Bully Ray is on his own again as a singles wrestler since long-time tag team partner Devon Dudley is retired and working behind the scenes in WWE. But this is how Bully Ray prefers things and he revealed that his first WWE stint ended because he wanted to be a single wrestler. He almost got his wish on this recent stint because he was very close to splitting off and becoming Bully Ray in WWE.
“We were one day away from becoming Bully Ray in WWE.” He continued, “One of the problems with having Bully Ray in the WWE was the word bully. How could they have a guy named Bully when they had the ‘Be a STAR’ program? It was a little too risky for them.”
Although many WWE heels play bullies, the issue with the Bully Ray character is that the company felt that the entire character was centered around bullying people and that was too risky for Be a STAR.
He left WWE on good terms and eventually joined ROH. He said, “They were actually interested in bringing in both me and D-Von into Ring of Honor, which would’ve been insane. D-Von had made a life decision where he wanted to devote a little more time to his family and physically in the ring wanted to slow it down just a little bit. I still have gas in the tank. I think Ring of Honor was the perfect place for me to continue as Bully Ray.” He added that he had a huge offer to return to Impact Wrestling but he knew that it was not the right decision and he is in love the the passion of the ROH locker room and the fans.
He still has a lot left in the tank so it doesn’t look like retirement is in his immediate future but when the day comes then he could end up taking on a role behind-the-scenes. He added, “I have been asked in the past by the higher-ups in WWE if I’d be interested in being a producer, and when the time is right hopefully that position is still available.”
I’d say that things are going well for him and the move to ROH was a wise one. He hasn’t been with ROH for too long and he is already a 6-man Tag Team Champion alongside The Briscoe Brothers.
If you have been living under a rock or maybe you just heard his name recently on Bruce Prichard’s podcast, Dave Meltzer has been Pro-Wrestling’s most respected journalist since 1983. Dave hails from Sacramento, California and is the most physically fit journalist in the game today. Before Dave became more mainstream as far as subscribers are concerned, he used to be wrestling’s dirty little secret, as often Promoters would all read the observer weekly, but keep it strictly kayfabe from the boys, as it was not acceptable for the wrestlers to bring it into locker rooms. My favorite promoter, the late Dennis Coraluzzo used to insert the observer into the mass booklet at church and read it during Sunday mass as told by the priest at his funeral. The observer itself is a weekly publication that does an excellent job informing the fans about news, his views, but Dave’s best work as a writer is when he covers the past of the wrestling business; which is usually focused upon when Dave writes his Year end awards issue, but especially the obituaries when wrestling’s stars of yonder sadly pass away. There is no mistaking that he is one of the top 2 writers in his field, but personally I feel that he still has too much fan in him; especially when I listen to his Wrestling Observer Radio program which can be reached at Figure Four Daily. Mostly none of the writers are exempt from this, however Dave Scherer does the best job removing himself from personal tastes when reporting the news. With that being said, Dave in my opinion is the number 1 guy in his field and I don’t know where the business would be if he didn’t exist in this field. Therefore I am much grateful that he does exist as he does what he does better than anybody.
Wade Keller is one of the original wrestling journalist along with his partner Bruce Mitchel. Coming from frosty Minneapolis, MN, Wade Keller started his Pro-Wrestling Torch in 1987 and has been growing ever since. Even though they are both weekly publications, The Torch is written and edited very different from his west coast counterpart from California. Wade also is the brain behind Pro Wrestling Podcasts and also runs the Torch podcast shows that air every weekday and ppv weekends where they take callers and report on the news, while also conducting interviews with the best in the business. It is truly can’t miss audio and like Meltzer’s website, the majority of their archives can take you back to listen to practically millions of hours of audio files going back 25 years. If you subscribe, you’re definitely getting the most bang for your buck. Like I mentioned with Meltzer, Wade Keller sometimes lets his emotions get the better of him while recording his podcast, as he has been known to lose his cool and go off on rants on the WWE creative department. I can remember him ranting everyday during the burying of Daniel Bryan, but with all the backlash that happened, the WWE was forced to change their creative direction and they actually went with Daniel Bryan to highlight the great fairy tale ending that was Wrestlemania 30. Wade is also the first openly gay Pro-Wrestling Journalisr becoming a role model for many like him looking to write about Wrestling.
Dave Scherer has the most interesting backstory of them all, as he openly admitted in his early Pro-Wrestling Lariat newsletter that he had an addiction to alcohol. Dave started going to ECW when it was known as Eastern Championship Wrestling and led an army of superfans to help ECW become what it became. Dave didn’t ask for any of this, but thousands gravitated toward him when he sat opposite of the hard camera and he became the leader of “The Bleacherbums”. Dave started the aforementioned Pro-Wrestling Lariat and was very influential in getting ECW over with the tape-trading fans via the lariat. At the arena is where he met most of his staff, who have since become life-long friends. Dave then began 1Wrestling with Bob Ryder, but now is the owner of the very respected PWInsider. Originally from Marmora, NJ, he now lives in Las Vegas, Nevada where he is in charge of day to day operations with PWINSIDER. Out of the three mentioned in this part 1 edition , Dave is the most levelheaded of the bunch and tows the line as a Journalist, as he rarely crosses the line back into fandom, In otherwords, Dave gets the big picture and hardly finds himself marking out over creative issues.
Many folks dream of one day becoming a professional wrestler. This has been the dream of young men and women since wrestling became a thing. Only in the past two decades has wrestling become so much more accessible to the average person. With a slew of wrestling schools spread across the U.S. it seems like a new one is popping up every day. With all these schools there are an influx of independent wrestlers out there, all trying to get a piece of the action, many of which are disappointed by the reality of the industry.
There are so many things to look at when choosing a wrestling school. You want to see what former students have made it to the big time, who the trainers are, the amount of classes you take, the structure of the classes you take, the location, and of course the price. Just because you pay more, does not make it a better school. Just because they have been around longer does not make them a better school. It takes a lot of leg work on the part of the student, to find the right school to fit them. You generally want to find a school that doesn’t take more than 2 hours to drive to each way. You want to find a school that teaches in levels, but also has open rings for you too practice with those with more experience. You want to find a school that wants to build well rounded students, who look, work, and speak as a wrestler should. Most of all you want a school that is honest with students about their potential to make it as wrestlers, and who are willing to build them into the right roles within a company.
Remember these schools still have a bottom line, and that’s to produce money. Yes there are a few schools that aren’t about capitalizing per se, but it takes money to run a wrestling school, and few if any are doing entirely out of their pocket for the love of the sport. A lot of these schools are wrestler mills, and will take anyone’s money, slap them in a ring, give them some training and throw them on student shows. Too few of these schools, and the instructors in them are honest with student’s about their chances in making it, and what it really takes (in most cases) to make it big time. All schools should be offering a variety of courses to teach students the valuable skills of the wrestling industry. For instance, if you are not physically capable of wrestling, you may find you fit in as a manager, referee, ring announcer, commentator, or even in production. There is often no side education in the wrestling business, yet there are a ton of positions to fill. Remember wrestling school could cost you anywhere from $2500-$5000 just to get your beginner training. Many schools charge that for the first year, then a gym fee after.
Let’s say you make it through a school, even a mediocre one, and are ready to take matches in outside promotions. Then what? Are you ready to promote yourself as a full time job? Are you ready to pay for gear, and merchandise? Are you ready to build a recognizable name for yourself across your region? Do you know how to put a package together for the promoters you want to work for, to impress them and get a booking over 1000 other guys or gals on the scene? Then you do get these bookings, and you must worry about gear, gas money, travel buddies, missing events such as birthdays, weddings, and other moments your friends and family may really be angry you dipped out on. But if you cancel the show you may be ruining a story line, losing a belt, or even losing your place in the company. What happens if the promoter doesn’t pay? Do you have a spare tire? Are you prepared to drive 5 hours with 5 people in a compact car, to work in front of a crowd of 10,000 or 10, for 10 minutes, then drive home? These are all things to really think about before you get involved in independent wrestling.
Then once you get established are you ready to build a relationship with fans, so they buy your merchandise? Independent wrestling paydays often range from nothing to maybe a few hundred dollars if you are lucky. And you spend more than that in gas. Not to mention if you need to also get a hotel room, or pay for other travel expenses. Are you willing or able to take time off your day job to travel to shows that are further away but may be a better opportunity? What is your plan in case of injury? Do you carry personal insurance? The other expenses you will incur includes but isn’t limited to; new gear, tanning, gym dues, supplements, eating vast amounts of “clean calories”, which not only costs you money, but time to prepare, and consume as well.
So if you plan on getting involved in independent wrestling you have two choices, take it very seriously and think about all I have written about, and the things that pop into your mind that I haven’t, and take it on full bore. Or get involved as a hobby, find one spot you feel happy with, and don’t bitch about lack of bookings. Wrestling is still a competition. Know and understand the level you want to compete on. Know your limitations. Embrace what you are good at, and figure out what really suits you in the industry. And don’t get fooled by any snake oil salesmen along the way.
Do you remember when you were a true wrestling fan? A fan who hardly bitched and moaned, a fan who didn’t know ‘insider-terms’, a fan who looked forward to seeing their favorite wrestlers on Saturday morning television even though they knew that for the most part what they were about to see interviews promoting upcoming house shows and squash matches. It seems like forever ago, looking back on things with the power that the internet wields, it certainly feels like none of those shows ever mattered. They are not scheduled to be a part of the WWE Network, hardly spoke about, and if you are a current fan and don’t have an uncle or aunt, the terms “Action Zone. WWF Superstars, WWF Challenge, WWF Spotlight, All-Star Wrestling, All-American Wrestling, Tuesday Night Titans, Prime-Time Wrestling, Saturday Night’s Main Event, The Main Event, Shotgun Saturday Night, hell, even Super Astros is never brought up in any conversation as if they were never part of the giant corporation known today as WWE’s Lexicon. In latter years the programming started to include upper midcard talent competing against mid-card talent; which was slightly better than your usual ‘local enhancement talent’ such as weekend warriors Barry Hardy, Sonny Blaze or Nick Berc. With that decision being made, executives hoped that the ratings would increase guessing that fans would stick around for a promoted main event of Freddie Joe Floyd VS Mantaur rather than a graphic stating “Coming up Roddy Piper in action”.
In the 2000’s, WWE slightly changed the content of it’s shows depending on the rating. For example if the show was taped, promoted, and aired as a ‘G’ rating then all blows to the head and neck would be removed.
Imagine a PRO-WRESTLING SHOW WITHOUT THIS, BUT SOMEHOW, SOMEWAY THE WWE DID IT. WWE PRODUCED ‘EXCESS’, ‘ATTITUDE, ‘Confidential’,’Velocity’,’E.C.W’, M.S.G. Classics.’F.C.W.’
‘Saturday Morning Slam’ and finally another rendition of ‘Superstars’. Say what you want about the WWE Product whether RAW or Smackdown, but people still watch. People still complain Monday through Monday, but whether they are the minority or whether they just can’t help themselves. The people who bitch and moan are still tuning into the USA network at 9: pm on Monday night, As a journalist, I’ve lost interest quite frankly, as there isn’t much to report. The in-ring quality is at an all- time high, the athletes on the current roster top to bottom are in the best shape of any collection of rosters within the past 20-30 years, so what seems to be the problem here ? Why was RAW so boring to me this past mon night ? RAW was So boring or as ‘Shooter’ McNulty likes to say “It’s not RAW, it’s processed!” so much so that I didn’t bother even watching WWE Smackdown ? The answer is out there, and like an old adage would read “Seek and ye shall find”.
Beings that I missed the WWE Smackdown show, I’m gonna have to go on my vuse player, hit up good ole piratebay and help myself to a heap a helping hawkinslesshumanity. Because the lord knows I would fall fast asleep as that man is the most boring wrestler that ever lived. He has no flaws as far as footwork or within his transition, but he as a performer walks around the ring half-pregnant, void of any direction, and lacks confidence. It’s like he knows that we know that he knows that we know he’s not getting pushed. Very strange vibe and not in a good way. As a journalist, I don’t bury anybody in the wrestling business, but there’s just something about Hawkins that screams “NICE GUY” or” GOOD HAND” you can use any number of backhanded compliments that many do in wrestling circles to describe Hawkins current run. Hawkins is a microcosm of everything that is wrong with the WWE television programming- Too good to be considered bad, but not good enough to be considered great. Complacency! There’s no real competition, so there is nothing driving the WWE to step there game up, they aren’t fighting for advertising dollars with a rival company, they aren’t enticing that red, hot free agent to go to the WWE, They are not fighting for that hot new timeslot….THEY ARE NOT FIGHTING ! THEY HAVE NO FIGHT LEFT IN THEM ! THEY HAVE NO FIGHT !
And this lies in the problem with monopolies. A sad tale indeed. Look at how many times that the WWE and WCW/NWA would go toe to toe for every unspent consumer penny. Whether it was the 4 Horseman or the NWO, The Dangerous Alliance or Degeneration Sex. There was always a fight, always a battle to be won, but nowadays the only fight left is between your eyelids and eyeballs as to stay awake or fall asleep. This article could turn into a 12 part manifesto if I allowed it to, but the question remains unanswered.How do you fix the WWE television product ? How do you make it the shit that it used to be ? Please feel free to leave messages below as we converge to fix the problem . Is it the writing team, is it the production crew, is it the talent ? OR is the answer more simple than anyone could imagine. IS THE PROBLEM VINCE MCMAHON ?
I am sure many of you have heard the phrase “Don’t talk about race, religion or politics”. To me this is a garbage statement meant to keep dissent down, and prevent rational conversation. It is literally something that has been burned into our minds, but why? Often we are told these are divisive topics, however in my opinion, I truly believe we are told not to speak of these things, in order to keep the status quo of divide and conquer. If everyone openly and rationally discussed these topics, I think a lot of folks would end up learning about things that would create change in their own outlooks, and an uprising against those who divide us.
Personally I have a history in political movements, and over time my views have expanded, grown and changed. I identify as an anarchist, but have worked for change with folks from across the spectrum of politics. In fact even today, I am involved in a battle against a new theme park that people from all political background have come together to fight the building of.
Even as an anarchist, I vote in local elections, have worked on campaigns for a variety of things, including but not limited to: open space regulations, homeless housing and services, city controller campaign, school board, and even most recently, helping push out a neighborhood council subdivision vote for Skid Row, here in Los Angeles. I wish more folks would turn off the TV, and become more engaged in their community.
One man who has decided to become more engaged in his community, is Glenn Jacobs, a man many of you sitting in front of your TV’s have known for 20 years as “Kane”. Jacobs is running for mayor of Knox County, TN. Prior to 2013, that may have sounded ridiculous, but I have a feeling “Corporate Kane” was created to help him to build a different public persona, (yes I know he put the mask back on in 2015/2016) though I think masked Kane, with fire and hell is way more intimidating than any politician I have seen. Last month he officially announced his candidacy for mayor, and has begun to put out promotional materials and build a platform for his campaign. This video came out two days ago wanted to embed it, but for some reason his campaign shut embedding off. (Its like they don’t want people to see the video?)
As mayor, Mr. Jacobs will focus his efforts on delivering results for the citizens of Knox County. The areas below will be a major focus to help make Knox County what President Reagan referred to as “the shining city upon a hill.”
What is also interesting is he talks about full transparency, and limited government, as campaign points, but I have to wonder what this really means to him, as none of this is explained on his website. In fact his website doesn’t even give the date of the election, which is also rather confusing to me. It also doesn’t tell us whether he IS the Republican Candidate for Mayor, or if he needs to win a primary vote. This makes me question how serious this campaign is, if they aren’t providing important information about the election, links on how and were to vote, or other relevant info. Here is the election schedule I found online, which lists the upcoming primaries and elections.
So if you are a Knox County resident I implore you to really look at all the candidates, their platforms, and make an educated decision. Don’t just vote based on who you like to watch on TV, or listen to on the radio, (one of the other candidates is a radio host). Do your research, and make an informed and educated choice on who you want to run your county. And that advice goes out to everyone, no matter where you live. Do not fall for the cult of personality. Inform yourselves. Be active, get involved in your communities political processes. In order to create a world we want to see, we need to use our voices, and make a stand for what we want to see.
Lastly, this is not an endorsement, it is just a look into what Glenn Jacobs platform is. As the year progresses we will follow up with other relevant stories and info. This is just a first look into the political aspirations of a professional wrestler.
I apologize for the lateness of this article… I moved since getting back from Orlando, and have had some technical difficulties that kept me from uploading the media I wanted to use for this article!
As some of you know who read my articles, I have been a life long wrestling fan. I have been watching as long as I can remember and it has always been a part of my life, one way or another. When WrestleMania was announced, and I found out my grandparents friends were getting it on closed circuit tv, I begged to be allowed to watch, as they said it was an “adult party” that I wouldn’t be interested, in wrestling anyway, as it was “for boys”. Begging, pleading, and naming all my favorite wrestlers worked, and I got to watch it with the guys my grandfathers friend had invited over. This was just the beginning. When pay per view became a thing, we would order the special box for the wrestling shows, my grandfather would invite his friends, my moms sister, and her family would join us in watching it at our house, or invite us to theirs to get the PPV. Wrestling was the one sport that brought my family together in any way.
This was my first opportunity to go to WrestleMania, despite many offers and failed attempts in the past. Like when my friend spent $4k on fake tickets, he insisted were real, despite not being from Ticketmaster. He was arrested for trying to sell the fake ticket I refused to attempt to use to an undercover, and spent 2 nights in jail. (Don’t buy tickets through scalpers who put ads on craigslist, or in the paper, only buy them through Ticketmaster, or verifiable reseller sites.) Even last year I was asked to go to WrestleMania, but the person wasn’t ever intending on taking me, or so it seems…
When the possibility of going this year came up, I didn’t put too much into it, as I rather not get excited about things that may not happen. But when my plane tickets were purchased, and we began forming an agenda, I knew it was real. Holy shit…. I was actually going! We procured tickets to WrestleMania, The WWE Hall of Fame, RAW, and Axxess for Thursday. We also booked for PromoterCon at WrestleCon, and planned on hitting up some of the independent events. When we began looking for a hotel, all that was available was lower end motels, so I began looking at other options. Usually I wouldn’t do this, but since we were heading to Orlando, Florida, I didn’t feel bad about booking an airbnb, as its a city full of vacation rentals. We found a lakeside rental, only 10 minutes from the airport, that could sleep up to 8 people, and it cost less than a small cheap motel for the week!
We flew out last Wednesday, and luckily had no big issues. We got our rental car, picked up our WrestleMania Flyers and went to the spot we rented. It was quaint, but clean and spacious and perfect for working when we had downtime as well as entertaining guests. We called it an early night so we could be ready for the weeks events, and the fact is I am on Los Angeles time, so the three hour time difference made it harder for me to be a morning person. I managed to get up and get dressed up, and we hit the road just about on time. On our way we stopped at WaWa, which is a treat for me as I live in Los Angeles, and we don’t have them there. And anyone who has been involved in east coast independent wrestling knows just how important WaWa can be, and I procured my favorite beverage, WaWa Green Tea!
A post shared by Betwrestling.com (@betwrestling) on
Our first stop was PromoterCon, which was a panel on promoting wrestling shows featuring: WWE Hall Of Famer JJ Dillon, Owner/Founder of WrestleCade Entertainment & AML Wrestling Tracy Myers, Owner/Founder of Gimmick Tree Entertainment & Modern Vintage Wrestling Charlie Armstrong and Owner of Combat Zone Wrestling and WSU, DJ Hyde. The event’s tagline was “Putting Butts in Seats” but honestly they could have done a better job getting folks to this. With my background in promoting shows, and working in production, I was quite interested in this event, but honestly I didn’t learn anything new. It was more geared towards beginners and folks who had limited knowledge of how to run live events. It probably was helpful for a few in the room. And it was nice to see Bill Apter there, who gave a short speech on wrestling media. Bill Apter is the longest running wresting journalist I know of, and he is full of all kinds of useful info, and I wish I would have had more time to chat with him of all people, but we had more to do!
Our next stop was WWE Axxess, which I already wrote a little bit about. The first person I saw that I know was “The Hobo” former CWF Hollywood Champion. The line was huge to get in, it took half an hour but moved pretty quickly. When we got inside it was a little overwhelming, as there was a lot to see and do. Some of the highlights were the Foam Pit Ring, the Superstar entrance way, the promo cutting booth, as well as many other interactive displays.
There was a ring set up for a few 205Live/NXT matches, presentations, interviews, and more. Fans also go opportunity to get autographs and photos with their favorite WWE superstars, and there was a massive WWE Pop Up Shop there as well. Overall it was a fun experience. Here is a clip of WWE Hall of Famer Alundra Blaze on women’s wrestling.
A post shared by Betwrestling.com (@betwrestling) on
The next day we attended the WWE Hall of Fame Ceremony and watched the class of 2017 be inducted, which included: Beth Phoenix, the Rock and Roll Express, Ravishing Rick Rude, Teddy Long, Kurt Angle, and others. There were heartfelt speeches from Nattie Niedhart, Ricky Steamboat, Jim Cornette, and JBL and Ron Simmons as they inducted this years class.
Day 3 we headed to the WWN shows, which due to miscommunication we did not actually have tickets, for, but due to our connections we did end up attending the afternoon Chikara Pro show. If you are not familiar with Chikara, they are my favorite independent wrestling promotion. They are one part lucha, one part Japanese, one part catch, with some american independent wrestling blended in. You never know what to expect. They kicked it off with a trio’s match, which is a tag team match with teams of 3 instead of 2. Chikara actually has whole tournament built around these teams called “King of Trio’s” which if you can get tickets, is not to be missed! We also got the rare opportunity to see their trainer and mentor, Mike Quackenbush in some action with Zack Saabre Jr. This match was yet another technical masterpiece. I really enjoyed it. In fact I enjoyed the matches so much, I didn’t bother with a review. Its really hard for me to write up reviews when I am really into watching something. The lighting also made it impossible to take photos if you were not sitting at ringside, so all my pictures came out blurry.
After checking out what was going on in the independent scene we headed out to meet up with my friend Melissa Coates, who is currently working with Sabu, as his wrestling genie sidekick.We met up with Melissa, Sabu, Jaime Dauncey, Crystal Carmichael and others, and headed out to Kevin Nash’s Shenanigans VIP Party. Though I did not see everyone who was listed in attendance, I am sure way more folks were there. We got there later in the evening, and the place was packed. It seemed the venue was far from prepared for the madness that ensued. You literally could not walk. Plus as we were in attendance with Sabu, fans were so excited to see him, at times it seemed they were more excited to see Sabu than Kevin Nash! I finally got opportunity to meet Al Snow, and I couldn’t help but mark out a little, as he really has done a tremendous amount for the wrestling industry and those in it. Other notable folks in attendance were: Shane Helms and his lovely wife, RVD, OBD, So Cal Val, Abyss, Amber O’Neill, Billy Gunn, and so many others we either did not spot or can’t remember to name at the time of this article. Shout out to The Pro Wrestling Report for putting together such a fantastic event! Here is a clip of the the crowd preparing to do a shot with Kevin, as you can see it was packed, and pretty wild.
A post shared by Betwrestling.com (@betwrestling) on
We got back to our rental extremely late/early depending on how you look at it. Everyone else went directly to sleep, but I was so stoked… WrestleMania was only a few hours away! After a couple hours of browsing through twitter, I finally fell asleep. When I woke up it was time to prepare for the biggest day of the year! We got ready to go, waited for the rest of our party to return from their early morning expedition and headed to the Camping World Stadium, aka The Citrus Bowl. One thing that blew my mind was that parking was $150 per car. No I didn’t add a zero or extra digit… you read that right… one hundred and fifty dollars to park a car!!! Seriously that has to be the most ridiculous parking charge I have ever heard of in my life. If I were to pay that, the motherfucking valet better clean and polish my car, and drive me home. My plane ticket home to Los Angeles cost less than parking at the stadium!!! So we did what any smart folks would do, we found a business owner a few blocks away who was renting his trucking company lot for $30 per car. Whoot! If I wasn’t in heels, I would have been down to park even further away. Note to anyone ever going to Orlando for major events, parking is expensive and can be a bitch, as there is not much street parking to be found.
We got inside, and much to my horror, we were sitting up in the top of the stadium. I have issues with vertigo, and an ridiculous fear of falling, (probably because I am a total klutz.) so it took me about 15 minutes to adjust to our seats. I wrote the match results as we sat there, but they were brief as there is no pause button on a live event. I was so happy that we got there in time to see Neville vs Austin Aries. I don’t care what anyone says, I love watching these guys wrestle. I been a long time fan of Aries, and Neville just keeps getting better and better. This was one of my favorite matches of the night and it wasn’t even on the main card! Ambrose vs Corbin was way to short for my liking. Shane and AJ were just as wild as I expected. The Owens/Jericho match was meh. I think I had enough of it the month before. The RAW Womens Championship match was also disappointing as I would have liked to see Nia Jax go further in the match. The 4 way Tag Team Championship Ladder match was OFF THE CHAIN!
A post shared by Betwrestling.com (@betwrestling) on
We saw the return of the Hardy’s, which though speculated for 2 weeks prior, got one of the biggest pops of the night. The Hardy’s walked away as the new RAW Tag Champions. Next was Miz and Maryse vs Cena and Nikki Bella. Cena Proposed to Nikki after the match. She should have said no. Rollins vs HHH was kinda a snoozer. As much as I love Rollins, I am incredibly bored by HHH. Stephanie saved the match by falling through a table though, and effectively putting her out of commission for a while. Orton vs Wyatt was interesting. Watching them project worms on the ring was a nice touch, though it would have been nice to see Orton sell it as if the ring was moving and writhing under him. Hopefully that storyline gets buried with the worms… Lesner vs Goldberg… I can’t even remember watching it, I am so bored by those two. SmackDown’s Womens Championship match was WAAAAAY too short. So happy for Naomi, she has come a long way and deserves that belt! And finally the main event… The Undertaker vs Roman Reigns. It was really hard to see The Undertaker moving so slowly, and really having difficulties with things he once made us go crazy for. That man has put his body through an incredible amount of hell for our entertainment. I think it was a huge honor for Reigns to be the one working him in his last match, and to be handed the torch so to say. Overall the match wasn’t of the highest wrestling quality, but for nostagia, and pulling at the heart strings, it was a 10. Wrestlemania ended with The Undertaker leaving his hat, gloves, and jacket in the ring, signalling his retirement.
My first in person WrestleMania was a great one, and probably the most memorable one in the 33 year history of WrestleManias.
A post shared by Betwrestling.com (@betwrestling) on
The next night we were back at it, and headed out to Monday Night Raw at the Amway Center. When you watch RAW on TV, some folks don’t realize in order to get the crowd riled up there are often matches for Main Event, or other WWE pre taped shows, so the fans have something to cheer for After the match taped for Main Event, the entire arena chanted “Undertaker” over and over. Those who watched RAW live that night, said the TV show opened with us chanting, and it gave them chills. The first segment was Roman Reigns coming out the the ring for a promo. The fans in attendance boo’d for what felt like an eternity. Roman said one simple statement “This is my yard now” and walked off. Other highlights of RAW were Kurt Angle being named the new GM, Cesaro and Sheamus becoming the #1 contenders for the tag titles, and the return of Finn Balor! The crowd was on FIRE when his music hit. I know I say it a lot, but it is awesome to see those I knew from my independent wrestling days make it to TV.
After RAW was over Goldberg came out and said his goodbyes for now. It was kinda sweet as he brought his kid to the ring and acknowledged his wife, and his life as a dad. Here is our after-RAW report from the rental.
The next day we went to breakfast with Osiris and his entourage, we caught up on some north east indy wrestling. After parting ways we then considered going to Smackdown, but instead decided to hit Disney World, specifically the Magic Kingdom. Can I say Space Mountain might be my favorite ride ever? Also got to spin around wicked fast on the tea cups, and look at the bizarre ideas Walt Disney held of the world.
A post shared by Betwrestling.com (@betwrestling) on
Our last day in Florida we decided to hit the beach. Cocoa beach is beautiful! The water was so nice, considering I have been on the west coast so long, I forgot how nice the ocean could feel when its not freezing and full of oil…
Overall the trip was great. It was nice to catch up with long lost friends, and make some new ones! We are already planning on next year, so watch out New Orleans, here we come!!!
So instead of doing my usual “Wrestler of the Week” posts here I decided to talk about the man that made me fall in love to professional wrestling: The Undertaker.
