Raw 6-13

I sit here a humble writer tonight. I'm suppose to write about Raw and why this 3 hour Raw is going to be sweet. Austin will be awesome to see in a role he once had. Do you remember the 4 wheeler? I can't stop thinking about the Mavs since I hate them. I'm sorry and I will do my best to move on. This blog is for wrestling and I will do my best to stick with that topic. I will say Sunday night was good for one reason, Misterrrrrrr Anderson....Anderson is the new TNA Impact Wrestling Champion. WWE should focus on building some under card, oh crap I forgot Cena is the champion so that sells a WWE pay per view. Well at least WWE thought it did (more in a minute). The 3 hour Raw might have some All-Star wrestlers showing up and some STUNNERS!! OH HELL YEAH!

The WWE found out some not so good news earlier last week when the numbers for Over the Limit buys were released. Over the Limit featured Cena and Miz for the WWE title and Christian attempting to regain the World Title against Orton. In fact, I heard the Showstoppers had walked out on the show at Wings. Hell they were in for free. Over the Limit had 65,000 buys for $40 a person. The grand total is $2.6 million and that doesn't include the tickets sold at the arena. To say the WWE failed would be a failure on my part. Anyone getting over $3 million for one show is doing well. However this is the lowest buy rate for any WWE pay per view since ECW December to Dismember. I'm no rocket scientist but that show was pretty damn terrible. TNA had even worse news as their Sacrifice show got 7,000 buys. Wow throw a party. Holy crap this is bad news for the wrestling companies but good news for fans. Whoa what? Yes this is great news for fans. You see people make a difference and are tired of watching the same crap over and over and over again. Wrestling promotions focus much more on television than pay per views. The marketing for TV and ads give them much more money weekly then any pay per view aside from Wrestlemania, which did over a million buys. If the pay per view buys continue to plummet, the two companies may turn to an alternative. Eric Bischoff actually said at one time no company should create 12 pay per views.

I've written about this before and the solution is simple especially for TNA. WWE does enough buys to cut down on pay per views. TNA could pitch to Spike TV about the possibility of returning Clash of the Champions. Now it could be called something else, perhaps Wrestling Matters. Hell that's creative enough for Bischoff. TNA could eliminate 4 shows and do major shows on 4 Sundays in the year. Few wrestling, booked as big as a pay per view and will further story lines. TNA could really benefit from something like this. They will always receive criticism no matter what they do. You can't fault a company for trying something different. This is a great alternative and be fan friendly. If they leave the Impact Zone each of those 4 shows, the crowds get bigger, more revenue from the gate and a possibility of gaining more fans. WWE will never do this because their pay per views still get okay buy rates. If it keeps going down, maybe they will do something. I keep the hope they are actually listening to you, the wrestling fan, keep up the good work. I don't want to be one of those guys that say back in the attitude era or my generation was better. All I'm saying is if the product is crappy to you, you're not alone. Speak up, don't buy bad shows and maybe soon the WWE and TNA will listen.

An awesome opening to Raw. Austin owned the promo with Miz. It's a true shame Miz didn't get to talk back and have some fun with Austin. Instead he was owned and didn't receive a stunner. I can't have everything. I wasn't disappointed though because Alberto Del Rio got a rub on Austin too. Del Rio finally got a match. I kind of figured out who his opponent was way before the fire lite up the entrance ramp. Del Rio is in a really crappy story right now. I would prefer to see him face anyone else right now. I never would have seen a Big Show return. I guess I can be excited about that. As long as Del Rio goes over and gains some momentum back that was lost from his push on Smackdown, I'm good with it.

The only way Dibiase ever made it to Raw, get drafted to Smackdown. I've really enjoyed Cody Rhodes and Dibiase on Smackdown. They've been a must see tandem again. Daniel Bryan is getting his chance to shine inside the ring on Friday nights. It's been a treat for a man who can wrestle with anyone, be able to showcase his talents. Raw focuses to little on the inside the ring talent and Smackdown is letting Bryan do his thing. He needs some character to development but for the most part he will speak the most inside the ropes. All 6 of those men in the match are getting an opportunity and aren't wasting it. Smackdown has been the better show aside from the guest stars showing up only on Raw. Good match to further all those stories. So far, so good on Raw.

What makes R-Truth great? Let me count the ways: He's an old school character, larger than life and is much more unique than over three-quarters of the roster. Truth doesn't have entrance music which is sweetness. His character is nuts and that makes him memorable. Everything he is doing right now is greatness. I've become a big fan of Truth and his turn. It's been great. Larry Stanley got his JoMo boner on since Morrison made his return. I'm sure Austin introducing him made him pop as much as his little Mavs winning the ring Sunday night. It's nice to have him back but wouldn't it have made more since to save the surprise return and screw Truth out of his shot. Truth would have a field day with that.

The Irish Ghost must be getting pointers from Dean Malenko. I love the fact Sheamus found a new finisher. There aren't many wrestlers using submission moves so the Cloverleaf returns. I popped big for that. Sheamus is really under used right now. He and Del Rio are in the same boat. Christian officially turning heel on Friday, pushes Sheamus down the poll a little. Maybe after Zeke takes the belt from Barrett, he can wrestle Zeke for the strap. A triple threat at Summerslam would be fine too for the World Title.

I questioned whether Christian was a heel last week, alas Smackdown proved he is now. His promo on Friday was fantastic and I'm enjoying the complete turn. Orton was great at the low blow on the Edge remark. Other than that, I cheered and will continue to cheer for Christian. He was correct on his promo of hard work and busting his ass. Christian has done everything except get his long title reign. WWE reached on the concussion angle. I mean TNA ran that same crap with Mister Anderson a few months back. Concussions are a serious business in the professional sports world. They shouldn't be a fake story in wrestling. It's not hard to come up with something else. One thing Christian has going for him is wrestling skills. He has to work on the heel character and develop into something more than a generic heel. For now, he's getting cheap heat. He doesn't need to work on his wrestling skills. Christian and (Insert Opponent except Great Kahli) is a good match. The ending sucked. I don't like dq's and 2 in 1 night is never good. Nexus could have easily cost Rey the match and it wouldn't hurt his chances for Sunday. Nexus would have gained heat, Christian gains momentum and Rey gains sympathy and support.

Morrison wasn't ready to come back obviously. I thought his neck injury was suppose to leave him out until August. Summerslam it will be Truth and Morrison. Meanwhile the entire segment R-Truth was playing Zach Morris talking into the camera while everything else was frozen. Take that Little Jimmy may have been the best line of the night. Truth is absolutely insane and I love every minute of it.

Sweetness Dolph Ziggler got a video package and got to wrestle on Raw. The video package was great. The package for Kofi and Ziggler is an easy way to push their match Sunday without the 2 of them interacting. Plus Kevin Dunn and the staff do such a great job at those packages. I would love to see Ziggler take the belt off Kofi on Sunday. Bourne and Ziggler would be fun to watch. Drew McIntyre could come in as well. Bourne would turn into the under dog champion defending off all bigger competitors for the title. This would be a fantastic way to boost Bourne and use everyone else on the Raw roster.

The Hot Rod Rowdy Roddy Piper back on Raw was very cool. Piper will never get tired of taking shots at Mr. T. Miz really got a chance to battle two of the best talkers in wrestling history, Piper and Austin. Miz held his own with both men, Cena can't say that. I didn't need to see Piper wrestle though. The money challenge sounds like a Dusty Rhodes booking story. Rhodes was the booker for the old NWA and that's what this felt like to me. Riley has been getting the better of Miz for 3 straight weeks. Miz is putting over Riley but Sunday may be another story. Miz character doesn't really depend on wins and losses. He's a pompous jerk no matter what. Riley needs a big win to get his push kick started. I think it continues no matter who wins after Capitol Punishment.

I thought Eve was a heel. I wanted to see Natalya and Beth Phoenix in the ring wrestling. Raw failed at that. Until they use Phoenix or Natalya, I won't be writing to much on the Diva division.
The WWE went from pure crap to pure entertainment. Punk and Austin were absolute money together. Punk using the what was funny and Austin being Austin. No reason to start the whole this match will happen rumors. Let's be happy they were on television together and that's all. I whip ass backwards is the line of the evening. Austin gave the power to the people next week. I'm in favor of that but it won't work out as well as the concept should. Steve was solid as the GM. I wouldn't want him to be the GM each week though because then it wouldn't be special.

Main event with Cena and Punk was familiar as these two have gone at it several times. The boos and We Want Ryder chants from the live crowd was fantastic. The New York crowds are always very vocal and it makes the broadcasts that much better. CM Punk really had to carry Cena in a close to 15 minute match. It reminded me of Hogan being carried by Macho Man. Punk getting the victory was super sweet. Truth has no shot to win on Sunday. I hate to tell you that. I really hope WWE can keep Punk. Truth and Punk are making Raw watchable. I hope it continues.

Well I hate to end on a sad note but I have too. I am going on vacation next week and won't be able to provide a solid Raw blog. I believe John or Larry from Showstoppers will step up and try and fill the void on BBSD. They will fail but give them a break they can't beat the best damn WWE blogger on the planet. You can still follow me on twitter @mccall316 or email me at jcall@bigbadsportsdaddy.com. Thanks for the hits and keep them coming. Stunners for everyone.

J Call

Raw 5-9

What a difference a week makes. I went from being a happy pro wrestling fan and then last Tuesday evening changed everything. The debacle didn't actually air until Friday night but hell everyone knew before then. Oh, excuse me Showstoppers host don't read spoilers. I'll have more on Christian in a moment. Raw is going to be missing one of their big faces as John Morrison needs neck surgery. Sad news for sure in the WWE. The good thing is Raw is packed with stars so hopefully hmm, maybe Raw will use Dolph Ziggler. Raw has to be better than last week's birthday bore-a-thon. Okay, we can move on and discuss what I felt was a giant hose job Friday night.

I read the spoilers and I was super pissed. Christian winning the title at Extreme Rules was a heartfelt moment for Edge, Christian and the fans. I'm not going to sit here and tell you 'Christian deserved better.' The fact is we deserved better, the fans. I believe we were ready to back Christian as a real star and our world champion. He's a hard worker, solid mic skills and a great wrestler. The last one doesn't mean squat anymore. Captain Charisma may have fled to TNA but he was smart to do it. He saw the writing on the wall back then. He wasn't being used as more than a mid carder. His return brought hope that he was going to be properly used. Instead, he was thrown on the C show, ECW. Once again, he proved himself there and then Smackdown. Christian has a great fan base. The match with Randy Orton on Smackdown was fantastic. Nobody should doubt the quality of the contest. I was just pissed off WWE, namely Vincent Kennedy McMahon would pull the rug out from under us so fast. I understand Randy Orton wanting to be the face of Smackdown. John Cena is the face of Raw. Cena has also had long ass runs without the belt and stayed the face of Monday night. Orton doesn't need the belt. He's an established star in the wrestling world's eyes. You know why Orton is established? Because Vince and Triple H pushed his ass when he was in Evolution and then Orton branched off to be a star. Christian isn't as established because the brilliant writers and one Vince McMahon don't see dollar signs when looking at Christian. I, and I'm guessing I'm not alone, bought Extreme Rules only to see if Christian was going to win the whole damn thing. The part that pisses me off is saying Christian can't make money. I heard plenty of folks say kids buy the products, tickets and pay per views. Kids beg their parents and they don't want to see Christian. Yes, I read this crap. Here's some new information for you, kids are stupid! They will like whomever you want them to like. If Christian was facing the giant Hamburgler Mark Henry, kids would be chanting Christian's name. If Christian was facing the Giant Gonzalez part 2, The Great Kahli, kids would be chanting for Christian. Every wrestler could work a crowd with kids because they are simple minded and so is the WWE! One tweet by WWE Universe said blame WWE Universe. Well, let's see I spent $50 for a ticket, $20 on a t-shirt and $10 on nachos and a soda, yep I want to witness Christian vs. Kahli. Give me a freaking break. Swagger kept the damn World Heavyweight title longer.

I apparently know nothing about wrestling anymore. If the writers, Vince and no one else in the company believes in Christian, I would walk. The example I can make is an owner losing confidence in his manager. When the organization has zero confidence in you as the guy, then you're set into the mid card "mechanic" role for the rest of the time you are going to be there. If WWE ever throws Christian into the world title picture, he will never win. Why would I ever care then? WWE blew their load with the great moment at Extreme Rules. I will continue to root for Christian and Randy Orton. Christian might as well turn heel. It's the only chance he has. Please, don't write the hate tweets to Orton. You need to direct them to WWE and VKM. I did and do blame Vince and the higher ups. However long Christian's contract is, I'd split right after it's over and head back to TNA. I'd rather be a world champion in TNA than a mid card wrestler in WWE being used to push others over that doesn't deserve a top spot. TNA focuses on something completely different than WWE, wrestling! Mr. Kennedy was released, headed to TNA and that worked out. WWE, pull your head out of your ass and realize there are more than kids watching your product. The ratings suck compared to the Attitude era when the WWE catered to........young adults. Crazy concept! I need a pick me up.



Alright, I feel better and patriotic.

I was and still am all for Alberto Del Rio on Raw. I was just hoping for something fresh and exciting. Rey and Del Rio is neither. We saw a long program between the two of them on Smackdown. I don't want you to read that wrong, their program was great on Smackdown and got Del Rio over. Del Rio is over with the crowd now and needs to be facing bigger names. John Morrison injury saddens me. Morrison has yet to get the real push he deserves. Morrison really did have surgery. However, I had heard he was going to be out months. The diagnosis is he will only be out 4 to 6 weeks. I smell a Summerslam return. Raw started out with quite a racist promo. Miz laying down the Taco Bell parking lot line to Rey and Del Rio. R-Truth tells Del Rio he has Mexican Liver Lips. Amazing. Even better, Truth started out with Hospital food talk. I didn't get much but here's what I understood after the segment, Rey and Truth will battle at the next pay per view as will Miz and Cena. It was set up to obviously. The only thing I loved was Ricardo Rodriguez interrupting Miz at the very end. I laughed at that. Del Rio is the wildcard because if he's not in the main event and not facing Rey, then what the hell does he do?

Kharma really had her first victim on Friday night Smackdown. Alisha Fox received a separated shoulder after the clothesline she received from Kharma. I've really enjoyed this debut of Kharma. Vince is finally making the Divas relevant, although it's by destroying them. I think that's called irony. More heads flying off the Divas bodies is always good. Kharma shouldn't even be in a real match for at least another month or two. The mystery will be lost if she starts having matches. The WWE is smart by keeping her away from Beth, Natalya and Gail Kim as well. The WWE will never recognize the history between Kim and Kharma, it's long and good. Kharma's first match needs to be with one of those three lovely ladies. She can continue to squash the others before then.

The jokes keep on rolling on CM Punk. According to the dirt sheets, Punk's contract is up and is in a battle with Vince about his name. Well you can tell because since Mania, Punk has done nothing. Mason Ryan and Batista jokes seem to pop up everywhere. I actually like the kid. I don't care that he looks like Batista. He has a good look and surprising agile inside the ropes. He has a great future. In the end, his look might get him moved up quicker.

I'd prefer to see Ziggler to go back to being a blond. On Raw, I was simply happy he was used. I thought WWE forgot about him. He and Kofi need to be in a feud immediately. The U.S. title is doing nothing on Kofi. Ziggler needs a jumpstart and giving him the title would do it. Kofi is fine as a face chasing but then it's over. He doesn't do well just carrying the title.

Zach Ryder sighting on Raw was the best part of the night. WWWYKI Bro! Ryder is developing a cult following on his YouTube videos. Twitter blew up when Ryder was on TV. It's amazing. His videos have over 100,000 hits while Superstars has like 4,000. WWE needs to push him. I kinda liked what Riley did. He is the red headed step child so it's cool that he came out to challenge Cena. A shame Cena only had one more move that was original in his match. Hell, Dolph did a fireman's carry on his knees (If you're not familiar with actually wrestling, Cena's finisher is weak as pea soup, a standing fireman's carry) then Riley hit a back suplex during the match. Luckily, Cena still had his shoulder tackles to be original since Sheamus is on Smackdown. If you haven't figured it out, I hate Cena.

Lawler and Cole continues and Jimmy Crack Corn and I don't care. The mom card is played out and disrespectful to Jerry and his family. How is it possible talking about a dead mother is PG and saying ass and bitch is to harsh! I don't get the logic. Yabba Dabba *beep*. Hey Jerry, what did you do yesterday for mother's day? Oops forgot she's dead. I know which one I'd rather have my kid say to another. Kofi and Swagger wasn't bad at all. I had to put Raw on mute because of Cole but the match was decent.

The triple threat match main event was a solid effort from all 3 men. It was really pay per view quality. I'd been much happier had Truth and Cena stayed away. Nonetheless, Raw had to end somehow. I have no plans to buy Over the Limit with a Cena Miz, Rey Truth match. I have no idea what Smackdown has planned. Miz and Cena have been in the main event in nearly every pay per view so far in 2011. The WWE draft should have changed things up and yet the main event picture stays the same. Del Rio is now the x-factor. He has nothing. Maybe Over the Limit features Rey, Del Rio and Truth for the number 1 contender spot. I would be fine with that. Raw wouldn't start with a 20 minute promo the night after Over the Limit featuring 3 or 4 guys whining about getting their shot.

I think I've ranted enough for this blog. Raw was better than last week which is a backhanded complement. Over the Limit starts to shape up and I'll ignore it for the most part. WWE is getting a little stale. I don't understand if you have a draft and then keep half the guys off the show, then there was no point. WWE usually doesn't have a point to anything. If you enjoyed this Raw blog, follow me on Twitter @mccall316, email me jcall@bigbadsportsdaddy.com and keeping hitting BBSD for more great stuff from our other blogger Justin and Showstoppers. Stunners for everyone!

J Call

Raw 5-2

I am a very happy pro wrestling fan. For my money, Extreme Rules was a better overall pay per view then Wrestlemania 27. I did well on my picks as well. The wrestlers got their opportunity to shine. WWE did a much better job at pacing the show. I loved everything except Michael Cole. I wasn't going to like him no matter what. I really felt Christian and Del Rio should have ended the show. The pop of Christian winning the World Heavyweight Championship was the biggest of the night. Christian's win was one of the last pure moment for me. Edge and Christian celebrating in the ring reminded me of Wrestlemania 20. A wonderful pure moment and I don't care how the hell it happened, it happened. The People's Champ parties like it's 1999 and Raw has an Extreme Rules WWE Championship rematch.

I had an amazing weekend when it comes to wrestling. Before Sunday's Extreme Rules, I ventured to Council Bluffs, IA for a little independent show called PWP or Pro Wrestling Phoenix. I had seen them before but I hadn't gone in for quite a while. I was pleasantly surprised. The show featured a Dragon Gate wrestler named Akira Tozawa. He walked around the building several times so I had a good look at him before he entered the ring. He was in a tag team contest with "Babyface" Tony Cortez. Tony has been their for years and is a solid performer. The man I really came to watch was one of their opponents, Jaysin Strife who partnered with David C.....lark. Please, don't ask about David's name because I have no idea why they write it that way. I've seen Jaysin several times and I am never disappointed. He's one of the best independent wrestlers I've ever seen. They put on a damn good main event tag match. The star of the night that shined brightest was the match between "The Anarchist" Arik Cannon and Zack Sabre Jr. I've never seen Sabre Jr. I have to say I was thoroughly impressed. Zack had a good look, crisp in ring performance and left me hoping he was going to be a regular. Unfortunately, my buddies and I were told he was only in the states for a New York minute. This was the only opportunity to see him. I was glad I was there. Zack and Cannon, who I've seen several times and always has a good match, was by far the best match of the night. Now, if you don't live in or around my area, check around to find an indy show in your area. These independent wrestling shows, such as PWP or MPX, are all over the place and focus on something other companies have forgot about, WRESTLING! You never know who you might see at an Indy show. It might be a big star someday in the WWE or TNA.

A Patriotic Raw started with the best National Anthem of all time with Lillian Garcia. She always does a great job with it. I had chills watching and listening to her sing the Anthem. I couldn't believe the People's Champ was first to arrive on scene. I figured for certain the Champ would be first. The Rock delivered the goods in his promo. The People's Pledge was mentioned on Twitter. I got chills during that as well. The Rock and Cole in the ring was pretty cool. I certainly enjoyed the Rock Bottom and People's Elbow. However, the damn segment was a quarter of the show. I hate the Heat, never heard of Pitbull and didn't need to see the Nitro err Heat dancers. I guess Vince thought there was to much wrestling on Extreme Rules. Raw didn't need any for 30 minutes.

I figured I would give the WWE some credit since Morrison and Truth were announced before the commercial. Unfortunately, I was wrong. Truth and Morrison didn't even get in the ring. No bell ringing except for Morrison's after Truth beat the crap out of him. I will say this segment worked for both men. Even without the match, Morrison gains more sympathy from fans. R-Truth has plenty of heat on him. I guess it was action and not talking. Jim Ross was back at the table too so it wasn't all bad.

Maryse made it back on TV which was great. The bad news was the only reason was to get squashed by Kharma. This is exactly what WWE needed to do with Kharma Kong. She destroyed McCool at Extreme Rules and then Maryse on Raw. I hope this continues. I want her to keep destroying other Divas and then have Gail Kim, Beth Phoenix and Natalya start grouping up to try and defeat her. The one thing I don't want to see is Kharma wrestling dudes. Keep them separate or mix tag matches only.

I did see Zac Ryder in the background at the Rock's party. If you haven't checked out his YouTube videos, you are really missing out. Ryder has more charisma then over half the WWE roster. He's funny and creative. I hope he gets a chance to shine inside the ring soon and not Superstars. Hour number 1 ended without one single complete match.

The Champ didn't even get to speak. Miz and Cena were the semi main event and also the very actually match on Raw. After over an hour, we finally got a match. The cage match with Morrison, Miz and Cena was a damn good match as well. I felt Morrison was a little disappointing though. Miz brought it though. I still think Miz should have kept the WWE title. I figured Cena and Rock would have a face to face with the WWE title in Cena's hand as a future sight of what could be at Wrestlemania 28. When the hell does a ref actually reverse his decision? We hardly ever see it. The ending was weak. I didn't care for the reverse decision. We don't ever see it and it's stupid. We see guys win by cheating constantly. I know I'm suppose to suspend realism watching wrestling. Still, show some consistency.

As I stated in the opening paragraph, I enjoyed to the fullest the Del Rio Christian ladder match. Del Rio will have the WWE title soon. The WWE hasn't pulled the trigger on giving Del Rio a title yet. It will happen before Summerslam. The tag match gives me hope for a few things. Kofi and Drew could easily mix it up for the U.S. title right away. Swagger and Rey doesn't do anything for me though. We saw that last year around the same time when Swagger was the World champion. The only thing I didn't want was Del Rio and Rey again. Smackdown had the longest feud of the year with those two guys. Raw is going to rectify it and I'm super pissed.

I was pretty stoked to see Dolph Ziggler on Raw. Ziggler actually responded to a few tweets I sent him a few nights ago on Twitter. @HeelZiggler is his id. I found out he's a big Archer fan. The reason Twitter is so cool is because guys like Ziggler and Mick Foley respond to tweets. It gives you a feeling that they care about you. By the way, I'm on Twitter @mccall316 (cheap plug). Actually I told Ziggler I would give him a shout out in my next WWE blog.

WWE must be pretty high on Mason Ryan. He over powered Kane and Big Show. Ryan might branch off Nexus and move on to Goldberg like terror through the under card. The WWE needs to step up and make new stars. Ryan might be one of those guys. We all see the resemblance of Batista. Well, Batista didn't do a whole lot of pure wrestling but the looks is all he needed. I kinda like it though. Nexus is stale as is the Corre. Stables only work when the guys in the stables actually win. Ryan and McGillicuty have futures. Ryan's is a little easier since he has a better look and name. McGillicuty needs to be taken off TV for a while, I paused to write that since Raw was the first time I'd seen him in weeks, and have his name and look changed.

Vincent Kennedy McMahon was a special treat. One thing nobody can say is WWE can't produce sweet videos. Their tribute to The Rock was damn good. I'd never heard of Mia but I'd like her pie. I figured some big name was going to come out and interrupt The Rock. I was disappointed. I wanted Jericho, Austin or someone. At least more than Vince. Raw let me down.

The entire show wasn't all that great. I know this birthday celebration was special and gave us a few moments. It didn't give us what I wanted which is wrestling and being entertained. I don't care about the Heat, Hurricanes or Pitbull. You have to cater to the Miami fans but you also have to cater to the audience at home. I don't think the WWE did that at all. You can catch more hot wrestling opinions on BBSD with the boys from Showstoppers. You can follow me on Twitter @mccall316 or our legend Larry @bigbadlarry. If you don't have Twitter, email me at jcall@bigbadsportsdaddy.com. Stunners for everyone.

J Call

Raw 4-25

The WWE made a rash decision and decided to do the Draft without much hype. I'm sure most of it has to do Edge's retirement. I said a lot of what I wanted in the Raw preview. I was hoping for some drastic moves and Smackdown gaining some bigger names. The Draft has to help some of the mid card wrestlers especially guys like Dibiase, McIntyre and Daniel Bryan. At the end of Raw, I was pleased with several moves and disappointed in the ending. I have to tell you this is my 2nd draft of the blog. I had one complete but this piece of crap website called Blogger sucks donkey balls and erased nearly everything I wrote.

Before Raw, you have to be watching Tough Enough. The first few weeks, I had my doubts but last week and this with Bret Hart have been superb. I am a little biased since Bret has always been my favorite wrestler of all time. If you're not on twitter, you missed this epic video. The song says 'I'm going to make you cry', well I cried laughing my ass off. There is some talent on Tough Enough and I look forward to seeing what happens with some of these young men and women.

Raw started off nicely with the battle royal. The whole thing was forgettable except for Kofi and Bourne's interaction near the end. I don't remember anything else after this since afterwards John Cena was drafted to Smackdown. This moment was a giant shocker for everyone. The entire Internet Wrestling Community was stunned. I was on twitter and I thought it was going to blow up. Everyone thought this was a good move for WWE and Smackdown. I was on the fence. I didn't want to see Cena move to Smackdown. I felt it would hurt Christian's chances of becoming the face of Friday Night. WWE needs to show they are committed to Captain Charisma. Luckily the disappointment from the main event and final draft pick, lifted my spirits.

R-Truth really stepped his game up with his on stage promo. Truth saying he is finally himself is a good thing. The whole rap gimmick was played out. Truth's little kid voice made me laugh. The crowd responded hot with plenty of boos and WHAT chants. Morrison and Truth can have a hell of a story. Morrison will have to step up his mic skills. One thing was proven tonight, Morrison has the crowd behind him. I don't know whether to credit Morrison or Truth.

All I can say about Cody Rhodes is DAMN! He's completely turned me into a fan.

I was really hoping the Irish Ghost would move over to Smackdown. At the end of the night, Orton and Sin Cara were the big names heading to Smackdown. They didn't add a big heel and lost Del Rio. Sheamus can easily move over and be back into the main event picture. Sheamus has gotten the giant shaft on Raw. The match proved that with Sheamus taking two Trouble in Paradise for the loss. Obviously, Smackdown did gain one big name with Randy Orton. He was one guy I said in my Raw preview would be perfect to go over to Smackdown. I finally got one right.

The Cole and JR segment lasted way too long. Anything with Cole lasts way to long. I did find it very funny Cole received a black eye and bloody lip. Ross may have ended up with a broken hand. Lawler mentioned it later on and I saw some pictures of it on twitter. It didn't look good.

I couldn't even tell who Randy and who Ziggler were in their match. Ziggler's unique look is gone and it sucks. I know I mentioned it last week but I will continue mentioning it because I hate it. I would love to see Ziggler get a long term program with someone, anyone on Raw. He's still dinking around doing nothing.

I would have rather seen Del Rio stay on Smackdown. Friday Night seemed to feel like Del Rio's show anymore. I realize it makes sense because Del Rio's star is rising and everyone sees Raw as the "A" Show. The main event isn't much of a main event with Mark Henry involved. Mark Henry, R-Truth and Big Zeke are all heels, I'm just saying. The 6 man tag was pretty good though. The turn by Henry makes zero sense and I hope it doesn't lead to anything with Christian. He's got bigger things to do. As I mentioned, Cena being drafted back to Raw was pretty lame.

WWE has that supplemental draft coming up on Tuesday. You can expect several under card wrestlers moving in that draft. I hope guys like McIntryre and Dibiase get a chance to show they can become stars on a different show. They need to first be put in front of our eyes. If you need more wrestling be sure to check out Showstoppers on BBSD every Wednesday. You can follow me on Twitter @mccall316 or email me jcall@bigbadsportsdaddy.com. I will come back later in the week for my Extreme Rules picks. Stunner for everyone!

J Call

Raw 3-7

We can forget last week. It never happened. I was unable to watch Smackdown because of my DVR screwing up. This week brings back the greatest WWE superstar of all time, Stone Cold Steve Austin. The glass will shattering and the Dallas crowd is going to tear the roof off the American Airlines Arena. Austin has always been able to excite the crowd even in non-wrestling roles. We forever love and respect the man who nearly was left paralyzed inside the squared circle. The rest of Raw is going to sort itself out. All I want is a big fat 24 pack of whoop-ass to be opened tonight in Dallas.

I'm sure most wrestling fans have seen or heard TNA brought back Sting and had him win the TNA world title from Hardy. If you haven't seen it, search youtube and find it. TNA made themselves look horrible. The Impact (pun intended) was weak at best. Sting returning was a nice moment especially since it wasn't in the puny Impact Zone. The crowd loved it but the return felt stupid compared to Taker/HHH encounter or The Great One being named Mania host. TNA made a fool of themselves when copying the Taker video and somewhat the return. They kept the arena dark and played an ominous video. TNA will always be second rate unless the talent stops mentioning and mocking WWE. I like Anderson and Angle. But they are put in the dumbest situations. I was all for Sting to make his debut with WWE a few weeks ago. Sting could have shocked the world. Instead, returned and won a belt from Mardi Gras. I don't know whether to care or feel sorry for him.

Raw started off with a little shocker as the Deadman was the first to appear. I can't see the negative in Triple H and Taker at this years Mania. Taker mentioning Michaels, followed by the kick ass video, is a great way to remind people about the streak. I don't think Triple H and Taker can match the intensity or story that the previous two Wrestlemania matches have had. The stipulation is a brilliant one. The match at Wrestlemania XVII was similar as they used the arena to their advantage. We might see something the same concept for this years battle. It keeps getting better.

The attention has been on Cena, Miz and The Rock for good reason. However, the best story Raw has developed is Punk/Orton. Randall gained even more sympathy with the fans. He was beaten to a pulp and somehow managed to beat Otunga, RKO Ryan and punt Otunga out of Mania. The new Nexus never got the love the original did. They are about to be dismantled completely by the Viper. If I were a betting man, I'd say the draft will disperse them all to different shows. Smackdown may keep Corre intact for a while longer. I think they have legs and I like Barrett in his role. I can't believe how Cena failed to take out Nexus and Orton has been so successful. Normally, Cena is the guy taking everyone out. Granted he took out Barrett but no one else. I'm relieved by it though since I love Randall and dislike Cena.

I forgot Christian was on Raw. I thought he was making an appearance on Friday night. Brodus is a guy I hadn't seen much. I rarely caught NXT. I had read quite a bit on him and was impressed with his size. He won't wow anyone with his speed or athletic ability. Del Rio and Christian is obviously still going to continue. I hope they have a match on Smackdown. I can't see the ending except if C-squared gets involved in the main event at Mania. Christian could turn on Edge but how would that work after Del Rio injured him. If anyone should be heel, it's Edge. He makes the better heel and that way Christian can chase. The fans always get behind the guy returning from injury at that's Captain Charisma.

You talk about the Attitude Era, you have to bring up Sunny. She was probably the most risque woman WWE has ever had. I don't know about being in the Hall but hell it's a joke anyway. It really doesn't matter.

I can't fully understand why the Bellas got their shot at the title. Gail Kim, Melina and Natalya should get another shot. Well, the WWE really cared a lot about it when Cole started talking. How can anyone ever care about the Divas when they pull crap like Cole shouting on the house mic? Oh, I didn't take them seriously before that. I'm glad I caught the two minutes of the supposed big Diva title match. The WWE continues to make a mockery of their Diva division. I don't ever remember that happening when Trish Stratus was in a match.

I won't even comment on how idiotic having Snooki come in next week. I've seen enough Jersey Shore in TNA. I didn't need WWE to add to the equation. Snooki reminds me of what Jericho use to call Stephanie McMahon, a dirty, filthy, disgusting, brutal, bottom feeding, trash bag hoe.

WWE has really been calling up the Attitude guys. JBL was another one. Wrestlemania is going to have The Rock, Stratus, HBK and Austin. The attitude guys still draw the ratings. I never cared for JBL the wrestler but he was a good color man on Smackdown. You had a feeling or at least I did that this was the moment for Stone Cold. The pop wasn't as big as I thought it would be. JBL won't be at Mania. That was great! Austin and The Rock at Wrestlemania again! Stone Cold may not have had the mic promo that Rock has done. Stone Cold being at Mania is just as big. My favorite superstar of all time didn't disappoint tonight on Raw.

Daniel Bryan got a whole 5 seconds of in ring time. He and Sheamus could have a great feud. The WWE must not believe it. They haven't been given any thought to the story. Sheamus has been buried to Triple H last week and this week loses a count out to Bryan. Meanwhile, Bryan was in a great story with Kim and Bellas. That's now been shut and he has nothing. They could have played off that story and have Bellas flirt with the Irish Ghost to help them get revenge on Bryan. Nope, through it all in the trash. Brilliant writing.

I guess Punk hurting Truth makes him look stronger. He needed something after being made a fool of by Orton. Truth is once again fodder. WWE seems content on not having a MITB match so therefore guys like Morrison, Truth and Bryan are wafting. I want stronger stories and the WWE should be doing that leading to Mania.

One thing I do want to see is Ziggler taking on Morrison. I had read rumors Morrison was going to team up with Stratus and Kelly Kelly to take on Ziggler and LayCool at Mania. I would have liked to see these two wrestle for a lot longer. I hope they give them plenty of time to work off their match and create something unique. I think we are headed down the right road with Vicki taking on Stratus next week.

Cena went for the knockout and fell short. The only thing funny was the t-shirt. I really liked the Miz showing up. He has been forgotten in this whole ordeal. It was a nice treat. You could tell he wanted to smile during the People's Elbow. The past two weeks, Miz has been the other guy. He got the last laugh tonight. The Rock will likely still appear and rebuttal the words of Doctor Thug'a'nomics. We have to have a face off but that is coming at Mania. I'm just happy Miz got the spotlight tonight. No more hiding behind Riley or anyone else, it's all Miz and it's Awesome.

Raw had several good moments. A nice bounce back after a really crappy show last week. Stone Cold being the special guest ref for Cole and Lawler was magic. You had to love that. I mean Rock and Austin will be together again, ten years since their 2nd Mania main event. Trish Stratus is making a return next week. Finally, WWE seems to be on the right path for Wrestlemania.

If you aren't getting enough wrestling information in your brain, then keeping hitting up BBSD. I'm betting my boy John and that other guy will be talking about all wrestling headlines this week on ShowStoppers. If that's not enough, hit me up on twitter @mccall316. I'm live on BBSD's twitter account during Raw every week, taking questions and giving some random @bigbadsportsdad. I'd love to see more followers and seeing you tweeting it up during Raw. I'll catch you next week.

J Call

Raw 1-10

After one week of 2011, I'm ready to crown this year better than 2010. Smackdown was an excellent show. What made last week so great? Both shows contained an emphasis on wrestling. A novel concept, wrestling shows with lots of wrestling. I'll talk more about our new IC champion and number one contender for the WHC later. I had no clue what to expect from Raw before it aired. I got a rude awakening from the new Nexus and I wasn't sure how the WWE would show Cena. The way they handled it was fine since Cena wasn't the focal point all show. The build to the Rumble sort of continued in what was a very confusing effort.

The WWE tag champs coming out first was a surprise. I would have rather saw a tag match to build the tag teams up a little. Don't get me wrong, I like the new Nexus (until this episode). Punk makes them better. I'd just preferred to see a tag team championship match 1st and have Punk and Nexus later. I didn't want to see Raw become the Cena show. Last week, Raw was a better show as they worked around all the wrestling. The whole initiation process confused everyone even the crowd. Do you boo or cheer? Most looked on with astonishment. I had no idea. As Lawler put it, "bizarre". It didn't really grab my attention. The Nexus needs some opponents. I think we might see that with Gabriel and Slater walking away from Punk towards the end of Raw. Maybe they team with Cena to fight Punk and the other boys.

Del Rio cross feuding against R-Truth is great. I know I said that last week but this week was even better. I'll talk more about the surprise guest later. I'm starting to fall for Del Rio and his character. The best thing is he won't be fighting Rey any longer. He's the only competitor that has come out and talked about the Rumble. The shows from now on should be focusing on the Rumble match. Anyway, Del Rio and Truth put on a nice contest. Obviously Truth is jobbing and helping Alberto get over with the Raw crowd. The count out was weak as was the 3rd fall on Smackdown. Still, it helps Del Rio. He's a weasel and gets a win. The one thing WWE needs to do is add another Lucha Libra wrestler. Masked wrestlers are fading fast. I'd like to see an influx of cruiserweights and Luchas. WCW did very well with those wrestlers. I'm not saying add 15 or 20. I'd say 4 or 5 would be enough. Rey's not going to last forever. Del Rio doesn't fit the bill. Rey could pass it a long to someone young. No more mask vs mask or anything stupid. It would bring something fresh and Smackdown would write them in. I'm beating a dead horse but Superstars could be devoted to cruiserweights. They already have enough on the roster for their own division. Instead of calling it cruiserweights, bring back the Euro title. You have weight limits on cruiserweights. The European wouldn't have a weight limit so any wrestler can compete for the belt. Superstars could use it along with the tag titles.

They need to stop putting King in matches. I was all for it when he got a title shot. It helped Miz. Now, it's dragged on too long. The Nexus thing is to stupid to talk about. I figured Raw wouldn't have much wrestling. Last week was enough for the month.

I watched Superstars last week for the fact to see Dibiase and Bryan. No reason for them to be left off Raw. Tag match was too short and heels lose again. Kidd and Dibiase are being buried and Kidd's bodyguard isn't even on TV. I won't ever understand why heels don't win cleanly anymore. Wins and losses aren't as important in the eyes of fans. Heels can win and not hurt faces. Case in point was Friday night. Ziggler lost cleanly to Kofi (twice) and ended up winning the number one contender for Edge's title. The problem was Ziggler beat a heel, Rhodes. I'm happy Ziggler won and is getting pushed. You can compare Ziggler to Morrison in terms of their pushes respectively. Some hate the fact Morrison isn't being headlined and Ziggler is. If done correctly, Morrison will get a bigger push being in the Rumble. You couldn't have both being elevated in the same match. I do believe for Smackdown Ziggler getting the rub helps the overall product. Smackdown has been Kane, Edge, Rey and Del Rio in some sort of fashion since June. It's time for a change (who said that?). Vikki and Edge have a history and practically writes itself. I'm more of a fan of how Morrison is getting there but it will help both men in the grand scheme of things.

Speaking of Morrison, the more things change, the more they stay the same. We've seen Morrison and Sheamus. I don't mind though since they are doing nothing else. I thought Raw would start some new stories. I realize the Rumble kinda holds the bigger picture in January. You don't have many payoffs to one on one matches. That's fine as there's ways around to make things interesting. The Raw GM should start booking qualifying matches. Sheamus and Morrison get automatic bids but face each other for a number. Say the winner gets a spot between 25 to 30 and the loser gets a one of the first five numbers. You see it adds a new wrinkle to something we've witnessed time and time again. You see that wasn't hard to come up with an idea. I will say I enjoyed the match. Morrison played the underdog and got the fans to sympathize with him. I've read a lot of opinions to move him to a heel. I don't think that's a good idea. The face character is working. Morrison is gaining steam and becoming a lot like the WWE's Jeff Hardy (You know without the cigarettes). Morrison will make big money once he wins a World belt. I'd actually rather see Morrison lose at Mania in the Money in the Bank match. That is if he's a part of it. Miz and Morrison need to take separate paths and having them both win their 1st title using the briefcase is lame.

The build for the 1st inductee led everyone to believe it was Shawn Michaels. It's not surprising Shawn's getting in the 1st year. I named him the greatest wrestler of all time. I think we all believed he would wrestle one more match. The bigger surprise was Shawn showed up in Tennessee. You can tell how much he's missed. You hear that pop Triple H. Get your ass back in front of the damn camera. HBK should be the General Manager. That's what I was hoping he would announce. Instead, he didn't say a work and didn't need to. I loved Del Rio coming out. The mood changed once Shawn came out. This is why he shouldn't have walked away. He had years left in that body. He couldn't accomplish more except help get younger talent over. One thing's certain he can still captivate an audience and deliver a sweet sweet chin music.

I didn't know WWE fans wanted to see someone die. Yeah Punk leap to your death, very PG. Wow, Cena said ass and my ears didn't bleed. I guess the WWE might start to become a little edgier with their language. About time! I took that and there match next week from all the crap. At least, there will be a match. I suspect Nexus won't help Punk much after the beat downs they received.

Cole like a moron inducted Miz in the HOF already. Lawler is in and if one guy in that main event will make the Hall it's the Viper. Have you noticed Randy Orton isn't spreading his arms any longer. He changed to the Austin two arm raise and added the Lou Thez press. I don't mind using it but Orton should keep his character as his own. Keep your own mannerisms. Miz keeps playing his role well. He's the beatable mouthy champion. Main even was predictable. Lawler wins and once again the heels look terrible. This needs to be the final week Lawler gets in the ring. It's stale. The good part was Miz didn't receive the pin fall, although walking away like a coward doesn't help. The great thing was the WWE title being part of the finish. This needs to continue every week. It won't as Cena and Punk will likely be the main event next week.

Raw kept on rolling towards the Rumble. I know you couldn't tell. I think it was mentioned once during the broadcast. Hopefully some WWE writer reads this blog and steals my idea. I won't be mad. Next week, Punk and Cena should be fun. Orton and Miz will keep going and Daniel Bryan will do nothing. If you want to hear more hot wrestling opinions, check out John on Showstoppers, oh and Larry too heard only on BBSD. I'll have another round of wrestling questions in the next mailbag and I want to hear from YOU! E-mail any questions to jcall@bigbadsportsdaddy.com and it might make it on the Royal Rumble picks and mailbag blog out later in the month.

J Call

Raw 1-3

The real WWE blogger on BBSD and the best damn WWE blogger on the planet is BACK! I know you missed me. In all seriousness, Larry did an okay job. He's blinded by love of Morrison, other than that it was a fine effort. But this Raw and the 2011 year needs to be kicked off the correct way, with me. This Raw was the most important in terms of the next 3 months. Royal Rumble takes the focus and perhaps the return of some big names to help build. You can tell the WWE is taking this first week very serious. Raw starts off with a WWE title match. Smackdown has scheduled a 2 out of 3 falls contest and a last man standing World heavyweight championship match. It feels like a pay per view only spread all week. Normally, I have a lot to say especially when I miss a blog. I do have things on my mind and I'll spread them around throughout the blog. For now, it's on to a great Raw to start the new year.

2011 didn't start out well with Michael Cole being the first thing we saw. No reason to bitch, he's not going anywhere. I wasn't happy Lawler and Miz fought last week, still Miz gained more heat after the attack so job well done. I feel the match made more sense on Raw then at the Rumble. Hear me out before you stop reading. Royal Rumble is the 2nd largest ppv of the year, only Mania is bigger. Morrison deserves this push and I'm happy for him. He's just not a big enough name yet to headline Rumble in a WWE title match. I know he's a great wrestler. He will headline a pay per view this year. Let's hold off on promoting him over Cena or Orton as the face of Raw. He's proving he deserves to be ranked high, not that high. Plus, say he lost to the Miz at the Rumble. The loss won't help him as much as say being one of the first men in the Rumble and in the final 5. You see that will help him more than a simple loss at the Rumble. Fans will respect him more and start seeing him in the main event picture. Raw certainly helped his case. The match was fantastic. They used the environment well and had several near falls. Matches need to use near falls more often. The close finishes build excitement for fans. The Starship pain through a table was a sick spot. There was no doubt Miz would retain. Morrison proved he's earning his rank. One thing for sure, neither man is "Marty Jannetty." Sorry Marty.

I didn't care for the Diva match finish. Melina shouldn't be getting pinned by anyone except Natalya. I'd much rather see Fox get beat. She hasn't been doing squat. Melina needs to look strong and the complete opposite happened.

Tag match was a cluster since Kozlov goofed it up towards the end. The good thing is Uso's won and maybe an upcoming title shot. Tamina might turn on Santino and develop a real story. Otherwise, pretty meaningless like a college bowl game.

I'm on the fence about Punk and Nexus. I love Punk and you can't just throw Nexus on Smackdown. You used them for a half the year. Nexus was built up as a quality stable. If you toss them aside, you admit you failed. I don't think Nexus has failed. You don't disband them until you have a good excuse (the draft) or create a story that breaks them up for good. Neither has happened yet. So, what do you do? Well, end the story with Barrett and Cena, keep Nexus together and develop something new. This is new and different. Yes, I'd like to see Nexus move past Cena. They will soon as evident in the main event. Barrett coming back and getting involved will work towards something new. The problem is Wade isn't a face. You can't make him a face. Hopefully, he (and only him) isn't on Raw to long if he has to be a face.

Last week, Smackdown had some great action. Del Rio was part of a fantastic tag match with Edge and Rey. Rio has grown on me. He's a great in ring performer and mic skills has improved since day one. I can't wait for the 2 out of 3 falls against Rey Friday night. I know the feud has lasted too long and should have ended a month ago. Friday night will cap it off 80's style. Truth should feud with Dibiase. Those two are floating around doing nothing. Dibiase has been hosed for months. A small story will develop some sort of relevance on the show. Del Rio coming to Raw is a big perk of the Rumble, lots of cross promoting.

I normally complain about the WWE title not being the focal point at the end of Raw. I feel the same way on Smackdown. However, this past Friday I loved the IC title finished the show. You didn't even see the U.S. champion on Raw. Smackdown does a great job of the mid card title seem very important. They have plenty of wrestlers competing for a shot at the belt. Raw never does that. I don't recall ever having a United States title match ending the show. It never happens. Raw writers couldn't even fit Bryan on one of those stupid Bella twin backstage skits. The title has little meaning where as the IC belt is right there with the WWE and WHC. This is why I continue to complain about Dibiase not doing anything. Bryan and Dibiase never had a real feud. There are plenty of under carders that can be pushed with Bryan. Hell, give one of the Nexus guys a shot. Do something!

The obvious choice to win the main event was Orton. A heel on heel feud doesn't work. Last year, Sheamus and Orton headlined the Rumble but Orton was a half face already. The writing was on the wall that at Mania he would be a face. Raw provided plenty of time for 3 competitors to paint a beautiful wrestling picture inside the cage. The match didn't feel cheap without blood. I know fans want that and so do I. A wrestler cutting himself and making the match feel more intense is great. However, as witnessed by the main event, you don't need it to give us a compelling and believable story. Punk interfering works to our advantage. Again, this pushes the story away from Cena and towards Barrett. Sheamus in the mean time is in limbo. Triple H has to come back shortly. He is the only thing for Sheamus to get in to. Perhaps Trips will wait until the Rumble and eliminate him and the Irish Ghost. Orton and Miz weren't done and it felt like we need one more match to finally finish the story. Orton saying he will be more brutal in 2011 is great. I'd like to see Orton put his boot on the skull of Riley at the Rumble. Riley costs him the match and in an act of rage, Orton punts Riley. Randy is the face of Raw and the best performer which is why he faces Miz at the Rumble. Plus, he can put Miz over even more.

Raw showed focus, further developed stories and gave time to develop 3 quality in ring performances. The show was great and I didn't miss Cena one bit. I'm sure a lot of you did and hate the fact he was off the show. I didn't. I haven't liked Cena for years and felt tonight was a perfect example of how Raw could be a better show without him. Send your hate mail to jcall@bigbadsportsdaddy.com for that last comment. The WWE title was a major player tonight. A lot of times, Cena is the main focal point. Raw needs to focus more on the titles and less on one man. My only real complaint about Raw was they forgot Daniel Bryan. Other than that, I thought the show was excellent. The first year of 2011 starts out with a bang and I can't think of a better place to be than writing for you on BBSD. Make sure you check out Showstoppers and keep sending me your e-mails as another wrestling mailbag will return sometime in January. Happy New Year! Wooooo!

J Call