Finlay vs. Steen. Holy. Christ.

Dave Finlay in his wrestling-by-day, 70's porn-by-night heyday.

Via Battle of Los Angeles Sub-site

Coming around to that Battle of Los Angeles time of year, and this version of it has me ultra-excited! Most of the matches include PWG regulars, including El Generico versus Claudio Castagnoli and Chris Hero versus Willie Mack. But one match in particular should have a heap of people talking.

New PWG World Heavyweight Champion, Ring of Honor blacklisted "Antichrist of Professional Wrestling" (and also a guy who threatens rape by retweets), Kevin Steen facing  former WWE superstar & road agent, "The Belfast Bruiser" Dave "Fit" Finlay.

If CM Punk vs. John Cena was the match of the year, then this is sure to be spectacle of the year. PWG, consider your DVD bought.

How Good IS... Derrick Bateman

 Derrick Bateman and Daniel Bryan. A match made in mark heaven. Source: ... Google

Thought I'd start my catch-up day with a "How Good Was IS..." and I've wanted to write this one up for a while. Inspiration for this one goes to Brandon Stroud, who wrote a great little piece on Bateman in his own weekly column on WithLeather.

Derrick Bateman is easily, the funniest man on the WWE roster. Bar none. He has the comedic timing of Fred Willard in Best In Show. He shows that he could legitimately be an idiot, but still has the ability to make himself seem like he is being ultra-serious, in a hilarious way. The double date video is downright hilarious! "The King of All Wingmen" is just insane. "Are you wearing wrestling boots?" "Yeah absolutely."

But the best video of any of the DB's rookie/pro moments together, is for sure this one where Daniel Bryan is trying to teach Bateman a heel hook. It has a very odd sexual feel to it... Maybe that's just me, but it's awkward as hell watching Bateman crank up the crazy every time he's on camera.

The weirdest thing about it all is, he's got the *quotation marks* WWE *end quotation marks* look. He's pretty ripped, he can actually work in the ring, and he can really get a crowd behind him, which he especially showed. I hope to god the only reason they brought him back into this NXT Redemption is so that they push him into a main roster roll, maybe as an pseudo-ally of Daniel Bryan on Smackdown.

One can only dream.

Things I Missed Over The Weekend.

Starting to realise that work is really going to my kryptonite when it comes to blogging. Bartending six days a week is a bit of a bitch, but I'm gonna do a big chuck of updates today hopefully.

Too soon? WHO CARES! Source: wwe.com

- CM Punk returned to the WWE tonight, played out by classic CM Punk music, Cult of Personality. From the short little video I've seen, it seems like Punk got a pretty good reaction, and even got a bigger cheer when he raised the title after Cena. I really don't want to speculate where this is going to go, but Cena vs. Punk at Summerslam seems like a lock now. If not, I'm sure what ever way they go with it is going to be fantastic.

- Kevin Steen wrestled three times at PWG's eighth anniversary show, beat PAC, The Young Bucks (with his team mate CIMA) and then got rewarded with a title shot, beating Claudio Castagnoli to win the PWG World Championship! I'm very happy for Kevin, who over the past year and a half has really shown he can carry the ball for any company he works for. Plus he hit 5,000+ followers on Twitter. Pretty good couple of days for him.

- Impact Wrestling taped tonight, with Kurt Angle vs. Ken Anderson headlining the show in a cage match. These shows are really starting to get crowded, and I think it's time The Hulkster did some spring cleaning and trimmed some fat out of the company. Especially if they are bringing in more X-Division names, like Austin Aries, Kid Kash etc. If not, I'm sure that people like Chris Daniels, Samoa Joe and MCMG will continue to get swept under the rug.

- EVOLVE has it's 9th card tomorrow night, yet again at BB Kings Blues Club. The show is headlined by Chuck Taylor vs. Johnny Gargano, and also a bonus main event of Sami Callihan vs. Dave Finlay. Not to mention, Kevin Steen on a open mic. This should be an interesting one folks, and this is also an iPPV. Check it out if you can.

How Good Was... The Wrestlemania XX 3-Way

One of my favourite matches of all time.

Triple H, defending his World Heavyweight Championship, against his rival of 12+ months Shawn Michaels, and the winner of the 2004 Royal Rumble, Chris Benoit. This match, had everything. Benoit's stiff chops and precise suplexes, Michaels' athleticism (especially with a moonsault plancha pretty early in the match), and Triple H's classic power game, showcasing three great wrestling styles pretty amazingly. Plus, the best Sweet Chim Music you will ever see is right here in this match.

A hot build-up, plus a pretty rowdy NYC crowd, made for one of the best Wrestlemania main events in the past few years. It really is a must watch for any fan.

CM Punk, Voice of the Voiceless

The champ is at Comic Con! Source: pwinsider.com

Seriously? Could this be a greater angle? As most of you would have seen by now, CM Punk invaded San Diego's Comic Con, dropping in to see some of his 'former' co-workers, and their new boss, Triple H. A few back and forth zingers, a big call out to Zack Ryder later, and Punk leaves and rides off into the sunset.

At the moment, I really don't care about speculating where this is going, because jesus, the ride has only just begun guys. Would I love to see Punk interupt RAW next week? Hell yes! Do I care if he does or he doesn't? Not really.

For the first time in a long time, I'm actually back to trusting the judgement of the WWE. It's nearly been one month since the promo that changed everything, and they haven't dropped the CM Punk ball yet.

WWE Got The Memo...

So I've written nothing since Monday, due to a rather big event that happened yesterday. My 21st birthday! Honestly, I think someone at head office got the memo, and have given me my very own 3 days of birthday celebrations.

I missed the divas match, I was having a smoke after my orgasm over this. Source: withleather.com

A lot of things have happened in the past 72 hours. We had the epicness that was Money In The Bank, leading into CM Punk posting some awesome Twitter photos, including this gem. Oh yeah, we had Scruffy the janitor forced to clean up the collection of the IWC sperm that was the Daniel Bryan "Money in The Bank" briefcase win. Honestly, I thought I was asleep still. I still can't believe they did it.

Skip forward after the PPV of the year, and we get to RAW. With such a buzz about this show, I was kind of certain we would be let down. What happened next, was for me, as great as Bryan & Punk escaping Money In The Bank as heroes. That's right, Triple H becoming Mr. Helmsley was the best thing that has happened in the past 72 hours. I was sitting at work, and did a spit take as I was reading the recap. I marked (whilst getting awkwardly stared at by elderly customers playing on the slot machines). I think this is a great move, and Triple H will be able to play the roll very well, especially if it's a weekly spot, trying to get things back in order.

Today, WWE gave me the best present of all. But come on, I'm not going to spoil that for any of you. Let's just say I'm sure that TH and myself need to save some big money to make it to Miami.

Mark-Out In The Bank: PUNK WINS!

Wow...

Just. Wow. That's all I can truly say right now. This is the reason I started the blog. For nights exactly like this. I was jumping up and down on the couch when Daniel Bryan grabbed the briefcase. When Christian's head games paid off, I had a smile across my face that I thought would not be replaced. And then, the second Michael Cole mentioned the Screwjob, my heart sunk. When Johnny Ace and Vince came out to no music, with time still left on the clock, I was begging them not to end it like that. When Vince called for the bell, I almost threw my phone at the television.

But no emotion could top when Punk hit the GTS. I may be turning 21 tomorrow (19th of July), but jesus, I don't think I could be happier any time this week. It was the ultimate mark-out for me since I began watching, and that covers a lot of territory.

I'll probably do a full recap sometime later, whilst all my American readers are asleep, but I really don't think I'll be able to process what the hell just happened tonight. I was taken back to a time before the Internet, before I had to pay bills and before I had any idea about anything backstage. Tonight, I was back to being that 10 year old kid, screaming his ass off on the couch.

Predictions of A Mark: Cena over Punk? Oh dear god...

This weekend is more than likely, the most anticipated pay-per-view of 2011, because of one burning question... What the fuck is Punk gonna do? Win and leave? Win and re-sign? Win and the lose to the RAW Money In The Bank contract winner? Lose clean? Honestly, I think we all know that CM Punk is going to this as the number one good guy in the company. Cena, possibly going in as one of the more hated. But more on the main event later. I think as the new kid on the block, I need to throw my two cents in on the first non-Mania pay-per-view I've bought since 2006.

Our version of Stone Cold vs. The Rock? Source: WWE.com

Big Show vs. Mark Henry

Who I want to win: Mark Henry

Somebody gonna get their wig split. Honestly, I can see no real logical reason behind making Big Show look tremendously weak compared to Mizark, other than they are really preparing "The World's Strongest Man" for the big run that has been put in front of him, but never truly run with. I think it's time they pull the trigger on Henry, and a dominating win, leading into a Summerslam program with Randall Keith, is starting to look like the best way to go.

Kelly Kelly (c) vs. Brie Bella, Divas Championship

Who I want to win: Kelly Kelly

Only in WWE, can a bleach blond ex-cheerleader with the "model" figure & the pearl white smile, be the victim of bullying. Nowhere else would that work. I'd rather KK keep the belt here, because she's kind of the divas version of John Cena.

Smackdown! Money In The Bank

Who I want to win: Cody Rhodes

In honest opinion, this is the match with the most potential when it comes to Money In The Bank matches. The two things I want to see out of this match are as follows... 1) Daniel Bryan hitting his hesitation missile dropkick of the top of a ladder. 2) Heath Slater taking the High Cross off the top of a ladder. I will be more than happy with my $25 purchase if either thing happens. I really thinks Rhodes deserves to win this, refresh his character again, maybe give him another layer onto the "Dashing" character, and take a run at the title. Plus, Rhodes vs. Orton does really appeal to me.

RAW Money In The Bank

Who I want to win: Kofi Kingston

I really want Kingston to win this. I want Kingston to pull of some kind of amazing stunt, knock Alberto Del Rio off the top of the ladder, and grab that briefcase. You move Evan Bourne onto Dolph Ziggler after making him look like a million bucks by letting him leap off of everything and crash into everyone. Riley takes out Miz in some type of spectacular move, stretching their feud out until SummerSlam. R-Truth, Swagger and Rey fill out the rest of the match, and you get the lesser of the two Money In The Bank matches filled out quite nicely.

Randy Orton (c) vs. Christian, World Heavyweight Championship Match

Who I want to win: Randy Orton

Sorry Razor (Okay, I doubt Razor reads this... if you're reading this Razor, please address all abuse towards the comment section), but it's time that Randy ends this. Some type of awesome, out-of-nowhere variation of the RKO, after a pretty solid match, would be the perfect end to this program. A clean end, to stop Christian's complaints. Move Randy onto the next feud (hopefully with Mark Henry) and put Christian into a feud with Daniel Bryan after he's done with Cody Rhodes (Come on TH, imagine that feud.)

John Cena (c) vs. CM Punk, WWE Championship

Who I want to win: John Cena

Wow, am I digging my own grave? Orton into Cena for championship retention...

The only way this could work is doing a double-turn. CM Punk, waiting to pounce for the GTS after having his hometown crowd behind him the whole night, goes to hoist Cena up onto his shoulders, Cena will slip out the front, look Punk square in the eyes... and punt for goal. I want to Cena to punt CM Punk so hard below the belt, that for the next three weeks he becomes CP Munk. The Chicago crowd will be whipped into a frenzy, Cena will celebrate like he's just won the World Series, and CM Punk then truly has his Austin 3:16 moment. He is turned into the guy who is the anti-establishment bad ass, who could only be beaten when the good old kiss-ass of the company couldn't do it fair.

Hey, but what do I know, I'm just a mark. I'm sure we'll all be shocked and marking out come the main event this Sunday (Monday technically for me.)

Your Moment of Mark: #1 - Chris Hero's KTFO

Yet another segment I hope to bring in week to week, and I thought I'd start with something a little fresher than Al Snow. This is from PWG's Cyanide show, the match in question was the King's of Wrestling (Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli) facing ¡Peligro Abejas! (El Generico and Paul London). It was this moment where Hero introduced Generico to one of his newer moves, the KTFO.

Hero's striking offense is already pretty harsh to it's victims, with moves like his Death Blow Roaring Elbow or the Cyclone Kill coming to mind, but this move takes the cake in just sheer brutality. A donkey punch-esque stomp to the back of the skull, followed up by a trademark Hero discus elbow, both of which sound so stiff that it makes you cringe a little. Definitely not a move I wish upon any man in the ring.

How Good Was... KOPF!

I'm debuting my first ever recurring thing, hopefully as a tie-in with the whole mark motif.

So, without further adieu...

HOW GOOD WAS...

Al Snow as the European Champion!

Seriously! This man was the original "Very European" superstar. Al Snow's 48 day reign as European champion brought on one of my favourite laughs as a kid in 2000. Week after week, Al would come out in a different stereotypical or satirical ring attire, whether it was lederhosen for Germany, over the top Asian rice paddy dressage for Hong Kong (former British colony), or even confusing Greece for 1978 musical Grease. Everything, from the framed photo of the national idol of the current country (Hong Kong Phooey~!) down to the awful entrance music (complete with translation of "WHAT DOES EVERYBODY WANT? HEAD!"), was perfectly done.

Al Snow really gets a bad rap from a lot of fans, but honestly, he was one of my favourite parts of the midcard back in the Attitude Era. Plus, Al Snow was the first action figure I owned, so win-win.

Broken Bones, 'Beat It' & Backfists: A CHIKARA Love Affair

3.0 (Scott 'Jagged' Parker & 'Big Magic' Shane Matthews), a big help to my CHIKARA love.

In late 2007, a young man by the name of Colin Delaney appeared on an episode of WWE's version of ECW, getting his butt whooped around the ring by a personal favourite of mine, Shelton Benjamin. Two weeks later, the wrestler formerly known as King Mabel absolutely crushed the poor little boy from Rochester, New York. As more weeks went by, I started to take a liking the guy. He was one of us little people, and he was just trying to live the WWE dream. It was brilliant. Over 9 months went by with Delaney throwing his 1920's Irish boxer stance, and after few DDT's, a heel turn and then a 'best of luck' from the big wigs, he rode off towards the horizon. Sadly, I thought it was the last I'd ever see of the "Hardcore Underdog"...

Until, a good friend of mine by the name of Joesph 'Stardy' Best mentioned that he was appearing for an independent company in Philadelphia, that went by the name of CHIKARA. He linked me to their website, and then linked me to a bunch of videos (most of which are down now.) A fed full of guys that were like the small wrestlers I loved as kid? I fell head over heels instantly. The characters were funny and original, the wrestling was crisp and awe-inspiring, and it just felt like something different. Something that could speak to the child I still had deep in my soul, and the adult that I was becoming. Delaney showed that he could actually wrestle, and wasn't just the weaselly little kid that clung onto Tommy Dreamer.

I followed the results, watched promos and YouTube clips, like classic moments from 2.0 promos, or Chuck Taylor grenading anyone in sight. It took me until my 19th birthday to purchase my first CHIKARA DVD's. King of Trios 2009. And from then onwards, I became a junkie. A junkie for Mike Quackenbush and his amazing technical skills. A addict for the dastardly acts of F.I.S.T (Classic version, no guys from Cleveland). A fiend for Eddie Kingston. I can not say enough great things about "The Last of a Dying Breed". The man is golden. Cutting a promo, gold. Throwing suplexes and chopping down opponents in the ring, gold. Screaming like a madman on commentary whilst insulting Bryce Remsburg? GOLD. Then I started collecting. I actually began to really become a real mark for this company. Shane Matthews and Jagged walking down to the ring to the rhythm of 'Beat It' is just a sight to be seen and heard. I cheered on Ultramantis Black tearing it up on commentary and in the ring. I was hooked forever.

My version of a collection of crack pipes. Source: THIS GUY!

I'm a mark for this company. Big time. For those of you who have never seen a full CHIKARA DVD, you can find them at Smart Mark Video. I honestly recommend starting with any of the 'Best Of' collections, or any of the King of Trios tournaments, they are all brilliant. If you want wrestling that actually rewards you with smart storytelling and brilliant wrestling, then trust me, this is the company for you. It's damn sure the company for me.

MoaM: What to expect from this guy...

"Ego "Mark" is not a dirty word." - Graeme Strachan, Skyhooks (revised by Diaz)

I mark for this man, and I'm proud of it. Source: willywrestling.fr

So many wrestling fans these days hate being called 'marks'. I like to embrace it. I'm a mark for Eddie Kingston and his sweet ass suplexes. I went crazy any time Al Snow stepped out onto the stage on Smackdown, dressed in a ridiculous costume from Europe, during his stint as European champion. I used to love the New Age Outlaws strutting down to the ring as Road Dogg sung over the top of his music, trashing whom ever they were facing that night. Come on, who among us doesn't go a little mental when their favourite legend comes back for a huge suprise appearence? I'm not just a wrestling mark. I'm a huge mark for Liverpool FC and the Socceroos (two teams that play the true football, despite what most of the readers will think). I've seen Muse live six times, and I scream like a little school girl every time they step on the stage.

I think it's time we washed the stench from the word 'mark', and I'm making that my aim for this blog. I want casual fans to embrace those moments where they are taken back to their childhood, being able to jump up and down in their living rooms without shame. Be prepared for me to see the positive side of our little corner of pop culture, and bring up some of my favourite memories and wrestlers from my lifetime (and also, plugging awesome bands and sports team!)

The debut of Diaz!

Well, here I am!

* pauses for applause *

Okay... I didn't expect any applause. I'm honestly hoping that the people that are starting to read this, kind of have no idea who I am. I'm Cameron Diaz, the basically invisible, very quiet wrestling fan, known for pandering to wrestling bloggers and wrestlers in general, on my twitter. Honestly, I think that is a bad stigma, especially if I'm the only one noticing it.

About a year ago, I tried to build up the inspiration to start writing my own blog, being spurned on by the inspiring writing of TH, writer of The Wrestling Blog. I felt at the time, that I had some thoughts that I needed to get off my chest, but never really could build the motivation to do it. 12 months passed, and I began to realise that I had become the same old internet wrestling fan, who complained about everything, and gave nothing back. "Super Cena is killing the WWE...","TNA are just straight up shit!" Blah, blah, blah. The 100% negativity angle from every wrestling fan does nothing. It's not helpful, it's not productive, and it's boring as hell. I was another Lemming, and I took something I loved, for granted.

My first ever wrestling event. Source: Herald Sun

Flash forward to this point in time, and I don't want to be that miserable mark any more. I want to go back to being that ten year old kid, that would go crazy when Triple H's 'My Time' would hit the speakers. I don't want to be the smug guy who cried that *insert internet's favourite wrestler* was getting held down by management, but go back to being the twelve year old kid who lost his mind sitting in the nose bleeds at WWE Global Warning (2002 show in Melbourne, first one since 1984) just because he got a chance to see some of his heroes. I want to be a contributing member of the wrestling community, and I think this blog is a great start.

"Musings of a Mark" is going to hopefully be yet another catalyst in the "We Want Wrestling" movement, and yet another stepping stone for the destruction of copy & paste sites, and I hope you join me all for the ride.