WCW Bash At The Beach 97 Results and Review

We go back to 1997 to one of the premier pay per view events from WCW. This was in Daytona Beach, Florida and the audience was about 8,000 strong. I primarily wanted to watch and review this one because it had the Kevin Sullivan retirement match, and that retirement would send WCW into a tailspin, because he would be part of the booking committee of WCW. It was a few years later that Sullivan would get the full booking position and would cause Eddie Guerrero, Dean Malenko, and Chris Benoit to quit WCW completely and jump to WWE. However, this match had a LOT of great matches, and if you have the network watch it or buy the DVD version and see it unedited.

Buy WCW Bash At The Beach 97 on VHS by Clicking Here

First we’ll go into the match review and then the results completely in a list.

Mortis and Wrath defeated Glacier and Ernest Miller

Not a bad opener, a bit short, but not bad overall. Mortis was the stand out here. Miller and Glacier were ok, but it was Mortis that stood out to me. You may remember that Mortis is just Kanyon with a mask on. He really was innovative and fluid in the ring during this one. Mortis and Wrath won this match up, and it was nice to see it, the crowd wasn’t into it as much though.

Chris Jericho defeated Ultimate Dragon

Jericho was the cruiser weight champion in this match up. This match was definitely a great one. Ultimate Dragon and Jericho were wrestling like a chess match. Every move was deliberate, every element was well timed and fluid. You will be surprised how great these two work together, and the move set put into place. Jericho was impressive, but it was Ultimate Dragon’s moonsault and reversals that will have you completely in awe. Why his WWE run didn’t go over so well is beyond me.

The Steiner Brothers defeated The Great Muta and Masahiro Chono

This was a hard hitting match. Chono and Muta are great to a botchy Steiner Brothers team. There were moments where the Steiners no sold the Japanese offense, which was stupid to me. Otherwise, this was a good match because of Chono and Muta putting on a showcase. Look for Muta’s huricanrana off the top rope on Scott Steiner, and Rick Steiner’s bulldog to make an appearance.

Juventud Guerrera, Hector Garza, and LIzmark Jr. defeated La Parka, Psychosis, and Villano IV

This took on a slow start, but it was the process of going through the spots that really made this one incredible. Guerrera was on point, Garza’s corkscrew plancha, and Lizmark’s athleticism were impressive. La Parka and Psychosis put on some great moments too. Villano switched with his partner Number 5 and that was interesting. Overall, this was a great lucha match, and no one botched, which made this one even more impressive. The crowd was not into this one, but that’s ok, I guess.

Buy WCW Bash At The Beach 97 on VHS by Clicking Here

Chris Benoit defeated The Taskmaster Kevin Sullivan

This was a retirement match for Sullivan. This match was the main reason why I wanted to watch this event. Benoit and Sullivan put on a brawl, a serious brawl that featured Jacqueline, and Jimmy Hart getting into the mix. Benoit was essentially fighting 3 different people here. Sullivan and Benoit even had some stiff shots, not usually seen in pro wrestling. Eventually, Jacqueline turned on Sullivan and Benoit got the pin. Sullivan of course would eventually drive Benoit and others to the WWE as he became full booking agent at WCW. But this match is good, well worth checking out. It’s not as good as their match at The Great American Bash 1996, but it’s certainly one of the best of their set.

Jeff Jarrett defeated Steve “Mongo” McMichael

This was for the US Title, and the crowd was so alive it was funny. The Jarrett Sucks chant was about as loud as any crowd you’ll ever hear in your life. Jeff Jarrett really got heat in this match. Mongo was good, the hard hitting style of his offense meshed well with Jarrett’s scared champion stick. However, it was Debra that really made this one, as she got involved and cost McMichael the match. A short one, but the crowd was way into it, so it was fun to watch.

Scott Hall and Randy Savage defeated Diamond Dallas Page and Curt Hennig

This was supposed to be a mystery partner match up for DDP. You may not know this, but DDP and Savage were going through a feud, and after Savage hurt page’s rib cage, DDP got his revenge dressed as La Parka on Nitro. Well, the secret partner was Curt Hennig, and that went well until a misunderstanding led Curt to walk out on his partner. DDP took a beating, a serious beating that was definitely something to see. Savage broke Page in half with the elbow after an Outsider’s edge, and that was that. If you want to see some hard hitting pro wrestling, this match has it for you, wow.

Roddy Piper defeated Ric Flair

This was entertaining, but you may have already seen this match over and over again. Flair is always entertaining to watch. Piper and the crowd were way into this one, and while it was mostly a brawl, it did have good action for 13 minutes’ worth of wrestling. It’s this type of wrestling that I sometimes miss from today’s landscape. If you like Piper and Flair, this is definitely a stand out match for the night.

Lex Luger and The Giant defeated Hollywood Hogan and Dennis Rodman

This was not a technical masterpiece at all. However, when you watch pro wrestling, you have to sometimes gauge things by crowd reaction. In this case, the crowd was going absolutely nuts for this one. The reason being, the psychology of the match. Rodman was teaming with Hogan, and he didn’t start the match. However, when he finally made his appearance, the timing and the suspense hit an all new level. Not only that, the expectations were that he didn’t know how to wrestle at all. When he first hip tosses Luger the crowd goes absolutely ballistic, and the announce team sells it so well, that you have nothing but respect for the guy. Now, when he does a shoulder block and Luger goes down rolling into the corner, things go insane again. Of course, he gets his, but this is the kind of reaction that WWE can’t seem to find in 2015, and why this is such a stellar match, even though it’s not a technical masterpiece. At the end, the Fake Sting (NWO) shows up, and hits The Giant with a baseball bat, the ref is bumped, and out comes Nick Patrick to get the submission off of Hogan in a torture rack. By the time the match is over, the trash from the crowd fills the ring, and the night is done. The crowd reaction makes this one, and that’s why you have to see it. Get the unedited version on vhs, it’s way better.

Buy WCW Bash At The Beach 97 on VHS by Clicking Here

WWE Monday Night Raw 12/28/2015 Review Vince McMahon Goes To Jail

Once again, I had to fight myself to stay awake for this showcase. I am reviewing the Hulu edition while I still have Hulu, as I may not have it after January 6, but we will see what happens. That being said, this week’s Raw came through and well, it was a lot of…well…crap. I want to be optimistic, so maybe I shouldn’t dismiss it so fast, but let’s get into it and see what went down and why the end of 2015 for WWE is ending with a whimper instead of a bang.

Vince McMahon Goes To Jail

Up front, Vinnie Mac called out Roman Reigns, and that led to Stephanie McMahon coming out. This whole starting point went to start a storyline in which Vince McMahon was arrested by the police, and Stephanie was screaming about it, while her music played. Yes, the music was playing here. Oh man. Anyways, Roman Reigns stood tall as Vinnie Mac went to jail.

Neville defeated Kevin Owens

Kevin Owens lost this match in less than 20 seconds or so. This was a waste of talent. Afterwards Owens went nuts and beat up Neville around the ring. But who cares, right? This was a waste to me. I don’t think Owens needs to be established as a crazed, fighter, because we already know he’s good. What a waste of Neville and Owens.

Sasha Banks defeated Becky Lynch

Well, this was a surprise. It didn’t last long, but Lynch and Banks actually put on a good wrestling match. There were some slow spots, and it was obvious that they weren’t going to be allowed a lot of time. The rushed finish aside, this wasn’t half bad. Banks is such a good performer, and Banks, well she’s losing so much I smell a heel turn. This is ok, but nowhere near what you see in NXT.

Kalisto defeated Kofi Kingston

This was a fast paced match, as you’d expect. However, this is where I started to fall asleep. New Day did their thing on the mic, but the Lucha Dragons don’t have much personality, and despite their in ring work, it’s not as entertaining as WCW or ECW’s lucha division stuff. WWE just doesn’t know how to book good action within the scope of lucha style, so the mix kind of falls flat if you ask me.

Big E defeated Sin Cara

Screw it. Sin Cara sucks. He dislocated his shoulder and it looked like he was going to quit, like the other Sin Cara did. This was stupid. The shoulder aside, it seemed to be ok enough to finish the match, but still. This threw me out of the match. Big E is good, but come on, the whole “my shoulder!” thing just played terribly. WWE should fire Sin Cara, and Kalisto. They should get a better shake in Mexico. Man, I miss WCW and ECW right now.

Big Show Is the Number 1 Entrant in the Rumble, and I don’t care. I hate Big Slow.

Ryback defeated Big Show via count out

Who cares.

The League of Nations defeated Dean Ambrose and The Usos

I fell asleep on this one. I’m tired of six man tag team matches. How did the Usos win the slammy for the tag team of the year? I don’t know, this was just boring to me. Ambrose is ok, but man, the six man tag thing is just tiresome.

John Cena defeated Alberto Del Rio via DQ

I’m so hoping for a John Cena heel turn that this match seemed boring to me. Then again, I didn’t see it, since I was passed out. Oh well.

That was the end of that. WWE really took a dump on any momentum they had last week to this week. Then again, they didn’t have momentum after the terrible Slammy Awards debacle. I am trying to be positive about wrestling, but with shows like this one, it’s very hard to do so.

WWE Monday Night Raw 12/28/2015 Results

Neville defeated Kevin Owens
Sasha Banks defeated Becky Lynch
Kalisto defeated Kofi Kingston
Big E defeated Sin Cara
Ryback defeated Big Show via count out
The League of Nations defeated Dean Ambrose and The Usos
John Cena defeated Alberto Del Rio via DQ

ECW Living Dangerously 1998 Results and Review

The Asbury Park Convention Hall in New Jersey was the home for the first pay per view with the name Living Dangerously from ECW. I went back and watched it to review it for this site, and have a few notes to give, and random ideas as well. Now, you can get an edited version of this on the WWE network, but I recommend picking up the official release so that you don’t get it “edited” and watered down. However, it’s really a good effort on the WWE streaming side, so it’s up to you what you want to do.

You can Buy ECW Living Dangerously 1998 from Amazon Here

ECW Living Dangerously Review

Jerry Lynn and Chris Chetti defeated The F.B.I

This was a somewhat forgettable match. It had a few moments, but overall, it was a fast paced opener that didn’t really highlight Lynn’s best. However, it was a good opening match up. Chetti was the highlight, being trained and featured in the ECW brand.

Masato Tanaka defeated Doug Furnas

For those of you young people out there, Furnas was in WWE for a while with a tag partner. He showed up in ECW here after getting thrown into the mix there in WWE’s bolstering tag division. He didn’t do much there, but here he got a lost in under 10 minutes against Tanaka. Not either one of these individuals best match.

Rob Van Dam defeated 2 Cold Scorpio

This by far was the second to best match of the night. RVD really showed up to showcase his skills in this one. 2 Cold Scorpio (Flash Funk in WWE) put on a showcase as well. The two nearly went 30 minutes in this match, and it was never a dull moment. These two could go, and it showed. RVD picks up the win, but it was not easy. Look out for this one, it’ll surprise you how good it truly was.

New Jack and Spike Dudley defeated The Dudley Boyz and Balls Mahoney and Axl Rotten in a 3 way dance

This was a classic hardcore match. Lots of plunder, lots of hard hitting spots, and blood. The highlight was Spike and New Jack jumping off the balcony through tables. That was a classic high spot. However, this too was a bit on the forgettable side.

Remember, You can Buy ECW Living Dangerously 1998 from Amazon Here

Tommy Dreamer defeated Justin Credible

This was an interesting one as Jenna Jameson came out to do a quick interview with Justin Credible. She was top heavy, and didn’t have all the plastic surgery yet. She was hot, I admit it. Anyways, Tommy Dreamer picks up the win with some interference from Beulah (his wife), and it’s a shame that Justin Credible didn’t get more of a fair shake in WWE when he was Aldo Montoya. This was as good as you’d expect, with some great moments, and nice overall offense from Dreamer. Credible bounced around a bit, but in the end, fell to Dreamer and Beulah’s interference.

Bam Bam Bigelow defeated Taz for the ECW Television Championship

This is by far the best match on the card. The reason being is simple, Taz and Bigelow flow quite well in the ring. Bigelow here comes across as seriously powerful, but Taz was able to lift and suplex the crap out of him. Taz truly impressed me when he straight dead lifted Bam Bam over his head, and through a table. This spot alone is worth your time. Dead weight man, you can see Taz about to buckle and then just pulls him over. Furthermore, Taz nearly knocks himself out cold throwing Bigelow off of the stage and hits his head on a guard rail. Epic match.

Sabu defeated The Sandman in a Singapore Cane Match

Not much to say about this one. Sabu got help from RVD. The best part was RVD was dressed as Sabu, so that was a bit of fun. This had a lot of brawling, and Sabu hitting his famous spots. Sandman got drunk, and beat up, that’s about it.

Lance Storm and Al Snow defeated Chris Candido and Shane Douglas

This match started with Lance Storm having a “mystery partner”. What happened next was fun. Sunny came out and said she was the mystery partner. The match moved ok, but it wasn’t until Sunny turned on Storm that things got really fun. The mystery partner was revealed to be Al Snow! The lights went out and the arena was full of foam heads! Things went insane, as there was a hole in the ring from the earlier match. Al Snow pinned Douglas, and this match was done fast. It wasn’t much of a match, but it had a fun finish with the visual of thousands of foam heads.

The number one reason why I recommend getting this DVD is simple, Bam Bam Bigelow versus Taz. One hell of a match, and Taz really put on a show. Dead lifting Bigelow through a table, holy crap, that's all I can say about this one. 2 Cold Scorpio and Van Dam put on a clinic too, but it was the TV title match that takes the cake here.

ECW Living Dangerously 1998 Results 

Jerry Lynn and Chris Chetti defeated The F.B.I
Masato Tanaka defeated Doug Furnas
Rob Van Dam defeated 2 Cold Scorpio
New Jack and Spike Dudley defeated The Dudley Boyz and Balls Mahoney and Axl Rotten in a 3 way dance
Tommy Dreamer defeated Justin Credible
Bam Bam Bigelow defeated Taz for the ECW Television Championship
Sabu defeated The Sandman in a Singapore Cane Match
Lance Storm and Al Snow defeated Chris Candido and Shane Douglas

Creature Skateboards Zombie Skateboard Decks WWE Zombies - On Sale Now

Incredible skateboard decks coming through from Creature Skateboards. These are WWE zombie series. I don't know any website that is talking about these at all. Wow! If you skate, or you want to decorate your walls, here you go, these are so awesome. Images are from Skate Warehouse, they have the decks on sale if you want them.

You can also get them from Amazon.com RIGHT HERE

WWE Monday Night Raw 12/14/2015 The Roman Empire On Top

Roman Reigns Is Your New Champion - SRC WWE.com

I have to admit, I fell asleep at several points in this week’s Hulu version of Raw. There was a lot of talking starting out, but watching Stephanie McMahon slap the living hell out of Roman Reigns was great. When Vince McMahon kicked Roman in the nuts, I woke up again. I managed to stay through a few things here and there, but overall, honestly, the biggest things coming out of Raw really aren’t that big at all, except for Roman Reigns.

Hulu’s edition seemed to drag on. I can’t imagine the 3 hour edition, as this was not going well for entertainment value on my end. Here are a few notes that I want to point out, for you 2 readers that are still reading this diatribe.

“Why Did Kevin Owens attack Ziggler?” – Michael Cole

What the hell Cole? Do you not even know the rules of wrestling? Why would Kevin Owens attack Ziggler? Because it would cost Ambrose the match! That goes back to the 1980s heel moves! Idiots. Fire Cole, please.

The Wyatt Family Are An Extreme Threat

The Dudley Boyz losing yet again was odd. I guess the Wyatt family finally is a threat? That’s the end of the former ECW guys, I think. Good match though, great flow, good extreme moments, and overall a classic in my view.

The Divas Revolution Is Done

That divas match was short, terrible, and just boring. So much for that Divas Revolution.

Roman Reigns defeated Sheamus for the WWE title!

Overall, Raw was boring for me. However, the final was good, even though it wasn’t a long match like last night. McMahon getting knocked out with a Superman punch, and Sheamus losing to Reigns was definitely a great thing. Roman Reigns and the Roman Empire are now a thing. I liked it. I don’t know what’s next, but chances are Brock Lesnar is waiting for the rematch from Mania, that is after Triple H gets the loss against him at the Rumble etc.

WWE Monday Night Raw 12/14/2015 Results

Dolph Ziggler defeated Dean Ambrose via DQ
Roman Reigns defeated Sheamus for the WWE Title
The League of Nations defeated Ryback and Jack Swagger
Neville defeated Tyler Breeze
The Wyatt Family defeated The Dudley Boyz, Tommy Dreamer, and Rhyno
Charlotte and Becky Lynch defeated Brie Bella and Alicia Fox

WWE TLC 2015 Results and Review Stone Cold Roman Reigns

Roman Reigns Lost, But Beat The Hell Out of Sheamus - SRC WWE.Com

WWE TLC ran through PPV and the WWE Network last night, and I haven’t been so excited to see a show in a long time. Albeit, I wasn’t too thrilled before the show, but when it came time for the lights to dim and the curtains to open on the showcase, I was ready with a large pizza and a bottle of whiskey to wash it down. I can truly say that this was the best PPV of 2015 in my opinion. You may not get that from several podcasts that recapped the show. Especially the shows like Wrestling Soup, which took a dump on a lot of the shows main pieces. Why even watch or do a podcast if you don’t even like what you’re watching? Whatever, lots of negativity out there, but I remain positive, because I loved the show, and that’s that. Here’s a few of my thoughts coming out of the show.

Paul Bearer Skateboard Deck WWE Tribute From Creature Skateboards and Skatewarehouse

Now here is a skateboard you can get behind. I love it. Go get it.

WWE Monday Night Raw 12/7/2015 Results and Review Tater Tots Tater Tots Tater Tots

Source WWE.com

This edition of Monday Night Raw started with the same old talking segment up front. From there, a match was set up for a huge tag team elimination match. I called for a Roman Reigns pinning the champion segment, but hey, I suspended disbelief for a moment. From there we get 90 minutes of pure action from WWE Raw on Hulu, since I don’t have cable.

Roman Reigns and The Usos defeated The League of Nations, and Team Extreme in an elimination tag team match

This match was good. I liked the introduction of Rhyno for Team 3D, and I liked Roman Reigns winning this match up. It was good, and Roman got his nose busted open the hard way. Overall, a good solid outing, with fast paced moves, and good back and forth, even if it was a bit short.

Lucha Dragons defeated The New Day

Of course all the champions will lose right? They’ll retain on Sunday, I’m sure. As for this match, it was phoned in. It wasn’t great, it wasn’t terrible, it just was. I liked the athleticism that was put forth, but overall, not exactly a grand opus of wrestling talent or something.

Kevin Owens defeated Dolph Ziggler

Ziggler gets buried here. It’s a burial. Owens needs to look strong for the weekend, and well, he wins this one. I liked it, don’t get me wrong, but Owens had no real threat from Ziggler here. At least not in my view. Ziggler is a far cry from where he was 10 years ago, that’s for sure.

Jack Swagger defeated Stardust

Quick match, nothing big here. The bigger story was that Alberto Del Rio came out to beat up Swagger. Then he quit aligning himself with Zeb.

Brown Snowman defeated Tommy Dreamer

Tommy Dreamer got choked out and that was that. I’m hoping that Dreamer can muster up enough to get the win on Sunday, otherwise, this is only going to put the Wyatt’s over. But that’s not a bad thing either. We’ll get extreme this weekend, no doubt.

Roman Reigns cut a promo, and it wasn’t terrible. But the big thing here was Roman and Sheamus getting into a hardcore brawl that went across the stage, and then back to the ring where Roman Reigns speared Sheamus through a table! YES! Now that's hype.

WWE Monday Night Raw 12/7/2015 Results

Roman Reigns and The Usos defeated The League of Nations, and Team Extreme in an elimination tag team match
Kevin Owens defeated Dolph Ziggler
Lucha Dragons defeated The New Day
Jack Swagger defeated Stardust
Brown Snowman defeated Tommy Dreamer

WWF Collectibles Bend Ems Faarooq Figure Rare

WWF Faarooq Bend Em Figue MIC

WWF Collectibles are not that hard to find. You can find them online, but what about the older options? Well, that’s what I wanted to discuss in the coming days, aside from the reviews and articles I will be posting on wrestling. One of the series that I picked up in the attitude era was that of WWF Collectible Bend Ems. These are poseable action figures that are made of rubber and very flexible. The goal is to bend them, and pose them.

Today, let’s look at Faarooq Bendem from Series V. When you pick up this action figure, you’ll get Faarooq Bendem from Series V with his Nation of Domination hat in place. For those that don’t remember, this is the faction that launched The Rock’s career after he turned heel against a crowd that was chanting “Die Rocky Die”.

This is only going to go up in price, which is why I’m featuring bend ems over other options right now. Faarooq Bendem from Series V won’t set you back a lot for a near mint option. However, as more and more people start waking up to collectibles right now, the price points are going to get insane. My recommendation is to pick up older WWF collectibles before the resellers and collectors start to drive the price way up.

Interested in picking up Faarooq Bendem from Series V Bend Em? Go here and get it MIC, NEW, before you lose out. While you’re there, pick up other rarities and stay tuned for more updates on WWE, WWF, and other pro-wrestling collectibles.

WWE Smackdown 12/3/2015 Results and Review The Roman Empire Solo Project

WWE Roman Reigns vs. League of Nations - Source WWE.COM

WWE Smackdown 12/3/2015 Results

Tyler Breeze defeated Neville
Brie Bella defeated Becky Lynch via disqualification
New Day defeated Usos and Dean Ambrose
Bray Wyatt defeated Devon Dudley
Roman Reigns defeated The League of Nations via count out

WWE Smackdown 12/3/2015 Review

There was a lot of talking up front. The whole show was set up with Roman Reigns talking and the League of Nations coming out and setting up matches. Roman Reigns would take on the League if the tag match with his friends against the New Day went well. Otherwise, it was going to be Reigns against the League solo. Guess what happened?

Tyler Breeze defeated Neville

Tyler Breeze took on Neville in this one. Neville delivered a good amount of offense in this match against Tyler Breeze. Breeze is improving, but the narcissus gimmick is a bit tired for me. On the merits of the match alone, I liked it. Neville is a great performer, and Breeze used Summer Rae to ensure he got a quick win and distraction.

Brie Bella defeated Becky Lynch via disqualification

Brie Mode was all in with this match up. Lynch had Charlotte outside rooting her on. Becky Lynch lost, but only after Brie hit Charlotte and Charlotte jumped into the match to fight her. Lynch and Charlotte have another wedge between them, and it continues to build.

New Day defeated Usos and Dean Ambrose

The New Day usually gets cheered right? Well, I couldn’t help but noticed that there was a lot of piped in booing, which was definitely odd to me. Oh well. New Day got the win here as the numbers game started to rise up. They targeted one of the Usos injury, and that was that. This would set up the main event handicap match. Overall, however, this was a fast paced, fun match with the New Day winning over the team of the Usos and Ambrose.

Bray Wyatt defeated Devon Dudley

Before this match, the lights went out. When the lights came back on it was R Truth waving hello at people. Then the lights went out again and out came the Wyatt family. Devon still has it, he was able to hold his own against Wyatt. Wyatt of course gets the win to make it seem like he’s strong. After the match up, things went south and the Dudleys got beat down with Tommy Dreamer going through a table. Sad.

Roman Reigns defeated The League of Nations via count out

Ok, here we go. The main event was great. I loved it. People online were complaining because they read the spoilers, and it was dumb. No, Roman didn’t go over clean. He outsmarted the League this time around, and didn’t go the Super Cena route.

King Barrett got himself disqualified so he had to leave the ring. Roman Reigns was able to mount some offense and things spilled out to the outside. Then the count started, and Roman was able to get inside the ring before the 10 count finished and won via count out. He didn’t pin anyone, the League didn’t go down weak, it was a technical win, and that’s it. Afterwards there was a brawl and the two factions fought and that’s it.

Overall, Smackdown was great for me. I liked the wrestling here. Dolph Ziggler on commentary was fun. Smackdown had some good wrestling, and Reigns definitely is doing better, even if he’s taking a beat down. If you’re not watching Smackdown, you’re missing out on some good wrestling. I liked it. I really did. I guess I’m weird.

WWE Main Event 12/1/2015 Results A Lot of Wrestling

WWE Main Event Logo - Source WWE.com 

Since the WWE didn't really put up a lot of information on their website about this show, I am not going to review it in full. I can say this much, it was a fun show with a lot of wrestling into a small amount of time. If you're following along, here are the results for WWE Main Event from 12/1/2015.

The Miz defeated Dolph Ziggler
Sasha Banks defeated Alicia Fox
Titus Oneil defeated Stardust
Ryback defeated Bo Dallas

The best match was Titus Oneil mopping the floor with Stardust. Great overall showing from those two. Oh, The Miz wrestled a fine match too. Ziggler lost, but The Miz was impressive. He's got some moves, I admit it.

4 Major Reasons I Don't Hate Roman Reigns Right Now

John Cena vs. Roman Reigns - SRC wwe.com 

Right now there are a lot of pundits that absolutely hate Roman Reigns. They are booing the crap out of him, they are absolutely hating WWE and all the booking decisions, and it’s starting to get annoying. Every podcast seems to have something snarky to say, and they don’t see the good. So this time around, when Raw came on Hulu, I paid attention to the booking, and took a second glance at the FELLA! Bad joke, I’m sorry. There are no less than 4 major reasons why I don’t hate Roman Reigns right now, and you may be shocked. I wasn’t a fan of his when he got the snot kicked out of him at WrestleMania. But now? I’ve had a change of heart, or should I say, hart?

Vastly Improved Arsenal

When he first came out and started to wrestle as a single man, he had a limited arsenal. He had bad timing, and was figuring out the ring a bit. He was trying too hard at times, didn’t sell anything all that well and it seemed force. However, right now, as of December 2015, he has improved a great deal. His timing is better, he has ring awareness, he sells a bit better, and he knows how to capitalize on the hot tags, and work with in ring psychology. I know, shocking. After watching his performance on Raw, however, I can say that he’s way better than he was at WrestleMania, even.

Taking Beatings Left and Right

No matter how you see it, no matter what you think, Roman Reigns is taking beatings. Sure, this is professional wrestling, but he is taking on a herculean task out there of trying to get over with a crowd that absolutely doesn’t want him. I know how that was in the past, because you saw the same thing happen with Stone Cold Steve Austin. The Ring Master? Really? What about Stunning Steve Austin? He didn’t come out to major heat or major praise until he proved himself. A different time, yes, but still, sometimes you have to just take beatings and keep going.

The Roman Empire Gimmick

I love the notion of the Roman Empire gimmick at this point. It’s a good point of reference, and it works against The League of Nations stable. In keeping with the notion of an empire, look out for Roman Reigns to possibly get a stable of his own going, and eventually win a title with help. Remember, Eddie Guerrero beating Brock Lesnar at “Now Way Out”? Well, look for that to happen with Roman Reigns next year, possibly in February, if they book things the way I think they will.

Die Rocky Die Sign - SRC WWE.com

They Can’t Have Roman Reigns Die A Slow Death Because of the Fans

Remember “Die Rocky Die”? I was one of those guys that was booing the crap out of the curly haired, smiley faced Intercontinental Champion. Then out of the blue, he became a serious leader. The Nation of Domination lead by the Rock really did a huge jump after Faarooq left. I’m not saying Roman Reigns is going to go the same route, but eventually they will turn him or the fans will jump on board.

Mikey Whipwreck vs. Kidman WCW Uncensored - SRC wwe.com 

I’m on board. Roman Reigns has taken enough abuse. He got the crap kicked out of him hard style against Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania. He took some serious bumps at Money In The Bank. He has taken out Big Show a million times, has taken down the Wyatt Family, and you know what? Why not give him a shot at the glory, only after Dean Ambrose gives him a fighting chance. If you don’t believe that Roman Reigns can possibly get a big win. Just remember Mikey Whipwreck. He lost every match for years, then out of the blue, BOOOM he wins a match and the place goes nuts. Then he shows up in WCW and puts on a showcase against Kidman, but maybe I’m just old.

Simply put. I don’t hate Roman Reigns. He’s got an upside, you just wait and see.

WWE NXT 12/2/2015 Results and Review Nia Jax Is Amazing

Nia Jax Is Amazing - Source WWE.COM

WWE NXT 12/2/2015 Results

Baron Corbin defeated Tye Dillinger
Nia Jax defeated Blue Pants
Samoa Joe defeated Tomaso Ciampa
Jason Jordan and Justin Gable defeated The Vaude Villains
James Storm defeated Adam Rose
Emma defeated Liv Morgan

WWE NXT 12/2/2015 Review

The results are not in order of appearance, I took notes instead of writing my review and what not live. So here's my thoughts on the show.

Baron Corbin defeated Tye Dillinger

Corbin is a beast. I don't think he can do his finisher "The End of Days" on bigger guys, however. I do think that if he's booked against smaller guys, he can push through a great deal of the roster with some sick moments. This was a stiff match, even though Tye Dillinger got some offense in. Short, but overall a good showing for Corbin.

Nia Jax defeated Blue Pants

Nia Jax is a beast. I love it. Blue Pants is hot. I wish I could've met her when I was single, or even now. Call me, maybe? I kid. Nia Jax is great though, and that's the most memorable part of NXT for me.

Samoa Joe defeated Tomaso Ciampa

Samoa Joe and Tomaso worked stiff. Lots of slaps, lots of stiff elbows, and at one point I thought Ciampa was knocked out clean. Joe is great here, and he looks focused. I love how this match pushed through, with Joe winning after the Muscle Buster. A great story told, but not a 4 star classic either. I liked it though. Joe is doing well.

Jason Jordan and Justin Gable defeated The Vaude Villains

The Vaude Villains should be on the main roster and should be the tag champs. Their gimmick works very well, and it's amazing. This match was good. However, Jordan and Gable are playing up the whole "World's Greatest Tag Team" thing, as they are pure wrestlers. I liked that one of them had an IU hoodie, since I live in Indy, that's kind of a cool note. This match wasn't memorable, but it proves to be the start of the end of The Vaude Villains if you ask me. They should rise up to the main roster sooner than later.

James Storm defeated Adam Rose

James Storm is great here, against a boring Adam Rose. The match wasn't great, but Storm's work here is better than it was in TNA, by huge leaps. He looks like he's in his element here, and I liked the Cowboy thing. I just kept thinking, "Sorry about your damn luck", but that's just me. I don't know what they are doing with Adam Rose now, but he's a bit boring right now. Rose has some good moves, and reminds me of Johnny Swinger at times. Hopefully he gets back to Raw.

Emma defeated Liv Morgan

Emma took on Liv Morgan and dominated. A short match, with a very cool finish if you ask me. I loved the finish, with a nice bridge submission maneuver, and it looked like it legit hurt. Nice.

NXT impressed me. They shoved a lot of wrestling into a short show, and definitely better than Raw. I'll have a review of WWE Main Event sooner, than later.

Start Pro Wrestling Figures Collection On The Cheap With Bendems

WWF Bendems are becoming more and more rare

WWF bendems are a part of the lineage of toys and figures that the professional wrestling giant produced. These are not always seen the same way as other figures because they weren’t really “articulate”. These were smaller versions of the action figures that you’d come to purchase from WWE, but they were made of rubber. If you were a fan of WWF in the 1980s then you no doubt purchased the oversized wrestlers made of rubber, that were stuck in one position. Those got beat up fast. Now, these smaller versions are neat because they have full color, and are made of rubber. You can bend them into place, and they are really light weight. If you’re going to start a wrestling figure collection, I’d say start with WWF bendems.

There are several reasons why I say this, but there are two major ones that you may want to consider in regards to collecting WWF bendems. They are as follows:

They Are Becoming More and More Rare

Right now, you can still get these figures relatively cheap. If your goal is to start a collection of figures from pro wrestling, WWF bendems aren’t going to cause you to go broke. However, the prices and demand is rising exponentially. A lot of people bought these, and now many are selling them off. You owe it to yourself to pick some up right now before you spend your life savings trying to rebuy them all.

They Resell Very Well

I’ve sold a lot of WWF bendems in my day. I used to buy them at clearance prices and never open them. Today, you can find them online and they aren’t too expensive, but they resell very well. In fact, I was fortunate enough to sell a rare ring with Bret Hart, Undertaker, and others for over a few hundred dollars. Of course, this is rare, but I have been selling off my collection of crap for a long time.

All of this to say that if you’re going to collect figures, and aren’t really keen on oversized boxes, but still want a good display option, these are the best. With WWF bendems, you get the same quality, but with more “poseable” designs. I love them.

If you’re interested in picking up WWF bendems, you can buy some by clicking here and shopping online. I found some as low as a few bucks, so go for it. These are NOT WWE, they are WWF branded, so they will be rarer over time.

Sheamus Gets Customized Side Plates For WWE Title – Champion For A While

Sheamus officially got some new side plates for the WWE World Title this past week. If you didn’t see the video on WWE.com, they were kind enough to post it on Youtube. Below you will see the video of Sheamus getting his custom WWE belt plates, and they are pretty cool.

For those of you that are wondering, chances are that this is a signal as to how long Sheamus will end up with the title. Don’t be surprised if he carries it through Mania. These plates get installed, and are really cool, if you ask me. Anyways, check out the video below to see how happy Sheamus was and how cool the customized WWE title looks right now.

WWE Monday Night Raw 11/30/2015 Results and Review Sheamus 515

New Day and League of Nations - SRC WWE.COM

WWE Monday Night Raw 11/30/2015 Results (HULU EDITION)

Dolph Ziggler defeated Tyler Breeze
Ryback defeated Rusev via countout
Tommy Dreamer returned!
Lucha Dragon and The USOS went to double disqualification
Roman Reigns defeated Sheamus in a WWE Title Match via Disqualification
Charlotte defeated Becky Lynch
The League of Nations and The New Day defeated Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns, and The USOS

WWE Monday Night Raw 11/30/2015 Review

The opening of Raw was great. What can I say? The New Day showcased an introduction for Sheamus, and I was enjoying it. I don’t mind Sheamus as champion. I get it. I liked the slicked back Mohawk, and the rant he went on, right before Roman Reigns showed up and knocked him out, then stealing the title. The Sheamus 5:15 line really had me laughing. Classic. It set up a match for later, in which Roman Reigns must defeat Sheamus under 5 minutes and 15 seconds, or he will lose his title shot and Dean Ambrose will lose his Intercontinental Title shot. Not bad. But I wonder why they would book this, but alas, I’m going positive. Furthermore, the USOS and the Lucha Dragons would get a title shot at TLC if Roman Reigns won. If they didn’t, they’d lose their chance.

Dolph Ziggler defeated Tyler Breeze

At this point, are all NXT guys just going to get buried? Ziggler is always fun to watch, but he’s lost so much momentum since that big Survivor Series match he put on with the “sole” survivor thing. Oh well.

Ryback defeated Rusev via countout

This was actually getting good before Lana got hurt. Oh, Miz TV happened, but meh, that wasn’t good. As for this match, Ryback’s mid-rope dropkick was outstanding. I loved that. The dropkick was precise, on the money, and the big guy showed a bit of athleticism. I liked that a lot. Ryback wins after Rusev after Lana seemed to have gotten hurt. Good match, not so great ending in my view.

The Dudley Boyz called out the Wyatt Family. I marked out huge for this next moment.

TOMMY DREAMER walked out with a trash can and some plunder! Dreamer got me shouting at the television, and this was awesome! ECW chant blew up the arena, and I was chanting E C DUB! Dreamer and the Dudley Boyz! The Wyatt’s are perhaps the weakest team in WWE, but I would love to see them mix it up with the Dudleys. Tommy Dreamer is a great addition to this feud in my opinion and I’m hoping for good things for TLC.

Roman Reigns defeated Sheamus in a WWE Title Match via Disqualification

This was a cool, fast paced match, however, the ending was telegraphed. Sheamus had his cronies interfere and while Roman won, he didn’t win the title. That’s the end of that. Sheamus said that his friends are now the League of Nations team.

Charlotte defeated Becky Lynch

So much for that divas revolution right? Distraction roll up? Wow. Well, this match went nowhere, it was a stalemate for the most part, until the distraction roll up thanks to Ric Flair and Charlotte pretending to be hurt. Oh well. The two are very athletic, it was an ok match, but it certainly wasn’t anywhere near as good as the NXT matches they’ve put through.

The League of Nations and The New Day defeated Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns, and The USOS

This was quite the match. 7 on 4 and this match had a lot of hits. I didn’t mind it much, it was fast. Ambrose was like a house on fire with the hot tag towards the end, and he’s definitely smooth through the moves he puts on. The showcase of technical skill aside, the match was a good overall match. The bad guys really got the upper hand here. The Bro kick (I’ll never call it the “Brogue), was very well timed for Sheamus to win. This was a cool overall finish, if you ask me. They are doing well with building up Roman to lose at TLC if you ask me.

If I were booking, I would have Roman lose at TLC tahnks to the heels, then have him lose at Royal Rumble, and then go against Triple H at Wrestlemania, before he gets another shot at the title ,but of course, he’ll run into a suplex machine known as Brock Lesnar before that happens. Overall, a good raw if you ask me, but then again, you didn’t ask, and I saw it on HULU so I only got 90 minutes of it.