Wait, wrestling is cool again?

I'm sorry... "sports entertainment."

I haven't religiously watched World Wrestling Entertainment since the late '90s.

We here at Inscaped make it a point to cover things in entertainment that are interesting and awesome.

So it was a bit of surprise a few weeks ago when something quite interesting and awesome happened:



Obviously all part of the plan, but this is a great use of the term "the truth hurts."

Many of the things CM Punk said in that promo were things fans were thinking. Heck I stopped watching WWE because of some of those things.

WWE played off of this by using the Internet to its advantage. This video was all over YouTube and Twitter blew up. They got mainstream coverage from places like GQ magazine and the Jim Rome show.

As a point of reference, that NEVER happens.

The reality was Punk's real contract was up and he was leaving, so everyone thought all of this was a bit of truth mixed up with a clever storyline to mark his exit.

They even made a stipulation that if John Cena couldn't beat Punk at the pay per view he would be fired. Many fans, including myself, thought "OK, well they aren't going to fire Cena, storyline or not."

The WWE surprised everyone again by giving Punk the win and the title. Which then he promptly took and "quit."

*clap clap clap* Good job WWE, way to keep us on our toes.

So the next night head honcho Vince McMahon was going to fire Cena. But, before he could his son-in-law and former World Champion Triple H came out, took control of the company and told McMahon his "services were no longer required."

Another excellent swerve.

All the while, Punk is posting Twitter updates showing him with the championship title around Chicago.

Cut to Comic-Con and the WWE had a panel with Mattel toys. And guess who showed up...



Wow WWE, way to really sell this.

So, again YouTube and Twitter blow up and everyone is talking about this.

Cut to Monday's "Raw." Cena wins the World Title and someone makes a grand, excellent (re)entrance:



Surprise, surprise. WWE can still surprise us afterall.

And leaving no doubt about what is going to happen:



Want more proof how popular this storyline is? Take a look at how much these rare Punk shirts are going for on Ebay.

Bottom line: Good television is good television. If "Survivor" and "The Vampire Diaries" can shock and amaze people, then WWE can too. Especially a product that has been around for decades and to this day can still make an already rabid fan base hungry for more.

And even bring back past viewers such as myself.

Live from 'Monday Night Raw' in Vegas

In a nice coincendence "Monday Night Raw" was in Las Vegas the same week as me, so I decided to go. It was Raw roulette night which meant all of the matches and stipulations would be determined by huge roulette wheel.

Here are some of the highlights that weren't on TV.

• CM Punk sang terribly during the commercial break, adding to the heat he already getting from the crowd.


• Shawn Michaels got a huge reaction from the crowd. I personally geeked out so much the guy in front of me gave me a look.


• Gail Kim and Beth Phoenix had a "WWE Superstars" match that was light years better than the televised Kelly vs. Nikka Bella title contest.


• Zack Ryder is a better wrestler in person than he is on TV.


• There were literally a gazillion John Cena t-shirts. I hope he gets a cut.


• For no apparent reason, a big deal was made of the steel cage lowering.


• The crowd was noticeably less interested in the second show than the first.


• The second "Raw" only took about 45 minutes, which tells you how many commercials and extras they add.


• Spoiler Alert: Next week's "Raw" will be kind of lame.

R.I.P. Macho Man

Wrestling superstar "Macho Man" Randy Savage died last week in a car accident.

Sure, he hadn't wrestled in years but he still was one of the best.

I talked about him numerous times in my Wrestlemania recap articles weeks ago.

He had the total package before Shawn Michaels opened the door for everyone else. Savage could wrestle, be a high flier, a tough guy and great on the microphone.

To this day that combo is a rarity.

I remember back in 1992 I got to see Savage live in person at an event in San Bernardino. I remember it clearly to this day.

He was the World Champion for the WW(F)E and was wrestling Jake "The Snake" Roberts in a steel cage. That ugly giant blue steel cage.

When Savage's music hit the crowd went nuts and he ran around the ring clapping hands with the crowd. I didn't get his hand, but I got to touch a tassle on his jacket.

And that was just as good for me.

He won that match and we talked about it for days.

Can't really think of the right words, but WWE did it for me with this awesome tribute video.

Edge's stunning retirement

WWE superstar Edge appeared on Monday Night Raw last night to announce his sudden retirement.

Eight years ago Edge suffered broken neck which resulted in spinal surgery. Unfortunately, he is now felling the consequences of that operation.

He stated that he recently had been suffering from numbness in his arms and after more tests, doctors advised him that he would never be medically ready to compete, and he was forced to retire.

This is a complete surprise, as Edge has showed no signs that anything was wrong. As a matter of fact, at Wrestlemania 27 he was in great condition as he defended the World Heavyweight Championship.

As he spoke last night Edge's emotions were high and he teared up when the crowd began to chant "Thank you Edge." He was greeted backstge by fellow superstars, who hugged him and offered their goodbyes.

As a wrestling fan, Edge has always been one of my favorites, his retirement will leave a huge hole in the WWE roster. I have no doubt that he continue to stay active in the business, as someone with his wrestling knowledge, quickwit and personality won't stay off TV for long.

Look at the best of the rest of Wrestlemania

With a mere few hours to go before Wrestlemania 27, we are only caught up through 10. So here are the best matches and moments from 11-26.

Wrestlemania 11 - Not the best PPV ever and I'd normally loath giving the thumbs up to a match involving a non-wrestler, but the Lawrence Taylor/Bam Bam Bigelow match was entertaining. And you have to give major kudos to Bigelow for not only carrying a football player, but also making it a decent match.

Wrestlemania 12 - One of my favorites. And you'll see a pattern developing here with the best matches. The Shawn Michaels/Bret Hart one hour Iron Man match, is not only one of the best Wrestlemania matches of all-time, but of all-time period.

Wrestlemania 13 - Many consider this the start of the "Attitude" era for the WWE. And the big match on this card to do it? Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin in a submission match. Many people will remember the visual of a bloody Austin locked in the sharpshooter. Great story, great wrestling and a double turn with Hart turning to a bad guy and Austin to a good guy. Genius.

Wrestlemania 14 - The big time "Attitude" era Wrestlemania. Meh undercard that was led by Austin vs. Michaels with Mike Tyson as the guest referee. Good match, but nothing special. Undertaker continued his streak by beating his brother Kane in a good match.

Wrestlemania 15 - The main event of The Rock vs. Austin, great match, might be everyone's favorite on this one. Me? I could care less for the entire card. I did enjoy Shane McMahon's match against X-Pac. This was also the PPV where boxer Butterbean destroyed Bart Gunn in 35 seconds. Ouch.

Wrestlemania 16 - Also known as Wrestlemania 2000. The main event of Triple H/Big Show/Rock/Mankind was meh extreme. Mostly because three tag teams stole the show with a ladder. The Hardy's, Edge and Christian and the Dudley Boyz put on one of the best tag matches of all-time. But, they put on an even better match down the line.

Wrestlemania 17 - Also known as Wrestlemania X-Seven. This might be the one of note for fans of this year's Wrestlemania as this was the first showdown between Undertaker and Triple H. Great, great match, but nothing can touch the rematch of the ladder match from the previous year. It's like all six men re watched the match and figured out what worked and what didn't and put on the most perfect match ever. Many people consider this the best Wrestlemania match of all-time. It's hard to argue against it.

Wrestlemania 18 - Overall, a great PPV with good matches from start to finish. We got Ric Flair vs. the Undertaker with an Arn Anderson run-in, Chris Jericho vs. HHH and The Rock vs. Hulk Hogan. Many fans really love that match. It's a great one because it was a dream match that people never thought they'd see. Great story and the crowd even started to like Hogan again, who was a bad guy at the time.

Wrestlemania 19 - So-so main events of Booker T vs. HHH (Booker should have won the belt) and Brock Lesnar vs. Kurt Angle. Neither match really did anything for me. But, the undercard was good. One match between Jericho and Michaels was jaw droppingly amazing. Talk about a wrestling lesson! Wow. Also near the top on many people's lists.

Wrestlemania 20 - Oh boy, Stephanie has some harsh words for this one because of the Goldberg/Lesnar match, which was a dream match that ended up being a horrible nightmare. But, the two title matches were five star events. First Eddie Guerrero beat Angle in a great match. Then Chris Beniot beat Michaels and HHH in a triple threat match. And the end provided one of the most emotional endings to a PPV ever, with lifelong friends Guerrero and Beniot standing in the ring, both holding their titles after many years of working hard to get there. It is very sad to watch that clip now, with both men dead in tragic ways.

Wrestlemania 21 - Two things saved this otherwise dull PPV from being a total disaster. The Money in the Bank Ladder match, where six men fought for a title opportunity by using ladders in the most insane ways. And second, the Angle/Michaels match. That match was almost 30 minutes of wrestling goodness.

Wrestlemania 22 - zzzzzzzz. Sorry. Rey Mysterio winning the World Title was great...

Wrestlemania 23 - Pretty much the same. Nothing to get excited about. Michaels carried John Cena to a pretty good match, but with this kind of undercard it doesn't take much to stand out.

Wrestlemania 24 - Good seeing CM Punk win the Money in the Bank match. Overall, a few good matches. Edge had a great match with The Undertaker, but nothing can top Michaels vs. Flair in Flair's last match with the WWE. Man, talking about passing the torch.

Wrestlemania 25 - This one was all about Michaels vs. The Undertaker. You want to see a great match, watch this one. Both guys busting their butts for over 30 minutes to put on a wrestling clinic. I am positive that trainers show this match to students who want to be wrestlers. It's that good.

Wrestlemania 26 - Another case where a rematch can be even better. This time Michaels put his career on the line against the Undertaker and lost. And lost to a jumping Tombstone piledriver. Almost breathtaking in a way. Jericho and Edge also had a top notch match that shouldn't be forgotten. Hart and Vince McMahon had a street fight that people were waiting years to see.

Predictions for tonight? Do you honestly think HHH is going to beat Undertaker's streak? Heck no.

Look back at Wrestlemania VI through X

The sixth Wrestlemania is one of the handful where people can really only remember one match from.

This, of course, being the main event of Hulk Hogan vs. The Ultimate Warrior. Both very popular, at the time, and both good guys.

What made this interesting was Warrior was the Intercontinental Champion at the time, so it was champion vs. champion. Each man had his own rabid fan base and at the time it was like trying to pick Batman vs. Superman.

Once again the torch was passed and the Warrior won. At the time it was a big deal, but Warrior's championship run was almost forgettable. Do you even remember who beat him for the title? Sgt. Slaughter in case you were wondering.

Looking back at Wrestlemania VI, the undercard is a bit underwhelming. Jim Duggan vs. Dino Bravo? Barbarian vs. Tito Santana? A bit boring.

Wrestlemania 7 was back to the same formula of Hogan returning to save the day, this time against American turncoat Slaughter.

Good build up to the match and in the end it wasn't half bad for a Hogan match.

It's also known as the Wrestlemania debut and start of the streak for the Undertaker.

The card also had some great wrestlers on it including the Road Warriors, Kerry Von Erich and Japanese wrestlers Tenryu and Kitao.

Nothing lifechanging stands out from the rest of the other Wrestlemanias.

Wrestlemania 8, on the other hand, was memorable. Maybe not for all of the best reasons.

Months before at the Royal Rumble, Ric Flair won the championship by eliminating Hogan. You'd think that they would build toward having those two headline Wrestlemania. After all, they were the two biggest wrestlers of all-time at that time.

Perfect, right?

Nope.

They split them up into two separate matches. Flair fought Savage, in a very good match. Hogan fought Sid Justice in a God awful match. It was so horrible it couldn't even have a proper end. There was an awkward DQ that made no sense and then Papa Shango came out for some unknown reason. Yes, it did bring Warrior back, but wow it was obviously a stinker.

The undercard was mostly fantastic though. Shawn Michaels, who had just turned into a bad guy and went solo, took on Santana. Great match that showed Michaels could be a future World Champion.

Bret Hart also burst onto the solo scene by defeating Roddy Piper for the Intercontinental Championship. Probably one of Piper's greatest performances as a wrestler.

And the Undertaker continued his streak by defeating Jake "The Snake" Roberts.

If Wrestlemania 8 had some good and bad moments, Wrestlemania 9 set out to be different.

Just too bad it was different alright. Maybe one of the worst Wrestlemanias of all-time.

First it was at Caesar's Palace, outside in Las Vegas. So they decided to do a toga theme. Yes, they put the greatest announcer of all-time, Jim Ross, in a toga. That alone makes it horrible.

The matches didn't help. There was two DQ and one count out endings. For the Super Bowl of wrestling, matches need pins or submissions, not lame finishes.

Undertaker's streak always has an asterisk because of his DQ win over The Giant Gonzales. Just Google that one.

Even The Steiner Brothers couldn't save the PPV. Lex Lugar fought Mr. Perfect in a decent match, but lumped together with the rest it was forgotten.

But, Hogan's ego tried. First he wrestled in a horrible tag team match, then after Bret Hart lost the championship to Yokozuna, he came out, challenged Yoko and then won the title.

Yokozuna held the title for a matter of minutes.

I remember, even then, thinking it was lame. Years later it still is.

Could the tenth anniversary of Wrestlemania be any different?

Overall? Heck yeah.

Two matches alone, even to this day, are considered classics.

The opening match between brothers Owen and Bret Hart was amazing. Twenty minutes of "this is how it should be done" wrestling. What is sad is that everyone thought Owen was headed to an eventual World Championship run.

The other match is one of the greatest ladder matches of all-time between Michaels and Razor Ramon. People watched that match and were amazed at what could be done in the ring with that ladder.

Bret Hart may have lost to his brother early on, but ended the evening on a good note by winning the World Title from Yokozuna. Hart proved he was the best in the business by wrestling more than 30 minutes in two different matches that night.

Overall some good matches, but nothing comes close to touching the Michaels/Ramon ladder match as the best match of this group of Wrestlemanias.

Look back at Wrestlemania I through V

Wrestlemania 27 is just a few days away and while Stephanie is at Wonder-Con, I'm going to take a trip down memory lane looking at the past 26 Wrestlemanias: the good, the bad and the oh-my-God!

The first Wrestlemania took place in 1985 and was an ambitious experience at the time. Nothing had ever been done like it before, so a good number of celebrities were brought in to add some star power to the mix.

Everyone remembers Muhammad Ali, Cyndi Lauper and Liberace holding court, but it was a celebrity in the main event that made it memorable. Hulk Hogan and Mr. T vs. Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff.

With an undercard that was somewhat limited, the main event turned out to be the best match of the card.

But, I'll always remember the 23 second squash match between King Kong Bundy and Special Delivery Jones. I remember as a kid being amazed at how scary and awesome Bundy was. And the WWF knew that as well which led nicely into the very next year.

If the first Wrestlemania was ambitious for its time, then Wrestlemania II was the biggest thing to happen. It's the first Pay Per view the WWF produced and took place in three different venues (something, I think, they haven't tried since).

Bundy challenged Hogan for the title inside the ugly giant blue steel cage, while Mr. T fought Piper in a boxing match. Both of these matches are almost forgotten in the long history of great Wrestemania matches.

Two of the more memorable matches were the Macho Man/George "The Animal" Steele grudge match (Steele was in love with Macho's valet Miss Elizabeth) and the 20-man (wrestler and NFL pro) battle royal. The battle royal is especially of note because it really got people to notice future world champion Bret "The Hitman" Hart as a single's competitor (he was in the tag team the Hart Foundation at the time).

Wrestlemania III is entering the era of what I call "serious business."

The main event was something everyone, everyone wanted to see: Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant. The buildup to the match was great because we as viewers loved Hogan, but thought there was no possible way he could slam the giant. Which just made for great television when he eventually did. If YouTube were around then, the clip of the slam heard round the world would have been rewatched like crazy.

Yes, there was a mixed midget tag team match thrown in there and yes it was bad.

But, Wrestlemania III also gave us one of the best matches of all time; Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat vs. Macho Man Randy Savage. To this day people still consider it one of the best, pure wrestling matches in history.

Wrestlmania IV was great for being able to pass the torch to someone else besides Hogan. For years he remained the champion and always won.

Building up to the event, he actually lost. In a controversy Andre beat him but the title was made vacant. So a tournament was to be held to crown a new champion.

Of course, everyone knew that Hogan would just win it.

Then something interesting happened. He lost in the quarterfinals! Shocking at the time. It was literally like the death of a beloved character on your favorite television show. What was going to happen? Who would we root for?

Savage of course. Savage burned through the tournament and eventually beat "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase in the finals to become the new champion.

Torch effectively passed.

It's just too bad they went back to the well of having a former friend of Hogan turn on him.

Wrestlemania V, other than the lame main event (Hogan obviously won his title back), was surprisingly full of pretty darn good matches. Just look at the talent in the show: Shawn Michaels, Rick Rude, Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard, Mr. Perfect and the Red Rooster.

Out of the first five Wrestlemanias, the Savage/Steamboat match wins hands down as the best of the bunch. Picking a worst match is a little harder since a lot of the early ones had a lot of squash matches and a few jobbers thrown in.

The next batch of Wrestlemanias start to get even better with matches that redefined the "sport" of wrestling.

John Cena is having a great week

Editor's note: I would normally loath referring to a TMZ story, but it's a good one.

Man, less than a week before Wrestlemania and is John Cena having the best week ever or what?

TMZ reports that Cena is inviting 30 sick kids from the Make a Wish Foundation to Wrestlemania. Complete with tickets, meet and greets and a party hosted by himself afterwards.

Not only that, but this puts him over the 300 wishes granted milestone. Apparently only a handful of other celebrities can say they've done that: drivers Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Hulk Hogan.

Say what you will about the Cena character on television, he is doing an amazing thing each and every time he makes a dream come true for a sick child. And he's more popular and busier than certain Food Network chefs.

Now that I've brought it up, let's talk about the Cena character for a moment. He gets a lot of heat from older fans. They hate him. I'm talking like Hulk Hogan joining the N.W.O. kind of hate.

I just don't get it. This man, both the real man and the character, have been carrying the WWE on his shoulders for years ever since the Rock and Steve Austin left. Triple H and the Undertaker might disagree with that statement, but it's true. Just look at the T-shirt sales.

Need proof? Just YouTube the reaction video of when Cena made his big return years ago at the Royal Rumble. The crowd at Madison Square Garden lost their minds when he came out. Nowadays those kinds of reactions are few and far between.

Need more proof? How about that career making (career defining?) promo he did with the Rock this past week?

I don't watch wrestling as often as I used to, but I still know a great promo when I see one. And this was top 10 material.

I don't see him turning into a bad guy because of this. This is more of a passing of the torch kind of moment.

Makes me wonder how the WWE will top this "feud" at Wrestlemania.

Let me tell you something BROTHA!

"Wrestlemania" is less than a week away so I thought some blogs about wrestling would be a clever thing.

Especially considering it's not Stephanie who is writing them.

Other than "Wrestlemania," WWE also has something else big out this week: "WWE All Stars."

The new video game has the stars of today taking on the biggest stars of yesterday.

Yes, there are current stars like Rey Mysterio, Sheamus and Kofi Kingston alongside classics like Ricky Steamboat, Andre the Giant and The Ultimate Warrior.

It's just too bad the end result couldn't live up to the dream of what could have been.

Kind of like when WWE bought WCW 10 years ago (March 23 to be exact, nerdy!).

I played one version of the demo on the Playstation network and a different one on the XBox 360 at Best Buy.

Both were very "meh."

Stephanie and I both got a first look at this game back at E3 and even then we had some issues.

The first is the size of the characters. Each one looks like they've been on super steroids for years. Even little Rey Mysterio looks like a bodybuilder. And for a business that's always been troubled by talk of steroids... not the best idea to do.

Controls are basic enough, two sets of attacks and two sets of grapples. Nothing complex. But, that also means not a lot of variety.

The actions, much like the muscles, are also extremely exaggerated. For example, when Mysterio flings an opponent around, the other guy flies high into the air and spins around like crazy.

One side of the coin would say that's a cool thing. The other side is just reminded of this.

Overall, save your money. Don't even Redbox it.

Rent the last "Smackdown vs. Raw" game.

'Finally The Rock has come back to Wrestlemania'

It's no secret that I'm a big wrestling fan and that I'm in love with The Rock. So when he showed up on Monday Night Raw tonight and announced that he was the special host of Wrestlemania, it was like getting in a time machine and going back to when wrestling wasn't PG and long before we knew who Dwayne Johnson was.

He broke out the greatest hits and humiliated Michael Cole just like in the old days. It was classic Rock and in the words of Jim Ross, I hope some of those young wrestlers paid attention because that is how you entertain a crowd.

I have never missed a Wrestlemania and I've even been to two, but this announcement has made me seriously consider booking a flight to Atlanta.