Tuesday, May 24, 2016

MY TAKE: Steve Austin Show feat Ariane Andrew

Before I start, let me say that I do understand that this post may cost me in the fact that I'm just a smark behind a computer that's never been in the business, blah blah blah. Anyway--

I was hesitant to listen to this episode of the Steve Austin Show because of how Ariane sounds. I didn't know how much how I could take listening to that valley girl voice, but I got through it. I liked some of the things she said and some of the things I didn't like. Let's start with the positives. When she talked about the whole Ryback fiasco. She stood her ground on what she tweeted what she did. I liked the fact that she talked about the heat she was getting could have been a good thing because it could've made for a better character. I also like the fact that she said that she presented some ideas that didn't quite get through. I know from following her social media that she was indeed working on her craft. She was doing some house shows or live events for NXT and getting better. I even saw she had a new move she was incorporating in her matches. I was glad that she actually cared enough about the craft to get better at it just in case she got called up to the main roster she wouldn't stink it up. She owned the fact that she was not a wrestling fan but she grew to love the business. She said a key statement when she said something to the fact that if you don't learn to love the business you won't last. I've heard Kevin Nash say something similar to that. So that had me thinking, she kinda gets it.

I even liked the fact that she mentioned that being a heel came natural that it was more fun than being a face. Which I've heard plenty of other people that are or were in the business say.

So later in the interview she gets asked if WWE calls would she take the call, she said she would accept because she feels "she has something to prove." No problem with that at all. Steve then asked her if some other wrestling organization would offer her a job, she basically said that since she's been in the WWE so going any where else would be downgrading. Now in this same interview she said that she still has an "itch" for wrestling. Obviously it isn't a major itch because she wouldn't work an independent show. To me that's a slap in the face to the performers that has worked for WWE and are now working the independents, like Sean Waltman, Sabu, Lisa Marie Varon, Mickie James, and others. Then you got folks like former WWE "diva" Maria who is not working for TNA. She spent time on the independents and worked on her craft and she got much better. Her promos in ROH were not bad in my opinion, but didn't allow the fact that she was no longer working for WWE take away that itch that was there for wrestling. Don't say you have an itch, but you don't want to scratch it. I don't know that kind of rubbed me the wrong way, She got the training, might as well do something with it, Just my opinion. I do wish her all the best in whatever she decides to do in the future.

~Daniel Richerson

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

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

Friday, March 11, 2016

The Real Miyagi

Now with it being Wrestlemania season, and WWE has Roadblock coming along, and NXT has NXT Take over Dallas, one would figure I'd be talking about something pertaining to that. Maybe in another blog, but I just finished watching this amazing documentary on Fumio Demura, who is one of the forefathers of Karate in the U.S. As I was watching this I was thinking to myself this guy could have been a great pro wrestler. He's thought process on making moves look good during demonstrations, and making moves look good for the camera, could, I think, very well contribute to up in comers of the professional wrestling business. Because if you think about it, that's all professional wrestling is, it's a demonstration of precise moves in a time limit to put on a show for the audience that's both watching through streaming or watching live in attendance.

I think wrestling fans and professional wrestlers should study Fumio Demura. Watch this documentary called, The real Miyagi. Fumio was the inspiration for the Mr. Miyagi character in the original Karate Kid movies.

Fumio, I think could very well be in a pro wrestling hall of fame. I know he's technically never been involved with pro wrestling, but again his thought process on precision and making stuff look good for the camera, is part of what's missing in today's professional wrestling. It's one of the things NXT is doing right with the fact of making moves look good. Fumio sold his art as authentic as possible. Made every move look like it hurt. Sold it as the demonstrations were a shoot, if you will.

Now, I'm just a wrestling fan. A mark if you will. By the way, I don't take the term "mark" as duragitory. If a mark is what I am, it's what I am. I'm finding myself now respecting the art of professional wrestling as well as the entertainment value of it. I saw a post on facebook that asked who did more for wrestling, was it Flair or Hogan. I would say Flair because he as an artist in the ring, as well as an entertainer. Hogan was straight entertainer. He had enough of the art form down to get by, but his main focus was on the entertainment factor of the product. Just my opinion.

There's been reports that Vince McMahon is not a fan of NXT. Why would he be? Why would Vince McMahon be a fan of something that's working? That the fans are enjoying? I think that proves that the character of Mr. McMahon is more like the real Vince than he cares to share. Again just my opinion.

But back to Femio Demura. He's a real living legend in the art of fighting. He was sports entertainment before Vince coined the term. Not only was Femio's demonstrations precise, it was also entertaining. Like professional wrestling, but work behind the scenes is hard work. The documentary showed a bit of the training that goes on. Wrestling may be predetermined, but I bet if we tried to do the training that it takes to be a pro wrestler, we'd find out how "fake" the product really is. Again, I highly recommend the documentary, The Real Miyagi, for any wrestling fan and professional wrestler. You can find it on Netflix. Especially if you respect the art of wrestling. Fumio Demura for WWE Hall of Fame!

~Daniel Richerson

Monday, February 22, 2016

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

Thursday, January 28, 2016

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

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

VINCE WILL LISTEN TO RATINGS

It's been a while since I've expressed my thoughts on the wrestling business. I've been focusing more on my other blog, and when I do share some thoughts I want to express I usually tweet it out. Yet and still--

I see some people are finally getting the point that complaining about Raw via twitter is not changing a thing. Vince said that he listens to the fans in the arena not the fans on twitter. So since he doesn't listen to twitter. Hit Vince where he does listen, his pocket. He may not listen to Twitter, but I guarantee he listens to the ratings. I haven't watched Raw in weeks, cause I got tired of complaining about it, and I got tired of being disappointed week after week. The only wrestling I watch now is my DVDs I got and Ring Of Honor on Saturday nights. Ring Of Honor has always been consistent great wrestling. Much like what NXT is to some people. But the supposedly "main show" has been quite a disappointment. I still keep up with the dirt sheets for results and stuff hoping the show gets better. But as it's turns out, the show is getting worse. I saw via twitter and other social media outlets that Survivor Series was one of the worse ever.

Which is sad to see because Survivor Series is one of the big shows of year for WWE, or should I say used to be. Don't be deceived to think that Vince doesn't know what's going on. Vince has an idea of what's going on. I'm willing to bet Triple H and other people working backstage are in Vince's ear letting him know how bad the product is getting. In the early 90s, it was the Kliq who let Vince know very bluntly on what was wrong with the product. Before he left the business, CM Punk was another one who let the office know. My question is who is the guy or gal in the back that will let Vince know the truth.

It's not like they don't have the talent to put on a good show. It's just poorly booked. I understand that some people are injured and some are taking a break to do other projects, but they still got Ziggler, Kevin Owens, Dudley Boyz, Usos, Dean Ambrose, Alberto Del Rio, Charlotte, Paige, Sasha Banks, Natalya, Paige, and others that can carry the product until the "main stars" come back. In all honestly it looks like the booking has become lazy. WCW and TNA esq if you will. So, if the company wants to present a lazy product, I suggest that we all change the channel.

History does show that Vince listens to the ratings. Some of us are old enough to remember the Monday Night Wars. When Nitro was kicking the crap out of Raw in the ratings, Vince sucked it up and went all out, and the product got better because of it. May be what's missing is competition.

~Daniel Richerson

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

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