Super 20 - Week 9, 2012

With the road to WrestleMania well under way, let's see how the WWE stars of Raw and Smackdown fare this week against their competition from TNA, NXT, Superstars and Ring Ka King. Also: Will Bully Ray make it on to the acclaimed Super 20 list for a 9th week in a row? Read on..

20 new		Michael McGillicutty A decent match from McGillicutty this week on Superstars. He is showing he is capable in the ring as of late and has a unique, slightly crazed look which makes him stand out amongst the other low-carders. His new finisher is cool too, I haven't seen as many neckbreakers so mean looking. The prospect of a match between him and Tyson Kidd on NXT next week has me excited. Is this the re-genesis of Mcgillicutty?
19 new		Johnny Curtis So.. Johnny's added a toothpick to his gimmick now.
18 new		Sheamus Two more clean wins for Sheamus on the Road to Mania this week, one of them a really good match with The Miz on Smackdown. Though his in-ring work is great, Sheamus really needs an issue going into the PPV with Bryan, or perhaps they are waiting to add Randy into the mix when he is back from his injury?
17 new		William Regal It's been coming for a while now - Regal earns his spot on the Super 20 for his hilarious commentary on NXT. Quote of the week, after Darren Young explains how he watches old tapes of Regal to learn about his craft: "When I was your age I was out spending my time with old scrubbers"
16 new		Zoravar Love this little guy in Ring Ka King and like Regal above, his spot on the Super 20 has been coming. He was comedy gold this week running in between all the legs of the wrestlers in the tag team match. Love the fact he is as toned as a wrestler too, despite his size. Great fun character.
15 new		Eve Torres Is it right that little Cena kid fans should be chanting "Hoeski!" at Eve? I would say so.
14 new		Teddy Long If they are building towards a Teddy Long vs. John Laurinaitis sometime down the line or even at WrestleMania I will be made up. Teddy and Big Johnny threatening fisticuffs on Smackdown was classic.
13 new		Tyler Reks Really enjoyed Tyler Reks this week, putting on the best match of the week with Tyson Kidd on NXT and having a pretty good outing on Superstars with Mason Ryan too. Reks has a unique look and style and could prosper on Raw or Smackdown if given the chance. The WWE needs bigger guys like him on their main rosters.
12 new		Sting Only one week off the Super 20 and Sting is back with a bang - the insanity is back! Can't wait for the Stinger's match with Roode at Victory Road, should be a great one.
11 new		Abyss "It" debuted on Ring Ka King this week and utilised every big bad monster cliche to get over, including pre-taped "aaahhhh" noises which were dubbed over the tapings... What was particularly great was Abyss scaring the gullible fans in the Ring Ka King Zone (that's just what I'm calling it), but even better was...
10 n/c 3w		Scott Steiner ...Big Poppa Pump, who borderline assaulted the fans, throwing the rails aside and chasing them around the arena like a crazed lunatic. It was one of the preview clips I saw before the Ring Ka King show debuted and seeing it in full swing was even better.
9 -6 9w		Bully Ray I usually hate celebrity guest spots in wrestling, but Bully Ray's mini-feud with Brandon Jacobs over the last two weeks was great. Like I've said before, Calfzilla is the ultimate heel in all of wrestling right now. I love the fact he adds something new to his repertoire almost every week too - taking the mic' off the ring announcer and announcing himself is yet another little bit that goes into making him the star he has become. Nine weeks in the top 20 and still going strong!
8 new		CM Punk Hooray - CM Punk finally makes his long-awaited debut in this celebrated list of excellence. Punk has been at one of the lowest points of his career the past four months or so, but this week we saw glimpses of the Punk we fell in love with in the breezy summer of yesteryear. Donning his old commentary jacket for the main event on Raw was vintage Punk and he had a pretty good match with Daniel Bryan on Smackdown (and also, shockingly cut a promo on him which wasn't too arrogant or annoying). One of the highlights of Punk's week though was calling out Chris Brown on Twitter and owning him in an ongoing war of words - going as far as to say he would choke him out in a fight. Here's hoping Punk gets a hot streak going into Mania - and his opponent Chris Jericho who has also cooled off as of late.
7 n/c 3w		David Otunga Otunga is one of the guys for me who can get in the S20 for the simplest reason - and this week it came in the form of his post-match pose. So arrogant, pompous and with a hint of irony like everything else he does, David Otunga can be a legitimate main eventer in the future.
6 new		Tyson Kidd Tyson Kidd keeps impressing me every week just for his in-ring work but this week he blew me away with a match on NXT with Tyler Reks. He could easily be pushed to a upper mid-card level on wrestling ability alone - but he also shown that he has a little bit of star power in backstage segments and on the mic too. Of course he isn't David Otunga when it comes to charisma, but he's not shockingly bad like Daniel Bryan used to be. I'd like to see him get a push after Mania season.
5 new		Magnus Sir Brutus Magnus just became the number one contender for the Ring Ka King Heavyweight Title this week and Magnus succesfully retained the TNA Tag Titles on Impact. The future of the business is looking stronger every time I see him.
4 +1 2w		John Laurinaitis Some vintage Big Johnny moments this week, but my favourite of all of them was him coming out and doing the Teddy Long dance on Smackdown. Like I mentioned above, I am dreaming of a Laurinaitis vs. Long match in the future. A fifth WrestleMania main event perhaps?
3 new		Undertaker Despite the pathetic "what" chants by the idiots in Minnesota this week, Undertaker had a magnificent 20 minute promo along with Triple H to finally seal the deal on a Taker-HHH match at WrestleMania. I love the new Metallica theme and the sleeveless hooded trenchcoat. It's going to be a big moment when the Deadman finally reveals he is bald. Epic line of the week, as Triple H was going to leave after declining the initial challenge: "Hey businessman.."
2 n/c 4w		Triple H Again I have Triple H edged slightly over Undertaker, just because he is bringing it a little bit more in their promo segments. I literally punched the air with excitement when The Game challenged Taker to a Hell in a Cell. The whole dichotomy between the two characters is so compelling, with Undertaker in his new outfit and Triple H in his suit and tie. With weeks left to go and Shawn Michaels scheduled to be at more Raws, I am intrigued as to where the story is going.
1 +3 2w		John Cena Cena cut the best shoot promo since Vince Russo called Hulk Hogan a "piece of shit" at Bash at the Beach, calling out The Rock for everything I and many others dislike about him. Make no mistake - I am on Team Cenation and always have been and I can't wait to watch tonight's Raw to see what Team Film It's response is.

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Read previous Super 20 entries

How will WWE get around the problem of Undertaker's supposed wig?

As Undertaker returned over a week ago to the shock and awe of the fans, posing questions as to what his intentions were, a large portion of the viewing audience had a different question on their mind - is that a wig?

When pictures of a bald-looking Undertaker came out a few months ago, I was skeptical as to whether it was real, a photoshop or a doppelganger - but seeing The Deadman return on Raw in what was blatantly a wig, I was convinced that the leaked photos must have been true.

If that's the case, that Undertaker has returned wearing a wig, then how are they going to get around him wrestling Triple H at WrestleMania? It's all well and good him wearing the wig for his promos, covered by a hat - but say if Taker's wig was to fall off when Triple H was hitting his 4th pedigree of the match. The illusion of the Undertaker that has been built over two decades would be shattered in an instant.

As I watched, I asked myself - how could they possibly get around this? Then I remembered Kane recently returned also wearing a wig and has had no problem so far. Of course, he has been re-masked and so the mask keeps his wig tightly in place.

My thought pattern continued and I remembered also that WWE.com had been promoting images of Undertaker in recent weeks, wearing a mask eerily similar to Kane's current one, back in the mid-nineties. He had to wear the mask because of a nose injury, much like Cody Rhodes character of 2011, so they worked the mask into his character.

With Kane probably ending his angle with John Cena at Elimination Chamber so Cena can go on to feud with The Rock, will Kane and Undertaker cross paths in any way? Something could happen on the road to Wrestlemania which sees Undertaker return wearing his mask from the 90's, as to be able to wrestle Triple H with long hair again.

Super 20 - Week 6, 2012

A strong week for wrestling matches on TV, with Raw, Smackdown and Impact all putting on good shows. Will Titus O'Neil break the Super 20 for the third week in a row? And yeah, Jericho has dropped off it for now.. what a failure of a return that has been so far.

20 new		Hulk Hogan Youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!
19 -5 2w		Aksana An early nominee for best entrance of the year and her sexual innuendo jokes with Teddy Long keep getting funnier.
18 -6 2w		Santino Marella The former master of the Honk-O-Meter is on form as of late and finds himself in the Super 20 for a second week running. If he keeps walking into Natalya's farts he will surely have a regular place here.
17 -11 6w		John Cena I can't tell if Cena had "embraced the hate" or not this week, as he was his usual playful self even when beating Kane up around the ring. Still intrigued as to where this is going though, and the new hype videos for Cena and Rock have me excited for WrestleMania.
16 new		Austin Aries A Double carries himself better than anyone else in the X Division and it's hard not to cheer for him when he keeps beating all the vanilla midgets cleanly. A man amongst boys. When CM Punk calls himself the "best in the world" it's a bit of a stretch, but Aries calling himself "the greatest man that ever lived" .. I can enjoy that.
15 -12 6w		Cody Rhodes A good short match with Sheamus on Smackdown this week, preceded by a decent promo promising to win the World Heavyweight Title at Elimination Chamber. I would love that to be the case, but I doubt it's going to happen. Still, Cody should be line for a singles match at WrestleMania. One of the few left remaining who has been on the Super 20 chart every week since its inception.
14 -3 3w		Titus O'Neil Make it a win! Heel Titus breaks the Super 20 for a 3rd week in a row. This is vintage heel stuff, the new suit, calling the fans idiots for no reason, fluffing promos. If the internet got Zack Ryder on TV we should be able to get Titus on too. #TITUS4RAW Owh owh owh! (Titus's bark/seal noise)
13 -4 6w		Sting The Stinger keeps up with the likes of Cena and Cody Rhodes by staying on the Super 20 for a 6th consecutive week. He just stands out as a total star compared to everyone on Impact at the moment. The black cricket back was a funny touch. Can't wait to see him in action next week.
12 new		Robert Roode I'm slowly starting to turn around on Robert Roode, who's heel turn I hated at first. Of course, Bully Ray is playing a big part in getting him over, but to Roode's credit he had a great match with ex-tag partner James Storm this week. I still don't know what his finisher is though, which is a problem.
11 -10 3w		Sheamus I guess Sheamus will just be biding his time until after Elimination Chamber now by picknig up wins on every show until he announces who he will be facing. I'm hoping he goes after the WWE title just for the swerve.
10 +8 6w		Mark Henry One of the few wrestlers who is tied for 6 weeks on the Super 20 chart, Mark Henry will unfortunately not be with us next week after his kayfabe suspension. His exiting promo was typical Henry though. He is one of the best in the business on the microphone right now. Hopefully he is back in time for WrestleMania for a big main event match.
9 new		Heath Slater Slater cut the promo of the week this week on NXT (2 NXT entrants in one week!), in where he replayed a clip of him finally winning a match over and over again til it reached Family Guy levels of surrealism. It was downright hilarious. His promo work is just great too, he has a cocky, self-assured confidence that doesn't overstep the mark. I'd love to see Slater called up full time to Smackdown if he keeps cutting promos like this.
8 new		Undertaker When you see Undertaker's entrance week after week it becomes unbearable, but coming back for one match a year at WrestleMania makes it cool when it happens. Shame he was wearing a stupid wig.
7 new		Triple H The staredown with Triple H and Undertaker was epic, a level of stardom that can only be achieved after two decades or so in the business. Two old-timers squaring off for perhaps the last time in their careers. Shades of Metal Gear Solid 4, westerns and everything else cool as fuck. I didn't like their match last year, but I'm still excited to see what happens with this angle.
6 new		Daniel Bryan Whoever thought we would see the day that Daniel Bryan debuted in the Super 20? Not I, that's for sure, but Bryan has proven his doubted wrong in recent weeks - upping his promo game, acting skills and showing a new star power that was lacking in the past. His heel turn has done wonders for him, much like Christian's did last year. The subtle face he pulled at Big Show when he was holding AJ was almost an Orton-level of great facial acting. All that said, his match with CM Punk was also brilliant and perhaps my favourite Bryan match since he faced Dolph Ziggler at Bragging Rights 2010.
5 +3 6w		John Laurinaitis Like Michael Cole this time last year, John Laurinaitis is pure comedy gold at the moment. Putting chap-stick on and puckering up his lips to join the "kiss my ass club" was hysterical, laugh out loud funny. He is the star of Raw.
4 new		Wade Barrett Despite debuting one of the worst wrestling themes I've ever heard which sounds like it was tailored more for Trent Baretta or someone, Wade Barrett put on a good, long main event match with Randy Orton on Smackdown. He looked like a star on Raw when he was being interviewed in the VIP suited by Josh Matthews and could well go on to win the title at Elimination Chamber.
3 new		Randy Orton Like weeks past, Barrett and Orton have helped each other rise to the top of this prestigious ranking system by putting on another great match in their series. Seemingly the finale to the feud, Orton and Barrett will be top contenders to take the belt away from Daniel Bryan at Elimination Chamber in a couple of weeks. A decent match with Dolph Ziggler on Raw also sees Randy Orton re-enter the Super 20 after injury.
2 +2 6w		Bully Ray The Bully is becoming a constant fixture at the top of the Super 20 and while I often praise his promo work here, I have to give credit for his work in the ring this week. His match with James Storm was fantastic and Bully plays the role of the heel better than anyone in the ring. The spot where he spits in the air and catches it in his mouth is hilarious and it's unique little things like that which have made him one of the most valuable assets in wrestling today - who would have thought that ten years ago when he was Bubba Ray with the stutter and the glasses?
1 +19 5w		James Storm The Cowboy picks up his first #1 spot in the Super 20 this week after two fantastic matches on the London Impact. Storm is simply the best babyface in wrestling right now and is universally loved by all different types of fans - a rare feat in today's wrestling world. His match with Robert Roode was great and promises for a great feud down the line, but his match with Bully Ray was one of the best matches of the year so far. The London crowd loved the Cowboy and hopefully his popularity will see him raise to the top of Impact Wrestling and capture a second World Heavyweight Title.

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Royal Rumble Picks

With the Royal Rumble coming up in a weeks time, it's that time of year when all wrestling fans start dipping into their piggy banks and heading down to the bookies to put money on who they think will win the Royal Rumble.  Let us take a look at the favourites and I will make my final pick at the end.

Sheamus

A popular pick for many, Sheamus appears to be one of the frontrunners to win the Rumble this year.  Having largely floundered around Smackdown, squashing everything in his way, Sheamus has had no notable feud and barely challenged for the World Heavyweight Title since he has been drafted to Smackdown - something everybody expected from him this year. The former two-time WWE champion seems to be a main event star of the future for WWE, but I don't think they're going to give him a 'Mania title match just yet.

Wade Barrett

Like Sheamus, Barrett has been mostly directionless since he was drafted to Smackdown - that was until his rivalry with Randy Orton. Appearing regularly on both Raw and Smackdown every week as of late, Barrett seems like he is in the favour of the higher-ups in WWE at the moment and after coming off strong in his feud with Randy Orton, there is a case to be made that he will be the winner of the Royal Rumble this year.  However, like Sheamus, I don't think Barrett will be involved in the title match at WrestleMania this year - my prediction is that Sheamus will fight Wade Barrett in a grudge match at the biggest PPV of the year.

Randy Orton

The hometown hero is surely the odds on favourite to win, right? Don't expect it.  Randy Orton is already a Royal Rumble winner, having won the match in 2009, and though we have seen others win the Rumble two or even three times in the past, Orton doesn't need this win to elevate his career any further right now. Of course, if you think back to the draft, you could believe promises could have been made to Orton that he would be in one of the main events of WrestleMania the followng year. Despite being the company's second biggest draw, Orton was coming off the back of a second WrestleMania in a row in were he fought a mid-card match and then had the slap in the face of being drafted to the B-show, Smackdown.  I still think Orton will be in a World Title match at WrestleMania, but I believe he will be going in as champion - perhaps against..

Cody Rhodes

...the Intercontinental champion, Cody Rhodes. But is Cody Rhodes a serious pick to win the Royal Rumble? It seems as though a feud with Goldust is on the cards at the moment, and though his elder brother wanted to have that match at WrestleMania, it could easily be over and done with by Elimination Chamber. Royal Rumble winners tend to have filler matches at Elimination Chamber PPV between the Rumble and WrestleMania to give them heat going into their big match, such as Alberto Del Rio last year beating Kofi Kingston.  While Cody Rhodes is on the brink of becoming a bonafide main eventer in WWE, he is definitely a dark horse for the Royal Rumble.  Though the theme tune of the PPV is indeed "Dark Horses" - perhaps a subtle clue?

Undertaker

If the gong were to chime after a countdown during the Royal Rumble match, nobody would see it coming and the WWE fans would go crazy.  It is around this time every year that Undertaker makes his bombastic return to the WWE for his annual WrestleMania match and doing it at the Rumble would be a huge shocker. The Rumble is always full of surprises and this would be a big one - but Undertaker winning the Rumble? While there is a possibility he could return, I can't see him winning the thing as he doesn't need to be fighting for a title at WrestleMania..

Chris Jericho

..and neither does the recently returned Chris Jericho.  Nobody can truly predict what is going to happen with Y2J, but one popular theory is that he will win the Rumble and face CM Punk at WrestleMania for the WWE title, putting over Punk in the process and elevating him to being a true main eventer. While that would make for a great feud, I think WWE has different plans for Jericho. Though the mystery videos haven't been mentioned since his return as of yet, the WWE wouldn't go to all the trouble of making those clips if they did not have any meaning. I think there is a stronger possibility that Jericho will go on to face Undertaker at WrestleMania, rather than CM Punk - the January 2nd videos seemed to imply a feud with 'Taker more than Punk, with many being fooled into believing it could even be videos promoting the return of Undertaker.

Alberto Del Rio

Amongst the WWE fans, all the above mentioned names are being thrown around as possibilities to win the Royal Rumble this year, but Alberto Del Rio, last year's winner, is one name that is hardly getting a mention. Though he has only been off TV for a couple of weeks, it's almost as if he has been away forever, with everybody seeming to have forgotten that he even exists. Though out with an injury, reports indicated he would be back around the time of the Royal Rumble and so it is likely he will be making his return as a surprise entrant. Will he go on to win it for the second year in a row, though? It is likely CM Punk will be headlining the WWE title match at WrestleMania this year, as Raw's top babyface behind John Cena and I can't imagine the Del Rio-Punk feud that ended a month or so ago reigniting already.

John Cena

John Cena would be a shocking and dramatic pick to win the Royal Rumble and one that would piss many fans off, as Cena is already booked to face The Rock in the main event of WrestleMania. Why would he win the Royal Rumble? Say he wins the Rumble and uses his shot as a means of facing CM Punk for the WWE title before WrestleMania, as to defend the gold against Rock in their super main event. Cena did allude to facing Rock for the WWE title just under a year ago, after WrestleMania, but rarely since then has it been mentioned as a possibility. The popular thinking is that the Cena-Rock match does not need the WWE title for it to be any bigger, but it is also a known fact that Vince McMahon prefers for the final match of the night to be a WWE title match - as nothing should be bigger than the WWE title. It is an outside chance, but not completely impossible.

Dolph Ziggler, Daniel Bryan, Mark Henry, Big Show or CM Punk

It almost went unnoticed, but recently WWE announced that competitors involved in title matches this year will be eligible for participation in the Royal Rumble event. This leaves a whole host of big name main eventers that could be involved in the match. Daniel Bryan or CM Punk could even lose their titles and then go on to win the Rumble that very night, booking themselves into a main event at the Rumble. While this is a chance, I'd guess that WWE are only doing this to bring more star power to the Rumble, than to throw any spanners into the works.

My Pick - The Miz

Since Survivor Series I have believed that The Miz would face CM Punk at WrestleMania for the WWE title, after headlining arguably the second biggest PPV of 2011 against The Rock, as well as headlining WrestleMania earlier in the year.  I just did not know exactly how they would get to that point, but now I'm pretty confident in my assumption that The Miz is going to win the Royal Rumble and go on to face (and beat) CM Punk for the WWE title at WrestleMania 28.

WWE would not invest so much time and effort into The Miz over the course of 2011 if they didn't have a big match planned for him at WrestleMania.  Of course, a match with R-Truth is a possibility at this point, but I believe that WWE has much grander plans than that for the Awesome One.  Like I said in my WrestleMania article, I think Miz and Punk could pull of a show-stealing match at 'Mania.  Both are good workers and great on the mic and we have yet to see any real feud between the two except for the light, inconsequential feud going into TLC.

One other reason is that The Miz has had barely any screen time as of late. Surely that means he won't be winning this year then? To me, it's a red herring from WWE - the Rumble is always full of surprises, and this year I think The Miz will be the surprise pick to win.