Tag: WWE

The beast vs The Warmaster?

With Brock Lesnar’s contract coming to an end after WrestleMania there is speculation that the beast in carnet will return to the Octagon. After all Dana White has went on record saying that he would welcome Lesnar back.

With the rumors of Lesnar’s return comes the potential of another return. That return could be none other then “the Warmaster” Josh Barnett. The last time we saw Barnett in the octagon was at UFC 168 in December of 2013. He was finished early by Travis Browne which came as a surprise especially after making quick work of Frank Mir with a deviating Knee months prior. Following the lost to Browne Josh underwent successful knee surgery in April of last year.

Since Josh has been MIA from the MMA scene he has went on to capture the Metemoris Heavyweight title by defeating Dean Lister; someone who hasn’t been submitted in 19 years!, He was picked up by NJPW to do English commentary and started his own podcast (which since then has been put on a hiatus.) Before all that though Josh gained a collective number of wins in the UFC, strike force and PRIDE.

Barnett was recently a guest on the MMA hour and he expressed interest in returning to the octagon as soon as possible. His opponent in mind? None other then the current WWE world Heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar. Barnett had this to say about the potential match up.

“For me I think of it as the business side of things. Not the business side of oh, I’m going to make so much money, but the business side of two pro wrestlers, the styles, seeing the two of us go out it is because people will find interest in it and the fight will be interesting itself. Not just in ‘Hey, I’m some guy who’s going to bully some other guy who’s got less experience, and then I act like I’m king shit of turd mountain.’”

One thing is Forsure if this bout does indeed happen it is sure to be a good wrestling match up of sorts between two former heavyweight champions. It should be noted the even if Barnett vs Lesnar doesn’t happen Barnett still wants to make a return sometime soon.

Are you excited about the possible match up of the beast vs the Warmaster? If not Lesnar who else would you want to see Barnett face? Further more do you think the 37 year old catch wrestler still has one more ufc world Heavyweight title run in him? If the match up between Lesnar and Barnett happens will the Warmaster be the one to defeat the 1 in 21-1? Or will Lesnar conquer Barnett just like everything else?

All these questions and more will soon be answered. Stay tuned.

-Vanessa (@GreatLove91)

WWE’s main roster unhappy with NXT booking?

How could anybody in their right mind be upset with the booking of NXT? After all it’s the highest rated weekly wrestling show. According to an online source at “wrestling inc” many of the superstars and divas on the main roster are upset and frustrated with the fact that the superstars and divas down at NXT get more time.

NXT is a weekly show with a running time of an hour. That’s two less hours then the flagship show “Monday night Raw” and one less hour to the runner up show known as “Smackdown”.

The frustration within comes from the fact that the guys and girls in developmental actually have a chance to develop a story line and let it season. On the main roster however we have story lines that lack any real direction and the ones that do have direction seem to be recycled from years ago.

Then there’s the wrestling in general, now I’m not saying this as a dis to the wrestlers on Raw or Smackdown but the wrestlers down at NXT seem to be head and shoulders above them. I mean NXT Rival this past week was better then anything I’ve seen on the main roster in a LONG TIME.

This screams ONE thing to me. The problem isn’t NXT. The problem is Vince McMahon. Vince has built an empire and for that he deserves to be respected but the guy needs to step down. He is stuck in the times. In the day and age of social media wrestling isn’t what it use to be in the 90’s or even 80’s. The fans will root for who THEY want not who Vince tells us too.

The owner of this site (Trevor) and myself have both agreed that a call up to the main roster almost seems like a demotion these days. For example I’m a huge Bayley fan but I’m scared to death of what the main roster would do to her career. Anybody remember how awesome Emma was on NXT? The main roster did NOTHING for her career. Who’s to say the same thing won’t happen to anyone that’s called up to the main roster from this point forward? I mean hello The Ascension is a prime example.

So can we blame the main roster stars for their frustration? They bust their asses off and sacrifice so much to be on the road nearly 365 days a year and for what? To get sloppy matches, hardly any promo time, and silly gimmicks?

It all boils down to this, the sooner Vince steps down and Hunter takes over the better. Not just for the fans but for the wrestling business as a whole. There’s nothing wrong with using the word entertainment because after all that’s what the characters are for, but it’s about time we get back to good o’l fashion wrestling.

As we wait for a greater day for professional wrestling in regards to Raw and Smackdown I advise you watch NXT if you don’t already. NXT alone is worth the $9.99 we pay for the WWE Network, and aside from that I can’t think of a better way to spend a Wednesday night.

-Vanessa (@GreatLove91)

Monday Night Raw results 2/16/15

The show kicked off with John Cena. He cuts a promo and talks about how he loves the boos and the cheers. He says he isn’t going to let Rusev tell him that he’s done. He says at fast lane he will be the first to defeat Rusev and capture the U.S title.
Rusev’s music hits and Lana cuts her usual promo degrading the good o’l USA, Rusev says he’s going to crush Cena at Fastlane and proceeded to mock cena with the “you can’t see me” hand gesture. This causes cena to run up the ramp and an all out brawl ensues. Both men get good shots at one another but cena is the one standing tall at the end of it all.

The first match of the night is Dean Ambrose vs Luke Harper. Before the math there’s a segment in which Ambrose mentions he beat a former IC Champ in Axel last week and that he plans on beating another former champ in Harper tonight and that by then BNB will have no choice to sign the contract for an IC title match at Fastlane

The match in itself was a back and forth battle between Ambrose and Harper with Ambrose eventually picking up the win via dirty deeds.

Then there’s a backstage segment between stardust and Golddust joined by their father Dusry Rhodes giving them a pep talk about the importance of family and sticking together

Then new day goes on to defeat the Dust brothers in their match. Golddust was the one who was pinned and after the match concluded it looked as if the brothers were on the same page but then Stardust delivered a cross Rhodes to Golddust.

Another backstage segment happens where Dusty confronts stardust by calling him Cody. Stardust tells his father Cody is no more, that he was tired of living in the shadow of his father and brother that he exploded. He then proceeds to tell Dusty that his farther is dead to him

Up next we are joined by Byron Saxton looking to get an interview with Paige but the Bella’s come out of the locker room with Paige’s ring gear and Nikki says “I don’t think you’ll be seeing Paige tonight”

Paige them comes out of the locker room wearing a towel. She attempts to ask Cameron to barrow gear but Cameron says no because it won’t look good on her so “girl bye” so instead Paige barrows a pink tutu outfit from one of the rose buds.

Paige’s match is up next and her opponent is Summer Rae. Paige picks up the victory via PTO.

The Bella’s then come out and Nikki attempts to cut a promo but is interrupted by Paige. Paige tells Nikki “the difference between her and Nikki is that she doesn’t need an outfit to look good and that at Fastlane she’ll be wearing something even better and that’s the WWE divas title”

Up next Rollins is out to cut a quick promo and about how he’s a valuable asset and could pretty much do whatever he wants. Hrs interrupted by Ziggler who says he’s here to do what he does best “showoff”

During the match the referee ejected J and J Security from the match. The match continues to go back and forth and at one point Ziggler hit the superkick followed up with the zig zag. However j and j are back out to interrupt the 3 count having the match end in a no contest. Rollins and his crew attempt to beat down Ziggler but then Ryback and Rowan come to his aid, leaving them standing tall

Next is Reigns vs Kane. During the match Bryan attempts to throw reigns off his game with the yes chants but to no avail. The match ends via count out after the spear to Kane.

Up next is the HHH segment where he responds to sting. He talks about stings career and how he was an icon in WCW, how he went down with the WCW ship and how at Fastlane we will see WWE and WCW in the same ring.His promo is interrupted by Ric Flair. Ric Flair tells HHH he doesn’t want sting getting the best of him. HHH tells Flair with all do respect when it comes to kicking Stings ass he’s not Rick flair and that if sting doesn’t leave on his own at Fastlane he’ll make him leave.

Next is a tag match between Daren Young and a no name parter against the Ascension. The match never officially got underway and Tius O’Neal comes to the aid of Daren young. Could this mean Prime time players are reunited?

Next is the first ever husband and wife vs husband and wife match as Jimmy and Naomi take on Tyson Kidd and Natalya. Tyson wanted little to no involvement in the match. Naomi picks up the win and Tyson blames their lost on Natalya. Trouble in paradise once again perhaps?

Up next is a Match between MizDow and BNB. Before the match Miz makes a deal with BNB that if he takes MizDow down a few pegs he’ll keep an eye out for Ambrose. During the match Miz has a bell that he uses to call MizDow for assistance. Eventually the distractions prove to be too much and MizDow looses yo BNB via ball hammer.

Following the match Ambrose comes out and attacks BNB and then ties his hands to the ring post forcing him to sign the contract for an IC title match at Fastlane.

Main event time. Bryan vs Big Show. This time Reigns is at ringside. He attempts to get in the head of Bryan by signing autographs for fans, taking selfies, and giving away T-shirts. Bryan however seemed to not be effected, that is until the match ended up outside. Big show went for a spear which Bryan sidestepped and crashes into Reigns.

Just as Bryan was about to capitalize on Big Show to get the win, Reigns charges to the ring hitting Show with a super man punch causing Brayn to loose the match.

This causes an epic brawl between Reigns and Bryan. Even some blood was drawn. It’s eventually broken up by officials. It seems to be over after the two shake hands, but they continue to brawl until backstage officials pull them off each other

That’s how the show went off air. I believe it was a great way to hype up the main event at Fastlane. Overall I give the show a 7 out of 10.

Side notes: bray Wyatt had 3 small promos which seemed to be calling out the Undertaker.

-Vanessa (@GreatLove91)

Investment Firm Buys Over 1 Million Shares Of WWE Stock

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that the investment management company Blackrock Inc. recently purchased 1,789,853 shares of WWE stock. Blackrock Inc. joins Morgan Stanley Capital, who owns 2,180,252 shares, as WWE’s two biggest outside shareholders.

Source: WrestlingINC.com

Vanessa’s Thoughts on the 9th wonder of the world

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted an opinion piece but as someone who grew up in the attitude era and someone who loves women wrestling this is something I have to voice my opinion on.

This past Monday HHH was a guest on Steve Austin’s podcast exclusively on the WWE Network. Many subjects were brought up and I highly recommend you watch it if you haven’t. However the subject that I want to discuss is the matter of former WWE diva Chyna ever going into the Hall of Fame.

Austin straight up asked HHH if we would ever see Chyna in the HOF to which HHH responded “It’s not just as easy as should this person go in the Hall Of Fame. She’s a paradigm shifter, changed the business, did what no other woman had ever done before. All the other stuff that happened, happened, and I don’t need to get into any of the other stuff,” Triple H continued, “there’s no beef on this side.”

He then went on to give an example of his daughter who is 8 hearing the name Chyna and saying “Chyna I don’t know who that is let me look her up” and then if you were to look her up you would find inappropriate things.

Now for those who don’t know Chyna real name Joan Marie Laurer once had a career in porn and that’s obviously what HHH was referring too.

Earlier on our site a story was posted about Vince Russo defending Chyna in which he states that since then Joan has turned her life around, and she regrets those choices. At the time they were made she was in a bad place in her life.

Now here’s how I feel about the situation. I can understand where HHH is coming from but if that’s the case a lot of the inductees of the HOF shouldn’t be in there either. I mean Mike Tyson is a convicted rapist, X-pac was one of the people in a porn video with Chyna, and so on and so forth.

I may be wrong here but I think the real reason for Chyna not being in the HOF is because of the fact that HHH was in a real life relationship with her which ended after he cheated on her with Stephanie McMahon. This is simply my opinion but for all I know is there’s fear with in the WWE of HHH’s name being slandered.

Let’s face it folks everyone makes mistakes, nobody is perfect. However that shouldn’t be a reason for them to be forgotten about. Chyna did things no other women has done. She’s the only women to hold the IC title and was the very 1st women to compete in the Royal Rumble. She worked with the guys and looked good doing it.

Heck I remember as a kid when I would here “Don’t treat me like a women don’t treat me like a man don’t treat me like you know me, treat me for just who I am” I would know that shit was about to go down. One time she came out with a bazooka and I thought it was the coolest thing I had ever seen.

Joan has yet to share her thoughts publicly on the situation but will be doing so on Friday on Vince Russo’s podcaf

I truly believe the 9th wonder of the world had a career that deserves to be recognized and remembered. She deserves that ring. I would love to see the day she’s inducted and if that day never comes it would be a damn shame.

-Vanessa (@GreatLove91)

The Royal Trouble with Reigns 

The Royal Rumble is historically one of the most anticipated PPVs of the entire year. It ignites the Road to WrestleMania and sets the standard for what’s to come in the approaching months as well as how WrestleMania itself will be. However, this year the PPV was greeted with different emotions. For one thing, the triple threat match between Brock Lesnar, John Cena, and Seth Rollins for the WWE Championship easily stole the night and is very well in the running to be match of the year. From high spots to extreme displays of athletic abilities, it kept fans on the edge of the seat, and from the sound of the “THIS IS AWESOME” chants of the Philadelphia crowd, it’s not far off to say that it’s easily in the running for match of the year.

However, that all changed by the end of the night. The Royal Rumble match itself ended the PPV, and some may argue that the triple threat match should have been the closer, leaving fans with excitement in their minds as opposed to fans potentially being upset with only a mere 1 in 30 chance of their favorite winning. Realistically, names like Bray Wyatt, Dean Ambrose, and Daniel Bryan were more believed to be the winner, but there was always the thought of Roman Reigns. After all, he threw out wrestler after wrestler last year so was easily in the running to be a favorite.

While the Royal Rumble match is always filled with surprise entrants (Diamond Dallas Page, the Boogeyman, and the biggest surprise of the night, the WWE return of Bubba Ray Dudley, who received one of the biggest pops of the night), it’s a showcase of talent to win and headline WrestleMania. It’s one of the most significant honors one can have in their career. The common battle cry of the fans is to have a new, young, fresh face for the WWE. #PushTheYoungTalent. However, when Roman Reigns was crowned the winner of the 2015 Royal Rumble, the sound of boos in the arena was deafening. People were not impressed.

While there is no denying that Roman is talented, there are numerous reasons why the fans were not happy with the outcome. For one thing, it may not have necessarily been Roman’s victory that pushed fans to such extreme dissatisfaction that #CancelWWENetwork trended on Twitter all night. Daniel Bryan was eliminated early. The two of the last three remaining men were Kane and Big Show, two wrestlers that the audience knows will not win because it’d be too obvious with their massive size. Bubba Ray Dudley, the fans not knowing at the time whether his comeback was a one-time deal or the re-start of his time with the WWE, did not stay in the ring that long at all. The thought that Rusev may win by surprise after never officially being eliminated earlier in the night when he returned to the ring and attacked Reigns lasted for only less than a minute.

Add these factors to an audience that did not welcome Reigns with a warm reception when his music hit and he walked down the steps to the ring in the first place all contributed to such negative backlash.

Let’s take a look at Reigns, himself. If the fans were booing even before he entered the ring, there’s a resentment towards him early. What happened to fans wanting the WWE to push young, new and exciting talent? It’s a scenario of “be careful what you wish for”.

Reigns has the size, the presence, and the looks to be the future poster boy of the company. One can see him in mainstream media more likely than someone like, say, a Daniel Bryan based on size and appearance alone. And that’s also the thing. There is criticism that it feels as if the WWE is trying to “make” fans accept and love Reigns. While he’s a likable character, he is still very “green.” In other words, there is a long way to go with him. He needs more work in the ring and more work on the mic. From Shield alum alone, looking at the likes in-ring wise of Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins compared to Reigns is like night and day. While Ambrose and Rollins cut their teeth in the indies over the years, Reigns is much newer to the world of professional wrestling, and it shows. While the fans want the pushing of new talent, the fine print should have mentioned a specific person. Many believe Reigns is not there yet. It’d be better to love and accept him more organically as opposed to because “we have to.” Reasons like that may be why the fans were so upset. When even the massively loved Rock couldn’t help Roman from the boos, it was obvious there was a problem.

In a professional manner, the next night on RAW, the WWE acknowledged the hate towards Roman, who explained how the fans aren’t the ones going in the ring actually fighting these matches. “If” the company is pushing him, he’s taking advantage of the opportunity. He went on to say how life’s not fair and the audience received an air that Roman will give it his all at WrestleMania in the title match against Brock Lesnar. Whether people like him or not, he’s doing his job and what he’s told, and you can’t fault Reigns himself for that.

While I’m personally a fan of Reigns, I still would prefer he had more time to develop more. Maybe WrestleMania will be an excellent opportunity to solidify his status as a top-tier superstar on such a grand scale, granted he remains in the match. Whether you were thrilled or disgusted with the way the Royal Rumble ended, it will be interesting to see how the story line will progress, how Reigns in particular will improve, and how his road to WrestleMania will look now, especially amidst the vocal reaction of the WWE Universe.

-Celine

The Storm of RAW

With RAW returning to live broadcasts after a surprise Monday hiatus due to weather, it made me think about how the role the “Blizzard of 2015” will play in WWE history. Ever since 1993, Monday Night RAW has entered living rooms all around the world bringing the best in sports entertainment. With over 1100 episodes, RAW is the longest-running episodic weekly television show on the air. For years, a RAW has not been cancelled. That changed the night of Monday, January 26th when RAW was to be taped from the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut but due to the looming effects of the nor’easter Blizzard of 2015, RAW was broadcast live from WWE headquarters in Stamford, CT.

Michael Cole and Booker T discussed the matches from the previous night along with JBL, who had a segment where he was a weatherman on top of the roof of the building. RAW was filled with interviews with Reigns, Lesnar, Rollins and Bryan along with a full replay of both the triple threat match and the Royal Rumble match from the night before.

Anything can happen when it comes to live television, and I tip my hat to the WWE for putting a show together after an emergency cancellation occurred the day of the taping. While people who paid full price to see the Royal Rumble on pay-per-view may have felt their money was wasted if they could see it for free the next day, it further encouraged people to pay just $9.99 for the Network where you get the PPV and all of the other content that comes with the Network. It’s definitely cheaper. In a sense, it was good marketing to get those customers to subscribe to the Network while still filling the 3-hour gap left previously void that night due to the storm. Re-airing the much praised triple threat match may also sway people to stay with the Network, even being dissatisfied with the outcome of the Royal Rumble match. It’s matches like those that can make one proud to be a wrestling fan. That Monday night proved that RAW is very much live, and the world of live television is a business that must always be quick on its feet.

-Celine

Alternative News Outlet InfoWars Reports On WWE Fans Upset Over Royal Rumble

The alternative news outlet which focuses on what many consider to be “conspiracy theory” views on current events has reported on the fallout following the Royal Rumble. Paul Joseph Watson, a writer for Infowars.com posted the below video. Infowars was founded by popular and controversial radio host Alex Jones.

In the video Watson mocks the outrage saying that people can get upset about sports and entertainment while not getting outraged about current events and politics.

WWE Issues Statement About This Weeks RAW & SmackDown

WWE issued the following statement:

STAMFORD, Conn. – Due to the impending blizzard in the Northeast and statewide travel bans, WWE has postponed tonight’s live event in Hartford and cancelled tomorrow night’s live event in Boston; however, WWE will emanate live tonight at 8 p.m. ET from it’s studios in the Stamford world headquarters.

Ticket Information:

Hartford, Conn., XL Center: Tickets for tonight’s show in Hartford will be honored for a SmackDown event this Thursday, January 29 that will air live on Syfy.

Boston, Mass., TD Garden: Fans will tickets to tomorrow’s event in Boston will have the option of either exchanging tickets for an upcoming WWE event on Saturday, June 27 or obtaining a refund at point of purchase.

Plans For Tonight’s RAW & Thursday’s SmackDown

PWInsider Elite reports that rumors going around WWE today is that tonight’s RAW will be a best of show of some sort. Still waiting confirmation from WWE, but the live taping at the XL Center in Hartford, CT has been cancelled and WWE sent their production crew home a few hours ago.

Tomorrows SmackDown taping scheduled for Boston has also been cancelled. Rumors continue that WWE will broadcast SmackDown live from Hartford this Thursday. WWE talents were told to get hotel rooms in Hartford and to standby.

Talk within WWE is that an official announcement will be coming soon.

Source: PWInsider Elite via WrestlingINC.com