John Cena vs The Rock

It is a match WWE fans have always dreamed to see. Two multiple time WWE Champions, two of the most entertaining WWE superstars of all time. It all happens at WrestleMania 28 on Sunday April 1st, only available on Pay-Per-View.

I have said this in previous blogs, the two best WWE superstars in the late 90's were Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock. The two best superstars of this generation are John Cena and Randy Orton. That will only become more clear to the WWE universe as the years pass by and they continue to show success. However it has become difficult for them to be talked about most. Many exciting, unpredictable events have taken place over the past six months. Triple H is the new C.O.O. of World Wrestling Entertainment and he has a personal rivalry with Kevin Nash, who returned to Raw a few months ago.

John Cena's ability to create an energetic, exciting atmosphere is simply incredible. He talks with raging enthusiasm on the microphone and his strength allows him to always do a powerful slam in the ring. Cena's career with the WWE started in 2002 when he surprised Kurt Angle with a challenge on Smackdown. After a year with the richest pro wrestling business ever they gave him a "jean shorts, rapper" character. Nobody at the time had ever did anything like that, but he certainly pulled it off. Once you win over the WWE audience, success just starts coming to you.

In 2004 at WrestleMania 20 John Cena defeated Big Show to become the United States Champion at Madison Square Garden. It was the opening match. Now Cena is a 10 time WWE Champion, 2-time World Heavyweight Champion, 3 time United States Champion, the 2008 Royal Rumble match winner, and the face of sports entertainment. He has accomplished more things in his career in the last nine years than most pro wrestlers ever have. Without a doubt... people do have an argument if they think John Cena should be the winner of that match with The Rock.



However when it comes to "the people's champ" The Rock, you've already said enough. The Rock comes from a family where pro wrestling his the most important thing about them. His father and grandfather were both very successful performers in their day. When "The Great One" signed with World Wrestling Entertainment, it only took him three months to win a championship. The Rock defeated Triple H for the Intercontinental Championship on Monday Night Raw, which launched a rivalry between the two young, athletic superstars.




The majority of the WWE superstars from the past and present believe that there was nobody greater at talking on the microphone than The Rock. Nobody ever really knew what The Rock was going to say, but no matter what he said in those segments the fans loved it. The WWE fans were quick to learn all of his catch phrases and his finishing moves. The Rock is a 7 time WWE Champion, 2 time Intercontinental Champion, the 2000 Royal Rumble match winner, and the most electrifying man in sports entertainment. The Rock certainly earned a spot for himself in the WWE Hall of Fame when he defeated the legendary Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania 18 in Toronto, Ontario.


Technically both John Cena and The Rock have earned themselves another phenominal accomplishment for their WWE careers, but only one man will get this one. Some say The Rock will most likely win because Cena still has plenty of time in his career to earn many impressive victories at WrestleMania. In fact "Cenation leader" has defeated names like Triple H, Shawn Michaels, JBL, Edge, Big Show, and Batista at WrestleMania... and all of them for the WWE Championship. Maybe it's time for Cena to begin to lose on the grandest stage of them all. Only time will tell.

Written by: Tyler McMurter

The Many Themes of Raw

World Wrestling Entertainment wanted to step up the excitement and interest in the WWE programs. For a long time Monday Night Raw would have a celebrity be the special guest General Manager. A lot of big names were interested in hosting the longest weekly episonic show in history. People like Bob Barker, Jesse Ventura, Jeremy Piven, Shaquille O'neal, and Peewee Herman... just naming a few. However instead of special guest General managers Raw is having certain themes and stipulations on a weekly basis.

Over the past few months Monday Night Raw has held events that have themes or stipulations. The WWE universe has truly enjoyed watching the unpredictable action. Some of these themes include "WrestleMania Rematch Night", "Power To the People", and "Raw Roulette". The constant surprises have made Raw never have a dull moment. This incredible idea has certainly increased the number of viewers every week. All WWE fans are beginning to make sure they do not miss a single episode of Monday Night Raw, because they are aware that if they miss one they will miss lots of excitement and humor. I am enjoying how much the scripts have changed to keep World Wrestling Entertainment unpredictable. The constant returns and appearances by WWE legends like Shawn Michaels, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, and Bret Hart have also made the WWE fans curious... which gets them to tune in to The Score network for Raw every week.

Last night (Monday June 27th) Monday Night Raw aired live from Las Vegas, Nevada. This would give the WWE the idea to create another theme for the show... "Raw Roulette". This theme has been used many times over the last five years, it continues to be a hit. There is a wheel with all different kinds of matches and rules, whatever the wheel lands on will be the type of match the WWE superstars will compete in. Booker T did an incredible job being the host and spinning the wheel, he deserved the camera time to show he still has the humor and charisma to be successful in this business.

I thought the most exciting match of the night was the Tornado Tag Team match which consisted of Jack Swagger & The Miz vs Rey Mysterio & Alex Riley. The WWE fans don't see this type of match very often. "Tornado" tag team match means that you do not have to tag in your partner, all competitors are allowed to be in the ring at any time. All four superstars were very innovative and exciting with the stunts they pulled during the match. These WWE superstars did an outstanding job at keeping the audience unaware of who would eventually emerge victorious. After seeing how athletic and charismatic Alex Riley can be, I expect him to rise through the rankings almost as quick as John Cena did. A-Ry's punches look as real as they can get.

It's about time World Wrestling Entertainment gave Mark Henry an interesting storyline with some respectful, popular superstars like Big Show and Kane. Mark Henry has always had the build and charisma to be a dominant, destructive force in the WWE as an antagonist. Henry's character at this point is based on his lack of success in the WWE, he is furious and doesn't care about who he injures. I hope to see this storyline continue, but if it does I expect that Big Show will win the final match at the end of this exciting rivalry.

I wonder where John Morrisson has gone. Nobody has seen him since R-Truth assaulted him after a one on one match between the two superstars. Morrisson was right in the middle of the WWE Championship storyline and now he hasn't been on Raw in about a month. In my opinion there will be a shocking return within the next few weeks, and R-Truth will either have to face Morrisson or R-Truth will lose an important match due to interference by Morrisson. R-Truth has accepted a new character and storyline. His character is angry and slowly going insane. His character believes there are conspiracies taking place to prevent R-Truth from being successful in World Wrestling Entertainment. So from now on he will not play his music, show respect for the fans, or compete fairly. He is a changed man.

Written by: Tyler McMurter

The Two Best in WWE

Believe it or not it is rare to see the two greatest WWE superstars holding the two World Championships at the same period of time. John Cena won his tenth World Championship by defeating former champion The Miz and John Morrisson in a triple threat match at Extreme Rules. Randy Orton was drafted to Smackdown after WrestleMania 27 and in my opinion it was to give Orton the World Heavyweight Championship. The WWE must have felt Smackdown would be just as exciting as Monday Night Raw is they put some exciting superstars like Orton and Sheamus on the program. However I feel the WWE should have awarded Orton the title after Christian was given a considerable amount of time as champion.

The other day I realized how much The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin are making appearances and quotes on the news about them being involved in World Wrestling Entertainment. I believe the fans may one day see a dream match between the two best WWE Superstars today and the two best from the late 90's. "John Cena & Randy Orton vs The Rock & Stone Cold". If this incredible contest were to take place my guess is it would happen on an important Pay-Per-View stage such as SummerSlam or Survivor Series. It would be interesting to see which team would emerge victorious or if the match would even have a decisive pair of winners. I would be absolutely shocked if The Rock or Stone Cold would agree to be defeated by a future legend.

John Cena has the character and the role as a WWE superstar to rarely be defeated at WrestleMania. After seeing Cena lose to The Miz due to the interference by the WrestleMania host "The Rock" I predict Cena will defeat Rock to get revenge. We saw The Rock defeat Hulk Hogan in arguably the best WrestleMania match of all time... a clash between icons. Now ten years later I think World Wrestling Entertainment would like to show the next generation's icon John Cena defeat the most electrifying man in all of entertainment. I am also wondering when Randy Orton and John Cena will go one on one at WrestleMania, my guess is WrestleMania 30. The WWE has been saving a couple exciting matches for an anniversary of the grandest stage of the business.

Written by: Tyler McMurter

New Champs & New Competition

   Rey Mysterio and Alberto Del Rio were both drafted from Smackdown to Raw in the 2011 WWE Draft. As two popular, tough superstars I like how they immediately walked down the ramp to the ring to state their reasons why they should face John Cena for the WWE Championship at Over The Limit. However they would soon be joined by two superstars that did a fantastic job in the opening skit of Monday Night Raw last night, The Miz and R-Truth. So at this point we have four popular WWE superstars in the ring arguing about a title shot. This new "crazy man" character has brought out some impressive microphone skills and storylines for R-Truth. The anger on his face from when the anonymous Raw General Manager explained that Miz, Mysterio, and Del Rio would be in a triple threat match to be the #1 contender was incredible. Although Truth won't be in the WWE title picture he will be very successful in terms of his character and storylines. I was very surprised to see Del Rio's personal ring announcer to drop kick Alex Riley out of the ring in a minor brawl that broke out in the opening skit of Raw. It gave the audience a sneak peak of The Miz and Del Rio squaring off for the first time. I always say this, new combinations of superstars in matches creates excitement.

   If I was a guest on the Aftermath show on The Score network with Renee Paquette, Arda Ocal, and Brent Furtney my win would be the main event triple threat match. It was one of those matches where the superstars kept you on your toes. There was tremendous excitement with lots of near-falls. These are the kinds of matches that Rey Mysterio and Kofi Kingston will be involved in to make sure there is some high flying action, that's why they were both drafted to Monday Night Raw. Although that was the best I have seen Alberto Del Rio in a match in a long time I even agree with The Miz winning to get his rematch. The WWE built his character and popularity for so long, they even gave him a WrestleMania main event victory so why give him a defeat from Del Rio or Mysterio. The royal rumble match winner Del Rio has lost his matches at the previous two Pay-Per-View events (WrestleMania and Extreme Rules). John Cena took advantage of having the option of the type of match, he selected the "I Quit" match. Cena has an impressive record in these matches, he has defeated superstars like J.B.L. and Batista in this kind of match. Over The Limit is a very fitting title for the next PPV event.

   Kofi Kingston and Jack Swagger are also two new superstars to the Raw roster. After Kingston won the United States Championship from Sheamus at Extreme Rules he was put in a match on Raw to defend it against Jack Swagger. Like I said in the previous paragraph Mysterio and Kingston are here to make Monday Night Raw even more exciting with some incredible athleticism. Kingston certainly didn't disappoint the WWE universe as the match kept the audience interested eversince the beginning. I could see this being a spectacular rivalry... the agile, high flyer against the brawling, amateur wrestler character. Jack Swagger has the look and physique to be a successful WWE superstar as a villain, but if he can improve his charisma and voice on the microphone he can begin climbing to bigger accomplishments. Kofi Kingston would pick up the victory after Swagger was distracted by Jerry "The King" Lawler returning to ring side at an attempt to get some revenge on Michael Cole for his awful comments said earlier.

   Michael Cole's charisma and speaking skills on the microphone are what is giving him so much success as a broadcaster and in the storylines. Het gets under everyone's skin and that's what his character is at this point. Just when I thought the alliance with Jack Swagger and Michael Cole was over it somehow keeps going. Cole early in the show explained what he did for Mother's day, then asked Lawler what he did for Mother's day. He then dropped his jaw in a sarcastic fashion to show he was being disrespectful about the comments, but sarcastically apologized for "forgetting" of Lawler's mother passing away in February. Swagger would pull of another rescue for Michael Cole by coming out and physically man handling Lawler. This storyline is getting old to me and I feel like it's taking up the air time that could be used displaying some young talent more often like Evan Bourne or Dolph Ziggler. However I do also want to see Jerry Lawler finally get a victory over Michael Cole so he doesn't "retire" undefated as a WWE superstar. The stipulation of Lawler personally inducting Cole into the WWE Hall of Fame and handing over his own Hall of Fame ring i'll admit is a great way to put some more excitement towards ths match at Over The Limit.

   One thing that as caught my attention recently was the amazing strength Mason Ryan from The New Nexus keeps displaying. The WWE continues to give Mason the credit he deserves for his size and power. Last night on Raw one half of the WWE Tag Team Champions Kane had a score to settle with him after Mason Ryan clearly over powered Kane in a physical confrontation on last week's Raw. After the WWE put Ezekiel Jackson in The Corre they wanted to add a power house superstar to The New Nexus, so they hired Mason Ryan. If I recall correctly he just randomly showed up one day and joined CM Punk's Nexus after dominating other superstars in the ring. I loved seeing the big guys go at it but the ending should have been a decisive victory for either of the two men. Big Show punched CM Punk's lights out in the middle of the match, this caused The New Nexus to come to the ring and start a brawl with the Tag Team Champions. It was great to see Big Show and Kane double chokeslam Mason Ryan, and then see Kane throw his hands down to torch the tops of the ring posts.

   I was so upset to see Christian lose the World Heavyweight Championship just five days after winning it in a ladder match at Extreme Rules. His speech was inspiring at the beginning of the episode of Friday Night Smackdown. He explained that it took him 17 years to win the World Heavyweight title. I do think Randy Orton deserved a World Championship down the road from now, but I feel like Christian should been given the chance to live the dream with the title for a longer period of time. In my opinion I think Orton didn't want to be sent to Smackdown in the WWE Draft so I think the WWE offered him the World Heavyweight Championship and Orton agreed to the terms. I don't know if anyone else has noticed this, but Orton doesn't seem like he is playing the "vicious viper" character over the last two weeks. I wonder if the WWE is slowly transitioning him into a normal, calm, collected character. I find that the "vicious viper" character is the role he should play for the rest of his WWE career, nobody can do it as good as Randy can.

Images from: http://www.videofacedown.com/john-cena-vs-the-miz-wwe-championship-may-03-2011-wwe-raw-hq.html, http://wwe-collections.blogspot.com/2011/02/heart-of-wwe-kofi-kingston-stills.html, http://www.wwe.com/shows/extremerules/2011/lawler-ross-cole-swagger, http://checklocallistening.blogspot.com/2011/03/wwe-wrestlemania_3522.html, and http://www.randyorton4u.com/tag/randy-orton/.

Written by: Tyler McMurter

Business Just Picked Up

   On Sunday May 1st at Extreme Rules the WWE universe experienced eight exciting matches, they were all special extreme matches. We saw a Falls Count Anywhere match, a Last Man Standing match, even a Tables match. However I would like to give a big thumbs up for a man I have seen in this business for years named Christian for winning the World Heavyweight Championship against Alberto Del Rio in a Ladder match. After Edge retired from World Wrestling Entertainment as the champion, there needed to be a new champion to keep Smackdown exciting. I am so proud Christian, however it isn't his first World Championship, he is a former ECW Champion as well. I am looking forward to Christian hopefully receiving much more camera time to see him with this prestigious championship on his shoulder. It was good to see him have a discussion with The Rock behind the scenes for The Rock's birthday celebration.

  

   John Cena went on to win the triple threat match at Extreme Rules against former champ The Miz and John Morrisson to earn his 10th World Championship reign. This is going to spark confrontations from time to time between Cena and The Rock, like the intense scene during The Rock's birthday celebration when Cena explained his gift was the Championship, and that the Championship is what will make their WrestleMania match even bigger. I believe John Cena will hold on to the WWE Championship for a good 4 or 5 months, but I just don't see him holding on to it for a full year like he did in his very first WWE title reign. There are lots of built, athletic superstars in the WWE that are all great candidates to be the Champion of this business.

   Lilian Garcia's amazing voice returned to the WWE to sing the American national anthem at the beginning of May 2nd's Monday Night Raw. It was the start for amazing things to come. There was tremendous matches, humorous skits, and celebrities wishing The Rock a happy birthday in a video on the big screen. The famous hip-hop artist and Miami's own Pitbull made a brief performance near the end of The Rock's opening speech. The audience in Miami was electric even before The Rock made his appearance. I thought it was a great way to get people talking when The Rock commented on the Osama Bin Laden caught and killed situation by saying "The Rock just has one thing to say... we got him". Very strong message.

   As the evening rolled on we saw great performances from Rey Mysterio and Kofi Kingston as they teamed up to have a match against Jack Swagger and Drew McIntyre. Mysterio and Kingston would be exciting to see as Tag Team Champions, however they would have to go through the new Tag Team champions Big Show and Kane. Plus Kofi Kingston just won the United States Championship at Extreme Rules, so it looks like these superstars' storylines don't lead them in that direction. It was nice to finally see Swagger in a match with some young, popular competition. So far it seems like the Jack Swagger and Michael Cole alliance storyline has concluded. Out of it all Michael Cole earned two match victories, but suffered a Rock Bottom on Raw on May 2nd for "interrupting The Rock on his birthday".

  

   Overall I feel that Miami experienced an electrifying Monday Night Raw, The Rock did an outstanding job on keeping the evening interesting as it went on. Also the big scary moment when everyone thought John Cena had lost the WWE title one night after earning it was enough to get the millions... and millions of fans' hearts pumping. After all was said and done it was good to see Cena get some physical revenge on The Miz and Alex Riley. Everything is exciting on Monday Nights.

Images from: http://tribalwrestling.com/
Written by: Tyler McMurter

WWE Draft

   Over the past five years the WWE has held a Draft on Monday Night Raw. Superstars from Raw and Smackdown compete in a series of matches to determine which brand receives a Draft pick. It's a smart way to create matches and skits with WWE superstars that have rarely got the chance to work together. In my opinion whenever the Draft is held, the WWE universe becomes more interested in seeing new rivalries and alliances.

   Another excellent start to another episode of Raw, the last several have been jammed full of excitement. No music, no firworks, just a 20-man battle royal consisting of 10 Raw superstars and 10 Smackdown superstars. The surviving WWE superstar earned a draft pick for his brand. The remaining three Smackdown superstars were Big Show, Kofi Kingston and Cody Rhodes, the remaining three Raw superstars were Mason Ryan, Evan Bourne, and Daniel Bryan. I was amazed by the display of competitive nature and athleticism between Kofi Kingston and Evan Bourne. The two survivors were Smackdown superstars Kofi Kingston and Big Show. This gave Smackdown a draft pick, the WWE universe received an early night shocker when it was announced that 9 time WWE Champion John Cena has been drafted to Smackdown.

   Cena has been signed to Monday Night Raw for 6 years, after he was drafted from Smackdown to Raw in the 2005 WWE Draft. This move immediately dropped the jaws of the WWE fans around the world. However, as Raw kept rolling... we later found out that Cena was drafted back to Raw after Smackdown lost the main event six-man tag team match. I think the WWE did this to get the world thinking what it would be like if Cena returned to where he started his WWE career. It certainly got the world talking. After seeing Rey Mysterio get drafted to Monday Night Raw I was anxious to see Sin Cara and Mysterio form a friendship or a rivalry, but later on Raw Sin Cara was drafted to Smackdown. It's going to be strange to see Randy Orton on a television program other than Raw, the viper has been drafted to Smackdown. The two best WWE superstars today are now on on different brands, John Cena and Randy Orton.

   World Wrestling Entertainment is still currently holding the WWE Draft on WWE.com, the action seems to never stop! For complete news and photos please visit http://www.wwe.com/.





Popular Superstars To Raw:
-Kofi Kingston
-Big Show
-Rey Mysterio

-Alberto Del Rio

-Jack Swagger

-Drew McIntyre

-Tyler Reks

-Chris Masters

-(Diva) Beth Phoenix

-(Diva) Kelly Kelly

Popular Superstars To Smackdown:

-Randy Orton

-Sheamus

-Mark Henry

-Sin Cara

-Ted Dibiase

-The Great Khali

-Daniel Bryan

-(Diva) Natalya

-(Diva) Alicia Fox

*Written by Tyler McMurter

*Images from: http://www.411mania.com/dev/wrestling/news/183624/First-Set-of-WWE-Draft-Results-From-Raw.htm, http://www.wwe.com/, and http://wwerockerx.blogspot.com/.

Raw Pros and Cons

   On April 18th on Monday Night Raw R-Truth kicked things off by surprising me with time on the microphone that actually lasted longer than twenty seconds. However, a much more planned conversation between John Morrisson and R-Truth would have built up more excitement and understanding to the reason why Morrisson interrupted Truth's celebration. The majority of the conversation consisted of them both jumping in at the same time to say something, this confused me of who was in control of the discussion and what was being said. I feel like WWE planned for an eventual implosion of the friendship of these two superstars, which would spark a match of true athleticism. I am assuming it never came around, so they wanted a conflict before the upcoming WWE Draft possibly prevented it from happening.
   I strongly disagree with how R-Truth was taken out of the WWE Championship match at Extreme Rules. I was interested in seeing R-Truth be involved for the title at a Pay-Per-View event, but felt he did not deserve the opportunity. Nobody that didn't have a match at WrestleMania 27 deserves to get a title shot at the next Pay-Per-View. It was short, but I enjoyed seeing R-Truth deep in the title hunt among the big dogs. I don't believe I have ever seen a WWE superstar smoke a cigarette on LIVE television until last night on Raw. I wonder if R-Truth actually smokes cigarettes on a daily basis, and why they would have this unique storyline for this personal feud.
   I would prefer to see John Morrisson become the villain character since he was the one who convinced his former best friend R-Truth to prove he is better than Morrisson by putting the WWE title match slot on the line in a match. R-Truth and John Morrisson have been best friends for over a year, I don't blame R-Truth for his actions after the match knowing the Morrisson only showed his face to try to take away Truth's title opportunity. Also may I remind you all that Morrisson was full of unpleasant comments directed at Truth the entire unprepared conversation.

   World Wrestling Entertainment often likes having long, detailed conversations involving the superstars in the ring to point out the rivalries and their thoughts. This past Monday Night Raw I was absolutely pleased to see a tag team match get started by Sin Cara and John Cena both charging to the ring one after another signalling they want a fight. Like I said before matches with superstars teaming up with complete different styles creates excitement and electricity throughout the arena. It was set, John Cena and Sin Cara vs WWE Champion The Miz and Alex Riley. I didn't expect to see Sin Cara compete among popular superstars for another couple weeks, that would build the hype for when Cara made his climb to the top. Once again another tremendous showing of athleticism by Sin Cara as he picked up the pinfall for his team for him and Cena. The WWE expects perfection in these impossible looking moves, I have not seen a failed stunt by Sin Cara yet.

   I am beginning to believe the WWE is taking a few things too far: The anonymous Raw General Manager and Michael Cole's dialogue. Having a certain GM to know and call the shots adds a touch of excitement to the show, I think the annoying e-mails have gone way too far. Also Michael Cole has a good voice for commentary and as an antagonist character, but he often screams the exact same line a good six or seven times and it gets on my nerves. It's not like the audience at home or in the seats didn't hear you the first five times, move on to another unpleasant line and do your job. And I found absolutely no humor in the skit which consisted Michael Cole being honored by the (fake) Queen of England, as Raw was airing from London, England. It's getting people talking, but when Michael Cole shoved J.R.'s face in Cole's disguisting foot I thought of all the times the WWE has used J.R. as a victim to WWE superstars. Jim Ross should get more respect than he does when he is at ringside.

   I was impressed with the intensity of the crowd during the main event contest between Randy Orton and CM Punk. The WWE universe continues to enjoy watching this rivalry expand it's wings to great lengths. The match was far from short and sweet, this created a chant from the audience similar to how they chant with John Cena... "GTS! RKO! GTS! RKO!". These are the two finisher moves of each superstar. Both superstars are amazing at the characters they play every week so they did not want to give a dominant victory for either one of them, however I feel that takes the excitement out of the entire match. Orton pulled a roll-up pinfall to pick up the win.
   Something tells me that the WWE wanted two 4-man destructive alliance of villains. One for Raw and one for Smackdown. When they announced this to Wade Barrett, Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater I guarantee they wanted to stay on The Nexus instead of starting from scratch on The Corre. Since that wasn't able to happen, I bet they were promised Championship success while playing their roles on Friday Night Smackdown.

*My ears are always open to your comments.
Images from: http://www.wwe.com/shows/raw/2011-04-18/results, http://wwe.mylaunchpad.com.my/superstars/raw/johncena/videos2, and http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rolling-your-eyes-whenever-Michael-Cole-says-And-I-Quote/157266410988886
Written by: Tyler McMurter