So, it sure has been awhile since I've blogged on WWE Fan Nation, huh? Well, I've at least had some semi-valid reasons for not being on. I just got back from my trip to California Saturday....well, technically Sunday, and I must say it was quite the spectacular trip. I got to visit some of the most majestic and spectacular places on Earth. These places included several beautiful state parks and aquariums, in addition to Alcatraz, and of course San Francisco itself. It was a lot of fun and definitely a trip I will remember for a very long time, if not for the rest of my life. California truly is a beautiful place, and I enjoyed it so much that I might even consider living there eventually.

Unfortunately, because I was on such a magnificent trip and running around almost 24 hours a day, I consequently missed a wealth of WWE programming. This included SmackDown, Saturday Night's Main Event and Raw. Never the less, I watched several videos on WWE.com that for the most part caught me up with all the major stories.

As I predicted, Cena and Batista will face each other at SummerSlam, which I believe will be a very interesting rivalry to say the least. You arguably have the two physically strongest Superstars in all of WWE right now clashing in a match to prove who's the tougher man and who deserves the most respect. Both Cena and Batista are obviously real go-getters and determined, focused gentlemen, and both tend to rely more on their own respective sheer strength and raw power more than anything to get things done in the ring, so more or less you have quite the even match-up in these two guys. I must admitt, though, Cena has gradually become more of a high-flyer in the last few years, whereas Batista is still mostly ground-and-pound, but none the less, I think both men are quite evenly matched as I said, and although the past has proven that sometimes guys with such complimentary styles end up having the worst matches on the show, hopefully both Cena and Batista's wrestling styles will compliment each other positively and they'll end up having a nice, entertaining match.

In other future SummerSlam main event clashes, Thriple H is facing.....The Great Khali? Seriously?? Okay, well, first of all, I really have been trying very hard not to be too smarkish with my comments, I really have, but let's be perfectly honest with ourselves, shall we? The Great Khali cannot hardly be ignored, and unfortunately I don't mean that in a positive way. But hey, I want to remain as open-minded as I can, so I'm recognizing the fact that Dalip Singh the person is a decent guy. He's also an actor and apparently participates in positive activities such as reaching out to youth at risk for drug abuse and such. That's great. So, obviously, with that said, I don't despise The Great Khali as a person, as most people probably don't. Still, the cold hard truth is that The Great Khali has almost no real wrestling ability, absolutely no mic skills, and the only thing he can really do legitimently is his finishing move and the "Vice Grip', in addition to just standing around and looking menacing while yelling in his native language.

The fact is, it just isn't 1985 anymore. The days of some ginormous guy with no real talent just standing around in the ring looking scary are gone. Anyone who has seen even the slightest bit of professional wrestling in the last 18 or so years (maybe more like 16 or 17 years), knows that. And the thing is, I really don't want to be over critical, because that never gets anyone anywhere. But come on. With all due respect to The Great Khali, Big Show has truckloads more talent than he does, but I suppose for whatever reason, the fans just don't want to see another Big Show/Thriple H match. And I guess that's understandable. After all, Khali and Thriple H have never faced each other before as far as I can remember, and it is always nice to see fresh, new rivalries with guys who have never rivaled before. I don't know. I really can't blame Khali. He does the best he can. I suppose it's just fortunate that Thriple H is in-ring capable enough to carry a guy even like Khali. So, I'm sure things won't turn out all that bad in the end.

The Undertaker/Edge saga roles on. Now I must say, those two have awesome chemistry, both in-ring and out. Both Edge and 'Taker always manage to pull out a great match, and I believe they stole the show at this year's WrestleMania. There really isn't too much more to say about this rivalry other than it should be every bit as entertaining as their previous rivalries and battles.

Kane and JBL should be a nice, hard-hitting bout. Here you have two big guys who have so much storyline potential, but sometimes for whatever reason, get put out to dry whenever Creative can't find anything for them. Never the less, I think both Kane and JBL will work well with each other, seeing as they can probably boost each others' own respective pushes just by clashing together. So that SummerSlam rivarly should be something to see as well.

Who could forget Jeff Hary and MVP? Now here are two smaller guys who have loads of storyline potential as well as wrestling ability. As always, Hardy is one of the most popular Superstars in WWE right now, and MVP has quickly become one of the most entertaining heels the company has seen in a very long time. Jeff Hardy has obviously been wrestling for quite the longer span of time as opposed to MVP, but from the very first time I watched MVP and got to know his character, he automatically began flashing signs of wrestling brillance both inside the ring and on the mic. Some are even calling him the next Rock. Of course that's very arguable, and I personally think it's a little too early in his wrestling carreer to tell, but I would absolutely not be suprised if eventually MVP reaches that level of wrestling immortality, or even surpasses it. It's like John Cena said, the one consistancy with WWE amidst all the ever-changing chaos is that once in a great while, a match comes along that creates a moment in time that is remembered by wrestling fans forever. I believe the same can be said with Superstars, and as far as I'm concerned this theory has been proven over time with the likes of Ric Flair to Hulk Hogan to Bret Hart to Shawn Michaels to Stone Cold to The Rock, and so on.

Well, this is probably the smarkiest entry I've written so far here on WWE Fan Nation, but that's alright I suppose. I think smarkism can almost be healthy at times, as long as you don't become over critical as I said and look at everything in a negative light. Most smarks, especially within the Internet wrestling community, are such smartasses when 90% of them don't know what the hell they're talking about or even criticizing. Many of them are total conformists who think they're classless and free because they agree with and love and hate all the wrestlers that the other smarks love and hate. What they don't understand is that it's okay to criticize, as long as you're criticizing a wrestling company with honest intentions, if that makes sense. I question the validy of most of those smarks' love for the business, and I wonder why so many of them stick around when all they do is **** and moan about what's seemingly unentertaining or "wrong" in the business. I can't understand why they won't just place their interests elsewhere if they get no joy from professional wrestling. I guess some people just like to complain because it makes them feel better about themselves. Maybe it makes them feel like they're worth something to the business. Who knows.

Well, I gotta watch this year's Hall of Fame Ceremony and The Rock DVD set that I finally purchased. Tragically, I still have yet to get the new Ric Flair DVD set, because I can't find it in stores. I might just have to order it off WWE Shop. Either way, though, I'm most certianly acquiring it in due time.

Until next time,

Michael