The Wrestling 5&1 1.12.13: Buggy Nova and the VERSUS Royal Rumble!

The Rock is back, and he’s kickin ass everywhere! The excitement is in the air, and it smells good. Speaking of excitement, how bout we talk some wrasslin?

But first…BRING ON THE GIRLS!

The Versus Royal Rumble
With Greg DeMarco

Eleven weeks long, the Versus Royal Rumble features the women who have come so close to the Hall of Bang—three time winners Mickie James (who did it twice), Stacy Keibler, Gail Kim, Lita and Christy Hemme. It also features two former hall members in Brooke Tessmacher and Taryn Terrell. Add in twenty three more women from the WWE, TNA, NXT, the indies, overseas, old school ladies and more!

The results are in, and three more women were eliminated in the seventh week of The Versus Royal Rumble!

Say bye to former Hall of Bang members Taryn Terrell and Brooke Tessmacher, along with Lita! (Lita, by the way, who only lost out to Kelly Kelly by one vote!).

Now it’s back to you—the reader—to pick TWO more women to eliminate. That’s right, you are NOT voting for winner, you are voting for someone to get eliminated. Two of them. We’ll continue t narrow the field until we get to the final two. At that point, a winner will be crowned!

At stake? Oh nothing, just a spot in the 411Mania Wrestling 5&1 Hall of Bang!

So who will win? We’ll get there, but first we need to eliminate two more of these beautiful ladies. Here is the remaining field, and you can vote below. Vote for the two you want to send home, and vote often. You can vote once every 12 hours, and voting closes Tuesday night.

Ladies, gentlemen, and readers…THE SEXY SIX!

VOTE NOW!

The poll expires Tuesday night, and you can vote once every 12 hours. Now get voting!

Last week in The Wrestling 5&1…

With WWE business in an extended dive, I really don’t think it would be wise to take him away for 6 months. A month maybe, but no longer. John Cena is a great performer…it’s his character that sucks. What’s worse is that a horrible character is stale.

He’s Hogan in WCW circa 1995. The older fans that never liked him, absolutely hated him and the younger fans that loved him had grown up and disliked/were bored by him. He still had a fan base, but it was shrinking. All these factors is what made his heel turn so successful. The old fans still hated him and the younger fans were interested in him again. But the fans that still loved him felt betrayed.

Why I think a Cena turn could be even more successful, critically if not commercially at least, is that he is a far more versatile performer than Hulk. Terry Funk once said that natural bayfaces make the best heels. They already figured out the hard part of getting fans to love them, so to be a great heel all they have to do is tease, then withhold that which made them loved. A Cena heel turn would be better for business than an extended hiatus. – Silly Mark

Interesting premise. I completely agree that Cena has gotten stale. He even said as much in his promo a couple of weeks ago, he has been the same person for far too long, and it’s tiring. There’s no change. I’m pretty much sold on the fact that it’s going to be a long time before he is a heel, which is unfortunate because he can pull it off, and has so much to go off of. Although you claim that a heel turn would help more than an extended hiatus, I have to disagree. I think, even with a turn, they’d place him at the top of the card – which would continue the trend of what his character is, only with a bully edge. He needs to leave.

It’s not a “deadlift” if Kahli is posting, dumbass. – Sheesh!

Can someone please explain why they find Eve attractive? She a 2×4 from the waist down and the waist above she’s got some alright boobs, manly shoulders and an ugly face.
Also even though I despise Cesaro even I have to give him props on some how getting Khali in that, or better yet no. I give Khali props for bending his body despite his usual inability to use his knees. – Cause_I_Can

I kinda like Cesaro, even if his character is still relatively generic. But yes, mad props to both for making that look so convincing. As for Eve, she is an awkward one, right? One moment I find her cute, others I think her jaw is going to wink at me.

Here’s how I would book Ziggler, Punk, Cena, and the Rock for Mania. Cena wins the Rumble and Rock beats Punk. Punk faces UT at WM. At EC, Ziggler suffers a “legit” injury (the WWE will have to work the internet crowd to pull this off) and won’t be able to cash in his mitb contract. Maybe he gets to help with announcing duties while he is “injured” so he can be a ringside during the matches at WM. At WM, Cena gets his win back. Ziggler kicks off his leg brace, bashes Cena with crutch and cashes in. Extreme Rules, you get Ziggler vs Cena with Flair as Special Ref and then Flair pulls the old Stinger double cross and screws Cena again.

Personally, I’d have Stone Cold come out #30 this year and win the Rumble so we could have Rock vs Austin one last time. – kung fu panda

Sup, Fu! I’ve heard this once before about Ziggler cheating an injury, and although I think your idea could work, it may be too convoluted. The end results that you’re looking for could easily be obtained without half the work, and I also feel that there’s a lot of Ziggler up in there they just won’t do. Also, a SCSA vs Rock main event for Mania? In our dreams!

I’ll go so far as to say Cena will get booed at his own Hall of Hame speech, cause thats been the story of his career. I think once Ryback or Sheamus (the top 2 potential new faces of WWE) is ready to take over, then the WWE will be ok with Cena being out of the main event for long periods of time,but for now they can’t afford it.He’s their biggest money maker by a mile and for him just to leave for any reason would hurt the company’s wallet,even though it’d freshen things up.

And with Dolph, I like the guy, but one thing ive noticed is why does he always need to have people associated with him (Vickie, then STRAIGHT to AJ and Langston)? Maybe its just me, but that just tells me that the WWE knows that Ziggs is talented, but they don’t have much faith in him to carry feuds by himself and he needs to be with somebody who people care about/hate in order for the fans to care about him. – Don

I don’t know, Don, I think that they NEED to take that risk of letting Cena out of the spotlight for a bit. There’s no new faces because Cena’s the only real one they got. Who is closest? Randy Orton, right? And he’s hardly a factor right now. I also think that if done right, him leaving won’t affect the bottom line, or at least will very minutely. As for Dolph, I spoke about this on The Greg DeMarco show recently in that it seems they don’t trust Ziggler for some reason, and always seem to attach someone with him. I truly think he can handle it on his own, but someone in the back obviously just doesn’t.

While I think the Cena/Rock set-up is the likely scenario, I also think it is the least interesting. My preference would be that Lesnar interferes, costing Rocky the match-up. Then have Undertaker win the Rumble, setting up Rock vs. Lesnar and Taker vs. Punk (vs. Cena?) as your two main events for Mania. – JDW

There is a lack of interest, but it’s where the money is. I’d much rather see Lesnar and Rock than HHH and Lesnar, but I don’t think that’s what we’re getting. As for Taker winning the Rumble, he’s one of those dudes that doesn’t need to, and I think if you give him the win, you’re wasting it. Then again, they’ll likely waste it on Cena this year so what do I know…

Last week, I spoke at length about the damage John Cena has caused, and the positive effects of him being gone for six months would occur. I alluded to a number of other issues within the WWE that I wanted to touch on for the month, and herein lies one more. The Writing. To the best of my knowledge, the WWE has a group of writers that bounce ideas off each other and develop scripts for their television shows, then submit them up a hierarchy that ultimately ends with Vince McMahon. Many times, the blame goes to him, solely. I cannot do that. If we were to think about this from a slightly different perspective, one can see that there’s quite a few reasons why the current writing “system” doesn’t work. In essence, it seems like they’re trying so hard to place a square peg in a writer’s circle, and it just isn’t fitting…

1) Too Many Cooks

The old adage of too many cooks in the kitchen seems to come into play here quite a bit, as I feel that there may very well be far too many people sitting at this imaginary knight’s table, which causes stories that may start off very well, but peter off into nothingness. What could be one man’s crowning acheivement becomes a group effort that may lose the very essence of what was once began. We’ve seen stories fall into pieces from week to week, and there’s really no one reason. I think it’s because there are far too many people trying to alter, add, or continue the story/idea. Get four of your closest friends, and see if you can book an entire month’s worth of wrestling. I bet you could, but there’d be some dissention, and at the end of the month, you don’t have Vince McMahon’s ass hovering over you.

2) Too Much TV

I am a writer by trade. When I am not working on stuff for 411, I am writing my own work and I can tell you that there is such a thing as burn out. Even with a large group of people, the WWE writing staff is responsible for over 50 superstars, over 8 hours of television, and one PPV a month. All of these stories should be cohesive, and should make sense, but what used to take perhaps a couple of months to flesh out can now be done in a matter of two weeks. What this causes is a depreciation of quality and a rushed feeling of a story’s conclusion. This is why CM Punk’s reign is such a welcomed story in wrestling; it’s been quite some time since we’ve seen dedication to any one arc (and even that’s stretching the concept). Simply put, the hours on television need to be filled, and a majority of it demands quality story telling. Regular television series have an average of 20-26 episodes that are sometimes written all at once, and filmed in a matter of weeks. There is a break time, a rest period. WWE writers and staff have no breaks; it’s a continuous and momentous job that demands soooo much creativity, and it’s no one’s fault but the WWE. Adding another hour to RAW, implementing backstage “active” moments, and just too many hours cause for fluff, character damage, and uninteresting television.

3) Lack of Structure

This one is purely speculation, because for all I know, they may be very structured in the way that they write the shows. But as it’s perceived, I see very little structure. I spoke a few weeks back about the guy who used to use storyboards, and had a nice little story for every wrestler; where did that go? Or why can’t they break up their writers, give them each a few wrestlers to work with and dedicate some real time to them, then have them work with other groups to create some long-term stories? Or they could have each member book an entire 3 month’s worth, and see if they can’t combine elements of everyone’s ideas. These are just shots in the dark, but I really think it’s obvious that a change is needed, because as of now there seems to be a cyclical movement that makes me feel their stagnancy isn’t going anywhere…which leads me to my final point:

4) If It Ain’t Broke…

The worst thing that can happen to any writer is knowing that they’re good, or having the idea embedded in them that what they are doing is the ultimate right way of doing things. There are so many people in this wrestling world, with so many different tastes, that it’s impossible to please everyone, but losing about half your audience in ten years means you did something wrong. WWE’s attitude seems to be that they’re doing everything right, though and honestly, who is here to prove them wrong? TNA? No. The company, at this point, can only be fixed from within, and I don’t see anyone willing to make that change save for one man…Triple H. Who would have thought that the man so many people hated in the first decade of the 2000’s may very well be the man we all revere in a few years’ time. He’s already doing things to alter the product, and I feel that the moment he sets his eyes to the creative aspect of the product, we may very well be in for a treat…I can only hope that he sees an issue like we all do.

Every fan wants the WWE to be a better product, and yet we’re almost always going to find something wrong with it. Truly, if we didn’t there wouldn’t be a 411 to write on. We’re complainers by nature, but I like to think that a majority of us do it not just to do it, but because we see something we love deteriorating and want to preserve it for as long as possible. Then again, do you see the WWE leaving anytime soon?

You Decide: Is the way WWE writes the show broken?

Special Presentation
PWI Year End Awards: The REAL Winners & Losers
By “Die Hard” Derek Gordon

“Die Hard” Derek Gordon is a 20-year veteran of the wrestling business. He’s served as a promoter, writer, booker, on-stage talent and even hosted wrestling’s first podcast for WCW. Now he comes to WrestlingSmash.com to offer his expertise in his trademark controversial style.

For the last decade, Pro Wrestling Illustrated has been a joke! Yeah, I said it!

THE PWI 500 is nothing but a popularity contest with no real logical thought behind it. Granted, the business has changed since the golden era of wrestling where there were dozens of national and territorial organizations with rosters full of legitimate talent and champions, as opposed to today where there are only three (WWE, TNA and Ring of Honor). And you can argue that the editors at the publication could really care less about their effort since paper magazines have become obsolete in the digital age.
Perhaps the thought process is, “Nobody’s reading this shit anyway! Fill out the 500 list with the three rosters and then fill in the rest of the blanks with whatever names you see on local indy posters. We’re lucky we still have jobs”!

But when it comes to the Year-End Awards, I expect more effort. Whether you’re a professional in the business or just an avid fan, you should be able to better validate your decisions based on the body of work presented during that 12-month span. These are achievements and recognitions EARNED, not filler content. Yet, it appears as if PWI has lost their voice of authority in the business, because they no longer print pictures of the winners holding their winning plaque, thus making it evident that the world of sports entertainment has even barred them from VIP list.

Here are some of the winners of the 2012 PWI Year-End Awards, along with the top three runners up and their voting percentages… and my input on the decisions:

WRESTLER OF THE YEAR – CM PUNK (47%)
Runners –Up: Sheamus (16%), Austin Aries (13%) and John Cena (8%)
CM Punk absolutely deserves this nod for a 2nd year in a row. With currently 400-plus days as WWE champion he‘s been bringing prestige back to the concept of being a title holder. While his feuds have been less than epic, that’s a fault you can lay on the WWE creative scriptwriters. In the ring, he’s given us solid performances against Daniel Bryan, Dolph Ziggler, Chris Jericho and John Cena. No argument here that CM Punk proved that in 2012, he was in-fact, the best in the world.

My problem comes with the runners-up. Even though Cena dominated the main event position in 2012 without ever holding a championship, you do realize he lost a good bulk of his matches. So why are we voting for him? ….No argument on Austin Aries, as it was his year to prove the critics wrong and an opportunity for TNA to build a home-grown star…. Sheamus? Really? Yeah, he won the heavyweight title, but did anyone really care to watch his matches? He’s getting better, but not Wrestler of The year better….. Where was Dolph Ziggler on this list? – arguably WWE’s best in-ring performer? Where was Bobby Roode? – who was arguably TNA’s most valuable player in 2012. And where is at least one name from Ring of Honor? – who still focuses on giving a wrestling product to wrestling fans.

TAG TEAM OF THE YEAR – KOFI KINGSTON & R-TRUTH (18%)
Runners-Up: Daniels and Kazarian (17%), Kane/Daniel Bryan (13%), and Samoa Joe/Magnus (7%)
Why? Kofi and Truth were a team for a hot minute and paired up because they were both black – yeah, I said it! So they won the tag straps – who hasn’t? OK, Prime Time Players. But like AJ Lee, Kofi and Truth had multiple partners in 2012, so what makes their union worthy of the recognition. They’re not even a team anymore and haven’t been for months. Shouldn’t a REAL team stick together?

Daniels and Kazarian missed the top spot by 1%, and it is well deserved for two industry veterans who are passionate about maintaining traditional tag team wrestling…. Kane/Bryan deserve their spot because of their success and how over they are with the fans, but at the same time, they are not a real team. Their gimmick is that they shouldn’t even be paired together and their work shows them as two individuals forced together….Same goes for Joe/Magnus – not a real team, just a bastard child of the “creative has nothing for you” family… Uh, where the hell is Benjamin and Haas who have dominated Ring of Honor and have been a team for over a decade? Where are the guys who took them to the limit like Steve Corino and Jimmy Jacobs, and The Briscoe Brothers?….Where is Epico and Primo? – A real team who won the tag titles, work as a team, look like a team and still is a team? There’s a glitch in the Matrix people!

MOST POPULAR OF THE YEAR: JOHN CENA (29%)
Runners-Up: Sheamus (20%), Randy Orton (18%), and Jeff Hardy (17%)
This was a no brainer. Cena is not only the face of the WWE, he’s the face of the business. Love him or hate him, there is no denying him. In that respect, Hardy is the face of TNA, likely because he is a former WWE superstar and it’s in TNA’s nature to whore the celebrity built up in the WWE Universe…. While Orton is popular, I don’t know if I would rank him that high as MOST popular in 2012, considering that he spent a good portion of the year on the DL, or suspended for wellness violation.

And here were are with Sheamus again. As if PWI is trying to force feed us as much as Triple H did to get over his boy. Sheamus is great addition to the roster and a quality competitor, but I don’t see him as popular as some may think. Even as champion, Sheamus isn’t selling out crowds or closing out pay per view events. When was the last time you were psyched to see a Sheamus match? That’s my point. Even though CM Punk is a heel, he’s more popular. Daniel Bryan may be stuck is creative purgatory, but at least he has a catch phrase that blows the roof off arenas. Ryback may be new, but he’s growing into a phenomenon. And did we forget The Rock? – who sold out Wrestlemania in Miami, boost ratings with his appearances on RAW and is now an A-list Hollywood star? Not as popular huh?

Did anybody else notice I couldn’t even name another popular TNA wrestler who is in demand on global scale? Perhaps because one of TNA’s greatest flaws is that they don’t work hard enough to make their stars household names. When was the last time you saw a kid dressed as a TNA wrestler for Halloween? When was the last time kids were rough-housing outside and they emulated the style of their favorite TNA wrestler?….Go ahead, I’ll wait.

MOST HATED OF THE YEAR: CM PUNK (40%)
Runner-Ups: Bobby Roode (14%), Alberto Del Rio (10%) and Kevin Steen (7%)
CM Punk is the perfect wrestling antagonist – yet he is still more over than 99% of the roster. Perhaps I’m taking this too literal, but shouldn’t “hated” mean…HATED? Classic wrestling villains were spat on at arenas and need security escorts to leave the building. They never let you in on their devious plans or played to crowds and sold merchandise. Their job was simply: be HATED! Look at some of the greats like Roddy Piper, Rick Rude, The Honkytonk Man – the more they made your skin crawl and blood boil, the more they did their job. Do you think The Heenan Family would have been so epic if everybody was playing it cool? You can thank Stone Cold Steve Austin and the n.W.o. for doing away with traditional good guy vs. bad guy blueprint. So when it comes to this award, why not nominate talents who legitimately get booed?

Bobby Roode shouldn’t be on this list, simply because not enough people watch TNA to hate him…. Alberto Del Rio spent a good portion of the year on the DL, and his feuds were meaningless. There is nothing to hate about a guy whose matches you don’t give a shit about…. Kevin Steen is legit contender for this award, and in my opinion, the REAL winner for 2012. I don’t watch ROH regularly enough to critique his work as a heel – but his overall look and style had some fans in an uproar when he became the ROH champion. “This fucking guy??? He doesn’t even look like a wrestler!!!” Now that’s what I call HEAT!

Surprisingly, Cena didn’t make the list. I guess there weren’t as many “Cena Sucks” chants as I thought I heard…. Vickie Guerrero didn’t make the list, even though people can’t wait for her to shut the fuck up…. WWE creative could have easily made the list because the quality of the product in 2012 was beyond abysmal…. And where is Bully Ray’s nomination? If anyone, he made the most conscious effort in 2012 to have people flip him the bird!

MOST IMPROVED OF THE YEAR: RYBACK (22%)
Runners-Up: Miss Tessmacher (20%), Michael Elgin (17%) and Adam Cole (5%)
I couldn’t agree more with Ryback taking this award, but I did expect him to have a higher percentage. To think, this guy started the year with burden of being considered a Goldberg clone and he was notorious for botching spots in the ring, thus me giving him the moniker Rybotch. But as the year progressed, so did he, and has become one of the WWE’s hottest commodities – and a much needed one.

Tessmacher makes sense since she pulled the upset and won the Knockout’s title, but nominating her most improved is a joke considering how TNA put the knockouts division on the backburner for months and saw a good portion of the roster disappear. It’s hard to improve when you have nobody to work with….. Elgin and Cole earned their sports and hopefully get on the radar of either WWE or TNA so that they can continue to grow their names and experience.

Again, where is Bully Ray? This guy reinvented himself after nearly two decades as a tag team wrestler. His transformation has been a breath of fresh air for TNA and heels in general. But still no props, huh? How about props for Austin Aries, who broke free from the chains of X-division little guys to become the TNA heavyweight champion? And don’t forget Heath Slater – this guy was one Superstars match away from being released when he stepped in shit and became the “job-boy” for Raw’s weekly returning legends. From there he was allowed the opportunity to create the 3MB trio, which still does jobs – but helped three guys keep theirs.

COMEBACK OF THE YEAR: JEFF HARDY (24%)
Runner-Ups: The Rock (13%), Brock Lesnar (11%) and Layla (6%)
Jeff Hardy’s story from crack to champion is by far the best comeback story of the year. It may not have been as well publicized or celebrated as The Rock’s return, but from a personal perspective, you have to give props to someone who can overcome his own demons. It was disturbing watching Eric Bischoff abruptly call for his match to end against Sting at Victory Road in 2011. By that point, Hardy’s name was at the top of everyone’s death pool (his brother Matt has since replaced him). But Jeff took the time off and got it together not just for the fans, but for himself.

The Rock was perhaps the most anticipated comeback of the decade, and fans are chomping a the bit to see him bring it in 2013…. I wish I could say the same thing for Brock Lesnar. His return the day after Wrestlemania was a shocker, but it fizzled pretty quick when he forgot how to cut a promo and wrestle the fake way. It was nice seeing you again Brock, but you really stunk the joint up… As for Layla, uh, yeah, I guess. Whatever. As if we couldn’t find another piece of ass to put the Diva’s title on.

FEUD OF THE YEAR: ACES and EIGHTS vs. TNA (24%)
Runners-Up: Cena vs. Rock (17%), Punk vs. Bryan (12%) and Adam Pearce vs. Colt Cabana (9%)
I’m calling, bullshit! Flag on the play! Okay, I want to know who the fuck voted for this, when (say it with me) NOBODY WATCHES TNA! I love the TV show Sons of Anarchy as much as the next person and I think it’s cool to come up with a gimmick and storyline inspired by it – but it has to be effective. This is a perfect case of “great idea/poor execution”. And to be considered feud of the year…? Why don’t you just kick me in the balls while you’re at it?

Rock/Cena was by far the most heavily publicized feud in YEARS! And you know what made it so effective? One full year of hype, and ONLY one match. The tag match at Survivor Series helped make it legit, but it was really the only time we saw these competitors touch. We literally had to wait and pay for the big one – the way it’s supposed to be! Rock vs. Cena was the best built up program I’ve seen in over 10 years. It made me a fan again and made me want to see the match. For a moment, the magic of pro wrestling was back…but just for a flickering moment.

Punk/Bryan wasn’t really a feud in my opinion. It was more a series of indy dream matches on a grander scale. Watching these two trade off in a WWE ring made me realize truly how far they have both come since being the flag bearers of Ring of Honor. It was one of those, “we made it” moments. The problem is, it was wasted. Punk/Bryan would have been the perfect scenario to unify the titles as the main event of Wrestlemania. Hopefully WWE creative takes note.

I’m so happy to see Pearce/Cabana recognized here. Not only is well deserved, but it proves that the indies are alive and well, and that there is always opportunity to reinvigorate the territories. I wish I could have witnessed each and every encounter of their best of seven, “Seven Stages of Hate” series for the NWA title, because this is what REAL pro wrestling is made of. The story was told in the ring, and the reward was the glory of the gold. While I’m not a big fan of gimmick matches like street-fights, first blood, etc., I would have definitely been emotionally engaged because it was part of their story that drew upon their hate. These were the type of matches and feuds that occurred in the small territories where my only source of coverage was the “Apter Mags”, such as PWI. Matches and feuds like this were the reason I bought magazines and became so well versed in the art of the business. That’s what this feud was…art. And hopefully, its recognition will intrigue a younger generation to explore the indy circuit, ask about the days of territories, order back issues to see how it was all done before the curse of sports entertainment. I know it’s asking for a lot, but should it happen, don’t thank me – thank Adam, Pearce and Colt Cabana.

Catch more of “Die Hard” Derek Gordon’s work at WrestlingSmash.com!

You Decide: What are YOUR thoughts on this year’s PWI winners and runner-ups? Who do you think was snubbed? And what is your perception of where wrestling magazines have their place in 2013?

This week is heavy in opinion, and that’s mainly because most of the news stories didn’t interest me. For that, I apologize, but hey, we got one point about news, right Greg? At any rate, on Monday night, we had Kofi Kingston have a “match” against The Big Show to lead into the CM Punk and Rock interaction. The match was less than a minute, and had Big Show knock out Kofi then move on. I ask you, was this necessary at all? Look, we’re in the full swing of Mania season where the big names become bigger and everyone who isn’t going to matter come Mania will take a backseat to those that do. In that aspect, I get what they were doing, but the execution was horrible. Kofi Kingston was actually getting a bit of a fire under his ass, and had the fans clamoring for more high-flying antics. Then he loses the IC Title and people think perhaps he’s moving up the card. Finally, we get to Monday where Big Show effectually sends him back to the mid-card with one punch. All I could think was poor Kofi. I had this to say in the R’s about the moment:

In what seemed like an effort from the WWE, Kofi got himself a nice little push at the tail end of 2012, and even injected a bit of attitude within. Welcome to 2013, Kofi, where you once again no longer matter. Getting KO’ed by Big Show in a matter of a minute. As I mentioned before, they are going to be making the strong guys stronger in the next couple of months, but with people like 3MB around, why not feed them to Show? In the similar vein of Cena, I don’t care that Kofi lost, simply how he lost was good enough to piss me off. Two questions we need to be asked during any squash match like this; who is helping? (no one) and who is it hurting? (Kofi). If the answer to the first question is no one, the second will really only add insult to injury.

I’m no Kofi defender, but the reality is that Kofi is not the only one to suffer such a fate, as we saw all last year. It’s just a damned shame…

You Decide: Was Kofi’s sacrifice worth it?

While I can type away on reams of paper about my disdain for John Cena, I thought I’d take a moment to point out a growing trend and leave it open to conversation, as I have a legit question for the readers. First, let’s get to the point. I’ve been watching wrestling for over 20 years, but I am in no way an historian. Even so, I am well aware that there are wrestlers who have their movesets, their finishers, and their sort of…preludes to finishers. I also noticed that one of the most common complaints about John Cena are his Five Moves of Doom. What bothers me is the apparent rise of this FMD trend floating over to a lot of wrestlers, not just the golden boy. Now why I bring up my fandom, and the history of wrestling is that I want to know from you guys…has this always been the case? Let’s look at Sheamus, we know that we’re going to get his little barrage of forearms over the ropes, White Noise, then a Brogue. Or how about Randy Orton who must hit a rope-assisted DDT, a powerslam, then an RKO from “out of nowhere.” And to a lesser extent, Santino who will duck a clothesline with the splits, arm drag you across the ring, then pull out his Cobra. There are countless other examples, and although I am well aware that these moments are created to pop the crowd, doesn’t it really take away from the in-ring saaviness that we’re hoping for? I legitimately question this because every time I see Orton gearing up for his set, I know the match is all but over, and it removes me from the moment – even if the result was never in question. So while John Cena gets some hounding due to his five moves of doom, is it any different than those fan favorites that we see do the same thing before a win?

You Decide: Are the Five Moves of Doom a positive or negative aspect of a wrestler’s repertoire?

ROH/PWG Star Adam Cole and “Greek God” Papadon join The Greg DeMarco Show

This week on The Greg DeMarco Show, Greg and Patrick were joined by two amazing guests, discussed the Rock’s promo with CM Punk and looked ahead to the road to WrestleMania. Tony Acero joined the discussion to take a look back at the NWO, and their chances at the WWE Hall of Fame.

Ring of Honor World Television Champion and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla World Champion Adam Cole joined the show to recount his amazing 2012. Cole discusses the now-famous hybrid rules match and if his facial injury during the match was really a blessing in disguise. Cole talks about beating Roderick Strong for the World TV title, and how it compares to pinning then World Champion Davey Richards in the 10th Anniversary iPPV main event. Does Cole see himself as a future ROH World Champion? That question gets a very candid answer during the interview.

Cole also looks back on his meteoric rise to the top of Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, dating back to winning the Battle of Los Angeles tournament that he wasn’t originally booked for. If you look at Cole’s run in PWG and think “that happened fast,” you’re not along—Cole thinks so as well! Cole previews his reunion with Kyle O’Reilly for this weekend’s DDT Tournament and their first round match-up against Roderick Strong and Eddie Edwards.

Independent standout “Greek God” Papadon makes his return to the program after a six-month absence. Papadon discussed losing the ECWA Heavyweight Championship after a 560-day reign that also included winning the famous Super 8 tournament and being inducted into the promotion’s Hall of Fame. The end of the year saw Papadon turn face for the company, and Papadon talks about his embracing the fans’ cheers while he still “hates the peasants.” He also confirms that he is still not signed by any promotion, free to work for anyone he wants. Papdon shares his aspirations for 2013 and predicts where he will be at this same time next year, and lays down a public challenge to the NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion Kahagas.

Tony Acero jumps in with Greg and Patrick to discuss the first RAW of 2013, and what the booking says about the WWE’s faith in certain talents and where the Road to WrestleMania will take us. The crew also talks about when (and if) the NWO should be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, and which members should be included. Do names like The Big Show (The Giant) and Scott Steiner make the cut?

Finally, hear Greg, Tony and Patrick offer their real time reactions as they learn of Alberto Del Rio winning the World Heavyweight Championship from the Big Show by reading the spoiler on the air. With no time to prepare, each analyst offers their perspective on the unpredictable title change.

Listen here!

Listen to internet radio with Wrestling Smash on Blog Talk Radio

About The Greg DeMarco Show:
Presented by 411Mania.com The Greg DeMarco Show with Greg DeMarco and Patrick O’Dowd airs each Tuesday night at 10 PM. Listen live, join our “Snake Pit” chat room and call in at 310-807-5103. Each week the show features some of the best guests in the wrestling business, plus insightful analysis on the current product, entertaining hijinks & shenanigans and more!

Greg DeMarco isn’t just a must-read wrestling analyst (via http://www.411wrestling.com and http://www.bleacherreport.com) with a copious amount of sound bites on his show. Greg brings several years of experience within the wrestling business—as well as eight years of stand-up and improvisational comedy experience—to the masses each week.

He’s joined each week by best friend “The Wrestling Realist” Patrick O’Dowd. Not just another sidekick, Patrick balances hard-hitting commentary with an innate ability to provoke Greg in ways that very few can. These two best friends collaborate to provide the most entertaining wrestling program on the planet, and do so while breaking down the product in ways that no one else can.

In hour number one, listeners have grown to expect a stellar guest interview, along with listener callers. Interviews have featuring names like TNA superstar Christopher Daniels, ECW legend Shane Douglas, former WWE superstars Brian Kendrick and Chris (Masters) Mordetzky, Tough Enough cast members Martin Casaus, Eric Watts and Luke Robinson, five-time NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion Adam Pearce, and TNA Gut Check success stories Joey Ryan and Taeler Hendrix. The show also boasts the best independent wrestling interviews with internationally acclaimed star The Almighty Sheik, former TNA superstar Jimmy Rave, “The Handicapped Hero” Gregory Iron, women wrestling’s toughest competitor Rain, Nicole Matthews, Australia’s Jessie McKay and Niki Nitro, Kevin Steen, Eddie Kingston, Johnny Gargano, Jigsaw (TNA’s Rubix), Darin Corbin, Larry Dallas, Alex Koslov, “The Greek God” Papadon, Ryna Katz, Michael Elgin, Mike Bennett, Adam Cole, The Young Bucks, Kyle O’Reilly, Tommaso Ciampa, Cary Silkin, Leva Bates, Sassy Stephie, Ethan Page, Josh Alexander, Drew Gulak, Silas Young & Val Malone, Brandon Gatson, Josh Damian, Cintron, Alex Reynolds, Serenity, Jessie Belle GLOW’s Patrisha Summerland, and more. Rounding out this impressive list are promoters Cary Silkin (Ring of Honor), Alex Abrahantes (Lucha Libre USA) and Drew Cordeiro (Beyond Wrestling and WSU) as well as Chikara personality Leonard F. Chikarason.

Hour number two is known for the best wrestling analysis on the planet, including in depth single topic discussions, “state of the…” reviews on each major promotion, and on-point pay-per-view previews.
Show analyst Andy Critchell jumps in to level the playing field and provide amazing insight into the product in a style that is unmatched anywhere on the internet. Each week, Andy joins Greg and Patrick in providing expert perspective on the wrestling business that is unmatched. On pay-per-view weeks, the trio provides on-point previews and predictions for the weekend’s premium event.

During hour number two, listeners have also gotten to know “The DeMarcettes,” the hottest up-and-coming women’s wrestlers in the world. Buggy Nova, the original DeMarcette, has gone on to WWE fame as NXT’s Skyler Moon. Current DeMarcettes include Southern California’s Terra Calaway, Su Yung (former WWE/NXT Diva Sonia), Texas’s Barbi Hayden, New England’s Veda Scott, Ohio Valley Wrestling’s newest roster member “The Perfect Ten” Scarlett Bordeaux and the newest DeMarcette “Lucky #7” Allie Parker.

And if pure entertainment and hijinks are more your speed, then hour number three is for you! The gorgeous “Sin City Siren” Terra Calaway and published author (and hip-hop & wrestling aficionado) Tony Acero engage in hilarious conversation (and sometimes screaming rants) on all things wrestling, entertainment, sex, life, and more! Are you a wrestling trivia fan? Justin Freemyer gives you a weekly dose of wrestling history that is sure to stump Greg during hour three each week.

The Greg DeMarco Show is streams LIVE each Tuesday night at 10 pm eastern/7 pm pacific at SmashWrestling.com or on the show’s Blog Talk Radio channel (blogtalkradio.com/smashradionetwork).
You can reach the show via e-mail at [email protected] and on Facebook by searching for “Greg DeMarco Show.”

Follow show personalities on Twitter:
Patrick O’Dowd – http://twitter.com/wrestlngrealist
Andy Critchell – http://twitter.com/ascrit
Justin Freemyer – http://twitter.com/JustinFreemyer
Tony Acero – http://twitter.com/TonyAcero411
Terra Calaway – http://twitter.com/TerraCalaway
Greg DeMarco – http://twitter.com/gregdemarcoshow

Oh Kurt, you rascal, you!!!

Hit up the ‘Mania on the TWITTER (so Ashish will like me, okay?)

http://www.twitter.com/411mania
http://www.twitter.com/411wrestling
http://www.twitter.com/411moviestv
http://www.twitter.com/411music
http://www.twitter.com/411games
http://www.twitter.com/411mma

And 1 Model of the Week
with Tony Acero

This week, we have the lovely and talented Buggy “I Can Say Fuck Again” Nova!!

Get reading!

Randle’s Wrestling News Experience!
Kelly’s Thursday Sports Entertainment News!
Fact or Fiction featuring Jeremy Thomas and Michael Benjamin!

Tony Acero presents The Low End Theory!

Plenty to talk about in the comments!
What’s wrong the writers of the WWE?
Royal Rumble predictions?
Does Kofi Kingston have a future?
And don’t forget about the Versus Royal Rumble—PICK 3 TO ELIMINATE!

Until next time…

Find Tony:
Twitter: @TonyAcero411
Facebook: Be my Fwend!
Amazon: Check out my books!

Find Greg:
Twitter: @GregDeMarcoShow
Facebook: Be my friend!
Bleacher Report: Read more of my stuff!