Pro Wrestling booking fails UFC

ufc156_09_bigfoot_vs_overeem_014 — **Photo by Donald Miralle/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC**

UFC 156 served as a lesson for long-term planning in the fight game. Two anticipated mega fights that hinged upon a particular set of results were incinerated for the foreseeable future and may never materialize. Rashad Evans and Alistair Overeem had one task: to win.

Instead, Evans treated fans to a fifteen-minute exhibition of fakes and faints. At the same time, Antonio Silva flipped the script and made Overeem pay the price for taking him lightly using the currency of a devastating knockout. A boulevard of broken dreams has thrown water onto a fire that was supposed to signal the year of the mega-fight.

Anderson Silva will probably end up fighting Chris Weidman, and Cain Velasquez will either have to wait for a new contender to emerge or fight Antonio Silva, whom he literally beat to a bloody pulp the first time they fought in the summer. Both of those fights are lackluster and have little box office appeal.

When the dust settles and the smoke clears, fights like Overeem vs. Silva make Vince McMahon happy; his stuff is fake.

Ben Fowlkes of MMA Junkie.com, wrote an outstanding piece about the downside of MMA booking in regards to Alistair Overeem’s loss at UFC 156 titled Bigfoot and The Reem: A Cautionary Tale

WWE Royal Rumble 2013 Predictions

The main course of this Sunday’s Royal Rumble will be the WWE championship match between CM Punk and The Rock. While the rumble match is still the apple of many eyes, this is a one match show that has everyone talking for a variety of reasons. Who do you want to win? Who do you think should win? What do you think is the likely going to happen? Let’s talk.

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It’s All About The Luck of The Draw in The Royal Rumble

The unsung hero of the Royal Rumble event is the golden spinning tumbler that holds the numbers drawn randomly to determine the order of entry into the Royal Rumble match. The luck of the draw is so important because the higher the number, the higher a wrestler’s chances are of victory. Back in the day, the actual drawing of the numbers was focused on a lot more because it gave fans a clue as to what spot the wrestlers drew without revealing the actual point of entry.

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The WWE Santa Clause

Does the WWE have a clause in their contract with Santa Claus that he has to receive a yuletide beating each year? Around the holidays every year, the Santa Claus character receives a squared circle thrashing, in some way, shape, or form. Sometimes, a suspect Santa gets a fist in the face and other times, the genuine article gets a body slam for his troubles. Trust me, no one is safe, not even someone as pure and jolly as Santa Claus, from the shenanigans of professional wrestling.

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How Did You Become A Wrestling Fan?

(Column written for gerweck.net)

Thanksgiving is right around the corner and while we all have things in our life to be thankful for, I think wrestling can appear on that list in some way, shape, or form. Wrestling fans come from all walks of life and all of us having our own likes and dislikes about the business. Some are casual WWE fans while others are hardcore fans who simply can’t get enough of their favorite pastime.

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The Conquistadors: All Gold and No Glory

Conquistador is Spanish for “conquerors” and is applied to Spaniard soldiers who explored the New World in the 16^th century. In the late 1980s, the squared circle of the World Wrestling Federation was treated to Conquistadors of a different variety. Gone were the warriors of strategic battle tactics and enter the two individuals who never came close to conquering anything.

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Ten Greatest WCW Cruiserweights of All-Time

The international flavor of WCW’s Cruiserweight division produced some of the most innovative wrestling matches and served as the launching pad to some of the biggest names in the industry. The hot potato nature of its title reigns makes it impossible to rank the wrestlers by championship merit.

Oftentimes, these matches would not only open the show but downright steal it. Jushin Liger and Brian Pillman deserve honorable mentions in this conversation. Their matches took place in the Light Heavyweight division, a precursor to the Cruiserweight division, and put lighter-weight classes in professional wrestling on the map in the United States. Today, we rank the top ten WCW Cruiserweights of all time.

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CM Punk: The Best DVD In The World

The gold standard of WWE DVD releases are The Ultimate Ric Flair collection and The Rise and Fall of ECW. After spending 3 hours with my Blu-ray player, CM Punk: Best in the World can be added to that list and may be the crown jewel of their catalog. I am of the opinion that CM Punk is currently the best worker in the business today. This is coming from someone who is not his biggest fan.

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I Know How To Beat Ryback

(Column I wrote for gerweck.net)

Ryback vs. CM Punk headlines the Hell in a Cell Pay-Per-View event this Sunday. The WWE has booked themselves into a tight little corner because they played the Ryback card way too soon. In contemporary wrestling where wins and losses don’t matter, Ryback’s undefeated streak is everything. If he loses under any circumstance, the gimmick is dead and he is just another superstar on the roster.

In my opinion, let him win the title. He is over and as long as you don’t mess with his formula of destroying people, he will continue to be over for quite some time. While the common wisdom suggests Ryback must win, there has to be a creative way for him to be pinned without losing his momentum. I’m going to have a little fun with this and put on my booking hat and throw out an idea that could work.

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Are Steel Cage Matches Dead?

(Column I wrote for gerweck.net)

There is no other encounter in professional wrestling that signifies the pinnacle of a feud more than the steel cage match. Its confines are unforgiving and blood shed is a virtual guarantee. Villains of bravado and champions of heroic destiny square off in this last resort encounter where the referee’s three count is not enough. Finish your opponent or escape the cage is often your only option for victory. In two weeks, CM Punk will defend the WWE title against Ryback. This match has everyone talking for a variety of reasons but none of them include the Hell in a Cell itself. This makes me wonder; are Steel Cage matches dead?

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