5 Things To Expect on WWE Monday Night Raw 1/19/15

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day! Tonight is the go-home show for the 28th annual Royal Rumble PPV. I remember James telling me that he was at the very first Royal Rumble PPV that's pretty cool. Anyways tonight is a very big show for the WWE. We got legends in the building, Daniel Bryan & Brock Lesnar are back, and 22 other superstars are looking to punch in their names into the Royal Rumble match. As here is my public service announcement, so people understand what this article is about. I'm giving you an insightful preview as to what you will see on tonight's edition of WWE Monday Night Raw and this by no means represents my taste in wrestling or what I would like to see on the show. Here's five things to look forward to on "Raw Reunion".

1.) Raw Reunion 

When I first heard about this special Raw Reunion show and that it was going to be in Dallas, Texas there was only one thing that was running through my mind. The reason why these legends are here tonight is to ring in the announcement of WrestleMania 32 taking place at Jerry World in Arlington, Texas. Here's the updated list of the legends that will be on this show tonight:  Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, X-Pac, Shawn Michaels, Ron Simmons, Jimmy Hart and The New Age Outlaws. Something that can work here with this special legends show why don't you have The Ascension come out and instead of saying "Oh we're better than the Road Warriors" since there advertised for the show, why don't you say "Oh we're better than the New Age Outlaws" call them out to a match and lay them out. It kills two birds with one stone you backed up your claim and you also made a statement to not only the tag team division, but to JBL. It would be nice to see a nWo or D-Generation X reunion tonight or maybe both come out at the same time. I think we'll probably see Ron Simmons do the "DAMN!" to the Rosebuds or The Miz & Damien Mizdow.

2.) WWE World Heavyweight Championship Program 

Seth Rollins sure made an statement last week on Raw! Couldn't have happen to a better a guy and  I totally mean that. Do we see John Cena in action tonight? Really digged the in-ring promo that Rollins & Paul Heyman conducted on SmackDown last week it was the perfect showcase of storytelling. It's not a question of "if", but when are we going to see The Authority? I want to remind people something 44 out 52 raw's in the years 2000 and 2001 had a in-ring promo to start of the show it sets off the tone for the show, get over it. I think tonight is important to make Brock Lesnar stand out. Ever since he came back Brock Lesnar has been made to look like a girl just being honest. Whether it's him running away from Cena one week, then getting A&A through tables and getting curb stomped the next week, Lesnar sure doesn't look like a strong WWE World Heavyweight Champion. I think tonight heading into the Royal Rumble PPV. They'll call it a Face-To-Face segment for big feuds like this on go-home show, but during this face-to-face segment Brock Lesnar needs to go off the air laying out both Seth Rollins & John Cena.

3.) Daniel Bryan or Roman Reigns ?

With the 2015 Royal Rumble coming this Sunday on the WWE Network. The hottest topic in the WWE right now with the fans are who should win the Royal Rumble Match? Daniel Bryan or Roman Reigns? It was great to see Bryan back in the ring last week on SmackDown. Here's an idea to shake things up and also get people talking is if you do this match. I think tonight we can see either a rematch between Kane & Daniel Bryan or Daniel Bryan & Roman Reigns will take on Kane & Big Show. If that doesn't happen we can possibly see a Daniel Bryan in-ring promo and instead of Stephanie coming out this time it will be Triple H who will come out to tell Daniel Bryan that he made a mistake coming back and threaten him to feud with The Authority again. Nonetheless it just great to have Bryan back on the television and makes things fresh and all I ask for tonight is if Roman Reigns is doing a backstage interview with the beautiful Renee Young, Please I beg the WWE to let Roman Reigns showcase his natural personality instead of bringing out some random line from Whinney The Poo or The Little Engine That Could.

4.) Royal Rumble Mid-Card 

Is there any chance we see the returns of Ryback, Dolph Ziggler & Erick Rowan tonight? If that happens I would be so happy for all three of these guys. As far as the rest of the mid-card for the Royal Rumble PPV is concern. We found out last week on SmackDown that The Miz & Damien Mizdow invoked their rematch clause and The Usos will defend the WWE Tag Team Championship against The Miz & Damien Mizdow at the Royal Rumble. I think tonight The Miz will take on Jimmy Uso or we can do that rematch from SmackDown last week The Miz, Damien Mizdow and Alicia Fox vs. The Usos & Naomi. I think tonight would be good to see Rusev take part of a squatch match or he'll probably have a rematch with Dean Ambrose. As far as the WWE Divas Championship feud between Paige, Natalya and Nikki Bella, with any indication from last night's Total Divas we're either seeing Paige vs. Natalya or we'll see Paige & Natalya vs. The Bella Twins. It would be cool to have Bad News Barrett come out before his match and say he has bad news and that the bad news is that Dolph Ziggler won't be in the Royal Rumble Match.

5.) Good Commentary or Bad Commentary?

Tonight is the final flagship show for the WWE before the Royal Rumble PPV. They've been doing a good job of promoting each match that's on every PPV over the last 5 months. Tonight I hope that JBL, Michael Cole & Booker T bring their a-game into tonight's show. I've been known to saying that this commentary team reminds me of FOX news radio or CNN. Tonight is the about promoting the Royal Rumble not promoting JBL's ego.

Let's try to have some fun tonight folks!

Follow Me on Twitter @JoshLopezCSR

Condo On The Moon Podcast #44 Hall of Fame Madness

We talk about Randy Savage finally getting in the Hall of Fame and his bad history with Hulk Hogan. The state of the WWE heading towards the Royal Rumble. ROH welcoming a former WWE star to television this weekend. In addition a little plug for local independent show Alpha-1 Wrestling that will have ROH stars Cedric Alexander and R.D Evans in town locally here in Hamilton. That and lots more with myself and Chris Walder.


So that was it for this week and if you have trouble accessing the podcast head over to Podomatic and listen or download from there.

Here is some thoughts from Randy Savage in an old interview on Hulk Hogan the man who will induct him in the Hall of Fame. After listening to this ask yourself if this is truly who Randy Savage would want to induct him in the Hall of Fame?



Brian Fritz from The Sporting News and Between The Ropes was able to interview Lanny Poffo in what could be classed as a rather strange take from Savage's brother on Savage's induction to the Hall of Fame.

Finally... Randy Savage Is Where He Belongs In WWE Hall Of Fame

Finally, it has happened Randy Savage is going to be in the WWE Hall of Fame. As a life long Randy Savage fan, you would think this would be a huge moment. It was but not as big a moment as it could and should have been for myself. After all Vince McMahon confirmed Savage would be in the Hall of Fame on the Stone Cold Podcast. TMZ also reported earlier in the day this was going to be announced which the WWE made clear during Raw. This all took away from the moment when Savage was officially put in the Hall of Fame.

That was bad enough, but to hear that Hulk Hogan is presenting Savage for induction made me sick inside. It is no secret that Savage for many points in his life hated this man legitimately. Hulk Hogan claims that Savage had made peace with him for their differences. Hulk Hogan has lied about so many things and we are just supposed to believe him? I personally do not and am sickened that Hogan is trying once again to push his way into Savage’s moment. This is not unlike when Savage won the title at Wrestlemania 4.

The recent Savage DVD promised answers to why Randy was not in the Hall of Fame. The DVD never really gets into other than vague speculation. In addition not one member of the McMahon Family was featured in this DVD.

The urban legend is that Savage had some kind of affair with Stephanie McMahon. Something in interviews Savage’s brother Lanny Poffo when asked about it would not deny it and in fact vaguely confirmed it. If Lanny is behind this whole thing, the fact he has allowed Hogan to be involved in this moment I personally will never forgive him for as Savage Fan. Poffo unlike his brother has always loved Hogan for giving him in his mind his big break as “The Genius” fighting Hogan on a Saturday Night’s Main Event for the title. Which was Lanny’s only shot ever at a title in the WWE that I can recall.

WWE has taken a moment that should be celebrated by all Macho Man fans, and WWE have found a way to take away from what should be a special moment. This moment was long overdue for Randy Savage and should have happened while he was alive. That fact alone was hard enough to deal with forget about adding Hogan to the mix.

In the end, Randy Savage deserved this honor for well over a decade before it actually has happened. WWE has found a way to take a moment that should be celebrated, but have taken away from the joy that should be associated with this for longtime Savage fans.

Savage’s true legacy is how many people Randy actually turned on to wrestling. Many wrestlers that got into this business did in part because of Randy Savage and all he did in this business that is his legacy. C.M Punk was one of those guys and he brought Savage to light for modern fans by doing his elbow drop in WWE as a tribute to Savage. He also wore Savage gear the week after his death on Raw. Jay Lethal is another guy who has taken on the Savage persona as a tribute to Randy as well.

There are many people that would not be wrestlers and millions more that would not be fans of wrestling without Randy being part of professional wrestling.

I celebrate the fact that WWE finally did the right thing by putting Savage in Hall of Fame. The whole process of putting Savage in the Hall of Fame is being ruined for me as a fan of his for years. WWE will no doubt look to cash in on the memory of Savage where ever and whenever they can now.

Randy Savage deserved to live to have this moment in his life. WWE robbed him and us his fans of that moment. Nothing that happens in this induction can make up for that.

Still it is nice that finally Randy Savage is where he has always belonged in the WWE Hall of Fame.

Raw Talking Points For Christmas Edition of Raw

Raw had its typical holiday offering last night. There wasn’t a ton of significant things as it basically just continued a number of existing feuds. The typical diva’s Christmas costume 6-women tag match. We had the new holiday tradition of the Miracle on 34th Street fight. Dean Ambrose and Bray Wyatt destroyed many Christmas themed items. Hulk Hogan was the host of Raw dressed up like Santa and he was his typical boring self. If you’re into Hogan, you probably found it fun. If you have had enough of Hogan this was evidence of why you do. Still we found some talking points from this holiday for the most part throwaway Raw show.

1. Adam Rose Turns Heel on the Bunny: After a loss to R-Truth the Bunny still in his neck brace, after a couple attacks from Kane in the past week, he goes to comfort Rose after the match. Rose put a real serious beat down on the bunny. He would take off the Bunny’s neck brace and would continue the beating after the Bunny tried to escape to the outside. The highlight of the segment was the crowd chanting for Rose to throw the Bunny into the guardrail one more time. The crowd was not having any sympathy for Bunny, which was the goal of the segment. So Adam Rose is suppose to be a heel but at least on this night in Minnesota he was a face to this crowd.

2. Fandango Gets a Win: This was more about where Jack Swagger is in terms of this company. The new and improved Fandango is not exactly setting the world on fire. Swagger had almost all the offensive moves until the end. Fandango landed some kicks, went to his top rope leg drop, and actually got the win. Poor Jack Swagger has fallen down since his resurgence with his original feud with Rusev.

3. The Night for The Shield: Rollins and Cena kicked off the show and Rollins after a win last week in a cage match with the help of Brock Lesnar, Cena natural gets his win back this week after Hogan made the match for his good buddy John Cena. Roman Reigns was paired with the Big Show and was booked terrible only able to get a count out win after hitting Big Show with a superman punch over the announce table. Big Show really seems to have little interest in helping Reigns get over. Dean Ambrose meantime in the Main Event once again losses to Bray Wyatt in your typical Christmas Street fight. Overall, it was not a great night for the former members of the Shield.

4. WWE Announcers Continue To Fail: I could bring up many examples of why this is true every single week but I have a specific example this week. Natalya was in a match with Brie and she had Nikki in her corner. During the entire match, Tyson was wearing a Nikki Bella hat and there was zero reference to it the entire match. Even in the post match where Natalya pushes Nikki off the apron and notices the hat Tyson was wearing after that. She takes it off and throws it away. Announcers made zero reference to this so if you missed it can’t blame you.

5. Piper’s Pit Isn’t What It Use To Be: It was kind of a pathetic attempt at nostalgia with Roddy Piper showing up and his guest was Rusev. Piper mispronounced his name and predictably introduced Ryback who had a bow on him no less and he attempted to attack Rusev but he was able to escape. Ryback was over with Minnesota crowd so it looks like the C.M Punk comments have not affected Ryback and his face push of late. Seeing Piper and Hogan at their age is more sad and pathetic than any sort of nostalgic feel good moment.

The match quality on this show was pretty good overall but some questionable booking and little plot advancement. The biggest note was Rose heeling on Bunny and I am not even kidding about that. I didn’t hate this show but if I had missed it, I can’t say that much happened I needed to see. 

5 Things To Expect on WWE Monday Night Raw

From all of us here on Condo On The Moon from James, Chris and myself we'll like to wish all of you a merry Christmas and a wonderful new year. We're on the verge of the second to last Monday Night Raw of the year. WWE is in Minneapolis tonight which is a big wrestling town, so expect a rowdy crowd tonight. Hulk Hogan returns to WWE to serve as "Ho-Ho Hogan" which means he'll probably be the special guest GM for the night. We're on the road to the Royal Rumble and let's see if the WWE builds anything for the Royal Rumble tonight. Here's five things I think we all should expect to see on tonight's Monday Night Raw.

1.) Ho-Ho Hogan 

We sure seen alot of Hulk Hogan in 2014, maybe more then we needed to, but tonight Hogan is back on the show and we'll probably see him as the general manager of Raw for this week. Hogan will probably cut a in-ring promo and then he'll be cut off by Seth Rollins. It's the new thing now when you have a special guest manager on the show, Rollins will come out and cry about being screwed over in his current storyline and then he'll say that the Authority needs to come back. As we're on the road to the Royal Rumble I think Hogan may set up some series of Rumble Qualifying Matches. I brought that up last week, but they needed to recap everything that happen at TLC. I only brought up this scneario up because obviously you want to have the fans tune into the three hours of Raw each week right, and one of the issues I had with the Rumble Match last year was that the WWE didn't go out of the way to show the fans that there's a series of guys who can be favorites to win the Royal Rumble Match. I'm just throwing that idea out there and maybe it'll happen maybe it won't. Who knows maybe Roman Reigns joins Rollins & Hogan in this in-ring promo that starts the show.

2.) Steel Cage Fallout 

Last week's Steel Cage Match between Seth Rollins and John Cena was one of the best main events of Raw this year. I'm surprised that Rollins won that match becuase I thought maybe the WWE wanted to go with the angle where Cena once again takes out everybody on the roster to make a "statement" to Brock Lesnar. I think we may see a match between Seth Rollins and Ryback because it didn't happen on SmackDown, or we can see some type of tag team match between John Cena & Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins & Big Show. As much as people want to think that Roman Reigns is being shoved down our throats, we seen ALOT of Seth Rollins on WWE Programming recently. What will John Cena do? Brock Lesnar is not advertised to appear on this show tonight which is strange to me because since Lesnar has return to the WWE in 2012, every single time the WWE has been in Minneapolis, Lesnar never shows up. Cena can probably a verbal sprawling with Paul Heyman I think that would be a great in-ring segment and pose the question as to how can Paul Heyman get into Cena's head as the road to WrestleMania begins?

3.) Bray Wyatt/Dean Ambrose Continues ? 

Something's got to give in this feud here right? We seen a TLC Match and a Boot Camp Match between both of these gentleman and after last week's SuperSmackDown LIVE it seems that the feud between Bray Wyatt and Dean Ambrose will continue. Here's the question I pose to you the fans of Condo On The Moon. What does Dean Ambrose and Bray Wyatt do at WrestleMania? More importantly where's the conclusion to this feud? I think we may see the conclusion to this feud either the first Raw of 2015 or at the Royal Rumble in some type of gimmick match. What gimmick match will it be? There's been some reports about a potential Bray Wyatt/Undertaker program at WrestleMania and who knows maybe that program can brews out of a Casket or Buried Alive Match at the Royal Rumble. I think both Bray Wyatt and Dean Ambrose has great futures ahead of them, but we'll see what happens on the show tonight

4.) Ryback vs. Rusev 

This is the perfect feud for both Ryback and Rusev at the current stage of their career. I think that a Ryback and Rusev program can go from now to WrestleMania. Especially when it comes to the Royal Rumble/WrestleMania season alot of people get lost in the shuffle and it's very unfortunate. I don't know if they'll have the United States Championship Match at the Royal Rumble or both men will be in the Royal Rumble Match. I think both Ryback & Rusev are underrated and underappreciated for what they can do in that ring. Rusev laid out Ryback on the stage on Super SmackDown LIVE. I hope what comes out of this feud is more characteristics from both Ryback & Rusev in a Heel and Face perspective. I think that the Big Guy will seek some type of retribution on Rusev tonight, but I don't think it will happen I think Lana will come out and cut a promo and then Ryback interrups and then Rusev runs away.

5.) Roman Empire 

The return of Roman Reigns has been endured with anger and frustration from the smart wrestling fans. A lot of people and yours truly doesn't believe that Reigns deserves to be in the main event of WrestleMania this year. Here's the thing we say that he doesn't deserved to be in the main event because he's being shove down our throats like Batista was last year, but in this case I don't feel that Reigns deserves to be in the main event of WrestleMania this year because it's not his time yet and he's still young. I think we may see another match between Reigns and Fandango. They're going to build Reigns up the moon and we have no control over it. I want Reigns to succeed I'm a fan of his I got his t-shirt at home and I love the slogan on shirt "One Versus All". I hope Reigns has a great career and I just think right now it's too much too soon that's my only issue with Roman Reigns.

Hope you guys enjoy Monday Night Raw tonight and I hope you guys and girls have a wonderful christmas and a wonderful new year. 2014 has had it's ups and downs and I think in 2015 things will get alot better for the WWE and it will be a fun ride to WrestleMania 31. I hope you guys enjoyed this preview and we'll talk to you later on in the week.

Follow Me on Twitter @JoshLopezCSR

Follow Condo On The Moon @CondoOnTheMoon

Seeds of A John Cena and Rusev Feud Have Begun

The first step to a John Cena vs. Rusev feud has been thrown down on Twitter. Lana in response to a tweet from Hulk Hogan declares that Rusev will crush John Cena.

. @HulkHogan BOO HOO HOO so sad! WE DO NOT CARE! @RusevBUL will #CRUSH your precious @JohnCena & then take your #WWEHWTitle. 🇷🇺
— LANA (@LanaWWE) November 5, 2014

On this past Monday’s Raw prior to Rusev capturing the U.S title, defeating Sheamus was offered a spot on Team Authority to face Team Cena at Survivor Series. Lana and Rusev said they would consider the offer of Stephanie McMahon. This seems to be planting the seeds for the much-expected Cena vs. Rusev feud. Some thought it would be the mania program for John Cena but it seems more likely it will happen sooner than later based on the direction WWE seems to be taking.

Cena would be facing Brock Lesnar it would be assumed for the third time at the Royal Rumble. This at least suggests that Rusev may face Cena as soon as the December special event for the WWE. The involvement of Hogan in all this might see him end up in some kind of manager role for such a match.

A win over the undefeated Russian would be in the WWE’s view the way to establish Cena as strong heading into the third match in a span of 6 months with Brock Lesnar in January.

It is all speculation at this point but it seems John Cena is on a collision course with the big Russian sooner rather than later.

Other News From Day in Condo On The Moon

Randy Orton written off WWE Television. 
Wade Barrett to appear on Canadian T.V This Weekend

Follow us for all the latest @Condoonthemoon

Change or Nostalgia You Can't Have Both

Sometimes I have a hard time understanding wrestling fans to a degree. It has been a constant theme for years now, of fans wanting change so younger talent has chance to run with the ball. I understand that point and am a firm believer in that concept. Here is what I don’t understand is how many of these same people will be nostalgic to want to see guys like Kurt Angle or Bully Ray another run in WWE? Why on earth should we do such a thing? I am tired of the lifetime achievement runs for people. I will even go as far as saying I do not need to see Hulk Hogan ever again on my television screen. The fact that he got mad by Brock Lesnar calling him grandpa I find very hilarious. Will someone please inform Mr. Hogan that he is 61 years old? Can they also let him know that in reality he is the only one that wants to see him wrestle another match? I get some people actually would not be opposed to it, but it would be for some selfish reason to relive something that frankly does not exist anymore That's right Hulk-a-Maina is dead as far as in the ring wrestling matches. Sorry to break the news to all of you out there that were holding out hope for another Hogan title run. 

This also applies to Sting for me as well. I personally could give a damn if he ever wrestles a match in the WWE. In some ways, I would think of him as a complete sell-out jerk for doing so. I admired that Sting stayed away from the WWE, went out on his sword so to speak with WCW, choosing to go on to TNA instead of the WWE. Here is the fact of the matter, I do not need to see a guy in his mid-50's taking a spot from a guy in his 20’s at Wrestlemania. I need that guy in his 20’s to have that match at Wrestlemania so he can have that big match in his 30’s when that guy in his 50’s could be dead in the ground, but sure as hell not wrestling. Even Ric Flair who I love a great deal I would never want to see in a match now. His time has passed a long time ago.

You as a wrestling fan need to decide do you want change or do you want to re-live your history. If you want to re-live history there is this great thing called the WWE Network and I don't know if your aware, but it only costs $9.99.  There is a place for history in the modern product. What we saw at this past Wrestlemania with Hogan, Austin and Rock was a cool way to acknowledge history and get the same pops as you would booking any of them in a match. In the proper place, it is very cool to look back on history. It just is not in a ring with a match with a guy 20-30 years past his best days. That is not helping advance the business it is merely feeding someone’s personal ego and the fans that are willing to turn a blind eye and just cheer for the nostalgia and not see the flaws in an old stale act.


You can’t be an advocate for change with one hand and demand nostalgia with other. It is by its very nature counter productive. There are odd exceptions to every rule and one that springs to mind is Randy Orton’s legend killer gimmick. Still even in that very few of those famous things involved matches. A couple exceptions were a match with Hulk Hogan and a match with Mick Foley. This is a great two guys to contrast how a legend should be used. In the end, Foley went into it with the mindset of his match with Orton to make Randy a star and take Randy to a new level with fans in terms of Orton’s toughness and ability to be evil. Mick succeeded in that goal. Hogan meanwhile had no care for Orton as much as he did himself looking good in the match. That is always Hogan’s concern and it has never changed. He only puts "over" people when he is forced into it by circumstance or situation. Hogan’s concern was Hogan, not the future of this young kid who was going on to be a huge star for the company. Many of the other legend killer things were just great segments like the time Orton spit in the face of the legend Harley Race. No match happened but that act was so disrespectful it accomplished the goal.

I found it completely amusing that Triple H of all people was being painted as the bad guy for not wanting Angle back. If you pay attention to the behind, the scenes at all, Triple H said years ago that WWE had zero interest in anyone involved in TNA at the time. So why this is a newsflash to anyone I really can’t say. Now technically Sting was in the company at the time I believe, so WWE did fudge the truth in Triple H’s statement a little, but for the most part WWE feels it does not need anything TNA has.

Why they feel that way is to the credit of Triple H who has totally over hauled the developmental system of this company to create the brand NXT and the performance center in Florida. They have some incredible and younger talent there that is just waiting for the chance to get to the main roster. Why should Sami Zayn, Adrian Neville, Tyler Breeze or a number of others wait while a Kurt Angle or Bubba Ray gets to do some pointless victory lap?

Are you for change or are you not. Anyone that is for both is like it or not a hypocrite.

You have thoughts on this or any other wrestling subject? Send us your questions and feedback on Twitter to #Askmachomoon or join us live at 7:30 EST for Hangin on the Moon here and on You-Tube and Google Hangout. 


 

Condo on the Moon is on Twitter and Facebook and check out our weekly podcasts Every Friday! 

History of Summerslam Memories

Summerslam got started way back in 1988 which for an old guy like me don’t seem all that long ago but it really is. That event was headlined by one of the most unique tag-team matches in the history of the WWF at the time. Randy Savage the World Champion was challenged to a tag-team match by Million Dollar Man and his Partner Andre the Giant. Savage would team for the first time with Hulk Hogan who had been dubbed as the Mega-Powers in the fall of 1987 and would end up working together to help Savage secure the World Title at Wrestlemania 4. It would be the first time that the Madness and the Mania would team up officially in the ring. Just to add a little more doubt to the match we had special guest Referee Jessie the Body Ventura. A role that Ventura would reprise years later as the current Governor of Minnesota in a World Championship Match 11 years later in the “Attitude Era” in 1999.

When you look at Summerslam it is not an event that is necessarily remembered for his great title matches. Sure it has had some that include the man challenging for the title this year Brock Lesnar defeating The Rock for his first world title. However that match was over shadowed by my personal favourite Summerslam match of all time between Triple H and a returning after a four year absence Shawn Michaels. It had been just over 4 years since HBK had been in a match in the WWF. He returned like he had left last week and had a very memorable match with Triple H. It was suppose to be his only match but would end up being a run that lasted till Wrestlemania 26 where he was retired by the Undertaker. It really was the start of a second career in a sense for Shawn Michaels who already had a hall of fame resume but also had a fairly unflattering reputation. Shawn is known by many names including “Mr. Wrestlemania” if there is a “Mr’ Summerslam” it may well be his greatest rival Bret Hart.

Michaels famously screwed Hart out of title at Summerslam when he refereed a match with Hart and the Undertaker in 1997. It would set in motion all the events that would lead to that infamous match in Montreal later that year in November. Hart had some of his best matches for not the World Title but for the Intercontinental title at Summerslam. It was a match of firsts in which he defended the title against his brother-in-law Davey Boy Smith the British Bulldog. It is the first and I believe only time the I-C title has main evented a pay-per-view. It was first and only time a pay-per-view was held outside of North America in London, England. The match was a wrestling clinic and had the emotion of the real life family element too it. Hart lost the match but was the star of it in many ways. That was in 1992. A year earlier an injured in real life Mr Perfect battling back pain would not let that stop him from putting on a classic and putting over Bret Hard to win the same Intercontinental title. It was at the time considered the best match of Bret’s career. He battled for the WWF Title with his brother Owen in a Steel Cage match too.

Summerslam has had some major mistakes as well. Long before Vince McMahon was calling the match with John Cena and Daniel Bryan “ A Swing and a miss,” in terms of drawing it had some bigger train wrecks in the event’s history. Lex Lugar and his summer on the “Lex Express” ended at Summerslam with a count out victory over Yokozuna to win the match but not the title. Another epic failure was the infamous Undertaker vs. Undertaker feud that just came off as goofy and silly.

Summerslam even has had a wedding with the two people that started this event in the first place. Randy Savage would part ways with Miss Elizabeth in storyline of wrestling for just over two years working with Sherri Martel as the Macho King for most of that time. After losing to the Ultimate Warrior at Wrestlemania 7 and as a result his career he would be reunited with Elizabeth. They two would than tie the knot few months later at Summerslam. It remains the only wrestling wedding that did not end in chaos. Although their reception would have an angle in which the happy couple was given a Cobra and it would lead to Randy getting re-instated to feud with Jake “the Snake” Roberts getting him out of his forced retirement.

Other moments that stick out is a young Randy Orton winning his first WWE Title over Chris Benoit. It is remembered more I think because we never really get to see it based on the tragic situation that Benoit will forever be tied too. That match took place in Toronto. Edge that is from Toronto had his feud with John Cena main event a Summerslam in his hometown of Boston. They two would top that match a month later in a TLC match at Unforgiven in the year of 2006.

The summer of Punk WWE version featured a re-match between him and John Cena from Money in the Bank where Punk left the company with the title. In his absence, John Cena through a series of events would become Champion again in his absence. It led to the re-match with in a sense Champion vs. Champion. In the end the re-match is not nearly as memorable as Punk did win only to have Kevin Nash Powerbomb him and have Alberto Del Rio cash in and take the title.

We could go on forever as I haven’t even mentioned the match with Triple H and Rock in a ladder match for the I-C Title. No mention of Austin and Undertaker on the highway to hell to Summerslam. In addition an infamous match between Shawn Michaels and Hulk Hogan. The WWE bills this as the biggest event of the summer and some years it has been and others it hasn’t been. It is a unique event that was the part of the big four pay per views that were created in the 1980’s and still exist to this day. 

Those are just some of the many memories that will come to your mind when you think of Summerslam. Will we remember anything from this year, as it becomes part of the legacy of this event as the years go by? It remains to be seen but the history is long and has some of the biggest names in the history of wrestling.

Perhaps the first ever Summerslam of sorts happened prior to 1988. It was “The Big Event” in 1986 that likely inspired the creation of such an event as well as giving the WWE the confidence they could fill the Silverrdome for Wrestlemania 3. Over 50,000 people filled the CNE stadium in late August on a fairly cold night for that time of year. 

Summerslam today is seen as the unofficial mid-season for the WWE where we start to look ahead to the next Wrestlemnia to conclude another wrestling calendar year.

 

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Reflecting On CM Punk's Career

It will officially happen tomorrow but it already unofficially has happened through a couple events last night that CM Punk and WWE have parted ways.

C.M Punk’s career is probably one of the better documented even though a good portion of it took place on the independent scene. His story really is a fascinating one that we all have already heard. Tomorrow is the first day of the rest of Phil Brooks or C.M Punk’s life. See, I think we all know C.M Punk, but the list of people that know Phil is a much shorter one. For as public as he has been over the years since his fame really took off in the summer of 2011, (which was the WWE’s version of the “Summer of Punk”) He still holds a large portion of who he is too a small circle. Yet a guy that honestly keeps his fans at arm’s distance from his life, is still able to have such loyal and dedicated fans to him. It is just one of about 10,000 contrasts about CM Punk that make him not just an interesting person in wrestling, but an interesting person in life in general.

Not a lot of people think like him and have the real brilliance that he has inside him. He is talented, temperamental to flat out a jerk at times, yet if you understand him you love him. However, I think what people most connect with Punk for his just one simple yet magical word that he has come to represent. CHANGE is that word and he in the WWE made himself the poster boy for that word. It was a brilliant way to position yourself if you’re Punk, as the vehicle of change in a company that has clearly gotten stale and needs some shaking up. As quickly as fans have chanted U.S.A for Jack Swagger pitted against an evil Russian in Rusev they will react just as quickly to someone that wants to shake up the system. Challenging the status quo, has always been a good thing in professional wrestling and perhaps no one has mastered that art form more than Punk.

I hear this same tired argument that Punk shouldn’t have left how he did and that he should have honored his contract. I submit that with the creation of the WWE Network that the WWE itself broke the spirit of their agreement with not just Punk but all of the talent on this roster. They were left in the dark on how they would be paid with advent of the network and thus had no answers. Combine this with injuries and a growing dissatisfaction with creative, it makes a world of sense why he left. While the WWE legally did nothing wrong, morally they changed the rules of the business in a way that it was going to cost talent money with no explanations being offered as to some solutions. Add in the fact that C.M Punk has saved his money for the most part and is rich by anyone’s normal standards of living he could afford to go away.

He really was the complete package in the ring and out of it for fans of a certain mindset. Punk is the anti-hero and he will always be that guy. As much as Punk sees wrestling the traditional form of black hats and white hats, he himself no matter what he does will always be in the shades of grey. As bad as Punk may try to be in the role of a heel, he is just to good at it that at some point you go that "you know what I think he is right." If he is your fan favourite he is just a little to rough around the edges to be trusted to always do the right thing.

In many ways I  look at Punk and see a guy that in very different ways had kind of a similar journey to him in  Randy ”Macho Man” Savage. Punk like Savage was always considered "1B" instead of "1A", as Savage had to take a backseat to Hogan and Punk to Cena. Punk more with his words and Savage with his actions you were never quite sure what they would do or say next. In their own unique ways they were compelling and that is not something you learn in wrestling school. If a person has the ability to control your attention and focus, that is power. Like Punk said in one of his famous promos that the microphone in his hand was power and he was right in the hands of someone as compelling and unpredictable as him it was just that.

When you have the ability to gain that kind of attention and focus it makes the ability to have someone suspend their disbelief becomes far easier to accomplish. People cared about Randy Savage and they care about CM Punk. They are invested in them not just as wrestlers but as people. When you can make that strong a connection with your audience all the rest of wrestling becomes simple.

From Randy Savage saying he wanted to kill Dennis Rodman, to CM Punk saying he was going to win and walk away with WWE title, I was willing to buy in and root for these things to happen.

I have seen a lot of people complaining about Punk and his fans causing such a stir on social media and WWE Live Events. Just stop for a second and instead of complaining ask yourself how amazing this guys has to be to get this kind of reaction with doing next to nothing to receive it. Ask yourself why this guy above all others seems to have some of the most dedicated and loyal fans in wrestling. Why if he is able to have done this can’t other guys do the same?

The conclusion you will come up with if you’re being honest with yourself is that guy is pretty damn impressive and has done something that very few have ever done. Make no mistake about it CM Punk will go down in history as one of the greatest and if he never wrestles another match on merit is a hall of famer in my eyes. The thing is so is Randy Savage, but he is not in there at moment. Will C.M Punk and WWE ever do business again?

In the world of wrestling there have been far too many examples to discount anything. So it is always going be a possibility. Although keep in mind CM Punk is a very unique cat and long before there was any signs of trouble he warned us his entire career would end far sooner than people expected.

It would be nice to see his wrestling story end with a better chapter and maybe it will someday. That doesn’t mean CM Punk is done writing his story and whatever you may feel about him it seems clear publicly that he looks to be much happier and healthier. Which if you were a true fan of Punk is all you should really want for him.

It is just for a lot of wrestling fans his career ended is like the idea that the change he fought for has died with that career ending. This is the sad part of fans of wrestling that believed in him. Batman couldn’t save Gotham City and has gone off and retired.

In comics and in wrestling there is always a way to comeback to life and live to fight another day. If that day ever comes for CM Punk only he really knows the answer to that. In an era that John Cena has overshadowed and de-valued so many C.M Punk was able to cut out his own impressive career just like Randy Savage did in the shadow of Hogan.

Impressive stuff and not easy to do, but CM Punk always seemed to choose the more challenging road. 


 

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Sting In A WWE Ring: No Thanks

Normally I would do a Raw notebook but in all honesty I felt like I watched a three hour infomercial. In addition I ended up doing Between the Ropes recap of Raw anyway. Part of that infomercial was the big hook to pre-order WWE 2K15 this year. Last year it was the Ultimate Warrior and this year it will be Sting. This is the first sign that Sting will be part of the WWE officially and you will get retro Sting and the black and white crow version of Sting that he has been doing since the mid-90’s.

Why people are excited of the prospect of Sting beyond this is a mystery to me? If you saw him at all on TNA he is pretty much an old guy that can still work but nothing tremendous. I find it funny that a wrestling audience that for the most part screams for change many of those same people clamour for nostalgic performers like Sting.

How on earth are you suppose to have change if you keep bringing back dinosaurs that by the length and success of their careers demand spots higher on the card. You can’t have your cake and eat it too. This is unless you’re playing the WWE Video Game which it is fine to have all the guys from that past and makes for a great selling point for the game. The reality is though, the actual man that is Sting will not fair as well as his video game counterpart in the ring.

Did we not learn a lesson from this past Wrestlemania that legends get old and when it becomes obvious it can be a painful and eye opening experience? I am making reference of course to the Undertaker’s match with Brock Lesnar in which he looked slow, lethargic and past his due date. How bad that match was is only covered up by the fact his legendary Wrestlemania streak came to an end. I realize he suffered a concussion at some point in that match but isn’t that in itself maybe a sign it is time to go. Concussions at any age are not good but when you reach a certain age you don’t bounce back from any kind of injury as fast as you once did in younger days.

People for pretty much the last decade have clamoured for a match between the Undertaker and Sting. I would suggest to you that two men in their 50’s try as they might are not going to live up to your expectations. It just isn’t going to happen. Aside from that I have no desire to see Sting face a John Cena or anyone else on the current WWE Roster. It just wouldn’t mean anything at this point. Sometimes you can catch lightning in a bottle as the WWE did with The Rock and Hogan at Wrestlemania 18 but in truth those moments are few and far between. Even in that match do we really remember much about the match itself or just the stare-down and the ending of it?

I can have all the nostalgia I want on the WWE Network watching all of these past heroes when they were actually credible performers in the ring. Wrestling has been littered with guys that have hung on to long and stayed long past the time they should. I have respect for guys like Randy Savage and Shawn Michaels who knew when to make an exit and basically stayed away from the temptations of returns to the ring.

I don’t care if it is in the WWE or at a local independent show there is nothing more sad and pathetic to watch than someone trying to hang on to be cheered or worse yet hang on because they have too having wasted away all they earned.

Wrestling is supposed to be this magical place where we can set aside reality and just go boo and cheer to our hearts delight. Nothing feels worse, that breaks that illusion than watching someone that you can remember who was so much better than what you see in front of you. It reminds you that these guys and gals are actually human beings and not superheroes. The irony is it is rare we see women stick around to long because at the first sign of age they are cast aside because they are not good looking enough to remain in a business that still values appearance over substance as relates to women.

Yet Hogan, Flair and Sting are allowed to just continue on and be simply because we as fans don’t want to admit they are mortal. While they as performers don’t want to admit their time is done and it is time to go back to being just an average human being.

If Sting is here to add context to the WCW and its history as part of the WWE Network I welcome him with open arms. If he is here to try and be Peter Pan and never grow old and wrestle I am not on board with that. At some point the concept of “One More Match” and “You Still Got It” becomes a ridiculous statement to make in terms of wrestlers. We as fans need to enjoy people while we have them and look towards the future and not the past if wrestling is ever going to create stars to rival these past heroes and all they accomplished.


 

Condo on the Moon is on Twitter and Facebook and check out our weekly podcasts Every Friday! If you have questions/comments for our NEW Weekly Google+ Show Live Thursday's 8pm EST use hashtag #AskMachoMoon. You can find us now at Condoonthemoon.com. 

Remembering Saturday Night's When It Was THE MAIN EVENT

One of the things that is missing in wrestling today is the big event feel that we had back in the 1980’s there are lots of reasons it is gone. It begins with the amount of television time dedicated to wrestling today. When I was a kid wrestling consisted of basically two hours a week that both happened on a Saturday. It was WWE Superstars in the afternoon and at 7pm we had WWE Wrestling on CHCH a local broadcaster here in Hamilton that would feature one of the matches from Maple Leaf Gardens or Copps Coliseum.

Every once in awhile there was a special Saturday that I could stay up late and watch this show called Saturday Night’s Main Event. It was used by NBC as a fill in instead of airing a re-run of Saturday Night Live every couple of months. It began back in May of 1985 and ran through 1992. It also produced The Main Event which was broadcast a couple of times on Friday that served as the lead up to both Wrestle Mania 4 and 5. Wrestling in prime time on broadcast television not cable was unheard of and really had not happened since the 1950’s.

What made Saturday Night’s Main Event so great was it featured matches that we had never seen and often feature World Title matches that back in those days were rarely if every on T.V. You needed to go to your local house show if you wanted to see Hulk Hogan as the WWE Champion. Any time he appeared on T.V it was a massively big deal. This is a big change from modern times, where the Champion can be seen every Monday and most of the time is wrestling in a match but is definitely featured on the show.

There was not the access of information like today either so even if these matches had happened at house shows most of the time if we saw a match on Saturday Night’s Main Event it was something that for the majority of the audience was a fresh and new match they had never seen. It had some strange matches like the time Randy “Macho Man” Savage would defend his intercontinental title against Jake “The Snake” Roberts. Both at the time were considered heels and it made for something unique and bizarre for that time in wrestling. In reality it was the WWE floating the idea of making Jake “the Snake” Roberts a good guy. WWE would go back to this feud with Savage as a face and Roberts as a heel years later.

It was a show that in the early years was built around Hulk Hogan and he would have his title defenses against the guys he current would have feuds with or be the starts to feuds for him. Matches against guys like Volkoff, Hercules, Mr. Wonderful, Sika and insert the next bad guy for Hulk Hogan to defeat here. The show as time moved on became a vehicle to set up things for big pay-per-view events or closed circuit events prior to the days of PPV.

It set up Bundy against Hogan in Wrestlemania 2 as Bundy came out and with the help of Don Muraco laid waste to the Champion. Wrestlemania 3 was built on having Hogan and Andre in a Battle Royal and having the Giant easily eliminate Hogan. The Main Event shows I mentioned earlier saw Hogan lose to Andre in the re-match of their Wrestlemania 3 match as their were two refs (The Hebner Brothers) that looked like twins and the evil thinner one counted Hogan out after he had clearly kicked out. Andre would surrender the title to Ted Dibiase how back in December the year prior had tried to buy the WWF Title from Hogan unsuccessfully. This was his plan B to have Andre win the belt for him and give him the title. It would be ruled that you could not in fact buy the title (News to fans these days with replica belts) and Jack Tunney created the tournament that would headline Wrestlemania 4. The next year the show would feature the break-up of the Mega-Powers leading to the Savage vs. Hogan Wrestlemania 5 main event.

To my knowledge it has yet to appear on the WWE Network of yet. If I am guessing it is because some deal would need to be worked out with NBC perhaps. It may just be content they are holding back that they have the full rights too. When it does pop up and if you’re younger and going back to check it out I am not sure if you’ll understand just how big every match on those shows felt in the present time period they occurred. It was something that once Monday Night Raw came around took away from what was unique and special about the show. It was rare back in those days to see any featured performers face off in a match against on another. It was mostly Randy Savage against some generic jobber. Some of the job guys in WWE stood out but for the most part it was some star you knew against so guy you had never heard of. The result was obvious but it was still entertaining. Saturday Night’s Main Event sometimes it would be obvious too but not as much when you had top guys squaring off with perhaps the exception of Hogan. He was always going to win and it is why Andre winning the Belt on that Main Event show, was more or as shocking back than for fans, as it was to see the Streak of the Undertaker being beaten in modern times was.

The WWE attempted to recreate the magic in 2005 and bring back Saturday Night’s Main Event but it just wasn’t the same as we get to see these types of matches every week on Raw. To an extent it is the same issue the WWE has trying to make pay-per-views seem special when they really can’t avoid having wrestlers in feuds interacting with each other in a physical way before the big money matches.

I miss what it felt like to get ready for a Saturday Night’s Main Event. Staying up way past my bedtime eating things that no one should be at that late hour it made it feel special. It was a unique piece of my childhood that I will never forget.

NXT is supposed to be this window to the future for the WWE and it is in some senses. In others it is a throwback to the old 80’s style of pro wrestling with just one hour of T.V a week and the ability to keep guys away from each other prior to a big match. Great example comes from this past NXT with Tyler Breeze being on commentary during Adrian Neville’s match with RVD. They also have started having big shows every few months that are treated as Special Events. They have a feel much like a cross between a traditional pay-per-view and a Saturday Night’s Main Event. It goes two hours which is 30 minutes longer than the old Saturday Night’s Main Events and has no commercials. It does however fall just about hour shy of the traditional WWE pay-per-view.

It is the closest thing I will get to do short of  remembering fondly my childhood memories until the WWE Network gets to Canada and they get Saturday Night’s Main Event on the WWE Network.

Condo on the Moon is on Twitter and Facebook and check out our weekly podcasts Every Friday! You can find us now at Condoonthemoon.com

Wins, Loses and Titles and If They Matter For Wrestlemania?

Coming from a pro sports background everything in that world is about wins and loses at the end of the day. Yet in pro sports today there is so many stats and the focus on those wins and loses seems to be to a lesser extent. While in the world of wrestling where outcomes are pre-determined we all seem to be obsessed with wins and losses some times. This includes the talent at times not wanting to put this guy over and lose a match.

Which leads to the obvious question do wins and loses actually matter in wrestling? The answer is not as black and white as it would seem. Obviously once have established yourself to a certain level the wins and loses don’t really matter as much as the match itself. Unlike in pro sports there is a story that goes along with the event or match. Sure sports can have stories too sometimes made by the media and sometimes just naturally happen. Wrestling is not like that it is a story that is already laid out to some extent.

Wins mean more for people that are trying to establish themselves with a wrestling crowd. Take the Bray Wyatt vs. John Cena match coming up at Wrestlemania 30. It seems fairly obvious who benefits more from a win between these two. John Cena gets a win it is a minor notch on his belt that would mean very little in comparison to his career. Bray Wyatt is a guy on his second gimmick and starting to build a huge buzz for himself. This is first big moment at Wrestlemania in a high profile match simply based on who stands across the ring from him.

It leads to this great debate on does Bray Wyatt simply need a good performance and wrestle a match that makes him seem on the same level with Cena?  If wins and loses truly doesn’t matter, the answer is obvious, but it does matter here based on people involved and where they are in their careers.

Another example of this is Daniel Bryan and his long and winding journey to Wrestlemania 30. There is no way to justify anything other than two wins for Daniel Bryan. It is all about building what the WWE has liked to coin “Wrestlemania Moments”: and Bryan is due for his this year in New Orleans. He has come full circle from a loss a few years ago with an 18 seconds loss to Sheamus.

In a strange sort of way this was the reverse of logic where a loss started all of where we find ourselves today. Fans were so upset that Bryan had been booked in the opening match and losing in such quick fashion that they rallied behind him and the Yes! Chant was made and got over to this day.

Perhaps the best example of wins and loses and what they mean especially at Wrestlemania comes down to what we all know as simply “The Streak” and it has a life of it’s own. That zero in the loss column for the Undertaker has become the biggest angle in the history of Wrestlemania.

The Streak for many should never come to an end. Others think it should one day end at some point. What we all believe though is that likelihood it ever ends becomes harder to imagine as the years go by. Still we all have that moment of doubt in a match for the streak. Going in we all know deep down it isn’t going to end but still there is that moment when something happens and you question yourself. The last 5 years of Undertaker matches involving HBK, HHH and last year C.M Punk have been some of the best matches in the history of this event.

So maybe just maybe wins and loses do matter at least on the biggest stage of the year at Wrestlemania. What has seemed to have lost its meaning and mattering at Wrestlemania at times have been the titles themselves.

In the early years of Wrestlemania the title matches for both the WWE and I-C titles were very important matches and so were the titles themselves. Long before the Rock won a title at Royal Rumble and lost it at Wrestlemania did the value of titles seem to lose their importance. In fact another example of The Rock against Hulk Hogan being booked as the Main Event at Wrestlemania 18 took the shine away from a HHH vs. Jericho match for the same Undisputed title we have today. Go back further to Wrestlemania 9 in Las Vegas where Hulk Hogan not even booked in a World Title match would walk away with the title after Yokozuna defeated Bret Hart. Year prior at Wrestlemania 8 the Randy Savage vs. Ric Flair match did not close the show it was Hulk Hogan vs. Sid Justice (Vicious) instead.

That just touches on the World/WWE Title there is no comparison to how far the Intercontinental Title and Tag-Team Titles have fallen.  Randy Savage against Ricky Steamboat has stood the test of time as one of the greatest matches not just in Mania history but in Wrestling history. This Wrestlemania the I-C Champ is in a battle royal. The Tag Titles had huge matches like the British Bulldogs defeating The Dream Team of Greg “The Hammer” Valentine and Brutus Beefcake. This year we may see the Jimmy and Jay Uso defend there titles against two guys that were having mania matches over 14 years ago. At least we think so but we are just weeks from the event and at this moment the Tag-Team titles are not even booked on the show as far as public know. Would it shock anyone to see this match on a pre-show?

I step out of the WWE and look over to ROH and what they do at their big show Final Battle and how they treat their titles. ROH makes Final Battle what Wrestlemania use to be as the conclusion to the unofficial wrestling year for a company. They have big feuds climax at that event. It always ends with what matters the most the Ring of Honor World Title.

It is a company where the focus of pretty much everyone on the roster is about getting to a level to win that World Title or one of the other two championships in the company.

No one is going to say filling a place in New York City that holds 2000-3000 people at most is the same as filling a football stadium. WWE no matter what path they take will always be number one and Wrestlemania is so established the name of the event sells it now more than any match they make or do not make.

A lesson can still be learned though about making the titles mean something and making a big show for your company mean something as well. Adam Cole will be defending his ROH Title in Ladder War 5 down in New Orleans against Jay Briscoe. It will not be seen by 70,000 people but it will be a hell of a match because the belt Adam Cole wears is not just a prop it matters. Just like if Daniel Bryan doesn’t win that title it will matter for fans. The champion that holds that belt doesn’t matter at the moment in WWE.

Even when Punk had historic title run the belt he held was not treated like the most important thing. John Cena was and that is flawed logic. The title in any wrestling company always outlasts the people that hold it. When a title isn’t strong than you have a problem that needs to be solved or addressed at some point to make it matter. Now you’re not relying on a belt that never gets injured your relying on a person or people to carry your show. If done correctly, that marriage of people and title can carry a company on to greatness. 

So really wins, loses and titles all do matter to some extent. If they didn’t why bother even declaring a winner and having a belt.