Sunday, January 27, 2013

LIVE Royal Rumble chat starts at 8 p.m.

Do you smell what the The Rock is cooking?
CM Punk does, as the WWE champ for more than a year will defend his title against the wrestler-turned-Hollywood Icon tonight at the Royal Rumble. That’s the biggest individual match on a card that features the 30-man Royal Rumble match.
We’ll be carrying you LIVE through every slam, suplex and smackdown right here at The Red Mask blog.
Join us here starting at 8 p.m.


Former Superstars Arrive

As a phoenix rises from ashes, so do wrestlers magically appear in the town named after the bird when the Royal Rumble is in town. Before listing the possible spoilers about which Superstars have allegedly been seen in Phoenix, here's a list of who's already in the match (you know, to give you time to click off the page if you really didn't want to know who could run down the ramp.):

  • John Cena
  • Sheamus
  • Randy Orton
  • Dolph Ziggler
  • Heath Slater
  • Jinder Mahal
  • Drew McIntyre
  • Antonio Cesaro
  • Wade Barrett
  • The Miz
  • Ryback
  • Bo Dallas (winner of NXT Tournament)
  • Kane
  • Daniel Bryan
  • Khali
  • Kofi
  • Darren Young
  • Titus O'Neil




Who's allegedly been seen in Phoenix:

  • DX members Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Road Dogg, Billy Gunn, X-Pac (appeared at Fan Axxess, Shawn Michaels tweeted)
  • Shelton Benjamin
  • Shane "Hurricane" Helms
  • Carlito
  • John Morrison (I'm really hoping this one is true and that this isn't a one-time only thing)

Don't forget, you can see all my reactions to the entrants in The Trentonian's Royal Rumble Chat, which you can find right on this blog at 8 p.m.!

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

What Exit?

The Road to WrestleMania in Jersey starts in Phoenix this Sunday at the Royal Rumble. In case you haven't heard, the winner of the Royal Rumble also wins a spot in a title match at WrestleMania.

So, who should start asking Jersey Girl AJ Lee which exit to take to MetLife Stadium? Out the 30 entrants to the main event of this weekend's PPV, only 11 have been announced. Of those, I like two.

Dolph Ziggler was my first choice to win the Rumble until this week when the announcers couldn't shut up about him. See, in case you missed what they said, Ziggler still has the Money in the Bank briefcase with an opportunity for the World Heavyweight Title, and, if he wins the Rumble, would have another opportunity for the title he chooses. The announcers talking it up sometimes means it's not in the cards, unfortunately.

Ziggler could win the World Heavyweight Title before WrestleMania, and then challenge the WWE Champion. I liked this because last year it felt like we had way too many main events. Pitting the two champions together would eliminate one of the main event matches and create a super main event. Ziggler has worked hard, has a great personality and can pull off being champ.

My other choice is Ryback. Although the big guys usually get ganged up on and are eliminated as a result, I like Ryback finally getting that big win. If Ryback doesn't win and doesn't find himself in a main event match at WrestleMania, I fear he'll just be remembered as the fad of 2012.

My dark horse winner- and this is somebody not yet on the official list of entrants- is Zack Ryder. Last year, Ziggler and Ryder had a campaign for the two of them to have a match at WrestleMania. I think if Ziggler wins the World Heavyweight Title and Ryder uses his win at the Rumble to challenge him, the WWE would have a great match which could really be a great lead in to the main events. Plus, Ryder is from Long Island, and any major event in North Jersey is considered to also be in New York. With AJ in Ziggler's corner, the match could be considered a border battle.

Stay tuned this weekend for a blog with updates to the entrants list and my predictions for surprise entrants. Plus, I'll also have details on how you can join me in The Trentonian's Royal Rumble chat Sunday night!

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Somebody's Getting Married

You're invited. Brooke Hogan will participate her first wrestling wedding tonight on TNA Impact.

I say "first" because, if she's anything like her WWE counterpart, Stephanie McMahon, she will have a few chances to experience joy, sorrow and complete rage while wearing a white dress.

I'm sure considering her father's objections to the relationship, 24-year-old Brooke is not expecting the perfect wedding, but just the fact that she is walking down a ramp to a ring for her ceremony is not exactly a good thing. If she's trying to top Stephanie, well, it's going to be tough.

Stephanie's first three (yes, three!) weddings were back in 1999 when she was 22 years old. Undertaker kidnapped her and made her his bride in April. Then, in November, she was willingly marrying Test, when Triple H interrupted and announced he had footage. In this now classic footage, he married an unconscious Stephanie at a drive-thru chapel in Vegas.

In her final (at a wrestling event-- she really did marry Triple H in 2003) walk down the aisle in 2002, Stephanie wanted to save her marriage with Triple H and renew their vows. Unfortunately, she lied to him by claiming she was pregnant, and instead of saying, "I do," he pedigreed Vince.

See what happens at Brooke and Bully Ray's wedding on Impact at 8 p.m. on Spike.

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Wrestler or Street Walker?

Why would the WWE use a talented wrestler as a wrestler when they could dress her up as street walker?

This week on Raw, the best grappler for the Divas spent her night in a short sequined dress parading around a giant and a leprechaun. The biggest star of the Divas only battled in words. Meanwhile, the one brief Divas match on the three-hour show was forgettable.

Last week on Impact, the Knockouts match- including announcer, ref and competitors- was all WWE alumnae. The overall best active female wrestlers- Mickie James and Gail Kim- were both in this match. One, Brooke Tessmacher, was used only as a dancer in the WWE, and has shown in TNA that, if given the right attention, she could improve to be a wrestler instead of just a body.

I don't know if having Dixie Carter at the top helps the Knockouts, but I would think Stephanie McMahon- who was a talented wrestler herself- would have the same amount of pull, if not more, for the WWE Divas. I do not understand why for the past two years- at the very least- WWE has wasted the most talented of their Divas.

Hopefully, this year will bring more meaningful matches for Natalya, A.J., Tamina and Layla before they join Beth Phoenix or TNA.

Monday, January 7, 2013

Revolution in 2013?

In advertisements for the WWE '13 video game, CM Punk speaks of a revolution. Will the new year bring us a revolution?

Well, in effect, it already has by giving the younger guys a chance to really show what they've got.

The Shield made its in-ring debut at the TLC PPV just before the new year. Ryback is in the title picture. Big E Langston, although in the Virgil-type character, is still on the big stage and probably is hoping his run ends up more like Batista's. Three Man Band (3MB) got a shot at the Tag Team Championship. Ricardo Rodriguez even got to hold his own against the Big Show.

But, as WWE are bringing in the new, they are also ushering in the old. Both Tommy Dreamer and Ric Flair made their returns to the company at the Slammys. The Rock returns (possibly via satellite) tonight. Hopefully, these guys will make a resolution to spend more time backstage helping the young become greats and less time stealing the show.

Other wrestling-related resolutions that should be made include:

  • Dolph Ziggler should resolve to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase. Oh, and he should put in his next contract that the contents of a port-a-potty can never be dumped on him again. (Monday night was his second time, for those of you who didn't know about his dumping in the Spirit Squad.)

  • The Rock should resolve to appear less via satellite. (He is scheduled to appear at just about every Raw and Smackdown in January, but I believe he was scheduled to appear at all his via satellite appearances last year, too.)

  • Hulk Hogan should resolve to not be left alone with any one's wife, no matter how close he believes he is with the husband.

  • Although it is helping reveal who the members are, the Aces and Eights need to stop losing. They just aren't as much of a powerful force if they keep losing. Hopefully, WWE is watching this scenario as they further develop The Shield's storyline...

  • AJ should resolve to spend more time in the ring wrestling and less time helping others succeed.

  • AJ should use the above resolution as a stepping stone to the resolution to be in the Divas Championship match at WrestleMania, near where she grew up in Jersey.

  • The Divas in general should resolve to make their division as important as the Knockouts'. What I have to say about this worth a whole other blog entry, so you'll have wait for that until later in the week.

With the first Raw of 2013 tonight, we'll see if any of these resolutions were made, most likely starting with The Rock's appearance.