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

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

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

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

My thoughts on the Pinup Strong movement

I was reading this article on WWE.com, some time ago, where they had a list of potential past and current divas who would or could join up with Beth and Natalya in there run to change the divas division. The last one on the list was Eve Torres. Really? Eve Torres for change in the divas division? When she fits the mold of a WWE Diva? Eve came in as a former dancer, and her start in the business was the WWE divas search. WWE is supposed to be the big time in the wrestling business. Eve came in the big time with no, again I say no, ring experience, and yet she became champion over divas that actually came in with experience like Gail Kim, Beth Phoenix, Natalya, etc. Yet you add Eve to a list to join a force that wants to change the divas division? I’m confused. Beth and Natalya actually came in to the big time with ring experience. Yet they can’t get a legitimate run as a champ? Or at least they couldn’t for a while. So for what I understand, the way to make it as a diva in the WWE is to come in with no experience, embarrass yourself and women wrestlers everywhere on national TV every week, and within a month you’ll have title shot.

Now I, along with a lot of others, am not a fan of John Cena’s in ring work. Yet can I really say that Cena didn’t do enough to get where he is? He was discovered working at an independent wrestling show in California by Jim Ross. Jim Ross got him to OVW which at the time was a development territory for the WWE. So, even though Cena’s offensive maneuvers are limited, the dude came in the right way.

With most everything, there are some exceptions. Trish Stratus came in with no experience. Yet she became a very good worker in the ring. Stephanie McMahon. Y’all may think I’m crazy, but y’all got to admit, she wasn’t that bad in the ring. These divas now though? The Bella Twins, Eve, Kelly Kelly...yes I give you, they look good, but their work in ring is not up to par.

Now who I think could add to the movement for change? Again, y’all may think I’m crazy, but Alicia Foxx would be a great addition. She got the skills to be good, she just needs them tuned. What better tuners can you get than Beth Phoenix and Natalya? That new diva AJ would also be a good addition for change. She actually came in with ring experience, and she can work. Why not?

Reading the dirt sheets recently I hear that WWE is gonna have Kaitlyn turn heel on AJ and join Beth Phoenix and Natayla. What kind of sense does that make? Here I was thinking this was about skill. No it seems like this is about being too thick to be a victoria secret model. Give me a break.

Thanks for reading. Be sure to follow me on this blog. Leave your comments below sharing your opinions. Read the last blog. Follow my other blog. Friend me on FaceBook. Follow me on Twitter. Follow me on Dailybooth. Follow me on Tumblr. And I’m out.

Stay Saved,

Daniel Richerson aka Big Dusty

Welcome to my new blog!

Hello wrestling fans! Welcome to my wrestling blog site. For those that came from my other blog, and for those that follow me on Twitter, y’all know how big of a wrestling fan I am. Every time I watch wrestling I flood timelines with my opinion on how the show is going. When I get the means to watch and afford PPV’s, trust I will be doing the same thing. I’ve been a wrestling fan most if not all of my life. I’ve studied the business. I’ve watched and studied shoot interviews, matches, and documentaries on the business. My dad has told me time and time again that he wished there was a way I could get my foot in the door to work backstage in a wrestling company. Hey, I’d be open to it. WWE, ROH, TNA, FCW, etc, if you like what I’m saying during these blogs, hit me up. Give me a chance. I can’t fail at something that I haven’t tried.

So for this first blog, I’m going to go in on the whole CM Punk thing that’s been happening recently in the WWE. As I watch Raw and read the dirt sheets week after week to see this whole thing unfold, it reminds me of a certain WWE Hall of Famer that has his own hunting show now, The Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels. To me there are a lot of similarities. I heard CM Punk say in an interview that Vince doesn’t know what’s cool anymore. I’ve heard Shawn Michaels say the exact same thing. CM Punk is saying what’s on his mind and getting in trouble. Wasn’t that the main key to the original D-Generation X with Shawn and Hunter? Didn’t they go out to the ring, went off the cuff, come backstage and get chewed? So it is amazing CM Punk is in a story line with HHH. It’s like past meets present.

CM Punk has been money for Raw every show. The whole show can be a dud, but CM Punk can come out and save the show. Recently, on the 9/12/2011 edition of Monday Night Raw, a show that was heading to a PPV, the show was garbage. The build up for the title matches were awful. Yet when CM Punk and Triple H went back and forth in the ring in what I feel was a classic, it saved the show and the PPV in my opinion.

CM Punk is an advocate for change. I feel that since Beth Phoenix and Natalya are going around wanting to “save the divas division” why not have them do the same thing? Why not have Beth and Natalya say that they want change as well? Say something like, “We’re sick of being known as the bathroom break part of the show. We want our chance to show what we can do. We want our chance to show that women can wrestle too. We want change. We want the fans to react to what we do. We want the fans to enjoy and talk about the work we do more than what we’re wearing to the ring.” I’ve said for years that the WWE should have a boot camp for divas like Kelly Kelly, Eve Torres, The Bellas, etc. If they’re going to be promoted as champions, they better work as champions. The fans need to believe that Kelly Kelly is a better worker than Beth or Natalya. It’s ridiculous to me that Gail Kim, Melina, Mickie James, Victoria (Tara), got pushed over for divas who’s only highlights occur on Botchamania on YouTube. When Michelle McCool and Layla were co-champions, I thought that was disrespectful to the talent of Gail Kim, Melina, Natalya…women wrestlers that can actually work in the ring and put on a good show for the fans. Don’t give me the mess that, “They’re trying their best.” Well, let’s be honest, they’re best is not even WCW material. You’re watching the same show that we the fans are watching, send them back into training to get better, especially if you’re going to push them as a champion. They have to be crisp in the ring. Mistakes have to be a minimum.

That’s it for this first blog. Hope y’all enjoyed it. Before I go I will say that I do watch TNA on occasion and every time I watch, I don’t like what I see. I’ll comment on TNA in future blogs to come. Thanks for reading. Share this with every wrestling fan you know. Heck share this with the wrestlers you follow. Friend me on FaceBook. Follow me on Twitter. Follow me on DailyBooth. Subscribe to me on YouTube. Follow my other blog. Follow this blog.

Stay Saved,

Daniel Richerson aka Big Dusty