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Welcome back to the EXCELLENCE IN COLUMN WRITING exclusively here at LordsofPain.net / WrestlingHeadlines.com by yours truly, Mr. Tito. There are times when the pro wrestling for a given week is SO good that you're legitimately motivated to write columns... This week was rather impressive. WWE Backlash, I thought, exceeded expectations with only the Kane/Wyatt/Orton stuff disappointing (Wyatt needs to prove that he can stay healthy). RAW was OK, but I liked the ending of hyping Rollins/Owens and Rusev/Reigns. But then on Wednesday, the Semi-Finals and Finals of the WWE Cruiserweight Classic. GOOD LORD! And I thought WWE Smackdown was quite good this week. In particular - Backlash, Cruiserweight Classic, and Smackdown... On top of that, the usual from NXT. I can't quite throw RAW in that bucket yet because it's a chaotic mess and still seems to tear sheets out of the booking pages of the Attitude Era. But what has made Backlash, Smackdown, NXT, and Cruiserweight Classic highly entertaining is the fact that each have resembled ACTUAL SPORTS. You know, having actual athletic looking contests between competitors with Title Belts that mean something to every participant in the ring. Did you see how emotional T.J. Perkins became when Triple H put that brand new and might I add classy looking WWE Cruiserweight Title around his waist? And Perkins just finished an extensive TOURNAMENT with actual BRACKETS. NXT Titles are all treated like the most important thing on earth. Those Takeover events feel like real Pay Per View sporting events! For Smackdown, storylines are kept simple, "sense of urgency" is occurring over the titles... Look how hungry ALL 6 female competitors are to compete over the Smackdown Women's Title! It's THAT SIMPLE, folks... Put on a contrived sporting event that consistently delivers on drama, conflict, but yet doesn't give you 2 minutes worth of disappointment like some many MMA matches. I've said it for YEARS in my columns when criticizing the modern day WWE. They pissed away their Pay Per View market because they weren't delivering on quality and their Title Belt INFLATION problem (i.e. many wrestlers with 5+ World Title reigns, multiple with 10+ reigns). Because the WWE scripts the finishes of matches, they have the ultimate advantage over UFC and Boxing because they control TIME when boxing/MMA can't. I guarantee that many casual fans who bought UFC 203 to see CM Punk's UFC debut fight won't be returning. I've been burned on Boxing Pay Per Views many, many times and a few times when I tried UFC. Now - WWE needs to STOP DOING the following 2 things: (a) Non-Title Matches and (b) multi-person singles matches. Have you ever seen a legitimate fight, such as boxing or UFC, when the Champion was competing but it was NON-TITLE? Seriously, why wouldn't the title be on the line EVERY TIME when the champion competes? Worse yet, the WWE repeatedly does the LAZY BOOKING trick of doing non-title match to justify the winner of that match to become #1 contender. They do it all the time! When the Champion(s) lose non-title matches, it diminishes their credibility as champions. I'm still laughing at how many times Cesaro and Wade Barrett lost non-title matches when they were midcard champions. Gee, you wonder why one is floundering on the RAW roster now (yay, best of 7 with Sheamus!) and why the other exited the WWE. Non-Title matches are a DAMN JOKE! Secondly - Have you ever seen a legitimate professional fight where it was 3 or 4 wrestlers competing over a Title and the fight's result depended on who was knocked out or submitted first? Worse yet, the Champion can lose their Title if someone else gets pinned! WWE relies on the Triple Threat and Fatal Four Way too much and it makes everybody look weak when the Champion loses their title without getting pinned or submitting. Sure, it makes for some chaotic fun, but when you go to that well often like the WWE does... I just CRINGE at the WWE rushing John Cena back so early and thrusting him into a Triple Threat in AJ Styles first ever Pay Per View defense. Shouldn't it just be a Dean Ambrose vs. AJ Styles singles match at the next Pay Per View? Then, once Dean Ambrose had his shot, John Cena can return and take his shot... And start doing more Disqualifications, Countouts, etc. to protect your champions particularly the heel ones. Gee, how did Ric Flair have an amazing career for DECADES? Oh that's right, he routinely got himself disqualified to protect himself from ever losing the title. Ditto for Honky Tonk Man's impressive Intercontinental Title run... Hell, even CM Punk's latter half of his 2011-2013 WWE Title run improved when he turned heel and began to cheat or to use the rules against his opponents to protect his WWE Title reign. That's what HEELS do... Just like AJ Styles taking advantage of the hurt referee at WWE Backlack to then kick Dean Ambrose in the balls. The result? NEW WWE Champion in AJ Styles and the heat is still on Dean Ambrose to get revenge for AJ's dirty deeds. (See what I did there?) Pro wrestling is essentially defined as colorful characters attempting to compete in an athletic competition. Big, small, charismatic, heel, or babyface... They are all chasing after one thing and that is to be the BEST in a WRESTLING promotion. What defines "the best"? Title belts. I believe that the Attitude Era poisoned the wrestling well too much with overloading the character development over the actual athletic competition over titles. And I also think that the booking of the Attitude Era worked because you had Vince McMahon(on-air character), Steve Austin, the Rock, Mick Foley, and Triple H as big personalities and great on-air performers executing that booking. If you take that same writing to another promotion with far lesser talent, as we saw with WCW during late 1999 and all of 2000... It will fail. Take title belts for granted, then what do wrestlers have to fight for on Pay Per Views? You can't just have feuds over what was said during a backstage segment and/or a 20 minute in-ring promo. Worse yet, you can't have conflicts with Authority Figures over "power" in a promotion. Wrestling shouldn't be about who controls things but who is CHAMPION. RAW still resembles the Attitude Era booking but obviously with much lesser charismatic and personality driven performers to execute it. THUS, what RAW needs to emphasize is athletic competition over its titles. The new Brand Split RAW was at its best when they hosted their WWE Universal Title tournaments not once but twice. Ratings show it... Only for those Universal Title tournaments, the viewership for RAW was over 3 million viewers and close to 3.5 million. It's a fact. You could brag that the RAW Women's Division has more talent but I'd suggest that it's a mess. WWE hotshots the Women's Title to Sasha Banks on the first Brand Split RAW only for her to quickly lose the title at SummerSlam. Then, Bayley debuts and defeats Charlotte in one of those dreaded NON-TITLE matches. That would make Bayley #1 contender, based on prior WWE logic? Nope... Let's have a damned TRIPLE THREAT match to determine that #1 contender and Sasha won that... OK? Meanwhile, you have this Nia Jax character being hyped as a female bulldozer each and every week. Huh? Why isn't she going after the Women's Title if she's so damn tough? Tonight, I remarked how it seems like UFC has events each weekend... And of course, the MMA fans jump down my throat about the WWE's extensive programming each week (3 hours of Pay Per View, 3 hours of RAW, 2 hours of Smackdown, 1 hour for NXT)... Hold the phone, MMA fans... I 100% agree with you! We have TOO MUCH WWE programming on right now and with the Brand Split, the rosters on each show are very, very thin. One of the reasons that I find Hulu RAW/Smackdown so appealing is that WWE condenses both shows to 1.5 hours and usually cuts the worst scenes/matches each week to their benefit. I just don't have time to watch a 3 hour show forced upon me at a 8-11 timeslot on a weekday. Just brutal. I know, USA Networks is the enabler and they want WWE Main Roster content (hence why you can't make the 3rd hour as NXT's show). But it should be up to the wise McMahon family, who has overseen the business for decades now, to figure out how to entertain the masses for 3 hours. Well, that's what TITLES are for... If you look at any UFC or Boxing card, they often have many matches but not all of them are for titles. Nope... Most are just to climb the KNOWN list of contendership for a title. Winner elevates, loser drops... That simple. With the Cruiserweight Title now on the RAW roster, I'm SHOCKED that the WWE hasn't done more to endorse Weight Classes. They try to hide or lie about weights and attempt to portray the entire roster as Heavyweights. Yet, when anybody matches up with Big Show or Kane for any kind of said elevation, Kane/Big Show either win or have some protective reason why they lost. The funny thing is that WWE can enjoy the best of both worlds by implementing actual weight classes. Vince likes his hosses, fine, that's the Heavyweight class. Next class down is where you can stuff smaller yet more athletic wrestlers. Last I checked, Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather were NOT Heavyweight Champions in their prospective sports. Nope... I think that WWE is heading in the right direction and that's particular to Triple H's influence over the NXT brand, Cruiserweight Classic, and from what I understand, placing a few of the NXT writers on the Smackdown staff. He seems to keep storylines simple while having respect for the Title Belts. You don't think he heard YOU, the fans, after the WWE Universal Title debacle? That red thing? Funny how that WWE Cruiserweight Title has a little bit of a MMA title belt look to it, doesn't it? Doesn't have that big "WWE" logo on the front of it, does it? As I've said in another column, if you like a specific thing that the WWE (or Triple H) has done, financially ($$$) support it. WWE recently made AJ Styles become WWE Champion. Why thank you, WWE... Here's some WWE Shopzone money that I just used to purchase AJ Styles merchandise. I can't wait for it to arrive at my house next week... The iTunes theme song purchase, too... I rock out to AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura's theme whenever I'm entering the Parking Garage. Yep, I'm a badass... I know that many of you love Kevin Owens... Good, now go buy his merchandise and theme songs. Attend houseshows for which those World Champions are headlining. Help convince the WWE Corporation that Styles or Owens are legitimate draws. They know $$ signs and that's why John Cena remains the top guy. He moves merchandise and puts butts in houseshow seats. ===================================== Following the UFC 203 event, company president Dana White said that it would be unlikely for UFC to host CM Punk's next MMA fights. Quite telling for how much Punk was overwhelmed in his UFC debut. Listening to the Wrestling Observer Live's commentary afterward, they went into detail about how Punk struggled through his training and was struggling to defeat very green fighters during his training sessions. MMA fighters don't begin to train in their mid 30s. Furthermore, they have some sort of amateur wrestling or martial arts training that occurred during their late teens or early 20s to create a backbone for their MMA career. Punk had none of that in addition to age. Plus, he has the wear & tear of performing for 15 years in the pro wrestling business. As Punk alleges in his Colt Cabana interview, he endured many injuries during 2012-2013 and helped contribute to his WWE exit during early 2014. Sure, I'm sure that various smaller MMA promotions would love to have CM Punk as a draw... But I believe that the beating delivered at UFC 203 didn't sit well with CM Punk fans who boldly bought that Pay Per View. I think interest in Punk has dropped considerably for MMA venues... BUT - As you heard from his UFC 203 promo after his fight... He can still speak clearly on the microphone and that was even after receiving a beating at the hands of Mickey Gall. He STILL has it... Can someone arrange dinner between Billy Corgan and CM Punk? Hell, there is a perfect opportunity out there... Reportedly, Corgan is looking to outright buy TNA from the Carter family. Right now, he has some controlling interest for the cash investment he recently made but now he's looking to own. Well, what if he had a partner? Someone who is also from the Chicago area? Better yet, CM Punk would now be in a promotion where he had some legitimate creative say over his character and wouldn't have to deal with the BS that drove him out of the WWE. You don't think Pop TV has any interest? Please... Punk would boost TNA Impact's ratings well above the just-under 400,000 that it does now. Furthermore, Pop happens to be owned CBS Corporation which of course has ties to Viacom. CBS would probably love to boost the TNA show that could... You don't think they would throw a little money out to Corgan's way just to get CM Punk on television? Better yet, how about AJ Lee as well as a female competitor or personality? It just feels right... I know, CM Punk... You are following your dream of fighting competitively. I respect that... But don't let the bad experience of the 2011-2014 years in the WWE tarnish your feelings towards pro wrestling. You are GOOD at this, man... As you get older, you can do more work in the microphone and protect yourself. NOBODY and I repeat NOBODY is better on the microphone in pro wrestling right now than CM Punk. He's the best and it's not even close... And he can use his UFC experience for heat and I don't think his persona has been affected by his UFC experience. He reportedly got paid $500,000 for the evening and it's HARD to even make it to that level in MMA. I only see 1 other guy with a resume that boasts "UFC" and that's the beyond exceptional Brock Lesnar who almost made an NFL team with a lack of football experience! And if CM Punk joins TNA Wrestling, I'll buy whatever merchandise he sells, all of the Smashing Pumpkins albums all over again, and I'll definitely watch TNA wrestling again. Please and thank you. ====================================== For the Cruiserweight Classic, I need to catch-up on the previous brackets... I just tuned in LIVE for Wednesday Night to see the ending because, well, why not? I'm very happy for T.J. Perkins who is yet another former TNA wrestler who leaves that promotion and strikes gold in the WWE. I'm sensing a trend? Maybe I take back my "Punk to TNA" comments above? But as I watched it, I liked the FINALS match of T.J. Perkins vs. Gran Metalik as the best of the night... Why? Because it had actual psychology pushed... Gran Metalik hits his finisher but is unable to cover because he was selling the knee injury given to him by Perkins. Then, Perkins beats him by locking in a submission hold on Gran's legs. Lots of high spots and risky moves, but pushing that psychology is what I really liked. By comparison, many liked the T.J. Perkins vs. Kota Ibushi match better... Sure, it looked spectacular but to me, I saw multiple moves hit in this match that should be FINISHERS. They beat the hell out of each other with stuff that would be finishers in other matches. I guess you could argue that with both wrestlers being lighter, their offense doesn't hurt as much. Meh... Some of those moves were devastating and just had 2 counts... I just knew when Triple H walked out before the Perkins/Metalik match that he was going to reveal a Title Belt. Just seemed too obvious and when he did, ZERO complaints... In fact, everybody is in awe of the WWE Cruiserweight Title. It's all about appearances, folk.... That RED Universal Title looks like crap. If the Cruiserweight Title can look that good, then the Universal RAW Title can get a new look. Wrestling fans care about title belts... WWE does realize that fans collect those things, right? And they aren't cheap at $150+ per replica title (I'm not talking about kids toy belts). Still real to us, damn it... ======================================== This past week, I wrote column to REUNITE the Shield. Why? Well, for one, Rollins and Reigns need it as RAW lacks a strong babyface drawing presence... But secondly, I worry about Dean Ambrose. I just don't know if he's a strong babyface main event level kind of guy. Just don't know... After all, WWE jobbed him out following the Evolution feuds during 2014 an then just quickly makes him WWE Champion. My uncertainty of him plus what I deemed to be thinning mic skills, it just seemed logical for Dean to move on and maybe return to his 2012-2014 comfort zone with the Shield. HOWEVER - John Cena returns to WWE Smackdown and cuts DEEP with a promo on Dean Ambrose. You can see it in Ambrose's eyes... He's motivated! He then responds to Cena with energy that we have NOT seen from Ambrose as WWE Champion. That's what Stone Cold Steve Austin was talking about! In the bigtime, you cannot get complacent. Step it up and prove why you should remain in the Main Event scene. It just seemed like during 2016, when Ambrose was placed in Main Event programs, his mic skills seemed to fall off the cliff. He was such a great talker as part of the Shield and for some of his singles feuds afterward. As WWE Champion, we lost that guy... Hence why AJ Styles has his WWE Title. He cut a strong promo against John Cena and then Dean Ambrose turned on Cene afterward. I remember suggesting as we headed into WWE Backlash 2016 that performing a double heel/face switch between AJ Styles and Dean Ambrose could have ignited things. People love AJ Styles, despite him being a heel, and Dean just feels like a natural heel. Some of those Shield promos cut during 2013 were damn good and he's diabolical on the mic as a heel. I remember equating him to the Joker, the main Batman villain. And I'm not the only one who sees that... He has quite the resemblance in personality, at times, to the Heath Ledger Joker from the Dark Knight. WWE might have the right guy in the Main Event but just the wrong role. Dean Ambrose as the #1 heel and AJ Styles/John Cena are gunning for him... Let the rest of the roster fight it out for who wants the join the Main Event scene with those big 3. I thought Miz did OK in his role on Tuesday and WWE has the choice of using Bray Wyatt (STAY HEALTHY DAMN IT) or Randy Orton in those roles as needed. Not bad... I'll take Smackdown's Main Event Star Power over RAW's, any day of the week. ======================================== I'm very happy for Alexa Bliss. She won the 5-Pack challenge to become #1 contender and I think that's good. Who else would you expect to wrestle Becky Lynch? Carmella? Well, she's focused on feuding with Nikki Bella. The other heel is Natalya... OK, haven't we seen Natalya wrestle everybody already? Bliss has been damn good in the ring... I know many others have said this, but I see a younger Trish Stratus with that one. Very gifted in the ring and she has that heel persona down. She was laying down the smack on the Talking Smack show following Smackdown, too... Pulled no punches. She knows her character and is damn good in the ring. Watch both the Backlash 6 pack and Smackdown 5 pack matches and he's either executing the moves or selling them. Always in the middle of it... What I like about the Smackdown roster compared to RAW is CHEMISTRY. The 6 ladies seem to work perfectly together despite their differing skillsets. You can just tell that those 6 ladies are growing close backstage and are taking active parts to make their entire division look strong. Sure, RAW has the better overall talent, but if accumulating big name talent was how to be successful, the Washington Redskins would have multiple Super Bowl championships for the past 20 years. They don't. You need good chemistry and teamwork to succeed. Smackdown has it, RAW doesn't. ========================================== Before you guys insist that I'm eating lots of 'Member Berries (South Park) regarding the Ohio Valley Wrestling "Class of 2002"... Please realize that John Cena, Randy Orton, and Brock Lesnar are STILL active WWE wrestlers. It's one thing to remember the past, but in the present, Cena/Orton/Lesnar are still around. That's why I boast about the "Class of 2002" because it legitimately gave the WWE its top draws and WWE is legitimately struggling to replace those guys. That's why WWE wanted to bring back Batista and push him immediately... That's why WWE wanted to bring back Shelton Benjamin until a shoulder injury kept him out. That CLASS brought top level WWE talent and their longevity is proving to be their biggest asset. Now - When Cena/Lesnar/Orton are gone from WWE and I'm still writing about how great the OVW "Class of 2002" is, then yes, I'm eating those 'Member Berries. Until they retire, I'm just making a point to praise the developmental class they came from. Want to know why I reference it so much, Comments section? Simple... Look at how many times I mentioned "OVW Class of 2002" before and after the WWE terminated Jim Ross. Ross was WWE's VP of Talent Relations from the mid-1990s through 2004 and he was responsible for the recruiting and signing of many wrestlers. I've always considered Ross to be the "Architect of the Attitude Era" for key talent signings (Foley, Austin) and creating a developmental system through the independent scene. I praise that class repeatedly in honor of him and it's quite impressive how his best developmental class, the 2002 one, is still headlining the WWE 14 years later. I guess eating those 'Member Berries when it comes to ongoing praise of Jim Ross as VP of Talent relations... But he's still doing Podcasts and he's proving to remain knowledgeable on the wrestling business. SO JUST CHILL... 'TIL THE NEXT EPISODE! Like Super Mario Maker for the Nintendo Wii U? Like Pokemon? Like Pro Wrestling? Try my brand new Mario Maker course, Pokemon Battle Royal at ID # 6FDB-0000-029B-B579 Comments and feedback are welcome. Follow and Tweet me @titowrestling or login in below to post comments. © Mr. Tito and LordsofPain.net/WrestlingHeadlines.com - 1998-2016
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