theFRANCHISE

Truly a magnum opus promo by CM Punk last night. Best promo in the WWE since his MITB worked shoot. This build is already better than the entirety of the Cena/Rock build.

I love how they pushed each other to ramp up the intensity. Rock started off extremely weak but he finished strongly after Punk made him step his game up.

I hated how scripted Punk's promo felt at first, but once Rock came out and egged him on, Punk got better and better.

Heck, these two could do nothing else for the next two weeks and they've already sold me on the match. They could easily put on a Match of the Year candidate; Rock has always made up for his limited moveset with great psychology, and Punk knows how to bring the best out of each opponent.

Actually yes he was. NXT became the new name for WWE's Developmental Program and all of The Shield were in NXT. Not the show NXT, NXT the developmental program.

You're both right and wrong.

Though Ambrose was signed to the NXT brand when FCW was rebranded as NXT, I don't believe he ever competed in a televised NXT match because he was touring with the main WWE roster; only Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns made televised NXT appearances.

For all intents and purposes, though, it's not inaccurate to say Ambrose is one of the NXT invaders because NXT is now the former FCW.

My predicted WrestleMania 29 card:

1) WWE Title - The Rock vs. CM Punk vs. John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar

2) The Undertaker vs. Ryback

3) World Heavyweight Title - Dolph Ziggler vs. Randy Orton

4) Tag Titles - Team Hell No vs. the Primetime Players vs. Epico & Primo vs. Damien Sandow & Cody Rhodes

5) Rey Mysterio vs. Sin Cara

6) Money in the Bank - Wade Barrett vs. The Miz vs. Antonio Cesaro vs. Kofi Kingston vs. R-Truth vs. Alberto Del Rio vs. Sheamus vs. Big Show

7) Divas Championship Battle Royal

Maybe Triple H is the special referee for one of the three main events? Otherwise, I don't see him entering a feud with any of them, and I sincerely hope they don't do Triple H vs. Brock Lesnar again. Everyone else will likely be on the pre-show battle royal.

It'd be awesome to see a series for Jesse after its over. I know he's already a main character now and all, but a full show just for him and his life after he gets out of all the mess would be pretty sweet IMO.

...unless he dies, of course. Remember, anyone is fair game in the series.

But then, like I said, the show does a great job of revisiting dead and forgotten characters. I'd like to see a spin-off with Jesse, even if it means looking at what he did when he wasn't with Walt while running concurrent with the show.

I've tweeted for weeks about my idea of a Rock/Punk/Cena/Lesnar fatal 4-way at WrestleMania for the WWE Title but no one's listening...YET.

Again, my idea:

- Rock wins the WWE Title from Punk at the Rumble

- Punk enters the Rumble and wins as a "surprise" entrant

- The next night on RAW, Cena wins a match to become the #1 contender to the WWE Title at Elimination Chamber

- Lesnar interferes and costs Cena the WWE Title at Elimination Chamber

- An authority figure books Rock vs. Punk (the Rumble winner) vs. Cena (who "deserves" a fair shot) vs. Lesnar (who demands his shot) in a Fatal 4-Way for the WWE Title

The logic:

Rock has teased one last title run. A short reign would boost ratings and raise the profile of the WWE Title even more. Punk isn't hurt in dropping the title to Rock because it took a wrestling legend to beat him. Additionally, Punk winning the Rumble (ideally) slots him in the final match at WrestleMania, following up on his claim that he has earned the right to close every show.

Cena facing Rock at Elimination Chamber is three birds in one stone: 1) it gets Rock vs. Cena II out of the way; 2) it takes care of at least one title defense for Rock; and 3) it gives a reason for Lesnar to insert himself into the main event of Mania.

Lesnar's last contractually-obligated appearance will likely be WrestleMania. To feed Lesnar's ego AND gain the attention of mainstream media, inserting Lesnar into the main event of Mania against a celebrity like The Rock elevates the main event.

To recap why this is should be the main event:

1) Massive starpower in one match

2) Everyone involved is protected and their strengths amplified

3) Punk gets the rub just for being seen on the same level as three household names, even if he doesn't win

It seems to be AMC's forte. They've given the same long hiatus's to Mad Men and the Walking Dead.

Breaking Bad is one of the best written shows there is. While many other scripted series leave questions and holes in stories, Breaking Bad ties everything together down to the smallest details. Vince Gilligan knows how to write. I'm looking forward to what he brings after Breaking Bad.

The best part? With the way Breaking Bad is written, the universe is ripe for prequels and spin-offs. They've revisited dead and one-off characters so many times in those cold openers, it wouldn't be out of the question for them to do a continuation of the story from another perspective, perhaps in a mini-series or a movie.

That match with Sheamus and Cesaro was the best match I've seen since MITB 2011. They need to pair Cesaro with Sandow and let Rhodes do his own thing.

Cesaro is gold. He just needs to be allowed to do his own thing; this heel-foreigner gimmick will only take him so far.

Rhodes is ready for the main event push; he just needs the right opponent to convince the audience of that. Sandow is on the cusp of being ready for a strong singles push, but I don't mind keeping him in the tag division as long as he's featured prominently.

For all of our criticism of WWE, I have tons more optimism about the future of their roster than I do TNA. I can sense that the next 5 years will be fun to watch, particularly once WWE finds that right balance in pleasing both hardcore and casual viewers.

Cena vs Ziggler now...... and so I guess Punk vs Kane is the Main Event? This Raw is horribly written. Also, you built up enough with Cena/Ziggler where it could lead to a match at TLC and people would care yet you give the match away on Raw?

I think the idea with Cena-Ziggler is to have the physicality escalate with each match and backstage altercation until it leads to a gimmick match at TLC -- probably a ladder match or straight-up TLC match with Ziggler's briefcase on the line.

Also, we've seen Cena-Ziggler before, so it's not as if they've thrown away a fresh match-up. As long as the violence between the two keeps ramping up, the big payoff will be this one-off PPV match that will help people see Ziggler as a main-eventer before he cashes in his briefcase.

Ryback's mic skills aren't horrible but they're certainly not special. Better than Goldberg and more than good enough to keep him as a main eventer if he can continue improving his ring work.

I'm thinking it's all of the breathing that bothers you. Bothers me, too.

It took me forever to get into Breaking Bad but now there's no turning back. I'm addicted to the show. I'm now into Season 4 and slowly catching up.

Current shows I watch religiously:

Modern Family

How I Met Your Mother

Breaking Bad

The Simpsons (last two seasons have been pretty good compared to seasons 13-22)

Burn Notice

Those are the only ones to which I have season passes on Amazon Instant Video and will purchase the latest seasons on DVD when available -- I love them that much.

I'm also a fan of Arrested Development -- new season premieres on Netflix next year!

Yeah, and Ambrose is the new Internet Flavor within the IWC. Reigns is Rock's cousin? Wow.

Reigns is part of the Anoa'i/Maivia Samoan wrestling family tree that includes The Rock, Yokozuna, the Usos, Rikishi, Umaga, the Wild Samoans, etc. He's the son of Sika from the Wild Samoans and the brother of Rosey (Three-Minute Warning and the Hurricane's sidekick).

Ambrose is legit, even though the one time I saw him in-person wasn't that impressive. YouTube the man.

I'm going to WrestleMania!!!!!!! Just bought my tix in the Ticketmaster presale.

1TWEET or FBWM29 if you're interested. Presale ends tomorrow morning at 10AM when the sale opens up to the public -- limited availability right now, but your best chance if you'd like to guarantee your spot!

Would someone post the results from HIAC? It sounds like Big Show is the new WHC and Punk retained the WWE Championship?

Randy Orton defeated Alberto Del Rio

Kofi Kingston © defeated The Miz - IC Title

Antonio Cesaro © defeated Justin Gabriel - U.S. Title

Team Rhodes Scholars defeated Team Hell No © by DQ; Team Hell No retains - Tag Titles

Eve © defeated Kaitlyn and Layla - Divas Title

Rey Mysterio & Sin Cara defeated the Prime Time Players

Big Show defeated Sheamus © - NEW World Heavyweight Champion

CM Punk © defeated Ryback - WWE Title

Referee Brad Maddox was a plant and hit Ryback with a low blow, allowing Punk to roll him up for a quick 3-count. Ryback destroyed Maddox and Punk after the match, and the show closed with a victorious shot of Ryback after hitting the Shellshock on Punk on top of the cell.

It was a star-making moment for Ryback -- for now, anyway.

The post-match beatdown by Ryback looked like a star-making moment since everything about it, from the commentary to the camerawork, was excellent.

However, my problem is that they had a prime opportunity to transition into Ryback feuding with Show or even the U.S. Champion Antonio Cesaro (if the rumors of a Paul Heyman faction are true), and they decided not to pull the trigger. Even more, they had the chance to end the PPV on a genuinely shocking note by having Ziggler cash in on Show after Ryback destroys him, and they decided to save it for RAW or SD instead.

I was disappointed in the PPV overall. The pacing was inconsistent and I'm shocked they didn't go through with the Ziggler cash-in, especially since it was teased with Ziggler in full gear and oiled-up.

The ending of the PPV was well-executed except I expected Big Show to interfere and Ryback to incapacitate him so that Ziggler could pin him.

Otherwise, there were some good matches (the Divas match was a pleasant surprise) but the lackluster crowd detracted heavily from the broadcast for me.

The poor execution of the angle aside, I find it somewhat in poor taste since it's almost a jab at allegations that John Cena was unfaithful to his wife in real life.

I hope that the angle was partly Cena's idea. Otherwise, with his impending divorce, the timing is just bad.

I was Twitter-famous for a night when Paul Heyman retweeted that graphic I posted earlier of Heyman's monologue about CM Punk.

So much activity on that post, my Interactions tab couldn't keep up. Insane.

So, I guess we're all in agreement that Punk will probably retain until the Rumble, and that even if Punk doesn't retain, Rock will almost definitely win the belt at the Rumble to set up a WrestleMania collision course with any combination of Punk/Cena/Brock.

I'd definitely pay to see Rock vs. Punk vs. Cena vs. Brock, even though that's an awful lot of talent to cram into one match. At least it's an unpredictable enough scenario where any of those four could win, as we've already seen Cena lose unexpectedly to Rock while Brock's dropped matches to Cena and HHH.

I think we'll see Punk vs. Austin at WrestleMania 30 instead of 29 since that's the last dream match (within WWE's talent pool) that's never been done. Ideally, Austin will have recuperated fully from his recent knee surgery and he'll have enough time to get into ring shape for one last bout -- two, if we're lucky; I'd like to see Rock-Austin one more time while Rock's still wrestling.

Interesting that Ryback gets his first world title shot in Atlanta, the same city where Goldberg won his first world title.

No matter the outcome of the match, this is a huge opportunity for Ryback to show people whether his push was deserved. He has to show that he can continue to get over without the streak.

A loss for Ryback doesn't hurt his character as long as he takes the ball and runs with it.

Oh Thank You! What's the difference in terms of extras between the Blue Ray and regular DVD?

There's substantially more extras on the Blu-Ray, mainly consisting of content that was cut from the documentary for both time and contextual reasons.

The Blu-Ray exclusive clips total an hour, while the Blu-Ray exclusive match is his 20-minute Armageddon 2008 bout with Rey Mysterio during the IC Title tournament. It's all worth it. Trust me.

Question, you have the Blue Ray from the sound of it and do you know if that has the Shoot Promo from last year as an Extra in it's entirety? Or does the regular DVD have it? I'm looking specifically for the shoot promo and I'm not sure which one would have the full promo on it.

The shoot promo is shown in its entirety in the documentary itself, so it's on both the Blu-Ray and the DVD; it's not an extra. They show it in its entirety for context before discussing it.

I'm finishing up CM Punk's boxset right now and it's tied with Stone Cold as the best biographical boxset that WWE has ever released.

One Blu-Ray exclusive extra is Paul Heyman giving a genuine, heartfelt, out-of-character speech about how much he respects CM Punk; his words resonated with me so much, I had to transcribe the entire speech and create a graphic:

Not much can be done about the low ratings right now. It's always tough to compete against Monday Night Football and highly-rated network shows like How I Met Your Mother.

I think it's overreaction. People are still watching the product. The industry has been in a downward (financial) trend as a whole right now. The industry, however, has always been cyclical.

There'll be an upward trend eventually as long as each company does what it can to put on the best product they have to offer. Right now, WWE needs to capitalize on digital distribution and continue to embrace their online presence. I don't mean more Tout and Twitter segments. I mean more video content and storylines extended online.

I wouldn't be surprised if we don't see Jericho until the Rumble. He's been non-stop with WWE and now Fozzy again for the past two years, so I'd imagine he'd need to spend time with his wife and kids.

- Re-hire Shad and reform Cryme Tyme.

- It seems Cody Rhodes is going nowhere and Ted Dibiase is doing nothing so why not reform Legacy until they are ready to give Cody his main event push.

- Keep Kingston/Truth together, even though I prefer Truth turn heel again and go back to pushing him like they did last year.

- I know Miz is the IC Champion but if he loses to Mysterio at Summer Slam, put Miz back with Riley and turn Riley heel again and have them go for the tag titles. Riley can beg to be back with Miz and says he realized he truly needed him, etc.

- Have Curt Hawkins and Tyler Reks become a credible tag team and actually use them.

- Put Mysterio and Sin Cara in a Tag Team.

- Don't think Cryme Tyme has any more legs, but if they had never broken up in the first place, I could've seen them having an entertaining run as tag champs, especially when they were mega-popular during their brief association with Cena.

- I wouldn't reform Legacy since Rhodes is ready for that main-event push any minute now with a tweaked gimmick, but DiBiase in a tag-team would work. That, or I'd have DiBiase as a lackey for a main-eventer.

- Kingston and Truth have such good chemistry, I would gladly keep them together even if it meant no more solo heel runs for Truth.

- Miz needs to climb back up to main-event status, so putting him in a team with Riley wouldn't help Miz. Riley could use the rub as a midcard solo heel against someone mildly-popular like Tyson Kidd, though.

- Hawkins-Reks need to turn face. Right now, they're bland as heels, even though I like their chemistry. Maybe give them an odd-couple angle since they don't really look like a traditional team anyway.

- Mysterio and Sin Cara as a team would be brilliant. Sin Cara needs the rub and Mysterio needs to work more tag matches to cover up some of what he's lost since his injury.