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

Down To Business

Monday Night Raw: April 11, 2011
5-man Gauntlet match

   The WWE thought of an amazing way to kick off Raw live in Bridge Port, Connecticut. Having Michael Cole make his entrance with no music to his broadcasting protection structure he likes to refer to as the "Cole Mine", then having the 9 time Champion John Cena's music hit and causing an explosion of both cheers and boos. The young audience is so sensitive to the scripts and characters of the WWE superstars, so to excite them with a sudden appearance by their hero John Cena was enough to nearly blow the roof off the arena. John vowed to win the WWE Championship for the 10th time in his career to make the main event at next year's WrestleMania against The Rock for the richest prize in this business.

John Cena immediately got down to business in regaining the Championship he personally customized in the year 2005 by issuing a challenge towards The Miz for a title match at the upcoming Pay-Per-View "Extreme Rules". However there happened to be a small group of talented young superstars that believed they deserved to get the next WWE title opportunity. Randy Orton, John Morrisson, Dolph Ziggler with Vicki Guerrero, and R-Truth one by one made their way to the ring to each briefly state their case. As always the annonymous Raw General Manager, whom is getting on my nerves, stepped in to resolve the issue with the main event match for the night. A 5-man Gauntlet match was set, where a random draw sets the order, two superstars start in the ring, as soon as someone is submitted, counted out or pinned that superstar is eliminated. That will allow the next competitor to enter the match, the last man standing is named the number 1 contender.
   Although this is a good way to view the performance of these WWE superstars in a short amount of time to decide their character and roles for the next few months. The WWE's knowledge on what the fans want will never stop surprising me, so the WWE does everything they can to make sure they have the most athletic, charismatic, and physical WWE superstars in the spot light. That is why they surprised me with R-Truth being involved in this very important 5-man Gauntlet. He may be loved my the WWE universe, but you shouldn't offer a #1 contender opportunity to a superstar that did not even have a match at WrestleMania. He hasn't won a championship in the WWE since he was apart of the Smackdown roster. It really surprised me when R-Truth eliminated Dolph Ziggler and John Morrisson, then end up being in the main event at Extreme Rules. R-Truth has lots of athletic ability and charisma, keep him in an interesting storyline and give him more roles. One other thing, it would be more exciting to see young superstars fight their case to be the #1 contender by either bragging, explaining their talents, or intimidation... Not state they have never had an WWE title shot. That's not what I wanted R-Truth and Dolph Ziggler say.
   A decisive victory in the 5-man Gauntlet match would have made the WWE Championship match at Extreme Rules more exciting since the challenger earned his opportunity by defeating four opponents, that shows true strength and determination. I still cannot believe that John Cena and R-Truth, two friends with a bond of respect for similar morals ended up getting into a pushing match. Cena easily moved R-Truth across the ring and against the ropes.
   When the main event was announced my guess was Randy Orton was going to be victorious, I didn't expect the rivalry with The New Nexus to continue so soon after WrestleMania. As much as I enjoy disliking Orton despite his character change, I feel he deserves to be involved in the WWE title storylines. The aged fans of World Wrestling Entertainment miss seeing the popular superstars always within finger tips of the WWE Championship. The door has officially opened for the next generation of talent, like The Miz, John Morrisson, Dolph Ziggler, Cody Rhodes, and Kofi Kingston.

Good Old J.R.

   Absolutely impressive show of intensity and anger from Jim Ross. When J.R. made his way to the ring, he showed oustanding anger and the will to inflict pain upon Michael Cole. I didn't know J.R. had the strength in him to move Cole's commentary structure. Jerry "The King" Lawler went 1 on 1 with Jack Swagger, if Lawler wins he gets his rematch against against Michael Cole. Any time I see J.R. or hear his voice I can't help but smile knowing we are listening to a legendary commentator. Josh Mathews did not say a word through the entire match which allowed the folks at home to hear J.R. and Michael Cole screaming accurate instructions as managers from ringside. After Michael Cole stepped up on the apron, J.R. grabbed Cole's foot and pulled him off, causing him to hit his face on the edge of the apron. This caused Jack Swagger to get distracted and try to get his hands on J.R., The King used a classic roll-up pin to pick up the victory. It will now be a tag team match at Extreme Rules, Swagger and Michael Cole vs J.R. and Jerry Lawler. I wonder if Swagger and Cole will be on the same page after Cole slapped Swagger in the face out of frustration of having to be in another WWE match.

Sin Cara

I am looking forward to watching Sin Cara perform every week on Raw and slowly rise through the ranks. Look for him to continue displaying unbelievable looking moves and competing against superstars with low popularity. This should show that he had to start from the bottom and claw his way up, it's going to be an inspiring story in the end. The only thing I didn't like about Sin Cara's match tonight was that his opponent Primo seemed very uncoordinated and sloppy in the ring. If anyone tells me this match looked too scripted, I will make sure they aren't pointing fingers at Sin Cara.

On the upcoming Blog Posts:-An in-depth look at Edge's career and statistics
-Predictions for the next three WrestleMania events
-In my opinion, the top 3 WrestleMania matches of all time

Feel free to share opinions, questions, and statistics with me
Written by: Tyler McMurter
Images downloaded from http://www.google.ca/ from websites like: http://www.thehistoryofwwe.com/ and http://www.jasonrivera.com/

WrestleMania 27 Rundown

*I think that World Wrestling Entertainment does an outstanding job every year on promoting WrestleMania. There are always plenty of exciting attractions, events, and celebrities to look forward to behind the scenes and often in the squared circle. This year's WrestleMania was very special because it gave the opportunity for us to view the performance of returning icons, celebrity appearances, and new, young talent. Let me take you inside the facts and statistics of these superstars.

Undertaker vs Triple H

   This match arguably should have been the main event of the evening. Fans from all over the world tuned in to see the excitement unfold on the weekly episonic shows Raw and Smackdown leading up to WrestleMania. The only way that could have improved the match and it's level of excitement would be if Undertaker defeated The Game with a signature move such as the tombstone piledriver. I think I was one of the many in the WWE universe that could not believe it ended by a submission. The deadman has a reign at WrestleMania that will never be achieved my another WWE superstar again, decimating and brutalizing his opponents to earn a decisive pinfall victory. Over the past five years Undertaker's victories at WrestleMania have stopped being dominant. I still have one question, if Triple H is not the one in 18-1... who is? Who's character after so much success deserves to have this accomplishment?

Feel free to comment and share what you think on any or all of these topics.

*World Heavyweight Championship*
Edge vs Alberto Del Rio

   Last year at WrestleMania 26 the World Heavyweight Championship match was the fourth final match of the night, even a 10-diva tag team match was after the prestigous championship match. This is now two WrestleMania events in a row where the World Heavyweight Championship has not been up for grabs in the one of the final three matches of the night. I completely agree with Renee Paquette and Arda Ocal from the show "Aftermath" on The Score network when they were disappointed with the World Heavyweight Championship match kicking off the night as match number one at WrestleMania 27 on April 3rd this year. They also mentioned that it seems like there is now only one main prize in World Wrestling Entertainment.
   Alberto Del Rio winning the 40-man Royal Rumble match was simply a risky attempt to create a young, cocky, stubborn, arrogant, and tough superstar to slowly rise to the top like John Cena and Randy Orton. So I don't understand why you would kill his WrestleMania championship match moment by having his match kick off the big event. I do agree with Edge successfully defending his title though, it's about time Edge won a World Championship match at WrestleMania. Edge's buddy Captain Charisma played an important role by eliminating big Brodus Clay from the equation.

*WWE Championship*
The Miz vs John Cena

   The constant success and fame at WrestleMania for the all powerful John Cena had to hit a speed bump eventually. After WrestleMania 27 Cena has been involved in 7 WWE Championship matches and has emerged victorious in 5 of those matches. His second loss ever at WrestleMania opened the door for another bright, young superstar The Miz, Miz defeated Cena to win his second Mania match in a row and his first WWE Championship match at Mania. Keep in mind the most electrifying man in all of entertainment had a huge part in the decision, and it was incredible to see The Rock lay the smackdown again. I was impressed with the pace of the match and the powerful moves used by both superstars, very good match. The Miz now has improved his charisma and physique, this is allowing him to be used for more important roles in World Wrestling Entertainment. I see a lot of success down the road for The Miz if he keeps doing his job right, but don't expect him to hold on to the WWE Championship for much longer, though he claims to never lose it.
   I am absolutely estatic about the success in the effort of giving the fans what they want to see by the WWE. The story liners continue to make matches the fans only dreamed of seeing and making it a reality. Like Mr. McMahon vs Shawn Michaels, Mr. McMahon vs Bret Hart, John Cena vs Batista, Undertaker vs Triple H, and now... The Rock vs John Cena. This main event at WrestleMania 28 must have a decisive winner, as well as lots of back and forward high impact, powerful moves. Give the fans what they want, and you may see 85,000 people at the next WrestleMania. However announcing next year's main event might take away some of the excitement in the few months prior to the event, but I think its a risk worth taking. Everyone's jaws dropped when The Rock and John Cena agreed on a match at WrestleMania 28 on the Monday Night Raw right after this year's WrestleMania. This has never happened before, history has been made! It will be interesting to see the excitement and shocking twists through the year, like perhaps a few confrontations, The Rock costing Cena a WWE title, and possibly as tag team partners against antagonist opponents. I'm telling you one thing people, you should be electrified.

Snooki

   The star of Jersey Shore displayed impressive athletic ability in her performance at WrestleMania. Some of the moves she did made her look like a full time active diva on the Raw roster. Snooki led her team to victory by getting the pinfall on former WWE Women's Champion Michelle McCool. I figured that Trish Stratus would not have returned, and Snooki would not have agreed to perform unless a victory was promised in their contracts. I completely agree with Trish Stratus getting another WrestleMania victory, Trish is a 7 time WWE Women's Champion. I was there live at the Air Canada Centre to see her final match against Lita, I also saw John Cena give an attitude adjustment to Edge off a ladder and through two stacked tables that night. Anyways staying on topic... I would be very interested to see Trish and Snooki stay as active divas on the Raw roster. However if this were to happen, Snooki should not receive too much success right away. Look for Trish Stratus to compete on Monday Night Raw from time to time.

Randy Orton vs CM Punk

   Another successful victory at WrestleMania for the future hall of famer Randy Orton. Although I feel CM Punk earned a victory on the grandest stage of them all for his amazing display of charisma and microphone skills, you cannot give a character like Orton a defeat against a character like CM Punk at WrestleMania. Punk is quickly becoming the ultimate antagonist in the WWE, which surprises me because for a while it looked like the 2 time WWE Champion Sheamus was taking that character. Look to see Randy Orton in an important match at next year's WrestleMania 28.
   I enjoyed watching a tag team match on the Monday Night Raw the night after WrestleMania which consisted of Mysterio and Orton vs CM Punk and Rhodes. It was one of the few times I have ever seen Mysterio and Orton on the same page. Come to think of it CM Punk and Cody Rhodes are two very different characters as well. The fans react to the excitement of matches more when the superstars involved are a rare combination to see. Cody Rhodes is getting better and better every week at becoming the kind of superstar who gets important roles, and Mysterio is a high flying machine so there was plenty of excitement. Randy Orton would end up getting a pinfall on Cody Rhodes to give him and Rey Mysterio the victory on Raw.

Rey Mysterio vs Cody Rhodes

   Arda Ocal from the show "Aftermath" on The Score network stated a week before WrestleMania that he was looking forward to the Mysterio vs Rhodes match the most. Arda really knocked that one out of the park, this match was so exciting, so innovative it really had me paying attention and getting pumped about the end result. When Cody Rhodes first came to Monday Night Raw, he was a quiet character looking to prove himself to veterans like Hardcore Holly and Randy Orton. For a while things were looking up for Cody Rhodes as he won multiple Tag Team Championships with partners like Ted Debiase and Randy Orton. However after those storylines, Cody has not been offered any major roles or characters. The young superstar had his first WrestleMania match at WrestleMania 26, but was defeated in a triple threat match to his former mentor Randy Orton. Cody Rhodes has developed this character where he only cares about himself and how good he performs. That's why when Rey Mysterio injured Cody's face which required Cody to get plastic surgery and wear a clear mask, he took it to heart and he has become a dark, angry superstar full of emotion and physicality. So far it's bringing out a superstar in him that he some day wants to be.
   Although Rey Mysterio used high flying skills, Cody Rhodes managed to earn his first WrestleMania victory using the Cross Rhodes move. His creativity and charisma improves with every important role he gets. The Monday Night Raw the night after WrestleMania, Rhodes spent the majority of his tag team match in the ring. He showed impressive skill in the ring to make a realistic fight atmosphere. However Orton and Mysterio defeated CM Punk and Cody Rhodes by an RKO from the Viper.

Jerry 'The King' Lawler vs Michael Cole

   It is about time the WWE Hall of Famer got his dream, a match at WrestleMania. However it wasn't the kind of match he would have liked to have, his opponent was an arrogant commentator whom had minimum skill in the ring. Stone Cold Steve Austin as the special guest referee was a smart way to create excitement, without him delivering a few stunners to a few unlucky men the audience would have had nothing to cheer about. Not to mention that the outcome was a shocker of stupidity. It was obvious that the Texas Rattlesnake would be more involved than just as a referee, so to have the anonymous Raw General Manager e-mail a laptop and explain that Michael Cole is the actual winner due to interference by the WWE official was simply ridiculous. Why would you give a WrestleMania victory to a commentator than a WWE Hall of Famer? Come on! The only exciting thing that brought a smile to my face was seeing Booker T and commentator Josh Mathews receive a stunner from Stone Cold. Watch for plenty of exciting challenges for the Tough Enough contestants, as Austin 3:16 is calling the shots as the host.

Keep in mind...

-A challenge was issued on an episode of Monday Night Raw that took place before WrestleMania by Daniel Bryan. It was directed at Sheamus regarding a match for the WWE United States Championship. His answer was no words, just a big kick to the face by Sheamus. I was shocked to not see this match take place at WrestleMania.
-I think Jack Swagger needs to learn some new ways to show charisma for his kind of character, that's why he did not have a match at WrestleMania.
-A late change to the 8-man tag team match at WrestleMania, Vladimir Kozlov is a large man that is often viewed as poorly coordinated. I believe he was removed from the match to open a slot for the young, athletic, exciting, Kofi Kingston. I feel the match should have been much longer with a faster pace, regardless of the fact that large athletes like Kane and Big Show were competing.
-R-Truth, Jack Swagger, Sheamus, Evan Bourne, and Daniel Bryan are five superstars that should have had a match at WrestleMania 27.
-Look for improved success from John Morrisson, The Miz, Cody Rhodes, CM Punk, and Rey Mysterio.

All photos were uploaded at www.google.ca. Please feel free to share your opinion with me, ask questions, and tell me some predictions. Thanks for reading.

Written by: Tyler McMurter

Saturday April 9th, 2011