Blog hiatus

Good afternoon.

We will be taking a hiatus from blogging continuously for the next couple of months.

Between me and my wife welcoming in another child in over a month and Kirk coaching football, we have way too much on our plate.

However, we will still be doing the podcast, hopefully on a weekly basis.

We should hopefully have the blog up and running full-time again in November.

While, we will not be posting regularly on the blog, we will try and post a couple of stories/previews here and there. If you could please hang in there, we will definitely appreciate it.

We will keep you updated as to when a podcast is up.

Thank you very much for your understanding and patience.

THQ announces WWE '13 roster

THQ has released the roster for the release of the latest WWE video game, WWE '13.

The announcement and roster is listed here.

The game will be released in the United States on Tuesday, October 30.

Monday Night Raw recap 8/20/12

This episode of Monday Night Raw, the night after SummerSlam, came to us live from Fresno, California.

The show started off with Brock Lesnar coming out, with Paul Heyman. Heyman once again did an amazing job on the mic as he cut an incredible promo about the Lesnar/HHH match last night. Heyman pretty much ripped on HHH and called him a "quitter." Heyman then called down the referee from last night, Scott Armstrong. Armstrong came down to the ring, very very nervously. Lesnar now once again, looks like a monster. Heyman anointed Lesnar as the new "King of Kings." This segment was well done.

Up next was Kofi, R-Truth and Sin Cara taking on Cody Rhodes and the Prime Time Players in a six-man tag match. This match wasn't too bad. There was some good action with both teams getting some shots in. This match ended when Rhodes went to rip the mask off of Sin Cara but got rolled up for the 1-2-3.

We then saw an interview in the back with AJ. David Otunga then interrupted and said he was ready to offer his services. He said he'd file a lawsuit if anyone called her crazy. She then got ticked and scheduled a match for Otunga tonight. I am still in love with AJ. That is it.

Ryback then came out to take on Mike Spinner and Andy Tavarez (I believe that is who they were). Ryback absolutely destroyed these poor bastards. Jinder Mahal came running into the ring and attacked Ryback. Mahal locked the Camel Clutch on Ryback but Ryback powered out and slammed Mahal. Ryback then picked up the two jobbers and slammed them.

We see Jericho in the back on his phone. Ziggler comes up and demands a rematch. AJ's smokin hot ass comes skipping in and gives the rematch. She adds the stakes that if Jericho loses his contract is terminated and if Ziggler loses, his MITB contract goes to Jericho.

Alberto Del Rio is in the ring. He is on the mic claiming he was robbed last night. He demands another title match. AJ then comes out and makes a match for Del Rio. Randy Orton comes out to take on Del Rio. Before the match could start, Sheamus comes down and heads to the commentators table. Orton dominated this match early on. This was a great match as there was a lot of good offense put on by both men. Del Rio landed a backstabber on Orton and went for the pin. Orton put his foot on the rope and Sheamus pointed it out to the referee who stopped the count. Del Rio was ticked but his night was about to get worse as Orton then landed the RKO on Del Rio and got the pin. This was a solid match with a lot of good action.

We then got Brodus Clay and the Funkadactyls. He was awaiting the arrival of Damien Sandow. This match was dominated by Clay but Sandow rolled up Clay and got the 1-2-3. Surprising victory for Sandow in this match. Sandow proceeded to gloat in the ring and then got slammed by Clay.

We then got a satellite interview with Shawn Michaels regarding the match last night at SummerSlam between HHH and Lesnar.

After the commercial break, we saw David Otunga heading down to the ring for his match. Otunga was awaiting his opponent. Needless to say, Otunga was not thrilled to see a ticked off Big Show coming down to the ring. The Big Show absolutely murdered Otunga. He landed the WMD and got the pin.

We then got a match with Kane and Zack Ryder teaming up against The Miz and Daniel Bryan. This was a match with teams and partners that cant stand each other. This match was ok until Kane just absolutely lost it and destroyed everything around him.

We then saw an interview backstage with CM Punk who states that he chooses John Cena as his opponent for Night of Champions. He still continues to demand respect.

A divas Battle Royal was up for the #1 contender. Kaitlyn got the victory and is now the #1 contender for the Divas Championship.

We then saw a startling Tout from Brock Lesnar stating he has accomplished everything in the WWE and he is leaving and never coming back. Stunning Tout from Lesnar.

Up next was the contract vs contract match between Dolph Ziggler and Chris Jericho. This was a rematch from last nights great match at SummerSlam. This was a great match, just like last nights match. Ziggler got the win after landing the Zig Zag. With the loss, Jericho's WWE contract has been terminated. While Ziggler was on the turnbuckle celebrating, Jericho grabbed the briefcase out of Vickie's hand and attacked Ziggler. He hit a codebreaker and waved goodbye to the crowd.

After the commercial break, CM Punk made his way down to the ring. He made a little detour and headed over to the announce table to talk to Jerry Lawler. He demanded an apology from Lawler. Before Lawler could speak, John Cena came out. These two did a great job on the mic, both cutting fantastic promos. After Cena left the ring, Punk demanded that Lawler come into the ring and apologize for saying that Punk turned his back on the WWE Universe. Lawler did apologize. Punk wasn't finished as he demanded Lawler tell the WWE Universe that Punk was the best in the world. Lawler wouldn't say it and turned to head out of the ring. Punk dropped Lawler with a kick to the head.

I really enjoyed this episode of Raw. There were a lot of great moments on this show, plus I got to see a lot of AJ. This was a solid follow up show, especially after SummerSlam. I am very curious to see where the Lesnar thing goes, especially if he says he isn't coming back. It will be very interesting to see how the WWE handles some of these angles/storylines in the upcoming weeks.

Stay tuned as Kirk and I will be discussing these in a podcast upcoming later this week.

SummerSlam preview

Good afternoon.

In just a few hours, we kick off the 25th anniversary of the second biggest PPV for the WWE, SummerSlam.

This show has been built up on two matches, Brock Lesnar vs Triple H and the triple threat WWE Championship match featuring Champ CM Punk vs John Cena vs The Big Show.

There is a WWE Pre-Show match for the US Championship, between Champion Santino Marella taking on Antonio Cesaro.

I would imagine the PPV portion of the show will kick off with Tag Team Championship match between Kofi Kingston & R-Truth (Champions) taking on the Prime Time Players.

Up next will most likely be the Intercontinental Championship match with The Miz defending his title against Rey Mysterio.

We then have matches upcoming with Daniel Bryan taking on Kane and Chris Jericho taking on Dolph Ziggler.

After that we will probably head into the meat of the show with Alberto Del Rio taking on World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus for the title.

The Triple Threat match for the WWE Championship will be the co-main event with the Champion CM Punk taking on John Cena and The Big Show.

As stated earlier, this show has been built up around Brock Lesnar taking on Triple H. This match will most likely end the show.

This should be a great PPV and make sure you follow @FTIWrestling on Twitter as we will be tweeting throughout the show. We will also be posting some touts as well so check us out on Tout, FTIWrestling.

We plan on doing a SummerSlam recap show that will be posted to YouTube and as a podcast.

So please check us out.

We will keep you updated!

FTI Wrestling Classic Match

Tonight is SummerSlam.

This is the 25th anniversary of SummerSlam, so we wanted to post one of the greatest matches in the history of SummerSlam.

This FTI Wrestling classic match, comes from the 1992 SummerSlam event, that took place in London, at the famous Wembley Stadium.

The match was between the British Bulldog and his brother-in-law, Bret the Hitman Hart for the Intercontinental Championship.

Enjoy!

First podcast is up

Hey everyone! Our very first podcast is up! Check us out at http://ftiwrestlingradio.podomatic.com/. It will hopefully be uploaded to iTunes very shortly. Please like it and enjoy the hell out of it!

FTI Wrestling's TNA Power Rankings

Here are this weeks edition of the TNA Power Rankings:
　
1. Austin Aries - Once again Austin Aries stays on top of my list. This guy can wrestle and he proves every why he is the best.

2. Aces and Eight - I have no clue who is in this group, or who is even in charge. But, all I know is they taking people out!!

3. Bully Ray - All I have to say about this guy, is bad ass!!

4. Chavo Guerrero - I think he has made a major impact since he signed with the company. He is a fan favorite now and I think with Chavo teaming with Hernandez is a very smart move, and I think Chavo could make him a better wrestler.

5. Devon - He put on a clinic at Hardcore Justice and retained the television title.

6. Bobby Roode - I don’t know why I still have him in my top ten, but I have to give it to him, Bobby is a hell of a heel.

7. Madison Rayne - She is cracking the top ten for the first time because she is the new knockouts champion and I think she has been wrestling really well the past couple of months.

8. Sting - All I have to say about this guy is “Icon.” I think he is doing a hell of a job as GM in Hogan’s absence. Also, he is determined to get to the bottom of this aces and eights group.

9. Robbie E - I think he is coming a good wrestler, but the only problem I have with him, is I wish he kept his mouth shut. I get tired of him keep on saying “bro” every time he talks.

10. Kurt Angle - This guy still has it and I hope he can win the Bound for Glory series!! It has been a while since he has been champion and it is very entertaining watching him wrestle!!
On the outside looking in- Zema Ion, Jeff Hardy, AJ Styles, and Kaz

Who is in Charge?

The big question on TNA’s fans minds is, who is the leader of Aces and Eights?

Right now, "The Cowboy" James Storm, is the one who is getting blamed for forming this faction.

They are reeking havoc all over TNA, and no one on the roster is safe. I am not convinced James Storm is in charge of this slobber knocker.
　
I have two people, who, I think could be in charge of Aces and Eights.

First, I think it could be Bully Ray. He is very convincing and he is pretty much blaming James Storm. I can see Bully being the leader because he is rough, just like the rest of the group. Also, I believe he makes a great leader and one hell of a heel. This guy could lead any faction and I think Bully wants to take over TNA.

Secondly, I think it could be Jeff Jarrett. I can see Jeff getting mad that Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff took over things in TNA. Jeff Jarrett made TNA and I can see him trying to get his company back. Jarrett has always been a leader, and he doesn’t like to be bossed around.

Those two men are my first two choices and I would be surprised if it wasn’t one of them.

I hope TNA doesn’t screw up this angle, just like the did with the AJ Styles angle.

This storyline has a lot of promise and I hope the guys behind these heinous attacks are a huge shocker.

So TNA fans please stay tuned and see where this massacre goes!!!

Monday Night Raw recap 8/13/12

Monday Night Raw, from Dallas, started off with a match between WWE Champion, CM Punk and part of the Triple Threat match at SummerSlam, The Big Show.

The Big Show dominated the early part of this match as Punk was able to land a shot here and there. Punk was able to land a solid knee right in the face of The Big Show, launching about 32 gallons of spit out. The Big Show then speared Punk as Daniel Bryan came out as both men were laid out flat. Bryan goes over to the announce table and demands to be in the championship match on Sunday at SummerSlam. Bryan interrupts the match and puts the "No lock" on Punk. The Big Show drops a massive elbow on Punk, then Cena comes out to save the day. AJ's hot ass comes skipping out and makes a match, for later tonight, with Bryan teaming up with The Big Show to face Cena and Punk.

We then see JTG in the back talking to Kaitlyn. He wants a match and says its crazy that he isn't competing on Raw. He wants to make some noise. AJ skips by and overhears JTG say crazy. She tells him to head to the ring and she will find an opponent for him.

JTG is in the ring and awaits his opponent, Ryback. The "Goldberg" chants did briefly erupt during this match. Ryback knocked JTG's head straight off his body, with a massive clothesline. Ryback with the complete demolition of JTG as Ryback continues to destroy WWE talent. The crowd was definitely into Ryback.

We then see Rowdy Piper backstage with Shawn Michaels. Piper is wondering who his guest will be on Pipers Pit. Michaels is then seen talking on the phone with HHH.

We then head to the ring to see Heath Slater in the ring. R Truth then interrupts Slater and heads down to the ring. Truth gets the victory then the Primetime Players head down to the ring to beat down R Truth.

We got to see another segment regarding the Lesnar/HHH feud.

Cole and Lawler then talk about how DJ Pauly D is the Social Ambassador. Personally, I could give a rats ass and I truly wish that Brock Lesnar could give Pauly D an F5, straight to hell.

Up next was a review of the Sheamus and Alberto Del Rio fiasco from last week. They showed a WWE.com exclusive of a pissed off Booker T, who cancelled the title match between Sheamus and Del Rio for SummerSlam.

Sin Cara was then introduced. He was awaiting his opponent, Tensai. Total size mismatch between these two guys. Sin Cara was able to land a couple of shots and got the win. Tensai was irate in the ring and grabs Sakamoto tosses him into the ring. Tensai proceeds to beat the hell out of Sakamoto.

Pipers Pit was up next. The WWE universe selected Y2J to be the guest for Pipers Pit. It was an ok segment then Vickie interrupted it to introduce Dolph Ziggler. I must say that I am a fan of Jericho again. The Miz then came down and told Piper and Jericho to get out of the ring. Jericho decked The Miz and then proceeded to clear the ring.

We go to a commercial break and then come back to a Triple Threat match between Ziggler, Jericho and The Miz. This was a pretty good match with lots of good back and forth action. Ziggler and The Miz pretty much teamed up on Jericho. We did have a couple of near falls. The craziest part of the match came when Jericho was looking to send The Miz off the top rope but Ziggler ran in and grabbed Jericho, thus leading to a superplex. The match ended when each man was landing some shots and Jericho was able to put The Miz into the Walls of Jericho. However, Vickie distracted the ref and Ziggler ran in and landed the Zig Zag on Jericho and was able to get the pin. This was a solid match with lots of back and forth.

We then go backstage and see CM Punk stretching in the back and Eve comes over to talk to him. I must say that Eve was looking ravishing this evening. We did get a nice recap of the opening segment with Punk, Big Show, Bryan and Cena. Shawn Michaels is shown walking around in the back and Cena comes up to talk to him and scares the shit out of Michaels.

We had a divas tag team match with Divas Champion, Layla, teaming with Kaitlyn facing the team of Eve and Beth Phoenix. As divas matches go, this was not too bad. Kaitlyn and Layla got the upset victory as Kaitlyn got the roll up on Phoenix.

Another recap of the Lesnar/HHH feud was shown. This may have been the 1,935th time I've seen this damn thing.

The tag match between Daniel Bryan and The Big Show vs CM Punk and John Cena was up next. This was a great match with lots of unwanted tag-ins by each team. The match obviously picked up when Punk and Bryan wrestled, as these two have had some amazing matches in the past. Bryan kept tagging himself in, just before The Big Show would land the WMD. At one point, Punk and Cena mimicked the others finishing move. Punk decided to head outside the ring and Cena hit the AA on Bryan and got the 1-2-3. The Big Show came in as Cena was celebrating but got laid out by Punk with the belt. Punk extended a hand to Cena but Cena didn't shake it, so Punk headed to the back.

We briefly saw Brock Lesnar talking to Paul Heyman in the back.

Damien Sandow then came out for his match. Sandow was set to face Christian. Sandow and Christian traded some shots before Brodus Clay came out. Christian tried to roll up Sandow but he kicked out. Sandow was able to get the victory.

We see a scared Shawn Michaels in the back. He looks around the corner to see if he could find Lesnar. He isn't there but he turns around and standing there is a jacked up Brock Lesnar. Michaels walks off.

After the commercial break, Lesnar and Heyman make their way to the ring. I will say one thing, there may not be anyone, outside of three guys (the Rock, Austin and Punk), who are better on the mic than Paul Heyman. He gets heat anytime he says the name "Brock Lesnar." Heyman comes out and cuts a great promo, calling out Shawn Michaels. Michaels comes down to the ring. HHH then comes down and signs the contract. Lesnar signs as well and throws it at HHH. He walks out of the ring and heads to the back.

We see Shawn Michaels talking to HHH. It does appear that Michaels is starting to doubt if HHH can beat Lesnar.

Matt Striker goes to interview The Big Show then we hear a car crash in the background. Striker takes off to see what happened and we see that Shawn Michaels has t-boned Paul Heyman's car. Michaels is yelling at Heyman and Lesnar comes over and grabs Michaels out of his car and proceeds to beat the hell out of him.

We come back from a commercial break to see a bunch of WWE talent outside of Michaels' car. Everyone is panicking because they don't know what Lesnar did with Michaels. We then see Lesnar carrying Michaels out to the ring. He throws his lifeless body into the ring and delivers an F5. HHH comes running out but Heyman warns HHH not to take another step because Lesnar will break Michaels arm. HHH runs in and Lesnar takes off to the back.

The show ends with Lesnar with a shit eating grin on his face lookign at a pissed of HHH in the ring while Michaels continues to scream in the ring.

Overall a pretty good show and I am actually curious to see the Lesnar/HHH match. This was a solid go home show for SummerSlam.

I continue to be a fan of the 3 hour format as we have seen some solid wrestling matches.

We will be previewing SummerSlam on the blog and hopefully on the podcast as well.

FTI Wrestling Homicide of the Week

This weeks edition of the FTI Wrestling "Homicide of the Week" comes from the 8/10/12 edition of Smackdown.

This is actually a double homicide as Jinder Mahal faced 2 unidentified jobbers and beat them in like a minute. Ryback then came out to show that he is still superior and destroyed those two jobbers as well.

I was unable to embed the video in this post, but the link to the video can be found HERE.

Podcast topics

Good afternoon. Kirk and I will be recording our first podcast for FTI Wrestling Radio within the next couple of days.

If there is any topic (Wrestling/MMA related) that you guys would want us to review/discuss, please let us know at @FTIWrestling on Twitter or via email at FTIWrestlingblog@gmail.com.

Thank you very much!

FTI Wrestling's WWE Power Rankings

Here are the FTI Wrestling WWE Power Rankings for Week 3:

1. CM Punk (unchanged) – still a really hot commodity

2. Sheamus (unch) – He is the World Heavyweight Champion after all

3. The Big Show (prev 4) – stood tall over Cena and Punk on Raw

4. John Cena (prev 3) – part of Triple Threat match for Championship at SummerSlam

5. Alberto Del Rio (unch) – #1 Contender for Sheamus’s title…still a great performer and amazing worker

6. Daniel Bryan (prev 7) – fantastic performer/worker...great matches continuously…faces Kane at SS

7. Chris Jericho (prev 8) – continuously does a great job…bringing back Y2J

8. Randy Orton (prev 11) – great job since coming back…unfortunately not on SS card

9. Dolph Ziggler (unch) – Smackdown MITB briefcase holder…faces Jericho at SS

10. AJ (prev 6) – solid job so far as Raw GM…possibly bringing back the crazy chick gimmick

11. Kane (prev 12) – looks like feud with Daniel Bryan is set to resume…faces him at SS

12. Ryback (prev 15) – looks to have a solid feud with Jinder Mahal…crowd still really into Ryback

13. Damien Sandow (prev 14) – continuous push from WWE

14. R-Truth and Kofi Kingston (prev 14) - WWE Tag Team Champions

15. The Miz (prev 10) – Intercontinental Champion...lost clean two weeks in a row

16. Layla (unch) – Divas Champion but haven't seen Divas action in a while

Outside looking in: Christian, Brodus Clay, Rey Mysterio, Santino Marella

WWE Smackdown review 8/7

This episode of Smackdown, from Houston, started off with Smackdown GM Booker T coming out, to a huge pop in his hometown.

Booker was in the ring and demanded that Sheamus come down to the ring and apologize to Alberto Del Rio for stealing his car on Raw. Sheamus comes down and talks about how much fun he had with Del Rio's Ferrari but does apologize. Del Rio interrupted them and demanded action be taken. Sheamus wanted a to defend his title tonight against Del Rio. Both Booker T and Del Rio agreed and we have our main event for the show.

The first match was Sin Cara vs Cody Rhodes. This was an ok match. There were some near falls, but the match ended when Rhodes wanted to unmask Sin Cara and got rolled up for the 1-2-3. Sin Cara with the victory to start off the show.

We then had a SummerSlam promo.

Daniel Bryan made his way down to the ring yelling "NO!" He gets on the mic and demands everyone stop chanting "YES!" Bryan continues to be pretty funny with this gimmick. He is definitely over the top. Bryan continues to rip on AJ and how she ruined his reputation then Kane interrupted him. AJ, once again looking fricken phenomenal, came down to the ring. She comes down as a guest of Booker T and demands that Bryan show that he is sane and wants Bryan to shake Kane's hand. Bryan extends his hand and AJ leaves the ring, only to have Kane and Bryan battle in the ring. AJ laughs demonically at the top of the ramp. All I have to say is there is something going on between AJ and Kane.

We then see Teddy Long and Booker T. Hawkins and Reks come in only to have Booker tell them that only A+ talent is allowed on Smackdown.

We then see Jinder Mahal destroy two unknown jobbers in like 30 seconds. Ryback then comes out. Mahal leaves the ring when Ryback enters. Ryback then proceeds to murder the two jobbers as well. He then leads a "Feed Me More" chant and the crowd seems to really be getting into Ryback.

Up next was the Highlight Reel segment with Chris Jericho. Dolph Ziggler is the guest on the Highlight Reel. Vickie interrupts Jericho as he introduces the segment. Vickie says that she will be speaking on Dolph Zigglers behalf. Jericho insults her and Vickie says she will leave. He then responds and tells her to "get the hell out of here." He did bring her back and then rolled footage of Ziggler losing to Alex Riley on Raw. Vickie suggests that Ziggler and Jericho face off in a match at SummerSlam. Jericho said that Ziggler said something that got him thinking and that he will be bringing back Y2J and then accepts the match. Ziggler runs in from the crowd only to have Jericho lay him out. He turns to Vickie who slaps him and Ziggler lands the Zig Zag. Jericho slowly gets up and gets blasted by the MITB briefcase by Ziggler.

We get a recap of the opening segment with Del Rio and Sheamus.

Kofi and R-Truth come down to the ring for commentary. A.W. comes out to introduce the Prime Time Players. We get treated to a #1 contenders match with the Prime Time Players and Primo and Epico. Nothing special with this match. The Prime Time Players get the win after a DQ. Once again the Prime Time Players are the #1 contenders.

Antonio Cesaro comes down to the ring for his match. He does this stupid ass gimmick on how he speak five different languages. Who gives a crap. Thank the good lord that Christian came down to stop this crap. This really wasn't that solid of a match. Christian wins with the spear. After the match Cesaro beats the hell out of Christian.

Raw rebound is up recapping the main event from Raw.

Eve is shown backstage and she asks Booker for a job. He once again, turns her down. Kaitlyn comes in with Teddy and asks Booker for a job and he accepts. Eve threatens legal action for discrimination. Booker then makes a match between Kaitlyn and Eve for next weeks Smackdown with the winner becoming Booker's assistant.

Rey Mysterio comes out, to a huge pop. Mysterio is set to face the Intercontinental Champion, The Miz. This was a non-title match. This was a solid match with both guys getting great offense in. Once again, The Miz loses a non-title match. Mysterio gets the win when he gets the surprised roll-up victory. Crazy how the lower level champions keep losing.

Another SummerSlam vignette.

We then had the main event with Sheamus going up against Alberto Del Rio for the World Heavyweight Championship. Before the match started, five cops came down to the ring. Del Rio told them to stop but then told them to attack Sheamus. Obviously, these guys were hired by Del Rio to dress up as cops and beat the hell out of Sheamus. Del Rio beat down Sheamus with no match. The show then ended with Del Rio getting booed like crazy. Not sure what to think of this.

Overall, this was an ok episode of Smackdown. Definitely not their best but not even close to their worst.

Stay tuned tomorrow as we will be posting the WWE power rankings.

Changing TNA

TNA badly needs to get out of the Impact Zone in Orlando. When you are watching Impact, the crowd feels sparse. There is a minor league feeling when you’re watching TNA.  There are times the crowd is hot, but not always.

TNA President, Dixie Carter, needs to talk to Spike TV to help them get out of Orlando. If TNA starts traveling to different cities, they might get more interest in their program. Also, you see the same familiar faces in the crowd at the impact zone. I know you have your loyal TNA fans but don’t get me wrong if I lived in Orlando, I would go to all the events. However, that is the downfall, seeing the same faces in the crowd.  If, TNA traveled, you wouldn't have that issue.

Another thing that bugs me about TNA, is the fact they have the PPV events in Orlando. I can understand saving cost with the Impact shows on Thursday nights. Pay per views should be held in bigger venues. I know the big problem TNA has, is they don’t draw for PPV out of the Impact Zone. 

There are at least two ways they could change all of that.

First, TNA needs to market their product better. When you turn of the TV, you see commercials for Summerslam. I haven’t seen one freaking commercial for TNA’s PPV this Sunday. It's not hard Dixie. Spend a little money, and get your product out there. Everyone knows about the WWE because Vince sticks his product in fan's faces. Dixie needs to wake up and learn from Vince. I know she has the money, freaking use it!

Second, lower the prices of tickets. I sat on the floor for $150.00 and that is too steep for TNA. Cut the prices to make it easier for the common wrestling fan to attend the event. For example, floor seats $80.00, the next section up maybe $40.00.  Lastly, make the nose bleed seats like $5.00.  If TNA lowered their price of tickets, I promise you they would get more people in the seats.

What happened after Raw

Monday night was supposed to be Shawn Michaels appreciation night, there was a nice tribute to the Heartbreak Kid after Raw went off the air.

The story of what occurred can be found here, reported by Chris Reed of PWTorch.

I wish that was something we could have seen on Raw itself, even though most of it did not fit into any of the storylines.

Great job by the WWE to give Shawn the tribute!

Arda Ocal Interview

Image taken from The Score

Arda Ocal is a TV and Radio personality on the Score network in Canada. Arda is currently the face of Maximum Pro Wrestling in Canada, as he has numerous roles with the organization.

You can follow Arda on Twitter @Arda_Ocal and on his Aftermath blog. He also co-hosts a radio show, Aftermath Radio with former WWE referee, Jimmy Korderas on Monday nights at 11:20 pm.

I was lucky enough to ask a couple of questions to Arda so please enjoy as we hopefully will have some more interviews coming up!

Thank you.

FTI: How did you get started in the business?

AO: I always knew I wanted to get in broadcasting so while I was completing a Mathematics degree at the University of Waterloo in Canada, I volunteered at the local radio station and newspaper, then local cable TV station. Aside from that, I'm a lifelong wrestling fan so I would volunteer and pay dues with independent wrestling outfits in the Toronto area. Somehow, those two lives kind of merged and here I am today.

FTI: What is the most rewarding thing about covering/promoting wrestling?

AO: It's subject matter that I care about and love to analyze and uncover the interesting stories - I'm a pro wrestling optimist and always will be.

FTI: What is your most memorable moment in wrestling?

AO: Presenting shows in the Canadian Arctic of Iqaluit, Nunavut was a thrill, we've done three weekends there. But my most memorable moment was the second week of (then) Right After Wrestling (now Aftermath), when I was on set about to go live across Canada on a show that I pitched and was my baby. I was so proud and still am - Aftermath has been on the air since December 2009 and I couldn't be more thrilled.

FTI: What's it like working with Jimmy?

AO: He's bald!  All kidding aside, he's invaluable and I love working with him. I'm lucky to not only be working with him on air, but also great friends with him - it's just as fun for me to listen to his stories on the air as off the air.

We here at FTI Wrestling are very thankful for Arda to take time out and answer some questions for us. Please give Arda and Jimmy a listen on Monday nights as they do their review of Monday Night Raw.

Monday Night Raw recap 8/6/12

This episode of Monday Night Raw, the third installment of the 3 hour time frame, took place in San Antonio.

The show kicked off, with my favorite person in the WWE, the Raw GM, AJ. Once again, she looks just phenomenal. AJ comes down to the ring to announce some big matches she set up, only to be interrupted by CM Punk. Punk comes down to apologize to AJ for the way he acted last week and then asks her to cancel the Triple Threat match at Summerslam. AJ declines and John Cena comes down to the ring. Eventually, The Big Show comes out and AJ stops everything. Punk gets upset that he is the champion and is not in a match tonight. AJ announces that Punk is in a match, that will be decided by the WWE Universe.

The WWE Universe voted to have CM Punk face Rey Mysterio. This was a solid match with lots of action. This match ended when Mysterio hit the 619. Mysterio then goes for the springboard splash but lands on Punks knees. Punk then made Mysterio go to sleep and got the pin and the clean win. Overall, this was a great match and a great way to start Raw.

We then saw Alberto Del Rio pull up in a Ferrari. He is then seen meeting with AJ. He says he shouldn't have to wrestle in a match until Summerslam. AJ agrees then Del Rio decided to open his mouth and say that he was surprised AJ didn't do anything crazy. AJ heard him call her crazy and put him in a match against Christian.

This really wasn't too much of a match as Del Rio picked up the win over Christian with the cross armbreaker.

Sheamus shows up on the Titantron and basically grand theft auto's Del Rio's Ferrari.

The next match was Randy Orton vs The Big Show. This was another solid match with both guys getting some good shots in. This match resulted in a double count out after The Big Show delivered a solid spear to Orton on the outside of the ring. Orton gets tossed back in the ring and The Big Show gets ready to land the WMD, however, Orton ducked and landed the RKO.

The next match was my boy Ryback taking on Tyler Reks and Curt Hawkins. It was pretty much a squash match but it wasn't as bad as it could have been. Ryback gets the victory.

We were then treated to The Primetime Players vs Primo and Epico. AW didn't say anything stupid this week so that was a plus. Not really in to this match but Primo and Epico did pull off the upset.

We then got a Divas match with Eve taking on Kelly Kelly. I must say that both ladies looked fantastic tonight. For a Divas match, this was pretty entertaining. Kelly Kelly got the victory.

HBK made another appearance on Raw, in his hometown. He is in the ring talking about how everyone in the WWE is talking about the Summerslam match between Lesnar and HHH. Lesnar and Heyman come down and confront HBK. HBK states that he doesn't doubt the attributes of Lesnar but he chooses HHH in this match because of the mental antics of Heyman and Lesnar. HHH comes down and Lesnar states that he will see HHH at Summerslam and he will see HBK before that.

Next up was a match between Alex Riley and Dolph Ziggler. Jericho came down to do commentary for this match. This was an ok match but truly the entertaining part was when Jericho stood up on the announce table to Tout the match with Zigger. Riley rolled up Ziggler for the victory.

In a non-title match, Intercontinental Champion The Miz faced Kane. The Miz got some solid offense in on Kane but Kane was able to recover and chokeslam The Miz and Kane got the victory. The Miz did not look bad in this match at all, even though he lost. Not a bad match overall.

Sheamus returned in Del Rio's car and holy Christ, it looks like he went off-roading in it. Looked great.

Daniel Bryan was then introduced for his match against John Cena. Overall, this was a fantastic match. It seems like any match that Bryan is in, is fantastic. There was a lot of back and forth in this match. Both guys delivered some great offense and both men were able to land their trademark moves, with the other one kicking out at the two count. This match ended when Cena was able to land the AA and got the pin. Punk then comes down and gets in the face of Cena and holds the belt up. The Big Show comes running down and he and Cena start to brawl. Cena goes to deliver the AA to The Big Show but Punk knocks them down. Punk heads to the announce table and grabs a headset and cuts and badass promo. Punk says that Raw will now end with Punk ending the show with him on top. He heads into the ring and goes to kick The Big Show in the skull but he catches the kick and knocks Punk out with the WMD. The Big Show turns and knocks Cena out with the WMD. The Big Show picks up the belt and tosses it over his shoulder. Boom, show ends with The Big Show holding the title up.

Overall, I thought this was a solid Raw. There was once again a lot of solid wrestling matches. I really think AJ is doing a great job as GM of Raw. So far, I really can't complain about the substance in these 3 hour shows. However, only time will tell.

The Masterpiece in TNA?

Should Chris Masters get a shot with TNA?

In my opinion, I believe Chris Masters should get a shot in TNA.

Furthermore, he has the size, the strength, and I think he is excellent on the microphone.

I think Chris got screwed in the WWE when they buried the character, “the Masterpiece.”

However, TNA President Dixie Carter would be stupid not to sign this guy.

I can also see him as part of the group Aces and Eights. I sure hope so because I really believe Chris will help out TNA. I'm not saying he will help out with ratings a lot, but he could help out the younger talent in TNA.

I hope in the next few months, us fans, see Chris Masters in a TNA ring. He is a big guy, and with Matt Morgan gone, TNA could use a big guy. I know Chris isn’t tall like Matt Morgan, but he looks like a freak. Chris is a smaller version of Batista. Masters is also a better wrestler than Batista. Don’t get me wrong, Batista is one of my favorite wrestlers, but I think Chris Masters has more heart in the industry than Batista.

I hope Dixie can get "the Masterpiece” in TNA soon because he could help out a lot!

UFC on Fox 4 Picks

Tonight is the UFC on Fox 4 show from the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

The main card begins at 8 p.m. ET, while the prelims are on FUEL TV at 5 p.m. ET.

Here at FTI Wrestling, we are going to pick the winners of each of the matches.

Preliminary Card:

Cole Miller v Nam Phan

FTI Pick: Cole Miller

Phil Davis v Wagner Prado

FTI Pick: Wagner Prado

Josh Grispi v Rani Yahya

FTI Pick: Josh Grispi

Phil De Fries v Oli Thompson

FTI Pick: Phil De Fries

Manny Gamburyan v Michihiro Omigawa

FTI Pick: Michihiro Omigawa

Ulysses Gomez v John Moraga

FTI Pick: Ulysses Gomez

Main Card:

Mauricio "Shogun" Rua v Brandon Vera

FTI Pick: Shogun

Lyoto Machida v Ryan Bader

FTI Pick: Bader

Joe Lauzon v Jamie Varner

FTI Pick: Lauzon

DaMarques Johnson v Mike Swick

FTI Pick: Johnson

Be sure to check us out later tonight as we will be posting a recap of tonight's UFC event. Thank you and stay tuned!

Changing the WWE

After watching Raw and Smackdown this week, I was contemplating how to make the WWE a better product. So here are a couple of things that I, Chris Asbrock, would do.

First, I would definitely split the brands. I don't like the fact there is a lot of overlap on each show. Raw talent on Smackdown and Smackdown on Raw. This needs to stop. When it did happen years ago, it was a big deal. This needs to be the norm. Make Smackdown special again with the brand split.

Second, I would put more emphasis on the tag team division. There just aren't enough tag teams out there. Build up the tag team division and make the titles mean more.

Third, have the titles defended more. For example, Santino Marella never defends his US Championship. What the hell is the point of having the title, if it is never defended.

Fourth, I would cut the number of PPV events. I would drop the number of PPV events from 95 to 8. There is just not enough time between events to build up any storylines. It seems like after each event is like 3 weeks after the prior one. That is not nearly enough time. So I would cut the number to 8 PPV events a year.

Fifth, I would build up more stars. There is a lot of talent in the WWE but not enough stars. The WWE has not done a good job in building more stars or pushing the current ones. There are numerous guys on the roster who could use a push.

Those are just a couple of things that I would do to help build the WWE product.

Let me know what you think.

Follow us and like us

Hey everyone, like us on Facebook here.

Also, follow us on Twitter at @FTIWrestling.

Please help us get our name out there.

We are currently in the process of planning a podcast which we will be posting on here so please follow us on Twitter and Facebook to get the latest updates.

Thank you and as we stated earlier, help us get our name out there! Thank you and as always, continue to FEEL THE IMPACT.

FTI Wrestling Classic Match

We have decided to add another feature by having a classic match added to the blog every so often.

This edition comes from a 1995 edition of Raw is War. It is a No Holds Barred match between Owen Hart and Bret Hart.

Let us know what you think.

Enjoy!

WWE Smackdown review 8/3/12

Tonight was the night that Mr. McMahon was going to announce the new GM of Smackdown.

Mr. McMahon comes down to the ring to announce that Booker T is the new GM. Alberto Del Rio and Sheamus interrupted the festivities. Since both interrupted, Booker T with his first job as GM, made both compete in matches later in the night. Del Rio was to face the Viper, Randy Orton in the main event. Sheamus was going to face Tensai in a non-title match.

Tensai came down to the ring to face Sheamus. What I like about Sheamus, is the fact, he loves to fight and he does not back down from any fight. This was a great match with lots of physical exchanges. This match ended when Sheamus blasted Tensai with the Brogue Kick and got the pin. I definitely enjoyed this match.

We then saw Eve in the back, who I might add, was looking fantastic. Booker T then offers Teddy Long a position in his administration.

The next match was Antonio Cesaro taking on US Champion Santino Marella in a non-title match. Once again, who cares. I am truly getting annoyed by Santino never defending the damn title. Cesaro won and that's all I have to say.

We had a six-man tag match with Daniel Bryan, IC Champ The Miz and Dolph Ziggler taking on Kane, Chris Jericho and Christian. This match was your standard, run of the mill six-man tag match. Lots of good action. The finish came when Jericho put the Walls of Jericho on Bryan. Ziggler came in and Jericho hit the Codebreaker on him. Bryan rolled up Jericho for the 1-2-3. Bryan then goes postal on some guy in the front row chanting "YES!" Bryan gets in his face and yells "NO!"

We then go to an interview in the back with Randy Orton.

Next up is Jinder Mahal vs Ryback in a rematch from last week. One thing is certain, Ryback would murder me. The match starts and Ryback begins to pound Mahal. Mahal was able to get a shot or two in on Ryback then hits Ryback with a mic. The ref called for the bell and the DQ on Mahal.

Next match saw Darren Young defeat one half of the WWE Tag Team Champions, R-Truth. This match did have A.W. mic'd after his nice rape joke on Raw earlier in the week.

We then saw a recap of this weeks Raw. Anytime I can see AJ, I am cool with that.

Booker T announces a match for next week as we will see Cody Rhodes vs Sin Cara.

In the main event, Randy Orton defeated Alberto Del Rio when Ricardo Rodriguez interfered in the match and caused the DQ. Overall this was a solid match with both Del Rio and Orton looking great. After this match, Sheamus came to the ring to toss Del Rio back in and Orton landed the RKO. Show went off the air with Orton posing at the top of the turnbuckle.

This was a very solid episode of Smackdown. Two solid shows put on this week by the WWE. Well done.

FTI Wrestling Homicide of the Week

This weeks edition of the FTI Wrestling "Homicide of the Week" comes from this weeks episode of Monday Night Raw.

The return of the WWE's Apex Predator, the Viper Randy Orton. Heath Slater called out a current WWE superstar and he received Orton, much to his dismay.

Enjoy the beat down!

Trade deadline for wrestling?

In a very interesting article, written by Justin LaBar of the Bleacher Report, the idea was brought up of what if wrestling organizations completed trades, just like other pro sports.

The entire article can be found here.

I began to think about it and how amazing it would be. Obviously, it will NEVER happen, but it still would be a cool experience.

What trades would you make between organizations?

Let us know!

FTI Wrestling's WWE Power Rankings

Here are the FTI Wrestling WWE Power Rankings for Week 2:

1. CM Punk (prev 1) - still continues to be on top after "heel turn"

2. Sheamus (prev 2) - he is the World Heavyweight Champion after all

3. John Cena (prev 3) - back into the WWE Championship picture

4. The Big Show (prev 5) - back in the WWE Championship picture

5. Alberto Del Rio (prev 7) - Still a great performer and amazing worker...still waiting for him to face Sheamus

6. AJ (prev 6) - I love everything about her...great job with first night as Raw GM

7. Daniel Bryan (prev 4) - over the top actor and fantastic performer/worker...hopefully does not get lost in the mid-card

8. Chris Jericho (prev NA) - still a great performer and will help Dolph Ziggler get over before Jericho leaves

9. Dolph Ziggler (prev 8) - Smackdown MITB briefcase holder...continues to tease a cash in...feud with Jericho can really push Ziggler

10. The Miz (prev 10) - Intercontinental Champion...continues to be a great performer

11. Randy Orton (prev NA) - The Viper is back...wonder where he is headed

12. Kane (prev 9) - haven't seen too much from him lately

13. R-Truth and Kofi Kingston (prev 11) - WWE Tag Team Champions

14. Damien Sandow (prev NA) - received a big push these past 2 weeks

15. Ryback (prev 12) - not murdering people anymore

16. Layla - Divas Champion but haven't seen Divas action in a while

Outside looking in: Christian, Brodus Clay, Rey Mysterio, Santino Marella

Thoughts on the 3 hour Raw format

After attending this weeks episode of Monday Night Raw, here in Cincinnati, I wanted to give my thoughts about the move to the 3 hour Raw format.

First of all, 3 hours is a long time. That makes things difficult because even though the WWE has a deep roster, there are only a handful of people who should be given a solid amount of time on the show.

This week had some fantastic wrestling matches so I would not be too upset if every Raw show had those type of matches on them. However, there are a handful of wrestlers who can put matches like that on consistently and you can burn through the roster very fast if they keep it up. I did like the length of some of the matches because there was actually more time for some of the good matches.

The downfall of the show is that I fear we will be getting tons of "filler" crap like we did this week. During the show, there were way too many segments with psychiatric evaluations and numerous promos for the same Summerslam match. I agree they need to promote some of the matches, but not that much. Instead of the filler crap segments, they could have used a match with Ryback or Divas.

I know we are only on week 1 (not counting Raw 1000) of the 3 hour format, so I hope the WWE doesn't destroy their roster or audience with the crap segments they can throw together. We shall see how next weeks episode fares.

The WWE has released the ratings for this weeks Raw so stay tuned as we will discuss those.

Monday Night Raw recap 7/30/12

It is safe to say this show was doomed right from the beginning.

Due to a fire, caused by the pyro test at the beginning, the arena had to be evacuated before the show started. I will however, give major props to the WWE for getting all of the fans back into the arena before the show went live on USA.

Even though the WWE did not use any pyro throughout the show, it seemed to go off without a hitch.

As for the show itself, I feel it was a let down.

There was a lot of fantastic wrestling, however, it just seemed to be missing something.

I will touch on that a little more, so let us get right into the recap.

The show started off with CM Punk coming out, to a huge pop, to address the crowd and Jerry Lawler's comments from Raw 1000, saying he "turned his back on the WWE Universe." Punk cut a very good promo here. This wasn't the "pipe bomb" type promo that everyone was expecting but one that made Punk look like he didn't make the complete heel turn. Punk basically states that The Rock was gifted the title shot and that The Rock feels that he is better than Punk. Punk also stated that The Rock was lucky that he didn't "drop him" then. The Big Show then came down and interrupted Punk. The Big Show basically said that the only reason Punk is still the champion is because of him. He almost tapped out until Show did what he did. The Big Show vows to become the next champion. Cena runs out and goes after The Big Show. Show shoves Cena away and heads out up the ramp.

Justin Roberts is in the ring to announce the new Raw GM, AJ Lee, who I must say, is a flatout dime piece. That woman is phenomenal. AJ says that her first decision as GM is regarding the main event, Cena v The Big Show for the #1 contender and winner gets a title shot at Summerslam.

Next up was the United States Champion, Santino Marella vs Alberto Del Rio in a non-title match. Go figure. I am truly getting sick and tired of Santino not defending this damn title. It is getting ridiculous. Del Rio gets the victory in this ok match. Del Rio stood over a defeated Marella and stated that he will no longer wrestle in anymore matches, unless it is for the World Championship.

Brodus Clay was in the ring dancing with the Funkadactyls when Vickie comes out. She wants to show them how to dance. Honestly, I felt I was in hell during this segment. Vickie looked like she was having a seizure while dancing. This was freaking atrocious. For once in my life I was thankful that Damien Sandow came to the ring. He revisits the ass beating he received from DX last week. Sandow then attacks Clay by stomping and kicking him. He did break the necklace that Clay always wears as well.

Bryan is outside of AJ's office. He musters up the courage to go in there and confront her. AJ lays down the law saying she wants to start fresh. She in turn makes a match against Sheamus in a match type that the WWE Universe can vote on. It turned out to be a Street Fight that was voted on. This was by far the best match of the night. Both Sheamus and Bryan did really well and they worked well together. They continued to fight all over, in the ring, up the ramp, etc. The steps were tossed into the ring, they used kendo sticks. This was a great match. As Sheamus was setting up for the White Noise on the steps, in the ring, Bryan countered and sent Sheamus into the ropes. Sheamus came back and blasted Bryan with the Brogue Kick. Sheamus pulled Bryan off the steps, to the mat and pinned him for the win.

After this, Bryan was still in the middle of the ring. This was all crazy crap. R-Truth and Kofi come down with Little Jimmy into the ring. Bryan, who was still upset ends up kicking the imaginary person, Little Jimmy, out of the ring. Then 4 men, in white coats come down to take the crazy person, R-Truth away. Then AJ comes out and states that Bryan is the one they need to take for a psychiatric evaluation.

Titus O'Neil w/ Darren Young & AW come to the ring as he is set up to face Kofi. This match wasn't that great as Titus gets the victory.

Punk and Cena are in the back and Punk is explaining his actions to Cena and tells him that he doesn't care who wins tonight, then leaves.

Heath Slater is in the ring and calls out any current WWE Superstar since the legends went back to the retirement home. Out came the Viper, Randy Orton. Orton received a massive pop from the crowd in Cincinnati. Orton, fresh off of suspension came out and pretty much destroyed Slater after hitting him with the RKO. It was great to see Orton back on Raw.

Bryan is shown talking to a doctor and says he doesn't need a mental exam, but the fans and AJ do. There was too much of this crap in this episode.

Next up was a tag match with Christian & Chris Jericho vs The Miz & Dolph Ziggler (w/ Vickie Guerrero). This was a pretty solid match as well. There was a lot of good spots with these guys. I definitely enjoyed this match. The match ended when Jericho hit the Codebreaker on the Miz and got the pin. Dolph then ran into the ring and nailed Jericho with the briefcase.

More Bryan and doctor crap.

Tensai was in the ring. His feud with Tyson Kidd was set to continue when Kidd made his entrance. This match wasn't too bad as Kidd did tease a couple roll ups for the win. However, as Kidd hit a somersault neckbreaker, Tensai was able to regain his composure and blasted Kidd with a chokeslam and a running senton. After the bell, Tensai continued to beat down Kidd and referee reversed his decision to give Kidd the victory.

Once again, more Bryan and doctor crap.

The #1 contender match was up now with The Big Show v John Cena. Punk did come out to do commentary for this match. There was some good physicality in this match between Cena and Show. The Big Show did land some big shots to Cena, but of course, he shrugged everything off. Cena received some solid shots and the same can definitely be said for The Big Show. Cena delivered the Five Knuckle Shuffle but then ran into a massive chokeslam. To nobodies surprise, Cena kicked out. Cena gets laid out with a punch from The Big Show on the outside of the ring. The ref gets to the 9 count and Cena gets back into the ring. The two continue to fight when The Big Show sends Cena right into Punk. The Show sets up for the WMD, Cena ducks the massive punch then gets the Show up for the AA. Punk runs in and clobbers Show as the ref rings the bell. Punk heads back to the announcers table, grabs his title and a microphone, and states that both guys are losers. He heads backstage when AJ comes out, walking past Punk and AJ says that Punk was wrong because they were winners. She said they were winners because Punk will defend his title at Summerslam in a triple threat match against John Cena and The Big Show. Punk comes back out and demands respect from AJ as he yells at her.

The show went off the air. John Laurinaitis then comes out and tries to nail Cena with a chair but Cena delivers the AA to Johnny boy.

Overall, this was a pretty solid show.

I do have to bitch at the fact there were too many replays and segments with Bryan and the doctors. They easily could have replaced that crap with Rey Mysterio, Ryback, Divas, something for Christ sake other than what we got. I would give this show a 7.5/10, even though I am not a fan of the three hour Raw shows.

Live tweet issues

Well, that did not go as planned.

We were unable to post any tweets live from Monday Night Raw last night, due to horrible service and a horrible wi-fi connection inside US Bank Arena.

We sincerely apologize but stay tuned as the Raw review will be posted very shortly.

Raw in Cincinnati

Good morning.

As a reminder, FTI Wrestling will be at Monday Night Raw tonight in Cincinnati.

We will be tweeting live from the event so you can follow us at @FTIWrestling on Twitter.

Podcast update

Well I hope you all are having a great Saturday afternoon.

I wanted to update you all on the podcast idea that Kirk and I have been tossing around.

It definitely appears that we will be conducting a podcast, hopefully bi-monthly, that we will be uploading to the blog as well. We hope to have the first one recorded well before Summerslam, so stay tuned.

A plan is also in the works for Kirk and I to appear on an upcoming show with our boys from The Takedown MMA Radio. We will keep you all updated on when that will be occurring so you can check that out.

We thank you all for continuing to follow us and please continue spreading the word about us!!!! Without your help, this would definitely not be possible!

Kirk and I sincerely thank you, and as always, FEEL THE IMPACT!

FTI Wrestling's TNA Power Rankings

I am going with the top ten in TNA, since they don’t have a big roster like the WWE
　
1 Austin Aries- The main eventer and current TNA Heavyweight Champion

2. Bully Ray- One of the best on the mic and an amazing heel

3. Zema Ion- Up and coming star. He has what it takes to stay on top in the X-division

4.AJ Styles- “ The Phemonal One!” Enough said

5. James Storm- If he gives you the last call super kick, it's nighty nite!!

6. Ace in Eights- No one knows who's leading this group or who's in it. Personally, I think they are dump trucking through talent in TNA

7. Jeff Hardy- He is closer to getting his title shot and I think he is going to win the Bound for Glory series

8. Mr. Anderson- Personally, I think he is getting better in the ring!! Enough talking and he should do more
wrestling!!

9. Hulk Hogan- I know he is not wrestling anymore, but I believe he is helping TNA gain ground. Someday
he will help TNA be on top!!

10. Tara- I know she isn’t Knockout champion but she is a hell of a wrestler and I think she is getting buried
by TNA. Plus she is hot and she still has it!!
　
Outside looking in: Hernandez, Bobby Roode

WWE Smackdown review 7/27

Coming off of the highly anticipated Raw 1000 episode earlier this week, it was Smackdowns turn to take the stage. Did they deliver?

The show started off with a nice montage from Monday nights Raw 1000 episode.

The WWE announced a #1 contender match with Kane vs Rey Mysterio vs Daniel Bryan vs Alberto Del Rio in a Fatal Four Way match later that night.

The first match was Christian invoking his re-match clause against The Miz for the Intercontinental Championship. This was a good match, with lots of action and a good amount of nearfalls. The Miz rolled up Christian for the 1-2-3, to retain his IC Championship. Well done by both guys.

They announced that Sheamus would face Cody Rhodes.

The next match was Jinder Mahal vs the freak show, known as Ryback. Mahal actually got a good amount of offense in on Ryback. Ryback went to knock the head off Mahal but he ducked and headed out of the ring and was counted out. Ryback wins via count out. I am a huge fan of Ryback, however, it is time for him to face some tougher foes.

Up next was a review of the Punk and Cena championship match from Raw 1000.

We then had the match between Cody Rhodes and the Heavyweight Champion Sheamus. This was a non-title match. There was some action in this one as well and overall it was an OK match. Dolph Ziggler once again comes down, mid-match, teasing he was going to cash in the Money in the Bank briefcase. Sheamus wins the match after he punts the head off of Rhodes, delivering his famous Brogue Kick. Ziggler once again teases cashing in the briefcase. Chris Jericho throws Ziggler back into the ring who in turn, gets his head kicked off with the Brogue Kick, delivered by Sheamus. Jericho climbs into the ring and delivers the Codebreaker. Ziggler once again looks ridiculous.

United States Champion Santino Marella once again does not defend his title in a match against Antonio Cesaro. Cesaro defeats Santino in the non-title match. Bottom line, who cares.

A match between Damien Sandow and Yoshi Tatsu was up next. Sandow defeated Tatsu. Nothing much really needs to be said here.

A highlight package of the Brock Lesnar/Triple H shenanigans followed.

The Fatal 4 Way match was up next. Overall, this was a pretty solid match. There was lots of action and physicality. The match ended as Mysterio hit the 619 on Bryan and Del Rio. Mysterio went for the pin on Bryan but Ricardo Rodriguez pulled Mysterio out of the ring and Del Rio stole the pin. Del Rio is the number one contender for Sheamus's World Heavyweight Championship.

Overall this was an OK episode of Smackdown. Smackdown is definitely in a rut and needs some life pumped back into it.

Monday Night Raw

On Monday night, we will be attending the live show of Monday Night Raw in Cincinnati. We will also be tweeting live from the event so please follow us on Twitter @FTIWrestling.

We also plan to be posting a preview of the upcoming Raw show sometime this weekend, so stay tuned.

FTI Wrestling Homicide of the Week

This weeks edition of the FTI Wrestling Homicide of the Week, comes from the Raw 1000 episode on Monday Night.

This comes from the CM Punk heel turn as he puts The Rock to sleep.

Enjoy.

Why Matt Morgan? Why?

Shocking news came out of TNA last week, as Matt Morgan has decided to leave the organization. All signs are pointing that he is heading up north.

Personally, I think this is a horrible idea, and the stupidest thing Matt could do. Matt is going to be nothing more than a jobber, like Jack Swagger is. Morgan had it made in TNA and I think if he stuck it out a little while longer, he would be a main eventer.

I wish the best for Matt, and I hope the WWE will use him to his full potential. If you can remember the last time Matt was in the WWE, he had a stuttering gimmick. Let's hope we don't see that again.
　
Please FTI Wrestling followers give us your thoughts in comment section.

Why Stone Cold Steve Austin was not at Raw 1000

A lot of people were upset that Stone Cold Steve Austin was not in attendance at the Raw 1000 episode last night. I did not expect Stone Cold to show up due to other obligations.

However, that did not seem to be the case.

Stone Cold did take to the internet to explain why he was not there.

The following was taken from Stone Cold's website:

On July 23, 2012 WWE celebrated the 1,oooth episode of Monday Night Raw. I watched the show from my home in Los Angeles. After watching the show, I got on my Twitter account, @steveaustinBSR, to read responses to the show. There were many people blaming Vince McMahon and the WWE for not having SCSA on the show. And there were some folks who had some very negative things to say about me, personally.

The reason I did not attend RAW 1,000 was because I underwent a major knee surgery on my left knee on July 2, 2012. Dr. Neal ElAttrache of the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Los Angeles, CA performed the surgery.

The surgery was a complete success. I am currently three weeks post op. I began physical therapy a few days ago. I had a world class surgeon and a great medical team working on me. I am now working with a top notch PT team. I am still on crutches and will probably lose the crutches in another week. Then I will be in a custom knee brace much like the braces I wore in the ring for 9-12 weeks.

STONE COLD STEVE AUSTIN IS A 100% ASS KICKING MACHINE. There was no way I was going to limp down the ramp on crutches for RAW 1,000. It was time to get my knee fixed. The decision to no-show RAW 1,000 was made by me and no one else. I have always taken pride in making my shots and have never faked an injury or illness. Pro Wrestling is a tough game and it was time to pay the piper for some of the damage I incurred in the ring. No gripes. No complaints.

To the fans that were hoping to see SCSA, I’m sorry I missed the show. I would have loved to be there under different circumstances. I normally keep my personal business to myself, but due to feedback and incorrect speculation, I have posted this blog and given the 411 on why I was not at RAW 1,000.

I will post more blogs about my PT and recovery soon.



Steve Austin

WWE Raw 1000 video

FTI Wrestling's WWE Power Rankings

Here at FTI Wrestling, we have decided to come up with a power ranking system for the WWE.

However, we will only be doing the top 15 in the rankings.

The inaugural FTI Wrestling WWE Power Rankings are as follows:

1. CM Punk - star has never shined brighter for Punk

2. Sheamus - he is the World Heavyweight Champion afterall

3. John Cena - the "Golden Boy" of the WWE...continues to be the top draw

4. Daniel Bryan - over the top actor and fantastic performer/worker...waiting to see what happens what direction they take him

5. The Big Show - the WWE is really pushing Show...looks to possibly involved in the WWE Championship picture

6. AJ - I love everything about her...now the new GM of Raw after leaving Bryan at the alter on Raw 1000

7. Alberto Del Rio - Still a hot performer...has yet to defeat Sheamus for the title

8. Dolph Ziggler - Smackdown Money in the Bank winner...still awaiting the time when Ziggler cashes in the MITB briefcase...great heel character

9. Kane - seems to be back to his old destructive and dominant self...I wonder if he keeps this up

10. The Miz - new Intercontinental Champion...could be stepping stone to get back into WWE Championship picture

11. R-Truth and Kofi Kingston - WWE Tag Team Champions...continue to defeat all challengers

12. Ryback - continues to murder people

13. Brodus Clay - back into murdering people

14. Layla - Divas Champion

15. Santino Marella - US Champion...however, never has to defend the title

Outside looking in: Christian, Rey Mysterio

Epic Raw 1000

Well wasn't that a lot of fun?

That was definitely one of the best Monday Night Raw episodes in a long time. The show brought back some fantastic memories for me.

The show started off with the reunion of Degeneration X as the Chairman of the WWE, Vincent Kennedy McMahon introduced DX. I must say, it was awesome to see The New Age Outlaws, HHH, HBK and X-Pac up to their old antics. Damien Sandow came out interrupting the reunion. He would pay for that as he took a superkick from HBK then falling into the pedigree from HHH.

Good ol JR came out to commentate on the six man tag match between Rey Mysterio, Sin Cara and Sheamus vs Dolph Ziggler, Chris Jericho and Alberto Del Rio. This was a pretty good match with some great back and forth action. Sheamus got the pin after Ziggler laid out Jericho and once he got up he punted the head off Jericho.

We then went to a vignette backstage with Layla and AJ. Layla says AJ is crazy. AJ proceeds to open the door seeing Hacksaw Jim Duggan, R-Truth, Rowdy Roddy Piper with "Little Jimmy" and finally Mae Young with her son "the giant hand." This segment was insanely ridiculous.

Next up was the continuing dramatic fall of Jack Swagger. Brodus Clay came out and called out Dude Love to come to the ring. Brodus proceeded to destroy Swagger in seconds. They all danced in the ring and that's all I have to say about this gong show.

Finally, we had the wedding between AJ and Daniel Bryan. Slick came out to be the reverend for the wedding. AJ says "Yes" but states she isn't saying it for Bryan but instead she's saying it for Mr. McMahon and his offer for her to become the next Raw GM. As I've been saying, I am in love with AJ so I will never get tired of her.

We come back to Bryan still in the ring, going postal and destroying everything in the ring. CM Punk comes out and gives him some verbal jabs. Some music hits, the crowd goes nuts as The Rock makes his way down to the ring. He comes down and verbally slams Bryan and announces that he will be wrestling for the WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble, next year. He tells Bryan not to feel bad, because he got him a wedding gift, and subsequently delivers the Rock Bottom to Bryan.

Next was a match for the Intercontinental Championship, between the Champion, Christian and The Miz. Bret Hart was the special guest ring announcer. This was a very good match with The Miz delivering his Skull Crushing Finale and getting the victory over Christian, becoming the new Intercontinental Champion.

Triple H came down to the ring to call out Brock Lesnar. Lesnar's music hits and out comes his legal representative Paul Heyman. Heyman told HHH that the answer to HHH's Summerslam challenge was "no." Out comes a spectacular looking Stephanie McMahon. She proceeds to get in the face of Paul Heyman, slapping him and antagonising him into saying "yes" for the match. Lesnar's music hits again and out comes Brock. He comes down and the two brawl.

Howard Finkel comes down as the special ring announcer. He announces Heath Slater as he comes down to the ring. Slater then calls out any WWE Legend to a No Disqualification match. Out comes Lita, who looks fantastic I might add. She has answered Slater's challenge. She also announces she has hired the APA (Ron Simmons and JBL) for protection. Slater runs out of ring but ends up running into all of the legends who have beaten the hell out of him. They toss him back into the ring and Lita and the APA destroy Slater. Lita lands a moonsault and gets the win. After the match all of the legends were standing over a laid out Slater and Simmons, with mic in hand, delivered his famous catch phrase, "DAMN!"

Kane comes into the ring, but gets interrupted by Jinder Mahal, Hunico, Camacho, Tyler Reks, Curt Hawkins, and Drew McIntyre. It all hits the fan as the lights go out and the Undertaker's music blares and out comes the dead man. The brothers destroy the six men and that was about it. It was great to see the Undertaker in the ring again.

We then got the main event, the match for the WWE Championship. As John Cena was cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase against the Champion CM Punk. This match was pretty boring until Cena shoved Punk into the referee. Cena delivered the AA to Punk and was ready for the pin, however, the ref was knocked out so no three count was made. Cena went down to get the ref up, came back into the ring and The Big Show knocked Cena out. He was unable to get the three count as well because the ref was knocked out. Punk got the ref up and into the ring and Cena kicked out on the two count. Punk goes to deliver the GTS but it is countered and Cena puts Punk into the GTS. The Big Show climbs back into the ring and beats the crap out of Cena, causing the disqualification. Punk sat in the corner watching Show beat Cena down. A jacked Rock came running down and beats the hell out of The Big Show. The Rock goes to deliver the People's Elbow but Punk comes flying back into the ring and clotheslines The Rock. The crowd is stunned as Punk delivers the GTS to The Rock and the show ends with the crowd booing Punk as he walks up the ramp, still WWE Champion.

This was a fantastic show. I loved almost every aspect of it. From top to bottom, the WWE delivered. I am glad to see that CM Punk has finally turned heel. AJ becoming the new GM for Raw was something that came out of nowhere. The Miz becoming the new Intercontinental Champion is a great thing as well because the Miz has some nice swagger. Of course the DX reunion was fantastic as they have always been very entertaining. One thing is certain, the match at Summerslam between HHH and Brock Lesnar is going to be a fight.

With the permanent move to 3 hours, the WWE really needs to keep up the good work. It all begins next Monday in Cincinnati. We here at FTI will be at the Raw show so we will previewing the show later this week. Since Raw is in Cincinnati, we are trying to get an interview with some WWE talent. Please continue to check out the FTI Wrestling blog as we have some big things coming down the pipeline so stay tuned. Thank you very much for continuing to FEEL THE IMPACT.

Raw 1000 Preview

Tomorrow night is the much much anticipated 1000th episode of Monday Night Raw.

Since the stars will be out in force, we are here to preview the massive show in St. Louis, so lets get to it.

It has been advertised that the show will kick off at 8:00 pm EST with the DX reunion. It is expected that other previous DX members will also show up. Since Brock Lesnar is scheduled to be in attendance to answer HHH's Summerslam challenge, I believe that Lesnar will come in and beat the snot out of Shawn Michaels. That will answer HHH's challenge and finally give us some buildup to the match at Summerslam.

We will also witness the wedding between AJ and Daniel Bryan. As we all know, there is no way a wedding goes off without a hitch in the WWE. That is why I believe that the Miz will be the one who breaks up the wedding. The Miz and AJ shared a look on last weeks Raw that made me think the Miz could interrupt the wedding.

In this 1000th episode a permanent GM will be announced for Raw.

Christian will be defending the Intercontinental Title as well.

It has also been confirmed that The Rock, Bret Hart and Mick Foley will be appearing.

The main event will be John Cena, cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase, taking on the WWE Champion CM Punk. I believe the Rock could possibly interrupt the match, thus causing Cena to lose and Punk to keep his title, setting up a match at a future PPV.

This is setting up to be an amazing Raw and we will be tweeting live throughout the show. So please give us a follow on Twitter @FTIWrestling.

Follow us on Tout

We have just signed up for Tout so please feel free to sign up and follow us.

The link to follow up is on the right hand side of the blog.

Stay tuned as we will be posting some videos in the coming days.

WWE Smackdown review

This was an OK show. There was nothing real special that went on but there were some good things and some bad things.

To the good.

I continue to be a huge fan of seeing Heath Slater get his ass kicked by WWE legends. Slater does a great job cutting his promos and he does a great job making the legends look good. This week it was Road Warrior Animal who delivered the beatdown. Ah, the memories seeing Animal (Joe Laurinaitis) in that ring. The only thing missing was Road Warrior Hawk, God rest his soul.

Considering I am in love with A.J., I have absolutely no issue every time she is in the ring or on the show. She can be on the show all she wants and it wont bother me. Christian's Peep Show segment wasn't too bad. Daniel Bryan continues to be a great worker and his character is so over the top.

To the average.

The main event consisted of Heavyweight Champion Sheamus & Rey Mysterio taking on Alberto Del Rio & Dolph Ziggler. This match ended in a DQ with Sheamus and Mysterio getting the win. Dolph Ziggler continues to be a great heel.

As for the not so good. The eight man tag match, I could really have cared less.

Dolph was in the average section of the review as well. However, he will also show up in the bad as they continue to make him look like an idiot when he tries to cash in the MITB briefcase, as he tried again tonight. Ziggler has a great chance to be a great champion if the WWE wants to book him correctly and stop making him look so dumb. There is a ton of potential with Ziggler and it is up to the WWE to do this correctly.

Like I stated earlier, this was just an average show so there really wasn't too much to report on.

Another WWE social media partnership

First the WWE dropped $13.4 million Tout, a video service that allows people to post 15 second videos. Basically, it is like a video twitter.

Now, the WWE has partnered with Shazam, allowing users to purchase entrance videos and themes. The report comes from the website www.LostRemote.com.

The WWE will promote the partnership on the upcoming Raw 1000 episode, this coming Monday.

The Aces & Eights continue to dumptruck TNA

The TNA group Aces & Eights, their identities still unknown, continue to destroy anyone in their path in TNA.

They left bodies strewn about on last nights episode of IMPACT and have laid out a warning to all TNA talent on twitter:

@TheAcesAnd8s We strike who we want... When we want... NO exceptions

It is safe to say, if I'm on the TNA roster, my head better be on a swivel.

Chavo Guerrero to TNA

Chavo Guerrero will be making his TNA debut on the July 26 episode of TNA IMPACT.

TNA President Dixie Carter (@TNADixie) announced the signing of Guerrero on her twitter feed yesterday.

This is a great move for TNA as they continue to build a strong product.

WWE ratings for post Money in the Bank Raw episode

The ratings have been released for the July 16th episode of WWE Raw.

This was the post Money in the Bank episode.

The show scored a 3.44 rating, which was up 8.5% compared to the MITB go home show, which scored a 3.17.

These ratings will be very interesting to monitor in the upcoming weeks as the WWE has traditionally not scored well with their three hour shows.

Jim Ross to be at Raw 1000

Legendary WWE announcer Jim Ross will be in attendance for the massive Raw 1000 episode in St Louis on Monday, July 23.

According to his Twitter page, JR will be in attendance.

@JRsBBQ Proud 2 say I'm STILL a fan of RAW & am excited 2 be in St Louis this Monday for #Raw1000. Will I be a part of the broadcast? Tune in & see.

One thing is certain, JR better be there and he had better be part of the broadcast. The man is a legend and a huge part of Raw.

WWE Raw 1000 pre-show

As reported by PW Torch, the WWE has announced a YouTube pre-show beginning at 7:30 p.m. EST.

The three-hour Raw 1000 episode will be headlined, by the match, between WWE Champion C.M. Punk and John Cena, who is cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase.

Numerous WWE legends will be making an appearance at the show, including: DX, Bret Hart, the Rock, Mick Foley, just to name a few.

Brock Lesnar is set to make an appearance, allegedly to answer the challenge put forth by Triple H.

We will be previewing the Raw 1000 episode in the upcoming days so stay tuned.

The FTI Wrestling "Homicide of the week"

This is the first edition of the FTI Wrestling blogs "Homicide of the week." This weeks edition consists of Ryback absolutely murdering this poor soul on Smackdown.

Enjoy!

Big things coming?!?!?!?!

In an effort to make this blog a great place for WWE and MMA reaction, previews, etc., we will be doing a monthly (possibly more) "vodcast" that will be uploaded to YouTube and possibly iTunes.

The vodcast is in the works and we will keep you updated on when we expect to have that uploaded to YouTube.

Since Monday Night Raw is coming to Cincinnati at the end of the month, we have reached out to a number of WWE superstars for an interview.

We certainly hope that we will be able to land one.

If we do, we will add it to the blog as soon as we can.

Thank you very much for your support and we hope that you will continue to check in.

Monday Night Raw recap

In the 999th episode of Monday Night Raw, there were some surprises but overall, the WWE delivered and set up a great 1000th episode celebration for next week.

The show started off with WWE Champion CM Punk, fresh off his victory over Daniel Bryan at MITB, in the middle of the ring talking about how much he loved Vegas. The Big Show interrupted Punk and came down and the two went back and forth on the mic's. A non-title match was set up before between Punk and Show for later on that night. Show stated he would knock Punk out, allowing Cena to cash in the MITB briefcase.

Next we had a WWE Tag Team Championship match between R Truth and Kofi Kingston (Champions) vs. Primetime Players.

This was an ok match with A.W. causing a distraction allowing Truth and Kingston to retain the belts.

We had a squash match between Alberto Del Rio and Zack Ryder. Del Rio beat the hell out of Ryder until Rey Mysterio came running in and giving Del Rio the 619. The crowd went wild for the return of Mysterio. From the looks of things, we will see a match between Mysterio and Del Rio, most likely at Summerslam.

Heath Slater then came out to cut a promo, basically requesting that a Raw legend come out and beat the hell out of him. Sure enough Rikishi came out and destroyed Slater, getting the win in quick fashion.

Next was a match between AJ and Daniel Bryan vs Eve and The Miz.

This match was not that great but what followed was great. Daniel Bryan confessed his love for AJ and got on one knee and proposed to AJ. He pulled out a ring and slid it on AJ's finger, basically not taking "no" for an answer. Well it worked out because she said yes! The two stood in the middle of the ring, chanting "yes!"

It was announced that AJ and Bryan will be getting married on the 1000th episode of Raw next week.

Jack Swagger was in the ring waiting for his next opponent, Ryback. Ryback came out and was attacked as soon as he entered the ring by Swagger. The match never started as the referee sat back and watched Swagger pound on Ryback. Ryback gathered the strength and powered up to beat the hell out of Swagger. For Ryback this was a tougher test than murdering jobbers on a weekly basis.

Dolph Ziggler was in the ring talking himself up when Jericho interrupted him. Ziggler ripped on Jericho until Jericho delivered the Code Breaker.

Next was another squash match between Brodus Clay and JTG. Clay won the match, that's about it.

The final match of the night was between CM Punk and Big Show. This was the best show of the night by a lot. Punk was delivering some solid offense until Big Show was DQ'd for attacking the referee. Show continued to deliver a beat down to the champ. John Cena then ran out with the briefcase. He climbed in the ring and began to make his big announcement. Show cut him off but Cena announced that he will be cashing in the briefcase next week, giving Punk a week to prepare for the match. Cena then blasted the Big Show in the head with the briefcase. The show ended with Punk and Cena holding up the title belt and briefcase respectively.

Overall, this was a great show leading up to the massive 1000th episode next week. I am a huge fan of CM Punk so I am curious to see how next week plays out. I love AJ and it is only fitting that she is back with Bryan, hopefully making them a powerful heel team.

Later this week, we will be previewing the highly anticipated Raw 1000 episode next week.

We will also recap the TNA Impact episode later as well.

Good ol JR to call the title match on Raw 1000?

The following is a tweet from CM Punk stating that JR should call the title match on the 1000th episode of Raw:

@CMPunk: @jrsbbq Should call the title match next week on the #RAW1000 show. @JohnCena let's make it happen

I am in total agreement as JR is truly the best of the best in this industry. The man knows how to call a wrestling match. WWE, the ball is in your court, make it happen.

Money in the Bank Highlight package

Here is a highlight package from Money in the Bank 2012 (from YouTube).

Enjoy.

Money in the Bank results

Last night was the Money in the Bank PPV for the WWE.

While the show didn't measure up to last years MITB, this show did have some solid moments.

The show started off with the YouTube pre-show.

The pre-show kicked off the event with a match for the Tag Team Championship. Hunico and Camacho vs. the WWE Tag Team Champions, Kofi Kingston and R-Truth.

There was nothing real special with this match as Kofi and R-Truth retained the Tag Team Championships.

The Smackdown brand Money in the Bank match kicked off the PPV portion of the event.

As predicted earlier, Dolph Ziggler was one who came away with the MITB briefcase and the World Heavyweight Championship title shot.

This was the right person to win the match as the WWE now needs to ride on the back of Ziggler as he can be a great heel champion.

The next match was for the World Heavyweight Championship. The champion, Sheamus vs the challenger, Alberto Del Rio.

Sheamus retains the title.

Ziggler tried to immediately cash in the briefcase, after Del Rio attacked Sheamus, but had his head punted off as Sheamus delivered the Brogue Kick. Since the match never started, Ziggler still has the title shot.

Next was a filler match with the Prime Time Players with AW vs Primo and Epico.

Primo and Epico get the victory.

We now get to the match of the night. The battle for the WWE Championship. CM Punk vs Daniel Bryan with AJ as the special guest referee.

As always, these two put on an a fantastic match. AJ took a shot and left the match for a while but came back to finish refereeing. AJ did not have the major impact that I believed she would in this match. We did not know whose side she was really on, as she shafted both Punk and Bryan as they were going for different objects.

Both Punk and Bryan took serious shots with the kendo stick, chair and tables.

Punk did a huge backdrop sending Bryan through the table and getting the pin, retaining his WWE Championship.

We then had two filler matches as Ryback murdered Tyler Reks and Curt Hawkins.

The other match was Layla, Kaitlyn and Tamina Snuka vs. Beth Phoenix, Natalya and Eve Torres.

The winner of that match was Layla, Kaitlyn and Tamina.

The main event was the RAW MITB match.

As predicted John Cena comes away with the briefcase setting up a WWE Championship match against CM Punk.

This was an ok PPV with some highlights and some lowlights.

Even though this show didn't live up to last years epic MITB PPV, I would still give this a thumbs up.

Stay tuned tomorrow as we review tonight's episode of Monday Night Raw.

WWE Money in the Bank PPV Preview

Tonight is the Money In The Bank pay-per view for the WWE.

Currently there are four scheduled matches that are set for the PPV and one set for the YouTube Pre-show.

Here is the FTI preview for this show.

WWE Tag Team Championship Title Match (YouTube Pre-Show): Champions Kofi Kingston and R-Truth vs Hunico and Camacho

There isn't too much to say about this one as the WWE doesn't care to have this championship match on the actual PPV.

WWE Title Match: WWE Champion C.M. Punk vs Daniel Bryan (w/A.J. as special referee)

This will be the best match on the show as these two always put on a fantastic match. The wild card is the A.J. factor as it is unknown what factor she will have in this match. One thing is for certain, she will have a huge impact.

FTI prediction: C.M. Punk retains the title

World Heavyweight Title Match: Champion Sheamus vs Alberto Del Rio

There is really nothing too much to say about this match, as this has been a pretty boring storyline.

FTI prediction: Alberto Del Rio will win the championship.

Raw Brand MITB ladder match (Winner gets WWE Title shot): John Cena vs Chris Jericho vs Kane vs Big Show

I don't think this will be as good as previous MITB ladder matches. The fact there is only four participants in this match is a huge killer. Only former champions could participate in this match and they left out some former champions.

FTI prediction: John Cena will win this match to set up a title shot at SummerSlam against C.M. Punk.

Smackdown Brand MITB ladder match (Winner gets future World Title Shot): Santino vs Christian vs Damien Sandow vs Tyson Kidd vs Tensai vs Cody Rhodes vs Dolph Ziggler vs Sin Cara

This will be the better of the two MITB matches. I would prefer that either Tyson Kidd, Christian or Dolph win this match.

FTI prediction: Dolph Ziggler will be the one who will come away with the title shot. Dolph Ziggler is the kind of worker/character who needs to be billed as one of the top guys as he is a great worker. Hopefully the WWE will do the smart thing and keep this guy on top as a heel champion.

I would imagine the WWE will add some other matches as "filler" in between the other four. We will probably see some sort of Divas match and probably Ryback murdering some other guys. Nothing too special as this PPV will definitely not live up to the MITB PPV from last year.

Stay tuned as FTI will breakdown the PPV and Monday Night Raw shows coming up.