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 The Snowman is a genius Follow @TheDocLOP QUESTION OF THE DAY: What did you think of Monday Night Raw? What are you most looking forward to about Fast Lane on Sunday? Pros John Cena gets the better of Rusev ahead of their match at Fast Lane. The Golden Boy presents a unique dichotomy on a weekly basis for me, as I can rarely decide - since I became disenchanted with Cena's act (finally) last summer - if I prefer his feuds to be totally balanced or for him to get the crap kicked out of him consistently. I suppose that the former provides the best opportunity for an unpredictable match on PPV and, though I generally disregard unpredictability as an important pre-match element (it's about the presentation of the win and loss; not actually about who wins and loses), I prefer that booking for Cena on go-home shows like tonight's not make it a foregone conclusion that he will win on Sunday. So, call this a marginal “Pro.” From the general fan perspective, this feud has made Cena a largely genuine babyface, which is a huge testament to the skills of Rusev and Lana for being so over as heels. That's a major “Pro.” Stardust turns on his family and joins the dark side again. For those of you that have read my creative writing pieces over the years, you know that I'm a huge fan of Cody Rhodes and the range that he has as a character, particularly when he taps into wrestling noir. Tonight, we saw a return to what made me a fan of his in the first place. He's great at being deranged. There's money to be made in Cody as a deranged psychopath. Paige and Dolph Ziggler take full advantage of their opportunities on the microphone. It's amazing what a little mic time can do for someone. Paige and Ziggler were the latest to exemplify it. The #1 contender to the Divas Championship had a good night, capped off by putting Nikki in her place, verbally. Ziggler was given a bit more time and made the most of it while engaging Seth Rollins, who has spent the last year earning more and more mic time by maximizing, first, his seconds and, later, his minutes. Triple H did the promo leg work for what assuredly will be part of the hype video for his match with Sting at WrestleMania. He will have to be on point these next seven weeks to ensure that the iconic clash will carry as much heat as possible to San Fran. He's certainly more than capable, as proven again tonight. Ric Flair was better than he had been in the last year, despite not being much more than a dialogue director for the things that Trips needed to clearly get across about Sting. I, having lived through the constant reminders for three years (2001-2004) that WCW was a piece of crap by anyone who was wrestling a guy that made his name there, greatly appreciated that Trips was careful not to bury the place where Sting became famous. I liked how he mentioned that he would have kicked Sting's ass on principle alone for just making his name at Flair's expense before moving into the more personal issue established between them since Survivor Series. Make no mistake about The Game's talents as an antagonistic orator. I'm extremely curious to hear what Sting has to say in response...if anything. Dean Ambrose is benefiting from dropping into the mid-card for awhile. I know how many of LOP's readers would love to see Ambrose in the spot Reigns currently occupies, but I think the Lunatic Fringe is going to ultimately gain a lot from his current position. Remember when Daniel Bryan went through his lengthy series of matches with CM Punk 2012, then dropped back to tag with Kane for nearly a year? He didn't fall off a cliff, which has happened to say many budding headliners that I think it has become as much a pattern in the minds of fans to view dropping down as free falling. Instead, he was on TV every week for 9 months gaining momentum as a character. I think Ambrose might do the same thing. He's on TV every week for multiple segments just like Bryan was. I, for one, am really enjoying what he's doing. Cons Outwardly flaunting Daniel Bryan's popularity adds an icy glaze on the already slippery slope that is the Roman Reigns push to WrestleMania. As much as I will enjoy seeing Reigns vs. Bryan on Sunday, tonight highlighted the danger in pairing these two together for a match. Bryan is still the hottest act in pro wrestling on the babyface side. I get what they're trying to do, but I can understand the “why” without necessarily embracing the “how.” Personally, I thought that the snowed in Raw was the best example of how to make Roman's push work, creatively. I'm sure we'll get more of that starting next week, with Paul Heyman working his magic. It's up to WWE, Reigns, and Bryan to prove that this game of Russian Roulette we've seen the last few weeks will work out favorably for all involved. Will the gamble pay off? Big Show vs. Daniel Bryan-type matches are the reason why the last hour of Raw is often failing to maintain the audience. How often, since Raw shifted to three hours, have we seen reports of the drop off in viewership for the last hour? It's ho-hum main-events like Bryan vs. Show that have helped cause it. Perhaps WWE just have accepted that three hours is too much for some fans without a really good hook for the final segment. I don't know. What I do know is that I had zero desire to watch Bryan vs. Show, partly for the reasons described in previous “Cons” about the complete lack of interest in the World's Largest Athlete. I think if I were live in Orlando tonight, I still wouldn't have watched that match. I think I'd have tried to beat the traffic. All due respect to both men, but that match screamed for two hours worth of Michael Cole hype, “It's a good night to go to bed early and read the results in the morning.” That all having been stated, I liked how Reigns responded to Bryan's earlier ringside antics and how the show ended with the two of them duking it out.
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