It would appear that the reported planned Daniel Bryan vs. John Cena WWE championship match at Money in the Bank 2013 will be delayed. A shift in plans will see a new main-event which kicked off with arguable the WWE angle of the year.

Mark Henry has been in the news as of late with rumors of everything from retirement to him being in the dog house. One recent report from F4Wonline.com stated that Henry was in the dog house after abruptly taking time off due to an injury and not getting surgery. Well if this is the dog house than I am not sure being there is a bad thing.

Henry and the WWE played on those rumors Monday night with one of the best angles in a long time. Henry teased that he was going to announce his retirement on RAW. Henry was seen talking to members of the WWE throughout the night discussing his retirement. The official announcement came later in the night during a John Cena promo.

Henry came out in a pink jacket and gave an emotional speech about his career. The crowd ate it up with chants throughout the speech begging Henry to stay. Henry at one point pointed out that he was a former WWE world heavyweight and ECW champion but never held the WWE championship. Cena raised Henry’s hand up, both holding the belt as Henry paraded around the ring it for what was to be his farewell moment. Cena went to hug him and was quickly lifted up and dropped with the World’s Strongest Slam to officially kick off their feud.

Any of you old ECW fans instantly think of the Sandman-Tommy Dreamer retirement angle or was it just me?

This is a tough one here. On the one hand this was as good as it gets when it comes to a wrestling angle. I certainly have more interest in this feud than the Ryback-Cena feud. That said I can’t imagine these guys having matches anywhere near as good as the Ryback-Cena series. I like Mark Henry’s gimmick but he’s still Mark Henry in the ring. At the end of the day they do have to wrestle and I’m not sure it’s going to live up to the hype of that great angle.

The real bummer here is that this replaces a planned Daniel Bryan vs. John Cena match. I wrote last week on the website that I felt that this match would wind up moving to SummerSlam with Bryan winning MITB and cashing in at the big August event. It looks like that is where they are going. The bright side here is that Bryan will probably win the championship if this is the scenario that plays out. The downside is that the match won’t be in Philadelphia which would have been fantastic given Bryan’s roots to the city.

Either way I have to tip my hat off to the WWE for pulling off an angle that nobody saw coming. It’s stories like this that make you wonder how many stories WWE “sources” intentionally plant to reporters to throw them off as opposed to giving reporters actual scoops.

WWE: The Top 25 Rivalries in Wrestling History

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Coming off the heels of what are some calling the best pay per view in years, the WWE delivered an equally compelling Monday Night RAW. The show was capped off with a memorable segment featuring Brock Lesnar and CM Punk.

Brock Lesnar returned to WWE television for the first time since defeating Triple H at Extreme Rules. What made this one so good is that nobody expected it and the return was one of those rare WWE surprises that are so hard to come by in this day and age of newsletters and Internet leaks. The angle kicked off the expected summer feud between Lesnar and Punk.

Punk is now a babyface, something he made clear when he opened up RAW by confronting new WWE world heavyweight champion Alberto Del Rio. Punk challenged Del Rio to a match and subsequently told Paul Heyman he no longer needed him, the same message he conveyed at Payback. Punk told Heyman once again that while Brock and Curtis Axel need Heyman, he doesn’t, and politely asked Paul to stay out of his business.

Punk wrestled Del Rio later in the final RAW match. After the match Punk was alone in the ring when Brock’s music hit. The place went nuts, like every other crowd that has heard Brock’s music. Brock came down to the ring, circled, grabbed a microphone, and got in Punk’s face. Brock then threw down the mic and F5’d Punk to close out the show in one of the more memorable segments on RAW this year.

It would appear that the rumored Punk vs. Lesnar SummerSlam match will now take place at Money in the Bank. I liked the angle but I think that they missed an opportunity for a slow turn. It just seems odd that Punk basically took his ball and went home and after less than a year of being the number one heel is all of the sudden a babyface. I would have liked to see them do a deal where Heyman keeps interfering in Punk’s business and Punk slowly gets angrier culminating with Heyman’s interference costing Punk a big match at MITB, Punk going off on Heyman the next night on RAW, and then Brock doing exactly what he did to Punk.

That said it will be really interesting to see where this one goes. Neither go should lose the match but someone has to lose. The big money is in Brock at WrestleMania 30 not Punk which tells me that Punk is going down. On the other hand a loss right after a big babyface turn isn’t exactly the best way to keep Punk hot either. Maybe they split and leave a third match open for WrestleMania depending upon what The Rock decides to do?

Either way it’s always fun to see Brock back so enjoy the F5!

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WWE Payback delivered some big news outside of the ring. Former WWE and ECW champion Rob Van Dam will be officially returning to the WWE and will be a big part of the upcoming Money in the Bank pay per view.

The announcement of the returning RVD got a huge ovation from the Chicago crowd and was met with repeated “R-V-D!” chants throughout Payback. It would appear that MITB would be his first match back with the company but it’s still unclear whether that will be his debut or he will debut sooner and was just being advertised for the show.

Let me start this off by saying this. I love Rob Van Dam. I worked with him in ECW and he was one of the coolest guys I interacted with in the company back then. I have always been a fan and he has been gracious enough in the past to come on my radio show for an hour of unfiltered talk. That said, I am not a big fan of this move at all.

It’s funny because there are a lot of fans excited about this who have tweeted about RVD returning. My assumption is that none of these fans watched his three-year run in TNA Wrestling. Rob appeared uninspired no matter what he was doing and this wasn’t a case of Rob being misused. He was pushed harder and better in TNA than he was in the WWE. He wrestled everyone and anyone over the three years and appeared in many main-events. So anyone that chalks it up to being misused didn’t pay attention. He just wasn’t that good and didn’t appear to evolve at all. It was the same Rob in every match and after awhile it got old.

Anyone remember hearing about that RVD classic in TNA at any time over the last three years? Me neither.

The WWE are in the middle of a youth movement for the first time in several years. There is a shift towards the future with younger guys and the demands on match quality have gone up tremendously over the last few months. If the same RVD that I watched in TNA is returning to the WWE, well than I think his matches are going to stick out for all of the wrong reasons. If for whatever reason Rob was phoning it in for the last three years and still has it, than he could be a welcome addition back to the roster.

Dave Meltzer reported on his latest F4Wonline.com podcast that Rob is not only coming back on a limited schedule but is only under a short-term contract. Meltzer does point out that the contract could change and become longer. I remember when I had Rob on my radio show he said that one of the main reasons he left the WWE was the schedule. To hear that he is back with a limited schedule certainly doesn’t surprise me.

Here is the other green elephant in the room no pun intended. Rob is well known for his fondness for marijuana. The WWE has instituted a ban on marijuana since Rob left the company. Rob spent about 20 minutes on my radio show talking about the virtues of marijuana. Quite frankly this is why I never thought a deal would work out between the two. Now maybe since Rob is working limited dates he won’t be subjected to those tests. Otherwise one of these two parties had to compromise and I can’t imagine it was RVD.

I would imagine we will get a better idea of what he is doing at MITB sometime over the next couple of weeks.

WWE: The Top 25 Rivalries in Wrestling History

WWE: Rob Van Dam – One of a Kind

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There really isn’t much to say about this one. If you are a fan of the RKO and I know plenty of you are, than you need to watch this video the WWE put together of 30 Randy Orton RKO’s in 30 seconds!

The RKO is an interesting move in that it certainly isn’t original, yet it has become one of the most over pro wrestling finishers of our generation. It’s hard to think of a scenario where another guy took a move that was already well known as someone elses finisher, slightly tweaked it, and got it over to the point that it became a legendary finisher of his generation. Ric Flair taking Buddy Rogers figure four leg lock is the only one that immediately comes to mind.

The WWE have started this series called 30 in 30 where they take thirty scenes of something which in this case is a pro wrestling move and show it all in 30 seconds, about 35 in this case but who is really counting. Orton’s move is a great start because he has found so many unique ways over the years to incorporate it into a big spot. The video opens up with one of those highlights against Rey Mysterio.

This is a very cool video and the concept is actually pretty brilliant. Check it out and keep following their channel for more of these 30 in 30 videos. I bet they’ll have some really cool ones coming down the road.

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Daniel Bryan vs. The Shield has quickly become one of the hottest feuds in pro wrestling. Shield members and Bryan are no strangers to each other and while they are tearing into each other on camera, off camera Bryan is rooting for his rivals.

The WWE in 2013 is one of the most fascinating stories in recent years if you really dissect the talent roster, their spots, and creative booking. While WWE fans are quickly learning to appreciate Bryan, Dean Ambrose, and Seth Rollins, independent wrestling fans have been relishing their talents for years. With such a similar background, it is no surprise that Bryan is a big fan of The Shield.

“I think The Shield has done a fantastic job. It’s very difficult to come into the WWE, be put in the main spot, and to hold up your end of the deal. Those guys really have. I think it’s because Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins spent years in the indies before getting here. Then Roman Reigns, who had very limited experience before coming to WWE, has really stepped up and done a great job. I have nothing but respect for those guys and they’ve done amazingly so far. More than half the time, they go out there and steal the show.”

Bryan and Seth Rollins also have traveled a similar road to the WWE. Both are former Ring of Honor champions and even wrestled a few times back in the Honor days. Bryan thinks their matches can be even better today in a WWE ring.

“Well, I think we’ve both evolved as wrestlers, in some ways good and in some ways bad, but a big difference is the crowd. It’s way different wrestling in front of 500-700 people than it is wrestling in front of thousands of people, you know? Unfortunately we haven’t had a singles match yet, but I would love to be able to wrestle Seth Rollins in a singles match and really show people what we can do.”

It certainly is a much different time in pro wrestling today where you have wrestlers completely breaking kayfabe in media interviews. Bryan’s media interviews have always been very good since entering the WWE, specifically for that reason. I would imagine that the WWE are also on board since they continue putting him out there as a representative of the company.

The entire interview is great and well worth a read. Bryan also covers dating Brie Bella, why he is no longer a Vegan, CM Punk calling himself the “Best in the World”, and more. Bryan comes across as a real humble guy here. As much as you probably liked him inside of the ring, you’ll love him as a person outside once you get to know him in this interview.

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The Ronda Rousey train keeps on moving forward and there appears to be no end in sight. The UFC champion stars in a brand new Insureon Protector Tech Store trailer as America’s protector of small businesses everywhere.

This is a really fun ad and one that has the potential of going viral. The rise of Rousey in 2013 is one of the greatest stories of MMA success in history. I can’t recall anyone becoming this big of a star in the sport as quickly as she has. With commercials like this it wouldn’t surprise me to see Rousey take a bigger role on screen in the near future.

There is also a small connection to this story which is interesting. Rousey is portrayed as the protector to the small business owner. The twist here is that Rousey’s mom put three kids through college running a small consulting business during the day. This is a campaign that you’d expect to hit home to someone like Rousey.

Insureon also posted a behind the scenes video which is also pretty cool. What I really like about this is that Rousey seems like a genuinely humble person. It is very easy for someone like Rousey to get carried away with her newfound fame so seeing her so down to earth and humble make it even that much easier to get behind her.

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Maybe TNA Wrestling learned from their mistakes with King Mo? So far I have to admit that TNA is on the right track with new signee Rampage Jackson. The former UFC champion debuted on Thursday night and made an immediate impact.

TNA announced the signing of the MMA fighter earlier in the week and wasted no time getting him on their television show, a much different strategy than they took with their last venture with an MMA fighter. TNA capitalized on all of the instant publicity and immediately got their new star right into the action.

Rampage debuted Thursday night and for everything I have said negative about TNA, they got this one right. Jackson looked like a huge star as you had all kinds of cameras and flashes going off as well as a huge reaction by the fans when he came out. I find it incredibly hard to believe that those were real fans and not plants but who really cares, it looked great. Jackson came with his dog chain ala Junkyard Dog. Not only was Rampage introduced to the TNA audience, he was also introduced to their newest Hall of Fame inductee.

Jackson talked briefly about wanting to be the best before Kurt Angle came out and confronted him. Angle told Jackson that he was in his world now and that he needed to go through him. Jackson snarled back at him. It was an intense moment and Angle was fantastic. Jackson was very good as well although he seemed kind of stiff with the promo. All in all you really couldn’t ask for a better debut for Jackson.

Not sure where they are going here. They could hold the match off until Bound for Glory. Bound for Glory is a few months away which would give Jackson and Angle plenty of time to work out a match. The only issue there is that the match is so far out, there is a possibility fans could lose interest by the time it gets here. It’s risky for sure.

The other alternative would be to have the match on Impact sometime over the next few weeks. If Jackson is serious about training they could put together the match over the next several weeks and shoot it in 4-6 weeks. If it were me, I’d go that route and give it a finish that warrants a pay per view rematch. With ratings declining weekly for TNA I think putting Rampage’s first match on their television show would be a fantastic way to boost the numbers and maybe retain a new audience.

Who is the babyface and who is the heel here? Angle certainly came off as the heel but I am not so sure that will be the case by the time they jump into the ring. Remember when Floyd Mayweather shot his angle with The Big Show for WrestleMania? Mayweather started off as the babyface but the wrestling fans quickly backed their guy in Show. I could easily see that happening here, especially after TNA put out such an emotionally charged video on Angle recently regarding the Hall of Fame. I can’t imagine anyone booing him after seeing that production.

Either way for all of the negativity that was said about the signing, they are off to a great start. Keep in mind that even the biggest draw in UFC history Brock Lesnar was only able to do so much for WWE programming initially. Expecting Rampage to do anything close is just unrealistic. In the meantime I think they have a really good shot of building up something special here if they decide to go with Angle and Rampage on free television.

WWE: Extreme Rules 2013 DVD

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