The Best Of Raw & SmackDown 2016

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 519 Minutes
Certificate: 12
Number Of Discs: 3
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: February 20 2017

(Thanks to Fetch Publicity for arranging this review.)

Just like the Best PPV Matches 2016 DVD, this three-disc collection emphasises that it was a year of two halves (well, near enough) for WWE: pre-Draft and post-Draft, especially on Raw and SmackDown, which changed dramatically once the WWE roster was split into two. Actually, it was more like a year of thirds, with the pre-WrestleMania season being a fairly dull time on-screen due to a plethora of injuries and a certain amount of creative malaise.

Mind you, there were still some highlights of the year's first few months, and most of them are featured on this set, which is presented by Jerry Lawler and is introduced with the Raw and SmackDown intro videos. Officially opening with a fun Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch bout from the first SmackDown of the year, we then jump to a match which seems like aeons ago, as Kalisto challenges Alberto Del Rio for the United States Championship on Raw, in a bout that exceeds expectations.

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The Best Of Raw & Smackdown 2016 announced for DVD in the UK

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Provided By: Fetch Publicity

The following story is courtesy of Fetch Publicity ...

It was a whirlwind year for WWE! New faces emerged, legends returned and the future of the WWE roster changed forever with the brand extension. Experience the New Era of WWE and recall every shocking development, every major match, and every key moment that made 2016 an incredible year for WWE. Featuring matches with AJ Styles, Triple H, Dolph Ziggler, Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns and more!

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TLC 2016

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 174 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Number Of Discs: 1
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: February 6 2017

(Thanks to Fetch Publicity for arranging this review.)

TLC 2016 rounded off the Pay-Per-View year on the SmackDown side, a year where the blue brand has completed a remarkable comeback from being an almost ignored show to WWE's most entertaining and logical weekly programme. TLC also served to culminate several lengthy rivalries, all of which combined with some high-quality action to deliver a really good event for WWE fans.

The show opens with a basic, television-esque battle for the SmackDown Tag Team Titles between Heath Slater & Rhyno and the team of Randy Orton & Bray Wyatt, which existed more to further the Orton-in-the-Wyatt-Family storyline. Next up, we have a No Disqualification bout between Nikki Bella and Carmella which, whilst fairly short, draws a line under their feud which began in August, whilst also setting up the subsequent Nikki-Natalya rivalry.

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TLC 2016 coming soon on DVD and Blu-ray in the UK

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Provided By: Fetch Publicity

The following story is courtesy of Fetch Publicity ...

With tables, ladders, and chairs surrounding the ring and the WWE World Championship suspended high above, AJ Styles heads into his first TLC match defending the title against "The Lunatic Fringe" Dean Ambrose. The rivalry for the Intercontinental Championship reaches new heights as The Miz defends his title against Dolph Ziggler in a Ladder Match. The women of the blue brand get their chance to shine when Becky Lynch defends the WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship against Alexa Bliss in a Tables Match. Plus more!

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John Cena: Word Life

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 186 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Number Of Discs: 1
Studio: Clear Vision Ltd/Silver Vision
Released: July 19 2004

It's hard to imagine now, but there was a time when John Cena was the coolest cat in WWE with adult fans, particularly males, lapping up his every word. Yes, in 2003 and 2004, Cena was cooler than the other side of the pillow (Family Guy reference) and a real rising star, which is why WWE released this DVD of Cena prior to his permanent main event ascension.

Unlike most profile DVDs of the era, though, Word Life is based solely on showcasing Cena's rap promos. They would generally involve insults towards whomever is the target of Cena's wrath, a fair amount of swearing (Cena would usually allow the crowd to finish raps with a particularly naughty word) and some sort of references which wouldn't be acceptable in 2016 (although they shouldn't have been then either, if you think about it). In between are some in-character clips of Cena hanging out with friends and discussing aspects of what, admittedly, was a fairly short career at that point.

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Weekly Wrestling Thoughts (September 16 2016)

Image Source: Rolling Stone

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Here are this week's Wrestling Thoughts: off-screen, not too much has happened, but a fair amount has gone down on-screen, so let's get to it!

• Backlash exceeded expectations greatly last Sunday. It wasn't the best PPV by any means, but considering the house show-esque line-up for SmackDown's first PPV in the modern era, further weakened by Randy Orton not being cleared to compete against Bray Wyatt, the show was pretty good. It was a simple, logical, well-paced show which highlighted everybody to a suitable standard. Of note, The Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler was their best match to date, there were feel-good title wins for Becky Lynch and the team of Heath Slater and Rhyno, and AJ Styles vs. Dean Ambrose was a great main event with Styles becoming WWE Champion in a turn of events that seemed unfathomable a year ago. And with the main event for No Mercy, the next SD PPV, already set (AJ vs. Ambrose vs. John Cena), the blue brand has the chance to top this show on October 9.

• On the subject of SmackDown: the verbal feud between The Miz and Daniel Bryan is an unusual one. Miz is chastising Bryan for not treating him like the superstar he is, and antagonising Bryan, the SmackDown General Manager, because he can no longer compete. Normally, this would be the set-up for a big one-time return by Bryan. But it's well-documented that WWE has no plans to clear Daniel to wrestle again, and apparently Bryan had a mental breakdown of sorts upon his injury-enforced retirement, meaning that this can't be fun for him to participate in knowing that he genuinely can't compete again in WWE. Perhaps Bryan has been told he can wrestle one more time, and Miz is a suitable opponent, ironically because of a complaint Daniel lodged against him a few weeks ago; the "soft" style which prevents Miz being injured, but would also probably prevent Bryan getting injured. Or maybe Bryan will find the "right" opponent to take Miz down at some point, with Bryan possibly being able to trap Miz in the Yes! Lock as a minor form of revenge. Or could it be that this is WWE's way of punishing Bryan for repeatedly suggesting he could leave WWE and wrestle elsewhere, thus making the company look bad (in their opinion) for not clearing Bryan for WWE combat? Who knows, but it's a fascinating tale to observe. I will say that if the end result is not going to see Bryan wrestle, even in a basic injury-free exhibition, then it's slightly cruel to keep throwing jabs at his inability to compete considering his true opinions on the matter, but the whole plot has given Miz great momentum, and he is currently hotter than he has been at any point since his WWE Title reign ended more than five years ago.

• Whilst SmackDown had an artistically-successful Backlash and an eventful if wrestling-lite TV show, Raw still showed signs that it is struggling. The three-hour format is hindering it more than ever with the roster chopped in half (or 60%-40% as it turned out). The new main storyline that has crowned Kevin Owens as Universal Champion and Seth Rollins as the brand's top babyface has helped, and developments involving Triple H (who has still yet to resurface following his assistance to Owens two weeks ago) will create intrigue in the coming weeks and months. But much of the rest of the show feels like filler, and whilst the Women's division is currently the second most interesting thing to follow on Raw, it was weird to see Bayley pinned so soon into her Raw career. Even stranger was how Sasha Banks actually ended up pinning herself whilst defeating Bayley, and it wasn't acknowledged at all, unless it is revisited next week to set up Charlotte-Sasha-Bayley at Clash Of Champions. Either way, Raw is not having a peak period right now, although Chris Jericho is as entertaining as he has ever been in recent weeks, and we do have the Cruiserweight division coming to Raw next week, which will hopefully improve things for the red team.

• Speaking of which, congrats to TJ Perkins for winning the Cruiserweight Classic and, as a result, the new Cruiserweight Championship. He and many other CC entrants will begin appearing on Raw, with plenty of interest stemming from the Classic. The Network-exclusive tournament has been a big success, and a great way for a lot of talent previously unknown to the WWE audience to be introduced in a vibrant, more modest setting. I'd like to see WWE do something similar for tag teams and/or females in 2017; one of these tournaments every six months will make the Network a must-see platform for the stars of tomorrow to shine, and that doesn't even include NXT. From a talent perspective, WWE is thriving right now; the creative team just has to find a way to match the efforts of its wrestlers, which would increase ratings, attendances and overall interest in the company. With the more flexible Triple H managing such ventures, there is reason to be optimistic about these and about WWE's future, should the day ever arrive when he finally has the keys to the castle, so to speak. On that note, wouldn't it be something if WWE, via HHH, were to strike a deal with New Japan Pro Wrestling or Ring Of Honor (TNA is not an option for obvious reasons) for a Network-exclusive show or series of matches? What seemed extremely unlikely a few years ago now has a real chance of happening; let's see if it does.

• NXT is currently in its transitional phase between Takeover specials, with Brooklyn now firmly in the rear-view mirror and with its November special in Toronto officially announced. I still expect a Shinsuke Nakamura-Samoa Joe rematch to headline Takeover in Toronto, with the likely result being a Nakamura victory and a subsequent promotion for Joe to Raw or SmackDown. Or maybe that battle will happen in the meantime, allowing the GLORIOUS! Canadian-born Bobby Roode to challenge for the title on that show (although I think it would be too soon into his NXT run, in my opinion). Whatever the case, I've noticed that some fans are souring on the lack of depth to NXT's roster right now, but that's why it remains a developmental brand on some level; by the time Toronto Takeover comes around, I'll bet that several names who were unknown around the time of the Brooklyn show will be more familiar to fans and will be received very well on the night in the Great White North. When it comes to developing talent, NXT is currently setting the blue-print, most of the time anyway. Whether WWE does anything with those stars once they come up to the main roster is another story, but its track record in that area is still better than it has ever been.

• In other news, there's been some confusion about whether Paige would follow her boyfriend Alberto Del Rio out of the WWE door. It looks like she is staying put, with her suspension about to end later this week. I won't comment on the brouhaha other than to say that hopefully Paige will be involved in some meaningful situations on Raw over the next few months, because in the wake of the Four Horsewomen taking the women's scene in WWE by storm, Paige - who helped establish what would become known as the Women's Revolution - has largely been forgotten. That being said, some could argue that she hasn't had that really good match on the main roster in a long time. The next few months are crucial for her, but at least she is young enough that she should still have a long career ahead of her. To WWE management, though, all eyes will be on her after the problems involving her and Del Rio recently. It'll be interesting to follow, but perhaps not for positive reasons.

• There was sad news at the unexpected death of a trainee at Seth Rollins' wrestling school, but this has been overshadowed by Smith Hart (one of the Hart brothers) savagely criticising Rollins for this. Some have tarred Bret with the same brush because he has been critical of Seth and the injuries he has caused, but it's unfair to do so because this is a separate story (even if Smith may have been motivated by what Bret has said about Seth). Two things: Rollins wasn't even there when it happened, and for Smith to tear Rollins apart for him supposedly causing the incident immediately after it happened is pretty low-class. The victim's family are going through a terrible time right now and Rollins must be distraught, so for Smith to say such things with a somewhat unfair perspective is - well, I'll be polite and just call it ill-advised, as well as disrespectful to the victim's family.

• On a lighter note, the release of WWE 2K17 is drawing ever closer. All of the non-DLC wrestlers have been announced, some nifty new/returning features are announced, and the in-ring gameplay and the depth of tools in the Creation Suite suggest that this could be a fantastic wrestling game. The lack of a central mode is still going to hurt this game, though; although it should be a lot better than the critically-acclaimed 2K16, it stills feels like a stop-gap game for this reason. Perhaps a few rabbits will be pulled out of the hat in the final few weeks before 2K17 hits stores, which could off-set the lack of a Showcase or a Season mode. I'm looking forward to playing it, but if it did boast that one big central mode, 2K17 could have ended up being one of the best wrestling games since the mid-2000s peak of the SmackDown! series. Or maybe it will anyway given what we already know about the game; I guess we'll have to wait and see.

• CM Punk was ultimately beaten in his UFC debut, and quite handily, by Mickey Gall. Credit to Punk for having the courage to do this, but even two years of training could not prepare him for the Ultimate Fighting stage. What Punk's next move will be is unclear: will he have a second UFC fight (which is apparently unlikely)? Will he pursue MMA on a smaller scale? Will be abstain from fighting altogether and concentrate on other interests, such as his (well-received) comic book writing? After years of people anticipating Punk in UFC, it feels weird to now consider what comes beyond that initial scrap for Punk. A wrestling return seems like a false hope to have, especially in WWE, but you never know; the next couple of months will likely determine what Punk does for the next few years, with his UFC dream achieved albeit in defeat. Those still bellowing "CM Punk!" at WWE shows probably won't get what they want, but what Punk actually will do from here is unknown right now.

• Anyone else notice Hulk Hogan (well, his voice) being used more than once in a WWE Network commercial at Backlash? Might this be the beginning of a Hogan return, which at one point was considered a ridiculous notion to have? Hmmm ...

• Just before I begin to wrap things up for this week, it's worth noting that the ratings for Raw and SmackDown are almost on par, although it's because Raw's numbers are slipping (an annual autumn occurrence with Monday Night Football returning in the States) and with SmackDown's figures rising. It should be very interesting to see what happens if SmackDown starts beating Raw in the ratings, and doing so consistently; it would be great for the blue brand, but pretty bad for the red side. It may only be at this point that Raw is rejuvenated enough to try and maintain interest during a generally dull part of the year, and with three-fifths of the roster to mix and match with over the course of three hours. Of course, many will say that this should have already happened, but that's beside the point.

• To finish off, here's my WWE Network recommendation for this week. I haven't really touched upon the golden era of the 1980s/early 1990s in this section, so here I'll recommend two of my favourite vintage shows: Royal Rumble 1990 and SummerSlam 1991. Rumble features an incredibly star-studded cast of entrants, along with some brilliantly hammy pre-match promos. SummerSlam, meanwhile, has a classic Mr. Perfect-Bret Hart match for the Intercontinental Championship, and appearances by many huge names like Hulk Hogan, Ultimate Warrior, The Legion Of Doom and more. For those who were watching the WWF back then, both shows provide a great dose of nostalgia.

That's my random round-up of wrestling opinions this week; I'll return with my thoughts next week, including my predictions for Clash Of Champions!

Weekly Wrestling Thoughts (September 9 2016)

Image Source: Fox Sports

Written By: Mark Armstrong

This week's Wrestling Thoughts will be a little shorter than usual, as this has been a less eventful week after a whirlwind of events in and out of the ring since SummerSlam weekend. Nevertheless, here are my opinions on the week in wrestling, as well as predictions for Backlash this Sunday.

• Although Raw opened with a fiery debate that officially began Seth Rollins' babyface turn, and both Rollins vs. Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn were very enjoyable matches, the rest of the show felt like a drag; there were four consecutive segments that achieved almost nothing or were painfully average, and the sound-on-paper pastiche of The New Day by "retirement home" geniuses Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson (with three fake pensioners playing "The Old Day") turned out to be awful. The talent is there and the main event scene has plenty of potential directions, but Raw is still struggling to find its groove since the Draft; right now it's largely a mixture of the very good and the poor or, in some cases, very poor. With the NFL season having resumed in the States, the ratings have already begun their annual autumn slide. I hope that WWE can inject some excitement and find a way for the "new" Raw to succeed after a promising start the night after Battleground. If not, then the next few months could be a struggle on the red side. Perhaps Clash Of Champions on September 25 will establish what we can expect moving forward from the Raw team, hopefully for positive reasons. (Incidentally, I felt that many overreacted to the teased retirement by Sasha Banks; sure, some performers have retired due to injury, but how many people truly expected 24-year-old Sasha to call it quits from injuries that we were told would only keep her out of action for a limited time?)

• On that subject, there's a rumour that the Women's Championship match between Sasha and Charlotte may headline Clash Of Champions. It would be a tremendous moment for the women if that were to happen, but it feels like WWE is speeding up the process right now. We have seen on NXT how good these women are and that they are worthy of main eventing big shows, but on the main roster, it could be argued that the Triple Threat match at WrestleMania 32 and Sasha-Charlotte from the July 25 Raw have been the only really good matches since the "Revolution" began in July 2015 (and that's not a knock on the women involved, as they were given more time and more logical booking on NXT). Therefore, it feels like WWE are telling us that the women should main event a PPV, rather than the fans feeling that way themselves. We'll see what happens; but I should mention that Bayley suddenly being booted from the title picture in light of Sasha's earlier-than-expected return is a sign that perhaps her much-anticipated call-up was premature, and that it remains frustrating for WWE to paint the picture that all of the credit for the new perception of women in WWE comes directly from Stephanie McMahon, who merely tried to take credit for the success of the women on a show (NXT) operated by her husband Triple H. (That HHH wasn't on Raw this week was a real head-scratcher and a reason why most disliked Raw overall this week; surely he will be on hand next week?)

• As for SmackDown, it was more or less a filler show with its first PPV of the Brand Extension II era, Backlash, just days away. To that point, WWE Champion Dean Ambrose, AJ Styles, Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton all had speaking roles rather than matches, whilst Dolph Ziggler merely provided commentary while his opponent The Miz took on Apollo Crews. The show still had its moments, most notably the long-awaited heel turn of The Usos on American Alpha, which took them out of the SmackDown Tag Team Title tournament to put heat on Jimmy and Jey and establish a big doubles rivalry on the blue side. To me, the most memorable moment of the show was a clear production gaffe whereby a commercial break ended with the usual we're-introducing-a-pre-tape speech from the commentators being drowned in darkness and the show suddenly fading to black with Mauro Ranallo asking JBL if he wanted to say any more about the tag situation (at least he didn't let out a swear word thinking he wasn't still live!), followed by an awkward pause and then a second take of the same segment being done, which this time went to plan with correct lighting and the desired video coming on afterwards. There was also some sort of botch with the one-by-one arrival of the women in the opening segment, as more than one female appeared to come out too early. Yeah, it was a rough night for the usually-topnotch WWE production team. But if those were the key moments for me, then it illustrates why SmackDown wasn't must-see this week.

• In TNA, the inevitable sequel to the infamous Final Deletion has just aired in the United States. Known as Delete or Decay, this battle of sorts between the Hardyz and Decay will have no doubt pulled out all the bells and whistles in order to be even more memorable than Final Deletion was. Regardless of whether or not you approve of the movie-esque approach that TNA has taken to matches involving the brothers Hardy in recent months, it is a positive that the promotion is being talked about by fans who are genuinely excited about the product for the first time in many years. If this "match" achieves another big rating on Pop TV for TNA Wrestling, then perhaps the promotion has real hope for the future, and the company could continue to promote extravagant matches going forward. If that does represent TNA's new direction, then it provides a new meaning to TNA being considered an "alternative" to WWE.

• Arguably the only other wrestling-related story of real value this week, besides Backlash on Sunday of course, is the debut - at long last - of CM Punk in UFC this Saturday when he fights Mickey Gall. Ever since Punk suddenly left WWE the day after Royal Rumble 2014, it has been a fascinating journey as an assumption that Punk would return to WWE turned into hope, then wishful thinking, and then a false dream as it became clear that Punk was done. Following his enlightening yet controversial podcast appearance in November 2014 where he detailed why he left WWE, his sudden UFC signing suggested a summer 2015 debut; but due to injuries and his inexperience in legitimate fighting, only now, over 31 months after Royal Rumble 2014, is Punk finally entering a ring for some combat once again. As weird as this may read, no UFC fight has ever been more anticipated by WWE fans; it's taken a very long time to get here.

• As for the outcome? Many UFC die-hards want Punk - the "phoney wrestler" - to get destroyed. It's worth noting that many wrestling fans feel the same way, because of Punk having such a negative attitude to wrestling since he left WWE and, to a lesser extent, because he suddenly abandoned wrestling in the first place. Punk's huge fan base are hoping that he can find a route to victory against an opponent who was essentially hand-picked for him in Mickey Gall. But Punk is no Brock Lesnar, the mountain of a man with amateur wrestling experience and who still lost his first UFC fight. And Punk, who has never been considered "old", is nearing the age of 40 as he finally enters the Octagon. I personally predict that it will be a close contest, and while a Punk victory is possible, I slightly give the edge to Mickey Gall and therefore predict that Punk will lose. It'd be nice to see him win for having the courage to enter UFC, and given how long he's waited to make his MMA debut, it'd be a huge let-down if he were knocked out within the first few minutes.

• The result will have a big impact upon what happens next with Punk. Should he win, then he has the basis to form a career in UFC, however long that may last and however successful it could be (I would assume that a UFC career would be done by 2020 or 2021, if it were to be a long-term thing, due to Punk's age and physical wear and tear from wrestling). Should he lose, then his second UFC fight could be make-or-break. And if Punk is defeated in spectacular fashion, then it could even be a one-off fight by the "Best In The World". One thing is for sure: even if Punk does get pounded in the Octagon, a WWE return anytime soon is simply not happening; there's no way that Punk would return to WWE anytime soon, if nothing else for the huge damage that it would do to his famously-large ego. If WWE somehow tries to support Punk during his UFC tenure, then perhaps a part-time return could be a possibility in a few years, but for those who continue to chant his name, they should not be expecting their hero to resurface at next year's WrestleMania, regardless of whether or not he is triumphant in his UFC debut. It will be very interesting to watch, though.

• As mentioned, Backlash - the first single-brand PPV in WWE since 2007 - is this Sunday. The card looks a bit weak right now, so I'm expecting one or two more matches to be added between now and the weekend. Of the matches announced, I'm expecting new heels The Usos to beat The Hype Bros and to dash the dreams of Heath Slater and Rhyno to become SmackDown Tag Team Champions, I think Nikki Bella will win the six-women match to become the first SmackDown Women's Champion, I see The Miz retaining his Intercontinental Championship against Dolph Ziggler, I envision Bray Wyatt getting a sneaky win over Randy Orton perhaps with some assistance (a returning Luke Harper, maybe?), and with momentum on his side and to give this event a buzz, I predict that AJ Styles will beat Dean Ambrose to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. It's very strange that WWE would rather have John Cena compete on a house show in China than to compete on a PPV event for his home brand, but Styles-Cena III for the WWE Title at No Mercy in October is a possibility, and could be set up by AJ beating Ambrose on Sunday. I'm expecting the main event to be a great encounter, but I think this will end up being a one-match show: Orton vs. Wyatt is a fresh match, and the other bouts are by no means of a low standard, but once Backlash is over, it's almost a certainty that we'll mostly be talking about Ambrose vs. Styles.

• I finish with my WWE Network recommendation, which this week has two parts. Firstly, the Last Battle In Atlanta was a famous Cage match from the 1980s between Tommy Rich and Buzz Sawyer which, for whatever reason, was never seen on television in any form after it originally happened. But that match is now on the WWE Network in the Hidden Gems section, so any longtime fans will want to check this out. And with Backlash returning on Sunday, I recommend some Backlash classics: Triple H vs. The Rock from 2000, Mick Foley vs. Randy Orton from 2004 (the match that made Orton's career, really), John Cena vs. Edge vs. Triple H in an underrated 3-way from 2006, Cena facing Shawn Michaels, Edge and Orton in 2007, and Cena once more battling Edge in a great Last Man Standing match from 2009. Cena has a pretty good record at Backlash, making it more inexplicable that he won't be at the latest Backlash event this Sunday.

That's my random round-up of wrestling opinions this week; I'll return with my thoughts next week, including what I thought of Backlash and the fall-out to CM Punk's UFC debut!

Weekly Wrestling Thoughts (September 2 2016)

Image Source: Fansided

Written By: Mark Armstrong

I noted last week, during an extremely eventful SummerSlam weekend along with its wealth of fall-out, that this current week wouldn't be anywhere near as exciting. While that proved to be the case, there has still been plenty going on in wrestling, including a major angle and an unsurprising departure from the WWE roster, so let's get to my thoughts on another week in the wacky world of wrestling.

Before I begin, it was sad to hear that Mr. Fuji had passed away at the age of 82. Although Fuji was an accomplished wrestler and a multi-time Tag Team Champion in the WWWF, I knew him more as a devious, evil yet entertaining and almost lovable rogue manager from the boom period of the late 1980s for the WWF. He managed the likes of Demolition and Yokozuna to championship gold, playing a vital role in Yoko's first WWF Title win at WrestleMania IX, and cutting a humorous promo on Hulk Hogan to set up Hogan's impromptu title win ("Come on, ya yellow-belly, come on!"). He was also well-known for practical jokes, some of which went a bit extreme (Roddy Piper recounted one such tale on a Q&A tour in 2014, which involved Fuji, another Japanese wrestler and a dog, which is probably best not repeated here). But Fuji was unquestionably a legendary name, and fittingly entered the WWE Hall Of Fame in 2007. RIP Mr. Fuji.

• Now onto developments in WWE: the big news came from Raw, and the Fatal Four Way match to crown a new Universal Champion in the wake of Finn Balor's injury. Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens and Big Cass all delivered strong performances in an excellent main event match, aside from Reigns hitting a laughable number of increasingly-ineffective Superman Punches (the move is virtually dead after this bout). But the talking point was Triple H's shocking return (I guess it isn't Game Over after I suggested such a possibility last week), Pedigreeing Reigns to cost him the match, and then in a major swerve, also Pedigreeing former Authority golden boy Rollins, allowing Owens to win the Universal Championship. The look on HHH's face, and the shocked expressions sported by Stephanie McMahon and Mick Foley, suggest that a HHH/KO alliance is upon us, contrary to Stephanie's support of Rollins and, erm, can Foley be a babyface while endorsing Seth?

• Anyway, this extremely exciting shock conclusion to Raw was arguably the show's best moment of the year (depending how you rank it over Shane McMahon's return and the sudden rise of Finn Balor), and it sets up plenty of intriguing developments going forward. I am guessing that we'll see Owens vs. Rollins at Clash Of Champions, with Reigns either battling HHH in a WrestleMania rematch or resuming his feud with Rusev. Rollins is surely a babyface after these scenes, and I wouldn't bet against Stephanie siding with HHH, leaving Foley as the man to back The Man. Owens is now a true main eventer and the face of Raw, a lot earlier and in a very different fashion that people would have anticipated, and there's no reason why KO can't rule the Raw roost for months to come, especially with HHH backing him (not to mention the potential for one final Owens-Sami Zayn showdown, this time for a major championship). As for Rollins vs. HHH? If WWE is smart, that match will be saved for WrestleMania 33, which alongside potential matches pitting John Cena vs. The Undertaker and Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg, already give us a mouth-watering card for next year's Mania.

• Annoyingly, some people still found a way to criticise this angle, complaining about HHH making it all about him. While more people were talking about HHH than Owens to some extent, his involvement was crucial to the new storyline being laid out. Really, what those fans wanted was for Owens to pin Reigns and Seth clean to become Universal Champion, but doing that doesn't enhance KO as a villain, which he is meant to be. Having HHH help him win, and at the expense of the popular Rollins, increases the chances of Owens being booed regularly going forward, even though a lot of fans respect his talents and his hilarious banter. One man who does come out of the situation in a pickle is Roman Reigns: that 30-day suspension has been a real anchor to his career, as the best Roman could now hope for is a title shot against Owens at, say, Survivor Series. He could be selected to eventually face Owens at WrestleMania, but that's only going to continue the perception that Reigns is shoved down people's throats as a babyface. The path that Roman really should take is for him to become a heel, but this major angle means that such a development is probably not imminent. While he's not in the main event, fans are a bit more tolerant of good guy Roman, but WWE wants him in the main event long-term, so it's a tricky catch-22. One final note on that match: Big Cass looked quite impressive, and even he basically admitted that he wasn't ready to become Universal Champion, but if he can grow as a performer, then he may have major gold in his future, say in around 18 months' time.

• The Four-Way was the obvious highlight of Raw, which aside from the main event situation was pretty much run-of-the-mill. Cesaro vs. Sheamus was an enjoyable second entry into their Best-Of-Seven series (Sheamus backdropping Cesaro into the ring post en route to victory was a unique move), but otherwise there was nothing must-see before the headline bout began. It was actually more notable for a couple of awful moments: the attempts to made Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson a "funny" team aren't working due to crap material, and Dana Brooke isn't very good at acting or wrestling at this stage, based on her contributions to Monday's show. And the feud between Titus O'Neil and Darren Young is actually playing out worse than their 2014 conflict, which is some achievement since their previous feud wasn't much, and their current storyline has more of a story behind it (well, Bob Backlund is involved). For Titus, at least he came out of Raw looking better than he did last week where he cut the most botched promo of the entire year on WWE television.

• SmackDown was okay for the most part, but there was nothing that would be described as essential viewing. AJ Styles has now taken to calling himself "The Face That Runs The Place" to mock John Cena, and fans are taking to him almost too well, considering that he remains a heel. With a ton on momentum, and another win on SD over Apollo Crews (which admittedly had a lame set-up based around spelling), Styles is red-hot right now, and almost everybody wants to see him become WWE Champion when he faces Dean Ambrose next Sunday at Backlash. Ambrose had a decent bout with Baron Corbin to main event the show, but yet again it felt like Dean is, I don't want to say phoning it in, but he is coasting to some degree. I can't remember the last time that fans were wowed by an Ambrose match, in singles at least (I'd hazard a guess at it being vs. HHH at Roadblock). Looking closely at this match, the problem seems to be that Ambrose's offence at times is a bit slow, his strikes only barely connect, and he almost looks like too much of a performer; Shawn Michaels used to hit flying forearms regularly, but he might punch them head-on, he might dive forward like Superman, he might have to hit more than one against a larger opponent; basically, he slightly modified his offence each time depending on the situation, something that Ambrose doesn't do. It's not like Ambrose is in a bad place; he is the WWE Champion, after all. But right now, fans would much rather see AJ win the gold, and since so many wanted Ambrose to become titleholder in the first place, that is a sign that Ambrose isn't meeting expectations on top. I am anticipating a great match between Dean and AJ at Backlash, but Ambrose needs to give people a reason to want him to win, otherwise his title reign will be seen as a disappointment, should it be curtailed against Styles next weekend.

• The rest of SD wasn't much to speak of. The Miz followed up his electrifying promo last week with another strong effort here, but diverting him into another feud with Dolph Ziggler isn't the best follow-up (mind you, who else could WWE have chosen to face Miz from the SmackDown roster?). The other stand-out aspect was the very unexpected WWE comeback of The Headbangers, presumably brought in as a one-off for Heath Slater and Rhyno to defeat. Will Slater regain his job by virtue of him and Rhyno winning the Tag Team Titles at Backlash? I still envision an American Alpha-Usos final, but a lot of people are hoping for Slater to win, for possibly the first time in his entire career. Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt was also confirmed for Backlash, which will probably be the first of a series of matches between the two, since it's a fresh feud and it should deliver some good action. Overall, though, Raw beats SmackDown this week due to that amazingly unpredictable angle to close out a fantastic main event match.

• Elsewhere, NXT is just moving on from Takeover: Back To Brooklyn, although the smart money is on a rematch between Shinsuke Nakamura and Samoa Joe for the NXT Title at the next Takeover (the date for which has yet to be confirmed). The Cruiserweight Classic is nearing its finale, and fans are becoming excited by the fact that seven CC entrants have been announced as a part of Raw's upcoming Cruiserweight division. Expect this to be hyped up heavily by WWE over the next few weeks.

• It's been reported that, as expected, Alberto Del Rio will be leaving WWE after his suspension ends (his contract had a clause allowing him to leave in September if he were so inclined). ADR's second WWE run was a pretty big let-down, really: aside from his surprise comeback win over John Cena for the United States Title at Hell In A Cell 2015, it's been downhill all the way for ADR. While the booking of Del Rio was poor throughout this year, meaning that you couldn't blame the guy for leaving, there's still something about Del Rio that prevents him connecting with fans: we're six years on from his WWE debut, and he hasn't evolved much at all. In fact, he's gone backwards, since Ricardo Rodriguez and the flashy car entrance were removed from his act. He showed fire as El Patron in Lucha Underground and elsewhere, but he couldn't do the same in WWE. I don't expect him to return to WWE outside of a potential cameo appearance in a few years time, but he could contribute to other promotions should he modify his style and show more charisma. TNA would certainly have him if they can afford ADR, as that would be further evidence of the promotion making something of a comeback after several years of almost impending doom. Some have wondered if Paige will follow her boyfriend Alberto out the door; whilst I don't see that happening anytime soon, it wouldn't surprise me if she was no longer with the company by this time next year.

• Other than that, the only other standout topic from the week has been the news that Bill Goldberg is apparently having serious talks with WWE about a comeback of some sort, following his WWE 2K17 appearance. If all goes to plan, I imagine that we'll see Goldberg take on Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 33, as mentioned earlier: if WWE does go with Brock vs. Shane McMahon, it'll either be that Shane drafts in Goldberg as his representative for a major fight, or Lesnar fights Shane and pounds him into oblivion, only to be interrupted by the return of Da Man. It's too early to say for sure, since Goldberg hasn't officially returned yet, but one more match at WrestleMania is plausible, with Lesnar being an ideal opponent. A Hall Of Fame induction in 2018 would likely follow, which coincidentally could be the weekend of Lesnar's own final WWE match at WrestleMania 34 based on his current contract - but we're getting ahead of ourselves now.

• I was lucky enough to attend a Q&A event with Eric Bischoff in Manchester last Friday. Bischoff was a nice guy and pleasant to everybody there, and answered plenty of questions ranging from stories from the WCW days and his WWE run to his opinions on wrestling today. Although Bischoff's career as a wrestling personality is pretty much done, one can't help but think that the very knowledgeable and business-savvy Bischoff could still have a role to play in wrestling. His TNA stint didn't do much, admittedly, but perhaps Bischoff could help Ring Of Honor or another promotion to find increased television exposure, given his contacts in the world of TV. Alternatively, a role in helping the WWE Network to expand or hosting a show on the Network might be options. Either way, the Bischoff story doesn't feel like it's quite over yet, although Eric seems more than happy if the book on his time in sports-entertainment were to be at an end.

• Finally, a WWE Network recommendation. There was an episode of Raw from the Attitude Era which I watched a while ago that bears another viewing, and that is the March 26 2001 Raw. Not only was it the last episode before WrestleMania X-Seven, but it was the landmark night when the WWF and WCW had that simulcast across Raw and (the last) Nitro. It's obviously worth watching for historical value, but the show as a whole has such energy, and the roster was so loaded at the time, that it isn't hard to realise why the boom period was still alive for the company at the time, and it firmly prepares the viewer for WrestleMania that Sunday. Ironically, things would begin sliding for the WWF after WM X-Seven with Steve Austin turning heel at the same time that The Rock began his first major movie-related departure, and the wrestling industry would never be the same again. Still, at least you can relive the glory days, and a very historic show, before things took a downturn. Some would argue that things took a downturn because of the events of March 26 2001. It's the end of an era, whatever way you look at it.

That's my random round-up of wrestling opinions this week; I'll return with my thoughts next week, including my predictions for Backlash!

John Morrison: Rock Star

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 168 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Number Of Discs: 1
Studio: Clear Vision Ltd/Silver Vision
Released: May 10 2010

With three-disc sets being the norm nowadays, even for compilations undeserving of the extended treatment, it was good to see a change in the formula for this single-disc release on John Morrison, at a time when he was one of WWE's top rising stars. This DVD brings together eight Morrison matches, along with comments from Morrison about his career and about his passions outside of the ring, such as parkour (which would later be used as part of his character) and surfing. The DVD tries to show Morrison's sense of humour in segments on The Dirt Sheet and answering fan questions, although the clips from the Dirt Sheet (which he sued to host on WWE.com with The Miz) are mostly embarrassingly unfunny, and the humorous answers only provide mild chuckles.

The real purpose of this is to demonstrate Morrison's wrestling ability. We aren't really enlightened into his career prior to becoming John Morrison (he co-won Tough Enough in 2003, trained in OVW after that for around a year, had a short-lived run as Eric Bischoff's assistant Johnny Nitro on Raw before returning to OVW, came back to the main roster alongside Joey Mercury and then-girlfriend Melina as part of the dynamic MNM act in 2005, had a decent solo run from 2006-7 and after becoming ECW Champion at Vengeance 2007, as a replacement for Chris Benoit on that fateful weekend, he shortly renamed himself John Morrison in a segment on ECW which is included as a DVD extra), so the first bout comes from Morrison's ECW Title reign; or, more accurately, the end of this run. His title-losing effort to CM Punk is a tremendous match, though, and probably the best ever match on WWE's ECW show. Given that he originally became champion due to Benoit's absence, which led to a raid of Benoit's doctor Phil Astin's surgery and the enquiry into what would become the Signature Pharmacy scandal, it is slightly ironic that Morrison was amongst those caught up in the scandal, meaning that this title loss was necessitated by his resultant suspension (and Punk, the noted straight-edge wrestler, was the man who beat him).

On a lighter note, Morrison rebounded by overachieving with his team alongside Miz, which went so well that it prepared Miz for an unimaginably successful solo run. The match from their double tag title-winning run comes in a non-title clash with D-Generation X leaders Shawn Michaels and Triple H from the Raw episode that celebrated 800 episodes (note that this wasn't the 800th episode; it's too long to explain). Right after the 2009 Draft split up Morrison and Miz, Johnny boy had his final ECW bout with Evan "Air" Bourne, which is the next clash featured here, and is an underrated gem of a match, and a sign that Bourne should be amongst the names that WWE could have looked to rehire ahead of this year's Brand Extension (come to think of it, WWE should rehire Morrison too, if they are legally able to do so given his Lucha Underground status).

After that, the focus for the remainder of the DVD switches to Morrison's SmackDown tenure. From May 2009 onwards for a good few months, SmackDown was a fantastic wrestling show; each week, it had one or two great wrestling matches, generally consisting of two or more from Rey Mysterio, Jeff Hardy, Edge, Chris Jericho, CM Punk and Morrison himself. The final five matches of this eight-bout DVD see the former Johnny Nitro take on each of the aforementioned names, with mixed results when it comes to wins and losses, but with each one of them being a strong wrestling encounter.

Morrison vs. Chris Jericho from Superstars is very good, and note how Y2J makes sure to remain the heel and cheats to win, which is picked up by announcers Jim Ross and Todd Grisham (the latter is an area where WWE does not succeed today). The episode of SmackDown which aired the next night featured the following match on the DVD, Morrison vs. Edge, which is superb; if not for another encounter later in the DVD, it would have been the best WWE television match of 2009. Edge makes Morrison look great, and even though the veteran comes out on top, the match greatly enhanced the younger Morrison.

Next up, Morrison scores an unlikely win over then-World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk (who was in the middle of a slow-burn heel turn) in a match which is exciting, but is inferior to Morrison vs. Edge. Morrison vs. Jeff Hardy five weeks later for the title is excellent; it's hard to envision a better situation when you have a rising star losing his big World Title opportunity, because it didn't harm Morrison one bit. (Although it has no relevance to Morrison, it's a minor disappointment that the post-match capers, where Punk completed his heel turn on Jeff, aren't included here.) The DVD ends with a bang; a genuine classic between Morrison and Rey Mysterio for the Intercontinental Title. Morrison's biggest triumph in WWE is a flawless battle, the best of many great SmackDown bouts in 2009, and had this not been the year when The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels ascended to new heights at WrestleMania 25, this would have been the undisputed Match Of The Year. (As an aside, this result was instigated by Mysterio violating the Wellness Policy, making it the third title change scenario involving Morrison that was caused by a suspension or an absence of some kind.)

Watching this, I tried to work out why SmackDown in 2009 felt better than Raw does today, even though both boasted or currently boast great matches every week (and Raw had the full roster prior to the latest Draft). Besides the superior creative for SmackDown seven years ago, and two top bouts in two hours being better than one or two great matches over the course of three hours, the main thing I noticed here was the selling. Matches start fast-paced but slow down as the competitors have taken a visual beating, and the wear and tear is evident in the final few minutes of each match. Wrestlers looked strong, even in defeat, and results had an impact on future developments. Selling is the key, whereas today Dean Ambrose or Seth Rollins will have a great 20-25 minute match but won't look any worse for the wear at the end, meaning that the matches have less of an impact. If wrestlers today did a better job of selling, the product would seem a lot better. And matches today have that 50/50 feel to them, rather than being a case of who is the best on the night wins, and goes on to achieve bigger things.

Returning to the DVD subject: this is a fantastic look at part of Morrison's career, especially the 2009 bouts. There isn't one weak match on the DVD, and besides the good-but-not-great tag bout, they are all either very good, excellent or, in the case of Morrison-Mysterio, classic. It's hard to believe from watching this that Morrison ultimately did not end up capturing either the WWE or World Heavyweight Titles. Certainly, a 2010 push for the gold seemed assured, and Morrison becoming champion of the SmackDown brand would have been greatly welcomed by fans. Somehow, it didn't happen, and so Morrison's fans are left hoping for a day when he might return to WWE, having left in late 2011, and become World Champion then. Otherwise, fans of the current Johnny Mundo can still enjoy his work on Lucha Underground.

Nevertheless, considering that the single-disc nature of this DVD makes this seem less important than most DVDs released around the same time, and despite the disappointing absence of any pre-Morrison content, this is an excellent wrestling DVD that provides a nice look back at a great time for wrestling action on SmackDown, and a look at someone who seemed destined to achieve great things. Who knows whether he will in future?

Overall Rating: 8.5/10 - Excellent

Predicting The WWE Draft 2016

Image Source: Wikipedia

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Exciting times are imminent with the 2016 WWE Draft, marking the second brand extension for the company, and the first time that the WWE roster will be split in nearly five years. With plenty of speculation as to who will end up where, this is my attempt to predict what will happen and what surprises, if any, may spring up as WWE prepares to chop itself in half.

To begin with, it's clear that Raw will have the largest roster of the two, primarily because of its three-hour television slot. At two hours, SmackDown could afford to utilise a similarly-sized roster to Raw, but many of its stars would either have minimal time for their matches or be ignored altogether. Therefore, I will design my fantasy rosters with a slight advantage for Raw. That being said, WWE will ensure that the line-ups remain equal, so from a quality standpoint, hopefully one won't be too superior to the other.

With that out of the way, let's address the other elephant in the room: the title situation. When it was announced, it was assumed that, with the exception of the Intercontinental and United States Titles, each champion (or champions, in the case of the doubles straps) would roam between both brands. However, given the news that both brands will hold a PPV event every month, with the exception of the "Big Four", this now seems less likely. Although I don't consider it to be the best option, I think that WWE will provide each brand with its own World Champion; it's the only feasible way to deliver 20 PPV events a year without over-exposing the talent. However, I predict that the Women's and Tag Titles will each find a home on separate brands along with their respective divisions.

Okay, now let's predict the rosters. When the split was first announced, most assumed that John Cena and Roman Reigns would each be separated, and given the chance to be the leading face of their respective brands (even if, in Roman's case, the babyface push is proving futile). But recent developments have changed everything.

Cena has only wrestled once since his return on May 30, unless we count his unnecessary squash match with Karl Anderson a few weeks back. He's also apparently set to compete on only select live events in future. Therefore, Cena as the face of Raw or SmackDown seems less likely, since each brand's figurehead would theoretically have to be available for any and all dates. Meanwhile, Roman's suspension in late June has called into question whether he will receive the same push as he previously did, especially since fan reactions will be worse than ever upon his return. Adding to the confusion, Brock Lesnar could be facing a suspension of his own given a potential violation prior to his UFC 200 fight with Mark Hunt. Therefore, the Draft is now much harder to predict.

Since he is the current WWE Champion, I would have to suggest that Dean Ambrose is the undisputed first pick as things stand; and, since Stephanie McMahon loathes Ambrose, Shane (or the yet-to-be-named SmackDown General Manager, depending on who gets to make the picks) is most likely to pick up the Lunatic Fringe, bringing the WWE Title to the blue brand. The immediate reaction by Stephanie (or the also-unknown Raw GM) will be to choose someone who Shane felt wouldn't be touched by his sister, that being the suspended Reigns. As well as providing a mini-surprise, it also opens the door to a potential Reigns heel turn, aligning himself with Stephanie (which surely has to happen soon given recent events). SmackDown will then cover its bases ahead of the all-Shield main event by picking Seth Rollins (who will openly question why his old Authority pal didn't automatically select him from the beginning).

I mentioned earlier how John Cena is now less likely to be the face of a brand, meaning that WWE could now have him and Reigns co-exist on the same brand, which could also set up a future big-time main event, which is why I predict that Cena will be Raw's second pick. This may make SmackDown look weak, but no worry: the Tuesday show has an ace up its sleeve by picking Brock Lesnar (who was meant to return on the Draft show, before news leaked of his potential violation). Raw's third pick will be AJ Styles, for two reasons: to guarantee a strong wrestling presence on Monday nights, and to allow the Cena-Styles feud to continue until SummerSlam, where a new World Heavyweight Champion will be crowned. Where that leaves Reigns for SummerSlam is unknown; but unless WWE is planning a multi-brand Shield rematch for SummerSlam, at least one of the former Hounds Of Justice will have to find a new opponent before the biggest PPV of the summer.

The same logic for keeping Cena and Styles together will be used to explain Randy Orton being named SmackDown's fourth pick ahead of his currently-scheduled SSlam battle with Brock. In response, Raw will look to capture the biggest name possible, and that comes in the form of The Undertaker, who I believe will make an appearance, but will be attached to Raw in name only, at least until the hype begins for a probable Undertaker-Cena match at WrestleMania 33 (and this pick keeps both men on the same show). Having sealed some top names, SmackDown will look to the future for its fifth pick by selecting Kevin Owens, who won't be impressed that Shane will still technically be his boss. His mood will change, however, when Raw reacts by picking Sami Zayn, guaranteeing that the Owens-Zayn clash at Battleground will draw a line (for now) under their feud.

Because Kevin Owens still wants his Intercontinental Title back, KO will convince Shane or the SmackDown GM to pick The Miz next so that the IC Title is on SmackDown (assuming he beats Darren Young at Battleground, which he probably will), which in turn will persuade Raw to make sure that Rusev and the United States Title are on the red brand. The stakes are raised slightly next as SmackDown's seventh pick is Charlotte and her Women's Championship, with Raw responding by capturing The New Day and their WWE Tag Team Titles (they will be the only team who can be selected as such, because they're currently titleholders). Next up is a surprise selection as SmackDown looks for one of its past stars to recapture their past form, with that man being MVP (who has been rumoured with a WWE return lately). Not choosing to go down that route just yet, Raw's eighth choice is Bray Wyatt, whose Family remain at loggerheads with New Day. SmackDown establishes itself as the home of the women's division by picking Sasha Banks next, whilst Raw decides that it requires a big name next with its selection of Chris Jericho (drink it in, man). SmackDown rounds off its first ten picks by selecting Cesaro, who could challenge either male champion down the road. Raw's tenth and final pick is a big one, though: with an eye on the future, this is the moment that Finn Balor is finally introduced to the main roster, and its previous Bullet Club ties set up a ready-made storyline with AJ Styles sometime after SummerSlam.

Before the Draft show goes off the air, fans are informed that the remaining talent will be picked in the form of a lottery live on the WWE Network after this episode of SmackDown concludes. However, there is one final twist as Triple H makes a shock return and confronts Shane McMahon. HHH's reasoning will be that in his absence, Shane has disrupted the control of the Authority and taken away many of WWE's top names, as well as its heavyweight title (the resurrection of the WHC won't be announced until after Battleground). This acts as a set-up for HHH vs. Shane at SummerSlam with control of SmackDown at stake, with The Game's attempts to wrestle (no pun intended) control back to The Authority proving unsuccessful due to outside interference; perhaps it could be due to his one-time protégé Seth Rollins, reacting to the Authority snub in the Draft, which in turn lays the groundwork for an inter-brand HHH vs. Seth match at WrestleMania?

I won't go through the full details of why each of the remaining wrestlers will end up where, but I will make a few points before providing my full roster lists before. Firstly, as the above picks imply, Raw will be home to the tag team division, whilst SmackDown will be the base for the women's talent (which also increases the likelihood of a Women's Title match main eventing a PPV in the future). That being said, I envision some tag teams being split up, and possibly a couple of females ending up on Raw for shock factor (although they are likely to be valets or Superstars-level talent). On that subject, Superstars will go to Raw, and Main Event will belong to SmackDown.

Let's not forget, also, that WWE will throw in some shocks, regardless of the logic, just to make sure that fans are left surprised. Some of the NXT call-ups and former names that you see in the list below will be confirmed at Battleground or shortly afterwards, so that their promotions/returns have an impact, rather than on Draft night. In addition, the Raw roster will be slightly larger because of its third hour, but in terms of quality the two line-ups will be fairly equal (or as equal as WWE will allow, since it's inevitable that Raw will somehow end up the stronger of the two). I should mention here that The Rock will not be included because, let's face it, Rock will show up as and where he chooses, regardless of the Draft. Any stars that I list below as being NXT call-ups or returning names are just my guesses, so don't take this as evidence that these promotions or comebacks are 100% happening. Oh, and I forgot: I envision that WWE will have a shake-up of its announcer positions. I see Michael Cole and Mauro Ranallo switching places (so Cole to SmackDown and Mauro to Raw), and because Byron Saxton currently announces on both shows, his position on SmackDown will be filled by ... Corey Graves.

Finally, I will predict who the General Managers will be. It's inevitable that Shane and Stephanie will pick someone who shares their face/heel alignments. There are heavy rumours that Daniel Bryan will be the SmackDown GM, but for Raw, I feel that we could have a major shock, with that brand's leader being a familiar face, in the form of (drum roll) ... Eric Bischoff!

There's no guarantee that any of the above will happen, but this is my prediction for how the Draft will turn out, and below are my predictions for the future Raw and SmackDown rosters. Hopefully you enjoyed this preview, and hopefully WWE will give us a Draft and a roster split to remember!

Image Source: PW Mania

Raw Roster:

Roman Reigns
John Cena
AJ Styles
The Undertaker
Sami Zayn
Rusev
The New Day
Bray Wyatt
Chris Jericho
Finn Balor
Triple H
Karl Anderson
Sin Cara
Carlito (to be re-introduced after Battleground)
Darren Young
Erick Rowan
Fandango
D-Von Dudley
Summer Rae
Braun Strowman
Tyler Breeze
Enzo Amore
Kane
Tajiri (who will return after the Cruiserweight Classic)
Luke Gallows
Tye Dillinger (called up on Raw the night after Battleground)
Big Cass
Titus O'Neil
Shelton Benjamin (a late summer return)
Baron Corbin
Alberto Del Rio
Aiden English
Jack Swagger
Mark Henry
Konnor
Sheamus
Heath Slater
Tamina
Alicia Fox
Bo Dallas
Ryback (if he returns, which is unlikely)
Eva Marie
Viktor
Rosa Mendes
American Alpha (they won't debut until after SummerSlam, but this will be their home brand)
Lana
Bob Backlund (manager)

Commissioner: Stephanie McMahon
General Manager: Eric Bischoff

Championships: World Heavyweight, United States and Tag Team

Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, John Bradshaw Layfield and Byron Saxton

Ring Announcer: Lilian Garcia

Secondary Show: Superstars

Image Source: Wrestling News World

SmackDown Roster:

Dean Ambrose
Seth Rollins
Brock Lesnar
Randy Orton
Kevin Owens
The Miz
Charlotte
MVP
Sasha Banks
Cesaro
Bubba Ray Dudley
Becky Lynch
Goldust
Kalisto
Dolph Ziggler
Bayley (to be introduced as Sasha Banks' partner at Battleground)
R-Truth
Zack Ryder (his and Darren Young's homes will cast doubt on the mid-card title bouts at Battleground)
Paige
Big Show
Luke Harper (the only Wyatt to be separated from the Family upon his return from injury)
Neville
Natalya
Primo
Brian Kendrick (who will return after the Cruiserweight Classic)
Simon Gotch
Apollo Crews
Dana Brooke
Jimmy Uso
Nikki Bella
Jey Uso
Epico
Naomi
Curtis Axel
Emma
Maryse
Paul Heyman (manager)

Commissioner: Shane McMahon
General Manager: Daniel Bryan

Championships: WWE, Intercontinental and Women's

Commentators: Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler and Corey Graves

Ring Announcer: JoJo

Secondary Show: Main Event

What are your Draft predictions? Tell us by leaving a comment below!

The Best Of Raw & SmackDown 2015

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 470 Minutes
Certificate: 12
Number Of Discs: 3
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: February 8 2016

This annual release looks back on most of the previous 12 months of television content. I say "most" because the month of December is either only slightly referenced or ignored altogether due to the WWE release schedule (meaning that this DVD series is in production before the year even ends). True to that theory, the last match on this DVD comes from the November 30 Raw; had we been given the extra month, we could have had Roman Reigns' WWE Title win over Sheamus to mass approval, which was one of the top Raw moments of the year.

That aside, this is a well-structured look back at the highlights of Raw and SmackDown throughout 2015. This tends to attempt a balance between the biggest moments, the best matches and content which hasn't already been released, as well as avoiding repetition where possible (so, for instance, we only get a couple of John Cena's United States Title Open Challenges despite him having at least seven or eight great Raw bouts during this stage). In a nice touch, WWE has included short clips which recap each month in terms of key storyline developments, which always helps for viewers who would otherwise be wondering why specific angles had taken place. And this doesn't have a Blu-ray release, which is a negative, but it means a longer DVD programme (around eight hours), which makes this more of a comprehensive collection.

On the downside, Byron Saxton is a pretty annoying host; his material isn't great, but it's his "Aren't I funny?" expression after each supposed one-liner which is really frustrating; let us decide whether you're funny! And you're usually not! I don't mind Saxton that much, but this doesn't help as he looks to receive true approval for his work. Also, SmackDown was largely irrelevant throughout 2015, so we only get a few bouts from SD in the whole DVD. Hopefully, there will be more on the 2016 DVD which will include matches that will take place after the upcoming brand extension.

January is spotlighted by a Dean Ambrose-Bray Wyatt Ambulance match, which is pretty good, followed by Daniel Bryan's amazingly low-key comeback match from injury against Kane (unfortunately, Bryan would only wrestle for a few more months before further injuries that would end his career). A Royal Rumble qualifier between Ryback and Rusev is uneventful (these two SmackDown matches in a row mark the only consecutive SD bouts on the DVD), but after the January highlight reel (which surprisingly includes a very brief Hulk Hogan appearance; ooh, WWE is getting cold feet about keeping Hogan out of the mix), we jump to a very good Bryan vs. Seth Rollins match to determine who would face Roman Reigns at Fast Lane with a WrestleMania title shot at stake. This is the only footage for February as we then get the second highlight video, and much of March is also skipped over as we are taken to the night when Sting saved Randy Orton from a likely Authority beat-down. To be fair, WWE television wasn't exactly brilliant for the first few months of 2015, so we're hardly missing must-see moments here.

An overly long but undeniably entertaining Gauntlet match involving most of the participants from the Intercontinental Title Ladder match at Mania is up next, followed by Nikki Bella vs. Paige, a good match in the days before the NXT women truly took over Raw and SmackDown, and a very good promo segment to promote The Bellas vs. Paige and AJ Lee for WM (this felt more organic than usual; could it have been unscripted? And, if so, why do talents remain unscripted when they can genuinely cut good promos when the chains are off, to quote Curtis Axel?) Speaking of Axel, he turns up as jobber fodder for Neville's Raw debut (Byron's commentary during this match is appalling; the alternate commentary with Neville as a DVD extra is far better, and even that is only basic), but of greater note, this match follows Brock Lesnar going mental when he was denied a scheduled WWE Title shot at new champ Seth Rollins the night after WM 31. To end disc one, we get March and April recaps with a match sandwiched in between. John Cena and Daniel Bryan vs. Cesaro and Tyson Kidd was a basic meeting of champions at the time, but this bout (held in London, and actually interrupted by a few guerrilla marketers, which of course isn't included here) would end up being Bryan's final wrestling match due to his aforementioned health issues.

Disc two is the best of the set because the action has truly picked up on Raw by this point. We're treated to a strong Rollins-Ambrose match in Montreal, followed by a long segment from the same show that includes a great Cena-Sami Zayn match (Zayn gets an almighty pop in his hometown) as part of the U.S. Open Challenge. We then see Cena setting up another challenge, but it doesn't happen because the respondent is the debuting Kevin Owens, who announces his arrival by leaving Cena laying. Surprisingly when you consider the large focus on Roman Reigns throughout 2015, we only get his first appearance next as he, Randy Orton and Neville take on Sheamus, Kofi Kingston and Kane in a preview for the 2015 Money In The Bank Ladder match (Neville provides a great spot afterwards). This is book-ended by May and June recaps, and is then followed by arguably the TV match of the year, a fantastic U.S. Open Challenge between Cena and Cesaro in front of a red-hot Chicago crowd.

After that, we're shown the segment which marked the beginning of the "Divas Revolution" as Becky Lynch, Charlotte and Sasha Banks were officially introduced to Raw. The Revolution didn't exactly take off right away, but the women's action definitely improved from this show onwards, as evidenced by an enjoyable Paige-Sasha match which is next on the DVD (this and Cena-Cesaro also have alternate commentary). A July recap includes clips of the outstanding Brock Lesnar/Undertaker pull-apart angle, which really should have been here in full (by the way, the recaps start and end with a still image, and for July it's a positively frightening visual of an Undertaker expression during this brawl; if you turned this on in a dark room at night and didn't know what was coming, this would scare the s--t out of you). But we do see The Undertaker interrupt Lesnar's homecoming days prior to their big SummerSlam match, and the pre-Slam build is also represented by a very enjoyable eight-man tag from SmackDown that combines three PPV matches into one big TV brawl.

The best moments of arguably WWE's best TV show of the year kick off disc three with the completely unexpected return of The Dudley Boyz and Sting surprisingly interrupting Seth Rollins' statue ceremony (don't ask) in Brooklyn the night after SummerSlam. Two more monthly recaps book-end Sting's only in-ring appearance on Raw against Big Show, which quickly merges into Sting and Cena vs. Show and Rollins. Shortly after Night Of Champions, the general content of Raw and SmackDown began to take a bit of a dip, which resulted in the ratings really taking a dip. But there's still fun to be had, as Kevin Owens and Ryback have a fairly good bout for the Intercontinental Title, Tyler Breeze debuts to beat down Dolph Ziggler on Miz TV (this came after the worst storyline of the year, the Hollyoaks-esque love quadrangle involving Dolph, Rusev, Lana and Summer Rae, which hindered all and is memorable only for Rusev's great acting, and his new nickname of "RuRu"), and one of the best TV matches of the year, an incredible Fatal Four Way match between Reigns, Ziggler, Owens and the just-returned Alberto Del Rio to determine who would challenge Rollins for the WWE Title at Survivor Series.

But Rollins didn't make it to Survivor Series: after the October recap, but before the November run-through, we're shown action from the tournament for the vacant WWE Title, which Rollins had to relinquish after being injured at the beginning of the UK tour held that month. As part of that, we see a really good Cesaro-Sheamus match which includes interference from Wayne Rooney (seriously), and a big upset as Kalisto pins Ryback in the first step of a moderate push for the masked luchador. The DVD ends with an adequate Charlotte-Paige Divas Title match (the angle where Paige mocked Charlotte's deceased brother Reid fortunately isn't included), and a 7-on-4 handicap match as The New Day (whose cameos here would never be enough to explain to new viewers why the trio have become so popular with fans) and The League Of Nations battling Reigns, Ambrose and The Usos. By this point, Raw was ailing due to absences, poor storylines and questionable pushes. This, as well as declining ratings, actually made late 2015 a worrying time for WWE. But the Reigns title win on December 15 was the centrepiece of a great show, and with the signing of AJ Styles and the call-ups for Sami Zayn and several other NXT stars, Raw and SmackDown have generally been a lot better in 2016 (well, since WrestleMania 32 at which point the focus on The Authority loosened and many great wrestlers were given the chance to display their talents on a weekly basis).

Although the three-hour Raws get a lot of criticism due to their length, and many of the storylines during 2015 were either boring or poorly booked, the television shows still provided a very generous amount of great matches, and a good number of memorable moments too. Most of those moments are here, along with a lot of the year's top TV bouts. A couple more Cena matches from his Open Challenge phase would have been nice, as well as the incredible Rollins-Neville match from August and a strong Orton-Cesaro-Owens bout from the summer. And whilst Seth Rollins is represented fairly well, you wouldn't know from this DVD that Roman Reigns was and is WWE's great hope for the future, so some more Roman bouts might have helped. Perhaps adding a fourth disc, which the 2011 set had, would have resulted in a slightly more comprehensive round-up of the year's top moments.

Nevertheless, this is a very entertaining set with a clear focus on the wrestling action, and there is a lot of material that is definitely worth revisiting (Ambrose-Wyatt, Bryan-Rollins, Ambrose-Rollins, Cena-Zayn, Cena-Cesaro, the Fatal Four Way from October, Cesaro-Sheamus and a couple of the angles from over the summer). The monthly recaps are a minor inclusion, but a really good touch that benefit fans who may be watching this DVD a few years from now. Yes, the year did have plenty of flaws, and NXT was unquestionably the most exciting wrestling brand to follow during those twelve months, but the bloated nature of Raw, the insignificance of SmackDown and the general apathy towards storylines and featured performers can blind one to the fact that there was a lot of really good content on both shows during 2015. This compilation acts as strong evidence.

Overall Rating: 8.5/10 - Excellent

SmackDown's Most Memorable Matches

Image Source: Hyper-Pars

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 86 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Number Of Discs: 1
Studio: Clear Vision Ltd/Silver Vision
Released: April 3 2007

Initially designed to be the first of a lengthy series of budget-priced DVDs relating to WWE's two top brands (it was scrapped after four, which is fairly lengthy I suppose), SmackDown's Most Memorable Matches provides six bouts which stand out as being noteworthy. In some cases, it's debatable as to whether this is applicable, but all six provide entertainment in their own way.

Kicking things off is Hulk Hogan and Edge facing Billy & Chuck for the WWE Tag Team Titles in a July 2002 bout that WWE has often released under the proviso of it being massively memorable, but it actually isn't (the huge crowd reaction to Hogan is noticeable, though). Better is Rey Mysterio's WWE debut three weeks later against Chavo Guerrero in the first of many great WWE matches for Rey Rey.

One week later, a tag team match that isn't really memorable but is still engaging to watch pits The Rock and Edge against new SD signings Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero, which sees a finish that fans of today's WWE would consider greatly damaging to a top babyface (that it did no harm to Rock in 2002 is worth pointing out). We then jump ahead to June 2003 and to a genuinely memorable bout between Brock Lesnar and Big Show (hint: the ring plays a role in the finish).

We then leap to January 2005 and a really good Rey Mysterio vs. Eddie Guerrero bout which not only combines great wrestling with some clever comedy, but acts as the beginning of the long-running Rey vs. Eddie feud of that year. The DVD ends in October 2005 with Chris Benoit defending the United States Title against Booker T, in a hard-hitting match that sees Benoit take an extremely painful-looking bump into the side of an announcer's table off a missed tope.

This isn't a true representation of the most memorable or even the best SmackDown matches of its first few years (the absence of TLC III being a classic example), but with some thrilling matches and a few surprising moments, this budget DVD is more than adequate. If you enjoyed WWE's product in the mid-2000s, this is a good DVD for you to own.

Overall Rating: 7.5/10 - Good

The Best Of Raw & SmackDown 2013

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 451 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Number Of Discs: 3
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: March 10 2014

The WWE DVD series on the annual highlights of its flagship shows has been less impactful as the years have rolled on. What began as a 3-disc DVD for each show led to the two shows sharing a 4-disc DVD, then a 3-disc release. And even the amount of content has lessened, so while the 2013 edition captures big moments and matches, it is the weakest entry so far largely due to its shortish running time.

Just over a dozen bouts are here, compared to more than 25 for the 2012 DVD. There are some very good matches: CM Punk vs. Ryback under TLC rules was better than I had remembered it being; Alberto Del Rio vs. Big Show is an enjoyable World Title Last Man Standing clash; and John Cena vs. Punk for the WM 29 WWE Title shot was one of the top Raw bouts of the year (although those who consider it one of the best WWE matches ever are exaggerating way too much).

Into the spring, a basic handicap match leads to Dolph Ziggler's MITB cash-in bout which almost blows the roof off the Izod Center; The Shield's 6-man against The Undertaker and Team Hell No is a PPV-quality collision; and a bit later on, the Hounds Of Justice have enjoyable meetings with other teams such as Cody Rhodes & Goldust and the team of Bryan and Punk. Other good matches are here, the standouts being Randy Orton vs. Rob Van Dam and Cena, Goldust & Cody against The Real Americans and Damien Sandow.

Some important segments are here too, including Brock Lesnar returning to F5 Vince McMahon; the Cena-Rock point-counterpoint from Old School Raw; a match/segment to show the Fandango craze; and Mark Henry's brilliantly-performed fake retirement speech. Other notable segments are Cody kidnapping Sandow's MITB briefcase, Big Show knocking out Triple H and the Championship Ascension ceremony from the 2013 Slammys Raw.

Now, there are some other matches and segments, and the Blu-ray does have some more material. However, for a DVD that is covering the first full year of weekly 3-hour Raws plus 52 SmackDowns, the amount of potential bouts and angles which aren't here is staggering. Sure, the main highlights are here, but consider this: some months are represented by one match or segment from one show. Several feuds are only partially referred to, including The Undertaker vs. CM Punk, whilst others are completely ignored, including John Cena vs. Ryback and, in the big glaring omission, CM Punk vs. Brock Lesnar/Paul Heyman. The latter feud lasted over four months and dominated TV, plus it gave us one of the best two matches of 2013 in Punk-Lesnar at SummerSlam (the other true classic was Punk-Taker at WM XXIX), and yet it isn't referenced here at all.

On a similar point, previous DVDs would at least inform viewers how stories played out. A new viewer wouldn't know how CM Punk's 434-day WWE Title reign ended, nor would they know if John Cena got his redemption against The Rock at WM. Most notably, nothing is here to explain how The Authority formed at SummerSlam and on the following Raw, which was the lead story line for the last 4 1/2 months on TV and still is to this day, 18 months on from when the whole plot-line began. Even a short recap by the host with one clip over the audio would be better than nothing at all.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, releases (then on video for the benefit of those who remember cassettes) recapping the year of TV storylines would last no more than 90 minutes and had very few complete matches, and yet they did a much better job of summing up what happened than the modern DVDs of much greater length, particularly this one. Perhaps more DVD-specific segments should be used in future to quickly show major plot occurrences or other notable wrestlers or moments; aside from what has already been covered, we also don't see The Rock concert (and his hilarious 'tribute' to Vickie Guerrero'), the much-hyped debut of The Wyatt Family or Damien Sandow cashing in Money In The Bank (albeit unsuccessfully). And, as stated, there are far fewer matches here for unknown reasons (the running time is definitely one; it is around 90 minutes shorter than the Best Of release for Raw alone in 2009).

None of these complaints make the DVD a bad one; there are plenty of good matches and enjoyable segments, and the majority of key stories or events are featured or referenced in some way. But the release does have a lot of flaws, largely in terms of absent content, so whilst The Best Of Raw & SmackDown 2013 is worth watching, it is not be the extensive story of the year on WWE TV that fans will have expected.

Overall Rating: 6/10 - Reasonable