Frustrated Incorporated.

Hey kids, Brian here. The ol' blog has kind of gone by the wayside as of late -- we have/had plans to expand this blog into a full-blown news site of our very own, but life has gotten in the way and it's not off the ground yet. But I have a little wrestling-related frustration to vent about, and with nowhere else to really put it, I figured I'd throw it here.

My problem, once again, is with WWE. And before we start, I'm just as frustrated at TNA these days, so it's not my TNA-bias at work. What it is, is an upcoming main event that's left me baffled. Next week, at one of the big 4 PPVs of the year, the company's biggest star is going to be the referee. Okay, I suppose I could live with that, he's still involved in the main event. But let's dissect this Barrett - Cena - Orton thing, shall we?

John Cena lost to Barrett, and was forced to join Nexus. Check. As a part of "being a member of Nexus," Cena has to do Barrett's bidding. A little bit of a stretch, as the others aren't nearly as subservient to him, but okay, check. Now Barrett has a title shot against Randy Orton, and Cena will be his referee. I don't know who gave Barrett the authority to name his own referees, but... okay, I'll bite. Check. Now, if Cena doesn't make 100% sure that Barrett leaves that match with the title, Cena will be guilty of "not following orders," which means he's not living up to his end of the deal as a member of Nexus, and he'll be subsequently fired.

HOLD UP.

Last time I checked, Wade Barrett was not the anonymous GM. Where in the blue hell did Barrett get the authority to not only name his own personal referee for a title match, but declare right out in front of God and everybody that that referee has to cheat for him? Why, in any realm of existence, would the GM stand idly by and watch something like "you will cheat for me, or you will be fired" and act like it's okay?

Furthermore -- in what realm of existence would John Cena have ANY reason to feel bad about screwing Randy Orton? Do we forget that Orton's the one who punted Cena Sr. in the SKULL? Tried to out-and-out MURDER his father?



Yes, yes we do.

So John Cena is supposed to choose between (A) cheating to help get the title from one person he's never gotten along with onto another, which will let him keep his job AND be free of his shackles with Nexus AND more than likely set up a Cena-Barrett title match sooner than later, or (B) uphold the honor and integrity of the WWE Title by sacrificing his entire career to keep it out of Barrett's hands (for now). And they're basing an entire Big 4 Pay-Per-View Main Event on this shit?

So in one company, you get this, and in another, you get another tired retread of the NWO, with Jeff Hardy carrying around a new belt that looks even worse than the Divas Title. Man, being a wrestling fan SUCKS right now.

- Brian

PS -- concerning "Old School Raw" tonight. WHY TONIGHT?! Tonight is the go-home show for said PPV. Putting this "old school Raw" on tonight means that one of two things is going to happen. One, an idea which COULD be completely and totally magical and emotional and flat-out awesome on so many levels will be compromised by sharing time with the storylines that lead into this PPV. Or two, the go-home show for the PPV will have nothing to do with the PPV. Couldn't they have found another night far away from PPV hype that could have been used to put on this show totally free from the normal canon? Le sigh. Old School Raw will either be really special, or really stupid. And basing it on the last couple years of WWE programming, I'm leaning towards the latter.

NXT Ratings Drop

WWE's burgeoning "rookie" show, NXT on SyFy, lost nearly 25% of its viewership this week. While last week's 1.73 rating spelled 1.7 million viewers, this week's show dropped to just under 1.3 million viewers, and a 1.0 rating. Surprising, because, really, who WOULDN'T want to see exciting young stars like Justin Gabriel and that one dude with the frizzy hair that CM Punk doesn't like and whoever the hell Carlito is mentoring and... that dude that's supposed to be Antonio Tarver's son even though Tarver would have had to have fathered him when he was 12... yeah......

In other news, TNA Impact had a slightly lower rating, but did pull in more viewers (1.36 mil compared to NXT's 1.298). BAH GAWD, TNA BEAT WWE!

Cause HE'S always relevant.

Please give me this again!


In an ultra-rare instance of the dirt sheets getting it wrong, Stone Cold will NOT be the final Raw guest host. March 22, Pete Rose has been tapped to take the reigns of the flagship on its road to Wrestlemania.

...Pete Rose? Really? I guess we're going for the Wrestlemania past, but... REALLY?! You couldn't get Lawrence Taylor, who was recently on Dancing With The Stars? Cyndi Lauper, who's on Celebrity Apprentice with *gasp* Maria, and has an ad campaign with Lady Gaga to raise AIDS awareness? No?

Pete Fucking Rose?

Sigh. Vincent K. McMahon, always with his finger on the pulse of modern pop culture.

The Mania Streak Is Over!

This post has nothing to do with Shawn, but everything to do with this poor old mark's heart breaking.


WWE have announced three more rebranded pay-per-views, and again, they're themed around specific match types. Backlash is now dead, with Extreme Rules being moved up to the April slot. WWE Wild Card (whatever the hell that is) is now set for May, followed by Fatal Four Way in June, and Money In The Bank in July (replacing "The Bash," which had already been robbed of its "Great American" status). By some small miracle, Summerslam has survived in August, along with Night of Champions in September and Hell in a Cell in October.

How long before we see Summerslam replaced with "WWE: One Fall To A Finish"?

Oh, and the Wrestlemania streak that ends? With MITB receiving its own show, Shelton Benjamin's annual Moment of Relevance will no longer be on the Grandest Stage Of Them All™.

False Advertising (Sort of)

Think, McFly, think!


There was a report last week of an Edge / Triple H / John Cena triple threat match billed as the main event for a live Raw show in Lubbock, Texas, in May. Word has now come that there IS no show scheduled for Lubbock in May. The commercial did indeed air, but it was a commercial from four years ago.

In other news... a WWE commercial from four years ago aired and NOBODY NOTICED THE DIFFERENCE. Isn't there something wrong with this picture?