Read on for my thoughts on last night's Raw.
I'm a little p*ssed off that WWE is doing another gimmick match between Punk and Ryback for free fewer than 24 hourse after they were just inside Hell in a Cell. That's supposed to be the ultimate feud-ending gimmick match.
There are certainly worse ways to start the show with John Cena as the new World Champion. Sandow finally stepped up to the plate with that segment. It was really smart of him to target the arm.
I've got to say that even though he lost, Sandow looked pretty good there. This felt like one of those panicky decisions to pop a rating and them not knowing what to do with Sandow. Where he goes from here will be really interesting. I definitely got SuperCena vibes from Cena winning. Maybe we'll get Cena vs. Del Rio vs. Sandow at Survivor Series. Hopefully if we do, both challengers will be elevated.
I liked the Shield promo putting over Big E. They're still an enjoyable gimmick.
Not shocked to have a cop-out ending to save Dean's title. I wouldn't mind Big E as champion. Remember that he doesn't have to look like a future main eventer at this stage of his career. Give that some time. Right now he's doing well enough.
Brad Maddox just pulled a Teddy Long.
Not a bad six-man at all. The Shield just gained some momentum (which they needed after losing so much lately).
That was a little Stone Cold-esque of Bryan. I guess it got him some momentum back after coming up short again. He needs an untainted PPV win I think.
I feel like Bryan's going to go over the entire Wyatt Family. I have mixed feelings on that.
The Los Matadores/3MB match was fine. I'm ok with some levity here and there.
I wonder when we'll see El Torito as part of an actual match? I also wonder how he feels about being in a bull suit as his big break.
It feels like AJ and Tamina don't really have any competition right now. Who's left to challenge them who could possibly pose a threat? Maybe Layla, since she used to be AJ's partner?
There's a squash for ya. I guess Kane had to kill someone to get back over.
Wow. That was weird. Definitely didn't see Kane's character going in that direction. I'm going to wait to see where they go from here before judging it too much. Do the Wyatts fit into this, and if so, how?
Not much to say about the merchandise segment. I hope they're doing well in that area.
Otunga's back on TV! I'm a little surprised. I hope he makes the most of whatever use they have for him.
I really enjoyed Punk's promo. I don't know what he's doing next, but I look forward to it.
Punk vs. Ryback wasn't bad at all considering they had HIAC the night before.
Very interesting direction with the Wyatt Family. I get this feeling there's a "higher power" here in the devil Wyatt keeps mentioning. Heyman? HHH? We'll see.
I really liked the Real Americans vs. Rhodes and Goldust. Goldust is such a veteran of the WWE style and it shows.
Yeah, I don't think anyone buys that Del Rio will beat Cena. Good promo, though.
There was some comedy involved, and anything involving Khali and Hornswoggle is going to make me roll my eyes, but the actual action between Summer Rae and Natalya was really impressive. Summer's made the most of her time in NXT and I'm glad she's getting a chance to show what she can do.
Not a terrible ending segment. I'm definitely no Big Show fan, but where they're going with his character is pretty cool.
More wrestling coming up.
I'm interested to hear your thoughts on this article. We talked about this before, but even with Bleacher Report articles being so subjective, this article seemed a bit interesting to me. Obviously, Bryan has still had two WWE title reigns (albeit limited time) and it's still too early to conclude the Bryan/Orton rivalry, but some of this article's point also is congruent with mine regarding Daniel Bryan and some of the company's decisions.
ReplyDeletehttp://bleacherreport.com/articles/1828653-wwe-how-they-have-finally-ruined-daniel-bryan-and-raw
Ouch. Yeah, the IWC seems to be in more and more of a "reality distortion field". There's a lot to examine here:
ReplyDelete- I think a lot of this can be tied to the author, and fans and general, becoming older and more disillusioned. They know more of the gritty reality of what goes on in the wrestling business and therefore aren't as accepting and easy to please as they were when they were younger. There are SO many more avenues for entertainment now (or just to see wrestling in general) than in the '80s or '90s. Anyone can watch wrestling from a bunch of different promotions from all over the world, past promotions, etc. because of the Internet, DVDs, etc..
- I think some fans (myself included at times) get way too critical and analytical about wrestling. I purposely keep wrestling as an interest but not my SOLE interest. I don't obsess over every little thing like I used to.
- Of course Bryan can recover. He's only 32 and he's already headlined a number of big PPVs. And he hasn't even been in WWE for five years yet! He could still be wrestling in 10 years if luck's in his favor.
- HHH's comments are at least partially in-character and should be taken as such. And while I'll concede that HHH had help in becoming a major star, he's still very talented, and who hasn't had help from more experienced and over wrestlers?
- The storyline's still going on. Bryan can still have his big moment.
- Bryan beat Cena at Summerslam and Orton the next month. Orton hasn't beaten him without someone else's help. Bryan's not being "buried".
- Ask Tommy Dreamer if fans will cheer someone who loses a lot if that person has heart and fighting spirit. He lost to Raven almost every time they faced off in ECW, but is still considered one of the top names in the promotion. The only time he beat Raven was because Raven was leaving.
- It’s still possible that Bryan gets that big win at WrestleMania. It was reported before Cena was injured that WWE had big plans for Bryan. He’s pretty much going to have to be cooled off a bit between now and then. He can’t challenge for the Title every PPV between now and then after all. And to me it makes sense for the angle to end with Bryan taking the title at Mania in a big WrestleMania moment. Bryan could win the WWE Championship vs. Triple H at the 30th edition of WrestleMania in front of tens of thousands of people.
- HHH is definitely being pushed as the top guy. I’ll give them that.
- HHH isn’t retired. He doesn’t wrestle much, but he’s not retired.
- Stephanie has wrestled before. She’s a former Women’s Champion and had a memorable feud with Vince ending in an “I Quit” match. Sometimes I wonder if the people who write articles like this are making up their backstories to sound like they’ve been watching for longer than they actually have.
- Of course Stephanie can get her comeuppance. Brie Bella could take her out, for instance. Reality distortion field in full effect.
- The McMahons looked pretty bad vs. DX (when the Spirit Squad was a thing). Austin made Vince’s life hell all of the time. Vince was shaved bald at WrestleMania.
- HBK tapped out to Bryan on Raw. A WWE Hall of Famer who stood his ground against The Undertaker, Cena, HHH, etc. TAPPED OUT TO BRYAN.
- Cardboard cutouts are flimsy, so that doesn’t even make sense.
- Bryan has headlined four straight PPVs and didn’t lose “clean” in any of them. If Cena did that, the IWC would be complaining about “SuperCena”.
- The whole point of Bryan winning at Mania is so people will keep watching the story until then. This is like saying “I shouldn’t have to read all three Lord of the Rings books. Just have Frodo drop the ring within 5 or 6 chapters and end it there.”
- Who’s to say that Bryan will lose a lot between now and Mania, and that no one will care when he wins? Or that he’ll lose at Extreme Rules? Is this person psychic?
ReplyDelete- The end game seems to be Bryan vs. HHH at Mania. It’s going to take a while to get there. Bryan having his big moment in the sun as WWE Champion after getting past all of the things thrown at him is the END of the story.
- Of course it’s ending with Bryan vs. HHH! HBK RETIRED!!! He’s not under a wrestling contract! This is terrible.
- WWE has been “sports entertainment” for decades now.
- Not all promos are 100% scripted.
- I thought Bryan lost all the time. That wouldn’t be 50-50 booking.
- You can’t “know” something that hasn’t happened yet. A lot of people “knew” the world was ending last year.
All in all, cringeworthy article. There's saying WWE could do better by Bryan and then there's saying what they said. It's really hard to take this article seriously with all of those errors. They didn't let the facts get in the way of a good story I guess.
Good points there. When it comes down to it, I can definitely understand how Daniel Bryan fans can be a bit irked with the WWE. Looking at his situation pessimistically, he definitely has a leg up on Orton with having no wellness violations; let alone two, he has the ability, passion, and charisma. Therefore, having him constantly get up-ended by the Helmsley regime and Orton week after week is a bit perplexing. He does deserve better.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I mainly agree that the article needs to look at things optimistically. Bryan has subtly had two WWE title reigns already, and this feud with Orton/HHH isn't yet concluded. I definitely think that he's really going through arguably the toughest main event-level "initiations" of recent memory, but his situations needs to be looked at strategically. Is he being devalued a bit now? Yes. However, he's continuing to gain fans from his fire and determination, and I don't see any logical reason why the WWE wouldn't allow him to win back the title and become one of the top guys in the company in the upcoming years.
I can definitely understand the pessimism of the article, but I mainly agree with you in that it's certainly not over yet for Bryan.
By the way, what is your take on Sandow's situation? It's clear that week after week, the WWE continues to confuse us as fans on their purpose/mission for Sandow. Why have him win the briefcase over seven talented, future-of-the-company guys all to have him fail at his opportunity? Given, this also may not be the end of the line for him, but I don't see Cena losing that title any time soon, and I definitely don't see any consistent faith the company has in Sandow. It's definitely a tough one to call for him and his future, which is a shame, because he's so talented.
WWE likes Orton. A LOT. He's had backstage incidents (and those two Wellness violations) that not everyone could recover from. Not to mention a number of injuries. For whatever reason, he's their Golden Boy behind Cena.
ReplyDeleteThere is kind of a conspiracy theory going around that Bryan will cool off so much that "the powers that be" will rethink having him get the Title back and beat HHH. HHH is a master strategist behind the scenes and a lot of people believe that he pretty much wants to be seen as the top guy, doing anything to ensure that happens. Note that Punk never got his win back over HHH. We'll see.
I really don't think it's their intention to "bury" Bryan. I really don't know where people are coming from with that. If HHH destroyed him with a sledgehammer one week and he was off TV for three months before losing decisively to nobodies, I could see their point. But he's headlining PPVs and is involved in an angle with some of the top names in the company.
WWE can be very wishy-washy with talents for whatever reason. They might have been really behind him when he won, but feel differently now. I think they might have had Sandow fail to cash-in in order to set up Cena vs. Del Rio vs. Sandow for the next PPV. Sandow needed something to do and Cena/Del Rio II needs some more heat, so I can't blame them too much. As far as I know, they like Sandow. He does interviews and promotional work for the company, and he's been employed for quite some time when you factor in his previous run. WWE's booking is almost always a case of "let's go this direction instead" vs. "this guy's terrible. Let's throw him under a bus." I think they MEAN well, they just don't always do the right thing.