theFRANCHISE

Much of SD Live's success can be credited to the writing philosophy of Ryan Ward, who was previously head writer of NXT during its peak years. Ward and Triple H share much of the same beliefs as to how wrestling should be booked, and SD is intentionally booked as "the wrestling show" while RAW is more of a variety show. Even though both are under the WWE umbrella, both are meant to cater to different segments of the audience. RAW is for casual fans (hence the third hour, for increased ad revenue) while SD is for the hardcore fan.

The booking was really well-done, especially on RAW. I attribute that to: 1) Simpler, more efficient booking; not everything needs to be a long, drawn-out scenario full of swerves. 2) Constant moving parts; think of the Attitude Era when everyone had a primary and secondary storyline to stay relevant. 3) Very little filler; everything and everyone had a purpose, and the promo segments didn't drag.

I'm alive! Just been really, really, really busy. I never got a chance to read Bischoff's book but I'd heard it was great. He's still got wrestling knowledge to offer, he's just better-served as a consultant or sounding board these days than an actual booker. He's nowhere near as out-of-touch as Jim Cornette or Vince Russo.

I won't share too many details about my private life, but I'm involved with an independent pro wrestling promotion. On-screen, I'm currently a broadcaster but my full job title is Backstage Producer and Director. My job is to coach the talent on their interviews and help develop their characters. I also pitch story ideas and will give feedback between shows. Additionally, I record voiceovers for all of our video packages and I occasionally participate in storylines. It's not my full-time day job, but it's my passion and defines much of who I am outside of Ravens football.

It takes two to have a great match, and John Cena put on a modern classic with Kevin Owens at Elimination Chamber. Now the world understands what I've always seen in Kevin Steen, and why Triple H is so high on him. As long as they keep some of his mystique and don't overexpose him, they've got an overnight sensation in Owens and caught lightning in a bottle.

The cost of fame is having to always have your guard up. McDonald clearly isn't being smart if he's continually putting himself in positions where he's been accused. When you play with fire enough times, you eventually get burnt.

Wins and losses don't really matter in wrestling; it's how you win or lose. So far, all of the NXT guys have fared extremely well against Cena. They look like bigger stars as a result. Cena is in the twilight of his career and they're using him to elevate the midcard. Much better than putting him in the world title picture. I have no complaints.

Another one of my Delaware Blue Hens to Baltimore!

Sony will offer the ability to stream PS3 games on PS4 in 2014 using Gaikai, a streaming service they acquired awhile ago. There are no details about how this will work, but most likely, it'll involve inserting a physical disc for verification and paying a one-time $5 or $10 license fee for access to that digital copy, OR they may allow you to purchase a digital copy without a disc for a higher fee. Just speculation on my part.

I'd argue that, rather than focus on getting exclusive licenses, Microsoft needs to scout and acquire studios. That way, they can cultivate an ecosystem of titles from within rather than mining titles from the outside, and they'd have more control over the quality of the final product.

Any publisher would be lucky to have Naughty Dog as a first-party studio, but for Sony to have Naughty Dog and Sucker Punch, both of whom have a long history of great franchises and a terrific pedigree to match? That's ridiculous. That's not to mention Sony's own self-branded studios in Santa Monica (God of War), San Diego (MLB: The Show), and Japan (Ico). Microsoft owns some impressive properties in Halo, Gears of War, and Forza Motorsport, but their own first-party stable of developers doesn't have much distinction. In fact, despite Gears of War being Microsoft-exclusive, Microsoft doesn't even own the studio who developed the series.

Day One launch numbers are about even for both the Xbox One and PS4, with both having sold 1 million units. The difference? Xbox One sold 1 million worldwide...but the PS4 sold 1 million in North America alone. Sony doesn't launch in Europe and Japan (its biggest markets) until next week and early next year, respectively. Public relations clearly played a huge part here. Well-done by Sony to bounce back after the mistakes made during their last launch.

But, how is the cloud supposed to offset the issue of games getting bigger and bigger and needing to be installed for optimal performance? And, even worse, how are we supposed to play offline if servers are down for maintenance or get attacked? Microsoft needs to temper its push of the cloud. Although digital distribution and cloud storage is the way of the future, for right now, it's not feasible to do everything online because of bandwidth limits.

Not only am I waiting for a price drop before I grab an Xbox One, but the lack of a swappable hard drive is a huge deal breaker for me. They need to rectify this in their next redesign. When you consider that some games require a 20-50GB installation before playing, this makes it difficult to have a large collection on Xbox One without needing to occasionally delete installation files. Sure, this is a minor inconvenience to some, but it's an inconvenience that'd easily be solved if they'd allow us to swap out hard drives as you can on the PS3 and PS4.

It feels bigger but lighter. I can't quite describe it. I can't go back to using the 360 or PS3 controller anymore. The concave analog sticks and new trigger buttons are just too comfortable. My only issue is that the Options button (which replaces the traditional Start button) is so small due to the large touchpad. However, I absolutely love that I'm able to plug in my favorite studio monitor headphones into the controller and listen to full game audio with zero latency.

I've had zero issues with my PS4 thus far, other than the expected hiccups in logging onto PSN. I wouldn't recommend getting either console at launch since both are virtually identical. Wait a year for the software library to mature and for each console to separate itself. Console launches are meant for early adopters. I, myself, chose to buy a PS4 at launch for personal bucket list reasons. Otherwise, I also would've waited. Of course, I do love my PS4, but it's far from reaching its potential. Same will be said about the Xbox One.

He's not nearly the same player, but for nostalgia, I'd re-sign him just as a situational player. I'm a sucker for nostalgia.

I haven't had much time for any sort of entertainment, but you guys need to watch Luther. It's a ( profanity deleted) show that stars Idris Elba from The Wire, Thor, and a bunch of other movies and shows you've probably seen at some point. The first two seasons are on Netflix and the third one just aired this year -- possibly the conclusion to the series. It's a dark cop thriller about a detective who has a strong moral code and has to reconcile that with his personal life while dealing with constant internal investigations and really morbid criminals. We're talking violent killers whose crimes are similar to that of horror films. Like many British shows, the seasons are short but the episodes are so densely packed, almost like an hour-long film.

Big E has a lot of upside. For one, he's got actual wrestling ability to back up his frame -- the guy is freakishly athletic. I see him being everything Brock Lesnar could've been if he hadn't left for MMA, but as a babyface instead. Also, it helps that he's got a good head on his shoulders. He's hilarious on Twitter and, from what I've heard, he's a nice guy to work with.

They definitely overlook some of the bigger stars, Batista being one example and Triple H also being a name that constantly floats in those rumors but is never confirmed. Guys like Cena and Brock Lesnar have always been naturally that muscular. Cena was obsessed with bodybuilding since he was a kid, and his childhood photos show a natural progression to the body he has today. Lesnar grew up a farm boy and was the same case as Cena. Though that doesn't rule out steroid use, their childhood photos make it more likely that they're all-natural. Ryback is iffy. I still suspect mild steroid use because of his hair loss and strange proportions, but some photos show that he was big in his early twenties. Batista was almost a definite because of the shape he was in despite being nearly 40 when he debuted, and his drastic muscle loss once he transitioned to MMA. Also, he's suffered multiple muscle tears.

I think Jesse's erratic and indecisive behavior is important in setting up the finale. He's the wild card because he's trying to find redemption, and with the direction he's going, you're left guessing as to whether he'll kill Walt; intentionally overdose when he's got nowhere to go; or go to the DEA with the hard evidence that Hank needs to bring Walt's empire down -- or, even simpler than that, just walk away.

What was so masterful about tonight's episode was its arrogance: it accelerated the pace and directly addressed all of the things we'd hope the rest of this season would address, all in one episode. With so many twists and turns, now we're at a complete loss as to how the next episode will go -- and that's what any good story should do, is to make you guess without being predictable.

Oh, forgot to tell y'all: I'm in the pro wrestling business now. Been a backstage interviewer but then made my first appearance in front of a crowd this past weekend and turned heel. I wrestle my first match this September.

I'll probably cave and end up buying it, but I'd prefer the price to be no more than $400. If they aggressively price at $350 or even (unrealistically) $300, they'll easily get a boost from the holiday season from casual shoppers. I was underwhelmed by the announcement. I'll only get the console for exclusives; PC and now the 3DS are still my primary gaming devices even though I own a PS3 and Xbox 360. Good news is, Sony says they won't price most games above $60.

I'm only holding onto a tiny shred of hope that Punk chooses WrestleMania as the night of his contractual rematch, and that the main event is at least a triple-threat with Rock and Cena, if not a fatal 4-way involving Lesnar as well. I can't take Rock-Cena II. Not only was last year's build atrocious, but the match wasn't really worth the year-long hype. To bill it "Once in a Lifetime" and then go back on that word only a year later? Betrays the casual viewer's faith in WWE's marketing hyperbole.