Getting bookish

First thing's first, thanks to all of your for your patience. I've been really busy the last two weeks (and I will continue to be busy over the next month). However, I've got time to crank out a new Off The Turnbuckle this week.

I plan on trying to update OTT every two weeks for the foreseeable future. Hope you all understand.

As those who remember my original column may know, I am a big fan of books about professional wrestling. As an avid reader, I've been constantly looking for new additions to my library. Over the past few months, I've checked out a few tomes written by some wrestlers. Some were excellent. Some were good. Others were just pure crap.

Here's a brief synopsis of the wrestling books I've read, and whether or not I'd recommend them to you, the wrestling audience:

MUST HAVES: "The Road Warriors: Danger, Death and the Rush of Wrestling," by Joe "Animal" Laurinaitis with Andrew William Wright; "Bobby 'The Brain' Heenan: Wrestling's Bad Boy Tells All," by Bobby Heenan with Steve Anderson; "Playboy Gary Hart: My Life in Wrestling With a Little Help From my Friends," by Gary Hart with Phillip Varriale

WORTH PURCHASING: "Chokehold: Pro Wrestling's Real Mayhem Outside the Ring," by Jim Wilson with Weldon T. Johnson

WORTH A READ: "King of The Ring: The Harley Race Story," by Harley Race with Gerry Tritz.

AVOID AT ALL COSTS: "Dusty: Reflections of Wrestling's American Dream," by Dusty Rhodes with Howard Brody

The Gary Hart book is out of print and difficult to track down (it's not even available at your local library; trust me, I checked). I was fortunate enough to land a copy. I'm about seven chapters in and it was well worth the time and trouble to find it.

Gary Hart was one of wrestling's most notorious wrestling managers in the 60s, 70s and 80s, mostly in the Southern territories. He was very respected by his peers. In his book, he pulls no punches not just about some of his fellow wrestlers, but also about himself. A good look into the business during the early days, before Vince McMahon Jr. bought the World Wrestling Federation and brought down the territorial system of the National Wrestling Alliance.

Animal's book is a nice narrative about his revolutionary tag team, The Road Warriors, along with Mike "Hawk" Hegstrand. Hawk was one of wrestling's tragedies in the early 2000s, dying a young death due to the wrestling lifestyle of drugs and steroids. Animal is candid about the circumstances surrounding Hawk and how he wished he could have done more for his friend while he was alive. In fact, he was encouraged that Hawk had, like he did earlier, become a born-again Christian and was participating in wrestling shows with fellow born agains Ted DiBiase and Nikita Koloff just before he died.

One of the most interesting part of the book was when Animal talked about bouncing at a bar in Minnesota called Gramma B's before he got into wrestling. His fellow bouncers were Hawk, Rick Rude, Koloff, Barry Darsow, Scott Norton and John Nord. Every single one of them were discovered by Eddie Sharkey and Verne Gagne and trained to become wrestlers.

Heenan's book is, as you'd expect, very entertaining. It's a quick read, but is full of quips and one-liners. Heenan talks about how he came up with the words "humanoids" and "ham-and-eggers" and reveals that it was Hulk Hogan who got him his job with the WWF back in the mid-1980s and that they were great friends away from the ring, even though Heenan played one of Hogan's biggest foils as a manager and then as a broadcaster.

If you didn't like the headscratchingly bad stuff that was going on in WCW, you will love this book. Heenan reveals that WCW wouldn't allow the announcers to view the backstage vignettes on their monitors, so it made them sound clueless. He also burys Tony Schiovane, which I loved.

The "Chokehold" book is one that was recommended to me back in the early 2000s by a colleague of mine at the Morning Journal who was a big wrestling fan. I put it on an Amazon list, but never bothered to read it. I checked it out of the library last month and found myself buying it.

The quick synopsis -- Wilson was one of the wrestlers who came forward to 20/20 back in 1985 that revealed the secrets of pro wrestling (or breaking kayfabe), talking about how matches were all predetermined and showing how the art of blading was done.

Wilson, a former All-American football player at Georgia who played in the NFL for the 49ers, Falcons and Rams, started wrestling in the offseasons in the late 1960s in Georgia Championship Wrestling. He claims he was promised big pushes by different promoters, especially after he started wrestling full-time when his NFL career came to an end.

Wilson claims that a promoter named Jim Barnett, one of the head honchos in the NWA, dangled a world championship push to him while he was doing a tour in Australia but then propositioned him sexually. Wilson turned him down. Immediately, he was depushed, his pay was slashed and then he found himself blackballed by any territory associated with the NWA. He then spent years fighting them in the courtroom and for bookings by launching his own promotion (it failed).

In later years, he became a big advocate for the unionization of pro wrestlers due to the way promoters do not pay out health benefits and structure their contracts. He died in 2009 after a battle with cancer.

Wilson's book is a very interesting look at the inner workings of the NWA, once the most powerful wrestling organization in the world and run almost like the mafia. Another eye-opening allegation -- one young wrestler who supposedly took Barnett up on his offer became an out-of-nowhere NWA champion in the early 1980s (I'll let you look him up).

Race's book was good, but too brief. He glosses over everything. A guy like Race should have been able to write an in-depth book like Mick Foley, Bret Hart or even Chris Jericho. Instead, it leaves you wanting more. It's worth getting out of the library, but don't buy it.

Rhodes' book is one of the biggest pieces of self-serving drivel I've ever read. It also was hard to follow, as Dusty bounced around from subject to subject almost by the sentence. Do yourselves a favor and don't even bother, unless you happen to be a big Dusty Rhodes fan.

Happy reading.

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EXTREME RULES: Here's a look at the card for WWE's upcoming pay-per-view, Extreme Rules, which takes place next Sunday at 8 p.m.:

<> John Cena vs. Ryback in a Last Man Standing Match for the WWE Title
<> Dolph Ziggler vs. Alberto Del Rio vs. Jack Swagger in a Triple Threat Ladder Match for the World Title
<> Brock Lesnar vs. Triple H in a Steel Cage Match
<> Sheamus vs. Mark Henry in a Strap Match
<> Randy Orton vs. Big Show in an Extreme Rules Match

I'm sure there will be more matches added to the card at Raw tomorrow night.

Ziggler's status is up the air due a concussion he suffered during Tuesday's Smackdown TV tapings. He interfered during a match with Jack Swagger and Big E Langston, and Ziggler took an inadvertent kick to the head by Swagger.

He was diagnosed with retrograde amnesia due to the concussion. In an interview, he said he doesn't even remember what happened on Raw Monday night, let alone what happened Tuesday.

The WWE won't clear him to wrestle until he's passed the mandatory concussion tests. They are working an alternative plans for the PPV in case Ziggler is not medically cleared. It could turn into a ladder match between Del Rio and Swagger for the No. 1 contendership, or Langston could wrestle in Ziggler's place (which would probably be brutal to watch).

It's safe to say that Ryback's heel turn has only made him more boring than he was before. Fans can only chant "Feed me more" so much. Like the wrestler he has been compared to in the past, Goldberg, Ryback is proving that he is a one-trick pony that's getting pretty stale. I can't see Ryback going over Cena so soon after WrestleMania.

The Lesnar-HHH rematch was brought back almost out of necessity, due to The Rock skipping out on the post-WM Raw and CM Punk's injuries suffered during the Undertaker match. This match was a giant snoozer at WrestleMania, and I can't see a steel cage making it more interesting (unless WWE allows both wrestlers to bleed).

The other two matches seem like throwaway matches. The Orton-Big Show feud has been brewing for a while. I guess "extreme rules" is another term for "hardcore," so expect chairshots, fighting on the outside and possibly even fighting backstage as part of this match. For that alone, it could be entertaining.

Strap matches are usually pretty boring. Strap matches involving Mark Henry should be flat out outlawed. That's all I have to say about that.

***

METAL MANIA: WWE was well represented at the fifth annual Revolver Golden Gods Awards two Thursdays ago. The awards ceremony is done specifically to celebrate hard rock and heavy metal music, since metal gets shunned by the mainstream award ceremonies.

For the third year in a row, Chris Jericho was the MC of the show, introducing the presenters and some of the bands. Jericho is a huge metalhead who also is the lead vocalist of his own metal outfit, Fozzy, whenever he's not wrestling.

Also, Triple H beat out a few skateboarders, Angels pitcher C.J. Wilson and Packers tight end Tom Crabtree for the Most Metal Athlete Award (all awards were voted on by fans). Triple H taped his acceptance speech from Australia, where he thanked the fans for voting for him, made a joke that he was filling in for Jericho in Fozzy, and said that metal music has always been the soundtrack to his life and that he'll always be a fan of metal music.

Triple H is a big fan of Motorhead, having used them to perform three of his entrance themes, including his regular "The Game" song. He also guested on one of Motorhead's albums and used Lemmy and Co. to perform his song live at a few WrestleManias.

Finding wrestlers who aren't metalheads is pretty rare. CM Punk used Living Color's early 1990s hit "Cult of Personality" as his entrance theme. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin used both Black Label Society and Disturbed to record versions of his "glass-breaking" entrance theme and used to wear BLS shirts to the ring. And, going back to ECW, Rob Van Dam using Pantera's "Walk," Shane Douglas using Deep Purple's "Perfect Strangers," and Tazz using KISS's "War Machine" as their entrance themes. And, who can forget the original -- The Road Warriors using Black Sabbath's "Iron Man."

***

MORE GOONAGE: The WWE is still planning on opening it's new Performance Center in Orlando in July. The building is coming along as planned.

<> The WWE Network is still being discussed for a launch, but no timetable has been set. For now, WWE's 24-7 PPV network is still in existence. The WWE Network will air a lot of classic programming from their vast library, air some of the DVDs they've released and air replays of their pay-per-views, along with some original programming.

<> The WWE has petitioned the Arizona State Court to move a lawsuit featuring them and The Big Show to federal court because involves a video posted on WWE.com. Former Digital Content promoter Andrew Green is suing Big Show and WWE over a video he had to produce involving an interview. Big Show reportedly cursed at Green when Green approached him with the assignment and threatened him, then gave a horrible interview. WWE is included because they never paid Green for his work. Green said the incident made him "afraid" to work for WWE and severed his ties to the company immediately.

<> Dean Ambrose of The Shield suffered an eye injury during his match with Daniel Bryan at the Smackdown tapings. Ambrose is sporting a nice shiner, but nothing was broken and he won't miss any ring time.

<> During an interview with the Between The Ropes radio show, The Honky Tonk Man talked about his failed tag team with Greg "The Hammer" Valentine called Rhythm and Blues. He said the WWF came up with the idea, which Honky was for. It was supposed to help rejuvenate two stale characters in HTM and Valentine. However, Valentine was not for it and sulked. Honky said there were plans to push Rhythm and Blues to get the tag team belts from the Hart Foundation, but they were depushed. Valentine has since told Honky that he wished he would have bought in to the gimmick.

<> The May 27 edition of Raw, taped from Calgary, Alberta, Canada, will be known as Bret Hart Appreciation Night. Shawn Michaels is slated to make an appearance at the show. WWE has announced plans to use the show pay tribute to the former seven-time world champion, but hasn't announced what they will do to commemorate the occasion yet.

<> NXT diva Summer Rae has been used as Fandango's dancer a few times, but WWE doesn't want to make it her permanent gig. They like his original dancer, whose name is not known, because she is an actual dancer. However, she is a college student who is not always free to travel for the Monday night shows.

<> Paul Bearer has already been announced as a member of next year's WWE Hall of Fame class. There are plans for the Undertaker to induct his former manager.

<> WWE would like for the Undertaker to team up with Kane and wrestle The Shield at SummerSlam. Taker hasn't worked a SummerSlam in many years. They are leaving the call up to Taker to see if he'd be willing to wrestle. Daniel Bryan's status for the match is currently up in the air.

<> The Miz missed last week's Raw due to filming The Christmas Bounty. He will be able to appear at tomorrow's Raw.

<> WWE has announced a dance off between Fandango and Chris Jericho for tomorrow's Raw, and may turn that into a match at Extreme Rules.

<> Damian Sandow may have his own talk-show segment for Smackdown. They had him do a "Damian Sandow Show" with John Cena after the recent NXT TV tapings.

<> Sin Cara will return to WWE TV this week, while Christian may return the week after. Christian has been cleared to wrestle, but he's waiting on creative to come up with a storyline for him to return. Evan Bourne is not yet ready physically to return to WWE.

<> The Rock has not been cleared to fly yet. However, he has resumed working out multiple times a day.

<> WWE will released a "Best of Madison Square Garden" DVD and Blu-Ray set on Aug. 27. New interviews with Bruno Sammartino will be used, along with some never-before-seen matches in the three-disc set.

<> Ring of Honor's Mike Bennett is reportedly one of several independent wrestlers going through medical screening with the WWE.

<> The WWE house show (featuring the Raw crew) in Youngstown on Friday, May 3 drew 5,000 fans for a gate of $190,000.

<> WWE officials would like for CM Punk to return to the ring in time for the Payback PPV from Chicago on June 16.

<> And finally, the Bella Twins may be revealed as Kaitlyn's secret admirer. The angle would be that the Bellas would be playing a cruel joke on the Divas champion as a way to enhance their feud.

Until next time, watch out for the frog splash!

Week off

Off The Turnbuckle will be taking this weekend off. This was an extremely busy week for me in the real world of sportswriting. Hopefully, I can find it in my schedule to update the blog by next Sunday. Until then, thanks again for reading.

WWE Plans Thrown for Loop

It looks like The Rock’s injury, and subsequent absence from TV, following WrestleMania really did throw the WWE for a bit of a loop.

As a result, we are saddled with a Triple H-Brock Lesnar rematch just one month after WrestleMania 29, CM Punk being out until SummerSlam, the Undertaker working shows when he’d normally be off and, quite possibly, no more Rock at all.

We’ll start with CM Punk, whose odd promo last Monday led many to believe that the top heel would be turning into a good guy.

Punk was actually supposed to cut the promo two weeks ago, at the post-WrestleMania Raw. However, because of the rabid crowd, WWE decided to hold it off until this past Monday because they feared it would get the “wrong crowd reaction.” Also, Punk wasn’t happy with the verbiage the WWE writers came up with, feeling that it made him sound like a “whiner.”

Punk came out and talked about holding the title for 400-plus days and how ending the Undertaker’s streak may have been the one thing that could have been bigger than winning back the WWE Title, and then stopped in mid-promo, handed the mic to Paul Heyman, hugged him, and walked out of the arena. In fact, he didn’t even use the regular entrance, instead walking off to the side of the stage and through a curtain.

The promo was supposed to convey Punk walking out of the company. I don’t think it conveyed the right message.

The reality is, Punk actually came close to turning in his notice to leave the company after a blowup against the WWE creative team a few weeks ago. After talking it over with WWE officials, he backed down from his threat. However, as a compromise, he was kept off of live shows, only appearing on TV and at WrestleMania 29.

After severely tearing knee ligaments during his WrestleMania match against The Undertaker, WWE was going to give Punk some time off. They used his promo as the way to write him off TV for the next few months.

WWE has revealed that Punk is set to return at the May 13 Raw and appear at the subsequent TV tapings throughout the summer, albeit in a non-wrestling capacity. He is also listed on the event pages for the Payback, Money in the Bank and SummerSlam PPVs, but no definite plans for him have been revealed.

Because of Punk and Rock’s absence on TV, they returned both Brock Lesnar and Taker to TV because of the lack of “star power” on the TV programs. Hence, why Lesnar was quickly booked into a rematch with HHH and why Taker has been working with Kane and Daniel Bryan against The Shield.

The original plan was to revisit the Lesnar-HHH feud later this year, perhaps at SummerSlam, and not at Extreme Rules.  Supposedly, the planned angle between Lesnar and The Rock, which was supposed to happen at the post-WM Raw, would have built up for a SummerSlam match between the two and not a match at WrestleMania XXX, but I don’t buy that.

So, if you were going to do Lesnar-HHH at SummerSlam, then why would you do Rock-Lesnar at SummerSlam? It doesn’t work that way, Internet goons.

There is some paranoia among the WWE that The Rock may have actually wrestled his last match with the company and that he won’t be returning at all. He did suffer a pretty severe injury to his pelvis at WrestleMania, and I’m sure it’s got to bother him when it comes to his acting career.

The Rock believes that the injury happened when he went to give Cena the Rock Bottom. On advice from his physician, The Rock will not have surgery to reattach the tendons because “they will just scar up” and instead will undergo intense therapy.

The Rock said he started physical therapy this week, via his Twitter feed, and that he aims to be healthy in five weeks when he starts filming a movie about Hercules.

DOWN BUYRATES: Early reports are that WrestleMania 29 wasn’t just a dud to the viewers. It also appeared to be a dud with the numbers as well.

According to Figure 4 Weekly (www.f4Wonline.com), three different sources claim that the early estimates for buyrates for WM were very low. One of them went as far to say the numbers were “downright shocking.”

WWE’s own projections went down a week before the event due to low numbers for the Elimination Chamber PPV in February. However, those lowered expectations may not have been low enough.

EXTREME RULES: The WWE’s next PPV, Extreme Rules, will be headlined by John Cena vs. Ryback for the WWE Title, HHH vs. Lesnar in a Steel Cage and Dolph Ziggler vs. Alberto Del Rio vs. Jack Swagger in a Triple Threat Match for the World Title.

Another match that could take place is Team Hell No (Kane and Daniel Bryan) defending their Tag Team Titles against two member of The Shield (no one knows which two yet – my guess is Ambrose and Reigns). The early plan is to put the tag straps on The Shield, ending the reign of Team Hell No. According to some Internet goons, there was a plan to have to duo drop the straps at WrestleMania, but the plans involving Ziggler and Swagger caused the change in those plans.

Other matches that could happen is Kaitlyn vs. Nikki Bella for the Divas Title, Mark Henry vs. Sheamus and Randy Orton vs. The Big Show.

The theme song is “Live It Up” by Airborne. I’ve never heard of them, so they must suck.

DEVELOPMENTAL CENTER: The WWE announced this week that they are opening a new training facility, or developmental center, in Orlando. Triple H, who is the WWE’s Executive Vice President of Talent and Live Events, represented WWE in a news conference in Orlando to announce the plans.

The facility, which they broke ground on, will be a 25,000-square foot building with seven rings, a world-class strength and conditioning center, and a cutting-edge edit and production facility. WWE said it should create 100 “high-wage” jobs in Orlando. It appears to be similar to WCW’s Power Plant facility in Atlanta, except better run.

The facility will be built near Full Sail University, which had partnered with WWE to exclusively host the NXT series at its state-of-the-art performance venue, and will further the partnership fuller.

The governor of Florida, mayor of Orlando and president of Full Sail University were on hand for the press conference along with HHH and several of the NXT performers, including Mason Ryan.

With the Performance Center reveal, the WWE has begun signing some Indy wrestlers to train there and compete with NXT. Sami Callihan was the first Indy wrestler announced to have signed a developmental deal, and they expect that number to increase of the next few months.

BACKLUND BACKLASH: Several sources have said that former WWF champion Bob Backlund, who was inducted in the 2013 WWE Hall of Fame Class, threatened to back out of the ceremony many times during the weeks leading up to it.

Backlund’s reason was that he believed that he would be overshadowed by the other members of the Hall of Fame class. It was clear that the WWE was making Bruno Sammartino the cornerstone member of this Hall of Fame class, and Mick Foley was also a highly publicized member because of his ties to the Attitude Era.

More backlash came from Backlund’s hand-picked choice to give his introductory speech – actress and TV personality Maria Menounos. WWE officials were unhappy with the negative reaction fans showered upon the one-time WrestleMania competitor by fans in attendance.

Menounos took it upon herself to chastise the WWE fans who booed her, saying that some WWE fans lack proper manners, refinement and decency. The WWE, which loves to exploit its ties to various celebrities, felt the reaction was also over the line.

Menounos later released her entire introduction speech for Backlund to the Internet. It was 22 paragraphs long and reportedly almost 20 minutes in length.

MORE GOONAGE: Former WWE wrestler Brian Christopher Lawler (aka Grandmaster Sexay) was arrested for DUI  in Chester County, Tenn., on April 11. He was set to appear in front of a judge on Friday. Lawler, the son of Jerry “The King” Lawler, admitted to police that he drank a half-liter of vodka, along with taking Xanax and Methadone. Police said he couldn’t recite the alphabet during his field sobriety test.

¨       Bruno Sammartino discussed his long awaited meeting with Vince McMahon, which took place during WrestleMania weekend. He said he told him he stood by his criticisms of the product he made in the past and was pleased with the new direction of the company, which is why he finally relented to being inducted in the Hall of Fame. He said he was open to contributing in some fashion, especially with young talent.

¨       Further capitalizing on the Fandango phenomenon, WWE has released a remixed version of Fandango’s entrance theme to iTunes.

¨       WWE will release a DVD and Blu-Ray dedicated to War Games, titled “War Games: WCW’s Most Notorious Matches,” on June 25. Fourteen War Games style matches will be included on the three-disc set, with the first match being The Super Powers (Dusty Rhodes, The Road Warriors, Nikita Koloff and Paul Ellering) vs. The Four Horseman (Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, Lex Luger and J.J. Dillon) from The Great American Bash on July 24, 1987.

¨       Former WWF wrestler Sir Mo, who may be better known as Mabel’s tag team partner in the Men on a Mission duo, revealed that he needs a kidney transplant due to renal failure. He has asked the WWE for financial help, but they have reportedly turned down his request. He’s upset because they have given former wrestlers like Scott Hall and Marty Jannetty financial assistance to help with their drug addiction.

¨       Sean “X-Pac” Waltman reportedly suffered a torn anus when he attempted his bronco buster maneuver during a recent independent match. No further comment.

¨       Sgt. Slaughter said that he was originally slated to be Jack Swagger’s manager when his character was still supposed to be a babyface. He also said he was supposed to be cast in the most recent G.I. Joe movie in the role that went to Bruce Willis.

¨       Curt Hawkins recently celebrated his 28^th birthday. Happy Birthday to him.

¨       Ryback sent out a controversial Tweet about John Cena’s ex-wife on Tuesday. Shortly after, every single Tweet he ever sent out was deleted.

¨       Plans to turn Booker T heel have been scrapped. Now, the plan is to turn Teddy Long heel and turn him into the heel General Manager of SmackDown.

¨       The Undertaker apparently underwent minor knee surgery before his WrestleMania 29 match with CM Punk. It was reportedly a minor cleanup.

¨       The Rock has reportedly dropped out of making The Fast and The Furious 7 because it conflicts with filming of the Hercules movie.

¨       And finally, TNA’s Bound for Glory PPV will reportedly take place in San Diego in October.

Until next time, watch out for the Doomsday Device.

WrestleMania 29 a dud

WrestleMania XXVIX was expected to be a great show.

With John Cena-The Rock II (this time with the WWE Title on the line) main-eventing, The Undertaker putting his 20-0 streak on the line against the longest-reigning WWE champion in recent memory (CM Punk), and Brock Lesnar going up against Triple H, it looked like a stacked card.

However, when all was said and done, it was a giant letdown.

The best match of the night, in what has become an annual thing, was the Undertaker match. After four years of going up against fellow part-timers Shawn Michaels and Triple H, Taker was matched up against one of the WWE’s legitimate top heels and best wrestlers in CM Punk. Many wondered how it would go – if Taker could hang with a younger athlete or if Taker would put over Punk (not losing to him, but allowing him to get some offense).

He answered both questions with a resounding “Yes.”

He allowed Punk to look like a credible opponent. He allowed Punk to give fans the belief that he could wind up with the rare win. He allowed Punk to kick out of one of his finishers and use one of his signature moves.

In the meantime, Punk did enough selling for Taker to make him out to be the unstoppable force that he is.

Undertaker may not wrestle full-time anymore, but when it comes time for him to compete, he can still bring it with the best of them. And, even though he lost, CM Punk’s status just got elevated with his performance.

He hung with a WWE legend and gave him a great match. Expect the belt to come back to Punk sometime in the near future.

While WWE did a great job building up to that match, with the three-man tag (and the unexpected heel turn by the Big Show when everyone felt that it would be Randy Orton turning), Chris Jericho-Fandango (which was a very entertaining match) and Alberto Del Rio-Jack Swagger (with Swagger’s DUI punishment being a clean loss in the center of the ring), the card came to a crashing halt with HHH-Lesnar.

Once again, Triple H put himself above the best interests of the company, and once again, it cost them. There is NO REASON why that match should have been second-to-last. There is also NO REASON why an over-the-hill executive should beat a guy you are pushing as a legitimate unstoppable monster in Lesnar.

However, HHH did both. And, as a result, WrestleMania XXVIX became just another card and may have etched itself in the bottom five of all-time WrestleManias.

At least it wasn’t WrestleMania IX or WrestleMania XI bad, but it might compete with some of those ones in the early 20s or early teens.

The match may have been hampered when Lesnar legitimately was knocked loopy five minutes into the match thanks to an inadvertent knee by HHH. However, they plodded along with no real psychology or charisma. And, while HHH was the babyface, I think a good amount of people were hoping to see Lesnar win.

If you’re building for Lesnar-Rock at WrestleMania XXX (as seems to be the plan), then you don’t have Lesnar job out to Triple H.

As bad as that match was, it may have been outdone by Rock-Cena.

It’s fairly obvious to me that they have ZERO chemistry with one another. If it wasn’t obvious after last year’s main-event snoozer, than it was after they duplicated that snoozer this year.

When The Rock was one of wrestling’s most marketable and biggest superstars, he had a reputation of being able to work with ANYONE. His match with Hulk Hogan at the SkyDome at WrestleMania XVII was arguably the most memorable match of his career, and it had as much to do with Hogan (who had a reputation for being a selfish worker during his time in WCW) as it did with The Rock.

In fact, only his match with Goldberg right after WrestleMania XIX was one that immediately comes to mind as a stinkburger, and it’s mostly because Goldberg can’t work (he never could).

With Cena, he doesn’t have that excuse. He made himself into the modern-day Hogan not just with his charisma, but also with his work rate. People boo him, but they respect him, and the boys in the back respect him. But, for whatever reason, they just can’t seem to click.

Hopefully, this puts the kibosh on a Rock-Cena III at SummerSlam or wherever else. It was a nice thought, but it just didn’t work.

The only thing that would have made this WrestleMania worse was if they would have kept that God-awful mixed tag match on (which would have gone on in between HHH-Lesnar and Rock-Cena). You want to talk about deflating a crowd, that would have just made it worse. No offense to Cody Rhodes, who was very upset about the decision, but you match was terrible and it had no business being on a WrestleMania card.

The only other thing I wished they would have done was allowed Dolph Ziggler to cash in his Money in the Bank contract at WrestleMania instead of the next night at Raw. I get that they wanted to make the Raw after WrestleMania special, but it already kind of is. Along with the Raw right before Mania, the Raw after maybe the most watched episode of the entire year.

WrestleMania is the event that brings all of the fringe fans or long-lost fans (like me) back to WWE. If it’s a hot event, like the last few have been, the momentum carries over to the next night and through the first month or so. While Sunday’s was not a hot event, the fact is that a lot of people paid attention. They had 80,000-plus in attendance at MetLife Stadium and millions more watching at home plunking down $59.99 to watch it.

I’m sure doing to Ziggler change in front of all those paying customers wouldn’t have hurt. However, after the WWF tried a similar tactic in WrestleMania IX (where Bret Hart lost the main event to Yokozuna, only for a returning Hulk Hogan to run in and win the title out of nowhere), and it’s been widely panned, I’m sure it might cause them to be hesitant.

And, if you’re going to build Ryback up to be another Goldberg, why would you have him lose to Mark Henry? Sure, Henry wrestled Cena in the final match of Raw (setting up Ryback’s run-in), but it doesn’t help his credibility when he loses to a guy that fans still remember as “Sexual Chocolate.”

RAW FALLOUT: If you believe what you’ve read on all the Web sites, then it appears that last Monday’s Raw was thrown for a loop when The Rock no-showed the event.

There were some fans, and even some of the boys in the back, who questioned Rock’s reason – that he suffered a legitimate injury during the Cena match and was going to see his doctor in Florida to have it examined. And, it appears he did suffer a very legitimate injury – a hernia, torn adductor and torn abdominal muscle. It’s believed he first suffered the injury when he went up for the first Attitude Adjustment from Cena.

Rock continued to wrestle and the muscle continued to tear from his pelvis. By the time the match was over, both his abdominal and adductor muscle had completely torn off his pelvis.

After meeting with his doctors, they decided that rehab would be the best option instead of surgery.

It was believed that the show was being built around The Rock, culminating with Lesnar attacking him, setting up their feud and possible WrestleMania XXX match. Because The Rock didn’t show, and because Lesnar’s on a limited appearance contract, they decided to hold Lesnar off of TV.

Contrary to popular belief, the WWE is saying that they planned on a Ziggler title change all along for this Raw and that it wasn’t a last-second add to help salvage the show. However, it was confirmed that Swagger was supposed to win the title and hold it for a length of time, and those plans changed with his arrest for DUI and marijuana possession.

Also, the Raw was notable for the way the crowd reacted to certain matches. They completely shit all over the Sheamus-Randy Orton match, along with other chants that you don’t normally here at a regular Raw.

The crowd was tremendously in support of Fandango and Ziggler, while serving up a mixed reaction for Cena (and cheering for Ryback during his run-in). They also serenaded Henry with “Sexual Chocolate” chants.

Orton Tweeted that the crowd was “intense” and “glad I was there.”

Vince McMahon reportedly enjoyed the rowdy crowd. He chalked it up to there being a lot more hardcore fans there because it’s right after WrestleMania, and a lot of those fans travel all over the world to be there that weekend.

Also, Punk missed Raw due to getting his knee checked out. He injured it during the announcer’s table spot and he went in to have an MRI. Punk was expected to take some time off following WrestleMania due to all the hard work he put in over the last year-and-a-half as the champion, and the injury is a convenient excuse to make that so. However, he will show up at Raw tomorrow night to talk about his loss.

However, according to some Internet goons, another reason for Punk’s disappearance was so that he wouldn’t get a positive reaction from the crowd when he came out. They figured it was a good way to sell his loss by keeping him on the shelf for a week.

STEROIDS: Former WWE wrestler Carlito raised a few eyebrows when he sent out a Tweet alleging that The Rock suffered his injury due to steroid use.

“Rock tore his ab & adductor tendons? Hmm, I guess instead of getting in tremendous shape for mania…he got in TREN-mendous shape!” he Tweeted.

Tren is one of the most popular steroids around, according to Steroid.com (I wish I was making that up). Some of Tren’s benefits include “increased muscle mass, increase strength and increased recovery.”

A professional wrestler using steroids? No waayyyy.

I’m being sarcastic, of course. Pro wrestling or sports entertainment and steroids have gone hand-in-hand since the 1970s and really increased in the 1980s, when Vince McMahon (a steroid user himself) wanted to push muscular wrestlers as monsters. While it died down a bit in the early 1990s when the feds indicted McMahon on charges of peddling steroids to his wrestlers, it began to increase after he was found not guilty.

Sure, they push a “wellness policy,” but you’d have to be an idiot to fail it. They tell you in advance that you’re getting tested. To be honest, they mostly try to test for recreational drugs, but they do test for PEDs to try to “keep up the Joneses” in professional sports.

Does The Rock take steroids? He once needed to undergo breast reduction surgery. A noted side-effect of some steroids is what some people call “bitch-tits.” I’ll leave it at that.

There’s only so much regular weight training can do. It won’t give you the types of physiques that you see in professional wrestling, that’s for sure.

FANDANGO-ING: So, it appears that Fandango has officially become a mainstream sensation.

At least two organizations – the Houston Texans cheerleaders and PETA – have posted viral videos of people “Fandango-ing,” which is essentially them doing his entrance dance.

Also, Fandango’s entrance music was played at the end of a recent Royals-Twins game and has risen to No. 3 on the iTunes’ U.S. Top 10 Soundtrack chart and No. 2 on the U.K. Soundtrack chart.

It only helped matters when the Raw crowd loudly sang along to his theme song when he came out last Monday night.

Vince McMahon believed in the gimmick, and Johnny Curtis is talented enough to pull it off and make it over. It’s only a matter of time before Fandango pulls an Alberto Del Rio and becomes a face because the crowds love him.

Also, props to Jericho for helping him get over with what turned out be the second-best match on the WrestleMania card. I predict Fandango wins some sort of belt (Intercontinental or U.S.) during this upcoming year.

MORE GOONAGE: Jericho’s match with Ziggler at SmackDown will be his last in WWE for a while. He is heading overseas for a three-week European tour with his heavy metal band Fozzy. In the middle of the tour, Jericho will appear at the April 22 Raw from London. Fozzy will head back to the United Kingdom for another tour in August.

¨       Triple H suffered second-degree burns on his torso during his WrestleMania entrance due to some dry ice.

¨       Jack Swagger will return to Gulfport, Miss., on June 25 to face his DUI charge. The prosecutor is trying to push for the maximum sentence – two days in jail, a $437 fine for marijuana possession, a $1,300 fine for the DUI and a $188 fine for speeding.

¨       Mick Foley’s elbow drop spot with Chris Jericho was something that wasn’t planned and that “just happened,” along with CM Punk jumping up, counting to 3 and hugging Foley. “For that one night, there are no good guys or bad guys,” Foley said in an interview.

¨       Cena revealed that he worked his WrestleMania match with food poisoning and a broken thumb.

¨       Many believe that Undertaker will go for a 22-0 record at WrestleMania XXX next year.

¨       The pregame and post-game show WWE did for WrestleMania will now be a part of every pay-per-view going forward. Jim Ross and Scott Sanford will definitely be a part of it, but it is up in the air if Kofi Kingston will remain a part of it or not.

¨       While the crowd erupted for Ziggler’s World Title win on Monday, he also got a loud reaction when he came back through the curtain backstage. Ziggler is very popular with the other wrestlers and many feel that he’s a hard worker who’s finally getting rewarded.

¨       Lesnar may have suffered a concussion during his WrestleMania match, but he kept working through it.

¨       WWE may allow the Superdome to host the post-WrestleMania Raw. They are acknowledging that the show may be the second-most anticipated show of the calendar year behind Mania itself, and feel that it’s worth putting in the WM venue to capitalize on the crowd.

¨       Kurt Angle, currently wrestling for TNA, said that when his current contract expires, he wants to work a reduced schedule, focusing on just TV appearances and PPVs. He said he still wants to be involved in wrestling because, even though he’s financially set, he still loves it.

¨       TNA announced the following matches for next Thursday’s Impact – Brooke Tessmacher vs. Mickie James in a No. 1 contenders match for the Women’s Title; James Storm vs. A.J. Styles; and Angle vs. Wes Brisco and Garrett Bischoff in a handicap match.

¨       Despite a Bully Ray-Jeff Hardy TNA Title match, last Thursday’s Impact drew just a 0.93 TV rating with 1.17 million viewers – the lowest-rated show of the year.

¨       Ryback vs. Cena for the WWE Title will headline the WWE Extreme Rules PPV on May 19.

Until next time, watch out for the shooting-star press.

Nothing like WrestleMania

Some have called it the “Super Bowl of Professional Wrestling.” Others have taken the “Granddaddy of Them All” moniker that was once used for WCW’s Starrcade and given it to this event.

Whatever it is, it’s WrestleMania weekend, and, with the 29^th edition of World Wrestling Entertainment’s signature pay-per-view event coming up Sunday, it’s still as special as ever.

WrestleMania XXVIX (or WrestleMania 29) will be the fourth WrestleMania that takes place in an outdoor venue, taking place at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. The stadium is the home of the NFL’s New York Giants and New York Jets.

It’s also WWE’s fifth return to its signature market (New York City) in the WrestleMania franchise. The first WrestleMania took place on March 31, 1985 from Madison Square Garden. WrestleMania II was partially held at the Nassau Coliseum on Long Island. WrestleMania X and XX were both held at Madison Square Garden as an homage to the first one.

This will be the second straight WrestleMania to be held in an outdoor venue, after WrestleMania XXVIII (or WrestleMania 28) was held at Miami’s Sun Life Stadium. However, unlike the other outdoor attempts (WrestleMania IX in Las Vegas; WrestleMania XXIV in Orlando), WWE is taking a risk since New Jersey isn’t exactly the warmest of climates in early April.

Likewise, this is the seventh-straight WrestleMania to be held at a stadium-type venue and the 13^th out of 29 to be done so. Since WWE’s homage to WrestleMania’s beginnings with XX (MSG), XXI (Staples Center in L.A.) and XXII (AllState Arena in Rosemont, Ill.), Vince McMahon has not returned his signature event to a standard arena. That streak will continue with WrestleMania XXX being held at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans.

While WWE has put on what looks to be, on paper, a great card with some marquee headline bouts, the one knock is that the matches themselves seem more predictable than ever. Let’s take a closer look at WrestleMania 29.

***
THE CARD: Here is the updated card for Sunday night’s event, which will begin at 7 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time and be broadcast live on PPV:

¨      WWE Title Match: The Rock (c) vs. John Cena

¨      ¨     World Heavyweight Title Match: Alberto Del Rio (c) vs. Jack Swagger

¨      No Holds Barred Match with Triple H's Career On The Line: Brock Lesnar vs. Triple H with Shawn Michaels in Triple H's corner

¨      CM Punk vs. The Undertaker

¨      WWE Tag Team Title Match: Team Hell No (c's) vs. Dolph Ziggler and Big E. Langston

¨      Sheamus, Big Show and Randy Orton vs. The Shield

¨      Ryback vs. Mark Henry

¨      Fandango vs. Chris Jericho

¨      Broadus Clay, Tensai, Cameron and Naomi vs. Cody Rhodes, Damien Sandow and The Bella Twins

¨      Pre-Show WWE Intercontinental Title Match: Wade Barrett (c) vs. The Miz

***

PREDICTIONS: My prognostication skills are a bit off. However, I know my WrestleMania history and have followed along with the storylines leading up to WrestleMania. So, here’s Off The Turnbuckle’s take on what’s going to happen.

The Rock and Cena will definitely go on last, but as far as the co-main event, it could either be Undertaker-CM Punk or HHH-Lesnar. If it’s HHH-Lesnar, it’s because of a certain-someone’s ego (a certain son-in-law of the chairman) getting in the way of business once again.

With Rock beating Cena at last year’s WrestleMania main event in Rock’s hometown of Miami, it only seems logical that Cena gets the ‘W’ this year. Plus, it’s been a while since Cena held the WWE Heavyweight Championship, and their marquee wrestler is overdue for the gold. Also, The Rock is part-time and will be going back to Hollywood to film another movie, so it doesn’t make sense for WWE to keep the strap on him.

However, the manner in which Cena wins may be the twist. There is heavy scuttlebutt among the Internet goons that WWE wants to turn Cena heel and capitalize on some of the heel heat he’s been getting over the last several years. Cena has resisted, due to the all the charities he’s involved in. However, a Cena turn could be the signature moment of this WrestleMania.

While it may not be as big or shocking as Hulk Hogan’s heel turn at WCW’s Bash at the Beach PPV in July 1996, the parallels are eerily similar. Hogan had been getting booed at more and more arenas due to a “stale act” that fans were tired of. When he turned, it set the business on its ear and ushered in one of the biggest money-making periods the industry had ever seen.

A Cena heel turn won’t cause people to drop their jaws and run to their water coolers to talk about it like Hogan’s did. Cena is not as high profile a mainstream name as Hogan, nor will he ever be. However, it will get fans watching to see how a heel Cena performs on top of the card.

While CM Punk has been fantastic as a heel and his championship run was historic, there is no way in hell that Undertaker agrees to snap his undefeated streak to him. Undertaker improves to 21-0 despite Punk trying to break out every underhanded trick in the book. It should be an entertaining match, but it may be hard to top the last four Taker was involved in (both Michaels and HHH matches).

The HHH-Lesnar match is harder to predict. It’s evident that HHH’s days as a full-time performer are over and that he’s moved into to a bigger role off-camera and could be a good on-camera authority figure. Lesnar hasn’t exactly been a model citizen since he returned to WWE after a successful career in UFC and not many in the locker room are thrilled with him.

HHH has put himself in the storyline sense as the underdog looking to gain revenge for his family’s sake. He’s even put his old buddy HBK in his corner and added the career stipulation. However, if they want to build Lesnar for a program with whoever the champion is, or a program with The Rock for WrestleMania XXX, it may be wise to have Lesnar (who’s been built as an unstoppable monster since he returned) to over HHH.

But, I’ll say HHH puts himself over the business and gets the win. Besides, after dropping two straight bouts to the Undertaker at WrestleMania, I’m sure he believes he’s overdue for a positive WrestleMania moment. 

Another prediction – Motorhead performs his theme song live.

With the angle they’ve given Swagger since his out-of-nowhere win in February’s Elimination Chamber to give him the shot at Del Rio, I figured it would be a slam-dunk that Swagger would win. His heel “outspoken American” gimmick with Dutch Mantel (or Zeb Coulter) as his manager has gotten incredibly over.

However, his recent drug arrest may have put the kibosh on those plans. I think WWE saves face by allowing Del Rio to beat Swagger, but allow Ziggler to cash in his Money in the Bank and leave WrestleMania with the World Heavyweight Title. And, possibly, give the Northeast Ohio native a new manager in Mantel, who is under contract for some time.

Many believed that WrestleMania would be the perfect spot to finally break up Team Hell No (Kane and Daniel Bryan) after teasing it for so long. However, if they go through with the above plan of Ziegler cashing in the MIB briefcase finally, then there’s no chance that Ziggler and Big E win the Tag Team Titles.

If Ziggler and Big E win (and Kane and Bryan have their expected postmatch blow-up), then Ziggler does not cash in the MIB. I’ll stick with my earlier scenario and say that Team Hell No (which is over with the fans) retains the belts.

The WWE has been building The Shield like a renegade New World Order faction, so, even with the numbers and talent favoring the babyface faction, I think The Shield wins to maintain their heat. That, and we could have yet another heel turn, with Orton turning on Sheamus and Big Show and setting up a future program.

Ryback was being built up as a Bill Goldberg-esque monster, but his momentum has stalled since Cena eliminated him at the Royal Rumble. All Mark Henry is another big guy that Ryback should dominate to show just how much of a monster he is as he moves forward to becoming the next big babyface (good guy) hero for the WWE.

Jericho has become a jobber since he returned to the WWE, becoming a guy who’s simply been elevating talent. That role will continue at WrestleMania, as he gives Fandango (the newest WWE gimmick) some credibility with a win. Vince McMahon reportedly is a big fan of the gimmick and wants to see it succeed.

The mixed tag match may be the “filler” match between Taker-Punk (or HHH-Lesnar) and Rock-Cena. That will be your cue to get up and go to the bathroom or grab another beer or send out a Tweet, whatever you do to pass your time. I almost hesitate to make a prediction on this waste of a match, but I’ll pick The Rhodes Scholars and The Bella Twins, with one of the dancing girls doing the job.

The I-C match deserves a better fate than being the untelevised bout. Ironically, in WrestleMania’s long history, the I-C Title has only changed hands seven times (it’s been defended at 19 of the 29 WrestleMania’s).

But, I’ll give it to the Northeast Ohio native Miz. He seems to be getting over as a babyface (thanks to the alignment with Ric Flair). Plus, a Miz win could carry the feud with Barrett over for a few more months, while a Barrett win would seem to signify the end of the beef.

A title change before the cameras turn on would give the fans even more electricity, so I’ll stick with The Miz and what could be a big night for Cleveland-area wrestlers.

***

MORE GOONAGE: As of now, there are no plans to debut Christian, even though he has signed with the WWE. When he does debut, it will be as a babyface.

¨      For whatever reason, Brock Lesnar is making no media appearances to hype up his match at WrestleMania. He’s the only one on the card who isn’t.

¨      WWE has listened to the fans and decided to air Mick Foley’s Hall of Fame induction speech at Saturday night’s USA Network live special. Their decision not only caused some fan backlash, but also reportedly some backlash from some within the company.

¨      At the Axxess event, a fan asked Ryback about Goldberg. Ryback answered that he’d love to face the former WCW champion “if he had the guts to show up.” He went on to say that, unlike Goldberg, he loves the sport with the passion and won’t walk away. Sounds like a program in the making.

¨      Ted DiBiase Jr. told fans at Axxess that he still working through his hand injury and is anxious to get back on the roster.

¨      Bruno Sammartino, who is finally getting inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame (long overdue), was given a key to Jersey City this weekend. He also was pleased that Arnold Schwarzenegger would be his presenter for induction.

¨      Booker T confirmed that his brother and former Harlem Heat tag team partner Stevie Ray will be his presenter for his WWE Hall of Fame induction.

¨      Cena mocked a potential heel turn during press conferences leading up to WrestleMania. Which means that it will likely happen now.

¨      There are rumors that a second match will be added to the WrestleMania pre-show, and it may involve Antonio Cesaro defending the U.S. Title.

¨      Former WWF Intercontinental Champion The Honky Tonk Man (whose 454-day reign is still the record for longest reign with the I-C belt) announced that he signed a multi-year deal to return to the WWE. He appeared at the “Old School” Raw event last month siding with Broadus Clay and Tensai during a tag match with 3MB, even hitting Heath Slater over the head with his guitar. Neither Honky nor the WWE confirmed what his role would be.

¨      And finally, the band Living Color will perform CM Punk’s theme song, Cult of Personality, live as he makes his entrance to face Undertaker. Cult of Personality was Living Color’s biggest hit song from the early 1990s.

Enjoy your WrestleMania parties, wherever they are. I'll be looking forward to our annual get together at the House of Brady, where we watch for blown spots and laugh.

Until next week, watch out for the flying elbow.

I'm back!

Many years since I was here
On the street I was passin' my time away 
To the left and to the right
Buildings towering to the sky 
It's outta sight 
In the dead of night 
Here I am, again in this city, with a fistful of dollars 
And baby, you'd better believe 

I'm back, back in the New York Groove 
I'm back, back in the New York Groove 
I'm back, back in the New York Groove 
Back in the New York Groove, in the New York Groove

I felt this Ace Frehley/KISS classic was perfect to open up the brand-spanking new Off The Turnbuckle blog site, almost 10 years after I stopped writing what I consider to be the "Golden Era" of OTT -- the Sunday sports page staple that ran in the Lorain (Ohio) Morning Journal from 1998-to-2003 -- and almost five years to the week that I dusted off the OTT moniker for one last ride on the Morning Journal's Web page that fizzled out after six months due to a lack of promotion and my realization that I just didn't care for the professional wrestling (or sports entertainment) product like I did during the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Tonight, I will kick off OTT in style, bringing back the WrestleMania preview that many of you readers said was one of their favorite columns to read. I hope I can recapture some of that magic. However, I'm going to take a moment to talk about WHY I've decided to reclaim Off The Turnbuckle and bring it back.

I got extremely lucky when OTT was launched in November of 1998. WWE and WCW were both red-hot, cranking out must-see TV every Monday night. Pro wrestling was at its most popular since "Hulkamania" burst on the scene in the 1980s and I, in my 20s, became a huge "mark" (fan, in wrestling lingo) for wrestling again. The paper was considering capitalizing on the phenomena and purchasing a syndicated column. I quickly sent the editor of the paper (the late John Cole) a memo pitching that I (who was just a mere part-time sports writer still attending college) should be the one to do it. To my surprise, Cole gave me the ball.

There were a few times I juggled it, but I didn't drop it. And, to I think everyone's surprise, Off The Turnbuckle (which was one of a handful of titles I wrote on a piece of paper that they liked) became extremely popular.

At one time, OTT was the second-most read piece in the Morning Journal sports page other than the late Hal Lebovitz's sports columns. So, they would run OTT and Hal's Sunday column on the same page, which got tremendous positive feedback. Of course, there were a few complaining about pro wrestling being on the sports pages, and a few other colleagues of mine dissed it at every turn. But, it sold papers, and my stock quickly rose within the paper.

Ten years after, with the urging of the Journal's sports editor at the time (who never liked it), I pulled the plug on OTT in the print section of the Morning Journal, I suddenly got the urge to bring it back. Mostly, it was because of fans like you.

Yes, YOU, who clicked on a link that didn't have any posts yet because, simply, Off The Turnbuckle was coming back. YOU, who would stop me on the street and say, "Weren't you the guy who wrote Off The Turnbukcle? Man, that was my favorite thing to read in the Sunday paper. Why don't you bring it back?" YOU, who would drop hints to my Facebook page and suggest that I pitch it to one of the newspapers that I'm now writing for.

It's because of fans as passionate at YOU, who still remembered a little wrestling column after 10 years and still maintained how excellent it was.

So, thank you for reminding me just how awesome OTT was back in the day and reminding me that there's still a fanbase for it.

With the newspaper industry being what it is, I've decided to launch this on my own. I will update this blog site with an OTT that fits the familiar format that I used back in the day. Hopefully, it gets popular enough that I can start generating revenue off it based on advertising and hits. For now, I do it for free, simply to reclaim what is OURS.

I'm not going to lie, though. I kind of quit being a wrestling fan after 2003. The product just didn't suit my tastes. I'd turn on an episode of Raw and within 10 minutes I'd be checking the guide to see if there was anything else on. I realized that during the six-month "Web-only" OTT that ran in 2008. I just didn't have the passion for it, and it showed.

Within the last couple of years, mostly starting from just watching WrestleMania every year, I started getting back into it. I like some of the newer guys coming up, guys like Daniel Bryan, Alberto Del Rio, Dolph Ziegler (who I saw wrestle in high school at Lakewood St. Edward), Jack Swagger, Ryback, etc. I'm glad that some of the guys I liked during my heyday are still going, like The Rock, Triple H, Big Show, the Undertaker. I like how John Cena has become the new franshise of the WWE and how a guy I once watched wrestle at Jamie's Flea Market in South Amherst become the No. 1 heel in the industry -- CM Punk.

While I'm not as hooked on it as I was 15 years ago, I'm at least entertained by the WWE product again.

And, while I don't have as many "Internet goon" sources as I once did during the column's heyday, I'll at least try to keep it as entertaining as I did.

Lastly, I brought Off The Turnbuckle back because I realized that there were others out there trying claim this title as their own. Some of which were people I knew, who never even had the common courtesy to ask me if using the dusty moniker as their own would have been OK. That was the final kick in the ass I needed.

There can be only one Off The Turnbuckle, and the Off The Turnbuckle that became a big name was the Off The Turnbuckle that I, Dan Gilles, wrote for five glorious years and ran every Sunday morning. Like the Highlander, I'm back to reclaim what's mine.

Hence, my blogger handle, "TheOriginalOTT." This is the original -- often imitated, but never duplicated.

Thanks for sticking with OTT and keeping the faith all these years. With your support, hopefully, OTT will reclaim the mantle of one of the most read "insider" columns on professional wrestling.

This is gonna be fun!

Happy reading.

-- Dan