So, how was it? Good, bad, ok, awful? Did you stuff yourself on mince pies and booze until you were sick down the toilet and bucketing out of both ends? Did you open enough crackers and hear a world full of unfunny jokes to last you a life time? Did you have sit all Christmas afternoon wearing your paper hat and wondering how on earth you’re going to explain that jumper your aunt or mum brought you to the outside world? Did you keep up to date with the latest goings on in our home that we call the squared circle? Did you miss me? Of course you did you wonderful people. When the truth is lacking from your life for so long then the rose tinted glasses begin to descend.
Through all those rubbish presents you may have gotten though there’s always one really good one which makes up for the rest. Still. That’s Christmas done. A new year has turned and with it comes another year of truth. I hope that you’re going to stick with me for the next year and beyond and digest and pick apart every offering of in ring action there is. Fingers crossed, there are going to be a few exciting new features around here soon as I have approached the new home for WWE DVD and Blu-Ray ‘Freemantle Media Enterprises’ about reviewing each DVD release before it hits the shelves and if miracles do happen then they will say yes. After all, they’re getting the most out of it should you good people take my advice as you usually do and buy in your droves the DVD’s that I review. If you haven’t voted on the TNA poll yet do so now, because I really need to know if you’re happy with just WWE.
You don’t think that so much can happen in the space of two short weeks do you? In wrestling nothing happens for months and then when you’re away for the festive period suddenly, everything begins to transpire and there’s no way there’s going to be enough time to talk about it. Let’s try anyway because I’m an honest man and I have missed you all. I loved Christmas and would have it everyday if I could, but I have really missed bringing you the cold hard facts and I would like to think that you’ve missed hearing them as well. So as we march on the Road to Wrestlemania let’s take a look back over the festive period at what we missed whilst we were parted and what transpired that will shape the year to come.
· Big E Langston has followed in the footsteps of the Shield and made the leap to the main Raw roster to much applause. Siding himself with A.J Lee and Dolph Ziggler was an inspired booking choice by WWE as Langston has the skills and presence to make it big in WWE and with Dolph as a guide then he can’t fail. Langston made his debut on Raw costing John Cena a rematch against ‘The Show-off’. However it is a little suspicious that Langston’s ring attire resembles that of a 1998 Mark Henry.
· Amazingly, after his Money in the Bank victory, meteoric rise to the top, fan support and the big win at TLC in December, WWE still won’t allow Dolph Ziggler to go over John Cena clean. For someone WWE will be relying on to carry the World Heavyweight Championship in 2013, that’s a dumb choice in anyone’s book and adds fuel to the fire of the people saying that Dolph Ziggler’s rise is purely fluke.
· The good news from camp Ziggler is that he’s finally dumped Vicki Guerrero, the woman who was the albatross around his neck. Although siding with the increasingly annoying A.J Lee may be yet another step backwards as Lee has the ability to take the heat from Dolph just as Guerrero did. Ziggler needs to be allowed to branch out on his own and by continuing to saddle him with a valet / manager, WWE are basically saying that Dolph isn’t good enough to go it alone.
· I must have been asleep for the entire Christmas period because somewhere along the line I missed the Miz and Alberto Del Rio’s face turn. Oh no, that’s right, WWE didn’t bother to inform us of said turns or hype any build up to them in the run in to TLC. Had WWE done this then maybe both men would have flourished. Now though that just both look like WWE afterthoughts and worse, they both have been labelled with the ‘We don’t know what to do with them’ syndrome that WWE suffer from on a regular occurrence. If Vince is dead set on making both men a major part of his company in the coming year then a face turn and a sensible storyline would have done much more than just another rush job.
· ‘The Nature Boy’ Ric Flair has come home, again. I know he was meant to retire at Wrestlemania 24 and then went to TNA after WWE laid out a farewell party that we’ll never see the likes of again, but hey, in a stale and dull WWE roster, Ric Flair will surely make the whole company a better place to be and for us to watch. I have no doubt that Flair will settle into the undercard and no doubt be unveiled as one of the masterminds behind the Shield’s appearance and side with Punk, but hey, it’s going to be a better product now that ‘naitch’ has come home. As long as WWE don’t allow him to talk.
· A name the attitude era fans will be familiar with is Billy Gunn. And I mean the real wrestler who could go with anyone and not the drab gay character that he became in the tag team ‘Billy and Chuck’, has signed a deal with WWE to become of the NXT trainers. In his prime Gunn was a great athlete and wrestler and can pass down what he knows to the next generation. A great signing by WWE. Let’s hope we see a New Age Outlaws reunion at Royal Rumble. With any luck, WWE will book the pair to wrestle on a regular occurrence. The tag team division needs them.
· Once again, WWE reached out to Martha Hart, the widow of legend Owen Hart, as part of a peace offering hoping that she would drop the pending court case against them. For those not in the know Martha rightly blames WWE for Owen’s death and has fought staunchly against Owen’s name and likeness being used on WWE programming. I can understand that, of course I can but WWE did so because they wanted to induct Owen in the WWE Hall of Fame. She refused. I know Martha is angry with WWE anyone would be but I can’t help feel that she’s being just a little selfish in not allowing her late husband and one of the finest wrestler’s we’ve ever seen take his rightful place in the hallowed Hall of Fame. Owen deserves a place regardless of Martha’s feelings towards the company.
· Unsurprisingly, WWE have shelved Fandango without any reason or warning. I was unlucky enough to get a glimpse of Fandango from a house show match and let’s just say the company have made a wise choice. The character was going to get nowhere in WWE.
· For some inexplicable reason, Wade Barrett defeated Kofi Kingston for the WWE Intercontinental Championship on Raw. Just another reminder of how far the Championship has fallen in WWE. Had the company been dedicated to building it back up the star enhancer it used to be then Barrett would have defeated Kingston at Royal Rumble for it. As it is, on free television, the title change meant nothing.
· Zack Ryder has taken once again to Twitter to air his frustrations over his usage in WWE in 2012. It won’t do Ryder any good of course but maybe after Twitter gave JTG (remember him?) a reprieve, Ryder though it may do something to light a fire under the lackadaisical creative team. I wonder if Ryder has asked Cena why he hasn’t put in a good word for him yet.
· If WWE thought that having Antonio Cesaro defend the WWE United States Championship against Sgt Slaughter on Raw then they must have had one too many over the festive period. Only in WWE’s little world could a fresh young blood fighting a haggard old man who was never that good and had his time decades ago, get Cesaro and the United States Championship over. Madness.
· Randy Orton, Alberto Del Rio, Dolph Ziggler. All worthy names to challenge Big Show on television for the World Heavyweight Championship. Do WWE pick any of these names? Of course they don’t because that would be far too easy. Instead WWE look down their entire roster of wrestlers just waiting for a chance and land on Ricardo Rodriguez. Alberto Del Rio’s ring announcer. To make mater worse WWE then only allow Show to defeat him via disqualification. I didn’t realise we were still in WCW.
· After making his return to WWE after a troubled few year away, Ric Flair is now taking bookings elsewhere. Currently Flair is advertised for an All Japan Pro Wrestling event. This makes me believe that Flair has either already parted ways with WWE or is only going to appear sporadically for the company.
· Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara may be on a downward spiral in WWE, but according to reports surfacing, Mysterio is also facing troubles at home. The reason that has been put forth by WWE as to why Mysterio has been taken off of house shows (a topic covered a few months back) is that the masked marvel has ongoing family issues. Though no one is saying what, I have to suspect either Mysterio and wife are expecting another child or divorce is on the horizon for the biggest little man. Both scenarios could be wrong but hey, the life of a wrestler usually ends up here.
· Christian will return to WWE from a lengthily absence caused by injury, in January and will be fit for the Royal Rumble Match later in the month. WWE would be wise to wait until the Royal Rumble itself to unveil Christian as a surprise entrance and then build a base on that. Christian would get the pop of the night if he were to be a surprise entrant and it would be a good base for a high level run in 2013. Also expect Chris Jericho to make his return either before or at the Royal Rumble.
· Not only won’t WWE allow Dolph Ziggler to go over John Cena clean, they had him fall to Sheamus via disqualification – a man who failed to prize the World Heavyweight Championship away from Big Show on three pay per views in 2012. Now Ziggler isn’t even allowed to defeat a former Heavyweight Champion. If that wasn’t enough, WWE thought they’d go one better and just seemingly for their own amusement humiliated and embarrassed the next in line for the World Heavyweight Championship by pouring supposed excrement over him, by who other than John Cena as the New Years Eve edition of Raw went off the air.
· On the subject of John Cena, not content in allowing him to have a hand in Dolph Ziggler’s humiliation, WWE decide to totally bastardise their tag team division by having him wipe any heat Team Rhodes Scholars had in a tag team match with the Miz. WWE should have learnt by now to keep Cena away from upcoming talent. He’s put no one over in ten years and sadly that will never change.
· Amazingly, the Great Khali still has a job in WWE. Can anyone explain that? Even as a Christmas miracle, that is still one step further than I’m willing to believe.
· As January turned, C.M Punk was celebrating an unprecedented 409 days as WWE Champion. A feat not accomplished since Hulk Hogan. Punk has now surpassed Randy Savage, John Cena, at least three of Ric Flair’s reigns and of course Triple H. After his WWE Championship defence against Ryback in a TLC match on the January 7th Raw, Punk can put the whole hideous Ryback feud behind him and concentrate on what will surely be his biggest feud ever. The Rock.
· For the past few months I have been telling you all that WWE need to hire some more divas if their Divas Division is ever going to recover from the bottomless pit it’s in. However when one made that suggestion I didn’t mean that rehiring Mae Young was the answer. Having Eve defend the Divas Championship against Young must have been an all time low for the company and division.
· I’m pretty sure that Randy Orton’s involvement in the Shield angle will see ‘the Viper’ turning on all who put their trust in him and side with the three new recruits. With his heel turn on the horizon, the Shield can provide a perfect cover for Orton to turn and make his rise back to the top of the mountain.
· Interestingly enough, with all the problems being ignored in WWE at the moment, the Rock’s return on January 7th Raw has had more air time dedicated to it than the United States Championship, Intercontinental Championship and Divas Championship combined. It’s little wonder no one cares about the lesser Championships in 2013.
It’s good to be back with you all, I’ve missed this. Your Fantasy Warfare article will be up at the beginning of next week – a little delayed considering the time of the year and there will be a comprehensive review of ‘WWE 13’ in the coming weeks. The good, the bad, the ugly. I would have done it sooner but I only obtained it for Christmas and am getting to grips with it. So look out for that.
I’m sure it hasn’t skipped your attention that we’re almost ready to step onto the Road to Wrestlemania. The supposed most exciting time of the year in wrestling. It’s been often copied but seldom matched. TNA have their own Road to Wrestlemania in the Slammiversary build up and Ring of Honor have their own version in the build up to their main pay per view of the year, yet WWE always seem to build up the Road to Wrestlemania with nothing but panache. And 2013 is going to be no exception.
With the Rock’s quest for what has to be his final WWE Championship reign, C.M Punk and his impending WWE Championship loss, Triple H’s looming revenge on Brock Lesnar or Brock Lesnar’s challenge to the Undertaker – at this point in time no one knows which will transpire and the Undertaker’s streak on the line again, one cannot help but salivate at the possibilities WWE has to play with as we roll through Royal Rumble and Elimination Chamber and finally arrive at Wrestlemania 29. The grandest stage of them all.
And then there’s us. You and me. We’ll be there every step of the way. With punches in the air with everything WWE does right and rolling eyes with everything that goes awry. Because we always are. No matter how much we moan about it. How much we bitch about it. How much we complain and point fingers at those responsible. The truth is that we love it all. Christmas may be the most wonderful time of the year for the rest of the world but for those who have stuck with it throughout the years, the Road to Wrestlemania is ours. Those who have just discovered this business of ours have no idea what a treat lies in store for them and for those of us old hands, who have been there in and out for the past few decades, we get to see new memories and relive days gone by.
So here we go again. A new year and a new start. And to coin a phrase from WWE; where it all begins again.
Onwards and upwards...
