The Wrestling 5&1 2.22.14: Eve Torres vs Melina

Welcome….to the DOGG HOWSE! There are so many dogs in here! We’re a day away from The Elimination Chamber, and of course I have some predictions! Aside all that, we’re gonna spotlight someone who really stepped up this past week and if you weren’t put on notice, he was able to do just that not only on Smackdown but especially on RAW! We also got the ladies; so…there’s that. Oh yeah, some old dude returned, but let’s not talk about that…

Welcome to the Big Leagues

A little over ten years ago, a wrestler from Switzerland stepped into a ring for the first time and began a career that, arguably, hit the starting gate of the apex of his career this past Monday. I will not pretend to be an indy nut who has been following this guy since the beginning – I haven’t. In fact, I only know of his ring presence in terms of the WWE short of some youtube vids from PWG and some pre-writing research on the guy, but to say that he hasn’t impressed in the WWE since he got there would be a bold faced lie. (See, I put it in bold).

The efforts of Cesaro have been pontificated throughout the IWC as something worth seeing, and even though our own Greg DeMarco didn’t include him in his top four of Who Will Step Up? because of his age, there’s something to be said about the sudden uprise of Cesaro. This was only just hinted at on Smackdown, when he beat Randy Orton – OUR WWE World Heavyweight Champion – but the sentiment was intensified on RAW when he went toe-to-toe with the true face of the WWE, John Cena.

There were some that cried foul with Cesaro losing, but those who did that are simple detractors of all things Cena – a role I’ve always coveted but is quickly losing traction this year, particularly since Cena has truly taken a backseat in terms of spotlight for a while now. As for Cesaro – and the match – that shit was great. Credit, of course, doesn’t go to just Cesaro, but the point was pretty much banged over our head that this match was made for the sole point to put Cesaro on equal playing field as Orton, Cena, and the others in the Elimination Chamber. In fact, that’s truly where my only real complaint comes from – the commentary was God Awful. It made me pray for the days of actual intensity, and not fake Michael Cole cries of OMGs. King and even JBL added very little, and it saddened me that a match like this could be hurt by commentary that was so blatantly obvious.

There could really be only one fear here in terms of the match and what follows, and that is that the reason behind it was simply to sell the match come Sunday as one with no for certain winner. There have been times where we’ve seen a superstar come out of nowhere with wins simply because he aws going to be in a high profile match coming soon, only to be floundered back down the card shortly thereafter due to lack of need and/or confidence. I wouldn’t be so sure to put Cesaro in that role. I’m truly thinking that this is long term, and we’ve got a man who has stepped up to fill a hole that CM Punk left. In some ways, this is the ultimate proof of what I said weeks ago – that no one man is bigger than the WWE, because for every hole that will ever be left by an ego or disgruntled employee (whether justified or not is irrelevant), there will always be a hungry person in the halls, waiting for their opportunity.

Cesaro, welcome to the big leagues.

Your Turn: Is this a permanent presence of Antonio Cesaro in the main event scene?

Yes! Yes! Yes! Facebook page, I posted this pic for all to comment on…

And the commenter with the most “likes”???

Daniel Jakob Slengerich: ” Welcome to TNA’s biggest show of the month!”

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Elimination Chamber Predictions

Pre-show Match: Cody Rhodes and Goldust vs. Ryback and Curtis Axel
There seems to be a cooling down effect going on with Goldy and Cody, and it’s interesting how certain storylines have lost traction due to the Chamber – a for sure sign that the writing team may not have as good a grasp on their entire roster as some former writers in the past once had. As for the match, the LAST team that needs to win anything is Ryback and Axel – in fact, why is this match even happening? Did I miss something important? Legit question.
Winners: Cody Rhodes and Goldust

Darren Young vs. Titus O’Neil
This was kind of thrown together, and is apparently based off of a newfound yearning for big men in the uppercard. If that’s true, then look for Titus to defeat Darren quite convincingly, and for poor Young to do nothing for some time. Titus still doesn’t have a firm grasp on the mic, and comes off as very stilted both in the ring and on the stick, but has also shown growth since his NXT days off yesteryear. I don’t think the match will be anything spectacular, and in fact, I see a squash happening, but at least they’re getting some screen time.
Winner: Titus O’Neil

Batista vs. Alberto Del Rio
Boy has Del Rio been made to look like a chump or what? Not that it matters too much; Batista is the Rumble winner and will certainly not be losing here. Del Rio lost his luster a long time ago, yet still has good to great matches on a consistent basis. I’m curious to see Batista go for an elongated amount of time, but considering how easily it’s been for him to dispatch Del Rio in recent weeks – and the seemingly overstacked card – look for Batista to beat Del Rio rather convincingly and quickly.
Winner: Batista

WWE Tag Team Championship Match: The New Age Outlaws (c) vs. The Usos
I believe many people called this match the moment the NAO won the titles. This is The Usos’ match to lose, and I see them doing just the opposite. They’ve pretty much deserved a run, as they’ve really rose to the top in popularity with the Universe and excitement within the ring. I find them only slightly above average, but they bring energy and never slouch. They’re hard workers and it’d be nice to have a younger group have the titles. The question then points to just who they’ll be facing come Mania.z
Winners and NEW Tag Team Champions: The Usos

Intercontinental Championship Match: Big E (c) vs. Jack Swagger
Swagger, apparently, has the whole My Manager Hates Me storyline going on right now, so he’s certainly in line for losing a “big one” so that Zebby can berate him in the middle of the ring, causing Swagger to snap or something. Big E isn’t ready to lose the belt, and may very well take it to Mania to face Ambrose for a unification. That’s not a rumor, just speculation on my behalf. I’m interested in the possibility of their collegiate background coming into play. I’ve always had a special interest in mat-based wrestling that doesn’t seem choreographed, and I think these two are two of the select few who could do just that. I’m looking forward to it from a wrestling standpoint. From a storyline standpoint, it’s just so-so.
Winner: Big E. Langston

The Wyatt Family vs. The Shield
Awww sookie sookie naow! If you ain’t excited for this match then a big ol FU to the face! I’ll admit, doing the same thing two RAWs in a row was a bit of a stale way to go in my opinion, but these two groups have been built up so well that the implosion of the group within the ring is one of those goosebump-inducing matches that we don’t always get. I know people wanted it in a chamber, and although I’d set that shit up immediately in RAW 2k14, the facts are that it’s a straight six man, and if we’ve got the past to base how awesome this match will be on, then I’d venture to say it will be every bit as amazing as we know these six man can pull out. As for the winners, that’s a bit harder to pinpoint. I’d go with Bray’s group if only because the end of the Shield is slowly coming, and this could be another chink in the armor of their once tightly aligned brotherhood.
Winners: The Wyatt Family

Elimination Chamber Match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship: Randy Orton (c) vs. John Cena vs. Sheamus vs. Christian vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Cesaro
Are we all still in agreement that we want to see Bryan win this match? Yes? Yes. Ok. Now that the well wishes are out of the way, let’s get back to reality. The possible winners here, in my opinion, are Cena and Orton. Orton has been more and more chickenshit as days go by, and they continue to tease Batista and Orton as the viable main event. That’s all well and good, but I feel that a knee-jerk reaction by the higher ups may have them pull the rug from under Orton and go with the sure bet of John Cena in the main event of Wrestlemania XXX. I don’t know for sure if that’s what they will do, but I can’t help but feel a bubblegut of impending doom for Orton and his reign. With that being said, I think I’ll choose Cena.
Winner and NEW WWE World Heavyweight Champion: John Cena

Eve stampedes the competition with a win over Cameron and moves forward to a battle that should be a bit more difficult…

I’ll be sure to update the image next week…..promise?

And now…..

Voting ends Wednesday night and you can vote once every hour!

Don’t Forget to Pick Up the Rice, Eleanor!
Time for some FAN FICTION!!!

I’m kidding. I’d never be so low as to write some fake love story between myself and a real person. By the way, how’s the picture of my beloved up above, ey? –swoon-

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Velvet Sky!

Tony Acero is currently a student at Cal State University of Long Beach. He is double-majoring as a Creative Writing and Literature major. His first book, Through The Looking Glass, was published in April, 2012. School’s Out is a short story that found the author arrested due to the severity of its content. Both can be found on amazon.com.

Tony joined 411Mania in April 2010, and currently contributes in both music and wrestling. Tony is an avid drinker of Mountain Dew and Jack Daniels. He is a writer who hardly takes himself seriously, yet has an innate ability to create moments that are both human yet fearful in his writings.

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HALL OF FAME
Greg DeMarco is a graduate of Virginia Tech (Bachelor’s in Business Management) and Arizona State (Master’s in Higher & Post-Secondary Education). He works in online higher education. Greg started in improv comedy in 2001, making his stand-up debut in 2004.

Greg first appeared as a ring announcer for Rising Phoenix Wrestling in Phoenix Arizona in 2006 and served many promotions in both on-stage and back-stage roles for over six years, most notably Ring of Honor in 2010. He began writing for 411Mania in October 2010, founded The Greg DeMarco Show in May 2011 and opened WrestlingSmash.com (and Wrestling Smash Radio) in January 2013.

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Until next week…