REVIEW CORNER: THE BEST OF RAW AND SMACKDOWN 2013 DVD AND BLU-RAY

 

A – Excellent

B – Good

C – Mediocre

D – Avoid

Release Date: March 10th 2014

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:

A look back at the best bits of WWE’s Raw and Smackdown television shows from 2013. Including Dolph Ziggler’s once momentous World Heavyweight Championship victory, The Rock’s reign as WWE Champion and the WWE World Heavyweight Championship ascension ceremony plus tons more.

Strengths:

C.M Punk vs Ryback (Raw, January 7th) in a TLC Match for the WWE Championship is a very good outing which is made all the more believable by Punk’s carrying of the Goldberg wannabe and the way he works to his own strengths instead of pandering to the monster. Ryback seems better suited working to others paces more than his own. Not fond of wasting time here, one of Ryback’s finest ever singles outings employs weapons early on to distract from any shortcomings whilst Punk looks a million dollars considering he’s a man who has just returned from knee surgery. Selling Ryback’s power to perfection, the bout does take a dip when the former Skip Sheffield works over Punk’s leg but one cannot gripe too much seeing as it’s all logical. Though I think it’s a sad reflection on wrestling and Ryback today that when Punk tries to snap his challenger’s ankle in a steel chair, it wouldn’t have mattered had he succeeded. Refreshingly, this isn’t a hit and run bout, in which each try to grab the gold at every opportunity. In fact neither bothers about the main prize of the match until the very end and are content on destroying each other. Ryback’s missed spear through a waiting table looks excellent and it’s around this time you begin to get a different vibe when comparing this effort to other less satisfactory TLC bouts – a good vibe though. Paul Heyman is excellent throughout the bout and his selling, comments and faces are priceless. If the match had been a stinker then it would still have been worth watching for Heyman alone. The one downside is that as Punk was on a collision course with The Rock at Royal Rumble he could have done with winning this bout without the help of The Shield to look as strong as possible. However Roman Reigns Powerbomb through a table and onto the ring steps is divine.

Alberto Del Rio vs Big Show (Smackdown, January 11th) is their excellent Last Man Standing bout for the World Heavyweight Championship where Alberto Del Rio takes the step from jobber to main event star in one foul swoop. Looking like a new man after his 2012 burial, Del Rio exudes emotion and makes you care about his plight to be the Champion again. Through a well paced and exciting encounter, the Mexican’s constant fight back really makes you want to stand up and cheer for him which is a weird feeling seeing as it comes around so little these days. The Cross Arm Breaker over the top rope is executed to perfection and whilst Big Show looks genuinely lost for ideas after his Chokeslam fails to put Del Rio down for the ten count, his refusal to stay down, even after a WMD punch is a stirring moment as the challenger rolls out of the ring and lands on his feet to break the count. This is the Alberto Del Rio we should have seen more often when he was face, he’d have gone a long way. The last grasp attempt to claim the gold is almost inspiring, depending on what gets you going. Tipping the announce table onto Show is an ingenious and joyous moment in which you feel really happy for Alberto even though you know how it ends. The question is, can he do it again in 2014?

C.M Punk and The Rock Confrontation (Smackdown, January 25th) is a very intense piece of work between the two which is actually better than the matches they had. Following a stupendous promo by Punk, The Rock comes to the ring and for once is a man of very few words, though he hasn’t lost the knack of talking like most would. It’s a rare moment in wrestling when one man talks and actually takes you back to the good old days when everything was simpler and we didn’t have to pick apart what was wrong with the business to make it better. In a taut moment, The Rock gazes Punk in the eyes and with every ounce of seriousness states that not only are the walls closing in but when he has Punk elevated in The Rock Bottom ready to plough the champion into the canvas, the last though in Punk’s mind before he’s driven to the mat will be “It’s Over”. Knowing now that this would lead to the end of Punk’s historic WWE Championship reign, it’s all somewhat poignant.

Vince McMahon Confronts Paul Heyman (Raw, January 28th) is another outstanding showcase of two men who know how to control an audience with words. Instead of interrupting the boss and Heyman at every opportunity, the capacity crowd are hooked on their every word. It’s a testament to the respect both men have earned over the years. McMahon sanitising his hands after shaking Heyman’s paw is a scream as is the seriousness in which Paul Heyman displays when trying to duck out of his association with The Shield and Brad Maddox, through “You Got Busted” chants, after video evidence is shown on the titan tron of him admitting to paying both parties. Reeling off another thrilling promo, Paul Heyman should be employed in a bigger role than he currently occupies and Vince is flawless all the way through. His humour is second to none. If you listen closely then you’ll find an in-joke from Vince and Heyman when Paul blurts out that he can learn to be an honourable man from the boss, very few times has Vince ever been honourable. Fans singing “Goodbye” to Heyman chirps up Vince more than a million dollars in his bank account. Brock Lesnar almost brings the house down as it’s the first time he’s been seen up to this point in a very long while and his interactions with Vince are silently brilliant as Paul Heyman is a scream with his off the mic comments as Lesnar drops the boss with a thunderous F5. Thoroughly entertaining throughout.

C.M Punk vs John Cena (Raw, February 25th 2013) is another brilliant match. John Cena goes through the usual routine with maddening regularity but there’s nothing here which is truly horrible. Wisely, C.M Punk slows down the match to a pace Cena can contend with and thankfully it doesn’t hold up the match whilst the submissions holds make sense padding out a logical match. Each reversal is done with aplomb and the crowd rise to their feet as Punk reverses a move into the Anaconda Vice. Though John Cena predictably sells nothing the match builds to a heated confrontation with the best series of moves being a chain of reversals which begins with John Cena reversing a Flying Clothesline attempt into an STF, for Punk to reverse the STF into an Anaconda Vice only for John Cena to reverse it into a crossface which the commentators call an STF. It’s a great sequence of moves. John Cena hits a very good sit down Powerbomb without any mistakes and there’s a killer near fall after a flying leg drop by Cena. This could be a pay-per view main event for the drama which comes from it. Cena nearly breaks his own neck on a hurricanrana attempt and Punk hits a thrilling piledriver which is nice to see again in WWE.

The Rock and John Cena Point-Counter Point (Raw, March 4th) begins with a comical promo by The Rock, in which the crowd pop for all of his catchphrases. John Cena is pleasantly competent on the microphone and manages to get through ninety five percent of his speech and the angle without smirking, though it does come into play from time to time. Passionate and serious, you feel that losing to The Rock at WrestleMania 28 really did mean something to him, though the segment descends into madness when Cena seems to blame Rock for his life going into a tailspin both in front of and behind the camera. Surely Cena isn’t that dumb he’d blame The Rock for his divorce? This is a thoroughly absorbing confrontation, more so than almost any the pair had one year before, with the pise de resistance being both men quoting famous lines to end. Cena quotes Mike Tyson’s “To Be the Greatest Ever, You Have to Beat the Living” before being trumped by The Rock quoting Lance Armstrong and then shot down when ‘The Great One’ venomously spits, “He Was Full of Crap and So Are You!” Excellent. If only all WWE stars were as good on the stick.

Alberto Del Rio vs Jack Swagger (Raw, April 8th) is about on par with their WrestleMania 29 clash; that is, nothing to brag about. Whilst it boasts a few highlights such as Del Rio’s dive to the outside and a Cross Arm Breaker into a Slam, but Alberto never really sells the injured leg and it’s clear where the audience’s priorities lie when they begin to chant “We Want Ziggler!” This could have been the greatest match in history but no one would have cared because for them, it was rightly time for the next generation to take centre stage. The match is saved by Dolph Ziggler cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase which gets one of the biggest reactions I’ve heard in years just coming down the aisle. Though Del Rio fails to sell the injured leg which was meant to prevent him from retaining the gold and Ziggler had to fight maybe more than any other opportunist casher in to attain his title, it is a true punch the air moment when Ziggler pins Del Rio to capture the gold. It almost brings tears to your eyes and the reaction is deafening. It’s just such a shame the company never persisted. They cannot treat Roman Reigns like this in 2014.

The Undertaker and Team Hell No vs The Shield (Raw, April 22nd) is a rollicking match which easily takes match of the night and match of the release honours. Undertaker, in his first appearance on Raw in 3 years gets a God like welcome back to the UK and rightly so. During the match, Undertaker still doesn’t look like he’s lost his pace and talent, a fact furthered by the chants of ‘You’ve still got it’ by the crowd. Let’s be honest, Undertaker never lost it. Daniel Bryan is efficient, taking the brunt of the punishment from Reigns, Rollins and an impressive Ambrose and the artist formerly know as Bryan Danielson pulls off some sumptuous looking transfers with The Shield, including a great suicide dive and a classy front dropkick from the top rope. The Shield are equally impressive here. Seth Rollins takes a fine bump off of the ringside barrier stemming from Bryan’s suicide dive and even though Roman Reigns is spared heavy duty here, Dean Ambrose is a tour de force entering a superior performance. The future is bright for these three indeed. The Shield victory is the right call by WWE even if the ending to the match should have been more impactful. This match should have been the main event of the show as it is high quality stuff indeed.

Brock Lesnar Invades WWE Headquarters (Raw, May 6th) is, more than anything, an insightful look inside WWE’s base. The Andre the Giant statue is impressive but in a low point, Paul Heyman disrespects verbally, before Heyman picks up the angle and helps carry what would be a tiresome journey through the building with his snipes at Triple H and the McMahon family. Brock Lesnar staring down an oblivious worker in the elevator is amusing as is Paul Heyman whistling Fandango’s theme tune. Security are suspicious by their absence, no one is going to tell me that a billion dollar corporation doesn’t have the most Neanderthal guards on the planet guarding its ever asset. The sledgehammer on the wall of Triple H’s office is a ‘coincidence’ as Lesnar exudes badass destroying the office which if you keep your eyes peeled, has a specially constructed plasterboard wall which dents and breaks as Lesnar hurls objects against it. It’s not a thriller, but entertaining enough for the look behind the scenes.

Curtis Axel vs Chris Jericho (Smackdown, June 7th) is a lively and consistent bout which Curtis Axel looks nothing but perfect, to coin a phrase. Axel’s Neckbreaker off of the ropes has a great tone to it; whilst his interactions with Jericho are fluid and swift enough the match feels like a mid-card pay-per view bout, or at least one of the better ones. For once, Chris Jericho does well to sell and get Axel over as a star; this is where Jericho can do the most good should he return in the near future. The high flying moves are crisp and the final distraction of Punk’s music hitting may get the crowd on their feet and provide long enough a distraction for Axel to roll Jericho up, but for full effect he really should have won alone. Very impressive match which sadly Axel couldn’t maintain when he took the Intercontinental Championships strap. Had he been able to do so, then who knows where he would have been right now.

Mark Henry’s Retirement Speech (Raw, June 17th) is a genuinely moving speech which is so well crafted you don’t see the heel turn on John Cena at its conclusion. Whilst its hard to believe that Mark Henry would concoct such a plan just to get to John Cena when he could have marched to the ring after a match and ruined him with a Falling Splash is somewhat a head scratching moment, but overlooking that, you could be forgiven for believing that the man who has accomplished very little in his years here is really ready to fly the nest. It does take a while to get to the speech however as John Cena bangs on about his 2012 and somewhat telegraphs the turn stating that at Money in the Bank he will know where his next challenge comes from, just before Henry makes his entrance, but its only a minor gripe. As Henry stands in the ring soaking up the heartfelt ‘Thank You Henry’ and ‘Sexual Chocolate’ chants, JBL absurdly states that Mark Henry has accomplished a lot in his career when he clearly hasn’t. As for the man himself, Mark Henry is the best he’s ever been. Crying, thanking everyone, telling his children that daddy is coming home before picking up John Cena and dropping him with a Falling Splash which the crowd go crazy for. It just goes to show you, that no matter how bad you really are, when it comes to the end you’ll be as respected as the very best will be. The funniest chant of all is ‘You’ve Still Got It’ as Henry sobs in the ring. He never had it, but it was nice of them to say so.

Randy Orton vs Daniel Bryan (Raw, June 24th) is everything their main event pay-per view matches struggled to be. Fun, energetic and flowing this is what the pair should have strived to show us at Night of Champions, Battleground and Hell in a Cell. Had they done so then maybe Daniel Bryan’s chase for the WWE Championship would have still been in the main event today. Amongst the charge counters with steel chair shot, counters and a particularly fine Powerbomb counter from the apron through the table by Bryan, you’ll find it a task to spot a wasted move. The kendo stick / kick sequence is particularly riveting as is the T-Bone Suplex through a standing table by Orton puts everything on the line to make Bryan his equal in image. Only one of two men to do that – the other was John Cena. A Hurricanrana block into a Powerbomb is sumptuous but the real power of this match comes from the different finish which sees a ‘Yes Lock’ countered only to be applied with a kendo stick for the tap out. If anything can be used as evidence that the WWE Championship is holding Randy Orton back then this match is it. He was a better wrestler without the weight of expectation.

A.J Lee and Kaitlyn Contract Signing (Smackdown, July 12th) is another entertaining piece of verbal action as A.J taunts Kaitlyn with a great promo before proceeding to read out fake texts about the other divas that Kaitlyn sent to her secret admirer. Both women are perfect here and A.J takes pleasure in being the naughty little minx, right up until Kaitlyn traps her in the corner with the table and then belts Langston with a stiff slap which made my face hurt. If you like slick promos and great back and forth verbal’s then this has something for everyone. It’s quite amusing as well.

Randy Orton vs Rob Van Dam (Smackdown, August 9th) is another thriller which begins at a hell of a clip with some classic RVD moves. Van Dam missing the Flying Crossbody over the top rope looks excellent as is Orton’s selling of RVD’s offence. You’ll find nostalgia spots aplenty here, with RVD Double Leg Rolls, Spinning Leg Drop from the apron and great height on a Split-Legged Moonsault. Randy Orton’s backbreaker from the ropes looks flawless amongst the fast paced action including a great Northern Lights Suplex which is more what we demand than the usual boring match formula. There aren’t many matches which can put a smile on your face, this is one of them.

Antonio Cesaro vs Santino Marella (Raw, September 9th) is mostly brief and of no consequence, but is kept entertaining by Cesaro and to a degree Santino. Every slam, kick and move is done with such overselling that it becomes entertaining to watch. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe a little Santino every now and again is a good thing. The match does boast a great throw / pin combination to end the bout. Like I said, brief but a welcome distraction from the heavy tone of everything else.

Cody Rhodes, Goldust and Daniel Bryan vs The Shield (Raw, October 7th) is a lively six man tag team match, twenty four hours removed from Battleground. As they were the night before, Cody Rhodes, Goldust and The Shield are brilliant and Daniel Bryan leaves his mark on the match as well. Cody executes a thrilling springboard dropkick and Goldust appears to have gotten better with age. Daniel Bryan hits a sublime 180 degree German Suplex in a sequence which looks so agile WWE need to be questioned on why they are wasting him. Illogically, even though he’s been fired earlier in the Show, Big Show’s entrance music is queued up so he can storm to the ring and knock Triple H out in a good looking segment which also sees Big Show treat The Shield like jobbers.

Cody Rhodes and Goldust vs Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns (Raw, October 14th) is a thrilling tag team match which stars at a snails pace but builds into something unforgettable. Roman Reigns brings out his rest holds to maddening effect but when the match catches fire, it’s one everyone should see. Cody Rhodes is mightily impressive in the final third whilst there’s a beautiful reversal of the Disaster Kick from the ring steps which is transferred into a Powerbomb into the barricade to maximum effect. The ‘This is Awesome’ chants are thoroughly deserved. Too much happens to describe here but sadly the WWE Tag Team Championship victory is hyped to be more down to Big Show interfering rather than the solid work of the Rhodes brothers.

John Cena, Cody Rhodes and Goldust vs The Real Americans and Damien Sandow (Smackdown, November 1st) isn’t as thrilling as it would have been had it been a tag team match between The Rhodes Brothers and The Real Americans but it is still notable for some good action which harks back to the days of 1980’s six man tag team warfare. The worst thing about the bout is that it comes after Damien Sandown’s failed cash in attempt and it’s plain to see that no one cares about the character anymore. He had limited appeal when he had something about him, namely the briefcase, stripped of that combined with the burial he received after he won the briefcase; there was never any chance of scraping any decency back in the ring. The damage had been done. Goldust is once again a highlight, if there was an award for most improved wrestler then surely it would go to him. Dustin’s Bulldog using Damien Sandow as a springboard is excellent. There are huge swathes of time when the bout goes nowhere but luckily for the flow, it only emphasises the excitement when it comes along. Building well, John Cena is wisely kept to a minimum as to negate the negative effect on others careers; he is competent when his time comes. Antonio Cesaro is crisp and professional, handling John Cena very well and the slow decline back to the golden days of wrestling with blind tags which aren’t noticed by the referee and cutting the ring in half are a welcome distraction. John Cena nails a beautiful spear on Jack Swagger outside the ring and his yelps of ‘tag’ to Cody Rhodes every time he comes Cena’s way in the Cesaro Swing are funny. Cesaro’s counter of the Attitude Adjustment into a Gutwrench is sublime as is the Uppercut which Cena gets great height on. There’s a nice sequence to end the affray but Cena finishes Swagger off too quickly without any real rhyme or reason.

C.M Punk and Daniel Bryan vs The Shield (Raw, November 11th) in a two on one handicap match begins slow but gradually picks up the pace when Daniel Bryan enters. C.M Punk’s part in the match makes him feel like he’s on pause. Bryan hits a lovely German Suplex on Rollins, but the fans are visibly jaded by the time the main event rolls around – they have been sitting there for nearly three hours as WWE taped Superstars before Raw – and it’s high time the show wrapped up. There is hardly any enthusiasm left. That however is remedied when The Wyatt Family enter the fray and brawl with The Shield before all six men chase Daniel Bryan and C.M Punk around the ring before Punk and Bryan get the better of them to the audience’s approval. It’s not a classic but the final five minutes are very good.

Josh Matthews is a more than able host. Straying away form feeding us facts we neither need to know nor care about, Josh gives us the basics and allows us to see what happened for ourselves. WWE should employ Josh to host every release. He’s a steady hand to steer the ships and it’d be a better gig than the one he currently has in the company.

Weaknesses:

C.M Punks Mocks Paul Bearer (Raw, April 1st) is still a sickening display of disrespect by the WWE. Anyone who stands by this as the only way to hype The Undertaker vs C.M Punk at WrestleMania 29 is wrong. There were many other ways and the company should have found one. That anyone involved agreed to this is just unbelievable. After everything Paul Bearer did for the company, this is how they repay his memory? His family were rightfully disgusted as were the audience inside the arena who had sit through a feeble Undertaker promo before being bombarded with this rubbish. They do however chant C.M Punk for some reason. As far as I can see, everyone involved should be heavily ashamed of themselves.

Maddeningly, WWE have still left the ad links in the matches thus they’re included as they went out on the night, only to show us what happened during the break via the WWE app. What’s the point of that? Just include the footage in the release.

Fandango vs Kofi Kingston (Raw, April 8th) is a nonexistent bout which its running time can be counted in seconds on two hands. Not so much of a match as a beat down of a new talent, Chris Jericho gets involved almost immediately and pounds Fandango for his victory the previous night at WrestleMania 29. How anyone at WWE can class this drivel as the best of Raw and Smackdown is as baffling as their selection process for these releases. The fans are loving it though and still living up the Dolph Ziggler title victory. Fans ruled this Raw. The stupidest thing about all of this though is that after being humiliated by Jericho, the thing Fandango is most irate about is the ring announcer pronouncing his name wrong.

Randy Orton and Sheamus vs Big Show and Mark Henry (Smackdown, April 19th) is a thorough bore. Not only does it take an age to get going, when it does it’s only for short spurts of time before either Big Show and Mark Henry slow it down again with mind numbing rest holds which when you fast forward through looks like its on pause. That’s never a good sign. Sheamus and Orton do their best to try and lift it but it never quite works. How many times can we sit through a five minute nerve hold? Randy Orton does manage to kick the match up a gear towards the end but it is too little too late, I’ve passed wind which was more exciting than this. Big Show and Mark Henry look lazy and uninterested.

Alberto Del Rio’s Championship Fiesta (Smackdown, June 28th) is, unless you’re a Mexican, a total snooze fest. Literally nothing happens until Dolph Ziggler crashes the party and we’re forced to sit through Mexican folk bands playing tunes and Del Rio whacking a Piñata with Ziggler’s face on it. It’s like being at the worst party in the world where everyone is waiting for something to happen and you’re forced to walk around relatives you don’t really like just to make the time go quicker. The only thing which could have made this worse was mad uncle Norman talking about his stamp collection and then proceeding to show you pictures he’s taken.

The Wyatt Family Make a Statement (Raw, July 15th) is an underwhelming segment and a very loose piece of television as they wail away on R-Truth before Bray Wyatt cuts a disjointed promo about the man who created us still being alive and amongst us. It’s an underwhelming moment at the beginning of The Wyatt’s career. The promo and beating aren’t strong enough to force them over as serious threats and when they single out Kane as their first victim, you’re kind of left guessing as to what the point was of them being there at all if nothing meaningful was going to happen. Fans though do eat it all up, I guess they’re so desperate for new stars they’ll take anything offered, weak or strong. Only the ending proves a strong base when Bray Wyatt drops to his knees over Truth’s fallen body and proclaims in a unsettling manner, “Follow the Buzzards”.

Damien Sandow Searches for his Briefcase (Smackdown, July 26th) boasts yet another pointless set of separate segments joined together to make one long, very dull sequence as Sandow searches for his Money in the Bank briefcase which Cody Rhodes steals at the conclusion of Damien’s bout with Randy Orton. Until Sandow gets to the river where Rhodes is waiting with the case, it’s a procession of stomping about hallways yelling at people. The briefcase in the river spot also feels overdone. WWE need to find someway of reimagining this, whilst Sandow jumping in the river after stating he can’t swim is pure ridiculousness. This has taken the place of an actual match.

Miz TV With John Cena and Daniel Bryan (Raw, August 12th) is basically a suck up segment in which both men kiss the arses of the audience big time. Both men are wasted here as is their mic talent. Cena moronically says this is the most exciting Miz TV ever, it’s far from it. Miz’s script is cringe achingly awful and sounds like an amateur daytime soap. Cena grins through everything Daniel Bryan says so we can’t take any of it seriously even when Bryan calls John Cena a parody of a wrestler and accuses him of being in it for the fame and glory and not for the wrestling. He just laughs, what a cock. Both men are in danger of contracting cherry blossom poisoning the amount of boot licking they do. Hilariously, Cena contradicts himself when he says that as long as there are people behind him he’ll wrestle with a broken neck, funny that seeing as he didn’t with a ripped muscle in his arm. If he says he can wrestle with a broken neck then surely a torn bicep / elbow wouldn’t have hindered him. He needs to watch what he’s saying because people do pick up on it. Halfway through John Cena sounds like he’s about to cry and Miz may as well not be there as Cena strikes again stating that what he does is wrestling. The way it’s put across it’s as if WWE are trying to tell Daniel Bryan that what John Cena does is actually wrestling and what he does is something else, it’s ridiculous and somewhat infuriating to listen to. As Daniel Bryan tries to get across how important SummerSlam is to him, John Cena shrugs it off and laughs as if it means nothing. It goes on and on and on for at least fifteen to twenty minutes and the only notable thing is the ending in which Cena looks ever inch the heel when he slaps Bryan across the face.

Big Show Faces Off With The Shield (Smackdown, September 13th) is an excellent angle...if its main intention was to discredit The Shield in one foul swoop. After a promo which could cure insomniacs and an apology to Triple H which makes the former ‘Giant’ sound like a robot, Hunter laughable states that Big Show is the locker room leader and that if a COO tells you to do something and you fail to comply its grounds for dismissal. Rubbish! If your COO gives you a gun and tells you to shoot your wife and kids that’s not grounds for dismissal if you refuse. WWE need to check these scripts thoroughly before they let them pass through. Worse, Triple H then tries to make us believe that millionaire Big Show (yes, he really has accumulated millions. For what I’ll never know) is broke. So broke in fact my minions he can afford to take time off after Survivor Series. When The Shield get involved, Big Show dismantles them like NXT jobbers giving no thought to their image or future development. It’s only at the death of this tiresome segment the trio get the upper hand.

Championship Ascension Ceremony (Raw, December 9th) is yet another bore where Randy Orton and John Cena stand and verbally abuse each other amidst a group of former champions. Triple H says that they’re in the ring with a collection of celebrated champions when they’re surrounded by Big Show, Alberto Del Rio, Jack Swagger, The Miz, Mark Henry, The Great Khali and Dolph Ziggler to name but a few when in actual fact they’re everyone the company buried as champion and the only real celebrated champions amongst the whole lot are Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, Booker T and Triple H. The crowd go nuts for Daniel Bryan and constantly chant his name throughout the procession which visibly annoys Triple H and Stephanie – they can’t make us think like them all the time – and John Cena does a great job of arse kissing yet again when brings Bryan to the forefront as someone who has worked for his success and that is why the audience love him. The end sequence is at least impressive though as the showdown degenerates into a brawl as C.M Punk attacks Randy Orton after being shoved, Triple H attacks C.M Punk and Punk retaliates, Shawn Michaels nails Punk with Sweet Chin Music, Daniel Bryan sends HBK to the mat with a Spinning Leg Sweep then sends Randy Orton hurtling into Stephanie which gets him a Pedigree. The only sweeter way this could have ended is if Bret Hart had have nailed Shawn Michaels. Unfortunately its length and lack of content before the brawl makes it a chore to sit through.

Blu-ray Exclusive Extras:

Raw – January 14th 2013

Steel Cage Match

John Cena vs Dolph Ziggler

Raw – January 18th 2013

WWE Intercontinental Championship Match

Wade Barrett vs Chris Jericho vs The Miz

Raw – June 20th 2013

Kane, Daniel Bryan and Kofi Kingston vs The Shield

Smackdown – August 9th 2013

Alberto Del Rio vs Christian

Raw – November 18th 2013

WWE Intercontinental Championship Match

Curtis Axel vs Big E. Langston

Conclusion:

The Best of Raw and Smackdown 2013 turns out to be a better compilation than first expected. When I browsed the listing for this release I thought it would be a chore to sit through with enough matches to satisfy the hardened fan but also too many promos and confrontations. Whilst some of that remains true, WWE could have done a lot more to make this a must. The promos that are entertaining warrant a place even though they cannot be described as a ‘Best of’ and those that don’t should have made way for other matches.

Notable omissions, which supposedly made way for long and tiresome confrontations, include Randy Orton vs Goldust from September and Randy Orton vs Christian vs Rob Van Dam (Smackdown, August 2nd). Had these replaced Damien Sandown’s search for his briefcase and Miz TV with John Cena and Daniel Bryan then this would have been an almost untouchable release.

As it is, Disc 1 is by far the best of the three (DVD) with nothing on it that is inferior. Sadly it goes down hill from there and Discs 2 and 3, the latter has the longest running time at just over three hours, are patchy at best. With the amount of non wrestling angles which aren’t entertaining and have no bearing on the release, by the time you get to the end of the discs you will get the feeling that the compilers ran out of ideas as to what to include and just threw anything on they thought was half decent. We didn’t need to see the Championship Ascension Ceremony or Alberto Del Rio’s Championship Fiesta; we could have lived without them.

A very good release which could have been excellent does warrant the asking price for the matches and angles which do make a difference; you’ll miss nothing though if you skip over the rest.

Rating: B

Next Time In Review Corner: Shawn Michaels – Mr. WrestleMania DVD and Blu-ray

Onwards and upwards...

ELIMINATION CHAMBER 2014 - THE ROADBLOCK TO WRESTLEMANIA

Since it’s inception in 2002, the Elimination Chamber has always been a spectacle and one which is looked forward to each year. Adding to the WWE’s schedule of themed pay-per views, this year looks like we’ll only be given one Elimination Chamber Match to the usual two. That will either make the event special again or, after being spoilt with two for so long, it’ll make the undercard seem inferior to where the first Elimination Chamber bout would usually be.

Last year, the main attraction was The Rock vs C.M Punk for the WWE Championship, so this year the company are going to have to go some way to topping that hype, especially with WrestleMania XXX relying largely on Elimination Chamber to keep fans interested.

From the Target Centre in Minneapolis, Minnesota on February 23rd 2014, this is Elimination Chamber 2014.

WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match

Elimination Chamber Match

(c) Randy Orton vs John Cena vs Christian vs Antonio Cesaro vs Sheamus vs Daniel Bryan

The first point I wish to touch upon in this months pay-per view preview isn’t the actual WWF World Heavyweight Championship picture, but two of the competitors in it. Recently returning to the company, can someone please tell me how the hell Christian and Sheamus become joint number one contenders to the top title when they’ve both been out so long? Sheamus’ Royal Rumble return may have been a success depending on which side of the fence you’re sitting on but does he really deserve the immediate push over other wrestlers like Dolph Ziggler or Alberto Del Rio who have actually earned their place in a match such as this?

Sheamus should have been eased back in carefully following the injury which kept him out for a huge chunk of 2013. A main event run such as this demands its competitors take on a stressful schedule in the run up and fall out to the bout as well as the Road to WrestleMania. Is Sheamus ready for that kind of strain on an already dodgy body part? I guess only time will tell but if he isn’t prepared then he could find himself back on the injury list again and at a time when the company will need him to relieve some of that pressure at the top of the card.

If anyone has been watching Raw and Smackdown recently then you’ll have realised that Sheamus’ challenges to Ryback are designed to lead the pair to a WrestleMania XXX clash – that should be...a laugh if nothing else – which means the Irishman has no chance of winning the Elimination Chamber Match so why insert someone back into this spot when its clear they have no chance of winning and are taking the place of the more deserving which I will get onto in a minute.

Sheamus’ upcoming feud with Ryback would have been the ideal slow build in which to carefully push him towards the main event. The pair who will clash at WrestleMania XXX and Extreme Rules in May – maybe Sheamus can pull something decent out of Ryback – aren’t going anywhere soon and as hard as it to believe that Ryback will be a WWE wrestler for another year, it’s not a stretch of the imagination to believe Sheamus could be an effective part of the company as a heel around August. The only thing putting him in a main event match is going to do is rile the audience and get them on his back even more so then they were when he went down injured.

What can one say for Christian? An accomplished member of the roster no doubt, but it was made clear after his 2011 World Heavyweight Championship reign that he was no longer considered main event material by Vince McMahon. So why the hell is he here when he could actually be doing something for the Intercontinental Championship down the card? If anyone has any logical answers as to why Christian has effectively stolen a spot away from someone like Roman Reigns then I would really love to hear them, because as far as I can see, there isn’t one.

‘Captain Charisma’ has been out so long most forgot he was still employed by the company. At his age and current status, Christian should be volunteering to lose to wrestlers such as Curtis Axel and Big E. Langston in order to get them over, not hogging the glory at a level he clearly no longer belongs at. Christian is still a valuable name at the right level which means he could do business for the company if they were to once again turn him heel and furnish him with the I.C strap in order for the more popular Langston to re-acquire it in say a Fatal Four Way Ladder Match at Extreme Rules.

Christian should take a leaf out of Goldust’s book. Better than he has ever been, Dustin Rhodes / Runnels has continuously served a purpose in the company since his return in 2013. His stint as the WWE Tag Team Champion with brother Cody – which is leading to a heel turn by Goldust, did you notice it at the Royal Rumble? – elevated the tag team gold before they bizarrely lost it to the over the hill New Age Outlaws. In singles action, Goldust has put over men who needed a push and done so without complaint. Goldust knows his place in the WWE in 2014 and so should Christian. Because it’s certainly not at the top of the card.

Apart from not being in the Royal Rumble match there isn’t a whole lot more one can say about Daniel Bryan and the same goes for Randy Orton and John Cena. It was given that all of them would be in this match so that’s no great surprise, so instead we are going to focus on the one nice surprise in this bout, Antonio Cesaro.

The former Ring of Honor star has had his ups and downs in the company. The yodelling gimmick was thankfully instantly forgettable, had it hung around then it endangered effecting his career and the same goes for his semi competent / semi disastrous United States Championship reign which was hindered by WWE management. Cesaro excelled in the ring when given enough time and the right opponent. Since joining The Real Americans, he’s been held back Jack Swagger and association with the bigoted Zeb Coulter not to mention his constant tag team losses which could have been turned into positives had the pair lost convincingly and not in short, useless matches.

For everything the company have put Cesaro through thanks to McMahon’s hatred of independent circuit talent, Cesaro has come through it almost unscathed which is an impressive feat considering some of the jobs he’s had to do just to get here. Of course he can’t be credited for it all. The fans have stuck behind him all the way. We recognised the talent and the dedication and we backed it until McMahon had no choice but to act upon it. Where Cesaro goes now is anyone’s guess. He can’t stay a tag team player he’s way more talented than that but also he won’t win the Elimination Chamber Match.

With Randy Orton set defend his Championship – or John Cena if the company change their minds at the last moment – against Batista or Brock Lesnar or both at WrestleMania XXX, it may even be a Fatal Four Way including John Cena, then there’s feasibly no room for Daniel Bryan in the main event of the biggest show of the year, which means he could be pitted against Cesaro in what would be a stunning showing of that I am sure after seeing the pair clash in ROH.

In Antonio Cesaro, WWE have lightening in a bottle. They would be stupid to let it go just as it began to strike hard.

I was disappointed to see that this year’s elimination chamber included all former championship except Cesaro. Had the company removed John Cena, Christian and Sheamus, inserted Dolph Ziggler, Alberto Del Rio and Roman Reigns in their place, just think how much better the bout would have been with all but Orton and Daniel Bryan as promising new talent. Because frankly, I can’t see this match being a classic, it’ll be good for sure but for what the company have planned these next 6 months, there can only be one winner.

Winners Prediction: Randy Orton

The Shield vs The Wyatt Family

I was mistaken in the belief that this match would happen at WrestleMania XXX as first suggested. Though it would have been a gap the company wouldn’t have had to fill, they’ve decided they have ample choices to do with the six man combo at the event so they’re giving it us a month early. Of course, if it turns out they don’t have anything else to occupy the teams with at WrestleMania XXX, we’ll all be throwing this back in their faces in April.

Whilst The Wyatt Family need the boost and therefore should win the bout, no one can get away from the fact this will be used to further the split of The Shield which began when Roman Reigns cost the trio matches by mistakenly nailing his teammates with Spears and then continued at the Royal Rumble when he eliminated them from the bout. It’s all in the grand plan for the company to turn him face and then push him as a killer main event player. The big question is, is Roman Reigns ready for what he’s about to undertaker?

From what we’ve been shown so far, I would say he’s on his way. I don’t believe he’s fully there yet though. His ability is limitless and he reminds me of a young Randy Orton. Unfortunately, he’s also picked up some of the old Randy Orton’s bad habits in the ring. The biggest one being the mind numbing rest holds. Does everyone reading this remember the enthusiasm zapping five minute Chin locks Orton used to apply when he couldn’t think of anything to do? Well Reigns is doing the same thing. Whilst every other aspect of his game is almost up to scratch, it’s those moves which will turn an audience against him over time.

Should Roman Reigns find himself competing in a twenty minute Intercontinental Championship Match later this year, with no help for him to turn to and interrupts the flow of what could be a great match with a dull rest move, then he’ll find the audience turn on him quicker than the company planned for. It can be a career killer not to have all the tools in your arsenal when the company has, to everyone watching, marked you out as a future star.

It’s going to be interesting to see what Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins do without Roman Reigns. Will The Shield continue? Like the NWO will they recruit a new star from NXT to replace Reigns? That would be a great idea. Rollins and Ambrose do have the skill to go their separate ways but would the company push them as stars if they did? From previous evidence, then the answer is no. As United States Champion, Ambrose had been treated shockingly in singles action by the company when he could have made a difference to the belt. For now, it’s best the company keep them together and add a replacement for Reigns otherwise the pair could find themselves lost in the WWE shuffle like so many before them.

The Wyatt Family are beginning to cause the company a lot of problems. Without a stone wall idea for the group, the WWE are becoming increasingly frustrated about how the trio are ever going to become stars. I think here, we all have good reason to worry. No one can deny that the three have something even though Bray Wyatt isn’t the best wrestler in world. However, thanks to the company routinely canning storylines for the three oddballs, they’re in danger of the company losing interest in them and we all know how quickly Vince goes off talent if they’re not working well for the company.

The list of failed names are as long as the company’s history and more recently include Tensai – who was earmarked for a main event run against John Cena which never transpired – and Fandango, who the company originally marked out to be a main upper-card player and have a lengthily run with the Intercontinental Championship. The company should do everything within their power to make sure The Wyatt Family are not the next three names heaped onto that list. Special things can be done with the trio; all it takes is a little imagination.

We’ve been through the kidnap storyline time and time again until it bores me to even consider it further, so instead, whilst doing other projects, I have been giving The Wyatt’s future in the WWE some ample thought. There are always the usual storylines in which the trio can be involved in but because they’re a different type of character to say, Kofi Kingston, then they have to be given suitably unnerving tales in which to tell. The first thing which went through my head was to do something with Kane – anything to get him out from under The Authority’s feet – and seeing as we were never told where Kane was supposedly taken whilst Glen Jacobs went to film See No Evil 2, then the company could do something with that.

Once I quickly moved on from thought, picturing a WWE studio somewhere, where they’d dressed a set to resemble a very bad Hills Have Eyes underground dungeon instead of a backwater cottage which was featured in their vignettes, dressed with all the clichés from every horror film you’ve ever seen, I came up with something which has partly been done before and partly been mentioned here before.

Assuming we go with the whole kidnap angle once more but WWE didn’t, until after WrestleMania, want to dedicate any of their main players such as Punk or Bryan to the story, then what we’re left with is former stars. Namely, the WWE legends! Anyone who has tuned into Raw, Smackdown, WWE.Com or any other WWE related programming lately won’t have failed to see the adverts for what promises to be one of the most bizarre television shows ever ‘Legends House’, which is basically Big Brother with former WWE Legends – which I imagine will be scripted to stop them referring to wrestlers they don’t like, drugs they once took or kayfabe storylines the company don’t want getting out which could disillusion younger fans.

Without knowing it, the company have given themselves a great start to what could be a running theme in the WWE for the next few months and which could tie in past Wyatt Family foes at its conclusion. We all know Legends House is going to be full of rubbish considering which legends they’re putting in, so why not add it to a storyline and make it the hottest topic in wrestling? Imagine this:

The WWE legends – who are obviously in on what’s going to happen – are sitting around the house for a week before something happens, giving the impression its going to be another run of the mill television show. However when they arrive there are mysterious notes – left by The Wyatt Family – around the house, piquing the viewers interest. Then after a suitable amount of time has passed strange things begin to happen. The lights keep going off, when they come back on haunting messages are left around the house, a buzzard appears in the garden until we’re given a shock when the footage cuts away to a specially recorded – on a handheld camera – piece of footage which is meant to be shot by The Wyatt Family, hiding in the bushes watching a WWE legend.

Then people begin to go missing until the WWE puts out an edict that they are going to have to stop the show. Then one night, the lights in the house go off only to come back on as we see Eric Rowan and Luke Harper in their masks standing behind a WWE legend who they then kidnap. It would be the perfect unsettling act to get people talking. Then after WrestleMania has passed the company have a ready made story as The Wyatt Family would come out on television each week and brag about what they’d done and who they had taken.

With no television sponsors to keep happy, the company would be able to do what they wanted. There would be no rules to stick to and no directors or boards to keep happy. If Vince passes it, it happens. Then at WrestleMania the unthinkable happens. After he wins his match, The Undertaker is ambushed in the ring and kidnapped by The Wyatt Family who add him to their list of victims. Now the hunt is on involving current WWE stars to find the missing legends as promos air teasing The Undertaker’s paranormal influence, stating he is coming for the Wyatt Family. They could even shoot a scene where they apparently bury him alive but no one knows where.

After WrestleMania, the company band together stars who need exposure led by a main event calibre talent to hunt down The Wyatt’s and find the missing legends. Kane would leave The Authority in search of his brother and we would have the ending to an angle which was never explained.

All that though is just a suggestion. The WWE need to do something unforgettable with The Wyatt Family and soon, before they become just another trio in the company, who mean nothing,

As far as the match goes, I expect The Wyatt Family to get the victory after Roman Reigns spears Rollins or Ambrose to set up their split at WrestleMania XXX. These could be great days the company if handled correctly or they could be just another victim of WWE’s inadequacy to do what’s best for business.

Winners Prediction: The Wyatt Family

Batista vs Alberto Del Rio

‘The Animal’ Batista, is an enigma in wrestling. He always has been and I suppose he always will be. In reality, he was only ever pushed to the main event because of his friendship with Triple H and the lucky which fell over his career in 2005 when the fans decided to get behind him because it was that or John Cena. Everyone reading this knows that Batista doesn’t possess any real wrestling ability and his best matches have come against those of better quality. It’s never been Batista who’s been solely responsible for a stunning bout.

Many have speculated the importance of Batista’s return to the WWE so soon after completing the filming of the Guardian of the Galaxy movie. Whether he was needed, whether he was taking away the spotlight from other talent who needed it more, we’ve been through all of this before. The truth is, yes. The WWE do need Batista despite his lack of finesse in the ring because they have no other surprise main draw to bring in the WrestleMania XXX buy rate. The Rock isn’t going to return as far as I know, Randy Orton has been treated shockingly since TLC and John Cena is...well...John Cena. Something needed to be done in WWE’s eyes to guarantee a huge number for the thirtieth year of their biggest event.

The question of whether Batista is taking away the spotlight from younger stars is irrelevant, seeing as there are no other wrestlers in the company at a lower level who could even think about being the headline for WrestleMania. There would have been had the company began Antonio Cesaro’s push earlier in 2013. Reasonably, Cesaro could have challenged Randy Orton for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and drawn a huge number in doing so as people would have tuned in to see a new star born. That is what wrestling is about. As it is, Batista, like The Rock in the two years previous isn’t stealing anyone’s spot as Big Show has done because there’s no one even close to the buzz he can create for a huge show.

Now, I fear I’ll have to explain that Big Show remark before I get letters from the dimmer of our community. When I say that Batista isn’t stealing anyone’s spotlight like Big Show did, I actually do mean it and no, it’s not just because I believe Show has had his day in the industry. You see, the amount of spotlight Big Show absorbed in the main event in the latter stages of 2013 could have been used to create a new star to challenge at WrestleMania. The story, the angle, the character could have gone to the next big thing which may have negated Batista’s inclusion in 2014. By the time Batista returned, it was already too late to create someone new when there was time when Big Show was willingly ruining other people’s chances of future success. Batista has picked up the pieces of WWE’s failure to create any new threats. Big Show could have chosen to step aside before it was too late and suggest someone under him to management for his spot. A spot that no one even brought into.

Is there life in Batista as WWE World Heavyweight Champion? Yes, I believe there is sufficient mileage in the product as long as it leads to a one on one series between Brock Lesnar and ‘The Animal’ in the post WrestleMania season. Though saying that, one fears that no matter what the main event is at WrestleMania XXX; Randy Orton vs Brock Lesnar vs Batista vs John Cena vs Daniel Bryan, Randy Orton vs Batista vs John Cena, Randy Orton vs Batista vs Brock Lesnar or simply Randy Orton vs Batista, that by the time we get to SummerSlam John Cena will be WWE WH Champion once again. It’s inevitable as is the rematch between Cena and Lesnar which everyone said would never happen.

To freshen up a dated and stale main event scene, I doubt many would hold anything against Batista for taking a huge pay day and returning. After all, since he left the company he hasn’t been able to live like a king as he did on WWE’s wages before his departure in 2010 and whilst I suspect he’ll depart again when the almost guaranteed Guardians of the Galaxy II gets green lit, he’s going to be a mainstay again for a long time to come. What we do have a problem with, is the same reason that some had a problem with The Rock returning last year and that’s just rolling over an established talent who plies his trade for the company all year round.

Since being as good as ruined by John Cena at Hell in a Cell and Survivor Series, Alberto Del Rio was never going to worry the main event scene on the Road to WrestleMania, but he still had some credibility left with which the company could rebuild him as the star he needs to be. The signs were there when he was World Heavyweight Champion. Del Rio was sparkling in the role and despite what John Cena’s stated reasons were for coming back, it was the Mexican who brought more respect and prestige back to the gold than the walking merchandise machine ever could have. Only he didn’t do it with cartoon faces, millions of dollars in merchandise sales and grins which made you want to reach through the screen and slap his stupid face; Alberto Del Rio did it with solid wrestling and flawless storytelling. You know, the way it should be done.

Everyone knew that once John Cena returned, Alberto Del Rio would be forced to step aside; though being asked if he minded wouldn’t have gone amiss. To have him play the down on his luck character he currently portrays though is a sign of disrespect from the company to the star that carried their secondary top tier Championship with aplomb and better than anyone has for at least a year. Alberto Del Rio could make a difference elsewhere on the card and as soon as he lost the World Heavyweight Championship to John Cena then the company should have immediately booked him to win the WWE Intercontinental Championship to give him back some of that aura took away by John Cena’s treatment of him in the ring. If anyone wants to debate that Alberto Del Rio brought it on himself like Dolph Ziggler supposedly did and John Cena should be absolved then you don’t know what you’re talking about.

Just look at the way Cena treated the Cross Arm Breaker weeks after he’s returned from arm surgery. Simply standing up with your injured arm was a selfish act which gave no thought to the man and the move he was fighting, just to himself and restoring that aura of invincibility. Sadly, the ‘I Love Cena Morons’ actually do believe that he’s not to blame for anything and that its his opponents who should have put in a better effort if they didn’t want him to ruin their careers. What they fail to realise is that if they deviate from the usual Cena routine for just a moment then demotion awaits them and their career may never get back on track. It’s about time these small minded idiots actually looked at who is to blame for these situations and took responsibility, unlike John Cena himself.

The fact remains that even though Alberto Del Rio has been treated identically by Batista to hoe he was by John Cena, the Mexican still has something to give lower down the card. Let him carry the Intercontinental Championship for a whole year and rebuild it. Keep him clear of John Cena and everyone else who is necessity to the main event scene so he doesn’t have to job to them and he’ll be a main event talent again. In three hundred and sixty five days the company can come up with a foolproof plan as to how to keep Del Rio at the level he’s at. And if they can’t then the kindest thing to do would be to allow him to return to Mexico where he’s loved and wanted. There’s no sensible reason to purposely ruin a talented wrestlers career simply because you cannot think of anything to do with him.

Winners Prediction: Batista

WWE Intercontinental Championship Match

(c) Big E. Langston vs Jack Swagger

There was a massive amount of hope put forth by the WWE booking committee when Big E. Langston defeated Curtis Axel to lift the WWE Intercontinental Championship. For months, Axel had failed to fulfil his potential with the gold his father once held so proudly around his waist and a change was desperately needed. There were mutterings whether Langston was the correct person for the job seeing as he’d never had a respectably solid match except his SummerSlam tag team bout when he had Dolph Ziggler to carry him, and it certainly was a risk by the company to push his in what is still considered by the company as an upper-mid card position even though the gold lost that distinction a long time ago.

Questions were rife about whether Langston could improve on what Axel did. He had the look and size the company preferred but his skills to produce a thrilling match severely lacked. When one holds a WWE title, be it at the top or bottom of the card then it’s almost a necessity that said chosen one can at least carry his opponent, usually a lower ranked talent, and make him a star. Something akin to a pretender to the throne. So far, for all his commendable efforts, Langston hasn’t been able to do that. Yes, he’s had some decent matches but like Dean Ambrose who carries the United States Championship, he should be capable of much better than what’s been on display so far.

I’ve mentioned here before, that Langston resembles a new age Ahmed Johnson in the ring. All the looks, all the muscles but none of the personality to truly grab the audience and pull them in hook, line and sinker to make the Intercontinental Championship the piece of stature enhancing gold it used to be. Whilst Johnson was an un-driven slob in the ring, he barely did anything to make himself or anyone else look good, Langston has had the necessary training to afford him a better beginning. So where does the problem lie?

Half of the problem the company have with Big E. Langston is that his push has come way too soon. Barely was he out of A.J’s clutches and the shadow of Dolph Ziggler before we were thrown a face turn and expected to believe that this strapping, mildly handsome to some enforcer was now Championship material. It just didn’t work and that was reflected in the lack of interest in his pay-per view bouts towards the end of 2013. No one cared and with good reason. We’d been given nothing to believe in with Langston. Had he received a push which made us feel for him and hurt with him? No. For all tense and purposes, Big E. Langston had been handed the Intercontinental Championship because of his looks.

Had he tried and come close before failing on several occasions then we could have gotten behind him despite his lack of charisma. He’d have been a martyr. Someone the fans would have wanted to succeed. Now he’s just someone the fans want to drop the gold. The problem is that when he does, there’s nowhere left for him to turn. Certainly, he’s proved he’s not WWE World Heavyweight Championship material which means being demoted to Superstars whilst someone else tries to fill his spot. Is it Langston’s fault? Partly. Wrestlers can be given all the training they need but on the night it’s up to them how they perform. Is it WWE’s fault? Again, partly. They haven’t given him the push or opponents needed to succeed.

Can Jack Swagger be the man to bring the best out of Langston? Possibly. At this point in time there’re no more guarantees as to what can and cannot happen. The Intercontinental Championship is going to take some major investment to reignite its worth so would changing hands to a man who couldn’t have been buried deeper had he upset Jack ‘The Hat’ – an old East End gangster for the American minions amongst us – help? There’s a chance it could if the company actually get behind Swagger and stop making him and Antonio Cesaro – or just Cesaro – lose to anyone and everyone.

The difference between Langston and Swagger is that the former ‘All American-American’ has the skills and amazingly the backing of at least most of the fans to make a success of the I.C division. Pushed as a serious singles star, Jack Swagger still has something to offer the WWE Universe. He’s young, hungry and angry at how he’s been treated. I’m not saying he could feasibly hold the WWE World Heavyweight Championship again without us expecting a repeat of last time but a run with the Intercontinental Championship could do wonders for his career. He’s gotten wrestlers over before and can do so again as long as he’s not used as cannon fodder which would devaluate him and the gold even more than they have been.

The problem with Jack Swagger winning the gold though is that WWE have already picked their next Champion elect. And it’s Roman Reigns. It’s the only reason Big E. Langston has held the gold for what seems like an eternity because Reigns is the man the company are backing to catapult into the stratosphere and take the gold with him. Reasonably, by the time Roman Reigns has dropped the title he’ll supposedly win at WrestleMania XXX he’ll be primed for a run as WWE World Heavyweight Champion.

Though there’s no real intrigue for this match, the company would have been better using this to further The Shield split. How you ask? Let me enlighten you. Had the WWE bowed to public demand to unify the United States and Intercontinental Championship’s they could have booked an Elimination Chamber match to do it. The winner would unify both titles and only carry the Intercontinental gold. Dean Ambrose could have won the match thus building tension between him and Roman Reigns with Seth Rollins in the middle. When everything came crashing down around them, the company could have booked a triple threat match at WrestleMania between The Shield for the gold.

It’s something people would have been interested in seeing and a great way for Reigns to begin his singles run, rather than just defeating Langston in what is destined to be a lifeless bout we’ll all strive to forget.

As for Elimination Chamber, just for the title’s future I hope that Jack Swagger walks away as Champion even thought it’s almost destined Langston will. It won’t be a classic; it won’t be a ‘talk about the next day on the bus’ bout. But it’ll do what it sets out to and that’s set up Langston’s involvement at WrestleMania.

Winners Prediction: Jack Swagger

WWE Tag Team Championship Match

(c) The New Age Outlaws vs The Usos

I was flabbergasted when the aged Outlaws defeated Cody Rhodes and Goldust on the Kick-Off Match at the Royal Rumble. The Rhodes Brothers were doing so well with the doubles gold that nothing needed to be done to change the status quo. Goldust was on his best run ever in the WWE and Cody Rhodes was flourishing into an eventual main event player, so why cut their reigns short? The answer is simple. There’s only one reason Vince wanted to make Road Dogg and Billy Gunn the WWE Tag Team Champions.

With WrestleMania XXX on the horizon, I’m convinced that the WWE are planning an Attitude Era reunion, maybe a battle royal to entice fans in with all the favourites from eras past. To hype interest in such a match, what better way than to have two of the era’s favourites hold current WWE gold? That and the fact people still love the Outlaws so the train of thought to saddle them with doubles gold was to try and elevate the Championships. Whether it’ll work or not, who knows?

As I write this it’s Wednesday morning and I am snowed under with a project I’m currently working on. So in order not to waste your time or mine, the following matches which were announced as a fallout of Monday’s Raw will be swiftly covered. Seeing as they’re not going to make any sort of an impact on the company or post-WrestleMania season I can’t imagine too many people being bothered about the briefness of the segments. Not only am I working on my own project but I have been approached to write a foreword to an upcoming wrestling book and the review of it which I envisage will appear in a future Review Corner later in the year. Also, I have two long Review Corners to write up on ‘The Best of Raw and Smackdown 2013’ and ‘Shawn Michaels: Mr. WrestleMania’ which I watched feverishly over the weekend. So as you can see, I’m up to my eyeballs in it at the moment and don’t have time trifle over little things like whether Gunn and Dogg will be prosperous in the tag team division over the WrestleMania period or not.

Before I wrap this little segment up though, I will not that The Usos should be treated as more than just another set of opponents. The Sons of Rikishi have so much potential that should WWE place the Tag Team Championships around their wastes and then turn them heel can you imagine the quality of matches they could have against The Rhodes Brothers, before one turns on the other? With a feud of that quality the company could put the division back on track in no time.

To waste The Usos talent would be a crime. We all know the doubles division is suffering from a lack of quality at the moment so it makes no sense to waste what little they do have by jobbing them out to aged has-beens who may be popular but who ultimately will be gone when WrestleMania XXX is over and done with. Utilise what talent you have now to create a stable base for the future. It’s the only way to get a once prosperous division back on track.

Winners Prediction: The New Age Outlaws

Titus ‘O Neil vs Darren Young

I don’t see any point in this. The Prime Time Players had a limited shelf life as a team, what chance do the horrendously limited Titus ‘O Neil and just okay, Darren Young, have as separate entities? O’Neil can never be considered a challenger to any Championship in WWE because he’s simply not good enough on his own – though when did that ever stop WWE pushing a wrestler? Darren Young may have the looks and athletic ability, but can anyone reading this really see him as a contender to the Intercontinental Championship.

So what was WWE’s incentive in breaking up a team which was doing okay as a duo recently? God only knows. We’ve established they have no appeal as singles stars and with the tag division in the state it’s in, it seems like a rash decision to split one of the teams who may have been able to provide a decent challenge even if they were never going to set it alight as Champions. Maybe Vince got bored of the pair or it’s his way of telling them that their names at the top of the post-WrestleMania culling list. We all know if you don’t have value in the company then you’re an expendable commodity.

Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe one of the two will make it big in WWE and bring the house down every night they step into the ring. Who knows, one year from now we could be hearing the words ‘Your winner, and new WWE World Heavyweight Champion...Titus ‘O Neil’. You see that’s the best thing about wrestling. You can imagine anything you like.

Winners Prediction: Titus ‘O Neil

Elimination Chamber Kick-Off Match

Cody Rhodes and Goldust vs Rybaxel

After all of their efforts and progress, this is the thanks the Rhodes brothers get for carrying the doubles division for the majority of the end of 2013. Surely, if anything, wouldn’t it have been good business sense to either make an Elimination Chamber match for the doubles gold which would have been an excellent outing considering all who could have been involved, but it would have made the gold look important again. Either that, or Cody and Goldust should have received a rematch at Elimination Chamber on the proper card. That way WWE could have built The Usos up by having them defeat Rybaxel on the Kick-Off.

Is it coincidence that Cody and Goldust find themselves in the exact same position Team Rhodes Scholars found themselves in one year ago? Certainly, I believe that the WWE have only booked this bout in order to further the break up between the pair which means Rybaxel may be in for a victory, though let’s be honest. A win over the former WWE Tag Team Champions would means Ryback and Curtis Axel would be bumped up the pecking order for a title shot. The last thing we need right now is those two holding tag team gold. Axel, yes. He’s still salvageable. Ryback though, well I’d like nothing more than to wish him well in his future endeavours.

As it is, this is the focus of the Rhodes split which will supposedly see them battle at WrestleMania XXX in a match which could be great or could be awful. Only time will tell, though I remain stout on the fact that it was way too early to split the duo when you have no one else to replace them.

Winners Prediction: Cody Rhodes and Goldust

I don’t know about you, but Elimination Chamber 2014, seems a little thin. For a pay-per view which will have a running time of close to three hours, I can only see the Elimination Chamber match proving any shocks when it comes to participants. The rest of the card doesn’t seem to provide anything to shout about and with notable omissions such as Dolph Ziggler, why aren’t the company striving to make these stars main attractions? They can’t keep relying on nostalgia acts to sell their main event of the year.

On the final road to WrestleMania, Elimination Chamber could prove to be a stumbling block, a hurdle in the company’s way. If John Cena wins the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, Roman Reigns splits from The Shield and Cody Rhodes and Goldust end their union on this night, the company have one a bit months to back these paths with a solid storyline which will really give the hard sell to WrestleMania XXX. It’s not enough time.

With the thirtieth annual WrestleMania approaching, let’s hope Vince doesn’t stumble when he should be flying.

Onwards and upwards...