What's been going on this week in the world of professional wrestling? It's time to break it down in the latest edition of SMACK TALK, my wrestling podcast and the quick notes below. Make sure to subscribe, comment on the videos and this post, and let us know your thoughts.
Austin Aries responded to Christy Hemme screwing up his ring introduction by shoving his crotch in her face. He's apparently been fined for sexual harassment but a lot of people are thinking that there might be more to this story or that it might be a work or that it's not a big deal...lots of differing opinions. What do you think?
WWE has released a bunch of NXT stars: Audrey Marie, Derrick Bateman, Briley Pierce, Sakamoto, Percy Watson, Anya, and Brandon Traven.
Santino Marella will be opening up an MMA/wrestling training facility called the Battle Arts Academy.
What's been going on this week in the world of professional wrestling? It's time to break it down in the latest edition of SMACK TALK, my wrestling podcast and the quick notes below. Make sure to subscribe, comment on the videos and this post, and let us know your thoughts.
Dolph Ziggler might possibly be removed from the Extreme Rules ppv as he suffered a concussion and is currently awaiting being medically cleared to wrestle.
YouTube is planning on charging for paid subscriptions for certain channels soon. WWE turned the offer down. TNA decided to jump on it. How can they expect to make money from this when they can't get people to watch their shows for free?
On this third edition of SUPERSTAR SCORES, it's time to deviate from the people that are amongst my favorites and go into someone else. As suggested by AwesomePianoMan, we're going to be taking a look at someone who has gone through a few different names but career stayed relatively at the same: Robert Howard.
If you're unfamiliar with how the segment works, here is a quick breakdown: Each edition, a wrestler will be put under the spotlight and rated on a 0-100 scale based on 10 categories that have been broken up into 5 umbrella sections: In the Ring Skills, On the Mic Skills, Appearance, Backstage, and Crowd Reaction. The rating scale is as basic as you can get: 0-1-2-3-4 | 5 | 6-7-8-9-10. It follows the Three-Count Critique method of green being the good, yellow being in the middle, and red being the bad. A perfect 100 is the goal.
Start your engines...
BOB HOLLY
IN THE RING SKILLS
Athleticism: Does the person have a good signature moveset and finisher? Can they perform a wide variety of moves on a regular basis and not botch them?
My Rating = 5 Even though the Alabama Slam looks like it could hurt, I've never been the biggest fan of it as a finisher for him instead of a big man (imagine someone like Mason Ryan doing that to you instead). As far as regular athleticism goes, Holly wasn't bad at all but wasn't anything special. He had a nice dropkick.
Psychology: The wrestler's ability to tell a story in the ring. Do they make you believe it's real or do they forget to sell their injuries properly? Can they make a long match stay interesting and not get boring?
My Rating = 5 There's going to be a really big echo in this edition where Holly was nothing special but nothing to really pick apart. Lots of fives coming your way.
ON THE MIC SKILLS
Charisma: If they get a mic, can they cut a promo without stuttering? Are they repetitive or do they keep things fresh?
My Rating = 5 I might not have given him a 10 on this, but there are 10 words that I have to point out here: "I'm gonna break your ass in half you little shithead". Bob Holly once again was nothing special but he got the job done in an average way (outside of that classic line which was fucking amazing).
Character: Is their gimmick(s) interesting? Can they pull off being both a heel and a face?
My Rating = 6 Thurman "Sparky Plugg", which thankfully transitioned into Bob "Spark Plug" Holly, which thankfully transitioned into just Bob Holly where he could actually have a tiny bit of credibility. He used to go by Superstar and Hollywood before his WWF days, but eventually we had a dip down where he turned into "Bombastic Bob", which again had an up-swing with "Hardcore Holly", his best of all gimmicks. Sadly, even though Hardcore Holly was a good standard character, it was still never anything above fantastic. I give him an extra point for being able to withstand the worse gimmicks and make a career out of himself. To be the race car driver guy in an era where people had random jobs as gimmick (which led to most of them not having a WWE job anymore), he was able to stick around and be believable as both a heel and a face.
APPEARANCE
Physique: Are they in the proper shape for their gimmick or are they out of shape? (note: someone like Mabel isn't supposed to look like John Morrison, but Matt Hardy gaining weight deducts his points).
My Rating = 8 This might seem like a big jump up considering how I'm giving him a 5 for nearly everything, but if you think about it, Holly was always in good shape for an average wrestler. He was never gaining weight randomly, nor was he too bulky in musculature to move around or too scrawny looking to be taken seriously. Even as he got older, he maintained what would be a pretty standard body shape for a normal wrestler (since his gimmick didn't call for something else). Credit where credit is due that we never had a "fat Bob Holly" phase or anything like that, he gets a few extra points to me. He's in better shape than I am and I'm half his age.
Entrance: Their music, the pyro if they have any, whatever taunts or actions they do to make it interesting.
My Rating = 5 No pyro, no special lighting, he didn't do anything for his entrance as far as showmanship, his primary theme song was an incredibly generic rock song that could have worked with nearly anybody on the roster. The main reason he gets an average 5 score is because it was bland but it wasn't BAD. There wasn't anything to detract from the score and embarrass him out of gimmick. Plus, I'll admit, there's been worse generic rock songs that they've used for other people.
BACKSTAGE
Professionalism: Are they a locker room leader or do they cause problems behind the scenes? Are they bogged down in politics? Do they put other people over or screw people over?
My Rating = 2 There are tons of people that will attest to him being a bully backstage and such, getting into fights, being too rough with the new guys, and everything of that sort.
Marketability: Is this wrestler a public relations problem with arrests and such, or are they someone that promotes the company well, does charities, talk shows, etc?
My Rating = 4 Let's be honest, at most I could see him getting a standard 5, but his backstage problems hinder him in this regard. I don't remember seeing him being a real spokesperson for the company. The only reason he doesn't get lower is because he wasn't regularly getting arrested or something to HURT the company. He's not the most charismatic, nor was he the most well-behaved to trust in something that would represent the company.
CROWD REACTION
Popularity: How loud are the cheers and boos for them? Do they sell merchandise? Are ratings up or down when they're on screen? How many Twitter and Facebook followers do they have?
My Rating = 6 As I've said before, he stuck around for all those years, so that's the main reason why I haven't ranked him lower on this. I've never really seen anybody wearing Bob Holly merchandise or heard a big pop for the guy.
Credibility: Is this person someone you would see as a main eventer and a future legend or are they doomed to forever be a jobber?
My Rating = 5 Holly was a career midcarder that tasted the main event a few times when there was nobody else to fill a spot and they thought about giving him a shot. Some people are able to form that into a true main event status later on in their careers (Christian, Mark Henry) but he wasn't able to. Holly was a great talent to rely on for the tag team division (4x champion if you count his tenure as NWA World Tag Team Champion in WWF) and the Hardcore division (6x champion) but never even officially tasted the Intercontinental Championship when he "won" it from Jeff Jarrett. I'm sure if the brand split were to have taken place earlier in his career, he would have seen more titles (perhaps the IC or US) but I doubt he ever would have been a World Heavyweight Champion and even if he did, nobody would have really taken him that seriously.
TOTAL SCORE: 51/100
FINAL THOUGHTS: He may have racked up a majority of 5's, but the key thing to remember here is that the average 5 score isn't a bad thing. Bob Holly was a reliable midcarder that had some periods of time where he was a little above the average and times where he was below the average. The main reason I gave him the extra point (which by the way, was in "popularity") to push him past the 50 out of 100 score is because of his longevity in the company, but by no mistakes should he be regarded as a living legend amongst the greats. Future Hall of Fame contender? I wouldn't be opposed to that. First ballot? Certainly not.
WHAT DID YOUR SCORE TALLY UP TO? WHO SHOULD WE RATE NEXT?
Watch WWE Extreme Rules 2013 ppv live online coverage of results and review here. Who will win? John Cena vs Ryback. Jack Swagger vs Alberto Del Rio. Triple H vs Brock Lesnar in a steel cage match. AJ Lee vs Kaitlyn. Sheamus vs. Mark Henry. Randy Orton vs. Big Show. Dean Ambrose vs. Kofi Kingston. Shield vs. Team Hell No. Miz vs. Cody Rhodes YouTube Pre-Show. When the time comes, check out the live coverage of the 2013 Extreme Rules pay-per-view with results and review here. You can check out my predictions here with the spoilers of all these matches and more.
YouTube Pre-Show: The Miz vs. Cody Rhodes
So this has like 10 minutes? That's a good sign. They keep saying that these two are going to set the tone for the pay-per-view, despite this being a non-feud with no stipulation. Nothing really happens.
WINNER: The Miz. Blah, as expected. Kind of a pointless match which is a shame.
Looks like we're starting off with Jericho and Fandango.
Chris Jericho vs. Fandango
Nice set for Fandango, the typical strings hanging down from the stage. They still haven't said if this match is going to have a gimmick or not, but I doubt it. Curious as to why they're starting with this match. I expected it to be the US title match to start off with a bang. We'll see if the card ramps up or goes down after this. Well, actually, this match hasn't started yet, so we'll see if it does start off with a bang anyway. No gimmick. Fandango either stole his pants from John Morrison or Ricky Ortiz if he weren't so fat. Decent match so far. Fandango looks like a legitimate opponent. Lionsault doesn't do it. I see an "Ask Him!" sign...but that person is clearly promoting Jericho rather than my website. Jericho hits the Codebreaker and wins.
WINNER: Chris Jericho via pinfall. One prediction wrong, one right so far. Nice opening match that doesn't feel like the end of the feud, so I guess Jericho is sticking around a bit.
United States Championship: Kofi Kingston (c) vs. Dean Ambrose
Kofi is going to lose this. Rollins and Reigns aren't following Ambrose to the ring. That's odd. Ambrose puts the Crossface Chicken Wing on Kofi Kingston. Wow, I haven't seen that in a while. Kofi is wrestling a match where he's kind of calling things but making it look like he's putting Ambrose over, it seems. He's clearly the star of the match more than Kingston is, which isn't surprising. Kofi hits the SOS but only gets a two-count. A bit of underselling when Kofi hits his knees to the face of Ambrose who kind of just stands there and acts like it only grazed him. Kofi hits the Trouble in Paradise but Ambrose falls out of the ring. Kingston brings him into the ring and gets a two-count. The match should end any minute now with Ambrose getting the victory. There we go. Kofi misses another Trouble in Paradise and hits the ropes. Ambrose hits a forward DDT and picks up the victory.
WINNER: Dean Ambrose via pinfall. About what I expected it to be. Ambrose wins and that's no shock. The bigger surprise to me was that the Shield didn't accompany him to the ring. 2-1 for predictions.
Here's another commercial for the WWE app, because they really want people to not watch the show itself and instead, watch the app.
Strap Match: Sheamus vs. Mark Henry
They have little green and red lights on the corners now to indicate whether or not the person has actually hit the turnbuckle. That's a good addition. The problem with this is that each time someone hits a corner, they have to start all over mostly with one move, so strap matches are a bit frustrating with that. There's a spot where Sheamus pulls the strap up under Henry's crotch as a low blow. Sheamus hits three and Henry simply picks him up and slams him down to interrupt it.
WINNER: Sheamus via...touching the 4 posts. Not too surprised about this either.
Backstage, AJ Lee is talking on the phone supposedly to Ziggler. Kaitlyn comes up to gloat about how they have a title match (that's stupid). They address the secret admirer issue.Stupid segment that ends in a typical "brawl" where they pull hair and try to punch each other but look like idiots. Pointless.
#1 Contendership [I Quit Match]: Alberto Del Rio vs. Jack Swagger
Zeb cuts a promo on the way to the ring about wiretapping phones and different scandals. Meanwhile, Swagger stands there like a good boy and just jumps up and down. Literally all he says is "we the people". Lilian Garcia speaks some Spanish to introduce Ricardo, who is going to introduce Del Rio (who is he going to introduce?). Now that Del Rio's introduction is over with, the match will go down hill, am I right? Best part. A Singapore cane comes into play early on. There's a gash on Swagger's shoulder. "We want Ziggler" chant starts. Swagger hits the Swagger Bomb and the gutwrench power bomb, but Del Rio still doesn't quit. Obviously, this match has to end with either the cross armbreaker or the ankle lock. Del Rio puts the armbreaker on him but Swagger reverses into the Patriot Lock. Ricardo suggests throwing in the towel but Del Rio tells him not to. Zeb Colter comes over, grabs the towel and tosses it in the ring instead and Mike Chioda says that Jack Swagger wins the match!
WINNER: Jack Swagger via a towel. Awesome outcome! My friend Dane is going nuts with joy.
Nevermind. A new referee comes out to say that Rodriguez wasn't the one to throw the towel in. Chioda looks at an instant replay of it and says that the match will continue if Del Rio can do it. Not too long afterward, of course, Del Rio is able to make Jack Swagger quit.
WINNER (and new #1 contender for the World Heavyweight Championship): Alberto Del Rio Awww...not as interesting as it was before. My friend Dane is upset.
Tornado Tag Team Championship Match: Team Hell No (c) vs. The Shield
New tag champs. Wait, I'm getting ahead of myself. Tornado matches are good because they can just have everyone interrupt pinfalls and such. "You try to break my arm, I'll break your face!" - Roman Reigns to Daniel Bryan. Kane catches a kick to the head from Rollins and a spear from Reigns but Daniel Bryan interrupts the count. Now they're targeting Bryan. Reigns has him up in a torture rack and Rollins hits his top rope kick to Bryan's head.
WINNERS (and new tag team champions): The Shield via pinfall. Good match with a believable ending to it even though Rollins has a finisher that doesn't look particularly impressive.
Advertisement for the post-show. Wade Barrett changed his shirt as beforehand, he was just wearing one of his t-shirts and now he has a dress shirt on.
Extreme Rules Match: Randy Orton vs. Big Show
Why do they call this an Extreme Rules match? They all are. GOD that annoys me. This should be a lackluster match by both the placement on the card, the gimmick itself, and the fact that these two would be limited to work a style that won't exactly be the most entertaining in the long run. A ladder is brought into play. JBL feels the need to move his hat away from the desk. Most of this match seems to be Orton clotheslining Big Show. Zzz. Big Show sets up a Vader Bomb spot with the ladder on top of two chairs and Orton moves out of the way. Orton hits his rope-DDT from the top rope on Big Show. Nice job. I personally think this match is boring but the home crowd loves Orton. He sets up an RKO and lands it. Big Show kicks out. Orton hits another RKO while on the chair (as if that makes any sense whatsoever, but in WWE rules, it somehow hurts more). Orton sets up the punt and lands it.
WINNER: Randy Orton via pinfall...via punt. Surprised that the punt won the match, but I wasn't impressed by the match itself.
WWE Championship [Last Man Standing Match]: John Cena (c) vs. Ryback
Triple H vs Brock Lesnar is last. I guess that's so they don't have to end the pay-per-view with boos for John Cena. Here comes a long match of doing one move and then waiting 9 seconds before you do it again. Ryback hits a nice power bomb though. Ryback hits his cutter variation which I'm sure won't win the match and John Cena will get up at the count of 8 or 9. Ryback tosses Cena into the table. This match is laborious. Ryback has to oversell Cena's moves and he's not doing it in a believable way for someone that big. Cena then tries to put in some kind of a submission move but it just looks like he's giving Ryback a hug. Ryback throws him down very simply and of course, John Cena's about half dead.Cena hits an Attitude Adjustment on Ryback by throwing him through a table.Ryback gets up at 9. Cena climbs to the top rope and Ryback stops him, then picks him up for the Shell Shock. Cena gets up...of course. There goes the "busted through the barricade" spot with both of the guys down. I'm sure they'll both get up too. Ryback picks up part of a barricade in the production area and hits Cena in the head with it. Cena will get up, don't worry kids. Cena puts Ryback on a table and climbs up into the audience to do a shitty elbow drop. Ryback will get up. Fire extinguisher spot on Ryback. As Michael Cole says, Cena is "trying to cool down the beast"...LMFAO. Retarded. He's doing tiny bursts as well. This is just dumb. Typical "hold it with my hand and hit you with my hand" spot twice. This is just ridiculous and I'm sure there are people backstage that think it's a classic. Ryback tackles Cena through the lighted curtain on the stage and they do the normal stupid sparks. Referee Charles Robinson panics and runs around while Dace's cable goes out. Thank you, Comcast. When the feed comes back, Cena is surrounded by the referees and the whole picture is pixelated. I have no idea what's going on. They have the audacity to say that this is worse than some of the things Mick Foley's been through...absolutely ridiculous.
WINNER: Draw. Stupid match and although the draw concept is ok, it was handled poorly. No wonder the crowd was booing.
Steel Cage Match: Triple H vs. Brock Lesnar
Triple H jumps the gun and attacks Brock Lesnar before he enters the cage. There's a storyline aspect that they're throwing out there that Lesnar tweaked his knee somehow despite being able to pick Triple H up and give him a running power slam. Lesnar hits an F5 but Triple H kicks out. The door is wide open but Lesnar isn't walking out. Instead, Paul Heyman closes the door after handing a chair to Lesnar. Triple H puts Lesnar in a Figure Four. "Break the freakin' hold! Have some compassion!" says Paul Heyman, aka The Man. Lesnar tries to climb the cage. Triple H hits his leg with the steel chair instead. HHH climbs up and pulls out a sledgehammer at the top of the cage that he supposedly hid beforehand...even though this is a no disqualification match and he could have just brought it in with him. Triple H puts Lesnar in the Sharpshooter and even though Brock looks like he's tapping, he apparently isn't, which is kind of ridiculous but a botch on Lesnar's behalf. Heyman gets into the cage and suffers a pedigree for his efforts. Lesnar goes to hit HHH with the sledgehammer but gets a pedigree of his own. Lesnar kicks out. Lesnar nails HHH with the sledgehammer. He follows it up with an F5 and gets the victory.
WINNER: Brock Lesnar via pinfall. About as good as I was expecting and that's because I didn't think this was going to be a super amazing classic hardcore match.
HIGH SPOTS
1. Jack Swagger twist
2. Fandango vs Jericho / US title match
3. Tag Team Championship
LOW BLOWS
1. Randy Orton vs Big Show
2. John Cena vs Ryback
3. Strap match
CRITIQUE RATING SCALE:1-COUNT KICK-OUT (bad)
Reasoning: A lot of people are going to think that this ppv was awesome because the Shield won their titles. I don't think that fact in itself was good enough to justify the rest of it. Many matches suffered from gimmicks that were boring. Some of the booking decisions were a bit ridiculous, like the WWE title match. I just wasn't impressed and most of this pay-per-view was spent being bored.
WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE PAY-PER-VIEW?
LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS BELOW!
WWE's Extreme Rules pay-per-view is when every match has a stipulation attached to it (unless they decide to cop out and not do it that year). Typically, it consists of rematches from WrestleMania, which can either be a good or bad thing. Here are my predictions for the 2013 WWE Extreme Rules PPV. Check back for Extreme Rules 2013 results and review coverage here.
WWE Championship [Last Man Standing Match]: John Cena (c) vs. Ryback
So we've got this guy Ryback that seems to be pretty popular. What should we do with him to capitalize on that? I know, make him lose every single important match from now on! Brilliant! Then we can have him turn heel on John Cena despite being the one that gets cheered more and feed him to Cena! That'll make people cheer for the "underdog that always wins". It's not like that's shoving our opinion down their throat like we've been doing for years now....ugh. A last man standing match between these two is going to end up with John Cena doing something "big" at the end or doing something to hinder Ryback's maneuverability like what he did to Batista with the duct tape. Either way, Ryback is going to continue his losing streak and look even worse all because they want to feed him to John Cena.
PREDICTION: John Cena SOMEHOW retains the championship! By gawd the tenacity of this man! OMGWTFBBQLOL.
World Heavyweight Championship #1 Contendership [I Quit Match]: Alberto Del Rio vs. Jack Swagger
With Dolph Ziggler out due to his concussion, there were a few options they could have done. On Smack Talk, we postulated that they might replace him in the ladder match with Big E Langston or that he could possibly just be cleared in time to wrestle. Now that they're going with this I Quit match to determine the #1 contender, I think that's actually the best possible way to go, even as far as a gimmick, considering the two finishing moves. Nice job, WWE! The match won't be as good as the ladder match would have been, but this is definitely making the best out of a bad situation and I applaud them on it.
PREDICTION: Alberto Del Rio wins.
Steel Cage Match: Triple H vs. Brock Lesnar
In what way could a standard steel cage match be formatted to feel like an upgrade from their match at WrestleMania? I can't think of why they'd be doing this as a blowoff - which is making me nervous that we're going to see a FOURTH match between these two. Hopefully they have a plan and it comes to fruition, but I'm concerned that it will just be ok at best.
PREDICTION: Brock Lesnar wins.
Strap Match: Sheamus vs. Mark Henry
Eh...I don't necessarily know why they're splitting these two and Orton/Big Show up instead of having some sort of Fatal Four-Way. It just seems like a waste of a spot on the card that other people could be filling. Still, this feud hasn't been atrocious and they've got the potential to have a decent match between these two. A strap match could be difficult but they have the chance to pull it off as well.
PREDICTION: Mark Henry wins.
Extreme Rules Match: Randy Orton vs. Big Show
Extreme Rules match? That's the name of the pay-per-view. Just say that it's a no-dq match already. That's my least favorite thing about this card and it annoys the HELL out of me. Why not give them something else, like a stretcher match or something? Or at the very least, call it what it is - exactly the same as a "Street Fight" or a "No Holds Barred" match or anything else. Blech.
PREDICTION: Randy Orton wins.
United States Championship: Kofi Kingston (c) vs. Dean Ambrose
Sorry Kofi, it looks like you're a transitional champion again. Dean Ambrose is going to walk away with the title here. There goes my idea that they'd feud Swagger with Kofi over the title, haha.
PREDICTION: Dean Ambrose wins the United States Championship.
Chris Jericho vs. Fandango
Chris Jericho could use the win here if he's going to stay on the roster, but if he isn't, they should give it to Fandango.
PREDICTION: Fandango wins.
YouTube Pre-Show: The Miz vs. Cody Rhodes
What is this match? Huh? Why? I don't know why this exists. Maybe it'll be good. The likelihood of it meaning a damn thing is slim to none, though. It won't be the most watched pre-show, either.
PREDICTION: The Miz wins.
Tornado Tag Team Championship: The Shield vs. Kane and Daniel Bryan [Team Hell No] (c)
It's about time the Shield wins these titles instead of just wrestling 3-on-3 matches that mean nothing. I would expect Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns to come out on top of this match with the titles, without a doubt. I also expect this to be a pretty decent match considering the stipulation.
PREDICTION: The Shield wins the tag titles.
PREDICTED MATCHES
I doubt that any more matches will be added to the card, but if any of them are, it will only be...
Divas Championship: AJ Lee vs. Kaitlyn
AJ should win the title. Kaitlyn is one of the worst women's champions they've had.
PREDICTION: AJ wins.
Unfortunately, it doesn't appear at the time that Wade Barrett's Intercontinental Championship will be defended. Poor guy can't catch a break, can he?
THIS PAGE IS EDITED FREQUENTLY WITH NEW SPOILERS AND PREDICTIONS
CHECK BACK FOR UPDATES | SAY YOUR PREDICTIONS IN THE COMMENTS!
WWE Payback is a new pay-per-view for 2013 that probably will never come back again in the future, but who cares, right? We aren't sure if there will be any gimmicks attached to it, although I highly doubt that there will be. If any gimmick does end up being associated with the pay-per-view, I would assume it wouldn't be an event-wide concept like TLC or Money in the Bank, but rather just a few stipulation matches if that. Here are my predictions for the 2013 WWE Payback PPV. Check back for Payback 2013 results and review coverage here.
WWE Championship [Ambulance Match]: John Cena (c) vs. Ryback
Since this was a draw, the only logical thing for them to do is to have a rematch. The idea of an ambulance match makes sense but I highly doubt it will result in a good outcome. I've had my reservations about this feud from the very beginning and they've done nothing but convince me that I was right from day one, so I have no ability to believe that this will be different.
PREDICTION: John Cena overcomes the odds and retains (and everyone sees it coming).
PREDICTED MATCHES
Seeing as how the card isn't finalized yet, let's take a look at some of the potential matches that seem as though WWE will be adding...
Tag Team Championship: The Shield (c) vs. Team Hell No
It makes sense to have a rematch here. Personally, what I'd like to see instead, would be a match where the three members of the Shield face off against Team Hell No along with Kofi Kingston and all of the titles are on the line.
PREDICTION: The Shield wins.
United States Championship: Dean Ambrose (c) vs. Kofi Kingston
See above.
PREDICTION: Dean Ambrose wins.
World Heavyweight Championship: Dolph Ziggler (c) vs. Alberto Del Rio (vs. Jack Swagger?)
Considering the way that the #1 contendership match ended, I wouldn't be surprised if this match ended up being a triple threat and possibly the ladder match that we were supposed to get at Extreme Rules. Either way, it will definitely involve Ziggler and Del Rio even if it doesn't have Swagger in it.
PREDICTION: Dolph Ziggler wins.
I'll update this with some more potential things we'll see on the card as time goes on.
THIS PAGE IS EDITED FREQUENTLY WITH NEW SPOILERS AND PREDICTIONS
CHECK BACK FOR UPDATES | SAY YOUR PREDICTIONS IN THE COMMENTS!
Watch WWE Payback 2013 ppv live online coverage of results and review here. Who will win? When the time comes, check out the live coverage of the 2013 Payback pay-per-view with results and review here. You can check out my predictions here with the spoilers of all these matches and more.
KEEP REFRESHING FOR UPDATES
LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS BELOW!
Welcome to the first installment of HEEL OR FACE, a specialty segment wherein we break down a particular wrestler and discuss their strengths and weaknesses on the Good vs Evil scale. There are three questions that are brought up in this: 1) are they better as a heel or a face, 2) should they turn from what they currently are, and 3) how would you turn them?
The first entry in this series is going to focus on someone who is in the midst of WWE trying to swing them one way in particular...
ALBERTO DEL RIO
A) BETTER AS A HEEL OR A FACE
I understand why WWE wants Alberto Del Rio to be a babyface to appeal to the Hispanic market, but I personally think he's much better as a heel. The biggest reason why people can even cheer for him right now is due to Ricardo Rodriguez, not Del Rio himself. He gets a pop and he gets cheered, especially in comparison to someone like Jack Swagger during this storyline, but once that is over with, he's going to struggle. This is because he doesn't have a built in "good guy charisma" to work with. He isn't really funny, he isn't really honorable, he isn't an underdog with a lot of heart and spirit, etc. All of this works against him as a babyface. He was more over as a heel (even though it got boring after a while) because it was a more natural fit for him. Despite whatever the man himself is as a person backstage, when he comes out to entertain, he gives off a vibe of being a bit of an asshole and it fits a heel persona much better in my opinion.
B) SHOULD HE TURN HEEL
Not right now. If they want to invest in him as a marketing tool, they need to give it more time. He can't be that type of an asset to WWE if he's a heel, so they should at least keep it going for a few more months to give it a chance. I've been wrong before and there's a possibility that he could just be working out the kinks and soon enough, crack the code and become a much better babyface. Right now, there's no purpose for him to turn heel as they're not in need of another main event heel, nor is Alberto in need of a fresh gimmick change.
C) HOW WOULD I TURN HIM
If for some reason he were to turn heel down the line, the proper way to do it in my mind is to have him abandon Ricardo Rodriguez. He's the lynch pin to being cheered and the sympathetic sacrificial lamb that Del Rio can take his frustrations out on. What would the storyline reasoning be for why he would do this? I'm not quite sure what I would go with, but one possible explanation would be that he thought Ricardo was a leech who was doing nothing but siphoning off his money and fame. Nobody hitches their wagon to Alberto Del Rio and gets a free ride.
DO YOU THINK ALBERTO DEL RIO IS BETTER AS A BABYFACE OR A HEEL? LEAVE US A COMMENT BELOW!
What's been going on this week in the world of professional wrestling? It's time to break it down in the latest edition of SMACK TALK, my wrestling podcast and the quick notes below. Make sure to subscribe, comment on the videos and this post, and let us know your thoughts.
John Cena supposedly injured his Achilles tendon in some fashion, but the severity of it hasn't fully been disclosed. Some sources say it could be a work, others say it is real and it could range from being something that he can work through or something that could cause him to vacate the WWE Championship. Hm....
Paul Bearer could very well likely be a posthumous induction into the WWE Hall of Fame next year with the Undertaker doing the honors of inducting him.
WWE wants to do a Raw pre-show on Yahoo. Tell me how this is going to be a good idea instead of a waste of time that nobody watches, please, I beg you.
What's been going on this week in the world of professional wrestling? It's time to break it down in the latest edition of SMACK TALK, my wrestling podcast and the quick notes below. Make sure to subscribe, comment on the videos and this post, and let us know your thoughts.
Rosa Mendes was sent home from the WWE tour because of being drunk off her ass. Why has she remained employed if they never use her for anything and she has a recurring issue with this? It seems like they go out of their way to keep her but they're so quick to get rid of other people for much lesser things in much less frequent quantities.
WWE is going to have a new show on the E! Network called "Total Divas" which assuredly will suck as it follows the lives of the women's roster in WWE.
WrestleMania XXIX apparently earned $72 million, breaking records in comparison to last year. I'd like to see some of that money...
Welcome to the first installment of BELT OR BURY, a specialty segment wherein you must choose between two different options for a particular wrestler in question: a) should they be given a push to a higher spot on the card and possibly a championship or b) should this wrestler become a jobber or possibly even get released?
When picking between the "push or pink slip" type options, keep in mind everything from the wrestler's past as well as their potential future. Is this someone that has nothing to offer the world of wrestling and should step out of the limelight or are they being underutilized and should be rewarded for their efforts?
Seeing as how there's been a discussion going on in the chat room on this website, why not keep the discussion going and have our first entry be...
CODY RHODES
HISTORY: As of this article, Cody Rhodes has been on the main roster since 2007 where he was rather quickly given a tag team championship reign with Hardcore Holly. He moved on to turn heel and join up with the Legacy faction where he twice more won the tag team championship alongside Ted DiBiase. Cody has been a heel ever since, changing his gimmick a few times in the process to include the "Dashing" persona and the subsequent face mask. There was a forgettable tag team championship reign that he had with Drew McIntyre before he won the Intercontinental Championship. Many consider this title reign to be one of the best Intercontinental title runs in recent times. After dropping it to Big Show in his third midcard match at WrestleMania (his first being with Legacy and his second being against Rey Mysterio), he's since floundered around. Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow formed "Team Rhodes Scholars" but have been unable to obtain the tag team championship. Instead, Cody was only able to grow a mustache and have his match cut from WrestleMania.
CURRENT STATUS: At the moment, Cody Rhodes isn't looking very good. As mentioned above, they cut his WrestleMania match which was a time-filler to begin with rather than being given some focus like previous years. Usually, Cody performs on Raw and Smackdown in tag team matches but even in the singles matches, he rarely wins them and they almost never are worth anything when he does. They've pushed him to the backburner and there doesn't seem to be any reports indicating that this is because of a suspension, injury, or any kind of action-based punishment.
PROPOSAL: I've been saying for quite a while that what Cody Rhodes needs is a face turn. He's quite good at reinventing his character and I think he needs something fresh. Along with the fresh face turn means a renewed push, naturally, as no face/heel turn will be successful without being given some wins and some screen time - just ask the Miz. Some may want Cody and Sandow to win the tag titles, but I disagree. Instead, I would like to see Cody Rhodes feud with Damien Sandow to elevate both of them back into proper midcard status. Cody can then move on to feud with Wade Barrett, taking the Intercontinental Championship back. In the mean time, the issue of the Money in the Bank comes up. This time last year, I thought that by this year's Money in the Bank, Cody Rhodes would have been a shoe-in, but due to the lack of a push he's had over the past few months, I no longer think that's the case. We can save those two briefcases for Wade Barrett (having dropped the Intercontinental title in order to carry this instead) and perhaps Kofi Kingston...unless WWE would be willing to put a lot of eggs in Cody's basket by having him hold BOTH the Intercontinental Championship and the Money in the Bank briefcase. I'd actually like to see that happen, where he could be pulled in multiple directions and essentially excuse his lack of cashing in opportunistically because he's too focused on retaining his Intercontinental Championship as well - which he would naturally eventually drop before cashing in the briefcase.
BELT OR BURY = BELT. In no way, shape or form do I think Cody Rhodes is eligible for a "Bury". He's far too talented even at a young age to be ignored. He has more than enough time to convince the powers-that-be to give him the championships that he deserves and I think a face turn will be what propels him back into the upper midcard scene. It may not be time for him to win the WWE Championship or World Heavyweight Championship, but he should at least be given the United States or Intercontinental as well as another chance to prove himself as one of their most overlooked assets.
WHAT WOULD YOU DO WITH CODY RHODES? LEAVE US A COMMENT BELOW!
What's been going on this week in the world of professional wrestling? It's time to break it down in the latest edition of SMACK TALK, my wrestling podcast and the quick notes below. Make sure to subscribe, comment on the videos and this post, and let us know your thoughts.
As I mentioned in this episode, my father Vince Mango passed away on Thursday 4-18 several hours before recording the show. He was always into sports but I wasn't, and wrestling was something that we bonded over and shared in common. As a kid, he was the person who would take me to wrestling events and he was always the person that I would watch Monday Night Raw with. He knew I was going to WrestleMania and I wasn't able to tell him how much fun it was because of how sedated he was right afterward. He always thought it was cool that I was doing this website and the show and he was proud of me. The website and show are going to suffer for a while as I will be spending less time focusing on them and more time grieving and fixing the problems that my family now has to get over. I don't know how long this will take or what will happen in the mean time, but I ask you guys to be patient with me and understand (and I'm sure you will). Losing my dad means I've just lost a huge amount of my life in more ways than I can imagine in so many aspects of my life, including how lonely it's going to be to watch WWE from now on. I could really use you guys to be there for me right now, and for those that have been there in the past and will be there for me now, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. My father's favorite wrestler was always the Undertaker and every time his entrance was on TV he would always say it was just so awesome and I agree and I wish I could have told him how cool it was to witness that in person and hear how excited he would have been, but if there's a heaven out there and he was able to hear me, I'm sure he's smiling right now.
What's been going on this week in the world of professional wrestling? It's time to break it down in the latest edition of SMACK TALK, my wrestling podcast and the quick notes below. Make sure to subscribe, comment on the videos and this post, and let us know your thoughts.
Thank you again to John Bruce for the donation! I've said it before and I'll say it again, you guys are awesome.
How crazy was the crowd at Raw this week? Between the Fandango singing, the chants for people like Randy Savage and Mike Chioda or the chants for cotton candy and "we are awesome"...just awesome.
Speaking of which, Fandango's theme ChaChaLaLa is flying up the iTunes charts because of that.
What's been going on this week in the world of professional wrestling? It's time to break it down in the latest edition of SMACK TALK, my wrestling podcast and the quick notes below. Make sure to subscribe, comment on the videos and this post, and let us know your thoughts.
The Smark Out Moment YouTube channel is now officially a YouTube Full Screen Network Partner! Thank you to everyone who helped me get to this point. Big things are coming to Smark Out Moment and the Smack Talk show...
Martha Hart has settled the lawsuit over her late husband Owen Hart, meaning we can finally see Owen Hart inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame!!!
Mick Foley has reassured us that his WWE Hall of Fame speech will indeed be broadcast on television after rumors that it was bumped in favor of Donald Trump.
Watch WWE WrestleMania XXIX ppv live online coverage of results and review here. Want to know who won at WrestleMania 29? The Rock vs John Cena, CM Punk vs Undertaker, Alberto Del Rio vs Jack Swagger, Brock Lesnar vs HHH, Team Hell No vs Dolph Ziggler & Big E Langston, Ryback vs Mark Henry, The Shield vs Sheamus, Randy Orton, & Big Show, Fandango vs Chris Jericho. When the time comes, check out the live coverage of the 2013 WrestleMania XXIX pay-per-view with results and review here. You can check out my predictions here with the spoilers of all these matches and more.
NOTE: I was unable to update this during the pay-per-view as I was actually attending WrestleMania. Therefore, the following review will consist of what happened during it and what my perspective was while being in the live audience. There's no move-by-move, but hopefully you'll enjoy the review.
WRESTLEMANIA AXXESS (Sunday 8 a.m. Session)
As my girlfriend Ashley and I first got into the Izod Center, I was surprised at the amount of people. It honestly wasn't as many as I was expecting (especially after looking at the line to get in, which we completely bypassed because we had to go buy tickets at another location away from it and that allowed us to get right in afterward). We went by Daniel Bryan's and DDP's sections as they looked packed and decided instead to get a picture with Fandango, who was in a good mood and seemed to be enjoying himself.
Next up was Ted DiBiase Sr, who was equally jovial. A fan ahead of me had the good sense to take a picture of himself holding up $1 bills which Ted laughed at. I gave him my business card (as I planned on marketing Smark Out Moment as much as possible during this trip) and he was receptive. Nice guy.
After that was Howard Finkel who was extremely nice as well, saying it was way too early for anyone to try to Out Think the Fink. He'll be checking with WWE about a possible interview in the future. Really nice guy as well.
We circled around a bit trying to figure out who had a short enough line that we could do something with. I actually ignored a lot of the photo shoots because I figured they wouldn't take my card instead of the signings. Since everyone was pretty packed, I took the opportunity to photograph some of the things inside the arena for you guys to check out.
Jack Swagger and Zeb Colter had what looked like a short line but eventually packed up. It took absolutely forever since there were a lot of problems with the staff not paying attention and bringing the wrong lines up and such. Their ineptitude resulted in Swagger and Colter leaving before I could get their signings. Swagger looked either annoyed or tired (or both) but Colter was in good spirits.
While we were waiting, we were sitting in the arena itself checking out some of the things they had going on with the ground level. A few matches took place including Sasha Banks vs Audrey Marie, Alex Riley beating Mason Ryan (the crowd popped for Riley and seemed confused that Ryan was still in the company). Michael McGillicutty faced JTG and got a good response when he yelled out "I'm bigger than Corporate". They had a trivia section going on with some of the fans in the crowd. A lot of people were busy doing this Fruity Pebbles ball-pit ring that you could jump into.
They switched out for Brodus Clay, who was a delight. He seems like a really down to Earth, nice, chilled out guy. His response to the business card: "Cool, I'd definitely be down, I love to talk wrestling."
Rikishi was a different story. He didn't seem to be thrilled. Can't win them all.
Damien Sandow was a highlight for sure. He was in character the whole time (down to using a quill pen of some sort and explaining the details behind what it was to the video cameras) but you could tell that he was having fun personally as well. People ate it up when he yelled "silence" naturally. Sandow is another example of someone who was receptive to the business card.
One of the reasons I keep bringing up the reactions to the business cards is because it showcases an aspect of their personality that most fans probably will never get a chance to see. They're always signing autographs for fans and dealing with the ones that want pictures and such, but being propositioned out of the blue with a business opportunity is a different animal. Their positive reactions and total professionalism are things that you guys should keep in mind. They could have easily told me to fuck off or get mad that I was giving them a business card at Axxess, but they didn't.
The positives of Axxess are that you get the opportunity to relax (not as much in my case with business on my mind lol) and meet these guys that we are all fans of, one way or another. The negatives are that you can't possibly do what you want to do with that time limit because of the lines. I tried to maximize my time usage and I still missed out on R-Truth, Cody Rhodes, Kaitlyn, Rosa/Epico/Primo, Wade Barrett, Sika, Daniel Bryan, DDP, X-Pac, the Funkadactyls, Zack Ryder, Sheamus, whomever was in the VIP section, and the little side things to check out. If you get a chance to go and you're a huge wrestling fan, you should check it out, especially if you can go multiple days and really sink your teeth into it.
WRESTLEMANIA EVENT
Let's get into some WrestleMania itself!
Before the Show
While waiting for the doors to open at MetLife Stadium, we tailgated in the parking lot with one of my Smack Talk regulars Mike Paden, so that was a big plus finally meeting up (and getting something to eat, cause at this point I was starving). I tried my best to film some interviews with people out in the parking lot and in line. Lots of great fans out there that were really fun to talk to.
After we sat down, there was essentially nothing happening for a long time. In fact, the 60 minute countdown of the pre-show was pointless. I don't know how it came off on the pay-per-view, but it really felt like they cut stuff from the show because they ran short on time. Why they didn't just use that 45 minute or so during the preshow when nothing happened...I don't know.
Intercontinental Championship: Wade Barrett vs. The Miz
This was a good match, though it was too short. Right when people were getting into it is when it seemed to end. Lots of pro-Barrett people out there. I was rooting for both.
WINNER (and new Intercontinental Champion): The Miz via submission.
No America the Beautiful. No opening pyro. Everyone was disappointed with that.
The Shield vs. Sheamus, Randy Orton, and Big Show
Crowd was very pro-Shield from what I could hear around me. This was a good match that people were pumped up for as it started the show. The biggest pop had to be when Orton tagged himself in as everyone was expecting something big to happen after that. Lots of confusion when Orton got pinned as everyone thought he had hit the RKO and the spear from Roman Reigns wasn't particularly visible from my area.
WINNERS: The Shield via pinfall.
After the match, Big Show knocks out Sheamus and Randy Orton.
Mark Henry vs. Ryback
This was entertaining but needed more energy. Everyone was waiting for the Shell Shock and when he picked Henry up, people got pumped. It would have meant a lot more if it were later on in the card and it would have actually been successful during the match.
WINNER: Mark Henry via pinfall.
After the match, Ryback picks Mark Henry up and gives him the Shell Shock. Consensus from the crowd was "oh, ok, why didn't they just do that in the match?"
Tag Team Championship: Team Hell No (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler and Big E Langston
This match picked up the pace and boosted the crowd up. Ziggler and Daniel Bryan were the focal points (as expected). Not many people seemed to be impressed with Big E Langston. Despite Ziggler being perhaps the most over person in the group, people were happy when they lost because they felt that that would help their chances of seeing a cash-in attempt.
WINNERS: Team Hell No via pinfall.
Fandango vs. Chris Jericho
Fandango is so much more over with the crowd that you would have assumed a few months ago. This was one of the most entertaining matches of the night. Both Jericho and Fandango were getting pops from pretty much everyone (rather than a split or something). If I had to give the edge out to anyone, I'd give it to Fandango. Lots of people were excited to see him and wanted him to win so it should be no surprise that when he did win, it was met with a lot of applause. Good match that I was thankful wasn't the squash that I had assumed WWE would do.
WINNER: Fandango via pinfall.
Diddy Musical Performance
I might not have been a fan of it, especially since we didn't get the Tons of Funk match, but I'll admit that it wasn't as bad as I expected it to be. They kept it short, which is good. Still...I could have done without it considering the time constraints.
World Heavyweight Championship: Alberto Del Rio (c) vs. Jack Swagger
They cut Swagger's entrance. What was the point of driving that...whatever it was...if they weren't going to show it? Everyone in the crowd was confused because they were driving down to the ring and a video package was playing instead. We thought Swagger jumped the gun. Zeb Colter's promo got a good reaction but without a doubt the most over person in this quartet was Ricardo Rodriguez. Yours truly had a lot of fun doing the "Albertooooooooooo" with the rest of the crowd. This was a decent match overall. I didn't expect a Dolph Ziggler cash in but a lot of others were so they were disappointed when the lights went out and it didn't happen.
WINNER: Alberto Del Rio via submission.
Undertaker vs. CM Punk
Once they started setting up for Living Color, everyone was getting antsy. By the way...Undertaker's entrance? FUCKING AWESOME. The crowd was split with CM Punk getting a TON of cheers. In fact, the typical "boo/yeah" section was a mix for both and just sounded like a "buagugh!!" Awesome match and definitely the match of the night.
WINNER: The Undertaker via pinfall.
No Holds Barred: Triple H vs. Brock Lesnar
I wasn't the only one that felt as though this was a downgrade. Was it atrocious? No. But the energy dropped down considerably and the people around me chanted "boring". Big pop for HBK, big pop for Lesnar, no real pop for Triple H from the people around me. Everyone wanted to see Triple H lose. "Break his fucking arm again!" was a chant I heard a lot. The botched Pedigree was met with a lot of pessimism as well. They could have done a much better job.
WINNER: Triple H via pinfall.
They brought out the Hall of Fame class. Everyone was cheered except Donald Trump who was met with a chorus of boos.
WWE Championship: The Rock (c) vs. John Cena
Save for the woman next to me and a kid a few rows away, everyone was anti-Cena. The match was ok, not amazing but not awful by any means. It certainly isn't memorable in my mind despite being there. The post celebration with Cena giving Rock the salute? MASSIVE boos. That left a sour taste in a lot of mouths because of how cheesy it was. Everyone was already disappointed that John Cena won the title but that was the cherry on top.
WINNER (and new WWE Champion): John Cena via pinfall.
HIGH SPOTS
1. Undertaker vs. CM Punk
2. The spectacle of it all
3. Fandango vs. Chris Jericho
LOW BLOWS
1. No Tons of Funk match
2. No opening pyro; time constraints created problems
3. Ryback's Shell Shock being booked in an underwhelming way (not his fault)
CRITIQUE RATING SCALE:3-COUNT PINFALL (Good)
Reasoning: WrestleMania is a bit of an odd situation to me. I really enjoyed the show a lot and I had a TON of fun. However, I know that the majority of that reasoning was because I was there live. I'm positive that if I were to be watching this at home, I would have considered it a big disappointment of a pay-per-view. Would I go again? ABSOLUTELY. I highly recommend going to any WrestleMania that you guys can go to in the future. Would I want to spend this amount of money and watch this same card again? Absolutely not. All in all, my WrestleMania experience was fantastic.
WHAT DID YOU THINK OF WRESTLEMANIA XXIX? LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS BELOW!
