BEARcast - WrestleCast 5/28/2014

BEARcast - WrestleCast 2014-05-28 with Fred "The Oracle" and special guest Dustin

A special BEARcast - WrestleCast.  RAW, Payback preview, Dustin and a bonus set of Bear questions!  Fred and I discuss it all.  If you just want the special bonus, skip to the 1:10 mark.  Enjoy.

Please check us out at www.worldofbear.com and on iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/world-of-bear/id828777439?mt=2 and don't forget to Subscribe!  Also, don't forget to spread the word to friends, family and fans. 

Thanks,
WK
@wkbear on Twitter or email the show at WorldOfBearBC@gmail.com to send in ideas and comments.
Contact Fred on Twitter @FreddyD15

WWE Power Rankings, RAW 5/26/2014

Coming at you from University of Tennessee, and I can’t think of a more useless show than this week’s RAW.  Just about every match has been announce for Payback.  The name “payback” indicates most of these matches are rematches from the previous PPV.  There’s nothing more that the WWE can do to get us ready for Bray vs Cena or Shield vs Evolution.  

We learned that Daniel Bryan’s situation as champion still hasn’t changed, they just pushed it off another week by making his relinquishment of the WWE title a segment at Payback.  I supposed this continues to build anticipation to what Bryan and the WWE are going to do with the Championship.  Unfortunately all the usual suspects to receive the title are involved in other matches.  Unless someone is going to pull double duty I have no clue on what’s going to happen, which, again, is good for Payback but sucks for the RAWs leading up to the PPV.  Let’s hope these’s a good payoff to of this delay. 

The other coincidental positive is that it looks like we’re going to get a good amount of quality matches from the mid-carders.  There’s been practically no storytelling but on RAW but some how we’re getting a Sheamus vs Cesaro match for the US strap (see last weeks article about my semi-xenophobic rant on how at least one person in a US championship match should be from the United States, or just re-read that sentence).  Another good matchup is RVD vs Barrett for the IC title, which came about from a one night, number one contender tournament.  Barrett should win but the two have potential of putting on a good match.  Even if the Usos fight against Harper & Rowan, that has potential of being an entertaining match.  Even a Rusev vs Big E matchup should be interesting.  I don’t know how we got here but the Payback lineup is looking good on paper.  Fred and I will preview Payback on the BEARcast - WrestleCast which will be out late Wednesday early Thursday so go to www.worldofbear.com or iTunes to subscribe and listen.

So with that, let’s get to the rankings as of this week’s RAW on 5/26/2014…

1. Evolution - RKO & Batista w/ HHH (4) – HHH had the difficult task of walking the line between being CEO and leader of Evolution.  Let’s pull back for a second.  It’s wrestling.  HHH has been a wrestler for 20 years.  It’s not like the CEO of Fed-Ex has to make stock decisions while delivering next-day envelopes.  In both cases, HHH was lucky to have Stephanie and Evolution do the heavy lifting while he carried his own.  It seems like months since RKO and Batista last teamed up.  Am I’m the only one on the “Batista / RKO tag team is a good idea” island?  I supposed I won’t have to defend that theory because the Guardians of the Galaxy promotion machine has started up.  BTW, let me complain for one-second, showing the exact same trailer that you can find online is not “an exclusive look”.  I digress, back to the show.  Even the WWE seems to be done with this feud.  Over and over again Payback was referred to as the last time you’ll see The Shield and Evolution in the ring together.  This was said in a multitude of ways which made me do a double take.  I know everyone expects The Shield to go over Evolution and for Evolution to have some sort of breakup BUT is there any way this is a “red herring” for the real split will be within The Shield?  It would be interesting, and definitely a surprise, but seeing as 99% of the time the WWE has been “status quo” I’ll put my money on Evolution losing at Payback.  Regardless, can we just get to this match?  There’s a half dozen dead horses that can’t be beaten on any longer.
   
2. Cesaro w/ advocate Paul Heyman (5) – Here’s a perfect example of the WWE not knowing what to do with a great talent.  Cesaro put on a fine match with RVD.  He’s as good as anyone in-ring.  He’s got Heyman as his mouthpiece.  I blanked and assumed he already had some sort of belt but I suppose that’s what his match with Sheamus at Payback is all about.  Cesaro is “on the bubble” between the top tier and mid-card gold.  I’d love to see him against RKO or Cena once their done with their current feuds.  If he’s not going to move up to the main even ranks, give him some mid-card gold around his waist.  
   
3. Bray and The Wyatt Family (1) – After winning the night last week on RAW, Bray’s domination continues.  “Am I the snake or am I the cure?” was runner-up to Cody’s blasting of Batista and RKO.   Tennessee’s favorite son, Jerry Lawler, was called out by The Wyatt Family.  In the process, JBL got laid out.  John Cena, and eventually The Usos, came out to save The King from getting Sister Abigail’d into another ringside heart attack.  I supposed Lawler was thinking, “If I die from an in-ring heart attack, at least it will be in front of my hometown fans.”  
   
4. John Cena w/ The Usos (2) – Came out and saved The King.  Cena had a pretty good shoot, playing off Bray Wyatt.  Unfortunately, the whole night was just a placeholder because we’ve been ready for Payback for the past week or two.  The questions going into Payback are interesting: 1) Can the Wyatts hold down Super-Cena for a 10 count? 2) Will this resolve the Bray / Cena feud or will it drag on? 3) If this drags on, are we looking at the culminating event to be at SummerSlam?  4) If this feud drags out until SummerSlam, will I have the fortitude not to commit suicide during the endless Bray / Cena shoots week after week?
5. The Shield (3) – I could live the rest of my life and never see another fake wrestling “contract signing” again and be perfectly happy.  I HATE CONTRACT SIGNINGS!  They’re so stupid.  Even if you were to believe that a match between two wrestlers who are already under contract from the same WWE promotion is real, why would you need a contract in the first place?  The plots on Total Divas make more sense.  It’s not The Shield’s fault that the creative mind trust at WWE ended RAW on such a pointless segment.  Running back Shield vs Evolution for the second PPV in a row has been equally pointless but here we are.  I’ve been ready for this match for a month now, so let’s get to it.  I will say, as a business owner and someone who’s bought multiple office chairs, I was very upset that they trashed six perfectly good chairs that cost over $100 each.  That’s just throwing stupid on top of crazy.  I wasn’t the only one…Did you hear the crowd buzzing over the ending of RAW?  Me neither.  Tip to the WWE, you want people excited on the last RAW going into the PPV, not falling asleep. 
   
6. Stephanie McMahon (7) – As the self-proclaimed WWE fashion expert, Stephanie gets a B tonight.  Nice simple yoga pants / blazer outfit with her shoe game on point.  As far as character, she killed it once again.  It’s to the point where she’s set her personal bar so high that I’ll be shocked when Stephanie does NOT come out and destroy a promo.  Only the Princess of the WWE can put the brakes on the Kane fire and light-show ending.  She’s one of, if not THE top heel, in the WWE.  She’s more subtle than Vince ever was.  She’s more dynamic than any of the great talkers.  She gets demerits for not wrestling but she overcomes that by being the straw that stir the WWE drink.  Even Heyman can go over the top at times but Stephanie is always in that sweet spot.  She’s a bit handcuffed to trying to navigate this Daniel Bryan situation, in and out of the ring, but after this run, I’m eager to see what she’ll do next.
   
7. Daniel Bryan (N/A) – It’s hard to blame Bryan for this because he’s legitimately injured but the main event at Payback is now a Bryan gives up the Championship or B-Bella is fired match?  Do we even call it a match or is it a Main Event segment?  I’d rather see more clips of him complaining to B-Bella about how much their wedding is going to cost.  By the way, if your choice is 120k for a wedding or 120k towards a house, as someone with some financial experience, PUT IT TOWARDS A HOUSE OR ANYTHING OTHER THAN A ONE NIGHT PARTY!  Kim and Kanye made $100 million last year.  It’s OK for them to throw money away on a wedding.  This is Daniel Bryan, the wrestler.  Maybe I’m totally off on how much money wrestlers make but you should have an -aire at the end of your net worth if you’re going to have a wedding cost 120k.
   
8. Sheamus (6) – Pulled a slight bit of double duty by running in on the Cesar match and then having his own match with ADR.  There’s no reason for Sheamus to be fighting Cesaro at Payback.  There’s been no lead up or story behind this match.  Fortunately, they can put on a good match but now it seems the WWE is throwing in a possible concussion plot to Sheamus’ story?  The only thing that might make sense is that Sheamus drops the belt to Cesaro and then Sheamus gets tapped to join Evolution while Batista is out promoting for a while?  I’m lost with this one.  No disrespect to ADR and Sheamus but the two of them and the Shield / Evolution contract signing has to be the worst “main event” on RAW in a while.  The Heyman / Cesaro run in at the end gave further credence to notion that both Sheamus and Cesaro are next in line to get major pushes.  What they do with those pushes is anyone’s guess. 
   
9. Rob Van Dam (8) – I love it when someone gets so stoned that they make totally irrational choices in their wardrobe.  Live life RVD.  Do your thing.  You’re one of the best. 
   
10. Alberto Del Rio (9) – Do you know how you can tell “trending topics” on Twitter are bullshit?  With everything going on in the world, the WWE wants us to believe Sheamus / ADR is actually “trending”.  I’m going to need to see proof on this one.  Unless the topic is trending because people are saying, “The main event on RAW is Sheamus vs ADR?!”  The WWE clearly wants to keep using ADR since they keep sending him out to the ring each week on RAW.  It’s time to put him with Swagger and Zeb as part of the new version of the Real Americans.  
11. #BadNewsBarrett (14) – After his egregious booking last week on the London RAW, he at least came out to do some commentary on the RVD / Cesaro match.  Which was the least he could have done last week in London!  He’s one of a handful of performers on the roster that you know can hold his own at the announce table.  Barrett vs RVD at Payback is one of the matches I’m most excited for. 
12. Goldust and Cody Rhodes (N/A) – Cody won the night when addressing Batista as “a skinny-jeans sellout” and RKO as “RK-blows”.  That was his Drop-the-Mic moment.  I’m glad to see both Cody and Goldust having a prominent spot on RAW.  They’re in the mix for most underused / misused performers.  The only problem with a character wearing makeup is mid-to-post match shots of their makeup melting off their face.  I don’t have Coulrophobia but I do imagine this is what a murderous clown looks like when he’s done raping your lifeless body but before he’s finished digging the shallow grave he’s going to bury you in.
    
13. Big E (15) – Running out to the Broski’s defense, Rusev vs Big E is the matchup most of us have been waiting for.  We thought we were headed that way but the match seemed to be derailed the last few weeks.  Hopefully, Big E’s run-in will put their collision course back on track.  Since there is no title involved, can we call this feud “The Battle for the moniker of Taz 2.0?”  At worst, this could be a nice push for the winner.  At best, if the match is good, both wrestlers should get a nice bump.
14. Alexander Rusev w/ Lana (16) – It doesn’t take much to convince me to watch a Banshee marathon, which aired over this holiday weekend on CineMAX, but now that I know Lana has a two-minute cameo which contains her topless getting banged in a bathroom stall in a casino AND having coke snorted off her bare chest, let’s just say, this was a Memorial Day weekend for me and my penis.  
15. Alicia Fox (10) – This is my answer to the fight Fred and I had last week on the BEARcast - WrestleCast (which can be found on iTunes and www.worldofbear.com).  This is how you build up a title challenger.  It would have been nice if she’d won but even in a loss she can prove she’s vicious and all these close losses are just due to bad luck.  Aside from the weird Stone Cold Soda spraying, Alicia is proving she’s one of the best shit-talkers on the roster.  I can’t wait for the Fox / Paige title match at Payback.
16. Davy Crockett aka Damien Sandow (N/A) – This is a man who dressed up as Magneto, which was awesome, so it’s not surprise he’d pull off a Davy Crockett gimmick.  Sandow is great.
    
17. Bo-lieve-Dallas (HM) – Bo made his debut on RAW vs Sin Cara (the jobber to the stars).  For a brief second, I thought that Dallas could loose the match but because of his Bo-lief he would still consider just participating a win.  Then I realized for that to happen it would take some creative effort from the WWE staff, which wasn’t going to happen.  I enjoyed his victory lap.  We only got a small taste of what Dallas can do.  So far, so good.  The only problem I see is that when he’s smiling and his hair is dangling in front of his face, he looks so much like a shaved version of his brother Bray Wyatt.  Eventually they’ll have to address this, and fortunately there’s a lot that can be done within their current characters gimmicks.  They both have the “belief” gimmick going, obviously from different ends of the spectrum.  If Bo can continually build heat, their paths will cross and it should be interesting.  As for now, Bo needs to keep beating jobbers and acting like he just climbed Mt. Everest.  How much heat would he get if he beat a jobber and then go on the mic to thank all the people who’ve helped him get to this win.  He whips out a paper with that has an acceptance speech and runs down all the trainers, craft service people, truck drivers, maintenance crews, etc. and lists them by name!  That would get him some great heat. 
    
    
    
    
18. Adam Rose (17) – Even though it only lasted a few minutes, our first look at Rose was a positive one.  Once he dropped some of the character antics and got into the wrestling portion of the match, he surprised me on how much energy and ferocity he fought Davy Sandow with.  Dare I say, his match with Jack Swagger at Payback could be good?  Throw in the third best line of the night, “Nobody touches my lemon!”  I might have to become a RoseBud.
19. Brad Maddox (N/A) – The not often seen but is usually underrated GM of RAW, given what he’s supposed to do, might have made is last appearance?  It’s good to see him back on TV because he has played his role well.  He’s another performer who’s embraced his role and when you dive in feet first, good things happen.  Look at those ridiculously tight, suspender high-water pant getup he’s in.  Goes out to get lambasted by The Authority, be destroyed by the monster Kane and then to put a cherry on top, get fired.  In his dressing room / locker is there that poster of a cat dangling from a tree limb saying, “Just hang in there.” 
    
20. 3MB w/ Hornswoggle and Los Matadores w/ El Torito (20&N/A) – Trotting out 3MB w/ Hornswoggle and Los Matadores w/ El Torito on after a Memorial Day tribute featuring JFK is like the WWE wiping their collective ass with the US flag and then lighting it on fire.  There’s no bigger defender of free speech than yours truly but I’d have no problem with throwing these 4-BM-turd-cutters and villains from a Toxic Avenger movie straight into Guantanamo Bay to never be seen of again.  Instead, We (the WWE audience) are tortured by with their mind numbing segment.  I thought we were saluting our Fallen heroes tonight?  Not throwing them in a Vietcong tiger cage for cruel and unusual punishment.  I’d take the tiger cage before having to watch more of this crap.  The match ended when Hornswoggle ripped off El Torito’s tail.  Which leads to ask the question, El Torito has a tail?  Just when you thought the nonsense couldn’t end, we come back from commercial to Los Matadores in the Vet / Doctor’s room trying to re-attach El Torito’s tail.  When the Earth is hit with an apocalypse sized asteroid, may it please land on the clown car that these seven men travel in?  Is that too much to ask?  
    
    
    
    

Honorable Mentions

Zack Ryder – The “Broski” gets the obligatory honor of saluting the stars and stripes for the Memorial Day show, which was just a set up for Lana and Rusev to come out and demolish him.  Way to make the flag proud, you Jersey Shore reject.  (Just kidding.  I’ve got a soft spot for Ryder.)

Sin Cara – You don’t get rewarded for literally being a faceless jobber.

Paige – Congrats to Paige for taking over Big E’s spot watching TV in the back.  I feel like we’ve seen some version of this shot each week for the past few months.  This must be some inside joke with the writers to see how many times they can do this.

Emma – I’m glad she got a chance to break free from another Santino / Emma vs Fandango / (insert female wrestler) match.  Emma, Paige and Alicia Fox have all shown significant in-ring skills.  Add that to a returning AJ Lee, a push of Natalya, the emergence of Summer Rae and rumors that there are some up and coming prospects in NXT, the Divas division is looking the strongest it’s been in a long time.  But there’s still always an exception…(see next HM)

Total Divas match: Eva Marie w/ N-Bella vs Summer Rae, with interruption by Fandango and Layla – Garbage.  Layla looked like a leopard that just finished eating a Thanksgiving turkey.  I’ve already wasted enough time.

Side Note(s)

I’m usually not worked up when the WWE announces a new DVD / Special because they’re usually a lot of hype about nothing but the “Factions” DVD has my attention.  I’m a mark for a good team and I can’t wait for Fred “The Oracle” to get this one so I can steal it next time I’m over at his house.

Until next time…

BEARcast - WrestleCast 5/21/2014

BEARcast - WrestleCast 2014-05-21 w/ Fred "The Oracle"

To say this week’s BEARcast - WrestleCast got a bit testy is like saying Bret vs HBK was just a little feud.  The regular WrestleCast format had to be scrapped because Fred and I got into some heated debates and discussed important WWE business topics.  


Please check us out at www.worldofbear.com and on iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/world-of-bear/id828777439?mt=2 and don't forget to Subscribe!  Also, don't forget to spread the word to friends, family and fans. 

Thanks,
WK
@wkbear on Twitter or email the show at WorldOfBearBC@gmail.com to send in ideas and comments.
Contact Fred on Twitter @FreddyD15

WWE Power Rankings, RAW 5/19/2014

Coming at you from London, and both the WWE and myself made trips home to visit our “parents”.  While the WWE went to visit London, I found myself in the old hippie mountain community of Idyllwild.  My parents decided not to retire in the metropolis that they’ve lived in for the past 60+ years (and where I live) but instead have chosen to grow old and die in some remote artsy-nudist colony in the woods 6000 feet above sea level.  Like the WWE, I sucked it up and traveled to their home to entertain them for a few days and to make sure they know we still love them.

Back to the WWE’s return to the British Isles.  You’ll find I use the term “British Isles” a lot because I don’t know crap about the geography of England and the surrounding countries that make up the ancient lands were our forefathers descended from.  Most of what I know stems from movies and television shows.  As far as I know, Doctor Who is still fighting William Wallace over same sex marriage rights of the Merry Men of Sherwood Forest and Brad Pitt is the reigning underground fight champion.

WWE is on a European vacation and like the Griswolds, they’ve been a bit lost for the past few weeks but have started to find their way back on track.  Letting wrestlers wrestle, fleshing out the Shield / Evolution feud, using the Beat the Clock gimmick to give the mid-carders something to do (albeit a lame gimmick and resulting in subpar matches, it gave screen time to a handful of wrestlers) and some other positive moves that we’ll get into on the countdown.  

The greatest help for any WWE show is a smart and hot crowd.  When the WWE travels, the crowds are almost always filled with marks because this might be the only chance all year that the hardcore fan gets an opportunity to see a live show.  The diehards flock to the shows and you’ll usually get a crowd similar to the night-after-WM RAW audience.   Also, the fans tend to be regional which means that Sheamus, Paige and Barrett will get huge pops.  

The other point of business that must be addressed is, what’s going to happen with Bryan and the WWE Heavyweight Championship?  A poll I put up on www.ringsidenews.com resulted with a King of the Ring-style tournament as being the voters top choice.  I couldn’t agree more because on the BEARcast - WrestleCast (which can be found on iTunes or www.worldofbear.com) two of the fantasy bookings I push for most are a new Corporate Nation and a new version of The King of the Ring.  We got very few details from Stephanie but it seems like next week’s RAW will shed more light on to what is going on with Bryan and the Championship.  The WWE is very lucky that Kane is Bryan’s current opponent and he 1) wasn’t a real contender to win and 2) is such an established wrestler, didn’t have much else going on and near retirement that his character could essentially be put on pause.  Could you imagine what would have happened if say Bray Wyatt was set for a huge match with Daniel Bryan at Payback?  The WWE got very lucky.  Or it shows how poorly the main WWE championship picture is, that we don’t really care? 

So with that, let’s get to the rankings as of this week’s RAW on 5/19/2014…

1. Bray and The Wyatt Family (3) – Last week The Shield tried to pull off a “cold open” but it didn’t have a great impact on the viewers at home.  I know I’m nitpicking but The Shield’s entrance works much better when they’re music hits and they come down through the crowd.  The Wyatts, on the other hand, are perfectly suited to start off in a blacked out arena, siting in the center of the ring.  It took a trip across the pond (or at least an audience full of marks) to get the Wyatt Army in full swing.  I know the WWE doesn’t want Bray and The Wyatts to be faces but if you’re going to blackout the entire arena and have everyone use their cell phones like lighters at a Lynyrd Skynyrd during Freebird, you’re going to get some face heat.  BUT, that doesn’t mean they couldn’t play the “bad-face” card.  It’s a difficult task, and recent WWE writing doesn’t inspire great confidence that they can pull it off, but NWO did it.  DX did it.  Even Ziggler did it when he was WWE Champ with AJ and Big E at his side (god forbid the WWE remembers that).  It can be done.  This week’s RAW also proved that you don’t always need to push the theatrics.  Maybe the WWE and Wyatts have earned the fan equity, to which the Wyatts have built-in the darkness to their character, using simple lighting and a dark arena with the fan’s lights was a better effect than herding in 100 kids with sheep masks to surround the ring.  Let’s not skip over Harper, who has been showing a lot of promise.  Right as I was thinking this was a pretty good brawler match, Harper pulled off a flurry of high-flying agility moves.  To finish the match, Bray whipped out some of the fastest Sister Abigails ever seen.  As far as RAW endings, going out with Bray singing, Harper counting down and Cena laid out for a 10-count, this was excellent.  Too bad Payback isn’t this Sunday.  We’ll be running this same thing back next week.  Finally, can we call Harper’s power move a “Moonshine Driver” instead of Michinoku? 
   
2. John Cena w/ the Usos (2) – If you listen to the BEARcast - WrestleCast (cheap plug for www.worldofbear.com) you’ll know that Fred “The Oracle” got his wish for the crowd to start singing “John Cena sucks…” in rhythm to Cena’s theme song.  We learned that the Bray / Cena match at Payback will be a Last Man Standing match.  Initially this sounds like a good match but then it hit me that Bray will win via help from Harper and Rowan, which will mean this feud will continue and not end at Payback.  Bray needs to move past Cena.  Ironically, Cena is benefiting more from this feud than Bray is.  Bray’s hot and could challenge for gold or go against anyone.  Where does Cena go after this Wyatt run?  If Cena looses at Payback, this feud will be tied at 1-1 and will continue to the next PPV.  Don’t tell me this lasts until SummerSlam?!?!
   
3. Rollins w/ Shield (1) – The Shield do what they do best, a backstage / bowels of the arena shoot.  Dean Ambrose clearly steals my slurred / stoned vocal delivery (which can be found on the BEARcast at www.worldofbear.com) but imitation is the greatest form of flattery, so I’m honored.  The week wouldn’t be complete if Rollins didn’t steal the show with an awesome move.  I’ve never seen someone sell an elbow or clothesline like Rollins did.  Even guys like Ziggler will flip and make it look like their heads are being taken off but Rollins looked like a dead body flipping around.  It was so amazing that the WWE showed it three times.  I can’t imagine The Shield loosing at Payback but this is wrestling and with the elimination stipulation for the rematch, who knows?  This only makes sense if The Shield wins and Evolution puts them over as faces and during the match, Evolution are the ones who experience some sort of inner turmoil.  (fingers crossed)  
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. Batista w/ Evolution (4) – HHH as Guest Announcer and RKO as Guest Time Keeper?  It’s good to be the King of Kings.  This goes to show Boo-tista has the ability to put on quality matches.  Yes, this was filled with interference but Batista and Rollins were good.  The whole match could have been a clusterfuck but it turned out to be really fun and I enjoyed the ending.  It’s fascinating that Evolution was / is supposed to put The Shield over but with their quality mic work and their in-ring excellence, The Shield is helping make Evolution better heels.  Assuming Batista is taking some time off to promote Guardians of the Galaxy, and the elimination / no holds barred stipulations of their match at Payback, I’m guessing we see dissension between Evolution members.  Maybe this time Evolution will turn on Batista versus last time when Evolution turned on RKO?  I’ll give the WWE this, they know how to frame a good camera shot.
   
5. Cesaro w/ advocate Paul Heyman (N/A) – Once again, Heyman is the show stealer.  Only Heyman can piss everyone off everyone by insulting a country’s octogenarian queen and at the same time fight the crowd from chanting with him.  Most wrestling performers die for crowd heat, Heyman plays with it like David Blaine and a deck of cards.  I know the belt’s names don’t really mean anything but is it wrong of me to think that at least one participant in a US Championship match should be, you know, from the United States?  I have the same beliefs with the IC strap.  Ireland’s Sheamus took on the Swiss Superman Cesaro?  The only thing more disturbing than two foreigners battling for the US belt was the way Cesaro started to hump Sheamus like a dog in heat during their lockups.  As you can tell, I’m complaining just to complain.  Cesaro and Heyman are great.  I’ll even look past the cheap win due to Heyman’s distraction.  While I might not agree with the intercontinental participants in the US championship, it will bring out the best in Cesaro trying to win the belt and has clearly helped raise the quality in Sheamus’s matches.  
   
6. Sheamus (11) – He’s going to get a semi-pop for being from the British Isles but he’s still an Irishman.  Every movie, from Braveheart to Rob Roy to Hunger and every Robin Hood incarnation, tells me that the British, Irish and Scottish don’t like each other.  But I supposed it’s similar to being a fan of the Dodgers / Angels or Lakers / Clippers, except without all the bloodshed and war, of course.  My loyalties lie with the Dodgers and Lakers but if they’re not in the playoffs, I’ll root for the Angels or Clippers.  I always figure most of the world lines up against the Swiss.  You can never trust the Swiss and their pacifism.  “Oh, we’re neutral.  Keep us out of any wars.  Feel free to deposit your Nazi money in our banks.”  Pick a side, you spineless bastards!  Up until the cheap loss, the Sheamus / Cesaro match was really good.  The past few weeks Sheamus has put on good segments.  I’m down to see where this feud goes.
   
7. Stephanie McMahon (15) – As the WWE fashion expert, I give her a B- for tonight’s outfit.  She is a master on the mic but it’s the subtle things she does that makes her so good.  Hopping around, mimicking Daniel Bryan’s entrance is a piece of art.  Stephanie is able to shoot and further the story without telling us anything.  Think about the job she had to do.  Nothing was going to happen, assumedly because the WWE still doesn’t know the exact timeframe for Bryan’s return, but Stephanie needed to address the situation, give the audience a Bryan surgery update and then push the storyline to next week.  She offered up options which was the best part of her shoot.  It was great to hear the fans’ reaction to each solution and wrestler she offered up as champion.  In the end, nothing happened and we need to tune in next week to see if Bryan will show up and / or see what The Authority will do with the WWE championship.  Great bit of business of turning something out of nothing.
   
8. Rob Van Dam (12) – RVD vs ADR in the BtC contest.  The acronym match of the night.  The good news was that the match wasn’t going to go longer than the previous match-time set at 5:02.  The bad news was that, out of all the BtC participants, RVD and ADR are two wrestlers that I would have liked to see a normal contest between.  RVD won and set the new BtC time at 4:15.  Not only did RVD take over Big E’s best time but also took over his spot watching the RAW feed.  Doesn’t it feel like RVD looked a bit bewildered at Big E’s post?  “Dude, so, you’re telling me whatever I see on this screen is what’s going on in the ring behind me?  Whaaaoooo.  Mind blown!” 
   
9. Alberto Del Rio (N/A) – Because I’m picking apart every little thing done on RAW, sometimes it feels like I’m watching the Zapruder film for three hours each Monday night.  Looking for clues to what the future holds.  I’d tell you that the future is a world that depends on role models like ADR to guide the children of the world.  To lead them into the light and to follow him to a better tomorrow.  Basically, he’s sticking around and his new character arc will harken back to one of his original themes, as the hero the WWE Universe needs.  This could be the start of his next big push OR nothing at all and I’m way too into Monday nights.  ADR does do a mean Bobby DeNiro.
   
10. Alicia Fox (10) – I hate to work a little blue, but I have to be honest with what I see, we had a bit of a Fox-camel-toe issue to start the match.  Putting my perversions aside, this was a much anticipated match.  Unfortunately it fell a little short compared to Alicia and Paige’s previous match-ups.  This time, it was clear why Alicia snapped and had a tantrum after the match.  She got the clean win and didn’t win the championship.  It was funny watching Alicia checking the cups to find the one that had soda vs beer.  I guess pouring beer on oneself is obscene but a kid’s soda is PG acceptable?  I’ll never understand censorship.
    
     
11. Paige (9) – Paige got the home country pop.  I live by the theory that you can’t have more than two weeks in a row of quality Diva matches.  This week proved that theory.  Paige and Alica didn’t have a horrible match but nothing compared to their previous two.  It was a bit shocking to see Paige lose in front of her home crowd.  But because this wasn’t a sanctioned “Divas Championship Title Match” it meant nothing.  It came off flat because; 1) Paige lost in front of her home crowd and 2) The loss was meaningless because the title wasn’t on the line so it didn’t matter that she lost, Paige is still the champ.  This is where I get to claim that these clean losses by champions but  no title changes hands are bullshit.  I understand the Diva roster might be thin but how many times do Paige and Alicia Fox need to fight before the match actually counts?
    
12. Dolph Ziggler (6) – My excitement to hearing Ziggler’s music hit was muted by the fact that there was no way Ziggler was beating Henry, let alone in less than 4:15.  Ziggler has gotten more run lately and continues to be his awesome self.  He damn near beat Henry in an exciting match.  I don’t want to see a prolonged feud between the two but I’d be more than happy to see Ziggler vs Henry one more time without the clock running to see how that match would end.  It shouldn’t last too much longer.  Part of the beauty of that match was that Ziggler needed to out-quick Henry’s power in order to beat him.  
    
13. Mark Henry (N/A) – Fought Ziggler in the BtC and while neither of them won, both got screen time and as we’ve discussed, being on RAW is one step closer to having a meaningful run.  I don’t expecting Henry and Ziggler to continue fighting each other but they did put on a surprisingly strong match.  The contrast in styles was interesting.  There’s been a lot of rumblings about a new Nation starting.  I’m told TNA is doing something similar with MVP?  Unfortunately it’s happening on TNA and well, “If a tree falls in the woods…”  All I know is that when the new Corporate Nation takes place, I want to be on record of calling it.  It’s so obvious and would be perfect.  Henry could be the leader.  He’s perfect to tie in the previous incarnation and the new one. 
14. #BadNewsBarrett (N/A) – You knew Barrett was going to get the hometown crowd and cheap pop.  It would have been nice to see him in a match before 20,000 of his countrymen and women but I guess that’s too much to ask of the WWE?  Instead we get three BtC matches to decide who will challenge Barrett for his IC belt.  Not to beat a dead horse, but you’ve got an English IC champ in London and on your flagship television program he barely makes an appearance.  What a splendid use of an asset…  
    
15. Big E (17) – Thank you Mr. E for putting us out of our collective misery by finishing off Ryback in 5:02.  Last week I heralded a Big E vs Rusev match to find out which big man with similar styles would prevail.  You’d think that Ryback would fit into that same mold but he don’t.  Can we please have a story where Big E isn’t watching RAW from backstage?  Now it’s just getting creepy.  Big E has used up all his backstage-monitor-watching privileges for 2014.   
    
16. Alexander Rusev w/ Lana (16) – I felt sorry for the UK fans.  Cheer for the hated Russian or the mockery that is the Union Jacks.  Was it not bad enough that 5 Seconds of Summer were compared to the Beatles on Sunday night’s Billboard Music Awards?  What, you know nothing of this because no one watches the BBMA?  I guess I really am a shut-in who watches too much TV.  The only two people truly benefiting from the escalating tensions between the US and it’s allies against Russia are Rusev and Lana.  But as I mentioned last week, how far do they take this if the hostilities get really bad?  With help of Photoshop and a few flag switches, Rusev continued to get some hot heel heat.  Lana has turned into my second favorite manager behind Heyman.  Way behind, she’s still a valet while Heyman is an Advocate.
    
17. Adam Rose vs Jack Swagger w/ Zeb (13&14) – Rose is from Australia but to our uncivilized American ears, he sounds like he’s British.  Close enough, right?  I’m still not totally sold on the gimmick and it will depend on his in-ring skills.  If he does get over he needs to give a portion of his check to Zeb.  Zeb has been a great foil for Mr. Rose.  Payback can’t come soon enough so that we can see Rose in action vs Swagger.  Feuding with Rose is like going to the Halloween costume party from Karate Kid and Swagger’s new “Big Hoss” workout jacket makes him look like the teacher from Cobra Kai.  That should be Swagger’s new gimmick and Zeb can play the über master from Karate Kid part 3.  This is all fun and games.  We’ll see how this little feud plays out and then both Rose and Swagger will be challenged to keep any kind of heat moving on to real opponents.
    
18. Ryback w/ Curtis Axel (20) – “The Big Guy” not only is a horrible name but Ryback also gave us a horrible shoot to set up the Big E / Ryback match.  I delt like I was hit with a tranquilizer dart and it was a race against time to see if I could stay awake through the end of the match.  That’s the true Beat the Clock aspect of their match.  Why does it bother me so much when Ryback starts pounding on his chest like a guerrilla?  Fuck it, just keep doing it for as long as possible.  Thump away for 30 seconds.  Win me over by taking it to the extreme.  I do find Ryback slightly less annoying than Axel, so maybe it’s Curtis Axel that’s the real issue for this tag team?  My time is too valuable to waste thinking about this, so….
    
19. Fandango w/ Layla (18) – Layla is British born?  I thought she was Mexican?  Not to get too geopolitical but Layla is an example of the future of the human race where everyone is just some shade of brown with exotic features.  Not even the stringent of racist could complain about more Laylas in the world.  What I can complain about…talk about poorly worded transitions…is that we didn’t get a good cat fight last week, well the WWE must have been listening because we got one with the returning Summer Rae returning to reclaim her man meat.  Who knows where this is going but once again, it’s a storyline and the last few times we saw Summer, she was putting on some above average Diva matches.  I’m refrain from any rulings until I see more.
    
20. The Union Jacks aka 3MB (N/A) – Heath Slater got slaughtered by Rusev.  Thank you Mother Russia.  While I admire 3MB for being on the KCC crew, I still can’t stand their gimmick.  The only time in the last few years that I’ve found them even slightly acceptable has been when they take on the persona of the city that they are in.  In London, they become The Union Jacks.  When they were in Nashville, they were something else.  If they want to gain favor and be more than nameless jobbers, be creative.  They could still lose each week, but at least lose with flair and get a cheap pop from the crowd.
    

Honorable Mentions

German Announce table – I guess, the German announce table is Europe’s version of our Spanish announce table.  The German announce team looks exactly as I would have pictured them in my mind.  So white, so joyous, so dorky.

Beat the Clock Challenge – Themed events / promotions such as tournaments and Beat the Clock are great tools to give large groups of characters something to do without any backstory.  I hope WWE Creative doesn’t rely too much on cheap gimmicks like these instead of working out fully fleshed out stories.  In the meantime, I’ll take the cheap gimmick over nothing.  The drawback with Beat the Clock is that when you’ve got a boring match (I’m talking to you Ryback), the clock only makes things worse.  The big clock in the corner tells me, “I’ve been watching this crap for 5 minutes?”

Bo-lieve – He’s making his debut this Friday on Smackdown.  Is it enough to get me to watch SmackDown?  I doubt it.  That’s what YouTube and the WWE Network are for.  

R-Truth w/ The Funkadactyls – Well, they got to rap…kinda?

Side Note(s)

Wolfenstein: The New Order is yet another video game that looks awesome but shows how old I am.  Who doesn’t want to kill robot Nazis on the moon?  Like TitanFall a few months ago, there’s no way I can keep up with these kids online.  It also makes me feel old because I remember playing the original Castle Wolfenstein back in computer lab in middle school.  It was the first FPS that I ever played and was addicted to it every recess for a full semester.  That was about 20 years ago.  Shit, I’m fucking old.

Until next time…

BEARcast - WrestleCast 5/14/2014

BEARcast - WrestleCast 2014-05-14 w/ Fred "The Oracle"

The soundtrack to this week’s BEARcast - WrestleCast went to some dark places only because of the sad news of Daniel Bryan’s injury and the ripples it will cause.  Overall, Fred and I were much happier with this Monday's RAW.  At the end, there’s a special tribute to the 20th anniversary to Weezer’s BLUE album (damn, we’re old).


Please check us out at www.worldofbear.com and on iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/world-of-bear/id828777439?mt=2 and don't forget to Subscribe!  Also, don't forget to spread the word to friends, family and fans. 

Thanks,
WK
@wkbear on Twitter or email the show at WorldOfBearBC@gmail.com to send in ideas and comments.
Contact Fred on Twitter @FreddyD15

WWE Power Rankings, RAW 5/12/2014

Coming at you from Greenville, and from the ashes a phoenix will rise!  Well, let’s hope so.  Last week was a bit of a mess.  Not only for the WWE which resulted in the World’s Greatest Power Rankings and the BEARcast - WrestleCast (which can be found at www.worldofbear.com and on iTunes) being cursed with problems.  The culprit for such results is the WWE creative team (who I’ve had high praise of late).  The “B” word was busted out, which is never good for a television show, but “Boring” was the only way to describe the current state of the WWE.  

There’s only three major story lines that the WWE Creative seems to be putting any effort into (WWE Champ Daniel Bryan, Shield vs Evolution and Bray Wyatt vs Cena), while you’ve got a plentiful roster of great performers with no direction.  Want some examples?

Wade Barrett.  Now he’s the IC champ.  Great.  So what?  Why did he want to be champ and what’s his character doing?  If you’re going to tell me he’s the champ because he wants to be the best and his current tier is the IC level, fine.  Then I expect to see two to three segments of a fantastically wrestled match.  That was not the case.

Sheamus is the US champ.  It’s not because of some character driven story arc.  He won an impromptu 20-man Royal Rumble which consisted of any wrestler who happened to be dressed at the time the match was scheduled.  The WWE wanted the US belt off of Ambrose and this was the quickest, easiest way possible.  Prior to last week, you’d have thought Sheamus had a 100-yard restraining order on him because that’s how close he was to the US belt.  Now, for no reason or merit, he’s an IC champ.

The start of a Rhodes brother feud would have been great three months ago leading up to a match at WM30, but now it’s just some awkward set of accidents that is cause for Cody to be pissed at Goldust.  

The Tag Team division, which six months ago was loaded, now features the current champion Usos vs the number one contender of…Ryb-Axel.  RYB-fucking-AXEL?!?!  The only other two tag team available are 3MB and Los Matadores (whom strangely are in a ridiculous feud with each other, but a feud nonetheless).  3MB and Los Matadores should be helping set up the ring and lucky to be cashing checks that have WWE written on them, not being in line for a Tag champ run.   

Even the likes of Cesaro, Ziggler, Sandow, Kofi, ADR, Big E and many more known names and solid performers are sitting around doing nothing.  Up and coming NXT wrestlers were introduced the night after WM30 and since then, all we’ve gotten are promos and one live appearance last week by Adam Rose, which lasted two-seconds.  

Remind me again what The Shield and Evolution are fighting about?  I understand the long term purpose, The Shield is turning face and Evolution is putting them over, but how and why are we seeing them feud?

The saving grace is in the actual performers.  The roster is full of top quality men and women.  Unlike in lean years where there were only a handful of quality wrestlers or personas, the WWE has many “toys” it can play with.  My complaints are because the WWE is not doing a good job of utilizing what they have.  I’ll keep my fingers crossed that the WWE will open up their toy chest and let the writers play with their action figures.

So with that, let’s get to the rankings as of this week’s RAW on 5/12/2014…

Before we get going, RAW did a much better job this week.  Storytelling-wise, it wasn’t as if Shonda Rhimes was laying down the foundation for the next season of Scandal but the WWE did give some attention to the mid-card and at least gave a little context to the Shield / Evolution feud.  Also it seems like there’s big news regarding Daniel Bryan’s health, assuming it’s true it could affect the entire roster.  But when in doubt, let the wrestlers wrestle and we saw a lot of that on RAW. 

1. The Shield (1) – As show openers, Ambrose, Rollins and Reigns were solid but they’re not quick starters.  They don’t yet have the ability to pop the crowd by just standing in the ring.  The Rock, Austin, HHH & Stephanie are types of figures that can stand in the center of the ring and grab your attention.  The Shield members are still new (comparatively) and their shoots are best backstage or in response to other wrestlers.  I’m fine with The Shield being part of the show opener but I’d have had them come out interrupting whomever the show opener was.  Besides, their intro song and how they walk through the crowd is badass.  Whether they’re face or heel, they always get a pop when they enter so why waste that by having them in the ring to start the show?  The Shield are one of the few things the WWE creative staff has done well.  They were wisely kept together when most had accepted that there was going to be a split.  I was going to complain that they’ve been demolished two weeks in a row on RAW and it’s time for them to be the ones delivering the beating, not just on the PPV where fewer viewers saw it.  That’s exactly what happened and not only did they jump Evolution (twice), but took out the entire backstage roster at the end.  Well done.  It’s hard to complain about The Shield.  
   
2. John Cena and The Usos (HM&N/A) – Initially Greenville seemed like a very pro Cena and Usos crowd, at least to start.  The crowd got hot in the middle with a great Let’s go Cena / Cena Sucks chant.  I’ve got to commend Cena because he’s the best salesman the WWE has.  Cena is also the best hype-man in wrestling.  Part of the reason it’s okay to bash Cena is because you know he’s not going anywhere.  He’s secure with his spot in the WWE and isn’t afraid to put other wrestlers over.  He sells his partner(s) better than most tag teams partners.  Cena had all five of his moves on display and the Usos picked up the rest of the work.  Great match.  I couldn’t tell you how this advances either Cena vs Bray or the Usos but it was a great match.  
   
3. Bray and The Wyatt Family (2) – Great Match!  See what happens with a well rassel’d match, you can get away with saying nothing and you go over with the crowd even if you’re on the loosing end.  BUT for those of you who thought you’d get through RAW without a Bray shoot, let me introduce you to the WWE and their dead horse beating policy.  Bray had to have his little backstage shoot.  I’ll go out on a limb to say it wasn’t even filmed this Monday.  Did you notice how Bray didn’t say the city they were in when he did his, “We’re here” gimmick?  The Wyatts could have been in any blacked out room to film that promo.  I get the feeling, Bray has a handful of generic Wyatt promos that he cranked out one afternoon.  When they’re in Greenville, he’s not wasting his time coming in early.
4. Evolution (3) – Maybe it was inside info, but probably dumb luck, that HHH stuck with Evolution instead of addressing his feud with Daniel Bryan.  Regardless of the why’s and how’s, Evolution is the correct group to put The Shield over as faces.  Eventually, Evolution will end up loosing the feud to The Shield.  Then what’s next?  I’d love to put Batista in back in his Canadian tuxedo or a rugged flannel because I think he’s found his calling as the next Paul Bunyan with his gorgeous new beard.  Give him an Axe and a great big blue ox, your set.  In reality, let’s assume Batista has to take time off in about six to eight weeks to promote Guardians of the Galaxy, which is approximately the perfect time to end the Shield / Evolution feud.  At that point, you have to replace him or somehow make the transition to a two-man team like DX did.  The problem is RKO is no HBK, not in talent or in his relationship to HHH.  Assuming Bryan is out for at least six months, you’ve got hole to fill at the top.  I would NOT simply throw RKO in that hole and I wouldn’t completely abandon Evolution.  I’ll save this for another day because there’s too many backstage questions that need answering; When and for how long is Batista leaving and How long is Bryan going to be out?  Without knowing these real life issues, it’s hard to speculate on what the characters should do.  At the end of the day, no matter how this storyline has been thrown together, there’s too much talent between The Shield and Evolution to have a bad match at Payback.  I just wish there was a more sophisticated story being told leading up to the match.  These are arguably your top 6 characters in the company and they’re involved in a simple dick measuring contest.
   
   
   
   
5. Daniel Bryan (13) – The first note I took was, “It seems like a 80/20 Yes-No chant?!”  Little did I know, it would soon not matter.  The first question to Fred “The Oracle” on the next BEARcast - WrestleCast (cheap plug for www.worldofbear.com or Subscribe on iTunes), how real is this neck surgery angle and how bad is it, if true?  Talk about the Yin and Yang of life.  One week Bryan’s winning the WWE title in the main event at WrestleMania and marrying his wife, then the next week his father dies and he now needs neck surgery.  If Bryan is seriously injured and needs extended time off, that throws a curve to the entire roster.  It might seem like an easy task to replace one character with another but Kane was never going to win the strap and they’ve done nothing to set up the next contender.  At the moment, everyone else is involved in a different feud.  Luckily, as I’ve discussed, none of the feuds are so great or intricate that the WWE couldn’t change them.  Here’s what I’d do…Have Bryan make a deal with the devil.  Bryan gives the belt to…wait…BROCK LESNAR!  He cuts a deal with Heyman to hand over the title in exchange for its return if / when Bryan is able to recover.  Of course this would lead to a Heyman and Lesnar betrayal and cause for a Bryan / Lesnar match.  In the meantime, Lesnar could use the same storyline Bryan and Kane have been in.  Fred tells me that the next match was going to be a buried alive match.  Lesnar could take Bryan’s place, win the match and be responsible for taking out both Kane and The Undertaker!  How about that for a little somewhat-feasible “fantasy booking”?
   
6. Dolph Ziggler (N/A) – Ziggler and Fandango put on a solid match.  If anyone was going to get the cheap distraction win, I’m glad it was Ziggler.  I’m too tired of preaching the merits of Ziggler.  He’s awesome in-ring and on the mic.  I’m glad he’s getting play and that he’s been on TV that last few weeks.  Maybe, just maybe, the Bryan injury will trickle down and open a larger role for Ziggler.  
7. Cody Rhodes w/ Goldust (11) – Back against his former partner (and off camera) friend in Sandow.  They had an enjoyable match.  Good for both of them.  If you haven’t been watching the JBL and Cole show, I do not fault you for having a life, you’ve been missing some fairly creative and fun work by Cody and pals such as Barrett.  If you have some free time, next time you’re on YouTube, check out some of the clips from the JBL and Cole show.  For now, the Rhodes brothers are back on the same team.  Either way, this has been horrible storytelling.  Either the WWE screwed up the split or they can’t figure out anything for Cody and Goldust to do.  I don’t know, have them fight the Usos for the Tag straps.  It’s 1,000 times better than a Ryb-Axel feud.
   
8. Damien Sandow (N/A) – It’s as if the WWE was listening when I called for the mid-carders to get some showtime.  See how easy it is?  At the very least, give good wrestlers some valuable screen time and let them work.  If they’re good, they’ll tell a story with their match.  That’s the art of wrestling.  If you really want to get wild, throw in a little bit of long term planning and boom, you’ve got a feud.  Rasslin isn’t rocket science.  
9. Paige (N/A) – It was a big show for her.  Paige got the double push of a TV package and then a full match.  A match I enjoyed very much.  What I found most interesting was even though she’s the champ and you’d think she’d be all about looking good throughout the match, she took all the bumps and sold all of Alicia Fox’s moves.  Even to the point were we might have gone past the PG rating with some of the screaming and moaning Paige let out while Alicia Fox had her racked up.  It made me close my eyes and think about a different kind of wrestling.
   
10. Alicia Fox (N/A) – Once again, Fox was very good.  In a night were we got to see some quality wrestling, Paige and Fox put on one of the best matches.  Fox even got some mic time and worked it fairly well.  Alicia’s badass bitch act has been working for her.  She’s vicious, violent and just about everything you wish most of the male side of the roster would bring to the ring.  I don’t know what to feel about the hissy-fit post match routine?  What is that establishing other than an affinity to waste good soda and prance around in a cowboy hat?  Is there a Coyote Ugly 2 movie that only she knows about? 
    
11. Sheamus (7) – I can’t recall a time I’ve ever cheered so much for Sheamus.  All I keep thinking is if rumors are to be believed, is Sheamus Evolution material?  Then I tell myself, well, that’s what “Evolution” is intended for so…?  Just keep nailing Ryback in the crotch.  I could only dream of a day when I got to work and it is not only acceptable but encouraged to stomp on a fellow co-worker’s pee-hole.  
    
12. Rob Van Dam (5) – KCC (keep cashing checks).  These are the nights wrestlers probably kill for.  Enter the ring as a face.  Have a front row seat to Zeb’s shoot on the Adam Rose circus.  Pull off your signature 5-star and 1-2-3 you’re done.  Nice day’s work.  Clearly someone was going to chill out in Rose’s party bus.
    
13. Adam Rose (17) – It looks like there were quite a few Marvel costumes left in the 99 cent bin.  There must be a lot of pressure on Rose to become a popular character because there’s no way the WWE is paying for all these extras to travel around unless they just utilize all the stagehands and wardrobe assistants to comprise his Rose-buds?  It seems Swagger will be Rose’s first opponent?  Do we really have to wait until Payback for this match to actually happen?  I want to know if this guy can wrestle.  The other funny thing is that Rose looks like he’s about 40 years old.  Either he’s the old guy at the club or doing molly on a regular basis puts miles on you.  Swagger looks about half his age.  Rose should be sitting around with Zeb watching Fox News and complaining about welfare programs.
14. Jack Swagger w/ Zeb (18) – Zeb now has an official Deportation List?  I still haven’t decided if we’re talking Schindler’s or Santa’s list?  The level of offensiveness probably correlates to the opponent, right?  It seems to be a lot less offensive when it’s against Adam Rose and his partying ways than when it’s against people who are of a gradually darker skin tone color scale.  I can’t help but see young and old Biff from Back to the Future part 2 when I watch Zeb and Swagger roam around.  Which leads me back to my original point of my initial rant.  I may not like Zeb’s gimmick or think very highly of Swagger’s wrestling ability but I know what / who their characters are.  It might not be a great story, but I clearly know Zeb’s motive and why he would be feuding with Adam Rose’s party character.  Each has a defined roll and a conflict between them that needs to be settled.  In this case, it’s silly but because it has the basic formula to storytelling, I’m more interested in this match than any of the better wrestlers.  Imagine if Swagger and Rose had a good wrestling match?  How quickly would both their stocks rise?  Apply these simple storytelling principles to a Cesaro or Kofi match and the fans would go crazy.  
    
15. Stephanie McMahon (12) – As WWE fashion expert, she looked great in simple jeans and a blazer.  No muss, no fuss.  Now to the wrestling, if there was ever a time for a good ol’ cat fight, Steph vs B-Bella was the time to do it.  That’s why Vince will always be the best owner ever.  He would have had that cat fight.  What’s her play anyway?  Stephanie is setting all this up, right?  If so, why are we not getting the smirk when the camera lingers on her closeup as everyone leaves?  Damn it, McMahon!  You’re playing your cards too close to the vest.  I want to know what’s going on.
16. Alexander Rusev w/ Lana (9) – Are we sure that Rusev snapped an official Hacksaw 2x4 or are we looking at a wood enhancement situation?  That joke was brought to you by Cialis.  Cialis, when you want to throw up (just a little bit) in your mouth at the next family dinner, wait until your mother talks about how she has it timed so that she can wash out her hair coloring before your father’s Cialis kicks in.  Thank you Cialis.  No need for Cialis when Lana struts out on stage.  Quick question, I wonder how long the WWE will stick with the Russia / Putin gimmick if tensions between the USA and Russia continue to deteriorate?
    
    
    
    
17. Big E (8) – Came to Hacksaw’s defense and could further his face persona, which only adds to the WTF of Big E dropping the belt last week to Barrett.  If they were going to have Ambrose drop the US belt in a random Rumble fashion, why not let Barrett win the US belt and Big E could continue to get the IC belt push?  (Especially if rumors of Sheamus joining Evolution are true??)  Example 294 that there doesn’t seem to be any game plan for most of the WWE roster.  It will be interesting if these two actually do feud because I was first to claim Big E as “Taz 2.0” and Fred “The Oracle” has been touting Rusev as “Taz 2.0” and this feud could settle our debate.   
18. Fandango w/ Layla (N/A) – Burning through the Divas division as if he was pre-engagement CM Punk.  He may have come off as a bit of a weirdo on Total Divas but at least he’s owning the creep factor.  Michael Sam has more socially acceptable PDA.  He and Ziggler put on a great match for 4:50 of a 5 minute match.  It’s a shame it had to end with a garbage ending but it’s to further a garbage storyline.  I can’t say I’m a fan of the Fandango storyline but at least he’s got a story which, no matter what, will eventually lead to more story when Summer Rae returns.  It’s ironic that 2 of the matches that have some semblance of plot both stem from the Total Divas “reality” show.  (Bella / Hart and Fandango / Summer / Layla) 
    
19. Total Divas Match N-Bella vs Natalya (N/A) – Hey, JBL, don’t insult the fine name of Mayor Rob Ford by saying he’d paint something as bad as Nattie’s picture.  Anything that the crack-smoking-mayor Rob Ford does is vastly more interesting than Total Divas.  I hate to say a match was boring when the participants were trying so hard but if I’m going to be honest, it was garbage.  The saving grace was that garbage at least had a story behind it, and the girls sold the match.  You’d have to assume this becomes an anti-bullying bit based on the commentary and reactions?  Not this guy, I could care less.  The only reason for watching was to see if Eva Marie’s dress rose up any higher so that you could see if the curtains match the carpet, if you know what I mean. Huh, huh.  Nudge, nudge.  Says your creepy uncle.   
    
20. Ryback w/ Curtis Axel (16) – Oh, no.  Don’t tell me they now have new tag team gear?  Ryb-Axel beanies.  I bet when the good people of Greenville bought their tickets to RAW, they never would have imagined that they’d be getting a Sheamus / Ryback and Sheamus / Axel match for the price of one.  I thought we stopped torturing people? Call Donald Rumsfeld to see if watching a Ryb-Axel match is considered part of the US enhanced interrogation techniques.  Why is the WWE doing this to their television audience?  To make it all so much worse…They’re going to win the tag belts sooner than later.  Shoot me now.
    

Honorable Mentions

Kane – He came, he dragged, he walked off.  I wonder if Kane’s arc is tied specifically to Daniel Bryan or can he switch his game up to whoever takes over as the new WWE champ?  What of his rumored retirement plans?

Bo-lieve – R-Kelly’s, “I believe I Can Fly” has nothing on the power of Bo-lief.  As a Bo-liever I can get married.  I can win 100 meter dashes in dress attire against my fellow office workers.  Or as my girlfriend just said, “I now Bo-lieve that I can shoot myself in the head”… I guess he’s got a little further go to win over the average fan.  But I Bo-lieve he can do it!  

Hacksaw Jim Duggan – Mr. Duggan was the only Legend they could get to show up and promote Legends House?  Well, I guess Greenville, S.C. isn’t exactly a thriving metropolis.  It’s going to take more than a potential beat own by Rusev and flash of Lana’s legs to get Piper down from his house in the hills of the great Northwest. 

Brodus Clay – A non-funkasaurus sighting.  I repeat, a NON-Funkasaurus sighting! 

Side Note(s)

It’s nice to have announcers that genuinely seem to enjoy each other but can it become distracting and they loose sight of their number one job, sell the matches.  Such is the case with Cody vs Sandow where they would rather talk about Lawler’s cheapskate breakfast habits instead of putting over the ending to the Cody / Sandow match.  The Cole / JBL / Lawler team have their good moments, particularly when it comes to filler but when they’re required to sell matches, they disappoint more than they enhance.  I can’t help but think how JR would have sold the Undertaker / Lesnar match?  These are the things, like long term plot outlines, that seem to not be getting the attention required.  The quality of the WWE has risen overall since the HHH / Stephanie era has begun but there are some aspects that have been ignored which are starting to become more and more glaring.

Until next time…