The Mercy Side: Attitude Adjustment

Here's my first wrestling article in nearly eight months. Enjoy.

I've been thinking of writing this article for over a week. And with an epic 1000th episode of Monday Night Raw occurring yesterday, I thought that I'd forget writing this article due to the state of wrestling changing so quickly on a weekly basis, it may not have been relevant. But after the events of the milestone episode, it's actually done the opposite. It's made this article even more relevant.

What I want to talk to you about today is this chap you might know if you watch wrestling called John Cena. What a career he has had. 35 years old, he's already a 12 time world champion and he doesn't look like he's losing steam any time soon. He's sold more merchandise in the 2000s than any wrestler, he's attracted more fans to the product more than any other wrestler. Since the days of Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock, no one has come really close to the value of John Cena.

People are divided in opinion on John Cena. He's stale, he doesn't sell moves very well, or for very long, his moveset is repetitive and overdone. He's superman, never letting people get over. But he still works his absolute ass off to give as entertaining a product he can possibly give. He cares about wrestling, he cares about the WWE and the fans. There's no denying that. I have a huge amount of respect for the man, despite how certain smarter fans feel about him.

Despite all that John Cena has accomplished, there's just one thing that the man has lacked in his career, in my eyes anyway. And that's a true rivalry. Now before you drop your cereal out of your mouth (or doughnut, hamburger, or any other food you're obviously eating right now, don't deny it), there's someone you might have thought about already - Edge. There's no denying that if there's one man that John Cena can call a rival throughout his career, it's that man.

John Cena and Edge had a long term rivalry from around 2005 to 2010.

They did have some good matches, that's true. The best probably being the TLC Match at Unforgiven 2006. They helped each other become as big stars as they are; John Cena as previously mentioned was the star attraction of the naughties and Edge was one of the finer wrestlers of that decade. They both put each other over many times and had some great segments. Both Edge and John Cena have said in interviews that the other person is their greatest rival in their careers.

So why am I saying Edge isn't the true rival of John Cena? It's hard to explain in some ways. Some key points for me are, for the most part, I don't feel Edge has ever been John Cena's equal. While they did have some very good matches, they had some duds as well. And not only that, but they wrestled each other so often it, similar to Cena's career in some ways, became stale. To have a great rivalry both wrestlers need to be on equal footing in most ways, and I never felt that Edge and Cena really were. Edge was always a step below Cena for most of his career.

What is a true rivalry then? Well the most obvious one to me is Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock. While it's well documented that the top star of the Attitude Era was Stone Cold, The Rock was right up there with him. Did The Rock sell as much merchandise or PPVs as Stone Cold? No, I suppose not, although his star power for last year's Wrestlemania was a true shot in that direction. But there is no denying that there were two men that were on top of the Attitude Era and that was those two guys. And they always had amazing matches. Always. Their matches are legendary in the WWE. There's no denying that.

Arguably the greatest wrestling feud in WWE history.

And one thing there is no denying is they were booked quite equally. Sure, Stone Cold didn't put The Rock over until their last match, but the feud, the promos, and the actual wrestling in itself, was equal. The line was drawn very finely; it felt that the only reason why The Rock could not beat Stone Cold was through bad luck, rather than being the inferior wrestler. And the fact that they didn't wrestle against each other very often is another reason why I think it works. John Cena and Edge had countless matches it was boring. I can only think of three or four matches of the top of my head that The Rock and Stone Cold had. I'm sure they may have had more, but it definitely wasn't as many as Edge/Cena.

Which brings me to answer your question of who I think, long term, could be John Cena's truest rival. My answer is simply CM Punk.

There are so many similarities between John Cena and CM Punk and The Rock and Stone Cold. Neither sets of wrestlers wrestled each other often. Cena and The Rock were brought into the WWE by failing at something else first, Cena with bodybuilding and The Rock with American football. CM Punk and Stone Cold had to claw their way to the top of the wrestling ladder; CM Punk had to go through Ring of Honor and had to wait until last year's Summer of Punk before he was finally given the platform to really show what he can do. Stone Cold had failed at WCW and was only brought to the WWE because he was a good technical wrestler, he was never going to be more than an enhancement talent until the amazing 3:16 promo occurred.

The Rock and Stone Cold had fluid matches; they oozed quality for upto half an hour. John Cena and Edge doesn't compare in quality to the Rock/Stone Cold series, not consistently anyway. The Rock, as good a wrestler as he was has a similar problem that John Cena has, in that he had to have the right opponent to have a true quality match. The Rock is a better wrestler overall, at least in my opinion, but still he had that same problem. Where as Stone Cold and CM Punk can have great matches with a variety of opponents. Most importantly, The Rock drove Stone Cold to having world class matches he drove him further than anyone else did in his entire career. I believe John Cena does that with CM Punk. I don't feel Edge did.

CM Punk could be Cena's true rival.

You know what made me think about this? I was so excited to hear about CM Punk vs John Cena last week. Really excited. I loved their two matches last year, at Money in the Bank and at Summerslam. They were the best matches of the year in my opinion, they were so fluid, so special, and you honestly didn't know who was going to win either match. And in the end, CM Punk won both matches. CM Punk walked away champion yesterday as well. Another thing that Stone Cold and CM Punk have in common with their rivals. You get the feeling CM Punk is the bogey wrestler to John Cena that Stone Cold was to The Rock. The Rock has said it himself many times, he didn't feel like he truly was 'the man' until he finally beat Stone Cold. I think it could make a great story to keep CM Punk as Cena's bogey wrestler.

Last night CM Punk turned heel again. At first I was thinking this was a bad move. Why? Because CM Punk is so hot right now in the WWE. He's the first wrestler to finally knock John Cena off merchandise. Sure John Cena is still king of selling the product, but CM Punk is catching up. And shirt sales going in CM Punk's favour is a sign of that. CM Punk, unlike John Cena, is cool with all ages and genders of viewership. It feels inevitable long term that CM Punk might finally be the true top guy in the WWE. The WWE definitely have him as their #2 guy now, finally knocking Randy Orton out of that position. I still feel it may be a bad move, in the respect that CM Punk might be too over to be truly booed. The smarter fans will definitely cheer for him, especially if he does go for this rematch against Cena at Summerslam, which feels inevitable.

But the heel turn, despite of my mixed feelings, means one thing. We should get another, great CM Punk and John Cena match. I don't want Cena/Punk shoved down my throat over the course of the autumn though. One match at Summerslam, and then separate them again. I want John Cena and CM Punk to be the new Rock/Stone Cold. It has truly can be. CM Punk's heel turn, the adjustment in his attitude, makes him opposite Cena again. And of course, it makes him opposite The Rock again, which is another match I desperately want to see at the Royal Rumble. CM Punk/Rock could be great as well.

I'm really looking forward to wrestling again now. John Cena vs CM Punk, Brock Lesnar vs Triple H and Chris Jericho vs Dolph Ziggler seem set for Summerslam. That's an awesome trilogy of matches. I just hope the WWE don't make Cena/Punk stale long term, it has all the ingredients for greatness.

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Bitesize: #8

It's been four months since I did a Bitesize post. I don't try to do them too often, I'd rather do full articles, listings or reviews than to mix a few topics together into one post. I had intended on doing an article on my thoughts on The Undertaker vs Triple H for Wrestlemania again but it's getting a little late now and I haven't even started. But that will be a starting point for this Bitesize post.

In a nutshell (I would have delved more into this if it was the full article, but keeping short), have mixed feelings about Undertaker/HHH Part III. It's not about the quality of the match, but rather seeing the same spectacle yet again.

I loved Undertaker/HHH last year. It was fresh, the feud made sense and it was a cracking match. John Cena/CM Punk at Money in the Bank aside it was the match of 2011. I absolutely loved it. But this time round, what can they do that's different? Rumours are high that Shawn Michaels might be involved this year, probably as special guest referee. But why? What is to gain either way? It will be a great match yes, but for storyline purposes I just don't see why it should happen. If Shawn Michaels is involved as referee, it's bad no matter who wins. If Undertaker wins, and extends his Wrestlemania streak to 20-0 the streak still stands, and then what? I don't know if The Undertaker is actually planning on retiring if he hits 20-0, but if he is, why doesn't he have his last match against an up and coming guy? Or someone he hasn't wrestled at 'Mania before? And if Triple H wins, and the streak ends, then it makes Triple H look bad, for having to use Shawn Michaels in his corner to end the streak. And would The Undertaker retire then? Wouldn't it taint the streak a little this way? I don't know. I'm just not a fan of Taker/HHH Part III. If it happens it'll be a phenomenal match, quite likely the match of the card in terms of quality, but it just doesn't feel that good this time round, having done it last year and the storyline seeming a little stale.

What would I do instead? There is only one man that, schedules, contracts and agreements permitted, that would grab my attention for this match this year, and that is Brock Lesnar. I don't know how available Brock Lesnar is for a match at Wrestlemania, and if he would agree to it, but if it could happen, the WWE need to do everything in their power to MAKE it happen. Lesnar is finished in MMA, and it's possible he could come back to the WWE. He's never said never for coming back, and it would be a great pay-check for him if he came back. It would further boost the PPV in terms of star-power, proof of this is in Lesnar being the best box office draw in MMA by some distance in his time there. And of course, last year, an altercation occurred between Taker and Lesnar when Taker watched Lesnar lose his MMA bout against Cain Velasquez. It all depends on how available Lesnar is, and if he'd agree a match so soon. I reckon Lesnar could put on a good match at Wrestlemania. It's enough time between his last MMA fight, and with wrestling naturally being a lot less dangerous than MMA is, I'm sure The Undertaker, with his vast experience can protect him well enough for Lesnar not to get legitimately injured in the match. Lesnar is only 34 and was a phenomenal wrestler before he left the WWE, I reckon he could still go, and really well.

If Lesnar isn't available who else should take his place? I really don't know. For me, The Undertaker, at 19-0, and being so banged up that he can only have what seems like one match per year at the moment, he really needs to retire soon. It would have been better if The Undertaker took the year off, and then come back for one more match next year against John Cena. That is if Lesnar isn't available of course. John Cena has his hands tied with The Rock, so it's not an option this year. The Undertaker could have been inducted next year into the Hall of Fame, and Cena could challenge him when announced for induction. Hopefully Cena would be heel by then (we can all dream) and it would be a great match, completely fresh, and it would be The Undertaker's retirement match. Brock Lesnar and John Cena for me are the only two people who haven't challenged The Undertaker at Wrestlemania who are credible enough to take on the challenge.

Onto football now and Liverpool are in a good bout of form. We're taking on Tottenham Hotspur tomorrow and with Luis Suarez back as well, it's a big chance to make a big statement against the team currently in third place. I'll cover that match tomorrow on this site. Chelsea just drew today, and what with Arsenal and Newcastle winning, a win against Spurs would take us back to sixth, only two points behind Chelsea. It would be three points between the four teams fighting for fourth place, and we need to stay in this pack if we want Champions League football this year. Do I think we can get fourth place? Certainly. But it's really hard with Chelsea and Arsenal to battle against, and with Newcastle still arguably fighting above their weight, we have tough competition and need to continue with this vein of form to get there. I'm telling you now, a Carling Cup trophy and fourth place for me means an excellent season, coming on the back of our torrid season last year. And an FA Cup too? At this stage we can all dream.

As for replacing John Terry for the England captaincy? Steven Gerrard, simple. The man rarely lets the team down and while people might point at the World Cup as reason not to have Gerrard as captain, I think it'd be a tad unfair to put all the responsibility on Stevie G as the reason why England failed in that tournament. England weren't good enough and Germany were phenomenal. It's as simple as that. Rio Ferdinand has took himself out of the running due to the controversy that would occur if he was captain, what with Anton Ferdinand, his brother, being the reason behind John Terry being stripped from the captaincy for the second time. Gerrard has all the credentials and experience. It's the only option, in my opinion.

Onto games now. I just did my second Old School Game Review, reviewing the disappointingly forgotten Speedball 2. It was a great game and for some reason most people seemed to have forgotten about it. You can read that review here. Next on my list of games to review is Plants vs Zombies. I've been playing the PC version for years and recently downloaded the XBox Arcade version, so I'm still unsure what version I'll review. I'll probably compare the both, as there are differences between the two. I'll probably review that in the next week or two.

Final Fantasy XIII-2 was released on Friday. When it was announced I was really excited by it. I looked at the trailers and it looked quite interesting. The Japanese reviewed it last month when it was released there and gave it rave reviews. Then it was released in the US a few weeks ago and it got mixed reviews. It's amazing, the difference in opinion between the West and the East when it comes to RPG games. I've got to be honest, based on how many reviews I've read on the game from the States and the UK, it seems to be the same issues that we have with the game here in the West. I don't think I'm going to get the game for a while yet, mainly because I can't afford it, but also because the issues with the game are relevant and put me off slightly. I'll still get it, I'm a huge Final Fantasy fan and I've got pretty much every offline release they have done. I'll eventually get it, and of course, review it when I'm ready to. It will be a very long time from now mind. If you haven't' seen it already, I reviewed the original Final Fantasy XIII on this site, you can read that here.

In music, I'll be reviewing Florence and the Machine's "Ceremonials", probably on Wednesday. Also planned is Kasabian's "Velociraptor!" album, and PJ Harvey's "Let England Shake". I did the latest in my monthly "Yearly Music Review" on Wednesday just gone, reviewing the year 1993. You can read that here, it's a good read on what was a difficult year to review. I've been preparing 1992 recently and it's looking like a fabulous year in comparison. Look forward to reading that at the start of March.

Rumours are high that Marilyn Manson has retracted his February release date of "Born Villain". As I've said a few times, I'm planning a Marilyn Manson tribute on this site. It will begin the day the album comes out, and stretch for two or three weeks, ending in the review of the new album. It's a tribute I've been looking forward to doing, for one of my favourite music artists of all time. If you're a Manson fan I hope you'll love it too. I'm sure you will.

On a personal note, I'm sure you've noticed by now but I appeared on TV two weeks ago. I was "John II" on Winter Wipeout. I had an amazing time, and I documented my entire experience, with going to Argentina, meeting Amanda Byram, seeing how the show is done first hand and attempted the course itself, including the big red balls. To read all about it, in its 31,000 word glory, click here.

I reached 6,000 pageviews in a month for the first time last month. My website has been growing slowly but surely, and I'm really happy with the support I've been getting for it. I put a lot of effort into this and it's what I want to do long term and maybe as a profession one day. Thank you all so much for sharing an interest in what I do. I really appreciate it.

I'll end it on that. I hope you all enjoy your Sunday night and I hope to see you back here tomorrow when I cover the match between Liverpool and Tottenham. Take care!

For the latest updates on my work, 'like' me on Facebook here!

WWE World Champion Knockout Game - Round 6: The Final

Hello again and welcome to The Final of my WWE World Champion Knockout Game! The Semi Finals came to an end today. For the last week I've been asking for your votes on who make the best World Champions and I've had tallies going on this site, and two other forums. I can now reveal the results.

The Brogue Kick Bracket vs The Stone Cold Stunner Bracket

(1) The Rock vs (1) Stone Cold Steve Austin - Stone Cold Steve Austin wins 20 votes to 5.

The Tombstone Piledriver Bracket vs The Sweet Chin Music Bracket
(1) The Undertaker vs (2) Shawn Michaels - The Undertaker wins 19 votes to 6.

So we've arrived at our final! And it's The Undertaker vs Stone Cold Steve Austin!

Tale of the Tape

Name: The Undertaker
Nicknames: The Phenom, The Deadman, The American Bad Ass
Years Active in WWE: 1990 - present
Total World Titles: 7
Finishers: Chokeslam, Hell's Gate, The Last Ride, Tombstone Piledriver
Known For: Being undefeated, 19-0, at Wrestlemania. Being associated with Casket matches, Buried Alive matches and the Hell in a Cell.
Match Accolades:
Pro Wrestling Illustrated - Match of the Year in 1998 (against Mankind, Hell in a Cell Match at King of the Ring), 2009 (against Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania XXV), 2010 (against Shawn Michaels, Streak vs Career Match at Wrestlemania XXVI)
WWE Slammy Award - Match of the Year in 2009 (against Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania XXV)
Wrestling Observer Newsletter - 5 Star Match in 1997 (against Shawn Michaels in a Hell in a Cell match at Badd Blood), Match of the Year in 2009 (against Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania XXV), 2010 (against Shawn Michaels, Streak vs Career Match at Wrestlemania XXVI)
Route to the Final: Round 1 (Beat Kofi Kingston 22-0), Round 2 (Beat Sycho Sid 19-2), Round 3 (Beat Kane 21-1), Round 4 (Beat Edge 16-4), Round 5 (Beat Shawn Michaels 19-6).

Name: Stone Cold Steve Austin
Nicknames: The Texas Rattlesnake, The Toughest Son of a Bitch in the WWE 
Years Active in WWE: 1995 - present 
Total World Titles: 6 
Finisher: Stone Cold Stunner 
Known For: In Vince McMahon's words, the most popular and profitable wrestler in WWE history, his Austin 3:16 promo and his highly successful and memorable feud with Vince McMahon himself.
Match Accolades: 
Pro Wrestling Illustrated - Match of the Year in 1997 (against Bret Hart, in a Submission Match at Wrestlemania 13) 
Wrestling Observer Newsletter - 5 Star Match in 1997 (against Bret Hart, in a Submission Match at Wrestlemania 13)
Route to the Final: Round 1 (Beat John Morrison 22-1), Round 2 (Beat Ric Flair 20-1), Round 3 (Beat Kurt Angle 18-4), Round 4 (Beat Triple H 16-4), Round 5 (Beat The Rock 20-5).

You could make a valid argument that these two are the biggest wrestlers in wrestling history. Who was the best champion? Vote below!

To vote, vote or comment below, or message me on my Facebook page, my Twitter, or email me.

Round 6: The Final

To summarise, to vote, you can list your preferred champion in the poll above. But I can also accept votes elsewhere, you can vote on my Facebook, my Twitter or via email. Votes will be tallied finalised on Friday 27th January. A few days later, I'll post the winner. Happy voting!

For the latest updates on my work, 'like' me on Facebook here!

Mixtape: Best of WWE Wrestler Entrance Themes (Licenced)

Hello and welcome to another Mixtape entry. Here's the second of three Mixtapes in three days. Missed yesterday's Mixtape? Click here. In that I celebrate my favourite non-licensed WWE wrestler entrance themes.

Naturally that means today I move onto my favourite licensed themes. Licensed themes are an ever increasing thing in the WWE lately, as it pulls bands that fans might be familiar with, while the music quality is (usually) better too, although you could argue that the non-licensed themes are usually more memorable.

Not familiar with my Mixtapes? Here are the rules.

A Mixtape is a playlist of a certain genre, band or era. The list is generally 80 minutes long, the same length of a blank CD, with further recommendations if some of the songs aren't to your taste. Remember kids, downloading is wrong! 

So here are my favourite licensed WWE wrestler entrance themes! Enjoy!

1. Basic Thuganomics - John Cena (John Cena)
2. Here Comes the Money - Naughty by Nature (Shane McMahon)
3. American Bad Ass - Kid Rock (The Undertaker)
4. Get On Your Knees - Age Against the Machine (Jack Swagger)
5. Voodoo Child (Slight Return) - The Jimi Hendrix Experience (Hulk Hogan)
6. Ain't No Make Believe - Stonefree Experience (John Morrison)
7. Broken Dreams - Shaman's Harvest (Drew McIntyre)
8. One of a Kind - Breaking Point (Rob Van Dam)
9. Burn in My Light - Mercy Drive (Randy Orton)
10. I Walk Alone - Saliva (Batista)
11. Live for the Moment - Monster Magnet (Matt Hardy)
12. Whatever - Our Lady Peace (Chris Benoit)
13. Slow Chemical - Finger Eleven (Kane)
14. Never Gonna Stop - Rob Zombie (Edge)
15. Glass Shatters - Disturbed (Stone Cold Steve Austin)
16. Bombshell - Powerman 5000 (Dudley Boyz)
17. Enter Sandman - Metallica (The Sandman)
18. The Game - Motorhead (Triple H)
19. Cult of Personality - Living Colour (CM Punk)

Don't like some of these? Give these five a try...

1. I Came to Play - Downstait (The Miz)
2. No More Words - Endeverafter (Jeff Hardy)
3. Booyaka 619 - P.O.D. (Rey Mysterio)
4. I'm Comin' - Silkk the Shocker (Montel Vontavious Porter)
5. Crank the Walls Down - Maylene and the Sons of Disaster (JeriShow)

And that's it! I hope you enjoyed this list. I'll be back tomorrow then, with my favourite PPV and TV programme themes. That's it from me today, have a good night.

For the latest updates on my work, 'like' me on Facebook here!

WWE World Champion Knockout Game - Round 4: The Quarter Finals

Hello again and welcome back to my WWE World Champion Knockout Game. Round 3 came to an end today. For the last week I've been asking for your votes on who make the best World Champions and I've had tallies going on this site, and two other forums. I can now reveal the results.

The Pedigree Bracket

(1) Triple H vs (6) Chris Benoit - Triple H wins 18 votes to 4.

The Sweet Chin Music Bracket 
(1) John Cena vs (2) Shawn Michaels - Shawn Michaels wins 16 votes to 6.

The Jackhammer Bracket

(1) Edge vs (3) Jeff Hardy - Edge wins 19 votes to 3.

The Brogue Kick Bracket

(1) The Rock vs (2) Bret Hart - The Rock wins 13 votes to 9.

The Chokeslam Bracket

(2) CM Punk vs (4) Booker T - CM Punk wins 20 votes to 2.

The Tombstone Piledriver Bracket

(1) The Undertaker (3) Kane - The Undertaker wins 21 votes to 1.

The Codebreaker Bracket

(1) Hulk Hogan vs (2) Chris Jericho - Chris Jericho wins 14 votes to 8. 

The Stone Cold Stunner Bracket

(1) Stone Cold Steve Austin vs (2) Kurt Angle - Stone Cold Steve Austin wins 18 votes to 4.

No major shocks in Round 3, some #2 seeds beat #1 seeds but that's about it. And we have a winner for each bracket, 8 wrestlers are left and they will be paired off like this, as explained in the Round 1 post:

Just a reminder, that picture above is who is pairing off against who, the bracket number they have and the total amount of titles they have won.

To vote, vote or comment below, or message me on my Facebook page, my Twitter, or email me. 

Now that mumbo jumbo is out of the way, here's The Quarter Finals! Round 5, the Semi Finals, will be posted on Friday 13th January. 

Round 4: The Quarter Finals

*Voting Closed*


The Pedigree Bracket vs The Stone Cold Stunner Bracket
(1) Triple H vs (1) Stone Cold Steve Austin

The Sweet Chin Music Bracket vs The Codebreaker Bracket
(2) Chris Jericho vs (2) Shawn Michaels

The Jackhammer Bracket vs The Tombstone Piledriver Bracket
(1) Edge vs (1) The Undertaker

The Brogue Kick Bracket vs The Chokeslam Bracket
(1) The Rock vs (2) CM Punk

*Voting Closed*

To summarise, to vote, you can list your preferred champions in the polls above. But I can also accept votes elsewhere, you can vote on my Facebook, my Twitter or via email. Votes will be tallied and Round 5, The Semi Finals will be posted on Friday 13th January. Happy voting!

For the latest updates on my work, 'like' me on Facebook here!

WWE World Champion Knockout Game - Round 3

Hey there I hope you had a good Christmas. Round 2 for my WWE World Champion Knockout Game came to an end today. For the last week I've been asking for your votes on who make the best World Champions and I've had tallies going on this site, and two other forums. I can now reveal the results.

The Pedigree Bracket

(1) Triple H vs (4) Vince McMahon - Triple H wins 19 votes to 2.
(2) Christian vs (6) Chris Benoit - Chris Benoit wins 10 votes to 8.

The Sweet Chin Music Bracket

(1) John Cena vs (4) Rob Van Dam - John Cena wins 13 votes to 8.
(2) Shawn Michaels vs (6) Eddie Guerrero - Shawn Michaels wins 17 votes to 4.

The Jackhammer Bracket

(1) Edge vs (4) Alberto Del Rio - Edge wins 20 votes to 1.
(2) Bob Backlund (3) Jeff Hardy - Jeff Hardy wins 13 votes to 8.

The Brogue Kick Bracket

(1) The Rock vs (4) Sheamus - The Rock wins 20 votes to 1.
(2) Bret Hart vs (3) Rey Mysterio - Bret Hart wins 17 votes to 4.

The Chokeslam Bracket

(1) Randy Orton vs (4) Booker T - Booker T wins 16 votes to 5.
(2) CM Punk vs (3) Big Show - CM Punk wins 18 votes to 3.

The Tombstone Piledriver Bracket

(1) The Undertaker vs (4) Sycho Sid - The Undertaker wins 19 votes to 2.
(2) Batista vs (3) Kane - Kane wins 12 votes to 9.

The Codebreaker Bracket

(1) Hulk Hogan vs (5) The Iron Shiek - Hulk Hogan wins 16 votes to 5.
(2) Chris Jericho vs (6) Andre the Giant - Chris Jericho wins 17 votes to 4.

The Stone Cold Stunner Bracket

(1) Stone Cold Steve Austin vs (4) Ric Flair - Stone Cold Steve Austin wins 20 votes to 1.
(2) Kurt Angle vs (3) Randy Savage - Kurt Angle wins 11 votes to 10.

The biggest shock of the round when it comes to seeding are the eliminations of Christian, a #2 seed which lost to #6 seed Chris Benoit. We also have our first #1 seed elimination, with Randy Orton losing to #4 seed Booker T.

Just a reminder, that picture above is who is pairing off against who, the bracket number they have and the total amount of titles they have won.

To vote, vote or comment below, or message me on my Facebook page, my Twitter, or email me. 

Now that mumbo jumbo is out of the way, here's Round 3! Round 4, the Quarter Finals, will be posted on Friday 6th January. 

Round 3

*Voting Closed* 


The Pedigree Bracket 
(1) Triple H vs (6) Chris Benoit 


The Sweet Chin Music Bracket 
(1) John Cena vs (2) Shawn Michaels 


The Jackhammer Bracket 
(1) Edge vs (3) Jeff Hardy 


The Brogue Kick Bracket 
(1) The Rock vs (2) Bret Hart 


The Chokeslam Bracket 
(2) CM Punk vs (4) Booker T 


The Tombstone Piledriver Bracket 
(1) The Undertaker vs (3) Kane 


The Codebreaker Bracket 
(1) Hulk Hogan vs (2) Chris Jericho 


The Stone Cold Stunner Bracket 
(1) Stone Cold Steve Austin vs (2) Kurt Angle

*Voting Closed* 

To summarise, to vote, you can list your preferred champions in the polls above. But I can also accept votes elsewhere, you can vote on my Facebook, my Twitter or via email. Votes will be tallied and Round 4, The Quarter Finals will be posted on Friday 6th January. Happy voting!

For the latest updates on my work, 'like' me on Facebook here!

WWE World Champion Knockout Game - Round 2

Hey there, welcome back to my WWE World Champion Knockout Game. For the last week I've been asking for your votes on who make the best World Champions and I've had tallies going on this site, and two other forums. I can now reveal the results.

The Pedigree Bracket

(1) Triple H vs (8) Montel Vontavious Porter - Triple H wins 29 votes to 0.
(4) Vince McMahon vs (5) Jack Swagger - Vince McMahon wins 15 votes to 11.
(2) Christian vs (7) John "Bradshaw" Layfield - Christian wins 15 votes to 10.
(3) Mankind vs (6) Chris Benoit - Chris Benoit wins 14 votes to 12.

The Sweet Chin Music Bracket

(1) John Cena vs (8) Drew McIntyre - John Cena wins 18 votes to 6.
(4) Rob Van Dam vs (5) Mark Henry - Rob Van Dam wins 21 votes to 4.
(2) Shawn Michaels vs (7) The Great Khali - Shawn Michaels wins 25 votes to 0.
(3) Brock Lesnar vs (6) Eddie Guerrero - Eddie Guerrero wins 14 votes to 10.

The Jackhammer Bracket

(1) Edge vs (8) R-Truth - Edge wins 24 votes to 0.
(4) Alberto Del Rio vs (5) Bobby Lashley - Alberto Del Rio wins 18 votes to 5.
(2) Bob Backlund vs (7) The Miz - Draw, 12 votes each. By default of seeding, Bob Backlund goes through.
(3) Jeff Hardy vs (6) Goldberg - Jeff Hardy wins 13 votes to 10.

The Brogue Kick Bracket

(1) The Rock vs (8) Daniel Bryan - The Rock wins 19 votes to 3.
(4) Sheamus vs (5) Buddy Rodgers - Sheamus wins 19 votes to 3.
(2) Bret Hart vs (7) Dolph Ziggler - Bret Hart wins 16 votes to 6.
(3) Rey Mysterio vs (6) Diesel - Rey Mysterio wins 14 votes to 8.

The Chokeslam Bracket

(1) Randy Orton vs (8) Wade Barrett - Randy Orton wins 18 votes to 4.
(4) Booker T vs (5) Ivan Koloff - Booker T wins 22 votes to 0.
(2) CM Punk vs (7) Ezekiel Jackson - CM Punk wins 22 votes to 0.
(3) Big Show vs (6) Sgt. Slaughter - Big Show wins 15 votes to 7.

The Tombstone Piledriver Bracket

(1) The Undertaker vs (8) Kofi Kingston - The Undertaker wins 22 votes to 0.
(4) Sycho Sid vs (5) Pedro Morales - Sycho Sid wins 19 votes to 5.
(2) Batista vs (7) Tommy Dreamer - Batista wins 19 votes to 5.
(3) Kane vs (6) The Ultimate Warrior - Kane wins 16 votes to 7.

The Codebreaker Bracket

(1) Hulk Hogan vs (8) Cody Rhodes - Hulk Hogan wins 16 votes to 7.
(4) Yokozuna vs (5) The Iron Shiek - The Iron Shiek wins 15 votes to 8.
(2) Chris Jericho vs (7) Matt Hardy - Chris Jericho wins 20 votes to 2.
(3) Bruno Sammartino (6) Andre the Giant - Andre the Giant wins 14 votes to 8.

The Stone Cold Stunner Bracket

(1) Stone Cold Steve Austin vs (8) John Morrison - Stone Cold Steve Austin wins 22 votes to 1.
(4) Ric Flair vs (5) Stan Stasiak - Ric Flair wins 22 votes to 1.
(2) Kurt Angle vs (7) Chavo Guerrero - Kurt Angle wins 21 votes to 0.
(3) Randy Savage vs (6) Billy Graham - Randy Savage wins 21 votes to 1.

All the 'non-champions' have been eliminated out of the game. I suppose the "shocks" of the round when it comes to seeding are the eliminations of Mankind, Brock Lesnar and Bruno Sammartino, who were all #3 seeds and lost to #6 seeds. So with all that out of the way, the brackets now look like this:

Just a reminder, that picture above is who is pairing off against who, the bracket number they have and the total amount of titles they have won.

To vote, vote or comment below, or message me on my Facebook page, my Twitter, or email me. 

Now that mumbo jumbo is out of the way, here's Round 2! Round 3 will be posted on Friday 30th December. 

Round 2

*Voting Closed*

 The Pedigree Bracket

(1) Triple H vs (4) Vince McMahon
(2) Christian vs (6) Chris Benoit

The Sweet Chin Music Bracket

(1) John Cena vs (4) Rob Van Dam
(2) Shawn Michaels vs (6) Eddie Guerrero

The Jackhammer Bracket

(1) Edge vs (4) Alberto Del Rio
(2) Bob Backlund (3) Jeff Hardy

The Brogue Kick Bracket

(1) The Rock vs (4) Sheamus
(2) Bret Hart vs (3) Rey Mysterio

The Chokeslam Bracket

(1) Randy Orton vs (4) Booker T
(2) CM Punk vs (3) Big Show

The Tombstone Piledriver Bracket

(1) The Undertaker vs (4) Sycho Sid
(2) Batista vs (3) Kane

The Codebreaker Bracket

(1) Hulk Hogan vs (5) The Iron Shiek
(2) Chris Jericho vs (6) Andre the Giant

The Stone Cold Stunner Bracket

(1) Stone Cold Steve Austin vs (4) Ric Flair
(2) Kurt Angle vs (3) Randy Savage

*Voting Closed*

To summarise, to vote, you can list your preferred champions in the polls above. But I can also accept votes elsewhere, you can vote on my Facebook, my Twitter or via email. Votes will be tallied and Round 3 will be posted on Friday 30th December. Happy voting!

For the latest updates on my work, 'like' me on Facebook here!

WWE World Champion Knockout Game - Round 1

Hey there, welcome to my project! I did quite a lot of knockout games on the official Liverpool FC forums back in 2009 and 2010 and while the principle is the same, I've arranged this particular game differently.

I did a competition asking "Who is the Best" back in November 2009 on the LFC forums and the winner was Shawn Michaels. you can see that thread here. But that's not the same as this competition. For starters, that included WWE, World, ECW, WCW and TNA and AWA champions. This is only including the WWE and World Champions, while including the WWE versions of the ECW and WCW titles (which both had very few champions). So no TNA, no old WCW, old ECW or AWA champions.

Also this game is concentrating more on champions, rather than the wrestler or your favourites. As much as some of you may hate it, there's a reason why John Cena has won the title 12 times. And as good as Evan Bourne is, he probably overall, won't make as good a World Champion as Cena does, when you think about all the things that makes a good champion.

So what does make a good champion? A combination of things, and you can take away or add to these if you wish. To me, a good champion has to get a strong reaction from the crowd, has to earn the company money, has to be a good wrestler and has to be great on the microphone. There are more things that can be included, by all means include them if you value those things.

What's also different this time round is that it's not random. I've bracketed the competition so that the "strongest" goes against the "weakest" candidates, and slowly the favourites will eliminate the rest of the competition. How did I bracket it this way? Simple, in the total tally of titles. I had 57 champions, so to make a total of 64 I added the 7 wrestlers who last won the Intercontinental or United States title. The bracket in its entirety is in the image below, you'll need to click on it to see it properly.

If you look at that picture above you'll see who is pairing off against who, the bracket number they have and the total amount of titles they have won. Of course, this isn't always the best way of pairing off people, for instance Ric Flair actually only won 2 titles in the WWE, the same number as Vince McMahon of all people, so he's very low on the list. If you don't like how the competition has been decided don't blame me! Blame the WWE for favouring these people this way! Another example is Daniel Bryan won the US title yet hasn't won the big one yet so he's going against one of the elite title winners. But it's up to you to change that! If you genuinely think that Daniel Bryan or R-Truth or Ezekiel Jackson is as good a candidate for potentially being one of the best ever world champions then vote for them!

But the biggest change in this project is that I'm extending this competition to loads of things. I've included it on two different forums I'm a member of. They're getting involved. I also have this going on my Facebook and Twitter, so if everyone gets involved I could have loads and loads of votes. Also, you can get your friends involved! You can get other forums involved! Share this webpage to your forums or friends, and they can vote and comment! They can also comment on my Facebook page and my Twitter, as long as I get their vote it counts! The bigger this thing becomes the better it will be! So please help me with this! If it works it'd be pretty amazing!

To vote, comment below, or on my Facebook page, my Twitter, or email me.

Finally before I put the first round up, here are the bracket rules. These rounds will be going on for a week at a time. So that means that Round 2 will be posted on Friday 23rd December.

Bracket Rules

In Round 1, the person in each bracket that is ranked 1 goes against ranked 8, 2 against 7, 3 against 6 and 4 against 5.

In Round 2, the winner of 1vs8 goes against 4vs5, while 2vs7 goes against 3vs6.

In Round 3, the two remaining wrestlers in each bracket face each other.

In Round 4, the quarter finals, the 1st bracket winner (The Pedigree Bracket) takes on the 8th bracket winner (The Stone Cold Stunner Bracket). The 2nd bracket winner goes against the 7th bracket winner, 3rd against 6th, and 4th against 5th.

In Round 5, the semi finals, the winner of 1vs8 goes against 4vs5, while 2vs7 goes against 3vs6.

In Round 6, the final, the two remaining wrestlers go against each other.

If there is ever a tiebreaker, the seeded number (in blue font) will be the decider, with the higher ranked seed (1 being best, 8 being worst) will automatically go through.

If you're unsure of the rules, comment below or email me!

--

Now that mumbo jumbo is out of the way, here's the first Round! Round 2 will be posted on Friday 23rd December.

Round 1

*Voting Closed*

The Pedigree Bracket

(1) Triple H vs (8) Montel Vontavious Porter 
(4) Vince McMahon vs (5) Jack Swagger 
(2) Christian vs (7) John "Bradshaw" Layfield 
(3) Mankind vs (6) Chris Benoit 

The Sweet Chin Music Bracket

(1) John Cena vs (8) Drew McIntyre 
(4) Rob Van Dam vs (5) Mark Henry 
(2) Shawn Michaels vs (7) The Great Khali 
(3) Brock Lesnar vs (6) Eddie Guerrero 

The Jackhammer Bracket

(1) Edge vs (8) R-Truth 
(4) Alberto Del Rio vs (5) Bobby Lashley 
(2) Bob Backlund vs (7) The Miz 
(3) Jeff Hardy vs (6) Goldberg 

The Brogue Kick Bracket

(1) The Rock vs (8) Daniel Bryan 
(4) Sheamus vs (5) Buddy Rodgers 
(2) Bret Hart vs (7) Dolph Ziggler 
(3) Rey Mysterio vs (6) Diesel 

The Chokeslam Bracket

(1) Randy Orton vs (8) Wade Barrett 
(4) Booker T vs (5) Ivan Koloff 
(2) CM Punk vs (7) Ezekiel Jackson 
(3) Big Show vs (6) Sgt. Slaughter 

The Tombstone Piledriver Bracket

(1) The Undertaker vs (8) Kofi Kingston 
(4) Sycho Sid vs (5) Pedro Morales 
(2) Batista vs (7) Tommy Dreamer 
(3) Kane vs (6) The Ultimate Warrior 

The Codebreaker Bracket

(1) Hulk Hogan vs (8) Cody Rhodes
(4) Yokozuna vs (5) The Iron Shiek 
(2) Chris Jericho vs (7) Matt Hardy 
(3) Bruno Sammartino (6) Andre the Giant 

The Stone Cold Stunner Bracket

(1) Stone Cold Steve Austin vs (8) John Morrison 
(4) Ric Flair vs (5) Stan Stasiak 
(2) Kurt Angle vs (7) Chavo Guerrero 
(3) Randy Savage vs (6) Billy Graham

*Voting Closed*

To summarise, to vote, you can list your preferred champions or potential champions in the polls above. But I can also accept votes elsewhere, you can vote on my Facebook, my Twitter or via email. Votes will be tallied and Round 2 will be posted on Friday 23rd December. Happy voting!

For the latest updates on my work, 'like' me on Facebook here!