Adios, Mamacita... R.I.P. Chyna 1970-2016

Woke up yesterday to the news that the "9th Wonder of the World", Chyna, had passed away.

We've lost far too many of WWF/WWE's finest, far too often, and almost always, far too young.

She began her career as the bodyguard for Triple H and was an integral part when he teamed with Shawn Michaels to form DeGeneration X. They were one of the hottest groups at the start of WWE's Attitude Era, and Chyna was there, front and center.

Soon she moved out of her bodyguard role and actually into that of a competitor.

Except Chyna was different, and her running roughshod over the other ladies was rather boring, so she actually was able to wrestle the men.

And she won.

She even won championships.

Sure, there was a bit of novelty to it, but she really was that good in the ring, and was rewarded for her efforts.

She was also teamed with Eddie Guerrero towards the end of her stint in wrestling and "Latino Heat" and his "Mamacita" brought out the best in each other and propelled them both to heights neither had previously enjoyed alone.

Chyna left wrestling shortly after that and has been battling her personal demons ever since. Her relationship with Vince McMahon and Triple H has been contentious over the years, but it seemed like there was a thawing taking place that might someday lead to Chyna being rightfully inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.

Sadly, it seems like that will be easier now that she's not around to screw it up by doing or saying anything else to damage her relationship with the company.

But she was Hall of Fame material and all wrestling fans know it.

Rest easy now, Chyna.

Hopefully Latino Heat was there in his lowrider to pick you up at the pearly gates.

The Road To WrestleMania Begins Here..."WWE Royal Rumble 2014"

The Road to WrestleMania has begun...

Another year, and my son has figured out that since the Royal Rumble is my favorite WWE Pay Per View, he has managed to move his March birthday party to January and score this, WWE's most fun event of the year, for his party.

With the advent of the upcoming WWE Network, soon we will be able to enjoy every Pay Per View, every month, but for now, the occasion is still very special as this is the only one I've ever been willing to shell out the big bucks to order.

First things first, hopefully WWE will come up with some distinction between the "Free" Pre Show on YouTube and for those that actually pay for it on PPV or the WWE Network in the future.  The Tag Team Championship match between Cody Rhodes and Goldust and the New Age Outlaws was a great match that would have been great without that unnecessary commercial right in the middle.

Oh, and congratulations to the New Age Outlaws on becoming the SIX TIME Tag Team Champions of the World.

Oh You Didn't Know?

Nothing like getting in a time machine and reliving the Attitude Era on occasion. :)

But I won't be giving any other match results away.

If you want to learn who won, tune in to Monday Night Raw tonight, there will be plenty of mention on who the Undisputed WWE Heavyweight Champion is as well as all other match results.

Or if anyone got quite the pop that Daniel Bryan received from the crowd in Pittsburgh, I think he even surpassed the reaction that Ben Roethlisberger received when they showed him in the crowd.

The matches:

Bray Wyatt vs. Daniel Bryan - A 20+ minute epic

Brock Lesnar vs. The Big Show - Destruction personified.  The poor steel chair never had a chance.

John Cena vs. Randy Orton - The latest in one of the better rivalries of the current generation of superstars.

Then finally, the reason we all tune in:

The Rumble Match

And as always, it was controlled chaos!

Kofi Kingston, as has become his annual tradition, found a very creative way to stay alive after his first elimination attempt.
And his second...


Surprise entrants ?  Yep, there were a few.

I still think the return of Batista should have come tonight, and not been advertised ahead of time.  That place would have come unglued.

The crowd did not necessarily go home happy though.

:)

Let's see how things begin to shape up starting on Raw tonight!



Final Grade: A-



See you next year on the WWE Network!