Mission Statement: The purpose of this column is to put together a regular collection of the moments from wrestling that we love and that continue to remind us just why in fact we do like wrestling. After each wrestling show that you watch, whether it be Raw, Impact, Smackdown, NXT, ROH, or anything else, I simply request that you send in whatever highlights you have to Danny@TWFS.info. What made you smile? What made you forget that you’re an internet know it all and cheer audibly from your couch? It can be anything from something as simple as Santino mispronouncing someone’s name to a title changing hands. Anything. Just tell me what you liked and why you liked it. Hopefully, by reading this, others may realize they enjoyed your favorite moments as much as you enjoyed theirs, and together we can all continue to enjoy wrestling as much as ever.

What better time to start looking back at the positives than now, after the week we’ve had in wrestling? The internet nearly caved in on itself after the Royal Rumble. A combination of John Cena winning the Rumble match itself as well as The Rock not only ending CM Punk’s championship reign but doing so with the People’s Elbow.

Our first entry comes from someone who found a bright spot in both of those matches.

Kingston Bro: Loved Y2Js return coz I didn’t see it coming at all. Best thing is to miss the news sites leading up to a rumble so no surprises are ruined.

The best part of the rumble was seeing the little kids have their moment as they thought Punk won, only for them to have them cry themselves to sleep as Rocky won. Their little bitch tears will be now used as lube for a victory wank for Rock fans.

Ok, so maybe that second one misses the point of this article but at least he was able to find some joy where others saw none.

Angel Ortiz: No Maddox no Brock no real surprise entrants highlight for me was Goldust and Jericho. I marked hard for Goldie.

The finish to the Rock/Punk match sucked but I do indeed however feel that in the coming weeks they will investigate and it will show that it wasnt the sheild afterall therefore making punks win valid… triple threat at Wrestlemania: Punk, Rock, and Cena.

Angel has taken an approach that I often have to resort to in that sometimes you have to give things a chance to play out before you make a full judgement. However, knowing what we know at this point, it doesn’t appear that if we do in fact get a triple threat that it will come about this way.

Ryan Norman: The Royal Rumble was fantastic, as always. The surprise entrants were very good and I thought they were used very well for the most part. The fact that there wasn’t too many of them tells me that the roster is deep enough (or more deep when compared to recent years) to handle the match. A great sign. Perhaps it was because there was a shirt on the line [Ryan entered the TWFS Rumble drawing], but my stomach was in a knot during the closing minutes. I love when wrestling does that to you.

As much as I’m loathing the Cena/Rock WM match creeping ever closer to us, that wasn’t as bad of a match as the [TWFS] chat was letting on. I kind of like how Punk is now free to enter a new storyline outside of the “I’m the champ, I am the best” deal. The idea of Punk chasing the belt is now going to feel really fresh.

A great point. If you’re upset that The Rock won with the People’s Elbow then there’s really not much I can do to help you. But if you’re upset that the CM Punk championship reign came to an end then you have to realize that it was going to come to an end eventually. In all honesty it mostly existed to make this match against The Rock feel like such a big event. Regardless, it had to end. Now we have a chance for something new and fresh for Punk to do.

Kenny Wilson: There was only a few things to love. We knew Cena and Rock were both going to be victorious. Personally I thought Ziggler was going to cash in and for once the shield wasn’t going to interfere. That being said I marked the fuck out when Chris Jericho came out, I’m hopping he’s back for a bit. Also seeing Goldust come out and work with Cody Rhodes, and against him was pretty entertaining. Seeing Ricardo tape Big Shows feet to the ropes was something I’d never seen before so I’ll take it as a positive.

It’s kind of been done with the Cena and Batista which a lot of people have been griping about but it was a nice way to have Del Rio get the win without Big Show losing credibility by being “knocked out” for a 10 count. It was what it was and the fallout has been great.

Jordan Else: My Chris Jericho returns.

Easy enough. Seems most of us can agree on that.

Big Debo: What I loved about Raw is that Trish’s fine ass is going into the hall of fame. That’s one fine ass snowbunny right there.

Agreed.

Johnathan Brim: Does giving the Rock a belt make it more meaningful and less of a prop?

I think bringing The Rock in to carry the WWE title is a way to gain Non WWE fans viewership and to re-establish that a WWE belt means something. In saying this I don’t mean that it meant nothing that CM Punk held it, but it means more that the Rock hold it for publicity and to gain viewership.

I couldn’t agree more. I always try to understand that sometimes decisions have to be made that are more about what is good for business and not for what we see as good for “wrestling”. Whether or not it pays off will be up to them to determine.

That being said, we move away from the Rumble and see if Raw was a little less upsetting.

Tracy Sasser: Best match of the night so far has been Orton vs Pepperoni Nipples (Cesaro). Orton was on fire and they both sold Orton’s moves/hits. Was a good match.

This was so much better than last week.

Not enough could be said about that last segment of Raw. I absolutely loved it. Everyone played their parts perfectly and I’m happy that we’re really digging into the build to Wrestlemania.

Jeromy Taylor: My favorite Raw moment was when JBL and Cole shit all over the great khali bit.

Yeah I have to agree. You could look at this segment and feel that it was garbage or you can see that the announcers openly made fun of it and realize that it was never meant to be anything more than that. I love when they can acknowledge that a segment is terrible.

Jayson Byrne: I loved the shield kicking the shit out of Cena. It was very Cathartic.

I imagine you’re not alone. I fully expected the faces to fight back and get the better of The Shield trio in this match up so it was nice to see it play out the way it did. Since it doesn’t appear that we’re getting a chamber match for the WWE title I’d be interested in a 3-on-3 tag between these guys. It gives everyone something to do before they have to go full throttle into Wrestlemania.

Matthew Porter: I quite liked last nights Raw.

1. I loved how the Shield beat the shit out of the 3 superheroes, made me happy.
2. I liked that Bo Dallas got a shock win over Wade Barrett.
3. I love how Punk is still claiming to be WWE Champion, even though he lost it, and his granting The Rock ‘his’ rematch.
4. And finally, I bloody loved the whole Heyman/Vince segment, and hey, BROCK FREAKIN’ LESNAR!

1. Agreed. Just don’t get upset when/if ultimately the good guys get the upper hand.
2. Loved it! It’s always a fun way to build up a new start but the tricky part is can you make that transition from “upset victories” to “legit threat”.
3. As said on The Whole Fucking Show, this was also a highlight of mine. It was brilliant on his part.
4. You know I love me some Brock!

Austin Pritchett: We like wrestling for the ironic connections that stem from the program. Not just the evolving relationships and working of interchangeable parts on the program, but also the…different…interactions with the WWE Universe. I was with my buddy on Monday night at the corner bar. This bar has changed ownership about 3 times and there is never very many people there. We sat to order drinks and noticed the bartender had Raw on the main tv. The bartender came up and said, “Sorry guys, no football tonight so we have wrestling on”. I took it as an overly-macho excuse for having it on and for secretly being a fan. My buddy and I got a couple pitchers and were watching Tensai in womens clothes and joked about how they got the bra size correct, however the hell those things work. The bartender was watching Raw through the mirror on the other wall and was trying to play it off like he wasn’t. I opened up a bit and told my friend (who isn’t real big into wrestling but knows some names) about how Punk lost to the Rock at the Rumble. After the bartender realized I was cool (or not cool, depending on perspective), he practically started screaming about how pissed off he was and how he loves Punk cuz he’s the “best in the world”. He started talking about how he likes Santino because he is “original”, loves Daniel Bryan, but hates Dolph Ziggler. That’s how most of the wrestling discussions I have with randoms go now. It’s one thing to know Stone Cold’s catchphrases and stuff, but it’s a total other to know who Team Hell No and Vicki Guerrero are. You have to gauge the other person and see what level they are on.

My friend said that he thought the bartender was a nerd who still thinks wrestling is real. I couldn’t argue against it. That’s why we like wrestling.

As wrestling fans we’re a minority in the real world. Another reason why it’s important to look for the good and find enjoyment in it rather than looking for things to complain about.

And finally we have a comment from the co-host of the Slam Of the Week, Joe Papi, to sum up this week in wrestling.

Joe Papi: It was the best!

Of course it was.

That’s it for this week. No submissions from Impact, Smackdown, or any other shows but I assume that’s because this is still new rather than there weren’t any highlights for anyone. Please remember to send your highlights in to Danny@TWFS.info after every show so you can share why you like wrestling and then read why others like wrestling. We may not all root for the same people or enjoy the same aspects but the thing we all have in common is that WE like wrestling.

Discuss this editorial in The Locker Room!