The Royal Rumble is upon us and it’s a great time of year to be a wrestling fan. As soon as the Rumble is over, the push to Wrestlemania begins. This year WWE decided to make it a 40-man Rumble. Seems like too many wrestlers. But hey, anything that gets Zack Ryder on the big stage is ok with me. Seriously, I hope it doesn’t turn into a big, giant mess. Hopefully it just means that guys like JTG, Primo, Santino Marella, Yoshi Tatsu and Chris Masters get eliminated quickly.
WWE has already announced 34 competitors so there will be six surprise entries in this year’s Rumble. Who could fill those six spots? The surprises usually make for an interesting wait in-between wrestlers. Remember 2008 when John Cena was the surprise entrant at #30? He went on to win but the fact that he showed up was huge. I don’t think anyone expected him to be back from his neck surgery so soon. I was watching the Royal Rumble at a bar near Chicago that year and the place went nuts when his music hit. I think we’re in for a few surprises this year. A couple have already been spoiled but it should still be interesting.
Here are the 34 wrestlers already confirmed for the Royal Rumble:
Alberto Del Rio, Big Show, Chris Masters, CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, Darren Young, David Hart Smith, David Otunga, Drew McIntyre, Ezekial Jackson, Heath Slater, Husky Harris, Jack Swagger, John Cena, John Morrison, JTG, Justin Gabriel, Kane, Kofi Kingston, Mark Henry, Mason Ryan, Michael McGillicutty, Primo, R-Truth, Rey Mysterio, Santino Marella, Sheamus, Ted DiBiase, Vladimir Kozlov, Wade Barrett, William Regal, Yoshi Tatsu, Zack Ryder
Is he back?
The wrestling dirt sheets are reporting that Kevin Nash and Booker T will be two of the surprise entrants. I don’t know what kind of reaction Booker T will get but the place should erupt when/if Nash comes out. That leaves four more spots to be filled. HHH should be healthy enough to come back so he should be another surprise entrant. There’s no reason not to bring him back now. Wrestlemania is around the corner and he needs to build an angle to get him there. I just hope he doesn’t win. WWE needs something fresh this year and if Cena or HHH win, it will seem like the same ol’ same ol’. Last year Beth Phoenix became the second woman to enter the Rumble so why not Awesome Kong this year? She’s in the company and they’re waiting for the right moment to debut her and seems like as good a time as any.
Some other names to fill the remaining spots are Christian, Evan Bourne, Jerry Lawler, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Cody Rhodes. Christian, Bourne and Rhodes would be nice but the other two, not so much. We don’t need to see any token “Legends” in the Rumble. The Undertaker is another name, a huge name, being thrown around. That would be big but does he really need a Wrestlemania push? He’ll be at Mania no matter what so winning the Royal Rumble is not a huge deal for him. He doesn’t need the rub.
Join a real company
An interesting angle I was thinking of was having Sting come out at #30. Sting has never been with WWE or WWF so this would be a big deal. This could lead to his induction into the Hall of Fame and possibly an angle with The Undertaker. Sting is 51 years old and he doesn’t have much time left in the ring. He’s hardly ever in TNA for an extended period of time so why not move to the E and finish his career there? The Hall of Fame should be the pinnacle for anyone in the business. I don’t know if Sting cares about that but it would be a good end of a career. Does he really want his last memories of a wrestler be in TNA?
The Mexican JBL
So who’s gonna win the whole thing? As long as it’s not HHH and John Cena, anyone else is fine with me. It’s not that I am a Cena or HHH hater, it’s just that we’ve seen that before. Personally, I wouldn’t mind Alberto Del Rio winning the Rumble. He may be too new to do it but he’s such a great heel and if he doesn’t win it this year, he should win it very soon. The guy is gonna be a star. John Morrison, CM Punk, Sheamus and Wade Barrett would also be good choices.
Speaking of CM Punk and Wade Barrett, maybe the Royal Rumble will come down to Nexus vs The Corre (Nexus II). The final participants could be a combination of CM Punk’s Nexus (Punk, Otunga, Harris, McGillicutty, Ryan) and Wade Barrett’s Corre (Barrett, Gabriel, Slater, Jackson). This could be a preview to an eventual Nexus v Nexus showdown at Wrestlemania. What also could take place is that Michael Tarver and Skip Sheffield could reappear at the Rumble and each could be one of the unannounced entrants. There, Tarver and Sheffield could choose sides and rejoin Nexus or join The Corre.
He really is awesome
There are other matches on the Royal Rumble card. Natalya will be facing Lay-Cool in a two-on-one handicap match for the Diva’s Title that nobody will really care about. Natalya should retain and hopefully we start to see some dissension in Lay-Cool so they can finally break up this annoying team. Edge will take on Dolph Ziggler for the World Heavyweight Title. This should be a decent match and Vickie Guerrero will generate a ton of heat. Ziggler is enjoyable to watch but now is not his time to win the title. Randy Orton will take on The Miz for the WWE Title. No way The Miz loses this match. He’s too good of a heel champion to end his reign now. There’s also no way Randy Orton loses clean in this match either. Alex Riley will somehow take some punishment so Miz can get the win. Look for Riley to eat an RKO from Orton but also for Riley to interfere in order for The Miz to get the win.
Except for the Divas match, the card looks pretty good.
A month ago I told you how the Chicago White Sox would win the AL Central. I also to you not to get too happy or too bummed out with what happens in April because the baseball season is long. Forget both those things.
The Chicago White Sox are terrible! They are last in hitting in all of baseball. The White Sox are batting .223 as a team. That’s 30th out of 30 teams. Embarrassing! The next best (worst) team, the Toronto Blue Jays, are batting ten points higher than the White Sox. How can this team be hitting so poorly? Check out these pathetic averages:
J. Pierre .204
G. Beckham .207
C. Quentin .173
AJ. Pierzynski .208
A. Ramirez .229
That’s terrible! Only Rios (.299), Konerko (.286) and Andruw Jones (.288) are the only Sox flirting with .300. (We) The White Sox had the same problem last year and I think the year before that. Who’s responsible?
Maybe Beckham isn't ready quite yet
Greg Walker is in his sixth season as the White Sox hitting coach and it seems his job has been in question ever since Chicago won the World Series. Ozzie doesn’t always seem to have his back but Walker has always been able to keep his job. Is it finally time? How much influence does the hitting coach have anyway? How do players who could hit last year suddenly forget how to hit?
Sox pitching isn’t doing much better. They’re 25th in ERA at 4.91 and their relievers have blown four out of nine save opportunities. John Danks is the only pitcher proving his worth. He’s 3-0 with a 1.85 ERA. Bobby Jenks, as bad as the bullpen is, hasn’t blown a save but does have a 4.50 ERA even though he hasn’t given up a home run in ten games. Now check out these terrible ERA’s:
M. Buehrle 5.30
J. Peavy 6.31
G. Floyd 6.49
F. Garcia 5.87
Disgraceful!!! Jake Peavy is missing something. He’s been throwing way too many pitches. In his first five starts he threw 534 pitches in 28.2 innings. He’s only reached the seventh inning once in those starts.
John Danks - your new White Sox ace
The pitching will come around but I wonder if the hitting will? There are too many big names not producing. Who’s responsible? What needs to change?
Is it time for Ozzie Guillen to go? I love Ozzie. He’s good for the game because he’s real and doesn’t pull any punches. But, has his act gotten old on this team? Are his rants and tantrums having the same effect on the players? I say fire Ozzie ONLY IF someone good is available. Getting a retread to take over this team would be a step back for a team who should be contending for the division. The only person I’d fire Guillen for is Bobby Valentine. He would/could light a fire and would be a huge fan favorite but would he come? It seems he only wants the Mets job and is willing to wait around for it to become available.
I still hate Jay Mariotti
Bobby, this job would be great for you and you’d own this town if you could turn this team around. Think about it. White Sox fans can bring it game in and game out, if they’re winning, and you’d love the atmosphere and passion.
My favorite Bobby Valentine moment
Can you imagine Bobby Valentine and Lou Pinella in the same town? Awesome!
Whatever happens, Detroit and Minnesota are tearing up the league right now and the White Sox can’t afford to lose any more ground in the standings (6 games back). C’mon Sox, you’re killing me!! Clippers – suck, Browns – suck, Irish – suck, White Sox – suck. God, I hate sports!!!
I have been on the side of Tiger Woods through his whole ordeal. Not the, “hooking up with pornstars” part, but the, “he doesn’t owe anyone anything” part. Now, I’m starting to get sick of his act and he’s only been back for one tournament.
WTF was that Nike commercial supposed to sell other than Tiger Woods? It really turned me off and I’m not the only one. I would have been better off if I didn’t know anything that happened with him personally. Either tell us nothing or tell us everything. You can’t tell us nothing and then air a commercial where I’m supposed to feel sorry for you because your deceased father is questioning your behavior. Woe is Tiger. My ass!
Jim Nantz spoke out against Tiger’s behavior at The Masters and I’m gonna have to agree with him. Damn you Jim Nantz! Not only are you the undisputed voice of any sport but you also know what most of us are thinking. Thank God we have Jim Nantz to say the things we can’t. I don’t care if golfers swear at a tournament but Tiger told us he was going to change and he didn’t. If it’s this hard to control his emotions on the course, how are we supposed to believe that he’s a changed man off it? Why do I care if he’s a changed man? Because he held that staged press conference and told us that he was going to change and I believed him.
Nantz could read the phone book and I'd listen
Don’t get me wrong, this elevation of Phil Mickelson as a wholesome family man bit isn’t my cup of tea either. Phil Mickelson has always been that way so why choose to spotlight him now? It’s because we as a society like to build people up only to knock them down. Tiger could do no wrong before and now that he’s down and out, comparing him to Mickelson outside of golf makes his fall even greater.
He's always been wholesome
Tiger finished fourth at The Masters but it’s like he was miles away from Lefty. I just wonder how the coverage would have changed if Tiger had won The Masters? I think the media and the coverage would have quickly turned to,” The Redemption of Tiger”, and all his antics on the course would have been overlooked. Mickelson would have been the guy who lost to Tiger, again and we wouldn’t have cared about his family’s fight with cancer. Just as Tiger can’t have it both ways, neither can the broadcasters and press. Pick a side. Tiger is a scumbag or Tiger deserves forgiveness. Don’t wait to see how the tournaments play out to make up your mind.
Like The Godfather used to say, "Pimpin' ain't easy."
Tiger, either change your ways or don’t. I don’t care either way but don’t try to portray yourself as the tragic hero who fell from grace. If you want to ride the hoe train then do it. If you want to change and be the Tiger we thought you were then do that. I personally would feel better if he just admitted everything and was this edgy, Tiger that golf hated but the casual golf fans liked. Like John Daly, except a million times better.
Tiger, like this guy, only better, and without those silly pants
No one has posted since The Collins Effect. So I wanted to throw something up there that was fresh for any of our followers. Recently the circulation of Ghetto work out videos have been making there way around the DMZ teachers. At first I thought these were going to be mock work out videos until I saw these CRAZY works on top of Bus stations, cross walk signs, playgrounds, park pavilions, and trash cans.
All the participants appear to be on HGH or some other form of The Clear. They are crazy swoll. Just noticing but you haven’t seen any white guys caught doing the Ghetto workout, but I have concluded that John Cena must have had an official “24 ghetto pass “. John has jorts, no shorts, quarterback wrist bands (substitute for gloves), as for shoes? ask The Mark.
John loves Jorts
Ghetto Workout even has a celebrity representative (Cause people under WWE contracts do not count as celebrities)….
Who can forget the Driveway workout/interview
Terrell practiced the principals of the 24 hr Ghetto Workout by doing sit-ups during his interview in a driveway. Way to rep’ it TO!
This Sunday is Wrestlemania XXVI and I know The Blasian and The Bearded One don’t give a crap but there are a ton of you out there who do. Yes, I’m a huge wrestling mark and this is my Super Bowl. I watch RAW, NXT, SmackDown and I scour the websites for wrestling news every day. I also contribute to The Don Tony and Kevin Castle Show. The Blasian and The Bearded One are laughing right now but they can suck it.
There are nine matches announced and I like them all. The Hart v McMahon match might be the weakest on paper but I think outside interference will make it a better match. Top to bottom, all the matches look like they could tear down the house. Thankfully, there isn’t a diva match on the card to bring this Wrestlemania down.
The matches:
Undertaker v Shawn Michaels – This is a rematch of last year’s epic showdown. It will be a career vs streak match. There is no way Undertaker loses this match and there is no way Michaels retires. So how do they make this work? Officially, Undertaker pins HBK but it won’t be clean. There has to be someone who affects the outcome. The top candidates are Bret Hart, Vince McMahon and HHH.
Bret Hart could get revenge for the Montreal Screwjob by costing Michaels the match and his career. They reconciled on TV on January 4th, or so it seemed, but that may have been a way for Hart to lull HBK into a false sense of security. Does Bret Hart really want to go out like that? While this is interesting, it’s unlikely that Bret would want to be known as the person who ended Michaels’ career. Maybe The Hart Dynasty could do the job for him?
Vince McMahon could punish HBK for getting involved in his business. HHH told him to stay out of the Bret-Vince thing because Michaels has already been punished before for sticking his nose in the Chairman’s business. Vince loves being the bad guy so it wouldn’t be hard for him to get involved in this.
The only problem with Bret Hart or Vince McMahon getting involved in this match is that they will have already fought earlier in the card. The HBK – Taker match should close the show.
HHH is my likely candidate to get involved and cost Michaels his career. There has been dissention in the DX ranks for a few months and maybe HHH has had enough of Michaels only thinking about himself. Plus, HHH needs a change and heel turn might do him good.
Whoever gets involved, The Undertaker will be 18-0 after Mania and HBK will be retired, for now. If Vince or HHH gets involved then look for Michaels to be away for about six months and then come back to get his revenge, and then retire for good.
WWE Champ Batista v John Cena – The build-up to this match has been tremendous. Cena is the same ol’ Cena but Batista has taken it to the next level. This heel Batista is the best he’s ever been. He’s been telling the world what he thinks about Cena and it’s exactly what we have been thinking for quite a long time. He’s ripped Cena as a corporate creation and isn’t impressed with his clever turn of phrase.
Hopefully this match can live up to the great build but I have a feeling it won’t. It should be decent but if there’s interference in the Hart-McMahon match, this might be the lesser of all the matches. Methinks John Cena takes the belt and that would be a shame. WWE needs to keep building Batista’s heel persona, move past Cena and set his sights on another wrestler the fans might be tiring of (HHH?).
Look for Batista to destroy Cena for most of the match but then Cena will turn into Super Cena and somehow fight back and get the win. That would be disappointing. These guys really need to have a knock-down, drag-out brawl for this not to be a stinker.
World Heavyweight Champion Chris Jericho v Edge – Get ready for a fantastic match. The build to this has been so good because of the work these guys do on the mic. Jericho, Edge and CM Punk are the best talkers in the business right now and put Jericho and Edge on the list of all-time mic guys.
Edge came back to win the Rumble to get a shot at Chris Jericho. Jericho bad mouthed Edge after Edge’s injury so we could see this coming from a mile away. Edge is the face heel to Jericho’s textbook heel character. I don’t know if I like Edge getting cheered but that spear chant is pretty awesome when the whole arena gets into it. Jericho is just good period. Plus, he’s not a bad singer.
Spear, Spear, Spear, Spear
This should be a physical match and these guys will take lots of bumps. I’d be surprised if they didn’t bring the house down. Too bad there are no stipulations or a special match. I gotta believe Edge takes this and feuds with Jericho a bit more after Mania before moving on to start a program with Christian (MITB?).
HHH v Sheamus – Should be physical but no way HHH lets Sheamus get over on him at Wrestlemania. Sheamus already had the spotlight. Now it’s time for him to build himself back up but it won’t be here. It should be the same formula as the Batista-Cena fight. Sheamus will destroy HHH for a good portion of the match and then HHH fights back and hits a spine-buster out of nowhere and then the Pedigree. This match can be saved with a lot of action outside the ring.
I haven't seen anyone this pasty since John Stockton
If, by some strange reason, Sheamus were to beat HHH here than look for a pissed off Hunter to turn heel and either cost Shawn his match or join forces with Vince against Bret Hart. Maybe a heel turn would do him good.
Money In The Bank – Christian v Dolph Ziggler v Kane v Shelton Benjamin v Jack Swagger v MVP v Drew McIntyre v Kofi Kingston v Evan Bourne v Matt Hardy – Spot-fest but very enjoyable. The legitimate winners of this match should be Christian, Kofi Kingston and Drew McIntyre (???). Why The Chairman is in love with Drew McIntyre is beyond me but he’s in here and in the back of your mind you gotta believe he’s got a shot at winning this. WWE wants him to be a big star and maybe him holding the briefcase makes him look more important than he really is.
Kofi Kingston’s stock has fallen in recent months but he’s a big draw and he’ll be back on top and maybe this is the match to get him there. Rumor has it that Randy Orton was furious with Kofi after he botched a spot that led Orton to miss an RKO. Randy complained, Vince listened, Kofi de-pushed. Let’s see if this gets him back on track. Look for a boom shot onto a ladder.
Boom all you want, just don't mess up Randy's RKO. He hates that.
Evan Bourne is in this for the crazy stuff he can do. He has no shot of winning but he’ll fly around and take serious bumps. Shelton Benjamin has been in this before and he can do some crazy stuff. Kane is in this for name value and he can do a spot here and there. Dolph Ziggler is just filler and I’d be surprised if he was still in at the end.
MVP is in so people can get excited about him and maybe he can get a push after this. He needs a belt to matter. He doesn’t have to win this (he won’t) but he needs to do something so people can remember him.
Jack Swagger needs this match (a good showing). He went from ECW Champion to losing to Santino Marella. He’s physical and can work but he doesn’t have anyone to feud with. He needs a move to SmackDown to take on R-Truth and/or John Morrison.
The All-American American
Matt Hardy is a huge fan favorite and he knows his way around a ladder match. He’ll do some crazy stuff, guaranteed. Besides that, maybe WWE is giving him a rub in this match to keep him happy. They would hate to see The Hardy Boyz reunite on TNA. Matt is hot right now. His rookie, Justin Gabriel, is a way over on NXT and it looks like WWE wants to push him. I’d like to see him win this match but it won’t happen. He’ll be in until the end.
Christian is the likely winner of the Money In The Bank Ladder Match. I see him on a collision course with Edge. That program would be awesome. The only question is when would he cash in the briefcase? He could do it later in the show but that wouldn’t be smart. Edge and Christian are so over right now and WWE wouldn’t want either of them to start getting booed. With an all Money In The Bank PPV coming later in the year, the winner can’t hold off too long. We’ll see but this match will have you jumping out of your chair.
Unified Tag Team Championship – ShowMiz (Big Show & The Miz) v Truth and Wisdom (R-Truth & John Morrison) – Hopefully Big Show doesn’t play a big role in this match. I see R-Truth and Morrison taking home the belts. R-Truth needs to win some gold. He’s over, moves merch and he’s done everything the company’s asked him to do. It’s funny that Morrison is the more successful WWE wrestler of the two but he needs the rub of being with R-Truth to take the next step with the fans. Truth makes up for Morrison not be able to talk on the mic.
Big Show will try to use his size and power to control the match and slow it down. When Miz, R-Truth and Morrison are involved it should be fast-paced with some nice spots. Somehow I have a feeling that Big Show might walk out on his partner for some reason. He’s known to do that. That would cost them the match.
Who knows, maybe Miz’ NXT rookie, Daniel Bryan, could interfere and cost ShowMiz the belts. The Miz has been trying to teach Bryan a lesson since day one of NXT and it could be a little payback. This would make this Tuesday more interesting on NXT because it time to grade the rookies.
Randy Orton vs Ted DiBiase vs Cody Rhodes – Is this the match that elevates DiBiase or does Orton get over on his ex-Legacy members? Cody Rhodes seems least likely to win this match. Maybe Rhodes turns on DiBiase and does the job to prove his worth to Orton. Cody Rhodes needs to be on a team because I don’t think he can get over as a singles wrestler, yet. Ted DiBiase is ready to go single and win some belts. He has the most to gain in this match. Orton will still be Orton after the match. Randy Orton could turn face but I don’t see how that would work. My pick is DiBiase but I don’t know how it will happen.
Another interesting angle is that these guys just beat the hell out of each other and Randy Orton is so impressed that he reforms Legacy. Sounds good but is that the best thing for DiBiase?
They need to get back together
CM Punk vs Rey Mysterio – If Mysterio loses, he has to join The Straight Edge Society. There was talk of this being a hair vs mask match but I don’t think anyone believes that Mysterio will ever lose his mask. The gimmick would die and WWE couldn’t afford to let that happen. Mysterio is over and sells tons of merchandise.
Plus, CM Punk getting his head shaved would damage The Straight Edge Society and they need to last for a while. It’s the best gimmick going and CM Punk is the best heel in the business (sorry Jericho) and no one is even close. When Punk was singing Happy Birthday to Mysterio’s daughter on SmackDown, it was one of the creepiest things in a long time. Punk is Jim Jones and he sells it so well. His looks and the way he talks are so believable and he generates so much heat every time he comes out.
CM Punk wins this match. It should be wild with plenty of nice spots. So Mysterio will be in The Straight Edge Society? How will that work? Will he reluctantly join Punk’s clan or will a full heel turn be in Mysterio’s future? Can the fans get behind a heel Mysterio? This could be interesting.
Saving us from ourselves
Bret Hart vs Vince McMahon – This No Holds Barred match has interference written all over it. This should be the last hurrah for Hart and I doubt he came back to lose in this match. If WWE was smart, they would have The Hart Dynasty help out Bret and that would give them a rub because they’re not getting over on their own.
Shawn Michaels could get involved but on who’s side? This would be interesting but how would he pull it off with his big match on the card. If he got involved, it would have to be on Bret Hart’s side because I don’t think the fan’s want a Shawn Michaels heel turn.
Whoever gets involved, don’t expect Bret Hart to do too much and that’s why I think the interference will be on his side. Bret Hart takes this and Vince McMahon takes a lot of punishment. Bret Hart gets his revenge and goes out on top at Wrestlemania. Bret gets his closure and will be back in the future to induct Owen into the Hall of Fame.
Quite the card. I’m looking forward to it. My favorite match on the card is Jericho vs Edge. I hope WWE has Shawn Michaels – Undertaker end the show because the fans will be exhausted after the match and it won’t be fair to whoever would have to follow them. If you’re a wrestling fan you shouldn’t miss this. Even if you’re a TNA mark you can’t tell me that you’re not interested. If you’re back in the States and don’t want to pay $50 for the PPV, go to Buffalo Wild Wings or any one of these locations and check it out. I’m sure I’ll have lots to talk about on Monday.
I just caught up with the first two episodes of WWE NXT and I am really impressed with this show. Don’t get me wrong, I liked what the new ECW was but it had run its course. Guys like Christian, Zack Ryder, and Shelton Benjamin should be in the big time. ECW gave us new stars and reinvented some veterans but WWE needed to make the change and try something different. Now we have NXT and, if you’re a wrestling fan, you should be watching it.
TNA is garbage. It’s always been garbage and now, with Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff, it’s even bigger garbage that probably won’t live to see 2011. The NXT rookies are more compelling and have more swagger and charisma than TNA World Champion AJ Styles and he’s been in TNA for eight years. Maybe that’s why NXT is doing better ratings in the last two weeks than TNA. It took TNA seven years to make it to at least a 1.4 rating and NXT did it in its first week. If you’re not watching TNA, don’t bother. If you are watching it, why?
TNA wishes it was this good
The premise of NXT is simple. Eight “rookies” are each paired with a WWE “pro” There are some good pairings and some pairings are train wrecks. I’m sure the relationships between the individual rookies and pro’s will develop and, in some cases, deteriorate over the course of the show. The pro’s will vote for and against a rookie but they can’t vote for their own rookie either way. This means that the rookies have to learn from their pro’s but they have to impress everyone. The winner will become a WWE Superstar.
Matt Striker is the host of the show which airs on Syfy on Tuesday nights at 10pm EST. Josh Matthews and, a heelish, Michael Cole are the announcers. Matthews jocks all the rookies and Cole reminds him that they’ve never done anything in WWE. Striker sides with Cole when it comes to how to treat the rookies, and we already know he’s a heel announcer on SmackDown. Striker, with the absence of Jim Ross, is the best announcer in WWE right now. What the hell, throw TNA in there too.
So far my favorite aspect of the show is that CM Punk, who is paired with Darren Young, doesn’t want to be on the show and doesn’t want anything to do with his rookie. On the first episode Punk is interviewed and openly says, “I don’t understand why I’m here. I have no idea why I’m on this show. I don’t know who Darren Young is or who he thinks he is but I mentor Luke Gallows and Sarina so if Darren Young wishes to be mentored by the Straight Edge Savior, CM Punk, I suggest he thinks about accepting straight edge into his life.”
The Pairings:
The Miz and Daniel Brian – This is by far the most intriguing pairing on the show. For those of you who don’t know, Daniel Bryan is Bryan Danielson. Danielson has been a star overseas and on the independents for ten years. He has a loyal following. The Miz (Mike Mizanin) is a former reality star who’s resume includes The Real World 10, Real World/Road Rules Challenge, The Gauntlet and many others. ESPN’s Bill Simmons and writer Chuck Klosterman regard The Miz to be one of the best, if not the best, pure athletes in all the MTV challenge shows. The Miz has been in WWE since 2006 and he’s the current United States Champion and Unified Tag Team Champion with The Big Show (Show Mizzness).
ROH marks went crazy on the internet when they heard this pairing. How could The Miz be mentoring someone who is better and way more experienced than him? That’s why WWE is king. They know people won’t like it but will watch. This storyline is what makes the show good. It seems everyone, except Matthews, hates Daniel Bryan because he thinks he’s too good to be on the show ( but he will work hard to prove himself) and they want him to respect the business. He’s already lost twice in the first two weeks but look for him to shine very soon. He took a nasty bump when he flew out of the ring at Chris Jericho. Jericho reversed it and sent him flying into the announcer’s table. You could just see the pain on Bryan’s face but he went on. On last week’s episode he had a big welt on his ribs.
King of The Gauntlet and mentor to Daniel Bryan
Chris Jericho and Wade Barrett – These two were made for each other. Both Jericho and Barrett think they’re better than everyone. The tall Barrett is from Manchester England and I think he regards himself as someone superior to the commoners. Jericho, the current World Heavyweight Champion, talks a good game and so does Barrett.
R-Truth and Davis Otunga – If you don’t know, David Otunga is the fiance of Jennifer Hudson. He has been on the red carpet and met the President (twice). Otunga thinks his star power is enough for him to win this competition. He tangled with Darren Young on the first two episodes. After his loss to Young in episode two, Otunga pushed Truth away after the match. The intense R-Truth found him backstage and the two started to brawl. We’ll see where this goes.
CM Punk and Darren Young – As I said earlier, this is my favorite part of the show. CM Punk doesn’t look like a mentor in this relationship. When Young makes his ring entrance, Punk and The Straight Edge Society (Luke Gallows and Sarina) don’t even walk with him. It’s like someone is forcing them to be with Darren Young. During Young’s second match with Davis Otunga, Punk looks at Gallows and says, “Why am I here?”. He looks disinterested, bored and like he’s being punished.
Darren Young is the South Beach playboy and he likes to party. That doesn’t sit well with The Straight Edge Society. In episode two, Young says he’s interested in Punk’s straight edge lifestyle. I see a different/changing Darren Young in the weeks ahead and Punk will warm up to his protégé. A haircut could very well be in Darren Young’s future.
Why are we on this show?
Matt Hardy and Justin Gabriel – Gabriel has Hardy Boyz moves and works well with Hardy. The only problem so far with Gabriel is his look. He looks gay and his wardrobe doesn’t help. I think the announcers made an Adam Lambert reference in the second episode. Justin Gabriel is from South Africa and wrestled under the name, Justin Angel. His 540 splash against William Regal and Skip Sheffield was awesome. Man up your look a little bit Justin. A gay character doesn’t play well in WWE, as Orlando Jordan.
Carlito and Michael Tarver – Tarver is a muscular, fast wrestler but being paired with Carlito doesn’t do him any favors. Carlito is known to be one of the lazier wrestlers in the business and somehow manages to not get fired whenever the roster cuts happen. I wonder if Tarver will be jobbing on NXT like Carlito does on RAW?
William Regal and Skip Sheffield – Regal is not a big fan of Sheffield and feels negative comments are the best way to teach your rookie. Sheffield is muscular and has some moves. He’s not the smartest person, he said it, but this odd couple pairing should be entertaining. Regal could definitely show this guy how to be physical in the ring and not just use his power. During their tag team match with Hardy and Gabriel, Regal spent most of the time yelling at Sheffield. At least he was teaching him something (see Punk-Young).
If you want to learn how to fight (dirty), this is your man
Christian and Heath Slater – My first problem with Heath Slater is that he looks like Jessie/Slam Master J. Secondly, he looks like an idiot jumping around and celebrating. I see Christian having a problem with that too. Christian looks like he genuinely wants to help Slater and I’m sure we’ll see the One Man Rock Band (Slater) mature over the course of this show.
I can’t wait to see the next episode. I just wonder what will happen to the wrestlers who don’t win? I can’t see WWE just giving up on any of these guys. So far it’s been The Daniel Bryan Show but I’m sure the tone of the show will change. It’s still too early to separate these guys but I’m sure, with more exposure, someone will rise and fall. The rookies all seem to like each other but that can’t last. There’s gonna have to be some conflict introduced and backstabbing.
At any rate, these guys are all interesting. Check them out on twitter. WWE is using twitter to market this show and it’s working. Don’t forget, TNA sucks!
Reverse Oreo Sports 
