Read on for my thoughts on last night's Elimination Chamber.
Pre-show:
Fine Orton promo. He's comfortable in his role.
I liked Rhodes Scholars' promo. They're too good to not be utilized.
Ok opening tag match. Sandow and Rhodes should be used better than this.
Main show:
I was hoping for more from Del Rio vs. Show, but they did a fine enough job. It does do something fro Del Rio to get a tap-out win. He looked really smooth in the ring and both men told a good story.
Oooh. Things were going pretty good between Cesaro and Miz until the ending. It felt a little flat. Hopefully both men rebound as they both have potential.
Not a bad segment between Bryan and Kane. I really want to see Bryan get a big win over Kane at Mania.
Pretty nice Swagger and Coulter promo. This act has some legs.
What? Are you serious? Kind of a weird decision to put Swagger in the World Title match at Mania. I wouldn't be shocked if they changed plans. At any rate, that was a pretty good match. Henry looked like an absolute beast as always. We'll see where everyone goes from here. I hope they don't botch Swagger's chance at greatness.
Another surprising outcome. They made the most of their time there. And hey, we didn't have to see Cena win again. I hope Ryback and The Shield get some good momentum going into Mania.
Pretty good Ziggler promo. It is a travesty that he wasn't booked.
Not a bad match, as Ziggler and Kofi can always deliver. Unfortunately the match was presented as something of an afterthought. No clue what either man does going into Mania.
Nice post-match.
I didn't like the Clay/Tensai segment. Do we really need another comedy tag team? We've got Santino/Ryder and Khali/Hornswoggle. I hope this is leading to something worthwhile because right now it's really disappointing me.
Nice promo by Kaitlyn. I wish the Divas division got more development like this.
Damn it. They had a good match going there. I wish it went longer. More please!
Rock vs. Punk was AWESOME. Punk looked like he belonged in there with the legend. Wow. The bar has been set pretty high for Punk and Rock's Mania opponents.
More wrestling coming up, including our debut podcast at UNCA's Blue Echo!
Man, it seemed like every match was either a complete shock or completely predictable.
ReplyDeleteIf you were to ask me how certain I was that Mark Henry would win the Chamber match (I know you picked him, too) and that Cena, Sheamus, and Ryback would win against The Shield, I would have said near 100 percent.
I was completely shocked to see The Shield win. They have been doing great in their roles, but this is their second match ever on the main roster, and they get booked to take down arguably three of the top five guys on the roster right now. What do you believe is the justification there and what do you see happening as the ceiling with The Shield? They can only go so far as a team, with their being on Tag Team Championship. Between the three faces, they have been near unstoppable.
I was also shocked to see Swagger win over all of those past World Title contenders. It's obvious the WWE is VERY high on Swagger again, which says a lot, because the guy was a jobber platform for all of the upper-card guys from like 2011-2012.
I think a mouthpiece for Swagger in Zeb is FANTASTIC idea. Swagger does lack some charisma and personality, but if you fill in that missing link, I like the idea there. I like the intensity and new look he's bringing, and the "American" gimmick he's bringing is making him stand out a bit while providing good heat. My only beef is that his win was against SO many established, World Title-caliber guys that arguably deserve it more. What do you think?
I know it's early, but are you seeing the inevitable Rock vs Cena 2 as a win for Cena? I know you thought Rock would exit around 'Mania time, and it does seem appropo Cena would be placed back on top of the mountain.
There being one Tag Team Championship*
ReplyDeleteI definitely thought we were in for Henry vs. Del Rio (a good follow-up for Show) and the faces beating The Shield. I'm interested to see where they'll go from here.
ReplyDeleteI think they want The Shield to be a major threat and not end up like Nexus, New Nexus, and The Corre (at least not yet). They have had their eyes on Ambrose and Rollins for a good while. They could very well be "pet projects". I'm glad they're being presented well. Even though I would have had them lose, I wanted them to still be a threat after the match was over.
I've been a fan of Swagger pretty much since day one. I really like the pairing and hope the sky is the limit. Mania might be too soon to take the title off of Alberto, but I hope Swagger gets to look like a credible World Title contender at least. He's got a lot of talent in-between the ropes. My only concern is that if Swagger wins the Title, I don't know how well Swagger vs. Ziggler would go since both are natural heels. I'd personally have Del Rio fend off Swagger (though Swagger looks good in the process), a rematch at Extreme Rules, and a Ziggler cash-in possibly immediately after the second PPV match. I know you don't like Ziggler, but I think he'll really deliver as Champion (though of course I think he's already delivering).
We might end up with Rock vs. Cena vs. Punk if Taker isn't ready to go by Mania. At any rate, yes, I see Cena winning. I kind of cringe to think of that (especially given the promos we're bound to get in the next few months) but I think if they use him right (i.e. he drops the title to a young and hungry up-and-comer) I'll survive. My pick is Daniel Bryan after beating Kane at Mania and Extreme Rules. The contrast between Bryan and Cena is pretty intriguing and I want to see what Bryan can do when he's in THE top program (I think he'll deliver). I can see Cena doing his stupid jokes and Bryan vowing to kick his head in and/or make him tap. They could really make Bryan as a big deal with good showings against those two.
To that point about The Shield, I would say for a group of guys to come in and not only take out so many high profile names, but to also be booked to win three straight matches against Ryback and two straight against Sheamus speaks volumes to how high WWE Management is on these guys. I mean, picture Ryback and Sheamus in a match and 95 percent of people would picture them winning that match, because they rarely ever lose.
ReplyDeleteI think all three of The Shield members have futures, it's just that my beef is that it's too early for these guys to be booked the way that they are right now. I wouldn't have any issues with them winning against mid-carders right now or winning against high profile guys after getting more time and exposure, but it's a bit too much right now to take down upper-card guys numerous times like this.
To me, if anything, it devalues Ryback and Sheamus a bit almost as much as it elevates The Shield. That is my opinion, anyway.
I'm starting to like Swagger a lot more. Part of the reason why I was hesitant to get behind him was how he was booked. I mean, the guy would be booked so unfairly that every match that he had on a main roster, he'd lose to upper card guys. Given, he had a U.S. Title run, but that was back when the WWE didn't create as good of exposure and were a bit tenuous about the title itself.
My concern for Swagger is eventually he will have to cultivate more personality and charisma to stay at the upper card level. Having a mouthpiece in Coulter is okay for now and has been working for him, but eventually he will have to prove more in that area to stay at that level. I know a big reason why guys like Punk, Cena, and Sheamus are sustainably at that top level is because they bring that charisma and personality to the table a bit more to represent that "entertainer" bill.
If Swagger can prove more from that aspect and if the WWE can give him good storylines and chances, I don't see many reasons why he'd be held back like before. I like his aggression, size, and determination. Do you think he can cultivate/show that personality element more fully eventually? It is an element that can't be taught and that is at a premium.
I can see both sides to this, and I certainly see your point. I just think WWE wanted the new guys to make a big impact quick (Jericho, Del Rio and Lesnar come to mind as guys who have gotten similar treatment in the past). It's kind of a broken record at this point, but I can't iterate enough that Rollins and Ambrose were both highly touted when they got signed (in a similar vain to Punk and Bryan) and fans kept wondering/asking when they were going to show up on TV. I think they're really well liked because they're making the most of their opportunities. They know they've got one shot to hit it out of the park and they're taking it.
ReplyDeleteThat said, it does hurt Sheamus' momentum and really does a number on Ryback since he has been on a losing streak.
Of course, he was a World Heavyweight and ECW Champion as well. To me that says that the Smackdown and ECW people knew what to do with him, but the Raw writers didn't. He's got talent.
You're right that he's not a great talker and doesn't have tons in the way of personality. I don't know how much of that is in his control: he's just not a good speaker. Thankfully he's such a good wrestler that he can make up for it by being solid in the ring. Do I see him being one of "the" guys in WWE like Punk, Cena, or Sheamus? Not at this point. But I think he can be a good contributer to the main event/upper card scene.
Honestly, I don't know if he can/will be able to be a better entertainer. It's not like he hasn't had plenty of mic time in the past. He just sounds pretty bored most of the time he talks. He's had some good mannerisms (push-ups, the dance around the ring, smiling), but just hasn't been able to sound natural on the mic. I hope he's working with some people backstage to improve on that aspect because he would be nearly unstoppable if he was a good talker. Coulter would be a great mentor I think. He has a very old-school mentality on the business.
That said, I don't think there's any rule that says he can't have a manager or partner do most of his talking for quite a while to come. It might be for the best at this point because he's been around a good while and still doesn't seem comfortable on the mic a lot of the time.