Monday, June 28, 2010

Raw 6-28

After last week, the NXT continued to be the talk of the wrestling world. No matter if I didn't care much for the show, it seems NXT is ruling the wrestling sites, message boards and headlines. We now know Mr. McMahon isn't the leader behind NXT. I won't mention anything about the Celebrity host (thought that was over with). I haven't liked what the show has been doing aside from NXT. Maybe tonight we get back on track. No second paragraph, straight into Raw.

Nexuses? That's the name of the group. Who came up with that crappy name? I'm pretty sure Sheamus is getting more cheers each week. Mocking Cena's stupid little saying got me to pop for the Irish Ghost. I wish we could get a different main event for the WWE title. Cena has been in the title hunt for way to long. It would be sweet for a new guy to come out and take Cena out and turn Cena's attention to something other than the WWE title. It's so lame that freaking emails interrupt the in ring promos. We need to have a figure head who can come out because hearing Michael Cole talk even more is not a good thing. I do believe Sheamus and Cena in a cage match is a great addition to the card. Beginning of Raw, seems like all the time, was hit and miss.

Come on WWE! You are freaking ruining everything the Dynasty built up as the Tag champs. They had a great match with ShowMiz to win the belts. What have they done since? Nothing. I want a real damn match between the Uso's and the Dynasty. Why didn't the lame GM make the match for Money in the Bank? Oh because that would make sense.

Santino continues to get the crowd behind him and it's because of his charisma, charm and he is always smiling. I can remember Larry telling me Kozlov will never make it over a year in the WWE. Hey, I got one right. I defended Kozlov and I think he and Santino will make a nice tag team. They will certainly be entertaining. I have a math question for you. Kahli + microphone = ? You can answer that anyway you want. Nobody and I mean nobody gave a crap Runjah is gone. If that's the case, why did I write about it? Because I could see your head nodding violently in approval. That's why.

I don't understand why the participants didn't have to qualify. You have 8 spots and couldn't come up with 16 wrestlers who could wrestle for those spots. We would have saw some good matches and the MITB match would have meant more. No, just throw those guys in the match and call it good. Lazy ass booking much like the emailing GM.

Sheamus hasn't done his Celtic cross finisher for quite sometime. I wonder if it has to do with HHH being hurt from it. Sheamus looked strong getting over on Mark Henry but it's been a long time since that meant anything. Once again, the WWE title isn't the thing I am remembering about the show.

No one mentions it but Ricky the Dragon Steamboat would make a fantastic general manager. I can't believe I forgot about him. Many people have forgot about Ricky and that's a shame. Ricky would wow the crowd and keep people interested. The other guy is Arn Anderson. Arn is a great talker and wouldn't it be strange to see Arn on WWE while Flair on TNA TV. That would be very interesting. Arn made my point for me. He had the best and most heartfelt speech of them all. I was going to complain that Nexuses couldn't beat up a bunch of old men. They did it right by picking them off one by one. I know Nexuses has to be pushed and made not to look weak. Eventually, they will fall. It's inevitable. The Raw roster is more powerful than 7 men. You can keep building for weeks and weeks Nexuses up. There still has to be a payoff down the line. That's what hurt the NWO. They looked so strong that no one man could hurt them. I'm good with that because right now the only man who could destroy Nexuses is the 1999 version of Stone Cold Steve Austin or Goldberg. WCW never gave the payoff of seeing NWO get theirs. No, they ultimately destroyed the group into 2 groups and all hell broke loose. I would like to think the WWE is smarter than that. I hear the talk of War Games will be the payoff. Hell yes that would be excellent. Also, these guys are under contract so the GM decides they don't need matches and no WWE star can hurt them or they will be suspended. My head just exploded, you may have to finish this Raw blog by yourself.

Maryse calmed me down a little. Gail Kim should get a push for the Diva title. I'm getting tired of Eve and Maryse vying for the spot. Gail never had a shot to have the belt for a long run. Push Fox for a while and have her feud with Kim. It would be something different.

As much as I complain about not having the WWE title showcased by ending Raw. I liked having the mid carders finish Raw tonight. They are the under card for a reason. Sometimes they need to be shown they can headline a show. Now I know some of the men were not mid carders. Jericho, Orton and Edge are multiple time world champions. However, even those guys have been pushed away to make room for Nexuses. That's why I was complaining last week that you can have multiple stories on one show. As far as the MITB match at the ppv, I would like to see one of three guys win. Teddy because it would be fantastic to watch him walk around talking about how he would win since he has a plenty of money and now owns the most important briefcase. John Morrison so Larry and everyone else will shut the hell up. Chris Jericho is the third. I feel Jericho has been pushed down to much. The only reason is he is now doing a game show. Big deal. Chris is still a great performer and deserves a chance to showcase the talent with one of the world title on his shoulder. Don't get me wrong, I love Orton even if I didn't mention him as a potential winner. He's back to 100 percent. He was made to look very strong on Raw. I called Orton the new face of wrestling. He's been super over and doesn't need the case. Randy should be getting a world title shot regardless of what happens at MITB ppv. I'm happy he was the one to win and remember from the main event.

I liked the end of Raw. The beat down on the legends got the Nexuses over even if it didn't make total sense. I still want to see them in real matches and not beat downs. Randy Orton being the last face I saw was perfect. I love him a hell of a lot more than Cena. I know the WWE title should be the finish to Raw, tonight was a bit surprising and a nice change. I get tired of seeing Cena shoved down our throat. The real wrestling fans are backing Orton so get every fan loving Orton by having him end the show. Best part of tonight? Rob Zombie was on camera for less than five minutes proving the guest gm is worthless. Keep up on all wrestling with Showstoppers and Wasp's TNA blog right here on BBSD.

J Call

Thursday, June 24, 2010

NBA 2010 Draft

The NBA has a draft? I know you thought we were skipping it to get to 'where in the world will Lebron go'. The 2010 NBA draft is a weak class. There aren't many superstars and NBA ready guys. Much like last year, the number one was easy. After that, it gets dicey. I was hoping for a hundred trades because otherwise this was going to be a boring night. I don't expect any one pick tilt the table to where one of the marque names signs. As I did last year, let us break down the top ten and some trades.

1) Washington Wizards - John Wall, PG Kentucky.
No surprise the Wizards took the best player in the draft. Wall is a great point guard and can lead an NBA franchise. The problem the Wiz have is Gilbert Arenas. No way you could ever move Arenas and his six shooter. Wall should be the leader like Rose did with the Bulls. Unfortunately for Wall, he doesn't get that choice. Evan Turner fit them better.

2)Philidelphia 76ers - Evan Turner, SG Ohio State
I love this kid. Evan is a player who can step in and start right away for a team. I have no idea if Andre Iguodala will get along with Evan. They are similar players. Again the fit doesn't make sense but you take him for the talent he possesses. The draft almost needed to be switched. Evan could have been the sidekick to Arenas and Wall could have lead the 76ers. I like Turner and what he brings to the court. I just think he would have been a better fit somewhere else. The need was for a center because Dalembert and Elton "Off" Brand suck.

3) New Jersey Nets - Derrick Favors, F Georgia Tech
I hoped for a trade to the Spurs with this pick. Hey, a guy can dream. No luck. Favors is a work in progress. He is very young and raw. Another year in college would have done wonders for Derrick. He has to work on his low post skills. He doesn't have a mentor in New Jersey either. However the great thing is he is teaming with Brook Lopez. Obviously Harris, Lopez and Favors is a nice trio for a big time free agent to think about signing with the Nets. Boozer would be a nice pick up so Favors can learn something from him.

4) Minnesota Timberwolves - Wesley Johnson, F Syracuse
As a semi Iowa State Cyclone fan, I don't care much for Wesley. Bias aside, he fits into Minnesota's system. T'Wolves have nobody on the wing to score or defend. I heard they were shopping Al Jefferson or Kevin Love. I don't get that. Jefferson and Love are two solid players and Jefferson is coming off his second year from knee surgery which means a big year ahead of him. It's a shame this team doesn't have Rubio or they would be as fun to watch as OKC.

5) Sacramento Kings - Demarcus Cousins, C Kentucky
What a boring draft so far! No fun so far in the top 5. Damarcus should be a better pro than Spencer Hawes who the Kings took a few years ago. You know you made a mistake when you have a Center who is white and over 7 feet tall. I don't count Yao, he's Chinese. Cousins will start but probably shouldn't. He is going to be a headache for the Kings. Cousins has the athletic, rebounding and ability to perform. Sacramento is adding pieces, they will still pick in the top 10 next year.

6) Golden State Warriors - Ekpe Udoh, F Baylor
A Bear was a top ten draft pick. What the hell is going on? The Don Nelson system, Udoh will be used more outside the paint and will shoot a ton of jump shots. He will never have to defend because there is no defense scheme. I have never watched a Warriors game and thought to myself, "This defense is incredible." He won't have to start with Anthony Randolph and Biedrins already there. Udoh can improve off the bench and being a nice role player.

7) Detroit Pistons - Greg Monroe, F Georgetown
Monroe is an excellent fit for the Pistons. They don't have a post presents and now Monroe fits the mold. Villanueva can stay out on the 3 point line and continue to stay away from the paint. Villanueva is a soft PF and Monroe can add some toughness. I hope Monroe doesn't talk to Kwame Brown. How is that guy still playing basketball? Pistons still have a lot of trade bait so I don't think they will stand pat and keep quiet.

8) Los Angeles Clippers - Al-Farouq Aminu, F Wake Forest
Good luck kid. You are going to the most cursed franchise in basketball and second overall to the Chicago Cubs. I fell in love with Blake Griffin and we all know how that went. Blake comes back and now it's like the Clips received two lottery picks in one draft. I don't know much on Aminu. The truth is he can't be any worse than half the roster. Could you trade Baron Davis for Gilbert Arenas? It doesn't solve anything but the fan bases for both teams would think it was.

9) Utah Jazz - Gordon Hayward, F Butler
The Utah Jazz added color with another white guy. This guy is Kyle Korver Jr without the 3 point shooting. He's not an athlete or has a superb shot ability. I will say he works hard and seems to have basketball smarts. Gordon gets to go to the perfect place though. He won't have to do much and can develop underneath the talent Utah already has. I will never doubt Jerry Sloan.

10) Indiana Pacers - Paul George, F Fresno State
I know nothing on him. All I heard was potential, potential and potential. That's not a good sign. Indiana has nothing. The team is an absolute mess and no star power. They need depth at every position. In fact, it would be wise to disband the entire team and star over like a expansion team. Dunleavy and Troy Murphy are starting, you have problems.

This was perhaps the weakest draft we have seen in several years. I'm not going to continue this blog and talk about a few more teams. After the tenth, you are only going to get a role player or a bench warmer for a few years. There weren't any trades in the top 10. Only one superstar and potential star in Turner. Anyone tells you this was a night to remember is full of crap. NBA lottery is more exciting than the draft and that is rigged. I'll take the NFL draft over any other draft in sports. Once the free agency begins, I will be back to talk about the headlines like Lebron signing with the Bulls.

J Call

Monday, June 21, 2010

Raw 6-21

I will admit Fatal Four Way didn't suck as bad as Extreme Rules. The concept actually worked and we got a few good matches. I wish the WWE had announced the Dynasty Uso and Jericho Bourne matches before the event. I wouldn't have paid 50 bucks for the show but those two matches made it more tempting. I was puzzled by a few of the moves made last night. No guest host tonight and for that I say thank goodness. You know we have to break down Fatal Four Way before we start to Raw.

So long Swagger. Your time as World Champ is over with and now you can go back to mid card wrestler. Rey makes a good champion because of his stature, fans get behind him. I'm not sold Swagger wasn't doing a good job. I think Swagger had the fans hating him and that was a good thing. I would hate to see him fall down the ladder. He and Rey should battle for the WHC and hopefully he can get back on the good graces of the WWE management. The other big news is Sheamus winning the WWE title. I love it. He deserves a long run and hopefully he will carry the belt past Summerslam. As far as NXT finishing the show, I was all for that as well. They need a leader soon. We have all heard reports of Michael Cole, Triple H and Chris Jericho. Out of that group, I say Jericho. However, there is another man that keeps coming to mind. He lost his WWE title last night. Yes, I am talking about the man who has gotten the crap kicked out of him by these same men. John Cena went off on the Long Island crowd last night after the show. Cena was booed out of the building. Is it time to finally turn Cena heel? The best way to do it would be having him become the NXT leader. It will never happen but it would shock the wrestling world much like NXT did a few weeks ago ambushing Cena.

WWE could you please pick 'Let Me Hear You Scream' by Ozzy as the new theme song for Raw. You would be doing everyone a favor because cool people hate Nickelback. Thank you. I love Vince and I love Bret Hart. I saw enough of that feud back at Mania. I don't want to see it again. Vince firing Bret is stupid. Bret was doing a good job. The computer general manager is even dumber. A GM has to be shown. This is lousy and lazy booking. It screams of, 'We don't know who could be GM, so we will just use a computer'. Sheamus had a great in ring promo. He had me fooled for a minute. The e-mails were ridiculous but the main event was a good idea. I like seeing a WWE title match on free television. Something tells me we are not going to see a clear winner though.

A fantastic match with Evan and Jericho. Raw should have more matches like that every single week. I don't want to see Jericho ever and I mean EEEEver leave the WWE again. Evan and Jericho could have another match and I certainly would not be upset. There match in the past two nights has out shined almost anything else. Now if the WWE would hype the feud up and let Evan and Jericho talk, this could be the second best feud on Raw.

Teddy is one lucky bastard. He also had one of the best lines of the night. I think it's great to put Maryse and Teddy together. Maybe now he won't be the laughing stock on Raw and can start something real. NXT beating up the Dynasty works for me. I wanted to see more from the Uso Hart feud. Can the WWE ever finish one story and then start a new one? I guess not tonight. The Dynasty won the tag titles and once again they push the titles aside for another story. It can't be that hard to write a good story for the Dynasty without adding NXT.

The NXT guys suck on the mic. Their in ring promo proves everything I have said in the past. They need a damn leader to talk for all these men. The crowd seemed disinterested by the time Wade grabbed the mic. I like the WWE having a brand new stable and making their mark on Raw. We haven't seen a big stable like this in years. I want them to have a leader though. This Raw is hit and miss all at the same time.

I would have rather seen Teddy get back in action with Morrison. Although the WWE must be starting to see something in Ryder. I saw it a long time ago. The match was pretty entertaining. Morrison should start getting pushed some. Not to the moon but start winning matches and gain some momentum. Miz and him could be the match at the next pay per view.

Anything with the Great Kahli is never good. I was impressed with the moonsault by Eve. Alicia Fox and Eve can have a good feud. Eve has been improving and maybe the crowd can get behind her if she is chasing the title instead of caring it. Most fans won't care about the Diva's no matter what the WWE does with them. That is unless they are posing in Playboy. I don't mind seeing the Diva's if they have a good story or can wrestle. We just never get to see anything develop with them.

I could really get into a Orton Miz story. We have never seen it so it's new. It felt fresh until Edge came out and speared Orton again. The one positive is Orton is now a 100 percent and he and Edge could have a real match since Orton got hurt in their first and were in a four way match last night. Now they might be able to have a real contest.

The main event with Sheamus and Cena was worked very well by both men. However, if NXT got what they wanted then why continue to attack Cena? I don't understand. Again the story over shadows the WWE title. Beating up Vince takes him out of the running to be the leader. I couldn't tell if the crowd was appreciative or shocked. Shocked after it was over. A large NXT chant was very funny from the crowd. The NXT guys are certainly leaving there mark all over the place. We haven't seen anything like this since NWO. I just don't want the WWE to write it like the NWO and so far they have. At least they aren't adding 10 million other wrestlers to the group.

Raw was up and down. We saw a great match with Jericho and Bourne. Sheamus and Cena had a very nice match as well. The NXT guys will be who everyone remembers. I hate that. I know fans love the NXT angle and it got better tonight beating Vince up. I want this to be headlining Raw but not ruling Raw. You can have other things going on which would make the whole show great. I hate the new GM emailing Michael Cole. As I said that's just being lazy. We need a figure head to know who is in charge. WWE is going to keep pushing the NXT guys down our throat. I just wish they could book it to where fans might remember something besides NXT.

J Call

Sunday, June 20, 2010

CWS Experience and US Open

I know the title may throw you off a little bit. I wanted to write about both events that happened over the weekend. I got to attend two College World Series games over the weekend and found it to be a lovely hot day. I have some complaints that I will get to, all in all though it was a wonderful time and a fond memory of Rosenblatt. As far as the US Open, the only thing I can say is missed opportunities.

My experience at the College World Series started by finding tickets on craigslist. We parked at least a mile away from the stadium just so we didn't have to pay. Yards were destroyed, lots all over were full and wallets were emptied by paying up to 50 bucks for all day parking. It's insane. Once inside the confines, Rosenblatt has a wonderful fan fest area that is full of games, food and high tech equipment. For example the AT&T tent was a real 3G experience because if you own a IPhone it's the only place the damn thing works. The other bad thing is the scalpers. They are everywhere trying to get you to buy seats or sell tickets. They walk by you and will whisper "sections" "need tickets". I was so annoyed by the end of the day. Get the hell away from me I got mine. Go find another stooge that will buy a 20 dollar ticket for 80.

The CWS crowds aren't the loudest because its very diverse. It's not like a college football game where you see a large crowd of one team all together. They are spread throughout the stadium. I would say out of all the fans, TCU had the loudest. The coolest part of the crowd is the general admission seats in the outfield. They have a rock concert feeling to them. The fans hit beach balls around, screaming their heads off at the outfielders and the opposite grandstands. The best chant was "Left Field sucks" from Right field and "Right field sucks" from Left. They were like arch rivals. Also the crowds were appreciative. The biggest play of the day was the incredible catch by Den Dekker, seen here. I sat in right field by the foul pole. The crowd gave him a rousing standing ovation. A moment to remember along with the million others that happened at Rosenblatt Stadium.

The US Open seemed all but Dustin Johnson starting the final day. He was playing phenomenal golf and ended up having the worst round ever by a leader heading into the final day. I started feeling bad for the guy. One shot was horrible and that was followed by another and another. The ultimate trickle down effect happened to the young man. He wasn't the only one who was failing the entire day. At the end of the day, Graeme (said as Graham) McDowell was holding up the trophy and became the first Euro to win in 40 years.

The real story of the US Open was the sloppy play in the final round. I lost count on all the putts and gimmes everyone missed. Tiger fell out of contention after finding the flowers next to the ocean. Phil started strong with a birdie on the first hole. He followed that up by missing all kinds of opportunities. Pebble Beach was playing just as the committee was hoping for, low scores were out the window. Bogie was par on most courses. Graeme was the only one who kept his head above water. He's a nice story since it was his first major title. He played with poise and kept his composure. Graeme may have done all that, he still shot three over par.

The US Open is always the hardest major to win. Everyone found that out over the weekend. Pebble Beach is a beautiful course with some exceptional scenery. The scenery for this weekend was golfers scratching their heads. The final putt going in and McDowell's dad running down to get a congratulations hug was a perfect ending. A father embracing a son on Father's day. I would say that's the perfect ending to a difficult Open. Time to crack open the Guinness.

J Call

Friday, June 18, 2010

Glory Days

How quickly we forget greatness? We are always looking to hype the next great thing and push aside anyone that was great before this one. The Lakers winning another title and Kobe getting his fifth is a prime example. I will try to be kind in this blog because it wasn't my intent to write about Kobe. I wrote a little bit about him before the finals and how we can't compare him to Jordan. Now that Kobe won, not only is he being compared to MJ but the greatest Laker of all time.

I am so sick and tired of the hype machines out there propping Kobe on the mountain of greatest. I admit I am a hater because I am a Spurs fan. I can also admit that Kobe is the best player of the decade. Yes even over my boy Timmy Duncan. Kobe has been a fantastic player and has won 5 ring in a decade. That is certainly impressive. So, some hype is fine, but calling him the greatest Laker over Magic Johnson is absurd. Magic may have had more talent around him for his five rings. Magic played every position on the court at sometime or another. Magic lifted his teammates to new heights when he played the point. He had to be the Center, THE CENTER, in the Finals clincher in his rookie season. Kobe wasn't doing squat his first few years. Kobe needed Shaq for his first 3 titles and the Finals MVP for this year is tainted. Gasol was the man for LA in every game. Kobe crapped the bed in game 7 and needed Ron Artest, the biggest headcase, to hit the game's biggest shot. Even with that shot, Gasol had to grab the most important offensive rebound to make sure they didn't piss away the lead that Boston gave them.

Kobe is a great player and is a top ten talent. But if you are ever going to tell me that he is better than Michael or Magic, I will seriously punch you in your uninformed ass. I watched the NBA in the glory days of Jordan and Magic. The defense was much tougher back then, you know hand checking was allowed then. I'll take the bet that Jordan would score over 80 in one night with the weak defenses we see in today's NBA. I know throw the "would, could and should's" out the window. Ok I can do that. MJ had 6 Finals MVP, 2 Three peat and to many scoring titles to count. Kobe played Pippen in the first 3 titles while Shaq was the alpha male. MJ never had an inside scoring presents and I refused to count Bill Cartwright since it took him 10 seconds to put up a shot. The league was tougher, the talent was better and the rules made it harder to score. Michael played in the era I so desperately miss. I love the NBA and I love the Spurs. However the NBA isn't the same NBA.

While we are here, this series absolutely sucked. The refs sucked and played it way to tight or they would swallow the whistle and call it to loosely. There was no consistency. I heard fans say how great game 7 was. The intensity was there, to bad both teams played like it was October. I don't tune into a game to watch Joey Crawford run across the court to make a call and I don't want to see an NBA finals game turn into a Free Throw contest. Sheriff Stern even thanked both teams for making this Finals special. I couldn't stop laughing. This Finals pushed to the point I was making comparisons to the 05 Finals with the Pistons and Spurs. No one remembers it because it was bowling shoe ugly.

This NBA Finals stunk. The ultimate hype machine (insert 4 letters) will tell you that it was the greatest and how Kobe is too. Forget all the crap you hear from now on when it comes to "biggest event" "best ever" and make your own opinion. We, the fans, should not have to put up with bull crap hype and how the next big thing will be over taken by the next biggest thing. I believe Bruce Springsteen can sum it up the best, "Glory Days, they'll pass you bye."

J Call

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Fatal Four Way Picks 100th Celebration

This is suppose to be a celebration because it is my 100th blog. The problem is the pay per view has only four freaking matches with one more scheduled to be part of the show on Smackdown. The entire ppv is being over looked by the NXT story. Are these guys going to attack every wrestler on the card? How often will they be shown Sunday? We have some good matches on the card and no one seems to give a crap. We are also missing Hart Dynasty vs Usos. Fatal Four Way may end up being a worse show than Extreme Rules.

I told you this was going to be a special blog. I thought it would be a good idea to have a little fun with the Fatal Four Way concept. I called up the hosts from Showstoppers and asked them for some help. You were to choose four guys from specific decades and couldn't use a wrestler twice. Let's see what Larry had first followed by John's and then I will break down both men's choices.

Larry
80s Hogan vs. Kerry Von Erich vs. Bruiser Brody vs. Macho man Randy savage!

90s Stone cold vs. The Rock vs. Sting vs. HBK

00s HHH vs. Undertakervs. Kurt angle vs. Goldberg

Current Cena vs. Jeff Hardy vs. A J Styles vs. John Morrison

John
80's - Ric Flair vs Hulk Hogan vs Bret Hart vs Andre The Giant

90's - Stone Cold Steve Austin vs Shawn Michaels vs The Rock vs Sting

00's - Triple H vs Goldberg vs Kurt Angle vs The Undertaker

Now - John Cena vs Jeff Hardy vs Randy Orton vs Rob Van Dam

Ok, I don't mind what Larry did with his 80's four way. No surprise both men had the same 90's and 00's four way. I was shocked by John having Bret on his 80's match. Larry kept the Morrison man crush going with him on the card. My only question was where the hell was Orton, Larry? The biggest star is off your card. Not a good idea. As far as mine goes...

80's Ric Flair vs Hulk Hogan vs Sting vs Rowdy Roddy Piper.

90's Stone Cold Steve Austin vs Shawn Michaels vs The Rock vs Bret Hart.

00's Triple H vs The Undertaker vs Angle vs Rey Mysterio

Current Cena vs Jeff Hardy vs Orton vs AJ Styles

I'm with the guys on including Styles and Jeff Hardy. These two men are fantastic wrestlers and even if I don't care about TNA, they needed on the card. I like 80's Sting more. I loved the bleach blond hair and the screaming. Easy to see Austin, Rock and Michaels in the 90's. My Bret Hart bromance had to be thrown in the mix. The only question I'm sure you may have is why the hell did I add Rey Mysterio. The way I see it, I don't like Goldberg and Rey would be so much fun to watch in this match. Angle could chuck him in a few German suplexes. Rey would be flying around trying to knock down Taker and Trips. It was between Rey and Jericho. Undercarders perform so well and should get some love. I would love to hear your Fatal Four Way decade matches. Send me an email to Jcall@bigbadsportsdaddy.com. The best one will end up on my Raw blog next Monday.

United States Title
The Miz (c) vs R-Truth
I am glad to see Truth get a nice pay per view match. I hated the WWE giving the title back to Miz. Now I see no chance of Truth gaining it back. I really think we are heading for a Morrison Miz feud. The WWE doesn't know what else to do so go back to what worked once before. Truth deserved a long reign as champion and the WWE slipped up on this story. You could fix the mistake and give it back to Truth. Won't happen. Miz keeps the US title.

Fatal Four Way Diva Title
Eve (c) vs Maryse vs Alicia Fox vs Gail Kim
Eve has held the belt for quite some time. I wrote about Kim and how talented she is on the Raw blog. She is the most talented wrestler in this match. Fox is mainly for a filler as she shouldn't get the belt. Eve hasn't looked to strong in the past few weeks since winning the title until winning the tag match on Raw. Maryse won the Diva battle royal on the viewer's choice and seems ready for the title run again. This is a complete toss up. I will take Eve to keep for now. I might change my mind 20 times before the show.

IC title
Kofi (c) vs Drew McIntyre
I think this will be a show stealer. Give these two athletes time to build a great story in the squared circle and we could witness a five star match. I have come to enjoy Drew and his chosen one story. In fact I think next to Punk, he's the best heel on Smackdown. Drew might be ready to headline a pay per view late in the year. He draws great heat and doesn't need the belt. Matt keeps interfering as well and that feud doesn't need a belt. The fans are into it without the belt. Kofi should keep and battle Ziggler and add Christian into the mix. I say Kofi keeps the Intercontinental championship.

Fatal Four Way World Heavyweight Championship
Jack Swagger (c) vs CM Punk vs Rey Rey vs The Big Show
Will Kane come out and beat the hell out of everyone? How about the NXT guys showing up and taking out the Smackdown stars? Rey has been having some fantastic matches over the past several weeks. His match with Swagger last week on Smackdown was unbelievable. A three segment match and a victory will certainly spark some fans to think he could win the world title again. Big Show isn't ready because I'm not sure the fans would keep the pops coming if he won the belt. Punk equals greatness. He has the crowd eating out of his hand right now. He's a hard working athlete in the ring. He doesn't need the belt for the boos. Swagger does need it. If he lost the belt, he would fall back down the ladder considerably. The All American American American needs to keep the belt until Summerslam. Swagger is my pick.

Fatal Four Way WWE Championship
Cena (c) vs Sheamus vs Edge vs Orton
The hosts of SS were at a fork in the road. All three of them took different men. I would love to see Sheamus get the belt back and have a nice long run as champion. The only guy they didn't pick was Edge. Yes he is one of my boys and I like Edge. No title reign is needed for Edge. Randy seems to be back in full force as shown on Raw. The WWE title would put Orton's face turn over the top with many fans. He has to get a new feud after this show. Orton and Edge has ran its course. Orton needs something fresh. I would love to see a Jericho Orton feud and last through the rest of the summer. NXT is going to come out in this one. WWE could be setting up a Barrett vs Cena match at Summerslam. That's where I think they are going. Cena is keeping the belt.

I want to thank you for showing your support for me over the past year and these first 100 blogs. You are what keeps me going. The first 100 were pretty good. The next 100 will be even better. I bet they are better than this pay per view Sunday. WWE has to do more than the NXT story to keep me involved in their product. I will see you next Monday for another Raw blog. The best damn WWE blogger will keep plugging away just for you.

J Call

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Raw 6-14

The big news coming from the WWE has certainly been the NXT take over from last weeks Raw. I couldn't wrap my brain around it at first. Tonight, we should get a real explanation on what the hell is going on. Some guy from the USA network show is hosting, doesn't it even matter. The guest host thing has ran its course. There was one announcement the WWE released on Friday night that certainly upset this WWE blogger.

How the hell could the WWE let go of the best wrestler on NXT? Daniel Bryan was the most talked about and well rounded of all the season one NXT wrestlers. The reasoning was because he choked one of the announcers by his tie. Big deal! Yeah the Beniot tragedy was horrendous and shouldn't come up in conversations. It also happened years ago and I don't find the act Bryan did as that bad. Maybe the producer shouldn't have zoomed in on the act either. He didn't deserve to be let go by the company. If the WWE is smart with this news, they turn it around and make it part of the much bigger story with the NXT invasion.

The in ring promo was weak to say the least. Everyone said the same boring thing only different explanations. I liked having all of them come down and then they started talking. I was shocked they said Bryan and actually made him a face. The NXT take over and speculation didn't last long. A contract? That's all they wanted. Bret stop saying WWF. I didn't like the beginning of Raw. They story had all the momentum in the world and Bret comes out and fires all of them. I would have rather seen beat downs for a few more weeks. I talked about what I wanted to see out of this program last week in a NXT specific blog. This was certainly not close to what I wanted. WWE, you f'd this up big time.

Even if I wanted to see this match on the pay per view, I will definitely take it free on Raw. I like all four guys, as much as I discredited certain aspects of Morrison a few blogs back. Raw needs these mid card wrestlers to step their game up. I praised Smackdown and I will continue because I always see two solid wrestling contests every week. Rey Swagger and Ziggler Christian were the two this past Friday. Morrison over the top power bomb flip shows how great, exciting and reckless he can be. The match was ppv quality. Taking the title off of Truth feels like a mistake. He has been gaining a huge fan base. Morrison and Miz is the next feud.

I was pissed off last week with the viewer's choice. What a damn joke. Jericho has been booked to look weak for months. Evan kicked out of the Codebreaker was incredible. I didn't see that coming. I know Evan is getting a big push. I would have rather seen a much longer two segment match. Hopefully this starts a Bourne Jericho feud because my wrestling appetite is ready for more. Jericho is leaving soon for an ABC game show. Okay that's cool. Don't bury him on the way out like Batista.

Cena should be fired. He used the word Radicals and Chris Beniot was a part of the Radicals ten years ago. Get rid of him. That would make about as much sense as releasing Bryan. Now having Cena call them back out and wanting them to come back was a good idea. Most people would prefer a 6 man brawl end Raw. However that would have been a bad idea. You don't want to over shadow the WWE title.

A fatal four way Diva title match is surprising to be on the card. A bigger surprise would be if the WWE gave Kim the title. She has never been in a good story since coming from TNA. Kim never even competed in the match. I get so pissed off when the booking is so stupid. She is a solid in ring performer and should at least been used.

Good to know little Teddy can wrestle again. He must be over the concussion. Teddy has turned into Chavo. He gets made fun of every week from the celebrity host. Come on, it's time to get Teddy back on track. He's better than this. He is wasting away on Raw and needs a real feud and fast. Drop Virgil and start pushing the talented man. Even Santino, who is a joke but in a funny good way, has a feud going. Teddy can't get anything good to happen to him and Santino can beat Regal. Also would have liked to see the Dynasty and Uso feud here instead of Santino and Regal waste a few minutes. No mention of their feud and I believe they have a match at Fatal Four Way.

Is it wrong that I have become a huge Sheamus fan? I like the Irish ghost. Randy has been losing steam because of his shoulder injury. I think it has hurt his face push. The fans are still well behind him and the pop is big. The pop was bigger say five weeks ago. Once he gets a hundred percent, the WWE will push him again. The main event was given time which was nice. The four biggest names deserved time to develop a good in ring story. I liked Cena getting the beat down in the match. Obviously Orton couldn't take all the bumps because of his shoulder. I talked about the pops and when Orton got the hot tag the crowd went nuts. The great curve ball would be to give Sheamus the belt Sunday since he was booked the worst going into Fatal Four Way. The giant curve ball again to end Raw was the limo smashing take over of NXT. Different from last week and I liked it. We all know they weren't going anywhere and this is a great opportunity to get them what they want. I still don't like that all they want is contracts. You can demand a lot more. NXT should continue to beat the crap out of people for more than one week.

Raw didn't confuse me like last week. I am starting to understand where the WWE is going with the story. NXT is gaining more momentum. I didn't care the main event was cut short and we never got a winner. NXT is a big story and should be used that way. You can't forget about the top 4 guys on Raw and the biggest title in the WWE. You can do both if you play it smart. We know they don't always do it the right way or the smart card. BBSD is always playing the smart card. Not sure why I keep plugging Showstoppers since they never mention my blog. But in case you want to listen to two morons and one smart guy (take a guess on who I am referring to as smart, starts with J) hop on over to the radio tab and listen to ShowStoppers. I will be back Thursday morning for a very big and important pick blog. Why is it big and important? Find out Thursday morning.

J Call

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

NXT the next NWO

I left you abruptly on the Monday night blog. I couldn't get my head on straight from what was happening in the final ten minutes of Raw. I'm sorry. Stuff like that never happens to me. When the WWE surprises me, you know you got a good story going. I think everyone is getting real excited over what we could be witnessing. As the best damn WWE blogger on the plant, it is my obligation to give you the truth on the NXT group.

The WWE has not had this much excitement about a story since buying WCW. We are all wondering is this the start of the next big stable in wrestling. It looks promising from what we saw on Raw. I, for one was upset over it. I liked where the WWE was heading with Bryan and the Miz. Bryan was having great promos, showing passion and getting the fans behind him. Plus he beat up Cole. The brakes were slammed on that story very quickly. To quickly in fact.

I am all for pushing the young talent. I didn't complain to much when Sheamus got a mega push, even if it was to early in his young career. Wade won a title shot on a pay per view when he "won" the first season of NXT. The set up seems to be Cena vs Barrett down the line. I am good with that if it's done correctly. Monday night was the best way to showcase the NXT boys. Have them come out and take care of the biggest dog in the yard. It might be to soon for Barrett to get that kind of push. As long as the NXT guys run rough shot over everyone then I think it could work.

The real problem is finding the right guy to do the promos and talk for this group. Gabriel, Tarver, Slater can't talk much. Barrett is fairly decent, not top of the list either. I would say Bryan but don't think he could work out. The A Lister Otunga has the best shot in the group to get over as a total heel. I heard reports of having Michael Cole become the voice of NXT. The Showstoppers host spoke about this scenario. I hate it. Cole sucks behind the desk, how the hell is he ever going to pull of good promos? The crowd believed in Bryan when he was pissed at Cole so it's possible. However unlikely that Cole could put these boys over the top by himself. Cole isn't Bischoff. He can't do what Bischoff did for the NWO. But as I said he can't do it himself. Now if you add one man to the mix, this stable and story takes on a whole new life.

What man am I talking about? The man who has been on hiatus for the last few months, Good Ole JR, Jim Ross. Yes a Michael Cole Jim Ross feud would do wonders for the WWE. We all believe there is real heat between the two. Jim is an old school wrestling man. He loves the history of wrestling. The fans adore Jim and would certainly back him.

Imagine the NXT guys in the ring in a few weeks after beating the crap out of most of the roster and talking about the master mind of the whole plan and turn towards the broadcasters table. Cole gets up and announces that he has been the one scheming for the group. He gets in the ring starts talking about being pushed around for years. Blah blah blah and then... Boomer Sooner Boomer Sooner! Out comes Jim Ross. He starts talking about history of wrestling and how the guys in the back worked their asses off to get to where they are. How he signed most of the big stars while Cole finds some second rate stooges to puppeteer. He has a plan of his own and the WWE stars start coming down the ramp and through the crowd. Once the ring is surrounded Jim gives them one more big surprise for the NXT group. The lights go out and it's pitch dark in the arena. The crowd is going nuts for The Undertaker. The lights come on and Taker is in the middle of the ring. I must say now that is a one hell of a story.

Will any of this happen? I would love to see it. The NXT guys become the group that took out the Undertaker, which completely turns the story into a great new direction. Jim Ross comes back on TV. The WWE could go a million ways. The one mistake they could ill afford to make is have this group get the crap kicked out of them come the first pay per view match. These guys have to be pushed and pushed hard for the fans to truly believe. The story is very intriguing and I look forward to the pay off.

Monday, June 7, 2010

Raw 6-7

A three hour Raw means a special blog. Raw last week set us up for some nice stories heading towards yet another pay per view. I expect more in ring wrestling tonight because of the extra hour. I know last Raw blog was a little harsh towards John Morrison. I was only trying to make a point that he is not ready for a mega push. I could careless about seeing the A-Team more than once on the show. Raw can always surprise me and the viewers choice is no exception. I hope the concept works better than those crappy Cyber Sunday pay per view.

This spot is usually preserved for bashing the ShowStoppers host, except John since I like him. I am not going to bash anyone. Instead, I will use this spot for my opinion on a hot topic after last weeks Raw. Every message board, tom, dick and harry who watches wrestling has an opinion on Evan Bourne being in the main event. Look, we can all agree he will never be world champion. I'm no insider, but Vince seems to harp on guys who are small. Here's a solution to the problem at hand. Superstars has been a nice show to utilize the under card guys. I am all for this concept. Except now the WWE has an under card who can be used for.... a cruiserweight division. Turn the Superstars show into strictly a cruiserweight show. Evan Bourne, Rey Rey, Chavo, Tyson Kidd, Primo, Tatsu and the list goes on, could all be used for the show. Some people want an all Diva show to replace Superstars. Considering the WWE fails to ever make the Divas look good or write a great story for them, why would I tune in? The cruiserweights make the most sense for the show. Revamp it and I will watch it every week. Oh and since one man was responsible for the cruiserweights in the United States (no not Bischoff), Paul Heyman. I hire him to write for the show.

Both GM's starting the show was a good idea. We needed to know how the voting was going to work. I'm not sure about the whole one armed match. I would hate to see Orton get hurt or aggravate his shoulder. The WWE should have used texting in this voting process. I know most people have the Internet, everyone has a cell phone. The voting is like TNA Top Ten, your vote didn't count. I also hated the three choices of the first poll.

I want a real match between Show and Jericho not something stupid like a challenge.I have been all for Show and his giant push on Smackdown. The story with the Undertaker opened the door for someone new to get in the title hunt. Rey is a great athlete and I enjoy watching his matches. A better choice would have been Christian. Say it came down to Rey, Ziggler, Christian and Kane in the battle royal. Rey flings Kane over much like he did to win. Ziggler tosses Rey over to be in the final two with Christian. Christian and Ziggler could have gone at it for a few minutes. Ziggler could have came close and then end up losing in the match in controversial fashion. Now you set up Ziggler and Christian for a few more weeks and a match for the spot at Fatal Four Way. Christian would win the final encounter and then at the ppv, Ziggler costs Christian the match. The feud continues and has a special twist. Yes, I wrote all of this during the challenge that's how much I loved the first match of the night. I have a lot of respect for you since you read this blog. Which is why I refused to discuss the first viewer's choice.

I shouldn't mention much on the Kahli and Hornswaggle versus the Dynasty either. Give me a damn break. I'm not an idiot and neither are you. Do we really want to see this crap? Hell No. The fans didn't want to see Usos after they beat up the Dynasty two weeks in a row. If that were the case and the voting wasn't rigged, I have some serious issues with the WWE universe. We are going to see the Dynasty and Usos at the pay per view. I am all for that. I would like to see a preview of that. I hope we see Tamina and Natalya hook it up soon.

While Raw caught us up to date on the entire Undertaker situation, I had a thought about the story. Why the hell didn't someone get to attack the Undertaker to put them over even more as a heel. Kane did it twice on his "brother". Swagger is going to be the guy. Let's say it wasn't and we could pick someone else. Who would it be? Drew the chosen one McIntrye is perfect. Mr. McMahon never liked the Undertaker very much. Drew would be doing Vince a favor. No, let's just write Taker off and have Kane go after everyone. The promo in the ring was fantastic and got Kane over. Don't be stupid and make it Kane as the culprit.The WWE completely wasted the first hour. Aside from Bret and Orton in the beginning, this Raw sure as sucked.

I like Santino and Kozlov. I thought they were teaming up and that was that. A dance off, a body slam challenge, Kahli and hornswaggle teaming up all in one hour. Bring back Triple H tonight to save this awful hour of "wrestling". By the way, when Triple H does come back, make him the kick ass, sledge hammer wielding Triple H. As opposed to DX smart Alic, to much smiling Triple H.

If this was really a viewer's choice, it would be me vs the Bella Twins. The first time in the evening I was ok with the viewer's choice. The booking was well done for the battle royal. Raw shouldn't be highlighting Layla and Cool. Maryse and Eve have been the real story for the Divas on Raw. It's to bad Maryse has ignored my emails, phone calls and love letters, we could have been special together.

The real show started with Kane eye balling Sheamus. Now that is a feud I could get into. Sheamus attacking Taker would make Sheamus a huge heel. Finally, after an hour of pure crapola, Kane and Sheamus gave us a real contest. The count out was a weak. The match prior to the end was pretty good. Sheamus has looked very weak two weeks in a row. That has to change next Monday night.

I love the IRS. Teddy and the A Team was pretty lame. I have a feeling the movie will also be lame. I wish Truth would rap something different to the ring. I like the whats up thing. Just change up the words. Morrison returns after another injury. I rooted for Ziggler and Christian. I may not agree with Miz... ever. I did when he said the fans don't have a clue what they want. With Morrison returning and Ryder being "voted" in the tag match, this could be the next little Raw feud. The match should have been a two segment long match up. Here's hoping at the Fatal Four Way ppv it's Truth vs Morrison vs Miz vs Ryder for the US title.

The conchairto on the shoulder of Orton might take him out of the WWE title match. Randy has a legit injury. I don't know how serious. Edge had to do something special this week. I don't like how either heel in the WWE title match has been booked until Edge did that. He finally looked strong and a real contender. A Mean Gene sighting! You have to love Mean Gene. He could still do backstage interviews for any company.

Drew and Matt Hardy have had a great feud going but the WWE screwed this one up. The universe was ready to see Hardy take on Drew. They should have waited until Fatal Four Way to have the match. Now they showed us Hardy can defeat Drew which took away a special send off on the ppv. We might get a rematch at the show but I don't know why you would be pumped to see it again.

Give Piper a mic and I could watch him for an hour. Seriously, imagine Piper and Flair in their heyday in this wrestling environment. They would have 10,000 in ring promos. Dusty is another great talker. Even though the segment was a huge waste of time, seeing Piper, Dusty and Mean Gene made it worth something.

The main event out of every possibility, Punk was the best choice. Michael Cole could say vintage Cena after the whole five moves he does. Why the hell would you have the entire NXT season one guys attack Cena? Daniel Bryan was a face two weeks ago and now he is beating up the champion. I get they are pissed about losing the show. They tore down the ring even. The crowd didn't even know what to make of the proceedings. I couldn't be more confused on how to explain this crap. Punk tried to save Cena? A really stupid and confusing end to Raw.

I normally have good things to say about Raw. I have very little on this blog. Raw was a joke in the first hour. Caught my attention in the second hour for a few minutes. The third hour has almost left me speechless. Did the end suck or confuse me? I don't know how to feel about the finish. I can't recall if they said who was hosting next week and I guess it doesn't matter. Keep tuning into ShowStoppers each week and keep coming back to the best damn WWE blogger on the planet.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Remember Griffey

I believe it's safe to say America has ADD. I know that sounds harsh. The best way I can describe way I can show you is by looking back at the latest in the sports world. We all saw what happened to Armando Galarraga and Jim Joyce. A perfect game is hard to come by and we could have saw history with 3 in one year. However that should not have overshadowed one of the biggest and greatest stars of our generation retiring.

Ken Griffey Junior will go down as one of the greatest Center fielders in baseball history. We all look at the negatives to often in life. Ken is the perfect example. Fans continue to ask the what ifs from his career. What if he didn't get hurt in Cincinnati? What if he never left Seattle? The what ifs are irrelevant. Stop talking about the what ifs. The truth is Ken Griffey Jr. should be hoisted high on top of the baseball mountain along with guys like Ruth, Mays and Mantle.

Griffey's career was in the height of the steroid era. His prime should have been during the home run chase with Sosa and McGwire. Ken never failed a steroid test. I would be shocked if his name was on any of those lists who tested positive. The what ifs could be answered had Griffey juiced up. He didn't break all kinds of baseball records. Ken didn't get to 700 home runs. He did win 10 golden gloves. He did have one of the greatest swings in baseball. He passed 600 home runs. He was the kid that made people second guess Willie Mays as the best Center fielder in baseball history. Finally he is gold standard for any center fielder ever to lace up the cleats from now on.

I will always remember Griffey for three things: his swing, love for the game and being one of my brother's favorite players of all time. He emulated his swing when my brother played baseball in high school. One more quick story and we will get to Game 1 of the Finals. My brother wanted the infamous Ken Griffey Jr. Upper Deck Rookie card when he was younger. He had a friend who had that very card. My brother traded an entire Bowman baseball card set for the Junior rookie card. I don't know the values today. I do remember the Bowman set never went up while the Junior card sky rocketed.

The NBA Finals got off to a chippy start. Twenty seconds into the game Ron Artest and Paul Pierce received double technicals. Not deservedly never the less they got them. I guess that is how this series is going to be played. Very tight. I know there have been many debates about legacies, where to rank Kobe and rivalries.

We can all breakdown numbers and talk about rivalries. I get tired of everyone bringing up Kobe and MJ in the same sentence. The debate is simple. Kobe has been the best overall player since Michael took off his shoes for good. You can make arguments for Kobe. However, the biggest thing is MJ was the Finals MVP every year they won the title. Kobe played second fiddle to Shaq for three years. What happened during those years without Shaq? He struggled to get them out of the first round. I also look back a few years ago when LA was up on the Suns 3-1 and lost the series. Jordan never failed to close a team out. Kobe no showed in Game 6 of the 08 Finals. MJ didn't do that either. Kobe is a great player and possible top ten. He will never get to the top two with MJ and Russell.

I won't break down Game 1. The match ups were predictable with Kobe guarding Rondo instead of Ray. I think every fan wants a tough long series. My plan was to have a preview earlier in the week but something came up. The two teams are about even but I think the Lakers have the edge. The luck of the Irish may have finally ended for Boston. Boston makes it back to LA for Game 6 where Kobe gets his fifth ring.

J Call

About Me

Small town guy from Iowa. I went to school in Dallas and graduated. I work for 105.3 KNOD radio station in Harlan Iowa as the news director. I love sports and wrestling. You can catch my thoughts on everything sports and wrestling on bigbadsportsdaddy.com