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