Let's Get Ready to Rumble

Every year the WWE does this video. It breaks down the 30-man Royal Rumble match with the cool by the number facts. Before you tune in this Sunday, you'll want to know all these quick facts to share your friends and sound smart.



If you want to watch a full Royal Rumble match, here is the entire 2002 Royal Rumble. It's kind of cool that the WWE has put this up on YouTube. It's not the best one of all time. I would say 1992 when Flair won would be it. Heenan doing color commentary made that PPV. He was amazing. Enjoy this Rumble from over a decade ago. It has Stone Cold Steve Austin, and that is pretty damn awesome.



Finally here is the interaction between The Rock and CM Punk that got this all going a few weeks back. It is one of the best exchanges in WWE history. The ads that pop up are annoying but it is the only full version I could find. Still an epic encounter.



Tomorrow I'll post my 2013 Royal Rumble Preview and Predictions. Check back early in the morning.

Famous Last Words: It Can’t Get Any Worse

Last night I had a big decision, order WWE’s No Way Out PPV or watch the NBA Finals. I went with the option that had better thought out storylines, the NBA Finals. It’s been three games of the Thunder vs. The Heat, and I think the WWE creative staff could take some notes on how to create drama & believable characters. The clueless ref is way better in the NBA than the WWE. After reading Dave Scherer’s Blog on PWinsider.com , I know Jim Ross & I made the right choice for our Sunday night entertainment, even if the Thunder didn’t win.

Again I haven’t seen the Pay Per View yet, and I am only going off various reports from fans & wrestling websites, but when everyone says something is a piece of crap then it traditionally is a piece of crap. The CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Kane three way for the WWE title was the only thing worth watching for the entire three hours. That is one match for fifty dollars, even for the three involved that is asking a lot. Then add in the crap that surrounded a good title match.

First is the burial of Dolph Ziggler. Yes Dolph is one of the best wrestlers on the roster, and would make world champion Sheamus look good, but this wasn’t to build to anything in the future. This was a place holder match until Albert Del Rio gets over his concussion. Putting Dolph into this match hurts his chances of being taken serious as a challenger for Sheamus in the future, say around Survivor Series time. Now Smackdown is hit harder with a legit talent anchored down to the midcard position. Plus Sheamus loses a good opponent to have a lengthy feud with down the line that will help keep his title run fresh.

Didn’t Johnny Ace have a goon to throw at Sheamus if he just needed somebody to lay down for him at the PPV? He did talk down to him in front of the boss on Monday night. I know David Otunga wasn’t really doing anything on Sunday. Not the best storyline to go with, but at least it doesn’t hamstring a legit talent and would have some connections to an ongoing storyline. It also lets the announcers play up the main event for later.

Then there was the tuxedo match, the Ryback squash, & the HHH promo, or as I like to call them, the segments that should have been on RAW. When you pay money to see a PPV you want to see something that doesn’t look like something that you see on free TV. You want a lengthy match between two premiere talents. You want to see a moment that will shock the world. You want to see something that makes you look forward to the rest of the PPV, not your next bathroom visit. These three segments & a subpar Divas match were exactly that, time to go visit the bathroom. Luckily if you’re watching this PPV you’re probably drinking enough booze to get over the feeling of being suckered into paying for this stinking pile that you’ll need to visit the restroom this much.  

Finally there is the main event, which should have been the WWE title match. Instead it’s a cage match between John Cena and the Big Show. The villain in this case should be the Big Show, but Vince McMahon let us all know he’s been a disappointment since 1999. The real villain according to Vince becomes an old fart in Johnny Ace that hasn’t had a good match since Shane Douglas was riding skateboards with him. The old man club sat outside the cage while the two superstars slap each other around in a match that was then distorted more by the carnival that came to help Johnny get the boot.

The paint by numbers writing by creative led to the end everybody saw coming from a mile away. Vince got to say you’re fired, and every fan gets to realize they have wasted the past few months since Wrestlemania. Who needs a build when you can just keep tossing crap against the wall and see what sticks. The only good thing is that Johnny Ace is no longer the main focus on TV … maybe. Remember being fired by Vince on TV means about as much as being fired by your two year old during a hissy fit (See John Cena’s Firing).

Now we’re onto Monday. Tonight is another RAW, and I will be tuning in for the evolution of WWE Title picture. One match on free TV is worth my time, just not my money. I’ll be tuning in because I’m a wrestling fan. I’ll be tuning in out of the sliver of hope that last night was the lowest point for the company & business will begin to pick up. I’ll be tuning in because it can’t get any worse … right?

(Coutresy WWE)

CM Punk To The Rescue

Every story begins somewhere, and this one isn’t CM Punk’s origin. This story is just another testament to why the man who proclaims himself, “The Best in The World”, has always been the best at what he does. I guess it all starts before I even knew who CM Punk was. Fasten your seat belts, and let’s hit 1.21 gigawatts on this way back machine.

My first job in professional wrestling was helping out a small independent wrestling promotion out of Lansing during the turn of the millennium called the, “Pro Wrestling Federation” (PWF). Yeah I know real original. The promotion was owned by a man named Ben Justice, who ran a collectibles store in the area. I would help book shows and work on storylines with Ben. A few months into the promotion Ben was confronted with a choice.

A guy, who was barely trained, would make sure his 50+ biker buddies would show up to shows if he was one of the PWF champions. Since the promotion was struggling to draw, this seemed like the best option to keep it afloat. I was then presented with solving the challenge of putting a belt on this guy to get his ticket sales, but also cover up the fact that he couldn’t wrestle. Luckily I had at least one guy on the roster I could trust, Colt Cabana.

Colt was a student at Western Michigan University at the time, and was a regular on the shows. We had become friends through the few months of working together. I had come up with a scenario that would work for all sides. I was going to “borrow” the free bird rule for tag belts. I was going to hide the fact that this one person couldn’t wrestle with talent I knew could; and that I trusted. That’s when I asked Colt if he knew anyone he trusted that could help pull this off. He assured me he had a friend who would be perfect. The next month I met CM Punk.

To most CM Punk’s first impression is douche bag. He has a chip on his shoulder, a bad attitude on a good day, and he’s honest to the point of insult. I couldn’t have been happier to meet him. He was exactly the guy I needed for the angle because he wouldn’t let himself be part of a crap storyline, even if it was in some night club on Sundays in front of 50 bikers and about twenty other fans. For a few months Cabana & Punk mixed up the tag work, protecting the biker, and protecting the other talents in the ring. The storyline got pretty hot & when the straps went on the three in a six man tag, it blew the roof off the joint. In fact we had the bikers (which had already dwindled to 30), plus now there was about 50-60 real fans in the crowd. CM Punk and Colt Cabana turned the albatross around my neck into the best drawing angle on the show. Those two turned a turd sandwich into prime rib.

After the PWF closed down, I tried to keep track of Punk’s career. I never got to write storylines for him again; which will always be an unmarked line on the career checklist. Believe me I tried every place I was, but either money or schedule got in the way.

We would run into each other sparingly over the next few years. We usually exchanged a few nice words when we saw each other, except for once backstage at a TNA show in Nashville but that’s a different story for a different time. I even appeared on his last IWA:MS show when Punk wrestled Delirious to a 60 minute draw in a comedy match. I’m the fat guy in a suit two sizes too small in the corner of Danny Daniels’ (BABY!) opponent, CK3. Something that, even if CM Punk had never made it out of OVW, would always be one of the crowning moments in my career.

In life you meet a lot of people. Most are unremarkable, and little more than filler. CM Punk was anything but. He was one of those guys when you met him you knew he was only going to be limited by himself. Which if you really knew him meant he had no limits. CM Punk showed me that success is about the man, not the situation.

Monday Night Raw, a three hour tour

Last night WWE Monday Night RAW, creeping closer to their 1000th episode, put on a preview of what the future of the show will be with a 3 hour show. For those not in the know when RAW turns 1000th the traditionally 2 hour show will extend to 3, and become a pay per view every week. If last night was a sample of what’s to come then this maybe a case of too much of a good thing.

Some would think more time means longer, better wrestling matches for the talents on the WWE roster to display their abilities. Too bad this show isn’t about wrestling anymore. Too bad the man who got the most camera time last night qualified for Social Security a few years back. Vince McMahon danced, fist pumped, and blew nobody’s house down. He made bad jokes, ran down one of the hottest talents in the company by cracking on Daniel Bryan, and called Big Show a disappointment since 1999. Nothing makes me want to buy a PPV more than telling me the dude facing John Cena hasn’t been worth his money since the millennium. Vince owns the company, and can do whatever he wants. Too bad what he wants makes me want to change the channel.

Not to say RAW was a total waste. There was an interesting CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, Kane, & AJ love square. While it was mostly angle driven from the promos to the tag team match, it was still entertaining. Nobody was thinking CM Punk & AJ vs. Daniel Bryan & Kane was going to be a five star classic. The AJ crazy chick persona is really growing on me. She pulls off crazy better than most Divas in the past because it doesn’t look forced. She just seems looney tunes unlike Tara from TNA who always looks like a porn actor trying to deliver scripted lines in her crazy lady role. This whole love square has me debating the question, “Is one match worth the price of a Pay Per View?”.

Last night also highlighted why Dolph Ziggler needs to be let loose on the main event. The constant start-stop of his character has dragged on fans, but his ability to have a good match with a broom has kept him from being sucked into full-time jobber status. The man can wrestle, he can cut a promo, and he can pull the fans into the psychology of his match. Hopefully the misfortune of Albert Del Rio will be the golden goose Dolph Ziggler has deserved. Then again he is about to be fed to Sheamus, who has played a role in the burial of many talents in the past (See Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania). No Way Out may be foreshadowing to Dolph’s role in the WWE midcard.

The HUGE reaction for Vader was a testament to one thing, how bad it has gotten in the WWE. I for one was happy to see the man called Vader as I remember his feud with Sting during the early 90’s in WCW. I also remember how he was never fully elevated in the WWE. He had a few good moments during his WWE run, but I wouldn’t call it the best use of talent. Hell his most memorable WWE match might have been the one on “Boy Meets World”. Yet he got one of the best reactions of the night, better than those who appear on TV each week. It’s good for Vader, and bad for the image of the current WWE product.

In the end two old guys that shouldn’t be in the ring overshadowed the two talents fighting in a cage on PPV. Now the two will be ringside for the match, and that can’t improve things. When RAW goes to three hours in July maybe those two will do what’s best for the show and fire each other, along with whomever green lights the Michael Cole wrestling segments. That’s wishful thinking, and as the WWE has proven in the past, thinking isn’t their strong suit.