CM Punk Quits WWE

CM Punk Quits WWE. I know it's something that many fans of professional wrestling and especially modern-era WWE fans don't want to hear, but it's true.

After informing Vince McMahon that he was leaving and going home after the events of Royal Rumble this past Sunday, he has been absent from WWE programming and have been removed from advertising for all future events. WWE Creative has moved on with their plans for WrestleMania XXX without him.

As much as it pains me to write that headline, it appears to be true. CM Punk has indeed taken an indefinite hiatus from the WWE. 

After CM Punk left RAW this past Monday night, telling Vince McMahon that he was leaving and “going home,” it seems that he is truly gone from the company for now. Though his contract isn’t officially up until July, Punk has been taken off all future shows and WWE Creative is now moving forward without him in mind. Meaning that, most likely, Daniel Bryan will take Punk’s match against Triple H at WrestleMania 30. 

Punk leaving is being said to be the result of a combination of factors – his frustrations over his current storyline (and direction of the company), his displeasure with not headlining WrestleMania (with Batista coming in and taking the spot), and his overall exhaustion. Even though it’s been a longtime rumor that the WWE had huge plans for Punk this coming Summer – even calling it the “Summer of Punk” as Punk was probably set to dethrone Batista at SummerSlam. 

Last Friday, Punk expressed his displeasure with the current state of things at the Portland Comic-Con. 

TMZSports.com is claiming, more specifically, that Punk leaving is due to the way the company wants to use him at WrestleMania 30. It’s been a longtime goal of Punk to headline WrestleMania and for someone as specifically goal-oriented as he is (and who also tends to get tunnel vision), this was said to be the breaking point. 

This past Monday, some sources say that Punk was set to lose to Antonio Cesaro (after a distraction from Kane), putting Cesaro in the Elimination Chamber march and setting up a Punk vs. Kane PPV match. 

It’s only been a few days so there’s always hope that this can all shake out for the best, but for right now Punk is not a participating member of the WWE. 

- See more at: SHOWRENITY

My Take On This Situation

To be fair, I will look at this situation from three different angles: the business side, the fan perspective, and lastly, my personal viewpoint. 

The Business Side (WWE)

Win, lose, or draw, World Wrestling Entertainment are not going to be swayed by what one unruly crowd from the Royal Rumble deter them from their plans for WrestleMania XXX. The fans may not like it, but everything they do is what WWE see as "best for business" - no pun intended.

It is no secret that "The Animal" Batista has been brought in to draw more ratings and add more publicity to WWE's product with his upcoming appearance in Marvel Studios' Guardians of the Galaxy film this summer. While the fans see Batista stealing the spotlight away from full-time talent on the roster, WWE sees Batista as another draw to make their WrestleMania XXX PPV buyrates even sweeter with a Hollywood celebrity in the mix of things. Despite the fans' being against it, The Rock has main evented both WrestleMania XXVIII and XXIX after coming in, snatching up the WWE Championship and dominating over the full-time roster with little to no effort, only to disappear just as quickly as he returned. The fans don't like it but the PPV buyrates and attendance numbers don't lie for those last two events. WrestleMania XXVIII was held at Sun Life Stadium in Miami, Florida with an attendance record of 78,363. That following year, WrestleMania XXIX was held at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ and shattered the previous year's record with an attendance of 80,676 people. So yeah, the IWC (internet wrestling community) can complain all they want but as long as they keep getting asses into seats at WrestleMania, they will not see any problem with bringing in part-timers to help 'sweeten' the card.

CM Punk might not be out of work for long. Despite walking out on WWE, he is still one of the hottest commodities in professional wrestling right now, with the second runner-up being Sting right now. I wouldn't be surprised if Ring of Honor rolled out the red carpet for his return.

Impact Wrestling haven't allowed this opportunity to slip through their fingers as they already capitalized on one of WWE's mistakes by hiring the American Wolves (Eddie Edwards and Davey Richards) after they turned them down. Bully Ray has already pulled out the welcome wagon for CM Punk to join Impact Wrestling.

If the rumors are true, let me be the 1st to invite @CMPunk to @IMPACTWRESTLING and get in the ring w/ me. Fans would LOVE it. Yes or no?
— Bully Ray (@REALBully5150) January 29, 2014

Would I like this? Hell yes, but I know hell would freeze over twelve times before CM Punk goes to Impact Wrestling anytime soon. 

The Fan Perspective

Without a shadow of a doubt, the fans lose the most here. WWE has one less established main event player for the post-WrestleMania season.

From what I have seen over the last 24 hours across message boards, Facebook, Twitter, and even discussing the matter with close friends who follow WWE's current product, fans are reacting to this news with nothing but pure rage and hatred towards WWE for wronging their hero and savior.

Take a moment and look at the WWE Facebook page, where almost every post is flooded with comments saying "WE WANT PUNK" or excessive amount of hatred for the lack of Daniel Bryan in the Rumble match. 

The fans see CM Punk's departure as another nail in the coffin as it seems that WWE Creative does not know what they are doing. Daniel Bryan is insanely over with the fans as a babyface and easily deserves the main event slot, but instead may be filling in the program with Triple H that was going to be saved for CM Punk. Sadly, many people saw that potential feud as a step-down compared to main eventing the grandest stage of them all.

Quite honestly, it would be revisiting this epic moment in WWE history...

I have even heard as much talk from irate fans on wrestling message boards, threatening to attend WrestleMania or other WWE live events, just to start a riot to demand change in WWE and demand they sign CM Punk back. 

My Personal Standing

To be honest, when I watched CM Punk's interview for MMA Fighting last Thursday, I thought something was up, but brushed it underneath the rug. He didn't sound enthusiastic about the Royal Rumble in the least, nor did he seem to care about any questions related to WWE. One quote that really stuck out to me during the interview was CM Punk stating that "he was in a position, where he could blow-off WWE live events and do what he wants." I clearly remember him saying that at one stage of the interview. Out of everything in that interview, that line stuck in my head over the weekend. When I watched the Royal Rumble match, I noticed CM Punk was barely involved at all for the bulk of the match. CM Punk spent the bulk of the match balled up into a corner or laying down. I'm old enough to remember Shawn Michaels, Stone Cold, Ric Flair earning their mileage in the Rumble after drawing early entry spots, but CM Punk didn't seem to be doing any of that. His performance was reminiscent of Gail Kim's before she threw herself out of a Divas Battle Royal before she asked for an early termination of her contract prior to return to TNA after her own continued frustration with how WWE was treating their women at that point in history.

In my eyes, the so-called fans are looking at this at the WRONG way. Both WWE and CM Punk are in the wrong in this situation.

WWE is wrong for not having enough faith in their full-time talent to warrant them a main event spot at WrestleMania, or in the very least, take the time and effort to build stars instead of blowing the dust off part-timers to do the job that they clearly have the talent to do with - if only those Superstars (AND Divas) were given the opportunity to prove themselves and excel at it. Part-timers would then benefit putting younger talent over, much like Sting has done consistently in Impact Wrestling or like Rob Van Dam and Chris Jericho over the past year in WWE. 

While I have come to love and appreciate everything that CM Punk, or rather Phillip Brooks, has brought to the table in his WWE career, I can't necessarily say that I agree with how he is going about this to bring change in World Wrestling Entertainment. Taking his ball and going home isn't the way to go about this at all. It didn't work for Stone Cold Steve Austin in 2002 and it's definitely not going to work here. I don't care what job you are working or whether if you're a jobber, mid-carder, main eventer, or the guy who wipes Vince McMahon's ass for him, if you have a problem with your employer, you talk things out. In the very least, CM Punk could have had the decency to ask for an early termination of his contract. WWE is merely going to see this as him being a prima donna who is upset because he can't get his way. That alone is going to hurt his chances of being accepted into any other promotion that does not want an egotistical personality such as that on their roster. If CM Punk keeps this attitude up, then he's going to have just as bad of reputation as Teddy Hart in professional wrestling - extremely talented wrestler, but no one wants to sign him, thanks to his prima donna attitude and reputation. I hate to say it, but I have truly lost most of my respect for CM Punk. 

I know his bandwagon of fans and followers are going to rise up to defend him, but much like Steve Austin before him, I am sure that CM Punk will come to see the error of his ways and realize that he made a big mistake by walking out. I think PWMania put it into better words than I could ever hope to express my feelings about this and towards CM Punk's fans. 

Punk is to blame. He is wrong… You do not walk out of your job. He happily collects his millions and does his own thing. We all understand that. He punched a fan and is considered cool. He goes off on fans on Twitter, and that is considered funny. He called somebody a offensive term at a live event, and it is considered freedom of speech. He dates diva after diva, but that is okay because it is his business. He is constantly rude in airports and in public, and that is passed off as just being himself. Well, to no surprise – he is again getting a pass from the online folks. Big surprise. Punk is perfect, and WWE are the big evil monsters! 

Sorry. Does not work like that. 

What does this guy have to do before people see his negatives? Everything I just listed. Yet, his fans rush to his defense will some kind of weak excuse. The glory of being an “internet darling” is that there is always somebody or something to blame. I am a CM Punk fan, but the amount that this guy can get away with from his loyal, LOYAL fans just baffles me. At some point, it will hit home.

Game, set, match. PWMania hit the nail on the head there. The amount of delusional fans that are still behind CM Punk amazes me. I love his work - from his humble beginnings in the indies to Ring of Honor to Extreme Championship Wrestling to his 434 day title reign and even his feuds throughout 2013, but enough is enough. When you are clearly in the wrong, there's no exception. I just can't let this slide. If you are a CM Punk fan and spent your good money buying tickets to this week's WWE live events, expecting to see CM Punk, then you should be pissed off. CM Punk has walked out on WWE and all of his loyal fans as well, while he sits at home and continues to collect a paycheck for the duration of his contract. 

Don't get me wrong. I agree that guys like CM Punk and Daniel Bryan deserve to be in the main event spots for WrestleMania, but walking out of your job is the complete wrong way to go about getting what you want. To say the guy spearheaded his own campaign for the "internet darlings" by saying that he was in WWE to make it a better place for them, he only managed to make things harder for those coming from that background with his departure, especially for those who are still there and that he considered close friends. 

At this rate, I hope CM Punk gets his shit together and realizes that he has made a mistake. Life isn't going to hand you everything you want. When life hands you lemons, you got to make lemonade. You have to learn to roll with the punches and bounce back even harder for the things that you want.

Now where is The Rock for he could shoot one of these promos again? Oh hell, let Daniel Bryan do it...

Royal Rumble 2014 - The Road to WrestleMania Begins Here

It's over 12 hours later since end result of WWE Royal Rumble 2014, and I honestly can't wait until the end of the month to do this write-up to vent my feelings from after this event.

Without a shadow of a doubt, there are millions of people in the WWE Universe and even former WWE talent who are thoroughly pissed off.

I will apologize now as this write-up won't be lengthy, as I'm rushing to get this up before tonight's Monday Night RAW (obviously that didn't happen...) and that broadcast ends up swaying my opinions up to this moment.

Results:

Pre-Show: New Age Outlaws def. The Rhodes Brothers to become the NEW WWE Tag Team Champions

I was honestly surprised that WWE would change the Tag Team titles over on pre-show. If anything, I was more convinced that the New Age Outlaws would win the gold tonight on RAW in a rematch after losing to the Rhodes Brothers. (Shrugs) Oh well. At least it gives the tag team division a temporary breath of fresh air. I don't have anything against either team, but it annoys me a bit that the same people who were totally against the New Age Outlaws' run in Impact Wrestling/TNA are 100% backing their WWE return instead of referring them as old, washed-up has-beens.

Bray Wyatt def. Daniel Bryan

Without a shadow of a doubt, this was the show-stealer and match of the night. I won't go as far as saying this was the Match of the Year like most other wrestling outlets are reporting. C'mon, 2014 JUST started. Let's not jump the gun on this yet. It was a wise choice by WWE to eject Luke and Rowen from ringside as that gave Bray Wyatt to shine on his own - reminiscent of his bout with Kofi Kingston last year. I will go on record and say I was completely fine with the finish here as all of the media attention surrounding Bryan's health condition after suffering a concussion, it was a no-brainer that would be getting up that easily after the Sister Abigail into the barricade. I loved how they set it up like a catch finisher from WWE 2K14 though. That was more than enough of an excuse to write-off Daniel Bryan from appearing in the Rumble match later tonight. Otherwise, I'm sure the IWC would be bitching about why he didn't sell the injury or the brutality of the attack. Speaking of brutal attacks...

Brock Lesnar def. The Big Show

Boy, this was over quick. I was expecting The Big Show to put on a bit more of a fight here but dayum son... At least, Big Show sold that "injury"... The main thing I took away here is that Lesnar is a LOT stronger than he was back in 2002-2003 from their feud. Back then, he could barely lift The Big Show for the F-5. Now he makes it look like he was tossing around Rey Mysterio like a ragdoll. A part of me was kinda hoping for the lights to go out during the post-match assault and The Undertaker stares down with Brock Lesnar just to hype the potential WrestleMania match.

WWE World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton def. John Cena to retain

I can't blame the fans in attendance for how disgusted they were with this match. I felt a little bad for both John Cena and Randy Orton during the match as the match itself wasn't that bad. I had to rewatch it earlier today while sober, but seriously, I have seen far worse matches than this. Just like their match at TLC, this could have been a lot better - it's just that the crowds are beyond sick of seeing these two Superstars in the main event picture.

One thing is certain though, is that John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt is pretty much set in stone for WrestleMania or Elimination Chamber. It's good to see him in a fresh feud.

Batista wins the 2014 Royal Rumble Match to Main Event at WrestleMania XXX

Unlike everyone else, I thoroughly enjoyed the bulk of this Rumble match. I thought the deafening boos for El Torito (who is an established and renown talent in Mexico) and even Rey Mysterio were a bit unnecessary, just because the bulk of that live crowd and the IWC wanted Daniel Bryan to appear in the Rumble and reign supreme. Let's get facts straight here though - prior to the Rumble, Daniel Bryan has stated himself in interviews, along with CM Punk in an interview on Thursday at his own house, that Bryan was NOT going to be in the Rumble match. The Road to WrestleMania does NOT end at the Rumble, folks. We still have Elimination Chamber and then ANYTHING can happen in those weeks before 'Mania to change the landscape before the event.

I was more pissed off to see both Dolph Ziggler (who returned from another concussion) and Damien Sandow both have lackluster performances in this match. Kofi Kingston and Antonio Cesaro didn't disappoint me in the least though. I was impressed that Alexander Rusev made an appearance from NXT, but was letdown that he didn't have Lana accompanying him to the ring. 

Oh yeah, for the people complaining about JBL in the Rumble, think about this. He still didn't do as bad as Santino...

At first, I was a little letdown that CM Punk didn't walk out of the Rumble as the winner, but I am confident that CM Punk and Kane will have a interesting program to make up for that. 

I don't see why people were surprised that Batista won the Rumble match to headline WrestleMania - why else would WWE go through all of this trouble to sign him to 3 year contract if his first match back wasn't an impact? It is much like The Rock's return for the last two WrestleManias. WWE gets to bring back a wrestler turned Hollywood star to grace their programming, all while racking in that free publicity and tie-ins for the potential films that said wrestler is going to appear in. In Batista's case, he is set to play as Drax the Destroyer in the highly anticipated Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy film this summer. WWE would be stupid not to bank on this star power to help sell WrestleMania XXX. 

Really, if WWE wants Batista in the main event at WrestleMania then more power to them. I'll just turn my stream off after The Undertaker defends The Streak. Simple as that.

Seriously, everyone shouldn't be too mad nor upset at this event. WWE delivered on several fronts with this PPV. If you're really that butt-hurt about the event, don't watch RAW tonight or any other night and find another wrestling outlet that caters to your interests. But of course, most "fans" are too lazy to even take the effort to do that when it takes just as much time as racing to a wrestling forum, Facebook, or Twitter and bitching about it.

• Daniel Bryan and Bray Wyatt stole the show in the opening contest.
• The New Age Outlaws proved that they could inject new interest into the Tag Team division.
• The Shield dominated the bulk of the Rumble match, with the team's MVP being Roman Reigns. 
• Brock Lesnar decimated The Big Show.
• The Orton/Cena feud seems to be done now that The Wyatt Family has targeted John Cena.

REVIEW -- Justice League: WAR (2014)

Justice League: WAR is DC Comics' first direct-to-video animated feature film of 2014, chronicling the events of the Justice League: Origin graphic novel. After the popular Batman: Return of The Dark Knight Part 1&2, Justice League: Flashpoint Paradox, and Batman: Under The Red Hood animated feature films, DC Comics have definitely raised the bar in terms of their direct-to-video animated films. Does Justice League: WAR live up to the high expectations of its predecessors? Let's find out shall we?

Cast:

Sean Astin as Shazam
Zach Callison as Billy Batson
Christopher Gorham as Flash / Barry Allen
Justin Kirk as Green Lantern / Hal Jordan
Michelle Monaghan as Wonder Woman
Shemar Moore as Cyborg / Victor Stone
Jason O'Mara as Batman
Alan Tudyk as Superman
Steven Blum as Darkseid
Dee Bradley Baker as Parademons
Melique Berger as Sarah Charles
Kimberly Brooks as Darla
Rocky Carroll as Silas Stone
Ioan Gruffudd as Thomas Morrow
Georgie Kidder as Freddy Freeman
John Mariano as Ice Cream Vendor
Richard McGonagle as President
Matthew Mercer as Guard
George Newbern as Steve Trevor
Andrea Romano as Green Lantern's Ring
Roger Rose as Pinstriped Loudmouth
Gary Sturgis as Teammate #2
Bruce Thomas as Desaad
Hynden Walch as Hannah Grace

The Plot: (FULL Spoilers)

A series of strange abductions have occurred in Gotham City, with video footage suggesting that Batman, a wanted costumed vigilante, is behind the incidents. When a woman is grabbed by a mysterious cloaked kidnapper, Hal Jordan aka Green Lantern arrives to confront the kidnapper, and saves the woman when she is dropped from above. Green Lantern then attacks the kidnapper, revealing itself to be a monstrous Parademon, and just as he is about to get crushed, Batman appears and grabs the Parademon from one rooftop to another, demanding answers as to what it was doing at the docks. The Parademon attacks Batman, and it is now him who is saved by Green Lantern, who is surprised that the Batman exists. They escape from the GCPD and chase the Parademon into the sewers, where it charges a Mother Box, and then it explodes. Batman and Green Lantern check the Box, and figuring it to be alien, decide to ask Superman in Metropolis if he knows anything. Another Mother Box is being studied at S.T.A.R. Labs, supplied by Barry Allen aka The Flash. Silas Stone, father of Vic Stone aka Cyborg, ignores going to his son’s football game so he can study the Box. At Vic’s college, he wins the game, but the victory, and the cheers of one fan, Billy Batson, doesn't change that his father is not there to see him. Arriving in Metropolis, Batman and Green Lantern end up fighting Superman, who has fought a Parademon previously, and confuses the heroes for working for it. The battle spreads over a portion of the city, but it finally stops when Batman calls Superman out with his real name, Clark Kent. Superman evens it by seeing that Batman is Bruce Wayne, and reveals to them that the Mother Box is alien but not Kryptonian. On the alien world, Apokolips, Darkseid orders Desaad to begin the invasion of Earth.

Vic arrives at S.T.A.R. Labs and has an argument with his father, who believes that football is a joke in a world that’s changing with the appearance of the superpowered humans. Princess Diana aka Wonder Woman arrives at the White House, where she is confronted by a mob protesting against her, but she ends it when she forces the man in charge with her Lasso of Truth to reveal that he feels powerful when he dresses up like her. Inside the Daily Planet, Superman, Batman, and Green Lantern figure that they might be facing an invasion, just as the Box activates and several Boom tubes open throughout the world, including S.T.A.R. Labs, where the energy explodes, fatally wounding and embedding the Box’ technology into Vic. Taking him to the “red room”, Silas loads Vic into a hi-tech medical bed, connecting his son with various technologies to save him. Countless number of Parademons start appearing out from the tubes, attacking cities and abducting more and more civilians. The Box’ technology ends up connected into Vic and the hi-tech bed, transforming the once human Vic into the cybernetic Cyborg. Just as the Flash arrives to save the scientists, Cyborg’s systems reveal details on Apokolips, Darkseid, and the invasion plan. At his foster home, Billy spots a Shazam. Air Force One gets attacked in the air, only to be saved by Wonder Woman,
and later Superman, whom both share an attraction when they meet each other. Soon, Batman and Green Lantern meet up with Flash, Wonder Woman, Superman, Shazam, and Cyborg. Cyborg reveals that the invasion is a set up to terraform the Earth. Just then, Darkseid arrives, and proves to be a powerful opponent who makes use of the heroes.
Parademon outside and turns into

Superman gets captured, and Batman stops Green Lantern from going to save him by unmasking and revealing why he does what he does, and how unprepared he is to be in this situation. He convinces Green Lantern to help the team work together as he gets himself captured to save Superman. Green Lantern gets everyone together and they decide to distract Darkseid while they blind him from using his eyebeams. Batman arrives in Apokolips and stops Desaad from turning Superman into a Parademon, but Superman goes on a rampage that results in the death of Desaad. Back on Earth, through a tough fight, the team blinds Darkseid and Cyborg connects with the Mother Box to reopen the boom tubes to send Darkseid and the Parademons back to Apokolips. After the Parademons are gone, and Darkseid still remains, it takes the combined might of all the heroes, including the returned Superman and Batman, to force him into the boom tube before it closes. With the world saved, and the abducted civilians returned, the once feared and hated superheroes are honored at the White House. Grateful to have met each other just like themselves, but debating if they should be a team even if a similar threat happens again, the President asks if they have a name for their group. The heroes groan when Shazam suggests the “Super 7”.

In a post credits scene; an Atlantean ship emerges from the ocean and Ocean Master appears carrying a dead body, said to be his King. Seeing the corpses of various sea life affected from Darkseid’s attack; he swears that it is an act of war, and the surface-dwellers will pay.

The Verdict: 

(Whistles) Where to begin on this?

After seeing the Justice League: Flashpoint Paradox direct-to-video DC Animated feature in 2013, I had high expectations for this film. Then I saw the teaser trailers and lost some of my enthusiasm from the voices used here. Thank goodness that those voices were slightly changed in the retail version of this feature film. If you don't know what I'm talking about, look up the debut trailers for this film and listen to Steve Blum's samples as Darkseid. I'm glad they did some enhancements to his voice that it doesn't sound like the same cookie-cutter villain voice he uses for every other animated cartoon or anime that isn't Orochimaru (Naruto), The Green Goblin, any modern-day Transformers villain, or Vilgax (Ben 10). Blum's Darkseid isn't as good as Michael Ironside's Darkseid, but really, who is that good?

For the most part, I enjoyed how this film went the route of Flashpoint Paradox, and established from the start that this isn't going to be campy adventure, unlike the JLA Adventures: Trapped in Time DC Animated feature. Don't worry, I'm going to cover that film with a review shortly as well. This film is an adventure to be enjoyed by older audiences with its mature content. For example, Superman and Wonder Woman don't hesitate at all to decapitate their adversaries and that goes double for Cyborg, Green Lantern, and Shazam atomizing foes as well. At times, it comes off a bit excessive when Batman doesn't hesitate to kill these foes after Cyborg reveals that the Parademons are victims to what Darkseid and Desaad have transformed them into. On the other hand, I could let that slide as the action doesn't let up at all in this film.

The fight with Darkseid was impressive from start to finish. It went from a heavily one-sided affair from the start to a believable team effort in its final moments, where the League literally had to throw everything and the kitchen sink to get him through that last boom tube at Darkseid, who was still a more than a challenge for the League after being blinded. Speaking of that moment, someone needs to ask Batman where did he get more grenades/Batarangs from after he attached his utility belt to Darkseid's chest in a Hail Mary play? What did he do, pull out his emergency Batarangs that are shoved up his ass?

If anything I could be nit-picky about is Green Lantern's wisecracks and sorry attempts for jokes. I don't know about anyone else but I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Darkseid beat the shit out of him for it. Hal, leave the jokes to The Flash. At least, he can get away with it. At least when Shazam was making jokes and being a hotshot, we could all point that towards his obvious immaturity. I had to laugh a bit at the oh-so subtle nod towards Superman and Wonder Woman's possible romance that is the norm in DC Comics' rebooted New 52 comic book continuity. It was even more obvious at the end of the film where both Steve Trevor and Lois Lane are standing there in the background, watching it happen. Another thing that I could be nit-picky about is the fact that Batman walks away from this fight without any scratches or bruises, whereas Green Lantern has his arm broken like a twig. I know everyone loves Batman, but in a situation like this, it would hit the point home more if even mere mortals weren't spared from getting hurt. Batman was even walking around just fine after getting tossed around by Superman earlier in the film. Come on, there's only so much I can believe Batman can walk away from - no matter how much I like him as a comic book character. All I ask is that these films don't get as outlandish as the comic books have gotten with Batman to the point that they are afraid to even harm him in anyway. You want proof, go read how Batman "survived" being rendered to ash by Darkseid's Omega Effect in the comics...

For those wondering about the point of the film where Shazam blurting out the name of their team as the "Super 7" and everyone facepalms, it is a clever jab at Marvel Comics' upcoming Mighty 7 animated series.

I had a blast watching this film from start to finish. To say that this was DC Comics and Warner Bros.' first DC Animated features to hit DVD and Blu-ray in 2014, they are definitely off to great start. With the teaser during the end credits, it's a clear sign that there will be a sequel to this film. If it's anywhere as good as this film, then keep 'em coming, DC. I happily give Justice League: WAR a 9 out of 10. 

The Chronicles of a Fed-Head: Unscripted -- VOLUME 1: Coulda, Shoulda, Woulda... How About Never?

While I'm not proud of all of these stories listed here, I do hope you guys
get good laugh out of it...

Ever since I did the original series of The Chronicles of a Fed-Head, I have had several former members of my past (and current) federations ask me if there were any stories that I would like to share with the masses that weren't detailed in The Rise & Fall of ZXWWF memoir. Due to popular request, here we are with another venture into my tales of my e-federation exploits. Sadly, this chapter won't focus on the negatives of my e-fedding ventures for once. Instead, this chapter will reveal some storylines, angles, and segments that I originally scheduled to do but cancelled or cut the cord on prematurely before they came to reality.

Since we have a lot of new followers to Let's Talk Wrestling, let me warn you guys now. Yes, I do talk about e-fedding on this blog. It's a healthy part of being a fan of professional wrestling, so I don't see anything wrong with discussing it on this blog. Football and basketball fans have their fantasy leagues, wrestling fans have e-feds. Get over it. If you don't want to hear about my e-fedding exploits, then leave now.

Now that's over with, let's get onto the show then, shall we?

VOLUME 1: Coulda, Shoulda, Woulda... How About Never?

Note: Sadly, this edition will not have continued lessons as I'm sure someone is going to take up some of these ideas and make them their own anyway.

Even King Bookah didn't approve of
this storyline... LMFAO

King Trey's Coronation Dinner

This was an idea that T-Bone and I immediately trashed after we randomly cooked it up. For those who don't know, King Trey was T-Bone's short-lived gimmick after winning the King of the Ring Tournament in ZXWWF. It was clear rip-off of the King Booker gimmick as T-Bone had Queen Emily at his side to mock Queen Sharmell.

After winning the KOTR tournament, the following show of ZXWWF programming was going to have a coronation ceremony where King Trey is crowned and ended with a dinner. It wouldn't be a regular dinner, it would be like how Prince served Charlie Murphy and his flunkies pancakes on that one skit of The Chappelle's Show. In this version, King Trey and Queen Emily would be treating all of the losers in the King of the Ring Tournament to a feast to celebrate King Trey's win. Wrestlers would be trying to go and get second helpings and Queen Emily would slap submissions onto those who tried, while King Trey would applaud the spectacle. Eventually, the other wrestlers would get fed up and it would erupt into a brawl, but King Trey's Knights of the Round (obvious Final Fantasy VII reference...), consisting of former WWF King of the Ring winners across history, beating the shit out of everyone in a promptly manner before finishing those fallen wrestlers' plates.

Sounds hilarious, right? We were laughing too hard cooking it up to even write the segment and get it into the show on time.

Female Gimmicks That Never Quite Made It

"Lady D" Ashley - This character was based off of another real life friend of mine. To our displeasure, Ashley Massaro debuted in WWE at the same time we cooked up this character with almost the exact same look and attitude. In the WWF themed games, I kept with the same look but gave her a John Cena-like moveset and in ZXWWF's humble beginnings, I booked her as the rookie diva who was the underdog and always found a way to rise above the competition. As more actual female roleplayers joined my e-federation at the time, she was one of many of my original wrestlers that I dropped just to give more spotlight to the other members to have a chance. To be honest, I would love to revisit this character in another e-federation or revamp her in one of the newer WWE video games.

Concubine - An Asian high-flyer based off one of my real life friend's girlfriend at the time. Hey, don't look at me like that... She's the one who named the character, I didn't. It just stuck. I haven't honestly thought of anything better over the last eight years. She originally started out to be hybrid of both Tajiri and Gail Kim, but quickly was scrapped due to the influx of numerous female wrestlers in ZXWWF at the time. One thing I wanted to do with her is do a Memoir of a Geisha-type storyline with her and another Superstar, but of course, no one was willing to do something of that fashion at the time. Much like Ashley, if I were to revisit this character in another e-federation, I would totally revamp her with a heavily inspired moveset from Joshi-style wrestling.

What hot-blooded male DIDN'T love this entrance?

Asuka & Bambi - Another collaboration from Cheeka and myself during our tenure on the VWA roster, ZXWWF's developmental territory. This was pretty much a female version of Jesse and Festus with a hilarious twist. Asuka played the part of Jesse, but she was an otaku who would always be more into her Japanese anime or reading the newest mangas than caring about their upcoming matches while Bambi was shy and timid until she heard the ringing of a bell. After her "transformation" - signaled by a moan of arousal and ripping her jacket open like Candice Michelle's ring entrance to expose a more revealing ring attire underneath - was uninhibited and acted much like a hybrid of Candice Michelle and ODB, since she used a lot of their mannerisms in matches.

For even more comedy to this pairing, Curryman was dating Bambi. If it was such a hit then why did we scrap the concept? Cheeka and I got really caught up into our joint-storyline that was the peak point of interest in ZXWWF at the time and we didn't want to sell people short on half-assing this gimmick if we tried to keep it going. We had fun with it while it lasted, but Asuka and Bambi quietly disappeared from VWA and ZXWWF entirely after the next few following weeks of their debut.

For your enjoyment I happened to find a few of these segments from the ZXWWF archives that Cheeka and I wrote together back in those days.

_______________________________________________________________________________
Curryman runs into Bambi and Asuka's dressing room, panicking. 
Curryman: "Why you sit? We hava match up next!"
Asuka: "Umm, no. They changed it. Apparently, a submission match between Ivory and Milyna Max is more important. Don't get me wrong - I enjoy seeing the vets in action, but we don't get any love around her." 
Curryman: "Maybe you two need to be more delicious, yes?"
Bambi shyly hides behind her manga comic while Asuka attempts to take it from her as she's already finished reading her own. 
Asuka (pouting): "Fine, be that way. I got something delicious for you Curryman." 
Asuka rings the bell that she conveniently keeps around to "spice" up Bambi from time to time. Bambi releases a sensual yawn and tosses her comic into Asuka's lap as she looks at Curryman dreamily. 
Curryman: "No, no, no! Bell bring Hornzilla! We must hide!" 
Bambi (licking her lips as she mocks Curryman): "Maybe after I show you how delicious I am, yes?" 
Curryman begins to dance until Bambi tackles him down behind the couch as Asuka shakes her head and reads the comic.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Curryman walks into Asuka and Bambi's locker room to see if they were ready for tonight's main event. Bambi shyly dashes into the bathroom to finish dressing. 
Curryman | Hot & Spicy"Mrs. Bam-Bam no ready? I ring bell now? Match sez next." 
Asuka doesn't look up from her construction of her Master Grade Gundam Model of Char's custom Zaku-IIS, but answers Curryman nonetheless.
Asuka | Cute, Asian Otaku"Bambi's always late for things. But I suppose I could speed things up." 

Asuka rings a nearby bell as Curryman stands outside of the bathroom. Bambi snatches him to join her in the bathroom after purring into his ear. The door slams behind them as sounds of struggle followed by sensual moans come from the room. Those sounds don't stop Asuka's progress until finally there's silence. 
Asuka looks up from her constructing her Gundam model out of curosity and goes to knock on the door to see if everything is alright. 
Curryman | Hot & Spicy"Konichiwa!!" 
Curryman kicks open the door, heading towards the ring with a huge smile on his face. Bambi follows behind fanning her flushed face as sweat drips from brow and hair. 
Bambi | Ring-Bell Babe "What a work out..."

In all seriousness, with the suits and how they carried themselves,
the real MEMwere a sermon away from being a ministry anyway.

The Main Event Ministry

For those who know me personally, it is a common fact that a lot of my early original wrestlers that I used in e-federations were loosely based off my real life friends and acquaintances, but extreme versions of their personalities or in other cases, twisted polar opposites of their real life personas.

My close friend from college who I loosely based Scary (now dubbed Sensational) Mary off of, was a Catholic school girl, so T-Bone and I had the crazy idea to cook up a church-themed stable in the style of Total Non-Stop Action's own Main Event Mafia faction to have her be a part of.

Enter the Main Event Ministry, consisting of the following:

Deacon Dequan - The same Dequan who is the kayfabe brother of G-Money as part of the Unholy Alliance stable from me and T-Bone's shared WWE Universe over the last decade and a half. Dequan is essentially Monty Brown, Rhyno, Farooq, Devon Dudley, and Bobby Lashley rolled into one guy. Along with G-Money, he is a multiple-time Tag Team Champion, and has had singles competition victories, holding the Intercontinental and Hardcore Championships in ZXWWF.

Bishop Gregg (G-Money) - Much like Dequan, G-Money has always been a thorn in ZX and T-Bone's side over the years of our Universe. He dominated the earlier years of ZXWWF, winning the ZXWWF and World Heavyweight Championships on multiple occasions. Throw Mark Henry, Brock Lesnar, Hernandez, and almost any powerhouse wrestler into a blender, you get this guy. He would be the bouncer at the bottom of the entrance ramp, acting as a bouncer to MEM's religious services. T-Bone and I cooked up the names of Gregg and Dequan's tag team finishers, The Revival (Cade & Murdoch's Sweet & Sour finisher) and Tithes and Offerings (Avalanche Assisted-Turnbuckle Tombstone). We were laughing as hard as you are right now reading that.

Sister Mary (Scary Mary) - Scary Mary, who is currently going as Sensational Mary, is renown in ZXWWF for ending the tyranny of Litablaze. We were planning on making her like a bad ass nun, much like the protagonist of Warrior Nun Areala or maybe like The Sister from Machete. Think of her as a more sinister take on Ivory's role in the Right to Censor faction.

Pastor Darrius (D-Mob) - In ZXWWF, D-Mob aka Darrius Lewis from the Def Jam Vendetta and Def Jam: Fight for New York games served as the e-federation's kayfabe owner until ZX owned up to being the legit owner close to the federation's closure. Paster Darrius would "inspire" the masses with the spoken word of the Lord and Savior as a figure much like a wicked combination of "Straight-Edge Savior" CM Punk and The Wyatt Family's Bray Wyatt.

One more detail... the Main Event Ministry would be accompanied to the arena by the musical musings of Unholy Union Mass Choir. (Laughs) We scrapped this idea as we knew were going to be burning in Hell with gasoline underwear on by the time we finished our first run with this stable.

Psycho Sagus Ends The Streak

And inside joke between my friends and I was that every year around WrestleMania time was when ZXWWF's resident jobber is hunted down and beaten to pulp to by one of my (so-called) original wrestlers, "The Undead Phenom" Nemesis. This went on for about 7 years in a row. True story - I originally made Nemesis in WWF Smackdown! 2: Know Your Role on PSone, only for him to evolve into his own original entity and less inspired by the Resident Evil 3 character of the same name. By this point, he was more or less like The Undertaker than the Resident Evil series character of the same name.

As usual, T-Bone and I were brainstorming ideas for our characters when it was close to WrestleMania season and T-Bone cooked up the idea of "What if Psycho Sagus actually ended Nemesis' streak of wins against him at 'Mania?" We both laughed at the idea as we knew no one would buy it. Then of course, alcohol was involved and we cooked up an angle over the next few hours that never saw reality.

Every time Nemesis would hunt down Psycho Sagus and corner him, something bad would happen to Nemesis that would give Psycho Sagus a window to escape and flee until the next show. The jinxes would be completely random - backstage equipment falling on top of Nemesis, Nemesis randomly tripping up and staggering into the Divas' dressing rooms and getting slapped, someone hitting him with a car in the parking lot (he's supposed to be a zombie, so it's not like it's going to kill him...), or even Nemesis racing out to Psycho Sagus' car trying to beat him to the escape only for Sagus' car to blow up in his face... (like this...) Yeah when we wasted, what do you expect? At WrestleMania, Psycho Sagus would come out wearing every lucky charm you could think of - rabbit's feet, four leaf clovers, monkey's paws, horseshoes, etc. - all while eating a bowl of Lucky Charms cereal for the added effect. Nemesis beats the holy shit out of Psycho Sagus, despite that all of his allies come to his aid - including Big J, Junior J (Matt's masked luchador gimmick, who was Psycho Sagus' tag team partner in ZXWWF), and even "The Caucasian Bulldozer" Hugo (read the chapter on The Rise & Fall of ZXWWF for the full backstory on this character... it's still funny to me, dammit) all failed to slow Nemesis down. Psycho Sagus raced throughout the arena on the run and made his way to the parking lot. He managed to trap his pursuer inside a limousine before fleeing to safety. Just as Nemesis was about to kick open the door, Sagus rams into the limo with a stolen car and bails at the last second. Both cars explode as Sagus limps away from the wreckage, celebrating prematurely. Sagus spun around into a pending Clothesline from Hell from Nemesis, who was covered in blood from head to toe. Nemesis falls to the ground and passes out from the shock of his injuries. Junior J races to the scene and drags Sagus on top of Nemesis to steal the win in the fashion of Shane McMahon (Simba) versus The Big Show.

We ended up scrapping that idea as if memory serves me right, Emily ended up being the first and only woman to challenge Nemesis' "streak" but lost, only for "The Hardcore Superman" Shawn Damian to beat Nemesis the following year in a brutal hardcore match, thanks to a well-placed assisted from Psycho Sagus, so at least he did contribute to the end of the streak. Nemesis ended up showing his gratitude by delivering a Clothesline from Hell on Sagus out of the wheelchair he was sitting in to nurse his piling injuries.

T-Bone's Retirement

I'm going to repeat this ENTIRE crazy idea my best friend, T-Bone, cooked up for his own character's retirement, word by word verbatim. So, T-Bone, if you're reading this entry and I left out any details, please add them in the comments please.

It starts with the announcement of T-Bone being inducted into the ZXWWF Hall of Fame. T-Bone's long-time rival, Dequan, isn't hearing any of this as he doesn't believe T-Bone to be HOF worthy until they finally settle their decade-long rivalry. T-Bone wasn't having any of Dequan's idle threats and just ignored him over the weeks leading up to 'Mania, despite the constant assaults to T-Bone. Eventually, things come to a head when T-Bone and his recently announced fiance, Emily, were making a public appearance to hype the event, Dequan comes out of the paparazzi and takes out Emily with The Gore. This ends up being the straw that breaks the camel's back as Emily narrowly missed having a miscarriage, no thanks to Dequan's attack. T-Bone finally agrees to settle this for good with Dequan at 'Mania in a match they have originated, called "The Gore Match". Yes, that's what it was called. The Gore Match. Go ahead and pour yourself a few shots because it's going to get even weirder from here.

The rules of The Gore Match is as follows:

1. It is treated like a traditional Ironman Match 
2. No pinfalls nor submissions can win the contest. 
3. Points are only acquired from landing a successful Gore finisher on your opponent. 
4. The winner of match is the Superstar who hits the most number of The Gores in the time limit. 
5. All interference is banned and will be fired on the spot. Both Superstars' allies have agreed to take no part in this match in any way whatsoever.

Before 'Mania even begins, T-Bone sees Emily in the hospital and promises that he's going to end this with Dequan or die trying. ZX catches up with him before the match and asks him if this is really what he wants to do. T-Bone merely states that he's putting his life, his career, and his legacy on the line tonight, stating that if he doesn't win then there's no reason to go back to Emily and their baby that's on the way. ZX says, "It's your funeral, man."

We finally get to the match. It goes on for over an hour and half of The Gore being attempted by both Superstars, but neither managing to hit it successfully, so it goes into sudden death overtime. Yes, you read that right - a HOUR AND A HALF. This was the point were I was in tears laughing from the absurdity of this match. The Pay-Per-View is in overtime past midnight and people in the audience are starting to leave getting fed up of this stalemate. In the ring, both T-Bone and Dequan are both showing signs of fatigue as the referee has given up on signalling them to take this match "home" with a finish. Dequan goes for the kill with The Gore and T-Bone answers by elevating Dequan into the air and hitting a RKO. Knowing that's not going to close out this match, T-Bone hits the ropes rebounding back and forth like he's going for The People's Elbow. Dequan quits playing possum and kips up with a final Gore. T-Bone leapfrogs over it at the last second and hits the ropes once more. The ropes snap from the sheer force of the impact of how hard T-Bone rebounds from them and propels himself forward towards Dequan, who spun around right into T-Bone's own Gore. T-Bone hits Dequan with so much impact that both Superstars throw up as they laid on the canvas from the sheer brutality of the blow. So the match ends with both Superstars unconscious in puddles of their own vomit as pretty much most of the live audience has left and doesn't even care at this point.

One spot T-Bone didn't want to use that I cooked up for the finish was Dequan jumping off the turnbuckle and Goring T-Bone through the canvas. (Shrugs) Oh well. It's his retirement story after all. (Laughs). I ain't even mad about it.

So yeah... This match wasn't used for obvious reasons, namely for the outlandish nature of this match.

Rumor Mill: ZX, Justice, and Cheeka reportedly seen leaving from the same hotel

I'm sure both Justice and Cheeka can tell this story better than me, but during the point that I took Cheeka underneath my wing. Cheeka's heel turn got to the point where it landed her into the most powerful role (kayfabe-wise) in ZXWWF, as she was manipulating an amnesic as his fiance. Justice, being the woman that she is (in character anyway...), wasn't going to allow Cheeka have all of that fun to herself. This was an elaborate rumor that we cooked up on the short-lived Rumor Mill boards on the old ZXWWF forums, that had many members questioning and wondering if it were a reality from the way we egged it on for a while.

Team Madness is still my favorite stable of all-time. Only Savage
knew how to assemble of team of the hottest and most lethal
women in wrestling at his side. 

The truth of the matter is, NOTHING happened. We were going to do an angle where we all came together as a heel faction... Boy, that didn't sound right at all... (Laughs) Anywho... Cheeka crashed to the stress of pressure of delivering on such a big angle. One thing led to another and we never got it off the ground. Cheeka, if you're reading this I'm not upset about that anymore. I put WAY too much pressure on you to deliver there. It's my fault just as much as yours for blowing it there.

To this date, Justice and I still joke about it being a reality as Justice claims that she doesn't share her food with anyone else. I beg to differ as if it were up to me, it would have been like "Macho Man" Randy Savage's trio of lovely ladies back in WCW - "Miss Madness '94" (Mona/Molly Holly), Madusa, and Gorgeous George. A guy can dream, can't he? Who knows, Justice and Cheeka might change their tunes sooner more than later.

CM Punk vs. Morgan Davis' "Colorful" Verbal Dispute

In my current federation, GZWA, I have been playing as CM Punk, who pretty much acts like a smart ass to each and every situation. So when he came head-to-head with the woman who literally is the "Mouth of the South" when it comes belittling other Superstars and Divas on the roster, it was going to get interesting.

The story to this point was that CM Punk was coming out to defend himself as Morgan Davis made a public spectacle of him and the rest of the Straight-Edge Society in her popularized "Hot Ass Mess of the Moment" segment, where she selects an individual (or a group of individuals) and reveals some not so flattering information about that person(s).

Even at his worst, I couldn't portray CM Punk as a racist
with my roleplays...

Here's where it gets ugly. CM Punk and Morgan Davis were to trade snide remarks as planned but as when Morgan Davis' handler and myself were collaborating and writing this segment together through the magic of Google Documents, it came down to this line that CM Punk stated to retort to one of Morgan's sassy remarks.

"I wasn't aware that they let you off the plantation... Toby."

Yes, Morgan Davis is an African-American character and I, the writer of this blog who was handling CM Punk at the time, am black as well. Truth be told, Morgan's handler and I burst out laughing as we thought it was hilarious. Immediately, we went to Facebook and various IM outlets and gauged a few friends' reactions to mixed results. Yeah, it's one of those things like going too far in one of those skits in Chappelle's Show, where you mean to be funny but you don't want to come off sounding insanely racist either. Being the forum administrator and head cheese of my federation, I didn't want to make it look like it was acceptable to do this kind of thing on a regular basis so we scrapped that line and how worse the segment turned out after that line out completely. Trust me, the version we went with was a LOT more tame than that the original version that we trashed.


That's enough for now, true believers. I hope you guys have enjoy the read. Those of you who have been in e-federations with me have some of your own, feel free to share in the comments.

My Wrestling Wishlist For 2014

Happy New Year to my followers here on Let's Talk Wrestling. I know it's been well over a month since I've posted an article here, but it was the holidays so cut me a little slack on getting caught up into the festivities and time to unwind and relax. Besides, if I'm perfectly honest, those episodes of weekly scheduled WWE and Impact Wrestling around the holidays were almost torture to watch since the bulk of them were taped shows, so don't expect a This Month In Wrestling write-up for the month of December. At the rate that WWE is going with building to Royal Rumble and how TNA has split their Genesis free-PPV to two-separate shows, I'm pretty sure that I'm going to bundle January and February together for the double whammy write-ups on those.

2013 had some ups and downs when it comes to professional wrestling and while it would take multiple articles to cover the good, bad, and the ugly for all promotions, including international and the independent scene as a whole, I'm just going to provide my personal wishlist for 2014.

Daniel Bryan gets the babyface push that he has deserved since WWE Payback 2013

2013 ended with Daniel Bryan joining The Wyatt Family, only for him to revert back to being a babyface last week on Monday Night RAW. While the masses are wondering why WWE scrapped the storyline so soon, they really didn't have a choice at this stage. Daniel Bryan was still insanely over as a babyface, despite the fact that he was dressed as a janitor while posing as one of the Wyatts, and there was nothing WWE could do to convince audiences otherwise. WWE has spent the latter half of 2013 trying to bury Daniel Bryan but he cannot be ignored. WWE just need to give everyone what they want and to give him a strong push in the main event scene that we were denied after WWE Payback.

Sadly, with the reports of a concussion received during last Monday's Steel Cage main event, it seems like Daniel Bryan's legendary rise to the top will be postponed yet again.

SEVERAL midcarders need to break the glass ceiling - especially Kofi Kingston, Antonio Cesaro, Damien Sandow, and Dolph Ziggler.

After his wins against both WWE World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton and Alexander Rusev this week, it seems that Kofi Kingston is on the rise of a push. It really seems like odd timing for it around WrestleMania season, but I'm sure he's sick of being in the same position he has been in the company for over the last 7 years.

Antonio Cesaro has brought his Giant Swing theatrics into WWE over the course of 2013 and has wowed audiences around the WWE Universe with it. If that wasn't enough, he has had Match of the Year caliber matches with Sami Zayn on NXT and has found himself in contendership for the WWE Tag Team Championship with his partner, Jack Swagger, on multiple occasions. Why WWE continues to allow him to never win when it matters is a mystery. Even CM Punk is baffled on why this Superstar hasn't been pushed to the moon.

Damien Sandow looked to win the World Heavyweight Championship from a returning John Cena, but failed to capitalize on his Money in the Bank cash-in. What most of the IWC doesn't realize is that Cena didn't squash him in that loss. Cena clearly put Sandow over as a solid competitor to his championship. Sadly, WWE failed to allow Sandow to bounce back from this loss as he has been suffering the same fate as Dolph Ziggler - losing constantly as he is slowly being brushed underneath the rug.

Dolph Ziggler was on cloud nine for the beginning of 2013 as he feuded with his ex-girlfriend AJ Lee and former bodyguard, Big E Langston. Sadly after halfway into the summer, WWE decided that he wasn't able to draw, despite his continued support from the fans and started burying him left and right with a string of losses. We're already about three weeks into 2014 and Ziggler is already sidelined with another concussion injury that is expected to sideline him and force him to miss the Royal Rumble.

A little less focus on the past, and more focus on the present in terms of generating interest and excitement

Cool, Hulk Hogan and WWE have come to an agreement. If we have learned anything from TNA's dealings with Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff is that too many old has-beens in one company doesn't draw ratings, it kills ratings. I'm not against having Legends and former Superstars/Divas returning, but only if they want to help put over the next generation. All of this crap where Legends are trying to come back to relive their glory days should be kept to a minimum. That's why events like Old School RAW have little to no impact behind them because the Legends and former Superstars/Divas are always around anyway so it loses its significance.

AJ Lee loses the Divas Championship

It's the same experiment that needs to happen that proved CM Punk's worth after losing the gold to The Rock last year. Your true measure of success in this business is how popular you are without a title around your waist. Daniel Bryan and CM Punk have proven that without a shadow of a doubt. Will AJ Lee's bandwagon, yet delusional fans still continue to support her when she doesn't have the title or will they move onto the next best thing? It's do or die time, folks. She has already shattered Maryse's record as longest reigning Divas Champion of all-time after doing next to nothing for the last 6+ months. I want to see AJ get pushed to her limits and lose. Losing forces wrestlers to come back stronger and hungrier than before. Right now, it's clear that she's gotten comfortable and lazy with her ringwork.

With rumors of Emma and Paige heading to the main roster, it's clear that AJ Lee's days as champion are numbered. If she doesn't get dethroned by one of the Total Divas' cast members (preferably Naomi or Natalya), then it's a guarantee that she will be dethroned by one of those two.

WWE finds a consistent creative direction for BOTH WWE Tag Team and Divas Divisions

Without a shadow of a doubt, the Rhodes Brothers (Cody Rhodes and Goldust) have been pulling on five star matches in almost every contest that they have been involved in, but it's a damn shame that WWE has roughly 6 teams, but you would think they only have 2 with the way that the Rhodes Brothers have been constantly fighting just The Shield and The Real Americans for the last two months. Los Matadores have been almost completely absent shortly after their debut, Primetime Players' push has evaporated completely, The Wyatt Family is more concerned with the same formula that The Shield was doing since their 2012 debut than the tag titles, and The Usos are slowly picking up momentum. I hope The Usos don't lose this momentum after picking up that impressive win against The Wyatt Family last week.

I have already expressed my concerns over the reigning Divas Champion above, but the sad part that many WWE Diva fans don't realize is that the reigning champion is a reflection of the division they reign over. So to the people who say the "other" Divas aren't on AJ Lee's level need to think about the following statement. Your beloved AJ Lee is merely a captain of a sinking ship, who is too full of herself to either order the evacuation or order the repairs to keep the ship afloat. WWE had a great storyline with Kaitlyn and AJ Lee last year. Why can't they do angles like this for the WWE Divas on a constant basis that lead to strong matches for everyone of the Divas involved?

Make me give a damn who is holding the Intercontinental and/or United States Championships

The United States Championship is reduced to merely keeping Dean Ambrose's pants up while The Shield's horny fangirls pray for the day when those same pants drop off for them... I know the guy is talented, but it's just a bit odd that he doesn't have to defend this title at all. Either get rid of it or have it unified with the Intercontinental Championship if they aren't going to do anything with it.

Big E Langston has recently won the Intercontinental Championship from Curtis Axel - which was long overdue. Axel fell off the radar almost immediately after Heyman's feud with Punk fizzled out. Big E Langston needs an opponent (or many) to push him to the next level and make people care about this championship again. If I were to suggest anyone, it would easily be Mark Henry, but he is currently sidelined with yet another injury. That's why The Big Show is taking his spot in the upcoming match against Brock Lesnar at Royal Rumble. 

John Cena Challenges The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXX and Ends The Streak

I know the bulk of the IWC will fume with rage at this entry on my wishlist. 

I don't care about The Undertaker's streak at this point. It has completely taken over what WrestleMania is about over the last 5+ years. Why does everyone want Sting to come back and challenge The Streak at this stage is complete mystery to me as that would be a bigger insult to those who have challenged it in the past, especially those like Kane, Triple H, and Shawn Michaels, who have failed to end it on multiple occasions. If Brock Lesnar challenges The Streak, then you can guarantee without a shadow of a doubt that will be The Undertaker's last match, due to how stiff Lesnar works since his return from his UFC career. The Undertaker losing to a part-timer or returning has-been would be yet another spit in the face of the current generation of WWE Superstars, showing that there's no hope for the future. 

On a lot of levels, it HAS to be John Cena who finally puts him down. John Cena is this generation's Hulk Hogan and face of the current WWE product. It would symbolically pass the torch and finally close the book on the "End of an Era" that was supposed to end after Triple H vs. The Undertaker at WrestleMania XXVIII.  

Sting to induct The Ultimate Warrior into Hall of Fame Class of 2014

It would be more than appropriate to have The Ultimate Warrior's friend that he entered the business with induct him into the Hall of Fame. Much like how Impact Wrestling allowed Ric Flair to come to WWE for a Hall of Fame ceremony while he was still under contract and WWE did the same when Christian returned to TNA to do the same for a segment, it would continue to show the IWC that both WWE and TNA don't have any ill will and wish to pay tribute to the "Creme of the Crop"... Speaking of the creme...

"Macho Man" Randy Savage to be inducted into Hall of Fame Class of 2014

I know that Savage himself didn't want to be inducted unless the Poffo family were inducted into the Hall of Fame together as a group, but if WWE can erase their bad blood with The Ultimate Warrior then now is the time to do with the memory of Randy Savage. 

No Celebrity Involved in any Bullshit Matches at WrestleMania XXX

No Maria Menounos, no Snooki, no Floyd "Money" Mayweather... and while we're at it, get a musical guest that people actually like instead of one that's going to be booed out of the building by wrestling fans.

All of the remaining WWE Divas are added to the cast of Total Divas

I know this isn't going to happen but it's wishful thinking. My main desire for wanting this to occur is that it would shut up all of the people who act like they don't want to lower themselves to watch reality television. HELLO! YOU ARE WATCHING A WRESTLING SHOW! Get the fuck over yourself. Professional wrestling is just as much as a work as reality TV is. Hell, without wrestling there wouldn't be reality TV. Sheesh, you would think people would understand this by now. Additionally, I would like to see all of the Divas on this show for more exposure. We barely know the current crop of WWE Divas as it is and it would be a great outlet to learn more about the newer Divas on a personal level. If Total Divas hasn't done anything else, it has given that entire cast of girls on that show a personality and character that they were not allowed to share with the WWE Universe otherwise. Excuse me if I don't have time to sit back, study and worship every single one of the WWE roster's interviews on WWE app or follow them on Twitter. If some Divas don't feel like doing a full-time commitment to the show, they can do some on and off appearances and leave the full-time commitments to the bulk of the cast from the original season.

The Divas Championship to be defended at WrestleMania XXX

I know WWE hasn't recovered from that travesty that was Melina vs. Ashley Massaro at WrestleMania XXIII, but it's about time that the Divas Championship be represented in some fashion at the grandest stage of them all. The current crop of WWE Divas deserve a platform to perform after using last year's spot as a work (read: staged drama) for Total Divas.

If it were up to me, I would like to see a Divas Champion vs. NXT Women's Champion match between the two reigning champions at the time with all of the WWE Divas and NXT Divas at ringside as lumberjills.

Better Finishers on NXT

I know this is a bit much to ask, but I'm starting to feel like we're in the '70s and '80s of WWF where wrestlers' finishers on NXT are normal moves. For example, take "The Bulgarian Brute" Alexander Rusev's finisher. It's a regular Camel Clutch. I would like to think that WWE has evolved past the point that almost every international heel Superstar has this move as a finisher. Then take Tyler Breeze. His finisher, the Beauty Shot,  is a running spinning wheel kick. Candice Michelle used that briefly as a finisher before adopting Christian's Unprettier as her Candy Wrapper finisher. Seeing Breeze face Neville this past week on NXT was a bit underwhelming when he doesn't have a "flashy" finisher to go for. We can't forget CJ Parker who has a freakin' high five to the face, which for the most part I'm guessing is a poor man's Shotei, or Leo Kruger who has the good ol' fashioned Arn Anderson spinebuster that both Robert Roode and Triple H have been using as signatures for the last few years. For a big guy, you would think someone like Alexander Rusev would have something more devastating. That Samoan Drop he did on Kofi Kingston a few weeks back was a good start, but c'mon I would like to see some more imagination go into finishers for people on the NXT roster that sets them apart from the rest of the WWE roster. Hell, even The Great Khali barely pulls out that stupid karate chop and cranium crush as finishers anymore, so that tells you something.

Paige had the right idea initially with the Cradle DDT before they changed the RamPaige to the Paige Turner that she currently uses. I don't have a problem with Adrian Neville's Red Arrow as no one else can do that and it definitely sets him apart from the rest of the high flyers in WWE.

Sami Zayn and Leo Kruger to move to the main WWE roster

With talks already buzzing about Paige, Lana, and Alexander Rusev moving to the main roster after Emma's debut in the crowds of both Monday Night RAW and Friday Night Smackdown!, I can't help but wonder how long WWE is going to keep holding these two phenomenal talents on NXT.

Sami Zayn could possibly overshadow Daniel Bryan's career if they push him too fast to the main roster, but I fear that they cannot contain him in NXT beyond this year. As for Leo Kruger, I would rather see him as a Heyman Guy than Curtis Axel and Ryback.

Find a direction for the NXT Tag Team Division

As it stands, the tag team division consists only of The Ascension after The Wyatt Family moved to the main roster and the team of Graves and Neville split. You can't even call Camacho and Hunico a tag team when they are on the main roster most of the time. On top of that, everyone and their grandma knows that Hunico is the current Sin Cara (botch free).

TNA signs more women to the Knockouts division

Currently, the Knockouts division has been hit pretty hard with the departures of Mickie James and Tara, while Taryn Terrell is sidelined with her pending pregnancy. Madison Rayne has recently returned in a feud against Gail Kim while Lei'D Tapa has an on and off again rivalry with ODB. Velvet Sky and Brooke Tessmacher are around but aren't doing anything for the division. Velvet Sky is caught up in the middle of Chris Sabin and Austin Aries' feud in the X-Division and that's necessarily not a bad thing. It's good for the time being, but I want to see more faces in this division like it was when it first debuted.

There were a lot of welcome additions that would love to see grace the Knockouts division on a regular basis that were featured on the One Night Only PPVs over the past year, such as Ivelisse (who is currently part of SHINE's Valkyrie faction), Santana Garrett (who has had tryouts for both WWE and TNA over the past year, so it's just a matter of time before she is offered a contract), Candice LaRae (who was one of the indy girls who accepted Gail Kim's open challenge), and my personal favorite, Cheerleader Melissa/Alissa Flash (currently RWR Women's Champion and SHIMMER Champion).

Reinvigorate the X-Division

As of this writing, both Chris Sabin and Austin Aries have the spotlight on themselves with no one else seem to be stepping up. Kenny King hasn't been seen for week and it's up in the air if he's still with the company or not. I have heard nothing but good things about Rockstar Spud from my friends in the UK, so I want to see this for myself. I wouldn't mind him working the X-Division part-time when he's not doing Dixie Carter's grunt work.

Reinvigorate the TNA Tag Team Division

TNA capitalizing on WWE's mistake and signing the American Wolves from Ring of Honor was a wise decision and a step in the right direction. I really hope TNA doesn't plan on keeping the Tag Team titles on Bro Mans for a long time. You would think Bad Influence would have stepped up to dethrone them by now, seeing that they are the only tag team left at this point, other than Eric Young and Joseph Park. 

Push Samoa Joe as a main eventer again

This has been LONG overdue. I don't know why Samoa Joe has been reduced to chicken fodder to the bulk of the roster, but that needs to change in 2014. Fans need a reason to start chanting "Joe's Gonna Kill You" again.

End the Joseph Park/Abyss angle

Either bring Abyss back 100% or get the fuck out of here. We are well past the point of a payoff for the sheer stupidity and silliness of this angle. I get that we have to have the comedy relief with Eric Young, but I wouldn't mind seeing him, Abyss, and ODB go full heel and see where it goes.

One of TNA's biggest mistakes was completely dropping Eric Young's heel turn prior to Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff joined the company, then immediately reverting him back to a goofball. I think if him and ODB seriously took a heel turn and had the reawakened Abyss underneath their control, that would be a stable to be feared.

If Magnus truly is going to be the future of TNA, then he shouldn't have the entire locker room of Dixie's cronies to bail him out of potentially losing title matches

During the AJ Styles match, I could understand why that happened from a storyline perspective, but on the other hand, it was a bit of overkill. There was so much interference that Magnus wasn't even allowed an opportunity to show off what he could do in the ring or even could show off if he could hang with a talent like AJ Styles. Hell, he didn't even finish Styles off to win. Roode hit the finisher on Styles and laid him out on the canvas like a dinner plate just for Magnus to reap the rewards. TNA, this was the #1 thing people complained about Samoa Joe's title reign - tons of bullshit endings/finishes to title matches and he was rarely given the opportunity to show his worth as a champion outside of the the feud with Kurt Angle.

Ring of Honor obtains a mainstream audience with a consistent primetime TV slot

I live in the South Carolina area of the United States and I have recently found a consistent network which airs ROH TV regularly on weekends at midnight. Before that I had to constantly remind myself to find the archives online since one of my personal New Years' resolutions was to watch more ROH this year after slacking off over the last year and a half.

Decade needs a better direction with their goals than coming off as a mediocre replacement to S.C.U.M.

The Decade stable is an interesting concept, but it just comes off that guys like Jimmy Jacobs and BJ Whitmer are merely jealous that they haven't been offered opportunities outside of Ring of Honor and are made that people like AJ Styles and Chris Hero, come back looking to compete back in ROH again.

The Young Prospect Tournament needs more exposure

This is how you expose new potential talent to your roster, with a tournament to garner interest in these new faces. It's a shame that they aren't marketing this part of their program better when it's something new and fresh that neither WWE nor TNA are doing and could definitely set them apart to give weary viewers more reason to want to check them out.