REVIEW CORNER: GOLDBERG - THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION

 

A – Excellent

B – Good

C – Mediocre

D – Avoid

Release Date: October 7th 2013

Available From: www.wwedvd.co.uk

Price:

DVD £ 19.99

Blu-ray £ 22.99

(Prices from www.wwedvd.co.uk: high street prices will vary)

Format Reviewed: DVD (3 Discs)

(Also Available on Blu-ray (2 Discs)

What It’s About:

An in-ring career retrospective of the man who dominated WCW for four years, Bill Goldberg. This compilation of matches begins with Goldberg’s 1997 WCW debut and ends with his final WWE match at WrestleMania XX. The release is linked by several video packages which are designed to bridge the story between matches.

Strengths:

The introduction video package does a great job of introducing Goldberg and his phenomenon to new audiences and freshening the memories of old audiences. It’s a fair appraisal of Goldberg, painting him as a dominant and popular star who came along at the right time and rocked WCW. Though no one involved in the NWO would ever admit it, Goldberg was much more popular than the faction – this however is conveniently left out. It’s not the only thing, as WWE neglect to mention that Goldberg wasn’t conditioned to wrestler matches longer than 2 – 5 minutes in length and couldn’t handle main event calibre matches which would regularly go twenty minutes or more. Still, it’s a promising beginning.

Goldberg vs Hugh Morrus (WCW Nitro, 22nd September 1997) is Goldberg’s debut match in WCW and what an impact he makes. Short in length as mostly all early Bill Goldberg matches were, contributing to the fact that he would blow up hideously in long main events, Goldberg was always able to make himself look good in shorter matches. Before the match a sign can be seen in the crowd which says ‘Raw – retired and awful wrestlers’. The irony of this is that WCW had and would acquire more retired and awful wrestlers than WWE ever had. Morrus does a commendable job of getting Goldberg over here and through his selling makes his opponent look like a star.

Goldberg vs The Barbarian (WCW Nitro, 29th September 1997) may be yet another short match merely four minutes in length but it boasts a lively effort. In only his second WCW match and professional match Goldberg shows so much promise against the veteran Barbarian. The future WCW World Heavyweight Champion pulls of some promising and impressive wrestling moves for a man of his size and even though not all of them look good, they do hold hope of better things to come. The Barbarian isn’t as giving or willing as Hugh Morrus in the previous affair, looking thoroughly annoyed that a veteran like him is forced to put over this green rookie. The effects of this are that Barbarian selfishly refuses to sell the Jackhammer, merely getting up and walking away after the match. Had this match gone four minutes longer then it would have been really extraordinary for a rookie’s second effort. Other reviewers will criticise this and the previous match for being too short. They may be, but they are of quality.

Goldberg vs Raven (WCW Nitro, 20th April 1998) in a Raven’s Rules match for the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship turns out to be ultra heated with the fans solidly behind Goldberg. Raven is a class act all the way, but going nowhere in WCW it’s not a stretch of the imagination to realise why he left the company and went back to ECW. WCW were never going to take Raven as seriously as ECW did. WCW did however build Goldberg correctly, taking him through the United States Championship division first before landing him the big one. This is something WWE should have imitated with Ryback instead of shoving him in at the deep end. It’s also nice to see a United States Championship which really meant something to the company and fans.

Goldberg vs Hollywood Hulk Hogan (WCW Nitro, July 6th 1998) for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship may be a slow match with very little actual wrestling involved and lacks the pace of Goldberg’s earlier matches, but thanks to Hogan’s over-exaggerations and cartoon selling the match is kept watchable. As this is Goldberg’s first WCW World Heavyweight Championship there is a real main event buzz and big match feel which a lot of other matches on this release lack, the atmosphere makes it special to watch. There is some John Cena inspired no selling by Goldberg and the one killer near fall in the match – stemming from the ‘Hogan Leg Drop’ – is zapped of heat as the audience have their eyes glued to the aisle to see Curt Henning make an appearance. There is an unbelievable and somewhat deafening reaction when Goldberg gets Hogan up for the Jackhammer and his victory is nothing less than inspiring. The commentators do the rest of the WCW locker room a disservice when they comment “Whose next? Who cares!” making the rest under Goldberg seem unimportant, but many can look upon this as a passing of the torch moment in WCW.

Goldberg vs Curt Henning (WCW Bash at the Beach, July 12th 1998) is a short but capable WCW World Heavyweight Championship Match. Henning hurls himself about the ring in order to make the WCW Champion look good and Goldberg helps himself with a wonderful overhead press into shoulder slam from the top rope. Though it’s clear that Henning is past his best in 1998, the match flows with the precision you’d expect from a professional such as Henning and Goldberg allow the season veteran to lead the match which was the best decision he could have made on the night. Once again the selling from Goldberg is nonexistent. It’s not going to set your world on fire but it’s good enough to stop it from being horrible – which is all you could have asked from a man well past his prime, carrying injuries and a rookie who still hadn’t grasped the fine art of the industry.

Goldberg vs Sting (WCW Nitro, September 14th 1998) another match for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, seems like it is never going to get going but is saved by its all out ending. It begins with a lot of stalling and nonsense which you wouldn’t miss if you skipped through it, but eventually fosters into some great back and forth action which grips the red hot crowd. Sting’s pitch perfect tombstone piledriver on Goldberg and subsequent Scorpion Death Lock – which Goldberg shows no respect to by simply muscling out of twice with no effort at all – really do make you believe that Sting will be the first man to defeat Goldberg. The final tense near falls and submission attempts save this match from dropping into the next category.

Goldberg vs Diamond Dallas Page (WCW Halloween Havoc 1998, October 25th 1998) is a very good jaunt in which Page looks the champion and Goldberg merely a challenger. It’s also a credit to DDP as a wrestler that he manages to carry a man who knew very few moves in the ring to a fine endeavour. Beginning at pace with some excellent reversals and gripping offence, Goldberg puts in a first rate performance as champion beginning with a terrific backwards summersault. Unlike a lot of other Goldberg matches this one is logical in its execution as Page deploys submission moves when needed to wear Goldberg down and fast paced moves when called for to tire the big man. I wouldn’t usually mention something as insignificant as this but you won’t find a whole lot of it across the release. Goldberg uses his power to throw Page around the ring and at last, after nearly a whole disc of waiting, Goldberg sells his arm injury to the point we believe he may not be able to carry on. The ending is one of the best on the release as Page reverses a Jackhammer into a Diamond Cutter in one of the best moves in a very long time and on merit alone; Diamond Dallas Paige deserved to be the first person to defeat Goldberg and not as it would turn out – Kevin Nash.

Goldberg vs The Giant (WCW Nitro, November 23rd 1998) may only be three minutes long but is full of action and that’s not a sentence you would expect to hear from anyone, concerning a match involving the man who would become The Big Show. The Giant adds his name to the list of people who look like they may end Goldberg’s winning streak but never actually manage it and shows he was a very good wrestler before weight and Vince McMahon shackled him into a certain role. The Jackhammer on The Giant – considering his size – is mightily impressive and the Goldberg / Kevin Nash pull apart brawl at the conclusion gets the fans approval.

Goldberg vs Ric Flair (WCW Nitro, March 8th 1999) isn’t anything special but is kept watchable by Flair, who pulls out some old Flair magic in order to carry Goldberg, whose samey routine is beginning to wear by this point in the release. The match is popular with fans, as most Goldberg matches were, but his constant no selling begins to devaluate moves which were once coveted as precious and the match ends on a lousy disqualification. Not the first on the release to do so.

Goldberg vs Kevin Nash (WCW Spring Stampede 1999, April 11th 1999) is going to be an odd choice for some of you reading this, because whilst is the second match between the pair on the release, I believe its the better. Some will disagree and opt for their Starrcade 1998 match which is down in the next category – but for personal taste and everyone’s is different – this match is shorter, more methodical and decisively more watchable. Goldberg messes up a simple shoulder block and seems to land awkward on the legs of Nash, which would give the man formerly known as Diesel problems later in life. The move looks amateur. Nash plays his part to perfection but the fans are much more concerned with when Sting will make an appearance.

Goldberg vs Scott Steiner (WCW Fall Brawl 1999, September 17th 2000) is a nice surprise addition to the release. Steiner, carrying all that muscle wasn’t the star or athlete he used to be in the late 80’s or early 90’s and his matches usually sucked big time. Here though he seems determined to prove he’s better than Goldberg and puts in a real shift. Pace is the name of the game here and both men share some very commendable moves. Goldberg executes another impressive press slam into shoulder slam combo and his reversals of Steiner’s moves into powerslams are worthy of a seasoned professional. Steiner’s belly to belly suplex’s are striking, especially his belly to belly off the top rope and the former tag team star should be praised for what turns out to be an outstanding star turn. The match descends into farce when Vince Russo gets involved and you can begin to see why WCW lost so much money in such a short space of time. Copying the whole Vince McMahon vs Stone Cold angle really didn’t work for WCW.

The video package before Goldberg vs The Rock match doesn’t explain what happened to Goldberg after losing his tag team match at ‘Sin’ and therefore being forced from WCW by Vince Russo (he went into acting as well as other ventures) and jumps straight to the closure of WCW. However the video does ably explain the feud between The Rock and Goldberg, featuring highlights of Goldberg’s debut on Raw the night after WrestleMania XIX and his spear on The Rock. Whilst we could have done with this included in its entirety, the video package shows none of the other weeks of build up.

Goldberg vs Christian (Raw, May 12th 2003) is a respectable Steel Cage Match even though it lacks heat and tense exchanges. Christian plays heel perfectly seeking the victory with some vicious chair shots and when on the end of the beating, throws himself into the cage in order to try and maintain Goldberg’s fast slipping image. Interestingly, Goldberg put more effort into his WWE run than he did his WCW tenure. The match ends with yet more no selling, as after what seems like uncountable chair shots, Goldberg simply jumps back up to effortlessly hit Christian with the Jackhammer. Maybe Goldberg gave lessons to a young John Cena.

Goldberg vs Chris Jericho (WWE Bad Blood 2003, June 15th 2003) is solid and everything Goldberg vs The Rock should have been. The match follows the usual Goldberg guidelines until he misses a spear which sends him sailing through the ringside barricade. Adding judgment to the match, Jericho wisely works over the injured arm and every move is met with some kind of emotion from the audience. There is no history provided for this match when there should have been considering the real life history between the pair and feelings Jericho held towards Goldberg from when they were in WCW and Goldberg refused to face Jericho because he though Jericho wasn’t a big enough star. Goldberg’s first spear on target looks awful and it’s around the time the audience side with Chris Jericho, which you can pin point the moment Goldberg realises WWE is a tougher battleground than WCW ever had been. Goldberg looks to be struggling to get through this match and it’s nothing to do with the story or selling. In WWE Goldberg got lost in the shuffle and he wasn’t the star he was in WCW. On the whole, this is a good match which warrants its inclusion.

Goldberg vs Triple H vs Randy Orton vs Chris Jericho vs Shawn Michaels vs Kevin Nash (WWE SummerSlam 2003, August 24th 2003) Elimination Chamber Match for the World Heavyweight Championship, is an all star spectacular. Goldberg’s slip on the ramp during his entrance has been edited out whilst Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho contest a skilful and accomplished opening five minutes complete with polished reversals. Randy Orton’s pain can be felt as he’s backdropped onto the steel with force and for one of the only times this late in his career, Kevin Nash – who looks like a lesbian here thanks to his hair being shaved by Chris Jericho – gets around competently considering the state of his knees and manages to keep his section of the match flowing, whilst his input is thankfully kept to a minimum. Had Nash gone any longer, then his performance would have almost certainly dipped. His elimination thanks to a Sweet Chin Music by Shawn Michaels and pin by Chris Jericho is a smooth chain of events. Michaels’ second Sweet Chin Music on Triple H as he exits the chamber is timed to perfection, though Triple H sells it for longer than needed whilst he waits for Goldberg’s entrance. When the man of the moment does enter the match last, a wise move so his impact is lasting, a mix of his willingness to rise to the occasion and his opponent’s eager nature to sell for him make for a truly unforgettable performance. Goldberg’s spear through the chamber wall implemented on Chris Jericho – though the glass doesn’t break the first time – pops the crowd big time. The match flows and builds very well to a heated finale between Triple H and Goldberg. Though the one on one finale doesn’t last a huge amount of time in order for the company to promote a singles match for the World Heavyweight Championship the following month at Unforgiven 2003, Goldberg kicking his way through the chamber to reach Triple H who has locked himself in is amusing and gets the crowds approval and the finish is very well timed for a wrestler who seemingly had very little timing elsewhere in his career. Triple H however gets an extra mention as at the time he was working with a very nasty abdominal tear.

Goldberg vs Triple H (WWE Survivor Series 2003, November 16th 2003) is much better than their Unforgiven 2003 scrap which can be seen in the next category, but still isn’t excellent. This time around there is a purpose to their match as Triple H takes the lead and Goldberg follows, as ‘The Game’ works over Goldberg’s injured leg to limit the time he has to work at an all out pace because of the abdominal injury he was still carrying at the time. This may sound dreary and dull but it gives the match authenticity. The bout still doesn’t feel like a main event calibre match when it should have been the draw of the year, but Goldberg has to be given credit for trying his best and selling the injured leg more than any injury he’s supposedly suffered thus far. The upturn of this is that it makes him look more like a fighting champion and less like someone who has been given the role purely on looks instead of skill. Unlike their Unforgiven outing, this match builds to a much more believable and tension filled finale.

In the summation video package at the end of the release, our resident voice over guy does a plentiful job of reminding us that Goldberg was a popular wrestler who accomplished some much sought after achievements in the business – some which accomplished professionals never attained during their many years in the business – even if his in ring product wasn’t always that good. WWE do a good job of glossing over Goldberg flaws in the summation even if they do fail on ever other level with this release.

Weaknesses:

Goldberg vs Steve ‘Mongo’ McMichael (WCW Starrcade 1997, December 28th 1997) is as dull as you will find on this release and does nothing with its eight allocated minutes, which at this point is way too long for Goldberg to wrestle. The star of the show applies some very weak submission moves and his whole offence consists of pushing McMichael around the ring until he gets the nod from the referee that its time to take the match home, for which he strikes Mongo with a feeble spear that wouldn’t fell a child. So early in his career, Goldberg needed and heavily relied on superior opponents who had the ability to carry him to a decent if not thrilling match. McMichael wasn’t one of these wrestlers, himself being a dire in ring performer. The niche of both men being former American Football stars didn’t sell the feud as well as WCW hoped.

The video package explaining Goldberg’s rise to the top of the wrestling industry to challenge Hollywood Hulk Hogan for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship skips a huge amount of history in Goldberg’s career. Purposely glossing over his rise through the United States Championship division, WWE seemingly want us to believe that Goldberg went from zero to hero in a matter of months whilst bypassing the rest of the roster – which isn’t true. There’s no real concrete history added to his challenge for the top tier Championship or mention of any of the wrestlers he went through to attain that level of credentials.

Goldberg vs Scott Hall (WCW Nitro, July 6th 1998) is the precursor to the WCW World Heavyweight Championship later in the same night, but is a shocking display of carelessness by the man who was an hour away from lifting the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. The match is a complete mess from beginning to end and Goldberg’s treatment of Scott Hall, using him merely as a rag doll is shocking and appalling to watch. Nothing Goldberg does in this match looks safe and it’s clear that he’s wrestling the event and not the match, visibly carried away with the emotion of the night. That Scott Hall manages to add some wrestling to proceedings is completely lost as the match degenerates into a mere mauling with Scott Hall visibly annoyed that Goldberg doesn’t seem bothered if he injures his opponent or not. The reversal of the Outsiders Edge into a Spear gets a huge reaction from the crowd as does the victory. How Scott Hall came away from this without any injuries is a miracle and Goldberg should have been reprimanded for his slipshod attitude towards his opponent’s safety especially when he could broken both of Scott Hall’s legs on a hideous backdrop.

Another video package leading into the Goldberg vs Kevin Nash encounter at Starrcade 1998 (which is Goldberg’s first loss in WCW) may as well not exist for the lack of information it provides us with. The package mentions the winning streak which Goldberg attained and does show fleeting clips of Goldberg demolishing a few of WCW’s jobbers but falls down in not naming at least a few star names Goldberg went through to keep the streak in tact. Add to that no declaration of the feud between Nash and Goldberg except for the fact that Nash won a battle royal at WCW World War 3 to earn a Championship Match and you have an inferior segment on a release which is meant to be all about Goldberg’s career. Too much information is better than too little.

Goldberg vs Kevin Nash (WCW Starrcade 1998, December 27th 1998) is their No Disqualification Match for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. Kevin Nash still had the ability to carry someone like Goldberg in 1998 and put on a gripping main event match when he wanted to. Sadly, this isn’t one of those occasions. The match is overtly slow and stalls unnecessarily at predetermined intervals. It’s a strange course of action to take with a main event match which had been hyped so heavily on WCW television in the weeks and months previous. People came to the arena hoping to see an all out war – the No Disqualification rule screamed to the paying audience that there would be blood and an ultra heated hardcore brawl – which never happens. The bout picks up momentarily with a Spear but the pair cannot maintain the rapidity as they hit the home straight. Goldberg looks absolutely exhausted and well out of ideas by the end of the match which finishes with a Scott Hall shock stick strike to the Champion, handing Goldberg his first loss in wrestling one year and three months after his debut. Sadly though the defeat was done purely to feed Kevin Nash’s ego and Goldberg’s streak could have gone on and ended at the hands of a new main eventer who needed to spotlight that defeating Goldberg would have provided.

Goldberg vs Hollywood Hulk Hogan vs Ric Flair vs Diamond Dallas Page (WCW Nitro, April 5th 1999) for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship has all the components to be a thrilling Fatal Four Way Match but turns out to be an unremarkable plod. Instead of the past paced back and forth match you’d expect from three men who could easily carry Goldberg, the match dithers, taking all tension away from every fall and move. For Goldberg, he executes his usual routine and doesn’t bother to deviate from it to try something new, not warranting his status in the company on this night. The match doesn’t have enough huge events in it to make it gripping and though it warms up at the end you will have lost interest well before. Yet again, the fans are too bothered about when Sting will make and appearance than the match happening in front of them and Sting overshadows proceedings, as the cameras are focussed on his entrance from the rafters and miss the deciding pinfall of the match.

Goldberg vs Diamond Dallas Page (WCW Fall Brawl 1999, September 12th 1999) can’t live up to their cracking stint at Halloween Havoc the previous year. Though it boasts some good reversals and moves, the whole shebang is filled with illogical decisions which highlight the predetermined nature of the business; the worst being when Page leathers Goldberg with brass knucks and then doesn’t even bother to cover him even though he would have clearly gotten the victory, instead opting to continue punching Goldberg, sans brass knuckles. To people watching this who aren’t wrestling fans, the only explanation for this is that Page has been told not to pin Goldberg because Goldberg is going to win. Page spends an awful amount of time choking Goldberg on the ropes to the monotony of the crowd and then worse, Page applies one very long Chinlock which drains every last drop of interest or heat from the match. That Goldberg simply shakes all of this off to hit a Jackhammer is unbelievable and shows he still, two years after his debut hadn’t grasped the basics.

Goldberg vs Sid Vicious (WCW Halloween Havoc 1999, October 24th 1999) is a bloody encounter but ultimately useless. Sid bleeds like a pig and except one Electric Chair Drop by Goldberg nothing else of note happens through the whole match. There is no tension, no actual wrestling and it gets tired very quickly. Being totally honest, with it being Goldberg and Sid in there, what hope did this match have in the first place?

A video package for Goldberg vs Sting at Halloween Havoc 1999 (after Goldberg fought Sid) is fleeting. We’re shown footage of Hulk Hogan lying down for Sting in their booked WCW World Heavyweight Championship Match and Hogan walking out of the company but we’re never told why (Hogan and WCW had a real life disagreement so instead of dropping the Championship the professional way, Hogan took it upon himself to be the centre of attention yet again and lay down for Sting – Hogan wasn’t even dressed for a match). There is no sensible reason to exclude this information and all doing so does is confuse the viewer who doesn’t know why it why it happened. Instead the video package is more concerned about getting over that the match between Goldberg and Sting was an impromptu match. The fact is hammered home so often that you can’t believe the fact they’re trying to preach, knowing how wrestling works Goldberg and Sting must have been privy to Hogan’s plans and their clash at the end of the show.

Goldberg vs Sting (WCW Halloween Havoc 1999, October 24th 1999) is a seven minute main event match which apart from its well done reversals offers nothing. WCW may as well have stripped Hulk Hogan of the WCW World Heavyweight Championship and had Sting vs Goldberg vs Sid for the Championship as it would have been a better outing than both of Goldberg’s matches at the 1999 edition of Halloween Havoc. That way WCW could have incorporated the Goldberg vs Sid feud whilst making Goldberg the WCW World Heavyweight Champion again. The fans would have gotten a meaty main event and Goldberg may have had a few new strings added to his bow. As it turns out, Hogan’s selfishness ruined this match. Had he done the job the right way then there would have been no need for this to take place.

Goldberg vs Sid Vicious (WCW Mayhem, November 21st 1999) in an ‘I Quit Match’ is a banal six minute slog. It’s not quite as dull as their Halloween Havoc exertion but it comes mightily close. As usual, punches and power moves are the focus here adding nothing to build the tension for the inevitable relinquishing of the match from Sid. I Quit Matches usually have some hardcore play to heighten the tension before the heel quits but this has nothing. The pair trade some prosaic rest holds and so called submission holds but everything on show falls flat. Sid is way past any prime he may have had in the wrestling industry but does hear the cheers for chokeslamming Goldberg – which in turn is beginning to hear the jeers of the fans as they slowly tire of the character. The ‘Quit’ attempts have no heat and the ‘Goldberg Sucks’ are richly deserved here.

Goldberg vs Kronik (WCW Halloween Havoc 2000, October 29th 2000) is a ridiculous pay-per view match to put Goldberg in, in the first place. Above all that it’s a tedious and pointless effort. After hearing about a beat down of Goldberg earlier in the night and that he was supposedly so injured he couldn’t compete, Goldberg strides to the ring as if nothing has happened, no selling any effects of the beat down. After minutes of double teaming and a two on one beat down, Goldberg simply shrugs it off to eliminate both members of Kronik in quick succession. It’s clear that Goldberg had given up by this point in time and with the company not using him correctly he obviously had the attitude of ‘why should I bother?’ What we basically have here is Goldberg vs Adam Bomb and Crush – yeah, my sentiments exactly.

Another video package of the Goldberg vs Vince Russo feud is poorly explained even by this release’s standards. There is no justification as to why Russo and Goldberg were trying to re-enact the McMahon vs Austin feud or what led to the feud in the first place. Worse, the package is bereft of rationalization into the next link and match of Goldberg and his trainer Duane Bruce against Lex Luger and Buff Bagwell. We’re informed that if Goldberg can attain his previous undefeated streak of 173 wins without a loss then he will get a WCW World Heavyweight Championship Match but if loss he will be fired from WCW, but that’s all. It’s a lazy and mediocre effort.

Goldberg and Duane Bruce vs Lex Luger and Buff Bagwell (WCW Sin, January 14th 2001) really is as bad as it sounds. It’s farcical to think that a man who was so popular with fans four years previous was used like this despite his shortcomings in the ring, when he could and should have been used to rebuild the company which was already in financial ruin and would be brought by Vince McMahon two months later. The match is tedious beyond compare whilst none of its participants were in any mood to try and turn it around. Lex Luger in 2001 was all but useless in the ring thanks to his unnatural muscular gain brought on by chronic steroid use and Bagwell is shadow of his former self, adding nothing to the already doomed affair. Duane Bruce takes the brunt of the punishment in order to build the hot tag to Goldberg which doesn’t play out to the audience reaction they would have liked. Goldberg mops up upon his arrival in the match and the ending of the bout in which a planted fan turns on Goldberg and maces him in the eyes in order for Luger and Bagwell to take the win with a tope rope Blockbuster, is a clear indication of why WCW went out of business. It’s also unbelievable, after all we’ve seen him absorb to come back and win from on the release that Goldberg would be felled by the simplest of heel turns. The pay-per view was named Sin, but ironically it’s what WCW were living in, in real life.

Goldberg vs The Rock (WWE Backlash 2003, April 27th 2003) is a disappointing match which should have been ten times better. It begins at a snails pace and then switches to full on action before reverting to a trudge through some very dull stalling to the point you ponder whether it’s ever going to get out of first gear. It doesn’t! The Rock has obviously been told by Vince McMahon to act like a complete moron which he accomplishes to perfection with his cringe worthy overemphasised motions and reactions. This isn’t one of The Rock’s best nights in the ring. He does nothing of note and fails to do with Goldberg what he did with Brock Lesnar in their excellent SummerSlam 2002 main event match. The Rock’s saving grace is his thoroughly superb promo which gets the audience on his side even though he’s the heel. It’s a recurring theme here. Even though The Rock is meant to be the former hero who sold out to Hollywood the fans are almost all staunchly on his side which speaks volumes for the popularity or lack of, of the Goldberg character in 2003. On the whole, the match is slow and hard to get into. Goldberg’s very late kick out after a Rock Bottom is amateurish when he should know how to create tension on a fall by now. There are no chain moves which build tension and this is one match in The Rock’s career which is better forgotten.

Goldberg vs Triple H (WWE Unforgiven 2003, September 21st 2003) is yet another disappointment from Goldberg’s career archive. Working with an abdominal injury, Triple H wasn’t able to carry Goldberg to the stunning match everyone expected of the pair and though it doesn’t move as slowly as Goldberg vs The Rock, it resembles a very mediocre mid-card effort. Triple H and Goldberg never really seemed to gel in the ring whilst the match stipulation of Goldberg must leave if he loses means that there is only ever going to be one winner – Goldberg. The big moves that you would expect from a main event match for the World Heavyweight Championship; only appear at the end of the bout and leave the rest of the match wanting. It’s clear that for maximum effect, WWE should have booked the World Heavyweight Championship change at SummerSlam inside the Elimination Chamber, because this was never going to surpass their efforts the previous month in what was by far Goldberg’s finest WWE performance.

Goldberg vs Mark Henry (Raw, October 6th 2003) was going to leap into the ‘Strengths’ category as it began with so much promise from both men. Unfortunately, the two cannot maintain the hectic nature of the beginning of the match and it dissolves into a rest hold bonanza which has no place in a seven minute match. Had the rest holds been replaced by action and the pair contested a high octane powerhouse affair constantly kicking out of each others slams and power moves, until Goldberg hit the inevitable Jackhammer on the mammoth Henry then it would have been a credit to both. As it is, the match turns out to be the usual Mark Henry contest, though no one can deny the Jackhammer on Henry is mightily impressive.

Goldberg vs Batista (Raw, November 10th 2003) is a nothing match, which is allocated less than five minutes and is packed with stalling and punches until Triple H runs in causing the disqualification. If this is the best WWE can dig up then why bother at all? It certainly doesn’t warrant an inclusion on a release entitled ‘The Ultimate Collection’.

The release jumps from Survivor Series 2003 in November straight to WrestleMania XX on March 14th 2004 and Goldberg’s final WWE match with Brock Lesnar. Bypassing nearly four months, we get no explanation of what led to the match or how the feud built when WWE could have provided footage of their face to face meetings in interviews as well as Brock Lesnar’s interference in the 2004 Royal Rumble Match which led to Goldberg’s elimination and Goldberg’s run in during the Brock Lesnar vs Eddie Guerrero WWE Championship Match at No Way Out in February 2004, the match in which Goldberg Speared Lesnar in retaliation for his Royal Rumble exit allowing Guerrero to capture his first WWE Championship. All of this, as well as the weeks leading up to WrestleMania XX were vital to the feud and the unknowing viewer is left wondering why two such important wrestlers in WWE at the time were simply thrown onto a card without any build up. Of course those new to the company will not have seen the months of build for the match.

Goldberg vs Brock Lesnar (WrestleMania XX, March 14th 2004) is a woeful effort by everyone’s standards. This match, the last night in WWE for both men at the time (Brock Lesnar was leaving to go and play in the NFL and Goldberg had already had enough of wrestling), should have been the best of both men’s careers and the dream match for every WWE fan. Instead it is by far the worst. A little known fact about the match is that WWE were so offended by both men’s so called ‘betrayal’ that they wanted to leave, Shane McMahon was sat in the audience leading the ‘You Sold Out’ chants and ‘Goodbye’ song which are so audible here. The writing was on the wall for how the match would turn out after they don’t touch each other for nearly four minutes, just standing like statues staring each other down, whilst Stone Cold as the special guest referee is the most popular man in the building. It’s apparent that neither in their last match in the company (Lesnar would return to great fanfare in 2012) could be bothered to put on a show and we get a borefest of epic proportions with the only highlight being the Press Slam into a Standing Spear by Goldberg. The ‘Goldberg Sucks’ chants prove how bored the fans were with his character in 2004 and put a question mark over how welcome he’d be in 2014 should he make a return to the ring. Utterly awful!

On a release documenting his in ring career, Goldberg doesn’t appear once to talk about his time in the ring.

Blu-ray Exclusive Extras:

Battle Royal - WCW Road Wild, August 8th 1998

WCW World Heavyweight Championship Match

WCW Superbrawl IX, February 21st 1999

Goldberg vs Bam Bam Bigelow

WCW Nitro, November 8th 1999

Goldberg vs Sting

WCW Starrcade 1999, December 19th 1999

WCW World Heavyweight Championship Match

No Disqualification Match

Goldberg vs Bret Hart

WWE Monday Night Raw, October 20th 2003

World Heavyweight Championship Match

Goldberg vs Shawn Michaels

Conclusion:

‘Goldberg – The Ultimate Collection’ is a lackadaisical effort by WWE after so many very good releases. The release consists of either matches that are too short or matches which don’t cut the mustard. This of course isn’t all WWE’s fault seeing as the majority of Goldberg’s career was contested in WCW. However, seeing that matches alone weren’t going to be enough to sell this as a must have, WWE should taken the time to revamp the release with a two-hour documentary on Goldberg’s life and career complete with comments from those who knew him best and the man himself.

That Goldberg doesn’t appear once in an interview of any kind proves that this release is purely put together to make money for WWE, from the Goldberg name. Like ‘Macho Madness’, which was ten times the release this is, WWE didn’t want to pay Goldberg for his time in an interview and instead misguidedly believed a few matches slung together linked by the odd and almost always awful video links – which don’t give us any backstory – would be sufficient for the UK asking price of £19.99 (DVD) and £22.99 (Blu-ray). News flash – it isn’t.

The first three matches on the release last under fifteen minutes in total and the first five matches take Goldberg’s career from debutant to WCW World Heavyweight Champion, ignoring his rise through the United States Championship division – barring one United States Championship Match against Raven. There are no matches against Bret Hart on the main release and only one on the Blu-ray extras – and nothing on his WCW World Tag Team Championship reign with Hart – plus almost all the extra matches on the Blu-ray version would have been better served on the main release, in place of other less than satisfactory matches. Saving better matches for the Blu-ray release to try and get us to spend extra money out to see them is sooner or later going to begin to annoy the fans.

There appears to be an outstanding lack effort put into this release. WWE could have easily added mountains of information on his career and paid the guy to appear as a talking head – the only talking head if needs be. There is no excuse as to why the matches picked don’t belong on a release of this kind and why the video packages are so short and bleak where information is concerned. The only explanation is that WWE wanted to get this out quickly to make money. And in 2013, that simply isn’t good enough.

Goldberg may not have been the greatest wrestler in the world but this release doesn’t do what he could accomplish in the ring justice. It’s mediocre and the next time WWE contemplate putting together a release on a personality not with the company anymore then I hope they learn from their mistakes here and actually put some effort into the product. This may be a must have for Goldberg enthusiasts but for anyone else, then you may want to wait until this goes down in price as it isn’t worth the £19.99 / £22.99 asking price. By leaving this release out of your collection, you won’t be missing a thing.

Rating: C

Next time in Review Corner: WWE Triple H – Thy Kingdom Come DVD and Blu-ray

Onwards and upwards...

WWE BATTLEGROUND 2013 - A WAR IS COMING

After a hectic few weeks at the top of WWE’s main event schedule, the company present their first annual (and judging by pay-per view experiments) last ‘Battleground’ event from the big apple. After many months speculation over a proposed WarGames match – which we now know will not happen – WWE is banking on its newest and quickly to become its most stale feud if it doesn’t find a way to divert it, to sell its premier ‘Battleground’ show.

So as the curtain goes up on WWE Battleground 2013 let’s take a look what we can expect from on October 6th, from the First Niagara Centre in Buffalo, New York.

WWE Championship Match

Daniel Bryan vs Randy Orton

Before we begin, let me just say that WWE have missed a trick with this whole pay-per view and Daniel Bryan vs The Corporation storyline as we head into Battleground. Months before the pay-per view came close to happening, when it was announced months previous, there was massive speculation that WWE, on the back on the successful ‘WarGames: WCW’s Most Notorious Matches’ DVD and Blu-ray would gold its own WarGames match up at Battleground – the seemingly perfect setting for the match to be revived.

Fans hopes for a WarGames Match in 2013 were dealt a huge blow when the seating plans for the event were unveiled and it detailed space for just one ring and no room for a double cage. However, at SummerSlam and the weeks unfolding from it, WWE had the perfect reason to stage a match of that calibre in order for Daniel Bryan to try and extract revenge against Randy Orton and The Corporation. Another Daniel Bryan vs Randy Orton match almost devaluates the singles feud somewhat and for maximum effect, WWE really should followed the guidelines set by WCW in 1997 – which we will come to in a moment.

On the September 16th edition of Monday Night Raw, WWE once again strengthened an argument for a WarGames Match when it had some of the faces come to Daniel Bryan’s rescue. These, for those who didn’t see it involved Dolph Ziggler, The Usos, The Prime Time Players, Kofi Kingston, R-Truth, Zack Ryder and Rob Van Dam. It might have seemed having wrestlers who were so low on WWE’s food chain – barring Dolph Ziggler – was writing on the wall as to where WWE saw this feud and Daniel Bryan’s career going after this spat with Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, Vince McMahon and Randy Orton was over. I disagree. Whilst the company could have done with a few more star names in the mix of saviours on September 16th, it was an encouraging sign that the company were willing to spread the boundaries of such a prestigious feud down the card instead of just keeping it at the top.

The inclusion of such teams as The Prime Time Players – who have been turned face because of Darren Young’s brave decision to come out in public – and The Usos will now have a huge knock-on effect on the tag team division and make it seem a lot more important than it actually is. Now, with a WarGames Match, WWE could have healed at least thirty or forty percent of the division’s problems in one foul swoop. If WWE had booked the WarGames Match to be Daniel Bryan, Dolph Ziggler, Rob Van Dam and The Usos vs Randy Orton, Triple H and The Shield then it would have been a momentous time for the tag teams involved and main event exposure would have made the tag team division and WWE Tag Team Championships – as well as the WWE United States Championship – look wholly important again.

There is an argument against having such low standing wrestlers in a match of WarGames calibre, would they bring it down? Would they be important enough in the fans eyes to convey in the ring, the importance of the match? Certainly all involved have the ability to do so, but if you don’t try then you will never know.

WWE have done a grand job of promoting this feud despite a few hiccups. Everyone has played their part to perfection and the reasons given for screwing Daniel Bryan, that he’s not what Vince wants or ever envisaged for the future of WWE, that the McMahon’s see him as a B+ and not an A+ when in truth he’s top of class, are all believable excuses and based in reality. Vince McMahon and his followers really do believe that Daniel Bryan isn’t the best wrestler the company has at the moment. Why? Because he doesn’t wrestler the WWE way, because he’s a former independent circuit wrestler, the truth is those reasons are not alone. In Vince’s eyes, Daniel Bryan is too small to be the figurehead of WWE in the future, even though he’s ten times better than John Cena.

Now this is the second pay-per view main event match between Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton, though this will be fought to see who captures the vacant WWE Championship, let’s take a look at where this is going. WWE have a perfect chance to make something new for the future of this company out of this feud. Whilst a Daniel Bryan WWE Championship win at Battleground would all but end the feud, common sense says that he has to win it when the feud comes to an end. For me, Night of Champions was a mistake. There was no need to have Daniel Bryan defeat Randy Orton that quickly only to strip him of the title the next night. The outcome of that match devaluated Orton as a heel and made him look like that in one on one competition he couldn’t beat Bryan.

The correct result would have been Randy Orton retain the gold without help to set him up as a strong heel going forward. For the title to change hands on their first main event face off was an anti-climax and now WWE have to make up for that. Ideally, WWE would have kept Bryan and Orton apart in the ring for as long as possible, as WCW did with Sting and Hulk Hogan in 1997. The diversion tactic of having Sting and Hogan kept at a distance from each other for nearly nine months yielded WCW’s biggest and most successful pay-per view event ‘Starrcade’ in 1997 as people flocked to the arena and ordered the event in their hundreds of thousands to see two men who hadn’t touched each other since the beginning of the feud at the beginning of the year, finally square off for the title.

Had WWE kept Orton and Bryan apart until WrestleMania then the company would surely have had one its biggest live attendance records – that wasn’t fabricated – and pay-per view buy rate numbers in history. It wouldn’t have been difficult either. The two could have traded words and threats on Raw and Smackdown to keep the feud alive, whilst Orton got The Shield to do his dirty work to avoid contact with Bryan. On pay-per view, Triple H would have been a distraction for Bryan whilst Randy Orton ran through the top of the card to cement his heel status and viability as WWE Champion. When Bryan was finished with Triple H, there were a whole number of distractions WWE could have employed along the Road to WrestleMania to make sure the feud was kept alive but also the pair didn’t actually collide.

The first is Survivor Series. Had Daniel Bryan and Triple H fought at Battleground with Randy Orton watching in the wings, then WWE could have promoted a huge Survivor Series Elimination Match in November, Team Orton vs Team Bryan. The match could have been used to get some of the lower card talent over which WWE need to do, whilst Orton avoided Bryan at all costs. Had Bryan teamed with The Usos, The Prime Time Players, Zack Ryder and Dolph Ziggler to take on Randy Orton, The Shield, The Real Americans and a returning Cody Rhodes then WWE could have used everyone else as a distraction whilst Orton and Bryan elevated others round them before Bryan chased Orton away and the pair were eliminated via double count out. They disappear into the back thus avoiding contact and the rest are left to shine.

At TLC, Triple H challenges Daniel Bryan to a TLC match, the stipulation is that if Triple H wins then Daniel Bryan will have to start back at the bottom of the ladder. At the December event, Triple H triumphs and just when all is lost for Bryan he enters the Royal Rumble and wins, earning his place at WrestleMania. Elimination Chamber wouldn’t have been a problem as Daniel Bryan put his WrestleMania main event spot on the line in a gauntlet match against The Shield and Triple H whilst Randy Orton triumphed in the Elimination Chamber Match. The stage would have been set then for Randy Orton vs Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania 30. The fans would be hot for the match which they wouldn’t have seen before and WWE would have been able to enter double figures without booking The Rock in the main event of the show.

It was an easy and simple plan. Along the way, to combat Vince and Stephanie, Shane and Linda McMahon could have been re-introduced to the company – which they almost certainly will be anyway, it’s a wasted opportunity for them to sit on the sidelines, especially as Shane McMahon would bring the house down nearly four years after he departed the company. WWE have squandered a brilliant opportunity to book an unforgettable feud and draw huge numbers for their annual show stealer.

The way the feud is being booked at the moment, in the ring, then it tells me that WWE are biding their time until John Cena returns from injury, so they can paint Bryan as the man who was never good enough and John Cena as the hero who vanquished The Corporation upon his return. If that happens it would be a crying shame. Daniel Bryan can come out of this feud with the aura of the future of WWE. But if John Cena comes back and is immediately inserted into the feud, in Bryan’s place, then WWE deserve a kick in the head. Sadly though that seems to be the plan at the moment and as we strive ever closer to WrestleMania 30 WWE’s plans as they stand – they will change – are this:

The Rock vs Brock Lesnar or Brock Lesnar vs C.M Punk – if The Rock doesn’t want to wrestle again, Randy Orton vs John Cena for the WWE Championship and C.M Punk vs The Undertaker – if The Rock agrees to a match against Brock Lesnar – or The Undertaker vs Ryback, John Cena or Daniel Bryan depending on what happens with the WWE Championship picture and possibly Daniel Bryan vs Triple H. It may not sound like a bad line up right now, but WWE really need to being finding ways around attracting millions of people to the event without The Undertaker and The Rock as two of the three star names. The Rock and The Undertaker are about to enter their final year(s) in the wrestling industry and when they’re gone it’s going to be up to stars like Randy Orton and Daniel Bryan to put bums in seats. What better place to start than now?

Winners Prediction: Randy Orton

World Heavyweight Championship Match

Battleground Hardcore Rules Match

(c) Alberto Del Rio vs Rob Van Dam

The whole storyline surrounding this feud, of Ricardo Rodriguez betraying Alberto Del Rio, the man he was seemingly loyal to until the end, stinks of a set up. I have been saying for months that to give Alberto that extra dimension and make Ricardo mean something in WWE, that the ring announcer needs to turn on Del Rio but it would have been much more effective had Ricardo done so when Del Rio was face and not heel. Now Alberto Del Rio is a heel and a very good one at that, what does Ricardo’s face turn and union with Rob Van Dam have to offer this feud, if it’s not a set up?

After Rodriguez’s suspension for violation of the WWE Wellness Policy and thirty day suspension WWE had to find something to do with him. Had he come back and just played the role of Del Rio’s manager / announcer yet again then it would have been samey. And samey is the last thing that Alberto Del Rio needs right now, especially since he’s just fell into the niche of a killer heel role – one he never managed to get the feeling of the first time around. Putting Rodriguez with Van Dam allows WWE to open up other avenues for the pair to go down, when Rodriguez inevitably costs Van Dam the World Heavyweight Championship just when it looks like he’s going to triumph once again.

After all, that’s why Rodriguez is with RVD. Those who thought that WWE were doing something different in the long run with Del Rio and Ricardo are either misguided or do not know wrestling well enough to know when the company is trying to pull the wool over our eyes. If WWE weren’t planning a set up of RVD then ask yourself this. Why put Rodriguez with Van Dam when the pair have had not other dealings? Surely, if you wanted to put anyone with RVD it would be Paul Heyman. Considering they have a storied history and that Heyman is currently involved with his own stable of wrestlers, namely Ryback, Lesnar and Axel who are feuding with C.M Punk. Adding RVD to Heyman’s stable would be a huge plus for Heyman.

Currently, its Ryback vs C.M Punk yet again coming out of Night of Champions, surely RVD vs C.M Punk would have been a better and much more gripping feud in the ring? As it is though, Alberto Del Rio and Rob Van Dam are just filler until WWE come up with something better for the current World Heavyweight Champion. In 2013, WWE do not see Rob Van Dam as a viable replacement for Alberto Del Rio as World Heavyweight Champion and past events – namely RVD’s drug bust when he was WWE Champion in 2006 – won’t help matters in the companies mind. Even if they could get past that, the likelihood of them making a former TNA wrestler World Heavyweight Champion is slim to none. WWE know of RVD’s history in TNA, they just don’t want to mention it.

The lousy DQ finish at Night of Champions was necessity for WWE to set up this match at Battleground. Had Alberto Del Rio been counted out then WWE ran the risk of the Mexican looking like a weak Champion who was unable to defend his Championship and the same would go for had Del Rio been pinned – of course he would have lost the Championship. This way, Del Rio may have gotten himself disqualified but he not only maintained his heel image, but in a way he elevated it. When Alberto Del Rio walked into Night of Champions in September he was a heel Champion who was prospering. A man who would do whatever he could to retain the Championship around his waist. When he left Night of Champions, Alberto Del Rio was a threat to every superstar in the locker room. A man with determination enough, to the audience at least, to break another man’s arm if it meant he would still be the man on Smackdown. So as much as we may gripe about the finish, I can see why WWE booked it. It protected both Champion and Challenger.

Some would argue that Alberto Del Rio has had his chance to shine and failed twice over. It’s a point I can see as relevant. Hid first heel run in 2010 was less than thrilling. Del Rio had the goods in the ring but elsewhere he lacked certain traits which screamed ‘Champion’. There was a lack of aggression when he was performing and whilst he was technically sound you always felt kind of like Del Rio was going through the motions. Like he knew that WWE weren’t planning on elevating him seriously so he took the attitude of why bother? As a face, the means of which WWE hoped he would reach superstardom, Del Rio failed again. He had the patter but he wrestled like a heel.

Of course, not all of Del Rio’s failures can be blamed on the man himself. WWE have to take the brunt of the blame. It’s the company who booked him so shoddily. Who gave him WWE Championship reigns and then terminated them less than one month in. It’s WWE who kept booking him to lose an d its WWE who didn’t pull him up on the fact that he was a face who was wrestling like a heel. WWE spurned most of the chances it afforded Del Rio in recent years. Now though, they have finally been woken up to what we have known all along. So yes, Del Rio has had ample chance to get himself over in years past but it’s been more other than himself who have held him back. Which is why he deserves another chance! When you’re that good, you never give up!

Strangely, I’ve heard grumblings from the WWE Universe about Rob Van Dam’s return to the company. His Money in the Bank 2013 performance was as good as RVD had done in his first stint with the company. He was sharp, on the ball and executed each move with panache. Thankfully he had shed the weight that had been gained wrestling for TNA. Surely the sky was the limit for RVD. And then came WWE’s favourite method of booking the ‘Start/Stop’ method. From Money in the Bank, RVD plummeted straight to the bottom of the card to contest a good Pre-Show / Kick-Off Match against Dean Ambrose at SummerSlam before being shot right back to the top of the card at Night of Champions.

It was a dizzying time for all involved. WWE can’t expect us to believe that RVD would go from the top, to the bottom, right back to the top again without a build up. There was none. Had WWE kept Van Dam at the top of the card it would have been a much better few months for the main event scene going into SummerSlam and instead of throwing him into the pre-show effort on the summer’s biggest show WWE could have just as easily booked a killer triple threat match between RVD, Del Rio and Christian. That would have been an excellent encounter. But hey, who knows what goes on in the crazy world of McMahon?

Back the point in hand: the grumblings from the WWE Universe, that your Wrestling God was privy to anyway, were along the lines that RVD shouldn’t be in the main event picture at all. The reasons varied from because he was too old and forty plus years and because he is a former WWE superstar who has come back to the company and is taking the spotlight away from the younger guys who need it more. The argument there is that for months, if not years now we’ve been begging WWE to introduce something other than John Cena into its main event scene. Ideally the answer would have come in the form of someone from NXT or WWE’s developmental system – hell even a low to mid-card wrestler would be welcome. However WWE have seen fit to bring back an assured headliner to answer our calls.

Can we criticise this? To an extent yes. It’s obvious that Vince believes bringing back a former headliner is easier and more profitable than making a new one and has already showed an unwillingness push anyone new up his greasy ladder without burying them to the extent we can’t believe in them first. But on the other hand, we asked for it. We are the ones who kept complaining about there not being enough main event players and not enough variety in the main, so WWE acted upon it. Unless we want to be hypocrites, then we have to live with it. They may have gone the wrong way about giving us what we want but they’ve delivered something at least.

Will Rob Van Dam defeat Alberto Del Rio at Battleground? No! At least not for the World Heavyweight Championship. If WWE plan for this to go into Hell in a Cell in three weeks times then the match will probably end on another disqualification or count out, because let’s be honest, three weeks isn’t a whole lot of time to build another meaningful feud. There is the possibility that I’m wrong and WWE plan to put the World Heavyweight Championship on RVD for three weeks, on the understanding that he drops it back to Del Rio at Hell in a Cell. That course of action would at least keep the feud interesting and watchable even if it was clear Del Rio would regain the gold in 21 days.

But that is only a theory. I don’t believe WWE have any intention of putting the gold back around RVD’s waist and at Battleground we can expect only one outcome.

Winners Prediction: Alberto Del Rio

C.M Punk vs Ryback

We’ve been here before and it didn’t end well. For those with no long term memory, in 2012 when C.M Punk was still reigning as WWE Champion, WWE decided the best course of action would be to book Ryback as the headline face to challenge Punk for the gold. That may have been at a time when Punk was a major heel and Ryback a dominant face and whilst the roles have been reversed, little else has changed in a year. Back in 2012 Ryback was still an awful performer and C.M Punk was having to carry his opponent. The exact situation which Punk will find himself in here.

We all know Ryback hasn’t improved since last year. His matches against John Cena earlier in the year ranged from good to awful, his WrestleMania match was deplorable and at Money in the Bank he flopped against Chris Jericho. The question is beginning to circulate that is there anyone in WWE good enough to carry Ryback in a singles match? Even C.M Punk struggled last year when he faced the man WWE hoped would be the next big thing in the industry, inside Hell in a Cell. There was a reason the match went only 11 minutes and it had very little to do with C.M Punk’s injury. Ryback is rotten in the ring and now WWE have to find some way of covering that up, otherwise this feud which is designed to go until Survivor Series will not last the course.

Is there anything WWE can do to make Ryback a better wrestler? Making his matches shorter would be the obvious choice. Like Goldberg in WCW, maybe Ryback will prosper better in shorter matches where he only has to execute a few planned spots and doesn’t have to do much else. It’s an answer, but not one WWE would be willing to implement right now because they’re not willing to book C.M Punk in a five minute match on pay-per view. The reason being, Punk has such a large fan base that the company know people would begin to tune out if their favourite appeared for five minutes on the monthly extravaganza and then not again throughout the night. So that’s the short match theory struck off of the list.

WWE could send Ry-back to wrestling school. See what I did there? There are trainers in WWE’s new development centre who could lend their expertise to Ryback and possibly make him a greater performer. Some of these people have wrestled with Ric Flair, Ricky Steamboat and some of them have been the bigger stars in a company themselves. Their knowledge is invaluable to someone like Ryback is he’s willing to listen and learn. It wouldn’t make any difference is Ryback was to take a four month hiatus from television in order to come back as a better in ring performer – in fact the fans will welcome it. But that’s not going to happen either.

You see, WWE have big plans for Ryback – yes, still – and don’t plan on removing him from the company for any length of time, unless he sustains an injury which forces him from the ring. The best WWE can come up with right now; to make Ryback a better performer is to put him with Paul Heyman. Now undoubtedly Heyman has an effect on wrestlers needing a lift but even he can’t help out when Ryback is in the ring. Sure, Heyman can interfere and take some of the pressure off of Ryback with his antics at ringside but when it comes to crunch time, Ryback is still in there on his own. He’s still going to be the stiff as a board wrestler we’ve seen over the last year and a bit.

After his feud with C.M Punk, maybe it would be a good idea for WWE to place him in a tag team. Either with someone else on the card who needs the exposure or with Curtis Axel – whose career hasn’t taken off as predicted after his name change. The team doesn’t necessarily have to drop down into the Tag Team Division because I don’t think Ryback would do the doubles division any good at all. Instead, to continue the feud with Punk WWE could find C.M a partner too. It certainly beats seeing another singles match between the pair at Hell in a Cell and it would give Axel and whoever is paired with Punk their fare share of the spotlight as well. With rumour abound that Rey Mysterio is returning to WWE after a lengthily knee injury, then what better name to help carry this feud if WWE can’t find anyone else further down the roster more deserving.

One has to question WWE’s long term image for Ryback and Paul Heyman’s relationship. It clear that Ryback and Curtis Axel for that matter are never going to be as big as Brock Lesnar, so if WWE plan to have Ryback vs Lesnar at some point in 2014 then I would think twice about it before booking that match. I doubt a match pitting the superior Lesnar against Ryback would sell any pay-per view buy rates. Then again maybe WWE are hoping that the association with Paul Heyman will make Ryback into the next Brock Lesnar. The argument there would be that if that was going to happen then it would have done so by now.

I can’t imagine what WWE have planned for Ryback after this feud is over. Another feud with the returning John Cena is surely out of the question after the last one bombed and WWE have a lack of faces big enough to carry a feud with Ryback. So where does that leave him going into WrestleMania XXX? Rumours abound that if all else fails he will be fed to The Undertaker. But if C.M Punk can’t drag a good match out Ryback then what chance does an aging Undertaker have. Even though Undertaker is one of the most accomplished wrestlers in the history of the industry, I doubt even he can be bothered to try and elevate Ryback on the grandest stage of them all.

Which means the future is up in the air for Ryback. Maybe WWE haven’t made any long term plans for Ryback. Perhaps they are waiting to see if this feud with C.M Punk will do something for his career. If it doesn’t then maybe Vince will admit defeat and axe the character from his roster. After all, he’s doing no good and has the ‘Midas Touch’ in reverse.

C.M Punk has gone from WWE Champion to mid-card player in recent months. His association with Paul Heyman seemed to drag him down the card after his WrestleMania XXIX match with The Undertaker. At Payback he had a good match with Chris Jericho followed by a good showing at Money in the Bank in the Money in the Bank Ladder Match and a cracking match against Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam. In recent months, WWE have relied on C.M Punk to hold together the mid-card because they don’t have anyone else capable of doing the job.

The problem is that C.M Punk is better than that. He’s been a mid-card player before and it didn’t suit him all that well. There are some wrestlers who are born to be mid-card wrestlers, who will never break through that glass ceiling and then there are wrestlers who are born into the main event. C.M Punk falls into the latter. He’s a natural born star and he’s much better than a spot on the mid-card against a man who can barely look after himself in the ring let alone another opponent. You can see why C.M Punk gets annoyed with WWE management. After his superb effort against The Undertaker and WWE Championship run which went from November 2011 to January 2013, Punk had earned the company’s respect and effectively had carried WWE for more than a year when The Rock dethroned him at Royal Rumble 2013.

When he lost the Championship, Punk was promised great things. His match with The Undertaker was just a small part of the reward Punk was granted by WWE for his sterling efforts in the main event as Champion. But then it all disappeared. The break after WrestleMania would have come as a huge relief for a man who was working injured for months, though I suspect he expected more rewards when he returned. I can’t tell you exactly what WWE promised C.M Punk when he returned but I can imagine that it wasn’t this. Backstage, Punk wasn’t thrilled about breaking from his best friend in real life, Paul Heyman. One got the message that even though it yielded a superior match at SummerSlam 2013, Punk believed there was more mileage in his and Heyman’s relationship. Depending on how you look at it, he may have been right.

There is an argument there certainly. When he split from Heyman Punk’s aura went downhill somewhat. His matches, whilst retaining a their quality weren’t what they were when he was battling the best and he seemed deflated that he wasn’t back at the top where he belonged. As a heel with Paul Heyman in tow there were more options for Punk and more roads for him to walk down. Without Heyman, Punk is left in no mans land after the rivalry with Paul Heyman ends. He can’t go back to the top of the card, Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton have closed ranks up there and don’t need anyone else’s help. The Intercontinental Championship picture is bleak and not a place that Punk needs nor wants to tread again in the near future. It leaves limited opportunities for ‘The Voice of the Voiceless’.

WWE have failed to build any stars that Punk could elevate by feuding with them and unless the company are planning another John Cena vs C.M Punk feud, something needs to change drastically. Could rumours that Stone Cold Steve Austin is on his way back to the company be true? They would certainly fall conveniently in time for WrestleMania XXX and the much anticipated Punk vs Austin match. Then again with TNA losing money faster than they can count it, some do say Hulk Hogan will land back on WWE shores. Would a Hogan vs Punk match draw big at WrestleMania XXX? I don’t have the answers right now but WWE need them. Trawling through the same feuds year after year is having an adverse effect on business and especially the WrestleMania numbers.

WWE need to make fresh feuds for people like C.M Punk, otherwise face his star fall altogether. After the hard work both parties have put in to get Punk where he is today, it would be a travesty to allow him to simply get lost in the shuffle. If WWE don’t do this then Punk needs to. Anyone who has seen ‘C.M Punk: Best in the World’ DVD and Blu-ray will know that Punk supposedly refused to do what WWE had booked for him for a long time and created his own storylines. If that’s what has to happen again then so be it. After all C.M Punk knows what’s best for his career and his character – he cannot let it go to sleep.

At Battleground, Ryback has to come out on top. If Punk was to defeat Ryback on October 6th then instantly, all heat for the feud would be gone. The face would have prevailed against the heel and there would be no point in WWE continuing the feud. And at the rate their running out of ideas for C.M Punk, they cannot afford to end them when they’ve only just got going.

Winners Prediction: Ryback

WWE Divas Championship Match

(c) A.J Lee vs Brie Bella

The WWE Divas Division has surprised me in recent months. I’m not talking about the A.J Lee and Kaitlyn series of matches which were very good, but everything that happened after that. It was vitally important to the division that WWE kept the momentum from the A.J vs Kaitlyn feud going but apply it to something else and to their credit they have done so. Usually around about now, WWE would have allowed the Divas Division to slide downhill and count one gripping feud which yielded two great singles matches enough to fill their appetite for the year.

I was worried after SummerSlam because looking down the current Divas roster I couldn’t see where WWE were going to get their next big Divas feud from. Certainly the company have more woman that can’t wrestle on their books than they do those that can, and whilst that’s something which needs to be addressed sometime next year, Stephanie McMahon, Triple H and whoever else concocted up this feud of A.J targeting the Total Divas women deserve a lot of credit. I don’t know what anyone reading this thought of A.J’s blistering C.M Punk style pipe bomb which she dropped on the cast of the almost all scripted Total Divas – yes, WWE won’t even allow its talent to have thoughts of their own in a show about their lives outside of the ring – but I thought it very good indeed.

Apart from being an accomplished promo, A.J got herself over as a serious Divas and no matter how hard WWE try to push her as the psychotic nymph who is hell bent on destruction, the fans seem to love her. A.J has struck it big in the wrestling industry. And she deserves it. It’s not the first time the psychotic diva character has been wheeled out for a WWE female performer but I am confident that A.J’s portrayal is by far the most convincing.

Now, sitting atop the Divas mountain, A.J has the ability to take the division far, as long as WWE allow her to thrive and don’t cut her reign short in order to put the Championship on one of the cast of WWE’s new hit ‘reality’ show. If that happened then whomever the recipient of the title was, they wouldn’t have earned it and WWE would have obviously have swapped champions in order to make Total Divas more appealing – like we haven’t suffered enough with the promotion of it already.  For A.J, as WWE Divas Champion, there is literally nowhere WWE can’t take her, especially now she’s proved herself in the ring and out of it.

The storyline, based around A.J’s hatred of the Divas who have the exposure of the Total Divas show and her insatiable desire to destroy them all is going to go far in WWE in 2013. It’s longevity beyond the end of the year will be questionable unless WWE introduce more Divas into the show with its second season which has already been commissioned. The perfect road for this feud to take would be for a couple of lesser Divas – who still have the skill to go in the ring – to come up from NXT or developmental and be inserted straight into Total Divas. WWE could then turn A.J onto them and how they haven’t worked for the spot or the respect and how they’ve just got into the business to be reality stars. It would be a logical course of action and also keep A.J busy until WWE find something else to do with her.

Of course finding something else for A.J is going to depend on WWE’s booking and building of other talent around her. Faliure to build new faces will result in the division going stale yet again. Something the company would be dumb to allow happen. WWE need three very good females in the ring who also have a great personality when they’re not competing between the ropes. At this point in time things like appearance and mic work don’t matter as the company have plenty of time to work on all of that later. But right now, it has to handpick its three top female stars from NXT and developmental and take a chance on them on the big stage. It’s the only way to find out if they can fly or not. Also, WWE have to get over this fascination of their Divas possessing princess like looks. I’d rather see two pug ugly dogs contest a thrilling match than two beautiful women fumble around the ring for ten minutes and bore us to death.

I, like everyone else know that the storyline and inclusion of Brie Bella to the WWE Divas Championship picture has been done solely to promote the Total Divas programme. We’d be naive to think otherwise. Either the show isn’t getting the viewers WWE wants – which can’t be true since it’s been commissioned for a second season – or WWE just want the same number of viewers for that farce as it does its weekly Raw and monthly pay-per view shows. If the latter is true then they’re going the right way about it. I’m sure, like at SummerSlam and Night of Champions WWE will mention the show on air and plug it to death whilst the match is taking place and why not? What better place to promote the show than on one which attracts the largest number of viewers per month? When it comes to selling something, Vince McMahon is the master.

I would however question the thought process behind it. Is it wise to take a feud that was in many people’s eyes just getting going, and replace it with one which features a female performer who isn’t all that in the ring, just to promote a show which most who tune into Raw don’t watch? Surely you run the risk of alienating those tuning in to watch wrestling when you use a match and more importantly a championship, to promote a show. WWE fell at these hurdles when promoting their movies in years past – and will again when Kane returns from his shoot on See No Evil 2 and decimates the Wyatt Family in retaliation for their actions at SummerSlam. So far it’s worked, but you can go to the well once too often.

WWE will deny the upcoming fact until they’re blue in the face but the truth remains that not being the greatest in ring talent – she can do a couple of things but will never leave and audience satisfied – Brie Bella has only been inserted into this spot for two reasons. The first is because she’s one of the main stars of Total Divas and the second is that she’s engaged to Daniel Bryan. It’s a no brainer. Has she earned her shot? Not really, but right now we’re stuck with it. And you never know, Brie may have picked up one or two things from her groom to be. Well, we can hope at least.

I feel great things ahead for the WWE Divas Division. WWE have already shown their willingness to stick with one figurehead until the time comes that another rises in her place. All that’s left is to add the finishing touches.

Winners Prediction: A.J Lee

Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins vs Cody Rhodes and Goldust

Okay, hands up who saw this coming when Cody Rhodes was fired on Raw after SummerSlam?  The inclusion of Goldust and Dusty Rhodes was just the beginning of what was always going to come down to Goldust competing in another WWE match. Only let’s hope this time, it’s his last.  I don’t mean to sound like the Grinch this early before December but in 2013, Goldust isn’t the wrestler he once was. The character was one with a shelf life when he made his debut in 1995. Eighteen years later, Dustin Rhodes / Runnels has truly wrung the Goldust character dry – though that will not stop him getting a riotous ovation on October 6th.

When Damien Sandow shoved Cody Rhodes off of the ladder at Money in the Bank to claim the briefcase, after a standout performance from the younger Rhodes, many wondered what the next step would be. Then came the news that WWE were high on both men and wanted to push them in unison. This led to the so-so one on one match at SummerSlam and then suddenly, out of the blue, WWE changed course and fired Rhodes. Not for one moment did anyone who knew about the business think this was anything but a storyline, but surely Cody Rhodes vs Damien Sandow had more life in it and much more to give the WWE Universe. Cody Rhodes has been thrown into a high profile feud with The Corporation – sort of – and Damien Sandow, the man who should be being prepped for World Heavyweight Championship Match sometime in 2014 is being mercilessly buried.

There is no sense in this course of action unless WWE realise they made a mistake at Money in the Bank. Perhaps WWE have already lost interest in Sandow, in which case they should take the Money in the Bank briefcase from him as soon as possible in order to rebuild his character and career. If WWE believe Cody Rhodes is the next big thing then they’re right. He is. We’ve all seen it for years; it seems WWE have only just come around to our way of thinking. However, does this feud really signify the beginning of Cody Rhode’s ascension to the top? The Shield are a great talent no doubt, but they’re in no position to elevate Rhodes. This is how it should have gone down.

After Cody Rhodes’ sacking, WWE should have continued the course which we were presented with on the previous weeks Raw, in offering him chances to regain his job. The Big Show would have knocked out Dusty Rhodes as he did and Triple H would have presented Cody Rhodes with the opportunity to prove that he belonged in the company by hitting ‘Cross Rhodes’ on his father who had already been felled by Big Show. Cody – the face – would have refused to strike his father just for a job thus getting the audiences approval and Triple H would have had him escorted by Police. When Cody got to the top of the ramp he would have resisted arrest and before being dragged out issued Triple H with an alternative, that at Battleground he would run a gauntlet of wrestlers, picked by Triple H, throughout the night in order to keep his job. If he defeats one then later in the night he takes on another and so on until he gets to the final wrestler. Rhodes – to the audiences approval – would have then demanded that he choose the final opponent. When his wish was granted, Cody Rhodes would have picked Triple H.

That would have cemented that Cody Rhodes is no longer the jobber to the stars and that he means business by challenging the COO of the company. Accepting the challenge, Triple H would have chosen Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns and Big Show to be Cody Rhodes first three opponents on the understanding that if he lost one match he would be gone from the company. When Battleground kicked off, Rhodes would defeat Seth Rollins in a great opening match which didn’t hurt Rollins and then go on to defeat Roman Reigns. When it came time for him match against Big Show, Cody Rhodes would defeat Big Show with aplomb and look really strong and someone that the fans could believe in. After the Big Show match Triple H and Stephanie McMahon would march to the ring with Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins and have Rhodes attacked, forcing Big Show to knock Rhodes out with the WMD Punch. Later in the show we would be informed that Cody Rhodes had suffered a concussion and wasn’t cleared to compete.

Triple H would come to the ring for his match and on the microphone would inform us that Rhodes won’t be here to wrestle and will never be reinstated. Just as the referee was about to award the match to Triple H, Cody Rhodes would be shown on the titan tron in the trainers room, barely coherent, pushing away the doctors and heading to the ring. Rhodes would compete in the audience’s mind he would be a fighting hero even though he had a supposed concussion. Rhodes would take a beating from Triple H and still kick out of everything earning the audiences backing, finally hitting the ‘Cross Rhodes’ on Triple H. When it looked like Rhodes would finally win The Shield would run in and attack Rhodes. When the ref called for a disqualification Stephanie would march out and state she has made the match no DQ. Triple H and The Shield would then beat Rhodes down so bad Triple H would then pin him. Rhodes would look like the warrior who was screwed and on Raw would invade the programme and challenge Triple H to one more match at Hell in a Cell inside the devils playground. In the match interference would be barred and it would just be the two of them where Rhodes would finally win a thrilling Hell in a Cell Match.

That, my good minions, is how you get someone like Cody Rhodes over. After all of that, not only would we be able to buy into Cody Rhodes as a challenger and force in the company he would also be in pole position to challenge Randy Orton for the WWE Championship. I for once fancy seeing Daniel Bryan vs Randy Orton vs Cody Rhodes at Survivor Series. I just can’t see that this tag team match is going to get him anywhere. Reigns and Rollins have all the talent in the world but aren’t in the right position to do what needs to be done for someone like Rhodes and with his brother and father there with him at Battleground, I can’t be the only one who smells a betrayal coming. I may be wrong, but I firmly predict that with Dusty Rhodes’ NXT job on the line as well as Goldust’s future job in WWE – like he has one – then one of them is going to betray Cody and side with Triple H and Stephanie citing the importance of their job as the reason.

The stipulation of the match states that of Cody Rhodes and Goldust beat two third of The Shield then Dusty Rhodes keeps his job as NXT trainer and the Rhodes brother gets their jobs back. But really, in 2013, who here really wants to see Goldust as an active member of WWE’s roster? No, me neither. Which leads me to believe that Cody Rhodes and Goldust won’t prevail at Battleground and the story will continue well into Survivor Series, which at the moment is looking to be; Cody Rhodes, Dusty Rhodes, Goldust and Daniel Bryan vs Randy Orton and The Shield.

One would also have to question the validity of putting Reigns and Rollins in this match, especially if the WWE Tag Team Championships aren’t on the line. Maybe WWE thought that if they put the doubles gold on the line then it would almost certainly give the result of the match away. No one is feasibly going to believe in this day and age that WWE are going to make Goldust one half of the Tag Team Champions, so perhaps WWE have kept the gold back as a measure to keep reality suspended. Of course, maybe the company just don’t have anything else to do with The Shield in October 2013. If that is the case, then WWE are wasting three great talents.

With Survivor Series and the Royal Rumble fast approaching, WWE really need to shift their plans for The Shield into fourth gear. At Hell in a Cell WWE could make history by staging the first ever six man tag team hell in a cell match if they could find three worthy opponents for the trio and then have them dominate Survivor Series defeating three or four more worthy opponents. It’s the only fool proof way of making sure Reigns, Rollins and Ambrose who is absent from Battleground remain important in the public’s eye. The company cannot afford to mess up with these three and seeing as they have gone off the boil in recent months, its time for that famous WWE machine to get back behind the trio and churn out something worthwhile.

Winners Prediction: Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns

WWE Intercontinental Championship Match

(c) Curtis Axel vs R-Truth

I can’t say with any great enthusiasm that this is going to be one of the standout matches at Battleground, because I doubt it will be. With hardly any build up or story – the match is based on R-Truth defeating Axel on Raw and then Axel getting his revenge on the pre Battleground Smackdown – I doubt anyone is looking forward to this match. It looks bad for Axel, but it wouldn’t have seemed half as bad had WWE at least bothered to build R-Truth up in the run up to this match with some impressive victories.

On the Smackdown one week ago, R-Truth lost in a squash match signifying that WWE do not have big plans for the man formerly known as K-Kwik. Which begs the question, that when you’re trying to rebuild the WWE Intercontinental Championship, why make a match which is 1) treated as an afterthought and thrown onto the card 48 hours – from airtime – before a pay-per view and 2) give the champion you’re trying to push an opponent who no one cares about? It boggles the mind that WWE believe the best way to get the Intercontinental Championship over again is to have Curtis Axel, a man who hasn’t had the start that was predicted for him, defend against a mere nobody, which R-Truth is in 2013 on a pay-per view.

With Triple H taking charge of the lesser talent in WWE and their direction as well as the head of youth development, amongst his many other jobs, you would have thought ‘The King of Kings’ may have realised that the Championship which helped make him as well as those around him like The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin a star, needs a better push and more backing than its currently getting at the moment. WWE could have literally picked anyone else from their roster for this match and even Kofi Kingston, who will battle Bray Wyatt at Battleground, would have given Curtis Axel a better fight than he will get from R-Truth.

In 2013 and 2014 I don’t see R-Truth as a main or even major under card player in WWE. His last major contribution to the company was his challenged to the WWE United States Championship in 2012 held by Antonio Cesaro. Though those matches went from bad to okay, Truth was not considered for one moment as a name to dethrone Cesaro in 2012. I have to believe that he’s merely a filler while WWE find something more meaningful to do with the Intercontinental Champion.

Anyway, if Truth did defeat Axel for the gold then what? What could R-truth possibly add to the company with one its pieces of gold around his waist? He’s not seen as a viable replacement for Axel or anyone on the roster. Truth isn’t so staunchly loved by the fans that they would be willing to pay out to see him rebuild the division and even if they did, I don’t believe that R-Truth has the skill to be the figurehead of the once lauded division. There is nothing R-truth can possibly add to WWE in 2013 or the Intercontinental Championship division. The only reason R-Truth is in this match and indeed booked to compete at Battleground is so that WWE can hand Curtis Axel a pay-per view victory in order to help rebuild his image after too many losses.

Speaking of the Intercontinental Champion, Curtis Axel has been treated appallingly by WWE since he won the super triple threat match against The Miz and Wade Barrett at Payback. What should have happened seemed to slip WWE’s mind and they instead implemented what they believed a young upstart who has the world in front of him, should be doing to pay his dues. It’s about time WWE are everyone in wrestling got over this whole ‘paying your dues’ before you get a big break. In 2013, WWE don’t have the star names to pad out the top of the card whilst the younger talent pay their dues and in reality it’s just an excuse as to why they’re not pushing some of the more younger and deserving talent.

I hope that his feud with C.M Punk would be the making of Axel, something that he could get his teeth into and run with. On the other side of the fence, Axel had a seasoned pro that has put many men over and made many more careers than Axel has had matches. It shouldn’t have failed to work. Punk should have helped get Axel over and Axel should have shot to stardom after the feud was over. But like everything else in WWE, things don’t work the logical way. WWE were never planning to make Curtis Axel a star from the Punk feud, instead just biding their time and using the Intercontinental Champion as a bridge into Punk’s next feud with Ryback.

I wonder if WWE stopped for one moment to think about what that would do to Axel’s image with the fans. Did they even bother to think that he may be seen as a mere bit player who was used as cannon fodder in order for WWE to implement a bigger and better drawing warfare? Of course not. Like almost everything else they have their mind set on, WWE went in with their big size twelve’s and trampled over everything. Only this time it was Curtis Axel who got caught in the stampede. Had the C.M Punk feud been handled right then WWE could have had a new main event star on their hands – instead now, they have a hell of a job to do with Axel before he’s ready to be that star and its mostly of their own doing.

It’s not just WWE’s fault though. It would be easy to credit WWE with the whole mess up but when you cast your eyes back on some Axel’s more important moments, then you will see that he’s not stepped up to the mark. For a man who is the son of a WWE legend – and that fact may be a factor in his disappointing start with his new character – Axel has strolled through matches with a lack of zeal or enthusiasm. At Money in the Bank he had the chance to prove to WWE that he could take someone like The Miz and steal the show with them. It was Axel’s chance to wow the audience and the booking team backstage. He didn’t. On the night, Curtis Axel took a laidback approach to his job and simply walked through his match without seemingly a care in the world.

His SummerSlam he was left off of the card and at Night of Champions he once again failed to totally impress. I can’t pinpoint what’s wrong with Henning. There doesn’t seem to be the flair that his father had or he should display. It’s almost like he doesn’t want to do it or he’s held back by the weight of expectation from his father as well as being packaged as a character who uses his fathers finishing move and entrance theme – which is weaved into his own. WWE can’t expect Henning to be a replica of his father. Mr. Perfect was a one off, never to be repeated or replicated. It’s no goods the company giving Axel Mr. Perfect’s traits and crossing their fingers, hoping for the best. It’s not going to happen. With Paul Heyman, WWE have given Curtis Axel a fighting chance, but they have to stop saddling him with the weight of expectation his father came with, otherwise he’s going to fail and it’ll be another name struck off of the future main event roster.

Winners Prediction: Curtis Axel

Battleground Kick-Off Match

Damien Sandow vs Dolph Ziggler

Insert sigh here. What a come down for both Dolph Ziggler and Damien Sandow. After his Money in the Bank 2013 victory Damien Sandow should be on top of the world and being prepped for a serious World Heavyweight Championship challenge sometime next year. Yet since his victory he’s lost at SummerSlam and almost every week on Raw and Smackdown. Do WWE really think that having him keep losing will endear us to Sandow as a future champion? They should have learnt from Dolph Ziggler’s stop / start push in 2012 after Ziggler won the very same match. His burial at the hands of John Cena only put him back and when he did win the title it was out of nowhere and WWE took it off of him two months later.

That’s the problem with Money in the Bank winners who aren’t huge stars. They have to be given the chance or the vicious circle of repeating main events come around again and again, but the company has put the machine behind them. Damien Sandow needed huge victories in the weeks leading up to and after SummerSlam, including prospering over Cody Rhodes on the biggest event of the summer. When it comes time for Sandow to cash in, then who is going to believe that a man who has regularly lost to the whose who of jobbers can carry the World Heavyweight Championship and the company? It’s a ridiculous notion which WWE need to shake out of their heads.

Half of the problem is the unwillingness by WWE to take another chance. To them, having Sandow going over wrestlers like RVD, Alberto Del Rio, Randy Orton and so on is to much of a risk to the bigger stars images. Do WWE really think that after doings jobs for everyone over the last two years Randy Orton is going to be damaged by a defeat to Damien Sandow? No. And the three mentioned are the perfect three to get the faux scholar over. After RVD’s stint in the World Heavyweight Championship picture it would be a wise move to punt him down the ladder to feud with Sandow. A couple of pay-per view victories, including being the sole survivor at Survivor Series would do Sandow no end of good in WWE and certainly start him off on the road to where he needs to be in 2014.

As for Dolph Ziggler – well what can I say? The man who is clearly the future of this company is being treated shoddily by it. Ziggler’s World Heavyweight Championship reign should have gone at least into SummerSlam and to strip him of the title because you need him to bring the best out of the bumbling Big E. Langston is a huge oversight. WWE could have just as easily booked another singles match between A.J and Kaitlyn at SummerSlam and left Langston off of the card as an active wrestler, in order to book a triple threat match for the World Heavyweight Championship on the August spectacular. But that would have been too easy.

In October 2013, Dolph Ziggler should be at the top, competing for the WWE and / or World Heavyweight Championship. There’s no reason for his talents to be wasted in defeats on Raw and Smackdown and certainly not on the kick-off show of an untested pay-per view which may not be around next year depending on its success this year. It’s mindless that Dolph Ziggler is constantly kept back. He has the look, the skills, the popularity and if you asked anyone in the WWE Universe then most would say that they’d prefer Dolph Ziggler in the main event to on a programme which most will only see when it’s released on DVD.

This would be a perfect place to start for WWE to build Damien Sandow. They’ve had their fun and got over whatever point they were trying to get across but this is getting beyond a joke. He can’t win on pay-per view, he can’t win on weekly television and if Damien Sandow can’t be afforded a win on the pre-show match to a pay-per view then we may have to start looking at the possibility that Damien Sandow is never going to break that glass ceiling after all.

Winners Prediction: Damien Sandow

Like most WWE pay-per view events in 2013, Battleground is strong at the top and weak at the bottom. If it was a building then October’s first pay-per view (Hell in a Cell follows on October 27th) would tumble before it was even put up. There aren’t enough strong lower card matches to support the weight of the main event matches and even though the wrestlers were there to change this (Dean Ambrose and Christian have been left off of the card), WWE haven’t bothered.

Randy Orton vs Daniel Bryan will be another cracking effort of that I’m sure and it will advance the story as we approach the end of the year, but I can’t see anything else at Battleground stunning the audience. In fact it has ‘B’ level pay-per view written all over it. I doubt we’ll remember this event in a year’s time but then again the opportunity is there for WWE and its talent to prove us wrong.

It could have been so much better had WWE taken a risk on a WarGames match, the company could have elevated six or seven names in one night and been better off for it when the post WrestleMania 30 period kicked in, in April. But this month Vince McMahon wasn’t willing to risk a little to gain a lot and if something isn’t done about the state of WWE’s mid-card soon, then the whole company is going to be a battleground as the unsatisfied talent go to war with WWE’s hierarchy.

Onwards and upwards...