Raw 5-23

I am perfection....perfection. Oh my bad I was just listening to Dolph Ziggler's music. The song fits me as I was perfect in my Over the Limit picks. Yeah I'm really excited I got the perfect score in the worst pay per view in years. I didn't watch one minute of Over the Limit. Luckily I didn't miss much as predicted. Randy and Christian had a match of the year candidate from the fans I heard from. I'm happy they did well and figured they would be the only thing worth the purchase. I will make sure to watch that when OTL is on DVD...or on the internet. WWE works towards Capitol Punishment on June 19th. Raw should show us some direction WWE is thinking for the show.



We lost a great wrestler, entertainer and person 12 years ago when Owen Hart passed away. I remember the night Owen's accident happened. I was at a farm house outside my home town with a bunch of friends. We had ordered the ppv as it was the height of the Austin era. Most of them weren't a big wrestling fan so they didn't pay much attention. I was sitting there watching the entire show and well you know the rest. Jim Ross comes on the air and makes the announcement. WWE got a lot of flack for going on with the show. It was never released on VHS or DVD. I was in shock. I couldn't believe it was real (We always have to guess). The nightly news showed it was real. The next night, Raw may have been the most emotional episode in history. Owen is still missed to this day. He left us way to soon and so has a lot of other men and women.

I was kind of mad at first about Jerry Lawler opening the show but then Bret came out and I felt a whole lot better. Truth got a great rub from Bret as well. A great way to further Truth's heel character, put him in the ring with a beloved legend. Super Cena had to ruin the great moment. A Rooster from Brooster told me Truth is entertaining in a nonsensical way. The opener was entertaining even if it went long. Truth delivered a solid promo. Bret gets to be used and Super Cena didn't piss me off to much.

The tag team division seems to be getting quite a bit of air time on WWE TV. I'm sure having Kane and Show helps quite a bit. They are a tower of power and are guys fans want to see every week. They even got a pay per view match which is a rarity for tag teams. The WWE could have done this a long time ago. Nexus probably should have won but if Punk is in the title hunt then it makes sense. I just wish Ryder and Hawkins would get a chance to shine against Show and Kane. I can't believe David Otunga is a WWE champion. If this would have happened before Saturday, the world would have ended. I take it Big Show and Kane are going to be feuding with Del Rio until Summerslam. I just want Kane to go med evil on Del Rio. For example, hang him from the stage and strap battery cables to his nuts with jumper cables from Del Rio's luxury car.

Evan Bourne continues to be wasted. WWE has no clue what to do with him. He's so small the WWE will never push him. And he still gets big pops from the crowd every time he comes out. Swagger should be getting over but you can make it competitive. Evan's attack will lead to one or two more bouts. I'll take it if they are longer than 3 minutes.

So after Cole crapped on everything in the WWE for the past however long this crap went on, he comes out apologizes and all is forgiven. That's some weak ass sauce WWE. Cole shouldn't even be on WWE TV for several months so we can forget about him for a while. I understand they did a bunch of stuff to him at Over the Limit and it wasn't enough. Then Miz gets buried my a face turn for Alex Riley. Actually, I was okay with that. Riley can move on to Smackdown and hopefully the face turn sticks. Smackdown needs another face. I thought Dibiase would be used as a face. Instead, again good move, WWE paired him back up with Rhodes. It will be interesting to see what Riley does on his own. As far as Miz goes, I have no idea. He's a guy who won't look that bad even by losing to Cena and then beat down by Riley. Miz is a good enough character just to bounce right back and not lose anything.

The WWE was doing such an excellent job with Kharma. She was coming out and destroying every Diva in sight. Well leave it to the WWE to screw up such a good thing. Kharma crying in the middle of all the Divas is about the dumbest thing I could see them doing it. I take that back. It was dumb enough to where I wouldn't think of it. Kharma isn't suppose to cry, she's suppose to DESTROY!

The little things seem to matter to me. Drew McIntyre getting pyro is brilliant. I already enjoy his music and entrance. The pyro is icing on the cake. Bret Hart was complaining about WWE use of Drew and look what happens, Drew gets on TV while Bret was around. I don't really care how it happened, Drew deserves to be on Raw. He also deserved to win the match. I was happy to see Dolph is back in blonde and maybe will take on Kofi soon. Drew still needs to be shown each week on Raw. WWE has about 20 minutes free every week now that Cole isn't going to be in a story. Dolph, Kofi and Drew can all have their chance.

WWE did the right thing by showing a tribute to Macho Man Randy Savage. He is a true ICON. The real shame is WWE waited until he passed away to recognize his greatness. The petty bull crap was certainly worth it for Vince. To their credit, the video was amazing and heart warming. King even mentioned Randy as a Hall of Famer. I dig that. OOOOOOOH YEEEAH!

I also dug CM Punk rocking the Macho Man vintage trunks. Punk did that for two straight nights. He must have been a huge Macho Man fan back in the day and still admires him obviously. The main event made me wish I could see a CM Punk Bret Hart match. They would have been magic together. The finish wasn't the best. I'm all for the sharpshooter on Punk. I'm not for Cena and Rey. I'm hoping the WWE changes this to Punk in another week or so. I doubt they stick to Cena Rey sugar to the sweet main event for Capitol Punishment.

Raw was very watchable. The opening segment had me worried with Lawler and Cena. I wasn't a big fan of the treatment Kharma and Drew McIntyre. The nostalgia of Bret kept me entertained overall. However, I shouldn't knee jerk react to everything. I think WWE will change the main event and Drew being on Raw gives hope. Kharma is a head scratchier. No idea what WWE will do with her. Perhaps the ShowStoppers will know and you can check them out every Wednesday on BBSD. You can follow me on Twitter @mccall316. Big top rope elbow drops for everyone.

J Call

Raw 5-16

The wrestling world had a pretty darn good week. Raw wasn't fantastic or anything. Smackdown and Impact Wrestling/TNA whatever they want to be called was solid episodes. Smackdown focused on bringing some good in ring action. Daniel Bryan and Sin Cara was the best match on television and I would love to see them wrestle, er entertain in a pay per view rematch for about 40 minutes. I did mention TNA and they did a nice job Thursday and at Sacrifice. Raw must serve a purpose for the under card as the main event has been announced for Over the Limit.

Before heading down the WWE trail and write about Raw, I need to focus on TNA. I actually liked what they are doing right now. Yes, me the so called "WWE Homer" is praising TNA. I'm not a big fan of certain things. I would like to kick Flair and Hogan off television and take Bischoff with them. Foley is back but that's not important either. The changing of TNA to Impact Wrestling on Thursday is a decent move. My only problem is if you are going to switch your brand name, you better be certain you are well prepared. They weren't. I love the slogan 'where wrestling matters.' Others are going to piss all over since it was TNA that came up with it. However, I am the one who yells and screams in this blog about wanting more wrestling. If TNA is for real and focuses a lot more on wrestling, I will be happy to tune in every Thursday evening to Spike TV. Over the past few months, the Jeff Jarrett Kurt Angle saga has taken several turns. Most of them coming in losses for Angle. Thursday, Chyna returning to wrestling and getting involved was dare I say brilliant. I'm not joking. WWE has Kharma who is making the biggest push a Diva has ever had. TNA responds with a woman who has not been seen on pro wrestling television in years. Angle finally got over at Sacrifice with the help of Chyna. The story should end now and Angle can move on to bigger fish. I sure hope Chyna sticks around as well.
The other guy I stay interested in with TNA is Misterrrrr Anderson....Anderson. TNA did a wonderful job pissing me off by keeping Anderson down. I text my buddy Larry from ShowStoppers (heard every Wednesday on BBSD) during the battle royal and I said Bubba Ray will win. He said Anderson and I'm glad I was wrong. Anderson has the most breakout star potential in TNA. His character is fantastic, although asshole is probably not the best word for merchandise. Ken has gotten better in ring ability too. He may never got the shot at WWE for many reasons, injuries, drug policy and politics. Anderson has a chance to win the title again and TNA should pull the trigger on a long title run. Let's see Mr. Potential run with the ball for a while.

The opening promo was way to long and pretty pointless. Super Cena with the same crap about fear I've heard 7500 times before. I give credit to Riley for giving a decent promo and working the crowd with cheap heat. I'm just sick of Raw being all about Super Cena and Miz for the WWE title. We've seen it too long. At least on Smackdown, Orton and Christian is new and fresh. They will have a better wrestling match at Over the Limit too. Raw should focus on some new talent. I liked what Bret Hart tweeted last week about McIntyre being thrown on Superstars was a mistake. I couldn't agree more. Drew is solid all the way around and being drafted to Raw might have been a mistake when he can't make it on the damn show. He was used every week on Smackdown.

I couldn't believe Punk dismantled the U.S. champion so quickly. I would love to see a long feud with those two. Well hell I would be happy with any feud for the U.S. title. Kofi hasn't done squat since heading to Raw. WWE might know how to push a WWE title match but they've forgotten all about the important under card matches. In the 90's, the intercontinental matches were better than most of the WWE title matches. Mr. Perfect, Bret Hart, Jake the Snake, Piper and many more sold shows because of their matches not the main event. WCW was a prime example when they had their Cruiserweight division. Now the WWE focuses on one story and can't figure out how to put anything else together. It is such a waste. Then they wonder around scratching their ass when they say they don't have new stars.

I have thoroughly enjoyed the way the WWE has used Kharma. The live crowds are even giving a huge pop every time she comes down. She feels like an event every moment she is on television. I have no clue where it goes with Kelly Kelly and I don't give a crap. I just want to see more Kharma. She doesn't need to be a heel or face just DESTROY!

Rey is much better on the stick then people give him credit for. He's really not that bad. I've sure heard a lot worse. I don't like him speaking in Spanish because I don't understand it. I understand why he does it for obvious reasons. I think I've whined about showcasing new talent and keeping things fresh. As I typed that, Del Rio and Rey were talking. We've seen this as well. WWE needs to book Del Rio, Rey and Truth for the number 1 contender to Super Cena's WWE title. That way Raw won't open with a 20 minute promo about who deserves a shot. I shouldn't complain to much since Del Rio and Rey was a solid effort in the ring. R-Truth looked a lot like The Pope from TNA with the do-rag on. Truth is getting a bigger response than ever before so at least something positive is coming out of his heel turn. I just can't understand half the stuff Rey or Truth says. The poor people typing the closed caption with ???? during that entire segment.

Cole and Lawler are going to battle in a kiss my foot match is not a bad idea. Michael Cole made the impossible happen, Texans rooting for a Sooner. People wanted to see Swagger turn on Cole. I'm all for Swagger face turn. He's got nothing else going on and Raw seems to be full of heels. You could easily turn Swagger and have him face Del Rio, Miz, McIntyre or Punk. Instead, the WWE probably teased us to hose us over at Over the Limit. I'm already passed my limit on Cole and Lawler matches. This needs to end on Sunday!

Speaking of Sunday's Over the Limit, I will be blogging my ppv picks Thursday morning for the entire wrestling world to see. They usually suck but I'll continue to bring them to you. The entire card seems pretty damn boring. Randy Orton and Christian will be the best match but we know the finish. Orton will win and Christian will turn heel. Raw announced an actual tag team championship match for OTL like it matters. McGillicuty needs to be repackaged so he can look like his dad Mr. Perfect. He's a solid in ring promo but his look and finisher is weak. A running neckbreaker is not a finisher. WWE neglects his past which is mistake.

Once again Zach Ryder gets shown on WWE TV for less than 15 seconds. Yet another missed opportunity as Ryder continues to gain more momentum on Twitter and Youtube. I figured Miz would choose a gauntlet match. I was wrong. Swagger went from a potential face turn to facing the most over man in WWE. I guess it does help Swagger get passed the sidekick role. Swagger had a sweet bump into the chair. That was about the only thing I enjoyed out of their match. Cena hit a record 7 shoulder tackles so that's something to gloat about. Actually Swagger wasn't bad at all. If that were a lead pipe, it sure bounced like it was rubber on the mat. Raw ends with Super Cena on top, no surprise there.

Raw was boring. The overall show didn't bring anything to the table. Over the Limit is a filler pay per view. Cena and Miz in the main event is not getting me to purchase the show. I love Orton and Christian but Christian has about as much chance as I have of winning the lottery. WWE is on cruise control and not giving us anything special during these summer months. They won't for several months. SAVE US Y2J! I know you need more wrestling and you can find that on BBSD with Showstoppers and our other blogger Justin. I'll come back for my Over the Limit picks which might be my shortest blog in history. Stunners for everyone.

J Call

Raw Draft Preview

It's time to shake things up a bit. At least according to Vincent Kennedy McMahon. WWE announced a few weeks ago abruptly the draft will return and it will this Monday Night on Raw. The draft has always benefited Smackdown with adding wrestlers but Raw usually gets one big name. The mid carders are always the ones who benefit the most. A guy that is rarely used on Raw, heads to Smackdown and becomes something. For example, Cody Rhodes looked to be an outcast after Wrestlemania 26. He was shipped to Smackdown, became "Dashing", lost the moniker and is having a great story with Rey. I didn't think Dibiase would have been the man to get buried once Legacy broke up. I see a lot of moves going to be made on Monday. I hope some of these moves help the undercard get recognized for their work. Smackdown should get one big name to replace Edge and hopefully a few more wrestlers. Here's a list and explanation of who I would like to see move to both shows.

Smackdown

Ted Dibiase Jr.- He has to head to Smackdown. Teddy has plenty of potential and is a solid in ring worker. His mic skills are not great but on Smackdown it wouldn't show as much. In fact, he could be given a mic once in a while just to help his character. He's stale on Raw. Smackdown came up with "Dashing" for Cody Rhodes so I would think they could help Teddy. I would even turn him into a good guy.

Zach Ryder- Long Island Ice Z has enough charisma that his character should be making it on Raw. If you haven't seen them, Ryder has some solid Youtube hits that are actually funny and unique. He's still very young so he has time to grow. Zach could use a change of scenery and not be used all the time on "Superstars". This kid could go far and I can see an IC title shot if he moves to Smackdown.

Daniel Bryan- Why would I want him to move to Smackdown? He's a wrestler. Smackdown is more of a wrestling show. It's a perfect match. I know Bryan should have gotten the chance to shine at Wrestlemania with Sheamus. It's unfortunate. Bryan could easily be in the semi main event at the end of the first hour of Smackdown providing a 10-15 minute match. Bryan probably won't get to main event or get a chance at the World Heavyweight Championship. Smackdown will give Bryan a place to do what he does best and that's wrestle.

Sheamus- Fun, how I mention Bryan and then have his opponent coming with him to Friday Night. My reasoning is simple, Smackdown only has 1 main heel character going after the WHC, Albert Del Rio. I don't mind Sheamus wearing the U.S. title on Raw since that made him relevant since the WWE title picture is full. On Smackdown, the Irish Ghost can come over and jump right into the main event scene.

Randy Orton- The whole left by Edge is to big for just Christian to fill. I believe Christian should get the opportunity to wear the World Title sometime this year. By adding Sheamus and Orton, you can have 4 top guys going after the title and mix up the story lines. Orton has been in the best feud on Raw with CM Punk. Randy deserves to be in the title picture and he won't get that chance on Raw. He will on Smackdown and the Viper can easily change from face to heel and heel to face.

Raw

Drew McIntyre- There is no guarantee a change of shows will do someone good. We are all hoping it will for "our" guy/s. Well Drew is one of my guys. I like this kid a lot. He has a good look, great finisher and his entrance music is very recognizable. He was named 'The Chosen One' by Vinnie Mac and hasn't done anything with it. A move to Monday Night where he can be used in the mid-carder title picture would be perfect. I would love to see him and Sin Cara compete in a few matches.

Wade Barrett- It only makes sense if Sheamus goes to Smackdown, the IC title comes to Raw. I realize it's only been a few months since Barrett had a 100 chairs fall on him by Cena and he was forced to leave Raw. The Corre is lame and needs to break up. Barrett made his name on Raw and he should try and extract some revenge on Punk and the Nexus. I'm not saying Barrett should turn face. All I am saying is Wade should beat down the Nexus and Punk. I don't see fans cheering Barrett as his character is brutal and malicious. Wade and Morrison sounds like a good story.

Jack Swagger- The All American American American needs a face turn at Extreme Rules. If he does that and moves to Raw, BAM, fresh start. With Barrett and McIntyre coming over, Raw needs at least one face and Swagger can fit the bill. Raw has always had more characters and less focus on wrestling, Swagger needs more time to talk and can do that on Raw. He's a good wrestler so that's not his problem. Raw can help him with his character issue.

I'm sure the WWE will throw in a few more curveballs during the Draft episode. I didn't mention the Divas either. I doubt Kong will show up this week but it would be nice to know what show she is going to be on. If Del Rio or Miz move, that will be shocking. Raw should be interesting but it might feel thrown together. The writers have had a few weeks to prepare. I hope it's a good show and some of the moves benefit those being buried. Let's see how much the WWE decides to shake things up. Be sure to come back Monday night after Raw for the Raw blog. You can also hit me up on twitter @mccall316 during Raw as I am always on there as well. If you want more wrestling, head to BBSD.

J Call