Hello all, and welcome to My Pinterest Is Piledrivers. I am James A. Sawyer, and I’m still alive and kicking. Trust me, that doesn’t sound like an accomplishment, but it is. Find me on Twitter @todaysjimsawyer. And find my buds @BDInsidePulse, @martyrshow and @cwsanders39. They’re good people.
Let me bookend this column with getting personal- the geeky writer version of a “bloodfeud.” Is it just me, or was 2013 kind of a slog? I’m starting to think those damn Mayans were right after all, and we just had a quiet Apocalypse. A disturbingly high portion of people I know in my personal life faced breakups of years-long relationships, layoffs, pets dying (of old age, but still), and just assorted preponderances of misery. Let’s not even get into the boondoggle over the Red Wedding. Still not over it.
As of this article being published (either Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve, or some time where it won’t get buried and go unread) I should be all wrapped up with chemotherapy. It’s been a long haul since September 2012, but Loki willing it’ll soon be over. It wasn’t fun or easy, but believe it or not I had it way easier than a lot of others in the club. I say this because, for one, I wanted to put some positive news out there, and for two, because I wanted to illustrate how circumstances can affect perception sometimes.
I wrote a column here, wherein I was largely negative, talking about just how effectual (or ineffectual) the audience can be in today’s WWEnvironment. And while I still think there’s a good question poised in all that cynicism regarding whether it’s possible to make your voice heard anymore, it took a lot of the commenters to make me realize that all was not dark clouds. The year of our McMahon 2013 had a lot of good in it, and here’s a bit of it.
Daniel Bryan beat John Cena at the second biggest show of the year-clean!
http://youtu.be/YHudvWSxzIU
I think even the most cock-eyed optimist wouldn’t have been able to predict Bryan beating Cena cleanly for the WWE championship at Summerslam. You don’t get much more of a boost than that. Money In The Bank cash in or no, Bryan’s the first guy to beat Cena without funny business since… The Rock? Pretty good company.
Big E has a (metaphorical) rocket on his back!
Do you follow this guy on Twitter? You need to follow this guy on Twitter. For one, he recently went to Toys R Us for Toys For Tots and the goofy expressions he has are as hilarious as they are heartwarming. Big E is another in a line of huge dudes that Vince seems to fall in platonic love with… except this guy is smart and funny. If given enough mic time there’s really no limit to where this guy could end up. He’s only 27 and I could easily see this guy being a world champ by 30.
People are beginning to notice Antonio Cesario!
http://youtu.be/VAPT8ymGE_o
I certainly couldn’t have predicted that the giant swing would have been what people latched onto, but whatever works! Now once they get him out of the Real Americans, and maybe give him an awesome showing at the Rumble, he might just shoot up the card some more.
Punk is still around turning lemons to lemonade!
As cliche and hyped as this is, I still maintain that from an overall perspective CM Punk is still the best in the world. In the ring, on the mic, on commentary, and even in booking suggestions he’s hard to beat. Any year with Punk on the roster is a good year. Who else would have the balls to piledrive someone in 2013?
http://youtu.be/BIbue1RCwPE
Sure, HBK and Triple H kicking out of Tombstones like they were back body drops have sort of diminished the effect of the move, but still… good for him.
There’s a tag team division again!
How was that not on the actual PPV? Pretty sure that might have been the match of the night. Anyway, The Real Americans, The Wyatt Family, The Rhodes Bros, The Shield, Rybaxel and… ugh, Los Matadores are revitalizing a long-dead group. Maybe Evan Bourne and Kofi Kingston will reunite Air Boom in 2014?
This guy is nowhere near the WWE!
Seriously. I just got douche chills. I understand that there’s a large hesher demographic that still shops at Hot Topic, listens to nu metal, and is working on finishing high school equivalency degrees, but let’s try to move forward and not pretend like it’s still 1997, okay?
TNA is sputtering and stalling!
Far be it for me to rub my hands together in glee at a company’s potential demise, but this means that either the WWE will get some new talented people like AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, Austin Aries and the like or, more likely, ROH will get a HUGE shot in the arm. Win-win!
Arrested Development came back!
I mean, it’s not wrestling related but it was still pretty awesome.
See? It’s not all that bad! Sure, I could shake my head in exasperation at how the only memorable double-turn since Austin-Hart at Wrestlemania 13 was totally mishandled… but there’s still some good stuff out there. So maybe in the 2014 we can all try to keep it pozzy and hope that the classic wrestling loving angel on Triple H’s shoulder keeps him focused on things like tag teams, booking longer main events, and things of that nature.
There’s some cool things kicking around for 2014. And on a personal note, I look forward to once again exercising, going outdoors, growing hair, being employed, and contributing to the economy. You know, the little things you take for granted. Take it easy everyone and I’ll see you next year.
