My Take on the State of the WWE

Hello wrestling fans and haters. My name is Mike and I have been an avid fan of pro wrestling for over 2 decades now. I started watching wrestling during what some people would call the golden age of wrestling. My first memories are of my brother driving me to madness because he was cheering for the Four Horsemen as they wailed on my hero Dusty Rhodes. I remember watching a champion named Flair wrestle 30 different opponents in 30 days for the world heavyweight title and wanting him to get beat every time but being strangely pleased when he didn't. And I remember watching a superhero named Hogan slam a giant named Andre and it feeling like the earth shifted. For fans who got into wrestling during this time or during the famous "Attitude Era" today's WWE just doesn't cut it. If it isn't The Rock, Stone Cold, Goldberg,or the NWO then they don't want to see it. They see the Cena marks and get mad and say they aren't "true wrestling fans." If someone isn't getting sprayed with Budweiser or getting their "candy ass whooped" then they turn the channel. And for the record I consider myself a part of this group. I will be genuinely entertained after most episodes of Raw or Smackdown. Yet I still find myself saying "What are they doing to HBK? Why are they trying to push that guy? This storyline sucks." I have found myself wanting to see the late 90s Goldberg and the Texas Rattlesnake come out and beat the hell out of Batista and John Cena. But that just isn't going to happen. What is the state of the current WWE? It's not great and nowhere near what it was. It will probably never again have the nostalgia of the 80s or the unpredictability of the 90s. But if we as wrestling fans will start looking towards the future instead of always looking at the past then maybe we will enjoy it more. With good young talent( Benjamin, Bourne, Hardy) and so many storyline possibilities the WWE is going to be just fine. If we just give this current group of guys and Vince's boys in Stamford a little time we are going to once again have a state of wrestling that has us talking about something we seen on Raw for weeks.Let"s all just get passed this notion that the WWE has to be exactly like it was in the past or it will suck. Because it isn't going to be. The sooner we accept that as fans the sooner we will start to enjoy watching wrestling again. And we can finally agree that regardless of how much the so called "smart marks" piss and moan the WWE isn't going anywhere. Sports entertainment will continue to do exactly what it is supposed to do-entertain us.

CCW is better than WWE and TNA. Deal With It.

I have been a loyal WWE fan since about 1990 I would say. I watched wrestling off and on in the 80's but didn't get die hard about it till around 1990. I was 100% WWF. Never watched anything longer than a minute of WCW or anything else (sorry Eric, but I was loyal) Although I did turn an episode of Nitro on briefly only to hear Macho Man actually say... "If ya smell what the Mach is cookin." Seriously, he did. And I remained a fan even to this day. But over the past few years, WWE has well, gone to crap. The same ol same ol that goes on every Monday night. The same champions over and over again. Seriously how many times is John Cena going to win the title? It's boring.

Because of that, I broke away and tried to watch TNA, when Kurt Angle first arrived and even with Foley got there, something about TNA just didn't hook me. So I didn't stay with TNA for long.

I was pretty upset for awhile. My love for wrestling all but dead. Then CCW came along. Hulk Hogans Celebrity Championship Wrestling. At first I thought it was awesome just because of how stupid it would be. Screech wrestling? Come on. Then I started watching it, and after awhile, the matches that these celebrities were putting on became more entertaining than anything I had seen in WWE in YEARS. Sure these guys don't know all the moves, or how things exactly work, but it is something new, something fresh. It was pure entertainment.

This past weekend, changed everything. I knew at some point they were going to start "feuds" between the celebrities to bring in some storylines for the matches, but at the same time try to keep the "reality" of it all going. And we had Dustin Diamond Vs. Danny Bonaduce. Danny was injured and missed last week and because of that he was kicked off the show, but then he came back and was demanding to be put back on the show, Dustin did not like this at all and thought it was unfair so boom, a feud was born, and a match set. Dustin Vs. Danny, hardcore falls count anywhere. And good god, it was one of the best wrestling matches I had seen in a long, long time. Sure there was no blood, no huge bumps, but it was damn great. Entertainment. I was having a blast watching wrestling again. Then the finish came, Dustin was set to do his finishing move on a steel chair. A DDT. And he did it. Dustin Diamond pulled off the prettiest smoothest most perfect looking DDT I hadn't seen since Jake Roberts pulled them off. It was awesome.

Now don't get me wrong, there are some points in the show that are a little annoying. Like how the camera cuts to the pretaped shots of the crowd going crazy. (I've worked in television before, so whenever you see random shots of audience reaction, usually that's pretaped and they're acting, saves time during the real filming.) But honestly that is the only gripe. The guest spots by RVD and Goldberg were great. The teachers Brutus and Knobbs are fantastic. And the judging is done by people that KNOW what they're talking about.

This may be pushing it even further, but I have not sat and watched an episode of Raw in months. I have not sat and watched and episode of Smackdown in years. And ECW? Give me a break. I just read all the results of these shows online, and thank god I did because nothing ever happens. But CCW? I NEVER miss an episode of CCW.

CCW needs to branch out and be its own federation. Get some celebrities, and start a real show. I would be there weekly to watch.

Brock Lesnar is the UFC Heavyweight Champion...But is He Being Taken Seriously Yet?

Brock Lesnar defeated UFC legend Randy Couture this past Saturday to capture the UFC Heavyweight Championship - with less than 5 MMA fights under his belt.

Ever since Lesnar entered the world of MMA the doubts have been numerous, with many people claiming it would only be a matter of time before Lesnar failed. Granted, he did lose his first UFC fight against Frank Mir (due to a rookie mistake, in a fight he controlled the majority of,) but Lesnar has since defeated the much more experienced Heath Herring, and now has beaten a UFC Hall of Famer in Couture. Lesnar has not only won fights, but has dominated in such an unstoppable manner, his fights are drawing major attention (and money) to UFC.

Of course Lesnar is not a guy who is cheered in any of his fights so far, as he hasn't, and probably never will break the "WWE Wrestler," since the WWE is where his name became famous, but Brock's huge win has opened the door for MMA fans and promoters to have no choice but to take qualified guys from the world of pro wrestling seriously. But even with the world title win, Lesnar is still new to the sport, and STILL has yet to be "accepted" by most as a serious MMA Star.

Lesnar beat Couture, but people will blame Randy being old as the reason Lesnar won. Brock is going to have to successfully defend his title against a wide variety of MMA names in order to gain the respect of the MMA industry. Up next for Lesnar will be the winner of the Interim Heavyweight Title fight between champion Antonio Nogueira and the man who defeated Lesnar, Frank Mir. Either fight with Lesnar would be another money fight and seemingly any future fight involving Lesnar garners interest from those who both love and hate him.

Some people may still think Lesnar will not be hugely successful in MMA aside from these first few wins, but no doubt Brock has made an impact, and the eyes of MMA are watching Brock Lesnar, who so far has proven he is "The Next Big Thing" for MMA, just like he was in WWE.

The Miz and John Morrison NEED to Beat DX!

OK the title of this blog sounds like a title on a copy of Pro Wrestling Illustrated from the 80's, but it is a true statement. Am I the only one that has noticed how the Miz and John Morrison have slowly crept in and become the most entertaining act in WWE? It started when they started "The Dirt Sheet," for those of you who don't know, that's the name of their web show on WWE.com. Basically the show comes off like a show that Miz and Morrison put together themselves, and got attention because it's actually FUNNY, unlike every other pathetic attempt at humor WWE tries. So The Dirt Sheet got so much attention on the net, it's now mentioned on TV and even done live on ECW. Miz and Morrison are over the top of course, with their delivery, and no doubt their presentation, such as Morrison putting diamonds to his abs, which looks damn ridiculous, but I think that's the point. So now that the team has made waves for about a year now, the next step is for them to come up to the next level, and that chance will be at this Monday's big 3 hour RAW. The angle started last week or so, with Miz and Morrison calling out DX about their 80th "DX reunion," and claiming they were a better team than DX of course. Then last night on ECW, Miz and Morrison brought out DX imitators, and sadly, the imitation, and the things Miz and Morrison said about DX, were pretty much all true. DX was created in 97, a group of rebel heels who got over because they made fun of everyone and everything, and showed no respect. Well it's now 2008, and DX is now a watered down group of 2, that sells merchandise, and brings out glow sticks, yes GLOW STICKS. DX used to break every rule in the book, and we watched them because we couldn't wait to see how far they'd cross the line next. Now, DX repeats the same catch phrases, puts t-shirts and hats on to show they're in "DX Mode" as opposed to just being Triple H and Shawn Michaels like usual, and they reunite approximately 4 times a year so WWE can push it as the biggest and ONLY reunion of DX.....1 night only....right WWE?

Well the new degenerates are here, and they are the Miz and John Morrison. Even in this era of crappy WWE, where its TV-PG, nothing raunchy or even semi adult is allowed, Miz and Morrison have found ways to entertain, and to break out of the boring mold the WWE and it's writers has everyone else trapped in. So the point is, the match is upon us, tired repetitive DX, vs. the new generation degenerates, the Miz and John Morrison, and while it's most likely that DX will just steamroll Miz and Morrison, pose for the fans, and be "cool" as usual, the time is now to elevate Miz and Morrison, and they need to shock the "WWE Universe" by beating DX in the center of the ring, and proclaiming the new 2 words they have for DX and everyone else....BE JEALOUS! Why do I think it won't happen? Probably because this angle has 2 weeks of build up, and after it's over....Triple H goes back to his CAPTIVATING feud with Vladimir Kozlov on Smackdown, and Michaels goes back to his "HOT, NEW ::cough::" with JBL. And sadly, Miz and Morrison will keep entertaining us quietly, on ECW, and maybe a RAW appearance here and there, as history is made once again, with another great thing gets totally screwed by the WWE that has no grasp on what's wrong with their company.

Shelly Martinez Ebay Auction Back Up, Now a Private Signing

So we reported here that there was a huge auction with bids up to 5 grand for a date with Shelly Martinez, well apparently EBay looked at it as a HOT date that would be considered prostitution. Then it got changed to a lunch date, which we guess EBay took as lunchtime prostitution. So now the auction is up ONCE AGAIN, and this time it's geared toward being for charity, and mentions donating half of the proceeds to a cancer organization in honor of Rob Van Dam's wife. It must be OK with EBay now since it specifies very clearly that it's a sit down, eat lunch, and get stuff signed by Shelly, and THAT IS ALL. So far the reserve hasn't been met, and the auction is going until Sunday, so maybe all those bidders DID think they'd get a hot night alone with Shelly Martinez/Ariel/Salinas...who knows. And this time we even have a video message from Shelly herself, explaining the auction and verifying that she's involved and it's no scam. So check out the video as Shelly tries to convince you to come hang out with her for lunch, and some autographs, and that is ALL.