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

React, reply, or rebut: leave a comment!

Royal Rumble Forecast

Couple of quick thoughts before the 2015 Royal Rumble kicks off. I have a combination of predications and wishful thinking of things I'd like to see happen, yet could be considered realistically in line with the direction that WWE has been moving in.

Coming out of the Royal Rumble match and triple threat title match, I would like to see and consider it plausible to see a Daniel Bryan Vs Seth Rollins for the WWE World Championship main event Wrestlemania 31. The seeds for this idea were planted firmly while listening to Jim Ross' excellent podcast where he envisioned the same scenario. He has no apparent inside track, just a lot of experience and knowledge about the business, and many other scenarios involving Roman Reigns and/or Lesnar in the mix have arisen as well.

What I like about the idea of a Bryan/Rollins setup is that it puts two wrestlers who are on the rise in the spotlight. Both have been over with the fans, Bryan's momentum only hitting the brakes after time being taken away for surgery, in their respective roles as baby face and despicable heel. Both can put on an extremely impressive technical match with years of indie experience to draw on, and this is widely known to audiences watching them for the past 1 - 2 years. It would be a credible win for either of them, and would show that WWE is putting a concerted effort on promoting the future instead of constantly falling back on the past. Whether all of the powers that be at WWE are really down with that last sentiment, I'm really not sure.

So where does that put the others in the main event picture is the next logical question. Reigns seemed the next most likely to be pushed to the number 1 spot, but signs suggest that WWE  is aware of what other insightful fans have been saying: He's not ready. I look back to the amazing feud between The Shield and The Wyatt Family, and think this would be a perfect time to rekindle heat between Reigns and Wyatt, leading to a match between them at Wrestlemania. The 6 wrestlers involved in that series of matches brought so much energy to it, bringing down the house each time. Reigns and Wyatt were always positioned as the clear leader of each group. WWE could play it smart and bring those past battles into focus as a partial cause for whatever may lead Wyatt to attack Reigns, like say screw him over in the Royal Rumble match tonight. Bray has such a strange peripheru role, sometimes just kinda being there until he decides to go after someone based on some half-baked philosophy he is given to justify it. But looking at his eventual win in that unfortunate program with Dean Ambrose, he did come out on top showing that he is in one of the top heel slots. I echo the sentiment of others that it would be interesting to see a Roman Reigns heel change, but don't see it happening with WWE putting so much spotlight on him as a face.

It's been suggested that Cena go on to face, and probably defeat Rusev at Mania. It makes perfect sense to me, keep Cena out of the main event where smart marks will groan, and give him a through and through heel like Rusev to vanquish and make it a feel good moment. At the same time, if they put Rusev over Cena, even better.

Brock Lesnar is the trickiest part of the puzzle. In my ideal world he would be winning and moving on to main event Wrestlemania. He is the most compelling talent to watch and by far the most phsysically impressive. But his days at WWE would seem to be numbered with no sign of him staying with the WWE instead of going with offers from the UFC. Still, this still would seem to have a question mark at the end of it, especially with Brock coming across like a face at the end of the last RAW. Could that have just been to give Rollins the come back victory after being knocked around by Lesnar?

Well, going with the idea that his days are numbered, it would make sense to take him out of the main event picture. 'Have heard the possibility of Heyman turning on him. I hope that doesn't happen. It could be interesting, but to me Heyman has always been loyal - even when he turned on CM Punk, it was after CM Punk said he wanted to go in a direction without Heyman. I don't think a betrayal would really make sense. Phasing Brock out as a face could leave the door open for a huge eventual comeback that would get fans clamoring for it. At the same time, he could make another star. If, for instance they put him in a program with Ryback....I don't love it, and cannot imagine Ryback winning, but if they are as high on him as it seems, a solid match with Lesnar would make him appear stronger.

Keep in mind, Randy Orton is very likely to be somewhere in the mix, as this would be the time for him to return. Do they trust him? He did seem to be getting a lot of positive buzz as soon he put his hands on Rollins and Hunter. Would they have enough faith to enter him in the Rumble as a surprise entrant and go all the way, for a match against Rollins at Wrestlemania?? If we get Rollins/Oron at Mania, I really think it's not fresh enough to be the main event. Put it ont he undercard and move forward with Bryan and Lesnar, a match I'd love to see but don't expect. Otherwise, look to hear a lot of 'No! No! No!' coming out of Philadelphia.

Welcome To The New (Japan) World

At the start of 2015, signs really do seem to be suggesting that wrestling is entering a new world. Yes, that’s a reference to New Japan Pro Wrestling and its WWE Network-like streaming service, launched at the tail end of 2014 and likely to have received a boost in subscribers with the occurrence of Wrestle Kingdom 9; but it goes beyond this. A startling number of outlets for quality wrestling are orbiting the once unparalleled WWE, with increasing velocities and more than a slight chance of causing some collisions. Although WWE is still the biggest fish in the pond, other organizations, with their growing prominence, have potential to exert a force from without on the WWE, hopefully leading them to up their game. If not, fans have the option to take their chants and go home. And dedicate their viewing to more exciting territories.

It’s as good a time as ever to start looking at a few of the varied promotions out there and highlight what’s going down by reacting to the highs and lows. By no means will I try to be first with reviews nor am I interested in breaking news. There are plenty of places out there for that with far more experience and resources. What I hope to bring is some interesting takes on what’s out there from one singular perspective and build a community of likeminded fans with some critical thoughts and a bit of a sense of humor.

This week has been extremely eventful for the promotions I hope to keep track of with NJPW having their biggest event of the year, made available to international audiences via Pay Per View and New Japan World for the first time, TNA airing their first episode of Impact on its new host station Discover America, and Lucha Underground holding a critical show in its narrative, one which would name their first championship belt holder. I find I cannot just ignore the WWE so I also plan to give a look at a few of the goings ons over there and, like other proponents of NXT, I’ll treat it as a separate program as well. Despite the fact that it is under the WWE umbrella, its uniqueness and high quality earns it a distinct look. I’d also like to include Ring of Honor in the mix, though the challenge of getting eyeballs on their product will be a theme I revisit, as I am not in range of their tv show and find accessing the re-broadcasts on the website to be a less than stellar experience.

And now, the good, the bad, and the weird for the week of January 4 – January 11, starting with New Japan Pro Wrestling.

The Good

NJPW Far be it from me to offer anything all that different from the heaps of praise already bestowed upon the increasingly hot promotion and this powerhouse, delivering a solid card of technical wrestling and two main events that have many describing as match of the year candidates. The one that took top honors in my book, and quite possibly being the best pro wrestling match that I feel I have ever seen is Shinsuke Nakamura vs Kota Ibushi. It starts with the creative and intensely charismatic entrance of Nakamura, bringing out the ‘King’ in his ‘King of Strong Style’ moniker, and doing so with peculiar flair that many would shy away from. Then, the realness of the rivalry between him and Ibushi came right out with Ibushi shoving away Nakamura’s patented leaning head clean break, and then Nakamura returning the favor by suckering him in with an insincere handshake and a stomp to the back of his head. Ibushi would continue with several taunts, mocking the intercontinental champion’s numerous mannerisms. Both would begin hitting each other with alarmingly stiff shots, specifically a series of punches that actually gave credence to the old school rule of closed fist punches being an illegal maneuver. Ibushi also not only recovered from some of Nakamura’s most intense throws, but did so with a maniacal grin spreading across his face. One jaw-dropping sequence found Ibushi hitting Nakamura with Nakamura’s own back drop suplex, mimicking some of Nakamura’s trademark ring entrance theatrics, and then delivering a running knee at such high speed, the camera couldn’t keep up fast enough to show the point of impact. These two pushed themselves and the art of choreographing a dramatic and physically demanding fight simulation. Their continued confrontations will no doubt be legendary and highly sought after on whatever platform its available.   

I’m gonna give a couple more mentions, though keep in mind, I am pointing out a couple of extremely strong points amidst a whole show and roster of strong points. No way to report it all, these are just a few personally highly reqarding aspects. First goes to the team of Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly, Reddragon, who are tag title holders in both ROH and NJPW. In a four way tag team match filled extraordinary coordination and technically impressive feats, I was glad to see Reddragon come out on top, with their style combining quick paced high impact strikes and sharply executed throws. In the final minutes of the match they pulled off a number of impressive double team maneuvers beginning with Demolition’s classic finisher with the elbow from the second turnbuckle replaced by a stomp. Then, they pulled off a dizzying multi-step sequence with O’Reilly hitting a double underhook DDT as Fish assisted by hoisting the opponent up by his legs; then off the impact of the DDT, Fish lifted the opponent up into a vicious back suplex as O’Reilly kicked him up and away. Finally came their often used finished, Chasing The Dragon, in which O’Reilly holds an opponent up in a suplex position, Fish hits a roundhouse kick to the back of the opponent’s head, followed by O’Reilly doing a brainbuster. The kick comes across like an executioner hitting the switch to trigger a guillotine to come crashing down, precise and brutal. Very impressed by this team and looking forward to more in Japan and the US.

Another honorable mention goes out to jr. heavyweight challenger and now champion Kenny Omega, now ‘The Cleaner,’ who prior to Wrestle Kingdom 9 joined the Bullet Club and adapted anew heel persona. He fuly owned the sleazy look and mannerisms of his newly invented character and they were highly entertaining. While working a style that involves cheap shots and dishonorable tactics, Omega found well placed spots to hit impressive maneuvers in line with the cruiserweight style, including a lightning quick snap full-nelson suplex and a fantastic finisher that takes his opponent from the top of Omega’s shoulders and flips him into a driver-like slam. Kenny Omega looks to bring some heated storytelling top the Jr. Heavyweight title scene along with a very impressive arsenal of moves.

     

The Bad

NOTHING on this show struck me as outright bad. I could see how the Omega’s opponent Ryusuke Taguchi lacks direction, with a move-set that is all over the place, echoing several American wrestlers, but without a clear unifying aesthetic of his own. This has been brought up by the hosts of JAW (Japanese Audio Wrestling), a great show that airs monthly on LAW Radio, and perhaps the notion got into my head while watching this match. It definitely came through as he tried to mock Omega’s heelish posturing. It came off as lacking in passion as the villain in the fight an circles around him in the charisma department.

The Weird

Minoru Suzuki’s opponent, Sakuraba brought an MMA background to a match that was supposed to bring the influence of that style of combat heavily into the mix. He himself is a pretty diminutive figure and without much background on him, it could be difficult to be engaged by his appearance or grappling style. The mask he wore out to the ring seemed like a nod to old school Scifi superhero shows. I wonder what effect that has on the audience in Japan but it was a little difficult to grasp a vibe from for me.

I watched the show on New Japan World and after the impressive show, which had so many more bright spots than the ones mentioned above, I will check out all future events that are aired. If this quality level continues, and I see no reason why it wouldn’t, there is potential for New Japan to bring a few shows to the US via Pay Per View per year. I would not hesitate even a little, though, to pick up ‘World to fill in the gaps.

That’s it for now. I hope to weigh in on this Lucha Underground and TNA’s first offerings of 2015.

There’s no community without an ‘I’ and a split apart ‘you’ so please bring your opinions, dissent, hat tip, ridicule, questions and what have you to the comment section below.

Shout at me on twitter at @mondcurrymark.

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