Clash of the Champions

Quick thoughts on Monday's Raw from 1/24/11.  You can also watch a recap on My 1-2-3 Cents on YouTube.

Opening Segment: When Edge came out I really thought we were going to get the Clash of the Champions match at the start of the show.  Those hopes were quickly dashed after the impromptu Royal Rumble challenge and the Corre vs. Nexus confrontation.

Did you notice Edge disappeared after that whole deal between the two groups?  I don't like how that happens.  That seems to be a trend.

Mark Henry & John Morrison vs. Albert Del Rio & King Sheamus:  I'm still not sold on Alberto.  And I find it hard to believe the "World's Strongest Man" taps out almost instantly to the arm bar submission.  You could have him tap, but it was like a second after the hold was applied.  Plus, I don't think there was any work on the arm to even weaken it, was there?

Natalya vs. Melina: That was a kick butt Sharpshooter by Natalya.  Good match between these ladies. LayCool annoys me, but I think that's their role.  I still don't like the comments about Natalya's weight.  And again it's a double standard.  The King insulted Vickie Guerrero again last night and people find it funny.  When LayCool does it, it's criminal.  Twitter was lit up with comments.  Trust me.

The Miz vs. Edge: I felt like this match could have been saved for a Pay Per View.  Why give away a match like that on free TV?  That seems to be the trend though, as they did it last week with CM Punk vs. John Cena.  The match went on pretty long, but I knew (as we all did) that Dolph Ziggler was going to interfere.


Husky Harris & Michael McGillicutty vs. Santino Marella & Vladamir Koslov: Tag team champions made to look weak once again.  I like the duo of HH & MM.  Would like to see them developed as a unit.  They have potential, and let's face it the WWE needs a tag team division.

Mixed Gender Six Person Tag: I think this was just a set up to have Gail Kim and Daniel Bryan get caught by the Bellas.  The match itself was lame.  I like the storyline, especially if it means Kim getting more in ring time.

CM Punk vs. Wade Barrett:  I think this match could have and should have been saved for pay per view.  Not the Royal Rumble.  They could have totally carried this out to Wrestlemania I believe.  And I wonder if we get a Corre vs. Nexus match at Mania.  Many factors as we head to the big event in April. Cena refereeing the match made sense, but again lately Cena has been really annoying.  I'm talking Cena the performer.  The guy outside the ring who does all the philanthropy has all my respect.

It was no surprise the show ended with a locker room clearing brawl in the ring. That's what we have come to expect in the days leading up to the Royal Rumble.  Later this week, I'll post a prediction for the Rumble, probably just on YouTube though, so check it out.

Thanks!

Who Will Shine in 2011?



I'm hoping 2011 continues to be a good year for some of the guys who seem to be stuck in the land of the mid card status.  2010 a few guys were elevated, the Miz specifically (and I hope that trend continues).  With guys like Shawn Michaels and Batista leaving the WWE and Chris Jericho, the Undertaker, and Triple H all taking time off, there was plenty of room at the top for some fresh blood.



I fully expect Triple H to return to action at some point in the next few weeks.  If you ask me right now, I believe he'll be in the Royal Rumble and may even win the event.  Undertaker's future is a bit more bleak.  He's been off a big portion of 2010, as well as in 2009, I think if he's healthy enough we'll get another good match out of him at Wrestlemania before he heads back into hibernation.  I don't see Chris Jericho coming back anytime soon.  I think he enjoys his music, and quite honestly he needs a break.  All superstars do, really. 



Drew McIntyre vs. Matt Hardy MITB at Wrestlemania 26

Drew McIntyre: The WWE seems to be hot and cold on Drew, most recently cold.  After a less than stellar run as the Intercontinental champion, Drew was put into the failing tag team scene with "Dashing" Cody Rhodes.  Neither man seemed to have much going on for them so they put the tag team titles on them.  They held the belts for a whole 34 days.  Shortly after losing the belts, they split the duo up.  They didn't have a chance.

I hope for big things out of Drew in 2011.  After all, Vince McMahon called him "the chosen one", but more times than not, that's the kiss of death.  I believe Drew has the look and the ability.  I had mentioned earlier maybe teaming him up with William Regal.  I think he could develop and learn more from one of the best.  They have similiar personalities and could actually shake things up in the tag team ranks.  While I wouldn't want to necessarily see Drew saddled with a tag team gimmick, I think it would be a great way to get him moving up the ladder of success.

JoMo vs. Y2J at Wrestlemania 24

John Morrison: Speaking of ladders, John Morrison is climbing it rung by rung too.  I really hope he makes a major move this year.  He is the #1 contender to the WWE title, but I don't think he's going to win the belt anytime soon.  At least not tonight (he's scheduled to face the Miz on Raw on 1/3/11).

Morrison is a guy I've raved about before.  He has the tools inside the ring.  He's not the best talker in the world, but I really hope that's not what's holding him back.

Big wins over former champs like Sheamus and Chris Jericho in 2010 have put him in a good position for the start of the year.  I suspect he'll drop a few rungs on the ladder if he comes up short against the Miz, but I see him being a power player in the next 12 months.  The guy deserves it too. He's toiled in the tag team ranks and the mid card for several years now.  Let 2011 be the year of JoMo.

Daniel Bryan at the 2010 HOF Ceremony

Daniel Bryan: Another no brainer here as far as I'm concerned.  I'm actually quite surprised with the push Bryan has received so far, but I really do believe the dude deserves a heck of a lot more.

When he first came back to the WWE after SummerSlam and they were squashing him week after week on Raw, I figured his days were numbered.  I like that he beat the Miz for the U.S. title.  I hope they keep the WWE title on the Miz because like Morrison, he and Bryan have a great history together.  These could be more stellar matches like we saw in the fall between the two.

Bryan is another guy I don't necessarily see winning the title in the near future, but he should definitely be in the hunt for the biggest prize in the company.  I could also see a switch to Smackdown! in his future and more success there.

Again, I don't have a crystal ball, these are my thoughts on where things should go in the 2011.  Of course, there's a lot of talent on both rosters, I just touched on three of my favorites who should have a success 2011 if they stay healthy.

Writers, the talent is there, now it's time to let it shine!



2010 Favorite Moments

The New Money Inc.

A lot of people have been updating their statuses on Facebook saying how lousy 2010 was and how they hope 2011 is better.  I had a pretty good year, and a lot of my memories of 2010 are wrestling related.  Of course they are, that's why I'm writing this blog.

I'm going to break this into a two different categories, my favorite things that happened in wrestling on the national level and then what I personally experienced this year.

Lots of cool things happened in the WWE (I'll stick with that because it's what I watch the most of).  First and foremost was the return of Bret Hart.  Him making up with Shawn Michaels in the middle of the ring was one of the best moments of the year in my opinion.

Bret locking Vince in the Sharpshooter

Getting the chance to see Bret "wrestle" at Wrestlemania was also a highlight for me.  Obviously the "Hitman" is well past his prime and the match was far from anything Bret did back in they day, but it was awesome to get to see a Hall of Famer and legend have one more Wrestlemania moment.  I'm glad was there to see it.

This match also helped to launch the Hart Dynasty into the spot light too.  While that push didn't last very long, it was great to see them win the tag team titles and at least have a little run on top of the tag team division.

Another high point of 2010 was the creation of NXT.  I thought the first two seasons were really good.  We got a chance to see the development of several guys who will truly be the future of the business at some point.  Daniel Bryan, Wade Barrett, and Husky Harris in my opinion are the standouts of the shows.  I look forward to seeing where these guys head in the New Year.

Awesome!

Another personal highlight for me came in January when I got to meet the Miz.  He was in Cape Girardeau for a house show at the Show Me Center.  Cape is about an hour from where I live and in the television market where I work.

I made arrangements to interview a Superstar prior to the show.  Up until a few days prior, I had no idea who it would be. I was very excited to learn it was the Miz.  Although I was nervous at first, not knowing exactly how he'd act.  But to my surprise, he was very cool and not at all the cocky character he plays on TV.

We spoke for a bit before the interview and afterwards too.  He also posed for a picture with me.  It was truly an awesome experience.

So you can imagine that I am happy with the fact that the Miz is the current WWE champion.  He's worked hard and I'm glad to see that his dedication over the last several years has paid off.  It's also my hope that we see the Miz continue to hold onto the title and stay in the main event picture in 2011.

HBK's last hoorah.

One of the best of all time hung up his tights for the last time in 2010.  At least I think Shawn Michaels is going to stay retired.  It was awesome being able to see his last match in person.  He had a great showing against the Undertaker at Wrestlemania 26.  The two also tore the roof off at Wrestlemania 25 in Houston the year before.  I am proud to say I was in attendance for that match too.  Also got to see Shawn's stellar performance against Ric Flair in what we all thought would be Flair's last match at Wrestlemania 24.

Money Inc. meets Chris Hero

Just being at Wrestlemania was a highlight of the year too.  Being at Axxess, the Hall of Fame, and the event itself was phenomenal.  We participated in a panel discussion about the WWE Network while at Axxess.  Then after the Hall of Fame, we saw several of the stars up close as they left the building.

Then dressing up like Money Inc. with my friend Chad was truly awesome.  We dress up like someone each year we go and I believe our costumes at Wrestlemania 26 were the best we'd done so far.  We got a lot of compliments on our attire even from Ring of Honor star Chris Hero.  He asked to get a picture with us too, another cool moment from the year.

In 2010, I also had a chance to referee a couple of matches for a local independent group.  USCW was running a show in McLeansboro and they had asked me if I'd be interested in helping with the show.  Of course I was, and got to ref two matches that night.  It was really cool, as I had never done anything like that before.

So, that's my year in a nutshell.  Hope you have some great memories too.  Here's to 2011 and hopefully more opportunities.  Check out my My 1-2-3 Cents on YouTube too.  I'm working on getting more videos uploaded.

Long Live the King

Another "king" will be crowned in the WWE Monday night as the 19th tournament is held on a special 3 hour Raw.  Most of us know about the pay per view and Raw tournaments, but back in the mid 80's, there were several kings crowned.

I remember back in 1986, being at a WWF house show in St. Louis that was being touted as a King of the Ring tournament.  Harley Race won that one by pinning Ricky "the Dragon" Steamboat in the finals.  Of course, Race was already "the King" as that was his gimmick when he arrived earlier that year.

In 1993, the first ever PPV KOTR was held, with former world champion Bret Hart being crowned.  In the years that followed though, the tournament served as a stepping stone to the title.  In many cases anyway.  Triple H, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, and Kurt Angle are just a few who got the royal treatment before winning the world title.  Then we had "Mr. Ass" Billy Gunn, Mabel, and Ken Shamrock who never quite achieved world title success.

The most recent King, William Regal, seemed to lose his momentum after being suspended by the WWE shortly after his coronation.  That was about two years ago, now it's time to crown a new king.

I must say, I like the 8 participants in this year's event.  I feel like any one of them is capable of winning this.  In other words, it's hard to pick a winner.  Past tournaments were a little lopsided, especially back in the 80's.  Did anyone really think Boris Zhukov or "Iron" Mike Sharpe would get the crown and scepeter?  Even the qualifying matches for this year's could have gone either way in most cases.  And here's a little fun fact.  In 1988, "the Outlaw" Ron Bass pinned Shawn Michaels in the KOTR tournament.  Wow.

John Morrison in action at Wrestlemania 26

I believe John Morrison has all the tools to win this tournament.  He's been in the WWE for a while now and besides a run as Intercontinental champion, he's not had much of a singles push.  With big wins over Chris Jericho and Sheamus over the last few months, he's proven to me he's ready for the next level.

Winning the King of the Ring would propel him into the title hunt.  I definitely don't think Morrison would "Billy Gunn" this opportunity.  So as of right now, John Morrison is my pick to win the King of the Ring.  However, I know history is not on my side, as most of the time the winner of this tournament is a heel.

Sheamus vs. Triple H at Wrestlemania 26

One other thing I like about this year's tournament is there are no former world champions in it,  except for Sheamus.  I'm not sure if that's good or bad for the Irish man.  My hope is that he will not win it, as I'd like to see someone who hasn't really contended for the world title be in the hunt.


But Sheamus has been doing the job lately to John Morrison and Santino.  Could the crown be his reward?  I could see that happening, and Triple H returning to ruin the coronation.  After all, he's a past KOTR and the "King of Kings" as he taught King Booker a few years back.

Kofi at Wrestlemania 26.

Kofi Kingston has been in a bit of slump lately.  It seems to have all started when he lost the U.S. title to the Miz late last year.

But he put on a helluva show at Wrestlemania 26 though.  Kofi seems to do well in the Money in the Bank matches.  He's a solid worker, dedicated, and over with the fans.

That being said, I'm not sure that he'll win this tournament.  Although I do think he's ready for the main event rub.  I didn't really care for the way they booked him in the Randy Orton feud.  I felt even then he deserved to go over in that program.

Another reason I don't think Kofi will win, he's already got King in his name.  We can't have King Kingston can we?  It just doesn't sound right.

Courtesy: WWE

Initially when I read who was in the tournament, my pick to win it was Ezekiel Jackson.  But after some discussion with a fellow fan and some thinking, I'm taking it back.

Since returning from his injury, Zeke has been unstoppable.  But victories over Zach Ryder, Alex Riley, and The Brooklyn Brawler hardly make you ready for the spotlight.

But the dude has a lot of potential.  I think I liked him better as a monster heel though.  I'm hoping Zeke doesn't get lost in the shuffle.  Being crowned king could be a great springboard for him, and just what he needed since he never really got to enjoy his reign as ECW champion.

Drew McIntyre climbing to new heights at Wrestlemania 26

Of the heels in this tournament, Drew McIntrye is without a doubt my favorite.  I think he's got a lot of potential but is still trying to find his way in the WWE.  A brief run as Intercontinental champion helped him, but his reign was marred with some bad booking.

Then his run with Cody Rhodes as tag team champions was laughable.  Not even sure why the WWE went there with that one.

Drew draws that natural heel heat.  He thinks he's better than everyone else and people hate him for that.  He reminds me a of young Triple H when he had the blueblood gimmick, and when he was crowned KOTR 13 years ago.

Cody Rhodes slugs Mark Henry at a house show.

Cody Rhodes is another guy with a great deal of potential, who seems to be floating around on Smackdown! right now.  But I expect big things for him in the future too.

I must admit, I'm not a big fan of the whole "Dashing" gimmick, but he seems to be making it work.  Since the split from Legacy, I think both he and Ted DiBiase have struggled to carve out a new niche and find their own identities.  Personally, I thought it was too early to split up that group.  He and DiBiase made an excellent tag team.  I would have rather seen them pushed as a duo and have another run as tag team champions.  Cody is good, but I don't think he's good enough to win the KOTR.

Courtesy: WWE

Alberto Del Rio has enjoyed quite the push since arriving in the WWE.  A win over Rey Mysterio on TV.  Hanging with Edge.  And beating the Big Show (albeit by countout) are just a few feathers in his cap so far.  He is also "responsible" for taking Christian out of action.

However, he came up short at the Survivor Series.  Is that an indicator of things to come? Again, this is a hard tournament to pick a decisive winner, and I would not be surprised at all by a Del Rio victory.  My gut tells me though that a Raw guy is going to win, since the tournament is being held on Raw.

Daniel Bryan leaving the Hall of Fame ceremony

I know I picked John Morrison to win in my earlier analysis, however I really like Daniel Bryan to win as well.  The one thing that may prevent that from happening is the U.S. title.

But it would make sense for him to win, especially with the Miz being world champion.  These two have a history and it would seem logical to have them meet again.  However, what's logical doesn't always come to fruition.

That being said, I don't think Daniel Bryan NEEDS the crown to propel him into the world title picture.  He's got the ability to wear the belt one day without having to go through a coronation ceremony.

So as you can see, I'm still going back and forth on who will win this.  I won't be disappointed in any of these guys.  I mentioned how I liked the fact that most of these guys haven't been to the top of the mountain yet.  That's good and bad.  The problem with it is there are no established guys in this tournament to put over any of the young talent.  It would have been nice to see Randy Orton, Big Show, or Edge give the rub to the future main eventers of the company.  No matter what, I don't think this tournament will disappoint, and I can't wait to see who's crowned king.