By Rob Siebert
Editor, Fanboy Wonder

Thoughts From Raw:

- I’m happy to see that after months of speculation, the CM Punk/Undertaker match at Wrestlemania is finally in stone. I’m interested to see how they build this up over the next month, specifically in terms of Punk’s promos. Over the last three years, each of ‘Taker’s Wrestlemania matches has been built off the previous one. The story kept rolling and rolling until it finally ended with the Undertaker, Shawn Michaels and Triple H leaving the arena together last year. This year we have to start fresh. But f anybody can make an interesting opponent for ‘Taker, Punk can. I’m curious to see how involved Paul Heyman will be here, if at all.

- On a related note, can we get rid of Undertaker’s spikey robe? It worked well as a Wrestlemania outfit, but I’m not digging it for every show. I also found it amusing that the graphics team had to Photoshop ‘Taker’s hair off the fatal four-way match graphic. I think now that his long hair is gone, the days of him wearing the classic wide-brimmed hat are officially over.

- The promo with John Cena and the Rock was surprisingly meaty. It wasn’t the same jokey trash talk we saw last year. The redemption angle is something different, which is good. But I’m wondering how they’re going to keep that interesting. They can’t just keep talking about Cena losing last year. Though it is nice to hear a Cena promo that doesn’t sound like a press release, or God forbid, a rant about  Taylor Swift and Nicki Minaj.

- Triple H’s promo on Brock Lesnar was also really good. One of his best in recent memory, in fact. The close up on his face at the end was perfect. Like Rock and Cena, Hunter and Brock have to find something to talk about until we get to Wrestlemania. Thankfully for them, they can bring Vince, Stephanie and Heyman in to expand the story.

Incidentally, last week I tweeted the following: Now that @TripleH and @StephMcMahon are on Twitter, there’s only one person missing…Vince himself. #nevergonnahappen.” Now, @VinceMcMahon is on Twitter. At least that’s supposedly him. That’s right folks, I totally did that. Like, totally. Not that it matters. I’m convinced Vince McMahon will never tweet on a regular basis. He’s just not that kind of guy. But I’d love to be proven wrong.

-  They should do Old School Raw every year, preferably in either late spring or the middle of fall when we’re between the bigger pay per views. Granted, we’ll have to try and bring in bigger names than most of the guys we saw on this episode. But it’s a fun gimmick show.

- The New Age Outlaws looked great out there. I only wish the damn kids n the audience knew who they were. Their music hit, and the crowd hardly gave them anything. I guess they’ve got to be in the right town. Also, somebody apparently forgot to tell the sound guy that their music stays on when Road Dogg is talking during their entrance. Do your homework, folks!

- So it looks like we’re going to get the Shield against Sheamus, Randy Orton and the Big Show at Wrestlemania, and the big question will be how Show will co-exist with the babyfaces. I guess we can officially write off the Sheamus/Wade Barrett thing as something that was done to promote Dead Man Down. It kind of sucks to have three stars of their magnitude shoved into a six-man, but we’ve got to have the Shield on the show in some form, right? By the way, whenever they air one of those handheld camera promos, the Shield ends it by putting the cam down and walking away. All I can think about after those promos is how somebody has to pick that cam up after they’re done. From an in-story perspective, who does it? Do they walk back over and pick it up? Is it some stagehand guy? It must be weird…

- Yeesh, Kofi Kingston dodged a bullet this week. He almost had to job to Fandango! Johnny Curtis really needs to surprise people with his portrayal of this character. We’ve got a lot of good midcard heels these days (Cody Rhodes, Antonio Cesaro, Damien Sandow, Wade Barrett). He needs to make the character stand out or he’s going to be left out in the cold. Still, at least the character gives Johnny a chance to be flamboyant, which he’s good at.

Is this stuff with Team Hell No and the Prime Time Players leading up to something at Wrestlemania? If so, that’s fantastic! It’s more likely though, that we’ll get some kind of four-way tag match, possibly featuring those two teams, Team Rhodes Scholars and Tensai & Brodus Clay. It seems like if they were going to pull the trigger on a Kane/Daniel Bryan match, they’d have done it by now. It likely would have been forgotten among all the big matches anyway. No offense, guys.

- So we’re calling Tensai “Sweet T” now, huh? You know what? I’ll take it. It’s better than what he was doing before.

- It looks like Ryback and Mark Henry might be working together at the big dance. If we’re not going to do Ryback and the Big Show, then putting him with Mark Henry is a good move. It puts a nice spotlight on both men in a “battle of the monsters” kind of way.

- So between the three matches that have been announced, along with the Triple H/Brock Lesnar match, the six man tag, and what might will likely be Ryback/Mark Henry, Wrestlemania is starting to really take shape. Considering the card usually has between eight and 10 matches (not counting the pre-show), the show is more than half full already. And we’ve still got to find room for other marquee stars like Team Hell No, the Miz and Dolph Ziggler…

All images from WWE.com.
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By Rob Siebert
Editor, Fanboy Wonder

The fact that this image on the left even exists makes me pretty uncomfortable. Throw in everything else that’s happened and it’s enough to make me nauseous.

If you haven’t heard by now, the immigration angle that Zeb Colter and Jack Swagger are doing caught the attention of right-wing pundit Glenn Beck, who slammed WWE on his radio show for allegedly smearing the Tea Party, and went on to call wrestling fans “stupid.” In response, WWE invited Beck to this week’s Raw in Dallas (he declined). They also posted a YouTube video of Colter and Swagger breaking the fourth wall and explaining to Beck that it’s topical entertainment, they’re playing characters, etc.

This whole situation with Glenn Beck comes off like a very obvious and very desperate grab for publicity on WWE’s part. Even a lot of right wingers will tell you Glenn Beck is essentially a cartoon character, who grabbed a huge chuck of his mainstream attention by acting downright bizarre on his old Fox News show. More than anything else, WWE seems to be celebrating the fact that someone with Beck’s fame acknowledged them, which is more sad than anything else. WWE doen’t need someone like Glenn Beck to pull in viewers for Wrestlemania season. Come on guys, let’s do it the right way…

Thoughts From Raw:

- After this week’s show, it’s obvious WWE isn’t going to be pulling Jack Swagger from TV after his February 19 arrest for DUI, marijuana possession and speeding. Obviously that’s extremely bad publicity, and something that could have potentially derailed the biggest push of Swagger’s career. There’s been a lot of speculation that all the mainstream attention Swagger’s angle with Zeb Colter has gotten is what saved him. Though I obviously have no firsthand insight, I wouldn’t doubt that at all.

- A pretty strong segment between Swagger, Colter, and Alberto Del Rio. All parties injected a decent amount of tension into the match at Wrestlemania. Del Rio’s line about all Americans being descendants of immigrants was an important note to hit, and he nailed it.

- Smart move by WWE giving John Cena and CM Punk a solid half hour. Those two guys have developed some awesome chemistry over the past year and a half, and had the crowd right where they wanted them this week. Hell of a match. And now we officially have Cena vs. Rock II at Wrestlemania.

- I was pretty disappointed we didn’t get to see the Undertaker this week, especially after he had a match at a WWE live event this past weekend. That being said, it’s fairly obvious he’s facing Punk at Wrestlemania. If his warm up match at a live event wasn’t indication enough, WWE played the footage from said event before the Punk/Cena match to plant the seed. He’s coming, folks. We’ve just got to be patient. Remember, there’s still plenty of time.

- By the way, did CM Punk steal that “I am God” line from Ric Flair? I seem to recall him saying something similar to Jay Lethal on TNA TV awhile back.

- I’m not sure Vince meant to say “Ultimate Fighter”…

- Quite a surprise to kick off Raw with what was essentially a mini street fight between Triple H and Brock Lesnar. And WOW! Lesnar got a heck of a lot of color. He allegedly had to get 18 staples to close the wound. This reminds me of when I talked about this during Lesnar’s feud with Cena last year. In the PG era, a little blood goes a long way in adding a different level of intensity and brutality to a feud.

- I don’t think Sheamus is being a STAR these days. He’s bullying Wade Barrett! You’re not bein’ a company man, fella!

- Donald Trump in the Hall of Fame? I suppose it was inevitable. But yeesh, do we have to give this guy even more publicity? Last I heard, he was suing Bill Maher over a joke. Oddly enough, the one moment that’s stuck out to me about Trump’s big appearance at Wrestlemania 23 was his God awful attempt at taking a Stone Cold Stunner.

- Ugh. Well that’s one way to kill off a talented tag team. Can the Prime Time Players rebound from jobbing to Team Hell no in a silly gimmick match? One would hope so…

- At this point, I’m convinced the Great Khali is employed solely to serve as a heavy object for guys like Mark Henry to body slam. Was there nothing else for Henry to do in the middle of Wrestlemania season?

Front page image from bleacherreport.com. Image 1 from about.com. Images 2, 3 and 4 from WWE.com.
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By Rob Siebert
Editor, Fanboy Wonder

Thoughts From Raw:

- Oh for the love of God…FINALLY! The spinner belt is gone, and we have a WWE Championship belt that doesn’t look like a toy. Cena pulled that belt out eight years ago, and I’ve been ready to see it gone for more than seven. Yes, I understand that the spinner belt sold toys. But it got to the point where even WWE.com writers were pleading to have it changed. The wrestlers on television were calling it ugly. Even Cena himself was publicly wondering why they hadn’t done away with it yet. I’m sure a lot of fans will find faults with it. But almost anything was an improvement at this point. The plate looks as if it’s carved out of stone, which I really dig. I also appreciated the Rock’s words on how the first time you see the title, it should inspire you. Very, very true.

- I don’t have a good feeling about Jack Swagger’s win at Elimination Chamber. He sounded a little bit better on the mic this week, but he’s still extremely awkward. Considering Zeb Colter has only been talking for him for a week, it seems much too soon to send him back into the World Title picture. I understand Swagger’s new “Real American” persona makes him a natural fit for Del Rio. But why not give him more than a week to develop that persona? Why not avoid once again giving Swagger more than he’s ready for?

Remember a few months ago when rumor surfaced that Swagger had requested his release? I’m wondering if this huge push was WWE’s way of getting him to stay. I have nothing concrete to base that allegation on. But when you look at how they’ve been trying to make him a main eventer for years now, it doesn’t seem far fetched, does it?

Incidentally, did Colter forget he and Swagger have new music? After his big promo, their music hit and he was looking up the ramp, seemingly expecting Daniel Bryan to be there. THEN Bryan’s music hit, and he showed up as planned. Then again, maybe the sound guy fouled up.

- Chris Jericho’s comparison of the Shield to the n.W.o. might have gotten some chuckles from longtime fans. But as the weeks go by, Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns are indeed proving to be one of the most memorable groups WWE has seen in quite some time. They’ve definitely got the Nexus beat. From a packaging standpoint, they’ve got unique ring attire and an entrance that’s different from everybody else’s. Ambrose’s promos also have just the right amount of instability in them to make fans believe the Shield thinks they’re doing the right thing. They don’t quite have that cool factor the n.W.o., or a lot of history’s other great factions had, at least not yet. But they’re definitely the most interesting group to pop up on Raw in several years.

- Remember back when Candice Michelle was considered too sexy for Smackdown (which was still on the CW at the time), and had to be moved from Smackdown to Raw? Sometimes I wonder if Rosa Mendes is having the same problem with WWE’s PG product. Still, at least she’s been getting some time on Raw lately. Even if she’s had to job to Brodus Clay’s dancers to get there.

- I’m pretty sure if Sin Cara’s magic mood lighting had been on, he’d have won that match with Mark Henry. Uh oh, look out! Here comes the Great Khali for the slowest run in ever! Please tell me we’re not putting those two together at Wrestlemania. That’s a colossal waste of Henry’s heat.

- I can’t look at Big E. Langston without thinking of Jericho’s man boobs line from a few weeks ago. Just don’t tell him I said that…

- Did CM Punk actually say Cena “can’t win the big one?” He’s won almost all the big ones in the last 10 years!!!!

Images from wwe.com.
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By Rob Siebert
Editor, Fanboy Wonder

No time for chit chat this month, folks! It’s Wrestlemania season, and we’re prepping for the show of shows next month in New Jersey! Let’s dive in!

YOUTUBE PRE-SHOW:
Tensai & Brodus Clay vs. Team Rhodes Scholars

At this rate, Tensai might want to seriously consider changing his ring name to Phat Albert. A tag team with Brodus Clay wasn’t quite what I had in mind when I said these two could help each other out, but at least this apparent modern day incarnation of Too Cool is gaining a bit of traction, not to mention TV time. Exactly what WWE is doing with Team Rhodes Scholars is unclear. A few weeks ago, Sandow and Rhodes mentioned on camera that they were dissolving their tag team. And yet, here they are. Considering we’ve mostly seen these two in one-on-one matches in recent weeks, I’d say it’s a safe bet WWE is putting them back together simply to put Tensai and Brodus Clay over. I’d be surprised if we saw anything else at the end of this match.

Rob’s Prediction: Tensai & Brodus Clay
WINNERS: Tensai & Brodus Clay

WWE DIVAS TITLE MATCH:
Kaitlyn (c) vs. Tamina Snuka

I’m convinced the Divas Title division needs AJ Lee to obtain any amount of relevancy. Because as bad as this sounds, I just don’t care about Kaitlyn or Tamina. I want to, really I do. Their muscular frames are a great contrast the Barbie doll look WWE has been partial to over the years. But they’re both so flat and uninteresting from a personality standpoint. This match is really an obligation more than anything else. With Beth Phoenix and Eve Torres gone, the only female wrestlers on the roster I have any kind of investment in are AJ and Natalya, and both of them are busy elsewhere right now. I’ll go ahead and call Kaitlyn for this one, with the idea that Tamina will take the belt in a rematch down the line. But honestly, that’s a pretty shaky guess on my part. Because I just don’t care. C’mon WWE, make me care. I dare you…

Rob’s Prediction: Kaitlyn
WINNER: Kaitlyn

WWE UNITED STATES TITLE MATCH:
Antonio Cesaro (c) vs. The Miz 

Last month, I wasn’t convinced the Miz could believably beat up Antonio Cesaro. This month’s a bit of a different story. Believe it or not, the man we have to thank for that is Brock Lesnar. The segment where Miz lunged at Brock in a feeble attempt to beat him up, made him look gutsy in an “if he’s crazy enough to TRY to pull the sword from the stone, he just might get lucky and do it” kind of way. From the standpoint of being a babyface, Miz got more mileage out of that segment than one might have expected. That being said, I’m not expecting Miz to pull the sword out here (That sounds like a strange phallic reference, doesn’t it?). At this point, how much does the Miz really stand to gain by holding the US Title again? Meanwhile, Cesaro and the belt have a partnership that’s mutually beneficial, with Cesaro’s stock rising and the title gaining prestige. So let’s not fix what isn’t broken, and have Cesaro bring the belt to Wrestlemania.

Rob’s Prediction: Antonio Cesaro
WINNER: Antonio Cesaro (by DQ)

WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH:
Alberto Del Rio (c) vs. The Big Show

At this point, the World Heavyweight Title match at Wrestlemania is seemingly anybody’s ball game. But given all the momentum Del Rio has gained in just the past two months, not putting him in the match seems like a heck of a waste. That’s not to discount what a great heel Big Show has been since the fall. His work has helped both Del Rio and Sheamus tremendously. But if WWE really does want Del Rio to be their next big Hispanic superstar, this one is really a no brainer.

Unless…has anybody seen Dolph Ziggler? You know, that guy with the blue briefcase that guarantees him a World Heavyweight Title match anytime, anywhere? What’s that you say? You say he’s not on the card? Well sheesh, if I’m Ziggler, I’m damn sure looking for a way to get myself on this show…

Rob’s Prediction: Alberto Del Rio (maybe…)
WINNER: Alberto Del Rio

SIX-MAN TAG TEAM MATCH:
John Cena, Sheamus & Ryback vs. The Shield

I’m usually not a huge fan of six-man tags on pay per views, but I like this one. Putting Cena, Sheamus and Ryback with Ambrose, Rollins and Reigns has been beneficial for all parties. It’s kept our main event heroes busy until Wrestlemania, and it’s given the Shield some valuable time in the limelight, not to mention great experience. It’s certainly a step above the “Embrace the Hate” angle Cena worked with Kane to tide him over until last year’s Wrestlemania. But again, this one’s a no brainer. Cena and the heroes win to give them momentum heading into Wrestlemania.

By the way, can we please get Ryback a new pay per view match picture? Seriously, he looks like he’s taking a bad dump.

Rob’s Prediction: John Cena, Sheamus & Ryback
WINNERS: The Shield

ELIMINATION CHAMBER MATCH:
Randy Orton vs. Chris Jericho vs. Kane vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Mark Henry vs. Jack Swagger
Winner faces World Heavyweight Champion at Wrestlemania.  

This one is tough. I’ve been around for all the Chamber matches, and this is one of the toughest I’ve ever had to call. So let’s break it down first, and talk about who’s definitely NOT going to win…

Kane and Daniel Bryan are the tag team champions, and what’s more they appear to be headed for a nasty break up, with Bryan landing back on the heel side of things. As we’ve still got well over a month until Wrestlemania, they could easily end up dropping the belts and going against each other in Jersey. Heck, this match could end up being the start of all that. At the very least, they’ll end up defending their tag belts. Either way, it won’t be either of them.

With Zeb Colter (there are at least three other ways people have been spelling that name, but that’s how WWE.com is spelling it) at his side, Swagger’s career is on a sharp upswing. He’s got more intrigue now than he had when he was the World Champion, for cryin’ out loud. That being said, Zeb’s only been here a week, and Swagger’s new presentation needs a little more time to cook. At this rate, he WILL get back to the top. But he was a victim of too much too soon during his first main event run. We don’t want to do it all over again now.

Chris Jericho can easily be placed into the main event of any show. But since he’s been back, his main priority seems to be helping WWE’s newer stars (Dolph Ziggler, Daniel Bryan, etc.) look good. I expect that’s what he’ll be doing at Wrestlemania. Last year, WWE needed someone of intrigue to inject into the title picture. That’s not necessarily the case this year.

That leaves us with Randy Orton and Mark Henry. Henry came back with a lot of momentum, and his monster heel persona would go nicely against Del Rio’s new babyface demeanor. However, a Randy Orton heel turn has supposedly been in the works for awhile now, and it would give one of WWE’s biggest stars the makeover he needs to shake some of the stagnancy he’s suffered from since returning from his highly publicized suspension last year. Also, as Orton is a bigger box office name than Henry, putting him in the match would be a plus from a publicity standpoint as well. I’d look for Orton to win the match in some sort of underhanded fashion befitting of a heel. From there, we take Orton to Wrestlemania to face Del Rio.

Rob’s Prediction: Randy Orton
WINNER: Jack Swagger

STIPULATION MATCH FOR WWE HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE:
The Rock (c) vs. CM Punk
If the Rock is disqualified or counted out, Punk wins the title. 

Oddly enough, the outcome of his match may depend on a man we haven’t seen in months: the Undertaker.

For months, an Undertaker/CM Punk match has been rumored for Wrestlemania. Given how great Punk has been in the last year or so, that prospect has left a lot of fans (myself including) salivating with anticipation for what would surely be an epic showdown. Big the big question is whether ‘Taker is up for it or not. Given all the pain and injuries he’s worked through in his career, and all he’s given to WWE fans at Wrestlemania these past few years, it’d be tough to blame the guy for sitting this one out.

But if the Undertaker isn’t up for Wrestlemania, the question becomes: What do we do with Punk? We can’t just stick him in any old match, he’s too important! The most natural solution would be to put him with Rock and Cena in the WWE Championship match. But to get there, we’d likely need to see some sort of controversial finish in this rematch between Rock and Punk. Either way, the Rock will likely walk out with the title because of the marketability of him going into Wrestlemania as champ. But tonight should give us a good indicator of whether Punk will be competing for the title in Jersey.

So perhaps the real question in this match is…what’s it gonna be Dead Man? Yes or no?

Rob’s Prediction: The Rock
WINNER: The Rock

All images from WWE.com.
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By Rob Siebert
Editor, Fanboy Wonder

Thoughts From Raw:

- Not much to report from this week’s show, really. In the main event spot was, literally, the Rock telling a story about a crackhead. That either speaks to how entertaining the Rock is, or how few ideas the creative team had this week. His promo was essentially the equivalent of John Cena’s pre-Royal Rumble one a few weeks ago, only it’s the Rock, so it was actually mildly entertaining.

- The Paul Heyman promo served its purpose, in that it deepened his on-screen relationship with CM Punk, and built toward Elimination Chamber. I was surprised to hear Heyman reference ECW, which actually got him some cheers from the older fans. I also enjoyed Lawler’s line: “Paul Heyman just tried to upstage the Pope!”

- Incidentally, I believe CM Punk is the first WWE star in history to refer to the Pope as a Nazi. That’s just a guess, though. Naked Mideon might have done it some time in 2000…

- Was that a diving headbutt we saw Daniel Bryan give to Chris Jericho? Well that’s…awkward. I mean, you’d think that move would have been banned in this post-Benoit era. Speaking of Jericho, he’s getting a nice chance to spend time with WWE’s heavy hitters. First Dolph Ziggler, then CM Punk, now Bryan. That’s a big win for the fans more than anybody.

- Really interesting to see Zebekiah Coulter, a.k.a. Dutch Mantell on a WWE broadcast again. He gave us a really solid promo on behalf of a very aggressive Jack Swagger. So long as Mantell can do the talking, Swagger’s career may be on the upswing. Though I’m not sure how wise it is to put him in the Elimination Chamber match, as somebody will have to pin him.

- How about that repeated airplane spin on the guard rail by Antonio Cesaro? I don’t think I’ve ever seen that done before. Betcha Miz had a headache after that one…

- I always find it extremely far fetched that the Big Show can sneak attack somebody. The guy’s over 7 feet tall. His stealth skills can’t be THAT good. But hey, Alex Riley made it to TV again! With Yoshi Tatsu no less!

- It’s such a travesty of justice that Natalya, the best female wrestler WWE has right now, is paired with a novelty act like the Great Khali. Hornswoggle being with him? Not a travesty. Natalya? MAJOR travesty.

And to Go Off Topic For a Moment…

- Hulk Hogan apparently had a case of diarrhea of the mouth during a recent interview with The Daily Star, in which he made the following plea to TNA President Dixie Carter: “It’s either hold ’em or fold ’em. You’re either in the wrestling business or not. Is Dixie Carter really in the wrestling business, or this is just a hobby? You either make the move or you don’t. You’re at that point now. It’s the same place we were with WCW – you either run with the big dogs or be a little dog and stay on the porch. The destiny of this company is in her hands. It can stay TNA, a powerful little company, or she can make the decision to move on to greatness.”

On the surface this is a nice sentiment, I suppose. But because this is Hulk Hogan talking, the entire meaning of the statement changes. He’s obviously pushing for Dixie to make TNA more competitive with WWE, which by the way, worked out SO well the first time. I believe Hulk Hogan cares about TNA. But let’s be honest, he cares more about Hulk Hogan. The character, the brand, the Hulk Hogan business, etc. So the above statement isn’t really about what’s best for TNA, is it? It’s about Hogan, and just how much milk he can get from this cash cow. That’s a real shame. Because even though TNA looks a little better these days, it’s still not what it was before Hogan came aboard. Just my opinion.

- WWE images from WWE.com. Hogan/Carter image from sun.co.uk.
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By Rob Siebert
Editor, Fanboy Wonder

Thoughts From Raw:

- January 4, 2013 turned out to be a hell of a day in the world of professional wrestling, with the announcement that Bruno Sammartino will finally be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame this year.

If you don’t know who Bruno Sammartino is, or what he means to WWE, here are the two basic facts you need to know.

1. He was the World Wide Wrestling Federation Heavyweight Champion from May 1963 to January 1971, a record eight year run that stands to this day, and will likely never be broken. Then for good measure, he held the title again from December 1973 to April 1977.

2. WWE has spent the better part of the last two decades chasing him for the Hall of Fame. For the longest time, Sammartino been a voice of disapproval from wrestling’s past, scolding the likes of Vince McMahon for the vulgarity, sex and controversial antics that were at one point associated with the product. He has reportedly turned down several Hall of Fame invites from WWE. His finally agreed to be inducted is a huge victory for WWE, the Hall of Fame and wrestling fans in general. It’s also a huge victory for Triple H, who was the man to finally sell Sammartino on the idea.

For yours truly, Sammartino’s induction means that the WWE Hall of Fame is complete, at least for now. When they started doing inductions again back in 2004, there were three names I felt they truly needed to give the Hall all the credibility they wanted it to have: Hulk Hogan, Bob Backlund and Bruno Sammartino. They got Hogan in 2005, and this year they’ve got both Backlund and Sammartino. Any way you slice it, that makes this one of the biggest years in the 20 year history of the Hall of Fame.

- Angry Punk was on fire in Atlanta. From ripping up that little girl’s “It’s my birthday!” sign, to screaming “Sit down, marks!” during his match. The ever-so-lovable jerk strikes again. This is why he’s the best in the business right now. Incidentally, he also called the WWE Title a “belt” and a “strap” on television. I thought that wasn’t politically correct. Then again, political correctness has never been Punk’s strong point.

- Chris Jericho always manages to come back strong and never miss a beat. To have a match of that caliber with Punk after only a week back in the ring speaks volumes on the kind of performer he is.

- Did Rey Mysterio shrink? Apparently I wasn’t looking closely enough last week. He’s still moving like his old self though. Give him another match with Daniel Bryan in a few weeks and I bet we get something much better than what we got in Atlanta.

- Bryan appears to be headed for a heel turn and a feud with Kane. Wrestlemania might be too soon for a pay per view match, but perhaps in the spring. While they’ll likely lose the belts to Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara, I’d love to see the Prime Time Players get them. Reportedly Vince wants to give Titus O’Neil a singles push, but I think it’s too soon. I think the PTP have a good rapport, which I’d love to see develop further.

Speaking of shrinking, Jack Swagger looks leaner than I remember. They’re obviously trying to make his character meaner. The problem is that when he talks, it’s tough to take him seriously. He sounds like a cartoon character! Is that insensitive? Perhaps. Am I wrong? No.

The Miz looked surprisingly good in his segment with Brock Lesnar. WWE was smart to write that the way they did, with Miz looking like the brave underdog against the monstrous Lesnar. There was no way anybody was going to buy Miz posing a serious physical threat to Lesnar, at least at this point. There’s a great aura of danger surrounding Brock right now that I like a lot. It should make for interesting TV when Triple H finally gets back to put an end to his reign of terror.

- So what the hell, man? Last week I talk the Rock up and say how great it is that he’s back, and how wonderful it is that he’s champion again, and he no shows the very next week! C’mon Rock, I know you’re a star, but if you’re going to be champ, at least make it to Raw!

- Spit it out Booker, spit it out. The words are “managing supervisor.”

- Oh, please don’t fake cry, Vickie. Acting isn’t your strong suit.

- Nice showing from Brad Maddox this week. I think I’m ready to see more of him.

Front page image from wallsofjericho.blogspot.com. Image 1 from pwa-wrestlingx.net. Images 3 and 4 from wwe.com.
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By Rob Siebert
Editor, Fanboy Wonder

Before we get into Raw, let’s talk about the Royal Rumble.

- Based on what I saw in my Twitter feed Sunday, a lot of fans seemed to roll their eyes when the Rock took the WWE Championship from CM Punk. I can understand that, as I had a little of that going on myself. Things would have been different had Punk not been such a phenomenal champion, or such a long reigning champion, or a long shot success story from the indies. But as a longtime fan, I’m still so grateful to the Rock for coming back and giving his wrestling fans what they’ve been calling for year after year. By no means was he in any way obligated to take his comeback as far as he has. He’s showing up on Smackdown for crying out loud! The fact that the Rock is WWE Champion again is a testament to the love he has for the wrestling industry. I for one plan to enjoy every minute of it.

- Fans also seemed to be rolling their eyes at John Cena’s victory in the Rumble match. I’m not enjoying that one nearly as much. I suppose the strategy behind it is to get as much hype as possible behind Cena main eventing Wrestlemania for the title. But let’s be honest, folks. Was there ever any doubt Cena was going to be main eventing that show? It’s lame, that’s all I’m saying.

- Quite surprised to see Chris Jericho show up in the Rumble match. Allegedly he’s signed on through Wrestlemania. Jericho’s presence on WWE programming can only improve upon what’s there, and I’m anxious to see who he’ll be working with. And who knows? He stayed a little longer than he was supposed to last year…

- The sad thing about Cody Rhodes facing off with Goldust in the Rumble match? That it might be the closest thing we’ll ever see to a pay per view match between the two. *sigh*

Thoughts From Raw:

- Well whaddaya know about that? Brock Lesnar is back on Raw and beating up Vince. Cue the son-in-law’s entrance in 3…2….

- See, this was the Rock/CM Punk build up I wanted to see for the Royal Rumble. An incensed Punk talking about Rock’s lineage, Rock calling him a “punk ass bitch.” It feels personal now. Something tells me the build up for Elimination Chamber is going to be a hell of a lot better than the build up for the Rumble.

- Years before Bret Hart was inducted in the Hall of Fame, a rumor circulated that Vince McMahon considered him “too young” to go in. Bret would have been in his late 40s or early 50s at the time. Kind of ironic, isn’t it? Nowadays we’re inducting the likes of Edge and Trish Stratus, who aren’t even out of their 30s yet. Still, as arguably the most prolific female wrestler since the Fabulous Moolah, there’s no denying Trish is worthy of the accolade. It’ll be great to see her at the Garden.

- I wonder what Tensai’s Japanese fans are saying after that whole lingerie spectacle. And to think, last year this guy was going to be the company’s next monster heel. At least he seemed to be having fun. By the way, has Brodus Clay lost weight? Maybe it was just the track suit.

- You know, Ryback’s joke tonight was really more of a riddle. There’s is a difference.

- Why isn’t Matt Striker a manager? He’s so easy to dislike, he’d make a much better manager than an announcer.

- Dear lord, don’t tell me we’ve seen the beginning of a Zack Ryder/Great Khali tag team…

 Images from WWE.com.
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By Rob Siebert
Editor, Fanboy Wonder

The Royal Rumble is consistently one of WWE’s hottest shows, and this year is no exception. The Rumble match itself is essentially anybody’s ball game, and we’ve got the hottest WWE Championship match we’ve seen since CM Punk beat John Cena at Money in the Bank in 2011. This could be one for the books, folks. Let’s dive in…

WWE UNITED STATES TITLE MATCH:
Antonio Cesaro (c) vs. The Miz

I still don’t buy the Miz beating up Antonio Cesaro. I’m not hating on Miz, I just don’t see him walking out of this one with the belt, even with the figure four leg lock now in his arsenal. Heck, are we even sure he knows how to apply the hold correctly? Something looked off about the way he had it on Dolph Ziggler the other night (though Ziggler still sold it like a boss). Either way, this one goes to Cesaro via the Neutralizer. His stock seems to rise every week, and his whole patronizing routine with the Old Glory and the red, white and blue tights isn’t hurting matters. At this point, it’s never a bad idea to bet on him.

Rob’s Prediction: Antonio Cesaro
WINNER: Antonio Cesaro

WWE TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH:
Team Hell No (c) vs. Team Rhodes Scholars

Some fans take offense to the comedy act Daniel Bryan and Kane have been in over the past several months. But I’ve enjoyed it thoroughly. Some fans have talked about it demeaning the belts, but for my money the only way it could demean the belts is if it were a bad comedy act. And believe me folks, Team Hell No is pretty good, especially by wrestling comedy standards. That atrocious John Cena promo we were subjected to at the end of the most recent Raw? That was supposed to be funny. But alas, all good things must come to an end, and as far as the tag belts are concerned, this is the end for Bryan and Kane. Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow are worthy successors, and with luck they’ll be able to maintain the momentum WWE’s revitalized tag team division has gained in the last several months. A rematch with Kane and Bryan is likely inevitable. A match with the Uso Bros. could prove interesting. The Prime Time Players are a possibility, though as heels they’re more far fetched. In any event, Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow will become the new face of the tag team division at the Royal Rumble.

Rob’s Prediction: Team Rhodes Scholars
WINNERS: Team Hell No

WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH:
Alberto Del Rio (c) vs. The Big Show

I don’t think anybody can doubt the Alberto Del Rio babyface experiment is going very, very well. While the whole thing has taken yours truly by surprise, I’m not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. Viva Del Rio! Big Show has proven to be a good angry rival for Del Rio these past few weeks. He would have been fine taking the belt into Wrestlemania as far as I’m concerned. But given what’s happened, that looks like it’s off the table. WWE will likely continue to push Del Rio as a babyface for at least another month. What’s going to happen with the World Title at Wrestlemania is anybody’s guess at this point (more on that later), but for now it stays with Del Rio.

Rob’s Prediction: Alberto Del Rio
WINNER: Alberto Del Rio

WWE HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH:
CM Punk (c) vs. The Rock

While the build up hasn’t been all I hoped it would be, make no mistake about it folks, THIS is a pay per view championship match.

The big question among “smarks” isn’t whether the Rock will win the title. Because make no mistake about it, he will. It’s too good a story for him not to. But the question is, will he win it at the Rumble, or next month at Elimination Chamber? Having Punk keep the belt for another month would make a lot of die hard wrestling fans happy, as it would extend his historic title reign for just a bit longer. But as much of a CM Punk fan as I am, and as much as I’ve loved his lengthy run with the gold, I don’t really think that’s necessary. After 400-some days with the title, he’s made his point. Plus, having Rock lose to Punk here would take some of the edge off his “reunion tour” with the belt. Indeed, the Rumble belongs to the Rock.

Rob’s Prediction: The Rock
WINNER: The Rock

ROYAL RUMBLE MATCH:

The Rumble itself is a pretty tough call this year. But I’ve narrowed it down to three possibilities: John Cena, Ryback and Sheamus.

A John Cena/Rock rematch at Wrestlemania XXIX has likely been in the works since the Rock originally agreed to come back. Given the Rock is on the fast track to being WWE Champion again, winning the Rumble match would lead Cena right to him. The trouble is, having Cena win the Rumble again might send half the audience home with a sour taste in their mouths. Superman wins the Royal Rumble? A little obvious, don’t you think? Would WWE care? Meh, maybe. But whenever Cena’s in a multi-man match like this, he’s always got to be considered a potential winner.

Last year, Ryback emerged as a potential successor to Cena. The character has been around less than a year, but he’s already headlining pay per views and may in fact be the smart choice to win the Rumble. But given that he’s challenged for a Heavyweight Title three times since October, WWE may want to hold off on pushing him back into a title picture too soon. Ryback might stand to benefit from another good rivalry or two before going for the big one again. Hey, I hear Big Show is free…

And then we have Sheamus, last year’s winner. In 2012, the “Great White” became WWE’s most marketable superstars, and by most standards had a career year. Reportedly, he and Randy Orton are scheduled to be in the World Title picture come Wrestlemania. A second Rumble victory would not only put him in line for that, but would raise his stock even further as one of WWE’s top tier guys. It might be a flimsy pick. But hey, it worked last year…

Rob’s Prediction: Sheamus
WINNER: John Cena

Front page image and pay per view graphics from WWE.com. Sheamus image from wwemafia.com.
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By Rob Siebert
Editor, Fanboy Wonder

Thoughts From Raw:

- Very pleased to see Bob Backlund is FINALLY getting his call up to the WWE Hall of Fame. He’s one of the guys the Hall of Fame simply isn’t complete without, and probably should have gone in back when they first revived the thing in 2004. Why it’s taken so long is a mystery to me. But seeing him make his brief comeback on Raw last year was a pretty good sign that his time was finally here. Backlund was really the last guy to carry the torch in the World Wrestling Federation before the Hulkamania era began. Backlund was never a sports entertainer, at least not in his heyday. He was an honest to God wrestler, and history remembers him as such. Wrestling fans everywhere should be thankful he’s finally getting his due.

And on a personal note, I’ll never forget him co-presenting the “Larry Finn Freedom of Speech Award” at the 1997 Slammy Awards. Vince: “That’s Flint…”

- I’m rarely a fan of John Cena promos, but the one that closed this episode was particularly tough to watch. It came off like something the boys in marketing filled with buzz words so it would seem hip and current. Taylor Swift, Nicki Minaj, Black Ops, etc. And of course, he topped it all off with “I’m going to win the Royal Rumble!” Like most Cena promos it came off like a Nickelodeon commercial trying to sell something to nine-year-olds. A promo packed with passionless pandering to prepubescents.

- By the way…Cena says 2013 is going to be his year? What does that mean exactly? Every year since 2005 has been his year!

- In addition to Cena playing to the pre-teen crowd wasn’t enough, we also had Big Show and Del Rio playing to the preschool crowd by counting to 10 for us. That’s an entertainment choice perfected by the good folks at Sesame Street. Del Rio continues to defy my expectations as a babyface, though. And Show improving with the crowd was funny.

- Daniel Bryan and Kane had a good night with their graduation segment. Imagine my joy at hearing a “Dr. Shelby” chant! Honestly, why isn’t that guy managing Team Hell No (still a stupid name)? Sometimes the best parts of these segments are watching Bryan try to keep a straight face. It’s so damn obvious he wants to crack, but he holds it in. His little head shake as the crowd kept chanting “Yes!” was gold, too. I was surprised Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow didn’t get to make the interruption. There’s always Smackdown, I suppose.

- It’s very surreal to see and hear “WWF” on Raw. They weren’t allowed to say it, or even show their old scratch logo for years. Now apparently we can.

- Say what you want about Zack Ryder getting squashed by Big Show, but at least he lasted longer than Kofi Kingston did. I still can’t believe that one. Seriously, did Kofi sleep with somebody’s wife? What happened?

- They should never do a double feature or a replay as Antonio Cesaro is doing his hanging gut wrench move. For my money, that’s the best move he’s got. He gets to show off his great strength without having the stability the Neutralizer provides. He and Orton had a good match, though I was surprised to see Orton win this one after losing cleanly to Wade Barrett last week. I thought we might have been going for a losing streak angle on the way to his inevitable heel turn.

It’s tough for me to get a read on Kaitlyn as the Diva’s Champion. Her angle with Eve was a snorefest, and I had very little interest in seeing the match between she and Alicia Fox. I stand by what I’ve said about her look though. It’s good to see a woman of a more muscular build in the big babyface spotlight. At the very least, she has that going for her. A feud with Tamina Snuka could lead to some interesting developments, but my hopes for anything in the WWE women’s division are never that high.

- Imagine my surprise to see “Alex Riley” trending worldwide after the show. He was on screen for about a second during the last segment, and he trends worldwide. Give him credit. Not even the Rock can do that.

The Rock’s program with CM Punk has lacked a certain depth that I hoped it would have. I suppose I was hoping for something a bit more personal, particularly from Punk. He’s name dropped Rocky in his promos more than once over the years, including his big one from Vegas in 2011. On the first Raw of the year, Punk talked about there being a glass ceiling in WWE, and how he broke through it to become champion. I was expecting Punk to expand on that point, and perhaps portray Rock as the personification of that glass ceiling. We got a little bit of that this week, as Paul Heyman said Vince McMahon was desperate to get the title off Punk, and that the Rock was simply “the flavor of the month,” which was a great line. Perhaps the problem with that scenario is that it gives Punk a measure of sympathy, and that’s definitely not what we want from him at this point.

But then again, if anybody could twist that around and aim it back at Punk, it’s Rocky. He could have talked about hard work, about sacrifice, about failing to get into the NFL, then turning failure into success in WWE. He could have turned Punk’s glass ceiling promo back on him and said “quit your bitching!”  Or I guess “biatching” would have been the operative word. But we really could have gotten some compelling stuff from Rock and Punk. Instead, it seems like we mostly keep getting expanded versions of this exchange…

Rock: “I will be WWE Champion!”
Punk: “No, I’ve been champ for more than 400 days, and I’ll stay champion!”

Still, the match itself has classic written all over it. For the first time in years, if ever, the WWE Championship match may have more drawing power than the Royal Rumble match. January 27 promises to be a red letter day in the careers of both men. The world will be watching.

Front page image, image 2, 3 and 4 from WWE.com. Image 1 from bleacherreport.com.
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By Rob Siebert
Editor, Fanboy Wonder

Thoughts From Raw:

- Hey, wait a minute…didn’t we just do an anniversary Raw?

- It confuses me why some people like to tear down the Rock for his often juvenile sense of humor. In a recent issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated, one of the writers advised WWE not to sacrifice some of the work they’ve put into rebranding themselves as a PG product by letting the Rock use his “third grade sense of humor” on the air. Some of these same complaints were thrown at Rocky last year, when he did a “Rock Concert” on Raw, and threw a bunch of kiddie jokes at John Cena. There was a rectal exam joke, a “Cena’s mom” joke, etc. I said this last year, and I’ll say it again: What were you expecting? That kind of thing is part of the Rock’s act! That’s what he did a decade ago, and that’s what he does now! Why would he change a presentation that so many fans clamor for, and that clearly still works after all this time? Plus, I don’t care if it makes me juvenile, that stuff is funny.

So this week we had another Rock Concert, complete with a “Twinkie tits” joke at Paul Heyman’s expense, and a song about how Vickie Guerrero dresses like a hooker. The bit didn’t have its usual lighting, which was odd. The whole thing culminated in a cat fight between Rock and CM Punk. While I enjoyed the comedy aspect of it all, the whole thing didn’t do much to build toward the Rumble. Okay, so they tangled a little bit. They’re going to do that anyway! Give us something we can sink our teeth into a little more!

- Speaking of Vickie, she really needs to work on her diction. What was that line she had about baseball? Couldn’t understand a damn thing.

- John Cena and Dolph Ziggler always put on good matches together, and this week’s cage match was no different. AJ’s expressions on the outside added some nice tension to things. We got a couple of variations on the “slam the door into somebody’s skull” spot, and an interesting tug o’ war spot between Cena, Ziggler and Big E. Langston. The match also included a spot that I’ve seen several times before, which bugs the hell out of me every time. Cena’s over the top of the cage, about to drop down to the floor and win the match via escape. Suddenly, Langston grabs his feet and seems to push upward. This in turn forces Cena to climb back into the cage and continue the match. I’m obviously not a wrestler, or a master wrestling psychologist, but this spot makes no damn sense! If your goal is to drop down to the floor and win the match, then drop down! If the big muscley guy is in your way! Land on his stupid ass! Considering where both guys were, even a guy as strong as Langston couldn’t physically push Cena back into the cage. Frankly, I’m starting to have serious doubts about whether this stuff is even real…

- Really surprised to see Wade Barrett beat Randy Orton cleanly. That’s a huge statement about what kind of potential WWE sees in Barrett. It’s got to be considered among the biggest wins of his career.

- I find it funny that in his segment with Vince, Big Show said Smackdown GM Booker T was trying to “make a hero out of Alberto Del Rio to the Latinos.” The irony is that’s exactly what Vince is doing. And you know what? They’re not doing bad! I’ve been sour on Del Rio for over a year now, but the babyface turn may have been exactly what he needed to freshen up his act. I was surprised to see just how much the Houston crowd was into him. Maybe we do have a new Hispanic hero after all!

- Couldn’t we have let Mick Foley say a little something before the Shield showed up? In any event, congrats to him. He’s more than deserving.

- I’m a little sad to see Eve go, as she was certainly one of the more naturally gifted female performers WWE has had in recent memory. She was also a great ambassador for the industry. She’s clearly hard working and gifted. Here’s hoping we see her again down the line.

- I was fast-forwarding through the first commercial break, and accidentally ran through some of that video recall of the episode Bob Barker hosted. For a split second, I could have sworn I was watching Ric Flair. Still, the man never ceases to look good in a suit.

- Are we supposed to buy that the Miz can beat up Antonio Cesaro? Because at this point I don’t. We’ve seen Cesaro pick up superheavyweights like the Great Khali and Brodus Clay. Why exactly would he sweat a guy like Miz? The psychology of their inevitable United States Title match should be interesting. If I were mapping it out, I’d make it a cat and mouse game, with Cesaro constantly trying to trap Miz, before finally catching him in the Neutralizer.

And to Go Off Topic For a Moment…

- Brooke Hogan and Bully Ray are getting married on Impact this week??? Seriously Brooke, think about this. There are so many friggin’ reasons why this is a bad idea. I’ll list six of them for you…

1. How long have you been with the guy? Three months?
2. He used to put women through tables. His victims included Trish Stratus, Terri Runnels, and friggin’ Mae Young. Twice. Do your homework for cryin’ out loud.
3. Wrestling weddings never work out. They did a whole video package about it on Raw this week.
4. Doesn’t Bully Ray already have a wife?
5. The man’s first name is Bully.
6. And the most important of all…Bubba the Love Sponge might try for a honeymoon sex tape.

All images from WWE.com.
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