Nexus Initiations

The Daily Slam 01.14.11

CM Punks leads the new Nexus, HBK is a first ballot Hall of Famer, Royal Rumble title matches, and some TNA news.

All the talk from Raw was about how CM Punk is turning the Nexus into a SES 2.0. The members were required to complete specific initiations into the group. I must admit that Husky Harris taking a strap to the belt multiple times must have hurt like a bitch. The red welts show his devotion to the Straight Edge Superstar. I was a little surprised by the choice to remove Gabriel and Slater from the group though. Fear not fans because those two have joined their former leader, Wade Barrett, over on SmackDown. After a brutal attack on the Big Show by the new group with newcomer Ezekiel Jackson, it appears that we have another Nexus faction. This sure sparks my interest to seem if the two groups will feud. This is all David Otunga's fault by the way. He just couldn't take anymore John Cena beat downs on behalf of Wade Barrett. Pussy.

The other big news from Raw this week was the first inductee in the class of 2011 WWE HOF. The Showstopper, Mr. WrestleMania, the Heart Break Kid... Shawn Michaels. I must admit that I have a problem with this. Shawn is one of the greatest in-ring performers of all time but he hasn't been out of the ring for a complete year yet. I understand that personalities like Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler were inducted while still being on television but let's face it, they weren't retiring any time in the near future. I was really hoping for a WCW HOF ceremony. People like  Harlem Heat, Arn Anderson, the Steiner Bros, DDP, Scott Hall & Kevin Nash, and the Icon... Sting. Having HBK being inducted right away kind of eliminates a WCW themed HOF which disappoints a lot of fans. I hope the rest of the inductees don't get pushed into the HBK shadow for this year.

Diva Break...

So far, Randy Orton will get a chance to win the WWE Championship back from The Miz and Dolph Ziggler will face off against Edge for the World HeavyWeight Title. Both of these matches are perfect for this time of year. You have two well developed veterans helping put over younger talent right in time for WrestleMania. I've become a huge fan of Ziggler's work inside the ring over the past year and he deserves this push to the top. If he would become champ, with Vickie by his side, he has a better chance of standing out than Swagger ever had a chance to. At this point, I don't see The Miz or Edge dropping their titles but it's possible at the Elimination Chamber ppv next month. I honestly saw Del Rio winning his first major title before Dolph but with Vickie by his side, it's only a matter of a few matches before he holds gold. I think it would have been better to see him both as IC and World Champion. Just to rub it in a little more.

Now some TNA news bites. I have to throw out a congratulations to the one and only asshole, Mr Anderson....... Anderson. he is your new TNA Wrestling Champion. It is well deserved and I'm sorry his first major title is in TNA and not the WWE. Now that he has been able to stay healthy for a long period of time, he is getting that push that someone with his in-ring ability and mic skills should get. I doubt we will be seeing Ken back in a WWE ring in the next decade because of how he was let go but perhaps he is enough of a draw to help put TNA to that next level. Jeff Hardy was never going to propel that company to where they should be by now. Legal issues always bring a black cloud over projected hopes & dreams. Bad decision by Dixie, very bad. Speaking of Hardy, Matt Hardy made his debut over the weekend. I'm glad to see Matt back in the ring and happy. His departure from the 'E was also on bad terms but I think he brought a lot of that on himself. I hope Matt all the best in his new role.

Well that is all for this week. Thanks for reading.

A Look Back & Forward

Welcome to a special new year edition of The Daily Slam! Let's take a look at the year 2010 in wrestling and what's possible for 2011.

The past year saw a lot of fresh faces in the WWE while some older ones went off into the shadows. The Nexus was formed from season one NXT and ran wild on Raw. They made their presence know the first night and ended the year with a continued feud with Mr John Cena. There were some new champions in Jack Swagger and The Miz after both cashed in Money In The Bank briefcases. Also, Kane won the championship and held it for months while defeating his brother, The Undertaker, multiple times. HBK retired and HHH took off the year following Extreme Rules ppv. Bret Hart returned and defeated Vince McMahon at WrestleMania. Daniel Bryan (Bryan Danielson) was fired then rehired and has become the United States champ. What a year it has been but I predict better things to happen in 2011.

Stating tonight on Raw, 1/3/2011, The Miz will defend his WWE Championship against his former tag team partner John Morrison in a falls count anywhere match. Could the "Rockstar" win his first main event title tonight to bring in the new year? Doubtful but it should be interesting to see how Miz holds onto the gold. Elsewhere in the WWE, CM Punk has stepped from away from the commentary table and started a feud with Superman Cena. That alone sparks a lot of interest but let's throw Nexus onto the fire. That's right, CM Punk and Nexus are in cahoots together. If the Straight Edge Superstar is the new leader of the "We Are One" clan, how will this effect the rest of the locker room? And does this mean the members must also be Straight Edge because I know David Otunga parties a lot. He is "A-List" and all.

The Rumble is approaching so everyone will begin to throw out their predictions for a winner. My predict: Triple H. The WWE loves to have injured stars return at the Rumble so this fits perfectly. If not then I'd love to see Jericho return and win to solidify him as a top 5 greatest WWE Superstar of all time.

The night after WrestleMania, which is always Raw, usually does some big tv ratings for WWE and it looks like their capitalizing on that fact. The new return of Tough Enough will premiere before Raw on that night. I imagine NXT will be a thing of the past after this season but the WWE is still pushing the new star envelope. The original Tough Enough was very entertaining so this sparks my interest. Let's hope they don't go all MTV Hills on us and start scripting what the young hopefuls say and do.

What I am expecting for the year 2011 in WWE? 
Triple H returns to tv but as a heel
Jericho returns to feud with Christian in what will be feud of the year
The Miz gets burried like Punk did after his 1st title reign but bounces back around Summer
The Nexus goes through a few more transitions before complete dismantle by end of Mania
Wade Barrett and Alberto Del Rio will be the only 2 first time Champions of the year
LayCool introduces Awesome Kong as their body guard
Justin Gabriel goes face and becomes the next Evan Bourne
Evan Bourne returns but becomes future endeavored
The IC and US titles will be Unified
Kevin Nash makes at-least one cameo appearance on WWE TV

Well that is my year end/ new year special Daily Slam. Let's all hope the WWE steps it up and makes 2011 better than the past few have been. Thanks for reading.

WWE TLC Pay Per View Predictions

PPV Predictions 12.17.10

Here are my predictions for this Sunday's WWE TLC pay per view from Philadelphia, Pa.

#1 Contender Ladders Match
John Morrison vs Sheamus
These two square off for the third time to resolve this feud and it's for a shot at the gold. Sheamus may be the new king of the ring but Morrison looks to be on a good roll as of late. Could be a show stealer in my opinion and in all honesty needs to be a platform for Morrison. If he wins this match and Miz retains the title, we could have Miz vs Morrison at Royal Rumble. That makes me excited. Just Sayin.
Winner- John Morrison

Tables Match
Natalya (c) & Beth Phoenix vs Laycool
This makes me wonder if this is Vince's way of matching the knockouts cage match from impact last week. Just a thought to ponder. Anyways, I love this match-up. Two strong divas vs two sly/cunning ones. Beth and Nattie have a huge upper advantage and that makes me think they will lose. Somehow that gorgeous Lalya will figure out a way to save Michelle McCool and in the process send Nattie through a table.
Winners- LayCool

Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match
Dolph Ziggler (c) vs Kofi Kingston vs Jack Swagger
A good triple threat match with three veterans of this type of stipulation. Swagger is a revent MITB winner so he knows how to overcome ladder matches with the odds against him. Ziggler has been champ for a long time and has no real reason to drop the belt unless he moves to the main event. Kofi is just Kofi and honestly doesn't need the title at this point. I'm pulling for Ziggler here just because if he loses the belt, he might be lost in creative over the next few months heading towards Mania.
Winner- Dolph Ziggler

Chairs Match
John Cena vs Wade Barrett
The re-hired John Cena gets his revenge against foe Wade Barrett. Wade actually asked for this match though. The big concern here is will Nexus get involved. I don't see how they wouldn't want to help out their leader and destroy the man who has been beating them down. This is a match where the odds will be stacked against Cena and yet he finds away to prevail. This chapter has been written before many, many times.
Winner- John Cena

World HeavyWeight Championship Tables, Ladders, Chairs Match
Kane (c) vs Edge vs Alberto Del Rio vs Rey Mysterio
You throw two heated feuds together into one big match and the result will be nothing short of impeccable. Edge and Mysterio will do some high risk maneuvers while Kane and Del Rio can cause some ground damage to their foes. This should be one brutal match with possibly an unexpected twist. Before I thought Edge would finally beat Kane but now with the Rey and Alberto in the mix, I might be leaning towards a first time champ in Del Rio. The man has made such a huge splash since coming to WWE and is deserving of the spotlight. It would just be a major twist in the business. The Rated R Superstar is still my odds on favorite.
Winner- Edge

WWE Championship Tables Match
The Miz (c) vs Randy Orton
It's so weird to type the Miz as champion but in a good way. The Miz has looked like such a beatable champion that I feel he has to win this one. There is a reason you have Alex Riley around so you can use him as a distraction. Orton would win a lot of his matches with help from Legacy so I don't see why Miz wouldn't do the same. Plus I am really pulling for this Miz vs Morrison match at the Royal Rumble next month. It's hard to go against my favorite wrestler over the last 3 years but this is the Miz's time to shine.
Winner- The Miz