Give Divas a Chance WWE!

Photo courtesy of WWE

WWE need to focus on giving its Divas division a real run for the bread! The comments came around a week ago when AJ Lee called out Stephanie McMahon and the WWE for their negligence and respect shown to the WWE Divas Division. <<<There's the problem, right there! For a long time, many of us had a huge problem with the fact that WWE decided confidently to change the name from Women's Division to 'Divas Division.' With this in place, the 'divas' are now considered models, sex magnets, figures, you name it! There's no doubt that stars such as AJ, The Bella's, Paige, Natalya, Naomi, etc. are some of the most talented women to grace the earth, let alone the WWE ring, but the problem is that WWE seem to not have that much confidence in their women. 

There's never been an event in years, since the days of Lita, Trish Stratus, Gail Kim, and even Mickie James, that a Divas Match has lasted for more than 10 minutes. It's a complete disgrace for the Divas Division to endure days upon days of training, only to be dropped like a ball on a string at every live event. The problem hardly lies within the talent pool, because the talent is there, but the issue of inequality looms in the air. What the fans would love to see, we as fans aren't seeing it! Too often have we seen the Divas used as fillers for events, to just provide a bathroom break for the fans, and this isn't only sexist, it shows a lack of confidence that the company has in its own product! Sure, divas such as Eva Marie, mostly Eva Marie, could use some more time in NXT to get her skills a little bit more advanced than it already is, but WWE uses her mainly because of her stardom in magazine shoots, which in turn gives WWE more power to their name. Don't get me wrong, Eva works hard for her opportunities, as seen on Total Divas, but there should be more to being a WWE Diva besides just posing half-naked for magazine shoots.

Regarding paychecks, on-screen time, all the good works, it's agreeable that there should be a bump in the paychecks, as it came as a huge surprise when it was discovered that the Bella's were only worth $2 million in total, while John Cena alone is worth over $35 million! The mere fact that one man is pretty much worth more than twice of what all the WWE Divas earn, shows that the scale isn't as balanced as it should be. Stephanie McMahon, an activist in her own right, hasn't really advocated for her women as she should have, therefore it should come as no surprise when AJ called her out publicly on this! The NXT however, with the likes of Sasha Banks, Bayley and Charlotte, among many others, have somehow taken the Women's division and turned it into something worth watching! It's admirable, and also very commendable, that Triple H has done a fantastic job with NXT, and hopefully there's a plan somewhere to revive the WWE Divas Division sooner than later if the Divas do expect a bump in their salaries anytime soon!

TNA and UFC have put a lot of pride in their women, as they have made them so watchable, that it's no doubt that some of the WWE Divas may even have a little bit of envy! Take for example, UFC 184, which drew figures of over 17,000 in attendance, thanks to the heavy promotion and confidence the company had in their superstar Ronda Rousey! Ronda was among four women that night, who headlined the event which not only drew a sold-out crowd in Los Angeles, but was a huge success in the ratings!  Are there Divas in the WWE who are as equally talented as Ronda, of course! But how are they going to get the chance they so undoubtedly deserve, when their own bosses don't give them a chance? Total Divas has been pretty much the trademark of the Divas, not their wrestling, and this in itself is a huge problem!

It's down to the women to show their strength, and its up to the WWE to give their Divas a chance to take the big stage every once in a while, and its also up to the WWE Universe to push WWE on this, make them do what should be done, give Divas a Chance!

WWE FAST LANE Review! One hell of a show!

Now the results are finally in, and I must say, I completely forgot about the 2015 Oscars, oh my! Annnnyyyyywwwaaayyy, on to WWE Fast Lane!!! What an insane night, full of insane twists and turns, but in the end, it was a night to remember indeed! If WWE Network subscribers won any thing out of their membership, it was this fantastic Pay-Per-View event they got a chance to witness, for free!

Starting from the bottom up, lets take a look at the six man tag match. A good but unexpected win for Team Rollins as I was really looking forward to Orton actually influencing a victory in the favor of Team Ziggler, but sadly that wasn't even the case, but hell we got to see the return of the Viper, and he smells some Seth Blood!!! Look forward to a clash at Wrestlemania, with possibly the MITB briefcase being up for grabs too! Good to see that Orton is back and in excellent shape I might add, but I hope that WWE doesn't bury him as they have been in the past...

The most awkward and dullest moment tonight had to be the Cosmic Stars colliding, or whatever the crap that was! Goldust, Stardust, should've  happened two years ago, when Cody was hot in the company and Goldust had more mileage in him to say the least, but WWE oddly decided to pull out the 'better late than never' card most conveniently, resulting in a hot mess of a match which never even took off from the start. In my honest opinion, that small-package pinfall by Goldust was a tad cheap, but thankfully, ended the match as soon as it did! The biggest setback in all this for the WWE Universe, is that sadly this rivalry may even be stretched across to Wrestlemania due to the painful fact that Stardust took it upon himself to assault his own brother backstage in front of Papa Dusty! How rude indeed....

Moving on to a more positive note, Tyson Kidd and Cesaro are finally having things go their way at long last! Their victory tonight was nothing short of remarkable, and kudos to the Usos for selling their defeat the way they did, allowing some more heat to be packed on the new deadly duo of Kidd/Cesaro, who I hope to see face each other soon in the near future, because surely, that's got to be what's best for business WWE.... Congrats to the new champs!

Paige vs Nikki Bella really irked me to the point that I would've thrown my cereal bowl at the TV tonight, but let's face it, I'd rather have just thrown said bowl at WWE Creative instead! How on earth can you find it in yourselves to justify Paige losing like some little commoner? This isn't Emma or some whack-job backstage Diva, this is Paige! This woman was supposed to be the upgraded version of AJ Lee for crying out loud, but now the company has her jobbing to the likes of Nikki Bella?? I've honestly never seen Nikki Bella as the face of the Diva's division, except for her spots on Total Divas when she's with her boo John Cena, so why is she now seemingly the future of the Divas? I didn't enjoy this match one bit, only because Paige was the dumbed down version of her true self tonight. Congrats are still in order for Nikki Bella retaining her title.

I'm not so sure if I'm at all satisfied with the finish of the Intercontinental Title match with Ambrose and Bad News Barrett, this match was one with a great start, only with a slightly unexpected finish. Ambrose will be champion soon, but I'm 100%| sure this will happen at the grandest show of 'em all, Wrestlemania! Apparently the match either ended up in a DQ in favor of Barrett or it was thrown out to a no contest, either way, it was so-so!

One of the most entertaining matches of the night was the US Championship match! Cena and Rusev put on a hell of a show! Rusev was the man of the match without a doubt, and although his victory was all but questionable, with that disturbing kick in Cena's nuts, then the Accolade right after, Rusev needed that win tonight to further cement his status as the unbeaten Russian Brute in America! The biggest controversy however, was the fact that Cena did not tap-out, as he was out cold like Stone Cold back at Wrestlemania 13! I'm guessing we will see a rematch at Wrestlemania 31, and possibly this time, a submission match or an I Quit Match!

The Main Event, fantastic!! Amazing!! Stupendous!! Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan battled for their lives tonight, and this match was literally an easy 4* match!! I was a bit skeptical to say the least with the events leading up to tonight's main event, but man I was not disappointed to say the least, despite the fact that the match ended in favor of Roman Reigns! Daniel Bryan was fantastic tonight, and it was no doubt that he shouldered the majority of tonight's match, but at the same time, kudos to Roman Reigns for coming out the believable winner! It's no secret that I am not a huge fan of Reigns, nor will I ever be, but I must say that I felt happy for him on his victory tonight, but at the same time, I'm not expecting this quality match between him and Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania. My doubts lie solely on the fact that these two guys aren't the most entertaining to watch unless they step in the ring with someone who already packs top entertainment value like Rollins, Ziggler and Bryan for example, so I guess we will see what's to come within the next five weeks on the road to Mania!

On a side note, well two side notes, I was thrilled to see the superb mash-up between Sting and Triple H, although it was no doubt that Triple H sold this rivalry much more than Sting could've but needless to say, the WWE Universe ate it all up like a bucket of KFC! This encounter at Wrestlemania should be one hell of a showdown, as they already gave us all a sneak preview of what's to come! I'm still amazed at where it is that Sting keeps his baseball bats when clearly he didn't have it in his pockets! Either way, Sting delivering his Stinger Splash/Death Drop on Triple H was fantastic! Nostalgia at it's finest!

The second side note, and the biggest, was Bray Wyatt's bold step in calling out the Undertaker the way he did tonight! When we saw the minions marching with their torches and the casket, that small casket, some already had it figured out that the person in that casket was definitely not the Undertaker, but I'm pretty sure that we all had a hint it was indeed Bray Wyatt! A showdown of the two most deranged minds in WWE history will prove to be mouthwatering, as I can't help but think at the same time that this may just as well be the last hurrah for the Undertaker after over 2 decades of long-standing service to the company, and he has been fantastic! Here's to hoping that this match will indeed be a Casket Match, and a kick-ass match indeed!

Tune in tomorrow night at 8pm for WWE RAW to witness first hand, the aftermath of WWE Fast Lane!

WWE Fast Lane predictions!

The dawning of yet another fantastic WWE pay-per-view is finally among us! WWE will debut its Fast Lane event, which has now replaced the destructive Elimination Chamber for some odd reason, now is it safe to say we will be seeing some cars right below the titantron tomorrow night? Eh. We will take a look at the major fights of tomorrow night's big event, and let's see the upsets of the night that will unfold very soon before us all!

photo courtesy of wwe.com

Cena vs Rusev (c) - WWE United States Championship

First of all, let's put the pieces together on this one folks, there's no way in hell, that Rusev and Cena will have a clean finish in this one, simply put, this match will go straight to a DQ just for them to up the ante at Wrestlemania 31 to maybe finish the chapter, or perhaps draw it out for as long as they possibly can! Rusev has been unbeaten for as long as he's been in the WWE, so safe to say, he's not losing his undefeated streak at Fast Lane, and to top things off, I find it highly unlikely that John Cena, the biggest name in pro wrestling this generation, is going to be the US Champion! The showpiece of this setup is to pretty much hype up this encounter as best as possible and man, have WWE done a heck of a job so far! I see a double countout or a double DQ in this one, I predict it will end up in a possible street fight!

Winner: Double DQ

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Goldust vs Stardust

The match that's been about two years in the making is finally, finally about to happen! Is it possible that WWE are finally giving good ol' Goldust a proper sendoff? He's dedicated about two decades to this company of fantastic work, and it's about time to finally pass the mantle to his little bro once and for all. Prediction for this match is Cody, errrr, Stardust coming out the winner.

Winner: Stardust

photo courtesy of wwe.com

Paige vs Nikki Bella (c)

The battle for Total Divas supremacy will continue tomorrow night! The day that's been dreaded by the hardcore wrestling fans, the cast have taken over the division, so where do the odd ones fit in? Anyway, it's simple as this, this match will end up going the Bella way, possibly with the return of AJ Lee coming in to cause the distraction that will set up page for the fall, prompting another AJ vs Paige thriller! So as predicted, Nikki Bella for the win!

Winner: Nikki Bella

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The Usos(c) vs Tyson Kidd/Cesaro - WWE Tag Team Championship

As the nights continue to rise, so has this new tag team of Kidd/Cesaro! I see the possibility of these two underdogs finally coming out with some reward after all these years of being overlooked. The Usos however, have been on one hell of a roll, and while I'd love to say that I don't see them letting go of the gold any time soon, I believe their time's up tomorrow night, but surely I expect this rivalry to carry on until Wrestlemania with a little extra spice and flavor to create yet agai an epic encounter for weeks to come!

Winners: Kidd/Cesaro

photo courtesy of wwe.com

Bad News Barrett(c) vs Dean Ambrose - Intercontinental Championship

The fringe lunatic vs the Bad News barrage!! Expect a helluva match tomorrow night! Barrett has been away for some time, but now the Bad News is back! He's got a point to prove, and he's not letting go of his title that easy, believe that! Then, we have the psychotic Ambrose, the reincarnation of the Joker, who's got more of a point to prove than anyone in the business! Dean deserves his night, and I'm 150% certain that he's taking no prisoners at Fast Lane! It's the leader of the Nexus vs the unstable dynamite of the Shield! Ambrose will rise above and take this!

Winner: Dean Ambrose

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Rollins/Kane/Big Show vs Ryback/Rowan/Ziggler

Uuuuggghhhh!!!! Enough already with this Authority bullsh*t  man!!! I get that the point is to get the fans all flustered, but this isn't working at all! I hope for the love of all that is good, that we don't have a rivalry build- up to Wrestlemania, because that would just be dumb to soak in! Looking a bit deeper at this rivalry, this is pretty much a mini-rematch of last year's Survivor Series match where Ziggler came out the winner, but in this one, expect Rollins to deliver a signed and sealed 'curb-stomp' for the near victory, only to have this match kicked to the curb by a returning Randy Orton!

Winners: Ryback/Rowan/Ziggler

photo courtesy of wwe.com

Roman Reigns vs Daniel Bryan (Winner to face Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania)

As a fan of the YES! movement, I'm hoping to see a good finish for Daniel Bryan, and for Reigns to bite the dust! Unfortunately, WWE aren't going to allow their egos to shatter before them for the sake of their 'spoiled' fans who were pretty much moaning about Reign's weird win at the Royal Rumble. WWE will find a million reasons to stand by their decision and allow Reigns to main event at Wrestlemania! Reigns will finally get his dream to face the beast, but to what extent will that dream be realized? This is my prediction, Bryan and Reigns will be a no-contest, due to the interference of Brock Lesnar to dispose of both these guys tomorrow night during their match to perhaps set up a mouth-watering triple threat match at Wrestlemania! After-all, Bryan still deserves to invoke his rematch clause!

Winner: No Contest

Tune in tomorrow night on the WWE Network or on Pay-Per-View for this one which promises to be a blast! Enjoy the night one and all and I'll see you all after the show!

WWE after CM PUNK... Roman Reigns who??

Allow me to roll-out the belated 'HAPPY NEW YEAR' carpet and once again say WELCOME to live! I've been away for some time due to personal reasons, but now dudes and dudettes. I am back! 

Right to the topic of WWE, and their developmental issues after the release of CM Punk, it's undoubtedly a rather bittersweet period for the company and the WWE Universe to say the least! Punk has been gone for a little over a year now, and safe to say, the company may or may have not moved on from the era of the self-proclaimed 'Best in the World'. After all, we haven't had a single competitor challenge Punk's 434 day reign as WWE champion to this day, and to think that the current champion, Brock Lesnar, is pretty much the perfect example of a stay-at-home dad. Since the departure of CM Punk, WWE has groomed a fresh new pair of stars who are safe to say, pretty impressive at the moment! If this continues, WWE will have already proved their critics wrong without remorse. Has WWE moved past the Punk Era?

First entrant to the table:

(1) Daniel Bryan - The jack of all trades! Whether it be a tag team match, a ladder match, cage match, or a good ol' one on one match, Daniel Bryan is that guy you want to see in the ring! Standing at around 5ft  8', Bryan may not be the biggest guy in the ring, but he certainly isn't far from being one of the best in the WWE, and at this rate, it's safe to say that this guy has pretty much everything in terms of in-ring ability of CM Punk, if not even more. Who can argue with the buzz of the arena that chants 'YES!' to every thing Bryan says and does in the ring? I've never remembered the fans being this electric since the night Stone Cold defeated HBK back at Wrestlemania 14 in 1998! Daniel Bryan will contribute the most significant piece to the regeneration of WWE, only if Vince McMahon and his crappy writers can finally get this right!

(2) Dolph Ziggler - From nothing to Something, the tale of a man who fell from grace so many times, but eventually overcame the odds and finally blasted his way back to the top-tier! Ziggler offers athleticism, charisma, and a never say never fighting spirit that we saw back at Survivor Series 2014, when he took out the Authority pretty much all by himself even when the odds were seriously stacked against him! The flashy 'Show-Off' superstar has earned his place among the ranks of awesomeness, and if WWE continue to push him, he'll find himself in the main-event sooner than even he may expect. 

(3) Seth Rollins - I hate the authority, but I love Seth Rollins as a top heel! I never would've thought for a second, that Mr. Money in the Bank would've wowed me the way he has at this point, especially since I always thought his contribution to the Shield was a little lackluster in comparison to what he has become now! Rollins has it all just like Bryan! Charisma, high-risk athlete, great mic-skills, and he is the heel that you can't help but love seeing in action each and every week! Rollins has held his own against the likes of Cena, Bryan, Dean Ambrose, and even Brock Lesnar! That triple threat match back at the Rumble was one of the best matches I've ever seen, and if you compare it to the previous Lesnar/Cena feuds in the past, you can't help but admit that Rollins was the BIG difference between a 'decent' match and a 'HELL OF A MATCH!' This is a sign of great things to come for this young man, and yes some of us are aware that his nude pics did indeed get leaked, but that hopefully wont put a dent in his already stellar career.

(4) Dean Ambrose - The lunatic! Let's hope that he will be champion one day soon, but for now, I'd like to see him take on the Intercontinental title at this point, to establish his push to the top a little more, especially since he has suffered so many PPV defeats as of late to the hands of Bray Wyatt and Seth Rollins. Dean's career wont be hampered by these losses, but only help propel him further to his goal to become a legend of legends since Mankind and Jake the Snake! My only wish right this moment is to see Ambrose winning more and more matches leading up to Wrestlemania 31, this guy is just simply too awesome! (Sorry Miz)

(5) Bray Wyatt - The leader of the damned, the lost shepherd leading the lost sheep, how fitting?! Wyatt (formerly Husky Harris from Nexus) has really taken the throne as the WWE's biggest heel to date! Talk about more than a lunatic, this guy is simply on another level! Criticize his weight all you like, Bray Wyatt continues to defy the odds with his in-ring ability, especially that crazy spider walk that I swear can pop a spine, and his intriguing mic-skills! I swear this guy is a perfect machine on the mic, he never once messed up his lines, not once! The fans are so into him it's so scary! Bray will rule WWE for years to come, his time is already drawing close when it comes to being the next WWE Champion!

Some of you may have already noticed that I never even mentioned Roman Reigns, how on earth did I forget to do that? Simply put, I actually didn't! Reigns is pretty much what's wrong with WWE. The next over-hyped thing in professional entertainment, Reigns has received a bit more plaudits than he deserves at the moment from WWE, and this is probably because he hails from a family that has legendary status in the WWE. Ever since the Royal Rumble, Reigns had to live with the gruesome fact that the fans do not really like him. Roman Reigns is not who the fans want, and rightly so. His lack of ability to get the fans raving, whether it's on the mic or in the ring, has time and time again proven to be the beginning of the end for this young Samoan star. At the Rumble, WWE had to call on the assistance of The Rock, his cousin from Hollywood, the People's Champion, a legend among fans and superstars, an icon, to come to the aid of Roman Reigns, hoping to garner a little more support from the fans, but in the end, failed! I've never witnessed such disapproval from fans towards a Rumble winner since Batista last year, and that wasn't even as bad as the treatment Reigns has received! Truth be told, Reigns isn't the right man to wipe away the legacy of CM Punk, hell he isn't even able to create a legacy of his own! What we have been presented with, is a man who has been unable to entertain the fans, mostly due to the fact that he botches almost every promo he delivers week after week, telling some strange stories that I sadly can't erase from the back of my mind only because of how silly they are.  The only thing worse than Reigns at the moment, is pretty much The Great Khali, who I believe still possesses a way better entertainment value than Roman does.

With that being said, I'm looking forward to seeing the direction of the company, and also looking forward to seeing the stars continue to shine! Here's to hoping that Daniel Bryan does beat Reigns at FAST LANE!

Daniel Bryan... Brilliant, or BUST?

I can't help but rant about WWE's newest superstar, Daniel Bryan and his constant time away from the ring. Bryan has only competed a handful of times since his capture of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, the title of all titles! But wow, has this guy been in the dumps ever since! Bryan is currently on the road to recovery following injury to his neck, and due to surgery, we may see him out of action for maybe another two months based on information from 'wrestleview.com'. Bryan has showed us what he can do, and how good he is at doing what he does best, wrestle. The YES! movement has been berated by Stephanie McMahon and her husband, COO Triple H time and time again, but for some unknown reason, thy failed time and time again. Bryan has managed to overcome the odds, but I can't help but feel that the moment he holds on to the title, the jinx begins for this guy! 

He has had this title stripped from him on occasions, at the expense of seeing it go to Randy Orton, twice! Bryan is more than capable of being champion, but is his physique up to the challenge? Stephanie announced this past week on RAW that Daniel Bryan's title will be put up for grabs at the next installment of WWE Money in the Bank if he's unable to compete against a washed up has been KANE! What a bore! Either way, it doesn't look good for D-BRY as this may just be the beginning of the end for this lad... I can't stress enough the importance of keeping on top of your game in the WWE, if you don't believe me, ask Ryback!

WWE doesn't want to let Bryan go as we can see, because he is a fan favorite, and this means selling out show after show after show, even if he has a busted neck, so perhaps, this might be great news for Bryan on his road to recovery. Triple H better not make the mistake however of granting Cena the mantle, as we are all tired of seeing this one trick pony take the stage, he needs to retire damn it!

The flipside is this, while I'm ranting about all of this, WWE has Roman Reigns to build up, another samoan superstar on the rise, the guy I tipped to have won the Royal Rumble in the first place before jackass Vince and co decided that Batista was the man for the prize, what the heck???

Anyway, since Bryan won't be back in 2 months, let's see what can be done to save the show!

What's wrong with WWE? #wwe

WWE has been in my life since bloody-hell 1996, and I remembered the first time I was introduced to the story-line of the one and only Shawn Michaels, the greatest superstar ever! The Heartbreak Kid made a return from injury he sustained in the hands of Yokozuna, and who could forget the return? He triumphantly stepped foot int he 1996 Royal Rumble and he won it like a boss! He went on to defeat Bret 'the Hitman' Hart at Wrestlemania 12 in the same year in an Ironman Match, and what a heck of a match! We witnessed the emergence of Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Edge, Triple H, the domination of the Undertaker and Kane, Hulk Hogan, and who could forget Mankind and even Vader? This was when WWE meant something, it was entertaining! 

I accept that the attitude era may never be replicated, and that WWE is all about marketing and entertainment on a wide scale, now making an appeal to kids as well as more women in the mix. WWE as a result has watered down the carnage and fun that once made their show 'watchable', to appeal to a general audience. WWE in other words, employed John Cena to take the mantle that was once carried by the likes of the Rock and Shawn Michaels, but really WWE? John Cena is in every sense, monotonous, he simply tries too hard to get a reaction from the crowd by constantly kissing their asses at every chance he gets. Cena somehow doesn't even receive the reaction from the WWE Universe that top superstars in the industry are accustomed to! How can this be? Cena has tried too hard to be recognized, and he has failed terribly at it, and it's not entirely his fault, its Vince McMahon's and the creative team. Plain and simple, the script sucks, and it's like they now want the world to know that wrestling is full-blown scripted. 

There was once a superstar by the name of Ryback, he was actually good! This guy was surely on the verge of becoming even bigger than Cena! But what did WWE do to him? They shot his hype from out the sky, using him as just a pawn in their futile attempt at making Cena look like somebody special! This not only harmed Ryback's popularity, and his image, but it also hasn't gotten the result WWE hooped for regarding Cena. Now enters Bray Wyatt, another talented guy who is slowly being wasted away in this effortless feud with Cena. I can imagine WWE are trying to find ways in making Cena once again look good, and they are willing to kill off their upcoming superstars just to let this happen? Pathetic! No wonder CM Punk left! How can you oust a guy who was champ for 434 days, and give his main event spot to a now 'aged' Dwayne 'the Rock' Johnson? Cena simply can't make any match interesting without the exceptional talent and charisma of his opponent, because Cena lacks both talent and natural charisma!

His five moves of doom, boring, dull, repetitive, and most of all, predictable! Cena draws viewers, kudos to that, but it's safe to say his audience don't really include diehard fans like me who loved WWE since the 90's...  WWE has a new guy, Daniel Bryan, and this is exciting seeing them finally give someone else who has actual talent a chance to be the big guy! Bryan already has the fans behind his back, and he is ready to kick ass! The problem is however, WWE is plagued by some real pathetic story-writing! I wish not to continue further until this is fixed, because as of late all I can say is that RAW, Smackdown, PPV events have all been a constant drag, all the way down to the ground! I can barely keep awake for the 3 hours of RAW, which goes to show that Vince and Triple H really aren't doing what's 'best for business' after all! WWE Total Divas is perhaps the only reason I hang on to WWE by just a thread. This is actually my only favorite WWE show I watch with my wife, and we love it! Maybe times have changed, I don't know, but I'm not planning to stick around WWE events for much longer.

TNA would've been the top show, had they been blessed with WWE's promotional prowess, but in time, we will see!

WWE RAW 4/14/14 Review in a NUTSHELL! (Tribute to Ultimate Warrior)

Photo from wwe.com

Great opening segment for the show tonight with the superstars making their way out and paying tribute with the WWE Universe to salute the late James Brian Hellwig, aka 'The Ultimate Warrior' who sadly passed away on April 8, 2014. R.I.P great WARRIOR, you will be missed and forever immortalized....

LETS GET THE SHOW ON THE ROAD!

So here we have it, an elimination style tournament to see who's gonna be number 1 contender for the Intercontinental Championship? SWEET!

RVD def Del Rio

The first match with Del Rio vs the returning (again) RVD, was better than I expected. RVD laid a few impressive moves on Del Rio while the Mexican Aristocrat himself wasn't a bit too shabby but far from his best tonight, maybe he really needs Ricky Ricardo back with him on ringside! Man Alberto catapulted his way to the top then taken a heck of a freefall back to where he once started since his big debut... I can't help but think this guy's talent has gone down the drain since his clash with the ever popular 'Super-Cena' back at Hell in a Cell last October where he lost his coveted World Heavyweight Championship to the ever predictable monotonous symbol of Mr. You can't See Me! Not taking anything away from RVD, but I mean this guy has been damn well gone for a while now, is he going to once again grab his knickers and run away again after his short return to WWE? Eh, time will tell... Great win I must say for RVD with that 5 star frog splash!

Ryback/Axel def The Rhodes Brothers

Cody gave a hell of a show tonight and I'm more than convinced this kid needs to push himself away from his partnership with Goldust which only lasted for the moment it was fresh, which again was sometime last year?!  Ryback and Axel took a win that they finally needed to convince the fans (if they still have any left) that they are a force to be reckoned with, if thats the case. We're now looking at a bunch of goons dumped out of Heyman Academy, and it breaks my heart that these two had so much promise! Ryback needs to also break away from Axel, and be a star again, because man, as of late, the 'FEED ME MORE' chants would be once again well received by WWE at this point! We want back the old RYBACK!

Paige vs Alicia Fox

MAMMA MIA! What can I say??? Paige is young but man she's got it going on in the ring and she's not too bad on the eyes if you ask me... Why isn't she on Total Divas again?? Hmm WWE better look into that... This girl is an exciting talent and after her victory over Alicia Fox with that mesmerizing submission maneuver called the Scorpion Cross, Natalya you better scoot over cause 'The Champ is Here!' Come to think of it, how about 'Paige vs Natalya' Submission Match at Extreme Rules?? WWE please book this!

The USOs vs Orton & Batista

The exchange was quite entertaining in the opening segment of this bout... Usos displayed their athleticism to the maximum tonight and held up well against two of WWE's most decorated athletes to date (yes I'm talking about Batista too)... This is a big push for the USOs more than Orton and Tista regarding the match, giving them more challenges to prove themselves as worthy holders of the Tag Titles that is slowly getting back to prominence but still nowhere near touching distance of the days of the Road Warriors and the Godwins... The Shield made their presence felt by whooping some good ol' a** and raising hell on Orton and Tista tonight and laid them to waste pretty darn good like they were Big Bird and Cookie Monster, sad... I wonder if Orton/Tista might retaliate in some way tonight?? HMMM.... Guess we'll find out?

Cesaro def. Mark Henry

GUYS!!! Did you see that freaking neutralizer Cesaro hit on the world's strongest man?? It says it all, Cesaro is a future WWE World Heavyweight Champion! I guess this is now the guy that Ryback wants to be like? I almost forgot about Henry in this equation, this guy has lost the 'PAIN' in the 'Hall of Pain' and all I now see is one big empty hall that's now a storage space for unused junk... Mark has got to leave with what's left of his dignity. WWE has squandered this big guy's talent and turned him from the most feared athlete to a big side-boobed squash match master. Cesaro has advanced to the IC Semi-Finals with RVD.

Alexander Rusev def. Xavier Woods

(Yawn)... That sums up how I felt about this match... Feels like another Ryback Rewind... Rusev is only good for now until WWE eventually decides to turn him into The Great Khali version 2.0...

Sheamus def. Swagger

Good win for Sheamus in this one, he gave his usual best and unleashed the beast on Swagger tonight to advance to the IC Semi-Finals! Sheamus is another star who has been under the radar for some time and I just hope this is a push that will take him back to the promised land with the greats like Daniel Bryan and John Cena for example. As for Jack Swagger, you just plain SUCK dude! Swagger will always be good as a tag team partner because this guy fails to carry his own weight. Cesaro breaking away from this guy was the best thing Cesaro could've done for his career. Swagger lacks the most important thing, an in-ring personality.

Had to touch on the Wyatt/Cena promo tonight. For the most part this promo itself was entertaining because the Wyatts were involved thank God! Cena once again is trying a bit too hard to seem funny, almost as if his jokes were plain scripted perhaps? Some parts i tried to laugh so that I didn't seem that bored, but this promo that Cena pulled has been done before! Bray Wyatt on the other hand, held up well and carried the swing in the feud tonight, showing he's got the skills and the personality to carry the mantle as WWE's ultimate heel... Bray and Cena will lock up at Extreme Rules in a Steel Cage which will be awesome, but another defeat in the hands of Super-Cena will see Bray's push to the top be all but over....

Fandango & Layla def. Santino & Emma

FFFAAAANNNN-DDDAAANNN-GGGOOO!!! WE love this guy! But man am I tired of this rivalry! I was so happy to see Layla in that outfit for sure, but as for Santino and Emma, they can take a permanent leave of absence for all I care! Fandango needs to be pushed close to mid-level card and get the hell out of the low-tier field... It's a shame this guy didn't even make it to the IC Tournament tonight... such a waste...

Bad-News Barrett def. Dolph Ziggler

THIS IS AWESOME echoed around the sold out arena in Birmingham, Alabama tonight as this match kicked off perhaps the most exciting part of the show! Ziggler got one of the best matches of his career and this guy needs to keep working at it so he can finally be noticed again... I can't help but think maybe, just maybe. Ziggler would be better off as a heel? Just throwing it out there. Barrett was on fire! This guy reminded us why Nexus was so great with him at the forefront of the group... Barrett unleashed his Wasteland finisher and the Bull Hammer with venomous force tonight and man did the crowd go wild for WWE's top Englishman! This goes to show that WWE needs to invest more in their future stars and stop trying to get an old man like Sting to be on their show! Bad News Barrett has advanced to the IC Semi-Finals.

The Shield vs practically Everyone ended in a no-contest

Alberto Del Rio, Jack Swagger, Fandango, the entire 3MB, Titus O’Neill, Ryback, Axel, Alexander Rusev, and Bad News Barrett were all part of this weird Handicap match against a three member Shield? This was a heck of a punishment thrown out by the Authority for what happened on RAW last week, but I kinda think this was a wee bit too harsh! That a** whooping the Shield got tonight sorta brought back memories of the NWO, the 11 man team proved a bit too much for them and laid waste to the Hounds of Justice who tonight were nothing more than mere pups. If that wasn't enough for tonight, who's music do we hear after?? EVOLUTION is back!! Seeing Orton/Batista/Triple H all come out to their original Evolution music made the longtime WWE Universe feel a bit nostalgic tonight, but after all, its EVOLUTION! They made no mistake in laying the already destroyed Shield from a pile of rubble into a pile of hay after they were done with them tonight! RKO's, Batista Bombs and Pedigrees went flying everywhere tonight as if there was a fire sale going on RAW! Evolution stood above the wasted Shield to end the show... sweet! The Evolution may be a little over 10 years old, but it's sure great to see a real group come back to the WWE since the NWO! The 3MB's and others just weren't cutting it, and they needed to be shown how it's done, and now the Shield will finally have a true adversary!

Conclusion:

Very good show tonight, even with the absence of Daniel Bryan. I can't wait for more of the buildup leading to Extreme Rules, and to top it off, I hope Bray Wyatt finally shuts up John Cena! Great to see Cesaro pushed to newer limits each week, and is it me or are the Divas getting more TV time?? Great to see that for a change! Keep it locked right here as we will provide weekly reviews on WWE RAW!

PS. CM Punk isn't coming back no matter how much we chant his name every single week.