Agreed all over the place here. Hennig could potentially be solid, but I just don't see it right now. He kinda looks like a bigger Austin Aries to me, minus the promo skills (and a lot of the in-ring skills, too).

I will say that I'm sick and tired of hearing about who should be the one to break the streak. The answer is nobody. Undertaker should retire with it intact. If he wants to go one more time, let him, but don't tarnish it by having him lose to anyone at Mania... that's just one man's opinion though.

I maintain that the only member of The Shield who I can foresee being a top guy someday is Seth Rollins. Ambrose is a squirrel who is awful at cutting heel promos, since he's unintentionally funny as you mentioned, Mick. Roman Reigns has potential but I can't see him ascending past the mid-card. I could see a few IC runs with a handful of WHC shots, but right now I don't think he's cut out to be the guy.

Totally! I don't know why the conversation didn't end years ago.
Mind you, the fact that it's still a debate and a constant reference probably helps keep that spark of 'will he win?' alive when the big show comes to town. I can't remember the last time I thought he would really lose, but I like to at least feel they're playing the game (no pun intended).


I have a tough time imagining Roman Reigns developing enough to get very far. I wouldn't be surprised if he winds up going down the same path as Curtis Axel, at some point. He's got a good enough look for them to keep around, but I think he'll probably get repackaged at some point and maybe burn out after that.

I don't like him for IC, but I think there's just something about the US that accomodates some of those kinds of guys. Maybe I'm just carrying a WCW prejudice (or secretly starting up The UnAmericans again). I feel like it has a different character that accomodates these less apt guys. I guess when I think back to IC champions, I prefer to think of the guys with a certain amount of skill and a potential to go further (with perhaps a missing element that holds them back, ie; bankable charisma).

I could see Rollins finding his way to the IC, but I'm not sure he will. I guess the bar is pretty low these days, so he might. I just have a tough time seeing him lasting in a WWE environment. In a world where CM Punk can still go, and a guy like Bryan Danielson has all the goodwill for unconventional types, I don't know where Rollins fits in. A guy with the dimensions of Gwen Stefani might struggle longterm. Maybe that's not fair.

Dean Ambrose always reminds me of this guy, minus the promos kills:



Edit: Apparently Foley talks about scouting in ROH on the new For All Mankind DVD. They obviously don't go into great detail about the rival company, but he mentions CM Punk and Samoa Joe.

With all the goodwill going out to these indie guys that don't exactly fit the traditional WWE mould, I can't help but wonder what they might do with Joe. If he got some room to wrestle, he'd be a better fat-guy novelty act than dancing Brodus Clay. He might even be a good guy to have a grappling feud with Cesaro, just to call back to that subject. (What's Cesaro been doing the last couple of weeks, any way?)

The streak, at this point, is bigger than wrestlemania itself. Its gone on far too long to just end now.

I honestly like Dean Ambrose. I like him the same way I liked Heath Ledger as the joker. He just gives off this unhinged, mad dog vibe...like he could just go off and lunge for your throat at any second.

That being said, a couple of his promos have made me chuckle for the wrong reasons. But he's different, and by God, these days...I'll take it.

Great Smackdown!, Bryan's super saiyan attack at the end was awesome.

Can't help but feel we're at another cheap and disappointing impasse.

The Shield have the tag team championships.
This should be a good thing for both those components.

For all the talk about "injustice", The Shield's motivation has dwindled to almost nothing. They've been meandering their way through freedbird victories since the beginning of the year. Their reasons for attacking various combinations of name wrestlers has well and truly evaporated. Winning the chamionships was a great opportunity to naturally transition them into a standard program, with a broader variety of wrestlers.

In the case of the tag team championships, I think this has been another terrific way to reinvigorate that sorely neglected corner. Instead of helping all elements, it looks like their focus is almost exclusively on The Shield.

Granted, The Usos and Prime Time Players got a rare TV opportunity. This is seriously downgrading the program, though. These guys should be simmering in the background, building their credibility. The Shield - however weak the reasons - have spent the majority of their career fighting some of the biggest names. That was the perfect way to throw a bone to the tag division. Use a relevant (but volatile) combination, like SHAMOUS & Randy Orton, give the rub to the tag teams, keep The Shield strong, and use the time to really build legitimate contenders!

Fingers crossed something good comes of it, but it looks grim, to me.

There have been inconsistencies to be sure. For instance, how are they not beating the hell out of john cena on a weekly basis? The fact that they've been eternally pitted against team hell no and randy orton/sheamus(ramus?) Isn't exactly helping to keep them fresh.

Despite it all, they're still the most interesting thing on either show.(aside from Daniel Bryan's resurgence)

Why would they, though? I know they've had a couple of goes, but I don't know what their motivation is, or why it would lead to Cena. The fight against injustice thing really seems like it's turned into filling a spot on the card and making video game style 'surprise' cut scene appearances. Interrupting other things to drag it out.

I don't know. I think/hope the tag team titles could be a great way to make the inevitable transition to some sense of normalcy. If they aren't going to really adhere to a logic, it's the most sustainable way to get something out of them. Parlay the impact into a consistent run.

Not sure it's doing much for The Shield, but it's kinda cool they're putting Daniel Bryanson over. If they can find it within themselves to work some feuds and storylines, it'll be good to get a guy like he or Kane back into the solo stakes, I think. [Barring the collapse of the tag division without them].

Now that they aren't even touring house shows as a brand split, it'd be great to see them unify the top belts and get some amount of the WWE world revolving around pursuit of the glory! There's the old argument that the solo title kills the chances of guys like Bryan Danielson, but if they can keep the fire going, it can just as easily equal some hot competitive action!

Maybe I read too much into what their mission is/was, but I always took it as the injustice they were fighting was popular wrestlers always winning, even when logic dictated otherwise. Who else epitomizes that "injustice" more than John Cena?

Once again...maybe that's just me making it what I want it to be. Admittedly I've not always been present for their manifesto promos.

I think that's fair enough. The whole Heyman/Punk connection is a big part of why I don't see that carrying through. I think the 'fighting for the weak' was their PR, but really they were just hired goons. Then after that they seemed to drift away from supporting 'down trodden' wrestlers and become more conventional heels attacking faces (and other). To me, not attacking Cena (or the established top Champion) on a regular basis was just consistent to that -- but also part of why they've lost focus.

Gotta give them this: at least they're a talking point!

Payback Predictions:
- John Cena (c) d. Ryback 2-1
- CM Punk d. Chris Jericho [Assuming Punk shows]
- Alberto Del Rio d. Dolph Ziggler (c) [DQ]
- Wade Barrett (c) d. The Miz & Curtis Axel
- The Shield (c) d. Bryan Danielson & Randy Orton
- Dean Ambrose (c) d. Kane
- AJ Lee d. Kaitlyn (c)
- SHAMOUS d. Damien Sandow

The Shield gotta be the sure things for the show.

Easily one of the best divas matches in recent memory. The pacing of the finish was fucked up, which is a shame, but still awesome work from both gals.
And that kiss blowing thing at the end was sexy as hell.

Spoilers for the folks who didn't watch payback?

I quite enjoyed Payback.
Best Jericho vs. Punk match yet.
AJ vs. Kaitlyn is an awesome feud.
Dolph came off as a total champion, and ADR turned by being an evil jackass.

Feels like a belated post-Mania shake-up with all these turns & returns.

Dat Kaitlyn nip slip. HNNNNNG

Whaddafuq you talkin bout?

Yeah! I loved RAW, myself. Mark Henry's angle was awesome, Bryan was badass, the Shield are still looking strong, the McMahon's felt fresh again.. A lot of good stuff going on.

I have not watched WWE in so long lol. I just grew out of it. And lets face it, not nearly as entertaining as WWF era. But the games are still fun. Good to see CM Punk back however. The only real reason to watch it...


IKR. I'd give it to her better then an all you can eat deal at old country buffet lol.

can't wait for rvd at money in the bank. but does anyone know if he is returning with wwe for good or is it like his royal rumble 2009 appearance.

also is he done with tna or is he a free agent.

like to see an rvd/jericho feud. they have had some classic matches.

please win money and the bank and take cenas belt just like he did at one nght stand 06.

And let's all not forget Captain Charisma's awesome return! One of my favorite performers for sure!

So glad Henry's "retirement" was an angle! Awesome stuff. Don't know how anyone can expect him to be a heel after that, though. Who doesn't want to see this guy crush Cena and finally win the WWE title? Come on!

I'm wondering if Ryback will find his way into a three-way before MITB hits. Not only would it continue the April 'Mania strands they already plucked on Monday, but it would finally get back around to making Ryback/Henry make a bit more sense. Not that it would help Ryback much...

Not sure how I feel about the return of the McMahons. I got burnt out on all that by the time The Corporate Ministry converged. Nothing they've done since (especially involving matches) has ever really won me back. It's filled some time with an interesting sequence, but I hope they don't overplay the hand, or overstay their welcome. I doubt their ability to keep everything else on RAW as hot as it was this week.

Between Jericho, Punk and Del Rio talking about who can and can't call themselves "The Best in the World" I'm wishing for two things: A King of the Ring tournament and/or a unification of the top titles.

Punk and Jericho at opposite ends working their way to the KOTR final would just be superb. A great way to put it over as a big deal again (and I also thought it was a shame Jericho didn't win one). 32-man bracket with qualifying rounds would be a nice way to fill some TV time with interesting matches, too. Feel like there are a lot of KOTR type guys floating around at the moment; Antonio Cesaro, Damien Sandow, Wade Barrett, Bryan Danielson...

Can't go wrong with a unifed Undisputed Championship, either.

Great debut by The Wyatt Family on raw this week. One last twisted video accompanied by a proclamation of, "Were here", gave me goosebumps. That damn entrance was great as well. It will be interesting to see if the attack on Kane was a one off, or if its actually gonna lead to a feud, or maybe even Kane joining the family.


Oh, and this happened! Let's hope this is one battle opposite momentum doesn't win.