A Few (Chair) Shots on the Current State of Pro Wrestling

Been tough for me to sustain focus on things, so as we roll into a fairly crucial WWE Special Event, that being Fastlane, I’ll throw out some quick (chair) shot reflections on the state of this and that.

The WWE made a quick save when they came up with the Bryan vs Reigns angle to add some question, let reactions to Reigns’ victory cool a bit, and reformulate the Wrestlemania plans. Unfortunately much of the intrigue seems to be unintentional. I cannot make out which behaviors are supposed to be heelish and which ones noble. They both seem kinda jerky in different respects. If I had to lean one way or other, I’d say it leans more toward Bryan being ‘the man’ and Reigns being the ‘bad man.’ Bryan has behaved rather petulantly in past angles; look back at how he spewed tantrum-like at Cena in their angle leading up to the eventual formation of the Authority, and its feud with Bryan. It kinda fits him, though it doesn’t make him feel like a top star. Meanwhile, when you have a wrestler with Roman Reigns’ size advantage, anything he does to antagonize Bryan is going to make him come off as a bit of a bully. When he plays ‘mind games’ (oh brother), for instance signing autographs during Bryans’ match, it makes him look like a lazy bully, and as a result, arrogant, because with his strength, he should take issues on directly. Still, I cringe as I come to the conclusion WWE’s intent is that we see these guys as rivals on equal footing doing clever things to outwit one another as they deliberate over how to put together a good wrestlemania.

Meanwhile, almost everything else on the program in general just feels boring, predictable, and very inconsequential. Wrestlers that felt special and intriguing to watch like Dean Ambrose, Wade Barret, Cesaro, Ziggler, or anyone associated with the Wyatt family are just kinda taking up time and space. Not for lack of talent, but due to an absence of feuds that give them any sense of being impressive or caring. A BIG overhaul is overdue.

Yet NXT shines. Up and coming talent are given a chance to practice and improve. On specials, like the most recent Arrival, those who are developing are near the beginning of the card, those while extremely suspenseful and amazing technically sound matches are put near the main event. The women wrestling on NXT are impassioned and put on wow-filled matches for their skills, and they have you believe they care about the championship they compete for. Sasha Banks carries her newly won belt as though it were a highly coveted prize. Her move set looks as devastating as that of the male wrestlers. Finn Balor and Adrian Neville had a match that balanced careful pacing and awesome high flying spots. The match between Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens informed anyone that didn’t already know that these two have an amazing chemistry, and their feud will surely go to incredible places. Their were some obvious shades of the surprising Lesnar vs Cena match at Summerslam, with Owens dominating, but it wasn’t as simple as that. Zayn got in plenty of offense, more than it may have seemed afterwards. That is because of Owens’ expertly played villain routine, hitting one devastating move, the power bomb, over and over again, taking his time between each one, until the referee stopped the match. It was very dramatic and leaves us craving the rematch. But meanwhile, a match between Owens and Balor is another very exciting program to behold.

I really think there should be an NXT match at Wrestlemania. They have earned a big spot like that. It doesn’t have to be their best work or one with any crucial circumstances, but a chance for the champion of the moment, presumably Owens to go out there with another NXT wrestler and showcase their skills on that huge platform is well deserved and would be an exciting moment on the card.

NXT is right up there with New Japan Pro Wrestling, in my opinion, though it lacks the latter company’s history of course. That and New Japan blurs the lines between matches being predetermined and extremely competitive. They are so physically intense, suspense of disbelief is easy. The New Japan World service has been amazing in the opportunity it has created the possibility for immersing oneself in the buildup to the incredible rivalries happening now. I hope to spend more time here detailing this. There is so much incredible in ring work from up and coming talent, not to mention those who have arrived. You can watch Finn Balor go at it with other high flying technicians when he was Prince Devitt in the Bullet Club. You can see Prince Puma of Lucha Underground in matches as is usual persona, Ricochet. I have not left the general 2012-2014 time period left, still eagerly devouring whatever I can of current conflicts between Tanahashi, Shinsuke, Ishii, Shibata, Nagata to name a few.

I wonder if a guy like Kenny Omega, now in the Bullet Club doing a smarmy heel gimmick and currently holding the IWGP Junior Heavyweight championship, would follow in Devitt/Balor’s footsteps and join the ranks of NXT? He would certainly make a good addition, showing rather cartoonish personality and wild levels of agility.

Ring of Honor has been holding a pretty steady course. It was pretty shocking seeing the Bullet Club (AJ Styles and The Young Bucks) as the actual Bullet Club appearing in a six man tag team match, which appears on the tv episode streaming on their website now. This is very smart cross promotion. It will turn heads in the direction of New Japan World and make Bullet Club fans aware of Ring of Honor. My problems keeping up with them is availability and cost. Said tv broadcast is apparently a week old; it originally aired on actual tv, somewhere…not in New York, but…somewhere. Accessing the latest tv episodes for a fee seems unreasonable, when it’s not much in the production department. I’d be more up for the PPV events but to be honest, the value is not in keeping up with the curve with NJPW and WWE’s specials being available as part of their streaming services. If ROH made their tv shows more readily available, including the back catalogues, I and perhaps others would be more willing to shell out for the PPV’s. I think they’d gain in the long run. If they got their own streaming subscription going with PPV events and access to past shows, even better.

Lucha Underground is fun but is in need of specials to make big matches feel like something with a proper build that is set apart from the norm. It’s young though so maybe they are planning to work on this. The more classically lucha libre masked luchadors like King Cuerno, Pentagon Jr., and Mil Muertes are a joy to watch. The overly produced storylines take me out of the moment at times. The insistence on having women wrestling men isn’t having the desired effect on me. NXT has got the right idea: put women against women in highly competitive matches emphasizing their talent. What Lucha Underground has done so far, especially on the latest episode, has been more condescending than anything. It’s more like patting females on the head saying ‘hey, look you really can do anything by putting Sexy Star in a match with odds ridiculously against her and having her win in incredulous fashion. It is good on the other hand to see aspects of Triple A crossing over into Lucha Underground with Alberto El Patron, formerly Del Rio, and Texano taking their feud from the Mexican promotion into this show.

TNA still sucks and Samoa Joe will surely face a brighter future by leaving. It is exciting to think of where he may land, with my money being on ROH where a reunion with some of his peers could go down and there is plenty of opportunity for him to enter the New Japan scene by proxy.

Twitter: @mondocurry

A Delayed RAW Reaction

Last Monday's RAW left plenty to chew on; a big sinewy slab of spiced jerky loaded with questions about the future course of Wrestlemania season, the influence of the audience, and the stranger intertwining dance of Kayfabe and behind the scenes. Here are a few quick reaction shots, mostly positive, especially compared to the initial bummer of the Royal Rumble itself.

I felt that overall the gears set into motion in the opening talk segment was the best possible plan to set in motion outside of going back in time and redoing the Royal Rumble match with much better booking. Again I'll point out that this would not necessarily mean taking away Reigns' victory, but doing it in a way that made him and his peers look much stronger would've diminished quite a bit of the sourness afterwards. While the segment probably under delivered in terms of Triple H promising his announcement would be of earthshaking proportions, anyone expecting something other than a main event shakeup and a Fastlane match announcement had a serious case of unrealistic expectations. I love the idea that Reigns' spot is in question. Whether he is the man that headlines Wrestlemania against Brock Lesnar or not, the planting of a seed of doubt was a great move in my book for a number of reasons.

1 Even if the WWE has zero intentions of changing the Wrestlemania 31 main event, the fact that there is storyline questionability is a nice nod to realities that are all too present to anyone looking. Reigns is not 100% over with the fans and he does not have the experience to qualify him as the best competitor for the position. There have been some grumblings about the lack of consequence of the Royal Rumble event, since the results did not give what was promised. I feel that the excitement of the current story far outweighs this issue, especially in a kayfabe world of dishonest heel authority figures.

2 This story will do a much better job getting Reigns over...if the WWE decides to go that route...than just having him destroy one opponent after the next. One of the biggest causes of the Royal Rumble outrage was ongoing perception of him as someone unflaggingly chosen by WWE to be in the top spot.  His antiauthority image was completely shattered. Sure, Triple H and Stephanie could continue to cast shade on him as The Authority, but that would just fall under routine Heel/Babyface interaction. Making his spot seem vulnerable to being taken by Daniel Bryan puts his position far more into question and gives him a chance to come from underneath to get his shot back.

3 This angle has got people thinking different things. Ideally this would be the result of clever creative direction. In fact, some of it could be the fruit of fumbling the ball. Either way, a bit of confusion is better than everything being spoiled out in so much obviousness. Listening to Review-a-Raw on LAW Radio, John Pollock and Wai Ting saw hints of Bryan Daniel heel-like behavior by way of manipulating Reigns into putting his spot up for grabs. I didn't perceive Bryan as anything but a fighting contender facing any challenge that could put him in line for the WWE championship belt. Reigns, on the other hand felt like a renegade face at times, but at others, seemed a bit sulky, as though he was in the throes of an anger-induced heel change. Is that good booking or another sign of Reigns' ineptitude at conveying emotion properly? Such a question makes the question of his making it to the main event of Wrestlemania even more deserving of a question mark...?

4 In a wrestling program, the ideal of programming that is live from week to week is the chance for things to change suddenly. It's a much more accurate reflection of what a genuine athletic competition would be like, and is one of the major advantages that WWE has over its rivals (aside from money, name value, etc). You don't want to feel like a show is just blowing in the wind, changing every week at the whim of what audiences want, or what an insane writer a la Russo feels like doing. A balance between strong skeletal planning and a willingness to adjust to audience reactions is ideal. So this notion that WWE is listening and will alter its course in reaction to the voice of fans is refreshing, even though better anticipation of things beforehand is preferable.

5 Many interesting possibilities for what comes next popped into my mind, which I'll get into here.

First, Reigns may face Lesnar as the young up and coming baby face against the conquering heel champion Brock Lesnar.

OR Reigns could go up against Lesnar as a mega HEEL, and what better way to turn Reigns heel than have him pull some dastardly shit against fan favorite Daniel Bryan? He would seem like a humongous jerk doing something villainous when he already has a clear size advantage against Bryan. Plus, he would have a perfectly legit reason to turn his back on fans, as they have essentially put him in the compromised situation he is in now. Lashing out against fans whom he tried to please and as a result nearly lost his main event spot at Wrestlemania would have that perfect coloring of reality to it. Lesnar could be a successful baby face and this would allow it to happen with Heyman at his side. I've seen suggestions that Heyman betray Lesnar and that makes for an alliance between him and a heel Roman Reigns, but I'd rather see Heyman turn along with Lesnar. The two have great chemistry and Heyman turning on Lesnar reallt doesn't make as much sense to me.

OR have Bryan defeat Reigns and go on to face Lesnar. This is what the fans seem to want the most. You build an interesting story of Bryan beginning a NEW Mania streak: that of being in the main event (and winning??). It could easily be set up by having Rollins interfere at Fastlane, since it would be returning the favor against Reigns. While it would be FAR from ideal to send Bryan to Wrestlemania off a tainted win, it would make for a great addition to the undercard of Rollins vs Reigns.

A lot of this depends on other factors: Does Lesnar renew his contract with WWE, thus increasing his value as a baby face, or is he bound for UFC, in which case WWE might as well put him down? Is Rollins locked into a program with a returning Randy Orton? Does WWE have nearly enough confidence in having Bryan run with the ball again? I must admit that while a Lesnar vs Bryan match excited me most out of all possible combinations at first, seeing him face Rollins on RAW and reflecting on the Rumble has me questioning the ability to convincingly present the physicality of him taking on someone the size of Brock Lesnar.

Other notes...The Stone Cold podcast with Triple H afterwards was a great addition, presenting a seemingly valid perspective on just how much WWE values audience reaction, even if their moves seem contrary a lot of the time. Triple H had me convinced, though I know there is plenty of diplomatic slickness to his talk, that it is a company in the process of figuring out how to deal with a climate in which the audience knows a LOT about the machine behind the product.

Bray Wyatt's dominating win over Ziggler and his promo suggests a strong liklihood of a match with Undertaker at Wrestlemania. This is an exciting prospect. While the streak may be over, the Undertaker can still be compelling, and win or lose, Bray still stands a chance of a major push forward coming out of such a program.

Last, I pose a question to you:. Did you see Paul Heyman's quasi-real 'breaking news' style segment talking about the Brian Williams debacle? What did you think? Hit the comments section with your reply!

Mondo Pro Wrestling on Twitter = @mondocurrymark