The Awesome Era

The referee's three-count ushered in a brand new era in the WWE last night, as The Miz successfully cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase on WWE Champion Randy Orton! Enter the Awesome Era, which, in my opinion, is going to be truly awesome. Anyone looking for a picture-perfect example of hard-work personified need look no further than Mike 'The Miz' Mizanin.

I still remember the good ol' days of 2004 (holy crow, I did NOT realize it was so long ago...), in my mother's living room watching the $1,000,000 Tough Enough competition, and telling her to come check out the Big Show slapping the piss out of all these young, green WWE hopefuls. She was disgusted, and got mad at me. But I digress. One of those hopefuls was Mike Mizanin, already rocking his monicker of 'The Miz'. The guy had charisma, that's for sure, but he was definitely not in physical WWE shape, and certainly didn't possess any outstanding professional wrestling ability.

He, along with many others, was man-handled by the 500-pound Big Show, degraded by an irate Kurt Angle, made out with Mae Young (worst of all?), and went through extensive physical exertion only to be runner-up to the walking embarrassment that was Daniel Puder. He was eliminated from the competition, but far from defeated. The saying goes, "if you want something bad enough, you can get it" and The Miz is living proof.

He was eliminated from Tough Enough on December 16, 2004, but had made a lasting impression on the WWE. He worked his tail off under a developmental contract for close to two years, before making his WWE debut on Smackdown! on April 21, 2006. And from there on, we witnessed the non-stop growth of a young man who is without a doubt going to comprise the young talent that will be the future of this business.

For the most part, Tough Enough is completely despised by the men and women in the WWE locker room. Reason being that they all had to work their ass off wrestling on the independant scene in order to catch the eye of the WWE, and these guys are given a golden opportunity to compete against FAR fewer individuals, win a million bucks and be invited into the WWE. That's why despite the opportunity, most of them don't last (see Daniel Puder's appearance in the 2005 Royal Rumble, where he got the shit chopped out of him by Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit and Hardcore Holly, before being dumped over the side of the ring like a corpse, never to be seen again).

It's the guys that truly want it who will make it in this business, and it was obvious that The Miz wanted this more than anything. I mean, how amazing is it that in 2004 Mike Mizanin lost the Tough Enough competition to Daniel Puder, who didn't last a week in the business, and now, six years later, The Miz is the face of the company: the WWE Champion. I never thought I'd be able to sensibly use the words 'Cinderella' and 'WWE' in the sentence, but it seems appropriate now.

Way to go Mike, you are one of the few (lately) who TRULY deserve to have that belt around your waist, and you've convinced someone who has lost interest in the current product, to tune in once again. The company is in good hands. Scratch that, it's in AWESOME hands.

Auto-Fail!!

Gonna have to be a short one today, folks, life calls.

So apparently on the WWE's latest DVD release, 'The Top 50 Superstars of All Time', they actually MIS-SPELLED Bruno Sammartino's last name in the chapter index, spelling it as "Summartino". Are you fudging kidding me? That is a complete and total embarrassment.

It makes me wonder if CreComm is the only program in the world that makes you live and die by the spelling of proper names. And also makes me realize just how integral to your reputation it is that you can spell them correctly and consistently. So way to go CreComm, things like this reassure me that there is logical reasoning behind why I sweat just a little bit when writing assignments.

Happy Friday, hope everyone has a great weekend and stays safe on the roads with all those maniacs! Farewell!

Top Ten Favorite Wrestlers

Well folks, I am tired and busy and think I'm coming down with a nice, juicy flu, so rather than delve deep into my intellectual pro wrestling thoughts, I'm going to whip up my own personal Top Ten List of my favorite wrestlers, past and present. I'll also be introducing my first poll to the blog, hopefully some visitors will take part in that if they don't want to leave comments. So here we go!

10) Matt Sydal: I remember seeing one of his Ring of Honor matches on TV, can't remember who it was against, and being absolutely blown away. The things this guy can do in the air, and how flexible and athletic he is, it's truly awe-inspiring. Definitely the Rey Mysterio of this generation, in the way he is re-defining high-flyers.

9) AJ Styles: AJ Styles is the perfect blend of technical wrestling, and high-flying. I love how crisp almost every single thing he does in the ring is. Very impressive to watch.

8) Jeff Hardy: You either love him or you hate him. A lot of people call Jeff a "spot monkey" or a "glorified stunt man", but I don't see how you can take anything away from a guy who continuously puts so much of his well-being on the line for our entertainment. Jeff has been the driving force behind multiple 'Holy Shit!' moments for me, and I will always have a great deal of respect for him.

7) The Rock: Not a lot of explanation needed here. The Rock is professional wrestling. Not Hulk "I have a tummy ache, sorry" Hogan. He was the height of charisma, and the height of athletic ability, and the two met at the top to combine into some of the most entertaining television you'll ever see.

6) Kurt Angle: Contrary to the chant that will always accompany his (WWE) entrance music, Kurt Angle does not suck. Kurt Angle is an amazing amateur wrestler, and brings out the best in his opponents. I love his physicality, and how intense his matches are. And damnit if Kurt Angle couldn't be funniest son of a bitch on WWE programming sometimes. I think I might just have to post 'Sexy Kurt' at the end of this entry...

5) Bryan Danielson: The guy was fired in, what, his first couple weeks with the company? And the outcry by the fans was so great, that they actually brought him back. That says a LOT about a guy's talent. When does the WWE EVER listen to it's fans??? Bryan Danielson vs. Chris Benoit might be the very first thing I request to see upon reaching the pearly gates.

4) Randy Orton: Recently Orton seems to have contracted "Stone Cold Syndrome". The disease of being such an amazing heel, that people start to cheer you, and all of a sudden you're a babyface, but you don't really have to alter your personality whatsoever! I hear a lot of people say Orton is crap on the mic, but I think he's awesome. You guys know he's trying to generate heat right...?

3) Chris Jericho: I don't even really know why, but there's just something so insulting about being called a 'parasite'... Another guy who is incapable of having a bad match. And one of the few who still has a credible submission hold. I miss hearing a pop for a submission attempt... But Danielson is bringing it back!

2) Eddie Guerrero: It takes a lot to truly amaze me when it comes to pro wrestling, but the way Eddie could hold a crowd in the palm of his hand, was amazing. Good guy, bad guy, it was truly up to him, not you. I definitely took him granted, as I'm sure most of us did, and would give anything to see one more Eddie Guerrero match.

1) Chris Benoit: If I actually had a decent amount of people commenting, I'd say something like "This is probably going to create some controversy..." Benoit didn't have a lot of traditional charisma, but he had his own personal type of charisma. And it was all in the ring. Holy smokes could that guy go. So physical, and so flawless. His Northern Lights Suplex will probably always be my single-favorite wrestling move to see. HIS. Not only did we lose a fantastic wrestler back in 2007, but we lost a fantastic legacy and it truly is a shame.

So there it is, like it or not, those are MY top ten favorite wrestlers to date! It's hard to cut it down to ten, but there ya go. Talk about your own, disagree with mine, whatever you like! Take us home, Kurt!

Tribute to the Fans

I’ve been a Professional Wrestling fan for about seven years now. Over the course of these years, I’ve been privileged to attend about six or seven live WWE shows. The shows each varied in significance, from a non-televised house show to WrestleMania 23, but no matter the grandeur, there is one thing that seems to stay constant throughout: the fans. A quick scan around the arena can usually give me a pretty good idea of what kinds of fans are in attendance. It doesn’t take an in depth conversation with the individual to recognize which category they fall in to.

First there’s the ‘mark’. A mark is a wrestling term, used to define someone who cannot separate fiction from reality when it comes to Pro Wrestling. Marks are wrestling fans at heart, but for all the wrong reasons. They have absolutely no concept of the matches being pre-determined, or the characters and personalities being staged. Marks can most often be seen on YouTube, in self-shot videos, chastising Kane for burying The Undertaker alive, and tragically ending his life. Or standing from their seats, hand-over-mouth and wide-eyed after seeing John Cena dumped through a wooden table. Marks will forever be a source of laughter to more educated fans, and they will forever wonder why.

Next is the ‘smark’, which is simply a play off the previous term, to stand for ‘smart mark’. Smarks are just as big of fans as marks, only they have a firm understanding of the ins and outs of the business. Smarks understand that every match is pre-determined, and that there is a lot of acting involved in the personalities portrayed in the ring. Smarks will often have knowledge of backstage politics, or certain wrestlers’ personal lives. Smarks can often be seen cheering for the heels (bad guys) and booing the babyfaces (good guys), since they have grown weary of seeing the stereotypical ‘Superman saves the day’ win.

‘Dedicated fans’ are a rare breed but by far the easiest to spot. They are typically 35+ but not exclusively. Dedicated fans are dressed head to toe in WWE clothing and merchandise. They are usually wearing a WWE brand baseball cap, t-shirt, armbands, and jeans. But they’re not finished yet. Slung over their shoulder is a $250 replica championship belt, in one hand is the program for the evening and they could very well be carrying a WWE plush toy or other paraphernalia. Dedicated fans are usually seen walking the halls around the concession booths, and not in their seats, simply because they’ve been to so many events that seeing the show isn’t of high priority to them; they come for the atmosphere… and to show off their merchandise.

‘Clueless fans’ are also fairly easy to spot, and the majority tends to be comprised by one sub-category: girlfriends. Clueless fans typically have no desire to be in attendance, and don’t watch the programming regularly. They view Pro Wrestling as a bunch of rednecks throwing fake punches at one another, and can often be overheard saying, “who’s that?” and “what just happened?” Clueless fans can be seen blowing bubbles with their gum, twirling their hair, looking annoyed, and texting.

Last and least are ‘the crazies’. The scary thing about the crazies is that they cannot be easily identified at first; they fit no standard physical definition. But once the crazies reveal themselves, there is simply no mistaking them. They can be seen either in the arena, at a show, or just in a regular setting with a wrestler present. The crazies can be seen leaping out of their seats and rushing in to the ring to confront a wrestler, or verbally and physically assaulting a wrestler in an everyday setting. They can then immediately be seen being punched in the face by Eddie Guerrero or Chris Jericho, among others, and dragged off by security.

So whether or not you’ve ever been to a Pro Wrestling show in your life, chances are if you sat down in attendance at one, you would fall into one of these five categories. Together they make up the classic atmosphere of a Professional Wrestling event. Try to spot each one the next time you’re out at a show, like a twisted game of bingo. And if you don’t spot a crazy, then you may just have to suit up and fill that role yourself.

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.