theFRANCHISE

Open-ended questions for you regulars: 1) Would you guys consider semi-actively participating in a live-thread of pay-per-view events and occasional episodes of RAW and SmackDown? 2) Do you guys use Google+? Reason why I ask is because I've found Google+ to be the most efficient means of free-form social media, where I can choose who to share specific content with (like on Facebook, but more focused); I can catch the interest of the masses (like on Twitter); and I can write as little or as much as I want, with as little or as much multimedia as I want (like a blog). And, honestly, I just want more (intelligent) wrestling fans on G+. lol.

I'd rather be straight-edge than vegan; I don't smoke, don't do drugs, and I could do without alcohol if I absolutely had to. I love steak, eggs, burgers, etc. too much to give up all animal-based products.

Since WrestleMania 17, WWE has considered Mania to have multiple main events, though the true main event has always been the final match of the night. So, with their logic: WM17 = Rock-Austin II; HHH-Taker I WM18 = Y2J-HHH; Rock-Hogan WM19 = Angle-Lesnar; Rock-Austin III; HHH-Booker T WM20 = HHH-HBK-Benoit; Taker-Kane; Guerrero-Angle WM21 = Batista-HHH; Cena-JBL And so on and so forth... So this year, it's Rock-Cena; Punk-Y2J; and Taker-HHH; with the World Heavyweight Title match as a fourth "main event."

LOL @ The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reporting that WWE officials are down on The Miz because he's regressed since his main event push, both in the ring and on the mic. I'm pretty sure his excellent tag-team work with R-Truth didn't show regression in any way, shape, or form. A demotion, possibly, but certainly not a regression of skills. His chemistry with Truth was fantastic, especially for being a pair of singles wrestlers randomly thrown together.

Dude, I'm totally getting Justin Roberts to ring-announce my wedding. I've already decided in advance of my future bride. She has no say in that part. lol. If I can't come out to my own entrance music during the wedding, I certainly wanna do it during the reception. I also wanna cut a promo on everyone in the wedding party. It'll be awesome!!!!!! lolol

The build for the Survivor Series main event was poor. The talent can't do much about that. The booking of the match was also ruined last-minute when R-Truth violated the drug policy, so they had to have Awesome Truth lose or it'd set a bad example in the locker room. At the same time, they couldn't scrap the match outright and they couldn't turn it into a triple-threat since the point of the match was to tease physicality between Rock and Cena. Honestly, I would've preferred for Rock not to have wrestled that match at all, or to have wrestled Miz one-on-one instead. There was nothing gained from Rock being in that tag match, aside from seeing that Rock doesn't have much ring rust. I think Triple H in a backstage role has the potential for more good than bad, but when he interjects himself into storylines or takes it upon himself to impose his power, there's nothing to gain.

There's been a special attraction star advertised locally for each RAW until WrestleMania, starting with Shawn Michaels next week. The Rock is slated to make appearances on every RAW following the Elimination Chamber PPV -- but the only one he has yet to be advertised for, is the March 19th episode in Philly...the one that I've got floor seats for! That would be the worst kind of luck ever, for me to spring for floor seats to RAW, expecting my idol to be there, only for him to not be there after all.

Good promo by Y2J but not his best work. I wish he had delivered that promo at the Rumble instead after winning it. It would've been more effective then.

More WWE DVD news, courtesy of WWEDVDNews.com - CM Punk's DVD is slated for release in Australia in October, meaning it'll likely arrive Stateside in September. - The Rock's DVD set (slated for release February 21st!) has a runtime of 2 hours for the main documentary feature, 1.5 hours of Blu-Ray exclusive extras, and 10 matches along with 4 moments. It'll be a 2-disc Blu-Ray set and a 3-disc DVD set. - Edge's career retrospective DVD is set for release in April.

So I'm guessing the CM Punk DVD will be more like Orton's DVD than Cena's. I think they'll do an overview of his road to the WWE main event tier, interspersed with segments outside the ring as he prepares for a big match (possibly WrestleMania vs. Jericho). The traditional career retrospective would be something like Jericho or Austin's DVDs, while Orton's DVD straddles the line between career vs. day-in-the-life style. Cena's most recent DVD is straight-up day-in-the-life, as there's very little biographical stuff on it.

I have no interest in HHH-Taker III. Sure, it'll probably be a good match, but I wanted something new or something we hadn't seen in awhile. We saw HHH-Taker last year. At least Taker-Kane hasn't been seen in two years. Also, Kane's literal burial of Taker was never addressed and Taker never got his retaliation. I would've preferred to at least see Taker vs. Wade Barrett, just so we'd have something new. It'd also make sense for Taker to go after Barrett since Kane's burial of Taker came at the behest of the Nexus.

Overall, it was a solid episode of RAW. A lot of my friends are saying they think it was one of the best episodes they've seen in years. I thought the show was hurt a little by the lackluster crowd. The Kansas City crowd wasn't into the show as much as their St. Louis brethren, which really disappointed me, especially during the great Punk-Bryan match. Even in the Orton-Ziggler match, Orton didn't get nearly the reaction that I thought he would and they didn't really react to anything until Orton's superplex. I felt that the wonderful ring psychology in the Punk-Bryan match was wasted on a crowd that wasn't appreciative of their talents.

If I were the World Heavyweight Champion, I, too, would walk into a room and go, "Hey, everyone, it's me, the WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION!"

Here's how I'd book Mania, based on the events of the Rumble and where storylines are leading; this isn't how I'd ideally book the show if I had free reign: - The Rock vs. John Cena (already announced) - WWE Title - CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho - World Heavyweight Title - Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Randy Orton - U.S. Title - Jack Swagger vs. Zack Ryder - Intercontinental Title - Cody Rhodes vs. Goldust - The Undertaker vs. Kane - The Miz vs. Mick Foley (Special Ref: Triple H) - Divas Championship - Beth Phoenix vs. Natalya vs. Kharma vs. Kelly Kelly The sad thing is, people like R-Truth, Mark Henry, Big Show, and others might be left off the card based on how things are shaping up. In Big Show's case, if WWE's negotiations with Shaq fall through, he won't have a match for Mania, especially if Orton and Ziggler take his spot in the WHC match (as teased). I put Ziggler in that match since it's unlikely they'd book him in the WWE Title match or demote him to the U.S. Title match.

Personally, I enjoyed the PPV. It was fun, and at the end of the day, that's all I really look for. It didn't do anything groundbreaking and there were some moments I would've done differently, but I rarely had anything to complain about.

You'll see it when the payoff comes. That payoff could be as early as tonight or as late as WrestleMania, but it'll come. The easiest way to explain it is that he's trying to turn heel by getting people to hate him by overstaying his welcome. People have wanted him back for so long but he's purposely not giving them exactly what they want. It's like he's taking the traditional way of turning face/heel and turning it on its head. For right now, though, it looks like even the casual fans in attendance are starting to understand what he's doing and are actually cheering for him because of it, instead of booing him like he wants.

I don't want to see a unification match, nor do I think the brands should get back together (even though the RAW SuperShow concept is basically the same thing). I still think there's value in keeping two separate rosters; WWE just hasn't been utilizing it as effectively as they did in, say, 2004-2006. And even in those years, they didn't maximize the potential of the brands.

While Y2J's storyline is pointing towards Punk-Jericho at Mania, I can easily see your scenario of Jericho-Taker as the secondary attraction to Rock-Cena at this year's Mania. They could always do Punk-Jericho at SummerSlam instead. Really, though, I don't think WWE could go wrong with either match, unless Punk-Ziggler at the Rumble is an instant classic. In which case, I wouldn't be opposed to Punk-Ziggler at Mania with Ziggler going over, assuming he's ready.

I hope the swerve isn't something as stupid as Johnny Ace winning the Rumble, similar to Mr. McMahon winning it in 1999. Not only has it been done before, but it won't have nearly the same storyline impact as when McMahon did it.

Ryder's show will suffer an inevitable decline, so he might as well end it in spectacular fashion by getting himself more exposure. It may be watered down, but at least more people will know who he is. In a sense, it's a win-win situation for Ryder in terms of his career advancement.

Apparently, Ryder might be bringing "Z! True Long Island Story" to the WWE Network. His time off is potentially a cover for him to film a pilot for the new network. WWE has recently reached a licensing agreement with the guys who wrote/recorded the "Take Care, Spike Your Hair" song, which could result in the song being used either on a TV-based version of the series or a WWE.com-exclusive version of the show.

I hope that Cena remains a face but then turns heel at WrestleMania. This is the only way I'll accept the inevitable (and logical) outcome of Rock putting over Cena in Miami. It'd be glorious. Have Cena struggle with this moral dilemma for the next two months and then finally crack and embrace the hate once the Miami fans boo him out of the building. It'll be a glorious way to evolve Cena's character while making Rock still look good in defeat. It'd also make for a hell of a WrestleMania moment since I don't think Cena really has a defining one yet, other than his first WWE Title victory. It's to sell the Cena-Kane angle while also seeing how Ryder responds backstage to being told to eat crap and like it. Plus, this also makes Ryder more sympathetic upon his return if he "heroically" recovers from a "career-threatening injury" to compete again.

As I posted a week or two ago, The Score's Arda Ocal (the Baltimore Sun's newest wrestling columnist, replacing WWE writer Kevin Eck) predicted that Jericho would enter at #30, everyone in the ring would eliminate each other as Jericho is pandering to the crowd at ringside, and then Jericho would stroll casually into the ring and be declared the winner of the Royal Rumble as soon as he steps between the ropes. I would love to see that happen. Or, alternately, Jericho would enter early in the match and chill at ringside with the fans for the duration of the match, before finally getting into the ring at the very end to win the Rumble.

I'm really looking forward to this Punk-Laurinaitis feud. Last week's promo and tonight's early turn of events has made me immensely more interested than the first few weeks of teasing the feud.

If you have fond memories of the mid-'90s New Generation Era of the WWF, then the Hart-HBK Rivalry DVD is a great choice. It was a good documentary but it didn't resound with me personally because I didn't watch much wrestling at the time of the Montreal Screwjob; others who remember that era and moment, say that it's fantastic. Money in the Bank 2011 is endlessly watchable from start to finish. IWC fan service all the way. I just hate that the DVD has only one extra, and that there's no Blu-Ray edition. Hell in a Cell 2011 and SummerSlam 2011 were ok, but I don't think they're worth full retail purchases; maybe pick them up for less than $10 each on Amazon, but don't bother going to the store for them.