Read on for my thoughts on yesterday's Main Event and Tribute to the Troops.
Main Event:
Solid video package.
Damned good opening tag match. I'm proud of how far Bryan's come since NXT Season 1. Rhodes and Sandow were solid, and Kane still has "it" after all these years.
PTP vs. Santino and Ryder was good, too. I'll throw Darren a bone since I ragged on him so much in NXT: He's always willing to go the extra mile with another taunt or adding extra effort to the headlock. I'd like to see that aggression from others on the roster. Titus continues to impress: it's hard to believe he's the same guy who finished dead last in NXT Season 2.
Tribute to the Troops:
Kind of a bummer first match. I'm ok with a count-out ending, but so soon into things?
Not a bad rematch other than the obvious injury to Orton. I hope he comes back strong.
I'm pretty much skipping to the matches here since a lot of the stuff isn't wrestling related.
Ryback vs. Del Rio was ok. I'm not expecting amazing matches on this show.
Miz TV was about what I expected. This is a pretty light-hearted show, which makes sense.
Another alright match with Miz and Sandow.
More silliness with Kane, Bryan, and Truth.
Another ok 6-man tag. I guess they had so much planned for this show that we're not getting long matches.
I liked Cesaro's promo.
I wish Cesaro lasted longer against Cena, but this was just a match to pop the troops.
More wrestling coming up!
Chuck, I'm interested to hear your thoughts on this hilarious segment here. I think sometimes many fans get caught up in how generic Santino's gimmick is and how much of a jokester he is that they don't give him enough credit. This is extremely odd, but hilarious.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trfyl5ZCp6Y
It was ok. Santina's not a gimmick I'd want to make a comeback as it pretty much ran its course.
ReplyDeleteShifting gears a bit, watching Tribute to The Troops and this current episode of Raw have both reinforced a very annoying and time-wasting stance: match results are more obvious now than ever. Notice in both events, the "faces" have won EVERY single match. Not seven out of eight, but EVERY single match, man. I understand it's the holidays and is a time of "cheer" along with the unfortunate tragedies happening lately, but c'mon. EVERY single match? It was bad before, but lately it's been even worse.
ReplyDeleteJust like you mentioned before- there's little story, chance of a continued story or "to be continued" aspects that should exist when the good guys always win.
It really takes the surprise factor out of every match. Being an educated fan, I want to see NEW AND INNOVATIVE storylines and actual reasons why stars are booked to win. It may be alright in the eyes of kids (which indeed are part of the target market now that it's PG), but it all traces back to how the same stars continue to thrive and so many others have stayed at the lower card. The rich get richer and poor get poorer, so to speak. What are your thoughts on that?
This will be the last time I mention Otunga in this light, but by the way, that Ryder vs Otunga match is the epitome of what I'm talking about. Did you hear Booker and Teddy backstage even acknowledging how bad Otunga's been booked?
**To reiterate, I mean of late the "faces" have been winning every match. My main complaint is that every match seems to be obvious in general, but just of late it's been skewed towards the "faces" big time.
ReplyDeleteWas TLC obvious? The heels won the top three matches, and Eve and Cesaro retained their titles against face challengers. Punk's been WWE Champion for a good while as a heel as well, so the faces definitely don't win everything.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, Tribute and the 12/24 Raw were pretty much filler/fluff. I wouldn't take them too seriously as they somewhat exist in a vacuum. It's like WWE took an off week and just wanted fans to be happy with faces winning. As long as it doesn't become a regular thing, I don't really have too much of a problem with it.
There's the old saying that there aren't really many new/innovative stories and everything is just a retelling of something else updated for its audience or having different characters. I agree. There's only a set amount of stories that can be told in wrestling.
I think we did see some fresh faces get pushed in 2012 (Cesaro, Sandow, Ryback, Bryan, Big E, The Shield, Ziggler) and I don't consider Punk, Sheamus, and Del Rio to be stale since they've only been around as main eventers a few years compared to Show, Kane, and Cena. Though things aren't as fresh as I'd like, things are looking up with those names getting a good start to their careers.
I do think they could do a better job with heels winning or looking strong more. That's part of why TLC was so well-received. It elevated The Shield, Cesaro, and Ziggler. I hope they keep it up (and think they just might).
I agree that TLC was more leveled out in terms of faces vs heels and who won. My "beef" wasn't as much about TLC as me just wishing 1) TTTT and 2) Raw this week were actually more "worth" watching instead of kind of, let's face it, pandering to the audience a bit. I have a feeling this will continue throughout the holidays for years and years. This is a bit of a slow time for most people being off of work with the holidays, so why not create more justified stories?
ReplyDeleteI do understand it's the holidays and we had some tragedies happen lately, but the Rumble is coming up and us "educated" and "curious" fans want to see more logical and level storylines. There was a time in the broadcast on Raw that right after the first match I knew how every match was going to end up, and there's no fun in that.
I like the idea of Cesaro, The Shield, and Sandow getting brought up, but it may be years before they get to the "elite" status.
I like the idea of others getting in the main event picture, but it just hasn't happened and that's where the "staleness" comes in to me. About 90 percent of the time Cena and Sheamus are in a match, they win, and the main event is supposed to be a time that creates suspense and strong reason to view the show's ending. I can see how a good amount of older fans who love good storylines would get turned away from the broadcasts.
What were your thoughts on Booker and Teddy acknowledging the way Otunga's been booked after what's gotta be his 20th straight loss?
I think the theory is that fewer people are watching Raw during the holiday season, since they're going up against classic Christmas programming and people doing things other than watching TV. I seem to remember them having a similar problem with Smackdowns on Thanksgiving. Again, as long as it's just a temporary setback I'm fine with it.
ReplyDeleteI think the heels will get some momentum going into the Rumble. I don't think they'd take the direction they took at TLC and the week after if they weren't going to elevate The Shield, Big E, and Ziggler.
I think Cesaro, The Shield, and Sandow will have a faster track than the average WWE superstars due to their experience and how high management is on them, not to mention the feeling that they need new blood in the main event picture. Anyone who has returned or debuted since HHH got his new job (VP of New Talent Development) is due to be protected. There's an edict to have a long-term plan for any talent who's being brought up. There have been some bumps in the road, but all in all I think they've done a good job with most of the people brought up in 2012. Brodus Clay's the main exception, and he kind of shot his own push in the foot I think.
There have definitely been fresh faces in the main event picture this year. Even if you don't count Del Rio, Punk or Sheamus for some reason there's Big E, Bryan, The Shield, Ziggler, and Ryback all being elevated to that level in 2012. Rock, Lesnar, and Jericho made appearances too.
Cena and Sheamus aren't going away any time soon. I do think we'll see less reliance on Cena going forward, but Sheamus is still probably on the upswing. Note how many main events and title reigns it took before they took Cena and Orton out of the main event picture. Cena and Sheamus are still top draws to the company, so they should stay close to where they are. Cena I'm fine with being used to elevate people to main event level since he's been there so often that it's stale. Sheamus is a guy I still kind of see as making his way. He's had titles and main events, but only for a few years.
I do think they could do a better job of getting heat on the heels by having them stand tall or escape punishment more often. I think they've done about a "B" job with keeping heat on Ziggler and The Shield. They've done a pretty good job with Punk, too.
As for Booker and Teddy, I don't read much into it. They're faces making fun of a heel. It does solidify Otunga's status as the guy who gets beaten, but I'm keeping my stance of "it's not a burial until a credible source says that management is out to bury him". Some people have to be on the losing end most of the time, just as in a real sport. Of course you don't want Otunga in that position, but that's where they'll have him until he does whatever it is that Management is looking for to start pushing for him as a wrestler.
I guess since I'm a bit more of a critic and have higher standards than most fans in terms of wanting to watch good tv (which an additional hour of wrestling during prime time timeslots with many other shows on) I expect Raw's episodes to be sharp. On top of it being less of a busy time for most people; therefore, having more time to sit down and watch an episode.
ReplyDeleteI just get a little bummed out when match results are obvious all the time. Even aside from just the last couple of weeks, tag matches featuring a "face" and "heel" team almost always go in favor of the "face" team.
I think guys like Sandow, Rhodes, and Cesaro have potential, but knowing how fickle WWE is, who knows where those two will end up in a couple of years. I personally think they are main event potential, but who knows knowing WWE and its decision making.
I agree that Tribute and Raw weren't good episodes as far as storyline development goes. I'm expecting Raw's rating to be down for the holidays since that's usually what happens. People are doing Christmas things and not watching wrestling.
ReplyDeleteI usually am in favor of heels winning or standing tall so faces can make the comeback, so you're not really going to get an argument from me.
I think Sandow and Cesaro in particular have a good chance of succeeding if they keep working hard due to the new edict. The fact that both have worked important matches with Cena in their "rookie" year is a good sign for their future. I don't know how Management feels about Rhodes but I know he works hard and wants to be a top guy and Management generally respects that. WWE knows that fans want some new faces in the main event picture, and guys like Big Show aren't going to be around forever so I see the future being good. Mania season will probably focus on the part-timers and Cena/Show but after that I think we'll see some continued build of names who haven't been around for 10+ years. That includes Sheamus, but it could also include the names mentioned.