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 The Snowman is a genius Follow @TheDocLOP QUESTION OF THE DAY: What did you think of Raw this week? Pros Randy Savage getting inducted into the Hall of Fame. How awesome is this? Strip away the fact that it would have been wonderful to actually see him accept the honor and give us a speech and you're left with what will surely be one of the best received inductions in WWE HOF history. I, for one, will look forward to Mania weekend that much more because of this news. Macho Man left an indelible legacy on pro wrestling history. As I said in my book, I think there will be another Hogan, another Cena, another Austin, and another Rock, HBK, Bret, etc.. I don't think that there will ever be another Randy Savage. He was truly one of a kind. Paul Heyman cuts a promo as naturally as anyone ever has. Last year, there was a long stretch when Heyman would come out to the ring and talk on a weekly basis. It's easy to become desensitized to his skills when he's around all the time – well, I guess that would depend on who you ask (I named my podcast segment, “The Paul Heyman” Raw Win of the Week) – when he is only on Raw every so often, he reminds us of why he's such an asset to the product. If Lesnar does leave after Mania, I sure hope that they find a role for Heyman to play with a new villain. He's too good at what he does not to. Daniel Bryan and Stephanie McMahon set-up another chapter for the ultimate underdog story to compliment an organic comeback tale. The Yes! Man provides a constant reminder of how easy it can be for WWE to execute a good haves vs. have nots feud if they have the right people in the right roles. John Cena doesn't work as the hero in that story. Bryan does. He's the every-man, easy to relate to and identify with as a person held down despite their apparent abilities. Last year, the right pieces of the puzzle were fit into the proper places and we got one of the greatest wrestling dramas ever portrayed in WWE. Can lightning strike twice? I'm not sure, but WWE are certainly hinting at it. Bryan's comeback alone might have been enough to strike the chords and reignite the Yes! Movement. Last night, Steph did what she does better than anyone and antagonized he who she deems beneath her. It's, perhaps, her most natural role. And, I don't think that there's any question about it, it is an organically engaging angle. The Contract Signing did a good job hyping the revised Royal Rumble main-event. I quite enjoyed the final segment of the night. Establishing a conflict between Brock Lesnar and Seth Rollins was made simple enough. I quite liked that Rollins didn't back down to Lesnar. Isn't it nice to have a Money in the Bank holder that doesn't job like a fool for months on end? They're building Rollins into a strong bad guy who looks you straight in the eye and believes in his talents, but just so happens to do bad guy things that keep him jeered by the audience. I also liked that they let him carry the segment without any needless banter from the Authority. Cena is better suited for the role he played at the end of the night rather than the one he tried at the beginning. “I'll kick your ass,” tough guy, Superman is his niche. Heyman and Lesnar were what you'd expect. Cons John Cena and WWE's reference to a stay-at-home World Champion. I thought it was a bone-headed decision to have Cena suggest that his strategy for getting something from “The Man” was to win the WWE title and then take it home until the powers-that-be bring back his recently fired teammates. Brock Lesnar has been at home for five months with the championship belt, barely showing his face and the show has gone on without him. I was waiting for a clever, wink-wink acknowledgment from Trips or Steph in retort, but it never came. That's one of those little details that may fly right over the heads of the younger fans, yet sticks out like a sore thumb to older fans that follow the legitimate criticisms of the TV product. Big Show cuts a promo and nobody cares. Seriously, who gives a monkey crap about Show at this stage of his career? His delivery is good and he's one of the greatest big men of all-time, but the act is beyond tired. All the usual criticisms apply, creating for a situation where he could cut the most compelling promo in history and it would be difficult to invest in it. It's just not interesting anymore. To quote Dolph Ziggler's trunks, I'm “Over It.” The Ascension have a long way to go. My LOP colleague, Maz, put it best last week when he said, in response to a thought I posted on Twitter about The Ascension, “They look like someone's dad and uncle dressed up for Halloween.” I want to like these guys; I really do. I'm just not crazy about the presentation to date. On the one hand, I like that they are getting a chance to talk. I've not been a fan of the modern formula that just carts a guy or two out to the ring and sees them beat people up for weeks on end. On the other hand, talking about the Road Warriors and Demolition and trying to sound tough isn't really what made them click in NXT, from what I understand. They had a different take down there in Florida that sounds, at least to me, like a more logical route to take for introducing them to the masses. Let the announcers establish the comparison between Viktor and Conor and the heralded dominant duos of the past. The finish to the Rusev vs. Ambrose match. Ambrose did alright for himself in the few backstage skits that he was involved in. They were a marginal hit for me. I'm not sure that it was necessary to have him go out and have the ref save him from further punishment in an unnecessary match against Rusev. We'll see where it goes. --------------------------------- "The Doc Says" podcast for this week, first airing on LOP Radio Wed. at 5PM ET, looks at all the WrestleMania possibilities, pre-Rumble. As we get closer to the 2015 Royal Rumble, The Doc takes a closer look at the sheer number of possibilities for the WrestleMania card for Seth Rollins, John Cena, Daniel Bryan, Roman Reigns, Brock Lesnar, and more! Here's a hint: there's a lot of possibilities. The Doc will also update his WrestleMania Rankings, kicking out #5 in favor of a first-timer on the list and rearranging the order along the way. This week will also introduce a new segment called "Around the Wrestling World in 180 seconds," quickly discussing pertinent topics from the last 10 days. Brought to you by The WrestleMania Era: The Book of Sports Entertainment (2nd Edition)
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