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

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

@D_rich864 on Twitter and Instagram
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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

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

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