Just as he said, CM Punk has made the WWE socially relevant once again. Check these links for some pre-MitB commentary from ESPN and a fantastic interview via GQ:

The Masked Man: On Wrestling and Reality (via ESPN’s GrantlandO

The GQ&A: CM Punk

Last night lived up to (and perhaps even exceeded) expectations. Fun show, compelling, left us asking questions and looking forward to Raw tonight!

In case you’re wondering why we made signs for a referee, let’s take a look back on Memory Lane… Charles Robinson was once the personal referee for The Nature Boy Ric Flair, earning himself the nickname Lil Naitch. He once ran 5 miles down the entrance ramp at WM XXIV to count the pinfall that ended The Undertaker’s match, thus extending his streak. And if you haven’t caught onto it yet, pay special attention to his reactions during any match he officiates – he’s the most animated and entertaining referee in the business!

I remember watching this match when I was a kid. I had a basic understanding of what a jobber was, but I still thought the action was real. I’m pretty sure I spilled my Corn Pops when I saw this go down. Crazy for its time, at least.

And yes, I believe the mullet count in ring is three.

WWE is always scrambling in the summer months, still trying to recover from their WrestleMania hangover, where you’re likely to see stock prices drop, only to start moving back up as the next “Road to WrestleMania” begins the following year…

This year, they took a big chance on announcing next year’s WM Main Event: The Rock vs. John Cena. I like this in some ways, but in other ways it’s unfortunate. It takes some of the build up out of the equation, as we know one third of what is ultimately going to be another triple main event has already been decided. (The other two thirds are the World Heavyweight Championship and the Undertaker Streak match). In my opinion, they “shot their wad” a bit early, and the build up has been left to Cena and Rock tweeting insults back and forth every few weeks. Still cool, but not gonna drive ratings and won’t get people excited. After all, it’s all about ratings and PPV buys!

The other big story that’s been out there in recent months is that CM Punk’s contract would be running up this July (now only a couple weeks away). Folks have been speculating on whether he’d re-sign, whether he’d jump ship to TNA or ROH, or whether he’d just take some time off like Chris Jericho likes to do. Truth be told, the answer to that question still seems to hang in limbo. WWE took the internet speculation and let CM Punk run with it. It’s now become the most exciting thing to happen on Raw in a long time. The Nexus Invasion was awesome, but doesn’t even compare.

CM Punk saw his opportunity, and he reached out for more than just another one of Vince’s brass rings… you could say this is his “Austin 3:16″ moment:

WWE has gone to great lengths to promote this angle, as they’ve now “suspended” Punk, leaving his #1 contender spot open:
WWE Chairman Vince McMahon suspends CM Punk [WWE.com]

I’ll end this post by quoting many of my Twitter followers: “Vince, don’t f- this up!”

Can you really have a round table if there are only two participants? Well, Darrell and I figured we’d try. We literally sat down at a round table. It was awkward. We felt like moving to a rectangular table. But we held strong, and had the following discussion on the state of professional wrestling.

I hope you enjoy, and especially hope that it spurs some further conversation. Whether you agree with us or not, we’d love to hear from you!

J Sizzle:

If TNA declared war when they signed Hulk Hogan, then Vince really knows how to fire a return salvo. Bret Hart was pretty big for the beginning of this year.

But way beyond that is everything else WWE has done. The rise of young talent is almost unreal. Seeing guys like Swagger and Sheamus winning WWE and World titles is not only unusual in the sense that they’re young, but unusual in the sense that they’ve made it believable and each has done a decent job of rising to what Vince has demanded of them.

NXT stumbled out of the gates, and had some of the worst WWE television moments I can recall (I’d rather watch Duke Droese fight the Bastion Booger than another obstacle course where Lil Naitch referrees a soda chugging contest). But Daniel Bryan has been great, and Monday night’s events were reminiscent of old nWo days… but almost more shocking somehow. The crappiness of NXT made me not expect much out of them, but there they all were as a single unit, taking over the show.

Going back to TNA, it’s great to see that WWE has recognized the need to develop and push young talent, as TNA had done in the past. Now TNA is just like old WCW, with the washed up favorites of times past… WWE still utilizes the veterans, but they mix the two well.

Darrell:

I agree with all those points completely. I’ve completely lost interest in TNA. At first, it was because it changed its name from iMpact! to just TNA Wrestling, and my TiVo couldn’t figure out the difference. Then, it conflicted with some other show(s) I was recording; by the time I got back around to watching it, it was much less fun and a billion times older than I remembered. The best thing the WWF did in the last five years was to put Ric Flair out to pasture in a dignified manner. Digging up his bones (alongside Hogan’s, Sting’s, and yes, even Foley’s) has just been insulting. Stop letting them wrestle!

Also, switching to the four-sided ring was the signal to me that TNA was no longer interested in being different and innovative. I never was married to the idea of the hexagon, but Christ, if you’re gonna have an identity, stick with it. That said, TNA is a terrible name for a company.

The one thing TNA had over Vince was that their young talent was so exciting. For about a year there, I was more excited about AJ Styles and Black Machismo than almost anyone on the WWF roster. TNA had youth and fun, while WWF was staging pointless hour-long matches between Cena and Michaels.

Then it all turned around — Santino became funny; Sheamus, Swagger, Ziggler, and Morrison became entertaining stars (less so for Swagger as far as I’m concerned, but he’s pulled his weight well enough). Even the Miz turned into a good wrestler. We’re seeing less and less of HHH, Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, Kane, and Mark Henry, and surprisingly enough, the company’s much better for it. With that in mind (and at the risk of sounding blasphemous), I think the addition of Bret Hart has been something of a step backward.

I liked the RAW ending when the NXT stars ripped apart the stage. It was a bit overlong, but it continues the message that Vince finally heard after years of fans’ complaining: develop some new blood or we’re gonna get bored. Even stupid experiments like the obstacle course were at least something new.

I am curious to see what they do with the NXT takeover. I never watched WCW, so any nWo similarities will be lost on me. But I do know that there might be a similarity with an angle TNA tried, then fucked up royally: a legitimate feud between young and old. I’m not sure if they (or anyone) can do it in a truly interesting way, but the idea excites me. I would love to see a lengthy back-and-forth between the benefits of youth and experience that goes beyond TNA’s approach (Young wrestler: “GIVE ME A CHANCE! WAAH!” Old wrestler: “SHOW SOME RESPECT! GRUMBLE…”)

As for your last question: will TNA have an answer for the long term? I don’t know — maybe offer Shawn Michaels five million dollars?

Not going to lie.. overall, I was not impressed with tonight’s PPV.

Both Elimination Chamber matches delivered, and The Miz put on a good match against MVP. Everything in between was horrible. I’m going to get the complaining out of the way, as there was a lot of good stuff tonight that I’d like to talk about as well, so please bear with me..

After a solid finish with a believable tap out by Triple H to give Cena the title, Vince came out and gave the belt away to Batista. Yes, Batista. Why, dear God… why??? The world’s most uninteresting man now holds the WWE title. Lame.

After that, I think there was an Intercontinental Title match.. some Scottish guy and Kane. Borrrrring. We ended up watching the US Hockey Team take it to the Canadians in the meantime.

I wasn’t the only one who was bored with the whole thing.. JTG via twitter during the PPV: “PF CHANGS here I come!!!!!”

The Divas match was a travesty. No title on the line, boring tag match. What’s the point? Are they trying to put us to sleep before the second Chamber match?

Then William Regal (still the 2008 King of the Ring, in case you forgot) and Edge come out to promote the Monday and Tuesday television shows. Really? I mean… really?! Come on, WWE – people paid good money to watch this, and this is what you deliver? Disgusting. Though.. it was fun to see Edge spear Regal.

Luckily for us, The Miz decided that he’d save the PPV – he and MVP put on a solid match. Yes, I said that The Miz saved the PPV’s momentum and got us ready for the last match. Hey, who’d have thought he’d have three belts, anyway? Anything is possible… I’m just waiting to see him with a fourth belt.

Finally, the last match came through and granted all of our greatest wishes. Jericho won the title, and the WrestleMania card… well, let’s put it in the words of Alter Bridge: “On this day, I see clearly…”

Here’s my updated WrestleMania XXVI card… I dare WWE to prove me wrong, because it is AWESOME:

Big Show / The Miz vs. The Hart Dynasty, WWE Tag Team Championship
Smackdown / Raw Divas Battle Royal, Women’s / Divas Championship Unification
Randy Orton vs. Legacy, Handicap match
Money in the Bank (Shelton Benjamin, John Morrison, R-Truth, Christian, Ezekiel Jackson, Jack Swagger, MVP, Kofi Kingston)
Cena vs. Batista vs. Triple H, WWE Championship
Edge vs. Jericho, World Heavyweight Championship
Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels, Rematch from WMXXV

I’m so excited for WrestleMania!

And no, that’s not to imply Bill Goldberg. That man would only make the Hall of Shame, for ending Bret Hart’s career.

Anyways, I’d just like to speculate a bit…

Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase and Antonio Inoki are certainly worthy, but it’s clear that WWE has yet to drop the bomb on us, as far as inductees go.

Stu Hart? Owen Hart? With Bret’s appearance at WrestleMania this year… doubtful.

I don’t know who the big name will be, or even if there will be one.

Some realistic thoughts as to who else might make it in, though:

- Ron Simmons
- Mr. Fuji OR Paul Bearer – assuming they’d limit it to one manager
- Debra Miceli (aka Alundra Blaze / Madusa) OR Luna Vachon – assuming they’d limit it to one female
- The Brooklyn Brawler – he deserves recognition for his work not only as a jobber, but behind the scenes and as Doink the Clown
- Duke the Dumpster Droese (kidding)

- Bret Hart vs. Vince McMahon – YES. This WILL happen. Our friend Kevin Eck at the Baltimore Sun doesn’t seem to quite get it (link). The “accident” on Monday in which Bret Hart broke his leg was nothing more than a clever tactic to distract us from Bret’s physical limitations. If he falls down or limps awkwardly, there’s now a kayfabe excuse, and I think it will help sell the match in a huge way! It will no doubt be a street fight in and around the ring, and Bret will finally get his revenge for the Montreal Screwjob.

- Shawn Michaels vs. Triple H – Unable to have his rematch with The Undertaker, Shawn completely loses it, and alienates his DX best buddy in the process. Shawn focuses all of his energy on Triple H, and becomes a man possessed. Mind games for an entire month will build up to this epic showdown.

- Undertaker vs. Edge – ‘Taker retains at the Elimination Chamber, and Edge steps up to the challenge. He knows beating The Undertaker for the belt will mean exponentially more than taking on his former Rated RKO partner. Which leads me to..

- Randy Orton vs. John Cena – Originally, they were going to use Cena in a mixed tag match with Bret against Batista and Vince. They scrapped that idea when they signed their big celebrity guest for WM26. Besides, it’s been played out, but Orton and Cena have great chemistry in the ring together. Speaking of celebrity guests…

- Batista vs. Kanye West – Kanye’s been watching Batista over the past couple of months, and he’s noticed that Batista is as good as he’s ever been. The reason? He’s channeling Kanye’s image, in nearly every way. The battle of d-bag vs. d-bag will be EPIC. Look out for an in ring interruption by The Situation from The Jersey Shore..

I’ll come back and rewrite this whole thing after Elimination Chamber goes down. I’m probably wrong on every account. Frankly, that’s what makes Elimination Chamber the perfect PPV to have prior to WrestleMania. They can change everything, opening the door to a wide range of possibilities for WM main event matches!

I feel like this is some sort of a bad joke…

Does anyone even like Nickelback?

Last night, we attended the live broadcast of ECW, followed up by tapings for Superstars and Smackdown.

As it was the first time I had been to a Smackdown taping (as opposed to a live show), it was interesting to see how they did things differently.

They were pretty consistent with shooting different angles and extended reactions before and after matches. They also weren’t afraid to redo a move if they screwed up during a match. Now I get what JR is saying when he talks about the different feel he gets in doing Smackdown play by play as compared to his days on Raw… It will be interesting to see how they handle the shots in the editing room and how the final product appears on Friday night.

After the final bell rang, they managed to keep our attention, even as the event dragged on past the four hour mark.

An appearance by The Undertaker sure didn’t hurt things, and DX was as entertaining as ever, even though it was for nobody’s entertainment but those of us in the arena at that time.

I must say, I am getting more and more excited for WM26 here in the Valley of the Sun!!!