IS RAW REALLY THAT BAD?

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

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

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

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

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

~Daniel Richerson

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

~Daniel Richerson

The Main Roster is still the Main Roster...

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

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

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

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

Daniel Richerson

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

RAWFUL!

Next week, WWE is going to be competing with Monday Night Football. For a build up to next week show they present to the fans, botchamania. Let's start with my favorite part of the whole show, the highlight wheel. Triple H, adding another W in WWE. Of course being the kind of guy that I am, I had fun with it on my twitter timeline. @big_dusty. You can catch it there.

Through out the night WWE showed vignettes of #GrowingupBella which went over like an atheist joke at a church convention. The story would work, if the performers knew how to work. With Brie and Nikki stinking up the joint literally, why push them in our faces. And with that give Nikki a title shot? Word? That storyline needs to end, it doesn't need the title.When something is not working it's best to nip it and call an audible. To involve quality talent like AJ and Paige in that story is dumb. Beyond dumb, actually.

Best part of the show to me was John Cena showing some attitude. I liked the spot at the end where Cena gave Roman the tag so he could get the win. That was best for business. And Cena getting in HHH's face and AAing Seth Rollins on the table while staring HHH and Stephanie down. Too bad that couldn't save the show. As for the rest of the show I'm going to be honest I didn't really watch because i was watching the Miami Hurricanes lose to Louisville. Bleh.

Going by my timeline on Twitter, the rest of the show wasn't that better. I missed Heyman's promo which I'm sure was epic. Heyman has been the highlight of Raw for months. Anyway, Raw is promoting Michael Sam, first openly gay drafted player for the NFL next week. Also for next week Jericho vs Bray Wyatt in a cage. And Roman Reigns vs Randy Orton. Next week has potential, but one would think they would use this week to build up next week.

This reminds me of bad husbands. That screw up week after week, and when they go to far, they bring chocolates and flowers and do everything right thinking that one thing would fix all the issues. Not so. Do right every time. Maybe that makes too much sense.

~Daniel Richerson

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
Facebook.com/bigdusty
Twitter.com/big_Dusty

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
Facebook.com/bigdusty <---friend me
---->follow me Twitter.com/big_dusty and Instagram.com/big_dusty

WAS SANDOW EVEN A WORTHY MITB WINNER?

I admit I have not been watching wrestling like I usually would be. I use the picture in picture function on the TV and I read up on dirt sheets to stay connected. But I did catch the Damien Sandow cashing in the Money In The Bank on John "Hogan" Cena. Sandow lost and the IWC, Internet Wrestling Community, went into a riot of LA poportions. I mean it was like Cena was the cops that got off beating up Rodney King. I feel like I was the only one sitting back like, "What's the big deal?"

Did you watch the match? It was an instant DVD match in my opinion. The crowd was behind it. It's rare when you hear a "This is awesome" chant during a Monday Night Raw match. Yes Cena was "Super Cena" and no Sandow didn't win the championship like JBL predicted he would. My question for all the IWC is did Sandow deserve to win the MITB in the first place? I remember being at my cousin Travis house in KY watching the MITB PPV, which was overall bland by the way, and I was not happy with Damien Sandow winning the MITB for the WHC. Lets go back to see who was in that match. Of course you had Sandow, Cody Rhodes, Fandango, Swagger,  Antonio Cesaro, Wade Barrett, and Dean Ambrose. Sandow deserved out of all them? Oh shut up.

I think Sandow came out on a very good end even after this lost. Sandow had Cena beat all through the match, Sandow can easily build up from that. Now if Triple H is going to do what he's known to do according to his repuation, then Sandow is in trouble. But I seriously doubt this is the end for Sandow. His ring work is already there. His character needs some tweaking and that's about it. Now of course this is all my opinion.

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

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

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

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