This is the second post (in a series of 3) that will look at the WWE pay-per-view calender and what each contributes to the year.
The events focused on here will be: Over the Limit, No Way Out, Money in the Bank, Summerslam and Night of Champions. There will also be a brief look at King of the Ring, which was also a gimmicky pay-per-view that ended ten years ago.
Over the Limit - May
Previously, this event was known as Judgement Day and not much has really changed. Like it's previous incarnation, Over the Limit has been a show that has a card full of regular singles matches (and where needed; title matches).
The key difference [between Over the Limit and Judgement Day] has been the main events on these shows in the last three years. In both 2010 and 2011, there were 'I Quit' matches to determine the winners. In 2012, the theme slightly changed and had a match whereby John Laurinaitis (GM) would be fired if he were to lose. In all three years there has been a quitting/firing element to it. This could easily be gotten rid of in favour of the a regular card with normal matches populating it.
No Way Out - June
No Way Out was, until 2009, traditionally a February based pay-per-view - it was then renamed Elimination Chamber as this match type was the main feature of that event.
Looking through the history of this event, the common theme has either been Steel Cage matches or number one contender matches leading into Wrestlemania. The 2012 edition continued this theme as there was a Steel Cage match with jobs on the line. This event was better suited to the February slot that it previously occupied. Leading into Wrestlemania, it was exciting to have a number one contenders match half way between the Royal Rumble and Wrestlemania. This event will likely have a change of name for next year.
King of the Ring - June - 1993-2002
The month of June seems to have had the most messing with when it comes to WWE pay-per-views. Since the last edition of the King of the Ring in 2002, June has presented us with Bad Blood, The Great American Bash and Vengeance just to name a few.
Originally, the King of the Ring started in the 1980s and had such winners as Harley Race, Ted DiBiase and Tito Santana. It became the fifth major event of the year when it was promoted to pay-per-view status in 1993, and was won by the legendary Bret 'Hitman' Hart.
By winning this tournament, it was seen as a signal of intent that you would then receive a push into the main event level. A few have failed in this position (Mabel, Billy Gunn) but the last [in pay-per-view form], and most notable winner certainly took his chance and ran with it - Brock Lesnar.
To sum up, this event was a welcome addition to the pay-per-view calender in 1993 - it was a half way point between Wrestlemania and Summerslam and brought something different to the year. It was unique as it was a tournament based event and it's winner would all but be guaranteed main event status.
Money in the Bank - July
The Money in the Bank pay-per-view is similar to Elimination Chamber, Hell in a Cell and TLC in that it was an individual match type that has been given its own event in the year.
The first Money in the Bank match took place at Wrestlemania 21 in 2005 and was won by Edge. This elevated an already rising star, and added a very exciting element of surprise to proceedings as the contract could (and can be) 'cashed in' at anytime in the year that follows the win. All but two people - John Cena and Mr Kennedy - have won and not become champion as a result. This is definitely a match where you are thrust into the World/WWE title picture; either straight away or within that year that the briefcase/contract is held.
Since moving to the July pay-per-view slot, there have been two Money in the Bank winners each year - one having an opportunity at the Raw/WWE Champion and one gaining the chance to challenge for the World Title on Smackdown.
Although this way of doing things creates a chance for two new stars, I feel that it has, and will weaken the prestige/surprise involved in winning this match. If they were to have one MITB match and the winner could go for whichever champion, then this would make things a little more unpredictable. I think this will be the case as of next year as a result of the Supershows - everyone is on both shows anyway now.
Summerslam - August
Much like Wrestlemania, Summerslam is the second biggest show of the year. Five months or so after 'Mania; this show deals with the biggest matches of the summer. In some cases, feuds that go the distance from Wrestlemania could continue/end at this grand stage of the summer period.
This event is one of the original 'big four' and should continue to be a mainstay. As it is the second main show of the year, it is therefore a second chance to make a name for yourself and get to the next level with a show stealing performance.
Night of Champions - September
Night of Champions, in its current format debuted in 2007. It started as a June event, July in 2009 and has now been a September mainstay since 2010. Previously, this event was know as Vengeance and Vengeance: Night of Champions before dropping the prefix.
After this change, this events theme became exactly as it seems - a night where all championships are defended. The more I think about this event, the more I really like it - it has several title matches and these are regular matches with [usually] no stipulations. The emphasis is mainly on the things that should have meaning - the championships.
Coming soon: Part 3 - the final instalment looking at the Gimmick Pay-Per-Views within WWE and what they contribute... follow me on Twitter @jimmosangle to keep up with my latest posts/articles
"I'm not here to make a mark; I'm here to leave a scar" - Corey Graves
Thursday 29 November 2012
Tuesday 27 November 2012
Gimmick Pay-Per-Views (Part 1)
I got thinking about gimmick pay-per-views after the Hell in a Cell PPV in October. This called out to me because it featured a Hell in a Cell match between WWE Champion CM Punk and a relative newcomer, Ryback. This type of match was not warranted for how far along their feud they were. Granted, Ryback was a last minute addition to this match to cover for the injured John Cena, but it highlighted something that has been going on for some time now.
It occurred to me that the timing of such gimmick pay-per-views might not help/make sense during the course of a feud. In the next three posts I'm going to attempt to breakdown the pay-per-view calender and see what each contributes, and to see if they are helping or hindering feuds throughout the year. I will use the events from the 2012 calender.
This first post will concentrate on the first four pay-per-views of the year; Royal Rumble, Elimination Chamber, Wrestlemania (briefly) and Extreme Rules.
Royal Rumble - January
The Royal Rumble is considered one of the 'big four' events of the year. It stands alone in being the only event that has a 30-man over-the-top-rope (battle royal variation) match [usually] as it's main event. This is also an event that doesn't rely on anything other than the wrestlers (no cages/cells/ladders etc). Since 1993, the Royal Rumble winner has earned the right to challenge for the WWE Championship and main event at Wrestlemania. This privilege was slightly changed in 2004 when the winner could choose from the two champions that WWE had on offer (at the time, Raw had the World Heavyweight Championship and Smackdown had the WWE Championship). This added an extra element of unpredictability to winning this prestigious match type.
Overall, this match is a great tradition of the pay-per-view calender. It is, and always needs to be, a mainstay on the WWE event calender. The only knock to its credit in the last couple of years is that the winners (Alberto Del Rio (2011) and Sheamus (2012)) have gone onto challenge for the World Heavyweight Championship but have been first on the card - this has got to change otherwise it could start to be seen as a worthless match to win in future.
Elimination Chamber - February
The Elimination Chamber match was introduced to the WWE audience by Eric Bischoff on the October 21st 2002 episode of Raw. It was presented as being a 'demonic' structure and a career ender. That being said, the first few Chamber matches were brutal and gruelling. In the last few years they have been toned down as the PG era took over (2008). Originally, this PPV was named 'No Way Out', with the 2008 and 2009 Chamber matches taking place at this event, before being renamed to coincide with the feature match.
Each year (since 2008) this event has either decided the champions of both Raw and Smackdown or the number one contenders to either titles leading into Wrestlemania. Ideally they should be for the titles as the number one contender would have already been decided at the previous month's Royal Rumble.
Also ideally, this match should not be an annual attraction. It should be used when needed - possibly when there are several contenders vying for whichever title is on their show (Raw/Smackdown). By having it in the February pay-per-view spot it almost looks like an unnecessary challenge leading to Wrestlemania - there's already been a Royal Rumble in January and now this?!
Wrestlemania - Late March/Early April
This event is by far the 'granddaddy of them all', the Superbowl of wrestling, the greatest chance to shine. This is where the biggest matches of the year happen and the largest effort happens. This is also where the most famous stars come together - in recent years Floyd 'Money' Mayweather jr has been part of the festivities. In the 80s Mr T and Cyndi Lauper graced the big stage, and in the 90s Pamela Anderson and Mike Tyson associated themselves with Wrestlemania.
This event's place on the calender is not in doubt as it is the ultimate place to get yourself recognised. Feuds are generally at boiling point leading into this event and a place on the card usually backs this up.
Extreme Rules - April
As the name suggests, this event's matches are all contested under extreme rules. This has been in a variety of ways such as strap matches, falls count anywhere matches, 2-out-of-3-falls matches and tables matches.
This event was previously called 'One Night Stand' and was scheduled in June. This was originally an ECW revival event and then continued with the hardcore ways into the new name.
Compared with the Elimination Chamber and Hell in a Cell (to be explored in a later post) pay-per-views, this event has match types that are perceived as less brutal/less of an attraction. This event could easily be renamed and toned down to just having regular matches.
Coming soon: Part 2 of 'Gimmick Pay-Per-Views' - the continuation of looking at the WWE pay-per-views and what they contribute... follow me on Twitter @jimmosangle to keep up with my latest posts/articles
It occurred to me that the timing of such gimmick pay-per-views might not help/make sense during the course of a feud. In the next three posts I'm going to attempt to breakdown the pay-per-view calender and see what each contributes, and to see if they are helping or hindering feuds throughout the year. I will use the events from the 2012 calender.
This first post will concentrate on the first four pay-per-views of the year; Royal Rumble, Elimination Chamber, Wrestlemania (briefly) and Extreme Rules.
Royal Rumble - January
The Royal Rumble is considered one of the 'big four' events of the year. It stands alone in being the only event that has a 30-man over-the-top-rope (battle royal variation) match [usually] as it's main event. This is also an event that doesn't rely on anything other than the wrestlers (no cages/cells/ladders etc). Since 1993, the Royal Rumble winner has earned the right to challenge for the WWE Championship and main event at Wrestlemania. This privilege was slightly changed in 2004 when the winner could choose from the two champions that WWE had on offer (at the time, Raw had the World Heavyweight Championship and Smackdown had the WWE Championship). This added an extra element of unpredictability to winning this prestigious match type.
Overall, this match is a great tradition of the pay-per-view calender. It is, and always needs to be, a mainstay on the WWE event calender. The only knock to its credit in the last couple of years is that the winners (Alberto Del Rio (2011) and Sheamus (2012)) have gone onto challenge for the World Heavyweight Championship but have been first on the card - this has got to change otherwise it could start to be seen as a worthless match to win in future.
Elimination Chamber - February
The Elimination Chamber match was introduced to the WWE audience by Eric Bischoff on the October 21st 2002 episode of Raw. It was presented as being a 'demonic' structure and a career ender. That being said, the first few Chamber matches were brutal and gruelling. In the last few years they have been toned down as the PG era took over (2008). Originally, this PPV was named 'No Way Out', with the 2008 and 2009 Chamber matches taking place at this event, before being renamed to coincide with the feature match.
Each year (since 2008) this event has either decided the champions of both Raw and Smackdown or the number one contenders to either titles leading into Wrestlemania. Ideally they should be for the titles as the number one contender would have already been decided at the previous month's Royal Rumble.
Also ideally, this match should not be an annual attraction. It should be used when needed - possibly when there are several contenders vying for whichever title is on their show (Raw/Smackdown). By having it in the February pay-per-view spot it almost looks like an unnecessary challenge leading to Wrestlemania - there's already been a Royal Rumble in January and now this?!
Wrestlemania - Late March/Early April
This event is by far the 'granddaddy of them all', the Superbowl of wrestling, the greatest chance to shine. This is where the biggest matches of the year happen and the largest effort happens. This is also where the most famous stars come together - in recent years Floyd 'Money' Mayweather jr has been part of the festivities. In the 80s Mr T and Cyndi Lauper graced the big stage, and in the 90s Pamela Anderson and Mike Tyson associated themselves with Wrestlemania.
This event's place on the calender is not in doubt as it is the ultimate place to get yourself recognised. Feuds are generally at boiling point leading into this event and a place on the card usually backs this up.
Extreme Rules - April
As the name suggests, this event's matches are all contested under extreme rules. This has been in a variety of ways such as strap matches, falls count anywhere matches, 2-out-of-3-falls matches and tables matches.
This event was previously called 'One Night Stand' and was scheduled in June. This was originally an ECW revival event and then continued with the hardcore ways into the new name.
Compared with the Elimination Chamber and Hell in a Cell (to be explored in a later post) pay-per-views, this event has match types that are perceived as less brutal/less of an attraction. This event could easily be renamed and toned down to just having regular matches.
Coming soon: Part 2 of 'Gimmick Pay-Per-Views' - the continuation of looking at the WWE pay-per-views and what they contribute... follow me on Twitter @jimmosangle to keep up with my latest posts/articles
WWE Raw rant 26/11/2012
I felt this weeks show was really good and actually had direction for the next few weeks. It had several areas where there was intrigue into what will happen next - this hasn't happened in a while for me.
I'm going to take a more in depth look at the rest of the show instead of my usual of just focusing on the 'main' parts - obviously these will still get the focus that they deserve!
Ryback vs Titus & Vickie segment
The show started by recapping the 'scandal' of two single people dating. Remember kids; it's now a scandal to date a fellow single person...
After a stretched out squash (where I swear Ryback kicked out of Titus' finisher after 1?!) Ryback got on the mic to tell us he's hungry for the third week running. The 'security' guys (where can I get myself one of them?) came out to confront Ryback, ready for the arrival of Vickie. Ryback seemed to get what he wanted just by breathing heavy towards Vickie - at TLC it will be CM Punk vs Ryback in a TLC match for the WWE Championship. No shit, didn't see that one coming. Big positive is that they're giving Ryback time on the mic - although he is crap at the moment and his tummy's rumbling as the weeks go on, it's good that he's getting the opportunity to show something different.
Rosa, Hornswoggle & Alberto Del Rio
This is starting to take my interest as Del Rio seems to be getting something different here. Although in recent weeks the AJ/Cena/Vickie crap has ruined the usually 'cute' relationship angle that's been used in the past, I can see Del Rio and Rosa being used the way it should be. There's some real potential here to get Del Rio going again. By putting Rosa with ADR, they have the potential to recreate an Eddie & Chyna dynamic - which could see Del Rio become face - somewhere down the road - if done well. It also has the added element that Ricardo could become jealous with the attention that Rosa will be getting. Looking forward to developments in the coming weeks. Nice win for Del Rio, and Khali speaks English?!
Punk/Heyman/Vickie & 'The Shield' interview
Punk and Heyman gave Vickie crap for making the TLC match. I've got a feeling that she gave Ryback the match because he's on the poster for TLC behind her. Vickie then makes a Raw Active match - either Punk will face #WWEBryan or #WWEKane. Surely Bryan must win this? Hmmm...
Next up, Michael Cole interviews Rollins, Ambrose and Reigns. He starts by asking if they have any connection to Punk. Of course they deny this. Really nice intro promo for these three, Rollins and Ambrose did most of the talking - is this because Reigns isn't the best on the mic? He did say that he'll talk when he's got something to say. Good excuse. They gave a little explanation and this was all that was needed going forward.
Fandango vignette followed, nice to see another up-and-comer but a dancer? Really? Good luck with that one...
Tamina, Raw Active vote, Troops visit
Tamina beat Alicia Fox after selling a bit more than I thought she would. This was after a prerecorded interview where she said she was still after AJ - she hasn't had anything to do with AJ since Survivor Series so I'm going to go with WWE dropping that one in favour of whatever's going on with Cena and Ziggler.
Apparently at this stage of the show, #WWEBryan is trending. I'm not too hot on how exactly trending works, but I'd guess that means he's winning the vote?
The clip on the troops visit (by Vince, Miz, Eve etc) was accompanied by Sgt Slaughter's theme music! Superb!
Cena/Ziggler & Barrett/Kofi
John-boy was out next and I died a little more inside at the thought that this crappy storyline STILL isn't over. All of this segment pointed towards not trusting AJ before Ziggler came out and got straight to the point - talks of beating up Cena last week and then sets up Cena vs Ziggler for later in the night. I'm a little surprised that they are going to give this away free on Raw?
Barrett was out next for commentary for the Kofi vs Tensai (jobber) match. This was meant to show that Kofi can take out big guys - even if that big guy gets beat by little guys every week. Great notch there Kofi. Finishes with Barrett handing Kofi the IC belt. Good little feud for both of them - hopefully they can both be elevated by this a little more and help that belt get back to where it should be.
Kane/Daniel Bryan vs Rey/More Del Rio
Another fun comedy spot with Daniel Bryan and Kane leading to the result of the Raw Active vote - 59%/41% in favour of Kane... ok, so much for trending. RED RULES!!
Daniel Bryan was then next out for a 'first time ever' match with Rey. Really fast paced match that went over 10 minutes. Nice win for Rey. Another loss for DB.
Adding to my previous comments earlier on Del Rio/Rosa; she thanks him for defending her honour. Don't worry love, it won't be the last time.
Ziggler vs Cena
Nice build up to this FREE one on one match, starting with an interview with Dolph followed by a recap of the brawls the two had last week. Again, this match went 10+ minutes and I was surprised to see Cena pick up a clean win - surely there's no money in this being at TLC if they're going to have a decisive match on Raw? (Especially as Cena kicked out of the Zig Zag). This segment ended with AJ sticking her tongue down Cena's throat again. God, this is getting like the public displays by Edge and Lita. Cringey.
It dawned on me that there was still an hours worth left of the show. This is what kills me most weeks!!
Sheamus vs Cesaro
Excellent match between these two and really raised Cesaro's stock further. He's been really impressive since debuting and a match against a main eventer was needed to let everyone know what he's got. Worth mentioning in this match was that Sheamus sold a lot - something I'm not used to seeing from him. Also, there was a move where Cesaro got Sheamus up in a reverse torture rack and slammed him down on his back - this should be someone's finisher (and should definitely be used by Cesaro more often). This match also protected Cesaro as he lost via count out (therefore not pinned). Quote of the match goes to Lawler: "I used to date a girl who spoke five languages - she couldn't say 'no' in any of them! woo hoo!". Comedy genius from the King!
Damien Sandow vs Jobber
In a lesser match of the evening, Sandow defeated Zack Ryder after delivering the Terminus - the end bus stop, no? He followed the win by performing the 'Rotation of Illumination', otherwise known as a girly cartwheel. This guys is awesome on the mic, though, and I can definitely see him being a dominant mid-card champion at some point. Jobber defeated - You're Welcome.
CM Punk vs Kane
The main event of the show was CM Punk defeating 'the people's choice' Kane. This was followed by The Shield jumping the guardrail and entering the ring to beat down Kane. Daniel Bryan attempted to make the save but was also beat down for his troubles. Ryback then inevitably entered the fray and was eventually overcome by the three newbies, finishing the show on his back [again] and Punk standing tall.
Not a bad show this week. There was a little snippet of what The Shield are about and it left intrigue into what's next. It was also good to see them put such an indestructible force on his arse for the third time. It was a little disappointing that they gave away Cena vs Ziggler free on TV - I can still see them doing a match at TLC, but after Cena's clean victory I don't see who'd want to pay to see it again so soon.
Other pluses were that there were three decent matches that went 10+ minutes each, Sandow on the mic again and [for me] Del Rio is heading for something that is new and has potential - this is much needed to freshen him up again.
Predictions: I think I'm going to jump on the bandwagon and say that AJ will turn on Cena at TLC and align with Ziggler (where Vickie fits into this I'm not sure). I also think that at TLC, The Shield will be revealed to be working with Punk (when they help him win, giving Ryback ANOTHER loss).
Next week on Raw I'm going to go with a six man tag match: Ryback/Kane/Bryan vs The Shield.
I'm going to take a more in depth look at the rest of the show instead of my usual of just focusing on the 'main' parts - obviously these will still get the focus that they deserve!
Ryback vs Titus & Vickie segment
The show started by recapping the 'scandal' of two single people dating. Remember kids; it's now a scandal to date a fellow single person...
After a stretched out squash (where I swear Ryback kicked out of Titus' finisher after 1?!) Ryback got on the mic to tell us he's hungry for the third week running. The 'security' guys (where can I get myself one of them?) came out to confront Ryback, ready for the arrival of Vickie. Ryback seemed to get what he wanted just by breathing heavy towards Vickie - at TLC it will be CM Punk vs Ryback in a TLC match for the WWE Championship. No shit, didn't see that one coming. Big positive is that they're giving Ryback time on the mic - although he is crap at the moment and his tummy's rumbling as the weeks go on, it's good that he's getting the opportunity to show something different.
Rosa, Hornswoggle & Alberto Del Rio
This is starting to take my interest as Del Rio seems to be getting something different here. Although in recent weeks the AJ/Cena/Vickie crap has ruined the usually 'cute' relationship angle that's been used in the past, I can see Del Rio and Rosa being used the way it should be. There's some real potential here to get Del Rio going again. By putting Rosa with ADR, they have the potential to recreate an Eddie & Chyna dynamic - which could see Del Rio become face - somewhere down the road - if done well. It also has the added element that Ricardo could become jealous with the attention that Rosa will be getting. Looking forward to developments in the coming weeks. Nice win for Del Rio, and Khali speaks English?!
Punk/Heyman/Vickie & 'The Shield' interview
Punk and Heyman gave Vickie crap for making the TLC match. I've got a feeling that she gave Ryback the match because he's on the poster for TLC behind her. Vickie then makes a Raw Active match - either Punk will face #WWEBryan or #WWEKane. Surely Bryan must win this? Hmmm...
Next up, Michael Cole interviews Rollins, Ambrose and Reigns. He starts by asking if they have any connection to Punk. Of course they deny this. Really nice intro promo for these three, Rollins and Ambrose did most of the talking - is this because Reigns isn't the best on the mic? He did say that he'll talk when he's got something to say. Good excuse. They gave a little explanation and this was all that was needed going forward.
Fandango vignette followed, nice to see another up-and-comer but a dancer? Really? Good luck with that one...
Tamina, Raw Active vote, Troops visit
Tamina beat Alicia Fox after selling a bit more than I thought she would. This was after a prerecorded interview where she said she was still after AJ - she hasn't had anything to do with AJ since Survivor Series so I'm going to go with WWE dropping that one in favour of whatever's going on with Cena and Ziggler.
Apparently at this stage of the show, #WWEBryan is trending. I'm not too hot on how exactly trending works, but I'd guess that means he's winning the vote?
The clip on the troops visit (by Vince, Miz, Eve etc) was accompanied by Sgt Slaughter's theme music! Superb!
Cena/Ziggler & Barrett/Kofi
John-boy was out next and I died a little more inside at the thought that this crappy storyline STILL isn't over. All of this segment pointed towards not trusting AJ before Ziggler came out and got straight to the point - talks of beating up Cena last week and then sets up Cena vs Ziggler for later in the night. I'm a little surprised that they are going to give this away free on Raw?
Barrett was out next for commentary for the Kofi vs Tensai (jobber) match. This was meant to show that Kofi can take out big guys - even if that big guy gets beat by little guys every week. Great notch there Kofi. Finishes with Barrett handing Kofi the IC belt. Good little feud for both of them - hopefully they can both be elevated by this a little more and help that belt get back to where it should be.
Kane/Daniel Bryan vs Rey/More Del Rio
Another fun comedy spot with Daniel Bryan and Kane leading to the result of the Raw Active vote - 59%/41% in favour of Kane... ok, so much for trending. RED RULES!!
Daniel Bryan was then next out for a 'first time ever' match with Rey. Really fast paced match that went over 10 minutes. Nice win for Rey. Another loss for DB.
Adding to my previous comments earlier on Del Rio/Rosa; she thanks him for defending her honour. Don't worry love, it won't be the last time.
Ziggler vs Cena
Nice build up to this FREE one on one match, starting with an interview with Dolph followed by a recap of the brawls the two had last week. Again, this match went 10+ minutes and I was surprised to see Cena pick up a clean win - surely there's no money in this being at TLC if they're going to have a decisive match on Raw? (Especially as Cena kicked out of the Zig Zag). This segment ended with AJ sticking her tongue down Cena's throat again. God, this is getting like the public displays by Edge and Lita. Cringey.
It dawned on me that there was still an hours worth left of the show. This is what kills me most weeks!!
Sheamus vs Cesaro
Excellent match between these two and really raised Cesaro's stock further. He's been really impressive since debuting and a match against a main eventer was needed to let everyone know what he's got. Worth mentioning in this match was that Sheamus sold a lot - something I'm not used to seeing from him. Also, there was a move where Cesaro got Sheamus up in a reverse torture rack and slammed him down on his back - this should be someone's finisher (and should definitely be used by Cesaro more often). This match also protected Cesaro as he lost via count out (therefore not pinned). Quote of the match goes to Lawler: "I used to date a girl who spoke five languages - she couldn't say 'no' in any of them! woo hoo!". Comedy genius from the King!
Damien Sandow vs Jobber
In a lesser match of the evening, Sandow defeated Zack Ryder after delivering the Terminus - the end bus stop, no? He followed the win by performing the 'Rotation of Illumination', otherwise known as a girly cartwheel. This guys is awesome on the mic, though, and I can definitely see him being a dominant mid-card champion at some point. Jobber defeated - You're Welcome.
CM Punk vs Kane
The main event of the show was CM Punk defeating 'the people's choice' Kane. This was followed by The Shield jumping the guardrail and entering the ring to beat down Kane. Daniel Bryan attempted to make the save but was also beat down for his troubles. Ryback then inevitably entered the fray and was eventually overcome by the three newbies, finishing the show on his back [again] and Punk standing tall.
Not a bad show this week. There was a little snippet of what The Shield are about and it left intrigue into what's next. It was also good to see them put such an indestructible force on his arse for the third time. It was a little disappointing that they gave away Cena vs Ziggler free on TV - I can still see them doing a match at TLC, but after Cena's clean victory I don't see who'd want to pay to see it again so soon.
Other pluses were that there were three decent matches that went 10+ minutes each, Sandow on the mic again and [for me] Del Rio is heading for something that is new and has potential - this is much needed to freshen him up again.
Predictions: I think I'm going to jump on the bandwagon and say that AJ will turn on Cena at TLC and align with Ziggler (where Vickie fits into this I'm not sure). I also think that at TLC, The Shield will be revealed to be working with Punk (when they help him win, giving Ryback ANOTHER loss).
Next week on Raw I'm going to go with a six man tag match: Ryback/Kane/Bryan vs The Shield.
Sunday 25 November 2012
That Hour Of My Life I'll Never Get Back
This week I thought I'd take a look at the other shows that the WWE gives us.
Normally, I'm just a Raw guy as it's always had the top stars on it and top storylines - I think it's always been seen and presented as the WWE's number one show; Smackdown being the 'WCW' show in comparison (hence why the World Heavyweight Title is so much below Raw's main prize).
From July, Raw went to three hours and there was so much negative feeling towards this. I didn't understand why there was a need for the additional hour - at times it was a struggle to get a great show out of the two hour version that was offered before! At first it looked like there was potential in the three hour format though as the Tag Team division was given some real effort - Prime Time Players, Kofi/R-Truth and Primo/Epico were joined by a host of other teams. The addition of this division was needed if they were going to 'fill' three hours of TV a week. I also felt a Cruiserweight division could've helped and added something different but this hasn't happened yet (possibly because most of the 'high-flyers' are in tag teams).
In the last few weeks the three hour Raw is becoming a real effort to watch. The first two hours are bearable but when you realise there's a third hour to get through the life drains from you! This is why I thought I'd test out the other shows this week - can they tell a good story in a shorter time?
First I thought I'd try out Main Event. I think I picked a good episode as it had a great Miz/Ziggler confrontation/promo segment. This was followed up with an excellent match that kept me hooked - something Raw matches have failed to do for a long time. After showcasing Barrett and Gabriel in another match there was a final promo by Damien Sandow. This was a perfect set up for next weeks show (Sandow vs Cena) with Sandow delivering an awesome speech on John Cena. Overall this 45 minute show (taken out adverts) got to the point and highlighted the future (something I bang on about all the time!) - giving much needed time to Ziggler, Sandow, Barrett and a newly-face-turning Miz.
Link: Damien Sandow addresses the WWE Universe (Main Event 21/11/2012)
I then decided that I'd give NXT a try as well. This was partly because of the Rollins/Ambrose/Reigns addition to the main roster. I thought I'd check out who might be next in the developmental area to shine.
Again, this show was to the point. It goes without saying that this is the future of the WWE (or should be if everyone's doing what they're meant to be doing!). It was also around an hour of my time - not so much of a mission to watch! There ws plenty of wrestling, too - something I'm not used to!
Finally, I gave Smackdown a view. I haven't really watched the 'b' show in years (apart from reading the results and catching it if there was a worthwhile storyline that continued onto Smackdown). Again, this show got to the point; there wasn't much filler - unneeded skits - there were short and sweet interactions in the backstage area, and it didn't feel like it took up half my day watching it!
In the end, I'm still going to watch Raw - and I'm still going to bitch about it! Despite the three hour chore, it has the 'most must see superstar' - CM Punk (sorry Miz, not quite you yet!). It also has most of the other guys that you can catch on Smackdown. Hopefully somewhere down the road they'll realise that the writers are only capable of producing a half-decent two hour show and we'll get an hour of our lives back...
Other notes of these shows;
Normally, I'm just a Raw guy as it's always had the top stars on it and top storylines - I think it's always been seen and presented as the WWE's number one show; Smackdown being the 'WCW' show in comparison (hence why the World Heavyweight Title is so much below Raw's main prize).
From July, Raw went to three hours and there was so much negative feeling towards this. I didn't understand why there was a need for the additional hour - at times it was a struggle to get a great show out of the two hour version that was offered before! At first it looked like there was potential in the three hour format though as the Tag Team division was given some real effort - Prime Time Players, Kofi/R-Truth and Primo/Epico were joined by a host of other teams. The addition of this division was needed if they were going to 'fill' three hours of TV a week. I also felt a Cruiserweight division could've helped and added something different but this hasn't happened yet (possibly because most of the 'high-flyers' are in tag teams).
In the last few weeks the three hour Raw is becoming a real effort to watch. The first two hours are bearable but when you realise there's a third hour to get through the life drains from you! This is why I thought I'd test out the other shows this week - can they tell a good story in a shorter time?
First I thought I'd try out Main Event. I think I picked a good episode as it had a great Miz/Ziggler confrontation/promo segment. This was followed up with an excellent match that kept me hooked - something Raw matches have failed to do for a long time. After showcasing Barrett and Gabriel in another match there was a final promo by Damien Sandow. This was a perfect set up for next weeks show (Sandow vs Cena) with Sandow delivering an awesome speech on John Cena. Overall this 45 minute show (taken out adverts) got to the point and highlighted the future (something I bang on about all the time!) - giving much needed time to Ziggler, Sandow, Barrett and a newly-face-turning Miz.
Link: Damien Sandow addresses the WWE Universe (Main Event 21/11/2012)
I then decided that I'd give NXT a try as well. This was partly because of the Rollins/Ambrose/Reigns addition to the main roster. I thought I'd check out who might be next in the developmental area to shine.
Again, this show was to the point. It goes without saying that this is the future of the WWE (or should be if everyone's doing what they're meant to be doing!). It was also around an hour of my time - not so much of a mission to watch! There ws plenty of wrestling, too - something I'm not used to!
Finally, I gave Smackdown a view. I haven't really watched the 'b' show in years (apart from reading the results and catching it if there was a worthwhile storyline that continued onto Smackdown). Again, this show got to the point; there wasn't much filler - unneeded skits - there were short and sweet interactions in the backstage area, and it didn't feel like it took up half my day watching it!
In the end, I'm still going to watch Raw - and I'm still going to bitch about it! Despite the three hour chore, it has the 'most must see superstar' - CM Punk (sorry Miz, not quite you yet!). It also has most of the other guys that you can catch on Smackdown. Hopefully somewhere down the road they'll realise that the writers are only capable of producing a half-decent two hour show and we'll get an hour of our lives back...
Other notes of these shows;
- I'm starting to really like JBL on commentary - I remember JR really hooking me into a match and I get that same feeling when JBL gets so passionate about what he's calling!
- Why doesn't Randy Orton need a t-shirt telling everyone that he's 'ten years strong'??
- Excellent week for Dolph Ziggler - finally building him up the way that's needed if he's going to be seen as credible cashing that MITB briefcase in.
Tuesday 20 November 2012
WWE Raw rant 19/11/2012
Congratulations to CM Punk and his year long WWE Title reign - respect is well deserved now. Prestige being brought back to a belt that should mean something EVERY day of the year. More on Punk/365 days later.
Haven't seen a the whole show in full as yet; only snippets and matches here and there... enough to go on though and say where I think we're going after this weeks episode!
I haven't seen the opening Ryback promo, but I don't hold much hope as it'll probably be along the lines of feeding on everyone and being hungry blah blah blah... work still needed on that side of his game. This was followed up with a squash over Jobber Tensai; complete with a Shellshock(ed?) that he actually managed this time around. Back to the usual formula of making Ryback look strong after a PPV loss - this would be continued at the end of the show, too.
The two main situations of Raw this week started with the Vickie/AJ/Cena odyssey. I write about this every week even though it is really pissing me off now! Vickie brings out two 'witnesses' (awful actors) to give more 'evidence' on the AJ/Cena 'affair' (just to remind everyone: they're both single). This basically came down to a brawl between Cena and Ziggler, resulting in Cena injuring his knee on the way out of the ring chasing Ziggler up the ramp. Still not sure if this is staged or if he actually has hurt his knee in?
Later in the show, AJ confronted Ziggler in the heel dressing room and gave him some slaps after being put in her place. This led to another Cena/Ziggler brawl that resulted in a toilet cubicle being destroyed (awesome!) and Cena's knee needing more attention. The payoff to this whole train wreck will hopefully be a match at TLC - for once I hope Cena's knee injury is part of the build up so he'll make said match.
The main event of the evening was the celebration of CM Punk's title reign. Punk, Heyman and chart showed where Punk ranks with the other lengthy reigns in history. Loved the mocking of Sammartino, Hogan, Austin and Rock... especially Punk copying their mannerisms along the way.
Out comes Ryback to rudely interrupt. As he approaches the ring, Rollins, Ambrose and Reigns ambush him and put a beating on him. It takes several minutes to finally get him weak enough to deliver another three man Powerbomb through the announce table (a repeat of the PPV finish). This was good for three reasons: (1) Punk could then finish the show celebrating over a fallen Ryback (as should be the case after this milestone). (2) It highlighted the three newcomers - again in a main event slot and (3) Even though Ryback got put through a table he still came out looking strong as it took three men to beat him down (after attempting to break free from the beatdown).
Prediction (for TLC): I think from this edition of Raw; and the second time Ryback has gone through a table; I'm going to go with CM Punk vs Ryback in a Tables match - unfortunately, I can see Ryback losing this one AGAIN (as a result of Rollins/Ambrose/Reigns/Maddox? interfering). I just hope that three PPV loses in a row won't hurt him too much. As said earlier, it looks to be Cena vs Ziggler coming up too - finally a chance to really get Ziggler up to that next level and justify the imminent MITB cash in. Win or lose, a great showing against Cena WILL do Ziggler's career no end of good. I still hope for him to go over Cena CLEAN.
Also, it seems that Sheamus vs Big Show will go another month (after the DQ finish at Survivor Series) - therefore, with all the chair shots Sheamus gave Show, I can see this being a Chairs match at TLC (too obvious?)
Other Raw thoughts:
Haven't seen a the whole show in full as yet; only snippets and matches here and there... enough to go on though and say where I think we're going after this weeks episode!
I haven't seen the opening Ryback promo, but I don't hold much hope as it'll probably be along the lines of feeding on everyone and being hungry blah blah blah... work still needed on that side of his game. This was followed up with a squash over Jobber Tensai; complete with a Shellshock(ed?) that he actually managed this time around. Back to the usual formula of making Ryback look strong after a PPV loss - this would be continued at the end of the show, too.
The two main situations of Raw this week started with the Vickie/AJ/Cena odyssey. I write about this every week even though it is really pissing me off now! Vickie brings out two 'witnesses' (awful actors) to give more 'evidence' on the AJ/Cena 'affair' (just to remind everyone: they're both single). This basically came down to a brawl between Cena and Ziggler, resulting in Cena injuring his knee on the way out of the ring chasing Ziggler up the ramp. Still not sure if this is staged or if he actually has hurt his knee in?
Later in the show, AJ confronted Ziggler in the heel dressing room and gave him some slaps after being put in her place. This led to another Cena/Ziggler brawl that resulted in a toilet cubicle being destroyed (awesome!) and Cena's knee needing more attention. The payoff to this whole train wreck will hopefully be a match at TLC - for once I hope Cena's knee injury is part of the build up so he'll make said match.
The main event of the evening was the celebration of CM Punk's title reign. Punk, Heyman and chart showed where Punk ranks with the other lengthy reigns in history. Loved the mocking of Sammartino, Hogan, Austin and Rock... especially Punk copying their mannerisms along the way.
Out comes Ryback to rudely interrupt. As he approaches the ring, Rollins, Ambrose and Reigns ambush him and put a beating on him. It takes several minutes to finally get him weak enough to deliver another three man Powerbomb through the announce table (a repeat of the PPV finish). This was good for three reasons: (1) Punk could then finish the show celebrating over a fallen Ryback (as should be the case after this milestone). (2) It highlighted the three newcomers - again in a main event slot and (3) Even though Ryback got put through a table he still came out looking strong as it took three men to beat him down (after attempting to break free from the beatdown).
Prediction (for TLC): I think from this edition of Raw; and the second time Ryback has gone through a table; I'm going to go with CM Punk vs Ryback in a Tables match - unfortunately, I can see Ryback losing this one AGAIN (as a result of Rollins/Ambrose/Reigns/Maddox? interfering). I just hope that three PPV loses in a row won't hurt him too much. As said earlier, it looks to be Cena vs Ziggler coming up too - finally a chance to really get Ziggler up to that next level and justify the imminent MITB cash in. Win or lose, a great showing against Cena WILL do Ziggler's career no end of good. I still hope for him to go over Cena CLEAN.
Also, it seems that Sheamus vs Big Show will go another month (after the DQ finish at Survivor Series) - therefore, with all the chair shots Sheamus gave Show, I can see this being a Chairs match at TLC (too obvious?)
Other Raw thoughts:
- Barrett is being given a new feud in Kofi Kingston. I suppose while Sheamus/Show go another month, they have to keep Barrett's momentum going. Hopefully a Intercontinental title run will do him good and 'up' the title a little more. I still love that belt...
- Always impressed when smaller guys show awesome strength picking bigger guys up - credit to Cesaro for doing the best he can with what he's given. Please don't give that US title to R-Truth in the rematch...
- I haven't seen the whole of the Del Rio/Orton 2 out of 3 falls match. I hope that this loss made Del Rio look good and it's not lowered his stock further.
- Tag team division still looking good - Rey/Sin Cara/Kane/Bryan beat down Titus and Darren (as is to be expected). Hopefully a triple threat will come out of this at TLC.
- Miz looked pretty good, and won clean, over David Jobber. Nice to mix things up a bit with his continued face turn.
- I hate the Diva's division but fair play to WWE for bringing Tamina back into the fold. It needs a power-house after the loss of Beth Phoenix. Actually, it needs a lot more than that. Remember the days when it had actual stars like Trish and Lita?
Monday 19 November 2012
A Quick Thanks To The WWE...
I've only read the Survivor Series results, so that's what I'm going on here...
After reading the results from last night, I see that WWE has given some well-deserved time and attention to some of the top talent that they have in the developmental set-up. This is encouraging news for the future.
Last night, NXT Champion Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns debuted and beat Ryback down, allowing CM Punk to make the predicted pin on John Cena, and reach the 365th day of his WWE Title reign. From this there are several things to be grateful for.
First of all there is NEW talent in the WWE. Don't get me wrong - there has been more and more guys coming through the ranks in the last few months but last night seems as though the 'change' that CM Punk talked about, over a year ago, is finally upon us.
I realise that Punk was looking out for his own career at the time and to be fair, it's worked wonders for him and he is where he is as a result of it. Another thing to be grateful for is Punk's reign as champion - a whole year MEANS something to me. It's the first reign in a long time that I can remember where the defenses (early in the year) were GREAT matches. Obviously after his heel turn the defenses have been somewhat smash-and-grabs to keep it going. The respect is well and truly deserved!
Rollins, Ambrose and Reigns joins the likes of Damien Sandow, Titus O'Neil, Darren Young (briefly with Nexus) and Ryback in being new talent that WWE is trusting for the future. Hopefully these guys won't just be 'fed' to Ryback tonight like fellow-NXTer Brad Maddox was last week (even though I can see Maddox being part of this set-up at some point soon). I can see the four of them coming together as a kind of Nexus 2012, and possibly aligning themselves with CM Punk and Heyman.
Unlike the last minute Maddox angle, i think there are better plans for these three - last night was much more of an impact than a rogue referee. Either that or it's another way of getting to the Rumble with Punk keeping hold of the belt. I think the next PPV needs to be more decisive though - there's only so many PPVs they can go with a screwy finish.
Let's hope we get some answers tonight on Raw.
Other positives from last night were that Ziggler was the sole survivor in the Team Foley/Team Ziggler match - this is more like it if they are going to give Ziggler the World Title in the near future. Not sure how good/bad The Miz looked coming out of this though?
The tag team survivor match was a nice addition, too. It was good to see Gabriel/Kidd promoted to the main card (instead of being the pre-show with 3MB) and along with The Prime Time Players (& Rey/Cara/Primo/Epico), showcased the tag team division and the future. I suppose Tensai and Brodus Clay were there to make the numbers up...
Something that won't change for a while is John Cena. Even though he lost last night and was the one that got pinned, I fully expect him to be part of the WWE Title match vs Punk at TLC. I can imagine Ryback being busy with the newcomers so that leaves the top two to carry things until the Rumble.
Prediction: For me it'll either be Cena vs Punk at TLC (more likely), or they'll do the right thing and finish/continue two rivalries that took a backseat due to the Survivor Series card being messed around - Cena vs Ziggler (to continue the Ziggler build/finish this god-awful AJ/Vickie crap) and maybe Punk vs Foley (long shot, but it'll take up a PPV and set Punk up nicely for The Rock at the Rumble/give Foley some retribution).
After reading the results from last night, I see that WWE has given some well-deserved time and attention to some of the top talent that they have in the developmental set-up. This is encouraging news for the future.
Last night, NXT Champion Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns debuted and beat Ryback down, allowing CM Punk to make the predicted pin on John Cena, and reach the 365th day of his WWE Title reign. From this there are several things to be grateful for.
First of all there is NEW talent in the WWE. Don't get me wrong - there has been more and more guys coming through the ranks in the last few months but last night seems as though the 'change' that CM Punk talked about, over a year ago, is finally upon us.
I realise that Punk was looking out for his own career at the time and to be fair, it's worked wonders for him and he is where he is as a result of it. Another thing to be grateful for is Punk's reign as champion - a whole year MEANS something to me. It's the first reign in a long time that I can remember where the defenses (early in the year) were GREAT matches. Obviously after his heel turn the defenses have been somewhat smash-and-grabs to keep it going. The respect is well and truly deserved!
Rollins, Ambrose and Reigns joins the likes of Damien Sandow, Titus O'Neil, Darren Young (briefly with Nexus) and Ryback in being new talent that WWE is trusting for the future. Hopefully these guys won't just be 'fed' to Ryback tonight like fellow-NXTer Brad Maddox was last week (even though I can see Maddox being part of this set-up at some point soon). I can see the four of them coming together as a kind of Nexus 2012, and possibly aligning themselves with CM Punk and Heyman.
Unlike the last minute Maddox angle, i think there are better plans for these three - last night was much more of an impact than a rogue referee. Either that or it's another way of getting to the Rumble with Punk keeping hold of the belt. I think the next PPV needs to be more decisive though - there's only so many PPVs they can go with a screwy finish.
Let's hope we get some answers tonight on Raw.
Other positives from last night were that Ziggler was the sole survivor in the Team Foley/Team Ziggler match - this is more like it if they are going to give Ziggler the World Title in the near future. Not sure how good/bad The Miz looked coming out of this though?
The tag team survivor match was a nice addition, too. It was good to see Gabriel/Kidd promoted to the main card (instead of being the pre-show with 3MB) and along with The Prime Time Players (& Rey/Cara/Primo/Epico), showcased the tag team division and the future. I suppose Tensai and Brodus Clay were there to make the numbers up...
Something that won't change for a while is John Cena. Even though he lost last night and was the one that got pinned, I fully expect him to be part of the WWE Title match vs Punk at TLC. I can imagine Ryback being busy with the newcomers so that leaves the top two to carry things until the Rumble.
Prediction: For me it'll either be Cena vs Punk at TLC (more likely), or they'll do the right thing and finish/continue two rivalries that took a backseat due to the Survivor Series card being messed around - Cena vs Ziggler (to continue the Ziggler build/finish this god-awful AJ/Vickie crap) and maybe Punk vs Foley (long shot, but it'll take up a PPV and set Punk up nicely for The Rock at the Rumble/give Foley some retribution).
Thursday 15 November 2012
The Nexus: Where Are They Now?
I recently read comments by a wrestling fan/blogger that stated that The Nexus' debut and attack angle went nowhere. As I read this I thought to myself 'did this guy stop watching for the next six months?' and 'does this guy not watch now?'. I always read other people's blogs/articles/comments and try to respect everyone's opinion but this screamed 'crazy' to me.
Something I won't get into; because I REALLY don't need to, is the second half of his comment saying that the CM Punk promo (from last year) resulted in nothing, too...
The Nexus debuted on Raw, on Monday 7th June 2010, with NXT winner Wade Barrett appearing on the ramp staring down at the John Cena vs CM Punk match at the end of the show. A bemused Cena was wondering what was going on. Other NXT 'rookies' jumped the guardrail at ringside and preceded to beat down the Straight Edge Society (who were in Punk's corner). The eight NXTers then surrounded Cena in the ring before giving a vicious and devastating beating to John-boy. They weren't done there, continuing the assault at ringside, pulling the ring apart, beating on ring crew - Jerry Lawler, Justin Roberts and anyone in sight were targeted. After completely trashing the ringside area, they finished up by giving Cena their signature moves to end Raw in the one of the most controversial endings in Raw history.
Link: The Nexus debut on Raw (YouTube)
Unfortunately, Daniel Bryan's actions were seen as 'too violent' for the PG era viewers and was released immediately. The Nexus continued as a seven piece group.
This angle continued throughout the coming months; mainly focusing on Barrett and The Nexus sabotaging Cena's championship hopes at every turn. It even resulted in Cena being forced to join The Nexus. This was huge for a group who were 'rookies' one minute and taking on the top stars for the next few months.
Even though each guy in The Nexus (with a few exceptions) has gone onto other things, I'll break it down so that our misguided friend can appreciate that the debut of The Nexus DID lead to something:
Wade Barrett
After being booted out of The Nexus (due to John Cena's attacks), Barrett swapped Raw for Smackdown. Here he joined forced with Big Ezekiel Jackson, Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel (the latter two also jumping ship) to form The Corre - a group who were equal. This led to Barrett winning his first singles title - the Intercontinental Championship. After a quiet end to 2011 and a six month injury in 2012, Barrett is back and in the hunt for the World Title - something that must be in the his near future.
WWE Status: Upper-mid card, soon to be first English World Champion?
Daniel Bryan
Bryan wasn't in The Nexus for very long at all. He has since been a United States Champion, Money in the Bank winner and World Champion (due to cashing in MITB). Throughout 2012 Bryan had some of the best matches of the year with CM Punk and this increased the worth of Daniel Bryan. He is currently one half of the WWE Tag Team Champions with Kane. This is hilarious stuff most of the time! Also, he is really over due to the 'YES!' and 'NO!' chants.
WWE Status: Former World Champion, current Tag Team Champion, option to go back to main event, most decorated former member.
Skip Sheffield (Ryback)
After clearly being the 'muscle' of The Nexus, Sheffield broke his ankle in a house show fairly early on. This ended his association with the group. In April 2012, he returned and was repackaged as Ryback - a jobber squashing, Terminator-like character. Since this transformation, he has gone onto gain huge popularity and is currently challenging CM Punk for the WWE Championship.
WWE Status: Challenging for WWE Title, still needs time/experience.
Darren Young
After being thrown out of The Nexus after Summerslam 2010, Young didn't have a major role to play. He appeared on NXT Redemption and after having a major feud with Titus O'Neil, the two formed a tag team known as The Prime Time Players. This tag team was signed to Smackdown in April 2012 and have gone onto be one of the longest running teams in the division this year. With other teams forming in the last few months, The Players have took a backseat, but I'm sure they'll have them belts at some point.
WWE Status: One half of Prime Time Players, future tag champs?
Heath Slater
Slater has always had a 'Rockstar' gimmick since coming into the WWE. Along with Gabriel, he joined Barrett on Smackdown as part of The Corre. He only started to pick up pace (and popularity) when he began feuding with WWE Legends in June 2012. This led to getting a beating from Lita, APA and the rest of the legends at Raw1000. It seemed that Slater had something to go on after this and has since started a stable with Drew McIntyre and Jinder Mahal (3MB). It's still early days for the group but there is potential.
WWE Status: Leader of 3MB, possible future tag champs?
Justin Gabriel
Like Slater, Gabriel left The Nexus and joined The Corre over on Smackdown. Eventually, Gabriel would form a tag team with Tyson Kidd. This has seen both have outstanding matches with Antonio Cesaro; seemingly elevating them to Monday nights and the tag team division. A bright future for this team ahead?
WWE Status: Tagging with Tyson Kidd, future in the tag division?
David Otunga
Otunga was the longest serving member of The Nexus - from it's debut on June 7th 2010 until it's dissolving in August 2011. Along with fellow New Nexus member Michael McGillicutty, he went onto be a Tag Team Champion (previously with John Cena, too). These title wins and being part of this group have been the high points so far.
After these highs, Otunga has gone onto be a 'Legal Advisor' to many superstars. First aiding John Laurinaitis and then others who felt wronged, Otunga has mainly been a jobber to Sheamus whenever he's pissed off about something and needs to Brogue Kick someone.
WWE Status: Billed as Harvard Law School Graduate, unsure where he's going?
Michael Tarver
Injured early on. Thrown out of the group as a result. Eventually released by WWE in June 2011.
WWE Status: Released in June 2011.
From this we can see that these guys (with the exceptions of Tarver and maybe Otunga) are all heading in the right direstion. Barrett, Bryan and Ryback are all in the main event scene. Young, Gabriel and Slater are all in the hunt for future tag team title opportunities.
Obviously there was also the New Nexus (led by CM Punk). Members included Otunga (again), Michael McGillicutty, Husky Harris and Mason Ryan. All of these guys are still employed with the WWE but I think it'll be a while before we see them on TV again.
As for the two most famous members of The Nexus - John Cena and CM Punk - does anyone know how they're getting on these days?...
Something I won't get into; because I REALLY don't need to, is the second half of his comment saying that the CM Punk promo (from last year) resulted in nothing, too...
The Nexus debuted on Raw, on Monday 7th June 2010, with NXT winner Wade Barrett appearing on the ramp staring down at the John Cena vs CM Punk match at the end of the show. A bemused Cena was wondering what was going on. Other NXT 'rookies' jumped the guardrail at ringside and preceded to beat down the Straight Edge Society (who were in Punk's corner). The eight NXTers then surrounded Cena in the ring before giving a vicious and devastating beating to John-boy. They weren't done there, continuing the assault at ringside, pulling the ring apart, beating on ring crew - Jerry Lawler, Justin Roberts and anyone in sight were targeted. After completely trashing the ringside area, they finished up by giving Cena their signature moves to end Raw in the one of the most controversial endings in Raw history.
Link: The Nexus debut on Raw (YouTube)
Unfortunately, Daniel Bryan's actions were seen as 'too violent' for the PG era viewers and was released immediately. The Nexus continued as a seven piece group.
This angle continued throughout the coming months; mainly focusing on Barrett and The Nexus sabotaging Cena's championship hopes at every turn. It even resulted in Cena being forced to join The Nexus. This was huge for a group who were 'rookies' one minute and taking on the top stars for the next few months.
Even though each guy in The Nexus (with a few exceptions) has gone onto other things, I'll break it down so that our misguided friend can appreciate that the debut of The Nexus DID lead to something:
Wade Barrett
After being booted out of The Nexus (due to John Cena's attacks), Barrett swapped Raw for Smackdown. Here he joined forced with Big Ezekiel Jackson, Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel (the latter two also jumping ship) to form The Corre - a group who were equal. This led to Barrett winning his first singles title - the Intercontinental Championship. After a quiet end to 2011 and a six month injury in 2012, Barrett is back and in the hunt for the World Title - something that must be in the his near future.
WWE Status: Upper-mid card, soon to be first English World Champion?
Daniel Bryan
Bryan wasn't in The Nexus for very long at all. He has since been a United States Champion, Money in the Bank winner and World Champion (due to cashing in MITB). Throughout 2012 Bryan had some of the best matches of the year with CM Punk and this increased the worth of Daniel Bryan. He is currently one half of the WWE Tag Team Champions with Kane. This is hilarious stuff most of the time! Also, he is really over due to the 'YES!' and 'NO!' chants.
WWE Status: Former World Champion, current Tag Team Champion, option to go back to main event, most decorated former member.
Skip Sheffield (Ryback)
After clearly being the 'muscle' of The Nexus, Sheffield broke his ankle in a house show fairly early on. This ended his association with the group. In April 2012, he returned and was repackaged as Ryback - a jobber squashing, Terminator-like character. Since this transformation, he has gone onto gain huge popularity and is currently challenging CM Punk for the WWE Championship.
WWE Status: Challenging for WWE Title, still needs time/experience.
Darren Young
After being thrown out of The Nexus after Summerslam 2010, Young didn't have a major role to play. He appeared on NXT Redemption and after having a major feud with Titus O'Neil, the two formed a tag team known as The Prime Time Players. This tag team was signed to Smackdown in April 2012 and have gone onto be one of the longest running teams in the division this year. With other teams forming in the last few months, The Players have took a backseat, but I'm sure they'll have them belts at some point.
WWE Status: One half of Prime Time Players, future tag champs?
Heath Slater
Slater has always had a 'Rockstar' gimmick since coming into the WWE. Along with Gabriel, he joined Barrett on Smackdown as part of The Corre. He only started to pick up pace (and popularity) when he began feuding with WWE Legends in June 2012. This led to getting a beating from Lita, APA and the rest of the legends at Raw1000. It seemed that Slater had something to go on after this and has since started a stable with Drew McIntyre and Jinder Mahal (3MB). It's still early days for the group but there is potential.
WWE Status: Leader of 3MB, possible future tag champs?
Justin Gabriel
Like Slater, Gabriel left The Nexus and joined The Corre over on Smackdown. Eventually, Gabriel would form a tag team with Tyson Kidd. This has seen both have outstanding matches with Antonio Cesaro; seemingly elevating them to Monday nights and the tag team division. A bright future for this team ahead?
WWE Status: Tagging with Tyson Kidd, future in the tag division?
David Otunga
Otunga was the longest serving member of The Nexus - from it's debut on June 7th 2010 until it's dissolving in August 2011. Along with fellow New Nexus member Michael McGillicutty, he went onto be a Tag Team Champion (previously with John Cena, too). These title wins and being part of this group have been the high points so far.
After these highs, Otunga has gone onto be a 'Legal Advisor' to many superstars. First aiding John Laurinaitis and then others who felt wronged, Otunga has mainly been a jobber to Sheamus whenever he's pissed off about something and needs to Brogue Kick someone.
WWE Status: Billed as Harvard Law School Graduate, unsure where he's going?
Michael Tarver
Injured early on. Thrown out of the group as a result. Eventually released by WWE in June 2011.
WWE Status: Released in June 2011.
From this we can see that these guys (with the exceptions of Tarver and maybe Otunga) are all heading in the right direstion. Barrett, Bryan and Ryback are all in the main event scene. Young, Gabriel and Slater are all in the hunt for future tag team title opportunities.
Obviously there was also the New Nexus (led by CM Punk). Members included Otunga (again), Michael McGillicutty, Husky Harris and Mason Ryan. All of these guys are still employed with the WWE but I think it'll be a while before we see them on TV again.
As for the two most famous members of The Nexus - John Cena and CM Punk - does anyone know how they're getting on these days?...
Wednesday 14 November 2012
WWE Raw rant 12/11/2012
The last Raw before the Survivor Series was possibly one of the best in a long time - explaining confused situations from the last couple of weeks.
The show opened with a John Cena-narrated tribute to Veteran's Day/US troops around the world. There were several plugs throughout the evening and I really respect this partnership that the WWE has with the armed forces.
This was the first time that I remember seeing the 'recap' opening to Raw (complete with the epic-voiceover-guy!). Issues raised were the Jerry Lawler return, the [awful] Cena/AJ/Vickie situation, the Brad Maddox/Ryback confrontation and Punk's epic 358 day WWE Title reign. Not sure how I feel about this opening - give me a few weeks to get used to it!
Orton vs Ziggler gets turned into a tag team match by Teddy Long (Is he famous for this or something?!) - with the additions of Kofi and Alberto Del Rio on the sides of their Survivor Series teammates. A positive from this match was that the faces sticking together after - no mention of their heated rivalry before - a nod to the average wrestling fan's memory of previous feuds! After this match Ziggler had stayed in the ring and was joined by Vickie. Great, we're going to get more allegations that nobody cares about! I can't understand why Ziggler would still be sticking his nose in this crap unless there's going to be a Cena match out of it.
Prediction #1: After being floored, I can see that being a reason why Ziggler would screw Cena out of the title at Survivor Series and then start a proper feud between the two that can stretch over the next couple of months.
Also from this mess is now the possibility of Cena and AJ getting together in the future. The 'never would happen' line was quickly taken back by Cena... I pray that this leads to the possibility of AJ going crazy and scorned that Cena even said that it would never happen - another person who could screw Cena at Survivor Series maybe?
The best segment(s) of Raw came next with the Jerry Lawler return. Cole and JR welcomed back Lawler to a greatly deserved reception. This guy had a major heart attack and is back just TWO MONTHS later. Respect. Enter Lawler to thank the fans and everyone for the support over this situation. Once he'd said what he needed to say there was only one thing to do with this section of the show - get some top heel heat - enter CM Punk.
Punk began to berate Lawler, saying that he was trying to steal the spotlight by having the heart attack. He followed up by comparing figures; Lawler was clinically dead for 15 minutes. For Punk this meant nothing compared to the 358 days that he has been WWE Champion... and if Lawler doesn't 'croak before the PPV', he'll see that figure raise to 365. This was then followed up with the fake Heyman heart attack and Punk 'save' - which Punk is taking credit for on Twitter still!
This was such a great situation to gain some hatred for the top heel in the WWE. Playing off a real life situation was always going to create controversy - the one thing you can take from this is that if Lawler was ok to go through with this then it was justified to do. After all; he is the guy that this happened to do.
Foley coming out, and the confrontation that followed, cleaned up the traditional survival match, too. It was nice of Foley to say that he was pissed that their 5on 5 match was cancelled, but he's pleased that Punk's been forced into the triple threat so that Ryback/Cena can 'teach him a lesson' by taking the WWE title away - the only way that Punk will be taught one. I kind of feel that Foley being 'Enforcer' in the main event was his retribution, unless they revisit this feud after Survivor Series. Great, emotional promo from Foley here, too.
Just a quick note/prediction on Punk reading Heyman the riot act backstage to sort the problems he has: Maybe somewhere down the line, after 'x' amount of tellings off (and Punk losing the title to Rock at the Rumble), Heyman turns on Punk and brings Lesnar out, setting up a 'Mania match between Punk and Lesnar? Everyone else is coming up with their crazy scenarios so this is mine! The only thing in my mind saying this isn't a possibility is that Punk hasn't been a heel that long so turning him face probably won't happen for a while yet.
Ryback vs Maddox was as expected (and it bothered me a little that the WWE 13 game clip gave away the finish?!). Bit of a longer squash than usual but I suppose he deserved a bigger beating. I can't help but wonder what Heyman spoke to Maddox about earlier in the night:
Prediction #2: Maddox screws/distracts Ryback at Survivor Series. So to recap the earlier prediction (#1); I think Ziggler has enough of a reason to screw/distract Cena and Maddox will distract Ryback enough so that Punk can pin Cena (again *yawn*) to retain heading towards TLC.
Other thoughts
The show opened with a John Cena-narrated tribute to Veteran's Day/US troops around the world. There were several plugs throughout the evening and I really respect this partnership that the WWE has with the armed forces.
This was the first time that I remember seeing the 'recap' opening to Raw (complete with the epic-voiceover-guy!). Issues raised were the Jerry Lawler return, the [awful] Cena/AJ/Vickie situation, the Brad Maddox/Ryback confrontation and Punk's epic 358 day WWE Title reign. Not sure how I feel about this opening - give me a few weeks to get used to it!
Orton vs Ziggler gets turned into a tag team match by Teddy Long (Is he famous for this or something?!) - with the additions of Kofi and Alberto Del Rio on the sides of their Survivor Series teammates. A positive from this match was that the faces sticking together after - no mention of their heated rivalry before - a nod to the average wrestling fan's memory of previous feuds! After this match Ziggler had stayed in the ring and was joined by Vickie. Great, we're going to get more allegations that nobody cares about! I can't understand why Ziggler would still be sticking his nose in this crap unless there's going to be a Cena match out of it.
Prediction #1: After being floored, I can see that being a reason why Ziggler would screw Cena out of the title at Survivor Series and then start a proper feud between the two that can stretch over the next couple of months.
Also from this mess is now the possibility of Cena and AJ getting together in the future. The 'never would happen' line was quickly taken back by Cena... I pray that this leads to the possibility of AJ going crazy and scorned that Cena even said that it would never happen - another person who could screw Cena at Survivor Series maybe?
The best segment(s) of Raw came next with the Jerry Lawler return. Cole and JR welcomed back Lawler to a greatly deserved reception. This guy had a major heart attack and is back just TWO MONTHS later. Respect. Enter Lawler to thank the fans and everyone for the support over this situation. Once he'd said what he needed to say there was only one thing to do with this section of the show - get some top heel heat - enter CM Punk.
Punk began to berate Lawler, saying that he was trying to steal the spotlight by having the heart attack. He followed up by comparing figures; Lawler was clinically dead for 15 minutes. For Punk this meant nothing compared to the 358 days that he has been WWE Champion... and if Lawler doesn't 'croak before the PPV', he'll see that figure raise to 365. This was then followed up with the fake Heyman heart attack and Punk 'save' - which Punk is taking credit for on Twitter still!
This was such a great situation to gain some hatred for the top heel in the WWE. Playing off a real life situation was always going to create controversy - the one thing you can take from this is that if Lawler was ok to go through with this then it was justified to do. After all; he is the guy that this happened to do.
Foley coming out, and the confrontation that followed, cleaned up the traditional survival match, too. It was nice of Foley to say that he was pissed that their 5on 5 match was cancelled, but he's pleased that Punk's been forced into the triple threat so that Ryback/Cena can 'teach him a lesson' by taking the WWE title away - the only way that Punk will be taught one. I kind of feel that Foley being 'Enforcer' in the main event was his retribution, unless they revisit this feud after Survivor Series. Great, emotional promo from Foley here, too.
Just a quick note/prediction on Punk reading Heyman the riot act backstage to sort the problems he has: Maybe somewhere down the line, after 'x' amount of tellings off (and Punk losing the title to Rock at the Rumble), Heyman turns on Punk and brings Lesnar out, setting up a 'Mania match between Punk and Lesnar? Everyone else is coming up with their crazy scenarios so this is mine! The only thing in my mind saying this isn't a possibility is that Punk hasn't been a heel that long so turning him face probably won't happen for a while yet.
Ryback vs Maddox was as expected (and it bothered me a little that the WWE 13 game clip gave away the finish?!). Bit of a longer squash than usual but I suppose he deserved a bigger beating. I can't help but wonder what Heyman spoke to Maddox about earlier in the night:
Prediction #2: Maddox screws/distracts Ryback at Survivor Series. So to recap the earlier prediction (#1); I think Ziggler has enough of a reason to screw/distract Cena and Maddox will distract Ryback enough so that Punk can pin Cena (again *yawn*) to retain heading towards TLC.
Other thoughts
- Can't believe they gave Cena vs Punk FREE on Raw. But I suppose after loss after loss, he needed the win going into the PPV.
- Daniel Bryan and Kane started to get a little boring, but the talk before the tag match was awesome! Bryan's jealous girlfriend act was a nice addition to their partnership.
- Miz revealed on Team Foley was no surprise - after quitting Team Punk and one slot being left on the face team, there wasn't many names that could've filled that space (were Ryder or Santino ever getting on that team?).
- Were Cole and Lawler both faces on the show?
- Please let Cesaro retain at the PPV and that be the end of R-Truth... also, they REALLY don't like Tensai (bring back Albert!!)
- The future: 8 man tag team match between Rey/Sin Cara/Gabriel/Kidd vs PtPers/Epico/Primo was a great showcase of the tag team division - great high flying, cruiserweight action at times! Them matches with Cesaro have really raised Gabriel and Kidd up to being mainstays on Monday nights.
- I wonder if it hurt Cena's hand when he missed the devastating, potentially paralysing move that is the 5 Knuckle Shuffle!
Monday 12 November 2012
WWE Survivor Series 2012: Confused much?
With the Survivor Series a little under a week away there seems to be a lot of opinion on the outcome of the WWE Championship match. Instead of leading his team against a irate Mick Foley's team, CM Punk will now have to deal with Ryback AND John Cena on Sunday night.
This brings up all sorts of questions;
What will the outcome be?
For me, it seems likely that they can keep the belt on Punk and keep Ryback strong by having Punk pin Cena for the fall. No matter how you get to this result, Cena will have been beaten by Punk again - something Punk will no doubt call upon in future promos. This will not affect Cena's claim to the throne at TLC though. This will then lead to a nothing match at TLC as Punk can win without pinning whoever his opponent is.
What happens with the traditional survival match now?
This match has nothing to it now. No Punk means Foley has no place being around. He has no beef with Ziggler (and in any case, why would he switch his focus to Zig instead of getting revenge on Punk?). It just appears that this match has gaps to fill and they're trying to fill it with whoever's left.
Unfortunately, this is going to be a train wreck. If they had led with this idea of Ziggler captaining a team then people would care. Now that it seems to be 'plan b', it just confuses/angers the fans. It reeks of being another desperate move.
Ziggler's role?
Being in the traditional survival match means that Ziggler has to 'steal the show' as best he can in a new match. Before the change in plan in the last couple of weeks it seemed that Ziggler would face Cena as a result of the awful Cena/AJ/Vickie witch hunt.
The WWE have missed a major opportunity here. Ziggler beating Cena clean would do wonders for the current 'Mr Money in the Bank' - it would give him so much credibility heading towards cashing in that briefcase. It could've also pushed Ziggler up to 'Main Event guy' - and maybe the chance he needed to stay there! Even if he'd have lost (more likely) it would have been a step in the right direction for Ziggler.
Who's in the teams?
Out go Ryback and Punk; in comes Ziggler to captain the heels. Miz quits on Raw and is replaced later in the show with Wade Barrett (should've already been in the match from day one). That leaves Ryback's spot left to fill and with not many big names to fill that void it seems that an unlikely name will - The Miz. This is my prediction (as well as many others) and I think it's the right move if they want to push through a face turn. It's also about the biggest name they could put in the match that could save it.
Storylines intertwined?
The other confusion with these change in events is what happens with each storyline? Cena is still having issues with Vickie/Dolph AND is now in the WWE Championship match - two feuds come together? Or will they pull Dolph away so that he can focus on the 5 on 5 match? Or is it all set up so that Dolph can screw Cena out of the title and begin an intense feud?
Hopefully we get some clarity tonight on Raw.
This brings up all sorts of questions;
What will the outcome be?
For me, it seems likely that they can keep the belt on Punk and keep Ryback strong by having Punk pin Cena for the fall. No matter how you get to this result, Cena will have been beaten by Punk again - something Punk will no doubt call upon in future promos. This will not affect Cena's claim to the throne at TLC though. This will then lead to a nothing match at TLC as Punk can win without pinning whoever his opponent is.
What happens with the traditional survival match now?
This match has nothing to it now. No Punk means Foley has no place being around. He has no beef with Ziggler (and in any case, why would he switch his focus to Zig instead of getting revenge on Punk?). It just appears that this match has gaps to fill and they're trying to fill it with whoever's left.
Unfortunately, this is going to be a train wreck. If they had led with this idea of Ziggler captaining a team then people would care. Now that it seems to be 'plan b', it just confuses/angers the fans. It reeks of being another desperate move.
Ziggler's role?
Being in the traditional survival match means that Ziggler has to 'steal the show' as best he can in a new match. Before the change in plan in the last couple of weeks it seemed that Ziggler would face Cena as a result of the awful Cena/AJ/Vickie witch hunt.
The WWE have missed a major opportunity here. Ziggler beating Cena clean would do wonders for the current 'Mr Money in the Bank' - it would give him so much credibility heading towards cashing in that briefcase. It could've also pushed Ziggler up to 'Main Event guy' - and maybe the chance he needed to stay there! Even if he'd have lost (more likely) it would have been a step in the right direction for Ziggler.
Who's in the teams?
Out go Ryback and Punk; in comes Ziggler to captain the heels. Miz quits on Raw and is replaced later in the show with Wade Barrett (should've already been in the match from day one). That leaves Ryback's spot left to fill and with not many big names to fill that void it seems that an unlikely name will - The Miz. This is my prediction (as well as many others) and I think it's the right move if they want to push through a face turn. It's also about the biggest name they could put in the match that could save it.
Storylines intertwined?
The other confusion with these change in events is what happens with each storyline? Cena is still having issues with Vickie/Dolph AND is now in the WWE Championship match - two feuds come together? Or will they pull Dolph away so that he can focus on the 5 on 5 match? Or is it all set up so that Dolph can screw Cena out of the title and begin an intense feud?
Hopefully we get some clarity tonight on Raw.
In Depth: WWE's Future Stars
I think it's no secret that there's a slight lack of Main Event talent in the WWE lately. I've been watching old PPVs (currently on 2005) and started to wonder when the 'decline' began. My initial feeling going into this post was that in the last few years there hadn't been many coming up to Main Event level. After researching this theory I realised that there are shades of grey to this - although this assumption is somewhat true, it's not through lack of trying.
Below is some info on the last 10 years; who main evented Wrestlemania, who were the main guys, and who were the up-and-comers/made it that year:
*Part Timers include; The Rock, Chris Jericho, Brock Lesnar (HHH and Undertaker)
Also, a quick note that above, in the 'Main guys' column, there is no mention of Kane or Big Show. This is because they have been around longer than the 2002-2012 period and have a different role to play. Although they have been used in main events and title matches, I feel that they have always been there to raise talent up. They continue to do so even today - Kane is paired with Daniel Bryan; Big Show is helping Sheamus (and will probably assist Smackdown's talent). It's also gotten to the point where it's very difficult to take these two serious as genuine threats to the current crop of stars - they have had so many stints at being faces/heels/monsters/giants/comedy characters.
It seems that from 2005, the dominance of John Cena began - although not shown in the table above; John main evented at this years Wrestlemania with The Rock. This shows two things: (1) John has continued to main event (title matches or not) at every 'Mania since he won his first WWE Title (vs JBL, Wrestlemania 21) and (2) There has been a need the last couple of years (and quite possibly next year, too) for 'part timers' to be a part of the main event. The Rock has been heavily involved in the last couple of years, along with Brock Lesnar and to a lesser emphasis; Chris Jericho.
These two points show that there is a huge problem in the WWE right now. Fair enough Cena main eventing - as the top guy in the company it's to be expected. The worrying thing is that no one is really challenging that number 1 spot. CM Punk is the perfect opposition to him - both were babyface until Punk turned on The Rock - and I suppose that Punk isn't popular enough with kids to take Cena's spot. The trouble is that these two are miles ahead of the rest. This is why the part timers are needed to bring that star quality/big names to the main events. But it begs the question; Where is the future coming from?
Dolph Ziggler, Alberto Del Rio, The Miz are all the closest 'future stars' behind Punk and Cena. This is partly due to how they have been booked. Along with his character going a little stale, Del Rio has lost every title match this year and most feuds he's been in. The guy is basically starting from scratch every week (being outshone by Orton doesn't help him either).
Ziggler and Miz have a lot more chance in my opinion; Ziggler has held Money in the Bank for a number of months now and will probably cash in to become World Champion soon. Unfortunately I don't think that it's going to end well for him this time around. If he was built in a stronger way I think the inevitable title reign would be more credible and believable. If they continue the way they're going with him it's just going to look weak - especially as he constantly loses. Build him up strong like Sheamus got earlier this year before he won the title at 'Mania - a reign that was a credible length - the build meant that it made sense for Sheamus to be champ for over 6 months.
The Miz situation is a little unpredictable at the moment. I haven't seen the Kofi matches just lately, but apparently they're making both guys look great. From what I've heard, he's starting to get cheered and there could be a possible face turn for him - something that I think will be a great move for him and the company. He's never been a face in his WWE career and I think that it could be the fresh move that is needed to create another main event star that STAYS there.
Going back to the table of info above, it can be said that from 2006 onwards the calibre of 'up-and-comers' started to go downhill. If Edge didn't have to retire then he would still be running riot. He was the standout new star around 2005/06. Rey didn't really do it for me when he won the World Title at Wrestlemania 22 - the rest of that year was the whole 'underdog' thing with him beating all the top guys. I think you can only go so long with the 'little man' champion before someone puts him in his place. And even though his character was a stoner/relaxed/'chill out' dude, RVD just seemed a lazy idea for champion. Along with Jeff Hardy in 2008/09, RVD was the popular daredevil that all the fans loved and never had a run as a heel to show a different side to him.
From 2007 onwards it seems that the WWE tried a lot of guys out in the hope that someone would stand out. The need to find these stars was getting higher and higher especially as people retired/quit/persued other avenues. From further back than that there doesn't seem to be much change at the top - guys like Triple H, John Cena and Randy Orton have been around for a long time now with no one really challenging their spots (obviously Triple H has quietly took a back seat).
The list of people who have left is full of major players and potential (if not already) Hall of Famers: Batista, HBK, Edge and Angle have all moved on, and along with Triple H's authority-figure future and Undertaker's greatly reduced appearances, the WWE is very thin on top level stars. This isn't helped in that Randy Orton is not trusted. I think I read that he has already violated the wellness policy twice and has one strike left before being on his way. This leaves Cena, Punk and Sheamus as the only bona fide stars today.
A need for that 'next big thing' is greater than ever. Enter Ryback.
As it stands, Ryback has been thrust into the WWE title picture and it's probably needed just to get something different leading up to The Rock winning the belt at the Rumble. I really hope that he [Ryback] doesn't win the belt between now and then though as he may be well cheered but he is far from ready. It's all good experience though and he's a new guy that has shot up the ranks - this is a rarity in the last few years.
If the WWE want to thrive (and improve) in the next few years then they have to work on the potential main eventers that I have identified. Ryback, Del Rio, Ziggler, Miz and Wade Barrett are all on the verge but need that defining moment and right build up to finally make that step up - and stay there. Lower down the card is the likes of Cesaro, Kingston, Sandow and Rhodes - these guys, without doubt, ARE the future - I just hope that they are built up correctly. This will all add to a better program and their talents will lead to better, and more compelling storylines.
Below is some info on the last 10 years; who main evented Wrestlemania, who were the main guys, and who were the up-and-comers/made it that year:
Wrestlemania:
WWE Title
|
Wrestlemania:
World Title
|
Main guys
|
Up-and-comers
|
|
| 2002 | HHH def. Chris Jericho(c) | N/A | Rock / Austin / HHH / Taker / Angle / Jericho / NWO(Hogan) | Brock Lesnar / RVD(attempted) |
| 2003 | Brock Lesnar def. Kurt Angle(c) | HHH(c) def. Booker T | HHH / Taker / Angle / Brock / Nash / Rock&Austin(both left/retired) | Steiner(returned) / Goldberg(debut) / Benoit(on rise) |
| 2004 | Eddie Guerrero(c) def. Kurt Angle | Benoit def. HHH(c) & HBK | HHH / Angle / HBK / Taker / Brock&Goldberg(both left) | Benoit / Guerrero / JBL / Orton / Batista |
| 2005 | John Cena def. JBL(c) | Batista def. HHH(c) | HHH / JBL / Angle / Taker / HBK / Hogan(returned) | Cena / Batista / Orton(continued) / Edge |
| 2006 | John Cena(c) def. HHH | Rey def. Angle(c) & Orton | Cena / Batista / HHH / Angle / Taker / Orton / HBK | Rey / Edge(continued) / RVD(again) |
| 2007 | John Cena(c) def. HBK | Undertaker def. Batista(c) | Cena / Batista / Edge / Taker / HHH / Orton / HBK | Lashley |
| 2008 | Randy Orton(c) def. John Cena & HHH | Undertaker def. Edge(c) | Cena / Batista / Edge / Orton / HHH / Taker / HBK | CM Punk (attempted) / Jeff Hardy |
| 2009 | HHH(c) def. Randy Orton | John Cena def. Edge(c) & Big Show | Cena / Batista / Edge / Orton / HHH / Taker / HBK | Jeff Hardy / CM Punk (another attempt) / Sheamus |
| 2010 | John Cena def. Batista(c) | Chris Jericho(c) def. Edge | Cena / Orton / Taker / Edge / Batista(quit) / HBK(retired) | Sheamus(continued) / Swagger(attempted) / Barrett / The Miz |
| 2011 | The Miz(c) def. John Cena | Edge(c) def. Alberto Del Rio | Cena / Edge(retired) / Orton / CM Punk(promo) / Miz | Del Rio / Ziggler / Morrison / Christian / Daniel Bryan |
| 2012 | CM Punk(c) def. Chris Jericho | Sheamus def. Daniel Bryan(c) | Cena / Orton / Punk / Sheamus / Part Timers* | Daniel Bryan (continued) / Ziggler / Del Rio / Ryback |
*Part Timers include; The Rock, Chris Jericho, Brock Lesnar (HHH and Undertaker)
Also, a quick note that above, in the 'Main guys' column, there is no mention of Kane or Big Show. This is because they have been around longer than the 2002-2012 period and have a different role to play. Although they have been used in main events and title matches, I feel that they have always been there to raise talent up. They continue to do so even today - Kane is paired with Daniel Bryan; Big Show is helping Sheamus (and will probably assist Smackdown's talent). It's also gotten to the point where it's very difficult to take these two serious as genuine threats to the current crop of stars - they have had so many stints at being faces/heels/monsters/giants/comedy characters.
It seems that from 2005, the dominance of John Cena began - although not shown in the table above; John main evented at this years Wrestlemania with The Rock. This shows two things: (1) John has continued to main event (title matches or not) at every 'Mania since he won his first WWE Title (vs JBL, Wrestlemania 21) and (2) There has been a need the last couple of years (and quite possibly next year, too) for 'part timers' to be a part of the main event. The Rock has been heavily involved in the last couple of years, along with Brock Lesnar and to a lesser emphasis; Chris Jericho.
These two points show that there is a huge problem in the WWE right now. Fair enough Cena main eventing - as the top guy in the company it's to be expected. The worrying thing is that no one is really challenging that number 1 spot. CM Punk is the perfect opposition to him - both were babyface until Punk turned on The Rock - and I suppose that Punk isn't popular enough with kids to take Cena's spot. The trouble is that these two are miles ahead of the rest. This is why the part timers are needed to bring that star quality/big names to the main events. But it begs the question; Where is the future coming from?
Dolph Ziggler, Alberto Del Rio, The Miz are all the closest 'future stars' behind Punk and Cena. This is partly due to how they have been booked. Along with his character going a little stale, Del Rio has lost every title match this year and most feuds he's been in. The guy is basically starting from scratch every week (being outshone by Orton doesn't help him either).
Ziggler and Miz have a lot more chance in my opinion; Ziggler has held Money in the Bank for a number of months now and will probably cash in to become World Champion soon. Unfortunately I don't think that it's going to end well for him this time around. If he was built in a stronger way I think the inevitable title reign would be more credible and believable. If they continue the way they're going with him it's just going to look weak - especially as he constantly loses. Build him up strong like Sheamus got earlier this year before he won the title at 'Mania - a reign that was a credible length - the build meant that it made sense for Sheamus to be champ for over 6 months.
The Miz situation is a little unpredictable at the moment. I haven't seen the Kofi matches just lately, but apparently they're making both guys look great. From what I've heard, he's starting to get cheered and there could be a possible face turn for him - something that I think will be a great move for him and the company. He's never been a face in his WWE career and I think that it could be the fresh move that is needed to create another main event star that STAYS there.
Going back to the table of info above, it can be said that from 2006 onwards the calibre of 'up-and-comers' started to go downhill. If Edge didn't have to retire then he would still be running riot. He was the standout new star around 2005/06. Rey didn't really do it for me when he won the World Title at Wrestlemania 22 - the rest of that year was the whole 'underdog' thing with him beating all the top guys. I think you can only go so long with the 'little man' champion before someone puts him in his place. And even though his character was a stoner/relaxed/'chill out' dude, RVD just seemed a lazy idea for champion. Along with Jeff Hardy in 2008/09, RVD was the popular daredevil that all the fans loved and never had a run as a heel to show a different side to him.
From 2007 onwards it seems that the WWE tried a lot of guys out in the hope that someone would stand out. The need to find these stars was getting higher and higher especially as people retired/quit/persued other avenues. From further back than that there doesn't seem to be much change at the top - guys like Triple H, John Cena and Randy Orton have been around for a long time now with no one really challenging their spots (obviously Triple H has quietly took a back seat).
The list of people who have left is full of major players and potential (if not already) Hall of Famers: Batista, HBK, Edge and Angle have all moved on, and along with Triple H's authority-figure future and Undertaker's greatly reduced appearances, the WWE is very thin on top level stars. This isn't helped in that Randy Orton is not trusted. I think I read that he has already violated the wellness policy twice and has one strike left before being on his way. This leaves Cena, Punk and Sheamus as the only bona fide stars today.
A need for that 'next big thing' is greater than ever. Enter Ryback.
As it stands, Ryback has been thrust into the WWE title picture and it's probably needed just to get something different leading up to The Rock winning the belt at the Rumble. I really hope that he [Ryback] doesn't win the belt between now and then though as he may be well cheered but he is far from ready. It's all good experience though and he's a new guy that has shot up the ranks - this is a rarity in the last few years.
If the WWE want to thrive (and improve) in the next few years then they have to work on the potential main eventers that I have identified. Ryback, Del Rio, Ziggler, Miz and Wade Barrett are all on the verge but need that defining moment and right build up to finally make that step up - and stay there. Lower down the card is the likes of Cesaro, Kingston, Sandow and Rhodes - these guys, without doubt, ARE the future - I just hope that they are built up correctly. This will all add to a better program and their talents will lead to better, and more compelling storylines.
Tuesday 6 November 2012
WWE Raw rant 5/11/2012 - Birmingham
This post is a lot earlier than usual as me and a mate were at the tv taping of the show, live in Birmingham, England! I think we spent most of the show trying to get on camera than we were keeping up with everything going on in the ring!
The night started out with the Superstars taping. The highlight of this for me was the Michael McGillicutty vs Tyson Kidd match. When these two square off it seems like a little nod to Curt Hennig/Bret Hart matches twenty years ago. I only wish that McGillicutty could/would use his real name - the places he'd get if he had that Hennig name!
I've looked into the order of how Raw went down and it's pretty much how I remember it last night. I think I was expecting it to be all over the place but I'm pretty sure it was as it will be shown on tv. The stop/start nature of taping this show made me think they'd tape it in whatever order and stitched it together ready for showing on Sky/tv.
The main issues/storylines presented on Raw were of the Survivor Series lead-up, the ongoing Cena/AJ/Vickie crap and the Brad Maddox explanation.
I was absolutely baffled that they have completely changed the Survivor Series Team Foley vs Team Punk match. Punk and Ryback have now been taken out of the match and have been joined by good ol' John Cena for a triple threat for the WWE Championship. Additionally, Dolph Ziggler has now been named as the captain of the team previously led by Punk - so Foley came back to get back at Punk and now his (if it still is his) team's objective is void?!
Also thrown into the mix is the fact that The Miz has quit the team (later replaced by Wade Barrett). This is surely so he can be entered into the World Title picture seeing as he has been involved with Sheamus the last week or so. I've also read rumours that there's a future face turn on the cards; so maybe there's the possibility of him filling the void left by Ryback on Team Foley?
All of this begs the question 'why change the Survivor Series line-up?'. For me, the Team Foley vs Team Punk made sense. It furthered current feuds and also gave the WWE Title a break from being defended for a month - which isn't a bad thing - why does the title need defending at every ppv? In a traditional Survivor Series match Ryback could beat Punk clean and everyone gets what they need out of the match - Punk still has the title going into the TLC ppv (probably against Cena) and Ryback still looks strong and has the rub from Punk as well as a clean win to his name.
The biggest result of Survivor Series would have been the Cena vs Ziggler match that seemed to be a certainty due to this awful AJ/Vickie allegations storyline. As much as I'd like Ziggler to beat Cena clean to gain some credibility, I think whatever the result it would be a massive step for Ziggler's career. Instead, he's going to have to pull something extra special in the 5 on 5 match he's now part of. They've got no problem elevating Ryback due to his meteoric rise, but Ziggler again has to settle for second best.
From what we could see/hear of the Brad Maddox explanation, he did a pretty good job considering that the 'evil referee ending' was last minute. Maddox' reasoning that he's wanted to be a WWE Superstar all his life and he's tried every avenue to get there but had door after door slammed in his face was a good cover. It's good that WWE has trusted him and given him this tv time and there's potential that he can become a regular as a result of this. Obviously, he's going to get destroyed next week (vs Ryback) but will probably earn a contract due to Punk interfering (leading to a reveal that Maddox/Punk/Heyman were in this together all along - very beneficial for Maddox). I haven't seen anything of Maddox' career so far (possibly from FCW?), but will take a look to see if he's worth the upgrade to Monday nights.
Other Raw/live show notes:
The night started out with the Superstars taping. The highlight of this for me was the Michael McGillicutty vs Tyson Kidd match. When these two square off it seems like a little nod to Curt Hennig/Bret Hart matches twenty years ago. I only wish that McGillicutty could/would use his real name - the places he'd get if he had that Hennig name!
I've looked into the order of how Raw went down and it's pretty much how I remember it last night. I think I was expecting it to be all over the place but I'm pretty sure it was as it will be shown on tv. The stop/start nature of taping this show made me think they'd tape it in whatever order and stitched it together ready for showing on Sky/tv.
The main issues/storylines presented on Raw were of the Survivor Series lead-up, the ongoing Cena/AJ/Vickie crap and the Brad Maddox explanation.
I was absolutely baffled that they have completely changed the Survivor Series Team Foley vs Team Punk match. Punk and Ryback have now been taken out of the match and have been joined by good ol' John Cena for a triple threat for the WWE Championship. Additionally, Dolph Ziggler has now been named as the captain of the team previously led by Punk - so Foley came back to get back at Punk and now his (if it still is his) team's objective is void?!
Also thrown into the mix is the fact that The Miz has quit the team (later replaced by Wade Barrett). This is surely so he can be entered into the World Title picture seeing as he has been involved with Sheamus the last week or so. I've also read rumours that there's a future face turn on the cards; so maybe there's the possibility of him filling the void left by Ryback on Team Foley?
All of this begs the question 'why change the Survivor Series line-up?'. For me, the Team Foley vs Team Punk made sense. It furthered current feuds and also gave the WWE Title a break from being defended for a month - which isn't a bad thing - why does the title need defending at every ppv? In a traditional Survivor Series match Ryback could beat Punk clean and everyone gets what they need out of the match - Punk still has the title going into the TLC ppv (probably against Cena) and Ryback still looks strong and has the rub from Punk as well as a clean win to his name.
The biggest result of Survivor Series would have been the Cena vs Ziggler match that seemed to be a certainty due to this awful AJ/Vickie allegations storyline. As much as I'd like Ziggler to beat Cena clean to gain some credibility, I think whatever the result it would be a massive step for Ziggler's career. Instead, he's going to have to pull something extra special in the 5 on 5 match he's now part of. They've got no problem elevating Ryback due to his meteoric rise, but Ziggler again has to settle for second best.
From what we could see/hear of the Brad Maddox explanation, he did a pretty good job considering that the 'evil referee ending' was last minute. Maddox' reasoning that he's wanted to be a WWE Superstar all his life and he's tried every avenue to get there but had door after door slammed in his face was a good cover. It's good that WWE has trusted him and given him this tv time and there's potential that he can become a regular as a result of this. Obviously, he's going to get destroyed next week (vs Ryback) but will probably earn a contract due to Punk interfering (leading to a reveal that Maddox/Punk/Heyman were in this together all along - very beneficial for Maddox). I haven't seen anything of Maddox' career so far (possibly from FCW?), but will take a look to see if he's worth the upgrade to Monday nights.
Other Raw/live show notes:
- Rey got an entrance (to get a massive pop from the live crowd) whereas Sin Cara and R Truth had to settle for already being in the ring - Three hours to fill and they still can't give everyone entrances! Rey/Sin Cara's mocking of Prime Time Players was very funny and gave me and my mate the idea to follow suit when the camera panned round to us!
- Very surprised to see Daniel Bryan lose in two minutes to Cody Rhodes. This was followed by Kane squashing Damien Sandow. Pointless couple of matches as neither team takes an advantage going into a future title showdown.
- Sheamus vs Miz was half decent. The standout moment for me and my mate was when Big Show held the Wold Title up and we tried to get in the camera shot either side of his head (Note: hoping to find footage of this on Youtube!).
- Nice to see Kofi get a win over Alberto Del Rio. The last few meeting have been squash matches in favour of Del Rio, but this is clearly a sign that they want Kofi to go places (even if it was a roll up after Orton's titantron video distracted Del Rio). Also it would be a slap to the Intercontinental title to have its holder job again. Small note on this match/segment was ADR bumping into Rosa Mendes backstage - hinting at a new manager for him maybe?
- Santino was absolutely hilarious - I love that guy and would be very disappointed if WWE ever decide to let him go. He and Ryder were in the ring for a while before Primo/Epico came out and he had Ryder in stitches.
- Nice win for Barrett (over Brodus Clay) on home soil. He got a huge babyface reaction! After Raw ended, he came out and gave an unrehearsed speech that in 9 years as a wrestler he has never been cheered. He was very grateful and surprised (I didn't understand this though as hes English - of course he's going to get that reaction?!). This ending to the show was a nice touch but was ruined by Cena's presence; licking the hometown hero's ass - I'm sure Cena thinks by doing this he'll get cheered more and come across as a top bloke?!
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