Jack Swagger Face

Is this the greatest face in all of pro-wrestling history?

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World Heavyweight Championship 2002-2011

Here is a video of every single World Heavyweight Title change from its inception in 2002 by Eric Bischoff when he simply gifted the belt to Triple H up until the present day when Edge regained the belt in his bizarre feud with Kane in late 2010. The quality varies from finish to finish, but I do like it when people make a montage of matches or title changes like these. Also, notice how the finish in the Triple H - Shawn Michaels TLC match is identical to the one in the Undertaker - Edge TLC bout. 

Finally, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson Returns

The People's Champ is welcomed back

Seven years after his last appearance in a WWE ring, The Rock returned on this week's edition of Monday Night Raw for the announcement that he would be the Host of WrestleMania this year. Here is the full segment in all its glory: 

I have to say, a fantastic promo which reminded us all so fondly of his charisma and stellar mic skills. His jibes at John Cena and Michael Cole were arguably the funniest thing I've seen on WWE for quite a while. Welcome back Rock. 

What's Going Down on TUA!

Unfortunately, I was not able to post an article on Monday on last week's wrestling in my column over at ProWrestlingPonderings.Com. Life has been hectic these days with college and various assignments that I have been obligated to put ahead of everything else, not to mention Class Rep Training and helping out with the organisation and mobilisation in IADT of the National Student March on November 3, so I can only apologise wholeheartedly to Jerome Cusson of PWP and all of our readers. I will certainly do my best in future to be as reliable as possble. 
 

In order to make up for my apparent absenteeism on PWP, I will do a quick round up of WWE on television from last week (Oct. 11-17) right here and now! There wasn't a whole lot to talk about, but we'll see how it contributes to the lead-in to Bragging Rights.

The #1 Contender, Cena, The Miz and Team Raw Captaincy

Last week's Raw opened up John Cena on the mic. He was talking about being in Nexus and the difficult position that puts him in in relation to his fans. At this point in time, The Miz interrupts and mocks Cena. He says that as Team Captain for Raw, he won't choose his team members based on their personality, so he is willing tolet Cena join the side. Cena replies that he should be captain instead. Another interruption happens at this point in the shape of Wade Barrett, who tells Cena he will be in his corner for the BR main event against Randy Orton instead. We are then greeted to the sound of the Anonymous General Manager's email tone coming from Michael Cole's laptop. He shoots down Barrett and books Cena in a match with Miz for the team's captaincy as part of a series of matches to determine what superstars it will comprise of.

The contest, which was later made a No DQ match for the main event, was a relatively good bout won by The Miz after interruption from Husky Harris and Michael McGillicutty. This should be a huge ego boost for The Miz after what happened at Summerslam, and it should be played as such on-screen. It could even be used by Creative as a reason for Team Raw's loss at the PPV, assuming they do lose, of course (although I think it'd be fair to say that Team Smackdown are the likely winners at this point).

The best bit of this match, the night and this angle so far had to be the segment between Cena and Barrett after the encounter. Harris and Barrett teamed up on Cena, before Barrett jumped in, who was nearly hit by his latest recruit. The Englishman proceeded to cut his best promo ever and villified Cena and made him look weak and cowardly. It was fantastic. Barrett ended the segment with, "until next week... you can't see me!" This guy is the real deal.

 Team Raw

As mentioned, a series of matches to determine Team Raw took place during last week's episode. The team is as follows: R-Truth, CM Punk, Santino Marella, John Morrison, Sheamus and The Miz (c). That leaves room for one more competitor -- Triple H mayhaps? Probably not, but hopefully the seventh member will bring more to the table that Santino. . .

 Team Smackdown

The team is as follows: Big Show (c), Rey Mysterio, Alberto Del Rio, Kofi Kingston, Jack Swagger, Edge and Tyler Reks. The last name on that list made his debut on SD last week with a win against Kaval. They really don't know what to do with the winner of NXT Season 2.

 The Family Of Destruction

So, the feud between Kane and The Undertaker, which has been on-off for over 13 years, is still going strong. Well, erm, not sure about 'strong', but it's still going nonetheless. The rivalry continued with another spooky, slightly over-the-top promo from Kane, reflecting the over-the-top of all these characters, including Paul Bearer.

Long story short, Kane and his father challenged Taker to a Buried Alive match at Bragging Rights, which would be for the title yet again, of course. Undi' came out and demonstrated that his powers had seemingly returned to him! He went after Kane and Bearer, who ran off before being frightened by a bolt of lightning that had been summoned by the Phenom. Mildly interesting.

That brings my review of the week to a close and I hope you enjoyed it, even though not a whole happened. Don't forget to check out my column over at PWP, where normal business shall resume next week :)

Wham, Bam, Summerslam!

Summerslam took place on 15 August in Los Angeles

Up until the August 9 edition of Monday Night Raw, only three matches had been booked for Summerslam (SS), one of WWE's Big Four pay-per-views. It just goes to show that three weeks is far too short a time to promote such a high profile event. It also points to slack booking, which we've been seeing from WWE in recent times and saw throughout this PPV.

The Intercontinental Championship match between Dolph Ziggler and challenger Kofi Kingston was the curtain jerker. Kofi was trying to regain a title that he had only lost 9 days previously -- did anyone really believe that he was going to win? Answer: no. WWE made the same mistake at Fatal 4 Way. The Miz defended the US Title against R-Truth, whom he had just defeated for the belt on that week's Raw. Needless to say, Mike Mizanin retained on that occasion. I bring this up because you need to give fans a reason to buy a PPV in every match, not just the top two or three on the card.

On top of that, this match was just stale if you had seen any of their other bouts over the past month. So, why couldn't they just wait until SS to put the belt on Ziggler? There was a simple answer to that, as we were to find out. The match was reaching its climax when Kofi missed with Trouble In Paradise and Dolph slapped on the Sleeper Hold. At that moment, Nexus came out of nowhere, attacking them both. The faction of NXT Season 1 Rookies, in trying to make another impact in yet another 7-on-1 beat down, caused this encounter to end in a no contest. . .

Nexus gangs up on Kofi

Following that was the Divas Championship match between Melina and Alecia Fox. This was better than their dour meeting on last week's Raw, but it's too bad that not too many people care that Melina won her first title since returning from an injury that kept her out for a year. The celebrations were interrupted by the self-professed co-Women's Champions, Layla and Michelle McCool, who proceeded to hand her a harsh beating. Alecia will surely be handed a rematch, but a feud between the new Divas champion and the entertaining Laycool could be appealing. Then again, this is the WWE Diva's division, so let's not get our hopes up. . .

Melina

Next up was the 3-on-1 handicap match between the Straight Edge Society (SES) and the Big Show, which was hastily put together the week of the PPV. Once again, just more sloppy booking. I liked the match itself, but at the same time, there was no real reason for it to be on this card other than to fill time.

Show looked dominant from the beginning, before the SES ganged up on him and took the advantage. Inevitably, the World's Largest Athlete gained the double pin over Joey Mercury and Luke Gallows as CM Punk scuttled away from the ring with Serena. All im all, nothing special, but I did like it all the same.

It will be intriguing to see where Punk and the SES go from here. In all their time together they haven't done a whole lot other than shave a few peoples' heads. In recent promos, the Straight Edge Superstar has looked fantastic, but he hasn't been able to take his three cronies anywhere above where they already were. In the context of this match though, CM Punk played the cowardly heel masterfully I thought. This would set up a defection from the SES by it's members quite nicely in my estimation, with the possibility of a Punk-Gallows rivalry or something along those lines. I quite like the sound of that idea, but that begs the question, what do you do with Serena, Gallows and Mercury after then? I guess that's a bridge we'll have to cross when we reach it. . .

Big Show -- Paul White has been great as a face so far

The midway point of the night was marked by two promos, the first of which greeted us to the sight of Kane standing by an empty coffin. He was soon joined by Sheamus, who is continuing to show more and more confidence on-screen.

That was followed by The Miz in the ring, who cut a fantastic promo over his decision to join Team WWE for the main event or not. All I can say is, go look it up and watch it for yourself -- well worth seeing. I did think he was going to turn down the offer, the typical heel thing to do, but it set up the angle for the Daniel Bryan return later on in the show perfectly. . .

The Miz

In last week's article, "Making New Ground. Sort of.", I wrote that both Randy Orton and Sheamus needed a good match in their fight for the WWE Championship, but that Sheamus also badly needed a clean win here. If we look at his title matches, his first reign was won via an accidental fall through the table by John Cena, his Royal Rumble clash with Orton ended in a DQ, he regained the title at Fatal 4 Way after a run-in from The Nexus and retained it at Money In The Bank in almost identical circumstances. Add to that list a DQ loss to The Viper at SS.

Now, if you're trying to push a fresh, new champion as fearsome and powerful in the ring, then the last thing you do is hand him an unimpressive record such as the one I just listed. I was even enjoying this match up until the point where Sheamus shoved the ref when attempting to bring a chair in. He got an RKO on the announce table for his troubles, of course. I don't see The Celtic Warrior retaining the belt at Night Of Champion and I don't envisage anyone else believing he can either. If he can't get a win over an established headliner (such as Triple H, with whom he is expected to feud with in the near future), then he may slip away from being a fixture in the main event level altogether. . .

Sheamus -- Laoch (see trunks) is the Irish for "hero"

Possibly one of the most anticipated matches of the night was the World Heavyweight Championship contest between the holder Kane and Rey Mysterio, who was striving to prove his innocence (although I'm not sure how winning a match would do that). Once again, this was another good, solid bout that was marred by bad booking.

Rey competed well for the most part against the Big Red Machine, so in desperation Kane turned to the casket. On the first attempt, he failed to close the lid on Rey, who looked as if he would eventually find a way to overcome the odds. For once, however, the WWE's Biggest Little Man couldn't find a way past a devastating Chokeslam. The clean pin and the ease with which it was picked up was surprising, but just in case you had forgotten, Kane drilled this big win home with a further Chokeslam as well as a Tombstone Piledriver.

Naturally, Kane went back to the casket once more, only to find The Undertaker inside. Taker looked at his brother, before turning to Rey. At this point, we thought he was singling out the masked man, as he said, 'did you ever hear of "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth?' Before.. before I make things right.. why? Why'd you do it, Rey?" Mysterio's response was inaudible, unfortunately, but it was all a swerve anyway -- The Phenom swung around and stared menacingly at Kane. He slapped a choke on his apparent attacker, but was hit back and ended up on the receiving end of a Tombstone.

Much like everything else on this PPV, there were good and bad things about this particular angle. First off, I doubt anyone was truly surprised by The Undertaker's return -- one way or another, he was coming back at SS. The way WWE went about it was slightly confusing though. Why did Taker confront Rey in the manner he did if he wasn't the attacker? Was it just for the swerve or did Rey have something to do with it after all? I guess we'll find out more on Smackdown! this coming Friday.

It was also important to make Kane look superior in the way they did. People have to believe that he can beat his brother, as he has been made to look inferior in past feuds, but above all else it's believable -- having just awoken from a storyline coma (notice how he staggers out of the casket), Taker would be susceptible to any competitor, not just a monster heel. There was nothing particularly special about this match or the events immediately after it.

Taker and Kane partake in a choking war

Aaaaand your main event!
The heavily hyped 7-on-7 elimination tag team match between Team WWE (as advertised -- John Cena, Bret Hart, Edge, Chris Jericho, John Morrison, R-Truth and an unconfirmed seventh member) and The Nexus (Wade Barrett, Justin Gabriel, David Otunga, Skip Sheffield, Heath Slater, Darren Young and Michael Tarver).

After his awesome promo earlier in the night, it had looked as if The Miz was certain to be that seventh member. But just as Team WWE had made their way to ringside with Miz in the wings in anticipation, John Cena brought out Daniel Bryan in one of those very rare moments in pro wrestling these days -- something that you simply don't see coming.

Cue huge pop, melee in the ring and a crossface from Bryan on Young, thus forcing a submission in the early moments of the 14-man crunch match. The American Dragon didn't reenter the squared circle until Team WWE were down to just himself and Cena, but when he did, he absolutely kicked ass until The Miz ran in and hit him with the briefcase. It's amazing that Michael Cole continues to bury him on commentary. This was a performance good enough to win even the harshest critics over, so to continue on insisting that AmDrag "got lucky" in this bout, that all his in-ring capabilities were conjured up by the Internet and that he is a "dweeb" and a "twerp" is incredibly baffling. Perhaps taking the US title off of his former Pro would change Cole's mind...?

In the final sequence, John Cena was left in a two-on-one situation against Gabriel and Barrett. Gabriel went for the win with his ever-impressive 450 Splash, but Cena moved out of harm's way and subsequently pinned the South African, which looked weak. So did the finish, however, when Barrett tapped out to the NPSTF (No Pressure Stepover Toehold Footlock). All in all, a fairly entertaining match where arguably it's only downfall was in the ending.

This PPV was stuck in an unfotunate pattern. On the whole it was an enjoyable event with good matches. However, nearly all of those matches were marred by sloppy or poor finishes. As I wrote before, the viewer needs a reason in every single match to buy the PPV.

Podcast Of The Week: Smart Wrestling Fan

Welcome to podcast number three in the POTW series!

If you've been following this column, you'll know that it is usually found on my main blog, The Novelty Act, but this week I wanted to do something a little different and, considering the content, felt it deserved to be posted on The Unfinished Article.

As the mere existence of this particular blog will suggest, I'm a big wrestling fan. Unfortunately, it's not terribly easy to follow pro wrestling in Ireland unless you have Sky Digital, which I don't. Instead I must catch up on the week's WWE action every Sunday morning on Sky1 or watch it illegally on the Internet. That's where the AWARD WINNING Smart Wrestling Fan comes in. . .

SWF is a weekly wrestling review show that airs every Tuesday and subsequently podcasted on Wednesday. The show is hosted by "Smart" Joe Negron and Max Laughton, who is affectionately known to listeners as The Dshban. Notwithstanding that, Dshban co-hosts the show all the way from Australia. Even more incredible in my mind is the fact that he's only 18, a mere two months older than myself!

Dshban meets Layla at a WWE signing in Australia

Joe Negron and his other hobby -- video games.

I had never been one for wrestling podcasts until I found SWF. For months before then, I had been a subscriber to the CHIKARA Podcast-A-Go-Go, which is how I came across Joe Negron's SWF, but that was about it. You see, most wrestling podcasts are far shorter (SWF is usually an incredible three hours long) and rather than run through all of the week's action from each show in full, they tend to skim through the finer details. SWF, on the other hand, covers each show on their programme, from NXT to Raw and even TNA iMPACT! They even covered Chris Jericho's game show, Downfall, while it was on the air and towards the end of each show there is a brief recap on the week's Ring Of Honor.

Joe and Dshban don't just cover the week in pro wrestling though -- they cover it with considerable proficiency, which is why it's considered one of the best podcasts around by their fans and separates it from many other ones as well. They know their wrestling, that's for sure, but they also don't enter the obnoxious smarky territory that can be a real turn-off for the casual listener. They're not afraid to give their opinions either, as can be seen by this clip where Joe criticises TNA:

That extract is from a slightly old episode sans Dshban, but it is Joe at his best -- himself and Dshban are not afraid to tell it as it is, and they certainly don't shy away from criticising TNA. Of course, it is argued that they let each other go a bit too far with their antics, but I think that's a matter of opinion. I, for one, find it amusing and enjoyable.

So beloved of SWF are their fans, that they go to great lengths for one of their favourite shows. Some of them make one-off or weekly donations in order to keep the show running from week to week. . .

. . . some fans create fantastic artwork in dedication to the show. . .

. . . some fans even go as far as composing songs!

These creative fans have made such an emotional investment in SWF, because it is simply one of the most enlightening (as enlightening as pro wrestling can be) and entertaining podcasts around! Three hours can be a bit much for even the best of us, but it definitely grows on you as you begin to listen in on a weekly basis. Like I said before, I never was one for wrestling podcasts/radio shows. But now, whenever I finish one episode, I want to be able to download the next one right away!

And if you just so happen to be a big fan of SWF, then you can help out the show while looking good at the same time by purchasing some merchandise at Café Press.

You can also help the show by buying items from Joe's Crazy Auction Store (ebay) or his Amazon wishlist.


iTunes Description:

Joe Negron and Dshban discuss the week in Pro Wrestling. WWE, TNA, ROH and MORE.

Joe Negron and Dshban bring you show number 267 of the AWARD WINNING Smart Wrestling Fan Wrestling Review Show. Monday Night RAW, Friday Night Smackdown, TNA Impact, NXT, Lucha Libre USA, Ring of Honor, Mr. Mutant Larry's Song, and lots more!

 
If you want to find out even more about Smart Wrestling Fan there are plenty of places for you look. Their official website is brilliant and there are plenty of links there too, of course. Undoubtedly, they have a fan page on Facebook, so you can join up there and take part in the forums. Join SWF on Stickam as well, which is where the show is broadcast live every Tuesday.
 
 

 
 Related Podcasts:

Chikara Podcast-A-Go-Go
Smart Video Game Fan
Pro Wrestling Ponderings
Angry Marks
A Wiggly World 
We Talk Games
Pro Wrestling Report
Off The Ropes

You're Either Nexus Or Against Us

On June 7th we were greeted to the terrifying image of Michael Tarver in a mask at ringside, just before he and the other NXT rookies stormed the ring as a Cena-CM Punk match was reaching its climax on Monday night Raw. Lead by Season 1 winner Wade Barrett, the eight-man group lay waste to everything in sight -- the wrestlers, the announcers, the timekeeper, the ring and Justin Roberts' necktie. . .

No one could believe their eyes at what had just transpired. It was the must-see segment of the week for wrestling fans (in what was an otherwise dour episode of Raw).

Unfortunately, everyone's eyes were turned to a different story over the coming days as news of Daniel Bryan's (Bryan Danielson) release filtered through. Danielson was fired after the aforementioned necktie incident (which you can read more about on The Unfinished Article in the post titled The Bryan Danielson Saga). In my opinion, getting fired is not such a bad thing for the American Dragon. Firstly, he will be rehired sometime in the near future once this whole thing blows off, he's too good not to be. Secondly, he's far better off without the Nexus. Apart from Wade Barrett, all of the members are jobbers and need this storyline to elevate them to a certain degree. Danielson on the other hand does not.

Now, back to the Nexus.

On the following week's Raw, Wade Barrett explained that his newly-formed faction were seeking contracts to join the main roster. But why was Wade leading them in their search for WWE stardom? He had already secured a contract and a guaranteed title shot after all. The answer is simple: loyalty, apparently. They had all previously made a pact to stick together no matter who won.

There was a lot of speculation among smarks on who was the driver at the end of that clip, but it seems inconsequential now several weeks later. The Nexus would continue these beat downs routinely, including this one on Vince McMahon of all people:

This kind of scene repeated itself at the PPV Fatal 4-Way. The Nexus interrupted the main event, a WWE Championship match between John Cena, Sheamus, Randy Orton and Edge, which allowed the Celtic Warrior to cheekily take the title for a second time.

The Nexus were at it again at Money At The Bank, when it was all but a given that they would intrude upon the apparently impenetrable steel cage match between Sheamus and Cena. So, not only was it no surprise that they interfered with yet another main event on a PPV, but it also led to a very crappy finish. The Rookies, if you can still call them that, prevented Cena from climbing down off the cage before the Irishman could in what was a very frustrating end to the best WWE PPV in a long time.

It's hard to see where The Nexus are going at this point. In truth, a lot of their angles and promos have been the best thing on WWE television in quite a while, especially in the absence of the likes of Triple H, The Undertaker and the recently retired Shawn Michaels, but at the same time some of those angles and promos haven't been so good (I'm perhaps being a tad unfair in that regard -- you can say the same thing about any wrestler after all). We are continually reminded on-screen about Nexus' "bigger picture," but you get the feeling that that's just codeword for "Creative haven't written that part of the script yet."

I think I speak for everyone when I say that we all want to see Nexus achieve something tangible, not something forgettable. The faction already has a natural born winner and main eventer in the shape of Wade Barrett as it's leader, and it's also acted as a vehicle for successfully moving the NXT jobbers onto the main roster. WWE now needs to let the group push on, but can it do that when they put them in overbooked matches like that at the upcoming Summerslam? (If you haven't the booking yet, it's a seven-on-seven match between The Nexus versus John Cena's team, which includes The Great Khali and Bret Hart. . .)

With any luck, Summerslam will be another stepping stone for this band of youngsters. If not, it could mean a continuation of  the low ratings and PPV buys that we've seen of late.

The Bryan Danielson Saga

Considering how much time and space I've dedicated to NXT, and the part that Daniel Bryan has played in it, on The Unfinished Article, it would be amiss of me not to comment on the story at the very least.

OK, so where do you start with a story that has caused more controversy and anger among wrestling fans than any other firing of a low-card performer in WWE history? It's arguable to say in history perhaps, but definitely in my lifetime, and considering the ultra-advanced information age I've grown up in, it's been a source of considerable gossip for marks all over the Internet.

But of course, when it comes to getting the marks out here to talk, WWE have been on their A-game ever since the inception of NXT. First, there was the repackaging of Danielson as Daniel Bryan, a Rookie in season one of the show, and his subsequent pairing with WWE Pro The Miz, which had the fans going crazy. You could not put two more polar opposites together.

 Then, on the opening night, Danielson faced Chris Jericho in the main event, which I'm sure no one ever imagined seeing. Notwithstanding that, he was allowed to look very competitive against Y2J, which he would not be able to do on Smackdown or Raw. He also took some tremendous bumps in that match to put Jericho over, which reminded me a lot of Shawn Michaels (on his latest DVD, Michaels openly says that when he first came into WWE, himself and Marty Janetti would throw themselves all over the place in order to make their opponents look good). Fans were also sent into an online-frenzy when WWE paired Kaval, known to ROH fans as Low Ki, with. . . LayCool (Michelle McCool and Layla). Oh my. It certainly got us talking anyway.

This time, however, it was unintentional. Or, at least we think so. Following the most exciting ending to Raw in years, Daniel Bryan was released, after he choked ring announcer Justin Roberts with a tie. Someone complained and that was that. WWE do have a policy on choking after the Chris Benoit double-murder suicide, so they had to set an example, especially with Linda McMahon's election coming up. Now, I don't want to dwell on this, but I did read one blogger who was so enraged with the firing that he referred back to the Benoit thing and called him a coward and so on, which I totally disagree with altogether. I don't see the point in blaming this whole saga on something that happened nearly three years ago, especially something so tragic. I could go on for hours about the toll the business takes on one's body and mind.

Getting back to the story at hand, many have speculated that this is a fake firing, that it's an elaborate work that WWE have devised. In my opinion, that's pure bull. It's very much legit. His Twitter, the username of which he changed from DanielBryanNXT to bryandanielson, says as much really. On June 13th, he tweeted "Biding my time, waiting for the right moment to speak"; three days later, he said "Still not the right time, other than to say this: I am now available for independent bookings"; and most recently on Friday 18th, he wrote "Looks like my return to the independents will be next Saturday for @chikarapro in Detroit, MI. I'm stoked to be working with Chikara again!" That confirms it so. In one week's time, he will return to the indie scene with CHIKARA Pro Wrestling, and is also expected to perform at Absolute Intense Wrestling (AIW) that same weekend, while he's also rumoured to make an appearance at Dragon Gate (DGUSA) and Ring Of Honor (ROH) in the next few weeks (although the latter is unlikely as he will be unable to feature on TV or PPV). He has definitely severed ties with WWE. For now.

While some would feel that this is the end of Daniel Bryan and his career in the E, I'm inclined to think otherwise. This whole incident will blow over, and once the heat subsides (and Linda loses her election), Danielson will be resigned and start again. Hopefully. For pessimistic fans of the American Dragon's chances of a return, I offer this reminder, and another comparison with Shawn Michaels. The Rockers (HBK and Janetti) were impressive when they started out in the WWF/E, but had to leave the company after an incident in a bar. The two men returned a year later, and while Janetti could never make an impact as a singles competitor, Michaels went on to become arguably the greatest performer and entertainer of his generation. It would be outlandish to suggest that Danielson will replicate that, but it is important to remember that example when considering this firing. For now, let's just enjoy watching AmDrag getting back to doing what he does best on the indie circuit.

Here are a list of web pages and links, Facebook or otherwise, about Bryan Danielson:

• 
  
  Bryan "American Dragon" Danielson FB fan page.
• 
  
  Daniel Bryan FB page.
• 
  
  Wear A Tie For Bryan Danielson FB page.
• 
  
  Reinstate Bryan Danielson Petition at http://www.petitiononline.com/.
• 
  
  Facebook Group Petition To Rehire Daniel Bryan.
• 
  
  Dragon Undone: The End of Bryan Danielson in WWE (For Now) article at 411mania.com.
• 
  
  Whatever happened to The Final Countdown Tour? at prowrestlingponderings.com
• 
  
  DGUSA Enter The Dragon PPV featuring Bryan Danielson!

Now That You've Gotten My Attention..

Simply put, this was one of the best, possibly the most captivating, angle in a long time.

Watch the clips, they say it all. . .

So, on the eve of Season 2 of NXT, all of the participants of NXT Season 1 invade Raw, beat the holy hell out of John Cena, CM Punk, the Straight-Edge Society (SES), the announcers and other randomers, as well tearing the ring to shreds and leaving the place in a heap. . . Wow. All I can say is, thank God WWE have finally moved out of their comfort zone and done something innovative to recapture the fan's attention and imagination. More of the same, please.

Some Catching Up To Do..

OK, so it's a been a while. . .

I know I still haven't posted a review on WrestleMania 26, it's still unfinished in my drafts (fail to see the irony?), cause I haven't had the time to write a full-length one, what with school work and study and all.

So I'll try and post as much as possible between now and the summer holidays, and may even get that WM entry in, but no promises. In the meantime, I'll be posting my thoughts on recent happenings in WWE and so on. Right now, I'll be concentrating on NXT and the Draft, and other things related to that.

I know I said previously that NXT was a great show in the beginning, but I have to admit that it's gone slightly stale in the past couple of weeks. Probably because nothing happens on the show! I did see Heath Slater beating Chris Jericho on last week's show though, so he's the first and only Rookie to defeat a Pro so far. Michael Cole continues to confuse me with his heelish commentary and constant bashing of Daniel Bryan (which he's obviously been told to do so by Vince McMahon through his headset). In an odd way however, it works! It's just different, I couldn't see Cole and Josh Matthews working together as well as they do here on a normal commentary format. David Otunga has certainly been one of the most impressive on-screen personas and I expect him to beat a Pro soon as well. Wade Barrett is also right up there in terms of charisma and talent. You could put this guy on either Smackdown or Raw tomorrow and he'd fit right in, he's that good in my opinion. Along with Daniel Bryan, these three are the standout performers.

I thought that this year's annual Draft was fairly solid as far as these things go. There have been shambolic ones in the past. The biggest moves of the night were Edge and Chris Jericho to Raw, who I imagine are being rewarded for the brilliant work they've done on Smackdown over the past year. Especially Jericho, who really made that main-event spot his own after Edge suffered a torn achilles tendon last year.

During the show itself, Edge was involved in a segment that made little sense, when he cost Randy Orton a title shot in his triple threat match with Sheamus and Batista. Is Edge reverting to a heel turn already? This might be for the best, considering he's not quite as good a face.

In other news from the Raw Draft show:

• 
  
  
  R-Truth and John Morrison also moved to the red brand, a transfer the Shaman of Sexy really needs to take advantage of at this point of his career. While he's still young, and has plenty more years in him, I think he must make the headline breakthrough sooner rather than later. 
• 
  
  
  The Hart Dynasty (Tyson Kidd & David Hart Smith) df. Show-Miz for the Unified Tag Team Titles in a superb match. I'm becoming increasingly impressed with THD, after it seemed for ages that Creative had nothing for them to do. The win was also the catalyst for Big Show and The Miz splitting up, the former was later drafted to the blue brand, making the split complete.
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  Christian, who was languishing in the now defunct ECW for the past year, finally made the move to one of the top brands and I expect him to flourish on SD. Knowing WWE though, I could very easily be wrong about that.
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  MVP, Kofi Kingston, Kelly Kelly and Rosa Mendes were drafted to SD. A good move for all of the aforementioned people.
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  A final note on Jack Swagger: I have been pleasantly surprised with the All-American American's title run so far. In fact, that doesn't begin to describe how impressed I am with his in-ring performances. Since being elevated to the top spot, we've been able to see his great strength and charisma.

In the next entry, I'll probably be discussing the silly themed pay-per-views that WWE are persisting with and how they can utilise the moves in the Draft to improve their product, which has been lagging of late. I may also divulge into the general dreadfulness of TNA and the Monday Night Massacre.

See you then. . .