Wrestling

On Easter Sunday morning a massive hail storm struck our home and destroyed our roof and gutters. Because we have had so much bad weather including a great deal of rain, the roofers are here today and started hammering incessantly at 6:30 this morning. Nails and shingles particles are everywhere. I’m essentially under “house arrest.” Sadly, I can’t even access my grill but “one can’t grieve forever” as the King used to espouse so, here we go.. The more I peruse the WWE Payback PPV card slated for this Sunday in the All State Arena in Chicago the more intrigued I am. Several matches have the opportunity to be really good or better and several talents have the opportunity to stamp their own mark on the PPV. Competition amongst talents is healthy. No one should be ‘grandfathered in’ as it relates to being a main eventer but should be required to earn it in an ongoing basis. At least, that’s my opinion. We had great locker room competition among the talents during the Attitude Era because the roster was so deep with experienced, main event level talents who all wanted a taste of the big money. No one rested on their laurels. The advantage then over now is that WWE had more top hands who could carry a main event than they currently do. The good news in that assessment is that the roster today is getting younger and I can see very soon down the road where the competition component is going to return in earnest because everyone can’t go on last and everyone can’t earn the top money on a given show. I spoke with WWE HOFer Dusty Rhodes Tuesday night and I’m happy to report that ‘The Dream’ is feeling much better and is looking forward to attending the NXT TV taping next Thursday at Full Sail University near Orlando. Big Dust is already back at work down in Tampa and was in great spirits when we spoke. Take solace in this Miami heat fans…the way the San Antonio Spurs shot the ball Tuesday night the Eastern Division All Star NBA team would have lost too. Now the big storyline will be how resilient the Heat have been all season after losing a game. The two teams play again in San Antonio Thursday night with the Spurs up two games to one. I’ve discovered that the Steve Austin Podcasts are great traveling companions on fights. I’ve downloaded them to my IPad and listen while flying. You can follow @steveaustinBSR on Twitter. Steve’s interview skills are unique and fun to listen to. Yes, it was the old promoter in me that suggested that Tim Tebow would be able to earn his keep quickly if he ever came to WWE if for nothing else a one off PPV shot. Think of the outside the box publicity that Tebow would garner if he were to ever step in a WWE ring as a performer which is, granted, a long shot at best. Realizing how much some talents want to make the NXT roster and to subsequently ‘graduate’ to the next level of WWE, it’s not so hard to understand the dismay some talents have when they are either released or not signed following a tryout. I only suggest that they all take the high road and continue to work toward their dreams. The selection process is a subjective one and no one ever said it was infallible. Enjoying working with the young broadcasters in NXT including veteran William Regal who is actually highly skilled at this aspect of the business. It is my opinion that every announce desk should have a degree of contrasting opinions all traveling in the same direction that should be entertainingly expressed but never at the expense of telling an accurate story of what is being displayed on the monitor. Brad Maddox has an opportunity to evolve into an entertaining albeit abrasive color commentator if his early work in NXT is any indication. Both NXT broadcast teams are doing really well as of late. I’ve updated the Q&A section of the site as of Wednesday morning and invite you to check them out. Tickets fo

- WFTV 9 in Florida reports that the Central Florida Sports Commission is hoping to bring major sporting events like WWE’s WrestleMania and Royal Rumble to the area between now and 2019. The CFSC is asking Orange County officials for money to help bring in the events. - As seen on Monday’s RAW, Stephanie McMahon confronted Kaitlyn and the other Divas on the stage and told them to never interrupt her again. This was apparently a play off a real-life situation that happened backstage recently where someone interrupted Stephanie and caused a bit of a scene. - Brock Lesnar reportedly did not arrive in the arena for Monday’s RAW until around 9:30pm. Lesnar returning to take out CM Punk was not in the final RAW script and few people knew he was returning. Big Backstage News on the McMahon Family Storyline, Big RVD & Christian Plans for MITB, Vince Changing Several Storylines, The Wyatts, More… Partial source: F4Wonline.com

M.V.D. – Most Valuable Diva” is a weekly column where a WWE Diva or TNA Knockout is named the Most Valuable Diva of the Week based on their overall performance. The divas/knockouts that compete in matches and/or take part in segments automatically get nominated for Most Valuable Diva. This week’s nominees for M.V.D. are: AJ: On RAW, AJ shocked Kaitlyn and the WWE Universe when she revealed to them that she set up the “secret admirer” thing. AJ went on to explain why she did it: Kaitlyn was busy chasing the Divas Championship, while AJ was busy getting her heart broken. The resident Crazy Chick got into Kaitlyn’s mind, causing Kaitlyn to break down. Kaitlyn: On RAW, Kaitlyn’s secret admirer was finally revealed. Unfortuntately, it was revealed that AJ had set up the “secret admirer” thing. AJ went on to explain why she did it: Kaitlyn was busy chasing the Divas Championship, while AJ was busy getting her heart broken. The resident Crazy Chick got into Kaitlyn’s mind, causing Kaitlyn to break down. Kaitlyn continued to show signs of being upset and letting AJ get to her on Smackdown. When Aksana laughed at the footage from RAW of AJ revealing that she was the secret admirer, Kaitlyn snapped and attacked Aksana. She even slapped the referee in his face. AJ makes people go crazy! Bayley: On NXT, Bayley was shown to have FINALLY been given a character of being the awkward girl that just wants to be everyone’s friend, or at least I think that’s what her gimmick is. Anyways, we got to see Bayley’s gimmick come into play during her match against Alicia Fox to determine who would advance to the semi-final round of the NXT Women’s Championship Tournament. Bayley tried to make friends with Alicia, but Alicia was not having it. This sparked a fire in Bayley and pushed her to wanting to win the match. In the end unfortunately, Alicia Fox got the win after a sick axe kick and advanced to the semi-finals. Alicia Fox: Did I really see Alicia Fox compete in a WWE match? Are my eyes deceiving me? Nope, it’s true! Alicia Fox was in a match this week on NXT, where she competed against Bayley to determine who would advance to the semi-final round of the NXT Women’s Championship Tournament. Alicia Fox had a great showing in this match and won after nailing Bayley with her signature axe kick. I just hope that Alicia doesn’t disappear on me again after winning this match. Aksana: On Smackdown, Aksana was set to compete against Divas Champion Kaitlyn. However, before the match could even begin, Aksana was attacked by Kaitlyn after she laughed at the footage from RAW of AJ revealing that she was the secret admirer. Velvet Sky: On Impact, Velvet Sky revealed to Mickie James a doctor’s note that stated that she was clear to compete. Velvet declared that she wants her rematch for her Knockouts Championship. That didn’t set too well with Mickie James, and Mickie went after her knee with a painful submission hold. Velvet might want to get the date on that note changed since her knee is pretty banged up now. Mickie James: On Impact, Velvet Sky revealed to Mickie James a doctor’s note that stated that she was clear to compete. Velvet declared that she wants her rematch for her Knockouts Championship. That didn’t set too well with Mickie James, and Mickie went after her knee with a painful submission hold. Mickie James has officially turned heel and has forced Velvet to extend the date of her knee clearance to a later date. This week, we have TWO MVDs! This week’s MVDs are… AJ & Mickie James! AJ cut a great promo on RAW when she revealed that the secret admirer thing was all a set up by her to play mind games with Kaitlyn. Not only did she cut a great promo, but she also got some major heat from the crowd. AJ’s a crazy chick, and she’s a damn good one. Speaking of crazy chicks, Mickie James has officially turned heel! When she attacked Velvet

- WWE posted an alternate ending for the “1-800-FELLA” Sheamus commercial: - As noted before, WWE Divas Champion AJ Lee tweeted Stephanie McMahon after Monday’s RAW: “Hey @StephMcMahon , ya wanna know something? You’re pretty scary. But I’m scarier. Until we meet again…” Stephanie replied on Tuesday: “Careful what u wish 4″ - Rey Mysterio thanked his 1 million Twitter followers last night and noted that he was on his way to Pensacola, Florida for a minor procedure with Dr. James Andrews today. Big Plans for Mysterio’s Return?, Reaction to Mark Henry, Sexy New AJ Lee Photos and More…

Ten Guys Misused By WCW World Championship Wrestling has been dead and gone for over twelve years. Throughout its history they messed up their chances with several talents who would end up going to other promotions and achieve greatness or they simply never reached their highest level of success. Here are ten wrestlers that come to mind that could have done so much more in WCW, but never did. Raven Perhaps the character that had the most to offer for World Championship Wrestling and achieved much less than he could have is Raven. Don’t get me wrong, Raven had a good run with the promotion from his debut in 1997 to about April 1998. However, once he dropped the WCW United States Championship to Goldberg on April 20th, Raven was just a midcarder who never rose up the card. He would get frustrated and quit the promotion in the summer of 1999 and return to ECW. I wish that Raven didn’t quit and remained with WCW. Vince Russo was a fan of Raven’s, as a apparent by both the booking of Russo in the early days of TNA and interviews I’ve listened to. I believe Raven would have been a huge star for the promotion during the New Blood era. There were several main event feuds that Raven could have competed in that would have been fresh and money making feuds for the promotion. Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, Sting and Booker T. I think Raven would’ve been able to produce top quality programs with those four men. A man can dream. Cactus Jack Another ECW guy who first got success in WCW. He had a breakout match with Sting at Beach Blast 1992 but wouldn’t rise up the card in the promotion again until he turned face in early 1993 and had a feud with Vader in 1993. During 1993 Jack and Vader had some brutal matches on television that got Cactus over huge with the crowd. They had a match at Havoc 1993 which Vader won. After that, Jack would be simply placed in the tag division where he teamed with Maxx Payne and Kevin Sullivan. Cactus would leave in September 1994 and would arrive in the WWF in March 1996. WCW wasted Jack after Havoc 1993. From everything that I’ve watched of WCW in the mid 1990s the fans were eating up Cactus and enjoyed his hardcore style. There are several feuds that Cactus could have still done in WCW. Especially a deranged Cactus feuding with a babyface Flair or Hogan. Those two feuds would have appealed to internet fans along with the general public. Instead, WCW tossed Jack to the side and let the WWF snatch up a great performer. Bret Hart Without question Bret Hart was horribly misused in WCW. Yeah, the Montreal Screw job really ruined Bret, but the booking of Hart in WCW is head scratching and makes you wonder how could a company use someone so poorly. When it came to in-ring action Hart was active from 1998-1999 in WCW. So, that is twenty four pay per views. Out of twenty four pay per views Bret wrestled on eleven pay per views. There was a stretch from November ’98 to October ’99 where Hart didn’t compete on pay per view. Of course, in May 1999 Bret’s younger brother Owen Hart passed away so he took time away from the promotion. Regardless of that from November 98 to April 1999 Bret didn’t appear on pay per view. Actually, he wasn’t even regularly used on television. Bret was a victim of Eric Bischoff just looking to sign wrestlers with a name to take out the World Wrestling Federation. Besides, working with guys like Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall who either didn’t want to work with Bret are felt insulted by him in the WWF. Bret was doomed from the start in WCW. At least he made a lot of money in WCW for the time he was there. Mike Awesome I am a big fan of what Mike Awesome did in ECW. Paul Heyman was able to book Awesome very well and the guys in ECW bumped liked crazy to make Awesome look even better. Then, he took the money and ran to WCW in April 2000. Sadly, Awesome never got the big push that people probably expected. He had a brief feud with Scott Steiner and a feud with Lance Storm where they had a few good

- After advertising Dean Ambrose vs. Daniel Bryan as this week’s SmackDown main event, WWE changed plans at last night’s tapings and did Bryan vs. Randy Orton as the main event, likely because of the way their match ended on Monday. WWE taped these matches last night in Dayton to air on Friday’s show: * Wade Barrett vs. Curtis Axel for the Intercontinental Title * Chris Jericho vs. Alberto Del Rio * Sheamus vs. Cody Rhodes * Natalya vs. AJ Lee * Christian vs. Drew McIntyre * Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton Post-SummerSlam Plans for The Shield, Rumor on the Next WWE Champion, More…

- Former WWE Diva Lena Yada and her husband, Disturbed frontman David Draiman, are expecting their first child early next year. Here she is with Tara at Tara’s Squared Circle restaurant in Chicago: - Natalya was asked by a fan on Twitter if there will be drama between the Divas on WWE’s new Total Divas show. She replied: “That’s an understatement.” - There were low attendance issues at last night’s WWE TV tapings in Dayton, Ohio. Several parts of the arena were tarped off. The camera side was full to the top of the arena but the opposite side had only three rows full. WWE reportedly tried a “buy one get one free” ticket sale over the weekend. Busty Photos of WWE’s New Divas for the E! Show, Backstage Rumor on CM Punk, More…

Brock Lesnar's return to beging a feud with CM Punk was kept a secret from most in the company. He didn't arrive to the arena for RAW until 9:30pm according to F4Wonline.com. His appearance at the end of the show to F5 CM Punk was not in the final script and did genuinely surprise most backstage.

- Kaitlyn tweeted last night about her mission to get the WWE Divas Title back: “The lower you fall, the higher you’ll fly. Day #3 on my journey to reclaim what is mine. #Payback #FightClub” - WWE will return to Las Vegas for a SmackDown taping at the Thomas & Mack Center on August 27th. - The dark main event after last night’s WWE SmackDown tapings in Dayton, Ohio saw Daniel Bryan, Randy Orton and Sheamus defeat The Shield by DQ. More Kaitlyn Slip Pics, Sexy New Layla Photos + Big Brock Lesnar Rumor

Furthering their interaction in the ring on RAW, AJ Lee and Stephanie McMahon had words for each other teasing more interaction in the future. “@WWEAJLee: Hey @StephMcMahon , ya wanna know something? You’re pretty scary. But I’m scarier. Until we meet again..." Careful what u wish 4 — Stephanie McMahon (@StephMcMahon) June 19, 2013 In the same segment on RAW, McMahon was interupted by Kaitlyn and several other Divas who came out to the stage. McMahon then yelled at them and told them to not interupt her ever again. F4Wonline.com is reporting this is based on an incident that took place backstage recently where McMahon was interupted and caused a scene.