Why the WWE needs Cody Rhodes new "Dashing" gimmick

There once was a time when the WWE was the land of vibrant and colorful personalities. You had the rich millionaire Ted Dibiase, the heart breaker Shawn Michaels, the most electrifying man in sports entertainment The Rock, to the 5-time, 5-time, 5-time, 5-time, 5-time WCW Champion Booker T. Whether they were sucka beating, pie eating, or trying to bribe you the WWE always had a steady influx of charismatic personalities. However, it seems that in the modern era this is one area that is deperately lacking. I mean, you have a few... but generally none of the top guys have amazing personalities with the exception of John Cena (which probably explains why he is the face of the company). The majority of the upper crust WWE superstars today, are just short haired, speedo wearing, smaller more cut guys that all LOOK (I'm not saying they act the same) the same like Chris Jericho, Randy Orton, Ted Dibiase, Cody Rhodes, etc. They all have that similar ring wear. Well, I was finally tuning into Smackdown recently and I saw a glimmer of hope. A throwback to the days of great gimmicks and personalities. A wrestler that truly set himself apart, and it was Cody Rhodes and his new "Dashing" gimmick. It takes you back to the days of guys like Mr. Perfect and the "Model" Rick Martel or the "Narcissist" Lex Luger. It was Cody Rhodes, portraying this new character, who is supposed to be an exaggerated metro-sexual (a guy that focuses too much on body hygiene to the point of obsession, and thus has a huge ego thinking they are the perfect male specimen). Cody played this character to perfection, and really had me believing that he was this "Dashing" character that he said he was. It was a breath of fresh air, in an era where there aren't too many vibrant personalities that shine through like there used to be. I feel bad for this generation, who doesn't have The Rocks, The Stone Colds, The Booker Ts, The Million Dollar Mans etc. At least they have a few here and there, and "Dashing" Cody Rhodes is one of them.

P.S. Cody Rhodes actually has a great new theme song as well that matches perfectly with his new gimmick, that is simply... "Dashing".

Flashback of the Day: The Rock confronts Booker T and Goldust

This is a classic example of WWE at its absolute finest. This is the difference between how WWE is now, and how great WWE was then. WWE was full of the most vibrant characters, who had more charisma than I thought was humanly possible. The WWE has great wrestlers, even now, but this is what the modern WWE needs so desperately now, PERSONALITY.

Flashback of the Day: Epic Sting vs Goldberg Promo

This was an epic promo for Slamboree 1999, Sting vs Goldberg. It's a shame because this should've been saved for Starrcade, and could've been one of the greatest matches of all-time and could've been one of the biggest PPV draws ever. This should have been up there with Sting vs Hogan, The Rock vs Hogan, Hogan vs Andre, and Warrior vs Hogan as one of the biggest matches ever. Sadly, WCW dropped the ball on this feud BIG TIME and the match was a dud.

Flashback of the Day: The Steiner Bros cut a great promo on Team3D

All I have to say is that Scott Steiner is the funniest promo man in pro wrestling. Enjoy!

Why the Nexus is a rip off of the World Elite

Ever since The Nexus has stormed the scene in the WWE, the wrestling world has been buzzing. While the Nexus has so far been widely praised as a breath of fresh air for the WWE, many have also criticized the faction for being unoriginal. Everyone has been comparing the Nexus to the nWo, but I am utterly shocked that no one has made the biggest connection of them all. The Nexus is a blatant rip off of the World Elite. Think I'm lying? Think about it. The ideology behind the Nexus in 2010 is they're a bunch of young guys tired of the establishment holding them down and pushing the veterans, so they have decided to take matters into their own hands and take over. This ideology and plot was taken nearly verbatim from TNA's World Elite faction from 2009. Every time I hear Wade Barrett cut a promo about being tired of being ignored, I have flashbacks to Eric Young cutting an identical promo with the World Elite. At the end of the day, the Nexus just copy-and-pasted the World Elite's ideology with the nWo's style. If pressed I'd say that the Nexus are just a more polished and glossy World Elite. I like the Nexus, but I got to call it in spades.

Flashback of the Day: nWo 2000 forms on Nitro

Let me take you back to when the nWo 2000 reformed on Nitro, Enjoy!

Why does WWE continue to hold back Christian?

One thing that has been killing me for the last few years, is why oh why does Vince McMahon and the WWE continue to hold "Captain Charisma" Christian back from the main event status that he so richly deserves? Christian after being relegated to mid-carder status his entire WWE career, departed for TNA in 2005 and immediately TNA saw something in him that the WWE did not. TNA had the confidence in Christian to crown him top baby face and heel status and 2-time World Heavyweight Champion. He spent 2005-2008 in TNA trading blows with legends like Sting, Kurt Angle, and Booker T, and the best young wrestler in the world AJ Styles (who just became the 1st TNA wrestler to be rated the #1 wrestler in the PWI 500 Best Wrestlers). TNA was single-handedly responsible for making Christian a credible main eventer, and raising his stock. Then at the end of 2008, Christian decided to give WWE another shot.

So, after all of this success you expect a big WWE return right? WRONG. Christian debuted in February of 2009 on the lowest rated WWE Show, and the weakest brand... the now defunct WWECW, confronting then virtual unknown Jack Swagger (who despite being WWECW Champion, and World Heavyweight Champion... is still fairly and laughably unknown). Christian was put on a show no one watched, wrestling a bunch of nobodies. Christian went from wrestling royalty like Kurt Angle and Sting to wrestling some nobody named Yoshi Tatsu and competing for a World Title that was worth LESS than the mid-carder titles. What a slap in the face. Now, Christian has been back in the WWE for a year and a half and what is he doing now? He's wrestling lower mid-carders on Smackdown. Wow, way to go Christian. You are probably making more money now, but at what cost? You are wrestling over 300 days a year, destroying your body... and for what? A 2nd rate show, no appreciation, and taking a huge step BACKWARD in your career... all for a few more bucks? Had he stuck around in TNA now, he is nearly guaranteed to have gotten a big pay increase with all the new big names, he'd still be a main eventer, probably world champion again, wrestling only about 100 days a year, and salvaging your body for a longer career. Who knows though... maybe WWE will make him World Champion one day... but I'm not holding my breath. Good luck to you Christian, I hope you learned a lesson.

ECW Treasure Trove: Watch ECW on TNN episodes and everything ECW!!

I came across a youtube user, that has uploaded basically everything ECW ever made onto his channel. He has full ECW PPVS, ECW on TNN episodes, ECW Promos, ECW Matches, Pretty much everything ECW you can think of. Check it out now!!! God bless this guy!

http://www.youtube.com/user/ExtremeECWv1#p/u

Extreme Flashback of the Day: ECW on TNN Intro

This is the bad ass intro to ECW on TNN. RIP ECW. Enjoy.

TNA is going Extreme (Suck it WWECW)

TNA has decided to bring back the original ECW in what looks to be a "One Night Stand" like PPV. They have aptly renamed 'Hard Justice'... 'HardCORE Justice'. My only hope is that TNA won't pull their dicks out and piss all over the ECW legacy the way the WWE did. So far, it's shaping up to be a true homage to ECW and not just another dollar sign. Welcome back ECW... suck it WWECW!

Top 5 Worst Knockoffs in Wrestling History

In the wrestling world, gimmicks and ideas are recycled constantly. Some with great success, and others... not so much. I've made a list of the 5 worst knockoff gimmicks in wrestling history. Enjoy.



5. Eric Escobar (Razor Ramon Knockoff) - Eric Escobar was an updated 2009 Razor Ramon, and a bad one at that. He debuted as Vickie Guerrero's new boyfriend on Smackdown. He essentially was nothing more than a cheap Puerto Rican Razor Ramon knockoff. If Razor Ramon was Coca-Cola, Eric Escobar was Sam's Choice. There was only one Razor Ramon... and it wasn't Eric Escobar. Is Vince McMahon finally running out of ideas? 

4. The Renegade (WCW's Ultimate Warrior Knockoff) - The Renegade was supposed to be the second coming of the Ultimate Warrior for WCW. Unfortunately, he was a pitiful rehash. Even his theme was a total knockoff (Thanks Jimmy Hart). As one Youtube user commented "What a bootleg ass ultimate warrior". The Renegade was the Ultimate Knockoff, not the Ultimate Warrior, and believe it or not some people actually thought this was the Ultimate Warrior... that he just couldn't use the name "Ultimate Warrior"... how sad...

3. Chuck Palumbo's Biker Gimmick (Undertaker Big Evil Knockoff) - For some reason, Vince McMahon thought it would be a bad ass idea to recreate the Undertaker's "American Bad Ass" gimmick. In all actuality, Palumbo's biker character was moderately popular despite how poor of a rip off it was of the Undertaker. I feel bad for Chuck Palumbo, because he really is a biker guy in real life... but this was just too soon after Taker's Biker gimmick otherwise... it might have worked. Chuck even had a cool theme that was similar to Taker's Big Evil "You're Gonna Pay" theme.

2. Dolph Ziggler (Mr. Perfect Knockoff) - Dolph Ziggler basically copy and pasted Mr. Perfects persona on himself... think. Slicked back curly blonde hair? Check. I'm better than you attitude? Check. Runs hands through hair and flicks his sweat? Check. Mr.Perfect....... I am Perfection..... The difference between these two, is that Mr.Perfect was a far better actor and way more suave. Curt Hennig didn't have to make me believe he was Mr.Perfect. I already knew he was.

1. Chris Masters ("Narcissist" Lex Luger Knockoff) - There is no doubt about it that Chris Masters started out as nothing more than a knockoff of Lex Luger's "Narcissist" gimmick. The more videos you see, the more it really seems like Vince has totally run out of ideas. 

Flashback of the Day: Ultimate Warrior Makes His RAW debut 1996

Let me take you back in time, to an epic moment in wrestling history. After a 3 year hiatus, the Ultimate Warrior made his Monday Night RAW debut, and comes face to face with the bizarre one.... Goldust! Enjoy!

Flashback Wrestling Theme: Lance Storms 1st WCW Theme

This was Storms first WCW Theme, and is it just me or for a stock theme this theme kicked ass. It made me believe Lance Storm could've actually gone places. (Shugs) The Theme really hits its cool spot at about 59 seconds into it.

Flashback of the Day: Sting Promo 2007

This was a classic Sting promo from TNA, back in 2007 when Sting was trying to convince Abyss that he didn't need Father James Mitchell anymore, and that Abyss could be his own man. This was just before Sting fought Abyss in a "Last Rites" match at Destination X 2007. This promo showed the awesome potential TNA had even with the shoe string budget they were on at the time.

Randy Orton is #1 contender again??.. UGH... FAIL

Well, it looks like the powers that be behind RAW has seen fit to make Randy Orton the number 1 contender for the World Title... again. Skip-a-dee-doo-da. When it was announced that the triple threat match to decide the number 1 contender had Edge, Randy Orton, and Chris Jericho involved I immediately got sick to my stomach. I am so sick and tired of seeing the same 5 or 6 guys fighting over the title for the last 5 years. Edge, Orton, and Jericho have a combined 19 title reigns already. I don't want to see them fighting for the title anymore. It's beyond a tired act. 19 title reigns??? Give me a break. This is WWE's biggest problem is an inability to push new young talent to main event status. WWE is currently doing what ultimately was a key factor in WCW's demise. An inability to create new stars. WCW created Goldberg and that was about it, and had the same 5 or 6 guys holding the belt for years. WWE has pushed Sheamus and that's about it and that's only because he's Triple H's buddy. The thing is, when WWE finally does decide to give a newbie a chance... they push them way before the crowd has had a chance to get into their characters (i.e. Jack Swagger), or they only push who Triple H or Cena says to push. I would much rather have seen Christian, R-Truth, and Kofi Kingston or Morrison battling for the number one contender. What happened WWE to Jesse Ventura's whole spill about being tired of the same guys holding the strap when he guest hosted??? I guess we're back to the same usual suspects, and people can argue all they want that WWE does push younger guys... and it's a bunch of bull. When Christian, MVP, Kofi, Ted Dibiase, Cody Rhodes, Morrison, or R-Truth actually get the WWE Championship... then call me.



Well, the RAW Roster finally has assembled their "answer" to The Nexus. John Cena enlisted the help of arch enemies Edge, Chris Jericho, along with John Morrison, The Great Khali, R-Truth, and last but not least Bret the "Hitman" Hart. The closing segment of RAW was fairly compelling to the otherwise borefest that RAW has become in the last 2 1/2 years. On a lighter note, when will the writers figure out that the viewers are SICK AND TIRED OF Randy Orton, John Cena, Triple H, Edge, and now Sheamus as RAW Champion? I know this is only Sheamus's 2nd title reign, but at the end of the day maybe it's because Sheamus is nothing more than a Lucky Charms version of Triple H. In other words, Sheamus is basically just a cross between heel Triple H and old rulebreaker Finlay (before they made him a jobber and a joke). The WWE may have the Nexus storyline going for them, but aside from that... they don't have much else that stands out right now. TNA is currently pound-for-pound a better, more well-rounded show at the moment on a fraction of the budget. I love both organizations, but I got to call it in spades.

Flashback of the Day

From time to time, I will feature a flashback to a great moment in wrestling. Today, we take you back to RAW about 3 1/2 years ago, where The Natureboy cut a classic promo to Carlito's face. Enjoy!

Fortune: The Next Evolution of The Four Horsemen

by Brian Phelps
http://wrestlersway.blogspot.com

In the World of Pro Wrestling, factions come and go. Some are less than memorable (Rights to Censor), and some are nothing short of legendary (The Four Horsemen, The nWo, DX). When the "Nature boy" Ric Flair says he's going to form a faction, the wrestling world stops. That's because when it comes to factions, they don't come any bigger or better than a Ric Flair faction. The Four Horsemen are universally recognized as the greatest faction of all-time, and served as the precursor to future factions like the nWo and DX. The Four Horsemen were also the blue print for the most legendary faction of the modern era, Evolution. Evolution consisted of Batista, Triple H, Randy Orton, and Ric Flair... all of whom will go on to become sure fire future hall of famers, except Ric Flair who is already a hall of famer of course. So, now Ric Flair will create the next evolution of the Four Horsemen... Fortune. Presumably, Fortune will consist of Ric Flair, AJ Styles, Kaz, and Beer Money. Can he turn these four men, into legends as he has so many before him?

Pope is Pimpin'

TNA's "Pope" D'Angelo Dinero was once a mid-carder named Elijah Burke on the weakest brand in WWE, the now defunct WWECW. In other words, he was a nobody. Then... WWE released him. Big mistake. TNA picked up the young wrestler, repackaged him under a street preacher gimmick, and delivered him to the masses January 4th, 2010. Since then, the Pope has since become a beloved TNA Superstar who is poised to become the next big star in pro wrestling. This is one superstar to look out for this year. Vince McMahon has got to be slapping himself for letting this guy go and keeping Hornswoggle. Ouch!

Kane: And the Flame Returns

It looks like the WWE has finally gotten something right as of late. At the Money in the Bank PPV last night, Kane won the Smackdown MITB match, and cashed it in on Rey Mysterio the same night to win his 2nd WWE Championship (excluding the lowly WWECW Title). Since Kane was unmasked about 7 years ago, he's gone from World Title contender all the way down to mid-carder borderline jobber the last several years. So, Kane winning the World Title was not only unpredictable, it finally gave Kane his stroke back. Maybe now, he will be one to be feared once again. Congratulations Kane. Who knows, maybe Christian will finally get a main event push... but I'm not holding my breath.