Paul Bearer: The Ultimate Manager ‘Oh Yeah!’

2 weeks ago on Smackdown, in my opinion the greatest manager in WWE returned. It was of course the pale faced former undertaker, Paul Bearer. He arrived in a normal manner for him, from within a coffin. His return was not just surprise to Kane but it was also surprise to most of the fans. His return made almost perfect storyline sense (I will explain later some of the flaws) and it has made sure that the Hell in a Cell PPV will be really interesting.

Now before I get a hundred of emails telling me that Bobby ‘The Brain’ Heenan or the late Captain Lou Albano were better managers and don’t get me wrong I am not saying they are not good managers. But what I am saying is that Paul Bearer is the best. The reason as far as I am concerned why Bearer is best is because unlike other managers who had lot of wrestler under their control who were all different, Bearer only managed a certain type of Wrestler, for example: Kane, Mankind (during his darker days), Vader and The Undertaker. All of these wrestlers were demonic monsters or dark twisted individuals. Bearers look actually suits the roles of an evil undertaker; he has pale skin amplified by makeup, deep bags under his eyes and an eerie high pitched voice capable of delivering the perfect promos.

Now there is one flaw in the Paul Bearer return angle and that is the fact at the Great American Bash 2004 The Undertaker buried Bearer in a glass crypt full of concrete and attempted to ‘kill him’ apparently Bearer was seriously injured due to the event. In reality he went away for lose lots of weight which was good for him because he looks a lot healthier for it. But I do wonder how storyline wise they cover the whole Concrete crypt situation cause if they do a classic WWE pretend it never happened and moved on it will make the whole situation awful. Although there are lots of our younger fans who probably have no idea what I am talking about as they never followed WWE in 2004. This is a shame because they missed some pretty good times. I recommend that the young fans buy or rent DVDs from the 80s and 90s and the early 00s if they haven’t seen footage from that time. This is something that O’Dea had to do as he was a late to get into WWE.

Wrestlemania XXVI Preview: Money in the Bank Ladder Match

‘I look up to the sky and now the World is mine’

A line from this year’s Wrestlemania theme ‘I made it’ and I think it quite aptly describes the Money in the Bank ladder match. A briefcase hangs above the ring and the first person retrieves it get a title match at any time from the moment they unhook it till Wrestlemania the next year. Every person that has cashed in MitB has won one of the World titles (however as we all know not everyone who won money in the bank went onto cash it in. Mr Kennedy won the briefcase but lost it to Edge who went on to cash it in.

Anyway that is enough of history lesson now it is time to look forward to tonight’s MitB match. 10 men are all vying for the briefcase. How do they rate? Well let’s take a DSHD look at what we think their chances are. The two number factors are chances of winning in our opinion, which seems pretty obvious and entertainment factor which is basically how many spills/ big spots they will be involved in or just how much will their involvement be remember. So for example at Wrestlemania XXV Mark Henry would score relatively high although not taking many big bumps he was involved with the ‘Tadpole Splash moment’ The Kofi ladder moment and the parting of the Ladders with Kane.

Christian
Captain Charisma making his Wrestlemania return and just like his last Wrestlemania with WWE he is in the MitB money match. The big difference is that this year lots of people have him down as the favourite to win. A former ‘WWEECW’ (thanks for that one Joey Styles) champion and a ladder match specialist it would seem that he has all the advantages going into this match. However, the only time Christian has headlined a company was TNA and would Vince trust him to be able to headline Smackdown or RAW as WWE or WHC? It is hard to tell also it seems that Vince is increasingly about developing new talent which is why the US, one half of the tag team titles, Women championship and Divas championship are all held by rising stars in the WWE as well as the fact that up until Elimination Chamber Sheamus was the WWE Champion and MitB has often been a match to give either a young star his break CM Punk and Mr. Kennedy even if he got injured and lost his chance, but paradoxically it has been used to give a veteran his break for example Edge and RVD all one the big prize for the first time after winning MitB.
Chances of winning 8.5/10
Entertainment factor 8.5/10

Dolph Ziggler
You can’t stop perfection? Well, really? I have to disagree. Ziggler sort of disappeared last summer after his feud with Rey and to be honest he resurfaced at the Royal Rumble as number one again ruining one of my predictions and since then he has been back on the scene with his new move the Sleeper hold, which he has been utilising with to good effect. But I just don’t see him winning MitB because he has not been given a consistent push and I have a horrible feeling he could disappear after Wrestlemania or float around like Shelton until the next MitB or Royal Rumble or a similar event. But I could see Ziggler hitting the Zig Zag off a ladder or something tonight and having a few good spots.
Chances of winning 1/10
Entertainment factor 5/10

Drew McIntyre
The Chairman’s choice, the current intercontinental and with only one lost to his name (sort of) looks destine for great things. But is he destined to win MitB? Perhaps, but it would be a long shot. The Scotsman is making his Wrestlemania debut this year’s as the extra 9th man to the MitB, which in itself suggests that he is not top on the list for people to win. As well as that as a current champion giving him the MitB would I feel be too much too young for this Superstar, who lacks the charisma and in my opinion the talent that someone like the Miz, has can and is currently pulling off holding two titles. But in a year or so I have a feeling I could be writing about MitB and Drew McIntyre could be the odds on favourite. Also with regards to his entertainment factor Drew is neither a powerhouse nor a high flyer and I feel he could get a bit lost in a ladder match with this many men.
Chances of winning 3.5/10
Entertainment factor 4/10

Evan Bourne
If I had to pick a winner based solely on personal opinion then Evan would be up there in the top two. He has bags of talent and when he is given the chance to speak he seem quite charismatic. The problem is WWE don’t seem to know how to use him properly, they don’t have a heel cruiserweight that has the same highflying ability to put him up against and it seems they don’t like Evan doing a David vs. Goliath sort of victory over the bigger competitors. So at the moment Evan is stuck in no man’s land and I really don’t see WWE even consider giving him a title match but what I do see is him stealing the show in the MitB tonight and showing everyone how to go Air Bourne properly.
Chances of winning 0.5/10
Entertainment factor 9.5.10

Jack Swagger
The All American American is the person I want to win and it is not wholly unlikely but I would say that if he did win it would be a big surprise. The former ECW champion was teased as having a feud with Cena when he helped Mr. McMahon the other week (walking to the ring in somewhat comical fashion) likewise in the past when Cena and Swagger have locked horns it has been an epic contest between the two superstars and if they were allowed to go at it again it could really make Swagger’s career much like The Miz. Also it would seem that Cena or a RAW superstar has to win the WWE championship match because technically Batista is a Smackdown Superstar and both titles cannot be on the same brand. Could it be Swagger? Maybe but either way I think this athletic Oklahoman could be quite entertaining in MitB regardless of the outcome.
Chances of winning 5.5/10
Entertainment Factor 7/10

Kane
The Big Red Monster the only former WWE/WHC champion in this match. He has Wrestlemania and Money in the Bank experience which might give him an edge in tonight’s match. Also he came ridiculously close at winning MitB at Wrestlemania XXV which could drive him forward at Wrestlemania XXVI also the man that knocked him off the ladder is not in the match so could this mean it will be Kane’s year? Probably not, WWE seem not to want to give Kane a World title or any title for that matter and I just don’t see MitB making a difference this year but who knows, I have been wrong before?
Chances of winning: 4/10
Entertainment factor 6.5/10

Kofi Kingston
The Ghanaian Buzzsaw was Jamaican in the last MitB that is not particularly relevant on the face of it but actually after reverting back to his actually nationality and ditching the Jamaican accent Kofi actually was given a main event push against Randy Orton and look destined for great things. Then that push sort of died for some unknown reasons and Kofi went into the grey area between mid-carder and main eventer. But also like Swagger during the Mr. McMahon vs. John Cena match it was teased that Kofi could be feuding with Batista in the future. However, Kofi’s ability to bust people open all the time seemingly by accident could put him in lots of people’s bad books a prevent him winning MitB or getting the final push fully into main event status, this seems pretty clear since he was the 10th man to qualify for a 8 man match.
Chances of winning 7/10
Entertainment factor 9/10

Matt Hardy
After a up and down 2009 Matt Hardy has vowed to reinvent himself and set the record straight in 2010 and MitB could be his way of doing just that. A bit of a dark horse and sort of forgotten in the run up to MitB because of NXT, but do not let this fool you Matt Hardy could surprise everyone and finally climb to the same heights as his brother Jeff (no pun intended.) The only drawback is that Matt Hardy has always been second fiddle to Jeff and whenever I look at Matt Hardy I always put him as the second brother. He is a very gifted and talented wrestler but he seems to be never quite reach the level needed to be WWE/WHC champion. But perhaps he can win MitB and shake off the shackles of his brother’s legacy and finally reach the top of the food chain.
Chances of winning 4.5/10
Entertainment factor 6.5/10

Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP)
One half of the World’s Strongest Tag Team (he is the half with the talent and Charisma) MVP has always been a consistently good performer and his Wrestlemania matches are very good. Who can forget his U.S. title match with Chris Benoit at Wrestlemania 23 when he took the Crippler to his limit? MVP has been feuding with The Miz for quite a long time now and to be honest every time the two of them met one on one they have had amazing matches. A truly talented individual that has not quite yet been give the chance to prove himself at the highest level since his debut feud with Kane. Wrestlemania XXVI will probably not be his year but his performance on the grandest stage of them all will be up there with everyone else and who knows this year could well be a good year for MVP.
Chances of winning 4/10
Entertainment factor 5.5/10

Shelton Benjamin
The Gold Standard, a nickname which is perhaps not very apt as the last time Shelton held a title was March 20th 2009 when he lost his US title to MVP. The best analogy I can think of to describe Shelton’s role in MitB is ‘always the bridesmaid never the bride’ as Shelton has been in 4 of the 5 Money in the Bank matches and at Wrestlemania XXVI he will be entering into his 5th. Shelton will not win tonight, however if he is lucky he might be able to earn a feud with McIntyre over the IC title after MitB depending on how the match pans out.
Chances of Winning 0/10
Entertainment Factor 9.25/10

What is interesting about this year’s MitB is that one of the WWE PPVs later this year is called MitB which would suggest that the briefcase will be cashed sooner rather than later. This could be at Wrestlemania or at the April Pay Per View which at the moment is Extreme Rules a PPV that bodes well for MitB winners. But also this year more so than other years there is no clear winner or even a group of people you could pick to win for example at Wrestlemania XXI Kane, Y2J, Edge and Chris Benoit all looked like viable winners or at Wrestlemania XXIV Y2J, Punk and Mr. Kennedy all looked like they could win. So one of the many reasons why Wrestlemania XXVI will be off the chart this year is that like most of the matches on the card MitB is just too close to accurately call despite my best efforts.

"Matt Hardy was looking fatter than William Regal this week"

This week's Smackdown was fantastic and unlike Raw, lived up to the expectation and benchmark set from SummerSlam. This edition was what I wanted from a piece of WWE programing, it was fun, athletic, emotional, great storylines and looked fresh from ever angle, and was edited for no apparent reason.

To start off the night we had "The Only Straight-Edge World Heavyweight Champion in History", CM Punk, who has cemented his place as one of the top heels in wrestling today, everything about him has become distasteful and I love it. The fact that he illustrates himself as the good guy, for telling truth, that frankly the audience can't handle, means that his character is labeled, as Chris Jericho would say, a parasite. I really enjoyed Jeff & Punk's back and forth during their promo, most of all CM Punk saying "I Hate these people booing at me", just adding more fuel to the fire. At least we didn't get the MVP "Oh Please SHUT UP!", think of something original Montel (or WWE Creative), that is the weakest and most lazy (creative!) response ever, I'm not watch this at stupid hour on a Tuesday morning, so you can say that to one of the best wrestlers and best speaker of his generation, Y2J. Anyway I got sidetracked at fucking Porter.

Next up was a strangely short opening bout (for Smackdown), with John Morrison & Matt Hardy (returned from the bad boy position) to face the up and coming, and growing to my good side rapidly, The Hart Dynasty. Before, I say anything, Matt Hardy was looking fatter than William Regal this week and his movement around the ring confirmed that. The Hart Dynasty and John Morrison are just fantastic! Most of all Tyson Kidd. Some people were a bit turned by the news that The Hart Dynasty were moving up to Smackdown from ECW after being together for only couple of weeks and to a show (sorry, company) with no real tag team, as it was thought at the time, but they have really shown how good they are, sightly being carried by Kidd, which is good cause I love him in the ring. This was more a Monday Night Raw match, but still was decent.

Enjoying these Melina-Maria skits, is WWE really illustrating Dolph as a nice guy behind the scenes or is because they're not sure about turning Maria heel.

Next up was Drew MacIntyre kicking R-Truth's Head off, keep an eye on him and also he's a fellow Scot, so some home field advantage. 'Nough said!

Melina-Layla & McCool, whatever.

Rey Mysteriod was is action versus Kane and got the crap beaten out of him at the end by Kane & Dolph (he is so good!), and I think that this was because they knew about Rey's violation at the TV tapings or before Tuesday, like the way they use to crap on Kendrick because he kept on smoking pot and paying the fines and so WWE had no reason to push him when they could squash him into a pancake. Rey, what where you doing, you're one of the biggest stars in the biggest wrestling company in the world, adored by millions of children around the world and you seem to be able to take time off on tap, and didn't you remember you have two children and another one coming, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! Also, when Khali came out I thought "Oh, fucking hell" but after staying with it because I have to watch this shit, I enjoyed the Kendo Stick segment then Dolph Zig-Zagging his way to a title match next week and not at WWE Breaking Point.

Shad Gaspard should never be let loose as a singles wrestler or was it just cause they were angry? But the tag match in the end was good, but just like with the ECW Championship match, why would Americans pay $40 just to see the match the next week for free. Well Done Cryme Tyme, why are the make shift team of team of MVP & Mark "bright primary colour" Henry getting a title match?

The Main Event was absolutely fantastic, at times left me speechless, like when Punk superplex'd Jeff from the top of the cage, that was nearly on parallel with the superplex onto the ladder on Sunday. This was to good for my words, you just needed to see it and everyone now knows that Jeff went out on two of some of the best matches of his life that helped Punk massively. Jeff's end speech was short which didn't matter as the crowd were into it their self. I saw a leaked video from a fan in the arena and Jeff took ages going around giving everyone high-fives who he could reach and also going into the crowd, which on the final product was heavily edited (you can see as he changes his clothing around very quickly for no apparent reason). The cheap shot by Punk to end the show wasn't written in good taste, you don't need that, yeah it might create heat but WWE give anyone going away no dignity at all, i.e. when Victoria "retired" she got squashed (as babyface) by Michelle McCool, and then had a emotional good bye that was never showed on TV, another example was when Vickie Guerrero quit as Raw GM, and she got verbally "shat" on by Edge, and this wasn't received very well in the locker room, considering everything she has done and has gone through with/for WWE (i.e. death of her husband Eddie and one of her best friends Chris Benoit).

All in all, I'm impressed, WHY CAN'T RAW BE LIKE THIS!!!

Final Card for WWE SummerSlam Tonight

World Heavyweight Championship, Tables, Ladders & Chairs Match:
Jeff Hardy (c) vs. CM Punk

WWE Championship Match:
Randy Orton (c) vs. John Cena

Degeneration X vs. The Legacy

ECW Championship Match:
Christian (c) vs. William Regal

Intercontinental Championship Match:
Rey Mysterio (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler

Unified WWE Tag Team Championship Match:
Chris Jericho & The Big Show (c) vs. Cryme Tyme

MVP vs. Jack Swagger

Kane vs. The Great Khali

Master's Legacy?

If the rumours that Orton helped get Chris Masters his job back with WWE then perhaps he will be the fourth member of Legacy. But is he the only option and does he fit the bill? Well technically he is not a Second or a third generation. But could the rules be flouted so that Legacy could get the power house they need. the real question is who else is there? Perhaps the return of Brian Christopher AKA Grand Master Sexay, although that appears highly unlikely. Perhaps the Bizarre One Goldust could be reunited with his half brother Cody. Would WWE actually bring in Teddy Hart again and if they did would he be Legacy or New Hart foundation material? Would the Colons, sorry the Colóns became Legacy second tag team member, unlikely as Team Priceless are currently gunning for the tag titles. Now his aunt Vickie is leaving could Chavo revert back to being a serious Heel with Legacy. An interesting plot change could be The Big Show joining legacy as in his WCW days as The Giant he was billed as being Andre the Giant son. A unexpected and some what random twist could be Paul Bearer's Kayfabe son and The Undertaker's Half brother Kane could be the power house member of Legacy but don't hold your breath. So Legacy desperately need a power house in the Stable because their cunning not ignored Legacy are one man away from being the best.

Second-Time Superstars

In their first "WWE Superstars" appearances, the highly athletic Kofi Kingston will get a chance to shine as he faces Edge just days before The Rated-R Superstar challenges World Heavyweight Champion John Cena at Backlash.

Both Intercontinental Champion Rey Mysterio and Kane will be looking for payback on "WWE Superstars" after having suffered defeat at the hands of Big Show and CM Punk, respectively, on Raw this week.

Raw this week.Spilling out of their confrontation on ECW, "WWE Superstars" will see Finlay & his recently drafted son Hornswoggle face Tyson Kidd & Natalya, whose family trained Kidd in the legendary Hart Dungeon.

The Undertaker- Who next?

The Undertaker has finished his program with HBK and the question is who should he fight next? 1. CM Punk - Perhaps Taker could get the MitB contract from him and start and new title reign. 2. John Morrison - The Shaman of Sexy could take on The Phenom of the WWE as his introduction to Smackdown 3. The Colón - Taker reunites with Kane and challenges for the Tag titles 4. Dolph Ziggler - After an impressive win over MVP perhaps Ziggler may make the Undertaker take notice of him. 5. Mike Knox- The New Raw draftee may wish to try his luck with The Undertaker. 6. The Self Proclaimed World's Greatest Tag Team - With Haas and Benjamin on the same brand perhaps they will reform and try as many have before to remove the Undertaker from the WWE, perhaps this feud could include Kane.

Match Preview: MITB

Always one of the most exciting matches at Wrestlemania every year and this is now the 5th Money in the Bank Match, which always has the athletic and high-flying action every year. It, to be honest, could be better this year, because Mark Henry's in the match, why is he in this match, a ladder match, he can't wrestle let alone do a match like that, he will not be able to get half up the ladder. Except for him everyone else has experience in the match and has the creadability, even Kane. There is so much experience in this match, that this is Shelton Benjamin's 4th MITB and he adds something to the match everytime, he's the best superstar in this match who has never won it. I wouldn't be surprised if it starts 'Mania and that would be a great start to what looks like it will be an almost perfect night. But this year I think it might be the first one that is somewhat unpredictable at the winner unless the go with Punk again, or maybe after years of doing this match giving a real push to Shelton, or Vince might have changed his mind about Christian after all this time. The one thing I hope doesn't happen is Mark Henry winning, because I would stop watching WWE until he won it and then lost it again and totally forget about him again. Anyway I hope Mark Henry gets an injury early on to get him out of the way and then have a real match, which is shaping up to be one of the best Money In The Bank Ladder Matches, and considering they always say about that someone could cash in the contract that night at Wrestlemania, it would be great to actually see someone do that. And Finally, what would have made it better would be Evan Bourne being in the match, along with Shelton, Punk, Kofi, Christian and MVP that would be a great match, but too many babyfaces, considering R-Truth was meant to be in Mark Henry's position, wouldn't have been great theatre.

Road to Wrestlemania and WWE in General

WWE is rolling full steam ahead towards Wrestlemania. Money in the Bank is full up and my hope to win is Kane, but despite internet rumours I think it is Captain Charisma will be taking the briefcase away or will CM Punk make it two in a row? This could be my personal opinion but I have never been a fan of Matt and Jeff Hardy and so I am not particularly excited about this match, but usually Jeff is a solid performer with lots of spills and so is Matt, therefore despite lack of interest on my part it should be good. On Smackdown the Undertaker defeated Kozlov to make it 1-1 and on Raw there was an average tag team match between HBK and Taker Vs JBL and Kozlov. Kozlov’s ring work is getting better and better but the overall match was poor and the surprise ‘Sweet Chin Music’ on the ramp was poor and Shawn’s mad rant was poor. Also on Smackdown Kofi looked fired up taking on Edge and that could signal great things for the WWE and this young rising star. Also Carltio and Primo was unsuccessful which in my opinion is a good thing because I think that the Miz and Morrison are the best tag team in the WWE and this shows that when they took on DX last year there should have been a clear winner and it was not the men in green and black. The World title matches are a really interesting prospect. HHH VS Randy Orton especially with the house invasion being very dramatic. Also the Edge, Vickie and Show love triangle (something I never fought I would say!) HHH VS Rhodes was a great match showing the power of The Game. The inclusion of the cage along with Legacy was amazing. Rhodes unfortunately did not get the chance to show how talented he is but if there was a Tag team match at Mania I would like to see: Legacy VS The Miz and Morrison VS the Carlito and Primo VS Rey Mysterio and Evan Bourne to unify the tag team titles, with the Miz and Morrison winning the belts cause this would cement their status as the number 1 tag team in the WWE. Jack Swagger has disappeared from ECW seemingly or at least it feels like that, I think I have seen DJ Gabriel and Paul Burchill more than the champion. Personally I think he is a great champion but needs more time to progress in his skill. Also just to finish up I hope ‘Good Old’ JR Jim Ross is ok after from suffering chest pains that he later found out to be walking pneumonia. I hope that he gets better soon.