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Pro Wrestling

Let Us All Find Out Who Drew…#1 (and #2)

I didn’t want to just do some Royal Rumble preview (if you are curious, I am picking Asuka, Lesnar (although I have this weird feeling about Balor, wish I had the guts to go with it), Rollins and Charlotte). So let’s do something different. Let’s take a look back at #1 and #2 of all the main Royal Rumbles.

royal rumble bret hart
Bret Hart kicked off the ’88 Rumble, and it wouldn’t be the last time.

1988
#1 – Bret Hart
#2 – Tito Santana

The 1988 Royal Rumble is quite different than what we are used to today. It was the first televised one (there had been Rumbles before, notably one at a house show in 1987 won by the One Man Gang). Bret would have a long run (about 25 minutes), starting a theme of a smaller worker having a long run from #1. Santana lasted about 10 minutes himself, before Bret (and The Anvil) got him out. It’s also worth noting that #1 and #2 didn’t even get an entrance.

royal rumble ax smash demolition
The formula was already being tinkered with

1989
#1 – Ax
#2 – Smash

It’s interesting that Vince was already playing with the Rumble formula by having Demolition be #1 and #2. Neither Ax or Smash had a notable run, lasting 5 and 14 minutes respectively. Jesse Ventura on commentary insinuated that Ted Dibiase paid money to make sure some of the tougher guys got an early number. While it was the first thirty-man Rumble, we still didn’t know what the Rumble was going to be. But at least we had an interesting start with the Demos.

royal rumble dibiase
Dibiase’s riches didn’t get him a good number this time.

1990
#1 – Ted Dibiase
#2 – Koko B. Ware

Interestingly, Howard Finkel announces that this year’s #1 had #30 the year prior. Dibiase would have a long run, over 44 minutes. Dibiase would dump Koko before #3 ever made it out. The 1990 Rumble is probably the first to really have a certain prestige attached to it, as Hulk Hogan would win it (as WWF Champion). Still, through three Rumbles, #1 and #2 were not particularly notable.

royal rumble bret hart dino bravo
Bret was probably more annoyed about having to wrestle Bravo than being #1 again.

1991
#1 – Bret Hart
#2 – Dino Bravo

Poor Bret Hart. Four Rumbles in total he already has two #1s. I’m sure he was thrilled to be in there with Bravo as well. It’s amazing to see how different Bret looks from 1988. While he was still in the Hart Foundation tag team, it’s obvious that he was primed for bigger things. He got 20 minutes here, while Bravo lasted three.

royal rumble British bulldog
No one talks about anyone but Flair, but the Bulldog was a strong early face in the ’92 Rumble

1992
#1 – The British Bulldog
#2 – Ted Dibiase

Surprisingly, Dibiase gets a second top two spot. The Bulldog is a solid face to be #1. Bulldog made quick work of Dibiase while lasting 20 minutes himself. Of course, no one really cares, because this is the infamous Rumble where Ric Flair won from #3 (winning the WWF Title with it). It was nice to see a time where drawing an early number was considered a death knell in regards to winning the match.

royal rumble Ric Flair
No one talks about Flair’s 2nd Rumble, Heenan was great here too.

1993
#1 – Ric Flair
#2 – Bob Backlund

Definitely the highest level of prestige for #1 and #2 so far. Flair of course won from #3 the year prior, so he wasn’t counted out at all. Backlund is a former WWF Champion who would last over an hour and basically finished 3rd in the match. The idea that #1 or #2 could win was firmly entrenched here. Notably, this was the first Rumble where the winner was guaranteed a World Title shot at Wrestlemania.

royal rumble steiners samu
The only “highlight” early on in the ’94 Rumble

1994
#1 – Scott Steiner
#2 – Samu

A bit of a throwback to the first two Rumbles (Rick Steiner would be #3). Instead of having top guys start out, the 1994 Rumble started out quietly and that’s a good thing. Samu didn’t even make it to when Rick got in, and Scott lasted until Diesel went on a rampage and became a star.

royal rumble michaels bulldog
A memorable moment wasted by the short Rumble.

1995
#1 – Shawn Michaels
#2 – The British Bulldog

It’s kind of a shame this Rumble exists. Michaels and the Bulldog of course were known for both being able to go coast to coast, which on paper is a great story. The problem is with how it was done. The timer between each competitor was lowered to one minute, and the Rumble itself was only 38:41. Michaels and the Bulldog’s time wasn’t even top 5 all time at that point, despite going from 1 and 2 to the end (Backlund, Flair, Valentine, Martel and Dibiase all lasted 40+ minutes in a Rumble at this point). At the time it was cool, but what a waste of the concept.

Royal Rumble HHH
HHH got himself DQed…and had to enter #1.

1996
#1 – Hunter Hearst Helmsley
#2 – Henry O. Godwinn

HHH got his first #1 by getting a decision reversed in the Free-For-All against Duke “The Dumpster” Droese. Godwinn was feuding with him, which is another Rumble theme that would repeat itself. HHH has one of my favorite performances in the ’96 Rumble, as he lasted 48 minutes and didn’t eliminate anyone. Godwinn got 16 minutes himself, which unfortunately shows how thin the roster was at that point.

royal rumble 1997
Contender for worst #1 and #2.

1997
#1 – Crush
#2 – Ahmed Johnson

Like last year, #1 and #2 were in a feud (as Crush was a member of the Nation of Domination). Ahmed took himself out 3 minutes in chasing after Faarooq, and Crush only lasted a few minutes past that. Good argument for the weakest #1 and #2 here.

royal rumble cactus jack
Foley and Funk added a lot of fun that had been missing from the Rumble.

1998
#1 – Cactus Jack
#2 – Chainsaw Charlie

This was different. Mick Foley and Terry Funk had a friendly “who can hit the other with a chair harder” contest and then took out Tom Brandi as well. Very entertaining #1 and #2. Funk’s 1998 performance is quite entertaining overall. He lasts 25 minutes and is very animated throughout. Interestingly Funk was eliminated by Foley…but Foley was Mankind. So far, this is probably my favorite #1 and #2 and it really set the stage for what the WWF was becoming.

royal rumble 1999 mcmahon austin
Austin vs. McMahon would recreate 1995, although in a strange way.

1999
#1 – Stone Cold Steve Austin
#2 – Mr. McMahon

Oof. #1 and #2 were determined through storylines on RAW. This was a super hot feud and of course a really smart way for Austin to legally get his hands on McMahon. Of course, the rest of the Rumble is treated as a joke as after a trip to the women’s bathroom and a hospital, Austin and McMahon ended up as the last two competitors in the match. And McMahon won it. That’s WWF Attitude for you.

royal rumble 2000
D’Lo and Grandmaster Sexay were lower profile than years prior.

2000
#1 – D’Lo Brown
#2 – Grandmaster Sexay

Holy midcarders Batman! What a change from 1999. D’Lo’s peak had passed and Grandmaster was about to get there, but neither were above the midcard even then. Neither would last particularly long, but Grandmaster was part of a famous elimination when dancing with Rikishi.

Royal Rumble 2001 Hardy
A variant of 88, 89 and 94.

2001
#1 – Jeff Hardy
#2 – Bull Buchanan

Another callback to 1988 and 1994, as Matt Hardy was #3 and Buchanan was part of the Right to Censor faction and teaming with the Goodfather. Once again neither lasted long, as the ring has to be cleared for the Drew Carey-Kane angle.

royal rumble goldust
Goldust got a great reaction in his WWF return.

2002
#1 – Rikishi
#2 – Goldust

The most interesting combination for #1 and #2 since 1999 for several reasons. One, Rikishi (who was #30 the year prior, the first since Dibiase in 89/90 to accomplish this) went from near top guy to midcarder in a year, and he’s treated as such (he eliminated The Undertaker the year prior, and was tossed out as part of the deadwood clearing portion of the Rumble by Taker this year). Goldust had a lot of hype as he was one of the returning four wrestlers advertised for that year. He got a big pop and looked good as well (he also was taken out by Undertaker).

royal rumble 2003 jericho michaels
Jericho and HBK was one of the all-time great starts, with a shocking ending.

2003
#1 – Shawn Michaels
#2 – Chris Jericho

A contender for my favorite #1-#2. Jericho said he could do whatever HBK could, which led them being #1 and #2 here. Jericho though would cheapshot and brutalize HBK in the opening two minutes, taking him out. Brilliant. HBK would come back later and attack Jericho, allowing Test (???) to eliminate him. Excellent storyline build for what turned to be a great match at Wrestlemania XIX.

royal rumble 2004 orton
Randy Orton had a great showing from #2 in 2004.

2004
#1 – Chris Benoit
#2 – Randy Orton

It’s a shame I can’t appreciate Benoit’s run in the 2004 Rumble today, because it’s excellent and the 2004 is still the greatest Rumble of all time (yes, better than 1992). Benoit of course would go coast to coast and win the whole thing. Orton was fantastic here as well, and he got a good run in until Mick Foley made his return and took him out. Two years in a row we’ve gotten excellent #1 and #2s.

royal rumble guerrero
One of Eddie Guerrero’s last fun moments before he turned heel in 2005.

2005
#1 – Eddie Guerrero
#2 – Chris Benoit

Another enjoyable #1 and #2. While Guerrero was hurting at this point in his career, he still put in a solid and entertaining 28 minutes. Benoit would go 47 this year and made it past #30. I’m not sure if I should, but I still enjoy what Guerrero, Benoit and Hardcore Holly did to Daniel Puder early on.

royal rumble mysterio
Rey Mysterio put on one of the all-time great Rumble performances.

2006
#1 – Triple H
#2 – Rey Mysterio

A very interesting #1 and #2 as Mysterio wasn’t quite at the top guy level yet, which made for a great underdog story. Both HHH and Mysterio would last to the end, and Mysterio would complete the coast to coast eliminating Randy Orton. For years now, WWE were definitely did right with #1 and #2.

royapl rumble 2007
Flair and Finlay was an awesome old school start.

2007
#1 – Ric Flair
#2 – Finlay

While lower profile that previous years, this is still a strong top two. Unfortunately, Flair (his second #1) would only last a few minutes, but Finlay got in a strong 30.

royal rumble undertaker hbk
Michaels vs. Undertaker was another chapter in their amazing feud of the late 2000s.

2008
#1 – The Undertaker
#2 – Shawn Michaels

Another contender for best #1 and #2. There were so many great things about this that we need to make a list. First off, they were the last two remaining the year prior and had a great match. Second, each of their performances were excellent and should be included in the HBK-Taker that followed in 2009 and 2010. Third, Michael Buffer was brought in for the introductions. Undertaker also joined Dibiase and Rikishias someone who got #30 one year and #1 the next. Anyway, Undertaker and Shawn both lasted a little more than a half hour, and HBK would finally avenge his 2007 defeat by superkicking Taker out of this one.

royal rumble rey morrison
Rey vs. Morrison was a fun start.

2009
#1 – Rey Mysterio
#2 – John Morrison

Not particularly notable this year, but Rey would get a long 49 minute run and Morrison had a good showing himself at 20 minutes. Still, you could do worse with Mysterio and Morrison as your #1 and #2.

royal rumble 2010
Two good workers, but we all remember CM Punk at #3

2010
#1 – Dolph Ziggler
#2 – Evan Bourne

For the first time since 2002 we get a couple midcarders to start. CM Punk would wipe them both out as soon as he came in at three and proceed to be awesome. As great as the 2010 Rumble is, it’s #1 and #2 were rather bland. Ziggler would come a long way though, as we will get to.

royal rumble 2011 bryan punk
I mean…it’s Bryan vs. Punk

2011
#1 – CM Punk
#2 – Daniel Bryan

I mean, just read those two names. Unfortunately, the booking and structure of the 2011 Rumble somewhat deflated these two at #1 and #2. For one, there was a confusing Corre vs. Nexus brawl right before Bryan came out. Second, this was the first ever 40 man Rumble, while really put into question whether #1 or #2 could win. Lastly, Bryan wasn’t established yet as a guy that mattered. Still, Punk vs. Bryan is a pretty cool way to start. Punk would take out Bryan about 20 minutes in, and John Cena would wipe out Punk.

Royal Rumble miz
Miz had a solid showing in 2012.

2012
#1 – The Miz
#2 – Alex Riley

Unfortunately, the Miz was on the way down after a successful 2011, mostly because he and R-Truth were blamed for the low 2011 Survivor Series buyrate. Alex Riley got cheers for turning on the Miz in 2011, but then people realized he was Alex Riley. WWE realized it too, and he was gone in a minute. Miz got a long run though.

royal rumble 2013 jericho ziggler
Jericho’s surprise return in 2013 was nothing short of amazing.

2013
#1 – Dolph Ziggler
#2 – Chris Jericho

One of the all-time great Rumble surprises. “And I don’t even care who #2 is, so just send him out already!” Ziggler had sent Jericho packing at Summerslam 2012, so this was perfect. Both were brilliant in the match as well, 45 minutes later Ziggler would eliminate Jericho. Ziggler was out a couple minutes later. I would have bet serious money on Ziggler being a big star in 2013, but by Summerslam he was just another guy.

royal rumble 2014
This turned out to be CM Punk’s last match.

2014
#1 – CM Punk
#2 – Seth Rollins

Poor CM Punk. His last three Rumble entry numbers were 3, 1 and 1. I also rolled by eyes at #2. As soon as Punk came out, I said #2 would be Rollins. Anyway this would prove to be CM Punk’s last match. Despite getting concussed by Kofi Kingston he lasted 49 minutes before Kane came in and tossed him out. Rollins got in 48 minutes himself, a performance that’s very overlooked, before fellow SHIELD member Roman Reigns tossed him.

royal rumble miz
Miz was shunted down the card in 2015…but was still amazing.

2015
#1 – The Miz
#2 – R-Truth

We just did this in 2012, as Truth was #3 there. Both were complete midcarders at this point, and Miz was just fodder for the returning Bubba Ray Dudley and R-Truth Dudley’s signature moves. It’s amazing how long it took for the Miz to rebuild himself.

Royal Rumble AJ Styles, Roman
Roman had to defend the title, but this is another where we only cared about #3.

2016
#1 – Roman Reigns
#2 – Rusev

Roman being #1 was a storyline, as he was defending the WWE Title here (not the worst concept in the world actually). Rusev and Roman were the last two in 2015 (officially, the whole finish was a mess). Unfortunately, Rusev didn’t make it to #3. Of course, this is overshadowed by A.J. Styles making his debut at #3.

royal rumble 2017 jericho
Jericho looked like he had a lot of fun in 2017.

2017
#1 – Big Cass
#2 – Chris Jericho

Rather forgettable, but somewhat saved by Jericho having one of my favorite runs. Jericho lasted an hour basically being a troll. Big Cass lasted 10 minutes and there’s not much else to say there.

royal rumble balor rusev
Balor vs. Rusev was a fun start in 2018.

2018 (Men’s)
#1 – Rusev
#2 – Finn Balor

Because of his entrance, I would have put money on Shinsuke Nakamura being #1 or #2. Nonetheless, we have a very entertaining #1 and #2. Rusev got in a good 30 minutes amid “Rusev Day” chants. Balor lasted almost an hour, making the Final Four and putting on a great performance.

royal rumble sasha banks becky lynch
Could the first Women’s Rumble start with anyone but Sasha and Becky?

2018 (Women’s)
#1 – Sasha Banks
#2 – Becky Lynch

It was a safe bet that we’d get these two for #1 and #2. I expected them both to get to the end, but Becky was surprisingly eliminated midway in. Sasha would make it to the end and got played by the Bella Twins. Both were great though.

Pro Wrestling

RDTWorldofSport 2017 Wrestling Awards

RDTWorldofSport 2017 Wrestling Awards 

I don’t have a real basis for this to be perfectly honest. It’s mostly my opinion with some searching around to see what some respected wrestling forums and writers think. Also this will mostly be WWE (but not all), basically because that’s what I watched 99% of the time. But if something else catches my eye, it could make the awards. With that being said, here goes. (Yes, I wrote the same thing last year).

Moment of the Year

Winner: The Undertaker Loses to Roman Reigns and Gets a Standing Ovation

 

Can’t say he retired, because we don’t know that yet, but it was one heck of a moment after he lost to Reigns. He sure looked like he was retiring, that’s for sure.

Second Place: The Festival of Friendship – Kevin Owens Turns on Chris Jericho

Third Place: Kurt Angle returns as RAW GM

Fourth Place: Chris Jericho challenges Kenny Omega for Wrestle Kingdom 12

Fifth Place: The Hardy Boyz return at Wrestlemania 33

Debut of the Year

Winner: Samoa Joe in WWE

 

WWE has already seemingly screwed up some NXT talent debuts, but one they haven’t messed up at all has been Samoa Joe. He came in as Triple H’s heavy to take out Seth Rollins, and has been near the top of the card ever since. He could be that big match killer that Brock Lesnar is sooner than later.

Second Place: Shinsuke Nakamura in WWE

Third Place: Tye Dillinger in WWE

Fourth Place: Aleister Black in NXT

Fifth Place: Asuka in WWE

Return of the Year

Winner: Kurt Angle on RAW

 

It feels so right to see Kurt Angle back in WWE. He got an insane reaction when announced as Raw GM. His in-ring return was I guess a bit underwhelming, but it was also refreshing to see him come back in the flow as opposed to a massive big built match. He also was pretty good in the TLC match. It’s great to see Kurt home.

Second Place: Chris Jericho to NJPW to challenge Kenny Omega

Third Place: The Hardyz at Wrestlemania

Fourth Place: Paige in WWE

Fifth Place: Drew McIntyre in NXT

Match of the Year

Winner: WWE Championship: A.J. Styles vs. John Cena – WWE Royal Rumble 2017

I didn’t watch any NJPW, so I can’t speak on anything Okada and Omega did, but there still was a strong WWE selection. It may have been weaker than the Summerslam 2016 match, but AJ and Cena delivered once again it what seemed to almost be a greatest hits version of their match. Those were some pretty great hits.

Second Place: Brock Lesnar vs. A.J. Styles – Survivor Series 2017

Third Place: WWE U.K. Championship: Pete Dunne vs. Tyler Bate – NXT Takeover Chicago

Fourth Place: War Games: Undisputed Era vs. Sanity vs. Authors of Pain and Roderick Strong – NXT Takeover War Games

Fifth Place: WWE Championship – Elimination Chamber: John Cena vs. A.J. Styles vs. Bray Wyatt vs. The Miz vs. Baron Corbin

Feud of the Year

Winner: Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman

 

Say what you want about Roman, him and Strowman had some great matches and this feud elevated Strowman into a top guy. The Last Man Standing match at Great Balls of Fire almost made my top five. It also gave us an edge to Roman’s character that’s been missing since he was elevated to top guy status. Great stuff all around.

Second Place: Chris Jericho vs. Kevin Owens

Third Place: The Usos vs. The New Day

Fourth Place: Shane McMahon vs. Kevin Owens

Fifth Place: Asuka vs. Ember Moon

Biggest Disappointment of the Year

Winner: Former NXT Talents Get Buried

 

Man where to start. Finn Balor went from the first ever Universal Champion to doing a whole lot of nothing. After his feud with Bray Wyatt eroded into a joke, he was saved with a great match with A.J. Styles at TLC only to just get jobbed out the next night to Kane. Word is Vince doesn’t see what’s so special about him. I mean come on. He even has a marketable Demon gimmick and everything! We had fans booing Bayley at one point, which is incredible really. Talk about a lost year. Shinsuke Nakamura debuted on Smackdown during a Miz promo and that ended up being the highlight of his entire run in 2017. Too bad he couldn’t just feud with Miz. Feud with Ziggler was okay at best. Wrestling Jinder for the WWE Championship and not winning it only hurt him. Bobby Roode has also done a whole lot of nothing since debuting on Smackdown and also had an okay feud with Ziggler. There’s already worry about Asuka’s booking. At least Samoa Joe looked great I suppose.

Second Place: Bray Wyatt

Third Place: Jinder Mahal as WWE Champion

Fourth Place: Survivor Series 2017 Main Event

Fifth Place: Jason Jordan as Kurt Angle’s son

Best Show of the Year

Winner: NXT Takeover: War Games

Everything ranged from good to great here. Lars Sullivan vs. Kassius Ohno? Good start for Sullivan. Aleister Black and Velveteen Dream told a great story in their match and could be near the top of some match of the year lists. The four way for the vacant NXT Women’s title was solid. Drew McIntyre and Andrade Almas had a surprisingly good match with a shocking outcome. War Games is 4th on my match of the year and really put over the Undisputed Era as an up and coming great faction.

Second Place: NXT Takeover: Brooklyn III

Third Place: NXT Takeover: Orlando

Fourth Place: NXT Takeover: Chicago

Fifth Place: WWE Royal Rumble 2017

Non-Wrestler of the Year

Winner: Paul Heyman, Manager

Got to give it to Heyman. He made every match against Lesnar this year a really special feel. From the Goldberg match to the Samoa Joe match to even the A.J. Styles match, he put over everyone. He even put over Finn Balor. All while Brock ran through all of them.

Second Place: Daniel Bryan, Smackdown GM

Third Place: Kurt Angle, RAW GM

Fourth Place: Shane McMahon, Smackdown Commissioner

Fifth Place: William Regal, NXT Commissioner

Best Surprisingly Good Angle

Winner: The Festival of Friendship

Sometimes those type angle miss (see “This is Your Life” for Bayley this year) and sometimes they hit. I guess when Chris Jericho is doing it, it hits. There was a painting, a Gillberg, a new list…and a truly great heel turn. I think Owens vs. Jericho should have been the Universal title match at Mania, to be honest.

Second Place: Enzo Amore becomes the face of 205 Live

Third Place: Aliester Black vs. Velveteen Dream

Woman of the Year

Winner: Asuka (NXT/WWE)

Asuka carried the NXT Women’s division in the post Charlotte-Becky-Bayley-Sasha world. She had great matches with Ember Moon, and has yet to be screwed up in WWE yet, although the start hasn’t been all great either. After the “women’s revolution”, it hasn’t been a super strong year for women. Asuka at least had a strong year.

Second Place: Alexa Bliss (WWE)

Third Place: Sasha Banks (WWE)

Fourth Place: Charlotte (WWE)

Fifth Place: Ember Moon (NXT)

Tag Team of the Year

Winner: The Bar (WWE)

 

What amazing chemistry Cesaro and Sheamus have! What began as a best of 7 series between two guys who had nothing to do turned into an amazing tag team that complement one another well. They had good matches with the Hardyz this year and also were a good team to put together with the Miz in the feud with the Shield.

Second Place: The Usos (WWE)

Third Place: Authors of Pain (NXT)

Fourth Place: The New Day (WWE)

Fifth Place: The Hardy Boyz (IMPACT/ROH/WWE)

Wrestler of the Year

Winner: A.J. Styles (WWE)

 

How can it not be Styles? I asked that last year. He came in as WWE Champ. Participated in my 2017 Match of the Year at the Royal Rumble and another contender for it at Elimination Chamber. Carried Shane McMahon to the best or second best match at Wrestlemania. Had a good, if not too long feud with Kevin Owens over the US Title in the summer. Surprisingly won the US Title at a MSG house show. Had to save the TLC show and Finn Balor’s early career by replacing Bray Wyatt and having a great match. Even Vince realized he was too good to not be WWE Champ, so the Jinder experiment ended with AJ winning another WWE Title. As a result he saved Survivor Series and had a Match of the Year contender with Brock Lesnar. Pretty good year for AJ. That’s 2/2 when it comes to WWE years too. Hope he main events Wrestlemania.

Second Place: Brock Lesnar (WWE)

Third Place: The Miz (WWE)

Fourth Place: Samoa Joe (WWE)

Fifth Place: Kevin Owens (WWE)

Pro Wrestling

Wrestlemania XXXIII Preview

It is the biggest show of the year. Unfortunately, WWE treats it that way. Now you may say “isn’t that a good thing” but in this case it’s not. WWE manufactured every single “moment” at Wrestlemania XXXII, somehow failing to realize that the best part about Wrestlemania moments are when they are organically created. I mean The Rock basically came out with a neon sign that said “Wrestlemania moment coming now”.  It was a terrible show.

Has WWE learned from that? Wrestlemania XXXI was basically the opposite, with fans not entirely being excited about the card and instead getting an amazing show filled with great moments (The DX and NWO run-ins and Seth Rollins’ shocking title win, for two examples). What Wrestlemania will we get tonight? Let’s go through each match, pre-show and all, and throw in some potential appearances that could turn into real, organic moments.

WWE Cruiserweight Championship: Neville© vs. Austin Aries

Should be a really fun match on the pre-show and definitely the highest profile match for the division possible without Brian Kendrick. I expect Neville to retain the title though, he hasn’t held it long enough for the credible reign he needs. Potential moment? Some crazy high flying move from Neville probably.

Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal

It’s kind of a shame that this is on the pre-show. Last year it was moved to the main card and rumors ran rampant that John Cena was going to win it…only for that move to mean Shaq was in it. Baron Corbin winning was pretty good though and WWE did capitalize it. Braun Strowman seems like the obvious winner, but I kinda think they are going to give it to Big Show again as a token of appreciation, especially with the Shaq match falling apart. Moment potential is Show’s win if it turns out to be his last match, or perhaps someone slamming him out like Cesaro back at Mania XXX.

Smackdown’s Women’s Title: Alexa Bliss © vs. Becky Lynch vs. Natayla vs. Naomi vs. Mickie James vs. Carmella

I was a bit surprised to find that Naomi made her return on Smackdown and was announced for the match. That could have been a cool Wrestlemania moment unless WWE thought she would be a disappointing surprise entrant. Also, I’m not sure if other Women can still be in this match or if it’s an official six-pack challenge. I’m not sure who’s winning here, but I am guessing the title will go back to Naomi here.

Raw World Tag Team Title: Gallows and Anderson © vs. Enzo and Cass vs. Cesaro and Sheamus

Throwing a ladder into the mix seemingly made this match feel more important. It should be a bit of a real old school ladder match though, as there isn’t a high flyer in this thing and that’ll be interesting. Seems about the right time for Enzo and Cass to win the titles, which would be a moment in itself.

Intercontinental Title: Dean Ambrose © vs. Baron Corbin

It’s been a rough year for Ambrose. He finally got a crack at the top and was completely exposed at that level. Now he’s in the IC title picture and should be dropping the title to Corbin. And I think he will. Not sure what moments can come from this really other than Corbin’s win. Making Corbin a clutch Wrestlemania type guy (he won the Andre Battle Royal last year) would be a great thing for him.

WWE Hall Of Fame

 

I don’t really know when this is going to happen on the card. But seeing Kurt Angle at Wrestlemania would be something. Maybe Angle will get involved in something?

John Cena and Nikki Bella vs. The Miz and Maryse

Kudos to The Miz to getting himself into a high profile match at Wrestlemania. It’s a shame he’s not winning but really it’s what WWE does with Miz over the next year that really matters. The potential moment here is obvious, John Cena proposing to Nikki Bella. Get ready for that wedding at Summerslam.

United States Title: Chris Jericho © vs. Kevin Owens

JERIKO EXPLODES. It’s a bit of a shame this isn’t for the Universal title, but it should be a good one nonetheless. I also have a sneaky suspicion Chris Jericho is going over here, only for him to lose to Owens at Extreme Rules or whatever the next PPV is. Moment here could be something involving Jericho emotionally being upset about their Friendship being destroyed.

RAW Women’s Title: Bayley © vs. Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks vs. Nia Jax

I really don’t buy Nia Jax in this match. She’s just not ready. I expect her to get Big Show at Wrestlemania 2000’d and be out quickly after a triple team. From there, it could be anyone and I think it’ll be Charlotte. It’s not like WWE suddenly pulled the plug on making Charlotte important. Potential moment: Sasha gets eliminated 2nd and turns on Bayley, leading to the Charlotte title win.

Shane McMahon vs. A.J. Styles

While I was hoping for a different match for Styles, putting him with a McMahon is still the highest profile match he’s ever had. And if anyone can get an amazing match out of Shane, it’s Styles. I’m pulling expecting some crazy jump from Shane that he’ll miss and AJ will win as a result. That’ll be your moment obviously.

Legends Segment

The Rock? Stone Cold? HBK? Mick Foley? I kinda expect Foley since it would be a shame he’d miss Mania after being around most of the year. As long as it isn’t the mess the Rock did last year it could be entertaining. Maybe Ronda will show up?!

Seth Rollins vs. Triple H

Can’t fault HHH for putting over Reigns then Rollins back to back. This match should be quite good, and frankly I am surprised it isn’t main eventing. It’s the only match other than Styles vs. Shane that guaranteed to be good and has big match appeal. Rollins will then sink or swim as a top guy afterwards. I expect Samoa Joe to be involved…and if somehow HHH wins a Summerslam rematch will take place too. Then again Finn Balor could show up to fight off Joe.

WWE World Title: Bray Wyatt © vs. Randy Orton

I really wanted this story to continue. Orton’s turn came too early for me, and a triple threat with Luke Harper is much more interesting. I really hope we just aren’t going to see Orton pin Wyatt and that’s that, but Vince has reportedly been impressed with Orton, and he kinda owes him one for what Brock did to him at Summerslam. I see the title switch here, unfortunately.

WWE Universal Title: Goldberg © vs. Brock Lesnar

Either there will be tons of smoke and mirrors, or Lesnar is going over in three minutes max. I really hope it’s the latter. The Goldberg thing was interesting for a bit, but the ending needs to be Lesnar squashing him and moving on.

The Undertaker vs. Roman Reigns

This is the rumored main event, which makes me think it’s Undertaker’s last match. Sad to say, but Taker looked pretty bad at the Rumble and Roman’s getting booed out the building. Undertaker deserves better than this if this is the end. I’m sure A.J. could have gotten a great match with him. The right decision is for Roman to go over, sadly.

And that’s Mania. I don’t like how it sounds, but WWE has surpassed the hype before and I hope this is one of those times. Enjoy.

Pro Wrestling

2016 RDTWorldofSport Wrestling Awards

RDTWorldofSport 2016 Wrestling Awards

I don’t have a real basis for this to be perfectly honest. It’s mostly my opinion with some searching around to see what some respected wrestling forums and writers think. Some categories get a Top 5 and some get a Top 3. Why? Because I said so. Also this will mostly be WWE, basically because that’s what I watched 99% of the time. But if something else catches my eye, it could make the awards. With that being said, here goes.

Moment of the Year

Winner: Shinsuke Nakamura Wins the NXT Championship

 

Nakamura was on fire in WWE this year and didn’t even need to be on the main roster to do so. Nakamura was pretty much a phenom the moment he set foot in NXT. Winning the NXT Championship showed that NXT could get past the Sami Zayn, Finn Balor era, which honestly wasn’t a guarantee. The entire spectacle of the match is fantastic. Nakamura’s entrance with Lee England Jr. was incredible. The crowd was incredible. And when Nakamura hit Samoa Joe with the Kinshasa and won the title, the crowd erupted.

Second Place: Goldberg beats Brock Lesnar in 84 seconds

Third Place: Shane McMahon returns to RAW

Fourth Place: A.J. Styles debuts in the Royal Rumble

Fifth Place: Finn Balor wins the new WWE Universal Championship

Debut of the Year

Winner: A.J. Styles in WWE

There aren’t many ways the Royal Rumble can surprise us anymore, and even those on the inside knew that A.J. showing up in the Rumble was a possibility (since he has just signed with WWE), but WWE surprised us for sure here. A.J. Styles is pretty much the last major star that WWE had never truly had and for him to show up in the Rumble while the current “face” of WWE, Roman Reigns, awaited him in the ring, was truly epic and it’ll be hard for WWE to top that moment in a Royal Rumble ever again.

Second Place: Shinsuke Nakamura in NXT

Third Place: Bobby Roode in NXT

Fourth Place: Bayley on RAW

Fifth Place: Baron Corbin at Wrestlemania

Return of the Year

Winner: Shane McMahon on RAW

With WWE in need of a marquee match at Wrestlemania, the return of Shane McMahon and a match between him and The Undertaker in Hell in a Cell delivered. The crowd erupted for Shane, who hadn’t been seen in WWE for seven years. To my surprise, Shane stuck around after Wrestlemania and is still working for WWE today (as I thought he was just going for the Mania program and leaving). Watch the crowd reaction, it’s insane.

Second Place: Goldberg returns to RAW

Third Place: Seth Rollins returns at Extreme Rules

Fourth Place: Bayley returns to NXT to challenge Asuka

Fifth Place: Randy Orton returns on the Highlight Reel at Battleground

Match of the Year

Winner: A.J. Styles vs. John Cena – WWE Summerslam 2016

It’s amazing to me that Styles vs. Cena somehow served as a midcard feud. This was theoretically a dream match, the face of TNA for the last decade against the face of WWE. Of course, Styles vs. Cena pretty much put the rest of the main roster to shame with several five star performances. Notably, the one at Summerslam, which was at the end of the first hour, absolutely stole the show and made Styles into a superstar. John Cena put Styles over clean in 23 minutes of amazing back and forth action with great false finishes.

Second Place: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Sami Zayn – NXT Takeover: Dallas

Third Place: NXT World Tag Team Championship – Two out of Three Falls: The Revival © vs. DIY – NXT Takeover: Toronto

Fourth Place: NXT World Tag Team Championship: The Revival © vs. DIY – NXT Takeover: Brooklyn

Fifth Place: WWE Intercontinental Championship – Last Man Standing: Dean Ambrose © vs. Kevin Owens

Feud of the Year

Winner: Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks

 

This feud was red hot to me all year. Understandable some became sick of the feud as they wrestled about six or seven different times on different events and some had also turned on Charlotte as a performer. The only issue I had with the feud was that WWE seemed to be going out of their way to create an undefeated on PPV streak for Charlotte. But otherwise I liked all of their matches and thought Hell in a Cell and the Iron Woman Match were strong. Starting with their triple threat at Wrestlemania with Becky Lynch, it really did feel like Women’s wrestling was becoming an important part of the show. The matches delivered, Women’s wrestling was elevated, and best yet we have a big heel for Bayley to dethrone…then a story if Sasha Banks turns heel on her. And that all spawns from this feud.

Second Place: A.J. Styles vs. John Cena

Third Place: Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens

Fourth Place: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Samoa Joe

Fifth Place: Shane McMahon vs. Stephanie McMahon

Biggest Disappointment of the Year

Winner: Brock Lesnar’s 2016

 

Lesnar had dominated and was without a doubt the biggest name in WWE pretty much since he returned, and especially since he beat the Undertaker at Wrestlemania XXX. He had a huge 2014 after that, beating John Cena for the title in dominating fashion and despite barely being there still being the biggest star. In 2015 he was a part of two match of the year candidates (triple threat at the Rumble and vs. Reigns at Mania), a feud of the year candidate (vs. Undertaker) and again seemed like his dominate self. What the heck happened in 2016? He kicked off the year with a disappointing Royal Rumble appearance where a feud with the Wyatts seemed imminent. A feud with Ambrose spawned from a triple threat match at Fastlane and the Wyatt’s deal was quickly dropped after Lesnar beat Luke Harper at Roadblock. Match with Ambrose was one of those that hurt both guys instead of elevating or establishing anyone. Came back to fight and bloody Randy Orton in a match that really didn’t seem like a big deal and there wasn’t any follow up. Survivor Series was the last match for Lesnar where he lost to Goldberg in 84 seconds, although that was probably the most interesting thing he did all year. Nonetheless, the aura took a huge hit this year and I’m not sure the product would be any different if he wasn’t here, which is a vastly different statement than you could make in 2014 or 2015.

Second Place: Roman Reigns’ rise to the top

Third Place: Roman Reigns vs. Triple H – Wrestlemania 32

Fourth Place: Wrestlemania 32

Fifth Place: Bayley’s RAW booking

Best Show of the Year

Winner: NXT Takeover: Dallas

Nakamura’s debut vs. Zayn. Balor vs. Joe. Bayley dropping the title to Asuka. Revival vs. American Alpha. Really kinda hard to beat any way you look at it. This totally beat out the following night’s Wrestlemania, that’s for sure.

Second Place: NXT Takeover: Toronto

Third Place: WWE Royal Rumble

Fourth Place: WWE Money in the Bank

Fifth Place: NXT Takeover: Brooklyn

Non-Wrestler of the Year

Winner: Daniel Bryan, Smackdown GM

Bryan as Smackdown’s General Manager has been a fun role for him. He’s helped elevate the Miz back to a level we haven’t seen Miz since 2011. He’s charismatic and a genuine fun part of the show (unlike Mick Foley on RAW somehow, which is baffling considering how great Mick was in this role 16 years ago). Yes, it’s sad that we’ll never see Daniel Bryan wrestle again. But it’s great to see him as authoritative good guy on Smackdown and a big reason that it’s beating RAW out in the ratings.

Second Place: William Regal, NXT GM

Third Place: Paul Heyman, Manager

Fourth Place: Shane McMahon, Smackdown Commissioner

Fifth Place: Stephanie McMahon, RAW Comissioner

Best Surprisingly Good Angle

Winner: Heath Slater gets a Smackdown Contract

Somehow Smackdown put together Heath Slater and Rhyno…RHYNO?!…and that’s become one of the hottest acts in the company. Heath Slater has probably the most underrated guy in the company to be fair as he’s been entertaining in pretty much everything he’s done since getting beat up by the legends in 2013. The entire angle with Slater not getting drafted, to begging for a job on RAW and Smackdown (the Slater-Lesnar segment may have been Lesnar’s best all year, interestingly enough) to finding Rhyno as a partner and winning the Tag titles with him was nothing short of brilliant.

Second Place: Braun Strowman runs through RAW and Sami Zayn

Third Place: Jericho’s List

Fourth Place: Randy Orton joins the Wyatts

Fifth Place: James Ellsworth beats A.J. Styles three times

Woman of the Year

Winner: Sasha Banks (WWE)

Charlotte may be the woman WWE is looking to push as the face to establish the division, and that’s not a bad choice, but the fans have been 100% behind “the Boss” all year and each of her title wins have been met with HUGE reactions. If Sasha Banks can stay healthy, there’s no reason that her and Bayley can’t have a great feud in 2017 (like they did for NXT in 2015) and push the division to even greater heights. With all due respect to Charlotte, that’s where the money is.

Second Place: Charlotte (WWE)

Third Place: Bayley (NXT/WWE)

Fourth Place: Asuka (NXT)

Fifth Place: Alexa Bliss (NXT/WWE)

Tag Team of the Year

Winner: The New Day (WWE)

How could it not be them? While yes, it seems that their star is finally fading, the truth is the New Day is still one of the most over and entertaining acts in WWE. It’s amazing considering just how awful they seemed when they started out in early 2015. They beat Demolition’s title reign record and I hope they can somehow regain some freshness for 2017.

Second Place: The Revival (NXT)

Third Place: DIY (NXT)

Fourth Place: American Alpha (NXT/WWE)

Fifth Place: Health Slater and Rhyno (WWE)

Wrestler of the Year

Winner: A.J. Styles (WWE)

 

How can it not be Styles? The Face that Runs the Place stepped into WWE and immediately became a top star…then eventually THE top star. He was so good WWE basically had no choice but to put the WWE World Championship on him nine months into his run. He had great matches with Roman Reigns, John Cena and Dean Ambrose on Pay-Per-View. No one is better than A.J. Styles right now.

Second Place: Shinsuke Nakamura (NXT)

Third Place: Samoa Joe (NXT)

Fourth Place: Kevin Owens (WWE)

Fifth Place: Broken Matt Hardy (TNA)

 

Pro Wrestling

WWE Draft 2016! (Fantasy Booking)

Myself and a friend of mine who we’ll call the “Anonymous RAW General Manager” decided in a preview of the real life upcoming WWE draft, we’d do one of our own. He took RAW (obviously), and I decided to take Smackdown. He won the toss for the first pick. There were a few rules.

First rule was that, since we are unsure if and how NXT would be affected, we would take three NXT males and two NXT females.

Second rule is that we could take teams, stables, or workers with managers as long as we used the appropriate amount of picks. I could take the Usos for example, but then RAW would get two straight picks.

Third rule is that we ruled out certain competitors for the draft. No Ryback due to the contract issue. No Undertaker. No McMahons or Triple H. If you see they weren’t drafted that means they weren’t on the main roster. Also, no Tajiri as we didn’t realize he had been signed as we did the draft.

Last note. After each selection RAW GM wrote a little tidbit about each pick. He refers to me as RDT, and I’ll refer to him as RAW GM.

Ok, let’s get picking!

#1 Pick – rawdraftlogo

AJ Styles

AJStyles

RAW GM: If this draft was held after Wrestlemania, I probably wouldn’t have gone for The Phenomenal One. After losing to Chris Jericho on the biggest stage, it was clear WWE did not value AJ as a major player, and thus diminished his value by losing to Jericho. Not that Jericho is a bad person to lose to, but that he had lost to Fandango at Wrestlemania within the past three years, so it wasn’t looking good for AJ. But since that time, he has had major feuds with Roman Reigns, and seamlessly turned heel to face off against John Cena. AJ has shown both in and out of the ring that he truly is one of the best in the world, and I’m not sure there is a single person in the locker room that should be taken ahead of Styles. That is why I chose him, and he will be the standard bearer for Raw moving forward.

#1 Pick – smackdowndraft

John Cena

JohnCena

RDT: Smackdown, just as it did the last time the brand was split, has always struggled with being the B-Show. RAW is the flagship, blah, blah, blah. How do I kill that discussion right off the bat? By drafting the face of WWE, John Cena. Cena has one more monster run in him I feel and there’s enough new fresh workers in WWE that Cena can have great four to five star matches with.

#2 Pick – rawdraftlogo

Seth Rollins

sethrollins

RAW GM: Another guy who has shown major versatility is THE MAN and former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins. In response to my first choice, you have to have a top heel. What I like about these two picks are that they can play both the babyface and the heel very believably. Rollins heel run the past two years has been a bit scattered, but it definitely is more or less how he was written and not his ability to play the character. With Styles and Rollins at the top of the list, they could easily have multiple programs with each other from both sides of the spectrum.

#2 Pick-smackdowndraft

Kevin Owens

kevinowens

RDT: In my opinion he’s the best heel in the business right now. He’s incredible on the mic and one of the best workers in the world to boot. We already know he can work great matches with John Cena too, and that could be a feud that could kick off Smackdown in a big way.

#3 Pick-rawdraftlogo

Dean Ambrose

deanambrose

RAW GM: The current champ in real life, THE DUDE (ugh) comes in as another versatile player. The natural foil to Rollins, Ambrose has shown that he can be the type of babyface that gets crowds excited while not having the squeaky clean persona. The closest we might get to a Stone Cold esque anti-hero in this era.

#3 Pick-smackdowndraft

Sami Zayn

samizayn

RDT: RAW GM makes it tempting for me to look to ruin his SHIELD Triple Threat by taking Roman here. I think it’s more important for me to select the perfect complement to Kevin Owens in a workrate way in Sami Zayn. Having a built-in personal rivalry is what made Zayn and Owens both stars immediately in NXT and has helped Zayn on the main roster as well. Owens vs. Zayn could one day main event Wrestlemania and I want that to be a Smackdown main event. Also, is there any better underdog babyface worker in the world right now than Zayn?

#4 Pick-rawdraftlogo

Roman Reigns

romanreigns

RAW GM: RDT had no issue taking Cena with his first pick, so I thought it would be best to take advantage and complete the Shield trifecta. These three will always have a story to fall back on which definitely adds value to this pick. THE GUY is the least versatile superstar taken, as he could only believably be a heel to have the crowd accept him for the time being. But if he can show that he can hang in the ring and be a scumbag heel like he’s been recently, perhaps he could try another babyface run in the future.

#4 Pick-smackdowndraft

Bray Wyatt

braywyatt

RDT: There’s still no better unique character than Bray Wyatt. Despite being misused horribly at times he still manages to be a special attraction because of his charisma and character. With less clutter among the top names on Smackdown, Bray can finally settle into that Undertaker-type special role without having to be shunted down the card.

#5 Pick-rawdraftlogo

Cesaro

cesaro

RAW GM: Is there anything Cesaro can’t do? Well besides speak without a thick accent. I don’t know if Cesaro is a reach at 5, but I am very happy with grabbing him here. The Swiss Superman can do no wrong in the ring, and can jump into a feud for any title he’d like. If he was around in the era where the IC title mattered, he would be that workhorse champion. He isn’t the best on the mic, but he has one hell of a wingspan. His uppercuts are some of the most impressive moves of anyone in the entire draft pool. A top guy with upside to boot.

#5 Pick-smackdowndraft

Sasha Banks

sashabanks

RDT: I knew by pulling off a pick like this, I would end up losing the other coveted woman for sure (Bayley), so I had to choose wisely. Women’s professional wrestling can be at an all-time peak with the talent available and I wanted someone who’s been getting huge cheers since her call-up to the main roster ten months ago. “The Boss” is just about ready to peak. Fans wanted her to win the WWE Women’s Championship at Wrestlemania. Now that she’s past her injury, the road to Smackdown’s Women’s Championship is wide open for Banks and that’ll probably get one of the biggest pops of the year. The only way I was getting Sasha AND Bayley was to hope RAW GM took a tag team, but I didn’t want to wait that one out.

#6 Pick-rawdraftlogo

Bayley

bayley

RAW GM: I was shocked that RDT took Sasha Banks with his fifth round pick. I knew right then and there my women’s division would be shot unless I had someone the crowd would be immediately into. Look no further than the most over person NXT has ever seen, the huggable Bayley. She would not be my initial champion, because the underdog babyface has to chase the title to be effective, so my strategy is to just lay low for now and see if I can grab someone like Charlotte a bit later. Definitely reactionary to Sasha though, and I can’t let RDT shake me moving forward.

#6 Pick-smackdowndraft

Finn Balor

finnbalor

RDT: I’m trying to offset my lack of NXT knowledge by taking the best NXT has to offer early on. Balor has AJ Styles like potential in being a top worker on for the Smackdown brand. He’s currently the most intriguing NXT call-up at the moment and his character oozes potential. I’m already giddy as Balor vs. Cena in a high profile feud. And don’t get me started on Balor vs. Wyatt.

#7 Pick-rawdraftlogo

Chris Jericho

chrisjericho

RAW GM: My entire draft has been about versatility, and do they get more versatile than Chris Jericho? He has proven that he does not have to speak for almost 20 minutes and can get an equal parts babyface pop and heel reaction in that time span. He definitely will not last forever, but his veteran presence makes him a huge value choice in the 7th round.

#7, #8 Picks-smackdowndraft

Enzo and Big Cass

enzoandcass

RDT: Enzo and Big Cass have the most upside as a tag team than any other tandem at the moment. They have great chemistry and are both mega-over with the fans already. Big Cass also showed flashes of potential in being a future singles star as well. After all, he’s 7 feet tall AND YOU CAN’T TEACH THAT!

#8, #9, #10 Picks-rawdraftlogo

The New Day

newday

RAW GM: RDT took The Realest Guys in the Room, so that enabled me to have two consecutive picks. I took it a step further and took the most positive people in the company: The New Day. Xavier Woods, Big E, and Kofi Kingston have shown that they can go out and literally say anything, hit their proven beats, and get a great reaction from the crowd. Their act is a bit long in the tooth and there is a bit of smark fatigue out there, but they are much more valuable as a group than individuals at the moment, and I won’t be the one who breaks them up.

#9 Pick-smackdowndraft

Becky Lynch

beckylynch

RDT: I had some freedom here with two selections in a row. I decided to bolster the Women’s Division a little bit and take Lynch. “The Irish Lass Kicker” is one of the best female wrestlers in recent Women’s Division memory and is right there with Sasha Banks in regards to talent, charisma and presence. Also, with Bayley gone I’d want a more traditional babyface female worker on the roster and that fits Lynch perfectly.

#10 Pick-smackdowndraft

Shinsuke Nakamura

shinsakenakamura

RDT: A risky pick with homerun upside here. Nakamura’s international presence is unmatched at the moment and the smark crowd think he’s the best worker in the world today. Will that translate into the big time WWE crowd? It remains to be seen. It can’t be said enough that that he’s over with the smark crowd though. He’s the 2014 Wrestling Observer Newletter Wrestler of the Year and already in the WON’s Hall of Fame. I say the gamble is worth it.

#11 and #12 Pick-rawdraftlogo

Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman

brocklesnarpaulheyman

RAW GM: The most risky pick of the draft so far, I took The Beast, The Conqueror, One in Twenty-Two and One, Brock Lesnar. While he is only a part time act, he is still the main attraction, and is always a ratings draw. He won’t be wrestling on Raw, but he and his advocate will give a jolt to any story I need at any time.

#11 Pick-smackdowndraft

Samoa Joe

samoajoe

RDT: I know many have called Cena vs. Styles a dream match because of AJ’s status as the face of TNA. Well, I think Samoa Joe vs. Cena is just as intriguing. We almost got that feud ten years ago too. When motivated, Samoa Joe is one of the best workers in the world who can work any style. There’s a built-in rivalry with Owens too that has potential to be an all-timer. Plus, he and Balor are killing it in NXT at the moment too!

#12 Pick-smackdowndraft

Asuka

asuka

RDT: This might be a surprise with Charlotte still out there, but NXT Women’s Champion Asuka has upside as a great female heel. She’s an intriguing NXT call-up that would have intense rivalries with Becky and Sasha right away.

#13 Pick-rawdraftlogo

Randy Orton

randyorton

RAW GM: A top draw for over a decade, Randy Orton has fallen out of favor a bit between injuries and an endless series of matches against Sheamus. His name on the roster will be able to draw the people that John Cena will be attracting on the blue brand. Plus you can never have too many former world champions.

#13 Pick-smackdowndraft

Kalisto

kalisto

RDT: Kalisto’s a fun wrestler who fills that Rey Mysterio void. He can fly like no one else and one day might one day have a run on top like Rey. There’s also a goal to maximize diversity on the Smackdown brand. Nakamura, Becky, Asuka and now Kalisto help that initiative.

#14 Pick-rawdraftlogo

Dolph Ziggler

dolphziggler

RAW GM: Speaking of former World Champions, my next pick is The Showoff. Ziggler has really had his stock drop since the influx of “indy” talent from NXT that has been called up. I think he would’ve been a Top 5 pick for sure if this draft were held even a year ago, but constant losses to Baron Corbin and generally no direction had his stock fall hard. A good value pick in my humble opinion.

#14 and #15 Pick-smackdowndraft

Rusev and Lana

rusevlana

RDT: Rusev’s proven to be an entertaining upper midcard heel in his entire run thus far. This is despite some horrid booking…especially that feud with Dolph Ziggler last year. And speaking of surviving horrid booking Smackdown also gets the beautiful Lana. Not only does Lana’s sex appeal keep her among one of the most popular acts in the company…she’s also been in the ring a few times and perhaps one day an be a top heel wrestler too.

#15 and #16 Pick-rawdraftlogo

The Club

theclub

RAW GM: These newcomers were beasts in Japan, and have made their mark continuing the Bullet Club gimmick with AJ Styles. They will be the top heel team in the tag division, and can also align with Styles whenever necessary.

#16 Pick-smackdowndraft

Charlotte

charlotte

RDT: The current WWE’s Women’s Champion still being available is a bit of a surprise here. Smackdown is determined to have the best Women’s wrestling in the world and I feel like Charlotte. I was considering Paige and Emma here too, but when you can take the current World Women’s Champion I feel like that should be the pick.

#17 Pick-rawdraftlogo

Paige

paige

RAW GM: RDT took Charlotte which means I waited too long to give Bayley a top heel to chase. Paige was a good backup, but she definitely plays the anti-hero best, while she has yet to show great heel chops on the main stage. She is still incredibly young, and has more experience than most, so it is not the worst choice.

#17 Pick-smackdowndraft

Alberto Del Rio

albertodelrio

RDT: A personal favorite of mine that has barely received a mere thought when it comes to booking. Del Rio can go in the ring and seems to be in the best shape of his life. He’s also a backstage favorite of John Cena, which should only help the locker room. Anyone working with Del Rio will only get better as a result.

#18 Pick-rawdraftlogo

Nikki Bella

nikkibella

RAW GM: A more traditional heel and comes with a TV show on the E! Network. This should be a good way to add some different demographic to the ratings sheet, but her injury history leaves a lot to be desired. Can definitely be a heel, but the ring work is shaky at best.

#18 and #19 Pick-smackdowndraft

The Miz and Maryse

mizmaryse

RDT: The Miz has come a long way from being a Tough Enough Call-Up. Miz has proven to be one of the best heels in wrestling as every face who seems to feud with him gets mega-over as a result (see: Sandow, Damien). Now with Maryse returning, would it really surprise you if a few years from now Total Divas had Maryse as the primary draw? There’s a fun potential rivalry brewing too with Rusev and Lana against Miz and Maryse for Smackdown’s Power Couple.

#19 Pick-rawdraftlogo

Emma

emma

RAW GM: Continuing my run on the women’s division, Emma represents a natural foil to Paige and Bayley both hearkening back to their NXT days. Her heel persona with her super heel aviator sunglasses and half gloves was just called up to the main roster before a fluke injury.

#20 Pick-rawdraftlogo

Alexa Bliss

alexabliss

RAW GM: The most improved player in NXT, Alexa Bliss is my fourth female choice in a row. I definitely wanted to make sure the women’s division was complete with a fourth player that can be a heel to the superstar Bayley. Alexa Bliss has the best facial reactions in the business, and is currently feuding Bayley in NXT at the time of this draft.

#20 Pick-smackdowndraft

Sheamus

sheamus

RDT: Sheamus has “X-Pac” heat at this point, but it doesn’t change the fact he’s a good bully heel who can have a hard hitting good match with the right opponent. Remember when Roman Reigns won the title on RAW against Sheamus and the crowd seemed like they were finally behind him? Some of that credit belongs to Sheamus as a heel. I can’t lie, I admittedly forgot about the injured Luke Harper here. But hey, two movie stars in a row ain’t bad!

#21 Pick-RAW-Luke Harper–Returning to the Y chromosome side of things, I was able to snipe Luke Harper away from RDT. He chose to draft Bray without his family, so I took advantage here almost 16 rounds later. I’m not sure why he didn’t take him before someone like Kalisto and especially Sheamus. In any event, his loss is my gain. Harper is highly skilled for someone his size, and doesn’t need his beard to get over.

#21 Pick-Smackdown-Tyler Breeze–I think Breeze has a lot of potential as a heel. I didn’t want Fandango as I think Johnny Curtis’ run is getting close to over.

#22 Pick-RAW-Neville–The Man Gravity Forgot was also forgotten by WWE’s draft game on their website. But luckily for this high flyer, I did not. Neville almost won King of the Ring when it returned in 2015, but he lost to King Barrett, which might not have been the worst thing in the world. Since that time he was lost in the shuffle a bit and then got injured. He will return as someone that could contend for the midcard title and buld up his profile to perhaps break through.

#22, 23 and 24 Pick-Smackdown-The Social Outcasts–You just have to have those fun lowercard heels. Heath Slater has been one of the most entertaining lower card guys for years now, whether it involved getting beat down by legends of Three Man Band. Bo Dallas will always get you to “BOLIEVE”, and Curtis Axel was one Hulk Hogan scandal away from getting Axelmania over, brother.

#23 and 24 Pick-RAW-The Dudley Boyz–Once again adding to my tag division, the most decorated tag team in WWE history joins the Raw squad. The Dudleyz have proven that face or heel they are a team to be reckoned with.

#25 Pick-RAW-Apollo Crews–If you want to use traditional draft terms, high ceiling doesn’t even fully describe how much potential Apollo Crews contains. To date he has no personality, but for a guy his size and shape, he has the ability to drop jaws in the ring.

#25 Pick-Smackdown-Titus O’Neil–He’s been getting a run as of late in a US Title feud with Rusev. Seems like a great guy backstage and has a great look. Potential is still there for him.

#26 Pick-RAW-Summer Rae–A criminally undervalued female who can play the conceited heel as good as anyone.

#26 Pick-Smackdown-Goldust–A veteran of the locker room that many wrestlers today can look up to. He can still get a good crowd reaction too…just look at the pre-show at Survivor Series 2015. For the record, I am disappointed I forgot about Summer Rae.

#27 Pick-RAW-Fandango–Officially breaking up Breezango, the dancing machine will still have his incredible theme song, and complete goofball playing the part.

#27 and #28 Pick-Smackdown-The Vaudevillians–An interesting tag team that might have questionable staying power is their gimmick doesn’t completely catch on. They’ve held their own on the main roster so far.

#28 Pick-RAW-Zack Ryder–A guy the crowd always seems to be behind, and not bad in the ring. The woo woo woo kid provides valuable depth.

#29 Pick-RAW-Baron Corbin–The defending Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royale winner, he hasn’t done much since his call up except for beating Dolph Ziggler. Another high ceiling pick.

#29 Pick-RAW-Natayla–Already with a strong Women’s Division, I see no reason not to add a great worker like Natayla. Perhaps if Tyson Kidd recovers I get him in the deal too?

#30 Pick-RAW-Mark Henry–The World’s Strongest Man’s best days are behind him. But he can still treat yall like a bunch of puppets when he feels like it. His salmon suit also adds value to this pick.

#30 and #31 Pick-Smackdown-Darren Young and Bob Backlund–Smackdown is the platform to make Darren Young great again. And if things don’t work out the Prime Time Players could always re-unite, and Bob Backlund could continue a years old rivalry with Heath Slater!

#31 Pick-RAW-Kane–I couldn’t believe in a draft that RDT is involved with that Kane was still available. I’m not sure I could let him slip any more than this. Can go to therapy and still be entertaining.

#32 Pick-RAW-Sin Cara–All wrestling shows need jobbers. At least you don’t have to see this one’s face.

#32 Pick-Smackdown-Jack Swagger–Real shame to see how far Swagger’s fallen. He truthfully just doesn’t have it despite showing potential some eight years ago. On the flipside I feel like pairing him with Backlund could do wonders.

#33 and #34 Pick-RAW-The Usos–Honestly, I think we were a little hard on letting the Usos drop this far. The fact that they have never had any character development in about 7 years though hurts their draft stock. Excellent in the ring makes them much more valuable than the next choice.

#33 Pick-Smackdown-Eva Marie–Sometimes you just need a model. She can sell posters and magazines. I wouldn’t put her in the ring.

#34 Pick-Smackdown-Big Show–Yes, we are way over Big Show fatigue at this point, but I still think he can make a solid tag team partner to someone not unlike the times he teamed with Jericho and the Miz in 2009/2010. Like maybe as Tyler Breeze’s bodyguard or something.

#35 and #36 Pick-RAW-The Ascension–A team that was absolutely dominant on NXT and then transformed into Road Warrior clones on their callup. Would need repackaged to appear on TV at this point.

#35 and #36 Pick-Smackdown-Primo and Epico–I’m admittedly not even sure of their current gimmick. Apparently they are the Shining Stars now? The heck? Anyway, two decent workers to have the random tag match with.

#37 Pick-RAW-Dana Brooke–A new face on WWE TV, she was destined to be the top heel on NXT. Called up inexplicably and an underling to Charlotte. Her being on her own now should allow her to build up her character a bit before going for the title.

#37 Pick-Smackdown-R-Truth–Just another veteran at this point to help the young guys. Still gets a pop with the “WUTS UP” stuff.

#38 Pick-RAW-Naomi–I didn’t want to be a homewrecker, so Naomi stays on tour with her husband J…immy? Uso?

#38, #39, #40, #41 Pick-Smackdown-Eric Rowan, Braun Strowman, Tamina and Alicia Fox–Since I picked my NXT people early I’m forced with the rest of the main roster here as RAW picks their NXT people. I don’t actually mind Rowan, although Strowman can end up as my dancing comedy heel for all I care. If somehow Smackdown got AJ Lee one day Tamina can be her bodyguard again. I actually like Alicia Fox a lot, but putting her on Team Bella last year just lacked any creativity. She should go back to that crazy gimmick where she stole JBL’s hat. That was awesome.

#39 and #40 Pick-RAW-American Alpha–Because RDT uses all of his NXT picks early in the draft, I was able to save mine for the end. American Alpha can easily be the top team on Raw, and should immediately compete for the gold. They definitely give off a Team Angle vibe, and are a huge boon to a tag division that can sometimes feel stale.

#41 Pick-RAW-Hideo Itami–My final choice is far from irrelevant. Hideo has been out for over a year from NXT, but upon his return can easily slot into the upper midcard as a top babyface. I’m not sure he has the heel chops in English quite yet, but is one of the best in the ring the world has seen. Top 10 talent with my final pick doesn’t get better than that!

#41 Pick-Smackdown-Nia Jax–I still needed a NXT female. She can be Eva Marie’s bodyguard I guess or have a Superstars feud with Tamina.

RAWSmackdown
AJ StylesJohn Cena
Seth RollinsKevin Owens
Dean AmbroseSami Zayn
Roman ReignsBray Wyatt
CesaroSasha Banks
BayleyFinn Balor
Chris JerichoEnzo
Kofi KingstonBig Cass
Xavier WoodsBecky Lynch
Kofi KingstonShinsuke Nakamura
Brock LesnarSamoa Joe
Paul HeymanAsuka
Randy OrtonKalisto
Dolph ZigglerRusev
Karl AndersonLana
Luke GallowsCharlotte
PaigeAlberto Del Rio
Nikki BellaThe Miz
EmmaMaryse
Alexa BlissSheamus
Luke HarperTyler Breeze
NevilleHeath Slater
Bubba Ray DudleyCurtis Axel
D-Von DudleyBo Dallas
Apollo CrewsTitus O'Neil
Summer RaeGoldust
FandangoSimon Gotch
Zack RyderAiden English
Baron CorbinNatalya
Mark HenryDarren Young
KaneBob Backlund
Sin CaraJack Swagger
Jey UsoEva Marie
Jimmy UsoBig Show
ViktorPrimo
ConnorEpico
Dana BrookeR-Truth
NaomiErik Rowan
Chad GableTamina
Jason JordanAlicia Fox
Hideo ItamiBraun Strowman
Nia Jax

Uncategorized

RDT Reviews Wrestlemania

WWF Wrestlemania
March 31, 1985
New York, NY

Wrestlemania is the most important wrestling card in North American wrestling history. Shown on closed-circuit, Wrestlemania was Vince McMahon’s big chance. As the legend goes, if Wrestlemania was a success, the WWF could skyrocket financially and change wrestling forever. If it had failed Vince could be nearly wiped out financially and wrestling would never be the same again. Those were the stakes (exaggerated or not, I do think pro wrestling wouldn’t be remotely the same had Mania failed).

But Vince’s plan was pretty good. He had the most popular wrestler in the world in the main event in Hulk Hogan. Probably the #2 heel in the world was also in that match (Roddy Piper). The show also was full of celebrities. Mr. T, Cyndy Lauper, Libarace, they all came to Wrestlemania.

Anyway, a successful show makes the WWF, a poor one ruins them. Let’s see how it turned out.

The Card

Mean Gene sings the National Anthem. Strange that there wasn’t a celebrity for this.

Lord Alfred Hayes sounds quite nervous. Mene Gene then interviews Tito Santana and The Executioner. Executioner’s mask looks ridiculous.

Tito Santana vs. The Executioner

Not much to say here, but crowd is into Tito for sure.

Santana makes the Executioner submit in 4:50. Figure Four wins it, the story being Santana’s calling out Greg Valentine. Executioner was undefeated before Santana won here…the first streak that ended at Wrestlemania!

Lord Alfred Hayes must have just had a bad night.

King Kong Bundy vs. SD Jones

Well, this is a record WWE continually looks to break at many Manias. I think they did it at 24.

Bundy pins Jones in 0:24. Avalanche and splash for the win. No five count though. The Fink says the match was nine seconds long…which it wasn’t.

Matt Borne vs. Ricky Steamboat

“Maniac” Matt Borne? Could have been cool to actually say he went under that name when he became Doink years later.

Some nice suplexes from Borne, but this has mostly been all Steamboat.

Steamboat pins Borne in 4:38. Steamboat pits a flying body press for the win. Alright match, seemed to be a showcase for Steamboat.

David Sammartino vs. Brutus Beefcake

Crowd ERUPTS when Bruno Sammartino is announced as he seconds David.

Speaking of which, wouldn’t Bruno vs. Hogan have been a legendary match? I wonder why that never happened. Bruno definitely wrestled later in the 80s.

Longest match of the night so far, but also quite boring.

Double DQ in 11:44. Johnny Valiant slams David on the outside, and Bruno kicks his ass. The crowd once again erupts when Bruno kicks ass. Double DQ. Not sure why that went 11 minutes if that was the finish, but the image of Bruno owning is a Wrestlemania moment that definitely doesn’t get enough credit. That was awesome.

Intercontinental Championship
Greg Valentine© vs. Junkyard Dog

JYD has entrance music and that also wakes the crowd up.

Valentine nails his manager, Jimmy Hart, the crowd goes bananas once again. Despite the quality of the matches there is great heat here. That’s 1985 for you.

Valentine pins JYD with the feet on the ropes…but Santana comes down to explain what happened to the referee. This leads to…

JYD wins by countout in 6:55. Weird finish for sure, but at least it furthered the Santana vs. JYD feud.

World Tag Team Championship
U.S. Express© vs. Nikolai Volkoff and The Iron Sheik

The Express is Mike Rotundo and Barry Windham.

Like Borne, it’s crazy how Rotundo and Windham would appear at future Wrestlemanias. Rotundo would become IRS, Windham would be at Mania 13 as Blackjack Windham.

The Iron Sheik and Volkoff win the titles at 6:55. Sheik uses Freddy Blasse’s cane to hit Windham and Volkoff gets the pin. Heels win in the first title change at Wrestlemania, who woulda thunk it?

$15,000 Bodyslam Challenge
Big John Studd vs. Andre the Giant

Also, if Andre were to lose here, he would retire.

Big reaction for Andre of course. Pretty sure even at the time there was no way Studd was winning this.

Really slow match here. This was past Andre’s prime obviously.

Andre wins in 5:54. Slam comes out of nowhere but the crowd goes crazy for it. Heenan steals the money.

Women’s Championship
Leilani Kai© vs. Wendi Richter

We obviously don’t get “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” on the Network.

Like everything else on the show, this really isn’t anything to write home about.

Richter wins the title by pin in 6:12. Botched finish where Richter’s supposed to roll through a flying bodypress but fails. Eventually she gets over and gets the pin. It’s the moment that counts though, and the crowd popped huge for Richter. Interestingly, Richter would get legit double crossed by Vince and the Fabulous Moolah soon afterwards. There’s various rumors about why this happened. The most accepted story is that Vince didn’t want to pay her as much as she wanted (she was arguably the #2 face in the promotion at one point), and possibly even Hogan felt threatened about her.

Time for Celebritymania! Billy Martin! Libarace!

Hulk Hogan and Mr. T vs. Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff

Muhammad Ali is your special referee, which is pretty bad ass in itself. Funny story here: Pat Patterson suggested he be a second referee to make sure Ali was okay out there. Patterson would admit he would just find excuses to get on the Mania card for the payday.

Piper gets a live bagpipe entrance. Makes you wonder what Ric Flair could have gotten as an entrance had he been a part of this.

Oddly, this feels like the rich man’s version of the Dennis Rodman matches in WCW.

Mr. T does a good job early on slamming Piper.

Craziness ensues with Jimmy Snuka nearly coming off the top rope.

While it’s mostly been a standard tag match, Mr. T definitely did a great job.

Hogan and Mr. T win when Hogan pinned Orndorff in 13:24. Bob Orton comes off the top and misses Hogan, nailing Orndorff with the cast. Hogan pins him for the win. Good match, best of the night for sure. This definitely was what the WWF needed, the biggest match doing well. This would continue the Piper-Mr. T feud and start Orndorff’s turn.

Hogan, T and Snuka celebrate to end the first Wrestlemania.

Technically this show sucks. There’s not a good match until the main event, and even that wouldn’t be on most people’s top 50 Mania matches. But it worked in 1985. Actually, that’s an understatement. Over a million people went to closed circuit locations to watch it. And the WWF was off and running as a result. The WWF wouldn’t quite get the Mania formula right at Mania II (which I already reviewed and it didn’t do well), but they’d get it figured out soon enough.

Again, the show sucks…but that’s not what mattered here.

Final Grade: A-

Pro Wrestling

RDT Reviews the 1997 WWF Royal Rumble

1997 WWF Royal Rumble
January 19, 1997
San Antonio, TX

Let’s be clear, the WWF was in trouble.

While things seemed bad in the latter half of 1996 ratings wise, it only got worse when Bret Hart returned to the WWF. It wasn’t Bret’s fault as he instantly became an entertaining top guy on the show once again. The issue was ratings didn’t jump the way Vince McMahon expected them to with Bret’s return. WCW was still kicking the WWF’s ass in the ratings. Vince began changing things up at Survivor Series. Stone Cold Steve Austin looked like he had some potential after a great match with Bret at Survivor Series and was seemingly in line for a push. Also, Sycho Sid had won the WWF Title from Shawn Michaels at the same show.

Sycho Sid will always have an interesting place in pro wrestling history. On one hand he was a big star who main evented two Wrestlemanias (with Hulk Hogan and Undertaker no less) and a Starrcade. He had a monster look and sometimes had really good promo skills (and sometimes not). But the fact of the matter is he often never drew big money as a top guy. His run in the WWF in ’92 didn’t help the company. Same for his run in ’95. We just talked about how WWF was in trouble with him on top in ’96-’97. His WCW runs didn’t help either as he didn’t draw in ’93 and did nothing to help WCW in 1999 and 2000. The truth is Sid was probably a little too late for his time. Had he became a big star in the late 80s, he could have drawn huge money with Hogan. 1992 was too late.

Shawn Michaels had also been a questionable draw, although I blame how he was booked in 1996. Fans wanted the cocky, arrogant Shawn of ’94-’95. Not the good guy who had his old trainer in his corner. Shawn helped turn the company around big time in 1997 when he turned heel. It’s a shame his back went out before he could really enjoy it.

Nonetheless, this Rumble on paper could have been huge. Vince had apparently decided that the WWF could still sell out a huge stadium (which they didn’t, they had to paper it big time) with a Royal Rumble match and hometown Shawn’s return title match against Sid. Would this spark the turn around the WWF needed in 1997?

The Card

One thing I’ll always remember in 1997 are the black and white promos. A lot of those were awesome, especially Summerslam ‘97’s.

I don’t necessarily care for the “Shawn Michaels” has grown up story either. Aren’t you saying he wasn’t a man before Survivor Series then?

Intercontinental Championship
Goldust vs. Hunter Hearst Helmsley©

Storyline here is that HHH made a pass at Marlena, which led to a face turn that honestly ended the peak of Goldust. Such an awesome heel became a lukewarm babyface. (Interestingly, the opposite happened with Mankind).

I totally forgot about Mr. Hughes coming back here as HHH’s butler. That didn’t last long.

Goldust just slams the steps on HHH’s back. I know the steel steps is usually a questionable object in regards to DQs…but that should be a DQ.

The psychology of the match seems to revolve around using the steel steps, which is odd.

Also what’s not working in this match is the contrast in styles. As a face Goldust is just wrestling a too slow paced of a style and it’s leading to a boring match.

We get a mid-match interview with some country singer. The heck?

HHH retains by pin in 16:50. Hughes slides in the IC Title and distracts the ref, but Marlena gets onto the apron. HHH kisses Marlena, but Goldust gets the IC belt and nails HHH. Hughes pulls HHH out of potential pin, then distracts the ref again. Goldust shoves a cigar in his eye…but then gets Pedigreed for the HHH win. Really boring 17 minutes here. Hughes wouldn’t last much longer either as Chyna would debut soon.

Ahmed Johnson vs. Faarooq

In another situation that killed the overness of someone who was hot in 1996, Ahmed Johnson got his kidney attacked by Faarooq. This was Ahmed’s comeback. Faarooq already went through a gimmick change while Ahmed was out (from Spartacus to leader of the Nation of Domination).

We get a brawl for a few minutes with Faarooq taking control and focusing on the kidney.

Faarooq flying off the top into an Ahmed Johnson powerslam was an unexpectedly good spot.

Ahmed Johnson wins by DQ in 8:48.. Ahmed gets the upper hand and the Nation runs in for the DQ. Other than the powerslam, this was pretty bad. The aftermath is pretty cool though as Ahmed Pearl River Plunges a random Nation member through a table. Still, this feud pretty much ruined Ahmed Johnson’s career. He would never get out of it, battling them all throughout 1997 (and joining once), then leaving the WWF in February ’98.

The Undertaker vs. Vader

The story here mostly revolves around Jim Cornette as he was on the verge of losing Vader as a client. Undertaker had also Tombstoned Cornette.

This is one of those matches that doesn’t make a lot of logical sense. Why would Taker and Vader go at it right before the Royal Rumble? It’s not like there’s a title on the line or anything, and they’re both in.

JR mentions Undertaker hasn’t done well at the Royal Rumble since his first one in 1993. Pretty sure he was in the 1991 and 1992 ones. He’s also only 1-2 at the Rumble in singles matches and one of those losses was by DQ.

Vader being surprised that Undertaker sat up from a few early knock downs is stupid.

Undertaker throws a Rocker Dropper out there which is pretty awesome.

Match really slows down when Vader takes control. We get some restholds.

Vader off the turnbuckles and Undertaker powerslams him mid jump! Wow! Tops the spot from the Ahmed-Faarooq match.

Undertaker sits-up from a Vader Powerbomb. Thing’s never been the same since Hogan got up from it.

Paul Bearer shows up as Undertaker chokeslams Vader.

Undertaker tries some crazy jump off the stairs onto Vader and the railing, but Bearer moves Vader.

Vader pins Undertaker in 13:19. Bearer nails Taker in the head with the urn and Vader drops the Vader Bomb for the win. Finish really seemed messy once Bearer showed up and the crowd surprisingly wasn’t really into it. Vader needed to win too after the problem with Shawn at Summerslam and never getting a big win after that. Match overall was okay, but they’d have a much better match at the Canadian Stampede six months later. Bearer leaves with Vader, and Undertaker chokeslams a referee.

The British Bulldog is going to win the Rumble because “HE’S BIZARRE!” Always makes me laugh.

Hector Garza, Perro Aguayo and Canek vs. Jerry Estrada, Heavy Metal and Fuerza Guerrera

This was done to draw tickets in San Antonio since it was so close to Mexico. I get Vince is trying to keep up with WCW here, but this wasn’t even close.

Aguayo pins Metal in 10:56. Double foot stomp and an elbow wins. Aguayo barely even hits the stomp. This was awful and the crowd didn’t care one bit (and I think pop at the end because they’re glad it’s over). Just a bunch of moves for 10 minutes and not exciting ones at that. Even Vince sounded bored.

Royal Rumble

I think the smart money was on Bret Hart here.

Finkel tell s us 60K people are in the house. Only about 40K paid though.

Crush is #1 and Ahmed Johnson is #2 to continue the Nation-Ahmed rivalry.

So the clock and music isn’t working, so the Fake Razor Ramon is #3. Ahmed gets rid of him quickly. What a horrible gimmick that was.

Faarooq comes down and Ahmed jumps over the top rope and eliminated himself. #4 is Phineas Godwinn.

Stone Cold is #5 and gets a bit of a pop. While he was getting higher up the card, he wasn’t anything resembling a favorite.

PIG gets rid of Crush…but he also gets a Stunner and Austin’s alone.

#6 is Bart Gunn. Bart botches a rocker dropper…and Austin gets rid of him quickly. Austin does some push-ups to get some heat.

Jake “The Snake” is next at #7!

Jake dominates Austin, but when he goes for the DDT Austin dumps him. Great start for Stone Cold as The British Bulldog makes his way down at #8. Bulldog kicks Austin’s ass and ends his dominance.

#9 is Pierroth from AAA. There are a few Mexican stars in this one.

The Sultan is #10. He’d run Stone Cold down nearly three years later!

#11 is Mil Mascaras. He gets a bit of a pop. He already blows a belly to belly from the Sultan. For the record I hate Mascaras after reading about him in Mick Foley’s book. You see a lot of Mascaras’ selfish tendencies in this Rumble alone.

#12 is HHH. Bulldog takes out the Sultan.

#13 is Owen Hart. He eliminates his teammate Bulldog which was the start of an angle that never really went off when the Hart Foundation came together.

#14 is Goldust and he tries to go for HHH…but Austin cuts him off.

Mascaras pulls Austin’s ears from his head…which is unique I guess.

#15 is Cibernetico, another AAA star.

#16 is Marc Mero.

Cibernetico gets eliminated off-screen by Mascaras I think. Mascaras then takes out Pierroth too. Mascaras, showing he doesn’t even need to job in the Rumble, goes to the top rope and dives onto Pierroth on the floor, eliminating himself. Can’t say I’m surprised. Fans boo too, as Mascaras was a legend somehow.

Goldust takes out HHH, revenge for earlier.

Latin Lover is #17. With one superkick he is already the best Mexican in this thing.

Owen takes out Goldust. Not surprised HHH and Goldust got short runs considering they wrestled earlier.

Faarooq is #18 and he takes out the Latin Lover. Ahmed Johnson runs in and chases Faarooq off over the top rope. Huge pop for that too!

Owen tries to get Mero out…and Austin dumps them both! Austin’s alone again as Savio Vega comes in.

Austin gets beat up…but again gets an elimination anyway as he takes out Vega! Austin is all alone again.

Double J Jesse James is #20. Austin makes quick work of him and he’s gone.

One of the greatest moments in Rumble history here: #21 is Bret Hart and the look on Austin’s face is an absolute classic. Fans have finally gotten into it and Bret and Austin go at it!

Another great moment. Jerry Lawler is #22…and he starts a sentence, gets knocked over the top rope by Bret…then finishes the sentence! Great stuff.

Fake Diesel is #23. JR still tries to put him over, although as not as badly as he tried at Survivor Series.

Terry Funk is #24 and he jumps the gun. It’s interesting to see where these four men would be by the end of the year. Funk spent most of ’97 as ECW World Champion, Bret was in WCW, Austin was just about to become the biggest star in the WWF and Diesel would be Kane.

Funk with an awful piledriver on Bret.

To add to the interesting people in the Rumble…#25 is Rocky Maivia. Of course, he would become 1b. to Austin in biggest WWF star within a couple years.

Mankind comes in at #26. Just loads of potential here with two legends Hart and Funk.

I like how Funk and Mankind go at it. This seemed like a nod to smarks looking back at it.

#27 is Flash Funk. Here’s another gimmick that just didn’t make it.

#28 is Vader. No surprise with the late number. Taker hasn’t even come out yet.

Henry Godwinn is #29.

Undertaker is #30 and the lights even go out for his entrance.

Taker levels Vader and again the crowd gets into it.

Vader fall away slams Flash over the top for a pretty great elimination.

Lawler on commentary is great. He’s nearly euphoric as Rocky nearly gets Bret Hart out.

Undertaker takes out Godwinn. That leaves Mankind, Taker, Bret, Austin, Rocky, Vader, Diesel and Terry Funk. Quite the mix of legends and future stars here.

Mankind Mandible Claws Rocky out.

Stone Cold Steve Austin wins in 50:29. Mankind gets rid of Funk and Taker boots Mankind off the apron. Funk and Mankind go at it on the outside and Bret eliminates Austin to a huge pop. Refs don’t see it…and Austin comes back in and takes out Vader and Taker. Bret takes out Diesel and Austin dumps Bret to win in what may be one of the best Royal Rumble finishes ever. Bret is irate (2nd time a top babyface attacks a referee tonight) and asks Vince what he’s going to do about it, which is a bit of a worked-shoot as Vince was still seen as the commentator here. This would fit perfectly with Bret’s rivalry with Austin and upcoming heel turn. Bret Hart was on fire in 1997 all the way through Summerslam and this was no exception.

The match itself was good but not great. The beginning was pretty slow, but Austin’s presence really made for a good Rumble. His story of not only being the guy who came in at #5 to win at the end but also the guy who’ll do anything to win was a great one. Sometimes the action around Austin was pretty slow, especially in the middle. But everything from Austin taking out Owen and Mero to the end was pretty good. I thought King of the Ring ’96 was a star making performance from Austin. This was a star confirming performance. Crowd popped too when Austin won.

WWF Championship
Sycho Sid© vs. Shawn Michaels

Sid beat Shawn for the title at Survivor Series. Of course, this is where Shawn “grew up” by tending to Jose Lothario as opposed to trying to win the title. Still don’t like that storyline.

Shawn was allegedly sick as a dog for this as well.

We start off pretty fast but it doesn’t take long for Sid to take over and slow things down with a barehug and a chinlock.

Shawn’s comeback is pretty great. Awesome bodyslam on Sid.

Sid powerbombs HBK on the outside. While it didn’t look great, it still did the job.

Jose and Pete Lothario try to attack Sid and Sid grabs both by the throat. For some reason Shawn has gotten up quickly from the powerbomb so Sid has to let go.

Ref bump and Sid gets a chokeslam. HBK is out…but there’s no count of course. Interesting spot to do there.

In a great piece of symmetry from their Survivor Series match, HBK nails Sid with a TV camera twice.

Shawn Michaels regains the title at 13:49. Superkick finishes Sid off. Decent main event that was pretty slow, but picked up at the end. The finish was brilliant. I did like their Survivor Series match better though. Randomly, Bret Hart gave Shawn a lot of credit for this match, saying he did such an awesome job against Sid and a better job than he ever could. This is the only time I really buy the Jose Lothario deal too, since this is HBK’s hometown.

The 1997 Royal Rumble PPV is a show that’s greater than the sum of its parts. None of the short-term plans went off at all. Bret was supposed to get the title shot back at the February PPV and face Shawn at Wrestlemania. Of course, Shawn would vacate the title instead with the infamous “Lost My Smile” promo. Bret would win the title for a night, then Sid would win it so he could face Undertaker at Mania and Bret could continue his feud with Austin. Shawn would come back in May and his problems with Bret led to the Montreal Screwjob.

Yet, Shawn’s victory, Austin’s rise and Bret’s hint at a heel turn (even if it wasn’t even decided yet) all were major storylines that went off well. Austin’s star confirming performance was absolutely fantastic. Also, interestingly the 1997 Royal Rumble provides a snapshot of current stars and future stars, as well as guys who really couldn’t get to the next level. It saw established guys like Bret and Undertaker. It saw future stars like Austin, Rock, HHH and Kane. It saw guys who unfortunately never could get over the hump in one way or another with Vader, Ahmed Johnson and Marc Mero. It saw legends like Terry Funk and Jake The Snake. Yeah, it’s not a great Rumble…but it definitely worked.

Now only if the undercard was any good.

Final Grade: B

Pro Wrestling

RDT Reviews WWE Summerslam 2013

WWE Summerslam 2013
August 18, 2013
Los Angeles, CA

YES!

YES?

YES!

Daniel Bryan is finally getting his moment.

We’re a year and a half removed from Bryan getting kicked in the face and beaten by Sheamus in 18 seconds. Ever since then fans all over the world have chanted YES! Louder and louder for Bryan. When John Cena announced he picked Bryan to be his opponent at for Summerslam the Barclays Center came unglued (trust me, I was there). Bryan has a chance to truly break the glass ceiling and follow in the footsteps of CM Punk. It was a hot storyline and a huge win over Cena that took Punk from jobber to the stars to top level star. It could be Bryan’s turn now. It SHOULD be Bryan’s turn now.

Speaking of Punk, he wasn’t happy. Punk had burnt himself out over the last year as the top guy and felt he was screwed out of the Wrestlemania 27 main event (I agree). He looked to take some time off, only to be asked to come back early (he wanted to be off till Summerslam, but he came back at Payback). Worse yet, he was upset that he had to job to Brock Lesnar because Lesnar was a part time guy.

Still, Summerslam had two really hot main events here with Cena vs. Bryan and Punk vs. Lesnar.

The Card

The Miz is our host and he hypes out main events. Why are we hyping main events when the show already started? Not sure.

Fandango comes out and the Miz mocks his dancing. Unfortunately, this was a good representation of why face Miz sucked.

No idea why Fandango was out dancing though. It’s not like he had a match.

We get the National Anthem too. No problem with that, but it seems like we’re wasting time early on.

Ring of Fire
Kane vs. Bray Wyatt

The Wyatts had just debuted and of course WWE put Kane against them. The Wyatts were an exciting new addition though, especially Bray.
I guess lighting someone on fire isn’t PG, so even though there is fire around the ring, the match ends by pin or submission. Oddly, Kane would be on fire next May anyway.

As with all Inferno matches, the match gets a lot of easy pops because the flames expand on all the big moves.

While funny at some points, the story of the match seems to be “how will Harper and Rowan get by the flames”, which sucks to be honest.

Harper and Rowan find their way in and destroy Kane.

Bray Wyatt pins Kane in 7:49. Sister Abigal (although it wasn’t called that yet) for the win. The whole Ring of Fire deal seemed pointless. Match wasn’t much of anything either. Harper and Rowan slam the stairs on Kane’s head in a way where there’s no chance it actually hit him. This would be the last we’d see Kane until he returned as Corporate Kane. Interestingly enough, Bray Wyatt may be one of the worst booked characters in WWE history if going by wins and losses (and how those wins were earned). I mean Kane pretty much destroyed him here. Not a good way to start the show.

Even Paul Heyman can make the story of David vs. Goliath seem interesting. And it’s a revisionist history nonetheless!

Cody Rhodes vs. Damien Sandow

Team Rhodes Scholars broke up when Sandow stole the MITB match where Rhodes had it won, then declared Rhodes the “holder of the case”. This feud was great for both, and while Sandow was buried a few months later it allowed Rhodes to become one of the most popular stars on the roster…but he never got a big push out of it.

Sandow with a great line before the match: “I’m going to send Cody back to his family of carnival acts.” He’s not wrong there.

Cody Rhodes busts out a Muscle Buster. Take that Samoa Joe.

JBL on commentary states that statistically Sandow will be the next World Champion due to owning the MITB briefcase. Poor Sandow.

Cody Rhodes pins Damien Sandow in 6:40. Cross Rhodes for the win. Really fun and fast paced, but too short for sure. If this went double the time we would have had a great match here for sure. This should have been the opener.

World Heavyweight Championship
Alberto Del Rio© vs. Christian

For both Wrestlemania and Summerslam in 2013, the World Heavyweight Title basically held the role of a midcard title. The World Heavyweight Title soon was merged with the WWE Title, so at least WWE was recognizing it. Anyway, the World Heavyweight Title was pretty hot in the months between Mania and Summerslam, as a red hot Dolph Ziggler cashed in MITB and won the title from Del Rio, but injuries and strange booking ruined that. Any popularity Del Rio got from his face turn in late 2013 died in the Ziggler feud, and people were sick of him as a heel.

Oddly, this match is being promoted as possibly Christian’s last big match. I actually don’t know when Christian retired as that was never made clear. While Christian’s 2011 run was fun, and he was still over in 2013, it was a little too late for fans to really believe he could be a top guy with a top belt.

This is when Del Rio and Ricardo Rodriguez were on the outs, which was the end of Ricardo (although there was a terrible feud with RVD involving him after this).

Pretty good so far. Del Rio has controlled, but he takes a huge bump to the outside that turns the tide.

Christian comes flying off the top and takes out Del Rio on the floor!

Backstabber off the turnbuckles! Really fun match so far.

Top rope hurricanrana from Christian! Fans really want Christian to win the title here.

We get a “This is Awesome” chant and the fans are right. This is awesome.

Huge pop for a spear from Christian, but he sells the injured shoulder!

Alberto Del Rio retains via submission in 12:30. Del Rio takes advantage of Christian’s injury and locks in the Cross Armbreaker (and put his hand on Christian’s eyes/face to lock it in which was a great touch). Really good match. I wish it was longer! Del Rio needs more opponents like Christian these days.

We get a Del Rio promo about Mexican fans needing a hero. Since we’re in LA, the fans get behind him. This was odd considering he was a heel at this point.

Brie Bella vs. Natayla

Basically a Total Divas commercial.

We get a JBL chant which tells you how much the crowd cares here. A Michael Cole chant follows…then a Jerry chant!

Brie Bella broke the Sharpshooter! There’s a spot I didn’t expect.

Natayla wins via submission in 5:19. Sharpshooter wins. Fans didn’t care for this obviously. No worse than any other Diva matches. Maybe a bit long.

Ryback bullies some cook in the back. There was an ill-advised heel turn.

No DQ
CM Punk vs. Brock Lesnar

Story is this: Paul Heyman believes that the Best in the World was him and Punk, and that Punk ruined that by losing the WWE Title and losing to The Undertaker at Wrestlemania. Punk meanwhile tried to distance himself from Heyman. Heyman betrayed Punk at Money in the Bank and the next night brought out Brock Lesnar to punish Punk.

Off to a great start highlighted with a suicide dive by Punk! Crowd is clearly pro-Punk here.

Punk is hitting Lesnar at all angles with flying clotheslines. Great booking to allow Punk to get tons of offense in early on and not just get killed.

Lesnar is now destroying Punk. He puts a piece of table on Punk and jumps on it! Then a belly to belly on the floor. Great match so far.

Lesnar beats the crap out of Punk for about 5 minutes and it’s awesome. What a match.

Punk comeback time…although Lesnar almost gets an F5 out of Punk high knee. That was a creative spot.

Lesnar counters the Go 2 Sleep with the Kimora Lock! Great reversal!

Punk counters into a Triangle Chock! Great wrestling!

Lesnar counters with a running powerbomb and both men are down. What a match!

Top rope elbow drop with a chair from Punk…and Brock still survives!

One of the most creative counters to the F5 ever…Punk holds onto Heyman’s tie!

GTS…but Heyman breaks it up!

Punk nails the F5 into a DDT counter perfectly! Lesnar still kicks out!

Brock Lesnar pins CM Punk in 25:17. Punk knocks Heyman out and locks him in the Vise, but Lesnar beats the living crap out of Punk with a chair and hits the F5 for the win. There was only one thing I didn’t like about this match, which was that Punk kept turning his back on Lesnar to deal with Heyman. Other than that, this is a Match of the Year contender for sure. This was CM Punk’s last great match and it’s a shame WWE decided to waste him on Curtis Axel and Ryback after this.

Dolph Ziggler and Kaitlyn vs. AJ Lee and Big E. Langston

Somehow Ziggler went from hottest young guy in the company to midcard fodder in the span of a few months. Worst part is Ziggler never would recover. This feud began when Ziggler broke up with AJ Lee.

Really…how did Ziggler at this point of his career end up in the death slot between Lesnar-Punk and Cena-Bryan? Baffling. Crowd is dead for this obviously.

Kaitlyn did have a great spear, that’s for sure and she levels AJ with it.

Dolph Ziggler and Kaitlyn win when Ziggler pinned Langston in 6:45. Zig Zag wins it. Nothing really notable here. Crowd’s just waiting for the main event here.

I admit Fandango interrupting Miz all night is a bit funny…but Miz disappointingly knocks him out.

WWE Championship-Triple H is the Special Referee
John Cena© vs. Daniel Bryan

After being pretty much the most entertaining performer in WWE since Wrestlemania 28 a year and a half earlier, WWE listened and finally gave Bryan the shot. The rest of the story after Cena announced Bryan as his opponent, Vince McMahon thought Bryan had to change his look to be a major star. This was the start of the B+ player angle.

Awesome monkey flip sequence early on.

Cena counters the surfboard by using his strength, which I’m not sure I’ve ever seen before actually.

Cena suplexes Bryan off the top of the steel steps, also an original spot.

Cena’s subtly heeling it up here, which only adds to the story that Bryan is the underdog.

We get some rolling German Suplexes, but Cena again uses his strength to get out of it.

Bryan begins to bust out the moveset with a front choke. While I thought the match did get a bit slow, it’s really picking up here.

Bryan superplexs Cena off the top rope, but hooks his legs so he doesn’t crash to the mat, which is brilliant. Flying headbutt follows up! Cena kicks out.

Cena hits his flying legdrop on a standing Bryan. That was awesome.

Another example of Cena’s strength, as Bryan goes for a top rope hurricanrana but Cena just blocks it and jumps down…then locks Bryan in the STF. Good storyline with Cena’s strength vs. Bryan’s wrestling here.

AWESOME clothesline from Cena that Bryan sells by spinning in the air. Wow!

Bryan goes for his top rope flip again, but Cena catches him for a AA…but Bryan counters that into a DDT!

Daniel Bryan wins the title by pin in 26:55. Bryan nails a flying dropkick (Shining Wizard) to win the title. Crowd was a little surprised there as this was the first time Bryan used it, but the fans are happy enough. Cena puts Bryan over clean. Another great match tonight…it would be match of the night probably any other PPV except this one because of Lesnar-Punk. Cena and Bryan shake hands and really Bryan couldn’t have been more put over.

During the celebration…MITB holder Randy Orton shows up…and referee HHH suddenly turns on Bryan! HHH pedigrees Bryan, and Orton cashes in!

Randy Orton wins the WWE Title by pin in :08. Pin is academic and Orton wins the title to close the show.

We had two or three great matches (depending on how you feel about Del Rio-Christian) and another really good one in Rhodes vs. Sandow. All the main events hit their marks for sure. There were some tough parts too…the Diva’s match was meh, Kane vs. Wyatt was meh and Ziggler was wasted. And then there’s this, despite how great the main events were nothing changed in WWE. In fact, historically this card practically meant nothing. WWE almost didn’t give Bryan his run on top…somehow we almost got Orton vs.Batista at Wrestlemania until the fans forced their hand. Despite the fact that Bryan had crazy momentum here they let Orton win their feud and moved Bryan down to a feud with the Wyatts. Punk feuded with Ryback and Axel, Heyman’s guys, which honestly was a huge step down from where Punk was. Lesnar should have been Punk’s end boss and instead Punk was just there to put Lesnar over. Unfortunately, that didn’t matter either since Lesnar’s feud with HHH killed his star power a bit…and Lesnar had to cheat in this one anyway (Lesnar would have to break Taker’s streak to get that star power back). Del Rio-Christian meant nothing as Del Rio dropped the World Title to Cena a couple months later, leading to Cena vs. Orton again. The only thing that seemed to matter was that HHH turned heel. What a waste.

Still a great show. Too bad WWE failed to capitalize.

Final Grade: A-

Pro Wrestling

The Transitional Wrestlemania…and Wrestlemania XXXI Predictions

Wrestlemania XXXI is this Sunday, and truth be told, it’s looking similar to Wrestlemania XXVII in terms of it being a transitional Wrestlemania.

Remember Wrestlemania XXVII? That was the one where The Rock opened with a 20 minute promo, the one where Triple H and The Undertaker had either an amazing match or a match where they just laid down most of the time and just did big spots every five minutes, depending on who you ask (they had an amazing match). It was the one where The Miz won the main event of Wrestlemania, beating John Cena after a dubious double countout was overturned by special guest host Rock. In the end, seeds for HHH-Taker II and Rock vs. Cena (the latter of which was set the night after Wrestlemania) at Wrestlemania XXVIII were already planted.

With news about Wrestlemania XXXII already being leaked, Wrestlemania XXXI is that transitional Mania. It’s been reported by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that WWE is trying to get every part timer to be on the card that they can to pack 100,000 fans in the AT&T Stadium. If that’s true, expect a lot of empty pushes for talent in 2015. It’s going to hard to put a lot of value on some of the matches at Wrestlemania XXXI, especially those with newer talent, if WWE is going to treat them as secondary characters this time next year.

That WWE treatment of newer talent is a big reason why Wrestlemania XXXI feels a bit on the weaker side. Don’t get me wrong, on paper I believe this is a great show and I actually think we are going to get a very good show as well. But after years of Rock vs. Cena and Taker vs. HHH…and even last year’s Cena over Bray Wyatt it’s hard to completely believe in all of these new guys. Hell, if the fans didn’t revolt Randy Orton vs. Batista was your Wrestlemania XXX main event…and even the guy who actually won the main event last year, Daniel Bryan, is in a midcard match this year. Still, this is the pessimistic view. In reality WWE fans should be excited as every year we moan about there not being any new talent, and this year we have four new guys in big matches (Wyatt…although he did fight Cena last year, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and Rusev), three of which have done a great job and one that isn’t as bad as everyone says. So, with that being said, how will Wrestlemania pan out?

Mania32tag

Pre-show: World Tag Team Championship: Cesaro and Tyson Kidd© vs. The Usos vs. The New Day vs. Los Matadores

At first glance this looks like a way to just give the Usos back the belts to get an opening of the show pop. I do hope I’m wrong though. Kidd and Cesaro have amazing chemistry together and since WWE is looking in restoring credibility with their titles, a long Kidd and Cesaro reign would be the best idea. I think New Day and Los Matadoes have no chance here. I expect Nattie and El Torito to have some interaction as well…and maybe Cesaro spins El Torito around 100 times or something. Anyway, I’m going to go with Cesaro and Kidd. With the battle royal on the pre-show now, perhaps WWE thinks they can get that pop with that. Fans will probably pop for Cesaro anyway.

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Pre-show: Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal

Shame this is pushed to the pre-show in only its second running. You know, now that these events are primarily on the Network, why do we even have a pre-show and show. Can’t the whole thing be the show?

Anyway, odds favor Damien Mizdow. Mizdow has been absolutely fantastic in his role as The Miz’s stunt double/personal assistant. Since it’s the only storyline going for anyone in that battle royal other than whatever Kane and Big Show had been teasing and #AXELMANIA, (Curtis Axel has a legit outside shot to win, especially with the Hogan segment this past Monday) it seems like a safe bet.

Or does it? I think it’s far more likely that Mizdow turns on The Miz at some point in the battle royal to cost him the match, but I don’t see WWE giving Mizdow the trophy. Instead, I think they’ll use the battle royal to help re-establish someone, and that someone is Ryback. Before I would be all on the Sheamus bandwagon here, but the match being pushed to the pre-show makes that unlikely now. I pick Ryback.

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Randy Orton vs. Seth Rollins

I think WWE may open with this to tease that Rollins will cash in Money in the Bank at the end of the show. Seth Rollins has made himself a star over the past year and his performance at the Royal Rumble showed he is ready for the main event. WWE will still give this one to Orton though. The loss shouldn’t really hurt Rollins, although it is preferable he’d go over. Rollins will get the win at Extreme Rules I assume anyway. So I’m going with Orton…probably on Rollins’ jumping from the top rope into a RKO.

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Seven Man Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match

Interesting that they brought back a multi-man ladder match for Wrestlemania. Smart money here is on Daniel Bryan to win the title to give credence to the establishing the secondary titles that has been floating around. I think WWE uses Sheamus here, either in the match to set up a close finish with Bryan and Sheamus, and/or have Sheamus do a post-match attack to set up that feud. I’m going with Bryan.

Mania32CenaRusev

US Title: Rusev© vs. John Cena

As much as I would love Rusev to retain, they aren’t using Cena to just push Rusev to some higher level. It was a great run and a great story Rusev, and I hope WWE doesn’t ruin you afterwards. But Cena’s winning the US Title here for the same reason Bryan is winning the IC title. I also could see the Sheamus deal going on in this match too, especially since there is history here (Rusev beat Sheamus to win the US Title in the first place). I am picking Cena.

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The Bella Twins vs. Paige and AJ Lee

Believe it or not, this is one of the best built Divas’ matches in Wrestlemania history (despite some cringeworthy moments). We have here four legitimate Divas who can wrestle. After Nikki and Paige put on a great match on RAW I wouldn’t be surprised to see this get a little more time than usual. I also have the Bellas winning here with Paige and AJ continuing their story of not being able to co-exist. One will turn on the other here, and my bet is AJ does the turning to freshen her up, leading to AJ vs. Paige for the title once the Bellas leave at some point.

Mania32wyatttaker

The Undertaker vs. Bray Wyatt

There’s no reason to do this match and have Undertaker win. I love the Undertaker. He’s been my favorite wrestler since I was a kid and I’m thrilled he’s on this show. But he shouldn’t be going over Wyatt. He will draw in whatever match he’s in next year no matter what. Bray Wyatt needs to go over and be the top guy he can be. His promos are off the charts. I think Undertaker understands this. I think Vince McMahon understands this. You can do Undertaker vs. Sting next year anyway. There’s no streak pressure anymore. Bray Wyatt needs this win. And I think he gets it. I hate right now that betting odds have Undertaker as the favorite.

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Triple H vs. Sting

It’s a deceptive match, as on one hand you can’t imagine Sting would come in just to lose to Triple H at Wrestlemania. On the other hand, the feud primarily was about WWE vs. WCW, and it would be weird to see WCW go over at Wrestlemania. Good thing Sting said fighting for WCW was ridiculous at this point. Sting is winning. He didn’t wait all this time doing shoot interviews about how was worried about how he’d be used, just to job to HHH right off the bat. Sting wins.

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WWE Championship: Brock Lesnar© vs. Roman Reigns

I don’t blame Roman Reigns for his reactions. He was pushed way too fast way too soon for this spot. I also don’t think he’s winning the WWE Title now. The only hope Reigns has now is if The Rock flies in from New York to help him win the title to set up Brock vs. Rock at Mania XXXII. That’ll kill Roman dead though, as that would be twice that Roman Reigns needed The Rock’s help to get things done. I don’t think WWE makes the same mistake twice in regards to having Lesnar lose and thus hurt his special attraction status, at least not yet. Brock Lesnar wins, and leaves as Champion. I expect some Lesnar vs. Reigns vs. Rollins deal (Reigns wins Elimination Chamber perhaps and Rollins’ MITB contract) in the future. Rock might show up to close the show and attack Lesnar, just like he did to Miz at Wrestlemania XXXII. It’s all set up for Wrestlemania XXXII.

Pro Wrestling

RDT Reviews WWE TLC 2012

Wwetlc2012

WWE Tables, Ladders and Chairs 2012
December 16, 2012
Brooklyn, NY
Reviewed on February 5, 2015

Change is coming.

Ever since the ”Summer of Punk” last year, WWE has focused on bringing in new and popular talent that also happen to be popular on the internet as well. For the first time, it looks as if WWE is listening to the “IWC” and the “smarks”.

Daniel Bryan, the former Bryan Danielson, is a former World Champion at this point. CM Punk is the reigning WWE Champion and has been for the past 13 months. Antonio Cesaro, the former Claudio Castagnoli, is at the US/IC title level. The Shield, who debuted a month prior in the main event, have one “WWE type” in Roman Reigns, but two IWC types as well in Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins (Jon Moxley and Tyler Black). Perhaps most importantly for this show is Dolph Ziggler, in the main event here against John Cena.

Rest assured though, those old school WWE type talents are still around. Ryback went from squashing jobbers to fighting CM Punk for the title. Sheamus held the World title for most of the year. Kane is still ticking in a fun tag team with Bryan.

But the point is there is tons of talent and for once, the IWC, the smarks, are seeing things their way. And to be honest, their way looks pretty damn awesome.

The Card

Tables Match: #1 Contender to the World Tag Team Championship
Team Rhodes Scholars vs. Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara

This was the last gasp attempt to get Sin Cara over, which was to team with Mysterio.

I don’t remember if both men have to go through tables here, but I am assuming that’s the case.

Sandow and Cody run down the crowd. If you are watching on the Network, the crowd shot at the 6:18 mark would feature me in the middle. Yeah, I’m the goof in the black shirt.

Awesome twisting armdrag for Sin Cara. Moves like that was what go Mistico over in the first place.

Innovative move here. Cody traps Sin Cara’s leg between the steel steps and the ringpost, then drives a table into the steps.

Team Rhodes Scholars win in 9:30. Sin Cara goes for a springboard, but Cody Rhodes runs in and pushes him off the top rope and Cara goes flying into the table. Awesome finish and a great opener to start the PPV. Right team went over too. This might have been the original Sin Cara’s best match in the WWE. He just never got it going. Sandow and Rhodes didn’t beat the tag champs for the belts though.

Nice Shield promo. It’s on glitch old security camera footage, which is a nice touch. It’s also a great promo, as they run down Ryback, Daniel Bryan and Kane. Interesting comment about Ryback being reckless and such, I wonder if that was a semi-shoot there.

United States Championship
Antonio Cesaro© vs. R-Truth

Cesaro had the remixed Malenko music here…which to be honest I think he should bring back.

R-Truth does a crazy man comeback. I do like that WWE never ignored his transition to a crazy man in 2011 when he turned heel.

Cesaro pins R-Truth in 6:39. Neutralizer (which I never really liked as a finisher) gets the win. Back and forth standard match here. Good for what it was. Cesaro cuts a post match promo, pointing out that the fans booing the US Champ is like the fans booing the US. Shame he’d basically be in the same spot, if not lower, two years later.

Ziggler promo. He thinks John Cena is getting preferential treatment. He wonders why Cena gets a shot at MITB when he lost his MITB earlier in the year…and he has nothing on the line. Yeah…that’s a good point actually.

Miz TV. 3Mb are his guests, and they end up arguing with the Spanish announcers. That draws out Ricardo Rodriguez, and 3MB threaten him. Alberto Del Rio basically turns face in making the save. A very effective reason to turn, as it’s been shown that the only person Del Rio really cared about was Ricardo. It would pay off until the Mania feud where Jack Swagger’s involvement killed any heat Del Rio had.

Two other things to point out from this: Miz is a pretty terrible face. And 3MB were awesome. While Drew McIntyre should have probably done better, I would have never guessed Jinder Mahal would work out in any way.

Intercontinental Championship
Kofi Kingston© vs. Wade Barrett

Kofi was beyond stale at this point. He had been doing the same thing for 4 years at this point. As a result, Barrett was getting huge cheers.

Amazing side slam by Barrett, but it was really Kofi’s selling by swinging around that made it awesome.

Kofi Kingston retains the title by pin in 8:39. A close Trouble in Paradise wins it for Kingston. Pretty disappointing result, although Barrett would win the title soon enough anyway. Match was solid. That’s never been the problem with Kingston afterall.

A pretty good start to this PPV so far.

We get CM Punk in his own personal skybox! Promo time!

It’s a brilliant promo. Punk states that his 392 day world title reign is just the beginning. Shame that wasn’t true.

Tables, Ladders and Chairs
The Shield vs. Ryback, Kane and Daniel Bryan

This came about as this was to be Punk vs. Ryback for the WWE Title, but as Punk explained, Ryback injured him two weeks ago and he couldn’t compete.

This would be the Shield’s first WWE match.

Action packed from the start. Ryback gets some boos, some cheers and some Goldberg chants.

The beauty of the Shield: everything they did gelled like they were a team. They save one another. They control the ring together. All that stuff. It’s why they ended up being so effective.

Reigns gets propped up against a ladder and receives a dropkick from Daniel Bryan. Imagine how WWE fans would feel about that now!

Ryback had the advantage a bit…but the Shield has taken over. Triple powerbomb through the Spanish announcer’s table to Ryback!

Bryan nearly gets decapitated by a table side that was propped on the top rope. Ouch!

Double superplex off the table that was on the top rope! Kane makes the save!

They try to superplex Kane, but Kane just shoves Rollins off the top to the floor!

Chokeslam to Ambrose on an open chair! My god!

Reigns spears Kane through the barricade. It’s just awesome spot after awesome spot here.

Curb Stomp to Bryan on an open chair! I don’t think that was Rollins’ finish yet though.

Ryback is back!

The Shield get the advantage on Ryback too, and beat him down the entry way. They get Ryback on a table and Rollins climbs a 15 footer. Ryback comes to though and catches Rollins…and sends him flying though a stack of tables!

The Shield win when Roman Reigns pinned Daniel Bryan in 22:46. Roman Reigns hits a top rope powerbomb through a table on Bryan, and Ryback can’t get back in time to make the save. Just wow. Incredible match, incredible debut for the Shield. My 2012 Match of the Year. An action packed 22 minutes for sure. Ryback and The Shield looked great.

Diva’s Championship
Eve© vs. Naomi

Naomi won a pre-show battle royal for this title shot. Kaitlyn and Eve had been feuding, and Eve cost Kaitlyn the battle royal earlier.

Eve retains by pin in 3:07. Spinning neck breaker wins the match for Eve. Better in some ways than the standard Divas match as Naomi did some flippy fake outs, although she also botched a jump to the top rope and a leg lariat in the corner. It was still passable.

Chairs Match: World Championship
Big Show© vs. Sheamus

This was a pretty awesome heel run for the Big Show, and to be honest I wasn’t expecting it at this point. At Survivor Series, Sheamus hit Big Show with 30 chair shots, setting up this match.

Slow start, but crowd wakes up when Sheamus begins to beat the crap out of Big Show with a chair…then slams him!

Vader Bomb from the Big Show with a chair on top of Sheamus. Wouldn’t that hurt Show more?

Sheamus his White Noise on two open chairs on Big Show! Ouch. Sick move.

Big Show retains by pin in 14:17. Big Show gets a giant sized chair and the chairshot wins it. Silly, but I think that’s a good creative finish actually. Match wasn’t too bad either, even if it was a bit slow. Definitely was the end of the Sheamus run as an elite-top guy though. Big Show would continue his effective heel run and put over ADR huge on Smackdown…in a match that should have been at Mania.

AJ Lee is apologizing to John Cena for screwing something up. The Barclay’s Center is dying for an AJ heel turn with Dolph winning tonight for sure.

3 Man Band vs. Alberto Del Rio, The Miz and ?

This match was set-up earlier. Miz announces The Brooklyn Brawler as the surprise partner. I mean, it’s fun because we’re in Brooklyn and he gets a good pop.

Del Rio with an awesome suicide dive out of nowhere to McIntyre.

Del Rio, Miz and the Brawler win when Jiner Mahal submitted in 3:24. “Brooklyn” Crab for the win. Just a fun cool down match before the main event.

MITB Briefcase on the Line: Ladder Match
Dolph Ziggler (MITB) vs. John Cena

Storyline here: AJ Lee was the General Manager of RAW, but resigned because of allegations of an affair with John Cena. Even in traditional terms no idea why Cena would be the face here. Ziggler and his girlfriend, GM Supervisor Vickie Guerrero were trying to put the screws to Cena. Vince McMahon got Vickie to make Cena vs. Ziggler in a MITB Ladder match (way to give up Dolph there Vickie). So here we are.

Ziggler just looks like a superstar here.

Cena slightly messes up a monkey flip. Of course the fans are all over him for that.

Ziggler locks Cena in a sleeper, but Cena carries Ziggler up the ladder. Unfortunately for both, Cena passes out, and both go flying off and crash through a table. Cool spot.

Ziggler climbs the ladder…but Cena ends up pressing the ladder AND Ziggler over his head. Ziggler escapes. Another really cool spot there.

One of the worst looking hurricanranas I’ve seen into a table by Cena. Somehow it worked though.

Vickie Guerrero comes out with a chair…but AJ takes out her using all Cena moves, including a Five Knuckle Shuffle.

Dolph Ziggler wins in 23:16. Cena climbs the ladder…but AJ turns and pushes the ladder down! Ziggler runs in with a superkick to finish off Cena. AJ flashes a crazy smile, then skips off as Ziggler wins to a huge reaction. Great main event here with the right result. Ziggler looks like a real superstar here and SURELY WWE would capitalize on him in 2013.

Of course, that didn’t actually happen. Cena actually got his win back on RAW that luckily no one remembers. Ziggler put on a great show in the Rumble, but Cena won that. Big E. Langston got involved in the AJ/Ziggler pairing, and at first was just the muscle. After Ziggler cashed in MITB and won the World Heavyweight Title, the crowd was solidly behind him. Then it all went downhill with an ill-fated double turn with him and Del Rio, then Big E. turned on him as well. That feud went nowhere, and suddenly Ziggler was back in the US Title scene. It was really a shame. Had Ziggler cashed in on new WWE Champ Cena, he’d be cemented today as a top guy (assuming he didn’t lose, of course).

The Ziggler story kind of defines this show overall. TLC 2012, without considering anything else, is a great show. Everything was pretty good, and the big matches were great. But long term…nothing other than the Shield mattered. Ziggler went back to midcard status after a pseudo-top run. Sheamus has been trending downward ever since. They didn’t know what to do with Ryback past the next few months, and an ill-fated heel turn followed. Again, only the Shield really kept going and became big stars.

Big, big stars.

Final Grade: A-