Tag Archives: Wrestling

NXT is Great, but WWE Still Needs Indies

One of the smartest things WWE has done in the last decade was to open the WWE Performance Center to cultivate the stars of the future at NXT (formerly known as Florida Championship Wrestling). Dean Ambrose and current WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins both came from NXT…although one could argue that they would have made it to WWE without NXT.

Dean Ambrose was a star in the indies at places like Combat Zone Wrestling as ‘Jon Moxley’ and Seth Rollins (formerly known as Tyler Black) did fantastic things in Ring of Honor prior to signing with WWE. Both could have made the jump the old school way with an immediate spot on WWE’s main roster.

If you look at the top stars at NXT, most made their name prior to signing with WWE.

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Which Wrestlers in NXT are Ready for WWE’s Main Roster?

Pro wrestling is cyclical. Major stars tend to have 10+ year runs at the top and then fade into the mid-card. WWE had issues in the past trying to build homegrown young talent able to take the next step when the time is right.

Triple H is semi-retired from competing in the ring and is now the Chief Creative Officer for the WWE. He decided to focus on talent development. They opened the WWE Performance Center and rebranded their developmental territory (Florida Championship Wrestling) into NXT. The results have spoken and it has exceeded all expectations.

Bray Wyatt, Seth Rollins and Paige have all had success since graduating from NXT to WWE’s main roster. Which stars are ready to take the leap?

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WWE Should Stop Making ‘Royal Rumble’ So Predictable

The 2015 ‘Royal Rumble’ pay-per-view happened last night in Philadelphia. Wrestling fans always look forward to this event every year. It’s arguably the second-best wrestling night of the year, just behind ‘Wrestlemania’. Unfortunately, wrestling fans were left disappointed.

The Rumble is the unofficial start to the ‘Road to Wrestlemania’. Not only are fans excited to see which surprise entrants will enter the Rumble, but the other matches help set the table for feuds through Mania. The WWE did a pretty poor job in every facet.

The WWE has been playing it safe since the WWE Network launched. Their storytelling ability has been stuck in the 80’s since they reverted back to a PG rating. What can they do to fix last night’s blunder?

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Will ‘The New Day’ Succeed in WWE?

WWE hasn’t had much luck recently debuting characters after a lengthy series of vignettes. The string of recent failures can be traced back to Brodus Clay’s re-debut as the Funkasaurus, the laughable ‘Lord Tensai’ debut and let’s not forget Fandango’s debut (his entrance music was more ‘over’ than him). It might be a bit too early to label Bo Dallas and Adam Rose as busts, but it has been months and they have yet to gain traction.

Yes, there have been some successes, with The Wyatt Family being the biggest, but it isn’t always the performers’ fault.

Have vignettes lost their appeal? Will The New Day continue the string of failures?

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‘The Authority’ Storyline Was A Failure for WWE

I’ve been a fan of pro wrestling as long as I can remember. I love the WWE, but I always root for startup wrestling promotions to do well. No one will ever match WWE’s marketshare, but competition breeds creativity. WWE definitely needs to be pushed.

The WWE has pushed a storyline around Stephanie McMahon and Triple H. The duo call themselves ‘The Authority’ and have been running the company with an iron fist. The storyline officially came into fruition on August 18th, 2013, the night of Summerslam. Triple H caused Daniel Bryan to lose the WWE title to Randy Orton.

The storyline lasted 14 months and will historically be seen as a failure…but it wasn’t completely their fault.

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Sports Crush: WWE Diva – Lana

We’ve written a handful of ‘Sports Crush’ posts since we launched Americas White Boy a few years ago. We’ve spotlighted sportscasters, female MMA fighters, Olympians and WWE Divas Summer Rae, A.J. Lee, Paige & The Bella Twins. The response was so great, we decided to profile one of the newest WWE Divas, Lana.

Many people may recognize Lana from her previous work. Her real name is C.J. Perry (Catherine Joy Perry). She was in the movie ‘Pitch Perfect’ and was one of the infamous Florida State Cowgirls with Jenn Sterger.

She has only been under contract with the WWE for less than a year. She was signed after they had tryouts for female talent. Since she’s so new, you will not see her in the ring, but she landed a cushy job as the valet for the Bulgarian Brute, Alexander Rusev.

We are crushing on the ‘Ravishing Russian’ Lana and once you look at our photo gallery of the WWE Diva, you will understand why. We also added a very nice .gif for your enjoyment.

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Dead Wrestlers List: When and How They Died

I cannot remember a time when I didn’t watch pro wrestling. My dad and grandfather used to watch it all the time and I was enamored by the wrestlers on the TV screen.

As many people my age, I grew up in the age of Hulkamania. I always wanted him to win, but that character got old. I found myself liking “Macho Man” Randy Savage, Andre the Giant and Junk Yard Dog. I think that is when I legitimately fell in love with wrestling and not just the festival around Hulk Hogan.

The life of a professional wrestler is difficult. The road isn’t kind and bad habits can take over one’s life.

As the years went by, I’ve started seeing all my favorite WWE, WWF, WCW & ECW wrestlers die off at an alarming rate. I often wondered how they died. I made this list for those who are fans of wrestling and are interested in how their favorite wrestler passed away. Continue reading →

Best 15 Pay-Per-Views Available on WWE Network Right Now

The WWE Network has finally launched. The launch wasn’t exactly smooth. Xbox 360 doesn’t quite work yet, but all other platforms seem to be functioning now. It took a few hours for me to get through to buy it. MLB Advanced Media is in charge of the streaming and everything on the back end. They released a statement and said they never planned for the amount of first day subscribers. This caused the issues they are still sorting out.

Well, for those who put down $9.99, you have nearly the entire WWE, WCW & ECW pay-per-view library at your fingertips. It’s a bit overwhelming at first, so we try to make it easier on you and pick out the best 15 PPVs currently available to stream on the WWE Network.

We had to narrow down the list from 30-40 to give you the best of the best. This list is in no particular order, but Macho Man vs. Ricky Steamboat on Wrestlemania III is a must-see.

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Will The Wyatt Family Succeed in WWE?

I’ve been a huge WWF/WWE since before I could talk. I used to watch ‘Saturday Night’s Main Event’ every weekend. I’d also scour the limited amount of television channels in the 80’s for random AWA, NWA, WCW, World Class and Bruiser Bedlam wrestling shows.

The characters have become stale over the years and not many superstars or wrestling factions feel original. Every gimmick has been done a thousand times. This is why WWE’s ‘The Wyatt Family’ feels so fresh.

I realize The Wyatt Family isn’t 100% original. It’s based off Robert DeNiro’s character in ‘Cape Fear’ and has a Raven’s ‘The Flock’ feel to it.

After weeks of vignettes teasing their RAW debut, they finally appeared and beat up Kane. Will they succeed or eventually become a comedy act (i.e. Great Khali/Boogeyman).? Continue reading →