And I’m back. It’s Day 2 of the most eclectic and infamous blog series going, the never duplicated and thank God for that, “Thirty Days of Dougie!”. It’s actually Monday afternoon as I’m starting to write this. Monday’s are busy days for me and if I want to get this up and posted early Tuesday morning, which I do, then I figured it’s probably better to get a slight head start… So I am. So far, today has been pretty uneventful and routine, although if that changes any between now and when I actually post this, I’ll let you know. I woke up, did my volunteer stuff for the Food Bank, took a nap, chilled a little best with my BFF / heterosexual life mate, and now am getting ready to go to work at the house of Fine Spirits known as the Alphabet Store (think about it). Then it will be home later tonight to watch Monday Night RAW. And I just had a brainstorm. I do believe that one of the topics for tonight may be “Raw Thoughts!”. Yeah, that sounds like a plan. We’ll keep it simple and direct. RAW thoughts and one more thing, for the non-wrestling fans out there to enjoy. Are there even any non-wrestling fans out there? Really? If there are, I’m sure they won’t be reading MY blog. But just in case one or two accidentially stumble upon my blogsite, at http://www.tossingsalt.wordpress.com, I need to do something for them too. I’m thoughtful like that.

My legs are so freakin’ sore. On Sunday afternoon, the “Jay” to my “Silent Bob” and his mini-me and I, decided to go walking around the local college, St. Andrews University. It’s a beautiful campus with lakes, ducks, bridges and some very attractive students of both genders. I used to party there with my friends and associates many years ago and have some fantastic memories of that place. But anyhow, we walked around from one end of the campus to the other for over three hours and it was incredible. But I forgot a couple of things. I’m old now. And fat. And my knees are bad. And now… it hurts. I’m paying the price for all of that walking, but it was such a great day, with two of my favorite people and I’d gladly do it again and again.

And the funny thing was that we kept seeing students and they would say hello to me and my bro was wondering and actually questioned why so many people seemed to know me there. Well, it’s the local college, most of the students are ages 20 – 25 years old and I work in the local liquor store. So why do all of these people seem to know me? Hmmmmmm? I swear though, if I was twenty-five years younger… damn, them are some sexy ass kids out there. All of that walking and all of that scenery, it brought back some great memories. A shout out to the Stoney Crew! Represent!!

And now, let’s see what the topics of the day will be. I’ve already decided on “Raw Thoughts” where I’ll give a brief rundown of WWE Monday Night RAW and discuss what I like, didn’t like, etc. And the other topic of the day will be… Where my Magic Box at? I’m reaching in and the other topic will be… drum roll please… “Party In A Box”. Oh yeah, this might be good. Are you ready? Let’s do this…

Thirty Days of Dougie! (Day 2): Raw Thoughts and Party In A Box…
February 21, 2017

Let’s start off with the term, “Party In A Box”. What the hell is that even supposed to mean? I have absolutely no idea. It must have come from a song title or lyric or something and caught my attention just enough to be added to the Magic Box, but I don’t know when, why, where or how. Some reporter I would be, right? I’ll just run with it though and use it to make a list. I like lists. Everyone likes lists, right? Well, just play along and say yes. If I was going to throw a major party, what would I need. What would have to be inside that big box of party goodies to make it all work. Let’s figure it out with a Top Ten List. Yes, it’s only my second day doing this and I’m already stealing a routine from David Letterman. Oh vey!

Top Ten Things You’d Find In A Party Box…

10. Alcohol and Adult Beverages
9. Food
8. Ric Flair at the Bar, telling stories and buying drinks for everyone.
7. A Mosh Pit
6. A pool / beach / jacuzzi.
5. All my Rowdy Friends and about Forty strangers I’ve never met before in my life, but they seem cool.
4.A live DJ playing all the sounds, alternating with the live band
3. Strippers.
2. Midgets in cowboy hats.
1. The A.P.A. operating as my private security force.

And as the great Baron Von Raschke would say, “Dat is all de’ people need to know!”

And now, prepare to get loud and sweaty because it’s time for some getting RAW, WWE style. It’s WWE Raw Thoughts…

Before I talk about the three hour extravaganza that was WWE Monday Night RAW, coming live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, I want to quickly touch upon something that happened after RAW went off the air. Dwayne Johnson, better known to the millions (and millions) of wrestling fans worldwide as “The Rock” came to the ring. Rock and WWE films are making a movie called “Fighting With My Family”, which is based on the life of WWE Superstar Paige and they wanted to film some scenes for the movie in front of the live audience. The scene that they were filming was recreating when Paige defeated former WWE Superstar / Diva AJ Lee to capture the WWE Divas Championship. Well, AJ Lee is married to a man named CM Punk, another former WWE Superstar who walked out of and left WWE in 2014 and has been involved in all sorts of bad blood and legal back-and-forth hoopla with the company ever since. Well, the fans in the crowd started cheering and chanting for Punk and calling out his name. So what does The Rock do? He pulls out his cell phone and calls up Punk live while standing in the middle of the WWE ring. You know that WWE management had to be happy about that… NOT! But Rock calls up Punk and the millions (and millions) of fans go nuts. Okay, there was only slightly over 15,000 fans in that arena, but when Rock called up Punk on his phone and Punk got to hear those fans chant his name. Only The Rock and possibly Steve Austin could get away with doing that, but it was a great gesture and moment for wrestling and the fans in that arena. And for Punk too. I hope that this moment possibly helps ease some of the bad blood between WWE and Punk, reminding both parties that there are things bigger than their personal differences. The fans want to see Punk back in the WWE and in a WWE ring. That’s pretty obvious. Both WWE and Punk are leaving a lot of money on the table and could set all sorts of records if they’d just sit down, be adults and talk out their differences. Could you imagine the reactions if CM Punk and AJ Lee were to show up ringside at Wrestlemania XXXIII? This might just be a one-time event with Rock being the Rock and just doing that call because of an impromptu decision or it may be more. Most likely the first, but let’s hope for the best. Rock has made the first move in attempting to bridge the divide between Punk and the WWE. Let’s hope that either one or the other decides to pick things up from there and move things even more forward. One can only hope.

And now, let’s move on to WWE Monday Night RAW and my thoughts of the show as it progressed.

We start off with a graphic for WWE Hall of Famer George “The Animal” Steele, who passed away earlier this weekend. No sign of anything for Chavo Guerrero Sr., Nicole Bass or Ivan Koloff yet. It’s been a rough week for WWE legends. Hopefully this will be the last deaths for a while. We also see a video with highlights from the “Festival of Friendship” from last week where Kevin Owens introduced his best friend to the “List of KO”. That was easily one of the best segments on a RAW for a long, long time. And here is the man himself, Kevin Owens.

Owens is in the ring and talk about Goldberg and his upcoming match at WWE Fastlane. The “Prize Fighter” is back and he’s cold, methodical, confident and this is exactly how KO should be booked and used. Owens is a total legit bad-ass to the extreme and so damn good right now. As for his thoughts about Chris Jericho, Owens just dops the mic and walks away. Great segment.

Enzo and Cass fight Sheamus and Cesaro in a tag match to determine who will face Gallows and Anderson for the tag team titles at Fastlane. Nothing really new or noteworthy here. A good match and both teams looked strong, but in the end, it was Enzo and Cass winning the match and getting that victory. They’re the new #1 Contenders. Enzo talks junk after the match and Sheamus delivers a kick to the face in response. I like both teams, but bleh…

Mick Foley and Kevin Owens speak in the back and Mick tells Owens that he’s wrestling Sami Zayn. Owens doesn’t really care and comments to Foley that he thought Mick like Sami and soon, there will be more wrestlers on the injured list than in the locker room. A video package of Braun Strowman and he looks like a monster. Hard to believe that he used to be one of Adam Rose’s “Rose Buds”, isn’t it. Even his days as a member of the Wyatt Family are just a faded memory. The WWE has done a great job of repackaging this man and making him into a true monster.

More Foley time as he deal with Roman Reigns. We’re seeing Strowman versus Big Show tonight in the main event and Foley has to warn Roman to stay out of the match. Here are Gallows and Anderon, the tag team champs and they’ve got some unfinished business with Roman from last week. Foley tells Roman to find a partner, but Roman doesn’t want one. So Foley books a handicap match with the tag team champs versus Roman for later in the night.

A match with the Cruiserweights as The Brian Kendrick takes on Akira Tozawa. Not really a match so much as just some story-building shenanigans. Kendrick wants a handshake, but Akira refuses. Tantrum and attack by Kendrick on the man he offered to mentor and it’s time for the Captain’s Hook. Kendrick puts back on his jacket and walks out. Lesson one is about respect. Crowd was dead for this segment which is sad because I thought it was a good start to making a story with these two talented guys. Crowd has been crapping all over the Cruiserweights quite a bit as of late anyhow. Hopefully, that’ll change cause these boys are good.

Roman takes on the tag champs. I hate matches like these. Anderson and Gallows dominate at first, but he of the Superman punch manages to hold his own and the tag team champs decide to bring a chair into the ring. Roman gets the chair and uses it to his own advantage, getting DQ’ed in the process. Anderson and Gallows win by DQ and Roman looks strong while they look like wimps because they couldn’t beat one man. Unless they’re fighting Andre the Giant or the Big Show, two men should always be able to beat one man. WWE is bad about doing this. At least Roman had to use a chair to stay alive (this time) so it’s not as bad as it was last week, but two men should always win… always.

The New Day announce that they will be hosting Wrestlemania XXXII, which means that they probably won’t be wrestling. This act is getting so stale so quickly. They also talk about ice cream which has been a major topic of discussion in the WWE ever since the day CM Punk mentioned ice cream bars during one of his pipebomb moments with Vince. The New Day are NOT CM Punk. That’s for sure. Lana, Rusev and Jinder Mahal come out and we have a boring segment that leads to a boring match. The New Day win. Big surprise, right? I’m definitely not feeling this right now.

A video tribute to George “The Animal” Steele and it’s awesome. Still nothing for Ivan Koloff, Nicole Bass or Chavo Sr. It’s to the ring to Austin Aries and a contract signing between WWE Cruiserweight Champion Neville and challenger Jack Gallagher for Fastlane. Gallagher signs the contract and says that he earned this shot because of his talent. Neville comes out and signs the contract and is ready to leave, but Gallagher offers him some tea and crumpets. Neville lambasts Gallagher for being a joke and playing up to all of the stereotypes of what a Britisher is for the idiots in the audience. They’re laughing at him and not with him, Neville says to Gallagher. Jack says he is a gentleman and then we have the mandatory brawl. Gallagher gets the best of Neville who flees the ring in frustration. Entertaining bit of action between two good characters. Gallagher reminds me of a mini-me version of a more polite (gentleman) version of Lord Steven Regal from the WCW days. What stereotype? I don’t see it… lol.

Nia Jax kills a jobber girl. I could care less because the Nia Jax character, who sounds remarkably like Chyna did, does absolutely nothing for me. She’s boring and somewhat clumsy in that ring. Awesome Kong, aka Kharma, would kick her ass!

And here comes Bayley on her way to the ring. She’s hugging. Bayley comes out to talk to the fans and celebrate her victory from last week to become the RAW Women’s Champion. Blah! Blah! Blah! Here comes Stephanie McMahon and she goes into bitch-mode, telling Bayley that she didn’t “earn” the Women’s Championship and her victory was tainted and she should give up the title. More Blah! Sasha comes out and sticks up for Bayley, who looks ready to hand that title over to Stephanie. Steph stirs the pot as to what Sasha’s motives might be. Bayley grows a pair and she’s keeping her title. Charlotte comes out and I am so damn bored and barely paying attention at this point. It’s Bayley versus Charlotte for the belt at the pay-per-view and it’s Charlotte versus Sasha right now. Too much talking and this went on way too long. It’s just like the adults in the old Peanuts / Charlie Brown cartoons. “Wa wa wa wa wa!”. A decent match with Charlotte and Sasha. Dana Brooke comes out and tries to get involved, but Bayley cuts her off. Sasha wins with the Bank Statement.

Diamond Dallas Page is going into the WWE Hall of Fame. Yay!

An interview with Sami Zayn and I’m starting to zone out badly. He warned everyone about Kevin Owens five months ago. He calls Kevin Owens and Samoa Joe selfish people who will do almost anything and talks about kicking Owens’ teeth out. And then it’s to the ring for a match as Zayn takes on the Universal Champion, Kevin Owens. Owens is waiting in the ring as Zayn comes down. Here is the ambush and attack by Samoa Joe and he beats the holy hell out of Zayn. I just woke back up. Zayn insists that he can still wrestle Owens and it’s short and sweet as Owens dominates the match and quickly puts an end to Sami Zayn. Owens was the perfect heel here. I’m really liking this.

We see a graphic air in memory of Ivan Koloff. A graphic? That’s it? Still better than nothing. Rest In Peace, Uncle Ivan…

Stephanie and Mick Foley have a backstage moment and Steph questions where Mick was earlier when she was confronting Bayley. Mick finally grows a set and gets in Steph’s face before walking off. So long, Mr. Foley. It’s been nice knowing you.

We have a backstage interview as Michael Cole talks to Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar. Paul talks great, Brock looks like a pissed off monster and Cole doesn’t stick around long. Heyman talks about Kevin Owens and Goldberg and what might possibly happen at Fastlane when they compete for Owens’ Universal Championship. And then it’s about what might happen if Goldberg manages to walk into Wrestlemania as the champion. Just another thing for his client to conquer.

And now to the ring for the main event as Big Show fights Braun Strowman. These guys put on one helluva match. It was back and forth, believable, and some damn good work by both men. Big Show looked like King Kong and Strowman played the role of Godzilla perfectly. Monster versus Monster and stayed entertaining and exciting from bell to bell. Strowman won, as he should, but Big Show looked great too and wasn’t hurt by the loss at all. Great main event for the night.

And finally, here comes Roman Reigns to the ring. He wants Braun Strowman. He gets him, but it takes several of the vintage “Superman punches” to put Strowman down and he doesn’t stay down long. Running slam by Braun and Roman is left laid out in the ring. Now that is how to book a monster.

And that’s RAW for the night. A good show that dragged in parts with too much talky-talky. I’m looking at the Bayley / Steph segment mainly, but there were a few moments there. And a few great moments with Owens’ promo at the start, the Heyman / Brock spot and that main event. Big Show versus Braun Strowman and it blew the roof off the place. Just wow!

And with that, I’m closing up this bad mama-jama. It’s nearly 5:30 in the AM and I want / need sleep. Thanks for reading and I’ll be back tomorrow with Part 3 of the all new, all not-so-different “Thirty Days of Dougie!”. I need a cup of orange juice. I love ya – mean it! Catch you tomorrow.

Ubuntu!