Finally!!!!! We know Who Will Host WM 27 - The Rock

So 2.14.11 we got to find out who will be hosting Wrestle Mania XXVII, I blogged it would be Vince McMahon himself but fair play to him, he came through for the fans and it was of course - The Rock Dwayne Johnson. The social networks (twitter/facebook) exploded with grown men marking out for The Rock appearing and cutting an amazing promo. The guy had been away 7 years, it was like he hadn't been anywhere. The Rock indeed set the seeds for numerous upcoming angles in the WWE, talked about The Miz which isn't too surprising as he is the resident annoying heel champion in the promotion but what was surprising was he turned his atteniton to the man who has been 'talking trash' - the one and only super baby face John Cena. I don't know where this will lead, maybe a match maybe not. One thing The Rock said other than his usual catchphrases etc. was he was going to be "sticking around" so maybe we could actually see a return to the ring for the 'Great One'.

Looking good for the WWE, they didn't let the fans down for 2.14.11 but what about next week, 2.21.11 - will the WWE come through for the fans again and have the 'mystery man' be revealed as Sting or will it just be The Undertaker which is basically the main thought of the internet right now?

Follow me on twitter @WLH_Stu

Discovered A New Podcast - I Want Wrestling

There are many wrestling podcasts around, some good, some not so. Followers of myself and this blog will know I prefer shows that cover all aspects of wrestling but they are very few and far between. Due to the 'demand' most podcasts cover the WWE and TNA. Despite my personal tastes, there are podcasts that do it well like DKR and TWS (links on right of the page). Recently there has been a lot of trending on twitter for #iwantwrestling and this is a site and podcast with a difference. Most wrestling podcasts are done by fans, some say they are journalists and there are some actually done by wrestlers themselves like Colt Cabana and Hurricane Shane Helms. I want wrestling is different because it is run/hosted by former WWE creative writer Dave Lagana. After he was fired by WWE he went on to work on the ROH TV show HDNet. There have been two shows as of typing this and Dave has on like himself former WWE creative writers. Check out his site and search/subscribe on iTunes http://IWantWrestling.com

Also, if you haven't yet, please download The Still Real To Us show over at http://wheelhouseradio.com or again on iTunes. I have been a guest co-host on there before and you never know, could be again

Follow me on twitter @WLH_Stu

So Who Will McMahon Announce As Wrestle Mania Guest Host?

So tommorrow night, Vince McMahon will announce who will be the guest host for this years Wrestle Mania. MANY names are being rumoured, The Rock, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Justin Bieber, Donald Trump, Ted Turner even Sting (yes, the wrestler not the singer). Now I have been accused of writing blogs for 'attention' more specific, when I said it could be Skip Sheffield that returns to the WWE on 2.21.11, yes, I came up with an opinion, one I am entitled to and got flamed, OK, not flamed but questioned as to my reasons for writing such a thing. Anyway, back to 2.14.11, McMahon will make his announcement and who do I think it is, do I think it's any of the above names or someone not mentioned so far? Well, I do think it's someone already mentioned in this blog, I think the guest of Wrestle Mania XXVII will be...............Vincent Kennedy McMahon. Yes, just like all those years ago when the 'Higher Power' was revealed to be McMahon, I think we will all find out on 2.14.11 that WM XXVII will be hosted by good ol' Vinnie Mac.

This week in TNA With Olly Peters

Airing 3/2/11 in the US and 9/2/11 in the UK
So we finally get IMPACT back in the UK after a month’s absence, will it be any good?

IMPACT begins in the same old way, Immortal in the ring in force, but now with the return of Scott Steiner! Does anyone really care? I know I don't. During this in-ring slagging match Eric Bischoff seems to always want to mention the other company. I really don't see how this achieves anything. I don't read spoilers on the internet and I don't know if there are any TNA fans that only watch this product. I don't watch WWE but I know what's going on in it, however if I didn't and I heard Eric going on about Nash, Booker and probably Sting having gone to WWE this would make me go and watch WWE. I don't really understand why he keeps mentioning it.
It’s been reported that "They" are not Main Event Mafia but from where I was sitting, those suits Kurt, Rick and Crimson are in sure do make them look that way.
So we move on to an Immortal skit from back stage, then after about 15 minutes we finally get a match. Ink Inc verses well Immortals Gunner and Murphy, this well known tag team. Are we running out of tag teams as they are all being split up for the X-Division? Somehow Ink Inc win, but I can’t really remember how as I kind of glazed over during this match as i’m not a big fan of either teams.

Next is video of Christy Hemmey outside of a court with, no news. Thanks Christy.
Ok I do admit I love this Eric Young character, he is a refreshing change to an otherwise dull Impact. I have enjoyed all the little backstage skits he's been doing and he really makes me laugh. Coming out and telling Mike and Tazz he has overheard who "They" are, but he can’t tell anyone because he and whoever he tells will be silenced. And he's still wearing the old TNA Championship belt, genius.

Next we are shown in a cribs style the Jarrett home and family. Does anyone remember that two years ago TNA stood for Total Nonstop Action?! What happened? I couldn’t really care less about all this. I remember when we used to have match after match, and they were good matches at that, fast paced and full of action.
Which brings me onto the next match, although at first I wasn't really sure it was a match. Bully Ray and The Pope verses Devon and Samoa Joe. Now I like the Bully Ray character and his shirt, but I think he should bully someone that's not Devon, maybe at the chain match they are in at Against All Odds. Devon could get injured somehow and be out of the picture for a while, then Ray can bully the X-Division guys building the character up for Devon to return in a few months. As you can tell I don't think much of this match and as with probably every TNA match for the past year we don't even have a finish. Also, when did referees stop the count out? Back in the old days as soon as you left the ring they would start the count, now they just prance around until "security" charge down and then that's it. Oh Pope and Joe disappeared off through the back after the Green Hornets sidekick Kato, I mean Joe's camera man, came out.

Well now that's 26 minutes in and we have only had 2 matches. What's next you ask? Well we have a three-way X-Division match between Doug Williams, Jeremy Buck and Jay Lethal. Not a bad match and I’m glad Doug didn't win. I'm a big fan of Doug's but I really think he should move away from the X-Division, and I love the Chaos Theory, it’s just a shame he wrestled Flair in the UK because I would have loved to see it live, but hey, Flair was never going to take it. So Jeremy Buck wins, and I still can’t take these guys seriously as heels. They just look so un-menacing when they try to grimace with their acne ridden cheeks. I do enjoy watching Jeremy swinging through the ropes like a monkey, and they are a good addition to the X-Division. But what’s happened to Jay Lethal? I was glad when they dropped the Black Machismo gimmick as it got a little stale, but I would have liked to see him verses Hogan in that gimmick. His promos with Flair were awesome but he has been lost in the TNA roster and hasn't done anything of late.

Next is a backstage promo, which I think has been on before, followed by some from the Euro tour. TNA is finally back on UK tv, with this being the first episode on Challenge, and they have just returned from a show in London but we are shown backstage promos from… Germany! I couldn’t care less about walking backstage with Hardy and now we get Anderson and Hardy face to face in the ring, great!
The next match is Mickie James verses Sarita in the first ever tape/strap/bare knuckle match, whatever! Does anyone else think that Mickie’s shorts look really stupid with the pockets sticking out? Does she really need them? Ok so I got really bored with this match and drifted off. I usually fast forward but for you lot I endured it!! We actually got a win but still got a run-in from Madison who Knocked out Mickie.

Now we head back to the Jarrett's. Did anyone else find the kids calling Jeff “Daddy Jeff” really disturbing?? Is this what we are going to get from now on if they are no longer doing Reaction (which we never got in the UK anyway), well it sucks. MORE WRESTLING PLEASE!!!

Now I've calmed down we can carry on to yet another backstage promo, no wait I was wrong, IT’S THE SAME PROMO!!! How many times do we have to watch this?? Plus there is still 45 minutes left!

So it’s finally time for the big return match from Genesis, did anyone see that by the way? Before the match begins Jeff Hardy, who has gone all deep south on us, and Mr Anderson start a little scuffle and it takes three refs to split them up. Why? Just let them go at it please. Then we get Al Snow and some other dude to separate them and get them into the ring. So the match goes on, but if you were at the Maximum Impact London you would have already seen this match. Well, except for the part with Fortune, I did enjoy Fortune turning face! I don't think I have heard the crowd this loud in the Impact Zone in a very long time!

Well Immortal come out again and we get a slagging match between Eric and AJ with a very weird mental Matt Hardy jumping around shouting stuff from behind Eric! I totally agree with AJ that all the "talent" Hogan and Biscoff have brought into the company has just ruined what was once a great product. I don't rate RVD, the Hardy's are a waste of time, and the whole EV2 thing, well don't get me started on that! I didn't care about ECW in the day and I cared even less when they revived it!! I really enjoyed the crowds " WE WANT SIX SIDES" chant! Hell yeah, bring back six sides. That what attracted me to TNA- good paced wrestling and a different ring, a different product! What happened!

Well I rate this out 2 out of 5!
Too many repetitive promos and not enough wrestling! Eric Young and the AJ promo were really the only highlights.

So until next time!

Randy Savage And His Possible Return To The WWE

There is a lot of talk of Randy Savage maybe coming back to the WWE either in the Hall of Fame 2011, 12 or 13 or /and in another role in the company. Many have seen Savage's promo's for the Mattel action figure he has out and for the video game he is a part of. Now I agree that he can still cut an awesome promo but I seriously hope there are no fans that would want the 'Macho Man' to return to in-ring action because Savage will go down as one of the all-time greats and I for one wouldn't want his career tarnished by embarrassing himself in the ring when his best days are past him because we all know, there are some people who just won't hang up the boots when they obviously should.

Please leave comments on your feelings about this subject, one should he be in the HOF, should he be in the WWE other than the HOF and should he work any matches if/when he returns on 2.21.11? oooops, wrong guy.

Follow me on twitter @WLH_Stu

Who Should Make The Jump To The Big Two in 2011?

Over the past few years the WWE and TNA have signed wrestlers that were big names on the independent scene (CM Punk, Bryan Danielson, Nigel McGuiness, Colt Cabana, Tyler Black, Low Ki, Samoa Joe) and a few have had relative success. I think in 2011 they should continue this trend and pick up a few of these wrestlers:

Prince Devitt (Pictured)- To me this is a no-brainer. Fantastic moveset. A real student of the game. Popular in Japan so it is easy to capitalise with the Japanese fan base if he had a decent mid-card push.



Rocky Romero- Another guy who is big in Mexico, he’d fit right in the X-Division. He is good on the mic and he has the best flying arm-bar in the world

Brodie Lee- Physically Intimidating. Works well in the bodyguard role. A great wrestler for his size.

Claudio Castagnoli- World travelled. Good moveset. Can entertain the crowd easily.

Chris Hero- See Claudio Castagnoli

Pac- Another perfect fit for the X-Division. Fantastic High flyer. Easily over with any crowd.

Kevin Steen- Capable of doing 450 splashes and moonsaults that can put the best of high-flyers to shame. Very good on the mic. Can take a massive beating.

Having any of these guys on the roster will definitely increase the amount of actual talent and may force others to step up their game. I hope WWE or TNA does the right thing and take these guys.

Follow me on twitter @AH_Walker

Kevin Nash: Was He Under Contract To TNA Prior To His WWE Return?

There is a lot of talk on the Internet about Kevin Nash at the moment, yes he returned to the WWE at the Royal Rumble but the bigger story concerning Nash is the fact that apparently he was actually under contract to TNA wrestling just prior to his WWE return. Now, people are debating a few things, one, why would TNA president Dixie Carter release one of their bigger names just in time for one of the biggest PPV's of their competition. The word on the street so to speak is that Nash's newest contract was paying him less than his previous ones but yet,  he did sign it. Somehow WWE made contact with Nash to return there in time for the Rumble PPV and of course, would this be classed as tampering with a contracted performer from another company? The answer of course is yes. For me, this may be the case but still TNA released Nash from his contract allowing him to go to the WWE so I'd be surprised if TNA tried to make a legal issue out of this.
Where the whole story becomes interesting is according to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer, Kevin Nash went to Dixie Carter, asked for his release and was turned down. Now if the story of Meltzer is to be believed, apparently Nash all but blackmailed Carter saying if he wasn't given his release he would dish some dirt on either Carter herself, TNA or both. We all would love to know what this dirt is if it there is any at all. It's pointless to speculate because it really could be anything. Hopefully one day if there is a story to tell, we will find out.
Before I finish, back in the 90's when WCW was ripping the then WWF a new one in the ratings, Vince McMahon would often accuse WCW of 'tapping' up his talent to go to WCW. How the worm turns huh?

Follow me on twitter @WLH_Stu