The American Dream Dusty Rhodes is tonight's Raw GM. I like him and it should be a good show. DX and Legacy will continue tonight. Cena vs Orton was already made for the ppv. I know Show vs Henry and Jericho vs MVP have been announced. I do not know how they could possibly top the World Cage Match on Smackdown last Friday but I am sure they will try.
I just want to say that this maybe one of my shortest Raw Blogs. I had surgery today to take out 2 of my wisdom teeth so I am a little under the weather. Also, a big thank you goes out to Jeff Hardy. You put on two fantastic matches in 3 days. The TLC and followed up with a Cage match. Oh and way to add more heat on Punk to "punk" Hardy out right before Smackdown went off the air. Great touch by the writers.
Raw starts with The American Dream Dusty Rhodes. I love his music. I dance everytime I hear it, probably because it has a cowbell on it. I have a fever and the only cure is more cowbell. He is just a common man! Rhodes is charismatic, fan favorite, and a great talker. Dusty talks about how he is proud of his son, Cody Rhodes. Dusty makes a match with Randy Orton vs Cody Rhodes for the WWE Title. Awesome! I think that is some much added drama. Rhodes also said he will be in Cody's corner and makes Cena the special referee for that match. I remember the Million Dollar Man Ted Dibiase did sort of the same thing for his son, Teddy. Raw needs to add some depth to Legacy's characters. The WWE champ Randy Orton walks out and tells Rhodes he is upset that Cody looks up more to Orton then his own father. Rhodes tells him Cody is hungrier than him. Orton says he is setting up for a disappointment and asks to give him one good reason he shouldn't kick Dusty like he did two years ago. The young man, Cody comes out. Cody actually talks about his father's legacy is bigger than his or Randy's. Cody says he will not pass up this opportunity. Randy says the fix is it. Randy struts away a little befuddled at what just happened.
6 diva battle royal. The winner will get a Diva title shot later tonight. 2 segments of women, couldn't we just make Beth vs Mickie? The participants are Jillian Hall, Beth Phoenix, Kelly Kelly, Gail Kim, Alica Fox, and Rosa. Beth throws out Rosa first. Kelly starts mounting an offense until Alicia hits her axe kick. Alicia gets tossed out. Followed by Kelly eliminated by Beth. Gail up on Jillian's shoulders twice but she was unsuccessful. Gail held on the top rope and eliminated Jillian and Beth stood by and watched. Gail got up on the apron and Beth booted her out. Beth wins!!! Beth wins!! Thank you, I will be here all night. Beth vs Mickie for the Diva Championship later tonight.
Right after the battle royal, my boy Y2J, Chris Jericho makes his way to the ring. Jericho vs MVP is next. The longest reigning United States champion in WWE history MVP comes to the ring with his sweet pyro. Match starts with some amateur wrestling. Smackdown also had the tag champs vs Cryme Tyme. A great rematch from Summerslam and established the tag champs. Momentum swung a few times with a few counters. MVP chant by the crowd. MVP starts to dominate the match heading for the break. MVP was dropkicked off the apron by Y2J. I love that move. MVP in a sleeper when Raw returns from the commercials. MVP starts hitting some quick moves but then countered again into a bulldog by Jericho. Lionsault was missed and now MVP has another shot. Ballin elbow for 2 and MVP goes for the playmaker is countered. Walls of Jericho into a small package for 2 again. Crazy finish, MVP turns around Jericho nails the Codebreaker for the victory. I really enjoy the Codebreaker. Jericho has a finisher that can come out of no where and is fun to watch. Great match.
DX with Rhodes in the backstage area. Rhodes says after Cody wins the title, they will get a shot at the title. DX says they are bored. Dusty says they can hang out with him and watch the new WCW dvd. Rhodes then plugs his own dvd. HHH says if it is one thing they hate its a shameless plug. Triple H goes on to plug the DX dvd. Hornswaggle in the back heading towards the ring in a cowboy suit. I can't wait. Had the dentist not pulled my wisdom teeth today, I may have done it during the Hornswaggle match tonight.
Last week Evan came out to help Hornswaggle, I thought maybe we would see that tonight. Instead, we get Chavo, dressed as a cow, vs Hornswaggle in a bull rope match. Before the match starts the ref adds a cow hat to Chavo's wardrobe. This is just a waste of time. Hornswaggle wins in a match that degrates the entire history of bull rope matches. By the way if you want to see a real bullrope match, shameless plug for me, heres a link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0lJm_47mGY&feature=channel_page Im the man out first. Yes I am a Legend!
Well its the BIG SHOW! I hope the WWE reinforced the ring for this bout. Big Show weighs in at 485 lbs and Henry at 418. Close to a half a ton of beef in the ring. A test of strength and Show was going down until a boot to the gut. Henry is about two steps ahead of Show tonight. I didn't figure this to be a classic wrestling contest but its having moments. The biggest spear ever by Show on Henry. Unbelievable! Henry slamming Show into the corner and one more in the middle of the ring followed it up with a big splash for 2. Show takes the turnbuckle cover off and Henry runs into it for a dq win. Henry dazed, turns around for the knock out punch. Show is starting to perfect his right hand. Big Show hit a thunderous shot at Summerslam on JTG. Shad received the same treatment on Smackdown. Tonight was Mark Henry's turn to feel the shot.
DX back again with Rhodes backstage. They are talking about the Monday Night Wars. Dusty talks about WCW kicking WWE ass in the ratings from 1996-1998. Dusty says wasn't that during your era as champion? Shawn gets pissed after another rib and leaves. HHH talks about booking in back then. HBK comes back screaming about the attitude era.
In the ring Lillian announces a fatal four way match for the United States Championship. Jack Swagger out first and starts doing push ups with pyro in the back ground. That is something new. Carlito followed by Miz. The lightening rod and United States Champion Kofi Kingston out last. The way a title match should be, champ out last. Miz does the coward heel move and takes a powder on the outside. Kofi hits some offense followed up by Swagger, who gets thrown to the outside. First pinfall Carlito on top of Kofi but broken up by Miz. The action is fierce and I have no idea if I can keep up. All 3 heels are on the outside and Kofi takes a suicide dive on to all of them leading to a break. I will try and catch my breath now. I like both Swagger and Kofi. I use to think Kofi was just a nice mid card guy but I think this kid has a shot to be something more. He may never get a world title, but one of those guys that goes out and puts on solid matches and works hard. Swagger has every ingredient to be a World Champion. I also think if R Truth was booked correctly, now that Rey is suspended. Truth and Dolph Ziggler could feud for the Intercontinental title. Carlito makes a save as Raw returns. Kofi with another high flying cross body onto Carlito and Miz. Swagger gains the momentum and hits one splash off the 2nd rope for a 2 count on Carlito. Miz gets his knees up on the 2nd attempt by Swagger. Leg drop on to Carlito and Swagger for a 2 count. Miz hits his finisher for 2 count on Swagger. Carlito breaks it up and hits the backstabber on Miz. Before he can cover, Kofi hits Trouble in Paradise for the win on Carlito. Great fast paced match. Way to show off 4 very good wrestlers and give them time to develop a story in the ring. I enjoyed that.
The Glamazon Beth Phoenix taking on Mickie James for the Diva Title. After bitching for months for this match, its about time! Mickie uses speed for a quick pin for a 1 count to start the match. Beth using her power and slams Mickie into the corner. Beth hits a baseball slide into Mickie who nails the ring post. Beth runs her over when she gets to her feet. A huge shoulder breaker for 2 by the Glamazon. Beth starts to focus on the shoulder, smart wrestling. Crowd starts cheering and Mickie gets back to her feet and lands some kicks and right forearms. Low dropkick to the knee and one to the end gets Beth to the mat. Mickie with a head scissor to get Beth down again. Mickie climbed the ropes but Beth drills her and Mickie takes a nasty fall to the floor. Back in the ring for a 2 count. Beth with a sick kick and looked to win back a Women's belt. Somehow Beth lifted up Mickie and was countered into the Mickie DDT for the victory to retain her title. A great women's match for Raw.
DX and Rhodes again backstage. Triple H talks about the Shockmaster from back in the WCW days. He shows up plowing through the wall and DX wonders where the voice is coming from. Arn Anderson shown off camera had a mic in his hand. Santino was the Shockmaster.
Cena with a backstage interview. Cena talks about the story we have tonight. Cody Rhodes with his father in his corner and defeats Randy to become the youngest champion in WWE history. Cena said if Cody did that it would show Cody wouldnt need to hide in someone elses shadow or be the end of Legacy. Cena says he will not choose sides. Cena says who ever wins will run into a brick wall at Breaking Point. Cena says he will not quit!
You want something to watch Friday night, I have some good news for you. The Undertaker will be making his return to free television this Friday night. I am sure he will be focused on the Straightedged Superstar CM Punk. Plus Tuesday night on ECW, they are replaying Shawn Michaels and Undertaker from Wrestlemania 25. If you missed that match, just stop watching wrestling.
The WWE Champion Randy Orton is out first before the break. Cody with his father by his side make their entrance. The special guest ref gets the final entrance. I like Cena but as I said when a title is on the line, I want to see the champion out last. Rhodes grabs the mic and its a double cross. Rhodes turns on Cena and here comes Dibiase. Legacy triple team John Cena. Here come DX for the save! Triple H nailing Orton and HBK on Dibiase. Dusty hits Triple H with a cowboy boot. I guess the heels will finally get the upper hand tonight. RKO on Dusty! WTF? I did not see that coming. Cody looks pissed off. Huge Cody chant as Raw goes off the air. That was nuts! I loved the ending. Heels go out on top after being looked weak for weeks to John Cena. The RKO on Dusty was icing on the cake. Will Cody turn soon? The crowd sure got behind him which is probably what the WWE wanted to test. The crowd will get behind a man wanting to defend his father's honor and when your dad is a hall of famer, Dusty Rhodes. The crowd will really love you because they love him. A wild emotional ride to end Raw.
Next week it was announced Bob Barker will be the general manger. I will have to wait and see what the writers do with him. I have to say I love Bob Barker. I watched the Price is Right about as long as I have watched wrestling. We know he won't be in the ring wrestling for sure but maybe a few backstage skits with some of the wrestlers and announce a match or two would be a solid show in my eyes.
If you are a football fan, check out my NFC blog I wrote last week. Also I will be writing and AFC preview blog and that will be up Thursday morning. Can't get enough football or wrestling? Hit the radio tap and listen to John and Eric show and Showstoppers. BBSD Radio is ok to listen at work.
J Call
Monday, August 31, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
NFC Preview
Where is the football talk? While Eric and John blog about baseball which is heading toward the post season. I decided to go in the direction America wants to know. FOOTBALL!!! Everyone is talking about the NFL. I wanted to do an NFL preview blog to get ready for the regular season in three weeks. I realized that is a lot to write about in a short time so I thought about splitting it into 3 blogs. This week I breakdown what will happen in the NFC. Several teams are looking to rebound after missing the playoffs. I am talking about the Dallas Cowboys. Other teams want to continue their upward swing, Atlanta. To start off, the NFC East. The NFC East always seemed to grab the headlines. People love talking about the Dallas Cowboys. Lets talk about those Cowboys.
Dallas Cowboys
The off season was actually a quiet one for the Cowboys. The major news for Dallas was cutting ties with Terrell Owens. I was living in Dallas at the time and loved the move to cut T.O. I do not care for keeping the coaching staff. Wade Phillips has had time to build on what Bill Parcells did and he has failed. Wade gets one more shot and its playoffs or look for a new job. I started to look at the 'Boys schedule and they have a favorable one. The season starts on the road at Tampa Bay which should be a victory. A brand new stadium, which needs renovated already lol. I couldn't help myself to make fun of a punter hitting the video board in the middle of the stadium. The home opener against the Giants is a toss up. The other key games are at Philadelphia, at New York Giants, and the final game at home against the Eagles. With games against the AFC West which is a terrible division and favorable match ups with the NFC South, the Cowboys have a shot to reach the post season. Final verdict: 10-6 but just short of the playoffs.
Washington Redskins
The team who spent the most money this past off season needs their QB to help get them past the .500 mark they reached last year. Albert Haynesworth comes over from Tennessee to help the defensive line which had only 24 sacks last year. Albert isn't a big pass rusher but will demand double teams and free some of the defensive ends. The major issue is Jason Campbell. He must improve and gain leadership to relieve some of the pressure on Clinton Portis. The Redskins schedule isn't a very easy road. I like the their chances early on with games against St. Louis and Tampa Bay, plus a road game in Detroit. I can not see them getting many victories over their divisional opponents. Final verdict: 6-10.
Philadelphia Eagles
The wild card team in this division. The media will be all over this team when Michael Vick gets reinstated. My major concern isn't Vick, but rather the other QB, Donovan McNabb. I like McNabb a lot. I think he is a fantastic leader and the main reason why this team is always in the playoff hunt. The Eagles added Jeremy Maclin and LeSean McCoy in the draft. They lost Buckhalter and Brian Dawkins in cap related moves. McCoy is an upgrade over Buckhalter but no one can replace Dawkins leadership. Since all the NFC East teams face AFC West teams its easy to give the Eagles a few easy wins. I think it will all come down to the final week again vs Dallas. I am taking the Eagles to get into the postseason again as a wild card. Final verdict: 11-5 and a wild card spot.
New York Giants
The New York Giants are going to win this division again. I love the make up of this team. The defense is great. The line gets to the quarterback. They have all the tools to be in the top 5 in defenses. Eli Manning is a Super Bowl winning quarterback. The major weakness is the inexperienced wide outs. Hakeem Nicks hasn't showed a whole lot yet after being the first round draft pick for the Giants. Steve Smith was the leading receiver in catches last year. Toomer and Plexico are both gone but the security blanket is still there. Kevin Boss is a solid tight end. The Giants running game, even with the loss of Ward, will keep a lot of pressure off Eli. New York has a shot to go all the way in my eyes. Final verdict: 13-3 and the division championship.
The NFC South maybe the most competitive division in the NFC. Atlanta was on fire last year with rookie QB Matt Ryan. Carolina was the division winner and was bitten by the turnover bug in the playoffs. New Orleans had the best all around quarterback in the league in Drew Brees. Tampa will be the weak team in this division because they are in complete overhaul mode.
Tampa Bay
I hated what Tampa Bay did in the off season. First, they fired a Super Bowl winning coach in John Gruden. They released half the team and then drafted a quarterback so they could have 10 on the roster to start the season. You have heard running backs by committee I think that's what Tampa will do at quarterback this year. They have a very tough schedule to boot. Opening game with Dallas, plus games with the Giants, Patriots, and their divisional games. I hate to say it but I don't know how they will win more than 3 games. Final verdict: 3-13
Carolina Panthers
Can Jake Delhomme recover from the dreadful playoff game against Arizona? Unless he was hypnotized over the off season, he is never going to forget that game. Carolina couldn't find a great offer for Julius Peppers. I hope Julius can play well and stay healthy. I love the Panthers two headed monster at running back. Johnathon Stewart and DeAngelo Williams are perfect compliments to each others game. The wide receiver core is a little weak with only Steve Smith sticking out. The offensive line is solid. I have to question the defense a little though. Peppers needs to be dominate and get to the quarterback often. Their schedule is up and down. I only see one team making the playoffs in the division and Carolina won't be one. No team has won back to back division titles in this division in several years. This year will be no different. Final Verdict: 8-8
New Orleans
I am so torn up with this team. I love Drew Brees and his offense. Brees has weapons all over to throw to. The only question on offense is at running back. Reggie Bush can not stay healthy. Pierre Thomas in his third year, has never been the number 1 back. Although for Thomas's career he is averaging over four yards a carrier. The biggest question is on the defensive side. Last year, the defense gave up 24.6 points a game. Hopefully, rookie cornerback Malcolm Jenkins and second year defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis can step it up and help linebacker Jonathan Vilma. New Orleans opens up with Detroit. The nonconference games against the NFC East and AFC East doesn't make the outlook much better. I have a hard time thinking this team with make the leap this year. Final Verdict: 8-8
Atlanta Falcons
Fans seem to forget this team did not win the division last year. I believe that is why they will win the division this year. Atlanta can run the ball with Michael Turner. Matt Ryan had a great rookie season. The Falcons could have done nothing, instead they added the second best tight end in the NFL, Tony Gonzalez. Will Matt go through a sophomore slump? I don't foresee that. The defense just needs to get better in the secondary and this team will win the South. The schedule will be tough but Matt learned a lot last year and will lead this team to a division title. Final Verdict: 9-7 and division championship
The NFC West is top to bottom one of the worst divisions in all of football. In fact, both West divisions are terrible. San Francisco is in rebuilding mode for the sixth straight year. Seattle and St. Louis can't seem to stay healthy. Arizona is the favorite by far to take this division.
San Francisco
The 49ers can not seem to find a franchise quarterback. I love their coach, Mike Singletary. I just can't see how this team is going to improve. Michael Crabtree is going down the JaMarcus Russell route and won't play until mid season. It doesn't even matter about their schedule. San Francisco has no shot to make the playoffs or even win more than 5 games. Final Verdict: 3-13
St. Louis Rams
I have to be honest, I have no idea what will happen to this team. The Rams at full strength could be around .500. If they end up like last year, they will draft in the top 10 again. Marc Bulger has to stay healthy for this team to have a chance to win games. Stephen Jackson is a solid running back. The addition of Jason Smith on the offensive line should help both of these guys. The defense was horrendous, giving up almost 30 points per game. I like the new head coach Steve Spagnuolo. I think he will add a lot to the poor defense. I think James Laurinaitis will be a defensive rookie of the year candidate. I just don't see how this team can rebound though. Final Verdict: 4-12
Seattle Seahawks
In the preseason, Matt Hasselbeck has looked to be back in rare form. The Seahawks have spent a lot of money on wide receivers. Deion Branch, Nate Burleson, and newcomer T.J Houshmandzadeh are all going to get the ball this season. The ground game is the major question mark on offense. Seattle just signed Edgerrin James to help out. I doubt that will be enough. A solid linebacking core with Tatupu and rookie Aaron Curry should help the defense get back into shape. I think this team will bounce back from a terrible 4-12 this year and be a respectable team. Final Verdict: 7-9
Arizona Cardinals
The Super Bowl loser usually doesn't make the playoffs the following year. Arizona will be the first since Seattle did it a few years ago. Kurt Warner is back after a career year. Who doesn't love Larry Fitzgerald? The only concern is if Warner gets hurt. I think the running game is going to be better with Chris Beanie Wells. The defense needs to continue the play they had in last years playoffs. There is no reason this team shouldn't be thinking about playing in the Super Bowl again. Final Verdict 12-4 division title
The final division is the North. The Vikings have taken over all the news since the guy that shall remain nameless returned and signed with them. Last year Minnesota won the division without that guy. Chicago made all the headlines in the off season with the trade for Jay Cutler. Detroit is trying to rebuild and have no where to go but up. I think I will surprise a few people with my predictions in the North.
Detroit Lions
The 2009 Detroit Lions, we can't be any worse. I think that is slogan they should go with this year. No way do the Lions go winless again. Matthew Stafford should be driving the bus at the start of the season. Let him learn for the future. The schedule is not brutal but not easy either. I like Calvin Johnson and uh, well I like Calvin Johnson. The Lions will get a few wins and I think we will see signs of hope. Final Verdict: 3-13
Chicago Bears
I liked the Cutler trade in the off season. Jay is going to be a great quarterback for years. He is the franchise quarterback they have lacked for several years. The major issue I have is who the hell does he have running routes? Matt Forte is going to get his but the receiver core is terrible. Devin Hester is not a number one. I think the defense will play well. Chicago should get some easy wins over Detroit, Cleveland, and Cincinnati. They go out and add Brandon Marshall and then I will say they have a shot at the division. Final Verdict: 7-9
Minnesota Vikings
It is no secret, I am in love with Adrian Peterson. AD is the major reason this team made the playoffs last year. Now they have the major question answered with that old QB. I am forbidden by BBSD rules to name their quarterback. The new question is now will "he" pick up the offense and get a long with his teammates. I hate hearing the media talking about dissension in the locker room. The Vikings can run the ball and stop the run. You have to do those two things to have success in the NFL. Tavaris turned it over to much last year and now the old man has to limit his mistakes, something he has not done in his entire career. I think this team makes the playoffs because of the man who carried them last year, Adrian Peterson. Final Verdict: 11-5 and wild card.
Green Bay Packers
As much as I hate to pick Green Bay, with all the headlines going to Minnesota, I think Green Bay will sneak in. Aaron Rodgers is heading towards a breakout season. His weapons are Greg Jennings, Donald Driver, and Donald Lee in the passing game. Ryan Grant must stay healthy and if he does, he will have a career year. The defense must step it up. Last year they gave up almost 24 points a game. If that number can drop 5 points, this team will have a shot to make it deep into the playoffs. I am giving them the same record as the Vikings. I think the tiebreaker will go to the Packers when Rodgers out plays the player to remain nameless. Final Verdict: 11-5 and division winner.
Here is a recap of what I am predicting:
East: New York Giants. South: Atlanta Falcons. West: Arizona Cardinals. North: Green Bay Packers. 2 NFC Wild cards: Philadelphia Eagles and Minnesota Vikings.
I will preview the AFC next week followed in 2 weeks with my playoff predictions and Super Bowl winner. If you have a problem with my predictions, you can email me at mccall316@yahoo.com.
J Call
Dallas Cowboys
The off season was actually a quiet one for the Cowboys. The major news for Dallas was cutting ties with Terrell Owens. I was living in Dallas at the time and loved the move to cut T.O. I do not care for keeping the coaching staff. Wade Phillips has had time to build on what Bill Parcells did and he has failed. Wade gets one more shot and its playoffs or look for a new job. I started to look at the 'Boys schedule and they have a favorable one. The season starts on the road at Tampa Bay which should be a victory. A brand new stadium, which needs renovated already lol. I couldn't help myself to make fun of a punter hitting the video board in the middle of the stadium. The home opener against the Giants is a toss up. The other key games are at Philadelphia, at New York Giants, and the final game at home against the Eagles. With games against the AFC West which is a terrible division and favorable match ups with the NFC South, the Cowboys have a shot to reach the post season. Final verdict: 10-6 but just short of the playoffs.
Washington Redskins
The team who spent the most money this past off season needs their QB to help get them past the .500 mark they reached last year. Albert Haynesworth comes over from Tennessee to help the defensive line which had only 24 sacks last year. Albert isn't a big pass rusher but will demand double teams and free some of the defensive ends. The major issue is Jason Campbell. He must improve and gain leadership to relieve some of the pressure on Clinton Portis. The Redskins schedule isn't a very easy road. I like the their chances early on with games against St. Louis and Tampa Bay, plus a road game in Detroit. I can not see them getting many victories over their divisional opponents. Final verdict: 6-10.
Philadelphia Eagles
The wild card team in this division. The media will be all over this team when Michael Vick gets reinstated. My major concern isn't Vick, but rather the other QB, Donovan McNabb. I like McNabb a lot. I think he is a fantastic leader and the main reason why this team is always in the playoff hunt. The Eagles added Jeremy Maclin and LeSean McCoy in the draft. They lost Buckhalter and Brian Dawkins in cap related moves. McCoy is an upgrade over Buckhalter but no one can replace Dawkins leadership. Since all the NFC East teams face AFC West teams its easy to give the Eagles a few easy wins. I think it will all come down to the final week again vs Dallas. I am taking the Eagles to get into the postseason again as a wild card. Final verdict: 11-5 and a wild card spot.
New York Giants
The New York Giants are going to win this division again. I love the make up of this team. The defense is great. The line gets to the quarterback. They have all the tools to be in the top 5 in defenses. Eli Manning is a Super Bowl winning quarterback. The major weakness is the inexperienced wide outs. Hakeem Nicks hasn't showed a whole lot yet after being the first round draft pick for the Giants. Steve Smith was the leading receiver in catches last year. Toomer and Plexico are both gone but the security blanket is still there. Kevin Boss is a solid tight end. The Giants running game, even with the loss of Ward, will keep a lot of pressure off Eli. New York has a shot to go all the way in my eyes. Final verdict: 13-3 and the division championship.
The NFC South maybe the most competitive division in the NFC. Atlanta was on fire last year with rookie QB Matt Ryan. Carolina was the division winner and was bitten by the turnover bug in the playoffs. New Orleans had the best all around quarterback in the league in Drew Brees. Tampa will be the weak team in this division because they are in complete overhaul mode.
Tampa Bay
I hated what Tampa Bay did in the off season. First, they fired a Super Bowl winning coach in John Gruden. They released half the team and then drafted a quarterback so they could have 10 on the roster to start the season. You have heard running backs by committee I think that's what Tampa will do at quarterback this year. They have a very tough schedule to boot. Opening game with Dallas, plus games with the Giants, Patriots, and their divisional games. I hate to say it but I don't know how they will win more than 3 games. Final verdict: 3-13
Carolina Panthers
Can Jake Delhomme recover from the dreadful playoff game against Arizona? Unless he was hypnotized over the off season, he is never going to forget that game. Carolina couldn't find a great offer for Julius Peppers. I hope Julius can play well and stay healthy. I love the Panthers two headed monster at running back. Johnathon Stewart and DeAngelo Williams are perfect compliments to each others game. The wide receiver core is a little weak with only Steve Smith sticking out. The offensive line is solid. I have to question the defense a little though. Peppers needs to be dominate and get to the quarterback often. Their schedule is up and down. I only see one team making the playoffs in the division and Carolina won't be one. No team has won back to back division titles in this division in several years. This year will be no different. Final Verdict: 8-8
New Orleans
I am so torn up with this team. I love Drew Brees and his offense. Brees has weapons all over to throw to. The only question on offense is at running back. Reggie Bush can not stay healthy. Pierre Thomas in his third year, has never been the number 1 back. Although for Thomas's career he is averaging over four yards a carrier. The biggest question is on the defensive side. Last year, the defense gave up 24.6 points a game. Hopefully, rookie cornerback Malcolm Jenkins and second year defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis can step it up and help linebacker Jonathan Vilma. New Orleans opens up with Detroit. The nonconference games against the NFC East and AFC East doesn't make the outlook much better. I have a hard time thinking this team with make the leap this year. Final Verdict: 8-8
Atlanta Falcons
Fans seem to forget this team did not win the division last year. I believe that is why they will win the division this year. Atlanta can run the ball with Michael Turner. Matt Ryan had a great rookie season. The Falcons could have done nothing, instead they added the second best tight end in the NFL, Tony Gonzalez. Will Matt go through a sophomore slump? I don't foresee that. The defense just needs to get better in the secondary and this team will win the South. The schedule will be tough but Matt learned a lot last year and will lead this team to a division title. Final Verdict: 9-7 and division championship
The NFC West is top to bottom one of the worst divisions in all of football. In fact, both West divisions are terrible. San Francisco is in rebuilding mode for the sixth straight year. Seattle and St. Louis can't seem to stay healthy. Arizona is the favorite by far to take this division.
San Francisco
The 49ers can not seem to find a franchise quarterback. I love their coach, Mike Singletary. I just can't see how this team is going to improve. Michael Crabtree is going down the JaMarcus Russell route and won't play until mid season. It doesn't even matter about their schedule. San Francisco has no shot to make the playoffs or even win more than 5 games. Final Verdict: 3-13
St. Louis Rams
I have to be honest, I have no idea what will happen to this team. The Rams at full strength could be around .500. If they end up like last year, they will draft in the top 10 again. Marc Bulger has to stay healthy for this team to have a chance to win games. Stephen Jackson is a solid running back. The addition of Jason Smith on the offensive line should help both of these guys. The defense was horrendous, giving up almost 30 points per game. I like the new head coach Steve Spagnuolo. I think he will add a lot to the poor defense. I think James Laurinaitis will be a defensive rookie of the year candidate. I just don't see how this team can rebound though. Final Verdict: 4-12
Seattle Seahawks
In the preseason, Matt Hasselbeck has looked to be back in rare form. The Seahawks have spent a lot of money on wide receivers. Deion Branch, Nate Burleson, and newcomer T.J Houshmandzadeh are all going to get the ball this season. The ground game is the major question mark on offense. Seattle just signed Edgerrin James to help out. I doubt that will be enough. A solid linebacking core with Tatupu and rookie Aaron Curry should help the defense get back into shape. I think this team will bounce back from a terrible 4-12 this year and be a respectable team. Final Verdict: 7-9
Arizona Cardinals
The Super Bowl loser usually doesn't make the playoffs the following year. Arizona will be the first since Seattle did it a few years ago. Kurt Warner is back after a career year. Who doesn't love Larry Fitzgerald? The only concern is if Warner gets hurt. I think the running game is going to be better with Chris Beanie Wells. The defense needs to continue the play they had in last years playoffs. There is no reason this team shouldn't be thinking about playing in the Super Bowl again. Final Verdict 12-4 division title
The final division is the North. The Vikings have taken over all the news since the guy that shall remain nameless returned and signed with them. Last year Minnesota won the division without that guy. Chicago made all the headlines in the off season with the trade for Jay Cutler. Detroit is trying to rebuild and have no where to go but up. I think I will surprise a few people with my predictions in the North.
Detroit Lions
The 2009 Detroit Lions, we can't be any worse. I think that is slogan they should go with this year. No way do the Lions go winless again. Matthew Stafford should be driving the bus at the start of the season. Let him learn for the future. The schedule is not brutal but not easy either. I like Calvin Johnson and uh, well I like Calvin Johnson. The Lions will get a few wins and I think we will see signs of hope. Final Verdict: 3-13
Chicago Bears
I liked the Cutler trade in the off season. Jay is going to be a great quarterback for years. He is the franchise quarterback they have lacked for several years. The major issue I have is who the hell does he have running routes? Matt Forte is going to get his but the receiver core is terrible. Devin Hester is not a number one. I think the defense will play well. Chicago should get some easy wins over Detroit, Cleveland, and Cincinnati. They go out and add Brandon Marshall and then I will say they have a shot at the division. Final Verdict: 7-9
Minnesota Vikings
It is no secret, I am in love with Adrian Peterson. AD is the major reason this team made the playoffs last year. Now they have the major question answered with that old QB. I am forbidden by BBSD rules to name their quarterback. The new question is now will "he" pick up the offense and get a long with his teammates. I hate hearing the media talking about dissension in the locker room. The Vikings can run the ball and stop the run. You have to do those two things to have success in the NFL. Tavaris turned it over to much last year and now the old man has to limit his mistakes, something he has not done in his entire career. I think this team makes the playoffs because of the man who carried them last year, Adrian Peterson. Final Verdict: 11-5 and wild card.
Green Bay Packers
As much as I hate to pick Green Bay, with all the headlines going to Minnesota, I think Green Bay will sneak in. Aaron Rodgers is heading towards a breakout season. His weapons are Greg Jennings, Donald Driver, and Donald Lee in the passing game. Ryan Grant must stay healthy and if he does, he will have a career year. The defense must step it up. Last year they gave up almost 24 points a game. If that number can drop 5 points, this team will have a shot to make it deep into the playoffs. I am giving them the same record as the Vikings. I think the tiebreaker will go to the Packers when Rodgers out plays the player to remain nameless. Final Verdict: 11-5 and division winner.
Here is a recap of what I am predicting:
East: New York Giants. South: Atlanta Falcons. West: Arizona Cardinals. North: Green Bay Packers. 2 NFC Wild cards: Philadelphia Eagles and Minnesota Vikings.
I will preview the AFC next week followed in 2 weeks with my playoff predictions and Super Bowl winner. If you have a problem with my predictions, you can email me at mccall316@yahoo.com.
J Call
Monday, August 24, 2009
Raw 8-24
Summerslam has came and went. Was it a great pay per view? Yes it was. Summerslam had a great ic title match with Rey and Ziggler. DX debuted and beat Legacy. Randy Orton survived in a crazy spot, more on that later, to end their match. The show ended with the return of the Deadman. Raw is live in Las Vegas. The gm tonight is Floyd Money Mayweather who almost had to be taken off the show. There is talk of the Raw roulette returning tonight. I would love to see that. The best damn WWE blogger is back for another week.
I loved Summerslam, probably because I was close to perfect on my predictions. If we indeed saw the last Jeff Hardy match, he certainly left us with something very special. The TLC match might have been the best 1 on 1 TLC match ever. The Undertaker returning gives Smackdown the big name boost it needs if Hardy leaves. I am also glad to see they left TLC as the main event because DX did not deserve to be last. Belts are bigger than DX or any other wrestler. John Cena and Randy Orton had a crazy match with several restarts. Although the restarts take away from the actual match, it was a nice twist. The final ending to the match involved a "fan" running in and causing a major distraction and just like that an RKO to win the match. The fan turned out to be Brett Dibiase, the other son of the million dollar man Ted Dibiase. I can not stress how cool this is. Will he be a new member of Legacy? I sure hope so. This is a great twist on Raw. Alright lets dive in on what should be a great Raw.
Raw starts with a recap of the Raw's main event from Summerslam. The video ends and the camera comes on Randy Orton. Randy starts talking about the match last night and the fan who ran in. Legacy is around Orton and Orton looks at Ted and says it was no ordinary fan. Ted says no it wasnt it was my brother Brett. Brett shows up and Ted says Randy nor did he know Brett was going to interfere. Randy says it will never happen again. I highly doubt that.
Following the promo, in the ring out comes the chairman of the board Vince McMahon. McMahon says the decision stands from last night. He goes on to say Cena does get a rematch in a brand new type of pay per view called Breaking Point. The pay per view will all be submission matches and Cena vs Orton will be an I Quit Match. As McMahon starts to leave, DX arrives on the scene. HHH starts talking about how he doesn't like the good McMahon. He makes a joke about comparing good McMahon to Vick at a PETA convention. DX relays the message to the audience that its Vince McMahon's birthday. Trips says its his 84th birthday. He changes it to 74 then to 70. Vince had enough and yells he is 64. Vince I hope I look that good when I am 64. Shawn starts to act like he respects Vince. HBK tells him he is the reason why we watch the WWE. Shawn says they have a tribute to Vince. A video starts and its pretty nice...for a while. Then the incredible music video of "Stand Back" starts up followed by all the embarrassing moments that have happened to Vince. Some Austin moments make the video which are all damn good. Nice tribute WWE. Triple H says he won't forget this and a huge bday cake rolls out and DX starts singing Happy Birthday but HHH stops it. A bunch of showgirls come out to help celebrate. Vince actually starts smiling. They all get in the ring. Vince asks how long will this go on? 2 circus oh la come out. Vince says their masks are really gay. I thought the WWE was pg? Elvis comes out next. My god how much more will DX provide Vinnie Mac for his bday? Elvis leads us all in singing Happy Birthday. He wasnt bad at all. Big Dick Johnson pops out of the birthday cake and starts dancing around the ring until Vince tosses him out. DX kicks everyone out and says they need a private moment with Vince. Legacy comes out of nowhere and blind sides DX. Shawn gets thrown out and gets a chair. Legacy bails up the ramp as Orton walks down. Triple H makes a match of Legacy vs DX and McMahon No DQ. McMahon says if you're not down with that we got two words for ya...SUCK IT. The first segment on Raw starts with Vinnie and ends with a 3 on 3 main event. I don't mind the fact that the segment went on for almost 30 mins. The whole DX Legacy feud continuing is just great for me. Legacy is still being made to look strong.
Back from commercial with Santino in the ring. Miz will be his opponent tonight. Some ground moves by Miz. The crowd is actually chanting Santino. Santino starts to build some offensive momentum but Miz hits his finisher and picks up the 1,2,3 victory. Very quick match or as Lawler said, workmen like. Miz grabs the mic and says he is one step closer to beating Kofi Kingston for the US title. I'm a little hit or miss on the way the WWE is going about pushing Miz. I love how Smackdown is pushing Ziggler. Smackdown is giving Ziggler opportunity to show off his ability in the ring vs Rey in a series of pay per view matches. Isn't that more affective then throwing Miz out for a 3 min match with a few wrestlers over the next month? Why not just make Miz vs Kofi next week on Raw and let us, the fans, be the ones to see if we like what Miz brings to the table. Give them 2 full segments to build a great wrestling match. That will do more for Miz then being put in worthless matches.
Gail Kim, Mickie James, Kelly Kelly vs Beth Phoenix, Alicia Fox, and Rosa Mendex. Another 6 diva match. I guess 8 weeks in a row isn't enough. Beth starts to dominate Kelly after the faces had the quick start. Rosa comes in and momentum swings with a hot tag to Mickie James. She starts punching the crap out of Alicia Fox. Great neckbreaker. Beth comes to make the save but gets a missile dropkick. Kelly kicks Rosa off the apron. Faces in control but Alicia gets it back and ends up hitting a scissors kick on Mickie for the victory. Last week, Gail Kim must not have impressed the writers. Maybe its Alicia's turn to get a title match. Why? I have no idea. You have Beth Phoenix sitting here. Mickie and Beth would have great matches together and could actually build a decent feud with time. Nope, lets throw Alicia in for something different. Holy crap WWE! Wake up!
DX in the back going over their tag match later tonight. HHH plugs the new WCW DVD which I will buy. HBK says they have to get Vince angry. HHH said he had a plan and sent Jillian, dressed as Marilyn Monroe, to sing happy birthday. Vince listens to her for a little bit but tells her to get the hell out. Not a bad idea DX. She is annoying but i think it will take more than that.
JeriShow come out next. They have a new entrance music which is freaking sweet. They show a recap of 'Mania 24 where Mayweather beat Big Show in a wrestling match. Show says he will not leave until Mayweather comes out. He appears on the megatron and is on his way out as Raw fades to commercial. Lillian announces Floyd Money Mayweather and here he comes with a big pussy, er posse with him. All his little clones are wearing a t-shirt promoting his next fight. Again, the WWE will probably make Big Show look bad against a guy who has no business in the wrestling world. Mayweather said Big Show, you remember what happened at Wrestlemania and I will do it again. But he has a boxing match comiing up in a few weeks. Jericho tells him he doesn't think he is a great boxer. Jericho is baiting Mayweather in. MVP interupts. MVP talks about how Jericho reads an oxford dictionary. I agree with that. MVP rambles about how Show has no friends. Jericho starts talking but MVP tells him to shut up. I remember when Jericho use to tell people to please shut the hell up. MVP says if someone beats Jericho and Show for the tag titles then Jericho will not be on Raw any longer. MVP asks Mayweather if he can find a partner will he give them a tag title match? Mayweather says that sounds good. Mark Henry comes out to tag up with MVP to wrestle for the tag titles and its after the break. Before that happens, I must say this is a good match up. Mark is a big man and matches up well with Show. MVP is solid and should get a push. I wish he was continuing his feud with Swagger. Where does this lead Swagger? I have no idea.
Back from the break and the match is already going on. Big boot by MVP to Jericho but a blind tag to Show. MVP turns around and gets a huge clothesline. Crowd with an MVP chant. MVP eats Show's boot. Mayweathers posse is out at ringside watching. The heels continue their domination in the match. MVP tries to tag Henry in twice but Jericho stops him in his tracks. Jericho tosses MVP to the floor. I would hate to see Jericho leave Raw and just be on Smackdown. Show and Y2J add depth to a show that desperately needs it. Jericho had a tweet the other day that read something about how WWE is in crisis mode on Raw. He went on to "tweet", hate that word, that Smackdown has added prestige back into the Intercontinental title with Rey and have developed Ziggler and Cryme Tyme. Raw has elevated... I agree with him. The whole reason I wanted MVP to get a push is to add a fresh face. MVP still has not got to tag in Henry. A double clothesline and Jericho and MVP are down as Raw heads to another commercial break. Giving the tag team champs a long match is a great way to showcase what the WWE never does, the tag team division. Back live and MVP is still in the ring. Rollup by MVP for a quick 2 count. I heard Cole telling Lawler this match is for a shot at the tag titles at Breaking Point. I misunderstood. I thought this was for the belts. Lionsault by Jericho is missed and MVP finally tags Henry. Jericho goes for the codebreaker but is countered into the World Strongest Slam but Jericho counters it into a ddt. Very sweet spot. MVP is tagged back in. Cole calls him fresh. Uh wasn't he just getting his ass kicked for over ten minutes. Ballin' elbow for 2. Jericho nails MVP with a kick. Henry nails Show to the outside. Mayweather gives MVP the same necklace he used to beat Show. MVP knocks out Jericho for the win and a shot at the tag titles at Breaking Point. Good match and a possibility of a good feud leading to the pay per view.
Legacy is in the back planning for their big match tonight. Orton talks about how he will make sure the I Quit Match will be the last match Mr. McMahon ever makes. I have a feeling Cena will make an appearance during this match to stop Orton. Maybe an FU to Brett to end Raw?
A cool commercial previewing the WCW dvd out Tuesday. I know I will be picking that up. The Rise and Fall of ECW was a superior dvd. I am sure the WCW one will be a must have for any wrestling fan.
A recap of Hornswaggle and Chavo match from last week. Back in the ring Chavo and Hornswaggle in a boxing match. My god this is just stupid. Time for a bathroom break. I come back and Evan Bourne is out. I guess to save Hornswaggle. He hits "Air Bourne" or Shooting Star Press. The prettiest finisher in the WWE right now. Now this is a match I would watch. Evan vs Chavo. Oh wait Chavo has no credibility left so it really doesn't matter what the WWE does with him. The fans are not going to buy into it. Chavo has wrestling ability. Hopefully they have Chavo vs Evan on Superstars and give them time because I know it would be a solid contest.
I guess Summerslam wasn't the final match for Jeff Hardy. Punk vs Hardy in a cage match for the World Heavyweight title on this Friday night Smackdown. Hell yeah! One more match for Hardy. I love the WWE using free tv for a world heavyweight title match in a cage. I know what I will be doing Friday night.
McMahon is working out with Mayweather. Carlito shows up and tells Money is a terrible cuz Carlito isn't on the show. McMahon says he needs to keep busy. DX had showed up. HHH says thats funny, you keep busy means I have time to get busy with your daughter. Vince knocks out Carlito. HHH says he was just kidding. DX walks out but not before HBK says now that was cool. Nice backstage promo. Although Carlito makes a good point. He and Kofi had a solid match last week. Where is the US champ this week?
Main Event time! Wooo! You know I have to get 1 woo in a week at least. Are you ready? DX comes out first. This match should last quite a while. I still see something crazy happening. A possible swerve by McMahon? A Cena sighting? You never know what will happen on Raw. Which is the real reason to watch week after week. The only man who can strut like he has a big cob up his butt, Mr. McMahon. Legacy comes out without Brett, maybe he won't get involved. They stall right in front of the ring and Triple H backdrops HBK on to Legacy. Rhodes gets a right hand by Vince and a couple of quick tags by the faces. Rhodes then gets backdropped by on Orton and Dibiase. Legacy heads up the ramp to regroup heading for the final commercial break. DDT by Triple H on Dibiase. Tag to the Sexy Boy. He gets on a roll and heads for his vintage elbow. He nails it as he gets to his feet Rhodes runs in and hits a huge bulldog. Tag to the viper Randy Orton. He starts stomping on HBK followed with a knee to the back of the skull for a 2 count. Rhodes tagged in. Rhodes tries for his finisher but HBK weasels out of it. Dibiase in now with right hands to Shawn. Heels are making great quick tags to keep themselves fresh. The Champ is back in with a few more knee drops on Shawn for another pinfall attempt. Orton with a modified sleeper. HBK gets back up to his feet and lands a big back body drop. Hot tag to The Game. High knee, knee drop, then the spinebuster all onto Rhodes. Pedigree to Rhodes. McMahon gets the tag and Orton breaks it up. Orton goes for the punt but Michaels stops it. Orton starts to go up the ramp and Cena makes his way out. Orton is trapted. Sweet Chin Music, FU, and the pinfall by Vince. Faces win. Crowd goes home happy. This would be the time when I complain about how Cena never looks bad. Tonight, I dont care. Keep making Cena look fantastic. As long as Orton holds the WWE title, I am happy. Brett Dibiase will make an appearance again.
A solid effort tonight. The WWE already put together 2 matches for the next pay per view. I can't wait for Smackdown on Friday. Jeff Hardy's final match in a cage. Don't forget to listen to Showstoppers for a recap of all the WWE action. I might be feeling an NFL blog on Thursday.
J Call
I loved Summerslam, probably because I was close to perfect on my predictions. If we indeed saw the last Jeff Hardy match, he certainly left us with something very special. The TLC match might have been the best 1 on 1 TLC match ever. The Undertaker returning gives Smackdown the big name boost it needs if Hardy leaves. I am also glad to see they left TLC as the main event because DX did not deserve to be last. Belts are bigger than DX or any other wrestler. John Cena and Randy Orton had a crazy match with several restarts. Although the restarts take away from the actual match, it was a nice twist. The final ending to the match involved a "fan" running in and causing a major distraction and just like that an RKO to win the match. The fan turned out to be Brett Dibiase, the other son of the million dollar man Ted Dibiase. I can not stress how cool this is. Will he be a new member of Legacy? I sure hope so. This is a great twist on Raw. Alright lets dive in on what should be a great Raw.
Raw starts with a recap of the Raw's main event from Summerslam. The video ends and the camera comes on Randy Orton. Randy starts talking about the match last night and the fan who ran in. Legacy is around Orton and Orton looks at Ted and says it was no ordinary fan. Ted says no it wasnt it was my brother Brett. Brett shows up and Ted says Randy nor did he know Brett was going to interfere. Randy says it will never happen again. I highly doubt that.
Following the promo, in the ring out comes the chairman of the board Vince McMahon. McMahon says the decision stands from last night. He goes on to say Cena does get a rematch in a brand new type of pay per view called Breaking Point. The pay per view will all be submission matches and Cena vs Orton will be an I Quit Match. As McMahon starts to leave, DX arrives on the scene. HHH starts talking about how he doesn't like the good McMahon. He makes a joke about comparing good McMahon to Vick at a PETA convention. DX relays the message to the audience that its Vince McMahon's birthday. Trips says its his 84th birthday. He changes it to 74 then to 70. Vince had enough and yells he is 64. Vince I hope I look that good when I am 64. Shawn starts to act like he respects Vince. HBK tells him he is the reason why we watch the WWE. Shawn says they have a tribute to Vince. A video starts and its pretty nice...for a while. Then the incredible music video of "Stand Back" starts up followed by all the embarrassing moments that have happened to Vince. Some Austin moments make the video which are all damn good. Nice tribute WWE. Triple H says he won't forget this and a huge bday cake rolls out and DX starts singing Happy Birthday but HHH stops it. A bunch of showgirls come out to help celebrate. Vince actually starts smiling. They all get in the ring. Vince asks how long will this go on? 2 circus oh la come out. Vince says their masks are really gay. I thought the WWE was pg? Elvis comes out next. My god how much more will DX provide Vinnie Mac for his bday? Elvis leads us all in singing Happy Birthday. He wasnt bad at all. Big Dick Johnson pops out of the birthday cake and starts dancing around the ring until Vince tosses him out. DX kicks everyone out and says they need a private moment with Vince. Legacy comes out of nowhere and blind sides DX. Shawn gets thrown out and gets a chair. Legacy bails up the ramp as Orton walks down. Triple H makes a match of Legacy vs DX and McMahon No DQ. McMahon says if you're not down with that we got two words for ya...SUCK IT. The first segment on Raw starts with Vinnie and ends with a 3 on 3 main event. I don't mind the fact that the segment went on for almost 30 mins. The whole DX Legacy feud continuing is just great for me. Legacy is still being made to look strong.
Back from commercial with Santino in the ring. Miz will be his opponent tonight. Some ground moves by Miz. The crowd is actually chanting Santino. Santino starts to build some offensive momentum but Miz hits his finisher and picks up the 1,2,3 victory. Very quick match or as Lawler said, workmen like. Miz grabs the mic and says he is one step closer to beating Kofi Kingston for the US title. I'm a little hit or miss on the way the WWE is going about pushing Miz. I love how Smackdown is pushing Ziggler. Smackdown is giving Ziggler opportunity to show off his ability in the ring vs Rey in a series of pay per view matches. Isn't that more affective then throwing Miz out for a 3 min match with a few wrestlers over the next month? Why not just make Miz vs Kofi next week on Raw and let us, the fans, be the ones to see if we like what Miz brings to the table. Give them 2 full segments to build a great wrestling match. That will do more for Miz then being put in worthless matches.
Gail Kim, Mickie James, Kelly Kelly vs Beth Phoenix, Alicia Fox, and Rosa Mendex. Another 6 diva match. I guess 8 weeks in a row isn't enough. Beth starts to dominate Kelly after the faces had the quick start. Rosa comes in and momentum swings with a hot tag to Mickie James. She starts punching the crap out of Alicia Fox. Great neckbreaker. Beth comes to make the save but gets a missile dropkick. Kelly kicks Rosa off the apron. Faces in control but Alicia gets it back and ends up hitting a scissors kick on Mickie for the victory. Last week, Gail Kim must not have impressed the writers. Maybe its Alicia's turn to get a title match. Why? I have no idea. You have Beth Phoenix sitting here. Mickie and Beth would have great matches together and could actually build a decent feud with time. Nope, lets throw Alicia in for something different. Holy crap WWE! Wake up!
DX in the back going over their tag match later tonight. HHH plugs the new WCW DVD which I will buy. HBK says they have to get Vince angry. HHH said he had a plan and sent Jillian, dressed as Marilyn Monroe, to sing happy birthday. Vince listens to her for a little bit but tells her to get the hell out. Not a bad idea DX. She is annoying but i think it will take more than that.
JeriShow come out next. They have a new entrance music which is freaking sweet. They show a recap of 'Mania 24 where Mayweather beat Big Show in a wrestling match. Show says he will not leave until Mayweather comes out. He appears on the megatron and is on his way out as Raw fades to commercial. Lillian announces Floyd Money Mayweather and here he comes with a big pussy, er posse with him. All his little clones are wearing a t-shirt promoting his next fight. Again, the WWE will probably make Big Show look bad against a guy who has no business in the wrestling world. Mayweather said Big Show, you remember what happened at Wrestlemania and I will do it again. But he has a boxing match comiing up in a few weeks. Jericho tells him he doesn't think he is a great boxer. Jericho is baiting Mayweather in. MVP interupts. MVP talks about how Jericho reads an oxford dictionary. I agree with that. MVP rambles about how Show has no friends. Jericho starts talking but MVP tells him to shut up. I remember when Jericho use to tell people to please shut the hell up. MVP says if someone beats Jericho and Show for the tag titles then Jericho will not be on Raw any longer. MVP asks Mayweather if he can find a partner will he give them a tag title match? Mayweather says that sounds good. Mark Henry comes out to tag up with MVP to wrestle for the tag titles and its after the break. Before that happens, I must say this is a good match up. Mark is a big man and matches up well with Show. MVP is solid and should get a push. I wish he was continuing his feud with Swagger. Where does this lead Swagger? I have no idea.
Back from the break and the match is already going on. Big boot by MVP to Jericho but a blind tag to Show. MVP turns around and gets a huge clothesline. Crowd with an MVP chant. MVP eats Show's boot. Mayweathers posse is out at ringside watching. The heels continue their domination in the match. MVP tries to tag Henry in twice but Jericho stops him in his tracks. Jericho tosses MVP to the floor. I would hate to see Jericho leave Raw and just be on Smackdown. Show and Y2J add depth to a show that desperately needs it. Jericho had a tweet the other day that read something about how WWE is in crisis mode on Raw. He went on to "tweet", hate that word, that Smackdown has added prestige back into the Intercontinental title with Rey and have developed Ziggler and Cryme Tyme. Raw has elevated... I agree with him. The whole reason I wanted MVP to get a push is to add a fresh face. MVP still has not got to tag in Henry. A double clothesline and Jericho and MVP are down as Raw heads to another commercial break. Giving the tag team champs a long match is a great way to showcase what the WWE never does, the tag team division. Back live and MVP is still in the ring. Rollup by MVP for a quick 2 count. I heard Cole telling Lawler this match is for a shot at the tag titles at Breaking Point. I misunderstood. I thought this was for the belts. Lionsault by Jericho is missed and MVP finally tags Henry. Jericho goes for the codebreaker but is countered into the World Strongest Slam but Jericho counters it into a ddt. Very sweet spot. MVP is tagged back in. Cole calls him fresh. Uh wasn't he just getting his ass kicked for over ten minutes. Ballin' elbow for 2. Jericho nails MVP with a kick. Henry nails Show to the outside. Mayweather gives MVP the same necklace he used to beat Show. MVP knocks out Jericho for the win and a shot at the tag titles at Breaking Point. Good match and a possibility of a good feud leading to the pay per view.
Legacy is in the back planning for their big match tonight. Orton talks about how he will make sure the I Quit Match will be the last match Mr. McMahon ever makes. I have a feeling Cena will make an appearance during this match to stop Orton. Maybe an FU to Brett to end Raw?
A cool commercial previewing the WCW dvd out Tuesday. I know I will be picking that up. The Rise and Fall of ECW was a superior dvd. I am sure the WCW one will be a must have for any wrestling fan.
A recap of Hornswaggle and Chavo match from last week. Back in the ring Chavo and Hornswaggle in a boxing match. My god this is just stupid. Time for a bathroom break. I come back and Evan Bourne is out. I guess to save Hornswaggle. He hits "Air Bourne" or Shooting Star Press. The prettiest finisher in the WWE right now. Now this is a match I would watch. Evan vs Chavo. Oh wait Chavo has no credibility left so it really doesn't matter what the WWE does with him. The fans are not going to buy into it. Chavo has wrestling ability. Hopefully they have Chavo vs Evan on Superstars and give them time because I know it would be a solid contest.
I guess Summerslam wasn't the final match for Jeff Hardy. Punk vs Hardy in a cage match for the World Heavyweight title on this Friday night Smackdown. Hell yeah! One more match for Hardy. I love the WWE using free tv for a world heavyweight title match in a cage. I know what I will be doing Friday night.
McMahon is working out with Mayweather. Carlito shows up and tells Money is a terrible cuz Carlito isn't on the show. McMahon says he needs to keep busy. DX had showed up. HHH says thats funny, you keep busy means I have time to get busy with your daughter. Vince knocks out Carlito. HHH says he was just kidding. DX walks out but not before HBK says now that was cool. Nice backstage promo. Although Carlito makes a good point. He and Kofi had a solid match last week. Where is the US champ this week?
Main Event time! Wooo! You know I have to get 1 woo in a week at least. Are you ready? DX comes out first. This match should last quite a while. I still see something crazy happening. A possible swerve by McMahon? A Cena sighting? You never know what will happen on Raw. Which is the real reason to watch week after week. The only man who can strut like he has a big cob up his butt, Mr. McMahon. Legacy comes out without Brett, maybe he won't get involved. They stall right in front of the ring and Triple H backdrops HBK on to Legacy. Rhodes gets a right hand by Vince and a couple of quick tags by the faces. Rhodes then gets backdropped by on Orton and Dibiase. Legacy heads up the ramp to regroup heading for the final commercial break. DDT by Triple H on Dibiase. Tag to the Sexy Boy. He gets on a roll and heads for his vintage elbow. He nails it as he gets to his feet Rhodes runs in and hits a huge bulldog. Tag to the viper Randy Orton. He starts stomping on HBK followed with a knee to the back of the skull for a 2 count. Rhodes tagged in. Rhodes tries for his finisher but HBK weasels out of it. Dibiase in now with right hands to Shawn. Heels are making great quick tags to keep themselves fresh. The Champ is back in with a few more knee drops on Shawn for another pinfall attempt. Orton with a modified sleeper. HBK gets back up to his feet and lands a big back body drop. Hot tag to The Game. High knee, knee drop, then the spinebuster all onto Rhodes. Pedigree to Rhodes. McMahon gets the tag and Orton breaks it up. Orton goes for the punt but Michaels stops it. Orton starts to go up the ramp and Cena makes his way out. Orton is trapted. Sweet Chin Music, FU, and the pinfall by Vince. Faces win. Crowd goes home happy. This would be the time when I complain about how Cena never looks bad. Tonight, I dont care. Keep making Cena look fantastic. As long as Orton holds the WWE title, I am happy. Brett Dibiase will make an appearance again.
A solid effort tonight. The WWE already put together 2 matches for the next pay per view. I can't wait for Smackdown on Friday. Jeff Hardy's final match in a cage. Don't forget to listen to Showstoppers for a recap of all the WWE action. I might be feeling an NFL blog on Thursday.
J Call
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Summerslam Prediction
Summerslam is here! Well not quite but close enough. I love Summerslam. Summerslam is the 2nd biggest pay per view of year for the WWE. This years card is not as stellar as some other years but it should be a great event. Now is the time to start to rub my ball, I mean my crystal ball and figure out what the WWE will do this Sunday.
Before I get into my predictions I wanted to do something special for the blog. I wrote my buddies on ShowStoppers, Larry and John, and I asked them to email me a small email on what was their favorite Summerslam match. Here is their responses:
My favorite match at summerslam was in 2001. It was Jeff Hardy vs. Rob Van Dam in a hardcore championship match. I liked it because it was the match that was the closest to a money in the bank. it was hardcore, and involved a ladder. Van Dam and Hardy had one of the best matches ever.
John
My favorite match of all time at SummerSlam would have to be Razor vs HBK at the 95 event. This was when the ladder match was still new and these guys put everything into it. If they wouldn't of made this match what it was we probably don't have ladder matches today
Larry Stanley
I love both of their choices. I knew Larry was going to choose an HBK match because he is in love with him. John picked a match with 2 hard working wrestlers and they put on a great show. As for mine? Summerslam '91 with Bret Hart vs Mr. Perfect for the IC title. Incredible match with 2 fantastic technical wrestlers. It is my personal favorite Bret Hart match. By the way, Mr. Perfect is very underrated. He should have been a world champion. Alright, now for the predictions.
WWE Tag Team Titles
Y2J and Big Show (c) vs Cryme Tyme.
I am very happy to see Cryme Tyme get some time to build their team up and wrestle for the gold. Smackdown has been building up some new faces and Cryme Tyme is two of them. The strange thing is Y2J and Show have been on Raw for most of the build up. JeriShow have been in the midst of the Cena Orton feud. If the WWE is smart they keep the belts on Show and Y2J so they can keep being used on both shows. I am going with my boy Jericho and Show over Cryme Tyme.
Kane vs The Great Kahli.
I don't know what is so great about The Great Kahli. I do like Kane because he can wrestle! Why waste time and effort to build a feud with Kahli when any smart wrestling fan knows it is going to suck? I am going with Kane.
Jack Swagger vs MVP
Here is a match up anyone could love. MVP has improved over the last year or so. Mic skills? Check. Charisma? Check. Athleticism? Check. MVP has it all to become a main eventer. Swagger already has held a world title, even if it was the ECW, it still counts. These two men should be being used as Raw's next top performers. I really hope the WWE gives these two men some good quality time to develop a fantastic match. Both men need the momentum. I think the WWE will give it to Swagger. This feud should continue after Summerslam.
ECW Championship
Christian (c) vs William Regal
I don't fully understand the logic of William Regal getting a title match on a huge pay per view. I heard reports Regal was getting this push to help the young talent develop. If Regal is in the title picture it means more high profile matches. It also means Regal wrestles the young talent to raise them up as well. I guess Regal is a good mentor for the younger wrestlers. Christian is solid in every aspect. He should win Money in the Bank at Wrestlemania 26 so he can get a huge push next year. Captain Charisma is that good. He deserves to keep the ECW title a while longer. He will successfully defend his title at Summerslam.
Intercontinental Championship
Rey Mysterio (c) vs Dolph Ziggler
I must say, I love this feud. Smackdown has elevated the value of the IC title with Rey as champion. Rey has made Dolph into a great mid card wrestler. Rey has asked the WWE if he could have a long run with the IC belt. Dolph deserves a chance to be a champion. I believe Dolph will be a great asset to the WWE for the next couple of years. He will get his chance, but not now. Rey will keep the belt for another month.
DX vs Legacy
I will be pissed if this match is the main event. If Ric Flair's last match was not the final match of Wrestlemania 24, DX should not headline Summerslam 09. I like DX. They just got back together in the last 2 weeks. On Raw, Legacy got their time to shine and did. No chance in hell DX loses this match. DX should stay together for the next few months. I hope they keep feuding with Legacy for another month.
WWE Title
Randy Orton (c) vs John Cena
Randy Orton is the best heel in the WWE. How many times have I said this? I have no idea but it has to be said. Randy is the complete package and he brings it night in and night out. Cena is the most passionate wrestler in the company. Cena always has great promos. He is not the best wrestler but that is ok. I am going to bet this is the final match of the night. John Cena has not looked bad on Raw for... wait he has never looked bad. Randy deserves the belt! I expect Randy to open Monday Night Raw with the belt in his hand.
TLC Tables, Ladders, Chairs Match
World Heavyweight Champion
Jeff Hardy (c) vs CM Punk
I am sure you are wondering why I am finishing with this match when I just said Cena and Orton will finish Summerslam. I am glad you asked. I thought I would end this special prediction blog with a letter to the strange enigma Jeff Hardy. Before the letter, I say Punk gets the belt back.
Dear Jeff Hardy,
First off, huge fan. Jeff, you are one of the most charismatic wrestlers I have ever seen. I love watching you in the ring. You are a daredevil. You deserved this push as champion. I went crazy when you beat Triple H and Edge at Armageddon last year. I sat back and soaked in what had to been one of the greatest moments in your career. You worked so hard to come back and become world champion. I just have to say one thing. DON'T LEAVE! I understand the long grueling schedule you have. I understand you want to explore other career paths. But this is your time, Jeff! A make or break it in your wrestling career. If you leave, the WWE may never push you as a world champion again. If you leave and comeback, they will keep you held down to mid card level like so many other times. If you stay, you can continue this title push. You will go down the path of Hall of Famers go down. The path of being a long term champion and headline multiple pay per views, perhaps Wrestlemania 26. Yes, I believe you would headline next years Wrestlemania if you stay. Your fans need you Jeff. The WWE needs you. You may not need the fans or the WWE, but think about how you may need us in 2 years when the itch returns. It always does. You will itch to get into the ring again. To hear us scream for you! So at Summerslam enjoy the "pop" when you come out. Because if you leave, it may never get that big again.
J Call
Before I get into my predictions I wanted to do something special for the blog. I wrote my buddies on ShowStoppers, Larry and John, and I asked them to email me a small email on what was their favorite Summerslam match. Here is their responses:
My favorite match at summerslam was in 2001. It was Jeff Hardy vs. Rob Van Dam in a hardcore championship match. I liked it because it was the match that was the closest to a money in the bank. it was hardcore, and involved a ladder. Van Dam and Hardy had one of the best matches ever.
John
My favorite match of all time at SummerSlam would have to be Razor vs HBK at the 95 event. This was when the ladder match was still new and these guys put everything into it. If they wouldn't of made this match what it was we probably don't have ladder matches today
Larry Stanley
I love both of their choices. I knew Larry was going to choose an HBK match because he is in love with him. John picked a match with 2 hard working wrestlers and they put on a great show. As for mine? Summerslam '91 with Bret Hart vs Mr. Perfect for the IC title. Incredible match with 2 fantastic technical wrestlers. It is my personal favorite Bret Hart match. By the way, Mr. Perfect is very underrated. He should have been a world champion. Alright, now for the predictions.
WWE Tag Team Titles
Y2J and Big Show (c) vs Cryme Tyme.
I am very happy to see Cryme Tyme get some time to build their team up and wrestle for the gold. Smackdown has been building up some new faces and Cryme Tyme is two of them. The strange thing is Y2J and Show have been on Raw for most of the build up. JeriShow have been in the midst of the Cena Orton feud. If the WWE is smart they keep the belts on Show and Y2J so they can keep being used on both shows. I am going with my boy Jericho and Show over Cryme Tyme.
Kane vs The Great Kahli.
I don't know what is so great about The Great Kahli. I do like Kane because he can wrestle! Why waste time and effort to build a feud with Kahli when any smart wrestling fan knows it is going to suck? I am going with Kane.
Jack Swagger vs MVP
Here is a match up anyone could love. MVP has improved over the last year or so. Mic skills? Check. Charisma? Check. Athleticism? Check. MVP has it all to become a main eventer. Swagger already has held a world title, even if it was the ECW, it still counts. These two men should be being used as Raw's next top performers. I really hope the WWE gives these two men some good quality time to develop a fantastic match. Both men need the momentum. I think the WWE will give it to Swagger. This feud should continue after Summerslam.
ECW Championship
Christian (c) vs William Regal
I don't fully understand the logic of William Regal getting a title match on a huge pay per view. I heard reports Regal was getting this push to help the young talent develop. If Regal is in the title picture it means more high profile matches. It also means Regal wrestles the young talent to raise them up as well. I guess Regal is a good mentor for the younger wrestlers. Christian is solid in every aspect. He should win Money in the Bank at Wrestlemania 26 so he can get a huge push next year. Captain Charisma is that good. He deserves to keep the ECW title a while longer. He will successfully defend his title at Summerslam.
Intercontinental Championship
Rey Mysterio (c) vs Dolph Ziggler
I must say, I love this feud. Smackdown has elevated the value of the IC title with Rey as champion. Rey has made Dolph into a great mid card wrestler. Rey has asked the WWE if he could have a long run with the IC belt. Dolph deserves a chance to be a champion. I believe Dolph will be a great asset to the WWE for the next couple of years. He will get his chance, but not now. Rey will keep the belt for another month.
DX vs Legacy
I will be pissed if this match is the main event. If Ric Flair's last match was not the final match of Wrestlemania 24, DX should not headline Summerslam 09. I like DX. They just got back together in the last 2 weeks. On Raw, Legacy got their time to shine and did. No chance in hell DX loses this match. DX should stay together for the next few months. I hope they keep feuding with Legacy for another month.
WWE Title
Randy Orton (c) vs John Cena
Randy Orton is the best heel in the WWE. How many times have I said this? I have no idea but it has to be said. Randy is the complete package and he brings it night in and night out. Cena is the most passionate wrestler in the company. Cena always has great promos. He is not the best wrestler but that is ok. I am going to bet this is the final match of the night. John Cena has not looked bad on Raw for... wait he has never looked bad. Randy deserves the belt! I expect Randy to open Monday Night Raw with the belt in his hand.
TLC Tables, Ladders, Chairs Match
World Heavyweight Champion
Jeff Hardy (c) vs CM Punk
I am sure you are wondering why I am finishing with this match when I just said Cena and Orton will finish Summerslam. I am glad you asked. I thought I would end this special prediction blog with a letter to the strange enigma Jeff Hardy. Before the letter, I say Punk gets the belt back.
Dear Jeff Hardy,
First off, huge fan. Jeff, you are one of the most charismatic wrestlers I have ever seen. I love watching you in the ring. You are a daredevil. You deserved this push as champion. I went crazy when you beat Triple H and Edge at Armageddon last year. I sat back and soaked in what had to been one of the greatest moments in your career. You worked so hard to come back and become world champion. I just have to say one thing. DON'T LEAVE! I understand the long grueling schedule you have. I understand you want to explore other career paths. But this is your time, Jeff! A make or break it in your wrestling career. If you leave, the WWE may never push you as a world champion again. If you leave and comeback, they will keep you held down to mid card level like so many other times. If you stay, you can continue this title push. You will go down the path of Hall of Famers go down. The path of being a long term champion and headline multiple pay per views, perhaps Wrestlemania 26. Yes, I believe you would headline next years Wrestlemania if you stay. Your fans need you Jeff. The WWE needs you. You may not need the fans or the WWE, but think about how you may need us in 2 years when the itch returns. It always does. You will itch to get into the ring again. To hear us scream for you! So at Summerslam enjoy the "pop" when you come out. Because if you leave, it may never get that big again.
J Call
Monday, August 17, 2009
Raw 8-17
Summerslam is only 6 days away. So far the card is looking quite intriguing. DX is reuniting for the 20th time, but at least they are exciting together. The WWE champion Randy Orton will face John Cena. Raw has been fairly decent the last 2 weeks. Tonight, Freddie Prince Jr., a former writer for the WWE, is the guest GM. The WWE has to put entertain in the ring and out tonight. I need to see DX on the show tonight as well. The main event of Randy Orton and Cena vs Y2J and Show is a great idea. I hope WWE can deliver.
Raw is live from Randy Orton's hometown St. Louis, MO. I wonder if he will get some face pops tonight, or maybe that will just be at my house. Lilian announces the guest GM, Freddie Prinze Jr. He says he is here because he has been a lifelong wrestling fan. He continues that tonight is about the fans. He is going to start Summerslam here tonight. The Diva championship and the US title will be on the line. I love title matches for free. Some weird ass music starts and some dude dressed as the guy from I Know What You Did Last Summer comes to the ring. He speaks in some dark voice. He rips off the cap and its Santino. He starts auditioning for movies. Santino actually isn't to bad. Freddie starts to announce the main event but is interrupted by the Legend Killer Randy Orton. The crowd is cheering him somewhat on his way to the ring. The music stops and the cheers get a little louder. Randy says he doesn't feel like competing at all tonight. Freddie says this is your hometown and you don't wanna work? Orton says he doesn't care and is not there to please these people. I guess this is to make sure the fans don't cheer for him. A big "You Suck" chant starts. Orton demands to be taken out of the main event. Freddie tells Orton he will compete and team up with Cena to face Y2J and The Big Show. Freddie starts to walk away and Orton grabs him and does his twisting neckbreaker on Freddie. Refrees come down to have a look at Freddie as Raw goes to break. A great first segment. It was funny with Santino and serious when Orton came down. I am wondering about where Raw will go from here. As it looked like Freddie would not be able to continue as the acting GM after what Orton did to him.
Cole announces that Freddie has been taken to a local hospital. I guess Raw will continue with no GM. To get Raw back on track, here comes the United States Champion Kofi defends his title vs Carlito. Carlito comes out with Rosa. The first WWE match Carlito ever had, he won the US title. A couple of tie ups, quick pins, and then Kofi is tossed outside. Carlito has the advantage after the break. Kofi tries to gain it back but is met by a huge big boot. Its high time to give Carlito some tv time. He is a solid wrestler and is actually decent on the mic. Kofi finally gets a Russian Leg sweep in and starts to follow it up with a series of his crazy offense. The boom boom boom double leg drop gets a 2 count and so does a huge crossbody. Kofi back to the top with another crossbody but Carlito rolls through with a 2 count. An awesome neckbreaker gets a very close 2 count for Carlito. Kofi reverses the backstabber and hits trouble in paradise for the 1,2,3. A very good match for Raw. You give 2 young men time, 2 segments, to work with in the ring and they come up with a solid match. Now this is the wrestling I can handle. Good job to both men.
Raw comes back with a DX history video. "You know the Crock just came from the bathroom." "You make the rules and we will break them." They show the video of Tyson joining DX, the war on WCW, and even some stuff with Chyna in the original DX. I even saw Rick Rude in part of that video. The Miz makes his way down to the ring. The Miz was wearing full pants for quite sometime but now is wearing a Jericho type look. The Miz grabs the mic and says he is embarking on a huge comeback to win the US title. He takes on Evan Bourne when Raw comes back. Evan seems to be getting bigger pops everywhere he goes. Of course, when it is your hometown your pop is always bigger. Orton isn't the only hometown boy tonight, so is Evan. Miz goes to work early on. Evan hits a nice dropkick but Miz comes back with a huge clothesline. Miz puts on a cool looking camel clutch. I wonder because Evan is a smaller wrestler, he won't get a big push from the WWE. They seem to like bigger wrestlers, but give Evan some time he can prove himself. Evan hits a double knee leap over the top to the outside. He followed it up with a few kicks. He gets to the top rope for the Shooting Star Press but Miz counters. Evan gets on Miz shoulders, but Miz counters into his finisher and picks up the win. Miz might start to get a big push on Raw. DX reunite next!
A recap on how the DX reunion got started. A DX spray painted Limo arrives as the vid ends. HHH and HBK are heading to the ring. They come across Jillian who starts to sing the DX song and HHH puts a trash can over her head. Then Santino jumps out from behind them and gets Sweet Chin Music. The arena is completely dark and the lights go up with "Are You Ready?" DX hits the stage with Shawn jumping around like a moron as always. The crowd is going wild for the return of HBK. They do the crotch chop with pyro behind them. A nostalgic feeling happens when DX hits the ring. HHH asks Shawn if its good to be back. Shawn says god help him he loves this stuff. They go on to start the "Are you Ready" when out of no where Legacy hits the ring and starts to beat the whole crap out of DX. I must say I am suprised Legacy came out. I love it. Every wrestling fan knows that DX will win on Sunday. So what does the WWE need to do the Raw before the ppv? Make the audience at least think, even a little doubt, that DX will not win at the pay per view. Did it work? Probably not. At least Legacy looks strong going into Summerslam. It gives the match some credibility.
NBC is showing Wrestlemania 25 on the 29th of August. Good exposure for the WWE. The biggest pay per view of the year on national television. A Diva Championship match with Mickie defending against Gail Kim. I hope they give these two woman sometime to develop a quality contest. Both women try for the same moves to start to the match. The timing seems to be a bit off with these two. Gail hits a dropkick off the top for 2. The crowd is dead during the match. Both go for their finisher but fail. Mickie tries again for the ddt again, but Gail seemed to block it even though she fell. Then another blotched kick followed by a huge forearm to the chin of Gail for the victory. Mickie looked completely pissed after the match. It was a disaster.
Cena has a nice backstage promo. He makes fun of Randy whining about not wanting to wrestle tonight. Jericho shows up behind Cena and tells him he has a few more problems. Chris says he is pissed about what happened last week. Show then tells Cena he may not make it to Summerslam. Cena and Orton will win for sure now.
Raw returns with MVP and Swagger already in the ring. Swagger starts with some of his amateur wrestling. MVP takes the fight to the outside. Swagger with a bunch of boots in the corner and the ref calls for the bell. Swagger just got dq'd. MVP takes down Swagger with huge right hands. Swagger retreats after losing the match. Way to short and a preview to a possible longer match at Summerslam. Freddie shows up in the backstage area. I guess he is on his way out to the ring.
Chavo is in the ring getting ready for a falls count anywhere match vs Hornswaggle. This has to be the last freaking time we see these two wrestle. One could only hope. They both go under the ring and Hornswaggle runs to the back. Camera catches up to Chavo searching for the little man. The crowd sees the St. Louis Blues stuff hanging on the wall and chants "Lets Go Blues". Thats how excited they were during the match. Chavo gets hit by a paint can after opening the door and hornswaggle wins the match. Chavo gets up to figure out what happened and Henry shows up and Chavo tries to blame him but Henry says it wasnt him. Out of the blue Macaulay Culkin shows up. WTF? I have no idea but it was kind of cool and a big suprise.
Next week on Raw Floyd Money Mayweather is hosting Raw from Las Vegas. He isn't a newbie to wrestling. If you recall, he fought the Big Show at Wrestlemania 24. Show and Jericho come out to the ring and its main event time. Orton stalks to the ring with the title on his shoulder. I figured they would leave Cena last. Cena receives a great big pop from the live crowd. Freddie comes out and announces this is now a Lumberjack match. The lumberjacks are all faces who hate Orton. During the break Jericho got beat up by some of the wrestlers on the outside. Meanwhile in the ring Show is dominating Cena. Cena gets close to a tag and Orton retracts his hand. Cena bitch slaps Orton on the back for a tag and then tosses his partner over the ropes into the ring. Show spears the crap out of Orton. The heels are dominating the heel champion Randy Orton. Orton counters Jericho's sleeper with a back suplex. Orton crawls towards Cena but is caught by Y2J. Tag to Show and he hits a huge legdrop on Orton. Jericho gets tagged in and gets powerslamed. Finally a hot tag to Cena. Jericho hits an FU on Jericho and Cena wins. RKO to Cena right after the match. Jericho starts pounding Cena and the lumberjacks get dumped by the heels. Cena has enough time to recover and knocks Jericho and Show out of the ring. Cena will never look bad on Raw! I get so pissed that every week Cena has to look like Superman, oh wait he had a weakness. I get it WWE, you want to cater to the kids that watch Raw. I understand. I am just so freaking tired Cena has to be unbeatable. He gets an RKO and 2 mins later he is on his feet and beating up The Big Show.
Raw proved to gain a lot of momentum for Summerslam. I look forward to Smackdown this Friday. I will have a prediction blog up Friday morning. If you are not getting enough WWE talk, listen to Showstoppers on Tuesday with my boys, Larry and John. I know they have cooked up something special for this week.
J Call
Raw is live from Randy Orton's hometown St. Louis, MO. I wonder if he will get some face pops tonight, or maybe that will just be at my house. Lilian announces the guest GM, Freddie Prinze Jr. He says he is here because he has been a lifelong wrestling fan. He continues that tonight is about the fans. He is going to start Summerslam here tonight. The Diva championship and the US title will be on the line. I love title matches for free. Some weird ass music starts and some dude dressed as the guy from I Know What You Did Last Summer comes to the ring. He speaks in some dark voice. He rips off the cap and its Santino. He starts auditioning for movies. Santino actually isn't to bad. Freddie starts to announce the main event but is interrupted by the Legend Killer Randy Orton. The crowd is cheering him somewhat on his way to the ring. The music stops and the cheers get a little louder. Randy says he doesn't feel like competing at all tonight. Freddie says this is your hometown and you don't wanna work? Orton says he doesn't care and is not there to please these people. I guess this is to make sure the fans don't cheer for him. A big "You Suck" chant starts. Orton demands to be taken out of the main event. Freddie tells Orton he will compete and team up with Cena to face Y2J and The Big Show. Freddie starts to walk away and Orton grabs him and does his twisting neckbreaker on Freddie. Refrees come down to have a look at Freddie as Raw goes to break. A great first segment. It was funny with Santino and serious when Orton came down. I am wondering about where Raw will go from here. As it looked like Freddie would not be able to continue as the acting GM after what Orton did to him.
Cole announces that Freddie has been taken to a local hospital. I guess Raw will continue with no GM. To get Raw back on track, here comes the United States Champion Kofi defends his title vs Carlito. Carlito comes out with Rosa. The first WWE match Carlito ever had, he won the US title. A couple of tie ups, quick pins, and then Kofi is tossed outside. Carlito has the advantage after the break. Kofi tries to gain it back but is met by a huge big boot. Its high time to give Carlito some tv time. He is a solid wrestler and is actually decent on the mic. Kofi finally gets a Russian Leg sweep in and starts to follow it up with a series of his crazy offense. The boom boom boom double leg drop gets a 2 count and so does a huge crossbody. Kofi back to the top with another crossbody but Carlito rolls through with a 2 count. An awesome neckbreaker gets a very close 2 count for Carlito. Kofi reverses the backstabber and hits trouble in paradise for the 1,2,3. A very good match for Raw. You give 2 young men time, 2 segments, to work with in the ring and they come up with a solid match. Now this is the wrestling I can handle. Good job to both men.
Raw comes back with a DX history video. "You know the Crock just came from the bathroom." "You make the rules and we will break them." They show the video of Tyson joining DX, the war on WCW, and even some stuff with Chyna in the original DX. I even saw Rick Rude in part of that video. The Miz makes his way down to the ring. The Miz was wearing full pants for quite sometime but now is wearing a Jericho type look. The Miz grabs the mic and says he is embarking on a huge comeback to win the US title. He takes on Evan Bourne when Raw comes back. Evan seems to be getting bigger pops everywhere he goes. Of course, when it is your hometown your pop is always bigger. Orton isn't the only hometown boy tonight, so is Evan. Miz goes to work early on. Evan hits a nice dropkick but Miz comes back with a huge clothesline. Miz puts on a cool looking camel clutch. I wonder because Evan is a smaller wrestler, he won't get a big push from the WWE. They seem to like bigger wrestlers, but give Evan some time he can prove himself. Evan hits a double knee leap over the top to the outside. He followed it up with a few kicks. He gets to the top rope for the Shooting Star Press but Miz counters. Evan gets on Miz shoulders, but Miz counters into his finisher and picks up the win. Miz might start to get a big push on Raw. DX reunite next!
A recap on how the DX reunion got started. A DX spray painted Limo arrives as the vid ends. HHH and HBK are heading to the ring. They come across Jillian who starts to sing the DX song and HHH puts a trash can over her head. Then Santino jumps out from behind them and gets Sweet Chin Music. The arena is completely dark and the lights go up with "Are You Ready?" DX hits the stage with Shawn jumping around like a moron as always. The crowd is going wild for the return of HBK. They do the crotch chop with pyro behind them. A nostalgic feeling happens when DX hits the ring. HHH asks Shawn if its good to be back. Shawn says god help him he loves this stuff. They go on to start the "Are you Ready" when out of no where Legacy hits the ring and starts to beat the whole crap out of DX. I must say I am suprised Legacy came out. I love it. Every wrestling fan knows that DX will win on Sunday. So what does the WWE need to do the Raw before the ppv? Make the audience at least think, even a little doubt, that DX will not win at the pay per view. Did it work? Probably not. At least Legacy looks strong going into Summerslam. It gives the match some credibility.
NBC is showing Wrestlemania 25 on the 29th of August. Good exposure for the WWE. The biggest pay per view of the year on national television. A Diva Championship match with Mickie defending against Gail Kim. I hope they give these two woman sometime to develop a quality contest. Both women try for the same moves to start to the match. The timing seems to be a bit off with these two. Gail hits a dropkick off the top for 2. The crowd is dead during the match. Both go for their finisher but fail. Mickie tries again for the ddt again, but Gail seemed to block it even though she fell. Then another blotched kick followed by a huge forearm to the chin of Gail for the victory. Mickie looked completely pissed after the match. It was a disaster.
Cena has a nice backstage promo. He makes fun of Randy whining about not wanting to wrestle tonight. Jericho shows up behind Cena and tells him he has a few more problems. Chris says he is pissed about what happened last week. Show then tells Cena he may not make it to Summerslam. Cena and Orton will win for sure now.
Raw returns with MVP and Swagger already in the ring. Swagger starts with some of his amateur wrestling. MVP takes the fight to the outside. Swagger with a bunch of boots in the corner and the ref calls for the bell. Swagger just got dq'd. MVP takes down Swagger with huge right hands. Swagger retreats after losing the match. Way to short and a preview to a possible longer match at Summerslam. Freddie shows up in the backstage area. I guess he is on his way out to the ring.
Chavo is in the ring getting ready for a falls count anywhere match vs Hornswaggle. This has to be the last freaking time we see these two wrestle. One could only hope. They both go under the ring and Hornswaggle runs to the back. Camera catches up to Chavo searching for the little man. The crowd sees the St. Louis Blues stuff hanging on the wall and chants "Lets Go Blues". Thats how excited they were during the match. Chavo gets hit by a paint can after opening the door and hornswaggle wins the match. Chavo gets up to figure out what happened and Henry shows up and Chavo tries to blame him but Henry says it wasnt him. Out of the blue Macaulay Culkin shows up. WTF? I have no idea but it was kind of cool and a big suprise.
Next week on Raw Floyd Money Mayweather is hosting Raw from Las Vegas. He isn't a newbie to wrestling. If you recall, he fought the Big Show at Wrestlemania 24. Show and Jericho come out to the ring and its main event time. Orton stalks to the ring with the title on his shoulder. I figured they would leave Cena last. Cena receives a great big pop from the live crowd. Freddie comes out and announces this is now a Lumberjack match. The lumberjacks are all faces who hate Orton. During the break Jericho got beat up by some of the wrestlers on the outside. Meanwhile in the ring Show is dominating Cena. Cena gets close to a tag and Orton retracts his hand. Cena bitch slaps Orton on the back for a tag and then tosses his partner over the ropes into the ring. Show spears the crap out of Orton. The heels are dominating the heel champion Randy Orton. Orton counters Jericho's sleeper with a back suplex. Orton crawls towards Cena but is caught by Y2J. Tag to Show and he hits a huge legdrop on Orton. Jericho gets tagged in and gets powerslamed. Finally a hot tag to Cena. Jericho hits an FU on Jericho and Cena wins. RKO to Cena right after the match. Jericho starts pounding Cena and the lumberjacks get dumped by the heels. Cena has enough time to recover and knocks Jericho and Show out of the ring. Cena will never look bad on Raw! I get so pissed that every week Cena has to look like Superman, oh wait he had a weakness. I get it WWE, you want to cater to the kids that watch Raw. I understand. I am just so freaking tired Cena has to be unbeatable. He gets an RKO and 2 mins later he is on his feet and beating up The Big Show.
Raw proved to gain a lot of momentum for Summerslam. I look forward to Smackdown this Friday. I will have a prediction blog up Friday morning. If you are not getting enough WWE talk, listen to Showstoppers on Tuesday with my boys, Larry and John. I know they have cooked up something special for this week.
J Call
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)