Roman Reigns Rant

This week’s Raw proved without a shadow of a doubt that the WWE chose wrong when they decided to push Roman Reigns over Dean Ambrose. The chemistry between Ambrose and Triple H along with the connection he has with the fans made for a great confrontation. Ambrose is one of those rare characters who can make the fans love him no matter what he does. That is a great quality to have since it gives him the ability to put a heel over in any program. One thing about the PG era that sucks is since it is geared towards kids, and kids don’t like to see their heroes lose, the good guy comes out on top of almost every feud. But with the connection that Ambrose has he can lose a few feuds and the fans still love him.

Now this isn’t a knock on Reigns by any stretch, I think he is an amazing worker who, given the right gimmick and maybe a manager to be his mouth piece, would make a great champion and a great face of the company. But the creative people in the WWE obviously don’t see it that way since they like to make him out to be a super hero joke teller ala John Cena. Let’s Face Roman doesn’t have that kind of personality. He should be a silent assassin. A guy who puts his all in destroying the competition and says as few a words as possible. It looked like they were starting to get it right. When Roman Reigns destroyed Triple H after TLC and the shows right after.. Heading into the Royal Rumble I had hope that he would continue that way, it didn’t. The saddest part is if he had given a gutsy performance and went from #1 to winning it all i would have been okay with it.

Roman made what was supposed to be a spectacular and gutsy comeback into the Royal Rumble after getting beaten down and hauled away mid match. I had a couple of problems with it. First of all he didn’t have to face any of the big guns like Luke Harper, Braun Strowman, Brock Lesnar since they were all eliminated by the time he came back, Second he was able to come back showing absolutely no ill effects from the beat down he received at the hands of the League of Nations. That is the moment that I realized they hadn’t learned anything and were going to continue making him into this ridiculous superman character.

Then we go into Monday night and find out he is going to be added to the Fastlane main event to determine the #1 contender. Wait What???? The Authority worked so hard to get the title off of him and now you are just going to give him a chance to get it back without earning it? Seriously? How about you make him work for it.  How about you make the main event at Fastlane be Brock Lesnar because he was never eliminated by anyone in the match. The winners of the matches that night on Raw could be placed in the match Kevin Owens, AJ Styles, Bray Wyatt, and Ambrose gets an automatic in because he was the last guy eliminated. Then make Roman Reigns go through a serious of challenges where he needs to win all of his challenges to qualify for the main event.

Instead we got Roman vs Ambrose vs Brock. There was no drama, there was no build up, there was no thinking that anyone other than Reigns was going to win the match. After he one the match why did he get fireworks?? He didn’t win the Main Event at Wrestlemania. This wasn’t a culmination of months and months of work leading to him finally getting his big win and first chance to hold the WWE Heavyweight Championship. This was a number one contender’s match for a title he had just lost a month ago. When Daniel Bryan won it was a magical moment, a culmination of chasing the title for months and having to fight the authority at every turn including having to beat Triple H earlier that night. Daniel Bryan had a magical moment, Roman Reigns winning at Survivor Series and Fastlane was hardly a culmination that deserved fireworks and streamers.

I hope the WWE figures it out soon cause if they don’t they are risking X-Pac heat on Roman Reigns and he is to talented of an in ring worker for that.

That’s all I have for now, be sure to check out my other blogs and follow me on Twitter using the links to the right. Take a look, also, at my articles on The Sportster and my YouTube Channel. My podcast with Shane is always a fun listen too as we discuss anything and everything in the world of pop culture.

ROH 14th Anniversary PPV Review

Ring Of Honor 14th Anniversary

ROH World TV Championship match  Bobby Fish, vs Tomohiro Ishii vs Roderick Strong

Highlights:

Strong hit Ishii with a picture perfect dropkick
Ishii held Bobby Fish above his head while standing on the second turnbuckle before a superplex

Winner: Ishii retains his title by pinfall on Strong after a brain buster

Grade: 2 3/4 stars

Thoughts: 

Decent back and forth action. I never really bought into Bobby Fish as having a legitimate chance of scoring the win. I'm becoming a huge fan of Ishii though

BJ Whitmer VS Adam Page

Highlights:

BJ drops Page on the guardrail with a belly to back suplex

Page hits a shooting star press off the apron to BJ who was standing on the floor

Winner: Whitmer by pinfall after a low blow

Grade: 1 3/4 Stars

Thoughts:

For a grudge match between to former partners I didn't really see the hatred. This was just a heel vs face match and the face wasn't really over with the crowd. I would have liked to see a little more brawling and some more life out of Adam Page.

Goto vs Dalton Castle

Highlights:

Castle sits on the top turnbuckle and gets fanned by the boys. He then uses them as steps to get down.

Castle catches Goto off the turnbuckle and turns it into a belly to belly suplex

Castle hits a beautiful missile drop kick

The boys fan Goto's hands away from the rope when he was reaching to get out of a submission move

Winner: Goto gets the pin after a Shouten

Grade: 3 3/4 stars

Thoughts:

the effort and taunts by Castle brought this grade up quite a bit but the blown finisher brought it down a 1/4 star. Dalton Castle is fantastic, his taunts remind me a lot of Goldust. 

Alex Shelly VS Christopher Daniels

Highlights:

Shelly with a cross body from the top turnbuckle to the floor on both members of the addiction

Daniels hits a springboard moonsault on a fallen Shelly

Shelly yells Super Fly as he does a cross body from the top rope

Winner: Shelly by pinfall after Sabin turned on Daniels

Grade: 3 1/2 Stars

Thoughts:

I think it's hilarious that Frankie Kazarian is bald considering he didn't want to cut his hair in 2009 and that's what kept him out of the WWE Alex Shelly is probably the best wrestler to never hold a world title. As far as the match goes I have seen these two do a whole lot better. It was nice to see The Motor City Machine Guns reunite. The tease of them possible fighting after they cleared house was a little much but the whole thing served it's purpose.

The Briscoes VS Elgin and Tanahashi

Highlights:

Tanahashi refused the code of honor
Elgin and Tanahashi with stereo suplexes and flex poses
Mark Briscoe tries the Karate Kid Crane move on Tanahashi
Mark Briscoe with a blockbuster from the apron to the floor on Elgin
Mr;. Wrestling said Mark Briscoes has dreams of winning the TV title and of owning a television

Winner: Tanahashi by pinfall after the High Fly Flow

Grade: 3 1/2 stars

Thoughts: 

After a slow start this matched picked up to get as high a rating as it did. it lost a half a star for to much repetition with Jay hitting the big boot about 6 times to many. Also a blown spot where the ref needed to tap Tanahashi on the shoulder to remind him to kick out. Dem Boys are the perfect blend of Hardcore redneck and goofiness, Jay Briscoe is an unbelievable talker. 

Moose vs Okada

Highlights:

Both Moose and Okada faked a dropkick in the corner

Moose big spun Okada into the barricade and the ring post

Okada hit a cross body over the barricade onto Moose

Moose mocked Okada's rainmaker taunt

Class act by Okada showing respect by leading the fans in a Moose chant

Winner: Okada by pinfall after The Rainmaker

Grade: 2 3/4 Stars

Thoughts:

The Rainmaker has one of the top five entrances in all of professional wrestling. Moose no selling a DDT was really hard to get past. No selling a kick or a punch is one thing. No selling a move that a lot of guys use as their finishers is just not cool. That one spot really dropped the rating of this match.

NEVER Openweight 6 man tag team title match Kushida ACH, Matt Sydal vs Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks

Highlights:

Kenny Omega places the broom in a chair for color commentary and then puts headphones on the broom.

ACH did a Lou Thez press and then a Stone Cold Elbow on Omega

Sydal gave a a double huricanrana to both the Young Bucks at the same time.

Omega caught Sydal as he was dropkicked of the apron then belly to back suplexed him on the ramp.

Omega over the top rope onto all three of his opponents on the floor

Kushida off the top turnbuckle onto the Young Bucks who were on the floor 

Omega powerbombs Kushida into the corner where Matt and Nick stereo kick him in the back of the head.

Sydal uses Matt's foot to kick Nick in the face

ACH over the top rope onto everyone

Kushida with the Nomo on all three of Bullet Club and then was invited to a three way Super Kick Party. 

Winner: Matt Jackson by pinfall after a One Winged Angel

Grade: 4 3/4 stars

Thoughts:

The crowd threw this is awesome chant around a little to much in this show but it was well deserved in this match. This match was awesome from start to finish. High spots every where and the ending had so much going on I needed to watch it 3 times. Absolutely amazing match that is easily in the conversation for Match of the Year. The only part I wasn't a fan of was Kushida just crawling out of the ring before ACH dove on everyone. I would have rather seen him have a high spot to explain why he was out there.

All Night Express Vs War Machine

Highlights:

Hanson back drops King through a table on the floor.

Hanson and Rowe alternated running face washes on Titus

King kicks out of Fallout

Rowe kicks out of One Night Stand

Rowe throws Kenny King through a ladder

Winner: War Machine Retains after a Fallout on Titus

Grade: 3 1/2 stars

Thoughts:

Well done tag team title match. Both teams took full advantage of the No DQ stipulation and there were High spots all over the place. If it didn't come right after the NEVER 6 man it may have stolen the show

Jay Lethal vs Adam Cole Vs Kyle O'Reilly for the ROH World Championship

Highlights:

O'Reilly and Cole double team Lethal with a fast pace spot that was something that needs to be seen to explain
O'Reilly capitulates over the top rope and misses because Cole and Lethal moved out of the way
Fisherman suplex by Cole on Lethal and German by O'Reily on Cole at the same time
Superkick by Lethal on O'Reilly as he came off the apron
Lethal Combination on Cole
Cole pulls O'Reilly in front of him to take the Lethal Injection
O'Reilly hits a Tornado DDT into a BrainBuster
O'Reilly has a Triangle Choke on Lethal and an Ankle Lock on Cole at the same time
Cole stops Lethal's arm from falling a third time

Winner: Lethal by Pinfall on Cole after a double Lethal Injection on both men

Grade: 4 1/2 Stars

Thoughts:

Another great match that is in the match of the year talk too. A ton of high spots and all three men felt like they could win it at anytime. On first watch the beginning with Lethal trying to join the match and getting knocked down by simple elbows by both men may have been to much of a stretch for me to completely buy in. Also It could be because I've seen it in every match this last month but, the three of them standing in the center of the ring trading blows is getting a little over done. All in all though this was a fantastic match.

Final Thoughts:

Only one bad match on the entire card. Out of 9 matches to only have one below 2 stars is a good achievement. Two match of the year candidates came from this card and very good story telling throughout the event. Ring Of Honor is really got a groove going right now and even though I think it may be time for Lethal to drop the belt or start a lengthy feud with someone. I really can't complain about the product as a whole.

Deadpool Movie Review

I will start off by saying this movie had more laugh out loud moments that any movie I have seen in the last 6 years. While it was an average at best action movie, The humor made it my early favorite for movie of the year. I found my self immersed in the story and when the movie was over I actually was disappointed because I wanted more. They also didn't waste anytime with grabbing you and making you laugh because the opening credits were written in a very sophomoric humor manner.

It will help to have a basic understanding of Deadpool going in. He is a former special ops solder who developed cancer. While seeking a cure for his cancer he developed incredible regenerative powers but the process left him really scared. Now he is a mercenary. Also I can't stress enough, This movie is not for children.

I'm not going to give any spoilers so I will just say that it is a typical action story with entertaining flashbacks and enough humor that it didn't get stale. Ryan Reynolds is hilarious, Morena Baccarin is amazing in her role. The role of the Ajax was played brilliantly, as well, by Ed Skrein,

I loved the fact that they made an origin story without dragging it on forever and ever. The origin of Deadpool was done through flashbacks that entertained in a way that it didn't pull you out of the movie or confuse you in anyway. The fight scenes were also done really well with a whole lot of the Deadpool comedy that you would find in the comic books. All in all I am going to say this is a must see and I'm going to give it 4 and 1/2 stars.

That’s all I have for now, be sure to check out my other blogs and follow me on Twitter using the links to the right. Take a look, also, at my articles on The Sportster and my YouTube Channel. My podcast with Shane is always a fun listen too as we discuss anything and everything in the world of pop culture.

This Week in Wrestling 2/27/2016

Unlike other wrestling results pages, after all let’s face it there are literally thousands of them. We aren’t going to focus so much on the results but give a rundown on what we feel the product is looking like for the week.

WWE

This week in the WWE, we saw the return of Shane-O-Mac who was somewhat violently thrown into a match with the Undertaker at Wrestlemania 32 I’m not going to spend a ton of time on this or any of the other matches that came out on Raw this week. If you want to read that you can check out the blog we put up earlier this week, also our Youtube Channel has a riveting wrestling rant that goes into detail. I’m just going to say that this match is a very bad decision and does nothing to help the WWE or Wrestlemania look good.

Also this week we had a heel turn by the big guy. We’ll have to see how that plays out in the coming weeks but it seems like a move destined for failure since the last time Ryback turned heel it essentially killed all momentum he had.

We've been saying for weeks that we think WWE should cut down the amount of matches on Raw and let the talent work longer matches to show what they can do. They got it half right, we got less matches but not longer ones as Raw was essentially destroyed by promos taking up more than an hour of air time.

We also wish the WWE would move forward with the League of Nations vs New Day because quite frankly we are getting sick of seeing them against the Lucha Dragons on ever damn show.

Its good also to see the Dudley’s as heels, Bubba Ray was probably the best heel in the business during his Bully Ray run with TNA.

It’s confusing what they are doing with the New Day. It seemed like at Fastlane they had made their official face turn but now twice these week they were back to playing the heels.

It’s really great to see the way AJ Styles is being treated with WWE too. So many times we get people who either get promoted to the main roster or come in from somewhere else and get buried. The WWE is going out of their way to give AJ big wins, Make him look incredibly tough by withstanding and breaking the Walls of Jericho more than once, and having people like Jericho talk him up as a real big deal.

NXT

We are really becoming huge fans of what NXT is doing. Corey Graves may be the best heel color guy in the business right now and the storylines tend to move effortlessly. This week we got to see American Alpha, Apollo Crews, and Bayley put on entertaining matches. We also got to see the final match for Bull Dempsey in NXT as he is moving on to bigger and better things. Which is sad because the Bull-Fit stuff was very entertaining.

The number one contender story also gave us something to look forward two as Samoa Joe and Sami Zayn are going to compete in a 2/3 falls match which very well could be a match of the year contender. Samoa Joe is looking revitalized now that he is allowed to be the vicious guy we saw in TNA and all signs are pointing to him winning this match.

TNA

This week we got TNA’s annual Lockdown show from London. We had a couple of really solid performances by EC3 and Beer Money. Otherwise the only thing notable about this episode is a heel turn by Rockstar Spud as he viciously attacked Carter. The only thing that I don’t like about this is that EC3 should be the heavyweight champion not feuding with Spud. Maybe they can fix this though  by having Carter feud with a Heel faction ala Stone Cold against the Hart foundation in the late 90’s.

ROH

This week was packed for ROH as they had their weekly program which was a go home show for Friday night’s PPV. The PPV will have a review up later Saturday or early Sunday since we watch it on a delay.

.

Roderick Strong, War Machine, BJ Whitmer and the Briscoes were all victorious on this week’s show leading up to the PPV, while the Addiction came out to put the boots to Alex Shelly as Chris Sabin just watched and wouldn’t participate in the beatdown. ACH drug Alex Shelly out of the ring while Daniels and Kaz argued with Sabin. This is a story line can continue to be entertaining. Alex Shelly has been one of the most underrated wrestlers of the last decade and he has such great chemistry with Daniels, Kazarian, and Sabin. Really hoping for a Motor City Machine Guns reunion.

Lucha Underground

The ongoing story with Vampiro and Pentagon Jr is really intriguing. Vampiro makes a great color guy but I’m really enjoying his dark side as well. And “The Plastic Man” Jack Evans is just a treat to watch. Every week he goes out and gives a 4 plus star performance and his over the top heel moves are just plain fun. Thankfully Johnny Mundo got an assist from Taya Valkyrie in his match with Cage because he was really getting stale. Hopefully this livens up his character a little.

NJPW

The Honor Rising event took place this last week in Tokyo with some amazing matches. Matt Sydal wins with Air Sydal which is frankly a thing of beauty. Kyle O’Rielly is a budding star. He teamed with Bobby Fish, Shibata and Goto to take on Bullet Club in a very entertaining  match that is worth it to watch for O’Rielly alone. Michael Elgin mentioned that he wants to chase the IWGP Heavyweight belt after his match. Bullet Club picked up a new title too, when Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks defeated The Briscoes and Toru Yano to become the new NEVER Openweight 6 Man Tag Champions. Omega is also the current Intercontinental Champion too so this should be interesting going forward.

Global Force Wrestling

So week this week had nothing going or for GFW fans as a lot of their roster is tied up in other promotions for the week and weekend. ROH is having their 14^thAnniversary PPV Friday night and TNA had their Lockdown event in London.  Nick Aldis, Sonjay Dutt Christina Von Eerie and The Bollywood Boyz remained the champs.

That’s all I have for now, be sure to check out my other blogs and follow me on Twitter using the links to the right. Take a look, also, at my articles on The Sportster and my YouTube Channel. My podcast with Shane is always a fun listen too as we discuss anything and everything in the world of pop culture.

What we know about Wrestlemania 32 so far

       After watching Raw this week I’ve come to a couple of conclusions. Number 1 the WWE is out of touch with its fans. Number 2 the WWE universe is really sick of the PG era and they really want a return to the Attitude Era. Or at the very least a return to the Ruthless Aggression Era. In all honesty I agree, maybe not the wild west everything goes culture Attitude Era. Just go back to a little bit of an edge. I think that would, at the very least, make some of these guys more interesting.

       Sadly they have been pushing this Roman Reigns thing to exhaustion for two years now and the WWE Universe is not buying in. Fans are getting so sick of Roman that he is bordering on X-Pac Heat. It’s not Roman’s fault at all, it’s just his super hero persona doesn't fit in today’s reality world. Roman Reigns is an incredibly talented in ring worker, just not oozing with charisma. He is somebody who would really benefit from having a manager to be his mouth piece. Sound Familiar? (In my best Paul Heyman voice) Brock Lesnar! Roman Reigns can be the man. Just not the way they are currently marketing him.

       Now all that being said, I only have one question? Are you ready? Oh wait wrong era. However, that era Triple H is who came out and savagely beat Reigns to close out Raw. I’m guessing he did that to play up the I’m the bad guy thing. All that did was remind us what a bad ass Triple H is and how bland Reigns is compared to him. I have zero interest in seeing this story plays out. I realize they had to scramble when Seth Rollins got hurt since Seth vs Triple H is what they were building to, but they had to realize a year ago that Reigns wasn’t connecting as the hero they want him to be. I have even less interest in seeing these two collide on the grandest stage of them all.

      What I do have interest in seeing is a Brock Lesnar (again I channeled Paul Heyman) vs Dean Ambrose. The only problem with this match is that they have made Dean look like a cartoon character against Brock. The Triple threat at Fastlane was a horrible match, In fact I only gave it 3 stars. In that one match it seemed like there were three separate matches going on. There was Brock vs Roman, Roman vs Ambrose, and Brock vs Ambrose. It was puzzling to watch Dean just get pummeled by Brock at every turn, but actually hurt and bring the fight to Reigns who was able to hold his own against Brock, the whole thing just made no sense. Throwing punches that Brock couldn’t feel and the ridiculous spot where he couldn’t lift Brock for the German suplex just made Dean look like he didn’t belong in the same ring with Lesnar. The fact That Brock keeps beating Dean down on every show and Dean hasn’t looked strong against him at all makes me not want to see Wrestlemania. Why would I want to see the guy, who should be in Roman Reigns spot, get beaten mercilessly. There is no reason to watch this match if you don’t believe that Ambrose has a legitimate chance at beating him. This is also hurting Ambrose long term, if he can’t hang with the beast he will never get out of the mid-card because will believe him as a champ.

     Which brings me to Shane-O-Mac. Look I marked out just as much as everyone in the crowd did when he walked out. It’s incredibly great to see him back and he will bring a lot to product. The storyline of his exit and reason to come back makes sense, and is a compelling story but that is where this ends. Let’s not even bother with getting into the fact that here we are in 2015 dealing with more McMahon family drama. Let’s focus on all the other illogical holes in this. Number one why would the Undertaker fight on Vince McMahons behalf? They haven’t been involved in a significant story line together for almost a decade and nothing in their history together even slightly suggests they would be friends. The other problem I had is that this match will be for control of Raw. Great Idea, let Shane win and let’s get back to brand extension so talent like Cesaro, Neville, Cody Rhodes, Heath Slater don’t continue to get wasted because there are too many people we need to see every show. My problem with this is that when Shane asked for it Vince’s reply was “Then you’ll control the company”. Wait what? So you mean to tell me that I am wasting my time with Smackdown and the Pay Per Views on the WWE network because, according to what Vince just said, they really don’t matter.

     Then there is the corner the WWE has now painted themselves into. On one hand you have the Phenom, 22-1 at Wrestlemania. A legend a guy that even at 50 has gone into Wrestlemania and dominated. Shane McMahon is a 46 year old man who was never a wrestler and last competed in the ring in 2010. If he comes out of a boardroom and beats the Undertaker, it devalues Brock Lesnars win. It makes Bray look like a weaker person then they have already made him and it makes the Undertaker look like an old man that can’t cut it anymore. If the Undertaker wins then the fans are treated to another disappointing McMahon family storyline that makes Vince look good.

    One last point and then I’m done. Where was Kevin Owens? We are on the road to KOMania and the Intercontinental Champion was nowhere to be found? I think the WWE has some major work to do but this is seriously shaping up to be one of the worst Wrestlemania’s ever right on par with 29 and 11.

     That’s all I have for now, be sure to check out my other blogs and follow me on Twitter using the links to the right. Take a look, also, at my articles on The Sportster and my YouTube Channel. My podcast with Shane is always a fun listen too as we discuss anything and everything in the world of pop culture.

The Best, Worst, and Unsung of the Miami Dolphins

     I kind of wanted to take a look at the history of sports and each team to determine who is their best and worst of all time. Every team has that one player that is head and shoulders above every one else. That one player that is the heart and soul of the team but never gets enough national recognition. Players that come in through the draft or free agency that seriously disappoint. And that one guy who's talent doesn't match his ego or his paycheck. Of course I'm going to start with my teams and if I get the gumption I may branch out to some of the others, For now though, lets take a look at the Miami Dolphins.

                             Best of All Time--- Dan Marino

 
     Like there would ever be another person in this spot. This pick was so obvious that I almost didn't even bother with it. He not only is he the greatest Miami Dolphin of all time arguments could be made for Dan being the greatest NFL quarterback of all time. When he retired from the game he held nearly every passing record, both career and single season, in the NFL. 15 years later and he still holds multiple records some that may never be broken. He was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 2005 on his first ballot and has since had his number retired and been inducted into the Miami Dolphins Ring of Honor. Some of his records have been passed because of the fact the NFL is a passing league now with rules favoring the wide receiver and quarterback. It is frightening to think how high Dan would have set the records if he played in todays NFL.

                            Worst of All Time--- Jackie Shipp

     Certain criteria needs to be met here. The player needed to be a first round draft pick, needed to play a minimum of 5 seasons and needed to be put in a significant roll with the team. For those reasons people like Ted Ginn Jr. John Avery, Chad Henne, and so many countless others that could very well get the mantle won't because that would just make this to easy. Jackie Shipp on the other hand was drafted #14 over all in the 1984 draft. He started 41 games over 5 seasons for the Dolphins and had 1 sack and 1 interception and 0 tackles. The Dolphins were so happy to have him that they called the media into their draft room to watch a tape of Shipp from his workout. For a team to be that high on a guy and have him a starter for 3 years you would expect him to have more than 0 tackles.

                  Biggest Draft Bust of All Time--- Ted Ginn Jr

     While it would have been very easy to just give this honor to Jackie Shipp he was at least a very solid draft pick That the team and fans were high on. He just never translated his game to the NFL. Also it would be easy to go with Cecil Collins or Yatil Green or any other of the countless draft picks that never even saw the field I had a couple criteria 1. They needed to be a first round pick. 2. They needed to play for the team at least 2 years 3. They needed to have been given a fair shot to succeed. That last one is the reason why Dion Jordan is not on this list. Yes he was taken 3rd overall, yes he has been in the league more than 2 years, No he was never given a legitimate chance to succeed by Joe Philben who made it no secret that he wasn't wanted on the team. When Dion Jordan was on the field he was an absolute beast the problem is, like Lamar Miller, he was never given enough time on the field to really make an impact. Ted Ginn Jr., on the other hand, Does meet all those criteria Not only was he taken #9 overall in the 2007 draft, he was also made the #1 receiver on the team, and played exactly 3 years with Miami before they got fed up with his underwhelming play and shipped him off to the 49ers. While in Miami he had 128 receptions, 1664 yards and 5 touchdowns. Looking at those numbers it's a bit deceiving while they are decent numbers over a 3 year period for a number 3 receiver they are no where near good enough for a number 1. Brandon Marshal had numbers like that in one year. I will give credit where credit is due. He was an astonishing return man that actually holds a dolphin return record by scoring two kick off return touchdowns  in a single season in 2009. The only problem is a great return man is fine but for a first round draft pick unless you are named Devin Hester you need to perform in other aspects as well

    Most Underrated of All Time--- Zach Thomas

        It is really difficult to call one of the NFL's elite underrated but the fact that he isn't in the Hall of Fame yet proves that he was. Zach Thomas may be the smartest middle linebacker to ever play the game. Peyton Manning once said that he hated playing against Thomas because ever time he would change a call he would look across to Zach and see that he was changing the defense to match what Peyton was doing. Thomas was a generational type player who was the heart and soul of the Miami Defense for 12 years and it is a shame that Bill Parcels and Tony Sporano just let him go because he didn't fit their plans. If there was ever a player that deserved to be a life time Dolphin it was Zach Thomas and his 1720 total tackles through out his career prove that.

       Biggest Free Agent Bust of All Time- Mike Wallace

     When Mike Wallace was a free agent there were to trains of thought. 1. he was a malcontent who couldn't get along with other players, which was why Pittsburgh was so willing to give up on him. 2. he was a corvette in his prime. There were people that couldn't understand how a player with his talent just entering the prime of his career was allowed to be a free agent. The Dolphins Threw $60 million at him and quickly realized that the first portrayal of him was closer to the truth. There is no doubt that He was a very talented receiver but he got off on the wrong foot in Miami. After his debut game where he had 1 catch for 15 yards he pouted and refused to talk to the Media. He essentially blamed his coaching staff by saying it wasn't his game plan. Things just got worse from there, He never developed chemistry with Ryan Tannehill, In two years he never led the Dolphins in receptions and he quit on his team. most notably in refusing to go out in the second half of his final game in Miami. At least the Dolphins were able to get him off the books after only 2 years with the team and receive a 5th round pick from the Vikings for him. 

      Best Free Agent Signing of All Time--- Earl Morrall

Earl Morrall won the 1968 league MVP when he led the Baltimore Colts to a 13-1 record.but lost in the Super Bowl to the Jets. In 1972 the Dolphins claimed him off of waivers for $100. this obviously was years before free agency officially started but since it wasn't a trade I think it qualifies. As a Dolphin people forget that the 72 perfect season would never have happened with out him. Earl Morrall played and won 11 of the 17 games for the Dolphins that year and played 5 total years backing up Hall Of Famer Bob Griese.



That's all I've got for now. Be sure to check out my other blogs and use the links on the side to follow me on Twitter, Read my articles on the Sportster and to listen to my podcast with Shane on both Youtube and Blog Talk Radio

WWE Fast Lane Review

Kalisto vs Alberto Del Rio 2/3 falls US Championship Match

Highlights:

JBL "he's going to take care of this little neon green pinball".

Kalisto wins the first fall by DQ when ADR hits him with a chair from the timekeepers area when Kalisto jumps up to fly at him from the top of the barrier. He then beats Kalisto down out side the ring in between falls.

ADR wins the second fall by pinfall after punishing Kalisto mercilessly

Kalisto blocks the double stomp by executing a Frankenstiener out of the Tree of Woe.

Kalisto performs a West Coast Pop then a Tornado DDT in the middle of the ring.

Kalisto wins the third fall and the match with a surprise roll up out of the corner.

Winner: Kalisto retains the US Championship 2 falls to 1

Thoughts:

I had stated in my preview that I would rather watch my dog go to the bathroom and that statement still holds true. There was nothing new, Kalisto hit his high points and so did ADR. For a 2/3 falls match it went barely 15 minutes. This match reminded me of a mid card raw match, not Pay Per View Quality. I guess it's good that it was on the kick off show.

Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch vs Naomi and Tamina

Sasha and Becky alternate blind tags to play up the fact they are not friends.

Naomi gives Lynch a Stunner from the top rope draping Lynch over the turnbuckle

Winner: Lynch and Banks when Tamina taps out to the Bank Statement

Thoughts:

     The WWE gave the women plenty of time to work and it paid off, all four women put on a compelling show and had plenty of time to hit all their spots. Very well worked match. My only problem is why is this match taking place? What was the point of having Sasha Banks come out and confront Lynch and Charlotte at Royal Rumble? Obviously they are setting up for a Banks vs Charlotte Wrestlemania match but how did this match help progress that story. If anything this should have been a match between Banks and Lynch for a number one contenders match.

Kevin Owens vs Dolph Ziggler Intercontinental Championship

Highlights:

I love the fact that Kevin Owens always comes out first even when he is the champ.

Why is it every show I watch claims that their hashtag is trending #1? WWE says it on every one of their shows and Sports Center did it this morning too.

Kevin Owens to Ziggler "your own town loves me more than you"

Sick Irish Whip into the corner and Dolph sold it so well that I seriously thought Owens broke his neck

Super Kick from Ownes and Ziggler dropped like a sack of potatoes. Reminds me of Owen Hart and how great of a seller he was.

Winner: Kevin Owens Retains the Intercontinental Championship by pinfall after the Pop Up Powerbomb 

Thoughts:

I will give credit where credit is do. This was an amazing match. Kevin Owens is the best heel in the game and Dolph when motivated may be one of the best wrestlers in the world. These two have amazing chemistry together and even though we've seen this match so many times over the last few weeks that these two really delivered. Great back and forth action with a great finish.

The Wyatt Family (Strowman, Harper, and Rowan) vs Big Show, Kane and Ryback

Highlights:

Ryback gives Harper 5 body slams followed by a power slam

Big Show Throws Harper over the top rope on to the rest of the Wyatt Family

Winner: Ryback by pin fall on Harper after Shell Shocked

Thoughts:

Ugh!!! I wish I this had been on the Kick Off Show too. There was about 3 minutes of actual enjoyment in this entire match. Three out of the six wrestlers in this match have absolutely no business being in a wrestling ring. Strowman is still to green and Kane and Big Show just can't maintain their characters anymore. I am enjoying Ryback more since his character has been altered and Rowan and Harper are incredibly underrated. Why was Bray Wyatt not in the match? He is the most talented guy in this match. He is way to misused by the WWE. To have him sit ring side like a manager is an incredible waste of his talent. This is why I called him the biggest disappointment in the WWE for 2015 because the WWE doesn't know how to handle him. And seriously Michael Cole "the Titans of WWE" is not going to get over no matter how many times you shoe horn it into commentary. This was a pathetic waste of time and this win does nothing for the three winners and makes the Wyatt Family look weaker.

Charlotte vs Brie Bella

Highlights:

Brie mocks Ric Flair at ringside with a Flair Strut

Brie with a Yes Lock into a single leg crab

Winner: Charlotte to retain the Diva's Championship by submission with the Figure 8

Thoughts:

Another match that makes no sense. I realize that Daniel Bryan retired but how does that make Brie number one contender. Why did the WWE waste our time with the Sasha Banks thing at Royal Rumble? This is the first time though that the Diva's revolution actually looked like a revolution. All 6 women that wrestled tonight worked hard and that includes Brie who worked a very good match with Charlotte. This was not a case of Charlotte making her look better either. Brie worked her butt off in this match. Had she won I would have been way more than okay with it because she earned it. She out wrestled Charlotte at almost every corner.

AJ Styles vs Chris Jericho

Highlights:

AJ goes for the Calf Crusher early on and Jericho is in the ropes

AJ turns a Walls of Jericho into a frankensteiner 

Jericho hits a dropkick from the floor as AJ was coming over the top rope for a splash

AJ hits a flying elbow on a seated Jericho

AJ hits Phenomenon

Jericho counters the springboard elbow with a springboard drop kick 

AJ hits a Pele kick on Jericho who was sitting on the top turnbuckle

AJ breaks a Walls of Jericho by crawling to the ropes

Jericho hits a Code Breaker on AJ as he comes into the ring

Jericho kicks out of a Styles Clash

Post match Jericho shows the ultimate sign of respect with a hand shake

Winner: AJ Styles wins by Submission when Jericho taps to the Calf Crusher

Thoughts:

Wow!!!! That just jumped into one of my match of the year candidates. Before I get to much into it, AJ's music may be my favorite theme ever. This match was down right Phenomenal. I want to see Jericho against AJ Styles at Wrestlemania and TLC and Summer Slam. These two have amazing chemistry and put on the best show of the night so far. and the best of the three matches they have had to date. I also like how strong they are making Styles look by having him get out of the Walls of Jericho and not submitting.

The Cutting Edge Peep Show with the New Day

Xavier Woods looks like Princess Leah and the glowing unicorn horns on Big E and Kofi are fantastic.

This is typical New Day and typical Edge and Christian had some very funny spots but nothing that really needed to be noted

League of Nations comes out to confront New Day. New Day exits then a little back and forth with the League and E&C. Then the New Day and Edge and Christian humiliate the League of Nations from the ramp. The Highlight was Edge throwing money at Kofi and Big E while they" turn the other cheek" to the League

The Social Outcasts come to the ring for some horrible interaction with the crown and are interupted by R Truth for an unadvertised match against Curtis Axel

Curtis Axel vs R Truth

Highlights:

none

Winner: No One especially not the fans

Thoughts:

    What a tremendous waste of time. How is this a match on a pay Per View when talented guys like Neville and Tyler Breeze and Damian Sandow can't even make a Raw. This one match brought down the overall quality of the show that up until now was a solid show with only really one stinker.

Triple Threat # 1 Contenders match Roman Reigns vs Dean Ambrose vs Brock Lesnar

Highlights:

Huge Pop for Dean Ambrose 

Boos For Reigns

Biggest Pop of the night for Brock Lesnar

They are making Dean Ambrose look like a cartoon character that doesn't belong early on

Ambrose and Reigns give Brock a double power bomb through the announce table

Ambrose kicks Reigns in the stomach and throws him into the steel steps.

Ambrose and Reigns give a second double power bomb to Lesnar

Dean and Roman then bury Lesnar under the tables before Reigns punches Ambrose

Ambrose counters the spear with a knee to the face

Reigns kicks out of Dirty Deeds

Lesnar gives a German Suplex to Reigns while he is carrying Ambrose on his shoulders

Winner: Reigns wins by pin fall on Ambrose after a spear

Thoughts

     When will the WWE get it. No one wants to see Roman Reigns as champ. How many times does he need to be boo'd out of the building before you just turn him heal. The match itself not very good, I don't understand what purpose it serves making Ambrose look like a weak cartoon character. Also enough with the fire works and acting like Roman Reigns is Daniel Bryan. A fire work celebration is not what you give a guy who is getting loudly boo'd. The stare down to end the show did nothing for the fans or for me wanting to watch Wrestlemania

Final thoughts on FastLane

     All in all it was a very well done show. A little overly predictable since I only missed on predicting the winner in one match. AJ Styles and Jericho put on a 4 1/2 star match that is going to be one of my match of the year candidates and Charlotte and Brie had the best woman's match in months. Owens and Ziggler put on a strong showing that was fun to see and Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch had a strong match. The rest of the show was kind of a waste of time. The Wyatt family looks like a bunch of chumps, Ambrose looked silly not tough, and the WWE proved they are still out of touch with what their fans want by having Roman Reigns win to go on to Wrestlemania.

     That's all I've got for now. Be sure to check out my other blogs and use the links on the side to follow me on Twitter, Read my articles on the Sportster and to listen to my podcast with Shane on both Youtube and Blog Talk Radio