King of The Ring Returns to the WWE This Week

In case you've been out of the wrestling loop over the last 24 hours, the historic King of the Ring Tournament will be making it's return tonight on Monday Night Raw. The announcement was made in a promotional package for the WWE Network during the Extreme Rules PPV last night. The King of The Ring Tournament started in 1985 and then became it's own PPV in 1993. King of The Ring was one of the yearly traditional PPV's for the WWE back in the day. This will be the first King of The Ring Tournament since 2010. The first round matches will take place tonight on Raw and the Semi-Final and Final Round matches will take place LIVE on the WWE Network. In the picture down below is the bracket with the participants for this year's King of The Ring Tournament.

Here's the list of former King of the Ring Winner's. This list also features former WWE World Champions and Hall of Famers.


1985- Don Muraco
1986- Harley Race
1987-Randy Savage
1988- Ted DiBiase
1989- Tito Santana
1991- Bret Hart
1993- Bret Hart
1994- Owen Hart
1995- Mabel
1996- Stone Cold Steve Austin
1997- Triple H
1998- Ken Shamrock
1999- Billy Gunn
2000- Kurt Angle
2001- Edge
2002- Brock Lesnar
2006- Booker T
2008- William Regal
2010- Sheamus

This year's King of The Ring Tournament is very interesting because it features the top mid-card peformers for the WWE. You have a upstart in Neville. You have former Intercontinental Champions in Sheamus, Bad News Barrett, Stardust, Dolph Ziggler, and Luke Harper. Of course you got your wild cards in R-Truth and Dean Ambrose. WWE hasn't announced if the winner of this match gets a future title opportunity, but I think bringing back this tournament it's not only good for the mid-card and Monday Night Raw, but for the WWE Network as well.

One would suggest that the early favorites to win this King of The Ring Tournament would be Sheamus, Dolph Ziggler, Dean Ambrose or Bad News Barrett. If you look at the bracket up top you'll see there's some intrguing matchups and personally I'm really looking forward to see how this torunament will end up in the next two days.

For old time's sake I'm going to post a clip of one the most iconic King of The Ring moments.

I hope you guys enjoy the tournament on Raw tonight and on the WWE Network tomorrow. For more updates on the King of The Ring Tournament please stick tune to the website.

You can follow me on Twitter @JoshLopezCSR

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WWE TLC 2014 Preview

Well for those who don't know, we're 16 days from the 6th annual WWE TLC PPV on December 14th on the WWE Network, but like Alberto Del Rio would use to say, you already knew that. One of the things that stood out to me was besides the previously announced Dean Ambrose/Bray Wyatt TLC Match, there was nothing else announced for TLC especially with the PPV coming up in three weeks. When you at WWE TLC on paper, it's usually a PPV that alot of people don't care about, but in essence the WWE TLC PPV has been one of the most anticipated gimmick PPV's in the calendar year. The WWE TLC PPV has gave us alot of great matches over the last 6 years for example, The Shield vs. Team Hell No & Ryback (2012), John Cena vs. Dolph Ziggler (2012), CM Punk vs. The Miz vs. Alberto Del Rio (2011), Edge vs. Kane vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Alberto Del Rio (2010), and Jeri-Show vs DX (2009). If the WWE is not going to give you a preview as to what you can expect to see at TLC, I will.

1.) Tables, Ladders and Chairs Match 
Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt

I love how alot of these "smart" fans are losing their minds over the fact that we need a immediate pay-off in a feud that started five weeks ago. I mean seriously calm down, you want to know why WWE storylines are "hot shot" or never have the proper build, well one the company is insecure and secondly you fans don't give it a chance. I don't know why you would want a decisive finish to a Bray Wyatt/Dean Ambrose match when the next second if either Bray or Dean loses you're going to say that he's getting buried. Don't tell me that you don't think like that. I for one have loved what they've done with feud because, it's different they're taking their time with this, I like the deep storytelling aspect of it and yea call it a cheap plug or whatever snarky comment you will have whenever Dean Ambrose is on a match on Raw and then after the match somebody is covered with Tables, Ladders and Chairs. I like the fact that they really haven't touched that much because I rather wait for the moment then have it spoiled on a random Monday Night Raw because I don't have paitence for anything. You want the physicality in this match, you'll get it I guarantee it. HAVE SOME PAITENCE PEOPLE! One second you're saying "Oh why don't they take the proper time to build this feud, while they're are taking their time" and then the next day you'll say "Oh can this feud finish already because it's hasn't done anything for either Bray or Dean." How you know that? Take a chill pill, sit back and enjoy these two hungry superstars put on a tremendous performance.

2.) Chairs Match 
Ryback vs. Kane

"FEED ME MORE! "FEED ME MORE!" "FEED ME MORE!" You know what, I will take the heat oh well, I'm a Ryback guy and I will always be a Ryback guy. I heard what Punk had to say about him during the podcast and it's unfortunate, but just pointing the finger to just Ryback for CM Punk leaving the WWE is kind of childish and shows you how people can be sheep when they hear something derogatory like the sheep they'll bow down and listen to what that person has to say and believe and it's gods truth. I thought Ryback handle that situation as a pro, mind you I'm a real CM Punk fan and he's my favorite wrestler, but it was only one side of the story is all I'm trying to say. Ryback just like Punk has had many roadblocks put infront of him especially with him being a Tough Enough guy, then going back and forth through developmental, his run in 2012 where he was labeled dangerous and etc. Nobody is perfect and yes Ryback has its flaw, but just like anybody else you learned from your mistakes and grow from it. I don't mind this match because you know what, Kane and Ryback work well with each other. Plus this gives Ryback an opportunity to make himself standout performer with his comedic personality and I'm all for that. As far as Kane is concern, I think Mania 31 will be Kane's last WrestleMania, I think he's had a tremendous career and seriously underappreciated and he's a legend in my eyes.

3.) WWE Divas Championship Match
Nikki Bella (c) w/Brie Bella vs. AJ Lee

Man talk about art imitating life, in the same building where her husband left professional wrestling, AJ Lee may be competiting in her final WWE match which is really unfortunate. If this is the last time she will be in a WWE ring, I really hope she does come back that girl has so much going for her, but to me her career is now an asterisk via her association with Punk. This also puts Nikki Bella in a rough situation because for me personally every time I see Nikki Bella on the television she just got this expression on her face like "Oh John Can You Tell Vince To Let Me Win?" I hope that's not true because I feel like both her and Brie have worked hard to get better in the ring despite who their romantic partner is. I think both these ladies will be looking to put on a good performance and if this is AJ's last match in the WWE for the forseable future hopefully she gives everything she can before she leaves.

4.) WWE United States Championship Match 
Rusev (c) w/Lana vs. Jack Swagger w/Zeb Colter

I get it, "Why is this match happening?"Why not? It's a one time thing you have a gimmick PPV here this won't be another three-four month feud. If you have nothing to do with Rusev for TLC that's fine put him up with someone he has experience with. This is also gives Swagger another opportunity to redeem himself after being laid out from The Authority. I've enjoyed the Rusev/Swagger matches they got good chemistry in the ring and thats all that matters to me, if the storyline ain't the greatest thing in the world, but if they can perform in the ring that's why we watched wrestling right? Even though Rusev would retain his championship I kind of look at this match like a best of 2014 feud type of the match well maybe best of the 2014 WWE Mid-Card. I'm sure alot of people will be indifferent in this match, but it works perfectly for both of these guys at the end of the day.

5.) WWE Intercontinental Championship Match 
Luke Harper (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler

While I may feel the only one thats feel that this PPV can have alot of good in-ring matches, for those internet fans this one for sure will tickel your fancy. I'm not sure if this will be a Ladder Match, I personally don't think it has to be a gimmick style of match. What makes this match really interesting is not only the great in-ring work that we'll see in this match, but also the fact that this match is in Ziggler's hometown of Cleveland, Ohio. I wouldn't be opposed to seeing Ziggler regaining the IC strap in this one because honestly I don't see Dolph main eventing Mania this year, but still with all this momentum he's been gaining over the last 5 weeks this gives a perfect opportunity for both Harper and Ziggler to shine before 2015. So I'm rooting for Dolph to win the title in his hometown, Harper is such a unique talent and with him being a heel I don't think Harper gets affected negatively if he loses the title. I really do hope this match happens.

6.) WWE Tag Team Championship Match 
The Miz & Damien Mizdow (c) vs. The Ascension

With rumors of the group of Damien Mizdow and Miz splitting up with WrestleMania season coming up and them being heels reminding you, I think a good way to start building tensions between Sandow and Miz the right way is to have the upcoming stars The Ascension from NXT make their debut at TLC and win the WWE Tag Team Championship. The Ascension will be taking on Hideo Itami and Finn Balor at NXT [R] Evolution. I'm just throwing this out there, who knows maybe Miz & Mizdow will defend their titles against The Usos or the Dust Brothers again, I'm not sure. Yet again maybe this match doesn't happen and you see the new stable The New Day go after the Tag Team Titles. I think it will be cool to have a new team from NXT make an major impact on the main roster before 2015 begins.

7.) Tables Match 
The Big Show vs. Erick Rowan

I'm probably throwing this match out there too quickly and before you know it you see match go on Monday Night Raw next week and the match will end by countout or disqualification. I think the pairing of these two are interesting I prefer Show in the ring as a heel and I'm willing to give Rowan a chance with this "Groot" from the Guardians of the Galaxy movie gimmick a chance. Kind of cool that the WWE are using some of these elements with their superstars. Will it be a earth shattering Tables Match? Probably not, will it be a 15 minute stalworth brawl I don't think so and nor it should be. I think this decision was the right one as opposed to seeing John Cena vs. Big Show once again. Give Rowan an opportunity to stand out as he tries to replenish his career after leaving The Wyatt Family. You have a young guy like Rowan pickup a big victory to add to his resume, say what you want about the Big Show, but he's a wrestling legend and he deserves the respect of every wrestling fan for being the most unique big man in professional wrestling since Andre the Giant despite his 30 heel/face turns I really don't blame because you know why? He cares and he wants to do something different instead of doing same thing over and over again, so I respect Big Show from the point of view. Not alot of people will be interested, but as opposed to the smarks fan that only pay attention to stars the IWC wants to them to support I want to see good things happen for Rowan and every young superstar in the WWE.

8.) TLC Match 
John Cena vs. Seth Rollins

After this past week's Monday Night Raw, I got the assumption that we'll finally get the one-on-one match of John Cena vs. Seth Rollins that was supposed to happen three months ago after Rollins cost Cena the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at Night of Champions. In WWE many ways to make John Cena "the greatest of all-time" unfortunately, Rollins will be on wrong side of the table of this and I know alot of people will be upset about this match and I'm just for warning you guys that this match will happen before they announce on the "Cyber Monday" edition of Raw. Now you ask me how can you have a TLC match when John Cena's already the number one contender to the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Well, I think two things can happen here. One, they can use the same format they did in that 6-Man TLC match between Ryback & Team Hell No vs. The Shield where the only way you can win is by pinfall or submission. Secondly, Cena can put up the stipulation that if Rollins wins, The Authority will regain their power from John Cena. Heading towards the Royal Rumble, we'll see Brock Lesnar at the Slammy Awards on the go-home show to TLC and that will start the build to their Royal Rumble match. This is the best case scneario for both guys in this match. I don't think Rollins will be buried if they lose the match like alot of people will say I can already hear it right now. I look at this match and it reminds me of Cena vs. Ziggler from TLC 2012 and that gives me hope that this match will be good. Obviously Cena would go over in this match and we'll see where Rollins goes after TLC with both Randy Orton and Roman Reigns making their returns and have their eyes set on Mr. Money in the Bank.

Here's my preview for WWE TLC 2014. I'm not sure if this will be the official card for the PPV, but from what I seen on the television this is what I expect to see on the show. If you agree or disagree with the card, comment below on this article and tell me what would you guys like to see go down at WWE TLC?

Follow Me on Twitter @JoshLopezCSR

Who is Sting? Why did Sting come to WWE? What will come out of this?

Coming off the heels of the 2014 Survivor Series, and a perplexing Monday Night Raw. There's alot of questions going around the wrestling universe. Why did Sting debut at Survivor Series? Why did Sting didn't show up on Raw? Why didn't Sting become the new General Manager? Are we going to see a match between Sting and Triple H at WrestleMania 31? While all these questions are valid and leads to good discussion topics that we will get to eventually,  lets step back in the history books and take a look at the Franchise of WCW and TNA, The "Icon" Sting. Also, I will discuss what will come out of this deal between Sting and the WWE.

Sting was a very athletic and body bulding type of guy from Venice Beach, California that really didn't get the opportunity to watch professional wrestling growing up. Sting was working at a gym where he met, the late great Ultimate Warrior. Sting got his start in professional wrestling as one half of Power USA and The Blade Runners with Warrior in the Continental Wrestling Association and Mid-South. Warrior and Sting partnership ended in mid 1986 when Warrior decide to go to the WWF. Sting stood in Mid-South for the remainder of 1987 and won three UWF World Tag Team Championships, one with Rick Steiner and two with Eddie Gilbert.

At the age of 28, Sting arrived in the NWA and was becoming one of the fastest rising stars in the professional wrestling world. Sting's start in the NWA wasn't a easy one at first, Sting was put into feuds with establish talents like Ric Flair and The Four Horseman, Barry Windham, Mike Rotuna The Road Warriors and even the Great Muta. At that time, Sting only had captured the NWA Television Championship and then in late 1989, Sting won a four man iron-man tournament to determine the number one contender to the NWA Championship. Sting recently join the face verison of "The Four Horseman" in 1989, but tensions starting to grow with the legendary stable when Sting won the tournament. In 1990, Sting was booted out of the Four Horseman and then at Clash of Champions X, Sting injured his knee during his Steel Cage Match with Ric Flair. The injury put the promotion and the bookers in the rough situation as Sting wasn't going to be avaliable to perform on all the events.

Sting finally captured the NWA World Championship at the Great American Bash 1990. I thought that moment made Sting the official franchise of NWA/WCW. Sting would continue to feud with The Forseman towards the end of the NWA. The NWA transition into WCW then in 1991, Sting lost his title to Ric Flair in a rematch at Starrcade. 1991 was a big year for Sting, he had a legendary tag team match with Lex Luger taking on the Steiner Brothers, then Sting won a vacated WCW United States Championship Tournament over a young "Stunning" Steve Austin. Also Sting won the very first WCW Battlebowl then leading towards a feud with the Dangerous Alliance. Sting won his first WCW Championship from Lex Luger at Super Brawl II. Then in May of 1992 at WarGames, Sting and his Squadron defeated The Dangerous Alliance which was also the highest rated match from Dave Meltzer from the Wrestling Observer. Then to finish out the first part of his epic WCW run, Sting had some unique feuds with Vader, Jake Roberts, Cactus Jack, Rick Rude and The Dungeon of Doom.

Right as the Monday Night Wars started in 1996, Sting was already at legendary status especially with all the accomplishments Sting obtian while still not having one run with the WWE is really telling of how important Sting has been to the professional wrestling. We all know the story of the nWo and that there was talks that Sting was going to be the third guy joining Scott Hall and Kevin Nash "The Outsiders." While the nWo was taking over WCW, alot of the fans, wrestlers and commentators ponder what side will Sting be on. Sting's character needed to change as the twlight of his career was coming. Sting came back as the "Crow" Sting and didn't speak on the microphone for over a year. The Crow Sting was one of the most unique characters in the history of professional wrestling in my personal opinion. I thought this Sting was way cooler than the original Sting. This lead to Sting taking on the nWo at Starrcade where he defeated Hulk Hogan for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. In 1998, Sting was defending his title against the likes of Scott Hall, Kevin Nash and Diamond Dallas Page. Sting would join the nWo Wolfpac with Kevin Nash and Konnan. Towards the end of WCW Sting has feuds with Vampiro, Jeff Jarrett and Scott Steiner. The final night of WCW, March 26, 2001, Sting took on Ric Flair in the final match of WCW's history. Sting still sticking to his guns decided to not go to WWE in after the buyout, where he's said numerous interviews that he felt that the company wouldn't present him in the way he wanted to be presented. Which I think kind of hurt Sting in the long run because you never know with the WWE unless you take that leap of faith and give it a try. I thought with the Crow Sting especially in a WWE environment Sting would still be tremendous that move could have reseruceted his career.

Sting would go TNA in 2003, where he became the franchise of that company as well. Sting became the NWA Champion once again and also won the TNA World Heavyweight Championships in 4 in different occassions. Sting had of bevy of feuds in TNA featuring, Jeff Jarrett, AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, Christian, Mick Foley, Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, Bully Ray, Kurt Angle, Ace's and 8's, Dixie Carter and Ethan Carter III. Sting was part of a heel faction in the "Main Event Mafia". You can say that Sting's run in TNA was similar to his run in WCW. I thought something that worked pretty well for Sting in TNA is that as opposed to his original Crow character, when Sting was feuding with Immortal he brought on the Batman Joker persona into TNA. Sting became the very first member of the TNA Hall of Fame in 2012. Sting would leave TNA in early 2014 when he lost to Magnus in a Career vs. Title match at Genesis.

There was many rumors of Sting heading towards the WWE after he left TNA. Would he go there to finally have his dream match with The Undertaker? Would he have a actual run in WWE? Would Sting become a general manager of Raw and SmackDown? Sting eventually decided to join WWE where he made an appearance on the Warrior docuementary on the WWE Network, he was the main attraction of this year's WWE 2K15 Video Game, the WWE also release a best of Sting collection on DVD in September. Sting also has made public appearances for the company at the San Diego Comic Con and also the WWE 2K Panel during SummerSlam weekend. Sting finally made his first WWE TV appearance at Survivor Series where he took out Scott Armstrong and Triple H and helped Team Cena defeat Team Authority for power in the WWE.

Now to discuss the topics I brought up at the beginning of this piece. I think it's great that Sting is in WWE, I think it's 14 years too late in my opinion, but I'm honor and happy as a fan of Sting to see him get the moment he deserves. I'm not sure why Sting wasn't on Raw last night, not that's it's a bad thing I think that adds intruige and mystique which always a common thing when it comes to Sting. I don't think that he will become a general manager of Raw or SmackDown there isn't really a need for that to be honest with you. I understand he's 55 years old and maybe he may not be able to put on the performances in the ring like he did in the early 1990's, but I seen Sting have a match with Austin Aries in TNA when they were here in Chicago in 2013 and it was awesome. I think Sting can still go and especially with Sting's future, The Only Thing That's For Sure About Sting in the WWE is that Nothing Is For Sure. The best is yet to come in my opinion, I think it would be cool to see Sting go against Triple H at WrestleMania or even seeing Sting take on Bray Wyatt. It's still up in the air as to whether he will take on The Undertaker, but instead trying to figure out and ruining the moment when this match is officially made I leave it at this. Sting is a Icon, Sting is one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all-time. He's The Undertaker of WCW, He's back in WWE, whether you like him or not, Sting deserves a WrestleMania Moment and it will happen soon let's try to enjoy the journey of Sting in WWE and not let the rumors and the dirtsheets dictate the way we think about Sting let it play out and I think you'll enjoy this run.

Follow Me on Twitter @JoshLopezCSR

Check out my wrestling radio show the "Pro Wrestling Experience" from 10am-1pm CT Wednesdays on Chicagolandsportsradio.com. We'll talk about Survivor Series, Sting, TNA's new contract, Lucha Underground. Two big Ring of Honor Interviews with Adam Cole and Roderick Strong.

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.

WWE News and Notes: Bo Dallas Out Of Action

Seems the injury bug continues to be a front-runner for heel of the year in 2014 in the WWE. Bo Dallas was become the latest to fall victim to injury as WWE.com reported the Bo Dallas as injured his foot and will be sidelined 6-8 weeks. Just another in a long list of injuries that has included Daniel Bryan who based on the latest reports could be out 6-8 months after a second surgery. Roman Reigns is on the shelf as well as Bad News Barrett. Both of those superstars could be ready to return with in the next month or so.

Bo last impression before being sidelined was being squashed by Ryback who is another person who was just returning from injury.

While all of these injuries have been terrible news for the WWE the biggest heel of 2014 still might be the WWE Network as yet another delay to launch of the service in the U.K was just announced today with no new date for the launch provided.

The launch of @WWENetwork in the U.K. has been delayed until further notice.
— WWE Network (@WWENetwork) November 3, 2014

Things just do not seem to be going the WWE’s way as they have been pushed into a desperate attempt to boost Network numbers by offering the service for free for the month of November. This will include Survivor Series coming up on November 23, 2014.

Another note former Total Diva Jo Jo is apparently taking over some of the ring announcing duties on live events. This likely filling in for the now departed from the company Justin Roberts. Jo Jo was said to be working house shows over the weekend in New York state at an even in Syracuse.

Raw Expected to be 3 hour Commerical For WWE Network?

Are you ready for a month long commercial for the WWE Network? That is what you can suspect for all of November with the network being given away for free. What it means for Survivor Series is now unclear based on the back the show is being given away for free. It leads to speculation on what it will mean for Survivor Series. Some feel WWE will attempt to put on an over the top show.  I however feel they can’t afford a Brock Lesnar return at Survivor Series. Perhaps you get a Roman Reigns return as he is expected to be ready for next even in December. In any case the dynamic and importance of Survivor Series has changed.

In terms of Raw tonight expect a ton of advertising for the WWE Network. In addition, we should see some advancement on Team Cena vs. Team Authority. Perhaps we get some confirmation on which side Randy Orton will fall in this feud if at all. Orton has been pulled from advertising for the show in his hometown of St Louis. Orton has been cast in a sequel to the movie The Condemned that starred Steve Austin in the original. Orton is expected to miss some time to shoot that movie and apparently, that will include Survivor Series.

WWE had a similar situation with Ambrose getting hot and having to leave for a movie. It clearly never hurt him as he came back even stronger but in his absence, Raw had some of its worst shows of the year. Speaking of Ambrose his feud with Bray Wyatt seems to be moving in slow motion so far perhaps we pick up the pace tonight on Monday Night Raw.

Smackdown for the first time in a long time introduced an angle that a lot have speculated on happening. Rusev is challenging Sheamus to get his hands on the United States title. Seems like a good side feud to continue building Rusev moving forward. Not sure why they waited until Smackdown to introduce this feud instead of last Monday or this Monday. It is nice for fans of Smackdown to see some storyline advancement on that show.

The main event on that show was also pretty cool with a Halloween themed street fight with Cesaro and Dean Ambrose. These two put on a heck of an entertaining match and along the way killed many pumpkins. Cesaro according to reports is being punished for comments he made in an interview prior to the Randy Orton vs. John Cena match being less than supportive of that match. It was a match that many fans weren’t looking forward to given the amount of times we have seen this match-up. Cesaro is just an amazing talent and the lack of what they have done with him since his push at Wrestlemania 30 is a crime.

Another prominent figure from Wrestlemania 30 is of course Daniel Bryan. Bryan has been forced to have a second surgery and is out from Wrestlemania 31 for sure. A time line of 6-8 months has been given but some question if his career as a whole is potentially over. It has been a really sad story for Daniel Bryan in 2014. After winning the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and married Brie Bella, things took a horrible turn in the other direction. He lost his father who passed away soon after his marriage and than was put on the injured list with an injury to his neck.

We will be seeing Brie most likely in segments with Sister Nikki playing up the angle from their match at Hell in a Cell in which Brie is the assistant for Nikki for 30 days based on losing their match.

So get ready to hear 9.99 and free a lot on this coming episode of Raw. At least all the pink is done for another year. All for raising money for breast cancer but we do not need a month of programming to do so.

Condo On The Moon Episdoe 35: Happy Halloween

In the Halloween edition of the podcast Borbath and Walder tackle the real life horror story that is the WWE Network. Like the WWE network it is free to listen to them. A few thoughts on Hell in the Cell and NXT mixed into things. While we discuss the Michael Elgin situation with ROH that has turned into a shoot or is it all a work? All this for you to listen too while the trick or treaters are knocking at your door.


In November we will be focusing in on Final Battle coming up at the start of December for ROH. Will be looking to book some guests over the month and get ready for ROH's return to pay-per-view. So that is something we look forward to bringing your way.

If you are unable to listen via the website head over to Podomatic where you can access us directly there or via I-Tunes.

Hope everyone has a happy and safe Halloween. 

WWE Network Number Remains Low And Is Cause For Concern

So drum roll and the number is 731,000 WWE Network Subscribers. This has to be viewed as nothing short of an absolute failure to this point. Keep in mind that number includes international markets with the exception of U.K and a few other markets. According to the WWE in their conference call, International subscribers’ only make up for 11% of the current subscriber number. Which if you read through the smoke and mirrors suggests that anyone internationally that wanted the network is pretending to be American and already had it for the most part.

Here in Canada the network remains a massive mess up as well with Rogers still the only provider of the network in Canada to date. WWE in their quarterly conference call admitted that the network is servicing only 20% of the Canadian Market at this time. As I wrote last night Rogers is in yet another heated battle with competitor Bell media and this likely will be a roadblock to the network ending up on Bell. The two companies have battled over the carrying of their rival sports networks for several years as they have expanded.

This does not even get into the fact of the total lack of on demand content on the network here in Canada. Which the WWE did stat would be expanded by 500 hours on their main platform in the U.S. This does not seem like a lot given the massive library they own.

Bottom line if you're Canadian and know ways around the system to get U.S content on the web why would you bother subscribing through your cable provider? It makes no sense to do so what so ever at this point and likely in the future going forward.

WWE just seems to be throwing things at a wall and seeing what sticks at this point. This really has been a huge failure to this stage with how they have handled the network.

In terms of the product itself, it becomes very clear why Brock Lesnar is not being used on Survivor Series with offering the network for free in November. This makes the idea of paying Brock what is high rate to appear make little to no sense. It already in my opinion makes the idea of paying Lesnar what they do while moving away from pay-per-view insane. I fully expect Brock to head back to the UFC after Wrestlemania because the WWE will not be in a position to pay him what they have been for the limited amount of dates he is willing to work or that they can afford. Lesnar as the WWE Heavyweight Champion was an interesting experiment but it is not going to work long-term. You can argue it hasn’t worked short term either as the Network numbers in the time he has been champion remain pretty much flat or even negative depending on how you view it.

Why I say that is if you subtract the 11% international subscribers the WWE technically lost network subscribers overall on their net domestically.

When the concept of a WWE Network for first announced years ago who could have imagined it would have been such a horrible failure to this point. It took years to come up with a model to get it off the ground. Despite attempts to get on traditional cable in line with sports counterparts like the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL all have in the last decade. They were never able to pull that off and decided to elect to go this new digital media route and it has turned into a nightmare in many respects.

WWE gave no indication of looking to make significant cuts to personal at this stage, as they seemed to suggest they already had done a majority of that. Still at this stage who knows if you are expendable in this company at the moment you should feel very worried.

In the end, this has been a mess, which clearly has been a major distraction from the product as a whole since the launch of the Network.  It has been an awful year not even factoring in curveballs like injuries that has made things even more challenging.

Chris Harrington a past guest on Condo on the Moon has a great breakdown of the takeaways from the conference call today on Indeed Wrestling. We will reach out to have him on again to break all this stuff down. For now, it will be yours truly and Josh Lopez on Hangin on the Moon tonight and back with Chris Walder on the podcast tomorrow.

The WWE Stock to no ones shock is down on the day. Nothing like the epic one-day free fall when they announced their TV deal but still down trading at 12.50 (down 5.8%) on the day at the time this article was published. It opened the day at 13.03 and dipped as low as 12.07 on the day.

It is not as if this was not expected with WWE adding advertising to the Network it was a clear indicator this number was not going to be good and it wasn’t

Raw Has Fallen And It Can't Get Up

Dean Ambrose came back and for five minutes, it looked like he had saved Raw from the abyss that it had fallen into in his absence. Not even Dean can be on the screen for three hours straight. Raw is really suffering and adding another member to the long-term injury list in Roman Reigns is not helping it get better. Despite many thinking, it might be a massive chance for Dean himself to get to a different level. While we can debate about the individual players for days the team as a whole is getting a butt kicking the last five weeks.

Brian Fritz my colleague at Between the Ropes wrote an excellent piece on some ideas the fix what is wrong with the WWE. One of the points he made was about the WWE commentary team that I think almost everyone agrees with at this point. Michael Cole gets more passionate about a man in a bunny costume wrestling than an I-C title match. While the man himself defends Cole, you have to believe Jim Ross deep down knows Cole couldn’t hold his jock strap. Meantime you have Jerry Lawler who we all were concerned when he had a heart attack live on air a few years ago. Has the statue of limitations ended on this yet, because I challenge anyone to come up with a night since returning from that where Lawler has been even passable in his role? Let’s state the obvious, Jerry Lawler does not watch Smackdown and would not know a NXT superstar if he ran into them at a mall. He does not watch the product other than when he is on the air for Raw or a special event/pay-per-view. Some may question if he even does that. However, perhaps the most annoying of the lot of them is JBL. He is loud, bombastic, and more interested in cutting jokes on his buddy Michael Cole than doing his job. He seems to wander between being a heel announcer to neutral and even at times a babyface with no really reason for it.

While commentary is a major problem it is only the most obvious and in your face one on a weekly basis consistently. Lack of consistency hurts building fan bases for your various wrestlers and that has been obvious. Take a guy like Cesaro that fans have been rallying behind or trying for last year to 6 months. He seemed primed to be launched to the next level coming out of Wrestlemania only to have him play a secondary role to Brock Lesnar who was not even on the roster. If you look at all the ups and downs for Cesaro just as a fan, you feel frustrated. Imagine how that actual man that is Cesaro feels. You can just sense his desire to move up the ladder and I challenge anyone to give a solid reason why he should not.

Bray Wyatt has gone from working a program with John Cena and being the hottest thing in the WWE to forgotten  in the shuffle with no real program to speak of. We had a group of Xavier Woods, Big E and Kofi Kingston appear for a week and disappear the next. You have this idea of 50/50 booking in many feuds like the one with Dolph Ziggler and The Miz that has seen the Intercontinental Title change hands like it is an unwanted stepchild. Dean Ambrose may not be dead the fans caring about the Intercontinental Championship is on life support. This is not even mentioning the U.S title that even the most hardcore fan has to struggle to remember whom that champion is at the moment. The answer is Sheamus for the moment if you were struggling to remember.

There is also a lack of faith in the performers in 2014 that needs to change. We need to get away from the scripted promo for most of the roster and go back to the point form ways of the past. If you want a couple scripted lines this is fine. Is it always going to work and will you sometimes have a Nikki Bella I wish you died in the womb moment? Sure that is going to happen from time to time but more often than not you will get a better promo and performance overall. If you did not know the womb line, was an ad-lib by Nikki Bella.

I think if you allow this to happen than it will cause guys and gals to feel who their character is not just simply reading a script of someone else telling them who they are. The people that were great in this business did not have to be told who they were. At some point, they understood who they were and reacted as such in ever situation they would find themselves. Dean Ambrose is perhaps the one person on this roster that fully grasps this concept. He is the same guy every time we see him on our television screen.

Austin had the famous and perhaps over used line, about the best wrestling characters being an extension of who these people were in real life, just turning the volume up to like 10. Which is somewhat lacking in the current WWE.

Now let us talk about some women’s wrestling shall we. I will start with a simple statement that with opportunity it comes with responsibility. This simple statement applies to all of the ladies but specifically to the Total Divas crew. If the WWE is going to use you on its programming, based on Total Divas and not really anything else you need to step up.  It is on you to take these segments and matches and prove you are worthy of this valuable real estate that is television time. The gaffs we have seen in matches and the lack of being able to get across promos and angles is clearly evident.

While I love women’s wrestling, if the ladies are not going to step up to the plate, I can’t honestly defend them nor should I. They need to be held just as accountable as their male counterparts are and I question if that is really done.

What else can we say that has not been said so far? Here is a point about booking and predictability with in that.  Predictable booking is fine in the long-term but it isn’t in the short term. What I mean by this is simple I am fine with already having a clear idea where the company wants to head for Wrestlemania next year but not for Raw next week. The true success for Raw is when it embraces that old WWE slogan where the WWE was where anything can happen. That does not mean exactly having a bunny wrestling in a tag-team match. It means that I never really am 100% sure what could happen next. I am not going to the point of Vince Russo where I need to be treated like a kid with the patience level of a 6-year old in my viewing habits. I am just saying in the sense of needing to wonder what could happen from segment to segment as we go through the show. If I am wondering about what might happen next, that is less time I am looking at the clock wondering if this is over yet?

What also seems painfully clear even as an outsider is that Vince McMahon and his son-in-law Paul Lévesque (Triple H) seem to be at odds over a great number of talents and their futures. This validates why we have seen this wild inconsistencies in the booking of people. You only need to watch NXT to see that Paul seems to be much closer to understand what this generation of fans want in comparison to Vince. You can say C.M Punk might understand it better than both might combined still he isn’t concerned with how you have to implement that change in a corporate setting. Paul Levesque does as he has created the entire brand and developmental system that hardcore fans love. He is the guy that has brought in guys like Sami Zayn, Kevin Steen, Kenta, Prince Devitt and Adrian Neville along with others.

At the end of the day, the biggest problem might just be Vince McMahon himself. Think about it, he has been the guy behind the John Cena build we saw to the re-match with Lesnar, which no one really thought was believable. Vince McMahon might be too distracted, too old or just to out of touch to make this work as he has in the past. There is little question the WWE Network has been a huge distraction and is taking Vince out of the mix in terms of his normal hands on role with creative. I just wonder if it is BEST FOR BUSINESS to have Paul takeover creative until Vince is able to stabilize this network. If there, is not a split focus maybe that can lead to both having better success? This $9.99 campaign is about as successful as the show has been recently. Least it looks that way on the surface.

So what happened on Raw? Ambrose is back and Cena is trying to ride the coat tails of his popularity and a man in a bunny suit wrestled on Monday Night Raw. This was not a banner moment or episode in the longest running episodic program in television history.  

Raw has fallen and it can’t get up.

WWE Attitude Era Can Only Be Bought For $9.99 Now

It hit me watching the Monday Night Wars episode on DX like a bolt of lightning. The Attitude Era is never coming back and there are so many reasons why. Some of those reasons are obvious, some might not be as obvious. Let’s get started with the obvious ones that seem fairly clear.

The first thing that everyone points to is how the WWE has become a much more corporate based company. McMahon family business became a corporate entity by becoming an IPO and a publicly traded company on Wall Street. In doing that, suddenly, Vince McMahon became accountable for his actions to shareholders. He had people to answer too about the choices he made with his company. That might not have mattered as much as the change it brought to the company as a whole. WWE became a much more corporate based culture with people coming from the business world that you never have considered getting involved in wrestling in the past. WWE now employs executive types from professional sports leagues, writers from Hollywood and television shows. It was not like it use to be and it created a corporate culture that by its very nature is conservative in nature. It led to having buzzwords and a very different way of thinking that was not necessarily one that would connect with your average wrestling fan. WWE was now “putting smiles on people faces,” with the “WWE Superstars,” for the “WWE Universe.”

This led to the WWE doing more to address the people critical of the product as opposed the ones that truly supported it. It ultimately led to the shift back to a very PG and corporate friendly product that they felt would open up more revenue streams and allow them to create partnerships to greater merchandising their brand on a global scale.

WWE had more of a focus on being an entertainment company than simply just a wrestling company and part of why they were able to make this change was the lack of any true competition for what they do. They in a sense became a monopoly of the industry of pro wrestling and with the focus on expanding beyond that wrestling bubble to other ventures beyond it. Things like WWE Studios came as a result as the WWE tried to make themselves into players in the movie business as well. It has been far from a successful venture in terms of dollars and cents but was an example of the whole idea of expansion beyond just it is wrestling property as the core business driving the ship.

Wrestling has always been a reflection of society to some degree. Look around in 2014 the world has changed to a very politically correct one despite the rise of social media.  Which the WWE now reflects and being as we discussed a much more corporate based business that is being a good corporate citizen. Which speaks to how the WWE goes out of its way to have relationships with high profile charities and making those relationships very public and using that good will as positive public relations for the company. It makes is very easy to do with a corporate face to the company like John Cena that is a PG and squeaky clean role model that is commonly referenced as the WWE’S version of Superman. He is a long way from Stone Cold raising middle fingers in the air and drinking beer in the middle of the ring. Very different from DX doing crotch chops and making sexually based humor while being flashed by hot girls in the audience that looked like they came off the “Girls Gone Wild” video series. Stone Cold or Shawn Michaels were far from the corporate poster boy that John Cena is.

They were also far less agreeable with what they were told to do. Austin and Michaels both were said to be challenges to work with at times because they demanded having good storylines and would not just play ball with Vince McMahon. This was much easier to do when there was a legit alternative out there to go to in WCW until 2001. Still even without that, I do not think it would have changed Austin or Michaels all that much. Contrast that to Cena who recently referenced the idea of him turning heel as their (The WWE’s) decision. If Austin or Michaels wanted to change their character, they did not think with such a mindset. They had the guts to fight for what they wanted even to their own detriment at times. Austin once took his ball and went home and Shawn Michaels lost his smile a time or two. John Cena is always smiling and always looking like that perfect idea of what people think a corporate face and role model of a company should look like. C.M Punk was never that and was much more a guy that fit in that by gone era. He sits at home in Chicago as much as it is from a lifetime of wear and tear on his body it is about him being much more of the mindset of an Austin or Michaels back in the day. Punk connects with the true wrestling fan and even though people complain about it these days, it speaks to why his name is still chanted to this day at WWE events. He was in a way the last of a by gone era.

There is only one CM Punk and that is fairly obvious, but he is the exception to the rule. He can afford to be how he is having had a run at the top and being able to have saved that money to walk away. You hear many of the older wrestlers from the Attitude Era and even the 80’s talk about how different wrestlers in the locker room are in comparison to their day.  Things have changed and with no other place to go to make the kind of money you can in the WWE, it makes the idea of being a rebel behind the scenes not so appealing. It is a different world too where one tweet that goes out to the public can land you in the doghouse faster than you can say delete. While the idea of someone wrestling for a Ring of Honor, New Japan Pro Wrestling or Pro Wrestling Gorilla is exciting to wrestling fans. Those options are not exactly competitive in terms of the money that can be made in the WWE with the corporate machine behind you.

This whole culture of guys walking on eggshells seems to be very real from anyone that has left or been fired from the WWE will tell us. Talent is very scripted and the time limits for matches are far more a math equation than it has been in the past. Creativity in general in a corporate environment is encouraged but in reality is really discouraged based on the risk and reward factor involved in it.

Still in contrast to all of this is Vince McMahon, who still is the boss and that is the one constant in all of this, he thrives on confrontation. Which is easy to do when you own the company but harder to do when you’re a wrestler trying to make your way to the top of the WWE. If you hear those words that Vince has made famous in “You’re Fired” you do not have a very good landing spot in terms of earning the same income as discussed. Kind of a downer to realize that these guys that we are taught to think of as super heroes are worried about something as simple as job security. Wrestlers while they are trying to connect with us and being someone we can relate too but are never really attempting to be like us. In a world that has an economy that is far different from the late 90’s as well, that is something to be concerned about as well.

There is a positive in this with this generation of wrestlers from a pure moral point of view. They are so different from the partying there is no tomorrow attitude of the 80’s and 90’s talent. The chances we lose far too many wrestlers to premature deaths is far less with this modern group. 

The whole idea of health has changed in society and in the WWE as well. The concept of guys bleeding in the ring has become something that was once as part a part of wrestling as pepperoni is on a pizza. Times have changed and the idea of blood, chair shots and blows to the head are thought of in a different light by all. The WWE as part of this completely corporate change has had to be much more proactive in the concern for their talent’s well being. This has led to many things such as establishing re-hab for former talents that are in need of help. To the current talent being aggressively tested in terms of concussions and overall general health.  The idea of a wrestler sitting out for over a month with a concussion would be considered absurd just a decade ago.  Daniel Bryan openly has said he did not want to have his neck surgery in an interview with Sam Roberts, but the WWE forced him to have it. Prior to that, a couple of years ago Bryan had a match stopped and got into a shouting match with Triple H for the fact that it was. Triple H himself famously finished a match with a torn quad muscle something that never would happen today.

That whole concept that the show must go on has kind of died to some degree in modern times. It again erodes away at the idea of these guys being super heroes and makes them mortal and much more like us. Batista recently in an interview on Talk is Jericho recalled a story from before he has left the WWE in 2010 which he was fined 100 thousand dollars for bleeding by choice in a match against Jericho. Therefore, this change in mindset for the WWE has been evolving over time. While all of this might upset some, it does make for safer working conditions for the people who entertain us. Similar to contact sports like football the game has changed and while better morally it would be a lie to say we do not miss the hard-hitting action of the old days. It is part of why we love any form of combat sports regardless of if it is worked like the WWE or legit combat in the UFC.

That is another thing to consider the rise of MMA and the UFC in the modern era. It is harder for the WWE to compete with the real blood and guts of the UFC at times in its product. While the UFC will claim to be far safer than boxing, it definitely is a sport encourages the whole idea of the knockout and finishing your opponent. Brock Lesnar has been the one athlete that has been able to best embody that UFC attitude and transition it to the WWE Universe. What at the core of Brock Lesnar makes him work are a couple of things. First and most obvious is the fact he is a legit monster and with that comes a real belief that who could snap and destroy anyone at anytime in either company. There is that wonder of what will happen creating a real sense of unpredictability, which he brings. Combine that with the fact he is a legit mean person that people truly see and fear to some extent.

The UFC is not at the peak it once was and is learning what it takes to become a global company as the WWE had become before them. It leads to over exposure of your product and sometimes more can be less for the overall entertainment value. The UFC is like the WWE a business and has made business decisions to make the product bigger even if it hurts the quality overall at times. The big difference is the UFC enjoys the luxury of still being a private company and not having to open the books, as the WWE is required to do being a public traded company. While people moan and grow concerned with the WWE Network and its lack of success. The UFC Fight Pass can be presented as a success and we have no idea what their numbers are in terms of subscribers. They get to control the narrative of the company far more than the WWE. They may not be able to pre-determine their results like the WWE can but they can have much greater control over the presentation of their business.The UFC has sat back and allowed the WWE to be its test model in a sense of how to operate in a post pay-per-view world. While they can just sit back and observer at what the WWE does with its network.

What a UFC fight has that a WWE match is lacking is unpredictability. This is something that was once a WWE marketing campaign once billed as the place “where anything can happen,” it seldom lives up to that these days.

This has been a long drawn out way to explain to you that about the only way your going to experience the Attitude Era is to spend $9.99 on the WWE Network to see it. In fact the Network and the ability to go back and compare the two products side by side with what is going on today only fuels the love for that era and the lack of love for this one. There has been an appetite for change long before C.M Punk cut a promo about it and made himself the poster boy for change. Here is the cold reality though the change that most want might not be possible to have in 2014. Can the WWE move a little more to an edgy product if they decided too? Sure, they could do that, but if it is going to be compared to the Attitude Era, it is always going to fall short because the rules have changed.

It also should be stated just how talented that roster truly was from top to bottom. If we were being honest about it, how many of the current WWE roster would be able to hang in the Attitude ERA? Some could and would fit right in but most of the roster would not even make the dark match back then. It really is the truth.

I guess this article ends in a predictable and grumpy old man sort of way. Sorry kids but my WWE will always be better than your WWE. It is something that has been said in pro sports for years from generation to generation. This time for a variety of reasons, it is not just some old person trying to rationalize how their time was better. It is pretty much a factually based argument to be made.

We stick up our middle fingers to let you know that our WWE was number one. Cheer up though your video games make our video games look like they were created in the stone ages.  So at least you have that on us old folks.

 

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

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Happy Birthday Vince McMahon: Where Is WWE Heading Without Him?

Vince McMahon is 69 today and still by all accounts firmly has a grip on control of his company World Wrestling Entertainment. Many feel this will be the case until the day he dies and it seems morbid to talk about but what will be the WWE’s future with out him in the company by choice or by death. There have been many reports of him and his son-in-law Paul Lévesque clashing on various talents and the direction of where to take storylines and pushing of talents. This is all speculation based on the rumour mill, but it would explain some of the strange things we have seen with wrestlers being pushed one week and jobbed out the next. There has not been a lot of continuity in terms that with certain talents. Cesaro is one name that leaps to mind.

Seems the biggest obstacle the two have is their views on Roman Reigns as the next face of the company. Vince is not sold on the idea where Triple H is all in on it and has used his own in-ring persona to help that along. The Shield is likely the centerpiece of a WWE Creative with Paul Levesque having the final call. They are the first three guys he stuck his neck out for and brought up from when he took over developmental. Triple H often refers to the people coming out of NXT as his kids. He really gets that invested in these talents and The Shield is like his first-born Triplets.

WWE Magazine released the cover of its final edition and many would say fittingly it had the three members of the former group known as the Shield on the cover. Asking the question of who would be first to grab the WWE World Heavyweight Championship? Ambrose predicted at the end of a documentary done on the group that the future of the WWE runs through them as the collective threesome that was and in some ways will always be The Shield.

You can argue that Vince as great as he has been has somewhat lost his “Midas Touch” for understanding what fans want. At least in terms of his core audience, that was a fact C.M Punk made pretty publicly as part of an angle with him leaving the company. This ironically is something that he has done in real life some three years later.  Funny that is seemed the main advocate to keeping Punk appeared to be Vince McMahon. It seems an odd pairing in so many ways, but Punk I guess was the one guy that would push Vince’s buttons and give him a fight. Something that Vince is said to love and thrive on is the idea of conflict and competition. This likely explains why some of the best work from Vince McMahon came with his back up against the wall in the Monday Night Wars.

Some might say the WWE is in its weakest position since that time in some regards. The WWE Network was a massive undertaking and risk for the company. Something that is clearly floundering and still is to a great degree. Turning the price of their network into a punch line for wrestling fans might not have been “Best for Business” when all is said and done. Still the company despite big losses this year has responded with job cuts and is keeping the suits and ties on Wall Street happy to a degree. There ability to keep their customers happy is another issue and one that seems to be a real hit and miss affair from week to week. Heck, sometimes even on a day-to-day basis with this company. They did have a widely successful Summerslam, which they needed badly. Now the question is will they commit to this vision and see it through to Wrestlemania 31. All indications are they will at least for now. Keep in mind the plan last year got totally derailed at the Royal Rumble.

What the ultimate difference will be with Triple H and Stephanie McMahon in charge not just on television but in reality remains to be seen. Vince has clearly taken steps backwards allowing Paul and Stephanie to be front and center for major events these days. This is something that started it would appear with the launch of the Performance Center. This has been a project that is Paul’s vision and from conception to completion.  His work in the building of that and the creating of the brand NXT has larger been Paul working primarily on his own. You can see the difference in the NXT product as compared to the Raw product. It might also explain why the bumpy transition for a great many NXT talent to the main roster with Vince being added to the mix and him not being high on some of the characters that Triple H is. Some notable ones that come to mind are Paige and Bo Dallas. \

Therefore, if you want to know what the WWE will be like when Vince is dead good idea is to watch NXT. Where as C.M Punk referenced him in his famous promo the “dufus son-in-law” runs things. As for his idiotic daughter Stephanie there is little question she has stepped into the evil shoes of her father on camera. In terms of behind the scenes, she really has become the face of the company in the corporate sense. Her title is something to the effect of brand ambassador. A role that she is equally as good at even though it may come off as very sappy and disingenuous to wrestling fans.

It was confirmed over the weekend that Smackdown would be making to move to Thursdays, as Vince McMahon does not fear the NFL as TNA likely does and should. Heck Vince was the crazy guy that started the XFL...remember that? Actually Vince would rather you forgot as well as the failed WBF the World Body Building Federation. He lost his company’s name to a bunch of animal loving hippies in the World Wildlife Fund.  The point is Vince despite how he tries to come off has not always hit home runs with everything. In terms of the stuff involving just the wrestling aspects Vince has been very successful and basically has created his empire as the one true giant national promotion left standing.

He is a very interesting character from all accounts of anyone that has had dealings with him. Some of the things that seem to be commonly agreed on about Vince are that the WWE is in fact his life he really does not have hobbies or anything aside from working out. He also is awake to all hours of the night and is available to people almost literally on a 24-hour basis. They say you have to be a little crazy to be a genius and Vince McMahon fits that description. There is no Vince McMahon story that I would hear that I would not at lest consider it to be true given the nature of Vince.

If there is one thing, above all else about Vince McMahon that we have learned it is that he is willing to work with anyone if it means making a profit at the end of the day. Some people that have had the most bitter of break-ups with Vince have eventually always been welcomed back with open arms when it made sense for business. Some that comes to mind that truly shocked the world was the appearance of Eric Bischoff in the WWE. This being the man that tried to put Vince out of business with Ted Turner’s money. The one that we likely never saw happening was Bret Hart returning after he was screwed in Montreal and punched out McMahon in the aftermath. Nevertheless, he came back as well to do business with Vince some dozen years later. Will C.M Punk be the one that does not and stays away? Vince McMahon has taught us to believe in never say never when it comes to the WWE.

A legacy that Triple H has started to continue by bringing back a legend in Bruno Sammartino to the fold to be inducted to the WWE Hall of Fame and this past year the Ultimate Warrior. Some of Vince has clearly rubbed of on Paul and the amount of respect both Paul and Stephanie have for him is likely higher than anyone else has on earth.

One thing that will be a major change when the day comes that Vince McMahon no longer in charge will be with WWE production.  Kevin Dunn is loved by some by hated by many more and has been Vince McMahon’s chief butt kisser for years. He is said to be out once Vince turns over the reigns completely to Stephanie and Paul. That might be the most interesting change the WWE has seen in a long time the day it happens. Dunn has been in charge of Raw and Smackdown from basically the start.

It seems as if we are talking about the demise of Vince in this piece but let us face it this is a guy that beat the U.S government and brags about it. He in storyline invented his own religion and challenged God and Shawn Michaels. Slowing down let alone death are not likely words in his vocabulary despite having his own death that never was followed up on in storyline. The Limo that blew up but I am sure Vince would have ended up returning from the dead as only he and the Undertaker can.

In any case, love him or hate him he is the guy that built this business to what it is today so I wish him a Happy Birthday and many more. He has created a world that I have followed since my childhood, which is something that he has done for millions like me around the globe.

So God Damn It!!! Happy Birthday Vince McMahon!!!!

 

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. 

Lesnar vs Cena Re-Match: Change Or Back To More Of The Same?

Summerslam at least gave the illusion that things have changed with Brock Lesnar’s domination of John Cena. Last night it was announced on Main Event and on WWE.com that John Cena is invoking his re-match clause to get his re-match for the title at Night of Champions.

I firmly believe the only way you can make this match compelling and make people believe Cena stands a chance at all is to make this match an “I Quit Match,” that has yet to have been stipulated but this is the only thing that makes any sense after the complete domination of Cena at Summerslam. There are seeds planted to make this match as well with during the match having Brock tell the referee Charles Robinson to ask Cena if he quits on several occasions. In addition, in Paul Heyman’s speech he talked about John Cena’s not quitting during the match along with how he refused to die.

So, in the end if this is the match, have we actually turned that corner to change? Will the WWE allow Brock Lesnar to take away the one thing John Cena has left in his ability to never give up and build up Brock even stronger to be the most dominate champion the WWE has seen since perhaps Hulk Hogan? For two very different reasons mind you, but that same unbeatable nature.

Alternatively, will the WWE go back to good old Johnny, as Brock is likely under his current deal going to be off television for some time after Night of Champions? If Cena wins back the championship, it would be significant, not just for what it will mean for the direction of the company, but for wrestling history. Cena would tie the mythological number of 16 times, as a World Champion held by Ric Flair. While Flair would not be upset by this in the least, fans might not share his opinion. The reality is Flair may be an 18-21 time champion according to someone like Dave Meltzer who has covered the sport since back in the 70’s.

It also would be giving fans the double bird in some respect by giving the title back to Cena on several levels. Not to mention the title of beating the man that took Undertaker’s streak and being the guy to beat that man going to John Cena. Why on earth would you do that?  Cena goes on to be billed as the greatest World Champion of all-time. It would just be an Anti-Cena fan nightmare.

Factor in the WWE Network and people looking to re-subscribe for another six months may not know whom the company is going with between Cena and Lesnar. It like makes those people sit back and wait to see who actually wins at Night of Champions before they decide? If the WWE is going all in for Brock and hoping that will save the Network are they willing to make Cena the sacrificial lamb.

Let us look at this objectively even if you can’t stand Cena. He does sell a lot of merchandise and it is on foundation of his credo of hustle, loyalty and respect.  Like the Hogan mantra of train, say your prayers and take your vitamins a fourth was added.   In the case of Hogan, it was “believe in yourself.” For Cena that fourth has been “Never Give Up.” While we may scoff at it all, there is no question that never give up mantra has been adopted by children fighting life threatening diseases and this goes to the core of John Cena’s ties to “Make-A-Wish” children. While it will be part of a script, can we honestly see John Cena give up? It is a problem but one wrestling has given us an answer for in history. To have Cena be completely knocked out and unable to say the words would allow Brock to get a dominating win, but Cena still able to save face for all the people that support him and believe in his credos.

Still as much as we thought, Summerslam marked a change as we did last year with Daniel Bryan being placed as the top “babyface” in the company. It would not be the rise that people had hoped for him. It had stops & starts and Daniel never giving the chance to take advantage of a time without Cena around due to injury. Here we sit again thinking we could have had a real cosmic change to the WWE, but it can all be taken away at Night of Champions and lead to more of the same.

It is quite brilliant in a way to have some real interest in a match that was so one sided in the first match. Anything other than going in this, “I Quit’ direction makes no sense to me at all. It is the only way to me you can justify this re-match at this point.

Cena vs. Lesnar in the legit rubber match with both has a win. It is Brock vs. Cena III for all the marbles and the future of the WWE on the line.

A little much…..maybe but maybe not. 

 

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Triple H Says UFC is not Competition of the WWE

For the WWE and Triple H to draw the conclusion that UFC is not their competition is somewhere between a flat out lie and ignorance.Triple H tried to make several points to back up this ridiculous claim. The things he stated more explain the differences between the two than it explains why they are not competition. If you would like to see his full comments in context head over to Between the Ropes article on this a few days ago.

At the end of the day, WWE and UFC are competing for that all-important 18-35 male demographic. While WWE looks to other demos beyond that one, like children, they also try to attract women but so does UFC and have a stronger draw to do it. Ronda Rousey is taken more serious by the UFC than any woman is in the WWE. The one place I believe WWE has an advantage is with older demos as they have been less inclined to embrace the UFC over traditional boxing.

I keep hearing who the WWE thinks it’s competition isn’t, the same Triple H was tied to a quote a while back that not only was TNA not competition for WWE that they had zero interest in anyone in that company. Just who is the WWE’s competition by their standards? It has to be someone does it not.  There is a reason people are not giving you their $9.99 a month you would have to figure. There is a reason people with the option of the network are still paying 40 to 50 dollars more to watch some UFC pay-per-views.

The two companies currently are promoting the same type of fight. John Cena against Brock Lesnar this Sunday is very similar to the match-up of Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier. The build up for that UFC fight that has looked much like pro wrestling with the two fighters getting into a brawl at the presser. Neither of them suffered an injury so the fight is still on. A security member for UFC did end up with damaged ribs. In reality, you believe these guys want to kill each other. That may not be true and this might be, as much theatre as the WWE, but it is perceived as real hatred by most.

Triple H will make the argument that Cena against Lesnar war is more compelling because they can make it as such. We all know this is in the end, is a booked fight that is designed to be entertaining. In the UFC, you never know what you are going to get. You could have a situation like you had in which Ronda Rousey destroyed Canadian Alexis Davis in less than 30 seconds or a five round war like we saw in Toronto with Jones and his originally scheduled opposition Alexander Gustafsson. Some felt Jones lost that fight and he was set to have the much anticipated and hyped re-match with Gustafsson who had to pull out of the fight due to injury.

While John Cena and Brock in all likelihood go for 20-30 minutes in a designed to be compelling match with false finishes and moments that we as an audience are, suppose to question the outcome along the ride we are taken on. The winner of the match is known long before it ever happens by the competitors and the powers than be in the WWE. This is not breaking news or anything wrestling has been out of the closet for many years on it being any kind of a legitimate sporting contest. It is, as they like to say sports entertainment.

Isn’t the UFC in a sense in that same type of business with the lone difference being they do not manipulate their results. While you will not have ridiculous skits and some of the high jinx of the WWE, the goal of the UFC is to be both a sport and compelling entertainment. Even on a larger scale, haven’t all sports kind of sold out and become entertainment to some degree. I mean why is it when they have a big sporting event I have to sit through a pre-game or halftime rock concert that I did not ask to attend. That is they trying to add entertainment to go along side their sport. Just as I had no need for "Flo Rida" on Raw it is the same for whoever the band will be the plays before the opening game of the NFL season or at halftime at the NBA All-Star Game.

While the WWE tries to claim everyone is not their competition the simple fact is they likely are there competition and to state publicly otherwise is just foolish.  Paul Lévesque I do not consider a foolish man at the end of the day. Just look at the way he has over hauled the developmental system for this company as proof of his intelligence. I think he knows that the UFC is indeed a competitor for the WWE. Some would even be as bold as to claim a direct competitor as these two companies are really fighting for the same hearts and minds in terms of an audience.

Here is something to consider in closing which speaks to what a horrible job the WWE has done with their network roll out. More people will purchase a pay-per-view for the UFC headlined by the Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier fight. That is my prediction for what it will draw which means over 700,000 pay-per-view buys for the UFC and roughly 40 to 50 dollars more a pop. Floyd Mayweather did sell 2.2 Million on pay-per view, which I believe an even slightly higher price tag. While WWE claims that pay per view is dead, it really is not for the right events. It just might be dead in terms of who is willing to spend a high price for wrestling content on a monthly basis.

WWE can make all the claims they like about whom they are in competition with and who they are not. The reality is they do not decide that as much as the marketplace decides that for them. What are potential WWE fans spending their money on now?  Here would be a survey that would interest me greatly. The high point of wrestling was the Monday Night Wars and the “Attitude Era” for the WWE. I would love to know what all those fans who left the product are spending their money on these days. Would it shock anyone if many of them were now contributing their dollars to the UFC?

For the WWE to say they are not in direct competition with the UFC is about as crazy as McDonald is saying they are not in competition with Burger King because the Big-Mac is different from the Whooper. WWE is in competition with the UFC more than anyone else has a claim to be. TNA or Ring of Honor is not a serious threat to the WWE. It would be quite insane at this point to think they likely would be in the future.

Is Ronda Rousey a bigger star than John Cena, or will she be after this summer? You think someone in WWE is not thinking about that. You think the WWE would not welcome the UFC Woman Bantamweight Champion into the fold with open arms to be a part of an event like Summerslam or Wrestlemania.  They would in a heartbeat, but Dana White is not going to allow it. Does this sound like two businesses’ that are not in direct competition to you?

Dana knows this as well as Paul Lévesque knows this they in many cases are looking to earn the same dollars from the same people’s pockets more and more. Something for both to consider is the amount of people that class themselves, as fans of both is growing larger and larger by the day. Not unlike in the “Attitude Era” when many just simply were fans of both WWE and WCW and wanted to watch whoever gave them the best show.

The UFC lost the early battle when they launched UFC Fight Pass at the same time as the WWE Network. People were saying look at how much better the WWE Network was in comparison. Looking back now it seems the UFC had the right idea with a relatively low risk product which attracted the craziest loyal portion of its fan base and have little risk to the overall product. WWE has put almost its entire company’s future tied to this network and has suffered for doing so.

It is not to say the WWE cannot turn it around, but it has been a much rocky road for them. At the end of the day should they survive it, the UFC can say that looks like a hell of an idea why do not we do that too. Difference being they have not taken the hits the WWE has in being the first to do something so revolutionary but can easily be the second and made a nice profit while doing so. UFC also being a private company never has to answer to shareholders or reveal keep numbers about its successes or failures.

If Triple H honestly believes, he is not in competition with the UFC he is about as ignorant as TNA thinking that they are in competition with him. He knows they are, but tried in my view unsuccessfully, to make what in the end is a bogus argument to make in the first place. What does the WWE gain from it really? Not a heck of a lot if you ask anyone if they really care about this the answer would be no. 

Lesnar vs. Cena and Jon Jones vs. Cormier are about as similar in nature of main attractions as the companies have had. WWE bills Lesnar against Cena as the biggest fight of the summer. Many will say that it is going to be Jones and Cormier with that biggest fight that takes place on September 27th a little after summer is over, so WWE is not technically lying. How these two events do will be interesting to watch.

Game on, even if “The Game “says it isn’t a game at all.