BEARcast 2017-01-29: WrestleCast Royal Rumble LIVE post cast

BEARcast - WrestleCast 2017-01-29 Royal Rumble LIVE post show

LIVE Royal Rumble post show.  Short and sweet, the remaining members of the crew stick around to discuss and rate this year’s Rumble.  Aways fun, alway a debacle and always under the influence.  Kids, don’t drink and do podcasts…  Enjoy, because we did!

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.

BEARcast - WrestleCast 12/16/2015

BEARcast - WrestleCast 2015-12-16 with Fred "The Oracle" and Dustin

Big WrestleCast this week.  We’re joined by friend of the show, Dustin to recap a great week for the WWE.  TLC was a good PPV to end the year and RAW delivered a new Champion!  The Roman Empire is finally upon us.  And with the entire BearCast crew playing against each other in our Fantasy Football playoffs, tensions start to get heated!  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.

BEARcast - WrestleCast 12/10/2015

BEARcast - WrestleCast 2015-12-10 with Fred "The Oracle"

We pull Fred from the cold grip of death to help preview this weekend’s TLC network special (aka PPV).  We burn through all the crap on RAW and give our predictions for Sunday’s show.  A little later, we succumb to the sickness and just get loose.  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.

BEARcast - WrestleCast 09/09/2015

**2 Part Special**

BEARcast - WrestleCast 2015-09-09 with Fred "The Oracle" - PART 1

BEARcast - WrestleCast 2015-09-09 with Fred "The Oracle" - PART 2

We’re BACK!!  So much to cover in-and-out of the ring, we had to split this week’s WrestleCast into two parts.  Here’s PART 1 which covers what we’ve been up to and all the latest wrestling gossip.

PART 2.  You wanted excitement???  FRED RANT ALERT!!!  We get to all the in-ring action and Fred goes on a classic HHH rant (maybe nudged on by The BEAR…maybe).  You’ve come this far on our reunion tour, you might as well finish it off.  

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 8/04/2014

Coming at you from University of Texas, and I hope all the advertising majors enjoyed what was essentially a three-plus hour commercial.  Some would say that each week is a commercial for the WWE but this week, HHH and crew took it to a new level.

The most amazing part?  HHH got over on the crowd with his $9.99 gimmick.  It was a thing of beauty.  Unfortunately for the home audience, the announce crew of JBL, Cole and The King took the bit too far and made me want to cancel my WWE Network.  To see HHH get booed the first time he started to shill the Network for 9.99 and within just a few repetitions, he had the crowd chanting 9.99 with him was an amazing piece of mic work.  It also proves live crowds are sheep, myself included, but we’ll table that for our discussion on audience manipulation.  

This week was the same as last.  SummerSlam is only two weeks away and most of the card has been set.  Now the WWE is just in pure selling mode.  HHH and creative staff tried to make the hard sell fun.  There were a lot of quality matches.  None of them mattered since all the story lines will move forward or be resolved at SummerSlam.  Any exposition was just repeats of what we already expect.  For example, Ziggler vs Miz or Y2J vs Bray Wyatt or even Roman Reigns vs RKO.  This whole paragraph is an allegory for this week’s RAW.  It was the same info over and over, said in different ways but still just filler until we get to the actual matches at SummerSlam.  Matches that while entertaining, hold no bearing on the final conclusions which will take place at SummerSlam for just 9.99.  

Make sure to check out the BEARcast - WrestleCast (www.worldofbear.com or on iTunes) this week.  We’ve been on fire with our predictions, rumors and theories.  By “we” you know I mean Fred “The Oracle”.  I’m just there to get Fred worked up about Bret Hart and to make obscene jokes. 

So with that, let’s get to the rankings as of this week’s RAW on 8/04/2014…

1. WWE Production for the Cena / Lesnar clip package (HM) – Normally I wouldn’t even put such a thing like a Promo Video Package on the Power Rankings, let alone put it at the top of the list.  But the Cena / Lesnar promo was superb.  It’s clear that Brock is at his best when he’s doing a shoot on tape (which is odd because the most memorable Brock / UFC moment was live after a match).  Last week I gave the WWE Production crew and honorable mention for their fine work.  This week, they stole the show.  Neither Cena nor Brock were on RAW live, neither Cena nor Brock were needed.  In fact, if we don’t see them until SummerSlam, I’m fine.  Keep cranking out these promos or let Heyman deliver one more masterpiece, which I find it hard for him to top his shoot from two weeks ago.
2. HHH and Stephanie McMahon (1) – w/ Kane, Rollins and RKO all dressed in black (except for Kane) The Authority finally looked like the bad ass evil faction that Fred has been predicting they could be.  Stephanie looked great (these boots are made for walking!).  I already went into how amazing and fun HHH was.  If you went by McMahon family lore, they’d have you believe the McMahons were one of the first families to step off the Mayflower, host the first Thanksgiving dinner with the Indians and the first to give Pocahontas’ tribe small pox.  Yet again, Stephanie and HHH sold their lines perfectly.  I was dreading the end of the show because nothing makes me want to fast forward quicker than a contract signing.  Luckily, after we slogged through B-Bella part, Stephanie and HHH once again took over.  HHH pinning B-Bella in the corner was brilliant and Stephanie giving a pedigree to any female to cross her path was fantastic.  I’m still not sold on the match at SummerSlam but I’ll keep my hopes high and give Stephanie the benefit of the doubt.  She’s earned it after weeks of killing it on the mic and being a pedigree giving machine on Monday.
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. B-Bella w/ N-Bella (2) – I’ve never once rooted for Cena to run out and make a save until Monday’s RAW.  Fuck you, HHH / Stephanie / B-Bella / N-Bella for making me scream at the TV, “C’mon on Cena, save the day!”
   
4. Ambrose vs Alberto Del Rio (HM&N/A) – This week’s RAW felt like a night of comebacks for a few wrestlers that we haven’t seen a few weeks.  ADR is one that just last week on the BEARcast - WrestleCast (www.worldofbear.com or subscribe on iTunes) we were wondering where has ADR gone and should he just quit if the WWE is going to bury him?  Well, we might not have an answer to what the future has in store for ADR but we can confirm that he’s still an awesome in-ring talent.  His match with Ambrose was excellent.  They had to fill three segments and tell so much story within the match.  Once the clock got to 7-8 minutes, you knew Ambrose would win and then he would cause Rollins to loose out rite and void the count.  I’d be remise not to mention the reverse top-rope-suplex.  It was amazing and I thought Ambrose was going to kill himself.  ECW! ECW! ECW!… Sorry, it’s an involuntary reflex to awesomeness.
   
5. Rollins vs RVD (10&N/A) – Everything that happened with the Rollins storyline this week was so predictable, you could have set your watch to it.  Fortunately, everyone played their parts well and from Ambrose to Rollins to Slater to even ADR, it was fine.  Part of me thinks, well they have to fill two more weeks until SummerSlam and this could have been worse.  The other part of me says, hey, I didn’t put the WWE in this holding pattern and the audience deserves better than just generic wrestling tropes.  While we were lucky that all the wrestlers did their jobs well, We should demand better.  If the WWE wants to hold the record for the longest running show and tout how they are this entertainment juggernaut, then do better than rolling out the same tricks year after year.  We just saw the “popcorn, soda and JBL’s hat” trick done with Alicia Fox a few weeks ago.
   
   
   
   
6. Chris Jericho vs Luke Harper (12&11) – Bray’s interference resulted in Y2J win, which means no Rowan / Harper at SummerSlam.  GOOD!  Bray vs Y2J should be awesome and we don’t need any outside interference.  Which probably means we’ll still get some outside interference.  
   
7. Ziggler (8) – Hollywood Miz ringside is always a fun time.  Ziggler got the quick win.  Great quick match that incorporated the Miz vs Ziggler feud.  Yet another SummerSlam match that I’m ready for.
   
8. Cesaro (5) – Cesaro pulled off two of the most amazing moves.  He jobbed to Ziggler but that was acceptable because it was in the name of pushing their storyline.  I still say, what the fuck is Cesaro doing at SummerSlam?  He’s one of the best performers the WWE has.  He’s been killing it on the mic, even without Heyman.  What is the WWE doing with him?  It’s an embarrassment that he’s not fighting Sheamus or in a feud with someone.
9. Randy Orton (6) – There wasn’t much for RKO to do.  He did his damage last week and again the best game plan was to let the WWE Production do all the talking for him.  I know many people called and texted me to ask if I had finally gotten a role on RAW, but I had to assure them that the god like specimen of humanity was not me but Randy Orton.  Don’t worry, people confuse us all the time.
   
10. Roman Reigns vs Kane (7) – Last man standing match.  The move of the night was Reigns almost being taken down by a child of unknown sexual orientation as he came down to the ring.  Is there any match more anticlimactic than a Last Man Standing match?  The idea sounds fun but to win everything stops for 10 seconds.  Not only that, but you have wait through numerous attempts at a 10 count.  In the end, it’s just two guys performing finishers standing around.  It seems that it’s time for Kane to do some See No Evil 2 promotion.  The Kane mask looks like the smell of a wet dog.
    
    
    
    
11. Paige (9) – The fact that they’re using an AJ Lee match to promote Main Event tells you all you need to know.  Paige vs AJ is going to be great.  Props to Paige for getting better on the mic.  
12. Dust Brothers (16) – They’re so great that their return gets a graphic.  We still don’t know what the Cosmic Key is but if the Usos aren’t fighting The Wyatts at SummerSlam, you figure Goldust and Stardust are in the mix.  Their performance in-ring reaffirms the question of why aren’t they doing more.  The Dust Bros are killing it in all phases.
    
13. Bo Dallas vs R-Truth (13&15) – Freed from his winning streak gimmick, he gets his revenge on Truth with a quick cheat.  “If you're not cheating, you’re not trying,” is clearly the strategy that Bo is going for.  A Bo-Dog on the outside is a pretty good way to cap off your revenge.  
14. Swagger w/ Zeb (17) – Fred called it on last week’s BEARcast - WrestleCast (www.worldofbear.com or on iTunes) that we should not be surprised that if next week we see the realest of Real Americans, Hulk Hogan, come out and help take down Rusev and Lana.  There were so many subtle things going on that jumped out at me during Zeb’s shoot.  Was Mavis / Mabin (?) the nurse such great nurse because of or despite Obama-care?  A month ago, Zeb would have been criticizing Obama instead of defending him.  Oh how quickly the story lines turn in the WWE.  
    
15. Rusev vs Sin Cara (17&N/A) – Rusev beats Sin Cara “exclusively” on the app but somehow I watch it on the replay sooooo…  THE FUCKING APP IS IRRELEVANT!!!!!  Friend of the BEARcast (www.worldofbear.com) Dustin texted, “Vince may get media, but he doesn't get MULTI-media.”  I couldn’t have said it better.  One example: The WWE spends way too much time talking about twitter and what’s trending but the fact is at least 50% of your audience is not watching RAW live on the East Coast.  Most people are watching the show on DVR or even an hour late so that you can fast forward through commercials.  Then you’ve got a whole segment of the country watching it three hours later on the West Coast.  So if you by chance go on Twitter, and you’re at al behind, the show will be spoiled for you.  They’re basically doing what WCW did to them on the Monday Night Wars by announcing who wins, any surprises and the ending.  People who don’t watch RAW are not going to see a trending WWE topic and then decide to watch RAW, which they’ve already missed.  On the rare occasion that a Rock or Stone Cold come back, maybe you’ll get someone new interested in what happened but since the show has already aired, they’ll need to search it out on YouTube.  The only time Twitter and social media make the viewing experience better is during PPVs when most everyone is watching live at the same time.  
    
16. Mark Henry (N/A) – Burnt orange and burnt ends are a staple of the world’s strongest man.  It’s been a while since we’ve last seen Mark Henry.  I can’t even recall why he’s been gone.  Whatever the reason for his return, I hope it continues and he is able to join up with the law firm of Kingston, Woods and Langston.  And was that a Vince Young sighting?
    
17. Damien Sandow (18) – Boomer Sooner, red river rivalry is alive and well.    
    
18. Adam Rose (N/A) – This was completely stupid.  However, I did come up with a great premise which the WWE can have for free.  Rose sees his worst fear in the Oculus mirror, which is to be a corporate business man (aka a lemon).  This revelation somehow inspires Rose to work and train harder to take down all the “lemons” of the world.  Who’s the biggest lemon?  The Authority!  Make Rose more serious about his in-ring work and have him go bat shit obsessed with taking down The Authority.  He could be a fly in all their plans.  Not really disrupting anything but always an annoyance.  The Authority can dispatch new wrestlers or underutilized performers to “take care of him.”  This could go on for a year, off and on, meanwhile building Rose into a much more serious contender.  Maybe not WHC level but at least a IC or US title run.  You’re welcome, WWE.   
19. Ryb-Axel (N/A) – They are getting worse.  I didn’t think that could happen. 
20. Matadores / Torito / Summer / Layla vs Fandango / Hornswoggle (19) – WTF?  I will give credit to the Matadores that gave Summer a nice “goosing” that the cameras picked up.  If you’re going to have the worst gimmick in wrestling, you might as well grab some hot ass when you can.  
    
    
    
    

Honorable Mentions

Heyman – G.O.A.T.  What other manager get’s their own DVD?  I can’t wait to steal this from Fred’s house at the SummerSlam party.

Fozzy’s Light’s Go Out – Is it cool for me to be happy that Jericho is taking advantage of whatever means he can to get his band more recognition but at the same time find it incredibly cheesy and cheap that the WWE and Fozzy are using each other in such an incestuous way?   Are we to assume Y2J and Fozzy will be performing prior to his match with Bray Wyatt?

Side Note(s)

The reason that Swagger’s new shirt should be mandatory for all Americans is because it’s an easy reminder of which hand to use to put over your heart.  Look at this picture of the crowd and see how many people screw up the pledge stance.  We are a stupid people.

For the second week in a row we get a weird Comic Book / WWE parallel.  As a comic book fan, I love it.  This one is specifically eerie because really, Bray Wyatt and Kronos have the same message, chat amongst yourselves.

Until next week…

WWE Power Rankings, RAW 7/28/2014

Coming at you from Houston, and some weeks the WWE / RAW / Wrestling can be great, some weeks it can be horrible, some weeks it can be exciting and some weeks it can be boring.  Then there are weeks like this one.  Weeks that just are-what-they-are and there’s not much to say.

The world is in a funk.  It’s the dog days of July.  It’s hot across the country.  The economy is stagnant (which is the nicest way to put it).  There’s turmoil all over the planet.  The sports world only has baseball, which for this DirecTV customer means no Dodgers, still!  TV’s got nothing of consequence (thank god for Big Brother, my one reality vice which eats up at least three hours a week).  SIDE NOTE, check out You’re The Worst on FX and help me decide if this is a hidden gem or I’m just desperate for an interesting comedy.  Summer movies have been a huge disappointment overall.  Snowpiercer and Godzilla might be the two best movies of the Summer of 2014 (the first being a 2013 movie just now on VOD in the United States and the other is God-fucking-zilla!?).  The San Diego Comic Con just wrapped up which is like going to a strip club; you spend a lot of time / money / effort to NOT go home with the hot chick and to NOT see the new movies / TV shows / comic books being promoted.  Bringing this back full squared-circle, SummerSlam is still a few weeks away.  A big PPV to which we’ve known what the card will be since last month.  

Over the weekend, I was chatting with Fred “The Oracle” about mixing it up a little on this week’s BEARcast - WrestleCast (www.worldofbear.com and on iTunes).  We were trying to think of a new segment or work on one of our previous bonus show ideas.  I’m always worried about going too long and said, “Well, if we have five minutes let’s do _______ (check out the show this week).”  Halfway through RAW, I texted Fred, “I think we’ll need to find something to fill up the remaining 45 minutes after we burn through this countdown!”

RAW wasn’t bad, it just didn’t do anything.  The actual wrestling was solid.  The problem is, we know the basic lineup for all the matches at SummerSlam.  It’s as if you watched the last five minutes of The Usual Suspects and now we’re going back to see what lead up to finding out who Kayser Soze is and why he did what he did.  Does it make The Usual Suspects a bad movie?  NO!  Hell, I’ve seen it 100 times.  It’s a great movie but during the 100th time watching it, am I  riveted watching McManus, Keaton, Fenster, Hockney and Kint pull off the same heists?  

SummerSlam is a few weeks a way.  Other than Goldust / Stardust, Cesaro, Sheamus and the Corporate Nation, we know where almost all the other feuds are headed.  SummerSlam couldn’t get here fast enough.  That being said, I’m very much looking forward to all the SummerSlam matches (save for this Fandango / Summer / Layla nonsense).  

Check out the BEARcast (www.worldofbear.com and subscribe on iTunes) over the next few weeks because we’ll try to spice things up while most of wrestling is just going to repeat itself running up to SummerSlam.

So with that, let’s get to the rankings as of this week’s RAW on 7/28/2014…

1. HHH and Stephanie (3&6) – “Jail Bird” would the be the title of the Orange is the New Black episode that Stephanie should guest star on.  I hear-tell prison changes a person.  That’s certainly the case as Stephanie went full Keller from OZ on B-Bella with “you’re my bitch now!”  I’m going to make an early prediction that this Stephanie / B-Bella match will be better than you expect.  IF my theory that a female wrestler’s in-ring quality matches that of the male wrestler pumping semen into her, than HHH vs Daniel Bryan with an Y chromosome should be good. 
   
2. B-Bella (20) – I got it… we all get it… Stephanie is a BITCH.  The WWE feels they have free license to use that word if it’s one female yelling it at another.  If we know anything about the WWE, once they find something they like, they’ll beat it like Ray Rice in a casino elevator.  Special shot to Fred “The Oracle” for calling this match months ago before anyone else!  Even more reason for you to listen to the BEARcast - WrestleCast (www.worldofbear.com and subscribe on iTunes).
3. Paul Heyman (1) – Ladies and Gentlemen…  Not only did Heyman do a great job to set up SummerSlam but at the same time he’s laying the foundation for the return of Undertaker (which lays the foundation for Sting’s monumental debut, see Side Notes for more on this).  What Heyman is doing contributes more to WWE storytelling than any other performer in the company.  He’s the best.
4. Cena (HM) – M.I.A last week but back to open the show.  He’s taken his shilling dish towels to a new level this week.  It is interesting how SuperCena has continued to be a hero while the crowd had turned to give him the same heat a heel would get.  It’s like watching the world boo for Superman while he’s defending the world against Doomsday.  
   
5. Cesaro (8) – Killed his shoot!  Maybe Cena “can’t wrestle” but more often than not, he rises (and lowers) to the level of his opponent.  You don’t get much better than Cesaro.  This was a classic SuperCena win but at least Cesaro got the “win in defeat” aura from Monday’s match.  Even with his dope “what is this, velvet?” robe and superb wrestling skills, Cesaro is a bit lost.  I’m still calling for a Sheamus / Cesaro feud.  It just makes too much sense so… it probably won’t happen.
   
6. Randy Orton (4) – HHH did a good job of setting up Roman Reigns / RKO and putting pressure on RKO to step up.  Who doesn’t love to hate Angry RKO?  NOT crazy RKO but angry RKO is the best.  Once again RKO proves he’s old school buy making damn sure that announce table was going to get smashed.  I love how a chance at a chance of a title shot is RKO’s “precious”.  It’s so lame and so over the top but that’s when RKO is at his best.  
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
7. Roman Reigns vs Kane (2&5) – Turn about is fair play.  RKO got the jump on Reigns which was a switch from last week.  But you know who I feel sorry for, Kane.  Seeing him ONCE AGAIN take the walk of shame back to the locker room.  He’s did what he was told and now it’s back to the showers to await the next time the WWE needs him.  Don’t feel too bad.  At the SDCC Kane was out promoting the next installment of See No Evil.  We’ll have to check with “The Oracle” but I imagine he’ll be taking time off soon to get in full movie promotion mode.  
8. Usos & Ziggler vs Ryb-Axel & Miz (&10/ &11) – Hollywood Miz and Ziggler are the stars of this match.  Yet another match that should be great.  The Miz is really kicking ass with his character lately.  As for the tag teams involved in this, well one is really great and the other suck donkey balls.  I’ll let you figure out which one is which.  
   
   
   
   
9. Paige and AJ Lee (12) – I thought we were making progress when Paige only mockingly skipped like AJ down to the ring.  But no, yet again, the only two ways a female wrestler can have any exhibition of character is by either being a slut or a crazy screaming bitch.  Putting aside my thoughts on female characters, this was Paige’s best mic work of her short WWE career.  There was no reason to bring back the stupid “crazy” AJ gimmick.  Just get to the match.  Paige vs AJ might be a top three match at SummerSlam.  *snap two times in a circle*
   
10. Seth Rollins (HM) – Plan B vs Y2J.  Like I said, regardless of the storytelling, very good wrestling on this week’s RAW.  Let’s set something straight WWE, if you show a repeat of what you aired on the WWE app, then it’s not “exclusively on the WWE app.”  It’s just a fucking repeat of what happened during the commercial.  You’ve done this for years!  How stupid do you think we are?  OH, wait…
11. Bray and The Wyatt Family (7) – Another day, another Wyatt family run in to jump Y2J.  What would be interesting (and if it doesn’t totally work it won’t matter because Jericho will be leaving soon) is to have Bray preach that he and Y2J are more alike than anyone and should join forces.  Y2J has always fancied himself a man of the people, more Hollywood granted, but maybe Y2J (which is a nickname derived from the destruction of man via a technology error) should see the light and team up with… oh who am I kidding?  The WWE is not spending a like of time trying to get nuanced with this feud.  Let’s the Bray beat-down of Jericho begin!
    
12. Chris Jericho (7) – Such a shit stirrer.  Too bad he’s using jokes from 15 years ago.  Despite Fred’s raving review of the new Fozzy record, all I’m going to say is, “glass houses, bro.”  All joking aside, Bray vs Jericho will be awesome.
13. Bo Dallas (15) – Bo Dallas’ streak is snapped by R-Truth?!  At first I was shocked and pissed but then realized, Bo’s streak was only going to hold him back.  This pushes Bo as a heel and ends the silly streak that would have been a burden in the coming months as he tried to take on wrestlers higher up the food chain.  Now he’s free to step up to an IC or US championship run.  Lastly, are we sure the drought in Los Angeles isn’t being caused by Bo Dallas personally?  The man has all the water.  The boy is wet!  Is no one worried he’s a walking slip-and-fall accident waiting to happen?
    
14. Corporate Nation (14) – Not only did Big E win back his spot in front of the backstage TV but he brought his friends along.  Eventually Woods, Kofi and Big E came out to the ring.  I’m staying clear of this and giving this gimmick a slow burn and crossing my fingers it’s done right.  They must add at least one or two more black wrestlers to the new Nation but it doesn’t seems like R-Truth nor Titus are on their list of pledges.
    
15. R-Truth (N/A) – A slow night = R-Truth Rapping.  Clearly, R-Trizzle is to ghetto for the new Corporate Nation.  If R-Truth (and WWE creative) want to blow people’s minds, they should have Mr. Killings come out and do a shoot that he’s the 1-behind-the-1-in-16-and-Bo-1??  If only for one night, have him be a Paul Heyman guy and let Heyman give him a bump.  What could go wrong, other than everything?
16. Dust Brothers (13) – I’m a sucker and I’m along for the ride!  Let’s hope that whatever this magic key is means some in-ring action.  Any comic book fan will notice something eerily familiar about Stardust’s board.  Let’s hope it doesn’t lead to a New 52 like Rip Hunter’s did.  Fuck it, let’s blow the whole thing up and see what happens!
    
    
    
    
17. Rusev w/ Lana vs Swagger w/ Zeb ( ) – “50 stars and 13 bars” sounds like a great rap lyric.  It’s amazing how Zeb turned from a Fox news pariah to a Normal Rockwell painting.  
    
    
    
    
18. Damien Space-dow vs Adam Rose (16&N/A) – Back to feuding with the Adam Rose machine.  I love Sandow.  He’s pulling off the city-by-city heel tour.  I know there’s not much of a future for this character but can’t I just enjoy something in my life?
    
     
19. Fandango vs a Matador w/ Summer & Layla (18&N/A) – Isn’t bestiality illegal?  Then again, we’re talking about Texas and it wouldn’t surprise me if fucking a bull, albeit a midget humanoid bull, is totally legal.  The fact that it’s a Mexican bull, that’s where Texans will have issues. 
20. Divas Match: Cameron / Alicia Fox vs Naomi / Natalya (20) – So, um, yeah… I needed a #20 so, here you go.  Let’s just hope that Naomi gets to face off with either Paige or AJ sooner than later.   

Honorable Mentions

Dean Ambrose – I like how they flipped from last week, when Rollins wasn’t on the show.  The Ambrose / Rollins feud is going to be awesome but having them at each other’s throat and sneak attacking them over and over again was going to get played out fast.  Essentially putting this feud on hold for a few weeks was perfect.  We all know the war is coming.  I can’t wait for SummerSlam.

Houston Crowd – The Houston crowd was on fire from the opening of the show all the way through the end.  Big up’s to the folks in H-town. 

WWE Production crew – This is not a new development but from time to time we’re reminded on what the WWE does better than any other sport / entertainment company; making promo / clip packages.  The production crew made some outstanding packages for the Stephanie / Bella and the Brock / Cena feuds.  “That’s What WE Do!” should be the WWE Production’s motto.

Side Note(s)

Very quickly, SDCC was this weekend and there was a panel for Mattel and WWE toys.  At the end there was a surprise appearance made by Sting, as he was going to have his own WWE licensed toy for the first time ever.  The only reason to point this out is that watching Sting, at a WWE event, turned me into a wrestling crazed teenager again.  I’m old enough to say, “none of this really maters” or “this is just a TV show I enjoy watching.”  But the realization that Sting might actually make it on to WWE television in the near future really got my juices flowing.  On things that I never thought that I’d see or given up on hoping for, seeing Sting in the WWE was one of them.  I’ve always been a huge Sting mark but as you learn in life, some things weren’t meant to be.  Sting was never going to be in the WWE, which itself was a cool idea.  But now that it seems imminent that Sting will give us at least one match, even an appearance, I can’t tell you how excited I am.  I’m sure anyone under 20 will barely care if Sting ever makes an appearance on RAW.  But if your of my ilk or a historian of wrestling, I can promise you one thing; When Sting finally shows up at a WWE event THE CROWD WILL LOSE THEIR SHIT.  More than even the Undertaker’s streak being broken because that was sad and a shot to the gut.  Sting showing up will bring such joy and turn old men into giddy boys.  I can’t wait.  Thank you WWE.  Thank you Sting.  Thank you San Diego Comic Con, truly the happiest place on earth for all of nerdom.  

Lastly, on the theme of Nerd-culture and movies (“these are a few of my favorite things” - feel free to sing along), I just finished re-watching The Running Man.  With all the sequels and remakes that Hollywood is making, why has the WWE not bought the rights to make a new Running Man.  This should be in production and ready for me to watch in 2015.  Cena would make a perfect Ben Richards.  Granted, no one is like the late great Richard Dawson but Mr. McMahon or better yet Stephanie McMahon would be as close to a perfect replacement as you’re going to find.  The WWE roster is littered with potentially great stalkers.  Out of all the remakes, the original Running Man suffered from the lack of quality CGI and new age costumes.  We didn’t need a new Total Recall or Friday the 13th or Nightmare on Elm Street.  We certainly don’t need a new Gremlins, Escape From New York or Point Break (can you really remake perfection?).  Even though I love the original Running Man, it’s the one that could benefit the most from a new cast and new technology.  There’s my free tip to the WWE.  Spend whatever it takes to get the rights to The Running Man.  You’ll save money on the cast so it will wash out.  Stop with these horror films and give us a movie that couldn’t be more perfectly suited for the WWE!

Until next time…

WWE Power Rankings, RAW 7/21/2014

Coming at you from Miami, and while Battleground wasn’t great, the WWE loves to hit a major market on the RAW after a PPV and throw out big stars and big plots.  C’mon Miami, I know you’re down about loosing LeBron but there’s nothing like being host to a good wrestling show to get you out of your funk.  If you can’t get excited for the return of Brock Lesnar, you should be at a wrestling show.

Battleground was exactly what we thought it was going to be.  A few decent matches but nothing overly special and an ending that was not only spoiled a week in advance due to a leaked SummerSlam commercial but also failed to include any of HHH’s backup plans, B or C.  Let’s just say, I’m glad I only pay $9.99 per month for the PPVs.  $50 would have been an obscene amount of money for, what friend of the BEARcast - WrestleCast (www.worldofbear.com or on iTunes) Dustin called, a decent RAW.  

Fortunately RAW is in Miami tonight and rumors are swirling (which basically means my WrestleCast partner Fred has sent me a bunch of gossip from the internet).  You’d have to think that the WWE will pull out the big guns because SummerSlam is now just weeks away and they have to set up the Brock vs Cena main event AND get to the pinnacles of various story lines that were kicked down the road at Sunday’s Battleground.

The late addition of a Rollins / Ambrose match was a bit of a surprise since we all know this feud has SummerSlam written all over it.  As such, we didn’t get a match but a series of silly backstage fighting and parking lot brawls.  Fifteen minutes of filler there, an IC Battle Royal which took longer to intro the entrants than the actual match and three matches that weren’t bad but while you were watching all you could think about was, I can’t wait to see the SummerSlam version of this.  Those three matches were Rusev / Swagger, AJ / Paige and Y2J / Bray Wyatt.

The best match of the night was the curtain jerker.  A best 2 out of 3 pins match between The Usos vs Harper and Rowan.  Once the first two pins to make it a 1-1 match got out of the way the match took off and was spectacular leading up to a surprise Usos victory.  It was a great match and you can only assume they’ll set something up for SummerSlam.  One way or another The Wyatt family is winning the Tag Championships and now that the Usos have retained them once again, you have to imagine they finally loose them at SummerSlam.  The only monkey wrench is that Goldust and Stardust have been getting a lot of promo time to ramble on about taking things to the next step.  I love the Dust Brothers but there’s only so many backstage skits they can do before they must wrestle a meaningful match.  

So with that, let’s get to the rankings as of this week’s RAW on 7/21/2014…

1. Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar (N/A) – Please stop what you’re doing and give Heyman a standing ovation.  It might not have been the best promo of all time but name me someone else who could have pulled THAT promo off?  Credit to HHH for getting out of the way and handing the closing segment over to Heyman and Brock to let them do their thing.  This might have been one of the worst kept secrets in the WWE and one of the worst crowbar-ing in of a plot line but at the end of the day, who cares?  Brock is back.  He’s a beast.  Heyman is on the mic.  Cena should be shitting his pants.  A last minute question just came to me (check out the BEARcast - WrestleCast at www.worldofbear.com this week for a full discussion); If Cena gets destroyed and Brock wins the belt but puts on a valiant effort, will the mark fans who boo him change their tone and start rooting for Cena?  If by winning and with the hype of Heyman, could Brock become such an unstoppable monster (now tied to The Authority) that the fans all get behind Cena to be the one to win the belt back?  I know plans are for Reigns to be that savior but is he ready to take out Brock?
   
2. Reigns (3) – Had his coming out party during the Fatal-4-Way at Battleground.  While everyone new Cena was going to win thanks to a leaked SummerSlam promo, the other three wrestlers did a great job of putting Reigns over.  He still needs some work on the little things that make a good match and not only relying on his big spots.  Also a few more months of practice on the mic will help on his personal road to WrestleMania.  
3. HHH (7) – I liked how HHH opened the show by going after all the people criticizing him, just seconds after JBL / Cole / King referenced Twitter and gave out the hashtag to follow the show with / “become part of the conversation.”  It just goes to show how much stock the WWE actually puts in to and follows social media.  We got fun HHH on RAW.  When he’s attacking internet trolls and trying to be serious while his wife is being hauled off to jail is a side of HHH you rarely get to see.  I know some hate the HHH character and / or have issues with some of the ways he’s done business in and out of the ring but I’ve always felt he’s probably a great guy to talk to and must have a thousand funny stories.  There’s a jokester in there and you always get to see a little sparkle when the show calls for him to land on the comedic side of the script.  
   
   
   
   
4. Randy Orton (3) – First to interrupt HHH is RKO demanding his long await rematch from WM30.  Is that clause forfeit when the title has already changed hands?  I wish he would have stuck with the “What about me?” a little longer.  At least it seems set for a Reigns vs RKO matchup at SummerSlam, which should be good.
   
5. Kane (3) – Kane, the world’s worst baby sitter.  Kane’s been hit with about 30 Superman punches and spears in the last 24 hours and yet he still chugs along.  Oh, Kane…
   
6. Stephanie McMahon (7) – I don’t know why we have to waste the great Stephanie McMahon on this nonsense. Steph can hold her own against the best in the biz but for some reason this Bella feud is something that the WWE thinks someone cares about.  I challenge the WWE to find one person interested in this feud.  Just one and I’ll shut up.  Nevertheless Stephanie turned chicken shit into chicken salad.  She was awesome and seeing her dragged away, correction; see her SELL the arrest and being dragged away was great.  The rest I couldn’t care less about.  Maybe this whole storyline stems from HHH and Stephanie’s vacation which I’m guessing consisted of a marathon watch of Orange is the New Black.  As a fan of OITNB, I’d love to see Steph be brought into Litchfield prison next season.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
7. Bray and The Wyatt Family vs Chris Jericho (9) – We’re told that Y2J was beaten down backstage before the Highlight Reel.  So Bray held court.  Let’s face it, all this rhetoric is silly because the fans just want to see Y2J vs Bray Wyatt at SummerSlam.  We got a taste at Battleground and their match at SummerSlam could be EPIC.  If we learn anything over the past few months it is that Bray needs to come to the ring to do his promos.  His entrances are awesome and his shoots are best served live instead of backstage.
   
8. Dean Ambrose (4) – I can see why some fans don’t like Ambrose or his style.  It’s a little odd and unorthodox and of course everyone has different tastes.  To that I say AT LEAST HE HAS A STYLE.  He might be awkward a times but his style isn’t the same cookie cutter wrestling factory that 75% of the other wrestlers have.  If anything, appreciate that he’s performing at a high level and doing it slightly different than most.  And that he’s banging Renee Young might help his pimp hand.  Like his former parter, Rollins, he can take and sell a bump.  That’s why there are such high expectations for the Rollins / Ambrose feud.  Just look at how his body popped like a spring after being clotheslined.  This was AFTER he initially hit the ground!
   
   
   
   
9. Cesaro (8) – Even HHH had to throw pause on the battle to become the next HHH man.  Cesaro and Rollins is certainly a feud I’d like to see down the line.  This sets up the next opponent for Rollins after his run with Ambrose.  As for the here and now, what’s Cesaro doing?  Okay, fine, you dropped Heyman.  Everyone else seems locked up except for Sheamus.  Could this be Cesaro’s chance at US title gold and a feud with Sheamus at SummerSlam?  Side Note; Once again I have to complain that two foreigners are battling for the US belt.  At least one person should always be an American in a US title match.  Lest you think I’m some crazy Tea Partier or xenophobe, there should always be an international wrestler in the mix for the IC belt.  We give these things names for a reason, no?
10. Dolph Ziggler (12) – Ziggler should have been the winner of the IC belt (and from rumors sent to me by Fred “The Oracle” he was originally planned to be).  There were a lot of missteps in the beginning but once they got back from the commercial break, Ziggler and Miz really pulled together a great match.  In what will sure to be fireworks between Fred and I on this week’s BEARcast - WrestleCast (www.worldofbear.com)  Ziggler got the clean win but didn’t win the IC belt.  Hopefully this all gets rectified and Ziggler wins the strap at SummerSlam.
    
11. The Miz (15) – Coming off his cheap win in the IC Battle Royal, The Miz is riding high.  Hollywood heel Miz is my kind of Miz.  The battle for Ohio has begun and The Miz vs Ziggler could come a close second to Rollins vs Ambrose.
    
12. AJ Lee & Paige vs Emma & Natalya  (13&N/A) – Oh look, Emma is out of WWE jail.  I’m not having this “Shining Wizard” move by AJ.  I know she’s into comics and video games but the name is lame.  Back to the show, Paige pulls off her heel turn.  As you can guess, I’m not women’s lib-er but even I find it slightly offensive if not awkward that the only way a woman can be heel is if she’s a “crazy lunatic that has to scream and yell.”  When Paige finally got past the screaming and yelling, she was a far more effective heel when she was mocking all of AJ quirks like skipping and posing.  
    
13. The Dust Brothers (14) – I don’t know what this Cosmic Key is but I’m hoping they’re looking to take on Thanos to obtain it.  I just wished they wrestled more so I could rank them higher.  Time stops when Goldust and Stardust come on my screen.
    
14. Big E & Kofi (8) – Wait…what did I just see?  Are we…are we actually getting a look at the Articles of Incorporation for the Corporate Nation that has been pushed for almost a year on the BEARcast - WrestleCast (www.worldofbear.com)??  Check out the show this week for our special guest Dustin, who first sparked the idea months ago and I have championed for it ever since. 
    
15. Bo Dallas (17) – RAW didn’t get good until Bo vs Sandow started.  Sandow would be a perfect feud for Bo Dallas.  They both have the ability to put on good matches, Sandow can look the fool and it won’t hurt his character, Bo can beat an actual decent opponent and continue his now 16-and-Bo winning streak.  Oh, and it keeps Sandow in the limelight a little longer before he’s sent back to Sonic.
    
16. Damien Sandow (19) – Thank god Sandow got someone to cover his shift at Sonic so that he could make it to Miami in order to shove LeBron’s Decision Part Deux in the face of all Heat fans.  Luckily Michael Cole was gracious enough to explain to the one person in the world that didn’t know about LeBron leaving Miami to go back to Cleveland.  It was understandable since I believe only one or two people may have covered that news story…  
17. Rusev w/ Lana (10) – I guess Swagger and Coulter went down like a Malaysian Airliner because they were no where to be seen after Rusev got the cheap win over Swagger at Battleground.  The Swagger / Rusev match was good and while I didn’t like how it ended, the WWE found a way to keep Rusev’s winning streak and Swagger’s REAL American heat via a cheap count-out on Sunday.    
18. Fandango vs Zack Rider (18&N/A) – Whoo whoo whooooo.  Rider gets a victory on RAW.  I don’t know if this says more about Rider or the state of Fandango?
    
19. Ryb-Axel (N/A) – Ryback had some weird puncture wound on his chest.  Axel never even got officially tagged in.  Rolled over Kofi’s splash and got the win.  Just as it took Rosa Parks to be sent to the back of the bus, it took Big E and Kofi to lose to Ryb-Axel for us to get the Corporate Nation started.  So in a way, I have to thank Ryb-Axel.  
20. Divas Match: 4-on-Bella (20) – N-Bella faces the dregs of the Divas division (except for Alicia Fox who was the only one to perform an actual wrestling move).  Even the production tried to quit on this match by blacking out for a few seconds.  
    

Honorable Mentions

Seth Rollins / John Cena – Rollins was on the show in a very limited capacity and Cena seemed to have the night off.  They’re both integral pieces in the WWE but this week’s RAW was for bringing back Brock, which I’m glad they didn’t have Cena involved, and Rollins hanging back to let the rest of the story flesh out.  How many times do you need to see Rollins being jumped by Ambrose before it gets played out.  Good booking decisions by the WWE this week.  

Flo Rida – Little known fact: Flo Rida is derived from Florida, the state he’s from.  Haven’t I heard his first song for the past 5 years?  There was two things missing from this performance, his 25 lbs. gold and diamond Jesus chain and his valet’s ability to figure out how lip syncing works.

Great Khali – After being MIA for months, now it seems he’s on every week.  Did he swamp schedules with The Big Show? Maybe they’re the same person???  When was the last time you saw them both together?  Mind.  Blown.

Slayer – The Summer Rae and Layla group name.  We can move on from this right?  Even with Summer’s above average ass and Layla’s tig-ole-bitties, I think we’re done with this.

Side Note(s)

Some great fan notes this week:   

Check out this guy reacting B-Bella calling Stephanie a bitch.  This is more excited than a man his age should get.

Here's the worst sign in recent memory.  If you’re going to go through the effort to bring a sign, put in some effort in making the sign.

And as always, I love to keep track of who's watching from backstage.

Until next time…