tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23414522819895572962024-03-13T11:22:56.546-07:00Two Spot MonkeysWelcome to Two Spot Monkeys! Tom and Jim will be sharing their views on the worlds of Pro Wrestling and MMA here! We invite you to join in on the conversation in the comments section!Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger143125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2341452281989557296.post-51347524270696061402014-04-08T12:10:00.000-07:002014-04-08T12:10:59.952-07:00An Important Announcement<div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hey all! </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After Wrestlemania, which Tom and I both loved, and were both stunned at the Streak ending, our current Head 2 Head competition looks as thus…Tom went 5-4, while Jim went 4-4 (dang Super Cena!), which means they are all tied up at 16-8 a piece! </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">With that being said, we have an important announcement to make about Two Spot Monkeys. As you know, this began back in February of 2011 (hard to believe it’s been 3 years we've been at this!) as a labor of love for both Tom and Jim. Frankly, Tom and Jim love talking about pro wrestling and love talking about MMA. And they are great friends who love talking about it together. So, what better way than to give ourselves a forum to do just that. Along the way we even took it a step further and got to interview some of the top independent wrestling names going today, some of whom now work for World Wrestling Entertainment, and if we had to bet, a few more of the guys we've interviewed will one day be signed by WWE as well. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Even with our passion for wrestling and MMA, which has not died down in the least, the fact of the matter is that the last three years have brought changes in our personal lives. Jim got married, Tom had another child, Jim picked up a second job, Tom switched jobs, and both of us just generally have gotten busier and busier. It has gotten harder and harder to find time to collaborate on posts for the blog, or especially for podcasts, which we've had so much fun doing. Honestly, when you’re doing something like this “just for fun” and not making any money on it (nor were we trying to make any money on it), it will always fall down the list of priorities in life. Even with that said though, we also didn't want to ever “half ass” things, as we have always striven to give you, our readers and listeners, the best content we possibly could. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So, for now, Tom and Jim are announcing that Two Spot Monkeys will be going on an indefinite hiatus for the time being. We don’t want to say we’re shutting it down, as we always have hope that one day in the future, things will slow down and we can find the time to do this again, as we really do both love doing it. But, we know that right now we can’t keep the quality level up where we want it given the great things going on in both of our personal lives.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We should be clear in stating that this is not any reflection on our friendship, we are still the closest of friends and have come to this decision jointly and are in total agreement with one another. We do hope that from time to time, we can resurrect Two Spot Monkeys perhaps with “Special Editions” or something like that as news and our time warrants. Also, we do want to let you know that Tom will be fulfilling the bets for the 2012 and 2013 Head to Head competitions, wearing a Bears T-Shirt to the next wrestling show we attend together, and shaving his head completely bald for it as well! We’ll be sure to post a picture of that here on the blog, and on our Facebook and Twitter sites as well when it happens (hopefully late this summer). </span></div>
<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">With that, we bid you farewell from Two Spot Monkeys for now. Thanks to everyone who has read our blogs, listened to our podcasts, given us time to interview them, or even ever shared a link to our site. We truly appreciate it from the bottom of our hearts. See you all at the matches!</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2341452281989557296.post-67745638175582811652014-04-02T14:23:00.003-07:002014-04-02T14:23:53.592-07:00Wrestlemania 30 Head 2 Head!<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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It is exciting and somewhat unreal that WrestleMania XXX is
here this weekend!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We here at Two Spot
Monkeys are excited to summarize where we are again in our Head 2 Head
competition for this year and make our picks for the show on the “Grandest
Stage of Them All!”</div>
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Following Elimination Chamber in February, Jim holds a
narrow lead of 12-4 to Tom’s 11-5.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also,
as you get into the preview I have to give kudos to Jim for tabulating the
All-Time WrestleMania records.</div>
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There are many, many shows this weekend but the “Main Event”
is WrestleMania – let’s get to the picks.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>Kickoff Show: WWE
Tag Team Title Fatal Four Way Match</u></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Usos vs. Curtis
Axel & Ryback vs. Los Matadores vs. The Real Americans</b></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">This is the
Wrestlemania debut for The Usos, Cesaro, Curtis Axel & Los Matadores.</i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ryback is 0-1 at
Wrestlemania, losing to Mark Henry last year at Wrestlemania 29. </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Jim:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b>I really had hoped that Cesaro would get
a singles match this year, perhaps against Swagger, but alas, that seems
destined for Extreme Rules instead of here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The Usos simply have to keep the titles here, there is nothing to be
made of putting them on Rybaxel, Los Matadores, or the Real Americans (who I
don’t see staying together long).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
fact, I’m guessing that Cesaro turns here, or at least that miscommunication
happens that leads to the turn on Raw at the latest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Usos win here no doubt.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Tom:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b>This is a whole lot better than the
originally announced Usos vs. Rybaxel match.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I am pretty high on the Usos and have been for a while, so I am happy
they are in this spot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am also really
excited about the cusp of “greatness” that Cesaro is ready to embark on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I cannot wait to see him mix with Jimmy &
Jey and Diego & Fernando here!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My pick
is that the Usos retain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>Diva Ivitational
Divas Title Match</u></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">AJ Lee vs. Summer Rae
vs. Emma vs. Eva Marie vs. Nikki Bella (0-1) vs. Brie Bella (0-1) vs. Aksana
vs. Rosa Mendes (0-1) vs. Layla (1-2) vs. Tamina Snuka vs. Natalya (0-1) vs.
Alicia Fox (1-1) vs. Naomi vs. Cameron</b></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">This is the
Wrestlemania debut for AJ Lee, Summer Rae, Emma, Eva Marie, Aksana, Tamina
Snuka, Naomi & Cameron, all other records are noted in the match listing.</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Jim:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This could go a couple of ways.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>AJ Lee certainly could keep the title,
playing off the idea that Vicky did everything she could to get the title off
of her and it didn’t work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>but, I’m
betting that Brie Bella takes it here, as we know that Bella and Daniel Bryan
are heading to the altar soon, and for Total Divas, it could make for an
interesting storyline with them both having titles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do I love the idea of letting Total Divas
decide what happens at Wrestlemania?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No,
I kind of hate it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, it’s the world
we live in, and honestly, AJ’s title reign is getting a little stale now, so
freshening it up is in order, and Brie Bella has worked hard to get better in
the ring.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, Brie gets the belt here. </div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Tom:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b>I understand that there is a “need” to
get the Divas on the show, but I imagine this would be the first to be shortened
or cut if the show runs long.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’d be
fine if this was simply a Fatal Four Way between AJ-Brie Bella-Natalya-Naomi
(or similar Divas), with the other Divas as Lumber Jills on the floor to get
them involved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I do agree with Jim that
I think the Total Divas show does have a lot to do with how this match is booked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m going to differ from Jim here and I am
going to go with Naomi for the biggest win of her career! </div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Andre The Giant
Memorial Battle Royal featuring: Dolph Ziggler (1-3), Big E (0-1), Fandango
(1-0), Alberto Del Rio (1-1), Damien Sandow, Titus O'Neil, Christian (4-5),
Sheamus (1-2), Big Show (4-9), Mark Henry (2-3), Heath Slater (0-1), Jinder
Mahal, Drew McIntyre (1-1), Cody Rhodes (1-2), Goldust (0-5), Kofi Kingston
(1-3), The Miz (3-0), Brodus Clay, Darren Young, Justin Gabriel (0-1), Rey Mysterio
(4-3), R-Truth (0-2), Santino Marella (2-1), The Great Khali (1-1), Zack Ryder
(0-1), Sin Cara, Brad Maddox and 3 more!</b></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">This is the
Wrestlemania debut for Damien Sandow, Titus O’Neil, Jinder Mahal, Brodus Clay,
Darren Young, Sin Cara & Brad Maddox.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>All other records are noted in the match listing.</i></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Jim:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I LOVE Battle Royals!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don’t know why, I just do!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, I love this idea, love honoring Andre,
and it can give a rub to someone if they do it right, especially carrying
around the trophy (which is bound to get broken by someone at some point in the
next year, let’s be honest).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Looking at
the field, you could make an argument for The Big Show, and I think he’ll be
there at the end certainly, but he’s too easy of a pick.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You could make a case that if they actually
wanted to get behind Dolph Ziggler, this could be a great re-launching point
for him, but I kind of doubt they’ll do it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I think that one of the 3 unannounced guys thus far will be Alexander
Russev, and that Russev will win the Battle Royal to kickoff his WWE main card
career, could be a hell of a way to do it, especially if he takes out Big Show
by himself!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hope that the last three
unannounced guys are Wrestlemania Legends brought in for the match.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tito Santana, Honky Tonk Man, Jake Roberts,
Roddy Piper, Bob Orton, or a host of others would all be fun to see in there
for a few minutes!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Tom:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b>Like the Divas match, this is the spot to
get all of the guys not in “featured” matches on the card.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I like the concept and really hope it is
something that is continued every year going forward and almost “defended” in a
way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I feel like a heel has to win this
and gloat all year with the trophy, especially if they win in a dubious
manner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If we had done an immediate
REACT after Royal Rumble, you would have read that Alexander Rusev was one of
the highlights for me of the Rumble match and prior to that on NXT.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I could see him winner for sure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wade Barrett is a guy who seems like a dark
horse as well, but I just don’t know if WWE even knows how they would like to
use him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can also see a babyface winning,
but having the trophy ruined or used to attack the winner afterwards.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With that idea, Big E., Big Show or Sheamus
come to mind first.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So there I’ve
presented the dilemma of almost too many choices.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I want to gain the edge on Jim in this
battle, so I am going to go with Sheamus to win.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Shield vs. The
New Age Outlaws & Kane</b></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ambrose, Rollins &
Reigns are all 1-0 at Wrestlemania with a win last year over Randy Orton,
Sheamus & The Big Show.</i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Kane is 8-7 at Wrestlemania with wins over Triple H (15), teaming with
Rikishi to defeat X-Pac & Road Dogg (16), Raven/Big Show (17), teaming with
Big Show to defeat Carlito & Chris Masters (22), Chavo Guerrero (24),
teaming with Santino, Big Show & Kofi to beat Barrett, Slater, Jackson
& Gabriel at (27) and Randy Orton (28), and teaming with Daniel Bryan to
beat Dolph Ziggler & Big E Langston (29) and losses to The Undertaker (14,
20), Kurt Angle (18), Money in the Bank at WM 21, 25 & 26, The Great Khali
(23) (also lost on Heat at WM 19 with RVD to Lance Storm & Chief Morley,
and won the pre-show Battle Royal at 24 to earn an ECW Title shot that night)</i></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Jim:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was sure we were
headed towards a Shield 3 Way here at Wrestlemania.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While that would have been a really good
bout, I’m ok with this too, as I’m not dying to see the Shield break up anytime
soon either.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I like them as kick ass
babyfaces that can get the job done!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Kane deserves a match here at Mania as well, so I’m good with that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not sure why The New Age Outlaws are here,
other than they are friends with the right folks, so that works I guess.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were rumors at one point that Kane was
going to bring The Ascension in from NXT to be his partners, and I think that
could have been a cool way to debut them, but oh well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since that didn’t happen, there is no way on
God’s green earth that The Shield should lose this match.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Reigns gets the pin on Kane is my guess, and
Rollins does some crazy dives along the way! </div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Tom:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b>The build for this
match has been good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I too like that The
Shield is still a unit and hope that continues beyond Sunday night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I almost wonder if this is the match a lot
like last year, where Ryback seemed like a slam-dunk over Mark Henry and then
the script got flipped.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Could that
happen here to show the strength of The Authority before the Bryan-Triple H
match as well as exposing the cracks in the foundation of Rollins, Reigns &
Ambrose?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe, but I won’t go all-in
with it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Shield gets their full revenge
and the win. </div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">John Cena vs. Bray
Wyatt</b></div>
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John Cena is 7-3 at Wrestlemania
with wins over Big Show, (20), JBL (21), Triple H (22), HBK (23), Edge &
Big Show (25), Batista (26) & The Rock (29) and losses to Orton (24 along
with Triple H), The Miz (27) & The Rock (28)</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Jim:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This match probably has me the most excited
as a fresh matchup for Wrestlemania.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Bray Wyatt is a guy I have loved since he debuted in FCW, back before it
became NXT.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He never clicked as Husky
Harris, but as Bray Wyatt, he is now a bona fide star and I think will be a top
level guy for them for years to come.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The story is that John Cena asked for this bout, and I have to give him
kudos if that is true, as Cena is at a level that he can basically name whoever
he wants for Wrestlemania.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now, the question
is, what do they do here with this match?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If Cena wins, what does that do for Wyatt?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nothing really.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wyatt has to win this match, he simply has
to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I really have my doubts though, as
it’s Wrestlemania, and it’s John Cena.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But, for the sake of this column, I’m going to go with my heart, Bray
Wyatt wins and this feud continues (which it really has to, and has legs if
they want to keep it going!).</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Tom:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b>There is no way Cena loses here and also
no way that the feud ends here as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Its got a lot of legs left under it and I really am excited to see these
two mix it up together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Should be one of
the spectacles of ‘Mania and Cena wins.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Undertaker vs.
Brock Lesnar</b></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Undertaker is of
course, 21-0.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wins over Jimmy Snuka,
Jake Roberts, Giant Gonzales, King Kong Bundy, Diesel, Sid, Kane (x2), Big Boss
Man, Triple H (x3), Ric Flair, Big Show, A-Train, Randy Orton, Mark Henry,
Batista, Edge, Shawn Michaels (x2), and CM Punk</i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lesnar is 1-2 with his
win over Kurt Angle at 19, and losses to Goldberg (20) and Triple H (29)</i></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Jim:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b>While this isn’t a fresh matchup, it’s
been a LONG time since we’ve seen it, and both guys have changed since then,
especially Lesnar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, I’m excited to
see this match as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think it will
be hard hitting as all of Lesnar’s matches have been since his return two years
ago, and I am sure Undertaker will be up to the task.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love that they finally had Lesnar get the
upper hand on ‘Taker on Monday night, as this bout desperately needed that
feeling that Lesnar just might be the one to end the streak.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That being said, I see no chance of that, as
I believe the Streak should last forever at this point.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, Tombstone (maybe 2 or 3 of them), 1, 2,
3.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Undertaker wins.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I have zero problem with that. </div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Tom:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b>The idea of WrestleMania without an
Undertaker match is hard to fathom, yet we get closer to it each year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Could this be the last one?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hope not, but I really think (as has been
the case before) that there is always something special in the air during this
spot/match on the show.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is no way
‘Taker loses, but Brock Lesnar might be one of the athletes who gives the
greatest drama to the potential that The Streak could end.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Undertaker and his 22-0 record reign!</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>Winner enters the
WWE World Heavyweight Title Match</u></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Daniel Bryan vs.
Triple H</b></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Daniel Bryan is 1-1 at
Wrestlemania with his win last year with Kane over Dolph Ziggler & Big E.
Langson, and the infamous 18 second loss at WM 28 to Sheamus</i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Triple H is 8-9 at Wrestlemania, with wins over Goldust (13), Owen Hart
(14), The Rock/Big Show/Mick Foley (16), Chris Jericho (18), Booker T (19),
Randy Orton (25), Sheamus (26) and Brock Lesnar (29) and losses to The Ultimate
Warrior (12), Kane (15), The Undertaker (17, 27 & 28), Chris Benoit (20,
also including HBK), Batista (21), John Cena (22), Randy Orton (24 along with
John Cena)</i></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Jim:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b>Wow, what a difference
one guy leaving makes huh?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was being
setup for Triple H vs. CM Punk this year, and then Punk leaves and we end up
here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What a crazy ride.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The fans have demanded Bryan be in the main
event mix, and here he is with his shot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I don’t care how dastardly Triple H can be, if WWE does ANYTHING except
have Bryan win clean in the middle of the ring here, they are absolutely
nuts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The crowd would crap all over it
with anything else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now, they could get
cute and have Triple H get a DQ win or a Count Out win, and then have Vince
show up and say “hell no it’s not ending like that, restart this match as No
DQ” or whatever...but, honestly, don’t do that WWE.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just do what is “best for business”!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bryan wins!</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Tom:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b>I completely agree with
Jim.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>WWE is absolutely nuts if they
don’t pull the trigger here and later with Bryan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Getting the revenge on Triple H that Bryan
and the fans have been craving since last August will be sweet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Daniel Bryan wins.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>WWE World
Heavyweight Title Triple Threat Match</u></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Randy Orton vs.
Batista vs. Triple H/Daniel Bryan winner</b></div>
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Randy Orton is 4-6 with wins
over CM Punk (27), Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase (26), John Cena & Triple H
(24), The Rock & Mankind (20, with Batista & Flair) and losses to Kane
(28), Triple H (25), MITB (23), Rey Mysterio (22 along with Triple H), The
Undertaker (21) and The Shield (29)</div>
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Batista is 3-2 with wins over
Umaga (24), Triple H (21) and The Rock & Mick Foley (along with Flair &
Orton at 20) and loses to John Cena (26) & The Undertaker (23)</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Jim:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b>So, Bryan moves into this slot in my
scenario, and again, only one thing makes sense here, Bryan pins Orton to be
standing in the middle of the ring, leading 70,000 members of the Yes Movement
chanting “Yes, Yes, Yes!” as Wrestlemania goes off the air!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It should be an AWESOME spectacle and if WWE
doesn’t give it to us, again, they are insane.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Sometimes doing the predictable thing is the right thing, and this is
one of those times.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bryan wins the title
here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you need to get it on Batista
before his movie comes out in August, fine, but for Wrestlemania, it’s all
about Daniel Bryan, and how freaking cool is that!</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Tom:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b>Hard not to agree with Jim here too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bryan pinning Orton brings their issues and
feud full-circle with a very satisfying ending to it all and a great scene
& WrestleMania moment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not only
that, but it keeps Batista (whether you like him or not) in the mix for the
title and he can be the next guy that is thrown at Bryan to defeat him and
wrest the title from him, maybe on Raw or at Extreme Rules.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, before all that, the WWE Universe
gets their wish and a great moment for all Daniel Bryan fans (be they like Jim
and I from the Ring of Honor days) or those who have rallied behind him in the
last 6-8 months.</div>
<br />
So, what say you all? Which of us is closer to being right? Who do you think walks out as the WWE World Heavyweight Champion on Sunday night? Will you be there live? Watching on the WWE Network? PPV? Having a party? Hit us up on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/twospotmonkeys" target="_blank">Facebook</a> or <a href="http://www.twitter.com/twospotmonkeys" target="_blank">Twitter</a> and let us know!<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2341452281989557296.post-85130594412235425482014-01-24T13:42:00.001-08:002014-01-24T13:42:09.719-08:00Head 2 Head: Royal Rumble 2014<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a9/Royal_Rumble_2014_poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a9/Royal_Rumble_2014_poster.jpg" height="320" width="247" /></a></div>
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Well, 2013 came to a close and Jim
won the Head 2 Head for a second year in a row!
Jim finished at 60-27, while Tom came in at 51-36. So, Tom will have his head shaved while attending
a wrestling show with Jim this year.
He’ll also be wearing a Chicago Bears T-shirt to pay off the 2012 wager
as well, as we were unable to attend a wrestling show together in 2013. More info on that soon! </div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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2014’s Head 2 Head kicks off with
the Royal Rumble! While we’d love to do
this as a podcast (and would have loved to do a year end one as well), life has
just not allowed our schedules to coincide and get one done, so we present it
to you in blog format! <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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The wager for 2014 is: <b>Undetermined at this time…seriously, we’ve
been hit with life like the East Coast got hit with snow this week! If you have good ideas, let us know here or
on Twitter @TwoSpotMonkeys<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><u>Kickoff Show - WWE Tag Team Title Match</u></b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Cody Rhodes & Goldust (c) vs. The New Age Outlaws of Road Dogg
& Billy Gunn</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Jim: </b>Interesting to see the Outlaws hang around a bit here. With the tag division as potentially strong
as it’s been in quite some time, I am ok with them being a veteran team that
can be used to put over up and coming teams if they use them that way. Though, I have my doubts on that. I’m actually a bit afraid that they could win
the tag titles here, but I think that would be a huge mistake. I think the Rhodes boys will defend the
titles here, but there will be some sort of start to teasing an eventual
breakup between them as I truly do think we’re headed towards Cody Rhodes vs.
Goldust at Wrestlemania. I think they
keep the titles here, but may lose them at Elimination Chamber, if not sooner. Perhaps to the Wyatts.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Tom: </b>If you had told me 6
months ago that I would be seeing 3 of 4 wrestlers from the “Attitude Era” in
the Tag Team Title Match at Royal Rumble, I would have called you crazy. I do think it is interesting that both Road
Dogg and Billy Gunn have gotten back into the mix as active talents. I saw them live just a few days ago at the
Smackdown taping and they certainly did not look out of place. I don’t think they are the team to dethrone
Cody & Goldust, but do agree with Jim’s opinion that the tease of the
potential Cody vs. Goldust match at WrestleMania might very likely start on
Sunday. The Brotherhood retains. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><u>Daniel Bryan vs. Bray Wyatt</u></b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Jim: </b> Speaking of the Wyatts,
Daniel Bryan gets a one on one shot at Bray Wyatt here. Seems WWE realized the mistake they made
“turning” Daniel Bryan heel and are leaving him as a baby face. Now, here’s my thing. Daniel Bryan should be in the Rumble and win
it. At this point, all signs point to
him not even being in the Rumble itself.
That would be a HUGE mistake yet again.
They could “explain it” by having Bray and his boys take Bryan out
again, but really...don’t do it WWE. Realize
the error of your ways (yeah right!) and give Bryan the win and put him over at
Mania...it’s what your fans want. DO
IT! That all being said, I see Wyatt
getting the win here as Bryan will help put him over to make him.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Tom: </b>I’ve read a lot of
opinions on the way that Bryan joined the Wyatt Family and then turned, as well
as the perception of what the WWE “machine” is doing to him. They are varied and they are also very
angry. I personally didn’t have a
problem with Bryan becoming a Wyatt and in my perfect booking scenario, the
turn would have come this Sunday with all in the Rumble match. Maybe it would not have had the impact of the
same scenario that played out on Raw a few weeks back, but it might have made
some greater long-term storyline progress.
Of course, it would have led to a Bryan-Bray match at WrestleMania with
a really awesome, big time feel…but alas we get that bout Sunday (and in my
view) without all of the proper build-up.
I am torn on this match because Bryan does not need the win to stay
strong and Bray has been one of the most vilified heels without the in-ring
work to back that up. That has to change
sometime, right? Why not on Sunday and
no better place than the Rumble. Bray
Wyatt gets the win. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><u>The Big Show vs. Brock Lesnar</u></b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Jim: </b>Can’t say I’m dying to
see this one, though Brock Lesnar is welcome on any show I’m watching, wish he
was around more. No doubt about it,
Lesnar wins this one, as Show going over Lesnar would be stupid on every level. My guess is Brock can beat the tar out of
Show too, which will make him look even more terrifying than he already
is! Lesnar is likely to be in a big
match at Mania (I’m guessing Rock or Undertaker, if either are able and willing
to go), so this starts the push to that.
Lesnar proves how silly strong he is and gets the win here. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Tom: </b>Gotta give WWE a ton of
credit here. This is a feud that
happened nearly a decade ago and they’ve built it on TV to be fresh and
new. Also, I would have never believed
you if you told me a year ago that Lesnar would be doing battle with The Big
Show…but again, here we are. Lesnar will
indeed prove that he has the answer to the things Big Show was throwing at him
thus far and come out looking really strong and headed to WrestleMania and I
have to imagine a chance to break the streak against The Undertaker. Brock gets the win.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><u>The Royal Rumble Match for WWE Title Match at WrestleMania</u>:</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Normal1">
<b>Announced Participants: Batista, Alberto Del Rio, Kofi Kingston, The
Miz, Big E Langston, Goldust, Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso, Cody Rhodes, R-Truth, Xavier
Woods, Damien Sandow, C.M. Punk (Entrant #1), Fandango, Rey Mysterio, Seth
Rollins, Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, Luke Harper and Erick Rowan.</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Jim: </b>We’ll pick the final
four and the winner here, allowing for five possible points with this match. With 20 officially announced, there are at
least 10 slots left open. Curtis Axel,
Zack Ryder and Wade Barrett all at one point were announced, but do not appear
on the official list on WWE’s website as of this writing. As I said earlier, I think Daniel Bryan
should be in, and win the match, but I just don’t see them doing it. I could never be happier to be wrong if I am,
but at this point, I will proceed with that thought. So, really the only guys that have any shot
at all are CM Punk, Batista, Roman Reigns, Sheamus (if he’s back)...and really,
that’s about it. So, my final four are
Punk, Batista, Reigns and Big E. Langston (they still seem to like Langston a lot,
so let he and Reigns be some new blood in the Final Four). I think there will be definite dissension in
The Shield, as I think we’re headed towards a 3 way at Wrestlemania between
those three men. But, that’s for another
day, on Sunday, I think Batista gets the win.
I hate the idea of Batista vs. Orton at Mania, but I have every belief
that we’ll see that (or even worse, Batista vs. Orton vs. Cena!) <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Tom: </b>Yes! The match I am super eager to see on
Sunday. I love the Rumble every year and
hope that this year only adds to the legacy of great bouts and memories from
the past. Like Jim, I too hope that
Daniel Bryan gets in and imagine that if so, he will have a great run only to
have that stunted by The Wyatt Family at some point. I do also think that Wade Barrett, Ryback and
Curtis Axel are shoe-ins for the match…but really am eager for the surprise
names – perhaps Jake “The Snake” Roberts or Big Daddy V (as he rumored tweeted
earlier in the week!). The match of
course comes down to those with only legit chances to be in the Main Event of
WrestleMania XXX and there are only 4-6 of those guys announced, at best. It would be awesome as well to see CM Punk
break the record of Rey Mysterio for longest time in the match…that would be a
heckuva story! Punk is a no brainer for
the Final Four. I will also go with
Batista because you don’t have him return here and not get a major spot. So, Jim and I are identical on picks up to
now. I will also go with Alberto Del Rio
being in the Final Four and also Seth Rollins, with Roman Reigns getting dumped
by Rollins to his dismay and with Big E. and Ambrose going out just ahead of
these guys. I expect that to have a lot
of drama! I do think it will come down
to Batista-Punk, with The Authority screwing him over and giving Batista the
opening to win. Batista will be the 2014
Rumble winner. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><u>WWE World Heavyweight Title Match - Pinfall or Submission Only</u>:</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Randy Orton (c) vs. John Cena</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Jim: </b> Well, here we go again,
a match that I could give two craps about for the WWE World Heavyweight
Championship. How many times can we see
Orton vs. Cena, and it’s nothing new.
I’m bored with Orton as champ, but to go back to Cena would be a big
mistake too, even in WrestleMania time. Whatever match Cena has at Mania (as
proven two years ago vs. The Rock) will be big anyways, so why does it have to
be a World Title Match? I hope it’s not
this year. I actually loved the idea
(that apparently WWE is not doing now) of Cena and Hogan vs. Piper and a heel
(I know he wanted CM Punk, but I’d love to see them give Ambrose the spot since
he reminds me of Piper so much, but Ambrose isn’t big enough for that spot yet
due to booking). Anyways, I hope this
ends the feud between these two, and I’m guessing it might, or at the very
least it leads to Elimination Chamber where some other folks get involved as
well. I think Orton keeps the title here
and rolls on towards Wrestlemania as the “face of WWE”. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Tom: </b>With my previous pick
of Batista winning, I have zero doubt that Randy Orton retains. I think from a historical perspective and in
terms of what WWE wants to see, fans will “care” more about this match than Batista
vs. Cena, and also cheer Batista fully and boo Orton. That is about all that can be said. I trust Cena and Orton to have very good
match, but my opinion like that of Jim’s is that I’ve seen it to the point that
it is not fresh at all anymore…not good for a co-main event on one of the
bigger pay-per-view events of the year!<o:p></o:p></div>
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There you have it. Pretty close picks almost all the way down
the road. Only difference is in who we
think we comprise the Final Four in the Rumble Match.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />
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Check back with us next week for a
REACT (maybe a podcast or here on the blog) and we will re-connect on what we
liked, what we didn’t like and what we hope/expect to come next!<o:p></o:p></div>
Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02687463310797031021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2341452281989557296.post-38645761201293651072013-12-12T09:10:00.001-08:002013-12-12T09:10:12.353-08:00Head 2 Head – TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs 2013!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.wwe.com/f/widget/itout/2013/11/WWE_TLC/20131125_TLC_CenaOrton_TOUT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.wwe.com/f/widget/itout/2013/11/WWE_TLC/20131125_TLC_CenaOrton_TOUT.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Thanks for coming back to Two Spot Monkeys Blog as we wrap up the 2013 WWE Pick'em Contest between Tom and Jim. Jim has already locked down his 2nd consecutive winning year in this contest and Tom will lose his hair at some point in 2014 as the result of being the loser! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">We take a look at WWE's TLC PPV in this edition and give thoughts, ideas and more heading into Sunday night's show. Enjoy!</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></b> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Kickoff Show Match<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Dolph Ziggler vs.
Fandango<o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Jim:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My how the mighty have fallen with Ziggler
huh?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This guy should be your Ric Flair
type right now as a top heel in the company, and at this point, he could face
Santino Marella in a face vs. face match, and my money might go on
Santino.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>UGH.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How the hell do you not book this guy
better?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Frustrating to say the least.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fandango on the other hand while he had a
quick start, cooled a bit, and now they seem to be slowly rebuilding him a bit,
though a slow build is definitely what it is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He had a nice match with Daniel Bryan on Monday on Raw, and I’d love to
see him work his way into the IC Title mix again, as I think he does a good job
in the ring.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’s also got one of those
gimmicks that you know 15 years from now when Vince wants to pull out a
nostalgia trip, he can use Fandango, so he’s got staying power in my eyes, no
matter how high up the card he ever gets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I can see this going either way, but since they often like to start off
with a babyface win, I’ll say Ziggler gets the win here, but wouldn’t be
shocked to be wrong either.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Tom:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b>I am still in awe of how Ziggler has
fallen off the radar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe that isn’t
how WWE sees him in the big machine, but you can tell from Jim’s comments and
now mine that the guy is a bonafide main event player and he’s not used to that
potential in the least.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hope 2014 has
better in store for both of these guys.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Ziggler is my pick to get the win here.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Intercontinental
Title Match<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Big E. Langston (c)
vs. Damien Sandow<o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Jim:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They seem to be trying to rebuild Sandow
without the robe and such, but still and arrogant prick of a heel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Langston they are obviously very behind, and
they have something in each of these guys.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Both can be top players by the end of 2014 if they play their cards
right in booking each of these guys.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
don’t have a lot of hope for that as we’ve seen in 2013, WWE doesn’t seem to
know how to do that, but, we shall see.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>For this match, it’s WAY too soon to take the title off of Langston, and
while I hate seeing Sandow lose yet again, I think you could do a situation
where he’s about to get hit with The Big Ending, and he escapes and runs to the
back, losing by count out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Either that,
or they just have Langston squash him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Either way, Langston wins and keeps the title.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Tom:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b>I’ll disagree with Jim in the idea that
it is too soon to take the title off of Big E..<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Years ago, I would have agreed with that notion but not in the WWE of
today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I agree that there is a growing
star in Big E. and really, the fact that he is here and Ziggler is not when
they were paired together earlier is telling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I like how Sandow has been built back up and think that the rise is
going to continue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Along that line of
thinking, I am going to be bold (I have nothing to lose since Jim wrapped up
the contest a month ago!) and pick Sandow to win the I-C title.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Divas Title Match<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">AJ Lee (c) vs.
Natalya<o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Jim:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Natalya seems to be stuck in Brie Bella mode,
she can beat Lee anytime the title isn’t on the line, but yet, can’t beat her
when the title is on the line.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love
Natalya’s in ring work, and I think she’s got a decent bit of personality as
well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Honestly, I think she and Tyson
Kidd could be a good couple to get a push into the upper mid-card in 2014 if
WWE wanted to, but again, not betting on it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Lee is just awesome in everything she does.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By far the best in ring worker they have in
the Divas division (though Natalya is likely #2), and her personality and
promos are just great.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I personally
don’t see the point in having her drop the title to Natalya here, which is
precisely why I think they will.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And to
give them something more to add to Total Divas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Always thought it would be a Bella, but now I’m changing my tune.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think Natalya wins the Divas title here.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Tom:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b>Will the “Alberto Del Rio Curse” that I
suffered from earlier this year become the “AJ Lee Curse?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve been picking against Lee for months and
that trend continues here again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think
the Total Divas tie-in and the way they would sell this in the context of the
show for Nattie winning is big.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Natalya
wins the title.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></o:p> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">3 on 1 Handicap Match<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">CM Punk vs. The
Shield<o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Jim:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ugh.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>While I expect some decent work here, since 3 out of the four are
outstanding in the ring, and Reigns isn’t terrible, especially when kept to
power spots, I mean, seriously, 3 on 1 on a PPV?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dumb!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(And hey, they’re going to do it twice, more on that soon).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can go either way on this match.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I mean, The Shield SHOULD win the match.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are 3 of them, they are not named
Slater, Mahal or McIntyre, so by all good reason, they should beat even CM
Punk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, it’s the wacky WWE handicap
match, and nothing ever is quite as it seems.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I could definitely see Punk winning here, especially if they break the Shield
up (and I’m thinking they are heading that way, perhaps to a 3 way match at
Wrestlemania).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I’m going to go with
good sound reason and say that 3 on 1, 3 will win every time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Likely Reigns spearing Punk while he’s got
one of the other two up for the GTS will be the finish.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Shield gets the win, and if needed,
Reigns has bragging rights for “saving” whoever is in the GTS.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Tom:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b>Yeah, this and the other 3 on 1 match is
kinda goofy to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love the idea of
Punk vs. The Shield and Bryan vs. The Wyatts, but a Gauntlet Match or something
else would have been better.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am
excited to see how Punk works with all of the guys here; I am high on them and
their futures!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There should be NO way
whatsoever that Punk wins…even if potential seeds for dissension amongst
Ambrose, Reigns and Rollins begin/continue to sprout here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Believe in The Shield.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">3 on 1 Handicap Match<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Daniel Bryan vs. The
Wyatt Family<o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Jim:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yep, such a great stipulation we’re going to
see it twice!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Again, I just don’t think
this belongs on a PPV, but whatever, it’s here, and you know Bryan will do all
he can to have a killer match.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Harper
and Wyatt should be right there with him as well, and Rowan can come in and do
some power spots.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Actually, I expect
that we’ll see it mainly be Bryan vs. Harper and Rowan with Wyatt coming in to
pick the bones of what’s left.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This one
I definitely see the Wyatt’s winning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They need the win to keep building them up, and it plays even more into
the “will he join them or not” story the seem to be doing with Bryan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sister Abigail is calling for Daniel Bryan
this Sunday!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Tom:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b>Like I mentioned above, the idea of 2
handicap matches is goofy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even if they
went with one and made the other a Gauntlet Match it would have been more
creative booking to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beyond that, I
could have even lived with Bryan vs. Bray (if Bray can go in the ring and is
healed up) and then mix in Harper and Rowan with Cody Rhodes and Goldust.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think from a psychology perspective, the
idea that Wyatt would “sacrifice” himself to let Bryan get a win in an effort
to get him to join the “clan” would have been more interesting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Alas, I don’t get paid for creative…just
opine on what I’d like to see.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wyatt
Family gets the win here. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<o:p><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></o:p><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Title Unification TLC
Match<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">John Cena (c) vs.
Randy Orton (c)<o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Jim</b>:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, they are certainly selling this as the
unification, I just don’t see it happening this Sunday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe at the Rumble, that would make some
sense to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But not here on what
amounts to a throw away PPV.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Heck,
usually at TLC we have a Tables Match, a Chairs Match, a Ladder Match and a TLC
Match.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This year we just get one TLC
Match.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don’t get me wrong, I think it
will be pretty good, but no way do I see a clear winner here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m going to go with the “draw” possibility
where John Cena grabs the WWE Title and Randy Orton grabs the World Heavyweight
Title, thus “switching” champions, but not unifying a damn thing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Tom:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b>It’s so weird that this just seems so
rushed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>WWE could have really built and
milked this to build to WrestleMania, making it feel even bigger.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think that WWE knows it cannot have a fluky
finish here (in lieu of the recent PPV stretch run) and that is why I pick
Orton to win and be the Unified Champion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Now, where the heck do they go from there and where will it take us on
the Road to WrestleMania – we can only guess!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">There you have it! Tom and Jim still differ on a few picks and we will see how that plays out in the Final Standings when we return with a REACT post next week.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Also in the spirit of the end of year, look for an announcement of our next podcast recording where we will take a look back at the good, the bad and the ugly of professional wrestling in 2013 through our "Year End Awards."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">We wish you a great holiday season and thank you for your support of us, be it listening to a podcast, reading this blog or interacting with us via social media. Thanks for sharing in the fun and enjoyment that we get out of pro wrestling and MMA!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Tom and Jim</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Twitter: @TwoSpotMonkeys</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Facebook: Two Spot Monkeys</span></div>
<br />
<br />Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02687463310797031021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2341452281989557296.post-88952865571492873962013-11-20T08:15:00.003-08:002013-11-20T08:15:47.437-08:00Head 2 Head - Survivor Series!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2013/293/7/b/wwe_survivor_series_2013_poster_by_thetrans4med-d6r5lco.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2013/293/7/b/wwe_survivor_series_2013_poster_by_thetrans4med-d6r5lco.png" width="245" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Check out our latest podcast as Jim & Tom complete their Head 2 Head preview for this Sunday's WWE Survivor Series! Also, Tom shares his thoughts on the ROH show in Dearborn, MI last weekend, as well as quick hits on the Columbus ROH show and the DGUSA shows from this past weekend! You can
find it on iTunes, or click on
the player located to the right here on the blog. Also, it is available
through TalkShoe, by checking out our page there by clicking <a href="http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/talkCast.jsp?masterId=123112&cmd=tc" target="_blank">HERE</a>! <br />
<br />
As always, be sure to "Like" us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/twospotmonkeys" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, and also follow us on Twitter by following <a href="http://www.twitter.com/twospotmonkeys" target="_blank">@twospotmonkeys</a>!
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2341452281989557296.post-52773059438342891222013-11-01T11:23:00.001-07:002013-11-01T11:23:31.037-07:00Hell in a Cell React!<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://i1132.photobucket.com/albums/m565/Jimthy/cooltext635936753.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i1132.photobucket.com/albums/m565/Jimthy/cooltext635936753.png" height="117" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
So, another WWE PPV is in the books and there is no change
in the competition with Jim and Tom.</div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
Clearly, with only Survivor Series & TLC left, Tom has a
more significant uphill climb to potentially even tie this competition.</div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
Throwing out the Langston/Axel match because it didn’t
happen, there were seven predictions made, and neither of us had a particularly
good night!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We each went 3-4, with our
differing picks being Jim correctly picking AJ Lee, and Tom correctly picking
Randy Orton.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So that brings the totals
on the year to Jim at 55-20 to Tom’s 45-30, still that 10 match lead with 2
shows to go!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let’s take a look at our
thoughts on the show!</div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">TOM’S REACT</b></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
I caught the majority of the Hell in a Cell PPV on Sunday
night and I was less than impressed.</div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
I do like most of the storylines right now, but the in-ring
on Sunday just did not click for me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>From what I read, the Tag Title Match was the best of the card…and I was
able to begin the show JUST after that match, so perhaps I would have had a
different opinion of the show if I had seen that match.</div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
One big take away I have is why in the WORLD does WWE
continue to put un-advertised matches on the PPVs?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do they think that is an added value?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My belief is that it is taking away from the
main matches having more time and opportunity to deliver.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is why people are buying the shows, so
why not reward them with the “true” main event billings instead of “throw-away”
matches like Fandango & Summer Rae vs. Khali & Natalya (and I know it
was carried over from what happened on Smackdown, but who <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">really</i> cares?)</div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
I did enjoy Big E. Langston-Dean Ambrose.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These two are part of the future of WWE and
they give their all, as evidenced by their collision that resulted in cuts in
the facial region for both guys.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hope
that there is more to come from these two.</div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
WWE certainly changed direction on the CM Punk-Paul Heyman
issue, including Ryback.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ryback means
virtually nothing now in my eyes and I would have to believe other people see
that as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>CM Punk seemed to quickly transition
to another program (with The Wyatt Family), but I have to wonder when (and how,
especially since Paul E. was taken out on top of the Cell) Punk-Lesnar II comes
about.</div>
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I enjoyed Los Matadores and see WWE continuing to build and
push them, and as a plus they should be able to sell plenty of merchandise as
well.</div>
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Cena-Del Rio was pretty paint by numbers to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was more surprised that Sandow didn’t go
for the cash in, even if as we saw on Monday with that he was going to cash in
and lose.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It could have potentially
meant more to occur on PPV, as well as allow Del Rio to get more heat on Cena
and allow them to continue a program beyond Hell in a Cell (and maybe they
still do) but again, providing a pay off and storyline continuation for those
who are loyal and purchase the PPVs.</div>
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AJ Lee-Brie Bella was what it was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The ending made sense and I have to wonder
when Tamina “snaps” and challenges Lee.</div>
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I fully expected Randy Orton to come out of the Hell in a
Cell Main Event as the champion, but I really had no idea on how they would get
to that point.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As we saw, it was a Shawn
Michaels superkick to Daniel Bryan after some other shenanigans to get to that
point.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t like it, I don’t think it
makes sense and I don’t even like the follow-up that occurred on Monday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They could have accomplished the exact same
end result and made the transition to The Big Show in the title picture (as
they were clearly planning) and kept HBK “clean.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hope Daniel Bryan does not lose the luster
here has or being as over as he is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
seems to be heading towards mixing with The Wyatts as well, so we shall
see.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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In the end, if I haven’t conveyed it…I am rather ho hum on
the whole event and looking towards Survivor Series I hope there is something
really good coming down the pike!<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a> </div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">JIM’S REACT</b></div>
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I didn’t get a chance to catch the show, but read up on it
and have seen the important moments, so my thoughts may be a bit more
brief.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I agree with Tom completely on
his thoughts as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not excited in the
least that Bryan never really got one over on Triple H.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sure, he hit the knee on him, but in the end,
HHH still won, his guy got the title and he’s the one smiling on Raw the next
night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, to those in WWE who would say
that Bryan got his revenge, that’s total BS in my eyes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Ryback certainly has fallen in the eyes of WWE lately, and
it will be interesting to see what (if anything) they do with him moving
forward.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think we could be seeing him
as a free agent before another 5-6 months passes by.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They have clearly lost all faith in him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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The tag division is certainly heating up, which is always a
good thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rhodes and Goldust have been
great as a team thus far, and if they are going to hold the titles for a while,
I’m ok with that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I do hope the Usos
eventually get the belts, as they are more than worthy of a shot at being “the
guys” in the division.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Brie’s gotta win that title some day right?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I mean…some day?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even though I picked AJ Lee, I do think Bella
needs to win it soon, but I don’t have a lot of hope that they will.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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With the reset button pressed on Monday night, clearly
moving Bryan away from HHH and Orton into an issue with the Wyatts (along with
CM Punk also moving into an issue with the Wyatts as well, which could lead to
some damn good tag matches), and Big Show/HHH/Orton being the top storyline
going forward, this felt like the end of the road PPV for a lot of the stories
they had going.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Will be interesting to
watch things develop moving forward.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Also, I also need to comment on Sandow cashing in and
losing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The guy beats the hell out of
Cena with a briefcase, and still can’t get the job done.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I mean…you’ve all heard me complain about
Super Cena, but seriously, yet again they feed a young up and comer to him and
prove that Sandow means nothing in the hierarchy of WWE.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s my firm belief that at least for the
next 5-10 years, Wrestlemania is going to have to continue to be a nostalgia type
show, with guys like Lesnar, Rock, Undertaker, HHH, etc at the top, because
they have done so freaking little to truly build guys to the top level where
they could main event at Wrestlemania and be believable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They build them up just to tear them back
down again (or put a briefcase on a guy and have him win like 2 matches since
that point, against R-Truth and Justin Gabriel type level guys) and then say “well,
they didn’t get over”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, it is
somewhat on the wrestler to get over, but hey, here’s a funny idea, book them
in a way so they have a chance ok?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s
getting frustrating as hell to see them continue to do this to guy after
guy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They’re also doing a great job of
diluting what Money in the Bank means as well when you have Ziggler win it and
then win the belt and lose it so fast as you shove him back down the card, and
now Sandow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe they will rescue
Sandow, but I have my doubts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>UGH!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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All roads lead to Survivor Series now, where I’m predicting
either HHH or Orton takes on Show, Bryan and Punk vs. the Wyatts, and The
Shield (maybe) vs. The Rhodes Boys.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oh
yeah, and after teasing dissension in The Shield on Monday, please don’t do
that WWE.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Keep them together a while
longer, there’s a lot more to do with them as a group!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2341452281989557296.post-81120514262898869492013-10-25T08:22:00.003-07:002013-10-25T08:22:50.887-07:00WWE Hell in a Cell Head 2 Head!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
Tom and I had a great conversation on the phone a couple of days ago, to do this Head 2 Head, as Tom is out of town here at the end of the week. Honestly, we really should have made the call through Talkshoe because we had some great conversation that would have made for a great podcast we felt! So, consider this the podcast that never was! I'll be posting some of our thoughts on each match and of course our picks! As a reminder, I currently hold a 10 match lead on Tom in our 2013 Head 2 Head, so Tom really has his work cut out for him. But, as you'll see, he's got a shot to make up some room here!<br />
<br />
<b>Kickoff Show - Intercontinental Title Match</b><br />
<b>Curtis Axel (c) vs. Big E. Langston</b><br />
<br />
Langston is apparently a face now. Would have been nice to have WWE craft a short quick story, or even a scene where that actually happened (such as instead of having Punk save him on Raw, have Punk get beat down and have Langston make the save, see, it's not that hard WWE creative!). Tom and I both feel that Axel will walk out with the Intercontinental Title, however, we do differ on our winners and the method by which Axel will retain!<br />
<b>Tom's Pick: </b>Big E. Langston (by DQ)<br />
<b>Jim's Pick: </b>Curtis Axel (likely by some shenanigans) <br />
<br />
<b>Los Matadores vs. The Real Americans</b><br />
<br />
This match gets made officially on Smackdown tonight, but it's been clear they've been headed in this direction for some time now. Gotta go with who they seem more behind right now, and that's Los Matadores and especially El Torito getting in a good spot or two. <br />
<b>Tom's Pick:</b> Los Matadores<br />
<b>Jim's Pick:</b> Los Matadores<br />
<br />
<b>WWE Tag Team Title Triple Threat Match</b><br />
<b>Cody Rhodes & Goldust (c) vs. Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns vs. The Usos</b><br />
<br />
The Usos getting added into this seems very interesting to both Tom and I. Why else would you do it except to move the titles to them? The Rhodes Boys and The Shield are an important part of the top storyline with Triple H, so at this point, the tag titles really don't need to be there (thus freeing up the titles to bring more meaning to other matches as well). With the tag division they've put together now (Tons of Funk, Real Americans, Los Matadores, Usos, Shield, Rhodes, Prime Time Players, Santino/Khali, etc.) they actually could do something with the tag titles for the first time in forever. To do that, get them on an established team that deserves the shot. <br />
<b>Tom's Pick: </b>The Usos<br />
<b>Jim's Pick:</b> The Usos<br />
<br />
<b>Divas Title Match</b><br />
<b>AJ Lee (c) vs. Brie Bella</b><br />
<br />
We differ on this match as well. We both feel that Brie Bella will be the one to dethrone AJ Lee eventually and Tom is of the belief that her time is now! While I could see that, with Bella getting 2 pinfall victories over AJ recently, I can't help but think it's so they can setup the "you beat me when the title wasn't on the line, but when it came time to win the title, you couldn't get the job done" type story with Bella and Lee, so I see AJ keeping it, likely with help from Tamina, who has been great in her "Diesel-like" role!<br />
<b>Tom's Pick: </b>Brie Bella<br />
<b>Jim's Pick: </b>AJ Lee<br />
<br />
<b>Handicap Hell in a Cell Match</b><br />
<b>CM Punk vs. Ryback & Paul Heyman</b><br />
<br />
Well, we both thought Ryback would win the match earlier this month on Battleground, so, what do we know about this feud! It seems like while Hell in a Cell could be the blowoff, neither of us really feels that it will be. This can easily go on at least to Survivor Series, if not further, so, to get there, you've got to have Ryback and Paul Heyman win this one again...perhaps with Heyman even getting the pin again on Punk. Can you imagine the promo on Monday if Heyman can say he's pinned Punk TWICE? Crazy!<br />
<b>Tom's Pick: </b>Ryback & Paul Heyman<br />
<b>J</b>i<b>m's Pick:</b> Ryback & Paul Heyman<br />
<br />
<b>World Heavyweight Title Match</b><br />
<b>Alberto Del Rio (c) vs. John Cena</b><br />
<br />
Well, Super Cena has healed and is back! Strange to see him thrust into the World Heavyweight Title picture here, and both Tom and I feel that you don't bring Cena back early just to lose to Del Rio, so, yep, Cena wins the World Title here. Now, will he leave as champion...<br />
<b>Tom's Pick:</b> John Cena<br />
<b>Jim's Pick: </b>John Cena<br />
<br />
<b>Will Damien Sandow cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase?</b><br />
<br />
Tom and I both believe that Sunday night is Damien Sandow's night to finally cash in his briefcase and win the World Heavyweight Title, and he'll be able to say he beat John Cena for the title as well, which will only add to the promos he'll be able to cut. I hate how they have booked Sandow since winning the briefcase and have very low expectations for his title reign, but as far as both Tom and I are concerned, Sandow does cash in (and win) on Sunday night<br />
<b>Tom's Pick: </b>Yes<br />
<b>Jim's Pick:</b> Yes<br />
<br />
<b>WWE Title Match - Hell In a Cell - Shawn Michaels is the Special Guest Ref</b><br />
<b>Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton</b><br />
<br />
This is one where I think things can go either way. Both Tom and I believe we will have a WWE Champion after this match and that we'll move forward with things from there. Tom believes that Randy Orton will be winning the title, with Shawn Michaels having to count down the shoulders of the man he trained, and him showing angst in having to do that. I like that idea, and almost went with Orton thinking something along the same lines, but Bryan simply has to win here in my eyes (which probably means Tom is right). And both Tom and I agree that if this entire storyline doesn't end with Bryan tapping out Triple H, than it has been a complete waste of time. I hope I'm right and that we get a WWE Title reign for Bryan that at least lasts more than 24 hours...but we shall see on Sunday night!<br />
<b>Tom's Pick: </b>Randy Orton<br />
<b>Jim's Pick: </b>Daniel Bryan<br />
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What do you think of our picks? Are we crazy? Do you agree? Let us know! Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2341452281989557296.post-24969208362237538922013-10-22T14:10:00.002-07:002013-10-22T14:10:22.205-07:00Interview with Cedric Alexander & Glory By Honor Preview!<br />
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Check out our latest podcast as Jim & Tom get a chance to chat with ROH star, Cedric Alexander! Also, stay tuned after the interview as Tom and Jim run down the card for ROH's Glory By Honor XII and give you their thoughts on the card coming up this Saturday night! You can find it on iTunes, or click on
the player located to the right here on the blog. Also, it is available
through TalkShoe, by checking out our page there by clicking <a href="http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/talkCast.jsp?masterId=123112&cmd=tc" target="_blank">HERE</a>! Let us know what you think of our picks and our cards!<br />
<br />
As always, be sure to "Like" us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/twospotmonkeys" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, and also follow us on Twitter by following <a href="http://www.twitter.com/twospotmonkeys" target="_blank">@twospotmonkeys</a>!
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2341452281989557296.post-83275738105361547842013-10-12T07:00:00.001-07:002013-10-12T07:01:36.333-07:00Battleground React & Head 2 Head Update!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Neither Tom nor Jim were able to watch Battleground live, so just some quick observations from reports and the highlights shown. Before that though a quick Head 2 Head update! Jim went 7-2, while Tom went 6-3 at Battleground, so that brings the year to date competition to a strong 10 match lead for Jim, with a 52-16 record to Tom's 42-26 record! With only three shows to go, Tom needs to obliterate Jim in each of these shows to come back! What strategy will Tom employ to try and do that? Be sure to tune into our Hell in a Cell Head 2 Head in a few weeks to find out! Now, on to the observations!<br />
<br />
After a PPV that had it's finish nullified the next night on Raw, and having fans so upset that the result they paid to see was overturned that they asked for (and some even got!) refunds from their cable company, did WWE really just do a non-finish on the next PPV? Wow, are they clueless? I get that they want to set up the big controversy so that there is a definitive winner at Hell in a Cell, but man, glad I didn't pay $45+ for a show that ended the way many episodes of Raw end.<br />
<br />
Love that the Rhodes are back! Cody has been great in this storyline and Goldust has had his working boots on no doubt. Lots of rumors of an eventual Cody vs. Goldust feud, which would have to be very cool for each of them. I think Cody vs. Goldust makes a perfect match for Wrestlemania 30!<br />
<br />
Punk wins (which neither of us thought would happen), but cheats to do so, allowing for another follow up match. Ok, that works I guess! Ryback just can't get a win against Punk in his life can he??<br />
<br />
Antonio Cesaro is stupid strong...that is all.<br />
<br />
We're hoping to line up some exciting things here at Two Spot Monkeys in the weeks ahead, stay tuned here on the blog, as well as on our <a href="http://www.facebook.com/twospotmonkeys" target="_blank">Facebook Page</a> and on Twitter (<a href="http://www.twitter.com/twospotmonkeys" target="_blank">@twospotmonkeys</a>) to see what they are! Thanks for reading!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2341452281989557296.post-35730530804809148722013-10-04T12:29:00.000-07:002013-10-04T12:29:00.957-07:00Battleground Head 2 Head!<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">With WWE’s
“Battleground” Pay-Per-View right around the corner, Jim and Tom come together
back in the print format here on Two Spot Monkeys for Head 2 Head ahead of this
weekend’s event.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">To catch
readers up, be you regulars or first timers, this is a pick’em competition
where we pick against one another in an effort to have the most success in the
outcomes of WWE PPV matches.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And what is
on the line, you might ask?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, this
year it has been recently decided that the loser of this competition will be
shaved bald and bear that baldness at a wrestling show we enjoy together as
friends at some point in 2014!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of
course, embarrassing photos will be likely tweeted out (@twospotmonkeys) FOLLOW
US! & posted here on the blog.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">Jim has a
strong lead over Tom with 4 events left in the PPV year for WWE, 45-14 to
36-23.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The time is now for Tom to make
up any ground over Jim – let’s see how the picks play out! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">Kickoff Show</span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">Dolph Ziggler vs. Damien Sandow</span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">TOM: </span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">Interesting match on paper.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Two guys that seemed to be in really high
places on the card at this point from where they seemed to be headed earlier
this year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This one can be considered a
pick’em simply because neither has really been given a lot of shine on TV as of
late.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I still think that WWE doesn’t
mind Sandow losing because it is going to give him a load of opponents when he
eventually cashes in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dolph Ziggler gets
the win.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>
</b></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">JIM: </span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> Wow, do both guys deserve better than being on the pre-show
of this “B” level pay per view? You’re darn right they do. Of
course, they are better off than US Champion, Dean Ambrose, who can’t even get
a match on this card.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anyways, they
continue to book Sandow to lose and hope it will “create challengers” for when
he eventually wins the World Title with his Money in the Bank briefcase.
As we’ve mentioned before, we both feel this is terrible booking, but WWE
falls back on it far too often with Money in the Bank holders. Dolph on
the other hand has apparently been in the dog house lately and has not been
anywhere close to the World Title scene. He’s a bit player in the ongoing
feud with Triple H and Randy Orton, but certainly not featured there either.
Hard to pick this one as I think both can use the win, but since Sandow
keeps losing to set up challengers, maybe Dolph can get the win here and become
one of those challengers down the road.</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">Kofi Kingston vs. Bray Wyatt</span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">TOM: </span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">There is no stopping the Wyatt
train!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He beats Kofi here on his
continued strong push.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am excited for
what should be a really, really good match.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">JIM:</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> I think this will be a fun
match, and really wish they’d push Kingston alot more than they do, but this is
another of those wins to continue to get Bray Wyatt and his family over, so
Wyatt wins here without question! </span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">Intercontinental Title Match</span></b></div>
<div class="NoSpacing" style="tab-stops: 196.6pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">Curtis Axel (c) vs.
R-Truth<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></b></div>
<div class="NoSpacing" style="tab-stops: 196.6pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="NoSpacing" style="tab-stops: 196.6pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">TOM: </span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">I think it is really interesting
that instead of putting Axel in a program with CM Punk, which would have done
more for Axel than these one-off title defenses, he is being paired with
babyfaces fans get behind and want to see win, while he continues his I-C title
reign.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That trend continues here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Axel retains.</span></div>
<div class="NoSpacing" style="tab-stops: 196.6pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="NoSpacing" style="tab-stops: 196.6pt;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">JIM:</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> Truth gets this shot by virtue of beating Axel on Monday
night in a Non-Title match after Axel was distracted by CM Punk’s music.
Axel is obviously behind Ryback when it comes to the pecking order of
Heyman’s Guys, so I wouldn’t be totally shocked to see a title change come
soon, but honestly, with the way R-Truth has been used lately, I think it would
be a mistake to put it on him, I’d rather see them go back to Kofi Kingston, or
The Miz who could quickly get it to Fandango or someone else. So, Axel
gets the win here. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">World Heavyweight Title –
Battleground Hardcore Rules Match</span></b></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">Alberto Del Rio (c) vs. Rob Van
Dam</span></b></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">TOM: </span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">This match really plays into the
“Hardcore History” of RVD and I imagine it will make a for good spectacle of a
match, even though these two could get along just fine in a match with any
gimmicks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve learned my Del Rio lesson
far too many times before, but seemed to be cursed by the matches I pick with
him involved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here is hoping that ends
here: Del Rio wins and retains.</span></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">JIM:</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> Hardcore rules means this will
be a fun plunder match, but honestly, if RVD is leaving after Battleground,
which has been the rumor, no chance he wins here. He could win and then
immediately drop it to Sandow, but again, if he’s leaving, what’s the point?
Del Rio keeps it and moves on. Wouldn’t be shocked to see Ricardo
Rodriguez turn on RVD here either, unless he is going to be teamed up with Rey
Mysterio or something. </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
</span></b></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">Damien Sandow’s Money in the Bank
Briefcase Cash-In:</span></b></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">TOM: </span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">I think it could be a good time as
ever to do it, but just don’t see it happening.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>No cash-in at Battleground.</span></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">JIM:</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> No, I don’t see him cashing in
here, I don’t see what it would do at this point for him, so he holds onto the
briefcase for a while longer!</span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">WWE Divas Title</span></b></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">AJ Lee (c) vs. Brie Bella</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="NoSpacing" style="tab-stops: 71.35pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">TOM: </span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">This seems to be a really
emotional invested issue and I like those types of storylines.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I do think it is interesting too, that the
WWE is really playing off of the reality elements from Total Divas and going
another level in blurring the lines.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Seems like they’ve really been making fans wait and wait for the
pay-offs of issues of late, but Sunday seems like a really good place to
cash-in on that pay-off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Brie Bella wins
the Divas title.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> </b></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="NoSpacing" style="tab-stops: 71.35pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">JIM:</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> I can go either way with
this matchup. Both Tom and I have been feeling for a while that Brie
Bella would eventually be the one to unseat AJ Lee as the Divas Champion, and I
certainly still think that is likely the direction they’ll go. This could
be the time they go there, but they have just added Tamina to the AJ Lee act
(as almost the Diesel to AJ Lee’s Shawn Michaels), so with that development, I
think it’s too soon now to take the title off of Lee. Not to mention, I
am a huge AJ Lee fan and think they should leave it on her long term until they
bring up Paige, but, that’s just me! AJ Lee retains here! </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">CM Punk vs. Ryback</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">TOM: </span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">A year ago or close to it, you had
Ryback as the babyface chasing Punk for the WWE Title.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A year later, the roles are reversed in terms
of character and there is no title on the line, however there is a lot of good
storyline here as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>WWE has done
their best to me in getting Ryback to be a really jerk and bully, plus it
doesn’t hurt to be aligned as a Paul Heyman henchman as well. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think Punk is so over that he could lose
plenty of times in this feud and it would not hurt him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With that thinking and knowing there is a lot
left to this feud beyond Sunday, my pick is that Ryback wins and I expect Paul
Heyman involved down the stretch.</span></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">JIM:</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> Another match I can go a number
of ways with. Punk got to hit the GTS on Axel to accomplish phase one of
his plan. Beating Ryback is stage 2, but I think that might be too quick
for it to happen here at Battleground. I see this ending at Survivor
Series as well, so you still have Hell in a Cell before then, and I could
definitely see Punk vs. Ryback in the Cell in a rematch from last year, this
time with Heyman in Ryback’s corner. So, to get there, we’ve got to have
Ryback somehow defeat Punk, which I think he will do. Remember that he
had Punk’s number a year ago too, and Punk always escaped because of Heyman’s
help. I can see Heyman bringing that up on Monday as well if Ryback wins!</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
</span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns
vs. Cody Rhodes & Goldust - Rhodes wins, they get their jobs back, if they
lose, Dusty Rhodes is fired</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">TOM: </span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">Of all of the matches on this
card, this one has me really excited.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>WWE has just done a really great job (sense a theme here?) with this
angle and match.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The emotional ties
created are very real and can really draw people in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It has done so with me, for sure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I feel like there is a lot left to occur with
these teams and the other players involved…possibly culminating at Survivor
Series as I suggested in the last REACT post.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>My pick is for Cody & Goldust to win and get back into WWE.</span></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">JIM:</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> This should be ALOT of fun, and
a match that easily could be the match of the night if given some time.
It certainly has enough storyline backing to it to add to the drama.
I’m glad to see Goldust back for a short run here, and hope he sticks
around as he was great against Orton a few weeks back. I also wouldn’t
mind seeing a Goldust vs. Cody feud down the road too (have Goldust get jealous
of Cody’s success or something). Anyways, I’m getting ahead of myself
here. I think the fact that the tag titles aren’t on the line here
telegraphs the ending, which is the right one, the Rhodes boys get the win and
re-join WWE. I see a Survivor Series Elimination Tag in November of
Bryan, Goldust, Cody & Big Show against Orton and the Shield, so this helps
get us there. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">WWE Title – Decision Match </span></b></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton</span></b></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">TOM: </span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;">The forces of Triple H, Stephanie
and The Shield are all in favor of Randy Orton and against Daniel Bryan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is the ultimate babyface and the odds
never seem to be for him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His last month
after being stripped of the title has only seen him get more over (which is
amazing because people are buying the whole story and not turning on it!) and
they want the ultimate pay-off and Bryan to get his comeuppance once and for
all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately I do not see that
happening in this chapter of the story on Sunday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Randy Orton to win and get the WWE Title
again, keeping Bryan chasing and fans hungering for it and hoping for a Hell in
a Cell payoff!<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
</b></span></div>
<div class="NoSpacing">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">JIM:</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> This is billed as the Decision
match. Yeah, I don’t buy it. I think this match will again be
marred in some sort of controversy leading to a final match at Hell in a Cell
(again, likely in the Cell) between the two. To keep up with their last
few months of booking though, I think Bryan will win the title and then again
be stripped of it on Monday night. They just seem to be on that kick
lately, and I think it continues here. So, while I expect it to be another
1 day reign, I see Bryan winning the title here, perhaps after some
interference from The Big Show. </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></b></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2341452281989557296.post-90905236748632677882013-09-19T10:52:00.001-07:002013-09-19T11:09:47.468-07:00Night of Champions REACT!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://i1132.photobucket.com/albums/m565/Jimthy/cooltext635936753.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="117" src="http://i1132.photobucket.com/albums/m565/Jimthy/cooltext635936753.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="normal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Well, the Head 2 Head competition rolls on after Night of
Champions, and thanks to a screwy DQ finish in the World Title bout, Jim
accomplished a 7-1 record for Night of Champions, while Tom came in at 4-4.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That extends Jim’s lead to a
whopping 9 matches, with Jim having a 45-14 record to Tom’s 36-23.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We still have four shows left this year with
Battleground, Hell in a Cell, Survivor Series and TLC, so Tom isn’t out of it
yet, but he needs to go on a big hot streak, and soon!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Remember, we announced on the Night of
Champions Head 2 Head podcast that this year’s Head 2 Head competition is a
Hair vs. Hair competition!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, whoever
loses will shave their head completely bald before Tom and Jim attend their
first wrestling show together in 2014!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Let’s get to our reactions to what took place at Night of
Champions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><o:p><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="normal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: Arial;">Jim’s React</span></u></b></div>
<br />
<div class="normal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Night of Champions came off as a rather forgettable show, made
even more so by what happened on Monday night, but more on that in a
minute.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="normal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">No shock that the Prime Time Players won the Tag Team Turmoil,
as both Tom and I said, it was the only thing that made any sense, so glad to
see they went that direction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="normal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Adding Curtis Axel vs. Kofi Kingston made sense, as the gimmick
for Night of Champions is that every title is defended, so I liked that, and
Axel and Kingston have pretty good chemistry in the ring.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If they let him (and they seem hell bent on
not letting him), Axel could help bring some prestige back to the IC Title in
that he can have good athletic matches, and it could get back to having that be
what the IC Title is all about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Kingston
would be a great opponent to continue to do that with.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’ll see what they do now though.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="normal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I actually liked having AJ make Natalya tap in the Divas match,
as Natalya had been getting a bunch of wins lately, so having AJ make her tap
made AJ look that much stronger as a character and as a competitor, which she
should in the current storyline.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love
having AJ as Divas Champ, and she can keep the belt as long as she wants in my
opinion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were pictures of her
recently with the old Women’s Championship, which I think would make a TON of
sense if she brought back that belt, saying she didn’t want to be a “Diva”, she
is a “Real Woman”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Good stuff.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe a way to bring Paige up to the main roster
too...but, we can talk about that more another time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She’d fit the “anti-diva” thing to a T!</span></div>
<br />
<div class="normal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The World Heavyweight Title match ended so weakly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t know why they didn’t just have Del
Rio make RVD tap, other than they want to keep it going and obviously didn’t
want to put the World Title on RVD.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dumb
finish, although lucky for me, as I get the “W” for our Head 2 Head event
though RVD didn’t win the title.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Honestly, I was sure I’d be wrong after I made that pick, so it was
total luck in my favor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="normal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The Miz vs. Fandango in a feud no one cares about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yawn.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Man, did Fandango lose all his steam fast or what?</span></div>
<br />
<div class="normal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The Axel/Heyman vs. Punk match was exactly what I thought it
would be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ryback coming in as the new
Heyman guy works, as Ryback’s weakness is his promos by far, so having Heyman
with him can only help.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It will be
interesting to see how they go forward with Axel after this as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I loved the promo from Heyman on Monday, as
it fit his almost mafia boss like character perfectly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love everything Heyman is doing right now,
so this all works for me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And some day,
Punk will get his final revenge, and it will be awesome to watch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Heyman also deserves credit for taking the
beating he did before Ryback’s interference as well!</span></div>
<br />
<div class="normal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Ambrose/Ziggler was good, and these guys could have a great
feud if it’s allowed to continue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While
I think Ziggler should be in the main event picture, if he ever gets back
there, Ambrose hanging with him in this feud (and beating him) would do a lot
to easily elevate Ambrose as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="normal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The tag title match was about what we could expect.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>PTP get some hope, but in the end, it’s the
Shield reigning supreme as they have for most of their run!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="normal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The WWE Title match was good and I like that there wasn’t a ton
of gaga (they saved that for Monday).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Was surprised to see Bryan win the belt but the minute the fast count
happened I knew he’d be stripped of it on Monday, saw that coming a mile
away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am glad they didn’t just hand it
back to Orton though.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Obviously Scott
Armstrong was doing the bidding of either Triple H or Vince McMahon and his
“they caught us Daniel” was orchestrated by them as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, eventually Bryan will win it back and get
the big moment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hope they haven’t cut
the legs out from under him too much before that though.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="normal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="normal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: Arial;">Tom’s React</span></u></b></div>
<br />
<div class="normal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Man, man, man…I can just hear the clippers now and feel the
razor dragging across my head, watching my hair fall to the floor!</span></div>
<br />
<div class="normal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I am a competitor through and through, so I won’t give up and I
think if you’ve followed and listened to Jim and I do our Head 2 Head podcasts
it will be really interesting to see the way our picks play out with the final
four pay-per-view events this year as I do what I can to break even or surpass
Jim.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="normal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I did not attend this show as I thought I might and boy, am I
glad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Reading the results, I would have
been SUPER angry for buying a ticket to this show or purchasing the
pay-per-view (and I will admit that I was tempted with an impulse buy last
minute!) with what went down and then what transpired on Monday night.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="normal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">On one hand, I absolutely love the angle and the heat they are
putting on The McMahon’s and Randy Orton and of course, the way that it
continues to just get Daniel Bryan over more and more and more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When the “real” pay-off occurs here, it
should be good and should be special.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="normal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">On the opposite side, you have to wonder how WWE feels about
the good will with fans (or do they care at all?) when they give them a great
moment that Bryan wins, only to make it nullified the next night on Raw?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know how I felt and I did not invest
financially.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The ending of Raw was still
special and made for a great visual moment, but WWE needs to be careful about
the goodwill of fans when it comes to those scenarios.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="normal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Taking this scenario and the other overlays with the McMahon
angles, I would really love to see a Survivor Series match of Daniel Bryan,
Cody Rhodes, Goldust/Dustin Rhodes and The Primetime Players vs. Randy Orton,
The Shield of Ambrose, Reigns & Rollins and a reluctant Big Show.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I imagine that would be really, really good
and an effective progression in the storyline.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We will see if anything close to that happens.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="normal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Other than those comments, I have little else to React to
regarding the show.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I do think that the
RVD finish was bad and screwy (more than just the fact that it helped Jim
increase his lead!) and the fact it occurred in Detroit, MI and RVD being a “hometown”
guy is just bad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everything else made
sense in terms of how it played out, even if my picks did not align.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="normal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I cannot wait to get back on the “horse” and pick against Jim
for Battleground!</span></div>
<br />
<div class="normal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Thanks for reading!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Be
sure to like Two Spot Monkeys on Facebook or follow us on Twitter
@twospotmonkeys<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>- There are big shows
this weekend with ROH crowning their next World Champion and EVOLVE having a
NYC area doubleshot, highlighted by what likely will be the feud blow-offs of
the AR Fox vs. Ricochet and Johnny Gargano-Rich Swann feuds.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="normal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Jim and I will be back in some capacity next week to chime in
on those things – Have a great weekend!</span></div>
Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02687463310797031021noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2341452281989557296.post-19652006719185503642013-09-12T16:46:00.004-07:002013-09-12T16:46:54.985-07:00Night of Champions Head 2 Head!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2013/236/8/a/wwe_night_of_champions_2013_poster_by_arshpreetsingh-d6jlf4m.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2013/236/8/a/wwe_night_of_champions_2013_poster_by_arshpreetsingh-d6jlf4m.png" width="227" /></a></div>
Check out our latest podcast as Jim & Tom go Head 2 Head about Night of Champions this weekend on PPV! You can find it on iTunes, or click on
the player located to the right here on the blog. Also, it is available
through TalkShoe, by checking out our page there by clicking <a href="http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/talkCast.jsp?masterId=123112&cmd=tc" target="_blank">HERE</a>! Let us know what you think of our picks!<br />
<br />
As always, be sure to "Like" us on Facebook, and also follow us on Twitter by following @twospotmonkeys!
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2341452281989557296.post-50476933195870632152013-09-04T11:18:00.001-07:002013-10-22T14:08:04.504-07:00Two Spot Monkeys First Annual Fantasy Wrestler Draft!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://sapac.umich.edu/files/sapac/field/image/draft.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://sapac.umich.edu/files/sapac/field/image/draft.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
Check out our latest podcast as Jim & Tom enter a fantasy world where they get to draft 15 wrestlers each and create their own national company with TV and all! Not only will they draft their initial rosters, but they will also lay out their first "dream card" for their "new promotions"! You can find it on iTunes, or click on
the player located to the right here on the blog. Also, it is available
through TalkShoe, by checking out our page there by clicking <a href="http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/talkCast.jsp?masterId=123112&cmd=tc" target="_blank">HERE</a>! Let us know what you think of our picks and our cards!<br />
<br />
As always, be sure to "Like" us on Facebook, and also follow us on Twitter by following @twospotmonkeys!
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2341452281989557296.post-74234891612506446752013-08-28T06:12:00.001-07:002013-08-28T06:15:46.890-07:00NXT: Season One - Where Are They Now?<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-2e2364b2-c50d-b568-16a0-a596a9183ce9" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.wwenews.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/WWE-NXT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="http://www.wwenews.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/WWE-NXT.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I thought I would start a new series here on Two Spot Monkeys and take a look back at the rookies we were introduced to through NXT in the first four seasons of the show. Since it started in February of 2010, NXT alum have gone on to win 18 titles in WWE, and for some of the competitors, more titles certainly seem to be in their future. Yet, for others, NXT was as high as they’d ever reach (at least as of this writing) in the world of pro wrestling. So, without any further adieu, let’s take a look back at Season One of NXT and where those competitors are now! </span></div>
<br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Michael Tarver - </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Tarver was mentored by Carlito on Season 1 of NXT. He was the first competitor to be eliminated during the season as well, as he refused to participate in the rookie challenges as he wasn’t there to perform “menial tasks”. He of course debuted along with the rest of the NXT Season 1 rookies in the Nexus, but was never a featured member of that group really. He sustained a groin injury and was written out of the group. In 2011 he started appearing randomly in backstage segments on Raw and Smackdown, just sort of lurking in the shadows, but nothing ever came of it. Finally in June of 2011, he was released from WWE. He currently works for Florida Underground Wrestling, where as of now, he is currently the champion. </span></div>
<br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Daniel Bryan -</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Bryan was of course famously mentored by The Miz. Bryan never won a match on NXT, however he did get the pin in an 8 on 4 handicap match on Raw, with the other NXT rookies, pinning Santino Marella. Even though Bryan had his struggles on NXT, there is no question at this point, he is the biggest star to come off not only season one of NXT, but any season the show ever had. Bryan is a former US Champion, Tag Champion, World Heavyweight Champion, and WWE Champion and is currently the protagonist in the biggest storyline going in WWE today as he battles Randy Orton and the McMahon family. </span></div>
<br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Skip Sheffield - </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Sheffield was mentored by William Regal in Season One and showed off his immense power. He was billed as something of a hick, with a cowboy hat and all. He was the first wrestler to be eliminated by the poll results. He of course returned with the Nexus in July, but unfortunately in August of that year, broke his ankle badly and was out until April of 2012 when he returned as Ryback. He has since become a member of the mid to upper mid card, including a feud with John Cena over the WWE where many people felt (myself included) that they could really “make” Ryback by putting him over for the title. Alas, they didn’t do that and it appears now he’s trying to be WWE’s version of Bully Ray. Something tells me that won’t work out as well for him as it has for Ray.</span></div>
<br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Darren Young - </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Young was mentored by CM Punk, though they never quite seemed to get on the same page. Young has of course gone on to become one of the Prime Time Players with Season 2 alum, Titus O’Neil. They seemed poised for a tag title run a while back, but the trigger never got pulled. With his recent coming out as a gay man, and the babyface push that seems to have garnered for he and O’Neil, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them eventually dethrone the Shield, though I don’t see that happening anytime soon given the Shield’s involvement in the top angle right now.</span></div>
<br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Heath Slater -</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Slater was mentored by Christian in season one. Though he’s basically part of a comedy act now in 3MB, Slater has won the WWE Tag Team Titles on 3 occasions with fellow Season 1 alum, Justin Gabriel. Slater was someone I thought would do really well, and I thought had a little Chris Jericho in him, but it seems he is destined for the lower midcard comedy role at this point, as I’m not sure how you’d make 3MB anything more than a joke now. I see Slater as wasted opportunity. </span></div>
<br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Justin Gabriel - </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The high flying Gabriel was mentored by Matt Hardy in Season 1. Gabriel made it all the way to the finals, but finished in 3rd place. Gabriel has carved out a nice niche for himself as a midcard babyface who gets some good reactions due to his high flying and his picture perfect 450 splash. As I mentioned before, he’s won the WWE Tag Team Titles 3 times with Heath Slater, and seemed poised for a possible run at them again with Tyson Kidd, before Kidd blew out his knee in January of this year. Gabriel seems in position that if they ever wanted to move him into the IC or US Title picture they could, but they don’t seem like they want to do that either.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">David Otunga -</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Otunga finished 2nd in Season 1 of NXT, being mentored by R-Truth. He’s gone on to a better career than I’d have imagined he would as I find him very limited in the ring. He’s a two time former WWE Tag Team Champion, holding it once with John Cena (for one day) and again with Michael McGuillicutty (now Curtis Axel). He has been featured many times in an advisor role for people, playing off of his law degree that he legitimately holds. I know they like keeping him around because he’s connected with Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson, but seriously, I have no idea why they keep paying him. It’s time to cut their losses with Otunga in my eyes.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Wade Barrett - </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The winner of Season 1 of NXT, Barrett was mentored by Chris Jericho. Barrett has gone on to be a main player for most of his time in WWE, including three reigns as the Intercontinental Champion, and main eventing PPV’s against John Cena for the WWE Title. He was even rumored to be in line for a Money in the Bank win about a year ago, but sadly injured himself in a match and had to miss significant time, which has cut into his push somewhat. Barrett is in the mid to upper mid card right now, and could easily get a push up to the Main Event level anytime they wish. Personally, I hope it’s soon, he deserves it. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">So, there you have it. A look back at Season One of NXT. Only one of the eight men from that season no longer works for WWE, so, perhaps in that case, it was a successful season. It certainly brought Daniel Bryan to the main roster, as well as Wade Barrett and a group of solid midcard acts. I’ll be back from time to time taking a look at the other seasons of NXT as well to see where those competitors are now. Join us again as we look at “Where are they now?”</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2341452281989557296.post-73080136130436382402013-08-23T07:52:00.002-07:002013-08-23T07:52:26.778-07:00SummerSlam REACT!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://i1132.photobucket.com/albums/m565/Jimthy/cooltext635936753.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="117" src="http://i1132.photobucket.com/albums/m565/Jimthy/cooltext635936753.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
SummerSlam is in the books, and Tom and Jim are here to take
a look back at the 2<sup>nd</sup> biggest PPV of the year for WWE!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Before we get to that though, a quick update
on the Head 2 Head standings for this year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Tom and Jim both went 6-3 this time around, so, that brings the totals
for the year to Jim leading with a 38-13 record and Tom coming in at
32-19!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Still a 6 match lead for Jim as
we head towards Night of Champions in September!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
With that said, lots happened at SummerSlam, so let’s take a
look at how it all shook out!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">JIM’S REACT:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I thought SummerSlam was a thumbs up show for
sure!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Great stuff from top to bottom,
and if you ordered the show and saw it, I would be surprised if you didn’t
enjoy the show as a whole.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That doesn’t
mean there might not be things you didn’t like about it, but still, as a whole,
a thumbs up for me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
The opener on the Kickoff show was well done, and I
suspected (as I mentioned in the podcast) that RVD could get a DQ win, and sure
enough he did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Only wish I’d have made that
my official pick so I could have extended the lead on Tom even more!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Makes sense to do the DQ since they were
apparently going to be setting up RVD in the World Title picture on
Monday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Good work, and Ambrose continues
to show that he will be a major player for WWE for years to come.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Little surprised that the interaction between
Show/RVD/Henry and The Shield didn’t lead to a 6 man either right then, or
later on during the PPV however.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
I thought the Ring of Fire match between Bray Wyatt and Kane
was good for what it was meant to do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>These matches tend to be limited in their in ring possibilities, and
sure enough, that was the case here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But, Wyatt came off super creepy, and the combination of Rowan and
Harper proved that they’ll do whatever it takes to protect Wyatt and help
further his cause.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Right after the pin
there was a GREAT shot of Wyatt with the lighting and fire going and his eyes
rolled back that they should be sure to add to any videos for him…gave off a
creepy vibe and that’s what they want.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
liked the way they wrote Kane out of the storylines now for a while too since
he’s off to film “See No Evil 2”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Taking
out a monster like Kane is a great first step for the Wyatt Family!</div>
<o:p> </o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Rhodes vs. Sandow was really good and if these two guys aren’t
feuding over the World Heavyweight Title in the next 12-16 months, something
has gone seriously wrong.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tom and I both
have been big supporters of Cody Rhodes for a long time, and it’s nice to see
him FINALLY getting the push he deserves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Sandow has been awesome in his role as well, and is the perfect man to
be holding the briefcase, yet still losing matches.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Normally I hate that booking strategy, and
they have to be careful with it, as you want to keep Sandow strong…but because
of his character, it works out ok.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Rhodes winning totally cleanly was something that surprised me a bit (I
expected the win, but thought it would be more of a roll up kind of thing), but
I liked this match a lot, and it elevates Rhodes even more in my eyes!</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Del Rio vs. Christian was a great back and forth match, and
both play their roles so well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A bit
surprised to not see Ricardo Rodriguez make his return here, but as we saw on
Monday, he’s apparently playing Fonzie 2.0 for Rob Van Dam now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t have a ton to say on this match,
except that I hope this isn’t the start of Christian fading into the background
again or anything, as I have really enjoyed his latest run and always thought
he should be a bigger part of things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
has more than earned that spot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While
it’s a step down from the World Title picture, how about Christian vs. Ambrose
in a feud…that would be good stuff!</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Shocked that Natalya got a basically clean win over Brie
Bella with the sharp shooter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Didn’t see
that one coming at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The match was
what it was, but, yeah, shocker there!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
CM Punk vs. Brock Lesnar was exactly what I thought it would
be, a war.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They beat the hell out of
each other and I thought the match told a great story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Paul Heyman adds so much to these big time
matches and he did again here too playing his role perfectly!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My guess is we’ll see this matchup again
somewhere down the line (and Punk will get his win back at that point), and
while it doesn’t appear it will be anytime soon, I personally can’t wait for it
when it does happen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Would be a great
rematch to go inside Hell in a Cell in October if they wanted to do it, but I’m
not sure that we’ll get that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Ziggler and Kaitlyn winning came as no shock, and really the
match was fine for what it was and for where it was on the card.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ziggler continues to be an absolute stand out
and stud in the ring.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The guy reminds me
so much of Shawn Michaels and his ascension towards the top of the card that it
isn’t funny.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I only hope that when they
finally pull the trigger and give Ziggler a good run as champion (and
seriously, that has to be coming right?) that he shines the way that it’s clear
he can.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He can be a guy you build the
company around for a long time, and I hope WWE sees him that way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Langston is also someone who will be around a
long time and does great in his bruiser role.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Good placement of this match to give the fans a bit of a breather
between the Punk/Lesnar war and what was to come in the main event.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
John Cena deserves a TON of respect and he’s got it from
me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He didn’t have to do the match, but
he did, and he didn’t have to work his ass off, but he did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He and Bryan had a hell of a match, and I
LOVED the new finisher for Daniel Bryan. Not sure what they’ll call it, but
it’s Shinsuke Nakamura’s Bome Ye from over in New Japan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bryan pinning Cena clean with that knee was
just awesome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everyone figured it wasn’t
the end because it wasn’t the Yes Lock, so it gave a great “shocking” finish to
their match, and I like that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Too many
matches always have to end the same way, and this one didn’t…great stuff!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Seriously, if you haven’t seen this match, go
out of your way and do it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was that
good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
With Triple H hanging around in the ring as long as he did,
I saw the turn coming from a mile away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I was fine with it for what it does, as it keeps Bryan in that under dog
role which he plays so well, and eventually he’ll get the belt back from
Orton.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, I hated that one
pedigree that was followed up by Orton slowly turning in the briefcase, etc.
was enough.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’d have rather seen Bryan
kick out at 2 and 7/8, then have Orton hit an RKO and get the pin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe even give Bryan a moment or two of
fighting back, or hell, let Triple H hit another Pedigree as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just didn’t like that one part, but, in the
end, I’m fine with Orton getting the title and Bryan chasing it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I fully expect this will be one of the Hell
in a Cell matches in October, and I can’t wait to see that!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
So, all in all, Summerslam is a total thumbs up as I
said!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Go order the replay if you haven’t
seen it!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: 130.5pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">TOM’S REACT: </b>I really enjoyed SummerSlam as a whole as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course, the main event and Punk-Lesnar
were the show stealers for me (as expected) and I was thoroughly invested and
engaged in each match.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just behind that
I’d rate Del Rio-Christian.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you’ve
heard me on the podcast speak about Jay Lethal, I view Christian in the same
way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On paper he doesn’t get me very
excited, but in the context of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>match I
get drawn in and buy in to supporting him big time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let me get away from specific match praise
here and go bout by bout.</div>
<o:p> </o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: 130.5pt;">
I did not see the pre-show, but I
am certainly glad that Jim did not go with his gut instinct and select RVD via
DQ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even if this was a one-off match, I
would like to see more interaction between Van Dam and The Shield.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: 130.5pt;">
The Ring of Fire Match was
fine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think Bray Wyatt takes
chokeslams better than virtually anyone of his size I can recall.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That was darn impressive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The ending was creative and the decimation of
Kane to put him out all made great sense in the context of the Wyatt
Family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now I wonder who is next?</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: 130.5pt;">
Rhodes-Sandow was really
solid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a hair below the World
Title Match and given 5 more minutes, it might have passed it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love that Cody is getting his due, just as
Jim stated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also love Sandow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If there is someone who can afford to lose
and not lose the ability to remain over, it is Sandow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I anticipate much more from these two in the
coming months.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: 130.5pt;">
I already mentioned some thoughts
on this match in my intro, but it was really solid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Outside of the fact that I wanted Christian
to win (and gain ground in the contest with Jim), I was really pleased with the
match.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As Jim alluded to, there has to
be something more in future for Christian and even though it was billed as a “One
More Match” deal, he can be very important in the WWE landscape – especially with
Sheamus & now John Cena on the shelf.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: 130.5pt;">
The Divas match did have the
surprising ending with Nattie getting the win.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Not much more to say, but if you want crossover and people to have EVEN
more eyes on Total Divas, then why not have Brie Bella get the win?</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: 130.5pt;">
Punk-Lesnar was just
incredible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The sheer physicality on
display is a credit to both, but MAN does CM Punk just continue to take a
beating.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Brock was truly The Beast,
tossing Punk around here and there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even
with the bout becoming No DQ, I could have gone without the Paul Heyman
involvement…even though it makes great sense in the storyline.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was a point in the match where I really
thought Punk might pull it out, so kudos to WWE and the booking there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I do look forward to what is next with this
feud, perhaps at Hell in a Cell or maybe Survivor Series.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: 130.5pt;">
Maybe my perception is WAY off,
but I feel like Dolph Ziggler has cooled considerably in how WWE is pushing
him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sure, he remains over…but I feel
like there is almost a cap or ceiling over him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He cashed in and won the World Title, but instead of remaining in the
chase of Del Rio he has been in the feud with Big E. & AJ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not that there is anything wrong with this
feud, but I just see it as being a step backwards.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps it ends soon and we see Dolph back in
the upper-card mix by Night of Champions.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: 130.5pt;">
I was unaware of John Cena’s elbow
issues before the match on Sunday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is
and has also been the consummate professional.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That can never be disputed, even if people (cough*JIM*cough) hate him
for being “Super Cena.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Kidding aside, this
was just a great match.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The way that
Daniel Bryan has grown & gotten over this year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He remained relevant through all of his time
with Kane and Team Hell No, dare I say getting Kane more over and they also
supported the process of The Shield getting over.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then moving on from that, his re-emergence
into this amazing singles role.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is
someone that I imagine the bulk of the WWE Universe can relate to and his win
of the WWE Title was so validating.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And
then, with the Apex Predator in Randy Orton and the slimy Triple H doing the
deed to rob him, to me it only makes the story better and deeper and with an
EVEN better pay-off to come!</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: 130.5pt;">
I agree, if you’ve not seen this
show then buy the replay or pre-order the DVD!</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; tab-stops: 130.5pt;">
Thanks for reading.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jim and I will likely be back with more
content here on the blog within the next week and our next podcast will come
after the Labor Day holiday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We hope you
continue to enjoy the remaining Summer that is left to be enjoyed!</div>
Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02687463310797031021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2341452281989557296.post-91282659961530553862013-08-15T10:19:00.001-07:002013-08-15T10:19:15.584-07:00Head 2 Head: SummerSlam 2013!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/79/WWE_SummerSlam_2013_poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/79/WWE_SummerSlam_2013_poster.jpg" width="247" /></a></div>
<br />
Check out our latest podcast as Jim & Tom go Head 2 Head about Summerslam this weekend on PPV! You can find it on iTunes, or click on the player located to the right here on the blog. Also, it is available through TalkShoe, by checking out our page there by clicking <a href="http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/talkCast.jsp?masterId=123112&cmd=tc" target="_blank">HERE</a>! Let us know what you think of our picks! <br />
<br />
As always, be sure to "Like" us on Facebook, and also follow us on Twitter by following @twospotmonkeys!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2341452281989557296.post-38040669455016023222013-07-24T10:20:00.001-07:002013-07-24T10:20:50.474-07:00Interview with Gabe Saplosky - Covering Dragon Gate USA's 4th Anniversary<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://wwnlive.com/images/dgusa_07272013_ippv_sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://wwnlive.com/images/dgusa_07272013_ippv_sm.jpg" width="206" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://wwnlive.com/images/dgusa_07282013_ippv_sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://wwnlive.com/images/dgusa_07282013_ippv_sm.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dragon Gate USA returns to action this weekend, with live events in Queens, NY "Bushido: Code of the Warrior" and Manhattan, NY "Enter The Dragon: Fourth Anniversary Celebration." If you are not able to attend in person, both events are available at WWNLive.com for iPPV and On-Demand purchase with 3 pricing options.</span></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></o:p></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We had planned a podcast with Gabe Sapolsky and it did not occur as we hoped. We appreciate that Gabe was still willing and able to carve out time for us this morning and we are now happy to present this interview, our 4th (fitting in a way) with the booker/promoter of DG USA and EVOLVE wrestling. Enjoy!</span></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">1. How are you Gabe and congrats on the celebration of
4 years of Dragon Gate USA?</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">~I'm doing great. Really
excited about this weekend. I can't believe it's been four years already. I'm
pumped for this weekend.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">2. What is the feeling or emotion that you first
connect to when thinking of this coming weekend and the journey to get to this
point?</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">~It's hard for words to
really convey that. Four and a half years ago my whole life was shook to the
core with the departure from ROH. I mean that was my identity and what I did
24/7. I didn't do anything else. I didn't know what to do. I thought I'd never
attend another wrestling show again. Then Dragon Gate USA came along and gave
me new life and let me have this comeback. I think about that. Then I also
think about how much I've grown and experienced as a person in the last four
years, with having a son being at the forefront and finding so much more that
life has to offer. So this weekend is really emotional for me because DGUSA
gave me new life and was part of me opening the door to growing as a person.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">3. Johnny Gargano enters this weekend as the reigning
and defending Open the Freedom Gate Champion for over 600 days and if he makes
it through this weekend, the next milestone would be the 2 year mark as
champion. When you think of the Anniversary mark for DG USA, it is synonymous
with Johnny Gargano’s rise inside the company from pre-show in 2009 to World
Champion. Can you describe the importance of him to the promotion over the last
4 years and the example he is/has been for younger, upcoming wrestlers?</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">~I am so proud of Johnny
Gargano and it is inspirational to see how far he has risen. I mean who else
anywhere in wrestling can say they started out in the pre-show match on the
first show and 4 years later is the face of the company as the champion and
going stronger than ever. It has been so much fun to watch his climb and
growth. I know people who have been with us for the last four years feel the
same way. I hope many of you have joined us and watched the journey. Johnny is
the definition of a champion. He delivers in big matches. He represents the
company great outside the ring. I mean just look at all the media he does and
he always sends a great message doing it. Look at how his charisma and
conditioning have improved over the year. That takes a lot of hard work and
dedication and that is what makes him the centerpiece of DGUSA and EVOLVE.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">4. Another benefit for wrestlers that have become
“homegrown” stars through DG USA is the opportunity to be noticed by the Dragon
Gate office and go to Japan. From Gargano, to Chuck Taylor, Ricochet, Rich
Swann, Scott Reed and Larry Dallas among others getting the opportunity to
travel to Japan and perform & better themselves in front of a completely
different audience than what they experience in the U.S. – what is the biggest
benefit that can be gained by that experience?</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">~Dragon Gate has the best
wrestlers at the world and for these guys to be able to go to Japan and wrestle
5-7 times a week against the best is invaluable experience. It is how you get
better as a wrestler. It's magic how a wrestler goes to Dragon Gate and comes
back so much better due to this experience. I saw it back in the day in ROH
when we had Austin Aries, Roderick Strong, Jack Evans and especially Matt
Sydal. They'd all go tour and comeback and be faster, quicker and crisper. Now
we see it with Ricochet, Rich Swann, Johnny Gargano, Uhaa Nation, Scott Reed,
Chuck Taylor and others. It's a great opportunity and I'm glad DGUSA can
provide that bridge to Japan. It's invaluable.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">5. You have stated many times before that the stars of
tomorrow are here today and the proof has been evident, from the likes of Jon
Moxley (Dean Ambrose) to Brodie Lee (Luke Harper) and the recent WWE signings
of Sami Callihan and Samurary Del Sol. Not that you ever want to lose great
talent, but can you share your feelings as a booker/promoter when talent you
work with gets those opportunities and who, be they in DG USA/EVOLVE now or
elsewhere might be next?</span></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">~I
believe anyone on our roster can be next. If I didn't believe that they
wouldn't be booked. We book wrestlers with upside and potential to be the next
stars. We feature wrestlers in DGUSA and EVOLVE who are today's stars now. If
they didn't fit in either of those two categories they wouldn't be booked.
Anyone on our roster this weekend could be next. I'm always happy when I see
talent move on and make money and become stars on a national level. I enjoyed
working with every name you mentioned. I like them as people. They are all good
people. I am happy personally to see my friends and peers make the money they
deserve and have worked for. When they leave, it creates new opportunity on our
roster and keeps things fresh. For instance, we lost Sami Callihan and Samuray
Del Sol, but now have Trent Baretta and Anthony Nese ready to step up this
weekend. They are both in fresh and exciting matches that really add to the
uniqueness of the cards this weekend.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">6. As someone who is very active on social media
platforms, like Twitter and Facebook, how do you feel about those and there
place in wrestling now? Is it part of the natural progression of the
information age and instant feedback or does it take something away when people
can post feedback so quickly without possibly digesting what they are
seeing/experiencing?</span></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">~That's an excellent
question and I think it goes both ways. I think perhaps I do post too much on
Twitter and Facebook, but sometimes it is hard not to. I think it does a lot to
kill mystique. At the same time, it is a great way to get information out
there, handle customer service and communicate. However, sometimes
communicating too much can come back and haunt you. It is a double edged sword.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">7. On the same topic of social media and video promos,
you have always been a proponent of that medium because of its benefit in
getting more eyes on talents and it is a free resource. Is there a right or
wrong way to do it?</span></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">~I believe you have to
deliver quality over quantity. We always try to do this. I'm not saying we are
always successful, but you have to give value to your followers or friends or
likes or whatever it's called on the various forums. You always have to deliver
value, you can't disrespect the trust and time of your followers and you can't
spam them. I believe those are the golden rules that separate a right and wrong
way to do things.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">8. I hate to use the word controversy, but that is the
term thrown around over the last week about The Young Bucks. You posted a very
honest statement on Facebook about the matter that people should read if they
have not. The question I have is in situations like the one presented how and
where do you draw the line in terms of making money with certain talents and
matches or making a hard choice to not utilize them because of circumstances
that surround them?</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">~Well, the thing I always
have to remember is people reading a simple one paragraph statement don't know
the hours of conversation that go into a relationship between me and certain
talents. So I often have to remind myself of that when I get mixed feedback.
The issue with the Bucks isn't going to ROH. El Generico wasn't under contract
to either company and he worked both with no controversy ever. The issue really
revolved around the DGUSA Tag Titles. I'm going to be quiet about it now and
let it be settled this Sunday when The Bucks defend against Ricochet & Rich
Swann in Manhattan. I know at the very least this will be a crazy, athletic
match. I am looking foward to seeing these four perform against each other and
the outcome will settle the matter with the belts. The one thing I will say is
it's funny when people say how I'm trying to cost them work or money when we
are booking them on shows and giving them work and money, especially when other
companies weren't. I think this deserves some loyalty when our titles are
involved and the things that were said in private conversations, but I do
understand the other side of the argument.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">9. The tag team scene and the Open the United Gate
Titles seem to really have gotten into a groove after a rocky start early on
between injuries and the titles needing to be vacated. No matter who wins on
Sunday - should the Bucks retain or if Ricochet and Rich Swann win the titles,
do you see the tag team scene continuing to get better in DG USA and EVOLVE?</span></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">~Yes, definitely. I think
we have a lot of exciting teams. CIMA & AR Fox did a lot to solidify
things, and now this Sunday we have the two most cutting edge teams in the
world fighting for our tag titles. I think there is a lot of potential for
something special here. I believe new Gate To Heaven match that will main event
this Saturday in Queens will really showcase everything that tag team wrestling
has to offer.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">10. Another topic we talked about before was the issue
of pirating before iPPVs really began to grow and develop. Have you seen the
issue of pirating decrease as iPPVs have increased and what additional
opportunities exist with the use of iPPV for the WWNLive.com family of
promotions?</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">~Eh,
honestly I'd rather not get into the whole pirating thing now. I hope people
will support us and know that we put your money back in the product to make it
better for you. Going HD is the next step and we can only do this with your
support. There's no TV corporation or energy company or anything else back us.
We are a mom and pop company and if you support us, we will make things better
for you. If you don't think we are worth paying for, don't pirate us and don't
watch us. If you think we supply a product worth watching, please support it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">11. As DG USA returns to the Northeast this weekend,
you have noted that ticket sales have been really strong for both events. How
has that helped or been an encouragement for finding a home market in the NE
for you? What other markets are you excited to return to, thinking of the
recent success and strong shows in Florida for EVOLVE as well?</span></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">~We are really excited
about ticket sales for both shows this Saturday in Queens and this Sunday in
Manhattan. We are working on securing return dates so we can hopefully build
that homebase. We always knew that the Northeast is a great homebase,
especially New York City,, but we had difficulty finding the right buildings.
Hopefully we have them now. We are really excited about The Orpheum in Ybor
City, FL. That has become a great home for the entire WWNLive Family including
SHINE and FIP.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">12. The cards this weekend are really solid from top
to bottom and as well very distinct. Saturday in Queens features more of a feel
of “hardcore” matches and grudges in play, thinking of the Gate to Heaven Six-Man
Tag: The Young Bucks & Ricochet vs. CIMA, AR Fox & Tomahawk TT, The
Non-Title Match between Johnny Gargano vs. Rich Swann and the Buckhouse Match
between Jon Davis vs. Chuck Taylor</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Then, Sunday in Manhattan, you have
title matches with Johnny Gargano defending against the winner of CIMA vs.
Tozawa vs. EITA vs. Tomahawk T.T. and the previously mentioned Open the United
Gate Title Match of Young Bucks vs. Ricochet & Swann and even EVOLVE champ
A.R. Fox vs. Trent Baretta. Beyond what I mentioned previously what else or who
else should fans really be looking and watching for this weekend to make a
statement?</span></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">~I'm glad you noticed the
differences in both cards. We always try to do different things on each card in
a weekend to give it its own vibe and personality. Keep an eye on Anthony Nese
this weekend. I believe he is the next "it" guy on the indies. He has
had that potential for a long time and hasn't had the forum besides NYWC to
showcase it. Now he is getting that platform. Saturday in Queens he's against
Akira Tozawa and Sunday in Manhattan he's got Uhaa Nation. I'm really looking
forward to both matches. The CHIKARA eight man tag will really be a special
match too, just because CHIKARA was so important to getting DGUSA going. We
will always be thankful and have loyalty to CHIKARA because of all the help
they gave us. When I first went to wrestling after ROH it was to a CHIKARA show
and that changed my paradigm and gave me inspiration. I'm really glad we can
pay tribute to CHIKARA with the tag match on Sunday in Manhattan.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">13. What are you most proud of in the last year when
it comes to DG USA and EVOLVE?</span></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">~There's been ups and
downs in the last year, but I guess that's been the case of every year I've
been doing wrestling, which has been 20 years now. I'm really proud of our
DGUSA shows at Wrestlemania weekend last year. I think those shows took things
to the next level. I'm proud of the EVOLVE tripleshot in Florida. Honestly, I
wasn't happy with the EVOLVE show at Wrestlemania weekend, but we rebounded and
I couldn't be prouder of the EVOLVE 20, 21 & 22 events. Our crew really
delivered. Individually, I'm proud of so many of the talents on our roster from
Johnny Gargano's run as champion to Jon Davis' growing into the role of a true
badass to Chuck Taylor working harder in the gym and making the most of his
natural charisma to Ricochet becoming the man here and in Japan to Rich Swann's
constant improvement to being able to import the best talent in Japan and have
them perform across the United States. I know I'm leaving a lot of names out
here and I hope no one gets insulted. There is a lot to be proud of and we will
continue that in our 5th year.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">14. What remains the biggest area for growth and
continued success?</span></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">~iPPV
is where it's at and we will continue to improve and grow there. Yes, there
have been bumps in the road, but each bump gives us a chance to learn and
improve. There is a lot of growth potential with new platforms, better quality
and other improvements in technology.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">15. Do you have any big summer vacation plans when
this weekend comes to its conclusion?</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">~Hahaha, no. Vacation?
What's that? Actually I'll probably head down to the shore for a few days soon.
If anyone has any recommendations tweet me.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">16. Remind fans how they can connect with you, get
tickets to DG USA and EVOLVE shows, DVDs and other merchandise:</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">~The live iPPVs this
Saturday night and Sunday afternoon are at </span><a href="http://www.wwnlive.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">www.WWNLive.com</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">. You can go
to </span><a href="http://www.dgusa.tv/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">www.DGUSA.tv</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
for all the ticket and building info. We will have tickets available at the
door for both shows. I'm on Twitter @BookItGabe and at Facebook.com/BookItGabe.
Tweet me what you think of this weekend using hashtag #DGUSAinNYC. Thanks for
reading. I really appreciate it.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Again, a big thanks to Gabe for his time and honesty. Be sure to give the entire DG USA crew your support this weekend and check the shows out. Also, don't forget that you can now follow us on Twitter @twospotmonkeys - we'd be happy to know what you think of this interview or any other thoughts you want to share on the world in pro wrestling and MMA as well.</span></span></div>
Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02687463310797031021noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2341452281989557296.post-77552140717091683772013-07-18T13:39:00.002-07:002013-07-18T13:41:18.885-07:00React: Money in the Bank 2013!<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Tom is on vacation with
his family this week, so I wanted to take a quick moment and get a few quick
thoughts up on Money in the Bank, and of course update you all on the Head 2
Head battle as we are now through 7 months of our 2013 battle! </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Tom went 5-3 on this
event, while I went 6-2, so that brings our new total to me leading Tom by a
margin of 32-10 for myself, to Tom’s 26-16, so a six match lead right now for
myself. Is it an insurmountable lead for me to hold off Tom and win back
to back years? We shall see! Be sure to tune in in August for our
podcast Head 2 Head for Summerslam where we will also announce what is on the
line this year. Remember, Tom still has to pay his dues from losing last
year as well, as he will don a Chicago Bears shirt at the first wrestling event
we attend together this year. Right now our hope is that that will occur
at ROH’s Glory By Honor XII on October 26th in Chicago. Schedules just
haven’t lined up to get to a show together sooner, but, we hope to connect for
that show! </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Now, on to my reactions
to Money in the Bank! </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Shield won, and the
Usos looked pretty good in defeat. I don’t know that we’ve seen the last
of the Usos challenging for the tag titles, and I’m ok with that! Good
pre-show match. (And when Big Show showed up at the “expert’s desk” I
knew my thought of him going into the WWE Title Money in the Bank match was
probably out the window.)</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I have to say, I was
shocked that Damien Sandow won the World Heavyweight Title briefcase at Money
in the Bank! Both Tom and I felt that it was Wade Barrett’s time to
shine, but I’m totally fine with Sandow winning it. I think he can be a
great top level heel in time, and this could be the thing to get him there if
they book him right. It also kick started a feud with his now former tag
team partner, Cody Rhodes who has been turned babyface. I’ve been one
who’s felt for a long time that Cody Rhodes should be more featured and if this
can be the start of that with a new start as a babyface, than I am all for
that. So, I love that new rivalry that’s started. All the other
guys played their roles well, and this was a great start to the PPV portion of
the show! </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Curtis Axel vs. The Miz
was fine for what it was, nothing too special, but I still like how they are
building Axel. I do wish however that the PerfectPlex wasn’t just a
transitional type signature move. But, probably best for him to have his
own finisher too...just hate seeing it kicked out of so frequently! </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">AJ Lee vs. Kaitlyn was
ok, but not the match we know they can have. Honestly, it was just a time
filler, as AJ’s true role on this night was yet to come. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Ryback vs. Jericho was
good, though I was shocked to see Ryback get a clean roll up for the win.
I like that! Jericho has to be commended for all the time he spends
putting over the next generation of talent. He “gets it” when it comes to
building new talent, and I wish there were more people in wrestling like him.
He never has to worry about doing a job because he’s going to be just as
over as he was before. So, he doesn’t feel the need to “protect his
spot”. Good job by both men, and Ryback gets his first PPV win in a year!</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Alberto Del Rio and
Dolph Ziggler seem incapable of having a bad match! I love their feud and
am more than happy to see it continue (not to mention, this was the one match
Tom and I differed in our picks on, and I got it right, extending that lead!).
Obviously the story here was AJ costing Dolph the match and we saw that
situation explode on Raw the following night. Unfortunately it seems that
Dolph’s chase of the World Title is going to be derailed for a bit by Big E.
Langston and his defense of AJ Lee. Which leads me to wonder...who will
Alberto defend against at Summerslam? Looking around at the possible
folks, I would think maybe Sheamus? Not sure at this point. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I was glad to see
Cena/Henry go on as the co-main event meaning the WWE Title Money in the Bank
match would close the show. At first I was ticked off that Henry lost by
tapping out, but really, it was a hard fought match, so I guess I can deal with
it. As it seems they are turning him babyface as well, perhaps that won’t
hurt him as much as I thought it would when it first happened. The Cena
machine keeps chugging along and he takes on Daniel Bryan next at Summerslam in
what should be a very good bout! </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Bryan not winning Money
in the Bank was a total shock to me, and Orton winning it was even more of a
shock. They’ve kept Orton basically out of the title picture for quite some
time now, but it seems he’s headed back into it in a big way. He’s a
perfect guy to have the briefcase as he absolutely has the persona of someone
who will take advantage of whatever opportunity comes his way to cash it in and
win the title. This matchup was absolutely brutal and just a spectacle to
watch. At first when Axel came in and attacked Bryan, I was worried they
were going to move Bryan into an Intercontinental feud to help get Axel
over...but instead, it was obviously just a way to get Heyman out there and
have him available to turn on Punk (which was also incredibly well done).
Lots of good stories coming out of this match and it was a great way to
end a really good show! </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />
So, what did you all think of Money in the Bank? Leave us a comment here,
or on our Facebook page (facebook.com/twospotmonkeys) or send us a tweet at our
new Twitter account, @twospotmonkeys! </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
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<![endif]-->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2341452281989557296.post-50815342875380675692013-07-11T17:16:00.002-07:002013-07-11T17:16:29.720-07:00Head 2 Head: Money in the Bank<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://superluchas.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/poster-money-in-the-bank.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://superluchas.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/poster-money-in-the-bank.jpg" width="230" /></a></div>
<br />
WWE presents their latest PPV, Money in the Bank this Sunday night! Tom and Jim go Head 2 Head as their year long competition continues! Who do they each think will come out on top and be "Mr. Money in the Bank" and who will win the big WWE and World Heavyweight Title Matches! Give our podcast a listen either via iTunes or in the media player on the right! <br />
<br />
Also, you can now follow us on Twitter! @twospotmonkeys is the newest place to check out our thoughts on goings on in the world of wrestling! Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2341452281989557296.post-34364335451746234922013-06-19T08:42:00.000-07:002013-06-19T08:42:01.453-07:00ROH Best in the World Preview & Head 2 Head Update!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.rohwrestling.com/sites/default/files/060213_bitw_rotor.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="164" src="http://www.rohwrestling.com/sites/default/files/060213_bitw_rotor.gif" width="320" /></a></div>
<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-314b2ab2-5d18-5016-f697-8645d580b548" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-314b2ab2-5d18-5016-f697-8645d580b548" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-314b2ab2-5d18-5016-f697-8645d580b548" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">First
of all, a quick update on the Head 2 Head Competition after Payback. I
went 6-2, while Tom went 4-4, extending my lead to 26-8 to Tom’s 21-13.
With a 5 match lead for me after the halfway point, Tom’s got his work
cut out for him! Tom is away on business this week, so I wanted to
take a quick look at this Saturday’s ROH Best in the World iPPV coming
to you live from Baltimore! Some good matches set for this weekend, so
let’s take a look!</span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">GRUDGE MATCH</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">BJ Whitmer vs Mike Bennett</span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">They’ve
built this one nicely for what it is, a short undercard feud giving
these two guys something to do. I’m wondering at this point what the
situation with Bennett is as far as his future goes. If he is signing
with WWE, it’s been kept quieter than Sami Callihan & Samuray Del
Sol’s signings were, but yet I’d still be surprised if he didn’t get
signed. Alot of the outcome of this match is hingent on that in my
eyes. If he is leaving, no chance Whitmer loses. If Bennett is
staying, I think he could pull it out. </span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">TAG TEAM ATTRACTION</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The American Wolves vs Adrenaline RUSH </span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">This
could be the match where Adrenaline RUSH breaks out. I like the team
name for Thomas and ACH, and since it seems right now all the singles
stars are programmed elsewhere, I like keeping them together as a team
and giving them a name. The Wolves always bring it, and I expect this
to be a hell of a battle. I’d love to say Adrenaline RUSH would get the
win here, as it would skyrocket them perhaps, but instead, I think the
Wolves sneak one out just barely and then put Adrenaline RUSH over
afterwards. </span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">SPECIAL CHALLENGE MATCH</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Michael Elgin vs Tommaso Ciampa</span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I
don’t quite get why this is on the iPPV and Ciampa/Marshall is at the
TV Taping. Don’t get me wrong, this will be a VASTLY better match than
Ciampa/Marshall, and maybe that’s why, but that issue has been built so
well that Ciampa killing Marshall would have worked on the iPPV maybe
more as far as storylines go. I think they could have saved this too
and had a slower simmer to a matchup that could have been huge down the
road. The other problem here is who loses? Elgin seems to be heading
to a title shot in Toronto, though I’d rather see it on iPPV. Ciampa
has just come back and you really don’t want to beat him cleanly yet I
don’t think. So, my guess is that Marshall comes out and interferes and
“screws up the match” leading to both Ciampa and Elgin beating him
down. </span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Roderick Strong vs Adam Cole</span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">These
two would seem to be incapable of having a bad match, so, I get putting
them together here. Combine that with Cole not shaking Roddy’s hand
after Roddy beat him in San Antonio, and you’ve got a very interesting
story here about where Adam Cole’s head is at. Now that we know Cole is
staying with ROH for the forseeable future, I love that they are
investing in him, and would love to see him as ROH World Champion by the
end of the year, unless Elgin gets it before him and gets a good run,
they both deserve it. Roderick Strong seems a bit lost in the shuffle
right now, but while there isn’t much storyline going on for him, he’ll
put on a hell of a match here with Cole. If I had to guess, either Cole
gets the win by some sort of interference from Corino, or Strong gets
another win to cast more doubt in Cole’s mind. </span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">GRUDGE MATCH</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Kevin Steen vs Matt Hardy</span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">This
is another match where for me it’s tough to pick a winner. This is
basically the culmination of Steen going through each member of SCUM, so
it would make sense to have him win. Yet with Hardy getting a World
Title shot the next day on the TV Tapings, it would seem you’d want to
keep him strong. Of course if he’s going to win the title, you could
say that since Steen beat him at the iPPV, he’s first in line for a shot
at Hardy...but alot of that is up in the air depending on the outcome
of Steel Cage Warfare at the TV Taping as well. Either way, I expect
this to be a heated match, with the crowd firmly behind Kevin Steen, and
I’m going to go with Hardy getting the win after interference from
Corino and maybe the rest of SCUM. </span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">ROH WORLD TV CHAMPIONSHIP</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Matt Taven (C) vs Jimmy Jacobs vs. Jay Lethal</span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I
don’t see Lethal having a shot here, mainly because I don’t think he
should be in the TV Title mix. I either see Taven retaining (which
would make sense going into Night of Hoopla) or Jacobs winning it to put
gold in SCUM, after all, by Sunday they may have all the gold in ROH.
I tend to feel like that’s what’s going to happen here. I’d rather see
Taven keep the title as I think they are building him nicely and a good
long run with the title will help with that, but instead, I see Jacobs
taking the title here. </span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">ROH WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">reDRagon (C) vs. Rhett Titus & Cliff Compton vs Caprice Coleman & Cedric Alexander</span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Part
of me says they’ll put the tag titles here on SCUM as well, but I
really really hope not. I am really digging redDRagon as champs, and
want them to continue their run for a while more, and I think they’ve
more than earned that right. That being said, SCUM winning two titles
in one night and with the chance to win the World Title and control of
matchmaking at the TV Tapings does seem to make a ton of sense storyline
wise. I expect this should be a really fun match, but in the end, I
see Compton & Titus walking out the champs sadly. (Prove me wrong
ROH!)</span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">ROH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Jay Briscoe vs Mark Briscoe</span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">This
should be a hell of a battle! I can’t really see any way Mark wins the
title here, unless it’s to drop it immediately to Matt Hardy on Sunday,
but I’d rather see Jay just keep it if that’s the plan for Sunday. I
think the attendance of the Briscoe Clan will be very interesting to
watch. Will they try to keep the Briscoes from just tearing each other
apart? Or will they just let them go at it? I like that they’ve built
this match up as Mark just being tired of Jay always saying he’s going
to beat everyone’s asses, and standing up to his big brother. No real
hate, just a little brother saying “ok, enough, let’s do this!” While I
won’t see the card live due to work obligations, when I have the chance
to catch it about a week later, I will be very interested to see how
this all turns out!</span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">So,
there you have it. Who do you think will win the big matches at Best
in the World? What are you excited to see? Leave a comment here, or
drop us a note at our Facebook page and let us know!</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2341452281989557296.post-73512612451872181062013-06-12T17:59:00.002-07:002013-06-12T17:59:18.651-07:00WWE Payback Head 2 Head<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://cdn2.sbnation.com/imported_assets/1620849/PPV-WWE-Payback-2013.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://cdn2.sbnation.com/imported_assets/1620849/PPV-WWE-Payback-2013.jpeg" width="292" /></a></div>
<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid--2affffd-3b09-6b1c-aed5-cc2e7c962b08" style="line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">WWE
returns to PPV this weekend, live from Chicago, IL with Payback –
featuring Cena vs. Ryback in Three Stages of Hell (will there be an
actual finish!?), Dolph Ziggler’s return to the ring after his
concussion, CM Punk returns to his hometown crowd and much more!</span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Jim leads the Head 2 Head competition 20-6 to Tom’s 17-9. Can Tom close the gap here?</span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Pre-Show Match – Sheamus vs. Damien Sandow</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Tom: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Okay,
so Sheamus takes care of Mark Henry last month and now gets a pre-show
match? Well, it’s better than the big man Henry, not on the show at
all. Sandow has done well as a singles character, exuding his attitude
and pompous self well. This will be a delight for the fans, as the
favorite Sheamus get the win and puts Sandow in his place.</span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Jim: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Yeah...I
don’t get how Sheamus ended up in this mini-feud either, other than it
was something to do with him until they need him for another thing. If
anything I’d love to see this feud as a way to elevate Sandow, but yeah,
that doesn’t seem in the cards. Sheamus gets the win for sure here.</span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Divas Title Match – Kaitlyn (C) vs. AJ Lee</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Tom: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I
like the set up for this match, with Lee being revealed as the
“catfish” secret admirer of Kaitlyn. It fits great with the loony Lee
of old and I think it is the psychological trick needed to throw Kaitlyn
off her game. AJ Lee wins to become Divas Champ.</span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Jim: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> AJ
Lee finally gets the Divas Title that she should have had long ago.
She is money, hope WWE continues to see that. A reign of her as Divas
Champ & Dolph as World Heavyweight Champ will be fun to watch!</span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">IC Title Triple Threat – Wade Barrett (C) vs. The Miz vs. Curtis Axel</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Tom: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Originally
scheduled with Fandango in Axel’s spot, I really thought he was set to
win the Intercontinental Title here. Fandango goes on the shelf with a
concussion and the hot Axel gets added in. This is somewhat tricky,
because I think WWE still likely wants the title to get to Fandango…but
now because a matter of if that will happen versus when. Axel has been
built well and seemingly will continue to be pushed well, but would that
be boosted more by a title around his waist? Lastly, poor Barrett. I
think WWE really has dropped the ball with him. Since I think that
Fandango is a future IC champ, I will pick The Miz here, with my
thinking being that he drops the title to Fandango at some point.</span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Jim:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">
I’m with Tom in that I think Fandango was going to get the title here.
So, now the question becomes, do they go to a holding pattern of The
Miz until Fandango beats him for it, do they just leave it on Barrett
and figure out where to go from there, or do they change course and give
Axel something to do besides get weak “wins” over top guys without ever
actually beating them? I think Axel could work in the long term plans,
but they have to start having him beat people other than SIn Cara
cleanly. I think that happens here and they give themselves the chance
to tell a cool story of Axel holding the same title that his father so
famously held back in the day. Curtis Axel wins. On a side note,
totally agree with Tom about Barrett. I suppose he could win Money in
the Bank and get elevated (though if you win it you have to lose a crap
ton of matches sometimes before cashing in, like Bryan and Ziggler), but
dang, he just seems lost in the shuffle which is a damn shame. </span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">United States Title Match – Dean Ambrose (C) vs. Kane</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Tom: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I
really like this extension of the fantastic stuff between The Shield
and Kane, Bryan and Randy Orton over the last month. Battling Kane is
just another step on the ladder of increased spotlight for Ambrose and
his talent to be on display. My only wondering is whether or not this
will have a clean finish. I will lean towards that and my pick is Dean
Ambrose.</span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Jim:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">
Totally agree that the matches between The Shield and Orton, Kane
& Bryan have been awesome and I love the chance for Ambrose to
continue to show what he’s got in singles action. Rollins and Reigns
will get their chance eventually in singles (and are doing a very nice
job in tag action right now), but for right now, Ambrose is the singles
star. I could see a DQ win for Kane here, but they just did that
Monday, so I say Ambrose gets the win here. One thing is for sure, he’s
keeping the title one way or another.</span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">WWE Tag Team Title Match – The Shield of Reigns & Rollins vs. Daniel Bryan & Randy Orton</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Tom: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">On
paper, this might be the match I am most looking forward to. This just
seems like it has unlimited potential to deliver and Bryan has been on
fire as of late in the ring. While I don’t see a title change likely at
all, like the match before the storylines in play and going on here
have been great. Shield retain their titles and win.</span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Jim: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Yeah,
NO chance that Orton and Bryan win the tag titles here, actually much
more of a chance of miscommunication leading to an issue with them for a
while here. So, Rollins & Reigns get the win, but I totally agree,
this match should be awesome to watch. Bryan is still the best in the
world if you ask me (Punk is right there with him), Orton has been on
fire lately, and Rollins & Reigns have come into their own as a
team. Easy contender for Match of the Night!</span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">World Heavyweight Title Match – Dolph Ziggler (C) vs. Alberto Del Rio</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Tom: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Del
Rio gets his singles re-match here and Ziggler returns from his
concussion. I have no doubts these two deliver a great bout. I still
think that the issue with Jack Swagger remains open as well, so I would
not be surprised to see him stick his nose in as well. I am going with
Ziggler to win and retain, no doubt about it!</span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Jim: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> It
seemed on Monday that they were moving Swagger away from the World
Title picture and into issues with other Mexican stars like Sin Cara.
So, I don’t see him playing a role here. Either way though, there is
no chance in hell they’d put the title back on Del Rio this quickly.
They’ve waited far too long to see what Ziggler can do on top to go
back now, and Ziggler has more than earned it. I hope he is all healed
up, and I hope they have a hell of a match before Ziggler retains and he
and AJ become the “power couple” of WWE! </span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Tom: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">There
has been considerable speculation surrounding this match. Will Punk be
there? Will the match take place? Is there a rift between Punk and
Paul Heyman? Without buying and selling every rumor out there, how this
match occurs and plays out will likely set up for a very interesting
Summer for CM Punk. I think there is something awry in his relationship
with Paul Heyman and be it Curtis Axel, Brock Lesnar, another “Paul
Heyman Guy” or Paul Heyman himself, I see Punk getting shafted and
Jericho getting the win.</span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Jim: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> I
think Punk shows up, as it’s Chicago and I can’t see him not being
there. I’ve also read on PWInsider that he is scheduled to be back this
weekend, so hopefully he’s at least there. I agree with Tom, there is a
ton of ways they can go here. My guess is they do something here where
Heyman, Axel or Lesnar “accidentally” causes Punk to lose and start the
simmer to an eventual split. Jericho gets the win here (if there is a
match at all!)</span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">WWE Title – Three Stage of Hell: John Cena (C) vs. Ryback</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Tom: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Interesting
choices in the 3 Stages here: Lumberjack, Tables and Ambulance
stipulations. Of course the Ambulance carries over from last month, and
the other can be built and sold well. Unlike Jim, who doesn’t hide his
disdain for “Super Cena,” I haven’t been nearly as irritated with some
of the stuff that Cena has survived and come back from. Now, come
Sunday and depending on the brutality of this match, my belief and
opinions may be tested. No matter what happens, I hope the props and
gimmicks are enough to carry this match and keep the fans into it. If
WWE doesn’t pull the trigger on Ryback here, I think they are stupid!
Ryback wins.</span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Jim:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">
Tom is dead on with his understanding of my disdain for the “Super
Cena” who can’t be beaten, I know I made that really clear in last
month’s react. Three falls with three different stips is hard to keep
people invested in for the length of time needed, so I think they’ll
have their work cut out for them, and probably will keep one of the
falls (maybe the table match?) pretty short. I agree with Tom that if
they don’t pull the trigger on Ryback here, they are stupid...but
unfortunately, I think they are stupid...so, we will differ on one more
pick here, as I am going with John Cena and I expect I may have a lot to
say about that in our React!</span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">So,
who do you think walks away with the titles this Sunday at Payback?
And what will happen with CM Punk? It all goes down this Sunday night
on PPV!</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2341452281989557296.post-25375946280481242672013-05-24T07:00:00.001-07:002013-05-24T07:00:54.845-07:00UFC 160 Preview!<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-1394b1f0-d6d6-f041-73ff-59b27a21638d" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The
UFC is back in action this Saturday night with UFC 160 featuring a
Heavyweight Title fight in the main event! Let’s take a look at the
five main card matches!</span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Lightweight Fight</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Donald “The Cowboy” Cerrone vs. KJ “King” Noons</span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Cerrone
is 19-5 overall and is 6-2 in the UFC, though he is coming off a TKO
loss to Anthony Pettis at UFC on Fox 6 back in January. Noons makes his
UFC debut, and is 11-6 overall, but has lost 4 of his last 5 fights
including his last loss, a controversial split decision loss to Ryan
Couture at the final Strikeforce show in January of this year. Noons is
a boxer, and Cerrone is known for his striking too, so this should be a
barnburner! Cerrone is the betting favorite here and I think he’ll
strike for a while and then put it on the ground where I do think he’s
superior to Noons. Cerrone by Decision is my pick here, early candidate
for Fight of the Night though if things go the right way!</span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Lightweight Fight</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Gray “The Bully” Maynard vs. T.J. Grant</span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Maynard
comes in at 11-1-1 overall and 9-1-1 (with 1 No Contest) in the UFC.
He is coming off a split decision win over Clay Guida last June Grant
is 20-5 overall and 7-3 in the UFC and is riding a four fight winning
streak with his latest win being a 1st round TKO of Matt Wiman back in
January of this year. Maynard is a wrestler, but Grant is a submission
specialist, so being on the ground may not work to Maynard’s strength in
this matchup the way it has in the past. The oddsmakers have Maynard
as the favorite, but I’m going to call the upset on this one and say
Grant just may get a submission victory. If Maynard can keep it
standing and striking though, I think he could have a slight advantage. </span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Light Heavyweight Fight</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Glover Teixeira vs. James Te Huna</span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Teixeira
is a superstar in the making at 20-2 overall and 3-0 in the UFC. His
last win came over former Light Heavyweight Champion, Quinton “Rampage”
Jackson in January. Te Huna is an injury replacement for Ryan Bader
here. Te Huna is 16-5 overall and 5-1 in the UFC with his last fight
being a decision win over Ryan Jimmo. Both of these guys are huge
strikers and either guy can end it with one punch, but Teixeira has the
edge on the ground in this fight without question in my eyes. Teixeira
is a favorite and he should be. He shows off his BJJ skills and pulls
off the submission win here, and just might be in line for a future
Light Heavyweight Title shot with a win, depending on what Jon Jones
does next (if that rumored Anderson Silva fight comes to fruition). </span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Heavyweight Fight</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Junior “Cigano” dos Santos vs. Mark “The Super Samoan” Hunt</span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">dos
Santos is of course the former UFC Heavyweight Champion, who comes in
as a heavy favorite with his 15-2 record overall and 9-1 record in the
UFC. He is coming off a crushing decision loss to Cain Velasquez in
December. Hunt is only 9-7 overall, but is 4-1 in the UFC, riding a
four fight win streak after an initial loss. He is an injury
replacement here for Alistair Overeem and this is easily his biggest
fight of his career. Both guys have KO power in their hands and I
expect this to be a slugfest. Hunt is susceptible to submissions, but I
just can’t see it ending that way. I think either guy has a punchers
chance, but dos Santos is so devestating that I think he gets the KO in
the 1st or 2nd round, likely setting up the rubber match with he and
Velasquez (if Velasquez retains). </span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Heavyweight Title Fight</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Cain Velasquez vs. Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva</span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Velasquez
is the defending UFC Heavyweight Champion and comes in at 11-1, with a
9-1 UFC record, his only loss being the KO loss to dos Santos, which he
avenged by destroying dos Santos in December. SIlva got this shot after
a shocking KO win over Alistair Overeem in February and comes in at
18-4, with a 2-1 record in the UFC. His one loss though was a totally
lopsided three and a half minute beat down by Velasquez last May. One
year later he gets a chance at the ultimate revenge by hoping to take
the UFC Heavyweight Title. Honestly, I just don’t see it. While I
agree he deserves the shot after the Overeem win, I don’t think there is
a heavyweight on the planet not named dos Santos that has a shot right
now against Velasquez. The guys is just a beast of a wrestler and has
bricks in his hands. Velasquez wins this one in the first or second by
beat down again and goes on to a big money match with dos Santos for the
third time. </span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">So,
there you have my picks and predictions, what do you think? What are
you most looking forward to on Saturday night! Don’t forget there are
three fights streaming on Facebook starting at 6:35pm ET, including
former WEC champion, Brian Bowles. Then more prelims on on FX at 8pm ET
featuring a very intriguing matchup between Khabib Nurmagomedov and
Abel Trujillo, and a welterweight clash between Mike Pyle and Rick
Story. Then the main card kicks off on PPV at 10pm ET! Enjoy the
fights!</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2341452281989557296.post-11199129610091922792013-05-22T07:55:00.000-07:002013-05-22T07:55:14.961-07:00Extreme Rules React!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://i1132.photobucket.com/albums/m565/Jimthy/cooltext635936753.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="117" src="http://i1132.photobucket.com/albums/m565/Jimthy/cooltext635936753.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Well, Tom and Jim each went 6-2 in picks that had a finish
on Sunday night at Extreme Rules.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since
the John Cena vs. Ryback match ended in a No Contest (more on that in a bit),
we’re throwing that match out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(I mean,
who would pick a No Contest in a Last Man Standing match!).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, with a dead even Extreme Rules, Jim
maintains his lead with a 20-6 record, to Tom’s 17-9 record.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let’s get to our REACT!</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>Jim’s React</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I have alot to say about one particular match, but I’ll
start at the beginning of the show and work my way there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I wasn’t surprised Jericho won (hence my pick of him), and
I’m glad that it seems they had a better back and forth match than
Wrestlemania.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am still really high on
Fandango and hope that WWE stays behind him and doesn’t just kill off his push
like they have with so many before him (see: Cesaro, Antonio).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Ambrose winning the US Title setup what was to be The
Shield’s night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I thought he’d lose this
match by DQ with the other members attacking Kofi, and lead to an eventual title
change down the road, but they went with it here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s clear that Ambrose has a bright, bright
future in WWE, which is no surprise to those of us who watched him as Jon
Moxley on the indy scene.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>First step,
first gold, good job Ambrose!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Sheamus and Del Rio each won, makes sense as it keeps two
guys strong to challenge Dolph Ziggler when he is back from his
concussion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hope they do something
with Henry soon though and keep him as the monster he deserves to be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The guy is money as a beast monster killing
everyone in his path!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Of course I love that The Shield won the tag titles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was time to move them off of Bryan and
Kane, and while I haven’t seen Raw yet, I like that they had Bryan snap on
WWE.com about losing the titles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You
know, losing a title should make you mad, after all, they are supposed to be
important right?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, great job
there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Reigns and Rollins will make
great tag champs and the strong build for The Shield continues.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For all WWE does wrong (and they do plenty),
they have gotten this right at almost every turn.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Interesting in this day of concussion awareness, and with
Dolph Ziggler just legit suffering one due to a kick to the head that they had
Orton use the punt kick again as a finish in the Extreme Rules match. Don’t get
me wrong, they can play it off that it took something that “extreme” to finish
off The Big Show (and I expect they will), and I like it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, I don’t expect to see the punt kick back
anytime soon either...too risky if he hits it flush.</span><o:p><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Ok, this brings us to the WWE Title Match.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What in the blue hell was WWE thinking
here?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You have a Last Man Standing
match.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You have Ryback killing Cena for
most of the match (good, a monster heel should look strong, that’s what makes
them a monster!).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then you have the huge
bump to “end the match”...and it’s a No Contest?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ryback is back to his feet, and it’s a No
Contest?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Are you kidding me?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s a crappy ending if it’s on Raw, and
people actually paid to see this show and this match and that’s the ending you
go with?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And then, just to top it off,
they put video up on WWE.com afterwards of Cena “refusing medical attention”
and walking off on his own power?!?!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So,
Ryback kills him the whole match, lays him out with a hellacious bump, and he
walks away?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Does anyone in WWE wonder
why people call him “Superman”?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I mean,
the guy can’t be bothered to sell for anything, and WWE is A-OK with that it
seems (and likely writes it all that way, so I can’t even lay that all on
Cena).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ryback should have won the title,
as the money is in the chase of wanting to see the bad guy get his.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now, you just proved that the bad guy can’t
do a damn thing to Cena even after beating the holy hell out of him for the
whole match and knocking him out cold.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
know they’ve set up an Ambulance Match (stupid gimmick that I’ve never liked)
for Payback...but why do I think he can do anything to make Cena even need an
Ambulance?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He didn’t after that
beating?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why should I pay to see
that?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oh yeah, I shouldn’t!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Does WWE understand they are in the business
of trying to make money, not turn it away?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>UGH.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just stupid stupid booking
on that one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Lesnar winning the main event was absolutely the right call,
though I do wish they hadn’t had Paul Heyman be the reason for his win.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lesnar needs to win on his own even as a
heel, because that’s the character.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’s
that damn good and that tough.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If anyone
hit the cheap shot to lead to the win, it should have been him, not Heyman, but
other than that, well done WWE, you got it right (for now at least). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></o:p></div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: Arial;">Tom’s React<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Unfortunately, I didn’t see the show as I planned to so I am
reacting to & giving my opinions based on what I have read only.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">As you could tell from my Head 2 Head picks, I was favoring
strong heels going over (Fandango, Mark Henry) and it was what keeps the
distance between Jim and I in our competition.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The strong points coming out of this show for me are as
follows: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">1. The continued build and growth of The Shield.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>WWE is doing it right there and they deserve
credit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will be interested to see who
steps up as challengers for the tag titles because Team Hell No was such a
strong babyface team that there was no other babyface teams being built
up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe it is a good excuse to turn
the Primetime Players or pair up two singles guys like Randy Orton &
Sheamus or Kofi Kingston & The Miz.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I, like Jim, love Dean Ambrose winning the U.S. Title.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So deserved.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">2.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Brock Lesnar
winning his feud with Triple H.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I still
don’t know where WWE is going or what they want to do with Lesnar, but with
this matter behind him he can move forward.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Maybe an extended feud with John Cena (if Cena loses the title to Ryback
in June) or maybe Randy Orton or Sheamus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Whatever Lesnar does, it needs to be big.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You don’t sign him and feature him for
limited dates unless it can make money.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">3.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Del Rio being
solidified as #1 Contender.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As much as I
still hope WWE gives us a Ladder Match with Ziggler, Del Rio & Swagger, I
have my doubts because of the concussion lingering effects that might be
present or could be re-triggered if Dolph goes too hard, too fast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With Ziggler’s legit wrestling background as
an amateur (something I cannot recall WWE touting) they could really create
something cool between he and Del Rio in a ground-based match that would be
extremely safe and of course, play up that Del Rio’s armbar is as dangerous as
advertised.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We shall see where it goes
next.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">My weak points:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">1.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Last Man
Standing outcome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps they should
have had the Ambulance Match on this show and saved the Last Man Standing match
for “Payback.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s not just the Super
Cena issue, it is bass ackwards booking and I cannot believe WWE doesn’t think
that it creates an issue with fans that pay for PPVs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">2.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mark Henry &
Fandango losing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>More than just the
difference between Jim and I in the Head 2 Head contest, I think that WWE
really should be building up their heels a bit better.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sure, you do have The Shield, but Henry can
pull two semi-trucks on Smackdown, yet cannot use leverage in a Strap Match to
beat Sheamus? C’mon, man!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fandango is
the lesser of the two that I have issue with and I still see him winning the
feud with Jericho.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">3.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Does Jack have any
Swagger left?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know WWE used the “instant
replay” gimmick with Swagger’s loss here, but he’s now been bested by Del Rio
on the big stage in back to back months.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>WWE has every right to pull back on his push after the DUI and marijuana
incident a few months back, but do they want to wipe the slate clean after the
time investment put into him & Zeb Coulter?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">There you have it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Did
you see the show?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What thoughts did you
have?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Leave us a comment below and we’ll
respond and engage with you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Check back later this week for a potential UFC preview ahead
of Velasquez vs. Bigfoot 2 and do not forget that next week Tuesday night, May
28<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> we have our next *LIVE* podcast and interview with one of the
big stars of Dragon Gate USA/EVOLVE ahead of the EVOLVE tripleshot on May 30,
June 1 and June 2.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We will announce just
who will be joining us most likely on Memorial Day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Have a great holiday!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02687463310797031021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2341452281989557296.post-28005683237888113202013-05-16T07:27:00.000-07:002013-05-16T07:27:25.006-07:00Head 2 Head: Extreme Rules<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.sescoops.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/wwe-extreme-rules-2013.jpg?cef1f5" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.sescoops.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/wwe-extreme-rules-2013.jpg?cef1f5" width="294" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">WWE has its next
pay-per-view this weekend with Extreme Rules coming from St. Louis, MO.
Normally Tom and Jim would try to get a podcast up for their Head 2 Head
thoughts, but life is very busy this week for each of them, so instead, we
present them to you in the blog format!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Heading into this event, Jim has a 14-4 to 11-7 lead over Tom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This event can potentially create an
insurmountable lead for Jim or see Tom creep closer back in the hunt.
Let’s take a look at what each Spot Monkey thinks we’ll see on Sunday
night! </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Pre-show Match</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Miz vs. Cody Rhodes</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">JIM: </span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> This is only here to re-build The Miz now
that he’s back from filming the Christmas movie he’ll be in this coming Christmas
season on ABC Family. Rhodes is so mis-used it isn’t funny, but I don’t
see that changing here. Miz gets the tap out win and wins his 2nd
pre-show match in a row; though this time he doesn’t get a shiny gold belt for
doing so.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">TOM:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The pre-match bout of underutilization!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sorry for the sarcasm there, but Cody Rhodes’
use just irks me to no end…and I don’t see it stopping here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The pre-show matches are all about the fans
getting excited before the main PPV and Miz is a great guy to achieve that in
this role.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Miz wins.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Chris Jericho vs. Fandango</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">JIM: </span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> This screams Jericho wins to “end” their
issue, but man, it would be a BIG mistake to do that already I think.
Fandango has the Wrestlemania win, and then hasn’t been used as well
since in my eyes as they had him walk out on a match with R-Truth (he can beat
6 time World Champion Jericho...but decides to basically quit against R-Truth?
Are you kidding me?). And in the age old pattern of “whoever was
standing tall on the go home show before the PPV usually loses”...that screams
Jericho wins too. I really hope I’m wrong about this, but I have to go
with Jericho here. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">TOM:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My pick is Fandango.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jericho doesn’t need the win, doesn’t need
the rub, doesn’t need another feud victory.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Fandango is money and WWE should be smart enough to know that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love Jericho and wish he was around 100% of
the time, but with his Fozzy gig, that just cannot happen. Say it with me: FAHN-DAHN-GO!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Extreme Rules Match</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Randy Orton vs. The Big
Show</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">JIM:</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> This bears out of Orton sticking up for
Big Show going into Wrestlemania, and then Show turning his back after the match
vs. The Shield on both Orton and Sheamus. That being said, while they
have built an issue here, I don’t think it’s an issue that warranted “Extreme
Rules” stipulations, other than that they had to find a spot to throw an
Extreme Rules Match on the card. That being said, I’m sure we’ll see
plenty of plunder as they try and find a way for Orton to put the giant on his
back. Randy seems to be getting the better of Show lately, so I think
Show gets the win here and this feud continues for at least another month.
</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">TOM:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This feud makes more sense and is at least
fresher than had they gone with ANOTHER run of a Sheamus-Big Show feud.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Two vets who WWE can rely on and utilize
anywhere within the promotion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I see it differently
here and I will go with Randy Orton to get the win.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Strap Match</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Mark Henry vs. Sheamus</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">JIM: </span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> This has built well since it began right
after Wrestlemania, and the idea of dragging either of these guys around the
ring to touch all four corners is something that will be a sight to behold
(though Henry has proven how much he can lug around with the semi pull on
Smackdown). This is a tough one for me to pick as I can come up with
reasons for either of them to win. Henry is a beast and honestly should
be a World Champion in the company or at least in the mix there, which it seems
he is not at this point. Sheamus needs to get away from being the “aw
shucks” babyface and back to being more of a bad ass, but I don’t see it
happening anytime soon. As much as I think Henry should win this match, I
think they give it to Sheamus when he comes up with a creative way to get the
four touches needed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">TOM:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A Sheamus win seemingly sets him for a future
crack at Dolph Ziggler (or the man who dethrones him).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A Henry win continues the “momentum” of his
win over Ryback at WrestleMania.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I agree
with Jim that this of all of all of the matches is a true pick’em.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will either use this to close the gap with
Jim in our contest or fall further back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Mark Henry gets the win.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">WWE Tag Team Title Match
- Tornado Rules</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Team Hell No (C) vs.
Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">JIM: </span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Gotta admit, I figured it would be Rollins
and Ambrose who won the tag titles and leave Reigns as the singles guy, but
it’s clear they see something in Ambrose as a singles star going forward, so
Reigns and Rollins get the tag title shot instead. It is time for Team
Hell No to drop the belts and The Shield are exactly the right guys to carry
the straps for now, so I definitely see Rollins and Reigns walking out with the
titles here. This could be a sleeper for match of the night as I expect
all four guys to work hard!<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">TOM:</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I agree with Jim, I did
not see Rollins and Reigns as the duo here, but the more I think about it, the
more I like it!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love Team Hell No and
while disappointed to see their reign end, they have done about all that could
be done.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rollins and Reigns win the
titles in a wild bout!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">United States Title
Match</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Kofi Kingston (C) vs.
Dean Ambrose</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">JIM:</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> As I mentioned before, they clearly see
something in Ambrose, and they should, the guy is money. In some ways, it
seems too soon to get the title off of Kingston as he won it less than a month
ago, but I would hate to see them have Ambrose beat cleanly either. They
easily could go with Ambrose winning here and putting titles on all three
members of The Shield, and I could definitely see it happening, but my guess is
that Kingston almost has Ambrose beaten when the other two members of The
Shield come in for the DQ win for Kingston. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">TOM:</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was rather surprised
when Kofi took the title off Antonio Cesaro.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That surprise will be lessened here as I do anticipate that Dean Ambrose
wins the title off of him here to strengthen the image and aura of The
Shield.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ambrose wins his first singles
title. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">World Heavyweight Title
#1 Contender I Quit Match</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Alberto Del Rio vs. Jack
Swagger</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">JIM: </span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This is obviously a change in the match due to
the concussion suffered by Dolph Ziggler, canceling the triple threat ladder
match that was to take place here. I Quit rules work well for these two
guys as both have great submission finishers, and both are portrayed as being
tough as nails, so they should beat the hell out of each other as they try to
get to the finish. Swagger against Ziggler doesn’t do alot for me, with
two heels against each other, so, I think Del Rio gets the win here.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">TOM:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I was REALLY looking forward to the Triple
Threat Match with a Ladder…I could just envision Ziggler like a pinball
bouncing around the ring, but health is the priority and because I want to see
Ziggler go and go for years, I am glad that they have changed the match.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, it comes down (seemingly) to the Armbar
vs. Anklelock here and I must agree with Jim that Del Rio vs. Ziggler makes
more sense than a heel-heel match-up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Del Rio gets the win.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Steel Cage Match</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Triple H vs. Brock
Lesnar</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">JIM: </span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Triple H got the win at Wrestlemania which
I figured was the end of it. Brock is 1-2 in his return to WWE with a win
over HHH at Summerslam and the loss to HHH at Mania as well as losing to Cena
last year at Extreme Rules. To me, it makes the most sense for Lesnar to
go over here, as I think there is a better shot he’s working again this year than
HHH. Granted, maybe they have Lesnar win here and HHH wins yet another
rematch down the road, but I would put Lesnar over here and then let him move
on to whatever is next for him. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">TOM:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Lesnar must get the win here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It made sense for Triple H to win at
WrestleMania because there is still more mileage on his odometer and it was not
his time to retire…yet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m not really
sure where Lesnar goes or what is planned next for him, but for that to be
taken seriously by the fans then a loss here won’t do anything but undercut
that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Steel Cage Matches have lost their
luster in my eyes with WWE, but hopefully these two can carry this strong.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lesnar is my pick.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">WWE Title Last Man
Standing Match</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">John Cena (C) vs. Ryback</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">JIM: </span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This is another one I can go back and forth on.
Cena is so overexposed and boring as champion. Ryback on the other
hand definitely seems to be on the rise and has done a nice job with his recent
heel turn. Honestly, he should be a heel, it works far better for his
gimmick. Yet, it’s never wise to bet against Cena, as Superman always
seems to come out on top (heck, he took out all three members of The Shield on
Monday night...granted, two by DQ, but still). I pray they do the right
thing here and put the title on Ryback. He deserves a shot with it, and
the money is always in the babyface chasing the heel, so, if we must continue
to have Cena in the top of the card mix...then I hope it’s chasing, not holding
the title. Ryback wins the title in my hopes and dreams, and maybe that
will come true Sunday night!</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">TOM:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Will WWE pull the trigger on Ryback?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sure, it has been stated and will continue to
be that, Cena does not need the WWE Title, the World Title or the Fruity
Pebbles Cereal Box Championship!<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b>On the other hand, I think we are not in
an era anymore of heel champions being the position to be chased and draw money
when babyface challengers are coming for them and to “rescue” the title.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe I am wrong, I just think that cycle is
no longer current in the WWE landscape.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That attitude gives credence to picking Cena to retain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The next WWE PPV in June is “Payback” and how
fitting would it be to have the dastardly champion Ryback looking to prevent
Cena from getting his payback in a re-match?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Really both scenarios make sense in my mind and don’t forget, Money in
the Bank is not too far off in July and the briefcase winner for the WWE Title
might have more of an impact if he can cash in and win over the reigning and
defending Cena.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am going to pick Cena
to retain, but I am the least confident in this pick over any other on the
card.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span> </div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">There you have - some good difference in picks between Tom and Jim. Come back next week, either here or via the Podcast to get our thoughts via REACT.</span></span></div>
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<br />Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02687463310797031021noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2341452281989557296.post-13283394802985536372013-04-30T21:05:00.000-07:002013-04-30T21:08:17.348-07:00Interview with Adam Cole!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.rohwrestling.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/wrestler_profile_featured_photo/adamcolebio.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.rohwrestling.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/wrestler_profile_featured_photo/adamcolebio.png" width="192" /></a></div>
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<br />
We had the chance Tuesday night to spend about 35 minutes with ROH star Adam Cole and chat not only about his ROH World Title match against Jay Briscoe this Saturday at Border Wars, but also his career in PWG, CZW and so much more! Give it a listen either on iTunes, or in the player on the right! Also remember that media player on the right side has all of our podcasts and our interview with Michael Elgin from December. All audio is also available through iTunes! Thanks for checking it out, and thanks to Ring of Honor Wrestling and Adam Cole for this great interview!<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0