WWE NXT Debut 2/23/10

All I can say is WOW! This show far exceeded my expectations. I have not a single gripe to mention about it. I'm hooked already. Here's some specific thoughts

- The show was built around Daniel Bryan and the Miz. YES! It seems as if the WWE has much more respect for Bryan's talents than most fans imagined. And they're using this as a vehicle to introduce him. And frankly there could not have been a better way to do so. 1) They're giving credit to him for being an accomplished indie star (something rarely done for those guys who have made the jump) and 2) They're allowing him to speak, wrestle a decent match, and have instantly planted the seeds for a feud with the Miz. THIS IS HOW YOU GET SOMEONE OVER! Unlike when they threw out Scotty "Colt Cabana" Goldman to job to the Great Khali - as if fans were supposed to cheer him for being squashed.

- The Miz is only going to benefit from this too. He's not going to necessarily pick up some moves from Bryan, but if Bryan gets over here, Miz will be to thank for part of that and in turn, he'll become an even more hate-able heel. My respect for Miz is quickly growing.

- The match with Jericho was a lot of fun. And it really made Bryan look good despite losing. It was the World Champ after all who beat him. His counter was great. Post match beat down by Miz was great too. Who doesn't want to see this guy get submitted by Bryan now??

- The camera angle bothered me initially but I got used to it. It makes sense to have the angles the way they did. It makes it more reality TV-ish and makes it feel less like an "official" match, which it shouldn't be if this is supposed to be a competition to get into the WWE full-time.

- Was really looking forward to seeing Justin Gabriel as I've heard great things about him. He'll be featured next week.

- Michael Tarver and Heath Slater didn't do much for me but David Otunga has potential. Otunga's finisher that he used on Darren Young was kind of sloppy though. He can talk though. Oh, and I'm predicting Young will continue to lose only to turn to Punk's Straightedge Society in desperation.

- How about Michael Cole as the semi-heel announcer!? Cole makes me role my eyes anyway, but this was a real head-scratcher. I kind of liked the back and forth between him and Josh Matthews, who was defending Daniel Bryan.

- I like that the Rookies have to come out to their Pros' theme music. Again, it's much more realistic this way. They have to "earn" their own theme song.

All in all, WWE really delivered with this program. Every wrestler in this "competition" is automatically in better shape just for being given the chance to let people know them better. Things can always change, but I'd say after one episode that WWE hit the ball out of the park with this new concept.

Thoughts on Elimination Chamber, RAW 2/22/10

Hey, still playing catch up, so I've just got some random thoughts and reactions for ya...

- Let me start by making everyone aware that I do not like Dave Batista. I say this because it will come up again. In my opinion, he offers nothing special in the ring or on the mic. He is the epitome of the jacked up "monster" wrestlers that Vince McMahon loves, which is ironic given the new alliance between McMahon and Batista. So, as you might imagine, I'm not happy that the WWE title is around Batista's waist (or should I say waste? >snicker snicker<). I also do not like title changes happening a month before Wrestlemania, let alone 3 in one night. I really miss the days when you had to wait between the Royal Rumble and 'Mania for that big title match. I do realize it is a different time though, but it just takes something away from the "grand daddy of them all" when belts change hands so quickly and there is only a few weeks away from the big event.

- Storyline-wise it's fine that Batista is champ with Cena chasing. I like that they are making Batista seem like the one guy Cena can't beat. Taking into account the match they had a year and a half ago and all that has transpired recently, Batista really has the upper hand on Cena, and it will make for a nice finale when Cena goes over him, I would imagine, at Wrestlemania.

- Does this mean they are admitting that giving Sheamus the title so early was a mistake?

- As I said, I don't like that both titles changed hands a month before Wrestlemania, but it sure is awesome to have Chris Jericho as champ. The guy is brilliant. What a great promo he gave last night to open Raw. Despite all his losses and embarrassments in the DX feud, he still comes out on top. Gotta love it. I hope he wins at Wrestlemania because 1) he deserves a title reign longer than a month and 2) they need to continue to have rumble winners lose occasionally at Wrestlemania to prevent people from automatically assuming the Rumble winner will be champ. Let Jericho eek out a bunch of wins against Edge before he passes the title on. There's no reason a feud with 2 stellar workers like Edge and Jericho couldn't go for a couple of months.

- Could it be true? Randy Orton is going babyface? Crowd is certainly begging for it. But who is ready to step up as the next top heel? Not DiBiase or Rhodes! Stay tuned.

- I don't mind Christian on Raw. I know everyone wants to see a reunion with Edge, but it will come eventually. Edge is plenty busy now and should be well into the summer. Save the Edge/Christian reunion for the future. It will be that much bigger.

- I marked out majorly for the 5 seconds that they showed Daniel Bryan watching the Miz's match! I LOVE how they've handled this so far. Would Wrestlemania be too soon to see a Miz vs. Daniel Bryan US Title match? Ha ha, wishful thinking right?

Good Raw overall, I enjoyed it more than last week. And I'm super excited for NXT tonight. I will try and post a reaction some time tomorrow night.

Elimination Chamber Predictions

These will be pretty brief as I'm pretty much going with the obvious picks, because I believe they are the right moves. I also have not finished watching Smackdown and likely won't catch up until after the PPV. These are the only matches listed on WWE.COM, though I would have to believe they will add another one or two.

Divas Championship - Gail Kim vs. Maryse
It makes sense to build this feud into Gail chasing Maryse. It's the right way to get the crowd behind her. Maryse has been good as the cunning, nasty heel and she should get the title to further get her over. Gail's win will mean way more down the road when she fianlly beats, and shut's up, Maryse.
Prediction: Maryse wins the Divas Title

Intercontinental Championship Match - Kane vs. Drew McIntyre(c)
There is no reason for Kane to win this match. This isn't anything but an angle to build up Drew McIntyre, the not-so-rowdy Scot, as a legit heavyweight contender. And at this stage of the game, this is what Kane should be doing... helping to get younger stars over.
Prediction: Drew McIntyre retains

WWE Championship Elimination Chamber Match featuring: Sheamus(c), Triple H, Randy Orton, John Cena, Ted DiBiase, and Kofi Kingston
This is almost too easy to pick based on the current storylines. Cena is headed for a match with Batista at Wrestlemania which could be over the WWE Title, but they're also involved with the Hart/McMahon feud in which adding the title to the story would be just a tad convoluted. So Cena's out. They're building towards an Orton vs. DiBiase vs Rhodes feud of some kind to break up Legacy, so I would see this match as another means of carrying that out. Maybe Ted eliminates Randy? Either way, I can't see Randy winning. Kofi is lucky to be in this match. After a brilliant feud with Orton, he's been sent back down the card with very little momentum now. They aren't putting the strap on him. So that leaves either Sheamus to retain, or HHH to win. The smart move is to keep building up Sheamus as unstoppable. So I think he will win, leading to a title defense against HHH at Wrestlemania where HHH goes over.
Prediction: Sheamus retains

World Heavyweight Championship Elimination Chamber Match featuring: Undertaker(c), Chris Jericho, CM Punk, John Morrison, R-Truth, and Rey Mysterio.
This one also seems too easy to pick. I didn't watch all of Smackdown but the way Jericho has been over sort of scares me. Do they want us to think he'll win so they can swerve with someone else? Either way, he has to be the favorite as it makes all the sense in the world to put the title on him and have Edge challenge him for it at Wrestlemania. Undertaker could retain only to lose it on a future episode of Smackdown, but if there is no change in the other title match, than I would definitely expect it to happen in this one. As for the rest of the contestants, well we should see some seeds planted for a CM Punk vs. Mysterio Wrestlemania match. I'm high on Morrison but I doubt WWE is ready to give him the Main Event at Wrestlemania. R-Truth? No chance, but it is refreshing to see him in the match. I'm not an R-Truth mark by any means, but it's great to see a fresh face like him in it. This definitely has the potential to be a good match.
Prediction: Chris Jericho wins the World Title

And there you have it.

Thoughts on RAW, ECW, NXT News, and Tyler Black Winning ROH Title

Still getting over being sick but here are some quick thoughts on this week's happenings...

RAW
- Fans seem really ready to cheer Randy Orton. I really think it goes beyond their hatred of Sheamus. If someone big time would step up to take Orton's place as top heel, I think they'd turn Randy face in a heartbeat.

- I don't know about this whole Hart angle, with him getting hit by a car and all. Does this mean he won't wrestle at Mania? or will they use it as a way to cover for his potential rustiness. Maybe it will give McMahon an "advantage" and a reason for fans to think Bret will lose. How can you put the sharpshooter on with a broken leg? I've never been a fan of angles involving cars and "setting up hits" on wrestlers.

- Cena v HHH? Been there, seen that. Not sure what it means that they've been building up Sheamus so much. DO they want you to think he is the favorite going into the Elimination Chamber? Or do they just want to continue to get the champ over as a monster. I dunno and I am starting not to really care.

ECW
- This was really a promo for NXT more than a send-off for ECW. And I'm pretty much fine with that. As nice as it would have been to see some ECW originals make cameos and some kind of tribute to the old promotion, it's been done before, especially in the form of ECW One Night Stand 2005 and 2006, and done very well. This isn't the old ECW that's shutting down, it's WWE's ECW that's shutting down. The old one ended a long time ago. Why pretend that the new version had anything to do with the original?

- Yoshi Tatsu and Goldust lost... big surprise. I like Yoshi, but I am not buying into this idea that he is going to be pushed. He'll be stuck in jobber oblivion with Evan Bourne and Primo Colon before you know it.

- I really hope this was the last Abraham Washington Show. It's a terrible segment. Make Abe a manager. Maybe he'll be better at that.

- I know I sound like a broken record (and will continue to sound as such) but PLEASE put Shelton Benjamin on Smackdown and give him a push!

- Jackson vs. Christian was... eh. It doesn't really matter because I feel like Christian has done everything he possibly could on ECW to convince creative that he's a difference maker, but I really feel keeping the belt on him was the right move. I guess it means more to Jackson's career than it does to Christian's. Part of it is that I just don't see much potential in Jackson. Which means Vince probably loves him.

NXT
- Everyone seems to be up in arms about these pairings of WWE Pros with NXT Rookies. I actually think most of the pairings are pretty cool. It's all for storyline purposes anyway. I mean, do you really think that Bryan Danielson (or Daniel Bryan, which I'll get to in a minute) is following the Miz around taking notes?

- Here are some of my favorites...
Matt Hardy/Justin Gabriel - Hardy is over with the fans, even despite WWE's continual use of him as a jobber. He'll get Justin Gabriel over as a high flyer and part of his click. It gives Matt some credibility as someone that a young wrestler can learn from. BTW, what was wrong with Justin's FCW name, Justin Angel? Someone on creative is just dying to use that Gabriel name!
Chris Jericho/Wade Barrett - I know very little about Barrett, but I like Jericho with a big enforcer-type guy under his tutelage. He'll do Jericho's dirty work for a while until he's ready to break free, and it will get him over huge when he turns on Jericho.
CM Punk/Darren Young - Have you seen Young's hair? It's BIG! Should be fun watching Punk try convert him and shave that bad boy!
The Miz/Daniel Bryan - First... I HATE THE NAME CHANGE. I can kind of respect that they tried to keep it close to Bryan Danielson, but Daniel Bryan just sounds like some model or soap star name. I dunno. I guess it could be worse. If they added a "T" to make it Daniel Bryant, at least it would sound like a last name and not two first names. Second... I LOVE THIS PAIRING! I really hope they play up the fact that Bryan's been wrestling for years, all over the world and is considered by many the best technical wrestler out their today. The fact that Miz, a former reality star and wrestling reality show competitor, who is not know for his technical skill (though I believe he's gotten better in the ring) but for his mic skills is going to mentor the "best in the world" - it could make for a GREAT storyline. And hopefully a US Title match for Daniel Bryan.

- As for the concept itself, I still don't totally get it. Is there really only going to be one winner? What happens to the "losers"? I see some good potential in a lot of these guys. I guess we have to wait and see.

- And does the omission of Kaval mean that he is already being called up to the main roster? I really hope so!

ROH
- Over the weekend Tyler Black won the ROH title from Austin Aries. From a storyline standpoint it made sense. They'd been feuding for a while and the only thing left to do was to give Black the belt. I was very disappointed in their match at Final Battle which I attended live. I guess I'm just not a big believer in Black. I think that Roderick Strong should have been the one to take the belt from Aries.


Well that's it for now. I will try and get some Elimination Chamber picks up, likely on Sunday morning/afternoon. Gotta see what happens on Smackdown first.

So long, Survivor Series

I have been really under the weather with some kind of virus this week, thus I haven't been up to posting about any of this week's shows. That being said, I simply had to remark about the following news...

In a pretty random and shocking move, WWE has decided to discontinue the annual November PPV show, Survivor Series. Survivor Series is an "original four" PPV (along with Wrestlemania, Summer Slam, and the Royal Rumble). According to Vince McMahon, the event is "obsolete" and has "outlasted its usage". And so the title will be changed and the event will be "rebranded".

My initial reactions is that this just stings. Survivor Series was one of my favorites as a kid because I loved to see wrestlers team up who wouldn't normally do so. It was cool (even though it was all part of storyline), to see big names like Hogan and Savage "recruit" younger, up-and-coming wrestlers to be on their team. In recent years (really like the last 10-11 years), WWE has wavered in using the team match concept between sparingly and not at all. Still, more often than not they would throw a "traditional" Survivor Series match or two on the card.

I guess this shouldn't come as too much of a surprise. It's clear that it was a long time ago that they decided to take it in a different direction. Plus, the buy rate for this years Survivor Series was very low. But I just don't think the Survivor Series concept itself is the problem.

What's really funny is that WWE is now asking fans to vote on a new PPV event that they would like to see. Included in this is the old WCW concept - War Games (a 5-on-5 team match). Does anyone else find that humorous?

Now I for one, would love to see the return of War Games. I believe it would be a great way to further storylines without having to do a title match EVERY PPV and also elevate some younger stars (as the Rumble does). My only question is... couldn't Survivor Series achieve the same goal? The problem is that while they've continued to use that title, it hasn't been the same PPV in many years. But some how they're going to blame it now. Lame.

ECW Thoughts 2/2/10

So ECW is going off the air in 3 weeks. It's about time! It has been universally panned for the 4 or so years of it's existence. Now, I actually don't hate WWE's version of ECW as much as most. I'm certainly not one of the fans who believes it could have and should have been exactly like the old ECW. It was never gonna be that, no matter how hard WWE tried (and they didn't). But I really didn't mind them using the namesake and running the brand "in the spirit" of the original ECW. What I mean by that is that it could have featured more action and more showcasing by younger stars and been a vehicle for them to get themselves over. A WWE sponsored feeder-fed, if you will. And at times it almost was that. WWE even got some good superstars from it like CM Punk, Kofi Kingston, Sheamus, and Evan Bourne. And I would dare say that on certain weeks, especially since Christian arrived, they've had the best match quality of any show. So, I really can't see calling it a total failure unless you were expecting flaming tables and barbed-wire kendo sticks every week. That was only part of what made the original ECW good. But it was more the fact that they had compelling characters who had the freedom to develop themselves.

At any rate, WWE never really seemed to know what to do with it. First they tried to make it a legit 3rd brand on the level of Raw and Smackdown. It quickly became a glorified version of Heat though. They should have re-branded at that time but instead just treated the WWE universe like idiots who were just supposed to accept Chavo Guerrero main events as the best they had to offer. They kind of got the idea with the new superstar initiative but never really delivered the way they could have. Just call it what it is! The place where wrestlers become superstars!

Well it seems they are finally fully embracing that approach with WWE NXT (assuming that is the name they go with in 3 weeks). And I really hope they do keep it as a match-based show and not turn it into a rewind for Smackdown and Raw. Let some of these FCW guys come up and show what they've got on national TV. It's the right move, perhaps just a little to late.

And as for the show itself last night:

- Abraham Washington is not over. This segment sucks every week. Even Christian and Ryder (who I like) barely made it watchable.

- Interesting use of the real-life Helms arrest. It seemed to flop though. I guess a lot of people are oblivious to the story.

- Trent Baretta vs. Yoshi Tatsu was... meh. I can't take Yoshi Tatsu seriously as he just seems like WWE's latest token Japanese guy. I believe Baretta and Croft could really be a part of a tag team wrestling revival, but I'm sure WWE has no interest in that.

- Shelton Benjamin is so damn good. I wish he could just find that missing... whatever it is. His matches are always entertaining and he should be on a path to Main Event status. Vance Archer on the other hand has not impressed me. Really, what does he do that a 100 other guys don't? So, I hate that he beats a guy like Shelton who has ridiculous athletic talent. Have him beat Goldust.

- Christian vs. Ryder was decent. Ryder has a ways to go, but I like his mic work and his gimmick. He could use a couple more defining moves to get him over as a legit threat in the ring.

- It looks like the Ezekial/Christian feud is not over. What a shame that would be if this lead to a final ECW title match in which Jackson won and was the last ECW Champ. I hope that doesn't happen. Christian has done an admirable job with such a laughable title. The belt should be retired with him as champ. The only other "right way" to end it would be to bring an original ECW legend back and have him win the title from Christian, so that an ECW original will be forever remembered as the last ECW champ (though hardcore fans know it was truly Rhino in 2001). I wouldn't mind seeing an RVD vs. Christian match at the Elimination Chamber PPV.

RAW Thoughts 2/1/10

I enjoyed this Raw. I like that they had all Elimination Qualifying matches on the same show. This way it gives another couple of weeks to build up some desire to see all these guys in the same ring. I do HATE the idea that the champion has to put the belt on the line against 5 other men in a gimmick match, especially a month from Wrestlemania. I think this match would be so much better off as a number one contender's match.

At any rate here are my random thoughts:

- Guest host William Shatner was not overused. And when he was, it wasn't bad, even funny at some moments. The need to phase out the guest hosts and this was a nice sign that that is what they are doing.

- Sheamus is getting more heat and coming off as unbeatable. That's good. He still doesn't deserve to be in a title match at Mania though.

- I actually thought Jack Swagger was fun to watch in his match with HHH. Obviously he was not winning but I gotta believe he's got what it takes to develop into a top star.

- The Miz really is awesome. He's come along way. And while I'm enjoying his feud with MVP and believe it's good for the US title, I kind of hope he and Big Show win the tag titles. I want to see a tag title match at Wrestlemania. And you have to figure Miz and Show are going to get a Mania match. How about them vs. a face-turned Hart Dynasty for the unified belts?

- How about how pro-Cena this crowd was??

- Ted Dibiase in the Elimination Chamber is cool. I know he's in there to further develop the storyline rift between he, Rhodes and Orton, but I hope part of it is because WWE is trying out some young blood in a high profile match.

- I was very into the McMahon/Hart segment. That is until the DVR cut out. Apparently the usual 2 hrs 10 mins was not enough time to record all of Raw this week. Ugh. But I've seen the video and I like that they are involving other wrestlers in this feud (assuming Cena takes Bret's side after last night's involvement by Batista on behalf of Vince). Number 1 - it's cool to see Bret Hart interact with current stars. Number 2 - it's very likely that Bret isn't capable of putting on a match even close to what he used to be able to. He did suffer a stroke. And he would be working with Vince McMahon. It's not like he would have a real wrestler like Jericho or HBK to carry him through it. So, maybe they do a Cena/Hart vs. Batista/McMahon match at Wrestlemania. I wouldn't mind that.

- Oh and Bret looked ALOT better than he did his last appearance. The jeans and the wet, dyed hair made a huge difference. He didn't look like a has-been. He looked like he meant business.

This really was one of the better Raws recently. I hope they keep it up.