Most Improved Star Of The Year Award - Washington David Awards For Excellence In Sports Entertainment

This Washington David Awards For Excellence In Sports Entertainment award, the Most Improved Star Of The Year, goes to the most improved wrestler or wrestling personality in the last year.



6. Bully Ray

Bully mother f'n Ray.  The best promo guy in the wrestling business, officially.  Brother/Bubba/Bully Ray was always a great trash talker as part of The Dudleyz/Team 3D, but he has really come into his own as a singles wrestler this year since turning heel on D-Von.

And while you could say Bully Ray is one of the best on the mic, it would be foolish to say he is a bad in-ring worker.  Having gotten into shape and dropped a lot of fat this year, The Bully - as Mike Tenay affectionately refers to him as - has had quite a few top matches including a match of the year candidate with AJ Styles in their last man standing bout.

After a great career as a tag team wrestler, Bully Ray has found his niche as a singles star and elevated himself to a position where fans are craving to see him win a world title.  As The Bully said in a backstage promo during his initial push earlier this year, in other words: "I would love to win the World Title.. can you imagine how pissed the wrestling world would be if Bully Ray was World Champ?"

While many smarks would have been pissed off at the time if that had come true, even smarks have some sense and they too have come around to Bully Ray being one of the best wrestlers in the business today.  Who says only push youth?

5. James Storm
While Beer Money were the best tag team of 2010, the former TNA tag team champions got over on their superb wrestling abilities in their long series of matches with the Motor City Machine Guns.  Everyone knew James Storm and Bobby Roode could go in the ring - but what everyone did not know was just how good James Storm was on the mic.

Clearly the Shawn Michaels to Bobby Roode's Marty Jannetty, James Storm was the breakout star of Beer Money during the Bound For Glory series finale - in which Bobby Roode undeservedly won.  Just like Bully Ray is currently doing, James Storm carried Bobby Roode as a singles wrestler via his microphone skills, putting over his tag team partner in the build for his TNA World Title match at Bound For Glory with Kurt Angle.  It became obvious who the real talent of the group had been all that time.

Though Storm is not as ripped as his former tag team partner, part of his appeal is his everyman look.  A little on the fat side he may be, but it doesn't stop him from looking twice as tough and a more legitimate threat in the ring than Roode does since his cliched and uninspired heel turn.

Winning the world title, albeit for a brief amount of time, was clearly the highlight of Storm's year and his whole career.  Roode may have stole his thunder for now, but when the TNA bookers realise Storm has more potential to be a main event player, he will be right back up there with the best of them.  A win over Kurt Angle at the latest PPV shows he isn't done on top just yet.

4. Cody Rhodes
When Cody Rhodes first appeared on Raw all those years ago, getting slapped by Orton before being schooled by Hardcore Holly - it seemed that the current Intercontinental Champ was just another undeserving and pathetic-looking 2nd generation star who had got a WWE contract through family links alone.

How wrong was I, as Cody Rhodes has since elevated himself to become an almost permanent fixture in my fave five.  While he was decent in Legacy, Rhodes really took off in 2010 when drafted to Smackdown - debuting his "Dashing" gimmick.  After cutting a hilarious semi-shoot promo on the fat, wasting Matt Hardy, people began to take notice of Dusty's son.

But he'll never be as good as Goldust, they cried.  How wrong they were.  While the "Dashing" gimmick was fun, the best was yet to come - as at the beginning of 2011 the new Cody Rhodes was born.  "Hideous" and "Grotesque" were the words standing out from his titantron video.  After legitimately breaking his nose, Rhodes was forced to wear a protective mask which he worked into his character and so began a 4-month feud with Rey Mysterio in where Cody showed his real signs of being a future world champion.

Since his "Undashing" gimmick, a series of excellent matches and brilliant promos, Rhodes has emerged as one of the brightest talents in the WWE and for sure a world champion sometime in 2012. He has elevated the status of the IC title, just as he said he would do and brought more credibility to that belt than Daniel Bryan has reduced credibility from the world title.

Now unmasked and with plenty of character depth, Rhodes has all the freedom and potential to move up to the next level.  A long feud with a legitimate main eventer such as Randy Orton or John Cena in 2012 will take him there.

3. Mark Henry
When I try to think of the worst aspects of WWE in the past few years, the tag team of MVP and Mark Henry often come to mind.  While MVP was brilliant as the heel U.S. champion on Smackdown, tagging with Mark Henry in matching red outfits after a big losing streak was the sign of his demise, which would eventually see him leave for a new challenge in NJPW.

But Mark Henry didn't even have that period in his career he could look back on that MVP had.  A feud or two with Undertaker and a run as ECW champion was okay, but nothing people would remember in 10 years time.  No, Mark Henry would undoubtedly be remembered as the guy who got Mae Young pregnant and subsequently became the proud father of.. a plastic hand.

Then, the 2011 draft came and Mark Henry was moved to Smackdown as one of the "big moves" shown on the draft edition of Raw.  A collective groan was emitted within the wrestling world, as a draft pick was seemingly wasted on the happy-go-lucky guy in the big red Kool-Aid outfit.  But their groans were about to be proven erroneous and short-sighed, as Mark Henry turned heel that very same night, clotheslining John Cena.

Big deal, we cried - Mark Henry sucks heel or face.  But how wrong we all were.  The world's strongest man went on to become one of the biggest draws of the year in WWE and the Smackdown ratings went in the opposite direction to Raw's - they rised.  Of course, there was more to that than just Mark Henry, but he was a vital ingredient in the success of Smackdown this year.  His feuds with Sheamus, Randy Orton and Big Show were all incredible and featured surprisingly good matches - a rare feat for such a big guy (especially 2 big guys, when it came to his matches with Big Show).  It was the first time in a long time the fans got to enjoy a dominant heel destroy everything in his path, and suddenly with his tough bastard ad-libbing and slapping up WWE production staff, Mark Henry felt fresh.  Then he became the World Champion and you know the rest.

2. Gunner
If you told me this time last year than Gunner would become one of my favourite wrestlers in TNA, I would have said: who's Gunner?  Oh, that guy who acts as security for Jeff Jarrett and Immortal?  He's a wrestler?

Fast forward to twelve months later, and Mr. Intensity is piledriving Garrett Bischoff onto the exposed concrete.  Concrete exposed by his new manager Ric Flair, no less.

He held the TV title for a while, but Gunner really had his breakout moment after pinning Mr. Anderson and Sting 2 weeks in a row, both of whom were the world champion at the time of defeat.  It seemed like he was about to break out as the next big thing in TNA and perhaps even wrestling as a whole.  His backstage promos were cold, calculating and believable.  His in-ring work was hard-hitting and exciting.

But his push was put on hold and not even featured in the BFG series, a (fake) undefeated streak (17 wins and 3 losses) that Gunner deserved was given to the drab, boring Crimson.  When a wrestler is named after the colour of his hair, you know he has no distinguishable charisma.

Still, Gunner has re-emerged towards the end of the year and now being managed by Ric Flair after Immortal has crumbled into ashes, a big feud with Garrett Bischoff going into 2012 is just the ticket to get him back on the map.  Do I smell a World title next year?

1. R-Truth (Winner)



If a heel turn ever saved someone's WWE career, it was R-Truth in 2011.  The phony "What's Up" rapping entrance, which was boring from the moment it was conceived, gave way to one of the funniest and most charismatic superstars in wrestling today.

John Morrison was hit with the Jannetty curse for a 2nd time, as after Miz had gone on to greatness after Miz 'n' Morrison, R-Truth went on to main event another 2 PPV's this year after turning heel and blowing smoke in his former tag team partner's face.  Having already been in 2 main events (if you count the Royal Rumble) - R-Truth took his tally to an impressive 4 PPV main events after turning heel - a WWE title match with John Cena at Capitol Punishment, the PPV which was built around Truth himself.  And then being involved in the Survivor Series main event against the returning Rock as part of The Awesome Truth with The Miz.  A dream year for a guy who this time last year was rapping to fat kids in the audience "What's up?" to which they would reply in their high-pitched voices, and off-time with the music  "...What's up?"

But it isn't just Truth's stellar mic work and gimmick that needs to be recognised - his in-ring work has for a long time been great.  He just needed this gimmick and the feuds he has had this year to compliment his wrestling abilities.  Now that he has been suspended (for smoking weed presumably), he could come back as heel or face and his gimmick would work either way and suit his in-ring style, such is the genius of his new creation.

And so I could go on about how funny Truth's promos were and how he was the greatest thing in wrestling for a number of months - the reason to tune in  to Raw every week - but the best thing I could do is post up a video.  So here it is:



One last thing that really shows how high Truth set the bar this year - he actually made the "WHAAAAAT?" chants become something funny to appreciate and laugh along with, instead of being tired and old.  Dont what me!

Power 23 - Final Week of 2011

The NSC Power 23, week 1, beginning Monday 19th December, ending Sunday 25th December (Christmas day.. merry christmas!)

23. Primo and EpicoThe WWE revitalising its tag team division is a good thing and it has the right idea - giving teams character that make them easily identifiable.  While Air Boom are the star power (albeit boring) team of the division, Primo and Epico are looking like a good filler team that that are simply based on their latino heritage.  They also put on good matches.  Rosa Mendes seems like she will be the real breakout star of the team however - she reminds me of a skinny, gyrating, GTA street hooker version of Vicki Guerrero with an even more annoying voice.

22. Jeff Hardy
It's been a pretty bad week for wrestling when Jeff Hardy makes it onto the Power 23 list.  But to be fair, he wasn't that bad this week.  His theme tune is the least annoying out of his 3 home-made theme tunes so far and teaming with Sting for the first time ever was a cool move.  The street fight was fun despite being hard to follow.  His promo work sucked and he looked devoid of charisma as usual, but I can look past that for one week and give him a spot on the sacred Power 23.  Hardy gets his "one more shot" - It is Christmas after all.. Merry Christmas, to each and every one of us :)

21. Sting
Sting wasn't particularly great on Impact this week, but he's getting by here on the list for his new catchphrase - "Ta-ta for now".. Who the hell thought that up?  It's fuckin' hilarious.  Not David Otunga carrying a coffee flask levels of genius, but it's good.  It was cool to see Sting wrestle again and I think he must be one of the only people in the wrestling business that can get someone over by pandering to them - as he did here with Hardy.  A respectacle number 21 position for the Insane Icon.  While the catchphrase is getting him by for now, he needs to pick up his act and get back to the winning ways of the summer during the height of his Insane Icon gimmick.

20. Alicia Fox
Probably the highlight of the diva's division in WWE at the moment, not that that is saying much.  But giving Beth Phoenix a big legit lump on her head made me laugh enough to get her into the Power 23 this week.  Been so sick of Beth and Natalya and that whole crew of smarky "good workers" including her pathetic boyfriend CM Punk.  As for Fox, the animal hat is good, as is her hilarious two line irrelevant promos that she is cutting after her matches lately.  Just about slips in at number 20.  Will she remain next week?  This is where things get tough.

19. James Storm
I have been loving James Storm as a singles wrestler since the Beer Money split, but he wasn't firing on all cylinders this week in his promo as he had been doing as of late.  It was good, but not up to his usual high standards.  It was really just a lead in for Kurt Angle's.  Really liking his theme and general attire though and he is 100 levels above Robert Roode.  Despite Roode being the current world champion, he is definitely the Marty Jannetty of Beer Money Inc.  Sorraaaaaay about yo' daaaaaamnnnnn luck..

18. The Usos
Like Alberto Del Rio, the magic of The Usos entrance is still not tiring for me.  They hit hard in the ring and with their new tribute to their father Rikishi move in the corner, they're getting more character with every match.  What the tag team division needs is guys like these and Epico and Primo to have a little bit of promo time backstage.  Just generic backstage altercations will suffice, just to give them all a bit of an edge and some appeal outside of just wrestling great matches.  Despite losing to Epico and Primo this week, they are still the star team of the growing division in my eyes and hopefully they will get a run with the straps sooner rather than later.

17. Madison Rayne
With Karen Jarrett sadly off our TV screens for the time being, Madison Rayne has stepped up to reclaim her position at the top of the ladder when it comes to women in sports entertainment.  The killer for me was when she called out the boring TNT (Tara and Tessmacher) tag team in her fake sweet voice before punctuating it with a screaming "NOW!"  Her theme is also still one of the best in wrestling today.. She's a killerrrrrr queeeeeen.  Her antics as referee were hilarious and unlike Daniel Bryan, she knows how to tell a story in the ring.  But the funniest thing about this whole segment was the Impact Zone chanting USA, USA, USA.  Seriously, whut tha heyull was that about?  The Impact Zone attendees looked especially retarded this week, with hardly a normal wrestling fan in sight (if such a person even exists).  Expect Madison Rayne to only rise in the coming weeks if she continues to have the spotlight shone on her with Karen Jarrett out of the picture.

16. Booker T
If Jerry Law had got up during a young rival's match and started throwing him off by singing, as Booker T did to Cody Rhodes on Smackdown, I would be pissed off at the cheap, babyface, crowd-pleasing antics on display.  But when Booker does these things, there's something that is actually hilarious about it.  I think it is just his general dimness on commentary and overall likeable persona that helps him pull off being the annoying babyface in his feud with Cody.  While Booker T has had a fantastic year - and if the Power 23 had existed, would have no doubt been on it throughout the whole year, with the greatest of ease, for his brilliant commentary work - he is beginning to fall slightly from where he should be.  Just slightly.

15. Eric YoungEric Young has taken the crown from Santino Marella of most naturally funny in-ring worker.  Not only that, his skits are superb too.  His dinner date with ODB this week on Impact had me in hysterics and the match was just as funny too.  ODB played a large part of this too and hopefully they continue to be a tag team for the coming weeks.  It was unfortunate to see Anarquia, who has bags of potential, getting pinned by ODB - but it was worth taking one for the team to get this great new team over.  Definitely a Vince Russo creation.

14. Teddy Long
Smackdown.  Friday night.  The wind was calm, the sun had fell and a lone wolf howled in the cold chill of the night.  And there fought Dolph Ziggler and Daniel Bryan.  A good match, a fine bout indeed, but something was missing.  A vital ingredient missing to turn a passable dish into a great one of much succulence.  Two of the ingredients would eventually make their way into the pot - Big Show and Jack Swagger.  Fun, spices that tingled your tastebuds - but still - there was something missing.  Then, his music hits.  You know it's the Mac Militant.  The crowd are on their feet.  Biting their nails.. Parents, holding their children in anticipation and so they waited, patiently.  There, Teddy Long walks out onto the stage with a live microphone and raises it to his mouth to speak.  What could he possibly be about to announce?  What in the world has Teddy Long got in store for us humble peasants within the WWE universe?  The live crowd were baying, for something, for anything.  Tell us Teddy, what is to be your command?  What is it that you have come to tell us?  Then the Mac militant opens his mouth to speak and those three sacred, familiar words exit his mouth and boom over the arena's loud speaker like an orgasmic smack to the head.  Tag. Team. Match... Holla!

13. John CenaAs usual, John Cena is carrying Raw on his back and getting none of the credit for it.  As the ratings came out for what was one of the worst episodes of Raw I have ever seen, it was unsurprising to me to see that the trio of Punk, Ryder and Bryan made for the worst rated main event of 2011.  Cena and Kane's segment was one of the better rated of the show, and rightfully so.  The angle is probably the second most intriguing in WWE right now (first being the teaser videos for 2nd January) and Cena is doing just as much as Kane to make it so, with brilliant promos and great acting.  I wondered who Cena would feud with up til WrestleMania, and doubted we would get anything good - but this is the perfect fit for him.  Of course Cena will have to beat Kane clean eventually, and the same smarks who came in their pants for Daniel Bryan winning the World Title will cry foul at this - but he is in the biggest main event in history in 4 months time so of course he has to go in being the top dog.  Idiots.

12. Bully RayIf I had been writing this new, unique Power 23 concept for the past year, perhaps I would have got tired of writing how brilliant Bully Ray is on the mic.  But I haven't, so it is an absolute pleasure to tell you all, my humble legions of adoring fans, that Bully Ray is indeed the best master of the microphone in the wrasslin' business today.  Yeah, he's cut better promos this year - many.  But he was still gold here.  Russo has the right idea by pairing The Bully with the dullard champion Bobby Roode, who simply isn't getting over (except with the smarks, but who cares what they think).  He made Roode seem passable this week, which is a big big testament to the skills of Bully Ray.  He also helped carry the rookie champion through a tough main event, along with veterans Sting and Hardy.  While the smarks want a purely "new generation" across the board, little do they realise how much Bully Ray and others are helping this generation get over.

11. Wade BarrettWhile Vince is going senile and allowing his company to be trampled all over by the ratings-destroying trio of CM Punk, Daniel Bryan and Zack Ryder, Wade Barrett and Randy Orton are quietly having one of the best feuds in the WWE right now.  Of course, the smarks are up in arms because Randy Orton has won a couple of matches - and by their logic since he is a main event star he should be losing every single match he has clean (yeah, you tell me..).   Barrett has stepped his in ring work up a level as of late and this version of their feud is much better than their forgettable one around this time last year on Raw, that culminated in the Survivor Series 2010 main event.  Expect to see this feud play out one day again in a few years, probably as a WrestleMania main event title match.

10. Randy OrtonJust edging Wade Barrett in their brilliant, attitude era-like feud is Randy Orton.  Credit has to be given to Orton for allowing himself to be booked into so many mid-card feuds and getting over all these guys for the future in the last year.  Of course, this dedication and loyalty should be rewarded with a WrestleMania title match (something I hope Daniel Bryan is no part of).  The backstage brawl on Smackdown was brilliant and felt like something from past eras.  Orton not saying a word as he methodically decimated Wade Barrett was brilliant and despite the fact some people write him off as being bad on the mic, Orton's general demeanor and presence is all that he needs to get by on.  Not everyone has to be The Miz or Chris Jericho.

9. Mark HenryA slight fall down the chart for Mark Henry, who has been a constant in my fave five for the past six months or so.  Losing the world title at TLC was painful for me to watch (especially when Daniel Bryan ended up becoming World Champion), but his promo work on Raw and Smackdown has been enough to redeem himself and keep him in the top 10.   It is unfortunate that he seems to have suffered a legit injury during the peak time of his career and I would loved to have seen him main event WrestleMania in a World Title match, but it seems that will no longer be the case.  One final match with Big Show at 'Mania would do it for me though, and hopefully that is where things are going.  Key moment of the week for the world's strongest man had to be the "Sexual Chocolate" chants on Raw.  I believe #sexualchocolate was trending on Twitter too.. Surprised WWE didn't brag about that one.

8. Dolph ZigglerDolph Ziggler's new sit-ups during his matches is yet another touch of genius to his brilliant work.  Those who say Daniel Bryan is the best worker in WWE clearly haven't seen Dolph Ziggler in action (or Orton, or Christian etc.).  In a week where he lost the title to the one-note Zack Ryder and lost another two matches on Raw and Smackdown - it is a testament to his developing mic work.  "Hashtag Heel" has to be one of the best catchphrases I've heard since Sting's "ta-ta for now" and certainly better than CM Punk saying "pipeboooomb" in his whining, nasally voice. I don't even want Ziggler to get his US belt back though and hopefully he does a walkout angle on his rematch with Ryder so he can look a level above him - as he is (he even shows him up on his own Youtube show).  Why?  Because it's time to put Ziggler in the WWE title picture.  This time last year he was feuding with Edge for the World Title on Smackdown.  Now it's time for him to go for the big one and take it off the ratings destroyer CM Punk.

7. Big ShowI've been surprised by how good Big Show has been since his return.  Like Mark Henry used to be, Big Show was always someone I dreaded appearing on the show.  Void of passion and boring, plodding matches used to be the usual fare with the man formerly known as The Giant, Big Show had not been relevant to me since the Jeri-show tag team.  But after his comeback from injury, Show has been one of the hottest commodities in WWE today.  His acting during his backstage interview with Josh Matthews was first class - who says wrestlers can't act?  Seeing that vanilla midget Daniel Bryan up next to him and Mark Henry in the ring was a blast, as it just showed who is a real superstar in this business and who isn't.  The feud with Henry is seemingly continuing - and good, because it has been great.  The added sound effects to the WMD haymaker on Smackdown really helps as well.  WWE production is brilliant as usual.

6. Cody Rhodes
Cody Rhodes losing to Zack Ryder on Smackdown, are you serious bro?  This week from hell has to end, and hopefully come tommorow's Raw it will have.  Ideally, Rhodes gets a big win over Ryder on Raw to get his heat back and elevate the status of the IC title above the US title - which is what should happen.  Cody, like Henry, is falling out of my fave five, but no doubt he will be back by next week.  Only by bad booking decisions has he fell to 8th place - which, in this tough climate of talented superstars - is highly commendable.  His entrance and theme tune are probably the best in the bizness right now.  That psychotic smile followed by the sudden grimace and furrowed brows is priceless.  And not in the Ted Dibiase (Marty Jannetty of Legacy) sense.  But I just remembered his match with Santino.  That was great, seeing Rhodes dominate and getting another clean win, further elevating himself and the IC title.  Let me bump him up to 6th.

FAVE FIVE TIME!

5. Kurt AngleApart from the first couple of weeks when he took out Crimson and some other jobbers, I haven't enjoyed any of Kurt Angle's heel work in TNA thus far.  However, all that changed on this week's Impact when he seemingly reverted back to his old WWE heel self and took on a bunch of rednecks in a hilarious skit that was blatantly written by the genius himself, Vince Russo.  That was enough for me to elevate Kurt Angle right into the Fave Five this week.

4. KaneKane is the most interesting thing on Raw right now and what he did to Cena was one of the most compelling moments on Raw for a long time.  Grabbing his face after a stiff uppercut and then ripping off the Rise Above Hate shirt.  It's the subtleness of this whole angle that intrigues me the most.  The new mask and synthetic hair are awesome and the initial metal mask that he removes after his ring entrance is even better.  Everyone knows Kane is one of the better in-ring workers in the WWE, along with Cena, and when the two finally hook up it is going to be one hell of a show.  See, this is wrestling.

3. David OtungaThe coffee flask, the bad sweaters, the bow-ties.  David Otunga is a future world champion, mark my words.  Right now though, he is brilliant in his #2 role as a corporate lawyer for Laurinaitis.  The promo he gave on Smackdown to call off Henry and Big Show's match was genius, replete with the phony, liberal Harvard lawyer voice that we all love to hate.  This is a real wrestling heel right here and given enough time, Otunga could be one of the top draws in WWE.  Landing himself in the prestigious bronze medal position on the first ever edition of the Power 23 is a testament to the brilliance of Otunga's work and his rise in the WWE from the days of NXT.

2. John LaurinaitisMr. Excitement continues to be one of the best things on Raw.  Towering above CM Punk in all his backstage scenes, Laurinaitis continually comes across as the sympathetic character to the annoying, spoilt brat teenager-like CM Punk, complete with the nasally voice and the "Look mom, I'm breaking the rules!" emo tattoos.  There was a time when CM Punk was regularly in my fave five and that was up until about August of this year when the arrogant arsehole of his real self became his on-screen persona.  Before then, he had been playful and funny - now, he is going the route of Kevin Nash in WCW days and burying everyone in his path with comments that only hinder the promotion as a whole and in turn, himself (such as calling out Del Rio's gimmick as being boring).  But at least Kevin Nash was funny, at least he had the brains to cut good, engaging promos.  When CM Punk pretends to vomit for two minutes, with not a single person in the audience laughing, the only funny thing about that is the hypocrisy of him telling Nash he was a ratings killer.  Look were the ratings are now Punk.  Now who is puking?  But this isn't all about Punk, this is about John Laurinaitis, Mr. Excitement.  The interim Raw general manager and the executive vice president of talent relations.  That last sentence alone being a catchphrase is enough to keep Laurinaitis at number two in my fave five.

1. Michael ColeSave us Cole.  Save us from this new era of mediocrity.  Save us from this gang of hyenas that have come out of nowhere and took all the belts while declaring "If you don't get it, you'll be left behind."  While the huge drop in ratings would dictate that CM Punk's statement is wrong and his vanilla midget troupe will infact be the ones left behind eventually, Cole is the only thing right now that is making Raw bearable to watch.  It is evident with the disgust in his voice that he has no respect for Daniel Bryan, just as the majority of the watching audience does not either.  When Jamie Noble with lighter hair wins the big gold belt, how are we supposed to watch and support the WWE?  We can't. So we turn to Cole.  And just like he has for the last year, Cole has turned terrible shows and awful angles into something watchable with his masterful commentary - dissecting the steaming plate of shit that Vince is sadistically serving us this Christmas for dinner.  Even the Little People's Court episode of Raw was better than this weeks piece of shit episode (God, I would have loved Cole to have been heel around that time for that episode).  Cole is just the #1 star in the WWE right now and I'd love to see him beat Daniel Bryan for the world title at some point down the line (in a comedy heel way before all you smark fools get on my case).  Come on Vince, give the fans what we want.  We're sick of this crap and not only that - we're sick of Jerry Lawler bringing down Cole's commentary at every oppurtunity.  Just fire the guy already, he's 10 years past his sell by date - and bring in Josh Matthews and Booker T to do both Raw and Smackdown with Cole, as the trio have natural chemistry together.

My Review of TLC

Breakout Star Of The Year Award - Washington David Awards For Excellence In Sports Entertainment

This Washington David Awards For Excellence In Sports Entertainment award, the Breakout Star Of The Year goes to the best newcomer to a promotion within the last year.

5. Austin Aries
As Austin Aries made his way down the Impact Zone ramp donned in some kind of shit purple cape for the first time, me and my friends thought - who is this guy?  Another lame skinny loser from ROH who thinks he's a big shot.

Then the match started and off he went, proving us all wrong.  Finishing off some jobber with a sick-looking brainbuster, the saviour of the X Division was finally here.  A little guy who actually carried himself like a main eventer, who didn't look nervous when he spoke, who could get away with his size because he acted like a man and not a boy.

What the X Division was lacking was someone like Aries, someone to give the division credibility.  And sure enough, he became X Division champion within a couple of months of debuting - and rightfully so.   While Kendrick had his funny moments through the year (calling Hogan a reptilian being the highlight) his in-ring style was bland and looked weak and ineffective.  Aries hits much harder and his stiffness paid off for him.

But unfortunately Aries has fizzled out towards the end of the year after his impactful debut.  The returning Kid Kash began to steal his spotlight and looked like the real star of the X Division, the new alpha male.  Hopefully next year things will pick up for him again and it would be nice to see Aries against some bigger opponents.

4. Mason Ryan
"OMG BATISTA HAS JOINED THE NEW NEXUS WTF" were the collective thoughts of the Raw viewing audience as Mason Ryan made his debut attacking [insert whoever Punk was feuding with at the time here], and no doubt if WWE was as obsessed with Twitter as they are now then "Batista" would have been a trending topic popping up in the bottom left corner of the screen.

But it was not Batista joining the New Nexus that fateful night, it was Mason Ryan.  While his debut year has been far from impressive, with no notable feuds or matches to speak of, the potential in Ryan is what sees him enter at number 4 on this list.

The big man from Wales has all the qualities to get a big push in the next year - i.e. he is one of the most muscular guys the WWE has ever seen.  You can only imagine what he would have looked like during the 80's and 90's when everyone was on steroids.  If guys like Evan Bourne and R-Truth can get busted on the Wellness policy and Ryan can't, then I don't know what he is eating for breakfast.

3. Garrett Bischoff
In one of the top contenders for match of the year (Hulk Hogan vs. Sting, Bound For Glory), Garrett Bischoff had his star-making moment.  Like Clark Kent turning into Superman, the lowly referee Jackson James became the rebellious son of Eric Bischoff, Garrett.  And not only was Garrett no longer a referee, he was the breakout superstar for TNA in 2011.

Flashing the Bischoff crest on his left pec with pride was another defining moment for the young star, standing up to his father for his evil wrong-doings in Immortal.  And so begins the father-son feud between the two Bischoffs which will likely (hopefully) run long into the next year.  One can only hope TNA brings in David Flair, son of Ric, to have a dream feud with Garrett Bischoff, son of Eric.  Perhaps in 2012?  Sometimes dreams do come true (see: Kevin Nash returning to the WWE).

2. Hunico
The lights dim down to a golden hue, the ethereal new age music begins, summoning spirits of the Aztecs, the rich heritage of the luchadors, the soul of Mexico.  The trampoline is in place for the big entrance.  And here he comes, Latin America's biggest wrestling superstar and the man that the all-mighty, all-knowing Wrestling Observer newsletter (more like MMA Observer these days) dubbed the "Wrestler of the year" back in 2006.

And then Sin Cara, a.k.a. Mistico, botches his ring entrance.  Then he botches in his debut match.  And again, and again.  And then he fails the wellness test.  Then he fucked his leg up with an injury.  And the big project, designed to be the next Rey Mysterio to shift cheap masks to kids, completely fails.

But fortunately WWE has a plan.  In comes Sin Cara Negro, the arch-nemesis of Sin Cara.  And it turns out this guy is better than the real Sin Cara, much better in fact.

While Sin Cara was out for smoking weed, or whatever he did wrong, Sin Cara Negro was making the Sin Cara character look good.  And so one of the worst feuds of the year began, Sin Cara vs. Sin Cara - then quickly ended, with Sin Cara Negro being unmasked in the end, who then became Hunico.

Hunico already looks like one of the best workers in the WWE today already and it would be a crime if they let him slip under the radar now.  He has already had good matches as the fake Sin Cara and as Hunico - and being one of the last 4 in this years Survivor Series match was a mark-out moment for myself personally.  If WWE want another guy for the Mexican audience to enjoy, here is your man.  Dump Sin Cara and let him go back to Mexico, or the TNA X Division.  Hunico is the next big thing.

1. Booker T (Winner)

WHUT DA HEYYUULLLL!

And with the greatest of ease, Booker T comes in at number one, the winner of the prestigious Breakout Star Of The Year Award!  Of course, he makes this entry for his commentary career and not his wrestling career (which incidentally starts again this Sunday against Cody Rhodes for the Intercontinental title).

First, let me take you back to last year.  As the cameras rolled for NXT Season 3, the all divas season, and Michael Cole was just getting into full swing with his comedy heel character - things were good, but he needed someone to bounce off.  The good guy to be the butt of his jokes - just as he had been for JBL years ago on Smackdown.  Josh Matthews couldn't be that guy - though he has brilliant chemistry with Cole, he is simply too quiet and unopinionated.  Though Josh is great, he works best as the subtle troll announcer - but that's a whole other article in itself.

So after turning up at the Royal Rumble and being one of the trainers for this year's Tough Enough, Booker T landed himself a commentary position on the Smackdown announce table.  With cliche after cliche, smarks complaining online in droves about his ineffectual commentary and Cole ribbing him throughout the whole show, a new era of Smackdown was born.  Smackdown became the absolute best wrestling show on TV this year, surpassing Raw and Impact.  Of course, Orton, Christian, Mark Henry, Cody Rhodes, Sheamus and others were a big part of that - but it would not have been the same without Booker, Cole and Matthews calling the action.

To celebrate the first ever Breakout Star of the Year award winner, let us take a look at this very special clip of the man we know as the five time, five time, five time dubya C dubya champion, Booker T.  Oh mah goodness!

Ten reasons why Daniel Bryan sucks and five pointers on how he can become good

Ever since Daniel Bryan came to the WWE, all I have heard from people is how great he is, how he is the best worker in the business today.  While Bryan is indeed a fine worker in the ring, there are a number of reasons he is nowhere near up to par with all the former Money in the Bank briefcase holders.  Ten reasons to be precise..

1. He looks like a pretentious art student, not a wrestler.  As Michael Cole wisely said, he looks like he should be a barista in a coffee shop.  Probably a vegan one.

2. He is almost on par with Rey Mysterio for size but tries to get over using moves like kicks instead of speed and high flying.  His kicks don't look tough, they look weak and ineffective.

3. He says he is a submission master, but I've only ever seen him perform 3, maybe 4 submission moves in a WWE ring.  How many credible opponents has he made tap?  Not many.  The Lebell lock looks like a weak version of the Crippler Crossface.  Even Hunico (as the fake Sin Cara) did a better version of the Lebell Lock on Bryan that made the "submission master" look lame by comparison.

4. When Daniel Bryan gets "intense" in his matches I don't recall the likes of Chris Benoit or Goldberg, instead I think of when Jamie Noble used to get angry in his matches.  He looks like a midget comedy figure, not a bad-ass.

5. He has one of the corniest theme tunes ever, based on a flamboyant Wagner piece and the production of the track sounds as bad as a TNA theme.  His debut theme in WWE was great, but he buried it in one of his trademark dull promos by calling it a "generic rock song" and ever since then he has had an array of crap themes that don't make him look like a bad-ass at all.  They make him look like a joke.

6. Stupid people slate Cena for having only "5 moves of doom", but Bryan is even worse.  A running flip off the turnbuckle, followed by ducking a clothesline then hitting his own clothesline.  The same kicks to the chest while his opponent kneels in every match.  The Lebell lock and the Cattle Mutilation which he can never lock in properly because he's too small (so he ends up just stamping on his opponent's thighs instead) - that's only 4 moves of doom, even worse than Cena.  Unless you count the flip off the turnbuckle, then you've got your 5.

7. When Michael Cole stands face to face with Bryan, Cole looks like the tougher son of a bitch.  Cole cuts a much better promo.  Cole is overall better star than Daniel Bryan...  Cole is an announcer, not a wrestler!

8. His promos are boring and the only time he has ever had a decent promo is when Michael Cole has carried him through one.

9. When he first came to the WWE he had an arrogance that he was better than his NXT "pro" The Miz.  He wasn't, and still isn't.  The Miz had been wrestling in arenas for 5 years, Bryan had been wrestling in high school gyms for 10.  While Bryan has improved a lot since he first started out, he still hasn't put on as many standout matches as Miz has had in the same amount of time.  While it's true Miz has been afforded more oppurtunities than Bryan, Bryan has still yet to prove why he had the moniker of "best in the world" during his time in ROH.  Perhaps he was the best guy ROH had at the time, but that's not saying much.

10. As Wade Barrett said on Twitter, "Daniel Bryan is a briefcase wanker"

I don't want to be negative against mah bhhoooy Deeee-Bryaaaan, otherwise I'll start to remind myself of the losers who run guys like Mason Ryan into the ground without giving him a chance.  I hate people who are overly critical of others, and I respect the hell out of all wrestlers for what they do, including Daniel Bryan.  What I will do is give some pointers to him for when he inevitably reads this article, on how to change up his character and make himself more appealing as a WWE wrestler.

1. Get a new theme, one like your original, one that has NOTHING to do with the Ride of the Valkyries.  If you're that obsessed with the song, let me point out to you that the composer, Richard Wagner - while brilliant - was an anti-semite.  Unless you're going to change to a Neo-Nazi gimmick then drop the fuckin' thing because it isn't getting over and never will.

2. Speaking of your entrance, stop doing the side skip thing you do when you come out.  I get you're a babyface, but you don't have the charisma other small guys like Jericho have.  That's not something to be ashamed of - use it to your advantage.  Look at someone like Chris Benoit who also had no charisma, but still got over.  Make yourself deadly serious in your approach and start that by changing your ring entrance.

3. You have to admit to yourself you're a small guy and take advantage of that fact, not try and hide it.  Mysterio got over because he used his size to his advantage and you should do the same - use sneaky, fast paced moves more and less hard-hitting moves.  While the kick to the chest looks cool, using it every match makes it gimmicky and takes you out of the realism of the match - something a wrestler of your type shouldn't be doing.  Use way more submission moves.  You're supposed to be the submission master, but you barely use as many as you should.  You have to give the illusion your opponents are worried you can lock them into a submission at any time, so use easy ones that you can reverse moves into doing - like the ankle lock, armbar and other such holds.

4. Shave the damn beard off, it looks ridiculous and plays into the coffee shop barista-vegan stereotype.  While it's cool to promote veganism (I'm a meat-eater but I admire vegans for their strength of character and beliefs), it's not bad-ass, which is the illusion you  need to convey.

5. In your promos, less can be more.  Come across as more cold and distant rather than your every day self.  It will give you an edge.  The over-the-top intensity in your matches is stupid and looks fake.  Study the likes of Randy Orton on how to come across as intense without going crazy all over the place.  Make it look as though the intensity is festering inside you, don't just randomly start screaming and jumping all over the ring looking like a spoilt brat child.

See, there's potential in you yet kid.  One day you can make it, because I see the drive in ya.  But you've gotta take a step back, humble yourself and .  Just because 20% of the audience are chanting Daniel Bryan doesn't mean you're over - that just means the internet like you because the dirt sheets have told them to.  The other 80% could care less.  But don't let that get you down, you're on your way to the top and definitely better than you were this time a year ago.  I believe in you..

Now hit my fuckin' music *drops mic*

Review of Chris Jericho's book 'Undisputed'

After reading Vince Russo's beautiful and insightful tome "Forgiven" (review pending), I had the bug to read even more wrestling autobiographies.  Having recently acquired an Amazon Kindle I have been able to get wrestling books much more easily than I would have if I was still a paper book reading, tree murderer (by proxy).  So I got a bunch of them -  Eric Bischoff's, Bret Hart's, The Death of WCW etc...  And Chris Jericho's 'Undisputed'.

I've always been a big fan of Chris Jericho.  As a worker, he is without a doubt one of the best in the business.  His angle with Shawn Michaels when he turned heel in 2008 is one of my all time favourite wrestling feuds and the guy almost carried WWE on his back single-handedly during an era of blandness, Mcmahon million dollar give aways and Z-list Raw celebrity guest hosts (Al Sharpton).

However, Jericho's writing talents are not as sterling as his in-ring work is.  The book is laced with boring attempts at comedy and celebrity-mocking metaphors that sound like a bad Eminem b-side (".. as large as Snooki's hair", "..like Justin Bieber feeling his first titty").  Some of the wrestling-based humour is funny, such as the constant digs at Mick Foley in brackets whenever his name comes up, or the list of silly names for Goldberg in Jericho-promo style (Goldfinch, the Bergmeister etc.) - but rarely did I raise a smile or laugh throughout the 400 or so pages (I don't know how many pages exactly, Kindles don't tell you how many pages you've read for some stupid reason - the only flaw of that beautiful machine).

The chapters on his run with WWE were good, and while I knew most of the backstage info already, there was some good bits I didn't know about that I found interesting.  The best part was him writing in general about his relationships with certain people throughout his career - Vince Mcmahon especially.  Vince seems to be the focal point of all wrestling autobiographies (he is the daddy after all) and reading Jericho's own take on the big boss was quite interesting.

One of the best parts of the book is right near the end, the chapter simply entitled 'Benoit'.  He gives his impressions of the man he grew up in the business with and called his friend, as well as the man he was at his time of death.  I found it to be very touching writing, as well as the chapters about his mother dying and Eddie Guerrero's death.  If the rest of the book had been as sober, I would have enjoyed it a lot more.

But 'Undisputed' was more inebriated than sober, with dozens of chapters detailing his boring drunken antics with rock stars I've never heard of (I'm not a big rock music fan), or his friendship with the Hollywood director Eli Roth and other such trivial crap I didn't care about.  If all this had been compressed into one or two chapters that would have been fine, but it ran throughout the course of the book.  You would be reading about Jericho's angle with Chyna one moment and then all about a Fozzy documentary the next.

While I respect Jericho has tried to attempt trying other career paths (and I'd love to see him do well 'cause he seems like a nice guy), when you write a book that will be bought 99% by wrestling fans - then 99% of the book should be about wrestling.  While I found it to be an easy read and there was interesting parts, I would only recommend it if you're a big Jericho fan or if you're willing to flick past the rock band fanboyism and drunken antics to get to the good stuff.  Vince Russo's 'Forgiven' was undisputedly much better (review pending).

Now hit my damn music.



Gotta say 'Enemy' is a tune

I'm Back!

So I was out with a torn quad for a few months but now, like masked Kane, I'm back.

And what a time to return as well, as the end of the year approaches.. It's awards season time!  The Slammies have just taken place this past monday on Raw - which as a show was a fun show, but the actual awards themselves sucked.  Over the next couple of weeks you will start to see me present the most prestigious awards in the history of our sport - the Smarkies.. or the Chickies..  Perhaps just the "Washington David Awards For Excellence In Sports Entertainment."

In the time I've been away I went to see Raw live in Liverpool which was my first ever live Raw.  That was fun and we had a great time despite being in the nosebleed seats.  My only disappointment was that Michael Cole didn't grace us with any mic time, but seeing him walk out at the beginning of the show was a pleasure, nonetheless.

Anyway, I've given you enough of my precious time already and I don't want to sour my return by overstaying my welcome - need to retain some of my enigmatic charisma.  So hit my damn music..

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly - 25th July WWE Raw

The first Raw of the "Triple H" era

The Good

• John Cena vs. Rey Mysterio
  All the people who say John Cena can't wrestle, John Cena only has 5 moves etc. were once again proved wrong tonight, as they were at Money In The Bank.  Obviously haters will continue to hate, and in a way it is good because it's one of the driving forces in the Punk/Cena angle - but this match was amazing for a TV match and was a much more exciting affair than the 1st title match of the evening.  Mysterio locking in the STF will probably be the most memorable moment, but overall the match was well worked as you would expect from these two top stars.

• CM Punk Appears
  This was an awesome moment and unexpected.  I think if anyone was expecting a swerve at the end, it would have been Del Rio cashing in his Money In The Bank briefcase and I doubt many saw this coming, even with Punk interrupting the Triple H press conference earlier in the week.  I didn't like the theme tune change, but having read that it was his original music in ROH it seemed like a cool idea.  'Cult of Personality' definitely fits the character of CM Punk.  I think Punk has arrived at the point where he can truly consider himself on the top level of stars now, along with John Cena and Randy Orton - the only other 2 current members of the WWE roster I consider to be at that top level.  And when are they going to put that white shirt on WWEshop.com?  I need it!

• Triple H
  I'm still undecided on whether it is a good move to have Triple H as the new on-air authority figure, but I'm tilted more towards it being a good thing right now.  The fact he is going to be on Smackdown as well this week is good too, as I'm sick of seeing Smackdown get the B-show treatment.  If you treat it like a B-Show, fans will think of it as a B-Show and stop watching.  The comedy bits with R-Truth were particularly funny and Michael Cole was awesome as usual with his delivery.

• Michael Cole
  While I'm a big fan of Michael Cole, I feel his time on commentary has run its course and it's time to move on.  Hopefully they transition him into a full time comedy-wrestler act, because he could actually have some engaging lower-card feuds and put guys like Zack Ryder over with his promo skills.  The main event was much better without Cole commentating on it and felt much more like a sport than an entertainment show, which is the difference between J.R. and Cole.  I also thought Cole coming out to King of Kings was hysterical.

• Dolph Ziggler
  I loved the Ziggler theme tune already, but this new remix with the guitar solo included is truly "perfection" for his character.  I loved Ziggler's ad-libbing, but I didn't really get the "follow that" bit.  Is that referring to Twitter?  I love seeing the sleeper come back as his finisher too, the Zigzag thing seemed ineffective to me.

The Bad

• The Miz vs. Rey Mysterio
  This match didn't really deliver and was definitely overshadowed by the later main event.  The fact it was on first

• Kofi Kingston vs. Alberto Del Rio
  I understand why this needed to happen, since Del Rio lost to a mid-card guy last week and needed to regain his heat, but it isn't a match that should have been hyped throughout the show as if it was something special.

• John Morrison's Return
  I can't stand the guy, he's so dull and pointless and has had enough chances to prove himself and never done so.  The only good thing that could come out of this feud is if R-Truth gets more mic time (and Morrison hopefully gets none).

The Ugly

• Rey Mysterio's Champagne Celebration
  This champagne celebration after Mysterio winning the WWE title was so lame and corny - it made Rey look like a clown who only hangs around with NXT jobbers.  I didn't even know half the guys' names in the background since I haven't watched that show since the classic 3rd season.

• That guy from the beer adverts tattooing one of the Bella Twins
  I got a laugh out of it, but still.. it brought back dark memories of the celebrity guest GM days of yesteryear.

Overall Rating and Summary
Until the CM Punk reveal at the end of the show this felt like a disappointing Raw, but in retrospect it was pretty good.  I had negative feelings for most of the show because I didn't see the Punk reveal coming after the title match and felt like things had returned back to normal with them putting out a thoughtless, campy Raw - but more things made sense in the end and storylines developed further.  Setting up Cena-Punk II at Summerslam is awesome and I like the idea of them both holding a different title belt.  Raw is doing a great job at getting you to come back next week and see what happens at the moment and is rewarding hardcore fans who invest time in the product.
Mark: 7/10

How I Would Book John Cena vs. CM Punk at Money In The Bank, or what I think is going to happen

Since CM Punk's shoot-style promo on Raw a couple of weeks ago, the internet has been buzzing over the forthcoming match between John Cena and CM Punk for the WWE title.  If you've been living under a rock, the jist of it is that CM Punk's contract with WWE is due to expire and his final match will take place at Money In The Bank for the WWE title.  The big stipulation here is that Cena will be "fired" if he loses and Punk has claimed he will leave the company with the belt and namedropped 2 small-fry promotions, ROH and NJPW, along with a bunch of other guys like Colt Cabana to get the smarks wetting themselves.  So far, so good, but WWE is known to fuck up these hot angles (see Nexus), so I'm gonna help them out by giving them some free advice on how to book this epic feud of feuds.  Well, it's sort of a prediction too.

Plenty of insider references have been mentioned by all 3 men involved in the angle - Punk, Cena and Vince, and a lot has been made of the difference between the two opponents - Punk being the outside and Cena being the company guy.  Punk calling John Cena not the Boston Red Sox but the "New York Yankees", the "dynasty" and "everything that you hate" was a genius touch to set apart the difference between the two guys.

But there is one thing that both wrestlers share in common: they both hate The Rock.  Punk has shot out at the Rock legitimately through Twitter and on TV, referring to his "bad Disney movies", disrespectfully calling him "Dwayne" as Cena often does, as well as putting over Cena by comparing him to The Rock at a house show, basically calling out Rock for not being a wrestler, but an actor - just like Cena does.  But where am I going with this, you may be asking yourself..

The fact that this match is at Money In The Bank is no coincidence.  They could've ran this angle at any time in the past few months and I don't buy that Punk's contract is legitimately ending that very night.  This angle must have been planned long in advance, but there are too many things that add up to say this isn't something they've just thought up on the spot (which they often do), such as the PPV being in Chicago and the last Raw before it being in Cena's hometown of Boston.  Remember, in the weeks prior to this, Punk had kept hinting something "big" was coming, which means they knew well in advance what they were doing.



What I predict will happen in the finale is CM Punk will win the WWE title clean over John Cena to the adulation of his hometown crowd.  They have played up the fact this is Punk's hometown on Raw, something they wouldn't usually do as they try to keep Cena from taking a beating from the fans as much as possible. The Miz, accompanied by Vince, will come out and cash in the Money In The Bank contract and become a two time WWE champ.  But this is where the whole angle begins, rather than ends.

The following night on Raw I expect Vince to dress down Cena and go ahead and "fire" him for losing the WWE title to CM Punk and putting the WWE in jeapordy.  Cena will then be kayfabe out of contract, much like CM Punk and The Miz will be Vince's new golden boy.  There are things that I have seen hints of to make me believe that this is the plan - such as Cena putting Miz over as a guy who works hard for the WWE brand on his Twitter account.  Many believe Alberto Del Rio will win the match, but I think him becoming #1 contender on the 4th July Raw was a red herring to make you forget about The Miz.

This is where things get interesting, as one thing that has been buried in this whole feud is the fact that CM Punk is the leader of Nexus.  Nothing has been made clear about what is going to happen after Punk leaves and Nexus are left to fend for themselves and they haven't referred to it once on WWE television.  The history of Cena and Nexus is also no secret.  Bring up the Nexus angle and one immediately thinks of the 6-month feud between the faction and him.  Why am I mentioning Nexus though?  Because I believe that Cena will become not a heel, but an edgier outsider anti-WWE character and either join forces with CM Punk, a guy who despite their war of words, have shown one another some kind of mutual respect - and/or he will become the new leader of Nexus, who will return to being a strong anti-WWE faction like they originally were.

This whole angle goes back to what I mentioned earlier, which is The Rock.  Everyone knows Cena will get booed out of the building at Wrestlemania.  Despite the fact Cena cut some great promos and Rock's were not up to his high standards in their mini-feud pre-Wrestlemania, Rock still won over the majority of the fans and overshadowed the main event of Wrestlemania, John Cena vs. The Miz.  Having not been seen in a WWE ring for 7 years, it was understandable that fans would go crazy for his return, but The Rock harmed Cena even more than he would have by directly targeting him in his opening promo.  The anti-Cena bridgade has become even more vocal than ever since that moment and it will be the loudest it has ever been since the ECW One Night Stand in Chicago - by design!

So WWE have realised they need to do something about the Cena character, while still not effecting merchandise sales on his "fruity pebbles" t-shirts.  Instead of being fully heel, as leader of Nexus, Cena could remain in-character but feel hurt and bitter about how Vince treated him after working hard for years to put the WWE brand over (as he has mentioned in all the promos leading up to the PPV).  Now Vince has a new posterchild and has disposed of Cena, he feels betrayed that Vince only ever saw dollar signs in him.  He and Punk can agree with each other that Rock was only brought back for the money.  Here, Miz will be the full-blown heel and the anti-Cena fans will naturally begin to side with Cena and/or CM Punk as the outsider anti-heroes.  This angle can carry on easily til Wrestlemania, with Cena inevitably winning the WWE championship back before then and putting it on the line against The Rock.

Come Wrestlemania, the difference then will be the crowd will more likely be a hot-crowd and give Cena less of a bad time than they would if the worst of the worst happens on Sunday: Cena wins the belt and holds it all the way to Wrestlemania.  Let's hope they don't fuck it up this time!

Opening Promo

This is probably my 50th ever attempt at writing a blog, but this time I'm determined to follow through with it and make it a smash hit.  The basic idea is this: I love watching wrestling and I love to chat shit about it... that's it.  Simple, concise and effective.

But this won't be your typical run-of-the-mill wrestling blog.  I hate most other wrestling blogs, especially amateur ones, because they're so negative and critical.  That is what is wrong with the whole internet wrestling community these days - y'all can't just enjoy some good old fashioned wrasslin' without bitching about something.

I had a subscription to Wrestling Observer for about a month, but it wasn't worth the dollars I parted with, because all I got was Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer telling me how much wrestling sucks and MMA rules.  I get that negativity sells, but don't completely downplay the product you cover, otherwise you'll kill off your audience. Your site is called "Wrestling" Observer for a reason, so either change the name or stop moaning.

So in short, I aim to bring some of the joy back into watching wrestling by posting blogs that will be humourous, positive - not that I'm ruling out negativity entirely, cause that shit sells.  In fact, this debut post itself is highly negative and somewhat inflammatory.. but thats because I'm here to challenge your current perceptions and misconceptions.. It's all because I'm a passionate fella and in time you will see me sing praise and spew vitriol in equal amount - but you'll like it all because it's original and I'm here to shake things up.. My name is Washington David and this is No Smark Chicks!  Now hit my fuckin' music.. *drops mic*