Reigns has not taken a step foward for me despite his win at Fast Lane. He's doesn't have the resume or any proof that he can carry a match. Bryan lead him around well and made him look good, but Brock will not do the same thing.
For those who think the crowd is softening on him I saw you are crazy. He can't even get a bigger pop that Mizdow right now? He's being booed constantly. During the Fast Lane match it was audible booing on Reigns while Bryan got the Yes chants. Post match WWE muted the freaking crowd! They also didn't give you much in the way of crowd shots because no one was all that excited. Watch the TLC match where Dolph wins the IC belt back. That's a freaking pop.
I don't consider Dolph to be all that great, but I think he could be, yet he shouldn't be getting a better pop than the top baby face in the company! Reigns is still getting some boos! That's a bad sign. The last guy this happened too was John Cena and that era was pretty flat and never rose to the level of an Austin, Rock or Foley.
I just take major issue with getting behind a guy who can't even get a face pop in his early run. HHH plays it up to it's hard to be a face these days. I think he has it backwards. It's hard to get a heel over. They just keep wanting to push the wrong faces and blame it on the fans when it doesn't work.
For those people that want to give HHH so much credit for NXT. I want to point out that he is the head of creative (listed title right now) and talent relations of WWE. I believe Vince makes all the major calls, but I have to believe HHH has some influence. He could probably shape at least one or two mid card angles.
As I've stated before I think he's purposely trying to let Vince take a ton of heat to the point where there is an outcry from fans that HHH should at least really make the calls. Then Vince can step aside gracefully while HHH, who has gotten all that NXT praise, can slide in. This is better than Vince dropping dead as general public still feels it's Vince in charge or that company is done.
If that's not the case then legit HHH either wants to see him fail or has zero sense for the business because he would have done something to make these angles work and be more believable
In any event I'm not on Team Reigns at this time. I'm of the belief that he still has a lot to prove and this booking is wrong. If I was Brock I would refuse to drop the strap to him at WM31 because Brock has done way more in the past two years than Reigns could ever hope. The circumstances just don't even out. It's not as they say "money".
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Monday, February 23, 2015
WWE Fastlane Hits Some Speed Bumps
I was not happy with Fastlane on a whole last night. I could do a blow by blow of the many poor decisions. How the obvious lack of build hurt the Rhodes match. How Ziggler should never be pinned by Kane. How I legit fell asleep during the Cena match. I will take a pass on a blow by blow review and instead choose to focus on the the two things that really took the show to the pits for me and the one thing I thought was well done.
Side note. Many people ripped the crowd in Memphis for being flat. I found them to be muted, which is a great representation of how the WWE fanbase feels these days, muted. Also, all the crowds have been strange since the forced return of the Authority. There is a general lack of passion for the product at this time. WWE can ignore it all they want, but that's what it is.
For me this PPV had all the makings of what I like to call a trap PPV. One that looks good on paper and probably should play out fine even if rooting interests lose. Then when I watch it and it's executed very poorly I realize the WWE has trapped me again. I can't tell you how many times WWE has done this to me over the years.
One really bad takeaway from this PPV was the Sting segment. This was something you could hardly mess up. It would take some effort to have this sequence come across as bad. Yet, WWE found a way to get there. To me the match is a foregone conclusion. Everyone knows it's going to happen. What we all wanted to hear was Sting speak.
Now I realize for WWE you don't give everything away all at once. You don't make the match and then have Sting speak all in one night. The WWE often, and annoyingly, gets these situations wrong. Sting should speak first. Then later on Raw set a match for WM31 with Hunter. Why? Because we need to establish why Sting has a beef with HHH. Otherwise we are lead to believe it's really because of WCW being put out of business, which is beyond stupid.
If WWE were smart Sting would have hit the ring grabbed the mic and the crowd, as dead as they were, would have popped. He could explain to HHH that he doesn't live in the past, but from what he remembers WCW put itself out of business. Sting is here because he's trying to make sure that HHH doesn't put the WWE out of business. He's watched the actions of HHH as he's held down stars like Ziggler, Bryan, and Cena over the past two years and it reminds him of abuse of power. The same type of thing he saw in WCW.
This all should work with fans because WWE has made a huge deal about their Monday Night Wars show and how WCW really fell apart. So all the pieces should fit in nicely. Sting should state that he is here to take down the Authority and return the WWE to being a place where people get rewarded for the their fighting spirit. The fans would pop. HHH would go angry heel about how he is the WWE the fans would eat it up more and they would scuffle. I probably have HHH go for the sledge and Sting go for the bat, but don't actually have them do what they did.
I instead have HHH back out with his sledge and say another time. This allows HHH to cut a promo where he challenges Sting to a match at WM31 on Raw. Then Sting can accept under the Stipulation that the loser sort of leaves town.
Instead the WWE went bland. We have a match that we really don't have the reason for yet. Sting hasn't talked in the 4 months that he has been around and with the match already made everything will seem a bit dry from here. I guess WWE can fix it all by adding the stipulation after Sting talks in the coming weeks. I like slow burns, but this is ridiculous. If they really play he's defending the pride of WCW, my god.
The other major drop off for me was the main event. It was a solid match, but once Bryan hit the knee and Reigns kicked out I was sold on the fact that he would go for another one and get speared. That's ok, but they could have done a little better. I would have Bryan kick out of the Spear, but have Reigns land another one to get the win, so it feels really earned.
Here's my issues. First and foremost Bryan is not an aging star passing the torch to the next guy. Bryan was barely the guy and they are only a few years apart in age. Bryan did this to himself because it's well documented that he doesn't fight for himself backstage. He's happy to go with the flow. That's why WWE doesn't mind burying him at every turn.
The truth is Bryan is way more over than Reigns. Bryan is a believable superstar and Reigns is a guy that's still very green. The only reason Bryan would get booed is because WWE had him execute promo's to make the crowd react adversely to him. Last night Bryan worked that match as a heel to help Reigns look more like the big time face, but the crowd ignored it.
Reigns is so far beyond not ready that the mere suggestion that this guy could hang with Lesnar is laughable. If they really put Reigns over Lesnar at WM31 they are kidding themselves. I don't think they should worry about fans canceling the network, but instead fans losing interest in the product all together. Cena has been slapped on down everyone's thoughts for years. No disrespect to his work ethic, but he can't elicit a positive crowd response.
Now we are going to take a guy who's really bad on the mic to this point and have him go over a guy that has the best manager in the business and a track record of success the past year that is off the charts? Lesnar will be the babyface and get audible support from the crowd. It's just the way it is. That's not a good thing for anyone or the WWE.
Also, the match will not deliver. How can it? Reigns is limited and Lesnar is a spot guy that works really well off other good workers. Remember the 16 german suplexes Lesnar gave Cena? That's because Lesnar doesn't have that creative of a move base himself so they went for same move over and over. So now you match him with a guy the fans are down on who is also limited and think it's going to have the crowd excited?
It's like common sense has left the WWE. I know they think Reigns can be this huge star and many pundits are even supportive of that for the future, but I really believe he's not the guy everyone thinks he is. He's got some great ring speed and a good look, but beyond that he's an unfinished product and WWE needs to realize this. Hogan made up for his limited move set with Charisma and good match story telling. Reigns doesn't demonstrate that he can do anything more, but take direction from Daniel Bryan really well.
It's not a knock on Reigns the person, but his character which is months, maybe years, from being ready to lead this company. A knock on him personally is the lack of humility and knowledge he demonstrated on the Sam Roberts show a few weeks back. The one where he claimed to have invented everything and that he's going to be richer than you and me. If he's not even ready for softball media how can he be ready for it all?
The Reigns project is going to bomb and it's not going to be because of a hashtag about canceling the network. The formula for failure is simple. John Cena came into the WWE and became the new face of the company. Instead of addressing the mix crowd reactions to him the WWE had him pretend like they weren't important. So for years the fans continued to boo. The ratings of the main shows hit a steady point and were down from the Attitude Era. Only when CM Punk cut his promo and got hot for WWE did things change.
With Reigns expect the same mixed crowd reactions. Just like Cena many fans will tune out and I expect ratings on the TV shows to drop. As they do subscriptions will go flat. I just see people losing interest because they don't have a passion for a guy that was thrust on to them as being centrally important over other guys that appeared to be working much harder. Your basically telling people that looks, and family ties get you ahead. Hard work doesn't. Is that really a message that works?
Lastly and possibly most shamefully the WWE did something that I thought demonstrated a new low. They played with the crowd noise during the main event. When Bryan was introduced his Yes chant was not very audible. Even if the crowd was split I thought it would be louder than that. During the match the chants were strong. At the close there was a positive pop for Reigns, but it went away quickly. I think the cheers were piped in by WWE. They flashed to one happy fan and a wide shot of a few fans reacting positively while some were leaving. You heard boos when they did the handshake, but otherwise you heard nothing.
Here's why. The WWE drained out the negative crowd reaction to Reigns at the end of the match. They are trying to control their crowd. They muted the fans. That really got under my skin. Is that really where they are at? Do they not get that it's not just smart fans who upset about this Reigns push? That it's a majority of fans that feel it's not organic and rushed. That many actually want the Bryan story to shine through?
There in lies the problem. Good booking is all about eliciting reactions from the fans. When they don't go for it you try something different. When Kevin Nash bombed as champ of WWE they went another direction. When fans chanted for Stone Cold over Brett they went another direction. When fans wanted Bryan last year they went another direction. Apparently now WWE is tired of doing that.
This PPV, while free for some, was a trap PPV. It only served to further make me treat WWE main roster product as a DVR material that I can quickly fast forward through.
The one bright spot was the tag title match where Kidd and Cesaro won. Two really talented guys getting a much deserved win. Yet, would it be too much to ask for them to have a some of that mic time HHH wasted for 30 minutes at the start of each show?
Thumbs way down WWE.
Side note. Many people ripped the crowd in Memphis for being flat. I found them to be muted, which is a great representation of how the WWE fanbase feels these days, muted. Also, all the crowds have been strange since the forced return of the Authority. There is a general lack of passion for the product at this time. WWE can ignore it all they want, but that's what it is.
For me this PPV had all the makings of what I like to call a trap PPV. One that looks good on paper and probably should play out fine even if rooting interests lose. Then when I watch it and it's executed very poorly I realize the WWE has trapped me again. I can't tell you how many times WWE has done this to me over the years.
One really bad takeaway from this PPV was the Sting segment. This was something you could hardly mess up. It would take some effort to have this sequence come across as bad. Yet, WWE found a way to get there. To me the match is a foregone conclusion. Everyone knows it's going to happen. What we all wanted to hear was Sting speak.
Now I realize for WWE you don't give everything away all at once. You don't make the match and then have Sting speak all in one night. The WWE often, and annoyingly, gets these situations wrong. Sting should speak first. Then later on Raw set a match for WM31 with Hunter. Why? Because we need to establish why Sting has a beef with HHH. Otherwise we are lead to believe it's really because of WCW being put out of business, which is beyond stupid.
If WWE were smart Sting would have hit the ring grabbed the mic and the crowd, as dead as they were, would have popped. He could explain to HHH that he doesn't live in the past, but from what he remembers WCW put itself out of business. Sting is here because he's trying to make sure that HHH doesn't put the WWE out of business. He's watched the actions of HHH as he's held down stars like Ziggler, Bryan, and Cena over the past two years and it reminds him of abuse of power. The same type of thing he saw in WCW.
This all should work with fans because WWE has made a huge deal about their Monday Night Wars show and how WCW really fell apart. So all the pieces should fit in nicely. Sting should state that he is here to take down the Authority and return the WWE to being a place where people get rewarded for the their fighting spirit. The fans would pop. HHH would go angry heel about how he is the WWE the fans would eat it up more and they would scuffle. I probably have HHH go for the sledge and Sting go for the bat, but don't actually have them do what they did.
I instead have HHH back out with his sledge and say another time. This allows HHH to cut a promo where he challenges Sting to a match at WM31 on Raw. Then Sting can accept under the Stipulation that the loser sort of leaves town.
Instead the WWE went bland. We have a match that we really don't have the reason for yet. Sting hasn't talked in the 4 months that he has been around and with the match already made everything will seem a bit dry from here. I guess WWE can fix it all by adding the stipulation after Sting talks in the coming weeks. I like slow burns, but this is ridiculous. If they really play he's defending the pride of WCW, my god.
The other major drop off for me was the main event. It was a solid match, but once Bryan hit the knee and Reigns kicked out I was sold on the fact that he would go for another one and get speared. That's ok, but they could have done a little better. I would have Bryan kick out of the Spear, but have Reigns land another one to get the win, so it feels really earned.
Here's my issues. First and foremost Bryan is not an aging star passing the torch to the next guy. Bryan was barely the guy and they are only a few years apart in age. Bryan did this to himself because it's well documented that he doesn't fight for himself backstage. He's happy to go with the flow. That's why WWE doesn't mind burying him at every turn.
The truth is Bryan is way more over than Reigns. Bryan is a believable superstar and Reigns is a guy that's still very green. The only reason Bryan would get booed is because WWE had him execute promo's to make the crowd react adversely to him. Last night Bryan worked that match as a heel to help Reigns look more like the big time face, but the crowd ignored it.
Reigns is so far beyond not ready that the mere suggestion that this guy could hang with Lesnar is laughable. If they really put Reigns over Lesnar at WM31 they are kidding themselves. I don't think they should worry about fans canceling the network, but instead fans losing interest in the product all together. Cena has been slapped on down everyone's thoughts for years. No disrespect to his work ethic, but he can't elicit a positive crowd response.
Now we are going to take a guy who's really bad on the mic to this point and have him go over a guy that has the best manager in the business and a track record of success the past year that is off the charts? Lesnar will be the babyface and get audible support from the crowd. It's just the way it is. That's not a good thing for anyone or the WWE.
Also, the match will not deliver. How can it? Reigns is limited and Lesnar is a spot guy that works really well off other good workers. Remember the 16 german suplexes Lesnar gave Cena? That's because Lesnar doesn't have that creative of a move base himself so they went for same move over and over. So now you match him with a guy the fans are down on who is also limited and think it's going to have the crowd excited?
It's like common sense has left the WWE. I know they think Reigns can be this huge star and many pundits are even supportive of that for the future, but I really believe he's not the guy everyone thinks he is. He's got some great ring speed and a good look, but beyond that he's an unfinished product and WWE needs to realize this. Hogan made up for his limited move set with Charisma and good match story telling. Reigns doesn't demonstrate that he can do anything more, but take direction from Daniel Bryan really well.
It's not a knock on Reigns the person, but his character which is months, maybe years, from being ready to lead this company. A knock on him personally is the lack of humility and knowledge he demonstrated on the Sam Roberts show a few weeks back. The one where he claimed to have invented everything and that he's going to be richer than you and me. If he's not even ready for softball media how can he be ready for it all?
The Reigns project is going to bomb and it's not going to be because of a hashtag about canceling the network. The formula for failure is simple. John Cena came into the WWE and became the new face of the company. Instead of addressing the mix crowd reactions to him the WWE had him pretend like they weren't important. So for years the fans continued to boo. The ratings of the main shows hit a steady point and were down from the Attitude Era. Only when CM Punk cut his promo and got hot for WWE did things change.
With Reigns expect the same mixed crowd reactions. Just like Cena many fans will tune out and I expect ratings on the TV shows to drop. As they do subscriptions will go flat. I just see people losing interest because they don't have a passion for a guy that was thrust on to them as being centrally important over other guys that appeared to be working much harder. Your basically telling people that looks, and family ties get you ahead. Hard work doesn't. Is that really a message that works?
Lastly and possibly most shamefully the WWE did something that I thought demonstrated a new low. They played with the crowd noise during the main event. When Bryan was introduced his Yes chant was not very audible. Even if the crowd was split I thought it would be louder than that. During the match the chants were strong. At the close there was a positive pop for Reigns, but it went away quickly. I think the cheers were piped in by WWE. They flashed to one happy fan and a wide shot of a few fans reacting positively while some were leaving. You heard boos when they did the handshake, but otherwise you heard nothing.
Here's why. The WWE drained out the negative crowd reaction to Reigns at the end of the match. They are trying to control their crowd. They muted the fans. That really got under my skin. Is that really where they are at? Do they not get that it's not just smart fans who upset about this Reigns push? That it's a majority of fans that feel it's not organic and rushed. That many actually want the Bryan story to shine through?
There in lies the problem. Good booking is all about eliciting reactions from the fans. When they don't go for it you try something different. When Kevin Nash bombed as champ of WWE they went another direction. When fans chanted for Stone Cold over Brett they went another direction. When fans wanted Bryan last year they went another direction. Apparently now WWE is tired of doing that.
This PPV, while free for some, was a trap PPV. It only served to further make me treat WWE main roster product as a DVR material that I can quickly fast forward through.
The one bright spot was the tag title match where Kidd and Cesaro won. Two really talented guys getting a much deserved win. Yet, would it be too much to ask for them to have a some of that mic time HHH wasted for 30 minutes at the start of each show?
Thumbs way down WWE.
Thursday, February 19, 2015
Must See Wednesday's Continues
I've been away from the column for longer than I should so lots to share today. NXT kicks off the Kevin Owens era the right way and Lucha Underground continues to blow the doors off. I've also got some thoughts on Reigns/Bryan, Samoa Joe, and more.
Lucha Underground delivered another stellar show last night, but for the first time I have a minor criticism. The matches on a whole were very short and I think we only got bell to bell about 15 minutes of in ring action out of a roughly 45 minute show. I was ok with it for two reasons. Each match had a reason for it's length as I will get too and the backstage vignettes that ate up the show were off the charts good.
Our opening match between and Mil and Chavo has some heat, but it's hard to get to excited considering they are both heels. The finish saw Catrina distract Mil while Chavo used a chair on him to no avail. Some might be upset that Chavo got DQ'd and it was a dusty finish, but really it doesn't matter. They were just setting up the Fenix stuff. The Mil Catrina interaction before Fenix made the save was really well done. I don't trust that Catrina is actually leaving Mil and I think that's the long term play, but do they really need to trap Fenix? He doesn't hold the title or anything they can take from him. They could just beat him in a match.
Not knowing the answer to that question keeps me intrigued by this angle. That's where I have to give Lucha so much credit. Each week they are pushing something new that will make you watch next week.
Dario puts over the crew and has them booked against Pimpy, the little guy, and Sexy Star. Dario is beyond good. Any Dario time is time well spent on this show. It's pretty obvious Big Ryck will be returning during that match.
Ivelesse takes on Angelico. Ivelesse has great confidence on the mic and her baddest bitch in the building line is pretty cool. Soon they will have to aim her against Sexy Star in a feud that matters because that would probably be pretty good. Angelico is a total star. I thought he was kind of just some guy when he debuted, but the guy looks like a taller Dean Ambrose that can actually do even more. He also worked the mic post match with great confidence and didn't take the loss to heart at all.
I want to point out how that is excellent booking. You put a female over a male, but you let the male get the last laugh and not just act dejected by losing. I hope the WWE is taking notes.
The Black Lotus eventually finds that caged up guy and then gets a bag put over her head. This played out over a few segments. When it was over I was like man I want to know who this guy is. I want to see where this goes. I'm thinking they are going to use the Great Khali in this role because I can't think of a more imposing huge guy, but hopefully they surprise me. Dario's key to that cage the guy is in is more over than the Authority right now.
Dario and Cage have an interaction where Cage gets a non-title match with Puma next week. That's probably the second best match Lucha can book and we are getting it for the second time. Again they are giving you a simple reason to watch next week and it's not happening in the last five minutes of the show. Chavo also came to Dario's office, and quit the company. I think this is not the end of Chavo, but a way to give him a new direction.
Texano takes on Superfly. Before the match gets underway they show an interview with Texano and give you some back story on him and his feud with Alberto. Well done here as you feel more connected with this guy and why he hates Alberto. This guy is the classic looking wrestling villain. He reminds me of Stan Hansen. The difference is he wrestles a modern style and does it very well. The Alberto attack post match is no surprise and they sent the crew out there to break them up before Alberto go too much the best of him. Very well done. Texano is built up very well here. Alberto radiates charisma that WWE never tapped into.
Just a quick aside. It's pretty clear to me that WWE looked at Del Rio and thought heel rich Mexican guy. They made very little effort to be creative with him. I thought Del Rio pulled the gimmick off well, but it also boxed him in. Just more poor booking by WWE.
Our main event is the six man tag. The crew dispatch Pimpy and the little guy quickly and are set to pound out Sexy Star. She fights them off for a time, which was good. At a point I forgot she was a female it was so convincing. Eventually the numbers game starts to catch up to her, but Big Ryck enters the Temple, which allows Sexy to get the well placed (for once) distraction roll up for the upset win. The Crew scurry away.
Very solid show. I was entertained the whole time. Lucha continues to prove that you don't have to have a show that features the champion every week or pushes that story line to open and close the show. Cage was on for under 2 minutes to setup his match with Puma. That was in the middle of the show. This focus on other things raises the quality of everything that is happening on the show. Remember these guys have five times less air time than WWE does right now.
Lucha is not putting all their eggs in one basket. Puma has not been on the show in three weeks. He's like the Brock Lesnar of Lucha...lol. That being said it keeps him fresh just like it keeps everyone else fresh on this roster.
What they are doing is really investing you in multiple angles. It's not just about the title or Dario. It's about an interesting story that sets up a match that delivers a pay off. This show is money right now and I'm looking for to next week.
NXT returned to the airwaves for the first time since the big title change. I had some spoilers on this show, so I knew what was coming, but not everything and thankfully I knew nothing about that main event. Again a minor criticism that could become a bigger issue for them if not addressed. Some of the promo's on the show were lacking big time.
A word on promo's. I think the proper way for a promo to be cut is around talking points. I don't mean minimal ones like tell the crowd how much you hate Seth Rollins. I think they need to be creative thoughts that give the talent a direction and a few lines they can create out of an idea. The Finn Balor promo was dreadful. Here's a guy capable of so much more, but he's so used to being a heel and hasn't been established as a face on the mic he really has nothing creative to say.
You can tell that Finn was not comfortable and so the promo didn't establish much. It's got to be more and it should be happening in the ring and not back stage when your talking to the new #1 contender. Allow him to get comfortable in front of the bright lights.
Rhyno debuted and then teased something between him and Balor. A lot of guys have been solo acts in NXT so far. Adding Rhyno to a Kevin Owens crew would not be a bad idea. That hasn't been the MO of NXT, but I don't think it's a bad direction at all.
An aside here. The rumor is Samoa Joe is possibly going to get a tryout in NXT. Why he would need to try out is beyond me. I think HHH has to know what he's getting at this point as the guy is on TV every week and decide whether he can do anything or not. Brian Kendrick also will be returning. I think what HHH is doing by bringing in these guys is building a foundation of guys that don't have to go main roster, but can help him fill the gaps.
NXT's problem is that they are trying to develop talent. They can't feed everyone jobbers, but they also can't make everyone a .500 wrestlers. The tag match last night demonstrated that. The Vaudevillians have a good gimmick, but they wanted to put Enzo and Cass over. That's fine, but the Villians take their third TV loss in a row. They have done nothing, but be very good, but when you beat them all the time they heat comes off of them.
By adding in guys that they don't have to necessarily worry about putting over, but who are also great workers HHH is filling in the gaps. He can make great matches with all three guys. Specifically Joe and Kendrick are capable of great in ring work. I'm not saying they should be glorified jobbers, but you can use them with less concern about the outcome. This helps protect guys like the Villains from having to put over Enzo. (BTW, I'm not saying that Kendrick and Joe would have put over Enzo last night just guys along those lines. Good in ring workers that are not going to move up in theory.)
I suggested a few years back that WWE should bring in middling talents that are great in ring workers off the indy scene and out of TNA. Guys that never have to cut promo's or be over, but can sell and put on compelling matches. That way almost no pushed talent ever has to lose on Raw or Smackdown in anything less than a main event. By doing this you preserve the top workers to only lose on PPV, so the match out comes are harder to figure out and the PPV's have more value. The TV shows still have great in ring quality.
This is how WWE used to function. Only PPV's and specials actually featured matches where top guys lost. The difference being though that they used jobbers to put guys over. Fans are passed squash jobber. That's why you have to bring in good mechanics. They sort of use R Truth in this roll. In my opinion you need a lot of them so that they aren't losing on TV every week and you can mix it up. There's a place for these guys in today's 5 hour a week WWE.
Some would say this strategy is flawed because of the predictable outcomes, but I counter that with even the way the show is booked now with top talents constantly battling it's pretty clear who's coming out on top unless they are going to get screwed in each match. If you give good match quality and let guys get their moves in and look good more often then you would have a better overall product.
So, I hope HHH is following this game plan for NXT. That way he can keep guys hotter, and he's building around guys that can help his up and coming talents. If he does bring Joe I say put him with Owens as well. Rhyno and Joe could be the two hired guns that roadblock Zayn from Owens and make the chase even better.
For all the bad promo's cut on the show CJ Parker did an excellent job of showing that he's developing well on the mic. Yet, he was squashed by the debuting Solomon Crowe. I get that Parker's gimmick is not that great, but he's a good worker and can work the mic. Find him a new gimmick and stop making him the squash guy.
Crowe is a live wire. I know he can work. I would have thought you could have allowed him to have a bit more mic time to establish his character, but he was impressive.
The Banks promo was one that I found lacking. It didn't establish anything and the match she had was scary main roster style short. They didn't establish the next feud for her, which seemed odd. Bayley and Lynch established they were going to take on each other, but again very bland promos.
Enzo and Cass got the win over the Villains and apparently Blake and Murphy went heel. As stated earlier I hated that the Villains had to lose, but I liked the direction of this fresh feud. Enzo and Cass could probably get that intro over in the main roster, but they couldn't get beat every other week and stay hot...sorry had to say it.
Our main event was a non-title match between Owens and Neville. It was pretty clear that Owens was going over, but this match was a display of a couple of things. One that Owens and Neville are masters of knowing how to work a match that keeps the crowd on the edge of their seat. Owens is absolutely a massive star and this match helped him get even more established. Both guys are probably better than 95% of the main roster right now.
This match had an indy feel to it. I'm not sure if that is good or bad, but it didn't feel like a match where they were going through the motions like you often see in a big Raw main event. They did new things and Owens was allowed to show heel fighting spirit by kicking out of some crazy spots.
Dare I say that I enjoyed that match as much as the Zayn one? I think it's time Neville moved up.and hope Owens doesn't stay too long as well...or maybe I hope they both stay.
I think WWE has to consider building NXT into a bigger thing. Stop talking like it's developmental and start acting like it's a brand. For now it is exclusive on WWE Network, which obviously doesn't allow everyone to see it (I realize it's on Hulu as well), but I think I would look to replace Smackdown with NXT eventually. How do you do this and not piss off the execs at Syfy?
Simple. Have the next Takeover special be a live two hour event on Syfy. Just say airing in the place of Smackdown is NXT for this week only. See how it goes. Maybe do it once a month. If the ratings start popping and reaction is good you convince Syfy that it will now be NXT Smackdown. If it doesn't work then you just stay the course with regular old Smackdown and keep NXT small and on the network.
If it did get over you have to do it right and keep running it the same way it has been. Many might claim that you are adding that extra hour and that might put too much strain on the product, but because it's regular TV the commercials would eat into the time. So you would probably only be adding 30 minutes. The commercials on WWE network are only taking away 10 minutes a week tops.
Also, it would allow some matches and segments to stretch a little. If it worked it would be a huge win win for WWE. You could would slice 2 hours of main roster TV time, which would probably make the 3 hour Raw's a lot easier to book. If you gave NXT 6 specials a year then every two months then you are giving people 6 more reasons to subscribe. Especially the new fans that would logically start watching with the show on regular TV.
Also, with NXT I would start booking small Arena's for the Takeover events. Similar to how ECW did PPV back in the day. 3 or 4 thousand max. I probably would keep the regular show to Full Sail, but those bigger events should get a little big crowd. A big secret to NXT is the Full Sail smart crowd. If they continue to put people over then viewership would better accept characters. Adam Rose would have been over in Raw if NXT was a show more people could watch. Instead fans were confused by the gimmick that never got fully explained or allowed to breathe. WWE basically said hey you should like this because of the weak vignettes we showed you and it bombed.
I think NXT could become that second brand that WWE tried to develop with Smackdown years back. It would probably work better this time because you are presenting a different product altogether that is being directed by different people, but you have that WWE production quality. A big reason for the Heyman success with Smackdown was that he developed a different product from Raw.
I want to close this column with my thoughts on Reigns/Bryan. I may not have a chance to share my thoughts before the PPV, so I want to get some stuff out there. I was looking forward to this match for weeks. I didn't buy into the belief that many experts had that Reigns was going over. I think WWE wanted to feel out that decision over the past few weeks.
They have basically pushed both guys more heel than face. I think they are trying to gauge how the fans feel about that. Also, it's not what you would expect, which is typical WWE. Do something that is different from what they normally do. That doesn't often go well.
I think it's a big waste. I think I would have played this to be a face face situation all the way until that last Raw where they could have had the same blow up. I wouldn't have done things that hurt Bryan or Reigns in the eyes of some fans. If they would have stayed face face with this and had these guys get along until they had a mishap in the ring to set them off then fans might have better accepted a Reigns clean win and gotten off his case.
I think WWE will put Reigns over Bryan or setup a triple threat match at Mania. I think that both are huge mistakes. I think that the Bryan fans will eat Reigns up for the entire run up to WM31 and during the match itself, which is problematic. I also don't have any faith Reigns and Brock can pull off an entertaining match especially if it leaks that Brock is leaving. You will have WM20 all over again with Brock.
If they go triple threat it feels like a vain attempt to appease fans. It saves the match quality, but it's not the epic match we all want. That would also require some kind of a dusty finish at Fastlane, which won't endear them to anyone. I say go clean or go home. They just had Brock in a triple threat and it renders the last few weeks as just a big swerve. I would have rather they made it a triple threat match already and just said the last one was so good let's put out another.
You could go this direction. Brock is pissed it's another triple threat, so he tells HHH that he's leaving the company post WM31 and he's taking the belt with him. That gets some of the hate off Brock for leaving if he is. That's how they could have used that appearance they wasted a few weeks back. The Fastlane main event could still be Bryan and Reigns in a grudge match. For those who say who cares about that I say the freaking PPV is free this month so WWE isn't obligated to go all out. They simply need to hype WM31 main event with it.
They missed their chance and now they have major pressure on themselves for this weekend.
Here's what I would do at Fastlane, but knowing WWE it likely won't happen. I would have Bryan go over clean against Reigns at Fastlane. Post match Bryan goes for the code of honor handshake. Reigns attacks him. He rips off the flack jacket, which he needs to stop wearing, and goes to town on Bryan. Reigns is established as a super heel. Bryan is out injured and misses the Raw the next night.
Reigns goes heel the next night and Ambrose tries to reason with him. He gets attacked by Reigns as well. In the coming weeks Rollins tries to befriend Reigns again, but finds that Reigns wants no part of his friendship, but does want his briefcase. He accuses Rollins of being a coward and never cashing in because he was afraid of Lesnar. He gets him to put the case on the line at WM31. Rollins ego allows him to agree. Later Ambrose returns and gets involved in the match as well. All the Shield marks get a logical reason why the Shield will meet at WM31 in a triple threat and Reigns wins.
Bryan returns to Raw and highlights that he was really banged up by the Reigns attack. He is not cleared to wrestle yet. Lesnar and Heyman pounce and talk up Bryan's frailty. That's played up for weeks instead of the typical you attack me I attack you BS they love to do. Bryan promises he will be at WM31 whether he's 100% of not. The stuff writes itself, but Bryan becomes an even bigger underdog.
Bryan goes over at WM31 in the best match of his career. Think Angle Lesnar WM19 for those who don't think it could happen. Reigns comes out post match, but due to an injury he suffered earlier in the night he will not cash in. The show ends with a stare down between the new champ and Reigns. This is ok because the previous year Bryan really got that celebration moment. Cole says I think we are looking at the future of WWE.
I'll save where I go from there for another time, but I think that's the biggest money WWE can draw. That helps Reigns go on this path to becoming a mega star and gives Bryan his run with the title that the WWE could really squeeze for everything it's worth while they can. Hey it's what most fans want. I fear that they damaged Bryan with the heel tactics and he's going to have lost some of the crowd in Tulsa because of it thought. They need the Reigns flip to endear Bryan again and slingshot him to the top baby again.
Until next time....
Lucha Underground delivered another stellar show last night, but for the first time I have a minor criticism. The matches on a whole were very short and I think we only got bell to bell about 15 minutes of in ring action out of a roughly 45 minute show. I was ok with it for two reasons. Each match had a reason for it's length as I will get too and the backstage vignettes that ate up the show were off the charts good.
Our opening match between and Mil and Chavo has some heat, but it's hard to get to excited considering they are both heels. The finish saw Catrina distract Mil while Chavo used a chair on him to no avail. Some might be upset that Chavo got DQ'd and it was a dusty finish, but really it doesn't matter. They were just setting up the Fenix stuff. The Mil Catrina interaction before Fenix made the save was really well done. I don't trust that Catrina is actually leaving Mil and I think that's the long term play, but do they really need to trap Fenix? He doesn't hold the title or anything they can take from him. They could just beat him in a match.
Not knowing the answer to that question keeps me intrigued by this angle. That's where I have to give Lucha so much credit. Each week they are pushing something new that will make you watch next week.
Dario puts over the crew and has them booked against Pimpy, the little guy, and Sexy Star. Dario is beyond good. Any Dario time is time well spent on this show. It's pretty obvious Big Ryck will be returning during that match.
Ivelesse takes on Angelico. Ivelesse has great confidence on the mic and her baddest bitch in the building line is pretty cool. Soon they will have to aim her against Sexy Star in a feud that matters because that would probably be pretty good. Angelico is a total star. I thought he was kind of just some guy when he debuted, but the guy looks like a taller Dean Ambrose that can actually do even more. He also worked the mic post match with great confidence and didn't take the loss to heart at all.
I want to point out how that is excellent booking. You put a female over a male, but you let the male get the last laugh and not just act dejected by losing. I hope the WWE is taking notes.
The Black Lotus eventually finds that caged up guy and then gets a bag put over her head. This played out over a few segments. When it was over I was like man I want to know who this guy is. I want to see where this goes. I'm thinking they are going to use the Great Khali in this role because I can't think of a more imposing huge guy, but hopefully they surprise me. Dario's key to that cage the guy is in is more over than the Authority right now.
Dario and Cage have an interaction where Cage gets a non-title match with Puma next week. That's probably the second best match Lucha can book and we are getting it for the second time. Again they are giving you a simple reason to watch next week and it's not happening in the last five minutes of the show. Chavo also came to Dario's office, and quit the company. I think this is not the end of Chavo, but a way to give him a new direction.
Texano takes on Superfly. Before the match gets underway they show an interview with Texano and give you some back story on him and his feud with Alberto. Well done here as you feel more connected with this guy and why he hates Alberto. This guy is the classic looking wrestling villain. He reminds me of Stan Hansen. The difference is he wrestles a modern style and does it very well. The Alberto attack post match is no surprise and they sent the crew out there to break them up before Alberto go too much the best of him. Very well done. Texano is built up very well here. Alberto radiates charisma that WWE never tapped into.
Just a quick aside. It's pretty clear to me that WWE looked at Del Rio and thought heel rich Mexican guy. They made very little effort to be creative with him. I thought Del Rio pulled the gimmick off well, but it also boxed him in. Just more poor booking by WWE.
Our main event is the six man tag. The crew dispatch Pimpy and the little guy quickly and are set to pound out Sexy Star. She fights them off for a time, which was good. At a point I forgot she was a female it was so convincing. Eventually the numbers game starts to catch up to her, but Big Ryck enters the Temple, which allows Sexy to get the well placed (for once) distraction roll up for the upset win. The Crew scurry away.
Very solid show. I was entertained the whole time. Lucha continues to prove that you don't have to have a show that features the champion every week or pushes that story line to open and close the show. Cage was on for under 2 minutes to setup his match with Puma. That was in the middle of the show. This focus on other things raises the quality of everything that is happening on the show. Remember these guys have five times less air time than WWE does right now.
Lucha is not putting all their eggs in one basket. Puma has not been on the show in three weeks. He's like the Brock Lesnar of Lucha...lol. That being said it keeps him fresh just like it keeps everyone else fresh on this roster.
What they are doing is really investing you in multiple angles. It's not just about the title or Dario. It's about an interesting story that sets up a match that delivers a pay off. This show is money right now and I'm looking for to next week.
NXT returned to the airwaves for the first time since the big title change. I had some spoilers on this show, so I knew what was coming, but not everything and thankfully I knew nothing about that main event. Again a minor criticism that could become a bigger issue for them if not addressed. Some of the promo's on the show were lacking big time.
A word on promo's. I think the proper way for a promo to be cut is around talking points. I don't mean minimal ones like tell the crowd how much you hate Seth Rollins. I think they need to be creative thoughts that give the talent a direction and a few lines they can create out of an idea. The Finn Balor promo was dreadful. Here's a guy capable of so much more, but he's so used to being a heel and hasn't been established as a face on the mic he really has nothing creative to say.
You can tell that Finn was not comfortable and so the promo didn't establish much. It's got to be more and it should be happening in the ring and not back stage when your talking to the new #1 contender. Allow him to get comfortable in front of the bright lights.
Rhyno debuted and then teased something between him and Balor. A lot of guys have been solo acts in NXT so far. Adding Rhyno to a Kevin Owens crew would not be a bad idea. That hasn't been the MO of NXT, but I don't think it's a bad direction at all.
An aside here. The rumor is Samoa Joe is possibly going to get a tryout in NXT. Why he would need to try out is beyond me. I think HHH has to know what he's getting at this point as the guy is on TV every week and decide whether he can do anything or not. Brian Kendrick also will be returning. I think what HHH is doing by bringing in these guys is building a foundation of guys that don't have to go main roster, but can help him fill the gaps.
NXT's problem is that they are trying to develop talent. They can't feed everyone jobbers, but they also can't make everyone a .500 wrestlers. The tag match last night demonstrated that. The Vaudevillians have a good gimmick, but they wanted to put Enzo and Cass over. That's fine, but the Villians take their third TV loss in a row. They have done nothing, but be very good, but when you beat them all the time they heat comes off of them.
By adding in guys that they don't have to necessarily worry about putting over, but who are also great workers HHH is filling in the gaps. He can make great matches with all three guys. Specifically Joe and Kendrick are capable of great in ring work. I'm not saying they should be glorified jobbers, but you can use them with less concern about the outcome. This helps protect guys like the Villains from having to put over Enzo. (BTW, I'm not saying that Kendrick and Joe would have put over Enzo last night just guys along those lines. Good in ring workers that are not going to move up in theory.)
I suggested a few years back that WWE should bring in middling talents that are great in ring workers off the indy scene and out of TNA. Guys that never have to cut promo's or be over, but can sell and put on compelling matches. That way almost no pushed talent ever has to lose on Raw or Smackdown in anything less than a main event. By doing this you preserve the top workers to only lose on PPV, so the match out comes are harder to figure out and the PPV's have more value. The TV shows still have great in ring quality.
This is how WWE used to function. Only PPV's and specials actually featured matches where top guys lost. The difference being though that they used jobbers to put guys over. Fans are passed squash jobber. That's why you have to bring in good mechanics. They sort of use R Truth in this roll. In my opinion you need a lot of them so that they aren't losing on TV every week and you can mix it up. There's a place for these guys in today's 5 hour a week WWE.
Some would say this strategy is flawed because of the predictable outcomes, but I counter that with even the way the show is booked now with top talents constantly battling it's pretty clear who's coming out on top unless they are going to get screwed in each match. If you give good match quality and let guys get their moves in and look good more often then you would have a better overall product.
So, I hope HHH is following this game plan for NXT. That way he can keep guys hotter, and he's building around guys that can help his up and coming talents. If he does bring Joe I say put him with Owens as well. Rhyno and Joe could be the two hired guns that roadblock Zayn from Owens and make the chase even better.
For all the bad promo's cut on the show CJ Parker did an excellent job of showing that he's developing well on the mic. Yet, he was squashed by the debuting Solomon Crowe. I get that Parker's gimmick is not that great, but he's a good worker and can work the mic. Find him a new gimmick and stop making him the squash guy.
Crowe is a live wire. I know he can work. I would have thought you could have allowed him to have a bit more mic time to establish his character, but he was impressive.
The Banks promo was one that I found lacking. It didn't establish anything and the match she had was scary main roster style short. They didn't establish the next feud for her, which seemed odd. Bayley and Lynch established they were going to take on each other, but again very bland promos.
Enzo and Cass got the win over the Villains and apparently Blake and Murphy went heel. As stated earlier I hated that the Villains had to lose, but I liked the direction of this fresh feud. Enzo and Cass could probably get that intro over in the main roster, but they couldn't get beat every other week and stay hot...sorry had to say it.
Our main event was a non-title match between Owens and Neville. It was pretty clear that Owens was going over, but this match was a display of a couple of things. One that Owens and Neville are masters of knowing how to work a match that keeps the crowd on the edge of their seat. Owens is absolutely a massive star and this match helped him get even more established. Both guys are probably better than 95% of the main roster right now.
This match had an indy feel to it. I'm not sure if that is good or bad, but it didn't feel like a match where they were going through the motions like you often see in a big Raw main event. They did new things and Owens was allowed to show heel fighting spirit by kicking out of some crazy spots.
Dare I say that I enjoyed that match as much as the Zayn one? I think it's time Neville moved up.and hope Owens doesn't stay too long as well...or maybe I hope they both stay.
I think WWE has to consider building NXT into a bigger thing. Stop talking like it's developmental and start acting like it's a brand. For now it is exclusive on WWE Network, which obviously doesn't allow everyone to see it (I realize it's on Hulu as well), but I think I would look to replace Smackdown with NXT eventually. How do you do this and not piss off the execs at Syfy?
Simple. Have the next Takeover special be a live two hour event on Syfy. Just say airing in the place of Smackdown is NXT for this week only. See how it goes. Maybe do it once a month. If the ratings start popping and reaction is good you convince Syfy that it will now be NXT Smackdown. If it doesn't work then you just stay the course with regular old Smackdown and keep NXT small and on the network.
If it did get over you have to do it right and keep running it the same way it has been. Many might claim that you are adding that extra hour and that might put too much strain on the product, but because it's regular TV the commercials would eat into the time. So you would probably only be adding 30 minutes. The commercials on WWE network are only taking away 10 minutes a week tops.
Also, it would allow some matches and segments to stretch a little. If it worked it would be a huge win win for WWE. You could would slice 2 hours of main roster TV time, which would probably make the 3 hour Raw's a lot easier to book. If you gave NXT 6 specials a year then every two months then you are giving people 6 more reasons to subscribe. Especially the new fans that would logically start watching with the show on regular TV.
Also, with NXT I would start booking small Arena's for the Takeover events. Similar to how ECW did PPV back in the day. 3 or 4 thousand max. I probably would keep the regular show to Full Sail, but those bigger events should get a little big crowd. A big secret to NXT is the Full Sail smart crowd. If they continue to put people over then viewership would better accept characters. Adam Rose would have been over in Raw if NXT was a show more people could watch. Instead fans were confused by the gimmick that never got fully explained or allowed to breathe. WWE basically said hey you should like this because of the weak vignettes we showed you and it bombed.
I think NXT could become that second brand that WWE tried to develop with Smackdown years back. It would probably work better this time because you are presenting a different product altogether that is being directed by different people, but you have that WWE production quality. A big reason for the Heyman success with Smackdown was that he developed a different product from Raw.
I want to close this column with my thoughts on Reigns/Bryan. I may not have a chance to share my thoughts before the PPV, so I want to get some stuff out there. I was looking forward to this match for weeks. I didn't buy into the belief that many experts had that Reigns was going over. I think WWE wanted to feel out that decision over the past few weeks.
They have basically pushed both guys more heel than face. I think they are trying to gauge how the fans feel about that. Also, it's not what you would expect, which is typical WWE. Do something that is different from what they normally do. That doesn't often go well.
I think it's a big waste. I think I would have played this to be a face face situation all the way until that last Raw where they could have had the same blow up. I wouldn't have done things that hurt Bryan or Reigns in the eyes of some fans. If they would have stayed face face with this and had these guys get along until they had a mishap in the ring to set them off then fans might have better accepted a Reigns clean win and gotten off his case.
I think WWE will put Reigns over Bryan or setup a triple threat match at Mania. I think that both are huge mistakes. I think that the Bryan fans will eat Reigns up for the entire run up to WM31 and during the match itself, which is problematic. I also don't have any faith Reigns and Brock can pull off an entertaining match especially if it leaks that Brock is leaving. You will have WM20 all over again with Brock.
If they go triple threat it feels like a vain attempt to appease fans. It saves the match quality, but it's not the epic match we all want. That would also require some kind of a dusty finish at Fastlane, which won't endear them to anyone. I say go clean or go home. They just had Brock in a triple threat and it renders the last few weeks as just a big swerve. I would have rather they made it a triple threat match already and just said the last one was so good let's put out another.
You could go this direction. Brock is pissed it's another triple threat, so he tells HHH that he's leaving the company post WM31 and he's taking the belt with him. That gets some of the hate off Brock for leaving if he is. That's how they could have used that appearance they wasted a few weeks back. The Fastlane main event could still be Bryan and Reigns in a grudge match. For those who say who cares about that I say the freaking PPV is free this month so WWE isn't obligated to go all out. They simply need to hype WM31 main event with it.
They missed their chance and now they have major pressure on themselves for this weekend.
Here's what I would do at Fastlane, but knowing WWE it likely won't happen. I would have Bryan go over clean against Reigns at Fastlane. Post match Bryan goes for the code of honor handshake. Reigns attacks him. He rips off the flack jacket, which he needs to stop wearing, and goes to town on Bryan. Reigns is established as a super heel. Bryan is out injured and misses the Raw the next night.
Reigns goes heel the next night and Ambrose tries to reason with him. He gets attacked by Reigns as well. In the coming weeks Rollins tries to befriend Reigns again, but finds that Reigns wants no part of his friendship, but does want his briefcase. He accuses Rollins of being a coward and never cashing in because he was afraid of Lesnar. He gets him to put the case on the line at WM31. Rollins ego allows him to agree. Later Ambrose returns and gets involved in the match as well. All the Shield marks get a logical reason why the Shield will meet at WM31 in a triple threat and Reigns wins.
Bryan returns to Raw and highlights that he was really banged up by the Reigns attack. He is not cleared to wrestle yet. Lesnar and Heyman pounce and talk up Bryan's frailty. That's played up for weeks instead of the typical you attack me I attack you BS they love to do. Bryan promises he will be at WM31 whether he's 100% of not. The stuff writes itself, but Bryan becomes an even bigger underdog.
Bryan goes over at WM31 in the best match of his career. Think Angle Lesnar WM19 for those who don't think it could happen. Reigns comes out post match, but due to an injury he suffered earlier in the night he will not cash in. The show ends with a stare down between the new champ and Reigns. This is ok because the previous year Bryan really got that celebration moment. Cole says I think we are looking at the future of WWE.
I'll save where I go from there for another time, but I think that's the biggest money WWE can draw. That helps Reigns go on this path to becoming a mega star and gives Bryan his run with the title that the WWE could really squeeze for everything it's worth while they can. Hey it's what most fans want. I fear that they damaged Bryan with the heel tactics and he's going to have lost some of the crowd in Tulsa because of it thought. They need the Reigns flip to endear Bryan again and slingshot him to the top baby again.
Until next time....
Thursday, February 12, 2015
Heel Shortage in WWE
WWE has a major shortage of heel talent currently on the main roster. HHH made comments the other day that it's hard to be a face. I'm starting to wonder if it's harder to be a legit heel. I want to how we got to this point, who the top five are, and what can they do to fix this problem.
I think how we got here has a lot to do with John Cena and bad booking. WWE has fed Cena many of it's up and coming heel talents over the past few years and I'm hard pressed to remember any of them coming out of the feud better than they went in or being the winner of the feud.
Cena has only really put over two stars in the last few years that were full time on the roster and that was CM Punk and Daniel Bryan. Both guys got red hot after Cena did the job for them, but they were faces.
Randy Orton did get a clean win over Cena at the 2013 TLC, but we have to remember Orton was already well established. It's just not been the MO of the WWE to use Cena to put over new heels. A prime example of this was how the Bray Wyatt situation played out at WM30. Wyatt was as hot as you could get for the short time he had been in WWE, but the powers that be felt it was Cena who needed to go over. Wyatt got one tainted win in the feud, but things wrapped up with Cena on top in a last man standing match. It took nearly a year for Bray to recover.
Cena has been a part of the problem, but the general booking of WWE has not done the heels any favors. Do to the demands that WWE puts on itself they are constantly having to book enticing matches for RAW and Smackdown. This leads to more situations where somebody has to get pinned. Other times it just seems like they are trying to surprise you. Irregardless WWE pins more top superstars in a week then they should.
It's hard to take heels seriously when they are constantly being pinned. Winning and losing matters, but WWE does not seem to think so. I currently have Rollins as the second top heel in the company, but look at the loses he's taken over the past few PPV's. At Survivor Series he was pinned by Ziggler. At TLC he was beat by Cena. At the Rumble he took the pin by Lesnar. He also took the pin from Bryan a few weeks ago on Raw. It's hard to ask fans to un-see that and treat him like an unstoppable force. His perception despite his great performances is being diminished.
It also doesn't help that WWE has muddied the waters with guys. The Lesnar situation comes to mind. Sure it was a good idea to put Rollins in the match at the Rumble, but WWE wanted people to believe that Rollins could win so they rain a segment that had Rollins getting the better of Lesnar. This in turn endeared Lesnar to the crowd. If WWE thought getting Reigns over was challenging having Lesnar seem babyface going into WM31 isn't going to help matters.
Yet, all this pails in comparison to how the WWE has treated Bad New Barrett. Barrett started working the Bad News gimmick, which has been mildly successful. He got a win in his return over Ziggler to get back the IC title he never lost. So good new for Barrett...right? Nope WWE has had him pinned every where from Raw to live shows. It's hideous senseless booking. It degrades the title and Barrett's worth as a heel.
I don't have Barrett even ranked in my top 5 heels currently in the company and right now it's such a weak bunch that's not a hard top five to crack. Here's how I have it.
Brock Lesnar is first despite being part time and mostly cheered lately because when they want to sell Lesnar as a bad SOB he can flip that switch and get the boos. He's special in the ring and he's one of the most unique talents every to grace the squared circle. On the downside he's probably leaving in a month and he only works a part time schedule. I can forgive WWE for not having him on TV every week, but he needed to defend that title at Survivor Series and he needed a break from John Cena matches.
Seth Rollins is the best full time heel in WWE, but I'm not sure that's saying much. His mic skills are decent, but not great. He takes heat for his annoying habit of repeating everyone's name. I think he does this when he's trying to find himself in a promo as a way to buy time. His in ring ability is very good to great. They have just put too many key losses on him. I would also think that with the Authority pushing him he would get more respect, but I think he a victim of bad booking.
Bray Wyatt comes next. He would be lower on the list, but lately he has started to get some of his magic back. Rumor is he's going to take on the Undertaker at WM31, but reports have it Taker is in bad shape so we will see. The only issue is a loss would really hurt his momentum, so I'm not exactly sure how serious we can take Bray. When he was locked in that endless feud with Ambrose I lost touch with his promo's as they were just nonsense. Since the Undertaker rumors have started I'm reengaged.
Rusev comes in fourth. You think he would be higher considering he's never lost a singles by pin or submission. The company has put the rocket pack on him big time. The guy has some gifts, but he hasn't been paired with anyone to this point that makes him look really good. I also worry they are going to beat him at WM31 and once that happens he will be beatable by many. Hopefully they have a better plan, but I don't have a lot of faith. One very underrated match from last year was his title win over Sheamus. As much as people may or may not like Sheamus I think he is a solid performer.
Fifth is anyone's guess. It's such a weak list that I think that almost makes sense. Cesaro and Kidd are moving up the ranks as a team, but I worry WWE will pin them a few times and make them a thing of the past. They already had the new day beat them. Barrett can't get out of the blocks and his feud with Ambrose is a lose/lose for both guys really. Miz is being so overproduced he barely acts human anymore. Don't try to mention Kane or Big Show. Neither have much left to really get anyone excited for.
So I realize how WWE got here, and I see what they are working with, but I do think they can fix it quick. Here are a few solutions.
Get rid of the Authority. I haven't mentioned them much yet, but they get so much air time and really it does no one on the roster any good. They really aren't putting over any key faces and the only heel they are pushing is Rollins. They suck up valuable air time. It's hard for anyone to be above the Authority because of the perceived power. If you put that focus on the heel talents that are actually performing it matches the results would be really good.
Flip Roman Reigns. WWE can fight it all they want, but Reigns is not the GUY right now. He's a guy who's rough around the edges and has in reality become everything fans think is wrong with WWE. I say take advantage of this. Flip him heel at WM31 and give him the belt. Don't put Heyman with him because I think Paul can be used elsewhere. I think maybe reunite the Shield and let him have Rollins and Ambrose do his mic work. For those who say there's not much logic in that I say their break up had less, so why does it matter?
Have Sheamus be a smart heel. When I say that I want you to think back to heel Sheamus. He was portrayed as not being the sharpest knife in the drawer. Fast forward to face Sheamus who was always trying to be crafty. That's the way he needs to act as a heel. I think he could do some good things and I would start by having him cost Cena at Fast Lane and get over on Cena at WM31.
Bring up Neville and Balor as heels. HHH is wrong in that it's hard to be a face these days, but he's right in the sense that it's hard to start out as a face. It's better to start heel and feel out where you will end up over time. If WWE brings Adrian Neville up as a white bread baby face he will not get over. So, I say let him go with a guy like Heyman as a star that felt passed over in NXT with a chip on his shoulder. Balor just needs to be the arrogant heel like he was in the Bullet Club. You just ride him to see how far he will take you. It will take effort for WWE to mess up Finn Balor.
Bring up Kevin Owens. Kevin Owens knows how to make people hate him. In his post match interview with Renee Young last night on WWE.com he was very stand offish and unkind towards her. You were forced to be like what a dick even though you know he's probably not a dick. Owens lives Kayfabe just like Zayn. That's what makes them so good. If you bring Owens up he will get over as a hated heel. He's the anti-John Cena. This is the guy that should take down Cena get that heel rub off of him.
A quick note on Kayfabe. It can be dead or alive or whatever you think, but if it's used properly like on the NXT special earlier in the week it can do wonders. When important characters like HHH and Steph constantly jump in and out of it for major media events it becomes harder to take them seriously in the ring. If you actually work hard at protecting the heat your character has then people will despite you more. Live your gimmick.
This is not only hurting the heels it's hurting the faces as well. The Total Divas show is not helping John Cena or Daniel Bryan's image all that much. Cena seems like a total fraud. I realize he helps the show, but it hurts his on screen image. Even Bryan came off like a jerk in a few episodes. It's bad booking to use them on there. It hurts the girls as well.
For those that think it doesn't matter it does because when it's used the right way it's what helps add ot the drama. If you knew HHH was really a nice guy behind the scenes and all that then why would you passionately hate him when he enters the ring? It's asking the fans to almost be in the role of a fan and put on an act as well. That just doesn't work, so while the curtain is pulled back more these days a better effort should be done to protect the business.
Just in general as I have stated earlier WWE just needs to try to keep in simple. Have the heels win all the time on Raw and Smackdown and only beat them in tag matches or under tainted circumstances. Clean losses should be kept to live events and PPV's. Put some effort into making guys look good more consistently. If you do that these guys will matter again and their match will mean something.
What WWE needs to do right now is start building a foundation of a lot of heels. Let the faces be outnumbered. It will be a process, but in the long run the company will be much better for it.
I think how we got here has a lot to do with John Cena and bad booking. WWE has fed Cena many of it's up and coming heel talents over the past few years and I'm hard pressed to remember any of them coming out of the feud better than they went in or being the winner of the feud.
Cena has only really put over two stars in the last few years that were full time on the roster and that was CM Punk and Daniel Bryan. Both guys got red hot after Cena did the job for them, but they were faces.
Randy Orton did get a clean win over Cena at the 2013 TLC, but we have to remember Orton was already well established. It's just not been the MO of the WWE to use Cena to put over new heels. A prime example of this was how the Bray Wyatt situation played out at WM30. Wyatt was as hot as you could get for the short time he had been in WWE, but the powers that be felt it was Cena who needed to go over. Wyatt got one tainted win in the feud, but things wrapped up with Cena on top in a last man standing match. It took nearly a year for Bray to recover.
Cena has been a part of the problem, but the general booking of WWE has not done the heels any favors. Do to the demands that WWE puts on itself they are constantly having to book enticing matches for RAW and Smackdown. This leads to more situations where somebody has to get pinned. Other times it just seems like they are trying to surprise you. Irregardless WWE pins more top superstars in a week then they should.
It's hard to take heels seriously when they are constantly being pinned. Winning and losing matters, but WWE does not seem to think so. I currently have Rollins as the second top heel in the company, but look at the loses he's taken over the past few PPV's. At Survivor Series he was pinned by Ziggler. At TLC he was beat by Cena. At the Rumble he took the pin by Lesnar. He also took the pin from Bryan a few weeks ago on Raw. It's hard to ask fans to un-see that and treat him like an unstoppable force. His perception despite his great performances is being diminished.
It also doesn't help that WWE has muddied the waters with guys. The Lesnar situation comes to mind. Sure it was a good idea to put Rollins in the match at the Rumble, but WWE wanted people to believe that Rollins could win so they rain a segment that had Rollins getting the better of Lesnar. This in turn endeared Lesnar to the crowd. If WWE thought getting Reigns over was challenging having Lesnar seem babyface going into WM31 isn't going to help matters.
Yet, all this pails in comparison to how the WWE has treated Bad New Barrett. Barrett started working the Bad News gimmick, which has been mildly successful. He got a win in his return over Ziggler to get back the IC title he never lost. So good new for Barrett...right? Nope WWE has had him pinned every where from Raw to live shows. It's hideous senseless booking. It degrades the title and Barrett's worth as a heel.
I don't have Barrett even ranked in my top 5 heels currently in the company and right now it's such a weak bunch that's not a hard top five to crack. Here's how I have it.
Brock Lesnar is first despite being part time and mostly cheered lately because when they want to sell Lesnar as a bad SOB he can flip that switch and get the boos. He's special in the ring and he's one of the most unique talents every to grace the squared circle. On the downside he's probably leaving in a month and he only works a part time schedule. I can forgive WWE for not having him on TV every week, but he needed to defend that title at Survivor Series and he needed a break from John Cena matches.
Seth Rollins is the best full time heel in WWE, but I'm not sure that's saying much. His mic skills are decent, but not great. He takes heat for his annoying habit of repeating everyone's name. I think he does this when he's trying to find himself in a promo as a way to buy time. His in ring ability is very good to great. They have just put too many key losses on him. I would also think that with the Authority pushing him he would get more respect, but I think he a victim of bad booking.
Bray Wyatt comes next. He would be lower on the list, but lately he has started to get some of his magic back. Rumor is he's going to take on the Undertaker at WM31, but reports have it Taker is in bad shape so we will see. The only issue is a loss would really hurt his momentum, so I'm not exactly sure how serious we can take Bray. When he was locked in that endless feud with Ambrose I lost touch with his promo's as they were just nonsense. Since the Undertaker rumors have started I'm reengaged.
Rusev comes in fourth. You think he would be higher considering he's never lost a singles by pin or submission. The company has put the rocket pack on him big time. The guy has some gifts, but he hasn't been paired with anyone to this point that makes him look really good. I also worry they are going to beat him at WM31 and once that happens he will be beatable by many. Hopefully they have a better plan, but I don't have a lot of faith. One very underrated match from last year was his title win over Sheamus. As much as people may or may not like Sheamus I think he is a solid performer.
Fifth is anyone's guess. It's such a weak list that I think that almost makes sense. Cesaro and Kidd are moving up the ranks as a team, but I worry WWE will pin them a few times and make them a thing of the past. They already had the new day beat them. Barrett can't get out of the blocks and his feud with Ambrose is a lose/lose for both guys really. Miz is being so overproduced he barely acts human anymore. Don't try to mention Kane or Big Show. Neither have much left to really get anyone excited for.
So I realize how WWE got here, and I see what they are working with, but I do think they can fix it quick. Here are a few solutions.
Get rid of the Authority. I haven't mentioned them much yet, but they get so much air time and really it does no one on the roster any good. They really aren't putting over any key faces and the only heel they are pushing is Rollins. They suck up valuable air time. It's hard for anyone to be above the Authority because of the perceived power. If you put that focus on the heel talents that are actually performing it matches the results would be really good.
Flip Roman Reigns. WWE can fight it all they want, but Reigns is not the GUY right now. He's a guy who's rough around the edges and has in reality become everything fans think is wrong with WWE. I say take advantage of this. Flip him heel at WM31 and give him the belt. Don't put Heyman with him because I think Paul can be used elsewhere. I think maybe reunite the Shield and let him have Rollins and Ambrose do his mic work. For those who say there's not much logic in that I say their break up had less, so why does it matter?
Have Sheamus be a smart heel. When I say that I want you to think back to heel Sheamus. He was portrayed as not being the sharpest knife in the drawer. Fast forward to face Sheamus who was always trying to be crafty. That's the way he needs to act as a heel. I think he could do some good things and I would start by having him cost Cena at Fast Lane and get over on Cena at WM31.
Bring up Neville and Balor as heels. HHH is wrong in that it's hard to be a face these days, but he's right in the sense that it's hard to start out as a face. It's better to start heel and feel out where you will end up over time. If WWE brings Adrian Neville up as a white bread baby face he will not get over. So, I say let him go with a guy like Heyman as a star that felt passed over in NXT with a chip on his shoulder. Balor just needs to be the arrogant heel like he was in the Bullet Club. You just ride him to see how far he will take you. It will take effort for WWE to mess up Finn Balor.
Bring up Kevin Owens. Kevin Owens knows how to make people hate him. In his post match interview with Renee Young last night on WWE.com he was very stand offish and unkind towards her. You were forced to be like what a dick even though you know he's probably not a dick. Owens lives Kayfabe just like Zayn. That's what makes them so good. If you bring Owens up he will get over as a hated heel. He's the anti-John Cena. This is the guy that should take down Cena get that heel rub off of him.
A quick note on Kayfabe. It can be dead or alive or whatever you think, but if it's used properly like on the NXT special earlier in the week it can do wonders. When important characters like HHH and Steph constantly jump in and out of it for major media events it becomes harder to take them seriously in the ring. If you actually work hard at protecting the heat your character has then people will despite you more. Live your gimmick.
This is not only hurting the heels it's hurting the faces as well. The Total Divas show is not helping John Cena or Daniel Bryan's image all that much. Cena seems like a total fraud. I realize he helps the show, but it hurts his on screen image. Even Bryan came off like a jerk in a few episodes. It's bad booking to use them on there. It hurts the girls as well.
For those that think it doesn't matter it does because when it's used the right way it's what helps add ot the drama. If you knew HHH was really a nice guy behind the scenes and all that then why would you passionately hate him when he enters the ring? It's asking the fans to almost be in the role of a fan and put on an act as well. That just doesn't work, so while the curtain is pulled back more these days a better effort should be done to protect the business.
Just in general as I have stated earlier WWE just needs to try to keep in simple. Have the heels win all the time on Raw and Smackdown and only beat them in tag matches or under tainted circumstances. Clean losses should be kept to live events and PPV's. Put some effort into making guys look good more consistently. If you do that these guys will matter again and their match will mean something.
What WWE needs to do right now is start building a foundation of a lot of heels. Let the faces be outnumbered. It will be a process, but in the long run the company will be much better for it.
NXT and Lucha Underground Take Over the Business
As WWE's main brand continues to sputter through bad booking, over scripting, and way too much of the same characters, NXT and Lucha Underground are thriving. This is a unique moment in time where Lucha in particular could steal enough market share to make itself viable and NXT has a chance to become a bigger part of the reason people buy the network. Last night's show were proof of this.
NXT
The Takeover special promised two of the best indy matches to happen in the past ten years. It was hard to imagine that you would not be entertained, but they also did a great job building towards both of them. I thought they had overplayed the Women's match and wasn't as excited for it, but boy did they deliver. Here's a quick recap.
Itami beat Tyler Breeze to open the show. A much needed marquee win for Itami. He's the guy that needs time to develop and this is a good start to pushing him up the food chain in NXT. Breeze entered the ring the more finished product and despite losing he showed me he is ready for the main roster. I'm not sure what more he can do. Although sadly I see them screwing him up fairly easily.
Corbin and Dempsey has been a little played out. There's not much Dempsey can do to put Corbin over that doesn't hurt any momentum he had, so it's like a slow burial. This third match was not needed, but Corbin is coming along nicely. He needs more time, but Corbin looked really good getting the win. I think Dempsey is more ready to go up. I think he will never be a more than a mid carder, but he adds a different style and look. I think he could tag with Big Show to make a pretty cool big man team. Maybe it's because they have similar outfits, but that thought dawned on me last night.
The only tag match of the night featured Blake and Murphy versus the Lucha Dragons for the titles. The Dragons can work, but they are being played up as too much of a kid friendly team. Although I'm sure WWE loves that I don't see them getting very far being that way. Blake and Murphy can also work and have a good look they just need a little more of a gimmick. Some reason why they are special beyond coming out of nowhere. They get the win and continue their run.
Balor and Neville was the in ring match of the night. If this match had 8 or 10 more minutes I think it would have wowed even more. In a lot of cases they had to move through some things a little to quick, but they fit with each other like a glove. Balor's entrance is the best in the business right now. With Raw being three hours they could use it as 10 minutes of filler!
Balor countered the Red Arrow with a double knee to the guy and reversed into a roll up for the spot of the night. His finish to get the win was also stellar. Neville has lost the crowd a touch because he doesn't have the gimmick or mic skills to connect with them. It's probably time to move him up, but I fear the main roster gimmick they might give him. His in ring ability is stellar, but he needs that little something to have him connect to the audience. This is a guy that should never be booed, but in back to back specials they have put him in a spot with guys that outshine him.
Balor is beyond main roster ready. He doesn't need any polish to his gimmick. He's basically a bad ass that could go heel or face. The paint stuff is for these big occasions and it works. He's 33 years old I don't know what WWE could be waiting for beyond just wanting to finish their WM31 season. I inject him as a heel because he could easily make it work and the main roster is void of them right now.
The women's match between Lynch, Banks, Bailey and Flair shocked the hell out of me. Banks really stole the show in this match as she executed the most memorable moves including her crafty finish to get the win and finally earn that title belt. I figured Bailey would win and Banks and Flair would be moving up post WM31.
The heartfelt moment after the match indicated that Flair probably is going up, and she was happy to do the job for her real life sister in arms Sasha. If you think about it Flair going first is the better path way. She can go up have success, but then Sasha can debut later as her greatest nemsis. It's probably smarter than debuting them at the same time. Also that allows Banks to work a run as champ and probably put Bailey over in a one on one match.
I give these ladies credit. I thought they were used way too much on TV after the last special in December and the program between them was a little stale, but they delivered in the ring and that's what matter most.
The main event had the drama that a feud like Cena Rusev lacks. It's the use of history and recent events that help tell a story that puts both Owens and Zayn over. When WWE was really good they did this part of the business better than anyone. Even when two guys couldn't work half as well as these two. Drama is a huge part of wrestling and Vince understands that. He just has forgotten how to make it happen. Dusty Rhodes and Kevin Ward (ok HHH too) showed they know how to squeeze the juice.
Owens won a great match that didn't lack for in ring quality at all. The match was stopped when it appeared Zayn concussed himself doing a moon salt off the ring apron and banged his head on the steel ramp. So he kind of did it to himself. Owens laid a beat down on him and Zayn was deemed not fit to continue crowing Owens the new champ.
A couple of reactions to this. Some people thought this was actually real and that Zayn legit hurt himself and the match was stopped for real. I do not believe that for a second as they could have ended it after the three consecutive powerbombs and that would have been ok. This was just Zayn and the booking crew using kayfabe, which proves it isn't dead. It added to the drama of it all.
A good chunk of people complained they didn't like that finish. Honestly I think that had a lot to do with the Royal Rumble. I at first was a little put off by it because it looked like WWE was going out of their way to protect Zayn just like they did for Reigns at the Rumble. So I was having flashbacks, but as I digested it I realized the genius of it.
Zayn won the belt just 60 days ago. Owens trapped Zayn into a match he didn't deserve yet. For Owens to go over 100% clean means that you are short selling Zayn as not the guy you told us he was 60 days before. He probably loses some steam and that wouldn't make sense as he is red hot right now. The other thing you have to remember is if you have Zayn lose because he was so angry and couldn't stay focused in the match then he looks like a clown.
The booking team here wanted to elevate Owens and protect Zayn. Now you have a story where Zayn didn't lose clean and looked heroic trying to press on while Owens has exploited the system and probably will deny Zayn his chance to get the belt back. You have created the chase. It's excellent booking. It has Dusty Rhodes finger prints all over it. (Baby Sami Zayn is money, can you feel me!)
One additional thing to consider. You could have Zayn and Owens building to something then call up Zayn to the main roster denying him his revenge. Let this whole thing spill into the bigger audience. Owens would then be upset he got passed over again. This stuff is so good that if done right that the main stream fans will eat it up. Neither one of these guys needs to stay in NXT and last night proved it. That match was electric. School is out time to move on up, but I know WWE is proudly not ready to do something just yet. They are too focused on Reigns.
Some additional things to consider. I think it would be ok to bring both guys up, but have them split time on the main roster. I'm not sure how that wouldn't work. Regardless of how it goes I see Owens using the commitment to fight Balor as a way of putting off Zayn, also he will probably claim Sami is not medically cleared. The best way to make the next match as big a deal is to put it off for 60 or 90 days at the least. I would be ok with waiting all summer honestly.
Last note on NXT. I get that HHH deserves a lot of credit and I have softened my hard stance on him of the past few weeks, but he did himself no favors yesterday with his photo ops on social media. He had about 20 pics of himself with NXT talent and staffers on social media last night. Why? Because he wants credit for being part of this. It breaks Kayfabe to do this, which annoys me and to a greater point it's like hey HHH we get it, NXT is your baby. You don't have to keep reminding us every 10 mins.
I also thought Stephanie's tweet congratulating her husband was so poorly done. Why does she have to publicly congratulate her husband for this show? Why not do the same for Vince after he has a good show? In the same tweet she mentions him and the NXT roster, but HHH first. This is the stuff that HHH and Steph need to work on if they really want to be taken seriously. Vince has almost never taken credit for anything he has done publicly unless it was a heel character. I think it shows major insecurity and a desired to beat their chests, and it frankly needs to stop.
Lucha Underground
On a night where NXT was putting on that show Lucha Underground stayed at full throttle. We had three matches that were all excellent and vignettes that were out of this world. All I can say is give me more Dario!
Argenis put over Fenix. Within a few moments of their match starting a move happened that I have never seen before, which is common place for this show. I loved Mil's girl coming out and licking Argenis post match. She's sexy as hell and adds a maturity to the angle that WWE sorely lacks these days. Where ever this is going I'm in. Great match.
Mundo and Son of Havoc had an excellent match. I know that SOH's fortunes are going to turn, but he does an excellent job playing the talented guy that keeps botching up his chances. This was the best match of the night.
Ricky Mandell got his arm snapped by Pentagon Jr. When they debuted Pentagon is was just as a guy that could work and had an over the top look, but he has transformed into an absolute bad ass. I like the idea of putting him over with jobbers so he can get his move set in and build his reputation. What a concept!!!
All three matches were entertaining to watch and developed stories that didn't involve the title. That's how you make things matter. You put stories front and center and focus on them instead of just putting over the same guys week after week. This is how you allow guys to build up to that level and this is how you keep people interested without having to do something major every week. Great booking!
The vingettes were off the charts this week. Dario continues to be the best boss character on TV. I'm saying knowing that Authority characters are beyond stale. The guy just kills it and his promo with Alberto was spot on. When Alberto asked him about the key and he just pretended like he didn't ask and its that subtle way of making that key important. (THEY ARE PUTTING THAT KEY SO OVER!!)
The Mil Chavo segment was awesome. Having Mil talk was a major surprise and set up a match to look forward to next week. Mil comes off as way more than just a big guy and it's an excellent use of vignettes to make a guy more feared. He stock rose like 10 points off that.
The best one of the night though was Big Ryck's. For a guy that can't do much with his in ring promo's I was shocked at how well he did this. Here's a promo that puts over a angle that doesn't have bearing on the title picture. It's just a feud between guys that got the better of him. Ryck becomes face and these guys have more heat on them than before. (Why aren't they using more comedy in their mid card like WWE???)
Alberto Del Patron closed the show with a really good promo just pointing out that he felt held down in WWE, but he wasn't crying about it. Lucha did a good job of bumping his popularity. I never envisioned him as a face, but once he tossed his tie aside I was locked into the idea. Striker and Vampiro did a good job of putting over his attacking and making you understand how much of a top guy he is. I'm not sure how the interplay will be since that's mainly a AAA angle, but it's a treat if they make it a focus in Underground.
Vampiro was pretty on the money the entire show. He has been spotty for me in the past, but tonight he seemed to really be on his game. I think if you give these guys time nothing, but good things will happen with them.
What really makes this show so fresh is that key characters were not featured on the show. Puma has not been on since he was smashed by Cage. The girl who popped in on Dario was not on. Drago was not on. Sexy Star was not on the show. By keeping talent off the show you allow them to stay fresh and promote other talents. In a format that is striving to be a weekly staple versus selling PPV's at the moment this formula is genius.
Closing Thoughts
NXT has a chance to become more popular with a segment of the WWE universe, what this could lead too is WWE considering having NXT take over the Smackdown show. They could do two hours a week very easily. This would allow Raw to stay at three hours and become a better show and overall product because of the decrease in content. This wouldn't cause people not watch the network because you could continue to run the Takeover specials on the network. It's really something to consider.
It would then totally make sense for WWE to run three hours of RAW as they have the roster for it and they would have two hours of content less to help make each minute count. For those still worried about the lasting effects of the three hours on the announce team I think they can use an alternate crew for the first hour like WCW used to do. It would help a ton even if they never do this.
Lucha Underground has to start thinking about pushing their marketing of the show because what people will find is a fantastic product that I can't find very many faults in. Is it the perfect show, no, but because it's more than just lucha libre and it's so well done and fresh you will appeal to a large enough audience to eventually make this profitable and a staple. Remember they are simply using this as a vehicle to build the El Rey network and create some staple content.
In the end the fans win. You can be entertained for two hours a week without having to watch Raw or Smackdown. You can support the network without having to be a fan of the main roster product. You can get a mature and well produced product by watching Lucha. Time to start considering cutting out TNA and Raw as mandatory TV for real fans.
NXT
The Takeover special promised two of the best indy matches to happen in the past ten years. It was hard to imagine that you would not be entertained, but they also did a great job building towards both of them. I thought they had overplayed the Women's match and wasn't as excited for it, but boy did they deliver. Here's a quick recap.
Itami beat Tyler Breeze to open the show. A much needed marquee win for Itami. He's the guy that needs time to develop and this is a good start to pushing him up the food chain in NXT. Breeze entered the ring the more finished product and despite losing he showed me he is ready for the main roster. I'm not sure what more he can do. Although sadly I see them screwing him up fairly easily.
Corbin and Dempsey has been a little played out. There's not much Dempsey can do to put Corbin over that doesn't hurt any momentum he had, so it's like a slow burial. This third match was not needed, but Corbin is coming along nicely. He needs more time, but Corbin looked really good getting the win. I think Dempsey is more ready to go up. I think he will never be a more than a mid carder, but he adds a different style and look. I think he could tag with Big Show to make a pretty cool big man team. Maybe it's because they have similar outfits, but that thought dawned on me last night.
The only tag match of the night featured Blake and Murphy versus the Lucha Dragons for the titles. The Dragons can work, but they are being played up as too much of a kid friendly team. Although I'm sure WWE loves that I don't see them getting very far being that way. Blake and Murphy can also work and have a good look they just need a little more of a gimmick. Some reason why they are special beyond coming out of nowhere. They get the win and continue their run.
Balor and Neville was the in ring match of the night. If this match had 8 or 10 more minutes I think it would have wowed even more. In a lot of cases they had to move through some things a little to quick, but they fit with each other like a glove. Balor's entrance is the best in the business right now. With Raw being three hours they could use it as 10 minutes of filler!
Balor countered the Red Arrow with a double knee to the guy and reversed into a roll up for the spot of the night. His finish to get the win was also stellar. Neville has lost the crowd a touch because he doesn't have the gimmick or mic skills to connect with them. It's probably time to move him up, but I fear the main roster gimmick they might give him. His in ring ability is stellar, but he needs that little something to have him connect to the audience. This is a guy that should never be booed, but in back to back specials they have put him in a spot with guys that outshine him.
Balor is beyond main roster ready. He doesn't need any polish to his gimmick. He's basically a bad ass that could go heel or face. The paint stuff is for these big occasions and it works. He's 33 years old I don't know what WWE could be waiting for beyond just wanting to finish their WM31 season. I inject him as a heel because he could easily make it work and the main roster is void of them right now.
The women's match between Lynch, Banks, Bailey and Flair shocked the hell out of me. Banks really stole the show in this match as she executed the most memorable moves including her crafty finish to get the win and finally earn that title belt. I figured Bailey would win and Banks and Flair would be moving up post WM31.
The heartfelt moment after the match indicated that Flair probably is going up, and she was happy to do the job for her real life sister in arms Sasha. If you think about it Flair going first is the better path way. She can go up have success, but then Sasha can debut later as her greatest nemsis. It's probably smarter than debuting them at the same time. Also that allows Banks to work a run as champ and probably put Bailey over in a one on one match.
I give these ladies credit. I thought they were used way too much on TV after the last special in December and the program between them was a little stale, but they delivered in the ring and that's what matter most.
The main event had the drama that a feud like Cena Rusev lacks. It's the use of history and recent events that help tell a story that puts both Owens and Zayn over. When WWE was really good they did this part of the business better than anyone. Even when two guys couldn't work half as well as these two. Drama is a huge part of wrestling and Vince understands that. He just has forgotten how to make it happen. Dusty Rhodes and Kevin Ward (ok HHH too) showed they know how to squeeze the juice.
Owens won a great match that didn't lack for in ring quality at all. The match was stopped when it appeared Zayn concussed himself doing a moon salt off the ring apron and banged his head on the steel ramp. So he kind of did it to himself. Owens laid a beat down on him and Zayn was deemed not fit to continue crowing Owens the new champ.
A couple of reactions to this. Some people thought this was actually real and that Zayn legit hurt himself and the match was stopped for real. I do not believe that for a second as they could have ended it after the three consecutive powerbombs and that would have been ok. This was just Zayn and the booking crew using kayfabe, which proves it isn't dead. It added to the drama of it all.
A good chunk of people complained they didn't like that finish. Honestly I think that had a lot to do with the Royal Rumble. I at first was a little put off by it because it looked like WWE was going out of their way to protect Zayn just like they did for Reigns at the Rumble. So I was having flashbacks, but as I digested it I realized the genius of it.
Zayn won the belt just 60 days ago. Owens trapped Zayn into a match he didn't deserve yet. For Owens to go over 100% clean means that you are short selling Zayn as not the guy you told us he was 60 days before. He probably loses some steam and that wouldn't make sense as he is red hot right now. The other thing you have to remember is if you have Zayn lose because he was so angry and couldn't stay focused in the match then he looks like a clown.
The booking team here wanted to elevate Owens and protect Zayn. Now you have a story where Zayn didn't lose clean and looked heroic trying to press on while Owens has exploited the system and probably will deny Zayn his chance to get the belt back. You have created the chase. It's excellent booking. It has Dusty Rhodes finger prints all over it. (Baby Sami Zayn is money, can you feel me!)
One additional thing to consider. You could have Zayn and Owens building to something then call up Zayn to the main roster denying him his revenge. Let this whole thing spill into the bigger audience. Owens would then be upset he got passed over again. This stuff is so good that if done right that the main stream fans will eat it up. Neither one of these guys needs to stay in NXT and last night proved it. That match was electric. School is out time to move on up, but I know WWE is proudly not ready to do something just yet. They are too focused on Reigns.
Some additional things to consider. I think it would be ok to bring both guys up, but have them split time on the main roster. I'm not sure how that wouldn't work. Regardless of how it goes I see Owens using the commitment to fight Balor as a way of putting off Zayn, also he will probably claim Sami is not medically cleared. The best way to make the next match as big a deal is to put it off for 60 or 90 days at the least. I would be ok with waiting all summer honestly.
Last note on NXT. I get that HHH deserves a lot of credit and I have softened my hard stance on him of the past few weeks, but he did himself no favors yesterday with his photo ops on social media. He had about 20 pics of himself with NXT talent and staffers on social media last night. Why? Because he wants credit for being part of this. It breaks Kayfabe to do this, which annoys me and to a greater point it's like hey HHH we get it, NXT is your baby. You don't have to keep reminding us every 10 mins.
I also thought Stephanie's tweet congratulating her husband was so poorly done. Why does she have to publicly congratulate her husband for this show? Why not do the same for Vince after he has a good show? In the same tweet she mentions him and the NXT roster, but HHH first. This is the stuff that HHH and Steph need to work on if they really want to be taken seriously. Vince has almost never taken credit for anything he has done publicly unless it was a heel character. I think it shows major insecurity and a desired to beat their chests, and it frankly needs to stop.
Lucha Underground
On a night where NXT was putting on that show Lucha Underground stayed at full throttle. We had three matches that were all excellent and vignettes that were out of this world. All I can say is give me more Dario!
Argenis put over Fenix. Within a few moments of their match starting a move happened that I have never seen before, which is common place for this show. I loved Mil's girl coming out and licking Argenis post match. She's sexy as hell and adds a maturity to the angle that WWE sorely lacks these days. Where ever this is going I'm in. Great match.
Mundo and Son of Havoc had an excellent match. I know that SOH's fortunes are going to turn, but he does an excellent job playing the talented guy that keeps botching up his chances. This was the best match of the night.
Ricky Mandell got his arm snapped by Pentagon Jr. When they debuted Pentagon is was just as a guy that could work and had an over the top look, but he has transformed into an absolute bad ass. I like the idea of putting him over with jobbers so he can get his move set in and build his reputation. What a concept!!!
All three matches were entertaining to watch and developed stories that didn't involve the title. That's how you make things matter. You put stories front and center and focus on them instead of just putting over the same guys week after week. This is how you allow guys to build up to that level and this is how you keep people interested without having to do something major every week. Great booking!
The vingettes were off the charts this week. Dario continues to be the best boss character on TV. I'm saying knowing that Authority characters are beyond stale. The guy just kills it and his promo with Alberto was spot on. When Alberto asked him about the key and he just pretended like he didn't ask and its that subtle way of making that key important. (THEY ARE PUTTING THAT KEY SO OVER!!)
The Mil Chavo segment was awesome. Having Mil talk was a major surprise and set up a match to look forward to next week. Mil comes off as way more than just a big guy and it's an excellent use of vignettes to make a guy more feared. He stock rose like 10 points off that.
The best one of the night though was Big Ryck's. For a guy that can't do much with his in ring promo's I was shocked at how well he did this. Here's a promo that puts over a angle that doesn't have bearing on the title picture. It's just a feud between guys that got the better of him. Ryck becomes face and these guys have more heat on them than before. (Why aren't they using more comedy in their mid card like WWE???)
Alberto Del Patron closed the show with a really good promo just pointing out that he felt held down in WWE, but he wasn't crying about it. Lucha did a good job of bumping his popularity. I never envisioned him as a face, but once he tossed his tie aside I was locked into the idea. Striker and Vampiro did a good job of putting over his attacking and making you understand how much of a top guy he is. I'm not sure how the interplay will be since that's mainly a AAA angle, but it's a treat if they make it a focus in Underground.
Vampiro was pretty on the money the entire show. He has been spotty for me in the past, but tonight he seemed to really be on his game. I think if you give these guys time nothing, but good things will happen with them.
What really makes this show so fresh is that key characters were not featured on the show. Puma has not been on since he was smashed by Cage. The girl who popped in on Dario was not on. Drago was not on. Sexy Star was not on the show. By keeping talent off the show you allow them to stay fresh and promote other talents. In a format that is striving to be a weekly staple versus selling PPV's at the moment this formula is genius.
Closing Thoughts
NXT has a chance to become more popular with a segment of the WWE universe, what this could lead too is WWE considering having NXT take over the Smackdown show. They could do two hours a week very easily. This would allow Raw to stay at three hours and become a better show and overall product because of the decrease in content. This wouldn't cause people not watch the network because you could continue to run the Takeover specials on the network. It's really something to consider.
It would then totally make sense for WWE to run three hours of RAW as they have the roster for it and they would have two hours of content less to help make each minute count. For those still worried about the lasting effects of the three hours on the announce team I think they can use an alternate crew for the first hour like WCW used to do. It would help a ton even if they never do this.
Lucha Underground has to start thinking about pushing their marketing of the show because what people will find is a fantastic product that I can't find very many faults in. Is it the perfect show, no, but because it's more than just lucha libre and it's so well done and fresh you will appeal to a large enough audience to eventually make this profitable and a staple. Remember they are simply using this as a vehicle to build the El Rey network and create some staple content.
In the end the fans win. You can be entertained for two hours a week without having to watch Raw or Smackdown. You can support the network without having to be a fan of the main roster product. You can get a mature and well produced product by watching Lucha. Time to start considering cutting out TNA and Raw as mandatory TV for real fans.
Monday, February 9, 2015
The Void in WWE
WWE suddenly feels like it's on pause to me. Sure there are things that have happened, but largely nothing can really get going until after Fast Lane. When you hear about numerous stars coming back, but being held back I'm forced to feel that way. Hell they haven't even brought Bo Dallas back, five hours of content a week and no spot for Bo Dallas? We aren't seeing a new influx from NXT, so I'm starting to think WWE doesn't have a really solid plan yet.
I don't think WWE has decided who will win at Fast Lane in the Main Event. That match is critical because it sets the table for the rest of the show and allows other feuds to fall into place. Many have put it out there that they believe Reigns is the for sure winner and that Bryan will likely take on Ziggler. I'm one of the few that believes they haven't made that decision yet and are considering giving Bryan the spot.
I think the biggest tipping point is that Reigns probably can't put on a very good match with Lesnar. WWE is risking a lot by having that match be a bomb and not delivering. I think they would consider the Fast Lane match to have a messy finish setting up both guys for the Main Event just to improve match quality. WWE is clearly trying to feel out the Reigns situation, but as pointed out by Jason Solomon on his podcast it's been Bryan who has main evented every show since the Rumble.
I'm left thinking that WWE wants to get as much support behind Reigns as possible and hope that they can him to WM31 as the guy, but if not go with the triple threat or worst case have Bryan take the spot. WWE did Bryan no favors last week with the direction they had him approach this. It was very un-Daniel Bryan like and he did get some boo's for it.
While I respect the fact that WWE doesn't want to push Bryan to the moon, you should never make a guy look bad to help another unless you plan to turn that guy heel. It's like they are asking us to down grade Bryan, which is not fair to him.
The Ziggler Bryan match holds very little appeal to me. For those looking for match quality it should be pretty good, but without a strong story line build it's just a one off match that doesn't do anything. I love match quality, but it has to be paired with great story. The same way that so many great matches have in the past. Just because you toss two good guys in the ring doesn't make it worth buying the PPV.
If I booked WM31 now this is what I would do. Bryan would go over Reigns at Fast Lane in as good a match as they can have. I would have Rollins help Bryan as pay back to Reigns for costing him his match against Bryan. Then I would have Rollins and Reigns at Mania. You don't need Dean Ambrose in there. This needs to be a show piece for Reigns.
I put Bryan over Lesnar in a vicious match. I put Reigns over Rollins. To close Raw the next night I have Rollins cash in on an injured and weary Bryan. Reigns makes the save for Bryan and Rollins loses his title shot. Reigns acts like he was out there to help Bryan, but instead he attacks him after chasing off Rollins and sets the feud in place.
Rollins gets a Rematch at the next PPV in April and the Reigns feud is built up into Summerslam.
I don't think WWE has decided who will win at Fast Lane in the Main Event. That match is critical because it sets the table for the rest of the show and allows other feuds to fall into place. Many have put it out there that they believe Reigns is the for sure winner and that Bryan will likely take on Ziggler. I'm one of the few that believes they haven't made that decision yet and are considering giving Bryan the spot.
I think the biggest tipping point is that Reigns probably can't put on a very good match with Lesnar. WWE is risking a lot by having that match be a bomb and not delivering. I think they would consider the Fast Lane match to have a messy finish setting up both guys for the Main Event just to improve match quality. WWE is clearly trying to feel out the Reigns situation, but as pointed out by Jason Solomon on his podcast it's been Bryan who has main evented every show since the Rumble.
I'm left thinking that WWE wants to get as much support behind Reigns as possible and hope that they can him to WM31 as the guy, but if not go with the triple threat or worst case have Bryan take the spot. WWE did Bryan no favors last week with the direction they had him approach this. It was very un-Daniel Bryan like and he did get some boo's for it.
While I respect the fact that WWE doesn't want to push Bryan to the moon, you should never make a guy look bad to help another unless you plan to turn that guy heel. It's like they are asking us to down grade Bryan, which is not fair to him.
The Ziggler Bryan match holds very little appeal to me. For those looking for match quality it should be pretty good, but without a strong story line build it's just a one off match that doesn't do anything. I love match quality, but it has to be paired with great story. The same way that so many great matches have in the past. Just because you toss two good guys in the ring doesn't make it worth buying the PPV.
If I booked WM31 now this is what I would do. Bryan would go over Reigns at Fast Lane in as good a match as they can have. I would have Rollins help Bryan as pay back to Reigns for costing him his match against Bryan. Then I would have Rollins and Reigns at Mania. You don't need Dean Ambrose in there. This needs to be a show piece for Reigns.
I put Bryan over Lesnar in a vicious match. I put Reigns over Rollins. To close Raw the next night I have Rollins cash in on an injured and weary Bryan. Reigns makes the save for Bryan and Rollins loses his title shot. Reigns acts like he was out there to help Bryan, but instead he attacks him after chasing off Rollins and sets the feud in place.
Rollins gets a Rematch at the next PPV in April and the Reigns feud is built up into Summerslam.
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
I'm Backing Off HHH
Last night was an interesting night to say the least. It's the first time in a while that I really enjoyed the show from start to finish. I also mildly enjoyed the Stone Cold Podcast. That's a tough situation for both Steve and Hunter to be in honestly. They had so much they could have talked about, but it got sprayed around over so many different topics. In any event here are a few takeaways I thought were worth noting.
The crowd didn't boo Reigns out of the building, but he got made to look like a complete ass. I'm not sure WWE is doing the wrong thing here by putting the shot on the line, but again execution is everything. Having Reigns fall into a trap and then having Bryan act somewhat heel like didn't do either guy any favors. That exchange could have been done better to help both guys. Beating Reigns was senseless. He was mad enough and didn't need that pin to stir him up even more. WWE has to stop pinning everyone. Even off interference it hurts perception.
WWE is making this move and admitting to there mistake if Bryan beats Reigns because obviously this was not the plan. I think what those against this need to realize is WWE probably had to look back at the Rumble and realize how much praise they got for that Triple Threat and then wonder how is Reigns Lesnar going to come close to that? Reigns doesn't have the work rate for it so it's like impossible to book that successful and the match might get booed out of the building if he wins. Remember Lesnar is got a baby face following going. Only an underdog is going to get those fans off him. That surely isn't Reigns.
I think at this point you flip Reigns either leading up to or after the match that Bryan should win. Give him a run as a heel to develop his character and improve his work. Also, this company is loaded with faces and it would inject some options into their legit heels. Even if the crowd is starting to get behind him a little bit, or at least last nights crowd did, they need to realize that will only make the turn better.
The bottom line is that if Reigns loses and stays face I don't think they are doing him any favors. People are hot for Bryan right now. WWE needs to watch how they have him approaching this angle and his future dialogue so the perception on Bryan doesn't change. For those suggesting that maybe Bryan turning would be cool, I say no shot at this point. He's exposed as being to nice a guy.
The main event and the Cesaro match were the two best of the night for me. Give Jimmy Uso credit and the booker of that match credit. The finish was really good. The next natural step is to give the USO's some kind of win, probably in a mix tag and then let Cesaro and Kidd win the belts off them at Fast Lane. The stage was set by Cesaro yelling at Nattie for her to screw up a mixed tag.
The last match of the night is why Bryan gets so much love. He puts on a insanely good matches and that fact only gets amplified when he works with someone as good as Rollins. This is something WWE needs to realize. Good matches happen when both guys can work. That's why Reigns Lensar scares me a lot.
Stardust and Goldust are breaking up and that's totally fine. I only wonder if they will bring Cody back or continue to push Stardust. I really like what they are doing here and they deserve a Mania match. If that is the curtain call for Goldust then he has earned it.
Mizdow and Miz are finally showing real cracks. This whole thing has simmered long enough. I just hope they have a good plan for Mizdow after this feud. Honestly I think they could do a few months where Mizdow tries to play a better version of Miz.
So then there was the Stone Cold Podcast. Here's the thing about these. Austin wouldn't have handled this podcast the same way if it was just on his show. He's excellent at what he does and he was really good for the first 30 minutes of this interview, but it was like trying to cram 5 lbs of shit in a 10 lb bag. WWE has some say in how this goes, don't kid yourself. Why they don't make it a two hour show on a network that they control is beyond me. I would love to just hear these two guys BS about things. It doesn't all have to be about the product. I felt like they only got a chance to really breathe in the closing 10 minutes or so.
Also, it's ridiculous for anyone to think that HHH is going to say something that makes himself look really bad or feeds the hatred there is out there for him. He's not going to say that he hates CM Punk and his real feelings. There's no money in that. If that was something they did if Punk ever came back then totally different story.
The farthest he towed the line was when he spoke about Chyna. In reality if we are looking back at things people did in their past then let's look back at some of the stuff HHH did and address the fact that he dated her for a long time and probably supported all the surgeries she had. I mean we all know what the SUCK IT chants represents.
Again I'll defend him because that was a tough spot, but he didn't completely dodge it. He did dodge a lot of questions and probably most noticeably the Undertaker, but Steve didn't hit him with the simple follow up like just give me a yes or no. I think that was Steve's major failing. He didn't hit him with hard follow ups. That's where you would get some really interesting stuff. It's knock on Steve, but also probably part of the deal when doing this with WWE involved.
Not to harp on that too much, but I would have liked the follow with Punk to have been something like do you understand why he left? Or why did you call him before his wedding? What did you want to talk about? I think that could have been interesting.
Overall it's just never going to be what people want it to be. If we ever truly want to get a sense for what HHH is really like it will take someone like Shane McMahon shooting on him. I think that HHH is a polarizing figure. He's very ambitious, he's not near as good as he thinks he was, or as big as he was pushed, but he's still pretty good. I have personally blamed him for a lot of the WWE's failings since 2002 because I felt like he didn't want to step aside and let other shine and there are lots of accounts to back that up.
That being said maybe he's just not my cup a tea. I think the biggest issue I have with him is that he really protects himself in the Authority roll and hardly does anything to really help another talent involved in the angle. Steph is guilty of this too. Sure we want to keep the Authority hated, but not so much that guys like Ziggler and Rybak can't gain something from it. It's been almost a year and a half and we barely have seen anyone get the better of them. Remember even Bryan was booked to fail against them until plans changed.
I think ultimately HHH in front of the camera is a bad thing. When he was face COO he once had all the heels in the ring and came out to individually run them all down. Yes it was a legit segment and it did all those guys no favors. When he was heel COO on multiple occasions he made the entire roster, or all mid carders, stand on the stage while he belittled them. Those situations can't be unseen. They happened and they again did no one any favors. So ultimately HHH needs to get and stay behind the camera.
He made some excellent points about how he would improve the show and I can't say that I don't think the WWE would be a better place with him behind the scenes in charge. I think some would worry that he might play favorites, but if those favorites are the top guys in NXT right now then hey I'm all for it. So, as much as I dislike HHH, and believe me I disdain the man, I realize that he probably deserves a chance to run the show.
I really figure what's the worst that can happen in many ways. Unless he decides to stay in front of the camera and constantly put himself over or worse tries to get the title I'm pretty sure he could be effective. I think Cena laid the seeds last night for the Authority to be ousted soon. A quick note on that. Cena's promo was interesting, but at the same time all over the place. It made me think heel in face clothing. No one deserves a break from being on TV for like 6 months more than John Cena.
What really won me over is the fact that he feels like angles need a slow burn. I totally agree with that way of thinking and have for a long time. Angles work better when the payoff is months off and we have our desire for it enhanced. Too often WWE gives it away too quickly.
I also agree that there's no reason that the Women's division can't be more entertaining and it's just booked poorly. I don't think the Bella's are bad or anyone beyond Cameron and Eva are terrible. I just think WWE puts so little effort into them that the perception is there for this. The effort in story telling here is below standard and that's not the performers fault.
Lastly I agree that Raw should be two hours, but if the network wants three a compromise needs to be struck. The first hour should be a studio recap show that looks at the shows from the prior week and hypes scheduled matches for Raw and Smackdown that week. Maybe a few backstage interviews would help as well. Probably not as high a ratings grab, but it involves way less booking and probably makes Smackdown a much better show for WWE.
So here's what I'm saying. HHH is going to get his chance one day regardless of what I think. Last night didn't change my opinion that he does self serve a bunch, but at this point I'm willing to put the past in the past and support the guy if he's going to run the company. If he flops then I'll hope somehow someone comes and does a better job. What I can agree on is the current product is never fully going to get where it needs to be with the current formula.
If that's Vince then it's Vince. The current formula of start and stop pushes, rushed matches, over scripted characters, and .500 record wrestles needs to change. Also the belief that WWE needs to somehow be Hollywood needs to stop. If HHH can execute that then he has my support.
I will close with this. HHH and many have pointed out that times have changed and fans don't like when certain guys get pushed. Fans are harder to please and there is not kayfabe. Well those statements to me are way off. First there is no kayfabe when you don't protect kayfabe. HHH and Steph constantly break character. The WWE launch was a huge example of this. If WWE put more effort into protecting Kayfabe then we would still have it, but they don't for selfish reasons.
Also, the only two fan angles that have been rejected were Batista and Reigns. That was all because of bad bad booking. Batista didn't want to be a face and WWE positioned him to be one. They wanted that for the Hollywood connection. They knew that movie was coming out and they wanted to ride that wave. Fans were invested in Daniel Bryan. So, don't let PPV buys and t-shirt sales sway you. WWE wanted to push Batista because he was in Guardians of the Galaxy.
This year WWE picked a guy that was bumbling over himself in promo's and barely wrestling matches to beat a guy that has the best promo man in the business out front for him and has delivered over the past year every time. They also had Bryan with the perfect story and the fans primed for him to get his belt back. You combine it with the Rumble being so poorly booked and all the efforts to over protect Reigns and yes you get your angle rejected.
This isn't the fans being smart this is the fans saving your ass. Fans reject angles all the time by not cheering or getting upset by what they are seeing on TV. Yet, WWE ignores them and plunges ahead. This was just an instance where fans really got pushed over the line. As I mentioned earlier WWE sees cross over appeal with Reigns while their fan base saw a guy who can't wrestle. It's a wrestling show so that's what fans want. They don't want movie stars.
If WWE thinks so highly of Reigns star power then why not have him make movies for the company and not win titles? The Rock made it in the movies because he's good in some of his roles. He got noticed because of his time in WWE, but he made it in WWE because he could WORK! So this notion that the fans are hard to please and are much smarter holds very little water. We will go along for the ride, but don't insult us the whole way.
The crowd didn't boo Reigns out of the building, but he got made to look like a complete ass. I'm not sure WWE is doing the wrong thing here by putting the shot on the line, but again execution is everything. Having Reigns fall into a trap and then having Bryan act somewhat heel like didn't do either guy any favors. That exchange could have been done better to help both guys. Beating Reigns was senseless. He was mad enough and didn't need that pin to stir him up even more. WWE has to stop pinning everyone. Even off interference it hurts perception.
WWE is making this move and admitting to there mistake if Bryan beats Reigns because obviously this was not the plan. I think what those against this need to realize is WWE probably had to look back at the Rumble and realize how much praise they got for that Triple Threat and then wonder how is Reigns Lesnar going to come close to that? Reigns doesn't have the work rate for it so it's like impossible to book that successful and the match might get booed out of the building if he wins. Remember Lesnar is got a baby face following going. Only an underdog is going to get those fans off him. That surely isn't Reigns.
I think at this point you flip Reigns either leading up to or after the match that Bryan should win. Give him a run as a heel to develop his character and improve his work. Also, this company is loaded with faces and it would inject some options into their legit heels. Even if the crowd is starting to get behind him a little bit, or at least last nights crowd did, they need to realize that will only make the turn better.
The bottom line is that if Reigns loses and stays face I don't think they are doing him any favors. People are hot for Bryan right now. WWE needs to watch how they have him approaching this angle and his future dialogue so the perception on Bryan doesn't change. For those suggesting that maybe Bryan turning would be cool, I say no shot at this point. He's exposed as being to nice a guy.
The main event and the Cesaro match were the two best of the night for me. Give Jimmy Uso credit and the booker of that match credit. The finish was really good. The next natural step is to give the USO's some kind of win, probably in a mix tag and then let Cesaro and Kidd win the belts off them at Fast Lane. The stage was set by Cesaro yelling at Nattie for her to screw up a mixed tag.
The last match of the night is why Bryan gets so much love. He puts on a insanely good matches and that fact only gets amplified when he works with someone as good as Rollins. This is something WWE needs to realize. Good matches happen when both guys can work. That's why Reigns Lensar scares me a lot.
Stardust and Goldust are breaking up and that's totally fine. I only wonder if they will bring Cody back or continue to push Stardust. I really like what they are doing here and they deserve a Mania match. If that is the curtain call for Goldust then he has earned it.
Mizdow and Miz are finally showing real cracks. This whole thing has simmered long enough. I just hope they have a good plan for Mizdow after this feud. Honestly I think they could do a few months where Mizdow tries to play a better version of Miz.
So then there was the Stone Cold Podcast. Here's the thing about these. Austin wouldn't have handled this podcast the same way if it was just on his show. He's excellent at what he does and he was really good for the first 30 minutes of this interview, but it was like trying to cram 5 lbs of shit in a 10 lb bag. WWE has some say in how this goes, don't kid yourself. Why they don't make it a two hour show on a network that they control is beyond me. I would love to just hear these two guys BS about things. It doesn't all have to be about the product. I felt like they only got a chance to really breathe in the closing 10 minutes or so.
Also, it's ridiculous for anyone to think that HHH is going to say something that makes himself look really bad or feeds the hatred there is out there for him. He's not going to say that he hates CM Punk and his real feelings. There's no money in that. If that was something they did if Punk ever came back then totally different story.
The farthest he towed the line was when he spoke about Chyna. In reality if we are looking back at things people did in their past then let's look back at some of the stuff HHH did and address the fact that he dated her for a long time and probably supported all the surgeries she had. I mean we all know what the SUCK IT chants represents.
Again I'll defend him because that was a tough spot, but he didn't completely dodge it. He did dodge a lot of questions and probably most noticeably the Undertaker, but Steve didn't hit him with the simple follow up like just give me a yes or no. I think that was Steve's major failing. He didn't hit him with hard follow ups. That's where you would get some really interesting stuff. It's knock on Steve, but also probably part of the deal when doing this with WWE involved.
Not to harp on that too much, but I would have liked the follow with Punk to have been something like do you understand why he left? Or why did you call him before his wedding? What did you want to talk about? I think that could have been interesting.
Overall it's just never going to be what people want it to be. If we ever truly want to get a sense for what HHH is really like it will take someone like Shane McMahon shooting on him. I think that HHH is a polarizing figure. He's very ambitious, he's not near as good as he thinks he was, or as big as he was pushed, but he's still pretty good. I have personally blamed him for a lot of the WWE's failings since 2002 because I felt like he didn't want to step aside and let other shine and there are lots of accounts to back that up.
That being said maybe he's just not my cup a tea. I think the biggest issue I have with him is that he really protects himself in the Authority roll and hardly does anything to really help another talent involved in the angle. Steph is guilty of this too. Sure we want to keep the Authority hated, but not so much that guys like Ziggler and Rybak can't gain something from it. It's been almost a year and a half and we barely have seen anyone get the better of them. Remember even Bryan was booked to fail against them until plans changed.
I think ultimately HHH in front of the camera is a bad thing. When he was face COO he once had all the heels in the ring and came out to individually run them all down. Yes it was a legit segment and it did all those guys no favors. When he was heel COO on multiple occasions he made the entire roster, or all mid carders, stand on the stage while he belittled them. Those situations can't be unseen. They happened and they again did no one any favors. So ultimately HHH needs to get and stay behind the camera.
He made some excellent points about how he would improve the show and I can't say that I don't think the WWE would be a better place with him behind the scenes in charge. I think some would worry that he might play favorites, but if those favorites are the top guys in NXT right now then hey I'm all for it. So, as much as I dislike HHH, and believe me I disdain the man, I realize that he probably deserves a chance to run the show.
I really figure what's the worst that can happen in many ways. Unless he decides to stay in front of the camera and constantly put himself over or worse tries to get the title I'm pretty sure he could be effective. I think Cena laid the seeds last night for the Authority to be ousted soon. A quick note on that. Cena's promo was interesting, but at the same time all over the place. It made me think heel in face clothing. No one deserves a break from being on TV for like 6 months more than John Cena.
What really won me over is the fact that he feels like angles need a slow burn. I totally agree with that way of thinking and have for a long time. Angles work better when the payoff is months off and we have our desire for it enhanced. Too often WWE gives it away too quickly.
I also agree that there's no reason that the Women's division can't be more entertaining and it's just booked poorly. I don't think the Bella's are bad or anyone beyond Cameron and Eva are terrible. I just think WWE puts so little effort into them that the perception is there for this. The effort in story telling here is below standard and that's not the performers fault.
Lastly I agree that Raw should be two hours, but if the network wants three a compromise needs to be struck. The first hour should be a studio recap show that looks at the shows from the prior week and hypes scheduled matches for Raw and Smackdown that week. Maybe a few backstage interviews would help as well. Probably not as high a ratings grab, but it involves way less booking and probably makes Smackdown a much better show for WWE.
So here's what I'm saying. HHH is going to get his chance one day regardless of what I think. Last night didn't change my opinion that he does self serve a bunch, but at this point I'm willing to put the past in the past and support the guy if he's going to run the company. If he flops then I'll hope somehow someone comes and does a better job. What I can agree on is the current product is never fully going to get where it needs to be with the current formula.
If that's Vince then it's Vince. The current formula of start and stop pushes, rushed matches, over scripted characters, and .500 record wrestles needs to change. Also the belief that WWE needs to somehow be Hollywood needs to stop. If HHH can execute that then he has my support.
I will close with this. HHH and many have pointed out that times have changed and fans don't like when certain guys get pushed. Fans are harder to please and there is not kayfabe. Well those statements to me are way off. First there is no kayfabe when you don't protect kayfabe. HHH and Steph constantly break character. The WWE launch was a huge example of this. If WWE put more effort into protecting Kayfabe then we would still have it, but they don't for selfish reasons.
Also, the only two fan angles that have been rejected were Batista and Reigns. That was all because of bad bad booking. Batista didn't want to be a face and WWE positioned him to be one. They wanted that for the Hollywood connection. They knew that movie was coming out and they wanted to ride that wave. Fans were invested in Daniel Bryan. So, don't let PPV buys and t-shirt sales sway you. WWE wanted to push Batista because he was in Guardians of the Galaxy.
This year WWE picked a guy that was bumbling over himself in promo's and barely wrestling matches to beat a guy that has the best promo man in the business out front for him and has delivered over the past year every time. They also had Bryan with the perfect story and the fans primed for him to get his belt back. You combine it with the Rumble being so poorly booked and all the efforts to over protect Reigns and yes you get your angle rejected.
This isn't the fans being smart this is the fans saving your ass. Fans reject angles all the time by not cheering or getting upset by what they are seeing on TV. Yet, WWE ignores them and plunges ahead. This was just an instance where fans really got pushed over the line. As I mentioned earlier WWE sees cross over appeal with Reigns while their fan base saw a guy who can't wrestle. It's a wrestling show so that's what fans want. They don't want movie stars.
If WWE thinks so highly of Reigns star power then why not have him make movies for the company and not win titles? The Rock made it in the movies because he's good in some of his roles. He got noticed because of his time in WWE, but he made it in WWE because he could WORK! So this notion that the fans are hard to please and are much smarter holds very little water. We will go along for the ride, but don't insult us the whole way.
Monday, February 2, 2015
My Low Expectations for Raw
This is the first in what will be way more shorter blogs that will just be the sharing of thoughts I have from time to time and shorter comments about the product. I'm going to put these out daily and some I might even do off my phone so excuse any grammar mistakes.
I feel like there is a lot of good information out there and sometimes a long column focused on one topic or show recaps can miss things that I could share with you in a few sentences, but usually longer than a tweet. The Wrestlewrap column has far exceeded our expectations and we appreciate the continued support.
Raw
Speaking of expectations I have very low ones for Raw tonight. Too often promises by WWE for big announcements fall really short of what we hope they would actually be. I give credit to other wrestling programs for being better at the occasional big surprise more so than WWE. With that being said I expect the announcement tonight to further the push for Reigns as a strong face by making him a target of the Authority.
That may seem a bit vague, but for me to guess a WWE story line is tough since they are often so poorly written and contrived. Remember WWE does not want to be predictable so they often do things that are illogical and it's hard to imagine how they play out. Since I think logically that doesn't make it easy for me. So all I can say is Reigns will get pushed by being made the target of the Authority in some way.
My bold prediction is a mini NXT invasion where HHH brings up a Neville, Balor and a few other stars to improve the product, but the more I think about that the less likely I think something like that would be. Instead I'm resigned to be disappointed.
Tonight's RAW has become very important in my opinion because WWE needs to turn the negative attention around and not feed into it. They could very easily do things that make the situation worse not better. You don't want to poke the Twitter Bear and have people hashtag cancel the network so I hope they tread carefully.
JR's Podcast with Mark Madden
I listened to a ton of podcast's last week and found that the Mark Madden one with JR was the best. Just slightly ahead of the two Stone Cold ones that I also advise listening too for sure. The Solomonster sounds off on Saturday, his latest was also very good and his Rumble recap was about as fair a look as you could take at the event. So give all those a listen, but to focus on JR's for a second I think that is a must listen.
First of all I was never a fan of Mark Madden and have never heard him talk about the product. So I was pleasantly surprised to find his views to be right on point and very entertaining at the same time. He really understands the business and from what I can tell is an absolute student of the product. Sometimes it really boils down to if you can get your point across in a way that people understand and gain value from it and he does that extremely well.
He also feed off JR very well. JR is really sharp and just like Stone Cold he walks that line between slamming WWE and being supportive. The content he's putting out weekly is usually very good.
I don't want to spoil it for anyone, but the best part for me was when JR suggested that Shinsuke Nakamura should join WWE and be managed for a short run with Paul Heyman. What an excellent idea, but Madden pointed out that Vince would have Nakamura throwing dust in a few weeks. That's a reference back to how WWE goes for stereo types regarding Asian wrestlers. In the context in which he said it he was being hilarious and quick witted. It's also a reminder if someone is good outside of WWE they are better staying outside of WWE.
Maybe I was also partial because I suggested that WWE bring in Nakamura for WM31 to take on Bryan. Bryan has called Nakamura the best on the planet right now and it's basically a dream match. That was in my how to fix the DB situation you can look up under the columns from last week.
NXT Continues to Perplexes Me
Kevin Owens is special and I fully understand him having a run in NXT, but as starved for big time heels as WWE is I hope that they will bring him up right after WM31. There is no reason to have that feud take place in NXT and not on the main roster. Zayn is 2 years into his run with NXT and he's more than ready, but more so Owens is beyond ready.
Owens is the ANTI-CENA. A serious of three matches between Cena and Owens starting with Summerslam then Survior Series and then finally WM32 is huge money. Mark that down. It's can't miss. Cena has not kids, Owens fights for his. Cena is the picture of good health, Owens is a bit chubby. Cena is excused of not being able to wrestles (that's not true), Owens is considered a wrestling machine. Cena attempts to be funny on the mic, Owens is dead serious. With Cena nearing 40 this feud should be used to put over Owens. I say Owens loses the first match, wins the second and they you frame it like Cena will win in the end, but have Owens get it. There should be no cheating all clean wins in 30 minute epics. You don't need the belt. It's money people.
Then after that is over Zayn should be built up enough to battle Owens for the strap as the two top stars in WWE. The angle writes itself. This is all money because when the action can be delivered and the stars are made it's big money.
What perplexes me to a greater degree is how Neville can not be up yet. Just to give us something new and how anyone can't think that Balor needs to stay down there. Both guys are beyond ready. I think Balor was never not ready and should have gone main roster from the jump.
I understand why WWE has NXT and I think it's great for guys like Corbin and Bull Dempsey and even the Vaudevillians, but these extended stays for guys that don't need it make my head hurt. Zayn probably just needed 6 months and should have been moved up. If he had the Cesaro feud on the main roster it would have done as much for him and Cesaro as it did down there in Full Sail.
So I guess what I'm saying is that there are spots open on the main roster. In the case of Kane and Big show there should be actually more open. If WWE continues to keep these guys down there I'm going to start losing faith that NXT is actually a good thing.
Also, they are killing Kenta or Itami. He's lost a lot of flash down there and they are making him to be the traditional foreigner. As a face he's being really aloof, which is the way they love to play it. If he goes heel watch him become a man of mystery and intrigue.
I know people love NXT, but it needs to be used to develop those who really need it and not guys that they just want to do gimmick adjustment on.
The Stone Cold Podcast with HHH
I again don't have high expectations for this. Steve is great at what he does, but this broadcast will be way too short to cover everything and I think you will simply see HHH duck and dodge many of the major questions. I think his CM Punk question this time around will be to ask about Reigns.
I think HHH is vulnerable because of his ego and if you worked him the right way you could get him to say more than what he should say, where Vince was artful and anything he gave away like the brass ring thing was planned. I just don't see Steve positioning HHH to pop and say something he will regret.
Some critics and talking heads have said that Steve should not waste time with things from the past and instead focus on more current stuff. I can agree with that, but I think Steve should ask about how HHH really handles the perception that he got to where he was because of who he married. Simply ask if you didn't marry Stephanie do you think your career would have been as good and you would be in the position you are in. Hard to imagine, but I think that's a really good question to ask of HHH.
In any event that was just a few thoughts for you today. Please keep retweeting us and telling your friends about the wrestlewrap. We appreciate the support and we promise big things are coming down the road.
I feel like there is a lot of good information out there and sometimes a long column focused on one topic or show recaps can miss things that I could share with you in a few sentences, but usually longer than a tweet. The Wrestlewrap column has far exceeded our expectations and we appreciate the continued support.
Raw
Speaking of expectations I have very low ones for Raw tonight. Too often promises by WWE for big announcements fall really short of what we hope they would actually be. I give credit to other wrestling programs for being better at the occasional big surprise more so than WWE. With that being said I expect the announcement tonight to further the push for Reigns as a strong face by making him a target of the Authority.
That may seem a bit vague, but for me to guess a WWE story line is tough since they are often so poorly written and contrived. Remember WWE does not want to be predictable so they often do things that are illogical and it's hard to imagine how they play out. Since I think logically that doesn't make it easy for me. So all I can say is Reigns will get pushed by being made the target of the Authority in some way.
My bold prediction is a mini NXT invasion where HHH brings up a Neville, Balor and a few other stars to improve the product, but the more I think about that the less likely I think something like that would be. Instead I'm resigned to be disappointed.
Tonight's RAW has become very important in my opinion because WWE needs to turn the negative attention around and not feed into it. They could very easily do things that make the situation worse not better. You don't want to poke the Twitter Bear and have people hashtag cancel the network so I hope they tread carefully.
JR's Podcast with Mark Madden
I listened to a ton of podcast's last week and found that the Mark Madden one with JR was the best. Just slightly ahead of the two Stone Cold ones that I also advise listening too for sure. The Solomonster sounds off on Saturday, his latest was also very good and his Rumble recap was about as fair a look as you could take at the event. So give all those a listen, but to focus on JR's for a second I think that is a must listen.
First of all I was never a fan of Mark Madden and have never heard him talk about the product. So I was pleasantly surprised to find his views to be right on point and very entertaining at the same time. He really understands the business and from what I can tell is an absolute student of the product. Sometimes it really boils down to if you can get your point across in a way that people understand and gain value from it and he does that extremely well.
He also feed off JR very well. JR is really sharp and just like Stone Cold he walks that line between slamming WWE and being supportive. The content he's putting out weekly is usually very good.
I don't want to spoil it for anyone, but the best part for me was when JR suggested that Shinsuke Nakamura should join WWE and be managed for a short run with Paul Heyman. What an excellent idea, but Madden pointed out that Vince would have Nakamura throwing dust in a few weeks. That's a reference back to how WWE goes for stereo types regarding Asian wrestlers. In the context in which he said it he was being hilarious and quick witted. It's also a reminder if someone is good outside of WWE they are better staying outside of WWE.
Maybe I was also partial because I suggested that WWE bring in Nakamura for WM31 to take on Bryan. Bryan has called Nakamura the best on the planet right now and it's basically a dream match. That was in my how to fix the DB situation you can look up under the columns from last week.
NXT Continues to Perplexes Me
Kevin Owens is special and I fully understand him having a run in NXT, but as starved for big time heels as WWE is I hope that they will bring him up right after WM31. There is no reason to have that feud take place in NXT and not on the main roster. Zayn is 2 years into his run with NXT and he's more than ready, but more so Owens is beyond ready.
Owens is the ANTI-CENA. A serious of three matches between Cena and Owens starting with Summerslam then Survior Series and then finally WM32 is huge money. Mark that down. It's can't miss. Cena has not kids, Owens fights for his. Cena is the picture of good health, Owens is a bit chubby. Cena is excused of not being able to wrestles (that's not true), Owens is considered a wrestling machine. Cena attempts to be funny on the mic, Owens is dead serious. With Cena nearing 40 this feud should be used to put over Owens. I say Owens loses the first match, wins the second and they you frame it like Cena will win in the end, but have Owens get it. There should be no cheating all clean wins in 30 minute epics. You don't need the belt. It's money people.
Then after that is over Zayn should be built up enough to battle Owens for the strap as the two top stars in WWE. The angle writes itself. This is all money because when the action can be delivered and the stars are made it's big money.
What perplexes me to a greater degree is how Neville can not be up yet. Just to give us something new and how anyone can't think that Balor needs to stay down there. Both guys are beyond ready. I think Balor was never not ready and should have gone main roster from the jump.
I understand why WWE has NXT and I think it's great for guys like Corbin and Bull Dempsey and even the Vaudevillians, but these extended stays for guys that don't need it make my head hurt. Zayn probably just needed 6 months and should have been moved up. If he had the Cesaro feud on the main roster it would have done as much for him and Cesaro as it did down there in Full Sail.
So I guess what I'm saying is that there are spots open on the main roster. In the case of Kane and Big show there should be actually more open. If WWE continues to keep these guys down there I'm going to start losing faith that NXT is actually a good thing.
Also, they are killing Kenta or Itami. He's lost a lot of flash down there and they are making him to be the traditional foreigner. As a face he's being really aloof, which is the way they love to play it. If he goes heel watch him become a man of mystery and intrigue.
I know people love NXT, but it needs to be used to develop those who really need it and not guys that they just want to do gimmick adjustment on.
The Stone Cold Podcast with HHH
I again don't have high expectations for this. Steve is great at what he does, but this broadcast will be way too short to cover everything and I think you will simply see HHH duck and dodge many of the major questions. I think his CM Punk question this time around will be to ask about Reigns.
I think HHH is vulnerable because of his ego and if you worked him the right way you could get him to say more than what he should say, where Vince was artful and anything he gave away like the brass ring thing was planned. I just don't see Steve positioning HHH to pop and say something he will regret.
Some critics and talking heads have said that Steve should not waste time with things from the past and instead focus on more current stuff. I can agree with that, but I think Steve should ask about how HHH really handles the perception that he got to where he was because of who he married. Simply ask if you didn't marry Stephanie do you think your career would have been as good and you would be in the position you are in. Hard to imagine, but I think that's a really good question to ask of HHH.
In any event that was just a few thoughts for you today. Please keep retweeting us and telling your friends about the wrestlewrap. We appreciate the support and we promise big things are coming down the road.
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