The Wrestling News Experience: 07.29.13

Monday, July 29th, 2013

From 411Mania’s Canadian offices in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, this is The Wrestling News Experience, with Stephen Randle!

#DontAskStephen

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the Experience. I am Stephen Randle, proud owner of a PlayStation 4…launch day pre-order. Yes, I have no self-control. On the bright side, setting aside that much money prevented me from impulse-buying a 3DS instead, so…yeah…that really doesn’t justify it at all. But I did it anyway!

Moving on.

Last week, Raw was all about Daniel Bryan, for some reason, being forced to prove that he deserved his title shot against John Cena, and he did so in impressive fashion, wrestling for over forty-five minutes in three one-on-one matches against Jack Swagger, Antonio Cesaro, and Ryback. And while ultimately, Bryan was left lying when an incensed Ryback powerbombed him through a table, up until that point, things had all been going his way. Apparently that wasn’t enough for GM Brad Maddox, however, as this week, Bryan must face his tag team partner, Kane, who is returning from an injury at the hands of the mysterious Wyatt Family. One would imagine that Bray and his followers might be paying attention to this match with great interest.

Meanwhile, CM Punk reiterated his desire to go through anyone standing between him and Paul Heyman, and since Heyman is a big fan of putting up obstacles between himself and people trying to hurt him, he accepted Punk’s challenge for a match with Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam. Will we see more promos from Punk and Heyman as we head towards the PPV? I certainly hope so!

Plus, Cody Rhodes left Damian Sandow, and the Money in the Bank briefcase, sinking in the Gulf of Mexico as Smackdown went off the air on Friday. What is with that Gulf and wrestlers ending up floating in it, anyway? Anyway, hopefully Sandow has recovered the briefcase before it could suffer too much water damage, but more importantly, how will he deal with the continued assault of his former tag partner and best friend?

Also, Alberto Del Rio still needs an opponent for SummerSlam, Mark Henry continues his battle against The Shield, and Dolph Ziggler must keep dealing with his former girlfriend and bodyguard before he an even think about moving on with his life. All this and more, tonight on Raw!

Don’t #AskDixie, Don’t Tell

You know, with WWE off on an international tour and two weeks of shows already firmly in the can, there was a perfect opportunity for TNA to make a play while the cat, as it were, is away, and make some noise while they have a chance to dominate wrestling headlines. Here’s what they did instead:

Well, first they fired a whole bunch of people, capped off last week by dismissing Jesse Sorenson, a young wrestler who you may recall broke his neck live on PPV while wrestling for TNA, and had until recently worked backstage as a production assistant. This, apparently, was the crux of the issue, since TNA is in cost-cutting mode, and Sorenson made more money than a normal PA. The fact that he’s not a normal PA didn’t enter into it, I guess. Anyway, this move angered a lot of people, including myself, since it seems like the least TNA could do for the guy after he ended his wrestling career working for them is give him a job.

But that’s only where the story begins. On Tuesday of last week, Dixie Carter took to Twitter and asked fans to ask her any questions they would like answered, using the hashtag #AskDixie. Now, you and I know about the sorts of people who hang around the Internet because, well, we are those people, and sure enough, a passel of jokes, witticisms, insults, and less-than-savoury statements, all 140 characters or less in length, quickly hit the Internet. But hey, that’s the Internet, and apparently that’s the way it always will be, we understand and accept it. If you don’t believe me, hell, here’s an experiment.

TRY THIS, KIDS AT HOME!

Using the hashtag #DontAskStephen, Tweet whatever you want, and I will read as many as I can Wednesday night, live on the TWNE After Dark podcast. Is it a shameless attempt to get more listeners? Of course it is! But you also can’t resist the chance to hear what people, under the cloak of total anonymity, might decide to try and get me to read! I bet at least one person makes a racially insensitive remark!

Anyway, as I said, the Internet sprang into action. And how did Dixie respond? Did she, quite rightly, ignore the idiocy and just pick and choose to answer legitimate questions, as anyone would expect in this situation? Of course she didn’t! No, instead, she issued a statement to the Internet in general that she wouldn’t be answering any “outrageous or hurtful questions/posts”.

Well, no shit, Dixie. Even the people who made those posts didn’t think you’d actually answer them. Not even the people who asked legitimate questions that no wrestling organization in their right mind would answer for their fans. No, you aren’t going to tell us how you feel about firing Sorenson, or how much power Hogan and Bischoff really have, or half a hundred other issues. Not if you have at least two brain cells to rub together, that is. So, they had their fun, told some jokes, acted like jerks, and moved on. Except then you did the one thing you never, ever do on the Internet: you paid attention. By making an official statement, you legitimized their actions, and gave them free publicity, and brought in more people who are more than willing to make even more “outrageous or hurtful” statements at your expense.

TNA, your biggest competitor (in your eyes if not theirs) isn’t even on the continent this week. They won’t be airing a live television program until next Monday. You had a shot at getting some attention to your struggling little promotion with little to no real interference from the big dog. Instead, you managed to once again show that when the metal meets the meat, TNA is a bush league, poorly managed, second-rate wrestling organization with delusions of grandeur. And that’s not outrageous or hurtful, Dixie, it’s just the truth.

Oops, forgot to include the hashtag. Ah well, I went a bit over 140 characters, anyway.

– Apparently WWE may have figured out who was leaking the correct results of their PPVs and have told them to stop. Presumably by burying them in the backyard of Vince’s Connecticut mansion.

– Meanwhile, it seems that WWE is looking for an African-American Superstar that they can push right to the top, similar to how they use Alberto Del Rio, Sin Cara, and Rey Mysterio to appeal to the Hispanic demographics. When paired with the news from last week that Ezekiel Jackson may be returning soon, that almost seems ominous.

– Stacy Kiebler has reportedly turned down multiple attempts from WWE to have her return to the fold. Damn you, Clooney, you ruined her for the rest of us!

– WWE’s October PPV will now be called “WWE Battleground”. Before you get excited, it’s replacing the equally generically named “Over The Limit”, not the PPV that continues to water down what used to be one of WWE’s best gimmicks, Hell in a Cell.

– Word is that D-Generation X could headline the Hall of Fame inductions for WrestleMania 30. I bet that’s not going to sit well with the Ultimate Warrior, who I’d imagine would want to headline whatever Hall of Fame class he thinks he’s going in. Oh well, another year without his particular brand of insanity, I suppose we’ll survive.

1. Daniel Bryan When you get nearly the entire last hour of Raw turned over to showcasing your particular wrestling talent, it shows without a shadow of a doubt that WWE has faith in Bryan’s future as a really big star. I mean, we were pretty sure, but confirmation is always good.

2. CM Punk I know, I have the same two guys in the top two spots again this week, but who’s going to argue with it? Bryan does it in the ring, Punk does it on the mic, and together, they’ve made Raw a lot more watchable than it has been in a while. Anything that makes a three hour show not feel like a ridiculous chore deserves all the accolades I can give.

3. Cody Rhodes Speaking of people getting a lot of faith, Rhodes got himself a show-long angle on Smackdown and did not disappoint. Sure, stealing precious objects is old hat in wrestling, but I’ve rarely found them not fun to watch.

4. Damien Sandow Without evil there is no good, and Sandow is reaching new heights of slimy heelness, which his story with Cody Rhodes is allowing him to sink his teeth into like never before. Also, I seem to recall a story about the highly educated man who didn’t know how to swim, but I doubt WWE has ever read Wise Man’s Fear.

5. Paige NXT gains another champion, and to be frank, the NXT Divas division continues to be miles better than whatever the WWE Divas are putting out there. Well, except for AJ, but unfortunately she’s got to have an opponent, and sadly, it’ll probably end up being one of the Total Divas mannequins.

6. Antonio Cesaro Cesaro continues to quietly work really long matches with top talent and more than pick up his share of the workload. His match with Daniel Bryan on Raw was one of the best of the year on TV thus far, and probably the best in a world where Punk-Cena from before Mania doesn’t continue to exist.

7. Manik Well, it only took TNA several years to realize that “Suicide” isn’t exactly the most family and advertiser-friendly gimmick name in the world. Not that Manik is much better, but hey, the guy under the mask isn’t half bad.

8. Christian Quietly, very quietly, Christian is moving up the ranks, winning a whole lot of matches, including one against Del Rio that nobody seems to be talking about. He’s getting up there in years, but like Mark Henry, he could stand one more run at the top.

9. Dolph Ziggler Ziggler could teach Sandow a thing or two about how to react when somebody steals your stuff, but I guess a Money in the Bank briefcase is a lot harder to replace than you travel bag.

10. Mark Henry Three more years of Henry at least, which means the dream of him earning that WWE Title can continue for a while.

Inactive List as of 07.22.13

WWE

– Evan Bourne, out indefinitely as of March 19th, 2012 (foot)
– Hunico, out indefinitely as of November 1st, 2012 (ACL)
– Kofi Kingston, out 1-2 months as of May 30th (elbow)
– Ricardo Rodriguez, out 30 days as of July 1st (Wellness)
– Tyson Kidd, out 4-6 months as of January 10th (knee)

TNA

– Zema Ion, out indefinitely as of May 17th (appendectomy)

Transactions

– Alberto Del Rio, WWE, day-to-day as of July 23rd (broken rib)

– Jesse Sorenson, TNA, released from his contract

– Tyler Breeze, NXT, made television debut on July 24th NXT

WWE Champion: John Cena
– 113 day reign, defeated The Rock on April 7th (WrestleMania XXIX)
– Next title defense: vs Daniel Bryan, SummerSlam PPV

World Heavyweight Champion: Alberto Del Rio
– 43 day reign, defeated Dolph Ziggler on June 17th (Payback PPV)

WWE Intercontinental Champion: Curtis Axel
– 43 day reign, defeated former champion Wade Barrett and The Miz in a Triple Threat Match on June 16th (Payback PPV)

WWE United States Champion: Dean Ambrose
– 71 day reign, defeated Kofi Kingston on May 19th (Extreme Rules PPV)

WWE Tag Team Champions: Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns
– 71 day reign, defeated Kane and Daniel Bryan on May 19th (Extreme Rules PPV)

WWE Divas’ Champion: AJ Lee
– 43 day reign, defeated Kaitlyn on June 16th (Payback PPV)

WWE NXT Champion: Bo Dallas
– 47 day reign, defeated Big E Langston on June 5th (NXT)

WWE NXT Tag Team Champions: Adrian Neville and Corey Graves
– 12 day reign, defeated The Wyatt Family on July 17th NXT

**NEW** WWE NXT Women’s Champion: Paige
– 5 day reign, defeated Emma on July 24th NXT to become inaugural Champion

NOTE: NXT Title reigns only count what has aired on TV, not when changes occur at tapings.

TNA Heavyweight Champion: Chris Sabin
– 11 day reign, defeated Bully Ray on July 18th Destination X Impact

TNA World Tag Team Champions: James Storm and Gunner
– 64 day reign, defeated former champions Chavo & Hernandez, Aries & Roode, and Bad Influence in a Fatal Four-Way Match on June 2nd (Slammiversary PPV)

**NEW** TNA X-Division Champion: Manik
– 4 day reign, defeated Sonjay Dutt and Greg Marasciulo in an Ultimate X Match on July 25th (Impact) to claim vacant title

TNA Television Champion: Abyss
– 57 day reign, defeated Devon on June 2nd (Slammiversary PPV)

TNA Knockouts Champion: Mickie James
– 67 day reign, defeated Velvet Sky on May 23rd Impact

Acero has The Wrestling 6&1.

O’Connell has Buy or Sell.

Stevens has The Pay Window.

Hiotis has The Brain Buster.

Schroder has WWE RPI Rankings.

Nguyen has The Ten Count.

Yes, the image above is correct, both TWNE After Dark and Co-operative Multiplayer are now also available for download straight from the iTunes store! Don’t have iTunes? What are you using, a Zune?

Anyway, this week’s edition of After Dark featured discussion of TNA and their terrible track record in regards to helping injured wrestlers, if Daniel Bryan is in danger of being overexposed, and what the future holds for GM Brad Maddox.

Also, don’t forget to join the TWNE After Dark Facebook group, for updates on show airtimes and potential discussion topics, and more!

And the latest episode of Co-operative Multiplayer featured debate about video game movies currently in development, Square Enix’s continuing apparent death spiral, and our vastly unqualified legal opinions on the NCAA/EA licensing lawsuit!

Plus, Co-op Multiplayer has a Facebook group of its own, so be sure to join for all the related news for 411’s official Games Zone podcast!

Stealth, Inc. **COMING SOON**
The Last of Us
Call of Juarez: Gunslinger
Marvel Heroes
Hakuoki: Warriors of the Shinsengumi
Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon
Dragon Fantasy: Book One
Guacamelee!
BioShock Infinite
Dead or Alive 5 Plus
Generation of Chaos 6: Pandora’s Reflection
Rocketbirds: Hardboiled Chicken
Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch
Earth Defense Force 2017 Portable

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Have a good one, and always be a fan.