Good Works

Heading up to Athens with the Oasis band for a show at Good Works. My back is actually feeling okay right now..let's hope it stays that way. I'll likely be posting more about this event..depending on what inspires me..I know it has been a little while....but things are happening.

#2: Change is good despite our opinions

For better or worse, people seem to have stronger feelings regarding WWE than they have in years. I get so tired of hearing the same lines about Cena being overrated. The man makes money for the company. That is NOT overrated. But now, people are caring about more than just one person on the roster. Angles are growing and people are starting to see that the entire company is changing. Athleticism has been taking a front seat, and storylines seem to actually make a little bit of sense.



I for one am excited about the way things have been going. CM Punk and his growing feud with Nash and Triple H has been very entertaining and the unknown variable makes it all work. Punk is gold on the mic, and despite the hatred that so many have for Kevin Nash…ah screw it…time for a bit of a rant.



When Nash showed up at the rumble, people were excited to see him back. People kept discussing how awesome a final WWE run could be for the big man. Fast forward to Summerslam and people are upset that Nash is back in a WWE ring. Where is the logic in this? If you are one of the people I am referring to, figure out the hypocrisy and drop the complaints.



Now...where was I? Oh yes, Despite people’s hatred of Nash, he is a perfect candidate to feud with Punk. Casual fans can see him and know that with his size, he is no pushover, even if they do not remember him. The smarks can remember what all Nash has done and see that he is undeniably a legend. Add Triple H into this mix and you’ve got a goldmine, provided the storyline keeps progressing.



Randy Orton is facing off against Mark Henry, which actually intrigues me because Henry actually stands a decent chance of winning this time around. I cannot stand Orton, so anybody taking the title from him is a positive in my book, but it is also a positive for WWE as well because Orton is a boring champion. Fans are not flocking to arenas to see him with the belt. If they were, Smackdown stars would not be showing up on Raw for the foreseeable future.



Smackdown in general is in danger right now. WWE has plenty of main event caliber talent, but they need to push them all up. Keeping Orton on top means no new guy can be pushed to the very top. Cena needs to lose to Del Rio as well, but afterward, somebody else should go after the strap, and I don’t mean CM Punk. He doesn’t need the belt right now. Give Morrison a run against Del Rio. He doesn’t have to win, but it raises his stock.

WWE is on the right track, regardless of what anybody else seems to think. They are making changes right now, which is the most important thing. It does not matter how they change, but that they change is the big issue.

Practice Practice Practice

We had a really good jam last night. I've got one song up from the practice. the quality is not perfect, but it gives a good feel of where we are heading.

So…this is where it begins. I’ve been wanting to do this for years but I never actually put thought into how to start. I guess that just goes to show my infinite brilliance *insert sarcasm here*. Well, I suppose it is a good idea to start out with just a bit of information about the person who is writing this crap. I cannot remember a time when I was not a wrestling fan. I grew up during the Monday Night War and spent the entire war firmly on the side of World Championship Wrestling. I’ve written articles for a number of wrestling websites and have spent some time in the past as a column editor for one of those websites. Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, I can move onto the important stuff.

Now for a “State of the WWE” address. I want to clarify that I am only covering Raw and SmackDown, not NXT or Superstars. I’ll start out with SmackDown! Let me say this first, Christian has been giving us some of the best work of his career. The Christian/Orton feud kept things interesting, though I wish they had done more than tease at the inclusion of others in the feud. Christian deserves this time at the top, and hopefully he remains a main event player.

I must say now that I cannot stand Randy Orton. People complain about John Cena, but Orton is much more bland. At least Cena is a fruity pebble. Despite my hatred of Orton, His work on the blue brand has been pretty good. I think that the he should have put Christian over in their feud a bit more. Randy Orton getting the title back makes Christian’s title reigns feel pointless.

Mark Henry has done an amazing job in his current push. Seeing Henry destroy Kane, Big Show, and Kozlov was a nice change. Typically a Mark Henry push has consisted of Henry taking out a few jobbers and then losing to somebody in a match that nobody cares about. The build for Sheamus into a face has also been a pleasant change.

Cody Rhodes will be a world champion, and I have a feeling that this angle with Cody and Ted Dibiase will do far more for Ted than Legacy ever did. Daniel Bryan having a Money In The Bank briefcase in his posession is one of my favorite things about SmackDown, and his current feud with Wade Barret has been entertaining despite it the fact that it would have been even bigger during the peak of Nexus.

All in all, Smackdown is a pretty solid show, but it is not a must see spectacle, and if you miss an episode, you won’t really feel too upset over it. I see a lot of power players in the works, but the brand needs to shake things up and take a few chances. Speaking of chances…

Monday Night Raw has been full of dice rolls. Vince McMahon handed a mic to CM Punk and let him air his complaints on Live TV. CM Punk has managed to turn himself into the focal point of Raw, a spot that has been held in a stranglehold by John Cena for years. I cannot remember a time in the past six or more years that anything happened on Raw that I felt actually meant something.

When this angle started, I had only one worry: What would happen to the rest of the Raw roster? As excited as I was to see CM Punk getting the spotlight he deserves, I wondered if WWE would abandon all the hard work they put into building up guys like R Truth and The Miz. Truth has had a pretty interesting feud with John Morrison, but the whole thing has been hurt badly by Morrison’s injuries. The Miz went from WWE Champion to Subway mascot.

Another man who I was worried about was Alberto Del Rio. Everybody knew it was a matter of time until he won the title, but he was starting to get pushed down the card. He was in a few forgettable angles and heading into summer slam, he didn’t seem to have much going for him. All of my concerns were put to rest however, starting at Summerslam. Del Rio fulfilled his destiny after Kevin Nash returned. Del Rio went from having an upcoming win we all expected to a sudden shocker than had people polarized from elated to furious…He has our attention.

The Miz and Truth came out on Raw and outright said that they are tired of being overlooked. Miz even made mentione of his subway endorsement and how he thought it was ridiculous. John Cena is back on the title hunt, but there is an undeniable shift in Raw’s landscape. The past few weeks have been built far more around CM Punk and his angle with Nash and Triple H. Some people worry that the angle will revolve around Triple H and Nash, but I’ve got a feeling that this is the start of something huge that will see CM Punk come out on top of the WWE Universe.

Raw seems to be doing much better than SmackDown in providing must-see television. There is still a lot that needs to happen, but I get a feeling that this fabled “Reality Era” is actually coming to fruition, and CM Punk is the man at the helm.

Overall, wrestling is becoming fun again. Smackdown has some catch-up to play with Raw, but both shows are improving. Even TNA, or “Impact Wrestling” is putting on some of their best shows in years, and with their Destination X pay per view a few months ago, they showed that they do know how to please the fans. Let’s hope that this ride keeps up, because the industry needs this to last. I need this to last. It’s a lot more fun talking about how good wrestling is becoming than talking about how much it has sucked.

First Jam

Tonight was the first time out performing rock music in over five years. We played a little of everything and most of the people there thought we had been playing together for years, when in actuality, we've been together for roughly a month.

Everybody at the party seemed to be enjoying themselves and really liked the music, so I'm a happy camper. Not much more to add, other than we are on the right track.

Unraveled

I am desperate for Your mercy
And I'm longing for Your love
I'm unraveled here before You
I need you more than I know

I am broken
I am fallen
I am filthy
So unworthy of the grace You give

You are perfect
You are holy
You are righteous
You are God

I come before you, Unrighteous
I am tainted by me sin
But Your blood washes over me
And through Your death, I may live

I am broken
You are perfect
I am fallen
You are holy
You are God

I am filthy
You are righteous
I'm unworthy
Still you saved me
Jesus

A bit of a rant...

What a lovely way to start a day...Arguing and bickering abounds. I'm not going to get it get to me though. I've been doing a lot of thinking about everything that has happened in my life and I've come to the conclusion that I have let far too many things slide in my life. Sometimes it is good to keep your mouth shut, but I've been forced into things I did not want to do and forced out of things that I created because I didn't stand my ground. I'm not bitter with anybody as really, letting those things happen was MY fault. I've let people walk all over me to avoid fights, but half the time, those people decide to tell the world that I am the one with a problem, not them. I'm going to stand my ground for better or worse.

On a totally unrelated note, I've got a birthday party to play at this Friday. I'm really excited as I haven't played rock music in a band since January 06. I know I'm good enough and I know it has been far too long. I don't want to get myself overly excited, but I have a feeling that things are turning around finally.

A new day...

So, I've finally given in to the lure of the blog. I see this as a good alternative to writing in a journal (I keep misplacing mine) and also a good way to write without having it all over facebook.

So...as for the topics I intend to write about...I'll be writing about whatever tickles my fancy. I'm playing music again so that will be a common theme. I'm also getting back into writing wrestling articles, which may show up on here as well. The main purpose for having this is that I enjoy being able to make my thoughts heard without the restriction of characters per post that most places have. I'm not a fan of twitter. I don't "Tweet". When I have an opinion it generally comes out more as a roar than a litlte "tweet".

I'm going to stop at this for now, but will likely be updating with more posts in the very near future.