Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the first edition of the Heyman Hustle. I'm at a loss as to where to begin, after an event the caliber of the 2009 Royal Rumble it can become hard to process everything that went down. Let's start with the most memorable moment, shall we? Suffering and Shane.
It's not everyday that a guy who returned from banishment shoots straight to the top of our industry but that is exactly what Joe did last night at the Royal Rumble. Joe had a shaky start upon his return, a strong first couple of weeks before he was thrown into the Primal/Hardy feud. Sure Suffering impressed everyone during that feud but it was ultimately aimed at furthering the rise of Jeff Hardy as opposed to building up Joe.
It's amazing how one night can change an entire career, the visual of Shane being hung, Suffering bathing in Shane's blood, soaking it up like it was a sweet nectar, Shane's life source seaping into Joe's hair, his skin, his entire being....that was the most shocking incident since Foley was thrown from the cell in my opinion and told more of a story than any mere high spot could ever tell.
Right now Suffering has completely over taken Jeff Hardy in becoming the single hottest property in the entire WWE, there is nobody moving higher, faster or on his level at the moment. Except Michael Shane. To me, Shane is more than just "the new HBK" or "the new Flair" he's a seperate entity that hasn't carved a niche for himself, he's ripped one open and forced his way inside (poor Ashley), he's that cocky prick one day and the savior of the fans the next day, not many men can claim to be as versatile as Shane is.
With Suffering fearing the wrath of not only the fans but the entire locker room it's obvious that Shane/Suffering is going to steal the show at Wrestlemania, there is no feud more personal, more telling or more innovative than this feud right here ladies and gentlemen. These two men represent everything the New Generation in the WWE should be, everyone else should look at this feud and learn from it, this is the future.
Also on the Royal Rumble card was the Elimination Chamber, a hellish gimmick match that truly rivals the Hell in a Cell in terms of brutality and hype. You should all know that I don't do super-babyfaces, show up save the day, kiss the babies and suck up to the crowd but Vince McMahon disagrees with me and is pushing our WWE Champion in this fashion. Don't get me wrong at all, John is perfectly placed at the top, the right man retained, the right man is heading to 'Mania and John can pick up any ball and run a mile with it, a fantastic talent and a helluva guy. I just don't like this gimmick at all. In a world where heels are pure evil and unstable like Orton and Suffering, where men with attitudes like Ryan Simmons are respected, where babyfaces like Jeff Hardy show that they're human, that they have flaws, where guys like Morten Hansen show that they have emotions, where the babyfaces don't always make the right choices, I don't think there's room for Super Cena, the perfect wrestler. Obviously Cena is needed as a face but I for one am hoping that he'll adopt an edgier gimmick post-'Mania, where I'm sure he WILL tear the house down, Super Cena or not.
Let's move swiftly on to young Assassin, the kid who FINALLY made an impact in the WWE. It's been no secret that I've seen potential in him from day one and like Vince have been a huge advocate to give him a large push and a large rub. However, never did I think he'd run with the ball like he did this Sunday. The look in his eyes, the sneer on his face, the expression as his boot connected with the temple, the sound as his foot smashed into Regal's skull, the intensity shown by Assassin truly rivaled his new mentor Randy Orton in this man's personal opinion. Everything just went right for this young Aussie native, he proved more than one of his critics wrong.
My personal problem with Assassin is holding myself back from demanding he be pushed faster than is smart to do, if it were up to me he'd be Intercontinental Champion by the end of the week....but this would do more damage than good to his career, all of that glory can come later on down the line. He's nearly there in the words of a colleague of mine, but he's not there yet. He is definitely going to be to 2009 what Jeff Hardy was to 2008 or what John Cena was to 2007, he's going to leave his mark in the WWE whether the fans like it or not. I just hope Orton will truly take him under his wing and teach him the ins and outs, that's what he needs right now and Orton is just the man to help him, this is a match made in heaven.
Finally I move on to the man himself, the be all and end all of villainy in our sport, the man who has transcended past any heel we've ever seen in the past, the 2009 Royal Rumble winner, Randy Orton. I've said it during my interviews with the Sun, this guy is on a completely different level than all of the other heels currently in the WWE and formerly in the WWE, never before has a villain performed such dispicable acts, relished in them, basked in the jeers the crowd give him while also being almost shocked at how far he will go to achieve his goals, just how low and dispicable he can become, there's no heel that can currently match Orton in the WWE or the wrestling industry as a whole.
Without a doubt, be it Orton/'Taker, Orton/Cena, Orton/HBK or a mixture of all of them, Orton will deliver the goods at Wrestlemania and will be the main draw at what is quickly turning out to be the largest, the most hyped and what I'm positive will be the most successful Wrestlemania of all time. Look for a special wing in the Hall of Fame to be prepared for Orton after this event, nothing less will be acceptable.
That brings our first Heyman Hustle to an end, I'll endeaver to bring more of my thoughts, opinions and ideas as often as I can produce them with my hectic Creative Team schedule. Next time I'll be doing the easiest blog imaginable, I'll be poking holes and critisizing every aspect of the Creative product and looking at where we're dropping the ball and where we need to step up. Until then, enoy the Road to Wrestlemania.
The Rumble- Typically a good one.
What about the Gathering segment though? How can that be called classy or even intriguing? Showering in another man's blood as he hangs 8 feet above the ring dying? Well let me tell you something. You don't HAVE to call it classy or intriguing. You can call that neseccary. Michael Shane spat in Suffering's face. What did he expect? Suffering to just walk away? No. Thats not how we do things in the Gathering.
I will admit to having been approached by Suffering prior to the event asking if I wanted the chance at glory. Naturally I accepted, knowing full well that it was by no means going to be glamorous. In fact, since it was Suffering talking to me I knew it would be the exact opposite. I have no regrets in taking Suffering up on his offer.
Now onto the other Gathering member. CM Punk. In my opinion he shouldn't even be in our little 'group.' He prances around with Mickie James like he has no care in the world. But why? Suffering is a fantastic competitor and under his guidance, I will be as well. But Punk? Come on. He didn't even have the guts to follow through with our plan to take out Michael Shane, no, he left me to do the dirty work. I didn't mind as it gave me a chance to show my loyalty to Suffering. Trust me though, soon enough Punk will be out of favour with Suffering and will ultimately be left on his own.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not the greatest competitor ever to roam the Earth. But there is no shame in being eliminated from the Rumble by a rampant Kane is there? In my limited time in the WWE I have achieved more than Punk in his entire career. I am younger, fitter, smarter and more athletic than CM Punk and will ultimately achieve more than him in my career.
Enough has been said about him though, you all know where I stand with him now and we will all get along in the Gathering anyway, because that is how the greatest of teams conquer all. By working together, no matter what we're doing, be it hospitalizing Michael Shane and bathing in his blood or simply winning titles we'll do it together.
The gathering are the greatest stable in wrestling history and will dominate this business until there is no one left to break.
Sergio
That wasn't as good as my last one but I tried. feedback would be nice cheers guys.
OK, lets have a go at this blog thing shall we.
The Rumble is just a few days away, everyone is primed, the locker room is buzzing, the hopes and nerves of young superstars in their first Rumble are at an explosive level. Myself included. I enter the Rumble one of the youngest and perhaps premature title winners ever, albeit a Tag title.
I've been in this business all of 6months and already i've learned a great deal. Who to respect, who you can have a joke with, and who you're never going to really get along with. My career has gotten off to the best possible start, a win on debut with Assassin, then being selected in Ric Flair's team at Survior Series. Soon after I was drafted to ECW where I won the Tag team titles 2 weeks in. I am especially grateful to my partner Super Crazy, who's experience has helped no end during my time on ECW.
Onto the Rumble match itself. It will obviously be a huge spectacle, as always. Anything and everything can happen and will probably happen. For a young lad such as myself, stepping into the ring to compete against the likes of Suffering, who I've idolised for the past few years, to Jeff Hardy who has been so successful in recent times.
Then comes the prospect of winning. I am by no means the favourite- but how can you pick a favourite in a match like this? Men have won from number 1 and number 30 and anywhere inbetween. Anybody can win.
The Road to WrestleMania is what every kid dreams of whilst growing up as a wrestling fan. I was not even born when the first WM was broadcast and to possibly be competing in one is certainly my every dreams coming true. Will I get there? Only time will tell.
No one is safe, no one is a favourite or an underdog in the Rumble. It will truly be a match of the greatest splendour.
Until next time,
Sergio.
Feedback would be most appreciated guys. 
It was HIS idea. He was adamant that we did it so we did it- hard. He threw up the painkillers lol.
School is ridiculously boring nowdays haha
Believe it or not, this was a painful impact. I can do better but i've never even attempted a standing backflip onto solid ground so I shit myself lol
It might seem stupid, but school is boring nowdays lol
How's it going everybody, Bryan Alvarez here from F4W Online here with my Royal Rumble thoughts and predictions. Traditionally this is where WWE start their whole 'Road to WrestleMania' deal and I have to say, the company's looking really strong right now. Vince appears to be on a roll as far as angles are going and their multimedia push is bringing the company through to a whole new level. I'm not expecting anything short of top-tier in the month or so before 'Mania, so it's a great time for the company.
Back to the Rumble then, and it's been booked well I think, with two big matches, the Chamber and the Rumble Match, really standing out at the top of the card. We'll get to those soon, but I wanna run through the undercard first.
The Rock and Sock Connection vs. Ted DiBiase and Cody Rhodes: This is a real odd one for me, it's almost come out of nothing. I know Rock's been saying backstage he's not overly keen on teaming with Foley again after a strong singles run before SummerSlam, but he's almost lost his way at the moment, and I don't think this is a good way to use him. As for the youngsters, there were plans to have them join some kind of second-generation stable but I'm not sure whether that's the company's priority at this point. These two aren't fully over in my opinion, but that'll take time, and they're great talents. A lot of people have been speculating a shock here, and I'm thinking the same thing. Vince booking the youngsters to go over the vets wouldn't surprise, and I think that's what we'll see.
IC Title Contenders Match A: Ryan Simmons vs. Rey Mysterio: It's been great having Mysterio back, it's a real boost for WWE to have someone as experianced as Rey back in that midcard having great matches. He hasn't been featured on RAW loads as of yet but I've seen him at some house shows and he's looked great, matter of time deal here. These two actually wrestled the other day at a house show and the reports I've recieved suggest these two can really go. Simmons is full of potential, as he always has been, and I reckon he's finally harnessed it. I can see Simmons taking this one, though whether booking him to go over strong or not remains to be seen, WWE have more sense than to bury Rey so early. Great match in store.
No DQ Match: William Regal vs. Assasain: Another strange one, I don't think WWE have done enough to get this angle over, whether they don't have faith in the young kid or whether they don't see anything in Regal above the lower-midcard, I don't know. What I do know is that they were also booked together on the same house show as Simmons/Mysterio and it was a decent match. Assasain seems to have settled in well and being in the ring with a guy like Regal can only hope. Assasain is 0-4 in matches between the two, and unless he's done something backstage that's got him in trouble, I can't see him being buried further. A win for the Aussie could start an angle between the two, but we'll see.
IC Title Contenders Match B: Primal vs. Jeff Hardy: The big angle here is that of Hardy's 'retirement', and it's one that I'm interested to see develop. Jeff isn't a renowned promo guy but he's really been knocking it out the park as of late and he's a babyface fans can really empathise with. Thus, there's two trains of thought on this one. Number one is that Primal will beat Jeff clean, and Jeff will indeed 'retire', leading to some sort of angle after WrestleMaia I'd assume. Number two is that Jeff wins and starts to get back his fire on the way to WrestleMania. Last I heard, Vince was keen on having Primal go over, but his changes of mind are so notorious it's impossible to say anything for certain. Personally, I think Primal will take it, as revenge for the IC Title feud these two had a few months back, and set up Primal/Simmons, an angle in itself.
World Tag Team Championships: John Morrison and Joey Nebraska vs. CM Punk and Suffering: There's three guys in this match that Creative are pretty high on right now, and I can understand why. Punk isn't exactly anything special, but he's workmanlike, and that's why he's been kept around. As for Morrison, Nebraska and Suffering...these are three superstars in the making. They're the kinda guys who are part of the 'new' WWE, it's a little edgier, and it's fresh, these are pretty much new stars. Nebraska was in line for a push before Smackdown folded, so I think this tag team is his reward, just slightly diluted. Morrison is fantastic on the mic and in the ring, he's got the look, and Suffering is really coming into his own, something I know Michael Shane has voiced displeasure over backstage. I don't think Suffering's place is in the tag division right now, I think he'd be under-used there, so I can see Morrison and Nebraska taking it.
IC Title: Winner of Match A vs. Winner of Match B: Basing this one on how I've said it'll go, I expect this match to be Ryan Simmons taking on Primal. WWE have been making big noises about putting these two in a program together because they've got great chemistry as well as history. One angle I heard about was the whole 'respect' deal, and I'd be all for that if they ran with it, these two are exactly the kind of guys who can pull it off. At the end of the day, for the time being, I can see Primal taking the title off Simmons in a real close match, expect Vince to tell both guys to play up the whole 'fatigue' scenario after already wrestling a match each. I can see these to feuding over the belt all the way to WrestleMania 25.
Elimination Chamber Match for the WWE Title: John Cena vs. Forxx vs. Kane vs. Randy Orton vs. Undertaker vs. Michael Shane: Now, first of all, people have been asking me whether WWE are having this as the Main Event. I can tell you that it's almost certain they won't, Vince is a huge advocate of having the Rumble Match go on last. Still, this one is going to steal the show as far as I'm concerned, there's so much potential. Cena, Orton, Taker and Shane will probably carry this one but Forxx showed at SummerSlam that he's got ability in this type of scenario and Kane's always capable of springing a surprise in-ring. The great thing about this match is the amount of feuds it throws together, Cena/Shane, Cena/Taker, Cena/Orton and Forxx/Kane. I reckon Vince likes the idea of the two big men in a program together, so don't be surprised if we see a lot of interraction between them, a gimmick match at WrestleMania is an idea they've banded about. My biggest concern is how they're going to protect Cena, because if he goes in early, he's going to have a lot of guys going after him and he'll have a lot of work to do. If they send him in last, which I don't think they will, he can't be booked too strongly in this environment. I don't know of any concrete plans right now so I wouldn't be surprised if Vince springs a real surprise and has Michael Shane win the belt.
Royal Rumble Match: Main Event, and it's another really interesting one this year, credit has to go to WWE for booking it so strongly year after year and maintaining such high interest in a match which is about everything but in-ring work. So many names been thrown around this year, most notably Shawn Michaels who was 'fired' by Vince McMahon a few months back. I'm of the understanding that HBK will be working the Rumble, but I can almost certainly assure you he won't be winning it, I don't think Vince sees Shawn as the 'go-to' guy in today's WWE. I think we may see some kind of angle develop between the two in fact, Vince could have Michaels' elminated, a match between the two at WrestleMania 25 can draw. Nightmare is another guy who's been mentioned, there's been some promo vids on RAW about his return and we could well see it here. Again, I don't think he'll win it though. The final surprise entrant people have been raving about is Austin, and I reckon there's a strong possibility he'll be there. Despite the possible swerve of Austin not being WWE's half-owner, I reckon we could see Steve return to in-ring competition, and Cena/Austin at WrestleMania has been talked about since last year. It's a real marquee match, almost on the level of Icon vs. Icon, something else that's been suggested for Mania. If Austin enters, I can see him winning. If he doesn't, it really is anyone's game after that because of the amount of star power that's in the Chamber Match. If WWE spring a surprise and have one of the entrants from that win the Rumble, fair play to them but Vince has said recently that a number of midcard acts are going to benefit from the Rumble match and one will recieve a huge push. If that's the case, then WWE are going to have their work cut out pushing this guy between now and WrestleMania, they've a history of hot-shotting guys to the top and then doing the build-up later. I think a decision was made on the finish on Thursday but I haven't heard a peep out of Connecticut so I'll leave it at that.
Thanks for reading everybody, as always if you wanna leave feedback feel free to do so below and I'll hopefully be back on Monday or Tuesday to review the show.