BEARcast - WrestleCast 6/04/2014

BEARcast - WrestleCast 2014-06-04 with Fred "The Oracle" - PART 1

BEARcast - WrestleCast 2014-06-04 with Fred "The Oracle" - PART 2

PART 1 - In the first half of this week’s BEARcast - WrestleCast Fred and I discuss the results of Payback, RAW and we touch on the HUGE twist at the end of RAW involving The Shield and Evolution.  Check out part two for our main discussion on RAW’s shocking ending and the current state of wrestling storytelling.  

PART 2 - It’s Shield and Evolution, twists and turns, story lines and feuds.  Check out the second part of this week’s BEARcast - WrestleCast to get the lowdown on the crazy finish to RAW and the recent plot lines of the WWE.


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 6/02/2014

Coming at you from Indianapolis, the night after the Payback PPV that will go down as highly forgettable but a very well executed show, I was prepared to wax poetic about my love of the performances but the failure of the creative direction.  

A funny thing happened while on my way to complaining about the WWE’s Status Quo problem.  Nothing of importance or change happens for over two months and then, out of nowhere, Plan B.  Appropriate because like an abortion, the WWE knew it had to kill the current storyline problem child it had conceived of.  Out of left field just as The Shield was in the middle of their worst shoot, at the end of a horribly executed show and then Rollins shocks the WWE Universe by being the one to flip to Evolution.  Crazy!  Insane!  OMG!  …Let’s slow down.

Initially, I worked on a huge rant about how for the past year everything in the WWE has been Status Quo and how the WWE runs the same matches over and over again to the point where nothing matters.  If Cena wins a PPV match, it doesn’t matter because next month Bray will win round 2.  Bray wins round 2, it doesn’t matter because the next month Cena will win round 3.  Bray wasn’t there and Cena didn’t address his own storyline so we’ll have to wait to see if the Bray / Cena feud continues.  I’d bet everything I have that it will.

I broke down why Game of Thrones works so well due to wins and losses mattering and because of that, the buildups and payoffs (heroic or evil) work so much better and make me hunger for the next episode.  How in a good storyline, you can have an epic battle but once the dust clears (if both sides are alive) they don’t have a rematch the very next week.

My first reaction to the Rollins turn was amazement and excitement for such an interesting and unexpected twist.  Then I thought about it and all of the complaints I had and the rant I went on were all still valid.  One turn, decided upon seemingly minutes before they started the show, doesn’t change anything.  Even if you eliminate the Evolution / Shield storyline, all the other feuds are uninspired and repetitive (and those are the good ones, what do you say about that Rusev ceremony?)  We can’t let the final 5 minutes of a 3 hour show fool us.  I left the rant in the side notes because it still pertains to 90% of the roster.

We were given a curveball at WM30 with the Undertaker’s loss (by all accounts it too was a last minute decision).  A few months later we’re given a curveball that Rollins, the architect, of The Shield (and the one that’s kept them together over and over again, which solidifies in my mind this was a last minute decision) turns on his “brothers” and is the cause for the much speculated split of The Shield.  Two major twists in a years time should not redeem hours of futility.  

So with that, let’s get to the rankings as of this week’s RAW on 6/02/2014…

1. Evolution (1) – Evolution needs to be addressed with each character, so; BATISTA - Even with a solid match at Payback, all anyone could talk about was Batista’s wardrobe decision.  It was clearly set up to make us think that he was going to be the one to turn on his fellow Evolution members, but I wasn’t buying it.  Too obvious.  Just as it would be too obvious for me to make jokes about Batista’s wardrobe, like say, he looked like he just finished giving Grape Ape a prostate exam.  We’re all above such childish games.  In all seriousness, it was only a matter of time to when Batista was going to set away to do some Guardians of the Galaxy promotion.  In one sense, I appreciate the bandaid rip nature of how he left, “I Quit” and drop the mic (which seemed to be replayed 10 times).  Batista’s character had been misused almost since the moment he stepped back in his Euro-trash white jacket and skinny jeans so it was probably a relief to get out from under his current gimmick.  Hopefully when he returns, they’ll bring him back right away as a heel.  It was nice to see him wearing shades of green which was hopefully a nod to his Drax character in GotG.  RKO - For most of the show, RKO seemed to be the one who was going to gain the most from the D-Evolution split.  RKO vs Reigns, that would have been a good match regardless.  I’m curious to see if RKO gets more prominence or stays in the background like he has during this Evolution run.  HHH - Hate him all you want, he knows how to draw a camera to him.  When he gets a black eye, he doesn’t hide it, he stands center stage and has the camera focus in on it.  He is a master showman.  He also gets kudos for being the “mastermind” who pulled off Plan B and flipped Rollins.  Evolution gets the top spot because of how RAW ended.  It was a shock and an interesting twist on what we all thought was going to happen.  But as described, one move does not make for brilliance.  I’m definitely interested to see what happens next.  That’s always the most important aspect of promoting a wrestling show.  Make them tune in next week.
   
   
   
   
2. The Shield (5) – I felt sorry for the Indy crowd.  They had suffered through a really horrific show, especially the last hour leading into the big turn of Rollins.  I’ll admit, I don’t think anyone saw Rollins being the one who would turn on The Shield.  It was hard to tell if the crowd was in shock because of the twist or because something of note actually happened?  Either way, it was silent except for a small “You sold out” chant.  The Shield and Evolution put on a great match at Payback but the outcome of the match was completely “status quo” and furthers my belief that the design to turn Rollins was made on the fly.  It’s cool.  It was unexpected.  I’m really happy Rollins is going to get a chance to shine because he’s an awesome talent.  BUT there’s been absolutely no hints or clues to this.  The WWE is going to have to do a lot of retcon (to steal a nerd term) to explain the Rollins turn.
3. Rowan and Harper from house Wyatt (3) – Harper has moved up from a guy who looks like he’ll rape and kill you if you get stuck in the woods, to a guy who will rape and kill you if you get stuck in the woods but is also an excellent professional wrestler.  I’m all in on Harper.  Rowan, weeelllll, not so much.  BUT, I’ll give it up to Rowan that this was his best performance that I can recall.  Not many people would have thought that these two could have a run that isn’t directly involved with Bray when they all first came up but I’m down to see what they can do against an Usos team desperately looking for a quality opponent not named Ryb-Axel. 
   
4. The Usos (4) – I’m sorry to repeat myself but The Usos have to be thanking the wrestling gods that there’s now another quality tag team in the mix.  It was looking like a definite Usos / Ryb-Axel matchup (which still might happen) but now there’s a chance to let The Usos impress against Rowan & Harper.  In fact, Rowan & Harper might actually push them to grow even more as performers.  The Usos got their first backstage shoot in a long time.  It had it’s ups and downs but overall not bad.  It felt a little 10 years ago or what SNL would do if they were trying to make fun of a wrestling shoot but cut the kids some slack.  Oh, by the way, they lost a clean 1-2-3 and retained their titles… Don’t get me started.
5. Cesaro w/ Heyman and #BNB (2&11) – Both should be “Heymen guys” and both should have gold!  I always love to hear Heyman on the mic, even if it is about his geopolitical theories.  Heyman would certainly make “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” much more interesting if he could squeeze in a Sunday morning appearance.  Cesaro walking out on Barrett could be very interesting.  My only concern is that this could be a waste of two hot wrestlers.  On the other hand, pitting two hot wrestlers like Cesaro and Barrett together could be a very enjoyable feud.  Stay tuned.
6. Sheamus and RVD (8&9) – Clearly inspired by his pairing with Sheamus, RVD busted out an outstanding fire red slinglet.  Equally as hot, Sheamus has been very impressive in-ring over the past month.  Suddenly the thought of Sheamus going to join Evolution doesn’t seem that hard to get to.  Yes, Rollins looks like he’s going to take the number three slot but Sheamus is freed from any current storyline to round out Evolution at four members. 
   
7. #1 Lance “Born Ready / The 8th Grader” Stephenson aka Damien Sandow (16) – I love this guy.  He personifies Cheap Heat and is so good at it.  While I love what Sandow is doing week to week, Fred “The Oracle” reminded me of Charlie Haas and his gimmick of taking on different personas each week.  The difference is, Sandow is working each city and Haas did it via various wrestling gimmicks.  These joke gimmicks can’t last forever but Sandow is smart enough to make it last longer than Haas.  Regardless, Sandow needs a more substantial gimmick or feud.  Why not have Cody choose Sandow as Goldust’s partner?  The history is there and I assume everyone would work well together, even if it’s only for a short time until we get Rhodes brother vs brother.
   
   
   
   
8. Stephanie McMahon (6) – The WWE fashion expert giver her a B due to the poor choice of shoe.  A sexy high-heel would have been much better with her summer dress.  On the rattles off exposition ON LIVE TV like very few people can.  It’s so very impressive.  We were promised answers at Payback regarding the WWE Championship but they didn’t just kicked the can again, but punted it to Money in the Bank where Bryan must defend the title against Kane in a stretcher match or relinquish it to the winner of the MitB match.  The best part was when Cena and Stephanie were trading barbs and she was able to turn Cena’s surgical enhancements joke to work for her.  Yes, Stephanie is brilliant but either no one seems to care about what’s going on with the WWE title or no one really cares about Bryan being the champ.  They’ve even got Cena out there basically doing a shoot on his behalf.   
   
9. John Cena (4) – He must be getting a good cut on those towels because he promotes them like they’re the main event at WM.  It made no sense but Cena and Stephanie found themselves at verbal odds standing in the middle of the ring.  They went back and forth and even got “chesty” all in good fun.  Then Kane came out upon Stephanie’s behest and a match started.  Why?  Who knows?  What I do know is that Cena has found a calling in the ability to throw ringside stairs.  Should it be an Olympic event, I’ll put my money on SuperCena.  
10. Ziggler vs ADR (N/A&10) – Great match so why does the WWE wish to punish the fans?  Both these wrestlers should be in the MitB match, not fighting to be in it.  All this match meant was one, probably Ziggler, was going to get the shaft.  Sure enough, Ziggler got the shaft even though by all accounts he should have won the match.  STOP BURYING ZIGGLER!!  Maybe there’s a chance he can still sneak into the MitB match because everyone was distracted by JBL’s soliloquy of ADR’s family lineage.  It took me back to bible studies, Abraham begat Isaac; Isaac begat Jacob; Jacob begat who-the-fuck-cares just announce the match.  Please, more etymology of Machiavellian.  
11. Bo Dallas (17) – I’m all in on being a Bo-liever.  Although I’m afraid the crowd in Indy isn’t too hyped to see him.  The crowd was dead.  Whose idea was it for Bo to try to pull the exact Cheap Heat promo that Sandow did the segment prior?  Very poor booking.  The match was a bit of a mess as well.  Some of the sights and sounds from the crowd… “Bray is better” chant started / funny sign, “Bo-leave” / a “Bo-ring” chant finished the match off.  To top it off, Dallas seemed to botch the finisher.  But after all that, I still Bo-lieve he has a chance.
    
12. Kofi Kingston (N/A) – In what has become a WWE PPV tradition, they’ll re-run the same match back the night after the PPV.  At least with the Network, I haven’t just spent $50 on the PPV only to see the same thing the next night on RAW for free.  It’s still a mystery to why Kane interrupted Kofi and Bo’s match at Payback?  Kofi usually shines whenever he gets a chance to actually wrestle but for reasons beyond me, Kofi and Bo were not on the same page and the match came off poorly.  By the end I was hoping for another Kane interference.  
13. The Big Show (N/A) – Of course Big Show had to put an end to all of Sandow’s fun.  Chris Copeland should be happy because he got more playing time on RAW than he did in the entire playoffs!
14. Jack Swagger w/ Zeb vs Adam Rose (18) – I do agree with putting the Gluten free millennials in jail, so keep up the good fight Zeb.  We were supposed to get this match at Payback.  Instead we get a truncated version on RAW.  Adam Rose is like listening to your friends tell stories about their awesome trip to Las Vegas.  I don’t really care.  Although Rose’s finisher Party Foul was impressive.  Swagger needs a new running mate ASAP.
15. Goldust and ??? (12) – Sin fucking Cara?  This is Cody’s choice to team up with is brother?  What the hell is going on with the WWE?  It’s not that hard to set up a Brother vs Brother match.  IF anything, put Sandow in Cody’s replacement, at least there’s a story and history there.  Maybe Cody just wanted Big E’s seat watching TV backstage?
    
16. Ryb-Axel (N/A) – When the crowd wasn’t chanting “Goldberg” it was so dead you could hear Axel working on his in-ring lines.  We were treated to gems like “Take a look at that.”  Mr. Perfect is spinning in his grave.  This match was in the heart of the last half of the show that was just sloppy and unbearable.  
17. The Demon Kane (N/A) – …what, I’m sorry.  I fell asleep.  “This is that demon…blah, blah, blah”  Really Michael Cole?  Kane must be the demon of sleep?  He’s become the ultimate place holder.  The WWE was blessed that Kane was / is Bryan’s current opponent because of his ability to sit on the sidelines while we wait for WWE to figure out what is going on with the Heavyweight Championship.
18. Diva Match: N-Bella vs Aksana and Alicia Fox (14&HM) – I’m baffled by Alicia Fox.  Her in-ring is as good as any but I’m lost with her post match antics.  The Divas give another example of why it hurts for challengers to get clean wins over champs and how the WWE writers drop the ball on non main event feuds.  Fox beats Paige cleanly a week ago.  Looses to Paige at Payback.  Then on Monday, there’s no sign of Paige nary a mention.  So who’s getting the push?  The champ, Paige, or Alicia Fox?  On top of all this confusion, I can’t even knock N-Bella because she took some big bumps. 
19. Alexander Rusev w/ Lana (14) – I’m usually all in for Lana and Rusev.  Especially after Rusev and Big E put on a very good but quick match at Payback.  The match had a ton of potential.  What does the WWE do with two up and comers who just had a solid match?  Kill all momentum with a ridiculous Russian metal ceremony.  For sure, I thought Big E was going to interrupt this nonsense and continue their feud, but no.  It lasted all the way into the commercial break.  I’ve got to hand it to the Indy fans, they stuck it out and gave a great “This is awful” chant.  No truer words have ever been spoken.  Clearly there was a writer who put this together but it just went on and on and on.  Isn’t there anyone in the back watching the show who can throw themselves into the electrical transformer and blow the power out on the show?  This was the last thing leading into The Shield’s shoot and Rollins’ turn.  If not for the big twist at the end, this would have been the worst hour of wrestling in a few years.
    
20. Los Matadores w/ El Torito vs 3MB w/ Hornswoggle (20) – The feud of the century continues.  Afro-swoggle vs the Chupracabra or should I still to my Game of Throne references and say their “champions” the Mexican Frick & Frack vs 3MB-KCC.  When the match ended and El Torito donned the afro wig, I got flashbacks to young Diego Maradona.   It’s World Cup time so I better bust out my soccer references.
    
    
    
    

Honorable Mentions

Bray Wyatt’s Chair – Bray didn’t make it out of his Last Man Standing match with Cena but his sturdy chair was able to make it to Indy.

Side Note(s)

Why hasn’t any wrestler taken to using Johnny Manziel’s money finger motion?

Great WWE Shop commercial, Find What Fits You.  Say what you will about everything else the WWE does, they always put together great promo / hype packages and commercials for their products. 

Fred, my partner in crime on the WrestleCast, is going to have a field day with me because the announcers specifically said Rowan and Harper’s clean win, now officially puts them in tag title contention.  I completely disagree but to hear us argue, don’t forget to check out the BEARcast later this week.

*Initial version of the opening rant:

Just now, texting back and forth with frequent guest of the BEARcast - WrestleCast (which can be found at www.worldofbear.com and on iTunes) Dustin it gave me the clarity and brevity that I’ve been looking for these past weeks.

One of the biggest arguments that Fred and I get into on the BEARcast - WrestleCast (which again, can be found on iTunes or www.worldofbear.com) is the significance of Champions loosing 1-on-1 sanctioned matches with a clean 1-2-3 but retaining their belt(s).  To give you the quick version, Fred’s cool with it and sees it as a right of passage to getting a championship match but I’m against it because it devalues the champion and the match itself.  At the end of the day, we both make solid cases; enough so that we can fight about it ALL THE TIME.

We both agree on the solution; have a larger roster and creative staff or cut back on the amount of programming needed each week.  Currently, the WWE puts out about 15 to 18 hours of original programing each week.  The WWE isn’t going to cut programming back anytime soon and even if the WWE had the man-power available, it would not be cost effective to have a full time writer and production staff for each wrestler 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year. 

Currently, we’re stuck with a lot of “Status Quo” in every storyline.  This is not new within wrestling.  It’s why we have Evolution vs The Shield as the main story on RAW and the PPV but on SmackDown or Main Event we get Rollins vs RKO.  The problem is when there’s no sub-package or additional elements they can throw into a feud and we keep getting the same match over and over again.  This results in the feeling of “Status Quo” because nothing is happening with the characters.  Lately, it is more than just a feeling.

Quick question: What’s the difference between the face Shield today and the heel Shield a year ago?

Answer: NOTHING.

Aside from proving that the three wrestlers are awesome in-ring, their essential characters have not changed at all.  They’ve got the same cool look and give really good shoots about how they’re going to kick their opponent’s ass but other than that, they are the same Hounds of Justice.

I’ve finally cracked why this current run of “Status Quo” with almost every WWE storyline has bothered me!  Watching Game of Thrones last night put everything in perspective.  

Before I get started, I don’t expect every TV show or wrestling feud to be on par with one of, if not the, greatest shows (and books, if you’re into that kind of stuff) ever written.  Stick with me and you’ll see my point.

One of the reasons why Game of Thrones is so great is because there are consequences.  Wins and losses matter.  Stannis Baratheon attacked the Lannisters for the right to sit on the Iron Throne to which he lost at the Battle of Blackwater (for all you non-GoT people, basically Stannis fought Joffrey for title of King of Kings).  The next episode we didn’t have Blackwater II: The Return.  We’re two seasons out and Stannis is still trying to regroup from the loss.  There was a consequence for attacking the champ AND loosing.

Two months ago, The Shield and Evolution started battling.  Great, I like both.  I understood that The Shield was very popular and the WWE wanted to capitalize on that by making them the good guys.  

(Ok, so first problem is just because fans think something is cool, you don’t automatically and blindly make them good guys.  Have some conviction and keep The Shield as heels.  We need good and evil in our stories.  You can always turn characters faces but it’s much harder to turn people into a heel.  Sticking with the GoT example, the Lannisters are heels but sometimes they can come off cool or we cheer for one of them.  When we start rooting for the Lannisters, the writer(s) have the Lannisters do something even more evil to ensure that they stay heels.  I enjoy the Lannisters but I understand they are bad people.  If down the line, the writer(s) want to make one of them a good guy in the story, have he / she do something heroic and they’ll quickly become a good guy / face.)

Never mind, like I said, not everything is Game of Thrones level.  I don’t recall one thing that The Shield has done that would make them heroes?  I believe they didn’t listen to HHH’s orders once and that was how they became good guys.  Since this “betrayal” a few months ago, Evolution was going to teach them a lesson.  There were some back and forth wins on RAW and SmackDown.  At the last PPV The Shield won.  Great.  Feud over, right?  NO.  We’ve had the same matches and premise go on for another month.  Again, last night at the Payback PPV, it was Evolution vs The Shield.  Once again, The Shield won.  It was a really good wrestling match but we’re at the same place we were at two months ago.  There’s been speculation that The Shield would breakup or Evolution would turn on itself.  When the dust settled, there was nothing new or different to move the feud down the line.

The biggest example is what’s happening to Daniel Bryan.  They might be buying him time before he can get back from injury but at some point the fans want know what’s going to happen with the Championship.  

It’s why The Undertaker loosing the streak was so good and will last forever because it was so unexpected.  

SO,

As you can see, the rant is still relevant.  Check out this week’s BEARcast - WrestleCast because there should be fireworks regarding the direction the WWE is going in, or lack there of, and can one desperate moment of excitement save deeper storyline problems?

Until next time…

BEARcast - WrestleCast 5/28/2014

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

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

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

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

WWE Power Rankings, RAW 5/26/2014

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

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

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

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

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

Honorable Mentions

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

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

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

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

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

Side Note(s)

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

Until next time…

BEARcast - WrestleCast 5/21/2014

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

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


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

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

WWE Power Rankings, RAW 5/19/2014

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Honorable Mentions

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

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

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

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

Side Note(s)

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

Until next time…