Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Punked



There appears to be a reason that the Royal Rumble match Sunday night was the last time we saw CM Punk. His last tweet, posted Monday, certainly implies that he left the WWE, and reports are flying over the internet that he quit.

CM Punk is still listed as a Superstar on WWE.com, but he has been removed from advertising for live events. He is still listed on the WrestleMania Axxess VIP Signing Schedule, for now.

While his historic "pipebomb" in July 2011 was scripted, this may not be simply part of a story. In fact, it seems to be similar to Stone Cold Steve Austin's walkout on the company after WrestleMania in 2002.

In an interview posted on MMAFighting.com on Jan. 24, Punk did say his contract was up in July, and no one had been talking to him about it.

"I don't know," CM Punk said when asked if he would renew his contract. "Everything is up in the air."

While you may be thinking once contract issues are ironed out, Dixie Carter would be a fool not to go after CM Punk for TNA Wrestling, he does have an interest in MMA, and could always make that his next career move.

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Royal Mess

Professional wrestling is scripted. It is a soap opera of sorts. It can be predictable. But, no matter how much we read online about who's in town, what makes sense and what rumor is being spread, we still crave the surprise outcome.


At the Royal Rumble Sunday night, the widely expected happened. Batista won. It was logical considering he just made his return and has something to promote. Just because we all knew this was the most likely outcome (unless, of course, John Cena found his ways into this match), it doesn't mean we wanted it to happen.


We wanted Daniel Bryan. He is on top right now, and he should be in the main event of WrestleMania. But, just because he is our favorite does not mean he will win that ticket, as has been proven in past Royal Rumble matches. However, many were disappointed he didn't even get the chance to be in the Royal Rumble. We may have been temporarily appeased last night with Bryan's inclusion in the Elimination Chamber, but that is also a match where anything can happen and it's easy for minds to be changed last minute.

(Other crowd-pleasers thrown at us on Raw were the announcements that Jake the Snake Roberts is going into the Hall of Fame and that Christian is returning on Smackdown.)


When 30 came and passed, hope shifted to Roman Reigns, who has been proving himself lately as the standout from the Shield. He broke the record for most eliminations, but that apparently was the only bone he was going to be thrown. He would have certainly would have breathed new life into the main event of WrestleMania, since I think he is most likely to succeed.



Now, everyone will wait to see if Bryan can win the Elimination Chamber match. WWE's writers and executives certainly have some questions to ask themselves- Will Bryan not going to WrestleMania's main event affect WWE Network sales? How will Bryan v. Batista affect Batista's ability to promote his summer non-mainstream superhero movie? If they do Bryan v. Batista, can they turn Batista into a face before summer so the fans will back his movie? Will they just chicken out and give us yet another triple threat match at WrestleMania? Do they believe enough fans will care enough to make difference in WWE's profits?

Truthfully, I don't think I'd complain about a Batista v. Orton match. It can be a great story, and it could be a great match.


By the way, remember this?




That being said, WrestleMania is the finale of the year and the start of the new year for our "stories." Guys like Bryan and Reigns who have won us over so much that chants for them are amazing and are truly the future of the company should be featured. The backlash from last year's WrestleMania created a big night for Dolph Ziggler on the following Raw. Will WWE continue the trend and wait to please the fans on Raw, or will they make sure getting PPVs- even at $10 a month- is worth it?

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Destroying the Competition?

Like everyone else competing in the Royal Rumble match Sunday, Batista wants to be in the main event at WrestleMania. As we and Randy Orton are well aware, there are 29 other men with the same goal. So, will Batista destroy the competition to get that golden ticket?
Batista as Drax the Destroyer
in "Guardians of the Galaxy."
(@DaveBautista Twitter profile photo)

Possibly.

He has this movie coming out in August. It makes sense to help him promote this movie, Marvel's "Guardians of the Galaxy," as well as WWE, by being the champion. April to August is a short enough time in WWE land for Batista to win the championship at WrestleMania and still hold the title while making publicity tours for Guardians.

It's "best for business" after all.

The big question is which of his cast mates will be the first to make a guest appearance on Raw--Vin Diesel, Zoe Saldana, Chris Pratt or Bradley Cooper?

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Wrestling's First Lady Dies

WWE confirmed late Tuesday night that Hall of Famer Mae Young has died. She was 90 years old.

She reportedly survived a week off life support in her Columbia, SC, home. Young was erroneously reported dead a week ago by a South Carolina newspaper which got incorrect information from a source.

Born Johnnie Mae Young in Oklahoma on March 12, 1923, she started her professional wrestling career in 1939. She eventually went on to train others for the business, including long-time friend Lillian Ellison, more commonly known as Hall of Famer Fabulous Moolah.

In a statement, Vince McMahon said, "There will never be another Mae Young. Her longevity in sports entertainment may never be matched, and I will forever be grateful for all of her contributions to the industry. On behalf of WWE, I extend our sincerest condolences to her family and friends."

Many tweeted their condolences and memories as they heard the news from WWE last night:



































Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Hall of Warrior

It's that time of year again-- when WWE starts unveiling its inductees to the Hall of Fame and we wonder who of our favorites will make the cut. The first inductee should have been easy to figure out, considering his inclusion in the WWE 2K14 game, but I still felt like a little kid watching the Ultimate Warrior's entrance when the announcement was made last night.

If you were not privileged to know the Ultimate Warrior character, WWE's press release on the announcement gives a perfect description:

When the distinctive ring entrance music of Warrior hit, he would burst out of the dressing room and sprint towards the ring, causing a frenzy of excitement amongst WWE fans.



But, who else could join him?


  • Jake the Snake Roberts made an impact when he returned for Old School Raw last week, and he is now a downloadable character in the 2K14 game. The timing seems right for him, and he is certainly Hall of Fame material.
  • Diamond Dallas Page could be considered for Sainthood for what he has done in recent years for Roberts and Scott Hall. But, Hall of Fame recognition is probably more realistic.
  • Cyndi Lauper is the only significant celebrity I can think of from WWE past who has not been inducted into the celebrity wing yet. In fact, I think she, with Hall of Famer Captain Lou Albano, started the connection of celebrities and wrestling with their feud on Piper's Pit. She went on to escort Hall of Famer Wendi Richter to the ring at the first WrestleMania and even had Albano play her father in the "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" video.


  • Many of us would love for the late Macho Man Randy Savage to enter the Hall of Fame, but I think he is still on the not likely list. There are allegedly personal issues involved, as well as Randy's wish for the Poffo family to all go in as one. Genius/Leaping Lanny Poffo, Randy's brother, said last year that the WWE could induct Macho Man, but that he wanted nothing to do with it.
Who do you think will join the Ultimate Warrior in the Hall of Fame this year?

Friday, January 10, 2014

Young stays "indestructible"

You could say (and many have tweeted) that WWE Hall of Famer Mae Young is in the greatest Iron Man match of her life. The 90-year-old was taken off life support Wednesday night, then reported dead Thursday morning. The reporter unfortunately received incorrect information from a source, and Young was still alive.

It was not a hoax, as some are saying. This reporter is well-known and trusted a source who, for unknown reasons, provided him with incorrect information. It happens. Wrestlers trusted this reporter, hence their condolences. I thought it was a little odd WWE did not officially say anything, and a couple hours later, when the reporter found out the truth, I found out why.

It made me smile when I looked through the information on Young and saw that WWE's slideshow for Young's 90th birthday described her as "indestructible." It seemed quite fitting considering Thursday's events.

As far as I know (without driving drown to Columbia, SC, and camping out on Young's lawn myself), she is still alive as of 2 p.m. Friday, but also not doing well. If she does make it to her 100th birthday, Stephanie McMahon had better be ready, because Young will have proved she is just as tough as she was in her prime, if not tougher for beating death. (Young did challenge McMahon to a match to be held when she turns 100, if you forget.)


Young may have originally been scheduled to appear on Old School Raw Monday night as she normally would do. It was on Monday that it was widely reported that she was released from a hospital and put in Hospice care, although it appears she was released before the weekend. She reportedly had a failing kidney and was on a oxygen machine.

She is a first lady of professional wrestling, debuting in 1939, and a true legend who helped paved the way for future generations, including training both women and men. She was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2008 as the third woman with the honor. Fabulous Moolah was inducted in 1995 and Sherri Martel was inducted in 2006.

See Mae Young's WWE Profile for detailed information about her career

As news spread of her passing early Thursday morning due to the incorrect information in The Post and Courier in South Carolina, many in the business offered their condolences and memories. Because the messages are still a great honor to Young's legacy, and I already did the legwork between updates, here is what was tweeted:

























Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Royalty Returns

There is no doubt the star of Old School Raw Monday night was Jake "The Snake" Roberts, who has been campaigning online for a position in the Royal Rumble in Pittsburgh on Jan. 26 and will be headlining for Jersey Championship Wrestling on both Jan. 24 and 25. The Old School-themed show is always a hit because we all love seeing the guys from our youth, part of the reason we follow the careers of their children.

We have come to expect seeing guys like Sgt. Slaughter and Irwin R. Schyster at these shows (mainly because they are backstage anyways as employees of the company). When Diamond Dallas Page showed up about halfway through the show, I wondered, could Roberts be there, too?

I was about to give up hope as the show was about to close, but then it happened. The music hit, and Roberts- who looked great- walked out on the stage, complete with the ominous yellow bag. He placed the snake on Dean Ambrose, who couldn't help smiling as if a dream had come true.

And, really, it's one thing for us common fans to see a legend at a meet and greet, but to be a part of their act (oh, and to be guest on Piper's Pit earlier in the night) has got to be whatever is above amazing.

While Dean Ambrose got the special treatment, the guys who grew up with the legends as "uncles" because, you know, their dads are also legends, all got to perform by my count. Randy Orton (Bob Orton), Bray Wyatt (I.R.S.), The Usos (Rikishi), Curtis Axel (Mr. Perfect), Roman Reigns (Sika of Wild Samoans), and Goldust and Cody (Dusty Rhodes) all performed. The only ones on the roster who didn't perform were the Divas Natalya (Jim Neidhart) and Tamina (Jimmy Snuka). There was a Divas match, and it would have been nice, considering this was Old School Raw, to see ALL the children of legends on the show. (Stephanie McMahon also did not make an appearance, now that I think about it...)

Probably the oddest moment of the night was when the legends were brought out for their ovation, only they were basically The Godfather's Ho Train.

There was no Hulk Hogan, as some thought could happen (okay, I'll admit, I did think it was a possibility), and Paul Heyman did not carry his old school phone, although JBL tried his best Vince McMahon impersonation.

The show was well stacked with legends. If you are wondering who the young guys got to meet and hopefully learn from Monday night, here's the list of legends who appeared:

  • Ric Flair
  • Arn Anderson
  • Bob Backlund
  • Sgt. Slaughter
  • Nikolai Volkoff (Natayla's former babysitter, according to her tweet)
  • Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase
  • I.R.S.
  • Rowdy Roddy Piper
  • Billy Gunn
  • Road Dogg Jesse James
  • Diamond Dallas Page
  • Booker T
  • Ron Simmons
  • Rikishi
  • Scotty Too Hotty
  • Grandmaster Sexay
  • Ranjin Singh
  • The Godfather
  • Mean Gene Okerlund
  • Jake "The Snake" Roberts


When in Jersey, Roberts will perform at the Manville VFW Hall 7:45 p.m. on Jan. 24 and the Brick Elks Lodge at 7:35 p.m. on Jan. 25. Matt Striker, So Cal Val and Spirit Squad members Mikey and Kenny are also scheduled to appear at both shows.