Thoughts on Rollins vs. Roman (& Eventually Ambrose)

As I sit down to write this piece, I want to say that I am a fan of all the former members of the Shield.  I even like Roman.  Yes, some of the reason is because he's pretty.  But I just want to point out that I'm all for this feud lasting a long time.  There is something special about Reigns, Rollins, and Ambrose.  The chemistry with the three of them was electric.  Even when they were heels, they were the best heels.  You hated to hear their music.  You knew that shit was going to get bad and it was going to get bad very, very fast.  And when they were the good guys, they were the Hounds of Justice.  These three guys had great chemistry in and out of the ring.  And while their careers have all take different paths (Roman straight to the top, Rollins straight to the top, and Ambrose with some peeks at the top and then valleys, peaks and valleys- his trajectory is all over the place) they're still, I feel, your top three stars in the company with the exception of John Cena.

But since we're heading into Money in the Bank with Reigns vs. Rollins, I thought I would break down why I'm so looking forward to this match/series of matches, and the eventual addition of Ambrose.  The truth is, I don't think this feud really reaches its peak until Ambrose is involved and we get the triple threat we all want.  I feel like that's going to happen at Wrestlemania.  They'll give us a taste of what to expect in the long run, but I think you'll see Roman retain and hopefully, we can see a match with Rollins and Styles, maybe Dean wins Money in the Bank...the possibilities are really endless.

So, let's talk about the face aspect of both Reigns and Rollins.  Reigns works as a face for outside the WWE.  Look at him.  He's a beautiful, strong, Samoan man, "related to the Rock", and mostly unobjectionable.  No big scandals involving him, nothing to make people from the outside question the direction of WWE.  He has a hard hitting style, he's strong, and most importantly, you don't see others getting hurt by him in their matches.  The stuff that happens in his matches, tables and barricades, could cause someone to get seriously hurt.  However, you haven't heard of anyone getting hurt in the ring with Roman.  He's easily marketable to kids.  He's clearly liked by management and they see the money to be made with him.

Then there is Rollins who's a very different face than Roman.  Seth has a high flying ability that makes watching him dazzling!  He can do things in the ring that make you love watching him perform.  He's stellar on the mic.  He's good looking as well (especially since he got all thick on his time off), and fans generally want to cheer for him.  His return Sunday night proved that.  (although, how much of that was because of Rollins return and the hatred the WWE universe has for Roman remains to be seen).  The fact is that Rollins' style lends itself to being a face.  The fans will make him whatever they want him to be with or without the help of the WWE.  But there is money to be made in a face Rollins.

And as for the heel aspects of both, I'll start with Reigns again.  The fans loathe him.  They just do.  Whether it's real or fabricated by the internet fans, they don't like the push he's been given and they don't like that the WWE did it seemingly against their will.  But Roman would be a different heel than Rollins.  You could make him ultra violent.  And he really doesn't even have to cut a promo to be a bad guy.  Just have him come out and interrupt others while laying them out with a "Superman Punch" and fans will naturally boo him.  He also has the added benefit of having reinforcements if they ever want to really make a Roman Empire stable.  When he shows that vicious side of him, like with HHH and the chair shots the fans went nuts for the Roman that seemed to annihilate someone.  But since, he's been booed out of the building.  Let him be the natural heel that he can be.  Let the fans boo him and you might find that they end up liking him.  I think a heel Roman as champ could be fucking fantastic if they simply take their heads out of their asses.

With Rollins as a heel, he's completely different than Roman.  Roman puts off an air that he doesn't really need help, most times.  However, part of the charm of Rollins as heel was that he was always surrounded by people to help him take care of any problems.  Whether it was J&J, Orton, Kane, Big Show, or even the Authority, but in the end he always managed to win, sometimes in spite of the help he received.  He was pinned, a little too often on Raw in non-title matches, but when it came to the big time, and the chips were down and he had to perform to keep his championship, Rollins came through.

This dynamic is going to be fun to watch.  And I really feel like our Shield triple threat will main event Mania. There is no doubt in my mind that this can be strung along and milked for that amount of time.  Once Ambrose is thrown into the mix, it makes it even more compelling to watch.  He's also willing to align himself with Reigns over Rollins, as Rollins turned on them, but wouldn't hesitate to put Roman into the mat if it meant he could potentially win the title.  And it's never seen as a betrayal by Reigns or by Ambrose.  They know the ambition.  They probably would have understood it from Seth, but he stabbed them in the back to align himself with the Authority.

Now, my hope for Money in the Bank is that Reigns retains, Ambrose wins Money in the Bank, and Rollins ambushes both after their wins.  If you want Rollins to be a different heel than he was before, and he's right people called him weak and afraid and he was, then he needs to stand and fight.  A Rollins that runs in and ruins their matches builds heat.  And Ambrose teasing the possibility of cashing in whenever he wants, and Rollins threatening him, much the way that Ambrose did Rollins, to ruin any opportunity to cash in works.  No one is going to win the title off of Reigns but Rollins.  And it should be made clear.  Maybe Reigns even wins with a low blow or something "heel" like to get him more heat.  Not that he needs it.  At this point, he's a bonfire.  But people naturally want to cheer for Rollins.  You don't have to have a declared face or a declared heel.  Allow this to just come together organically.  The fans will dictate who is what.  Ambrose will, probably, come out of the whole thing the true face as his wacky hijinks and manic style lead towards people loving him.

So, my expectation is that next year we will see the Shield Triple Threat at Mania.  I would love to see the Shield reunite to take on the Club, but people love AJ Styles and Finn Balor, so I'm not sure how that would work.

Raw Recap 4-12-2016 - Start of the Roman Heelpire?

So many things happened in this show, that I'm going to go through them the best I can with only having had one view.

Shane announces that there will be a tag team tournament to see who the new number one contender will be for the New Day to face off against.  Also announced that Sami Zayn would have a match against AJ Styles where if Sami won the match at Payback would be a triple threat.  Then Kevin Owen's music hits.

Shane McMahon against Kevin Owens was stellar.  Both of those guys know how to go on the mic and they both looked strong here.  It didn't make any sense how JBL kept saying that Kevin Owens wasn't ready to fight when Kevin Owens said out of his own mouth that he was ready for his rematch.
I would just like to state that I like the idea of

The Cesaro vs. KO match was amazing.  Man, I've missed Cesaro!  My favorite part of this match, though, was when Owens put on JBL's hat, pointed at him, then gave Cesaro a close line from hell and gave the hat back.  Cesaro gets the win and he's the new #1 contender for the IC belt.  He got an actual win on KO.  What I can't understand is why they put the belt back on Miz?  Why not Ryder?  Why not let him have it for a little while?  But if they put it on Cesaro then I won't complain.  Dude deserves a huge push, especially seeing the reaction to him being back.

New Day cuts a promo about the tag team tournament and then Xavier Woods molests the rope, Big E swivels his hips in a way that makes me deeply uncomfortable for some reason, and Kofi is doing that weird jump clap that he does which doesn't really seem to go with the sex that Xavier and Big E are selling.  Lucha Dragons come out for their match in the first round of the tag team tournament against the Dudley Boys.  The part that sticks out about this is that the New Day basically steal the spotlight of the Lucha Dragons as they are standing ring side doing the "Lucha" chant while Big E wears JBLs hat.  That hat got a lot of action tonight.

Lucha Dragon's are competing against the Dudley Boys, who seem to be calling EVERYONE on their shit, lately.  First it was the ref in the match the other night and now it was the ref for calling the wrong person the legal man.  I'm not sure who the legal man was, and it doesn't matter, since the Dudley's won, Kalisto might be actually hurt, and ENZO AND CAS showed up to again put the Duds in their place.

It was a good back and forth and my favorite part was "The reason I'm here is because my mom and dad got it on.  How you doin?"  Is it just me or does Enzo look like a hyper/surrealistic future version of Howard Walowitz?  Don't know why, that's just what he reminds me of.  The Dudleys are a great first rival for Enzo and Cas.

Got a promo between Dr. Phil, Charlotte, and Ric Flair in which Dr. Phil just cut Charlotte down for cheating and going down the same path with her father.  I have to admit, as far as promos go, Dr. Phil nailed it!  Good for him!  The WOOOOing I could have done without, but the rest of that segment was pretty good.

We got some backstage between Kevin Owens and Shane McMahon where Kevin threatened Sami Zayn and Shane wasn't having it so he had him removed from the premises.

Roman Reigns comes out and cuts a promo in which he repeats his new catchphrase, apparently.  "I'm not a bad guy.  I'm not a good guy.  I'm the guy."  It's a good heel move.  But then, the baffling part of this to me is that they have Sheamus, Del Rio, and Rusev come out and cut a promo against him.  It doesn't lessen the boos for Reigns, it only makes the boos in the arena louder, period.  Although, Rusev's line that he's better looking than Roman was funny.  Everyone laughed.  Even Sheamus.  We all know Roman is dreamy.  It's part of his appeal.  Which I would like to talk about now.  I understand that there is a hatred for Roman.  I think a lot of it comes from people resent the push he's received while people like Ambrose languish in tired feuds with the likes of Jericho.  However, I feel like it's a little naive of us to expect him not to take the ball and run with it.  He's doing what he's told.  You can't fault him for that.  Maybe you resent what he's being told to do, but he's selling it the best he can, and honestly, when he's not the smirking or smiling good guy and is just a Samoan bad ass it works.  I feel like, sometimes, Roman is given a bad wrap.  He's vastly improved in the ring.  Yes, he still has a few stupid moves (I just get tired of watching him cock his hand and I find the man sexy, I can't imagine what people who despise him think of it), but he's come a long way.  Is he there yet?  No.  But I think people keep expecting him to be the Rock or Stone Cold or HBK.  The truth is, when those guys came up, there was a period where they were really able to do what they wanted to do because Vince was taking any and all ideas.  It's not like that anymore.  Everything is so scripted.  They're trying to make the hero they think we want.

However, he's been showing shades of heel, here and there.  There is less smiling.  There is less smirking.  He even brushed off Sami Zayn and AJ Styles when they came out last week.  He's different as Seth as a heel because Seth was constantly running from a fight because that's just his strength as a heel.  But you could see Roman as being the heel that starts shit and then beats people down for it.  And he could have a faction, but his faction I feel like would be more of a DX faction in that they don't run away from fights, but they start and end them.

Which brings me back to what happened Monday.  Roman challenges the three members of the Lads and suddenly Bray's shit interrupts.  It was BIZARRE to see Wyatt and Roman on the same side, but rather refreshing.  They clear the ring and face off against each other.  Roman looked as confused as I was excited.  And I was excited.  We'd never seen Bray and Roman on the same side.  Apparently, Shane agreed as he interrupted and said "I'd like to see more of that!"  and scheduled the main event as Roman and Bray vs. two members of the Lads.  It was certainly different.  And Solomonster has said before that Heel Roman vs. Face Bray would be different and probably awesome, and I tend to agree with him.  The set up between them was nice.  I enjoyed this part of the show.

Natayla vs. Charlotte was a good match.  I keep expecting Bret Hart to come out, but I'm not sure how his health is, but then Flair is 900 years old and he's still out there.  Natty looked strong and she won but by disqualification of Charlotte.  So, I guess this is set up for Road Block.

We get the Usos against...I don't remember.  I really don't remember.  Usos won, but the important part of this was that Gallows and Anderson debuted, much like the Outsiders back in the 90's.  They beat down the Usos, the crowd was into it and confused at the same time.  You could see the people that knew who they were and the people that didn't.  This all leads to an interesting road.  You have a potential for Gallows and Anderson to team up with AJ and stomp the holy hell out of Roman.  It would just make AJ more over, but it would make for an interesting dynamic when Balor finally gets the call up.

I'm going to end up skipping some stuff because by this time I had taken my meds.  I did manage to stop what I was doing and watch Sami Zayn vs. AJ Styles, which to me was the match of the night.  These two guys delivered everything you could want in a match.  It was well paced, it had some high flying action.  The crowd was into BOTH guys.  AJ got the win, which means that the match between Roman and AJ stays between Roman and AJ.  But Sami put on a helluva show.

Ambrose vs. Jericho.  We've known it was coming since SummerSlam last year, but I like this.  Ambrose vs. Jericho on the mic will be awesome and the two guys can go.  I really wish the Ambrose Asylum stuff would end.  Do we really need to be reminded that people think he's crazy?

The last match, Roman and Bray vs. The Lads, I don't remember much of.  I do remember that I was surprised that the Wyatt Family took so long to come out there in the first place.  Bray and Roman get the win and then I don't remember what happened.  Sorry.  Anyway, over all I would say a pretty decent Raw.  We got some matches we haven't seen before and it was enjoyable.  

Wrestlemania Review

I realize I'm waaaay behind, but I use the excuse that I've been sick and moved and so I haven't had the time to devote to this the way I want.

First, let me start off talking about the Raw before Wrestlemania.

Boring.

Alright, and now on to Wrestlemania itself.

Pre-show matches you had Kalisto vs. Ryback (which I didn't see because it was advertised that the first two hours of the pre-show would be on USA.  Only the last of the two hours was on there and I missed the Ryback vs. Kalisto match (which when I went back and watched it, I didn't miss much).  Kalisto won, as he should have.  I would be nice to see someone like Baron Corbin (I'll get to him in a bit) go after the U.S. title.

The first match I actually watched was Team Diva (Natayla, Paige, Eva Marie, Brie Bella, and Alica Fox) against team B.A.D. and Blond (Lana, Naomi, Tamina, Summer Rae, and Emma).  Personally, I never thought team B.A.D stood a chance, but it would have been nice to see Emma and even Lana get a win here.  But no, they're promoting their horrible show that I wouldn't watch if you paid me.  And you don't have the kind of money to pay me.  Anyway, I just want to go on record and say that Lana's kick that she landed on I think Brie was flawless.  I want her legs.  Like, who did she sell her soul to in order to get legs like that.  She looked gorgeous.  They all looked gorgeous.  But team Bella went over.

The Dudley's vs. the Uso's was boring.  Don't really care about either team.  Uso's won, got a beat down, then put the Dudley's through the table.

One of my favorite matches of the night was the first up on the actual card and that was the ladder match for the intercontinental title.  Zack Ryder, Stardust, Kevin Owens, Dolph Ziggler, Sami Zayn, Sin Cara, and the Miz.  Some of the guys in this match took some hard bumps that hurt me to even watch.  I'll admit that I was pretty sure that Sami Zayn was going to win that belt.  I just thought it was the logical conclusion to having him take it from Kevin.  However, they got me.  Zack Ryder?  And then his dad ran into the ring for a really beautiful moment.  Good for Zack.  But it only makes sense that they took it off him the next night and gave it back to Kevin Owens.  Wait.  That's not what happened.  The Miz won it.  What?  Why?  Ugh!

Then there was AJ vs. Y2J.  Again, I just knew that AJ was going to win, and lo and behold, HE DID NOT?  But it all goes back to what Scott Hall said about Sting:  Vince will never get behind someone he didn't create.  And they kind of owed Jericho one after the "Fandango Incident".  I think this was crap, however, AJ did win the following night to become the number 1 contender for the world title.  If they're going to turn Reigns heel, it's best to turn him against AJ than Dean.

I'm going to get the order mixed up, but I'm calling them as I remember them.

The Women's Belt was changed!  (YAY!)  It looks more in line with the man's championship belt but it's red (could be pink but it looked red).  Anything is better than the fucking butterfly.  Anyway, Sasha comes to the ring with her uncle Snoop.  Becky comes out...by herself.  And Charlotte has the Nature Boy.  Snoop should have at least stood ringside and tried to foil some of Flair's shenanigans.  I hated how this match ended because it felt like it should have been Sasha's moment.  But Flair is real tight with HHH and I could see him pitching this.  Especially after the stuff with Reid Flair last year.  It would have been a way to make nice.  I don't think she keeps it until Summer Slam, though.  I would also be ok with Becky taking it between now and then.  A transitional champ, but I think once you get it on Sasha it will be hard to get it off of her until Bayley shows up.

New Day vs. The Lads.  When I saw Xavier I immediately thought of Guku from Dragon Ball Z.  His hair was amazing.  But the Lads going over the New Day was eh.  And they didn't even defend the titles!  But the highlight of this was after the match.  When HBK's music hit, I jumped up from my seat.  Then Foley, and then the glass broke for the Rattlesnake Stone Cold.  I felt like I was in my teens again and the greatest thing to ever happened had just happened.  It was amazing.  Shawn can still deliver sweet chin music better than anyone (Dolph).  But when Austin started dancing I knew Xavier was getting a Stunner.  Nothing good comes from Austin dancing.

Battle Royal - why was Shaq there.  Was that really a match we needed?  However, I do love that Baron Corbin won.  He's the perfect person for that as it builds him up.  Feed him some jobbers and then let him take on someone like Kalisto for the U.S. belt.

Then we had the Rock's segment with the Wyatt's where he had a 6 second match with Rowan and Cena returned to break it up.  I love the Rock, but I feel like the Wyatt's could have done with an actual match.

The first of the three main events, Brock vs. Ambrose was a let down.  I don't know why this match was so short, but it looked like it could have gone longer.  Ambrose sold the beating.  But it was unrealistic that no one was bleeding.  Otherwise they would have interrupted it every ten seconds like they did Samoa Joe and Finn Balor -- which pissed me the fuck off.  I feel like this match could have been more violent.  As it was, Shane vs. Undertaker was more violent.

And speaking of Shane vs. Taker - the match was slow, but once it got outside the ring, those guys delivered.  Especially Shane.  What you give to this company that belongs to your family is amazing and I only hope that they appreciate it.  I love the little pat on the cheek that Taker gave to Shane before he tombstoned him in the middle of the ring.  It was like "Good job, kid."

Then there was the main event.  I really thought that the Rock was going to interfere, but that didn't happen.  Instead, we got a pretty basic match, the crowd booed Roman (and I feel bad for him at this point.  He delivers. He puts on good matches.  I just don't really understand why people dislike him so much).  When he speared Stephanie, they cheered him a little because people like seeing her suffer.  But he pinned HHH in the center of the ring clean.

Raw Review - 3/21/2016 - Roman Reigns Promo the best part?

I know this sounds crazy, but looking back on last night, I would have to say, that my headline says it all, doesn't it?  First, I get that it wasn't the best episode of Raw they've ever done, but the crowd was so dead.  They didn't pop for anything, with the exception of Dean Ambrose and, to some weird extent, Roman Reigns.

Opening with Steph berating the people and talking about how HHH wasn't there, not because of the beating he took last week but because he had "corporate responsibilities".  BLAH.  I'm sick of Authority opening promos.  Anyway, half way through, out comes Reigns.  He's not doing any of that smiley bullshit he had been doing.  He cut a succinct and to the point promo about how he's going to beat up her husband in her arena in her ring.  She goes to slap him, and bam, he stops her.  We haven't seen anyone pull that move since she tried to slap Sting and it didn't work out as planned.  I also kind of love how he was shushing her, shaking his head.  There was no smile.  There was just a bad ass Samoan standing tall.  It makes him look strong and also puts Stephanie in her place.  They can't hurt her anymore, but they can make her look petty and small.

So, that worked.  The people didn't seem to boo him as much as they usually do.  Keep booking him strong, let him speak as little as possible, and at Mania have him just go on a tear and then flip everyone off when he wins.  Then Monday, turn him full fledged heel.  Cuss out the audience for hating on him.  It's just a short hop, skip, and jump away.

Dean Ambrose was, of course, another highlight.  I love the little vignettes of him just hanging out places and then an old time hardcore legend shows up and gives him a new toy to use.  I love Terry Funk telling Dean "If I had a son, I'd want him to be just like you.  If I had a daughter..."  and then he turned around.  That was funny!

Kevin Owens is dynamite.  AJ Styles is Phenomenal.

It also feels weird to like The Miz.  I don't want you to make me like him.  He's much better as a horrible, smarmy heel.  Fix this!

I knew they were going to do a ladder match, and I guess Ziggler and Miz could be made to have a reason to be in it...????  But Ryder?  Stardust?  Sin Cara????  Sami Zayn will have a helluva weekend if he can stay healthy during the Nakumura match at Takeover.

Y2J vs, AJ is heating up nicely.  Y2J does some excellent heeling during this match.  He's just amazing as a heel.  Hardly anyone around to touch him.

And let me say this, I thought this was almost over when we got to the promos from the legends about Shane and Taker.  I was like, wow, this really went fast.  No idea there was another hour and a half left in this show.

Vince added a stipulation to the Taker match (and cut a promo about Taker being his bitch!) that if Taker loses he won't wrestle anymore.  I would be willing to say that if something funky happens with this match, like Taker backs out of it or something, Shane will put Taker in some kind of role or not allow that stipulation to stand.  Anyway, I just hope there is a good place to go with this.  I think we all agree that we don't want to see Taker lose again, but we certainly don't want Shane gone again.  It's hard to decide who to pull for.  Nostalgia says Taker, but everything else in me is screaming Shane.

And then we had the weirdest segment in the entire show:  The New Day promo against the League.  This might have worked if Barrett hadn't looked like he was laughing during not only the League part but also during the New Day's promo.  It was kind of hilarious.  And you could see that he was laughing at Rusev who decided to dump a bottle of water all over his chest and then under his arms!  It was WEIRD.  But Barrett was doing all he could to keep it together, only it wasn't working.  And I think all of this feeds into Renee Young saying that every time she has to "interview" Barrett, he does everything he can to try and make her laugh and they hardly ever get through a segment without them both laughing.  I love Barrett, and to me he was the best part of this because he was just laughing all the way through it.

I don't like the New Day as faces, though.  The promos they could have had with Cas and Enzo would have been amazing.  And you can't bring Cas and Enzo in and make them heels.  However, if you have the League win the belts off New Day, then Cas and Enzo would be perfect foils for them.

All in all, a crap Raw, mostly.  The Roman Reigns segments were the best parts.  It was totally weird.

- Also, I heard that Luke Harper was injured last night during the dark match.  That's terrible.  Another one down.  Ugh.  And of the four, I like Harper the most!
- Cesaro will be back soon, so that's good!

Photo credit goes to: http://www.dailywrestlingnews.com

The only thing for sure about the Stinger is that nothing's for sure

In the late 90s, my cousin Alana was watching WCW because she loved the Macho Man Randy Savage and WWE because she loved Shawn Michaels.  I am two years younger than her, but I find that now, as I look back on my childhood, I was heavily influenced by her on things I liked.  I liked the New Kids on the Block, the Ghostbusters, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, and eventually wrestling all because of her.  (Can you tell I grew up in the late 80s early 90s?)  I remember watching a ppv match, long before all of this, with Alana and my Aunt Barbara in which Hulk Hogan faced off against Earthquake.  I can't tell you now, for the life of me, what ppv it was or why we were watching it, but we were.  Sorry, getting sidetracked.

So, because of her, I watched wrestling.  This was right around the time, in WCW where Scott Hall and Kevin Nash had come onto the scene.  Given that I didn't watch WWE and had no idea who they were, I didn't understand the impact of what was happening.  But I remember watching the heel turn by Hulk Hogan in which he leg dropped the Macho Man.  I was hooked from there.  But I didn't really like the NWO, even though they were cooler.  I was very sort of black and white in my good vs. evil thing.  The NWO was bad.  WCW was good.  So, as the NWO started adding people and continued to feud with the Four Horsemen, I was indifferent to that.  But the fake Sting bit with limo sticks out in my mind.  All while I'm watching WCW I knew Sting was a good guy.  It seemed unfathomable to me that Sting would turn into a bad guy.  I mean, he was Mr. Hero, to me more than Hogan was.  I didn't grow up a Hogan fan, but I remembered watching Sting matches every now and again when he had the blond flat top and the face paint.  Sting was the perennial good guy.

Back to my story, when "Sting" turned and leveled Luger, I never believed it was really him.  First of all, they never actually showed you his face.  The body type was similar, but when you look at the fake Sting, the nose was different.  And I remember Luger and the Nasty Boys and several others roaming through the parking lot looking for Sting.  Then at the War Games match, he came out, leveled some people, and then walked out.  After that, on Nitro, Sting gave his last promo for a whole year.  And he said, and I will never forget this because I used to quote it to Alana when she told me he was going to turn to the NWO, that "The only thing that's for sure about the Stinger is nothing's for sure."

And in that year, we only got sporadic spots with Sting in the rafters.  We had a Nitro in Birmingham that my Aunt Barbara took me and Alana too and we were RING SIDE!  It was amazing.  And Sting, much like Roman Reigns does now, came down from the crowd, climbed in the ring, and it was the happiest moment of my life.  I was in the same building with Sting.  The Sting I loved!  He was silent, he didn't have to say a word.  His presence was enough to scare the shit out of the NWO and I loved it.  As someone who hated the bad guys, I was thrilled to see someone standing up to them and not getting punked out.  He started coming into the ring and putting his back to his "former" friends like Luger, the Steiners, and even the Giant.  He would give them the bat, hold his arms out as he put his back to them as a test of faith.  If they hit him, they would become his enemy.  Everyone seemed to know that.  While this would occasionally happen, the NWO kept telling people how Sting was with them.  My faith was never shaken.  Sting would not be with the organization that made him stop wrestling in the first place.

Looking back on it now, what Sting did with his character was game changing.  He went from this wild man in the ring, with plenty of skill.  Instead he went to become this menacing presence, a vigilante for justice.  And he started to make it very clear that his aim was Hogan.  The bat pointed in his direction became infamous.  And everyone knew that when Sting got his hands on Hogan, the one that had seemingly started all of this mess, there would be Hell to pay.

Enter Starcade!  I managed to talk my dad into ordering this ppv for me because by this point I was totally and completely obsessed with wrestling.  Alana was still a Macho Man fan and so when he joined the NWO she followed.  But I stuck with Sting.  And so, this match, which had been building for over a year made me so excited I could hardly stand it.  I remember wanting all other matches to be over and just to see Sting get his hands on Hogan.  When the intro for Sting hit, I  remember that I had literal goosebumps!  That little piece about how a man seeks revenge all called back to The Crow and it was intense to watch.  Sting standing across the ring from Hogan, Hogan basically taunting him, and there was nothing WCW could have done to make that match as good as we had wanted.  Oh, yeah, except to have Sting win clean.  Which he didn't.  It was a wonky ending, but Sting ended up with the belt, and the WCW ran out and cheered.

After that, some weird things happened with Sting joining the NWO Wolfpack, and I can't even say anything about that because I had a NWO Wolfpack shirt just because he was on it (remember when they used to sell those shirts at Walmart?  I owned a Kevin Nash one, too).  But eventually, I lost interest in the product, whether it was because I was growing up and moving on to college, whatever the reason, I stopped watching.

However, Sting was still my favorite.  I even took my nephew Landon to see a TNA match in Huntsville just because I knew Sting was going to be there.  I was more excited to go than he was!  And Sting came out of the crowd from the entrance beneath us and at 31 years old I was freaking out.  The teenager inside of me was so happy I could hardly breathe.  Landon, my wonderful nephew who humors me sometimes and watches wrestling with me, sat with me while we watched videos of old Sting matches and how he had the bad, and the one with the vulture, and where he came up out of the ring, and lets not forget the multiple "Stings".  He was excited (to be fair, his favorite is the Undertaker).

As I started watching wrestling again somewhere around the beginning of 2014 (because of Daniel Bryan) I knew Sting was still with TNA.  However, he did, finally, sign with WWE that year.  I remember being at work and watching that clip of him showing up to WWE's panel at Comic Con.  It was amazing.  I was so excited.  And the thought that we might actually get to see him compete in a WWE ring was thrilling.  The dream match of everyone who ever watched wrestling could actually come true.  We could see Sting vs. the Undertaker.  But that looked less likely as the Undertaker went into seclusion after his Wrestlemania match against Brock Lesnar.

Fast forward to Survivor Series 2014.  Like everyone else seemed to be, I was convinced the Authority was going to win, by any means necessary (cheating).  When Ziggler hit Rollins with the Zig Zag, I thought that he might actually pull this off.  But when HHH entered the ring, I knew all hope was lost.  I was bummed.  But just as Scott Armstrong was getting ready to hit the three count, that crow sounded.  Keep in mind, I'm in my room, door closed.  My parents are asleep across the house from me.  When the crow sound hit, the room went dark for half a second, and then the music sounded...I JUMPED OUT OF MY CHAIR SCREAMING!  STING!  OMG IT'S STING!!!!!!!!!  I was screaming so loud my parents could hear me in their room with their door shut.  My dad even called my cell phone to see what I was screaming about.  No one could understand.  The part of me that always loved him was having a panic attack!

I didn't watch the match he had at Wrestlmania to be with HHH.  I don't think anyone did.  Bray Wyatt or Taker would have been better.  But the build up, the mind games that occurred was all perfect.  It worked.  That match was built up much better than the main event.  To be honest, I didn't know if Sting would still be able to go.  But he could.  And he did.  I think the inclusion of the NWO into the match made NO sense considering Sting's height of popularity was when he was AGAINST the NWO.  To have the NWO come to his rescue...I get what they tried to do.  The WCW vs. the WWE.  But how do you have Sting's first WWE match as a loss, especially at Wrestlemania.  And against HHH?  He didn't need that win!  I even saw an interview with Scott Hall after that match where he was questioning the decision of Sting losing.

"So we’re all in there again, and I’m next to Hulk [Hogan] on the ring apron and Triple H is going over the match and then he goes, ‘OK, he’ll break the sledgehammer, then I’ll hit him with the sledgehammer, and cover him, 1-2-3." 

I looked at Hulk, and Hulk looked at me, and I was thinking, “Sting, what kind of lawyer do you have, bro? You’re coming in the door doing a job? You weren’t even guaranteed to go over?'”

 Obviously, guys that were friends with HHH even thought that it was weird that Sting didn't win that match.  But as Scott Hall also said "Vince is never going to go with something he didn't create".  This actually makes a lot of sense if you look at what is happening in that company right now.

Anyway, onto the set up for Night of Champions.  Seth Rollins is a helluva wrestler.  I watch him and I'm like "This guy is so good".  I feel the same way about Dean Ambrose.  But the set up of his match with Sting was great.  It was the old school vs. the new school.  It was a tried and true veteran and he goes out there and has a much better match than anyone thought he could and with one of the best in the business.

Then there's tragedy.  First, I'm shocked he took that bump through the announce table.  It looked terrible when he took it because it looked like his head bumped off the monitor.  But then the first buckle bomb he took, you could tell something had happened.  With the way he kept opening and closing his hand, it just didn't look right.  But the second one, I told my dad then and there that he was actually hurt.  And I have to hand it to Seth Rollins because he sold it like the great heel he was, but even I could tell there was genuine concern on his face.  It's one thing to accidentally break someone's nose, but for someone to lose the ability to use their body is terrifying.  I can't imagine how badly he felt, and everyone said as much.  But Sting finished the match and Rollins went over.  They said that Rollins was standing at the ambulance after the match apologizing over and over again.  Sting has even gone on record and said that it was his own fault about how he landed into the buckle bomb that was the problem, that nothing Seth did was a cause of the injury.

And now, he's being inducted into the Hall of Fame.  I wish it was by someone other than Ric Flair, because I just don't like Flair and I feel like he'll find a way to make it about him.  But I think it's about time, though.  Yes, Sting went to TNA where he was arguably the biggest name they had for a long time.  But I think, of all the things he's done, that period in the 90s, The Crow gimmick, will go down as one of the best changes that a wrestler could ever have.  He was more over than almost anyone at that time.  Seeing him, even being teased with the possibility of him being there was enough to put people in the seats.  WWE can try to play it off all they want, can try to tarnish Sting by allowing his only two matches in WWE to have been losses, but during the height of Sting's popularity the WCW was crushing WWE.

With all that being said, it is a sad day for me.  I always hoped that he would be able to come back, just one last match.  But his health is more important.  I know that.  His legacy, outside of the WWE, will probably stand the test of time.  I mean, it's twenty years later and I remember watching him walk to the ring at Starcade and the goosebumps like it was yesterday.

Sting is my favorite wrestler of all time.  Others will come and go and impress me, but a part of my adolescence was dedicated to my love for Sting.  I only hope will always get the recognition he deserves for what he's done for the wrestling industry.

Scott Hall Quote from Scott Hall on Sting - Inquisitor
Photocredit to ringsidecollectibles.com

NXT Review - A whole lot of Takeover Dallas Matches

A lot of set up here for some Takeover Dallas matches.  Which is good.  They needed to show what the card was going to be filled with.

So, as it stands now, we have the following matches:

The Revival vs. American Alpha (Tag Team Championships)
Baron Corbin vs. Austin Ares
Bayley vs. Asuka
Sami Zayn vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
Finn Balor vs. Samoa Joe

And those are the only ones I remember.

Anyway, what happened here is Sami came out to cut a promo about how, even though he lost, he's glad to know NXT will steal the show in Dallas, which I'm sure it will.  They're given so much more free reign to be awesome and do what they know how to do that they will obviously excel.  Sami talked about how he was a proud papa when it came to NXT.  Then we had Regal interrupt him and tell him that his contributions aren't lost to him and schedules his match with Shinsuke Nakamura which the crowd went crazy for.  Not only the crowd, but the announcers sold the hell out of it.  Both Graves and Tom were on fire here.

Then we had Emma with Dana Brooke vs. that girl that Asuka knocked out.  I don't remember her name.  It's all to set up how strong Emma looks, and she's just tearing down the house lately.  It's amazing how over she is in NXT but WWE tried to ruin what made her great.  And now, here she is back on her home turf, looking like a boss heel.  She's good in the heel role.  And with Dana at her side, she looks even better.

Then there was Choppa (which it just irritated the crap out of me how the ring announcer said his name) and he came to the ring like he was on fire, had a hell of a match against who knows and did a damn good job making himself look formidable.

I feel like there is a match I'm forgetting but I don't know what it is.

Bayle & Asuka vs. Eva Marie & Nia Jax.  I was waiting for "Asuka's going to kill you" chants to start whenever she got in the ring with Eva Marie.  Let me say this, Eva is gorgeous, but does she have to like...wrestle and stuff?  I mean, I know she's considered a "wrestler" but ugh!  Nia is getting much better though.  She's really learning how to sell, she's better on the mic than Eva.  But the real treat of this match was the end when Regal announced Asuka vs. Bayley at Dallas because the look on Asuka's face and then the look on Bayley's said it all, didn't it?  And how is the crowd going to react to that match considering they are both so over?

Then there was the promo with Austin Ares.  It reminded me of an old school wrestling promo where he talked himself up, put his opponent down, and explained how he was going to dismantle his opponent.  I actually liked this better than someone being there with a microphone in his face and him doing that weird thing that wrestlers do where they look at nothing and talk.  Anyway, this really set it up nicely and I only hope in the future we'll get a segment where maybe Corbin is in the ring and Ares beats the shit out of him.  I feel like there needs to be that exchange between them where Ares actually gets a few good shots in.

Then the main event was American Alpha vs. the Vaudevillians.  American Alpha is just awesome.  Gable especially.  Some of the suplexes he's able to do are just amazing.  There was one scary one on the guy that's not Simon Gotch (forget his name) but I watched it and for a second I held my breath because I just knew it had killed him.  But it was good match with Jordan getting the hot tag and then Gable getting the pin.  I will say that I am ready, willing, and Gable!

Raw Review - a whole lotta nothing

Let me start out by saying that at this point, the only thing I really like from WWE at the moment is Dean Ambrose.  He has that character down, doesn't he?  And I like the promo between Dean and Heyman.  I also love that Dean called Brock out on just bouncing around.  The truth is that we all know that Dean can take a beating and with Brock you need someone that can take it and still give you hope and Dean is that guy.

The New Day got walloped by the League, so I guess the New Day are officially faces?  I would have liked a more obvious turn, personally.  And the League, ugh!  I love Wade Barrett.  I would love to see him have a final singles run before he retires, but there is no one in that group, besides him, that I even like watching.

We had an Authority promo where Ziggler interrupted.  I don't get this either.  Is he going to turn and become an authority man?  I mean, he's been teasing a heel turn so would it be completely unheard of to have this all be a set up.  He also lost clean to HHH.  But then we got the return of Roman in which he came to the ring and looked like the bad ass he should be.  He didn't have to say anything, you just saw him beat the shit out of the man and that's really all you need.  Don't make him talk.  He doesn't need to talk.  He's a big, strong dude that looks like he could kick your ass.  Let him be that guy.  Dean has the ability to talk.  Let Dean talk.  But let Roman be the Samoan bad ass that he is.  Period.

Y2J vs. Neville was a good match until disaster struck and Neville got hurt.  I didn't understand the finish until it was later revealed that Neville broke his leg and Y2J had the match end the way he did as a way of calling for the finish to end the match.  Heel or face, I love Y2J.  He's a class act.

Lana looks to be siding with team...you know what?  I don't care.  If Lana is going to have a match at Mania, it should be on the pre-show and allow the other women to have a match that's worth watching on the main card.

Then there was that weird segment with Vince, Undertaker, and Shane.  I mean, at this point, we still don't have a reason for Taker to side with Vince other than, as Shane said, he's Vince's bitch.  He's just doing the dirty work for Vince.  Bullshit.  We need a real reason.  I'd like to see some conflict from the Undertaker.  I mean, is he really okay being used as a tool to make Vince's son suffer?  Why?  For what reason?

I also love the segment with Foley and Dean where he got "Barbie" as Noelle Foley called it on Twitter.  Who better than to give Dean a weapon for use against a Beast?

Anyway, all and all this was a pretty craptastic Raw with the only parts I liked being Roman and Dean.  I really kind of miss Cesaro.

photocredit betweentheropes.com

Roadblock Review - Nothing Happened so What was the point?

Alright, so there were some good matches.  A lot of things just worked but the finishes on some of these matches just plain sucked!

The card was as follows:
The Gents (Wade Barrett & Sheamus vs. The New Day
The Revival (Dash & Dawson) vs. Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady
Brock Lesnar vs. Bray Wyatt & Luke Harper (but only really Luke Harper)
Sami Zayn vs. Stardust
Y2J vs. Jack Swagger
Charlotte vs. Natayla
Dean Ambrose vs. HHH

To me, the Main Event of the card was the best match followed by the Revival vs. Enzo & Cas.

I guess my issue with this whole ppv was that nothing actually happened.  Nothing changed.  Nothing moved forward.  The only thing this almost did was give some resolution to some fans who wanted Dean vs. HHH at Wrestlemania.  But it's not a satisfying ending.  I would really like a better angle of that foot under the rope for Dean.  It looked to me like it wasn't under the rope.  All those camera angles and you don't have one that actually shows it there.  Needless to say, I never thought Dean was going to win, but it was freaking amazing to watch that three count and feel that momentary bliss that something actually went his way.

As for Enzo and Cas, I guess their second loss to the revival sets up them showing up for the Monday after Raw.  But who will their opponent be in the tag team division?  The New Day?  They've turned face so I guess we won't be seeing that match up any time soon.  The Lads?  Ugh don't wanna see that.  I wanna see Wade Barrett go on a good singles run, get a belt and hold on to it until he's gone.  I'm tired of watching a wrestler I like lose all the time.  But I guess their opponents could be the League, but they're still out numbered.  They could go the Dudleys, maybe a Brooklyn vs. Pittsburgh type deal.  The problem is that I think everyone wanted to see the New Day cutting promos against Enzo and Cas and vice versa.

Not a bad show, but there could have been some better story lines here.  What actually would have happened had they let Dean win?

Photocredit goes to voicesofwrestling.com

NXT - Sami Zayn vs. Samoa Joe

I hadn't decided if I was going to start doing to a NXT review or not, but this match was way too good not to talk about.  Honestly, I had gone ahead and read the spoilers for this weeks NXT so I knew that Samoa Joe won, but that didn't take anything away from the match!

The concept of a two out of three falls is a great one.  I like it almost as much as I like Ironman matches.  And considering the story these two guys have been telling over the last month or so, this was the perfect way to determine the number one contender.

Let me say that I didn't start watching NXT until October, I believe.  I think the first ever match I watched for NXT was Kevin Owens vs. Finn Balor in Japan.  And that was only because it was on a main roster show.  But after I watched it, I had to have more.  I went back and watched older matches, especially matches between the women, but the feud I came away liking the most was Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn.  I've determined, on my own from watching it, that there is MONEY in Owens, and Sami Zayn seems to have the same support from the crowd that Daniel Bryan had.  He's got this underdog feel to him.  It's why I was so happy to see Sami come out and take on Owens at Raw.  And I've said all that to say this:

This was one of my favorite matches I've watched.

You have two really different styles here, but they complimented one another so well.  Neither looked weak here.  Joe looked like a menacing force out to hurt Sami, and Sami looked like the underdog out to prove that he could hang with a big dog.  And they neither disappointed.  Sami's ability to fly high, Joe's ability to hit hard, and their ability, as a unit, to tell a compelling story was amazing to watch.  Some of the spots that Sami had, and some bumps that Joe took, were spectacular.  These two guys displayed what happens when the guys in the back have your back.  You get the sense that they were told to go out there and leave nothing behind.  They did that.

Here's what I love about Joe.  He's such a terrifying heel.  He's actually a guy that you could legitimately be afraid of.  He's big, he's powerful, but he's got skill and ring presence.  He can say so much with just a snarl of his lip.  He's sold the power in this match.  He threw Sami around like he weighed nothing and then he moved around like he was weightless!  You believe that his strikes hurt, and you believed him when he hit his own back.

Sami, for his part, played the role of the underdog to perfection.  Did you see that word?  PERFECTION!  As much as he was beaten down, he kept getting back up.  He took hard bumps, he took kicks, and hits, and tosses like a champ, and every time he struggled to his feet, you believed that maybe, just maybe, he had a chance.  He's going on to bigger and better things, but Sami, when he locked in that submission move and Joe was out, gave real credibility to this match.  And I think it only helped him look stronger in the long run for it!  He submitted Joe.  Joe eventually got the win, as he should have, but it was truly a back and forth struggle that was completely fun to watch!

Kudos to Joe and Sami and NXT for putting on a match and showing the main roster that they better watch their backs because their spots can be taken like that and no one would even flinch about it.

photocredit to flickeringmyth.com

Raw Review - Up this week!

A lot happened last night at Raw.  Most of it was good, a lot of good storytelling, moving some plots along.  It worked.

First, let me say that I don't know if it's because I haven't seen him in so long, but when I see Shane McMahon, it makes me happy.  And he is aging very well I might add.  He's a very distinguished looking older gentleman.  Anyway, enough about that, he comes out, cuts a nice little promo, including his kids in the promo makes it hit to the heart that much more.  The gong hits and I, like I'm sure everyone else, was just waiting for this to hit go with the Undertaker only to be faked out by Vince.  I think what makes all of this work is how personal it all feels.  And it feels personal.  Because Shane really is out there doing a shoot on Vince, Stephanie, and the company as a whole.  He even, at one time, said to the crowd that the people getting pushed for no reason will not happen under his watch, which we all knows means Roman.  That's an interesting stance to take.  I'm just not sure how this is all going to work because it's not like Shane is fighting his dad and taking him to task for the things he's done to him.  He's fighting the Undertaker who doesn't have a dog in the race.  So, then Vince sends the security jobbers out to pull Shane out of the ring, which makes no sense because he said he would leave of his own accord.  It was all to show that Shane can still go.  Admittedly, the punches weren't the best in the world, but the knee shots and the adrenaline you felt watching him go again, more than made up for that one weakness.  And I loved the doubt that Vince was able to display on his face.  It was pretty convincing.

I don't remember the sequence of what all happened because I took my sleeping meds and they make me kind of loopy, but here goes what I remember.

Sasha banks is over as fuck.  Put her on TV more.  And have her interact with Becky.  That's where your money is.  I would like to see Naomi and Tamina feud.  One of them is tired of the other one always letting them down and so it's time to seek revenge.

That Kevin Owens match with Neville was great.  I love how vicious Kevin Owens is able to seem.  He's out there flying around the ring with the likes of Neville.  And he looks amazing.  He's a perfect heel.  After his win, he then attacks Neville and what happens next?  SAMI FUCKING ZAYN!  I love Sami!  I don't know why.  It's not even that I've seen all that many matches with him, because at this point I've seen Neville and Kevin more.  But I love Sami.  I love his enthusiasm for what he does.  I love how awesome he has been lately.  He's just stellar.  And I love his feud with Kevin.  When his music hit, both of my arms shot up into the air and I cheered.  It was an awesome moment.

Dean Ambrose comes out and cuts a promo against HHH, which he's so fucking amazing at doing.  Dean is money.  Solid money.  I wish he would get the push that he totally deserves.  He's saying a lot of the things that the fans want people to say.  And while he does look a little unhinged, he sells it so well.  I wish there was an actual long-lasting feud with HHH and Dean Ambrose.  But they sell me on the match this weekend between Dean and HHH.  I would watch it, regardless, but I'm not sold on wanting to see Dean smear his stupid face all over the mat.

Then we have two of the best segments of the show, in my opinion.  First, Ziggler vs. 3 members of the League of Unextrodinary Gentlemen (Sheamus, Rusev, and Barrett).  This match was actually fun to watch because I love that Ziggler threw up to Stephanie that he single handedly put the Authority out of business once.  She made the match and so here we go.  My one complaint about this match is this...Barrett is on his way out.  Why does he have to be the only member pinned by Dolph?  I actually hated that part.  But the rest of it was great.  Rusev is just money.  But it's a nice little anti-establishment story-line to set up for Dolph.

That tag team match was, by far, the best match of the night.  The New Days excelled, as they always do, but if AJ Styles didn't make believers out of people about how good he is, then there is no hope for you.  That flip off the top rope onto Kofi was spectacular to watch, and I watched it twice after the fact.  It was amazing!  And then we got the heel turn.  Styles took three code breakers from Jericho and Jericho was fucking perfection as the heel.  His reasoning for the turn is perfect.  Because while AJ was out there busting his ass, so was Jericho.  He was the one that took the pin.  He was the one that had Kofi and Big E done for.  He saved AJ from the pin from Big E.  And the people chanted AJ.  It's the perfect reasoning for the turn.

I know where they're going with the Tag Team, unfortunately.  And I know that it's going to be The New Day vs. the League of Unextrodinary Gentlemen.  And the day after WM, I'm sure we'll get Enzo and Cas.  And at this point, Enzo and Cas would be great foils to either New Day or the League.

And I want to say this about Jericho.  That man loves the business.  He goes out there and he sells and he does his fucking job like a fucking pro.  He puts over younger talent because it is "what's best for business."  He gives people what they want, and after all these years, he's still amazing to watch.  It's why he's still one of my favorites, heel or face.  Personally, I like him heel!

Speaking of Rusev, you can't mention him without mentioning Lana.  I see what's happening.  They're going to make Lana's first match against Brie Bella at Wrestlemania and have Lana go over.  Brie's on her way out, too.  I also love that Lana used Brie's own move against her.  Lana is the perfect heel to someone like Brie.  It just works.  I'll take more of this, please.  I know I've changed my tune, but I would like to see Lana get in the ring.  Everyone always says how awesome she is in the ring, it's about time we see it.

Then there was the main event, and Dean Ambrose deserves so much more than he gets.  You can tell that HHH likes Rollins, Ambrose, and Reigns and is willing to put them over.  I'm kind of down on him, a lot, but there is no denying he does realize talent.  Just look at NXT.  So, Ambrose got one over on HHH and laid him out and held the championship high.  It was a nice moment for Dean, and I hope that one day soon we actually get to see him hold that belt up for real as the champ.

photocredit to primaryignition.com

Injuries are killing WWE

I think the title really says it all, doesn't it?  In the last eight months, the list of injuries to the main roster for WWE has really shown us that they don't have a lot of depth in the roster, and that's their fault.

It seems like the shit really hit the fan when Daniel Bryan was reinjured.  After that we had Tyson Kid, Cesaro, Seth Rollins, Nikki Bella, John Cena, Randy Orton, and now we have Charlotte.  Even NXT hasn't been immune from this as Finn Balor, just a few short weeks ago, was sidelined (briefly) with an injury.

So, what's the problem?  Why is this happening?  My theory is that the roster is so thin, these guys and gals are having to put their bodies on the line more often than in the past.  Years ago, you could have had someone like Rikishi headline a house show and done well.  Now, your main event guys/gals are doing double duty.  Just look at Raw.  How many times we do sometimes see Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns, or the New Day in segments?  It's because they haven't built anyone else up.

Now, Charlotte is injured.  No telling how long she'll be out and if she will be able to compete at Wrestlemania.  That does give the opportunity for maybe a tournament in the divas division.  Bring Emma and Asuka and Bayley up, let them battle it out, and you definitely need Becky and Sasha to headline this thing.  The truth is, the Divas division isn't as thin as it has been in the past.  Nikki, last year, seemed to be doing most of it on her own (because that's how they designed it).  But with the addition of Sasha, Becky, and Charlotte to the roster, it added some depth.  And I was really hoping for a triple threat at Mania with Becky, Sasha, and Charlotte.  But I would be okay with it being Becky and Sasha.  They've more than proven that their matches can be awesome to watch and they can be relied upon to tell a convincing story.

But this all goes back to the WWE's error in feeling that there should be only "one" guy representing the company.  What happens if Roman Reigns gets hurt?  John Cena, as of now, is already out and may be out for Mania.  So where would that leave the WWE if Roman was to get hurt?  You pull the trigger on Dean and put him in the main event?  I would watch the shit out of Dean and HHH.  But it shows their lack of foresight.  Bray Wyatt (had he been booked correctly) could be a monster face at this time.  As I heard someone else say recently (I don't remember who, maybe WhatCulture?) Bray's entrance is a Babyface entrance.  Not a heel.  The people are into that entrance and I think they want to be into him.  But they've killed their momentum in such a huge way.

When an injury happens, it only highlights the flaws of the "Face of the Company" concept.  You need more than one.  You need a back up plan.  You need a back up for your back up.  No one is promised tomorrow, and with this line of work, these guys and girls are putting themselves out there to truly get hurt for our entertainment.  They deserve better than half ass storylines and build up of only one person.  You can have more than one top name in your company.  You've proven that in the past.  Time to invest in some other talent in the WWE and let them shine.  Kevin Owens, AJ Styles, Dean Ambrose, Cesaro (when he comes back) all deserve to be pushed to the top and pushed with the same kind of enthusiasm that you've given Roman.

And let me say this, I like Roman Reigns.  He's come leaps and bounds from where he was last year at this time.  He's had some really good matches, he's gotten better on the mic (although you still let him talk to much), and kids like him (which is a big selling point as with what we've seen from Cena, where the kids go, so goes the money).  But you could have all of that with others if they only got a pinch of the same support that Roman has received.  Time to pull the trigger.  Make others that are there for the long haul shine.

photocredit to wrestlezone.com

Anatomy of a Match - Emma vs. Asuka - NXT Takeover London

The Anatomy of a Match

I love the idea of picking a match I absolutely loved and breaking down all the parts of it that make it powerful or just make it work.  And I think it’s fitting that the first match I start off with is two women that I don’t feel like are getting enough attention.  I have to say that I’ve watched this match more than I’ve watched any other from the women’s division of NXT.  And as much as I love Becky, Sasha, Charlotte, and Bayley, I actually enjoyed this match more.  And I’ll fill in why I think this match worked so well.

Match 1: NXT Takeover: London

Emma (with Dana Brooke) vs. Asuka

Asuka makes her way to the ring to a thunderous ovation.  The thing that works about Asuka is she doesn’t even have to say anything, really. The crowd is into her, she has this sweet and innocent look about her face, but when you watch her wrestle, she’s the real deal.  I have no doubt that she could really hurt someone if she put her mind to it.  And that’s why she’s such a joy to watch.  Her movements are fluid, her character is solid, and she understands the psychology that goes into making a great match.  From the second her music hits, the crowd is into her and she walked to the ring with that disarming mask on and when she strips the mask off and coyly bites the edge, she’s letting a little cuteness come through, but everyone knows that part of her is an act.  She’s a cold blooded ring master and her opponent is going to pay.

And speaking of her opponent, when Emma was on the main roster, I don’t think they really knew what to do with her.  The made her a comedy act, which, in my opinion, really didn’t work.  Instead, put her with Dana Brooke, turn up her arrogance and conceit and Emma sells her self.  And Dana should be given some credit here, too.  You dislike the both of them so much you can’t wait until they get what’s coming to them.  As Emma makes her way to the ring, there are boos, as there should be for a heel.  Not to mention that Emma also got one over on Asuka a few weeks before and Dana and Emma have been making Asuka feel as unwelcome as possible.

Emma gets in the ring, points at herself, and tells Asuka that it’s all about her.

And here’s where things get interesting.  I’ve heard people complain about the audience in London.  But I actually loved it!  I would love to see the people in the states get so into these matches that they chant stuff.  And my favorite chant of the night was “Asuka’s gonna kill you”.  It shows the respect that they have for Asuka and the fact that no one really gave Emma a fair shake.

Asuka’s reaction to this chant, though, is my favorite.  She starts dancing to it, and cheering them on.  She’s selling the hell out of being a bad ass.  Her cheeky smile, her flashy ring attire, all hiding the vicious ass kicker underneath.

You can tell from the first lock up with Emma and Asuka that this match is going to be fierce.  Before that lock up even happens, though, Asuka tries a round house kick to Emma’s face.  Good ring presence on both ladies’ parts as Emma didn’t get kicked in the face.  The exchange they have a first with the multiple arm holds and such a great flurry of movement.  Cory Graves on commentary is stellar in this match.  He’s actually the best.  And calling the moves and noting the skill of Asuka.  The arm bar that Asuka put Emma in looks fierce.  The many screams that Asuka releases, whether its offense or defense she’s one, she’s amazing.

But nothing is to take away from how great Emma is in this match.  She’s not laying down and just taking punishment.  She gets some really great offense in, she actually made me believe that she could possibly win this.  And this match and Emma were a much better foil to Asuka than Dana Brooke.  Emma shows a vicious streak, and her skill is not to be denied.  They both know how to tell a compelling story, and the story is that no matter what Emma and Dana try to level at Asuka, she’s able to counter it and come out stronger.

Now, when Dana throws in the belt and Asuka is caught with it, I just knew it was over and she was going to be disqualified.  However, they managed to get through that part and have a truly satisfying ending with Dana getting sent away and Asuka defeating Emma fair and square.  It was one of the few satisfying matches I saw on this card, and I think it was by far the best on the entire show.

These women started the show and made it truly hard for anyone to follow it.  The crowd was into it the whole time, and it was a great psychological match as well as a great physical match.  They both had great offense and killed it.  I can still sit, months after this happened, and watch this match. 

photocredit to dailyddt.com

Raw Review - Leap Year Means Leap Around?

I'm not a hundred percent what they were trying to do with this episode of Raw.  It proved that the roster is really thin, so that was accomplished, but as for furthering story lines, that weren't the women, no idea why any of this happened.

I did like Dean's promo against HHH.  Dean is so over.  People love him.  And they love that it doesn't matter how much you beat the shit out of him, he's still there, he's still taunting you, and he seems to be crazy.  It's part of his appeal.  And Dean is the perfect foil to the authority.

The Sasha vs Becky match was good for the whole three minutes it was on TV.  And the finish was just like Samoa Joe vs. Sami Zayn.  It's a crap finish but I do think it's helping to set up for the three-way match at Mania.  If they do that, then I'm not sure how much I would like it if Snoop is in Becky's corner with Ric in Charlotte's corner.  Who's there for Becky?  Unless you plan to allow Becky to come out on top, which I can't imagine at this point in a three-way match as I see her there only so Sasha doesn't pin Charlotte clean.  Anyway, this was one of the few angles that seems to be moving in the right direction.

Don't care about Ryback.  At all.  Don't care about the Social Outcasts.

AJ Styles is entirely too good to be stuck in a group.  Jericho is entirely too good to be stuck in a group.  Turn Jericho heel and be done with it.

I'm not sure what has happened to the New Day.  There used to be an anticipation to seeing them come out, but now it's just the same ole same ole.  And it's not their fault.  It's management because they've over saturated the product with them to the point when I don't really care if I ever see them again.  Also, are they trying to turn them face?  Why?  That doesn't make any sense.  They're excellent heels.  The WWE has so few truly good heels.  Bring up Cas and Enzo and let them battle against them.  They're someone who could have really good promo battles against the New Day and give them new things to say.  I understand that they're still in a feud with Dash and Dawson in NXT, but move them up.  It's time.

Break up the League, please.  ADR and Rusev are both better than this group.  And Barrett is in his last go with the company.  Pull him out of there and let him have a good singles run before he leaves.You get three good heels out of that group and I don't really care what happens to Sheamus.

I do like the idea of Brie and Lana feuding.  Everyone keeps talking about how great Lana is in the ring, well, let's see.  Brie is a great first opponent for her.  I'd like to see that match.

Stephanie was the one bright spot on this show.  I'm not sure what's going to happen exactly, but I feel like something big is coming.  I can't see them keeping Shane off TV for long considering they want to build up this feud between Taker and Shane.  But I feel like the biggest build up is Shane vs. Stephanie.

And then there's the spot with the Undertaker and Vince.  Taker's intro took longer than anything else.  Also, I don't understand the Vince hatred on Shane.  So, he has something on his dad.  Blackmail only works if you let it.  So, just expose your secrets.  And then there's the disowning Shane.  But the truth is that all the stuff Shane said last week, was true.  So, if they're going to use it as Stephanie and HHH are at fault for the decline of WWE (which I think we can all agree is not their fault as the success of NXT proves that at least HHH understands what should be happening) then wouldn't it make sense that Vince would at least give Shane a chance?  And what if this is all a swerve.

But here was my biggest issue with this entire thing...it took Taker longer to walk to the ring than anything he actually said.  And are we supposed to be against Taker?  Are we supposed to be against Shane?  There is no heel in this situation except for Vince and that doesn't work because we're supposed to assume that Taker is willing to do Vince's bidding for what purpose?  I just don't understand this.

That's the big take away from this episode.  I don't understand anything that's happening.  Promos are supposed to make clear what's happening.  Nothing is clear.  Everything is murky.  They wouldn't actually put the belt on Ambrose just to have Roman take it from him, would they?  He'd be the most hated person in the company.  He's already beat Ambrose more times than I like to count.  Ambrose is over as fuck and it just makes no sense what's happening unless HHH starts beating him up next week and Roman saves him.  But that doesn't help establish Ambrose as a bad ass.  It establishes him as Reigns' little brother that needs saving.

Keep in mind I used to watch teen dramas so I'm willing to take a leap of faith with you about story line, but so far none of this really makes sense.

photocredit to techtimes.com

Diva's Revolution? How About A Women's Revolution?

The Diva’s Revolution – Problems and Suggestions on How to Fix It!

So, last year at Wrestlemania, AJ Lee had her final match, a tag team match, with Paige, Nikki, and Brie Bella.  Paige and AJ won, thank God, but it was hardly a fitting send off for AJ.  She retired a few days later.  Good for her.  Live your life and be happy!  Make cute short babies with CM Punk. 

But I think that was the last time I was actually excited about a Diva’s match in a long time.  AJ had a natural charisma.  It’s something the division was missing after she left.  That’s not to say the ones that were still there didn’t have what it took to be on top.  But was Nikki a Trish Stratus or Lita?  No.  She’s a much better heel than a face.  But there was so much missed opportunity with the Diva’s division.

Meanwhile, in NXT, the Women’s Division was setting the world on fire!  You had truly athletic women fighting for a belt that didn’t look like a butterfly but actually looked like a belt!  And it wasn’t called the Diva’s division.  They were women and they were making their voices heard!  Charlotte, Becky, Bayley, and Sasha had a helluva four-way match, then Charlotte and Sasha had a great title match!  I’ll never forget the image of Sasha slapping Chartlotte with a blond hair extension!  CLASSIC.

And while this was happening, the Diva’s division on the main roster languished.  Matches between Paige and the Bellas were dull.  Naomi turning heel was a surprise, but not one big enough to really matter.  And then the WWE did something surprising, they brought three of the four women to the main roster.  Introduced them as part of the Diva’s revolution.

Charlotte, Becky, and Paige (Team PCB); Naomi, Tamina, and Sasha (Team B.A.D); and Nikki, Brie, and Alicia Fox (Team Bella) were all set off against each other and they actually had the new ladies put Team Bella in all of their finishing moves.  It was a sight to behold.

But here’s the problem, you left out Nattie.  One of the few women who actually had credibility as a wrestler.  True, she didn’t fit on a “team” and her husband was injured, but the truth is she was probably ready to go at a moment’s notice.  Nattie never has received the recognition she deserves as a wrestler. 

And let me say this:  fuck the term “Diva”.  That term may have fit for the likes of Michele McCool but it doesn’t work in today’s terms.  Diva has a negative connotation.  Doesn’t matter what you call your stupid reality show, it’s negative.  Most women would not like to be called a Diva.  In fact, to me it’s as insulting as the word Bitch.  I don’t think “Total Bitches” would sell as well as “Total Divas”.  Do you?

Back to my point:  it was a nice idea, but these women never needed to be paired up.  They were excellent individually.  And when Team PCB started to crumble, I was relieved.  I can only see so many tag team matches that I want to stab my eyes out. 

So, here’s my suggestion on how to fix the problems:

1. Drop the term Diva.  It’s as antiquated as Vince’s balls.  Women.  Women’s Title.  Women’s Division.  It still amazes me that Vince seemingly has such a disdain for the fairer sex, yet he pushes his daughter out into the lime light as this bastion of virtue.  She’s a great philanthropist.  She’s a great heel.  But, I don’t think she would appreciate being called a Diva.  And if she does, then that’s your fault, Vince.  She deserves better.  All these women deserve better.  
2. That title is ridiculous.  Change the belt.  Why are the women walking around with a belt that looks like a butterfly when the men aren’t walking around with a belt that looks like a barbell or a steroid shot.  Make it look like a real title belt. 
3. Have the announcers actually show respect to them.  They don’t call their moves.  They don’t even really pay attention to the match!  In at least once instance during every women’s match, Michael Cole gets at least one of their names wrong.  That’s unacceptable.  I realize Michael Cole isn’t the best announcer example, but he’s the lead one for Raw.  Mauro is actually great.  He calls moves, he’s into the match, and he pays attention. 
4. I don’t care about what happens on Total Divas and none of the shit that happens there should have any bearing on what’s happening in the ring.  Considering that “Total Divas” is shot MONTHS in advance of what we’re actually seeing, it makes no sense why these women are clashing months after that shit happened.  I don’t care if Alicia Fox and Paige had an argument on Total Divas.  If I did, I’d watch it!  Tell the story on Raw or Smackdown.  You have three hours of Raw to fill.  Are you telling me you can’t craft storylines there? 
5. Sasha is over as hell.  She needs to be out there more, but not so in your face that you groan when she does come out.  Have her on the mic!  She’s brilliant.  Have Becky stop making puns!  And why is she dressed like a Steampunk Stripper? 
6. I’m tired of the motivations for these women fighting to be catty reasons.  I like the current story with Sasha, Becky, and Charlotte right now in that Becky and Sasha wants the belt.  But the Sasha break up with Naomi and Tamina is just…sad.  It should have happened a long time ago and Sasha should be getting more mic time. 
7. Get rid of Flair.  I understand that people love Ric Flair.  But…I don’t want to see him grabbing one of these young women and laying a kiss on them.  That’s assault, brother!  This is not the 50s or even the 80s.  There is no reason for him to be out there, forcing himself on someone.  It’s not funny!  It’s gross.  Poor Becky!
8. Have the women fight over the belt, not petty shit.  Have them fight because they like the competition and want to prove they are the best (much like Sasha is going after Charlotte).  It’s nothing personal, it’s just business.  I’m ok with that.  I don’t like it when you make women look petty and small and just catty with each other.

Those are just my simple suggestions.  I kind of hope they make the match at Wrestlemania Charlotte vs. Sasha vs. Becky.  But I want Sasha to pin Charlotte clean.  I want those ladies to have a true Wrestlemania moment, and then the next night, I want to see Bayley debut and go after Sasha for the belt as she was the one that dethroned Sasha in NXT.  That’s a storyline. 

Suggestions for the other ladies?  Nikki comes back around Summerslam (if she’s physically able) to challenge Sasha for the belt.  I would be willing to watch Nikki get her ass handed to her by Sasha.  But I do feel like, eventually, Becky should get the belt.  She’s a great baby face!  Give her a run with it, maybe between Sasha and Bayley or something.

Becky could even go and feud with Paige.  Paige kind of gets lost in the shuffle of the new women coming into the division, but I don’t think she should be forgotten and I think that’s the angle you use.  She could be a power heel if you have her start sneak attacking the new girls.  All of them.  Sasha, Charlotte, and Becky and even Bayley once she gets called up.  Have her really heel it up.  Attack people in parking lots or during their entrances.  Have her shoot on people cheering her when she arrived but they turned on her once the others got there. 

Alicia Fox is still decent enough to put others over.  Give her some time with quality matches and let her actually bring them into their own.  Have her win a few matches to build her up.  You could even have her attacking others from behind or maybe trying to thwart Paige in her attacks against the others.  That would set up a good feud with Paige with Paige eventually coming out on top.  But the only way that works is if you build Alicia up, first, before letting her get beat.  Maybe she turns on Brie because she lost against Charlotte.  Maybe she gets attacked by Naomi and Tamina and put out for a while so she makes a huge come back save for someone, but makes it clear they are not friends.  She’s simply out for revenge. 

As for Nattie, she’s still awesome in the ring.  She can still go and she’s fun to watch and the fans are mostly behind her.  If the others can use Ric against Charlotte, use her uncles and father against Natty.  Have Natty prove herself in the ring.  Eventually Emma will be back (at least I hope she will) and Asuka will be called up (because she’s fucking amazing!) so you have opponents that need women that can go in the ring and Nattie is one of those!  She can sell and she needs to win a few to look powerful.  It’s the same with Alicia Fox.  It only works if their victories are important and in a line.

So, all in all, there are adjustments to be made.  I think Wrestlemania will make the “Diva’s” division stand out.  Women are capable of putting on excellent matches.  Watch Bayley vs. Sasha in Brooklyn and then watch their Ironman Match.  They’re awesome.  They can go.  Give them the time and the writing to let them shine.  Get some writers to actually just be dedicated to coming up with storylines for them.  That should work.  Hell, something is working in NXT and there seems to be a huge disconnect.

Come on, WWE.  Give us a “Women’s Revolution”.  Not a “Diva’s Revolution”.

Review of Monday Night Raw for 1-22-2016 - The Return of SHANE-O MAC!

Wrestling is a strange product.  Just when you think, "My God, they've completely lost their way," the WWE manages to shock you.

I'll be honest in that I knew that award was a joke.  I actually thought they were going to give it to HHH and then have Roman come out and hit him with a chair again, or something.  I just didn't think it was legitimate.  Especially not the way they were hyping it.  And if it was real, I was certain that the recipient would be Daniel Bryan.  Detroit would have popped hard for him.

But that's not what happened.  Instead, we have some self congratulating from Vince then he introduces the recipient, Stephanie.  Let me say this, she is BRILLIANT as a heel.  She speaks well, she's powerful, and when she loses it and her voice gets all shrill, she's AMAZING!  But I think the problem with Stephanie is that she never seems to get what she deserves.  Don't tell me that she watched her dad and husband get beat up.  Please.  Her husband is a wrestler and her dad owns a wrestling company and was once involved in hardcore matches with her brother.  There's a certain amount of her family getting beat up that she has to expect.  I don't feel like that's a punishment.   In the past she suffered a Rock Bottom and a Stunner, but this is the PG era and they don't do that anymore.

With all that said, this was the perfect foil to Stephanie.  And the motivation for Shane to come back totally makes sense!  It's brilliant, actually.  Stephanie, in the ring to accept the award, when all the sudden "HERE COMES THE MONEY" blasts from the speakers and the audience quickly loses their minds and Vince and Steph sell the shock as only two veterans like them could.  Shane comes out, does his little dance (and I'll ignore the goofy shoes because he's Shane and can do whatever the fuck he wants), and the crowd is just so into it.  It's probably the most I've seen a crowd into something since Daniel Bryan turned on the Wyatt's.  I think it even stunned Shane.  You could actually see him visibly react to the reaction.

As for this segment, Shane hinted that there was something that Steph didn't know, that she was only in charge because he allowed her to be, and that if Shane wins, it could be huge.  But Shane vs. the Undertaker?  Not sure how I feel about that.  I can't see them allowing Taker to lose, but hinting at something new on the horizon, with Shane in charge, a baby-face manager of Raw, hints at all the right things.  I know Vince will still be in control (it's not real to me, dammit), but the fact that Shane is back is awesome.

--

Dean Ambrose vs. Brock Lesnar in a street fight sounds like it could be amazing!  I figure Brock is probably gone after WM for a while.  I put my money on Dean winning this round, but I also see Dean getting the shit beaten out of him up until that time.  I think the psychology of that is just that Dean can take the beating, the punishment, to a higher degree than even Roman.  If he conquers the beast, then he's on track to be a top dog.  I could see him and Reigns have a helluva feud, especially once Roman has the title.  And they should put that title on Ambrose at Summerslam and have him lose it only to Rollins.  Ambrose vs. Rollins vs. Reigns is where the real money is.  And I could totally see a reunion of the Shield by Wrestlmania 33.  Although, they would post-pone that until the big WM at 35.  That's not that far away and who knows what kind of road these guys will have by then.

But I think Dean going over Lesnar doesn't hurt Lesnar but only helps Ambrose.

--

Charlotte vs. Becky vs. Sasha should be the match at Wrestlmania, but if that's not it, then it should be Charlotte vs. Sasha with Sasha going over at WM.  Sasha and Becky are awesome, and I can tell that Charlotte is doing a great job as a heel given how much I don't like her.  I like her less than I liked Nikki and that's saying something.

--

I really wish they would premier Cas and Enzo before WM.  I would love to see some promo battles between them and the New Day.  In fact, it's sad when I'm not excited to see The New Day anymore.  I just don't feel like they have a credible foe.  I don't consider anyone on the roster, at the moment, as the ones to bring them down and put them in their place.  It's time for some new blood, some new feuds.  And I think Cas and Enzo are exactly what the tag team division needs.

--

Please disband the League of Unextrodinary Gentlemen.  That group isn't doing any of those guys a bit of good.  It's not like the Social Outcasts, who actually kind of need each other as it gives those guys something to do.  Alberto Del Rio, Rusev, Barrett, and even Sheamus are all big enough stars in the singles arena that they don't need to be in a group.  Their purpose was to put over Roman.  Mission was accomplished for like a week.  But now they're hanging together with no specific purpose.

And how long must Rusev and Lana be punished?  They saved all of us from a horrific story line.  No one cared.  In fact, most people were happy for Rusev and Lana because, and this is the truth, we're not as fucking stupid as the writers for WWE would like us to be.  This isn't Dawson's Creek.  The only time people on this show care about couples is when the chick screws the guy out of a win.  That's when they're interesting.  You had something so good with Lana, as she reminded me of the love Sable used to get, and you just fucked that up because...actually not even sure of the reason!

And this is Barrett's last go!  Get him out of that group and let him have a few matches where he excels on his own!  Two years ago, I watched a match between Barrett and Ziggler that I remembered thinking was an awesome match 8 months after it happened.  And it was on Raw.  It's not like it was a big PPV match. But they both looked excellent.  Barrett has it in him.  Let him show it.

And I have a hard time believing that Del Rio came back on board just to be stuck with a group.  Yes, he had a run with the U.S. Belt.  But that can't be all they have in mind.  I like his feud with Calisto.  I think their styles really mesh well.  Have him go after the luchadores.  I know people say leave the mask alone, but that's great heel heat.  To me, he's really the only one that builds the heat he should be building as a bad guy.

And Sheamus...I don't care what happens to him.  It's not that I dislike him, I'm just apathetic towards him and his character.  Blech.

--

So, HHH vs. Roman is actually happening.  Roman spends ten minutes getting beaten up by the League only for HHH to come out with his hands wrapped, a REALLY tight t-shirt and jeans on, and we're supposed to be scared?  Also, until I saw the video, I legit thought that Roman was bleeding of his own accord.  Sometimes you don't want to know how the magic happens, you just want to enjoy it.

--

Well, that's it.  I actually think the award could have been saved for last as all I could think about the rest of Raw was the implication that Shane would be in Hell in a Cell with the Undertaker.  But I guess it would have been too hard to hide him for three hours in the building.  But I go back to, 'why would Taker want to be in this match?'  It doesn't make any sense.  And is Shane really the best option to figure against Taker?  I'm sure Shane can probably keep up with Taker, as he has done a lot of  stuff in the past that I never thought he would be capable of, but still...I just feel like there's going to be more to it.

So, that's all!  Share you thoughts or comments below.  I'm probably going to do a post about the problems with the Diva's revolution from a woman's perspective, but I'm going to really take some time to draft that all out.

Until next time, everyone!

photocredit to al.com