Can We Not Volume Nine: Taker vs. Lesnar

By @SpeedontheBeat

I'm sure you already know where I'm going with this, so I don't even need to pose the question.

Even if Vince McMahon himself is putting this feud to bed early, it's one that probably shouldn't have happened the way it did in the first place. Now, I'm not going to bore you with fantasy booking. I will, however, bore the hell out of you with the details behind this weak-ass feud.

First, you have Brock Lesnar ending The Streak, then disappearing from in-ring activity for four months and eleven days (I know, specifically, because SummerSlam 2014 happened on my birthday)--which cooled any fire, any heat, any buzz WWE and Lesnar had from that event. Then, from there, we have The Undertaker randomly coming back--pretty heelishly, I might add--and pursuing Lesnar because reasons. I guess it's because The Streak ended at Brock's hands, but no one knows really because not too much friggin' thought was put into this feud. Between that, Brock won the WWEWHC, beat John Cena, and lost to Seth Rollins at WrestleMania 31. Then, at SummerSlam 2015, we got the flip-off heard around the world...

...along with yet another heelish move from The Undertaker, when he got a low blow on Lesnar to set up the win.

This crap should've ended a while ago. But, here we are, close to October, and we've got to suffer through another Lesnar/Undertaker match at Hell in a Cell. People who clamor for this feud are probably suffering from rose-colored shades brought on by nostalgia. Yeah, we'll probably get some blood. But, is a little crimson worth sitting through a match we've seen many times before? The Undertaker is not the same man he was years ago, and it shows.

Now, any 50-something who'll sacrifice his body for our entertainment should be applauded (hi, Sting). But, the match itself will probably be crap. It'll probably end with Lesnar, the tweener face (kind of) in all of this BS, walking out with the win, only to set up...who friggin' knows, who friggin' cares. I'm taking the stance of WWE Creative for here on out. Why? Because, just as Michael Cole blocked me for no reason, this feud is illogical at this point because too much time passed between inception and climax.

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Eyes on the Ring 1:55 PM  No comment

ROH Review 9/26

By Nathan Neumann (Twitter @Headliner5 )

Hello everyone another week has passed and another episode of Ring Of Honor Wrestling Television has aired. Thus I am here to post yet another review that will recap the happenings of Saturday's show. This technically was the show after All Star Extravaganza 7, since ROH’s taping schedule is super weird.

But besides that it was a solid hour of wrestling. This show is still part of the tapings that took place inside of the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia so this show actually takes place before ASE. But, since ROH wants you to think otherwise we will go with what ROH tells us. 

The show once again features talent from NJPW as both KUSHIDA and Shinsuke Nakamura were on tonight’s episode and it was a solid hour of wrestling so without any further ado lets get down to breaking down the action that took place.

Kevin Kelly and Steve Corino are once again at ringside to call the action per the usual.

Match 1
Matt Sydal vs. KUSHIDA

Thoughts: KUSHIDA is fresh off of losing the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship to Kenny Omega on a show that took place on September 23rd but for continuity purposes KUSHIDA was still the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion when this show took place. The match started out with both guys feeling each other out.  KUSHIDA got the upper hand early on and set the pace for what was to come as he had control.  KUSHIDA hits Sydal with a cartwheel dropkick.

KUSHIDA follows it up with a drop kick that sends Sydal to the outside of the ring. KUSHIDA then follows it up with a senton splash from the top rope to the outside.  Back in the ring KUSHIDA hits a moonsault to pick up a near fall, Sydal kicks out and KUSHIDA hits a flipping back kick and both men are down on the mat.  Sydal finally manages to get some sort of offense in as he hits a reverse Hurricanranna for a near fall, KUSHIDA is out at two and Sydal knees KUSHIDA in the face while KUSHIDA falls over like a dead person. 

The match came to an end when Matt Sydal made his way up to the top rope while KUSHIDA is down on the mat.  Sydal comes off of the top rope with a beautiful shooting star press to pick up the win via pinfall.

Match Result: Matt Sydal defeats KUSHIDA via pinfall after a Shooting Star Press.

Match Result: **1/2

Back from commercial and BJ Whitmer has made his way out to the ring with the rest of the Decade and Steve Corino wants to know when BJ Whitmer’s contract expires.  This isn’t really part of the review just something I found funny that I thought I would share. From here, we go to match two.

Match 2
Will Ferrara vs. Adam Page vs. Takaaki Watanabe vs. Moose
4 Corner Survival

Thoughts: First off let me apologize if this part of the review is lacking in content partly because I hate reviewing four corner survival matches almost as much as I hate watching them. ROH does these things way too much and it’s really starting to become a problem.  The match starts and Ferrara hits a hurricanranna, Adam Page runs in and hits a fall away slam and bridges into a pin for a near fall.

Moose comes in and backdrops Ferrara over the top rope and onto Watanabe who is already on the outside of the ring.  Page who at this point is on the apron flips into the ring to hit his signature slingshot lariat but Moose counters it with a spear in a really cool spot.  Watanabe hits a German suplex on Will Ferrara right on top of his head.  The match comes to an end when Watanabe pins Will Ferrara after hitting an STO.

Match Result: Takaaki Watanabe defeats Will Ferrara, Adam Page and Moose via pinfall after hitting an STO on Ferrara to pick up the deciding fall.

Match Rating: **

From there a really random thing happened at ringside as Bushwhacker Luke makes his way out to the ringside area and licks Mandy Leon on the face. He then licks Steve Corino as I sit on my couch and question what the hell just happened.

From there Adam Cole makes his way out to the ring for the main event of the evening followed by Shinsuke Nakamura.

Main Event – Match 3
Adam Cole vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Thoughts: The crowd absolutely exploded when Nakamura made his way out to the ring, The match began and the two circled around each other before locking up, Nakamura pushes Cole into the rope and then rests his head on Cole’s chest and sways his arms Nakamura style.
Nakamura get the upper hand on the outside of the ring and knees the shit out of Cole.

Back in the ring Adam Cole gets the advantage back and gets Nakamura down on the mat in a seated position, Cole runs off one side of the ring towards Nakamura and runs off of the other side before stopping himself and locking on a chin lock to the boos of the fans. Nakamura starts to wake up a bit and the two make their way back to a vertical base, Nakamura breaks Cole’s grip and kicks him in the face.  Cole falls back into the corner and Nakamura jumps on him and begins hitting Cole with knees in the corner as we go to break.

Back from commercial and Cole locks on the figure four leg lock on Nakamura in the center of the ring.  Nakamura fights out of it but Cole does whatever he can to pick apart Nakamura’s already weak knees.  Cole goes to apply the figure four once again but Nakamura grabs Cole’s arm and forces him down to the mat and into an arm bar.  Cole and Nakamura reset and Nakamura gets the upper hand with a few strikes. 

Nakamura grabs Cole’s back and takes Cole over with a backdrop which plants Cole right on the top of his head. Cole gains a brief advantage after hitting a shining wizard Nakamura is out at two and Cole hits a Florida Key for another near fall.  Nakamura recovers and makes his way to the second rope where he waits for Cole to get into position before coming off of the rope with a Boma Ye knee.  Nakamura hits an Axe Kick and follows it up with another Boma Ye for a near fall.  The finish of the match takes place after Nakamura hits a third and final Boma Ye knee to pick up the pinfall victory.

Match Result: Shinsuke Nakamura defeats Adam Cole via pinfall after the Boma Ye Knee.

Match Rating: ****

Note: Seriously drop whatever you are doing right now and go watch this match.

That will bring this review of this week’s airing of Ring Of Honor wrestling television for http://www.EyesOnTheRing this week’s show was pretty good for a three match show but if you are pressed for time (if an hour isn’t short enough as is) you can probably skip the second match because it’s honestly nothing special unless you are a fan of one of those guys if not two or three or hell all of them and if that’s the case more power to you. 

In Closing make sure to follow me on Twitter @Headliner5 and tweet me so we can talk about some Ring Of Honor or whatever wrestling you would like to chat about.  You can also check out the Eyes On The Ring twitter account over @EyesOnTheRing.

Last but not least make sure to check out Eyes On The Ring radio each and every Sunday night live at 11:00pm EST as we recap the news and views of the week that was pro wrestling via http://www.BlogTalkRadio.com/ElitePodcastNetwork finally make sure to head on over to Facebook and like us over at http://www.Facebook.com/EyesOnTheRing until we meet again Ringers I am Nathan saying so long and be sure to keep your Eyes On The Ring!

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Eyes on the Ring 10:06 AM  No comment

Returns and Roster Debuts

By @SteveSignore

Expect the WWE to start injecting some new faces into the frey, along with a familiar one over the next few months. What better way to start than with the bearded elephant in the room, Daniel Bryan. Reportedly cleared by his personal doctor, Bryan has been on the sidelines since April. While the WWE isn't starved for more babyface performers they could certainly use Bryan. How will Bryan be used when, and if, he returns? Personally, I think the writing is on the wall.

What better way than to have him return, looking to regain his IC Title (which he never actually lost), from fellow independent darling Kevin Owens? These matches have the potential to steal the show, albeit if Bryan can maintain a clean bill of health. Dream matches anyone? While this rivalry gains steam, there is the potential the WWE introduces Samoa Joe in a separate storyline. These two had a well known rivalry during the mid-2000s while with ROH, and I'm sure Triple H will nudge Vince and company to at least explore the idea of rekindling this feud within a WWE ring. I'll predict they meet face to face during the Royal Rumble match in January.

When Bryan and Joe go off and do their own thing, Owens will need a new opponent. What better way to bring back Sami Zayn?

Best case scenario would be a surprise return during an Owens in-ring promo, where Owens is doing the cliched, "nobody in the back can beat me" routine. There is the thought that Zayn has yet to make a mark in the WWE enough to warrant a crowd reaction. It's understandable. But WWE can make it work, especially if Zayn gets a few weeks to regain his legs in NXT prior to his return. Maybe a vignette here or there, or even footage just reminding the WWE Universe about his U.S. Title match
with John Cena. They can make it work and they should make it work.

Enzo Amore and Big Cass? These guys are ready for the big time, especially Enzo. Did you see the NXT after Takeover in Brooklyn (which was actually recorded at Takeover)? The crowd reaction? Enzo has the fanbase by the balls in NXT and, if done correctly, he can do the same in the WWE. A great way to use Enzo's gift of gab is having him and Cass come in and challenge the New Day. Enzo and Xavier seem like great verbal sparring partners! And maybe you ease in Enzo and Cass for a few months, THEN have them challenge the New Day, that's fine. But it seems too good to resist.

Bad News Barrett needs to become something this time around. Barrett clearly has all of the characteristics of a heel, but it's just not working. Turns some of your babyfaces (Reigns, Ziggler, Usos) heel, to balance out the roster, and have Barrett try something he's yet to try in the WWE. It's likely an idea WWE already had as Stardust took out Barrett on his way out the door.

Last but not least, Jericho. We got a taste at NOC of Jericho and where his character is headed. Expect a match, and maybe a short run, between Jericho and Ambrose heading into Survivor Series.

-Steve

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Eyes on the Ring 4:43 PM  No comment

All Eyes On: Randy Orton

By @iMAKAVELI

Randy Orton, who is Randy Orton? Randy Orton is the Legend Killer, The Viper, one of the most beloved WWE superstars of all time. In 2000, Randy trained Mid-Missouri Wrestling Association-Southern Illinois Conference Wrestling (MMWA-SICW) in St. Louis Missouri. While he wrestled for the promotion for one month, he performed with wrestlers such as Ace Strange and Mark Bland.

A lot of people don't know that Randy also refereed a few matches with World Organized Wrestling, then in 2001 he signed a developmental deal with WWE and started wrestling in Ohio Valley Wrestling in Louisville, Kentucky, training with other WWE superstars such as John Cena, Brock Lesnar and Dave Batista.

Orton's first match on WWE television was against Hardcore Holly on Smackdown in April 25th 2002, where he defeated and began a short feud with Holly. Randy became a fan favorite and competed in a series of matches with Holly. In September 2002, he was drafted to RAW where he defeated Stevie Richards, weeks after that he suffered a shoulder injury that left him sidelined for months. Randy still appeared on RAW interrupting several segments with his "Randy News Network" where he talked about his condition. This slowly turned Randy into a narcissistic and self-centered heel.

Once Randy was fully healed, he joined forces with Triple H, Ric Flair and Dave Batista to form Evolution. The heel group easily went straight to the top, dominating, winning matches and titles. At one point, all 4 members were holding gold. On December 14th 2003, Randy defeated Rob Van Dam to win the Intercontinental Championship at Armageddon. He went on to hold the title for 7 months and that was the longest IC reign in 7 years, so he was already a favorite in WWE's eyes to be on top one day. Randy marked himself as "The Legend Killer" while having several altercations and matches with WWE legends. Once Randy lost the IC championship to Edge at Vengeance in July, he continued to climb the ranks in the WWE and became the #1 contender for Chris Benoit's (RIP) World Heavyweight Championship. Randy defeated Benoit at Summerslam 2004 and became the youngest World Heavyweight Champion of all time. The next night, Evolution members threw a mock celebration for Orton where they turned on him, which kicked off a feud with Evolution, mainly Triple H. Triple H defeated Randy at Unforgiven, but that didn't stop him, he continued to feud with the Evolution members. He had a chance at New Year's Revolution and Royal Rumble, coming up short in both. Randy then went on to have a on-screen relationship with Stacy Keibler, where we saw Randy RKO her and turning heel again.

Anyways, Randy ended up starting a feud with the legendary Undertaker. At Wrestlemania 21, unfortunately Orton lost. Randy was drafted to Smackdown as a late draft pick where he continued his feud with Taker. Orton-Taker lasted about 9 months, we saw matches at Wrestlemania, Summerslam, No Mercy, and Armageddon. Randy went on to have good feuds with the likes of Rey Mysterio, Kurt Angle, Hulk Hogan, Rob Van Dam, Ric Flair, Dusty Rhodes, Sgt. Slaughter, and John Cena. He also teamed with Edge to form "Rated RKO" where they won tag team gold and feuded with Shawn Michaels and Triple, D-Generation X. At No Mercy 2007, Mr. McMahon granted Orton the WWE championship due to a injury that the current WWE champion John Cena had suffered. Orton then lost the strap to Triple H in the opening match, but then won it right back in the main event in a Last Man Standing match. After that, Orton feuded with Shawn Micahels, Jeff Hardy, John Cena and once again, Triple H.

Randy ended up forming a stable called "Legacy" with Cody Rhodes and Manu, but Manu was replaced with Ted Dibiase Jr. On January 25th 2009, Randy won the 2009 Royal Rumble, which started a amazing feud with Triple H and the McMahons, which saw Randy lose at Wrestlemania to Triple H, but He won the strap at Backlash in a 6-man tag match against Triple H, Shane and Batista which started a second Age Of Orton run pretty much. Orton was easily the top heel in the business, he was so good that he often received cheers from people in the crowd. At Extreme Rules, Orton dropped the title to Batista in a Steel Cage match, and after the match Orton, Rhodes & Dibiase beat down Batista which forced him to forfeit the strap. Months later, Randy was in the title picture again, regaining the strap, losing the strap, and soon after Randy ended up attacking Rhodes and Dibiase, which completed his face turn.

As a face, Randy was HOT with the crowd, if you go back and listen to those reactions, he was WAY over. He defeated Rhodes and Dibiase in a triple threat match at Wrestlemania 26. Then he competed in matches against Jack Swagger, Batista, Edge, Y2J, Cena, Barrett, and Sheamus. Orton eventually won the strap in a 6 pack championship match, but then dropped it to Mr. MITB, The Miz. Orton began a heated feud with CM Punk, which setup several matches and segments between the two. Orton defeated Punk at Wrestlemania 27 and Extreme Rules. Randy ended up getting drafted to Smackdown where he became the World Heavyweight Champion and competed in feuds with Christian, Mark Henry, Alberto Del Rio, Wade Barrett and Daniel Bryan. He faced Kane at Wrestlemania 28 where he lost, but then won on a episode of Smackdown in a No Disqualification match. He also won at Extreme Rules in a Falls Count Anywhere match. Orton then got back in the title picture against Sheamus, Y2J and Del Rio. Orton came up short and then it was announced that Orton had been suspended 60 days due to him failing WWE's wellness policy.

Orton returned to squash Heath Slater and to compete in feuds against Ziggler, Del Rio, The Shield and Big Show. Randy ended up winning the Money in the Bank 2013 and cashing in on Daniel Bryan at Summerslam, where he completed his heel turn and aligned with the Authority. After that everyone thought we'd get the old Orton back, but we just got a lap dog for Triple H, though it wasn't a bad run, it just could have been booked better. He competed in a series of title matches against Bryan, Cena, and Big Show. He faced Bryan and Batista in a Triple Threat Match at Wrestlemania where he dropped the title to Bryan. Randy ended up reuniting with Batista and Triple H to face The Shield in a few matches, that they lost. After all that, Seth Rollins turned on the Shield and aligned with the Authority, but after awhile Orton got tired of Rollins, turned on the Authority and received a beat down, which sidelined Orton until Fastlane 2015 where he returned and kicked off his face turn and feud with Rollins. He defeated Rollins at Wrestlemania. Orton was back into the title picture along with Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns all against champion, Seth Rollins. Orton fell short in all his matches to regain the strap. WWE, with nothing left for Orton to do, put him in a feud with Sheamus. They competed against each other on Raw, and faced each other at Battleground and Summerslam. Hopefully, that feud is over now. Now it seems like he will be teaming with Ambrose and Reigns against The Wyatts. It makes sense because the Wyatts attacked Orton on Raw, but after that, what's next for the Viper? WWE creative obviously doesn't know what to do with him, I know I do. Kevin Owens? Finn Balor? Samoa Joe? Sami Zayn? Neville? I mean there's a lot of opponents for Orton to feud with after the Wyatt feud is over. Most of them would result Orton in turning heel again, maybe that's why WWE is hesitating to do it since Orton was just a heel. I understand that, but honestly I could see Orton as a face against guys like Owens or Samoa (If Samoa turned heel) Where do you see Orton? Who could you see him feuding with? Orton is far off from being done with WWE unless he just up and retires or something. He's still fairly young, still puts on amazing matches, all he needs is a young guy to feud with. Something new and fresh. Pretty sure we all want that, hopefully we get it, but the BEST thing for Orton in my opinion would be a Intercontinental Championship run, similar to how Cena did with the US Title. It would be a title we haven't seen him hold in YEARS and it would keep him busy and feud with Owens to boot. Get it done WWE.

#OrtonICChamp BOOK IT.

-Lynard

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Eyes on the Ring 6:18 PM  No comment

Blading In Wrestling

By Christopher Evans(@cool_calm_chris)

Blading, a long standing gimmick in wrestling that isn't as heavily prevalent in the sport nowadays. It's a technique in where a wrestler will, in kayfabe, be cut open from a something like a chair shot to the head. However in reality a wrestler will use a blade, often hidden in their wrist tape, to cut themselves open. Wrestlers never used to use this technique, in the 70's and early 80's they would use a well placed punch to the bone in their eyebrows. That techniques is so old that on of the only remaining wrestlers to be able to cut someone open that way is Hall of Famer and hardcore legend Terry Funk. Blading can be very dangerous, but when done helps deliver more to the story that is being told in the ring.

It helps bring realism to the match and can help bring heat to the wrestlers involved. A babyface who is cut open that is able to make it through the gruesome pain of being cut open will inevitably get over with the fans and a heel that cut open the babyface will look strong and dangerous. For example, at Wrestlemania 13 one of the most memorable babyface/heel turns came when Stone Cold Steve Austin and Bret Hart wrestled in a submission match, where Bret Hart made Stone Cold Steve Austin pass out to the sharpshooter. Austin had already been garnering a massive face reaction even though he was a heel, and Bret was the returning babyface who fans couldn't take anymore. So when Wrestlemania 13 came and Austin had been bloodied and battered to the point where he couldn't fight the pain, he would become one of the most over wrestlers in the company, whereas Bret Hart looked even more like a heel than before. The blood added to the narrative that the wrestlers were portraying, Austin was determined to beat the Hitman, and Bret was going to beat Austin by any means necessary. A bloodied Austin showed his will and determination to fight on and beat Bret Hart, and not tapping out showed how he refuses to lose.

Blading, when done correctly and seldom, can be a great way to get someone over with the audience. However, when done often it can become watered down and when done incorrectly can be life threatening. Take the Mass Transit incident for example, a young 17 year old going by the name of Mass Transit forged his documents and told Paul Heyman that he was trained by Triple H's trainer Killer Kowalski so that he could wrestle on an ECW show. Before the match took place he asked one of his opponents, New Jack, to blade him. So during the match New Jack cut him with a razor and cut open two arteries in his head. The young man bled uncontrollably on the mat and had to be rushed to the hospital where it took 50 stitches to close the wound. Often times you'll see wrestlers like the late great Dusty Rhodes, Mick Foley, or Abdullah the Butcher with rigid marks on their head from constantly blading in matches. Some companies do not have a policy against blading, however WWE has a policy in which a wrestler can be fined for it when caught on camera.

Nowadays it's rare in which you will find a wrestler in WWE blading (with the exception of Brock Lesnar), but back in the late 90's to early 2000's it was somewhat normal. Almost every pay-per-view main event match had blading in it, at a certain point it just got out of hand. One of the main boiling points came at Judgement Day 2004 when WWE Champion Eddie Guerrero wrestled John Bradshaw Layfield for the championship. Guerrero took a nasty chair shot to the head and bladed after, he cut too deep and ended up gushing out blood from his forehead. Things like nasty chair shots to the head or blading all lead to problems that wrestlers have to face well into old age, if they make it that far.

So having blading in professional wrestling is a problem, but when done correctly and seldom can help give a wrestler credibility. Take Roman Reigns and Bray Wyatt for example, if they have a match at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view  (which is a foregone conclusion) blood could really help their match and the wrestlers themselves get over with the fans. Both wrestlers have pretty much been lukewarm with the fans and haven't really been able to gain a great reaction in their feud. If Bray Wyatt were to cut open Roman Reigns and have him sell the fact that he is at a disadvantage the fans could really sympathize with Reigns and finally he can gain that connection that he's been struggling to find.

So yes, blading is dangerous and should not be done often as it could lead to problems in the future. However, when done rarely, specifically at the right time, it can help wrestlers get over with the fans and can bring realism to a match.

-Chris

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Eyes on the Ring 7:05 PM  No comment

Can We Not? Volume Eight: Ten Hits, One Kill

The finisher.

For years, after a talent went through their signatures, they'd gear up to, well, finish their opponent. The Stunner, The Rock Bottom, hell...even the AA. But somewhere along the way, finishers became less of a finale and more of a middle of the match event. If my memory recalls correctly, it was around the time of our beloved Attitude Era.

But that wasn't enough! No. Soon, promotions saw fit to have ten RKOs lead to nine AA's in a 35-minute match which some yum-yum with the IQ of three thought was the greatest thing to happen to wrestling. No. That's the greatest thing to happen in Street Fighter. Unlimited combos and super moves to the point of exhaustion. Wrestling is supposed to be more about the psychology of the match, not JUST who hits harder.

You don't see Floyd Mayweather just beating the crap out of everyone because reasons. If he went in with that philosophy, he'd have a lot of blemishes on his record. Now, if you can mix philosophy in with this hard-hitting style, a la Cena/Cesaro or Punk/Cena in 2011, you've got a classic in the making. If not? Well, you've got my latest entry in the Can We Not Series: spammed finishers ad nauseum.

Now, be aware: this isn't just a WWE problem. Every promotion these days, from TNA to NJPW to the random backyard promotions get into this creative rut, effectively rendering most of their talent during big matches spot monkeys (can we talk about the connotations of that term next "Racism in Wrestling," True?) and dilutes the power and effectiveness of the finisher.

So, what do I propose? Less million-finisher matches. Duh. Simple as that.

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Eyes on the Ring 3:34 PM  No comment

"Can We Not?" Volume Seven: Kane

For close to twenty years, Kane has been a part of the WWE. And for close to twenty years, he's, at the least, sniffed at the main event scene. And for about five of those twenty years, WWE fans have been saying but one thing to Kane's apparent vice grip on the upper midcard.

It hasn't been "we're scared." It hasn't been "Oh, my God! Don't do it."

It's been "please retire."

Yet, here we are again, in late 2015, and a returning Kane has injected himself, again, into a main-event feud. This time, during the closing seconds of Night of Champions, Kane killed any chance of a Sheamus MITB cash-in by attacking not only Sheamus, but Seth Rollins as well. It's like we got into the Wayback Machine and landed in 1997, 1998, 1999--you see where I'm going with this, or should I say "when?"

"When" we're going today, Sherman, only God knows.

Now, I'm a big fan of Kane's earlier work, and Team Hell No managed to work to levels no one could've seen. But, each time he returns these days, he manages to take every good part about his legacy, about his character, dump on it, reheat it and serve it out so we can say "oh, hey. It's Kane! Let's jump for joy for yet another 'go-away-heat' garnering moment where Kane, for no rhyme or reason, runs roughshod through everyone--only to get thwarted by John Cena/Roman Reigns/a face Seth Rollins/a cashing-in Sheamus.

No thanks. Plus, that wig.

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Eyes on the Ring 12:48 PM  No comment

ROH TV Review 9/19/15

By Nathan Neumann 
Twitter @Headliner5

Hello ROH Wrestling Fans and Eyes On The Ring readers alike, Nathan here once again to give you your weekly dose of honor in the form of my ROH TV review for EOTR. Now, this episode is technically one night removed from All Star Extravaganza 7, which took place live on Pay Per View on Friday September 18th, but was taped from the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia before ASE 7 actually took place, but for timing purposes this was one night after like I said earlier.

This show features talent from NJPW and the United States pro debut of NJPW Intercontinental Champion Hirooki Goto. This match also featured three matches per the usual for a one hour ROH show, so without any further hesitation lets get to the action.

Kevin Kelly and Steve Corino are on commentary as we go into the first match

Match 1
Silas Young vs. Michael Elgin

Thoughts:
Before the action gets underway, Kevin Kelly mentions that Michael Elgin had a great showing in the G1 Tournament. He claims that Elgin may have been the MVP of the entire tournament, but I don’t know if I would go quite that far. Kevin Kelly has also joined in on the trend of referring to Elgin as “Big Mike”

The two men both obey the code of honor before the match. Elgin starts the match with a Stalling Vertical suplex as the fans in attendance counted together in unison, and as they get to thirty, Elgin motions for the fans to continue. The fans begin chanting Big Mike so I guess they are going run with this thing.

Silas gets Elgin down and hits the headstand moonsault for a two count. Elgin hit a few Enziguris and follows it up with a lariat that he finally hits after teasing it during the entire duration of the contest. Elgin hits the deadlift Vertical Suplex from the top turnbuckle and turns it into a falcon Arrow mid way through but only gets a two count.
Young connected with his finisher, but Elgin rolls out and Young follows him out to the floor, pulls back the mats and exposes the concrete. Elgin powerbombs Young into the barricade at ringside and takes the match back into the ring in order to hit an Elgin Bomb to pick up the win via pinfall.

Match Result: Michael Elgin defeats Silas Young via pinfall after an Elgin Bomb.

Match Result: **

After the match, Elgin offers the handshake,but Young refuses. From there, Adam Cole cuts a pre taped backstage promo hyping his upcoming main event match with Shinsuke Nakamura, which will take place on next week’s show.

From there, we go to the second match of the night.

Match 2
ACH vs. Caprice Coleman

Thoughts:
They played up the angle from a few weeks ago where Prince Nana handed Coleman and envelope during a previous match. However it was never explained what was contained inside of said envelope so I guess it doesn’t really matter.  The crowd seemed to be way more into ACH than Coleman before the match started.

The match began and both guys began the feeling out process with a bunch of flips, dives and jumps which is what you can expect in a match from these two as neither man can gain a full advantage.  Coleman hits Trinity which gets zero reaction and ACH kicks out of the pin attempt. Coleman hits the one-inch punch and ACH reacted to the shot a half a minute later as he was about to hit a dive to the outside. Coleman took advantage of this ridiculous move and hit the Sky Splitter leg drop inside of the ring to get a near fall.
Caprice hits a top rope Hurricanrana, but ACH avoids the pin attempt by rolling through, he then hits a brainbuster followed by a 450 splash to pick up the victory via pinfall.

Match Result: ACH defeats Caprice Coleman via 450 Splash 

Match Result: **1/2

After the match, ACH still sells the effects of the one-inch punch and Corino calls him his third favorite Hardy brother. Coleman and ACH shake hands back in the ring and Corino interviews Coleman about the note that he received earlier from Prince Nana. Coleman makes mention of money in an envelope accompanied by a letter, he says he took the money and read the letter over several times and says he understands it now and that Nana was right and then walks away before telling us anything further than that.

Inside ROH is up next with Many Leon, she talked about the new working relationship with ROH and NJPW and we see clips of ROH and New Japan officials announcing the joint show in February which will take place across two days in Japan followed by NJPW stars coming back to the states for the 14th Anniversary show in Vegas which with any luck I’ll be at.  She also talks about more New Japan shows for the tour in May.  Leon who was wearing a NJPW shirt and very well I may add gets interrupted by Delirious and talks bunch of gibberish before hiding in a locker behind her as the segment ends and we head back inside the arena for the third match of the evening.

Main Event - Match 3
Roppongi Vice (Baretta and Romero) and IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada vs. The Briscoes (Jay and Mark) and IWGP Intercontinental Champion Hirooki Goto

Thoughts:
The crowd gave an instant reaction as soon as Okada’s music started as they chanted Okada and got the streamer treatment which is customary for a star of his caliber.  Goto also got a sizable reaction for his first U.S. Appearance but Goto refused to adhere to the Code of Honor.  Okada and Jay Briscoe start off the match as the fans are firmly behind Okada when the two square off.

Goto gets a quick tag and holds his own against both Roppongi Vice members Corino played up how Goto would like to unify both the IWGP World and Intercontinental Championship belts in NJPW.  Mark did a few comedy spots some of which involved Baretta’s headband.  The Chaos members began double teaming Mark as he was trapped in the NJPW corner for several minutes.  Corino also made mention of the Okada vs. Tenryu match that is happening as part of NJPW’s Tour in November.

The three members of Chaos do the Rainmaker Pose; Okada fakes a dive and hits a face wash spot as he looks on to RPG Vice for approval. Goto receives the hot tag and comes in a house of fire and clears the entire ring.  Eventually Goto finds himself face to face with Okada and he manages to get a near fall after hitting a Saito Suplex.

Okada recovers and hits an uppercut for a two and then hits a flying Elbow drop before doing a rainmaker pose.  Goto blocks the Rainmaker attempt and hits a back breaker as we head into break.  Back from break and Jay Briscoe is getting double-teamed by Vice before tagging in Mark.  Romero goes for his three running clotheslines but Mark ducks out and then hits redneck kung fu.  Jay and Goto are back in the ring as they take turns running at Romero.  Mark gets a near fall off of an assisted backbreaker before Baretta breaks it up. All six men hit the ring and take turns hitting their moves.

Mark blocks a rainmaker attempt but gets nailed by Barretta from behind.  The Briscoe’s nail Barretta with a Doomsday device outside of the ring and then Mark hits a Froggie-Bo on the inside of the ring on Barretta but Barretta is out at two.  Mark hits a fisherman’s buster on Romero but Okada grabs him and hits a tombstone. Goto makes his way in to help but Okada hits a picture perfect dropkick and then goes for the rainmaker which is blocked but Okada hits a picture perfect dropkick and then goes for the rainmaker which is blocked by Goto who hits a headbutt.  Jay and Trent end up in the ring as Jay hits Baretta with a Jay Driller for the pinfall victory.

Match Result: The Briscoes and Kazuchika Okada defeat Roppongi Vice and Hirooki Goto via pinfall after Jay hits Goto with a Jay Driller.

Match Result: **1/2

That will wrap it up for me and other one of my Ring Of Honor reviews and this week’s show could have been a lot better, but if you are looking for an hour of wrestling to watch than you can’t go wrong.  In closing be sure to follow me on twitter @Headliner5 and also follow Eyes On The Ring @EyesOnTheRing.

Also make sure to tune into the radio show as we come to you live post WWE Night Of Champions as we talk about the goings on there and the week that was pro wrestling at 10:30PM EST with Eyes On The Ring Radio via http://www.BlogTalkRadio.com/ElitePodcastNetwork finally make sure to head on over to our facebook page located at http://www.Facebook.com/EyesOnTheRing.com and like us and until next time Ringers when I present yet another one of my ROH reviews, I am Nathan saying so long for now and keep your Eyes On The Ring!

-Nathan

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Eyes on the Ring 9:32 PM  No comment

WWE Night of Champions 2015 Preview

By @Tariku__

Night of Champions 2015 looks like an event that will be better than Summerslam 2015. A show where EVERY championship is up for grabs. Pretty simple yet intriguing concept. For the first time since the show became a regular, a champion will put both of his prestigious titles on the line against two franchise stars within the wrestling industry. Seth Rollins will defend his United States Championship against The Face That Runs The Place, John Cena. He'll defend his WWE World Heavyweight Championship against the man known as STING! Today, I'll be giving my preview and predictions for the event. Let's get started.

1. Dolph Ziggler vs Rusev

This feud has been pretty funny. In a bad way. Neither man is gaining anything great from this feud. Another contest in a feud that had potential but has fallen flat on its face.

Winner: 
Dolph Ziggler

2. Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, and a mystery partner vs Wyatt Family 2.0

The character addition of Braun Stroman has injected a dose of life into this rivalry. The story has been a little more intriguing. The suspense of the mystery partner has kept it alive. I believe either Kane or an NXT prospect will make their debut on the new team. I really hope it's not Erick Rowan. Wouldn't make sense at all. The match should be pretty good. They had a really good showing at Summerslam.

Winner: 
Wyatt Family 2.0

3. The New Day vs The Dudley Boyz for the WWE World Tag Team Championship

The night after Summerslam was highlighted by the return of a legendary tag team. The Dudley Boyz made their return to the WWE and sent an immediate message to The New Day. The early stages of this rivalry has been fun to watch. The New Day trying to protect tables from the crazed, furniture destructive force of the Dudley Boyz. The Boyz seek to make history by winning the tag titles for the 10th time. I honestly wouldn't mind New Day retaining or the Dudleyz making history. I just want to see an entertaining match.

Winner: 
The New Day

4. Ryback vs Kevin Owens for the WWE Intercontinental Championship

This is something fresh and something that can bring a lot of great things for both men. Ryback has been a fighting champion and this is his toughest test to date. I really want to see both competitors go at it in a best of five series for the title somewhere down the line.

Winner: 
Kevin Owens. It's always better when the heel is the champion. Owens is better as a champion and Ryback chasing after him could be interesting to watch. 

5. Nikki Bella vs Charlotte for the WWE Divas Championship. 

The Divas Revolution will reach its climax at Night Of Champions. It was supposed to reach that point last Monday on Raw, but a Dusty Finish prevented that. Now Charlotte has another chance at the gold and this time, Nikki's championship advantage is stripped from her.

Winner: 
Charlotte wins her very first WWE Divas championship. 

6. Seth Rollins vs John Cena- US Title Match

7. Seth Rollins vs Sting- WWE World Championship

Seth Rollins defends both his United States Championship and his WWE World Heavyweight Championship against John Cena and Sting. TWO MATCHES. ONE NIGHT. I saved most of the article for this because these two matches can shift the WWE in a lot of different directions.

Rollins could retain both his titles in one night to prove that he's INDEED THE MAN. Or he could lose both titles and his strained mentor-student relationship with the head of the Authority, Triple H. Or he could lose the US Title, retain the World Title, and be the victim of a cash in from Sheamus.

Seth Rollins WILL put on two more classic performances to add to his impressive resume, but he might not be so lucky by the end of the night.

Winner of the U.S Title Match: 
John Cena

Winner of the World Title: 
Sting, but Sheamus will cash in and become the NEW WWE World Heavyweight Champion.

-Tye

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Eyes on the Ring 4:39 PM  6 comments

The New Generation vs The Attitude Era

By Nathan Neumann 
@Headliner5

Hello ringers and welcome to an article that came to be by accident. Now, you may be asking yourselves Nathan, how is this possible?  Well Sunday night we do the radio show (Cheap Plug) and I made the comment that I thought that the New Generation Era was better than the Attitude Era.  Now, you may be saying that I’m totally out of line in saying that, but I’m going to explain in the best way possible why this is not just my opinion, but also a fact.

The New Generation Era was an era in WWF/WWE from 1993/1994 until the end of 1997, on November 9th to be exact when the Montreal Screwjob happened and became the catalyst to kicking off the Attitude Era. The New Generation Era had some of the worst characters that I’ve ever come across in wrestling. For example, Duke The Dumpster Droese, Kwang and the ever so loved Mantaur.

Mantaur was a half man, half bear half pig… No wait wrong show, I’m thinking of South Park.

So he was a dude in a weird costume, and while he was bad, this was just part of the New Generation Era and it doesn’t represent the entire era.

The Focal point of the New Generation Era should be the work horse wrestlers like Razor Ramon (when he was motivated at least), Shawn Michaels (Again when he wasn’t coked out of his mind) and of course the ever so popular Bret Hart.  I’m a huge Bret Hart fan, so one of the reasons as to why I almost prefer the New Generation Era to the Attitude Era was solely due to his existence in it(because lets be honest he only saw the beginning of the Attitude Era and then he was gone).

The New Generation, while for the most part cheesy with all of the weird gimmicks like the ones I mentioned above, had some pretty good wrestling. In fact, the wrestling of the New Generation Era was far better than the wrestling of the Attitude Era, but I’ll get to that in a bit.

The best part about the New Generation for me was that you would get matches with CLEAN finishes. I will discuss more on this once I start talking about the Attitude Era in a bit.

There are a lot of people who will probably think I’m crazy for my opinion on this whole thing just like my colleagues at Eyes On The Ring, but I will stand by my opinion and maybe convince others to change their minds, because get ready we are now going to talk about the ever so loved Attitude Era.

The Attitude Era is perhaps the most popular era in wrestling, but believe it or not, it wasn’t an original idea. Vince McMahon will openly admit to lifting ideas from ECW and turning it into his own vision of what the Attitude Era would become. I’ll be the first to admit that 12 year old me back in 1997 absolutely loved the Attitude Era, but as I’ve gotten older and the WWE Network has become a thing and I can go back and watch anything from the Attitude Era I want at any time without hesitation, It made me realize one thing. The Attitude Era was HIGHLY overrated.

In The Attitude Era, you had bold dynamic characters like Shawn Michaels, The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin.

If you were one of the ones that believe that the Attitude Era was better than the New Generation Era on a character perspective, you would be 100% correct in your statement.  However the wrestling on RAW and Pay Per Views is pure 100% Garbage and here’s why.

First and foremost, the wrestling while many seem to think it was great, it was in fact absolutely atrocious. However this horrid wrestling was often overlooked by the storylines and the angles and the fact that the crowd was white hot every single week, so there was no possible way that the WWE could screw any of this up.

If you want to prove my point go back and watch an episode of RAW on the WWE Network that took place during the Attitude Era and count all the clean finishes you see.  You're lucky if your tally is at one by the end of the night. I’ve literally sat through three or four Attitude Era episodes of RAW at time in succession and seen not one clean finish and that is my main problem with this era.

The wrestling was often times sloppy as hell and if you weren’t Austin, Rock, Mankind, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Kane or The Undertaker, nobody cared about you for the most part. Here’s a challenge, think back to the attitude era and name five good wrestling matches and let me see your list.  Go back to the New Generation and I could probably name at least five good Bret Hart matches alone that were better than anything in the Attitude Era, namely my favorite match of the all time, which was Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Bret "The Hitman" Hart in a submission match at Wrestlemania 13 which took place in the New Generation Era.

Lets look at The Wrestlemania’s of the said eras. In the New Generation Era you had Wrestlemania 10, which was pretty good for the most part and it was a solid show.  Wrestlemania 11 I’ll admit was one of the worst that I’ve ever seen and anyone else with working eyeballs would probably say the same. Wrestlemania 12 was good for the big matches as well, and Wrestlemania 13 for the most part was a good show as well.

Now lets look at the Wrestlemania’s of the Attitude Era: Wrestlemania 14 I’ll admit was highly regarded as one of the best Wrestlemania’s of all time at least from my perspective. The follow up Wrestlemania 15 was absolute trash and same with Wrestlemania 16 which took place in the year 2000. The one thing that the Attitude Era does have over the New Generation Era was that it does possess the greatest Wrestlemania of all time in 17 and I don’t think we even need to discuss that.

In closing before this article gets to be too long, The Attitude Era Was NOT known for it’s wrestling quality.  It was known for it’s over the top storylines the blurring of the lines (all ripped off from ECW by the way) and the TV-MA humor and antics.

The New Generation Era was known for it’s terrible gimmicks and subsequent cheesiness, but what it lacked in those departments it made up for in wrestling quality.  The Attitude Era may be the most beloved era in all of wrestling but it’s also the most overrated era in the history of the industry and has aged like sour milk.

So in conclusion, do me a favor, go fire up the WWE Network and watch an episode of RAW from both Eras and then hit me up on twitter @Headliner5 and let me know your opinion. You may think I’m crazy,  but anyone who has ever told me that the Attitude Era stuff still holds up I will laugh in their face because the truth is that it does not.

-Nathan

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Eyes on the Ring 8:41 PM  1 comment

Retrospective: Top 5 Sting Matches

By @Tariku__

The Franchise. The Icon. The Man Called Sting. Sting has been widely regarded as one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, maintaining a great legacy through classic matches, unbelievable charisma, and a gimmick that would catapult him into immortality. As a huge wrestling fan, it is my honor to reminisce and reflect on the top 5 greatest matches/moments from one of the all time greats. Let's get started.

5. Sting vs Triple H at Wrestlemania 31

-After his long tenure in WCW and the eventual fall of the once competitive wrestling promotions at the time, Sting was known as "the greatest wrestler to never sign with WWE" after great WCW talent such as Booker T made their way over to the E. That would all change at long last in November 2014 at the Survivor Series event. Sting would make his first appearance in the company. Taking out Triple H and helping Team Cena defeat Team Authority, which would spell the end of the dominant heel faction (not for long). The Authority would return and continue their unruly reign over the WWE. Sting would make his first appearanceon Monday Night Raw ever when he would cause another stoppage in The Authority's tyranny. Triple H would call Sting out after months of frustrated. At the Fast Lane event, The Icon challenged The Game to a match at Wrestlemania. Fast Forward to March 29th, the big day. Sting and Triple H finally squared off one on one. An old school wrestling match with a new school feel, both titans put on a very well paced physical match with interference from two of the greatest factions in all of wrestling, Degeneration X and the New World Order.  In the end, Sting would ultimately lose to the Cerebral Assassin after a sledgehammer shot to the head for the 3 count. The match deserves this spot solely off the moment of Sting's very first match in biggest company in the industry and the biggest event in all of wrestling.

4. Sting vs Hollywood Hulk Hogan at Starrcade 1997

-Professional Wrestling is wrestling of course, but what truly makes it special is not just the in ring work ability. Its about moments, moments that will live in the minds and hearts of many. With that said Sting vs Hollywood Hogan was by any means a wrestling classic, but it was definitely a moment match. Sting would consider himself a free agent and would tell the crowd at Nitro that he would be popping up from time to time. He would return in October to take out an imposter Sting and have the NWO make an offer to join them. Sting considered it briefly, saying that he might not be "in (the nWo's) price range", and then concluded by saying "the only thing that's for sure about Sting is that nothing's for sure." With that, Sting left the ring and would not speak (on mic) on WCW programming again for over a year. Sting would appear as haunting figure in the rafters wielding a baseball bat. For an entire year Sting would test the loyalty of certain wrestlers by giving them the bat, turning his back, and waiting for the wrestler to swing at him or just put the bat down. Sting would attack the NWO at the end of every Nitro. He would not stop until he got his match with Hogan at the biggest show in NWA/WCW history, Starrcade. After a year buildup, Sting would get his title match. The Icon would defeat Hogan and win the war for WCW. A great feel good moment to end the year of wrestling.

3. Sting vs Ric Flair at the inaugural Clash of Champions event in 1988

-Sting's very first marquee match against the face that ran the place, the man, the legend, Ric Flair. Sting and Flair would put on a 45 minute wrestling clinic. One of the best big match debuts in all of wrestling. When the time limit expired, the match ended in a draw, but Sting would be a winner. The match made him a top star because he held his own against THE GUY of NWA/WCW. It has been over 26 years since this match initially aired, and it’s definitely no mistake that this is still one of the most talked about matches in wrestling history. This is the match that created a legend.

2. Sting vs Vader at Starrcade 1992

-Sting's best rivalry besides Flair was his rivalry with Big Van Vader. I saw Flair as Sting's "Lex Luthor". Vader was viewed in my eyes as Sting's "Bane". This hulking figure who would out muscle Sting, forcing The Franchise to think strategically rather than just wrestle. Starrcade 1992 held the King of Cable tournament. Sting and Vader met in the finals and the match was a flat our brawl. Vader's intense brawler nature vs Sting's energetic technical prowess made for a series of intriguing matches but this particular match stood out to me as I personally enjoyed it more than the others.
1. Sting vs Ric Flair at The Great American Bash for The World Heavyweight Championship in 1990

-Of course I would put this as the number 1 match. Yes it is because this match ended with Sting hoisting his first ever World Title. Sting and Flair put on another classic chapter in their great rivalry. Having a match on one of the biggest shows of the year for WCW. With the story being Sting gets Flair one on one. Mano e Mano with no interference from the Four Horsemen. Even Arn Anderson himself was handcuffed to El Gigante. Sting felt this was a last chance match of sorts. No excuses if he were to lose to Flair. The dynamic between the warriors was shown as Flair tried to out wrestle, out maneuver, and do serious physical damage to the Stinger, but The young and charismatic competitor would bounce back at every turn. Sting would finally defeat Flair after countering Flair's patented Figure Four Leg Lock into a simple inside cradle pin and became the NEW world heavyweight champion. History was made as Jim Ross shouted with passion. A significant story and moment for the face painted legend with a satisfying ending.

2015 will see Sting compete against the current MAN in Seth Rollins for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Will Sting add another historic milestone to his legendary career? Find out this Sunday at the Night of Champions special event LIVE on the WWE Network.

-Tye

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Eyes on the Ring 2:59 PM  No comment

Rebooking: The Summer Of Punk

By @FatherTone

Background:
After winning a series of matches against top contenders Rey Mysterio and Alberto Del Rio, it was announced that CM Punk, leader of the New Nexus, would be the number 1 contender to John Cena's WWE Championship. On the June 27th 2011 edition of Monday Night Raw, CM Punk sat atop of the entrance ramp after the main event and delivered what is considered by many, one of the greatest promos of all time, the infamous “Pipebomb”. Punk talked about everything wrong with the company all the politics and the ass kissing that ruined the WWE. It all ended with Punk stating that at the next PPV “Money In The Bank”, he would win the WWE Championship and leave the WWE with the belt. This would result in all eyes on the wrestling world. Everyone was reporting about the infamous promo the next day and it was just what the WWE needed heading into their next PPV. Over the next few weeks, we would see Punk get suspended, reinstated and even try and renegotiate his deal with Vince McMahon live on Raw. On the final episode of Raw before Money in the Bank, Vince McMahon announced that if John Cena lost the WWE title he would be FIRED the following night on Raw. CM Punk would go on and win the world title from Cena, exit the building, and leave the WWE just like he said he would. He then returned 8 days later, challenged John Cena again to see who the true WWE champion was at Summerslam, and won that match as well. He then lost the title after being attacked by Kevin Nash and Alberto Del Rio cashing in, lost to Triple H the following month at Night of Champions, lost again to Del Rio the following month at the Hell in a Cell PPV, and lost to Miz and R-Truth the following month at Vengeance before finally winning the title back at the Survivor Series from Alberto Del Rio. He would go on to have one of the longest WWE Title reigns of modern history. During this period of time CM Punk lost a lot of momentum and that’s where I step in. This is how I Would’ve booked the Summer of Punk.

How I Would’ve Booked It:  
So everything leading up to the match at Money in the Bank was fine. The promos, the segment where Vince tried to renegotiate Punks deal was all entertaining TV and it made the fans excited to see if Punk could actually win and would he leave. The only thing I would’ve changed is the stipulation where Cena would get fired, and instead change it to as long as CM Punk was champion, he’d never be able to fight for the WWE title. CM Punk would go on to beat Cena at Money in the Bank and he would leave the company not for 8 days, not for 8 weeks, but until the Road to Wrestlemania began. The next night on Raw you have Vince come out and announce that due to legal reasons, there couldn’t be another WWE champion until Punk lost the belt and he goes on to announce that since there’s only one world title left, there would be a company wide tournament to determine who would face the then World heavyweight champion, Randy Orton at the night of Champions pay per view. Cena, who realizes he can compete in this tournament goes to enter and wins the entire thing, beating Randy Orton at Night of Champions and becoming the World Heavyweight Champion. After the match, Kevin Nash comes out and attacks Cena, leaving him laid out in the middle of the ring allowing Daniel Bryan to cash in his Smackdown briefcase and win the World Heavyweight Championship, jumpstarting the “Yes Yes Yes” gimmick for Daniel Bryan. The following night, Nash comes out and explains that Vince paid him off to attack Cena, ensuring “Someone as unreliable as Cena doesn’t hold a world championship in this company ever again". So while Cena is preoccupied with Kevin Nash and Vince and whoever they throw in his way the next few months, you have Daniel Bryan defending the World Heavyweight title against top stars like Orton, Christian, Miz, Sheamus, etc. Finally, after ridding the WWE of Kevin Nash and overcoming every obstacle Vince has thrown his way, John Cena earns the right to compete for Daniel Bryan’s World Heavyweight Championship at the TLC pay per view that year.

After a long grueling TLC match, John Cena is victorious but worn out from the match. Alberto Del Rio, Raw's MITB winner, comes out and cashes in on John Cena proclaiming “If there is no WWE championship, I’ll be forced to take your title” or something to that effect the following night on Raw. That same night on Raw you have Del Rio, Bryan and Cena all campaigning to HHH that they all deserve to be the world heavyweight champion. Not knowing who should be the rightful champion, HHH announces that at the Royal Rumble that year, the winner of the Royal Rumble would become the rightful World heavyweight champion. Daniel Bryan, Del Rio, and Cena all enter as 1, 2 and 3 respectfully and go the distance. After it’s all said and done Daniel Bryan wins the rumble and regains the World heavyweight championship. The next night on Raw, Bryan proclaims to be “The Best wrestler in the world” and that no one can touch him, you know a full-fledged heel “im better than everyone promo. Then out of nowhere “Cult of Personality” hits. Everyone is like “who the hell is this”, and out from behind the curtain emerges CM Punk back to challenge Daniel Bryan to see who the rightful world champion and who's really “The Best in the world”. So at Mania, the Main event is Set, WWE Champion CM Punk vs World Heavyweight champion Daniel Bryan for both straps to see who truly is the best in the world. And at this point, I don’t know who should win, the unbeaten champion or the man who beat everyone, so I’ll let you all decide. So that’s how I would’ve booked the “Summer Of Punk”. Let me know how you would’ve booked it and what you want to see me re-book next.

-Tone

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Eyes on the Ring 8:11 PM  No comment

The New Day: The Best Thing Going In Wrestling

By @TrueGodImmortal 

There are very few times when a crew of wrestlers can turn some bullshit into money, but The New Day have been a streak lately and are only getting better. From the beginning, we didn't know what to expect with this trio, but needless to say we became pleasantly surprised as things went along.

Their debut was slow and really didn't work, as the concept of making them a militant angry black group became scrapped very quickly. While this was some bullshit, eventually the group made their debut, as they were given church type videos that were corny and led fans to be frustrated from the start about it, myself included. I felt like the three stars had more to offer than just coonery and stereotypical nonsense.

As the New Day progressed and eventually won the tag titles the first time, and while they were slowly becoming entertaining, it wasn't until they lost the belts that the entertainment went even higher. Xavier Woods is the group's voice, but at times Big E and even Kofi provide moments of comedy. The trio seem to be real life friends as well, which helps the chemistry as well.

As the group pursued the tag titles going into Summerslam, Xavier Woods would amp up the comedy, and soon he began carrying around a trombone and utilizing it during matches. The New Day would recapture the WWE Tag Titles at Summerslam and the next night, we saw the return of the legendary team, The Dudley Boyz. Since then, the trio has made a hilarious interview with Michael Cole, began dancing randomly more and just entertaining the audience at every chance.

Now, as it stands, I think The New Day is currently the best thing in wrestling. I only hope they continue to get better and stay consistent. WWE, please don't mess this up. This is gold.

-True

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Eyes on the Ring 12:12 AM  No comment

ROH Review 9/12/15

By Nathan Neumann (Twitter: @Headliner5 )

Hello once again wrestling fans and Eyes On The Ring readers, Nathan here once again for another one of my weekly Ring Of Honor TV reviews for http://www.EyesOnTheRing.com this episode of ROH TV sort of served as the go home show to this Friday night’s All Star Extravaganza 7 PPV and was taped from the 2300 arena (former ECW Arena) so without any further hesitation lets dive in shall we?

Match 1
Donovan Dijak and J Diesel vs. reDRagon

Thoughts: The action begins with both teams adhering to the code of honor as Jay Lethal makes his way down to the ring in order to join the commentary table to hype his respective PPV Championship matches against both members of reDRagon. Lethal doesn’t care that O’Reilly has beaten him in the past, the only thing that matters is the here and the now because right now he is the greatest professional wrestler alive at least according to him anyways.

In the ring, O’Reilly pairs off with Diesel and fires up the crowd with a simple slap followed by a pose that fires up Diesel.  Fish and O’Reilly cut the ring off for the first few minutes as they both isolate and work over Diesel who is the weaker member of their team.  Dijak gets involved as the referee is distracted and gets the tag to come into the ring. ReDRagon get control over the match on Dijak by using the brains over brawn technique. Dijak hits a backbreaker on O’Reilly before throwing him out of the ring as we go to break.

Silas Young cuts a great promo for his match with Dalton Castle, which will take place, next weekend at All Star Extravaganza 7.

Back from the break and Dijak has maintained control and gets a one man standing ovation from Lethal.  Diesel tags in and does a few Dave Batista like moves to play up a “Mini Tista” chant that he is receiving from the crowd.  It’s only a matter of time before the HOT have O’Reilly isolated in their corner of the ring.

Fish gets the hot tag from O’Reilly and comes in hitting an exploder suplex into the turnbuckle on Diesel.  O’Reilly follows up with a pin attempt on Diesel which is broken up by Dijak.  O’Reilly and Fish take turns trading chops on the much bigger Dijak, they take him to his knees with kicks and then hit stereo kicks which takes him down to the mat.Fish grabs an ankle lock on Diesel but Dijak is able to break it up.

O’Reilly comes into the ring and jumps Dijak’s back and locks in a sleeper, Fish ends up getting Diesel to tap out to an Ankle Lock after dropping to the canvas.

Match Result: reDRagon defeats Dijak and Diesel via submission after Fish taps Diesel with an Ankle Lock.

Match Rating: **

Once the match is over, Lethal gets in a shouting match with both members of reDRagon and it quickly goes from shouting to physical contact which has to be separated by officials.  Kevin Kelly mentions that the pressure of being a duel champion may be getting to Jay Lethal who may be losing his grip on reality.Back from break and we get a Briscoe’s pre taped promo.  We find out that the Briscoe’s will take on a mystery team at All Star Extravaganza. 

Mark wants King Kong but he will settle for Godzilla.  Jay doesn’t care who his opponents are and talks about Adam Page being a pimple on his ass.Match 2Cedric Alexander vs. Dalton Castle Thoughts: Before the match gets underway, Silas Young joins the commentary table to hype his match with Castle at ASE 7.  Castle gets the pop of the night thanks to his amazing ring entrance; Young goes on to say that Castle is everything that’s wrong with pro wrestling.

Cedric gets early control but the boys are there to run a distraction for their man Dalton, they begin fanning Castle off while the fans chant “Fan Up”." Castle avoids getting hit by Alexander as he charges at him in the corner and lands on the top rope right between his legs as Silas mocks him on commentary.  Veda tries to run interference but the boys star fanning her which causes her to retreat and think better about what she was going to do.  Corino then says that Veda’s probably a witch and that he would like to test the theory by pouring water on her.

After a break Alexander has control and mocks Castle’s strut.  Young puts over Castle on commentary as a great wrestler but takes a pot shot at his lifestyle and tells him that after ASE 7 he will show both Castle and the Boys how to live a real mans life. Young then begins talking about dudes peeing and then says that he’s going to teach the boys how to pee standing up like real men (yes this actually happens go back and watch it).

Castle gains the in ring advantage while Alexander hides behind Scott, Castle hits the tilt a whirl hurricanranna to the outside of the ring while the boys fan both him and Alexander from ringside.  Castle tosses Alexander into the ring and hits a corner-to-corner flying knee.  The two men make their way up to the top rope but Alexander fights his way out of it and goes for a springboard cross body but gets caught in mid air by Castle who nails a belly to back suplex.

Castle hits a dead lift German suplex but Alexander manages to kick out in a very close two count.  The boys begin fanning off Castle some more and Young gets up from the commentary table after apparently seeing enough.  Silas pulls the boys off of the ring apron; this distraction allows Alexander to roll up Dalton Castle to score the pinfall victory.

Match Result: Cedric Alexander defeats Dalton Castle via roll up after Dalton is distracted by his boys being attacked.

Match Rating: **1/2

From here we get the presence of Stokley Hathaway who has a wrench in his hand, he confronts both Alexander and Scott as the fans chant for Moose.  Moose comes in through the crowd and nails Alexander with the Spear as Scott looks on in disbelief.  Moose and Alexander will meet in a no disqualification on Friday night September 18th at All Star Extravaganza 7.

We cut to a pre taped interview with Mandy Leon as she takes us Inside ROH but she’s interrupted by Adam Cole, who needs to apologize for interrupting her a few weeks ago.  He wants to talk about his two matches A 4 way #1 contenders match involving himself, AJ Styles, Michael Elgin and Roderick Strong as well as Kyle O’Reilly’s world Championship match with Jay Lethal.

From there Lethal cuts a taped promo talking about his TV title match with Bobby Fish.  He says he always has someone to watch his back but this time he’s alone and he will prove to be like all the others when he fails to take what he’s got.

We then go to a run down of the rest of the matches that will take place at ASE 7 before heading back inside of the arena for the main event of the evening.

Main Event – Match 3
Michael Bennett and Matt Taven vs. Hanson and Raymond Rowe

Thoughts: Taven is sporting his cut off “Big In Japan” tank top and the Kingdom has new all pink attire, which is a nice change.  War Machine gets early control as they isolate Taven, Taven gets a tag after a couple of minutes but it doesn’t really go in the way of changing much of anything.  Instead Bennett is now the one on the receiving end of a War Machine beating instead of him.  Maria decides to get involved but Hanson puts her on top of Bennett who put her on top of the top rope.  Taven comes into the ring and pulls Hanson out of the ring before they can do anything and we go to break.

Back from break and Hanson is caught in the Kingdom’s corner, Hanson tries to fight his way out but the double teaming from the Kingdom proves too much for one man even as big as Hanson to overcome.  Taven makes his way to the top rope as Hanson throws Bennett into the turnbuckle, which knocks Taven off, Hanson then hits Bennett with a Tilt-A-Whirl slam before tagging in Rowe.

Hanson hits a double dive but gets caught and thrown into the corner, Rowe cleans house on the Kingdom, War Machine sets up for Fallout but Bennett makes sure to come in and break things up so that it can’t happen.  War Machine charge full steam at the Kingdom but the Kingdom ducks which sends both War Machine members to the outside of the ring.  Bennett and Taven try stereo dives to the outside of the ring but both are caught and tossed around the outside by War Machine.  Back in the ring and Rowe hits Taven with a power slam as Hanson gets set up to do a top rope dive but Maria pulls at his leg from the outside.  The distraction allows Bennett to get involved and pull Hanson off of the top rope.

Towards the end of the match, The Young Bucks make their way out to the ring and pull Maria from the ring apron as the fans go insane.  Back in the ring War Machine hits a double choke slam on Bennett and follow it up with Fallout on Taven for the pinfall victory.

Match Result: War Machine defeats The Kingdom via pinfall after Fall Out.

Match Rating: **3/4

Weird choice of a winner here as War Machine aren’t even on the ASE 7 card but I guess that leaves the door open for a possible Kingdom win at the PPV.  We then will probably go into a Kingdom vs. War Machine program for the Tag Team Title’s which if that happens I’m fine with because this match was really good so I would like to see what these four can do with each other if they are given more time to develop something.

The Bucks hit the ring after the match and hit Bennett with a double super kick, out come the KRD who lay out the Bucks with the tag team straps.  The show draws to a conclusion with the ROH World Tag Team Champions posing with their titles as we lead into some promos for their match at ASE 7.

That however will do it for me and another one of my Ring Of Honor reviews for http://www.EyesOnTheRing.com.  This week’s show may have not of been as good as last weeks but this was pretty good for a go home show for ASE 7 which takes place on Friday night September 18th.  In closing make sure to follow me on Twitter @Headliner5, also follow the Eyes On The Ring main account @EyesOnTheRing.

Providing Blog Talk Radio doesn’t give us any issues, we will be going live on Sunday night at 10:00pm EST with Eyes On The Ring radio as we bring you the week that was professional wrestling live via http://www.BlogTalkRadio.com/ElitePodcastNetwork finally make sure to head on over to our facebook page located at http://www.Facebook.com/EyesOnTheRing.com and like us and until next time Ringers when I present yet another one of my ROH reviews, I am Nathan saying so long for now and keep your Eyes On The Ring!

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