Posted in: Mr. Tito
MR. TITO STRIKES BACK - WWE Wrestlemania 32 Predictions, RAW is Hulu Review, and More
By Mr. Tito
Mar 29, 2016 - 6:31:08 PM

Follow Mr. Tito on Twitter.com: @titowrestling

Welcome back to the Excellence in Column Writing brought to you by the one & only Mr. Tito exclusively here at LordsofPain.net / WrestlingHeadlines.com. Just one week away from Wrestlemania 32... Life is good, right? What do you have to complain about? WWE is going to give you 4 hours of wrestling on Sunday Night in the form of Wrestlemania 32, Hall of Fame ceremony on Saturday Night, and then NXT Takeover on Friday night. Unless you don't have the WWE Network, there is little to complain about.

Sure, the Wrestlemania 32 card is a bit down this year and is also pushing quanity over quality... But with that injury report (Cena, Rollins, Orton OUT), who can blame them? You don't have to tell me twice on how unqualified Roman Reigns is as a main eventer. I've been saying that since 2014 about Reigns and nobody listened. Now that Wrestlemania 32 is upon us, everybody is booing... Welcome to my bandwagon, folks, and you're just 2 years behind me. Who am I? I have just been covering wrestling here at LordsofPain.net for 17+ years...

Regardless of what is on the card, the event is still called WRESTLEMANIA. Name how many times a year that you go get Pizza and hang out with your friends? That's the best part Wrestlemania... Each year, I hang out with my 2 best friends and murder our favorite pizza together. If the show sucks, just laugh at the show together or talk about older wrestling shows for amusement. For some reason, me and my pals always discuss late 1980's, early 1990's WCW... Don't know why, but each of us grew up watching TBS to see Ric Flair, Sting, Doom, Steiner Brothers, Road Warriors, Great Muta, Lex Luger, etc. and that's the era of wrestling important to us as we grow up into our mid to late 30's. Besides Wrestlemania, you might have the NFL Super Bowl, 1 or 2 UFC big events, the NCAA finals games (football and basketball), and maybe the occasional boxing match... Other than that, the world lacks big events where you stuff yourself with food while enjoying something on television with friends.

To be a wrestling fan in 2016 and with your options limited to WWE on USA Networks/Hulu, TNA Impact on POP! TV, Ring of Honor late night on syndication, and Lucha Underground on select cable outlets... Your choices are very limited. You HAVE to find what interests and entertains you. For me, it's WWE Pay Per Views and most of NXT's stuff... Being brutally honest here and I'm eating a little bit of crow here... Buying the WWE Network has given me all of the pro wrestling needs at the moment... WWE Pay Per Views have been pretty good during the past year and NXT is fun to watch as a wrestling program. NXT has rebuilt their Tag Team division into an amazing group of teams and they provide HIGHLY entertaining women's wrestling that the WWE just can't replicate whatsoever. However, the WWE has a better singles division even though the storylines pushed on RAW can't market wrestlers for a damn. Getting WWE Network has probably preserved me as a wrestling fan...

Otherwise, stop watching... I know, Roman Reigns shouldn't be a Main Eventer. Again, I've been writing about that for 2 freakin' years now...

But you know what? Brock Lesnar is still around... Hell, we have him for TWO more years according to his contract. That means we get 2 more years of Paul Heyman. In case you haven't noticed, Triple H is very motivated as a wrestler again... Not sure how long that will last, but his match with Dean Ambrose and Dolph Ziggler were excellent. Speaking of Dean Ambrose, that guy has 2 "Match of the Year" candidates with me in his Royal Rumble match against Kevin Owens and now at WWE Roadblock against Triple H. If he has an amazing match with Brock Lesnar that steals the show, how can the WWE deny him? John Cena and Seth Rollins, who CARRIED the WWE to strong workrate Pay Per Views during 2015, are on their way back. WWE made a huge free agent signing in AJ Styles and they are using him reasonably well (he could wrestle Chris Jericho every week for all I care). While Kevin Owens is hit or miss with WWE Creative, he still wins a decent amount of matches... He's not even a FULL YEAR yet on the WWE roster. Patience...

Again, if you still want to watch pro wrestling... You have to "pick your poison"...

The best thing I ever did was to STOP watching Monday Night RAW on Monday Nights. Mondays are busy for me... In my line of work, everything piles up on Monday and I'm usually burned out as heck by the time I get home. Then, you're asking me to dedicate 3 hours of my evening to watching BAD wrestling programming that only hypes Pay Per Views? Really? Really?

I don't think so... RAW on Hulu is convenient for me. It's on Tuesdays, which are less hectic, and condensed at 1.5 hours... To the WWE's credit, they have been editing out utter crap from that Hulu presentation and I appreciate it. On Tuesdays, I casually watch RAW as I prepare this very column and then I squeeze in my RAW thoughts last. I was seriously contemplating just watching NXT and WWE Pay Per Views until the Hulu RAW presentation seemed to work out well for me. 3 hours for a regular television show is just too much and I believe it's wearing out WWE fans too. I've been going to bed on Mondays now around 10:30pm and it's funny to see people griping about RAW on the USA Networks on Twitter, message boards, and other outlets. People are miserable watching 3 hours of a WWE infomercial on USA Network.

If you want to remain a Pro Wrestling fan, you need to free yourself of what makes you miserable as a Pro Wrestling fan. You don't have to watch 3 full hours of RAW. Just because you're not willing to eat 3 hours of bullcrap every Monday Night doesn't make you less of a wrestling fan.

But enjoy Wrestlemania. I know that Vince McMahon has removed the numbers since Wrestlemania 30 but we all know that this is #32. As a fan, I've been following Wrestlemania annually since Wrestlemania 5 and even in my blackout period (2007-2009), I still quietly followed the biggest wrestling show on earth. Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels will convince me to watch anytime it happens...

I always watch on the hope that if I didn't watch, I'd miss something spectacular... Wrestling, moreso than most actual sports, delivers on great moments that you'll never forget.

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RAW is HULU

Missed the Cut (Hulu RAW is only 1.5 hours long)
-Big Show/Kane vs. Social Outcasts
-Kalisto vs. Konnor
-Paige vs. Emma (which includes Eva Marie's WWE return)

Opening segment had the Undertaker coming out for an in-ring promo and he announced that this Wrestlemania wouldn't be his last... Cool... I still love seeing the Undertaker's entrance. He's such a badass. Undertaker assured that when Shane loses, it will be blood on Vince's hands and not his... But then, Shane McMahon comes out and somehow he can talk tough to the Undertaker without dying. Then, sadly, the Undertaker has to sell Shane's poor attempts at punches and we get the HARD SELL elbow from the top rope through the table. AGAIN - Let me reiterate what I keep saying... Undertaker can go toe to toe with a former UFC Heavyweight Champion named Brock Lesnar yet a non-wrestler can beat him up in a brawl. This stuff is so baffling to me...

Up next, we have Chris Jericho vs. Zack Ryder as AJ Styles joins ringside insisting that Jericho accept his Wrestlemania 32 challenge. This needs repeating... WWE pulled the trigger on breaking up AJ Styles and Chris Jericho. Y2AJ was a great team with a great team name and we should have enjoyed New Day vs. Y2AJ at Wrestlemania 32 instead... Poor New Day wrestling League of Nations... The usual "outside distraction causes roll up loss" RAW match ending happens and Ryder is immediately attacked after winning. Gee, I wonder why nobody gets over on RAW. Afterward, Chris Jericho gets on the mic and he grants the Wrestlemania 32 match. Jericho announces that this will be his 12th Wrestlemania and this "rookie" will only be seeing his first (and last) Wrestlemania. Ouch.

Our next match is Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch... It's pretty amazing how athletic Charlotte is for her size. She's quite tall and yet as agile as they come. I'm also wondering how long Becky Lynch can keep her orange hairstyle when Eva Marie now potentially on the WWE main roster. Becky Lynch can go, make no mistake... It's just that the character is confusing and WWE has nothing to grasp on but her in-ring ability. Decent women's match and nice little interference from Ric Flair. Despite the Brooklyn crowd, the match had no heat... This Divas division just isn't working as well as it did in NXT.

Backstage, Vince McMahon is being interviewed and then Shane McMahon joins it to continue the HARD SELL of Wrestlemania. Shane says that Vince stole WWE from his father and then at Wrestlemania, he'll "take it from you". Could someone wake me up? I swear that I'm in 1999-2001 again with this McMahon love.

In the ring, we have Triple H and Stephanie McMahon... Stephanie does her usual "scratching the chalkboard" and then Triple H does his usual "I'm better than you" speech. But then Triple H foolishly mentions his opponents, Roman Reigns, and the Brooklyn fans boo heavily when Reigns is mentioned and cheer whenever Triple H says he'll win the match. That's funny... And then HHH starts talking about himself as the "greatest ever" and the reactions go away... HHH sells his role well, though, by saying that once Roman Reigns powerbombed him through the table (at TLC 2015?), the fire was re-lit in Triple H to obsess over the WWE Title again. That's a good way to put it... Stephanie gets back on the mic and everybody boos... Then, the boo louder when Roman Reigns actually comes out! Fans are booing harder when Reigns gets the best of HHH and then a "ROMAN SUCKS" chant breaks out. Yes, they did not censor that on Hulu!

New Day comes out as Kofi Kingston is set for singles action this week. But of course, we have the New Day doing some mic work beforehand and the Brooklyn fans are quite happy to see them. I laughed at Kofi's Rusev cereal line: "they're grrrrrrrrrrrosss!". League of Nations arrive and it will be Alberto Del Rio wrestling in the singles match. Early on, Woods plays the trombone and it distracts Del Rio. But soon thereafter, Del Rio hit a pretty sick looking reverse suplex off the top on Kofi. Pretty good match between Kofi and Del Rio... Goes to show you that both have good in-ring ability but the character parts of their career has always held them back. Kofi gets the roll-up win and the New Day escapes.

After the match, Jonathan Coachman joins the New Day at the top of the stage to announce that ESPN will be LIVE at Wrestlemania this year. Sigh... That channel is going downhill. Then, Coachman dances with the New Day. Fun little segment...

The Warrior Award will be going to Joan Lunden for 2016. I have no complaints on that...

Backstage, Roman Reigns wants to do an interview but the Dudley Boyz lure Roman into a trap that Triple H joins. Beatdown on Reigns then occurs and HHH slams Reigns's face on the WWE Title to more cheers from the Brooklyn crowd. Ouch. By the way, I would be perfectly fine if the Dudley Boyz became Triple H's official thugs to protect him as WWE Champion.

Back in the ring, it's Brock Lesnar with Paul Heyman... I always enjoy watching Brock Lesnar during these segments because he's just enjoying the kind words that Heyman speaks about him. He loves every second of it! After a while, Dean Ambrose interrupts and he's dragging a wagon to ringside. He lifts up the ring apron and puts various weapons found underneath the ring into that wagon. Wait a second... Who puts a chainsaw, barbed wire bat, and other weapons underneath a wrestling ring? Dean even takes the top half of the ringside steps... OK...

Up next we have the Intercontinental Title Ladder Match participants (6 of 7) between Sami Zayn/Dolph Ziggler/Sin Cara vs. Miz/Stardust/Kevin Owens. Let me join the movement of Dolph Ziggler needing new theme music. Good GOD that's awful! The more I watch Sami Zayn, the more impressed. The guy seems to have it all... Can he stay health and let the WWE connect the dots to make a successful main roster career, we'll see... Dolph plays "face in peril" for much of the match but then gets the hot tag and lots of action follows. When everyone is cleared, Kevin Owens thinks that he can get a quick defeat over Sami Zayn... However, the Pop-up Powerbomb is countered and Miz/Stardust refuse to get tagged in afterward. That leaves Sami Zayn to get Kevin Owens alone and he takes full advantage of it. Zayn gets the win for his team... Yep, this finish ices my prediction for Wrestlemania.

Ending segment is Triple H and Stephanie McMahon returning to the ring? What? Didn't we see this segment earlier tonight? You know that you have a babyface who is NOT OVER (Roman Reigns) when Stephanie/Triple H have to heavily rip on the crowd tonight. And then, like before, Roman Reigns interrupts and here we go with another brawl. Stephanie McMahon calls out a bunch of heels (League of Nations, Dudleys, Miz, and others) ambush Reigns and then a bunch of babyfaces run down to counter. Everybody is holding back HHH and Reigns and then Reigns hits a nice dive over the top rope and onto Triple H. Crowd, not impressed, chants "YOU STILL SUCK"... Ouch..

SHOW THOUGHTS: I thought that the hype for the 3 biggest matches (Shane/Undertaker, HHH/Reigns, Dean/Lesnar) was subpar but I thought several midcard matches had good hype on this show to help Wrestlemania 32. WWE had hard sells for Roman/Triple H and Shane/Undertaker but I'm afraid mixed results will appear for their matches. Reigns is getting heavy boos and based on declining show numbers, it's not a "reaction" so much as it's a rejection. Show was entertaining aside from the in-ring talking segments that didn't incorporate into actual wrestling matches. [ B- ]

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Mr. Tito's PHAT WRESTLEMANIA 32 PREDICTIONS

In the usual "WHO SHOULD WIN / WHO WILL WIN" format...

Team BAD & Blonde (what the hell?) vs. Team Total Divas
Eva Marie is on one team, Lana is on the other... Oh man... Given the love for both by Vince McMahon and Kevin Dunn... I guess Team Total Divas? I'm super happy that Emma might be on the Main Roster. If you've seen her work on NXT, she's been incredible for the past 6 months or so.

WHO SHOULD WIN: Any team with Emma, she's awesome.

WHO WILL WIN: Team Total Divas. Gotta keep selling that E! Network show that reportedly costs more to produce than it makes.

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The 3rd annual Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
I'm always a sucker for Battle Royals, so I'll enjoy it. I'm putting my money on the Wyatts. History shows that there's no hope for the winner, so good luck to whomever wins this.

WHO SHOULD WIN: Rusev (if he's in it)

WHO WILL WIN: Braun Strowman.

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Divas Title: Charlotte(c) vs. Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks
Sasha Banks just isn't getting the traction in the WWE that I expected. Then again, WWE has been very confusing in its use of her. She's one of the most effective heel female wrestlers that I've ever seen and yet she's pushed as a babyface in the WWE. Go figure... I actually think that Charlotte is doing quite well as Divas Champion and I believe that WWE will keep her strong. The sad fact is that Vince's booking has no room for serious Women's wrestling on the main roster and it could very well be that many of the women joining WWE from NXT have already peaked in appeal. But again, I'm liking the Charlotte character... WWE just needs to somehow find another babyface sensation for the women's division... If only they employed a few in NXT... Hmmm...

WHO SHOULD/WILL WIN: Charlotte

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United States Title: Kalisto(c) vs. Ryback
Ryback has changed his look and seems to be presented as a more serious wrestler now than before... I think. WWE needs more legitimate heavyweight wrestlers to start elevating and this will begin Ryback's upward climb. If he loses, WWE should outright cut him because they have zero purpose for Ryback on the roster if he can't beat a Cruiserweight.

WHO SHOULD/WILL WIN: Ryback

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No longer for Tag Titles: The New Day vs. The League of Nations
Exactly WHY are we not getting a legitimate Tag Team match for the Tag Team titles here? Oh that's right, WWE must include more non-over guys in on the Wrestlemania check. Thank you, League of Nations. Seriously, the New Day are supposed to be heels and yet the are against a terrible heel stable that are causing zero reactions for them and the League. It is just AWFUL what we're seeing. League of Nations has had about 4 months now to resemble something decent and they suck. Consider that when Sheamus and Alberto Del Rio are multiple time World Champions while Rusev has a few big wins under his belt.

WHO SHOULD WIN: The New Day.

WHO WILL WIN: League of Nations. No way that WWE buries Sheamus and/or Del Rio in a 6 man tag match on Wrestlemania. No way!

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The Usos vs. The Dudley Boyz
As I go to WWE.com, it's one of those matches that I don't remember getting booked... Then again, the RAW that I watch is edited and I refuse to watch Smackdown aka "RAW recap show". This could be a legitimately good tag team match although I worry that both teams lack heat among themselves and also as individual tag teams to compel a big Dallas audience. But hey, opportunity knocks to step up and have a great match.

WHO SHOULD WIN: Dudley Boyz. Just not feeling the Usos at the moment. They're missing something to better link to the fans and I don't know what.

WHO WILL WIN: Usos. Dudleys are enhancement talent at this point.

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Intercontinental Title Cluster: Kevin Owens (c) vs. Sami Zayn vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Zack Ryder vs. Sin Cara vs. The Miz vs. Stardust
I just ROLL MY EYES at this... Does Ryder, Sin Cara, Miz, and even Stardust deserve a Wrestlemania 32 paycheck? Can we audit their work over the past year? I'd could argue the same for Sami Zayn, but at least he gets some reaction and many remember his feud with Kevin Owens. This match should have been Owens vs. Zayn at minimum but maybe Triple Threat of Owens vs. Zayn vs. Ziggler at most. And I'm getting so tired of Ladder Matches. It's such a tired gimmick that should only be used once a year, at most, for Money in the Bank.

WHO SHOULD/WILL WIN: Kevin Owens. Ziggler loses often, Zayn is still too new, and the rest just don't merit being in the match. They were all thrown in randomly. Seriously, Sin Cara and Ryder were tag wrestlers and Ryder was on a team that wasn't getting much traction in NXT. I really don't get the booking of this match.

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Chris Jericho vs. AJ Styles
This is that match that you PRAY saves the show... Wrestlemania suffers badly from QUANTITY over QUALITY but if this match is given at least 15 minutes, these two will impress. Unless we're getting Chris Jericho full-time and if so, he should be pushed, there's only one way this match should go. If Jericho becomes a full-time wrestler again, WWE should push him to the top. They need stars right now. If not, you have to use him to elevate Styles.

WHO SHOULD/WILL WIN: AJ Styles

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No-DQ: Dean Ambrose vs. Brock Lesnar
This is the match that I hoped we'd see... Expect lots of hard bumping by Dean Ambrose and in return for bumping like a champion, I'd expect Brock Lesnar to sell some. This is Dean Ambrose's big opportunity to shine and star on this card, therefore, I see this becoming MATCH OF THE NIGHT and possibly pushing MATCH OF THE YEAR. However, I think that the winner is pretty obvious:

WHO SHOULD/WILL WIN: Brock Lesnar, but let Dean put up a fighting effort. All Dean has to do is pull off a great match and the argument against pushing him continues to weaken. Then, when the Reigns plan fails (and it will), he's an easy fallback plan.

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WWE Title: Triple H (c) vs. Roman Reigns
I believe that this is NOT the Main Event. It will probably be 2nd or 3rd from last with a Divas match probably in between this and Shane/Undertaker. Match should be terrible unless Roman Reigns has improved his cardio. Given that he had surgery to repair a nose injury, it's doubtful that he's been hitting a treadmill to shake that up. Triple H, meanwhile, is seriously getting in the shape of his life. Those late night workouts are ridiculous and he's shredded right now. HHH has a lot to gain in Vince's pet project going down in flames even if the match still results in Roman Reigns winning the WWE Title. Dallas will boo the hell out of Roman and that could set him up for what's to come in the Shane/Undertaker match... However, Vince McMahon is in LOVE with Reigns and might not pull the trigger.

WHO SHOULD WIN: Triple H. Go watch the Dean Ambrose and Dolph Ziggler matches. HHH can go and he's getting in amazing athletic shape right now. I'd keep the title right now and use his star power to draw against Brock Lesnar (again) and the returning John Cena and Seth Rollins. Hell, I'd watch a Pay Per View with Triple H vs. Undertaker again or maybe a veteran like AJ Styles or Chris Jericho. Why not put him against Bray Wyatt, Rusev, etc. to see how they stack-up? Keep HHH exclusive to wrestling on WWE Network and WWE will do just fine.

WHO WILL WIN: Roman Reigns. Vince changed his mind reportedly at the last second and went with Seth Rollins. I believe there is regret in that decision and Vince won't let it happen again. Hey, if you have a plan as a promoter, you should try to follow through. Now, Vince McMahon, the greatest wrestling promoter of all time, just needs to show us WHY Roman Reigns is the next greatest WWE babyface.

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Hell in a Cell, with Monday Night RAW on the line: Shane McMahon vs. the Undertaker
This match seems too obvious... Put a non-wrestler (yes, I know he has a few matches) into a cage against a guy who only lost ONCE at Wrestlemania. That, and it's Shane's first match in 6+ years, Undertaker pushed Brock Lesnar to his limits last year, and Undertaker does quite well in Hell in a Cell matches. However, the control of Monday Night RAW is on the line... To me, this match boils down to what WWE wants to do AFTER Wrestlemania and given the injuries to the main roster, the McMahon family figures to use itself to keep the ship afloat until John Cena, Seth Rollins, and maybe Randy Orton return. The early word is that Vince/Shane will operate RAW while Stephanie/Triple H operate Smackdown. I know, I know... Same crap, different year, but they have the keys to the WWE car and we don't. That stipulation and the need to shake up things after Wrestlemania, I think, makes this a hard match to predict.

WHO SHOULD WIN: Undertaker in under 10 seconds. Seriously. He's the UNDERTAKER and Shane is a guy in his 40's who hasn't wrestled in 6+ years. Undertaker had 2 battles with Brock Lesnar... What, if Shane can compete against the Undertaker, does that mean he can stack up well against Brock? BS...

WHO WILL WIN: Shane McMahon. I believe that we'll see Vince McMahon or possibly his new WWE Champion apprentice, Roman Reigns, interfering with this match. MAYBE, just MAYBE, Triple H, Stephanie, and Shane McMahon have colluded to take power from Vince McMahon and Stephanie/HHH help Shane win. It's an easy way to write off Vince... But I see Shane/Vince teaming up to run RAW and HHH/Stephanie to run Smackdown seriously happening. Either way, the follow-up to Wrestlemania will have a pissed off Undertaker going after either Triple H or Roman Reigns and that's not bad...

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THE LAST WORD

At some point, the internet has to give me, Mr. Tito, some credit for not only being right, but being right often.

That's right... As you hear those chorus of boos for Roman Reigns and see that RAW's viewership and WWE Live Show attendance has dropped since the Roman Empire restarted in October 2015... Remember who was first critical of the potential push that Reigns was about to receive. Because I'm a columnist and LordsofPain.net archives my columns, I have actual Date and Timestamps for my opinions.

This is what I said in my January 7th, 2014 column about Roman Reigns immediately after he defeated CM Punk in a one on one match. Remember the storyline? CM Punk was able to beat all 3 members of the Shield in a handicap match at TLC 2013 (Punk claims that at least 2 WWE officials came up to him and said "make Roman Reigns look good") but the storyline evolved into each of the Shield members wrestling Punk in singles matches. Reigns was the ONLY one of the 3 to beat him and here's what I said:

I'm sorry to say this, but I was not impressed by Roman Reigns first time in the singles main event spotlight. He looked clueless and green out there, as if he needed some more time in the Tag Team division. The only advantage Reigns has over most in the WWE is his look, but the ability and charisma aren't there to draw beyond that. But the WWE will try...

The CM Punk victory was the beginning of the building blocks to build Vince McMahon's "next John Cena". Reigns would continue wrestling with the Shield until mid-2014 when he was shoved into several Pay Per View matches for the WWE Title with zero rhyme or reason. I then wrote this column on June 10th, 2014 that addressed his upcoming push (just nailed him, too):

Roman Reigns, as discussed above, has many issues in becoming THE GUY. For one, zero personality. The biggest draws in the business had some sort of personality that was engaging with the fans. Hogan, Savage, Flair, Rock, Austin, and John Cena. All of them have loads of personality that connect with fans even when those wrestlers aren't wrestling. Reigns is reliant 100% on the in-ring stuff, which in my opinion, isn't good on his own. He's had several Main Event opportunities as a singles wrestler and it has fell short. Until he greatly improves in all areas as a wrestler, it could be a major mistake to push Reigns as the top star.

And in that same June 10th, 2014 column, I'm quite correct on many other wrestlers potentially filling the shoes of John Cena.

As all of you join the I HATE ROMAN REIGNS bandwagon, give the guy who writes for a valid and popular pro wrestling website, LordsofPain.net, some credit... Better yet, I'm more than just some columnist... I've been here for 17+ years and have poured hours of my free time to cover current topics in pro wrestling. In addition to that, I'm pushing 30 years as a wrestling fan, have read the majority of wrestling biographies, talked with many WWE/WCW/ECW/TNA wrestlers over the years, seen the inner working of various indy promotions, and I complement all of that with my success in the private sector.

Sure, I can get some predictions wrong... I go over-the-top in my annual predictions column and many of you are quick to remind me of the Steve Austin/Wrestlemania 32 predictions... But in my defense, during 2015, Austin discussed how healthy he was again, how he had "1 more match left in him", and he was randomly featured on the WWE 2K video game. Plus, he made hints at returning to the ring during the Brock Lesnar Stone Cold Podcast and also appears to be in tremendous physical shape. OK, so I got 1 thing wrong... I saw the facts that were laid out in front of me and made a logical prediction... I GUARANTEE that the WWE has asked Austin a few times if he had any interest wrestling... Guarantee it! He has to say "YES", remember?

But I still remember the CM Punk days of 2011... I'll never forget them. I called BS on the SummerSlam 2011 loss and then I knew, just from body language from their interviews together, that Triple H had ZERO interest in putting CM Punk over. I called it early that the WWE was screwing him... The response? All out attack on me... I had other columnists attacking me, audio shows created about me, and even CM Punk himself laughing at my criticisms by Tweeting "buried in money" after he signed a big WWE contract. Almost a year and a half into that contract, CM Punk, as described by Paul Heyman, was already wanting to go home. Then, CM Punk just leaves during early 2014 and has a podcast during November 2014 that confirms EXACTLY what I assessed was happening during 2011. ALSO, the very same columnists and critics were writing "CM Punk was screwed by Creative" at various points during 2012-2014... Nice of you to be late for the party, guys... Why on earth did you waste your time and efforts attacking me?

To this day, I still hear people claiming that Daniel Bryan walking away as WWE Champion from Wrestlemania 30 was the plan the entire time. It's hysterical! Never mind that Randy Orton picked up 2 wins over John Cena and then is penciled into a Wrestlemania 30 main event against the returning Batista. Also, don't forget that the Wyatts/Daniel Bryan storyline was supposed to last through Wrestlemania 30 AND CM Punk was supposed to wrestle Triple H. WWE never wanted Daniel Bryan to become WWE Champion for an extended period of time during 2013 and 2014. However, fans soon hijacked shows and Wrestlemania 30 plans were quickly rewritten to accommodate... Think about how Daniel Bryan received that WWE Title shot... He had to beat Triple H and then go on to face Orton/Batista for the WWE Title on the same show. Ridiculous and completely rushed. I suggested trouble in the water for Daniel Bryan almost immediately and I was attacked by critics.

Let's go deeper into the rabbit hole... How about World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). I had rabid fans of both organizations attacking me repeatedly during 1999-2001 when I said that both promotions were failing and dying. NWO rehash after NWO rehash and then the Vince Russo stuff for WCW... I saw failure coming a mile away and people doubted my younger self (18-20 years old then) who accurately predicted WCW's demise. And then, ECW... I remember reviewing the ECW on TNN shows and getting actual death threats because I dared to suggest that ECW's quality was going downhill. You could just see it with the talent leaving the promotion and it appeared that Paul Heyman was burned out from trying everything to make ECW go national.

I've been here for a long time and LordsofPain.net keeps me around... I'm not just some warm body typing away at a computer. I have longevity by my side along with credibility in many calls and predictions being correct. Major ones, too... I have many great readers who have stuck by my side since the late 1990's when I first started and many who have joined me since. I'm quite proud of the reader following that I have and retained over the years. You keep me going and I try my best, each and every week, to deliver quality. By that measure, I try to deliver assessments accurately to you because my readers expect it from me.

So for all of the haters who have attacked me over the years, especially those with such vulgarity... I'm STILL here and guess what? Those opinions you ripped me for? They were correct. How do you like them apples?

SO JUST CHILL... 'TIL THE NEXT EPISODE!

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