WWE Show and Unexpected Twists!

Ok, here we go. Went to the WWE show last night at the MTS Centre, and had a great time as I always do! The matches themselves weren't anything over the top, I was trying to remember if that was the same at every house show I've been to. Nobody did anything overly flashy, or high-risk, and I certainly understand that it's a non-televised house-show, things are going to be toned down to a certain extent, but I found last night to be a little bit more toned down than usual. No 450 Splash, no Starship Pain, I think Rey's West Coast Pop was the most impressive thing I saw all night. But I've seen great matches both live and on TV, for me it's just about seeing the guys, hearing the crowd, and being a part of the WWE experience.

Edge was the "ambassador", if you will, of the night (would have been Jericho if he'd been there), taking the mic and talking about how he and guys like Jericho, Lance Storm, Christian, all got their start in Winnipeg. It's great to hear them talk about what our city means to them, and we paid him back by giving him by far the biggest pops of the night. Double 619, into a Spear and the roof came off the place!

I saw a lot of guys I'd never seen live before too, and that says a lot about how much new talent has come in to the WWE in such a short amount of time. To think about Sheamus' rise to the top... It's got to be one of the quickest in WWE history. Never, have I seen a brand new guy be brought in as a main player, earn the fans' respect so quickly. Big time props to him.

And big time props to The Miz, whose legendary dance moves entertained the crowd for literally about three straight minutes. He let his character down for a little bit to have some fun, and that was great to see. We had a great time, but it's just got me dying to go out to a televised show again now!

Maybe WrestleMania 27, what with the enormous buzz surrounding that event after what happened last night.... At a UFC PPV! Whaaat!?

I'll never bring MMA into my blog here (unless it's related), but I am a huge MMA fan on top of being a WWE fan as well. Last night saw Brock Lesnar spanked by Cain Velasquez, to strip him of his UFC Heavyweight Championship. Mark Calloway (The Undertaker) was in attendance, and after Brock's fight was being interviewed about his thoughts on the fight and the event.

Next thing you know, here comes Brock, walking past Taker towards the locker room, and Taker turns away from his interview and stares down Brock, saying "You wanna do it?" Brock glares back at him and keeps walking without saying a word.

What is going on here?? For the first time, the UFC and WWE Universes are buzzing about the same thing. Currently, the #1 speculation is that WWE has extended an offer to Brock Lesnar to come back to the WWE for one match, against Taker at WrestleMania 27. Interesting.

Brock could do fantastic things for the WWE's current product right now, and his UFC momentum was just halted in it's tracks. It will be interesting to see what develops from this, I'm sure we'll know a LOT more in the coming week. I'll post the video of the incident below.

One last thing I have to just stuff in here quickly: I was looking through my WWE Encyclopedia today, and saw something horrifying. THERE'S A US FLAG NEXT TO HIS NAME?? Now that's something I never thought I'd see. At the end of the day, Jericho is Canadian, and he'll gladly remind you. Or whoever was in charge of his entry... Or I will if he's too busy ;) Here's a picture:

And the confrontation at UFC 121:

The Gems

I just re-organized my DVD collection. It was horribly unorganized since being unpacked from boxes when we moved in to the new apartment. I feel better now. I don't care what people say, I friggin' love my DVD collection, I'm proud of it. It's a product of about seven years, and is still growing. I'm sure an impressive amount of money has been dumped into it, and some DVDs I had to look high and low for, or even pay an outrageous price for.

But the bottom line is, NO GARBAGE in my DVD collection. Only the best of the best get in there. Some DVDs I bought actually just for one single match, or one single moment, just to have it captured forever. So without further ado, world, meet my DVD collection:


I feel like maybe it's not really all that impressive, but it's a work in progress. From top left to bottom right, it's organized alphabetically in these groups:

- WWE produced Superstar DVDs
- Independant 'Shoot' DVDs
- WWE PPV DVDs
- Miscellaneous WWE DVDs
- Other promotion DVDs (TNA, ROH, PWG)
- UFC DVDs (there's like five, relax)

I'll run down a few of my favorites, the 'gems', if you will:

Wrestling with Shadows: How embarrassing, I just realized this DVD should not be up there, as it's not WWE produced... Regardless, this DVD is amazing. It's a product of Bret Hart inviting a camera crew to follow him around as he wrapped up his run in the WWF. It gives an unprecedented look at what goes on behind the scenes in the WWF (back then), and one wrestler's issues with "the boss". Gives an incredible, can't-see-it-anywhere-else perspective on the 1997 Montreal Screwjob. Love this DVD.

Breaking the Code - Behind the Walls of Chris Jericho: Jericho's first DVD! This is the first DVD of it's kind that the WWE has released in a long time; an actual documentary. Gotta love this DVD, Chris talks about growing up in Winnipeg, and going through CreComm too! Not only is this a great DVD for wrestling fans to grab, but it would interest anyone from Winnipeg as well. I love what Jericho says on how he wants to go out; "Getting dragged kicking and screaming out of the ring, begging for mercy from whoever it is that fires me, and never be seen again; that's how I want to go out. Yeah, I don't want any hero's goodbye, or a big send off, I don't want a retirement ceremony, that's not how I'm built. I just want to disappear into the sunset, and have people go 'man, that guy was a jerk wasn't he, wow... we're glad he's gone."

ANY Shoot DVD: I love ALL of my shoot DVDs. Basically what it is, is when a wrestler (or two) sits down with someone, and it's just a two (or so) hour long interview. Usually these happen when the wrestler is no longer with WWE, so they can spill all the beans about what happened in their time working with the WWE (or other promotions). It's completely unscripted, genuine, and gives an awesome look at behind the scenes in wrestling, and what the guys are really like.

WWF Million-Dollar Tough Enough: Produced by WWF & MTV. 'Nuff said. This was the first Tough Enough competition, that combined a contest to win a WWF contract, and living together 'Big Brother' style. It's an awesome combination of reality-show and professional wrestling. When I think of this DVD, all I can hear is Taz: "If you got a question, it BETTAH be a good one, because if it's a stupid one, I will kick your ass."

I wish I could talk about every single DVD in that case, because I love them all, but I won't put you through that. With the addition of Chris Jericho's new DVD, I'm officially out of room in the bookcase. Time to start thinking of upgrading. Sometimes I wonder how much my collection is worth, and if I'd ever sell it, but surprisingly I think it may be one of the only things that is "priceless" to me. I mean, I'd sell it for a million dollars and then buy it all back, but you get what I'm saying.

Next blog post will come AFTER October 23rd, which means it will be a review of the WWE Super(house)Show that will be here on that evening! I'm bummed that Sydal won't be there, but it's still going to be awesome! I might actually be more excited for Nikki to see it, since it's her first WWE show. So yes, next post will probably be Sunday, Oct. 24, after the show. Looking forward to it!

The Chris Benoit Tragedy

Chris Benoit was hands-down one of my favorite wrestlers of all time. One of those guys that crossed over to a whole other level for me. Someone who could actually give me goosebumps just from watching him wrestle a match. The list of wrestlers who could/can get that kind of reaction out of me is pretty short.

Benoit was legendary in the ring. From the opening bell until he was off camera, he gave 110%, and was one of the most physical wrestlers you'll ever see. And that's what I loved about him, not only was he great, but he brought the best out of anyone he stepped in the ring with. And the reason for that is simple: If you're not at your best when you're in there Benoit, you're going to find yourself chewing on your own ass by the end of the match.

I've seen Benoit wrestle live a few times, but I'll never forget his match with MVP at WrestleMania 23. We had Undertaker vs. Batista and Shawn Michaels vs. John Cena, and Jeff Hardy's mind-boggling spot in the Money in the Bank Ladder Match, but on the train ride back to the hotel, all I could talk about was the wrestling clinic Chris Benoit put on in his match against MVP. Awesome.

I remember June 25, 2007 pretty vividly. Or at least what I was doing when I found out. I remember going to WWE.com and seeing Chris Benoit's portrait, against a black background, and that is never good. Sure enough, the caption read "Chris Benoit Found Dead", but more than that, the smaller print below it said that not only was Chris found dead, but so was his wife, Nancy, and their seven year old son, Daniel.

Same as when I found out Eddie Guerrero had died, I'm pretty sure I was in shock for a couple of days. It just doesn't seem real, the gravity of someone simply not being here anymore is too much for anyone to fully grasp in one sitting. I started reading up online, and heard everything from "Nancy and Daniel got sick and died, and Chris killed himself when he got home and found them" to "Nancy killed Daniel, and Chris killed her and then himself". It seems strange now, but it never even entered my mind that Chris could have killed them both.

Monday Night RAW was tough to get through that night, as the entire show was cancelled and they filled the three hour time slot with a tribute show to Benoit, featuring his greatest moments, matches, and emotional testimonials from other wrestlers.

This post is titled "The Chris Benoit Tragedy" so I will tell you the facts of the tragedy, as they've been reported: Chris Benoit killed his wife Nancy, then his seven year old son Daniel, and then himself. The apparent catalyst was massive brain damage, caused by repeated concussions and blows to the head over his wrestling career. There.

Chris Benoit was 14,633 days old when he died. I think the real tragedy is that a man who led such an inspirational life, will forever be defined by three of those days. That a man who worked so hard to forge an amazing legacy doing what he loved, will be remembered for his crimes.

I remember way back when I was just learning Pro Wrestling, in December, in a garage with no insulation, and a ring with no springs, just a lot of wooden planks and carpet. I'd just taken a horribly botched leg drop from a 350 lb man-beast, which broke my nose. And as I rolled out of the ring, blood steadily trickling from my nose, I remember thinking "Ok, what would Benoit do?" And I may not have liked it, but Chris Benoit would have stuffed some kleenex in there so he wouldn't get blood all over his instructor's mat, and climbed back in there to take some more leg drops. I mean, the guy broke my nose, he obviously needs more practice. Glad to help.

I'm gonna wrap it up now, there isn't enough room on the internet for me to say everything I want to about Benoit, so I've got to end it somewhere. What Chris Benoit did in the last three days of his life, should not be forgotten, or looked past. But it shouldn't nullify everything that he did before it. I still try to model myself after Chris's example; humble, hard-working and respectful. I just wish that I could say that I consider Chris Benoit to be one of my heroes, without needing to add "the man, not the murderer" after it, but that is, unfortunately, the sad reality.

For most people, when they hear the name 'Chris Benoit' they think of a monster who murdered his wife and son, and then hanged himself. I think of a hard worker who earned my respect and millions of others', and influenced a lot of who I am today. What he did was unforgivable, but it won't stop me from appreciating who he was, and what he did for my love of professional wrestling. Benoit was the best. I miss him every time I watch a match.

Let's end off with a classic Benoit moment. I remember having to pick my jaw up off the floor after I saw this live. O_O.

John Cena: The Ultimate Heel

If there is a God, someone within the WWE will read this.

At this very moment in time, the WWE has the opportunity to break the 'dry spell' they've been in ever since they entered the "PG Era".

As a little bit of a background, the WWE recently entered it's latest "era", The PG Era. Basically what happened was Chris Benoit snapped, as a result of way too many concussions, killed his wife, his seven year old son, and then himself. This brought about MAJOR changes in the WWE, and the way they treat their talent. Obviously a double murder-suicide is NOT good publicity for a company. So the WWE decided to alter it's image to a much more family-friendly one, and in the process protect it's talent. They banned blading. They banned ANY type of head shots (chairs, foreign objects, anything.) And they toned the language down, and stopped doing anything overly violent.

For hardcore fans like myself, it was the saddest day in WWE history, and the reason why I don't watch the product much these days. I mean, look at this promo from the Attitude Era:



Maybe it's not fair of me to use to The Rock and Steve Austin as examples, because nothing could EVER compare to their feuds, but just the entire feel back then compared to now is like Disney World to Tinker Town. But I digress from the matter at hand.

The WWE right now is staring at the greatest opportunity they've ever had to bring some life to the PG product, and that opportunity's name is John Cena. Ever since 2005, John Cena has been the ultimate babyface, he stands up for justice and honesty, and sends a wholesome message to the youth watching the product. Five long years I've had to endure this crap, because the WWE was just too selfish to take the loss in revenue from Cena's merchandise sales, and turn the guy heel.

Now, Cena belongs to The Nexus. Anyone here ever watch Power Rangers as a kid? Think evil Green Ranger, the ULTIMATE Power Rangers baddie, that is what Cena could become here. One of the greatest villains in WWE history. Five years children have been cheering for this modern-day Superman, it needs to end. Evil Cena... I get chills just thinking about it.

Last week was just the beginning, Cena turned over the victory to Nexus leader, Wade Barrett. This could be good, start off slow. Maybe next week have Cena take a bullet for Barrett, but eventually Cena needs to get his hands on a babyface. I'm talking complete annihilation. But it needs to be someone lower down on the card, like Matt Hardy, or maybe The Hart Trilogy. Have Barrett send him after Smith and Kidd, and just destroy them.

The only problem I foresee is what to do when The Nexus angle is done with. How to keep the guy heel? The fans don't want to boo him, and even if they boo him throughout this Nexus angle, they're really booing The Nexus, not Cena... Tricky tricky.

I'm sure in the end Cena will turn on Barrett (I hope they at least drag it out until WrestleMania...), and be a babyface again by the end of this angle but... Someone once said, "You may say I'm a dreamer... but I'm not the only one." Am I so wrong for dreaming of a world where John Cena is a heel?

I think I've rambled on enough for today... I think next week I'll try to tackle the Chris Benoit murder-suicide. Chris Benoit was (my opinion) THE greatest professional wrestler of all time, and a personal hero of mine, and I don't care how ridiculous it sounds, it was one of the worst days of my life when I found out what he did. I'll leave a video at the bottom to preview next week's blog post: The Chris Benoit Tragedy.

Jericho is from Winnipeg, you idiots! ;-)

Just wanted to throw this up because I love it so very much. Regular blog entry will still be up later this week.

Farewell Jericho!

WWE Monday Night RAW 09/27/10

Monday Night RAW kicks off with The Miz, cutting a promo on Daniel Bryan, followed by a tag team matchup.

First off, let me just give props to The Miz. He's officially "broken out", and is a staple in the WWE now. His mic skills really are awsome, and considering where he started, his success is impressive.

And what is up with Morrison giving his glasses to kids in the crowd now, during his entrance? John 'The Hitman' Morrison...?

The Miz & Alex Riley vs. Daniel Bryan & John Morrison:

Thought the match was a good kick-off, got the crowd going, no real big spots though, nothing overly impressive. After the match things broke down, and in a pretty awful set up for a match, Daniel Bryan just attacked Morrison for literally no reason, I'll just overlook that....

So it's Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz vs. John Morrison at Hell in a Cell, in a 'Submissions Count Anywhere' Match.... Which is a no brainer considering The Miz and Morrison don't have submissions.... Sometimes I think they hire baboons to write the mid-card scripts....

Divas Battle Royal:

Ok, I'm gonna try to watch this seriously and critically, here I go.... Highlight of the match was Eve eliminating herself from the match. Nattie wins, and I suppose that's the best case scenario, can't go wrong with Hart blood in ya. She's a good wrestler, and I genuinely feel sorry her having to be in the company she's in.

Backstage with Ted DiBiase and Maryse:

Not sure what to expect for next week, returning Diva perhaps?

Sheamus looks like a cartoon character. I look at him and my mind refuses to believe a human being can look like that... White as snow, and fiery red hair. It's hard to stand out in the WWE these days, and he does a great job. He's got great mic skills as well, fella. Sheamus issues an open challenge and we cut to a commercial break.

Sheamus vs. The Great Khali:

Ah, two foreigners. One from Ireland and one foreign to a scrap of wrestling ability... Sheamus beats the shit out of him (holy cow Sheamus' chest really shows those chops, I'd have LOVED to see Sheamus vs. Benoit). Khali getting squashed? Now that puts a smile on my face.

Time for 'The Cutting Edge'. Tonight Edge interviews the anonymous RAW GM via the laptop. I caught myself laughing at "Why do you have to hate, yo?" and felt such shame... RAW GM sets up the next match.

Edge vs. John Cena:

I think Cena has a dropkick now. He's been perfecting it for three years I guess. In another three years will he debut a goddamn German Suplex? Edge hits the spear after an average match, and pins Cena clean, which I was impressed with. But of course, Cena's foot is underneath the bottom rope, and the RAW GM restarts the match. Aaaand Edge is tapping within 15 seconds, and I bury my head in my hands...

After the match Edge snaps and trashes the laptop. "You've got the crazy eyes..." Haha, oh that was good. Edge goes 'Flair' on the laptop and drops an elbow on it before going 'Benoit' on it and smashing it into his own forehead, busting himself open in the process. Don't imagine Vince was too happy with that. Just because you can't hit others in the head, doesn't mean you can do it to yourself!

First promo I've seen for Jericho's new DVD: Breaking The Code -- Behind The Walls Of Jericho. Looks AWSOME. Honestly, whether you know anything about him or not, Chris Jericho is a great reason to be proud to be from Winnipeg. What a personality, and an incredibly hard worker. Can't wait to watch the DVD, and I recommend everyone check it out as well.

Nexus vs. Mark Henry & Evan Bourne:

I don't like calling Matt Sydal 'Evan Bourne'. This is my blog, and damnit I'm calling him Matt Sydal. And don't even get me started on 'Daniel Bryan', Bryan Danielson you are free from the WWE's stupidity here on my blog! Rejoice!

Anyways, short match. Very sad to see that Sydal's push has officially bitten the dust, and he's tagging with Mark Henry now... But his Shooting Star is always flawless, and tonight is no different, though Nexus somehow picks up the win. And proceed to beat Henry and Sydal down. Matt Sydal is a lot like Jeff Hardy, he's an amazing bumper. There's very few who possess that natural ability, and Sydal is one of them. Guy can take some sick looking bumps.

What kind of accent does Wade Barrett have? I'm embarrassed to guess... >_> I always get British and English and... other accents... confused...

Johnny Knoxville hosts RAW next week! Well that should be good for a laugh.

David Hart Smith & Tyson Kidd vs. Cody Rhodes & Drew McIntyre:

TJ Wilson and Harry Smith that is... I'd better make up my mind about this whole "real name" thing. Don't worry, I'll never say Chris Irvine vs. Adam Copeland...

Should be a good match, let's see what happens here. Nice pace here, Kidd takes some stiff shots. Shorter than I thought it would be, Rhodes & McIntyre pick up the win. Oh no! Dissension in the ranks! Seems like they're flirting with breaking up The Hart Dynasty, smart move I think. Both guys could flourish on their own.

Chris Jericho vs. Randy Orton:

Jericho out to the ring! So listen up you gelatinous tapeworms! Jericho lists opponents he has beaten for... an impressive length of time. He is interrupted by Randy Orton's theme music, and out comes the Viper. Jericho has begun his tour with his band 'Fozzy', so he will unfortunately be written off the show tonight. Sad to see him leave AGAIN, but he will be back.

Jericho nails a beautiful Lionsault towards the end, before Sheamus interferes and draws the DQ. After the match Jericho hits the Codebreaker on Orton and stalks him with a steel chair. Jericho takes an RKO for his trouble, and then a STIFF looking punt to the head. Jericho is stretchered off to end the show. Not sure when he'll be back, hopefully sooner than later though.

I don't watch WWE programming very often anymore so I can't really say how this show stacks up to recent ones, but I didn't think it was bad. Lack of talent combined with PG Programming is DEFINITELY hurting the product, but tonight's show was alright.

Well, until next week, and in closing: To Chris Jericho!

The Wounded

May 16, 2004 -- As Eddie Guerrero wanders unknowingly towards the side of the announcer's table, John Bradshaw Layfield turns suddenly, steel chair in hand, and blasts Eddie with sickening force, right on the top of his head. The sickening sound of steel on bone resonates through the arena, as Guerrero crumples to the ground.

Moments later we are greeted with a horrific sight: As Eddie sits upright, his back against the fan barricade, blood cascades out of a gash in his forehead, covering his face and chest in mere seconds. The bleeding is profuse and uncontrollable. What would normally be considered a medical emergency goes untreated for 15 minutes, and Guerrero loses a drastic amount of blood as he finishes the match.

January 7, 2007 -- Triple H aggressively lifts Randy Orton to deliver his signature Spinebuster. At the point of impact, however, something is clearly wrong as Triple H clutches his right thigh, in agony. When his knee impacted the mat, the force tore his right quadriceps muscle (the largest muscle in the human body) right off the bone.

Triple H knew he was severely hurt, and communicated it to the three other men in the ring with him, as well as the referee, yet received no immediate medical attention, wrestled for over 10 more minutes with only one good leg, and finished the match. He would later undergo major surgery to repair the damage, and be sidelined for over eight months.

These are just two of countless other examples of WWE Superstars working through injury, something that is hard for a lot of people to understand. It seems odd to wrestle through a ruptured muscle, or a broken bone, or a severely lacerated head-wound, but it happens more often than you might think. Their is a sacred phrase in the Pro Wrestling universe, and that is simply "The show must go on." and anyone who chooses to lace up a pair of boots, needs to quickly learn to adopt this philosophy.

Half of it is passion. The undying drive to put on a good show for the fans, no matter what happens. The cameras are on, the lights are shining bright, and the fans are chanting your name. It would be hard for anyone to just pack it in, in spite of an injury.

The other half is kayfabe. From the moment the WWE logo appears on your TV screen, to the moment it's made its departure, the talent is living and breathing in kayfabe. Someone gets hurt during a match? Good, that's probably what their opponent said he was going to do to him. There are no breaks to get a doctor out to the ring and take a look at him, that is directly breaking kayfabe, and breaking kayfabe when the cameras are on is a gigantic no-no.

As a bit of an aside, breaking kayfabe in Pro Wrestling, would be like Rachel calling Ross "David" on Friends, and having it air.

Though some people may call it sheer stupidity and moronically reckless, there is a lot to be said for the dedication wrestlers have to their profession and their fans. To them, the show is #1 and everything else comes second. We should all be so lucky to find something that we're equally passionate about.

As of late, WWE has taken a much more family-friendly approach to their programming (something I will surely blog about later) and there are much fewer incidents like the ones I mentioned above, due to new "rules" being put into effect such as no more chair shots to the head, which can be partly credited to the discovery of extensive brain damage on Chris Benoit's brain (another topic I will cover here eventually.)

For those of you who stuck around to the end, you are rewarded (or possibly punished) with video footage of the two incidents mentioned at the top of the blog! Please be warned, things cannot be "unseen" in life, and if you are at all squeamish at the sight of blood, do NOT watch the Eddie Guerrero clip. I realize that now it is like a car crash, and you simply must look, but please be warned that it is extremely graphic not to mention mind-boggling that someone could lose so much blood and live to talk about it. The Triple H clip is harmless, though very interesting.

So whether you like Pro Wrestling, you hate it, or you just don't care, all I'm trying to do is help these guys earn a little more respect for what they do, and hey, maybe next time you hear someone talking about "all that ketchup on his face" you can say "Hey man! That shit's real!" Eddie Guerrero would appreciate it!

Eddie Guerrero at Judgment Day '04

Triple H at New Years Revolution '07

NOTE: Just as an interesting but related side-note, Chris Jericho actually attributes the fact that he's never sustained an in-ring injury, to being raised in Winnipeg. He says the cold makes us "Vikings", and you are welcome to take that however you please ;-)