The Wrestling 5&1 04.09.11: Sunny vs. Sable

Who will win the Versus WrestleMania Showdown?

You Decide!
Vote for your favorite—Sunny or Sable—in the comments section below.

And next week? Christy gets her shot at the Hall of Bang.

But what stands between Christy and spot #5?

With a week buffer, I’ll let…

You Decide!

Lita or Brooke?

Vote for Christy’s opponent in the comments section below.

All hail King Miz—The Awesome! Yes, that’s gimmick infringement and I know it. WrestleMania 27 came and went, and there are many, many, many different opinions of the event. If you read this site, WrestleMania 27 disappointed. It had some great spots, but overall it wasn’t one of the best ‘Manias. If you head over to ProWrestlingDotNet you’ll see a very positive spin on the event. But that’s what they do. If you go over to PWInsider you’ll get plenty of “hey, look at how smartyish we are!” So I’ll stick with our coverage, because it actually falls in line with my feelings.

One thing about WrestleMania 27 did make me happy. Okay, a few things did. But one thing in particular. The Miz entered the WrestleMania 27 main event as a heel world champion, and walked out the exact same way. He joins Triple H (heard of him?) as the only two people to do that in history. Much like John Cena said on RAW, that’s a major accomplishment and transcends how the match ended. If you didn’t already accept it, go ahead and accept it now. The Miz has arrived. He’s a top flight WWE Superstar, and barring a huge momentary lapse in personal judgment by Mike Mizanin himself, he’ll be there for a while. He has that “it” factor, what the French call a certain “I don’t know what.” His bravado and charisma rivals that of John Cena, The Rock, Steve Austin and yes, Ric Flair. Flame me if you desire, I don’t care. He’s Awesome and you’re not.

That video was—pun intended—awesome. As is The Miz. Say what you want about his ringwork. It’s better than what Cena normally does. They actually trained at the same facility as both spent a good deal of time in the UPW. They both have the ability to engage a crowd. 10,000…20,000…70,000…it doesn’t matter. When The Miz says “I’d rather you hate me for who I am than love me for someone I’m not” you can tell he truly means it. Much like any great character in wrestling, elements of the real person are sprinkled throughout. When he enters the arena, people go crazy. You know something is going to happen that you’ll remember. Hell, when Miz & Alex Riley took the stage in Atlanta, the feeling automatically shifted to Miz & Riley taking over. Cena couldn’t steal that back, only The Rock could. Did the WWE cram him down our throats? Honestly, I don’t know. I feel like they gave him an opportunity and he ran with it, and it just snowballed. Now he’s getting face pops. We’ll see if they persist after the WrestleMania fans all go home. But it happened with Randy Orton, forcing the WWE to turn him face. I imagine it could happen with The Miz.

Regardless of what the future holds, one thing is for sure. The Miz has forever etched his name in the annals of WWE history. He’s The Miz, and he’s Awesome.

You Decide: How good is The Miz? Has he developed onto a great heel WWE Champion? Post-Mania, where does he go next?

WrestleMania is known for awesome entrances. I felt like Triple H’s was one of the best ever, as it was 100% appropriate, and it was bad ass.

Yeah, it’s flipped—but it’s available!

You Decide: Where does Triple H’s WrestleMania 27 entrance rank among greatest WM entrances?

If you were lucky enough to catch it during the four hours it was up, you likely saw my contribution to 411’s Countdown to WrestleMania XXVII: WrestleMania by the Numbers. What happened? I made a stupid mistake, used the wrong copy. But now we get to take a unique look at The Numbers: Post-Mania. What did the numbers tell us? Did the numbers lie? Let’s find out.

What I said:
“Of the undefeated wrestlers, it seems likely that both will remain on that list. While possible, it’s hard to imagine The Undertaker having his streak ended this year, unless he’s actually requested that it happen. And as much as we in the IWC want The Miz to get the win over Cena, it’s hard to bet against Superman and his 6-1 ‘Mania record. But hey, if they do both win, maybe we’re in store for Miz-Taker, Streak vs. Streak, 19-0 vs. 2-0 in Miami!”

What happened:
The Miz and The Undertaker both keep their streaks intact. Obviously one is much more impressive than the other. But to replicate the Streak, someone needs a starting point. Could the WWE be quietly building a new streak? Doubtful. But the point remains. Undertaker is 19-0, and Miz is 2-0. And unlike John Cena and The Rock, neither is currently booked for a match at WrestleMania 28.

What I said:
“If we eliminate the first WrestleMania from the equation, 24% of WrestleManias have featured a first time participant in the main event. The chances of that happening with Alberto Del Rio this year are slim-to-none.”

What happened:
Alberto Del Rio appeared in “a main event,” but not THE main event. In fact, he couldn’t have gotten any further away, challenging for Edge’s World Heavyweight Championship in the opening match. Many people shat all over that decision. I actually liked it. I always thought the best way to kick off WrestleMania was with a big time match. I was pulling for HHH-Sheamus to kick off WM26 last year. So I’m going against the majority here in liking that move. As for a first time participant appearing in the main event? The numbers didn’t lie.

What I said:
I indicated in “By The Numbers” that two men had gone from the opening match at one ‘Mania to the main event in the very next year: Chris Jericho (17-18) and Edge (23-34). “The Miz has a chance of joining this list if his WWE Championship defense vs. John Cena goes on last in Atlanta.”

What happened:
The Miz did just that. He opened WrestleMania 26 as the United States champion, teaming with The Big Show to successfully defend the Unified Tag Team Championships against John Morrison and R-Truth. And in Atlanta, The Miz reached the pinnacle, facing John Cena in the main event of WrestleMania. The numbers didn’t lie.

What I said:
“Ever since 1993, the Royal Rumble winner has earned a shot at the world champion at WrestleMania (with a few exceptions). Eleven times out of eighteen, they have been successful. However, the last three Rumble winners have failed in their bid to win the championship. … Despite their recent failures, 11 out of 18 Royal Rumble winners have gone on to win their world title match at WrestleMania, or 61%. So while recent history doesn’t favor Alberto Del Rio, the odds do.”

AND…

“Until last year, WrestleMania 19 was the only event where “big goldie” was retained (Triple H over Booker T). Chris Jericho was successful in his defense against Edge last year, but the odds are still heavily in favor of a change with the World Heavyweight Championship is defended. In fact, 75% of the time it changes hands. Alberto Del Rio can rejoice in this stat.”

What happened:
2011 Royal Rumble winner Alberto Del Rio failed in his bid to wrestle the World Heavyweight Championship away from Edge. Do we promote WrestleMania 28 with a bit of “the curse of the Royal Rumble?” Because over the last four years, Royal Rumble winners are 0-4 in their challenging for a world title at WrestleMania. And despite the World Heavyweight Championship changing hands 75% of the time, the numbers lied.

What I said:
“In totality, we have seen 17 turns at 26 WrestleManias. So we have a turn 65% of the time. With the last turn of any kind coming seven years ago, it’s very possible—some might say very likely—that we get a shocking turn this year. Of course, looking at the numbers, it wouldn’t really be that shocking.”

What happened:
No one turned. Christian was the best opportunity for a turn, but that turn didn’t happen. And as much as so many of us would have loved to see it, John Cena is still a face—at least in the WWE’e eyes. The numbers lied.

What I said:
“To say the WWE likes to end WrestleMania with a face raising his arm in victory is an understatement–they’ve done it 92% of the time. The last time it happened was 7 years ago, and the first time it happened was 8 years ago. Alberto Del Rio is pretty safe here, as it’s highly unlikely his World Championship Match against Edge will go on last. The Miz has a much better chance of suffering from this statistic, as The Rock’s involvement could push his WWE Championship defense against John Cena into the main event slot. Triple H and The Undertaker are both faces heading into their WrestleMania 27 showdown, but any sort of win by Trips could cause him to automatically be given the heel treatment by the crowd.”

What happened:
For just the third time in history, a heel won the main event (final match) at WrestleMania. Much like I said earlier, Triple H (WM16) and The Miz (WM27) entered and left as heel world champs. Steve Austin (WM17) entered as a face challenger and left as a heel champion. The numbers lied.

What I said:
“A championship match ends WrestleMania 85% of the time. That would tip the odds against Triple H and The Undertaker going on last this year. But The Streak is being treated as the most important “title” in the company, at least until it’s ended. Despite the odds, Triple H & The Undertaker easily have a 50% chance of main eventing in Atlanta.”

What happened:
50% chance for HHH-Taker also means they had a 50% chance of not main eventing as well. The honored position of being in the WrestleMania main event went to The Miz vs. John Cena—for the WWE Championship. The numbers didn’t lie.

What I said:
“In totality, the “top-tier” championship has been defended 35 times at WrestleMania, and has changed hands 23 times. So if you’re challenging for a major championship at WrestleMania, you have 66% chance of winning. Two thirds of the time a major championship is defended at ‘Mania, it goes home with a new owner.”

What happened:
Edge and The Miz individually defied the odds, both retaining the World Heavyweight Championship (Edge) and the WWE Championship (Miz) at WrestleMania. Those numbers? They lied.

What I said:
“WrestleMania XIX was the first event to see defenses of both the WWE and World Heavyweight Championships, and every WrestleMania since has featured both titles. Since that event, only once (WrestleMania 21) have both titles changed hands. This means there is a 13% chance that both Alberto Del Rio and John Cena will be successful as challengers at ‘Mania. Interesting since both are likely considered favorites to win.”

What happened:
Collectively Edge & Miz they defined the odds as Cena & Del Rio didn’t both win as challengers. So those numbers didn’t lie.

A new piece of history:
After 26 years of title changes, WrestleMania 27 was the first in the event’s storied history to feature a grand total of zero title changes.

What I said:
“[The WWE] championship has surprisingly been successfully defended ten times in history, but it still has a 63% chance of changing hands at “Wrestling’s Grandest Stage.” Despite the odds, John Cena ended a four year drought for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 26. And Cena is the winner in the last two WWE Championship title changes. So if facing Superman wasn’t enough for The Miz, he’s got the odds and history working against him as well.”

What happened:
Apparently The Rock is actually a rock of kryptonite. Because the Miz (thankfully) beat the odds–retaining the WWE Championship against Superman. The numbers lied. And I’m glad they did.

You Decide: What do the numbers tell you? Do you care to get numbers, stats & analysis?

Five Things You Didn’t Know About…Sin Cara!

1. He’s only 28 years old, and completely skipped FCW to go straight to the main roster.

2. Real name Ignacio Almanza, he was trained by his father—Dr. Karontes—and his uncle—Tony Salazar—who just happens to be the booker for CMLL.

3. He debuted as Dr. Karontes, Jr, utilizing his father’s name. He eventually became Astro Boy in Mexico, and Komachi in Japan.

4. When CMLL repackaged him as Mistico in 2004, they gave him the backstory that he was an orphan taken in by a wrestling priest. That priest was Fray Tormenta, a legitimate wrestling priest who also happens to be the inspiration for the movie Nacho Libre.

5. His name Sin Cara translates into “Without Face” and matches his mask.

He made his WWE debut in pretty impressive fashion if you ask me…

Where’s Ari when you need him!? Ring of Honor presented their annual WrestleMania events, a tradition which goes back to 2006. For the first time in WrestleMania weekend history, the company sold out these events in advance (although Cary Silkin reported on Twitter they’d try to open a few seats at the door—no word on if that happened). The events they held in Chicago likely wouldn’t sell out, as ROH can squeeze a ton of people in that venue. Houston’s events were at the end of a huge events center, plenty of room to spare. And their Phoenix venue was a gym that could hold over 2,000 people if all of the bleachers were used in conjunction with the 500 chairs on the floor, which would have made those events the biggest in history outside of Final Battle 2008. According to their website, Atlanta’s Center Stage holds 1050 people. ROH added some seats to the floor and to the stage, but probably not more than 100 seats. Still, if each show drew 1150, that’s a nice round 2300 for the weekend. Not counting the iPPV orders.

Here are the results, courtesy of ROH itself:

“Honor Takes Center Stage – Chapter 1”- Atlanta, GA 4/1/11
1. Michael Elgin defeated El Generico
2. FOUR CORNER SURVIVAL: Homicide beat Caleb Konley, Tommaso Ciampa, & Colt Cabana when Homicide pinned Konley
3. Hiroyo Matsumoto & Ayumi Kurihara defeated Sara Del Rey and Serena Deeb
4. Jay & Mark Briscoe defeated Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly
5. Davey Richards submitted Roderick Strong
6. ROH WORLD TAG TITLE MATCH: Wrestlings’ Greatest Tag Team (Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin) defeated The Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli) to become the 30th Champions
7. ROH WORLD TITLE MATCH: Eddie Edwards beat Christopher Daniels to retain; Daniels refused to shake hands after the match.

“Honor Takes Center Stage – Chapter 2”- Atlanta, GA 4/2/11
1. The Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli) beat Adam Cole & Kyle O’Reilly
2. Colt Cabana pinned Dave Taylor
3. Tommaso Ciampa beat “The Notorious 187” Homicide
4. “The Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels beat Michael Elgin following a low blow & the BME
5. SHIMMER Tag Team Title Match: Daizee Haze & Tomoka Nakagawa defeated Hiroyo Matsumoto & Ayumi Kurihara to retain
6. GRUDGE MATCH: Jay & Mark Briscoe beat The All Night Express (Rhett Titus & Kenny King) in a bout that saw Jay & Rhett bleed excessively
7. “SoCal Showdown II” Rematch: El Generico beat Roderick Strong; Following the match Elgin & Truth attack Generico, Colt Cabana comes in to assist his friend but is also taken out by Elgin. Christopher Daniels, with The Book of Truth in hand, comes in and ends up cracking Generico across the head with the Book. Daniels gave Colt the Angel’s Wing while Strong gave Generico a backbreaker across a chair
8. NON-TITLE DREAM MATCH: Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team (Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas) beat The American Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards) when Shelton pinned Davey; After the match, Eddie & Davey had words and Edwards walked out on Richards

Major happenings from the shows:
-Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin captured the ROH World Tag Team Championships, ending the near 1 year (shy by like 2 days) of The Kings of Wrestling. This is especially interesting as many have “speculated” that Shelton is signing with the WWE any day now, since he worked a dark match in Austin and all. Nevermind the fact that Shelton LIVES IN AUSTIN and nothing has really been reported, you know, anywhere. Pure speculation, don’t believe it until you see it.
-ROH World Champion Eddie Edwards defeated Christopher Daniels in his first title defense. Edwards had previously lost to Daniels multiple times, and most recently fought him to a draw on iPPV (continuity—woah!). Daniels refused to shake hands with Eddie after the match.
-The Briscoes beat The All Night Express in a very bloody match to continue their rivalry. Expect a rematch on PPV, and I think this is one feud that could potentially be settled inside of a steel cage.
-Christopher Daniels turned heel and joined the House of Truth, effectively forming a new super-team with Roderick Strong in the process. Daniels had previously stolen Truth Martini’s “Book of Truth” but threw it away on video. Obviously he retrieved it, because he waffled El Generico with it during his turn. Michael Elgin beat El Generico on Night 1 with an assist from a hooded man who was just about Daniels’s size.
-Haas & Benjamin beat Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards in a non-title match. Post-match antics saw Eddie & Davey argue with each other, and Edwards eventually walked out on Davey.

Great stuff from ROH here, it’ll be very interesting to hear what the buy-rates were. Some called night 1 the best iPPV the promotion has done to date. They offered both events online with GoFightLive.tv for $19.99, which is a steal compared to $54.99 for WrestleMania XXVII. I was surprised they put the tag team titles on Haas & Benjamin, since their appearances had been sporadic, but the team has already been added to both upcoming shows. It strikes me as ROH wanting Haas & Benjamin in their title legacy. Even so, you know those two can deliver in the ring, which is what ROH is all about. I don’t like the direction for Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards. I really wanted them to stick with straight athletic competition until Davey’s title shot, and have the dissension start after Eddie wins. I don’t dislike what they’ve done, I just think it’s too soon.

Now, we do have some early results on their iPPV buy rates, courtesy of our friends at The Wrestling Observer:
“The shows, traditionally two of the company’s biggest of the year, were both Internet PPV shows. By offering two shows at $19.95 as a package deal, they did roughly 1,725 orders for each show, and sold out, with slightly more than 800 at each show. The iPPV numbers are a great sign. They were in the same neighborhood for both shows as the company record set for Final
Battle. It looks like they won’t be hurt significantly by the loss of TV in promoting these shows, since the HDNet show was preempted during the final weeks of build, although the real test will come with the next show on 6/26.”

I know they’re reporting just over 800 at each show, and I’m not sure where that comes from. The shows were sold out, and the Center Stage website lists that capacity I referred to earlier. I can’t imagine ROH blocking off seats when they had to turn fans away at the events. Regardless, this is a huge success, and the iPPV results are a great sign for the company.

Immediately following their WrestleMania weekend events was the final episode of ROH on HDNet. This comes after two weeks of no ROH on HDNet, so there’s no telling how many people actually saw this show. Can’t be that many less than watches NXT at this point, right? One thing that ROH has released as part of that episode is a best of ROH on HDNet highlight package that has been branded on their website and social media posts as “This is Ring of Honor Wrestling.” With the emphasis on WRESTLING. Anyone upset at the bumping to Daniel Bryan-Sheamus to dark match status or the crappy ending of WrestleMania 27 might want to give this a look.

You Decide: Was Honor Takes Center Stage Night 1 the best ROH iPPV ever? How about Night 2? Is ROH the only promotion giving wrestling fans what they want?

Ah, Kurt Angle. He was upset that people used “his moves” at WrestleMania, he just had to say something…

Kurt Angle (anglefoods1):
“To WWE wrestlers, Don’t use my Finish. Get more Creative. Hmmmm- Orton. Did I say that?”
“I heard Orton had an Awesome match though. Ur welcome. Lol.”
“I guess Swagger will use my Ankle Lock as well.Very creative. I’m the Best in the World. You Guys will never be Kurt Angle.can I get an AMEN”
“Kurt Angle will never die. TNA. WWE. I’m a leader. Not follower. :)”
“Why would WWE use my finishes? Is it because I won’t go back? R Orton- Angle Slam. M Cole- Ankle Lock? They have some nerve.”
“Jerry Lawlor did it too. But He is a Legend. WWE really stuck it to Me.No Love lost. I’m glad that I helped Your biggest Event of the Year:)”

Well, young Randall Orton was ready to respond…

Randy Orton (@RandyOrton):
“Everythings been done before as far as ‘moves’ go in the sports entertainment. I want to thank SCSA for the ‘Thesz Press’.”
“And I know for a fact that SCSA got the ‘Thesz Press’ from Dutch Mantel.”
“Point being, instead of taking offense to someone using your move, consider it a sign of respect.”
“Btw does anyone know what Ken Shamrocks finish was? I believe Jack Swagger used ankle lock outta respect for Ken?”

Then Kurt went with the old stand-by…

Kurt Angle (anglefoods1):
“To anyone I upset, I am sorry. I didn’t watch W-mania last night. I DID get a lot of tweets during Show. About Orton, Swagger,etc.Who cares?”
“I think the whole thing is Halarious. How I upset all of U amazes me.I don’t read dirt sheets,but u heard they r upset.They’re ‘dirt’ sheets”
“I Hope that W-mania was entertaining for all of You, especially ‘The Rock’. Oh, and Orton-relax, I won’t beat ur ass. You can use my move:)”
“2 Randy Orton’s credit, I Heard He had the best match of the night. Good for You! Btw,I Never used Shamrock’s finish while he still wrestled”
“There’s a big difference to using a Finish somebody did b4 U, and is doing while U still Wrestle. The fact is, I don’t care. Sorry everybody”
“Lastly,I just found out somebody hacked into my Twitter account.Most of those tweets weren’t from me.I just found out today. I will find out”
“Who would do this? I don’t know why somebody would pretend to be me. I apologize for the remarks. I’m not a twitter guy so I rarely use it.”

And CM Punk just had to go and own Angle, didn’t he…

CM Punk (@CMPunk):
“my twitter account was hacked”, is the new: “I’m a sloppy drunk douche”.”

Joey Styles drives the final dagger here…

Joey Styles (@JoeyStyles):
“I’m watching Jack Swagger apply the Ankle Lock to The King and wondering if anyone’s twitter account will be hacked.”

Sure Kurt, your account got hacked. Right.

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