Ready to Rumble

The Daily Slam 01.28.11

World Champ vs WWE Champ, Cena pulls another shenanigan, Rated RKO returned, and possible Rumble returns.

The Miz and Edge were in a champion vs champion match on Raw that saw Ziggler interfere for a DQ finish. This was a solid match that helped extend the feuds of each individual. Dolph Ziggler was on commentary for the match up until he decided to blind side Edge. During the beat-down though, Randy Orton came out for retribution against the Miz from last week's attack. This was a great bout over all and I can see these two having a feud down the road before Edge retires possibly in 2012.

Over on SmackDown though, the former tag team Rated RKO took on the Miz and Ziggler. This match alone is why SD is the better show week in and week out. The chemistry of all four superstars was superb. Even the finish with Edge getting the pin on Ziggler was perfect heading into their ppv match. Vickie threw a twist into the match though, Edge is no longer allowed to use his finisher the Spear or else he forfeits the title to Dolph. Will Edge pull out an old finisher or submission move to win. I'd like to see him use the Killswitch is respect to his friend/brother, Christian.

Punk and Barrett almost had a match if it wasn't for the special guest referee, John "Lame-Ass" Cena. I know I give Cena a lot of negativity in this column but honestly he makes Raw unbearable to watch sometimes. He double disqualified both stars due to "excessive language on a PG show". This removed both Nexus and Corre from the Royal Rumble match. Thankfully the Raw GM chimed in to overrule that put both factions into this Sundays bout. I understand that Cena is just doing his job out there but I can also imagine he gets a lot of say in the direction of his character. Every week it seems he just gets cheesier and cheesier. I hate to say this, but I miss the old white rap star Cena who lived the HLR gimmick. He just seems like an over grown child these days.

Diva Break...

We here at The Daily Slam (well myself I guess) consider the Royal Rumble match the one must see every year. The WWE always manages to bring in a few surprised every year. Over the past few years, it seems like a wrestler who has been sidelined due to injury miraculously returns to a huge ovation giving them instant "face" status. There are only a couple of superstars who are on IR right now that could make a big impact on Sunday. The big three are Christian, Undertaker, and the most expected is Triple H. All three have feuds to jump right back into if they do make an appearance. Christian was taken out by Alberto Del Rio, Taker of course by his brother Kane, and Triple H needs his revenge against Sheamus. All three of those feuds could be WrestleMania matches so I can definitely see at least two of them showing up. I am banking on HHH and Christian. If Taker is set to wrestle Barrett as Mania then his return can wait until closer to Elimination Chamber ppv. A rumor circulating around the inter-webs is that a former world champ will make his return at the Rumble. No not Chris Jericho (cause that would be fucking epic) but the 5-time, 5-time., 5-time, 5-time, 5-time WCW champion.... Booker T. Apparently he was set to make an appearance somewhere this weekend and it has been suddenly canceled. Could be a total coincidence but then again it wouldn't surprise me. Vince is a slick son of a B.

Some more news has emerged for the reinvented WWE Tough Enough Show coming soon on USA Network. I wasn't sure who they would get to host the show. I was leaning towards a seasoned veteran like a Val Venis or William Regal. But with the announcement of UFC bringing in Brock Lesnar to teach on The Ultimate Fighter, it appears that Vince wanted to bring a household name to his reality show. He found the one man that can draw in viewers like no other, Stone Cold Steve Austin. Having Stone Cold host this reality wrestling show the hour before Raw can only draw more of a ratings boost and bring in huge advertisement money for the show. Great move by both parties. I wish a certain someone who also became a huge star courtesy of the WWE would give back to the company once in awhile. I think we all know who I'm talking about.

Well that is all for this week. Short and simple. Check out my pay per view predictions. Thanks for reading.

Week of Suprise Attacks

The Daily Slam 01.21.11


Punk took on John Cena, Randy Orton was attacked by The Miz, the biggest Rumble ever, Teddy Long is on injured reserve, and when will the Undertaker return?

The main event from Raw this week was the showdown between John "Superman" Cena and the "Cult Leader" CM Punk. To be honest, this match was great to see. Both wrestlers superstars had good looking offense and I wasn't sure which way they were going with a finish. That was until some Batista look-a-like showed up and gave Punk a boot to the face and then took out Cena. CM Punk get the win naturally by disqualification and it looks like the Nexus has a new member. His name is Mason Ryan from WWE development, FCW. He has the right build to be the muscle in Punk's faction. It appears the dismissal of Gabriel & Slater didn't hurt the group after all.

Another blindside attack came from the hands of The Miz and his loyal sidekick, Alex Riley, to Randy Orton after his match with Ziggler. The Miz left the Viper laying on the ground and showing he has the upper hand at this point before their match in less than two weeks. All the matches at the Royal Rumble so far are straight one fall matches so I can definitely see this one getting a stipulation. This attack leads me think Orton is going to ask for a No DQ match which will allow Riley to interfere but also allow weapons in favor of Randy.

It's been announced that this year's Royal Rumble match has been changed to a 40 participants and not the traditional 30. Being advertised as the biggest Rumble ever but could it end up being the worst? The added 10 superstars means you are adding almost the rest of the roster who isn't involved in the main title matches. Hopefully Yoshi Tatsu can beat his time last year of :29 seconds. The reason for the additional ten is probably a result of all the new young faces in the company. It's being called the biggest but I highly doubt it won't be the best.

Diva Break...

Over on SmackDown, some big news was the surprise attack that occurred to Teddy Long. Resulting from the beat-down sent Teddy straight to the hospital. The new group formed by Wade Barrett, Corre, quickly cleared their name from any speculations. That can only mean two things; either it was them so they can once again prove that they are superior or it was Ziggler so his cougar girlfriend, Vickie, would be in charge from now on. This could mean a huge disadvantage to current champion Edge. I can see this being just the thing that Dolph needs to take the belt away from Edge. Looks like an intriguing story-line to me.

There are a lot of rumors floating around that the Undertaker has hand picked his WrestleMania opponent and the lucky choice is Wade Barrett. If this is true, then Barrett has been given a golden opportunity and should feel grateful. If Taker is set to go at the Grand Daddy PPV then it appears he will be making a return very soon. Possibly at the Rumble and no later than the Elimination Chamber ppv. Barrett and Nexus did help Kane bury his brother back at Bragging Rights so maybe this feud will help answer some questions.

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

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.

T.L.C. Predictions

 My Predictions for the WWE TLC Pay Per View on Dec 19th 2010.

#1 Contender Ladders Match
John Morrison vs Sheamus

The Shaman of Sexy seeks to dethrone the newly coronation King of the Ring in a contest of ladders. While both Sheamus and Morrison have completely different styles the ladder match plays to both of their strengths. Morrison has a platform to jump off of and Sheamus can use the ladder like a hammer to hit JoMo with. John is amazing on his own, but with a ladder I expect him to do some amazing acrobatics to help justify his #1 contender status. While Sheamus isn't anything to sneeze at he won't continue his legacy that he started last year at TLC. Morrison has a date with destiny at the Royal Rumble when he faces off against his former partner in crime.
Winner: "The Monday Night Delight", John Morrison.

Tables Match
Beth Phoenix/Natalya Neidhart vs LayCool

This must be a first; a diva's tag team tables match. It's going to be harder for either member of LayCool to put Phoenix through a table then for Beth to do the same. It isn't easy being skinny I guess. LayCool definitely isn't defenseless with their advantage on the experience front. Also there's a question of unity; can Beth and Natalya trust each other or will Beth want to make a statement with WrestleMania on the horizon?
Winner: Heart of the Phoenix

Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match
Dolph Ziggler (c) vs Kofi Kingston vs Jack Swagger

I always thought Ziggler and Swagger would make a great tag team. Kingston would make the best use of the ladder of the three however Swagger will soar to an IC title reign.
Winner: The All American American Intercontinental Champion

Chairs Match
John Cena vs Wade Barrett

Such a big match wasted with a stupid gimmick. Then again they're both big guys and could do some damage with a chair. Normal booking would have John get his revenge and that's the safe bet. Still, Barrett is the breakout star of the year and I wouldn't count him out. While I think the booking has been rushed I want to give a shout out to Barrett getting so pissed at Otunga that he would reinstate Cena to force Otunga in a match with him.
Winner: The women and the children aka John Cena wins

World Heavyweight Championship Tables, Ladders, Chairs Match
Kane (c) vs Edge vs Alberto Del Rio vs Rey Mysterio

Kane has been a dominate champion even though they've made him look like a bitch recently, Edge is the undisputed master of TLC matches, Rey can fly and Del Rio has been on a roll. I think Kane wins and starts a heel vs heel feud with Alberto Del Rio.
Winner: Kane

WWE Championship Tables Match
The Miz (c) vs Randy Orton

Last year Sheamus shocked everyone by defeating Cena and becoming the new World Champion in a tables match. The surprise win came earlier this year when Miz cashed in his MITB briefcase. The question is can Miz do to the Viper what Sheamus did last year to Cena? The answer is yes! The Miz will retain and it will be Awesome.
Winner: The Miz