Bleacher Report - Articles by Tom Higson

Huge Divas Match Planned for 'Mania

Tom Higson — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 15:20:21 -0500

According to many sources high in the WWE right now, WWE are planning a huge Divas battle royal. Apparently WWE are apparently in the process of booking former Divas to return for the match.

If this does happen it will fit in with the '25th anniversary of Mania' tagline, and hopefully it will be a major improvement over the crap WWE have offered at the last two mania's.

Plus it will probably bring two things back to the WWE which it's in desperate need of: Trish and Lita.

How To Save Monday Night Raw

Tom Higson — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 14:01:19 -0500

On Monday I found my self contemplating two different options. Either I watched the latest weekly installment of Monday Night RAW, or I watched a re-run of LOST.

Re-run or no re-run, LOST won hands down—anyway, judging by last week's RAW viewing figures, I didn't think I would've been missed. So Monday passed and then Tuesday passed (as Tuesday tends to follow Monday) and I didn't give RAW one thought until this morning, when I remembered that I hadn't checked up on the latest happenings on WWE's flagship show.

So with nothing else to do and with You Only Live Once by the Strokes blaring away in the background I checked out WWE.com. After reading about what seemed a pretty uneventful RAW (WWE seems determined to crap on Orton) I found myself on the RAW superstar page.

RAW, as we all know, has been marketed by the WWE as their "A" show, so why the hell is it so desperately lacking in talent? We usually get the obvious draft routine, RAW loses champion to smackdown, smackdown loses theirs to RAW etc. But last years veered away from that process and in doing so left RAW scratching their heads.

RAW over 2007 and the start of 2008 had put on the consistently better matches, so how are they rewarded? Triple H (the WWE champion at the time) gets drafted to smackdown, along with Jeff Hardy (the biggest guy at the WWE at the time) which leaves RAW with no champion until our "saviour," CM Punk, turns up and gives us probably the most forgettable title reign this side of 2000.

RAW managed to survive because Y2J and HBK were on their A game and put on a feud that caused many to forget about the rest of the below-par rubbish RAW was putting out ever week. If this sort of thing were to happen again this year, RAW might not survive.

This year, rather than the straight swaps we used to get, we need more of the top talent heading back to RAW (only not as much as the amount that left RAW for SD last year). I recently heard the phrase a "a swerve for the sake of it" darting around, and I think it pretty much sums up the WWE at the moment.

If everyone expected SD to get Christian, why didn't they just either let SD have him or give him to RAW?—at least RAW would have got some decent talent. Instead, Vince choose to put the instant classic on ECW so it would shock us.

But I think I speak for everybody when I say a shock isn't always a good one, to use an example a good shock would be Orton retaining at WM24 a bad shock would be a guy whose been hyped up for months end up on a show that Ric Flair wouldn't even come out of retirement for.

So one way of improving RAW would be to disband ECW. ECW is watched about 13 people (that's only about seven more than TNA get) so it probably wouldn't leave WWE feeling the financial strain. People can moan that ECW is used to bring on talent, but instead of giving Morrison a singles match every so often we get to watch Finlay and Mark Henry—who aren't exactly what you'd call "new" talent. Plus, isn't the Intercontinental title used for new guys, instead we get guys like Regal and jokes like Marella holding it (Santino is funny but he isn't I title quality).

I dread to think of what might have happened if Randy Orton would have started his career in 2009. The WWE needs to let ECW have it's swansong at Mania (get RVD in a match) and then disband it and give Swagger the IC title and make the ECW title into an extreme rules title (the hardcore title with a different name).

This year I'd like to see the WWE really shake things up and let Shane take over Smackdown and Stephanie take over RAW. Then Vince could announce the draft would be the same as in 2002. Let both GMs start from scratch and choose 20 picks eack and then have a draft lottery for the rest of the wrestler not picked.

Due to the fact that WWE keeps playing it safe, they probably wouldn't do is as would confuse the 5 year olds (what Mummy, Batista isn't on RAW anymore? [insert crying sound]). So they'll probably stick to the tried and tested, old and boring and predictable and pointless method of the usual draft lottery (the predictable one doesn't describe last years though).

I'd love to see a real lottery and watch as smackdown end up with Hornswoggle, Khali, Jim Duggin, Jillian and Manu as their picks. If this does happen I'd like to these picks...

RAW

Undertaker - He's been on SD too long and it'd probably be a shock, not to mention he'd be allowed to feud with HBK (however I have a feeling that HBk might go to SD and Undertaker will remain where he is).

Christian - Unlikley but it'd give Christian the biggest chance to get a world title.

Vickie - An excuse for her to quit and leave the WWE.

HHH - Can feud with Orton (however i do think WWE will trade Orton to smackdown and instead of HHH to raw, raw will get Edge)

The Brian Kendrick - Currently not getting enough screen time as he warrants on SD, if leaves it'll also let Ezikiel get some singles competition

Smackdown

John Cena - I like Cena on RAW but I'd rather see Orton v HHH on RAW than Edge v Cena, although the other way around is more likley now that Vickie is appearing on RAW.

John Morrison - The best guy on the ECW roster and needs to move away from a brand that's pulling him down.

Batista - It might take some of the 5 year olds away from RAW and help RAW become a bit more edgy.

Rey - After his performance of the year worthy appearance in the chamber I think Rey deserves more high profile matches and I don't think he'll get those on RAW.

Evan Bourne - The guy with the 2nd most potential on ECW, could be the new Billy Kidman (the wcw version, bourne isn't an out an out cruiser weight but can still do cruiser weight moves which is similar to Kidman).

ECW—I don't care as long as they don't get anybody good

(I also have a feeling that Y2J might leave to join SD)

Besides my two main points here are other ways to save RAW -

Unify the tag titles - Why have two tag titles when you've only got about 3 good tag teams.

Unify the US and IC Title - It'd still be called the IC title and would be exclusive to RAW.

Bring back the Cruiser weight title - It'd replace the US title on SD and if Rey, Chavo, Helms and Bourne were on SD we'd get a great chance of seeing some old school cruiser wight matches. (It doesn't have anything to do with RAW but I thought it'd be worth mentioning that SD would have a replacement for the US title).

Move away from PG - Do I need to explain this to anyone over 5.

Don't allow Vickie near the brand - For her voice alone.

Make JBL retire - He seems to be pulling other wrestlers down at the moment, hopefully he go back to commentating which he was great at, or he could be GM of a brand but not wrestle.

Let HBK have a title run - It'd help attract some of the hardcore fans back to RAW as it'd show the WWE would be willing to give the title to someone who deserves it and can wrestle.

There'll probably be others I've missed out so please comment.

New Shirt for England Leaked

Tom Higson — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 08:28:57 -0500

I don't usually write on B/R about Football, but I love the game and was recently surfing the web after England's dismal performance against Spain (proof that Gareth Barry is nowhere near the player Steven Gerrard is for England, and Gerrard plays nowhere near at the top of his game for England).

Anyway, after about half an hour I came across the "supposed" new England home kit.

I'm always interested in what kits look like, and after nearly every kit this year in the Premier League was pretty damn nice (the Liverpool home shirt being my favourite, but then again, I am an LFC fan), so after realising that it was time for a new England kit after I saw the recent one selling for £4, I had high expectations, so boy, was I in for a disappointment.

Umbro have denied that this is real, but it looks pretty real to me, and they said last year's wasn't real when that was leaked too. Supposedly we weren't supposed to see this until the game against Slovakia (great game to debut a kit in?).

This kit is probably the worst kit I've seen an England team wear since I can remember (I'm only 14, but that's still a pretty long time). Everything about it looks cheap and the first time I saw it I thought it was the training shirt.

The Umbro logo above the badge makes the shirt look unbalanced and the red around the badge looks tacky. Not to mention the fact that Umbro seemed to have lifted the collar from a pre-WWII shirt.

Plus, the red on the sleeves has been overdone and is one of the many things that make the kit lose its "English feel." And one last thing: where the hell is the star? I know it's been 40 odd years, but it still should be there.

The FA once again have stuck with Umbro, and yet again Umbro have come back with a crap design. The FA should do what they did at Coventry (I think) and choose 4 designs and let the fans vote (it is a bloody democracy after all).

What I don't understand is even though Umbro have been bought by Nike, we still choose to have Umbro making overcomplicated, cheap and poor-looking kits.

Why the hell hasn't Brian Barwick or someone in the FA gone to Nike and said, "Hey, you guys make pretty decent kits" and have a Nike kit with a similar design to the Villa shirt.

Or chosen to drop Nike and Umbro and have adidas make the kits; I can't see adidas turning the offer down when apparently the shirt is going to sell at £50.

On the plus side, though, they have dropped the navy blue shorts for all white.

Personally, I think that after the 1966 World Cup, the England home kit should be red with white shorts and have it made in a similar design to the Liverpool and Chelsea away kits.

Obviously, the FA still have a bit of time to change the design but that's extremely unlikely. So please comment about your thoughts on the "new England home kit."

The Best and Worst of the Biggest Show on Earth + Predictions

Tom Higson — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 08:23:10 -0500

Well it's only about a month away to what J.R likes to call 'the biggest show on earth' so I thought I try and be second to do a 'greatest [insert whatever the hell you feel like] list'.

I was going to do a Wrestlemania themed article but Ross pipped me to the post and did a 'greatest mania matches' slideshow (and did a pretty damn good job if I may say myself) so I thought I'd look a right clown if I did practically the same article on the same day.

So stuck for an article I went away an watched a couple of episodes of LOST (which by the way is the greatest show on earth) and after a couple of entertaining hours I decided that I'd expand on my original idea and do what I did with the Rumble a while back and just roll everything into one ball and do more that one 'Mania list.

Being 14, chances are I'll forget something that happened at 'Mania II (the VHS is sat collecting dust somewhere) so don't be too harsh if you comment.

So here goes ...

GREATEST WRESTLEMANIAS

1. Wrestlemania 10 - If only they could make more 'Mania's like this, a brilliant opener with Owen v Bret and then the greatest ladder match of all time with Ramon v HBK, plus at the MSG 'the home of wrestlemania'.

2. Wrestlemania 3 - The first great Mania, had Steamboat v Savage which I would say was the third greatest IC title match of all time (just edged out by B.Bulldog v B.Hart at Summerslam 92 at No. 2 and HBK v Ramoan at Mania 10 at No. 1) and probably the most replayed moment in WWE history when Hogan scoop slammed Andre.

It was probably at this event that made WWE 'huge' (well, that was before it went crap around 2002/2003 anyway).

3. Wrestlemania 17 - The best wrestlemania of the 21st century (easily), hopefully WWE will repeat their performance this year when they return to Houston. Had TLC 2, Austin's heel turn, Vince v Shane, Taker v HHH, Angle v Benoit and a triple threat hardcore match.

4. Wrestlemania 14 - Nearly all the matches were very watchable and had what I thinks is the greatest big man match of all time with Undertaker v Kane (when Kane was used as a monster and had his mask), plus no one kicked out of the tombstone but Kane kicked out of two and nearly a third.

5 - Wrestlemania 24 - Consistently good and the best of the 18 onwards Mania's, the MITB match is the biggest spot-fest (bar TLC 2) I think I've ever seen plus a very good main event and a brilliant WWE title triple threat. Not to mention Flair v HBK.

WORST WRESTLEMANIA'S

1. Wrestlemania 9 - I could call this PPV all day, luckily I wasn't alive when this PPV happened otherwise I don't think I'd have liked WWE (but judging by the trash we get today is that such a bad thing?).

So many gimmicks it was like watching TNA Impact (well maybe not that bad). The opener was alright (HBK v Tatanka possibly) but that ended in a count out, all the rest was crap and had the worst ending to a PPV of all time when Hogans ego got bigger than Yokozuna's fat ass and he ended up winning the title somehow.

Plus, J.R in a toga.

2. Wrestlemania 11 - Possibly the first of many WWE PPVs that was even the slightest bit watchable because of HBK's match (v diesel this time around), but even then he lost after winning the Rumble from #1. Why the hell was Bam Bam Bigalow and an NFL player in the maina event, I first watched this PPV on VH when I was 8 was probably the first time I thought I'd rather watch HBK wrestle his shadow than most of the matches WWE puts on.

3. Wrestlemania 13 - WM 1 could easily go here but it had Mr. T, so it gets a few extra points. Besides one of the best matches of all time everything on the card was crap.

GREATEST WRESTLEMANIA MATCHES

1. Steve Austin v Bret Hart (13) - Now do you see why I didn't do a list on the same day as Ross? I would have looked a complete [insert insult] when everyone read my article five minutes after Ross' and I had the same No. 1.

This match is brilliant and the one that started the Attitude era and made Stone Cold the biggest thing since Hogan.

2. HBK v Razor Ramoan (10) - The best IC title match of all time and the greatest ladder match ever.

3. HBK v Bret Hart (12) - Somehow they managed to make a 60 minute match enjoyable for the entire main event, most guys can't make a 10 minute match enjoyable at 10 minutes in length (I'm looking at you Batista), the emotion at the end looked actually real when HBK won in sudden death.

WORST WRESTLEMANIA MATCHES (the match has to be over one minute long)

1. Brock Lesnar v Goldberg (20) - You'll probably disagree with this choice but this is too me the most boring match I've ever seen. It lasted forever and was the cause of the longest boring chant of all time.

Somehow Goldberg (who probably got the biggest pop in the entire WWE at the time) got jeered out of the arena. The only shining light was Stone Cold when he stunnered them both to remind us that Austin was still alive.

2. Undertaker v Giant Gonzalez - The worst of Taker's 387 'Mania wins and ended in DQ. Nuff said.

3. Kane v The Great Khali - Wrestlemania 23 was the most poorly booked 'Mania for a while with every match besides Taker v Batista and Lashley v Umaga having the wrong outcome, so this match didn't look out of place.

Khali shouldn't be allowed within 100 feet of a Wrestlemania never mind being actually in a match. One of many matches that proved the formula - Khali + Anybody + Ring = S**t match.

[note: I refuse to acknowledge that Lawrence Taylor v Bam Bam Bigalow ever happened and besides this sentence I shall never speak of him again.]

GREATEST WRESTLEMANIA MOMENTS

1. Shawn Michaels wins his first title (12) - You'd actually think it was real.

2. Shawn Michaels retires Flair (24) - Hopefully Flair can park his old arse in his chair and stay out of the ring from now on rather than ruining his legacy.

3. Stone Cold in the sharpshooter (13) - I hate Bret Hart but the guy can wrestle and this was a great ending to a great match.

WORST WRESTLEMANIA MOMENT

1. The threre-hour long moment that was Wrestlemania 9.

FUNNIEST WRESTELMANIA MOMENT

1. See comments for 'worst wrestlemania moment'. The whole thing was a joke so it's safe to say that it deserves this award.

GREATEST WRESTLEMANIA SUPERSTAR

1. Hulk Hogan - Even though he ruined Mania 9 all the other's make up for it. There might not have been a WM if it hadn't have been for Hogan at WM 1. Wrestlemania 18 was rubbish except for Hogan v The Rock which was a classic and at wrestlemania 3 we had Hogan v Andre which is probably the biggest moment in WWE history.

2. Shawn Michaels - 'Mr.Wrestlemania' is the greatest of all time in my book but he narrowly missed out on the top spot. Tha's simply because he hasn't won enough titles at Mania but that's down to WWE's booking not him.

If you look back at recent memory one of the top-two matches (and usually No. 1) will contain HBK in some shape or form.

3. The Undertaker - The man with the streak, there's often talk that they'll end it at his last mania but that would just be stupid and ruin something that's gone on for 16 years now. He'd probably top most people's lists because of the run but for me most of his matches have been to predictable and up until he faced Edge you never thought there was even a slight chance he might lose.

GREATEST SUPERSTAR TO NEVER HAVE HEADLINED WRESTLEMANIA

Rob Van Dam - I would put Sting at the top but because he has never actually been with the WWE I've not included him in my choices. RVD is probably the most fun guy to watch when he was in the WWE.

Due to his wife's cancer, he's taking time off but his appearance at the Rumble still shows us that he's still interested in wrestling. My hope for Mania 26 is that ECW disbands and that the final extreme rules match is RVD v Mick Foley.

PREDICTIONS

WWE Title - Triple H def. Randy Orton

WHC Title - John Cena def. Edge

Triple Threat - Undertaker def. HBK, JBL (WWE won't let us have a 1 v 1 match because they can't think of anything to do with JBL)

Hulk Hogan def. Chris Jericho or Chris Jericho def. Mickey Rourke w/Ric Flair

Handicap - Stone Cold def. Priceless (if Y2J faces Mickey Rourke then Hogan will partner Stone Cold)

Women's Title - Melina def. Beth Phoenix (expect Trish or Lita to make an appearance possible as special ref)

MITB Ladder Match - Christian wins

Legends Battle Royal - ?, hopefully miserable Bret Hart will get off his lazy ass and give back something to the fans that gave him everything.

Why Are the WWE Determined To Shoot Themselves in the Foot?

Tom Higson — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 13:47:42 -0500

The WWE has just started on the road to their biggest event of the year and a couple of weeks ago I couldn't have been looking forward more to 'Mania 25, but now it seems the WWE are incapable of building momentum and yet again, it seems WWE are determined to shoot themselves in the foot.

I present to the jury exhibit A, and that is that fat bloke most people call Mickie Rourke. Thank God Rourke realised he would have been as much as use in the ring as a one-legged man in a kick boxing match (No, not Zack Gowen).

Vince McMahon has shown us for the millionth time he only cares about money. I understand that the guy is a business man and that his 'job' is to make money but come on! Why the hell are they putting probably their wrestler of the year with a guy who probably still thinks that Hulk Hogan is the WWF Champion.

Not only is a disrespectful to the fans but if I was Y2J I be pretty annoyed with the WWE right now, what sort of example is it setting out to younger talent? Come and have the best year of your career and we'll stick you in a match that might get Steven Spielberg watching, when you should be in a WHC match.

It makes me think of Bam Bam Bigalow vs. that NFL guy main eventing WM 13.

Secondly, I'm guessing I'm not the only one who watched the Rumble last week. Overall, I found the Rumble match to be little disappointing (all the 'top' guys came in to early). But yet again WWE showed they didn't care about the fans.

I wasn't bothered that Christian didn't show up (well, I was a bit), but it was the way that WWE exploited the speculation surrounding him. You're not telling me that if there'd been no mention before the event of the 'instant classic' that RVD wouldn't have been No. 30.

Soon as the 29th entrant came in, I slumped back into my chair because I knew that over sized ape Big Show hadn't dragged his fat arse to the ring yet. As soon as RVD came in at No. 25 (I think) it was so obvious that Orton would win (you cold tell that Christian wasn't going to show).

It would have been better if the WWE had been saved to No. 30, because then there wouldn't have been as much of a disappointment that Cage hadn't turned up and maybe a couple of people (including myself) would have thought Van Dam would have won it, because until a day after I had no idea that it was a one off.

Plus, that fact that it was Orton and HHH in the final two means that they'll be facing each other for the WWE title at 'Mania (which means that Orton would jump to SD and leave RAW with barely any main eventers besides HBK and Y2J). Personally, I think we've seen this one to many times and it only ever seems to work in a gimmick match.

Another thing is, what is the one match that would get everyone watching? Besides Rourke vs. Jericho I would think you'd answer HBK vs. the Deadman. They both have history ('Taker was in the match that Michaels broke his back) and it's in their home state.

It could also be the first time there was more than a very small chance of 'Taker's 'Mania run ending (well besides Mark Henry at WM 22). I know I would eat my hands to see the match (well not literally...but know I think about it).

But then again, I do forget that WWE are setting up the sure fire classic that is HBK v everbody's favourite wrestler, JBL.

To continue with the theme of the Rumble, I'm undecided on the new hardy feud. While it was shocking at the time I don't really want to see it as a single's match at Mania, although a Jeff, Christian v Edge, Matt might work it would use up superstars that would be better in main event matches on their own and now that Matt is on SD, ECW have nobody.

The feud also has been done before and it doesn't have the same effect as an 'Oh my god! He's just kicked Jannety through a window!' type heel turn.

And last but not least, I will end on a lighter note by reminding everyone of the good things from the WWE by refreshing them about Orton kicking Vince in the head thing. But then I'll quickly drag them back down to earth by reminding them of one of the worst segments I've ever seen on RAW.

How the hell did some fat and out of shape guy take out Priceless, most of the RAW roster and the Rumble winner. Talk about burying someone! I felt sorry for Orton as he was made to look like a fool having to sell punches that didn't even come close because McMahon can't wrestle. Not to mention that excuse about having a disease which seemed more Y2J - ish.

Wouldn't it have been much better if Orton would have waited until the end of the show before making an appearance, then Shane could have called him out.

Orton would then have come out with Priceless and entered the ring but told priceless to wait outside. Then, Shane-O-Mac could have put up a decent fight but then Priceless could have interfered and then Orton could have kicked Shane's face into next Monday.

The week after they then could have had a hardcore match which if Orton would have lost he'd have to leave WWE but Orton could win. However, I do have a sneaky suspicion though that Shane and Stephanie might join their stable (they're third generation), or maybe being as the WWE are a joke at the moment Vince might join and they'd have faked the Orton punt thing.

Well, thanks for the read and please comment.

Wrestlemania 25: The Possible Card

Tom Higson — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 14:13:15 -0500

Well, being as we are about to set off on the road to Wrestlemania, I thought I'd give you my thoughts on what the card should look like. I would also like to stress the fact that this is not a dream card, so rather than having Triple H vs Undertaker in a "Hell in a Cell" match for the main event, I'm instead trying to tell you what the card should look like taking into account current storylines. So enjoy...

DARK MATCH

*ECW no.1 Contender Match, 25 Man Battle Royal - 25 Superstars who aren't in a match — As messy as it was I enjoyed last years and being as ECW probably won't have more than one match on the card they might as well be given the Dark Match.

Winner — Umaga

WRESTLEMANIA 25

1. Money in the Bank Ladder Match — John Morrison vs Mr. Kennedy vs MVP vs Rey Mysterio vs CM Punk vs Shelton Benjamin v Matt Hardy

Last years MITB was easily the best and I can't see this years beating it, but we'll hopefully get a good match. For the past four years I've been surprised by the result so i'll go with an MVP win being as he hasn't been doing to well as of late.

Winner — MVP

2. The Legacy (Rhodes, Dibiase, DH Smith) vs Vince McMahons Team (The Rock, Rob Van Dam, Roddy Piper)

After Monday night, I can only see the Orton feud with Vince resulting in a match at 'Mania. Hopefully it won't be Vince vs Orton, so I choose The Legacy vs Vince's team of legends (it is WM 25 after all).

Vince will probably select his team in weekly installments starting with Piper the night after No Way Out, then the next week he'll choose RVD and then the Rock will be his last pick, being as it is WM 25 I can see the Rock be willing to do something similar to WM 20.

Plus I like the idea of the future of WWE vs the past of WWE. Hopefully though RVD will return full time.

Winner — The Legacy

3. ECW Title - Umaga vs Jack Swagger

I heard that once Umaga returns from injury he'll be given a push, but I can't see this happening on SD as it's already overflowing with main eventers. So they might as well use him on ECW, like what they did with Kane. If there is a battle royal I can't see them having the winner go on to lose.

Winner — Umaga (New ECW Champion)

4. If HBK wins, he is released from JBL's contract, if JBL wins HBK must retire — Shawn Michaels vs JBL

Well, it's the match nobody wants to see happen but the way RAW is looking at the moment, it's probably the only option, being as WWE is determined to stick JBL in a high profile match.

If it does happen I'm unsure as to what the result will be, I wouldn't be too surprised if JBL won, but the only way to put an end to the storyline is for HBK to win, plus the stipulation will allow for WWE to plant the seeds for HBK to retire which will probably happen before, if not at, WM 26.

Winner — Shawn Michaels

5. Jeff Hardy vs Christian

I know what you're thinking: "Why not for the WWE title". Well, considering that it's certain that Christian will face Hardy (I was a bit torn though whether Christian should face Taker) that only leaves one more high profile match for Smackdown, and I feel the match would only work if the title was on the line.

Plus, I can't see WWE immediately putting Christian in WM main event as soon as he returns as it'd probably make some of the SD locker room annoyed.

Winner — Christian

6. Undertaker vs Chris Jericho

I was thinking about placing Christian in this match, but in the end I decided that Y2J should face the dead man. Jericho is probably one of a few WWE superstars never to face the phenom in a high-profile match.

The Royal Rumble match often causes feuds that lead to a match at WrestleMania, I can picture Y2J getting eliminated by Taker and then coming back in and screwing Undertaker over causing him to be eliminated.

Winner — Undertaker

7. Women's Title — Beth Phoenix vs Melina

In a recent article I said that Melina would win at the Royal Rumble but I've changed my mind. I now think that Phoenix will beat Melina at the Rumble, setting up a match at WM 25. The last couple of years the heel has won the match and I can see that trend continuing.

Winner — Beth Phoenix (Retains Women's Title)

8. WWE Title — Triple H vs Edge

I would prefer a Hardy vs Christian title match, but that leaves these two superstars in a non title match, which wouldn't work (it's too big a match not to have the title on the line). Hopefully if it does happen, it won't be the last match on the card.

Winner — Triple H (New WWE Champion)

9. Hulk Hogan vs Steve Austin

Hulk Hogan in an interview said he would like this match to happen and that he would let Austin get the victory. I can't see Austin refusing as it's in his home town (I think), it'll keep him in the spotlight, it'll get him a pretty big pay check, and he'll get to fight one of the people he probably idolised as a child.

Winner — Stone Cold Steve Austin

10. World Heavyweight Championship — Randy Orton v John Cena

I still don't like the way Cena is favored by WWE but I don't dislike him as much as I used to, when he had the Hustle, Loyalty, Respect thing going on. Hopefully Orton will win the Royal Rumble. If this match is on the card, though it's nearly impossible to choose who'll win.

Does WWE continue to push Cena or do they allow Orton and the Legacy to keep gaining momentum. If I had to choose I'd go with Cena, if Orton were to capture the gold it might have an adverse effect as it could lead the fans to cheer him, which could halt his progression into a 'mega - heel'.

Winner — John Cena (Retains WHC Title)

So there you go, my prediction as to what will happen at Mania. Obviously everything depends on what happens at the Rumble so I could be extremely close or miles off. So give or take a few promos and segments this is my prediction for the WrestleMania 25 card.

30 Men & 1 Ring: The Best and Worst of the Royal Rumble + '09 Predictions

Tom Higson — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 08:09:25 -0500

Of all the WWE events, the Royal Rumble is probably my favorite. While Wrestlemania usually has more quality, the Royal Rumble is usually the most fun. Since it's almost that time of year again, I thought I'd do a "Rumble" themed article.

So, I've written a list of what some might call "awards" and chosen the superstar most worthy. As an extra treat, I thought I'd give you my predictions for this year's Rumble.

Best Royal Rumble Match of All Time

No. 3: Royal Rumble 2008

The most recent one combined what makes a rumble match great —it was fun (Piper and Snuka), had WOW moments (Benjamin jumping straight from the ring onto the top turnbuckle), and had a great finish. The only Royal Rumble where I bought the DVD just because of the match itself.

No. 2: Royal Rumble 1993

Occurring a year before I was born, so I've only seen it on videos and YouTube. Back when Flair was “the man,” he managed to last 59 minutes and 26 seconds. The match was star packed and had one of the best finishes to date, with Hogan and Flair teaming up on Sid Vicious.

No. 1: Royal Rumble 2000

BRILLIANT, one of my all-time favorite matches and was one of few Rumbles that backed up by the rest of the card (RR 2000 is my favorite PPV of all time). It contained, in my opinion, the two funniest WWE (or WWF as it was back then) moments.

I can still see the blood stains from Cactus v HHH and I couldn't help but laugh when Too Cool were dancing and Rikishi threw his teammates out of the ring. Then, they started dancing again. When Funaki and Taka, whatever his name is, kept running in to fight until Taka was launched over the ropes and landed on his face. OUCH! All of this plus Chyna, Jericho, the Rock winning, and my favorite Kane Royal Rumble appearance make this the best rumble match of all time.

Greatest Elimination

Paul London by Gene Snitsky

Paul London is thrown over the ropes, but holds onto the apron. You just know Snitsky is going to charge at him and London will duck and throw Snitsky out. Well, Sntisky did charge at him and London did duck, however London ran at Snitsky and was hit by a monster of a clothesline. This caused him to do a shooting star press type thing off the apron and go face first onto the floor.

Check out the Best Royal Rumble Elimination Ever.

Greatest Royal Rumble Appearance

1995 Shawn Michaels

Sorry Benoit (well, not really), but HBK beat you to it. The Rumble lasted 45 minutes. The fact that he entered as No.1 and managed to win it was just unbelievable. He deserves this award.

Greatest Royal Rumble “Final 2”

No. 3: 1999 Vince McMahon v Stone Cold

How could it happen? WWE's leading face, Stone Cold, entered at No. 1. He dominated the entire Rumble and then Vince McMahon, out of nowhere stole the win, amazing.

No. 2: 2007 HBK v Undertaker

I didn't really like the Rumble in '07, but the ending ranks at No. 2 in my all-time list. It was probably the best in fighting, but I felt HBK should have won. HBK was in his hometown and recovering from an injury. He managed to fight through basicaly a handicap match against RKO with a couple of his trademark out of nowhere eliminations. He loses to a 300 lbs. Undertaker coming in at No. 30. It was great that finally a No. 30 won but come on, why not have an underdog win? The fact that the favorite came in at No. 30 and won made the Rumble lose a bit of its magic. The battle these two had deserves the runners-up spot.

No.1: 1995 HBK v British Bulldog

HBK, the arrogant tweener comes in at No. 1. He fights his way to the end against arguably the biggest face in the company at the time, British Bulldog. Bulldog tosses Michaels over the ropes and it seemed over. Bulldog's music hit, the crowd went wild, and he started to celebrate. Then, HBK charges in and knocks British Bulldog off the turnbuckle, and over the ropes. Everything goes silent and then, it's announced that only one of HBK’s feet hit the floor.

HBK won and from that we get the famous replay that shows HBK clinging onto the ropes on one foot.

Greatest Royal Rumble Superstar

[Note: this is different from a Royal Rumble appearance. Rumble appearance was for one single appearance this award is for all of their appearances]

Shawn Michaels/ Stone Cold

You choose, I couldn't. Hogan could have been included in this, but I think his three wins were because everyone else left in the match was lackluster and it helped keep Hulkamania going. Austin may have won three, as compared to HBK’s two, but I think performance-wise, they equal each other. HBK is the ultimate underdog, while Steve Austin is the ultimate destroyer.

Worst Royal Rumble Match

No. 3: 2002 Royal Rumble

Lasted 4 days, and had the predictable HHH win, plus a disappointing finish.

No. 2: 1994 Royal Rumble

The year I was born was also the year Yokozuna somehow won the Rumble. The finish was laughable with Savage jumping on Yokozuna and trying to pin him. Yokozuna tossed him off the top of him, over the ropes, and onto the mat.

No. 1:2006 Royal Rumble

The Rumble seemed to last for a week, it wasn't even last on the card, and it only included five stellar superstars. The rest of the competitors were made of rubbish (i.e. Simon Dean).

This example joins the long list of things the WWE has done to exploit the death of Eddie Guerrero. As soon as Eddie died, a three-year-old could have told you that Rey would win.

Greatest WWE Superstar to Not Win a Rumble

Eddie Guerrero

I would have liked him to win it in ’05, but once he lost the title to JBL—the year earlier, he drifted back into mid-card status. For the short time Eddie was with the WWE, he was poorly used. It's only apparent how brilliantly talented he was now that he's gone. If Eddie was still alive, he surely would be headlining PPVs instead of Batista etc.

I just wish there would have been an Eddie Guerrero v HBK match. That would have been a classic.

Predictions

Ross wrote an article recently on his predictions for the Rumble and they are almost spot on with what I think will happen.

ECW Title - Jack Swagger (c) v Matt Hardy

I would have liked Hardy to have held on to the title for a little bit longer. However, the current rule is that within a few months of entering the WWE, you have to have a title, or at least be challenging for it (ask Koslov). I've lost all interest with ECW.

WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN—Swagger wins

WHAT WILL HAPPEN—Swagger wins

Women’s Title - Melina v Beth Phoenix (c)

I've liked Phoenix this year; she has managed to hold up the crumbling women's division. However, since Melina has been on a roll, I can't see her losing this match.

WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN—Phoenix wins

WHAT WILL HAPPEN—Melina wins

WHC Title - JBL w/ HBK v Cena

I can't see JBL being given the title. HBK will be definitely involved in the outcome. However, I can see JBL ordering HBK to get a chair, but HBK will refuse and JBL will shout at him. Cena will then F-Us the distracted JBL.

WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN—JBL wins By DQ after HBK kicks his face off.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN—Cena wins after F-U (or throwback) on JBL, after JBL is arguing with HBK.

Royal Rumble Match

So far there seems no obvious choice to win. I'd love a heel to win, but I can't see WWE risking upsetting the three-year-olds. HHH is the most likely to win as he's gone a week without a title. HBK has also been tossed around as a possible winner. Yet, WWE seems determined for JBL to be in a high profile match at Mania. I think WWE has realized HBK is the only one talented enough to carry him to a good match. Therefore, I think JBL will probably screw HBK out of the victory as revenge for costing him the Cena match.

WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN—Orton wins

WHAT WILL HAPPEN—HHH wins

WWE Title - Jeff Hardy (c) v Edge

I'm not sure what will happen because so many stories have been thrown around about when Christian will return. I have a gut feeling that it will happen at the Rumble. In fact, I'm pretty sure that it will happen now as it seems definite that Christian attacked Hardy at Survivor Series. This caused Hardy and his girlfriend to crash, later causing the Pyro to screw up on Smackdown. If this is the last match on the card, Christian will return.

WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN—Jeff Hardy wins, but get's attacked by Christian after the match.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN—Edge wins, after Christian interferes.

Christian Cage Update

Tom Higson — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 02:54:37 -0500

After hearing the latest news it now seems certain Christian will return to the WWE. His contract has expired and his profile has been removed from TNA's website.

If Cage were to stay at TNA he would be the leader of TNA's frontline and the biggest face in the company after being attacked by the Main Event Mafia recently (as most of you know this was just a way to write out Christian if he were to leave).

The general feeling in TNA is that he had made his mind up months ago and in a recent crisis meeting informed them that he had received an offer from another company and was strongly considering it.

His return to WWE isn't a certainty but since Cage was wrote of our TVs a couple of months ago he hasn't had contact with anyone at TNA and it is extremely likely that he'll debut on smackdown soon.

Why WWE Needs Randy Orton or Chris Jericho To Win the Royal Rumble

Tom Higson — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 07:37:43 -0500

Flashback to the '90s (I can go only go to '94); what were the two main things that made WWE watchable?

Others may think they're other reasons why WWE great, but here's mine:

1. Unpredictability

2. Realism

These are the two reasons why wrestling was great in 1999. Unpredictability made you keep watching, remember when Vince McMahon won the rumble?

While realism did what it says on the tin—made things seem real, of course nowadays the main reason wrestling is often called 'fake' is because it's so obvious—I mean Batista would have trouble selling a £10 note for free, so it's excruciating to watch him crash and burn trying to fake pain.

In 2000, if someone called wrestling fake, you could probably mount a convincing counter argument that wrestling is staged but still manage to convince the person that wrestling does have dangers, maybe you could Google Owen Hart and then see what the person's reaction was, in 2000 not only was it annoying when people called wrestling but it was also disrespectful to the likes of Owen Hart, who died doing something that's often perceived as 'risk free.'

Now, in 2008, if someone starts up a conversation about the wreck that is WWE and how it is obviously staged, I find myself becoming extremely annoyed and want to argue back, but I know if I try to argue that there is serious risk involved, I'll be torn to pieces and probably get a response like "shut up Tom, maybe eight years ago but you can see them throwing punches at the guys shoulder and the pleb will hold his head," and to be honest they're right.

Of course it doesn't help when multi-millionaire owner Vince McMahon decides to save a bit of money from the tax man, they're no longer called wrestlers or sports entertainers but simply 'entertainers'...Isn't Jim Carrey an entertainer?

It doesn't help when the company is trying to stop being the laughing stock among the sports world when it's owner would rather have more money than's enough rather than actually call them what they're supposed to be.

You may be reading this and wondering what does this article have to do with 'Why the WWE needs Randy Orton or Chris Jericho to Win the Royal Rumble,' well, if this were to happen it would help WWE regain some unpredictability and realism, and maybe Edge would fall into someone who should win the Rumble as well, but I think a talent lacking RAW needs it more than Smackdown (I don't think ECW has a chance of winning the rumble).

Firstly, why the hell has only one heel won the Royal Rumble in 21 years (I won't class Yokozuna as a heel because the whole rumble that year was a joke), and even then Vince gave up the 'Mania shot.

Surely the majority of the time the devious and sneaky heel who'd team up with other superstars would come out on top more times than a face who comes in in the first 10.

With two face champions and the likelihood of Christian taking up the spot against WWE champion Jeff Hardy, that leaves John Cena, the face who get's booed.

Everyone expects a face to win the Rumble; wouldn't it be brilliant to see a five-year-olds face when Rey Mysterio or CM Punk get chucked over the top rope by the bad guy when it seemed certain to win the rumble.

It would make WWE seem unpredictable and make fans tune in every week because they knew something major was going to happen, plus it would make WWE more realistic if a heel screwed someone over to win the Rumble.

People get screwed out of things everyday so it's a no brainer to let it happen in the ring at the most important of times.

So that leaves two prime candidates, Y2J and the Legend Killer, the two men on RAW who get heel heat on their own, who don't have to resort to calling the city there in retards or insulting the local baseball team, all they have to do is win their matches and watch the world boo them.

You just know if Jericho or Orton tried their hardest, it would take under five minutes for the crowd to start launching crap at them.

Preferably Orton would win over Jericho, as I think Orton is slightly better at getting heat, but this is my opinion, I think the fact that Y2J was the biggest face in the company less than a year ago, so he still might have the fan base among the younger audience, while the last time Orton was a face was four years ago, so no one under 10 will remember that, plus his face run was so short.

Also, I think Y2J works miles better as a heel so if they were on planning on a turn before Mania, compared to Orton who I'm pretty sure works better as a heel but there's still a small part of me that wants to see Orton have get a proper run as a face. Hopefully, if a heel does win, he won't turn face, but the way WWE is run at the moment, I wouldn't be surprised.

I'm just saying that if the idiots that write WWE storylines decided to make Orton or Jericho turn if they do win the rumble then Orton is probably the better option to turn into a face. This idea though is unlikely and hopefully if a heel wins the rumble then he'll stay a heel and if face wins then hopefully a heel will screw him out of his title shot (unless HBK wins).

So here's my opinion, if you have anything you'd like to say, please leave a comment.

Cyber Sunday Format More Suited to a Match Rather Than a PPV

Tom Higson — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 05:38:16 -0500

Right, before we get started I'd like to clear something up—I know that Cyber Sunday has come and gone but I'll have probably forgotten before October, so I decided to write this article now.

Originally, the event was called Taboo Tuesday, but after two attempts the event was re-branded Cyber Sunday and moved to a Sunday night to help bolster poor viewing numbers.

Cyber Sunday is known for its "the fans decide" format, which allows the fans to log onto WWE.com, or more recently by text, to vote to decide various features in a match—whether this means participants, stipulations, or attire in the case of women's matches, each match will have something that fans can vote upon.

However, Cyber Sunday is also known for it's crappiness (some may disagree, but this is the common feeling among most fans) and often falls into the "C" class of WWE PPVs; however, I will admit that this year's was a mild, but not huge, improvement.

My main "gripe" with Cyber Sunday is with it's predictability. The audience participation factor is often a double-edged sword when involving titles. Often WWE won't risk making a title change in case the proposed new champion is not voted in by the fans.

Batista may have won the title at last year's event but the vote was for the special ref and not for the participants. Due to Batista's ultimatum, the WWE had to give him the title to keep him happy and allowed a title change the week after on RAW's 800th show, at which point he lost the title back to Jericho.

It also stops momentum that's been built in a feud. If HBK and Y2J are in a feud and the fans decide which wrestler HBK would face between Undertaker, Y2J, and HHH the majority of fans would go for the two other wrestlers—I would love to see HBK vs. Undertaker or HHH, but as far as building a feud would go, it would be the wrong choice.

Plus, the fan's choice might not always lead to the best match. For instance, faces are often likley to be chosen over heels. If Triple H was defending his WWE title and the choices were Randy Orton, JBL, and Rowdy Roddy Piper (Piper is simply for example purposes), chances are that many people (who don't know what a good match is) would vote for Roddy Piper. Even though the best option would be Orton, you would end up with a face vs. face match, which the title would never change hands.

Cyber Sunday relies to heavily on the fact that if a person votes for something in the match then they will pay the hefty PPV price tag just to see if they're vote mattered rather than whether the card is any good.

So my (if want to call it) "proposal" would be to scrap the PPV. Firstly, it would reduce the number of PPVs a year (if they're to remain the same this year as last year) to 12. This isn't as small a number as I would like but at least it reduces the schedule to one PPV per month freeing up a small amount of time for rivalries to build.

Secondly, what is wrong with taking the format and transforming it into a gimmick match? Recently, the WWE has failed to create a gimmick match that will stand the test of time like the Hell in the Cell match with the last great idea being the Elimination Chamber back in 2002.

Last year the Championship Scramble showed promise but it is yet the finished article. Plus, I can't really see people rushing to call Sky Box Office (I don't know where Americans order PPVs from, sorry) to order a PPV just because of a scramble match in the same way they do when a ladder match is announced.

When a feud is building up between more than one wrestler they could decide on one definite superstar and allow the fans to vote for the other participant. WWE could gage which superstars are liked more than others and also which gimmick matches are more popular than others.

If only one match is on the card that has some sort of vote it will also produce a more concentrated set of results from which WWE can decide what the fans want. At Cyber Sunday people can log onto WWE.com and vote randomly, meaning WWE cannot be certain whether the results there are concrete evidence of the fans' opinion.

Also, I wouldn't bet my TV (I don't think my mum and dad would be too pleased if I bet the house) if, let's call it, a "what the fans want" match was announced. It would excite fans; it would still garner the same profits as Cyber Sunday and probably more if the rest of the card was above average.

If Cyber Sunday remains a WWE PPV then it will probably only serve as a tool to allow a former great like Stone Cold referee a pointless match with a predictable outcome. It's great to see someone like Austin still wanting to be involved with WWE, but it isn't worth £20 (I think it's $40 in America) to see it happen.

Why can't this year's Wrestlemania have a "fans get what they want" match and have Stone Cold as a possible special ref which fans could vote on? It would allow Austin to come back without him having to do much (with Austin's long list of injuries an actual match against someone might put him off making an appearance) and make the result a bit unpredictable if it was to happen at 'Mania.

Please leave me your comments on whether you'd like to see a "fans get what they want" match (obviously with a good name) or if you'd prefer if Cyber Sunday remained a WWE PPV.

Is WWE Suffering from a PPV Overload?

Tom Higson — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 05:22:04 -0500

At around 1984, Vincent Kennedy McMahon hit the jackpot. He had found the reason his company would differ from the competition, the reason he'd never have to lift a finger again and the reason why WWE has been a cornerstone of the Sports Entertainment industry for nearly 25 years.

That reason is Wrestlemania.

Wrestlemania was a promoters dream; it had wrestlers, it had celebrity's and most of all Vince McMahon knew what to do with it. Where many people would have crumbled at the first hurdle or have had an idea but could not make it work, Vince McMahon knew how to attract viewers, he knew how to attract audiences and he knew how to make money while he did it.

Wrestlemania became the first proper wrestling PPV (they had one a couple of months earlier but that failed). Profiting from the fact that people had money to burn he created his second annual PPV, Survivor Series another attraction that would make Vince rich.

Eventually, Vince settled on the 'Big Four' for the time being, fast-forward 20 years and now WWE is cramming 13 PPVs into a single year, meaning sometimes two PPVs are held in a month. In 2006, there were 15.

The 13 PPVs are usually divided into three classes by most people:-

A - The original big four PPV's - Mania, Royal Rumble, S Series, and Summerslam

B - The better of the remaining PPV's - eg. Backlash

C - The worst PPVs WWE has to offer, often contains much filler on the card and has predictable results - eg. Judgement day

The point I'm trying to make here is that WWE doesn't need 13 PPVs a year. The whole point of a pay-per-view is that they're meant to be special, something that you watch RAW or Smackdown for weeks in a row to know whats going to happen at the next PPV.

Instead now the majority of PPVs are just a way of joining the three brands together to fill out a card, they are practically just another Monday Night RAW or Friday Night Smackdown with the titles on the line.

It was great to have a build up of maybe two months between two superstars and then have a huge pay-off at a PPV. Now we are getting feuds that last less than a month.

One of the main reasons the other title divisions bar the two major titles are becoming painful to watch, and this could have a knock on effect on the WHC and WWE title division.

Due to the short space in between PPV's, the four brand shows in between have to be dedicated to the brands top title (I'm not saying that a PPV shouldn't be built around the main event, but a card needs more than one good match), and because all the time is being put into the main event we are seeing random matches between two superstars for belts like the Intercontinental title.

Two superstars have had a limited amount of time to build a feud and have been rushed into a match together.

This will eventually damage the main event picture, too, when guys like Randy Orton have retired, who is going to carry the company then, a superstar who has never really been in a five-star match or a long feud that has the ability to give the superstar the push he needs.

Furthermore, remember when it was great to see a gimmick match, well the majority of gimmick matches have lost the WOW factor that made people buy an event just to watch, a match like the Ladder match is being staged at nearly every PPV to decide pointless feuds, rather than having a ladder match every six months to decide a feud like Razor Ramon v Shawn Michaels or the Dudleys v the Hardy Boys v Edge and Christian, we are now seeing the match sometimes on RAW.

I mean, was there the need a couple of years ago to have Kane and Hurricane defending the tag titles in ladder match, the match should be kept for people who are specialists (like Edge) and not giving it to 300-pound plus wrestlers who can't do anything with the match.

Personally, I'd like to see WWE reduce their PPV schedule to around seven or eight a year. They could have Backlash, Night of Champions, Summerslam, Unforgiven, Survivor Series, Royal Rumble, and then Wrestlemania and space them out over the year.

This would give time for feuds to grow, gimmick matches to seem special, and allow brand shows like RAW to hold the one off World Title match making the brand shows seem less missable because at the moment you could probably miss three of the four RAW's before a PPV and still be able to catch up.

Honestly, the only feud worth watching was HBK v Y2J, two superstars who used to benefit from a shortened PPV schedule. In 1998, a three-month feud wouldn't have seemed too uncommon, but now it's the opposite, where we often have to watch a short and crappy feud, and when we do see a feud of two months or more, it's a treat.

Only when it does happen a bunch of five-year olds become restless watching something that lasts longer than a month and we don't get chance to see a payoff to a feud that deserves one. Shame.

Is WWE a Better Place Without Batista?

Tom Higson — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 07:08:23 -0500

Batista began his career in the WWE as D-Von's sidekick—back when he was a reverend (I know, WWE was crap back then too!).

He didn't really do much at that time besides help Dudley win a few matches. Then, over on RAW, they decided to gang a bunch of wrestlers together and realized all that was left was to add a big guy into the stable Batista.

So he found himself with a new job (one where people actually vaguely remembered his name after the show ended). During this time he screwed Stone Cold, won the tag titles with the Nature Boy and broke Goldberg's leg, earning himself a nice $100,000 in the process (not bad for one night's work).

All this happened, but people still saw Batista as practically a brick wall—run into it and you'll have a few nasty bruises, but try to speak to it and you won't get much of a conversation (I say this when probably that was the character he was supposed to be playing).

But all of this changed when teammate Randy Orton won the big one. You see, when this happened you just knew that Evolution was screwed and, guess what, about three months later Batista had won the Royal Rumble (even though it was clear that his feet had hit the floor before Cena's).

Around this time Batista became worth watching. You were never going to get a five-star match out of him, but you'd probably see the other guy get pummeled, which was always pretty amusing.

At Wrestlemania 21, Batista beat his former mentor, HHH, in a pretty decent match, and held onto the title until he injured himself, meaning that he wouldn't be headlining the next Mania.

However, as predicted, Batista came back and won the title again, and finally Batista put on good matches, and it wasn't because of the opposition, as it had been before, but because now Batista had finally learnt how to wrestle slightly.

His improvements carried on until Wrestlemania 23 where, he put probably the second best match of the year (number 1 being HBK vs. Cena on RAW) against Taker.

But since then Batista's improvements have stalled dramatically, and he has now reverted back to the wrestler he was when he was backing up D-Von.

Matches now consist of Batista getting slightly hurt (you wouldn't think so, though, being as Batista couldn't sell a punch to a 3-year-old) and then trying to recreate an Ultimate Warrior-type hype up before spearing the other guy and hitting a powerbomb (a move that was botched most of the time).

Plus, he couldn't cut a promo to save his life. I can't remember a time when Batista's promo didn't include the line "[insert name], get down here now so I can kick your ass."

Even WWE seemed to be realising that Batista was on a downward spiral when they stuck him in a match with Umaga at WM 24 rather than in the main event. Now this was when I really began to dislike Batista as a wrestler.

In a match where Umaga gave it everything he could, Umaga had a right to be a little pissed at the way he was being treated by WWE and yet still for the fans a 400-pound man did everything he could to put on a good solid match for 10 minutes.

The problem was Batista didn't turn up that night. Every move he made he botched, and every punch that was thrown at him, he didn't sell. It was a sorry sight to see when Umaga was giving his all and Batista couldn't be bothered.

From that point onwards, Batista's ego seemed to come first and get in the way of everything else. His matches became sloppier, and his promos became crappier.

Batista began relying on what a I call the "John Cena factor," by this I mean Batista was being carried by his fan base and that he was now stealing main event spots from top superstars like HBK and Jeff Hardy—while he was on RAW—because a bunch of kids preferred a guy who speared people a lot to guys like John Morrison who deserved a push last year.

Batista's injury was an early Christmas gift for most fans, as Batista was probably the favourite for the Rumble match and it was a certainty that we were going to see Cena vs. Batista II at Mania, a match that every child would enjoy but would disappoint nearly every fan who can tell a decent match from a crap match (which this one was).

At least someone like Chris Jericho might get the reward his hard work deserves with a main event spot at Wrestlemania.

Simply put, Batista is a pretty good wrestler, someone who has benefited from the restrictions that has stopped others to shine.

WWE is scared of the man's huge ego, as evident when they give him the World Heavyweight Championship (albeit only for a few weeks) to please him after he offered an ultimatum to the board and when he beat Orton recently, even though for storyline purposes it was clear to see that Batista should have jobbed to Orton.

Batista wouldn't have lasted five minutes in the WWE in '98, and he is only there because of the serious shortage of talent on RAW at the moment.

My Lead Up to Wrestlemania

Tom Higson — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 22:36:36 -0500

I just read an article called 'my perfect build to WrestleMania' and it was pretty good, I really liked the Royal Rumble part so I thought I might as well write my own ideas for the road to WrestleMania, this isn't an attempt to crap on TJ Duncan's article but simply an alternative.

If you've read "Crunch Time: What the WWE Needs to Do Regain Respect" by me, there was a section about the Rumble so this article will be pretty similar but just a bit more fleshed out.

ROYAL RUMBLE 2009

Jeff Hardy is backstage doing an interview, he's talking about how he is going to defeat Edge, he then says no matter who wins the rumble whether RAW, ECW or Smackdown he'll beat whoever he has to face at WrestleMania.

Then Randy Orton walks in on the interview and says he's going to win the royal rumble and then Jeff better watch his back because when he does win the rumble it doesn't matter who he faces he'll be a champion the night after Mania.

Jeff argues back and squares up to Orton, Orton intimidated signals to the back and Priceless come out from the shadows, seeing his brother outnumbered Matt comes to back up his brother Jeff.

Orton warns Matt that his title could be his after Mania too. Orton tells them both to watch their back because no matter what they do he'll be in the main event when WM25 comes around.

Edge vs. Jeff Hardy

La Familia joins Edge at ringside, halfway through the match Matt Hardy runs out to help his brother seeing that La Familia is getting a little too involved. Soon La Familia gets sent to the back by the ref after trying to distract Jeff.

Later on in the match Jeff has Edge ready for a swanton bomb, but out of nowhere Legacy come from ringside and attack Matt. Jeff distracted by this gets off the turnbuckle and aids Matt, the Legacy cower to the backstage area, Jeff helps Matt up and returns to the ring but out of nowhere Edge runs and spears Jeff getting the cover.

Postmatch

Jeff angered by his loss attacks Cody Rhodes and takes his place in the Rumble.

ROYAL RUMBLE Match

Jeff enters at No. 4.

At the No. 21 mark, Orton is shown heading to the ring but from nowhere Matt Hardy runs out and attacks Orton with a chair claiming that he knew it was him that set Legacy on him and Jeff, costing Jeff the title. Orton knocked out is seemingly out of the Rumble.

Jeff still isn't eliminated and gets to the final two with HBK; JBL comes out and orders HBK to eliminate himself saying that he wants to be RAW No. 1 contender (he lost against Cena earlier in the night).

HBK, distracted, is eliminated by Jeff, who dropkicked Michaels over the ropes. Jeff's music hits and starts celebrating it's made out for about three minutes that he's won the rumble and JR is saying 'good night folks' (almost as if the little copyright logo is going to appear and the show is over) when as Jeff is still stood on the turnbuckle celebrating Orton runs out with a plaster on his head and pushes Jeff off the turnbuckle and over the ropes.

Jeff’s music stops and Orton stands in the ring with his arm raised, Jeff looks on in amazement from the outside. This goes on while JR shouts ‘My God, what’s just happened; who has won the royal rumble?’

RAW (weeks leading up to No Way Out)

Orton comes out at the start of the show and tells everyone that the fans didn’t see it coming, Matt Hardy didn’t see it coming, and most of all Jeff Hardy didn’t see it coming and that he is the rightful winner of the Rumble.

Jeff’s music hit’s and comes to the ring, he says when Orton was ruled out of the rumble by the medical staff he lost his chance in the rumble and that Orton’s appearance at the end of the show didn’t effect the result because as soon as HBK went over the ropes and his feet hit the ground and Jeff was declared the winner that was it and he had won.

Orton is about to complain when Shane’s music hit’s he comes to the ring and sides with Jeff saying that as soon as Orton was taken out and someone took his place Orton had no business in the Rumble match and that there had already been 30 people enter the match and a Rumble can’t have 31 (for storyline purposes; I know they’ve already had 31 before).

Shane declares Jeff is the No. 1 contender, Stephanie McMahon joins them in the ring and says that when Orton was attacked, the medics never consulted her so she never ruled Randy Orton out of the Royal Rumble and she never decided that there should be a new No. 21 entrant, so in her eyes Randy Orton was still the 21st entrant and as GM of RAW her decision is final.

Shane says that they will both have to reach a decision by the end of the show.

The two McMahons come to the ring at the end of the show, Stephanie announces that they have not come to a decision and by next week they’ll have one...

Halfway through her sentence Vince’s music hits and he comes out explains that he is sick of watching them fail to run the show and announces that they’re both Fired!

NEXT WEEK Vince announces that as the main event there will be a battle royal to decide the new temporary GM until he can find a new one and that anyone can compete, also Randy Orton will face Jeff Hardy in a No. 1 contender match.

Later that night Hardy defeats Orton, but in the battle royal Orton wins and is the new GM of RAW.

Orton says that he has managed to convince Vickie Guerrero to give him Hardy (to stop him facing Edge) and that Orton now decides what happens to Jeff.

He says that he may be the number one contender but he’ll have to defend it against the Legacy in a handicap match next week on RAW who’ll be representing him and that he’ll be special ref.

NEXT WEEK Jeff loses the match and Orton has won back his WrestleMania title shot.

NEXT WEEK Vince returns and says that he couldn’t find anyone to be new GM as apparently no one wanted the job as they have had threats to their family by someone, Orton who’s in the ring smirks at this.

Vince then says Orton didn’t let him finish and that he couldn’t find one until now. Vince says he isn’t pleased but he hasn’t fully recovered and it’s the only man he felt could restore law and order to RAW: Stone Cold Steve Austin.

Stone Cold says while he can’t take Orton WrestleMania title shot away from him he can give the No Way Out title shot to Hardy, so if Hardy wins they may be seeing each other again at Mania.

NO WAY OUT

Jeff Hardy defeats John Cena and is the new world heavyweight champion.

WEEKS LEADING TO 'MANIA

The week before WM 25 Austin announces the title match will be a TLC match and so Orton doesn’t receive any outside help he’ll be special ref. Vince then comes out and says if he lays a hand on Jeff or Orton he’ll lose his job.

WrestleMania

The two trade control of the match. Towards the end of the match Legacy run out to aid Orton, Austin fights with them but they outnumber him. Matt Hardy runs through the crowd and fends off Legacy, the Hardy boys and Austin stare down on Orton, Orton tries to explain but Austin orders the Hardys to attack Orton (he can’t or he’ll be fired).

Jeff walks to Orton but Orton stands there and smirks at Jeff, Jeff looks at Orton puzzled but then Matt suddenly kicks Jeff in the stomach and hits the twist of fate on Jeff shouting that there’s only room for one hardy with a title in the WWE and it isn’t going to be Jeff.

Orton climbs the ladder and Austin looks on knowing he can’t do anything otherwise he’ll be sacked. But just as Orton is near the top of the ladder Austin grabs Orton’s tights but Orton shouts at Austin to think about it and that he’ll get fired.

Austin lets go and Orton gets the belt and is the new champion.

(Matt Hardy had been working with Orton all along and they faked the attack at the rumble.)

The Top 10 WWE Matches of The 21st Century

Tom Higson — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 04:35:04 -0500

This only my fourth bleache report article so if there is a couple of spelling mistakes or mistakes about matches I apoligize in advance. I would have loved to have made this a best of all time list but I'm only 14 so I haven't been around long enough to be able to witness some of the supposed all time greats such as Steamboat v Flair so I felt it would be unfair and wouldn't be a proper list If I called it an all time list and didn't include some of these matches. So playing it safe I thought I'd stick to just a 21st century list and include the best WWE matches. I would have also liked to include WCW (remember them!) but considering WCW was only good in the 90's and since the turn of the millenium could only offer us a 300 year old Hogan v Buff Bagwell I made the list WWE exclusive so don't expect to see Sting or anyone like that on the list. There was about 20 matches that could have made the list so in the end I choose to pick the ones I enjoyed the most rather than the ones that were technically the best (well one match got in the list for precisley that though). Remember, this is my own opinion so if you don't agree leave a commentoffering your views, plus if you feel I've ranked the matches in the wrong order of just completley left them of the list (i'll have probably forget a few off here) leave a comment for that too. There have been many matches that I've enjoyed this century so I thought it would only be fair to give a couple of matches a mention that just missed the list - Elimination Chamber (survivor series 2002) Royal Rumble 2000 Royal Rumble 2008 HBK v Y2J Ladder match(No Mercy 2008) HBK v HHH Last Man Standing (Royal Rumble 2004) HBK v Kurt Angle (Wrestlemania 21) So don't expect to see these on the list, all that's left to write now is read, enjoy and comment...

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BREAKING NEWS: Wrestlemaina Plans Leaked!

Tom Higson — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 01:41:16 -0500

I've just checked out a wrestling news site called "Lords of Pain" and apparently they have reliable info concerning the current plans for Wrestlemania 25. It isn't set in stone that these events will occur, but they've never failed me before providing spoilers on Royal Rumble '08 and Wrestlemania 24 to name a few.

You might not like the direction these events are heading, and it might not be true (but that's unlikely), but I didn't write it, so don't shoot the messanger.

So far, WWE has decided that Edge will cost Jeff Hardy the WWE title at some point before 'Mania. Then, Jeff will either win the Royal Rumble (this is unlikely as the event is pretty soon and I can't see Jeff having a title match and then entering the rumble on the same night) or he'll win the elimination chamber match at No Way Out (if you've read a previous article I wrote 'Crunch Time: What the WWE can do to Regain Respect' then you'll know my thoughts on holding a chamber match at No Way Out).

Then, in the coming weeks, Edge will reveal Christian as the person who attacked Jeff at survivor series (meaning Christian won't be in the rumble). Jeff will then decide to turn down a title shot (most likely against HHH) to have a grudge match against Christian at 'Mania. (Which I don't see the point of doing, this means a rumble win or an entire chamber match is pointless).

Not only will Jeff face Christian, but the WWE title match will be Edge v HHH.

These events aren't certainly going to happen, but that is the plan at the moment.

Crunch Time: What The WWE Can Do To Regain Respect

Tom Higson — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 03:47:18 -0500

I've never wrote an article on wrestling before but I've always been a fan, so I decided that this was as good a time as any. For the 14 years I've lived I've always loved the WWE (and WCW in the 90's), but since somewhere around 2004 it seemed uncool to watch wrestling, not to me but to every single idiot I tried to explain to that it was 'fake' in one sense, but then again there was more chance breaking your neck making a pre- determined jump from a cage than there is participating in a 'real sport' like football or 'soccer' for the Americans (not that I don't like football, I probably like it more than WWE but it was an easy example to use).

So, it probably doesn't help my case when I do watch wrestling I see the likes of Shawn Michaels being wasted with the likes of JBL, it might not have been as bad as let's say 2006 when after the bore-fest that was the Royal Rumble. That year, I stopped watching wrestling for a few months, but it still is a bit of the disappointment most of the time.

So I choose to compile a list of things that could drag the WWE out of the ditch it's slowly heading towards (if not already there). Some you might not agree with, so leave some extra ideas just in case Vince McMahon accidentaly types Bleacher Report into Google.

Release JBL

JBL has got a great gimmick (rich guy that hates the poor and so on) but it's hard to watch when the guy trying to pull it off can do about as much as a 70-year-old Ric Flair (not that he wasn't great in his A-day). I enjoyed JBL in his commentating role and reminded me of Jerry Lawler at his best—the bully who favours the heel—but JBL couldn't bear watching good wrestlers get a chance, so he got off his arse and decided to get involved with Chris Jericho (which stopped Jericho's momentum that he had after his return) which he continues to do a year after by getting another title shot which everyone knows he won't win.

Give HBK a Chance

The showstopper is the best of all-time in my mind, the whole package. The man that could make you laugh, cry or boo him out of the arena and then go and jump off a ladder and put on the match of the year at the age of 40-plus—not everyone will agree with Michales being the best, but only Bret Hart would leave him off a top 10 greatest wrestler's list (but, then again, it'd probably be 10 different versions of Bret hart on his).

Anyway, I'm sick of seeing Shawn being placed in the worst storylines just to push a worse wrestler, I don't mind having the odd match of the year with Shelton Benjamin or Randy Orton but it's irritating when he's stuck in a storyline with JBL right now. It's unfair that Shawn is being screwed over by a couple of people who can't put Montreal behind them (eg. Bret Hart).

HBK carried an aging Ric Flair to a match of the year, something that no one else could of done, yet he's only won one world title since his return when John Cena craps world title runs.

Turn the Legend Killer Face

Remember 2004 when Randy Orton won the WHC (something that DiBiase or Rhodes will undeservedly win by next year) and then had a brilliant face only for it to end because 5-year-old kids decided that they'd rather see a train wreck of a match with Batista rather than the best young wrestler in the business at the time (along with Benjamin).

Well now Manu is seemingly going to be thrown out of the laughing stock called the 'Legacy' (which is made up of Orton, two decent wrestlers, a former John Travolta wannabe and an Umaga lookalike), they could turn on Orton and Orton could turn face and wage war against the legacy which could lead to a handicap match at wresltemania between Orton and Priceless, which Priceless could win giving them a decent push.

Have a Heel Royal Rumble Winner

Now that Batista is injured the Royal Rumble got more interesting, last years along with 2000 was the best Royal Rumble match, it was fast paced fun had a few comedy moments and a shock outcome compared to 2006 which was long predictable and contained three wrestlers who had a chance of winning and the rest being made up by the likes of Simon Dean.

Guessing that most people will think that a face who's worked so hard for his chance for the shot at Mania it'd be great to see the likes of CM Punk or Rey Mysterio enter at No. 1 work so hard to get to the end and the be sneakily eliminated from behind by a heel who entered at No. 30 (preferably Randy Orton if he stays heel otherwise Edge or Chris Jericho).

Make Jeff Hardy Lose at Mania

I didn't really agree with Jeffs win at Armageddon (not because he didn't deserve it—he should have been given it at No Mercy—but because they'd left it so long they might as well have given him it at Mania after a Rumble win).

But if my last 'wish' comes true it would even be a bigger shock for Edge (judging the other two are on RAW and the fact that RAW seems to be lacking talent so they won't jump brands) to score a victory over Hardy at Mania (this could happen on RAW but everyone dislikes Cena so it wouldn't have the same shock value) just imagine it - 'Jeff Hardy locks in the twist of fate and goes to hit it but Edge pushes him off into an uncovered turnbuckle and rolls Jeff up using the tights for the 3 count'.

Bring Back Bishcoff (or at least someone like him).

If Vince is 'out of action' they need someone as hated to take over, I don't mean hated as in Mike Admale because he can't do anything right, but someone like Bishcoff who screwed over fan favourites like Steve Austin and Goldberg (at least Goldberg before the sleeping pill that was Goldberg vs. Lesnar).

I don't want William Regal or Stephanie McMahon crapping all over RAW (admitted that McMahon was half decent on Smackdown, but I can't see her doing good on RAW). I wouldn't be surprised if Ric Flair was chosen (given that he can't stay retired for more than a month), but it would only be a good thing if he was similar to his Evolution style character who licked the heels (HHH at the time) arse.

Don't Make the Elimination Chamber No Way Out 'Exclusive'

I hated the two chamber matches last year, not because they were rubbish (well, the SD one was) but because everyone knew who had won as soon as they had been announced. Some might say Jeff was going to win the Chamber, but Jeff was always heading towards a MITB win (before the drug suspension).

I heard that WWE might give each PPV a gimmick (like One Night Stand has Extreme Rules) but how about WWE puts on a good solid wrestling match rather than a stretcher match that no one has any interest.

If there is a chamber match at No Way Out they should at least have an inter brand one rather than 2 like last year (this led to SD having a chamber involving Big Daddy V, Finlay and Great Khali). The best elimination chambers are the one's where six men all have issues with each other and it's a surprise when it's announced there'll be a chamber match at the next PPV rather than six random men thrown together for the sake of having the match.

Stop Putting Wrestlers into Categories

By this I mean that WWE need to stop having a wrestler associated with one title, it was great in 2002, when people like HHH wanted the IC title rather than spending his life fantasising about the WWE title.

The main reason the Tag Division is crap is because soon as someone wins a tag title they have already turned on there partner an won the WWE title, this is the reason there's no new Hardys or Edge and Christian type teams.

No more PG

Alright, I don't expect a team like DX to start making penis jokes at 11:00 on a Saturday morning, but I don't like the next WWE champion being decided by a 5-year-old in the audience. Make a character like John Cena stop the fan-loving image and turn into a thug (like he was in '04, but without the rapping).

I was irritated a couple of months ago when I bought Royal Rumble 08 and the part where Jericho strangles JBL with a cord was cut out to make it more kid friendly, let's face it, a 7-year-old isn't going to pay £20 to pay for a PPV, so it makes good business sense to bring back a more adult orientated program.

Top 10 Liverpool Moments This Season

Tom Higson — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 07:16:58 -0500

Been as it's around Christmas Time I thougt I'd create a nice collection of Liverpools best moments, I intended to do 12 (like the song) but it was getting late so I just gave you 10, whether fellow Liverpool fan or not leave me cooments offering alternatives to mine or your own top 10. There's probably a lot more better ideas but my mind was firing blanks so I threw together what I could remember.

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Gerrard Fiasco Uncovers FA & Co's Inconsistensies

Tom Higson — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 06:17:24 -0500

Usually you can't change the channel on the TV or turn the page of a newspaper without seeing an image of Steven Gerrard. The majority of the time this is down to something good—usually Gerrard dragging a Fernando Torres-less Liverpool out of a ditch against lesser opponents.

But lately, Stevie G. has been in the spotlight for the wrong reasons. Gerrard is often perceived as a role model, one of the few footballers who don't crave media attention. But, when he does get it, he doesn't complain and sees it as an opportunity to discuss Liverpool or other football matters, rather than the usual trash we receive from celebrities (ie. fashion, political crap they don't understand etc.).

Gerrard, for the most part, has been loyal to Liverpool and its fans and doesn't pull a Joey Barton and kick the crap out of anyone he sees for the fun of it. This has remained the same besides once running over a kid (but he made up for it) and once handing in a transfer, which is something United fans often remind me about even though arguably their best player, Wayne Rooney, was once an Everton player.

But, he quickly transformed into a player who kissed his new clubs badge in front of the fans of a club that would risk trying to give a 17-year old unproven Rooney a chance.

Recently, however, Gerrard has hit the headlines for being charged with ABH—at least I think that's what it's called—after reacting to a DJ in a club. I'm not condoning Gerrard's actions, but someone who is so well known wouldn't lash out without being provoked.

The best bet is that the Manchester United fan DJ decided that a loyal fan's job is to provoke an opposing teams' player while trying to celebrate a victory, instead of turning up at Old Trafford to cheer his team on.

Witnesses have said that the DJ reacted angrily at Gerrard's request to change the music (hardly a big deal, and every club I've been to allows you to request a song you want to hear) and that he pushed Gerrard in the chest. Gerrard instinctively reacted by elbowing the guy in the face.

Anyway, this takes me onto my main point of discussion—what are football's governing bodies doing to stop things like this happening on and off the pitch?

The likelihood is that Gerrard will be hit with a two week fine and about a hour of community service, but the fact is that there's a possible five-year sentence as a punishment.

The fact that the latter is even a possibility (a small one though) amazes me when people are getting away with worse on the pitch.

About a week or two ago, Wayne Rooney threw an elbow at Stoke player Faye. This act went unpunished; he may not have made contact, but there was intent. Now, I'm not saying he should be given a three month ban, but at least a fine for an unprovoked attack that could have been worse.

A few weeks earlier than that Rooney stamped on Aalborg's keeper (at least I think it was Aalborg). Anyone who has half a brain could see that Rooney aimed his foot at the keeper. United fans can argue that he was falling back and just trying to regain balance as he stumbled back, but if this was true, surely there wouldn't be enough force to cause the goalkeepers chest to bleed. This act went unpunished yet again.

Using another example: Danny Guthrie, earlier in the season, broke Fagan's leg with a malicious kick. If that would have happened in the centre of Manchester and Danny Guthrie was a normal person, he'd be sat in a prison cell right now, but instead he received a ban for a couple of games and nothing more.

The problem is the FA, UEFA, FIFA etc. are too busy worrying when their next TV deal runs out, rather than the thuggish acts that sometimes occur on the pitch. It's not enough to give people like Danny Guthrie a slap on the arse and a telling off; they need to start giving out proper punishments. I'm not saying prison sentences, but Danny Guthrie should have been banned until the end of the season.

Because the next time Wayne Rooney stumbles back and tries to "regain balance," the keeper might not be as lucky and get a face full of Rooney's studs, which could cause serious damage (Petr Cech got off lightly.)

Plus, they need to stop the rule that two yellow cards can't be rescinded. I'm tired of watching someone who kicked someone in the head get the same punishment as a player who's made a decent ball winning tackle and get booked and then get a second yellow for kicking the ball away because Rob Styles can't keep his cards in his pocket.

Things We Found Out This Season

Tom Higson — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 07:51:40 -0500

For my first article on Bleacher Report I was wondering what I could write and because everything I thought of had already been wrote about by the other Bleacher Report writes so I decided that if I couldn't beat 'em I might as well join 'em so like 500 other people I thought I'd write a mid - season review.

Here's an interesting (hopefully!) list of my views on the season so far.

Rafa was Right

As a 14 year old Liverpool fan I have never experienced my team win the league so I couldn't be more pleased with our current position ... or could I? In a couple of weeks we'll probably sit 1 point above United (judging that they'll most likely win their games in hand) I don't expect a Liverpool to win every game they play but I expect 3 points against Stoke,Fulham (who had the worst away record in the league at the time) and a least 1 against Tottenham.

I would feel a lot more comfortable with an 8 point gap rather than 1. For the past couple of season's I've had to sit with my mates at school while they laughed at Rafa Benitez rotational system and I found myself annoyed myself when I'd tune into Sky Sports 1 to see the team sheet and realise Rafa has put Stevie - G on the left wing to make room for the hopeless Momo Sossoko(thank god he left) in the centre of midfield.

Even if I did laugh when after rotating 99 games in a row he kept the same squad it was still frustrating to see Djibril Ciise on the right wing a couple of season's back. Now one point clear Rafa has kept practically the same team every game and with Fernando Torres injured i'm beginning to wonder ... are we going to run out of steam.

Compared to Chelsea we have as much depth as a piece of paper and I dread to think of the day when Steven Gerrard tears his hamstring and we throw on Lucas to replace him. Liverpool tend to improve in the second half of the season and the only way that is going to happen is if Stevie - G stops brawing with DJ's, Torres stays injury free and Robbie Keane carries on his run of decent form (if you can call it that).

John Terry is over - rated

Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Cristiano Ronaldo are always a couple of names I hear that are over - rated, there's one I do agree with (I'm not telling you but I'm a Liverpool fan so you could probably guess) but one name I never hear is John Terry. Watching a couple of Chelsea games I noticed that the Chelsea defence is not as strong as it used to be and that is mainly down to Carvalho's absence.

Much like Jamie Carragher Carvalho sit's in defence and does his job without any fuss, I then look at John Terry who usually is called the best defender in the world, when you watch him you couldn't agree more but then when you concentrate on his performances you realise he isn't that great, it's great making a last ditch sliding tackle to save the game or nodding a header from a corner but Terry fails at the basics, he usually occupies the position at the near post so it looks like a superhuman act when he sticks a foot out to stop a certain call but when he stands where he should he usually ends up making a silly lunge resulting in a red card (leon osmon for example) or losing his temper. The problem is John Terry might look superhuman at certain moments but for the majority of the match he fails at the most important part actually defending.

Cristiano Ronaldo isn't the best in the world anymore

United fans should take note of the anymore located at the end of the sentence. Last season i'll hold my hands up he was the best in the world but now he has reverted back to the player from three years ago.

Last season Ronaldo would pull Untied out of a ditch by scoring a goal of the season contender and for the majority of the time had kept the diving to a minimum but this season Ronaldo has crumbled under the pressure. Now regarded as the best and lumbered in a club he doesn't want to be at (Ferguson can deny it as much as he likes) he has become the player everyone hated a few years back, the one that would throw a tantrum when he screwed up, the one that rolled around after being a shoulder barge and most annoyingly the one that complains about being kicked off the park afterwards even though he get's the same as everyone else.

The problem is even United fans are starting to dislike the Portuguese winger and even more important than that is the fact that the other United players seemed to be getting annoyed when he jumps 3 yards after getting knocked off the ball or who loses it while trying to take on the ninth player when Wayne Rooney is stood waiting for a pass.

The FA need to actually do what they're there for.

Lets face it Wayne Rooney should be sat at home facing a suspension. After that horrible stamp on a keeper in the champions league Rooney got off free and now after trying to elbow Faye it seems he'll get off with it again, everyone bar United and Cheslea know that the FA are scared of anyone with more than £5 in their bank account.

Earlier in the season John Terry yet again got a red card overturned after rugby tackling Jo even though if John Terry had played for Fulham the outcome would have been less likely. After the ghost goal at Watford earlier in the season in the championship the FA need to shut up about goal line technology and start actually thinking about using it, the ridiculously paid FA need to actually think of a way to re-start after using the video footage before someone else gets away with a goal they haven't scored.

We'd respect Refs if they did their job.

I'm pretty sure i'm not the only who thinks this way. After watching Rob Styles screw up for the 100th time and not get punished I got a bit annoyed. It's alright Andy Gray saying that demoting a ref won't make a mistake but if you're at work and you mess up you'll get sacked, reffing is a job so they should be treated the same way.

Robbie Keane wasn't the worst summer buy.

Robbie Keane at the moment is receiving more criticism than he deserves, he might not be firing in goals but the only reason he's under the microscope is because Liverpool hadn't managed to score against teams like Stoke and Fulham. But nobody ever points the finger at Dimtair Berbatov, a man who cost £10 million more than Keane and has scored around the same amount of goals, Robbie Keane also works extremely hard and was probably the main reason Liverpool beat United he didn't score but he put pressure on the opposition and made vital moves and passes compared to Berbatov who made 1 good pass in the first five minutes than stood and sulked for the rest of the match, this routine has continued up until now while Keane has recently hit good form and started scoring.

Mark Hughes isn't the man to lead City

I find it laughable that the Abu Dabi group would want Mark Hughes' face plastered all around Asia, I can't see the twp co - existing when Abu Dabi are dreaming that Kaka would leave a champions league spot for a a mid table club in City while Mark Hughes wants to bring in the likes of Stephen Warnock. This is forgetting the most important point, Mark Hughes is a crap manager and it's irritating to watch him in the post - match press conference blaim a 3-0 defeat on the ref for the 10th time.

Predictions

I can't be bothered writing the whole league out so here's my top 5 prediction

1.Liverpool - If we can make a few good summer signings and Torres stays injury free we've got the best chance we've ever had.

2.Manchester United - The trip to the Club World Cup could cost them in the long run, predicting they'll most likely go far in the Champions League so it'll probably come to a point where they've got about 6 games in a fortnight.

3.Chelsea - Every Chelsea player bar Frank Lampard seem to have become a bit disillusioned at Chelsea (especially Drogba) they're lacking the fire power they used to have.

4.Arsenal - Cesc's injury may be a blessing in disguise as it may force Weneger to spend big, Wenger has a decent eye for talent and will probably bring the quality signings needed to edge Villa out.

5.Aston Villa - Don't have the depth to last the season out or the money to buy players who do.

Champions League - Barcalona 1-2 Liverpool

FA Cup - Manchester United 3-2 Chelsea

Uefa Cup - A.C Milan 3-0 Aston Villa