http://www.ewrestlingnews.com/community/blog.php?10679-steve_wonder Wrestling News and Discussion - eWrestlingNews.com Community en Wed, 22 May 2013 00:50:33 GMT vBulletin 10 http://www.ewrestlingnews.com/community/images/misc/rss.jpg http://www.ewrestlingnews.com/community/blog.php?10679-steve_wonder http://www.ewrestlingnews.com/community/entry.php?44099-WWSD-Blog-3-Armageddon-for-Team-Hell-No! Tue, 20 Nov 2012 01:28:23 GMT Hey Guys! It feels like I wrote my last blog many, many years ago now, and I apologise that it has been such a delay in getting here. I’m currently a... Hey Guys! It feels like I wrote my last blog many, many years ago now, and I apologise that it has been such a delay in getting here. I’m currently a screenwriting student, and as such film and TV have been taking allof my creative writing time! But I have a few spare moments now, and I felt inspired to write so here goes – hope you enjoy!

Over the past year, I have to say I have been pretty frustrated with the short-sightedness of WWE storylines. Brock Lesnar’s return has ultimately been disappointing thanks to the short term decision to have him lose to Cena (see my previous blog for my more detailed thoughts on that :P),and Ryback’s push has been weakened by the short term decision to put him into the WWE Championship picture that had a conflicting, long-term storyline (maybe I’ll blog about that later!). However, I don’t think it’s all doom and gloom at Titan Towers just yet, and one of the major things that has made me think that is the emergence of the tag team division once again, and more importantly the creation of one of the funniest double acts in WWE, maybe even television, history - Daniel Bryan and Kane, Team Hell No!

When it started out, I was sceptical, but the chemistry and the skill of both men has made this one of the most refreshing story-lines in along time. But, like all good things, it has to come to an end sometime, and this is how I, in my purely hypothetical role as a WWE writer, would go about doing that...

It is no secret that, whilst they are effective and get the job done, Kane and Daniel Bryan do not get along. For weeks now, both of themhave proclaimed ‘I am the Tag Team Champions’, and there is a clear lack ofcohesion between them. This continues to escalate until TLC, where they retain their tag team titles in a tables match thanks to Daniel Bryan putting (forsake of argument) Darren Young through a table before being put through a table by Kane for good measure.

The following night on Raw, Bryan comes to the ring and tells us he’s had enough. He’s fed up with Kane, he’s fed up with Team Hell No,and he’s fed up of sharing the belts with Kane. Since he is the Tag Team Champions, he wants Kane stripped of his half of the title, and wants it to go to a partner of his choice. This brings out Kane, who initially says he is hurt by Daniel’s comments, before saying that he is the Tag Team Champions, and that he wants Bryan’s half of the title to give to a partner of his choice. They argue back and forth until Vickie Guerrero comes out to regain order. She tells them that both have claimed to be the Tag Team Champions, but neither one has proved it. Now, both men will compete to win the other partner’s belt to give to another superstar of their choosing. They won’t compete against each otherthough – they will compete with each other. The first person to get 10 ‘falls’in tag team matches will be declared the winner, and the true Tag Team Champions, starting tonight with a Tag Team Championship match. Both men agree to the challenge, and the hunt is on.

Later that night, Team Hell No defends the titles against The Usos, with Bryan and Kane both jockeying to be the man who gets the pin-fall or submission. In the end, Kane chokeslams Bryan and pins an Uso to go 1-0 up. Bryan looks pissed off, Kane looks triumphant.

Backstage, the next week on Raw, Daniel Bryan is seen talking to William Regal, when they are interrupted by Kane. It is revealed that, should Bryan win the contest, Regal will be his new partner, and they will be the Tag Team Champions. They ask who Kane has picked, and he introduces...Tony Chimel! Bryan and Regal are in disbelief, but according to Kane, ‘Tony has a mean right hand’. Tony looks a little scared, not really having much choice as Kane has made up his mind. Later that night, Hell No compete again, and once again Kane beats Bryan to the fall – 2-0 Kane.

Another week and another tag team match for Hell No. Kane is winding up for the chokeslam, but as he does so, Regal pops up on the apron, brass-knuckles in hand and hits Kane, allowing Bryan to get the tag and the pin-fall to bring him back into the game – 2-1 Kane. Kane is enraged backstage,and since he is not able to find a hiding Bryan and Regal, he takes out his frustration on Chimel – ‘Where were you Tony?!’ Tony can’t speak he’s so terrified, and Kane storms out through a hole he’s made in the wall.

The last Raw before the Royal Rumble and we have another Hell No tag team match. As the match draws to its conclusion, Regal once again hops up on the apron with a loaded right hand to repeat last week’s winning antics. However, this time, a ringside Tony Chimel jumps onto the apron and rather awkwardly pulls Regal down, foiling Bryan and Regal’s plan and handing Kane the pin-fall – 3-1 Kane. Bryan and Regal are furious, but Kane is delighted, and rather impressed with Chimel, who looks suitably pleased with himself as well. Maybe he could be a champion after all...

At Royal Rumble, Hell No defend the Tag Team Titles in afour team, elimination tag team match (so 3 falls up for grabs). Withsurprising speed, Bryan manages to eliminate the first team, much to the shock of Kane who couldn’t move fast enough to prevent it – 3-2 Kane. Bryan tries his hardest to avoid tagging in Kane, knowing he could get the next fall, but eventually he finds himself in the corner and Kane tags himself in. Regal and Bryan do their best to distract Kane, but he doesn’t buy into their ploy and he easily eliminates the second team – 4-2 Kane. A member of the final team charges in to try and catch Kane off guard, but he in turn eats a rather quick chokeslam. Bryan charges the ring, seeing that Kane could get the final fall, but Tony Chimel stands in his path, bouncing him away from the ring and allowing Kane to get the 3-count and retain the titles – 5-2 Kane. Bryan and Regal have once again been frustrated by the quickly gelling duo of Kane and Chimel.

The night after on Raw, Hell No face another challenge, andonce again Kane looks to be in control. However, with both Regal and Chimel inHell No’s corner, Regal grabs Chimel and threatens to hit him with the brassknuckles. This draws a rather protective Kane over to his corner to tell Regalto back off, but this only allows Bryan to make the blind tag. He dropkicksKane out of the ring, nails the No! Lock on his unwitting opponent and gets thefall – 5-3 Kane. Kane quickly returns to the ring, but Bryan and Regal havescarpered looking pretty pleased with themselves. Kane is angry, but he makes sure to leave with his new best friend Tony Chimel.

Later that week on Main Event, a tag team match is announced as The Miz and Kofi Kingston vs. Wade Barrett and Antonio Cesaro. Backstage, Regal is seen talking to Cesaro about European culture, and Regal tells him of a ‘cracking Swiss cheese shop’ nearby that they should look at. Cesaro leaves with Regal before his match, seemingly leaving Wade Barrett partner-less for the night. When the match starts, Daniel Bryan comes to the ring and announces that he will step in to take Cesaro’s place and help Barrett in the match. It’s a back and forth encounter, and just as Barrett is setting up for the finish, Bryan tags himself in and gets the fall, much to Barrett’s confusion. As Bryan explains – there is a loophole in the Tag Team Title contest between himself and Kane. The contract states that the person with 10 tag team falls will win the titles, not exclusively tag team matches including Hell No. So, importantly, his victory tonight earns him a point in the contest – 5-4 Kane. On Smackdown that same week, Bryan repeats the trick and ends up in a random tag team match, waiting on the apron the whole match until his partner hits his finisher where he tags in and takes the fall – 5-5.

Monday night again, and this time Vickie decides that she wants to see how well the ‘new teams’ work together in a match. She sets Daniel Bryan & William Regal vs. Tyson Kidd & Justin Gabriel, and Kane & Tony Chimel vs. Primo and Epico. In the first match, as Kane and Chimel watch on, Regal manages to gain the upper hand, landing a running knee. He goes to tag in Bryan so he can get the pin, but before he can get there Tony Chimel begins to choke on a hot-dog he’s eating on the outside. This is enough to distract the referee, allowing Kane into the ring to chokeslam both Regal and Bryan. With both out cold, Kane goes to drag Gabriel over Regal, but has second thoughts and ends up dragging Regal over Gabriel before leaving the ring. With Chimel ‘ok’, the referee turns into the pin and counts the fall, with Regal getting it instead of Bryan. Kane laughs devilishly as he leaves with Chimel. Chimel giggles.

Later, in Chimel’s first ever WWE match, Kane tags in Chimel who manages to somehow keep Epico at bay, more through luck than judgement. Fed up, Kane gets in and chokeslams Epico before returning to the corner, awaiting the tag. Chimel on the other hand, lets his imagination get the better of him, and seeing that he could get his first ever pin-fall, goes for the cover. Kane immediately gets in the ring and pulls him off, telling Tony to ‘remember the plan’. After getting a little over—excited, Chimel tags in Kane who delivers one last chokeslam and gets the definitive 3-count – 6-5 Kane.

On NXT, Bryan offers to mentor one of the young superstars, even going so far as to tag with him later in the show. The match is set, and Bryan gets the fall – 6-6. He repeats the trick again on Main Event to make it 7-6 Bryan, but when he goes to repeat it on Smackdown, it is revealed that the opposing team has a late replacement – Kane! With both men on opposite teams now, they fight back and forth until eventually Kane hits the chokeslam on Bryan’s partner and gets the fall – 7-7 at the end of an action-packed week for Bryan!

The next week on Raw, Vickie is concerned that she’s seen enough of Hell No fighting against each other, and that from now on they will compete together until the contest is over. That starts tonight, when they face the team of... William Regal & Tony Chimel! The match is filled with inter-team collaboration, as Regal ‘lies down’ for Bryan only to be interrupted by Kane, and for Chimel to do the same for Kane only to be interrupted by Bryan. It goes back and forth until Kane throws Chimel onto both Regal and Bryan on the outside, brings him back into the ring and pins him for the fall – 8-7 Kane. Chimel is hailed a hero for being so brave, but he is so dazed and confused he doesn’t really know what’s going on. In the back, it turns out that Tony Chimel suffered a concussion after being thrown over the ropes onto Bryan and Regal, and as such needs to take time off to recover, leaving Kane isolated and alone.

On Main Event and Smackdown later that week, the Tag Team Champions are again in action, but in both situations Regal and Bryan manage to work together to get the better of Kane and get the falls in both matches – 9-8 Bryan.

The last Raw before Elimination Chamber, and Bryan is on the cusp of winning the Tag Team Championships. Hell No are scheduled for tag team action, and sure enough Bryan and Regal once again double team Kane in an attempt to distract him into losing the fall. However, just as it looks like Bryan is going to win, Tony Chimel appears from out of nowhere and stops him, distracting him long enough for Kane to make the tag, get the pin and level the scores at 9-9. Bryan is furious, but Kane is delighted that Chimel is back and celebrates with him in the ring.

With the scores tied at 9-9, we head into Elimination Chamber, where the Tag Team Titles are on the line against No. 1 Contenders The Prime-Time Players. No matter what happens tonight, we will see new Tag Team Champions crowned and it will be the end of Hell No. It’s a back and forth match, and one which Bryan and Kane both come close to winning on a number of occasions. Regal and Chimel both try to help their partners, but with no luck. Chimel’s concussion seemingly comes back to haunt him, which is enough time for Kane to become distracted and allow Bryan into the match. It looks as if Bryan is about to cover Darren Young to get the last fall when suddenly, from out of nowhere, Titus O’Neill drops him with a chair, Darren Young springs up from ‘playing possum’ and he covers Daniel Bryan to get the 3 count and win the Tag Team Titles! Stunned, dazed and confused, Kane, Bryan, Regal and Chimel can’t quite believe what they are seeing. All of the bickering and in-fighting between themselves has cost them everything, with The Prime-Time Players wisely capitalising on this discord with a smart strategy. Both Kane and Bryan snap, destroying the ringside area in a display that even concerns their partners, who make their exit and leave them to it. United in their rage, Bryan and Kane share one last moment in the ring, before each storming off in different ways either side of the ramp.

The following night on Raw, Bryan blames Kane for the loss, saying that he got distracted by his ‘pet’ Tony Chimel and that cost them the match. Kane claims it was Bryan who cost them the match by being pinned. Vickie suggests that after their loss of temper, she has brought back Dr. Shelby for some more anger management lessons. Bryan and Kane refuse to go that week, but the next week on Raw, Vickie threatens to fire both of them if they don’t attend. Reluctantly they agree, but both don’t do well. In fact, in the session the week after, both snap again and destroy the meeting room.

The next week on Raw, Bryan and Kane finally agree on something. They agree that the only way to settle this once and for all is with a one-on-one match at Wrestlemania XXIX.

At the big event itself, Kane and Bryan have a back and forth match, with both men pushing each other to the limit. Both Regal and Chimel attempt early on to get involved, but both are neutralised and quickly forgotten about as this is about Kane and Bryan finally settling a near year-long rivalry. At the end, Kane refuses to tap out to the No! Lock, before picking Bryan up and chokeslamming him for the 3-count and the win. Post-match, Bryan looks annoyed with himself, but he also has to respect his worthy opponent. He offers the handshake to Kane, who looks at the hand for a moment before opening up his arms for a hug. Reluctantly, Bryan gives Kane one last hug for the ‘Wrestlemania moment’ to end this rivalry on the grandest stage of them all.

So there we have it. As with all of my blogs so far it seems, I apologise for the marathon read. If you’ve made it this far, I thank you wholeheartedly for giving me your time. Any comments, criticisms or opinions are welcomed below. Until next time, take care but more importantly have fun! Hwyl! ]]> steve_wonder http://www.ewrestlingnews.com/community/entry.php?44099-WWSD-Blog-3-Armageddon-for-Team-Hell-No! http://www.ewrestlingnews.com/community/entry.php?41507-WWSD-Blog-2-3-Rock-Brock-Cena-and-WM-XXIX-The-Final-Run-In Thu, 19 Apr 2012 14:42:08 GMT Previously, I have written about how I would book Brock Lesnar, John Cena and The Rock from now until the Royal Rumble 2013. Now I am going to draw... Previously, I have written about how I would book Brock Lesnar, John Cena and The Rock from now until the Royal Rumble 2013. Now I am going to draw all of these paths together into the build up for Wrestlemania XXIX. If you haven't done so already, it is probably a good idea to go back and read the previous three instalments of this blog, as this entry won't make sense without the foundations that they lay!! If you have read those previous blogs, lets get to it...

The Run-In – Brock, Rock and Cena

We arrive at the Royal Rumble and everything is set as we get ready for the first step on the Road To Wrestlemania XXIX. Brock Lesnar is in a WWE Title match against someone new, in keeping with his latest gimmick of making open challenges to people and no-one stepping up. For argument's sake, let's say it's R-Truth. Again, this match follows a similar suit. Truth does manage to gain some offence, but Brock is still his dominant self and still comes out of the match as the WWE Champion. He laughs and shakes his head as he leaves – another day, another wasted challenge.

John Cena has a match against the World Heavyweight Champion - none other than..... Cody Rhodes! Having beaten Cena in their previous feud, Rhodes went on to challenge for the World Heavyweight Title and won, holding the gold for a good few months heading into the Rumble. The build up has been as you would expect – Rhodes telling Cena that he’s already beaten him in recent months, and that he is the new poster-boy of Smackdown; Cena tells Rhodes that that was then, and this is now, and that he has gotten bigger and better since the last time they faced off. They have the match at the Rumble, and after a gruelling battle, Cena capitalises on a mistake by Rhodes, gets the 1..2..3 and becomes the new World Heavyweight Champion! He’s climbed back to the top of the mountain, after 10 months of soul searching and digging down deep and it’s finally paid off. Cena celebrates like it’s his first world title, showing how much it means to him to be back on top of the WWE.

This just leaves the Royal Rumble match itself, the showpiece of this PPV. It starts off in usual fashion – some old faces coming back, some comedy skits, some spots, people standing out from the crowd etc. Then, around the 20-man mark, we’re awaiting our next entrant and –

IF YA SMELLLLL! It’s The Rock! Unannounced (but entirely not unexpected) as an entrant in the Rumble match. He comes down to the ring and starts clearing house. He’s tossing people out and he is electrifying the WWE Universe like no other. The match continues and we start getting to the latter numbers. We get down to the final two – The Rock and Randy Orton for that headline spot at Wrestlemania. They go back and forth, it looks like Orton is going to throw The Rock out, only for The Rock to counter. It keeps going like this until from out of nowhere The Rock launches Orton over the top with Herculean strength, so Randy can’t hold on and he hits the floor, leaving The Rock as the winner of the 2013 Royal Rumble and giving him the title match he so desperately wanted on the grandest stage of them all.

The next night on Raw, The Rock is out smiling and celebrating. Finally! The Rock has his title match, and at Wrestlemania he will become champion again. But the question everyone has been asking since his win last night is which title will he go for at Wrestlemania. Will it be Brock Lesnar for the WWE Title, or will it be John Cena in a Wrestlemania XXVIII rematch for the World Heavyweight Title. The Rock says this is a massive decision, and that he still has to make up his mind. “You’ll know when The Rock has made up his mind.” The Rock leaves the ring, and we have one more backstage segment before he’s off again – HHH asking The Rock how he managed to get into the Rumble when he wasn’t a scheduled to be in the match, and The Rock replying that he “called in a favour from a friend” who gave him his spot, showing none other than Mick Foley, just to continue that thread (possibly tease a Wrestlemania retirement match between those two, who knows?!).

In the build up to Elimination Chamber we have the inevitable question being asked – who is The Rock going to choose to face at Wrestlemania? Will he choose Brock Lesnar, the man who beat him for his first title back at SummerSlam 2002? Or will he choose John Cena, the man who he beat at last year’s Wrestlemania and who he really doesn’t like? In this time we hear from both Lesnar and Cena, and both obviously want The Rock to face him at Wrestlemania. Lesnar makes the case that he’s beaten everyone else on the roster, and he wants to take out the big one on the grandest stage of them all. He wants to beat “The Great One” to round off the set in glorious fashion before he leaves with the WWE Championship when his contract expires. Cena makes the case that he needs to face The Rock. His match with Rocky at Wrestlemania XXVIII set him off on a path to rediscover himself, and now, one year on, he needs this match with The Rock to prove that he is back. It is the only way that he can round off the comeback, the poetic way to come full circle and cement his place once again at the top of the WWE. He needs this more than Lesnar, so that’s why The Rock should choose to face him at Wrestlemania. Thrown in with this you have interactions/interruptions from the other competitors in the Elimination Chamber matches, teasing that if Brock and Cena continue to be distracted by The Rock, they might not even make it to Wrestlemania as champions. Maybe tease Randy or CM Punk winning the Raw chamber match; Cody or Christian winning Smackdown’s and make quite a chaotic feel in the go-home shows for Elimination Chamber.

At the PPV itself, we all know who’s going to come out as champions. The World Heavyweight Title match kicks us off, and although all the participants put up a good fight, when the dust clears it is still John Cena holding the title and still in contention for the match with The Rock at Wrestlemania. In the main event, Lesnar defends his title in the Raw chamber match and it goes right down to the wire. With us down to the final two, it’s Orton vs. Lesnar. They battle back and forth until Lesnar makes a mistake – he goes to spear Orton through one of the pods, only for Randy to duck and Lesnar to throw himself through it. This makes Lesnar groggy, and when he gets into the ring he’s hit by and RKO and it looks to be all over. He makes the cover and 1..2..NO! Lesnar kicks out, leading Orton to set up the punt kick. He goes for it but Lesnar this time ducks out, confusing Orton who walks straight into an F-5 and a 3-count to give Brock the hardest-earned victory of his reign. At the end of the match, the chamber lifts and Lesnar celebrates some more when John Cena makes his way out to the ring. Both men stand in the ring and Cena offers the handshake – “may the best man win” when it comes to being chosen by The Rock for Wrestlemania. Lesnar slaps the hand away, too out of breath to F-5 him as well (that’s how much of a beating he’s taken in the Chamber!!) when we’re suddenly interrupted by familiar music.

The Rock makes his way down the ramp into the ring where Lesnar and Cena are already stood, titles in hand. The Rock has obviously made up his mind as to who he will face, and he’s here to tell us who. He takes his time, looking from one to the other as he milks it. He finally extends his hand to..... Cena, who smirks and accepts the handshake. The Rock smiles back, before saying “Close, but not close enough!” With that, he throws Cena’s hand away and he Rock-Bottoms Lesnar. When The Rock gets back up, he looks to Cena and mocks him with a “U Can’t C Me” taunt before stepping out of the ring. He’s given us the main event for Wrestlemania XXIX – The Rock vs. Brock Lesnar for the WWE Title. The Rock poses atop the ramp as Brock is laid out and Cena looks furious at seeing his Wrestlemania dream go up in smoke.

Post-Elimination Chamber we get the Raw return of The Rock, and he explains his decision. Whilst it was very tempting to beat Cena again and humiliate him further, he’s already done that. The Rock wants to keep things fresh, he wants to do something he’s never done before and that’s why he wants to face Brock. Brock and he have history, going all the way back to SummerSlam 2002 when Brock won his first WWE Title from The Rock and cemented his place atop the tree in the WWE. Since that day The Rock vowed that he would get revenge one day, and now he has the opportunity to do that on the biggest stage, in front of millions of people to put Lesnar back in his place. Sure enough, out comes Lesnar to cut him off – no long promo, just a very simple “you chose me? Wrong choice!” before hitting him with and F-5 and leaving.

Next week we kick things off with Lesnar saying that he’s glad The Rock chose him, because now he can say he’s done it all on his return before retiring the WWE Title for good. From here we set up a feud whereby Lesnar is saying he’s sick and tired of the fans, sick and tired of how stale the competition has gotten in the WWE since he left, and basically says he’s glad he’s leaving and The Rock responding by saying that he’s doing this for the people. The Rock may not be here every week, but every time he steps through those ropes he does it for the people. Lesnar saying that he’s going to walk out on them is a huge mistake, because the people hold a lot of power. When the people chant The Rock’s name, there’s an energy, an electricity that spurs The Rock on to victory. The Rock has to beat Lesnar for the sake of the people, because he would never dream of taking the WWE Title away from them. When he holds the title he will defend it at every PPV, against any and all challengers. Whether it’s their first shot or the fifty-first shot, he’ll be there. If the PPV falls in the middle of his shooting schedule for Hollywood’s next biggest blockbuster, he’ll call the director up and say “Sorry Michael Bay, filming’s got to take a back seat today because The Rock is defending his WWE Title.” He’ll do all of that because that’s what it means to him to hold the WWE Championship. It keeps the heat on Lesnar because he wants to leave, keeps The Rock loved by the people, but most importantly ramps up the prestige of the belt by having The Rock be so passionate about it. Say what you will about The Rock, I do genuinely believe that he doesn’t “need” the WWE now that he has a legitimate film career, so the involvement that he has is only because he wants to do it, and by being so passionate about the WWE Title he brings a great amount of interest and exposure to it, and by extension the entire WWE product.

Back and forth we go with The Rock and Lesnar, initially keeping physicality to a minimum as they put forward their cases for why they “have to win” at Wrestlemania. However, about three weeks before the event, an in-ring confrontation between them turns physical, and they start a brawl which takes them backstage. They beat on each other, neither one really gaining the upper hand, until they are at a “ledge” in the parking lot. With Lesnar teetering on the edge, The Rock charges him and takes both of them over the edge, resulting in both of them getting “injured”. The next week on Raw, we don’t see either of them, throwing the Wrestlemania main event into doubt. Will they be able to compete in two weeks time, or will we have to find a new main event? On the go home show for Wrestlemania, HHH/Laurinaitis is about to make an announcement about changing the main event when The Rock’s music hits. He makes his way to the ring, looking a little beat up but still ready to fight at Mania. Lesnar’s music hits soon after, and he makes his way out in a similar condition but with the same resolve – they will fight at Wrestlemania, right after he’s kicked The Rock’s ass tonight! Again, another brawl starts which goes the same way as Lesnar and Cena’s brawl earlier this month – the locker room empties and pulls the pair apart, leaving us with the last image of the two seething with pent-up rage as we head into the clash at Wrestlemania. It will be a war between the two at Wrestlemania, and it could be that neither man walks out the same again.

Before we hit Wrestlemania though, there’s the small matter of John Cena to address. After Elimination Chamber, Cena is pissed off. He wanted The Rock to choose him so he could have closure, so he could come full circle with this come back and prove that he is once again the face of this company. He wants that main event spot, and he’s pissed off that he’s not got it. This brings out Cody Rhodes, who says “boo-hoo”. Rhodes couldn’t care less that Cena didn’t get the chance for his closure at Wrestlemania, because Rhodes is looking for closure of his own. Rhodes has been looking back through the record book, and it would appear that he and Cena are tied at two a piece on PPV over the past year (Rhodes having been pinned by Cena as the final chamber entrant). In Rhodes' book, that means they need a rubber match to settle things once and for all, and where better than Wrestlemania with the World Heavyweight Title on the line. Cena accepts the challenge, giving us the conclusion to a feud that has been simmering for a year and giving Rhodes a main event at Wrestlemania to see if he really can be a main event player for a long time to come. The two then compete in a game of one-upsmanship – each week on Smackdown they match each other, so that they can’t really be separated on paper before Wrestlemania, which means there’s at least some doubt as to who the winners going to be!!

The big night rolls around and things are all set for a great night. We go through the undercard and arrive at our first main event – John Cena vs. Cody Rhodes for the World Heavyweight Title. A good, back and forth match where they can’t be separated. A methodical build up where both men are mentally as well as physically on their game, until a moment of frustration from Rhodes costs him big time. His youth and inexperience catches up with him, and he recklessly charges Cena, who has the ring-savvy to pick him up and hit the AA for the 1..2..3 and the win! Cena gets his Wrestlemania record back on track having lost at the last two events and it keeps Rhodes developing nicely. I like the idea of Rhodes being someone who has flaws, and is a bit “rookie-ish”, but he works to get rid of them until he's eventually a very savvy in-ring veteran. A loss in this way keeps that type of character going – he got impatient and it cost him the main event, so now he’s never going to let that happen again. As long term career progression, that works best for someone like Rhodes in my opinion. So in this match, everyone is essentially a winner.

At the end of the night we have our true main event – Rock vs. Brock for the WWE Title. In the build-up to the match, we’re reminded that if Brock wins he will leave the company with the WWE Title, and we also play up the two major brawls that the pair have had in the build up to tonight. This leads to a HHH backstage interview before the match – having seen what went down on Raw, there’s a very real danger that this match could end with a disqualification or a count-out, which would not be good for business. Therefore, HHH is making this match a no disqualifications, no count-outs match so that we truly have a decisive winner at the end of the night. The match begins, and with this new stipulation the pair of them can really go at it. I don’t think it should be a weapon-heavy match – the stipulation is just to stop Brock pummelling The Rock in the corner past a five count to retain the strap on a DQ, which is what his character would do. It means they can just leave it all in the ring, brawl outside of it but still end with a decisive three-count or submission. We have near fall after near fall, we have superplexes, one of them going through the announce table, maybe a couple of chair shots, and it does very much seem like Lesnar is on top. He hits an F-5, goes for the pin. 1..2..NO! The Rock kicks out, which pisses Lesnar off as he is the first one to kick out of an F-5 all year. Livid, Brock picks Rock up again onto his shoulders, but this time The Rock slides out and hits a spine-buster followed by The People’s Elbow. He goes for the count and it’s 1..2..NO! Brock kicks out this time and it’s The Rock who can’t believe it. The Rock stalks Brock, calling for The Rock Bottom, but as he goes for it Brock picks him up! He swings for the F-5 but Rock lands on his feet, puts the arm across and BAM! Rock Bottom onto a steel chair that has been left lying in the ring. The Rock makes the cover – 1..2..3!!! We have a new WWE Champion in a sight that we never thought we’d see a couple of years ago – The Rock holding the WWE Title! He’s slain the monster and prevented him from retiring the WWE Title (again doing something Cena couldn’t...). He gets his revenge on Brock, and he is once again The Great One. The (majority of the) crowd goes home happy, and it sets up some really intriguing scenarios – can The Rock truly juggle doing both wrestling and movies? Will his reign bring more publicity and interest to the business? Who will be the one to get the major push of beating him to take the title back? What will HHH have to say about all this? Where does Brock go from here – will he follow through on retirement or will he stay on to try and beat The Rock again?

Phew!! There we have it then, the end of a blog that accidentally turned into a bit of a marathon!!! If you’ve stayed with me this far, well done and more importantly thank you very much for sticking with it!! Hopefully my next scenarios will be a lot shorter than this one, but once I get writing it’s anyone’s guess as to how long it will actually be!!! :D As always, please leave your thoughts and opinions on what I’ve proposed, and until next time take care, but more importantly have fun! Hwyl! ]]> steve_wonder http://www.ewrestlingnews.com/community/entry.php?41507-WWSD-Blog-2-3-Rock-Brock-Cena-and-WM-XXIX-The-Final-Run-In http://www.ewrestlingnews.com/community/entry.php?41506-WWSD-Blog-2-2-The-Rock-s-Path-to-Wrestlemania-XXIX Thu, 19 Apr 2012 14:13:17 GMT Last time in the WWSD blog, I looked at John Cena's path from now until the Royal Rumble, looking at how I would send him to Smackdown to "rediscover himself". The importance of this for The Rock/Brock storyline will become apparent in the final blog, but first I will address how the Great One himself, The Rock, will get from here to the Royal Rumble.....

The Rock’s Path
We all know The Rock isn’t going to be around for many appearances between now and Wrestlemania XXIX due to his film commitments. However, I still believe The Rock is one of the most important assets to the WWE, whether he’s competing there every week or not, because of the exposure that he brings to the company . I see him being involved in the “Big 4” in the coming year, and the accompanying build-ups, so here’s how I would include him.

July 16^th 2012, the night after the Money in the Bank PPV (or whatever it’s going to be called eventually!!), The Rock’s music hits and out he comes to greet the millions. After the usual introductory shenanigans, The Rock would like to remind us of something. The Rock would like to remind us of a vision he had on April 2^nd, when he told the WWE Universe that he would one day be WWE Champion again. Well, one day is today – where better to once again become champion than the “biggest party of the summer”, SummerSlam? The challenge is made; now all we have to do is wait for the response. A few seconds pass of nothing until.....

TIME TO PLAY THE GAME! The crowd explodes, as it is not CM Punk, or even new No. 1 Contender Brock Lesnar who is answering The Rock, but rather a returning HHH, being seen for the first time since his defeat to The Undertaker at Wrestlemania XXVIII. He’s suited, showing that tonight he’s COO HHH, and he makes his way to the ring to greet a rather confused Rocky. There’s small talk between the pair, “welcome back” and the like, but then HHH gets to the point. The Rock says he wants a title match with Lesnar at SummerSlam? As COO of the WWE, HHH says no! It doesn’t matter what The Rock wants, it is not in the interest of the WWE to have its main champion be a movie star who only shows up for the big occasions. If it’s not good for business, it’s not going to happen under HHH’s watch. He leaves The Rock in the ring reeling from the response to end the show.

The next week, HHH comes out to open the show. He meant what he said last week when he said The Rock wouldn’t get a shot at the WWE Title at SummerSlam. The main event will be the champion CM Punk defending against the man who earned his No. 1 Contender status at Money in the Bank, Brock Lesnar. And to show that that won’t change, HHH has arranged for a contract signing later that night between the two, so that the match is set in stone and The Rock can’t get involved.

We get to the end of the show and it’s time to sign the contract. HHH is in the ring (maybe with Big Johnny, maybe not) and he is soon joined by WWE Champion CM Punk and No. 1 Contender Brock Lesnar. The usual contract signing skit plays out – Punk trashing Lesnar over the desk and vice versa – until it comes time to sign. Just before Punk can pick up his pen, The Rock’s music hits and out he comes, focussed on the ring. HHH rolls his eyes; Punk and Lesnar look put out but that doesn’t stop The Rock. He marches into the ring, stares down HHH before quickly turning his attention to Punk with a Rock-Bottom on the champ. Lesnar strides around the table, defiantly challenging The Rock to do that to him. They exchange blows, Lesnar hoists Rocky up for an F-5 but he gets out of it and nails a Rock-Bottom on Brock through the contract signing table. Johnny looks concerned for his health, HHH looks pissed off, The Rock looks determined. He picks up the contract, takes it off the clipboard and tears it up into a million pieces in front of our COO. He shoves the clipboard forcibly into HHH’s chest and exits, leaving chaos and an angry HHH in the ring to close that weeks show.

Another week goes by and once again HHH opens the show to address the events of the week before. What The Rock did was highly unprofessional, and will not be tolerated. That being said, he wants The Rock to come to the ring and explain his actions. Sure enough, The Rock comes out and joins Hunter in the ring. The Rock says that he his actions last week weren’t out of disrespect. He respects the hell out of Punk and Lesnar, but he had to get HHH’s attention because that’s what he does. He grabs the attention of the people, and that’s exactly what a WWE Champion should do. A couple of weeks ago, HHH said it would be bad for business for The Rock to be champion, but The Rock doesn’t believe that. The Rock thinks that HHH is being narrow minded, and he needs to look at the bigger picture. The Rock is hot property in Hollywood. He’s been down the red carpet more times than Good Ol’ JR’s had barbecue sauce on his fries! He’s on talk shows weekly, loved around the world by the millions and millions of fans, not only of the WWE but of film franchises. Now imagine if he was making all of these appearances – premieres, talk shows, award ceremonies – with a shiny WWE Championship belt around his waist? Imagine the exposure, the interest that would generate in the WWE? The ratings would go through the roof. WWE be a mainstay in the mainstream. He may not be able to defend the title every week on Raw, but if he was the champion he’d make damn sure to be at every PPV event to defend his title on a regular basis because that is how committed he is to the fans. Having made his case, The Rock asks HHH for a response, to which HHH merely says “interesting”. He’s intrigued by the prospect, but needs some time to think about it. He promises The Rock that he will have an answer for The Great One by the end of the night, but in the meantime, since he’s here, maybe he’d like to remind HHH and the fans just what he can do in the ring, and indeed make a “good impression”, with a match tonight. Against a pissed off CM Punk. Non-title of course. HHH wishes him luck and leaves us all with a genuinely huge Raw main event.

Main event time, and the match is given enough time to really showcase what these two can do. It’s back and forth action, difficult to separate the two in the early going until The Rock starts to turn the tables. He starts to build momentum, culminating in a spine buster and the set up for a People’s Elbow. He bounces off the ropes, and as he comes back off the other set, he’s cut off by none other than an angry Lesnar! He picks Rocky up and F-5’s him for the DQ (you couldn’t have a match this huge end cleanly on a Monday Night Raw!) and to sell the fact that Brock is pissed off with Rocky for his actions last week. Punk tries to take advantage with a GTS on Lesnar, but he gets out of it and F-5’s Punk for good measure too. Lesnar leaves, and as he does so HHH’s music hits. The Rock stumbles to his feet, obviously smarting from a physical match and Lesnar’s F-5 and listens in to what HHH has to say. HHH has thought it through, and he has come to a decision. He has made the decision that if The Rock wants a WWE Title match, HE’S GOT IT! But...... not at SummerSlam. “If you want a shot at the WWE Title Rocky.....you have to go through me first!!!” The show ends with a rather stunned Rocky, who wasn’t expecting such a challenge from one of his oldest adversaries and the possibility of The Rock vs. HHH at SummerSlam to send everyone home happy.

Of course, the next week The Rock is going to accept this challenge. “If getting that title shot means running through HHH, I’ll gladly accept!” This is essentially all we get this week though, The Rock accepting the challenge, confirming that we will in fact have The Rock vs. HHH one more time at SummerSlam, and telling HHH that he better be ready because The Rock will stop at nothing to hold that WWE Title once again. In the go home show for SummerSlam we have one more face off. Essentially HHH says that he’s ready to make The Rock earn a title match, and that the match makes good business sense (this could be a good gimmick for the “COO HHH” to have in the long run) which draws The Rock out to conclude that “The Rock kicking HHH’s ass all over LA will definitely be good for business!” HHH offers a hand for The Rock to shake, but The Rock instead slaps HHH and leaves quickly, before The Game can really respond, but the look on his face shows that he’s pissed off.

We get to SummerSlam and the match is what you would expect from these two. HHH gets brutal, but The Rock has an answer for it. It is a very back and forth match, with HHH slightly edging it until we get to the closing stages where The Rock starts to come back. He starts hitting HHH with all his signature moves and HHH is reeling. The Rock is feeling the crowd come alive and he sets for the Rock-Bottom, about to earn his WWE Title match when NO! HHH counters out and hits a quick, thunderous Pedigree, rolls The Rock over and gets the 1..2..3! The Rock is dazed on the mat as HHH gets his hand raised in victory. He gets a victory to show he still has an authority about him, it’s shocking as everyone’s expecting The Great One to win, and it asks the question what will happen now? Is that The Rock done with WWE if he’s not got a WWE Title match? A good end to the feud for both men.

The night after SummerSlam HHH comes out and essentially says “I told you so”. He knew that The Rock having a title match was a bad idea, and last night he proved why. The Rock may have beaten Cena at Wrestlemania, but that match was different to being WWE Champion. The Rock doesn’t have it in him to be WWE Champion again, and he proved that last night. This neatly cues The Rock who comes out looking determined. "HHH may have beaten The Rock last night, but rest assured that is not the last you will see of The Rock. He will come back again, stronger and better than before, and he will be the WWE Champion one day, whether HHH likes it or not." He leaves the ring, and once again goes back to the day job.

Now as I said earlier, I think The Rock will only participate in the Big 4 over the next year, so after SummerSlam the next time we’ll see The Rock will be in the build for Survivor Series. Here, I think he should be a surprise team member helping out a friend, and it should in some way, shape or form involve HHH to “pick up where we left off” after SummerSlam, thus giving The Rock his reason to get involved. The very first match that sprung to mind was a tag team match of The Rock teaming up with Mick Foley to take on HHH and.... Shawn Michaels – Rock ‘n’ Sock Connection vs. DX, but then I really think Michaels has to stay retired for a long long time yet (before he has his “one more match”) so he doesn’t tarnish his retirement send off. The thought then crossed my mind that we could replace Michaels with Kevin Nash to have a Rock ‘n’ Sock vs. The Cliq match, and that could actually make a decent storyline...

Mick Foley is still knocking around, and (if the “Twitter War” and dirt sheet hype is to be believed) he is soon to be in a feud with newcomer Darren Ambrose. Naturally Mick is going to lose this feud. It is the only way that Ambrose is going to have momentum coming up onto the roster, and I’m extremely hopeful that this is going to be something special. Let’s suppose therefore that the feud ends sometime between SummerSlam and Survivor Series. After Mick has been beaten so badly, he has a lot of soul searching to do as it is more and more evident that he simply doesn’t have the stamina or the physical skill to keep going in this business, even if mentally he’s not ready to let it go. HHH again comes out and tries to encourage Mick to call it a day. He says that after seeing Ambrose beat the holy hell out of him, he can’t bear to watch a legend like Mick Foley keep being battered around. He can’t handle himself with the young guns in the WWE anymore, and so he needs to retire.

Foley is desperate though, and he says he can still be a part of the WWE. He tries being a manager for some of the new talent, but he makes mistakes that costs them matches to the point where no-one wants to be associated with him. He tries going back on commentary, but he makes a series of errors which makes Booker T sound like JR!! He could even try interviewing people backstage, or offer to help John Laurinaitis with his day to day running of Raw and Smackdown, but again they just laugh at him for not knowing what he’s doing.

Alongside this, we also have the return of Kevin Nash. He comes back after the beating he took from HHH and he says he wants to apologise. He says that he was a fool to turn his back on his best friend, and he promises that it will never happen again. HHH, being a sucker for friends, gives Nash one more chance, but on the proviso that if he turns his back on HHH again, he’s gone for good. Nash is as good as his word, and stays on HHH’s side. He has a few matches, nothing special – the definition of filler matches on Raw, maybe even on Smackdown. He’s mainly seen talking to HHH at any given opportunity (think Otunga to Laurinaitis). He’s not exactly having a good run, but he’s there nonetheless.

This takes us right up to the build for Survivor Series, and on an episode of Raw HHH decides that enough is enough for Mick. He asked Foley to leave of his own accord, but he rejected that, so he has no other option than to force him into “retirement”. Mick comes out and in one last desperate attempt, he asks Hunter what Nash is doing there. Every reason that HHH has for wanting to get rid of Foley applies to Nash, so why doesn’t he fire Nash as well? Nash is just as slow and fragile in the ring as Foley, and the only reason he wins from time to time is because he’s given opponents who aren’t strong enough to body slam him. He’s getting a pay-cheque for sitting in the back hanging out with his buddies and doing nothing else. At least Foley wants to contribute to the company. Surely that’s better for business than a freeloader?! Nash gets offended by this, and says that he can still kick Foley’s ass at which point HHH has to intervene again to diffuse the situation.

Foley says that all he wants is one more match. One more opportunity to show HHH that he still has a use. If he loses the match, that’s it – he will retire and call time on his career. If he wins, the he keeps his job. HHH ponders this for a moment and says that he thinks it a good idea, and since there already seems to be an issue between the pair of them, that one more match will be against Kevin Nash! Oh, and HHH. Hunter and Nash leave the ring smirking, stacking the deck against Foley so that they both get what they want – Foley out of the WWE. Mick just looks despondent – he’s like mutton to the slaughter.

The next couple of Raw’s Foley can’t catch a break against HHH and Nash. Just when it looks like Foley is going to get a win on Raw, Nash distracts the referee so that his opponent can regroup and get the win over him. Mick is giving advice to new talent backstage when Nash comes in and belittles him in front of them, making them think he’s weak. Until one week, Foley has enough and he calls HHH and Nash to the ring. They come out and ask Mick what’s wrong, can’t he handle the pressure any more? Mick doesn’t say any more, he just starts swinging, first at Nash but then when HHH tries to separate them Mick starts teeing off on the Game as well. This leads to a two on one beatdown from Nash and HHH, until from out of nowhere –

IF YA SMELLLLL! Rock’s music hits and out he comes, charging the ring and clearing house, first clearing HHH from the ring then Nash. They head for the hills leaving The Rock and Mick in the ring together. The Rock grabs a microphone and says he's had enough. HHH and Kevin Nash throw their weight around because they think they run the place, but now it’s time for them to put their balls where their mouth is. At Survivor Series, instead of it being a handicap match, we make it a tag team match. And we add another stipulation – at the moment, the rule is if Foley loses he retires. Well how about a little equality in this match? How about if Nash loses, he must retire as well? In a fit of rage, HHH accepts, leaving Nash looking concerned and giving us The Rock’s match for Survivor Series.

At Survivor Series, the match is largely carried by The Rock and HHH, and in the end it’s The Rock and Mick Foley getting the win over HHH and Nash, consigning Nash to the scrap heap once again. This gives The Rock his revenge over HHH for what happened at SummerSlam, it shows that The Rock has been away and honed his skills a bit and it keeps the tension between The Rock and HHH going, which I think is a good, believable storyline given the part-time nature of The Rock’s involvement. Of course HHH would be terrified of having his main attraction, the WWE Title, around the waist of someone who’s hardly ever there, and so of course HHH is going to try and do everything he can to stop that happening. And since HHH is standing in the way of his dream, The Rock is going to make his life incredibly uncomfortable until he finally gets what he wants.
The night after Survivor Series we may get one last confrontation between The Rock and HHH – HHH told him The Rock he needed to be better, so The Rock got better. The Rock says he’ll be back, and he leaves again, taking him off our screens until the Royal Rumble.

So with all the individual paths being highlighted, we now move on to the final chapter – bringing each of them together for the final Road to Wrestlemania! ]]> steve_wonder http://www.ewrestlingnews.com/community/entry.php?41506-WWSD-Blog-2-2-The-Rock-s-Path-to-Wrestlemania-XXIX http://www.ewrestlingnews.com/community/entry.php?41505-WWSD-Blog-2-1-John-Cena-s-Path-to-Wrestlemania-XXIX Thu, 19 Apr 2012 13:52:04 GMT So, in the last instalment of this blog I looked at what I would do with Brock Lesnar leading up to the Royal Rumble 2013 in order to lead to next... So, in the last instalment of this blog I looked at what I would do with Brock Lesnar leading up to the Royal Rumble 2013 in order to lead to next year's proposed Wrestlemania XXIX main event against The Rock. The next instalment may seem a little out of place, seeing as it will be about John Cena, who is not involved in the match itself, but hopefully my reasoning for including him in this mini-series will become clear by the end!!

Cena’s Path
Cena is in limbo at the moment. He lost to The Rock in the “biggest match of all time” having been so confident that he wouldn’t, and now he’s being kicked around Raw by Brock Lesnar. The match with Lesnar at Extreme Rules is must win for him if he is going to get back to being top dog in the WWE. When he therefore doesn’t win the match, it leaves him all at sea, his confidence lower than it ever has been and leaving him really staring into the abyss of accepting that he just isn’t as good as he used to be.

However, before Extreme Rules, there is (supposedly, although not much has been made of it which could mean it is no longer going to happen!) the small business of the 2012 Draft to deal with, and this is where I’d shake things up a little bit – John Cena goes to Smackdown! I know I may get a few snorts of derision for ever suggesting such a thing, but I actually think it could be a good change in many ways, even if it was just for a year. Smackdown is rapidly going down in quality and in the ratings, and desperately needs a shot in the arm if it is going to maintain credibility – Cena could do that. With Lesnar, Punk and Orton (goes to Raw as another draft pick) as well as Jericho, The Rock and HHH when they’re around, Raw has a wealth of big name stars so it doesn’t need Cena to be attractive every week whereas Smackdown does. It offers up new feuds, and allows new people to step up over on Raw which again would liven things up. Storyline wise as well, it could also be played up as a “demotion”, which could be a good way to make this happen even if the draft doesn't take place until later on in the year - Laurinaitis thinks it would be better to have Orton on Raw and Cena on Smackdown, so he makes the swap because he has that kind of power. Either way, for the sake of my storyline, Cena ends up on Smackdown, Orton on Raw!!! :D

So, having been moved to Smackdown and losing to Lesnar at Extreme Rules, John Cena is at an all time low. He’s lost two high profile matches in a row, his position as the face of the WWE has been questioned and now he’s stuck on the second rate show for at least a year. Most people would throw in the towel. Most people would turn their back on the fans, say how it hasn’t gotten him anywhere and how he needs to start doing things for himself. But this is John Cena we’re talking about, and he’s not most people. He sucks it up and he gets on with it. He faces up to the challenges life throws at him and he never backs down. Like it or not (we won’t go into that now!), that is his character, and I genuinely believe that this character can work given the right context.

Cena comes out first Smackdown after Extreme Rules, and publicly states that he’s never been so low in the WWE. He just can’t seem to catch a break at the moment, but that doesn’t mean he’ll give up. He’s too much of a man to give up, and he will never stop believing that he will get back on top because he knows he can do it again. He thought he was untouchable at the top; he may have lost focus because of that, but one thing for damn certain is that he is going to learn from that, get bigger, badder, better, faster, stronger and he will earn his way back to the top again. Instantly people will say “prove it”, and people will once again have some form of investment in Cena. It will keep him as the same honourable, respect-driven, role-model character but actually make it something new. Fans hate that character because with Cena it’s formulaic, and he never goes down far enough to make coming back up a big deal. At the end of the day all faces are like Cena. The reason we cheer for faces is because they fight the good fight and they earn their way from the bottom to the top. Hell, that’s even why we cheered Cena in the first place all those years ago when he first reached the summit! The reason people have stopped cheering him now is because he hasn’t fallen from the top for essentially seven years. “You’re still at the top – great, change the record.” He needs to be knocked off the pedestal, because it will make it all the sweeter when he climbs back onto it again.

This could go several ways, but the way I’d like to see it is for him to go into a feud with Cody Rhodes off the back of Extreme Rules. Cody comes out and says that if John thinks it’s going to be an easy ride back to the top then he is dead wrong. He may think Smackdown is the minor leagues, but that doesn’t mean that there is a lack of talent on Smackdown and he’s going to show him that. Leads to a match at Over The Limit, which Rhodes wins, maybe in a dirty fashion just to continue the feud on to our next PPV. We continue on with the “you’re finished with” feud until No Way Out, where again Rhodes and Cena face off, but again Rhodes wins, and this time cleanly, with no disputable calls or anything like that. He is just the better man. A great way to put Rhodes over as a main-eventer and can lead to him going into a World Heavyweight Title Feud, and a great way to sink Cena further.

Cena comes out after being beaten by Cody and says that maybe he underestimated Smackdown. Maybe this was going to be harder than he thought, and maybe he’s going to have to work even harder to get back to being number one in the WWE. This starts him in a feud for the Intercontinental Title – first of all having to earn a title shot, and then winning it (probably from the Big Show) at a PPV. Gives the Intercontinental Title a bit more prestige and gives Cena a believable reason to win his first IC belt.

With the Intercontinental Title around his waist, John Cena is starting to feel confident again. He defends the belt a few times, and starts building up some wins under his belt, reigning for a couple of months and being a fighting champion, also giving him a way to feature on the Night of Champions PPV being held in Boston. Shortly after this though, Cena gets booked in a triple threat title defence in which he loses his title by not being pinned. The winner is a “sneaky, cowardly heel” – possibly Christian if he’s not being better utilised elsewhere – who wins the contractually obliged rematch by cheating, putting that heel character over as well as keeping momentum with Cena who never technically got pinned to lose his title.

Survivor Series arrives, and in the run up Cena is chosen to be on a team for a traditional 10 man elimination tag team match, not as team captain, but as a team player for someone else who is above him in the pecking order (doesn’t really matter who). In the match Cena does very well – he is a valuable asset for his team and a lot of credit has to go to him for the eventual win. He doesn’t bitch and complain that he is not a team leader, he just gets on with helping the team – maybe even sacrificing himself and getting eliminated so that his team leader can pick up the win, not him. It earns his team leader’s respect, and they share a handshake to enhance Cena’s legitimacy – “I respect you for the effort you’ve put in thus far, so should the fans”. The first indication that maybe Cena is on his way back to the main event.

After Survivor Series a new No. 1 Contender for the World Heavyweight Title needs to be found, and John Cena throws his name into the hat for consideration. A No. 1 Contender, Fatal Four Way Ladder match is announced for TLC, featuring Kofi Kingston, Alberto Del Rio, Daniel Bryan and John Cena. There’s back and forth banter as to who’s going to win, but when we get to the PPV John Cena is the man who climbs the ladder and retrieves the contract for a title match at the Royal Rumble. He plays it up as the biggest moment of his year, gets very emotional and sells the fact that this is his ticket back on top.

This once again leaves us at the Royal Rumble, so once again it’s time to jump to another path, this time the path of the Great One himself..... ]]> steve_wonder http://www.ewrestlingnews.com/community/entry.php?41505-WWSD-Blog-2-1-John-Cena-s-Path-to-Wrestlemania-XXIX http://www.ewrestlingnews.com/community/entry.php?41504-WWSD-Blog-2-0-Rock-Brock-Cena-and-Wrestlemania-XXIX Thu, 19 Apr 2012 13:34:04 GMT Hey guys! Here we are with another entry of the WWSD – What Would Steve Do? blog. This time I’m going to look a year into the future, more... Hey guys! Here we are with another entry of the WWSD – What Would Steve Do? blog. This time I’m going to look a year into the future, more specifically to the proposed Wrestlemania XXIX main event of Rock vs. Brock, and say how I would book the next year building up to that main event if I had that power. Since this is going to be looking at an entire year of storylines, this could take a while, and in fact I’m going to spread it out over four blog entries detailing each man’s path to next year. Hopefully it will be enjoyable enough for you to stick with until the end (spread it out over a few days, make it your bed time reading for the next week, whatever!!! :D). Anyway, let’s get started....

We are hot off the heels of Wrestlemania XXVIII and there is a buzz back in wrestling again. A fantastic showpiece event that had some of the most amazing moments in recent wrestling history, followed by the shocking return of Brock Lesnar to the company the night after on Raw, has left many fans (myself included) incredibly excited for the future. However, no sooner has one spectacle ended than speculation as to the next has begun – already everyone is talking about the main events for Wrestlemania XXIX, and already most people have seemingly decided that it will be The Rock vs. Brock Lesnar for the WWE Title. But what happens until then? April 7^th 2013 is still an entire year away, and something needs to happen in that time. Over the next four blogs I will attempt to answer this question in relation to three men – Brock Lesnar, John Cena and The Rock. The first (this one) will look at Brock Lesnar up until the Royal Rumble, the second looking at John Cena over the same time frame, thirdly The Rock’s involvement up to the Rumble before the fourth and final blog that will tie them all in together on the Road to Wrestlemania XXIX.

Brock’s Path
Brock returned on the post-Wrestlemania Raw and made a very simple yet very clear statement to the entire WWE Universe by giving John Cena an F-5. Brilliant. This sets up a Brock vs. Cena feud for the not too distant future, which we now know will result in a match at Extreme Rules. The feud is playing out pretty much how I would’ve played it myself – Brock doesn’t like Cena, Brock thinks it’s a joke that the WWE has been built around him, and that he is here to do something about it. Pretty much a standard “everything went to hell when I left” type of feud. We get to our feud defining match at the PPV and.... Brock wins. Clean, and pretty much dominating Cena. Sets him on a “monster” path, keeps Cena on a “questioning his ability” path – good for both men as it gives their character at this time something to build on.

After dispatching Cena (who goes over to Smackdown in a move that I will explain more in “Cena’s Path”), Brock says he’s sick and tired of seeing people like Randy Orton and John Cena having multiple title reigns when he only had three. “Hell even that pussy Alberto del Rio has only held the title one less time than me!” He says it’s time for him to take that title and give it meaning again, and he sets his sights on taking the WWE title. He initially runs into Randy Orton (drafted from Smackdown to Raw), who having beaten Kane in their Extreme Rules match says that he has his focus back. He has regained the ruthless, calculating style that he lost over on Smackdown, and that’s why he is going to be the next WWE Champion, not Brock. In this way, it gives Randy a main event run which I think he deserves having done an admirable amount of time in the mid-card recently, and gives Brock a legitimate “warm-up feud” to give him a legitimate claim to the WWE title. Of course, once again, Brock comes out on top, and with it earns No. 1 Contender status for the WWE title.

This brings us to SummerSlam, and with it sets up Brock Lesnar vs. CM Punk for the WWE Title in our main event. Punk is a legitimate champion – he’s held the belt since Survivor Series, nearly 9 months at the top of the game with a series of impressive, clean wins against high calibre opponents which sets him up as a highly credible threat to Brock’s parallel streak of dominance. It becomes a highly intense, highly physical feud culminating in what I believe would be an outstanding match between the two. When the bell rings and the winner announced, it would be Brock holding the WWE Title aloft, undefeated streak intact and looking more dominant than ever before having knocked off three of the WWE's biggest superstars in little over 6 months. Good for Brock without being too damaging to Cena, Orton and Punk since they have all been beaten by the same guy – a guy who is clearly very powerful!

From here on out Brock becomes the arrogant heel champion, a role that I think he was born to play. He’s beaten the poster boy. He’s beaten the second poster boy. He’s beaten the “Best in the World”. Who else is there left to beat? He makes a series of open challenges and no-one can beat him. He looks bored in the ring because no-one is a real challenge for him. He starts no showing events (in keeping with the limited number of appearances in his contract), stating that there’s no point in him being there because he has nothing to do. No-one can beat him, and it’s almost getting to the point where it’s embarrassing that there is no-one giving him any competition. “I know things got bad after I left, but this is just pathetic”. He gets so bored to the point where he threatens to walk out of the WWE with the WWE title when his contract expires after Wrestlemania (ala CM Punk at Money in the Bank 2011).

During this time he can face any number of the upper mid-card talent that are in the WWE to give them a moment in the main event scene and see how much of an impression they make. People like Dolph Ziggler, Jack Swagger, Mark Henry, Kofi Kingston and R-Truth (amongst others) could all have a feud, even if it was only a month long, with Lesnar to test the waters of them being in the main event scene after this storyline has played out without them having to carry too much. Since all of them (apart from Mark Henry I suppose) are still “working their way up”, it wouldn’t damage them too much to lose to Brock as they are “still learning”, and it makes Brock look dominant. A win-win situation for all involved.

This continues right up until the Royal Rumble, which is where we shall leave this entry for now and pick it up in the “unifying” blog later. In the next instalment, we’ll take a look at John Cena’s path to Wrestlemania XXIX, and where he goes from here..... ]]> steve_wonder http://www.ewrestlingnews.com/community/entry.php?41504-WWSD-Blog-2-0-Rock-Brock-Cena-and-Wrestlemania-XXIX http://www.ewrestlingnews.com/community/entry.php?41227-WHAT-WOULD-STEVE-DO-Blog-01-Jericho-Vs-Punk Wed, 28 Mar 2012 23:24:23 GMT Hi guys! Welcome to the first edition of the WWSD Blog – a look at story lines and scenarios in the WWE and asking the question “What Would Steve... Hi guys! Welcome to the first edition of the WWSD Blog – a look at story lines and scenarios in the WWE and asking the question “What Would Steve Do?”. Now I may not be right all the time, and I’m not claiming to be better than any of the WWE’s current writers, but this is purely my opinion as to what I would like to see if I was given creative control, even just for a little bit! Let’s get started....

Wrestlemania is nearly upon us, and of course this means that we are treated to some of the biggest matches of the year. One of the biggest by far is the match for the WWE Championship, pitting CM Punk against Chris Jericho – a bout that could well steal the show in terms of wrestling quality. As with any main event, this match has needed a strong, solid build in the weeks before the event, and in my opinion it has definitely achieved this with the very intense, passionate promos from both men week in, week out on Raw and Smackdown. The feud between them is fantastic, but the question I have is this – have the WWE wasted a potential blockbuster storyline by making this particular feud personal?

When Chris Jericho returned to WWE in January 2012, everyone could see where it was going. CM Punk claiming to be the “Best in the World” was only going to be tolerated for so long by the man who claims to be the “Best in the World at Everything He Does”, and indeed post-Royal Rumble it became clear that one of the main events at Wrestlemania would involve Punk and Jericho deciding who could rightfully claim the “Best in the World” moniker by competing for the WWE Championship. This was great - two gifted, talented wrestlers who could perform wonders in the ring and on the mic, going toe-to-toe for the biggest prize in the WWE is the feud that many WWE fans have dreamed of for years and years. And so it has proved to be – Punk and Jericho in a game of one-upsmanship, trying to prove that they were the best in the world and making it incredibly difficult to believe one over the other. But then they threw in a curveball. Then Jericho referenced Punk’s alcoholic father, and things took a different twist - one that I’m not sure WWE needed to take.

Jericho and Punk had their feud. They had their gimmick. “Best in the World” vs. “Best in the World”. Both men claimed to be it, but who could actually back that up when the time for talking was over? It was a great starting point for a feud, and was shaping up to deliver a feud where we genuinely had no idea who was actually going to win if done properly. My opinion – it should have been booked like the good old days with Punk and Jericho facing jobbers every week on Raw. Both of them should win week in, week out in a convincing yet very similar way to the other - Punk makes his opponent submit with the Anaconda Vice so Jericho makes his opponent tap to the Walls of Jericho; Jericho wins with a Lionsault so Punk wins with a top rope moonsault etc etc. They never face each other, not even in a tag team match, before Wrestlemania so that when we arrive at the big night they both have identical, undefeated records so they are inseparable on paper. Every argument in Punk’s favour applies to Jericho too and vice versa, meaning that we genuinely have no idea who is going to win the match between them and making an un-missable match for Wrestlemania. It wouldn’t have mattered if Jericho was getting a face reaction, or if Punk was getting heat – the fans would choose who they thought was better out of the two and would have cheered for their man to win, and that would be all that mattered in a feud like this, built in this way.

We didn’t get this though, and instead we were thrown the swerve, pretty much from out of nowhere, of bringing Punk’s family into it. Punk’s straight-edge gimmick was brought in to try and make things more personal between the two, but I’m not sure that it was needed. They already had a good thing, but now they’ve thrown another good but unrelated thing at it, thus using up two good storylines at the same time, which is a really bad move. The “personal demons” storyline that they have now interwoven into the WWE Championship feud could have been used to much greater effect by someone who needed a feud of that calibre. Jericho doesn’t need a storyline like this to get him over as a heel, we know how low he can sink. If it was given to a mid-card heel though, such as The Miz, Dolph Ziggler, Cody Rhodes or even Jack Swagger if handled with care, it could instantly have made them a main event heel. There could have been an entire summer storyline of the heel getting in Punk’s head, saying he’s worthless because of his personal demons before winning the title. The loss could have made Punk doubt himself even more; they could even have teased Punk falling off the wagon completely and going to take a drink only for another face to snap him out of it, and get him back into the right mindset to eventually win back the title for the “uplifting pop” after a gripping summer storyline. Even if the powers that be didn’t have the faith in the younger guys and wanted the storyline to be carried out by Jericho, it still could’ve happened after Wrestlemania in its own unique storyline and not alongside another one.

I think the current Punk vs. Jericho feud is great, and I’m really pleased that WWE have done some good work with this feud. I just feel that they’ve almost done too much good work too soon, and that with a little more restraint they could have made two incredible yet separate storylines, instead of mashing them together for no further gain.

That’s it for this entry of the WWSD blog. I hope you enjoyed, and feel free to leave your thoughts and opinions below. For now though, take care, but more importantly have fun. Sayonara amigos! ]]> steve_wonder http://www.ewrestlingnews.com/community/entry.php?41227-WHAT-WOULD-STEVE-DO-Blog-01-Jericho-Vs-Punk