Raw Talking Points Returns

It has been awhile since a Raw has warranted conversation to any degree. Last night’s Raw in Montreal was easily the best of 2015 and the best in a long time in general. You had a crowd in Montreal that is always ready to be a part of the show good or bad. We had a massive debut, a couple great in-ring matches and a return of a forgotten Diva. A Raw show that actually managed to entertain throughout the three hours.

A whole lot of New Day: It seems the WWE has a brand new shinny toy in the NEW DAY. While their transition to full out heels has been enjoyable, there is something to worry about still. I fear the WWE could over expose them and eventually burn out what is a pretty organic and fan invented concept. WWE is famous for these kind of things. Want proof we are talking about the New Day and not the Bray Wyatt promo he cut on Ryback. Wyatt was pumped out there weekly cutting promos and now what was special has become played out. New Day was on more segments than almost everyone short of Kane and Seth Rollins. I am in the spirit of New Day going to try to stay positive, but I see a problem with them being used as much as they have been. Less is more at this point now that fans get the gimmick and are on board with it.

John Cena vs. Montreal: The moments we give John Cena credit in Condo on the Moon have been few and far between. Maybe I am getting soft with all of these open challenges but I really thought Cena did a great job with his promo faced with a hostile Montreal crowd that hated him. He allowed the crowd to have their voice but patiently stuck to his plan and points and even used the audience to drive home that point. I actually thought Cena did a great job at getting the crowd to calm down only to explode later when his opponent would be announced. A serious John Cena is better than an attempting to be funny one. This program with Rusev has seen for the most part that serious John Cena. The telling jokes and not taking things serious John Cena is why crowds of people love to chant he sucks. Well it is one of the reasons they do anyway. I admit that Cena with this U.S challenge has tapped into something where I am not wishing him not be on my television screen. He has also been a very giving performer in matches allowing his opposition to get the full benefit of being in the ring with him. I am not running to Shop WWE to buy my John Cena T-shirt but I do respect what he has done on T.V since Wrestlemania. 

Sami Zayn Gets a Hero’s Debut: In retrospect, it seemed logical but it really was genuine surprise to see Sami Zayn be the one to answer the Cena challenge for the U.S title. Not just John Cena, but also having Bret Hart introduce him gave him the rub. It made for an instant Canadian hero that we have been missing for a long time. Sami was able to get in an almost all of his spots and kicked out of a Cena attitude adjustment. It was a debut that was handled excellently and even better than the recent debut of Neville. I would imagine the shoulder injury that seemed to be “worked,” will see if it factors into the Owens vs. Zayn match coming up on the NXT special. Once that is done I think that will be the end of Sami on the NXT roster and he will move full time to the main roster. He clearly did everything right to earn a spot on the roster tonight. He also is a guy that can fill the role that is lacking with Daniel Bryan out for who knows how long. Sami like Bryan is that rare underdog baby face that in 2015 people are willing to get behind. It was a great debut for Zayn that has been long overdue but given the circumstances was worth the wait.

Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins Never Gets Old: some match-ups never get old, you can go back to them repeatedly, and they produce. Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose is one of those combinations for the WWE. We often complain how feuds drag on in WWE with the most recent example of that being Cena and Rusev. When Seth and Dean were paired together, they had a feud of similar length and it never got stale or boring. Having a solid break and bringing this rivalry back from out of the blue was welcomed. These two guys had perhaps the best T.V match of the year on this show. I could watch these two guys go any night of the week because they find a way to make every match unique and enjoyable. In Ring of Honor, I have said the same about the tag team feud between ReDragon and the Young Bucks. Certain guys just have magic when they hook-up in a ring and Dean and Seth are two of those guys.

Divas Family Feud: The Bellas got jumped from behind as the strange attempt to make the Bella’s baby faces. Naomi came out with a returning Tamina took out the Bellas. Naomi is related to Tamina by marriage, which is the reason for two coming together. Tamina was last paired with A.J Lee and suffered an ACL tear and has been on the shelf for about a year or a little more. I am not sure what I think of this new pairing but Naomi has really embraced this heel turn and inside of three weeks has really re-invented her character and she deserves a lot of credit for that. Making the Bella’s faces is the real issue with all of this. I just can’t buy Nikki or Brie as babyfaces.

There was actually more than five points to talk about from this show. When is the last time we could say that? Cesaro gets an honorable mention for his in-ring work in a match with The Ascension who came out of the mothballs in Montreal. He was on fire landing European uppercut after European uppercut from corner to corner. It was one of the more unique spots we have seen in the WWE in-ring on a longtime.

It was an exciting night that reminded us all why we watch this stuff. I would love to say this is turning a corner but I suspect it will be back to the usual program that bores us to tears most weeks. I would love to be wrong but tonight was one of those perfect storms where you had a great crowd and WWE booked a show that would thrive in that environment.   

I am sure a few weeks from now will have forgotten this show and be back to wondering why Dean Ambrose was even given a shot at the title. Where did that Sami Zayn guy go on Raw? How many times as Neville lost now? Why on earth did they break-up Lana and Rusev? On this night, we got a great show and should be thankful for that, I guess. The key is stringing a few of these shows together and building some momentum. This is what has been lacking in the WWE for a long time. They have failed to put together a solid week-to-week product or stringing together a few special events in a row.

One last thing am I the only one that finds Ryback's promos strange and just don't make me like him at all? 

5 Talking Points Coming Out Of Raw In Denver

It was back to normal for the gang in the WWE as they hit Denver, Colorado for last night’s Monday Night Raw. It was a very interesting show followed by a Stone Cold Podcast with Triple H. This show had a couple of great matches and a lot of interesting moments giving us lots of talking points coming out of last night’s Raw. Some horrible stuff was mixed in but as Triple H admitted to Stone Cold, writing 3 hours of television is not an easy thing to do. So let us dive in with what most people would be talking about around the water cooler. If they ever get past, why Seattle didn’t just run the damn ball on Sunday?

1. Rehabilitation of Roman Reigns Continues: It was a mixed bagged night for the man the WWE want to crown the next king of the company in Roman Reigns. He finished strong I suppose that is the main thing. In the opening segment, he is forced into conceding his Wrestlemania title shot to have a match with the winner between Seth Rollins and Daniel Bryan for that right. This ended up being the big announcement that Triple H had promised on the Live Smackdown on Thursday. This to me made Reigns look foolish and dumb not how I want to feel about my babyface making a run at the championship. WWE was going for more of this guy is not afraid to fight but it didn’t work for me.

The night seemed to continue to go down hill for Reigns as he yet again had to face the Big Show and worse yet he got screwed by Rollins and lost the match. Why you have your top guy or the guy you want to be the top guy losing to Big Show in 2015 is a mystery to me regardless of the circumstances. Later in the night, Daniel Bryan came to talk with Reigns and hoped he would not let his anger for Seth Rollins get in the way of Bryan's match with him later that night. He also informed Reigns that is was not going to be Rollins he would face at fast lane as Bryan stated he was going to win and move on to face him. A less than amused Reigns was rather dismissive of Bryan and told him to get out of his locker room. All making him look very much like a heel. Having his own locker room even gave the impression of being a heel.

At the end of the night everything would come full circle as Reigns come out and Spear the Big Show take out one half of J&J security and when Noble was caught trying to nail Bryan with Rollins briefcase Reigns would Superman Punch Rollins and Bryan would hit the running knee for the 1-2-3. Reigns in effect helped Daniel Bryan win and thus the two will square off at Fast Lane. A good night for Reigns but the real question will be what happens when he beats Bryan and retains his shot? That is what is going to happen, for any of you holding out hope for Daniel Bryan. I can say with full certainty he is not going to win this match. His job is to get a great match out of Roman Reigns and get him ready to battle the Beast Brock Lesnar. If fans accept, Reigns after that WWE will have pulled one over on them. I don’t sense fans not being smart enough to see through this whole charade.

2. Bray Wyatt Calling Out Taker?: It has been widely speculated that Bray Wyatt has been being build strong with the hopes for a match with the Undertaker at Wrestlemania 31.  Bray after another big win in which he pretty much no sold on Dolph Ziggler to hit his own finisher. He later would cut a promo that seemed to be geared at the Undertaker. It could be in reference to others if Taker isn’t the guy but the tease is clearly implied at Taker. Bray is asking a man who was once feared and now is a shadow of himself to come find him. If this ends up being true, it will be two huge names for Bray Wyatt in back to back Wrestlemanias. He lost to John Cena last year it would seem likely he would lose to Taker if he does in fact show himself this year. Still it is yet another big match potentially for Bray on the largest stage of them all. 

3. Mizdow vs. Miz starting to come to a head? Miz last night fired Mizdow as his stunt double and re-hired him as his personal assistant. Miz has been growing more and more frustrated with Mizdow stealing the attention that he feels he deserves. Give WWE credit on this one they took a character that most of their audience felt had X-Pac type of heat and have used that to make a star out of Damien Sandow. They also have been patient building this mid-card angle slowly with more care than almost any other mid-card angle you can name in the last 6 months. It has been a good job and should land the two a singles match at Wrestlemania. Sadly in might be on the pre-show but will see it has been a great feud and Mizdow is insanely over with the people. I hate to admit this but it is not just of his own doing but the great work of the Miz in his role. I will never like the Miz and if he left WWE T.V, tomorrow I would never miss him. He has done a remarkable job in this angle and really, in the end the person who will get the most out of this isn’t himself. So good for him for acting like heel and getting someone over that is rare today in wrestling. Someone has to do it, as it is clear the people on commentary on Raw can’t get anyone or anything over. I would complain about the horrible job they do but we can do that every week. Booker traded out for Lawler has fixed nothing and things are status quo.

4. Randy Orton Return Teased: Seth Rollins and Triple H made mention of Randy Orton who since making his movie has been in MIA from the WWE. Triple H referenced him in stating that Seth needed to step up and make the most of his opportunities unlike how Randy Orton never did. Referring to his failed title run at this time last year at this time Rollins also reminded us all how he was the one that took Orton out of action by curb stomping him on the announce table. This is likely going to be Seth’s Mania program with Randy Orton and I have it as my earlier favorite for match of the night at Wrestlemania. I do this with full realization we could have a Daniel Bryan against Dolph Ziggler match. I still give the nod to Seth and Randy. They have a better story and more reason to be invested in their match. Bryan vs. Ziggler would be a great match but I am not sure what  exactly I am suppose to be rooting for in that match other than that. Faces against face matches are tough under any circumstances but without a belt or reason for them to fight it become even tougher.

5. Triple H talks with Stone Cold: It was an interesting chat between the two. I would not consider it even half as compelling as the McMahon and Austin interview. Triple H gave what I expected, which were very politically correct answers and even on topics that were designed to get a reaction and Austin got none. Triple H stated the choices Chyna has made since leaving the WWE are why she would never get into the WWE Hall of Fame when asked if she was worthy. Triple H did put her over and say based on her resume of work she deserved to be inducted. In terms of C.M Punk, it was pretty much nothing topic. Triple H referred to Punk being distant and odd at times. When he heard rumors of Punk’s discontent, he would go to him only to be told by Punk that everything was fine. When asked If Punk were to ever-return, Triple H said, he would not be opposed to it and claims to have no beef with him at all. In talking about the current product and the fallout of the Royal Rumble and his work at NXT Triple H made it fairly clear where to direct your blame. It wasn’t at it him, it was at Vince McMahon. He didn’t say it in such a direct fashion but when you contrast his talk about current main roster issues and NXT it was fairly obvious that as he stated the buck still stops with Vince McMahon. It was a friendly chat that never seemed to get the least bit hostile which if you had listened to first time Triple H was on with Austin should not have shocked you. Both freely admit to being friends and the interview always stayed in that tone. This was an interesting interview but not the compelling must see T.V that Vince’s sit-down with Stone Cold was. Speculation on who is next to sit in Austin’s chair? My guess would be Stephanie McMahon. Not sure, how that one would go as Stephanie tends to be the most guarded of the three family members active in the company.

Therefore, the road to Wrestlemania marches on as we hit a little off-ramp heading towards Fast Lane. While it promises to add some stakes to Wrestlemania, it will merely confirm the directions we were already heading. Keeping in mind the network is free for new subscribers and here in Canada free all month as well they needed to make this special event before Mania mean something beyond just being a throw-a-way show and they have attempted to do that. I am much more excited to see Triple H’s latest vision in NXT with their special coming up on February 11 being headlined by Kevin Owens challenging Sami Zayn for the NXT Championship. In any case, the WWE seems to have steered the ship out of troubled waters for now as they hope for clear sailing the rest of the way to Wrestlemania. Something tells me the water will get really choppy when Daniel Bryan losses to Roman Reigns. This might have been a very bad idea or a brilliant idea time will tell. My guess is this like the Rumble will end badly if the goal is to get Roman Reigns over as a babyface heading to Mania.

Raw Cancelled: Live Smackdown Thursday

Well call it ironic but the night after WWE fans were calling for people to CANCEL the WWE Network. The WWE was forced to cancel it's Raw event in Hartford due to blizzard conditions in the area. Here is the statement issued by the WWE early Monday Afternoon:

STAMFORD, Conn. – Due to the impending blizzard in the Northeast and statewide travel bans, WWE has postponed tonight’s live event in Hartford and cancelled tomorrow night’s live event in Boston; however, WWE will emanate live tonight at 8 p.m. ET from its studios in the Stamford world headquarters.

Ticket Information:

• Hartford, Conn., XL Center: Tickets for tonight’s show in Hartford will be honored for a SmackDown event this Thursday, January 29 that will air live on Syfy.
• Boston, Mass., TD Garden: Fans with tickets to tomorrow’s event in Boston will have the option of either exchanging tickets for an upcoming WWE event on Saturday, June 27 or obtaining a refund at point of purchase.

It is unclear what this will mean for Canadian fans as Smackdown normally taped airs on Sportsnet 360 on Wednesdays. Raw will still happen via the WWE Studios which should be interesting to say the least given last night's rumble. Maybe a 3 hour lecture from Vince McMahon who knows. In any case this has been a terrible 24 hours for the WWE. 

5 Talking Points Coming Out of Raw ( 01/05/15 )

The return of the Authority brought with it a pretty brutal edition of Raw. There were many reasons why this Raw was terrible which came on the heels of at least an interesting Raw to close out 2014. There was a change to Royal Rumble main event, the continuation of terrible booking for Roman Reigns and end of a disappointing Ambrose and Wyatt feud. It really was disappointing and for those who sampled NJPW they had to be scratching their heads. I did not think Wrestle Kingdom was as awesome as others did but in comparison to what we saw on Monday night, it was mind-blowing difference in the products. So let’s dive into it and figure out where this is all heading.

1. Roman Reigns Continues To Be Killed By WWE’s Pushing of Him: People blame Roman Reigns for not getting over but in reality, he has been handcuffed and I am not sure anyone could get over with the crap he has been given. Booking him against the Big Show is the first part of the problem. Name me the last person Big Show actually got over in a feud. The WWE is booking him strong against the guy in Reigns they are trying to push to the moon. Every time Reigns has to sell to Big Show, it kills him a little more.

There could be some debate about that but not much that makes sense. What can’t be debated is terrible writing that has been given to Reigns in terms of promos. People talk about his lack of ability to get over a promo. I suggest to you that you need to have the material to have a chance to get over. The latest Reigns literal Superman promo was the worst yet and trust me you can BELIEVE THAT!

2. Seth Rollins Added to Royal Rumble Main Event: Perhaps the most debatable point in recent months is if Rollins is over as a heel. WWE has booked him into the Royal Rumble Championship match with John Cena and Brock Lesnar. No one really wanted to see Lesnar vs. Cena III straight up for the title. So adding Rollins to the mix is interesting and does make sense based on how the second Cena vs. Lesnar match ended.

Maybe I am in the minority but I have a hard time buying Seth Rollins as a serious threat to become the World Champion. I can’t imagine Rollins as the Champion in the Main Event of Wrestlemania 31. Perhaps putting him in his title match is a step to making folks like me buy Rollins as a legit contender for the WWE World Championship. The Authority returning does not help him though as in their absence at least he was booked as the top heel. In the large shadows of Triple H, Stephanie not to mention Brock and Heyman, he quickly becomes irrelevant.

3. The End of Ambrose vs. Wyatt: When it first was set up even with the wacko hologram, many people myself included, still thought this could be a great feud. In the end, we saw some good to great matches but not a great feud. Tonight’s ambulance match was ok but seemed out of place on this horrible show. It also didn’t stand out from any of the other brawl-based matches they have had. Wyatt got the better of this feud in terms of wins and losses. Ambrose who was very hot coming into this feud comes out of it not nearly as hot. It really failed to deliver what fans had expected going into this feud.

Wyatt seems to be being protected for some big Wrestlemania program. The rumors have been if Taker comes back, he would face Bray Wyatt. Which is a wrong move considering Sting will also be on Wrestlemania as well facing Triple H by all indications. Fans have clamored for a Sting vs. Taker match for over a decade. This will make both matches fall flat. What about Dean what is his future for Wrestlemania? I have no idea other than if Seth is not your Champion perhaps another match with him for the briefcase at Mania would work. In the end, Wyatt and Ambrose the first time around did not set the world on fire.

4. John Cena Attempt To Get Him Over Number 1.734.204 fails: John Cena was once again a focus for the Authority as they attempt to build sympathy for John Cena who that is just not possible to do at this stage. After being forced to bring back the Authority to save Edge, now in the conclusion of Raw former members of Team Cena were fired after being screwed with earlier in the night by the Authority.

Ziggler was booked in I-C title match with Wade Barrett by Triple H. Ziggler would win the match and Barrett would have a vicious attack on his shoulder. Corporate Kane came out and informed us that this was actually a two out of three falls match. Barrett would win quickly in the second fall. Ziggler would put up a good fight but eventually lose. Barrett wins the I-C Title, which in reality is actually nice, as he never lost the title.

Rowan was booked against Harper with special guest refs the Stooges 2.0 Jamie Noble and Joey Mercury. They screwed Rowan and joined in on a three-way beat down with Harper on Rowan. While Ryback originally booked in a one on one match with Seth Rollins ended up being in a handicap match with Kane and Seth. He would fight hard but eventually lose.

They all end up fired and John Cena is made to be held responsible for these people being fired. It is another failed attempt to build sympathy for John Cena. Wrestling fans have seen these firing angles to many times to take them seriously. Cena is just not a sympathetic character at this point. Will see what corny way John Cena saves the jobs of his supposed friends.

5. Bad Gimmicks Continue to Be Bad: The New Day, The Ascension and Adam Rose. They all suck for different reasons but are all proof of the fact the WWE can’t come up with interesting gimmicks in 2015 for mid-card or lower card talents. What all of these gimmicks have in common is they were dead literally a couple weeks after being launched. The latest being the Ascension who have become a joke by their own hand comparing themselves to Demolition and Road Warriors.

Honestly it is so terrible what we have seen lately if you are in NXT you should consider yourself fortunate and not be in any hurry to get up to the main roster.

It’s a new year but Raw is stuck in the same place drowning in it’s own crap at this point. For those hoping for Daniel Bryan to be some savior to all of this it should be noted there was zero reference to his announcement last week that he is returning in the Royal Rumble. That is not a good sign for the Yes movement.

Raw May Well Make Us Grumpier Than Any Cat

How will we survive the Grumpy Cat/Go Home Show to Survivor Series is the real question heading into Monday Night Raw. As bad as this Grumpy Cat thing is the fact it is on the go home show for your free pay-per-view to promote your network makes it more perplexing. WWE has had a terrible year and no one can deny this at this point. It isn’t a case of like things in TNA where they appear to be on verge of death at this point. The lack of competition is certainly part of the issue with WWE for last decade or more since WCW went out of business.

Not that wrestling fans care why this cat segment or earlier in the year that awful Kathie Lee segment happen, it is WWE working with it’s broadcast partner NBC Universal that owns USA Network. They also own Lifetime which is apparently where the Grumpy Cat will be doing a Christmas movie. What I would ask both NBC and WWE is where on earth do they get the idea that people watching WWE would be the same demographic that watches Lifetime. Just like I would question how many WWE fans are watching the Today show with Kathie Lee.

In any case wrestling wise we are a week away from the Survivor Series and we have just 4 matches made for this show. The under card is led by the Bray Wyatt against Dean Ambrose match-up. Any of us out there that defended the hologram based attack on Ambrose by Wyatt may want to take our words back. This feud has been dead as a door nail and has not had a great build at all. Once again it leaves me to question Bray Wyatt as he was paired with he hottest guy in the company and if any thing has cooled off Dean Ambrose just a bit. The storyline to why Bray has gone after Ambrose is vague and convoluted.

Rumors abound that A.J Lee could be done after Survivor Series. If these rumors pan out to be true that would make Nikki Bella the Divas Champion. There have been runours like this before about the wife of C.M Punk on to have A.J remain part of the fold. At one point the rumors included a pregnancy as her and Punk was alleged to want to start a family. A.J was still staking bumps after that one making those rumors go away. Stephanie McMahon is the latest to have pregnancy rumors now as some were saying this whole end of the Authority stipulation was a way to write her off television. Even if John Cena’s team wins I don’t think that automatically adds up to Stephanie being a mom for the fourth time.

Still one does wonder what the basis of this angle is and why it came out of no-where. Some have said this might be the rekindling of an old angle idea that would see Vince feud with Stephanie and Hunter for ultimate control of the company. That was said to be a storyline that was being set up for Wrestlemania 30. Obviously a lot of things happened to change that card. So is this just the same angle brought back to life to set up some match for Triple H at Wrestlemania?

It will be interesting what the WWE ultimately fills out this Survivor Series card and if they make any of those matches clear tonight?  A lot of people ever since WWE announced the show would be hosted by a cat have been dreading it. We can only hope WWE sticks to form and keeps whatever involvement the cat is suppose to have to a minimum. They have done this more since the disastrous Kathie Lee and Hoda segment with Adam Rose. Speaking of which this under card could very well feature Rose against the Bunny.

One other note there was speculation that Brad Maddox may have been let go by WWE. Some are saying him being moved to the alumni section is part of a storyline. Maybe Vince brings him back if he wins to be G.M. He might even be the Bunny when all is said and done. Who really knows logic has not been the strong suit of creative these days.

So it is almost a safe bet that by the end of the night wrestling fans will be far grumpier than any friggin cat.

Raw Talking Points: The Return Of Ryback

Another Raw in the books and WWE survives a rowdy group of U.K fans who were not happy they couldn’t get the WWE Network. John Cena was back with no explanation on where he was last week; Randy Orton was gone with no acknowledgement that he even exists. As much as the WWE attempts to hype up their Survivor Series main event it just is not working to any degree. A.J Lee defending her Diva’s title against Nikki Bella being second match on the under card announced tells you how weak that it will be. So, what are people talking about coming out of this Raw this morning? We take a stab at figuring out your wrestling water cooler talk for a Tuesday.

1. Luke Harper: In a couple of weeks, Luke Harper has invented a new word. Harpering is that word in reference to the creepy promos only showing Harper’s eyes. At the end of the night, we would see all of Harper as he took out Dolph Ziggler, claims to be a team player, and wants to join Team Authority. Harper literally threw a beaten Ziggler at the feet of Triple H and Stephanie kind on like how a cat brings a dead bird to its owner. Insert your grumpy cat joke here I suppose. Harper if he does in fact get booked in this main event it would be a great way to launch his singles career. Guys like the Undertaker and The Rock debuted at this event. While this is not a debut for Harper, it almost feels like one as he rarely spoke as part of Wyatt Family. Now he is cured, according to Bray Wyatt, this remains to be seen.

2. Bray Wyatt Rambles About Dean Ambrose:  Bray Wyatt is treading in dangerous ground with his future. I still enjoy Bray’s work on the microphone, remaining supportive of his work, unlike many others.  Despite that, there is room for improvement with his promos; they need to be tighter and more focused on a message. This feud with Dean Ambrose is a big chance to re-establish Bray as a major player. Ambrose entering this feud was the hottest babyface in this company. Wyatt needs some tweaking if it does not happen he might slide down into the murky and undefined mid-card where no one wants to be these days.

3.  Big Guy Turns Heel and Babyface in the Same Show:  Ryback managed to start the show as good guy turn heel, join the Authority, and by end of the show turn back to being a babyface. Seemed like an unneeded swerve but Ryback is clearly back to where he was a couple of years ago.  It will be interesting to see if they can avoid messing it up like they did a couple years back. We were left to wonder if Ryback would in fact join team Cena as he laid waste to Team Authority to close out Raw. Crowd is 100 percent behind Ryback from Buffalo to Liverpool it does not matter. Fans have slipped right back to where they were in terms of Ryback in 2012. 

4. Stephanie To Bad For The Good Of Everyone Else’s Own Good: It should be stated that I adore Stephanie McMahon and her character on television. I think she is the best female talker in this company by miles and miles. She also gets a reaction that no one can deny. This all stated how Stephanie recruited Rusev and intimidated Lana which I did not like at all. Stephanie also uttered a line that will live forever when she said that "there are no politics in the WWE."Aside from the lack of truth of that statement, I have a problem with how she dominated Lana and Rusev. Stephanie can’t be seen as being weak on communism I guess but she still needs to be evil. I am not sure how that works where you are an American Patriot on one hand and bad evil businesswoman on the other. The Stephanie neutering did not stop there as she called the team that will fight for her job in a sense a bunch of little children. Nothing like taking what you have claimed needs to be the greatest Survivor Series team of all-time and making them look like jokes. Steph sometimes needs to back off a little and share the spotlight with her fellow evil doers.

 5. The New Day Gimmick Promos Add Another: Xavier Woods looked like James Brown last week and we thought was being rebuilt as a solo act. The WWE quickly killed an angle with Wood, Kofi and Big E that resembled a modern re-make of the Nation of Domination. Now we see Kofi appear in the same skit with the choir and all this week. It looks like these three will remain together in a re-branded faction. Will these guys be good or bad seems up in the air at this point. Maybe this is why Big E was trying to sound like a preacher months ago for something to do with this gimmick. Who really knows but this is becoming the longest build to a new faction that I can ever recall. This is all for a group that at best would be upper mid-carders? Seems like a lot of time to waste not having three talents in action that can wrestle when you have injuries piling up.

Other things of note: Adam Rose is turning heel beating up the Bunny. Peta will be notified of this and I am sure protest. Brie Bella continues to be one of the worst babyfaces in history.  This angle with Nikki having control over her has garnered no sympathy from me as a fan for Brie. Zack Ryder can no longer WOO WOO WOO as he has a torn rotator cuff and is on the shelf for 6 months. Sadly, not that anyone will notice he is missing at this point. Zack Ryder is the cautionary tale about what being a John Cena friend will get you. Some faces were missing from Raw last night as they were also running a house show in another party of England that was 4 hours and 30 minutes from Liverpool.

Another Raw in the books and it was a step backwards from last week, which was one of the better Raw’s in recent memory. This is despite having a really hot crowd in Liverpool in comparison. Although WWE likely played with audio, being this show was not shown live here in North America due to the time difference.

What To Expect From Raw In U.K?

Last week we got to see Vince McMahon make a rare appearance on Raw that will be hard to top. We will have a lively and possibly a bit hostile crowd in Liverpool, England. We will never know as far as the broadcast goes if they were as Raw will be on tape delay and not live in North America. People in the U.K have been extremely upset with the delays in them getting the WWE Network. They like folks in Canada are unable to enjoy the WWE Network for free in November like the rest of the world and all of the U.S.

Speaking of United States, we have a new United States Champion so let’s start with that:

1. What will Rusev and Lana have to say? A new U.S Champion was crowned on the WWE Network after Raw went off the air last Monday. What will the New United States Champion have to say? As we reported last week, Lana on Twitter was already talking about crushing John Cena in response to a tweet from Hulk Hogan. Cena was a rare “MIA” for Raw last week. Thought is he was working on a movie and that kept him from attending. In any case we also have an invite from the Authority to join their team at Survivor Series If they want to get their hands on Cena that is only way to do it at Survivor Series. Will we see a new Russian Federation title or bringing back the European Title with Rusev? We will see but if it was the European Title that would likely get a positive reaction in U.K so not likely to happen.

2. John Cena is Back Kids: So John has this big match with the Authority and needs to build a team to face them so why not take a week off and worry about that this week. It falls in line with all the rest of the flawed Cena logic we have come to expect. In any case, we should see Cena firming up his team, which looks to include Dolph Ziggler after last week. This week Cena is scheduled to face another potential teammate as the Authority has booked him against Ryback. Memories of the ill-fated heel turn that Ryback made that has taken him 2 years to recover from more or less. Cena likely will have something to say about Rusev as well seeing as both Lana and Hogan have made mention of him tied to Rusev on social media.

3. Who fills the Randy Orton Void? Randy Orton a month ago could have missed a Raw and it would have been almost unnoticeable. The last few weeks we have seen a Randy Orton that you can’t help but ignore. He is off to film a movie and is in a similar situation Dean Ambrose found himself heading into some time off to film a movie being red hot. Orton as far as storyline is concerned was like Ambrose taken out by Seth Rolling. Curb stomped into steel steps that left him with a storyline concussion and a real life gash in his head that came earlier in the brawl. It will be interesting if there is a whole in Team Cena that will be left for Orton could potentially fill.

4. What is next with Wyatt and Ambrose? This feud started with an over top hologram at Hell in a Cell. Since this feud has limped out of the gate without much reason, as to why it is happening. Wyatt has been claiming that Ambrose is similar to him. This seems to be a weak motivation for a feud with one of the hottest superstars in the company at the moment. This feud desperately needs a spark to get it burning. Wyatt can’t afford another feud not going well for him at this point. His feud with Chris Jericho did not live up to the hype. So far, this feud with Ambrose has been much the same early on.

5. More matches for Survivor Series Under-Card:  We have almost nothing on the under card of this show. A.J Lee vs. Nikki might be a match or some Survivor Series style match for the women with Team Brie vs. Team Nikki theme to it. There is very little set up right now. Perhaps we get Miz and Mizdow going for the Tag-Team Titles. Cesaro will job out to someone because he is not allowed to win matches these days. Survivor Series is being planned like a show they are giving away for free….Oh right they are in most places except parts of Canada and the U.K.

Anytime Raw makes its way over the pond to the U.K, you can guarantee a lively and active crowd. The U.K fans are truly special as they most weeks stay up to crazy hours of the morning to watch Raw live. They are dedicated and hardcore in their wrestling fandom. So expect lots of crowd craziness with the stuff WWE does not approve of likely edited out. They will have 5 or 6 hours with the delay to edit out any forms of fan protest over the network.  Likely, no Bad News Barrett surprise as he was in Canada over the weekend. It would be great if there were though. In theory, it is possible but Barrett is still at least a month away from return to the ring.

Raw Talking Points

We are going to do something a little different with our Raw coverage. Every Tuesday will look at the talking points coming out of each episode of Raw. Let’s try to look forward and not backwards re-capping a show that the majority of you likely have seen by this point. So what are the things everyone is talking about coming out of Monday Night Raw.

1. Brock Lesnar is not coming to Survivor Series: This seems to have been made crystal clear by Monday’s episode of Raw. The Authority made an offer to John Cena to come join them on the dark side and they would guarantee him a victory when he faces Brock. He to no one surprise turned down their offer to join them instead leading us to traditional Survivor Series match. It will be Team Authority vs. Team Cena, which at this point we know that Dolph Ziggler will be on team Cena. Which with the history of Cena buddies that is not good news for him. A match with Kane can be considered the first step to doom for Dolph trapped in the Cena friend zone.

In any case, the creation of this match makes the Brock’s presence for this upcoming Survivor Series unlikely to happen. It seems like we most likely are not going to see Brock until Royal Rumble. Paul Heyman was not on the show last night either after appearing on the Hell in a Cell match on the pre-show panel. Cena after winning his match looked up at Heyman and he reacted in kind. We are not getting the WWE World Heavyweight Champion for six months defending the title. When you consider the WWE stripped Daniel Bryan because we needed a WWE Champion and us as fans deserved that. This was the words of Stephanie McMahon. In character mind you, but why did the WWE not simply create an interim champion to replace Bryan. I don’t mind the idea of Champion not being around all the time but your storyline contradicts that and no one has brought that up. Should someone not be doing that at by now? The logic gap is terrible.

These same people gave John Cena a number one contender match for losing a match and were able to get the match he wanted that he failed to get the next night on Raw. Rollins and Cena match was fine but it really proved that Ambrose and Rollins are the better feud and match at this point. The idea of Paul Heyman representing the title or holding it hostage to some extent never has materialized.

2. Randy Orton is Actually Interesting: I know this is shocking but this is two weeks in a row Randy Orton actually looks like he gives a damn. This comes soon after rumors Orton had signed a part-time time style deal. Something he denied was the case. There were also rumors he was not happy with his creative and wanted or demanded a larger role. It seems like this has happened and Orton has gotten what he was looking for.

Whatever the reason this is the most motivated Randy Orton we have seen in many years that much is for certain. A program with him and Seth Rollins seems to be on the surface to happen now or at worst after survivor series. It is a good pairing in which Rollins can go in the ring and push Orton to perform at his best. This is something that clearly was not happening, when he had been paired with Roman Reigns or the WWE poster boy John Cena. Triple H in character said that Rollins is a lot like Orton and that is somewhat true. Rollins is a decent promo but often isn’t a great promo. While in-ring the two are as good as it gets from a technical standpoint.

In any case, Randy seems to be heading towards a face turn, which may kill the fire Orton currently has. Sometimes people don’t need to turn and heels don’t always have to get along right? Will see what happens, but right now you have an interesting Randy Orton, which we have not seen in years. It all might have started from a bunch of silly Vines on the internet. Who knows but the WWE seems to have bought into the RKO out of nowhere hype.

3. The Old Ryback Is Back: Many of you are excited to see the old Ryback return. He found a time machine and took San Antonio back to 2012. I am not exactly convinced the WWE is ready to try to rocket Ryback back to the top. I think a combination of bad booking and Ryback’s own flaws have exposed him to some extent. We will see if the fans stay with Ryback and for how long they do.

The roster is extremely thin, this gives Ryback a second chance, and perhaps gains back some of what he once had. People need to keep things in prospective we have seen many guys looking like they were on a rocket ship to the top.  We have seen many guys being pushed and dropped through out 2014. Keep in mind someone like Wade Barrett should be set to return soon as well. He was on the verge of being a huge baby face prior to his injury. Right now Ryback is back but who knows what happens next week. Damien Sandow is another one that has become very popular of late.

We are one week down in the Ryback return he is not going to be in main event of Wrestlemania 31. Chill and relax just because the feed me more chant is back doesn’t give Ryback a golden pass back to the main event.

4. Dean and Bray Feud off to Rocky Start: Dean Ambrose has been the hottest guy in wrestling in the last month.  He enters this feud with Bray Wyatt, which got off to a rocky start. Many were not happy with the whole chanting and hologram angle to close Hell in a Cell. Bray’s explanation to why he attacked Ambrose was vague. He only talked about Dean being like him. It also was almost whispering at times during his promo and it made it difficult to understand at times.

I really have concerns for Ambrose in this feud to some extent. Bray Wyatt is coming off a feud that was a failure with Chris Jericho. Wyatt is basically getting a reboot to try and get him going again. You can’t say the WWE has not given Bray a huge platform in 2014 with programs with John Cena, The Shield and Chris Jericho. The strength of Bray Wyatt has been promos while his in-ring work has been sketchy at best.

This feud could be good in that regard though as Ambrose can have a brawling type of match that is what is right up Wyatt’s alley. He still is over with the fans as all those lit up phones indicate. Dean Ambrose is the hottest wrestler in the company currently on the roster. This feud is important for both guys but the one with more to lose is Bray Wyatt. He now appears to be on his own, which will be another adjustment for him to make.

5. Divas Division = Boring: Tired and uninteresting feuds are what we’ve got on the tap with the ladies. Paige and A.J Lee have been on four straight special events in a row. This could be some kind of WWE record for all that I know. Regardless this feud has been dull and boring and has not really advanced in any significant way since Paige turned heel. While we have the Bella feud that spilled out of the Stephanie and Brie feud from Summerslam. It has been awful stuff and we have a whole month of an angle and likely a Total Divas match with Team Brie and Team Nikki at Survivor Series.

Make it stop at least with the break in Total Divas maybe we can get a bit of a break from all this Divas nonsense after that? We can only hope so.

Only other note is that Roman Reigns doing these interviews on his recovery is doing him no favors. I am almost convinced you need to see him turn heel and face The Rock instead of a Brock Lesnar match for the title. He is not ready and with this injury, I am questioning if he will be. A program with The Rock makes much more sense than Rock going against Triple H in a match that I question if people would honestly care about.  It was another Raw that really wasn’t that great and dragged on as it has in recent weeks.

WWE will face the music later in the week with their conference call on the third quarter for the company. In terms of the product in the ring, it has been a major disappointment. The network numbers will likely be not much better.

Raw Was A Mix Of Good and Bad Heading To Hell In The Cell

Raw in Kansas City has me a bit conflicted to some extent. On one hand, I think WWE is making some effort to a certain level. While other things, remain stuck in the same formula that has been failing. We have the same pointless 6-man tag matches every single week it seems as the opening match. Wrestling in order to be entertaining needs to have some purpose and meaning to get us invested as fans.  These matches set a terrible tone for the 3-hour show. It comes after a long talking segment to open the show that will always be involving The Authority. I am a big fan of Triple H and Stephanie when she is there,  but this whole Authority angle has become very stale and boring.

What WWE is attempting to do is bring back the surprise element in wrestling despite lacking it in many of their angles. The Rock returning unexpectedly a few weeks ago and last night Mick Foley winds up in Kansas City to surprise fans. Foley’s appearance was the exact way you want a past start to interact with your rising talent. It was even better than The Rock’s interaction Rusev that was a one off and did nothing to build Rusev moving forward.

Foley did a much better job putting over how the Hell in the Cell match can change careers and lives using his own life experiences as the living proof. The difference with Foley is he clearly watches the product on a regular basis and is well aware of Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose and their extended feud. He put over both competitors and made their match feel important.

Contrast that with the other Hell in the Cell match between Randy Orton and John Cena. After 12 years of these two guys this literally has no one is interested in this match. Triple H tried to up the ante, making this match in effect a number one contender match for Brock Lesnar’s title. Remember him?  The WWE Heavyweight Champion who has not been mentioned in weeks on the flagship program Monday Night Raw or anywhere else.  We also saw his manger (advocate) Paul Heyman back on the show tonight.

First before we get into get into Heyman appearance let’s talk about the lack of logic in making this Orton and Cena match for the number one contender spot. John Cena last week lost a match to Dean Ambrose, but a week later is in a match to have a chance to get yet another attempt to be WWE Heavyweight Champion. The logic is lacking in adding this stipulation to the match. People are tired of this match-up with Cena and Orton and they attempted to make us care about it. There is even talk this match will close the show and it is looking more and more like it will after tonight.

The segment had Randy Orton cutting an insane ranting promo that I loved. Maybe best promo Orton has done in a long time. He trolled the Kansas City crowd going after the Royals. Classic heel move and Randy is truly the last true heel in wrestling to some degree. John Cena came out, his response was bad comedy, and it was awful. Heyman returning was another surprise on this show that was a positive. It was not the greatest Paul Heyman promo ever, but it was great to see him back. Segment ended with RKO‘s out of no where on both Cena and Heyman. It was overall a long segment but ultimately did about as good as it could to sell a dead on the vine feud that no one cares about at the end of the day.

The segment with Rusev after he squashed Big E. Big Show had replaced the Russian flag with an American flag. Rusev went to tear down U.S flag when a man in a military uniform climbed over the guardrail, attempting to attack Rusev, was cut off by security, and than Rusev kicked him in the head. I found this segment to be very low class and I am not even an American in saying it. I did have a member of my family in the military and was insulted.

It is a lowbrow form of cheap heat that I just was turned off by on many levels. In the ultra politically correct WWE and based on their ties to the military I found this even more disappointing. To say that I am surprised by it would be a lie as there is almost nothing they would do that would shock me at this point.

We saw Big Show once again turn into the crying than angry giant. Andre The Giant never cried once in his entire run in WWE and he is considered a legend. While Show is crying all the time and trying to be a comedian and is considered a joke himself. How the WWE has failed to make a man, that is 500lbs and close to 7ft tall, a monster is beyond me.  I assume we see Big Show being disqualified at Hell in the Cell and Rusev remains undefeated. That or Mark Henry will turn on him. Have hated this Rusev feud with Show it has been very stupid from the start of it with Show being taken to task for taking down the Russian Flag. This was a work just like the man playing a U.S military official. Which by the way shouldn’t a legit solider be able to get past a couple security guys at a sporting event? Again, where is the logic WWE?

Speaking of things lacking logic Dolph Ziggler is on a 3-week losing streak as your I-C Champion. It was Cesaro getting the win this time around over Ziggler.  U.S Champion Sheamus lost to Damien Mizdow. So why exactly would anyone want to be a champion in this company? Well unless you’re WWE World Heavyweight Champion when you show up when you feel like it unless your name is Daniel Bryan.

In the end I understand that Raw is undermanned to some extent but that still doesn’t change the fact the formula and repetition of a lot of things is taking away from the overall show. This was not one of the worst Raw efforts in the last 3 months. In fact, it was far better on many levels. Still for the same reasons other Raw’s struggle to entertain us this one suffered in a similar way. The formula needs to be shaken up to some degree and we need to see some fresh stuff on a show that being 3 hours in length can’t afford to be stale and uninteresting.

In the end the effort is coming along but the overall results still have a long way to go with Monday Night Raw. 

Follow us @Condoonthemoon

He's Back #BayBay Adam Cole: Condo on the Moon Podcast #31

Adam Cole has been in the news of late in the wrestling world. From being named to PWI Top 500 as the #9 wrestler in the world to speculation about his future. He is also planning what we believe is a first in a wrestling bachelor party for Michael Bennett. It's busy times for the former ROH World Heavyweight Champion. He tells us about all of this and gives his thoughts on a variety of topics. It is his second time back on our podcast and we are thrilled to have him.

Josh Lopez is filling in for Chris Walder as he will be heading to this ROH event on Thursday October 9th in the Chicagoland area. For all the info head over to ROHwrestling.com here is a link to the event page. All this said enjoy the podcast featuring are 30 min conversation with Adam Cole off the top of the show.


Here is Adam telling you the line-up for this show:



Here is the Promo Adam and I discuss in our interview:



Thanks to Adam for stopping by and talking with us. It was a pleasure to have him back on the program talking professional wrestling. It sounds like this event coming up could be one people are talking about for years to come. The last unauthorized ROH event known as the night of hoopla certainly was.

If you were unable to listen via the website no problem head over to our podcast host Podomatic and listen there.

If you are new to Condo on the Moon welcome and make sure to follow us on Twitter @Condoonthemoon and if you didn't know by now you can follow Adam Cole @AdamColePro

Can Monday Night Raw Break The Losing Streak

So, Monday Night Raw is on a losing streak like a sports team to some extent. It has been 5 weeks in a row of pretty below average stuff. They head in to Chicago at this point, so for that crowd alone it should at least make this show interesting. Let’s state the obvious they will chant C.M Punk and he will not be there. Some odd rumors about a Punk return based on some WWE Studios film that Punk was in as the genius for this misguided rumor. Punk was also in a cartoon style move with the Flintstones in which he was pegged to be the main character. This not unlike the cartoon film John Cena was in for Scooby Doo that came out earlier in the year. That has been scraped apparently. This second film was done in 2012 apparently.

Punk and WWE have been in legal battles over his use in the WWE 2K15 video game and WWE has scrapped all C.M Punk merchandise. The one thing we can safely say is C.M Punk will not be on show tonight.This despite Stephanie McMahon's "Who knows what the future holds" in reference to a Punk return to the WWE on WGN television this morning here is a link to the video.

Need a reminder of why this is not happening:


Who will be on the show is A.J Lee the wife of the best in the world. She is involved in a very strange divas division in which she continues to feud with Paige but seems to have an angle in waiting with Stephanie. The Bella mess seems to have been separated from this feud for A.J after it was strangely inserted into her feud with Paige. None of it makes a lot of sense and you can bet all the WWE Divas are in for a long night with a vocal Chicago crowd that likely isn’t all that invested in them. Shockingly I do not think Chicago will care about twin sisters feuding over their last name.

Brock Lesnar, Paul Heyman and Bray Wyatt all were noticeably absent from television last week. We have been given no explanation as to the future plans for the WWE World Heavyweight Champion. There are some balls in the air with Seth Rollins having attacked Brock and attempted to cash in only to be cut off by John Cena. This would logically seem like it would cause friction between Brock along with Heyman with the Authority. Brock is based on rumors not going to be appearing on the Hell in the Cell event.

Bray Wyatt is a different matter, as it seems he has fallen out of favor with WWE. He seems to have no one to feud with so much so that he was left off the Night of Champions show. Is it too soon to press the panic button for the Wyatt Family and Bray specifically? Perhaps it is but things are not looking good for him. Amazing how that John Cena rub of a feud and a Wrestlemania match has not gotten him over. This is said very sarcastically, as his only win in the feud came thanks to a singing child in a steel cage match. This followed by a much anticipated but falling flat feud with Chris Jericho. The only thing that they haven’t managed to screw up is his entrance.

Dean Ambrose and John Cena seem to be tied together in both wanting to get the right to beat-up Seth Rollins. It has led to a strange rumor for Hell in the Cell in which Cena will face Ambrose and the winner gets Rollins in the main event in Hell in the Cell. The loser gets Randy Orton as a consolation prize. Such a concept even being considered speaks to the lack of depth on the roster right now. Actually it speaks more to how little the WWE maximizing the talent they have as they have dropped the ball with guys like Ziggler, Cesaro, Bo Dallas and others who could be stepping up in a time such as this but have not been booked properly to be taken seriously in larger roles currently.

Speaking of Ziggler I assume his feud with The Miz will continue. Many people seem to like it; I however am not among them. The Miz gimmick that now includes Damien Sandow as his understudy or stunt double. It all is total silliness in my opinion but if people can like something on Raw hang on to it tightly. Another feud that I am actually digging is the Cesaro and Sheamus feud that has been some hard hitting snug wrestling at its finest. Yes, I am enjoying Sheamus in a feud, which is amazing. The reason why is it is not Sheamus trying to be funny. This is why I do not like the Ziggler against Miz feud. I am all for having comedy in wrestling if it is actually done well.

There will be some other stuff as well likely some re-runs from Smackdown like the Big Show and Rusev perhaps and maybe will get another Uso and Dust brothers dust up. My level of believing in Raw doing something unique and entertaining is reaching dramatically low levels. I can see myself ducking in and out of Raw to catch up on Media Day around the NBA and here in Toronto. Never fear though I am not going to jump back to my past of covering the Raptors. I have committed to wrestling and the WWE is doing their best to want me to have me commit myself to a rubber room on Monday nights of late.

At least the people of Chicago will make it interesting. Pretty sad when you go into a show expecting the audience to provide more highlights than the show itself. Oh, I almost forgot the Hulkster might be making an appearance. Yeah so, as I said the crowd will be providing most of the entertainment. Hogan will just be focused on remembering what arena and city he is in which will be his challenge brother!!!

We can always hope Raw surprises us but I wouldn’t hold my breath in anticipation of that.  How they handle the whole Punk matter will be interesting as last time they faked a Punk return only to have Paul Heyman come out and cut a fantastic promo. I highly doubt we hear any Cult of Personality on this show unless A.J decides to come out to it.

Will it be six weeks in a row of Raw just lowering the bar to levels that we actually are invested in knowing who that dame bunny is. Wait a second we already are doing that so never mind.

Keep up with everything with us on Condo on the Moon on Facebook and Twitter. 

Raw Has Issues After Another Terrible Effort

Once is an accident, twice is a trend and four times is one of the worst builds to a special event/pay-per-view I can recall. This was a pretty embarrassing effort going into Night of Champions. It is hard to imagine that a card once thought of as vital to the success of the WWE Network has become such an after thought. It really is amazing how little this show means coming up on Sunday. It is pretty much a one-match show with the re-match of Lesnar and Cena as the only match drawing any real interest and even that could have been done better.

I am not sure where to begin with all of this. I guess the start would be the WWE admitting that people would rather watch Monday Night Football than Raw. The constant referencing of halftime in which they timed out to have the pay off to the John Cena and Paul Heyman opening segment to halftime of the football game. This is not like when the WWE made up a one-match show between The Rock and Mankind to go on during the halftime of the Super Bowl. This is week two of the NFL not the Super Bowl and this is clearly nothing close to the "Attitude Era."

After Heyman, pulling out a great promo from John Cena last week it was too much to expect him to do it two weeks in a row. It was back to campy unrealistic John Cena whom Paul Heyman talked circles around tonight.  I wonder how I would feel about this whole angle if I did not believe and know that John Cena is never going to turn. The idea of John Cena as a “Paul Heyman Guy” would be unbelievable television. Vince McMahon is never going to allow that to happen though.

Think of all the money spent of the building of Cena in having him face guys like The Rock and Brock Lesnar. It is rumored that with this re-working of Lesnar’s contract is going to cost up to 5 million dollars. This is a time keep in mind when the company is losing money and no longer attempting to be a pay-per-view company. This was why Lesnar was brought in initially to help draw some pay-per-view buys. If the WWE drops the ball with getting over someone else with this Brock title run, the company is flushing 5 million down the toilet.

The first match on this show was Jericho vs. Kane that was never a great feud back in 2000 or 2001. Why I am seeing it on possibly the last Raw with Jericho in this run is to say the least disappointing. In fact, this entire run for Chris Jericho has been fairly underwhelming. It wraps up with a match on Sunday with Randy Orton that has no real story attached too it. Orton beat up Jericho for the hell of it because it was the “Season Premiere” of Raw.

Bray Wyatt meanwhile seems lost in the woods and seems to be heading to a program of some sort with the Big Show. The Jericho feud really did not rehabilitate Wyatt after a feud with John Cena that did not really end in a way that helped keep Wyatt as a top tier talent. After this feud with Jericho, Wyatt seems to be taking a few back steps as a result.  The one thing he still has his entrance that is over while his promos have lost a lot of steam.

Total Divas is back and it is invading Monday Night Raw at the same time Raw has been horrible is not just coincidence. Cameron on Total Divas talked about going back to NXT and last night on Raw validated why she should after trying to pin Naomi while she was laid out on her stomach. Seriously, how is this girl employed and taking up time on you major show in a week of wrestling programming? She is clueless and terrible and I do not have any sympathy for people like her and Eva Marie who clearly have no talent at all in terms of wrestling. Trish Stratus was a beautiful woman and still is, she learned the craft of wrestling something that clearly seems beyond a number of the cast members of Total Divas. Keep your show and make the girls managers on Raw, whatever you have to do.  Having them go in a ring is insulting to fans, makes them a laughing stock, and serves no purpose.

This leads nicely into the Bella’s feud that is another pointless project with the Divas. While I will say, the Bella Twins have learned how to wrestle to the point they are not a complete embarrassment.  On the microphone that is not the case where there is a clear difference in the Bella Twins that does not involve having breast enhancement. Nikki is not only is packing the bigger boobs, but also is better on the microphone. The material has been pretty awfully though. This week the Bella feud hit the ring as part of a tag-team match and at least they didn’t give this classic one on one match away. Something they might have wanted to do with Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns but will get there eventually.

Adding the Paige and A.J feud to the mix of all of this has only added to the mess that this has all become. I would think Brie gets involved and screws her sister from winning the title. That is the logical answer so they will probably go the opposite and have Brie help Nikki so she can take the title away from her. The obvious babyface move to do. Sadly, this feud marches on with no end in sight.

Seth Rollins wins the most questionable promo of the night award. He compared Roman Reigns to an ape which he acted out which was something that many will view as racist. It might well be that but I will leave that debate for others to have. What it was is a ridiculous promo that does Seth Rollins no favors in getting over. In addition, why is this match even happening at all with both booked to face each other on Night of Champions?

Dean Ambrose as I wrote yesterday (for Between the Ropes) has been the big winner by being written off the show during this terrible stretch. He has not been tied to all of the terrible stuff that has been going on during Raw for the last month.

The Miz and Ziggler having stunt doubles thing is so dumb it is insulting. Some may find it hilarious that R-Truth is the double of Dolph, but I find it was stupid and insulting. In any case, this feud while not horrible in the ring the story elements attached to it have sucked.

Usos and the Combo of Gold and Stardust feud is what it is. I am not sure why we needed to keep Cody as Stardust let alone turn this team heel. They are certainly booking this in a way I could see Uso’s dropping the titles. This is not to say that I want to see the Dust Brothers as champions.

How or why exactly we ended the show with Mark Henry and Rusev makes no sense at all. This is and has been presented as a mid-card angle and suddenly is rocketed to the main event spot? That makes little sense at all for what has been a decently booked campy mid-card angle.

When we come off a week in which NXT had a special event and it was booked fairly well it makes you wonder if the answer to all of the problems is simple. Vince McMahon has no say in NXT and leaves it completely in the hands of Paul Lévesque while Vince continues to be the final word on Raw and he clearly is not doing a good job of late. Perhaps the most shocking was the basic admission with in the script that fans watching Raw would likely bail out and watch the NFL. Never in my life would I have expected Vince McMahon to allow such a statement to be made even if it was just implied and not a direct one.

The WWE is not looking good these days and while people remain very optimistic about the future you have to wonder what kind of a future it will be at some point. The decline in people invested in the product has become fairly clear. Once people are gone, there is no guarantee you will get them back in the fold. The numbers keep shrinking and as good as the future might be who will have the faith and patience to be here for it. The answer is only the very hardcore base of the WWE audience that is usually the ones that are treated the worst by this company in terms of what they want to see as opposed to what they get.

There really is the reason to be concerned at the lack of quality in the product right now even if the ratings have yet to see a dropping off a cliff moment you can sense one coming if they product remains so poor. The other issue is obviously the focus and attention being paid to The WWE Network that has been taken off the core product and it shows.  When Vince Russo is sounding like a voice of reason in the wrestling landscape that speaks volumes to where we have gone.

Bottom line if the build to Hell in a Cell is anything like the one to Night of Champions it will be time to ring the alarm or press the panic button whatever needs to be done.

Condo on the Moon Podcast #28

Myself and Walder back for another week. We talk about are experience at ROH show last Saturday and go in depth on NXT and talk about some of Monday Night Raw. All that and more in this episode that is not even 99 cents let alone 9.99.


Thanks for listening and help spread the word if you like what you hear. If you have feedback love to hear it. Aside from how I pronounce John Cena that has been covered actually by Walder in a previous podcast.

If you have issue accessing the podcast through our site we invite you to go directly to out podcast host's Podomatic and Listen there

Paul Heyman Can Even Get The Best Out Of John Cena

Getting to see John Cena share a ring with Paul Heyman last night led to something we have not seen from John Cena in a very long time. It was as Heyman was requesting his old rapper persona and the doctor of thug-o-nomics that some fans still love to this day. For John Cena to do what the world has wanted for years come join the dark side with Paul Heyman. His response was an impassioned, but more important believable and angry John Cena standing up for his ideals. Yes, the material was somewhat the same with references to children, Make-A-Wish and the military but it was done with fire, passion, and most of all believability.

Paul Heyman a few weeks ago on the podcast with Stone Cold Steve Austin at the very end laid out an idea of John Cena being conflicted with sticking to his ideals and tempted to be a Paul Heyman guy or turn his back on the fans. This was clearly along the lines of what Heyman had in mind the question will be is there a follow up to it, or is this just part of a way to get us to buy into a Brock and Cena match after Brock dismantled Cena.

If you go back in history, Paul Heyman has always been a good pairing to get the most out of John Cena in the past. As the G.M of Smackdown, he would battle with a babyface version of the Doctor of Thug-O-Nomics as the authority figure. He also got involved in some of his matches with C.M Punk as John attempted to re-claim the title on several occasions

Heyman has had a 2014 that by anyone’s standards would have to be classed as one of the best years in a career .Admittedly that is a lengthy career; still it is hard to top what is being accomplished right now this year.

Getting John Cena over with the majority of fans who have grown tired of him would just be the latest trick in a year where he has already sold the two biggest matches of the year in the company almost single-handed. His DVD “Ladies and Gentleman My Name is Paul Heyman,” is a smashing success with fans and has been one of the biggest selling DVD’s in a long time for the company.

Is there anything Paul Heyman can’t do? Perhaps turn John Cena heel is the answer, but he sure has proven that over the years he knows how to get the best of out him. Not really, a shocker considering that is basically, what Paul Heyman is best at doing. Evaluating and being able to maximize talent no matter how small or how big.

Paul Heyman can do just about anything he sets his mind too. He may not use hustle, loyalty and respect to do it but he gets the job done.

For my full thoughts on Raw head over to Between the Ropes for my podcast with Steve on what we both thought on the full episode of Raw including this Cena and Heyman segment.

 

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Raw Notebook: Another Lost Oppurtunity To Entertain

Another week and another Raw that was not worth a damn would pretty much be my reaction to last night. An opening segment that again was just awful from the start as Chris Jericho hosted a "Highlight Reel," that just never seemed to end. Not just that but it at the end of the day made very little sense with Triple H threatening to call off John Cena and Brock Lesnar’s re-match. Cena countering with the fact he would sue and a bunch of other guys making their claims to be the champion. All of this took close to 18 minutes as well when it probably should have taken more like 8-10.

The amount of cheesy and uncreative plugs for the network within this segment I could do with out as well. Not to mention the Canadian version of the network is 11.99 and as of yet not offered in my area and if it was the Canadian version blows with next to no archived footage at all. In the end these 9.99 jokes and constant references have gone back to being annoying. This marks the week that initial subscribers would be renewing had they signed up on the original week the network launched. Raw offered little for them to be optimistic about the product in the next 6 months.

I will say all of the marketing we see now for the WWE Network is much closer to what I had thought we would have seen from the launch. Maybe had it been at the time I would be less critical of it as annoying as it might be it made sense for a new product. It really feels like the WWE launched this thing and fell asleep for 6 months thinking this network was going to sell itself with little needed on their behalf. Which is so unlike the WWE that over promotes everything yet they under promoted perhaps the most important product they have created in the last 20 years makes no sense at all.

Once again, we seem to have a great divide on the whole Nikki Bella and Brie Bella storyline. I again thought on a show that lacked anything good Nikki Bella was the exception to the rule. Were the Growing up Bella segments just nonsense in general? Sure they were, but Nikki never the less sold them like a champ. It all had a very 90210 feel to it and I could easily see the Bella’s as characters on that show.

It would lead to an in-ring segment in which Nikki would be named the number one contender to the Diva’s Title which makes sense seeing as she helped Steph win. It would lead to the Bella’s yelling at each other, than A.J Lee came out, and this segment rather changed focus for me. A.J pointed out to Stephanie that she was due a re-match thanks to her contract and much like John Cena claimed earlier about his title match. Which is really lacking creativity on part of WWE, but never the less A.J claimed to be the rightful number one contender. Paige would come out into this mess as well and honestly add little to things. Nikki would demand her sister quit the WWE and she refused instead pushing Nikki into Paige and taking off. Leaving A.J to pick up the Diva's Title and skips around right into Stephanie and they have a stare down and Stephanie demand’s A.J give her the belt, which she did. Therefore, it appears the WWE is slowly giving up on the women and combining these stories for one match at Night of Champions. Perhaps the most interesting thing was the teasing of an A.J and Stephanie feud and this has not been the first time. Briefly, the two got involved in A.J’s time as General Manager of Raw that lead to nothing. Maybe the dream match is alive for Wrestlemania with A.J Lee vs. Stephanie and this is the start? I need something to be optimistic about after this terrible show.

Speaking of terrible shows we had a match filled with people on Total Diva’s that was a total train wreck so we have those to look forward to as season three of Total Diva’s debuts on E this coming Sunday. I honestly use to follow the show, but I really am not sure if I will bother this season. Rosa Mendez has been added to the cast and I could care less.

There was for the second week in a row not a match on this show that mattered in the slightest. In that, finding mix between being entertaining and actual wrestling they have went far too heavy on the entertainment side and this is even by the WWE’s standards that slant that way. This was the last Raw prior to Monday Night Football returning next week and maybe that has something to do with promoting they have invited the first openly gay NFL player to Raw next week in Michael Sam. Stephanie  has even written a public letter to Sam inviting him to attend.  I would suggest the WWE try promoting their first openly gay wrestler Darren Young instead that might be an idea. Maybe that is where this bizarre angle is supposed to go. If I am Sam’s agent, I tell him to stay miles and miles from this, if you ever want a chance to play in the NFL in your life. I do not think the league would be happy about a player that is used as a sideshow to make the league look bad on WWE programming. Call it a hunch on my part.

The Miz and his train wreck Hollywood gimmick gets more ridiculous by the week. Rusev and Mark Henry feud is back on track. While Swagger gets Zeb back and appears to be going down the ladder in a feud with Bo Dallas. We are supposed to care in a feud with USO’s and Stardust and Goldust as heels, but I really do not. Adam Rose and Zack Ryder both with matches on the card and there was not two moon’s in the sky. In the Rose match, the Bunny of all people taking out Heath Slater at ringside causing the distraction to have Titus O’Neil be pinned highlighted it. The main event of the show was a drawn out long and quite dull 6-man tag match. All of the folks from the opening segment with Jericho, Reigns and Cena facing the Authority team of Orton Rollins and Kane. It was to long and ultimately boring and to boot made no sense to the storyline they were telling. John Cena was trying to save his title opportunity by proving to Triple H that he is ready for Lesnar tags in Roman Reigns to finish the match. I say, bravo, to yet another awful conclusion to the second week of horrible Raw programming in a row.

I blame myself as much as I do the WWE for expecting them to have a compelling program on a night that they expect numbers to be down because of the Labour Day Weekend holiday. Still, Raw is on quite the pathetic roll when it should be trying to peak with all the concerns with the network. Raw was once again awful.

 

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 7:30 pm EST use hashtag #AskMachoMoon. You can find us now at Condoonthemoon.com. 

Ric Flair To Kick-Off Raw with John Cena

It would appear that the 16 time and 15 time Champions are going to kick-off Monday Night Raw together. Ric Flair has always been a Cena buddy even behind the scenes and it looks like he will be out there with him as Cena makes his first public comments since getting totally beaten down. Here is the tweet from Flair announcing this news:

I'm kicking off #Raw on Monday night at 8pm! Brock is a beast, but @JohnCena is MY MAN. We're talking REMATCH.
— Ric Flair® (@RicFlairNatrBoy) August 23, 2014

Ric Flair has been used in a number of segments with no real defined role on the show. You have to wonder how long they can keep this up. Triple H has always been a huge supporter of Flair and it is not like he is going to tell him to go away.

Update 12:45 PM 08/23/14

Add Shawn Michaels to the party for Raw this Monday

Y'all just keep pullin' me back! 'Ol HBShizzle will be on #Raw Monday night. We're talking @JohnCena/@BrockLensar rematch!! Yee-Haw!!!
— Shawn Michaels (@ShawnMichaels) August 23, 2014

 

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 7:30 pm EST use hashtag #AskMachoMoon. You can find us now at Condoonthemoon.com.