Can you smell it? It's not another C.M Punk pipe bomb or what the Rock is cooking. It's...yes...it's mince pies and tinsel. You know that type of tinsel that just smells like Christmas? Christmas doesn't have a smell but if it did then that's how the odour would come across. Christmas isn't just a time for unwrapped presents and those bloody awful jumpers you get that look like Rudolph had thrown up all over them. Christmas is a time for family. It's time for reflection and it's a time to look to the future. A new start. As it's Christmas and New Year rolled into one, your next fix won't be until January 3rd. The extended Christmas break gives us all a chance to recharge out batteries and come back a fresh. So note it down. January 3rd. Until then though, I would like those who log on to read this good will message to vote on the poll to your left. Tell me whether you'd like to see more posts about TNA in 2013.
It’s what we’ll all be doing. Looking to the next year. Seeing how best to get through it. Planning how to make our dreams come true or how to get a better life. Shortly before we collapse in a drink fuelled stupor or run to the toilet citing too many mince pies for the state of the bowl afterwards. We’re not the only ones who will be looking on the next 365 days and planning how best to spend them. Vince McMahon will be as well.
Who remembers WWE Christmases of old? Anyone? I knew it. For those of you old enough to remember Christmas time in WWE, then you’ll recall a magical period of transition. I remember Survivor Series 1993. In those days Survivor Series was the final pay per view before Christmas. The images of Father Christmas standing in the ring with snow pouring down around him will be always be a special one for any wrestling child back in the day. We don’t get that these days and it’s a bloody shame.
The Future and Beyond
Still, as Vince ponders on his plans for the next year and prays to God that the Rock bring in untold revenue so he doesn’t have to see another parade of low pay per buys. I’m here for the last time before the big day to give Vince a hand and put some ideas into his head for certain wrestlers. That way at least we know WWE can’t have any excuse for doing nothing yet again. If you like this is the prediction part. I prefer to see it as an offering of peace to a company that I have rightly criticised for the past eight months.
C.M Punk
The reigning WWE Champion’s rollercoaster ride will come to an end in 2013. Ok, that’s no big surprise, we all know it had to happen sometime and the days are long since gone when WWE Champions reigned for four years.
Nonetheless though, C.M Punk has been mightily impressive as WWE’s figurehead in 2011 and 2012. Before the Championship changes hands though Punk will go through an exciting and prosperous feud with the Rock. It’s not yet know if the feud will last until Wrestlemania 29 but certainly their match at Royal Rumble will be one of the most watched in recent history.
Punk’s career will take two paths after Royal Rumble. Either the ‘Straight Edge Saviour’ will defend the WWE Championship against the Rock again at Wrestlemania 29, where he will lose on the grandest stage of them all or C.M Punk will be bestowed with one of the greatest honours in WWE. The Undertaker at Wrestlemania 29. Should WWE decide to book this match for the WWE Championship I’m not sure that ‘the Streak’ will come away in tact.
It has been bandied around WWE now that the ‘respect’ angle which WWE hung on Punk is aimed towards a clash with Undertaker at Wrestlemania 29, in a match which will be billed as ‘The Reign vs The Streak’. If WWE are to follow through on their story and promise C.M Punk will end the unprecedented streak the Undertaker has built up to the chagrin of many of the WWE Universe. Thinking about it, this would be the logical way to go with Punk even if it does upset some onlookers because let’s be honest, everyone watching would be forced to respect Punk if he pinned Undertaker at Wrestlemania 29.
As for who will end the reign is still clouded in mystery. If WWE want to go with the Rock vs Punk at Wrestlemania 29 then it’ll be the Rock. If WWE change their mind about the streak ending then it’ll be the Undertaker. If it’s neither of these then I will plump for Ryback sometime in 2013. If it’s not WWE’s latest powerhouse then I can only shudder at the thought of John Cena being WWE Champion yet again in 2013.
The Rock
It was promised in 2012 that the Rock would be WWE Champion again before he presumably retires from wrestling in the no so far flung future. Many may think that the ‘Great One’ doesn’t deserve to walk back into WWE and take the gold without warning but they’re wrong. The Rock has done more for WWE both during his time as a main wrestler and during the past few years when he’s been away in Hollywood.
Without the Rock Wrestlemania 28 would have been a failure at the box office, thanks to WWE’s failure to create any stars to face Cena on the big event. It’s because of the Rock that Wrestlemania 28 was so successful at the box office and he’ll be the reason why Wrestlemania 29 most likely sets new records as well.
Apart from his feud with Punk which has been documented to the hills by now, the Rock can be expected to make an appearance at either Survivor Series 2013 or SummerSlam 2013 which at the present moment is being talked about being held in the United Kingdom. The Rock won’t enter those events as WWE Champion but 2013 will herald a new age in WWE. It is my belief and I may be wrong, this is only a prediction, that the Rock will defeat C.M Punk for the WWE Championship at Wrestlemania 29 and then either drop the gold at Extreme Rules or vacate the WWE Championship.
The Rock’s involvement in the WWE Championship picture will bring a fresh look to the main event of WWE’s shows and it’ll make a nice change to see someone other than John Cena and C.M Punk trade the gold. The Rock though could add more than just a fresh face to proceedings. If the Rock was to agree to lose to Punk at Royal Rumble then the Rock would make Punk look even stronger than he already is. If that’s the path WWE go down and the Rock isn’t the one who defeats Punk for the gold, whoever does, hopefully someone new, then said person will look a million dollars and be known as the man who did what John Cena, Ryback and the Rock couldn’t do. That could make someone’s career and it’d all be thanks to the Rock.
However, WWE don’t promise such big things and drop them like hot shit an a whim. If WWE promised the Rock the WWE Championship in 2013 to get him to sign a new deal then the Rock will, at some point in the new year be WWE Champion once again.
Ryback
It’s hard to imagine Ryback surviving in WWE beyond December 2013. The guy has had one half decent match and shown us nothing else since. It’s still possible that Ryback will be WWE Champion in 2013 but as an extremely limited worker who has been shown up numerous times by his opponents, I’m confident Vince McMahon will see that Ryback is a flop and send him packing.
Before that happens though early plans, as you’ll have heard, for Ryback are to have him face Big Show at Wrestlemania 29 in what will be one of the most boring and dull matches in Wrestlemania history. I can’t see this being any better than Bret Hart vs Vince McMahon at Wrestlemania 26 or Batista vs Umaga at Wrestlemania 24. The sole reason WWE are fixed on booking this match, isn’t for the advancement of Ryback, but so Ryback can have the ‘Wrestlemania moment’ when he picks Big Show up and Shell Shocks him in the middle of the ring. The only snag there is that Ryback couldn’t get Tensai up for Shell Shocked. I doubt he’ll ever be able to lift Big Show up for the move.
2013 won’t be prosperous for Ryback and the only thing I can see the year doing for the man formerly known as Skip Sheffield is exposing every single floor left that he has. If WWE don’t start to hide those flaws effectively then they’ll have let another potential star slip through their fingers. And they don’t have that many left to play with.
Brock Lesnar
It has been said that Brock Lesnar will sign a new contract in WWE after Wrestlemania 29 and remain with the company until early 2014. If Lesnar does this then 2013 will be the year of Brock Lesnar again. I would expect Lesnar to regain the WWE Championship at Wrestlemania 29 instead of the Rock who could be the man that the former ‘Next Big Thing’ takes the gold from. Either that or Lesnar will be the one to end Punk’s epic reign.
If Lesnar doesn’t sing a new contract then WWE will turn to Bill Goldberg to be the next man to come in and lift ratings. And they’ll need it. The Rock is back off to Hollywood and when Punk does finally drop the gold he too will be off to different shores in order to heal wounds and a tired body. Whilst Goldberg could be yet another short fix for WWE, Brock Lesnar is the one on the front of the Wrestlemania 29 poster and therefore will feature heavily on the event.
There are several possibilities for Lesnar in 2013. Signing a new contract and becoming WWE Champion is one of them. The other is a feud with Undertaker at Wrestlemania 29 which would be Lesnar’s final match in WWE if a new contract wasn’t signed. Regardless of who Lesnar faces at Wrestlemania 29, the biggest event in wrestling history will be his last appearance in WWE should he decide that coming back wasn’t the right decision for him.
As much as a Lesnar vs Undertaker match at Mania would be huge business, I am of the belief that Brock Lesnar will face Triple H at Wrestlemania 29 where ‘The Game’ will extract his revenge for SummerSlam. Looking at the rest of the roster this is the only logical choice for WWE to go with, seeing as Triple H has yet to gain revenge on the man who supposedly retired him from the ring.
Either way, I firmly predict that Brock Lesnar will be a UFC Fighter again before 2014 rolls around. Which is a shame because WWE could have done something special with him this time around.
Alberto Del Rio
Poor Alberto. What can you say? The outlook is bleak for the so called self made millionaire. After his damaging losses to Sheamus in 2012 it’s hard to see anyone taking Del Rio seriously in 2013. If WWE were to remodel the character and do something groundbreaking with him then maybe he could scrape back some of the dignity that has been stripped of him in 2012.
Regular readers will be familiar with my suggestions on what WWE could do with Del Rio but seeing as that isn’t going to happen then maybe WWE should turn him face and see if there’s any way back to the top for him that way. Realistically it’s going to take another year or two before the WWE Universe can look at Alberto and see him as a serious contender to any Championship. The most sensible option would be to have a face Del Rio challenge Antonio Cesaro for the WWE United States Championship. Maybe this would raise the profile of the Championship whilst rebuilding Del Rio. This is a last resort.
The fact that WWE have announced plans for every other big name for Wrestlemania 29 except Del Rio has to be worrying for the man once loved and revered in Mexico. If WWE continues like this then you can expect Alberto Del Rio to be thrown into one of Wrestlemania’s usual rush job tag team matches. And that would be all but the end.
A face turn is the only logical solution for Del Rio in 2013. After he’s dumped Ricardo then maybe he can make his own way in WWE. The signs though, don’t look promising.
Randy Orton
There’s only one place Randy Orton is going in 2013 and that is straight back to the top of the mountain. Before the final bells ring on 2013, Randy Orton will either still be or will have been World Heavyweight Champion. WWE plan to make Randy Orton a major figurehead once again in WWE and the decision is welcomed by all in the WWE Universe.
Randy Orton belongs at the very top, fighting for the major Championships in WWE. The man has the ability to make stars as well as put that special slant on anything he touches. Those who lose to him are elevated by association and those who beat him are given a major career boost. There aren’t that many wrestlers you can say that about today.
All this will come after the major heel turn WWE have planned for Orton, which hasn’t come before time. Languishing too long in the nice guy role, Randy Orton was born to be a heel. His work in 2009 was superior to anything he’s done outside the ring since he turned face. A Randy Orton heel in 2013 could be the best thing about the company and fingers crossed, in his new capacity, Randy Orton will be able to make at least one new star on his rise back to the summit.
The Miz
I genuinely fear for the Miz. A face turn has been mooted in the hallowed halls of WWE yet we’re still to see anything in the dying embers of 2012. The Miz has gone as far as he can in WWE as a heel and there is literally nothing left for him to do in the role. The man with the gift of the gab must be turned face if he’s to do anything more with his WWE career otherwise it will grow stale and outdated quickly.
2013 could be the year of the Miz if WWE plucks him from the dull chat show they’ve invented to keep him busy and give him something meaningful to do. A feud with Antonio Cesaro could put both men and the United States Championship back on track or a face Miz vs a heel Randy Orton would propel Miz back into spotlight. However if WWE sit back idyll do nothing with him, then the decline of awesomeness will be the cloud that hangs over the remainder of next year.
Dolph Ziggler
Without wishing to infringe on one of TNA’s pay per view name, Dolph Ziggler is bound for glory in 2013. After a bumpy ride in 2012, WWE’s newest star is riding high after his victory over John Cena at TLC 2012, finally putting the bumpy ride he’s had this pat year behind him.
Dolph Ziggler will rise further up WWE’s rankings and food chain, defeating two or three more of WWE’s top names before he finally cashes in his Money in the Bank briefcase and is crowned World Heavyweight Champion either before or at Wrestlemania 29. Whilst Ziggler’s Championship reign won’t last the whole of 2013 as C.M Punk’s has, Dolph Ziggler will be a star name in WWE by the time the final bell tolls on 2013.
Sheamus
2012 was meant to be the year of ‘The Celtic Warrior’. However uninteresting storylines and an oversight on WWE’s behalf put the kibosh on all of that. After a demoralising and repetitive feud against Alberto Del Rio which just seemed to go on forever, Sheamus was all but done as World Heavyweight Champion.
In 2013 an attitude change is needed as is a heel turn for ‘The Great White’. A more aggressive and sinister Sheamus would make for much better viewing and open up a whole load more avenues WWE could take him down. I predict that before the end of 2013 Sheamus will be World Heavyweight Champion again, only the next time it happens, WWE will have a clear idea of where they’re going with him.
John Cena
I foresee WWE yielding on the John Cena heel turn in 2013 and finally giving the fans what we’ve been waiting for, for so long. A John Cena heel turn would blow the box office roof off and all the worrying WWE do over whether to turn him or whether not to turn him will be rewarded by huge pay per view numbers to watch a heel Cena.
If the Rock isn’t the one to end C.M Punk’s epic WWE Championship reign then you can be sure that John Cena will be. It’s almost written in the stars that John Cena and the Rock will clash again in 2013, and a rematch with Cena a heel would surely cap off a perfect year for a man who is regularly booed out of arenas around the world.
It’s Not All Bad
If you’ve been with me since the beginning then you’ll know that I don’t complain about WWE without good reason. It has its faults and it has its problems which desperately need ironing out. Most are a quick fix and for a company with limitless resources, should have really been put to bed by now. There are though some good points from the year. As the old saying goes. When WWE do things bad then they’re really bad. When they do it well then you can’t beat it.
For everything WWE did wrong this year, there were a few shining lights in the abyss for WWE to put 2012 down as not completely wasted. Not all of them happened in the ring and not all of them are totally noticeable without looking hard or twice. Little things like Jerry the King Lawler still being with us when it could have been a tragic situation. That has to be looked upon as a triumph in anyone’s book. It’s thanks to the WWE medial staff that he’s alive and kicking today. There’s one thing WWE got right which, in the grand scheme of things outweighs most of what they did bad.
How about John Cena standing up to Vince McMahon and telling him he’s become out of touch with the audience he expects to tune in and his product. After years of kissing McMahon’s arse, Cena finally got something right and you never know, might have changed Vince’s outlook on 2013.
Then there’s C.M Punk’s WWE Championship reign which can be looked upon as nothing other than an outright achievement. It’s not easy in 2012 to keep something the same and still keep it fresh and watchable. Okay Punk has had his moments where it looked like it could all come crashing down around him but on the whole this has to be looked upon as a golden time in WWE. The first maybe for years. C.M Punk has really come into his own in 2012 and WWE is all the better for it.
We’ve had some cracking pay per view events in 2012, with Money in the Bank, Extreme Rules and Over the Limit leading the pack. These pay per views have given us some of the years greatest encounters in the ring such as the outstanding Punk vs Daniel Bryan feud in which there wasn’t a bad match out of the bunch. John Cena vs Brock Lesnar was a tremendous effort from both the clueless one and the returning monster. The Rock vs John Cena wasn’t a cracking match but you can’t deny that seeing the Rock in his first singles match since 2003 was a breath of fresh air. Undertaker vs Triple at Wrestlemania 28 was unbelievable for two men in the twilight of their career. Triple H vs Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam was one of the top storytellers this year. Plus the odd gem from Raw and Smackdown which has pleased the eye.
All the advances made in character by WWE this year may not outweigh those they ignored, but the long term future will be better for it. Team Hell No have given us some of the best tag team material in years. With Daniel Bryan and Kane’s natural comic talent I’m all for Team Hell No reigning as tag team Champions for the foreseeable future.
On the subject of Daniel Bryan, for me, the yes and no man has been one of the outstanding stars of the year both in and out of the ring. His feud with C.M Punk was out of this world and he’s taken to dropping down the pecking order to lend his talent to the WWE Tag Team Championship Division like a duck to water. A lot of things may be unclear about WWE’s doubles division, but one thing isn’t. The Tag Team Championships will be in a much better place when Team Hell No split, than they were before the duo joined forces.
Antonio Cesaro has to take 2012’s best newcomer award. Consistency in the ring along with the approval of the back staff will see Cesaro in a much higher position on the card this time next year. A future main event player in the making, WWE may just have a money make in their midst’s.
The Miz has come on in leaps and bounds as has Dolph Ziggler. At the beginning of the year both men were mere cannon fodder for the likes of Ryback and Brodus Clay. Since the middle of 2012 both have been figured into WWE’s future main event plans and seem to be taking to it very well. The Miz is the obvious choice out of the two to reach the summit first but Dolph Ziggler can’t be far behind. With his natural skill and charisma WWE won’t keep him down for long. I expect the main event scene to be a lot better off when they both arrive for good.
Ryback has to take home the surprise of the year award. When I saw him squash local athletes at Extreme Rules and seemingly every pay per view until SummerSlam I really didn’t believe that the Goldberg wannabe would amount to anything. After several impressive performances in the WWE Championship scene Ryback has to be marked down as the one to watch in 2013. That is if WWE don’t get bored of him and decide to bury him with the rest of the roster.
A Time of Goodbyes
Of course, Christmas isn’t just a time for family and looking to the future. Christmas is a time for reflection on the year that’s been. It also can be time for farewells. No one likes saying goodbye. No one likes waving off a part of their life that’s been constant. Especially when it seems that part of your life has been there since almost the beginning. For me, that is what this Christmas consists of. Fear not, your Wrestling God isn’t going anywhere. But there is someone who is.
If you live in the United Kingdom or have lived in the United Kingdom in that past 22 years and you’re a wrestling fan, then at some point in time you’ll have brought a wrestling DVD with ‘Silvervision’ on the cover. Silvervision has been the supplier of WWE DVD’s in the United Kingdom for 22 years. They have given us exemplary service and unparalleled quality with each release and now, the sadness of many fans, Silvervision are shutting the doors on their WWE department.
It was reported some time ago that WWE had refused to renew their contract with Silvervision after 22 glorious years and were looking for a new company to produce WWE DVD’s in the United Kingdom. It wasn’t the best move WWE could have made because most wrestling fans in the U.K buy their WWE DVD’s from Silvervision because they’re cheap and reliable. Of course Silvervision released the DVD’s into the shops, but most shops in the U.K put a price tag of £20 on the pay per views and £30 on box sets to make their money when Silvervision only charge a very respectable £10.99 for pay per views and £17.99 for box sets.
Silvervision will cease producing WWE DVD’s on December the 31st and their final release NWO: The Revolution is already available to purchase. This isn’t the sad part for me. Silvervision accepted payment by Credit Card or British Postal Order. For those around the world, a British Postal Order is a form of payment for those who don’t have a credit card. Now if the new company decide they don’t accept Postal Order as a form of payment then those who don’t own a credit card, me for example, are going to have pay the extortionate prices of the shops. There is also no guarantee that a new company who don’t know anything about wrestling won’t decide that the three disc box sets are too dear to produce and decide to make cuts to the pay per views and box sets which means we don’t get the whole DVD.
Wrestlemania is usually a three of four disc DVD set in the U.K which encapsulates the whole event, plus extras, plus the entire Hall of Fame ceremony. Say this new company decide that a four disc pay per view DVD is going to be too costly and decide to scrap the Hall of Fame, the extras and cut the pay per view down to three hours so it fits on one disc. Silvervision were so reliable with each release that you knew you’d get exactly what was advertised in America.
The last point that goes with Silvervision, for those who don’t know around the world, is that Silvervision release Tagged Classic wrestling DVD’s. These DVD’s combined two separate old pay per views on two discs that were very high quality. For Example. SummerSlam 1996 and 1997. Now Silvervision are done with WWE we’re not going to get anymore tagged classics. Not because they don’t make the money because they do. But because a DVD production company that don’t know the importance of these DVD’s for wrestling fans aren’t going to bother delving into the back catalogue of WWE because they don’t know the importance of the events. Silvervision could do this effectively because they were transferring the events from the VHS tapes they originally produced.
We can’t change these things. I guess we can only adapt with them. It is sad day though in wrestling. Silvervision has been a part of my life since the very beginning. They’ve been producing wrestling videos and later DVD’s since I was born and I know their absence will leave a huge hole in my life. As sad as that probably sounds. I have gotten my huge order of Silvervision DVD’s in while stocks last and I suggest you do the same.
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Silvervision and its staff for 22 years of dedicated and loyal service. We’ll miss you.
The Big Day Approaches
Little things get on my nerves this time of year. Stupid booking decisions by WWE that could have been so easily remedied. Queues in the shops for presents that you haven’t yet brought, or getting home and settling in for Christmas and only realizing on Christmas Eve night that you’ve forgotten something important. The crap on the television that never seems to go away or the Christmas Carols that, let’s be honest, everyone is fed up of by Boxing Day. If I hear Jingle Bells once more I may just strangle someone with them. And the child who gets the John Cena shirt under their tree on Christmas Day and proceeds to walk around the street doing the ‘You Can’t See Me’ hand gesture to everyone who passes.
I hate it when I’ve been buying a magazine for an extended period of time and it comes to Christmas and the last edition before the big day, doesn’t even wish you a Merry Christmas. It just ends the same way it ended in August or May. I’d at least like to be wished a happy Christmas for spending my heard earned money out all year. Maybe that’s just me.
Before I wrap all of this up and wish you a happy time on the big day I would just like to take a moment to do something I don’t do enough and something no one else does enough. Say thank you. Back in March, when I had a burning need to write the truth instead of the sugar coated crap that every other website were peddling out, I’ll be honest, I didn’t think anyone would care. Maybe I thought that everyone would be programmed into the WWE way of thinking and they’d be no call for someone like me. Nine months down the line I couldn’t have been more wrong. And I couldn’t me more thankful.
I enjoy this. Honestly I do. There has never been a time I’ve sat down and though “Oh Christ, I have to write something.” Not once. My life is complex. Believe it or not. I’m a writer who is trying to get something commissioned and an actor whose waiting for his big chance and who wants to entertain people. This past year I must have had thirty rejections from various people because even though they liked what I sent them, people don’t like commissioning new writers. It’s a sad fact. These executives, who pretend they know what’s good, glance over people like me in favour of re-commissioning second and third television series that no one wants to watch. I’ll get there in the end you just see if I don’t.
Through all of that, you’ve been there. When I felt like getting something off of my chest, talking to people who understood what I felt and sometimes this blog hasn’t all been about wrestling. You’ll have noticed my little digs to certain people and companies outside wrestling. And you listened. No one else would have done that.
I tried voicing my opinions on a bigger stage but no one wanted to listen. Because they’re closed minded or because some people simply don’t like the truth. Over these last nine months I’ve come to realise that maybe I’m better off here, talking to you. As the big day approaches and whilst you still want to listen and still want the truth, this is where I’ll be. Giving you what you ask you for as together we go onwards and upwards.
What I’m basically trying to say, is thank you.
Whatever your Christmas wish this year, I hope it comes true. Personally I’ll be wishing that by this time next year I’m not single anymore. I’ve had enough of the single life and it’s not as much fun as people say it is. Then again neither is finding someone you like and then realizing they actually prefer someone else. There is this beautiful woman I have my eye on, I don’t know her name but I know she lives in the next village and maybe 2013 will be the year I actually muster up enough courage to speak to her instead of actually just staring at her and then looking elsewhere when she returns my gaze. It’s funny, because it’s only at this time of the year that you realise how much you really like someone. Something about Christmas makes us think about the future and those we want to be with the most. And I really, really like her. But rejection on a packed bus would be the epitome of embarrassment and I’m not sure if I could take that. However she is worth it. Way out of my league, but worth it. I guess there really are people worth getting your heartbroken for.
So go and have enough mince pies to feed a small African country, enough booze to drown an entire city and sing songs long into the night until those bells being to chime. Whatever Santa may leave under your tree this year, enjoy it, because we only go around once and after all, it is the most wonderful time of the year.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year...
