DIVAS REVOULTION NEEDS SOME MEANING

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

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

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

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

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

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

~Daniel Richerson

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

~Daniel Richerson

SUMMERSLAM: SHUT THAT KID UP!!

Ladies and gentlemen...my name is Daniel Richerson, and Summerslam just went off the air. What a night it was. Starting off with the IC title match. Miz vs Ziggler. I honestly had to rewatch this match because during the match my cpu froze and I had to restart my cpu. Mr. Ziggles won.

So then you had Paige vs AJ Lee. These two wrestlers that happen to be in the divas division tore the house down. Paige definitely got some men's attention during this match. AJ put up a heck of a fight and had her submission move on and Paige countered it with a crazy version of a DDT and got the 3 count. New champion. Also Michelle Beadle was at ringside. If you know the story between AJ, CM Punk, and Michelle Beadle, then you know why I say that Beadle had a hand in AJ losing. WWE book it!

Now the flag match. This match was a match I feel that Swagger should win because of all the mess that's happening in this country, USA needed something to cheer about. First let's talk about the how it began. Russev waved his flag, and Swagger was waving his flag and Russev attacked Swagger which caused the flag to fall to the mat. JBL was pissed when that happened. JBL loves America. So in my mind I thought it would be a mistake if Russev won. Sure enough Russev won. I understand heat, but this may be a bit much. The match itself, it was solid, but nothing to brag about.

Dean Ambrose vs Seth Rollins was a match when I saw it on the card I thought it was going to be a show stealer, and for most of the match it was. It wSent in to the crowd. It was a great match back in forth. Then the waste of time Kane had to make an appearance. Kane ruined what was a classic match. Ambrose hit Rollins finisher and had the pin and Kane interfered and caused an fight among the lumberjacks the ring. And the finish was Rollins hitting Ambrose with the MITB briefcase. I hated it. Kane ruined the match. I hated that spot.

Bray Wyatt vs Jericho I thought on paper had a lot of potential. Turns out the match was boring. A few high spots here and there, but over all it was a bore. The only good thing that happened is Bray got the win.

Stephanie vs Brie was a fun watch. Stephanie ring attire was...sexy. I'll say it. Stephanie looked sexy. Brie looked anorexic. Brie looked hungry being in the ring with Stephanie.  Nikki turned on Brie and Stephanie got the W. I saw that coming. Jim Ross saw that coming too. It was a good match for what it was. Stephanie was actually getting more cheers than Brie until Triple H came out and Nikki made the turn.

Roman Reigns vs Randy Orton. During the pre show Ric Flair said Randy Orton was the best in the business today. I thought Flair was drunk. Orton showed out in this match. I still won't call him the best, but he's definitely in the top 5. Who do I say is the best? AJ Styles. Just my opinion. Anyway back to the match. The crowd went Cena on Reigns for some reason. They started to boo him. I actually like Roman. Yes, he has a lot of work to do, but he has the look. Roman won and he should've won. Like it or not, Roman is the next it guy.

And now...Brock Lesnar vs John Cena...total domination by Brock. John Cena went out like a jobber or "enhancement guy." I have to give my respect to John Cena. He's a top guy. He didn't have to go out like that, but Cena was like screw it, I'll take the loss. Brock Lesnar handed Cena 16 German suplexes. 16. My Goodness. Not to mention there was this little kid chanting, "Let's go Cena!" Everybody on Twitter wanted this kid to shut up. And thank God Brock made that happen. Also that poor mark of a sign guy. He tried to start one of those slow claps for Cena, and needless to say it didn't work. Justin Credible wasn't a fan of how Cena lost, but like I said, I like the way Cena lost. It was different, and Cena needed something different in his career. 15 time champ, he's had his time. He's a hall of famer, no doubt. Is Cena done? I don't think so. But with Nikki going heel, we just might see--just might see--Cena go heel? Just saying...

~Daniel Richerson

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
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