Sheamus has been heavily featured in the sheets over the past week.

The dreaded dirt sheets. Sources say this. Rumor has it about that. It’s like those cheesy gossip magazines for women that we just can’t get enough of, even if we know half of this crap is probably just something that some guy said somewhere, was passed along as “news”, and then spread like wild fire. But what the hell, we all read them, so let’s break down the recent dirt that is in these sheets.

I will attempt to post in this space every week or so about the current goings on in the world of internet wrestling gossip with my own thoughts and opinions on matters I deem important enough to discuss. Check back frequently for updates!

(Normally, in an attempt to be a reputable writer, I would post links or cite other websites with the research for this article, but these are dirt sheets we’re talking about here. You can find the same info on dozens of sites, and when it comes to them, I’m quite certain that credibility isn’t really a factor.)

THE DIRT: Despite recent reports that WWE’s higher-ups felt that the “Yes!” chant was over more than Daniel Bryan, they still plan to forge forward with him ranked as their number two star, behind John Cena.

MY TAKE: Considering that they just spent the better part of a year building and pushing this guy, culminating in him completely owning their biggest show in history, yeah, I’d hope they wouldn’t decide to just take the ball out of his hands. Besides, even if the chant is more over than him, who the hell is the one that got the damn thing over in the first place and continues to do so?? They’re like a tag team at this point, so what difference does it make as long as something is massively over? Don’t get cute, WWE.

(Editor’s Note: This article was written before Daniel Bryan’s announced neck surgery, which will keep him out for a month or so. When he comes back, I’d bet that both the “Yes!” chant and the superstar will be over enough to continue to push him as that number two.)

THE DIRT: Supposedly, Sheamus and Sin Cara (2: Electric Boogaloo) got into a backstage fight, in which it was reported that the former Hunico was victorious. Sheamus then took to Twitter to respond, “Don’t remember being beaten up by Sin Cara backstage… It’s just how Mexicans & we Irishmen hug it out fella.”

MY TAKE: Big deal. When you’re on a team, which is basically what WWE is, stuff like this is going to happen; you handle your business and move on. As far as Sin Cara getting the upper hand, however, if it is true…ouch.

THE DIRT: When Sheamus delivered the Brogue Kick to Dean Ambrose in the battle royal for the United States Championship, that was intended to be his heel turn, but fans didn’t catch on.

MY TAKE: I can’t fathom this is true. Kayfabe-wise, regardless of heel or face, the man is in a position to win a title, hit his finisher, didn’t cheat, won the title, and then celebrated all face-like up the ramp on both Raw and Smackdown. How can that possibly be interpreted as a heel turn??? I’m going to give WWE a little more credit than that, even if the plan is likely for Sheamus to turn sooner rather than later. Speaking of…

THE DIRT: There is talk of putting Sheamus in Evolution, possibly once Batista leaves to promote his movies.

MY TAKE: Props to your Doing the Job hosts for calling this one on last week’s episode of the pod diddly before this was publicly reported if this one comes to fruition. I can see that being a good fit.

THE DIRT: There has been renewed talks of unifying the IC and US titles with Sheamus and Bad News Barrett, which is a hot topic considering the upcoming tour of the United Kingdom.

MY TAKE: And props to M2J for calling this one (again, if it comes to light), on that same episode of your favorite weekly pro wrestling podcast.

THE DIRT: David Benoit, son of former World Champion, Chris, was scheduled to make his in-ring debut for a promotion being run by Smith Hart, brother of former WWE Champion, Bret. This came to an end when Chris Jericho intervened, pointing out that Benoit had not received proper training and was not ready for a match, protecting the kid.

MY TAKE: I hope I am wrong, but my gut tells me Smith was trying to make a buck on the Benoit name, and Jericho diplomatically called him out on it. Good for Y2J.

THE DIRT: WWE has been brainstorming ideas for new shows to air on the Network. Amongst those listed on the sheets, I read this verbatim: “Unscripted reality shows that explore the daily lives of Superstars, like seen on Total Divas…”

MY TAKE: Unscripted…LOL.

THE DIRT: It had already been reported that Batista is not in a program with Daniel Bryan for Payback because he did not want to look bad jobbing to the champ on his way out to promote his movie. Newer reports from a “source close to the situation” disagreed, basically saying that Vince is twisting the story and wants to public to believe that is real. This source claims that Batista has been screwed out of money, booking, and has had promises broken regarding his schedule and movie promotion, and that he would have no problem jobbing to Bryan otherwise.

MY TAKE: Honestly, I really want the story to be that Batista is a jerk. Maybe he is. But it’s not like Vince is any less of a shady character himself when it comes to this stuff. Who the hell knows who to believe, and who cares, as long as Batista is gone as soon as possible.

THE DIRT: Reports claim that John Cena wants to work with Big E at some point, perhaps after Summerslam.

MY TAKE: Ugh. Please, don’t make me sit through that.

THE DIRT: I will rarely give TNA the respect of even talking about their horrible company, but I found it humorous that, according to the sheets, there was nearly a walk out by their production crew in the middle of last week’s tapings, because they supposedly have been owed money. After the threats, checks were promptly issued.

MY TAKE: Good. Too bad they didn’t go through with it, though, for all of us. In my eyes, the crew sold out for the money, because now their show gets to run on television for another week.

THE DIRT: Apparently WWE has changed their minds on plans to break up The Shield and will not be going through with it any time soon.

MY TAKE: Yes! Yes! Yes!

If you listened to this past week’s episode of Doing the Job (episode 89), then you’ll have heard M2J, Denny and I discuss WWE’s Signature Sounds DVD, which breaks down the top 25 entrance themes in the company’s history. Considering I am a guy who has always loved comprising lists on just about anything (I actually have a list of my top 500 songs ever…like a five, with two zeroes in front of it), I felt it would be a fun little exorcise to do a top 25 of my own here.

There’s no mathematical equation to how I broke this down, but clearly the main factor was the piece of music itself. The wrestler’s character and overall entrance was kept in mind as well in most cases, as was the emotion it elicited upon hearing it. I did not, however, limit it to just Jim Johnston tracks (the guy who writes/composes most of the tracks for the superstars) and included songs from outside/mainstream bands as well. Where it is not obvious what the entrance theme in question is, I will parenthetically specify.

Hopefully you decided to read up until now instead of jumping straight into the list to allow me to give you the disclaimer that this is simply a list of personal favorites, and is a living, breathing thing where, like all music, any track can jump or fall a couple of spots on any given day. Lastly, something like this is clearly subjective, so to quote Rita before our show begins each week, if you have a problem with anything, please write it an email and go f*#% yourself. Enjoy the list.

25. Kane (Slow Chemical)
I really dug Kane’s original music he used during the Attitude Era, but with the evolution of his character, I felt like Finger Eleven’s version really nailed home the unmasked version that came to be.

24. Mr. McMahon
As M2J pointed out on the podcast, this was originally the theme for the Royal Rumble PPV in 1999 (as in, “Austin, you have no chance in hell of winning the Rumble). But No Chance in Hell truly became the backbone of what the Mr. McMahon gimmick was, and could not have been a better choice for him and, at the time, the Corporation.

23. Curtis Axel
Whoa! What the hell is Curtis Axel doing anywhere near ANY top 25 list of, well, anything?? The truth is, Mr. Perfect’s theme is excellent, and, in my opinion, when they remixed and updated the track for his son, it became that much better. Simple as that.

22. CM Punk (This Fire Burns)
I’ve personally never been a fan of Killswitch Engage, but that has nothing to do with this list. Talk about a song that fit a character so perfectly for what CM “my only addiction is competition” Punk was when he came up at the time. Even more so, when you go back and watch Money in the Bank from 2011, I couldn’t think of anything to get that crowd even more riled up than it already was. Rumor has had it that Randy Orton was originally the one who wanted this song before they gave it to Punk, but who knows.

21. Hollywood Hulk Hogan
I mean, it’s Voodoo Child by Jimi Hendrix, come on. The opening to that song is gold, and once it kicks in after a few seconds, you’re totally jamming. Of course, considering the list this falls on, if any Tom, Dick, or Harry came out to this, the song wouldn’t sniff it. But Hogan played it up so well with the boas and all that it became something else.

20. D’Lo Brown
Come on man, you lookin’ at the real deal now. Here’s your receipt! I was just down with this one; sue me.

19. Goldberg
I really don’t know if there’s a more powerful, imposing theme in wrestling. I was never a Goldberg guy, but for real, if you were going to lead an army into war and had to pick one theme, I don’t know how you don’t pick this. Like, if I were in the ring awaiting competition, having no clue who is on the other side of that curtain when I heard this go off, I’d already be crapping bricks. Taking into context the Goldberg character and the fans doing the slow chanting of his name with it, and that totally embodied who he was.

18. Evolution
Not much to say here. It’s just a good song that feels right for the group. It’s nice to be able to hear it again regularly now that the faction has reunited.

17. Randy Orton (Burn in My Light)
Yes, this one, from when he was a younger Orton without all of the ugly tattoos and still had the whole world in front of him. Not the crappy Voices song that embodies everything boring about that later version. To speak further on reading random Orton rumors pertaining to his music, I’ve read that he never actually liked his original song, but that’s too bad, because I did.

16. Christian (Just Close Your Eyes – both Waterproof Blonde and Story of the Year versions)
I was a huge fan of Christian’s theme before he left to waste time in TNA. Not only did he seem to be the only guy who could pull off a female vocalizing his entrance, but it actually fit really well, also. When he came back (to somehow no fanfare whatsoever on WWECW, but that’s a whole other thing) with a more upbeat version by Story of the Year, I was super with it, and still am to this day. Very catchy.

15. Eddie Guerrero (Lie, Cheat, Steal)
Such a smooth track, this is. As mentioned already, there are some themes that embody wrestler’s persona. This one, however, flat out tells you the entire gimmick – he lies, he cheats, he steals. You have to respect that.

14. Triple H (The Game)
Years ago, this would have ranked much higher, and perhaps I’m too low in this because quite frankly, this is a kickass song. But first, I feel like the song is only one part of an overall package of the entrance, and second, I feel like I’ve just seen that entrance way too many times over the years. Still, I don’t know how you put this on before something major you’re about to do and not get pumped.

13. Goldust
Alright, here’s where I have the strange task of acknowledging how great this song is, yet somewhat sort of going against it. I agree, it’s an all-time great. But I feel like over the years the love for this song by fans has taken on a life of its own. It is very, very good. But it’s not top five like so many people feel, I’m sorry.,

12. Shane McMahon
Yes, M2J, Here Comes the Money is up here. Straight up, this song is fun, and like many others on the list, it fit him so well once be broke away from his dad. One of the biggest reasons I’m upset Shane hasn’t been involved with WWE in a while is because I don’t get to regularly hear this song. Smell my cologne, it’s called brand new money…brilliant.

11. John Cena (Basic Thuganomics)
Let’s double up on the hip-hop. This is one of those things that some people think is corny, and others are totally with; there’s generally not much in between. I felt like the lyrics that Cena laid down here were fantastic for what he was trying to accomplish with this theme.

10. Rob Van Dam
Even considering that I rank his theme in the top ten, it’s still a shame that WWE never had the rights to “Walk” by Pantera when RVD came over from ECW, since, aside from it being an awesome song, the crowd interaction was excellent. Still, once they had Breaking Point revamp and add lyrics to his original lifeless WWE theme, I felt like they had a winner on their hands.

9. Hulk Hogan (Real American)
I can picture the “Yeah! Hulk Hogan!” now. Despite my feelings on Hogan, I mean, come on. It’s the most well-known and iconic theme in the history of the business, and rightfully so. You just can’t be in a bad mood when this song is on. It makes me want to no-sell and finger-point all over the place. YOU!!

8. Mr. Ass
There is a lot of people going hell mother-effing-yes right now, and a lot of other people who completely don’t get it. This song had so many levels of amazing that it is indescribable. Plus, it makes me laugh every time. Billy Gunn sure does love butts.

7. Triple H (My Time)
I believe Trips got this song only a month or so after Billy Gunn got that Ass-Man theme. Anyway, I really, really miss this one. I can’t imagine the Triple H that he became having this song, but for the post-DX, hungry Hunter, the ample aggression displayed here really hit the mark. Lots of replayability if you haven’t heard it in a while.

6. The Brood
This theme, much like the entrance that accompanied it, is a total spectacle. I genuinely feel bad for any fans that came along after 1999 that didn’t get to hear this on a regular basis. I also never realized how many other people loved this as much as I did and recognized it as an all-time great until recently. That makes me happy.

5. D-Generation X
This is what got the top spot on WWE’s list. While I don’t put it there, it’s absolutely in the discussion. Denny seemed to have some beef with that on the show but don’t let it fool you; back in the day we were all about that DX life. Say what you will, but the green and black never leaves the bloodstream. Going back to the song itself, one of the greatest moments in any theme is where we get the “Break it down!” You know it’s just on from that point. To me, if you were to give the Attitude Era a theme song, this is it, and it’s not close. That has to mean something.

(I felt it important enough to give the Run DMC version during the McMahon-Helmsley era in 2000 a shout out because that version is super underrated and seems to have been almost forgotten about over the course of time.)

(Bonus footnote: Normally I’d shake my head and say, “typical,” when noticing that Triple H appears in some fashion four times on a top 25 list. But, like…I’m the one making the list. Can I get a Ron Simmons “damn!” please?)

4. Edge
Directly from the get-go, this theme is a complete shot of adrenaline every time, and is the main ingredient in what makes up one the greatest entrances of all-time. It is an absolute energy burst of a track, and it’s about as damn near perfect of a theme for Edge to have had. For whatever it’s worth, my biggest back-and-forth on this list was choosing between this one and…

3. Shawn Michaels
But after all was said and done, this had to be in the top three; it’s just too iconic. It is awesome that he has had this for over two decades now, and the theme has almost become synonymous with great matches. Plus, I’m also partial to the name that the girls are clamoring for before it kicks in.

2. Chris Jericho
Speaking of guys who have had the same music forever, aside from a minor tweak from the first few appearances way back in ’99, Jericho has had the same music throughout his entire tenure with the company. There is no other music I would rather enter a room to, and the opening countdown serves basically as a signal of awesomeness to come. It is my belief that no other theme completes their wrestler’s entire entrance like Break the Walls Down does for Y2J.

1. CM Punk (Cult of Personality)
Honestly, it’s almost unfair. Living Colour’s “Cult of Personality” was already one of my favorite songs ever. Then in 2004, Rockstar put it in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (my third favorite video game of all-time – you can view my list for that here), which only increased my love for the song as it became one of my favorites to catch in the in-game radio. And finally, CM Punk returned from his walking out with the WWE Title in 2011 with this as his theme. I understand that this list is supposed to specifically take wrestling into account, but that’s too many things not to factor in.

Sure, he was gone for way too short when he left with the belt, but I’ll never forget hearing the opening chords and jumping off of my bed, knowing it was going to be Punk coming back on Raw before he came out, remembering that he used it at the end of his Ring of Honor run. The simple sound effect at the beginning is such a great addition, too. Simply put, the theme just fits.

Honorable mentions: The Nexus, Cryme Time, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Lita, Dolph Ziggler, Mankind, and the most difficult cut of all, Muhammad Hassan.

When Hulk Hogan first announced the concept of the Andre the Giant Memorial battle royal for this year’s Wrestlemania on Monday Night Raw a few weeks back, I was intrigued by the likelihood of what, at first glance, was probably going to be a mix of current and former stars fighting it out in honor of the Eighth Wonder of the World. When the names of midcarder after midcarder kept pouring in, I felt a bit dejected that this could be anything more than a simple reason to get these guys on the show and a “throw you a bone” payday for working the biggest event of the year. But as they’ve put energy into building this and the participants in the match (well, at least some of them), I’ve begun to think that this could be something much more important to those involved, and perhaps should garner a little more of our attention.

We will get to the superstars in a moment, but first, let’s talk about the match itself. Unless he misspoke, or Vince made him say it and decides to do an about-face, Michael Cole referred to the match on commentary as a new “tradition”, leading us to believe that this isn’t a one-off event. If it’s not, that could mean that winning it could have some real bearing going forward, and not just act as an excuse to carry around a trophy or earn a big paycheck.

Personally, and I said so on Doing the Job a couple weeks back, I feel like this should sort of serve a similar purpose as the King of the Ring once did; winning the battle royal could deliver a nice push in status for someone on the rise or perhaps even allow for a future title shot. Andre meant a great deal to the business, so winning something in his memory should carry some significance. I do, however, think that having thirty entrants is a bit much every year, but if they cut it to say about ten, made people have to qualify for it, thus tightening up to match itself, we could really have something here. Although it doesn’t replace having a Money in the Bank match at Wrestlemania in terms of the wildness that that match brings, it does however get superstars of the same ilk vying for a similar goal on the card each year. You can’t tell me this is a bad idea. Seriously, who says no to this?

Anyway, let’s bring it back to this year and break down how the participants can affect this match, or more importantly, how this match can affect them. If you look at certain casinos or online sportsbooks, you can find gambling odds for this match, plus the rest of the Wrestlemania card. For the purpose of this article, I am using Bovada’s online odds to analyze the standouts in this match. (You will find these odds in parentheses and they are current at the time of this writing. For those not savvy to how betting odds work, if something is, for example, “2/1”, this means that you win two dollars for every one dollar you bet, “11/4” would net you 11 for every four dollars wagered, and so on and so forth.) There’s a bunch of participants, but I will only list who I think it notable, in order from longest odds to the favorites.

Titus O’Neil  (50/1)
How do you spell darkhorse? T-I-T-U-S! (I swear, that wasn’t meant to be racist). Obviously, he likely won’t win, but I feel the need to point out that he has kinda, sorta been involved when the favorites of the match come out. Out of all the longshots, Titus has the best chance, and definitely the one of this lot that I can see WWE rolling with should they decide to be unpredictable just for the sake of doing so.

Damien Sandow (25/1)
He won Money in the Bank and then they basically did nothing with him after he unsuccessfully cashed in. Maybe a random shot in the dark here, but stranger things have happened. (Editor’s note: Damien Sandow’s odds have fell all the way to 75/1 as of April 3rd.)

Big E (18/1)
Speaking of guys that have been inexplicably buried, they give him the Intercontinental title, made him look unstoppable for a short while…and within a few months, he’s at the point where he can’t beat a ham sandwich (not a Boar’s Head one, at least). Having Big E win at this point would be a little contradictory to their recent booking, but I can’t think of a better way to instantly reverse those decisions than by having him win. In fact, I feel like a good concept for this match, if they were to want to push him again, would have been to make this for his IC title and have him successfully defend it against 29 other guys, gaining massive credibility. But that point is moot now and chances are, he won’t win so it doesn’t really matter.

The Miz (14/1)
Here is where things get interesting. I think that 16/1 odds for The Miz is way too low and if I were betting, I’d throw a few dollars down here. Chances are, a babyface wins this match for the feel good moment, as M2J has pointed out, but if a heel were to win, it almost has to be The Miz, right? He’s been the most outspoken of the heels (hell, probably the most outspoken of anyone in the match, period), so it would make sense to boost him back out of obscurity with a big victory, also allowing him to boast that he would still be undefeated, albeit only 4-0, at Wrestlemania.

Dolph Ziggler (6/1)
See most of what I just wrote for The Miz, but a face version. If you’ve been paying close attention to Michael Cole’s commentary (I never thought that would ever be recommended by anyone, let alone myself), It seems as if Ziggler may finally be getting out of the doghouse and receiving another push, and, like I just said, this is an instant credibility maker.

The Big Show (2/1)
The good: Firstly, the obvious is that it is a tip of the cap to Andre himself, having the memorial in his honor won by the modern day version of him. Also, it’s no secret that Show’s record, and more importantly, his legacy, is downright pitiful at Wrestlemania, so this would finally be a big win for him on the big stage. Finally, and this is the major one in my opinion, a victory here would almost be like a really nice lifetime achievement award for all of the hard work he has put in as a big man over the years; it would be a really cool moment.

The bad: The Big Show wins, none of the younger guys get a push from it, and it goes against everything that I have said this battle royal should represent.

Alexander Rusev (11/4)
Leaving the odds out for a second, I don’t get this at all. First, he hasn’t been announced to even be in this match (and if Daniel Bryan at this year’s Royal Rumble is any indication, just because there is speculation, don’t count on it). Additionally, even if he was in the battle royal, he shouldn’t be in it unless he is winning it, and even so, it doesn’t make sense to waste his debut here; just have him debut the night after Raw in a singles match. Bringing the odds back into play, though, he is the favorite simply because if they put him in the match, you have to believe it’s so they can showcase him winning it, which would be terrible. As Denny and M2J pointed out this past week on the podcast, it will look horrible if/when he becomes a major flop and people look back at Wrestlemania 30 and say, “wait, who the hell was that guy again winning the Andre memorial??”

The pick: Sheamus (6/1)
Here is where my money is going. He is the biggest star on the roster that isn’t in a main match at Wrestlemania. Since returning at the Royal Rumble, he really hasn’t done anything since, aside from defeat Christian 87 weeks in a row (give or take a few weeks), and that’s likely because they already had everything fleshed out going into Mania. You know Sheamus is a guy they want to have towards the top, and as I said earlier, winning this match would be a great shot of credibility for the guys that can really use it. I feel like they want to use that on Sheamus.

The Irishman wins.

Ugh, here comes John Cena again, hogging all the spotlight. There he is, not putting over another up-and-comer. Gee, the guy won another big pay-per-view match, shocking. Oh, five moves of doom time. Same old stuff. Cena, you su-. Hey, wait a minute. It’s 2014. None of these things are particularly true anymore, nor have they been for quite some time. So why is every adult male still booing the man?

Well, the short answer is that by now, it is flat out engrained in people’s minds that when Cena’s music hits and he comes to the ring, it’s time to boo. At this point, the crowd has manipulated itself to acting like nothing more than Pavlov’s Dogs. I also feel it is interesting to note that somewhere along the line in the mid-2000’s, it became fashionable to jeer him as a way to tell Vince McMahon and the WWE that the fans are not mindless drones that will cheer him just because you shove him down our throats and want us to. However, those same people, in fact, have become mindless drones in spite of themselves on the opposite end of the spectrum by getting caught up in their own cause of booing Cena…just because. Face it: booing John Cena has lost all of its meaning.

Granted, it is fair to say that a main frustration the fans have with Cena is that he is the same character that he was nine years ago. Look, I am a huge believer that characters need to evolve in pro wrestling to maintain intrigue, and that staying the same is a death knell to entertainment. I would love to see a heel turn for Cena or perhaps a more edgy babyface character. But people need to realize that by this point, it just isn’t going to happen. I was as big of a Cena hater as any up until a couple of years ago, but you have to learn to get over it and move on. Open your eyes and see the entire body of work he has put together, especially in recent years, and you will realize that the landscape is different, and for the better.

To that point, booing John Cena was used as a signal for wanting change, and regardless of how we got here, that almighty cause has seen its successful end game. In the process, he has torn the house down with wrestlers the caliber of CM Punk and Daniel Bryan, while putting them over in order to get them to the top of the WWE hierarchy. Some other recent instant classics with the likes of future stars of the company such as Seth Rollins and Cesaro also come to mind. Add that with a major Wrestlemania match with Bray Wyatt around the corner, and the notion that he is hogging the spotlight while keeping young guys down has certainly become passé.

Hey, even after all is said and done, I still don’t fancy myself a Cena guy. But as a true fan of the WWE and the business as a whole, I feel like you have to respect the performer, at least enough to stop foolishly booing him for what has become no reason at this point. If nothing else, it is clear that he totally “gets it”, apparent by self-deprecating barbs randomly sprinkled throughout his promos. While the dueling “Let’s go Cena!/Cena sucks!” chants have been entertaining over the years , I feel like it has run its course. Besides, wouldn’t it just be more fun to just cheer Cena at this point and see what he could do with a full audience in his favor all of these years later? I think he has earned that right for us to give back, and who knows, maybe he will be better off for it.

At the end of the day, the fact remains that we’ve been giving someone the business that has put on incredible matches, while putting over the guys that we’ve fought so hard in supporting in hopes that one day they would get to the top. It appears to me that at this stage of the game, John Cena is no longer a part of the problem, but part of the solution. Someone that cares just as much about both the present and future of the company as we do. I don’t know about you, but this sounds like someone that I can get behind.

Before I get into the topic at hand, I want to give my apologies for the lengthy period of time between this post and my last. When I first joined the Doing the Job crew, my intent was to write something weekly and later discuss it on the show (mainly because I write significantly better than I speak, and M2J and Denny can talk circles around me in the podcast realm). But you know how it goes: things such as work, a girlfriend, friends, random other hobbies, actually watching the product, and the pod diddly itself get in the way of writing anything good. And kind of like CM Punk, if I don’t think my performance is at its best, I’m just going to go home. But the fact is, as much as I love doing the podcast, I really miss the writing.

So with that being said, I think it’s time for me to quit the show and focus on writing full-time. Just kidding. I’d miss Matt’s marking over Hogan, Denny’s failure at not cursing, and conversations about Rita from Podgods too much. But it is time for me to get back into my comfort zone and start putting words back onto your screen, so that’s what I’m here for today. So sit back, relax, and throw on some of M2J’s favorite Mike Tenay smooth jazz while I ease us back into things. More specifically, let’s talk about Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, and Roman Reigns: the three men that make up The Shield.

Now, I’m certainly not claiming that they’ve gotten lost in the shuffle, but between the rise of Daniel Bryan, CM Punk quitting, the polarizing return of Batista, Randy Orton’s title reign, the Authority’s power trip, the Wyatt Family taking the next step, and the mere ever-presence of John Cena, it can be easy to underestimate and forget just how consistently incredible The Shield have been over the past year-plus. They have been as dependable as it gets in terms of quality in the ring and attention to detail out of it. Simply put, they just “get it”. Personally speaking, they’re my favorite part of the show, Bryan and Punk included, to the point where I am ready to rank them as my number two stable of all-time (I was too much of a mark for DX in ’98 and ’99 to give them that spot, as Denny will attest to).

Having said all that, a breakup of the group has been teased multiple times since the Fall of last year, only to fizzle out as The Shield continued to improve every week. Now, however, the end seems imminent. Unfortunately, it appears that this upcoming pay-per-view match against the Wyatt Family at Elimination Chamber or sometime soon after may very well be their last stand as a group before it all falls apart. I, like many others, expect The Shield to take the loss here due to some selfish miscommunication from Dean Ambrose to the detriment of Roman Reigns, while poor Seth Rollins is caught in the middle.

I feel like this will ultimately lead to a triple threat match between the three to prove who “the man” in the group really is. Because really, aside from that, what else is there for them to do at Wrestlemania XXX? I suppose the ulterior would be a one-on-one match with Reigns against Ambrose, but then where does that leave Rollins? And maybe The Shield do in fact come out on top at Chamber and have a rematch with the Wyatts at Mania so they can get the win back, but if you believe everything you hear (and for their Royal Rumble interference to mean anything), Bray is all but locked in to face John Cena on the big stage.

Regardless of how this all culminates for The Shield, I’m more concerned about where the three individuals go after they wash their hands of each other. At first glance, it seemed that everyone believed, myself included, that Dean Ambrose was the true star of the group, ending up as a main event heel in the company not too far down the road. And while his endpoint might be the same, Roman Reigns has clearly skyrocketed past him in terms of a planned push toward the top (see: Royal Rumble 2014). The only question isn’t how high Reigns will go, but how fast he’ll get there.

My concern, which I touched upon briefly during last week’s podcast, is that there won’t be enough angles and storylines to go around for all three to be involved, in terms of importance, on WWE programming each week. Obviously, all three are extremely talented and can conceivably main event as singles competitors right now, but we know that’s not going to happen, nor should it necessarily. This isn’t like it was in the old days where seemingly everyone on the roster had something important to them going on. Now, we get around three to five actual stories at a time, and then guys like Kofi Kingston, who do come out every week, but to have a match of barely any consequence at all. This is where I am afraid. They have to make angles for three guys, and only about five spots tops to get them in (which is not a great way of maximizing talent, but that’s an article for another day). We might be looking at an odd man out situation here, but I suppose we’ll have to wait and see on that one. For now, let’s break each member down individually, before I give my take on how I would personally utilize The Shield.

Life after The Shield for Roman Reigns

As mentioned, there is no holding Roman Reigns back; his star is rising so high that it might shoot out of orbit. And unlike Denny, who sold the statement that double-R will main event a pay-per-view in 2014 in our little buy or sell gimmick, I think he’s heading toward the top much sooner. He is already too big of a star to hold either the Intercontinental or United States championships, so I feel like he wins a high profile feud with a big heel after his Shield business is over and then maybe, perhaps finds his way into the main event after he becomes super over with the fans. I mean, seriously, the fans are going to go bonkers for this guy when he’s a face. I’d say he is main eventing pay-per-views no later than Survivor Series, if not earlier if he makes it into like a triple threat or four-way match.

Once again though, I have a concern; what if he changes and somehow sucks as a babyface? People really dig Reigns now in his current iteration. This shouldn’t happen, but I wouldn’t be shocked if they put their foot on the brake in terms of his character’s aggressiveness as a good guy, just for the sake of him being more likeable. And he’s talked, by far, the least out of the three members of the group; what if we find out he can’t speak for himself very well? That will certainly limit some of the face charisma he will have on his own. Look, I don’t necessarily think any of these things will happen, I’d give it maybe a twenty percent chance, but I’m certainly not ruling it out either. I really like Reigns a lot and am actually very much looking forward to rooting for him as a face myself, but everyone loving his good guy work is not a complete slam dunk.

Life after The Shield for Dean Ambrose

As stated above, throughout the first half of The Shield’s run I was convinced that he was in line for a top heel role once the group eventually broke up. Now, however, I am a little worried that he toils away on the midcard for a while similar to Damien Sandow, who also once looked destined for a prominent role as recently as a few months ago, at least until they figure out what to do with him. At the moment, that US title is bogging him down, too, so right off the bat he will have to lose to a midcarder just in order to drop it. On the contrary, perhaps dropping that dead weight of a belt will allow creative to propel him into a more featured role with a higher quality face opponent.

Oddly enough, Ambrose is so unique that I can’t picture a realistic, WWE-style one-on-one feud with someone. (Realistic, meaning not some crazy Jon Moxley story an internet mark would armchair book that WWE would never do, like I’ve heard people say many times before.) Because of this, I feel it’s a little while before the company really features him, which I do believe they eventually will, while they try and figure out how to play their cards with his character. He will get there, but it might take a little longer than we had hoped.

Life after the Shield for Seth Rollins

I feel like Rollins’ career path is the most difficult to predict of the three, as he has both a high ceiling and low floor. Additionally, while both Ambrose and Reigns are set in their face/heel roles beyond The Shield, Rollins’ alignment can go either way. The talent is undeniably all there, and he has improved on the mic, although only in a heel role. If you read between the lines, he appears to be on the side of Reigns in any quips with Ambrose, which would lead one to believe he will turn face, the way he likely belongs, after the group is finished. Although it wouldn’t be stunning to see him take a “Reigns is becoming a too big for his britches” approach when the end comes for the Hounds of Justice, either.

Right here is where my theory that there aren’t enough storyline spots to go around comes into play. If he is a face, he’s already got multiple guys ahead of him (John Cena, Daniel Bryan, Roman Reigns, Sheamus, and Batista if he doesn’t turn), which probably means wasting time holding a meaningless midcard title that will only be a tool to placate his character until something better comes along. Or a worst case scenario (gulp), where he is something of a rich man’s Justin Gabriel, playing the exciting face coming out of a heel stable and goes nowhere. Again, like my concerns for his stable mates, I don’t think this happens, but I’m pointing out the possibilities for those that may be a little too optimistic. And like the other two, I think he eventually does “get there,” although his climb to the top might be a little long and arduous.

What should be the future of The Shield?

If it appears that I have much more concerns than hope for the three moving forward as singles wrestlers within WWE, it isn’t because I think they can’t or won’t make it on their own. I think they can and they will, despite taking much different paths. But my solution to a breakup is entirely different than what has been discussed in this article and many others altogether.

My solution is to keep The Shield together.

I get it. If anyone is looking at this with total optimism for each guy and sees Reigns’ star power, Rollins’ athleticism, and Ambrose’s dynamic character, it is easy to claim that they are all ready, that they’ve “graduated,” in a sense, from the stable life. But why tear apart something that works so well for your product? The Shield is excellent, and the three bring a teamwork, both in terms of kayfabe and reality, that is very difficult to come by. In wrestling years, sure, they’ve been around for a while. But that just means that now is the time to switch it up a bit.

To go further, my solution is to turn them babyface. And what better opportunity than now with the crowd in their favor with a rivalry brewing with the heel Wyatts? And after that is done, they could go on for another six months to a year making the rounds taking out the heels to the crowd’s delight. To draw a comparison, think D-Generation X, and how they spent a similar amount of time playing the villain, hit a point where they did all they needed to do in that role, and switched over in what was an even bigger success than anyone could imagine. And hey, if they want to blow their load with Reigns right now, they should keep in mind that spending a bunch of time in stables didn’t hurt The Rock any during his formative years.

Basically speaking, a lengthy good guy run for The Shield could be epic and do absolute wonders for the babyface careers of Rollins and Reigns, while making Ambrose that much more despicable when he ultimately turns his back on his friends.

Regardless of whatever they decide to do with them, I believe that we should take a moment to reflect on what an amazing run these guys have put on for us since November 2012. Because, yes, I do believe in The Shield.

After Battleground, WWE’s newest pay-per-view, went off the air last night, outrage appeared to be the general consensus of emotion across the unwashed mass community of wrestling fans due to the finish, or lack thereof, to the show’s main event. For those who are still unaware, or have already blocked it from their memory, the last match pitted Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton against each other for the vacant WWE Championship. We figured we would get some kind of screwy finish (not that I was the only one thinking this, but I wrote so in my predictions piece last week), but regardless, we were to assume that there would be a winner. We didn’t count on them having the Big Show interfere, knock everyone out, and basically close the night with no ending to the match. What the hell? No, seriously, what the hell?!

First, let me get the rant portion of this column out of the way. For something as major as the finish to a pay-per-view, this obviously had to be a Vince McMahon decision to end it this way. Listen, I love Vince, and respect him for everything he’s done. But that man has to have some set of stones if he thinks in any way possible that this is an acceptable way to end a show that people are paying a lot of money for. I wouldn’t want it, but I’d at least understand if they used the ending to a Raw, which is a free show, like this. But to end a pay-per-view? UNACCEPTABLE…all caps.

Now that that’s done, let me pose a question. Was this WWE’s most meaningless PPV ever in terms of character development and story progression? I generally hate to speak in hyperbole, and I’m sure there was plenty in the mid-late 2000’s, but I can’t think of one off the top of my head. Let’s run this night down for a moment.

One of the main reasons why this event was pointless was because half…seriously, half, of the show was thrown together as last minute filler. The pre-show featured Dolph Ziggler facing Damien Sandow for no apparent reason, announced one week prior. Curtis Axel against R-Truth was added after Raw just for the sake of giving Axel someone to beat, like it matters. We got Kofi Kingston versus Bray Wyatt, again out of left field, announced as late as Smackdown. And then as if there wasn’t enough matches with no story, feud, or build to it, the Real Americans vs. Santino Marella and the Great Khali was announced like the day before the event. This show had so much filler that the Great f’ing Khali had a match. Again, there was no rhyme or reason for any of these matches happening whatsoever and none of them progressed any stories or enhanced character development for any of the talent involved. Just a complete waste of time.

Then we have two matches where, although they were actually announced ahead of time, had no real build-up to make us care either. I have no issue with AJ Lee versus Brie Bella happening at all, but the result was as simple as the champ going over with nothing to help Brie along the way. It’s not that this should never happen, but compounded with the rest of the card, it would have been nice for something to come out of this match.

Let’s talk about Rob Van Dam against Alberto Del Rio. I do appreciate them making this a hardcore match so ADR wouldn’t put me to sleep, but again, the champ goes over and we move along. Was their line of thinking that having Del Rio defeat Van Dam in a hardcore contest would somehow make us believe in him more as World Heavyweight Champion? Because I think that ship has long sailed. RVD is no better after this match (which I suppose is fine since he is leaving again for the time being), but more importantly, I don’t feel like Del Rio is any stronger for it.

As for the matches that actually were built in the weeks leading up to Battleground, there was only one glimmer of light, which was Cody Rhodes and Goldust facing off against Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns of the Shield. Great feel, great match, great story told, great finish, and great progression. This was the equivalent of getting spanked like 7-1, but having one highlight reel, moonshot home run.

As big of a CM Punk fan as I am, I was a surprised by him going over in this match. Not for him getting the win, but the fashion in which he did so. As in, he pinned Ryback, the heels walked away, and we’ll see you tomorrow night. What? This outcome would have made complete sense if Punk would have absolutely decimated Ryback in the process or afterward, essentially leaving no one left standing between him and Paul Heyman, with this month being the final chapter of this feud until he “gets his hands on him”. Not that I’m crazy about this whole storyline, but I’ll give Punk and Heyman the benefit of the doubt that there is more moving forward. As far as the PPV is concerned, however, the guys showed up, Punk won, everyone left, and these characters are in no different standing than they were heading into the night. I’m perplexed.

Finally, we come to the main event. So Triple H stripped Daniel Bryan the Raw after Night of Champions last month because he was “caught” in cahoots with referee Scott Armstrong for cheating in the match. The title was held in a state of abeyance and Armstrong was 86ed. A rematch was set for Battleground to crown a new champion. Everyone (okay, not everyone…some of us streamed) plunked down a lot of money to see this…and as I said earlier, they had the Big Show come out and take a dump all over it and each and every one of us. He reluctantly knocked out Bryan, Armstrong ran down out of nowhere, unfired, to count the three, and got knocked out for his efforts, Orton got in Show’s face and then he got KO’ed. The night ends with everyone downed and no new champ. I suppose those of us who flew to London to watch, as M2J would say, got what we paid for.

We can go on and on about how frustrating this is from an “I just watched this entire show for that??” standpoint. But from a storyline standpoint that they just forced me to invest a month into? This is where Battleground reaches its apex in pointlessness. So since the night after the last pay-per-view, there has been no WWE champion. We build up to a show that will crown a new champ. And now heading into Raw tonight, there is still no champion. I don’t know what they have in store in a few hours from now. If they are smart and don’t want to continue to eat a crap sandwich from fans, they’ll give us a new champ on free television. But at the time being, the past month of WWE programming, which was very heavily geared toward this match, was a complete and utter waste of time. I suppose it can be said that the Big Show angle progressed, kind of, sort of. But Bryan and Orton are in the same exact boat they were in leading up to Battleground. Why even have that show?

Seriously, aside from the Rhodes’, is any one superstar or diva, storyline or angle, in any different shape after Battleground than before? I certainly don’t think so. The whole point of these things from a storyline standpoint is to answer all of our current questions with more questions for the future. The only question I have coming out of Battleground is why the hell I wasted three hours watching that.

This Sunday, WWE brings to us a new pay-per-view titled “Battleground”, featuring Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton squaring off in the main event for the WWE Championship. M2J, Denny Lugz, and I gave our predictions and provided some quick analysis about these matches on this week’s episode of Doing the Job. Allow me to further break down the card.

Dolph Ziggler vs. Damien Sandow (Pre-Show)
Alright, so this match came out of absolutely nowhere. To my knowledge, these two have had no recent interaction with each other and this is clearly a move by creative to pit two guys that they would like to get on the show but just have nothing for at the moment. Which is a shame, since Ziggler is only a few months removed from being World Heavyweight Champion and has been in and out of this whole angle with the Corpolution, and also because, oh by the way, Damien Sandow is the current holder of the Money in the Bank contract.

Both of these guys can really use a victory, especially Sandow, who has seemingly lost to everyone under the sun since winning that briefcase. But with that briefcase comes a ticket into the title picture that they’re eventually going to use; who knows what’s on the horizon for Ziggler. I think he needs this win more.

Picks:
Sean: Dolph Ziggler
M2J: Dolph Ziggler
Denny: Dolph Ziggler

Curtis Axel (c) vs. R-Truth (Intercontinental Title Match)
Speaking of matches that were just thrown onto the card. So basically R-Truth got that win on Raw when CM Punk’s music played and he gets a title shot. Okay. They’ve done nothing whatsoever with Axel as champion and plummeted the IC title’s stock once again, but as long as he’s aligned with Paul Heyman, mini-Perfect isn’t losing the belt in a match like this.

Picks:
Sean: Curtis Axel
(Editor’s Note: This match was made a day after we recorded our show with M2J and Denny’s predictions.)

Bray Wyatt vs. Kofi Kingston

And in another match that was added at the last moment, this one as late as Smackdown two days before the show, we get this. It’s so pointless that I’m not even giving analysis.

Picks:
Sean: Bray Wyatt
(Editor’s Note: Again, this match was added well after the podcast, so no predictions from our two hosts.)

AJ Lee (c) vs. Brie Bella (Divas Title Match)
Oddly enough, Nikki getting injured is the best thing that could have happened for Brie, now that she is getting all of this solo attention, which, despite her relationship with Daniel Bryan coming to the forefront, probably doesn’t happen otherwise. Still, if you think that is going to be enough to push her into becoming champion, I’d think twice. AJ has been great in her role lately, and more importantly, they just put Tamina with her as an enforcer, which all but assures a win for the champ.

Picks:
Sean: AJ Lee
M2J: AJ Lee
Denny: AJ Lee

Alberto Del Rio (c) vs. Rob Van Dam (World Heavyweight Championship Match – Hardcore Rules)
Praise the lord that they decided to make this a hardcore match, otherwise not even RVD could prevent Del Rio’s formulaic heel wrestling from lulling me to sleep. I’m really hoping Van Dam can turn back the clock a bit with some innovative offense, and I’m looking forward to the prospect of seeing a Van Daminator.

If you’ve been listening to the show, you know much I can’t stand Del Rio, but I’d be stunned if he didn’t go over here. Also, Ricardo Rodriguez has been a non-factor for a little while now; perhaps he is a main part of the outcome? Finally, I proposed a Buy or Sell to Denny and M2J on the podcast if this could be RVD’s last one on one main event level title match at a pay-per-view. They both sold it, but I’m not so sure, so I’m not taking it for granted.

Picks:
Sean: Alberto Del Rio
M2J: Alberto Del Rio
Denny: Alberto Del Rio

Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes and Goldust (If the Rhodes’ win, they get their jobs back)
Also at stake is Dusty Rhodes’ job down in Florida. I’m looking forward to this match between four guys that can really go in the ring and a finish with multiple possibilities. At the very least, Cody will be back full time, if not already, plus The Shield’s tag team titles are not on the line, which may be another indicator of the outcome here. I’m certainly raising an eyebrow at the fact that this McMahon/Rhodes storyline doesn’t seem as cut and dry as them simply winning and getting their jobs back, but I think that’s what happens here. I’m excited to sit back and not think too hard about this one. This is also my dark horse pick for match of the night because, besides the match quality, I feel that the crowd will be super-hot behind the Rhodes’.

(Side note: In a PPV with last minute and throwaway matches added to the card last minute, how does Dean Ambrose not have a match at Battleground??)

Picks:
Sean: Cody Rhodes and Goldust
M2J: The Shield
Denny: Cody Rhodes and Goldust

CM Punk vs. Ryback
I feel like I saw all I needed to see out of these two last year, but hopefully they will prove me wrong now that Ryback has a little more experience under his belt. I suppose the argument for Punk winning is that he’s done the job in this Heyman storyline for three months now (if you include the Money in the Bank match where Paul E. turned on him), but this doesn’t seem likely to be the end of the feud. Additionally, Ryback can really use a high profile victory and after recently being injected in the angle and becoming a “Paul Heyman guy”, it this Sunday seems like a likely time for that to happen. Unfortunately for Punk, he really starts to lose credibility if he continues to promise us to end all this, while continually doing the job. As much as we love Punk and Heyman, I think we’re all ready for this to be over and something new to spark up with the Corpolution.

Picks:
Sean: Ryback
M2J: Ryback
Denny: Ryback

Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton (WWE Championship Match)

Aside from the tag team match, this is probably the only other one that has a chance of being match of the night, and their showdown last month was not quite as good as we had hoped, so perhaps they’ll have something better in store this time around. Denny made the point on the show, but with D-Bry going over twice the last couple of pay-per-views and ultimately not coming away with the title, it’s unlikely it will happen again this month. Additionally, now that they’ve vamped up Orton’s heelishness since Night of Champions, he seems poised for a title run under the McMahon-Helmsley era 2.0.

After the ending of this past Raw, I’d suspect Brie Bella comes out at some point and her presence accidentally distracts Bryan, costing him the victory. At the least, expect some sort of screwy finish here helping Orton regain the title.

Picks:
Sean: Randy Orton
M2J: Randy Orton
Denny: Randy Orton

Conclusion
After a really nice run of very good pay-per-views from WWE, it seems as if we are in a three-show stretch of lackluster events starting with Night of Champions and capping with Hell in a Cell, with this Sunday’s Battleground sandwiched in between. Aside from Punk/Heyman, WWE focused so much attention recently on the main event storyline and the trio of angles under its umbrella that they really didn’t flesh out any other feuds, which resulted in this barrage of meaningless matches that make up a good portion of the night. With generally no outcomes we care about aside from the main three spots, matches with a low potential for quality wrestling, and overall a very predictable show (seriously, there was only one match where the three of us differed in opinion), I have to admit, I really don’t have high hopes for Battleground.

If you listened to last week’s Doing the Job podcast, you’ll know that I conducted a fantasy sports style draft between M2J and Denny Lugz, pitting them as general managers and devising up two rosters as if we were putting a brand split back into place. (And if you didn’t, how about putting this article on pause and checking out the pod diddly now.) Aside from the fact that I thought it would be a change of pace segment and intriguing to see how their rosters would be constructed, I also felt it would give us a good gage on how high or low they currently felt about certain members on the WWE roster. Like any fantasy draft, some picks were pretty obvious (Daniel Bryan and CM Punk as the two first rounders), while others were a bit perplexing (Heath Slater in the sixth round?!). With that being said, let’s try to break down and analyze this draft.

Round One
M2J: Daniel Bryan; Denny Lugz: CM Punk
M2J sneeeaaaked his way into picking first with the old “heads I win, tails you lose routine” which Denny dismissed thinking this was to determine which show they’d be drafting for and not the actual draft order. In any event, as stated above, pretty obvious drafting here. For the record, I would have taken Punk first, but I’m splitting hairs there. Can’t go wrong with either of these two as the foundations of your roster.

Round Two/Three
M2J: Dolph Ziggler; Denny Lugz: Seth Rollins
M2J: Antonio Cesaro; Denny Lugz: Dean Ambrose
No complaints at all with Ziggler going third overall, but afterwards is where something “funny the business”, as Denny would say, goes down. I love Rollins, Cesaro, and Ambrose. Hell, they’re three of the main guys I look forward to seeing the most each week, no questions asked. But let’s face it, I think our hosts are marking a bit for the indy guys here. While I’ll admit, I feel Ambrose is a lock to be a future top heel in the company and therefor deserving of a high pick, I can’t quite say the same about the other two in the WWE climate. And that hurts me, but it should be at least a couple rounds before we see Cesaro and Rollins go off the board, because we’re not building an indy brand, we’re drafting for Raw and Smackdown.
(Editor’s note: If you stayed on and listened to the afterburn, you would have heard Denny trying desperately to nab Cesaro in a trade with all sorts of offers. Matt wasn’t biting.)

Round Four
M2J: John Cena; Denny Lugz: Cody Rhodes
So Cena finally comes off the board in round four. Despite where they’re drafted, M2J’s roster is shaping up with some serious star power early on here. For Denny, you can’t argue taking Cody considering the blueprint to how he is molding his roster, with Punk as anchor to some serious young studs.

Round Five
M2J: Prime Time Players; Denny Lugz: The Wyatt Family
M2J’s main focus was on Titus O’Neil, who he is very high on and sees as a future main eventer. Lugz answers back with a team of his own, taking the Wyatts. I think it’s too early to be taking any of these guys here, but one of the things about this is perception and if Titus is your guy, then make sure you get him. As for the Wyatts, I’m sorry, I’m just not a believer. Maybe they’ll prove me wrong, and it’s no disrespect to the guys themselves, but these characters are better suited for a B horror flick than WWE programming. I’m not buying in. This is my bust of the draft so far. Until…

Round Six/Seven
M2J: Heath Slater; Denny Lugz: Rob Van Dam
M2J: Roman Reigns; Damien Sandow
Yeah. In all honesty, I’ve always really liked Slater and never felt he’s had a fair shake. And yes, maybe M2J’s vision is to make him a much bigger star and, if you’ve been listening to the podcast, have him square off against Ziggler in a bump-fest. But this is way too early for him to be taken. In football, I really liked T.Y. Hilton this year, but I wasn’t reaching for him in round four when I knew he’d be around much later. Same logic applies here. However, I do have to applaud the Reigns pick. Even as recently as a couple of months ago, I would have felt this was a slight reach or fair value, but I really think he’s destined for big things in his WWE career. He just has the makings.

I really liked what Denny did here, too. Van Dam might be older, but let’s face it, he’s ageless and can have great matches with the current roster that has been drafted to this show. Sandow is another good pick in the roster composition of promising futures.

Round Eight
M2J: Randy Orton; Denny Lugz: Sheamus
I haven’t been an Orton fan in probably like six years but this was way too low for him to fall. The man was WWE champion a few weeks ago! Good job by Matt to add to his roster’s star power after taking some youth the previous few rounds. Regarding Sheamus, I’ve never been on the bandwagon. Nothing against him; he works hard and gives it his all every night, he’s just not for me. And even though he’s injured, the man’s not dead, so despite the fact that I probably wouldn’t have taken him, this was too far for him to fall as well. Good pick.

Round Nine/Ten/Eleven
M2J: Kofi Kingston; Denny Lugz: Fandango
M2J: Zack Ryder; Denny Lugz: Kane
M2J: Ryback; Denny Lugz: Mark Henry
I’m hopeful that Matt finds a way to do something interesting with Kofi and Ryder as they both deserve far better than what they’ve got so far in WWE. And if I’m Denny, I’m making Fandango drop the gimmick and repackaging the talent (again), as the dance routine has reached its peak. Kane just came off some of the finest work of his career, and although this isn’t a bad pick for the tenth round, I just don’t know what you do with him at this point. As for Ryback and Henry…meh.

Round 12/13
M2J: The Miz; Denny Lugz: Alberto Del Rio
M2J: Wade Barrett; Denny Lugz: R-Truth
If anything…anything…interesting can be done with these two guys in the twelfth round, all the credit in the world. I think Miz is salvageable. Del Rio, I’m not touching with a ten foot pole no matter what round he falls to; just stay as far away from my roster as possible please.

On the other hand, I definitely think Barrett can be used better and in the thirteenth round, this is a steal. If some life can be injected into R-Truth, this is good value as well.

Round 14/15/16
M2J: Tons of Funk; Denny Lugz: Christian
M2J: Evan Bourn; Denny Lugz: The Usos
M2J: Yoshi Tatsu; Denny Lugz: The Bella Twins
Around round eight or nine I was expecting Christian’s name to be called, which even then I felt was a little late for him to be available. I couldn’t believe it as names came off the board ahead of his until finally he was taken in the 14^th. What the hell?! Speaking of dropping way too far; considering how high the Usos’ stock is right now, it was rather stunning to me to see them go almost undrafted. Total complete steal here for Denny. Sure, M2J’s intent was to mainly grab Titus, but would you rather have the PTPs’s in the fifth or the Usos in the 14^th? And by the time his last selection before the Divas rounds got started, Denny felt that the pickins were so slim amongst the males that he would start drafting women, so naturally he went with…the Bellas?? Alright, so his reasoning was that women are just for looks and don’t wrestle on his show. Fair enough. But after Denny went on an Undertaker-esque streak of like 20+ shows in a row earlier this year about AJ’s midriff (mmm, midriff), how was she not the first Diva off the board? This one shocked me.

Divas Rounds
M2J: AJ Lee; Denny Lugz: Jack Swagger
M2J: Funkadactyls; Denny Lugz: Natalya
M2J: Kaitlyn; Denny Lugz: Summer Rae
M2J: Layla; Denny Lugz: Eva Marie
For the record, since the Bellas were technically taken in the male portion of the draft, Swagger gets grouped into this round. Rightfully so, AJ goes first here. I was vocal about the fact that I would have taken Naomi by herself and not had Cameron anywhere near my roster, but that’s just me. I feel like Matt has built a really nice mini womens division here, and regardless of what Denny was going for, slaughtered him in this portion of the draft. His show will be a better one for it.

Final Verdict
Let’s start with Denny’s roster. I don’t think too many casual fans are watching this show. Which is fine; the point of this wasn’t to draw the highest ratings. There are certainly some future stars, just not many right now. The wrestling on this show looks good, however, and I’d be super intrigued to see a Punk/Ambrose main event feud and perhaps a series of RVD/Rollins matches. For me personally, though, I find some bathroom breaks between Del Rio, Swagger, Kane, and Mark Henry when their matches come on.

On the other side of the coin, the more I look over M2J’s roster, the more I really like it. There are a lot of great combinations you can get from this group of guys in the main event and in the midcard. M2J has talked about turning Kofi heel, and I’d be all in on a heel Kofi vs. face Ziggler feud. Plus, if Ryback gets made a star like WWE hopes and he gets anything out of The Miz and Barrett, that’s just house money at that point. Really nice job here overall.