MATT BORNE AKA DOINK THE CLOWN PASSES AWAY

Ex-WWE star Doink the Clown -- a hugely popular wrestler in the '90s -- was found dead today in Texas.

Doink, real name Matt Osborne, was known for pulling pranks on the other wrestlers ... all while decked out in full greasepaint and a green wig.

Details about Doink's death are unclear at this point -- but his girlfriend reportedly found him dead in her home ... where he'd been staying lately.

After leaving the WWE, he continued wrestling for ECW and independent leagues ... still sporting the clown costume.

More recently, he's been attending wrestling conventions and doing autograph sessions with fans.

Doink was 55.
http://www.tmz.com/2013/06/28/doink-the-clown-wwe-wrestler-matt-osborne/

RIP MATT BORNE (AKA THE ORIGINAL DOINK) 1957-2013

THROWBACK THURSDAY!

Since there was no post-RAW piece this week (for various reasons), I am starting a new feature that is used on most sites, twitters, facebooks and other such things. This being the 'Throwback Thursday' feature. Every Thursday I will present videos, photos and perhaps quotes from various moments in pro wrestling's rich history. 

As this year's Money in the Bank participants were announced on RAW (Rob Van Dam, CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, Sheamus, Kane, Randy Orton and Christian), I thought it would be great to revisit the first ever Money in the Bank match at WrestleMania 22. Chris Jericho was the mastermind behind what has turned into a fan's favorite for many years. Jericho was in the first one, along with Kane, Christian, Edge, Shelton Benjamin and 'he who must not be named'. Actually, I'm not Vince McMahon and the WWE. It was CHRIS BENOIT. We had all seen ladder matches before, but this was different. It had six competitors facing off to get a briefcase. 

'Inside' this briefcase was a contract that allowed the holder to 'cash in' a World or WWE title shot whenever he chose. Barely anyone knew what that entailed. It was, however, very intriguing and original. Edge won the first briefcase and chose to cash in his title shot on John Cena at New Years Revolution in 2006. Cena had just won an elimination chamber match having entered it first. The pop for the pinfall was insane (it was an anti-Cena crowd). 

You can watch the full Money in the Bank match from WrestleMania 22 below, as well as Edge's cash in:

 

'THE ULTIMATE WAY TO OWN JOHN CENA'

Has it really come to this?

YouTuber BruceBlitzed shares his idea on how fans can show their dislike for the stale John Cena character.  In this video, he suggests that fans who are sick of John Cena to do a 'walk-out'. View the video below:

Would you do this 'John Cena walk-out'? Or would you do something different?

WWE ANNOUNCER LEAVING THE COMPANY

Matt Striker posted the following on Twitter:  

"Was just informed by @WWE that my contract will not be renewed. I am now available 4 appearances, signings seminars & wrestling. Deep breath. Thanks for all the support. To book plz email ForMattStriker@gmail.com @WWE has your entertainment first in their mind. Support that product."

SOURCE - http://nodq.com/wwe/373770561.shtml 

*SPOILERS* 17/06/2013 RAW RESULTS

CM PUNK INTERRUPTED ALBERTO DEL RIO'S CHAMPIONSHIP CELEBRATION

TEAM RHODES SCHOLARS DEF. SHEAMUS IN A 2-ON-1 HANDICAP MATCH

CHRISTIAN RETURNED AND DEF. WADE BARRETT

RANDY ORTON DEF. DANIEL BRYAN AFTER REF STOPPAGE (NO DQ)

STEPHANIE MCMAHON CONFRONTED NEW DIVAS CHAMPION AJ LEE

KANE DEF. DEAN AMBROSE VIA DQ AFTER ROLLINS & REIGNS INTERFERE

ANTONIO CESARO (W/ ZEB COLTER) DEF. WILLIAM REGAL

MARK HENRY SQUASHED WWE CHAMP JOHN CENA AFTER ANNOUNCING HIS 'RETIREMENT'

CHRIS JERICHO DEF. HEATH SLATER

CURTIS AXEL DEF. SIN CARA

CM PUNK DEF. ALBERTO DEL RIO VIA COUNT OUT

ZIGGLER THEN ATTACKED DEL RIO

BROCK LESNAR TURNS UP AND F-5'S CM PUNK

PAYBACK RESULTS & THOUGHTS

(PRE-SHOW) Sheamus def. Damien Sandow

Curtis Axel def. Wade Barrett and The Miz - AXEL IS THE NEW INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPION

AJ Lee def. Kaitlyn - NEW DIVAS CHAMPION

Dean Ambrose def. Kane - AMBROSE REMAINS US CHAMPION

Alberto Del Rio def. Dolph Ziggler - NEW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION

VIDEO PROMO AIRED SAYING ROB VAN DAM WILL RETURN AT MONEY IN THE BANK NEXT MONTH

CM Punk def. Chris Jericho

The Shield (Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins) def. Daniel Bryan & Randy Orton - THE SHIELD REMAIN TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS

John Cena def. Ryback - CENA REMAINS WWE CHAMPION

Post-Payback Thoughts

All in all, I thought it was a really well done PPV by the WWE. Even though several results were predictable, the match quality had been upped considerably after Extreme Rules in my opinion. You could tell that a lot of effort had been put into the AJ vs Kaitlyn bout, and it was one of the best Divas matches in recent memory. 

As for the crowd, Chicago has an air of expectancy whenever there is a RAW or a PPV held in the city now. Maybe it was because I had the volume on low or something, but I felt the crowd were quieter than had been expected. They were well into Punk/Jericho and Del Rio/Ziggler (as could be heard by the boos directed to Del Rio after his heelish tactics and winning the World title). Although many fans have been left disappointed with a couple of the winners, I think the story that was told during the Del Rio/Ziggler bout shows that creative ca in fact make someone turn and in such brilliant fashion. 

One noticeable pop for me was certainly for Curtis Axel, especially once he hit the Perfect Plex. The crowd went insane, and a part of me wished he won with his father's finishing move. However, the finish was genius and well put together. Miz had the figure 4 on Barrett, then Axel pins Barrett while Miz is in the middle of his submission. The ref counts the 3 and that was it. Original finish as I have ever seen, and massive respect to whoever came up with it.

Final word will go to the promo that aired during the PPV. It was an RVD promo, and I thought it would be for a new DVD. Thankfully, I was wrong. Mr. Monday Night, The Whole F'n Show will be returning NEXT month at the Money in the Bank PPV. The question remains though, is what match will he compete in? Although he is known for the 'hardcore' style, I just can't seem him being put in one of the MITB ladder matches as he has already been in and won it before. I'd expect he will win his return match, and so I believe it will either be a tag or singles bout. Whatever it is, I am very happy to see him return. Especially since I only met him a couple weeks ago at the London MCM Expo!

PPV RATING - 4/5

WWE PAYBACK PREDICTIONS

Payback is tonight, so here are my match predictions! Winners are in bold:-

Pre-Show: Sheamus vs. Damien Sandow

John Cena (c) vs. Ryback -Three Stages of Hell  - WWE Championship
Stage 1 - Lumberjack match
Stage 2 - Tables match
Stage 3 (if necessary) - Ambulance match

Chris Jericho vs. CM Punk - Either Punk won't show, or will and won't compete. NO CONTEST.

Wade Barrett (c) vs. Curtis Axel vs. The Miz - Intercontinental Championship

The Shield (Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins) (c) vs. Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton - Tag Team Championship

Dean Ambrose (c) vs. Kane - United States Championship

Kaitlyn (c) vs. AJ Lee - Divas Championship

 Dolph Ziggler (c) vs. Alberto Del Rio - World Heavyweight Championship

FIVE REASONS...

TO BOO JOHN CENA

1) A LOT OF NEW MERCHANDISE 

It feels as though Mr Cena introduces a new shirt in a new colour ever few months. Don't get me wrong, I understand new merchandise is always going to happen. I just feel as though this guy in particular gets new stuff and in quicker production time than the rest of the roster.

2) STALE RING ATTIRE

For many a year now, Cena has had the same shorts/wristbands/sneakers attire and not once has he changed to trunks or tights. Some may say that he freshens it up by changing from camo to beige, however it be nice for him to step up and wear trunks or tights for just ONCE.

3) FIVE MOVES OF DOOM

This one doesn't exactly need explaining much. He is not the greatest wrestler, never has been. I hate hen members of the 'Cenation' try and defend it. He may do the occasional suplex or DDT. But, all in all, he can't wrestle. All he does, are the same five moves, in the same order every single time. It got boring very, very quickly. The purpose of a wrestling match is to tell a story, by doing the same stuff in the same order Cena is only telling the story of a comeback win. The better wrestlers know when to use the right moves/spots at the right time. Doing this and mixing it up will give a bit of a freshness to Cena.

4) THE SUPERMAN GIMMICK

It's the same 9 times out of 10. Cena will always win, and if he does lose it is rarely CLEAN. The only way he loses is if the heel of his feud costs him a match in some way. Or via interference. The only time I ever remember him losing in a one-on-one match clean is versus Shawn Michaels in London (23/04/2007, my birthday and I was there). To add to constantly winning, he does it by taking a beating for most of the match and then does his 'five moves of doom' to comeback and win. Same old s**t.

5) AND FINALLY - ALWAYS THE GOOD GUY

It's all well and good being the hero to all the children, but at some point you would think it gets boring, stale and needs a change. Hulk Hogan did it and reinvented himself and the business in WCW by starting the nWo. It worked wonders for him and them. Why won't they do it? I know why. Because they'd lose out on money, as kids won't buy his merchandise anymore. Cena can make himself 'cool' with the IWC by turning heel, perhaps face Undertaker at a WrestleMania and screw Taker over while ending the streak. Ultimate heel turn. The only way it could work in my honest opinion.

The Wrestling-Easley RAW Re-Cap

First thing's, first. I'm not going to give you a list of results as I'm sure you know them by now! I shall give you my views on certain aspects of shows and how I could make them better (in my opinion, however if you disagree then prepare to be buried WWE style..).

FAMILY FEUD?

I loved the Vince/HHH angle at the beginning of the show. Both using their corporate positions to end/restart Triple H's match with Curtis Axel (Paul Heyman of course being by his side) was genius. At one point, Hunter had restarted it a 60 minute iron man match! His father-in-law then resorted to taking the ring bell, so the match could not be started again. Vince declared Axel had beaten Trips twice in one night, furthering his unbeaten run ahead of what seems to be a major push (providing injury and/or other circumstances halts it). However, I disliked that Vince knew what Paul (HHH for those unaware) said to Steph previously. That for me ruined the idea of her being sent to speak to Vince instead of Paul doing it himself. Other than that, I am really intrigued as to where this is heading. 

Hunter clearly didn't like what his father-in-law was doing. 

There's one way to stop a match from happening..

SAVED BY THE BELL..

Because Vince had taken the bell, Kane and Dean Ambrose didn't have a bell to ring to start their singles bout, which was a nice touch. What was also brilliant, was how they had the ring bell at the end of the match. 

THEY SEE ME TROLLIN', THEY HATIN'

The other notable segment that stood out was AJ screwing with Katelyn after her 'secret admirer was finally revealed. As soon as Big E Langston's music hit, I think everyone knew what was about to happen. Even with Big E's attempt to say otherwise. When he and the Divas champion were about to kiss, he threw her to the mat as AJ came skipping down to the ring. Ziggler's 'girlfriend' explained the reasoning behind the 'trolling'. It's about time that the current Divas have a genuine storyline and feud going into the title bout. So much better than the usual no. 1 contender's matches then the title match itself with little to no thought put into it. I really hope AJ wins and eventually gets more character development out of the divas division. 

Big E was trollin' (credit 'WWE Memes' on facebook for meme).

RYBACK/CENA FACE-OFF? NOPE.

The WWE title face-off that was advertised, wasn't really a face-off, not even a stand-off. The whole idea going into it was that the lumberjacks for the title match at Payback would surround the ring, so nothing could go wrong. WWE champion Cena comes out first, then Ryback. But, the crucial difference is the challenger stayed on the stage. Effectively out smarting the champion. I liked this idea. Showing that there is more to him than brutal strength and destruction. The premise we were given by Brickie (greatest management team ever by the way) was not that at all. It was meant to be lumberjacks = no chaos. Naturally, the lumberjacks get involved and pull the two guys apart. Ryback should not have gone to the ring. What would have been better for me, would have been to see Cena trying to get past the lumberjacks, but ultimately get held back and then have a look of 'what am I meant to do?' about him as the show closes. This would've kept Ryback's dominance while putting doubt into Cena heading into this Sunday's PPV.  

Wild jobbers appeared! 'The lumberjacks'