A Million $ Push For Goldust

After a few weeks of teasing that someone wanted something from Ted DiBiase and Maryse, it was revealed that Goldust was behind all this. He does not want Maryse, as if he needed a new valet. He does not want Ted DiBiase, which would have been an interesting angle to pull off in PG WWE. He wants Ted's title belt.

When the whole tease started, the obvious choice the WWE was pushing was that someone wanted Maryse, especially after the small issues the two had after losing a match. I was expecting a swerve. However, my idea was that they may have a diva come into the picture who wanted Ted, and thus try to take Maryse's place by his side. A little Raw diva feud would have risen for Maryse. Why would the WWE do anything interesting with their divas? Stupid me! They still may pull together something with NXT, but this does seem to be for Goldust and DiBiase, thus far. I was surprised to see Goldust. It wasn't a bad surprise.

As is common when wanting to make sure people know you are not just doing blind love, let me just say that I have never even been a real Goldust fan. That is the truth. I still liked the segment. Goldust actually sounded like a serious threat, not like the joke he typically comes off as these past few years. It was like a rebirth.

Yes, it is only the Million Dollar Championship. Yes, he may likely job sooner or later, whether he wins the thing or not, to put over DiBiase. Yes, the WWE may even treat this as a bathroom break feud. But this is an example of something I find entertaining that does not have to be treated as a complete joke or only have value in match quality. Goldust actually seems credible. Both DiBiase and Goldust could benefit from this. WWE would be a lot better if they built more feuds and storylines like this. Then again, how long until they ruin it?

Thoughts On Smackdown's SyFy Debut Rating And On Raw

Smackdown last week got a pretty mediocre rating. 1.74? That is within the same area as the network ratings it was getting in the last few weeks.
Why do I find this rating especially interesting? Not just because it was hyped that it would be a live episode, but because they hyped that Cena and Nexus would be a part of the show, not to mention Undertaker. 1.74 is the best it can do? Is Cena not supposed to be the golden one? Is he not the top draw? I understand that people go out on Friday nights, but I was not expecting a rating as high as Raw gets anyway. Either Cena did not make a difference and ratings will stay this mediocre for weeks to come, until WWE tries something more interesting for Smackdown, or Cena did make a difference. If the latter is the case, ratings will drop now that Cena is no longer showing up. I do not believe Rey Mysterio will help that much, but at least they are hyping him. The WWE also sent Edge over to Smackdown. Once again, I doubt that will do too much more. The one situation I do not see happening is ratings going up tremendously from last week's episode. If the WWE's main man can only get a 1.74, I do not think the rest have much of a chance to do better without storyline improvement.
Speaking of Cena, tonight's Raw was his show. Daniel Bryan and Alicia Fox got killed off in short matches so more time could be spent on other things. It annoys me everytime they say that the WWE is all Cena has or ever had. WWE propaganda helps to make Cena what he is, what else can I say?
Let me go back a step, Cena lost to Wade Barret. John Cena must now be a part of Nexus. By an edict from the GM, he must also do whatever Barret says, or be fired. As I was saying last month, I am glad Cena must now join Nexus. It makes the Nexus angle more interesting. It adds credibility to the group, especially Barrett, who now gets a title shot against Randy Orton. Don't think for a second that this move does nothing for Cena. It makes him seem more "controversial" than he typically is. Everyone knows that whole bit is just an excuse created by the WWE to explain why Cena sometimes gets such noticeable hate. In any case, it gets people still talking about him. Instead of the usual odds placed before Cena to overcome, he is faced with a moral dilemma. As I said before, it is a dilemma that allows the WWE to talk about how good a man Cena is, adding propaganda upon propaganda for their centerpiece. Of course, a full heel turn may follow soon. If it does, all the propaganda would have pulled at the heart strings of most fans so much, the turn will work even better. If Cena does not turn fully heel, it was propaganda just for the sake of sprinkling sugar on honey.

Smackdown Goes Live!

So Smackdown made its big move, including a live episode that featured stars from both major brands. Much like Raw's 900th episode spectacular, I found this attempt to draw the fans right before Hell in a Cell to be pretty poor. If the brand split had ended months ago, most of the matches between Raw and Smackdown superstars tonight would have either been done a long time ago on either show or still not have that much added interest in it anyway. You would have been able to see them any old time. Would the return of Paul Bearer have been more epic if done on the live show? Would Natalya earning the title shot tonight have been a better diva draw? And how many times can Undertaker beat Punk with only so few months left in the year?

Considering that this show was hyped, including having Nexus and John Cena himself show up, I would expect ratings to be good. Much like Raw's 900th, however, I would be shocked if ratings did not drop as weeks went on. No more Cena on Smackdown. Fans tuned in to that Raw hoping to see something great and got crap. By my standards, that is what fans got on Smackdown too. I could be wrong. If fans actually liked that, ratings will continue in the area they get for tonight's show or get better.

Natalya's Big Chance?

This is one of those situations where the WWE's possible usual agenda may actually coincide with what may be good for the diva division, as well as make a few wrestling fans happy. Natalya won the battle royal on Raw to get a title shot. This is her first real title hunt in years. This will be her first since this face run started.

This is a fresh and credible choice to possibly win the title. Not only has she not been in the title hunt for a while, but she is an actual wrestler. That is why WWE hired her. Fans of straight wrestling will love to see her get the push. How many other choices are both credible and fresh? Smackdown has no healthy face divas with wrestling credibility. Beth Phoenix, who has not yet returned, is not fresh. Raw has a few women with wrestling credibility. Melina comes to mind, but they just used her as a tool to put McCool over already. Gail Kim is another, but the WWE does not seem to care about her at all. Eve has credibility through having been Diva's Champion before, but that is it. She would still be fresh to enter a title feud with LayCool, but it looks like the WWE wants to feed them the credible wrestlers first. That is how you build a Trish.

How does this coincide with the WWE's agenda? How often can Melina and Beth be the ones putting over McCool to become an 8-time Champion? Having McCool trade the title with low, crappy wrestlers will not be good for her either. Women like Natalya and Gail are the best options still in the WWE. AJ Lee will get her chance in a few months. Depending on how they push this feud between Natalya and McCool, they can use it to get McCool good heat again, as well as setting up another title reign for her.

Now for the negative stuff. First, Natalya is not very over. Pro wrestling is supposed to be about your own skill, talent and abilities entertaining the fans, not really winning titles. It is the former that really gets you over in most situations, not the latter. Would you rather not see Natalya get a fair chance to get over then? Or do you just want to see her get booked to have a title handed to her so it can eventually add another reign to the woman she took it from?

Second, just because I am talking in terms of her winning, that does not mean it must happen. Also, it does not mean that the WWE is really in love with her. Face it, Natalya is even bigger than Mickie James. If dirtsheets want to believe that looks really had something to do with Mickie James getting pushed/depushed and released, what chances does Natalya have of real proper treatment, whether during the title feud, title reign, or anything that may come after? In the end, this may just be the rise of Natalya as a fresh new face tool. Who do you think will get released next between Beth Phoenix and Melina?

Daniel Bryan Vs. Miz Vs. John Morrison

With no time left, the WWE did a rushed job to create a triple-threat feud on Raw this week, which then sets up the U.S. Championship match for Hell in a Cell. Daniel Bryan will defend against both Miz, the former Champion, and John Morrison, the face on the rise on Raw.

Why is John Morrison in this match again? I understand that Morrison and Miz used to be tag champs and feuded after that, but it had been months since they really went at each other. Daniel Bryan was the guy who really had issues with Miz right now. Morrison was in limbo. WWE obviously wanted to push him, but they had no legitimate plan or free, worthy opponent for him. If they wanted to do a submissions match, it could have easily have been just between Miz and Bryan. In any case, Daniel Bryan brings in Morrison to be his partner in the recent Raw match, the heels win, and the face team falls apart as both have issues with Miz that they want no one to get in the middle of, supposedly.

I am not complaining about Morrison finally finding himself in a match like this, just finding the development of it all funny. In this particular type of match, action can potentially spill anywhere. If you remember Morrison's match with Sheamus, that can be a very good thing for John Morrison.

Do I think John Morrison will win? Why end Daniel Bryan's reign so soon? That may make it even more poor than R-Truth U.S. Championship reign a few months ago. However, there are two good options for Morrison. Either he walks out with the title or walks out with a feud with Miz over that empty briefcase every World Champion fears so much. They could choose to have Miz cash it in on Sunday, dashing that plan to hell. What would be left for Morrison then? Heel turn followed by feud with Daniel Bryan? I would rather see Daniel Bryan feud with his old friends in Nexus. Something better really develop from this match on Sunday. They cannot push Morrison around randomly without a focus.

Am I talking too much about Morrison? Would you rather I talk about Barrett? Believe it or not, I am not a huge Morrison fan. I just think he would be a fresh option to push that fans can actually enjoy. Let me talk about the other two men in this match. I still am waiting for Daniel Bryan to do something to actually entertain me and earn the rating so many people give him. The most entertaining thing about this guy is the joke of a theme they gave him and Michael Cole's hate for him. Do I have to wait until Daniel Bryan turns heel to find him truly entertaining? I am not going to mark out because the guy reminds me of Chris Benoit. Being a good wrestler is one thing, especially when so many around you have mediocre talent, but a guy like CM Punk is someone I can respect as a good wrestler who also entertains, both in and out of the ring. This does not mean I want Daniel Bryan to lose the title. If he did, I would not care so much. And Miz? Miz really does not need to hold the midcard title and briefcase at the same time to seem credible before he officially rises into the main event. This guy has the character for it. He has the demeanor in the ring. The fact that he has a lackey even helps the facade more. I can buy that he is something of a heel leader. He holds victories over Cena, and not that fake stuff of calling Cena out and Cena not showing up. He may not be a Kurt Angle or Chris Benoit, but he can put on a believable performance with top guys. The WWE does not need to hold the midcard down by keeping the title near him anymore.

Paul Bearer Rises From The Dead

While Nexus seems to be losing steam on Raw for the time, the story between Kane and Undertaker really picked up recently. Paul Bearer, "father" of Kane and manager to Undertaker is back to support Undertaker.

For the worth of nostalgia, this is a great move. What's more, you are bringing back a guy with an actual gimmick and legacy in the WWE. There is entertainment value in that. It also adds a great new dimension in the storyline. Intrigue is back again. There was a bit of intrigue over who attacked Taker a few months ago, although most people guessed it was Kane. Now people can talk about what Paul Bearer will do in this feud. Will he turn on Taker eventually? Will Taker turn on him again? That would be funny.

One thing has to be admitted. None of this would have happened if Undertaker was not injured a few months ago. Jack Swagger (God, rest his main-event push) would have probably still been near the main event at this time, whether he lost the belt eventually to Taker or not. Kane would have probably still been a face jobber, putting over Cody Rhodes. Swagger definitely did get screwed, so I hope even more that the storyline does pay big in terms of entertainment.

Thoughts On AJ Lee And On The End Of The Women's Championship

I did not really want to talk about AJ Lee, or any other NXT diva, again until they were moved up to the main rosters. Every week, I still see people comparing AJ or some other diva to Mickie James. All the talk about AJ being there to replace Mickie is circulating around. If you ask me, that sounds like an interesting topic for discussion. Why should I just watch people compare AJ to Mickie James and not join in?

I am not going to start with comparing looks, charisma, wrestling ability, or any of that just yet, although I have been noticing a few things. I will wait until she wins NXT3 and is moved to a main brand. I am going to start with just talking about there starts in the WWE. If people actually think this woman can replace Mickie James, she has to have the ability to get over on her own. That being said, I see that AJ Lee has two advantages Mickie James did not even have when she had her debut angle in 2005. First, the internet was already high on AJ Lee before she really did anything in the WWE to earn it. Before the final period was put at the end of NXT2, fans had already voted AJ as the winner of NXT3. Mickie James had years in the indies before her debut too, but neither that nor internet pre-debut love for some other reason set her up to be what she became. Many women have wrestled outside of the WWE before debuting. Not all get AJ Lee's level of hype from the fans before they even do a thing in the WWE. If this woman was actually at the level in the ring of a Daniel Bryan or Kaval, I would probably still roll my eyes at having any of them shoved down my throat as I have seen from a lot of fans, but I would grant her the hype more easily. The second advantage that AJ has that Mickie did not is that AJ is being booked very well for her own sake on NXT. Correct me if I am wrong, but was AJ not booked in the first main event of NXT3? Was AJ not booked to WIN the first main event of NXT3? The WWE is doing that placement, not the fans or AJ's wrestling ability. I don't think Mickie James ever even won a main event on Heat, let alone a televised WWE program. The WWE is booking AJ special. She is on a show where she does not have to compete with any other top face diva, or any diva with more overness than her for that matter. Kaitlyn is a close second. She may pull off an upset to win this thing, but I have my doubts.

I did not compare talent or anything from the wrestler's end that gets them over. What I compared was booking and how fans view wrestlers before they officially debut. It is really the internet that will decide the winner of this. How will AJ do on one of the major shows? One thing is for sure, if the WWE has a heavy hand in building her and keeping her over before she is fed to McCool, and she loses much of her overness when she is moved back down, AJ Lee sure has not proven to be a Mickie James.

I also see a whole bunch of topics and videos about people complaining about the retirement of the Women's Championship. Maybe if I still wrote a diva blog, I would have been more eager to join in. But it seems like another interesting topic to talk about.

How do I feel about this villainous move from the WWE? I don't care. All I see is people talking about how the title was built on the backs of women like Moolah, Trish, Ivory, Mickie James, Lita, and others. I hear people say that Moolah must be rolling in her grave for what the WWE did. Really? I think Moolah had enough reason to roll in her grave if she saw the direction women's wrestling was heading in the WWE before LayCool even broke a belt in half. After everything I have seen in the last 12 years, all the downs and supposed ups, retiring the Women's Championship is not that big of an insult at all.

Why continue to drag two titles on? Smackdown's diva division is dead. Raw's diva division is not exactly full of women who could legitimately replace Moolah. Too many women do not have the credibility to deserve the title. Some still get it. Others never will, whether they develop the credibility and overness for it or not. Women who do get it might possibly be getting it to really just put over some other woman or build their own credibility before they job later. Look at what they did to Melina. I will not go off here, but her last title reign was even more pathetically booked than Mickie's run as Diva's Champion. And they pretty much screwed over a diva or two who was under Melina. Would you have rather they killed off the Diva's Championship? Two reasons why they would not. It is the newer of the two titles. Why kill it so fast? Moreover, and building off that first reason, it represents the direction the WWE wants to send their women's division. See the pretty butterfly?

Do not like the direction the WWE is going? There you have what I say the real insult is. You want to keep the legacy of great past divas alive? You do not do it by shoving around a title they were booked to have from person to person until you build enough credibility in one to make them a legend. You do it by showing proper respect to your female wrestlers and valets, rewarding those who can bring results properly, giving them ample time to work in and out of the ring, and actually allowing them to be sources of entertainment again, not sources of building credibility. It is boring. The past divas worked to give the fans a show. That is another way you keep the legacy alive. Stop caring so much for titles and more about entertaining the fans. That is what it is about. When Moolah looks down at the WWE, what she should be most proud to see is two female wrestlers ripping the arena to shreds and the crowd cheering in approval, whether a title is on the line or not. That is something she could have said she helped to inspire and build. Booking and titles should not get in the way of that. Sadly, it is.

To sum it up, screw the title. Your higher priorities should be seeing these women respected properly and demanding to see real entertainment from them that goes beyond laughing about how they provide a "bathroom break" and all that. In itself, the title really is not either respect nor entertainment.

Cena Or Nexus?

The next big thing for John Cena and his feud with Nexus is the match with Wade Barrett coming up at Hell in a Cell. If John Cena wins, Nexus is done. If Wade Barrett wins, Cena must join the group.

Do I want to see the Nexus angle end? I do not really care now. What made the angle so appealing months ago was the intrigue. Why were these guys doing this? Who was behind it? Who would be next? How far would they go? Pretty much all the answers have been lame. The group is pretty much doing it to make a statement and try to dominate on Raw. Is that supposed to be original? There is no mastermind behind, just Barrett himself. Their targets and attacks have become mediocre or expected. And how pathetic is it now that there are only five of them? The intrigue is gone and the whole thing recently has been just a cheap way to build Barrett up as a main-eventer. I will not even bring up how I feel about them saying the guy can have a PPV title shot, then have it wasted in a match with four other guys challenging Sheamus. These men can better be served by singles pushes or being sent back to FCW. I think Justin Gabriel has proved he can hold his own. Will Barrett fail without his backing? Probably, but they would have had to go there sooner or later. Worst case, just make him a comedy act like Sheamus.

Do I want to see Cena destroy another evil force in the WWE to look like a hero? He already went over Nexus at Summerslam. Why must it really rest on his shoulders to finish off the diluted group? Seven Raw men stood against Nexus back then. It would be even more if you count all the jobbers and other wrestlers who were eager to get rid of them. All these other men are now in hiding, leaving Cena to stand alone against what is now an overrated threat?

What do I want to see then? Have Cena lose. Not cleanly. No, why do that to Cena? Just have him join Nexus. Triple H will have to come back sooner or later. The face main-eventers would include him, Cena, and Orton. That is even assuming that no other faces get a fair build up to the main event. Jericho will be out for a while. Edge can enjoy his new home in the midcard. Sheamus should have probably stayed in the midcard if he had not gotten that push last year. If you really want to give Barrett credibility, and the stable as a whole, have them really conquer Cena. That will get people intrigued again. Will a heel turn follow for Cena? It need not. People may still tune in to see what would happen. While Cena is further involved in Nexus, Orton gets a fair run with the title, Triple H may return to feud with Sheamus, and someone like John Morrison may arrive and stay for a while.

Things have gotten stale again. Both John Cena and Nexus can use refreshing. I do not think you solve the problem by pushing Cena in the same stale direction. Although destroying Nexus and giving them singles runs is an option, that does not have to be the only answer to the problem either. Pushing Cena in a new direction in this whole feud with Nexus may be beneficial to both sides, as well as the WWE product.

New WWE Champion: Randy Orton

It looks like the steps to develop a new face of the WWE may be moving along. Randy Orton defeated everyone else in his way tonight to win the WWE Championship from Sheamus. I am between being shocked and having expected it. I would have been shocked if Edge won it. He's just a main-event heel jobber these days. I was expecting Sheamus to retain. But the WWE had been pumping Orton with momentum for weeks now. By my look, he has only lost momentum once in the weeks leading up to this match, and that was when Wade Barrett pinned him on Raw in an elimination tag match. Orton even went over Cena.

Long time ago, I asked how Orton and Cena could both coexist on Raw as faces. Now it is going to get interesting. Over the last few weeks, Cena has definitely been pushed down in favor of Orton. If this keeps up, it will not be just an issue of whether Cena is face of the company, but whether he stays face at all. Different meaning for "face" there, but the idea is there. How may heel Cena work out now?

Where Is Morrison Going?

John Morrison put on one of the most exciting performances on Raw from someone not names "Randy Orton" I have seen in a while. He lost a match to Sheamus. Had he won that match, he would have been inserted into Raw's main event this Sunday at Night of Champions. It was a Falls Count Anywhere match. That gave the two men a lot of freedom. I would even say it was the kind of match I would not expect in the PG era. Screw blood, you can still have a somewhat violent match without it. In the end, it was Chris Jericho who screwed Morrison out of the match. The ending was the only point that was weak. After all that was going on, it should have taken something more to put Morrison away. He was on fire.

Even his segment before the match was more entertaining than some of the matches tonight. I figured it was going to be a basic warm-up segment to advertise the match was next. Wow. I was not expecting that bit. I knew about Morrison's unique training and all that, but never expected to see it like that.

But where is Morrison going? He beat Chris Jericho and was getting the better of Sheamus. They have been investing in him. The fact that he can do his own share in making himself look good, unlike certain people, would make me classify him as a good investment. Have him feud in the midcard? He's been there too long already. However, if he is feuding over Miz's Money in the Bank, you may have a good feud for both. The main event is already stacked. There may not be room to have Morrison feud for the title now. He may end up just being used primarily as fodder now, although still getting such a feud will build him up well for the future. Whatever happens, I cannot imagine the WWE dropping the ball here. It would be too stupid.