|
Welcome to back to the Excellence in Column Writing by Mr. Tito exclusively here at LordsofPain.net / WrestlingHeadlines. I have to admit... I'm a bit depressed as a wrestling fan as we go deeper into 2016. We may not realize it yet, but we as wrestling fans had it GOOD in 2015 particularly on the WWE Network. I joined during June 2015 using the FREE trial just so I could simultaneously watch the NBA Finals and Money in the Bank 2015. However, what kept me around as a WWE Network subscriber for much of 2015 and through now? (a) NXT shows, especially Takeover events. (b) Good WWE Pay Per Views But WWE's recent moves threatens the existence of BOTH. First and foremost, we're seeing WWE debuts of NXT wrestlers such as Baron Corbin, Kass & Enzo, Emma, Eva Marie, Apollo Crews, and the Vaudevillians. There are rumors that others may be promoted as well (Joe, Bayley, Balor). Personally, I'm happy about the promotions and I wish each of the wrestlers the very best in their new endeavors... But NXT was really making its own mark on the wrestling world as a separate WWE brand. I'm willing to bet that if WWE polled their WWE Network owners, NXT and their Takeover events will be listed as a top reason for subscriber retention. Especially after seeing that absurdly good NXT Takeover Dallas event with 4 legitimately good to great matches. During the Roman Reigns vs. Triple H match, "Nakamura" and "Sami Zayn" chants broke out. Think about that... Now, the overpushing of Roman Reigns legitimately threatens to reduce the quality of WWE Pay Per Views. Wrestlemania is supposed to be the biggest event of the year and Roman Reigns was quite awful in his match against Triple H. Booed heavily and reportedly, the WWE Production Truck was lowering volumes of crowd noises during Wrestlemania 32 and RAW in attempts to counter angry fans. Reports from both live events suggest that the boos were extremely loud and universal among Dallas fans. Dallas fans, folks... Not the trolling New York fans that every WWE loyalist was ripping from last week. If that's the kind of in-ring effort we'll see from Reigns, good luck... And you know what else has regressed in the WWE and it's not entirely his fault? Brock Lesnar. After he finished up his program with the Undertaker, Brock is out of big name stars to oppose him. As much as I like Dean Ambrose, he didn't rise to the occasion in the hype leading up to Wrestlemania and then the match itself. Even when John Cena and Seth Rollins return, Brock has already wrestled both guys repeatedly. He has already wrestled Triple H and even Roman Reigns. Undertaker 3 times and Big Show twice. Really, the last unique Brock Lesnar match left to do in his remaining 2 years contractually is against Randy Orton... I just don't know what appeal is remaining on the rest of the roster when placed against Brock Lesnar. As a WWE Network subscriber, I'm bummed... On the day after Wrestlemania, I should be excited... However, the 2 things that appealed to me as a WWE Network consumer could diminish... NXT could lose the talent that made 2015 unique and WWE will suffer under the Roman Empire. But hey... It's up to the wisdom of the WWE executives to prove me wrong... Vince McMahon to sell Roman Reigns to me (failing so far) and Triple H to replenish the developmental system. We'll see how good the management staff of WWE truly is... ============================================ RAW is HULU Missed the Cut (Hulu RAW is 1.5 hours edited) - Sasha Banks vs. Summer Rae - Baron Corbin vs. Dolph Ziggler (shocked by this one) Show starts off with Vince McMahon coming out and the Dallas fans continue to sing "NO CHANCE IN HELL" even after the music stops. After a few verbal jabs at Shane, Vince announces that he has "taken care" of the Lockbox issue. Vince acknowledges the "nutty" crowd following Wrestlemania and tells everyone to "enjoy RAW" as it will be one they'll "never forget". As Vince tries to leave, Shane McMahon comes out and he's looking rough... Shane gets choked up from the "thank you Shane" chants and then shakes Vince's hand while thanking the fans. Shane says "thank you and goodbye". However, Vince McMahon is upset because "nobody upstages me" and Vince didn't like the thought of Shane running RAW... However, the fans chanted "let him run it" and probably improvising the segment (but keeping booking plans in tact), Vince gave in saying "hell with it" and put Shane in charge. OK... Opening match on Hulu RAW is quickly into the ring for New Day vs. Wade Barrett/Sheamus in what I think is for the Tag Titles. With the Hulu edit, I don't know... Nice aerial combo move between Big E launching Kofi on the outside. Pretty amazing how the New Day have given the WWE a real midcard entity at the Tag Team level even though WWE doesn't give a crap about tag team wrestling. Can we end this League of Nations already? Quick match as Kofi hit Wade Barrett as he was in Big E's finisher. What was the point of the League winning at Wrestlemania 32 again? I know that it was 4 on 3 and WWE wanted to put Austin/HBK/Foley in a big spot with the New Day, but the League sucks... Afterward, Sheamus is baffled as to why the League of Nations isn't working out. "How you doin'?" chant breaks out... Ha! Sheamus says "you're only as strong as your weakest link" and Wade Barrett gets attacked and pushed out of the ring. Lights go out and the Wyatt Family attacks. It's time to start pushing Bray Wyatt seriously... He had a big moment last night where the Rock openly praised him and tonight, he looked strong manhandling the League of Losers stable. The guy is legitimately good in the ring but his gimmick just blurs how serious he is as an athlete versus character. WWE has to find the right mix and let Wyatt consistently win... He has the size and ability to look legitimately tough as a Brock Lesnar opponent... With time. Backstage, Vince McMahon is leaving because he doesn't want to be on hand to see the ship sinking... Oh boy, Apollo Crews WWE debut and he's facing the last NXT call-up (but Vince hates him), Tyler Breeze. As I said in other columns, in my opinion, Apollo Crews has the most upside of the NXT top guys. I think he's just lacking in personality and psychology, but as a pure athlete and in terms of charisma, he already has it. He's like an NFL linebacker who moves like a Cruiserweight. Seriously. Decent opener for Apollo Crews, as I'm more laughing at how WWE poorly used Breeze than anything. That guy dropped quick in the WWE after his debut where he beat Dolph Ziggler. Roman Reigns comes out and the boos are loud! Michael Cole and JBL offer excuses (with Vince McMahon probably in their ear) on how post-Wrestlemania RAW crowds chant differently for wrestlers. Right... Dallas, aside from their World Class days, isn't exactly known for their hot crowds to thrash WWE babyfaces. Roman said that he told Shane that he'll take on anyone tonight... Chris Jericho responds to the challenge and Jericho immediately tells the fans to "shut the hell up" and calls the fans "idiots" in attempt to deflect to heat. Jericho cuts a great promo to fend off the Dallas fans and then demands that he be put at the "front of the line" to get a WWE Title shot. Great job by Jericho... AJ Styles comes out but says nothing and soon Kevin Owens also arrives. Next, Sami Zayn... Wow... If that's the WWE Title contender list, I'm OK with that... So much in-ring talent with Zayn, Jericho, Styles, and Owens... Zayn and Owens battle while Jericho and Styles fight with Roman Reigns looking on... When the opportunity was right, Reigns speared Jericho to end the segment with lots of boos. Hey, when you have a marginal WWE Champion, you can make him look good by surrounding him with good talent. Roman is like the Trent Dilfer or Brad Johnson of the WWE... Zack Ryder has some nice words to say following his surprise Wrestlemania win by thanking the fans, thanking his dad, and then shows his pictures with Scott Hall as a kid with Razor's IC Title and then now backstage with Hall at Wrestlemania 32. But then the Miz arrives with an absurd robe... All kinds of crazy going on with that wardrobe. Miz complains about losing in front of his wife and being embarrassed at Wrestlemania and Ryder's response is classic: sucks to be you bro! BURN! Miz tries to convince Zack Ryder to put the title on the line and like any babyface sucker, Ryder puts the belt on the line. So that's how a title match is made? Why not hype it for Smackdown and/or RAW next week? Ryder and Miz, to me, are the same wrestler... Both come across as guys doing their best wrestler impersonation and just have nothing unique that's specific to them. Seems like both were wrestling fans growing up and are just repeating the best things they've seen from their favorite wrestlers. Sadly, both have in-ring ability but they lack psychology to explain their moves or flow of their matches. Worse yet for Ryder, he's good to his fans and has a nice internet following that gets him pops... On the outside, Zack Ryder's jacked up dad shoves the Miz and that prompts Maryse to make her WWE return by slapping Ryder's dad and that distracts Zack to eat a Skull Crusher for the loss. OK - So you're telling me that Zack Ryder is just a transitional champion to get the Intercontinental Title back on the Miz? Really? Really? Can someone show me what value Miz has added to the WWE since they overpushed him through late 2010 as WWE Champion? Can anyone show me the value of winning multiple midcard titles since as well? I guess Maryse might be joining Total Divas so therefore, we get to endure more Miz pushes. That's just great... Makes Kevin Owens look amazing as he pursues the WWE Title after 2 nights of 2 title switches for his former Intercontinental championship. In the ring, Lita is surrounded by most female wrestlers to formally present Charlotte with the WWE Women's Title. I'm actually happy that Charlotte won the title, to be honest... It would suck to change the Women's Title design on the same night that Charlotte loses the title. Ouch, Becky Lynch has a shiner from their Wrestlemania 32 match. Fans are chanting "we want Bayley" before Charlotte can even speak. Who says NXT isn't popular? Charlotte looks completely baffled by the Dallas fans trolling her with the Bayley chants and continues to lose her train of thought by other chants. After Charlotte starts to rip the veterans and then Sasha/Becky, the ladies walk out of the ring. Natalya wants to teach Charlotte about some humility and respect while wanting a challenge... Charlotte delivers a killer line by saying "this title belt proves that my family is better than your family". OUCH, cuts like a knife! It's funny that we have lots of new Women's Wrestling talent in the ring and Natalya gets the next shot... Alrighty. Wrestlemania rematch with Dudleys vs. Usos up next... I could get more upset about the use of the Dudleys in the WWE, but I'm mostly happy that both still have jobs as a tag team even though both debuted in the WWE during late 1999 (16+ years ago). And by the way, this is a Tables Match... The Hulu cut keeps removing important details to matches... At least the Dudleys have age as an excuse. The Usos are just a bit off right now as babyfaces can't explain it other than "guilt by association" with Roman Reigns. Dudleys win the match when the Usos go through tables when the Dudleys move. Meh, the Dudleys just don't feel comfortable as heels... Bubba has real talent on the mic and the WWE is silencing him. Backstage, Sami Zayn is being interviewed and then Kevin Owens attacks and powerbombs Zayn through a table! Oh damn! Zayn has had a rough 3 out of 4 days. Dudleys are still in the arena talking smack when Big Cass & Enzo arrive... Listen to these RAW fans... They know the entire Enzo speech (although it's mostly YOU CAN'T TEACH THAT)... And to prove my point, "how you doin'?" chants break out. NXT is surging with popularity and it's getting harder to deny it. I enjoyed the line of "I'll put that lazy eye back to the work". Enzo cuts several rhymes to rip the Dudley Boyz. Big Cass keeps it simple... "seems like you don't like what he's saying, so why don't you come down here and do something about it". Dudleys, acting like heels, were about to enter the ring but then back off... Dr. Phil is a guest star next week on RAW? Are we serious? I love AJ Styles's theme music... Speaking of great theme music, Chris Jericho's still holds up despite its age of over 16 years. Whoever wrote and produced that has to be sitting back with pride on how good that theme was. Kevin Owens is out next, still limping to sell his Ladder Match. That's how you do it... Psychology, baby. Sami Zayn is injured, thank you Kevin Owens, and the returning Cesaro and he rips off a 2 piece suit to reveal tights underneath. Nice. That's good look for him. Wow, I really like what I'm seeing in this ring right now. Now, how long this lasts is up to Vince because the RAW ratings are in and it underwhelmed compared to previous years. Granted, the NCAA basketball game was close throughout, but I didn't hear College or Pro Sports as a ratings excuse during the Monday Night Wars between WWE Monday Night RAW and WCW Nitro during the late 1990s. Seems to be a convenient excuse lately by WWE marks. Lots of great action in this match between the 4 wrestlers and the Dallas fans are eating it up. And I say WOW because they let AJ Styles win this match and become #1 contender. Holy cow. LAST WORD: Most are crapping down the throat of this episode of RAW but I liked it... If you're telling me that Kevin Owens, AJ Styles, Chris Jericho, Sami Zayn, and Cesaro are contenders for the WWE Title, I'm OK with that group challenging Roman Reigns. I'm happy that several NXT call-ups are getting a shot in the WWE because they do need to fill the roster with some fresh faces. But damn, that Miz title win was just awful. Booking crap like that makes the WWE deserve a legitimate FINGER OF SHAME for stupidity. And boy, RAW feels nicer to watch without Stephanie McMahon cutting a promo. Seriously. A+ for that alone, but I'll give this show a [ B ] instead. ============================================ THE LAST WORD If WWE is so bad, what does that make its competition? And by competition, I mean TNA Wrestling and Ring of Honor, the #2 and #3 ranked competitors. No, I won't include Jeff Jarrett's Global "Farce" Wrestling in that mix. You have to have actual television shows, a full roster, and tour somewhat. Shows here and there and a television "taping" that never sees the light of day don't count. Believe it or not but Total Non-stop Action (TNA) has been around since 2002 and by June, it will be 14 years old. This promotion has had several national television contracts including Fox Sports Network and Spike TV while now residing on Pop TV (oh, did I forget that Destination America debacle?). They have spent lots of money to recruit big names in the business (Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, Sting, Hulk Hogan, Kurt Angle, etc.) but they were always way behind at #2. TNA is financially backed by Panda Energy and even when it seems TNA is down & out, they somehow survive and keep producing shows. But their viewership now on Pop TV is barely on the viewership map. With Spike TV, they could regularly receive 1,000,000 viewers but the quality of the product under Dixie Carter's leadership and Vince Russo's writing just didn't "spike" interest. I personally like Ring of Honor. I actually watch RoH on late Sunday nights when it airs on my Sinclair owned channel but I'm not overwhelmed by it. Matches are good, announcing is good... But the character development seems to be lacking... Everybody talks and acts the same to me. There just doesn't feel like there is any heat in the matches... Furthermore, with Sinclair in charge, where is the improved production values? Maybe it's just how my channel airs it, but the shows are always so blurry and dark. In this day and age, you cannot have a poor presentation on television. Furthermore, you cannot air your shows on LATE Sunday nights and expect to get fans. How is a Sinclair owned show getting such an awful airtime on a Sinclair owned station? What TNA and ROH need to do is to open their arms to any disgruntled WWE wrestlers and are (a) young and (b) in their prime. Prime candidates for this would be Dolph Ziggler or Cesaro whom the WWE never wants to push. Ziggler always seems to be in the Creative doghouse and Cesaro is "missing something" according to Vince McMahon. You can tell that the WWE still pays midcarders reasonably well (probably to discourage them from leaving) because as much crap as Ziggler or Cesaro have taken from WWE, they stick around... That's why I was FURIOUS at CM Punk for leaving the WWE during January 2014 when his contract was going to be up by July. He could have escaped the WWE and made a big splash landing to a smaller promotion that would have rolled out the red carpet... In some ways, Lucha Underground has become the defacto #2. They are acting more like a competitor to the WWE than TNA/ROH combined. They have attracted several WWE stars and even forced WWE to overpay for Alberto Del Rio. Problem with Lucha is their expenses... Without a strong television contract or a larger entity backing them, Lucha will always see financial threats to exist or possibly limited growth. In my opinion, they have a great television product and if a bigger American television company gave it some capital, they could be viable. But SOMEONE has to step up... As I keep ripping they WWE, they have the WWE Network to see the blueprint on how professional wrestling can be successful... Well, tNA, ROH, Lucha, and other promotions have access to that too... And it might not be talent. Grab a top wrestling mind. I thought TNA's biggest mistake ever was NOT getting Paul Heyman during the late 2000's when they had a legitimate chance to sign him. Something... The look and feel of pro wrestling has to be different compared to the WWE to succeed. In my opinion, NXT created another blueprint for another promotion to follow... In the past year, NXT has grown in leaps and bounds... Takeover events, television tapings, and houseshows have actually sold out across the nation for NXT. Granted, they are in smaller arenas, but those Takeover events drew well in larger arenas. And each of those Takeover events were critically acclaimed, too, as being the best Pay Per View events of 2015 and the Takeover Dallas event was well received as being one of the best events ever. How? Aside from the main event, NXT's strength is their midcard. NXT made Women's wrestling become a drawing entity by developing characters that matter and placing a real "sense of urgency" to win the NXT Women's Title. Each of the characters had legitimate passion to win that title and from that came the best heel (Sasha Banks) and babyface (Bayley) rivalry that we've seen in years. Sasha Banks vs. Bayley won many MATCH OF THE YEAR awards for their Takeover Brooklyn match. Then, you have the NXT Tag Titles... Forget the Ascension... They are not working out in the WWE and everyone uses that as an example to bash NXT. Right now, you have the Vaudevillians (debuting on Smackdown), Enzo & Kass (now on RAW), the Revival (Arn & Tully clones, just awesome), and American Alpha (reminds me of Benjamin & Haas). What WWE has forgot is that it's not just the Main Event level that draws... Sure, that's important... But wrestling fans have to endure 2-3 hours of wrestling each night just to get to the Main Event match. Since the early 2000s when the Dudleys/Edge & Christian/Hardys feuds ended and then the Smackdown 6 dissolved, tag team wrestling has been neglected. During the Hulkamania Era and then Attitude Era, the tag team division was STACKED. Better yet during both eras, the midcard singles title always mattered. WCW Nitro was great not just for the NWO at the top of the card but for the Cruiserweight, TV Title, US Title, and Tag Titles on the midcard. If I'm going to spend my hard earned dollars on a live event or Pay Per View, I want to be entertained for the entire show and not just the main event. WWE's weakness is their LACK of appreciation for their midcard will forever limit their growth. Until WWE applies proper attention to Tag Team Wrestling (New Day is a blessing in the sky for them), midcard titles, and the Women's division... Their growth is limited. It is brutally difficult to watch 3 hours of RAW especially when most midcard matches mean nothing. But what WWE fails to also do is be an actual WRESTLING show. Watching NXT Takeover Dallas, each of the 3 title matches were hard fought and ditto for Nakamura/Zayn. Each of the wrestlers (American Alpha, Revival, Asuka, Bayley, Nakamura, Zayn, Balor, Joe) acted like their life depended on the outcome of the match. The NXT Tag Titles, Women's Title, and NXT Title are well hyped with defined contenders and feuds leading up to the big payoff matches. In the case of Sami Zayn vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, they had NOTHING to wrestle for other than the RESULT of the match. That's right... Both wanted to win that match and sold that the result of this match mattered bigtime to their careers. WWE has destroyed their own business with their "Sports Entertainment" crap while having multiple behind-the-scenes shows to expose the business. Everybody knows that the show is fake but wrestling thrives on the mystery on how fans might be confused as to whether this is real or fake. In other words, by hiding the secrets of the business, fans will be more likely to suspend disbelief and play along... But if you keep showing them how the wrestling sausage is made, you'll have to work extra hard to just to keep fans' limited attention spans. If a competitor had a strong midcard and presented themselves better as an athletic competition, they can beat the WWE... Until another promotion steps up to the plate, we just have to pray that Triple H and William Regal can keep a captivating product up at NXT and that WWE somehow improves itself. This is a call, however, to TNA and Ring of Honor to step it up. Please do... We, as wrestling fans, need you. SO JUST CHILL... 'TIL THE NEXT EPISODE! Comments and feedback are welcome. Follow and Tweet me @titowrestling or login in below to post comments. Like Super Mario Maker for the Nintendo Wii U? Then check out my pro-wrestling based courses within Course World --> Search: - WrestleWar - ID: AEAC-0000-01C3-4578 - nWo Run-in - ID: 2274-0000-01B3-5AC0 - WCW Wargames - ID: 7BAA-0000-01B0-8F99 - WWE Royal Rumble - ID: 7B38-0000-01A3-2F4C - Pro Wrestling Mario - ID: E290-0000-0199-7AC7 © Mr. Tito and LordsofPain.net/WrestlingHeadlines.com - 1998-2016
|
