Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Why its important to watch Main Event Live

Even though its relatively new it is important to watch WWE Main Event live on the WWE Network.  I have two basic reasons for this thought process.

1. The WWE Network is still new.  Within the next month they will be showing the biggest show of the year Wrestlemania on the WWE Network.  The biggest reason to get the WWE Network is to watch Wrestlemania online.  Since it is new the viewer wants to ensure that there won't be any problems with the streaming.  The more people that watch shows like Main Event and NXT live the more the live streaming will be tested.  If there are technical difficulties during Main Event no one is too upset.  If there are live streaming issues during Wrestlemania there will be millions of unhappy customers.  Test out the live stream now with WWE Network.

2. If ratings increase for Main Event because it is live there is a better chance they will add more live programming.  I personally believe (I have no inside knowledge) they are testing Main Event live on Tuesday nights just to see if fans will tune in the night after Raw.  If people tune in there could be consideration to air Smackdown live on Tuesday or at least a trial period.  There is also the potential that Smackdown airs live on the WWE Network and is replayed on cable.  Again no inside knowledge but I think if Main Event gets great ratings there is a better chance for more live shows and live shows are much better than those on tape delay.

Those are the two reasons why every WWE fan should be tuned into Main Event as it airs live on the WWE Network.

Divas Title Tonight

Quick thought.  I love how the dirt sheets are reporting that AJ Lee is being punished for the actions of real life boyfriend CM Punk.  I don't believe the WWE is so shallow as to punish one person for the actions of others.  They're looking for the best entertainers.  That being said Natalya's title match and the Bellas winning their tag team match has less to do with CM Punk and much, much more to do with Total Divas coming back on Sunday.  They want to push the Divas on the E! Network show.  AJ Lee is not on that show, the Bellas are, Natalya is, the Funkadacytles are.  That's who they will push.  It has less to do with CM Punk.

Monday, March 10, 2014

Monday Night Raw 3/10/14

I hate to say it but I think we're in for an uneventful Raw.  I also hate to mention that uneventful shows happen for a reason.  What's needed is to continue to build in the direction each feud is heading for at Wrestlemania.  Tonight needs to be one of those shows that heads in the direction for Wrestlemania.

The opening bout should be The Usos against the New Age Outlaws.  I think its best to continue the injury angle.  This could continue to get the NAO over as heels but keep The Usos in the ring.  There are a variety of heel tag teams they could face like AxelBack or 3MB.  The important thing is to use this match to build The Usos as strong champs and the NAO as heels.

Another direction that needs to be continued is with The Real Americans.  I think the jealousy angle is going to eventually lead to a match between Cesaro and Jack Swagger.  For some reason they seem to be sticking around Big E.  Not too long ago Big E was friendly with Mark Henry.  This would be the perfect team to bring back but Henry was wasted to put over Lesnar last week on Raw.  That being said maybe the attention should focus on a different competitor(s).  I see it as a waste to use Big E in that feud unless they plan on having a triple threat match for the Intercontinental Championship.

We're awaiting an announcement from Wrestlemania XXX host Hulk Hogan.  And they will tell you that its going to be huge!  It won't be.  He'll book a match for Wrestlemania.  Not sure which match but it will be a midcard type of match.  I'm not going to attempt to guess it but it won't be adding Daniel Bryan to the main event.  It may have something to do with John Cena vs Bray Wyatt at Wrestlemania.  Or at least that's what I would book.

Speaking of John Cena.  I heard a rumor he's going to be facing Luke Harper (maybe it was Rowan) tonight on Raw.  I can't confirm anything because I haven't looked at WWE.com or anything.  I think they need to continue this feud to lead to a Wrestlemania match (I wrote some specifics yesterday http://wwefantasybooker.blogspot.com/2014/03/john-cena-vs-bray-wyatt.html).

The Wrestlemania main event is still bothering the fan base.  The WWE will continue to tease the idea that Daniel Bryan will be added to the main event so what better way to do that then have him in a match with Batista and Randy Orton.  Of course this will be the typical pre-Wrestlemania tag team match that puts the Champion and challenger on the same team.  I would book this pre-Wrestlemania staple tonight by having Batista and Randy Orton vs Daniel Bryan and Big Show.  You can have some typical sloppy finish including Corporate Kane and Triple H attacking Daniel Bryan while Batista and Orton double team Big Show to get the victory.

Finally The Undertaker returns tonight!  Obviously he will not be in a match.  Most likely we won't even see Brock Lesnar in the building.  But who we do need to see on screen with The Undertaker is Paul Heyman.  All that needs to be booked is an appearance by those two and let them handle the rest.  Close the show with The Undertaker getting the upper hand.

Sunday, March 9, 2014

John Cena vs Bray Wyatt

Its pretty clear that John Cena is headed for a big time match against Bray Wyatt at Wrestlemania.  Being that Wyatt has his two followers it makes you wonder how exactly they will have a match between Cena and Wyatt.  History has shown the WWE likes to book a match or two featuring multiple superstars.  I think this is a perfect opportunity for one of those matches.  A 6 man tag team match works perfectly here.  You can surround the match around the feud of John Cena not only against Bray Wyatt but the entire Wyatt Family.  Being that Cena cannot and would not face all three men alone he must find a few partners.  I have a few ideas on some teammates for Cena to take on the Wyatt family.

The first idea is Cena should team up with a current tag team.  A perfect team to join Cena would be The Rhodes Dynasty.  Right now they are not involved in the Tag Team Championship picture so they need some sort of direction.  They are still a hot tag team that many people enjoy watching.  They could be elevated by having a big Wrestlemania match with not only John Cena but Bray Wyatt.  This could be the match that pushes Cody Rhodes to the upper mid card and even towards the main event.  I think this could be the start of a push that ends up with Cody Rhodes winning the Money In The Bank this summer.

The second idea included Cena teaming up with a few mid card guys.  Currently guys like Sheamus, Dolph Ziggler, Mark Henry and Big Show seem involved so it leaves guys like Kofi Kingston, Miz and Rey Mysterio.  I think Kofi and Miz make the most sense.  Even though they seemed to be Friendamies a few months ago it could be time for them to "bury the hatchet" and team up.  Both guys need some momentum and teaming with John Cena could be that momentum.  Having Cena away from the title picture is the perfect way to elevate other superstars.  Miz is obviously the type of guy who the fans buy as a top level type of superstar.  He did main event Wrestlemania only 3 years ago.  Kofi is also another guy who the fans would buy as a top level superstar due to his athletic ability.  Plus Kofi could help provide a "Wrestlemania moment" that every match is looking for.  This team also creates the ability for a post-Wrestlemania feud.  It would be easy to book the Wyatt's to win the match by pinning Kofi.  Miz could blame Kofi for costing him a big Wrestlemania win, this could lead to some sort of match at Extreme Rules.

The third and final option includes Cena teaming up with a few guys that equal John in star power.  I'd start it by having Cena in the ring talking about his leg injury.  He can claim "I won't be medically cleared to compete until...Wrestlemania 30!  At that point I will take on all three members of the Wyatt Family!"  Then Hulk Hogan's music hits.  He walks down to the ring and tell Cena "you can't take on all three guys, brother.  You'll need some backup to face those bad guys!  Give me a week and I'll find a few guys to help you out."  Hogan and Cena shake hands and we're teased with waiting a week to see who Hogan can come up with.

The next week on Raw Hogan comes out.  "I'd like to invite John Cena to the ring."  Cena's music hits and we comes out.  "I told you a week ago I'd find you a few teammates and let me tell you something brother, I think I found two great ones for you."  Then the Ultimate Warriors' music hits!  He runs to the ring and grabs the mic.  "I'm doing this for all the little warriors who have grown up to be big warriors and now have their own little warriors of their own.  We're going to the top of the mountain at Wrestlemania 30 and you, me and my tag partner are brining the Wyatt's all the way down to PARTS UNKNOWN!"  To which Cena has a confused look on his face and says "Ok, thanks Hulk.  Who is our third guy?"  Hulk says "well brother, I looked through my phone book and found an old friend from Atlanta..."  The lights go out and Sting's music hits!  He walks down to the ring greeted by Cena, Warrior and Hogan.  As the four men pose for the crowd they're interrupted by the Wyatt Family.  All three members walk towards the ring to size up their Wrestlemania opponents.

Overall I think the direction the WWE should go is with the younger guys.  With Cena being out of the title picture it would be best to use him to elevate the Wyatt Family and two other superstars.  That being said Wrestlemania has turned into the event that they bring back old wrestlers.  It would surprise me if the Utlimate Warrior gets some sort of send off to finish his career.  Also the rumors of Sting coming to the WWE have been there for years and it looks like they might have finally brought him in.  It would be cool to have the Ultimate Warrior team up with Sting.  It could lead to a year long run for Sting in the WWE.

Saturday, March 8, 2014

Smackdown Review

Alright here's what I thought about the Raw Recap Show ummmm I mean Friday Night Smackdown.

Dolph vs Christian was entertaining.  Looks like they're going to continue to go in the direction of Dolph vs ADR and Christian vs Sheamus.  Most likely next week on Raw or Smackdown we'll see Sheamus and Dolph vs Christian and ADR.  For the most part all four guys are good workers, its good to see midcard programs.  I happy to see these guys have some direction leading into Wrestlemania.

I'm loving The Usos.  I think they are the perfect tag team for this era of the WWE.  In ring I think they're great and as a tag team I think they have great charisma.  They are the guys that need to carry this division for the time being.  Unfortunately I think the second best tag team is Cody and Goldust.  Ideally these two teams would face off at Wrestlemania.

The Axelback team or whatever they're calling themselves is growing on me.  I thought it was a mistake to take Heyman away from Axel but it looks like his future might be in a tag team.  These two guys are starting to work really well together as a midcard heel tag team.  I don't know if they have the potential to carry the belts but maybe they can be transitional champions.

AJ taps out to the Sharpshooter.  We need to see Natalya take the belt off AJ at Wrestlemania.  After Wrestlemania we can see AJ and Tamina feud over becoming the #1 Contender.  Between those three they can put on great matches, great programs and continue to elevate the Divas division.

The Shield situation is the most unique breakup I've ever seen.  I still believe and think they need the huge breakup leading to a triple threat match at Wrestlemania.  I'm enjoying Seth Rollins' work here.  He is the guy that is trying to keep The Shield together.  He seems to be the only guy in the group that sees the big picture.  Dean Ambrose is most likely going to end up being the heel and breaking them up.  While Roman is the big, strong, quite, face.

They're letting Luke Harper speak more.  I don't forsee the Wyatts breaking up anytime soon but when they do it could eventually be Harper leading Rowand away from Bray Wyatt.  I do see Bray being the cult leader for a while.  I don't know if they'd find new followers for him or not.

It looks like they're bringing Big Show back into The Authority angle.  This is interesting, they might use Big Show to help out Daniel Bryan or they might use him to distract Kane freeing up Daniel Bryan to focus on Triple H.  Overall what I found most interesting about this match is the lack of screen time for Batista.  It seemed like it was more of a handicap match than anything else.  Also Batista's promo to start the show was lacking.  He clearly is not a main even caliber performer.  He couldn't play an entertaining heel with the most over face in the company.  I think the WWE needs to seriously reconsider the Wrestlemania main event.

The biggest thing that Smackdown lacked was the presence of the WWE World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton.  Had I not known better I might think there was no Champion associated with Smackdown.

Overall I think there are fewer reasons to continue to watch Smackdown.  Nothing big ever happens.  Half of it is a Raw recap.  The other half is the feuds from Raw treading water.

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

My Raw Thoughts 3/3

Of course the show started with CM Punk's music.  Obviously the CM Punk situation needed to be addressed.  The rumors were all over the dirtsheets and the speculation was running wild.  I was quite shocked to see Paul Heyman.  I thought we'd see Punk, then I thought we'd see Triple H or Vince.  Never did I think we'd see Heyman.  This was the best thing they could have done without Punk.  Obviously CM Punk will not comeback to the WWE for a very long time if at all.  If I were a betting man, I'd say we've seen the last of CM Punk.  I think he's done.  At this point the WWE needs to continue to get Heyman and Brock over as heels.  Overall I thought the segment was okay, they got the most out of it.

I don't understand what is going on with The Usos and the New Age Outlaws.  I thought they'd blow off the feud tonight on Main Event.  SPOILER ALERT: they didn't.  That being said it might last til Wrestlemania XXX.  If that is the case I thought the payoff would be bigger for fans of The Usos if they won the Tag Titles for the first time at Wrestlemania.  I would have either booked that or the feud to blow off on Main Event to make room for another young tag team.

I like what is going on with The Real Americans.  Clearly these two are headed for a breakup that could end in a match at Wrestlemania.  I think its about time for that.  Cesaro is clearly headed for a main event type of push and the team with Swagger is running its course.  I enjoy Zeb but he just doesn't fit with Cesaro.  I'd continue to book this jealousy thing and eventually blow up this team.

The Shield needs to break up.  We need to finally get the payoff of the slow break of The Shield.  I would book the triple threat at Wrestlemania XXX.  That might steal the show too.  I enjoyed how Seth Rollins was the one who walked out.  That will be the final straw with The Shield.  He was the glue.  He will let the other two destroy The Shield.  I think they've run their course as a unit.  Its time for them to go onto singles careers.

Sheamus and Christian are another two that are on a collision course for Wrestlemania.  Both guys need and deserve a match, they just need someone to fight.  They should do fine fighting each other but we've already seen it on free TV a few to many times to get excited to see it at Wrestlemania.

The Wyatts are clearly going to face John Cena at Wrestlemania XXX.  I don't want to see a 3 on 1.  I'll end up writing a blog specifically about this match.

Finally the main event.  Triple H/Daniel Bryan/Randy Orton/Batista.  We have more evidence that a Randy Orton vs Batista match will not work out.  I wrote how I would fix it, it looks like the best option would be to add Daniel Bryan to the match.  I wrote about this in depth therefore I won't get into this too much.  I think its time to give Daniel Bryan a more definitive direction.


Sunday, March 2, 2014

Monday Night Raw 3/3

I have two different ideas for Monday Night Raw on March 3rd, obviously the main event of Batista vs Randy Orton must be changed.  The ideas depend on if CM Punk makes a long awaited comeback to the WWE.  The first will be without CM Punk, the second with.

In both scenarios the show starts with Michael Cole advertising the main event being the contract signing for the main event of Wrestlemania XXX being overseen by The Authority.

Scenario 1

Finally we hit the main event.  The Authority enters the ring, followed by the challenger Batista accompanied by a loud "Bootista" chant, then finally the WWE World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton to a chorus of boos.  We start with Triple H reviewing how we got to this point and how this is what is "best for business" to which the Chicago crowd disagrees.  Before either competitor can speak or sign the contract the music of the Chairman of the WWE Vince McMahon hits!  He walks down to the ring and states "unfortunately the main event for Wrestlemania XXX is NOT what is best for business."  The crowd erupts!  Vince continues "what we need is a superstar!  The type of guy who is worthy of a main event so large.  A man who the fans have gotten behind, in fact he's the man who gets the largest reaction from the crowd...that man is...TRIPLE H!!!"  At this point the crowd is ready to riot.  Triple H humbly accepts the challenge while both Batista and Randy Orton argue with Vince.  Then Hulk Hogan's music hits to a mostly positive reaction.  Hogan begins "As the host of Wrestlemania XXX I have already scheduled Triple H as an in ring competitor but that's no big deal.  The WWE Universe would rather see Triple H in the main event anyway...they'd also rather see his competitor in the main event as well..."  Daniel Bryan's music hits.  The crowd goes right into their normal "YES!" chant.  We're left with a cliffhanger as far as Wreslemania XXX's main event as the screen goes black...

Scenario 2

Finally we hit the main event.  The Authority enters the ring, followed by the challenger Batista accompanied by a loud "Bootista" chant, then finally the WWE World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton to a chorus of boos.  We start with Triple H reviewing how we got to this point and how this is what is "best for business" to which the Chicago crowd disagrees.  Before either competitor can speak or sign the contract the music of the Chairman of the WWE Vince McMahon hits!  He walks down to the ring and states "unfortunately the main event for Wrestlemania XXX is NOT what is best for business."  The crowd erupts!  "What we need is a proven competitor that the fans can get behind.  The fans are unhappy with Batista, the fans are bored with Randy Orton.  The fans chant for guys who aren't in the main event and aren't even in the company!  What's 'best for business' is to give the fans a competitor they want to see, that's why I'm adding to the main event of Wrestlemania XXX.  I've chosen the greatest WWE Champion of this generation!"  CM Punk's music hits to which the crowd erupts!  He walks into the ring, signs the contract looks at Batista and says "I'm the next WWE World Heavyweight Champion...DEAL WITH IT!"  We're left with Batista and Orton staring down Punk and Triple H staring down Vince...