Extreme Rules Triple Threat Tale Of The Tape

WWE.com posted an interesting infographic on their website today:

Looking Ahead To Extreme Rules Next Month: HHH vs Lesnar III

Triple H vs Brock Lesnar in a Steel Cage Match looks to be a 

lock for next months Extreme Rules PPV. Photo courtesy

of HeymanHustle.com.

Now that Rock/Cena III is out of the question for next month's Extreme Rules event due to Rock's injury, Triple H/Brock Lesnar III is in.

We all pretty much know that Triple H will accept Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman's Steel Cage Match challenge for the extreme-themed PPV emanating from St. Louis, Missouri, on May 19th.

I will be at the event, and while I feel privileged to go and see what will likely be the conclusion to this feud, and what might very well be Triple H's last match outside WrestleMania(or maybe at all, who knows?), I'm not exactly too terribly thrilled about the match taking place inside a Steel Cage.

To me, only a Hell In A Cell match would make sense to conclude this feud. I have nothing against Steel Cage matches, but tell me the last time you could remember an outstanding Steel Cage match in WWE? I personally think that a Steel Cage also hampers what Triple H and Lesnar could do, as unless someone tosses them in, the only weapon that they can use is the Cage wall. Nothing against these guys, but they need more than that, at least for this feud. Hell In A Cell makes more sense to me, especially if this match will be going on last(which it probably will be, and I have no problem with that).

I'll have more thought's on next month's PPV later. In case you haven't heard, however, the promo for the show and it's official theme song have been released:

I'm Officially Going To Extreme Rules!

I've been telling you this for months, but today I can officially confirm that I WILL INDEED be attending the Extreme Rules PPV on May 19th later this year.

The PPV takes place from the Scottrade Center arena in my hometown of St. Louis(as if I haven't said that enough on this blog! Haha.). I will take pictures and videos at the event and I'll try to post them on this blog.

I'll be sitting pretty high up, but a seat is a seat. Haha.

Now, let discuss some things:

Match Predictions

• With the stunning news that The Rock is advertised for the show(he's listed on WWE's Facebook page and advertising commercials here in the St. Louis area), I fully expect to see Rock-Cena III: "The Final Encounter" live and in person. That alone makes this event arguably the most important event in St. Louis wrestling history. And I'll be proud to watch it. Expect a stipulation to be added. You might think I'm crazy, but I want Hell In A Cell. And the cell has history here: St. Louis hosted the first-ever match of that type in what is now the Scottrade Center back in 1997.
• St. Louis's own Randy Orton has had a "fall from grace" in recent months. But he still gets huge pops, and the reception he will receive in St. Louis will be astonishing, as it always is. I think Orton's long-overdue for a World Championship run, and if WWE wants to do it while he's a face, then St. Louis is the perfect place to do it, in a St. Louis Street Fight. His opponent? Jack Swagger. Regardless of Swagger's DUI and Drug arrest, the angle with Del Rio is simply too hot now to not put the title on him at WrestleMania, even thought he must win by cheating on the part of Zeb Coulter. If they want to punish Swagger, dropping the title to Orton, who is long-overdue for a championship run and didn't escape a suspension like he did, would be sufficient enough. 
• And maybe, just maybe, if they want to give Orton a definite win, but have him worn down by the match, then Extreme Rules would be the perfect time to have Dolph Ziggler cash-in his Money In The Bank briefcase. I just don't think it'll happen at 'Mania.
• CM Punk? Perhaps an Extreme Rules match between Brock Lesnar, with Paul Heyman as the emotionally torn guest-referee. Drama Level = High.
• Antonio Cesaro will finally drop his US Title to someone other than The Miz or R-Truth.
• Ryback will take on each member of The Shield in a Gaunlet match, and their entertaining feud will finally come to an end when Ryback hands the Shield their first loss.
• Team Hell No members and Former Tag Team Champions(they'll drop the belts at 'Mania, I'll say) Kane & Daniel Bryan will face each other in a Last Man Standing match. Expect a run-in from Dr. Shelby.
• Some Diva's match will happen that I will go to the bathroom during.

Other moments?

• Ron Simmons will show up and say "DAMN!"
• A May 19th reference will pop-up in a Kane segment.
• Joey Styles will appear in a backstage segment, possibly with Paul Heyman.
• Them ring-ropes better be red, WWE. If I ever see those white ring-ropes in person again, I think I'll puke.

Theme Song?

Hopefully, it's something like this. Extreme Rules needs a rock song.



 Overall, I can't wait!

Raw Review: The Spinner Belt Goes Bye-Bye!

“The bottom line is this: The WWE Title, the championship title, should never look like a toy,” The Rock declares, before adding, “ And it should never, ever … spin. The first time you see the title, it should inspire you. It should be worthy to be worn around the waist of the great men of the past … who paved the way for men like The Rock.”

 

And with that, the Rock ditched the Spinner Belt that has been worn around the waist of champions since April 2005, and introduced this brand-new WWE Championship, earning back all of my respect for him in the process.

 

I never thought that the day would come that the Spinner Belt would go bye-bye. It has been put-off time and time again. I will say that I don't have the faintest idea why WWE waited this long to change the design, or even why they chose last night to do it. It really just came out of nowhere. Not that I really mind it that much, but it just took me by surprise.

 

Outside of that reveal, the show was actually rather boring. The Road to WrestleMania will really pick up next week in Dallas, when Vince McMahon returns to fight Paul Heyman, Brock Lesnar will be in the house(he's advertised for the show), and John Cena takes on CM Punk to see who goes on to WrestleMania to face The Rock.

 

On another note, I totally agree with this article.

Could The Deadman Be Returning Tonight?

From SEScoops.com:

Take this as a rumor for now, but there’s a lot of buzz in New Orleans that tonight’s RAW could feature the return of WWE legend The Undertaker.

We received 2 emails from fans over the weekend stating that they spotted Undertaker’s wife Michelle McCool in the city of New Orleans.

The Dead Man was spotted in Nashville, Tennessee last weekend, the site of last Monday’s WWE RAW. There was talk that he was in town to meet with WWE officials regarding his status for WrestleMania 29.

With the show less than 7 weeks away, if he has agreed to return (which is not confirmed), tonight would be the perfect venue for him to kick off his WM29 program.

As we’ve been reporting, the Undertaker will wrestle CM Punk at WrestleMania 29, if he does compete this year. We’ll find out the truth tonight on RAW, but there’s a decent chance we’ll see the Undertaker tonight.

WRESTLEMANIA Heading To New Orleans

News just broke that WrestleMania XXX will be held on Sunday, April 6, 2014 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, LA.

The Superdome recently hosted SuperBowl XLVII two weeks ago.



Elimination Chamber Thoughts

WWE presented their Elimination Chamber event last night from the New Orleans Arena in the Big Easy.

With WrestleMania XXX widely tipped to be held from the Superdome that sits yards away from the venue, I'm not quite sure, based on reading the results from last night, that WWE impressed the locals that might have been looking to attend the event next year. However, you can be the judge of the event for yourself.

Granted, Elimination Chamber has never really been known as a stellar event anyway. I attended the inaugural event in St. Louis in 2010, and aside from the two World Championship Chamber matches, it was nothing special.
And I know that this is going to sound awful, but it seems that the Elimination Chamber match came off as less-important on this night. And since the PPV is NAMED AFTER THE MATCH, that is really, really bad.

However, the Chamber match did have a very surprising winner: Jack Swagger.

I'm not sure how I feel about this. Swagger has gone from the ultimate jobber to co-main eventing WrestleMania in the span of 5 months. And he was gone for 4 of those months. As a matter of fact, he's only been back on TV for 3 weeks. 3 weeks.

Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for Swagger. I'm sure that he's thrilled. But this push to a World Heavyweight Championship match is coming much too fast. It'd be OK with me for, say, SummerSlam, but not WrestleMania.

I can see why they would like to do Alberto Del Rio(who retained his World title on the show via submission) vs Swagger. The story (Mexico/Immigration .vs. America/Anti-Immigration) basically writes itself. My problem isn't Del Rio .vs. Swagger at WrestleMania. My problem is Del Rio .vs. Swagger for the WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP at WrestleMania. It's an odd direction, especially since the Americans here are supposed to be the heels. If WrestleMania were be held in Mexico, I guess this would make sense. Not New Jersey.

On a related note, I just love Swagger's new manager Zeb Colter(the former Dutch Mantel). He's only been here a week today and he stands out. He looks different and he can cut a real kick-ass promo. Terrfic work so far.

In other noteworthy news, The Shield beat Ryback, Sheamus, and John Cena completely clean. To say I was pleasantly surprised would be an understatement, as I never expected The Shield to win this match, much less fair-and-square. The only problem I have is that it is difficult to see where they go from here.

It's clear where John Cena is going, however. As everyone and their momma predicted, Cena will be facing WWE Champion Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, who retained his title in a good match with CM Punk, in a WrestleMania rematch. Only this time, the WWE Championship will be up for grabs.

I wonder who's gonna win that one. #Sarcasm