Why Triple H vs CM Punk is way too early

WWE have been riding the CM Punk wave for awhile now, Actually it is more of a Tsunami which has got ALOT of people interested in the WWE Product once again after a lengthy absence and has dominated the 'WWE Universe'. The remarkable thing about this whole CM Punk storyline whether it is his worked shoot or his feud with Cena/Lauranitis/Nash/Mr. McMahon/Triple H/Stephanie etc. is that it HASN'T got boring. Now as much as I love WWE, How often can we really say that. For example, In April I was pumped for Christian vs Orton. Two months later I wanted to rip my eyes out no matter how great the matches are. But CM Punk has a charisma which we have not seen in a long time and that is why we are all hooked and WWE should have been developing this storyline for the long haul. Maybe finishing it around Survivor Series or TLC. Now I am not saying this isn't going to happen, I am just dissapointed in the booking process judging from Raw this week.

In the final twenty or so seconds of Raw we saw The C.O.O ( or as I tend to refer to him as "The Coo") Triple H announce that he will now face CM Punk. Initially you're are marking out but then you realize that Punk vs Nash isn't going to happen which we have been waiting for since Summerslam. I understand that Nash is shocking in the ring now, But the idea is what intrigued myself and others. Now WWE has thrown a curve ball in the mix and put Triple H against Punk which firstly doesn't make much sense. Yes, I know Punk has been mocking Triple H and Stephanie for weeks now but isn't Hunter meant to be 'Neutral'? Obviously he is going to have slight favor to a pal like Kevin Nash, That is obvious. But to straight away go into a match against CM Punk when this feud has been going for like three weeks? To me that is stupid booking. It just kills something which has got people hooked. Now, I am aware of the reasoning behind it with the fact that Nash was not cleared to wrestle which is understandable but why schedule this match when it could occur at Survivor Series? That is what I don't understand. Why not put Punk into a triple threat with Del Rio and Cena and get Nash to screw Punk out of the championship once again? It furthers the feud and doesn't advance it way to quickly like they are doing at the moment.

Am I excited for Triple H vs Punk? Of course I am and I personally think the match will be great, Perhaps better then Punk vs Cena as Triple H is a far superior in ring worker then Cena but it just doesn't add up. When you have Kevin Nash who is really hot right now instantly being yanked from a match that everybody wants to see (Mainly just to see Punk whoop Nash's ass which won't happen anyway). But this idea that everyone had is now from the looks of things not gonna happen for awhile (Maybe Hell In A Cell) and that is the risk of making this feud stale. This feud is fresh but by Hell In A Cell or Vengeance is may be flat like Orton/Christian. I doubt it but I would have doubted Christian vs Orton also.

So I don't know. I strongly hope WWE proves me wrong (They have been for the good part of the year) and Triple H vs Punk is for the better but from where I am sitting I am very doubtful as Nash to an extent now seems irrelevant to this feud and is like a third wheel.

Why Davey Richards is the best WRESTLER in the world.

Davey Richards - Current ROH Champion

"I am the best WRESTLER in the world" - CM Punk on Raw (27/06/2011)

 The reason I posted the above quote was to argue CM Punk's statement from the memorable worked shoot on Raw just two months ago. Maybe it was just myself, but that statement Punk made got to me in a way. Don't get me wrong, I have watched those last 5:30 minutes of Raw now countless times, but CM Punk is not the best wrestler in the world. That title belongs to the current ROH World Champion Davey Richards. Now I understand on a global scale there would be a 1000:1 ratio on people's knowledge of Punk compared to Davey Richards, but that has no relevance to who is the best wrestler in the world.

CM Punk was obviously not going to say; "I am the best wrestler in the world ... After ROH World Champion Davey Richards" nor would I expect him to. But as a wrestling fan I am in complete disagreement with Punk's statement. Sure you could argue that WWE's style is 'Watered down' which makes Richards look superior. But all you have to do is look back at Punk's independent days in ROH, PWG, FIP etc. and see that in comparison Davey Richards is just an all round better wrestler. Sure Punk was good, No Punk was great and to this day is still ONE of the top guys in this industry but he is no Davey Richards and was not in Richards caliber when he was an 'Indy' guy.

But I want to move away from CM Punk for a bit and focus on the guy who this article is all about, "The Lone Wolf" Davey Richards. Richards has been all around the Independent and International circuit. Most notably Ring Of Honor, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, Full Impact Pro Wrestling and Dragon Gate USA. Even though he has not been THAT successful Internationally, he has dominated the Independent circuit since 2006. Firstly, His successful Tag Team ventures with Super Dragon and Eddie Edwards which saw some of the greatest tag team matches I have witnessed. Especially when Richards and Edwards were ROH tag team champions. Just look up The American Wolves vs Generico & Steen from ROH on HDNet March 30th 2009 and you will see how great Richards is within a Tag Team and just as an overall wrestler.

Davey Richards performing one of his innovative submission maneuvers.

But once again, This is irrelevant in trying to prove how Richards is the greatest wrestler today. So firstly, I wanna talk about his style. There is no possible way to describe it. I could say he is a Technical wrestler for his endless repertoire of submission maneuvers, or maybe I could describe him as a high flyer for his patented Shooting Star Press, Springboard clotheslines and dropkicks and various aerial maneuvers. Or I could classify his styles as a striker for his stiff kicks and other various striking techniques. All in all, He cannot be categorized for his style. The man is a modern day Chris Benoit and that isn't a sick joke. He is just an all round perfectionist when it comes to his in ring work and he has an endless supply of maneuvers. Nobody on the Independent scene has out performed him. Even in many matches where he has lost, You still walk out thinking "Damn, Davey Richards put on a great show". That is what makes a wrestler great and that is what Davey Richards is every single match. I challenge anybody to find me a bad Davey Richards match. I bet it cannot be done.

Now onto what alot of the Indy "Smarks" love to mock Davey Richards for. His selling. All the time I read how the guy doesn't sell enough, Personally I see no flaws. It's not as if he is receiving a double arm facebuster and getting up straight away and doing some Ultimate Warrior bullshit. The guy sells just like any guy in WWE. The problem Indy fans have is that he doesn't over react the selling like say El Generico or PAC. So to the Independent Wrestling fans its to different to what they're accustom to so it is instantly deemed "Poor" in their books.

Eddie Edwards (c) vs Davey Richards. One of
ROH's greatest matches.

The last thing I want to talk about when it concerns Davey Richards in the ring is his match with then ROH World Champion Eddie Edwards at Best In The World on June 26th. I was not fortunate enough to see this match until late July as I am from Australia and had to search all over the internet for it but I must say that it is quite possibly the best 40 minute of Pro Wrestling I have witnessed in a very long time. The match from start to finish was action packed and it was one of those matches that told a story. It was just everything you could ever want in a wrestling match. It was a perfect 10/10 match and not many matches come to mind when I think 10/10. Maybe Angle vs Benoit Royal Rumble and 2003 and Angle vs Michaels at Wrestlemania 21 but thats it. This match had it all and I strongly recommend anyone to watch it. I don't expect people after reading this blog post to say "Damn, Davey Richards is the greatest wrestler today" but if you are fortunate enough to witness this match then I think you just might.

Just once again, Davey Richards showing why he is the best. By the way, If you were unaware of the result and wanted to know who won. SPOILER ALERT!!!!It was Davey Richards. Who broke down in tears after the match and delivered a fantastic speech. Which leads to my final category of this blog.

Davey Richards on the Mic, One of his many great aspects.

In 2006, Davey Richards was nothing special when it came to promo's and segments. He let his voice be heard within those ropes. He was like John Morrison on the microphone for you WWE fans. Over the years though, Since being thrown with Factions and Tag Teams he has rapidly developed to one of the top guys on the microphone in the wrestling industry. I will tip my hat to CM Punk when it comes to the microphone but Davey Richards is not that far behind. His promo's have that power behind them that get the hairs sticking up on the back of your neck.

Since his partnership with Eddie Edwards, I would say he is the greatest Independent worker on the microphone and probably top 5 in the world behind maybe CM Punk, Robert Roode and a few others. Either way, In a few short years Davey Richards may be the greatest at this also. We all know he has the other bases covered, Can he really get any better?

So now, I hope you see why Davey Richards from a wrestling standpoint is superior to anyone else in the world. Sure, Other wrestlers have personal quality's which make up a wrestler but no one has so many great quality's about them like Davey Richards has.

Why Evolution is the Greatest Faction in wrestling history

Over the last several decades wrestling Factions or Stables if you will have stood out to wrestling fans. Usually for their sheer dominance with whatever promotion they are affiliated with at the time. When we hear the word Stable or Faction we instantly think of such groups as Degeneration X, The Fabulous Freebirds, The Hart Foundation, the 25 or so versions of the NWO, The Heenan Family, Nation of Domination, Generation Next, Corporate Ministry and of course The Four Horseman. Every single one of these "Alliances" haa been the main focus of whatever promotion they were affiliated with at the time. But to me, The most dominant and successful faction in my view of all time is Evolution.

Just for those unfamiliar with Evolution or need a quick refresher, Evolution was the faction that dominated WWE from 2003 to 2005. Evolution formed in early January 2003 consisting of "The Game" Triple H, who was the World Heavyweight Champion at the time, "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair, "The Animal" Batista and at the time a very young and novice Randy Orton. Over the course of Evolution's dominance on the Raw brand, Triple H become the biggest thing in wrestling with multiple World Title reigns. But what made Evolution so great was that it created the future Superstars of the WWE without us even realizing it. Not many factions can claim that success, Sure here and there you get the occasional outbreak star but usually Factions are thrown together when the figurehead is as over as he will ever be or when Creative has no plans for certain wrestlers [e.g. The randoms in NWO]. A faction is usually got your main event guy, Mid-carder, Tag Team and a Manager. What Evolution did was slowly build Batista and Randy Orton while being overshadowed by Triple H and Ric Flair. So in a way WWE were testing the waters without us as fans comprehending that.

Don't get me wrong, I think we all had the idea that Randy Orton and maybe even Batista were going to be stars down the line but what was so special was that it was executed so perfectly. For example, Take a look at Randy Orton and his first World Heavyweight Championship victory. Just before his match with Chris Benoit at Summerslam 2004, He was feuding with Mick Foley and then with Edge over the Intercontinental Championship (Which was a few weeks before his Summerslam match). A 1st Tier Championship just seemed unrealistic until Orton actually fought Chris Benoit at Summerslam. It was just surreal but if you look back through that year you can see WWE was making Orton's path. He was feuding with The Rock, Mick Foley, Shawn Michaels and Edge. Four of the biggest names in wrestling history. But to us fans, This wasn't distinctive due to Triple H being such a huge focal point of not just Evolution but Raw as a hole. Although it may be more fitting to say it nowadays, Randy Orton just slithered through the cracks and attacked the Main Event.

After being successful at Summerslam, He had what many consider a "Shocking" Championship reign. Many columnists reveal all the flaws in it but I disagree, I mean yeah. It was no Edge or Kurt Angle title reign but it was something different and enjoyable. It showed the flaws and power struggle within Evolution and started the demise of WWE's greatest faction.

Then we have "The Animal" Batista. The man who was admired by legions of fans but was hated nearly as much as John Cena by the Internet wrestling Community. Before I get into a discussion about Batista and Evolution, I just wanna say that first and foremost I appreciate WRESTLING. Meaning my sort of guys are Bryan Danielson, Davey Richards, Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko and AJ Styles. But in all honesty, Batista did his job. He was a powerhouse in the ring with maybe 10 moves but that was the idea. He was an animal (No pun intended) and over the years I have found alot of the hate just stupid when he gets asses in seats. The same can be said for Fruity Pebbles but that is for another time.

So, As Randy Orton departed from the now eroding Evolution Batista started to step up. Initially Triple H and Ric Flair appreciated it. But around Royal Rumble time it was obvious that change was amongst the WWE. Batista started to step out on his own and win the Royal Rumble match. To me this was the end of Evolution. Everyone says March 2005 and technically it was but it was certain that there would be no Evolution once Batista won the Royal Rumble. I sort of feel like I am just rattling of facts in WWE TV history but the point is ... NO faction had ever built superstars like this. NWO already had their established guys in Hogan, Savage, Luger, Sting, Nash and Hall. NWO never got them further, They were already established. DX apart from Triple H never got anybody into the Main Event no matter how much they dominated the Attitude Era. And lastly, The most decorated faction of all time. The Four Horseman never got anybody into the Main Event. You could argue Benoit but that is cutting it pretty thin. Evolution was able to do it in under two years with two separate individuals.

Now to this day, Randy Orton is still the main guy on WWE TV apart from Cena and CM Punk. Batista was the main guy just over a year ago before leaving WWE. What WWE did was put the Past, Present & Future (Hence the name 'Evolution') into one stable. Focusing on the present but behind the curtain focusing on the future. That is why Evolution is the greatest Faction in the history of wrestling. Championships are won and loss, Kayfabe wise 16 World titles and 10 tag team Championship reigns looks incredible but real success is getting over, Being in the main event and being the focus of a wrestling program and Evolution created that for Randy Orton and Batista.

So in closing, there is an argument that there are superior Factions to Evolution. But when you put Championship reigns and duration of factions aside, You cannot top Evolution.What Evolution did was never done before and to this day has still yet to repeat itself. Without Evolution would Randy Orton and Batista have been successful? ... Probably. But as successful without Evolution? ... I doubt it. So to end with a statement:

Evolution IS the greatest Faction in Wrestling History