WWE Power Rankings, RAW 4/14/2014

Coming at you from Birmingham, and the BEAR is in no mood for bullshit tonight.  I was this close to making this a special “rage edition” of the Power Rankings, it’s been that kind of week.  But we’re all adults so I’ll carry on with the dignity and pride that normally comes with these here World’s Greatest Power Rankings!  Dick jokes, homosexual undertones, misogynist overtones, nerd-gasms and all the normal crap I spew out of the lump two feet above my ass.  Besides, let’s not lie to each other.  We can say that we watch wrestling as an outlet and release for our aggressions but that’s not true.  It’s an instructional documentary.  Who hasn’t put someone in a figure-4 leg lock at least once in their life?  You know you’ve slapped someone across the chest and screamed WHHOOOOOO.  I nearly cracked my knee once as a kid trying to deliver a flying Macho Man elbow from the top rope (aka the living room coffee table).  See the trick is, you have to land on your hip / buttocks and not your knee.  Kids are so stupid.  Speaking of stupid kids, there isn’t a day that I don’t wish I could chokeslam one of these brats around town through their parent’s car.  I was in Subway earlier, which tells you how my life is going, and this kid could not make up his mind.  “It’s all pre-sliced crap vegetables in a bin!  There isn’t anything you can add or take off that’s going to make your Subway sandwich any better or worse.  They all taste the same.  Now get moving!”  I told you I was angry, right?  I may or may not have been asked to leave the Subway establishment without getting my tasteless sandwich.  

Anyway, after last weeks events I was officially burnt out on wrestling by Friday.  For months, I’ve been excited about WM30 and all the lead up to it.  Then WrestleMania came and it was incredible.  At the time, I wasn’t sure if it was a C+ or an A- WrestleMania?  After some time away from the event and letting it soak in, WM30 is probably in the top 5 WM’s of all time.  We can argue over the results and some of the technical wrestling finer points but you’ll always remember the Hogan / Rock / Stone Cold opening, HHH and Stephanie’s involvement, Daniel Bryan winning the WWE World Heavyweight Championship (via wrestling 2 matches) and most notably the shocking end to The Undertaker’s streak and possibly career.  That’s not even counting Bray Wyatt’s coming out party (even in a loss to Cena), AJ defending her title against 13 opponents and the ascension of Cesaro (2014 should be his year).  We didn’t even touch on The Shield, who with Cesaro are on track to have an awesome sophomore year.  Were they the results we wanted?  No.  Did it have the best technical wrestling matches we’ve ever seen?  No.  But we will remember WM30 for years to come.

The night before WM30, we had a terrific Hall of Fame induction class which included Lita, Jake “The Snake” Roberts, Razor Ramon (Scott Hall) and a returning Ultimate Warrior.  Then WM30 on Sunday.  The next night was, as usual, one of the best RAWs of the year.  Followed up the next day with the sad news that The Ultimate Warrior died Tuesday afternoon, not 24 hours after giving a great promo in the ring.  Such madness necessitated two recordings of the BEARcast - WrestleCast (shameless plug, check out www.worldofbear.com and subscribe on iTunes).  I think we now have a scale on which to place the deaths of dead wrestlers.  You can go out like Chris Benoit, which would be the bottom of our chart, or like The Ultimate Warrior.  If I knew I was going to die, what better way than to spend the three days prior exorcising decades of past turmoil, being inducted into my profession’s HoF, getting to do one last great promo and showing off the love I have for my wife and kids.  Don’t get me wrong, dying sucks (or at least that’s what I’ve been told, otherwise I’d have tried it a long time ago) and Warrior’s passing was unexpected and horrible for his family but I can think of a lot worse ways to go out.  R.I.P. Warrior.

It’s a new week and a new Monday which means a new RAW.  I’m rejuvenated and looking forward to what my friends at the WWE have in store for me.  So with that, let’s get to the rankings as of this week’s RAW on 4/14/2014…

1. HHH and Stephanie (5) – As in all cases, HHH was right.  RKO, Batista and HHH should have dealt with The Shield together from the beginning.  Just like we should have dealt with Hitler in 1932.  HHH isn’t the cerebral assassin because he’s some fool.  WWE must learn from history as to not make the same mistakes!  Also, HHH didn’t get in shape just for one WM match.  Do your thing HHH.  Evolution vs Shield, I’m in!  Batista-bomb into the RKO, nice to have you guys back.  When The Shield ends up winning this feud, they’ll be the biggest faces in the WWE.  My only concern, and I said this last week, is what’s this mean for Daniel Bryan?  Everyone assumed that at Extreme Rules, there would be a HHH vs Bryan rematch for the title, but now it seems HHH is in a much better feud (this is where all the HHH haters can shove it in my face that he does what’s best for HHH and cherry picks the best plot lines to be in) and Bryan is going to face a returning “Big Red Machine” Kane.  See the Kane ranking for a note on this that may put things in perspective.  As pure service to the fans, give me Evolution vs The Shield!  Aside from what should be a great feud, The Shield will come out as top faces and RKO, and more importantly, Batista will be firm heels.  Kudos to HHH and Stephanie, once again.  Long live The Authority.  Long live Evolution.
   
2. The Shield (4) – You knew The Shield was going to come out to break up the RKO/Batista vs Usos match from the way the announce team wouldn’t shut up about them.  As punishment, HHH and Stephanie decided to give The Shield a mystery opponent for the main event.  (Quick note; How many times has the “mystery” opponent gimmick, on an average RAW in the middle of Alabama with no hype, ever been anything worth remembering?)  The mystery tag team consisted of ADR, Swagger (which for just a second got me excited that my Swagger / Zeb / ADR fantasy booking was actually happening), Fandango, 3MB, Titus O’Neil, Ryb-Axel, Rusev, and #BadNewsBarrett.  Normally, I wouldn’t even put up with this nonsense but the last time The Shield fought 11 men, the match kicked ass and was the turning point to what made them legit to EVERYONE and ANYONE who had doubts, including myself.  Titus / Rusev / Barrett or ADR would have been a fine 6-man tag, especially after see ing what the true ending was.  There were too many jobbers fighting Shield this time around.  Last time, the 11 men were all good wrestlers and everyone had their moments.  This time, it broke down into a clusterfuck of D-level talent against The Hounds of Justice, where Rollins basically took out all 11 challengers with his flip over the top (which he can do with his eyes closed).  It took a mess to get us to the end shot which was fantastic.  What we can take away from this is, if your ending is the return of Evolution and the decimation of The Shield (for the first time!) then I’ll put up with a bunch of silly bookings to start the main event.  It was a lot to sit through bus the end was great.
   
3. Randy Orton / Batista (7&8) – The tattoo twins are back together.  I’m still on the RKO / Batista train.  Now if you tell me they’re going to feud with The Shield, let’s do this.  You saw Boo-tista Bastista-bomb each member of The Shield, right?  THAT’s the Batista that should have come back two months ago.  Sticking him with RKO to help get his balance is brilliant.  Looking back, that was the problem.  Heel or face, that didn’t matter.  Batista was out of the game for too long (and it wasn’t like he was a natural like The Rock, who could wake out of a coma and do a good shoot) and needed someone to help him get his WWE sea legs again.  Maybe it could have worked as a face but it definitely is working as a heel.
4. #BadNewsBarrett (12) – I was conflicted because I really wanted to see the Ziggler / Big E feud but Barrett’s getting the big push right now.  I forgot how much potential Barrett has a top guy.  He’s a crowd favorite.  He’s a mark favorite.  He puts on great matches.  He’s just about the size that the WWE likes in the top tier guys.  Oh, and he loves being a heel.  He’s a more charismatic RKO with just slightly less athletic ability but only a little.  Great match with Ziggler.  
   
5. Dolph Ziggler (N/A) – Every mark fan’s favorite underdog.  Ziggler and Barrett put on the match of the night.  When I saw the match ups for the IC tourney, this is the one I knew would be the best fight to watch but the one I didn’t want to see because it meant Ziggler was probably going down.  As much as I’d love to see the Ziggler / Big E feud, it doesn’t seem to be what the WWE wants to give us.  I don’t know what Ziggler did to be buried and eat shit for so long but I hope his punishment is over soon.  There’s never a crowd that isn’t excited to see him.  He always puts on great matches.  Can’t we put differences aside and put Ziggler back on top.  My biggest fear is that he’s going to be used to put over the likes of Adam Rose and Bo Dallas when they come up.  
   
6. John Cena (6) – A very pro-Cena crowd at this RAW (I won’t hold that against them since they were a small but strong crowd of only 12k+).  Again, Cena is having WAY too good of a time with this Bray Wyatt feud.  Google machine, got on myspace, photoshop of Bray Wyatt and Family, Tinder, (does Nikki know about this, god knows we need a fake storyline for Total Divas…sorry, I’ll control myself) When was the last time you saw Cena smile on stage like this?  My only fear is that he’s having so much fun not being in the same type of feud that he’s been in for the past five years, he’ll force the WWE to keep this going.  You’d hope that Bray wins this steel cage match and they can both go their separate ways after Extreme Rules.
   
7. Bray and The Wyatt Family (3) – Bray was able to keep his psycho gimmick going while Cena went goofy.  For that alone, I give Wyatt an A+.  Bray in a cage with Cena at Extreme Rules should be the main event, even though it won’t be.  
   
8. Cesaro (9) – No entrance music?  I don’t know if that’s a mistake or they don’t have one for him yet or it’s a new thing they’re trying with Cesaro.  It might work for now but you eventually have to have a cue to let the audience know you’re coming.  He’s able to make a simple lock-up look interesting.  I guess I’m the only one in the world who hates his swing because even Heyman has to include “The King of Swing” in his introduction of Cesaro.  Luckily with the size of Henry, we didn’t have to suffer through it.  Cesaro pulled out a solid match with someone that you’d think has a totally conflicting style, which just shows why 2014 is the Year of Cesaro.  My early guess is that it will be Cesaro vs Barrett to win this IC tourney.  Either one should be able to give Big E a good run.
   
9. Heyman, advocate for Brock Lesnar and Cesaro (2) – Allow me to just sit back and enjoy… Nice haircut and it’s about time.  Maybe he once needed the slimy pulled back bald man ponytail to make him look more heel-ish but at this point, he so good that he can have a respectable haircut and still be the best mouthpiece.  Heyman is the best.
10. The Usos (11) – Bystanders for the most part because The Shield broke up the match but considering the Usos held their own against two top heavyweight heels, I’d say they did well for themselves.  Not that they need me to tell the world that they have wrestling skills, but it’s nice to see that they can step up to face top tier talent.  Some times you’re a tag team for a reason, the individual isn’t as strong as the team.  Therefore, even some of the greatest tag teams haven’t been able to find success after they split.  I can’t imagine the Usos splitting in this current incarnation of their characters.  I like to see that they can hold their own against all kinds of tag teams.  It’s one thing to beat up a tag division that has Los Matadores, Ryb-Axel and 3MB.  The next step is beating The Rhodes brothers and NAO, which they’ve done.  To hold their own against top talent is the next step.  All you have to do is look at The Shield.   Also they each give RKO a chance to show off just how talented he is in the ring.
    
     
11. Damien Sandow (HM) – They really need to give this guy a push.  He’s great.  What a great promo!  In a stacked show, I’m keeping him on this list.  Sure he jobbed out to Big Show but that was a truly entertaining heel shoot.
    
    
    
    
12. Goldust and Cody Rhodes (N/A) – I liked Goldust’s Cody-like new jacket.  I guess they’re sticking together for a while.  Maybe we’ll have to wait until next year’s WM31 for the Rhodes’ brother vs brother battle?  I should have known something was wrong when it looked like Goldust was half-assing his way through the match.  He’s been one of the best performers since his full-time return but on RAW he finally looked his age or at least like he didn’t give a shit about this match.  He’s been around long enough to know it was bullshit to have to put over these Ryb-Axel losers.  At least Goldust has a cool new jacket.  I’ll keep hanging my hat on that positive.  IS IT SO FUCKING IMPOSSIBLE TO GIVE A GOOD RHODES VS USOS FEUD?!?!  C’mon WWE, it’s right in front of your face, just grab it.
    
13. Rob Van Dam (15) – Matched up with ADR in the first fight of the IC tourney.  In a battle between acronyms, my heart wants RVD but my brain tells me ADR.  The crowd sided with my heart as well.  RVD got a great pop.  Still working off some ring rust, RVD was able to put on a good match with ADR to open the show.
14. Alberto Del Rio (N/A) – ADR has been on a bit of a roll lately.  Up until WM30, ADR has won 2 or 3 straight matches.  The rumor was that ADR was going to retire soon after WM but with a couple of strong wins and what seemed to be the weirdest push by JBL saying, ‘ADR is going to want to retire one day and all that’s left is for him to win the IC belt.’  That’s what is going to persuade ADR to continue wrestling?  The desire to win the IC belt?  Look, I want ADR to stick around (as long as they fix his gimmick issues) but if alls he needs is the IC belt so that he can ride off into the sunset, I’ve got the few hundred bucks to buy him the IC belt from the WWE store.  I’m not risking bodily harm in the WWE for the honor to be called IC champ.  Just say you won it, who’s going to waste time looking that up?  I don’t know what the future holds for ADR but he put on a very good match with RVD.  I don’t care what profession you’re in, if you know you’re on your way out, you don’t put in this quality of work.  I sure as shit ain't bustin’ my ass like ADR did to put over RVD just to retire in a month or two.  Then to do a small bit of double duty at the end.  No way, this guy is for sure re-signing with the WWE.
15. Paige (14) – It’s as if AJ Lee hadn’t just owned the longest Divas title run.  New Diva’s champ and after doing a little research, which consists of me asking Fred “The Oracle” - “What’s this Paige bitch’s deal?”  It turns out that Paige is a hit in NXT.  I have never seen that finishing move before!  Or at least in the ring, I believe I tried that once with a “lady of the night” and ended up costing me an extra $50 and a slipped disc in my back.  In all seriousness, if she can show us that her Paige-turner can be cleaned up and she can put on this submission move to 90% of the Divas, we might have a hot new competitor in the Divas division.  As Fred and I discussed on the last WrestleCast (another cheap plug), we might be six to twelve months away from a very strong Divas division.  Oh and tip to all you young girls, or fathers of young girls, the single lip piercing looks horrible and like you're a caught fish.
    
16. Alicia Fox (N/A) – The spring of the Divas division.  She sells every move like it’s a finisher.  She and Paige put on a really good match.  I did find it funny to hear the ref admonish both Divas to “what the hair!”  Half the time, all it looks like is two balls of hair with legs fighting each other.  Pulling hair is what girls do, right?  It’s like guys giving each other dead-leg punches or giving the old “cup check.”
    
17. Alexander Rusev w/ Lana (16) – The guy’s built like a brick shit house and Lana is a brick house.  She mighty mighteeee and let’s it all hang out.  Someone clear this up for me, is he The Bulgarian Nightmare or Brute?  You know what, who cares?  Did Lana come out with him?  Yes she did and that’s all I care about.  Tip to the WWE, keep her as a manger.  Under no circumstances turn her into an in-ring worker.  That was the downfall of Stacy Keibler.  Rusev might really be TAZ 2.0, not Big E as I predicted a few months ago.
    
18. Kane (HM) – Hello, old friend.  It’s nice to have you back.  If he only had a little hammer at to “break glass in case of emergency.”  We’ve been waiting for Koporate Kane to finally drop the facade and become “Devil’s Chosen Son” (I think that’s the nickname the announcers used?  Regardless, I like it).  Wow, isn’t it amazing how fast the WWE had that Evil Kane video package ready to go.  It’s almost as if they knew he was coming back.  Almost as if this stuff is written???  Keep this little note in the back of your heads.  If Fred “The Oracle” is correct about Kane retiring from wrestling sooner than later, this might be his way to be in one last big run vs a champion.  On the outside it might seem like a less than ideal first title defense for Bryan but he does have history with Bryan and why not let him go out via a feud with the current baby face champion. 
    
19. Sheamus (20) – Took down Swagger.  Congrats.  Can’t imagine how hard that was.  Let’s get to the real dilemma.  I have no problem with the WWE selling their wares.  But am I the only one who’s a little uncomfortable with Sheamus in just his ring skibbies walking around a Toys’R’Us going up to children and taking pictures?  I don’t even have kids but I think I’d insist that he put a shirt on and at least some gym shorts for god’s sake. 
    
20. Ryback and Curtis Axel (N/A) – Ryb-Axel is a thing now?  REALLY?  We’re going to do this?  They got new music and a few tag moves, which they looked like they were performing for the VERY first time.  WWE, please don’t elevate Ryb-Axel.  They were fine being the new top jobbers of the company.  Find me the one person who’s a Ryb-Axel fan.  I picture a lonely guy, typing away 4 - 5,000 words a week each week, critiquing RAW and … Oh shit!  There’s an evild doppelgänger of me out in the world begging for this Ryb-Axel tag team.  I must find him and kill him before he destroys the WWE with his bad ideas!  Dear readers, please help me destroy this Phantom Menace before it’s too late.  We didn’t act in time to stop Lucas in 1999 but you can help me now.  We must save the WWE from the Ryb-Axel Menace!
21. SAN-TIN-OOOOOOO w/ Emma (18) – If you take away the gimmicks from Santino vs Fandango and have them in a real match, I’d bet you get one of the more entertaining matches you’d see all year.  There’s a better chance that I’ll get a chance to wrestle Bryan for the WWE title at Extreme Rules than Santino ever getting a major push.  I’ve always said how much I love Santino and as long as he’s on the show, he’s on this list.  It was a jam packed show so I’m making a special dispensation and putting him at 21.  If you don’t like it, I’ve got two words for you…MY LIST.    

Honorable Mentions

Ultimate Warrior tribute – If you’re going to have someone put together an “In Memorial” clip package, you couldn’t find a better author than the WWE (as long as you were on their good side).  The WWE did a great job and nice work giving a legend his proper farewell tribute. 

Big E – As the centerpiece / goal of this IC tournament, he and the IC title are getting a nice push.  I know it was a packed show but couldn’t he have been at the announce table or somewhere else other than some small backstage office looking like he’s creepily masturbating to the RAW video feed?  Even if he was, why stand?  There’s a chair right there.  Sit back, relax.  Get comfortable if you’re going to be a pervert, that’s what I’ve learned in my lifetime.    

The Big Show – Didn’t even break a sweat and cashed a check.  I’m envious. 

Mark Henry – Sorry buddy.  Being cannon fodder to the next superstar but I couldn’t waste a spot on you in this week’s rankings.  It’s not you, it’s me.  We can still be friends.

Xavier Woods w/ R-Truth – It’s nice to see “brothers” working together but the Bulgarian Nightmare / Brute destroyed them both.  If I may, these two would benefit greatly from my fantasy booking of Corporate Nation, even if they’re part of the bottom tier.  What else are they doing other than jobbing?  They each have too much talent to be jobbers.  Although Corporate Nation would require Xavier Woods to cut his hair.  

Swagger w/ Zeb – They need to find a new running mate.  This isn’t going to end well if it’s just the two of them.  Take on ADR, it will work!  

Fandango w/ Layla – Was Summer’s heat on Total Divas too much for Fandango’s character?  Or was Fandango weighing her down?  A twitter war?  Is this the first breakup via Twitter?  The WWE is always ahead of the game.  Now he can bring down another Diva.  Summer, be lucky you made it out in time.  This current Fandango is a sinking ship.  

Brad Maddox – Oh Brad Maddox, you’re so cute in your little shirt and tie, doing whatever the HHH / McMahon family wants you to do.

Adam Rose and Bo Dallas – Let’s get it on guys.  I was fooled last year with Los Matadores, I won’t be fooled again in 2014

Side Note(s)

OK, was it not I that was saying we needed to bring back the King of the Ring tournament just a few weeks ago!?!?  An IC number one contender tournament isn’t the King of the Ring but it’s a tournament nonetheless.  We haven’t had a good tournament in wrestling in some time.  I’m very excited for this.  AND THIS is what I mean by, It’s the start of the new year for the WWE.  Last week we got to see the wrestlers that will be coming up (or at least their promo videos), returning wrestlers and now a tourney to breath some life into the IC belt situation.  Of course, if it were me, I’d do this for the US belt which Ambrose rarely even carries it around with him for the most part (of course he brings it on RAW to make me sound stupid).  You could always throw together a new feud for Big E and his IC strap, but I’m not here to complain.  Although you could justify the US number one contender a lot better BECAUSE Ambrose hasn’t hardly defended it.  It would be a good way to give a whole cast of characters something to do while Ambrose is off doing Shield stuff.  I’m just saying.  Although, depending on who wins the tournament, you figure this would raise the profile of the IC belt.  Assuming this was a “real” tournament and I had to fill in the bracket, it would take me more time than the 64 teams on the recent NCAA basketball bracket.  I could make a case for just about each wrestler, look at how this started:

Henry / Cesaro

RVD / ADR

Sheamus / Swagger

Ziggler / Barrett

My predictions is the final will be Cesaro vs Barrett with Barrett taking the upset to go on and fight Big E.  The question would be, does the WWE think Cesaro needs an IC run to legitimize a push to the WWE title or can he (and Heyman) make the straight transition to the WWE title?

Until next time…

BEARcast - WrestleCast 4/09/2014

BEARcast - WrestleCast 2014-04-09 w/ Fred "The Oracle"


Part 2 of this week’s BEARcast - WrestleCast.  Fred and I go a little long talking about the death of The Ultimate Warrior and remembering our favorite moments from a true legend.  We do our best to liven up the mood and go over this week’s RAW from 4/07/2014.  After a WrestleMania that gave us everything from “status quo” to the shock of our lives with The Undertaker having his WM streak broken, we look ahead to the unofficial start of the new wrestling year.


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 4/08/2014

BEARcast - WrestleCast 2014-04-08 WM30 pre-show and results w/ Fred "The Oracle" and Dustin


A crazy week of wrestling news caused some delays.  Originally, this special WM30 podcast was going to take place in lieu of our weekly WrestleCast but after we recorded everything for this special, the sad news that The Ultimate Warrior had passed away was announce.  The events of WM30 had to be discussed so here's the original WrestleCast podcast.  Later there will be a part 2, which Fred and I will discuss the death of The Ultimate Warrior and go over the weekly rankings.



A special BEARcast event!  We have a special WrestleMania 30 pre-show taping where the crew predicts the matches of WM30.  Obviously no one expected The Undertaker’s streak to end.  After our predictions, Fred “The Oracle" and I discuss the shocking results of WM30.  Later we are joined by Dustin “Tha Doc-ta” to get his takes on the WM30 results that we got so very wrong.


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.

WWE Power Rankings, RAW 4/07/2014

Coming at you from New Orleans, while my brain tells me that the RAW after WrestleMania is usually the best RAW of the year, I don’t know if after last night’s WM30 events, my heart will have the strength to watch.  All you need to know about WM30 can be summed up with this one picture that was trending Sunday night…

If you’re a regular reader of the World’s BEST Power Rankings, you know that the opening monologue have very little to do with the current night’s show.  There’s two reasons; 1) I usually write it before I watch the show and 2) It’s to get us all on the same page before getting into the night’s events.  Having said this, let’s get a few things out of the way from last night’s WM30.

By now you’ll have seen and read about all the events that took place at WM30.  Check out the BEARcast on this week for a very interesting WrestleCast.  We tried a little experiment to see if we could capture some of the fun of my crew’s live event parties.  We recorded about 20 minutes of a pre-show / prediction / WM30 match rundown.  It’s very interesting to see how we all felt going into WM30 and then our discussion on the events of WM30.  “They aren’t what we thought they were.  I was wrong.  We were so wrong.” - Elizabeth Shaw from Prometheus.

First off, we need to acknowledge AJ’s win.  It was buried after the shocking end of not just the Undertaker / Lesnar match but also the Bray Wyatt loss to SuperCena.  I understand the booking, to give the show a breather before the main event after the shock of Undertaker losing.  If they would have booked this before the Bray / Cena match, we might all be talking about AJ’s place in not just the Divas division but in the WWE.

Next tip of the cap goes to Cesaro.  No need to delve deep into this one but he’s clearly the wrestler to watch in 2014 and should be headlining multiple PPVs soon.

Ok, let’s get into it.

There was a point in time that we all thought this was going to be the worst WrestleMania of all time, as far as booked matches.  Now, I’ll guarantee that you’ll never forget where you saw and how you felt about WM30.  

Like “The Red Wedding” in Game of Thrones (don’t worry, no spoilers here), it cleared the deck and devastated you.  It didn’t matter what came before or after, for good and / or bad, “The Red Wedding” will be seared in your head.  After the one-two punch of Bray’s loss and then The Undertaker’s loss, everyone was shell shocked.  Up until then, WM30 was “status quo.”  In that sense, at least the WWE creative made you “feel something,” which is the most you can ask for out of entertainment.  

Let’s just be happy Daniel Bryan won because if HHH had somehow “Kliq’d” his way to the WWE championship after Bray and Undertaker loss, there would have been a riot in the Superdome (or Silverdome for all you Hulk-a-maniacs).

The biggest notes that my crew and I took away from the stunning Undertaker loss were as follows (in no particular order):

• This was how the Undertaker wanted the streak to end.  No one was telling the Undertaker that he had to drop the streak to Brock Lesnar.  The Undertaker has so much pull in the WWE that if he didn’t want something to happen with his character, he has the power to veto it OR just walk.  He was down to only wrestling one match per year.  Maybe throw in a handful of pre and post WrestleMania events but other than that, this is what The Undertaker does.  The Streak is all he has.  The Undertaker signed off on this.  If CM Punk left the WWE because he didn’t like something (which give me two-seconds before I get to that) than surely Undertaker could have simply retired if he didn’t want to loose his streak or drop it to Brock Lesnar.  

• Who at the WWE thought this is the way the Undertaker’s streak should have ended?  Sure, Brock is a beast and maybe 10 - 15 years ago, someone like Lesnar would have been a great candidate to beat Undertaker and stop the streak.  But Lesnar is a part-timer and after this current stint we may never see him wrestle again if he so choose to.  At least giving this honor to someone like Ziggler or Miz or Big E or Cesaro or ANYONE who you know will be in your company for a long period of time would make sense.  That’s why when we assumed that Undertaker would beat Lesnar, Fred “The Oracle” stated that next year it should be John Cena to be the one to end the streak.  Love him or hate him, Cena could have made use of the honor for years to come.  If Lesnar wrestles one more year and that it?  You might as well have Undertaker retire with the streak.  

• My guess in The Undertaker is gone.  Retired.  This is the last we’ll see of him.  What does he have to come back for?  Since he never wrestled anymore, all he had to come back for each year was the streak.  Another WM match next year seems like a waste of time.  What’s he going to come back for, to be 22-1?  He’s not involved in any other story lines.  There’s nothing left for him to do.  If this was his retirement, #ThankYouTaker is all that needs to be said.  

• He looked done throughout the whole match.  He’s never looked more out of shape or should I say, never looked more like an old man that he did on Sunday night.  He’s into his 50’s and I would assume he’s financially secure if he’s only wrestling once a year.  If he needs cash, you can’t tell me that he wouldn’t earn 100k per year working the convention scene and doing appearances once or twice a month?  It looked like halfway through the match, he realized he wasn’t into this anymore and decided to quit.  If he whispered in Lesnar’s ear, “Just pin me and put me out of my misery,” I wouldn’t be shocked.  The great ones never know when to retire until it’s too late.  That’s how you get Michael Jordan playing in a Washington Wizards uniform for two years.

• Here’s the biggest question; Did the lack of buildup to the match help or hurt the result?  We all admit that this ‘Taker / Brock match had a terribly small amount of buildup.  So small that we talked about this on the BEARcast and whether it was just due to two part-time wrestlers or poor writing.  Now that we’ve seen the result, would a bigger buildup have made for a better match?  Frankly, I fell asleep during the match because it was slow and I figured Undertaker was going to win regardless.  Luckily my brother-in-law texted me and woke me up just in time.  In the past few years, the WWE has made it seem like there was at least a possibility that Undertaker was going to loose to HBK (x2), HHH and CM Punk.  We were all on the edge of our seats to see if this was the year the streak would end.  This year, it seemed to be a foregone conclusion ‘Taker was winning.  Was the shock a better ending or would the crowd be better served with a more anticipated match and ending?

• Finally, THIS IS WHY CM PUNK LEFT!  There’s been a million speculations to why CM Punk left the WWE but no one really knows for sure.  It may come out in time but we may never know (or believe) the reasons that are given to us.  What I’ll believe, until further corroboration for or against, is that CM Punk wasn’t upset with his current storyline / feud with HHH but rather that the year prior he lost the chance to break Undertaker’s streak and the WWE was going to give it to Brock Lesnar.  It never made sense that Punk would be upset with having to feud with HHH in a SCSA-like feud.  That would put him in the top 3 matches of WM at the very least.  For god’s sake, he just feuded with Ryb-Axel!  If he’s willing to do that, a feud with HHH isn’t what sent him over the edge.  I believe he was pissed that after doing such a great sales job for the Undertaker match and if he was going to be one of the faces of the WWE then he had earned the right to end ‘Taker’s Streak.  After being told “No, you’re not the one to break the streak,” and then to learn that a part-timer in Lesnar was going to get the highest honor / accomplishment that can be bestowed, that’s when Punk felt he’d been passed over again (watch his DVD) and was being misused by the powers-that-be but only this time it was after already establishing that he’s a top guy in the company.

That a lot about one match.  There will definitely be more on WM30 and its fallout so check out the BEARcast - WrestleCast later this week.  In the meantime, as with all things, we must move forward.  There were other matches and plenty of other story lines to address.  Also, as we’ve talked about, this is the beginning of the new wrestling year.  There are very few RAWs that I’m more excited to see than the one after WrestleMania.  All the smart wrestling fans that have travelled from around the world to be at WM usually stay to attend the next night’s RAW.  Nothing makes for a great wrestling show like a great crowd.  

So with that, let’s get to the rankings as of this week’s RAW on 4/07/2014…

1. Daniel Bryan (12) – Congrats to the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion.  You can’t say it was a surprise that Bryan won the belt but if you’re “giving the fans what they want” then the WWE can’t do better than closing out WM30 with 80,000 people chanting YES! YES! YES!  It’s good to be Daniel Bryan these days.  You’re the people’s champ, you’ve just won the WWE belt at WM and you’re off to get married to one of the Bellas.  It’s good to be the king and Bryan earned the “you deserved it” chant.  But as we’ve learned from Game of Thrones, staying the king is even harder.  It will be interesting to see how the WWE treats their new champ in 2014.  How long can HHH pull off this whole, “you’re not worthy” gimmick?  How long can the underdog face reign as champ?  While the main event on RAW was technically HHH vs Bryan, what really got the crowd on their feet was the potential Shield vs Kane / RKO / Batista battle.  Bryan is a GREAT wrestler.  His greatest opponent isn’t going to be anyone in the ring, it’s going to be how does he keep his face heat.
   
2. Brock Lesnar w/ his advocate Heyman (5&3) – What can you say about the man who broke The Streak?  Obviously a lot if you have Paul Heyman as your advocate.  Is there any type of shoot that Heyman can’t do?  Watching him work the crowd.  Floating, almost lyrically, from mean shoot / gloating shoot / attacking the crowd shoot / superiority shoot / etc. is an art to itself.  I turned to my girlfriend, who never sits and watches RAW (except for Cena segments) was mesmerized and totally engaged watching Heyman do his thing.  I turned to her and proclaimed, this is who I want to be in wrestling if given the chance.  It was never to be Hogan or Sting or HBK (maybe Flair because it’s Flair) but to be the mouthpiece is what I want to do.  I love the artistry of great wrestling but I’m jealous of the men who can conduct an arena of 15,000 to 80,000 with just their voice.  Being able to work the crowd, stick to an overall script and also being able to ad-lib, there is no one better than Heyman.  Then to know Heymans history, was there anything that must have been sweeter than to throw barbs at Hogan and the Mr. McMahon.  Nothing gets Heyman harder than when he’s shooting on Vincent Kennedy McMahon.  It’s his own personal horny goat weed (don’t know what that is? stay up until 5 am watching infomercials and you’ll find out).  With a shoot like that, maybe I should list them as Heyman, the advocate for Brock Lesnar.
   
3. Bray and The Wyatt Family (9) – No one is more over with the marks than Bray Wyatt.  Again, why did he have to loose to John Cena?  Let’s tackle Bray Wyatt’s loss real quick because this can be and needs to be fixed ASAP.  The last thing that I joked about regarding the Bray / Cena match was that Cena had nothing to gain, Bray and his gimmick has everything to loose, it would take SuperCena to take out the whole Wyatt Family and it just didn’t make sense for Cena to win; so of course all this would lead to a Cena victory.  Karma has a cruel way of messing with you.  I played with fire and got burnt.  Cena won.  Luckily, with such a great crowd at RAW, no one cared about the previous night’s loss.  The crow was still hot for the Wyatt Family and cheered for anything they did especially when it came at Cena’s expense.  It’s not often that you get a crowd to sing You Got the Whole World and chant “Bray’s gonna kill you” in the same match.  I have a feeling that Bray and Cena are far from over.  1) Because Cena seemed to have too much fun with doing something different, so he’s going to pull rank and continue this run.  2) Bray isn’t in need of a title right now which puts him in that rare “island” area that allows him to do anything he wants (i.e. CM Punk, Undertaker, HBK, etc.) and Cena has that same luxury.  3) Who else is he going to feud with?  He’s hot enough to run WITH a top tier guy but hasn’t been around long enough to BE a top tier guy.  Unless said opponent is going to join The Wyatt Family, is the WWE going to waste good heat to have Bray feud with Miz or Sandow?
   
4. The Shield (7) – Almost seemed like they weren’t going to make it on the show but as usual, it only takes a minute for them to tear down the house.  You knew once Kane spilled the beans about HHH being behind their feud, the “Hounds of Justice” were going to turn rogue on The Authority.  It sucked that they had a lackluster match at WM but now that it seems they’re sticking together, I’m guessing they’re going to be involved in ton of high profile matches.  It’s hard to say exactly what they’re going to do because they can do it all, from singles to tag to group (this whole post has a subtle porn primer coat, sorry it wasn’t intentional…or was it ;)).  It’s a sign of their popularity that I’ll be checking out Main Event for the Shield / Wyatt match.  THAT’S how great The Shield is.  I’m watching Main Event just to see them.
   
5. HHH and Stephanie (1&2) – I’d be remiss not to thank HHH and Steph for putting on a memorable WM, a great entrance by HHH (by the way, both times HHH has gone full regalia on his entrance, he’s lost) and Stephanie McMahon looked great and played the “cheerleader” to perfection at WM.  What doesn’t make sense is that HHH is still going after Bryan.  If he was going to beat him, he should have done it last at WM.  I hate to be a Debbie-downer but was I the only one that felt cheated by how quick / easily Bryan beat HHH at WM30?  The only reason I’m not completely turned off by a HHH / Bryan rematch would be that a full “PPV main event” match between the two could be very good, even if the purpose of the match would be redundant.  
   
6. John Cena (8) – The small contingent of Cena fans were vastly outnumbered by “Cena Sucks” fans.  But this is a man who if not loves being boo’d, he’s accepted it and understands his relationship with the crowd and that heat is heat (as long as it’s not X-pac heat).  Again, welcome to the “night after WM mark RAW.”  There was no purpose for Cena to beat Bray except that Cena wasn’t going to loose to a relatively unknown heel at WM, no matter how hot that heel is with the smart fans.  Because I can’t think of anyone else Cena could feud with and because his work with Bray has been really good, why not let them keep going.  Besides, Cena needs to loose to Bray and put him over.
   
7. Randy Orton (10) – I love the idea of RKO tag teaming with Batista, if only for a short time.  They seem to have a friendship off camera that bleeds over on-screen.  RKO has embraced being the top heel so who better to help drag Batista over to the dark side?  RKO seems like he’s been saddled with the same opponents and same stories for the past 10 years.  RKO and Batista would be a devastating tag team on paper.  Just watching them team up with Kane to take on The Shield was a fresh idea for everyone involved.  If the WWE is going to keep him as a solo act, Cesaro would be my first choice for RKO’s next feud.  Cesaro needs a top tier opponent and it would allow RKO to finally have someone with similar size and in-ring ability to show what he can do.
   
8. Batista (11) – If they’re going to finally turn Batista heel, let him work with RKO so he can see what embracing being a heel means.  It’s not like Batista hasn’t been a heel before but just like anything else, if you haven’t done it for a while, you need practice.  Let RKO remind you that it’s ok to have people boo you.  Stick with the “deal with it” line and just become a douche-bag.  
   
9. Cesaro (18) They couldn’t keep him with the Real Americans if they’re going to call him the Swiss Superman so that was your first clue.  The other was that there was no way he could ascend being shackled to Swagger.  The twist that he’s swapped Zeb for Heyman was unexpected and fantastic.  That’s how you bring down the house of a crowd of marks, “I’m a Paul Heyman guy!”  Now there’s no question that he’ll get a run at the top tier in the next few months.
   
   
   
   
10. Big E (16) – This boy can wrestle.  Clearly the most impressive wrestler between the Big E / Sheamus / Cena trio.  Big E was the only fan favorite from the face triad.  Bray vs Big E had a good run in the middle of the match.  IF you could pull Bray away from the Cena Feud and take Big E out of the IC belt contingent then I’d love to see the two of them go on a run but neither seems likely to happen.  Rumor was for a possible IC / US title unification but that too seems unlikely with Ambrose and the rest of The Shield busy doing their own thing.  I’ll still keep my fingers crossed for a Big E vs Ziggler feud.  
11. The Usos (6) – Regardless of how the Usos retained their tag straps, to see them square off against two top tier opponents in RKO and Batista was pretty exciting.  I could have seen this going very poorly for the Usos.  They’ve had a nice month long run and it would be an interesting dynamic for RKO and Batista to be tag champs but luckily the Usos prevailed or should I say, retained.  The question still remains for them, who’s next?  If you’re not going to break up the Rhodes brothers, throw those two teams together.
12. #BadNewsBarrett (N/A) – Finally!  It’s about time.  After what seems like a year long absence, Barrett is back.  You forget he had the potential of being the next big thing.  He looks great and he was lucky to have a hot / favorable crowd for his new “Bad News” gimmick AND a willing rag doll in Mysterio to throw around (and who can only put on a quick three minute match).  
    
13. AJ Lee w/ Tamina (19) – It’s about time she gets back on the mic.  AJ’s better then 75% of any of the other Superstars, male or female.  She came off an amazing win at WM.  If not for Undertaker and Bray loosing, AJ’s win might have been the shock of the night.  Then she came out and killed it on RAW… until it was time to start introducing this years NXT arrivals.  I’m all for a stronger Divas (and mens) division.  I’ve caught a few of the NXT matches on the Network and the young talent is really good.  But did they have to have AJ drop the title on night one?  Is this the beginning of the burying of AJ Lee??  
    
14. Paige (N/A) – Look what we’ve found here… New Divas champion  Pasty white goth female wrestler from England?  I think we found, friend of the show, Ethan’s new girlfriend.  She better bring more than a botched finisher otherwise that belt will be on someone else real quick, or instead of the “paige turner” we’ll be turning the paige on her… (see, I can be a WWE writer too)
    
15. Rob Van Dam (N/A) – I’ll never be mad at an RVD sighting.  For his first match back, RVD looked good.  Needs a few more matches to work off those Girl Scout cookies but other than that, RVD is back.  The world is a better place.
16. Alexander Rusev w/ Lana (N/A) – I’m all for Rusev winning as long at it keeps Lana coming out to the ring.  I’m sure I could have my very own Lana if I just find the right Russian mail order bride catalog.  Until my eastern european bride comes in the mail, I’ll make due with Lana.  Oh yeah, Rusev is a beast too but who cares, let’s get back to Lana.
    
17. Rey Mysterio (29) – At this point, I watch Mysterio matches the same way I play a Street Figher game.  I imagine there’s a health meter in the upper corner and when it runs out, that’s when the match is over.  He can still move, it’s just that the meter is depleted faster and faster.
    
18. SAN-TIN-OOOOO and Emma (N/A) – Yes, I’m favoring Santino over the likes of Swagger and Kane.  Again, this is my list and as long as Santino shows up on RAW, he’s on this list.  Santino is a GOD with a magnificent beard to match.  Emma is really getting a chance to show off her skills.  My question is the same as JBL, Lawler and Cole’s “what’s the deal with Emma and Santino?  How far does the WWE take this with an improving Divas division?
19. Fandango and Summer Rae (23&22) – One year after his introduction at last year’s WM, he’s in full peacock mode (which is where you need to take the character if you’re going to keep this gimmick).  Out of nowhere, Summer Rae has shown some quality in-ring talent.  Oddly, Summer Rae has a higher ceiling at the moment.  Summer is on Total Divas and has a bevy of opponents that she could jump into a feud with.  What’s Fandango doing?  Who’s looking to fight him?  Based on Fandango’s new ring attire, are we sure that we don’t have a Black Swan situation brewing?  Luckily we have cameras on Summer Rae for the Total Divas show but what happens when the lights are turned off??? Run Summer, Run!
    
20. Sheamus (31) – Stuck in limbo.  The fans boo him.  The WWE wants him to be a face.  He doesn’t have an opponent now that it seems that Christian is injured.  He’s fighting with Big E when he should be fighting against him.  He’s on our long list of guys who we’ll have to see what the new WWE season has in store for him.

Honorable Mentions

Kane – Couldn’t crack the top 20 but was 21st runner-up (aka Hogan math).  He didn’t really do anything but he was key to getting all the parties together at the end.  His match with the New Age Outlaws vs The Shield at WM30 was forgettable.  Sorry Kane, you were this close.  It was a busy week.  

Swagger w/ Zeb – Swagger smashed the Andre the Giant trophy like it was the Spanish Announce table.  Bullshit count-out.  This is why Cesaro is trending up and Swagger is a penny-stock.  Buy shares of Cesaro stock now before they are overpriced.  

Damien Sandow ( ) – Finally Sandow gets a real opponent that he can put a good match on with.  I’ll rely on Fred “The Oracle’s” assessment that it’s better to be on screen than hidden.  If you’re on screen, you’re always one match away from relevancy.  Who would you have rather been last night, Sandow or Kofi? 

Zack Ryder – Hey, a Broski sighting.  Good work sneaking on a top RAW show.  His prize?  To job to Rusev but at least we know Ryder is still alive.  I’m trying to be positive this year.

Bo-lieve – Bo Dallas.  I’ve seen his work on NXT.  He deserves at your attention for at least a match or two.  

Adam Rose – The parade of new cast members continues.  They’re passing on Sami Zayn for this guy?  The exotic express?  Why do I have a feeling this is going to be the first gay wrestler gimmick or at least bi?  Those “girlfriends” aren’t fooling me buddy.  I’ve been tricked one to many times with an invite to a windowless party bus, I will not be fooled again.

Ultimate Warrior – You should check out the full Hall of Fame show if you have the time or need help falling asleep.  If you want to learn how Lita traveled by bus across Mexico with just a handful of pesos or how she magically made her way up to a wrestler’s hotel room just because she was a big fan or listen to the oral history of Mr. T’s mother or see Linda McMahon try with all her powers to squeeze something nice out about Warrior, check out the HoF show.  It’s an interesting train wreck.  More entertaining was having Warrior come out to the ring.  I know he’s 100 years old but wouldn’t it have been more funny to see him riding a supercharged rascal down to the ring at top speed.  Warrior matches were shorter than it took him to enter the ring.  All was saved once Warrior put on the Warrior mask and got into character.  That’s when the magic happened!  It was amazing to see how a man transforms from slightly crazed old man to becoming the Warrior.  You just can’t get it out of their blood and these old wrestlers can flip a switch and turn on the old gimmick.

Hulk Hogan – What the hell was he talking about with 30 became 31?  At least he’s able to laugh at himself and poke fun about how he screwed up the area the night before.  Keep cashing those old man checks from Vince.

Side Note(s)

They couldn’t put Shield vs Wyatts on RAW or WM?  Shield was barely on RAW.  I know it was a packed show but The Shield are three of your top guys.  I guess if you want to hear complaining about not being used, ask the Rhodes brothers.  Putting a Shield / Wyatt match on the Network is one way to get people to check out Main Event online.  At this point, all you have to do is say Shield vs Wyatts and you’ll have people checking it out.

Fan of the night has to go to these girls.  Especially the one with glasses that looks like she’s been dragged to a week of WWE events and is ready to get the fuck home.

Until next time…