Sheamus Wins The 2012 Royal Rumble

So I watched the Royal Rumble match from about number 5 onwards, I was excited to an extent to see who would show up in the match, didn't think a surprise entrant would win but just wanted to see who turned up. The guys not on the WWE roster who appeared were Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Road Dog Jesse James, not really the impact of Kevin Nash & Booker T from last year but it's WWE and more often than not, they disappoint.

As for returns, we had The Great Khali, Randy Orton which wasn't so surprising but what was..the return of KHARMA. Not seen for a while as she announced live on RAW some time ago she was pregnant. Kharma eliminated Michael Cole at 31:25 and Hunico at 31:55, but Dolph Ziggler eliminated Kharma from behind at 32:02.

So, The Miz & Cody Rhodes spent the most time in the match, and on the downside, all 3 commentators took part in the Rumble, yes, Lawler, Booker T and even Michael Cole. It was funny if nothing else seeing Cole in there.

The business side of things, the final 7 in the ring were Miz, Rhodes, Ziggler, Big Show, Orton, Jericho & Sheamus. And the following is the order of elimination for those 7 Miz at 45:40 (Show), Rhodes at 45:40 (Show), Ziggler at 45:55 (Show), Show at 47:11 (Orton), Orton at 47:16 (Jericho) Jericho at 54:54 (Sheamus).

I would think Sheamus will go on to challenge Daniel Bryan for the WWE title at Wrestle Mania, but you never know I guess. So the road to Wrestle Mania really starts now, there is the Elimination Chamber PPV on the way so we will all be wondering, predicting what the WM card will be - For me, who will CM Punk face is the top of my list, I'm hoping for Stone Cold Steve Austin but it's probably going to be Chris Jericho.

Hit me up on twitter @WLHSTU

TNA LIVE in Manchester, UK - James Shaw Reports For WLH

All Pictures provided by Martyn Nolan @BeansOnToastUK on twitter

This show was the first TNA event I've been to a pretty good was it was!
Jeremy Borash started the show along with Christy Hemme, they talked about who
ever is the loudest gets free backstage passes, didn't see him give a single one
out at any time of the night but still...

1. Austin Aries beat Alex Shelly and Mark Haskins to retain the X Division
title.

Great opener, they announced Haskins as 'Manchester's own' which was quite funny when he was announced as Nottingham's own on Thursday and he's actually from
Oxford! Anyway great opener, didn't think much of Haskins, AA is a great worker
and a great heel

2. Crimson beat Douglas Williams

Douglas got a big pop, didn't think much of this match, the crowd were hot but it was kind of obvious that the home town guy was gonna loose when he was up against Crimson. It was like squash match in a way because every move Doug tried to do, Crimson countered it, think this was possibly the worst match on the show. But got to see Doug so its not all bad.


Above: Douglas Williams before his match

3. AJ Styles beat Gunner

AJ got a great reaction, he was one of the guys who I wanted to see most so it was great to see him in a pretty good match, gunner plays the heel pretty well, AJ tried to do the styles clash several times but it was countered by Gunner every time, AJ won with paylay kick.

4. Mickie James and Tara beat Gail Kim and Madison Reign in a non title
Match.

This was my chance to have a look around the arena, there was a lot of people there, apparently there best Manchester attended show on record! I noticed that Dixie carter sits by the sound desk next to the ramp and watches the whole show! Also she meets and greets with the fans from when the doors open until the show begins, that's what you call fan appreciation! I tweeted her during this match and I got sent a direct message which was pretty cool I thought!

INTERMISSION

5. Bobby Roode beat Samoa Joe in a TNA World Heavyweight Championship Match.

This was from when Joe won that Xplosion Tournament, this was being taped for Xplosion a week on Wednesday in the UK Borash said. This was a solid match, Joe is incredibly over in the UK, if he was this over in Orlando, he would still be main eventing every week instead of tagging with Magnus. This was possibly my favourite match of the night.

Before the main event Dixie Carter came out to thank the fans.


Above: Kurt Angle choking out James Storm in the main event

6. James Storm, Sting and Hulk Hogan beat Kurt Angle, Bully Ray and Bobby Roode.

The build of the match was exactly like the Nottingham show was where Roode comes out saying its a handicap match then Hogan comes out to the biggest pop I have ever heard! Bully Ray came out first to cut an awesome promo, he looked very tanned, I think he spent to long on the tanning beds. he was talking about how shit England was and especially how shit Manchester was and he ranted of the Manchester United fans and also the Manchester City fans, he then said there is only one true great team in this country, he then revealed a Liverpool top, and said 'God bless Steven Gerrard and God Bless Liverpool' great promo! Kurt Angle then came out to a pop, he was meant to be a heel but he was pandering to the crowd like a face. Storm, Sting and Hogan got massive pops. The Match wasn't a give star classic but it was a very good match that used Hogan and sting quite a bit in it! After the match the 3 faces stayed in the ring for about 5 mins while hogan posses for each side of the crowd.
On the whole a great match and would recommend anyone to go and see a TNA house
show.


Above: Sting, Hogan & Storm celebrate after the match

Biggest Pop
1. Hogan
2. Samoa Joe
3. Sting or Storm or AJ Styles

Biggest Heat
1. Bully Ray
2. Bobby Roode
3. Gunner

Thanks,
James Shaw :)

"If I could be serious for a minute..." by KiD

Professional Wrestling has always been a predominantly Caucasian athlete's sport. That may be a bit blunt, but it's true. It's been a lot of Black Professional Wrestlers throughout history, but how many have actually succeeded? An okay amount, but not enough.

I'll start by showing what the usual Black Wrestler is given to work with. Followed by the few who broke the status quo, and were able to blaze trails and put a positive light on our race in this amazing sport.

There's Happy Dancing Black, Angry Black, Rapper Black, Gangster Black, Ignorant Black, Conspiracy Theorist Black, and All Around Stereotypical Black: (early) Kofi Kingston. (early) Viscera. R-Truth. MVP. Marcus Cor Von. (early/2002) D-Lo Brown. Ernest "The Cat" Miller. The Godfather. JTG/Shad Cryme Tyme. Mark Henry. Virgil. New Jack. Saba Simba.

In no way am I discrediting these guys. I'm well aware most of them are some of the most talented wrestlers of all time, and were never given a major title run to show for it. While some of them are/got over and took themselves a step forward, they took the rest of us back 2 steps. The only name that actually made it to World Champion status on that list is Mark Henry, and it took him 15 years.

Now Here is a list to be proud of: Bobby Lashley. Booker T. Brother Devon. Bad News Brown. Elijah Burke. Elix Skipper. Ernie Ladd. Ron Simmons. Jazz. Amazing Kong. Jacqueline. (current) Mark Henry. Rocky Johnson. The Rock. Ron Killings. Tony Atlas. Shelton Benjamin

It seems like nowadays, if you want to see great Black Professional Wrestlers, mainstream is not the place anymore.

Here is a list of American Indy guys that are pushing us forward: AR Fox. Xavier Woods. Jay Lethal. Navy Blue. Uhaa Nation. Sugar Dunkerton. Willie Mack. Kenny King. Scorpio Sky And last but not least, the FUTURE of our business! Freight Train!

Any comments, hit me up on twitter @TheyCallHimKid

Royal Rumble Memories With Duckman

Above: Ric Flair after winning the WWF world title following his win in the 30 man Royal Rumble in 1992

You can always tell it’s a new year when two things happen. The first is the desperate attempts by friends and colleagues to get fit, stop smoking or stick to some other life improving resolution they know they will drop by mid February. The second is the reason you’re all here reading this - the Royal Rumble is looming large on the horizon. The Rumble is my personal favourite WWE PPV show of the year and the official start of the road to Wrestlemania!

Everyone loves the Royal Rumble. If you don’t then I’m afraid you’re a moron. Reasons to be excited? Well, it’s the first WWE PPV of the year. It’s one of the few remaining money drawing gimmick matches in wrestling today. There’s always a surprise or two in the match itself. But most importantly, for me at least, the Rumble signifies the start of the three months of the year where Vince McMahon gets his eye on the ball and starts booking WWE with a view to drawing his only big PPV number of the year at Wrestlemania.

This year is the 25th anniversary of the Royal Rumble. Or the 24th if you work in the WWE Nostalgia/Propaganda Department and your job is to remove the 2004 Rumble from history because…well…a guy won that year that we’re not allowed to talk about. Let’s just call him Canadian Wrestler X and move along. No need to bring the mood down. Let’s get excited people! IT’S ROYAL RUMBLE TIME!!

I’ve always loved the Royal Rumble and in recent years it’s become one of the few highlights of the year in WWE for me.. It’s one of the few PPVs that they haven’t diluted or messed with too much down the years. In recent years Summerslam has lost a lot of its shine as a special event. The Survivor Series is just another WWE PPV with an elimination tag match somewhere on the card to pay lip service to the name. Aside from Wrestlemania, all that remains as a reminder of the glory days of the ‘big four’ PPVs is the Rumble. Ah the days of the ‘big four PPV.’ The days before we got a PPV every month with ever diminishing returns both financially and creatively. How I miss thee.

For me personally the Royal Rumble ticks all the boxes for what I like about a professional wrestling show; excitement, unpredictability, surprises, good stories, star making performances and the chance to countdown along with a big clock! Plus, when it’s all done and dusted, there’s the added bonus of the winner of the Rumble picking which World Champion he will face at Wrestlemania.

With something like that at stake everyone watching the Rumble match can emotionally invest because their favourite wrestler might just win it and get that big Title shot at the biggest show of the year. Of course, we all know deep down inside there’s really only 3-4 guys that have a realistic shot at winning and the rest will just be over the top rope fodder. Still, it doesn’t spoil our enjoyment of the match itself. That is testament to the power of the Royal Rumble.

If you don’t believe how important the Royal Rumble is check out some of these past winners:

Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Shawn Michaels, Brock Lesnar, The Undertaker, HHH, Batista, John Cena, Rey Mysterio, Edge, Randy Orton. Just some of the stars that have won the Rumble in the past or used that win to rocket themselves to even greater stardom in WWE.

Granted, winning the Royal Rumble doesn’t automatically mean you will be a main event star. See : “Del Rio, A – 2011,” for further evidence that while winning the Rumble is a big deal, the push and execution of the Title run after it is probably more important in the long run.

I’m going to look back at some of the best moments in Royal Rumble history. Jim Duggan’s win in the first event in 1988 and Big John Studd’s win in 1989 are now seen as historically important, but at the time there wasn’t the same importance or interest in the Rumble match as there is today. WWE certainly hadn’t come up with the idea to link the winner to getting a Title shot at Wrestlemania (this wasn’t introduced until 1993). The Rumble was a special attraction match but it was really in the following years that the Rumble became a significant event on the WWE PPV calendar and the official start of the road to Wrestlemania.

As with anything in WWE in the late 80s to early 90s if Hulk Hogan wasn’t involved it might as well have not happened. This was true of the Rumble which kicked into life with Hogan’s wins in 1990 and 1991. In terms of match quality these Rumble matches don’t really stand the test the time. Although Ted Dibiase and his then record 44 minute run was a real highlight of the ‘91 Rumble and a shining example of just how damn good a worker Dibiase was. These Rumbles were a sign of things to come with the Rumble being used to reinforce Hogan’s star status but it would be the following year where the Rumble win created a whole new star for the WWE audience.

Many long time fans call the 1992 Rumble the greatest Royal Rumble match of all time. I’m one of them. ‘92’s Rumble was different from previous years as the winner would become the WWE Champion. What made ’92 so special? One man. THE man. ‘The Nature Boy’ Ric Flair.

If you want to see one of the most amazing displays of cardio, selling and workrate by Flair look no further than the ’92 Rumble. You should all know the story – Flair entered the Rumble at number 3 and after nearly an hour of getting his ass handed to him by the roided up freaks of early 90s WWE, he was able to outlast everyone, including Hogan and became the WWE Champion for the first time.

The execution of this match is Rumble match booking perfection and if you haven’t seen it yet (a crime in itself) then you need to go and hunt it down. This was the first time the Rumble was used as a star making vehicle (something WWE would repeat in the following years to varying degrees of success). It’s true Flair was a star elsewhere (and had been for decades by this point) but in WWE terms winning the Rumble and the WWE Title made Flair a true WWE star.

The Rumble win for Flair was capped off with one of the best ‘bug eyed’ promos I think I’ve seen from Naitch. ‘With a tear in my eye…’ The passion and intensity just pours off the screen as Flair celebrates big time and as he is joined by Mr Perfect and Bobby Heenan a true classic Royal Rumble moment was created.

1993 and 1994 saw the match quality of the Rumble dip again. Yokozuna’s win in 1993 and the double winners of Bret Hart and Lex Lugar in 1994 were headline grabbing moments but if you’re looking at the Rumble match and WWE in general in the mid 90s there’s one man who stole the spotlight with his leather ass-less chaps and more sequins than an entire season of Dancing with the Stars – the show stopper, the icon, the main event – ‘HBK’ Shawn Michaels.

It was becoming more obvious in the mid 90s that the Rumble could be used to really sky rocket someone in terms of their push and the man with the afterburners on in ’95 was Michaels. He made Rumble history in ‘95 by entering at number 1 and winning the whole thing. The finish to this Rumble match was tremendous with Davey Boy Smith throwing Michael’s over the top rope and celebrating a win – his music even played.

But Michaels (in a display of athleticism that was truly ground breaking in WWE at the time) held on to the top rope, had one foot touch the floor, skinned the cat and returned to the match to shove Davey Boy off the middle rope where he was celebrating and claim the win. A fantastic moment and one of the most memorable Royal Rumble finishes in history.

Michael’s won again in 1996 to equal Hogan’s back to back wins at the start of the decade but it was 1995 that really announced the arrival of HBK as a main event superstar in WWE. Even all these years later a part of me always wishes Davey Boy had won that damn match because as a huge British Bulldog fan at the time, it would have made my life complete!

Michaels was ‘the man’ when it came to Royal Rumble and Wrestlemania matches in the mid 90s but there was another extremely talented Texan who was waiting in the wings to become the biggest star the WWE has ever seen. The man who would break records every time he stepped into a Royal Rumble match – ‘The Texas Rattlesnake’ Stone Cold Steve Austin.

Everyone now looks back at the ’96 KOTR win and promo as the night Austin was made a star but winning the 1997 Rumble and the way he won it was, in my mind, the night that Stone Cold truly arrived as the next big main event player in WWE. ‘97 saw Austin tear through the competition, scoring ten eliminations during the match (a record at the time) and is famous for the expertly booked finish where Austin was eliminated but was able to sneak back into the ring and eliminate Bret Hart.

Austin matched HBK and Hogan by becoming the third man to win back to back Rumbles in 1998. This Rumble was basically booked around Austin with every wrestler in the company trying to take him out before the match under the orders of Vince McMahon. While Austin’s win was huge, it was Mick Foley who made Rumble history as being the only man (and I doubt anyone else will do this again) to appear in the Rumble match as three different characters.

Austin would go on to beat Hogan and HBK’s record by winning the Rumble in 2001. This Rumble is a personal favourite of mine simply because the WWE’s talent roster at this point was so deep and the company was riding high both creatively and performance wise in the ring. Plus Austin wasn’t the only one breaking records in 2001 as Kane eliminated 11 wrestlers to claim a record that still stands today. The 2001 Rumble also had one of the best celebrity involvements ever in WWE with Drew Carey entering the Rumble and then eliminating himself when confronted by the monster Kane!

In the years since 2001 we’ve had some truly memorable Royal Rumble moments. From HHH’s return from serious quad injury to win in 2002 to Brock Lesnar beginning his ascent to the top of the WWE in 2003 with his win. Through to Rey Mysterio setting the record for the longest time spent in the Rumble at 60 plus minutes and winning against all the odds in 2006.

Over the last few years the Rumble has become know as the ‘night of the surprise return,’ well, that’s what we call it in my house. In recent years we’ve seen John Cena and Edge both make shock returns from injury and win the Rumble match. Cena’s return in 2008 was one of the best kept secrets in wrestling in recent years and the reaction of the crowd to his return was phenomenal.

I’m not even scratching the surface of awesome Royal Rumble moments here. How about the unbelievably brutal elimination of the Big Boss Man in ’92? The dude was somehow able to hang himself on both the top rope and the bottom rope, while nearly snapping his spine in half on the ring apron! How he walked away from that bump I will never know!

Or how about some of the quickest eliminations in Rumble history? Guys like Bushwhacker Luke, Warlord or more recently The Miz and Santino can all claim to have spent more time getting to the ring than they did in the Rumble match itself!

Or what about 2005? Cena and Batista royally screwed up the finish when instead of Batista throwing Cena out for the win, they both tumbled over the top and to the floor. Cue hilarious scenes of an absolutely furious Vince McMahon charging to ringside to berate both men, only for him to tear his quad while climbing into the ring. The image of Vince sitting on the mat, red faced and bug eyed, yelling and pointing at both guys before rolling out the ring and hobbling to the back is one that will stick with me for years.

So what about this year? What can we expect from the 25th Royal Rumble match? Surprise returns? Superstar making performances? Excitement? Suspense? The chance to countdown along with a big clock? Folks, you can expect all that and so much more!

It’s the Royal Rumble! No matter how shitty the booking, no matter how thin the roster, no matter how cynical the audience are, when it’s Royal Rumble time - all that goes out the window and we are once again captivated by an event unlike any other in wrestling and one that can make and break careers in a single hour! It’s the start of the road to Wrestlemania. If all that isn’t enough to get you excited, you probably shouldn’t be watching WWE anymore!

No doubt you guys have your own favourite Rumble moments. Plus there’s so many questions - who are you picking to win this year? Who is making the deep run to establish themselves as a superstar? Will we get a surprise return or two? If you’ve got answers to those questions I’d love to hear them, either here or on Twitter.

Thanks for reading again guys and I hope you all enjoy the Royal Rumble when it rolls around at the end of the month. Remember, if you enjoy these rambling posts on WLH you can actually listen to me ramble on a kick ass podcast!

That’s right, The Marks for Xcellence wrestling podcast is going from strength to strength and with The Indy Corner and Stu now an official part of the show things are only going to get better! Be sure to check out the show over at www.mfxpodcast.com and you can also follow me on Twitter @WLHDuckman.

Until next time…

Peace

Duckman

iNeed a ROH Show - January 24, 2012

Kyle Patin and Zach Grigg of iNeedWrestling.com Kyle Patin and Zach Grigg discuss the latest episode of Ring of Honor TV, the CHIKARA invasion angle, last weekend's house shows, and much more.

MFX Podcast Episode 5 Including An Interview with MK McKinnan

Above: MK taking it to Adam Cole at FightClub: Pro's Project Mayhem Night 3 (Picture credit goes to Jamie Simpson)

Here, in case you haven't heard it yet is episode 5 of the Marks For Xcellence podcast with Duckman & Sir Ian which also includes The Indy Corner with Stu Rodgers who along with Duckman interviews the awesome MK McKinnan, the rising star of British pro wrestling.

My Top 6 Royal Rumbles By Azan Saigol

The Royal Rumble is less than 7 days away and I thought what better way than to share my favorite Rumble moments/ Matches. This indeed is my favorite pay per view and every year I look forward to it. Now let’s get right into it.

Number 6:

The “Perfect” Royal Rumble:

The 2002 Royal Rumble couldn’t have been more “Perfect” the Rumble was hyped around the Undisputed title being defended for the very first time on Pay Per View and the return of the King himself Triple H. The 2002 Rumble had a great start to finish, after having Goldust and Rikishi entering as number 1 and number 2 respectively they battled it out until the finally a few superstars had come and gone glass shattered and out came Stone Cold Steve Austin. After Austin opened a can of whoop ASS then came Triple H, Undertaker, Kurt Angle and the late great Curt Henning “Mr Perfect”. This rumble was great to see Austin and the game beat the hell out of each other and Maven get his spotlight after Dropkicking Undertaker then getting his ass kicked all over Atlanta.

Number 5:

The Three Faces of Foley:

The 1998 Royal Rumble was simply one of my favorite Rumble’s because of watching Foley appear In the rumble three times. I thought it was perfect as he first started the match with Chainsaw Charlie (Terry Funk) who swung chairs on Foley like crazy. Other than that I thought this match was great because of the fact that Stone Cold Steve Austin he wasn’t at the main event level yet, but the outcome of this Rumble was probably the most obvious of any Rumble in the history of the event. There was nobody else. Even though he suffered a brutal neck injury at SummerSlam 1997, he returned to the ring three months later at Survivor Series 1997 and by the time we got to the Rumble he was looking close to 100% again. Besides the Rumble there was of course the Casket Match its self, at the time “Burning” a casket was unheard off. To see the casket go up in flames was absolutely crazy and everyone loved it.

Number 4:

The Kai-En Tai Run In:

The 2000 Rumble was the PPV that set the stage for the Rocky HHH Feud. It was held at Madison Square Garden and this match was notable for Taka Michinoku and Funaki coming out several times in the match and interfering, as they were angry they were not included. Taka took a nasty elimination at one point, receiving a concussion after his head smacked off the floor. The other main event was Cactus Jack taking on Triple H in a street fight. one of the greatest matches in my opinion.

Number 3:

The Heart Break Entry:

The 1995 Royal Rumble was the year of Shawn Michaels. It was un heard of to win the Rumble at the number one spot but Shawn Michaels did it. This is the year “The Showstoppa” entered at number 1 and outlasted 29 other men. The final saw British Bulldog throw HBK over the top and celebrate as though he won. But, wait a minute. Only one of Shawn’s feet hit the floor. He got back in the ring and eliminated the Bulldog.

Number 2:

The Crippler repeats History:

The 2004 Royal Rumble. A year that is obviously avoided by WWE for reasons. This year’s rumble was one of the greatest. The whole story was built on Chris Benoit against all odds. The match was pretty intense in which Benoit lasted over an hour and two minutes. The other main event was another great last man standing match between Triple H and Shawn Michaels which went to a no contest After Shawn moon saulted of the ropes onto the announce table.

Number 1:

A Hardcore Royal Rumble:

The 2001 Royal Rumble was my favorite Rumble from the “Attitude Era” Simply because it started of as a normal match and once Al Snow entered all hell broke loses. Some notable things from this Rumble was the return of the Big Show, Drew Carry making a guest appearance and who can forget Kane’s record of 11 Eliminations. If you have not seen this rumble GO WATCH IT.

As always, if you have any comments, suggestions, or any wrestling discussions hit me up on twitter: @azansaigol and tell me your favorite rumbles!, come discuss wrestling!

Ryder or Revolting By Captain Obvious

So, we have come to that point in every wrestlers career where it is clear something has to change. Zack Ryder has come to that point. he has risen from obscure mid-card wrestler to internet sensation to US Champion to being John Cena's sidekick in the WWE's version of Bro-Back Mountain. Zach has quickly become the laughing stock of the business with the WWE's creative team's direction for him. He is at a turning point where he needs to change or quickly become the newest incarnation of Santino Marella.

Now don't get me wrong here, I am a fan of Santino and have said for years he is an under appreciated talent. With that being said, he is too far into this comical character to ever be taken seriously by WWE fans. Zack is in line with this storyline to be completely buried. In Creative doesn't give a good pay off to the fans, Zack's push will be over before it even really started.

What can they do to rectify this? One option is to have Cena turn heel on Ryder and brutally assault him. By doing this, it erases most memories of how much Cena has pushed to get Ryder over. Can you think of any top level star who has repeatedly tried to get some one over with the fans as much has Cena has done for Ryder. How many times has Cena tried to get people to follow Ryder on Twitter, either on his own Twitter account or even on live television broadcasts. I don't recall Austin trying to get people to go buy Val Venis merchandise back in the 90's. I prefer option two which is my Black Scorpion option.

Fast forward a few days to the Royal Rumble. Ryder has lost his rematch to Jack Swaggar due to his injuries sustained from the attack by Kane. Cena defeats The Big Red Monster Kane by "hulking Up" and hitting the Five Moves of Doom for the win. After the match, a mysterious person attacks Cena from behind with a pipe laying him out and puts Cena's Rumble appearance into doubt. Then as the Rumble progresses, we have Kane, Cena and Ryder all in the ring at one time. Kane has Cena in trouble against the ropes and Ryder rushes over to help him. In doing so, his youthful exuberance causes both Kane and Cena to go over the top rope and crash to the floor below. Ryder looks severely shaken at what he has caused and gets eliminated also in the process. We see Zack talking to John as they head up the ramp as Zach professes his sorrowfulness for what happened in the ring, costing Cena another shot at the WWE Championship.

Over the next few weeks we see Ryder constantly trying to help Cena, only to have Cena be short and rebuff him. Even Eve comes to Zach's defense and tells John how much Zach appreciates and even idolizes Cena. Cena keeps pushing Zach to the background as he focuses on his Wrestlemania match with The Rock and has to fend off the challenge of Swaggar and Dolph Ziggler as they have been a thorn in his side since Wrestlemania. Two weeks before Wrestlemania, we see Cena once again attacked by the mysterious man in black during a handicap match between Cena and Jack-Dolph. The mysterious man in black runs off as The Rock's music hits and he comes to save Cena from the attack. This leads to Rock-Cena vs Jack-Dolph as the main event the week before Wrestlemania.

At Wrestlemania, Cena and Ryder have a heart felt talk as both men express their respect and admiration for each other. Cena asks Ryder to keep an eye out for the man in black and to make sure Jack-Dolph doesn't interfere in what should be a classic match. The match comes off as a 30 minute match and shows just how good both men still are with Cena emerging victorious and Rock passes the torch and even puts over Cena after the match.

The night after Wrestlemania gives us a Cena-Ryder vs. Jack-Dolph tag match. Cena gets the pin after Ryder hits his finisher on Swaggar, tags Cena, and Cena locks on the STF. As the duo celebrates, Kane attacks both men and puts Cena through the announce table. Ryder escapes as we see the man in black on the screen laughing and telling Cena that he has been behind the Kane-Jack-Dolph attacks on Cena as a way of showing how in control of his hate he is and how out of touch Cena is with his. Cena has had this coming for many years for always showing up everyone in the WWE and never letting anyone else rise to his level.

For the next few weeks Cena battles the triumvirate of Jack-Dolph-Kane in various matches. The man in black makes random appearnaces but no more attacks. Ryder is selling the injuries from this attack on Kane and tries to help Cena when possible. Eve asks Ryder is it worth it to keep sacrifcing his own career to help Cena and Ryder says yes. That Cena was there for him when he needed help and come hell or high water, he will be there for him.

Finally, at Extreme Rules it all comes to a head. Cena defeats Ziggler in an extreme rules match after hitting the Attitude Adjustment onto a table and the giving Kane the Attitude Adjustment onto Ziggler. The man in black comes out with a chair to Cena's back and takes him out and then grabs the mic as he stands over Cena's body. He grabs the mic and takes off the mask to reveal it was Ryder. Ryder then tells Cena, " I hate you John. For years I have been a follower in this company and look where it has gotten me. Stupid headbands, corny glasses, and the same amount of respect as if I was The Red Rooster. I'm sick of the treatment and I am sick of how this company bows down to your every desire and forces the rest of us to just take it. It's time we take this company away from you John and show the WWE Universe just how truley great we can be without you holding us down. Rise above hate, John? We just need to rise above you. Welcome to the Ryder Revolution,John.

By turning Ryder heel against Cena, the WWE can keep their cash cow working and give him a new challenge to face. It also allows Ryder to cement his spot in the WWE as a serious competitor by dropping the Jersey Shore gimmick and allow his athleticism and his natural charisma and mic skills to come through. This can lead to a nice 4 or 5 month heel run until the rest of his outfit turns on him and he has to go at it alone. He can once again become the underdog without the cheesey gimmick and become a top level face in the company. But this is just my fantasy booking and weather or not is happens this way, we will have to wait and see. I hope they don't wind up burying Zack because the guy has the ability to be a top draw.

Dont forget to follow me on twitter below


@CaptainOMG

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And be sure to look for my newest show coming out in Feb. '12.... Vicious Circle Wrestling

Hit me up for links to my old show New Era Wrestling

Captain Obvious

Thoughts on EVOLVE 10 By Ken Drabek

Last Saturday, EVOLVE put on the final wrestling show at the famed ECW Arena in South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Over the years, the Arena has become arguably the most beloved building in all of wrestling, at least in the United States. The legend surrounding the former bingo hall has grown into a part of independent wrestling lore, even long after the demise of the promotion that put it on the map.

Ring of Honor, Combat Zone Wrestling, CHIKARA and Dragon Gate USA have all done their part towards making sure the legend of that building on the corner of Swanson and Ritner did not go away when ECW closed down in 2001.

Strangely enough, the tenth EVOLVE show marked the promotion’s first time in the Arena, though the promotion’s co-founder Gabe Sapolsky has certainly made quite a notable mark between the walls of the Asylum Arena, as it has been known in recent years.

It seemed very fitting that the final shows in the Arena would be a double header featuring a matinee from CZW, who have run more shows than any other promotion in that building, and Sapolsky’s EVOLVE.

EVOLVE 10 proved to be an enjoyable send off for the venue. The final segment did turn out to be rather controversial though, but we’ll get to that later.

The show kicked off with a huge surprise, Low Ki made his debut for EVOLVE and absolutely wrecked Larry Dallas’ big man, Ahtu, with one of the nastiest rolling kicks to the head I’ve seen in a wrestling ring. Ahtu looked to be legit knocked out but Low Ki hit him with another kick for good measure before finishing him off with his Warrior’s Way double stomp from the top rope.



After the match, Low Ki informed everyone that he was in EVOLVE and Dragon Gate USA full time and he wanted his profession back. He referenced Taz by saying “Beat me if you can, survive if I let you.” The addition of Low Ki to the roster of EVOLVE and DGUSA is huge and the potential match ups leave my mouth watering.

There was some really solid in-ring action on the show. Cheech and Cloudy, formerly the tag team Up In Smoke, had a really entertaining back and forth battle which stemmed from their split at the previous EVOLVE show.

Jigsaw and A.R. Fox nearly stole the show with an awesome match. Both men looked very impressive, showcasing just how athletic the EVOLVE roster can be. Jigsaw picking up the win over the red hot Fox came as a shock and hopefully it leads to bigger things for Jigsaw as a singles competitor.


Above: AR Fox launches onto Jigsaw

Throughout the night, the ongoing feud between Fox and Sami Callihan intensified. After losing to Jigsaw, Fox was subjected to some taunting from Callihan.
Fox returned the favor when Callihan wrestled Bobby Fish in the semi-main event later in the evening.

Fox stayed in Fish’s corner for the match and wound up playing a pretty big role in the finish, distracting Callihan long enough for Fish to lock in his Fish Hook submission. Callihan tapped and Fish earned his second win in EVOLVE.

After the match, Fox got in Callihan’s face and handcuffed his own hands behind his back, attempting to goad “The Death Machine” into attacking him while defenseless, which would surely lead to a suspension under the promotion’s rules.
Callihan could only walk away frustrated, though later in the night he would appear to get the last laugh.

EVOLVE 10 also feature two really entertaining tag team matches. In fact, the Super Smash Brothers vs. the Ronin duo of Chuck Taylor and Rich Swann might have been my personal favorite match of the night. It was just a highly competitive, back and forth, entertaining tag team match. Plus, for a second there, I thought Chuck Taylor legit killed Player Dos with the Awful Waffle.

The Scene, Caleb Konley and Scott Reed, picked up a victory early on in the show, defeating the team of Alex Reynolds and John Silver in a very solid match. I’m not very familiar with Reynolds or Silver and I haven’t been a huge fan of The Scene thus far, so this one was pleasantly surprising.

It seems as though Konley and Reed are starting to gel together as a time and suddenly I’m a lot more interested in seeing what comes next from them.
Jon Davis also squashed Kyle Matthews and then called out Fit Finlay for disrespecting him at the last EVOLVE show. This whole segment just served to make Davis look like more of a bad ass than he already does and sets up a fight with Finlay and that is perfectly ok. When that match does happen, it’ll be a real slugfest.

Johnny Gargano made his first defense of the Open The Freedom Gate Championship by defeating Ricochet in the main event of the EVOLVE portion of the show.

A few days have passed since the iPPV and it has been revealed that Gargano went into the match with a back/pelvis injury that he sustained earlier this month. It goes to show just how much heart Gargano has.


Above: Johnny Gargano has Ricochet all tied up

This match against Ricochet at the final wrestling show in the history of the ECW Arena was so important to him that he fought through the pain, admittedly probably not the best decision, and still put on a very good match.

There were a few botches and mistakes that seemed out of place for someone who is usually as crisp in the ring as Gargano, so I had a feeling something wasn’t right with the champ. After the match, which was a highly competitive nearly 25 minute long encounter, Gargano could not get up off the mat.

He had to be taken to the hospital in an ambulance after the show and as of this writing, no updates have been given as to what exactly the injury is or how it may affect Gargano. Here’s hoping it’s not anything too serious and that the champ makes a speedy recovery.

The final segment of the show was a tribute to the Arena, featuring the likes of Joey Styles, Tod Gordon, J.T. Smith and Gary “Pitbull #1” Wolfe. The happy reunion was interrupted by DJ Hyde and a gang of CZW wrestlers.

As soon as they came out, I could already hear “Natural Born Killaz” playing in my head. Balls Mahoney hit the ring first and tried to take the CZW guys down by himself, but the numbers game soon became too much for him. Then, finally, the Ice Cube/Dr.Dre classic began blaring over the sound system and New Jack and his garbage can full of weapons made their way to the ring.

It was 1998 all over again in South Philadelphia. New Jack and Balls cleared house and the crowd was eating it up. Out of nowhere, Justin Credible hit the ring and attacked New Jack for some reason. This brought out Sabu from the back and all of the sudden we had ourselves a match.

Gargano vs. Ricochet might have been the last advertised match in the Arena, but it was only fitting that the final match wound up being Sabu picking up a victory over one of the original ECW’s most despised heels, Justin Credible, with a top rope Arabian Facebuster through a table.

Sabu took the microphone and appeared to be ready to cut a promo, then Sami Callihan hit the ring and things got a lot more controversial than folks were expecting. Callihan laid out Sabu with a beer bottle and launched into a scathing promo, downplaying the significance of the Arena. Fans threw garbage into the ring at him. The mood of the building totally shifted. The lights went out and the show was over, so much for the happy ending.

Judging by the reaction on Twitter, the decision to give Callihan the very last segment in the ECW Arena did not sit well with many fans. I wouldn’t count myself among them though.

It seems as though the fans that are so upset about the way the show ended basically feel that way because they wanted a happy ending. They don’t see why Sapolsky would put all that pressure onto Callihan’s shoulders. They feel like it was a disrespectful way to end the Arena.

Sure, we all would’ve loved to see some more old faces from years past. I would’ve been so excited if guys like Raven, Tommy Dreamer, The Sandman and Shane Douglas could’ve been there for the sendoff, but how many times have we seen them all do the reunion thing already?

Instead of going down that beaten path once again, Sapolsky did something a bit daring, he put a ton of stock into one of his top rising stars. It’ll be interesting to see how the story of Sami Callihan progresses from here.

All in all, EVOLVE 10 was one of the more entertaining events in the promotion’s short history. It certainly did more to progress storylines than just about any other show the promotion has given us to date.

With the debut of Low Ki, the beginnings of the Swann/Taylor tag team championship quest, the set up for a return for Finlay and the emergence of Sami Callihan as a top heel, there is a lot of look forward to coming out of EVOLVE 10.

Full credit to Snap Mare for the pictures of Fox vs. Jigsaw & Gargano vs. Ricochet

iNeed a ROH Show - January 17, 2012

Kyle Patin and Zach Grigg of iNeedWrestling.com discuss the latest Ring of Honor TV episode and much more.

Remembering a Forgotten Classic (Reflecting on AJW) By Shaun Nichols

Left: Legendary female Japanese wrestler Aja Kong

Long time readers of this site and perhaps those who read when WLH was around in a sheet format will probably remember that I've always been a big fan of Japanese women's wrestling in the heyday of the early to mid 1990's. Most fans are aware of legendary shows like Dreamslam I and II, Big Egg Wrestling Universe and others may have actually seen shows like Dream Rush, St Battle or took the time to seek out legitimate classics like Manami Toyota vs Toshiyo Yamada (Hair vs Hair, and we are not talking about the loser getting a little trim).

The year of the two Dreamslam shows of 1993 were a fantastic example of several promotions working together to put on superb events which saw fans witness ***** star calibre matches, the first saw AJW's Akira Hokuto take a terrible beating against Shinobu Kandori before eventually being victorious. A week later AJW's representatives of Manami Toyota & Toshiyo Yamada lost the tag titles to the JWP team of Dynamite Kansai and Mayumi Ozaki in what was their second of their awesome trilogy of matches.

AJW were the only promotion to host these major events and on 31/7/1993 the JWP promotion hosted an event called Thunder Queen Battle which simply put is one of the greatest matches of all time. It pitted JWP vs AJW, two teams of four wrestlers in a 60 minute match. The first 20 minutes would be split into four individual singles matches and would then culminate in a 40 minute featuring all eight wrestlers. Pinfalls could happen at any time, there would be no eliminations and it was simply a case of the team with the most decisions at the end won. What as surprised me is that this match format as never been copied elsewhere which is pretty disappointing as it worked so well here, maybe it's a combination of promotions not having the quality of worker to make it work or when you've seen the match done to perfection it might make sense to avoid the temptation to try and emulate it.

Anyway let me introduce the teams, representing AJW were Aja Kong, Kyoko Inoue, Takako Inoue and Sakie Hasegawa going against Team JWP who consisted of Dynamite Kansai, Mayumi Ozaki, Cuty Suzuki and Hikari Fukouka. The fans were going crazy before the match even started and it was very clear that the two big hitters (Kong and Kansai) were looking especially focused.

The initial pairings worked really well and told a very simple and thoughtful story. The fans were desperate to see Dynamite Kansai go against Aja Kong so they were saved until last not to overshadow anyone else in the match. The match started with Hasegawa facing Fukouka, this made sense on two levels. Firstly they the least experienced out of the wrestlers but they also had an immediate story to tell. Hasegawa had defeated Fukouka at Dreamslam II, now was the time for revenge. Fans immediately started a 'Hikari, Hikari' chant but it was Hasegawa that dominated until she got caught in a roll up after going for a spinning toe hold and all of a sudden the much favoured AJW team were losing 1-0.

The surprise pinfall so early, ensured the fans were not going to switch off. Next was Kyoko Inoue vs Mayumi Ozaki and Ozaki took no time in nailing Kyoko with 2 DDT's in an effort to increase the lead. Kyoko responded by going for long term damage including her famous giant swing spot which seemed a curious choice considering Mayumi would have at least 10 minutes to recover.

We then had the glamour element as Takako and Cuty went at it but still the AJW still trailed 1-0 even after Takako had dominated most of her period. At the start of the final 5 minute period Kansai charged at Aja only to met by a perfectly nailed spinning backfist which knocked out Kansai. Aja tried to pick up the limp body of her opponent but couldn't do so. So she simply instructed the referee to count Kansai out, while staring at the smaller members of the JWP team which gave a clear message of 'I've knocked her out, what do you think I'm going to do to you?'. Scores were tied at 1-1 and while Aja was never in any trouble during the rest of the period, Kansai did start to get some offence in to give the JWP team some hope.

The dominance of Aja Kong was even more solidified only 3 minutes into the final 4 vs 4 finale. In a melee she nailed poor Cuty with a crushing elbow drop and the AJW team had now completely bounced back from their earlier setback and were now leading 2-1. The match began to settle down with frequent quick tags from both teams. Kansai was determined to restore her credibility after the early loss, Ozaki and Kyoko were both simply fantastic as the two major workhorses in the match. Aja cut a threatening figure anytime she was in the fring and the AJW team decided at the 30 minute mark that they would settle on a new strategy.

Anytime of the AJW girls got in trouble, Takako Inoue would make the save. This did wonders to upset the crowd and the way she would give them smirk as she made her way back outside was excellent. During the match there was a clash between Kyoko and Ozaki which left Kyoko with a bad cut and Ozaki had a left eye that nearly swelled shut during the rest of the match. Not that either of them allowed that to stop them putting in career defining performances.

It was about at the 45 minute point that the JWP team really started to go all out to get a pinfall that would even the score, it had been over 20 minutes since Aja had pinned Cuty and now the fans wondered if their team could even the odds. Hikari Fukouka was the main star at this point using victory rolls, moonsaults to gain a number of close 2 counts but it was never quite enough. Finally at the 50 minute mark Kansai got her redemption and used her splash mountain (think Razor's Edge) on Kyoko to even things up at 2-2.

It was pretty clear at this point that the match may end with this score but it seemed unlikely that we would see anymore than one pinfall that would give victory to that team. Aja entered the fray once again to try and give her team the all important win and it was Mayumi Ozaki who took the brunt of her anger. The normally elegant Ozaki looked like anything but. With her left eye nearly shut and Aja beating the hell out of here, she really looked like the ultimate babyface in peril. Although she eventually made the tag to Kansai, Kansai wasn't able to run wild and quickly found herself on the defensive.

With only 3 minutes or so the match completely broke down into a number of hot falls, desperate kick outs and finishers being hit all over the place. The fans were all standing up cheering their team on but each time it looked like we would see the winning pinfall it was broken up. In the final minute Takako tried to lock Ozaki in her cross arm special but she escaped only to catch Takako with her tequila surprise suplex in a last minute attempt to snatch the win. The referee slowly made his count and Takako who had taunted the fans for so long could not escape. Against all odds JWP had defeated AJW 3-2, the fans are screaming 'JWP, JWP' in their happiness.

They had witnessed one of their greatest matches ever seen. I urge any wrestling fan who has not seen this match to do so, you really won't regret it.

Rating: *****

Let Me Speak On This - WWE & TNA Talk (13/01/12)

Please visit WLH sponsor The Marks For Xcellence Podcast right here http://mfxpodcast.com

Well, here we are 2012 and pro wrestling is in full swing. Everyone knows I am all about Indy wrestling but I do keep up to date with some WWE & TNA stuff so I’ll just scribble a few of my thoughts here.

Now, after all the It Begins hype we finally got the return of one Chris Jericho, I’d gone on record on twitter etc. Beforehand saying that if it were to be Jericho who returned I’d find it boring and even before RAW aired it was all but confirmed it was Jericho booked to return as he was spotted in the airport where RAW was being filmed so that was enough as far as I was concerned. But, I did think, this is pro-wrestling, could this be a swerve was the sighting of Jericho a planned thing by the WWE because they wouldn’t be that slack would they given the big build up to the return? To answer that, yes of course. I got up early on the Monday morning here in the UK to catch the end of RAW so I could see the return which of course was Jericho and all the fallout from it was a hot topic by the internet wrestling community.
Like many, I thought at the time it was poorly done, Jericho in his bright, sparkly jacket with flashing lights on and then he came down all smiles, really corny, hand slapping all the fans at ringside but then when he got in the ring, he just didn’t speak and ended up leaving the ringside area, went up the ramp and just went backstage. As I said, I ,like many thought other than I was already bored as it was Jericho returning it got worse when he did what he did with the not talking etc. I thought it was very poor. Not everyone however on the internet thought the same, they thought it was done very well because, they knew, no matter what Jericho’s past character was in the WWE, he was going to get a big pop and cheered by the fans. So the WWE could of gone down the obvious route, let him cut a promo in the ring saying how he hates all the fans and that type of stuff where he would of got his heel heat but no, what they decided to do was the total opposite, he just didn’t say a word which did just as good of a job of annoying the fans.

After a few days of the RAW show taking place, in retrospect I looked back put my disappointment of it being Jericho who returned behind me and realized that this angle was indeed done very well so I wants to pay kudos to the WWE for that for doing something different.
What took place on this past Monday’s RAW with Jericho coming out and once again not talking but crying in the ring was something totally different and I really don’t know what to make of it.

Another return to the WWE was on Brodus Clay who finally re-debuted on RAW under the tag line of Funkasaurus which for me and many others came across as a mix between Flash Funk (a character played by Too Scorpio in the WWF back in the mid 90’s) ,The Godfather who was one of the many characters played by Charles Wright in the WWF (some of the others were Papa Shango & KAMA) and Rikishi. I have told people who will listen; I think WWE have done this as a big F YOU to the internet fans. For weeks, months even fans have been moaning about him not making his comeback so WWE thought, tell you what, have this. Some say it’s a case of WWE not knowing what to do with him, I mean, we thought he may have been a bulldozer type gimmick like the late Umaga but we got the total opposite and it was well strange to say the least. It seems to be liked by many and if for whatever reason you missed it, the video is below.



Also on this week’s past RAW Edge was announced as the first official inductee to the class of 2012 Hall of Fame. I personally never liked Edge as a wrestler or a character but I cannot take away from him what he achieved in his WWE career before it was cut short after last year’s Wrestle Mania.

Also announced for the Hall of Fame were The Four Horsemen consisting of Barry Windham, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, JJ Dillon and yes that man Ric Flair. Even though Flair is already in the HOF he is going in once again and the Horsemen without Flair just doesn’t work so it should be a night to remember. Of course, Flair is under contract with TNA so can he appear at the HOF? Well take a look at the video below from a fan who spoke to Flair at a recent signing.



A little on TNA now, they have announced that when they do their UK tour at the end of the month here in the UK the London show will be filmed for episodes of IMPACT Wrestling. It’s good in one way that the fans are getting to be a part of the TV show but on the downside, it’s TV so there may be a bit of hanging around, the matches won’t be as long, there may be a lot of in-ring talking because one thing TNA is good for despite all the bad press they get, the house shows are usually very good and I have been to a TNA house show myself and it was very good indeed, a good 90% better than the WWE Smack Down house show I went to a couple of months ago.

Anyway, that’s it for now, any comments, drop me a line on twitter @WLHSTU or email me wlhstu@aol.co.uk

Just A Note From Stu Rodgers

As some of you may know, The Indy Corner, my weekly audio show on all things independent wrestling has a new home and that is the MFX podcast (http://mfxpodcast.com) many are asking why I left TWS and to be honest, I'm not going to rant on them but I'll just say a little bit, people who followed The Indy Corner will know it wasn't on every week, sometimes due to myself and sometimes due to them. Various things happened behind the scenes shall we say, that just made the partnership between TWS and I just untenable I do however want to publicly thank my former Indy Corner co-host Steve Grieve, I never had a problem with Steve it's just one of those things. I know TWS are carrying on with an Indy wrestling based show but I hope anyone who use to enjoy my coverage of Indy wrestling will continue to support me on the MFX podcast.

Now, I want to thank Duckman & Sir Ian for giving The Indy Corner a spot on MFX, Duckman will be doing the show with me (our first was on episode 4 which is on the site now and iTunes) and he knows his stuff and is a BIG fan of the independent wrestling scene as well as wrestling in general.

So the site is above but if you can also LIKE the shows page on facebook, just search for Marks For Xcellence and while doing that please also LIKE The Indy Corner on there too.

Thanks again for those who have supported me, I hope you listen to us in 2012 and enjoy what you here.

Support Indy Wrestling

iNeed a ROH Show - January 10, 2012

Kyle Patin and Zach Grigg of iNeedWrestling.com discuss the latest Ring of Honor TV episode and much more.

iNeed a ROH Show - January 3, 2012

Kyle Patin and Zach Grigg iNeedWrestling.com discuss the latest Ring of Honor TV episode and much more.

2011 End of Year Awards By AH Walker

Above: Mr Walker's wrestler of the year: Kevin Steen

1st off, my apologies for not contributing to this site as much as I should have in the year of 2011, my new year’s resolution is to write more here more. 2nd, I can imagine some of you won’t like what I have to say. Now let’s get to it.
Actual Intro

2011 has been in all accounts a great year for wrestling for the smarks. It has been full of great talking points stemming from various good and bad angles, matches, storylines and promos and it is here that I will show to you, the loyal readers of wrestling’s last hope. En-fucking-joy

Wrestler of the Year

So many people deserve this award. The WWE have guys like CM Punk, R-Truth, Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes, Dolph Ziggler, Daniel Bryan and Alberto Del Rio. TNA have, Bobby Roode, James Storm and Crimson. The Independent Scene saw guys like El Generico, Eddie Edwards, Davey Richards, Chris Hero amongst a lot of others, but there is only one man that I can say has had the best year in the world of wrestling and it is Kevin Steen. Since the beginning of 2011 he has upped his in ring work, lost weight and has been in the biggest storyline in all of indy wrestling, without being in the actual promotion in 6 months and only wrestling one match in the company all year and that was a few weeks ago. He had carried this storyline in various promotions all across the US all year and now he has the most momentum in all of wrestling, going into 2012. All eyes on him. Honourable mention goes to Akira Tozawa, Mark Henry and Bully Ray.

Tag Team of the Year

Unfortunately, the WWE has neglected the tag team division in recent months and they have only just started to revitalise it, meaning that I am not taking that into account here. Sorry Air Boom. TNA’s best tag team have wrestled about under 5 times all year due to injury and the other decent tag team were split up to get singles pushes. So this is mainly down to independent tag teams. This year 3 tag teams have risen above the rest. Sorry Young Bucks and Bad Intentions, The Briscoes doing two double turns, cutting amazing promos and capturing more tag team gold have solidified them as my favourite tag team of the year

Show of the Year

Without a shadow of a doubt Steen Wolf presented by PWG was by far the show of the year. Every match was great, the last 3 were phenomenal. The crowd loved it from start to finish. And the return of Super Dragon was one of the best moments of wrestling PERIOD. The fact that a near 4 hour show had my attention from start to finish is a feat in itself.

PPV of the Year

Money in the Bank presented by the WWE. Great matches. Great commentary. Great moments that most people (I know I will) watching will remember. Fantastic PPV. Special mention goes to High Noon for pretty much the same reason.

Mark Out Moment of the Year

This does not go to the return of Super Dragon to PWG. This does not go to the return of The Rock to the WWE. This goes to Christian winning the World Heavyweight Title. This is because it gave off the feeling of a Lifetime achievement award. And whilst watching this I was transported 10 years prior to when I first saw Christian in the WWE. He was looked at as not to succeed and he did and it was a great sight to see.

Facepalm moment of the year

I really wanted to give this ‘award’ to Jeff Hardy’s ‘performance’ at Victory Road. But it has to CM Punk’s return from leaving the company. I mean come the fuck on. The moment they created at Money in the Bank was truly a once in a lifetime moment and the WWE went and took a big dump on it because they are about the almighty dollar. Also the utter burial of the WWE Championship in the following month as they had 4 champions in 4 weeks. Well done WWE. Well done.

Match of the Year

I wanted to give this to Steen vs Generico in a ladder match from Steen Wolf but I am giving it to John Cena vs CM Punk from Money in the Bank. Why? I am glad you asked. This match had perfect psychology, it was thoroughly entertaining and it had a perfect moment at the end. The crowd was into it the entire time and you can’t get that all the time with some matches that go that long which are not the Royal Rumble or a ladder match. Also the sheer unpredictability and the mark out moments were fantastic. 5 out of 5.

Commentator of the Year

I have two choices for this. The first of which was Excalibur. This man has the ‘don’t give a fuck’ mentality as he says whatever the fuck he wants to and will make his feelings known. His views then become your own as you love what he says. The second choice? Michael Cole. I don’t care what anybody says. When he buries people he is putting them over. Case in point Daniel Bryan. Half of his push was down to Michael Cole and he is a bigger star because of it. Same goes with The Miz. Sure some of the time he completely negates the matches going on but is that his fault. Let’s not forget who there is someone that is barking him orders through his headset. Honourable mention goes to Nigel McGuiness because he is a genius.

Heel Turn of the Year

Mark Henry. He made the turn from high 5’ing happy go lucky pussy giant to believable badass World Champion. He may not be the best worker but he was a believable World Champion. It is a shame he got injured as I felt he needed to walk into Mania as the World Champion.

Face Turn of the Year

Sheamus. He started this year as King Sheamus and I thought he was doomed. Eventually he returned to badass Celtic warrior and when he arrived in Smackdown he was caught up with a feud with Mark Henry and since then he is super over with the crowd. He is possibly 4th biggest face in the company and I see more world championships in this guy’s future.

So that was 2011 in my eyes. If you want to debate @AH_Walker is my Twitter. Also check out my podcast the PK and AH show, which can be found here. Peace NERDS. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/trendingtopics