Step into the Ring

Sunday 26 May 2013

THIS WEEK IN WWE - A SECOND CHANCE TO MAKE A FIRST IMPRESSION

It’s been a strange, yet uplifting week in wrestling. We have new a new United States Champion and Tag Team Champions plus both Championships are hopefully on the way back to recovery. As well as the Extreme Rules outcome which seem to be putting Triple H on a storyline downfall, we were privy to a rebirth of a brand new character from an old wrestler. Without wasting anymore of your time, let’s get down to business.

A Shield of Champions

Realistically it was the only thing WWE could have done to stop the rot setting into the United States and Tag Team Championships. I would like to think that WWE have a master plan to uplift the Shield and make the titles around their waist mean something again. I refuse to believe that the Championship were put on Ambrose, Reigns and Rollins just to make things look a little different whilst keeping everything the same. In wrestling there has to be a moment when some realisation creeps into reality and one sees everything that is wrong with the business around them. Fingers crossed, Extreme Rules was that moment for Vince McMahon.

Your Wrestling God is not yet privy to the plans WWE have for the trio but as long as it involves main event calibre feuds and matches then we can all sleep safely. Logically, Dean Ambrose will have to fight Kofi Kingston and defend the United States Championship against the master of the boom drop once more, presumably at ‘Payback’ whilst Reigns and Rollins will once again have to contend with Team Hell No before that tandem spilt and go their separate ways. After that though, WWE must aid the trio with some gripping feuds and storylines.

In many ways, The Shield’s push reminds me of something WWE would have done in 2000. One of the most glorious times before the end of the Attitude Era. Everything was simpler back then and a wrestler only had to look at the fans the right way to be a star. The Shield has approached their run in the company as one would expect a stable in the dawn of the naughties to do. They dress like they belong in the attitude era and they wrestle the same. Do I for one moment believe that we’re on the verge of another glorious time in the business? Of course not! With the PG-Rated product WWE currently put out, there is no chance that a time such as the attitude era will come around again.

So what do WWE do now with the three brightest prospects they’ve had in years? Should a Team Hell No split not be on the cards and WWE have once again wimped out of turning Kofi Kingston heel, then a six man feud could be on the cards. Team Hell No and Kofi Kingston vs The Shield may have legs and WWE could even add some attitude era stipulations, such as one or all of the Championships are at stake in a certain match. Whilst the six couldn’t do battle in 6 man tag team matches on every pay-per view for the next three or four months, they could do so at SummerSlam where Kingston would turn heel on Daniel Bryan and WWE could initiate a feud between the two of them.

Looking down the WWE roster, there is no one of any value left that the Shield could possibly face. Randy Orton, Sheamus, John Cena, even Ryback have all gone into battle with the Shield and come out on the opposite end of a victory. For WWE to fashion another trio would be desperation and something which they currently do not have the time or inclination to do which means the three will either have to forget about six man tag team action or take what they’re given. I would just like to point out that WWE, knowing the Shield were going to receive the push they got, should have prepared for this moment. WWE should have had a plan of action as to where the Shield were going in WWE. That they didn’t makes me believe no one prepared or even foresaw how popular the trio were going to be.

It’s lacklustre, I know, but one thing remains in WWE. They have finally taken the initiative and taken the steps which should have been implemented years ago to rescue two ailing Championships, which were once rich in history. The Shield were the answer to WWE growing stale and not creating new stars to take over the helm when those above them stepped down. Maybe, just maybe, Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose and the mightily impressive Roman Reigns are the answer to WWE’s Championship problem.

A Perfect Re-branding?

He was once known as Michael McGillicutty, the member of the second wave of Nexus. In real life he is the son of Mr. Perfect, Curt Henning. Now though, WWE have decided to follow in the Shield’s footsteps and rebrand Henning into Curtis Axel hoping that name will take him to the top of the card. Will it? Maybe. I am a firm believer that it doesn’t matter about the name, but the person portraying the character.

Dolph Ziggler wasn’t a great name for a wrestler but look at him now. When he debuted I lost count of the people, supposed professionals who came out and said that Ziggler may have the look and the talent but never reach the top of the card because of his name. It apparently wasn’t a headline name. Look at him now. I can’t see the egg on their face but I hope it’s scrambled. You cannot tell if someone is headed for greatness by their name. It’s rubbish. People like Vladimir Kozlov and Ted Dibiase had the right kind of name associated with a headline star but neither man managed to breach that glass ceiling. Either because they never received the chance or in the case of Kozlov, they were wholly abysmal.

What though is in store for Henning under the Curtis Axel moniker? Hopefully a push and chance that he never received under the Michael McGillicutty name. Many stated that when Henning made his WWE debut, the company should have pushed that he was the son of Mr. Perfect but you Wrestling God has to disagree. Perfect was a one off. No one could ever live up to Mr. Perfect’s name or reputation and putting that kind of pressure on his son before his career has even taken off would have been all but the end. Once the crowd saw that Henning wasn’t as good as his father, they would have soon turned on him had the association been made public. Granted, we all knew who he was from the beginning but by not shouting it from the rooftops, WWE made sure he was treated in the ring by the fans as another part of the machine and not as anything special.

WWE have now given him the push they should have provided him with and on the Raw after Extreme Rules, Axel attacked Triple H. You can’t get a much bigger debut than that. What WWE do with him now, is up to them. The correct way to carry on with Henning would be to have him face Triple H at Payback and defeat ‘The Game’ whilst defeating higher talent than himself in Raw and Smackdown in the build up. If Triple H can put Henning over like he did to Sheamus, then Henning could become a major star.

Certainly he has the desire for the business that his father displayed and with time, plus a little help from someone like Triple H, he could also develop his skills further. Certainly, he’s never going to surpass his father in the ring, we all know that. Triple H has the talent in abundance to help advance Henning’s career and only in his 40’s, Triple H could go for another 5 years and have another three WWE Championship reigns which could be used to elevate wrestlers such as Wade Barrett and Henning. It wouldn’t take much, just a willingness from the man in charge of developmental talent, to actually do his job title in the ring.

If WWE can do it with John Cena, Ryback, The Shield and Brock Lesnar in 2002 then there is no excuse as to why the same cannot be accomplished with Henning. Curt Henning’s baby boy could become what his father never managed to accomplish. And that is the name at the top of the card and the first member of the Henning Family to be known as WWE Champion.

Onwards and upwards...

Monday 20 May 2013

REVIEW CORNER: THE BEST OF IN YOUR HOUSE DVD AND BLU-RAY




      A - Excellent


      B – Good


      C – Mediocre


      D – Avoid






Release Date: 27th May 2013  

Available From: www.wwedvd.co.uk

Price:
DVD £ 19.99
Blu-ray £ 22.99
(Prices from www.wwedvd.co.uk: high street prices will vary)

Format Reviewed: DVD (3 Discs)
(Also Available on Blu-ray (2 Discs)

What It’s About:

In Your House was a vital step forward in pay-per view output for World Wrestling Entertainment in the mid 90’s, transforming their pay-per view landscape from four per year to one per month. It was also the beginning of the wrestling pay-per view calendar as we know it today. This is a collection of the supposed best matches spanning the four years In Your House existed.

Strengths:

Bret Hart vs Hakushi (In Your House 1, May 14th 1995) is both a hidden gem and one of the most underrated wrestling matches of the entire 90’s. The very first match of the inaugural In Your House event sees both men really up for the challenge of setting the pace and tone of the card, which the rest of the superstars failed to follow on the night. Hart and Hakushi are both technically brilliant and manage to string together a match which is both interesting and evokes that special In Your House feeling one got when watching as a child. The crowd are wired more than usual which adds to the encounter and Hakushi pulls of some ariel magic with aplomb, including a cracking asai moonsaults from the middle rope of the apron onto a waiting ‘Hit Man’ at ringside. The match boasts some great exchanges and builds to a sensible conclusion which embraces a spectacular double suplex over the top rope. I will add that had WWE had a competitive and interesting Cruiserweight or Light Heavyweight Division at the time then Hakushi could have become legendary. This may be the opening match of both the release and the first In Your House but it could just have easily have been the main event.

Jeff Jarrett vs Shawn Michaels (In Your House 2: The Lumberjacks, July 23rd 1995) for the WWE Intercontinental Championship is incredibly decent. The pair managed to take what they had previously done in the USWA (when WWE lent talent to the United States Wrestling Alliance) and trump it. The duo tell the story they set out to regale us with perfectly and more importantly, WWE could use this match as a starter point in how to make their current version of the Intercontinental Championship important again. The ending in which Road Dogg grabs the leg of Jeff Jarrett, mistakenly believing its Shawn Michaels even though he clearly looks at Jarrett before doing so, is dumb but it never detracts from the fast paced clash, lightening quick counters and swift reversals. Michaels sells an injury like no one else in WWE past, present or future which adds to the peril of the encounter and though Shawn Michaels looks as rough as a badgers arse and Jeff Jarrett is undisputedly one of the most undervalued wrestlers ever, this match is one of the In Your House top ten matches. On a side note, for all the years I sat through it, I never realised how catchy Jeff Jarrett’s WWE theme tune was until now.

Bret Hart vs The British Bulldog (In Your House 5: Seasons Beatings, December 17th 1995) for the WWE Championship is thrilling from bell to bell. The Bulldog cements his legend in this match as the greatest British wrestler to step into a ring. Everything he does is just superior to anyone else who could have been inserted against Hart and when it mattered most the Bulldog could be agile, it’s just perplexing as to why WWE never made him WWE Champion. Davey Boy and Bret never had a bad match and this bloody brawl carries on that tradition. You won’t find a better technical brawl on this release; both engaging and hard hitting I can’t describe this match any other way than brilliant. Hart bleeds like a pig with his throat slit which is never more evident than when you see the remnants of blood on the outside of the ring which are reminiscent of puddles and the stained canvas at the end of the match. It’s almost all blood. Anyone who saw Vince McMahon’s truly epic juice job at Survivor Series 2003 will appreciate how deep Bret cut himself here. Every counter, submission move and near fall is a wonder to behold and you won’t fail to cringe when Bulldog goes sailing into the corner only to come bouncing out, landing square on top of his head. Finally the match builds to a supreme crescendo. Before the match, Jim Cornette shows what a truly amazing promo guy he was back in the day and why his presence at ringside elevated anyone he decided to work with. I could rave about this match all day but if you’ve seen it then you’ll know how good it is and if you haven’t, then this is a necessity.

Shawn Michaels vs Diesel (In Your House 7: Good Friends, Better Enemies: April 28th 1996) in a No Holds Barred Match for the WWE Championship proves a perfect example of how to put a new Champion over when the crowd aren’t totally on his side. The match is hampered slightly by Jerry Lawler’s thoroughly dense comment of, “Is it over if Michaels gives up?” It’s almost like Lawler, who wrestled for decades still didn’t know the rules of the business which made him a star. That though is a minor gripe to an otherwise fine affray. As the new and defending champion, Shawn Michaels looks serious during the match and on his way to the ring, which is the correct way to portray a match as serious and there’s no sign of a smirk. HBK’s sell job on the sheer beat down he receives portrays Diesel as a monster who you want to run and hide from, whilst Michael’s comeback looks wholly inspirational and is timed to perfection. The Powerbomb through the announcers table will make you wince as a stray, bouncing television monitor comes down with a sizable thud on Michael’s crotch, though anyone will find it hard to pick faults with this fracas. Michaels begins to hear the boos less than one month into his first WWE Championship reign – it turns out that people don’t like a face character as much when he has the Championship – hey it’s all in the chase and Kevin Nash is on show as the great wrestler he was before WCW made him lazy and unresponsive. The ending which sees Diesel pulling Maurice Vachon’s false leg off was genuinely shocking at the time seeing as Nash did it on purpose and there was no shock in his face when the prosthetic came loose and was also an angle which WWE would rehash in 2003 when Roddy Piper did the same to one legged wrestler, Zach Gowen. On its own merit though, Shawn Michaels vs Diesel is a fine outing.

Shawn Michaels vs Mankind (In Your House 10: Mind Games, September 22nd 1996) for the WWE Championship is superlative and by far Michaels’ greatest WWE Championship defence during his first reign. The hardcore stunts mixed with the actual wrestling makes this a story which is perfectly told. Mick Foley and Shawn Michaels did so much for each others careers here that it has to rank in the top five matches of both of their careers – certainly, had Michaels failed to turn to the audience in his direction here then maybe his Championship reign would have been cut short. HBK is as diverse as ever adapting to Foley’s style of wrestling whilst sticking to his high flying offence and the willingness to sell for each other and put the other over only adds to the impact of each high spot and stunt. Mick Foley’s leg hammering into the steel steps is sickening to hear and leaves you in no doubt as to why Foley has so many knee problems in the present day and the fall from the turnbuckle through the table lying in wait on the outside of the ring is absolutely brilliant. The in ring side is crisp, whilst Mick Foley is thoroughly excellent in everything he does. The disqualification finish is a cop out as Mankind would not have been harmed from a pinfall defeat, thanks to the efforts put in here. The mat and ringside area is covered in glitter which sticks to both warriors skin and by the time the match is over, they both look like Edward Cullen from Twilight, when he steps out into the sun; although both men are better actors. Even if you’ve seen this match one, twice, three times even, then you won’t be bored or disappointed sitting through it again.

The Undertaker vs Mankind (In Your House 11: Buried Alive, October 20th 1996) in their Buried Alive Match starts slow but the whole match develops into a heated and tense encounter. The Undertaker pulls out some top notch ariel moves including a flying clothesline from the top rope to Foley in the aisle, which ends up being more a shoulder block as well as a diving clothesline from the audience to ringside, clearing the barrier. Obviously this was at a time when ‘Taker’s knees were in much better condition then they are now. The tussle does become infuriating when it goes from the grave at the top of the aisle to the ring several times, when it could just have easily been an all out brawl which traversed the arena backstage and been better in its execution had it done so, though both men do their very best to keep it engaging. The contest holds together well on the whole and the crowd pop big time when Undertaker’s hand comes shooting from the grave after he’s been buried by several wrestlers. Worth the watch.

The Undertaker vs Stone Cold Steve Austin vs Vader vs Bret Hart (In Your House 13: Final Four, February 16th 1997) for the WWE Championship is unbelievably messy in parts considering the amount of talent in the ring – including wrestlers being dragged from the ring which looks amateur and awful – but is good as an entertainment spectacle. It doesn’t provide the thrilling action one would expect from all four men, whilst the impression which comes out of it is that all four agreed the match was a dumb choice of main event –when it could have been a tournament style contest in the vain of Vengeance 2001, which granted, hadn’t yet transpired but wouldn’t have taken a whole lot of though to conjure up – and couldn’t find the will to muster a true effort. Vader is hindered by a nasty hardway cut to his eye which pours of blood and whilst the whole things drags on and on and on with no real structure to it except ‘Get through it anyway you can’, many will find this eminently watchable.

The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart, Jim Neidhart, Owen Hart, British Bulldog and Brian Pillman) vs Stone Cold Steve Austin, Ken Shamrock, Goldust and The Legion of Doom (In Your House 16: Canadian Stampede, July 6th 1997) was a super heated brawl which took place in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Despite Vince McMahon’s painful commentary which at one point sees him refer to Marlena as a ‘super corner woman’ instead of a manager or valet which is what they’re called in wrestling, the match is faultless. To witness the role reversal of so many wrestlers for one night only is fascinating and Stone Cold Steve Austin has to be commended for embracing the change and wrestling as a heel. The reaction the Hart Foundation receive on their way to the ring from their hometown crowd is almost deafening and you Wrestling God hasn’t heard an ovation for the British Bulldog like the one he gets here since SummerSlam 1992. That the Foundation enters to their own personal, retro entrance music instead of the collective Hart Foundation (Bret Hart) theme tune is a great touch and its sets the tone for the rest of the match. In the ring, all ten men rise to the occasion (even Goldust puts on a show) thanks to the time allocated to the ten man tag team match all ten get the chance to do something meaningful and if WWE allowed their current crop of undercard talent the exposure these ten were given to shine, we may see more headline stars emerging. The contest is faced paced, technically sound on every level and the gusto put forth by the attending audience is impressive and never relents throughout the close to forty minute time frame. More than anything else, the match goes a long way to advance the Austin vs Owen Hart feud which is rare for a main event match to advance a mid card feud but all credit to WWE for that. The Hart Family celebration at the conclusion is a treat to see, the ring is bombarded by Hart’s and Austin’s refusal to quit, attacking the Hart’s after the match is amusing. Though Austin being escorted up the aisle in handcuffs, after a wrestling match is ridiculous. Plenty of other people have attacked their opponents after a match and not been carted off in handcuffs, this is wrestling for crying out loud. Like other matches on this release, if you’ve seen this match one or more then its more than worth sitting through it again if not for anything else than its a master class in ring psychology and storytelling.

The Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels (Ground Zero: In Your House, September 7th 1997) seamlessly sets up the pairs Hell in a Cell triumph the next month at In Your House: Bad Blood, which isn’t on this release when it should be. Shawn Michaels takes a pure pasting at the hands of the Undertaker, portraying the cowardly champion to a tee and selling like a professional in the process. Whilst the fight – and that’s what it is, there’s very little wrestling involved – begins on the ramp and sees Michaels being thrown around the IYH set, it does utilise every referee bump, of which there are many, to full effect wringing every last drop of emotion out of the fans. Both men handle the brawl with proficiency and the dive by the Undertaker from the ring to the waiting crowd outside is nothing short of excellent. There is a heavy argument that WWE should have omitted this match and put the Hell in a Cell clash in its place. Even though the Cell clash has been documented on several other releases and some would say it doesn’t need to be seen again, on a release titled ‘The Best of In Your House’ it should have been included as its one of the best Hell in a Cell matches in history.

Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Undertaker vs Kane and Mankind (Fully Loaded: In Your House, July 26th 1998) for the WWE Tag Team Championships isn’t the greatest tag team match in history but it isn’t the worst. Mankind and Kane play a secondary role to the Undertaker and Austin’s feud which this match exists purely to set up, though it fails to stop the tandem from trying their best. The match suffers when Kane is in the ring; he was still super stiff at this point and picks up tremendously when he’s stationary on the apron, but then how many matches with Kane in can we say that about? Yes, most of them. The crowd pop big time for the Austin hot tag but you get the feeling this match should have been a fatal four way for the WWE Championship, to allow all four to air their grievances before SummerSlam – we all knew Kane and Mankind were headed for a split on the summer pay-per view. Jerry Lawler unhelpfully telegraphs the ending for us when he spouts that winning the Tag Team Championships would be disastrous for the Undertaker vs Austin build up for their SummerSlam 1998 clash. Of course WWE were going to give Austin and Taker the doubles straps to add to the escalating story and feud. The match won’t blow you away but it’ll rarely disappoint either. This is one of those rare matches which could have been left off of the release and wouldn’t have affected the quality of it but neither adds to the appeal by being included.

The Rock vs Mankind (St Valentines Day Massacre: In Your House, February 14th 1999) in a Last Man Standing Match for the WWE Championship is by far inferior to their stunning ‘I Quit’ Match the previous month at Royal Rumble 1999, yet remains watchable as it builds into a heated scrap with an unsatisfactory ending on which the crowd voice their opinion for all to hear. As the final match on the main release, you will have grown tired of yet another Mick Foley match, this is the forth in a row on the final disc and the sixth across the whole title, especially since WWE have only just released ‘For All Mankind: The Life and Career of Mick Foley’. WWE could have and should have excluded at least three Foley matches from this release in order to incorporate other less known bouts which were much better.

Todd Pettengill is the host of the release. It’s good to see Todd again as he was a huge part of your Wrestling God’s childhood growing up watching the business and he looks good. In fact he looks better than he did all those years ago. Pettengill is an adequate host who can effectively talk about the earlier matches, at least, with some initiative.

Weaknesses:

Dean Douglas vs Razor Ramon (In Your House 4: Great White North, October 22nd 1995) for the WWE Intercontinental Championship isn’t very good at all. After Shawn Michaels vacates the Intercontinental Championship due to an attack outside a bar in which he suffered injuries, the crowd weren’t in the mood to see anyone else compete for the gold. There are long periods throughout this where both Douglas and Razor are just going through the motions in order to either reach the next spot or the end of the match. The result is that neither do anything of note and it’s easy to see why Shane Douglas hates WWE so much for what they did to him. A star in ECW, Douglas could have been a headliner in WWE had Vince McMahon not wanted to make a spectacle of any ECW star who walked through door and hadn’t become so infatuated with cartoon characters who ultimately would allow WCW to walk in and take their ratings. To make matters worse, the conclusion of the match makes Vince McMahon look like a real moron; with Douglas’ foot clearly under the bottom rope when Razor makes the cover, McMahon refutes the claim that Douglas’ shoulders should never have been counted to the mat.

Henry Godwin vs Hunter Hearst Helmsley (In Your House 5: Seasons Beatings, December 17th 1995) in the ridiculous Hog Pen Match is uninteresting and a dumb concept. The match is dull and Henry Godwin was always a ridiculous idea for a character. Godwin existed solely to throw buckets of pig slop over opponents and get a reaction from the audience. The premise of the match, to throw your opponent into the Hog Pen which is full if pig shit doesn’t belong on a wrestling show and is the sort of thing which I would expect the old TNA to come up with. It’s sad, because Triple H was so much better than this even if he didn’t always show it. This match is a horrible piece of work which should never have been allowed past the vetting process. I can only imagine that it has been included to get Triple H on the release more than once.

Stone Cold Steve Austin vs Hunter Hearst Helmsley (In Your House 11: Buried Alive, October 20th 1996) plays out purely by the numbers. For two men beginning to break out of the lower card and into the mid card this should have been a gripping encounter which gave Vince McMahon no doubt other than to elevate them both. That did not transpire. The action is sluggish and both seem uninterested in what they’re doing. The whole focus of the match is on Jim Ross’ fleeting heel turn on commentary and that his headphones don’t work. Laughably, Vince McMahon has the cheek to call the match ‘elite’ when what WWE should have done when this came up for review is press the button marked ‘delete’. By the time this match warms up, it’s way too late. The highlight and the biggest reaction is when Mr. Perfect makes his way to ringside to whisky away Hunter’s valet.

Stone Cold Steve Austin, Cactus Jack, Chainsaw Charlie and Owen Hart vs Triple H, The New Age Outlaws and Savio Vega (No Way Out of Texas: In Your House, February 15th 1998) is a real mess. The match, featuring all its talent with the exception of Savio Vega had the potential to be one of the best In Your House matches ever. Sadly, the hype isn’t lived up to. The first ten minutes are sheer hardcore which the wrestlers stumble through blindly without a care before it gets back into the ring and concentrates on the wrestling side which once again is a shambles to behold. Chainsaw Charlie, aka Terry Funk, has hardly any mobility in his degenerating knees that he should have been kept out of this match and retired years earlier. Savio Vega adds nothing of value to the match. The New Age Outlaws and Mick Foley’s contributions are barely worth noting, except for a barbed wire stunt they may as well not have turned up. Only Triple H, Owen Hart and Steve Austin do anything resembling wrestling and their efforts to save the match are countered by everything else that goes on. The bout was said to have been unsanctioned by WWE, yet strangely contains a sanctioned WWE referee who tries to rule the match as a sanctioned tag team affair – work that one out; did no one think to ask who was giving the referee instructions had this been truly unsanctioned? Austin throwing a bin across the ring which hits Billy Gunn in the face is one of the only good looking things in the whole thing. Many people have said this match is one of the best; they’re either misguided or wrong because it’s a shambles.

Ken Shamrock vs Mankind (Judgment Day: In Your House, October 18th 1998) is a total bore. In fact it’s so uneventful that you can watch it on fast forward and not miss anything. Shamrock takes to using endless submission holds in what is billed as a No Holds Barred Match and this yet another Mick Foley bout on a release which follows swiftly on from his biography DVD and Blu-ray. The ending is more baffling than why this match was included, when Foley applies the Mandible Claw to himself in order to make himself pass out so as to not tap out to Shamrock’s ankle lock. When Howard Finkel announces the winner, for some reason he states that Ken Shamrock won because of the Mandible Claw (yes he actually says that). The announcement was done in order to allow Shamrock to snap. How many other matches have you ever heard announced the ending of naming the move which the wrestler won by. I’ve seldom heard “Your winner via the Rock Bottom; the Rock!” You could do worse than skipping this all together.

There is no indication as to how the matches were chosen as ‘The Best of’ meaning that the viewer is left with the impression that WWE have chosen the matches they believe should be on the release and not what the fans wanted to see. Also by doing this, WWE give the impression that they either don’t know what a good match is or have just included some of the additions to get certain wrestlers on the release. Had WWE put it to a vote on WWE.Com then the release may have had some authenticity as ‘The Best of’.

In a link between matches, Todd Pettengill says Diesel became WWE Champion shortly after his arrival in World Wrestling Entertainment. Now, either WWE’s definition of ‘shortly after’ is different to everyone else’s or they’re trying to rewrite history again. Diesel didn’t become WWE Champion for at least one year and two months after his WWE debut.

WWE could have included highlights or a highlight package of every In Your House event between each match and in the lead up to the match from a certain event, with dates and brief highlights of every match from every card. This would have given the whole release a better chronological order. Complied with Pettengill regaling us with stories of the more important events from the cards, it could have been a very detailed release.

There’s only back story provided to the most important matches on the release. The rest are thrown on without any explanation as to the feud or build-up. The casual wrestling fan may find themselves confused to the story either being told in the ring or what the commentators are talking about if they don’t already know the history which led up to whatever match it is they are watching. WWE should have gone to the effort of producing a short video package on each match and the lead up to it.

British Bulldog vs Diesel (In Your House 4: Great White North); Diesel vs Owen Hart (In Your House 5); Owen Hart vs Shawn Michaels (In Your House 6: Rage in the Cage); Diesel vs Bret Hart: Cage Match (In Your House 6: Rage in the Cage); Vader vs Razor Ramon (In Your House: Good Friends, Better Enemies); Stone Cold Steve Austin vs Savio Vega: Caribbean Strap Match (In Your House 8: Beware of Dog); Goldust vs Marc Mero (In Your House 11: Buried Alive); Stone Cold Steve Austin vs The Undertaker (In Your House 15: A Cold Day in Hell); The Great Sasuke vs Taka Michinoku (In Your House 16: Canadian Stampede); Shawn Michaels vs The Undertaker: Hell in a Cell (Bad Blood: In Your House); The Rock vs Stone Cold Steve Austin (D-Generation X: In Your House); Vader, Owen Hart and British Bulldog vs Shawn Michaels, Ahmed Johnson and Psycho Sid (In Your House 9: International Incident); Stone Cold Steve Austin vs Dude Love (Unforgiven: In Your House); Stone Cold Steve Austin vs The Rock (Backlash: In Your House) are all left out despite them all being superior to some of the additions on the release.

Blu-ray Exclusive Extras:

Todd Pettengill Outtakes
In Your House Sweepstakes Winner

In Your House: Revenge of the ‘Taker – 20th April 1997
Number 1 Contenders Match
Bret Hart vs Stone Cold Steve Austin

In Your House: D-Generation X – 7th December 1997
Match to Crown the First WWE Light Heavyweight Champion
Taka Michinoku vs Brian Christopher

In Your House: D-Generation X – 7th December 1997
WWE Championship Match
Shawn Michaels vs Ken Shamrock

In Your House: Fully Loaded – 26th July 1998
D-Lo Brown vs X-Pac

Conclusion:

Once again WWE have produced yet another release entitled ‘The Best of’, when it’s clear that some of the content on it is far from the top tier of what occurred. With matches added to the line up purely to get wrestlers such as Triple H on the release, it ignoring other matches which were twice as good. By doing this, WWE has made sure this release once again isn’t the ‘Best of In Your House’. That’s not to say it’s a bad release because it isn’t, even though it once again focuses too much on the headline names when it could have highlighted some of the mid and lower card talent who had some cracking matches at In Your House events.

In reality, there is no reason for this to exist. It doesn’t come on any huge anniversary or include anything that anyone who owns every In Your House event on DVD from WWE’s previous distributor Silvervision, which your Wrestling God does, doesn’t already have in their collection. When you strip away the packaging and the matches this is a gratuitous ploy to make more money from WWE. Had the company waited two more years until the 20th Anniversary of In Your House it could have produced an in depth documentary on the event which changed WWE’s pay-per view landscape forever, complete with interviews from those who competed on the shows and what a special feeling it gave you every month – which this release fails to convey and included the making of the In Your House video game which was inspired by the event of the same name. If you’re going to produce a release like this then you might as well go the whole hog.

Mick Foley pops up regularly on this release with six of the matches featuring the man of many faces and the final disc (DVD Disc 3 / Blu-ray Disc 2) of the release featuring four of Foley’s matches in a row. In fact there are only two matches on the final disc which don’t feature Foley. This is an oversight by WWE seeing that Mick has just had his own release. Most of his matches here are of no consequence and could have been omitted without affecting the quality of the release in favour of other lost gems.

The second disc (Blu-ray disc 1, beginning with the 10 Man Tag Team Match at Canadian Stampede) is by far the standout of the whole thing boasting some of the best action across the whole release. Disc 1 (Blu-ray disc 1 – the first hour and a half ) contains some really great footage, notably Bret Hart vs The British Bulldog whilst disc 3 (Blu-ray disc 2) is almost a waste of time with the exception of the first two matches on said disc.

It’s disappointing, because this could have been a must have release had it featured some of the matches which have been left out and a documentary charting the rise of WWE’s pay-per view output. As it is, we’re left with a half-hearted effort which does present some must see footage but ultimately if you own all the events in the first place there is literally no reason to purchase this box set. Maybe next time, WWE need to reconsider their titles and when thinking of labelling something ‘The Best of’ will first look at what they have decided to include and then what they have left out, and change their minds.

Rating: B

Next Time in Review Corner: WrestleMania 29 DVD and Blu-ray

Onwards and upwards...



Thursday 16 May 2013

EXTREME RULES 2013 - TIME TO TRY SOMETHING NEW


As the wrestling world reels from the hangover of WrestleMania 29 and what happened in the weeks following, WWE’s first event of the pay-per view year (WrestleMania is considered as the end of the pay-per view year) and the first since the big event has a lot to love up to if WWE is going to come through the period unscathed.

A strong card with ample opportunity to prove that it has not lost it’s magic with the youth stars. As we look forward to Extreme Rules 2013 and concentrate on the main events and the Steel Cage Match to settle a score, we cannot forget about what else results elsewhere on the card could mean come May 19th. Ladies and Gentlemen, this is Extreme Rules 2013.

WWE Championship Match
Last Man Standing Match
(c) John Cena vs Ryback

Hands up who’s looking forward to this match. Hands up who thinks this will be the match of the night and all around entertainment spectacle. No one? Okay, well maybe we’ll come back to that later.

It’s bad enough that John Cena is WWE Champion again without giving him an opponent who can’t carry a case let alone another wrestler. Cena needed someone who could make him look a star, especially with the recent injury he suffered. The Undertaker would have been a perfect choice although there are rumblings in WWE that Cena and Undertaker will clash at WrestleMania 30. For everyone’s sakes I hope that rumour is bull. That’s a year away though and right now we’re faced with what could possibly be the worst match of the entire decade, and we’re only three years into it.

As challenger, Ryback is the most limited man in WWE today. He has no personality and even less acumen in the ring. Over the past few months he’s relied on wrestlers far superior to himself to get him through encounters and his singles matches have been the worst on television in many years, next to Cena’s that is. C.M Punk struggled to get anything out of Ryback and Mark Henry never stood a chance of making their match at WrestleMania 29 seeing as the pair were hopeless when it came to ring psychology. Ryback though should have picked up something resembling skill by now. He was a former NXT rookie under the name Skip Sheffield and stood in the wings and watched whilst Wade Barrett led Nexus to some semblance of success in WWE before Cena ruined them completely. It’s inconceivable that Ryback, in 2013, is still as bad as he is in singles action.

Can Ryback be blamed for it all? No. WWE have to stand up and take some of the credit for this. Their treatment of the character from his debut last year was shocking. If there was ever a time for learning from history, then Ryback was it. Patenting him after Goldberg was a mistake. Booking Ryback in short matches against irrelevant opponents was only ever going to hinder his journey in WWE. How could he have learnt to work a big match with high spots and crowd baiting moments when all he was booked to do was run through jobbers in three minutes or less? It was a problem that WCW encountered with Goldberg and when Bill was put in headline matches which needed to last twenty minutes or more, he was regularly blown up after ten and ran out of moves to execute. WWE saw this happen at the time and they decided to do the exact same thing. How dumb is that?

The smart money would have been to recognise Ryback’s limitations and keep his character back a year to iron out the flaws. Can you imagine what another year in development would have done for Ryback as a character? He would have been more savvy in everything he does and able to execute moves with accuracy and precision. Ryback certainly wouldn’t have blown up after ten minutes of hard graft and he would have been able to sell weakness whilst getting the crowd on his side and retaining his monster aura. The way it looks now is that WWE believe a monster like Ryback showing weakness will hurt his character. That’s simply not true. Ryback would have been a lot more relatable had he been able to convey peril to onlookers. Something his opponent at Extreme Rules has failed to do in eleven years.

So what do Ryback’s limitations mean for this Last Man Standing Match, as if we didn’t know already? Being a Last Man Standing Match WWE have given the pair every chance of succeeding in their quest to make something of this match. Something other than amble around like two upstarts who haven’t had any training trying to look like the big men in the company. With Ryback being a limited as he is though, I can’t help but this match will resemble something like John Cena vs Kane at Elimination chamber and Royal Rumble 2012. A match which you know is going to be horrendous but like a car crash, you have to watch just to say you witnessed it.

I can’t fault the way WWE have built this match up, turning Ryback heel the night after WrestleMania 29 on April 8th Raw and then standing by and watching Cena being dismantled by the Shield on April 15th Raw. Certainly, it’s a reasonable story that Cena never helped Ryback against the Shield and now he wants revenge, but it is wasted on the pair. This could have been dynamite for two wrestlers with the ability to make something of the rules and draw emotion from the WWE Universe. It’s also something WWE could have done on Ryback’s debut. Rather than having him dismantle jobbers like they weren’t there, which they may as well not have been, Ryback would have been a lot more interesting had he marched to the ring in 2012 on his debut and destroyed John Cena or another headline talent. Everyone saw how effective this method was with the re-introduction of Brock Lesnar last year. It would have announced Ryback to the world and possible, by throwing him in the deep end, conditioned him a lot faster to WWE’s marathon matches.

That though, as we know, didn’t happen. I doubt I am the only one who shudders at the thought of a Ryback WWE Championship reign. Can you imagine someone who is either new to wrestling or coming back after several years away, because they thought WWE wasn’t value for money anymore, turning on the television and seeing Ryback representing the company as WWE Champion? John Cena is bad enough, but at least he’s popular with a percentage with the fans and has personality. Ryback makes a plank of wood look interesting. In fact, Ryback makes Robert Pattinson seem like an Oscar winning actor and that isn’t a feat which just anyone can pull off. Quite how Ryback has gotten this far without being demoted to the mid card or future endeavoured is beyond me, because had this been any other wrestler, with any other physique then their stint in the headline scene would have been over before it got started. The only reason WWE are pushing the lifeless lump is because he has an Ultimate Warrior type physique, Vince McMahon still believes that he’s the man who could spearhead the company and they’ve invested so much money into the character that it would be such a waste of resources should they shelve it or demote it.

Granted, Ryback wasn’t helped by the premature ending of his winning streak, but that’s what you get when you book him in a match with the current champion who is headed for bigger things and the match can only be won by pinfall or submission. I’m of course talking about the Hell in a Cell clash with C.M Punk which caused Ryback his first loss. Had WWE been sharper then they could have made this match for one month later and had Punk retain the gold but had Ryback win via count out or disqualification. A bum ending for a Championship match I know, but it would have preserved Ryback’s streak and made him a lot more menacing. But WWE booked themselves into a corner which they couldn’t get out of and now they’re seeing the damage that has done to their product.

John Cena is WWE Champion again (insert sarcastic tone here) hoorah, hoorah, hoorah. I will concede that it has been nearly 2 years since Cena has been Champion and his recent victory over the Rock at WrestleMania 29 may have been a little more tolerable had Cena actually upped his game since he last captured the WWE Championship – his reign going into SummerSlam 2012 doesn’t count as C.M Punk is recognized as WWE Champion for that period. But John hasn’t and what makes it worse is that the dolt has come out on television and several times and alienated everyone watching by stating that he has no intention of changing the way he wrestles. So what Cena is basically saying is that no matter how bad he is, we have to pay our money to see a man who is unwilling to get better in order to make our enjoyment the best it can be. I’m glad to see that John Cena is such a people person.

Whilst the Rock did the right thing at WrestleMania 29, it’s obvious that not everyone was happy with the result. The kids and slappers would have rejoiced that finally their warrior was back on top of the mountain and so on but the wrestling world’s hoped died a little more when Cena covered Rock on April 7th. Basically, the truth is that John Cena has nothing more to offer WWE either as Champion or as a face. We’re now about to see a little bit of history repeated with the Ryback feud and beyond. Because John Cena’s list of opponents who won’t be harmed by feuding with him is getting shorter by the day and when WWE have exhausted that option then we’re left with repeats of old feuds which we really don’t want to see again.

WWE would be better served in telling Jon Cena to go home for 6 months and rest up whilst they made a new star in his absence. If Cena wasn’t on the programme then WWE would be forced to make a new star to fill the spot. It’s laziness that they haven’t already and have relied on Cena to keep going even when its clear there’s nothing more for him to do. Should Cena go away fro 6 months then he could come back to WWE as a heel and turn on the man who has filled his spot. Cena could then turn on the audience who would have switched their alliance from him to his successor and complete his heel turn. In that 6 months, Cena doesn’t have to remain dormant, he could actually put in the effort and go back to wrestling school to learn how to wrestle and sell moves properly. I’m sure both he and the WWE would benefit greatly from that. Yes, WWE would lose money whilst he’s gone but you can’t substitute money for the quality of your long term future.

John Cena vs Ryback at Extreme Rules 2013 may not be the spectacle that we hope it is, but with Last Man Standing Rules in effect, maybe the two can work out a match which isn’t all bad and maybe come up with a novel ending which necessitates fans demand more of. Is that a pig that has just flown past my window?

Winners Prediction: John Cena

I Quit Match
Jack Swagger vs Alberto Del Rio

Originally a triple threat ladder match for the World Heavyweight Championship, WWE had to alter plans when Dolph Ziggler was sidelined with a nasty concussion. We discussed in our last blog the options WWE could have taken to make the World Heavyweight Championship scene more interesting stemming from Dolph Ziggler’s injury but WWE has chosen not to put the effort in and taken any of those options available to them and instead book this match under ‘I Quit’ rules. Lazy booking? Yes. But if the duo’s WrestleMania 29 match is anything to go by then this should be a stunt filled brawl which takes match of the night honours. That’s presuming WWE allow this match ample time to get over, which means more than the ten or so minutes they allocated it at WrestleMania 29. Just imagine what these two can do with twenty plus minutes and a whole host of distractions at their disposal.

Alberto Del Rio has been in WWE’s main event plans since January now but hasn’t produced the goods, so the faux Mexican millionaire is where we shall start.

When WWE turned Alberto Del Rio face and had him defeat Big Show in a Last Man Standing Match on the first Smackdown of the year, they had to have known that if Del Rio’s new character failed to take off then they would be left in a dead end with Alberto. As a heel Del Rio constantly came up short which heels don’t usually do. In the face vs heel struggle, the heel should always come out on top in television clashes and get the better of the face in order for the face to emerge triumphant over the man who has plighted his life for months, on pay-per view. It’s the age old ploy which makes sure the fans can buy into the underdog face and possibly make a star out of the wrestler in the heel role.

Alberto Del Rio had to have known this. The guy wrestled in Mexico for years before coming to WWE. He’s sound in the ring and his knowledge of wrestling psychology is better than most in WWE today. Del Rio has proven he knows how to work an effective face vs heel feud whilst wringing the most out of a crowd. So one questions remains. Why has Del Rio failed to do so since his turn at the end of 2012? With or without the World Heavyweight Championship, Alberto Del Rio may look like he’s portraying a face on television but one only has to look at his matches to know that still, five months after his face turn, the Mexican is still battling as a heel.

Everything Del Rio does in the ring screams, son of bitch. His mannerisms and his wrestling style are all built for a heel wrestler. The manner in which he defeated Big Show in their dull Last Man Standing Match at Royal Rumble was how a heel would have won the match. His stature against Show at Extreme Rules was more suited to some like Brock Lesnar and his WrestleMania 29 match with Jack Swagger could have had the roles reversed for someone who wasn’t au fait with the wrestling business. In short, Alberto Del Rio either cannot or has not bothered to change anything about the way he wrestles, to match his new character.

Would it really have killed Del Rio to sit down for twenty minutes and watch a Shawn Michaels or Bret Hart match? Would it have hurt him that much to incorporate how well Hart and Michaels sold their opponents offence into his routine to make us feel for him every time he’s in peril? Because at the moment, every time Del Rio is in trouble there is no feeling there whatsoever. You believe that Del Rio will escape the Patriot Lock or whatever other move he’s trapped in, in the way you believe a heel will escape. There’s nothing about Alberto Del Rio that even seems like a face and that is becoming a huge problem for WWE.

As a heel in 2012, Del Rio sank so mercilessly when WWE buried him at the hands of every and any face at every chance they got, a face turn was the only thing that could have possibly saved him from obscurity. How Del Rio could fail this time is beyond me. It can’t have failed to escape his attention that no one cared about him anymore. When one relaises that no one cares then its time to do something different and daring. And that’s exactly what Del Rio should have done. When WWE suggested a face turn, Del Rio should have leapt forth with ideas and shown WWE he was committed. Instead, what Del Rio did was smile and wrestle the same. That simply isn’t good enough.

Alberto Del Rio’s inclusion in this match is warranted, seeing as he is the former Champion. Maybe Extreme Rules will be the night when Alberto Del Rio gets his act together and look like the face that he needs to be to survive in WWE. Should Del Rio be able to portray the underdog who everyone wants to see win, which we don’t, then he may have a chance if WWE books him in a singles feud with Dolph Ziggler over the World Heavyweight Championship. WWE need to book this match so Del Rio is the underdog. The perfect situation would be something like, Swagger and Ziggler team up on Del Rio before Alberto valiantly fights off both men’s advances before climbing the ladder. When he has fingertips on the World Heavyweight Championship, Ziggler snatches victory away from Del Rio hitting a spectacular Zig Zag from the top of the ladder, allowing Dolph to grab the Championship.

That would be the perfect ending. Ziggler would have retained the Championship and Del Rio would be the scorned loser who fought with everything he had but came up short. The other avenue WWE could go down to elicit sympathy for Del Rio is having Ricardo Rodriguez turn heel on him, citing everything Del Rio put him through last year as his turn. Losing the Championship and his announcer could make us feel for Del Rio and take his side. Whatever WWE decide to do they need to do it quickly because I doubt Del Rio can suffer anymore setbacks without his head dipping below the surface.

Jack Swagger had it all and then threw it all away when he decided to load his car with marijuana and get behind the wheel, mindless pissed. Did he really think that impaired, the police wouldn’t pull him over and that when news broke on WWE’s shores, Vince McMahon wasn’t going to do anything about it. There is a possibility that had Swagger not been so reckless then he would have defeated Alberto Del Rio at WrestleMania 29 and been World Heavyweight Champion going into Extreme Rules.

However, when we take a look at Jack Swagger and Zeb Coulter’s performance in the run up to WrestleMania 29 maybe the wrestling world wasn’t yet ready for a racist champion on a PG rated product. The immigrant bashing which grew tired and old by the second week, instead of yielding to what the public wanted, namely pure wrestling and a feud which made sense and would set their WrestleMania 29 match on fire, WWE carried on and on and on until we lost all interest, which is why Dolph Ziggler was originally added to the line up in a bid to extend the feud. Now though, Swagger and Del Rio are going to have to go it alone and hope the fans are more invested in their Extreme Rules encounter than they were in their WrestleMania 29 clash.

Personally, I believe that Jack Swagger has a bright future in WWE, when he gets done with the court case in June and serves his WWE sentence which will be harsher than any prison sentence or court hearing he’ll ever go to, Swagger should be kept in the headline scene on Smackdown. Let’s face it, he’s got the talent and WWE have no one else to replace him with. There has to be a suspension coming somewhere along the line. For WWE to allow Jack to get away with the bust in February would send a message to every other WWE superstar in the locker room that it’s okay to get busted for whatever, as long as you’re in the ring spot on the card and favoured by the powers at be in Titan Towers. The last thing WWE need now, in the post WrestleMania season is for a rebellion no matter how small or big and some of its bigger stars or those it has plans for heading into the rest of 2013, to go off the rails because they haven’t enforced their own law.

Jack Swagger has a bright future, we all know that and after his suspension or whatever punishment WWE put him through is served, then his re-build needs to be swift and heavy. If WWE aren’t going to reinsert him into the main event scene straight away, and they realistically can’t, then a feud with someone like Randy Orton could make Swagger’s star shine bright again. If Swagger is put over as a danger and strong threat in the feud and the wrestler picked to elevate him sells like a trooper and makes it look like he can’t defeat a reinvigorated Swagger, then Jack could be World Heavyweight Champion again by SummerSlam. But that is only if WWE do it right and do not screw it up. The last thing WWE need to do for Swagger is either take Coulter away from his character or change the managerial role that Zeb currently occupies. The immigrant rants aren’t doing Jack any favours whatsoever. They just make him look like a racist who wants America to be white and pearly. Pushing Swagger as a monster heel who runs through everyone in his path with destructive moves and injuring the top level talent with his Patriot Lock, in the vein of Kurt Angle, would do him no end of wonders.

One last point on Jack Swagger. It’s at times like these, when WWE clearly have no ideas for its main event talent and we, the paying audience have so many, that the company should open up ideas on WWE.Com for us to send in the ideas we have for its talent. It’s something you’re Wrestling God has said before and no doubt will say again. It’s something which would benefit WWE greatly and increase their already sizable revenue. It would mean that us, the people who make that revenue possible are paying to see feuds and ideas that we put forth and that we want to see instead of the re-hashed storylines with partially different outcomes and wrestlers. Hey, it’s just a thought.

It’s a loss to the show and to the match that Dolph Ziggler is injured, not to mention bum timing. But these things happen in WWE. Injuries are a part of the fabric, especially when WWE make a wrestler work as frequently as Dolph Ziggler had in the run up to WrestleMania and the aftermath. Had WWE booked Ziggler strong in the run in to Mania then there is possibility he wouldn’t have to work as hard as he did to get over and therefore the injury may have been avoidable. That though is a theory that we can now never put to the test.

So where does that leave the outcome? In reality, there is only one winner and that will be Alberto Del Rio. Look at it from Vince McMahon’s standpoint. An I Quit match would irreparably damage Alberto Del Rio should he openly quit live on air. Del Rio has had a hard enough time getting his face character over as it is without having to carry the burden of quitting when he needs the victory most. The next point is that WWE won’t book a heel vs heel feud for the World Heavyweight Championship and unless Swagger or Ziggler turns face which neither is pencilled in to do then that is the outcome should Jack Swagger win at Extreme Rules. As the man who is still to get a straight rematch for the World Heavyweight Champion, Alberto Del Rio has to win this match because he’s scheduled to go on a run with Ziggler that will now presumable start at Payback next month.

Both Jack Swagger and Alberto Del Rio are in better position than they were this time two years ago and indeed last year. At Extreme Rules 2011 Jack Swagger was pitted in a Country Whipping Match with Michael Cole against Jerry Lawler and Jim Ross. He looked in considerably better shape and a lot more alert two years ago than he does now, you only have to grab yourself a copy of Extreme Rules 2011 to see that. However, now, he’s in the World Heavyweight Championship picture which is a step up, even if his punishment is yet to be served. Alberto Del Rio two years ago competing in a ladder match against Christian for the World Heavyweight Championship and about to enter a unfulfilling feud with Sheamus which would damage his image greatly.

Expectations are high for this match and maybe Dolph Ziggler’s injury is a blessing in disguise for both men. One on one, technically, they’re brilliant. But with the added stipulation and the anything goes ruling, surely Alberto Del Rio and Jack Swagger haven’t been given a better chance to shine since their pushes than this. Should they both fail to capture the moment then they only have themselves to blame.

Winners Prediction: Alberto Del Rio

Steel Cage Match
Triple H vs Brock Lesnar

I really believed that WWE had done with this feud at WrestleMania 29. It seemed the perfect ending to such a heated feud. After Brock Lesnar broke Triple H and Shawn Michaels’ arm at SummerSlam and in the run up to SummerSlam it seemed like WrestleMania 29 would be the best possible ending for the two to thrash out their feelings and advance Brock Lesnar onto another feud. A feud which many thought would be another match with John Cena for the WWE Championship.

It’s then baffling that after the reception the pair got at WrestleMania 29, WWE would book them to fight again at Extreme Rules, especially in singles action. The reception was lukewarm to say the least at ‘Mania, in fact it got so bad that one believed the fans didn’t want to see Triple H and Lesnar go at it again, on the night or after the event. WWE must have heard the reaction they got, even though the match was really good and they pulled out all the stops in order to make the match as engaging as it could be. I’ve yet to hear a reasonable explanation as to why the crowd were so quiet on April 7th, maybe because they were worn out after Undertaker vs Punk or maybe because they just didn’t want to see another match full of hardcore action and one which had an almost cemented ending. Triple H was always going to win.

There were other options for this match, if WWE wanted both men on the Extreme Rules card. WWE could have booked a Fatal Four Way Steel Cage Match for the WWE Championship, pitting Brock Lesnar vs John Cena vs Triple H vs Ryback. That would have been an awesome main event which would have covered both Ryback and John Cena’s flaws as well as prolonging the Cena and Ryback feud. Yes, they would have had to go one on one at some point, but coming out of WrestleMania 29, Extreme Rules needed a strong main event and that would have been it. John Cena could have won and Triple H and Brock Lesnar could have re-ignited their feud in the short term had the pair cost each other the WWE Championship.

Another choice would have been Triple H and Stephanie McMahon vs Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman. With that situation, the match and both wrestlers had a get out clause. Neither would have had to lose the match and Stephanie could have pinned Heyman or vice versa to end the match. Stephanie has fought before and whilst she was mostly abysmal, it may have brought a little light relief to see her jumping all over Paul Heyman for his part in the Triple H vs Brock Lesnar feud. Plus I would have loved to have seen Stephanie in her tight wrestling pants and t shirt again. Maybe that’s just me being a horny male, who knows? Either way, there were other options for WWE going into Extreme Rules which meant they didn’t need to book another singles match between the pair, especially one month after their last outing.

Brock Lesnar is heading for better things after this feud is done, that is clear. His new contract extension, which hasn’t been made clear whether it contains more dates than his last or not, could see him fight at Payback, SummerSlam, Survivor Series, Royal Rumble, Extreme Rules and WrestleMania 30. Whilst some of those dates are confirmed and as god as confirmed, WWE could do with Lesnar regularly in WWE this year. After John Cena loses the WWE Championship which he will at some point this year, WWE need a headline star to put the gold on. They could make Randy Orton a Raw star again or the easier choice would be to have Brock Lesnar perform regularly. Should Lesnar become WWE champion at some point during the year then WWE could begin their monster storyline again.

Brock Lesnar could rampage through the WWE locker room as champion, ripping through anyone and everyone who stood in his way. Then as WWE approach Survivor Series they could begin to hype someone who would step into the John Cena role and take on Lesnar for the gold. The person who defeated a monster like Lesnar and dethroned him would surely receive a major push and career hype. That is the prefect way to make a new star and Brock Lesnar could have a hand in doing so. He’s taken a lot of money from the company to perform very few dates over the last year and will continue to do so for the next 2 years of the company’s existence. The least Brock Lesnar can do is give back at least some of what he’s taking by making a new star.

I can’t see Triple H performing much more this year. The man who will take over the company, when Vince McMahon passes on or steps down, with Stephanie wants to concentrate more on the backstage aspect of the business and why not? Triple H has given more to the business than most and more than paid his dues. Triple H never needs to step into a wrestling ring again, but let’s hope he does because he’s one of the best at putting new talent over and making new stars. Whilst Triple H will leave the on screen side of WWE after Extreme Rules I do expect to see him wrestle again at SummerSlam and WrestleMania 30. On the biggest cards, WWE need its biggest performers.

Maybe Triple H has grown tired with the in ring performances. That’s the impression one gets when they see him in 2013, donned in his wrestling tights and knee pads. When you watched him in 2000 – 2006, Triple H looked serious and determined to make the best of what he had been given in the ring. Now though, he really does look like he’s just doing it because the company have no one else who can. If Triple H really is that bored and jaded with strapping up his thighs and hitting the pedigree then its best he steps away from the spotlight because when someone becomes dissolutioned with something they’re doing, the work and outcome suffer. I would hate to see Triple H continue to wrestle and gradually get worse if his heart really isn’t in the ring anymore.

If Triple H doesn’t want to wrestle again then there’s no pressure on him to do so. Backstage, he wields power mightier than Thor’s hammer and has a huge part in the youth development in the company. Triple H would be better building new stars rather than trying to eek out the last drops of greatness from his in ring career. The wrestling world will remember Triple H as one of the greatest wrestlers to ever lace up a pair of boots, that is certain. It would also be a triumph for him to be remembered as the man who rejuvenated WWE’s youth scene and made stars that could go on to shine brighter than he has.

Winners Prediction: Brock Lesnar

Strap Match
Sheamus vs Mark Henry

A strap match? Is that really the best WWE could come up with? And to make matters worse, it involves Mark Henry, again! How many times do I have to go over the same ground before WWE wakes up and smells the coffee. Henry is a bore of the highest degree and doesn’t belong in a wrestling ring let alone on pay-per view in a feud which could be seen as high profile as this. WWE has a whole talent roster they could have replaced Henry with, in fact I would have preferred to see Zack Ryder turn heel and face Sheamus at Extreme Rules. At least it would have been someone different.

When you look back at Mark Henry’s career, it almost impossible to point out a high spot in it. It was only thanks to Randy Orton that Henry shone at Night of Champions 2011, before and after that he was next to useless. I say next to literally because he entered into a feud with Big Show after that. When you consider the other WWE flops of the past, Scott Steiner, Ultimate Warrior towards the end and so on, WWE paid them to stay at home and sit out the rest of their contract because they were so useless. Mark Henry can’t have that long remaining on his WWE contract so why doesn’t Vince listen to us and pay Henry to sit out the remainder of his? You’re not going to sit there and tell me that Vince has a huge plan for Henry this year because I will call you a bare faced liar.

So what can Mark Henry possibly garner from this feud that the pair didn’t get out of their last one? The answer there comes, nothing. WrestleMania 29 was the last chance saloon for Mark Henry and WWE to make something of the walking McDonalds advert and they failed. WWE have him an opponent who he couldn’t work with and who couldn’t disguise his flaws and Mark Henry just didn’t bother to put forth any effort against Ryback whatsoever. That Vince saw their match at WrestleMania 29 as adequate tells me that the man who reared a whole company to sink Jim Crocket and the territorial completion has lost his touch. Anyone who looks at Mark Henry in 2013 and earmarks him for greatness in the future needs to find another form of entertainment, because wrestling isn’t for them.

There isn’t one man on the roster that could help Mark Henry now. Not Randy Orton, not Daniel Bryan, not even C.M Punk when he returns. WWE have exhausted all their options as far as Henry is concerned so surely its time they gave his spot to someone who deserves it. The main event scene is dwindling, people are complaining that WWE is getting samey and stale and Vince McMahon’s answer is Mark Henry. Can someone please ready the wet fish to slap him with? A feud with Sheamus can only help Sheamus’ career when he goes over the most boring wrestling in the world today at the culmination of their warfare which has been overtly dull up to now. But until WWE sees the truth then Henry is going to stumble from one meaningless feud to the next until his body either dictates that he has to walk away or WWE see the truth about Mark Henry and boot his fat arse out of the door.

Sheamus is so much better than this. Last year he was World Heavyweight Champion, one year later the Irishman is being fed to Mark Henry in a bid to get Henry’s career off of the ground, when in truth Sheamus is going to have a job getting Henry off of the ground physically. I am sure that WWE have more in mind for Sheamus than this feud and one is just hoping that its a lead in to another main event run or a feud with Randy Orton whenever it is WWE decide to turn him heel.

Should Sheamus and Mark Henry do battle for too long then it could be damaging to Sheamus’ career, however if its one or two months then maybe Sheamus can weather that storm and move on to something better. Whatever that would be is still being considered. You see, Sheamus and Dolph Ziggler have had their feud and whilst it wasn’t a huge high profile battle in 2012, Sheamus came out of it looking better than Ziggler and therefore people would almost expect Sheamus to triumph, which, as Triple H’s classroom pet, he probably would. Sheamus vs Randy Orton has been done even though it would be an improvement on this shambles, but do we really want to see Orton put anyone else over without some victories of his own? Sheamus vs John Cena and Sheamus vs Big Show are hold hat and not something we would wish to see again.

There is a possibility that Sheamus vs Jack Swagger could have legs in it later in the year but the one I would really try to get together is Sheamus vs The Undertaker. The pair have never met in serious competition and if Undertaker is willing to work a two month feud on pay-per view it would have no end of benefits for Sheamus’ career going forward. Sheamus would have to turn heel but that’s no big deal because his face character sucks quite frankly and that grin is getting as tedious as John Cena’s smirk. Either of the above feuds would suffice especially if the Swagger feud did something for both men.

Meanwhile this strap match is sheer formality to advance the Sheamus and Mark Henry feud. With WWE eyeing up the pair to do battle again at Payback in June it stands to reason that Mark Henry will triumph at Extreme Rules to set up the rematch for Sheamus to get his, yes you guessed correctly, Payback. It’s very rare that the heel enters a pay-per view looking for payback so as lifeless as this match will probably be, don’t expect to see Sheamus come out victorious or looking any better than he went in.

Winner Prediction: Mark Henry

Extreme Rules Match
Randy Orton vs Big Show

I have lost count of the number of men Randy Orton has put over in the last two years. When you skim down the roster, no one has done more to make stars than Randy Orton has and for that he deserves a giant push. Had it not been for Randy Orton, the Shield would not be as domineering as they are today. Without Randy Orton, Christian’s heel turn would have been merely passed off as another attempt to garner heat on Smackdown in 2011. Had it not been for Randy Orton, Jack Swagger wouldn’t have looked as good winning the Elimination Chamber match in February, as he did. In short, Randy Orton has done so much for WWE recently and all of it without reward.

The match with Big Show was signposted before WrestleMania 29 went on air. You could probably count on one hand the people which believed that Show wasn’t going to turn on Orton and Sheamus in the first bout at WrestleMania 29, which meant with a Sheamus vs Big Show feud only just died down, Randy Orton was the man to step into the breach and try to do something with a Big Show who has severely lowered his game from what he produced in the ring in the latter stages of 2012.

This is not an impossible task for Randy Orton. He has made the likes of Kane look good at Extreme Rules last year, a feat which one previously thought was impossible, so Big Show stands to gain a lot from this feud, if he can hold up his end of the bargain as he did at Hell in a Cell last year. Let’s be honest, we don’t expect wonders from Randy Orton because Big Show is simply too large for him to do much with. But us setting our sights low for this one may prove to be the better judgment. Because we expect it to be pants, what we actually get may be delightfully adequate. Randy Orton and Big Show may be able to make the most of the Extreme Rules match and pull out a top notch hardcore brawl as Del Rio and Big Show did on the January 3rd Smackdown. It certainly gives them more scope than a one on one match does.

We can sleep easy in the knowledge that Randy Orton will demand the match is laid out move for move before they step through the curtain and into the arena. This will be a measure to make sure Randy Orton’s image is protected. After all, why should he suffer because Big Show can’t be bothered to put in an effort? The match needs a huge spot. An RKO from the top rope. A draping DDT from the barrier or set to the Big Show, hell if WWE could make sure its safe enough haw about having the pair scale the titan tron and Big Show chokeslam Randy Orton from the top of it through tables or boxes below. That would be a stunt in tribute to Shane McMahon and make sure the match not only ended on a high but also, if there has to be a second match, set up the next encounter presumably next month at Payback.

Whatever you feel about Randy Orton, like him, hate him, not bothered about him at all, he’s the best hope WWE have right now for a really nasty heel. Orton has put so many people over that its about time the favour was returned. Orton deserves another World Heavyweight Championship reign and with that, maybe he could even see his way clear to making another star, seeing as WWE blatantly can’t do it, in the process.

What can I say about Big Show? I have been racking my brains for days thinking of what to put here and I can’t come up with anything. What else is there left to both say about him and for him to accomplish? He’s been WWE Champion, World Heavyweight Champion, Tag Team Champion, Intercontinental Champion, Hardcore Champion as far as I can remember, United States Champion, ECW Champion, not to mention all of the WCW Championships he won. There is nothing left for him to do in wrestling. At his height and current weight, Big Show’s body must be crying out for him to stop. If Big Show’s gaol was to outdo Andre the Giant then in some senses he has done so. He’s more successful than Andre the Giant ever was in Championship and longevity terms, maybe he’s not as popular as Andre was but that’s a small price to pay.

If Big Show was to retire in 2013 then his career, as dull as parts of it have been, would be a triumph. He could walk away financially secure in the knowledge that there was nothing left for him to do in the wrestling business. He’s never going to win the WWE Championship in the main event of WrestleMania and he’s never going to win the Royal Rumble because people don’t want to see him in that spot on the card. Big Show has had many good feuds with Brock Lesnar, which yielded a cracking match at Survivor Series 2002, Triple H, The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Hulk Hogan, Sting and many lesser feuds with John Cena, Edge, Undertaker. When you look at the feuds Big Show has had and the wrestlers he has fought, then he can’t possibly top that. Show must have feuded with almost every headline star WCW and WWE had. That is an achievement in itself.

I don’t want to see Big Show in WWE much longer. His matches have become constantly repetitive and dull. This feud with Randy Orton may be the last hurrah for a man who can lay claim a wrestling lineage most can only dream of.

Winners Prediction: Randy Orton

WWE United States Championship Match
(c) Kofi Kingston vs Dean Ambrose

Whether you know it or not, this may just be the most important match on the whole card. That is something which I’m sure you never expected to hear and something I never expected to type. With The Shield’s dominance in WWE, the company have opened up a whole new alley for themselves which dictates they have the perfect chance to at least try and make the United States Championship important again.

Whilst many will rightly feel the wrong member of the Shield has been allocated the slot in this Championship Match and it should have gone to Roman Reigns, which it should have seeing as Reigns at the moment is the stand out star of the Shield faction, no WWE United States Championship Match has meant for to the company for a great number of years. Antonio Cesaro can feel aggrieved that he never received a Championship rematch on pay-per view, that could all be forgiven and forgotten should Ambrose capture the U.S Championship.

Looking at the importance of the Shield and how well they have been pushed and built over the last couple of months, any Championship they should capture would immediately be elevated by the group. If WWE continue to push the stable then the Championship around their waist would become important again, if defended against top tier talent which there’s no reason to believe they wouldn’t be. After their WrestleMania 29 triumph and previous six man tag team victories, I can’t see beginning to book the shield against wrestlers such as Tyson Kid and Tons of Funk. It would be an illogical step backwards.

Dean Ambrose as United States Champion could begin feuds with Randy Orton, Sheamus, Rey Mysterio and the loser of the I Quit Match. Subsequent feuds would elevate the Championship and seeing being defended against wrestlers that matter would send the message to the WWE Universe that the gold matters again. Whilst Ambrose is United States Champion and Reigns and Rollins are Tag Team Champions, more on that below, WWE could then turn their attentions from the top of the card which needs no help whilst Ryback and Cena are slaughtering what it means to be a main event star, and begin building the United States Championship division again.

It’s a logical move which would be welcomed by the WWE Universe. Whilst Ambrose is plying his trade with main event talent and making a name of the Championship again, WWE could begin rebranding the Championship by giving the wrestlers in the division enough time to shine on Smackdown and Raw. Instead of the three minute matches we’re currently forced to watch, WWE could book matches between wrestlers such as Tyson Kidd, Antonio Cesaro, R-Truth, Kofi Kingston and so on, to go fifteen minutes. As long as the matches are of high quality and provide entertainment for the length they last then everyone is a winner. It’s not a quick fix, granted, but it is a fix which would matter by the time Ambrose dropped the gold to another United States Championship division star.

By having such a high profile wrestler heading the division, whilst maintaining his image with the Shield and in singles action, WWE could hold a tournament which actually highlights what people have been missing from the division. The winner would be entered into a high profile feud with Ambrose which would be the focal point of a pay-per view card and not thrown on the pre-show without thought or care, as so many matches are now. Just look at how little care we had for the Intercontinental Championship Match on the WrestleMania 29 pre-show.

After Ambrose captured the title, WWE could and should have the Shield, with Reigns and Rollins as the new WWE Tag Team Champions come out on Raw and state how much the Championships used to matter but no longer do, citing its part of the reason why they hate WWE and its talent so much. It would add extra heat to the faction should they then chastise every superstar in the locker room for damaging the titles and then vow to make them important again. That would be dynamite and give other wrestles on the card reason to go after the trio. Once again though, that is what should happen. What WWE actually does with the man and the gold is more likely to be the opposite.

Kofi Kingston is a dead fish in the water. He’s on his side and flapping at the last strings of life. As a face, Kingston is at the end. There is nothing else he can do with a smile and boom drop. He’s been the WWE Intercontinental, Tag Team and United States Champion and all of those reigns have been as good as lifeless. People just don’t care about smiling faces who fight for good. Look at how well Stone Cold Steve Austin and Randy Orton were received as law breaker faces who would attack anyone at anytime whilst still being a fan favourite and then look how badly the Rock did as Rocky Mavia, the all smiling babyface who would grin his way through a match.

WWE should have learnt a lesson here. Kofi Kingston should, by now have been given a makeover in the character department by now. WWE should have depicted him as the man who means business and will do anything to get what he wants whilst having a line he won’t cross. This is why WWE has pondered on turning Kofi Kingston heel. The company recognises that he’s gone as far as he can as a face and should they push him further then the character will became stale and people will stop caring totally before they get the chance to make the switch. If they need to, WWE can use the loss of the United States Championship at the catalyst for the turn. Down on his luck, nowhere on the card, Ambrose getting cheered when he the gold, Kingston could turn on the fans and immediately be elevated up a division.

A heel Kofi Kingston has so much more potential than a face one. The people Kingston could feud with as a hell are unlimited. WWE could reignite the feud with Orton which they chickened out of pulling the trigger on in 2008. If a heel Kingston could take out a face Orton then it could be the start of a main event run for Kofi. And that is something WWE desperately need right now. Kingston has everything else. The look, the skill, the moves, the knowhow, he just lack the backing of the creative team and a really fearsome push up the card. Without those components at his disposal, Kofi Kingston could be WWE or World Heavyweight Champion. What’s more. There’s no reason for WWE not to do so. They literally have no reason as to why they’re holding back.

Vince McMahon would more than likely say that Kingston isn’t ready for a main event push. He’d be lying. Kingston as a former Intercontinental Champion was ready years ago, but never received the green light. The next excuse off of the WWE list of bullshit excuses would be that Kingston doesn’t have the main event feel. Whose fault is that? Certainly not Kingston’s. He’s only going to have the main event aura if WWE give it to him. The last excuse would be that WWE have a thriving main event scene to which my answer would be...where? John Cena is dull and repetitive. Ryback doesn’t have the half the skill or personality of Kingston. Randy Orton seems to be so far down the pecking order I can’t see him returning to the top of the mountain until the end of the year. Sheamus has done it all on Smackdown and has no where left to move, the jeers he received as World Champion in 2012 attest to that. C.M Punk is gone for now. The Undertaker is an emergency call up. Alberto Del Rio stinks a face and Jack Swagger is about to serve a suspension or a hefty demotion for his arrest in February. Someone please point out to me where the main event scene is thriving.

A heel turn is the only thing which could possibly save Kofi Kingston right now. Other than that, I wish him all the best in his future endeavours.

As stated, WWE have a major chance to do something terrific at Extreme Rules. You can call it a chance to start again if you like. Looking at what is in store for the rest of year, there is no clear point down the line in which WWE will have to execute this again. It’s a one shot deal which if they let pass they need a kick in the balls and deserve for their lesser Championships to fade away.

Winners Prediction: Dean Ambrose

WWE Tag Team Championship Match
Tag Team Tornado Match
(c) Team Hell No vs Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns

Like the United States Championship, WWE have a chance to reinvigorate their tag team scene. Since September, Team Hell No have been the doubles champions. At the beginning they were good, hell, they were great. The comedy lent itself nicely to the in ring product supported mostly by Bryan and they saw off all comers whilst, at times, making their opponents look as good as they did. And then, like it usually does in WWE, everything began to fall apart.

Suddenly the comedy segments weren’t funny anymore and Kane and Daniel Bryan had exhausted their whole repertoire and everything became samey. The matches which pitted Team Hell No against their opponents were stale and nothing seemed to shine about them. Their Tag Team Championship defence again Team Rhodes Scholars at the Royal Rumble was plain boring and their interactions in the Royal Rumble match and the Elimination Chamber match were predictable and everything we’d come to expect from the pair. Even on Raw and Smackdown they had lost the magic which had been found in September 2012.

WrestleMania 29 was a chance for Team Hell No to prove they had not grown stale and it was WWE’s fault for not giving them the proper opponents and storylines. In Dolph Ziggler and Big E. Langston, Team Hell No had the perfect opponents. Maybe not technically but certainly in image. Dolph Ziggler had the skills to combat Daniel Bryan and Langston was the perfect super strength foil for Kane. Whilst Kane battled valiantly against Langston, Ziggler and Bryan should have tore the house down. Yet again with Team Hell No, that failed to materialise. It wasn’t all the competitors fault, WWE rushed the match because they were seemingly running behind two matches into the broadcast. But what was presented may have been adequate but wasn’t good enough for Championship encounter.

WWE, after WrestleMania take all their talent into account, at least the ones that matter and plot a course for them for the rest of the year. After WrestleMania 29, it can’t have failed to dawned on WWE that Team Hell No have had their day in the spotlight and Daniel Bryan could be used further up the card. There is literally no mileage left in the duo. Their matches have become boring, their comedy skits have become predictable and its time they parted ways in favour of returning Bryan back to the main event and Kane to...well, something. Let’s be honest, Kane is done.

Kane and Daniel Bryan will have to have a singles feud when Team Hell No splits but that be can done as painlessly as possible. WWE can make the most of that on television and one match on pay-per view in which Bryan would go over to set him up for life back in the main event. It’s the best course of action for WWE to take at this point. The Tag Team Championship did get a little lift from the duos union at the beginning but now it’s suffering more than it did when Kingston and Truth held the gold. In 2013, that just isn’t acceptable. When something begins to grow stale, WWE should quash it immediately and find something logical to take its place.

Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns have been given the biggest chance they’ve received yet in WWE. Once again, it may not look like much of a chance but if they can secure the WWE Tag Team Championships and make them mean something again, that could do more for the Shield’s image than any victory over any team. Like the United States Championship, in the possession of the Shield, WWE could use the time in which the Shield would defend against top tier stars to rebuild the tag team division from the bottom up, having challengers ready to step up and face Reigns and Rollins when they come back to the division in order to give it a boost.

In order for this to happen, WWE needs tag teams which haven’t been buried or humiliated which they can build from the bottom upwards in order to furnish them with the best start possible. It’s unlikely we’re ever going to see a tag team scene like the early 90’s or the attitude era again. Tag Teams like Money Inc, The Headshrinkers, The Natural Disasters, The Hart Foundation, The Rockers, The British Bulldogs, The New Age Outlaws, The Legion of Doom, The Rock ‘n’ Sock Connection plus many others will never be seen again but that shouldn’t stop WWE from at least trying to make new teams which resonate with fans worldwide.

Right now, the tag teams WWE have on their books are no good. The Prime Time Players, Team Rhodes Scholars, Tons of Funk, Tyson Kidd and Justin Gabriel are just no good. They’ve been buried and left off of so many main pay-per views that it’s hard to imagine WWE ever being able to push them effectively as challengers. With the exception of Prime and Epico, who may have been buried but still possess the skill to get the job done, WWE would be better advised trimming the dead wood from their roster and hiring new tag teams from Japan, TNA, Ring of Honor and the independent circuits – putting aside their hatred for the independents – who are popular with the WWE audience who watch such teams perform. The Brisco’s who ply their trade in ROH would be perfectly suited to WWE’s style of wrestling and bring something different to the tag team scene in WWE. There are a number of tag teams in both NOAH and NJPW who would jump at the chance of a contract in WWE and other independent tag teams such as the Young Bucks and Paul London and Brian Kendrick could be re-hired to inject the division with some quality performances.

Looking further afield, Dragon Gate USA has some quality teams which WWE could purchase from their contracts or failing that, hire singles stars and put tag teams together with them. Anyone who has seen DGSUA or Dragon Gate will be able to tell you how great the wrestlers there are. To see some of them jump around the ring in WWE’s tag team division would surely do the job required. I can sit and say all of this though and WWE won’t do anything about it. They never do, all because they’re convinced that the independent circuit wrestlers aren’t a patch on WWE’s wrestlers. News flash my wonderful friends, they’re better. Every wrestler on NJPW or DGUSA show puts John Cena to shame.

The WWE Tag Team Championships have a better chance of being rebuilt around the waists of Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns. There is more scope for change and more chance of success with a team that is still to be beaten in WWE. With every victory, comes a little more prestige and with prestige come interest from the fans. It’s down to WWE now. If they truly want the tag team division to flourish then they have all the tools available to them to do so. All it would take is a little involvement, some of that endless cash investment and a few cracking storylines to make everything better again. Can it be done? Absolutely. Will it be done? Watch this space.

Winner Prediction: Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns

Chris Jericho vs Fandango

We knew this was coming. After their WrestleMania 29 match ended the way it did, it was only natural that WWE gave Chris Jericho his chance to get even with the egotistical, Fandango. What’s most astonishing about this match is that on a show where every match is meant to have an Extreme Rule added to it, WWE have basically given us the same match which we sat through at WrestleMania. Now this is being written on Wednesday 15th May, five days before Extreme Rules so WWE could have, by now added such a stipulation, but if they haven’t, then I can’t say with any great confidence that this going to do anything for either man.

Another victory over Chris Jericho would be huge for Fandango, even though the guy has shown us nothing in the way of moving forward or growing as a wrestler. His offence is the same in every match he wrestles and whilst he’s trying his best, he’s been saddled with a bum gimmick. If WWE were intent on debuting the Fandango character, the least they could have done was find someone from WWE developmental who could put a match together, without relying on one of WWE’s stars to get them over – as Fandango did with Chris Jericho in their rubbish match at Mania.

Before WWE decide to push a star or bring him up from developmental and thrust him straight onto television, I’m beginning to wonder if they even bother to watch tapes of what that wrestler can do in the ring. By sitting down with Triple H, Stephanie McMahon and Vince McMahon, head of talent relations, John Laurientis must be able to tell whether a wrestler is ready. He’s a former wrestler himself and as Triple H is the head of developmental he should be look at a wrestler and say yes or no within two matches. That obviously didn’t happen with Fandango, because if it did, WWE would have been so quick to rush the guy onto the main card and would have found someone with the skills, of which there are many in WWE developmental, to portray the character.

That being said, we’re stuck with him now and have to make the best of it. It’s alarming that WWE seem to see Fandango as the future of the company. This is backed up by their pushing of him against Chris Jericho who has been less than satisfactory in his current role. Earlier, I talked about WWE reinventing its United States Championship division, which I presume Fandango will be a part of when the company lose faith in him, but the one thing WWE cannot allow to happen is for Ambrose to have a strong run and make the Championship something again, for Fandango to come in and undo everything from the seams.

You can look as hard as you like, but you won’t see a future in WWE for Fandango unless he pulls his boots up and do something worthwhile. WWE have given him the platform on which to make a name for himself and the feud with the superior Chris Jericho is the perfect time to do so. Fandango though hasn’t seen this as the ideal opportunity to make himself a star and instead the first step on the ladder to being Future Endeavoured. Up until now, Fandango isn’t a future WWE superstar, and if WWE do not add a stipulation to this match, the odds of him becoming one are slim to none.

Y2J, the man who could wrestle a paper bag and make the bag a star has gone on vacation. Not a physical one, but certainly a mental one. Like a footballer coming to the end of a season, English football I’m talking about, American’s call it soccer I believe, Chris Jericho isn’t focused on the job in hand, instead he seems to have his mind already on the beach, waiting for his body to join it. I would challenge anyone to look at the current version of Chris Jericho, who seems to have lost his passion for the business, and point out where the old Y2J is in him.

The ovation he received at the Royal Rumble should have urged the former World Heavyweight Champion on to make the best of his reintroduction into WWE. Jericho should have seen Fandango’s floors at WrestleMania 29 and been able to cover for them in their match. Instead it looked more like he was just in the match for himself and Fandango would have to swing. The old Chris Jericho would have immediately spotted what Fandango could not have done and make allowances for that. Instead, Jericho, who turned up for the paycheque on the night, simply seemed to close his eyes and hope for the best.

Like Triple H, if Chris Jericho’s heart isn’t in the business anymore then he should leave. No one would begrudge him that. Jericho has given so much to the wrestling industry that he deserves whatever time he deems necessary to either get his head back in the game or retire completely. I would rather see Chris Jericho retire at the top of his game than repeatedly put in performances which looked phoned in and have his star diminish as a result. Did Chris Jericho want to come back to WWE? Probably not, but he has three children, a wife and a mortgage to support and his band Fozzy do not earn anywhere near what he needs to cover his overheads. Wrestling is the only form of work that Jericho knows how to make money from and therefore he has no choice but to continue in the ring.

As far as the feud with Fandango goes, Chris Jericho clearly isn’t bothered. Hindering both himself and Fandango, Jericho could do something special with the lowly star if he cared which he blatantly doesn’t. Instead of giving back to the industry, Chris Jericho has decided that he doesn’t belong on the undercard but in the main event, which, I’m afraid to burst his bubble, but he doesn’t. Apart from his main event run with Shawn Michaels over the World Heavyweight Championship, Chris Jericho has been middling at best in his main event feuds. After everything he’s taken from the industry, Chris Jericho should willingly be making stars left, right and centre. That it has become such a trial for him to do so tells you everything you need to know about Chris Jericho’s ego.

Winners Prediction: Chris Jericho

Pre-Show Match
The Miz vs Cody Rhodes

Instead of ‘The Awesome One’ maybe we should begin calling The Miz, ‘Mr. Pre-Show’, seeing as he’s been booked on three out of the last four pay-per view events on the pre-show. It’s certainly how WWE would like us to see Miz in his current role in WWE, otherwise they would make good on the promise they made in October of pushing Miz back to the top of the card and not book him on a programme which is seen by very little of the audience who order the actually event.

By now, if WWE had done what they were meant to do, then Miz could already be at the top of the card challenging for the World Heavyweight Championship. I say Smackdown’s title because the last thing Miz needs now is another feud with John Cena, which would all but destroy Miz’s career. It was a simple process which WWE have carried out hundreds of times before and have been successful almost every time. After dropping the Intercontinental Championship to Kofi Kingston in October, on the pointless Main Event show, WWE should have pushed Miz like he was the second coming. His career needed it after the utter humiliation of loss after loss he suffered earlier in 2012.

At Survivor Series, Miz should have been the sole man left of Team Foley. He couldn’t have won the match, Dolph Ziggler needed that honour but had he gone down fighting, eliminating Alberto Del Rio before being pinned by Dolph Ziggler, then it would have been huge for Miz. WWE did this with Shawn Michaels at Survivor Series 2003 where Michaels flourished as the sole survivor of Team Austin against three member of Team Bischoff, he even managed to put in the career performance of a lifetime. An effort like that would have shed new light on the Miz and gone a long way to enhancing his face turn, which came out of the blue.

His last minute inclusion at WWE TLC 2012 in the pointless six man clash against 3MB should have been avoided in favour putting Miz in a higher position. Hell, WWE could have even inserted him in the World Heavyweight Championship Match, seeing how well received the triple threat ladder match for the WWE Championship was at TLC 2011 the previous year. A strong showing would have urged the fans to want Miz to capture the gold and once again elevated him in their eyes. After TLC, the audience would have been hot for a Miz Championship challenge where he just fell short. WrestleMania 29 would have been a different matter though. Seeing as there was no room for the Miz at the top of the card, WWE could have scrapped Ryback vs Mark Henry and Fandango vs Chris Jericho and booked a five man battle royal or tournament to crown the number one contender to either the WWE or World Heavyweight Championship, which Miz could have either won or just lost out to Ryback.

Switching Miz from Raw to Smackdown after WrestleMania 29 would have been as easy as blinking and hyping his involvement in the World Heavyweight Championship picture would have been a welcome reception. You know, as a face, Miz could have even taken Dolph Ziggler’s place in the triple threat ladder match and won. A face Miz vs heel Ziggler would have had mileage had WWE booked Miz to be the last man left at Survivor Series and eliminated by Ziggler. Alas, that has not come to pass and Miz is now in another slump, even worse than the one he found himself in, in 2011 and 2012.

Miz’s victory on the WrestleMania 29 pre-show to capture the WWE Intercontinental Championship looked to be the resurgence for the character who had previously starred in ‘The Marine 3’, for some reason, WWE decided to swap the Championship back to Wade Barrett the next night on Raw, making the Miz look like a complete fluke. It’s this sort of booking which has devalued everything the Miz does. How are we meant to take Miz seriously as WWE Champion somewhere down the line if he’s not even allowed to hold what used to be the second biggest Championship in the company’s history? It’s pathetic.

Miz needs help and needs it quickly. Without investment in his character he’s going to stay a pre-show talent and much more of this booking will all but relegate him to the ranks of Curt Hawkins.

Cody Rhodes must be flicking back through his career, wondering where he went wrong. Everything looked peachy before WrestleMania 28 and his embarrassing loss to the Big Show. He was making headway with the Intercontinental Championship and making the gold important again, not an easy feat for anyone, let alone a mid-card talent. Rhodes’ success with the Championship should have been an indicator for WWE to push him up the card and into the main event position. Everyone would have welcomed that and it wouldn’t have looked like they were just trying everything and anything to bring about change.

Instead of taking Rhodes and making a star of him, WWE mercilessly buried him along with the rest of the crap before inserting him into Team Rhodes Scholars. Now Cody is back in singles action, one has to question where WWE go with him now. The Intercontinental Championship is all but redundant. The United States Championship could be an option if Dean Ambrose captures the title from Kofi Kingston, WWE could even book a triple threat feud over the gold to start with. If Rhodes and Ambrose can make the gold seem important again and lift it from a pre-show Championship which it has been recently to a bona fide mid-card Championship then WWE may stand a chance of making something of the gold and the wrestlers.

It seems a bit of a comedown, to have Cody Rhodes as the figurehead of the United States Championship division, underneath Ambrose that is, but if that’s the role which is going to currently provide him with a path back into some kind of standing in WWE, then Rhodes should welcome it with open arms. If it doesn’t work out for him there’s always a chance that WWE will see his willingness to do what is needed for the company and reward him for his efforts with a push nonetheless. You see, there’s limited options left for Cody Rhodes in WWE. There’s no way he can be immediately into any kind of main event feud, we simply wouldn’t believe it. The Tag Team Championship has been a pitfall for him in recent months and the Intercontinental Championship is fading faster than WWE can catch up with it.

The future is uncertain for Cody Rhodes and that’s never a good thing. WWE could have and should done something halt his descent down the ladder but have failed to do so. Maybe Rhodes could take a leaf out of Zack Ryder’s playbook and try to make a name for himself, hoping that WWE wouldn’t punish him for doing what they’ve failed to do. Certainly, Cody Rhodes cannot continue on this path, because there’s only one place it can lead.

Winners Prediction: Cody Rhodes

Extreme Rules 2013 looks a strong card on first sight. The WWE Championship Match aside, every other match has potential about it and there are some hidden gems in the middle of it all which could set this years offering apart from WrestleMania 29. The star names may all but have deserted WWE in its WrestleMania 29 post season but the company have managed to bundle together a decent looking card.

By far and away the United States Championship and Tag Team Championship Matches are the most important on the card for varying reasons. It could be the beginning of something new and fresh for WWE and the rebuild both divisions need in order to become relevant again. Whilst there’s no Dolph Ziggler due to injury and the Intercontinental Championship isn’t deemed important enough to appear, at least at time of writing. Those matters are trifling though compared to what could come out of the night.

For the first time in 2013, WWE have a wonderful opportunity to make a difference. An opportunity they had numerous times in 2012 and failed to capitalise on every one of them. That cannot happen this time around. Extreme Rules 2013 cannot be just another pay-per event in WWE by the time John Cena lifts the WWE Championship aloft at the end of the card. Extreme Rules 2013 has to be looked back on as the event which began to change everything in World Wrestling Entertainment. It’s an opportunity WWE cannot afford to pass up.

Onwards and upwards...