Main Event:
I love Bo right now. He's come a long way from the FCW days.
I really enjoyed the first match. Ziggler brings out the best in people athletically, and Bo is definitely growing as a performer. Good work by both men.
As much as I'd love to see Tyson snap and make Kane tap out, I don't think that's what this segment's leading to. That's a shame, because that segment did more for Kane than for Tyson or Swagger.
Fine Divas handicap match for what it was. The chances of Kharma coming out and wrecking all of them are sadly nil, but that would be my ideal end to the angle.
Wow, they're all about digging at Tyson. At least he's getting screen time as a character outside NXT and Total Divas, though.
Nice to see Tyson get a win. The match was good for the time it got. I hope we see more of Tyson on the main roster now.
Fun post-match. Tyson can be a great heel.
Another weird Goldust/Stardust segment, but that's to be expected.
I liked the main event well enough. This has been a pretty good feud.
Everything else from yesterday is after the break.
Los Matadores and El Torito are working WWC's Anniversary show in Puerto Rico. WWE is on good enough terms with Carlos Colon to have his relatives work there for special shows. I'm glad to see WWE do that.
Smackdown did 2.75 million viewers on Friday, a big jump from last week's drop. WWE's got to be happy with that.
The Great Muta challenged The Rock, who will be coming to Japan soon to promote his movie career. No way does that happen. If Rock wrestles again, it will be for WWE. I doubt we see Muta wrestle there, and I seriously doubt he'd face Rock.
The former Rosita, Mandy Leon, and Damien Darling were all Rosebuds on Raw. Will we ever see Rosita compete in a WWE ring?
Natalya and Nikki Bella were interviewed ahead of Raw:
- I couldn't care much less about Total Divas stuff.
- Brie and Nikki should give those receipts to whomever perpetuates those angles.
- Charlotte is pretty solid, and can really make her mark on the main roster one day.
- I appreciate Natalya's work ethic, and I hope it's contagious.
Roman Reigns talked to Noelle Foley before Raw. Rock's cousin and Mankind's daughter together. That's pretty cool.
Todd Chrisley, another reality show star, will be guest hosting Raw next week as part of corporate synergy among USA Network shows. Yay...
Jim Ross provided an update of Stone Cold potentially returning to the ring. Unless he gets sent a lot more of those gimmicks in the mail called bills, he's not coming back unless Creative knows whether to sh*t or wind their watch in regard to a good storyline for him.
Kharma said in a recent interview she's more likely to work ROH than TNA. It's a shame we never got to see her be a force to be reckoned with in WWE. They could have done a lot more with her in TNA as well.
Stephanie McMahon talked about dating Triple H and more. They've had quite a bit of onscreen history since they initially ended up together.
Bray Wyatt talked about his gimmick and more. I'd love to see Bray beat Taker before Taker hangs it up. Can WWE set that up for WM31? There's not much of a Ministry left for Bray to make into a new Family, but the gimmick could still be fun. Bray vs. Sting could also work.
Raw's viewership Monday dropped to 3.78 million. They had competition from the NFL and from MLB playoffs, but neither of those games did huge numbers. Hopefully this means fewer segments with celebrities, Total Divas, animals, etc., but I wouldn't count on it.
Big Show vs. Rusev is set for Raw. Unless WWE has another surprise appearance they add at the last minute. I'll be surprised if this doesn't go at least until Hell in a Cell, and possibly Survivor Series afterward. If it keeps Rusev's momentum strong, I can live with seeing Show that much.
Set for Friday's 15th Anniversary of Smackdown:
- Appearances by Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, and The Rock
- MizTV with Dean Ambrose and John Cena
- Sheamus/Mark Henry/Los Matadores/El Torito/The Usos/Jack Swagger vs. The Miz/Damien Mizdow/Bo Dallas/Slater Gator/Hornswoggle/Goldust/Stardust
- Dolph Ziggler vs. Rusev in a non-title match
- Seth Rollins vs. Kofi Kingston
- Kane vs. Adam Rose
- AJ Lee vs. Alicia Fox
I think that could end up being a pretty good show.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. WWE wants to either get those terms over ("WWE Universe"), or make things easier on commentary ("Gold and Stardust"), or it's part of the overall narrative they want to tell ("titles" being more important than a piece of clothing). It's complicated, and some of it is silly, but it's part of the business.
2. I think The Authority will turn the other cheek as far as stripping Brock, since Brock's "on their side". I'm fine with the heels being hypocritical, since they're heels and we should hate their actions.
3. They've been able to keep the stockholders happy despite ratings being lower than their heyday, and that's who they listen to more than the fans. If another wrestling company starting cleaning their clocks by listening to the fans more, I think we'd see a change. But unless the stockholders or NBC Universal force Vince to change, I think he'll do what he's comfortable doing.
4. Some of it's a PG rating thing, but they also want to distance themselves from the "barbarian" bleeding of the past and the potential to spread something dangerous it was associated with.
5. It's a shame he's now heavily involved with Lucha Underground but is going to be remembered for that goofy gimmick. Vince has a really odd sense of humor. I'd love to know what some psychologists think of him.
More wrestling tomorrow.
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
Main Event Reax - 10/7/14, WWE stars in Puerto Rico, Smackdown audience, Muta vs. Rock?, Raw cameos, Interviews with Natalya+Nikki/Roman/Kharma/Stephanie/Bray, another Raw guest host, another Austin update, Raw audience, set for Smackdown and next week's Raw, and Questions on buzzwords, BROCK LESNAR, Vince listening to fans, blood on the Network, and Big Dick Johnson
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I have heard so many different predictions and theories regarding the next WrestleMania. What are your thoughts on the predictions of this article, and if the "confrontation" between HHH and The Rock on SmackDown was just hype or truth? I know it's far too early to tell, but what are your early impressions?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.business2community.com/social-buzz/sting-hulk-hogan-want-retirement-matches-wrestlemania-31-01034273
By the way, I know you are a fan of the newer, future guys of the company to get the spotlight. I just feel it's a bit tweaked to have Mark Henry continuously get upended by Bo Dallas, especially after a possible heel turn and change of character. I know Henry doesn't have as much mileage on him, but continuously getting upended by a guy that failed to win even the Intercontinental Title really doesn't do Henry any favors.
I do agree that younger guys (Ambrose, Rollins) deserve all the hype in the world and that older guys with more mileage (Kane, Big Show) shouldn't be challenging for titles or anything. My beef with Henry's situation is that: 1) Dallas may never reach the potential of Rollins or Ambrose, and 2) Henry is losing to mid-card guys and not upper-card guys. I know there are two sides to look at this situation, but in certain situations, I feel that the older guy is getting less limelight than he deserves.
I mean, look at Big Show: he has victories over Bray Wyatt AND Rusev (both younger guys with potential). Yet Mark Henry is 0-for-3 against Bo Dallas, who isn't as high on the totem pole as Wyatt or Rusev. It's just odd for me to fathom. You know?
Henry has more mileage on him**
ReplyDeleteI think each name is a separate case:
ReplyDeleteSting I can certainly see happening, since WM31 is in California. As for him facing Taker, that's less of a sure thing. Taker might not really be interested in that match, or in wrestling at all. I think he's pretty much ready to hang it up unless he really thinks he can deliver on the big stage.
Hogan is ALWAYS pitching "one last big match". There were talks of him facing Cena at WM25, but obviously that didn't happen. There was also talk of him wrestling at WM30, but it's possible WWE wasn't confident in his ability to get that physical.
Cena vs. Rusev would make sense if they keep Rusev strong until then.
I think we might have already seen the last of Rock in the ring unless his movie schedule allows it and he's really motivated to get back in the ring. The segment on Smackdown could have just been testing the waters to see what people think of HHH vs. Rock. I'm sure HHH would love to have that big-money match and the spotlight! HHH vs. Batista is another possibility, as Batista's mentioned it in interviews.
The Stone Cold story was WAY blown out of proportion, based on a comment he made about "training for a comeback" - to Gold's Gym. I imagine there'll be rumors of him getting back in the ring for WM32 in Dallas as well.
One name who surprisingly wasn't mentioned is Kurt Angle. He's been pitching a WWE comeback. There are a number of potential matches for him there if he's able to compete.
As for Henry: I try to be situational with when younger talents should be used over older names. I actually argued for Kane to be champion when Bryan got injured, and Kane vs. Show would have been a natural feud. I personally probably wouldn't have liked it, and a lot of fans are in the same boat, but it could have been justified.
A lot of times, I think WWE should do something I'm personally not a huge fan of. I think Jericho is a fantastic competitor, and Fandango beating Y2J was sad in some ways from the perspective of who's more talented and all that (though Fandango has had some impressive showings, there are few who can wrestle like Jericho), but I see why WWE went that route.
In this case specifically, I think the story has been great. It's been more about Henry's anger getting the better of him than Bo being an amazing competitor who can dominate him. I think there's a lot of potential in Bo that's just now starting to show. Using Henry to put him on the map is smart. Henry's a sure-fire Hall of Famer, and can easily rebound due to his size and credibility. If Bo was pinning him clean with no backstory of Henry's head not being in the game, it would be something of a waste (although I still like the theory of Bo getting momentum from beating someone credible).
Bo will hopefully be part of the future of the company (if he shows he deserves it), while Henry will almost definitely retire before WM32. That's the perspective WWE has in their booking, and I see what they're going for.