July 4th Exclusive: A Q&A with Derrick Bateman
Welcome to a very special article for me personally and Wrestling Rambles too. An Q&A with WWE funny guy and wrestler – Derrick Bateman. For those who don’t watch NXT you might not know of Derrick Bateman but for NXT regulars you will all know Derrick both outside the ring and inside. Even those who don’t watch NXT should know of Derrick Bateman seeing as he was on the very American, “Great American Bash” SmackDown special last night.
Ryan’s Round: Mailbag
Hello and welcome to the first edition of Ryan’s Round; which is a fancy gimmick given to a round of mailbag answers with yours truly. I didn’t really have anything of interest to write about because I need to catch up on everything WWE some day soon. Yes, unfortunately I have been slacking lately, but I promise it’s not my fault! Dad cancelled the Sky Sports package! *Sobs uncontrollably* Anyhow, I’ve been dying to do one of these mailbags since forever. I’m all for interacting with the Wrestling Rambles following and anyone with any interest whatsoever in the wrestling world.
So without any further delay here it is:
Will Randy Orton be fired by the end of the year? – @JW_Punk
I don’t believe so. Randy Orton is SmackDown’s biggest star and they will need him back to regain star power which it is currently lacking. The WWE switched Punk over to SmackDown for recent house shows; this is only because Orton’s not there to draw more seat tickets. Read more 
Raw 1000 Episode: My Wishes!
As we all know, or should know, the 1000th episode of Raw is impending. The reason I said that you should know this is because there have been little snippets of action that have made Raw the longest running episodic tv show in all of history (I think). For there have been many glorious, funny, outrageous, pure banter bits that make you salivate and wobble at the knees for in today’s crazy programming. Which brings me to today’s article; my wishes for the 1000th episode of Raw!
What I want to see:
- The return of Stephanie or/and Shane McMahon. I love these gruesome twosome that came straight to the world only to see their father put a beating on them. Father-son, father-daughter match anyone? No no no, I don’t want one of those for Raw. All I’m asking is for Shane or Stephanie (both if you’re feeling up for it) to return to WWE programming. I could well see Stephanie become GM of Raw, with the only things truly holding her back are her children. Same goes for Shane. Even a part time GM would work for me therefore they wouldn’t need to be there every night. Both could instantly get a crowd pop because they’re so loved, perhaps more so than their domestic violent-fill yer boots dad. Stephanie is so bad ass and could be used really well currently because it would almost be a huge fuck you to TNA who are relying on Hulk Hogan’s daughter Brooke for female star power. Now I actually liked Brooke back in the day but when you put the two side by side you can see the shovel from the shit.
- Big Johnny fired. Many rumors about Big Ace have been flying about recently. He was taken off the corporate website therefore allowing some to believe he was becoming a main tv star but my thought is that he has been removed because WWE want to make it less predictable therefore by doing this they are twisting and turning the story. They are almost allowing us – the IWC – to think he’s becoming a main tv star when in fact he might not be. Fooling us so to speak. Big Johnny’s character has got so stale that I’ve resorted to fast forwarding the parts that he’s talking or just generally on screen. The character may work for some but not for me.
- Big Show fired. Okay, so Big Show has been around for long many a year therefore with him being 40+ years old he may be seeking a retirement in the near future. Or so I hope. I just cannot stand this guy any longer. He’s a giant therefore his wrestling ability leaves a lot to be desired. We have Dolph Ziggler being misused and Big Show being overused. Where is the logic? Because it clearly isn’t in the creative’s heads. The Big Show has had a long prosperous run in both the WCW and WWE therefore it would be fair to say he’s being treated well despite his alarmingly shit wrestling. He’s boring, can’t wrestle, can’t sell merch (therefore he gives it all away to the front row kiddies) and brings absolutely nothing to the table anymore. That being said I’d like the guy to have a good send off, perhaps being fired by McMahon (any of them) would be the best way for him to go out. Either that or he could lose a retirement match to Mark Henry or something. Show is slow and needs to go.
- Cena injured. For the record I don’t purposely want anyone injured ever. But Cena is doing a movie soon and I’d love to see the guy get some much much needed family time. Therefore I think it’d be great to have a shock return (someone like Batista) come back and destroy Cena. Maybe even Big Show could injure Cena so bad that Vince fires him? Thus ending the angle between Cena and Show and letting Show retire. I just think it’d be epic to have Cena wrote off for a while in a really shocking way.
- HBK – one of the guys that has made Raw so special for me over the years is good ole HBK! Remember the sweet chin music he gave to Shelton Benjamin? Epic. Remember HBK and The Undertaker building up to Mania? Great. Remember DX and their crazy antics? Amazing. HBK is and always will be a legend and is someone that I think WWE misses greatly. The 1000th episode of Raw needs to have star power and is there any bigger than HBK?
- Edge – some may think that Edge comes back too many times. WRONG. Edge can never return too many times. He, like Edge, has created so many epic Raw memories. Remember the live sex segment? History making. So bring Edge along and who knows… Maybe he and new girlfriend Beth could get it on!
- Stone Cold – OMG! This is probably the biggest star of Raw over the years. During the years where he and Vince were laying into each other Stone Cold would provide us with years full of laughter and gave us that bit of fantasy whereby we sat and watched someone kick their bosses ass! Something I’m sure you wished you could do and sorta get away with it like Stone Cold did. Not to mention, he drove a beer truck into the workplace and nearly drowned all present in the ring in beer! Awesome. Stone Cold done it all and he was probably the most stand out star of the attitude era which we all know was the boom period in WWE!
That’s all the time I have for this week folks, be sure to come back next week for more of my wishes and please tell me some of your own Raw 1000 wishes below in the comment box.
If you wish to follow the discussion on outside of WR be sure to catch me on @Razor_WWE94 where I will mostly talk shit and annoy you. But I will talk wrestling which is always a huge incentive…
Cheers,
Ryan!
My WWE 13 Wants!
Hello everybody, it’s Ryan back on WrestlingRambles after a short hiatus. I have been dealing with exams and other bullshit and unfortunately had no time to write for the website. But I’m finding life a little more relaxed and a whole lot more boring as my next exam isn’t until the 21st! Woohoo! Read more
My Favourite Entrance Themes – Part II
WHOOPS! First off let me apologise to you – the beloved Wrestling Rambles viewers, audience, UNIVERSE – for being late in publishing this article.
Onwards and upwards. Or so they say. This week I bring you my top five wrestling theme songs! Last week I brought you number 10-6, which seemed to work a treat but also raised the alarms for many of you at home demanding to see certain songs on the list. Well, wait no further because that long, loooooooooong wait is over and you can see whether those songs you recommended or cheered for made the list. I won’t spoil the surprise so read further! Let’s Go!
5. Chris Benoit – Whatever
This song by Our Lady Peace was a big hit for me because Benoit was my favourite wrestler and to some extent still is one of my favourites. The first few notes of this song was easily recognisable and instantly you knew that the Rabid Wolverine was making his way out to make someone tap. In my case, whenever I first heard the song hit I was marking out hard and again, to some extent, I am whenever I watch DVDs that include Benoit. Benoit was one of my favourites because his technical skill in the ring was amazing, combined with the fact that he was a smaller guy and was always relatively considered an underdog. Some don’t like to talk about Benoit anymore and have since the double murder and suicide refuse to watch his stuff. I, on the other hand, recognise him as one of the best. Since the double murder/suicide Our Lady Peace have retired this song and have removed it from their catalogue refusing to play it at shows because it is instantly recognised as Benoit’s song. The lyrics to this song go along the lines of:
My Favourite Entrance Themes – Part I
This week I thought I’d start of my two part series where I give you a rundown of my favourite entrance themes in WWE history. Apart from the in-ring wrestling that we see in WWE and outside WWE I feel that your entrance is a big element of being the complete package. We all have that one favourite entrance theme that as soon as it hits whether it be on Raw, SmackDown or PPVs sends chills down your spin or else has you singing. Entrance themes are a great way to connect with your fans, if they love your song they’ll remember it and that’s always a good thing in the tough industry of wrestling.
So let’s get on with my countdown!
The WWE Draft of 2012 – Why It Needs To Happen and Who Needs To Change.
The WWE draft is one of those game changing moments that change the landscape of the WWE for the next 12 months, or until a new draft happens. The draft is when superstars from their brands are selected at random and switched to the opposing brand. For example, in the 2011 draft Randy Orton moved from Raw to SmackDown where he soon established himself as a main star on SmackDown and would go on to win the World Heavyweight Championship.
Friday the 13th of April 2012 – WWE comes to Belfast!
[ ''Note From Ray - The news page is down and out. Andy is currently revamping the wrestling news we provide on WR, it will be easier to read and it'll get more notice. As you can see ''WR Global'' has taken its place. It's an exciting project created by James COMING SOON.'' ]
Tonight, I’m giving my account of the WWE house show last Friday in my home city of Belfast, Northern Ireland. It was a great night had by myself and I will also tell you about the day prior to the show. So let’s go.
I’m sure you all don’t want to know what time I woke up, brushed my teeth and took a shower out therefore I’ll skip all that! My cousin and I had decided to meet up prior to the show to meet the WWE stars at the hotel, however he’s went AWOL and I haven’t heard from him in a few weeks, therefore I started the day right off the bat in an annoyed mood. I took the train to Belfast which took an hour and thankfully was able to meet up with Noeleen – someone I had only previously talked to via twitter but seeing as she was by herself and I was by myself we thought we’d team up and get our stalker on. We arrived at the Hilton hotel where they usually stay (if at all) and were met with a large gang of Chinese people and police men. Turns out that the Chinese democrat was visiting Belfast on the same day as the wrestlers, as well as the same day of the MTV Titanic Sounds show that was on later that night. To say Belfast was packed was an understatement. Noeleen and I bought hot chocolates to avoid being kicked out of the Hilton for being stalkers –which by the way, does actually happen! After weeks and weeks of trying to book a room into the completely booked out Hilton I was able to get an available room, thankfully I decided it was too dear before being told that the WWE stars weren’t staying in the Hilton! Noeleen and I were told where the stars were staying and made our way over, getting lost on the way but in the end, we arrived to a hotel packed with wrestling fans in the lobby! NERDS.
WWE in Belfast – House Shows.
This week I’m going to talk a little about Live Events or as we know them House Shows. James in his The Opinion series gave a few experiences of his time at road shows, or TV tapings and I felt that it would be cool to talk about wrestling at this part of the world.
I’m from Northern Ireland where the weather sucks and just about everything else follows suit. I live an hour from the capital and travel there 4 days a week for College. Because Northern Ireland (and the rest of the UK) is so far away from America we only get to experience WWE house shows twice a year at the most. I think having them over here so little makes it that much more important and special, however folk will disagree and say it sucks.
House shows are very important in that they allow the talent to travel to many different countries around the world and that the talent are able to try different things or hone certain skills before showcasing them on TV to a much wider audience. TV shows such as Raw, SmackDown, NXT and SuperStars happen on a weekly basis but road shows happen much more frequently, sometimes happening as much as everyday.
The Shooter: Best of the CM Punk Shoot!
Back this week is The Shooter, after going AWOL before WrestleMania week The Shooter has stopped marking out and is back to business. The last of the Yesterday’s Indy Stars, Today’s Main Stars kicks of today and ends when you read it.
Today we will be having a look back at CM Punk’s time on the indy circuit, but mainly at his time in ROH! As we all know Punk and Bryan Danielson where two of the men that worked tirelessly to make ROH as big as it is today. So without any further delay let’s go!
Punk’s first taste of wrestling was a short stint in a Backyard wrestling group called Lunatic Wrestling Federation along with his friends in the mid-late 1990s. He first started using the ring name of CM Punk when he was put into a tag team named Chick Magnets (one of the many meanings of CM) with CM Venom, this match came about after another performer skipped the card. Unlike most of his friends Punk really desired to be a wrestler, a professional wrestler and saw it as more than just some fun. When the promotion started taking off, doing shows in a warehouse in Mokena in Illinois as well as high school gyms in suburban Cook County. He would soon leave the federation and enrolled as a student at the Steel Dominion wrestling school in Chicago where he was trained by Ace Steel, Danny Dominion and Kevin Quinn to fulfil his wishes of becoming a pro. As part of the training Punk would travel to St Paul, Minnesota to wrestle in Steel Domain Wrestling. It was here that Punk would meet life-long friend and highly publicised Bromance pal Scott Colton a.k.a Colt Cabana! The pair spent their early career together working in the same promotions, both as opponents and allies. In the independent scene Punk, Cabana, Chuckee Smooth and Adam Pearce – all Steel Domain graduates – would go on to form the Gold Bond Mafia.
WrestleMania Preview: Sheamus vs Daniel Bryan
It’s finally here, the week we’ve all been waiting for! WrestleMania week and honestly is there ever a week that is more anticipated than this week in the IWC or wrestling world in general? I think not, in fact I know not. I know I’m excited, I know you’re excited and I know Vince McMahon is just watching the dollars flow in effortlessly! Read more
The Shooter: The Best of the Daniel Bryan Shoot!
The Shooter is back and things are heating up this week as we take a look at one of the IWC’s forever favourites – Daniel Bryan!
This week I was actually planning on doing a female wrestler and I had even chosen that special lady, Mickie James. Photos were extremely hard to find on her indy career, but fear not I did come across a small site whereby I found some indy pictures of her. Unfortunately after going to the bother of finding the photos I realised that there is literally NO information on her career in the Indies. I guess no one cared enough about her to keep track of what she done in the wrestling world; therefore I had to scrap the knockout article and skip onto the American Dragon himself Mr Bryan Danielson. I didn’t know whether to replace Mickie James with another indy wrestler like Austin Aries, Christopher Daniels or someone totally different like Colt Cabana. However, I felt that I’d cut the article out and make this series into 4 parts. This means that next weeks player will close out the series. But let’s get on with this week’s shoot!
The Shooter: Best of the Evan Bourne Shoot
Back with the second edition of the Indy series comes The Shooter to a computer screen directly in front of your damn eyes. This is the Shoot and I am The Shooter. This week’s shoot is about a popular WWE wrestler, who has lately fucked up. None other than Matt Korklan, otherwise known to us as Evan Bourne!
Matt began the road to his career in 2000 training with St. Louis based GCW- Gateway Championship Wrestling. 3 months later Bourne would began competing on their match card making him the first ever person under the age of 18 to receive a wrestler’s license in Missouri. Before receiving his license Bourne was wrestling briefly under the name Lance Sydal in Saint Peters Wrestling Organisation. During his time in GCW Bourne formed a tag team with Billy McNeil dubbed Operation: Shamrock who would feud with Ministry of Hate.
In November 2003 Bourne would then debut in Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South combining two of his old ring names to make Matt Sydal. He would go on to win his first ever championship the IWA Mid-South Light Heavyweight Championship on January 17th 2004 defeating J.C. Bailey. Sydal would hold the belt until June 26th 2004 when he lost to rival Delirious. Read more
