Smackdown: The Underrated Gem

What up yall? WWE Wrestling Nerd is back with Smackdown 2/14/14. After a horrible RAW, I am not looking forward to this. If RAW sucked, why should the 2nd rate show be any better... Well I'll get my Cherry Coke with Captain Morgan in it, and watch the show.

Daniel Bryan/Christian/Sheamus vs. The Shield

We start off with a six man tag match. I am getting sick of these six man tags, but this one was pretty good. Christian and Seth Rollins start off the match. Soon enough we have Roman Reigns and Sheamus fighting. Damn it was like Cesaro/Sheamus fighting again. I would love to see Cesaro vs Sheamus, but now seeing Reigns and Sheamus, I'd see Reigns having great matches in the future. Bryan comes in igniting the Ontario, California crowd. Each time I see that backflip he does is simply amazing. However, Christian was pretty funny in the background. It was like the camera was on him, but he forgot what to do. Eventually, The Shield has Bryan to take care of alone, but you know as well as I do that the hot tag is coming. Christian comes in on the hot tag in a blaze of fury against Ambrose. Chaos ensues and all the men are fighting. Sheamus accidentally Brogue Kicks Christian. Reigns spears Sheamus, and Ambrose picks up the win. This had great action, better than RAW. Hmmm...

Fandango w/Summer Rae vs The Miz

Is Fandango-ing still going on? I mean it was used to make fun of the product, not as some stupid lame-ass dance. The Miz works on Fandango for the setup into the Figure Four. In the middle of the match, you hear chants for the Undertaker. Well its WWE's fault. Give a boring gimmick to a great NXT wrestler, yes wrestler not dancer. This whole dancing, trying to be popular is not working out. Try going back and being cutting edge. Santino Marella comes out with Emma. She really got her introduction into WWE well. With a guy who is a lost cause, and a dancing gimmick. She fights with Summer Rae while Santino Cobras Fandango. Miz picks up the win with the Skull Crushing Finale. Boring...

Trying to make the Intercontinental Title mean something 

We have a short interview between Cesaro and Bryon. Cesaro is known as the dark horse, and he really plays it right. Looking at it, Cesaro has probably got a 5% chance of winning.

4-way fatal finale to be the number one contender for the Intercontinental Title. Jack Swagger vs Rey Mysterio vs Mark Henry vs Kofi Kingston. Ok now this was a match that is kinda exciting. It felt new-ish. However, I do have my gripes. Easily from the start, we all know Mark Henry and Rey Mysterio are not able to have the IC title since they are injury prone. Kofi is stuck in the midcard, however they have made him midcard champion many many times. Jack Swagger is the only one that looks suitable for the IC title. Of course, they have Sandow, Ziggler, The Miz and Barrett on the side, but they just aren't as viable as the midcard veterans. We really need more popular guys in the hunt for the Midcard Title. Now the US title is just the European Title in disguise. The US title is for the low card and newcomers. Jack Swagger wins with the Patriot Lock. Big E Langston was on the commentary, but has the persona of a cucumber. I hope Jack Swagger wins.

Tag teams galore

One thing I forgot to mention on RAW review was Lita in the Hall of Fame. She really deserves it, but can't we see her help the incredibly dull divas division. Speaking of the Divas, we have a rerun of RAW's diva action. Sigh... Now when I say rerun, I don't mean there was a rematch NO! They play the fucking match again so you can have a reason to gouge out your eyes. Here is a better match.

Knockouts: the only reason to watch TNA

New Age Outlaws/Rybaxel vs The Usos/Rhodes Bros.

Another tag match with more than two on each side. However as long its not the divas then I'm good. This match started out slow, but really picked up with the Usos getting the victory. This match was pretty damn good too. It looks like we are going to have the NAO vs The Usos at Elimination Chamber. I'm really excited for these tag team matches. I hope they fix up the other titles as well.

Something better than Batista vs Del Rio... 

Damien Sandow vs Darren Young 

The match was short and didn't matter. What did matter was Titus O'Neil on commentary. Titus is a funnyman and a great wrestler. He really is a total package. Titus and Darren should be in the hunt for the US title. Darren Young wins the match. Sandow really needs a reboot. Big E langston gets the midcard title with no persona, but someone like Sandow with huge potential is wasted away. I forgot, Vince McMahon loves his big men...

After the match, Titus and Darren brawl with Titus backing away with half of his pants. This really is funny if you know Darren Young's backstory. This rivalry is much more intense than Batista and Del Rio. Titus  and Young each have legit reason to hate each other. Both are good in the ring, and Titus O'Neil is awesome on the mic.

The Viper is Back?

Earlier Randy Orton is interviewed by Renee Young, and all he says basically is "I'm bringing the Viper back!"

Cesaro w/ Zeb Coulter vs Randy Orton

Triple H conducts an interview about Cesaro being a dangerous man. During the match, Orton toys with Cesaro. However, Cesaro rises as a story about being an underdog rising up in the challenge. Think Rocky and there you go. The crowd is really backing Cesaro while they display a great story in-ring. Orton takes the Big Swing. The ending was a big payoff. After all the crap Orton displayed in the ring towards Cesaro, he got pinned with the Neutralizer. Cesaro wins a huge match showing that he is indeed a major player.

Overall

I have to say Smackdown beat RAW in story and action. I don't have much to say, but wow. RAW got its ass beat. The tag matches were great, the O'Neil/Young story is intriguing and the main event match was a classic. Now it did have its problems. The Miz/Fandango/Santino debacle was a mess. The fatal four way needed better characters and that horrible divas match rerun. All in all it was good just skip a few parts. 

Nerd's Editorial: Basics of a Great Wrestler

Hey you all. The WWE Wrestling Nerd is bringing my weekly editorial.

 "The Basics of a Great Wrestler"

                 In the 70's, all you needed to be great at wrestling was the ability to throw a punch, take a slam and just be charismatic.Today's wrestling involves energetic move, brilliant acting skills, an over character and a semi-shaped body. We will be discussing each aspect of how to be a great wrestler.

Note: I am going to be discussing John Cena in a negative form a lot, so if you have a problem with that then take a deep breath and understand I don't care.

Keeping in-ring action exciting

                  Making wrestling exciting takes a lot of hard work. Take something that has been done a million times over and make it exciting all over again is nearly impossible. To battle this, I figured out two ways that can not only make moves fresh and exciting, but keeping your character interesting as well. 

                  Faces and heels have different jobs inside the ring, although they are quite similar. The faces of WWE are the worst offenders to keeping action hot and exciting. They are the ones that have to invent new moves or increase their movelist. At the same time, they must keep their side of the action energetic and fresh. Just because they are the babyface doesn't mean they can expect the crowd to cheer for them no matter what. The audience is just like a kid with short attention span. Once they get bored, they will let you know.

                       Now as a heel it's all about being smart or dominate. A smart heel such as CM Punk will use the face's moves against them and counterattack. If you ever find a match with CM Punk vs John Cena, CM Punk always counters Cena's moves. At the same time, dirty moves are being used less and less. No more eye poking or gouging, nut shots are taken away hell even chair shots to the head are gone. What the hell?! Isn't WWE a channel for violence. One of the best wrestlers of all time or is the best wrestler of all time, Ric Flair, was the master of being a heel. From his dirty moves to his technical wrestling, he was certainly the best heel of all time. As a dominant heel, Mark Henry in the Hall of Pain run is the prime example of what a dominant heel is. Much like Andre The Giant did in the 70's and 80's, Henry stomped through everybody in his path.

                    Selling moves is an artwork. All it takes is courage and acting skill. However, many wrestlers fall in this category. If you are in a leglock, you shriek and wail much like in any hold. When you are out act like you are limping or just can't walk. Strikes and slams take a little more courage. Imagine someone going to punch you in the face, but you weren't allowed to put your hands up for a defense. Pretty hard ain't it? Yeah well Dolph Ziggler is now the master at selling moves.

 

A somewhat optional need for a great physique

                   What does Randy Orton, Triple H, John Cena, The Rock and Hulk Hogan have in common? Okay, they are all part of a group that frequently visit Club Kiss Vince's Ass, what else? Yes, they all had great physiques in their primes. Vince McMahon's hard-on for his Greek godlike bodies for his star wrestlers is widely known in WWE. Although to become a WWE superstar with a fat flabby body is possible, you won't go far in the land of chiselled abs. Look at the list of wrestlers that are recently underplayed nor can get as far as WWE World Heavyweight Champion: Brodius Clay, Viscera, Bam Bam Bigelow and Rikishi. I do know that Yokozuna did get the WWF Championship, but he lost it quickly to Hulk Hogan. He is a phenomenon like the Big Show and is an exception. However with wrestlers like Daniel Bryan, CM Punk, Big Show, and Mark Henry all have good physique (In Big Show and Mark Henry's prime) and can get far in wrestling, they just aren't in McMahon's ranking GQ men.

Character Development

                A character that is over with the crowd is more successful than most of the roster. Its quite difficult and quite easy at the same time. Finding something is difficult, but what that something is is quite easy to do. How hard is doing Bryan's "yes/no" chants or Caesro's Big Swing? Easy. Wade Barrett still can't find anything to win over the audience. Gimmick after gimmick and nothing. If Wade Barrett turns face and says "Rubbish" a lot, I'm sure people will pick up on it. People love chanting with an easy chant. Most chants are one to two words. 

             Gimmicks are a great way to bring in new superstars, however if they are booked wrong they will never get over. A good gimmick is being dominate, serious, funny (not the comedic Santino Marella way) and/or downright menacing and evil. A good example is Bray Wyatt or Damien Sandow. However, gimmick can kick you right out of the good graces of the audience. For example well a repeated example, dancing gimmick is just overdone and annoying. When I'm watching a dancing segment, I usually use that time for a piss break along with The Great Khali matches.

             Experienced superstars need a character that can be three-dimensional and smart. The best way to put this is they need the ability to play both heel and face. Orton can play both sides whereas John Cena refuses to play the heel. The results have shown that we get boring matches with both of them in the same ring. All because of the kids loving John Cena. Whoopie! Go T-Shirt sales!

Acting Lessons are needed!!!!

              In the 80's, we started to see promos and more use of microphone work. Leading up to the Attitude Era, we had funny gags with D-Generation X, Stone Cold Steve Austin would be threatening to the Corporation and The Rock would be nowhere near as popular without his microphoned segments. Today, theater and acting skills are commonplace for wrestlers. 

            Now in today's wrestling world, microphone work and body language is getting better in the midcard with The Shield and Bray Wyatt. It's the high card that is the problem. The worst offender is Randy Orton with his robotic voice and body language. Maybe that is why you don't see him in movies. John Cena is another bad one, but sometimes he can pull it off. Now CM Punk was great offering some of the greatest lines in years, but he left. In his place, we have Daniel Bryan. Now I know that Bryan is loved on here, but I have to say he isn't as skilled with the mic. Before you shoot me down, he is improving more and more everyday. It is just really hard to fill Punk's boots. Hopefully, either Punk comes back, or acting lessons are handed out.

           On a side note, going straight for body language is great with a vocal champion of a manager. Hence, why Brock Lesnar with Paul Heyman together are the perfect team. Hell even Caesro and Zeb Coulter is a good team. Another team that reminds me of Ivan Drago and his wife are Alexander Rusev and Lana.

           John Bradshaw Layfield repeatedly says, "If you were to build a wrestler from the ground up, it would be like Randy Orton." While Orton could work in the early 90's, but today's wrestling he's a...how do I say this. A B+ wrestler. To be honest, if I could build my own wrestler from the ground up it would be intimidating and mysterious like the Undertaker, the move set of Daniel Bryan, the viciousness of Brock Lesnar, the acting skill of CM Punk and the body of Mickie James.

Mmmmmhmmmm...how can you go wrong with that. Well Vince McMahon would probably be happier with Roman Reigns.

RAW brought to you by the WWE Network!!!

Hey everybody and welcome to a new installment of The WWE Wrestling Nerd channel. Here we see what happens in WWE. Today is Monday Night RAW 2/10/14 and Betty White is hosting. Really?! As long as she doesn't wrestle. So lets sit back, drink our Mountain Dew Code Red and look at the show...

Betty White hosts RAW and.....she's done

Betty White comes out with the Big Show to excite the crowd. It does its job, but seeing them two on stage reminds you of something...

Ugh why did I do that. Anyway, they get cut off by the Authority. HHH and Stephanie head to the ring and wait let me guess...they talk about RAW, the Elimination Chamber and the WWE Network, then Orton comes and bitches and moans....and I'm right except for the bitching and moaning. So Orton tries to get in the Authority's limelight.The only thing that stands out was Orton saying that he has a heart. That sentence just made me giggle. Him saying all that just reminds me of the Tin Man from Wizard of Oz

 In the middle of all this, you hear small chants of CM Punk. They can quiet the chants, but not get rid of them. Bryan comes out wanting to fight Kane, but is giving time off when a sea of NO chants erupt.

Rey Mysterio/Rhodes Bros. vs The Wyatt Family 3 man tag match and The Shield interview

-Cody Rhodes and Erick Rowan start off the match. The action was ok, but it was lacking excitement. In the end bodies flew everywhere and Rey set up for the 619, but Bray tagged himself in and did a weird running Sister Abigail. Wouldn't it be nice if Paige from NXT came into RAW as Sister Abigail? He lets on a promo. Bray Wyatt is one of the greatest mic speakers today. He can say the same thing over and over again a different way each time and come off as entertaining.

-The Shield gets interviewed by Renee Young saying they will beat the Wyatts. Then Dean Ambrose is grilled on not defending his US championship. Tonight he will lay down an open challenge.

Comedy segment and a non-comedic match

-Betty White is back surrounded by the totally divas. They pull a plug for Betty White's new show whilst trying to take away any talent she has. The actually comedic duo New Age Outlaws comes in and they take White away.

-Santino Marella w/ Emma vs Fandango w/ Summer Rae. Yeah like I care...going to get my Cuba Libre or Rum and Cola. I guess I missed The Miz complaining the same thing we all are watching this trash. The only good thing is there is little dancing. Fandango wins. Mmm...too much cola.

A good match with some promo segments.

-Sheamus and Christian makes some promos about the Elimination Chamber...

Oh I was thinking about something else. Something more entertaining.

-Sheamus/Christian vs The Real Americans. Now this was a great match. Sheamus and Caesro should have a rivalry especially how physical and brutal they can be. Also Caesro is becoming more and more over since he is being cheered even though he's a heel. WWE has gotten their face/heels in the wrong place. We want to see people loud and energetic like Bryan, physically entertaining like Caesro and someone to stand up and speak clearly with the heart like CM Punk. Swagger and Christian were there...ahh Swagger. Remember when Swag was about to get the WHC with Zeb Coulter. Kids don't do drugs or you will end up like that Real American and get a Brogue Kick with a loss.

Mr. Fruity Pebbles and the Squash Match

-John Cena is interviewed, but it looks like a plug for the WWE Network and the future stars of WWE. "Change is Coming," phrase has been said a million times and only Punk has came through for us.

-Alberto Del Rio vs Dolph Ziggler. It was so short like a Ryback vs jobber match. Del Rio took a lot then hit two moves and IWC's favorite son goes down for a three count. Then "El Perro" puts on the cross armbreaker for his trademark post-match signal to Batista. Speaking of which, Batista rumbles with Del Rio and Batista Bombs him through the announcers' table. It was exciting unlike their match at Elimination Chamber.

WWE Network brainwashing along with some Promos

-The Bella Twins try to show you how to get the WWE Network. For 8.99 with a 6 month commitment. Wow what a deal! You get free television and PPVs. Cool,but they include soooo... much other crap. Like we care. Look the only reason to buy it is so you don't get commercials and don't have to buy PPVs. Even though you can find it online for free. Now if they take away the trending, twitter, facebook and the pg rating WWE might have a deal for me.

-Batista promo with Triple H each say that things have changed since four years ago. Yes they have. Four years ago, we didn't need facebook in WWE or allow a poster boy to be noticeably despised by hardcore fans and wimp out like Batman Forever.

-Betty White and the NAO are down for tea and I got two words for ya...ORANGE PEKOE. Meanwhile Road Dogg puts laxative in White's drink. Before she drinks, the NAO goes gets lemons for her. She switches her cup with Billy Gunn's. Reminds me of some movie...

-Lita is in the Hall of Fame

The Midcard titles...

-The Usos vs Rybaxel. NAO comes to commentate. The Usos won in a short match, but it was Billy Gunn who stole the show with him running out to take the Browns to the Superbowl. Turns out the Usos may be getting a tag title match, finally. They have been so impressive lately that they deserve the titles. 

-Dean Ambrose has his US Championship open challenge match. Out comes Mark Henry. Henry dominates the match with the Shield to interfere and cost Henry the championship. This was followed by The Wyatts coming out inching to the ring just for them to back off. Wow what excitement!

-AJ Lee/Alicia Fox/Aksana vs. Bella Twins/Cameron. Now this was another diva tag or six team tag match we have seen sooooooooo many times. Ladder matches, cage matches and table matches would be nice in the diva's division hell even good wrestling, but I guess that's why it is called divas division. It makes women on the Jerry Springer Show look like natural athletes. Wow that's kinda harsh.

Team Hell No doesn't hug anymore

-Kane comes out and tries to explain himself in corporate mannerisms. Look if you are going to do this then stop pandering to kids. They don't get this shit. And if you are trying to incorporate hardcore adult fans then trash the place up a little. Corporate bullshit is something no one cares about. At least Daniel Bryan knows all this and kicks Kane's ass.

Main Event

-John Cena vs Randy Orton. I was wondering when I saw them coming out, "Are all the audience on sleeping pills?" They just didn't care. It was just another Orton vs Cena match. We have seen them all. Throughout the match you can hear CM Punk being chanted and I just don't blame them. CM Punk taking a piss would of been more energetic and fun to watch. I don't care about repeat matches. Some can be nostalgic like Kane vs Undertaker or The Rock vs Stone Cold.  Some can be reruns of the same old stories like face Cena going against heel Orton. Now if Cena was a heel and Orton was a face, I wouldn't mind it.

Anyway we close out with Cena winning with the Attitude Adjustment.

Overall 3/10

Now this was all just filler. Smackdown was better. It was shorter and just the matches were better. Sheamus and Caesro were the only good thing to come out of tonight. Now for my question to the audience.

If you could change one thing about the WWE what would it be?

Smackdown 2/7/14

Hello and welcome to the show. Today we look at the 2nd rate blue brand of the WWE, Smackdown. Is the show good or does it suck ass. Well let me open up my Bud Light Lime and see...

Tag Team Match: Roman Reigns/Dean Ambrose vs. Dolph Ziggler/Kofi Kingston
With the action going on in the ring, we get Seth Rollins on commentary. I have to say that each member of the Shield is getting better and better with the mic. To any wrestler that goes to the top, it should be required to be skilled at the mic. Inside the ring, we get the normal match that we normally see. It's obvious that whose going to win the match. It just sucks the big one that talented guys like Dolph Ziggler is sunk back down to the mid to low card. Making him team with Kofi  just shows that there might be a bleak future ahead for Ziggler. Another point is brought up about the friction in the Shield: the friction between Ambrose and Reigns. Along with Cole practically interrogating Rollins about the issue, we see it in the ring. Ambrose goes for the easy pin when it was Reigns that did the heavy work, however Reigns would have none of that. He spears his man and then tags in Ambrose like "look bitch at what I did."

Bray Wyatt Promo
After the tag match, The Wyatts make a promo on the titantron towards The Shield. Bray talks about the issues with The Shield in his creepy riddle-like manner. Once again great mic work. I hope to see him take on the Undertaker.

Promos galore...
Since most of what you see tonight on Smackdown is a bunch of promo work, I'm just going to get them out of the way except the titantron ones.
-Daniel Bryan comes out to a muffled Des moines audience, It's easily noticeable that the taped episode had some sound editing. Whomever did it is probably going to get fired. The chants tonight sounded fake and the real ones sounded like water was in the sound equipment. Anyway, Bryan comes out and calls out Kane. Kane comes out and apologies about his actions on RAW. Bryan tells Kane basically he sold out, and Bryan wants his friend back. Kane is irritated and puts Bryan in a match with Antonio Caesro.
-Next, The Real Muricans promo friction between Zeb/Caesro and Swagger. Nuff said.
-Alexander Rusev promos and it looks like we have another superstar that has a Soviet/Russian-like background. I know he is Bulgarian, but just comes off that way. I just hope he doesn't go down like Vladimir Kozlov.
-Titus O'neil is interviewed by Renee Young. He talks about dropping weight or Darren Young. Which makes Mr. No days off feel fat and beats up his old tag team partner.
-Alberto Del Rio is interviewed by Renee Young. All I get from Del Rio is perro perro Batista perro. Seriously, Del Rio is mad at Batista coming in and taking the spotlight. This reminds me of someone *cough* CM Punk *cough*
-If you haven't gotten enough Renee Young, here's another interview but with the WWE World Heavyweight Champion. Again Randy Orton is emotionless and whines and bitches. Hell if there is no doughnuts, 
do you think he would bitch...

Back to the action

AJ Lee w/ Tamina vs. Nikki Bella w/ Brie Bella

Oh joy the match of the night and it's over. WEEEEEeeeeeee!!!!. The divas' division is about appealing as The Great Khali's wrestling skills. AJ, Tamina and Natalya are the only "Divas" that actually matter. So much has been said about this division, but here is my take. Have better/longer matches, give AJ the mic and cancel that reality divas show. Oh yeah, AJ won.

Antonio Caesro vs Daniel Bryan

If it was longer, this match would of been classic. Great action and real chemistry. Those guys coming from Ring of Honor really knows their wrestling. The only bad part was JBL and Cole bickering. Sometimes I wish WWE would allow us to have a non-commentated match, or just tell them to keep it to a minimum. Bryan wins with the Yes Lock, but Corporate Kane comes and distracts Bryan. In turn, Caesro neutralizes Bryan then Kane choke slams Bryan. 

Sheamus vs Ryback

Does it suck to be Ryback? Reduced to a blubbering idiot with a bully gimmick that couldn't intimidate Marty Mcfly and teaming with the 2nd generation superstar that is so overwhelming boring he makes Santino Marella look like Macho Man Randy Savage. Yes it does suck. Axel and Ryback gets a Brogue kick for squeezing the life out of the match.

Goldust vs Bray Wyatt

Now here is a match that is welcomed. The battle of the bizarre. Goldust and Bray tries to creep each other out and its a blast watching two masters work. Bray Wyatt wins with Sister Abigail. Goldust is once again great in the ring, and Bray does good to excite us. My only gripe is the match was way too short. Why were the good matches short today?

The Shield's titantron Promo

Same as usual we are the better team...we aren't having issues, but we are. Believe in the Shield.

Last Match

Randy Orton vs Christian

So this match was meh... They aren't going to be as good as they were fighting over the WHC. That comes obvious. However, mid-match Orton grabs a mic and starts going off on Des Moines. Blizzards, cancelled flights and the fact he must stay in Des Moines what he rants about. It almost looks like he saw a weather report before he came out and just blew up about it. It's pretty funny. Here's your doughnut Randy...

In the match, you hear "Randy sucks" chant. Again it is so obvious that it is a fake chant. Was the editing done by Hacksaw Jim Duggan. Mmmm...no that would be more entertaining. So Orton wins with a top rope counter to a RKO. 

Overall I think that Smackdown is getting better, but the booking still sucks and short matches entertaining matches aren't good enough. It's middle of the road. 5/10 Watchable.

Question: Who is the greatest microphone artist as a wrestler and why?

My answer is Macho Man Randy Savage is the best with a mic. His over the top interviews talking about random stuff is hilarious, and he didn't use a script. Oh Yeah!

New Blog by the Wrestling Nerd

2/6/2014

Intro...

Hello fans and welcome to the brand spanking new blog featuring The WWE Wrestling Nerd. Although there are a lot of wrestling nerds, geeks and reviewers, I'd like to bring my own opinions and facts. Usually I'll come on here and read TheWrestlingNerd Show, but he hasn't been on for a while. Hopefully, he is ok.

My Schedule...

Each week, I will be doing three or four posts depending on PPV. Every Monday and Friday, a review will come out. Every Wednesday, I will do an editorial. My editorials will consist of top tens, my feelings toward WWE or a character, the IWC and what WWE can do better. I won't talk about TNA or ROH, since there is little that can be said. Every PPV will have a pre-card rating and prediction on Saturday and a review Sunday.

The IWC...

I don't care about the IWC, even though I'm joining them. Bleacher Report and Wrestling Zone is where I get my source, either that I watch the shows. Each one has a stupidity to source material. That is why I don't follow dirt sheets.

To my fans...

Thank you for reading my posts.
I wanna leave you all with something:
Who would you like to see face The Undertaker at Wrestlemania?
A) Kane
B) Bray Wyatt
C) Brock Lesnar

Feel free to leave comments, questions and suggestions at the bottom.