constantly attacked Show before and after matches. He performed the World's Strongest Slam on Show, putting him through a table. He also put Show through the side of a steel cage, knocking the cage side off completely. Henry beat Big Show at Money in the Bank, then storyline "snapped" his ankle after Henry jumped on a chair over Show's ankle. Henry also put Kane out of action. At SummerSlam, Henry beat Sheamus via countout after putting Sheamus through the ringside barrier. Henry then won a Battle Royal to become #1 Contender for the World Title.

Once Henry won the Battle Royal, it was make or break time for him. It was time to see just how serious the WWE was about this push. If it wasn't for the C.M. Punk, the story of Henry being pushed like he was would have been the talk of the WWE this past summer for many reasons. The first reason is because Henry had been around for 15 years, and the WWE had never gotten this serious about a Mark Henry push. They might have in 2006, but injuries derailed that opportunity. It was also a nice surprise to not see Henry get injured. Henry has had a string of bad luck with injuries throughout his career so to see him stay healthy for this extended period of time was great.

But perhaps the best thing about seeing Henry get the push that he is getting is the simple fact that the WWE rarely gets behind pushing a heel as a true monster anymore. When was the last time a heel has looked as dominant as Henry has? Henry seems to be right out of the late 80s/early 90s brand of heel. A monster who the faces know is a serious threat to them. There has not been one time in the last 6 months when Henry has looked weak. Even when Henry has lost or not gotten the best of his opponent, there was a good reason for it. I also love the fact that the announcers hype up Henry every time he is out there. They don't say he is lucky or make excuses for his opponents. They hype Henry up as a true monster and a serious threat to anyone he steps in the ring with.

So when Night of Champions came around, it was the first test to see how serious the WWE was about Mark Henry's push. With 3 PPVs in just over a month's time, even I thought having Henry win the World Title this early may have been a bit premature. I thought some kind of DQ or countout was coming. While I advocated for a long Mark Henry title reign, even I thought the WWE should wait to pull the trigger. But to my pleasant surprise, Henry continued his dominant push and won the World Heavyweight Title. The reason it was so surprising is because Henry beat Randy Orton clean. Orton rarely if ever loses cleanly. But that right there showed just how serious the WWE is about Mark Henry's push. The WWE didn't feel the need to protect Orton. They wanted to push Henry as such a serious threat that the WWE wasn't concerned about protecting Orton. The crowd, surprisingly, was also very receptive to Henry's win. Maybe they were happy to see Henry finally win the World Title? Maybe they were all just fans of Henry's push. But the WWE did the smart thing about having him attack Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler Monday. He has to stay a heel, that is what Henry is best at.

Now of course, everything I just said could mean nothing in a week's time. Henry could lose the World Title to Orton at Hell in A Cell and the push could be over. That would be stupid on multiple levels. First, it would kill Henry's momentum. Second it would be ANOTHER World Title change, which is just another one too many. But I honestly don't think that is happening any time soon. I really think this Henry push is for real. And it is well deserved. Sure, Henry hasn't put on 5 star wrestling classics, but all of his matches in the last few months have been watchable. They've been on the shorter side, and have shown off Henry's brute force type of offense that he is good at.

Mark Henry's impact moves are what he is best at, as evident at this past year's SummerSlam

So how do I want to end this piece? I guess by saying thanks. Thank you to the WWE for finally getting serious about pushing Mark Henry and doing it the right way. Thank You Vince McMahon for not changing your mind half way through this push. And thank you to Mark Henry. You've had some crap thrown at you throughout your career, but you surprisingly stuck with it and didn't quit. You waited your turn to get to the top and now you are there. You've been a refreshing change of pace in the WWE and I hope your monster push continues. From everything I've heard your a great guy backstage and one of the nicest people around. But your bad ass monster heel push has been great. Keep up the awesome work.

Until next time,
Justin C
Follow me on Twitter @JCWonka

WWE Night of Champions Preview; Rock & Cena Teaming at Survivor Series

Hello everyone. Time for another WWE PPV Preview. This Sunday is Night of Champions here in Buffalo. First off, let me remind you that I will be there live in the First Niagara Center with live updates on my Twitter, but MORE updates will be sent to CreativelyEndeavored.com. I also enjoy going to WWE Live Events even if they are not the best (like the last RAW I went to in February). I'll be sure to share my insight into the crowd reactions and little things you'll probably miss on TV.

This PPV has had a pretty underwhelming build. The secondary title matches, the United States and Intercontinental, weren't even announced until the week of the PPV on their respective shows. No one really cares about the Divas Title Match, although the crowd should be into it more than normal. Beth Phoenix grew up about 45 minutes outside of Buffalo. So even though it isn't technically Buffalo, she's still considered the "hometown girl." The WWE Title Match doesn't have too much interest attached to it. It seems like just another John Cena WWE Title feud. And C.M. Punk/HHH has gone off the golden path it was one on. I think the WWE is making it a tad too complicated for the non-Internet fans. Hell, even an Internet fan like me is having some trouble following it. The best build in my opinion has been for the World Title Match. Mark Henry continues to look like an animal, and it gives Randy Orton fans serious doubt heading into their match this Sunday.

With that being said, lets jump into the Preview.

United States Championship: Dolph Ziggler (c) vs Alex Riley vs John Morrison vs Jack Swagger

This match is more about the story between Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger. Both men are fighting over the attention of Vickie Guerrero. Dolph already has Vickie as his manager, while Swagger is looking to acquire her services. Problem is, no one would care about a match between two heels fighting over the managerial services of perhaps the WWE's biggest heel heat getter. So what did the WWE do? Added two random faces to the match to get more people on the card. John Morrison has pretty much zero history with anyone involved in this match in the last few months, until he tagged with Alex Riley against Ziggler and Swagger last week. Alex Riley seemed to have a program going with Dolph Ziggler over the United States Title, but they ended abruptly and now the focus is on the two heels.

So who's winning here? There's pretty much zero reason for either Riley or Morrison to win. Morrison is stuck with nothing, and giving him the United States Title wouldn't do much. Alex Riley's heat is completely gone after his feud with the Miz. The story here is with Dolph and Jack. Ziggler has been the United States Champion since June, so why not change things up. A miscue between Vickie and Dolph allows Swagger to pick up the win and become the new United States Champion.

WINNER: Jack Swagger

Divas Championship: Kelly Kelly (c) vs Beth Phoenix

We all know the story here, as it has been the same for the last month. Beth Phoenix and Natalya have been frustrated watching the "Barbie-Doll Divas" like Kelly Kelly and Eve getting all the face time on WWE TV, while they are stuck in the back with nothing. Beth and Natalya are clearly the best wrestlers in the Divas Division, and they deserve a spot at the top. Sooner or late Beth deserves a chance with the Divas Title. The PPV is in Beth's hometown of Buffalo as I stated above. Usually the hometown wrestler always loves in their match, but I think things might be different this time. There's only so much more they can do with Beth and Natalya. Natalya could always step up and challenge Kelly next. Then, either Natalya or Beth could turn and start a feud there. But I don't think that happens. Beth wins here in front of the hometown crowd with the GlamSlam.

WINNER: Beth Phoenix

World Tag Team Championship: Air Boom (Kofi Kingston & Evan Bourne) vs Miz & R-Truth

Another match pretty much thrown together just to get guys on the card. The WWE couldn't leave Miz & R-Truth off the card, so they put them in a tag match instead. Kofi & Evan seem to be enjoying their time together as a tag team and have brought some new life to the tag division, which is never a bad thing. Miz & R-Truth have joined together to bring down the conspiracy that is supposedly out there in the WWE. They're really not on anyone's side, as they dislike HHH and C.M. Punk. But since they can't get to those guys right now, they are just going to randomly challenge the Tag Champs here. They've apparently been having some good matches on the house show circuit, so it'll be interesting to see how this translates to PPV. While Miz & R-Truth are hot, I can't see heels winning everywhere on the undercard like I do now. Plus, Miz & Truth can lose in some weird fashion and it can add to their conspiracy theory gimmick.

WINNERS: Air Boom

Intercontinental Championship: Cody Rhodes (c) vs Ted DiBiase Jr.

Cody turned on Ted a few weeks ago, and now the WWE expects people to actually care about this match. They've done nothing with DiBiase over the last few months, so why should fans care about him now? It's not like anything has changed drastically. I would have much rather seen Daniel Bryan, Justin Gabriel, or hell even Sin Cara against Cody. There's no reason for Ted to win here, as Cody is the one with the brighter future. 

WINNER: Cody Rhodes

  World Heavyweight Championship: Randy Orton (c) vs Mark Henry

Well, the time is finally here. How serious is the WWE with their push of Mark Henry? Henry has been the most dominant force in the WWE over the summer, and now it is up to the WWE if they want to continue the push into the fall. I'll repeat it over and over: Outside of C.M. Punk, the Mark Henry push is the best thing going on WWE TV right now. Henry has looked like an absolute beast on TV, putting Kane and Big Show out of action and putting Sheamus through a barricade at SummerSlam. Henry's problem has always been that he can't work a full, watchable match in his career. The thing that he has going for him right now is that his matches are short and have an impact. But Henry needs to be able to wrestle a watchable WRESTLING match, where he doesn't have to put people through tables or barricades to keep people interested, and that could be a problem.

Randy Orton just won the World Title back at SummerSlam. He's the top face on Smackdown and is the man on that show. He had a great set of matches with Christian over the summer and now it's time to see if he can take the momentum from those matches and carry them into a feud with Henry. Orton is much more interesting now than he has been when he was on RAW. Orton with the right opponent can work a good match, as evident with Christian. Can he have the same chemistry with Henry? Doubtful. But it doesn't hurt to give it a shot.

Sooner rather than later, Mark Henry will be the World Champion. If he's not, it would be one of the biggest wasted pushes in WWE history. I advocated for an extended Mark Henry World Title reign in my piece over the weekend, and I still stand by it. But the WWE has 3 PPVs over the next month in a half, so it would be pointless to rush the change or put either one in another feud. Expect some kind of screwy finish here. Henry does something to get himself DQ'd, then puts Orton through a table afterward. Henry wins the Title at Hell in a Cell.

WINNER: Randy Orton Via Disqualification

WWE Championship: Alberto del Rio (c) vs John Cena

Destint finally arrived for Alberto del Rio at SummerSlam. He took advantage of his Money in the Bank contract, cashed in on C.M. Punk, and won the WWE Title. So what does somebody do when they win the WWE Title? Defend it right away against John Cena of course! I wonder if that stipulation is in John Cena's contract?

But nevertheless, another John Cena WWE Title feud. This seems just like any other John Cena WWE Title program. Heel Champion is afraid to face Cena. Cena calls out said Champion and calls him a coward, as well as uses a bunch of lame and corny jokes, Heel Champ and Cena fight at PPV. But there are 3 PPVs coming up in the next month and a half, so hot shotting the WWE Title to John Cena right away just doesn't seem like a good idea. Plus, the WWE has a tour of Mexico coming up in October, and you can bet your bottom dollar that Alberto del Rio is walking into that tour with the WWE Title. Sure he could lose and win it back there, but having too many title changes with all these PPVs coming up would be a bad idea. Especially if the title change happens on TV and not at one of the PPVs.

But as we all know, John Cena isn't losing clean here. He never does. So how does this match end? There's a ref bump. Cena puts Del Rio in the STF and has Del Rio tapping out but the referee is still down. Ricardo jumps on the ropes to distract Cena. Cena hits Ricardo with an Attitude Adjustment. But during this time, Del Rio comes to and clocks Cena with the WWE Title Belt, allowing him to pick up the win. The rematch happens at Hell in A Cell.

WINNER: Alberto del Rio

No Disqualification: C.M. Punk vs Triple H

As we all know by now, this was suppose to be C.M. Punk vs Kevin Nash. While Nash probably could have gotten a respectable match out of Nash, it will not be nearly as good as Punk/HHH will be, especially with the No DQ stipulation. Punk is the best in the business right now, and HHH showed at Wrestlemania that he can have a great match even with an extended period of time off. This match is also probably going on last, even if it's not for a Championship. There's just too much on the line in this match for it not to close the show, plus any match that follows it won't match the heat this one will garner. Even John Cena's match.

As I've said before, I still think this feud is happening a month too fast. Punk should have come back at or right after SummerSlam. Night of Champons should have been Cena/Punk 2, with the Nash interference and Del Rio cash in happening here. You have Punk/Nash at Hell in A Cell, maybe a rematch at Vengeance. Then at Survivor Series, you do Punk/HHH with a hot New York City crowd. You can do that even with Rock and Cena now teaming. I will do my best to make sure the Buffalo crowd will be hot for this one, but even at its best it won't match a great New York City crowd.

But of course, the WWE rushed this match after Nash failed his physical. It still seemed good on paper when the match was announced, but now the match just seems all jumbled, and they are probably losing some people with all of the inside lingo HHH and Punk are using. Talking about getting over and backstage politics might lose your non-Internet fan. I've even had some trouble just keeping up with everything. If Triple H loses he is out as COO, but what does Punk's character really gain in that? For all he knows, John Laurinaitis or Stephanie McMahon would be put in charge, and Punk would be dealing with the same problems he's dealing with now.

So who's winning? I really can't see Triple H getting off TV so quickly. The only scenario I could see playing out would be Punk winning, then having it be revealed that Triple H was the RAW Anonymous GM all along. That's why the e-mails stopped when HHH became COO, he didn't need to send them anymore. But I don't think that happens. I hate when the WWE does the obvious, but I see it happening here. Punk hits the GTS on HHH and goes for the pin when Kevin Nash comes through the crowd, hits the Jackknife Powerbomb on Punk, and puts HHH on top of Punk for the cover win. HHH looks at Nash in disbelief questioning why he did what he did, still playing up the fact that the two aren't in cahoots. Punk loses some heat with this, but I just can't see Punk winning here. I'd like it to happen but I don't see it happening. Punk gets Nash at Hell in A Cell.

WINNER: Triple H

Thoughts on Rock & Cena Teaming At Survivor Series

The Rock posted a promotional poster on his Facebook page today for Survivor Series, hyping the fact that him and Cena will be teaming together at Survivor Series. WWE confirmed this, saying it will be a traditional 5-on-5 Survivor Series match.

First let me say that I love traditional Survivor Series matches, so this is a plus. On to the actual Rock/Cena team, I don't really have a problem with it. As I said in my "If I Booked the WWE This Fall" article, I would start the build between Rock/Cena this fall. And this would do that. Rock should be on a couple RAWs before Survivor Series, so the build starts in early November. Another positive is that in a 5-on-5 match, more guys will interact with Rock and get the rub of working with him. I would go with Punk/HHH 2 at Survivor Series, have the World Title be defended, then put the WWE Champion in this match, whether it'd be Cena or Del Rio. Here's my 5-on-5 match:

The Rock, John Cena, John Morrison, Sheamus, Daniel Bryan vs Alberto del Rio, Miz, R-Truth, Christian, Wade Barrett

That's a good mix of young guys, keeps C.M. Punk and HHH in their own program, and allows Randy Orton to defend the World Title against Mark Henry, if the feud goes that long.

That's all from me in this preview. Don't forger, I'll be doing live updates on Night of Champions on CreativelyEndeavored.com as well as on my Twitter.

Until next time,

Justin C

Follow Me On Twitter @JCWonka

Why I'm A Pro Wrestling Fan

I figured I would take a bit of a break from looking at recent WWE happenings this week and answer a question I get frequently.

I'm a 23 year old male. I consider myself to be a normal guy. I hang out with friends. I go out drinking. I enjoy sports, movies, girls you name it. But there's one thing I enjoy that 99% of my other friends don't: pro wrestling. I get it from my friends all the time. How can you watch something that's so fake? You realize you're watching half naked guys fake fighting right? I'm sure you're rolling in the girls when you talk about wrestling right? Any kind of derogatory question people would ask about pro wrestling I've probably gotten.

Every single time I get these types of questions it frustrates me to no end. Why do you think you're better than me for not watching wrestling. I have male friends that love Glee, and I'm sorry, but I find that much more embarrassing than watching wrestling. So with how good WWE TV has been recently, and instead of me repeating some of my same thoughts on storylines and wrestler to death, I figured I would take this opportunity to tell you why at 23 years old, I'm still a pro wrestling fan, and why I find myself being one for the foreseeable future.

1. Pro Wrestling Has Been A Part of My Life for 20 Years
Not many things stay a part of somebody's life for 20 years. I've had friends come and go. Gone through a couple different cars. Been to different schools. It seems at times that your life goes through different cycles and different things are a part of it at different times. Lots of things change as you get older.

For me, however, pro wrestling has stuck. It's been a staple of my life for 20 years. I can't remember the very first show that I watched. The first pro wrestling moment that sticks in my head for me was watching Jake "The Snake" Roberts take his cobra and have it bite the arm of Randy Savage. I remember being terrified watching that happen as a small child. It probably caused my fear of snakes that I currently have today.

Being at the 20 year mark of my pro wrestling watching, I can tell you it feels like it's become a staple of my life. Every Monday I watch, or if for some reason I can't watch on Monday night I DVR it and watch first thing Tuesday Morning. I then right my review for my blog. My job usually doesn't allow me to watch Smackdown regularly. I've watched the last couple. If it moves permanently to Tuesday, it will actually be even tougher for me to watch. Sure pro wrestling has had its highs and lows over these 20 years, but even at its lowest points, it still hasn't caused me to walk away. I still enjoy it for numerous reasons that I will list soon. Very few things stay with you for this long. For me, it's my family and pro wrestling, that's pretty much it.

2. Pro Wrestling Can Be An Escape From Reality
Sometimes, watching pro wrestling is just like watching a movie. People watch movies to take a break from the norm. I mean, do we really believe Godzilla exists out there? Is there really a Dolorean that can take us back to the future? No, but we enjoy watching movies like that because it takes away from the hassles of every day life, even if it is only for a couple of hours.

Every Monday night, or PPV Sundays, or Friday night watching two hours of WWE programming helps me escape from everything else going on in my life. Lots of times, if I'm having a bad day, I go online and watch some wrestling just to take my mind off of whatever is bothering me. I've probably watched the C.M. Punk/John Cena match from Money in the Bank about 10 times since the PPV. Just sitting back, and watching two pros like those two put on a great show takes my mind off everything else. Everybody has their own escape from reality. Unfortunately, some people turn to things like drugs and alcohol. Others have TV shows or movies that they can stick in and turn their mood around in a heartbeat. Me? I have pro wrestling. I can watch anything with C.M. Punk, Shawn Michaels, or Chris Jericho and it can make me forget about anything that bothers me for the time being.

3. Pro Wrestling Is No Different From Any Other Form of Entertainment
Listen. I'm not an idiot. I've known wrestling is fake since I was 12. I've been on insider websites for the last 10 years. I'm not a mark who buys into every little thing that happens. Whenever I talk about wrestling with my friends that too watch it, and a friend who doesn't comes by and listens in, I always get the "You do know it's fake?" comment.

Well, you know what, I bet you your favorite TV show is fake. Your favorite movie is probably fake too. Pro Wrestling is referred to as Sports ENTERTAINMENT!!! Now if it was just called sports then you could have an argument. But the word entertainment is in it. No matter how any wrestling promotion tries to swing it, they are sports entertainment first and foremost. To me, at age 23, pro wrestling is no different than any other TV show out there. It's on every Monday Night, a regular schedule just like any TV show. Wrestling has storylines, action, drama just like any good TV show has. Sure, it can be a bit over board sometimes, but that's what makes it a bit different than other shows, and that appeals to me. Everyone likes different forms of entertainment, and pro wrestling is a favorite of mine.

4. But There Is A Bit of A Sports Aspect to It
Pro Wrestling is entertainment first and foremost. No way around that. But there's a little bit of a sports aspect to it. Rooting for your favorite wrestler is just like cheering on your favorite sports team. You are happy when they win, and at times you can be just as disappointed when they lose. If you have enough $$$, you also buy shirts and different apparel of your favorite wrestler. You make sure you let people know what side you're rooting for. That's why it's called sports entertainment. Sure pro wrestling is scripted, but what these guys go out there and do everyday is real. Putting their lives on the line to please their fans, just like sports athletes.

5. Pro Wrestling Is A Great Form of Live Entertainment
I always tell my friends the same thing: Going to a live event is so much more better than watching it on TV. I went to Wrestlemania this past year and it was probably the best event I've ever been too. It falls #2 on my list including sports. I went to a Sabres/Rangers playoff game a few years ago that can never be topped. But it's such a great experience being at a WWE Event live. Interacting with other fans that care about the product just as much as you do. Now sure, some of the fans are a bit out there and still buy everything as real. But the fans that truly like the product, get the business as a whole and have the same passion for it as you do are great to interact with. Being able to voice your opinion at the show, get involved in the chants, bring signs and hearing and seeing everything first hand can't be topped.

6. Pro Wrestling Can Tell Some Great Stories
Lots of times, people can identify with a certain wrestler or two. My favorite type of wrestler is the small, under-sized guy that has to bust his butt in the ring to win over the fans. I loved Eddie Guerrero's climb to the WWE Championship. Christian's World Title win this year was a great moment. The C.M. Punk/John Cena/Vince McMahon storyline was the best story told in any form of entertainment I've seen in quite some time, in my opinion. People can identify with wrestler's stories. If you ask me, stories in pro wrestling are the best stories told in all of entertainment. If the right story hits at the right time it can be great. Christian winning the World Title right after Edge retired was perfect. At times, if the right story at the right moment hits, it can grab almost anyone into it.

I'm sure everyone has their own reasons for remaining a pro wrestling fan. I've listed mine. What our yours? Feel free to leave a comment and share your thoughts.

Until next time,
Justin C
Follow me on Twitter @JCWonka

Appreciating Smackdown: The Supposed "B Show"

I was struggling to come up with ideas for a column this week. I kept going over everything that happened on RAW and couldn't think of anything. I've touched on C.M. Punk numerous times. There's still not enough known about the Kevin Nash/Triple H storyline to predict where it is going. I just wrote about Alberto del Rio two weeks ago so there's nothing new there, although kudos to the WWE for pulling the trigger on him winning the WWE Title. The more I was thinking about ideas, the more I realized one constant thing. Why am I only thinking about RAW columns? There are probably only two things I really like on that show: The C.M. Punk/HHH/Nash/Stephanie McMahon storyline and Alberto del Rio as WWE Champion. Everything else, mid-card included, just isn't that interesting to me.

Then I started thinking about Smackdown. I was able to watch the last two shows and I must say: I really like what they are doing over there. There's a lot of things to like about Smackdown right now. Smackdown doesn't get the appreciation it rightly deserves, so I thought I would take the time to give the supposed "B Show" some recognition in my weekly column.

Might as well start at the top. The Randy Orton/Christian program this summer has been very entertaining. I didn't have faith that the WWE could make this entertaining all summer, but they did. Christian's first true main event run in the WWE has been a joy to watch. Sure he's only had title reigns of five days and one month, but he's been at the top now for 4 months now, and he's handled himself quite well. In my opinion, he's shed the whole "Only There Because of Edge" shadow he had on him. Lots of people thought had it not been for Edge, Christian would have never sniffed the main event scene. Well, its been 4 months now, and Christian is still at the top. Sure Edge appeared at SummerSlam, but it was a minor appearence. The WWE could have pulled the plug on Christian's push if they wanted to but they didn't. While this program may be over, Christian proved that he could be a go to guy when necessary in the main event scene.

I also have to give credit to Randy Orton. Orton was as boring as he could possibly be on RAW before moving over to Smackdown. His character has been given a bit of a kick, especially in the last month or so. I was always a fan of the crazed, psychotic Orton. I like him better when he is chasing the Title, like he did the last month, but he's still been better than he was on RAW. Orton and Christian have a good chemistry together and there five matches they've had together have been great. Maybe the best set of matches Orton has had in his career. Hopefully Orton can carry this over into his next program, even though all signs point to it being Mark Henry.

That was the main event. Lets move on to the mid-card. I personally find the Smackdown mid-card much more fascinating and intriguing than the RAW mid-card. In my opinion, there's more story and depth to a lot of Smackdown's mid-carders than RAWs. Lets start with the man who's push I'm thoroughly enjoying at the moment: Mark Henry. I don't know what's different about this push. Maybe the fact that the WWE and Henry seem to be serious about this push. All of Henry's matches have been short and to the point. Henry has been getting over as the dominant monster heel that has been missing in the WWE for some time. Now if he's going to get a main event push, he will need to be able to work a 15 minute match. Can Orton and Henry put on an entertaining match of that length? Only time will tell. But for now, I'm digging the push Henry is getting. He's looked like a monster taking out Kane and the Big Show, and him and Sheamus put on a decent big man match at SummerSlam.

And that leads us into a perfect transition to talk about Sheamus. He seemed to be going nowhere as a heel, so the WWE decided to take a chance with him and turn Sheamus face. I thought that the WWE was going to turn either Sheamus or Wade Barrett face. They are both basically the same character: European big men who are tough. I would have picked Barrett, but I think the WWE made the better choice in using Sheamus. Sheamus also seems to be enjoying his face turn. He looked to be having a good time on the Conan O'Brien Show this past week. Sheamus needed this face turn to give his character a kick. The WWE can't change his character too much though. He still needs to remain the tough, Irish bad ass he was as a heel, but just with the fans behind him. I think it seems like Sheamus is behind the turn, so now everyone involved needs to do their part to make everything turn out well.

I've gone through 4 guys on the Smackdown roster and not even talked about the guy with potentially the highest upside: Mr. Money in the Bank Daniel Bryan. Most everybody was surprised to see Bryan win the Smackdown MITB contract. Even more people were surprised to find out he will cash in his contract at Wrestlemania. It's a great way to do it. If it lasts that long. You can never put too much faith in the WWE's long term booking. Bryan is probably the second best in ring worker in the WWE after C.M. Punk. I always hate to bring up his name, but Bryan has a bit of Chris Benoit THE WRESTLER in him. Not the best in the mic. Not the most charasmatic guy. But he busts his ass in the ring night in and night out. I don't know why the fans in Los Angeles chanted boring during his match with Wade Barrett at SummerSlam. It was the best match on the undercard. The WWE still has a lot to do to build up Bryan as a believeable Wrestlemania main eventer. One theory that I read that I liked: Bryan loses the MITB contract, wins either the Royal Rumlbe or Elimination Chamber to earn his Wrestlemania spot back, and faces the man who he lost his MITB contract to at Wrestlemania since he would be the Champ at that point. I can't take credit for that theory, but I like it. I consider Daniel Bryan the biggest question mark on Smackdown. If handled properly he could be the next WWE main eventer. If handled poorly he could be stuck in mid-card purgatory forever.

I thought Cody Rhodes would be in the position Christian was in now. He seemed destined for the main event this fall. He was one of the most interesting characters in the WWE. Now he's kind of stuck with nothing. Its nice to finally see him with some gold, even if its the Intercontinental Title. Its a start. As long as he keeps the Title he will FINALLY have a singles match on PPV. There is still a lot of potential with Cody, its just that his character has cooled off a bit. Maybe Cody will get a main event push this fall.

I was extremely high on Wade Barrett at this point leader. He was on fire as the leader of Nexus. He was great on the mic and holding his own in the ring. But ever since moving to Smackdown, Barrett has had absolutely nothing going for him. No program, no long term feud. He had a very good match with Daniel Bryan at SummerSlam, but this week on Smackdown there was no follow-up. I really hope something comes up for Barrett in the near future. Barrett has too much potential to go to waste.

Justin Gabriel is also an interesting case. They've been hyping him with video promos for a few weeks. He's good in the ring and has that natural good guy pretty boy look. He also has a great finisher with the 450 splash. Maybe a feud with Cody Rhodes for the IC Title is in order.

The only really parts that I could complain about on Smackdown are Sin Cara and Ezekiel Jackson. Jackson is just a terrible worker. I don't think there is anything more to say. The whole Sin Cara debacle is just getting hilarious at this point. Maybe it will turn into a Doink the Clown gimmick and there will just be multiple Sin Cara's running around. I've seen some of Sin Cara's work and there is a lot of potential and good to it, but it just hasn't come full circle in the WWE yet.

I remember back when the WWE Draft happened. Everyone thought Smackdown got robbed in the Draft. While on paper it looks like they did, I don't see that as the case. While RAW may have the top two stories going, Smackdown by far has more depth on its talent roster. RAW's mid-card characters just lack any depth. On Smackdown, they are making more guys seem important. On RAW all I'm suppose to care about is C.M. Punk, HHH, John Cena, and Alberto del Rio. All the guys I listed in this article are people I have interest in and want to see do well. Smackdown is considred the "B Show", but its talent roster is far more appealing and interesting than the entire RAW roster combined.

Until next time,
Justin C
Follow me on Twitter @JCWonka

WWE SummerSlam Review

Hello everyone. Another great show from the WWE. When was the last time the WWE pulled off two good shows in a row?

Let me start by saying I watched most of the show with no volume. I was at a friend's house doing a fantasy football draft at the time. I only turned the volume up when there was somebody other than the announcers talking. I also occasionally turned it up to hear the crowd reactions. And from what I've read, it's a good thing I did this because apparently Cole & Booker T were just as unbearable as ever.

Anyway, on to the review!

Rey Mysterio, John Morrison, and Kofi Kingston defeated Miz, R-Truth, and Alberto del Rio: **
-One of the two matches I called in my preview. They really needed to get all 6 of these guys on the card somehow, and it was the best way possible to do it. I thought for sure John Morrison was going to take the fall here and continue his losing streak, but it was nice to see him come out on the winning end here. Rey Mysterio didn't do a lot of work here. With his knee still a bit banged up, they wanted to save him as much as possible for his WWE Championship match tomorrow night. Kofi Kingston looked good here again. He's been on his game the last few weeks. I really love that flying crossbody he does from the top rope. He gets some good air on it. Miz lacked the same intensity he had on RAW. R-Truth was just as crazy as ever. The finish came after Mysterio got the hot tag. He went for a double 619 on Miz & Truth but Del Rio blocked it. Kofi and Morrison then hit flying moves to the outside on Miz and Del Rio, then Rey hit the splash on Truth in the ring for the win. It was a fun match that served its purpose of getting the crowd into the show.

Backstage, C.M. Punk was with John Laurinaitis. Johnny wanted an apology from Punk, so Punk gave him a mock apology before he walked off. He turned around to see Stephanie McMahon. Steph wished him luck. Punk told her to run along and talk to her husband, and say hi to her dad too. Steph said she spoke to both of them. Steph said but she's just an idiot right? Punk said she said that, he just called her clueless. Stephanie extended her hand, but Punk told her to take it back because he knows where that hand has been. BURN.

Mark Henry defeated Sheamus via countout: **
Even though I thought Sheamus could have used the win here, this was one of the best possible finishes they could come up with. Both men looked strong early in the match. Sheamus hit a nice shoulder tackle from the ropes for a two. Sheamus missed his Brogue Kick, but reset and hit it the second time, knocking Henry to the floor. Henry regained control on the outside. He picked up Sheamus then smashed him into the ring post, and through the barricade at ringside. Henry went back into the ring as Sheamus crawled, trying to make it back before the ten count. He was unable to, which gave Henry the countout win.

Like I said, this ending worked for both men. From what I could tell, it looked like the crowd was into Sheamus the whole time. It gives Sheamus some sympathy babyface heat because he looked strong in defeat. Henry continues to look dominant and appears to possibly be next in line for a World Title shot. These two worked their asses off to put on a good match and they delivered a respectable one. Couldn't have asked for anything else.

Ce-Lo Green performed. Bathroom break time for me.

Kelly Kelly defeated Beth Phoenix to retain the Divas Championship: *1/2
This was actually a very respectable Divas match. Kelly did her part here of bumping around for Beth. Beth dominated the match for the most part. Beth went for the Grand Slam to finish the match, but Kelly rolled her up to pick up the win in an upset. Beth sold frustration in the ring as Natalya tried to calm her down. Kelly left with the title and Eve. Like I said, not bad at all. Plus, now Beth can win the Divas Title when she comes back here to Buffalo for Night of Champions in September!

Backstage, R-Truth was talking to Jimmy Hart about conspiracies. Hart tried to convince Truth to let him be his manager. Truth said Jimmy could take him to the top. Then he flipped out about Jimmy and Little Jimmys. Truth turned to his opposite side and said "What are you looking at?" The camera revealed Ron Artest, or Meta World Peace.

Wade Barrett defeated Daniel Bryan: **3/4
This was probably Wade Barrett's best match since his bout with John Cena at last year's Hell in A Cell. Just great action from these two who certainly work well together. It really looked like a lot of Bryan's kicks came off stiff during the match. But Barrett was a bare knuckle brawler, so he can take it. Bryan hit a nice running knee to the jaw on the floor. Back in the ring, Bryan made a nice counter into the LaBell Lock, but Barrett made it to the ropes in time. Barrett crotched Bryan on the top rope, then hit a flying clothesline. He hit Wasteland in the ring for the win. Barrett picks up a big win on PPV, which will help to start to build his stock back up. Bryan could have used the win here, but they still have plenty of time to build him up to the main event level before Wrestlemania. I really hope these two go at it again. It'd be interesting to see what they could do if given another 5 minutes or so.

Before the World Title match, Christian introduced his surprise: Edge. Edge said when he left, he cracked the door open for Christian and Christian broke through. But even though it was unfair Christian had to defend the title five days after he won it, he started whining and continued to whine. Edge said while he did some bad things, he didn't whine and hide behind some lawyers. Edge said he didn't think his friend would become a whining, crying little bitch. He put the mic down and left. Christian sold shock and disappointment. Kind of weird to see Christian buried like that by Edge, and that Edge would agree to that.

Randy Orton defeated Christian in a No Holds Barred Match to win the World Title: ****1/2
Orton went for the RKO on the table early, but Christian got away and tried to escape through the crowd with the World Title. Orton caught him and they brawled a bit. Christian regained control and introduced a kendo stick into the match and used it on Orton. Orton hit a mid-air dropkick on Christian. Outside, Orton dropped Christian on the ring steps. Orton brought two tables out from underneath the ring and put one in the ring. Orton suplexed Christian onto the flat table in the ring for only a 2 count. Both men countered out of each other's finishers before going outside where Orton threw Christian into the steps. Then, on the Spanish announce table, Christian mocked Orton before going for the RKO. Orton, blocked it and hit the RKO himself, FINALLY breaking the table.

After a few minutes of selling, both men crawled into the ring. Christian hit the Unprettier but only scored a two count. Christian got two chairs and set up Orton for a Conchairto. Christian spit in Orton's face, but Orton moved out of the way of the chair shot. Christian went to the apron, but Orton jabbed him with the chair and he fell to the outside through a table set up there. Orton through the steps and other weapons into the ring. He powerslammed Christian through a table set up in the corner. Orton then gave his middle rope DDT to Christian on a trash can. Orton set-up for the RKO, bit Christian hit him with the kendo stick. Christian went for a Sunset flip from the middle ropes, but Orton RKO'd him on the steps to pick up the win. Similar finish to their first match but without the steps. Orton celebrated as Christian was carried off by officials.

I REALLY liked this match. On one viewing a piece, I liked this match better than Cena/Punk. Orton and Christian have a great chemistry together. It appeared that this may have been the last match in the series, and it's a shame because these two work well together. It also means that Christian's main event run has more than likely come to an end. Now I have nothing to back this up, but that's just the felling I got. Both of these men worked their asses off the last four months to keep this feud interesting. Christian got the best out of Orton just when it looked like Orton was back to his boring, stale old self. I do question the booking of this, however. I would have liked to see Christian retain here and carry the belt to Hell in A Cell, where these two would have the blow off. Plus, it's more fun and there's more money involved with faces chasing the heel for the title. Seeing Orton with the World Title again does nothing at this point. But it was a great match, in my opinion the best of the series.

Backstage a camera caught Stephanie McMahon and HHH having a conversation. HHH didn't like what he heard and walked away displeased.

They did a NFL Films type video package to recap the Cena/Punk/HHH/Vince McMahon angle. Awesome video package as usual from the WWE.

C.M. Punk defeated John Cena to become the Undisputed WWE Champion: ****
Punk came out first to a good set of cheers from the male audience. Cena got his usual mixed response, although I thought I heard more booing than cheering. I turned up the volume here to see what the responses for both men would be like. The two did some basic mat work only on. Cena went for his traditional shoulder tackles but Punk countered with a knee to the gut. Cena went for his sit down powerbomb but Punk countered with a knee to the head then another on the ropes. Punk went for a neck submission, but Cena countered into an STF attempt. Punk countered into the Anaconda Vice. Cena countered into an STF. Punk countered into an Anconda Vice. Cena countered into the STF, but Punk got to the ropes and to the outside. GREAT sequence. Punk dumped Cena to the outside, then Punk hit a suicide dive. Triple H got to 9, but stopped counting and threw both men back into the ring.

Both men got back to their feet and exchanged punches and kicks. Cena hit a nice dropkick then the Five Knuckle Shuffle on Punk. He went for the Attitude Adjustment, but Punk countered into a roll up for 2. A couple of pin counters before Punk kicked Cena in the head for 2. Punk went for the GTS but Cena countered into a powerslam. Cena went to the top but Punk kneed him in the face. Punk hit a top rope bulldog for only a 2 count. Punk launced himself from the top but Cena locked in the STF. Punk got to the ropes. Cena went for the AA, Punk countered to a GTS attempt, then Cena countered to an AA and hit it, but only got a 2 again. Cena went for his top rope leg drop and missed, allowing Punk to hit the GTS but only for a 2. Punk then went to the top rope and hit a Macho Man elbow drop for a 2 count. Punk questioned HHH's count. Cena rolled up Punk for a 2. He hit Punk with punches. Punk eventually countered with a knee then a GTS for the 3, even though Cena's foot was clearly on the ropes after 1. Cena argued his case to Hunter who said he didn't see it. Punk celebrated on the announce table as Cena left in disgust. Punk worked his way back into the ring. HHH went to shake Punk's hand but he ignored it, so he raised Punk's hand instead.

Suddenly from out of nowhere, Kevin Nash was in the ring. He clotheslined Punk then hit his signature powerbomb before leaving. HHH failed to catch up to him. Alberto del Rio came out with a referee. He hit an enzuguria kick on Punk to score the 3 and leave WWE Champion as the PPV signed off with the announcers selling the chaos of what just happened.

Talk about chaos. Who would have thought Kevin Nash of all people would appear at the end of this show. Again, no idea where this angle is going. Both Cena and Punk have legitimate claims to rematches to the WWE Title. It probably leads to a triple threat, possibly a Fatal 4 Way with Rey Mysterio at Night of Champions. It delayed the inevitable HHH heel turn, which is a good thing because I now agree that doing that too early would kill this angle. It's building to a HHH/Punk match down the line, but that should be saved for a Wrestlemania type match. Of course what Kevin Nash's involvement is also remains to be seen. Did Del Rio hire him? Was it a plan  thought of by Stephanie McMahon and/or Vince? Did HHH really not know about it. So many questions remain.

Alberto del Rio leaving WWE Champ adds another piece to the puzzle. It follows the typical WWE tradition of having a mid-card heel who won MITB being thrust into the top spot rather than being built up: Miz, Jack Swagger, and Edge are all previous examples. Del Rio needs to make his case now to show he warrants the top spot. He's shown he can do it before, but he needs to get back to that point.

OVERALL
This was another great show as I said in the beginning. Two ****+ matches as your main events are good things. Both Christian/Orton and Punk/Cena have great chemistry together. The undercard was solid as well. I really enjoyed Bryan/Barrett and the story in the Mark Henry/Sheamus match. The opener got the crowd into the show, and hell, even the Divas Match was watchable. I could have done without the Ce-Lo Green performance and the commercials, but those are just minor complaints. I'm giving the show a solid 8.

SummerSlam falls at #2 on the PPV list of 2011.
1. Money in the Bank
2. SummerSlam
3. Elimination Chamber
4. Extreme Rules
5. Wrestlemania 27
6. Royal Rumble
7. Capitol Punishment
8. Over the Limit

Where Do We Go From Here?
Nobody should be bitching about Punk losing here. It was the best possible way for Punk to lose without losing any momentum. Punk will remain in the main event scene for some time and has a whole new can of worms to open up on Kevin Nash and Stephanie McMahon. And of course John Cena will be around the WWE Title scene too. The extent of Rey Mysterio's injury will determine if he is in the WWE Title picture.

On Smackdown, I would think this was the end of Orton/Christian. While I've also been liking Mark Henry's push, I'm kind of dreading a Henry/Orton match. But I don't think that happens yet. Night of Champions is usually all Title matches, so I expect a couple of multi-man matches there.

I guess this would be my predicted card:
WWE Title: Alberto del Rio vs C.M. Punk vs John Cena
World Title: Randy Orton vs Christian vs Sheamus vs Mark Henry
Intercontinental Title: Cody Rhodes vs Justin Gabriel
Smackdown MITB Briefcase on the Line: Daniel Bryan vs Wade Barrett
United States Title: Dolph Ziggler vs Alex Riley
Tag Team Title: McGillicutty & Otunga vs Miz & R-Truth vs Kofi & John Morrison vs Great Khali & Jinder Mahal
Divas Title: Kelly Kelly vs Beth Phoenix

I left Rey Mysterio off the card because I feel like they will do an injury angle with him to save him for the Mexico tour in October.

Again, I thought this was a great show that just like MITB left a lot of questions unanswered.

Until next time,
Justin C
Follow me on Twitter @JCWonka