Monday, March 29, 2010

Raw 3-29 Let the New Season Begin

Wrestlemania has come and gone. With Mania now behind us, it is time for the WWE to start a whole new season. I know it never ends but that's how Wrestlemania feels. New story lines start brewing, some wrestlers start getting a brand new push and some get the dreaded future endeavors. I look forward to what Raw will bring us tonight. I want something new and exciting and nothing to do with John Cena and Batista. Before I get started with a new season of Raw, I want to look back at Wrestlemania one more time.

I know some people didn't care for Wrestlemania. I liked the show but it had some flaws. I am a huge Hart homer and even I thought the match with Vince went to long. I thought Legacy and Orton was a solid contest and I hope it's not the last we see of these three men in the ring. Triple H still proved at Mania, he can help elevate the young talent. I hated Cena winning but I would have said the same thing if Batista won. I will say their match didn't suck as bad as Goldberg Lesner at XX. The one match I wanted more of was Edge and Jericho. I thought it fell short of my expectations. The biggest screw job of the night was Christian not winning Money in the Bank. He deserved it more than anyone and should start to get a push. I hope he can take the briefcase from Swagger. Of course the finale was the best match and everyone knew it would be. HBK and Taker may not have topped last years match. I don't think they ever could have either. Overall, I would give Wrestlemania a 7.5 out of 10. Alright, time to move forward to a new season of the WWE.

The new season started out with familiar faces. I wanted a fresh new story line, however Cena and Batista is not it. If the WWE did something different like Cena talked about, then I wouldn't have had to watch that first segment. I did like Swagger showing up and almost cashing in his briefcase. I hope that becomes a running theme. Swagger acts like he will cash in and then doesn't. I may not like Swagger winning, if the writing is done right I will change my opinion.

As a wrestling historian, I never have a problem with some old school wrestlers showing up on the broadcast. Christian and Dibiase would be the perfect feud for the United States title. Think about it, they both need a fresh start and a big push. I say a great way to do that is drop the US title off Miz and give it to one of those two men. The US title has been buried anyway so it works for everyone involved including the title. The feud looks even better after a very solid in ring performance by both men. I know you could say the match wasn't long enough. You could say that about a lot of matches on Raw. I thought they did a good job for a nice tease for something down the line. Also with Dibiase comes his dad and possibly being added to a story line. They both should get a push on Raw.

Triple H speech was nice. The speech was made even better with the interuption of Sheamus. He has to be in the lime light still and looks like the push is continuing. Sheamus is starting to grow on me. I like the way they are using him and keeping him with Triple H is a very good thing. Trips makes everyone look better and the kid needs to take his lumps. I hope this will lead to another match at Extreme Rules and the Irish Ghost picks up the victory.

The Diva match at Wrestlemania was worthless and the match at Raw was even more worthless. The WWE continues to piss me off with their women. I'm serious. The women can wrestle. They aren't just for looks any more. Hell I will take the generic five minute match then the crap they have pulled in the last two nights. Beth Phoenix is one of the best right now and is never used correctly. I don't get it and never will.

I know for a fact that both Showstoppers host hated the Bret Vince match at Wrestlemania. The match was ugly and went to long. I bet there isn't a day that goes by that Bret doesn't think about Owen. The whole thing was to give Bret a nice send off and finish a story that started thirteen years ago. Finally the WWE gave the Hart Dynasty a push by using Bret. The finish was weak and should end up start a nice feud with the two tag teams. I would like to hope so because the tag team titles should be showcased with real tag teams and not two wrestlers thrown together.

I thought it would be Kofi as Cena's partner. I was pleasantly surprised with Orton tagging up with Cena. I have said it and I will continue to say Randy Orton is the man that I tune into seeing every single week on Raw. The crowd is getting behind Orton now and the face turn is near complete. The hot tag to Orton made it all the better. His character continues to become the hottest thing on Raw. I don't know how the WWE will use Orton in the future. I thought the tag match hurt Swagger. On the flip side, it helped Batista Cena feud and really helped Orton get over with the fans by tagging up with Cena, even it didn't make sense because of their history. I look forward to seeing the next feud for Orton.

I couldn't believe they had Taker come out before Shawn even spoke a word. Taker didn't need to say anything because the tip of the hat said it all. I take pride in writing every week because of guys like Shawn Michaels. Shawn is the greatest in ring wrestler of all time. He has passed Ric Flair, even with a shorter career. I guess Shawn read my blog because I thought he was going to be coming back some day. I still believe he will sometime. I had chills down my spine when Shawn talked about his friendship with Bret. I can't put into words how great of a moment this was on Raw. A great classy farewell by one of the best of all time.

This may not be the right time to say it. Hell it's my blog and I will say whatever the hell I want. How in the blue hell could TNA top that ending? I'll steal a line from Vince McMahon, no chance in hell. The send off was nice and a perfect moment. You couldn't top that with anything. The overall Raw may not have been great, it had moments. The WWE is moving forward with some story lines while trying to finish up a few others. I have a wait and see mentality with Swagger being in main event matches. I will have more on TNA and the WWE later in the week on Thursday morning. I will address all this talk about TNA and the monday night war that is happening. As far as tonight goes, RAW WINS RAW WINS!!!

J Call

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Mega Mania Pick Blog

I am patting myself on the back for this Mania pick blog. You won't find something this innovative on any other website talking about Wrestlemania. The biggest event of the year has finally come. Call me a WWE Homer, I don't give a crap because this is my favorite time of the year as a wrestling fan. The card is stacked and I feel this card is could fall into the top 5 of all time Mania's. The WWE knows what they are doing on their grandest stage of them all. Before the picks, I need to unveil the coolest idea I have ever had.

I asked the host of ShowStoppers to help me out on this idea. The rules were simple. You build an ultimate mania card using any match that ever happen at Manias past. You could only use a wrestler once and had to have a WWE and World Heavyweight Championship match on your card. I know there will be a huge debate on all of our cards. I will get to mine last. John and Larry are up first with a brief description on why they chose their matches.

John's Card

WM XVII: Angle vs Beniot. One of the best "wrestling" matches ever from submissions to wrestling moves it had it all.

WM XX: Cena vs Show for US Title. Cena has been in bigger matches, but this pushed him into a new level.

WM XVII: TLC Hardys vs Dudleys vs E&C. Led to what we see now in MITB matches at Mania.

WM XXV: Taker vs HBK. Best match I have ever seen, period.

WM XXI: Batista vs HHH for WHC. Moved Batista to main event level.

WM XIII: Rock vs Sultan IC title. Put Rocky on the map and started him on the path to becoming The Rock.

WM XIII: Bret Hart vs Stone Cold Steve Austin. Bret beat Austin but Austin never quit. Put Austin on top of WWE.

WM III: Hogan vs Andre WWF Title. Still talked about to this day. Passing of the torch to Hogan.

Larry's Card:

WM III: Macho Man vs Ricky Steamboat IC title. One of the best IC matches ever.

WM XXV: Taker vs HBK. These guys did it right and put one if not the best match ever.

WM XVII: E&C vs Dudleys vs Hardys TLC Tag titles. Entertaining and Fun. These guys pulled off insane moves.

WM XIX: Hogan vs Vince Street Fight. Great match to hype up and fun to watch. Wanted Hogan on the card.

WM XXII: Mickie vs Trish Women's Title. 2 of the best females and a passing of the torch type match.

WM XXIV: Money in the Bank with Morrison, Benjamin, Punk, Kennedy, MVP, Carlito, Jericho.

WM XXV: Cena vs Show vs Edge WHC. Good Triple threat and best World title match on any card.

WM XVII: Stone Cold Steve Austin vs The Rock WWE title. Two of the biggest names ever going at it in a NO DQ match. What's not to love?

J Call's Card

WM X: Bret Hart vs Owen Hart

WM XXV: Money in the Bank Ladder Match with Punk vs Kofi vs MVP vs Benjamin vs Kane vs Henry vs Finlay vs Christian

WM XVII: HHH vs The Undertaker.

WM III: Macho Man vs Ricky Steamboat IC Title match.

WM XXII: Edge vs Foley in a street fight

WM XXII: Rey vs Angle vs Orton World Heavyweight Championship.

WM XIX: HBK vs Y2J Chris Jericho

WM XV: Stone Cold Steve Austin vs The Rock WWE Title

Ok, before you go crazy on me because I didn't have Taker vs Shawn or Hogan on my card let me explain a few things. First of all, I let John and Larry make their cards and I didn't want to copy them. I only used Macho Man versus Ricky because I love that match. John chose my favorite Bret Hart match with Stone Cold. The match with his brother, Owen was fantastic and an instant classic. We all chose matches from the best mania ever, Wrestlemania 17. I chose not to put Taker HBK match from last year because the other two had it already. Plus, they are the two who have had some of their best matches at Wrestlemania. Instead of pairing them, I wanted to use them with another opponent. The Shawn and Jericho match from 19 is one of my favorite matches because Jericho loves Shawn and it was the first time he matched up with his idol. I picked Taker and HHH, even though he wasn't the real Undertaker, because they beat the crap out of each other throughout the arena, something we won't see anymore. Rey winning the World title was a beautiful story and I couldn't keep Angle or Orton off my card. The final match with Austin and Rock was one of the most important matches in WWE history. They were the two biggest names and it showed how far both men had come and were going. Ok, now that was a lot of fun. I need to get to the picks.

CM Punk vs Rey Mysterio
Rey's record at Mania isn't so good. Punk is a two time MITB winner. I think the feud will continue with another match at the next pay per view. I like Punk to win with a little help from the society.

Orton vs Rhodes vs Dibiase
Unbelievable potential with this match. I think this is where we see Legacy end it all and get drafted to different shows when the draft rolls around. I love Dibiase and Orton, not sold on Rhodes yet. I want to see a double ddt off the ropes sometime in this match from Orton. I have loved the story and think this match could be a show stealer. I am going with the Legend Killer to get revenge on his two former proteges.

HHH vs Sheamus
I want a physical match that pushes the limit of the PG bull crap we see every week. I wonder if HHH is the ultimate team player and will put over Sheamus. The match will make Sheamus a bigger star no matter the out come but he needs to win to show the fans he isn't a one hit wonder champion. HHH is the game and can make anyone good (see John's card) and I can see him letting Sheamus go over. I am going with the Irish Ghost Sheamus.

Tag Titles
Show Miz vs Truth and Morrison
The match has some potential to be a good match. The WWE has tried to make Morrison and Truth real contenders in the past few weeks. I said it on the Raw blog, I can see Morrison turning on Truth after they lose. I am not going to second guess myself. Show Miz keeps the belts and Morrison turns heel.

Money in the Bank Ladder Match 10 wrestlers
I'm not going to write all of their names because only three guys make sense. Drew is Vince's boy so he could end up winning. Kofi needs it more than any of the wrestlers because the WWE completely screwed up his push from late in '09 and early 2010. The guy I want to win and believe deserves it the most is Christian. He was stuck on the "C" show all of last year. He put on great matches with Dreamer, Regal and Ezkeil Jackson. The year of Captain Charisma starts by winning Money in the Bank.

Bret vs Vince NO DQ
I think we all believe someone is going to get involved. I know some people don't care about this match and think it's a waste. I love it and think the story has come full circle. Vince may have something up his sleeve but Bret would not have signed a deal with the WWE and lose in his only match. Bret slaps on the Sharpshooter and Vince will tap out. A perfect end to Bret's career.

WWE Title
Batista vs Cena
You are probably wondering why did I put this match here and not at the end. I believe this will not close Wrestlemania. I know Cena hasn't defeated Batista and it would make sense for this match to end the show with Cena holding the WWE title. Yes it makes to much sense. WWE is all about changing things up and this is the time to do it. I hate both men and I don't care who wins this match as long as it's the only match I see with Batista and Cena. I won't get that wish because Batista will walk out with the WWE title.

The Streak vs Career
The Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels
I had officially thought the streak would finally end this year. A few weeks ago, I thought no way does Shawn lose two years in a row to The Undertaker. I read reports, Shawn will officially retire and walk away for a while and have a reality show. No, not like Hogan, an up lifting reality show. I have always said the Streak will never die. The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels will have another classic match. The end will be the same as last year. The Undertaker will win and the streak will continue.

World Heavyweight Championship
Chris Jericho vs Edge
I think this match will close the show. How many times has the Royal Rumble winner lost at Mania in a title match? Three times, Shawn Michaels lost to Diesel at Mania 11, The Rock lost at Mania 2000 and Cena at Mania 24. What I'm saying is, it doesn't happen often. Edge returned from a major injury to win the Rumble. I can't see him losing to Jericho in this match. Wrestlemania will close with a Spear to Jericho and Edge winning the World Heavyweight title.

Enjoy the best event of the year and I will have a short recap and a brand new Raw blog on Tuesday morning.

J Call

Monday, March 22, 2010

Raw 3-22

I thought last weeks show with Stone Cold was a missed opportunity. Stone Cold on Raw should be great not good. The matches were decent and the final segment with Austin, Bret and Vince was very well done. The WWE needs to have the perfect Raw tonight. We are talking about the go home show to the biggest event of the year. The show needs to hype up all the story lines, like MITB because they were left off last week, and keep us on the edge of our seat come Sunday. I am asking for the best show WWE can put on. I sure hope we are not in for a let down.

The one big thing the WWE has going for them is the HBK Taker feud. The opening segment with the video tribute was phenomenal. I like seeing Shawn in action and adding Pete to the mix made sense. He was tombstoned twice by the Big Red Monster at Wrestlemania. The possibility of Undertaker showed up doubled with the stipulation. WWE certainly put their best foot forward in the opener.

I hate to say it but Miz has been improving. The sky is the limit for Morrison and I'm starting to think Miz has almost the same potential. I would hate to see Morrison turn on Truth at Wrestlemania. I have a feeling I will though. The match was fantastic and gets the hype going for the tag team match at Wrestlemania. Morrison and Miz put on a great match and that's what I like to see every week.

The WWE finally got smart and put Kofi in the Money in the Bank match. They only waited the final Raw until Wrestlemania before putting him in. Now there are two guys in the match that have a chance to win. Before the only man that made since was Christian. Kofi could win and get back all the momentum from the lack of push he has had since feuding with Orton.

I was afraid of what the triple threat match was going to do with Legacy. They teased a break up which would be the worst thing they could do to Legacy. Rhodes and Dibiase are the only real tag team left on Raw. They have been together for almost two years now. I understand they haven't had the tag titles for several months or even feuded for them in months. I think keeping them together for the mire purpose of story lines would be great. I have really enjoyed the Legacy Orton break up and the build up for their match. The semi main event needed to last longer. The WWE couldn't spoil everything so they kept it short. The best character on Raw is Orton. He's not a full fledged heel anymore, on the flip side, Orton isn't completely a good guy either. I like HHH getting the final upper hand on Sheamus. I look forward to both matches this Sunday.

The story line with Bret and Vince has been great. The hype is there for the match. We all know the match will be bowling shoe ugly. I don't care because it's something I have waited a long time for. Bret's speech was solid and was a nice sendoff. I don't think we will see Bret on Raw next week. Vince got the last word which figures since he always has to have the last word. I know some people don't like Bret and think this is the least important match on the card. If you are a wrestling historian, then you appreciate what we have witnessed and what we will witness Sunday.

I don't know who noticed it so I would like to point out the old school entrance from Shawn and Kane on Raw. The spotlight on Shawn during his pose in the ring and Kane's pyro from the turnbuckles was a nice touch. I had a feeling the Undertaker would show up. I didn't think Shawn would kick out of the chokeslam. I thought the match would go a little longer. I liked it though with Taker coming on Raw. He needed to be there tonight. The feud deserved two segments and now with Shawn having some momentum more and more fans will wonder if the streak will end.

I don't even know what to say about the Divas match. I mean it went on for two minutes. Thanks for coming girls. Come on WWE give us something with the Women. I will admit to my blogging counter part Wasp, TNA does it right with their "knockouts". Gail Kim should be a focal point of the Diva division on Raw. No, she loses a match in under two minutes. The WWE has pissed me off for a long time when it comes to the Women. They could put a nice story line on Maryse and Kim. Smackdown should have McCool and Beth who could actually put on a match up to par with Mickie and Trish.

I have always said the World and WWE titles are more important than anything else going on in the WWE. I should be happy about Cena and Batista ending the show. I wasn't. I don't like Batista or Cena so the end of Raw wasn't the best segment in this bloggers opinion. In fact, the WWE title match is the match I am looking forward to the least. I thought the bad guy was on TNA. I believe the you can't wrestle chant was directed towards both men. The ending to Raw was typical and predictable. I didn't care for it at all but then again when you don't like both men how could I like it. I actually hope Cena loses on Sunday. I would be a change from the usually he can overcome anything like we have seen so many times before.

Raw had me up until the end. I liked most of the show except for the final two segments. The Divas aren't used correct and Batista Cena are boring. However, I am still ready to watch a kick ass Wrestlemania this Sunday. You can check out the Showstoppers as they predict what will happen this Sunday. Also be sure to head over to Wasp's blog to read about TNA. As far as my Wrestlemania predictions, you can read them Friday morning along with a very unique concept I came up with that involves every Wrestlemania. The Road to Wrestlemania has to end with a Pick Blog!

J Call

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Tiger Mania

I am sure you already heard Tiger is coming back. I couldn't help myself and wanted to write about the situation. I feel this is all such a setup. He gets caught banging a ton of women, gets "treated" and all of sudden he's going to play in the Masters. What a coincidence Tiger Woods. You sir, should be given an Academy Award. You set all of this up so we can all witness your amazing comeback at the biggest golf event of the year.

I say this with the utmost respect to you Tiger, you are one sneaky son of a bitch. You have your life ruined because your wife catches you in all your damn lies. You didn't even give us a great reason during your press conference. You were Tiger 2.0. You had no emotion or heart all you did was read off your damn script. I wanted you to go off the cuff and show us something. Now I have to wonder if you are only coming back because you desire the lime light. I'm starting to wonder what the hell the difference is between Tiger Woods and Brett Favre.

The other thing I am wondering is how the fans are going to react to Tiger at Augusta. My guess is it will be a mixed reaction. I think some fans will boo him, as much as you can boo on a golf course, and some fans will cheer Tiger. America loves the underdog and I wonder if America sees Tiger that way. He is "overcoming" so much to get back. I certainly don't see Tiger as an under dog. Hell ESPN will probably call him the favorite to win. I see it as the golden opportunity for Tiger to get as much publicity as he can.

I'm not saying he should never be allowed to come back to golf. I think the timing is a little strange. The Masters is the best tournament of the year. The casual golf fan gets into the Masters. Tiger is coming back and will be the talk of the sports world from now until the first tee off in April. I am already sick of it. I am not wrapped up in the hype and the return of the best golfer in the world. I'm sure the movie will be in production if he wins. I know we all love a good story. Tiger isn't one of them.

Joel

Monday, March 15, 2010

Raw 3-15

Raw has been up and down in their story lines going into the biggest event of the year. I love Money in the Bank, Bret Vince and HBK and Taker. I don't care for the WWE title match because it's featuring two guys I can't stand. I said it a few weeks ago, the WWE needs to step their game up and put on the best damn shows they can. Then and only then will the best damn WWE blogger praise them. Well tonight, STONE COLD STONE COLD! My favorite wrestler and my favorite character of all time on the same show plus great matches announced. Now I call that stepping up. Raw can't miss right?

Raw opens the way it should have with the Texas Rattlesnake and the greatest WWE star of all time. The crowd reaction was breath taking. If the WWE were smart, they would keep Austin as the GM permanently and then put Bret as the GM of Smackdown. If that were to happen, the WWE would have to can't miss general managers. I hate PG WWE especially when they bleep Austin saying ASS. Cena and Austin in the same ring could not have been more different characters. Austin the ultimate rebel and Cena the ultimate super hero good guy. The first in ring segment was incredible. A perfect opener just the way I wanted it.

As far as the match between Cena and Show. I thought it wasn't anything special that I haven't seen before between the two. Cena always gets his butt kicked and then turns it around. The match is always the same damn thing between Show and Cena. I wasn't surprised Batista showed up to cost Cena the match. The main problem I have with Cena story lines are they end up the same way. He keeps getting pushed down and losing matches. The match at Mania will end with Cena as champ. The WWE should have Batista and Cena as the semi main event and have Cena lose. I would be happy and surprised to see that.

We saw Sheamus and Bourne wrestle twice when Sheamus was the WWE champion. I hated what they did to Bourne. The guy is going into Money in the Bank and gets killed by Sheamus. I know you have to highlight the Sheamus HHH feud. I understand pushing Sheamus and making him look good. You can do that without burying a guy I am suppose to think has a chance at Money in the Bank. Shawn, Jericho and Austin was TV gold and that's all i got to say about that.

I guess the WWE decided three weeks in a row was enough of 6 Diva title matches. The match with Maryse and Kelly was way to short. They still have done nothing with Maryse and the beat down afterward proves it. I knew it. Smackdown heel Divas team up with Raws only heel Diva to make a...a come on you know what I am going to say. A 6 diva inter promotional match at Mania. I called it last week on the Raw blog. Good job WWE way to be predictable.

The one thing the WWE can do is put together a package that looks unbelievable. The video of HBK and Taker is one of the best I have ever seen. I remember the Shawn Michaels Chris Jericho match from Wrestlemania 19. I thought it was one of the best matches either have put on. I think both men may have asked for the match on Raw. Shawn is leaving soon and Jericho loves wrestling Shawn. The match was solid but not great. I didn't care for the count out. I was happy Edge showed up for another spear. I believe Edge and Jericho will end Mania and will be one of the best World Heavyweight title matches we have ever seen.

I got another wish for Mania with the Legacy Triple Threat match. I thought Orton vs HHH last year at Wrestlemania was quite a letdown. The story line had all the McMahons on the line and didn't have any of them show up at Mania. I hope I am not the only one who noticed that Orton's ddt is now as good as Jake the Snake Roberts. Before Legacy showed up, the Game and Orton were proving why they are two of the best in the wrestling world. I was in shock to see Sheamus. I am serious! I never saw him coming out to attack HHH. The only gripe I have is didn't that show how strong Sheamus is. We could have saw a nice match with Sheamus and Bourne to showcase both talents and have Sheamus win in a competitive match. He would have looked strong then and came out later to attack HHH. I don't understand why they screwed us out of the match earlier.

The Showstoppers hosts were complaining last week about the Hall of Fame inductees for this years ceremony. I understand a guy like The Rock isn't being inducted so they are pissed. I will admit the class is somewhat weak. I like Mad Dog and Million Dollar Man. I want to see Bret's dad Stu get in and then I won't complain. I have read reports that Bob Uecker will be inducted. He was part of the early Manias and would mostly likely be drunk so that will be entertaining.

Kofi's return last week was in a word lackluster. Kofi should be the last guy in the Money in the Bank instead of getting squashed by Batista. I'm surprised they didn't stop the match when Batista was cut. The whole PG WWE is getting out of hand and becoming a joke. They bleeped ass and have stopped ppv matches because of blood.

I knew Stone Cold would right the wrong about Stu. I like the stipulation because we all know Bret can't do what Bret used to do in the ring. I wanted Austin to be the ref for Bret vs Vince. I did get Bret to take the cast off and admit he was a 100% and the match is now no holds barred. The feud and story is getting better. The match is exactly what I want and was setup weeks ago. I don't usually like Raw heading without a match but I didn't seem to mind.

The overall show was again up and down. I knew the Mania rewind matches would not be as good as the matches we saw at Mania. I still thought the Orton HHH match was very well done as was the Jericho HBK match. However the other ones didn't do anything and the WWE is ruining the push they gave Kofi oh so long ago. I think I can speak for everyone when I say it was good to see Austin back in a WWE ring. I wish he was on the Mania show. One more week to go and only 5 shows before the biggest event of the year. If you need more wrestling, check out Wasp's TNA blog right here on BBSD. A brand new Showstoppers will also be up for your listening enjoyment. TNA is having a ppv this Sunday, Wrestlemania the following Sunday and BBSD keeps you up to date with all your wrestling needs.

J Call

Monday, March 8, 2010

Raw 3-8

The start of the Monday Night Wars on television and the Monday Night blogs on BBSD. I will continue to bring you the best WWE blog on the planet and now you can get the best TNA blog on the planet with Wasp. I love it and why wouldn't you love it. As a wrestling fan this is what we all wanted since WCW went under. The WWE needs competition to feed off of, make the best story lines and give us the quality in ring match ups week after week. Raw is coming off a strong finish last week with Sheamus showing up and taking out HHH. I don't have anything to write about in the second paragraph. It's all about Raw! WOOOO, wait can I do the wooo with Flair on TNA?

You know a Raw is going to be special when The Phenom opens the show. Plus we get to hear Justin Roberts shout out The Undertaker. I have noticed the crowds differ each week. One week they chant Undertaker, then the next week HBK chants. Shawn and Taker are heading down a dark path to Wrestlemania. The new stipulation to their match is absolutely perfect. The match last year was an epic in ring classic and this year will be a brutal match in and out of the ring. The in ring segment with Taker and Shawn was brilliant. The two men are getting old and are better with age. I knew last year Taker was going to win at Wrestlemania. I have a different feeling this year about their match. I honestly have no idea if Taker's streak will continue. I have said numerous times that the streak will never end. The WWE is making even me second guess myself.

I guess the WWE had nothing else for the Divas to do on Raw. We saw 6 Diva matches almost every week for three or four weeks in a row. I thought it was over when Maryse and Kim faced each other for the title a few weeks ago. Now the WWE is pushing the wrong woman. What the hell is the Diva match going to be at Wrestlemania? I don't understand the Women's division at all. Smackdown should be giving us Beth vs McCool and Raw should have a rematch of Kim vs Maryse. I bet we get a crappy battle royal or even better a 6 Diva inter promotional match. I can't wait for that.

I will piss you off with this statement, Miz is one of the best mic men in the WWE right now. I hate to say that because I hate Miz. I didn't care much for Truth and Morrison being thrown together as a tag team. However, I liked them giving ShowMiz, MizShow a beat down. I thought it didn't give away anything to the Mania match and gave the fans a reason to care about the match. I think we are in for a serious swerve at Wrestlemania. The WWE has been talking about turning Morrison heel. I could see them losing to ShowMiz and Morrison turning on Truth afterwards. The titles should stay with ShowMiz to make them look like a real tag team.

Legacy and Orton keeps getting interesting in my eyes. I love Randy Orton and he should get back into the title picture after the Legacy break up finishes up. Randy could start to become the anti hero all the teenagers and guys like me want to see on WWE TV. He attacked Legacy from behind and the crowd cheered. I am not comparing Orton to Austin but that's the road Orton could travel down. Cena could be the kids good guy who never does anything wrong. Randy could be the new anti man willing to do anything for his own benefit. The pathes would never have to cross because Orton could go to Smackdown and be the leading man. Edge will only work as a face for so long. Edge is a much better heel and Orton could easily be the face in that feud. Sorry, went way off topic there. The match was a very good one and given plenty of time. I liked what the WWE did tonight giving Legacy and Orton time to develop a great in ring performance. I still don't know what kind of match we will see between these three at Wrestlemania. I want to see Dibiase vs Orton one on one. Perhaps Rhodes gets one of those quality punts from Orton in the next few weeks to even the playing field.

Finally, The Game is back. I wanted to see the badass, no joking all serious Triple H to return and he did on Raw. I don't care for DX because they are old and aren't that funny anymore. I do like Triple H being alone and going out there and being one of the best in world. Triple H's character has been through a lot since he walked in the WWE. The WWE needed a kick in the ass and Triple H vs Sheamus is that type of a feud. I could almost feel Triple H being energized by this new opponent. This is something of a new concept for Triple H. He has been in the WWE or World Title match in every Mania since Wrestlemania 18. The only time he wasn't, he was injuried. The fresh story line with HHH and Sheamus is good for everyone involved and the fans.

The thought of a Air Bourne off the top of a 20 foot ladder gives me goosebumps. Can you imagine how sweet that will look? I am still waiting for Kofi to get into something at Wrestlemania. Evan Bourne is nice in Money in the Bank. He can fly around and will make a few sweet high risk spots. The only thing I wish they would have done with Money in the Bank is give one of the NXT guys a shot to get in the match. I know they are rookies and are only starting to get some tv time. A battle royal would have been the easiest way of getting one of the guys in.

I didn't care for Criss Angel that much tonight. I like the Mind freak but his backstage segments were kind of boring and looked to staged. He didn't do to bad as the guest announcer though. The gauntlet was a nice touch for the main event. Vince is always thinking and has some kind of a scheme. Kofi where the hell have you been? I thought tonight would make me care more about the Batista Cena match at Mania. I was wrong. I still don't give a crap about the WWE title match. I know Cena is going get the ultimate revenge and win back the title. Overall, I liked the HHH Sheamus and Taker HBK segments. I thought there was a major lack with in ring wrestling except for the excellent Legacy Orton match.

Next weeks Raw is hosted by the toughest son of a bitch in the WWE, the Texas rattlesnake and one of the greatest of all time Stone Cold Steve Austin! You know the WWE is setting up something for Austin at Wrestlemania. I think it will be special guest ref in the Bret Vince match. I know the match is already big and if Austin was the ref, it maybe one of the biggest matches ever. The Raw next week is even bigger with all the Mania rewind matches. I like what the WWE is doing with TNA being three hours next week, you want to have a good Raw with plenty of matches and segments announced to keep you staying on the USA network. I hope you enjoyed another Raw blog and be sure to check out even more wrestling on Wasp's TNA blog. The Wars have started and BBSD has got you covered.

J Call

Monday, March 1, 2010

Raw 3-1

I can't believe how much the WWE has changed in one month. Edge was on the shelf the last time I wrote the Raw blog and now he is going to headline Wrestlemania. Bret Hart was the biggest story and is now fading in the background. The heels rule every title. The one thing that hasn't changed is my love and passion for writing and wrestling. The two go hand and hand with me. I want to thank wasp for writing the Raw blog while I was away. You did a great job and I look forward to your TNA blogs in the future. I have a lot of WWE opinions to get to and I don't want to waste anytime. The best damn WWE blogger on the planet is back to work. WOOOO!

First of all, I have kept up with anything and everything with the WWE since I have been away. The story lines heading toward Wrestlemania are pretty well set. I absolutely love Edge vs Jericho for the World Title. Yes, most fans knew Jericho was going to win at the Elimination chamber ppv and yet I am still excited to see their match. The term show stealer gets thrown out a lot and I would use it to describe the World Title match at Mania. I have always been on board with an HBK Taker rematch. The WWE added a stipulation to make it more compelling. I understand you have to make it more than a match this year. The thing is I heard and read people believing Shawn will be done at Wrestlemania. How many wrestlers have had retirement matches and came back within a year or two? Macho Man comes to mind right away. He lost at Wrestlemania to the Warrior in a retirement match. He was back in action within a year. Shawn is going to lose at Wrestlemania. Do I believe it will be his last match ever? In the words of Stone Cold, OH HELL NO! One last thing before I get started with Raw. I wrote a blog about how excited I was to see Bret back in the WWE. I saw him live in person a few weeks ago at the Raw he "broke" his leg. I am still interested in seeing what the WWE will do with him. I think we are in for a twist in the next few weeks. Bret will still be a big part of Wrestlemania in a match or in the corner of John Cena. If he is with Cena then the WWE title never should have left Sheamus's waist. As long as Bret locks in the sharpshooter on Vince at Wrestlemania, I will be a happy wrestling fan.

Shawn Michaels' in ring segment to open the show was a great way to keep the momentum going heading towards his rematch. Shawn was not the same Shawn we usually see. Shawn has become obsessed with beating The Undertaker at Wrestlemania. I didn't need to hear Triple H give his little pep talk. The crowd confused me the entire first segment. They cheered HBK and HHH and chanted DX. The moment Shawn or Triple H talked about how the streak will end, the crowd started to turn and I could hear plenty of boos. I did like DX getting their rematch because it meant we were going to see a quality wrestling match.

I wonder if anyone could tell me if Randy Orton is a heel or a face. The night I was live at Raw, Orton seemed to be more of a face. Last week, Orton brutally attacked Legacy and looked more like a heel. I thought during the match Orton played the face role. I love the way the WWE has done the Legacy split. The slow build up towards a huge match at Wrestlemania. You knew Rhodes was going to come out. The WWE made Orton look really strong by holding off Legacy. I thought it would be more of a triple threat match at Wrestlemania. Now it looks more like a handicap match. I will be fine with that as long as their is a stipulation like falls count anywhere.

The Money in the Bank is shaping up to be Christians to lose. I mean so far the roster isn't that stellar. Jack Swagger has no chance to win. The other men, Shelton, Ziggler and Kane have about as much chance as I do of winning the lottery. I love the Money in the Bank but if Kofi, Morrison or Bourne doesn't make the match then I will be upset. The mid card wrestlers don't get enough time already and to have a guy like Swagger in the match makes zero sense to me.

I hate Cena and Batista is no secret to the loyal followers of my Raw blog. Cena and Batista are two of the biggest names and they don't need the WWE title to make their match special. Batista is a really confusing character right now. He has been dq'd on purpose. He has walked out on opportunities to be in title matches. He is also the biggest tool on WWE TV. I don't know how many people have seen the show Tool Academy on VH1. I do know Batista should be on the next season of it. The leather vest thing, the jewelry and shades on inside attribute to my opinion. Cena is the torch bearer of the WWE right now. I have to admit I got bored by the time Cena started doing his normal I work hard speech. The WWE title should be in a fresh new storyline. Instead we get Cena Batista which isn't fresh and new. I know Sheamus has been hurt and might be out for a few more weeks. I actually would have preferred Sheamus vs HHH for the Title at Mania. I'll be really pissed off if Cena Batista end Wrestlemania. We are heading down Lesner Goldberg status with these two men.

The biggest gripe I have with ECW being off the air is the WWE is loaded with even more talent that doesn't get on the air. Ryder was a nice wrestler on ECW and now is a jobber on Raw. The Jap was part of one of the way to many crappy backstage segments with Cheech and Chong. I understand Sci Fy wanted a different concept on their station. You took away ECW so to replace the lost, the WWE should use Superstars for guys like Ryder, the Jap and plenty of others on Smackdown.

The "PG" WWE had two of the biggest tokers ever hosting Raw. You can't say ass on Raw but you can act high. I'm always a fan of a bunch of chicks in pj's beating each other up with pillows. I also missed writing about Maryse every week. I was very happy to see Mad Dog Vachon get acknowledged as one of the Hall of Fame inductees this year. The Hall of Fame class of '10 deserves one more big name. I think we will see Stu Hart get in this year. Stu and the Million Dollar Man would make the class more memorable. I had read reports Vince asked the Warrior to be in this year and he turned it down. I have mixed feelings on seeing the Warrior make the Hall. His fellow wrestlers hated him. The Warrior couldn't wrestle worth a crap and was handed everything. I don't think Hall of Famer when I think The Ultimate Warrior.

Vince McMahon has the greatest walk in the history of wrestling. I laugh every time he walks down the ring. I wish one time Bret would wear the old wrap around shades he use to wear to the ring. Well I got my wish tonight. Vince vs Bret at Wrestlemania. The segment with Bret and Vince was very well done. Vince can make any segment fun but tonight he was on fire. I thought Bret was passionate and was in character. Bret didn't do a good job with his "broken" leg though. I don't care because that 10 year old kid in me was going crazy. The match won't be pretty or an instant classic. The match will serve the purpose all the fans want and that's the chapter to be over and Bret to get that special send off he deserves.

I don't particularly care for ShowMiz. The WWE has never seemed to know exactly what to do with Show. In the past year, all they have done is throw him into two tag teams. I had a feeling either Taker would show up in the arena or on the tron. Triple H said in the beginning of Raw that his path will be different than Shawn's. He was right on point. The reports were true that Sheamus and Triple H will wrestle at Wrestlemania. I was happy he showed up to end Raw. He was off since the Chamber ppv. I know some people don't care for Sheamus. I must be on the complete opposite side of the spectrum. I like to see new wrestlers get a chance to make an impact. Sheamus wrestling one of the biggest names, even if he loses, will still solidify him as a main event guy for several years to come.

I thought Raw was an up and down show. The WWE put together another match for Wrestlemania with Bret and Vince. I did feel Cena and Batista did nothing to get me interested in their match. I'm sure next week Vince vs Cena will help both of their matches. I felt the Money in the Bank match had a few lackluster names added to it. Where the hell was Kofi Kingston, Bourne or Christian? WWE can't drop the ball with these guys. Three backstage segments could have been taken away and we could have been given some kind of a match with some of the missing the stars. The WWE needs to put it all together in the next few weeks. I'd say Stone Cold Steve Austin being one of the guest hosts will be a step in the right direction. Good to be back baby. WOOOO!!

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