Week in Mondo: March 1 - March 9 Ring Of Honor 13 Overshadows Wrestlemania Build

One week ago was Ring of Honor’s first Pay Per view event of 2015, their 13^th Anniversary special. It was excellent, featuring a range of match situations: face vs face with emphasis on technical prowess, more heated grudge matches, multi-wrestler matches that often broke down into chaos. Throughout there was a strong emphasis on athletic ability and in-ring storytelling. Whether finishes occurred by straightforward means or by way of cheating, there was a decisive victor to every match. No roll ups off of distractions. Ring of Honor is pretty much the only company with high profile that special need to be ordered via Pay Per View. WWE and New Japan both have streaming services that include access to their major events, and TNA and Lucha Underground do not hold special events. Actually TNA does, it seems, but with hardly any promotion and little bearing on storylines, while all of the significant happenings take place on their regularly scheduled Impact tv show, so what’s the point? It’s a bit of a risky gambit, asking for quite a bit more than fans are growing accustomed to having to pay for an event, but the quality of the wrestling made this show worthwhile. I still maintain, to make the PPV a more desirable expenditure for more fans, they should focus on getting more eyeballs on their product, and that means making the weekly tv shows available to people for free on a timely basis, not one week behind schedule for those who don’t have access to their cable outlet (this includes people living in major cities, such as New York).

An MVP of the show that got my attention was Tommaso Ciampa, who competed in the 4-way main event for the ROH Heavyweight championship. He has a hard hitting style, throwing himself at opponents with high impact and seemingly little regard for his physical well being. Following him on the TV show, I’ve come to be a big fan of his entrance music, “They Are Lost” by Last Remaining Pinnacle. It’s a dark, brooding number that could be from a Spaghetti Western soundtrack or Giallo film, suggesting an approaching storm cloud. His entrance at the last special took presentation a step further, perhaps influenced by Prince Devitt/Finn Balor, as he entered donning a metal mask and hood. It had a bit of a comic book feel to it, but brought some intrigue to setting up the match. It even echoed the appearance of mysterious hip hop artist MF DOOM, who never appears in public without his own stylized Doctor Doom inspired headgear. Thus far, the ‘psycho’ part of the ‘Sicilian Psycho’s persona has been emphasized, with Ciampa flying off the handle and attacking referees and wrestlers to the point of disciplinary actions (in story). I’d like to see a more calculating mental game added to his character, to go with the entrance music and occasional grand entrance, to perhaps make him a big player on the promotion’s main event scene.

A major part of the Ring of Honor pay per view feeling special was the presence of the Bullet Club, which has been a dominant faction of growing popularity in NJPW.  This really feels like a move that is mutually beneficial to both companies, giving ROH an edge and a bit of a cool factor by featuring the BC on their shows, while also sending US wrestling fans to check out NJPW, either on their weekly wrestling program on AXS or y subscribing to their streaming service NJPW World. It also gives Ring of Honor a feel of legitimacy to be involved with talent that is known elsewhere. This is also true in the case of working with Alberto El Patron (formerly Del Rio), who is currently active in Triple A, and as a result, Lucha Underground. It creates a nice buzz of cross promotion for these budding companies, while making more traditional organizations like WWE and TNA seem insulated, less exciting in comparison.

My notes from RAW, perhaps owing to having to follow the excellent ROH show the night before, is that nothing of consequence really happened. John Stewart was there and was entertaining, but that really doesn’t do much for building intrigue about programs for Wrestlemania 31, which is drawing ever closer. What I liked about RAW boiled down to Paul Heyman’s promo. Someone talking. And that talking was even more electric than usual. It is the kind of promo that emphasizes competition over silly storylines and, dare I say, is better suited to a company like ROH or New Japan. But RAW has the gift of this very talented performer who understands the power of straightforward hype by saying ‘my guy is going to kick your guy’s ass’ in convincing fashion. They should try to capitalize by getting other performers to follow suit.

On the flip side there is a main event of Seth Rollins vs Roman Reigns, which would be a great draw under other circumstances but was just flat here. That is a terrible waste. Circumstances really matter in making a match soar, not just the wrestlers involved, who quite frankly really did not put a very good match on in the ring. If these two were still a part of the Shield, or had kept apart from each other for a while, it might feel special. Instead, it is a transparent part of a build to Wrestlemania, with us knowing that whatever happens in the match, it really won’t affect what’s ahead for either one.

I find myself seething in rage over the stupidity of the intercontinental championship, where all of these wrestlers suddenly want it so badly they are taking it from each other without actually winning it. I can't get over, either, how some fans on social media seem to be buying into it and actually see it as a raise of the profile of the title. Let’s be real. It is nothing more than an excuse to put a bunch of wrestlers without anything going on in one match on the Wrestlemania Card. That might be a very good match afterall, but it’s no excuse for coming up with such a stupid concept: wrestlers running around and taking a belt from each other, which does not make them any more a champion by holding it. It makes all involved look like buffoons at best, or weaklings at worst (I cringe every time I see a once domineering force like Wade Barrett being directed in storyline to plead for his belt back instead of smashing people in the face with the once mighty Bullhammer finisher. Anyone stealing a belt that they did not win should be fined. The story doesn’t make the belt look any higher in profile, it makes it look like a joke.

A good way to lead up to this match would be to have the numerous players involved fight each other one on one and in tag teams, have GOOD matches that make all involved look strong, not like a bunch of goofs as they are doing with R-Truth for cheap comedy.

This seems indicative of a negative trend in WWE programming at large: make heels look more bumbling than threatening. Looking back at very wrestlers who have had very successful heel runs (Edge, Jake “The Snake”, CM Punk to name a few), were they made to look like idiots on the wrong end of a joke? Maybe occasionally, but not so often. Did all of them have an offensive arsenal that seemed powerful? Yes.

Going back to ROH, the Reddragon vs Young Bucks rematch from last years amazing War of the Worlds show is a great example of heels being both conniving and displaying the prowess to be considered legitimate threats. In their match, they cheated, which good heels should do. But they didn’t win with a roll up and then run away leaving everyone dissatisfied with the match finish. They still had plenty of intense wrestling maneuvers that left fans without question of their ability.

WWE should try making their heel wrestlers both dastardly and impressive in the ring, and not just the wrestlers at the top of the card like Lesnar, Rusev, and Seth Rollins.

NXT had a few shining moments this past week, particularly in the women’s title rematch between Charlotte (Flair) and Sasha Banks. The submission maneuvers involved in this match were incredible, looking extremely painful as Sasha contorted Charlotte’s body in seemingly impossible ways. Both of the wrestlers sold the pain of being put through submission holds as well as anyone on the current main WWE roster, if not better. Lucha Underground, take note: If you really want to push female equality, which Vampyro keeps insisting on commentary that you do, try 1) hiring more female wrestlers, 2) put them in matches against each other of this level of quality, showing their championship is just as valid as the men’s.

It was nice to see Adam Rose’s gimmick going over better back on NXT. I for one thought the heel change would’ve gone well had WWE tried to make him look strong, beating up members of his entourage to display a mean streak. But seeing him do that…and continue to lose was just depressing. Far more entertaining to see him in a smaller setting, having his lively entrances get over with the hipper NXT crowd.

All for now. Do comment, disagreements and smack talk are welcome.

Twitter: @MondocurryMark

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

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!

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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