theFRANCHISE

The old Acclaim Entertainment WWF games were good, but the control schemes were too complex. It was hard just to pull off a simple suplex, let alone a finishing move. I prefer the simpler controls of the THQ games today because I favor putting on a good match vs. beating my opponent. I have fun losing matches if the matches themselves are good, just like on TV.

The Create An Arena mode is actually just designing the ring and surrounding areas; the stage itself is not customizable, from what I've seen and read, so you just have a generic HD titantron area similar to RAW and SmackDown but I think you can have it show custom logos. The Custom Titantron Video feature looks to be sufficient. Only a handful of designs to choose from, but certainly better than having to use an existing wrestler's entrance video for my created wrestler. I think I'll have different brands every four months. I'll keep RAW and SmackDown as my main event brands, but I'll have niche brands to accompany them. For example, I might have a tag team-only show, then change it to a WCW-only show, then an ECW-only show, created wrestler-only show, etc. Occasionally, I'll push someone and have them make the jump to the main event brands, and then move guys around as needed. The roster appears to be big enough to make it work.

Along with the planned DLC wrestlers, this roster in WWE 12 looks to be the largest and most diverse in the history of the series. If the rumors of being able to create your own brand in WWE Universe Mode are true, then I've got lots of ideas...maybe I can actually do the WCW invasion storyline properly!

I, too, wouldn't consider Punk buried, but he certainly isn't the megastar that he was during the shoot promo phase. To WWE's credit, though, they've given Punk just about everything he asked. He had a cup of coffee with the WWE Title, he main evented back-to-back PPVs, he's in a main event storyline, he has new merchandise, he has a new contract, and he's done the mainstream media rounds. WWE wouldn't have sent Punk to the Nickelodeon Teen Choice Awards or done other such appearances if they didn't think he was bankable. All Punk ever really wanted was the perks of being a star, and that's just part of it.

I'll have to watch the show later but I'm not optimistic about the direction of the storyline. They could easily rebound Monday but it'll take a lot of backtracking. The main flaw in the storyline is the logic that HHH only controls RAW as the COO, even though he made company-wide at the start of his stint. If they would've just explained that HHH had left Teddy Long to handle things on SmackDown, then there would've been no problem. Instead, we're only left to assume, and that assumption could easily be thrown out the window if HHH starts making rulings on SmackDown again.

Updated: PSN: theFRANCHISE325x (y'all already have this) XBL Gamertag: theFRANCHISE302 (...yes, I caved and got a 360) I game primarily on the PS3 so most of my Xbox gaming is single-player. I'm not big on multiplayer gaming anyway. And, of course, send me a message letting me know who you are from here.

Up until this point, I had liked how they handled the HHH COO storyline. I was even ok with how they've handled CM Punk, even though I agree that they've watered him down too much. I just like Punk being actively involved in the main event, rather than being an afterthought in the midcard ranks again. It's amazing how it took only one TV taping to wreck the storyline -- unless the broadcast completely omits all references to SmackDown benefitting from RAW's "loss," but they've already gone too far by saying on social media that WWE superstars have (kayfabe) "reluctantly agreed" to fulfill all live event obligations this weekend. The only way this storyline can be salvaged is if they move quickly away from the walkout and give the audience something else to focus on within the story. I'd like to see them finally get Stephanie involved and answer the question as to what she was doing backstage at SummerSlam.

I read the full SmackDown spoilers and our suspicions were correct. They completely threw logic out the window in continuing the theme of SmackDown gaining from RAW's loss -- even though SmackDown superstars also walked out on HHH. So they went from this being a company-wide mutiny, to just RAW-only. Apparently, HHH as COO of the company only affects RAW. Great logic, huh?

SE Scoops is reporting "exclusively" that WWE is planning a HUGE main event for Survivor Series. (LINK) The Rock-Cena team would actually be part of a Team WWE vs. Team Anti-WWE match. Team WWE would ideally have Rock, Cena, Triple H, CM Punk and possibly Stone Cold Steve Austin and/or The Undertaker vs. "future-endeavored" guys like Miz, Truth, Kevin Nash, and even Vince McMahon. I'm taking this with a huge grain of salt. It'd be nice to see something like this happen as a dream match, but realistically, having Austin involved isn't likely unless he feels comfortable enough to follow this match with the dream match of Austin-Punk. Also, I can't see The Undertaker working another match before WrestleMania. While buyrates for the PPV would skyrocket with the in-ring returns of The Rock and Stone Cold, I don't see WWE being comfortable with allowing Survivor Series to possibly overshadow WrestleMania 28. There's no way they can top this unless they can follow through with Austin-Punk to complement Rock-Cena. They would need a third marquee match to make it a trifecta.Taker's retirement match could be that third match, but I don't know if he'd be able to deliver a good enough performance.

I'm reading the spoilers for SmackDown in-progress since I can't watch this Friday, but it seems as if the writers are dropping the ball with some of the logic here. Now, if I'm not mistaken, while RAW and SmackDown are treated as separate brands, this SuperShow concept meant that both brands would compete on both shows, correct? Or was it just RAW? Either way, Teddy Long's promo to start the night treated the walkout on RAW as if it was a RAW roster walkout rather than a company-wide walkout. Long said that RAW's loss would be SmackDown's gain, which has me questioning: how does SmackDown gain if the COO is in charge of the whole company? Additionally, weren't there SmackDown stars like Christian and Mark Henry ringside who walked out? This is a case of either Long messing up, or the writers getting lost in their own logic. (And for the record, I still prefer for the brands to be kept separate...)

The ending to RAW is what I felt the ending to HIAC should've been. I would've had the brawl take place during the Orton-Henry cell match that was placed mid-card, then have the night end with an impromptu vote of confidence following the main event. That Sin Cara vs. Sin Cara match went far too long, so they could've easily trimmed some time off that one. They also could've saved the Cody Rhodes promo and IC title defense for tonight instead. The ending to RAW was well-done. It accomplished everything that the ending to HIAC should've ideally accomplished. The difference is, the storyline took a huge step forward instead of just baby steps at the end of HIAC.

That pinfall pretty much positioned Sheamus as the next big main event face. The crowd's reaction solidified it. I'm happy for him. The man's earned it after having been the target of my criticism for almost a year. He's come a long, long way since his early main event push.

I only have two gripes with the ending to the PPV: 1) It almost felt as if they were building up to the ending just to set up tonight's episode of RAW, rather than providing any real progress in the story. PPV main events should always provide a tiny bit of closure to one part of the story, while also giving people a reason to tune in the next night. It should never be completely one or the other. 2) The question of who raised and then lowered the cage was not particularly emphasized. I figured that would've been a perfect question to ask during the broadcast to build suspense for tonight, rather than have it be an afterthought or a subtle hint towards a future twist.

And, all of the heat generated by that great Sheamus-Christian match has effectively been killed by Sin Cara vs Sin Cara. Boring, generic luchadore match. Lots of hesitation and miscommunication.

Sheamus vs. Christian was a phenomenal match and a great pick to open the show. Glad that Sheamus went over clean. Sheamus is also surprisingly more athletic than I thought.

This Sunday will likely break my streak of ordering WWE PPVs that's gone since Capitol Punishment in June. The Ravens-Jets game is just a little more important. Also, the HIAC card seems very lackluster, even though I love Cell matches. I'll probably end up catching the show at another time, though...

The only problem is that, while WWE is in a win-win financial situation with that type of card, they'd be in a lose-lose situation with the crowd. Regardless of whether Punk-Austin or Rock-Cena goes on last, that final match will have a lackluster crowd response since the audience will be exhausted from whichever match precedes it. It's similar to Rock-Hogan overshadowing a decent WWF Title match between HHH and Y2J; Undertaker-HBK overshadowing the two championship main events at WrestleMania 25; or Undertaker-HHH overshadowing the Miz-Cena main event at WrestleMania 28. If WWE wants both matches on the card, they have to stick one of the two in the middle of the card so that it can steal the show without overshadowing the main event. The likely candidate for that is Austin-Punk, which would then be followed by two buffer matches before the popular main event in Rock-Cena.

And, of course, Cena's doing commentary for this main event and will likely be celebrating with the belt at the end of the night. Gee, thanks.

I love their increased use of vignettes this week. The vignettes do a better job of telling a story than Michael Cole on commentary. The only thing better would be more J.R.

In about a year, I would love to see a Sheamus-Zeke feud. Two athletic big men with great monster gimmicks. In fact, that'd probably be a great WrestleMania match if their characters are developed properly.

With the great reaction that he's gotten from the crowd and his increased ring presence, Sheamus looks like a bonafide star.

That was a pretty good segment, even if it ran a little long. I like Christian in two TV main events with both World Champions and a PPV match with Sheamus. More Christian in the main event is always a good thing. I like Dolph Ziggler vs. Zack Ryder for the U.S. Title since this is Ryder's chance to prove to everyone whether he deserves a push, whether or not he goes over tonight. I like Cody Rhodes being booked in a battle royal for the I.C. Title since he can say he beat 9 other guys to retain his strap, adding even more credibility to his reign (assuming he wins). Most of all, I like the two young guys and the underrated veteran getting the TV rub from Triple H. Even though he verbally buried them, his on-screen interaction with them still gives the appearance that they're all high-profile.

Heels still get requests from the Make-A-Wish kids. The Miz, The Rock, Stone Cold, and others are popular with that foundation and both Rock and Austin had turned heel in the latter parts of their career and still got requests. I don't think that a kid with a terminal illness will suddenly not want to meet their hero if their hero becomes a bad guy. If anything, I think it'd be refreshing for a kid to meet a heel and learn that he's really a nice guy.

Judging from the body language and the intensity of what they showed in the final broadcast, it just looks like Orton was caught up in the moment and busted Rhodes open hardway. My only concern would've been the amount of blood that Rhodes shed. That didn't sound too good, especially since I presume that Rhodes didn't plan on bleeding so he didn't take any blood thinners or blade himself to make the blood flow easier. If Rhodes bled all over that table like the reports said he did, it could've been a serious head injury. Thankfully, no reports of anything serious yet.

There will come a time when the kids grow up and get sick of Cena. When that time comes, WWE could end up making the same mistake WCW did in keeping Hulk Hogan at the top for so long. I doubt that WWE will ever suffer such a catastrophic decline to where they're bought out, but I can see a day where these kids grow up and reject the McMahon product outright and wrestling experiences another decline in business.