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

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

DOES VINCE EVEN CARE ANYMORE?

I didn't watch the 2/23/2015 edition of RAW but this is just going off the reviews of the tweets I saw and from what I watched on Fastlane.

It seems to me that Vince is throwing in the towel. Bad booking all the way. Between NXT and the main roster is night and day as far as booking goes. NXT is the wrestling that most of us long to see when we turn into Monday Night Raw or Thursday Night Smackdown. The booking of Roman Reigns getting stuffed down our throats to get him over is not best idea. I saw someone that said that the fans really want to care for Roman but they just don't like the booking. I'm not a fan of bad booking in any fashion. I hate it in reality as well as entertainment.

Thinking it over, I'm going to give the divas the benefit of the doubt. I've complained and complained about the divas for years, but after thinking it over, you have to most of the blame on Vince and the "creative team." The good ole days when you had Trish Stratus, Lita, Victoria (Tara), Jazz, Chyna...the divas actually got time. Speaking of Chyna, did y'all see that twerking video? Chyna still on drugs? Anyway, I read that the divas only got 30 seconds on Raw. 30 SECONDS! How can you have employees show off their skill in 30 seconds? Especially in business like wrestling. I do see that the women get time on House Shows or "Live Events", but I'm sure they would want some time in front of the camera other than to be eye candy. I admit, I'm not the biggest Bella Twin fan in the world. I'm a fan of Paige, AJ Lee, Natayla, those who actually had a wrestling past not coming in for a "divas search." Just making a joke of the profession. Granted, search winners like  Layla has gained experience over the years, but seriously tho.

Bryan Danielson aka Daniel Bryan seems to have the Shawn Michaels mentality in that he tries to make every match the best it can be. He made Roman look great at FastLane. It was a good match. Everybody knows Reigns has a lot to improve on, but the talent is there in my opinion. Reigns needs to learn had to follow what the crowd is giving each night. He seems to have script and sticks to it, but with a live audience, you have to make tweaks here and there to make it work better. In church we call it, following the flow of the spirit. If the spirit is leading to something that's not according to the program just follow it. If the live crowd is not liking what the product is producing in the ring then the performers should have the mindset to call an audible to follow the flow of the crowd.

How great is Rusev as a heel? He's the kind of heel JR likes. If you listen to the JR podcast, JR has complained about there's no more real heels in the business. Hopefully he's satisfied with Rusev and Lana. Lana has become one of the better valets of this era. I've heard she's wants to actually work in the ring, but I've also heard because of injuries she can't. Though with this role as a manager/valet, she's doing great business.

Sting and HHH is going to be money. They sold that match so well at FastLane. I'm in agreement with a lot of people when they say that the Sting and HHH segment at FastLane was the best of the night. Sting didn't say a word and still made his point. WWE is already booking Sting better than TNA ever did. As a fan of Sting, it's cool for me to see him in a WWE environment and properly used.

Bray Wyatt's undertaker promo at FastLane was so good. Completely had me fooled. That's the kind of stuff I miss as a wrestling fan. The joy of being surprised. Bray Wyatt came out in a coffin and cut a promo from the casket. It was done so well. Can't say enough about how good that was. A lot going around how old Taker looks now. Well, you can't been the clock folks. It was bound to happen. Now he's dyed his hair and is working out. Now who should go over in that match of Bray vs Undertaker? Bray, but that's just me. Bray is the young guy, Taker has had his time. He's still a HOFer so the streak being over doesn't hurt his legacy at all in my opinion.

All in all the yes the product could be better. Not all is bad, but not all is good either. Vince is old. Triple H is going to have the book soon. It seems like Vince is on his way out the door. Vince would deny that, but you watch the product, it seems that way.

~Daniel Richerson

SMACKDOWN LIVE...MIGHT AS WELL BEEN TAPED

It's been quite a while since I've blogged on this site, but here we go.

Let me start at the Royal Rumble. Match of the Night was the World title match. I probably won't get much argument on that one. Rollins did his thing. Brock did his thing. Even Cena as much as the IWC loves to hate him, he brought it as well. The spot where Rollins did the elbow of the top rope to the announce table was nicely done. Of course it's a spot we've seen before, but it worked for the match. The sell job from Brock Lesnar after that spot was good as well. I thought they were going to let Rollins get the win for a second. I was hoping that Cena wouldn't get the W. Thank God he didn't. Brock got the win.

I'll get to the Royal Rumble "controversy" in sec, but I want to go another controversy that no one is talking about. The fact that two second generation wrestlers got dominated by two divas. That match made no sense to me. Bellas have gotten better I give them that, but in no way are they good enough to win the way they did at the royal rumble. Paige and Natayla should've put up a better fight than that, but as someone tweeted me, "WWE, where logic doesn't exist." Nikki Bella is the divas champ which I feel is only because she's John Cena's current girlfriend. Like I said, she's improved, but she's no doubt the best on the roster. AJ, Paige, Natalya, Naomi...and they chose Nikki.

Now to what everybody has been talking about. The Royal Rumble match. First let's discuss the good. Bubba Ray was in a WWE ring again. Let that sink in. DDP was a surprise entrant, and actually performed pretty well in his short stint. And that was the good. The rest of the match was poorly booked. That's what I think is the controversy. Roman Reigns winning was not the controversy in my opinion. The real controversy was how Ziggler, Dean Ambrose, and Daniel Byran was eliminated like mid carders. Who thought that work? In Philly no less...

Anyway, that's my thoughts on that, now to Smackdown Live. Smackdown was Live because Raw was snowed out. The show over all was not that good. Started off with a promo from HHH as if he was playing the part of the DX version of his character. Roman Reigns came out to a "mixed" reaction which the commentators constantly reminded us. By the way, Byron Saxton on commentary is a fail. End that yesterday. Triple H got a announcement on Raw that's gonna "shake WWE to the core" which is bound to be a bust considering how 2015 has been going so far. 2015, btw, Vince tweeted that it was going to be "the best year in the history of the WWE." Word? Anyway, the whole show was trying to sell the Casket match between Bryan and Kane. The match was a bore to me. Daniel Bryan got the win, which was the only good thing about the match to me. Hopefully Kane will never come back, unless it's a Hall of Fame bid. He's done his time. I'm sorry Glenn Jacobs, but it's over.

Also Paige vs Nikki Bella is booked for Fastlane for the Divas title. I'm hoping Paige gets the W, but I doubt that'll happen due to the booking at the Royal Rumble. I'm hoping either Paige get's the win or Velvet Sky comes in and joins the Bellas. I'm waiting for Charlotte to come up from NXT to take over the division. Charlotte is one of the best workers not just amongst the divas but of all the workers in NXT. She has "it."

Remember that I'm just another mark expressing his thoughts on the internet like a whole lot of people. I have no affiliates with any dirt sheets website or anything like that. But I love professional wrestling. I've been a fan most of my life, and I have strong opinions on the product and I share them from time to time.

~Daniel Richerson

Impact Wrestling 7/17/14 review: GET YOUR MONEY JEFF HARDY!

Just got done watching an entertaining episode of Impact Wrestling aka TNA. First of a few shows from NYC and overall I gotta say the show was a good one. Of course you got the folks that's going to hate TNA no matter what, and to those people you really can't say anything to them. Some of them are are former employees that can't forgive, but I digress. I really got nothing bad to say about the show really. The crowd was extreme, pun intended. It was an old school wrestling crowd. Real NYC crowd. Even noticed some familiar faces in the crowd that were at some of the WWE shows back when they ran shows in that building.

Dixie Carter should not be on TV. I know I'm just a "smark" but in my opinion, she shouldn't be on TV as a character. Don't get me wrong, Dixie Carter looks great for her age, but the kind of heat she was getting tonight was not typical wrestling heat, it was what some fans call "X-Pac heat" meaning they just don't like you at all. AT ALL. But with that being said I like the build between her and Bully Ray. They're actually making it work. Now I think Dixie, if she still owns the company, should only show up when needed. Not forced down our throats. Let Kurt Angle handle the GM role, and Dixie sits in the back in her office and sips her drink of choice. Dixie is not even in Vickie Guerrero's league of character, and Vickie was not that good of a character.

Can we talk about Jeff Hardy? I mean, doesn't he have money now? The spots that man did tonight were insane. First the spot where Jeff went head first on the stairs after Lashley grabbed his legs while he was standing on the stairs. I even tweeted after that, "Is Jeff ok?" Jeff is the type of guy that loves to top himself in the ring. Now let's get to the swanton on the stairs. Folks if you didn't see it, youtube it. It was the definition of crazy or stupid. It's amazing to me how Jeff hasn't had major back surgery with all the stunts he's pulled over the years. Keep getting your money Jeff.

Speaking of getting your money, allow me to mention Daniel Bryan. Keep getting your money Daniel Bryan. I wish Daniel Bryan a speedy recovery from his injuries but I think he has nothing to worry about when he comes back to the ring. The man gets Yes chants in other companies and independent companies world wide. Like I said, GET YOUR MONEY DANIEL BRYAN!! 

The X Division title match was good as well. It was non-stop action. Austin Aries is money as the boys say. I just got one question...is the suicide dive a ROH staple or what? Daniel Bryan, CM Punk, Samoa Joe, Austin Aries, Seth Rollins...all do the suicide dive. I'm just wondering. The Knockout match, it was a good match, but to call it a no DQ match? Nah. No weapons or rule breaking in this match. But again it was a solid match.

How about that promo from the human suplex machine Taz? Talk about old school. Taz can still talk with the best of them. He's better than just about anyone working today except for Paul E. I loved it. Not scripted, just a straight good promo. Bully Ray and Tommy Dreamer cut good promos as well. Dreamer with a little shot at WWE, and it worked. That clowned face guy got a good reaction too. In NYC, that's a big deal. 

Overall, props to the TNA creative and TNA wrestlers for a great show, and making me want to tune in for the next show. Until the next blog...

Daniel Richerson

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YES MOVEMENT IS REAL, children...IT'S REAL!

I'm sure if you reading this you caught  Monday night Raw (3/11/2014). What a raw it was...considering what I actually watched was probably an hour worth at best. If you don't know I only tune in to Raw to to what I'm interested in. Meaning I keep my phone on Twitter and if something or someone I like is on Raw, Then I tune in. For example if I'm reading my timeline and I see Seth Rollins is fixing to wrestle, I tune in. If I look I'm my time line seeing it's a divas match, I'm watching something else which is currently The Voice.

But moving on. Let's go ahead and get to the point. Did y'all see that Yes Movement segment when Daniel Bryan brought an army of fans to the ring and around the ring wearing Daniel Byran T-Shirts? To me that was the Raw segment of the year. Granted it wouldn't been better if the fans had their Red Bull, but besides that it was a brilliant segment. One that hasn't been done before, not that I remember anyway, and one that was a long time coming. Since after Wrestlemania 28. The Yes movement if you recall really took to drive that Monday Night Raw after wrestlemania 28 where the Miami crowd hijacked the show. If you want to talk about Hijack, Chicago, rewatch that raw from Miami after Wrestlemania 28 on the WWE network, if it's up. That's how you hijack a show. For now on if anybody wants to "hijack raw" watch that Miami crowd for direction or go to a Raw taping in Brooklyn because the  BK crowd is always hype.

Back to the segment, at one point Daniel Byran threatened to take the fans to the parking lot and have the rest of the show be run in an empty arena. Now THAT would have been a moment. Let me mention Stephanie McMahon who gave the best performance I've ever seen her give on a mike. She's learned a lot being married to HHH and of course literally growing up in the business of Pro Wrestling. I liked it. Triple H has always been good on the stick if you will, not a master, but good none the less.

I'm going off track, the segment itself. Again I say, segment of the year. I go as far as to say, Epic. Now we know that "Epic" has become an overrated term in 2014, but I'm still using it because I'm a rebel. So it's gonna be Daniel Bryan vs Triple H and if Daniel Byran wins that he's going to be put in the Main Event match of the card. It's about time, WWE. Now we as the IWC, look at it as a win for us. But as Matt Hardy pointed out last night on Twitter:

"Fans should be happy, they were heard. Here's the deal- #WWE morphed the fan's frustrations into THEIR favor, THEIR story, thus owning it."

I called him a party pooper because I was still hyped off the segment but now that I'm calm, Matt Hardy, or as he's known by some marks, Fatt Hardy...I say if Matt Hardy is considered Fat, I'm considered "Death Bed"...anyway, WWE took what the fans wanted and made it like they had it planned the whole time. I also liked what Chris Jericho tweeted out:

Congrats to @wwe for finally embracing what has been in front of their faces the whole time… @WWEDanielBryan #nextworldchampion.

Someone in the back, we like to think Triple H, was holding this back for the longest. To the point where the fans where almost getting tired of it. Daniel Byran is small in stature. He has the beard and long hair gimmick going on. He's not the proto type WWE Superstar, but the man is as over as Stone Cold was in the Attitude Era. So WWE would have been stupid not to jump on this.

Now other quick topics...I for one am living Bray Wyatt mike work. Impact Wrestling is back in the US, and drew an arena barley 1/4 full for a PPV. I'll let that sink in.

Daniel Richerson
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HIJack Raw...failed!

To be a good blogger like I claim to be, I couldn't leave this one alone. Let's talk about this hijack that was supposedly gonna take place 3/3/2014 at the Allstate Center in Chicago. The fans were electrified! CM PUNK!! CM PUNK!!! WWE countered the chants with an up and down show. First a genius move that I think Paul Heyman came up with because it was too smart for the stooges at the creative to come up with. CM Punk music plays, the fans in the crowd and the IWC were going nuts. CM Punk is back!! YES!! YES!! YES!! Paul Heyman comes out to music and sits indian style in the ring like who else CM Punk. And proceeds to give a clinic in cutting promos as only Paul E can do. It worked. But at this point I was still believing that Punk was going to come out. Paul brings out Brock Lesnar and hands Brock the mike. Uh oh. This was going to be bad. Brock was never the best talker in the world, but with his work rate, we let that slide as fans. Brock cuts a decent promo for Brock's standards. Then I changed the channel. For what I hear, Henry came out and Brock put Henry through the announce table. Why I did I change the channel? Because I only tune in to what I care about. I keep my phone on Twitter and with something happens that I may be interested in, I tune in.

Any so that happened. No CM Punk but brilliant segment none the less. So then it was the Old Age Outlaws vs the USOs for the Tag Titles. I didn't watch this match but according to the tweets, USOs won the titles!! Good for them. It's long over due in my book, but good for them. And the crowd loved it. Still no CM Punk.

Casaro vs Big E...bleh...didn't watch. didn't care. I hear good things about Casaro though.

Now this match is what I ran upstairs to my room to watch. The Sheild vs The Wyatts. What a roller coaster of a match this was. Back and forth. Just non stop action and brilliant story telling. The crowd was hot as well. I'm loving the story with Seth Rollins having issues with the Shield. Seth formerly known as Tyler Black is a brilliant worker or performer. I think he'll be in the Wrestlemania main event within the next 5 years. He's that good. Wyatts win the match, but I think everybody won when it came to that match. Great 5 star stuff. I think X Pac said that that was Wrestlemania stuff. I couldn't agree more. Yet still no CM Punk. IWC still believing he's coming.

Fandango and Summer Raw vs Santino and Emma. I like Summer Rae. She is a 10 in my book when it comes to looks. But I didn't care for this match. I think Fandango is another brilliant performer. But I hate the gimmick. Santino is just a waste of time to me. If he gets fired right now, who would care other than him? I rest my case. And Emma? No idea who that is. Still no CM Punk, and one would have assumed that the Hijacking would have took pace during this match. Nope.

Sheamus vs Christian. Another hijack worthy match if you will. Nothing. Not a big fan of Sheamus and Christian has been so under used it's embarrassing. Christian should've stayed in TNA hindsight being what it is. He was the world champion in that company. Comes back to WWECW and bleh. Only reason he still has a job is because of Edge. But back to the match. Didn't watch didn't care. No Hijacking. No Punk.

The Bella Twins vs Alicia Fox and Askana.

Then Daniel Byran comes out. To a massive reaction. The Yes Movement is real children it is real. And if you ain't in it, you will get ran over. And the Authority comes out to answer Daniel Byran's challenge to Triple H at Wrestlmania XXX. The heat that Stephanie and HHH got with this Chicago audience was Attitude Era like. It was epic heat. The kind of heat Vickie Guerrero gets. That kind of heat. All and all HHH turned down the challenge because Daniel Bryan is a "B+ player."  Triple H and that shovel, boy. It's a God dang shame! So they order Daniel to leave, he refuses, and they call for corporate Kane to take care of Bryan. Bryan dives on to Kane then security comes out and escorts Daniel out. Heated segment. CM Punk chants all on it. But yet and still No CM Punk. At this point, I think it hit me that CM Punk wasn't there.

Then Alberto vs Dolph Ziggler. Nice little match. Ziggler won with help from the guest host, Aaron Paul. Forgive me, I have no idea who he is. Yet and still Ziggler is over, children. Ziggler push chould be coming up soon. Again. Hopefully WWE doesn't screw this up. Again. Still no Punk.

Next we find out that Paul Bearer is going to the Hall of Fame. Congrats to Paul. A shame that he's not alive to appreciate it. When is Macho Man getting in? Seriously. If Warrior can finally make it in--come on now.

Then it's Jack "Weed The People" Swagger vs Big E.

So then John Cena comes out to address the audience. John is a genius on the mike. Whether you love John or you hate him. Regardless of his work rate, John is brilliant. John gets a reaction. He responds to it, and he works with it. What more do you want from him. He takes us back through his history of his time in Chicago. Didn't mention CM Punk but at the same time he did. We all knew who he was talking about. Then the Wyatts popped up on the screen. Blah blah blah blah. Still no Punk. Moving on.

Now let's go to the main event. Bootista vs Daniel Byran. Randy Orton was at ringside watching the match. Daniel Byran was looking like he was about to hit a big move on Bootista, and then the corperation, i mean the Authority comes out. Batista throws Bryan into Orton. Orton retaliates on Byran. The Authority beats up Bryan. And that's how the show ends. No riot. No Hijack. No CM Punk. Hijack Raw...failed. But other than the obvious this show wasn't that bad of a show. WWE provided a good show. and had the people in the palm of their hands. So like it or not children, WWE won. The Machine won.

One last thing. Can we please cut out the Daniel Byran goat nonsense. I'm sick and tired of hearing flying goat this and toad that. Give the man some respect. He's the face of the WWE. He doesn't need a title to prove that. His Yes chants are literally everywhere. Give the man the title and let's go. WWE is pushing it but not giving Byran a title match at Wrestlemania. If Byran doesn't get the title soon, Bryan could end up taking a "sabbatical" like CM Punk.

Thanks for reading. Follow me on Twitter @Big_Dusty. Friend me on Facebook.com/bigdusty. I'm out. Leave me some comments letting me know what you think. And if you want check out my other blog page at http://bigdusty.blogspot.com And I'm spent. Later.

Daniel Richerson

Give Daniel Byran his Title and His Money

First let me say that I hope everyone had a great Christmas and I hope your 2014 is going great so far! Also let me say that I enjoyed Old School Raw this past Monday (1/6/2013), especially seeing Jake The Snake Roberts coming out to the ring looking healthy and better than ever. The Pipers Pit and he gave his ode to Punk I thought was epic. And even I have to say that the Bellas have really improved in the ring. And I have been on the record saying that the Bellas suck in the ring, never mind what they do outside the ring, but never the less...

Now, Daniel Byran. They guy that has been the most over guy in the company of the World Wrestling Entertainment. No matter what the machine thinks when they shove John Cena down our throats. I respect John Cena, but he's not the most over guy anymore. In my opinion, Daniel Byran is quickly becoming the face of the WWE. His yes chants are becoming legend. Of course with the crowd reactions he got in every arena, but even outside of wrestling the Yes chants are becoming a part of the culture. Kinda like DX back in the 90s with the crotch chop and the infamous two words.

I saw this video of the Michigan State Spartans doing the Yes chant at the game and the whole arena joined in. To me that was an epic moment in wrestling. It puts wrestling back on the map. Which is a good thing. So with that being said, WWE, what's the problem? End this crap with Bryan and the Wyatts, and put the strap on the guy. No he's not really a heavyweight, but he is the man right now. Give the man a strap and a good run and see where it goes. Yes he's a small guy but I know of another small guy that got a huge push and run...named Shawn Michaels who trained and brought Daniel Byran or Byran Danielson into the business. I can't be the only one seeing this. Daniel Bryan is money right now, so why not bank on it?

That's it for this one. Not that long, this blog but I got my point across. It's Daniel Byran's time now. LETS GO!!

~Daniel Richerson
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Daniel Byran is on the road to one of the biggest pushes in the modern era

I said last post that wrestling is becoming fun again. Did a little thinking on this. Me being a mark most of my life seeing how business is done and also being a  movie buff. I think Daniel Byran is on route to become one of the biggest stars in the modern era of sports entertainment. Week after week Daniel is getting power bombed by the shield and or RKOed by Randy Orton. It's only a matter of time where the hero fights back, and when Daniel Bryan finally gets that hero's comeback the place is going to go insane.

Triple H is a tremendous heel. He's playing this part well. The mark that's still in me is hating him for how he's "running things," and that lets me know that what he's doing is working. Ok, yes this storyline is a rehash of old storylines but bottom line is that it's working. People are buying into it. It's almost becoming cool to be a wrestling fan again. IF Triple H was really the bad guy the IWC says he his, Daniel Bryan wouldn't have his spot he does now.

Even the Divas division is stepping up a little bit, but with that being said I got my doubts. As of this blog posting, it's booked that at Night Of Champions, it will be a fatal four way for the divas championship featuring Natalya, Brie Bella (smh), Naomi, and AJ. If Natayla or AJ does not win, someone should riot. Naomi has a lot of potential, but she's not ready yet. Her in ring skills are dynamite, but her promo skills are just bad. Brie Bella is all around awful. AWFUL. Natayla and AJ are the only wrestlers in that match. Therefore, one of those two should win the belt. I would have AJ keep the strap. I know they're trying to build the popular Total Divas show but screw that. AJ got the promo of her career a short time ago and I feel deserves to have the strap. Plus AJ could be the first Mrs. Richerson. Hey you know what they say, once you got fat, Michelle Obama hates you.

Now let me go in on the Big Show story going on. That segment with him and Stephanie McMahon was so uncomfortable to watch. Big Show looked so beaten down and worthless and Stephanie looked like the little sister who made it and is now holding over the Big Show's head. I don't have a clue as to where that storyline is going but it's interesting. When Daniel Byran finally gets his comeback, I do think Big Show and Dolph Ziggler will be a part of it. Somehow I think Vince will be part of it too. I've read rumors that this is all building up to a Wrestlemania match with Vince's guy is going up against Triple H's guy. Notice Vince hasn't been on TV much since the "new corporation" if you will started up? Something is brewing. And it's going to be sweet.

Daniel Richerson
@Big_Dusty on Twitter and Instagram
Facebook.com/bigdusty

WRESTLING IS BACK!

Wrestling hasn't been this fun since the attitude era. I was one of the cats that said TNA needs to step it up because that will make wrestling fun again. I've never been more happy to be wrong. The whole Daniel Bryan storyline is an awesome storyline. Daniel Bryan is on the push to become on an Austin level of professional wrestling. Say what you want about Vince McMahon and Triple H, but I'm begging you to look at the current product and find a long run negative about the storyline with Daniel Bryan and the McMahons. This has the potential to be as big or even possibly bigger than the Austin era. That's pretty strong to say, but I'm saying anyway.

How bout that epic CM Punk promo from last night's raw (8/19/2013)? Going after this innocent fat guy in the crowd for booing him was just old school classic wrestling. I loved it. It was attitude era of the WWE/original ECW. Paul Heyman is as good as he ever was. His balding head and that ponytail is a different story all together, but his genius of pro wrestling and his work on the mic is masterful. I love it.

Let me get this out the way. Darren Young. I used to be that guy that would blast this guy for coming out. But I've grown to learn that what you do in your own privacy is none of my business. Darren Young being gay has nothing to do with his performance in the ring. What I think of the gay lifestyle is not important. I hope this is not a "work" but let's look at it this way. The gay/lesbian thing is a big thing right now. So Darren coming out was good for business as far as getting viewers. I've heard rumors that Darren coming out was a "work," and why would one play with this sensitive issue, I don't know. I don't think it's a work. Again what you do in your own bedroom is none of my business.

WWE is doing great business right now. TNA is--WWE is doing great business right now. I'm of the mindset that, again I hope I'm wrong about this, but I think TNA is at the point of no return. I just think there's no chance for them. It's too late. I mean, I want TNA to work, but I just think it's too late. A lot of people may disagree with me, but remember this is my blog. It's my opinion. I don't get many benefits as a mulatto because society sees me as black. Freedom of speech though...just saying.

I titled this Wrestling is back, because this is the most fun this has been since the attitude era. So as far as WWE goes, wrestling is back and fun again. I hope we all enjoy this ride and I hope it continues past the success of WWF attitude.

Thanks for stopping by,

Daniel Richerson
@Big_Dusty on Twitter and Instagram
Facebook.com/bigdusty

THIS IS THE YEAR OF THE AMERICAN DRAGON

This is the year of the dragon…the American dragon if you will, Bryan Danielson aka Daniel Bryan. The momentum this guy is on is going to make him enough money to build a retirement fund. He’s in the Money In The Bank match, I feel he’s a shoe in to win that match. Vince is a business man. Whether we believe it or not, Vince is a smart business man. So here’s what should go down in my opinion. Daniel Bryan should stay face. And go ahead and turn Cena heel. I would say about 85% of the “Universe” is turning on him anyway. Merchandise sells, will they go down? Depends on how bad of a heel Cena is. Back in early 2000s, Cena was a pretty good heel in my opinion. The whole Dr. of Thuganomics gimmick was working. I’m not saying he should go back to that gimmick, but I am saying why not play to the fans a little bit. I say turn Cena heel, let him lose on the microphone, and see what happens. Remember when CM Punk cut the infamous promo in Vegas? The internet exploded. People tuned in to see what Punk was going to say next. Why not Cena? Cena is a good on the mic. One of the better talkers WWE has but he’s in such a bad gimmick right now, that the corny stuff they have him saying is barfable. If Cena ever cuts a Hulk Hogan Bash At The Beach ’96 type promo and tells the Universe to stick it, I think business would pick up. Ratings would possibly go up. On the other hand it might be too little too late. I think try it. I mean using the gimmick that Cena is going to be Cena despite of the fans think of them is just a standard bs way to go. Jalen Rose says it best, “Got to give the people, give the people what they want.”

So Cena goes heel, then Daniel Bryan goes up against him at Summer Slam and wins the title. The reaction would be…EPIC! Daniel Bryan and Cena could have matches possibly better than the Punk/Cena matches. As far as wrestling ability, Bryan and Punk are neck and neck. Bryan has been stealing the show on every Monday Night Raw for weeks now. Give the man his due. There’s an old Gospel song that says, “Put your time in, pay day is coming after while.” Bryan has definitely put his time in from NXT, to Nexus, to the 18 seconds bull, to the Team Hell No, to now. The man is ready to carry the company. The fans are behind him. The Yes chants are over more than the What chants ever were. It’s time to see Bryan get his Shawn Michaels on, who trained Bryan btw.

To be honest, I have doubts that the Cena heel turn will ever happen. Most of the IWC wants this to happen, but I don’t think Vince has the grapefruits to do it. Hogan was face a bit too long and the fans got tired of him. Hogan went heel and got another huge run out of the deal. Vince is making the same mistake with Cena I believe. Also I’ve read rumors about some backstage are pushing for a triple threat match at Summerslam with Super Cena, Mark Henry, and Ryback. No! No! No! Sorry, Ryback is not ready clearly. His promos suck, and his skills in the ring leave a lot to be desired. Ryback lost at Westlemania, Extreme Rules, and Payback, and some “geniuses, think he deserves a title shot? Am I missing something here? I know Vince is high on Ryback, but Vince needs to give the people what they want. Why the people? Cause we the people, not pun intended to Mr. “Weed the people” Jack Swagger, pay his salary.

That’s all I got to say. I’m not a wrestling guru or anything; I’m just a lifelong wrestling fan with a medium to post my thoughts on the product. Hope you enjoyed it. If you agree or disagree, let me know in the comment section. Thanks for checking the blog.

Daniel Richerson
Facebook.com/bigdusty
Twitter.com/big_dusty

WWE, FINALLY!!

Hey thanks for stopping by.

Just about immediately after the Attitude Era ended in the WWF/E people were complaining about it and wanting the Attitude Era to come back. Most people had nothing good to say about the PG era. For those folks and the rest of us I give you the Monday night Raw 6/17/2013 episode. Most of us call it the best Raw of the year. I put it up there as one of the better ones in the past 5-10 years. I mean actual surprises happening and working. Christian coming back was a complete shock to me. I expected him to come back sometime but never expected it to happen last night. I would have expected some vignettes, but for him to come out as a surprise on Monday Night Raw was just classic.

Speaking of classic, let’s move forward to the Mark Henry segment. Nicely done. Very nicely done. I admit I actually thought it was genuine. I didn’t see a swerve coming at all. Boy was I wrong, and I’ve never been happier to be wrong in my life. When Mark Henry and John Cena hugged, and then Mark gave Cena the World’s Strongest Slam I felt cheated. I felt doped. I haven’t had that feeling in a long time regarding WWE or wrestling in general. But it was a good feeling none the less. I thought it was genius. I thought it was classic. And think about this folks, it wasn’t just the talk of the WWE Universe, it was the talk of the wrestling world as a whole. Look back at the tweets from Matt Hardy, Shane Helms, Axl Rotten, Kevin Steen, etc. It was just a great moment. It made me a Mark Henry fan. I will say this up front, I was not a Mark Henry fan at all. I thought he was a waste of TV time. That segment changed my whole tune for Mark Henry.

Now Raw did have a bad spot in my opinion. The Randy Orton Daniel Bryan ending was just garbage to me. People are worried about WWE going overboard with the concussion thing, you ask me they already did. Especially with the Daniel Bryan Randy Orton ending. Don’t get me wrong, concussions are serious, but don’t overkill it. In my opinion, this didn’t stop the Daniel Bryan momentum but it did slow it down a little bit. Daniel Bryan will be a World Champion before this year is out. I believe that.

Speaking of World Champion let me talk about the Del Rio/Ziggler story. The Heel/Face turn at Payback was Bret Hart/Stone Cold esq. Del Rio is a better heel than a face and turning Ziggler face was just genius. So CM Punk and Del Rio was the main event on Raw. I go in on Punk in a minute, but the match ended with Del Rio doing the classic heel move and leaving the match losing in a count out. As Del Rio was heading backstage, Dolph ran out jumped off the stage and onto Del Rio. Another surprise and it worked. I don’t know if WWE fired the old writers, got new writers, or if the current writers finally wised up. Whatever it is, WWE needs to keep this going.

I say I would go in on CM Punk. The Best in the world. CM Punk and Paul Heyman are masters of the wrestling world. Geniuses of the wrestling world. Reading the dirt sheets, I knew there was a possibility of a CM Punk vs Brock Lesnar storyline down the road. Well on this epic Raw, the storyline got started. CM Punk dropped Heyman as a manager. Told Heyman, “I don’t need your help. Stick to helping Brock and Curtis Axel. I’m not your client, I’m your friend.” CM Punk wins via count out and you don’t hear Cult of Personality, you hear Brock Lesnar’s music. They have a face off. Brock gets the microphone like he’s going to say something then F5s Punk. Loved it. It worked. And we know Punk is going to have something to say on this and having Punk and Heyman going at it via the microphone? Yes please!

Let me end by giving WWE props by at least trying to give the Divas something on TV. The AJ/Kaitlyn storyline is interesting to say the least. Stephanie came out last night and got involved in the storyline. It made no sense to me, but at least it’s something. AJ Lee is gorgeous and she is the best worker in that woman’s locker room. Better than Natalya? Who got the belt? Now, you can argue that Kaitlyn had the belt, the Bellas had the belt, and Layla had the belt. Ok I see your point. But this is the first time in a long time that the holder of the Diva’s championship was a good worker. Again props to WWE. Also Kaitlyn had the moment of her career. Her puppies seemed to outgrow the dog house they were in. Call me perverted if you want, but I’m 26. I’m a male. I’m straight. And you know this. WWE with the late black out was great too. Those who missed it, I’m sure you can find it via Google or Bing. I’m not condoning you look at this, but I’m just saying it happened.

Daniel Richerson
Facebook.com/bigdusty
Twitter.com/big_dusty

ARE POLITCS AND FOOTBALL TO BLAME FOR BAD RATINGS FOR WRESTLNG?

Cue Hero by Chad Kroeger feat Josey Scott. It’s been a while since I posted a blog on this blog spot and it’s because I can’t watch wrestling like I used to. With the job and other stuff I have to do, I don’t have the time. And the fact that I don’t have DVR. Either way, I do the best I can with YouTube and the dirt sheets, mainly NoDQ.com and WrestlingNewsSource.com. Either way, this came to me tonight while watching the CM Punk DVD produced by WWE, and may I say, it’s a great DVD. One of the best ones I’ve seen. I put it up there with The Rise and Fall of ECW and the Bret Hart DVD. On to what I really want to say…

I’m reading that the ratings this time of the year are supposed to be down for the WWE because of Monday Night Football and the Presidential Debates. To me that’s just an excuse to produce bad TV. If football and politics are the source to blame of the bad ratings then why even put a show on TV during this part of the year? Why even put money into all the lighting and booking? I mean according to the way things are, the ratings are going to be bad anyway, right? So if no one is going to watch, why waste the time putting the show on? Here’s my thing. Maybe it’s not the politics or football that’s the cause of the ratings. Ever think that show has not been made important enough? Maybe if you put the mindset in that you’re going to produce the best product to the audience that will make them want to come back and watch every week no matter what else is going on. Have the mindset in that you’re going to produce a product so riveting that people would rather DVR the debates and football to watch your product. People would rather watch your product as it’s happening, and then go on YouTube to catch up on football or presidential debates.

Never underestimate the power of the tongue which is now turned into the power of social media. In a sense, it’s the same thing. If you’re producing the best product you can on TV, no matter if it’s live or taped, people will talk about it. People will tweet about it, and eventually it will become what is now called “trending worldwide” or like what it was called back before social media “the talk of the town.” WWE is pushing social media hard. Having like a Twitter celeb tweet about it every week to make it more relevant. It’s an idea that could work better if the product was more relevant as a whole. Here’s the problem with wrestling in general. Not just WWE, but wrestling in general. For some reason or another, wrestling promoters decide to wait for one or two times a year to do something that everyone will talk about. Like when CM Punk cut that historic promo in Las Vegas, which by the way was the best promo in wrestling for a long time, the media went crazy. As Colt Cabana said, “The internet blew up.” It was going good after that for a while, and the night I think it all messed up was when Triple H was going to run the show with just him, Punk, Cena, and Sheamas. Then for some reason, Vince McMahon decided to go bring everyone back under Johnny Ace and have the show run like usual. To this day I don’t know what was the idea behind that. It was stupid. I still feel that they could’ve gone longer with that storyline. The wrestlers would be still working house shows and all that but the TV show, they would be striking. To me, that would have been money.

 Sometime later, Brock Lesnar returned later and all of the sudden the buzz is back. It was the night after Wrestlemania, and what I still feel was the best Raw produced. The crowd was a wrestling crowd. That crowd in Miami is the reason I love professional wrestling. The passion not only from the wrestlers in the ring but from the crowd. Daniel Bryan was made that night. And that lasted for a little bit. Now, from what I’m reading, it’s become stale again. Why not keep the momentum going? Why not say ok, let’s build on the momentum that we have and keep the fire burning? I never do understand in wrestling where a major story line dies, the whole product dies. It doesn’t make any logical sense to me what so ever. You have the people talking. You have the people tweeting, posting on Facebook, and making YouTube videos about your product. Instead of building, you’re giving people that YouTube video that’s went viral and then a few months later it’s back to square one. If you have solid foundation, the building will be solid. Maybe that’s the issue with TNA and WWE with the lack of ratings. They’re destroying the foundation.

I don’t know if this is going to change anything that I’m saying. I don’t know if anybody big in the business is going to read this, but I feel that if you have buzz, keep it going. If you see it dying, it’s because you stop building and became content.

Daniel Richerson
Follow me on Twitter and Instagram: @Big_Dusty
Facebook.com/bigdusty

5/14/2012 RAW REVIEW: A BAD SANDWICH

May 14, 2012. Last Monday Night Raw before the Over The Limit PPV, which has the potential match of the year on the card with CM Punk vs Daniel Bryan. #ItsClobberinTime vs #YesYesYes. With all that, WWE produces this awful excuse of an entertainment show. That’s what WWE is right? An Entertainment company, as Paul Heyman so eloquently put it at the start of the show while talking to Triple H. You know who’s winning in all this? TNA. TNA is getting rave reviews with they’re recent PPV outing. WWE answers with again, one of the worst Raws I’ve ever seen. Don’t get me wrong though, I enjoyed the Triple H and Paul Heyman segment at the start of the show. WWE had a strong foundation to build a great show. And then…

They team CM Punk with Santino to face Daniel Bryan and Cody. For? My hatred for Santino aside, the match itself wasn’t bad at all. Then? Alicia Fox vs Beth Phoenix. My attraction for Alicia Fox aside…yes, Alicia Fox is a fine specimen of a woman indeed…this match was what it was supposed to be. I actually think Beth and Alicia put on a good show for the time limit they had, but the crowd has been fed so much bad diva matches one after another, that even if they get a good showing, they give it no reaction. After the match, Layla ran to ring and gave Beth a face plant, and no reaction from the crowd what so ever. Layla, another fine woman in her own right, is nothing to the fans as far as talent goes. I am hoping that this leads to a Beth vs Kharma feud. That would bring credibility back to the diva division of the WWE.

Let’s go to the part of the show that was a complete joke. Big Show vs Kane. This match, first of all, was way too long. It was brutal. Adding to the fact that Johnny Ace was out there because Big Show had to apologize or be “fired.” So what happens? During the match, which was going completely bad already, Johnny Ace gets on the mic and tells Big Show to apologize, and that leads to one of the worse choke slams in professional wrestling history. After the match, WWE decides to make Big Show look like a lap dog. Seeing a 7 foot tall big bald man on his knees crying like diva breaking a nail was a joke. One good thing it did do was make Johnny Ace a bigger heel. What it did for Big Show? Nothing positive, I’ll say that much.

After that fiasco, the booker decided to bring out Brodus Clay. (Insert face palm here) Brodus Clay and Lord Tensai need to get together and thank God for still being hired in this business. Naomi and Cameron, never going to complain about them on my TV…precious they are. All that aside, they have R Truth and Kofi going against Jack Swagger and Dolph Ziggler at Over The Limit. I see the potential. I don’t get it as far as storyline wise, but the match itself has potential. I can’t wait for credibility to come back to the tag team scene in the WWE. I recently got the new Edge DVD, which is awesome by the way, and on that DVD there’s a match with Edge and Christian vs Too Cool vs T & A vs the Hardy Boyz for the tag team championship. In today’s WWE, that would considered a cluster----waiting to happen. Those 8 wrestlers managed to put in a great match. The ring psychology in that match was phenomenal. For the love of God WWE, bring the psychology back to these tag matches!!

Then you came to a highlight of the show, Randy Orton vs Chris Jericho. So much pressure on these two at this point because the crowd has sat through a crap fest for the most part. With all that said, Orton and Jericho put on a show for fans in attendance. Yes it did end in a DQ, but I feel it gave a great build for the World Title match at Over The Limit. Alberto Del Rio was missing in the equation tonight, but I can pretty much guarantee he’ll be involved on Smackdown one way or another.

Now we come to the end of the show. The showdown between John Cena and Johnny Ace. Going into this segment, I thought it was going to be a complete waste of time. I’ve never been glad to be so wrong. This segment delivered. Johnny Ace started off talking noise, then Cena came out to a surprisingly good pop. He did go into his usual Cena antics, but for some reason tonight, it worked. The crowd was into it. I mean, yes it was corny, but it worked. Then with the new stipulation on the match that if Johnny Ace loses, he gets fired, may have sold more buys for the PPV.

If I had to give Raw a grade, I’d give it a D+. I don’t need parts of the show to be great. I don’t need parts of the show where the crowd is alive and hot. I need this for the whole show. This is NBA Playoffs time just in case WWE forgot. TNA just delivered a great reviewed PPV just in case WWE forgot. And this is the show produced before Over The Limit? When people eat a sandwich, they eat more than the bread. They need the meat to be good as well. One bad tomato, one rotten lettuce, one bad piece of meat can ruin a whole sandwich.

Stay Saved,

Big Dusty
Daniel Richerson
@Big_Dusty on Twitter
Facebook.com/bigdusty

Raw Thoughts 5/7/2012 and other banter...

Before I go in, follow me on Twitter @Big_Dusty and get at me on Facebook.com/bigdusty

Johnny Ace comes out cutting a promo. Good to see Johnny holding the mic up to his face this week. Johnny said that he was the "Hulk Hogan" of Japan. Funny, I never saw his reality TV show, Ace Knows Best. Anyway, Thank God for CM Punk. CM Punk delivered on the mic like he always does. Saying that the only reason Johnny went to Japan is because nobody in the US wanted to pay him. That was genius. Not the worst opening segment in the world, but having CM Punk drop pipe bombs make it watchable.

By the way, i cannot wait for the match between CM Punk and Daniel Bryan and Over The Limit. Y'all we got to make this one of the hottest PPVs of the year just for that match alone. Come on wrestling fans!!

Anyway back to the show. We got a IC Title match between Show and Cody that nobody knew about until about 5 minutes before the match. Way to push a title WWE. Basically the match ends with Cody walking out to save the title. Show gets on the mic and calls Cody out, and out comes, Miss Hancock! Oops, i'm sorry, um, Eve. Eve comes out because Show made fun of Johnny Ace's voice which is a no no. Basically, Show got his grapefruits busted by Eve. Waste of time segment in my opinion.

The Dolph vs Kofi match was way to short in my opinion. If you going to put talent like that on TV, why not utilize that talent the way is supposed to be used? I don't get it...I really don't.

The Cena interview with Michael Cole was what it was. Cena came on the screen said he's going to beat up Johnny Ace. Moving on? Moving on...

And of course the divas got there 5 seconds of flash photography...it's not even worth going in on that subject anymore.

One in the show not one mention of the late great Owen Hart. Shame on WWE. Today would've been Owen Hart's birthday by the way.

So we got a Jericho/Del Rio vs Sheamus/Orton. Why is Jericho and Orton in this match? When did this feud start? And Jericho got the pin? What kind of sense does that make? But I did enjoy seeing Randy RKO Sheamus. For some reason, I liked that. Plus Randy Orton Heel > Randy Orton Face...any day of the week.

Now the World Title match is a fatal four way match. Well, that's great. Daniel Bryan vs CM Punk is still on the card right? I'm in.

Naomi and Cameron were on my TV. Ladies and gents you will never hear me complain about seeing those lovely ladies on my television set.

Brodus Clay vs Miz. At least it wasn't a squash. Miz actually tried to make a match out of it. The crowd booing Brodus was a great touch.

Punk Tweeted a picture of Paul Heyman....

PAUL HEYMAN SAVED THE ENTIRE SHOW TONIGHT. Paul Heyman just gave a clinic, on how to cut a promo. The man has been off of TV for, 6 years? 6 years and he comes back and cuts a promo like it's nothing? The crowd was so disrespectful. What chants? WHAT CHANTS? Disrespectful. Thank you Paul for saving this show.

As epic as Paul Heyman was, that's how awful the next and last match was. We're talking about Punk vs Bryan for the WWE Title at Over The Limit. Potential match of the year...and in the main event you have CM Punk vs Lord Tensai/Bryan. Lord Tensai is so big of a waste of time. He botched a finish. The match ends with Punk getting pinned by..Lord Tensai. This match did nothing for the build up between Daniel Bryan and CM Punk match. WWE is trying to stick to us the wrestling fans, the IWC. Let's stick it back to them, and make the Punk vs Bryan match what it's supposed to be.

The show as a whole sucked...as a whole it sucked. The crowd sucked. Over all horrible. The show was saved by two promos. CM Punk and Paul Heyman saved this show tonight. The crowd didn't deserve to have Paul Heyman speak in front of them on a mic. That's real. I said in a crowd before the crowd makes the show. This crowd made this show unbearable.

Stay Saved,

Big Dusty aka Daniel Richerson

DEAD CROWD MAKES FOR A DEAD SHOW

Wrestling fans. It’s been a strange couple of weeks, hasn’t it? Last week was Wrestlemania, but the next night was probably the best Monday Night Raw ever aired in quite some time. I mean the crowd was bananas. I even tweeted that the crowd made the night feel like an original ECW show. Why? Think about back when the crowd would chant for RVD all throughout the show. Now let’s get to last Monday, who was the star of the show? Not John Cena. Not The Rock. Not CM Punk. Daniel Bryan. Daniel Bryan was the star of the show, and I loved it. It was a magical night for him, for the WWE, and for professional wrestling as a whole. It’s been a while since I’ve seen a crowd that hot for a WWE show.  I feel that if a crowd is that hot for a WWE show, since WWE is the number one promotion, then things are good for the business as a whole. All night you heard the chants of Daniel Byran. All night you heard chants of, “Yes!” Nobody could deny how hot that Miami, FL crowd was. Then you had Brock Lesnar comeback. When I say, I was jumping up and down in the living room? I was that excited. It was a night to remember. After that show, I felt proud to be a WWE fan. After that show, I felt proud to be a professional wrestling fan. And then…

Then you go to one week later. Monday Night Raw is in capital of the USA, Washington D.C. Because of the show last week, this show had all the buildup it needed to be magical. The show starts off with Johnny Ace in the ring with Mr. Jennifer Hudson aka David Otunga. Johnny Ace brings out Brock Lesnar, which leads to John Cena coming out, and the brawl of the year happens. We even saw some color, that’s wrestling talk for blood, for a change on PG WWE programming when Cena got his mouth busted. The opening was epic! And then…

Then the rest of the show happened. First of all they had the stars of the new Three Stooges movie guest host Raw as the characters. Here’s the thing. Moe, Larry, and Curly were real people. They’re dead. Trying to put over a comedy act from the 30s, 40s, and 50s to a crowd in 2012 is not the brightest move anyway. Let’s get to why the “Three Stooges” were there in the first place. To promote the movie? Yes, but let’s remember one important piece of information. David Otunga is married to the beautiful Jennifer Hudson. Jennifer Hudson is in the movie “Three Stooges.” David Otunga is a major part of the WWE Show, or at least he’s being advertised that way. His wife is in an upcoming movie. I guess WWE figured, why not! Probably asked the question, “What could go wrong?” If you watched the show, you know the answer to that question. The Stooges were about as over as John Cena in the Hammerstein Ballroom. I mean it was horrible. And this is coming from a fan of the original Three Stooges. This is coming from a guy that was actually looking forward to seeing the new movie. But after Monday night…not so much.

Let’s talk about the crowd shall we? To quote Stephen A. Smith, that crowd was “so disrespectful!” I mean it was like night and day from Miami to DC. Miami was like ECW 1997. DC was like ECW WWECW. The crowd was dead the whole show. CM Punk cut a tremendous promo, but it went over the crowd’s head like a Three Stooges joke in 2012. Interesting…

All through the night I was tweeting along with others that WWE should’ve hired that Miami crowd and bring them everywhere they go. Miami is what we want to see very week we watch wrestling. When we tune in to wrestling, we not only want the crowd to be hot, we need the crowd to be hot so we can be into the show. When the crowd is dead, it makes the show seem boring. If I was handling WWE’s booking, I wouldn’t go back to DC for at least a year or two.

Now next week, the show is going to be in England. England is always hot. They’re always into the show. So next week should be a good show, but considering how bad DC made the show, how can I be positive about England?

I talked earlier about CM Punk. I for one am loving the CM Punk/ Chris Jericho storyline. It’s compelling, and you know classic matches are coming out of it. The Daniel Bryan storyline is good because the crowd is behind him. Daniel Bryan is going to be a bigger star this year in 2012, mark my words, because the crowd is going to make him so. Zack Ryder should be one of the bigger stars right now, but WWE has flushed him down the toilet so much that he’s become watered down. And instead they push…Eve. And that should tell you all you need to know about WWE management.

Sorry for the long wait. I know it’s been too long since I’ve posted about wrestling, but hopefully I’ll be back doing these things more often. Feel free to share this around with all the wrestling fans you know and let’s get talking about this great sport. Follow me on Twitter @Big_Dusty and friend me on FaceBook at Facebook.com/bigdusty

Stay Saved,

Big Dusty aka Daniel Richerson