The Good, The Bad, The Weird: Wrestlemania 31

Let’s try something new, a format that I’ve been meaning to give a go in some form or other: relatively rapidfire rundowns of shows divided into sections representing what was good, what was not, and what was weird, which in the pro wrestling game can translate to anything from transcendent to terrible. It is hard, after all, not to comment on the  rather memorable show that was this year’s Wrestlemania.

THE GOOD

Kidd and Cesaro VS The Usos VS Los Matadores VS The New Day

This was an OK way to start the show, and by that I mean kick off the pre-show. There was noticeably less production on this than during Wrestlemania proper. There were a lot of well put-together spots and Cesaro really looked impressive with very strong looking offense (no Giant Swing though), picking up the pin for his team.

7 Man Ladder match for the intercontinental Chanmpionship

There were no problems here as everyone worked cohesively to put together a match filled with impressive spots. Cody Rhodes is really coming to own the Stardust gimmick and knows how to work the over the top spaceman character. I am coming to see the case for him being distanced from Gold Dust and taking over the role.  After weeks and weeks of damage, Bad News Barrett finally got a good showing, batting opponents around with a broken off part of an outside ladder and later, landing impressive looking Bullhammer forearm shots to knock Bryan and Ziggler off course from picking up the belt. The end sequence of Bryan being faced by a possessed Ziggler that had raced up the ladder to engage the fan favorite in an intense headbutt battle (inspiration from Ishii, Makabe, and Honma of NJPW?) was quitethe amazing visual. Bryan coming out on top felt just right, in a move that will hopefully give some stability and stature to the title.

Randy Orton VS Seth Rollins

This was an extremely athletic exhibition. The first big spot of the match was one of my favorites, in which Orton performed a double draping DDT onto J and J Security from the ring apron onto the floor. Rollins’ aerial maneuvers were second to none. The final spot in which Orton popped up from a Curb Stomp attempt and RKO’d Rollins in the air for the win was amazing, but almost looked too unreal for me. While it was good, I thought the bout with the most pent up aggression leading up to it should have been longer and filled with more grueling exchanges between the two opponents.

AJ Lee and Paige VS The Nikki Bella and Brie Bella

This was an OK match that I didn’t have much to say about. It was good to see AJ and Paige stay on the same…you know, as they make more sense as allies than opponents. Not much time was given to this match and it still paled in comparison to the hard fought battles being shown in the women’s division of NXT.  On the other hand, it seemed like there could be a tease of some tension between the Bellas, with Brie being knocked to the floor and unable to make a save when AJ put the Black Widow submission on Nikki and got the tap out victory for her team.

John Cena VS Rusev

This was a good match. There were a lot of impressive moves and the pacing was better than some of the other big matches on the card. Lana worked some subtle comedy heel moves with her high...heels being tossed in the vicinity of the wrestlers as Cena had a submission locked on Rusev. Rusev’s entrance props were great, particularly the tank. The video before Cena came out was pretty ham-fisted and the fact that Cena still couldn’t shake the widespread boo’s despite the patriotic backdrop seemed to discourage him before the match, or maybe that was just my imagination. I really think it’s time for WWE to start thinking of moving him out to a lighter schedule, special occasion status as other wrestlers move up the roster. In the meantime, his win over Rusev with an FU after Rusev collided with Lana who was up on the ring apron teases at the possibility of Rusev going solo, perhaps taking on a more serious demeanor while Cena could also bring some stability to the US championship.

The Rock and Ronda Rousey confront Triple H and Stephanie McMahon

This was a fantastic exchange. Matches should, as I’ll get into later, be serious for the most part. The bonus material is the chance to let it all hang out. Nobody is better at doing that than The Rock. I would much rather see The Rock in a periphery role that emphasizes his dynamic talking skills than a high profile match situation with current wrestlers who ought to be able to beat him. The involvement with Rousey was also great. As a non-follower of real fighting, I had not been all that familiar with the UFC star. She completely blew me away with her poise in the ring. Stephanie also played up her obnoxious ‘talk herself into a predicament’ persona and the interplay between her and Triple H was also very natural. Credit to Hunter, he seems to have a knack for this role where he plays the worn down, reluctant fighter who has to stand up for his wife even though he wishes she would stop getting them into these jams wit her unrelenting trash talk, although it may be a bit stereotypical. This opened the door to many future possibilities, including Triple H VS Rock at next year’s Wrestlemania, which would be just fine with me. Keep Rock out of an incredulous program with Lesnar and guarantee some great promos along the road to WM 32.

Bray Wyatt VS The Undertaker

This was good. Undertaker’s limitations are apparent, though. I don't think it was necessarily bad for Wyatt to lose, it all depends what they do with him afterwards. He needs a solid feud with a substantial back and forth in the main event picture. Something that extends beyond him doing abstract promos. As far as in-ring work, I feel like many have given up Wyatt but I still find him to be compelling in the ring as well as outside of it. Those quickly snapped off Sister Abigail’s looked just great. The Tombstone finish was a bit clunky but a decent enough finish. Perhaps a stiff looking punch before hitting it might’ve made it come off a bit more convincingly. I think the highlight of the match, aside from the Sit Up VS Handstand moment, was the exchange of punches between the two; looked very high impact.

Brock Lesnar VS Roman Reigns

The physicality in this match did not disappoint. Brock tossed Reigns around with the brutality that only he could bring. Reigns did a very good job in his own right selling an enormous beating and coming back in convincing fashion with a flurry of kicks and punches, plus the well placed Spears. I would have been disappointed with a Reigns victory but I would have taken it too after this display. I still think Reigns’ expressions are awkward. The laughing for instance…I get the idea, that the beating is so bad that all he could do is insanely laugh at the pain, but it looked detached. I didn’t really buy it at first. Now there is a chance to rebuild Reigns with a character better suited to him; hopefully the crowd pleasing jokester path is abandoned. The blood pouring from Lesnar’s head also added immense dramatic effect. As for Rollins’ involvement? A surprise, absolutely. Questionable for sure. But it did make for a compelling story with a very talented performer on top in the end and many possible programs coming out of it. I will talk about that a bit more below.

THE BAD

Not a lot to put in this category, which is a sign of a good show, but I will put one blatant offender squarely in this category.

Triple H VS Sting

This in my opinion was the worst! I am unwavering in my disappointment with this match and had an admittedly whiny twitfit about it right in the middle of the match. I will also acknowledge this match got a huge positive response with many in the crowd, but I will still break down why it had so many earmarks of bad wrestling.

1. This match was established long ago as the result of Sting playing the role of vigilante avenger, stopping Triple H and the Authority from abusing power and firing several wrestlers. This was completely ignored in the course of this match.

2. When Sting finally spoke, he disregarded the notion of this being about WWE against WCW, which truly is a dated and silly basis for a match. It was completely about WWE and WCW in the course of this match.

3. Convenient made up stipulations = they are just making this shit up as they go along. That’s my sentiment when DX shows up and the announcers play it off like ‘oh yeah, this is a no DQ match.’ Since when? I’m not sure, but I am fairly certain there had been no talk whatsoever of this match being no disqualification up until that point.

4. Characters who are great friends both in kayfabe AND storyline suddenly had a need to fight each other. People who don’t like each other are suddenly pals. When DX came out to support Hunter, it made sense. The NWO arriving made zero sense. Here comes the group that tried to run WCW into the ground out to stand in support of it, fifteen years later. Here’s Hogan who has been red and yellow since I don’t know how long suddenly just happens to be wearing his NOW t-shirt and hanging out with Hall and Nash. I understand the role of nostalgia, but not at the cost of any logic whatsoever, including the logic the match was initially built on.

5. Sting lost. I would actually be OK with this if it was a decent match. But he loses after a joke of an interference-filled match and now you can do what with him? Plus he shakes the hand of the victor who blasted him with a sledgehammer. This may be viewed as an ode to WWE defeating WCW to please the megalomaniac Vince McMahon, but in fact it embodied the worst elements of WCW’s shoddy booking.

THE WEIRD

Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royale

This was OK but was peppered with some odd decisions. The sudden inclusion of all of the wrestlers who had JUST fought in the 4-way tag team match for one. Couldn’t six other guys have been found to put in this match, instead of making the tag team match seem like it was completely insignificant? It was great to see Hideo Itami in there. Even if he didn’t go all the way til the end, I was able to isolate him in the ring and see him pull off some tremendous kicks on several other entrants. Seeing him square off with Cesaro at the start hinted at a great potential match. The showdown between Miz and Mizdow was no surprise; it’s timing was what landed the match in this section. Why would they break down right before a final showdown with a huge obstacle like the Big Show? Well, OK, belief suspended, sometimes emotion overtakes logic. And Mizdow coming close to eliminating Big Show but not quite getting the job done was realistic. But why give Big Show the win among all these guys when he has not been doing anything noteworthy lately? Again, it’s disingenuous to suddenly tack on this story of The Big Show striving for his first battle Royale win when there was no mention of it on RAW or elsewhere leading up to the night. This could have been an opportunity to add prestige to a new star. Oh, and putting Big Show over Cesaro in the same spot as last year, only this time, Cesaro can’t lift up Big Show for the body slam? Sure, it may seem like a clever call back to last year’s battle royale, but it’s depressing when you think about it. Feels like we only go backwards.

Brock Lesnar VS Roman Reigns VS Seth Rollins (in Triple Threat Match after Money in the Bank briefcase is cashed in DURING the main event)

Although this was mentioned before as a highlight, the transformation of the match into a triple threat competition in the middle of it definitely wasn’t 100 percent kosher. In my last post exploring different possible outcomes of the main event, I mentioned this as one of them, kinda, imagining Rollins cashing in and taking title froma beaten up Lesnar after he had defeated Reigns. I suggested it could happen because of the novelty of being the first Money in the Bank cash in during a Wrestlemania, but considered it very unlikely because of it potentially devaluing the status of the Wrestlemania main event, and possibly the win itself. I guess WWE went with the former of those two thought processes. I could not foresee the briefcase coming into play during the match, and for good reason. It had never been done before. And in previous cash-in’s, the referee has checked on the champion to make sure they had some semblance of awareness before ringing the bell. That brings into question whether interrupting a match with the Money In The Bank Contract really makes sense. I think in the end, I could allow some room for creative license.

There are some other reasons the decision works for me. The way things are going for Rollins, it is conceivable that he will have more Wrestlemania main events in his future where he will be able to score a legitimate win. It also serves as a very crucial save from what seemed to be a very calculated campaign to put Reigns at the very top of the company, a position which he truly doesn’t seem cut out for, at least not yet. I acknowledge that WWE can’t come right out and say ‘we screwed up and we are going to change’ when these sorts of missteps take place, so I always appreciate seeing course correction when it is needed. This also keeps a very hot Brock Lesnar, whom fans have been bursting at the seams to get behind as an aggressive babyface, as a highly sought after attraction. He still has not been pinned and now he has been unjustly dethroned. This puts him on a path toward vengeance that fans, myself included, will absolutely clamor for. And without breaking up this very effective pair of Lesnar and Heymanm

 So there it is. Let me know what you think and throw down your own good, bad, and weird choices in the comments below.

twitter: @Mondocurrymark

Wrestlemania Rewrite part 3: The Aftermath, London Calling

Ok, now let’s look at where all that could lead. And ahead is not so much a strict timetable of events as a spread of possible programs and alliances coming out of a Wrestlemania  main event won by Roman Reigns, backed by a suddenly reformed Shield.

Just a quick recap of the Wrestlemania fantasy I’ve etched into my mind, which can be read in full here.

Wade Barrett retained the intercontinental championship title after interference from Sheamus.

The Authority disbanded after Sting defeated Triple H.

Cena won the US championship title from Rusev.

The Shield ostensibly reformed, with Rollins and Ambrose assisting Reigns in achieving victory over Lesnar.

Now then, let’s look at the opening moments of RAW that would follow all this.

The original Shield music hits and Roman Reigns comes out carrying the heavyweight title belt. He gets halfway down the ramp, then stops, looks back, and Rollins and Ambrose soon follow. The three make their way to the ring and pace the canvas. Reigns teases the buzz in the crowd. Says he promised he would win the title at Wrestlemania, but didn’t say how. Raises questions about there being possible premeditation, then gives the mic to Rollins. Rollins suggests the fans must have many questions. That they don’t owe an explanation to anyone, but will clear some things up. He made a mistake, bet on the wrong team. Talks trash about the Authority’s lack of organization. Asks if he would do it again? Says, maybe… Is he sorry? He apologizes for nothing. He simply saw the writing on the wall, realized it made sense in that moment to help return the most dominant team in WWE’s history to power, and yesterday is the result. Rollins teases talking about the Money In the Bank briefcase.

But first Ambrose takes the mic. Says the fans must wonder how he could possibly go along with this plan? Could he possibly trust Rollins? Like Rollins? Is he crazy? He says, you know I’m crazy. He doesn’t know if he will ever trust Rollins again and may go on continually watch his back. But he realizes the two have something in common, always have: The desire above all else to be the best. He also realized that the three men standing in the ring, when on the same page, are unstoppable.

Rollins says now about this briefcase. He does see a need to take some responsibility for his actions last year. So he will use the briefcase as an insurance policy. If someone comes after the title, somehow manages to get the belt through nefarious means, Rollins will be there to cash in and claim it back. But, in the more likely turn of events that Reigns and The Shield hold off all comers, then the day the briefcase run expires, he will cash in and make a match against Reigns in a match that, no matter the outcome The Shield wins. And it will be the most incredible title match  in WWE history.

Other gears set in motion…

A new heel faction rises to power, which Wade 'Bad News' Barrett assumes leadership of. At some point, he and Sheamus discuss a planned collusion between them. They complain about the lack of opportunity they have long experienced because of their proud European heritage, that out of jealousy they have been held back, and often distracted by being made to fight amongst themselves. But no more. The future is theirs and their name is the European Union (negotiable). Their ranks will be joined by Cesaro, and possibly Tyson Kidd because, Europe, Canada…close enough! Adrian Neville can join the RAW roster and quickly join them, adding a high flyer to the team. They can also get the allegiance of Rusev.

Does this seem too cliché? Is a nationalistic anti-American gimmick too passé in 2015? It’s one of the hottest going stories around Rusev’s run right now. And also, the sentiment can be made more subtle here. However, there could be a touch of reality lent to it when you consider the core among this group really haven’t had a lasting successful push. This is especially signified by Cesaro and those famous words directed his way when Vince McMahon went on the Stone Cold podcast.

The Shield could continue its dominant run as babyfaces with an edge, or a group that fights both heels and faces (what a concept). Reigns could contend with a round of top tier oponents like Rusev and Bray Wyatt. With momentum from Wrestlemania, Wyatt could win the title from Reigns by way of a lot of tricks and outside interference, perhaps 1-22 months after Wrestlemania. Rollins could cash in the briefcase the next day on RAW and win the title back for The Shield, giving him a boost of main event star power.

Rollins could also feud with Neville in competitive bouts of agility and high spot-filled matches.

Sheamus could feud with Bryan, or whomever he caused to lose the IC title match at Wrestlemania.

Cena could challenge the increasingly influential European Union heel faction. He and Barrett could have a match to unify the IC and US titles, with the winner’s title being the dominant one and the loser’s title being retired. And, with interference aplenty, Barrett could win that match, gaining a push for his group. Leading up to it, promos could be run emphasizing the prestigious history of both belts.

-------

There you  have it. A change in direction. A call back to a very successful faction that ended too soon. A fade away of ineffective characters like Big Show and Kane (what, you thought I forgot them?), and a rise to power of new stars.

What do you think??  Let me know in the comments. Or

Twitter: @MondoCurryMARK

Wrestlemania Rewrite Part 2: Shield Mania

Now that I’ve set it up, let’s get into the mechanics of writing an amazing Wrestlemania, mine at least (and yours). Even as the last RAW before Wrestlemania its airwaves. It’s OK. There’s really not much WWE has to do tonight. Bookers and writers fishing for ideas need only do 1 thing tonight and if that’s not enough notice, do it within the next few days:

Somehow the match between Sting and Triple H gets an added stipulation that if Sting wins, the Authority cannot exercise any direct influence on wrestlers on the show, with no way of reversing the decision. Nobody can bring back The Authority. Not Cena, not Randy Orton, Not Sting himself. The counter stipulation is that Sting be banished from the WWE with no chance of returning.

NOW, let’s fast forward to Wrestlemania:

During the intercontinental championship multi-person match, which would presumably be first on the card, the match boils down to a confrontation between Wade Barrett and one other opponent: It could be Daniel Bryan or Dean Ambrose, or even Dolph Ziggler. In some ways, Ambrose would be ideal, but considering his fall from prominence, one of the other two would also be ok. Whichever WWE would want to go with, he is ready to take out Barret when suddenly, Sheamus makes a surprise entrance. He teases attacking Barrett, but then turns and hits Ambrose or Bryan or Ziggler with the Brogue Kick. Wade Barrett makes the pin and leaves with the IC title retained as Sheamus inscrutably makes his own way to the back.

Now, throughout the show, there would be several vignettes with Triple H freaking out about the need to eliminate Sting from the match. He is going ballistic sending Authority members to scour the building for Sting. They can be shown finding decoy Sting’s, laying them out and then realizing they’ve been mislead as the real Sting lurks in the shadows.

Meanwhile, Seth Rollins is losing his cool over his own upcoming match with Randy Orton, which should occur some time in the middle of the show. He is counting on The Authority’s support and wants to get on the same page but they are busy chasing Sting.

The match comes and Rollins shows up to face Orton on his own. Orton and Rollins have a very competitive match that ends with Orton getting the victory. Rollins leaves, beaten up pretty bad, but visibly expressing disgust with the lack of support from J & J Security and the like.

Fast forward: Sting defeats Triple H, signaling an apparent end to Hunter and Stephanie’s reign of influence by way of The Shield.

At some point before the main event, Rollins is shown storming around backstage, stopping a few people and demanding to know where Dean Ambrose. And a bit later, he finds Ambrose, follows him shouting after him to wait. Ambrose stops and turns to yell at Rollins. The two begin brawling and shouting at each other in a confrontation that spills off behind a closed door. The audience is left to wonder what is happening.

Although not necessary, it would help make some of the ideas I have about the aftermath go down if Cena beats Rusev in their confrontation and Cena leaves Wrestlemania as the US Champion.

And now for the main event: Reigns and Lesnar begin their match with Reigns mostly dominant throughout.  As the match goes on, Reigns seems to be badly hurt and having trouble getting to his feet. Suddenly Rollins appears at ringside with the Money In the Bank briefcase. Brock jumps up on the ropes threatening Rollins and telling him to leave. Rollins teases a cash in, then prowls around ringside giving Reigns a chance to regain some momentum. After a bit, Ambrose appears and at first engages Rollins in an argument. Lesnar is distracted and heads over to rid both of them from the ring. Essentially, chaos ensues, Heyman has a fit as the match unravels and Lesnar ends up on the receiving end of offense from all three Shield members. In the ring, Reigns hits a spear and captures the Heavyweight Championship belt. All three members of the Shield face off in the middle of the ring, then slowly raise their fists toward one another in the center of the ring. The Shield stands united as Wrestlemania draws to a close…to cheers? Boos? A mix of both? No matter, the title belongs to Reigns and there is a HUGE buzz of intrigue as Wrestlemania goes off the air.

In part 3, the aftermath…

Twitter: @mondocurryMARK

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

A Tale of Two Matches: A Royal Rumble Reflection

I feel compelled to weigh in on the fallout from the Royal Rumble. The results on paper were not all that surprising: Brock Lesnar vs Roman Reigns at Wrestlemania 31. The WWE had thrown a few curveballs out that suggested it might be otherwise, and that’s probably a good thing: nobody wants a wrestling show with a completely predictable outcome. The fact that the results went right back to what seemed to be the plan all along is reasonable enough when you think about it, but I can’t shake the feeling that the lead up to it was deceptive. Things were put in place, not to give fans a suspenseful show but to mitigate and manipulate reactions that they anticipated would be negative.

How do people feel when they see through tactics that are, as John Pollock succinctly put it on the LAW Radio Review-A-Raw podcast, “transparent”? Reactions ranged from fans cancelling their subscription to the WWE Network and launching a scolding hashtag campaign (#cancelWWENetwork) to reportedly impeding WWE talents’ vehicles from leaving the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.

I am not here to judge any of the above reactions as appropriate or not, nor suggest what would be an appropriate level of outrage. To each his or her own. What I do want to do is explain why I think the way the Royal Rumble match was poorly devised and a sign of lack in vision currently dogging WWE programming, and in this instance leading to my most negative reaction to the end of a pro wrestling special event in some time. I think the best way to go about it would be to look at the elements that made the two principal matches on the card a smashing success and a wrath inspiring let down respectively.  Let’s start with the first.

Brock Lesnar VS John Cena VS Seth Rollins Triple Threat Match for the WWE World Championship

·      All three participants were made to look extremely impressive, highlighting their signatures maneuvers and physical attributes. All three did 1 or more moves worthy of ‘holy shit’ awe from the audience.  

·      All three participants appeared to be upping their game since previous outtings. If someone wanted to , they may be able to comb the archives and come up with footage to prove otherwise, but with a casual viewing, there was little doubt that these guys were performing at the top of their game.

·      Up until close to the finish of the match, all of the competitors had a likely chance of winning, to varying degrees. As most were going back and forth between the idea of a Lesnar or Rollins victory, the closing moments of the match had those two going back and forth for the win.

·      While all of the main participants in the match looked impressive, the eventual winner Brock Lesnar, clearly edged out his two opponents to come across as, without question, the most dominant in the match. An alternative might’ve been to have a victory by cheating, leaving a bitter taste in people’s mouth that is within the realm of the story and makes us want to see retribution. Going the other route makes sense as it will be Lesnar facing a different opponent at Wrestlemania.

While it may seem like comparing apples and oranges, a triple threat match with three wrestlers and a Royal Rumble match with thirty entrants joining the match at various times over the course of roughly an hour, there are enough attributes that they share to show how the Rumble match failed where the triple threat succeeded.

Royal Rumble Match:

·      While not all of the participants could be considered relevant – of course nobody is holding out that a Bubba Ray or Diamond Dallas Page, or even a Miz or Luke Harper is going to win. Among the highlighted entrants expected to win, though, there were hands down TWO names head and shoulders above the rest: Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns. You could even say that’s one less name to think about than in the preceding triple threat match. So, let’s look at how the two of them were treated. Bryan Daniels came in near the first half of the match and was in it for approximately ten minutes. He did a total of TWO impressive looking spots that I can recall with out rewatching. One that eliminated Tyson Kidd, a great wrestler but hardly someone with a huge name value right now, and one in which he took turns delivering kicks to a kneeling Bray Wyatt and Rusev. He was in the match at a completely uncritical moment and his removal was nothing special. In short, he stood there looking like a dork. Surprisingly and inexplicably, Reigns was not made to look all that impressive either. Other than removing Big Show and Kane at the same time, which basically came down to him pushing them out in one big tangle, I didn’t see him do anything special. I am not saying he can’t. But…he didn’t. I was looking out for this throughout the first viewing and again when the match was reshown on Raw the next night. There were no, count them NO superman punches that I can recall. No slides to the outside (all legal as long as its not over the top rope) to deliver one of those jumping drop kicks and landing on the ring apron. Not even any really significant eliminations other than Show and Kane, as mentioned, and the tossing out of Rusev, which came like an afterthought.

·      This point is sliding into my next, which is about the principal players being or at least appearing to be at the top of their games. This would appear to be especially important for new talent and those in their prime; less so than say a John Cena who is a veteran by now. So is this what happened with Roman Reigns? Couldn’t have been farther from it. The guy who had a huge streak of eliminations in his first Royal Rumble match last year didn’t top his previous record; he didn’t even come close. That could’ve been the story of the match right there. Listen to people that know far more about wrestling than myself, like Jim Ross. Matches tell a story. Wrestlers don’t get worse, not without something being up, and Reigns is certainly not unlearning anything, but just like with his promos being so obviously scripted to be uncharacteristic fluff, his performance here seemed to be totally hamstringed by people behind the creative vision of WWE. Were they afraid that a dominant Reigns would reveal to Daniel Bryan fans what’s up and cause them to jeer early on? So what? They got jeers anyway, and after a performance that could not even be argued to have been at a top level.

·      While it was only three in the triple threat, I again point to how important it is that ALL THRE looked strong going into and coming out of their match. Did Bryan Daniel look strong? No. Did Roman Reigns look strong? Still no! In a move that was insulting to audiences, the WWE brought The Rock in to mitigate disappointment, because everyone loves The Rock, right? And in some ways it made sense, as he and Reigns are blood relatives. But his role turned out to be nothing more than coddling the guy who we are supposed to see as the baddest man on the planet going into the main event of Wrestlemania. The notion of The Rock holding Reigns’ hand through matches and turns on the mic, the latter being his real weak point, is sickening. I go back to the idea of the motivation behind the WWE’s movies being completely transparent. To have such blatantly manipulative decisions being made right before the audience’s eyes made it all go down far worse.

·                        Lastly is the point of the results seeming to be able to go in more than one direction up to the end of the match. This might’ve meant Bryan staying in it to be one of the last competitors in the ring. Would this have lead to a major bad vibe in the audience and a terrible reaction? Maybe. But the same thing happened, maybe to an even worse degree by WWE taking him out of the match early on. It was, again, nothing more than a deliberate strategy to make us forget about him being there. This is a sad alternative to delivering a kick ass finish without compromise, just like we saw in the triple threat match. Bryan would have been capable of it. So would Roman Reigns. I think a far better WWE would be less sniveling, bite the bullet, and deliver the best possible simulation of competition and let the chips fall where they may. What we got instead was Reigns taking on two members of The Authority: The Big Show and Kane. Other than that affiliation, they are the farthest thing from significant or imposing opponents as it gets. This isn’t my doing. That’s what the WWE has programmed. While Kane used to be an imposing monster, and Big Show an un-droppable Giant, they are kept from that status by two things: 1) their age 2) the WWE booking them as nothing more than bumbling stooges. Have they had strong periods in their respective careers? Yes. But if WWE is going to lessen their value, then making them the final options for the winners of a main event match is not the kind of thing to captivate the audiences’ attention.  Wait, there was Rusev. That went by in a blink of an eye. Why didn’t they have Rusev knock Reigns around for a bit and make it a close 1 on 1 bout between two impressive wrestlers before Reigns got the win? Why didn’t they let Reigns fend for himself during the match, and have The Rock come out afterwards to congratulate him?

If the answer to one of the above questions is that they feared Rusev would get more cheers than Reigns than that is sad. That is a SERIOUS wake up call to WWE to evaluate their direction. It doesn’t mean Reigns is not the guy to put in the top spot. Though maybe not yet? And maybe not the way they…or is ‘they’ essentially Kevin Dunn and Vince McMahon??....insist on doing it. Reigns was on fire last year. Wrestlers like that don’t suddenly become untalented. Forcing him into a squeaky clean please all persona that doesn’t fit him, and trying to bury a fan favorite wrestler like Daniel Bryan in relative obscurity is not going to work. The audience is too smart for it.  

Mondo Pro Wrestling on Twitter: @MondoCurryMark

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