CM Punk & Wrestling's Best Storyline in Years...

[alpha]

Sawft!

[Brougham33]

Well that was a great Raw, despite the absurd Shane/Vince logic.

What was up with Cole not really putting over Enzo and Cass? Regardless they really killed that segment.

AJ Styles vs Roman should be bonkers, despite the promo issues. Although I thought smirky Roman with the "I'm not a bad guy. I'm not a good guy. I'm THE guy" line was money.

Zayn and Owens main roster feud already off to a great start.

Hope Cesaro remains a top level babyface.

[GUCCI CONDOMS]

What was up with Cole not really putting over Enzo and Cass? Regardless they really killed that segment.

Raw announcer team is the worst it's ever been. And I mean that, no exceptions.

[battlecatmeowstab212]

What was up with Cole not really putting over Enzo and Cass? Regardless they really killed that segment.

Raw announcer team is the worst it's ever been. And I mean that, no exceptions.

I'd still say mid 2003-autumn 2004 was worse. JR and King were nowhere near the ring, and the distance from the action really made their hyperbole pretty transparent and irritating. You could tell they were struggling for things to talk about during the match. Plus, in February that year because of the Bischoff angle, Lawler stopped being the heel commentator, so his back-and-forth with JR was just directionless.

Commentary is a fickle mistress, and more than just an individual's abilities, it's about their chemistry. I think we an all agree that Jesse Ventura and Jim Ross are two of the absolute best to ever, ever pick up the headsets. But, when paired in WCW, they didn't gel at all. Michael Cole and Tazz during the 2002-2005 Smackdown run really made it seem like a fresh, alternative product to Raw, something modern and different than standard calling of the action. Cole called it like a sport, and Tazz's analysis as someone who'd been in the ring made a perspective to point out why what's happening on screen was entertaining. For as much flack as Matt Striker gets for not fitting in well between Cole and Lawler, he was amazing in 2009-2011 on Smackdown with Grisham.

JBL and Cole when they're together, alone, still have a lot to offer. Byron I think has improved by leaps-and-bounds and has a unique fan-at-home's avatar thing going on, his response is what ours should be without being obviously I LOVE THAT GOOD GUY / I HATE THAT BAD GUY! But having that while you have Cole trying to direct traffic and JBL trying to get his shit in by yelling over everything, it's just hindered.

I think the Smackdown team is great right now, as is the NXT team. Even with the current Raw team's issues, I thought they did a great job calling the Ladder Match at Wrestlemania. Who knows how much of this is Vince in their ear too?

[CarlosDelgothoes]

Byron is useless and utterly redundant. There is nothing he does that Cole doesn't already do. If you're gonna have a cheerleader for color, they need to be cool or funny. He's neither. I understand Cole's workload is ridiculous with the PbP and marketing crap, but couldn't they bring up someone who's at least likeable? Why not a face wrestler giving a technical critique of the action? that'd be a hell of a lot better than having him repeat what Cole just said and get insulted by JBL.

Fuck, why not just keep the 3rd chair open and rotate wrestlers like Sandow, Miz, Xavier Woods, whoever isn't working that night that can sell.

[seagrams hotsauce]

Dude battlecat the commentary right now is indefensible. You can argue that they don't have shit to work with and are probably dealing with Vince in their ears constantly, but it still fucking sucks. The chemistry between JBL and Cole is awful.

[907]

Have you guys heard King's current nonsensical heel work on SD? It's far worse than anything happening on Raw. Dude makes JBL sound like peak era Heenan in comparison.

[GUCCI CONDOMS]

Have you guys heard King's current nonsensical heel work on SD? It's far worse than anything happening on Raw. Dude makes JBL sound like peak era Heenan in comparison.

I haven't, but I think I'm gonna DVR SD just to see what you're talking about.

[battlecatmeowstab212]

Dude battlecat the commentary right now is indefensible. You can argue that they don't have shit to work with and are probably dealing with Vince in their ears constantly, but it still fucking sucks. The chemistry between JBL and Cole is awful.

For the record, I'm not defending it. JBL-Cole-Byron, while I like them in other pairings, just aren't clicking together for me is what I'm saying.

[Brougham33]

Mauro (play by play)
Cole (plug shit and say what Vince wants said)
Graves (Smark Ventura 2.0)

That would be a lineup that works imo.

[battlecatmeowstab212]

Mauro (play by play)
Cole (plug shit and say what Vince wants said)
Graves (Smark Ventura 2.0)

That would be a lineup that works imo.

[battlecatmeowstab212]

Alright, let's have some fun,

Predict three matches for next year's Mania and two Hall of Fame inductions (one wrestler, one celebrity or non-wrestling on-screen character)

[CarlosDelgothoes]

The Rock v Roman Reigns
Kevin Owens v Shinsuke Nakamura
Charlotte v Bayley

[blastmaster]

Rollins vs. Reigns vs. Ambrose
Cena vs. Undertaker
Lesnar vs. Owens

[Brougham33]

Lesnar vs Nakamura
Cena vs Reigns
Undertaker vs Balor

Daniel Bryan and Coach

[alpha]

Shield v bullet club
Or

Rollins v HHH
Cena v reigns
Lesner v KO

[BigCat8]

There's no doubt in my mind that Daniel Bryan goes in. It's actually slightly surprising that they didn't fast track him this year. Lemmy and/or Motorhead goes in on the celebrity side.

Next year's match predictions:
-Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns
-AJ Styles vs. Finn Balor
-Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn

[Brougham33]

Anybody else catch NJPW invasion attack? Loved Naito going over, hope he keeps the belt (not literally of course) until WK11.

Kind of wish they would do this with Wyatt, the whole I won your title and I don't give no fucks about it approach.

[alpha]

So nakamura will be in nxt for a while?

[blastmaster]

I want to see him fued with Joe, Balor and Kenta before he goes up.

[GUCCI CONDOMS]

This shit is gold, a pre WCW on camera Vince Russo...

[Brougham33]

So Raw was...good again. Handled the Anderson and Gallows like Hall and Nash, liking the low key intro. Plus despite Sami Zayn/Styles and Cesaro/Owens tearing down the house, somehow the most enjoyable thing to me was Miz and Maryse backstage segment. Does he look like farmer???

[battlecatmeowstab212]

Dr. Phil works so well in the WWE universe. Hope he comes back.

Anybody else catch NJPW invasion attack? Loved Naito going over, hope he keeps the belt (not literally of course) until WK11.

Kind of wish they would do this with Wyatt, the whole I won your title and I don't give no fucks about it approach.

I don't know if it would work with the Wyatts, as being they're a cult, so much of their schtick is rooted in the type of symbolism that would denote a belt as the champion of the world, but it would be an intriguing pursuit for someone they would bring in as a wave-of-change, sort of like what they're doing with Anderson/Gallows.

[BigCat8]

I caught the last couple hours of Raw, and couldn't help but be impressed again by Bray Wyatt. The dude deserves way better than he's gotten so far. His offense looked awesome, and he had the crowd in the palm of his hand. He could be a main event player, but for some reason on the biggest show of the year they fed him and his formerly fearsome stable to a retired dude and an injured dude. Monday night was the most imposing and effective he's looked in a long time, and the crowd was with him for every bit of it.

Cesaro "The Professional" works for me. He takes care of business in the ring, and he's very good at what he does- that's the kind of gimmick that's perfect for him. The tearaway suit is pretty dope as well, even if it makes me think of Gob Bluth.

Zayn and Styles was of course awesome. Crazy to think they'd never met head-to-head on the indies. Looks like the closest they ever got were a PWG 4-way (with Steen and Christopher Daniels) and a match in Canada's EWR (with Crazy Crusher of all people).

[GUCCI CONDOMS]

RIP Balls Mahoney

[battlecatmeowstab212]

Great Balls obit from PWI Insider:

FORMER WWE AND ECW STAR BALLS MAHONEY PASSES AWAY
by Mike Johnson @ 11:03 PM on 4/12/2016

WWE announced the passing of former WWE and ECW star Balls Mahoney, 44, passed away this evening.

According to those we have spoken to, Mahoney had taken a ball fall several days ago and badly hurt his hip. He had been using a walker to get around since and this evening, took ill and passed away. We don't have any additional details beyond that on his passing.

Real name John Rechner, Mahoney, best known as ECW's "Chairswinging Freak", grew up the best friend of the late Chris Candido and the two would put on and promote their own wrestling events as teenagers. They each broke into the business. While Rechner was known for his wild characters, he was actually a very good amateur wrestler, before being banned from competition for angrily headbutting an official when upset about a call.

Rechner first made his name on the New Jersey independent scene as "Abudah Singh" doing a crazy arab gimmick that including blowing fire. In one notable match, he accidentally scorched Abdullah the Butcher severely when his fire was spit onto Abdullah's chest.

To most fans outside of the Jersey area, Rechner was originally seen in Jim Cornette's Smoky Mountain Wrestling, playing simpleton Boo Bradley, an old friend of Candido who was being used to do Candido and Tammy Fytch's dirty work under threat of his cat Boots (actually Sytch's cat in real life) being injured. This led to Mick Foley getting involved and a babyface turn for Bradley.

The SMW gig led to a short run as Xanta Claus, an evil Santa from the South Pole, for WWF. It was an awful gimmick. What was even more awful was that he showed up, asked for an advance, asked where the food was and promptly fell asleep in the locker room, according to a number of stories famously told. He didn't last long and the character was gone quicker than a winter snowstorm.

After WWF, it was onto ECW, where he, a true misfit even in pro wrestling, fit like a glove. While he's well remembered for being the leather jacket wearing Chair Swinging Freak, it's often forgotten that when Balls Mahoney debuted, he was well, a gay biker, who humped his opponents. Within weeks, that was dropped and Mahoney's astonishing and willing ability to absorb punishment was used as a way to note only showcase him as a tough guy but get over what insane punishment names like The Sandman would dish out.

Mahoney, always underrated as a performer due to the nature of his gimmick and his position in the company, actually had some tremendous matches with the likes of Rob Van Dam (even main evening Anarchy Rulz 1999 on PPV) and was a major part of getting Masato Tanaka over to the ECW audiences after Tanaka's initial debut against Doug Furnas flopped.

Mahoney held the ECW Tag Team championships several times with Tanaka and with Spike Dudley, but was best remembered for his team with Axl Rotten. When ECW went out of business in 2001, Mahoney took it worse than most and in the documentary "Barbed Wire City" admitted that he tried to kill himself because he felt so lost without ECW, which he eat and breathed. Still, despite that, Mahoney would often argue to those who were angry about the company's bankruptcy and seeking money owed that he would never seek his, because thanks to ECW, he was Balls, he had action figures and video games and all sorts of things that he wouldn't have had otherwise. He felt ECW gave him his lifeline in wrestling and it was playing off that lifeline that he made a living for the rest of his life in the business.

Behind the scenes, Balls was well known for his crazy stories, especially one where he allegedly killed a Great White Shark while fishing off the Jersey Shore. While he pretty much played a violent neanderthal on TV, he was a voracious reader and would often read an entire book over the course of a flight. He was very much a big kid, one who lost his temper and his emotions when he was pushed too hard, but 99% of the time, was an affable guy, thrilled to be living and working in pro wrestling - it was a stark contrast from the guy who helped filled the more violent quotient of ECW.

A funny story about Mahoney is that when WWE resurrected ECW in 2005, he began calling everyone all happy that they were all "getting their jobs" back. Wrestlers, referees, even people who weren't involved in the reunion show (I know this, because he called me, asking if I was going back to work on the ECW website again). Needless to say, this never happened. A year later, when WWE did the second One Night Stand PPV, he began making the calls again, only this time, especially at first, a bunch of people he called DID get their jobs back, many of whom told him not to fall for believing it was going to happen like he did the previous year. Instead, he was a prophet.

We all know the story of the WWE version of ECW, but perhaps the most amazing aspect is that out of all the ECW Originals who were brought in and dumped (beyond their regular pay, the majority they were promised a lump sum if they made it past a certain date, almost none did), Balls, the scruffly, wrankled Chair Swinging Freak lasted longer than anyone...and even ended up in a somewhat romantic storyline with Kelly Kelly. Only in wrestling could someone defy the odds like that.

When Mahoney was finally released, he did what he always did, he went back to wrestling on the indy scene, working all over the place, doing crazy matches - often bloody even when he wasn't asked to have bloody matches - and at times, getting himself into trouble for going over the edge. As the landscape changed and wrestling became more homogenized, even on the indy scene, Mahoney was just as much a misfit as when he started.

Mahoney was larger than life for sure and certainly lived his life the way he performed in the ring, to excess. Unlike others who might have been manipulative in life, Mahoney was, if anything, far too giving and at times, allowed himself to be taken advantage of, even by himself. He was, at his core, a good, loveable guy and it's a damn shame he's left behind a truly young son, especially given how heartbroken he was personally when his best friend, Chris Candido passed away in 2005.

On behalf of everyone associated with PWInsider.com, I want to express our deepest, deepest sympathies to John/Balls' friends, family and fans.

[battlecatmeowstab212]

Great Cole interview with Ryder. Seriously, watch this:

[GUCCI CONDOMS]

Great Balls obit from PWI Insider:

FORMER WWE AND ECW STAR BALLS MAHONEY PASSES AWAY
by Mike Johnson @ 11:03 PM on 4/12/2016

WWE announced the passing of former WWE and ECW star Balls Mahoney, 44, passed away this evening.

According to those we have spoken to, Mahoney had taken a ball fall several days ago and badly hurt his hip. He had been using a walker to get around since and this evening, took ill and passed away. We don't have any additional details beyond that on his passing.

Real name John Rechner, Mahoney, best known as ECW's "Chairswinging Freak", grew up the best friend of the late Chris Candido and the two would put on and promote their own wrestling events as teenagers. They each broke into the business. While Rechner was known for his wild characters, he was actually a very good amateur wrestler, before being banned from competition for angrily headbutting an official when upset about a call.

Rechner first made his name on the New Jersey independent scene as "Abudah Singh" doing a crazy arab gimmick that including blowing fire. In one notable match, he accidentally scorched Abdullah the Butcher severely when his fire was spit onto Abdullah's chest.

To most fans outside of the Jersey area, Rechner was originally seen in Jim Cornette's Smoky Mountain Wrestling, playing simpleton Boo Bradley, an old friend of Candido who was being used to do Candido and Tammy Fytch's dirty work under threat of his cat Boots (actually Sytch's cat in real life) being injured. This led to Mick Foley getting involved and a babyface turn for Bradley.

The SMW gig led to a short run as Xanta Claus, an evil Santa from the South Pole, for WWF. It was an awful gimmick. What was even more awful was that he showed up, asked for an advance, asked where the food was and promptly fell asleep in the locker room, according to a number of stories famously told. He didn't last long and the character was gone quicker than a winter snowstorm.

After WWF, it was onto ECW, where he, a true misfit even in pro wrestling, fit like a glove. While he's well remembered for being the leather jacket wearing Chair Swinging Freak, it's often forgotten that when Balls Mahoney debuted, he was well, a gay biker, who humped his opponents. Within weeks, that was dropped and Mahoney's astonishing and willing ability to absorb punishment was used as a way to note only showcase him as a tough guy but get over what insane punishment names like The Sandman would dish out.

Mahoney, always underrated as a performer due to the nature of his gimmick and his position in the company, actually had some tremendous matches with the likes of Rob Van Dam (even main evening Anarchy Rulz 1999 on PPV) and was a major part of getting Masato Tanaka over to the ECW audiences after Tanaka's initial debut against Doug Furnas flopped.

Mahoney held the ECW Tag Team championships several times with Tanaka and with Spike Dudley, but was best remembered for his team with Axl Rotten. When ECW went out of business in 2001, Mahoney took it worse than most and in the documentary "Barbed Wire City" admitted that he tried to kill himself because he felt so lost without ECW, which he eat and breathed. Still, despite that, Mahoney would often argue to those who were angry about the company's bankruptcy and seeking money owed that he would never seek his, because thanks to ECW, he was Balls, he had action figures and video games and all sorts of things that he wouldn't have had otherwise. He felt ECW gave him his lifeline in wrestling and it was playing off that lifeline that he made a living for the rest of his life in the business.

Behind the scenes, Balls was well known for his crazy stories, especially one where he allegedly killed a Great White Shark while fishing off the Jersey Shore. While he pretty much played a violent neanderthal on TV, he was a voracious reader and would often read an entire book over the course of a flight. He was very much a big kid, one who lost his temper and his emotions when he was pushed too hard, but 99% of the time, was an affable guy, thrilled to be living and working in pro wrestling - it was a stark contrast from the guy who helped filled the more violent quotient of ECW.

A funny story about Mahoney is that when WWE resurrected ECW in 2005, he began calling everyone all happy that they were all "getting their jobs" back. Wrestlers, referees, even people who weren't involved in the reunion show (I know this, because he called me, asking if I was going back to work on the ECW website again). Needless to say, this never happened. A year later, when WWE did the second One Night Stand PPV, he began making the calls again, only this time, especially at first, a bunch of people he called DID get their jobs back, many of whom told him not to fall for believing it was going to happen like he did the previous year. Instead, he was a prophet.

We all know the story of the WWE version of ECW, but perhaps the most amazing aspect is that out of all the ECW Originals who were brought in and dumped (beyond their regular pay, the majority they were promised a lump sum if they made it past a certain date, almost none did), Balls, the scruffly, wrankled Chair Swinging Freak lasted longer than anyone...and even ended up in a somewhat romantic storyline with Kelly Kelly. Only in wrestling could someone defy the odds like that.

When Mahoney was finally released, he did what he always did, he went back to wrestling on the indy scene, working all over the place, doing crazy matches - often bloody even when he wasn't asked to have bloody matches - and at times, getting himself into trouble for going over the edge. As the landscape changed and wrestling became more homogenized, even on the indy scene, Mahoney was just as much a misfit as when he started.

Mahoney was larger than life for sure and certainly lived his life the way he performed in the ring, to excess. Unlike others who might have been manipulative in life, Mahoney was, if anything, far too giving and at times, allowed himself to be taken advantage of, even by himself. He was, at his core, a good, loveable guy and it's a damn shame he's left behind a truly young son, especially given how heartbroken he was personally when his best friend, Chris Candido passed away in 2005.

On behalf of everyone associated with PWInsider.com, I want to express our deepest, deepest sympathies to John/Balls' friends, family and fans.

This was a great read, thanks for posting it.

[BigCat8]

Gotta love how Zack Ryder talks about his battle with cancer and mentions not really wanting to be "his story", and then the title of the video is "How Zack Ryder's battle with cancer motivated him to become a WWE Superstar".

Also, that was an awesome write-up on Balls Mahoney. I can't speak to any personal experiences with him, but lots of folks I know have great things to say about him.

[battlecatmeowstab212]