1.2.12 is Chris Jericho - and here's why.

Chris Jericho's WWF debut saw a countdown clock leading up to his debut.  There was no code to break or anything to figure out - it just forced you to sit and wait for the clock to hit zero in order to find out what it was for.

When he returned in 2007, we had a code that was meant for viewers to break.  It wasn't extremely difficult but if you weren't computer savvy or smart enough to realize that letters can be given number associations, you didn't know what it was and again, you just waited for it to happen.

In 2011, we have been given new promos and if they are for Chris Jericho, they certainly aren't going to be a countdown or some alphanumeric code for you to try breaking.  Jericho is an evolving character that hates being repetitive.  In 2011, the itbegins series is a series of symbolic representations of Chris Jericho and his first target when he returns on January Second.  In this post, I explain everything.

Wrestling Podcast: TWitWoW

In what might be my greatest wrestling-related internet endeavor yet, a great friend of mine (if you're familiar with my YouTube account, you know him from BeerMoney2K) named John and I shot an hour and a half intro to a podcast that we're planning on doing weekly.  Every saturday, be sure to watch for another episode of TWitWoW, better known as This Week in the World of Wrestling.  This is a Wrestling podcast made by fans, for fans.

My 4-Month Prior Wrestlemania XXVIII Dream Card

It's been one month since my last Dream Wrestlemania XXVIII Card and most of my matches have changed.  Have I mentioned before that my thoughts are very flexible - very little is 100% rigid.  I've been doing a lot of YouTube work lately, so if you haven't yet, be sure to check out my channel and my videos by clicking the link just below the main banner at the top of the page.  I'm going to continue this Wrestlemania Series every single month forever - on Wrestlemania Sunday, it'll go from "Dream Card" to "Predictions", but even in May I'll throw out an 11-month Prior Wrestlemania XXIX Dream Card post.

Why do they call it a Series if there's only one a year and no continuity?

After almost two hours of staring at a blank screen, I'm beginning to type this post at 12:31 am.  I think I'm beginning to realize just how inconsequential Survivor Series looks on paper, and how much better it could have been with a few tweaks here and there.  The biggest match (again, on paper) is Rock/Cena vs Awesome Truth, but how big is that match going to be, really?  If Rock/Cena win, nobody will be surprised, Awesome Truth won't stop terrorizing babyfaces (and referees) on Raw, and nothing will have mattered, just like Cena's firing last year.  If Awesome Truth win cleanly, it'd elevate them, sure, but nobody would buy it and it would make the main event at Wrestlemania look subpar.  If Awesome Truth win by cheating (or due to their opponents imploding), nobody will care because it doesn't make anybody look any better and Awesome Truth will just have one more thing to brag about for no reason at all.  At the end of the day, there are very few ways to make this match interesting, but believe it or not, I do believe I have found the best way.

My 5-Month Prior Wrestlemania XXVIII Dream Card

The Rock vs John Cena is already a given, but what other matches do I see happening at Wrestlemania?  This is not a prediction, or even a fantasy booking to the fullest degree.  This is just me telling you how huge Wrestlemania 28 has the potential to be.  This is in no particular order.

1. The Rock vs John Cena (obviously) - most likely a 13-18 minute match with Cena going over & finally earning The Rock's respect.
2. The Undertaker (c) vs Daniel Bryan - not a guarantee to happen, but after reading my last post, how could you possibly deny the potential to create a new star here?
3. CM Punk (c) vs Dolph Ziggler - name another heel not named Alberto Del Rio who could possibly give Punk a bigger run for his money on Raw right now.  I can't.
4. Chris Jericho vs Randy Orton - Jericho is coming back.  I see him returning at the Royal Rumble and eliminating Orton to spark a feud between the two dating back to the punt heard 'round the world.
5. Sheamus vs Wade Barrett - Two European superstars that the WWE has finally chosen which of the two they want to be a babyface, on the same brand.  This is, as Del Rio would say, DESTINY.
6. D-Generation X vs Awesome Truth - This is a Dream Card, not a "most likely to happen" card.  Miz and Truth somehow cheat their way into a victory over Cena/Rock at SS and Triple H needs to call a buddy to help him take out the trash.
7. Mark Henry and Alberto Del Rio vs Big Show and Kane - Think about it.  Del Rio runs over Show.  Henry inducts Kane and Show into the Hall of Pain.  This is the only way I can think of to fit Del Rio onto the card without putting him in a title match that makes sense.
8. John Morrison and Kofi Kingston vs Cody Rhodes and Christian - kind of a showcase match that fits the last relevant guys (in my mind) onto the card, and fits them well.  If Morrison isn't still around at this point, give Christian a turn (Edge showing up and giving him a pep talk in the middle of the ring could achieve that in a matter of 5 minutes) and make this Christian vs Cody one on one.
9. Zack Ryder vs Mike "The Situation" - It's being built up on ZTLIS and I needed to find some kind of stupid celebrity match to fit into the card just because it's STILL Wrestlemania.  Throw Big O in Zack's corner and some other random Jersey Shore guy in there in Mike's corner and you've got a fitting freak show.

Obviously this is way too far ahead of time to even remotely resemble what Wrestlemania will actually look like, but hey, if this was the card, I'd buy the show, even for the extra $10.

The Undertaker vs Daniel Bryan at Wrestlemania: Making it Happen

There are two sides to this story.  First of all, The Undertaker needs to return and win both the Royal Rumble and the World Heavyweight Championship before Wrestlemania.  This would cause the Royal Rumble win to become null and Daniel Bryan would be able to go one on one with him for the title by cashing in the Money in the Bank briefcase.  The second side to the story is simply making it believable.  Can this vegan nerd with no TV in his house end the streak?  If you'd ask anybody in their right minds today, the answer is absolutely not.  That's where the creativity comes into play: we need to build a ruthless, aggressive, submission machine with what we have in Daniel Bryan.  This post will be my fantasy booking that will lead to The Undertaker's last ever Wrestlemania match, and Daniel Bryan's FIRST ever World Heavyweight Championship.

Vengeance will be...few and far between.

I'm pretty much going to come right out and say it: it was difficult for me to get inspired to make this Vengeance post.  Not because I'm losing my passion; no, that's something that will never die.  But because Vengeance just seems like such an irrelevant PPV in my eyes.  It has a touch of irony to it, too, because I honestly don't see many of the people going into this PPV screaming "VENGEANCE WILL BE MINE" actually winning.  Mark Henry is saying Vengeance will be his, but as far as the storyline goes, Big Show is seeking vengeance WAY more than Henry.  That being said, I find it unfortunate that the WWE has 8 matches scheduled for this PPV.  It makes it feel even more insignificant and not worth buying than it already did, and that says a lot.  I've loved that the WWE has recently adopted the mindset that PPVs are better with fewer matches - for a long time there people were saying that WWE PPVs felt like nothing more than expensive episodes of Raw.  For the last couple of PPVs, there have been fewer matches on the card, the matches get more time, and longer matches feel more important than any match Raw can offer.  This PPV might not feel the same, but I still feel like with good time distribution, the matches that mean the most will still feel at least somewhat important.

The WWE's Developmental System is the Root of ALL of its problems

As much as I love the CM Punk character and his mission for change in the WWE, there is no change that will fix the true issue, at the core of the WWE: The Developmental System. Look back to the years from (I'd say) 1996 to 2005-ish. This time period saw the popularity of Pro Wrestling at an all-time high.  Why? Because until WWE bought WCW, there was competition, and after WWE bought WCW, the WWE had a massively deep roster. Everybody felt like they were, could be, or had at one point been a Main Eventer, and it kept them relevant and made even mid-card storylines matter.

John Morrison's Future Endeavors

If you haven't heard, John Morrison has a contract that is soon going to run out.  If the WWE re-signs him, that's wonderful, both for him and for the big 'E.  Morrison is a very talented athlete, and could undoubtedly be groomed into a top draw if given the opportunity.  There's something very Shawn Michaels-esque about his character.  If the WWE would put some effort into emphasizing his strengths - his athletic talent and his willingness to use his body as a weapon - he could turn into the next Jeff Hardy (without the drugs), or better yet, the next Shawn Michaels.  Michaels was never a great promo cutter.  He was articulate most of the time, but Mick Foley he was not.  Michaels is (and always was) a gifted athlete who worked his ass off to make sure the audience got what they paid for.  And that's what Morrison is - or, at the very least, can turn out to be.

Favorite Wrestler?

For those of you who don't follow me on twitter or subscribe to my channel on youtube, first of all, go do that now.  The links are at the top of the site right below the title.  Done?  Great.  Now, for those of you who haven't kept up with me until now, I haven't always been the "favorite wrestler" kind of guy.  I just appreciate great storylines and enjoy using my creative side to see what different kinds of paths can be constructed out of everything going on in the world of wrestling.  As of late, though, I've been finding myself cheering for one guy more than anybody else: Dolph Ziggler.

PPV Autumn: How I would Book It

As far as PPV Autumn, that's just the cool name that I came up with in reference to the 9 week period from September to November in which the WWE holds 4 PPVs.  That's right: 4 PPVs in 9 weeks.  Fairly ridiculous in my opinion, but at the same time I don't think I'll end up having bought more than one, if even that.  This post is a compilation of interweaving storylines that are going on now, how I would book them, and what I think should happen with the overall landscape of the WWE up to and including Survivor Series.  This is obviously all bound to change as WWE programming goes on, as unless they do literally everything I say they SHOULD do, I'm going to have a different landscape to start with.

In addition, I got tickets to the November 21st Raw at the Giant Center in Hershey.  It's the show after Survivor Series so hopefully it'll have some great fallout and maybe even start a Wrestlemania Storyline!  If you're going to be there, definitely leave a comment saying so - I love meeting other wrestling fans.

Night of Chairmen (and Punks)

Wait just a second, that's not the name of the pay per view!  It's Night of Champions!  Oh please, you and I both know that the selling point of this PPV is the Punk/HHH match.  That's the match that's gotten the most attention over the past month and that's the match that has sold the most tickets and will sell the most PPV buys. The sad part is that, even if I wanted to name the highest drawing match next to the Punk/HHH match...I don't think I'd be able to do it.  It's a pretty clear cut two way tie, but Orton/Henry has been built up far better than Cena/Del Rio, and people actually see Mark Henry as a legitimate obstacle for Orton, where Del Rio is just another notch in John Cena's ring post...but at the same time, Cena sells tickets by being on the card more than Orton, and it isn't even close.  So which one is a better match?  I'll let you judge that, but it's my job to predict how the storylines are going to play out tonight.

"He's Pulling a Triple H"

The title of this topic is a direct quote from my twitter from last night.  I really enjoy tweeting during Monday Night Raw and PPVs (basically any live televised wrestling show) because it feels a lot more engaging than just watching and talking about what happened after it's all over. If you have a twitter, follow me, tell me who you are, and I'll gladly follow you back so we can live tweet during Raw in the coming weeks!

My Twitter: @aPond404

That being said, something has really been urking me that I feel like I need to get off my chest, and it is regarding Triple H.  It isn't EXCLUSIVELY about Triple H, but it's got to do with a really just plain unprofessional act that he seems to have originated that has been picked up and abused since he started doing it, almost to the point that it is now not seen as terribly unprofessional as it really is.  What am I talking about?  Well, to put it quite simply, I call it "pulling a Triple H".

Dual Booking: Sin Cara vs Sin Cara, Daniel Bryan Heel Turn

In my last State of the WWE post, I addressed the signs of Daniel Bryan turning heel over the next few months.  If you didn't catch that post, check it out [ here ].  To sum things up, I feel like there are a lot of signs that Daniel Bryan is going to be turning heel over the next few months.  My original list of reasons were: the beard, losing streak, heelish tendencies, MitB briefcase, four relevant face rule, and in-ring talent.  At the same time, I said that Sin Cara might be turning heel, but at the same time, addressed that it is more likely that this is more likely an angle to setup a Sin Cara vs Impostor Sin Cara feud.  The Sin Cara vs Impostor Sin Cara feud is going to be my catalyst to turn Daniel Bryan heel.

The State of the WWE as of 8/31/11

This is going to be a long post, but I'm going to be using a font size hierarchy so that if you don't want to read the really specific stuff, just don't read the small text.  The WWE right now technically has four brands: Raw, Smackdown, Superstars and NXT.  In this post I'm going to be addressing Raw and Smackdown in separate sections, and then Superstars and NXT will both be in one section towards the end.  So if you don't care about the C and D shows, they're at the end and easily ignored.  Convenient, right?  My Power Rankings at the beginning of each brand are top 9, simply for the sake of aesthetics.  That damn 10 looks so chunky below all those single digit numbers.

Welcome to PWB

I'm not here to give people any big stories or find the next big exclusive.  I'm not even here to rate matches with stars; that's for marks.  I am here to offer my opinion on the state of Professional Wrestling.  I'm not even limiting it to just what's going on today; I might occasionally get the urge to post something about Pro Wrestling's past.  I have been watching Pro Wrestling since 1996, when I was a mere six years old, and I've been intensely passionate about the business ever since.  I learned some of the inner workings of the business around the time that "Beyond the Mat" came out.  You know, the movie that goes inside the lives of Jake Roberts, Mick Foley and Terry Funk.  When I saw Foley and Rock discussing spots before their big I Quit match that I marked out so passionately for when it happened, it all clicked.