Blehschmidt

When I was a kid, my Dad ran his own business 60 hours a week, couple that with his two bad knees, and we never had a "let's go outside and play ball" kind of relationship. What we did have was a "you can stay up late on Monday nights with me, and we can watch some Prime Time Wrestling" kind of relationship. From there the addicition spiraled, and I picked up all of the weekend WWF jobber shows, and then one Saturday at 6:05 I saw a completely different kind of wrestling and started watching that two. Then everyday at 4 on ESPN was something else, and the addiction was growing. My mother hated it then, still hates it now. My Dad is hot and cold on the whole thing. Someone said earlier that the family thought it would be "a phase I would grow out of" and I think my family thought the same thing. In school, I definitely tried to keep it on the down low for a long time, mostly because of "that's all fake" or "that's gay." My closest friends new I liked it, and most of them enjoyed it to some degree or another. Then as I was getting ready to finish high school, the Attitude Era came along and now kids who had previously shown little to no interest were wearing Stone Cold and nWo shirts and it was cool. So, I started to wear my shirts to school, even getting in a little trouble for my EC F'N W shirt right before I graduated! I met my wife in high school, and fortunately for me, her little brother was a big wrestling fan, so she was used to it, and when I would go visit, I would watch with him or look at his wrestling figures, which I think helped endear me to the future in-laws! At most of my jobs I have been open about it if the subject came up, maybe not acknowledging the degree to which I am obsessed, but at least admitting to being a fan. Now that I am 35, married for 14 years, and not really giving a shit what people think anymore, I am totally honest about it. My Facebook page is full of pictures I've taken with wrestlers over the years. I wear the t-shirts I've picked up at indy shows in everyday life. Two years ago, I started doing some ring announcing for a local company, so that makes it pretty hard to hide when people see me in the ring, and I get tagged in Facebook pictures for that all the time. So yeah, I am pretty open about it. Am I gonna tell people I could buy a new car with what I've spent on wrestling dvd's.....probably not! But I am no longer ashamed to admit to being a fan.

I do believe that is the perfect answer to the question posed by the thread title, and my new favorite wrestling message board quote ever.

Did Hunter and Steph just steal Betty White's heat?

Is there anywhere this can be listened too without subscribing? or a transcript as was asked earlier?

I hear you brother. I am reading most of these going, I remember when that happened.....after I graduated high school.

So today at National Pro Wrestling Day it was announced that Chikara will return on May 25th, 2014. (There first show was on May 25th, which is why the date was chosen)

Being there in person, I can tell you that starting around number 22, the anticipation in the building started building for Daniel Bryan, and when Rey came out at number 30, it was a collective "ahh fuck you" from the crowd. I think if Punk or Reigns had won the Rumble it was would have satisfied the crowd, and while Sheamus would have gotten a good boo'ing, people would have been less angry. There was definitely an "Anyone but Batista" vibe the whole night.

Smackdown Spoiler:

Alright, I've had time to digest all of what happened last night, and I am ready to make my statement. It isn't about Daniel Bryan. I know that is a big statement to make, and yes, people (myself included) love the hell out of the guy, but it isn't JUST about him. Daniel Bryan has become the face of a product revolution that the fans are demanding to see. Ziggler, Punk, all 3 Shield guys, The Wyatt Family, Fandango.....all of them have been getting and got last night.....huge reactions. Meanwhile the crowd shit all over Cena, Orton, Batista, and Mysterio.......all guys that we have seen non-stop for over 10 years now. (and the boo'ing of Mysterio began before he drew #30. The crowd boo'ed him when he was cutting his pre-Rumble interview on the Titan Tron) They can claim that this is a "vocal minority" or "smart fans" all they want, but last night nearly everyone in the arena left disappointed at best, or angry at worst. The Royal Rumble nine times out of ten is one of the most exciting and crowd pleasing matches of the year. This year it ended in a chorus of boo's followed by "Bullshit" and "Refund" chants. The WWE World Heavyweight Title, arguably the most important title in the history of the wrestling business, was contested in a match that the fans cared so little about that chants of "Boring" "You both suck" "Randy Savage" "Y2J" "End this match" "Daniel Bryan" We want Angle" "CM Punk" "Take it home" "This is awful" and "We want Divas" rang out for most of the match, followed by the crowd doing the wave and Fandango'ing to amuse themselves. The "popping" for the stolen finisher spots was not so much for the moves, but for the fact that people thought the match was over. Then to put the proverbial icing on the cake, the match ends on outside interference by a group of guys who are supposed to be heels, attacking the guy who is supposedly the #1 babyface of the company, and the crowd breaks out into loud "Thank You Wyatts" chants. This isn't an isolated incident, it has been happening everywhere, and eventually they are going to have to listen to what the crowd wants, or they are going to lose the "people who will continue supporting the product no matter what" and other than young children, those are about the only fans they have left.

Just home from the show, and wow, what a night. Outlaws/Rhodes Brothers was an interesting dynamic, because even though I think the NAO are supposed to be heels, everyone wants to chant with Road Dogg. Dustin is fucking amazing. Wasn't happy to see the title change, but oh well. Wyatt/Bryan was fantastic, and hands down the best part of the show. It was slightly odd, because I think had the Wyatts been against ANYONE else they would have gotten massive cheers. Anyway, really fun live. Brock/Big Show was strange. I really don't know what else to say. The beating at the end went on way too long, and I used that time to go to the bathroom and the merch stand. That brings me to a point I wanted to make.....Bryan doesn't sell merch because all of his shirts fucking suck!! Wrestling fans really seem to like black shirts, and the only black shirt for Bryan has a fucking cartoon goat on it. The gray beard shirt is kinda silly, and everything else is maroon. If they made a black shirt, with Yes! Yes! Yes! on the front, and Daniel Bryan written on the back, I think it would sell just fine. Orton/Cena was next, and wow the crowd didn't give two shits. I heard Boring" "You both suck" "Randy Savage" "Y2J" "End this match" "Daniel Bryan" We want Angle" "CM Punk" "Take it home" "This is awful" "We want Divas", and then there was The Wave and The Fandango. I also don't think people were so much popping for them using each others move, so much as hoping the match was going to end. I don't know if the "Thank You Wyatts" chant made the PPV, but it was quite loud in the arena. Before the Rumble started, they showed interviews with some of the participants (again I don't know if it was on the PPV) and Rey Mysterio got soundly booed when he showed up on the Titan Tron, so it wasn't totally just him being #30, though that was a big part of it. Anyway, The Rumble itself was fairly well received until the end. Punk was way over, huge pop for Nash, huge pop for Sheamus. The highlight of the night for me was the "You Still Got It" chant that JBL received after being in the match for twenty seconds. Batista's reaction was mixed at best when he came out, bordering on the booing side. When Rey came out at 30, the boo's were incredibly loud and the majority of the arena was immediately pissed off. Punk's stupid elimination by Kane further deflated whatever hope people had left. Once Sheamus was gone, the Roman Reigns chant was deafening. Batista winning was met with NO, Bullshit, and Refund chants. In closing, I think this "vocal minority" wouldn't have been angry about Bryan not being in the Rumble had Punk, or Reigns, or Ziggler, or just someone different had won. It just seems to me that the crowd has grown tired of seeing Cena, and Orton, and Batista, and Mysterio and all of these other guys who have been solidly pushed down our throats for the last ten years......and Daniel Bryan has just become the face of this revolution of the product that people want.

Sitting here live, and we are doing the wave.....and now we are Fandango'ing!

That one is awesome. I am also a big fan of this one...

Make of it what you will.....

So, John Cena just showed up at the arena for Raw at 10:59 PM. Not only was he 2 hours and 59 minutes late for work, but when he walked into the building he was wearing his knee pads.

The silence of the crowd tonight when Batista said "I came back to win the Royal Rumble" was pretty noticeable. When Loss said " The WWE Universe hasn't been this clear on what they want to see in quite a long time" I think he hit the nail on the head. If Punk runs the gauntlet from number 1 to win the whole thing, that will probably get over just fine, but at this point if anyone else take's the thing, I can see Goodhelmet being right. A whole arena chanting "No, No, No" at the winner. EDIT: I saw someone post on another board, that with all these MLK promo's tonight, they think he might be a surprise entrant in the Rumble. It made me laugh, so I thought I would share it.

CM Punk was just made entrant #1 by Kane.

I hope someone backstage noticed the crowd going mild when Batista mentioned winning the Rumble.

Even if Bryan doesn't win, I am glad he is cleared. I am going to the show, and I really look forward to seeing him. Though, I totally hope he wins!

I guess I should answer the question posed in my own thread. I am starting to think the Daniel Bryan concussion thing is a work, put out to make people believe that he won't even be in the Rumble, let alone winning it. I also think the "Batista is coming back and entering the Royal Rumble" stuff is meant to make everyone think he will win. Therefore he probably won't. So, I am saying Daniel Bryan. If he is not medically cleared to wrestle, Brock Lesnar wins the Rumble, says he is not waiting and demands his title shot at Elimination Chamber, then Bryan wins the Chamber to get the shot at 'mania. No matter what they really think of Bryan, I can't see them failing to capitalize on this while it is hot. Even if he ends up the Benoit route (winning the belt at Mania for the mega pop, then being demoted again a month later) if Wrestlemania doesn't end with Bryan holding the World Title and the crowd in attendance doing the YES chant, they are fools.

I've asked this question a couple of times previously, but now that we are a week out, and things keep changing, I will ask it again. Who do you think is winning the Royal Rumble? Batista, Daniel Bryan, Brock Lesnar, CM Punk, Roman Reigns, the loser of Orton/Cena, someone else entirely?

Undertaker and Kane vs Brian Adams and Brian Clark I was there live.......Uggggh

A couple new discs for Goodhelmets Regal comp, covering his stuff since the end of WWECW would surely help me better decide how I feel about him.....

I am expecting a huge TNA announcement where they reveal a dedicated Justin.tv channel to happen real soon.