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
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