Thursday, May 30, 2013

Yabba Dabba E!

WWE is continuing to build its future audience.

Last summer, WWE announced plans to partner with Warner Bros. to produce a Scooby Doo cartoon featuring WWE Superstars helping those meddling kids to solve a mystery at WrestleMania. Yesterday, the two announced plans for another animated partnership, this time with everyone's favorite prehistoric family, The Flintstones.

WWE.com said the cartoon will feature the characters Vince McMagma, John Cenastone and CM Punkrock, but did not mention the most obvious Superstars we would assume to be involved, like The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Brodus Clay and the Funkadactyls.

As you well know, Cena is already involved in the cartoon franchise as a spokesperson for Fruity Pebbles and Cocoa Pebbles.

According to IMDB.com, the Scooby Doo movie is scheduled to be released on video in March 2014, while the Flintstones movie should be released the following year.

Monday, May 20, 2013

Next?

The PPV after WrestleMania- no matter what name it has- is always an interesting PPV because it accomplishes two things: it cleans up any unfinished business from WrestleMania and sets the wheels in motion for Summer Slam.

Unfinished business was highlighted in the main event in which Brock Lesnar beat Triple H in a Steel Cage Match. I have a feeling this storyline is now over, but I do not know Lesnar's status with the WWE.

Another WrestleMania repeat was in Jericho defeating Fandango. Considering the Fandango craze seems to be dwindling, I'm sure WWE is going to try to milk it through Summer Slam. Unfortunately, I think an opportunity was missed last week on Raw. Jericho's partner should have been Stacy Keibler, another WWE star who participated in Dancing With the Stars. I say this because I was a little disappointed last week when A) they bring out this Dancing With the Stars professional dancer to just escort Jericho to the ring and B) Summer Rae faked an injury, which would have been great to keep the rivalry fresh if Jericho actually had a female wrestler on his side.

(FYI- all this did was remind me two athletes were performing in, I guess, the second-to-last episode of Dancing With the Stars on ABC at the same time, and, I will admit, I started flipping to the show during commercial breaks. Jacoby Jones was pretty good... maybe Stacy gave him some tips, since, you know, another one of her past jobs is Baltimore Ravens cheerleader.)

Perhaps management is still trying to get Stacy back and this rivalry will turn into a mixed tag match at Summer Slam. Perhaps Jennifer Hudson needs to tell Clooney it's okay to be in a relationship with somebody currently working in the WWE.

Our newness came from The Shield. They won both titles (US Champ Ambrose, Tag Champs Rollins and Reigns) they were going after last night. Now, the challenge comes in who loses first and when. That's always when a faction starts to fall apart. Perhaps the Brothers of Destruction will return for Summer Slam and win the titles. Maybe someone like Randy Orton will be trusted again and win the US Championship.

Our world titles are in interesting situations with no decision in Ryback/Cena and Ziggler out with a concussion. I hope Ziggler is resting and allowing himself to heal. I have suffered a concussion, and I know how hard it can be just to walk straight weeks afterward if you keep pushing yourself. He was pulling double duty before the injury, and it's clear now- if there was any doubt- he is the future of the company. He is not a fad. He needs an amazing set up for Summer Slam, and I'm not sure if Del Rio is it.

On the other match, I would not be surprised if Ryback is crowned WWE Champion at Summer Slam. The PPV is usually one of those memory-making title change events, and I think it will finally be Ryback's time.