I don’t imagine I’ll embed many videos from WWE’s new YouTube site, but this show looks like it can deliver a few chuckles weekly as long as they keep it short.

It’s too simple. Put two strong wrestlers in the ring, give them time, book a smart finish, and you have a match that builds to a story and makes everyone look good. It shouldn’t be this hard. Thank you Daniel Bryan and CM Punk, and to a lesser extent, Chris Jericho.

And because of that, my opinion of Raw and the first step in the road to WrestleMania is inflated.

Based on what happened at the Royal Rumble Sunday night and Raw last night, here’s where it looks like things are going for WrestleMania:

- John Cena vs. The Rock is the headliner of all headliners. However, since Rock is probably still a month away from being on a WWE show, the Kane vs. John Cena feud must continue. Kane attacked (sort of) Eve and told her that until John Cena embraces the hate, he’s going to continue punishing Zack Ryder and by proximity, her. Cena ran down to the ring and was more intense and violent than usual as he hit Kane with the steps a couple times and smiled. He’s also the worst Luke Skywalker of all-time. They are probably going to have a match at the Elimination Chamber, but the key to this will be to see if they turn John Cena full-on heel, or just amp up his violence. He’s going to be the heel against Rock at Mania anyway, so he might as well Stone Cold Steve Austin it up and wrestle as one. Of course, let’s hope he also doesn’t end up with Vince McMahon at the end of the night.
Continue Reading »

Jason aka @dadrrtywhyteboi and I are back to talk about two big shows from this weekend, and to preview UFC 143.

The Royal Rumble was not a good show and we’ll talk about why. We discuss all the matches and go through the entire Royal Rumble, all the way down the the head-scratching conclusion.

Then, we discuss the second UFC On Fox show, which was also not as good as we’d hoped from an entertainment perspective, but seems to have done its job from a ratings perspective. We’ll go over all three fights and discuss where those fights should lead to.

We then talk about the build up to Nick Diaz and Carlos Condit, and preview the rest of UFC 143, which is this weekend. Lastly, I give a 30 second review of Gina Carano’s Haywire.

Thanks for listening.

Right click to download or stream below.

It’s my favorite PPV of the year and it generally delivers. We’ve done tremendous coverage on the show on the site so far with our preview articles and all that’s left is the wrestling.

1. Daniel Bryan vs. Mark Henry vs. The Big Show

The story of this match is that Daniel Bryan is a pinball and he’s bouncing around for Big Show and Mark Henry. Mark Henry couldn’t really do anything. He was not the world’s strongest man tonight. He could barely get his foot off the ground.

Bryan went to the top of the cage to try and leave, but the every so swift Big Show kept catching him. Big Show trapped Daniel Bryan’s arm and then also had him by his head so it looked like Bryan was hanging from the top of the cage, which was pretty cool. Show had a grip on him and Bryan was hanging from Show’s wrists, and finally let go and won the match.

Winner: Daniel Bryan

Bryan did the “Yes” screams after the match. (Photo sent in by my friend Jenn who is there live.)

2. The Bellas, Natalya, and Beth Phoenix vs. Alicia Fox, Eve, Kelly Kelly, and Tamina

Beth Phoenix tagged herself in by slapping one of the bellas pretty hard, immediately gave Kelly Kelly the Glam Slam for the win. Beth projects her character better than most of the dude wrestlers.

Winner: The Bellas, Natalya, and Beth Phoenix

3. John Cena vs. Kane
Continue Reading »

And now the time of year where everything gets put on hold for one Pay Per View. An event I have watched many more times than any number of the WWE WrestleManias.

I’m talking the Royal Rumble. Two men enter the ring, and approximately two minutes later somebody else comes in. If you get tossed over the top rope and BOTH of your feet touch the floor, you’re eliminated. After 30 people (man, woman, rooster, tugboat, or mantaur) have entered the ring, the last person with both feet solidly in the ring gets a promise of a title shot at WrestleMania.

The Royal Rumble match itself usually lasts over an hour long, and has a cavalcade of gimmicks, feuds, and moments all rolled into one. If you haven’t yet, be sure to check out FGB’s Royal Rumble Preview, of our writer’s Favourite Moments, Most Surprising Moments, and our pick for who’s going to win.

The 2012 Royal Rumble has a surprisingly strong undercard, with both the WWE and World Heavyweight Title being defended. Also John Cena will face off against “The Prophet of Hate” Kane in a match not unlike Professor Moriarty trying to convince Sherlock Holmes to join him, so they can rule London together. Because we’re all tired of the Star Wars references.

Oh, and I’m sure there’ll be a few other undercard matches that haven’t been announced yet.

Let’s run down this sucker match by match.

Continue Reading »