WWE is taking over Father's Day with their premier production of Capitol Punishment. I've said over the last couple of RAW reviews that these one off PPV's don't typically buy very well. For some reason, WWE fans stick to the PPV's with name value, whether the card is strong or not. In this case, it is somewhat of a shame that this won't do well in buys because the card is pretty strong for the most part. A couple fresh faces and a couple long standing rivalries continuing.
Dolph Ziggler (w/Vickie Guerrero) vs. Kofi Kingston for the United States Championship
This is a rivalry that has been re-hashed from Smackdown last year and it was good then, and it's good now. I've seen these guys wrestle on 2 separate occasions on House Shows, once Wichita Falls & once in Waco. Not to mention the numerous times on television and they've just got great chemistry. If you follow Dolph on twitter, @HEELZiggler, he's been getting some great advice from none other than Stone Cold Steve Austin. As a HUGE fan of Ziggler, it's been great to see Twitter used as something to give a performer great insight. I'm sure Dolph took everything Steve had to say to heart. I truly think Dolph can be the future of the business. With the Money in the Bank PPV coming up next month, he is my favorite to win it, which I don't think they'll let him win that if he's carrying the US title as well. So with that said, I would expect maybe a mix up between he and Vickie that leads to a Trouble In Paradise & the champion retaining.
Prediction: Kofi Kingston retains the United States Championship by pinfall
Ezekiel Jackson vs. Wade Barrett for the Intercontinental Championship
Over/Under 6 1/2 bodyslams by "Big Zeke" in this match? I'm taking the over. Arguably the worst match on the card. I'm a big fan of Wade Barrett & think he would be much better on his own, but unfortunately I don't think this Corre breakup is permanent. What are they going to do, have them break up & have Wade as a heel and the other 2 as a heel tag team, but they don't get along? Makes no sense. But neither did not putting Zack Ryder on RAW, so maybe that's what WWE wants. Either way, I fully expect Gabriel & Slater to come out yet again, reconcile with Wade and cost Big Zeke the match. Oh by the way, remember when the IC title actually meant something? Yeah, me neither.
Prediction: Wade Barrett retains the Intercontinental Championship by pinfall
Big Show vs. Alberto Del Rio
This match has proved how much the brand extension does not exist. They used 2 segments on Smackdown, albeit effective ones, to promote it. Big Show has done better acting in this storyline than he did in the entire movie of Knucklehead. And WWE isn't going to lose money on this acting, so kudos to Show. The rumors are that Del Rio is scheduled to be fed to Cena for Summerslam, but I really don't see it. To me, they've soured on Del Rio since he won Royal Rumble. The question in this match is will Del Rio be able to get the move that needs a name, aka his Cross Armbreaker, on The Big Show. I don't think he will. I see Big Show playing up this anger angle he's had this week and Del Rio purposely getting himself counted out. This will probably lead to a gimmick match in the coming weeks that Del Rio can win cleanly then & move on to Cena, if that's where WWE should choose to go.
Prediction: Big Show by countout
Rey Mysterio vs. CM Punk
The only thing I don't like about the lead-up to this match is the fact they have not mentioned their previous storyline from Smackdown last year at all. They're acting like this is a fresh storyline, when it's not at all. They had some incredible television last year including the creepiest rendition of Happy Birthday sung by Punk to Rey's daughter. These two have not had a bad match. In fact I'm looking forward to seeing these two live next weekend in Dallas, as they just have incredible chemistry. I really have a tough time choosing a winner here, but I think WWE is gonna try to keep Punk happy with his contract winding down, so they'll probably throw him a bone here and let him win. Mysterio keeps his standing in the company no matter his wins or losses.
Prediction: CM Punk by pinfall
Alex Riley vs. The Miz
Alex Riley is a star in the making. I know some people have disagreed with me on this opinion, but I truly believe that A-Ry is ready to breakout. This was the perfect timing for this, just due to the incredible heat Mix has and how natural it was for the fans to get behind Riley. All that being said, Miz is in much higher standing then Riley, so I see him winning this match, but allowing Riley to get quite a few near falls to get the crowd behind him and show that he "hung in there with The Miz". If that's not the result, maybe they go with Riley looking like he's about to beat Miz, but Miz gets himself intentionally disqualified to get out of it. I think I'll stick with Miz getting the pinfall though.
Prediction: The Miz by pinfall
Randy Orton vs. Christian for the World Heavyweight Championship
Killswitches to really sell the head angle, and recaptures the World Heavyweight Championship.
Prediction: AND NEW World Heavyweight Champion, Christian by Pinfall
John Cena vs. R-Truth for the WWE Championship
There is nothing, and I mean nothing, better than R-Truth right now on WWE programming. This heel turn has given him a second wind in his career and he's being rewarded with his first ever WWE title shot AND headlining a PPV with the top dog of the company in Cena. I would love nothing more than for him to beat Cena, but we all know that's not going to happen. I think it's about time we all realize Cena is not losing the belt heading into his WrestleMania showdown with The Rock. It'd be great if R-Truth was able to walk away from the PPV on top, even by disqualification. Then have it lead to a rematch at Money in the Bank, since Cena will need an opponent for that show, but I would expect Super Cena to appear and send R-Truth back down the card to feud with John Morrision.
Prediction: John Cena by pinfall to retain the WWE Championship
Final Thoughts: There's only 1 match on this card I'm not interested in seeing, that being the IC title match. I think it's going to be a solid show that will quickly be forgotten about. Money in the Bank is next month and that's where a lot of the mid-card guys that deserve a PPV shot, will get their time. Here's hoping Zack Ryder can get on the RAW ladder match, but that roster is loaded with deserving candidates, so I won't hold my breath. I'll have my opinions on the show during my RAW recap on Monday. Thanks for reading & don't forget to follow me on twitter, @FriscoKTank.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Monday, June 13, 2011
RAW Review For 6/13/2011
Synopsis: This was the go-home show for the Capital Punishment PPV this Sunday. It was also "WWE All-Star Night", which to me is just another reason to show how irrelevant the brand split is. One-off PPV's such as Capital Punishment typically don't draw well in terms of buyrates, and then add to it the fact that it's on Fathers Day, I don't expect a good buyrate at all. Over The Limit did under 70k, which is the worst buyrate since the god-awful December to Dismember PPV that killed ECW once and for all. Over The Limit had a terrible lineup and no good build. Capital Punishment has better of both, but I don't think it'l do much better. Maybe 100k.
Best Match: John Cena vs. CM Punk. It was the only match that lasted more than 5 minutes, so it wins by default. CM Punk was probably the MVP of tonight's show along with R-Truth. The good heels clearly dominate the good babyfaces on both brands in my opinion. Plus Cena lost, so that's a plus in my books.
Worst Match: 7 on 7 Divas Match. The Divas division is such a joke. I argue that no one wants to watch extremely beautiful women wrestle in the first place, but if you're going to insist to have a division, then let them wrestle. No one cares which Bella is the champion and these 2 minute cat fights are officially old. Natalya & Beth Phoenix especially deserve better. I mean, a broadway kick line??? REALLY?!
Best Moment: CM Punk & Steve Austin interact backstage. This was a tough choice between this segment & R-Truth destroying John Morrison backstage. I went with the Punk/Austin interaction because they proved what people online and across the world have been saying for months... Punk & Austin would have great chemistry together & if Austin wanted to have 1 last run & 1 last great match/program, CM Punk would be the man to do it against. I may not like Punk, but I do agree with this logic. So I pick this segment just on the hopes it leads to something down the road.
Worst Moment: Zack Ryder can't even make RAW in his hometown on a 3 hour show. 90,000 plus views on his YouTube sensation, "Z True Long Island Story", for 17 straight weeks now. For a full week the internet was abuzz about what WWE would do to celebrate this homecoming. EVERYONE was ready to see what was going to happen. 3 Hours later, nothing happened. Despite the "We Want Ryder!" chants all night, despite Twitter blowing up about it, WWE drops the ball. I've been watching wrestling for 22 years and I don't know that I've ever been this disappointed.
Overall Grade: I give this show a 4. For a 3 hour show, the matches were all rushed, I didn't see much done in terms of storyline progression, heading into the PPV next week. I may be biased, but the fact that Ryder didn't make the show really hurts the overall product. Tonight could've been the birth of a star in WWE, but instead it was a middle of the road show that we've seen for months and months now. I'll have a Capital Punishment prediction blog up later this week. Thanks for reading & make sure to follow me on Twitter @FriscoKTank
Best Match: John Cena vs. CM Punk. It was the only match that lasted more than 5 minutes, so it wins by default. CM Punk was probably the MVP of tonight's show along with R-Truth. The good heels clearly dominate the good babyfaces on both brands in my opinion. Plus Cena lost, so that's a plus in my books.
Worst Match: 7 on 7 Divas Match. The Divas division is such a joke. I argue that no one wants to watch extremely beautiful women wrestle in the first place, but if you're going to insist to have a division, then let them wrestle. No one cares which Bella is the champion and these 2 minute cat fights are officially old. Natalya & Beth Phoenix especially deserve better. I mean, a broadway kick line??? REALLY?!
Best Moment: CM Punk & Steve Austin interact backstage. This was a tough choice between this segment & R-Truth destroying John Morrison backstage. I went with the Punk/Austin interaction because they proved what people online and across the world have been saying for months... Punk & Austin would have great chemistry together & if Austin wanted to have 1 last run & 1 last great match/program, CM Punk would be the man to do it against. I may not like Punk, but I do agree with this logic. So I pick this segment just on the hopes it leads to something down the road.
Worst Moment: Zack Ryder can't even make RAW in his hometown on a 3 hour show. 90,000 plus views on his YouTube sensation, "Z True Long Island Story", for 17 straight weeks now. For a full week the internet was abuzz about what WWE would do to celebrate this homecoming. EVERYONE was ready to see what was going to happen. 3 Hours later, nothing happened. Despite the "We Want Ryder!" chants all night, despite Twitter blowing up about it, WWE drops the ball. I've been watching wrestling for 22 years and I don't know that I've ever been this disappointed.
Overall Grade: I give this show a 4. For a 3 hour show, the matches were all rushed, I didn't see much done in terms of storyline progression, heading into the PPV next week. I may be biased, but the fact that Ryder didn't make the show really hurts the overall product. Tonight could've been the birth of a star in WWE, but instead it was a middle of the road show that we've seen for months and months now. I'll have a Capital Punishment prediction blog up later this week. Thanks for reading & make sure to follow me on Twitter @FriscoKTank
Monday, June 6, 2011
RAW Review For 6/6/2011
Synopsis: This show was centered around the Tough Enough winner being announced and the fact that Capital Punishment is 13 days away. As far as Tough Enough goes, they absolutely made the right decision in picking Andy. I had no problem with the way Vince & Austin "punished" him at the end, as we won't see him on TV for awhile, they never replayed those moments, and thus we'll all forget about it by the time he comes back to TV. It was just a small "Welcome to WWE" moment that Vince probably found hilarious. Unless WWE plans on holding a PPV in DC every year, this will obviously be a one-off PPV. Fans don't typically buy into the one-off shows, so I'm not expecting a strong buy-rate for this one. Especially since it's on Father's Day. I am intrigued by R-Truth getting his first WWE Title shot though. He has been the best thing about RAW for 4 straight weeks.
Best Match: Rey Mysterio vs. CM Punk. If this match is on a RAW broadcast, it's pretty much guaranteed to be the best match of the night. I'm not a fan of either guy, but they have tremendous chemistry against each other & have no problem with them feuding again, even though they just had one on Smackdown a little over a year ago.
Worst Match: Santino Marella vs. Michael McGillcutty. If you followed my twitter play by play, you know I think that Santino's comedy routine has run it's course. It's just not funny anymore. Him and Koslov have been in the "Tag Title Picture" for what seems like years, but probably has been around 8 months or so. When McGillicutty was going by his real name, Joe Hennig in FCW, he was labeled Rookie of the Year by PWI, so he obviously has been pegged by people to be a breakout star. Hopefully he will leave the Nexus brand sometime and get to prove himself on his own.
Best Moment: R-Truth in his confederate outfit talking about the "C-O-N...Spiracy!" R-Truth has obviously found a second wind in his career with this heel turn. Every week he outdoes himself, and tonight was no different. In a ring with Vince & Stone Cold, he took command of the segment. Not an easy thing to do. Honorable mention goes to Alex Riley, who held his own quite nicely in the main event. He even got a strong "Let's Go Riley!" chant, which shows the WWE Universe believes in his recent push.
Worst Moment: Zack Ryder losing in less than 3 minutes. 90,000 plus views on his YouTube sensation, "Z True Long Island Story", for 16 straight weeks. He trended WORLDWIDE on Twitter last week and only had about 7 seconds of TV time. But yet WWE continues to use Ryder as jobber material. If they're not going to strike while the iron is hot with Zack Ryder, they never will.
Overall Grade: I give this show a 6.5 out of 10. It was an above average show that really did a nice job of advancing storylines for Capital Punishment. It looks like RAW will have at least 4 matches on the show. I would expect Dolph vs. Kofi for the US title and Rey vs. Punk with some sort of gimmick to be added. They could also do Beth Phoenix vs. Brie Bella for the Divas title. There wasn't too much wasted time or boring segments, and definitely one of the stronger post-WrestleMania RAW's we've had thus far. Next week's show should hopefully be even better with Austin returning & it being a 3 hour show.
Thanks for reading & don't forget to follow me on Twitter (@FriscoKTank)
Best Match: Rey Mysterio vs. CM Punk. If this match is on a RAW broadcast, it's pretty much guaranteed to be the best match of the night. I'm not a fan of either guy, but they have tremendous chemistry against each other & have no problem with them feuding again, even though they just had one on Smackdown a little over a year ago.
Worst Match: Santino Marella vs. Michael McGillcutty. If you followed my twitter play by play, you know I think that Santino's comedy routine has run it's course. It's just not funny anymore. Him and Koslov have been in the "Tag Title Picture" for what seems like years, but probably has been around 8 months or so. When McGillicutty was going by his real name, Joe Hennig in FCW, he was labeled Rookie of the Year by PWI, so he obviously has been pegged by people to be a breakout star. Hopefully he will leave the Nexus brand sometime and get to prove himself on his own.
Best Moment: R-Truth in his confederate outfit talking about the "C-O-N...Spiracy!" R-Truth has obviously found a second wind in his career with this heel turn. Every week he outdoes himself, and tonight was no different. In a ring with Vince & Stone Cold, he took command of the segment. Not an easy thing to do. Honorable mention goes to Alex Riley, who held his own quite nicely in the main event. He even got a strong "Let's Go Riley!" chant, which shows the WWE Universe believes in his recent push.
Worst Moment: Zack Ryder losing in less than 3 minutes. 90,000 plus views on his YouTube sensation, "Z True Long Island Story", for 16 straight weeks. He trended WORLDWIDE on Twitter last week and only had about 7 seconds of TV time. But yet WWE continues to use Ryder as jobber material. If they're not going to strike while the iron is hot with Zack Ryder, they never will.
Overall Grade: I give this show a 6.5 out of 10. It was an above average show that really did a nice job of advancing storylines for Capital Punishment. It looks like RAW will have at least 4 matches on the show. I would expect Dolph vs. Kofi for the US title and Rey vs. Punk with some sort of gimmick to be added. They could also do Beth Phoenix vs. Brie Bella for the Divas title. There wasn't too much wasted time or boring segments, and definitely one of the stronger post-WrestleMania RAW's we've had thus far. Next week's show should hopefully be even better with Austin returning & it being a 3 hour show.
Thanks for reading & don't forget to follow me on Twitter (@FriscoKTank)
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Review of "This Is Country Music" by Brad Paisley
I'm going to review all CD's I purchase. I have a collection of well over 300 CD's, mainly rock & country. I'll review anything anyone gives me to review. I'll follow a simple format on all my reviews that you'll see below in this first one. I bought "This Is Country Music" by Brad Paisley last week, so I figured this was s good as any CD to start my review on.
Synopsis: I feel like I'm being different just to be different on this album. If you look online for a review of the latest offering by Brad Paisley, you'll be hard pressed to find a negative word written about it. USA Today gave it 4 stars out of 4, and follow that up with this quote. "If you're going to call an album This Is Country Music, you not only set a high standard for yourself, but you better not give anybody a reason to disagree. Paisley delivers with an album that's both steeped in the past and looking for ways to grow." Now I could not agree more with the opening statement. If you feel this is the title you want for your CD, you better have delivered the goods. There are few acts in Country Music today that could get away with titling their album as such. Brad Paisley IS one of them. However, I think he fell short of the expectations that come with a title such as this one. Brad Paisley knows country music, Brad Paisley is country music, but this album is NOT. This is not his best offering by a long shot. If you want his best, pick up his album entitled "Time Well Wasted". There are some typically great songs on this album, as to be expected. But for the most part, it just left me wanting a little bit more from him. The only thing that left me impressed about this album is the collaborations you'll hear on it. Don Henley, Blake Shelton, & Carrie Underwood all make great appearances throughout it.
Song You Should Download: "Remind Me" w/Carrie Underwood. I'm not the biggest fan of Carrie's work, but this is the 2nd duet she's done with Brad and both have been outstanding. (The other is "Oh, Love" off his 5th Gear album) Honorable Mention: "One of Those Lives" is a song that anyone can relate to. It's a great message to people who stress too much about the small things to realize how blessed they truly are.
Song you should press "Next" on: "Working On a Tan" is a song I could see Kenny Chesney doing. Possibly even Billy Currington. It does not fit Brad Paisley at all though.
Grade (Out of 5 Stars): I give this album 3 stars out of 5. There's too much hit and miss on this album. There's no real stretch of great songs in a row and I think that really takes away from the overall grade.
Synopsis: I feel like I'm being different just to be different on this album. If you look online for a review of the latest offering by Brad Paisley, you'll be hard pressed to find a negative word written about it. USA Today gave it 4 stars out of 4, and follow that up with this quote. "If you're going to call an album This Is Country Music, you not only set a high standard for yourself, but you better not give anybody a reason to disagree. Paisley delivers with an album that's both steeped in the past and looking for ways to grow." Now I could not agree more with the opening statement. If you feel this is the title you want for your CD, you better have delivered the goods. There are few acts in Country Music today that could get away with titling their album as such. Brad Paisley IS one of them. However, I think he fell short of the expectations that come with a title such as this one. Brad Paisley knows country music, Brad Paisley is country music, but this album is NOT. This is not his best offering by a long shot. If you want his best, pick up his album entitled "Time Well Wasted". There are some typically great songs on this album, as to be expected. But for the most part, it just left me wanting a little bit more from him. The only thing that left me impressed about this album is the collaborations you'll hear on it. Don Henley, Blake Shelton, & Carrie Underwood all make great appearances throughout it.
Song You Should Download: "Remind Me" w/Carrie Underwood. I'm not the biggest fan of Carrie's work, but this is the 2nd duet she's done with Brad and both have been outstanding. (The other is "Oh, Love" off his 5th Gear album) Honorable Mention: "One of Those Lives" is a song that anyone can relate to. It's a great message to people who stress too much about the small things to realize how blessed they truly are.
Song you should press "Next" on: "Working On a Tan" is a song I could see Kenny Chesney doing. Possibly even Billy Currington. It does not fit Brad Paisley at all though.
Grade (Out of 5 Stars): I give this album 3 stars out of 5. There's too much hit and miss on this album. There's no real stretch of great songs in a row and I think that really takes away from the overall grade.
What I Submitted To Bleacher Report
This was the article I wrote for Bleacher Report to try to get in on their wrestling section. Ring of Honor is the 3rd, soon to be 2nd, biggest wrestling promotion in the United States & for the last year I've gotten really behind their product. The following article explains why I'm behind their movement.
When news broke that Ring of Honor had been purchased by Sinclair Broadcast Group, it sent a lot of shockwaves through the internet wrestling community. Ring of Honor is set to become the 2nd biggest promotion in the United States with this purchase due to the reach that Sinclair has on TV and thus the exposure they can give to ROH. Nobody will ever overtake WWE for the #1 spot, at least not anytime in the near future. But there is a now a competition between TNA & ROH for #2, and there's one specific reason why ROH will win that competition. It's called Tag Team Wrestling. Now anyone that watches WWE or TNA may have never heard of tag team wrestling, due to the fact that both companies have basically made it taboo. Can you name me the WWE Tag Team Champions right now? Go ahead and think about it, I'll wait. For that matter, can you name the TNA Tag Champs either? I didn't think so. (The answers are New Nexus & Beer Money) Ring of Honor, however, takes great pride in their tag team division. In fact, I dare say that ROH currently houses the greatest assortment of tag-teams since the NWA of the late 1980's. NWA at one point had The Road Warriors, The Horsemen, The Steiner Bros, The Freebirds, Doom, The Skyscrapers, The Midnight Express, The Rock & Roll Express, The Fantastics, & Varsity Club. Being Tag Team Champions in NWA meant just as much as being the World Heavyweight Champion, which is how a good promotion should be. Ring of Honor has created a very similar situation, led by their current tag champions, and appropriately named "Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team." Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin made their debut in September of 2010 and catapulted themselves to the tag titles in 7 short months. The former champions, Kings of Wrestling, are as good as anyone on the planet. They too are appropriately named, as they had an incredible series of 5-star matches with Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team. It culminated in what I consider to be the greatest tag team match I've ever seen at "Honor Takes Center Stage" this past April where Haas & Benjamin won the straps. But this is just the tip of the iceberg for ROH. Longtime roster members, The Briscoes have waged possible the feud of the year with Kenny King & Rhett Titus, The All-Night Express. There's also The Bravado Brothers, Adam Cole & Kyle O'Reilley, and if they tagged up full-time, what could possibly be the best tag team in the world, The American Wolves. So when ROH comes to your TV sets in the very near future, you may see a type of wrestling you haven't seen in years. And in my eyes, that's what will set them apart from everyone else & make them a bonafied household name.
When news broke that Ring of Honor had been purchased by Sinclair Broadcast Group, it sent a lot of shockwaves through the internet wrestling community. Ring of Honor is set to become the 2nd biggest promotion in the United States with this purchase due to the reach that Sinclair has on TV and thus the exposure they can give to ROH. Nobody will ever overtake WWE for the #1 spot, at least not anytime in the near future. But there is a now a competition between TNA & ROH for #2, and there's one specific reason why ROH will win that competition. It's called Tag Team Wrestling. Now anyone that watches WWE or TNA may have never heard of tag team wrestling, due to the fact that both companies have basically made it taboo. Can you name me the WWE Tag Team Champions right now? Go ahead and think about it, I'll wait. For that matter, can you name the TNA Tag Champs either? I didn't think so. (The answers are New Nexus & Beer Money) Ring of Honor, however, takes great pride in their tag team division. In fact, I dare say that ROH currently houses the greatest assortment of tag-teams since the NWA of the late 1980's. NWA at one point had The Road Warriors, The Horsemen, The Steiner Bros, The Freebirds, Doom, The Skyscrapers, The Midnight Express, The Rock & Roll Express, The Fantastics, & Varsity Club. Being Tag Team Champions in NWA meant just as much as being the World Heavyweight Champion, which is how a good promotion should be. Ring of Honor has created a very similar situation, led by their current tag champions, and appropriately named "Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team." Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin made their debut in September of 2010 and catapulted themselves to the tag titles in 7 short months. The former champions, Kings of Wrestling, are as good as anyone on the planet. They too are appropriately named, as they had an incredible series of 5-star matches with Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team. It culminated in what I consider to be the greatest tag team match I've ever seen at "Honor Takes Center Stage" this past April where Haas & Benjamin won the straps. But this is just the tip of the iceberg for ROH. Longtime roster members, The Briscoes have waged possible the feud of the year with Kenny King & Rhett Titus, The All-Night Express. There's also The Bravado Brothers, Adam Cole & Kyle O'Reilley, and if they tagged up full-time, what could possibly be the best tag team in the world, The American Wolves. So when ROH comes to your TV sets in the very near future, you may see a type of wrestling you haven't seen in years. And in my eyes, that's what will set them apart from everyone else & make them a bonafied household name.
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