Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone unboxes an SGA 1976 Cincinnati Reds World Series Championship replica ring.
Tuesday, June 28, 2016
SmackDown vs Raw…Again Part 2
In my previous post on the WWE brand extension, I discussed
its history from its inception until it was pashed out completely. In this
post, I will talk about why I am not a fan of WWE’s decision to bring back the
brand extension, and why I think not having separate rosters is the way to go.
The last time there was a brand extension in WWE, both shows
started out as equal before more and more attention was given to Raw each week.
Maybe it was because SmackDown is on tape delay and Raw is live or maybe it was
because Monday nights attain better ratings than Thursday nights. Either way,
with each passing year, more attention was given to Raw than SmackDown as Raw
always had guest stars, special episodes, and the most popular wrestlers on the
roster. I do not see that changing because Raw has more airtime than SmackDown
since it is a three-hour show. Raw will need to retain viewers for an extra
hour and a way to do that is by having guest stars, special episodes, and the
most popular wrestlers on the roster.
Another reason I am not a fan of the brand extension is
because of what happened to the championships. Every championship was
essentially doubled during the last brand extension, and it took away the
prestige of winning a title. I have no problem with their being two midcard
championships. However, having two tag team champs, women’s champs, and world
champs is ridiculous and defeats the purpose of having those belts as those
titles are supposed to represent the best tag team, woman, and man in WWE. I
really hope WWE decides to leave the championships alone and have the champions
appear on both shows. That would keep the prestige of the titles in tact.
I think that having one roster is the way to go because it
keeps things simple. The championships remain prestigious, you can catch your
favorite wrestlers on both shows, and storylines are a lot easier to follow.
With two separate rosters, you have two separate shows, which doubles the
amount of storylines and rivalries to follow. Some of these feuds might be between
two wrestlers that nobody cares for, and instead of having a better overall
product with few quality storylines, you get a worse product with more
storylines that do not capture the attention of the audience. Also, there might
not even be a payoff match at a pay-per-view. WWE’s montly pay-per-views are
only four hours long if you include the kickoff show and with WWE having two
separate rosters with their own storylines spread across five hours of weekly
television, it will be nearly impossible to have all those rivalries culminate
with a payoff match.
That is why I am not a fan of the brand extension, and why I
think the WWE should not separate the rosters. The last time WWE separated the
rosters, it failed. It started out well, but it ultimately did not work and the
quality of WWE programming suffered because of it. Hopefully this time WWE does
the brand extension right or ends it fast.
Sunday, June 26, 2016
Photo Page Update
Photo Page Update @ https://t.co/JzwEdxiFEu With #14Forever Weekend Pics#Reds #SDvsCIN #LetsGoReds #MLB #CHCvsCIN pic.twitter.com/JZJ0335GZI— Cincy Fan Zone (@CincyFanZone) June 26, 2016
Thursday, June 23, 2016
Autograph Page Update
Autograph Page Update @ https://t.co/ULDHSOUCJg With a New #Bengals Autograph#WhoDey #LetsRoar #Reds #FCCincy #NFL pic.twitter.com/PRsyInYSNJ— Cincy Fan Zone (@CincyFanZone) June 23, 2016
Tuesday, June 21, 2016
Induction Celebration
One of the biggest injustices in sports is the exclusion of
baseball legend Pete Rose from being on the ballot for induction into the
baseball hall of fame. His career is nothing short of legendary as he garnered
multiple awards, won three World Series Championships, and immortalized himself
as Major League Baseball’s “Hit King.” Unfortunately, Rose broke a cardinal
rule in MLB by betting on baseball and has been banned from the league. As a
result, he is not eligible for induction into the National Baseball Hall of
Fame. However, the Cincinnati Reds announced that they will induct him into the
team’s hall of fame, and they have a great weekend planned for the event.
The fun starts on Friday June 24 as the Reds take the field
for their second of a four game series against the San Diego Padres. All fans
in attendance will receive a 1976 Cincinnati Reds team photo, and the Reds will
wear their 1976 throwback uniforms. There will also be a special pregame
ceremony that will feature members of the 1976 World Series Championship team
as well as a postgame fireworks show. If you bought a special ticket package
for Friday’s game, you will also receive a replica 1976 Cincinnati Reds World
Series Championship ring.
Saturday is the day of the actual Cincinnati Reds Hall of
Fame induction ceremony in which Rose will be inducted during a pregame
ceremony. All fans in attendance will also receive a poster that features every
Topps baseball card showcasing Rose as a member of the Redlegs. There is a
picture of the poster online, and it looks very cool.
Sunday is the final day of the induction weekend. Not only
is it “Family Sunday” at the ballpark, but it is also when Rose will have his
number officially retired by the team. The retirement will happen before the
game during a ceremony, and all fans in attendance will receive a free Pete
Rose number retirement print. Kids 14 and younger will also receive a free wall
decal of Devin Mesoraco.
The Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum is also honoring
Pete, but they are doing it all throughout June. On Fridays, Saturdays, and
Sundays, everybody who purchases a ticket for the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum
will receive a free limited edition Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame induction Pete
Rose bobblehead. I went and got mine the first day they gave them away, and it
is easily a bobblehead that every Reds fans should try to attain.
As you can see, the Reds have a lot of stuff planned. Throwback
uniforms and a replica World Series ring on Friday, the induction ceremony on
Saturday, the number retirement ceremony on Sunday, and a free bobblehead of
Pete, while supplies last, all weekends in June from the hall of fame and
museum. I am going on Friday and will be getting the replica World Series ring.
I wish I could go to all three games, but one out of the three isn’t bad,
especially when the Reds are going all out to honor Charlie Hustle. Hopefully
the team can sweep the Padres for him.
Go Redlegs!
Monday, June 20, 2016
Money in the Bank 2016 Thoughts
Ryan of Cincy Fan Zone shares his thoughts on WWE Money in the Bank 2016.
Saturday, June 18, 2016
Photo Page Update
Photo Page Update @ https://t.co/yzF6TznxxM With #CINvTOR Pics#FCCincy #TFCII #NBAFinals #Reds #Bengals #USL #MLB pic.twitter.com/n8IKTue3Be
— Cincy Fan Zone (@CincyFanZone) June 19, 2016
Tuesday, June 14, 2016
Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame Induction Pete Rose Bobblehead Unboxing
Bobblehead Page Update
Bobblehead Page Update @ https://t.co/f6kg2Fon2e With a New #Reds Nodder#BobbleHOF #BobbleheadAddicts #MLB #Sports pic.twitter.com/0HNSBtZtPK— Cincy Fan Zone (@CincyFanZone) June 15, 2016
The Money in the Bank Winner Is…
Money in the Bank is one of WWE’s best events of the year.
It is usually filled with great matches, and its results set the tone for
SummerSlam. The biggest and most influential match at Money in the Bank is the
bout that the event was named after in that the results of it are what people
care about the most. The winner of the match receives a contract for a WWE
Championship match whenever and wherever the victor wants, and when the cash in
happens, the crowd usually erupts in excitement. So who should win the event
this year? I believe that Dean Ambrose and Kevin Owens are the most deserving
to win this match. Let’s start with why I think Owens should win.
Kevin Owens has been absolutely incredible ever since he was
called up to the main roster from NXT. His rivalry with John Cena was one of
the best of 2015, his matches are generally some of the best on the card, and
his mic skills as a heel are fantastic. He is so good at being a heel that he
gets face reactions. He is currently involved in a great feud with Sami Zayn,
and if Owens wins the Money in the Bank ladder match and claims the briefcase
for himself, then his rivalry with Zayn could be taken to the next level as the
two could be battling it out for Money in the Bank contract. The crowd would
also go crazy if Owens cashed in on Reigns, and the rivalry between these two
could be epic.
Dean Ambrose also deserves to win the Money in the Bank
ladder match in my opinion. He is one of the best talents in WWE today. He is solid
in the ring, he is great on the mic, and despite WWE booking him in a
questionable manner, he is still over with the fans, receives huge pops every
time he enters the arena, and his rivalries with Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens,
Bray Wyatt, and Brock Lesnar have been very entertaining. If he wins the Money
in the Bank ladder match, then things in WWE could get very interesting. With
Seth Rollins returning to the WWE after his injury and Roman Reigns in the
middle of a WWE Championship reign, an Ambrose victory could finally mean that
we get the long awaited Shield triple threat match. Also, Ambrose is my
favorite wrestler, and I would love to see him win the match and hopefully the
WWE Championship with a successful cash in on Reigns, Rollins, or whoever the champion
may be.
In conclusion, that is why I think Owens and Ambrose each
have equal claim to the Money in the Bank contract. They are both great in the
ring, on the mic, and get really good crowd reactions. If either of these guys wins
the match, the crowd will cheer and the arena will definitely explode whenever
they decide to cash in their contract. While I am a fan of Owens and would
really like to see him win, I will be pulling for Ambrose and hope he climbs
the ladder, grabs the briefcase, and takes his first step to becoming WWE
Champion.
Let’s go Ambrose!
Autograph Page Update
Autograph Page Update @ https://t.co/ULDHSOUCJg With a New #FCCincy Signature#Reds #Bengals #USL #MLB #NBA #MLS pic.twitter.com/Uc8PHw7UG6— Cincy Fan Zone (@CincyFanZone) June 15, 2016
Saturday, June 11, 2016
Photo Page Update
Photo Page Update @ https://t.co/yzF6TznxxM With #Athletics vs #Reds Pics#LetsGoReds #FCCincy #MLB #NBA #NHL #NFL pic.twitter.com/xQ8ub4Qxgk— Cincy Fan Zone (@CincyFanZone) June 12, 2016
Wednesday, June 8, 2016
Lee May Bobblehead Unboxing
SmackDown vs. Raw…Again Part 1
In 2001, World Wrestling Entertainment had established
itself as the undisputed wrestling promotion champion in the world. It had
defeated Extreme Championship Wrestling and squeezed the life out of World
Championship Wrestling, putting an end to the epic “Monday Night Wars.”
As the dust settled and the smoke cleared, many former ECW
and WCW wrestlers signed with WWE, creating a huge surge in talent on the WWE
roster. In order to give these new wrestlers airtime while keeping the
established WWE stars on television, WWE came up with the brand extension. The
idea was to make Raw and SmackDown two separate promotions that would “compete”
against each other. There was a draft between Raw and SmackDown and wrestlers
were exclusive to only the show that drafted them. The only exceptions were
champions who appeared on both shows. The only times fans saw wrestlers from
both Raw and SmackDown appear on the same show were pay-per-views.
Eventually, champions became exclusive to either Raw or
SmackDown with each brand having a total of four titles each. For midcard championships, this was not really a
problem as Raw had the Intercontinental Championship and SmackDown had the
United States Championship. There was also a Cruiserweight division with its
own title that was exclusive to the SmackDown brand. However, each show had its
own world champion, pair of tag team champions, and eventually a women’s
champion as SmackDown retired the Cruiserweight Championship and created the
Divas Championship while Raw already had the Women’s Championship
The brand extension continued until 2011 when SmackDown
wrestlers began to appear regularly on Raw. It was officially phased out by
2012, and titles merged as the Raw and SmackDown tag team titles and women’s
titles were unified. The unification process was complete in 2013 as the WWE
Championship of Raw and the World Heavyweight Championship of SmackDown were merged
by Randy Orton when he defeated John Cena and became the first Undisputed WWE
World Heavyweight Champion since 2002. With that, the brand extension had
officially come to an end.
Wrestlers were no longer exclusive to certain shows, titles
could be defended on both Raw and SmackDown, and the championships regained
their prestige as there were fewer belts to compete for between the wrestlers.
It was nice to have the WWE go back to a simpler way, and I was and still am a
fan of ending the brand extension.
In theory, the brand extension was a good idea, but in
reality, it failed. While it did allow a few wrestlers to emerge like John
Cena, Batista, and Randy Orton, it ultimately turned SmackDown into the “B”
show as more attention was given to Raw each and every week. SmackDown did have
great success and was an overall better show than Raw when the brand extension
began, however it slowly spiraled downward and essentially became a recap of
Raw with some filler. If it was executed better, then perhaps the brand
extension could have worked. Maybe there could have been more than a handful of
guys who had careers launched during the brand extension, and Raw and SmackDown
could have been treated as equal shows. That was not the case, and I do not
really see that happening with the new brand extension.
Stayed tuned for part two of this post in which I explain
why I do not like WWE’s choice to bring back the brand extension.
Saturday, June 4, 2016
Bobblehead Page Update
Bobblehead Page Update @ https://t.co/7szAEAxyiu With a New #Reds Bobble#bobbleheadaddicts #BobbleHOF #MLB #NBA pic.twitter.com/bO6vIQBw7q— Cincy Fan Zone (@CincyFanZone) June 4, 2016
Autograph Page Update
#Autograph Page Update @ https://t.co/oiRAWLpVYr With New Nolan Ryan Auto#Reds #Astros #NFL #MLS #MLB #NBA #NHL pic.twitter.com/Vx3t1yffLw— Cincy Fan Zone (@CincyFanZone) June 4, 2016
Photo Page Update
Pic Page Update @ https://t.co/yzF6TznxxM With #WSHvsCIN Pics#Reds #Nationals #MLB #LetsGoReds #ATOBTTR #NBA #NHL pic.twitter.com/q3Tm41Xpwc— Cincy Fan Zone (@CincyFanZone) June 4, 2016
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