WWE recaps and previews

If you’re here looking for links to a recap of this week’s Monday Night Raw or even a preview for this week’s Friday Night SmackDown, I’ve got some bad news for you, friend: It just ain’t happening this week.

Thing is, I’m on a trip to Japan visiting friends right now, so it’s just not feasible for me to do my regular wrestling writing stuff at the high quality that each and every one of you so richly deserve. Don’t worry though, because regular service will be resuming once I return laden with spices from my visit to the mysterious Orient. While I’ll miss the April 22 Raw, I’ll be ready to go for the April 26 SmackDown, so stay tuned!

Also, as a special treat, I’ll be writing up an All-Japan Pro Wrestling event I plan on attending in Tokyo on April 21, so keep your eyes peeled for that as well.

WWE Friday Night SmackDown Preview – March 23, 2012

Funk is on a roll!

So, folks hungry for a new “Straight Shoot” column are going to have to deal with their stomach rumblings for at least a little while longer, as I’m still working out the specifics of where that type of heavy wrestling criticism and analysis will land post-UGO (if you have a lead, feel free to get at me in the comments or on Twitter). But in the meantime, I’ve started up a BRAND-NEW weekly wrestling feature with the fine folks over at GuySpeed.com: A weekly SmackDown preview!

See,SmackDown, though it airs on Fridays, is pretty much always pretaped in front of a live audience on Tuesdays, so by Wednesday morning, the internet is full of reports from the event. Things always change a little, segments are sometimes edited out of the show and backstage pretapes aren’t always ready to roll by then, but in general, the show is pretty much done, and by looking at dirt sheet-based fan reports, you can get a pretty good idea of what’s going to happen on the program.

My weekly SmackDown previews are going to take a look at the top five reasons you should tune into the show each week, whether it’s a match you should see, a video package WWE will probably air or even a Funkasaurus sighting, as seen above. Obviously, SPOILER WARNINGS are in full-effect, but I don’t plan on revealing winners of matches unless it’s a major title change that you’ll want to tune in for. Similar to my Raw recap from earlier this week, this sucker is a work in progress, so please make sure to let me know if you’d like to see things done in a different manner. And of course, please, please, PLEASE leave comments over on GuySpeed.com and share the article through your social networks.

Enjoy this week’s SmackDown preview!

WWE Monday Night Raw recap – March 19, 2012

This week’s Raw recap is now live, but eagle-eyed readers will notice something very different about the piece: It’s firmly installed in its new home at GuySpeed.com. I’m going to be doing “Best of…”-style Raw recaps that go live every Tuesday morning, but as opposed to the larger, more expansive focus of the “Good, Bad & Ugly” series, I’ll instead be focusing on the six most important segments or moments from the show – the stuff you’ll want to be conversant in at the watercooler this week, assuming you work with a bunch of marks.

Also, starting this Thursday, we’ll also be running pieces for SmackDown. Since I started doing “Good, Bad & Ugly” for Raw, a lot of people have requested that I do the same for WWE’s Friday night show, but unfortunately, with the timing of it, with internet traffic dropping off over the weekend, and the newscycle having moved on by Monday, it just didn’t make sense. So, instead of a weekly review, we’ll be doing SmackDown previews, where I discuss the announced matches, dirt sheet reports and ongoing storylines, anticipating all the stuff you’ll see come Friday night.

All of this is a work in progress though, as GuySpeed’s audience is no doubt different from UGO’s, so please, let us know what you’d like to see from your internet wrestling writing. More detail and analysis? Less recap? Diva pictures to ogle? Whatever it is, tell us in the comments of this week’s recap. And of course, if you don’t already, please come follow me on Twitter – it’s the best place to keep up to date with my writing and projects across the web, and/or read snarky 140 character comments during your favorite wrestling shows.

WWE Monday Night Raw recap – March 19, 2012

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