OverReactions & The Rest of the Rumble

In my last post, I made a point of not focusing on the extent of people’s reactions to the Royal Rumble fallout. Grieve how you will. I just wanted to point out what I felt really was at the heart of some bad decision making on the part of the WWE.

In part, I was inspired for a dislike of those that complain about the complainers, and insist that whatever the company decides is best and we should all just accept the status quo. It’s a ridiculous notion in my opinion because, if you do any amount of reading into pro wrestling news, analysis or history, you’ll find the business is riddled with prejudices and agendas that are not in the best interest of fans or some of pro wrestling’s hardest working talent. Having the ability to voice dissent is an awesome power to have in this day and age, and if you look at WWE programming, as often as it might prove to be a thorn in their side, they use it as the basis of a lot of their content.

So, now that I’ve defended the average wrestling fan’s right to rage, I’m going to say that having experienced my fair share of agita over the Royal Rumble match, I’ve vented, come to peace with it, and now I have reached a point of disgust with a certain level of audience reactions. It’s the kind of stuff that makes the critics look bad and does more damage than good to the cause of bringing about a more interesting wrestling product. I’ll highlight a few of these offenses and then be so bold as suggest a way of trying to bring about change in a more constructive manner.

·      Don’t make up imbecilic hate mongering twitter handles. It’s painful to see people put their creativity toward inventing online monikers with the subtlety of a bowling ball being dropped on one’s foot to put someone down. Attaching Roman Reigns’ name to whatever nasty unoriginal epithet you can think to get attention on twitter is not a way to change the course of things. It’s just a self-serving way of getting attention. It’s a ‘look at me, look at how clever I can be’ mentality that emphasizes the worst elements of social media.

·      “Don’t hate the player...” Lambasting one talented wrestler for the role he has been thrust into is something like a personal assault on someone undeserving of your wrath. Roman Reigns didn’t appear out of nowhere. He would not be thrust into the spotlight he is in if he has been doing subpar work for the past year. Instead, understand that WWE is short on superstars, they are trying to bring guys into top dog positions I a ‘homegrown’ fashion when their past is marked by pro wrestlers who achieved top spots after years of experience both in and out of the WWE. The WWE needs to figure this out and find a balance of guiding new talent and letting them find their own voice. Destroying a very talented and hardworking individual’s psyche by heaping nasty misguided campaigns against them does not lead to this happening.

·      DO support other outlets for pro wrestling that contain the qualities you would like to see WWE have. It doesn’t have to be one or the other; you can always enjoy both, or all 3 or what have you. Voice your support LOUDLY, yes, loudly enough for the WWE to hear. Vince may not be just a tweet away, but plenty of folks in the WWE machine certainly are. I hope to highlight a lot of these other organizations in this space, but you need look no further than the WWE owned NXT. Chances are, if you’ve been upset with WWE’s recent booking and also have the WWE Network, you are probably an NXT viewer already. If not, then you have no excuse to not be checking it out. It offers an amazingly different alternative to the way WWE does things. Tweet about it, bring signs to shows about it, call out for the talent there to be called up to WWE, or for NXT to have a more prominent spot in WWE programming, and the message will be clear: It’s time for them to start thinking about adapting those positive policies on the main stage. Whether they actually listen or not, it’s another story.

Now that the Reigns and Bryan breakdown has been put out there and then some, the triple threat match with Brock and Rollins and Cena has been praised to the heavens, the haze is clearing and I am recalling other things happening in the Royal Rumble to think about. Let’s recall just a few.

·      Bubba Ray Dudley has returned. Based on his achievement of pretty high status in TNA and his not so cheery parting of ways with the company, it’s safe to guess he is back in WWE long term. I was doubtful of this happening because of the way he seemed to throw his weight around in TNA; whatever angles it lead to, none of them could’ve been that good because frankly, none of the angles he was in on TNA were good. In his Rumble there are signs of him taking direction and doing his thing as an in ring performer. He will probably get a lot of babyface applause in his return, but could make a great heel. His vinegar-like promos in TNA are testament to that. WWE’s playing field of heroes like Daniel Bryan, Dolph Ziggler, and Eric Rowan could use some formidable antagonists to go up against.

·      Bray Wyatt looked fantastic. A lot of attention was given to him, making him seem like a major threat. I can only hope this continues, leading to a very strong feud and match at Wrestlemania. Although it made for a momentary buzz of excitement, I hope this does not lead to a Wyatt Family reunion triple threat match thing. It has a bit of entertainment value but would be more of a spectacle than a strong wrestling match. Wyatt deserves better. All 3 of them deserve a shot at unique matches that highlight their individual qualities.

·      While not making the intended splash it was supposed to because of everything else going down, Dolph Ziggler had a brief but impressive charge in the Rumble. I have an image of my head of many super kicks being delivered, and a huge double DDT before being tossed out to clear the way for the lumbering story that was set to happen. I hope he is further catapulted to a very important spot on the Wrestlemania card.

·      Cesaro, Wade Barret, and Dean Ambrose were all there at the end, but it did not necessarily do anything for them, not like it should have. These are all very capable wrestlers with personas able to draw big crowd reactions. Upon returning, Barret knocked out Cesaro in a quick match and took Ziggler’s intercontinental championship. Other than that, he’s been given nothing to work with and his time in the Rumble was brief and negligible. He should really be give better. Cesaro and Dolph had an interesting bit of battling on the outside of the ropes; an impressive spot but nothing too memorable. Ambrose had a good look of intensity preparing for battle side by side with former Shield ally Reigns but did very little before being thrown out by Kane and Big Show. His allegiance to Reigns seems to be overshadowing his individual traits, which WWE has been striking out with by casting in goofier shades than they should. He should be given a good opponent to trade wins and losses with, accompanied by a credible story that doesn’t lead us to roll our eyes.

There are a lot of pieces to be positioned leading up to Wrestlemania. Let’s hope WWE gets it right with these mid-to-top level talents that could and should matter.

Mondo Pro Wrestling on Twitter: @MondoCurryMark

React, reply, or rebut: leave a comment!

Smackdown Sweep Up 1: August 29, 2014

While everything that matters happens on RAW, there is a show called SMACKDOWN, which does have its moments. With RAW demanding a solid 3 hours of your time plus the numerous WWE Network distractions and goings ons in other wrestling companies, here's an effort to keep you in the know about what was interesting...or not...and what is worth tracking down and checking out in case you missed the number 2 show.

This SMACKDOWN kicked off with Bray Wyatt facing Roman Reigns. Immediate thoughts going off in the brain: whoah, this is way too big for SMACKDOWN. This is the stuff of potential main event angles. You could sense this was not going to culminate in any actual win or loss situation, but even teasing at it seemed a bit too much like giving away something of premium value. A win over Bray would surely help Reigns solidify his stature as legit championship contender down the line. And Bray doing even just ok in a feud between them would solidify him as a major player. This should've been advertised. Perhaps it was and I missed it. In any case, unsurprising run-in by other Wyatts to give the DQ finish. Big Show and Henry come to the rescue, leading to classic SMACKDOWN main event booking: throw 'em all in a six-man tag match.

Seth Rollins vs Rob Van Dam. I wanted to see this when I learned this would be RVD's last match in the WWE...at least under this current contract. He won in a count out finish against Rollins on Main Event making the finish of this even  ore obvious. A good match. Nothing special, but seemed as though RVD worked ever so slightly more to get some interesting maneuvers in. I really feel RVD could've been booked much stronger, even if he wasn't going to do anything substantial, he could've been promoted as someone difficult to beat, making up and coming heels' victories over him more meaningful. The way things have been, you could smell 'nothing of any importance is going on here' from miles away. I had even been thinking, considering RVD's past dealings with Heyman, he could've been someone to put against Brock a few times on TV. Even if the outcome would be predictable, they could've done some entertaining hardcore stuff with Brock still dominating even if RVD got in a spot or two. Oh well.

Jack Swagger vs Rusev. At this point one must note that this is solid booking with an emphasis on wrestling, a nice reprieve from RAW and all its filler. This would be a submission match. Victor must win by making opponent give up. Cole or maybe it was JBL declare this to be the most important match between the two. Perhaps he forgot it was a SMACKDOWN taping? In fact, from the stipulation down to the quality of the match, it was what one might say is too good for SMACKDOWN, more suited for RAW. (But hey, for those of us who want to keep enjoying a little extra wrestling on throughout the week, keep it coming!) They did some good back and forth, and the submissions really brought out a heightened sense of suspense, despite the predictable outcome. You could hear fans really popping for Swagger narrowly escaping the Accolade.

Fantastic heel booking of Bo Dallas found him throwing in a towel, thus confusing the referee, and tripping up Swagger for Rusev's ultimate victory. Bo was an effective antagonistic jerk. Rusev was victorious. Swagger lost due to interference. All 3 players came out looking strong. Bo furthered his psychological bullying of Swagger with his injury making him unable to respond to the taunts, making an eventual match between the two something I will look forward to. This is a match to seek out and watch.

Something else that strikes me about the way they are presenting Swagger and his injury is that this is EXACTLY how post-SUMMERSLAM Cena SHOULD be booked!! After the unprecedented one sided beatdown by Lesnar, Cena should've been...still should be...showing signs of trauma, be them mental or physical, and losing matches or at least just squeaking by; then getting stronger little by little to try for a sympathetic comeback against Lesnar. It's been documented that the decision to do 'Super Cena' on last week's RAW was a decision made by Vince. Perhaps they'll course correct in the weeks to come.

Paige vs Emma. I blinked and this was over. But considering how little we've seen of Emma lately, it makes sense. Paige should be shown as a strong champ. I have more to say about the followup: the new direction of her feud with AJ Lee, which has me...confused. AJ switching things up and playing the role of the fake friend...or real friend...giving Paige chocolates and professing her love, i mean 'like.'

This might make sense except Paige isn't even playing along -- she spit the chocolate in AJ's face. AJ acted upset, which makes her look like an idiot. If this is "mind games" it doesn't make sense because Paige has the title and no reason to care if AJ is her friend or not. She called her own bluff already and took the title. This is very frustrating bad booking because AJ and Paige are clearly extremely talented PRO WRESTLERS, head and shoulders above most of their peers. They stand a chance to make an impact. Is this going to make for the next Lita and Trish?? No. But could it? Yes Yes Yes. When you have two very strong wrestlers and a faltering story, ditch the story and make it about their competition with one another, plain and simple. Have them cut old school tried and true biting, pissed off promos on one another and give us a wrestling match to look forward to.

AJ left and came back to CM Punk chants and neither the writers nor her has given reasons to cease them. The confusing psycho or not psycho character is not moving forward and not befitting a face. Ditch it and bring something new, without delay.

Sheamus vs Damien Mizdow. Yeah, this has lasted more than one day. After a bit of time the gimmick actually grows on you a bit. It helps Miz to be a somewhat more over even more repugnant heel. After the match, Sheamus won (as if you needed me to tell you that), Miz even got to run in to get a petty cheap shot in. Fun stuff. I just don't see what poor once a very credible heel himself Damien Sandow gets out of it in the slightest. Perhaps if the gimmick continues, they could find some way to have Sandow interact with Miz in a way that gets Sandow over as a heel a bit too? Perhaps even explain WHY Sandow would be doing this in the first place??

Ziggler caught Miz and gave him some grief on the ramp, so expect a tag match with these four on the next RAW.

Jimmy Uso vs Stardust. First off, I really like the heel turn of the 'Dust Brothers.' Since Cody turned into Stardust, I've always felt the two took on a resemblance to corny classic Batman villains from the BAM! ZIFF! POW! show back in the day. And now that I think about it, the Conquistadors. So the heel role makes sense and feels right. The match ended in a hot minute with Jimmy getting a roll up for the win. The match is worth watching for the classic heel antics: Golddust apologized before the match for the attack on RAW, said they lost it in the moment. Then after this match, another attack from out of nowhere. This should lead to a very fun match at Night of Champions.

Reigns, Big Show, and Mark Henry vs The Wyatts. I can't remember too much about this match but it was good. It was good in that way that all those matches with the Shield were. A lot of moving around. High impact moves. It reminds me why Reigns was so impressive to me as a team player: he would come in and break up the action with some very fast high impact moves...but as a singles competitor, I'm feeling a bit lethargic. Reigns and company won. This could continue in a number of ways. I'd like to see Bray in a program with Big Show. Keep Bray strong and give him a devious way to bring a giant sized Show down, who really hasn't been up to much of anything lately. And the thing with Jericho seems pretty cold. That or get the other Wyatts back into winning mode and show them as a force to be reckoned with in matches against Show and Henry.

Overall this was an entertaining SMACKDOWN. No earth shattering events, but storylines were supported, wrestlers were made to be strong, and there was little filler between people with nothing going on.

Feel free to hit me on twitter with suggestions, criticisms, trash talk, and the like at @mondocurrymark.