Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Raw 9-27

Raw was taped after the live show last week which hurt the feel. However, it didn't necessarily mean a bad show. The rating plummeted last week after Orton won at NOC. I can't figure out the reasoning. A week ago, Raw was solid and delivered focus for HIAC. Orton is the most over character in wrestling. I don't think WWE needs a knee jerk reaction or panic. They got several things going right so the ratings will bounce back. Before we track down the path of Raw, I have thoughts on TNA and Smackdown.

Yes, I said TNA. I've been called "narrow minded" and a "WWE homer" and to those people, crotch chops for all of you. I'm watching TNA and I think it sucks. TNA writers are 10 times worse than any WWE writer. Who's in charge of TNA? I don't know because 3 people make matches. One week it's Bischoff, the next is Carter and the 3rd week Hogan comes back to trump them all. WTF? Pick one and run with it. The other story I don't get is Fortune EV 2.0. So your telling me TNA originals, some who have bene there since it started, are heels while guys off the street who got their own show are good guys. Brilliant, oh wait it's the complete opposite of brilliant. If Fortune are heels, and it should be since Flair rules as a heel then have some of the veterans team up to take them. The young kids with Flair against guys like Sting and Jarrett make way more sense. Fans sympathize with the vets who work their ass off. Flair maybe a Vet but his mic skills and ego would make it easy to hate. Instead, they are wasting time with a Jarrett Nash story that no one cares and are investing in ECW guys that never made any money. Get rid of most of them. I do like Dreamer and RVD. That's it. There's two things TNA has that I like. Angle, Anderson and Hardy is one. I know you are screaming, "You only like them because they are former WWE guys." To quote Jericho, "Please shut the hell up." Angle is an all time great and I wrote a full paragraph on Anderson's potential when he was released. Hardy though isn't producing at top level in TNA. He looks uninterested and simply going through the motions. Jeff's a complicated individual or it seems. The other thing, the Knockouts. Their women's division is fantastic. They are adding Mickie to the mix soon which helps even more. There now don't call me narrow minded or a WWE homer again or I will hunt you down and give you a stunner. Maybe if TNA could show me they can re-write a story that happened 10 years ago and make it fresh, I won't be so harsh.

The WWE is doing just that on Smackdown. Taker and Kane finished a great week in wrestling. Paul Bearer returning was icing on the wrestling cake. This story was written twice and it's still exciting. I was reserved and now I'm 100% involved. The best story in wrestling continues. My only concern is rumors are spreading the WWE might have Taker Kane III at Mania 27. NOOOOO! Sheamus should be Taker's next Mania opponent. End Kane Taker in November and move to something new. The WWE shouldn't ruin this run with another match at Mania. I won't put it passed them to ruin something so good. Three full paragraphs and I haven't touched Raw. I got to get to Monday night.

Great opener for Raw. Miz and Bryan are the second best story in WWE. Heels winning a good match was fine. Adding Morrison to the mix is ok. I wondered where his push would go without Jericho. The uniqueness for the ppv match is awesome. It's something I haven't seen and works in favor of the champ. Now, Morrison is in the match and as I said that's ok and a great way to keep him focused on by fans. However, he shouldn't win. Bryan needs the belt and Miz should elevate. Dibiase is the guy I feel in line for the U.S. Unless Morrison is turning heel then keep the belt off him. Morrison can develop with Sheamus after Miz cashes in on Orton. Oops I can't give away my picks yet.

Laycool ruined the battle royal for me. They were so stupid on commentary. This is why I hate guest commentary. The only good thing coming out of the battle royal was Natalya winning. Finally a good wrestling Diva gets pushed. She works hard inside the ropes and Laycool can easily mock her. Alas I feel this is a one time shot and after HIAC it's over. This has potential though.

Sheamus showed some Irish roots with his promo and I loved it. His story about the Kings was a great way to sum up him and Orton. Sheamus seems to be hitting stride and his character development is starting to come together. He's almost a different wrestler than the one that showed up on ECW a year and a half ago. I sometimes hate it when they beat down one to push another. In this case it's the Great Kahli so who cares.

The Raw GM sounded like Mini Me. Edge and Jericho are pros if they can get over with a computer. Edge made a great point, "We've gone from Stone Cold Steve Austin stunning Vince McMahon to Edge arguing with a computer." He may have been joking but there's some truth to every joke. Seriously, the GM needs to be a person. We need a figurehead not a lame electronic voice. I will say Edge and Cena have had some great matches and a long time feud, one more didn't hurt. Cena had to win for Sunday. Edge didn't look weak since he was screwed. All I can say is, 'thank you Edge' for destroying the computer. I have one request, next time con-chair-to.

I'm so tired of Bourne being buried. He's so talented and is wasted. I know Nexus needed to beat down someone for Sunday. But Evan might as well head to Smackdown. The credibility is gone. One note, if Nexus disbands, Evan and Gabriel would be an entertaining set up. The best high fliers would kill the under card. I'll have only my dreams to see that.

Rhodes is really coming into this new character. The mirror on the back of his coat puts it way over the top. This match was another reason the tags should be shown more. The match wasn't long enough but as decent. The Dynasty are breaking up and no one will care. This is just like Cryme Tyme. You can build the division in Rhodes and Drew as champs defending against the Dudebusters, Dynasty and create a few others. The WWE is so lazy with tag teams.

I look forward to watching the Jericho DVD. My bromance with Jericho has been no secret since Y2J returned. He will be missed for the few months he's on tour. I'm hoping a Rumble appearance isn't out of the question. The only Orton Jericho match on Raw ever was worth the wait. Neither man look weak during the match. Jericho needed a story to leave and Orton needed a strong signal to Sheamus. Success! The punt was sick. Jericho will obviously return and hopefully as a face on Smackdown. Orton's mega push continues into HIAC.

Speaking of HIAC, it's this freaking Sunday. As I said in my State of Wrestling blog, this is why the WWE needs to cut some pay per views. The E had only two weeks and they did a nice job putting a few matches together. 2 weeks isn't nearly long enough in between money shows. Now, you have to fork over 80 bucks or so in a three week span. In this economy, I don't think that's a reasonable request to ask fans. I will say Orton and Sheamus has been good and Miz Bryan are better. I actually have hope for Natalya and LayCool. Taker and Kane should end the HIAC ppv unless Miz is cashing on Orton. Smackdown is LIVE this week on Sy-Fy and with Cena and Nexus coming over, it should be a great show. I'll be back on Friday with my picks. Enjoy the rest of the wrestling week.

J Call

Monday, September 27, 2010

Sports Suicide

I realized something Sunday night. I was in a horrible mood and what I then realized was that if it weren't for Mr. Timmy Duncan, I may have committed sports suicide over the last decade. I may take sports to serious and shouldn't get so down after a loss, after all I should be use to it by now. However, lets take a look back at the last 10 years or so and see why football is the most depressing time of the year for me.

First of all with the Sooners, we have had some great years. OU won the national championship in 2000. So what's happened since? A couple of BSC and Big 12 Championship meltdowns. The unbelievable Boise State game which would have been enough. USC killed us in a title game. Kansas State put up huge numbers on us in 2003 in the Big XII title game. I had hopes of a national title game last year. Then Bradford's shoulder snapped and the All-American Tight End, Gresham blew out his knee. This year, I had zero hopes and figure Texas will bounce on us next week to revenge their stupid loss from Saturday. Great start.

The Tuck rule. Couldn't this moment alone been enough for Raider fans? This moment killed the franchise. Oakland would have won the Super Bowl that year. Don't tell me the Steelers would have taken us down. No way. Gruden never gets traded and we win back to back Super Bowls. But no, this single worst moment for me as a Raider fan has haunted me for 10 years.

Coaching Carousel. Gruden leaves and crushes Callahan in the Super Bowl. Leading to the team quitting on Callahan, rightfully so. He didn't change a damn thing. Callahan is followed by the walking corpse of Art Shell. Has this guy said a word since '07? Was he even alive during his coaching tenure? I have no clue. The disgrace of Lane Kiffin after that. Kiffin made it pretty simple he's a jerk. The way he acted, Crazy Al had the right to fire his stupid ass. I'm still waiting for Tom Cable Guy to win back to back games. It isn't all Cable's fault. He hasn't had a QB which falls into my favorite.

The Jamarcus Russell Era. How will we ever forget this worthless piece of crap? I know, the biggest bust ever! Kiffin didn't want him, only smart thing Kiffin said as head coach, and Cable didn't defend him either. He was the worst draft pick ever. The work ethic of Russell could be compared to a rock and the rock wins. He single handily set the franchise back another 10 years. Even in Madden, I can't get a decent QB in the draft to help the rebuilding process. It's like the game said screw you, your franchise chose him and must suffer.

Now, I'm witnessing the Chiefs as undefeated leaders of the division. Braylon Edwards, as I knew he would, played a huge role last night. Janikowski should be released this week and we might as well fire up the parade for the Pittsburgh Steelers. My only saving grace has been how poor the Cowboys started and Sam Bradford looks like a real competitor for Rookie of the Year. When will it end? The lock out looms which means no football next year. Everyone seems to hate that and I may have to take a serious stand on the other sidelines. Another decade of Raider football, I might be 6 feet deep before Al Davis.

J Call

Friday, September 24, 2010

Karma Happens

After looking back in my archives, I noticed I haven't written about the NFL since my mega NFL preview. Two weeks into the season and I'm already hating and loving it at the same time. I have written about the Iowa Hawkeyes for a few weeks and since their game for lack of a better term is a cake walk, I figured I don't need to go into great detail. I do want to hit on what happened to them down in the desert last weekend.

Iowa went to the desert and found quicksand and just when it looked as if they escaped, Zona pulled them back down. I talked about it in my IA preview, no early turnovers. What the hell happened? A blocked punt, a pick 6, deja vu from last year's game, and the crowd went wild. The might mo shifted. Iowa made a great comeback, had a shot to take the lead and got their PAT blocked. Now the only National Championship talk about here is for Nebraska since they have played some stiff competition (sarcasm). At least, the Big 10 title is in reach but I'm not trusting Stanzi. The loss to Arizona hurt and the loss of Hampton may hurt worse long term. Jewel Hampton had just came back from missing last year with injuries. Now he's done for another season and I thought Iowa was relying to heavily on Robinson already. He's all they got now. Ball State and home cooking will solve some problems for now.

On to the NFL, where panic happens. My favorite early nomination for play of the year comes from Randy Moss. I can't stand him because of his lack of heart in Oakland, but I hate the Jets and Revis more. This play makes it all better as Revis holds his leg. I wonder what hurt more his leg or pride. Maybe in the rematch, Revis won't talk smack when all Moss has to say is go back and watch the first game. Revis holds out, gets what he wants and then gets hurt. Karma baby.


Speaking of beautiful karma, I'm not sure who will have it worse, the Chargers organization or Vincent Jackson. Who to back in the situation? I can relate to both. As an owner, you don't want pushed around. You also want to win. On the flip side, Vincent has performed and is an outstanding receiver. He probably deserves a new deal. His biggest mistake was coming out and complaining to the media. I don't want to hear you bitch about how many millions you deserve. Shut up be a good citizen and he might be on the field. Now he sounds like an ass-hat and on the verge of not playing a down in 2010. How much money are we talking anyway? You need paid but don't look for sympathy when my bank account says -($45.00). Hopefully Jackson didn't take any advice from former teammate Antonio Cromartie and kept it in his pants. That guy has more kids than that Kate who popped out 8.

I normally talk about the Cowboys since we are based out of Dallas so here goes: this is to easy. You missed your chance for Shanahan and he's the guy leading a surprisingly competitive team. In fact, my brother who saw them against the Texans thought Washington was good enough to win the East. Wade's going to be fired if he loses to Houston. Come on down Jason Garrett, the fans love you. Chin up Cowboy fans, you still got the Super Bowl. You won't play in it but it's coming to your city.

Finally let's dive into my Oakland Raiders. The Campbell era was about as good as the Russell era. I like Bruce Almighty since he reminds me of my favorite Oakland QB, Richie Gannon. Bruce is a vocal leader, fiery and a will to win. I can't see him a the man for Da Raiders future. I'm actually thankful Oakland doesn't have their 1st rounder in 2011. I'd be staring at the Jake Locker era. I saw enough of him against Nebraska to know he's overrated. I'm nervous though. Crazy Al hasn't had a spending spree for a few years and Vick the dog fighter is a free agent. That's what happens when you deal with the devil or a dead owner. The lockout will save me from the embarrassment of seeing Vick in black and silver. Then again, Philly fans don't mind. They love Vick as long as he produces. Maybe Philly will find comfort when McNabb is once again in the playoffs and they are sitting on the couch wondering what happened. Karma happened.

J Call

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Raw 9-20

With all I said in the "State of..." blog, I'm a little short on words. Randy Orton is the champ and I felt it was one month to soon. Miz didn't cash in, thankfully. Jericho's situation is still up in the air. The WWE's youth movement is in full swing. Hell in a Cell is the next crappy gimmick pay per view for you to fork over $40 bucks. The build better be worth it. I've said my peace with wrestling, time for Raw.

I loved how Raw opened. Sheamus out before Orton spoke was brilliant. He steals the spotlight and put an emphasis on him. My favorite part is the WWE title is down to one on one. Again, simple is better. A one on one Hell in a Cell match to settle it all is good with me. The only thing I will complain about is the show will have 2 or 3 HIAC matches. The show should only have one. Two men deserve to have their feud end in the Cell and that's Kane and Taker. Orton and Sheamus isn't on their level as far as intensity and rivalry. Yes they fought a few times this year but the story between them doesn't compare. The Cell is to settle it once and for all and that's why Taker and Kane should be the only one. I understand you need one on Raw and on Smackdown. You waste the special feel when you throw two guys in it. Since the ppv is already 2 weeks away, the easy booking is to give Sheamus the rematch clause and that's fine. I like that because at least we acknowledge the rematch clause. I wanted a simple story and the WWE has that now.

The tag titles are on a new team so they can be shown on Raw again. Cole makes zero sense. He's a heel during Rhodes and Miz but roots for Orton and Cena. Cole make up your freaking mind and just be horrible. Oh you already are. Since I like Rhodes and Drew, I'm good with them having the belts. I hope they can help the tag division but it's not up to them. It's really up to the writers to keep showing them and not bury them like they did with the Dynasty.

I love how some wrestling sites had Jericho gone from the WWE after NOC. Even Jericho responded with a tweet, "Since I've apparently made my last appearance in the WWE, I guess I have nothing to do tomorrow. The websites have spoken! Whatever, I'm going to Calgary tomorrow so I'll let y'all hash it out." Apparently, Jericho isn't done. He is going to leave but not for good. (I won't spoil anything but next week will settle the debate.) Once again, Jericho proves me right. He's lost to Morrison twice in 3 weeks and helped get Morrison over with clean victories. The match was very good and did what was needed to push Morrison. I'm not sure how far this push goes for John. Orton, Cena, Sheamus and soon Miz are all headliners. Bryan has the U.S. so that's out. Edge is flying over to Friday night. Who is left for Morrison?

You don't know this but during the break between Miz walk down promo and Edge entrance, Cole gave Miz an oral exam under the table. Bryan's new entrance music was hilarious and rocks. Riley and Miz seem to make a good pair so I'm happy Riley is sticking around. Miz and Bryan seem ready to have one more match at HIAC. As I said, Edge is heading for Smackdown and I can't wait. I'm not sure why he came to Raw anyway. He is the most underutilized talent on Raw. Meanwhile the beat down between Miz and Riley got me wondering why a face didn't come to help and set something up with Riley. Bourne, Evan Bourne where are you? He would be perfect and was left off Raw again. Best thing about all this though, the U.S. title means something.

More Smackdown stars with LayCool come to help Raw. LayCool are annoying but very entertaining. The whole sharing the belt is something we haven't seen since the Spirit Squad. Melina is great and has helped the Raw division. The heels make the better champ and now on both shows, it's even better. I'm really hoping for the special live Smackdown on Sy-Fy, the Glamazon Beth Phoenix will be fully recovered from her knee injury. She's the best women's wrestler and has unfinished business with LayCool.

I'm on board with Truth and Dibiase having a small feud. Plus more Maryse is always good. Dibiase though has only had these mini feuds since Legacy. He's basically floated around on Raw and it's disappointing. What happened to the Million Dollar Belt? They could have had challenges for that or had Morrison tag with Melina to wrestle Dibiase and Maryse. There are ways to push Dibiase, instead he gets these 5 minute matches, that includes entrances, or one backstage segment a week. Once Miz is done with Bryan, put Dibiase in the U.S. title situation. I hope Maryse liked my note on the Titantron.

The added twist with a gauntlet match made zero sense. The CPU GM makes all the announcements and matches or so it seemed. Wade walks out changes the entire main event for the show and not one e-mail. Way to show off that power GM. I'm not saying I wanted to hear Cole, again. I thought it was head scratching that the GM would say nothing. The AA to Wendy was a good way to go to break. The bad thing is Cena beating Nexus by himself proves this group is going away. One wrestling who has a bright future is Gabriel. He shined with Cena. He and Evan or Bryan could turn some heads. The stipulation at HIAC solidifies the end of Nexus. Cena won't lose that kind of match and join them.

Raw was borderline good. The show had one thing going for it, focus. The focus had to be on HIAC because they have very little time to build a good card. Raw went simple with Orton Sheamus, Cena Barrett and Miz Bryan. I like that because they were all easy to set up and make sense. Jericho and Orton facing off next week was pure genius. The beauty of Jericho disrupting Orton's "passing of the torch" segment when Jericho re-debuted on Raw is reversed. Orton was the heel champ then and Jericho was our savior. To see a story being told from something that happened 3 years ago is wonderful. Most of the time, the WWE forgets what happened two weeks ago so that was a nice surprise. The rest of the wrestling week should set up more for HIAC. We know Taker Kane inside the Cell. I'm not sure what else we will get on Smackdown. I hope not another Kofi Ziggler match. If you haven't yet, make sure you check out my "State of the Wrestling World" blog to see how wrestling can be saved. I'm taking the rest of the week off from wrestling and will be back for another Raw blog next week.

J Call

Monday, September 20, 2010

State of the Wrestling World Address

Thank you for joining me. Ladies and Gentlemen, this has been a depressing time for the wrestling world. Oh, you haven't notice. You haven't noticed because your a mark. You watch, you pick the most boring and predictable thing and then wrestling does it so you look like a genius. Now, you think you know wrestling because you get a few picks right. I'm hear to tell you, you are right. You know the boring mundane wrestling we have seen in recent years. I know a different wrestling time. A time where wrestling was shocking, unpredictable and when some simpleton on the Internet wouldn't pick 19 out of 20 pay per view picks. Congratulations if you had Orton winning the WWE title at Night of Champions, so did 2 million other wrestling fans, except me. The WWE is stale with writing and it's time for a new revolution.

The only thing going for them is Taker and Kane. Finally someone is taking it to the Deadman. He's been a force and this story has shown weakness, real weakness. It's fresh and exciting, the way wrestling is suppose to be. It's a simple story, one man hates the other for certain reasons, in this case jealousy, and we watch it unfold. Kane may have won but that's the brilliant part. Fans always believe Taker is going to win and a turn has been made. We need more simple stories. Dolph and Kofi, Miz and Bryan and Taker and Kane are the only real one on one feuds. Easy to set up and easy to execute.

The E should look at what the Internet says. They believe they know everything the writers are thinking before they do it. Guess what? Most of the time, they are right. It's boring. Where the hell is the fun when 200,000 people tell you what's going to happen and end up being correct. The Internet ruined 3/4ths of what made wrestling so good. Why was the attitude era so cool? You didn't have 1.5 million wrestling sites telling you, Austin is going to drive a Zamboni through the arena tonight on Raw. The Attitude era hit at the perfect time, before the Internet boom hit. Go back and watch Seinfeld, one of the greatest shows ever, and you'll find it doesn't hold up since a cell phone and modern technology would kill half their problems. Well the Internet has brought on big problems to wrestling. How can we fix it?

In the past three years, the biggest surprise was Cena winning the '08 Royal Rumble when no one knew he was coming. The truth is the problem can be solved with better writing and ALL LIVE SHOWS! The E has thousands of employees, a group of them could be dedicated to searching for "rumors" and how the Internet is thinking. I'm not saying knee jerk reaction that causes stories to be come more clustered, then it'd be TNA, or if one person says Miz won't cash in and you switch it. However, when the majority is screaming we know what you're going to do, then change it. Make it a subtle change. As far as the writing, that's easy. The tag division is a mess. NOC, they crowned new tag champs and no one cares. No build, nothing, just through something together. Lazy! The tag titles are on both shows and you can't provide a story. You're fired. The other thing I mentioned put a smile on your face, all live shows. Smackdown each week should be live as should TNA Impact. You know why fans feel Smackdown is the "B" show even though it has better writing and stories going for it? It's taped. We know the entire show before it airs. I know the WWE has house shows on Friday night to make more money. I also know Smack would see a ratings increase if it were to go live.

I've heard and read people say, "wrestling should have an off season." No freaking way! Wrestling is written out to continue and not have a finale, take 2 months off and come back. I purpose having only 8 pay per views not 12 or 14 a year. Pay per views should feel special and exciting. They have beaten gimmick matches to death when you try and spice up 12 shows. The Rumble, Mania and Summerslam are irreplaceable. The ones after each of them are not which is why we should throw them out. Again, the WWE is screaming, taking away 3 pay per views and we lose more profit. Not necessarily and I said we are going to eliminate 4. I'd eliminate the ones after those three I previously mentioned and the one before the Rumble. Now, you can go out and sell those 4 shows as a package to a network. You have a big time program in February, May, July and December. A national network, I was going to say NBC but I think they had enough fun with the Saturday night Main Event debacle, would want 4 big events. Even USA would probably fork out the money for those shows if you bill them just like a pay per view. If you can remember them, think WCW Clash of Champions. TBS carried those and they had pay per view like quality and were free. All of these shows would be on a Sunday night starting at 7pm and on for three hours. You reward fans with special free shows and in return they buy an extra pay per view or two.

Less pay per views, better stories, a few free shows that are big shows and all shows are live sounds like a wrestling world I want to live in. See, if this were a politician, he'd tell you what the problems are and no solutions. He would bitch and moan about how this is bad and that is bad but never give any solutions to the problems. I'm tired of hearing people complain about wrestling but never giving a solution or they simply say make the tag team division important. The question is how? I've given you several ways wrestling could be big again. I'm a man of action, a man of the people and with resolutions. The wrestling world needs a change and I'll lead you to a new decade. One where shock and awe returns and stale is thrown out like moldy bread. Join me, stand up and let your opinion be heard. Until this time comes, and it will, we are stuck with the same old boring wrestling.

J Call

Friday, September 17, 2010

Night of Champions

By this time last year, this pay per view already happened and Jeff Hardy won the World title. One year later, Jeff is in TNA and rumors are rampant about Jericho leaving, although more now that he is leaving for Smackdown and not the company. Night of Champions, NOC, is the only time when the titles are the forefront, to bad the title matches don't feel special. NOC feels more like just another gimmick. I'm only looking forward to a few matches on the card, with hope a tag match is thrown in with no build because there's no need to build up a tag match. My picks have sucked but I have to turn it around one night and maybe, that night I'll be a champion.

Punk vs Show
No title so I don't know why it's part of this show. I guess filler because again a tag team title match doesn't belong. Show has dominated the SES and with Serena released, it's a matter of when not if the society will dissolve. Punk could make Show tap, highly unlikely. Punk has no shot at GTS unless he wants to kill himself. What can Punk do? Get dq'd. Show wins by DQ.

Women's Diva Title Unification match
Melina vs Lay or Cool
No build on Raw, no interaction on Smack. I'm giving this match as much hype as WWE has when they announced it on the "special" 900th episode. Melina wins.

IC Title
Ziggler (c) vs Kofi
If Smackdown wants to push one heel, Ziggler's the man. He and Vikki are way over and get the most heat on Smack and perhaps the WWE. Dolph backs it up with quality in ring work. I wish this guy was on Raw. Kofi and Ziggler have had the longest IC title feud since Jericho Rey spring of last year. I've enjoyed their matches and constant bantering. I wish they hadn't wrested so many times one on one or had given this one a gimmick. Either way, it could be a good match. Ziggler keeps and hopefully moves on to a new opponent.

World Heavyweight Championship
Kane (c) vs The Undertaker
I normally put this and the WWE for last but I don't think this ends the show. How special has this feud been? The promos, head games and history makes Kane and Taker unique. I've loved almost everything about this story. Taker's first attempt as a sympathetic figure has been a success. I don't find it strange he's looked weak. I find it a new aspect to Taker and a story only Kane could have with him. Kane needs this win, has to and gotta gotta have it now. (I bet you never thought a James Brown reference would end up on a WWE blog. I'm that damn good.) Kane gets this one but Taker will get revenge. By the way, the WWE could flip the script, have this main event and have Miz cash in on one of these two.

U.S. Title
Miz vs Daniel Bryan
Speaking of Miz, he's in one of the matches I'm most intrigued to watch Sunday. I know everyone seems to think Bryan is getting the belt and I was no different until Raw changed my mind. Bryan got the final laugh and looks ready. Miz will be a heavyweight champion, either WWE or WHC, sometime soon. He's ready now. I have one question for anyone who thinks this is the show Miz cashes: Is a wrestler more tired after a 6 pack challenge or a Hell in a Cell? I'm going with Hell in a Cell. Miz holds it for one more month before Bryan takes it away.

6 Pack Challenge for the WWE Championship
Sheamus (c) vs Cena vs Orton vs Edge vs Jericho vs Barrett
I'm conflicted. Let me explain, I don't tend to pick the same as the Showstoppers. They seem to go with the majority. I, on the other hand, probably over think things and shoot for shock and awe. I don't care so much if I go 1-6 on my picks if one of my off the wall picks comes through. Enter the 6 pack. Orton comes in with a near perfect build. Cole has said numerous times, "Orton is the odds on favorite." He's RKO'd everyone and seems the logical choice. I'm not going with logic. That's boring. I have the testicular fortitude to pick someone else. I wish I could pick Sheamus. He hasn't had a clean win as WWE champion in either run. He should get this huge win but he won't. The WWE is crowning a new WWE champion. Cena, ha, no. I'm going out on a giant gut feeling that when Night of Champions is over this man will hold the WWE title. That's right, I'm going for it and if I'm wrong screw it. I took a shot and didn't settle for boring. Hell, I can't get any worse.

J Call

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Iowa Hawkeyes Road Test

I admit I was wrong. I thought Iowa State would travel to Iowa City and put up a fight against their in state rival. They didn't bother and should have stayed home. No need to go into much detail. A 35-7 butt kickin' where Ricky Stanzi and Adam Robinson were near perfect and Jewel Hampton was back helping out. The defense was solid holding ISU to 3 yards in the 1st quarter and ISU only got their touchdown because the scrubs were in. No need to say anymore. Let's move on to Arizona.

It's hard for me to break down the Wildcats. I live in the Midwest and frankly I don't see much Pac-10 unless they are playing a Big 10 or Big 12 team. The matter isn't helped when Arizona has played Toledo and Citadel. What television station covered those games? Fox Sports Tucson or was I suppose to fork over 30 bucks to watch those crappy games on pay-per-view. Seriously, I started looking up Arizona's stats from those two games and I have no idea how to judge them. They've given up only 8 points total in two games. One score was literally given to Toledo with a safety. So yeah, the numbers feel a bit magnified.

The Wildcats traveled to Kinnick last year with close to the same squad on offense this year. Neither QB was good in their contest. Nick Foles ended up with 55 yards passing and a td while sharing time with the ineffective Scott. This year it's all on Foles and so far he's been impressive. Stanzi wasn't much better with 202 yards and a pick 6. The key last year is the same as this year, running backs.

Adam Robinson must duplicate the 100 yard performance to keep the ball away from the 2 Nicks, Grisby and Foles. Grisby averaged over 6 and a half yards a carry on this defense with Pat Angerer and if he gets double the load, only 11 against Iowa last year, he could control the entire game by himself. Even Ferentz said it was tough to control him last year. Now at home, Iowa will have to double the efforts. Meanwhile, Iowa will have to keep feeding it's two-headed monster of Robinson and Hampton. Iowa had 2 running backs last year with Robinson and Wegher gaining almost 150 yards on 35 carries. Now Hampton is seeing action that Wegher did before. The 3 running backs are important because these defenses are going to get tired.

If your looking for a shootout, forget it. Don't expect either team to come close to 40 points unless your talking total of both teams. Mike Stoops has helped put together a tough defense much like his days as Defensive Coordinator at Oklahoma. Arizona was the 21st defense overall until Nebraska put a beat down on them in their bowl game. With their weak schedule and 4 point average, the Wildcats are easily a top ten defense, actually 2nd in points against. Iowa hasn't had much competition either, opponents are averaging one touchdown against them in their first two games and 8th overall in the country. I expect a low scoring game because both defenses should feel very confident in their play so far.

After what I thought would be a real test with ISU, Iowa may finally have a good game on their hands. In that same breath, so will Arizona. The Wildcat fans are planning a "red out" by wearing all red to the game. Tucson stadium will look like a blood bath than a football arena. Stanzi threw that pick 6 in the 1st quarter in the game against Arizona last year. If he does that again and that ruckus crowd gets into it, an upset could brew. Stanzi has relied on that pivotal ground game and I think we see more the same here. Iowa won't make an early mistake, take the crowd out of it early and momentum will carry them to a close victory. Last year 27-17, this year 24-20.

J Call

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Raw 9-13

The WWE got back to respectable with Raw last week. I missed Smackdown because my awesome cable provider showed the episode after MITB ppv. Morons! I had to resort to reading the results. I've said it for weeks that Raw is the 2nd best show next to Smackdown and with rumors flying that Edge and/or Jericho are heading to Smackdown, the show will only get stronger. Raw should have been focused on the whole three matches planned for Sunday. Instead, it focused on two and gave us way to many damn time wasters and fillers. The roulette came back and I could see it go away for a long time again. Before I start, the Showstoppers hosts talked about"franchise" guys and of course left me off the show so I have my own list and I only need two not five.

You can make a case for only 2 wrestlers that can carry a franchise right now and that's Cena and Orton. I'll listen to arguments for Cena. As John said, he does sell merchandise to kids. He has mic skills and some wrestling skills. He's certainly passionate for wrestling. For my money, you can have Cena everytime. If this were a fantasy football draft, you can have Chris Johnson and I'll continue to take Adrian Peterson. They both are great and have their pros and cons. So with that said, my pick and the only franchise player in wrestler today is Randy Orton. How John kept him off his list is shameful. I was dumb founded when I heard his list and they were talking about 5 guys and he still didn't take Orton. Randy is the complete package and guess what? The monster push he's receiving, kids will start to beg their parents for his merchandise. Say what you want about Orton taking the wrestling biz to seriously, that's exactly the guy I want playing for my team. I'll give credit to one man none of the them had, Chris Jericho. I've said it time and time again, he's done more for young wrestlers since returning in '07 then any wrestler in the decade. He's put over young talent, loses cleanly to them and built up 3 different titles in this run, World Heavyweight, Tag and IC. Orton and Jericho are cornerstones, the rest is simply second tier.

The artist formerly known as Chad Johnson starts the new season of Raw, which isn't a good start. I thought I'd hate him and turns out, I didn't. The Miz made Chad look silly and Chad looked confused. However, the ending with a match between Miz and Bryan 6 days from their ppv showdown, that was awesome. I was hoping that'd be the end of our "guest star" and Raw would concentrate inside the squared circle (no luck).

The match for obvious reasons wasn't great. Miz pulled the classic heel work of faking an injury. They certainly didn't do Riley any favors by losing in a minute but you have to put someone down and it wasn't going to be Bryan with his U.S. title shot Sunday. Miz and Bryan have a chance to steal Night of Champions. Their feud has been the 2nd best in the company, better than everyone except Taker and Kane. I'm not counting the 6 pack because there hasn't been a main feud. I was caught off guard with the ending. I thought for sure Bryan would take the face plant and Miz would get the last laugh. Now, I'm torn on who will win.

Good to see Bourne is still alive. The bad thing with the roulette, horrible gimmick matches. Body slam challenge anyone? Boy, I really wanted to see that. I like real matches and certain gimmicks. Bourne isn't and hasn't been used correctly since Summerslam and losing to Edge in 3 minutes helped my case. Oh and then get speared, the defense rests your honor. I don't get it. Meanwhile, Henry comes out and beats a contender for the company's biggest title. Please, let Edge go to Smackdown for the move to Sy-Fy.

Time Waster 2 and 3 are worth mentioning only to make fun of terrible writing. The dance off and the trading places segments were horrible. The only thing that was good on any of them was Teddy singing. Sure he was off key and Maryse should have danced more slutty, but hey I laughed. I like Dibiase and another wrestler not used to his potential.

Speaking of potential, I'll never argue about Morrison's athleticism after what I saw Monday night. Sheamus and Morrison was an excellent match. We haven't seen two guys use the arena in a long time. Kofi and Orton at Madison Square Garden and the boom drop through a table was the previous moment that came into my head. Morrison's high cross body reminded me of the attitude era. The dialogue may not be as edgy (read "I'll kick your fanny") but Orton's attitude and mannerisms and this match is showing signs of a new attitude. I like them pushing the envelope a bit. Morrison is showing exactly why he has some many fans screaming for his push. Two weeks in a row, he's had good matches. All the credit should not be given to him, he was facing Chris "the best in the world at what I do" Jericho and the champ. Jericho costing Morrison made my night.

I should rephrase that, Jericho made my night. His promo was fantastic. My only complaint is he didn't tell Cole to and I quote, "shut the hell up". He came close. I thought he was back in and then the announcement of a steel cage through me for a loop. I like all three competitors and even if DHS went out quickly, Kidd and Jericho put on some nice in ring work. The leap off the top into a Walls attempt was Bret Hart 1-2-3 Kid all over again. Dangerous finish off the top rope as Kidd nearly was dumped on his head. At least Jericho gets back in the main event. The WWE would throw everyone on a roller coaster ride if Jericho won the title and Miz cashed on him. The fans would turn and begin to root for Jericho more and he'd be a face again. Won't happen, but thinking about it was nice for those 2 minutes.

Back to reality, wait is wrestling reality? Anyone, Orton and Cena rejuvenated the crowd from near death after trading spaces. Raw did have a first, first time Orton and Cena fought as faces. Crowd seemed pro Orton. The "boo yeah boo yeah" punches coming back from commercial was perfect timing. The Nexus may not have looked very strong tonight as the cronies went through tables and so did Barrett. I'm good with that though because tonight was about Orton and Cena. I would have liked to see Barrett put someone through a table but at least he hit Wasteland, stupid finisher, before Orton dropped him. I searched high and low for anything on Cena after Raw finished. One of the best counters into an RKO might have cost Cena as he looked hurt afterwards. He took the fall mostly on his shoulder and grasp it. With no report, he may have been acting and a darn good job because I was pondering it. The WWE title was showcased and that's a solid ending. Randy's mega-push continues and yet, I don't think he wins the title. The match however will be damn good. I think tonight was more about showing who the new man is for the E. When's the last time Cena lost cleanly to another face? No clue because no one has been elevated to Cena's level for years. Now, as I said in the second paragraph and back in April, Orton's the new face.

Besides way to much filler and nearly killing the crowd with trading spaces, Raw finished strong. Bryan and Miz is a show stealer candidate. Raw should have done more for this pay per view. Two matches and a inter-promotional match is not nearly enough with the under card. Morrison is getting a look while the rest of the roster has been sitting. I was happy Kidd and Bourne were on TV but the supposed "Night of Champions" won't even have the tag champs on it. Melina and LayCool weren't even shown which takes away the meaning of the unification match. The ending saved Raw from shear disappointment to slightly disappointing. With Night of Champions this Sunday, I will be back with my picks. Why? Good question because this year my picks suck.

J Call

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Raw 9-6

900th episode wasn't exactly memorable. Smackdown wasn't much better and wrestling as a whole was weak last week. Night of Champions is coming soon and all we knew going into Raw was Kane Taker and the 6 pack challenge. Thankfully Raw stepped up to the plate and hit a double tonight which is better than striking out. Before Raw, I was going to call the product a joke because that's what its been the past weeks. We needed a turnaround and Raw kicked us in the right direction. No 2nd paragraph because it was Labor Day and I shouldn't have to work to damn hard.

I actually liked the opening segment with Nexus gloating. Nexus as a group sounded good with their promo. Nobody, except Wendy, was weak on the mic. Yes even Tarver wasn't bad. I was quite impressed and The Viper was the perfect man to interrupt. I can't tell you how happy I was that Cena wasn't the guy. I was puzzled Sheamus wasn't announced to take on Heath Slater though. As much talk Heath did, you would have thought the writers would have given the champ revenge. The segment gave us a focus for the evening, two matches and only bad part was Cole, but I could say that for every minute of Raw.

Reports and rumors continue to swirl about Jericho leaving and going to Smackdown or leaving for good. That means a guy like Morrison needs to take his spot. This might finally be the time everyone will shut the hell up because Morrison might get pushed. I'm so sick of hearing people complain and whine about he deserves it, he's talented and blah blah blah. Looked Jericho and Morrison had a fantastic contest and I enjoyed the hell out of it. I'm happy to see another guy get a shot and even better if it's Morrison. John could easily step in and become a upper tier mid carder and someday a main eventer. The problem is Jericho is above him because of his stature. Fans get pissed if Morrison isn't push so he needs win. Jericho loses one or two weeks in a row and it never hurts him. Chris has been the most unselfish wrestler I may have ever seen. Seriously, how many guys has he given the rub? Plus he saved the IC and Tag titles when he held them. The belts felt more important when Jericho was wearing them. It will be a huge blow and a sad day for this writer if Jericho leaves. One can hope he's only moving to Smackdown but the story doesn't seem to be heading in that direction. Morrison on the other hand looked the part on Raw and provided us with a great match.

I'm ready for one Women's title in the company. Fox and Melina wasn't bad though and Fox improved from their first match up. We knew she wasn't going to win, that wasn't the point. If Fox can keep improving she won't get buried like the rest of the Divas. Melina though is on a collision course with LayCool, more like McCool. I think it will be McCool vs Melina and I hope LayCool win the belt. They are talented enough to be on both shows and have multiple feuds. The Diva division as a whole is weak and with one belt it will help make it look stronger. It would be nice to see the Glamazon back shortly as well.

Nexus in single matches is usually never a good thing. They always lose and the match normally isn't back and forth but dominated by the face. Gabriel and Cena was the opposite. Their match was booked as a competitive back and forth contest and that helps the high flyer. I don't for see main event status with Justin but certainly a top tier mid card wrestler and IC or US title will be his someday. The ending was awkward as it looked like Cena slipped giving the AA. I don't know if you saw it but youtube it or if you dvr'd it go back. Thankfully everyone landed correctly and no one was hurt. I'm not sure if you noticed but why is it the next AA is always the biggest? Lawler called last nights the biggest he ever saw. I realize the WWE makes us out to be morons and that we have a short attention span. I vaguely remember Cena picking up Big Show and Edge at the same time at Wrestlemania 25. Now that's the biggest AA of all time period. Cena won but at least Gabriel looked strong. Last week was a break through for Nexus and the faces need to retaliate but you do to much for them and Nexus looks weak again. It's a fine line the writers are on and need to watch their step. If Nexus is going to end in October, that's a huge mistake. Nexus needs to continue until the end of the year.

Miz was close to awesome with that strong in-ring promo. He has accomplished more than I ever dreamed since coming to the E. Bryan and Miz mix well and finally we are going to get the one on one match. Bryan reminds me of Jake the Snake Roberts with his calm, straight forward voice. If you go back, Roberts never yelled or raised his voice during interviews. He got his point across with his demeanor and words. I like that style more than the screaming over the top promos, read Cena. I also like Bryan's crossface finisher as it looks cool. I'm high on Bryan and Miz match for NOC and hope Bryan gets the belt.

The whole deal with Edge confused me more about the GM. Is the GM a heel or face? I guess it depends on the night. Sometimes the GM caters to faces and other time heels. This week it was more face since they jerked Jericho and Edge around. Edge got to beat Kahli, who shouldn't have a job, twice. Again perfect time for Bourne. Edge and Bourne could've had a real match. Evan must have pissed in someones cereal or something. His push came to a screeching halt. Edge stayed in the 6 or 5 pack challenge thankfully. They didn't specify if they were going to fill Jericho's boots. It wouldn't surprise me if they call it a 6 pack challenge with only 5 competitors.

Meself really liked the idea of Sheamus commentating but when Raw came back from break and all 3 men were out it turned into a giant cluster. Most of the time I hate a guest commentator because it takes away from the match as the broadcasters are focusing to much on the wrestler next to them and not the match. With 5 guys on headsets, it was much worse. The end showed why all the men were out there after a few RKO's. The match with Orton and Barrett wasn't great but Young returning was a complete surprise to me. Orton is being pushed to the moon and I couldn't be happier. The 4 RKO's in a matter of a minute was priceless. The deal is he or Cena won't win the belt. They keep that with the heel but push the faces. Sheamus has not had a clean victory as champion on ppv. He needs it at NOC. The faces won't be hurt if they are pinned cleanly on a big show. Miz seems poised to win the WWE title at NOC and will feud with Sheamus, Orton or both. Miz should win it and then Orton takes it for an extremely long run as champion in November at Survivor Series.

Raw was better. Jericho and Morrison was great. Cena and Gabriel did enough. The main event could have been extended but Young back was a nice touch. I wondered what they were going to do with him. The main event for next weeks Raw was announced and I love it. WWE needs to do that more often. It makes it look like they are planning ahead instead of throwing something together in a few seconds. The roulette comes back for an added gimmick. Hopefully this is the start of a better week of wrestling even with no TNA. One can only hope.

J Call

Monday, September 6, 2010

Iowa Hawkeyes Week 1

I'm not going to make to much of a big deal with the Hawks defeating Eastern Illinois Saturday afternoon. This was more of a preseason tune up before the regular season begins. No doubt they came out ready to play and make a statement in the first week of college football. The game was flawless however but it was a great way to tune up for the Cyclones next week.

The whole game may not have been perfect, the 1st quarter sure was damn close. Opening drive of the game and Quarterback Ricky Stanzi goes perfect 3 for 3 and capped off with a 1 yard score from Mr. Adam Robinson. The defense, which I think is one of the best in the country, started with a three and out. Second drive again Stanzi goes 3 for 3 and another touchdown from Robinson. They couldn't do no wrong in the first quarter and pretty much the first half. After the first quarter Hawks were up 21-0 after a blocked punt was ran in for the third score by Paki O'Meara who is Robinson's backup.

The second quarter was the only scare for Hawk fans. Stanzi went down on third drive with an apparent leg injury. When I saw the play, it didn't look to serious and it wasn't. However, if Stanzi goes down it's not dooms day for Iowa. Vandenberg isn't a terrible back up and played very well against Ohio State last year when Stanzi was hurt. Vandenberg finished the third drive with a hand-off to Robinson for his 3rd TD. Halftime it was 21-7. The rest of the game was ground and pound ball and take time off the clock. EIU made a mistake throwing a backwards pass that ended up going out of the end zone for a safety and Stanzi got a late TD throw. Final 37-7

Now Stanzi made a few errant passes and over threw McNutt for what would have been another TD. Other than that going 18 for 23 229 1 TD and most importantly no picks is a great way to kick off the new season. I worried with Moeaki gone who would be the go to guy for Stanzi when he needed say a 5 yard completion for a first down. The Hawks used 3 different tight ends and all of them played well and caught a few balls. The man of the day was Adam Robinson. Although he may not have had a big run play, longest was 16 yards, the constant was his feet and body moving forward. I thought on a few occasions he was going down and he snuck away for a few extra yards. He's a guy they need and so far he came through. The defense was solid but never got a turnover and Iowa turned it over twice on fumbles so they are -2 on turnover ratio to start the year. Sash made plays and Clayborn was exactly what I thought he was going to be, a beast.

The week was the best warm-up the Hawks could ask for in terms of getting out the kinks. They turned it over a few times and Stanzi was slightly off on a few patterns. I think that's perfect. You don't want perfection, you want a game to build off for the rest of the season. The Hawks got that and more. Again, I'm not making a big deal about the win because that's a game they should win easily and they did. Next week with Iowa State, whose defense impressed the hell out of me against Northern Illinois, coming to Kinnick. The Iowa-ISU rival is a fun one to watch. The two teams are usually pumped and excited to play each other. I said before if this game was in Ames ISU would have a chance. The game will still be close and the Cyclones won't lay down. Close but Hawks prevail 27-20.

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