The Silver Report: June 24-30

We are right into the summer months and things look to be kicking into gear.  As WWE moves closer to Money in the Bank, the more interesting the WWE seems to get.  Last year, Money in the Bank solidified its spot in WWE’s PPV schedule with possibly the best PPV in years.  This year the wrestling world is hoping for another great show and so far things are looking good.  When a PPV has not one, but two multi-man ladder matches, there just needs to be a few great singles or tag team matches to wrap everything together.  Depending what the card is, I am seriously debating going to see Money in the Bank.  Two ladder matches, solid singles matches for the WWE and World Championships, a good Diva’s Title match and a decent tag team title match and I will be sold.

Former Champions Only

The biggest news from Raw this past week was the announcement of the WWE Championship Money in the Bank Ladder Match.  There will no longer be a ladder match for each brand, now there will be a ladder match for each title.  The WWE Championship Money in the Bank Ladder match is only open to former WWE Champions and this year only four superstars will compete in it.  John Cena, Big Show, Kane and Chris Jericho are the participants in this year’s match for the WWE Championship briefcase.  While it is neat and concept, the main purpose of the Money in the Bank Ladder match is to get up-and-coming talent over in the main event scene.  Some excellent examples are Edge, CM Punk and Daniel Bryan.  With all former champions in the mix, it does not give a chance for a younger guy such as Dolph Ziggler, Kofi Kingston or Brodus Clay a chance to shine.  The talent in this match should be able to put on an excellent ladder match, but there is no real reason to have this match be for the Money in the Bank briefcase.  From the looks of things, this match will serve as an excuse to get John Cena back into the WWE Title hunt as he will most definitely be winning.  Well there is no way Chris Jericho, Kane or the Big Show are winning if Super Cena is in the match.  Another gripe I have with the WWE Championship Money in the Bank Ladder match is that it is more or less a glorified Fatal 4 Way Ladder match.  Every Money in the Bank Ladder match before this match had at least six wrestlers in the match.  It should be hectic, but nothing as crazy as past Money in the Bank Ladder matches.  Hopefully WWE adds at least two more former WWE Champions to the mix, say Rey Mysterio or Randy Orton, to make this match a little more interesting.

All for the World Heavyweight Money in the Bank

While the WWE Championship Money in the Bank Ladder match is only for former WWE Champions, the World Heavyweight Money in the Bank Ladder match is open to everyone.  This past Friday on Smackdown saw five superstars qualify for the World Heavyweight Money in the Bank Ladder match.  The five lucky superstars were Damien Sandow, Tyson Kidd, Santino Marella, Christian and Tensai.  So far a good mix of superstars in this match, but I cannot wait to see who will qualify this coming Tuesday on the special Great American Bash live Smackdown.  The rumour is that there will be four more qualifying matches this Tuesday on Smackdown, which will bring the number of participants to nine.  Add one more surprise entrant say in the return of Wade Barrett and you got an even ten men in what should be an incredible showcase of talent.  Personally I do hope that Dolph Ziggler will qualify and win the World Heavyweight Money in the Bank briefcase.  Dolph is just on the precipice of the main event and that Money in the Bank briefcase just may be exactly what Dolph needs to break that glass ceiling.  All-in-all, the World Heavyweight Money in the Bank Ladder match looks much more promising than the WWE Championship Money in the Bank Ladder match. 

CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan II at Money in the Bank

Well, I guess WWE creative reads the Silver Report.  Just last week, I hoped that we would get CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan for the WWE Championship over another Triple Threat Match between Punk, Bryan and Kane at Money in the Bank.  After pinning CM Punk in a Triple Threat Elimination Match this past Monday on Raw, Daniel Bryan has been granted one more singles match for the WWE Championship in a few weeks at Money in the Bank.  All WWE has to do now is make CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan II for the WWE Championship the main event of Money in the Bank and I will be in heaven.  CM Punk and Daniel Bryan have incredible chemistry from their times in Ring of Honor and given the spotlight and time of the main event, they could produce something just as or more incredible as my current Match of the Year, Undertaker vs. Triple H from WrestleMania.  With the addition of AJ as the special guest referee, this match looks like the climax of this Punk vs. Bryan feud.  Come Money in the Bank, we will know who AJ sides with, who will leave Phoenix with the WWE Championship and who is the better wrestler between CM Punk and Daniel Bryan?  All these questions should be answered in an incredibly climactic showdown in the desert that all wrestling fans should go out of their way to watch.

Once in a Lifetime: Review of WWE WrestleMania 28

When something is hyped up so much, it is extremely hard for it to live up all the hype.  John Cena vs. The Rock along with WrestleMania 28 had close to a whole year of hype, the only question was could it live up to this incredible amount of hype.  Built as the greatest WrestleMania of all-time, WrestleMania 28 was supposed to blow every wrestling fan’s expectations.  If you were hoping for WrestleMania 28 to be the greatest WrestleMania, you would have been incredibly disappointed.  If you kept your expectations realistic like yours truly, WrestleMania 28 was an entertaining show that was a little better than last years’ anticlimactic event. 

Where most of the big matches at WrestleMania 27 did not live to the hype, the top matches at WrestleMania 28 sure did other than Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus, which was only given 18 seconds.  John Cena vs. The Rock was great though the wrong guy went over, CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho started out a little slow then built into an incredible technical match with one incredible ending and last, but not least Undertaker vs. Triple H was just legendary, easily the Match of the Night and possibly the Match of the Year.  Undertaker vs. Triple H is well worth the price to buy this PPV on iTunes or on DVD, it is that amazing.  The rest of the card is hit or miss.  Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus was disappointing only because WWE gave them 18 seconds, Kane vs. Randy Orton was a good back-and-forth match, Big Show vs. Cody Rhodes was just plain boring, the Divas Tag Match was the definition of sloppy wrestling and Team Johnny vs. Team Teddy was a highly entertaining match that could have been a bit better if it went a little longer.  From top to bottom, WrestleMania 28 was a mixed bag, but overall an entertaining four hour wrestling PPV.  It is by no ways the greatest WrestleMania of all-time; also in no ways is it the worst. 

Sheamus def. Daniel Bryan to win the World Heavyweight Championship

Rating:  5/10

Kane def. Randy Orton

Rating:  7/10

Big Show def. Cody Rhodes to win the Intercontinental Championship

Rating:  5.5/10

Kelly Kelly & Maria Menounos def. Beth Phoenix & Eve

Rating:  2.5/10

Undertaker def. Triple H in Hell in a Cell

Rating:  10/10

Team Johnny def. Team Teddy

Rating:  7.5/10

CM Punk def. Chris Jericho by submission to retain the WWE Championship

Rating:  9/10

The Rock def. John Cena

Rating:  9/10

Overall, WrestleMania 28 is a good entertaining PPV.  It did not live up to the massive hype that WWE put on it, but still pulled out to be a better show than my least favourite WrestleMania, WrestleMania 27.  The top three matches on the card all delivered in spades and should not be missed by any wrestling fan.  At the end of the day, WrestleMania 28 is worth watching or even owning on DVD or iTunes.  My rating for WWE WrestleMania 28 is 7.5 out of 10.

The Road to WrestleMania 28 Part 6: Once in a Lifetime

Well WrestleMania 28 is here.  Actually it’s happening right now as I write this quick preview.  Would have loved to do a whole in-depth preview today, but life happened and I got stuck at work much longer than I expected.  I will not be watching WrestleMania live this year as March has been an expensive month for me.  Just see my video game blog (silvergamebit.blogspot.ca) and you will know why.  I will be bringing you a short preview of WrestleMania 28 as the final part of The Road to WrestleMania 28 series.

WrestleMania comes once a year and no matter all the build, all the hype or lack thereof, you always get excited come WrestleMania Sunday.  WrestleMania is an event like no other and no other wrestling PPV or sporting event can compare to the majesty, the grandeur.  No matter if you like the product WWE offers or not, it pulls you in.  It consumes all us wrestling fans to the point that even if we are not watching we are frequently checking WWE.com or other wrestling websites for updates.  This year’s event is no different.  The card may not be as stacked as other years; the build has not been as great as in previous years.  The fact remains that we are all still excited to watch WrestleMania 28 for one sole reason, The Rock vs. John Cena.  The fact that we are mere hours away from this dream match becoming reality will give any wrestling fan goose bumps.  There are also three other main event caliber matches happening on the same card that will certainly rock the huge crowd in Miami and the millions watching at home.  The rest of the card does not look that great, but being WrestleMania WWE could pull out some big surprises for us fans.

Cody Rhodes (c) vs. Big Show for the Intercontinental Championship

Prediction:  Cody Rhodes retains

Randy Orton vs. Kane

Prediction:  Randy Orton wins

Kelly Kelly & Maria Menounos vs. Beth Phoenix & Eve

Prediction:  Beth Phoenix & Eve win

Team Johnny (David Otunga, Mark Henry, Dolph Ziggler, Jack Swagger, Drew McIntyre & the Miz) vs. Team Teddy (Santino Marella, R-Truth, Booker T, Zack Ryder, Kofi Kingston & Great Khali) to determine the General Manager of both Raw and Smackdown

Prediction:  Team Johnny wins and John Laurinaitus becomes GM of both Raw and Smackdown

Daniel Bryan (c) vs. Sheamus for the World Heavyweight Championship

Prediction:  Sheamus wins the World Heavyweight Championship

CM Punk (c) vs. Chris Jericho for the WWE Championship

Prediction:  CM Punk retains

Undertaker vs. Triple H in a Hell in a Cell Match with Shawn Michaels as Special Guest Referee

Prediction:  Undertaker wins

The Rock vs. John Cena

Prediction:  John Cena wins

All-in-all, WrestleMania 28 should be an exciting show no matter the outcomes.  Hope everyone who is watching right now enjoys.  I will watch it when it comes out on DVD.

The Road to WrestleMania 28 Part 4: The Best in the World

While WWE is focusing a lot on Rock vs. Cena and Triple H vs. Undertaker, the major heavyweight championships seem to be lost in the shuffle.  One feud in particular that is sadly getting little attention is CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho, self-proclaimed Best in the World vs. self-proclaimed Best in the World.  Things started out a bit rocky between Punk and Jericho, but they have consistently put on the best segments on Raw for the last month.  Their segments rival those between Shawn Michaels, Undertaker and Triple H and sure as hell beat Cena and Rock’s segments on Raw each week.  Today, we will be looking at both CM Punk and Chris Jericho and which one is the Best in the World.

 He has been wrestling for 20 years, has won over 30 championships and achieved many things few wrestlers even dream of such as beating the Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin in the same night to become the first WWE Undisputed Champion or winning the Intercontinental Championship a record nine times.  He has reinvented himself time and time again.  Going from Y2J to an egotistical hypocrite-hating heel to now a cocky veteran wrestler who believes everyone from the wrestlers in the back to the people in the crowd want to be him (Jericlones as he calls them).  He is a trend setter in the WWE and all of wrestling.  Just look at all the clean-dressed suit wearing heels in the WWE and other promotions since he made it popular back in 2008.  From the world of wrestling to music to television to even dancing, he has been the best at anything he does in and outside of the ring.  He is the challenger to the WWE Championship and the title of “Best in the World” in a couple weeks at WrestleMania.  His name is Chris Jericho and he is the best in the world at whatever he sets his mind.

He is the Voice of the Voiceless, the Cult of Personality and the current WWE Champion.  He has been considered upon one of the elite wrestlers in the world from his days in the Indies all the way to being a squandered talent in the WWE.  He has enough personality and charisma to play any character from a crazed cult leader to an outspoken punk.  He even turned his career in the WWE around with a microphone.  Now he is the new top dog in the WWE and he is not afraid to speak his mind about whomever.  He has lead two factions, the Straight-Edge Society and the New Nexus.  He is the fastest wrestler to become a Triple Crown Champion.  He is the only wrestler to win tow Money in the Bank Ladder matches and two in a row no less.  His name is CM Punk, the WWE Champion and currently the top dog in the WWE.

Considering that I am a big fan of both CM Punk and Chris Jericho, deciding which one is the Best in the World.  Chris Jericho has had a much longer career than CM Punk and has proved that he can do anything he sets his mind to and be the best at it.  CM Punk has been wrestling just over a decade and is now at the top of his game.  While Punk might not a multimedia superstar, this debate is about the Best Wrestler in World, not who is the Best Superstar of the World.  By a slim margin, it has to go to CM Punk.  He is the current WWE Champion, the top dog in the WWE and clearly puts on the best match and/or promo every time he is in the ring.  Also with CM Punk being much younger than Jericho, he has more potential to get better.  While Chris Jericho is a bone-fide first ballot WWE Hall of Famer right here, right now, CM Punk is in my opinion the Best in the World.

This week saw Jericho make things personal as he attacked Punk and his alcoholic father.  While some think it was not needed, I personally think it added a great new dynamic to this feud in the last couple weeks leading to WrestleMania.  If you have not been paying attention to this feud, you better start now because you will be in for a surprise come WrestleMania when Punk and Jericho steal the show.  Make sure to come back next weekend for the next installment in The Road to WrestleMania 28 series.  Next week will be my personal Top 10 WrestleMania Moments.

The Road to WrestleMania 28 Part 1: Undertaker vs. Triple H III, Hell in a Cell

“We do this, we go all the way.  I will face you at WrestleMania under one condition… Hell in a Cell!” –Triple H to the Undertaker

The moment Triple H said this sentence on Raw, this writer among many other wrestling fans exclaimed in joyous surprise a big loud, “WHAT?!”  While the Undertaker and Triple H rule the Hell in a Cell and their records in that demonic structure are unfathomable, nobody ever thought in their lifetime we would see them face off in Hell in a Cell.  It is a dream match that many thought would just remain a fantasy cooked up in their head.  It is now reality and this match sure as hell beats Undertaker vs. Triple H, Streak vs. Career with Shawn Michaels as Special Guest Referee that many wrestling fans including yours truly thought would happen at this year’s WrestleMania.  With CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho, Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus, John Cena vs. The Rock and now this match announced for the card, WrestleMania 28 looks to be a show that you should not miss.

Let us rewind one year to the infamous 2/21/11.  Hoping it would be something more than the return of the Undertaker, possibly Sting finally coming to the WWE, WWE gave us the return of Undertaker.  Immediately following the Undertaker, Triple H made his return to the WWE and Undertaker vs. Triple H at WrestleMania 27 was born out of a stare down.  In the weeks that followed, the build for this match felt forced to the point that WWE was trying to sell fans on the match through video packages of other WWE superstars and divas talking about the match.  Undertaker and Triple H had no actual interaction until the Raw before WrestleMania where WWE gave us an excellent promo between Taker, Triple H and Shawn Michaels that actually had the story develop farther than Triple H wants to end the Streak and the Undertaker wants to continue the Streak.  It was too late as this story developments should have happened in the weeks before.  Undertaker vs. Triple H at WrestleMania 27 turned out to be a great match (I personally gave it 9 out of 10), but it felt more like the opening chapter of a feud than the climactic clash it should have been built as.  At the end of the match, the Undertaker had to be stretchered out of the Georgia Dome, which things up for a return match at some point.  Fast forward about 10 months, Triple H, now the COO of the WWE, was about to fire John Laurinaitus only to interrupted by the return of the Undertaker.  Looking for revenge for what Triple H did to him at WrestleMania 27, the Undertaker challenged Triple H to a match at WrestleMania, but the COO of the WWE declined.  The following weeks leading up to Elimination Chamber, the Undertaker would push the issue saying that their feud was not.  Shawn Michaels even made his voice heard on the issue, calling out his best friend, Triple H on declining Undertaker’s challenge.  All roads lead to Triple H finally accepting Undertaker’s challenge last Monday night on Raw in one of the best moments on this year’s Road to WrestleMania.  Now we will have to see where this feud goes from here, but hopefully the WWE uses the next month to build the enormity of this match.  It truly could be an end of an era in the WWE.

It is really funny how one year ago I hated how WWE handled this whole Undertaker vs. Triple H feud and now a year later it is the best thing about the Road to WrestleMania 28.  Sorry about the late post, was not up to writing last night, I was really tired.  The Road to WrestleMania 28 series will return next weekend.  Next weeks’ topic will be a more opinionated piece as I will give my opinions on both The Rock and John Cena as we lead up to their big main event at WrestleMania 28.

Silverdome Promo of the Week: The Deadman Wants Revenge

Sorry for the delayed post.  Took a day to rest and play some games and lost track of time.  As you can see, this week marks a return of the Silverdome Promo of the Week.  It has been a while, but there has not been a week where a promo trumped a match in some while.  While the Six-Pack Challenge on Raw was good and Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton was good until the DQ finish, neither of them were worthy of winning the Silverdome Match of the Week.  The Silverdome Promo of the Week goes to the Undertaker’s Vengeance Video Package.

Two weeks ago, the Undertaker made his annual return to the WWE just in time to defend his Streak at WrestleMania.  Unlike many years before when challengers have sought to break the Undertaker’s Streak at WrestleMania, the roles have been reversed.  Before Triple H had a chance to fire John Laurinaitus, the Undertaker came out to the ring and challenged the COO of the WWE to a match at WrestleMania 28.  Triple H refused the Undertaker’s challenge, but cannot turn down the Deadman that easily.  Last week on Raw, in the middle of Triple H’s promo at the beginning of Raw, the arena lights went out and the Undertaker’s video package played on the Titantron.  The video package saw the Undertaker sitting in the middle of a room while clips from his match with Triple H at WrestleMania 27 played in the background.  The clips of Undertaker vs. Triple H from WrestleMania 27 shown in the background were those of Triple H dominating the Undertaker and the Phenom being carted off after winning the match.  While those clips were being shown, the Undertaker again challenged Triple H to a match at WrestleMania 28 saying that even though he won at WrestleMania 27, his victory means nothing because of how Triple H left the Undertaker after the match.  Undertaker swore that he being carted out of WrestleMania 27 will not be the image of him that will be remembered through the ages.  So if Triple H gives Undertaker a chance for vengeance, he will give the COO of the WWE another chance of ending his legendary WrestleMania winning streak.  The video package came to end as the Undertaker proclaimed, “It’s not over.”  When the Deadman speaks, everybody listens.  He has his sights set on facing Triple H at WrestleMania 28 and there will be nothing on this Earth that will stop him.  It will be interesting to see how this storyline develops in the next two months leading up to WrestleMania.

With excellent production values and great execution, the WWE has made this writer want to see Undertaker vs. Triple H III at WrestleMania.  Things should be exciting tonight as Shawn Michaels will be on Raw tonight.  Other than that there has not been much announced for Raw and Smackdown this week.  We will just have to see if the WWE delivers with the go-home shows for next Sunday’s Elimination Chamber PPV.