Read on for my thoughts on last night's Smackdown.
I wasn't a fan of the opening promo at all. Cena's consistently bad on the mic.
Cena vs. Del Rio was pretty good. I hope they have something planned for Del Rio because Cena winning clean is getting boring.
Glad Ziggler is getting some heat back on Cena. They need to fire on all cylinders with him.
Good segment with Kofi and the tag champs.
Oh no. More Cena tonight? Dolph better get an edge. Otherwise where's the drama?
Khali vs. Otunga felt like a waste of time. It's going to be tough for Otunga to break out of his current role as content as they seem to be in keeping him there.
Nice six man tag. Everyone did good things. It's kind of a pity that Young tapped out, but I see that they wanted Bryan and Kane to get a strong win.
Good Sheamus promo. He's much better when he stays away from the silly stories.
Kind of a weird segment with Sandow but I see what they're going for. Hopefully they've got good plans for him.
Sandow vs. Kidd was nice. It's kind of a shame Kidd is just there to lose matches at this point. He's making the most of his TV time and isn't getting much for it.
Good Ziggler promo, as usual.
Fine tag match with 3MB and the Usos. I think it'd be a stretch for them to be taken seriously against Kane and Bryan at this point (they're rebounding from a LOT of losses), but they're growing.
I guess they were stuck between a rock and a hard place with Sheamus and Ziggler. A clean loss would have hurt either man. Good match, though.
If Cena and Sheamus stand tall almost all of the time, there's little reason to want to see them defeat the heels. It's considered a foregone conclusion that they'll do so.
More wrestling coming up.
I think Otunga's position in the company is one of the most confusing I've experienced as a fan. He was named to Team Ziggler to main event a pay-per-view, has main evented Raw and Smackdown, but yet hasn't even won a singles match on a main roster in months. This includes two straight losses to Khali and Santino Marella, who has been fading a bit since his title run.
ReplyDeleteWith having the intangibles and "star power" from movies and shows that many other superstars don't have, it's odd to see him buried like that. I saw some improvement in his match with Miz, so it's kind of one of those "what do you want from me?" cases with Otunga.
I could definitely see the downgrade if his in-ring work was completely abysmal, but it is improving a bit. Though he's not a Shawn Michaels in that regard and though I can see his ability blocking him from a W.H. Championship run now, he doesn't have to be fantastic to earn a U.S. Title run or even beat a Santino Marella with this being more about entertainment than wrestling.
You mentioned before about him needing some credibility with others in the company, but there has to be a little more to it in relation to why he's being devalued so much. What do you think?
First off, I'm starting to agree with you about one wrestler standing tall most of the time. It's one thing for Sheamus and Cena to beat people who aren't really doing much of anything. It's different for them to beat Ziggler, who should be positioned better.
ReplyDeleteMy answer's not really going to surprise you: WWE has ADD, Management prefers Santino and Khali, that kind of thing. Those are really the best theories I have.
I wouldn't say he's being buried. Buried is when they go out of their way to make you look bad and generally that happens when you've done something the company doesn't like. I really doubt he'd be in the TLC commercial or a movie if they were burying him.
WWE is probably pretty high on Cesaro right now, so I don't see him getting close to the U.S. Title. The company's pushing long title reigns, too. I can see Vince at least being behind Santino enough to keep him strong in singles matches as well. Gotta sell those Cobra puppets.
I don't think there's any kind of conspiracy theory keeping him back. It's always possible, but I think it's just the other factors I mentioned. They like other people more than him.
I don't know how much power Punk has backstage, but I remember he was pretty against Otunga in Season 1 of NXT. He has improved since then, but he's now competing with the likes of Sandow, Cesaro, Ziggler, Rollins, Ambrose, Reigns, and Ryback for TV time as someone other than a punching bag. Soon he could be competing with some more NXT call-ups and/or repackaged people like Fandango, McGillicutty, etc..
This is the time to be getting allies backstage. Train to be a better wrestler at either NXT or before shows. Ask veterans and agents for advice. Get to shows earlier and don't be caught sitting around Tweeting and playing video games when you could be watching old matches or something. They want people who are there to give 100% to the business and aren't just there to make money and be a TV star (not that Otunga is, but I can see that being his reputation if he's not careful). They want people with drive to be the best, etc..
It took Miz three years to win a singles title, and he had been wrestling for six years total at that point. Otunga had zero experience before being signed to WWE (FCW). He was there for less than a year before making it onto NXT (and note the criticism he got for not being ready in the ring). If he didn't have good mic skills, carry himself well in public appearances, and have a famous fiancee, he almost certainly wouldn't have gotten as far as he has.
Good points there as usual. With the Sheamus stance, I also agree. I would like to see Sheamus and Cena's win percentage over the past two years and I'd bet it's at LEAST .800. My beef isn't with them being main eventers and doing well (they are main event-caliber) but my beef is that it gives virtually no one else on the main roster a chance to be viewed/booked in a favorable light towards a push and it makes matches and feuds seem so obvious how they will end up.
ReplyDeleteZiggler (along with at LEAST five middle/upper card guys) has to be like 0-5 against Sheamus, so how can anyone take him as seriously as a main eventer and champion if he cannot get over that hump towards a "measuring stick" guy like Sheamus? It also, to me, really destroys any suspense, as with guys like Sheamus, it's so obvious he's going to win every time and that's how the storyline will go.
I guess with Otunga it really depends on how you look at it. Yes, for his lack of experience it's a plus he's on the main roster. However, I could see how a fan of his could be a bit irked with how he's being booked on the main roster. We'll see where he ends up in the (near) future. It's also kind of that way with Daniel Bryan in the sense that he has been booked well in tag matches, but has been booked horribly in singles matches.
My example with Otunga having the intangibles and tangible skills well enough to be a U.S. Champ was moreso a way to build up Otunga than to say Cesaro isn't worthy. Cesaro is credible, but with Santino Marella being the champ for months and months with the WWE seemingly not knowing what to do with the title half of the time, it really doesn't seem out of the question to give Otunga a push towards the title.
If you're really interested, Cagematch has a listing of every Cena and Sheamus match, dating back before either were in WWE. Here's Cena's: http://cagematch.de/?id=2&nr=691&page=4. Here's Sheamus': http://cagematch.de/?id=2&nr=2641&page=4. Note that live events are generally ways to send fans home happy, so the main event is going to be a top face standing tall, whether by winning or destroying someone.
ReplyDeleteIt's not solely wins and losses, but who looks better at storyline's end, who gets the upper hand, etc.. Though that's usually Cena or Sheamus.
Sheamus I don't have as much of a problem with since he's only been on top for so long and should still be positioned fairly strong. Cena's so established that it's not going to hurt him to lose to Ziggler, especially if shenanigans are involved.
I will say that WWE threw something of a curveball with Show beating Sheamus.
I hate to say it, but I'm mostly ok with how they're booking Otunga. He's a good character but he's not someone who should be a featured act. I would be ok with him having a bigger role, but he's got a ways to go before I'd get behind him holding titles and being looked at like the names I mentioned.
I think the U.S. Title has changed since Cesaro won it. It was mostly a prop for Santino and it wouldn't have been a stretch for Otunga to be in contention then. Now Cesaro is on a roll and when he loses it needs to be for someone the company thinks is a future main eventer. I don't look at Otunga like that.