2012 Year In Review: ROH

Here we are folks with another article in our new annual Year In Review series! A series where I will take a look back at the best performers, PPVs & matches from each major promotion that I watched this year and give an overall assessment of how much I enjoyed said promotion's product throughout 2012.  In our next article, we're going to take a look a Ring Of Honor and see how they did this year.

Awesome! Photo of the week! December 24-30, 2012

A very happy Make-A-Wish child and his hero, Daniel Bryan

2012 Year In Review: TNA

Here we are folks with another article in our new annual Year In Review series!  A series where I will take a look back at the best performers, PPVs & matches from each major promotion that I watched this year and give an overall assessment of how much I enjoyed said promotion's product throughout 2012.  Next up, we're going to take a look at TNA's product and see how they stacked up against their major rival up north.

2012 Year In Review: WWE

Welcome to the very first article in my new Year In Review series!  Here I will take a look back at the best performers, PPVs & matches from each major promotion that I watched this year and give an overall assessment of how much I enjoyed said promotion's product throughout 2012.  What better place to start than the world's most famous wrestling giant, the WWE!  Find out just how good the WWE was this year after the jump!

The 2012 Year End Awards Nominees Are In!

No AJ, you can't earn any nominations looking at me that way....I mean, you don't seriously think.....Oh alright!

 

Check after the jump to reveal the full list of nominees for the best of 2012!

Some Thoughts From TLC

HO-LEE SHIT!!!  That was one hell of a night!!!  Check after the jump for some of my thoughts on what will go down as possibly the best TLC event to date!

The ESSENTIALS: The Top Ten Wrestlers The WWE Should Steal In 2013

The Alpha Female's Got My Vote

Welcome to this very special annual edition of the ESSENTIALS.  Oh yeah peeps, it's that time of year again!  The time where we single out the greatest performers in the sport that have yet to have the chance to make a lasting impact in the WWE.  Last year, Bobby Roode took the top spot, but surprisingly, there is one wrestler that surpasses even Roode's potential.  A guy so built for television that I feel awful having not included him in our inaugural list.  There are reasons for this snub that I will explain later, but for now, here are the top ten hottest prospects outside of the WWE:

Saying Goodbye To A True Legend

Japanese wrestling legend and one of my all-time favorite wrestlers Kenta Kobashi, age 45, announced today that he is retiring from pro wrestling.  Kobashi said that a recover from an accumulation of injuries at this point is "impossible".  Kobashi's retirement ceremony and likely farewell match will take place on February 26, 2013. This will also mark his 25th anniversary as a professional wrestler.

Hey man, long time no see....wait a sec...IS THAT JOHN CENA!?

The week's most obscure story could not be better represented than in this photo.  I couldn't help but laugh at the idea of John Cena accompanying his current flame Nikki Bella to her High School Reunion.  The sight of the Cenation leader and a goat bearded Daniel Bryan hamming it up in such a socially awkward environment must have been the talk of the night. 

Awesome! Photo of the week! December 3-9, 2012

AJ Lee & Kaitlyn sizzle in their bikinis

 

WWE Monday Night Raw: 11/26/2012

 

Most of last night's episode was blown over by the yawner daytime soap that is the AJ/Cena/Ziggler/Guerrero storyline.  But there was some wrestling in between...some very good wrestling....

Awesome! Photo of the week! November 26-December 2, 2012

The Beautiful People's latest reunion has landed them the cover of Models Mania magazine!

NJPW PPV Review: King Of Pro Wrestling

 

Find out my thoughts on one of the best shows of the year in my first ever NJPW PPV review after the jump!

More Additions To The Five Star Matches Page!

Head over to the Five Star Matches section of the blog and check out any of these must see classics you may have missed!

WWE PPV Review: Survivor Series 2012

Last night's PPV may have been the most crucial WWE event of the entire year.  Find out why in my review after the jump!

Awesome! Photo of the week! November 12-18, 2012

With the end of Hostess near, David Otunga isn't taking any chances.  He's got enough Coffee Cakes to last the rest of the year!

Gail Kim Is The Number One Female Wrestler Today

The dominant and versatile TNA Knockout was named #1 in this year's PWI Female 50!  See her accept her plaque after the jump!

Best Of The Month: October 2012

Here are the highlights from October 2012:

Dean Ambrose and Paige: The WWE's Next power Couple?

Every Joker needs his Harley Quinn

I came across this photo of two of my favorite up and comers in FCW and it intrigued me.  Dean Ambrose is often compared to Roddy Piper (a comparison that is thrown around too much the past few years, but in this case, the man in question deserves the honor), but I think his character is more like The Joker.  Ambrose just enjoys causing a ruckus almost everywhere he goes and he gets bored when things meet the status quo and it almost seems as if there isn't an ounce of humanity in the guy.  Enter Paige.  The Anti-Diva could make quite the match for the WWE's resident anarchist and being a huge Joker/Harley fan myself, my mouth nearly waters at the idea of the two forming some sort of twisted union on WWE television someday.  For now, we have this great photo.

Reality Check: Speaking In Defense of the "Reality Era"

CM Punk, the leader of a new generation

When I posted my last Great Debate article, many of you began to comment on how different today's landscape is from the Attitude Era and noted that most of today's stars couldn't hack it back then.  That may be true, but one thing that always irks me is the fact that people seem to think that is the fault of the talent and not the fans themselves. 

Awesome! Photo of the week! Halloween edition

Happy Halloween marks!  A few of your favorite superstars dressed up this year.  Plus there's an unbelievably hot video of Shelley Martinez as Princess Jasmine. 

Kelly Kelly as a Viking:

The Rock as The Hulk:

And last but not least Shelley Martinez (try not to drool on your keyboards):

 

Amazing Dolph Ziggler Interview

Arda Ocal of the Baltimore Sun recently sat down with Mr. Money In The Bank, Dolph Ziggler. It's one of the better interviews of the year. Check it out below:

The Great Debate: Tough Superstars Are An Endangered Species In The WWE

Ryback: Separating The Boys From The Men

Welcome to the latest installment in our GREAT DEBATE series.  Last night on WWE Main Event, Ryback squared off with Dolph Ziggler and proceeded to beat him senseless.  Afterwards, Michael Cole and The Miz conducted an interview with Paul Heyman via. satellite and Heyman made an interesting point.  Heyman suggested that Ziggler's name should not be mentioned in the same breathe as CM Punk's because Ziggler ran like a coward and did not take his beating like a man.  While some may argue that Punk has run from Ryback before, it's not Heyman's words that struck me, it's the realization that there are very few superstars on the current roster that have any credibility in the toughness category.

ROH PPV Review: Glory By Honor XI

So all this hype you've been hearing about this Michael Elgin guy.....yeah, it's pretty much well deserved....

 

 

Here are my thoughts on Ring Of Honor's eleventh Glory By Honor event: 

Wrestling With Rosenberg: Paul Heyman

Check out this great new interview with Paul Heyman!

WWE Monday Night Raw: 10/22/2012

 

One of the best matches of the year highlights an otherwise dull episode.

TNA PPV Review: Bound For Glory 2012

 

Here are my thoughts on this year's Bound For Glory event:

Awesome! Photo of the week! October 15-21, 2012

Three of the hottest women to ever grace the sport in one photo?  Yes please.

More Five Star Matches

The five star matches section of the blog has been updated and now includes matches from other major North American promotions (AWA, NWA, WCW, ECW, TNA, ROH).  Check to see if there's any of these classics you haven't seen already. 


More updates to come soon,


-9

The Blog Formerly Known as GN9NEZWWE

Nearly a year ago, I formed this blog out of pure frustration with the current landscape of the IWC.  I was tired of all of the negativity floating all over the Internet and longed for a place that I could go to for a more balanced and fair perspective, without admitting to spoilers or the other crap floating around on many of the "dirt sheets".  I had noticed that most of the negativity was directed at the WWE's current product so I began to take a stand.  Thus, GN9NEZWWE was born.  Still, I am a huge fan of pro wrestling from all over and I still watch TNA, ROH, DGUSA, PWG, NOAH, Shimmer, Chikara and many other wrestling promotions and I've begun to feel a bit strangled by committing myself to only reviewing WWE related content. 

Now that's all about to change with the blog now being re-dubbed G9ZWrestling.  We're expanding folks.  And I hope you will all come for the ride with us.  I for one, am very excited to get the opportunity to keep my mission statement alive, while still being able to give you all a heads up on which companies/events and wrestlers you should keep an eye on.  If you are primarily a fan of the WWE, have no fear I will still be reviewing PPVs and some of your favorite series of articles (The ESSENTIALS, The Great Debate and more) will carry over and we will stay true to those of you who've been fans since the beginning. 


Thanks for all of your continued support,


-9

WWE DVD Review: CM Punk - Best In The World

CM Punk (born Phil Brooks) is one of the most unique and enigmatic WWE superstars of all time.  His private life is of great value to him so it's truly a treat for any wrestling fan to be able to get some form of insight into the man who redefined the current WWE.  Punk vowed to bring about change in the WWE and his attitude towards his DVD set is no different.  He was granted full creative control over everything from the music, to the list of personalities featured to the matches on discs two and three.  Needless to say, the hype around this set has many anticipating it to be one of the best the WWE will ever produce.  So did it live up to the hype?  Is this DVD indeed the best in the world?  Find out after the jump!

Dolph Ziggler vs.....Arnold Schwarzenegger?

WWE.com has posted an interesting twitter war of words that took place between WWE Superstar Dolph Ziggler and former California Governor and Hollywood icon Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Here’s the exchange:

Awesome! Photo of the week! October 1-7, 2012

Check after the jump if you've been dying to find out what it was The Rock's been cookin' all these years.

The ESSENTIALS: Crafting the Ultimate Top Ten Part Two

Here we are with part two of this very special edition of the ESSENTIALS.  It's hard to argue just who are the greatest sports entertainers to ever live, but we here at GN9NEZWWE have done our best to come up with a list of the Top Ten Wrestlers who are the true elite.

Controversially, Hulk Hogan made only one appearance in our staff's Top Ten Lists

In Part One, I posted everyone's list and while there were some variations, there were 10 performers who's names appeared the most.  In order to rank the wrestlers who's names appeared the same amount of times, I used some math to determine what order their names should be placed.  I have to say, while it may be controversial, I do believe we've come up with quite the unique list of the best wrestlers of all time. 


Find out which superstars rank amongst the Best of the Best after the jump!

WWE Best of the Month: September 2012

Here are the highlights from September 2012:

BREAKING NEWS: WWE Diva Kelly Kelly has been Officially Released

The WWE has officially announced the news on WWE.com!  Check after the jump for the full story:

The ESSENTIALS: Crafting the Ultimate Top Ten Part One

Everyone has their own opinion and reasoning behind where they rank their favorite superstars of all time.  So I came up with a creative idea of how we could work out a definitive list.  I've asked 10 superfans from various walks of life who've each become a fan in different eras to give me their list of favorite superstars that define their love for pro wrestling.  I asked each to list no less than 10 and no more than 20.  I also encouraged everyone to use wrestlers from any promotion.  Each time a wrestler's name appeared, I gave them a point.  Since not everyone gave me more than 10 names, I only gave points to the names in everyone's top ten.  Based on who had the most votes and how high they were ranked, I came up with a definitive list that I will post later on with full profiles on each superstar.  The results are in!  Find out who everyone voted in their list after the jump!

Dream Sequence: The Ultimate WWE vs. TNA Dream Card

Welcome to the first ever edition of Dream Sequence.  In this new series, I will be highlighting some of the best matches that never happened and giving you all an idea of how things could potentially have gone down.  These articles are all just for fun and are not meant to be taken too seriously.

Why I chose a TNA vs. WWE showdown

There are many dream matches in pro wrestling but only one true dream card.  That's right I'm talking about a TNA vs. WWE showdown!  Imagine if the top stars from TNA began invading WWE and challenging the WWE's elite to the battle to end all battles.  Vince and Dixie then come to an agreement that they should combine forces and the first ever TNA and WWE co-presented four hour PPV extravaganza entitled "Showdown 2012" will now take place inside Madison Square Garden.  Who would challenge who for ultimate brand supremacy?  Who would ultimately win and be able to say that their company is indeed the best?  Find out how I'd book it in my first ever Dream Sequence article after the jump!

The Enemy of my Enemy is my Friend

Last night on Smackdown, three of the most underutilized performers in the company (Drew McIntyre, Heath Slater & Jinder Mahal) united to assault Brodus Clay.  On paper, these three don't help to compose anyone's list of  "potential stables" right now, but perhaps that's a good thing.

Five Star Updates

There have been a lot of additions to the 5 Star Matches section of the blog as of late.  Be sure to check in monthly as I am always watching tape and will be adding matches that I feel are must see for you there.


More to come soon,


-9

CM Punk is one of WWE's Elite

The facts don't lie!  And last Sunday's Night of Champions PPV made it official!  Find out why Punk is in some elite company after the jump!

Retro Reviews and Awards

I get a lot of emails about events and wrestlers from the past and being the wrestling nerd that I am, I have a hard time responding to them all without being able to go into full detail.  So to make things a bit more interesting for you all, I am going to begin reviewing past events and giving out awards for past years of wrestling.  Be sure to check the new section of the blog called WWE Retro in the Tags section for updates. 



Stay tuned,


-9

Awesome! Photo of the Week! September 17-23, 2012

This photo of AJ Lee doused in Gatorade is um.....interesting to say the least

WWE PPV Review: Night Of Champions 2012

Here are my thought's on the WWE's 6th annual Night Of Champions PPV:

The ESSENTIALS: Five Models that would make for great WWE Divas

Welcome to another sexy edition of the ESSENTIALS.  This week, I posted an article on the 30 sexiest women of wrestling.  The article quickly went on to become one of the most popular on the blog.  Thus, inspiring me to do a bit of a companion piece.  Earlier in the year I made the argument that "sex sells" and that the WWE Divas division thrived in the Attitude Era partly due to the fact that the divas were steaming up TV screens week after week.  The current crop of divas have some very capable performers, but it's always going to seem as if there's a missing element.  That missing element is the model of diva who thrives in the role Torrie Wilson and Stacy Keibler once filled.  The days of the divas who had major mainstream crossover appeal and were primarily used as valets and occasional bikini contests and fulfilled our fantasies in DVD releases, are long gone.  Still, if the WWE were to do another "Diva Search", I'm going to throw a few names out there for them to start with.  These five women are smoking hot, but also possess that X-factor.  That intangible quality that I believe, can help bring back the sexy and win back some of the attention the division has been sorely lacking.  This list is purely for entertainment purposes and shouldn't be taken very seriously.  And even if you don't miss the "sexy era", at least you can appreciate the view.

WWE Night Of Champions 2012 Preview

Check after the jump for my predictions for tonight's show:

Awesome! Photo of the Week! Spetember 10-16, 2012

With everything Jerry Lawler has been through this week, it's great to see him in good spirits.  Good to know his recovery is going well.  Come back soon.

Bret Hart speaks on Montreal, the WWE wasting talent & More

WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart spoke with Rob McNichol of the UK Sun this week about his return to Montreal on Monday for RAW and WWE wasting great talent by focusing on making them “television stars” instead of world class pro wrestlers. Here’s what he said about:

Wrestling's 30 Sexiest Women of All Time

Throughout history there have been many beautiful women in WWE, TNA, WCW, ECW and pretty much every major wrestling promotion, but only 30 have been sexy enough to stop traffic.  I'm not just talking about looks alone.  I'm talking that one-of-a-kind hotness that can take on a life of it's own, launching a career and launching many....um....hormonal responses.  And don't get me wrong, we all love a great female athlete, but this ain't your daddy's list of "best lady rasslers", this is a list of the top 30 smoldering hottie hot hot super sexy women of all time.  Prepare yourself.  Things are about to heat up.

Randy Orton is a Team Player

Find out why Orton is the WWE's current MVP after the jump.

CM Punk and John Cena IV: Match of the Year?

It's difficult to even think of last night's episode of Raw without feeling a bit of dread due to the fact that everything that happened on this night will eventually be completely overshadowed by Jerry Lawler's heart attack.  On a personal note, I still haven't fully accepted it.  It's just hard to even fathom someone who's been a staple of my Monday nights for more than a decade going through such a trial.  Many even question the WWE's decision to continue the show, but that's a tough call.  One I'm glad I did not have to make.  I do however, believe Lawler would have wanted the show to continue and for everyone to give their best performance in his honor.  And boy did they ever. 

Thoughts & Prayers go out to Jerry Lawler

Last night during Monday Night Raw, Jerry "The King" Lawler suffered a heart attack.  This whole ordeal has been very difficult for everyone to cope with, but none of us have had a longer night than the King himself.  I would like to send my prayers out to Jerry Lawler and his loved ones and I am in high hopes that he'll make a full recovery soon. 

September 11, 2001: A Day We Will Never Forget

Today is September 11th and it's been 11 years since the horrible attack on the twin towers and the 11th anniversary of the many deaths that followed.  Today is a day we should all take the time so send our prayers and thoughts to all those who lost their lives that day and to their families.  God Bless.

Awesome! Photo of the week! September 3-9, 2012

Love her or hate her, this photo of AJ Lee cosplaying as Kitana from Mortal Kombat has to rank amongst the hottest diva photos of all time.

Just who is the Richest wrestler in the world?

CelebrityNetworth.com has published an article listing the richest professional wrestlers in the world, with figures acquired from all publicly available information including salaries, real estate holdings, divorces, record sales, royalties and endorsements. The estimated net worths come from a formula that takes out taxes, manager’s fees, agents’ fees, and lifestyle.