Tag: WWE

WWE is kicking off its annual draft on tonight’s episode of Monday Night Raw. It looks like there’s a good chance that Kofi Kingston and Cody Rhodes will be heading to SmackDown; ProWrestling.net has reported that the two were seen filming a SmackDown commercial in Los Angeles.

I want to hear your draft predictions and wishes. Let me know which WWE Superstars and Divas you want on Raw and which ones you want on SmackDown. Personally, I’m hoping WWE sells Dave Batista to Pro Wrestling Guerilla for a pair of turnbuckles.

Seriously though, I’m hoping the Straight Edge Society moves to Raw. Aside from that…I haven’t given it too much thought. I’m still not over Shawn Michaels retiring. *sniff* *sniff*

WWE has announced that it has released Mickie James, Shelton Benjamin, Katie Lea Burchill, Jimmy Wang Yang, Kung Fu Naki, and Slam Master J. I’m mildly surprised that Benjamin was released. He’s a phenomenal talent, but the company struggled to highlight him (no, I’m not talking about his hair). I’m personally bummed that he was let go since he was always super nice to me during THQ’s videogame tournaments. I’m shocked that Mickie was released. She was arguably the best all-around worker in the Divas division. I was proud to write her storyline in SmackDown vs. Raw 2010 and was completely surprised by the hug she laid on me after I interviewed her at last year’s WrestleMania.

Any thoughts on these WWE layoffs?

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For some reason, April 20 always reminds me of Rob Van Dam. I can’t think of another pro-wrestler that was on the cover of High Times. Ha! Anyway, if you’re into that particular herbal remedy, enjoy your day!

I was impressed with last night’s episode of Monday Night Raw. WWE had to call an audible (several really) since most of the Raw roster is currently stuck in Ireland due to Bjork throwing a tantrum and exploding a volcano in Iceland (or something like that). It wasn’t the greatest show, but it was good considering the circumstances. I enjoyed MacGruber (he managed to put Kozlov over) and thought Jack Swagger did well despite losing his match. CM Punk and Jericho were entertaining, but that shouldn’t surprise anyone.

With the annual WWE draft taking place next week, what are some of the big roster shakeups you’re expecting or hoping for? Any chance Cena will be assigned to NXT?!? (Only in my dreams, I know.)

Earlier today I was reading Bill Simmons’ outstanding recap of WrestleMania 26. In addition to being the best recap out there (which shouldn’t be surprising since Simmons is one of the most entertaining writers in the world), it made me realize why it’s going to be hard for me to enjoy WWE Monday Night Raw going forward. Here’s the passage that resonated with me:

I have no favorite wrestlers left. Snuka, Savage, Hogan, Austin, Michaels … they’re all gone. You know what that means? It’s time to stop ordering WrestleMania after 26 years. Like with Michaels, it was a long and memorable run. Like with Michaels, you have to know when it’s time to walk away. And I will. Twenty-six was enough.

HBK retiring is like…having part of my youth disappear. Last night’s Raw is probably the last time any of us will see Michaels, Bret Hart, and The Undertaker on the same show. It was just comforting to watch wrestlers that I’ve been enjoying since I was a teenager. Now one of the links to my childhood is gone.

Sure, there are still plenty of guys that I like in the WWE. Chris Jericho is phenomenal. I have high hopes for Bryan Danielson. The Straight Edge Society is such a great gimmick. I’ll still watch WWE programming…but it’s not going to be the same.

It’s funny. I’ve been watching Shawn since his AWA days. It took me a long time to warm up to him. I’ve said several times in the past that I thought he was the lesser Midnight Rocker (oops). I loved his ladder match against Razor Ramon at WrestleMania X, but I never bought into the whole “boyhood dream” thing at WrestleMania XII. I really started digging his work in the Attitude Era and I really loved his work after he took four years off due to a back injury. He was one of the best all-around performers ever and I put him right up there with Ric Flair. With “The Nature Boy” in mind, here’s another quote from Simmons:

We’ve seen a handful of phenomenal wrestlers and phenomenal performers over the years; only Ric Flair and Michaels can say they were both at once.

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I am totally bummed that WrestleMania 26 will be the first one I’ve missed in eight years. My streak is over, but hopefully so is The Undertaker’s. Before I get ahead of myself, I wanted to give you my WM26 predictions and I’d like you to post yours in the comments section. Let’s go down the card!

Rey Mysterio vs. CM Punk — CM Punk has been awesome as the leader of The Straight-Edge Society. Rey Rey has been…where the hell has he been? The stipulation in this match is that Rey has to join the Society if he loses. That would be awesome! Rey loses this match, Punk tortures him for a few months, and it all leads to a hair vs. mask match in the future. Although Punk is getting some excellent heat, a victory over Rey Rey would make the Society even hotter.

WWE Unified Tag-Team Championship: The Big Show and The Miz vs. John Morrison and R-Truth — While not as entertaining in the ring or on the mic as JeriShow, Show Miz is a fun tag team. They’re certainly way more entertaining than Morrison and R-Truth. Morrison is brilliant in the ring, but his mic skills haven’t developed to a level that matches his in-ring ability. R-Truth is over with live audiences…and I still don’t know why. His ring work is sloppy and his entrance song/rapping sucks. “What’s up?!?” I’m going with Show Miz here. That’s what’s up.

Randy Orton vs. Ted DiBiase vs. Cody Rhodes — I’m really not sure how this match ends. All I know is that Cody Rhodes has become an afterthought. Orton has been teased as a face and the crowd is responding to him in that role, but he’s such a dick that it seems like a waste not to keep him heel. Some people are thinking that Rhodes will side with Orton so that Randy beats DiBiase. That goes against the face heat Orton has been getting. Besides, Orton doesn’t need the rub from ‘Mania; it would be far more useful to give it to one of the kids. Maybe it’s a stretch, but I’m going to do with DiBiase getting the win here. Besides, his dad is getting inducted to the WWE Hall of Fame so it would be a nice weekend for the DiBiase family.

Money in the Bank Ladder Match — I’m positive that Kane isn’t going to win this match. I’m fairly certain that Shelton Benjamin, Evan Bourne, Matt Hardy, and Jack Swagger aren’t going to win it either. That leaves Christian, Kofi Kingston, Drew McIntyre, MVP, and Dolph Ziggler. Vince loves McIntyre, but I don’t see a relative newcomer getting a serious title shot since Sheamus already covered that with the WWE Championship. MVP and Ziggler…their chances get lower the more I think about it. Kofi had a nice push going, but I think that ship has sailed. I’m going to go with Christian winning this match and challenging Edge for the World Heavyweight Championship.

Triple H vs. Sheamus — Here’s another one I’m not really sure about. Triple H has become more of a company guy since becoming a father. He’s been much better at putting people over and sharing the spotlight. He’s also friends with Sheamus and I could see him wanting to put his buddy over. Then again, it has been a long time since Hunter has been in the…uh…hunt for championship gold. Then again (second time, I know), beating Sheamus doesn’t really do anything for him. Sheamus needs to win and look good doing it or he’s going to be a mid-carder for years. I’ll go with Sheamus winning due to Hunter’s fatherhood induced altruism kick.

Bret “The Hitman” Hart vs. Vince McMahon — I believe Bret’s WWE deal expires the week after WrestleMania. Unless Vince wants to “screw” him one more time, I don’t see him losing. Besides, his dad is being posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. Honoring the legendary Stu Hart and having Bret beat the crap out of Vince would make for a feel-good weekend for the dysfunctional Hart family. I don’t see how Bret can lose here, but I hope that he does. My friend Joey is a huge mark for Bret and I’d get a year’s worth of jokes out of Bret losing at ‘Mania.

The Streak vs. Career: The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels — Some people are saying that Shawn is really going to retire and this is how he wants to go out. That would be a very HBK thing to do. He’s definitely Mr. WrestleMania…except when it comes to wins and losses. Michaels has been very good about putting his opponents over at WrestleMania while still stealing the show. Then again, The Undertaker has trouble walking around these days. The man has all kinds of injuries and he doesn’t have as many years left as HBK. While it would be nice if he used “the streak” to put over a younger wrestler, I could see how he’d want it ended by a respected veteran like HBK. Or perhaps he wants to retire with a perfect WretleMania record…. Ah screw it. I’m just going to be a fan and say that HBK ends The Undertaker’s streak. I’m too much of an HBK mark to say otherwise.

World Heavyweight Championship: Chris Jericho vs. Edge — For the last few years, nobody has been better in the WWE than Jericho. He truly is “the best there is at what he does”. More importantly, he doesn’t need the belt or the WrestleMania rub. He’ll be over no matter what. Edge definitely needs help. His comeback started out hot, but totally fizzled. Winning the World Heavyweight Championship and starting a feud with Christian would be big — maybe not WrestleMania big, but Christian vs. Edge sounds like a great Summer Slam main event. I’m not sure if this will be the last match or not, but either way I think Edge gets the nod.

WWE Championship: Batista vs. John Cena — Ah, two of my least favorite wrestlers in the WWE. I really don’t care who wins this one. No matter the outcome, I’ll be happier when the winner loses the belt to someone that’s actually good in the ring (to be fair, Cena has improved…but he’s still average). I’m going to go ahead and assume that this match will close out the show. You have to send the crowd home happy and as Batista has stated in his recent (and shockingly good) promos, the kids and fat chicks love Cena. If this match is last, Cena wins. If not, Batista wins and the feud drags out for a few more months. Either way, I really don’t care for either of these guys.

Last night’s episode of WWE Monday Night Raw was one of the best I’ve seen in a long, long time. The wrestling was decent, but the mic work was truly memorable. There was a certain edge to a number of promos — an edge that has been missing ever since the WWE made the decision to go with PG programming. Perhaps it’s because the company is a month away from WrestleMania or perhaps it’s because it will soon be competing head to head with TNA Impact, but last night felt a bit like the old “Attitude Era” of WWE. Here’s why.

– Triple H was great on the mic. Hunter is one of the best WWE Superstars in the company and he works really hard, but his promos usually bore me. He was outstanding putting Shawn Michaels over. His promo was passionate, strong, and meaningful. For a guy that’s often accused of only putting himself over, he was superb at reminding everyone in the WWE Universe that HBK has been the company’s best performer for the last several years.

– Cena was great on the mic. Sixty percent of the audience loves Cena. Forty percent of the audiences loathes him. His promos are often all over the place. He can be too cute. He can cross the line between being passionate and just yelling at the audience. Last night he was calm, strong, and purposeful. He also managed to help Batista — a guy that usually needs a ton of help on the mic — get over. That was probably the best aspect of his promo. Cena has never been great at carrying people in the ring or on the mic. Last night he did a good job with the latter.

– Batista cut the best promo of his career. Never mind that he looked like he just arrived from the Blue Oyster Bar (see Police Academy). Big Dave was awesome on the mic last night. Keep in mind that I am not a Batista fan at all (he’s a hack in the ring and his promos usually blow). Batista was ruthless and funny (love his line about accusing Cena of kissing kids and fat chicks). I was genuinely shocked by his promo and for a few seconds thought I was transported to a Bizarro universe where Batista possessed superior mic skills.

Sure, last night’s show had some problems. Cheech and Chong getting high on Hornswaggle’s Lucky Charms was silly. Bret Hart using a crutch with the wrong arm to sell his “broken” leg was lame. The Divas pillow fight…well, Gail Kim looked really hot so I didn’t mind that at all. My point is that the three promos I listed above were unusual for this era of WWE. They were great and edgy (if you can forget that Batista looked like a member of The Village People 2010). I’m hoping it’s a sign that WWE is getting its attitude back.

What do you think? Was last night an aberration? Or is WWE kicking off the Attitude Era, part II?