The Wrestling Examiner

In a series of articles, I've been identifying what makes a superstar the total package. While that can lead to them being successful, it's not everything. A superstar must be over with the fans to achieve success. If they elicit no reaction from the crowd day in and day out, there's no way they'll continue to be pushed. One way to bond with the superstars is to give them a great nickname. The fans love to cheer a great nickname. Nicknames have been prevalent throughout wrestling history, some have been good and some have been bad. To be a good nickname, the nickname must sound cool and fit the superstar. For example, The Human Highlight Reel (used to describe former NBA star Dominique Wilkins) would not fit The Great Khali, a guy  with very limited mobility. Wilkins on the other hand, was fun to watch on the court. In this article, we'll identify the 25 best nicknames in wrestling history. Only nicknames that were given to WWE superstars are eligible. So, even th...

First of all, sorry for the late post. I've been doing research for an article on my other blog (nowthatspopculture.blogspot.com) and I just got around to watching Raw yesterday. I was considering not doing this post at all, but I really wanted to talk about the show. I promise I will be more timely in the future. People have complained that the quality of Raw is in decline recently, but this was a good episode. Its main focus was to promote the upcoming special event on Sunday, and it did that well. In this article, I want to highlight four things from the show. They weren't necessarily the best segments, but they were interesting. The best segment of the night was with John Cena and Bray Wyatt. For once, Wyatt was not the star. That was Cena, who delivered one of his best promos in recent memory. No lame humor, no pandering to the crowd, just straight shooting. This is exactly what the WWE needed to do to promote the match on Sunday. Another thing the segment did was gen...

When we look back in the annals of professional wrestling, certain names stand out: Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels, John Cena, Bret Hart, Steve Austin, The Rock, The Undertaker, Kurt Angle, Triple H, Randy Savage. How is it that these guys got to the top? Hundreds of professional wrestlers come and go, why are some successful while others aren't? It can't be based on talent alone, many WWE World Champions are proof of that. So what is it? Here at The Wrestling Examiner , we determined five qualities a superstar must have in order to be considered the total package: mic skills, charisma, technical ability, the right look, and the "it" factor. If a superstars can tick all of these boxes, then they truly are the total package. Some would say that being successful is also a criteria, but we argue that it is more of a byproduct of the other qualities. Instead of identifying ten superstars with all of those qualities, we took it a step further: we broke down each qualit...

The Elimination Chamber match is one of the most punishing and brutal match types in all of professional wrestling. First introduced in 2002, the structure is 16 ft tall, 36 ft in diameter, weights more than 10 tons, and has more than 2 miles of chains. Since its conception, there have been 17 Elimination Chamber matches. Some matches have been better than others, but they all have been brutal.  As for the actual participants, they tend to be some of the guys in the business at that time. In total, 48 superstars have competed in Elimination Chamber matches. But who is the best performer in the structure? Instead of setting out to answer that question, we set out not only to identify the six best, as there are six superstars in one Elimination Chamber match. So without further ado: the six best elimination chamber performers (in order) Honorable Mention: Shawn Michaels- The Heartbreak Kid won the first ever Elimination Chamber match in history, but the rest of his record le...

According to Game Informer, wrestling fans will have to wait a bit longer now for the next wrestling game. It is now being reported that WWE 2K15 could be released as late as March 2015. WWE 2K14 released in October of 2013, which means there will be more than a one year wait for the sequel. Recent rumors have surfaced as to why the release has been pushed back, the most recent of which have involved a certain former WWE star (more on that later). There have also been numerous rumors about the game tying in with WCW and The Monday Night Wars. If so, the game should be a lot of fun to play. Another topic: who will be on the cover. Will it be a WWE Superstar, or if there is a WCW mode, someone from WCW? In this article, we'll look at the fifteen superstars (in order) who most deserve to be on the cover . 15. Paige and AJ Lee- Yes, this is a bit of a stretch, but you can't deny that they deserve it. In terms of in-ring talent, future potential, and mic skills, they are the best ...

I know you probably read this title and laughed for five minutes straight, but hear me out. As of right now, there are five real factions in the WWE right now: The Authority, Evolution (which is part of The Authority), The Shield, The Wyatt Family, and 3MB. While once can argue as to which of these is the most powerful, it is a foregone conclusion that 3MB is by far the weakest stable in the WWE right now (and in recent history for that matter). They have made little impact in WWE since their debut in 2012, instead serving as jobbers to guys like Brock Lesnar, Xavier Woods, and The Shield. However, it seems as if a little life is being breathed into WWE’s most musical group. They fought in a #1 contender’s match for the tag team championship and made an impact (even if it was a small one) in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. Since then, they've been in a rivalry with Los Matadores. Granted, they've come up on the short end most of the times, but the match at Extreme ...

In the WWE, whenever a superstar or Diva loses a championship, they get a rematch for that title. When they choose to have their rematch, it's called invoking their rematch clause. Most of the time, those rematches end unsuccessfully. There are plenty of examples of this: The Miz in 2013, The Miz, in 2011, and The Miz in 2010. (Yes, other superstars have also lost rematches). However, some rematches do end up successful, and in this article we'll look at ten that did. 1. The Corre in 2011- At Elimination Chamber, Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater beat Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov to win the tag team titles. The next day, they lost it to the improptu team of The Miz and John Cena. Miz and Cena won, but an irate Wade Barrett demanded that his stablemates be given their rematch right away. In the rematch, The Miz took out the number one contender to his WWE Championship, allowing Gabriel and Slater to reclaim their titles. 2. Wade Barrett in 2013- At the WrestleMania 2...

Ever since the World Heavyweight Championship was shelved, there are five titles in the WWE: the WWE World Heavyweight Championship (the only world championship), the Intercontinental Championship, the United States Championship, the WWE Tag Team Championships, and the Divas Championship. There are also three titles in NXT: the NXT Championship, the NXT Women’s Championship, and the NXT Tag Team Championships, but those aren't counted as official WWE titles. But is that all the titles the WWE can have? There is definitely room for at least one more, and the addition of a title would create more storylines and give direction to some midcarders who are lost in the mix, such as Kofi Kingston, Alberto Del Rio, Dolph Ziggler, Damien Sandow, and Fandango. So what titles should the WWE add? Well, how about bringing back titles from the annals of professional wrestling? It would be an exciting new development as well as create some nostalgia for the past. So without further ado, let’s lo...

Well, it's that time again, time for WWE to get extreme. The pay-per-view (excuse me, special event) after WrestleMania usually has two main purposes: tie up 'Mania feuds and show off some match types (such as Extreme Rules or Steel Cage). At this point, there are eight matches announced for the show, including a pre-show match. The goal here is to at least call six matches correctly, but five wouldn't be terrible. Hornswoggle vs. El Torito- These two little guys will take each other on in the pre-show, in the first ever WeeLC Match, whatever the hell that is. While it's very surprising that this match did not take place at WrestleMania, fans are still grateful they get to see this at all. If this isn't a Match of the Year contender, what is? It is hard to pick a winner however, but it seems like El Torito will emerge victorious. No one really cares about 3MB, and Los Matadores needs the win to stay relevant in the tag team division. Rob Van Dam vs. Jack Swa...

This was a good week for wrestling. TNA put on a great pay-per-view and WWE built up to Extreme Rules. In this article, we'll highlight ten good things from this week, as well as what they could lead to. Hopefully this becomes a weekly thing, but no promises. 1. Kane getting up after a wrench shot to the head: Normally, getting hit in the head is supposed to take an opponent out. At Hell in a Cell 2011, Alberto Del Rio pinned CM Punk after hitting him in the head with a lead pipe. Later that month, he beat John Cena in a Last Man Standing match after clocking him in the noggin with the WWE Championship. On Raw, Daniel Bryan hit Kane in the head with a wrench. But after about 15 seconds, Kane sat up. It may seem like a small thing, but it was the best spot of the week. Why? Not only did it show Kane as a hellish, tough-as-nails big guy, but it was just cool to watch. Expect more great spots like this in their match tomorrow. 2. Tigre Uno vs. Sanada- Their match at TNA Sacrifice ...