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1. Day 569 - News Hodgepodge

2. Day 570 - Breaking Down A Potential WWE Main Event Hodgepodge

2.5 Day 571 - Raw Running Diary.. umm.. Hodgepodge

4. Day 572 - He's The Miz & He's.. #1

5. Day 573 - Thank You.. Shawn?

Day 569

I've done columns like this before, but every now and then, you get a few things worth discussing, but those particular things may not be worthy of their own column, or I might not have enough to say just yet to fill out an entire column. In times like that, I put together a "round-up" column and just look at everything that's going on. That's one of the beautiful parts of writing a daily column.. there's always something going on in the world of wrestling. Alright, let's get on with it. Shall I proceed? (Yes, indeed.) Less dew eet!!

"Faceless" To "Jobless"
I've received a lot of requests to write about the Sin Cara situation, and while it would make for an interesting column, there aren't a lot of facts out there just yet, which makes it hard to really discuss things properly, unless I'd like to jump to all sorts of conclusions like some people do. I could write about a lot of things and make things up as I go, but I'd rather find out some legit information first.

In case you've been away from the internet for a while, Sin Cara was suspended by World Wrestling Entertainment for his first violation of the company's Wellness policy. Of course, the immediate direction that our minds travel when we learn about news like that is that it has to do with steroids. We've seen rumors that it is steroid-related, with Sin Cara himself actually coming out and saying the company informed him that the suspension was due to steroids. As would be expected, he is denying any wrongdoing, saying that he's been receiving injections to his knee to help deal with constant pain, and that he believes one or more of the medications in the injection may have contained steroids, triggering a "false positive" on his test.

Him coming out and saying anything, however, may have affected his job status.

WWE officials are reportedly very upset that Sin Cara did a newspaper interview in Mexico immediately after his suspension was announced. Honestly, I wouldn't blame them if they were upset, although I can totally understand why he did it, especially if it was a "false positive", as he stated. This is the type of news that will follow you for the rest of your career. We remember the wrestlers that get involved in steroids scandals, just like baseball fans will always remember the players that got busted for steroids. Rey Mysterio, for example, is someone that has been labeled a steroid user. Sports Illustrated ran an article about a steroid and HGH (Human Growth Hormone) ring in professional sports, with wrestling included. Mysterio was named in the article, and was said to have received shipments of nandrolone and stanozozol, which are two types of anabolic steroids. Later on, Mysterio would go on to receive a suspension for violating the company's Wellness policy. Stop me if you've heard this before, but immediately after the suspension was announced, Mysterio did a newspaper interview claiming that the drugs he tested positive for were included in injections he was receiving for pain in his knee.

The company goes public to reveal Wellness suspensions as part of a "shame" tactic. It's one thing to be suspended for drug issues, but it's another thing altogether for those issues to be made public. That's supposed to make you think twice about getting involved with drugs, in order to keep your name clean in the public eye. While they do make things public, the last thing the company wants/needs is a back-and-forth argument in the public eye about whether or not so-and-so really did steroids, etc. That's why I wouldn't blame them for being upset with him, but at the same time, if he's innocent, of course Sin Cara would want to get the word out, as soon as possible, that he isn't the drug abuser the suspension is making him out to be. Again, this is the type of thing that follows athletes for the rest of their careers, in the "guilty before proven innocent" society we happen to live in. I'd want to clear my name, too, if I were placed in that type of situation.

Right now, without knowing any real facts, it's still too early to judge, but it would make for an incredibly big "fail" for Sin Cara to come to WWE with so much publicity and fanfare, only to be suspended and released four months after debuting on television. It's definitely a situation to keep your eyes on, that's for sure.

Who Really Is "Bound For Glory"?
Let's take a look at the new Bound For Glory Series standings, shall we?

Crimson - 31 points
Matt Morgan - 24 points
Rob Van Dam, Gunner & Brother Devon (tied) - 21 points
Bully Ray, James Storm & AJ Styles (tied) - 14 points
Scott Steiner & Bobby Roode (tied) - 7 points
Samoa Joe & D'Angelo Dinero (tied) - 0 points

Remember, the top four names go on to Bound For Glory in the final match of the competition, with the winner going on to face the TNA World Champion later that night. As of right now, I believe Rob Van Dam and Gunner have the tiebreaker edge over Brother Devon, due to a better record, so that means that, as of right this very moment, you're looking at..

Crimson VS Matt Morgan VS Rob Van Dam VS Gunner

Holy. Shit. That would be a terrible match, and considering the fact that Bound For Glory is TNA's version of WrestleMania, it only makes things worse. I'm not saying to put the four biggest names in the match, but at least give us a more entertaining match. Realistically, there's no reason for AJ Styles and/or Samoa Joe to be left out of the mix, but as you can see, Joe's got some work to do to even reach fourth place, let alone the top of the standings. However, with Bound For Glory still over two months away, there's still plenty of time for the final four to be..

Samoa Joe VS D'Angelo Dinero VS Scott Steiner VS Bobby Roode

That would be a much better match, but damn.. no AJ Styles, no Matt Morgan, no Crimson (who is definitely in the middle of a Goldberg-style push), etc? That would be a crazy change in booking direction. That showcases a little bit of the negativity that the series has brought out from fans. It's already been going on for a while, and there are still damn near three months remaining until Bound For Glory. That's one incredibly long competition. We're used to these types of things lasting for one night or for a few weeks leading up to a pay-per-view. We're not used to it stretching out this far. It's an idea that remains a good one, and very worthwhile, but with poor booking, you run the risk of losing interest and losing interest quickly.

Because people are asking me, the final four that I'd put together if I were booking the entire thing would be..

Matt Morgan VS AJ Styles VS Samoa Joe VS Bobby Roode

That way, you have two names that are former TNA Champions and who remain over with TNA fans, and you also have two new names that can be "made" just by being in the match. I'd have Matt Morgan win, and then go on to become the new TNA World Champion in the main event, to begin a new era in TNA, but hey, that's just me.

The Champ.. Is.. Where?
In news that many of us were hoping for, CM Punk has hit the indy wrestling circuit. Punk made an appearance att tonight's All-American Wrestling show in Berwyn, Illinois, where he got in the ring and cut a promo putting Gregory Iron, an up-and-coming indy worker suffering from Cerebral Palsy, over big-time. My Twitter feed and Facebook wall have been blowing up since Punk's AAW appearance, and now, it leads to the next, logical question..

With Ring Of Honor having their first Sinclair Broadcasting television taping on August 13th, will CM Punk show up there? Would the fact that the taping will be taking place from Chicago change your opinion at all?

His AAW appearance is a little different than people expected. He didn't have the WWE Title with him, and he didn't even mention anything about the company, John Cena, Triple H, Vince McMahon or anything remotely close. He spent the entire promo talking about how much of an inspiration Iron is, and how all of our problems are nothing compared to what Iron has to deal with on a daily basis. It was basically a promo telling the crowd that they should be like Iron and not let anyone tell you that you can't or won't achieve something in your life. Great moment for Gregory Iron, for sure, but again, it's different than what people were expecting from any indy appearances that Punk might do. I've already seen people question whether or not this is part of a storyline, which adds to the genius of the entire thing. Had he showed up at AAW and talked a bunch of shit about Vince McMahon, Triple H, John Cena, etc, then people would mark out, but they'd also be "sure" it was advancing a storyline. With him just appearing and doing his own thing, it seems like legit indy visits on his part, which leads to, as I mentioned, people going from being "sure" it was a storyline to having a bit of doubt again. Amazing.

August 13th is going to be very interesting. That Chicago crowd is going to be buzzing to begin with, being Chicago and all, and with it being the first taping for RoH on a new station, but with the possibility of CM Punk being in the building, that's shaping up to be a must-see event, in my opinion.

Being Broke Ain't No Joke
Do you have an extra $495 burning a hole in your wallet/purse?

Do you wish you could find someone to have a phone conversation with for five minutes?

If you answered "yes" to both questions, have I got news for you. For $495, you can have a five-minute phone conversation with Hall Of Famer Ric Flair. That's $99 a minute. Think of many nuts you can bust in a phone conversation for only $5 a minute. Damn, that Flair conversation must be amazing.

If you're a high-tech high-roller, you can drop $750 for a five-minute video chat with Flair instead. It makes sense, if you really stop and think about it. What's being able to talk to Ric Flair if you can't see him, as well?

If you're really rolling in the dough, you can drop $4,600 on a custom-made replica of the "Big Gold" NWA World Title belt, personally autographed by Ric Flair himself. For $289, you can get a replica of the "Big Gold" belt from WWEShop.com, but the extra $4,311 will cover the better quality materials to make the belt, and, of course, the autograph from Ric Flair himself. Why would I want to buy a whole bunch of belts for $4600? For $4600 on WWEShop, I could get..

- A custom-engraved WWE Title
- A Million Dollar Title
- A Hardcore Title
- Two WWE Tag Team Titles (because there's no sense in having one Tag Title belt)
- A Divas Title (for a lady friend)
- An old-school white-strapped Intercontinental Title
- A current Intercontinental Title
- A "Smoking Skull" WWF Title
- A "Rated R" WWE Title
- A United States Title
- An old-school WWE Undisputed Title
- A "Big Gold" WCW World Title
- An old-school "Winged Eagle" WWE Title

After all that, I'd still have $150 left over to spend at my leisure, probably on some John Cena stuff or something. Maybe the $30 Cena lawn gnome and stuff other stuff. However, why would I want to buy all that stuff when I could have a title belt autographed by Ric Flair himself??? Exactly.

It must really suck to be as broke as Ric Flair is. Somewhere in the world at this very second, someone is on some sort of food stamps, EBT, welfare, government assistance, etc, and they don't need money anywhere near as badly as Flair does. It's a real shame for the greatest pro wrestler we've ever seen to have fallen this far, but I suppose, when you live the lifestyle he lives, and you don't learn your lesson in love (he's been married four times, which means he's been divorced three times, and we know what divorce can do to a man's finances), you bring these problems on yourself.

Writer's Note: I wanted to take this time to send a very quick shout-out to the homie, Shaun Craig, on having the balls to get married today. Congratulations, Shaun, and to your new bride, Samantha, as well. Having to get up in front of people and tell the world "I DO DO DO.. YOU KNOW IT!" is something that I don't think I could do, so you, sir, are a braver man than me. Enjoy the honeymoon. Ha.

The HiPE Playlist: "Code Red" by Jay Rock.. "No Joke" by Jay Rock & Ab-Soul.. "Hood Gon' Love It" by Jay Rock & Kendrick Lamar.. "Westside" by Jay Rock & Chris Brown.. "Elbows" by Jay Rock.. "All I Know Is" by Jay Rock.. "I'm Thuggin" by Jay Rock.. "Kill Or Be Killed" by Jay Rock, Tech N9ne & Krizz Kaliko.. "Just Like Me" by Jay Rock & J. Black.. "Say Wassup" by Jay Rock, Kendrick Lamar, Ab-Soul & Schoolboy Q.. "They Be On It" by Jay Rock.. "M.O.N.E.Y." by Jay Rock & J. Black.. "Finest Hour" by Jay Rock, Rick Ross & BJ The Chicago Kid.. "Life's A Gamble" by Jay Rock.. "All My Life" by Jay Rock & Lil Wayne

I don't sell crack! I'm a prostitute!

Hustle
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-Team Sleep--------------------------Day 570

*By Request*

It probably isn't going to come remotely close to happening, but there is a scenario on the WWE horizon that could end up as a huge clusterfuck, the likes of which we've never seen before. I'll try to keep the fantasy booking to something of a minimum here, but as you'll see, that will make things somewhat difficult. I can't make any promises, though. Anyway..

We're a little over eight months away from WrestleMania, and, as is the case every year, there's always plenty of rumors and speculation of matches and feuds that we'll see on the show. I'm not here to book the card or anything, but the main event scene is intertwined and could, potentially, lead to all types of problems and strange booking.

Like I said, all of this probably isn't going to come anywhere close to happening, but there's still potential that the company has booked themselves into a strange corner. Because I know some of you are going to complain about it, let me say, for the third time, that all of this probably isn't going to happen, and it probably won't even come close, but the fact remains.. it's my column, and it was requested of me, so let's take a look at the top of the card, as it stands right this minute..

- John Cena VS The Rock
- WWE Title Match
- World Title Match
- Royal Rumble Winner
- Raw Money In The Bank Winner
- Smackdown Money In The Bank Winner

That's three matches and three people. Seems innocent enough, doesn't it? Well, you have to look at things a little deeper, starting with the WWE Title. There's a pretty decent chance that we could have two WWE Champions by the time WrestleMania rolls around. On tomorrow's Raw, we're scheduled to have the final match in a tournament to crown a brand new WWE Champion, all while there is a man named CM Punk gallivanting all over creation as the WWE Champion who has yet to be defeated since winning the belt. Let's say Punk takes a break from the company, and let's say that break is a lot longer than anyone thought it would be. Let's say he returns on the Road To WrestleMania. You know, long after the "new" champion is crowned. Talk about awwwwwkkkkkwarrrrrddddd. You know what would make it even more awwwwwkkkkkwarrrrrddddd? If the "new" champion, by that point, is none other than John Cena. Go ahead and wrap your heads around that for a moment. When I last mentioned the possibility of Cena holding the WWE Title all year long, leading right into his match against Rock, I got a lot of feedback from people saying that they couldn't figure out when Cena would/could/should lose the belt. With every passing week, the possibility of a year-long title reign was looking more and more likely. Everyone said that there weren't any believable names on Raw that could beat him. Then came CM Punk. Of course, with CM Punk gone, does that mean 20 people are supposed to be believable in beating Cena? Of course not. That means Cena would/could/should dominate once again, right? That would give us..

- John Cena VS The Rock for the WWE Title
- CM Punk around as the "WWE Champion"

Would that mean CM Punk gets placed into the match, making it Cena VS Rock VS Punk for the title? I wouldn't think so. The Cena VS Rock match, having been booked and signed months and months in advance, should be etched it stone and can't be "messed with" by adding another name to it. That leaves Punk, the "WWE Champion", with nothing to do, but more on that later.

Also on Raw, we have Alberto Del Rrrrrio, who is in possession of the Money In The Bank briefcase. I'd actually be close to stunned if Del Rrrrrio still had the briefcase when WrestleMania rolls around, but, for the sake of the column, let's say that he does. Sure, he'd have over three months remaining in his year to cash in, but there isn't a more attractive spot to cash in than at WrestleMania. While it isn't in Punk's (kayfabe) contract that he can be added to the Cena VS Rock match, it is in ADR's (kayfabe) contract that he can do just that. Cena VS Rock VS ADR? Perhaps he could cash in after either man wins the match? Perhaps nothing would happen at all? Perhaps he will cash in, but then Punk will kick him in the mush again because he (Punk) wants to be the one to defeat Cena/Rock? It just adds to the potential clusterfuck, but let's move on.

As of right now, Christian is the World Champion, so let's just use him for this example. I don't think he'll hold the title until WrestleMania, but let's just say he loses it and wins it back before WrestleMania. So, Christian goes into WrestleMania as the World Champion. More on that later.

The Royal Rumble winner, as we've seen in the last several years, earns a spot to face their brand's champion at WrestleMania. For the sake of this column and talking about the clusterfuck that could be coming our way, what if the winner is from Smackdown? For example's sake, let's say it's Sheamus, fresh off of an official face turn. That sets up Christian VS Sheamus at WrestleMania. More on that.. well.. now..

With Daniel Bryan in possession of Smackdown's Money In The Bank briefcase, and with him saying that he wants to cash in at WrestleMania, let's say that he doesn't lose his title shot or cash it in earlier than announced. The booking for WrestleMania is underway, and Bryan still has the briefcase. Now, I don't know about you, but Christian VS Sheamus VS Daniel Bryan would be a really good match, WrestleMania or not. However, that would be the easy way out, and that isn't what today's column is about. What if Bryan wants a one-on-one match, but with the Royal Rumble winner being from Smackdown, those hopes are dashed? Then what? That leaves him out in the cold, doesn't it? More on that later, as well.

So far, we have..

- John Cena VS The Rock for the WWE Title
- CM Punk as the "WWE Champion"
- Alberto Del Rrrrrio waiting in the wings with his Money In The Bank title shot
- Sheamus as the 2012 Royal Rumble winner
- Christian VS Sheamus for the World Title
- Daniel Bryan waiting in the wings with his Money In The Bank title shot

Simple math would have the above turned into..

- John Cena VS The Rock for the WWE Title
- CM Punk VS Alberto Del Rrrrrio for the "WWE Title"
- Christian VS Sheamus VS Daniel Bryan for the World Title

That way, everyone is taken care of, but let's be honest.. CM Punk VS Alberto Del Rrrrrio isn't a "wow" type of match, built for an event like WrestleMania. This is where I rewind a bit, and I start shifting things around..

We've all seen the rumors that have been floating around, for months, that ADR would either go into SummerSlam as the WWE Champion, or would come out of SummerSlam as the WWE Champion. Well, with Rey Mysterio VS The Miz coming up on Raw, this could be a prime opportunity for ADR to cash in and win the title. If Mysterio wins, it would definitely be easy to see ADR cash in after the match, considering his history with Rey, and how satisfying it would be to ADR's character if he took the WWE Title from that "little chihuahua". On the other hand, if Miz wins, it adds some intrigue. If you watched Money In The Bank and this past week's episode of Raw, and you watched how Miz was being booked as an underdog, fighting a knee injury and overcoming the odds, you'd swear he was a face, or at least in the middle of a potential face turn. You know what would really boost that face turn along? Winning the WWE Title, only to have the dastardly ADR sneak attack him, destroy his injured knee, and then cash in his title shot to win the belt. We have seen rumors of a potential face turn for Miz over the summer, after all. If you want to add even more intrigue to this entire thing, look no further than the news of Raw house shows this weekend, which saw ADR put his title shot on the line against John Cena. If Cena wins, Cena gains possession of the briefcase. If ADR wins, Cena leaves Raw and goes to Smackdown. Disqualifications ended up putting all that to a sudden stop, but with the company liking to "test" things on the house show circuit before putting them on television, could we see ADR lose his briefcase soon? There's no way I can see Cena going to Smackdown, especially since Randy Orton was sent there to get away from Cena and to be able to carry a brand and be the guy. No matter what happens, there's no way ADR is still holding that briefcase when WrestleMania rolls around, so let's remove him from this particular discussion.

Remember earlier, how I said that if Punk came back and tried to have himself inserted into the Cena VS Rock match, but wouldn't be "allowed" to? It would make sense, with the contracts booked so far in advance, for Triple H to keep Punk out of the match. However, with what is technically three champions, you'd think something would need to be done, right?

Title Unification, anyone?

I got mixed reviews about my idea to end the brand split (leaning towards a positive reception, though), but what about unifying the WWE Title, the "WWE Title" and the World Title? That allows for Smackdown to still get the benefit of having the top guy on its show regularly, also opening up new matches and new feuds. Triple H could say that the title unification wouldn't take place at WrestleMania, but instead, at Extreme Rules, the next pay-per-view on the calendar. The winner of the John Cena VS Rock match would represent the WWE Title at Extreme Rules. The winner of the Christian VS Sheamus match would represent the World Title at Extreme Rules. CM Punk's "WWE Title" would be involved in the match, as well, and this is when Punk would chime in that he still doesn't have an opponent for WrestleMania. It would be nice if Punk continued his "shoot" comments, which would probably have something to do with Snooki getting a huge WrestleMania payday, stealing time and money away from people that worked hard all year and who didn't make the card. Punk would say that he wants a huge WrestleMania payday, as well. Enter..

Daniel Bryan.

Daniel Bryan wants a one-on-one match at WrestleMania. CM Punk is looking for an opponent at WrestleMania. There has been mention, on WWE television, that they have history together in the "minor leagues". It just makes sense. That makes the top of the WrestleMania card..

- John Cena VS The Rock for the WWE Title
- Christian VS Sheamus for the World Title
- CM Punk VS Daniel Bryan for the "WWE Title"

Throw in a possible match with The Undertaker (VS Chris Jericho, maybe?), and you have four "main events", which definitely works for me. For those who are wondering about the logic in having Smackdown's Money In The Bank winner cashing in against a Raw worker holding the "WWE Title", it fits with the title unification thing. If Bryan wins at WrestleMania, he does bring the "WWE Title" to Smackdown with him, but it won't matter much because, a few weeks later, all three major champions are going to unify the belts, anyway. For example, if Bryan loses at Extreme Rules, he's back on Smackdown like normal.

Just to cap things off nicely, they could even hold the 2012 WWE Draft the night after Extreme Rules, for a fresh start. New Undisputed Champion moving from show-to-show, with both shows having new rosters to move ahead with.

For the 37th time, most of this probably won't happen. There's still plenty of time, leaving opportunity after opportunity for things to change. Both Money In The Bank shots could be cashed in before WrestleMania rolls around. Someone could be injured. CM Punk could still be away from WWE programming, either because he hasn't finished his break yet or because he never did re-sign with the company. This column is all about the clusterfuck potential, though, and how to possibly alleviate that a bit.

The HiPE Playlist: "Table For Two" by Positive Motion.. "Leilani" by Ryshe.. "Fall In Love Again" by Aziel.. "Pua Nani" by 5:05.. "My Eyes Adore You" by Justin.. "One Woman Man" by Koa'uka.. "Life Is Perfect" by Nuff Sedd.. "Colour Me Life" by Katchafire.. "Seriously" by Katchafire.. "Take Me Away" by Laga Savea.. "I'm Too Shy" by Laga Savea.. "Alive" by The Green Band.. "Like The Rain" by Reality.. "Smile" by Darrell Labrado.. "The Morning Ride" by Fiji

I have never experienced another human. I've only experienced my impressions of them.

-------------------------Day 571

8:58pm: The first Raw in the new "Helmsley Regime". How much momentum can they continue building on? For the third (fourth? fifth?) consecutive week, I'm really looking forward to Raw and to see what happens.

9:00pm: Damn, we're kicking the show right off with Rey Mysterio VS The Miz for the WWE Title? That's something different. Alright, let's get it poppin. It's interesting to note that the "new" WWE Title looks exactly like the "old" WWE Title.

9:02pm: It looks like Miz has healed from his knee injury.

9:06pm: Michael Cole just said that Miz was articulate, and then told Jerry Lawler to "look" because "a picture's worth a thousand words". You know, because watching someone wrestle is the best way to figure out how articulate they are.

9:08pm: In a nice change of pace, this crowd seems pretty pumped up. Of course, we're not even ten minutes into the show, so there's plenty of time for that to go downhill, but at least it's a good start.

9:11pm: Did Lawler just comment about "boring political rhetoric"? For those unaware, President Obama is giving a televised speech that is going up against the beginning of Raw. Sad. Nobody watching this gives a flying fuck about the company's political views, so it would be nice if we didn't have to hear about them.

9:14pm: This match has been a little slower than I was expecting it to be.

9:16pm: Nice little "slingshot" Powerbomb by Miz for a believable nearfall.

9:18pm: Rey Mysterio is the new WWE Champion. Or.. "WWE Champion", if you prefer. Pretty decent match, but like I said, it was slower than I was expecting. Some clunky spots here and there. Still above average for a televised match, though.

9:19pm: Miz attacks Mysterio after the match, and here comes Alberto Del Rrrrrio!

9:19pm: Before ADR can officially cash in, Mysterio dives out at him. ADR changes his mind, and he still has the briefcase in his possession. He looked pretty dumb, because even though Mysterio just finished a match and was attacked after said match, he didn't seem that beat down at all.

9:21pm: Triple H is here to deliver the "State Of The WWE" address tonight? Alright, that should be good.

9:26pm: The WWE Superstars just showered a little kid in champagne!!! What the fuck are they doing?!? Parents all over the world are going to be pissed the fuck off!!! I can't believe they.. oh.. that's Rey Mysterio. My bad. Carry on.

9:29pm: Kind of early for the dramatic video recap of what happened last week, isn't it? I understand that it was a really big deal, but they usually save the video packages for later in the show.

9:33pm: Hey, Dolph Ziggler has a remixed version of his entrance theme. Not too much of a difference, though, really.

9:35pm: Dolph Ziggler VS Evan Bourne in a non-title match. This could be fun.

9:37pm: Bourne damn near whiffed completely on a dropkick. He barely touched Ziggler, as is, but damn, that would have been kind of embarrassing.

9:39pm: Dolph wins, putting Bourne to sleep with a Sleeperhold. Disappointing match, overall.

9:45pm: A backstage segment from "earlier tonight" with The Bellas arguing with Eve, followed by Keystone Light's pitchman, Keith Stone, showing up. Stone draws an entire arm sleeve on one of the Bellas in the span of a few seconds. A few seconds is also the amount of time it took for me to give less than a fuck about anything taking place in the segment.

9:47pm: Kelly Kelly & Eve VS Maryse & Melina. Melina's on television again? Who has she been sleeping with now to get so much television time?!?

9:47pm: Lawler says Triple H's upcoming speech is a "political speech that won't be boring". SHUT. THE. FUCK. UP. Why in the world would you continue poking at an entire political party (and an entire race, technically)? It's like the company feels they don't want their ratings to go up.

9:49pm: Apparently the person Melina is now sleeping with is powerful enough to get her back on television, but not powerful enough to prevent her from jobbing the fuck out. Better luck next time, Melina.

9:51pm: R-Truth is shown backstage, talking to Triple H. He's also talking to his imaginary friend, who Triple H keeps trying to look at. Cole and Lawler mention that Triple H will be announcing a major name that is returning to the company tonight. Hmm..

9:54pm: Cee-Lo Green will be performing live at SummerSlam. His song, "Bright Lights Big City" is the official theme for the event. He's known for his wild attire when he performs, so it should be interesting to see what he dresses up as at SummerSlam.

9:56pm: Triple H. Here we go.

9:59pm: Triple H books Rey Mysterio to defend the WWE Title against John Cena.. tonight? Uh-oh.

10:01pm: Triple H re-signed Jim Ross! Yes! Raw's commentary has immediately received a boost. Maybe now the play-by-play guy will actually help do some fucking play-by-play instead of trying to play a character in an attempt to put himself over in every match.

10:02pm: Hey, right on cue.. "heel" Michael Cole has returned, and is standing on a table and cutting a promo. Thank goodness this will be over soon, at least on Raw.

10:05pm: He's still talking.

10:05pm: "You're gonna blow out your o-ring there." - Triple H, in response to Cole's angry rant.

10:07pm: Triple H has given Cole the rest of the night off.. from commentary. He books Cole in a match for tonight. Once again, I say this.. uh-oh.

10:08pm: R-Truth makes his way out as Cole heads to the back to get his new wrestling gear. Truth accuses Triple H of being a part of the "conspiracy" from "day one". Truth also seems to have multiple invisible friends now. Someone get him his medication.

10:10pm: Abbott & Costello are writing for WWE now? Truth comes out, talking to Triple H and his "friends". Triple H asks Truth if he's talking to him (Triple H) or the "other guys". Truth says there are no "other guys", and then begins talking to his "friends" again. Triple H then starts talking to his own "friends". This leads Truth to call Triple H "crazy" for talking to people that aren't really there. Quite the funny back-and-forth there, I must admit.

10:12pm: Triple H announces he's re-signed John Morrison, which brings Morrison out to confront Truth. I had no idea that Morrison's contract was up. I thought he was merely injured. The more you know, I guess. Morrison beats down Truth for a minute until Truth gets a chance to retreat.

10:17pm: "King Of Kings" is playing. Huh?

10:18pm: Oh.. Dear.. Lord.. Michael Cole is dressed as Triple H, complete with trunks and boots, and is even carrying a water bottle.

10:19pm: Zack Ryder is Cole's opponent. Hold on.. let me type that again, so that I believe it myself. Zack Ryder is Cole's opponent. Bad news for the Zack Pack is that Ryder came out to a pretty poor reaction.

10:20pm: No crowd pop for his entrance, but a loud "Let's Go, Ryder" chant. I guess the crowd needed an extra few seconds to let it all sink in, as well.

10:21pm: Ryder wins. You know, if they would have brought Ryder back, only to job him to Michael Cole, I would have started taking donations to help pay for Super Chrisssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss' funeral, because I know he would have hung himself during his work break.

10:23pm: Why is The Smurfs hitting theaters in 2011? Winnie The Pooh, I have no problem with. The Smurfs, on the other hand? I'll pass, thanks.

10:26pm: Kofi Kingston VS Alberto Del Rrrrrio.

10:28pm: "SOS, I eat up Shelton! SOS, I eat up Bryan!" - Misheard lyrics to Kofi Kingston's entrance music.

10:34pm: Whoa, that was a believable nearfall for Kofi.

10:36pm: ..which didn't matter, because ADR picks up the submission victory. Decent match. Nothing special.

10:41pm: Triple H will be on Smackdown this week. Hey, it's someone that can actually stand up to Mark Henry. That could/should be a part of what he does in his visit to Smackdown, but we shall see.

10:44pm: Main event time. Rey Mysterio defending his newly-won WWE Title ("WWE Title") against John Cena. I'm sure some feel it's dumb that Cena gets a title shot, but he is owed one as the former champion, and it's not like Triple H forced it on Mysterio. He said, in his promo, that both Mysterio and Cena agreed this was the match that needed to happen.

10:49pm: A Battle Royal next week on Raw to determine just who will face Kelly Kelly for the Divas Title at SummerSlam. Oh, joy. Oh, bliss.

10:51pm: Rey Mysterio. John Cena. Their first one-on-one match in eight years. This is a pretty big deal. The fact that the WWE Title ("WWE Title") is on the line is simply the icing on the cake.

10:54pm: The males in the crowd must be heartbroken. The women and children keep chanting "Let's Go, Cena", which means, of course, that the guys have to chant "Cena Sucks". However, the guys hate Mysterio, too, so technically having to cheer for him must suck.

10:59pm: Lots of back-and-forth here, with reversals galore. That Cena kid isn't bad, especially for someone who "can't wrestle".

11:00pm: Mysterio has Cena locked in the STF! Another nice reversal. Damn.

11:00pm: To be fair.. if you think Cena's STF is ugly, then Mysterio's is hideous.

11:01pm: I get that Mysterio isn't the biggest person, but damn, Cena just turned the STF into an Attitude Adjustment attempt. That's some freaky strength right there.

11:02pm: Normally, when Cena goes to the top rope, it's for a Top Rope Fameasser. This time, he hit the fucking Alabama Jam on Rey. Very nice.

11:04pm: John Cena wins! Rey Mysterio's title reign lasted a little over 90 minutes. Ouch.

11:05pm: CULT OF PERSONALITY!!!!! IT CAN'T BE..

11:06pm: IT IS!!!!! CM PUNK IS BACK!!!!!

11:06pm: You folks have no idea how happy I am that Punk is using one of his old RoH songs here. That's such an awesome touch in this "Summer Of Punk 2", especially when it was the original Summer Of Punk that saw Punk first use this song. Clearly, someone in the company reads my columns, since my Punk column from a couple months ago was titled "Cult Of Personality". CLEARLY.

11:08pm: Cena raises his title in the air to a decent pop, but Punk raises his title in the air to a massive pop. Show over.

First things first, I'm going to show that I'm not a hypocrite. For as long as I've been writing columns, I've been strongly against titles being passed from person to person in such a short amount of time. Well, it's no different here, even though the belt ends up in John Cena's possession.

HOWEVER.. it's clear that this particular time was done for a bigger reason. It's pretty clear, at least to me, that SummerSlam looks like it's going to be main evented with something of a "title unification" match. CM Punk VS John Cena, with the winner being the REAL WWE Champion. In a situation like that, I'd have both Mysterio and Cena's reigns removed from the record if Punk wins the match, but that's a topic for a different column.

To everyone that was complaining last week because Punk wasn't there, or because Vince McMahon and Triple H "put themselves over the WWE Title", what say you now? Punk returned, and it was done in the final segment of the show, potentially setting up a huge SummerSlam main event.

Oh, and because I know a lot of you have been mentioning it to me in the last few days because you've been seeing it for yourself.. I told you there were some fucking idiots in the IWC who are now turning on Punk, out of the blue. Typical IWC bullshit. You love someone until they're pushed to the top. Then you hate them again because you think you look "cool" in having a different opinion than the majority. It never fails, and it's why you're going to die a lonely, miserable fuck that has to have the state pay for a cheap cremation for you because nobody will care about you enough to fund your funeral. Fuck you, and I hope your puppies and kittens are run over by speeding motorcycles, and then run over again while you're trying to clean up the remains, you fucking fucks. Eat a fucking dick and choke to death on it, will you?

*ahem*

Raw gets a B this week. Another nice focus on in-ring action, and a very newsworthy episode, setting the next pay-per-view up to be huge. I was entertained.

The HiPE Playlist: Raw

Eat a fucking dick and choke to death on it, will you? (Yes, I quoted myself. Big whoop. Wanna fight about it?)

-------------------------Day 572

Every year, the Pro Wrestling Illustrated 500 is something that is talked about and debated to no end. While we don't have this year's list just yet, we do know who will, apparently, be #1, thanks to a picture posted on PWI's website yesterday.. (each year's list covers the first half of that calendar year, plus the second half of the previous calendar year)

The Miz.

Before I begin this particular column, let's go ahead and take a look at PWI's criteria for creating their rankings, shall we?

- Win-loss record
- Technical Ability
- Influence on the sport
- Success against the highest grade of competition
- Success against the most diverse competition
- Activity

There you have it. Now, the question remains..

Did The Miz deserve to be ranked #1?

Let's take a look at each bit of criteria, one-by-one..

Win/Loss Record: If you're going to count accomplishments in that span, Miz has himself quite the list. He has a Tag Team Title reign (and it was ended by his own doing). He won a Money In The Bank briefcase, which was successfully cashed in to get him a WWE Title. He held the WWE Title for nearly five-and-a-half months, pretty much closing out the period of time that the magazine is looking at. He even had a United States Title reign mixed in there. He was very successful in the 2010/11 year, defending his title time and time again. He's had himself a pretty incredible year, when you really stop and look at it.

Technical Ability: Alright, while he might not be Dean Malenko in the ring, he isn't exactly The Great Khali, either. He continues to become more and more solid with his in-ring work, and has become one of the better workers of the "WWE Style", although, admittedly, that's really the only style he has. He knows how to work successfully with different types of workers, from high-fliers to powerhouses, and that's what counts, I would say. He's still not quite at the point in his career where he can regularly "carry" opponents, but he's building to that point.

Influence On The Sport: I don't really know what PWI looks at as far as "influence", but when I look at it in regards to The Miz, I think of two names.. Alex Riley and Michael Cole. Look at what Miz has done for them. Riley got over as a heel, even though people didn't know who he was, and the fact that he didn't ever seem to wrestle. Then, after all that time spent on the same side, Riley got over as a face simply by standing up to Miz. If you remember back to when Riley first snapped and attacked Miz, the crowd went banana pudding. His crowd reactions, while still strong, have cooled recently, but it still looks like the company will try to piggyback off of the momentum Miz gave Riley to push Riley to bigger and better things. As for Cole.. well, you've seen how his heel character has been building in the last several months. Cole turning into the top cheerleader for Miz was the key part of his heel character, and it helped to get him some ridiculously loud crowd reactions all across the country. If that's not "influence", then I don't know what is.

Success Against The Highest Grade Of Competition: Right now, CM Punk would definitely be in the discussion, but for the PWI 500 grading period, who were the two biggest names in the wrestling business? John Cena and Randy Orton. Who did Miz beat to win the WWE Title? Randy Orton. Who did he successfully defend the title against after winning the title? Randy Orton. He beat Orton multiple times, in fact. Who did Miz go on to feud with after Orton? John Cena. That included a victory over Cena in the main event of WrestleMania 27. While Cena would eventually take the WWE Title from Miz, that match came less than a month away from the end of the grading period. Even though Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel aren't exactly in contention to be the best tag team to ever step foot in a wrestling ring, they were still the Tag Team Champions when Miz and Cena defeated them to win the titles, so I'd count that as a high grade of competition.

Success Against The Most Diverse Competition: Randy Orton. John Cena. John Morrison. Jerry Lawler. Rey Mysterio. Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel. R-Truth. Kaval. Michael McGillicutty. Evan Bourne. Daniel Bryan. Kofi Kingston. These are some of the names that Miz has defeated during the grading period. The only thing really missing in that group of names is a seven-foot monster and/or a massive Mark Henry-sized worker. I'd say that's a pretty diverse group of competition, though, wouldn't you?

Activity: Miz has basically been working a match every single week for the entire year. Feuding over the United States Title coming into the grading period, he was on television and pay-per-view regularly. Winning the Money In The Bank briefcase only meant we'd see him more often, as he threatened to cash in repeatedly before actually doing so. As the WWE Champion, of course his profile went up, and he defended the title numerous times. It could be argued that there hasn't been a more active worker on the WWE roster during the grading period than The Miz.

Before coming to any real decision on whether or not he deserves the #1 ranking, you have to look at other names that could have potentially had the spot for themselves..

Sting: He has a TNA World Title reign (a second reign fell just outside of the grading period), which counts for a lot, but he loses ground in the Technical Ability area, as well as Activity. He's been limited in the ring for a while, and has missed large portions of the grading period. In the second half of 2010, he only worked in six matches, one of which was an unsuccessful bid to take the TNA World Title from Rob Van Dam. Those negative marks really hurt him in his bid for the top spot, but I wouldn't be surprised if he was ranked towards the top, anyway.

John Cena: He came into the grading period as the WWE Champion, but would drop the title a few weeks into the period. He had a Unified Tag Team Title reign that lasted 24 hours, as well as a Tag Team Title reign that lasted a few minutes. He did close out the grading period by winning the WWE Title, but it wasn't enough, in my opinion. The inability to hold onto title reigns, and the fact that he was unsuccessful in regaining the WWE Title for nearly an entire year, hurts him, though.

Edge: This one is quite the interesting choice. Edge won the World Title on December 19th, 2010. From that point, until the day he retired, he was nearly unstoppable. After winning the title, he was 19-1 on television and pay-per-view, which is insane beyond words. The loss came to Justin Gabriel, of all people, which is something that Gabriel can brag about, I suppose. However, before winning the World Title, Edge pretty much floundered around, with nothing of note really going on. Technically, due to that wild jibberyjoo with Edge being stripped of the belt (Dolph Ziggler's World Title reign), he has two World Title reigns, but let's be real.. that's definitely not a normal two reigns, so it should be counted more as one reign. Honestly, I think Edge should have the #2 spot, and does have a legit argument for #1, but Miz can say he held his title for longer than Edge held his. Miz can also say he won other titles, as well as Money In The Bank. I think that's enough to earn him the nod.

While Edge does have a genuine case for the top spot, I definitely think it has been an awesome (pun intended, of course) year, overall, for The Miz, and yes, he absolutely deserves the #1 spot. I've seen a few people disagree with that so far, and the common theme with those people is that they all hate Miz. Strange how that works, isn't it?

Your turn, ReaderLand. Do you think Miz deserves the top spot in the 2011 PWI 500? If not, who would you have chosen? Holla at ya boy and let me know what's on your mind.

The HiPE Playlist: "Lady Love Me" by George Benson.. "When A Man Loves A Woman" by Percy Sledge.. "Rock Me Tonight" by Freddie Jackson.. "Move On Up" by Curtis Mayfield.. "Back Stabbers" by The O'Jays.. "If You Don't Know Me By Now" by Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes.. "Ain't No Sunshine" by Bill Withers.. "Sara Smile" by Hall & Oates.. "Always & Forever" by Heatwave.. "You Are So Beautiful" by Joe Cocker

Fresh out the box. Stop, look and watch. Ready yet? Get set! It's All That!

-------------------------Day 573

Is Shawn Michaels to thank for CM Punk being who CM Punk is today?

If you believe former WWE Creative Team member Dave Lagana, he might be.

In a new blog posted on his site, Lagana tells the story of Punk's early days with the company, and it paints quite the picture about the structure in WWE, and just how things work there. The blog starts in December 2006, when Paul Heyman left the writing team, and was replaced by Lagana as far as running ECW was concerned.

Before Heyman left, he pitched an idea for the upcoming "Extreme Elimination Chamber" match at the December To Dismember pay-per-view that would feature Punk and Big Show as the first two men in the Chamber, and Punk would go on to eliminate Show from the match by submission due to the Anaconda Vice. Show himself enjoyed the idea, feeling it was the "right move to make". This would be the beginning of a push for Punk, which would find him going one-on-one with Rob Van Dam at WrestleMania 23. As Punk himself said in his infamous "shoot", he's a "Paul Heyman Guy". Heyman was definitely a fan of his, but with Heyman out of the picture, things went downhill and downhill quickly.

Punk was the subject of quite a bit of ridicule during meetings. The Anaconda Vice was dismissed, Punk was made fun of for his "x" wrist gesture, his Muay Thai background was not to be mentioned on commentary, etc. The entire Straight Edge lifestyle was questioned, with an agent saying that people wouldn't be able to relate to Punk's character. It was because of this that Punk not only didn't make Big Show tap to the Anaconda Vice, he was actually the first person to be eliminated from the match.

Lagana goes on to mention what we, as fans, have figured out through the years.. Vince McMahon doesn't like ideas that he didn't create. We've seen it time and time again.. if a worker isn't "made" by Vince McMahon, Vince either wants nothing to do with him, or he'll end up misuing the worker. We saw it with WCW, as a whole, with Vince botching the entire InVasion storyline by not making the WCW guys look "legit" at all. With Punk being a "name" that became famous on the independent scene, he isn't a "WWE creation", and because of this, Vince and others have been against him from day one, which, of course, brings up the logical question of just why in the fucking fuck he was signed in the first place.

The anti-Punk vibe continued with Hardcore Holly getting chosen for a big push on ECW instead of Punk. In fact, it was Holly that gave Punk his first loss with the company. Lagana said he heard the rumors of certain WWE agents pushing Vince to release Punk altogether, especially with ECW starting to look worse and worse in their eyes.

At another meeting to discuss Vince's appearance on ECW (the "Originals" VS "New Breed" storyline), more anti-Punk comments were made, when suddenly, Shawn Michaels stood up for Punk. Michaels, who was sitting in on meetings as an "ECW consultant" at the time, said the following..

"If you don't like something the kid is doing, why don't you work with him to fix it instead of killing him?"

Shawn Michaels, Voice Of Reason, ladies and gentlemen.

Michaels would go on to say that guys like CM Punk were "the future", and that guys like he (Michaels) and The Undertaker wouldn't be around forever, so it was time to start working towards that "future". Wouldn't you know it.. a couple months later, Punk is in the Money In The Bank Ladder Match at WrestleMania 23. The only ECW worker in the match, at that.

We learned a few things from Lagana's blog..

- The mentality of the older generation of people in wrestling is often fucking ridiculous. It has often been said that Vince McMahon has been "out of touch" for a while, and that his "yes men" run wild, agreeing with him, no matter what he says. The blog proves that. Vince doesn't "get" CM Punk, and all of a sudden, nobody else does, either? Vince McMahon has had so many people's tongues up his asshole that they could all tell you a meal-by-meal breakdown of what he's eaten through the years.

- Going along with the previous point, you have to wonder how much money Vince McMahon has lost out on because he couldn't control his ego. Like I already mentioned, the WCW InVasion could have gone down as one of the best storylines of all-time. It could have went on for a long, long time, only getting better as time went by. However, because the WCW guys were made to look like fools from the beginning, it just never panned out, and Vince's ego cost him millions of dollars. Same goes for his treatment of Ric Flair in 1992. Hulk Hogan VS Ric Flair headlining WrestleMania would basically have been like printing money for the company. It's one of the biggest no-brainers that wrestling has ever seen, but did it happen? Of course not. There are plenty other examples, but that's not really the point of this column.

- We can't really believe everything we read on the internet. Remember those reports that said Punk had legitimate backstage heat with both Shawn Michaels and Triple H? Whatever happened to all of that? Michaels supposedly "disliked" Punk, if I remember the reports correctly. I've said it before, but has there been a wrestler who has been in as much backstage issues and dealt with more "heat", only to turn around and have ridiculous levels of success, than CM Punk? For a while, you couldn't go a week without reading something saying that Punk has heat with so-and-so. With all of those reports, Punk would easily be the most hated wrestler in WWE history, as far as his reputation and relationship with his fellow workers is concerned.

It's funny to think that, had Shawn Michaels not decided to speak up during a random meeting in January 2007, we wouldn't be where we are in the world of wrestling today. Punk probably would have been released at some point in 2007, which means no ECW Title, no World Title (let alone three reigns), no Tag Team Title, no Intercontinental Title, no back-to-back Money In The Bank victories, and certainly no storyline that could be on the verge of changing the business (if it hasn't already done so).

We, the real wrestling fans in the IWC, need to thank HBK for being indirectly responsible for the amazing television we've seen in the last few weeks. Next time you're in Hawaii, Shawn, dinner's on me. It's the least I can do for you after you played your part in helping us get to where we are in wrestling. This entire CM Punk storyline has helped rejuvenate my faith in the wrestling business again. Thank you.

The HiPE Playlist: Nothing today.

I think a lot of people are embarrassed about pro wrestling and I don't think they should be. I wanna make this shit cool again. (Amen, Punk.)

Source: lordsofpain.net