Raw15

We've reached May 1993, and this week's Raw starts with Hacksaw Jim Duggan carrying an American flag, wearing a singlet adorned with Stars and Stripes, and the USA network logo in the bottom corner.

Any guesses which nation we might be in??

Yes, it's Raw from New York City (That's in the United States of America) and we're kicking off with the advertised Intercontinental title match between Shawn Michaels and Jim Duggan. Shawn is in the ring as the show starts, so doesn't even get a ring entrance on the show. Duggan does his (can I say retarded?) odd walk around the ring and brandishes his piece of wood. I never, ever got Duggan's gimmick. It basically screams "America is represented by this unathletic, mentally deficit moron."

(That's not true by the way. It's a wonderful country, genuinely my favourite I have visited save for my own, with welcoming, hospitable people. At least in the places I have visited anyway. Now after that disclaimer, back to the action...)

The action finally starts three minutes and twenty five seconds into the broadcast. The interim is filled with "USA", "Hoooooooo" and "Shawn is Gay" chants from the crowd. You're all class, Big Apple. Let's hear it for New York.

Heenan (still on commentary, thank goodness) says that people are complaining about Lex Luger's loaded forearm, but not Duggan's 2 X 4, which leads to a classic Vince McMahon line, when you think about it. He says "The two by four has not been surgically implanted anywhere on Hacksaw Jim Duggan". Now there's an image.

Michaels sells like a lunatic for a bit, then walks away, prompting Duggan to go and fetch him, then it's a break. After the break, Michaels drops Duggan on the top rope and takes control. Shawn actually does a great job in this match of looking like a little guy bumping for the big fella, then hitting and running afterwards.

Duggan makes the occasional fightback (basically consisting of running into his opponent a bit) but Shawn keeps him at bay. Duggan is fired up by the crowd's USA chant. Funny, I always thought Michaels from America too. Wouldn't it inspire him, as well? Perhaps in New York they think San Antonio is in Mexico.

Duggan makes a comeback as Vince says the fans will be behind him when he faces Yokozuna - but he doesn't say when. Michaels stops the fightback again and locks in a chinlock. Eventually Hacksaw makes the full babyface comeback.....which consists of solely punching Shawn, then a bodyslam. Talk about basic. This is starting to make Great Khali look like William Regal.

Hacksaw leans down for his three-point stance thing, and basically hits a running clothesline. That was his finisher, as well. Man alive. Shawn bumps to the outside and starts to leave again. Duggan retrieves him again,  because Vince says that Duggan can't win the belt via count out. Ah, you see, smart guy is Jim. Don't let appearances fool you, he is sharp as a............

Oh. He's just won via count out. You see, Shawn created some separation with a the old Greco Roman poke to the eye, but Jim clotheslined him over the barrier. Then got back in the ring. And Shawn got counted out.

If you've ever been horse racing in the UK, you'll know that even in a three mile race where the horses have to go round a couple of times, there will a collection of wallies who think the race is finished when they pass the post for the first time, despite the fact that the horses are cantering and the jockeys not pushing them. The same people that get confused in this situation cheer when a babyface wins a title match via count out. Half the audience go wild for Duggan getting his arm raised, but have neglected, apparently, to ever pay attention during a title bout in their lives, because he doesn't win the belt this way.

This was a staggeringly bad opening fifteen minutes or so. Dull, simple action and moronic jingoistic 'patriotism' on top of strange booking. I know Shawn did ok in the long term, but did it make sense to have the middle age guy that couldn't work destroy the IC champion? Really?

Oh wait, it's not done. Duggan has a mic. He says WWF does a lot of things right, but they have this wrong. He beat Shawn from pillar to post, he says, and when Shawn knew he was about to be taken down, he took a run for it. Yes, and you sent him over the barricade, Jimbo, and got back in the ring. He says he isn't leaving until he gets another piece of Shawn Michaels (tough guy!)

He throws two chairs (well, three, but the last one bounces off the ropes) into the ring. Not folding chairs, padded wooden ones. He sits on one (back to the hard camera) and claps along with the fans. I don't know what they are chanting, though.

After an ad break, Hacksaw is now circling the chair, still in the ring. We're approaching fifteen minutes of show time (not including ads). Duggan circles for thirty seconds and Vince then gets bored and starts talking about something else. Namely Hulk Hogan against Yokozuna. Vince throws to Gene Mean to tell us more about King of the Ring, and says he hopes Duggan will leave soon. You speak for us all, Vin Man.

A fanfare heralds the arrival of Gene Mean on a Green Screen (GMGS) where he says the report is brought to you by ICOPRO (that was the WWF's bodybuilding supplement). He then says "Do it like Crush does it". Yeah, I'm going to leave that one.

Crush lifts some weights and says ICOPRO is great, basically. Gene says Bret Hart is 'number one seed for obvious reasons' and tells us that Luger qualified over the weekend. Perfect and Doink drew, apparently. Gene says there might be a rematch. The main event is Hogan v Yoko.

Gene then does the old 'hand-to-the-ear', I've just received word (it's a pretape) routine, and says that Duggan has left the ring and is calling President Jack Tunney. Actually that was pretty good acting by Gene. Well, quite good. Well, passable.

Gene says Tito Santana v Razor Ramon is on Superstars, and Duggan v Papa Shango on Wrestling Challenge. Back to the arena, and it's the aforementioned Clown, the Doinkster.

His opponent is.......The Kamikaze Kid. Ring any bells? Nope? Well, it's a fresh-faced Sean Waltman, weeks away from his twenty first birthday. He weighs about forty pounds at this point.

Doink shows his nice technical skills, rocking an STF (a proper one) amongst other things. He eventually locks in the Stump-puller, his submission finisher which the announcers don't call by name. The referee and time-keeper seem to completely forget their jobs (perhaps they nodded off during the Duggan segment) and there is about seven seconds between Kid submitting and the bell being rung. Vince says Duggan will be back when they return. Oh joy.

It's not Duggan, but Backlund, who appears first. And he's against......GILLBERG! Well, it's actually Dwayne Gill, but it would only be a few short years until he morphed into his alter ego.

It's funny how I recall Backlund as being a technical master, but watching this he is quite clunky, and frankly Doink was smoother in there. In fact Gill looks slightly better in this one. Vince says he has received a note saying that Duggan has had success on the phone to Tunney, and next week it'll be a rematch - and it's a Lumberjack match. Can't. Flipping. Wait. Backlund eventually wins with a bridging pin.

Back after some ads and.........oh, it's Duggan again. He says he spoke to Jack Tunney, and that the Prez told him that Shawn can run but can't hide, and that the match is set for next week.........tough guy. (I doubt Tunnet said Tough Guy)

Hacksaw says Shawn is pretty and wrestles well but can't fight a lick (just assume he says "Tough Guy" from time to time. Saves me doing it). They talk blah about the title and lumberjacks. That was pointless. Savage on comms says Headshrinkers, Kamala and a very special surprise after the break.

First, though, it's Billy & Bart playing with guns. Wholesome. But I suppose it's their name, so they have to do it. They say hear there is trouble from the Headshrinkers, Money Inc and the Beverley Brothers.

Back in the arena, there are two (presumed) jobbers in the ring, and Howard Finkel is talking. It's difficult to hear what he is saying, because the announcers (all three, including Vince) talk over him. I can make out that he is introducing one of the premier managers of all time - and it's Captain Lou Albano. He's barking. Presumably he is out here to make Duggan look sane. Nice shell suit. Must be the mid-90s.

He shakes hands with the jobbers, who Finkel namechecks but the announcers are still talking, so I miss them. The opponents are the Headshrinkers, so I think I am starting to see where this is going, since Capt. Lou later became their manager. Though I might have my timeline off - I thought they turn face much later than this. Albano joins the commentary team. I won't repeat what he says, because it's basically nonsense. Although at one point he says that he used to manage the Wild Samoans, but now they are the Headhunters. Vince doesn't correct him. Albano rants about Heenan while the Samoan crew look on.

The Shrinkers attack the jobbers from behind. Albano, meanwhile talks such little sense he makes Booker T sound like Noel Coward. Samu and Fatu are pretty dominant, and even hit a spike piledriver as a transition move. As Samu pulls up an opponent to stop a pin, Heenan says he can't understand a word Albano says. Actually Captain Lou's nonsense is worth it for Heenan's comeback, witticisms and asides.

Vince asks about Lou's earring, and I think he says it is "an eclectic rubber band from an eclectic tree in Borneo". What?? The Headshrinkers hit a double "Skull crushing finale", as it were, then Fatu hit's his big splash that genuinely did look great. Vince says to Albano to come back soon. Heenan says "no, don't".

We get a shot of the Bushwhackers trying 'home improvement", which consists of them loosening a pipe so that it empties on Lord Alfred's head. I think it was a plug from Coliseum Video, thought I have no idea which title. Still, probably better than the Tim Allen series.

Kamala is next in town. I didn't catch the name of the jobber. Haven't we seen Kamala team up with Reverend Slick on Raw before this, or did I imagine that? Anyway, he is alone this time. On comms they say Yokozuna and Mr Perfect will be lumberjacks in the Duggan/Michaels match. The jobber runs into Kamala unsuccessfully a few times.

A little while into the match (about a minute, so quite near the end) Vince says Slick has been teaching Kamala social graces, but doesn't think he needs them any more. I assume that means Slick left the company.

Kamala splashes his opponent, who lies on his front. Kamala try to pin his this way several times, then realises and turns him over. Kamala wins, and the director cuts to the obvious shot - a lady eating an ice cream. Fine.

McMahon says it's Typhoon v Bam Bam Bigelow next week in a King of the Ring qualifier. Heenan has disappeared to interview Shawn Michaels. Heenan says Shawn has been stabbed in the back by "Jack Tunney Incorporated". Michaels bemoans that he has to wrestle Duggan again, and feels mistreated. Heenan asks what Shawn has up his sleeve, but Michaels won't tell the camera. Vince says it is the "first ever lumberjack match" as we go off air. That sounds a fanciful claim, but I can't deny it or back it up.

Anyone want to check that for me?

Booking Punk

Here is a scenario of how I would book the next few months, potentially making Cena the WWE's number one heel, Punk the number one babyface, and maybe even a phenomenal Wrestlemania line-up.


------------


It’s the last Raw before Money in the Bank. CM Punk attempts to get into the building multiple times. They stop him. Cena can say he is happy to face Punk but Vince, Raw GM, and so forth keep Punk out. 

Cena is in the main event v The Miz or similar, and the match degenerates with Miz fighting Riley to force a countout. Camera widens, to see “CM Punk” in the ring. He attacks, and the crowd (hopefully) go crazy. The announcers sell it huge. Maybe they even say he looks taller than usual.

Security, agents, etc, move Punk out of the ring in a huge pile. Cam back to the ring, where the real CM Punk now stands. GTS. Cena laid out.

Everyone realises that it wasn’t actually Punk. It was Tyler Black (they don’t have to namecheck him).

You then make a huge thing about it on Smackdown, and then throughout the PPV keep going backstage awaiting Punk ‘s arrival at the building. Maybe threaten that he won’t show up. He arrives during the show surrounded by security and hoopla.

There is a real need to make sure the rest of the PPV is a belter. Go all out with the MitB matches. Rey Mysterio wins the Raw version.

Main event time. Long match, which goes this way and that. Cena throws everything at Punk, who keeps kicking out. Kicks out of an FU, survives ages in the STF. Eventually slaps on the Anaconda Vise. Cena’s arm drops once. Drops twice. Drops a third time. Punk leaps in the air, his music plays, Justin Roberts announces him as champion.

He celebrates, turns into Cena, who drops him with an FU. Music abruptly stops. 1-2-3. Confusion. Ref hands Cena the belt, announcers sell shock. Punk goes nuts, starts destroying the set, security drag him out. The announcers watch and commentate on a replay. They come to the conclusion that Cena’s arm did drop and the ref made a terrible call. They put over that like him or hate him, Punk deserved to win that match. How will he react? Will he turn up at Raw? Will they change the decision? Tune into Raw. And you would, wouldn’t you?

Raw features the first seeds of a Cena heel turn. He starts the show and brags about beating Punk easily. The commentators question the truth of that (That’s where Michael Cole being untrustworthy is a fault. Could do with JR really)and Cena is interrupted by Rey Mysterio, carrying his MitB briefcase. They fist bump and hug and whatever. John does his thing: “Hey everybody, it’s Rey Mysterio, he won Money in the Bank last night. Let’s hear it. You were great Rey, well done. Did you see my match? I was awesome, wasn’t I?” Or something to that effect.

Rey responds that he is happy that Cena beat Punk, but “it wasn’t easy John.  I hate to say it, but he put up a great fight.”

John: “I always had it under control. He’s really not all that hard to beat.”

Rey: “He beat me fair and square a couple of times. I may not like the guy, but he’s a great wrestler. Are you saying that since Punk beat me, you could beat me easily too?”

John: “C’mon, Rey, let’s not get into this, huh? We’re buddies. We’ve been buddies since we first joined the company in 2002. We have fought side by side. I don’t want to fall out with you.” They shake hands.

Cena continues: “Especially over something as obvious as the fact that I could beat you easily”

Rey: “Excuse me? You could beat me easily? Have you forgotten who I am?”

John: “I know exactly who you are. You’re the guy who has had two World title reigns. In the first one you kept losing non-title matches, and the second you were champ for what, three minutes? I like you man, and you’ve done great to get where you are, but you’re no World Champion. You’re no John Cena.”

Rey: “Oh is that right? Well maybe my mask slipped down in front of my eyes, but last night I saw CM Punk beat you, and saw the referee totally screw up, and I have to ask whether it was intentional or not. You are WWE Champion by the grace of God.....or maybe the grace of Vince McMahon.

“The more I think about it, the more I realise that what was said a couple of weeks ago was all a ruse. Vince didn’t want to fire you. In fact, he was making you sure you won and stayed. I never thought I’d be saying this, but CM Punk is the real WWE Champion.”

Out come Nexus. They blast Mysterio and Cena for failing to respect their leader CM Punk, and blame them for Punk’s departure. They challenge Cena and Mysterio to a handicap match on that edition of Raw, which becomes the main event.

A standard match takes place, with Rey receiving a hot tag and taking out Nexus. He sets up a 619, runs the ropes, and gets nailed by a Cena clothesline. Or, even better, by Rey’s Money in the Bank briefcase. An FU later, he leaves Rey to be pinned by Nexus.

The following week, Rey begins the show. He walks to the ring alone and with a purpose. He stands mid ring. “Cena....” he says, and pauses.

“CENA” he says again, this time more forcefully. He then points up. The briefcase descends from a wire, and Rey clutches it. He simply says “Summerslam”, before throwing down the mic and the briefcase.

After that I’m not so clear on the exact path. It would depend on Punk’s needs. However, my thoughts would be that Cena beats Rey at Summerslam, then perhaps beats Morrison and Riley in the weeks and months following. He could even win one-off matches on Raw against Big Show, Ezekiel Jackson, even Sin Cara. Cena just keeps winning, beating babyfaces, bragging about doing so, and pissing off his detractors. I’d keep a rivalry with Rey bubbling under the surface all this time.

You could even do Orton v Cena at Night of Champions, and have Cena win.

Meanwhile, during all this time, the announcers keep mentioning that Cena should have lost the belt to Punk, subtly turning Punk babyface in his absence. I’d even have Tyler Black/Seth Rollins wrestle sporadically and do well, occasionally getting the chance to speak and put Punk over.

At some point, with Punk’s promo and loss becoming fable, and Cena’s heel turn gathering apace, Punk returns out of nowhere, preferably after a PPV main event which Cena wins. The best choice I think would be Hell in a Cell at the start of October. Have Cena v Rey again, with Rey having earned his number one contenders spot, and after Cena prevails (just), Punk attacks. The number for the Raw the night after would be enormous.

Here’s a little idea for how Punk comes back. About six weeks from HiaC, Cena starts to become extra uppity about his status and tells the fans they don’t even deserve to see him walk to and from the ring. During this time, his music can play (maybe a new tune), and he walks onto the stage, poses, and the lights go off. When they come back on, he is in the ring. The reverse would happen when he wins, and leaves.

The lights go off after he has beaten Rey, as they have been doing, but this time the lights come back on quickly, while Cena is just about to exit the ropes. He looks up and sees Punk gripping on to the side of the Cell, which is just starting to lift off the ground. He drops to the floor, and dives into the ring, grabbing Cena and hitting the GTS.

You can then do Punk v Cena at Vengeance, with Punk the rebellious fan favourite in the Austin mould, and he wins the title.

Shortly afterwards, Cena stages a vicious attack on Punk, who vows revenge. I’d not even have a title match at Survivor Series. Instead Punk and Cena each head up teams, with Punk’s team winning, but Cena ducking out and getting counted out.

They meet again at TLC, and Punk again emerges victorious. Thanks to Vince McMahon, Cena gets granted another title shot at the Royal Rumble. You could even write into the story Punk being at odds with Vince from time to time, and Punk agrees to a stip that if he loses the title he agrees to forfeit his rematch clause, but if he wins he gets Vince at Mania. Cena then wins by dubious means.

The following night on Raw Cena states (as he would have on previous occasions) that Punk’s wins were fluke and that Punk somehow cheated, but this is a fair win, and proves that he, John Cena, is the man, no-one can beat him.

He then gets rushed by another returning Superstar, who nails Cena with his big move.

The Rock Bottom.

There is a post script to this story. Depending on how well Punk’s push and development goes, WWE keep the lines of communication open with Stone Cold Steve Austin. If he could be persuaded to do one more match, it could be with Punk.

Imagine a Mania which has not only John Cena v The Rock and Smackdown Champion v Rumble Winner, but also CM Punk, who could be the hottest property in wrestling, against the biggest star in WWE history.

This is all possible. I’m not saying it’s probable or even likely. But it’s possible. It could happen.

Have faith. 

Punk 3:16?

YESTERDAY, I was watching CM Punk’s astonishing Raw promo for about the twentieth time, and something came to me – CM Punk was wearing a Stone Cold Steve Austin t-shirt.

Now I wasn’t by any means the first or only person to spot this but, as I wrote on Twitter(@RobMcNichol) at the time, I am surprised more people are not commenting on Punk’s sartorial choice.

Those who follow both Austin and Punk on Twitter will know that their small face-off on screen a couple of weeks ago on Raw was a reference to their jokey rivalry, but moreover it is a nod to a very obvious level of respect between the two men.

That is surely why Punk wore a Stone Cold shirt, along with the idea that by wearing someone else’s shirt it was an extra thing to persuade viewers that what they were witnessing was ‘real’.

But there is an extra, perhaps unintentional, parallel between the two men, and the reason came fifteen years ago almost to the day.

On June 23 1996, when CM Punk would have been a seventeen year old wrestling fanatic, Steve Austin won the King of the Ring and told Jake Roberts “You talk about your psalms, talk about John 3:16? Well Austin 3:16 says I just kicked your ass.”

The industry, at that point, changed.

Although they would trail WCW and their hot nWo angle for some time, the WWF had seen the genesis of the man that would be their most successful character in their history.

The main reason, long term, for Austin’s popularity was that it came against a back drop of the WWF becoming stale, and then he found the perfect antagonist in Vince McMahon who stood for everything the fans hated about safe, boring TV and the caricature of the evil boss.

CM Punk’s tirade, however worked and scripted, hit on many points that people actually feel. Some people are tired of John Cena being considered the best, and do have concerns about the company’s use of guys like CM Punk.

In 1996, a groundswell of fans was growing tired of guys like Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart and Diesel being ‘safe’ heroes. Austin wasn’t an old-fashioned role model, but he was someone who had an edge that left fans thinking ‘I wish I could be like that’.

Punk has that, and it shone through his speech. Like Austin and his big moment, the character and the promo contained that elusive x-factor that leaves fans saying ‘That was cool’. Save for about a fortnight when The Rock came back, WWE hasn’t had a moment like this since the Nexus debut, and that more shock value than anything else.

And here’s the most important point about the CM Punk promo – it was done to draw money. TNA, like WCW before them, have had a host of angles which have hinted to a viewer that it is unscripted, but none have hit the mark. In fact, it is attempted so often that it has no (pardon the pun) impact any more. In fact, if Samoa Joe, for example, literally broke character and slated the company, it would cause barely a ripple because we’d all assume it was another Vince Russo swerve.

This angle is carefully cultured to draw. There is enough time to draw some TV ratings and to tell a story in the build to a Pay Per View, which fortuitously happens to be in Punk’s home town of Chicago. Expect an atmosphere of which we haven’t seen the like since the famous “If Cena Wins We Riot” match with Rob Van Dam at the Hammerstein Ballroom at the second One Night Stand PPV.

There is actually scope in all of this, down the line, to turn John Cena into a heel and change the direction of the company, if they so wish. Perhaps we can go into that more next time.

But for now, we need to revel in the fact that we have seen something very special. As always, it is the follow up that is oh-so-crucial. If handled correctly, this could be industry changing.

CM Punk just stepped into a world that very few wrestlers before him have entered – and that truly is the bottom line. 

Raw Thoughts - June 21

• Punk with another masterclass to open the show. Let speculation flow as to whether he was scripted to say that he was 'the best wrestler in the world' and that 'wins and losses do still matter'.
• Should they not actually have something happen on the screen when Cole is reading it to make it look a little like it's genuine. And this has happened more than once. 
• How bloody thin-skinned and impetuous is the GM? Because Punk was 'disrespectful' to him (not much, actually) he changes his mind? Twice? 
• Right, lets see how much the WWE universe drives the audience's voting.........
• OK, King votes for Kelly Kelly and.........
• Yup, K2 wins the vote. SHOCKING! (Note sarcasm)
• I think we should some up with some alternative votes. A) Eve B) Kelly C) Beth Phoenix D) Bacon. 
• I vote D)
• What, you've never had Bacon and Brie before?
• Shut up, it was not that bad. 
• Not a pretty match at all, but happy that the belt is off the Bellas. Credit to Kelly for at least trying to make the result seem like it meant something, although she only has two facial expressions, so it was hardly Emmy-worthy. 
• It would have been better had Kelly responded to King's congratulations by saying "Leave me alone, you pervert."
• Nice little hype video for Bourne. 
• Hmm. Two heels and a babyface. Just who will the fans vote for. Perhaps it might be the only one King sounded enthusiastic about. 
• Should it be A) Jack Swagger B) Mason Ryan C) Sin Cara D) TJ Wilson
• Hint: TJ Wilson is better than Sin Cara.
• WOW! Now I did not expect that. Mason Ryan wins the vote. That's a huge result. For one it will tell Vince to push the big musclehead even more. Second, what an indictment of Sin Cara's push out of the gate. 
• Crowd chanting 'Batista' at Ryan was hilarious. Almost as funny as his tan line on his back. 
• They've actually done a really good job with Mason Ryan as far as pushing him goes. It's just a shame he has no discernible talent. 
• Kane v Mark Henry? Wow
• A) Body Slam Match B) Arm Wrestling Match C) Over the Top Rope D) NO BLOODY MATCH AT ALL!!
• Seriously, they should put in the power of veto. That would send them a great message about the type of match their audience wants to see. I mean, I don't expect them to do that for a second, but it would be an interesting experiment. 
• The WWE Universe wants to see these two......arm wrestler. These people are idiots. 
• These votes should take place under AV rules. 
• "This is stupid" chants? Wow. You go Baltimore!
• If Kane wins does he become the World's Strongest Man? 
• "Let him suffer like I've suffered" says Mizark. You haven't suffered as much as we have, fella. 
• Mad, crazy, paranoid heel R-Truth is great. I loved him telling the crowd to stop laughing at him. Proper old school (PG) heeling. 
• That said, the whole Miz/Christian/Truth segment felt off to me until the the Really/Riley/Randy/Jimmy bit. That was very funny. 
• I want to see if Zack Ryder gets into any of the people's choice sections. That might be interesting. 
• Dolph v Kofi - A) Two out of Three Falls B) Vickie banned from ringside C) Submission D) Booker and King shut the f*** up for a match?
• Two out of Three falls wins. I'll hold my hands up, I wouldn't have guessed how many of these votes would go correctly.
• Does anyone in WWE know what a birds eye view is? For years they have said it as though it means 'up close'. It doesn't, it means from above. Are WWE's front row seats in the rafters?
• Why does Kofi have to get Ziggler back in the ring to win the title?  It's a two-out-of-three falls match. 
• Oh, and now Kofi has won the last fall via DQ. What would have happened if Kofi won his first fall via DQ? Should the match have been thrown out? That's ridiculous. 
• ADR v Rey v Punk - A) No DQ B) Falls Count Anywhere C) Submission D) Hair v Mask v Scarf match. 
• I enjoy that Alberto cheers when he says his own name. 
• Terrific triple threat TV match. I really enjoyed that. I loved Rey's spot where he rolled over Punk and dived onto Alberto. At this point, I really don't understand why that didn't go on last. I can only assume they think that there are some viewers that will switch off once Cena has done his thing. I'd argue that by telling them he is the main event they could switch off then flick back with 15 minutes left. 
• Interesting that they put the Punk revelation out in the open. No-one can argue they are booking him into oblivion. That's two big wins in 24 hours. I'm pretty distraught to see him go. 
• But then maybe it's a big swerve. Maybe the honesty goes out the window and he signs a new contract. 
• But that might be me being over optimistic. 
• Now while I have no real issue with the angle involving Cody. Bryan and Ted, can anyone explain to me why those 3 or 4 minutes couldn't have gone to Kofi and Dolph to make their match longer and better?
• Just as I was thinking "This show is another example of a three-show being about an hour too long", they announce Vickie v one of the announce team in a dance contest. Oh my stars. 
• Nice to see Matt Striker has found his level again. 
• Haha. I actually did laugh out loud at the line "Just call me Michael Travolta"
• Don't get me wrong, I hated the dance-off segment and would happily pay a great deal of money to ensure I never see one again..........but Cole did make me laugh. I'll give Vickie and Cole credit for throwing themselves into it. 
• The best thing about Riley is that he acts like a star. Whether he is or not is irrelevant. He just carries himself perfectly. 
• That said, I'd have liked to have seen them make a bit more of him beating Miz the night before. 
• Great crowd tonight, BTW.
• Pretty decent main event. Yes it was a predictable conclusion, but there was some decent action, the crowd really got into it, and it did Christian the power of good, getting a pin over Orton on Raw. 
• The show was just way too long again. It picked up towards the end, and had two pretty long and decent matches, but it had almost switched me off before we got there. 

Macho Man Randy Savage

Yesterday on Twitter I suggested I may be producing a Randy Savage tribute podcast and involving some of you. That plan has not changed, but simply been delayed.

What I am likely to do is to pick four or five people at random to call and have a chat for maybe five minutes about your memories of the Macho Man. If you are interested, please tweet me that you are and I'll get back to you. The decisions on who I speak to will be totally random.

If you are not comfortable in speaking on a podcast, or do not get chosen, why not respond to this post in the comments section and I will use a selection of the messages when I get round to a podcast.

In the meantime, I will be doing the usual PPV Livechat from 10pm Sunday night, which will run until the end of the Over the Limit show. I do hope you'll join me.

RMc

Raw Thoughts - May 2

• Interesting that the montage at the start of the show only included George W Bush, and not Barack Obama. Surely an oversight, and not a McMahon directive. Right? :-)
• Good to see Lillian back. Hearing Justin Roberts' staggeringly annoying voice and intonation makes me miss Lillian every week. 
• To be honest, I'm left feeling strange about this whole opening. I don't blame the Americans for being happy about the Bin Laden thing, but a) I don't need it on a wrestling (or Entertainment) show and b) I don't think this is likely to end all terrorism. Being all pleased with yourself isn't going to help matters. Look, don't me wrong, I've been to the States three times and I genuinely love. Mostly, they are lovely, generous, kind, polite people. But I don't think on the whole they have any idea how much and why most of the rest of the world hates them. This kind of thing doesn't help their world image. I'm happy with you saying "America is the greatest country in the world" if you have experience of plenty of others. I know this is a stupid point, but it's like people who say Ashley Cole is the best left back in the world. If they do that, ask them to name three others. They'll come up with Evra, and then struggle. You won't hear Capdevilla or Lahm or Chivu or any of the other top contenders. They don't think beyond their own comfort zone, their own borders. 
• Mind you, it would have been very cool to see Finlay interrupt the national anthem. 
• That was a joke, relax.
• Cena v Miz in this show. Some will criticise it. I'm not so down on them doing this, as long it is only once in a while. The fact that the match the night before was a three-way helps too, because they aren't simply repeating the match. It's an indication that they are ready to transition Miz into something else (My money is on Rey Mysterio) and give Del Rio to Cena. 
• It took fifteen minutes before anything on this show was jingoistic nationalism, and when it came, it was a cock joke. 
• When I said 'when it came' in the previous bullet point, it was not a cock joke. 
• In the previous bullet when I quoted myself saying 'when it came', it was sort of a cock joke. 
• I'll stop now. Back to The Rock. He's just been interrupted by the GM. 
• ENORMOUS heat for Cole. Miami Heat, if you will.
• Fun stuff with Cole. Nice pay off to a fun segment.
• I don't know who the Pitbull is. I was hoping to see Gary Wolfe. For a second I thought it was Santino. 
• I didn't think for a second Truth v Morrison was going to happen. 
• Maryse v Kelly? I smell Kharma. 
• Oh look. Kharma, already, has changed the division. Interesting to see what happens. 
• Many will have hated the stuff with Santino, Swoggle, Koslov et al, but I have to say the Khali reveal made me laugh out loud. 
• World title at the top of the hour? I smell shenanigans. 
• Steve Carrell was hilarious. 
• The commentary for Miz v Cena was very good. Nice to have JR back. Well booked TV match. Not seen a dusty finish in WWE for a while. Again, as long as these matches are done sparingly, they'll have an effect. It will, I'm sure, get a negative reaction because Cena was involved. 
• My big problem with it was that it was a title match lost in the shuffle. I don't really know why it couldn't have been promoted on this show and drawn a rating the week after. 
• Tried very hard to think of a Degeneres X joke for Ellen but can't think of one. 
• If a tag title existed (a proper one) then Rey and Kofi would be a fun team to go after it. 
• I LOVED hearing JR explain to people some details about the draftees to people who don't watch Smackdown. 
• They seem to be building to Del Rio v Mysterio again. 
• I believe Cena. I think he will keep that belt until Mania next year. Or at least I believe that is their plan right now. 
• Mason Ryan's wrestling trunks are obviously slightly smaller than the shorts he wears in the tanning salon.
• This is the first time I've watched Kane and thought he looked completely past it. I've loved Glen Jacobs' act for years. He has been utterly terrific in his role. Better than anyone expected or had the right to expect. But he looked unsteady and off balance many times in his match with Mason Ryan. 
• Vince will be furious at the camera shot which blocked him off.
• Always good to see Vince. I love how he can be a heel for as long as he likes, but as soon as he comes back, he gets a pop. Says a lot.
• He also handles the 'What' chants better than anyone. 
• Oh. That ending was a little flat. I was expecting someone to draw some heat from attacking Rock or getting in a verbal exchange. I have a big problem with Rock being around often if he isn't putting anyone over. No-one has got a rub from working with Rock yet except maybe Miz, although that is debatable because he was a secondary figure. 
• Overall, not my kind of show. It felt like they aren't really sure where to go with anything except Truth and Morrison, which is rolling along well. With Rock, I just continually can't help but shift the feeling that he has been back for ages and hasn't really done anything, or helped anyone. I have a problem with that. I don't really understand the point of what I'm watching. 

TNA Lockdown - ongoing notes

I'm about to sit down and watch TNA Lockdown as I type this. This blog entry will consist of my random, real-time, ongoing thoughts on the show.

Nothing too wrong with the opener, I suppose. I felt they could have ‘made’ someone, and didn’t seem to try, but it was fine for what it was.

I don’t like the multiple pins, but it isn’t like they’ve made any of those guys mean anything. Except Sabin, although you could use a poor performance to be a catalyst to show hat a good team they are.

Bischoff’s interview, at time of watching anyway, was just weird. Crowd chanting “We Want Wrestling.” Was the promo to fill time while something was happening?

Four corner tag. Was it a number one contender deal? If so, they didn’t say it enough. Similar to them in WWE, the commentary utterly ruined it. Taz was an obnoxious prick throughout. Only unlike Cole he wasn’t trying to be.

‘Crimsom’ on the graphic. Typo. Bush league.

Young’s antics ruined the finish. Moore hits the finisher to crickets, because everyone was watching Moore. Much of the match was very sound, and I enjoyed watching it. The finish was a mess. No big deal made about the winners which was a shame. Overall, happiness level is up.

My first instinct with Mickie v Madison is that the curiosity of a hair match is to see someone without hair. It sort of helps if they are a heel. I kind of wanted to see Mickie lose her hair. I guess there is a chance that the rematch sees Mickie demand Madison puts her hair up, and Madison loses. Or maybe Tara gets embroiled and loses hers, which makes her snap at Madison.

Tenay runs through a tale of the tape with a straight face. Tazz: “I got a tale of the tape of my own. Both these chicks are hot.” Ugh. Needless, sexist garbage. Remember that this is supposed to be a replication of a real sport. If a commentator said that they’d get fired. Tazz, Andy Gray on Line One for you, Peter.

He then couldn’t say Sinead O’Connor, and had to ask about the word ‘tiara’. It isn’t becoming of a commentator that he, a supposed expert, is making himself look like an utter fool. Taz probably has enough in the bank with viewers to overcome this, but it’s still unpleasant to listen to.

I’ll assume one of them was injured, I guess. It can’t be a time thing before Bischoff rattled on for five minutes.

Pope’s selling face is ridiculous.

His arse is more ridiculous. Seeing it, anyway. Flair won’t be happy, Pope stealing his gimmick.

I didn’t think Pope v Joe was a classic, but it was really, really nice to watch Joe wrestle (WRESTLE) for more than three minutes. The match fine. Not special, but nothing wrong with it.

Proper booking of a cage match, incidentally. Heel attempts to run, hits sneak attacks for a while. Weeks go by, they are booked where he can’t escape. Face beats the shit out of him. Simple, isn’t it?

Decent enough match with Morgan and Hernandez. I thought Morgan’s comebacks were a little out of the blue at times. Anarchia trying to climb the cage and the door flying open was unintentionally hilarious.

The PPV has run exactly along the line of ‘fine’ thus far. If the main events suck, this will be a bad PPV. If they are great, it will be a thumbs up. No-one will remember the opening hour and a half, but then they are not supposed to.

Kurt and JJ next.

The most heated rivalry, the most personal situation in the history of the business. The first move? A headlock. Major confusion over pinfall/submission on first fall. Bush League.

I’d noticed it earlier but thought perhaps they were waiting for matches they cared about, but even during this, the crowd are DEAD.

Sign: "Earl steals shirts, Jeff steals wives." I can’t believe that (potentially libellous) sign stays in TNA, but WWE removes “Ryder = Ratings”

Tazz was saying “this late in the match-up” at one fall to zero and after nine minutes.

I got a kick out of Angle using a modified (though not well modified) RKO and Tenay saying that he created a new move. Funny.

TNA do not understand cage doors. What’s the point of a lock if the wrestler can just open it?

Holy botches, Batman! What was that supposed to be? A powerbomb? A super huracanrana? Whatever it was, it was the first thing to pop the crowd all night.

Oh man, what is he thinking? I stopped enjoying the match towards the end because I thought Kurt was going to die.

Generally speaking I’ve no real problem with the match in the sense that it popped the crowd and I think the target audience would probably have enjoyed it. But I felt completely uncomfortable with it. Kurt Angle matches just make me nervous now. I’ve stopped enjoying them.

Even without thinking about the moonsault and the botched powerbomb that match was nowhere near as good as Angle v Jarrett from Bound for Glory 2008. 

It’s just occurred to me that Mickie got injured a couple of weeks ago, didn’t she? I don’t mean in storyline, I mean in actuality. That will explain the short match.

The door opened AGAIN in the title match. Come on.........

I liked the double Scorpion Death Lock. Creative and offering something different at a PPV. Nice.

And then double Mic Check. Pretty cool.

I was literally uttering the phrase “I’m enjoying this match. It’s really well laid out” (I don’t know why, because I was alone) when Hogan’s music hit. I didn’t care for the conclusion at all. Hogan still has to be the focus of attention. That shouldn’t have been about him.

I’d even forgive them the shortness of the match because they’d got me into it. But the interference finish felt like they didn’t really know how to book an ending, so they shoved Hogan out there for the hell of it.

The short match length is a little strange given the Sting v Hardy thing, I guess. But again, I’d forgive them that if it wasn’t for the Hogan deal.

Shit, they’re doing Sting v Hogan aren’t they?

I love Matt Hardy’s finisher. The submission one. Seriously, I do. It's great. 

Oh, Ric. Really? Must you? I don’t know which was worse – him very obviously blading on camera, his arse coming out (Told you Pope was stealing the gimmick) or Tazz saying “His pants are ripped up and falling down, drawers are hanging out, he’s bleeding, his ass is out, he’s getting spanked. What the hell is going on here?” Only for Tenay to imbecilely reply “That’s Lockdown”. What the hell does that even mean? At least Tazz said “Is it?” and sounded doubtful. This commentary has been dire tonight. Tenay just sounds like a confused old man who has lost his enthusiasm. 

It’s just sad. Like Tazz said, that’s a Hall of Famer. I’m not blaming TNA. That’s what Ric wants.

Oh look, the door opened again.

Cool spot with them doing the ‘Beer!’ ‘Money!’ thing as the roof closed.

Oh my. I’m getting a little tired of getting worried for people. Was it worth the risk with Daniels, when Hardy backdropped him? He wasn’t a million miles away from coming off that cage.

Ugh. Cane shots to the head. Needless.

Flair looks hideous. And now he went up wrong for a spinebuster. He could have broken his leg there.

Oh, now Daniels has come off the cage, but of his own volition. I’m ok with that bit – he, Abyss and Hardy are pros – but the backdrop spot was too risky.

If you accept the nature of TNA in that AJ can just wander into the cage, that wasn’t a terrible ending. It lessens the point of the cage match, but that had been killed before this show anyway. You could argue that it’s not really selling an injury too, but I’m trying to be positive.

Generally I didn't like that main event, but I accept that it's the kind of match that if you are a big TNA fan you probably really enjoy. So I won't be too down on the concept and some of the execution, because it probably suited the audience. 

When I was at school we did a science project where we had to build a bridge out of string, paper and pasta strong enough that a matchbox car could run over it. Shortly into the project our teacher said he thought ours was the best in the class by miles. We were really chuffed.

But we didn’t leave it. We kept adding to it. And adding to it. Then we added things. And then added to it. In the end, we ruined it. We should have left it be. But we kept tweaking and it ended up being a nightmare. That's a true story. 

That’s TNA. Their basics are fine, and then they overbook, overwrite and you end up with chaos. They don't know when to leave things. 

I thought Taz was awful during that show. Really bad. He took away from match after match and made himself sound like a tool. Get Foley on the headset. Tenay not much better. 

Frankly, that was another TNA show which will please TNA fans and apologists but won’t attract anyone else. So, then, business as usual. It wasn’t a bad PPV, but there was better booking and wrestling at Wrestlemania, which many people said was a piece of garbage.

The last hour or so made me feel ill. If TNA lose a wrestler to a major injury or worse, they can’t say they were not warned.

It was interesting that Hogan and Flair got bigger pops than most babyfaces. No one wants to boo them.

The crowd looked great but sounded terrible. The one in Fayetteville kicked this one’s arse.

I thought the first half of this show was ok, fair, middling. Nothing special but nothing bad. The second half featured more excitement, energy and crowd reaction, but it had plenty of aspects that I hated. 

Wrestlemania week: First memories

I guess there is a certain irony that perhaps my favourite Wrestlemania is the arguably the worst in history.

It isn’t because of some kitsch value or because I don’t know what I’m on about (a point you might argue, however) but because it was the first one I remember thinking about for weeks, month on end. It was Wrestlemania 9 (or IX, if you prefer) from Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada. My young brain didn’t know that it wrestling terms it was a pile of old toss, instead I drank in the spectacle and knew I wanted to go to one of these events some day (If you’ve been following the Mania blogs this week, you’ll know I did so, 16 years later, in Houston, Texas. Scroll down and you’ll find I’ve told you all about it)

The first Wrestlemania I ever saw was actually Wrestlemania 8. Wrestling was something other kids at my school were into, and ever since one had leant me a copy of Summerslam ’91 on VHS – yes kids, a video tape – I knew I wanted to watch this bizarre new spectacle I’d been introduced to. However, WWF was only on Sky television, and my house did not have Sky until about February 1992.

Reading my mates’ wrestling magazines, playing wrestling top trumps and pretending to understand conversations was my education in wrestling until that wonderful day in 1992 when our Sky was installed. I kid you not – the very first thing that worked on that satellite system was wrestling. Maybe that was a sign. It was a Sid Justice squash match. I watched Mania a few weeks later, but I was still very much on a learning curve.

By the time Wrestlemania 9 was occurring, I was obsessed. I watched every show I could. WWF Mania Saturday morning, WWF Superstars Saturday night, WWF Wrestling Challenge Sunday mornings. Heaven. I was a huge Bret Hart fan as a kid (still am) and so the whole build for me was about Bret v Yokozuna. The other aspect of the build I remember massively was Tatanka beating Shawn Michaels in a non-title match (The Native American was still unbeaten at this point) on Superstars and the crowd going crazy. I still think much could be learned from the booking of a secondary title on a heel the way Michaels carried that IC belt.

I loved Wrestlemania 9. I now know it sucked, but I was so immersed in the WWF at this point, completely sold on how much I loved Bret Hart, Randy Savage, The Steiner Brothers and Mr Perfect, totally in love with wrestling.

I think I knew it was a work. Obviously I didn’t understand the inner workings of the business (maybe I still don’t!!) at the time, but I can’t ever recall thinking “this is real”. I think the only part of WM9 I hated at the time was the two Doinks nonsense. I loved that Doink character, and never liked Crush for some reason, but hated that finish. I had good taste from an early age.

Actually, no I didn’t, because I remember being intrigued by Giant Gonzales. Stupid boy I was.

Wrestlemania 10 was one of my favourite Manias, and still is to this day. I think it was a decent show, certainly for it’s time, and stands the test of time. HBK v Razor in a ladder match was so ahead of it’s time. And if you watch it is so different from the types of matches that involve ladders these days. It wasn’t a flipping and flopping X-Division style match, it was a TLC/MitB stunt show. It was still a psychological classic, it just happened to use a ladder as a weapon. Some of the bumps Shawn took were crazy.

As a Bret fan, obviously I was intrigued by Bret v Owen. That was one of my favourite feuds of my formative wrestling years. There are a couple of Bret Hart matches which are held in massively high regard that I’m not fond of – specifically versus Owen in the cage at Summerslam and HBK at Mania 12 – but the opening match against his brother was a cracking effort. It made Owen a star.

I’ve always loved watching shows from Madison Square Garden. WWF always did a good job of making it feel special, and I’ve always liked the fact that the aisle faces the hard camera, especially for Royal Rumbles.

Aside from a brief cameo from the likes of Burt Reynolds to ring announce or perform a similar job, the early Manias in my life were Celebrity free. WM11 was the I saw to be heavy on that. From Lawrence Taylor in the main event wrestling Bam Bam Bigelow to Pam Anderson accompanying Diesel to the ring. They don't always get it right with the celeb involvement, but it was one of the things that by this point started to make Mania feel that little bit special. You didn't get Salt and Pepa singing for Survivor Series. 

Tomorrow I'll talk some more about some of my favourite early mania memories. 

Wrestlemania Week: Raw Emotion

I don't have a great deal of time today, so rather than go too deep into Wrestlemania stuff - I still want to talk to you about my favourite Wrestlemanias and my thoughts on this year's show yet - I thought I'd offer a few thoughts on Raw this week.

I was hugely impressed with some many facets of this week's Raw. From the build - they expressly told their audience that Rock and Taker would be on the show - to the execution, the show delivered in nearly every way. An extra positive to it will be if a buyrate comes in and Mania has eclipsed recent editions and perhaps jup back about that magic one million mark.

A lot about the Raw this week was about the timing of certain things. I watched Wales v England at the weekend, and I was surprised at how negative the reaction was to England's performance. I felt England were dominant, in control and played some nice football. However, most of their chances and exciting play came in the first half. The second half, I'll admit, was nowhere near as exciting as the first. I think if the halves had been reversed, and England had played their best stuff in the second half, people would have gone away thinking better of the performance.

A month or so ago, The Rock returned to WWE and reminded us all of how (go on, I'll say it) electrifying he is, and ignited a feud with John Cena. A week later, the well built Undertaker cabin segments came to a head with Taker's return and Triple H's surprise involvement. Their initial, silent face-off was captivating.

Both feuds, though, lost a bit of steam after that. HHH/Taker in particular was only kept alive by virtue of some wonderful video packages. However good those initial scenes were, there was a danger of Wrestlemania arriving without the fans recapturing that excitement level which naturally dwindled after the opening gambits.

This week, though, both feuds suddenly became current, interesting and relevant again. I personally can't wait to see what happens on Sunday.

A big return on a TV show often offers conflicting views on how you promote it. Do you keep it quiet and enhance the surprise, yet risk not adding extra viewers? Or do you plug that Superstar X will be around but lose that surprise factor in an attempt to add 0.1 to your rating?

Shawn Michaels appearing on Raw was a terrific moment, and the fact that the promise of Rock and Taker on the show had already done the work of bringing in the people made it all the easier. HBK, hall of fame or no hall of fame, is so massively respected by the WWE Universe that anything he is involved with instantly lends it more credibility. The fact that one of the big Mania matches happens to feature his best friend and his best opponent makes things all the more perfect.

When three men and a microphone can make a 10,000+ crowd go 'ooooh' several times in a promo, you know you are onto something. HBK's "what make you think you can do what I can't?" to Hunter was good. Taker's "ask him" in reference to Shawn hit the spot too. That crowd had forgotten they were at a pro wrestling show and had suspended their disbelief. That's when wrestling is at it's best.

I wasn't expecting The Rock to get physical before Wrestlemania. In fact even at Mania I was only expecting a Rock Bottom and a People's elbow. On Raw he got attacked, hit a comeback, nailed a fabulous DVD. I would say he hadn't lost a step if wasn't for him stumbling when nipping up. He even took an Attitude Adjustment from Cena. The beatdown of Miz might not have helped him too much, but it isn't like Miz has been built as a phenomenal wrestler. He's an opportunist and an annoying figure on the mic, and can easily get his heat back. Being involved with Rock for a few months won't do him any harm at all.

Rock's physical work, especially the last bit, with Cena attacking him, means that now speculation for his involvement on Mania centres on a different purview entirely. I, like many others, had it down that Rock would find his way into this match and find an excuse to attack Miz, either pre- or post-bell, and symbolically pass the torch to Cena. Now though, I'd see this as a letdown. Rock needs to look strong in reacting to Cena.

In another Blog entry later in the week I'll discuss what I think might go down in the matches in Mania as a whole, but just quickly I think there is a possibility that Rock promises, during the night, to not get involved at all in the match. He lives up to his word, save for maybe getting rid of Alex Riley forcibly, and after Cena reclaims his belt, The Rock attacks him.

On Raw, you could go with one of two things, depending on how involved Rock wants to get. He either challenges Cena for the title (highly unlikely, still, though, I feel) or offers Cena his hand in respect. The latter incident could either mean a handshake to try and get Cena over with Rock fans, or Cena viciously attacks Rock and turns properly heel. It would make a fantastic post-Mania, first Raw angle.

I liked a lot of the rest of this week's Raw, too. I particularly liked the Punk v Orton action, with Punk getting a great deal of heat back and creating a story for their match. Really, really solid and logical booking creating a situation where you want to see a match.

The Mania line-up is an interesting one. Almost every contest has a chance to be good to very good. It's how much they live up, and how many potentially good ones make it to the great level.

But that is all for another day...............

Wrestlemania Week, Day Two: My Wrestlemania experience

As part of my quest to give you a blog each day before Wrestlemania 27, I thought that today I would give you my story of the only Wrestlemania that I have seen in person.......so far.

If you have stumbled across this blog by accident, a quick catch up on who I am. I am currently the lead wrestling writer for top UK newspaper The Sun's website. I have been writing for the site for around five years, and started under the stewardship of Simon Rothstein, the Wrestling editor, who now works in PR for TNA.

Simon got to visit many Wrestlemanias, and was expected to go to the 25th incarnation of the Sports Entertainment phenomenon in 2009. However, he was invited to TNA Lockdown, which is typically scheduled near Mania, and could not justify a second trip to the States in a short space of time. I had been with Simon to TNA Bound for Glory the previous October, and was delighted when he said that I could attend Mania in his place.

Wrestlemania took place that year in Houston, Texas. I was delighted to learn when my travel details arrived that Joel Ross was also attended. For the uninitiated, Joel is one half of TV and radio duo JK and Joel. These days he is my co-host on The Sun's Wrestlecast, but this was long before I took Simon's place on that show. I had met Joel and his lovely girlfriend, Kat, on several occasions, so it was nice to know they would be attending, too.

Sadly, though, Joel inadvertently played a part in lessening my experience to a certain extent, though no blame ought to go to him or Simon, whose Wrestlecast with Ken Kennedy weeks before Mania hurt my trip from a work perspective.

Mr Kennedy - or Mr Anderson as he is now - joined the boys in the Wrestlecast studio and said one or two controversial things, as he is prone to doing. I like Ken; he's an interesting guy to chat to, and I've enjoyed meeting and interviewing him on several occasions, but he did say one or two things in that interview which were questionable, including some things about the Wellness Policy. Now if WWE don't like him saying that, then that's their issue to take up with Ken. As it was, they requested that The Sun edit out some of the more controversial statements. Simon - quite rightly, in my view - refused, and WWE prompted decided that we were to have our rights to interviews such as this taken away.

Of course, I stood by Simon's editorial decision. Not out of loyalty, but because I felt it was correct. However, this did me no favours. I was now travelling to Houston and staying in a very nice hotel on WWE's buck, but they were not allowing me any interviews while I was there. I don't really understand to this day why they did not pull the plug on my visit entirely. It would have saved them a few quid. Anyway, I'm not complaining.

I met Joel and Kat at Heathrow on the Thursday and we headed to Texas. I was delighted that my seat with my requested extra legroom was nice and roomy - but my TV didn't work. Thanks British Airways. They told me I could claim compensation. I never did get any money for that.

We arrived in Houston to blistering sunshine (I've spent just under three weeks in America, and I've yet to see it rain) and found Houston to be...........well, rubbish frankly. It's a bit of an urban, nondescript functional entity, really. However, I found my hotel to be very nice (The Hilton, if you must ask.) and noted it was directly opposite the arena for Raw and adjacent to the convention center where Ring of Honor and a Booker T wrestling convention were situated. After a pleasant evening where I was taken to dinner by our PR, along with a couple of guys from Sky Sports, Thursday was over. Mania weekend started in earnest on the Friday.

I met up with my good friends Richard and Matt Parr, who had traveled over as fans for the show. (Matt is a brilliant magician - http://www.mattparro.com/ - and would occasionally, during the weekend, entertain us all with close up tricks) Together we went into the Booker T convention, taking in some of the stands inside and watching as some great names from wrestling's past signed autographs and interacted with fans and each other. The atmosphere was great, and it was clear that Mania fever was in the air.

It was here that I met James Caldwell for the first time. James is the assistant editor of the Pro Wrestling Torch site (http://www.pwtorch.com/), a good writer, a great wrestling mind and most importantly a really nice guy. Now this meeting happened to be two media guys, but it does encapsulate the great thing about Wrestlemania in that you know that literally thousands of people are in close proximity being wrestling fans. There is a actually a liberating feeling about being able to express yourself as a true fan, sometimes. I'm sure many of you find in life that you aren't able to truly talk passionately about wrestling lest someone looks down on you or, perhaps worse, laughs at you. Here, it was total freedom. James and I spent a great while talking about all facets of wrestling, and have kept in regular touch since. I've been fortunate enough to participate in the PWTorch Livecast, an excellent radio call-in show, twice as a guest host. It's a great site.

Convention over with, Rich, Matt and I wandered upstairs to where Ring Of Honor was being held that night. Sadly I never got to see either of the ROH shows held that weekend due to scheduling conflicts, but the guys that did go gave the shows rave reviews. Perhaps my only regret of that weekend is that I didn't go to ROH instead of Axxess (we'll come to that).

We met Bryan Danielson as he was arriving at the building, and had a brief chat. He was very friendly, although didn't remember meeting me a few months previous. I mean, we were drinking together in a cricket club in Wolverhampton for goodness sakes. Who forgets nights in glamourous surroundings like that?? I also had a chat with D-Lo Brown, who I'd met previously when he was working with British fed VPW and was booked with ROH that week. D-Lo is a class act, and I've encountered him many times since in his capacity with TNA. A real gent.

Friday night saw a media dinner at the very swanky House of Blues establishment. As we were leaving our hotel in a convoy, a familiar face appeared at the front of our group. Think "Here comes the money" and you may have an idea of who I mean. It was of course Shane O Mac, and he showed, depending on your perspective, a sense of making young fans happy or a sense of seeing an opportunity in front of media folks as he dashed ahead of our group and chatted to a family or two emblazoned in WWE merchandise. I never got the chance to chat with Shane personally, but he seemed another class act throughout the evening.

On arrival in our exclusive bar, Joel and I asked advice on what WWE International head honcho Andrew Whittaker (nice guy, ridiculous slicked back haircut) was drinking. He called the beer "Dos Equis" (which I think means two horses) as the best beer, so Joel and I set about drinking the bar dry of it. (This was before I was Gluten Free, of course)

Now I can't remember what the topic of conversation was, but I know at some point I was talking to Joel and I mimed a headbutt. At exactly that moment, the beautiful Natalya (and she really is beautiful - TV doesn't do her justice) and Tyson Kidd approached us. They introduced themselves as Nattie and TJ, and we spoke with them informally for ten minutes or so. Nattie said she could tell I was British because of the headbutt. Flamin' cheek!

TJ was a little quiet, even shy, but Nattie was very sweet indeed. Could be a great interview someday. Carlito was also in attendance, but we never got to chat to him. Shane and other did short speeches thanking the international media, and then we ate. Well, we drank and there was some food around. I recall trying to eat prawns and forgetting to shell them. It was a good night.

On Saturday I did some of the less glamourous stuff which occurs on Mania weekend. In the morning I was at the finals of the Wrestlemania reading challenge, at which Layla, MVP, Mark Henry and Matt Hardy did their bit, and Linda McMahon was in attendance. I won't lie to you - the morning spent in the Houston Library for this event wasn't the most exciting I've ever had, but it was still cool to see kids (and parents actually) starstruck by some of their heroes, and learning at the same time. WWE get a lot of flak for certain things (sometimes by me, and sometimes quite rightly) but they do a lot of things which are for the betterment of their fans and society which they do no need to do.

In the afternoon, as a unit (which by then included then XFM DJ and now TV star in his own right Alex Zane) we went to Axxess. It was fine for what it was, but I'm not sure it was worth paying a great deal for. I've obviously got a nerve, because I didn't pay a penny, and maybe it's because I've always been a different type of fan, but I didn't find the selection of stalls (and the staggering hike in price of the food and beverages) all that interesting. There was quite a cool interview someone (Lillian I think) did with Randy Orton in a set up ring (they had some Velocity level matches in it) where he broke character a little, but on reflection I may have bunked off this and gone to ROH.

On Saturday evening we took our seats in the Toyota Center for the Hall of Fame. One of the first things that struck me was that the dress standards in the building was a little less than I would have liked. That might sound a bit stuffy, but TV's Joel Ross (I like calling him that), Kat and I had all popped on a whistle and flute or an appropriate dress (you can decide who wore what) for the occasion (Joel did buy the Stone Cold HOF shirt, though) and I liked the idea that it could feel like a formal occasion.

That aside, it was a nice night, seeing some major legends of wrestling (and Koko B Ware) inducted into the Hall, although the huge countdown clock did take some of the sheen off things, where you could see that certain talent were being forced to keep it briefer than they would have liked. That said, Michael Hayes, who was inducting The Von Erichs, did not seem all that concerned about time constraints!

The nicest thing about The Hall of Fame was that it made the whole Wrestlemania experience feel like a festival, or at least a multi-day event. It actually feels like part of Mania, and I love the tone of it, which is to acknowledge those that have (cliche time) paved the way for what Mania has become..........and Koko B Ware.

We left, on a snazzy luxurious coach (well, when I say "luxurious coach", I mean "luxurious mini-bus". And when I say "luxurious mini-bus", I of course mean "Mini-bus") for the Reliant Stadium at about 3pm on Sunday afternoon. While I don't wish to sound like a whiner - I have to keep reminding myself this was a freebie to Wrestlemania - we did spend about an hour just standing outside the stadium, and then a further hour or so sitting around inside a suite at the top of the building. It did lend itself to a funny story, though.

A room that we were hoarded into to begin with was rather nondescript, but soon someone discovered a door which led to a small box, which in turn looked onto the arena. In turns, many of us wandered into this box to look into the arena. A great many of the talents involved in Wrestlemania were preparing for their big night. It was an interesting insight.

However, fairly soon a WWE official caught some people (not me, I was well out of it) inside the room and demanded not only that they get out, but they show any pictures taken and delete them. Needless to say this was a tedious and unnecessary process. Talk about control freaks.

The media throng gradually increased as time wore on, and I'd say there were maybe a hundred journos assembled when we were introduced to first Nicole Scherzinger (she was singing America The Beautiful - and while she may be from the former, she isn't as close to the latter as you may think. She was 50% cardboard and 50% bitch. Ok, that's a bit harsh, but she was very dull and not at all attractive) and then the combo of Mickey Rourke, Ric Flair and Ricky Steamboat. Ok, that was pretty cool. I never got to ask any questions, though.

My seat for the event was a perfectly decent one, in the first balcony as I recall. Now I've been to many football matches with huge crowds, but this was an impressive sight. 72,000 people in a roofed stadium was phenomenal.

I don't need to recall the event for you. Needless to say it was a pleasure to be present to see Shawn Michaels v Undertaker. From the elaborate entrances to the match itself, it was compelling from bell to bell. When Taker flew over the top rope and landed on his head, I thought the match was over. More than once I bought a false finish. It was truly the best spectacle I've ever seen at a wrestling event.

I mentioned this in yesterday's entry, but there is just something about Wrestlemania that brings out the best in wresting crowds, and I found myself watching the crowd almost as often as the ring. A very special occasion.

On Monday, after breakfast/lunch at House of Blues, Joel and I decided that it was only right to explore the cultural history and architectural delights that Houston had to offer. About four minutes later we were in a pub which, I'm not kidding, must have had 400 taps on the wall. The beer menu was four pages of A4, in small writing. It was amazing - check it out. http://www.beerknurd.com/stores/houston/

After sampling plenty of the beers on offer - it would have been rude not to, wouldn't it?  - explaining Joel several times that the pink beer in the slim glass I bought him was a mistake (he drank it though) and beating him hollow on a golf arcade game, we stumbled in the direction of the hotel, which was the meeting point for Raw. A couple of swift bottles of Corona with some WWE suits later and we headed for the arena. After some dark matches, Lillian launched into a splendid rendition of the US National Anthem - so splendid that Joel and I joined in. Loudly. I thought we were bloody marvelous, offering harmony and dignity to the anthem. Apparently, others thought differently, as a WWE suit (Australian) told us to be quiet and show some respect. Even Kat told us to shut up.

Looking back now, I wonder if perhaps we were a little drunk. :-)

Raw was fun though. Batista's shock return was the headline of the night, but my enduring memory will be not only seeing Rick Steamboat and chanting for him (see yesterday for grammatical accuracy) but watching CM Punk and Jeff Hardy on the apron openly grinning and basically marking out for Ricky. A fantastic moment.

On Tuesday, we flew home, but not until late in the day. It gave us time to check out the massive mall on the edge of the city, and I gave an interview to The Fight Network's John Pollock from the windy car park, while Ross tried to put me off. Prick.

It was a tremendous experience, and I would very much hope to get the opportunity to be invited again someday soon. I will certainly envy those in Atlanta this weekend.