WWE Champion Brock Lesnar was scheduled to appear on Raw the night after WWE Fastlane. He did not appear after having a reported disagreement with WWE CEO Vince McMahon. Rumors circulated that Lesnar was upset about a failed drug test by WWE Superstar Roman Reigns. Reigns is scheduled to face Lesnar at Wrestlemania 31 the companies signature event for the title on March 29th in Santa Clara California. That rumor was quickly squashed and WWE actually acknowledged the rumor by commenting that it was completely false. It is believed that the disagreement was over a new contract for Lesnar.
It seems unlikely that this disagreement is over the money involved with that contract. If Lesnar had a number and Vince and him could not agree on that number then they would simply finish up their business and move on. Lesnar has been open to returning to UFC where he would likely get a big contract to return. Of course he would be at greater physical risk, but he would likely receive more than the WWE could offer him. For Lesnar to grand stand over a number seems silly. It has to be related to something from a creative direction.
While the Reigns drug theory seems pretty off the wall this issue very well could be related to their match. It had been reported prior to that Raw that Brock and WWE had reached terms on a new one year deal, so that would assume the money was agreed upon. Often the truth is somewhere in the middle. It is very likely that Brock went to Raw to sign the deal and asked Vince what his plans were for WM31.
Vince probably explained, and this should be no surprise based on the extreme push they are giving him, that Reigns would be winning the belt from Brock. It would make perfect sense for Lesnar to have an issue with that. Lesnar could probably see for himself that Reigns has not gone over with the crowd at all. Why would Lesnar the guy who stopped the streak and whipped the floor with John Cena drop his title to a virtual newbie with very few big time singles wins? Also, he has Heyman in his corner who completely understands the business and could have been, and should have been, in Brock's ear about the reception Reigns has been getting.
Brock might have refused to do the job feeling it was not best for business or him personally. A loss to Reigns would diminish Brock as a draw greatly. That would hurt his ability to create revenue for himself and make himself less valuable for WWE going forward. Something the WWE may not mind, as it probably better to invest in talent they have 100% control over.
With that being said it also could have simply been the fact that Lesnar thought he would remain champion if he was signing that deal and didn't plan or figure on losing to anyone until Dallas next year. Lesnar might have felt that he was going to remain Champion until his run was completely over. It may have nothing to do with Reigns at all.
It's easy to see WWE's side of the story with not keeping Lesnar as Champion. If he has the same deal he did before then he would probably only wrestle 2 more times this year past WM31. That means WWE would have to fill a gap from WM31 to Summerslam without a title match on any PPV event. This theory failed badly in the fall for them this past year and caused a lot of fan angst. If they had a match in the summer and then at Summerslam they run the risk of not having Brock back in the ring until 2016.
It's possible for them to have Lesnar participate in one other summer PPV and then drop the title at Summerslam, but that probably isn't something Brock wants to do. He would probably want to carry the title into Dallas and headline WM32. Being in Dallas that event has the ability to be one of the best WM's of all time.
It should be noted that Lesnar has not shown a history of not doing what's asked of him, but this is in relation to whether he stays, so he could be refusing to do the job because it would make staying not worthwhile to him. Vince could have felt Brock was wrong and that he would still be a huge draw no matter what happened at WM31. Many would probably disagree with Vince there. Reigns is likely to suck the heat off of anyone he beats. Many have commented that Daniel Bryan has lost some of his popularity since his short feud with Reigns over the #1 contender spot.
While fans may never know the truth they are being denied to this point a proper build for the top match on the card at WM31. WWE will have to do something in the next three weeks to address this. You still have to wonder with Reigns not receiving a strong positive crowd reaction if the WM31 main event might be the biggest bomb in the companies history.
The next few weeks, even going past Summerslam promise to be some of the the most interesting both in front and behind the camera for WWE. Stay tuned!
Monday, March 9, 2015
Thursday, March 5, 2015
Wednesday Night's Deliver Again
Lucha Underground shows it's maturity in some ways while NXT continues to put out great wrestling. Both shows had some high points while there were some things that were not all that well done. In the end Wednesday's continue to rule wrestling by a wide margin.
LU gave us the Texano Patron match a few weeks sooner than I thought they would. Dario tried to ask Alberto for time to promote the match. I gotta be honest here. I agree with Dario. They shouldn't just put that match out their unannounced. Still it served a purpose. The value of it tells viewers that every show is must see. They aren't hurt by that because they don't build to PPV's at this time.
The match was good, but the screwy finish where Alberto took a DQ was a bit mindless. The announce team acted like he had somehow triumphed, but he actually lost. Clearly they want that story to play out in AAA, and they didn't even mention if the title was on the line. I guess that's fine, but why have that match here unless you are trying to draw some AAA fans to this show as well. So maybe I'm answering my own question.
Alberto teased that he wants the next shot at the title after Cage. They didn't promote it for next week, but I'm assuming we could see that Cage/Puma match this coming week. I would say they should at least put that out there a week ahead of time, but it wouldn't surprise me to see it next week. Cage Puma is an absolute treat of a match. They have to go for a pinfall finish in the next match. I'm not sure what Konan's plan is, but they hype video they ran makes me think he has something up his sleeve.
Cueno and Mundo will do battle in the cage next week. This will be the first cage match on LU and I'm interested to see how they utilize it. This should be an excellent match and that has me sold on next week alone.
Mil and Fenix had a great match. Really good action in that match with the exception of the odd finish, but Fenix came out looking really good despite losing. Anyone that gets Catrina in the end is doing pretty well for themselves.
Dario was awesome in all of his segments. A lot of his decisions are not about only supporting bad guys, but also running a good wrestling company. I'm all for LU being a brand people are proud to follow like WWE in the late 90's and ECW. Dario can't just be all heel trying to hurt the faces. He needs to be impartial in a lot of ways. He's my favorite part of the show and considering how great the matches are that's saying something.
Last note on this. The Sexy Star Big Ryck match wasn't bad at all. Big Ryck could have punished her, but that would make little sense since he is a face at this time. They also didn't take the time to make him look bad. He did the logical thing and held her down for the pinfall. WWE needs to embrace logic.
On NXT Kevin Owens continues to prove he knows how to be a heel. When I watch the show I'm always rooting for something bad to happen to him or for things to wrong, but when I'm away from the show I think Kevin Owens is such a badass. Kevin Owens is drawing money. He's making you want to watch him for the reason of seeing him get his and he's being entertaining and not annoying.
This is different from the Authority in WWE who at this point are just annoying. Sure Steph and HHH can get heat, but most of their behavior is just annoying, which is a turn off for the most part.
Owen was all over Alex Riley again, which caused Riley to quit his announcing job, but I liked how Regal didn't just let him have a match. They will build to Owens/Riley. This will be a good comeback feud for Riley and another good feud for Owens.
The Zayn thing was a let down. It's almost like a repeat of what happened to him after the last Takeover where he was recovering and did an online video. I think it's ok for now and it helps build that Owen Balor situation, but I would have gone a different route. I would have brought him back next week and had him attack Owens. Then I would have said he can't wrestle until he's medically cleared.
I know this probably also related to their tapings schedule and that might be why he did that to appease his fans, but make up for being away for these last few tapings.
I'm a bit confused about the Balor/Owens match on the 25th. Is that going to be a live event? Is that a takeover special? Is that a longer than usual show? Is that already a taped match? That seemed like a non-committal promo and there was zero info online about that today. I have a feeling it's a taped match and it's probably because Balor is going to the main roster the night after WM31.
I previously commented that I think WWE should Nakamura the IC title with Daniel Bryan. For those of you who don't know Nakamuraing is when you take a lesser belt and put it on an absolute superstar. Then you pair that superstar in feuds against great workers thereby lifting the belt to a new status level. WWE needs to treat the IC title like it was as valuable as the World title they just retired (the big gold belt). In doing so they can elevate a second tier mid card that appeals to the smart fans.
Balor would be perfect in that role. He could engage Bryan in a nice feud. For all the baby face appeal they have had on Balor in NXT, don't be surprised if he goes heel. I think he is naturally more suited to be in that role. Whatever they do they just need to keep him away from that poison know as Roman Reigns.
Another side note. I caught an excerpt from what I believe was the second CM Punk Colt Cabana podcast. In the excerpt on youtube Punk talks about how WWE brass wanted him to make Roman look good in a match. It's funny how even that far back they were so protective of Roman. Imagine if they protected Balor in the same way? He would become ten times the start that Roman could ever be. We will see.
I liked the Women's match. Flair and Banks have gotten to know each other so well in the ring that they just click. They have put a ton into that match and it just keeps getting better. Again I know Flair is moving up, and I expect Banks to hold the belt through the summer before dropping it to Bayley. Then I expect her to move up as well. That feud has a lot of life left in it. That match will be even better in a year on the main roster.
I was disappointed by Solomon Crowe. He's got a unique look and I'm sure he can work, but his match was not all that good. They had him work from underneath too much in this spot. I think they would have done better to get him a jobber so he could get all his stuff in and look strong. He seemed to be chasing the match. His finish doesn't impress me all that much and has to be setup, so I think that he might want to go a different direction. That splash from the second rope is unique, but it seems like the Lion Salt, which almost never got a pinfall.
This is going to sound nuts, but I love Dempsey's music and I think that he could pass for Kevin Smith if he wanted too. The thing about Bull is that he will probably never be a top top guy, but he can work and has a unique look. I would love for WWE to bring him up and use him as a tag partner with Big Show. They have hat similar make up. He's almost like a little show. I would have it be a half serious half comedy team. Big Show knows how to be funny. I just think if you keep him funny as a heel you might actually get something out of him and Bull would do well as his protege.
People often try to make too much of everyone. Sometimes you just have to see that some guys are made for certain slots and in those slots they can make the product better. WWE doesn't seem to understand that. They tend to think any guy who can't get way over is a failure and chase them away after a couple of years.
That's all for now.
LU gave us the Texano Patron match a few weeks sooner than I thought they would. Dario tried to ask Alberto for time to promote the match. I gotta be honest here. I agree with Dario. They shouldn't just put that match out their unannounced. Still it served a purpose. The value of it tells viewers that every show is must see. They aren't hurt by that because they don't build to PPV's at this time.
The match was good, but the screwy finish where Alberto took a DQ was a bit mindless. The announce team acted like he had somehow triumphed, but he actually lost. Clearly they want that story to play out in AAA, and they didn't even mention if the title was on the line. I guess that's fine, but why have that match here unless you are trying to draw some AAA fans to this show as well. So maybe I'm answering my own question.
Alberto teased that he wants the next shot at the title after Cage. They didn't promote it for next week, but I'm assuming we could see that Cage/Puma match this coming week. I would say they should at least put that out there a week ahead of time, but it wouldn't surprise me to see it next week. Cage Puma is an absolute treat of a match. They have to go for a pinfall finish in the next match. I'm not sure what Konan's plan is, but they hype video they ran makes me think he has something up his sleeve.
Cueno and Mundo will do battle in the cage next week. This will be the first cage match on LU and I'm interested to see how they utilize it. This should be an excellent match and that has me sold on next week alone.
Mil and Fenix had a great match. Really good action in that match with the exception of the odd finish, but Fenix came out looking really good despite losing. Anyone that gets Catrina in the end is doing pretty well for themselves.
Dario was awesome in all of his segments. A lot of his decisions are not about only supporting bad guys, but also running a good wrestling company. I'm all for LU being a brand people are proud to follow like WWE in the late 90's and ECW. Dario can't just be all heel trying to hurt the faces. He needs to be impartial in a lot of ways. He's my favorite part of the show and considering how great the matches are that's saying something.
Last note on this. The Sexy Star Big Ryck match wasn't bad at all. Big Ryck could have punished her, but that would make little sense since he is a face at this time. They also didn't take the time to make him look bad. He did the logical thing and held her down for the pinfall. WWE needs to embrace logic.
On NXT Kevin Owens continues to prove he knows how to be a heel. When I watch the show I'm always rooting for something bad to happen to him or for things to wrong, but when I'm away from the show I think Kevin Owens is such a badass. Kevin Owens is drawing money. He's making you want to watch him for the reason of seeing him get his and he's being entertaining and not annoying.
This is different from the Authority in WWE who at this point are just annoying. Sure Steph and HHH can get heat, but most of their behavior is just annoying, which is a turn off for the most part.
Owen was all over Alex Riley again, which caused Riley to quit his announcing job, but I liked how Regal didn't just let him have a match. They will build to Owens/Riley. This will be a good comeback feud for Riley and another good feud for Owens.
The Zayn thing was a let down. It's almost like a repeat of what happened to him after the last Takeover where he was recovering and did an online video. I think it's ok for now and it helps build that Owen Balor situation, but I would have gone a different route. I would have brought him back next week and had him attack Owens. Then I would have said he can't wrestle until he's medically cleared.
I know this probably also related to their tapings schedule and that might be why he did that to appease his fans, but make up for being away for these last few tapings.
I'm a bit confused about the Balor/Owens match on the 25th. Is that going to be a live event? Is that a takeover special? Is that a longer than usual show? Is that already a taped match? That seemed like a non-committal promo and there was zero info online about that today. I have a feeling it's a taped match and it's probably because Balor is going to the main roster the night after WM31.
I previously commented that I think WWE should Nakamura the IC title with Daniel Bryan. For those of you who don't know Nakamuraing is when you take a lesser belt and put it on an absolute superstar. Then you pair that superstar in feuds against great workers thereby lifting the belt to a new status level. WWE needs to treat the IC title like it was as valuable as the World title they just retired (the big gold belt). In doing so they can elevate a second tier mid card that appeals to the smart fans.
Balor would be perfect in that role. He could engage Bryan in a nice feud. For all the baby face appeal they have had on Balor in NXT, don't be surprised if he goes heel. I think he is naturally more suited to be in that role. Whatever they do they just need to keep him away from that poison know as Roman Reigns.
Another side note. I caught an excerpt from what I believe was the second CM Punk Colt Cabana podcast. In the excerpt on youtube Punk talks about how WWE brass wanted him to make Roman look good in a match. It's funny how even that far back they were so protective of Roman. Imagine if they protected Balor in the same way? He would become ten times the start that Roman could ever be. We will see.
I liked the Women's match. Flair and Banks have gotten to know each other so well in the ring that they just click. They have put a ton into that match and it just keeps getting better. Again I know Flair is moving up, and I expect Banks to hold the belt through the summer before dropping it to Bayley. Then I expect her to move up as well. That feud has a lot of life left in it. That match will be even better in a year on the main roster.
I was disappointed by Solomon Crowe. He's got a unique look and I'm sure he can work, but his match was not all that good. They had him work from underneath too much in this spot. I think they would have done better to get him a jobber so he could get all his stuff in and look strong. He seemed to be chasing the match. His finish doesn't impress me all that much and has to be setup, so I think that he might want to go a different direction. That splash from the second rope is unique, but it seems like the Lion Salt, which almost never got a pinfall.
This is going to sound nuts, but I love Dempsey's music and I think that he could pass for Kevin Smith if he wanted too. The thing about Bull is that he will probably never be a top top guy, but he can work and has a unique look. I would love for WWE to bring him up and use him as a tag partner with Big Show. They have hat similar make up. He's almost like a little show. I would have it be a half serious half comedy team. Big Show knows how to be funny. I just think if you keep him funny as a heel you might actually get something out of him and Bull would do well as his protege.
People often try to make too much of everyone. Sometimes you just have to see that some guys are made for certain slots and in those slots they can make the product better. WWE doesn't seem to understand that. They tend to think any guy who can't get way over is a failure and chase them away after a couple of years.
That's all for now.
Tuesday, March 3, 2015
WWE Talk
WWE Raw last night was not that bad because it was entertaining, but not in the way WWE wants to be entertaining. WWE if dealing with so many issue both in front and behind the scenes it's intersting to see how they are struggling to deal with them all. In most cases they are falling short.
I think a lot of the problem is they are misusing the slow burn. HHH talked about the slow burn working, but often WWE has gone over the top with it. We are three weeks away from WM31. The Undertaker should have been back in February. He doesn't have to be on the show every week, but we needed that moment to happen already.
Sting should have said something by now. The Cena Rusev match should be booked. Orton probably should have turned on Rollins. The IC match should be finalized already. The next three weeks should just be hyping all these matches. Instead WWE is still trying to put them together. I'm a huge fan of the slow burn for the big pay off, but this is ridiculous.
I'm perhaps must frustrated by the Sting/HHH match. Some have said they have enjoyed HHH's promo's and Sting's silence has been good. I'm on the other side. Sting not talking back in November and January was ok, but at Fast Lane he should have broken his silence already. This is beyond ridiculous. The way HHH is portraying the angle is beyond dumb, which is why I'm not a huge fan of his promos. He's painting Sting as a guy who is fighting for WCW and that probably isn't the case, but HHH and the announce team are trying to drive that point home.
His actions have indicated that he's really there to put the Authority out of business. Sting needs to do the very simple promo I have laid out to get the heat really going for this match.
"HHH I'm not here about WCW. I gave my heart and soul for that company, but I'm well over that ending and I have moved on. You weren't the reason that WCW went out of business. I think it has to do more with what WCW didn't do more so than what you, HHH, did. Also, if we are claiming credit I think the Rock, Mick Foley, and Stone Cold Steve Austin might have an opinion on that. But again I'm here not to defend the honor of WCW, but to stop you from wrecking the WWE. I've been watching these past few years and I've seen how you have been the constant in the WWE. How so many times you have held up and coming talents down. Last year you and your wife spent every Monday Night trying to stop the crowd from supporting Daniel Bryan. Then you threatened to fire people who stood up to you. Hard working guys like Dolph Ziggler who you stepped over and suppressed. So HHH I'm here not to defend WCW, but instead to save the WWE from you! Because getting rid of you has no become best for business."
Can you imagine how hot that would be? That plays right into the smart fan belief that HHH is always putting himself over, which makes it hot. After that promo you set a stipulation that the Authority be removed from power if Sting should win and Sting will leave the WWE forever if he loses. That would up the stakes.
The Roman Reigns project continues. I'm going on record. Reigns will never get over like other top guys. A lot of pundits are afraid to say that, but I'm not. He's just not the guy everyone thinks he is. The move set will improve, but the complete lack of natural charisma won't. I see in him a guy that has no sense of what is going on around him. He's basically trying to, as he said, get rich! That's fine and all, but have some back bone and push back at these writers.
Anyone with half a brain would have shot down that finish last night. All it did was bring both Rollins and Reigns down. Reigns gets the cheap win. That's fine. Set up a steel cage rematch for next week where that kind of interference can't happen. Having Roman destroy everyone makes you question why he would have ever lost in the first place, but ruins any heat that Rollins got from the win. So why give him the win? Instead just give Reigns the win and be done with it. Doing it this way hurt Reigns or did nothing for him and didn't help Rollins, who needs help, at all.
The best part about the Jon Stewart segment was how he rehashed how Rollins won the case. Kane tossed Ambrose and Rollins got the win. This was a rare moment when the WWE tried to recall history back further than the last months PPV. This is what gives your characters some depth. This is what drives feuds, but WWE likes to pretend that anything that happened a few months ago didn't happen. They do this because of all the losses they drop on guys. They want you to forget those loses so you stay engaged in a character they might be pushing. It's hard to get behind a guy that loses all the time.
WWE has suddenly become all about forcing us to think a certain way so that they can fit it in their plans. When I saw that WWE had produced a WM31 action figure set with Lesnar and Reigns I realized how many eggs they had put in one basket. Those were clearly ordered well before Fast Lane. This was their plan from the summer and that's ok, but when they saw the writing on the wall they should have changed course. So we only use history in WWE when it suits us, but boy does it help when you use it correctly. Kudos to Jon Steward for doing a good face segment on Raw, which is a rare site. He's lucky Steph didn't come down to run him down and suck the life out of the building.
Speaking of WWE trying to control everything, I want to make it perfectly clear that the reason the crowd seemed dead at Fast Lane, but was lively to those in attendance, was because they purposely controlled the crowd noise. They had the building mic'd in a way that allowed them to keep the boo'ing under control. That's why everything seemed so dead. In the final match between Bryan and Reigns you could not hear the YES chant very loudly during Bryan's intro. Yet, during the match it was very loud. You could also hearing the booing for Reigns, that you did not hear post match until they turned the mics up for the Bryan speech to him.
That was yet another slimy move to protect Reigns. Last night Reigns got dead reactions or booing. It's amazing that WWE thinks this is all going to change in the next three weeks. With Lensar certainly all, but gone it's almost for sure that Reigns is going over...like a lead balloon. To those holding out hope for a cash in, how could that seem believable the way Rollins has been treated the past few weeks and how that match was booked to make him look so bad last night. It won't work.
Speaking of Lesnar I think you can all, but set his ship to sea. I don't think Vince can give Brock what he wants. I think there is more to the story as well. It seems odd that he would just leave Raw like that and they probably leaked it's about the contract to quell rumors. I don't think it's the drug story BS with Reigns, but probably more something along the lines of him not wanting to lose to Reigns. The truth in these situations is always somewhere closer to the middle.
I don't think people realize that Heyman will probably be gone if Lesnar is and that would be horrible, but at this point I think Heyman can write his own ticket. He could probably go to the highest bidder, but considering he's got a successful promotional business I think he will probably not run a company. Imagine if Heyman took over TNA right now or got behind Bullet Club in NJPW? Yet, it would still be sad to see him leave WWE.
I felt like that Heyman promo was a good bye promo last night. He was edgier than he usually is and I'm not 100% sure that's not why they were cutting his mic. He protected Brock and put the match over big time. I just don't think even Heyman can save the Reigns end of this deal. It's actually hurting Reigns when he brings up Austin. Fans are not all smart, but not even the casual fan respects Reigns enough to think he's greater than Steve Austin. Especially when you consider how brief his run as a singles has been.
The WWE has a strange feel to it since the Royal Rumble. It feels like the fans have their eyes open to what WWE is all about these days and they don't like it. WM31 might be more interesting for how the crowd reacts then the actual results themselves. That in itself is worth noting.
WM31 will be highly rated because it's Mania. But just like this Raw I think many will tune in for the reaction as much as the show itself.
I think a lot of the problem is they are misusing the slow burn. HHH talked about the slow burn working, but often WWE has gone over the top with it. We are three weeks away from WM31. The Undertaker should have been back in February. He doesn't have to be on the show every week, but we needed that moment to happen already.
Sting should have said something by now. The Cena Rusev match should be booked. Orton probably should have turned on Rollins. The IC match should be finalized already. The next three weeks should just be hyping all these matches. Instead WWE is still trying to put them together. I'm a huge fan of the slow burn for the big pay off, but this is ridiculous.
I'm perhaps must frustrated by the Sting/HHH match. Some have said they have enjoyed HHH's promo's and Sting's silence has been good. I'm on the other side. Sting not talking back in November and January was ok, but at Fast Lane he should have broken his silence already. This is beyond ridiculous. The way HHH is portraying the angle is beyond dumb, which is why I'm not a huge fan of his promos. He's painting Sting as a guy who is fighting for WCW and that probably isn't the case, but HHH and the announce team are trying to drive that point home.
His actions have indicated that he's really there to put the Authority out of business. Sting needs to do the very simple promo I have laid out to get the heat really going for this match.
"HHH I'm not here about WCW. I gave my heart and soul for that company, but I'm well over that ending and I have moved on. You weren't the reason that WCW went out of business. I think it has to do more with what WCW didn't do more so than what you, HHH, did. Also, if we are claiming credit I think the Rock, Mick Foley, and Stone Cold Steve Austin might have an opinion on that. But again I'm here not to defend the honor of WCW, but to stop you from wrecking the WWE. I've been watching these past few years and I've seen how you have been the constant in the WWE. How so many times you have held up and coming talents down. Last year you and your wife spent every Monday Night trying to stop the crowd from supporting Daniel Bryan. Then you threatened to fire people who stood up to you. Hard working guys like Dolph Ziggler who you stepped over and suppressed. So HHH I'm here not to defend WCW, but instead to save the WWE from you! Because getting rid of you has no become best for business."
Can you imagine how hot that would be? That plays right into the smart fan belief that HHH is always putting himself over, which makes it hot. After that promo you set a stipulation that the Authority be removed from power if Sting should win and Sting will leave the WWE forever if he loses. That would up the stakes.
The Roman Reigns project continues. I'm going on record. Reigns will never get over like other top guys. A lot of pundits are afraid to say that, but I'm not. He's just not the guy everyone thinks he is. The move set will improve, but the complete lack of natural charisma won't. I see in him a guy that has no sense of what is going on around him. He's basically trying to, as he said, get rich! That's fine and all, but have some back bone and push back at these writers.
Anyone with half a brain would have shot down that finish last night. All it did was bring both Rollins and Reigns down. Reigns gets the cheap win. That's fine. Set up a steel cage rematch for next week where that kind of interference can't happen. Having Roman destroy everyone makes you question why he would have ever lost in the first place, but ruins any heat that Rollins got from the win. So why give him the win? Instead just give Reigns the win and be done with it. Doing it this way hurt Reigns or did nothing for him and didn't help Rollins, who needs help, at all.
The best part about the Jon Stewart segment was how he rehashed how Rollins won the case. Kane tossed Ambrose and Rollins got the win. This was a rare moment when the WWE tried to recall history back further than the last months PPV. This is what gives your characters some depth. This is what drives feuds, but WWE likes to pretend that anything that happened a few months ago didn't happen. They do this because of all the losses they drop on guys. They want you to forget those loses so you stay engaged in a character they might be pushing. It's hard to get behind a guy that loses all the time.
WWE has suddenly become all about forcing us to think a certain way so that they can fit it in their plans. When I saw that WWE had produced a WM31 action figure set with Lesnar and Reigns I realized how many eggs they had put in one basket. Those were clearly ordered well before Fast Lane. This was their plan from the summer and that's ok, but when they saw the writing on the wall they should have changed course. So we only use history in WWE when it suits us, but boy does it help when you use it correctly. Kudos to Jon Steward for doing a good face segment on Raw, which is a rare site. He's lucky Steph didn't come down to run him down and suck the life out of the building.
Speaking of WWE trying to control everything, I want to make it perfectly clear that the reason the crowd seemed dead at Fast Lane, but was lively to those in attendance, was because they purposely controlled the crowd noise. They had the building mic'd in a way that allowed them to keep the boo'ing under control. That's why everything seemed so dead. In the final match between Bryan and Reigns you could not hear the YES chant very loudly during Bryan's intro. Yet, during the match it was very loud. You could also hearing the booing for Reigns, that you did not hear post match until they turned the mics up for the Bryan speech to him.
That was yet another slimy move to protect Reigns. Last night Reigns got dead reactions or booing. It's amazing that WWE thinks this is all going to change in the next three weeks. With Lensar certainly all, but gone it's almost for sure that Reigns is going over...like a lead balloon. To those holding out hope for a cash in, how could that seem believable the way Rollins has been treated the past few weeks and how that match was booked to make him look so bad last night. It won't work.
Speaking of Lesnar I think you can all, but set his ship to sea. I don't think Vince can give Brock what he wants. I think there is more to the story as well. It seems odd that he would just leave Raw like that and they probably leaked it's about the contract to quell rumors. I don't think it's the drug story BS with Reigns, but probably more something along the lines of him not wanting to lose to Reigns. The truth in these situations is always somewhere closer to the middle.
I don't think people realize that Heyman will probably be gone if Lesnar is and that would be horrible, but at this point I think Heyman can write his own ticket. He could probably go to the highest bidder, but considering he's got a successful promotional business I think he will probably not run a company. Imagine if Heyman took over TNA right now or got behind Bullet Club in NJPW? Yet, it would still be sad to see him leave WWE.
I felt like that Heyman promo was a good bye promo last night. He was edgier than he usually is and I'm not 100% sure that's not why they were cutting his mic. He protected Brock and put the match over big time. I just don't think even Heyman can save the Reigns end of this deal. It's actually hurting Reigns when he brings up Austin. Fans are not all smart, but not even the casual fan respects Reigns enough to think he's greater than Steve Austin. Especially when you consider how brief his run as a singles has been.
The WWE has a strange feel to it since the Royal Rumble. It feels like the fans have their eyes open to what WWE is all about these days and they don't like it. WM31 might be more interesting for how the crowd reacts then the actual results themselves. That in itself is worth noting.
WM31 will be highly rated because it's Mania. But just like this Raw I think many will tune in for the reaction as much as the show itself.
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