There was a time when CM Punk was everyone’s hero. When his theme hit people would go crazy, his merchandise was flying off the shelves, videos of his pipebombs on youtube would receive thousands of hits… I don’t think it would be too far off to say that at one point during the year CM Punk was one of the hottest things going for XWL.
For the better part of the year we watched helplessly as Punk fought with everything he had against The Corporation but it seemed that they always had his number. No matter what Punk did he would get bested. The Best in the World appeared to be losing his will, it seemed that he would be thrown into a hole he would never be able to crawl out of and there was nothing we could do but hope that Punk would find a way to overcome the odds. The Corporation were looking to break Punk down so badly that he would never be able to wrestle again and for the longest time it looked like they were succeeding—for the longest time it looked like we’d seen the best and the last of CM Punk.
Don’t tell me you weren’t happier than a kid ripping through presents under the tree when John Cena entered the mix because then it seemed that the tables were finally going to be turned, it finally looked like Punk had the ally he needed to put an end to his misery once and for all. That’s the way it was supposed to be. The two biggest names in XWL were supposed to team up, defeat the bad guys and then ride off into the sunset together after a stern handshake and nod of respect, but we were never treated to that happy ending. Instead, that stubborn and pride-filled bastard decided that he was better off not accepting Cena’s help and we were back to square one.
It was frustrating, it was emotional because for all this time Punk had his back against the wall and all we wanted was to see him succeed and suddenly he was gone. For what felt like forever CM Punk was away from our television screens and in his absence the Corporation fell apart and once again The Rock was the people’s champion again setting up an interesting predicament when CM Punk finally came back.
Punk was hell bent on revenge and it was understandable considering everything that the Corporation put him through, but the situation was different now, Rock wasn’t the bad guy anymore. Punk had a point, the people were quick to forgive, but it wasn’t because they’re stupid, or because they have no sense of justice, they were just happy to have the old Rock back and they were willing to look-past the things he did because it truly looked like he was ready to turn a new leaf.
Punk was blinded by fury, and maybe he won’t ever admit it but he was hurt that the people booed him after rooting for him months prior, but it wasn’t because they hate Punk, it was because of his warped view on the war that can often lead to him doing some awful things. Rock was ready to settle things like a gentleman; they could have had a blow-off match with no Vince, no Shane, no Colt, no Cena, no Lesnar all in the name of finding out once and for all who the better man was and settling this lengthy rivalry once and for all.
But that wasn’t enough for Punk, he was looking to invoke the old eye-for-an-eye way of thinking, he didn’t care that two wrongs didn’t make a right, he was ready to go way down to the level the Corporation used to sink down too and that’s way the people feel the way they do about it. And the scary thing is that Punk doesn’t seem to have had enough. He’s dealt with the Rock and he’s told of Vince McMahon and though he would have you fooled with his calm demeanor and witty remarks, he’s still bitter and he’s still hurting and there’s no doubt he’s searching for his next victim to unleash his frustrations on.
[S4]
Feud UpdatesWho’s been getting on each other’s nerves lately? Dolph Ziggler vs. Dean Ambrose Ambrose came knocking and Dolph went running, but is there anywhere that the show-off can hide that the psychotic Ambrose won’t find him?
Jeff Hardy vs. Wade Barrett Their backstage conflict may grow into something even bigger as time goes on and the stakes will only be raised higher if championship gold is brought into the mix.
MsChif vs. Nikki Bella MsChif’s eerie poem detailed the beginning of Nikki and then hinted at her demise and the two’s inability to keep their hands off each other cause AJ to pick up the win though they’re most likely more concerned about what they’ll do to each other when they’re no one around to distract them.
Randy Orton vs. Brock Lesnar Orton is quite down and out yet liked Lesnar hoped he would be and now we’ll have to wait if see if Lesnar is willing to come back and finish what he started.
Carlito vs. MVP It would seem that Carlito wants to teach MVP a lesson for interrupting him, but as of now MVP doesn’t seem interested in learning anything.
Layla vs. Beth Phoenix Unfortunately for her, Layla wasn’t too hurt to compete and The Glamazon has made it clear that she’s not going to stop until Layla’s too broken to continue her career.
Eve vs. AJ While Eve is looking for a rival, AJ is looking for a friend and that dynamic is a compelling one moving forward because Eve is out for blood while it’s impossible to know what AJ’s motives are.
Chris Jericho vs. Triple H The two champs met in the ring and their war of words quickly escalated and at Xtreme Xmas there can only be one winner and one champion when the dust settles.
Edge vs. Christian A spear from Edge made it clear that these two weren’t on the same page and what was thought to be an alliance will soon become an intense rivalry between two men who know each other like the backs of their hands.
Kaitlyn vs. Brie Bella It looks as though Brie Bella may get the one on one rematch she’s been dying for and one can only hope that if she loses she doesn’t have any more excuses.
Shawn Michaels vs. Ted DiBiase HBK ruined Ted’s hopes of becoming a member of the XWL roster and DiBiase made him pay for that in a vicious attack in the parking lot. But where does that get DiBiase? Is he any closer to getting his contract now than he was before the attack?
The Rock vs. Mankind Mankind made some creepy remarks from a creepy place while in his creepy state of mind and one has to wonder how far he will go to get his ‘revenge.’
[S5]
Newsletter CommentaryWe give our thoughts on the segments that graced our televisions this week.Alicia Fox I’ve been wondering where Fox has been all this time, I guess she had a lot of magazines to flip through. Any active diva we can get is a welcomed addition, even if it’s a woman who sometime imitates an animals, I myself enjoy a nice growl every now and then. After making some noise and looking like she’d be a threat to Layla before the gauntlet, Fox kind of fell off, but now it seems that she’s got her head on straight and is gunning for the top women’s prize in XWL. There’s a bit of a crowd up there though, and Fox is going to have to work hard to separate and then stand above the rest.
Dolph ZigglerNow when Dolph ran away from Ambrose was he scared or just showing off just how agile he is? Either way, Dolph wasted no time hightailing it out of the arena, but you have to figure that a guy like Ambrose will get to Dolph when he’s ready even if he’ll have to go through Vickie to do it.
Paige Cleverly avoiding any explanation about where she’s been all this time, Paige wasted no-time picking right up where she left off and making her claim to be the anti-diva of XWL. But that’s the thing, where are all the divas women are clamoring left and right to take out? Layla, Beth and MsChif wouldn’t consider themselves divas, Alicia thinks she’s part fox, AJ may not be the biggest but her skill in the ring can’t be denied and Kaitlyn is as strong as some men…so where are the divas in XWL these women are so avidly against? Is it a crime to look good in the wrestling world? We’ll have to see who’s out there for Paige to go after, but from where I’m standing the pickings are slim.
MsChif I won’t pretend that I knew what MsChif was talking about, (It was MsChif right? It’s hard to forget that scream), but from what I got out of it Nikki apparently didn’t live the best life and is now pissed at the world because of that.
Dolph Ziggler pt. 2 Now in the safety of an isolated room backstage, Dolph is free to say what’s really on his mind and he certainly didn’t hold back or sugarcoat his thoughts on Ambrose which didn’t seem to be the brightest move considering Dolph’s remarks will only want to make Ambrose hunt him down even more. It’s also good to see that he and HBK have found some middle ground in their disdain for Ted DiBiase because those two would be great together as there’s not really that much contrast between them…aside from age of course though HBK will never admit that he’s getting up there.
Jeff Hardy Hardy seemed to take the destruction of the Xtreme Championship to heart, and then he took a fist from Wade Barrett to the face. Hardy only knowing about fear through others’ description was a great line, though not as great as the lines he’s used to, though if there’s anyone that could strike fear into someone it would be the bare-knuckle brawler who’s as vicious as they come and after failed attempts at securing championship gold he may be getting a bit desperate too.
Heath Slater Hey look, Slater’s back and for a man who claims to be a solo act you’d think he’d be able to play more than the air guitar… maybe he’ll unveil his abilities to us a little at a time. There was a time when Slater was a legitimate championship thread and though his most recent run wasn’t as great, he may be able to turn things around, but only time will tell. Was anyone else caught off guard by the random mention of Johnny Curtis? That guy hasn’t been around for a while though maybe Slater knows something that we don’t…
Dean Ambrose Was a bit disappoint that Dean didn’t tell us another story, but I guess those days are over, though his issues with Dolph are only getting started. Dean finally made it clear what his problem with Dolph was…he wasn’t Dean. Dolph and Dean are two completely different people with different personalities, wrestling styles, fashion senses and hair colors and that’s why Dean can’t stand Dolph, and it’s also why Dolph isn’t really Dean’s biggest fan either. It’ll be interesting to see which of these two men would best the other if they would go head to head.
Evan Bourne Bourne has been entertaining in his own little way since returning and it was rather kind of him to let us watch him as he works out. He had a lot to say and I guess he wants to get laid sometime soon. Where Michelle when you need her?
Tara She’s back and she has some new movies and a new boyfriend. What is his name? What are the names of the films? These are the pressing questions we need answers to as quickly as possible.
Randy Orton Orton isn’t done just yet, but maybe The Viper should just call it a day. Lesnar had him beat and a second encounter with Orton’s arm being tender won’t lead to good things. But Orton knows what he wants, and now it’s a matter of whether or not Lesnar will oblige. Lesnar has nothing left to prove and he may reject the match request… though we’ve all seen how relentless Orton can get when he wants to get someone to wrestle him.
Carlito What we thought would be just another rant by Carlito turned into a confrontation between two very different type of men and wrestlers. MVP claims that he has nothing against Carlito personally but claimed that the man from the Caribbean should have known better to be in the ring when MVP had nothing to say. Carlito was ready to scrap almost instantly and that would have been a great fight but I guess MVP had better things to do, or so he said anyway.
Layla Boy, it was a little sad to see Layla in there talking to herself, her fall from grace is getting uglier by the minute. And her surprise to see that she wasn’t hurt and would have to step into the ring against the woman who threatens to put her career at risk was great to see because it’s not every day that we see Layla shaken up like this. Layla’s the underdog in a battle for the first time in a long time, and her antics in this segment show that maybe she’s starting to see that too. It’s going to be hard not to pity her for what happened and what’s to come, but then the memories of the things that she’s said and done come rushing back and I can’t wait to see her get what’s coming to her.
Ezekiel Jackson Big Zeke is back and is apparently another soul upset over what happened to the Xtreme Title, and it’s a case of being a too little late at this point. And it’s always great to have Zeke around because then he can drop little nuggets like this: “Damn I Enterprisingly Suck and Ow” for our entertainment. We thought we had seen the last of Zeke when he lost his title, but this segment made it seem like he was ready to make some noise in XWL again.
The Bellas These two sisters have a lot to deal with on their plates respectively, with Brie being in the championship hunt and Nikki being hunted by MsChif. Brie still feels that she was robbed of her title and plans on doing something while Nikki had to figure out a way to effectively rid herself of her demon once and for all. It won’t be an easy task for either of them, but it shall be a necessary one if they want to move forward in their careers.
AJ Lee Such an adorable young lady, as messed up in the head as she may be for ever thinking that Eve would consider being friends with her which was made clear when Eve blinded her after the match.
Seth Rollins So does Rollins miss the people or not? We’ll need that cleared up because he was sending some mixed messages throughout this segment and that’s fine, sometimes it’s nice when it’s not spelled out for us, though it doesn’t mean we appreciate being confused. Rollins story about his humble beginnings was touching, however, and his fight for the outcasts seems to be an honorable one.
Antonio Cesaro Cesaro seemed a bit off in the promo and his delivery wasn’t as smooth as it normally is, but I’ll give him some time to get back into the swing of things. He certainly has a right to complain about the way his title was taken from him, but he’ll need some time to rebuild his credibility as getting so easily disposed of by Jericho.
Bray Wyatt This guy is going to make things interesting around these parts with his crooked preacher-ness and I find myself looking forward to his next sermon. But didn’t anyone else catch Wyatt say on live television that he set a boat on fire with someone inside of it? Does he have immunity or something? Did he already serve time? Maybe he’ll reveal some more facts as time goes on.
Johnny Ace Looks like Big Johnny’s a good guy now, or maybe his news just made him seem good. In any case the announcement of the Unification match was huge as was finding out that supershows aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. Wonder what else XWL has up their sleeve.
Chris Jericho/Triple H This segment was everything I was hoping it would be with Triple H being intimidating and aggressing and speaking in that gravelly voice with Jericho acting like he has nothing to worry about when he has plenty to. So many shots taking with Jericho compaing Triple H’s past efforts to that of Edge and Miz meaning he’ll accomplish nothing and Triple H brought up the past claiming that the precedent has already been set. You could almost see the electricity dancing between their eyes as they spoke and their confrontation was very intense and a sure sign of things to come later on down the road. Jericho was left scrambling up the ramp with his tail tucked between his legs and I didn’t expect things to be any different.
Edge & Christian This promo seemed a little off, awkward even, coming from two people who you’d expect to have some amazing chemistry. But maybe that was the point, that they weren’t as comfortable around each other as you’d expect them to be and Edge’s spear proved that there was some underlying tension and it quickly came to the surface.
Kaitlyn Kaitlyn was great in this segment, and no that’s not my heart speaking. She was strong, she was confident and she made it clear that she wasn’t a fluke champ and that she would once again become a force to be reckoned with. Brie Bella didn’t feel that way of course once again claiming that Layla’s presence as a referee is what cost her the title and the vicious assault afterwards showed that Brie doesn’t consider Kaitlyn a threat or a champ.
Shawn Michaels Was it me or was HBK a little vague on his reasoning for superkicking Ted at November to Remember? Sure he said that he didn’t like Ted, but a lot of people don’t, hell Dolph said he didn’t earlier in the show, so why did HBK of all people decide that he was going to be the one to get involved? Was he in Vickie’s pocket from the beginning? Was this her master plan? Was this the reason she was so confident about getting into the ring with DiBiase because she had her insurance policy HBK watching from the back? There are plenty of questions left to be answered like if the brutal attack will lead to HBK’s ego getting the best of him and causing him to agree to a match. And how does DiBiase keep getting into the arena? Vickie needs to have a serious discussion with the security she hires.
Mankind Disturbing was the only way to describe this segment as the instability of Mankind continues to captivate and unsettle me at the same time. He blames Rock for everything wrong that’s happened to him in XWL and with the most violent pay per views coming up Mankind may get to inflict the pain he wants, even if it comes at the expense of his own health. You have to fear and worry about a man who confides in a rat and actually sees similarities between them. The Rock better be careful, he’s playing with fire right now.
Beth Phoenix Damn, you kind of forget how hot Beth can be until you see her dolled up like this. Yet, she was every bit as confident and intimidating as she’s always been as she let Layla know that the fun has only just begun. Beth was able to reign supreme over the monster that is Kharma…image what she’d be able to do to a woman the size of Layla. While Beth didn’t go in depth, she let us read between the lines and from what I read things aren’t looking too good for The Flawless One.
John Morrison Operating separately since winning their respective championships are the Saviors of Society and Morrison has decided to bring back an old favorite in the dirt sheet though there was no gossip to be spread. (All the juicy stuff is here in the newsletter anyway.) You’d think that with all the intellectualness that Morrison has been spouting as of late that he’d be able to use a better word to describe his former pal, The Miz, than ‘scrub’. Maybe he just had to dumb it down for us simple folk.
[S6]
Rumor Mill The top stories being talked about around the water cooler. More than meets the eye. At first it seemed as though Dean Ambrose was targeting Dolph for his own unknown reason, but our sources have dug into Ambrose’s past and the two men allegedly have had an encounter years before than Dean remembers and that Dolph has clearly long forgotten.
Nothing to live for. Ted DiBiase was reportedly at the home of ex-girlfriend Maryse after November to Remember to seek comfort after the heart-breaking loss he suffered. It was reportedly Maryse that suggested Ted go to the extreme measures he did when he assaulted HBK in the parking lot and many fear that Maryse manipulating Ted while he’s in such a fragile state may lead to more dangerous, risky and erratic behavior.
The disappearance of James Storm. The Cowboy never made it to his match and rumors are circulating that someone may have slipped something into the beer he was drinking during his segments and suspects are being considered now.
A hurting man. After crashing and burning on a springboard dropkick, sources in contact with XWL’s medical staff are reporting that Chris Jericho may have injured his ribs, though the XWL Champion is allegedly desperate to keep that information under wraps to prevent Triple H from exploiting it during their match.
A boyfriend to be proud of. Many are speculating who Tara’s new Hollywood boyfriend could be, and many are claiming that the man in question could be Brad Maddox who coincidently signed a contract recently according to the latest dirt sheet reports.
[S7]
Interview: Come back next week when we sit down and chat with the lovely Kaitlyn!
The Stars Speak Out This week we asked the stars why they aren’t champion right now. Let’s see what they had to say. !
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[Christian]Why am I not a champion right now? Vickie Guerrero, Eve Torres, Michael McGillicutty, John Cena and many other reasons. May I remind I am the greatest and last XWL 15 Champion. I was the greatest Intercontinental Champion since Shawn Michaels held the title for over a year. I should be a champion, I deserve it more than most and I won't stop till I'm your World Heavyweight Champion. Or Intercontinental Champion, depends on who I feel like beating when the time comes.
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Mankind: It doesn't matter about me... It's about The Rock, how is he the People's Champion, he knows nothing about the people! I'm the one making the world a better a place for all of Mankind...
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*As we head to the next question, an unknown man is shown walking backstage talking to the camera.*
[???] Why aren't I a champion right now?
*The man smirks, and continues walking as the camera follows.*
[???] Because the best is yet to come, take a good look at this face, because soon enough it'll be the face of the man who changes this business for good..
*The man mumbles "Carson, turn the camera off! We need to get into the arena.." As it fades to black.*!
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Shawn Michaels: Why aren't I a champion? Well it's about time that somebody other than me started asking that, because it's beyond me how I'm not champion right now, I am the champion of the year and yet I'm not a champion and by the looks of things that's not going to be changing for a long time. A superstar of my caliber shouldn't be treated like that, not now not ever.
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{Layla}I'll tell you exactly why I'm not champion right now, because Kaitlyn knows if I got my rightful one on one rematch, I'd beat her just like I did the last time we met one on one. She doesn't want her little moment in the spotlight to be taken away from her, and so she chooses to give the clearly weaker Brie Bella a rematch that we all know she'll end up losing anyways...but that's okay, because it just shows the kind of person that Kaitlyn really is, a coward.
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Madison Eagles: I've only had one match here, what else do you expect? Even though I'm the BEST in the WORLD, I'm not going to get ahead of myself. My time will come soon enough.
[S8]
Power 15 If you want to be part of the rankings just name the superstar you want listed. I’ll officially begin when the New Year rolls around and I have no issues adding/switching/dropping someone to or from the rankings if needed. I’ll restart every three months or every four so that eventually everyone is back on even ground.
Shuggz: CM Punk
Sdogg: Wade Barrett
Austin: Christian
Fn: Stone Cold Steve Austin
Gaz: Triple H
Bang: Shawn Michaels
CC: Carlito
Stay: John Morrison
Zander: The Rock
Chris: Ezekiel Jackson
Red: Chris Jericho
Zack: Heath Slater
GLG: Seth Rollins
Adam: Dolph Ziggler
[S9]
Win or Go Home Win or Go Home is a game where you draft a team, and then select which member of your squad will compete for you in a particular round. If your team member loses, he’s eliminated, although there’s a redemption match at the end of each round featuring every superstar who lost that round and the winner avoids elimination. Match types and size vary each round and the winner is the last team standing. It’s a pretty simple game where most of the work you do is drafting and choosing who represents your team in a particular round. 1. Shuggz
2. Sdogg
3. Ash
4. Zander
5. Stay
6.
(7-12)
[S10]
Wrap Up If there’s a section you want to see added to the newsletter feel free to tell me. Same goes with if there are things you want me to improve and things you want me to scrap. Until next week.
Subject: XWL Newsletter 12/12: CM Punk is both right and wrong. 
Wed Dec 12, 2012 3:15 am
