Daniel Richerson vs WWE

It was a little after Kofi Kingston won the WWE Championship. It was a special time to be a westling fan. A black WWE Champion. A Champion kids from the hood could look at and say, "It can happen for me as well." Then Smackdown October 4, 2019, they booked Kofi to lose the Brock in 8 seconds. All the build up, All the pre Wrestlemania story how Kofi fought for 11 years to get to that spot, held the title for 6 months to lose in 8 seconds to a part timer. I want to say that was the last straw for me watching the WWE product. Around the same time frame, at a PPV Hell in A Cell, Seth Rollins and The Fiend (Bray Wyatt) had by far the worse Hell in A Cell matches of ALL Hell In A Cell matches. I had enough. The hashtag #CancelWWENetwork was trending as it would often for bad WWE shows, I finally took heed. The ONLY reason I was hesitant to do so was the NXT Takeover shows  that 9/10 never miss. 

Then I started thinking about the racism in WWE. Roddy Piper going black face against Bad News Brown. Triple H going over Booker T at Wrestlemania 19 which many agree that was the wrong decision. I'm a fan of the Kliq. The Kliq consisting of Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Shawn Michaels, Sean Waltman, and Triple H. I still hold up the "too sweet" gesture at random times because of the Kliq. A gesture that is similar to the gesture done by the Zeta Phi Beta Soroity. I consider myself a Kliq guy, but Triple H is full of crap when he says that storyline had nothing to do with race. Give me a break. I can recall when WWE had a group of black champions, and all the black champions put a group selfie online. Not to long after that, some of them ended up dropping the titles. Linda McMahon being in Trump's cabinet. That has nothing to do with the WWE product it just didn't sit well with me. In 2005, Vince McMahon was talking to John Cena talking about, "What's good in the hood?" If that wasn't cringe worthy itself, he ended up saying "Keep it up, my nigga." In. Front. Of. Booker. T. And. His. Wife. Sharmell! WWE's response to the backlash, "Mr. MacMahon is just a character just like on any TV show." For the record, Vince is the owner of the company. He over books just about everything that is said on his programming. So forgive me when I call bull---on that. 

I mentioned before I'm a Kliq guy but I got to call some of them out too. Sean Waltman and Triple H doing a sketch of the Nation of Domination. Sean Waltman black faced as Mark Henry. Triple H black faced as the Rock. All that plus the complete disappointment in the booking of shows, I just got sick of being disappointment. WWE making claim of how important the fans are to the product, which is true, but any fan with eyes, can tell WWE could give a crap about what the fans want to see 75% of the time. Especially Raw and Smackdown, the "Main" roster. Wasting talent like Samoa Joe, Mickie James, Billie Kay, Peyton Royce, Eric Young, Zack Ryder, Moxley, among others. If you're going to hire workers based on buzz, at least book them right. 

The WWE and the 3rd Party situation...needless to say, I'm done with World Wrestling Entertainment for the foreseeable future. Now me not watching probably won't change anything about anything. WWE is still going on. I still keep up with sites like Cultaholic, and WhatCulture Wrestling, and WrestlingsNewsSource.

Kevin Nash once said, "I love it when  a mark says, 'That was the worst PPV I've ever seen, and I won't ever order one again until the next one.'" I didn't want to continue to be that guy. I still love wrestling. I just don't like WWE is treating it. I do keep up with All Elite Wrestling, and Impact Wrestling fka TNA both of whom are presenting a great product in my opinion. And with all of this that was said, all this was just my thoughts. May not be your thoughts, and that's ok. You're free to post on your own blog your thoughts. Like I'm free to post this. Like Jim Cornette is free to spill his verbal diarrhea. Like they say, Opinions are like buttholes, everyone has one. 

Daniel Richerson

THOUGHTS ON SOME CURRENT WRESTLING THINGS

According to the average wrestling fan through social media, WWE is going down the wrong direction, however, if you look at some of the in ring veterans through social media, WWE is heading in the right direction. It's the classic worker vs "smart mark" war that's been going on for decades. I'm not going to say who's right or wrong. Nor am I going to go after a hall of famer because i disagree with his or her opinion by calling them "part of the problem." 

I did not watch the latest Saudi Arabia show that WWE did because I didn't want to and because I don't necessarily agree with how Saudi Arabia handles business. I did however through social media see the results of the show, and like most I didn't understand the decision to have Bill Goldberg win a major championship over a current superstar. For one this is not 1998 anymore. Goldberg is not a spring chicken. Now the argument comes, neither is Jericho, but the difference is Chris Jericho is on TV every week. He's in our faces enough for us to buy the fact that he's still in the spot that he is in.

The Fiend was one of the more interesting characters that WWE has produced in a long while. It was different and it was working. The FireFly Funhouse was working. Only to lose in quick fashion to...Bill Goldberg.

Goldberg was one of my favorites to watch growing up until I noticed that he wasn't as good as they were trying to present him to be. I noticed this before I started reading the dirt sheets and watching shoot interviews.

All that aside, to play devil's advocate, Goldberg is getting his money. Who would turn down a spot where you don't have to work long matches and you're still considered to be a top guy? As I'm typing this it looks like it's Goldberg vs Roman for Wrestlemania. So we'll see how this goes.

Cedric Alexander and Ricochet ideally could help make the US Title mean something again. The US Title should be like what the IC title was back in the 80s and 90s which was a workhorse title. Add Cedric and Ricochet in the mix with Andrande and the matches I feel could steal any show it's put on.

Speaking of Ricochet, I don't think there's enough outrage toward the way his match with Brock Lesnar. Ricochet didn't get a chance to showcase his skills. He was nothing more than a dummy for Brock to F5 and pin. It reminded me of the way Kofi lost the WWE championship to Brock. It does nothing for Kofi or Ricochet to lose like that and let me say that I don't think it does anything for Brock either. We know that Brock is a legit bad---So him making quick work of two established athletes proves nothing. I'm trying to look past the fact that both Ricochet and Kofi are black, but how can I?

I have been keeping up with the AEW product. It's not a perfect product, but I can say that I feel it's a great product. One thing I will say and I know some agree with me is that the Women's division needs a bigger belt. That small belt in the hands of somebody the size of Nyla looks like a toy. The whole Cody Rhodes and MJF storyline is nothing short of tremendous. Jon Moxley being the one to take the belt off Chris Jericho I think it was a good choice. AEW should definitely stay on Wednesday nights. All this jabber about moving to Monday nights is ridiculous. Don't do it. Continue to build your audience. Continue to present the best product you can. Don't make the mistake TNA did and try to recreate the Monday night wars. Leave that stuff in the late 90s. It's 2020.

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Thanks for reading.

Daniel Richerson

thoughts on the SPORT of professional wrestling

So as I often do, I was thinking out loud about certain things regarding the business of professional wrestling aka sports entertainment. Now, due to reasons, I have not been able to watch the product on television lately, but i have been keeping up with everything via social media and the dirt sheets. With that being said, I do have some thoughts.

• Why is wrestling the only source of entertainment that gets heat for being predetermined, but at the same time the some of the people that watch Scandal, Game Of Thrones, Empire, Power, and other shows treat the actors playing the character as if they are the character they are portraying? You know, like wrestling used to be. Are those TV shows more believable than wrestling? Has wrestling become so unbearable that it's not believable anymore? What is the issue? I heard from Steve Austin that, "Kayfabe is dead." But the fact that I called him Steve Austin not Steve Williams kinda proves it's still there. I call him CM Punk not Phil. I call her Charlotte not Ashley. I call him Triple H, not Paul. So there's still some kind of kayfabe there. Now we know that the business has been exposed a little bit, but that shouldn't cause the stories to get lazy. Like, I'm pretty sure the fans of those TV shows I mentioned before know it's a TV Show, but the stories are so believable that they buy into the show. Character development wise, WWE needs to do better. I think that goes with more of the performer than it does the creative team, because the performer still has to perform. The creative can do what they do, but they don't go in front of the camera. 
• I personally think that the creative team picks and chooses who they allow to be more genuine as a character. The more genuine the character is, the more over it gets. Bayley's character, according to what I've seen, has become a bit stale. For some reason or another, what Bayley did as a character in NXT is not working on the main roster. Sasha and Charlotte have been able to make a good transition. Becky has as well, but for some reason Bayley doesn't seem to be transitioning well. I'm a fan of Bayley's work. She can have a good match with just about any other female on the roster, Dana Brooke and Lana aside. Bayley has never really been believable on the microphone. Probably because she's not speaking from her perspective, she's speaking through another person, because reasons. I'm hoping Bayley takes her time, gets healed from her shoulder injury, and comes back with some development to her character. I'm not necessarily saying a heel turn, but I'm saying more of an edge to the character if you will. Like, not being shook by the crowd response.
• It's been 29 years since DX was formed, with the original members being Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Chyna (R.I.P.), and Rick Rude (R.I.P.). I personally think that, a group like DX is definitely needed in today's WWE product. You have a DX like group in wrestling known as the Bullet Club, but WWE is missing that. I mean yes, you have Kevin Owens who is that kind of rebel, but imagine if there was a faction of rebels like DX was almost 30 years ago. I guess the New Day is closest thing we have to a kind of rebel to the normal we have in WWE right now. Plus, you can tell New Day are having fun. I heard Scott Hall say, "This business is supposed to be fun." 
• Going by the clips I've seen on the YouTube, GFW/TNA still sucks. I got to catch a whole episode to get the jest of the product, but by the clips I've seen, it's hard to follow. 
• WCPW is a great product. The return episode of Loaded was a solid show. I'm also enjoying the Pro Wrestling Cup tournament. They're not trying to be something their not, they're just presenting professional wrestling as is. Some of the storylines are questionable, but that comes with the territory. Overall I'm a fan of the WCPW brand.
• Sports Entertainment. Sports and entertainment. WWE tends to focus more on the Entertainment part, but let's not forget how important the sports part is. As a fan, I personally want to see Mickie James and Alicia Fox used more on TV rather than just on house shows. Like Lana and Dana Brooke, below average workers at best, get TV time all the time, while Alicia Fox and Mickie James, get squat. Now Alicia Fox and Mickie James were on TV to become to determine who was going to get the number one contender spot for the Raw Women's Title, but did anybody really believe that either one had a shot to be the final two? 

Just a few thoughts I had on the product overall. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section. Give me a follow on the Tweetie and the Gram: @D_Rich864. Thanks for reading.

~Daniel Richerson

IS IT TIME FOR MORE BLACK MANAGERS IN WRESTLING?

So, a couple of things. One, I know it's been a while since I've posted on this particular blog. I post a lot on my other blog, which you can read them if you fancy (in my Ben Potter voice) here. And I always have a lot of thoughts on professional wrestling, but I just never get on my laptop and type them out, but I'm going to give some of the thoughts in this post.

One thought is that I think WWE is missing the mark on black managers. Not in the Alicia Fox situation in that she's Noam Darr's valet, which I have a problem with big time but that's another post. What I'm saying is, with the popularity of Lavar Ball, and Stephen A. Smith has always been known for how he talks, I think it's past time for wrestling to have a black manager on the grand scale. I know in ROH there's Prince NaNa, who is entertaining in his own right. He's about the only one I know about. I don't know if there's anymore, but either way, I think that's a massive gap that's missing. I'm glad Naomi is on top of the SD Live women's division, not just because she's black, but because her talent is finally getting recognized. The gap I'm talking about is the strong black figure that can put talent over by talking. Not in a shucking and jive way like Slick, with all disrespect to Slick, he made it work.

I'm talking about a manager that brings that Lavar Ball type heat. That Stephen A. Smith type heat. I'm sure that guy is out there that can cut a promo as well as Paul Heyman, but also doesn't have to be another Slick or Teddy Long. Look up Stephen A. Smith's speech when he said to Kevin Durant, "You don't want to make an enemy out of me." You mean to tell me that kind of thing won't work in a wrestling landscape? Lavar Ball's heat speaks for itself. The guy is putting his son over and himself over at the same time. He's selling his own merch without any big company to back him up. He is his own big company. He lives what he believes and has everybody talking about him. Isn't that one of the goals of a good wrestling personality?

Now the question comes who could be that character. Who out there at home or in the independents could bring that kind of, lack of a better word, swagger to the ring and command that presence? Is there a retired black wrestler that could do that? Ron Simmons could, I think, if he wanted to. He was the original lead guy of the Nation of Domination. Maybe Stevie Ray, Booker T's brother.

Just my opinion. Feel free to share your thoughts on this.

~Daniel Richerson

The question tonight/today is why...is race still an issue in the WWE?

Why does Vince dislike Sasha Banks so much? Why does a great wrestler like Alicia Fox have to be in a bull crap love storyline in the crusierweight division? Isn't it ironic that not too long after that picture of New Day, Sasha Banks, and Rich Swann with their titles that the New Day and Sasha dropped their titles? Am I reaching when I say that in 2016, WWE still has a race issue? Why is Bayley rumored to be getting a better run with the Women's Title than Sasha? Allow me to give my opinion. Bayley got that white skin. It protects her. As the great Paul Mooney would say, "The complexion for the protection for the collection." 

Don't get me wrong. I'm a huge fan of Bayley. In my opinion should have been called up when Becky, Sasha, and Charlotte got called up. But to not give Sasha a meaningful run with the Raw Women's Championship is a load of cow dung. To say that Sasha is not over with the audience is a load of cow dung. It's well rumored that Vince is not a fan of Sasha. That would explain that Sasha hasn't had much communication with Vince, at least that's what she says. This isn't the first time that Vince has been accused of racism. Remember when Vince said nigga in front of Booker T? Remember that storyline between Booker T and Triple H that had a major racial undertone that Triple H ended up going over in? Complexion for the protection for the collection. 

Why hasn't Naomi even mentioned with the top women superstars on the Smackdown Live roster? Too dark? Naomi is a hell of an athlete, and I believe deserves a shot at the top spot of the women's division. And as I'm typing this hasn't really been on TV in the past couple of weeks. As Hurricane Helms would say, "What's up with that?"

We can do 5 blogs on the fact that there hasn't been a black world champion in so long. I don't count the WWECW title because that was doomed from the start. But Zeke and Mark Henry got short runs with it, and one could look at that as pity runs. When that last time a black man was even the WWE Champion? The Rock is half black so I guess that counts. I'm half black myself, so props to the Rock, but I'm talking like Mark Henry, Ahmed Johnson, R Truth, Booker T. R Truth had a title shot against John Cena. Mark Henry I remember cut his best promo ever with that fake retirement speech, and turned heel against John Cena. In my opinion, the man should have got a title run with that alone. But Super Cena, who got big off of portraying a rapper. Right? So in other words, a wigger can be a champion but not a nigga. Great message WWE.

Ok, The New Day became the longest reigning tag team champs in WWE history only to lose not too soon after. 

Don't get me wrong. I understand it's wrestling. I understand it's all a work. I understand that it's all predetermined. I also understand there's a lot of urban black kids watching the product, who hasn't seen a black world champion in quite some time. I'm old enough to remember when WCW died, and who was the champion when WCW died? Booker T. This is the good old boy, southern territory, WCW having Booker T end it all as the WCW Champion. If WCW got it toward the end, why can't WWE get it now? Again, I ask, am I reaching? What are your thoughts?

~Daniel Richerson

AM I THE ONLY ONE THAT SEES THIS? and SURVIVOR SERIES PREDICTIONS

So this Sunday (11/20/2016) we got Survivor's Series, which was originally WWE's answer to WCW's Starrcade. That is if you watched the Starrcade DVD, never mind. The PPV that is the same age as I am, 29, has struck some controversy because it seems like story lines has been thrown out the window. It seems the Universe of smarks are up in arms because some of the rivalries have been put on pause due to the traditional survivor series tag matches.

I feel like I'm the only one that doesn't see this as a big deal. They're fighting for a greater cause of showing brand loyalty. They're putting differences aside to defend the brand. To me, it's kinda like the Olympics. Like look at the basketball team. You got players from rival teams that played together to play for their country. Remember the original dream team? Magic Johnson, Larry Byrd, Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, and them boys came together to win a gold medal. They put differences aside for the greater good of representing America. When Jordan was playing on the dream team, he wasn't representing the Chicago Bulls, He was representing America. Magic wasn't representing the Lakers, etc. So I see what's WWE's doing.

I don't mind that I saw Bayley coming to SmackDown to help being down a member of Smackdown's Women's team. For the greater good of her brand. She's representing her brand. Again I may be on my own on this, but I'm not mad at that. I also get the Stephanie McMahon playing the dictator role saying that if anyone messes up, they'll be punished. I get it. Now I get it that Stephanie has taken Big Show's gimmick and has turned heel and face like 20 times since the brand split started, but that's neither here nor there.

After Survivor's Series everything's going back to normal. But for this one cause, differences are put aside for the greater good of being on the best brand.

Now since I got more space, let me do some predictions, which I never do.

Brian Kendrick (raw) vs Kalisto (SDLive) for the Cruiserweight Championship - I see this being a new start for Kalisto and the Cruiserweight Championship. If Kalisto wins, the championship and the division gets moved to SD which makes since due to that new 205 show coming out. So I see Kalisto winning this.

Miz (Smackdown) vs Sami Zayn (Raw) for the IC Title - I think Zayn is winning. Even though this is the best work Miz has done. Even better than his work with John Morrison. But with Zayn winning that means Smackdown would need a new secondary title. So I don't know. Maybe for that reason Miz retains, but I'm still giving it to Zayn.

Team RAW vs Team SDLive, Tag Team elimination match - I give Team SD this win. I think Team SD has the stronger division, I know New Day is going for the record, and all that, but I think SDLive wins this one.

Team RAW vs Team SDLive Women's elimination SS match - I think Raw wins this hands down. They got 3 of the 4 horsewomen, and they got Nia Jax. I think SD will get some eliminations, and Natayla will get involved somehow, but RAW has this one in the bag.

Team RAW vs Team SDLive Men's elimination SS match - this one is a coin flip for me. I want to say SDLive wins just to pick a side, but I think RAW might win in order to create more storyline with the Undertaker on SDLive. But I'm going with SDLive for the upset win here. There I said it.

Goldberg vs Brock Lesnar - And now for the main event (uh) of the evening (uh)...see what I did there? Bill Goldberg returning for his "last match" against Lesnar. Since obviously the first match they had went so well at WrestleMania 20. Sarcasm there. I remember watching that match on PPV, both men got booed out of Madison Square Garden. It was brutal. I didn't like this idea when I first read the rumors because of how bad the match went at first. I see Brock winning. Not that Brock needs it, but I think Brock is going over. I don't see it being dominate but I see a hard hitting match with Brock winning.

So that's my thoughts, If you disagree, find me on Twitter @D_Rich864, or on Facebook.com/bigdusty. Or just comment down below how much of a mark I am and all that nonsense.

~Daniel Richerson

IS RAW REALLY THAT BAD?

In the current state of Smackdown vs Raw, I think it's safe to say that Smackdown is winning right now. Smackdown is building characters. It's building new talent just like it did around when the roster first split some years ago. Smackdown built John Cena, Raw then drafted John Cena, and now we got the John Cena we know and---well we got John Cena. John Cena can wrestle. Yes he can. CM Punk did not wrestle those matches by himself. Shawn Michaels did not wrestle those matches by himself. Ever heard that saying, it takes two to tango?

So what is wrong with Raw? What is Raw doing that is not working well enough to get stronger ratings? Is something wrong with Raw? Is Raw doing something wrong? Is there something wrong with us the fans that are burying Raw? First thing we got to understand is that Vince is not running things like a wrestling company. He's running it like an entertainment company. He said it himself . He was talking about when Ted Turner bought WCW, and Ted called Vince and told Vince that, "I'm in the 'rasslin' business." And Vince said something to the fact, "That's good, but I'm not in the 'rasslin' business, I'm in the 'entertainment' business." Once we get that logic in our minds, WWE's booking probably wouldn't bother us so much.

But on the other hand with that being said, some parts of WWE is still wrestling. Like NXT, like Smackdown, like CWC was. Now back to Raw. I watched some of this video with this guy saying that Raw is dead. That Raw has gotten so bad it's dead. One thing we fans got to realize is that we don't know everything, and some of what we think we know, we really don't know. There's a reason Kevin Nash calls us smart marks, or smarks. I watch a lot of shoot interviews involving members of the Kliq, specifically with Kevin Nash and Scott Hall since they do a lot of them. I learn a lot from watching them cause I listen. Why do I listen? Because they were a part of a backstage group of guys that had Vince's ear. Vince listened to them.

I'm going off topic. Anyway, Raw. Is Raw dead? I don't think so. I tune in to Raw and it's looks pretty full to me. I don't see any card board cut outs of fans to fill in the seats. People still go to the shows. So as long as the fans keep buying tickets, Raw is still alive. Is Raw pulling in the numbers they did in the Attitude Era? No, but is the wrestlers from Attitude Era coming through that door? For the most part no. We got to consider that people are not watching TV like they used to. Whatculture's Simon Miller put out a good video on this subject. Simon Miller is not my favorite Whatculture personality, but he made some valid points in it. I'll put the link at the end of the blog. 

So has Raw been as good as it can be? No. Could it be better? Yes. I heard Scott Hall say something recently that was talking about fans and WWE creative, and he was saying that as soon as we think that they don't know what they doing, they show us that they do. So I think that Raw is going to show us soon that they're not as dumb as we think they are. I mean I think it's time for Vince to hand over control to Triple H. Just my opinion. So I don't think Raw is dead. I think Raw is suffering a little, but I wouldn't go straight to death.

~Daniel Richerson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9Iz7gVcDb8 (Why WWE's TV Ratings Aren't As Bad As You Think- WhatCulture Wrestling)

SMACKDOWN LIVE FOUGHT THE RAW AND THE RAW WON...

So the first week of this so called "new era" is over. Both Raw and Smackdown now have specific rosters. This week they both had the first shows post the draft and post Battleground. Let's start with Raw.

Raw was the type of show wrestling fans beg for by the week. It was a great show. A few mishaps, but nothing that drags the show down too bad. To get the negative points out the way. The Golden Truth playing Pokemon Go. Nuff said on that one. And as of right now, I don't like the name WWE Universal Championship. The initial reaction it seems cheesy, but then again, the spinner belt John Cena introduced seemed cheesy then it became the norm. The New Day segment went on for way too long. The Who's On First type joke did not go over. Sonny Boy...just a load of barnacles that segment was.

Now, let's get to the positives. The two fatal four ways to determine who wrestles in the end of the night for the number one contender spot in a match at Summerslam against Seth Rollins for the new World title. Great idea. Finn Balor won the first fatal way match, and Roman Reigns won the second fatal four way teasing what made the IWC barf at the thought at Roman getting another shot. But WWE did the unthinkable. WWE gave the people what they want. Finn Balor is going to Summerslam. I marked out so much when he won. That little kid in me that is still a wrestling fan came out. Get in there (in my King Ross voice).

Also, we got a new women's champion. The Boss, Sasha Banks. Sasha Banks and Charlotte had an instant classic match. The type of match you'd expect these two athletes to have. The type of match they had in NXT. Let's not neglect the fact that prior to this match, the crowd was dead. The crowd was non existent. These two athletes, these two women, brought that crowd back to life. It was tremendous. Sasha paid tribute to her favorite wrestler, the late great Eddie Guerrero, and got Dana Brooke, who is on the main roster and Bayley isn't, let that sink in...

Anyway, Dana Brooke got sent to the back. Charlotte and Sasha had a great match. One of many match of the year candidates we've had this year so far. Sasha Banks went over with the bank statement. What made it even more great is that they let Sasha have her moment. I was fearing the worst. Like Nikki Bella returning and getting heat on Sasha type fear. But no, they let Sasha have the moment. Great stuff.

I got to bring up the jobber matches. Some people didn't like them. I personally loved it. It reminded me of the old school wrestling days. It made Braun Strowman and Nia Jax look like the monsters their supposed to look like. My only thing on Nia Jax, is that she needs a new finisher. I don't think that leg drop is lethal enough. The jackhammer she used on NXT could be considered for a finish I think, I mean, unless Goldberg is actually coming back, which I doubt.

They moved the announce table on RAW. It's up by the stage. It's not that much of a major change, but it worked. Other than the shot of all three commentators standing. Like them poor guys couldn't have a shot of them actually sitting at the commentator table?

So that was Raw. A very surprisingly good night. Mostly positive feed back. Before I go on to Smackdown, another good thing is that you barely saw Stephanie and Mick Foley in the show. You really only saw them in the opening segment, and that was it.

Now to Smackdown Live. I had such high expectations. I was hoping and expecting another great wrestling show. Sometimes when you expect something so much--

Let's talk about the positives. The opening shot of Shane and Daniel introducing the show was cool. The opening video package was great. Shelton Benjamin is coming back soon. Another mark out moment for your boy. Becky Lynch got a W. Good week for 3 of the 4 horsewomen. Sorry Charlotte.

The negatives. Basically the rest of the show. They had a 6 pack challenge to determine the number one contender for the WWE Title. Participants included, Bray Wyatt, Dolph Ziggler, John Cena, AJ Styles, Baron Corbin...Baron Corbin...Bar--, and after winning a battle royal Apollo Crews. I personally wanted Bray Wyatt to get the W just to give him a shot. Spoiler Alert, Bray didn't win. Dolph won. Not saying Dolph winning is a negative, but we've seen WWE look like they're going to give Dolph a shot only to rip the rug from under him. Of course Shane and Daniel had to come out with their music playing. I don't mind them coming out by why did their music have to play? Taking the spotlight off of Dolph.

I mentioned the Becky Lynch win as a positive. The negative about it was that she was facing Natayla again. WWE is once again going with this 50/50 booking. So after Becky got the win, all the other women on the Smackdown roster came out. What happened after that? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. They still have no title or anything to fight for. We just now know what all the women on the Smackdown roster look like. That's basically it. No title.

Rhyno returned.

Heath Slater still has no spot on either show. He was out cutting a promo only for Shane to get in another segment and for Rhyno to return and gore Heath. Boring it was. Boring.

There was a Miz TV segment. If that wasn't bad enough Randy Orton came out. It went as well as you would think it would. That of course led to a match. Nothing to say after that. It was just poor.

Basically in my opinion, my opinion,  Raw was everything you wanted and Smackdown Live was the opposite.

~Daniel Richerson

The WWE Draft: WHERE-IS-BAYLEY?!!?!!?!?!!?!!?!!?!!?

The build up for the draft was better than the actual draft. The build up from WWE and the dirtsheets I was expecting a night to remember. Honestly, the December to Dismember was more memorable.

First let's look at the positives. Fin Balor is going to RAW. American Alpha is going to Smackdown. Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, and Cesaro are on the same roster. I expect great matches out of that. Sasha Banks gets drafted to RAW after saying she wanted to go to Smackdown, but she's on the same roster as Charlotte. So we get to see that feud build up to a championship match with Sasha hopefully going over. Also a positive Stephanie McMahon's dress. Yep. Also the New Day is still in tact on RAW as a team. I don't think anybody wanted to see them split. Naomi, aka Trinity Fatu got drafted to Smackdown. I really do hope this is a start of a big push for her. AJ Styles is on Smackdown. Could be good. Heath Slater not drafted, and then the camera shot at the end. Hilarious.

And now...let's start with the flubbed lines by both Shane and Stephanie. And they are supposed to be "running" the show. Stephanie trying to over sell every draft pick they made on the show was just bad. Bad shouldn't have been done. I now understand why Vince wants to script every line. I get it now Vince.

Roman Reigns got drafted to a massive boo. Such a boo for a top baby face, huh? Turn him heel WWE, turn the man heel. It took way to long for Cesaro to get drafted. Easily a top 10 guy. But Cesaro ended up being a 6th round pick. That's a way to put the guy over the top. The Golden Truth is still a tag-team. Let that sink in.

Don't get me wrong. I'm a big R Truth fan. I'm a Golddust fan. I'm not a fan of the tag team. Each guy can carry a match on their own. They're good in the ring as individuals. But just not a fan of the team.

Nia Jax, Alexa Bliss, Eva (yes that one) Marie, Carmella all drafted. Everyone, just about, was waiting to hear Bayley's name. Guess what? We're still waiting. Well, at least we'll get Bayley vs Asuka at least one more time. That should be good. Bayley gets a rematch for the NXT Women's Title. So there's that. But still. Heel move by the WWE on that one. Getting everyone's hope up, and...nothing. Eva Marie? Really? Like her and Dana Brooke on are the "main roster" and Asuka and Bayley are still in NXT. Again just going to let that sink in. 

All this is my opinion. Just another wrestling fan with access to the Internet and a way to put my opinion out there. 

~Daniel Richerson

A FEW THOUGHTS ON "THE GUY"...ROMAN

I was watching this video WWE put on on YouTube and it was showing how some of the superstars on the main roster got their start with the company. One of the superstars they showed was Roman Reigns and he was an NXT guy before getting called up. What's the main the reason we have for not wanting our favorite NXT people getting called up? Bad booking. Tyler Breeze, Baron Corbin, Emma, the Ascension, Becky Lynch, and The Vaudevillains are just some of the examples of getting called up from NXT only to get poorly booked. Some exceptions to that include Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, Charlotte, Sasha Banks, Russev, Kevin Owens, and Sami Zayn.

Roman Reigns, bless his heart, has been poorly booked ever since The Shield broke up. It's not all his fault. I always say when he won that Royal Rumble 2015, He was a product of a poorly booked Royal Rumble. I would venture to say that was probably the worst booked Royal Rumble ever. At no fault of Roman or anybody else that was involved in the actual delivery of the match, maybe except Big Show and Kane, but nevertheless--

Now I will say that it's not all the booking's fault. Roman has to take some blame in this as well. I once heard Triple H, you know the guy you love on NXT but hate on Raw, say, "If you think it's going to work, then go out there an do it." I heard it said that it's better to ask for forgiveness than permission. Especially when it's live TV. If it's on live TV, why not go out there and go for broke. Shawn Michaels made a living doing that in the early days of the Attitude Era. I think it worked out well for him. Not saying Roman is on Shawn Michaels' level of talent or charisma but something has got to give.

So let me bring up the obvious, his suspension. We in the IWC have been begging for a heel turn for Roman. Perfect time to do that is at Battleground. One thing WCW did right is when Hogan was getting booed, they turned him heel. I think that worked out, at least for the short term. Nwo was one of the greatest factions of all the times and a lot of it I feel had to do with the way it started. Back to Roman, he's already one of the most hated with the crowd. Why not turn him. He's on his way to becoming another Cena, and NOOOOObody wants that. There's a big but here though. Turning Roman heel may be a bit too obvious. May be a bit to logical. Oops. I say oops because logical and WWE booking go together like Trump and, well, anything.

I actually think Roman can work. He's good in the ring as far as having a decent match is concerned, in my opinion. I know a lot of people will disagree with me on that, and? I also think John Cena can wrestle. Gasp! What?

I think Roman needs better booking, and I also think Roman needs to do a better job of taking advantage of being live TV. And Roman needs to get off of what ever got him suspended, that would help also.

~Daniel Richerson

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NXT Takeover: The END...Paul Ellering?

Because of church, not complaining about church, but because of Wednesday Night Bible Study and going out to eat afterwards, I missed watching NXT Takeover: The End live, but I did watch the replay. Solid wrestling back to back. To me, NXT is making wrestling fun again on the main stream level.

First match was the Tye Dillenger vs the debut of Andrade "Cien" Almas. Great match, and spots. Andrade has a great showing. I think the guy is money. Character may need a little tuning. The whole pimp hat white suspenders thing...besides that, I enjoyed Andrade's work in the ring. Tye Dillenger also had a good showing, showed some new moves. I hear the name Tye Dillenger I think of that old security guy from the WCW days Doug Dellinger. Remember that guy? Am I the only one that thinks that?

Anyway, the NXT Tag-Team title match. Great to see a great tag-team wrestling match without any gimmicks again. The Revival is a great old school, Hart Foundation type, team. I love the work. American Alpha, Team Angle 2 I call them, is a great team as well. I may be looking too into this, but it seemed to be a lot of teases of Kurt Angle making a come back and American Alpha joining him. With the Angle lock and the crowd chanting their names to the Kurt Angle WWE theme...ehh? Revival goes over wins the titles again. American Alpha selling the loss, and then two big dudes come in and attack. Then as the two big dudes are handling business, Paul Ellering makes an appearance. Now the NXT crowd is supposed to be a smark crowd, but even they were chanting, "Who are you?" Seriously? The manager of the Road Warriors. Google, kids. Paul Heyman is not the only Paul that can has managed in wrestling history. Don't call it a comeback...get your money Mr. Ellering.

Shinsuke Nakamura and Austin Aries. Nakamura and Sami Zayn tore the house down at NXT Takeover: Dallas. In my opinion, this match didn't disappoint. Nakamura is the definition of flamboyant. Austin Aries had a strong showing too with his impression of DDP with taped ribs. Great match. The crowd singing the theme song to Nakamura was magical. The chants during this match was loud, which is a good thing. Shinsuke went over.

The Women's Title match. Asuka vs Nia Jax. This could have been bad, but with Asuka being as great as she is and Nia Jax playing the monster in the ring that can sell, we got a pretty solid match. I think Nia Jax needs a manager as a mouth piece. A new finisher would be good too, just my opinion. Great match though. Asuka goes over. Didn't expect a spot fest of a match cause it didn't need it. It was it was supposed to be. I thought Asuka was going over before the show cause she needed to go over to set up the rematch between her and Bayley. Nia is not going anywhere tho. Also a clean finish with no old timer manager interfering? What a concept. If only the main roster allowed...let's hope Vince will take notice.

Now the main event. The first steel cage match in NXT history. Samoa Joe vs Finn Balor. What a show these two wrestlers put on. Some old timers would be mad that no blood was shed, but seriously, it's a new era. Great spots in this match. Some jaw dropping moments as well. That finish was crazy. The muscle buster from the top rope was insane. Loved every minute of this match. Finn Balor may be heading up to the main roster, I don't know. Obviously he should be involved in the Club angle if he is called up. We'll see...

Over all like most of the NXT Takeover shows, this was a 5 star show. From commentary to the matches. Also, I have to mentioned Bobby Roooo. Finally signed with NXT. It's about time. This should be great for this new era of NXT. Samoa Joe and Bobby Roode for the title? YES PLEASE!

~Daniel Richerson

MY TAKE: Steve Austin Show feat Ariane Andrew

Before I start, let me say that I do understand that this post may cost me in the fact that I'm just a smark behind a computer that's never been in the business, blah blah blah. Anyway--

I was hesitant to listen to this episode of the Steve Austin Show because of how Ariane sounds. I didn't know how much how I could take listening to that valley girl voice, but I got through it. I liked some of the things she said and some of the things I didn't like. Let's start with the positives. When she talked about the whole Ryback fiasco. She stood her ground on what she tweeted what she did. I liked the fact that she talked about the heat she was getting could have been a good thing because it could've made for a better character. I also like the fact that she said that she presented some ideas that didn't quite get through. I know from following her social media that she was indeed working on her craft. She was doing some house shows or live events for NXT and getting better. I even saw she had a new move she was incorporating in her matches. I was glad that she actually cared enough about the craft to get better at it just in case she got called up to the main roster she wouldn't stink it up. She owned the fact that she was not a wrestling fan but she grew to love the business. She said a key statement when she said something to the fact that if you don't learn to love the business you won't last. I've heard Kevin Nash say something similar to that. So that had me thinking, she kinda gets it.

I even liked the fact that she mentioned that being a heel came natural that it was more fun than being a face. Which I've heard plenty of other people that are or were in the business say.

So later in the interview she gets asked if WWE calls would she take the call, she said she would accept because she feels "she has something to prove." No problem with that at all. Steve then asked her if some other wrestling organization would offer her a job, she basically said that since she's been in the WWE so going any where else would be downgrading. Now in this same interview she said that she still has an "itch" for wrestling. Obviously it isn't a major itch because she wouldn't work an independent show. To me that's a slap in the face to the performers that has worked for WWE and are now working the independents, like Sean Waltman, Sabu, Lisa Marie Varon, Mickie James, and others. Then you got folks like former WWE "diva" Maria who is not working for TNA. She spent time on the independents and worked on her craft and she got much better. Her promos in ROH were not bad in my opinion, but didn't allow the fact that she was no longer working for WWE take away that itch that was there for wrestling. Don't say you have an itch, but you don't want to scratch it. I don't know that kind of rubbed me the wrong way, She got the training, might as well do something with it, Just my opinion. I do wish her all the best in whatever she decides to do in the future.

~Daniel Richerson

Raw Review 4/12/2016: BULLET CLUB TOO SWEET!

From what I watched of Raw, most of the show wasn't that bad. When I wasn't watching I watched The Voice. For those that don't know, I keep the WWE timeline open via Twitter, and when it's something I'm interested in, I change the channel to USA to watch the promo or match. When I become uninterested I change the channel. I got that idea from a tweet I saw on Twitter, Never the less, I enjoyed most of what I saw. The show opened with Shane McMahon. That gimmick has a lot of people up and arms. Some are trying to make sense of Shane losing to Undertaker so why is he running Raw? It's all a work. Wrestling is a work. None of it is real. No matter how much we want it to be. There's a difference between reality, and wrestling reality. Sometimes, art and life intertwine, but most of the time, all the stuff that happens on TV is mostly a work. Some of us think way to hard when it comes to this sport. We forget that WWE is an entertainment company. It's not a wrestling company. Vince said it himself. "I'm not in the wrasslin business, I'm in the entertainment business." So most of us tend to forget that simple thought.

Maybe Vince figured that the Authority angle was running stale and something needed to change on the show. So Shane is probably part of that change. I personally expect a swerve to come along the way with all this. Maybe Stephanie McMahon and Triple H opening up the show and they make the statement, "Didn't Shane lose at WrestleMania? Why has he been running Raw?" And all that. I truly believe all the questions we have, WWE will try to answer them in the coming weeks, and it'll all come together, or apart, at SummerSlam, which is the next "big" PPV or Live Special.

We need to stop watching RAW expecting the same booking we see on NXT. Even though they're under the same umbrella known as WWE, Raw and NXT are two different shows. Raw is coming around to NXT's style of booking little by little, but still two different shows.

Then we had Kevin Owens vs Cesaro. What a clinic that match was. If Cesaro hasn't grabbed that "brass ring" by now, I don't know what Vince is smoking or sniffing. Cesaro is one of the best athletes on the roster. The surprising thing about this match was that it was a clean finish. Cesaro won clean. Another thing this match showed that getting heat and selling is not a lost art that some of the old timers like to think it is. Cesaro sold that shoulder injury, and Kevin Owens had heat most of the match. He blocks people on Twitter. If that's not heat, I don't know what is.

The WWE Tag Team tournament. Who ever came up with that idea seems to have come with a good one. One match was the Dudley Boys vs the Lucha Dragons. Dudley Boys won and team of Enzo and Cass came out. The back and forth between them and the Dudley Boyz was a money segment to me. I missed their appearance on the Raw after Mania, and I missed their stuff on NXT, but they seem to be over with the crowd. They also seem to have the gift of talking on the microphone. I have to look up some matches on the WWE Network to see their ring work. But I'm already a fan of them because of that back and forth with the Dudleys.

The Women's Division gets better and better regarding match quality. But there's an old turd that still seems to have to get his stuff in, and that turd's name is Ric Flair. Ric was great for his time, but Ric Flair, it's time to go home. Charlotte is a grown woman. She can't grow as a character if you keep handcuffing her. Look I understand being a heel, and all that but Flair interfering in Charlotte's matches is not good heat to me. That's cheap heat. I said on Twitter after Flair interfered at WrestleMania that Flair needs to be put in a home. Flair, your time is up. Go away. The women's division doesn't need your old tired self to make it relevant. Other than the old timer, and the ending of the match, Natayla and Charlotte had a good match. Again, Flair needs to go away or at least get away from his daughter.

Dr Phil was on the show and that's all I'm going to say about that.

The Bullet Club. Luke Gallows made his return to the WWE and Anderson made his debut, I think. They saved what was a lack luster match between the Usos and The Social Outcasts. It was expected for them to make an appearance but it wasn't really known in what capacity they were going to show up. So after Usos pick up the W, Gallows and Anderson showed up and beat up the Usos. It was tremendous. I was at home holding up the too sweet. Hopefully WWE doesn't drive Gallows away, again.

AJ Styles vs Sami Zayn. Another match that was a straight clinic. I'm so glad the higher ups and in the WWE let these two wrestlers do their job. It was a great match. They woke up what was a dead crowd. They should've main evented the show, but of course they didn't.

I didn't watch what was the main event, because Reigns' character is not getting over at all, and it all seemed threw together randomly. Roman, in my opinion, is a great worker. His character has just become stale. But he does get a response from the crowd, so I guess that's all Vince cares about. Roman's character needs some upgrading. If Hogan of all people do upgrade his character, why can't Roman upgrade his?

And that's about all I got to say about RAW. From what I watched, it was an ok show. Thanks for reading. I don't claim to know everything, but I'm just stating my thoughts on the product.

~Daniel Richerson

The Real Miyagi

Now with it being Wrestlemania season, and WWE has Roadblock coming along, and NXT has NXT Take over Dallas, one would figure I'd be talking about something pertaining to that. Maybe in another blog, but I just finished watching this amazing documentary on Fumio Demura, who is one of the forefathers of Karate in the U.S. As I was watching this I was thinking to myself this guy could have been a great pro wrestler. He's thought process on making moves look good during demonstrations, and making moves look good for the camera, could, I think, very well contribute to up in comers of the professional wrestling business. Because if you think about it, that's all professional wrestling is, it's a demonstration of precise moves in a time limit to put on a show for the audience that's both watching through streaming or watching live in attendance.

I think wrestling fans and professional wrestlers should study Fumio Demura. Watch this documentary called, The real Miyagi. Fumio was the inspiration for the Mr. Miyagi character in the original Karate Kid movies.

Fumio, I think could very well be in a pro wrestling hall of fame. I know he's technically never been involved with pro wrestling, but again his thought process on precision and making stuff look good for the camera, is part of what's missing in today's professional wrestling. It's one of the things NXT is doing right with the fact of making moves look good. Fumio sold his art as authentic as possible. Made every move look like it hurt. Sold it as the demonstrations were a shoot, if you will.

Now, I'm just a wrestling fan. A mark if you will. By the way, I don't take the term "mark" as duragitory. If a mark is what I am, it's what I am. I'm finding myself now respecting the art of professional wrestling as well as the entertainment value of it. I saw a post on facebook that asked who did more for wrestling, was it Flair or Hogan. I would say Flair because he as an artist in the ring, as well as an entertainer. Hogan was straight entertainer. He had enough of the art form down to get by, but his main focus was on the entertainment factor of the product. Just my opinion.

There's been reports that Vince McMahon is not a fan of NXT. Why would he be? Why would Vince McMahon be a fan of something that's working? That the fans are enjoying? I think that proves that the character of Mr. McMahon is more like the real Vince than he cares to share. Again just my opinion.

But back to Femio Demura. He's a real living legend in the art of fighting. He was sports entertainment before Vince coined the term. Not only was Femio's demonstrations precise, it was also entertaining. Like professional wrestling, but work behind the scenes is hard work. The documentary showed a bit of the training that goes on. Wrestling may be predetermined, but I bet if we tried to do the training that it takes to be a pro wrestler, we'd find out how "fake" the product really is. Again, I highly recommend the documentary, The Real Miyagi, for any wrestling fan and professional wrestler. You can find it on Netflix. Especially if you respect the art of wrestling. Fumio Demura for WWE Hall of Fame!

~Daniel Richerson

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH AND IT'S TIME FOR A CHANGE!

So I was contemplating getting a WWE Network Gift Card to watch WWE Fastlane and to get back to watching NXT again. Well, when I went to the grocery store, I didn't see the card, and I didn't feel like driving to Wal-Mart just to get a simple gift card, so I made the decision not to get one. When I woke up, seeing Roman Reigns is booked to face Triple H at WrestleMania and the IWC is irate. Using the hashtag #cancelwwenetwork, and all that. It seems like WWE really messed things up. This kinds reminds me of the Wrestlemania when Daniel Bryan ended up winning the whole thing. If you remember, Daniel Bryan wasn't originally supposed to be in the main event. If I remember right, he was booked to have another match with Sheamus. But due to the reaction of Batista vs Randy Orton, WWE had to make a change.

So I feel due to the reaction of Roman vs Hunter, WWE has to make a change. Wrestlemania is supposed to be the wrestling event of the year. It's supposed to be booked as the best wrestling show. Let's be real, WWE has failed to reach that mark on several occasions. So what is Vince going to do? I don't think Vince is going to let another Wrestlemania go down the drain. I think Vince is the type of guy that if he has to bring the grand wizard Hulk Hogan himself back and get another title run, he'd do it for the ratings. Maybe some how or another Vince can give Dean Ambrose that Daniel Bryan push, and have Dean Ambrose close out the show. Could work. AJ Styles could work, but I doubt that Vince is going to give the fans what they want this early, but I do think and see AJ Styles being a main event player in the next couple of years at Wrestlemania with Samoa Joe.

CM Punk rumors have been debunked, but that would've been an open heaven. Think about it. The backstage feud that CM Punk and HHH apparently had. Would've made all the sense in the world of wrestling, to have CM Punk come back and beat HHH for the title. But since CM Punk is apparently not returning, that won't happen.

How bout finally giving Dolph Ziggler a chance? I don't know. Maybe that would work. Dolph Ziggler has been performing his but off for years, I mean his time has to come soon, right?

In all seriousness, Vince McMahon, Kevin Dunn, and the WWE has to do something. This is bad. This probably worse than the Batista/Orton thing. What ever they're going to do, they need to do it now. To quote the late great Owen Hart, "Enough is enough and it's time for a change!"

~Daniel Richerson

The Main Roster is still the Main Roster...

I hear a lot of fellow smarks, yes you're a smark embrace it, say that going to the main roster is a downgrade as far as going from NXT to Raw. Ok, I understand that the main roster has been none too good lately. I understand that NXT has had the better product lately. Now that that's out the way. NXT is on the WWE network. Not everybody has the WWE Network. Raw is on USA. Raw gives you more exposure than NXT. Raw gives you more money. I'm pretty sure they don't come to NXT to stay at NXT. I'm pretty sure if you sign a contract with WWE, your goal should be on the main show, right?

We want Raw to be better. We want Raw to create better stars. You can't create better stars if the NXT stars stay in NXT. Samoa Joe will never have an opportunity to main event a WrestleMania if he stays in NXT. Like it or not, Wrestlemania is a main roster show. Royal Rumble is a main roster show. AJ Styles is on the main roster. AJ Styles is on RAW like it or not. He's not in NXT. He's on RAW. In my opinion, Samoa Joe should be on the main show right now. But the only problem with the main roster is the bad booking. That was my main problem with the Royal Rumble 2015. It was a poorly book Royal Rumble match that year. I feel it was more than the fact Roman Reigns won, it was how he won. My opinion, Big Show and Kane ruined that match.

But back to the topic at hand. The main roster is still the main roster. No matter how bad the show is. It's still the main roster. I know we all want the main roster to be better, but to say that moving to the main roster is a down grade. It's still the main roster. One of the problems with the main roster is like the "it's better to ask for forgiveness than permission" mentality is none existent. When DX was just the Kliq, they did stuff that got them in trouble every week. HBK is now in the Hall of Fame, and HHH is basically Vince's right hand man.

So yes, NXT is the better product in most people's eyes. You tune in to NXT expecting the great, and you tune in to Raw expecting the worse. I get that, but that doesn't change the fact that Raw is still Raw. There's a lot of people that think Football is not as good as it once was, yet people still tune in. Some people don't think the NBA is as good as it once was but people still tune in. I think Raw will get better. Vince still micro-manages the product, which is a major issue that no one talks about. I feel that as soon as Vince lets go of the reigns, not a shot at Roman,  a little bit, that's when the product will get better.

Daniel Richerson

VINCE WILL LISTEN TO RATINGS

It's been a while since I've expressed my thoughts on the wrestling business. I've been focusing more on my other blog, and when I do share some thoughts I want to express I usually tweet it out. Yet and still--

I see some people are finally getting the point that complaining about Raw via twitter is not changing a thing. Vince said that he listens to the fans in the arena not the fans on twitter. So since he doesn't listen to twitter. Hit Vince where he does listen, his pocket. He may not listen to Twitter, but I guarantee he listens to the ratings. I haven't watched Raw in weeks, cause I got tired of complaining about it, and I got tired of being disappointed week after week. The only wrestling I watch now is my DVDs I got and Ring Of Honor on Saturday nights. Ring Of Honor has always been consistent great wrestling. Much like what NXT is to some people. But the supposedly "main show" has been quite a disappointment. I still keep up with the dirt sheets for results and stuff hoping the show gets better. But as it's turns out, the show is getting worse. I saw via twitter and other social media outlets that Survivor Series was one of the worse ever.

Which is sad to see because Survivor Series is one of the big shows of year for WWE, or should I say used to be. Don't be deceived to think that Vince doesn't know what's going on. Vince has an idea of what's going on. I'm willing to bet Triple H and other people working backstage are in Vince's ear letting him know how bad the product is getting. In the early 90s, it was the Kliq who let Vince know very bluntly on what was wrong with the product. Before he left the business, CM Punk was another one who let the office know. My question is who is the guy or gal in the back that will let Vince know the truth.

It's not like they don't have the talent to put on a good show. It's just poorly booked. I understand that some people are injured and some are taking a break to do other projects, but they still got Ziggler, Kevin Owens, Dudley Boyz, Usos, Dean Ambrose, Alberto Del Rio, Charlotte, Paige, Sasha Banks, Natalya, Paige, and others that can carry the product until the "main stars" come back. In all honestly it looks like the booking has become lazy. WCW and TNA esq if you will. So, if the company wants to present a lazy product, I suggest that we all change the channel.

History does show that Vince listens to the ratings. Some of us are old enough to remember the Monday Night Wars. When Nitro was kicking the crap out of Raw in the ratings, Vince sucked it up and went all out, and the product got better because of it. May be what's missing is competition.

~Daniel Richerson

DIVAS REVOULTION NEEDS SOME MEANING

NXT Take Over gave you two women battling it out for a prize, the NXT Women's Title. I didn't get to watch this match, but from what I read, Sasha Banks and Bayley had a match of the year candidate type match. Then you come to Summer Slam, and we got a tag team elimination match. Then to Raw, another tag team match. We talked about giving the "divas" a chance, when NXT is actually doing it, the "main roster" is still doing the same old stuff just with longer matches. We're supposed to believe Nikki Bella is a champion just because she walks to the ring and holds up the title every week. She hasn't defended the title since before the divas revolution started. If I remember right it was way before the divas revolution started.

Rumor has it the WWE really wants Nikki to break AJ Lee's record reign which is just stupid. Another rumor that has recently come out states that John Cena is pushing for Nikki to keep the title, and if that's true, shame on Cena. Nikki has gotten better as a wrestler in the ring, I'll admit to that, but to say that she's the best, is an asinine thing to even fathom. On the main roster, the WWE can't make up their mind to who is a heel or a face, especially in the divas division. I think they're trying to pass Team Bella off as a face team. I think the only legitimate face team is team PCB.

If they really want this to be a revolution, they need to revolutionize it. Have the matches mean something and not just thrown together. Have the title defended every once in a while. The main thing to revolutionize the "divas" division is call them women, and bring back the women's title again. There's no storyline in the women's division. The wrestling has gotten better, I get that, and that's great, but there's no story. Bayley vs Sasha, there was a story. NXT seems to know how to book the women in a way that the crowd is actually into the match more. Even in the UFC has a story behind the matches. Ronda Rousey's matches has better stories then the women's matches on Raw does right now.

You really want a revolution, make the matches mean something. The only womens feud that means something is Lana and Summer Rae. And they're not even having matches to tell their story.

Other quick notes. The Dudleys are back where they belong in the WWE. What was great about that is that not a lot of people saw it coming. It wasn't reported in a lot of the dirt sheets prior to. It was...wrestling. Also the way Sting showed up on RAW had a real old school wrestling feel to it. The pop from the crowd was a real pop. The promo before from Seth Rollins was like a dry church sermon that had no feel to it.

Do they know what they're doing with Big Show? Big Show is just there right now. It's like there's no value there any more other than his size. La di da on his size to be honest. Some stuff just doesn't impress any more.

~Daniel Richerson

Raw Review (08/17/2015): UNDERTAKER GOT BOOED, AND I'M NOT THE BIT SURPRISED

Most of us wrestling fans won't admit this, but we are some fickle people. Fickle meaning changing frequently, especially as regards one's loyalties, interests, or affection. Some say, Undertaker is one of those characters that shouldn't be booed. I see the point but let's look at the facts. They booked Raw as Brock Lesnar's homecoming. So with that expectation, Brock was going to get a positive reaction from the crowd, and sure enough he did. Paul Heyman cut another classic epic promo, and Undertaker interrupted. He got booed. I will admit, when it first happened I was shocked then I thought about it, it's classic wrestling for that to happen.

Wrestling fans will turn on you in a twinkling of an eye if you will. Just ask John Cena. Cena was a major baby face. He was, as it is said, over with the crowd in a positive way. Then what happened? WWE went to a major wrestling city, and the smarks in the crowd booed him. So fans in other cities that wanted to be labeled cool as well, starting booing Cena as well. When the heels call us sheep, it's not far from the truth. We'll go with what ever the smarks are saying. What ever the dirt sheets are saying we take as bible, so when they don't like somebody, then obviously we aren't supposed to like that somebody.

Now you got the smarks, which I hear the Wrestlers "adore", then you got the fans who don't know what's going on. On Raw, Cena came out and the now normal chant for Cena started, "Let's go Cena! Cena sucks!" And usually it's the kids and women chanting, "Lets go Cena!" and it's the men and smarks chanting, "Cena Sucks!" But there was this poor guy in the crowd the camera caught and he was chanting both. He had no idea what was going on. I don't think many people caught it, but I just knew this guy was just a spectator. It was kinda comical, but at the same time, he just wanted to be part of the show. Which all sports fans in general want. You go to the major sports towns like Detroit, Brooklyn, Philly, Chicago, etc. and they do they're hardest to try and sometimes do take over the show.

Other aspects of the show was ok. 3 hours is just too long of a show if they aren't going to book it right. To what I see, people are loving the Diva Revloution, but are still hating the Bellas. Even though they have gotten better in the ring over the years. Speaking of the Divas, poor Eva Marie got tore to shreds because of bad advertising due to the Total Divas promo. No fault of her own, the promo of Total Divas said, "She was beloved by the audience, and now you're going to find out why the fans hate her." Most of us were trying to figure out when and how Eva was loved by the fans. Eva is perfecting her craft. For that she must be respected, but before getting with Brian Kendrick, she was just like any other diva with no skill just a nice body. She is a representation of everything wrong with women's wrestling in the WWE. These women getting called up to the big show before being ready and stinking up the joint. So Eva was never really loved or respected by the "WWE Universe."

So that promo came on, and the IWC including myself, just tore Eva to shreds. It was no fault of hers, bless her heart, but who ever produced that commercial should be looking for a job today for false advertisement. Now, though, we got Charlotte, Sasha, Becky who has took time to hone their skills before getting called up to the main roster, and are now pioneering the future of women wrestling for the WWE. Which is causing divas like the Bellas, and Alicia Fox and Naomi to step it up. I feel bad for Natayla and Cameron who haven't got ANY TV time since this Diva Revolution started. Poor Layla retired.

Last thing I will say concerning the Divas is sending Eva Marie back to "developmental" is a good idea. A lot of people were saying Layla should have done that just to get better. And hopefully in the near future, Bailey from NXT will get her chance to shine on Raw and Smackdown.

Hopefully after Summer Slam, Cesaro and Kevin Owens will be in better spots. This ROH guys are taking over the WWE and making the TV better. Cesaro and Owens has been knocking it out the park by the week. Owens should be the US champion right now in my opinion, and the rivalry between K.O. and Cesaro should have the US Title in the midst. I'm a big fan of the former ROH guys getting a spot on the main roster of Raw. Hopefully Samoa Joe is next up.  But when he get called up, the creative will have something for him.

~Daniel Richerson

FOR THE DREAM AND THE HOT ROD

"I've wined and dined with kings and queens - but I've slept in alleys and dined on pork 'n' beans" ~ Dusty Rhodes.

"Just when you think they have the answers, I change the questions" ~ Roddy Piper.

Within less than 2 months we lost two major legends of the wrestling business. I say wrestling because they were wrestling. You think Wrestling, you think Dusty and Piper. Sports Entertainment came later.

Let me blog on Dusty for a second. You gave Dusty a microphone and you would get magic every time. I'm only 28 so my highlights of Dusty is as a commentator on the WCW announce team, and even those memories are good memories. My favorite call he did was during the classic Rey Misterio Jr and Eddie Guerrero match at Halloween Havoc '97 when he said, "What amazing athleticism that was. Know what I mean?" Watching old WCW matches back you can tell they had no governor on them like the WWE commentators do now. Dusty would just say what he wanted and that's what made it enjoyable. The back and forth between Dusty and Bobby was something we'll never get again. 

I studied history on Dusty by watching old promos and matches back and to be as big as he was and to have the quality of matches he had was nothing short of epic. Dusty has been honored by Bubba/Brother/Bully Ray and other wrestlers/superstars as they have added some of Dusty's signatures moves in their own move set.

I got to tell this story. In 7th grade, I had an afro. And these two boys in my Home Ec class started randomly calling me Dusty because of my afro and it reminded them of The American Dream. So from 7th grade until now, people call me Dusty. I added Big in front of Dusty to add something "cool" to it, but it all started in 7th grade. Since Dusty's death I have changed my user name on some social media sites because he was who I got that nick name after and I figured why keep it since it was his.

Last thoughts on Dusty is that he was the wrestling business. Prior to his death, he was helping out down in NXT. If I'm not mistaken the Wyatt Family was Dusty's brain child. And we see how big they got and still are. Dusty was a genius, and his stamp will always be on the business for years to come.

From one icon to another. The Hot Rod. The Commissioner. Rowdy Roddy Piper. Another brilliant talker. Who could make you hate him so much that you love him. Again being 28 I  really became a big fan of Roddy when he worked in WCW in the later years. I used to love when he came out and talked on the mic. For some reason I knew I was going to hear something epic. Kinda the same feeling I get now when Paul Heyman picks up a microphone. I put Roddy at number 2 on my greatest talkers list, with Dusty at number 1 of course.

I heard stories of what Roddy would do in California in his feud against the Guerrero's. Hearing Roddy tell stories was something magical. Hopefully the podcasts he recorded will stay up online for years to come. My favorite podcast he put out was the one he recorded with Chavo Guerrero Jr because of the stories what were told. How stuff ended with Piper and Podcast one was stupid to me, but I don't know the details.

Listening to Piper through his podcasts though, you could hear what a nice guy his was. His laugh was infectious.

When Roddy came back to do special editions of Piper's Pit it was always must see television for me. I just hated the fact that they tried to script Piper. You can't put a script on genius. But never the less, it was still good TV.

Both deaths completely shocked me. Didn't see either one of them coming at all. Especially Roddy. He was active on Twitter more than you would think a guy his age would be. I knew Dusty was losing weight, but I don't think anybody saw his death coming. Both men put a mark on the business that can't be erased. Both men will be missed. Who better to study how to do a promo than Dusty and Roddy?

Gone too soon.

Daniel Richerson fka Big Dusty