Read on for my thoughts on last night's Smackdown.
It should be noted a lot of the WWE roster is in Abu Dhabi, so they're kind of calling an audible for tonight.
I liked the opening segment, even the goofy part with El Torito. Part of me wants to see Kane and/or Big Show become the main authority figure. HHH and Stephanie have a lot to do behind-the-scenes, and both men could use some time off from taking bumps. That might have to wait until after WM31, though.
I liked Bray vs. R-Truth for continuing Wyatt's momentum.
I wasn't err... crazy about Paige's segment. It seems like they don't know exactly what to do with her character.
I'm glad we got to see more of Summer Rae the wrestler on a main show. She's good.
Fine enough match between Fandango and Rose. I do think it's time for them both to do new things, though.
Fine enough post-match, too. Where the heck is The Bunny? I'm ready for him to come back and ruin Rose for abusing their pals.
I look forward to seeing Dusty. Goldust vs. Stardust could be one to really remember.
I liked the first stage of the main event. The Miz/Mizdow dynamic remains entertaining. I want to see Sandow break free and impersonate other wrestlers for a while. Tell me you don't want to see Sandust, Dean Sandrose, etc..
Really good stuff with The Usos. The story between Reigns and Bryan is developing pretty nicely.
I liked the stuff between The Usos stage of the match and that with Los Matadores.
More good stuff with Los Matadores. I wonder how Reigns and Bryan were feeling around this part of the "endurance test".
Squash match city for the return of Slater Gator. Reigns in particular is probably pretty close to his limit here.
Well, that was one way to prevent a clean loss for The Ascension. Clever enough.
I liked the post-segment from The Ascension. Good to get heat on them. Their angle seems perfect to set up an old team to face them at WM31. The Dudleys are perfect for that.
I liked that last match for the story it told. I can't think of a feud I want to see less than Kane vs. Big Show, but Bryan vs. Reigns has been good.
More wrestling coming up.
I'm interested to hear your thoughts on this. I don't really agree with this article, personally. I think WWE wants the focus on Bryan and mainly Reigns at this point, leaving Cena with not many other options with there only being one title at stake. Cena is still the face of the company and I can easily see him being around for five or more years with some of the great matches he's put on of late.
ReplyDeleteThis was a fairly interesting read, though. It does seem very odd to see Cena compete for the U.S. Title; especially when it's been over 10 years since he's competed for it, which makes it a fairly interesting article.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2363753-john-cena-will-cement-his-position-in-the-midcard-at-wwe-wrestlemania-31
I think if Rusev wasn't U.S. Champion, this wouldn't even be much of a discussion. I half-expect there to be some screwy finish in a triple threat or something where Rusev loses the title without being pinned so he can move up the card.
ReplyDeleteAs for Cena, he'll be 38 in April. That's not "old", but he's had a LOT of matches in a pretty long run on the main roster. I wouldn't really call him a midcarder in the sense of, say, Luke Harper or BNB, but I can see him moving into less of a prominent role as time goes on. He's in the stage of his career where he can contribute in a big way without competing for the WWE Title, like Kane, Big Show, Taker, HHH, etc.. I don't really see him being a part-timer in the near future, but I also don't expect him to keep going at this pace and being this prominent five years from now.
The next few years will be really interesting as more veterans more or less retire. I can easily see WWE losing Brock, Rey, Goldust, Taker, and Henry at least by the end of 2016. They'll have to use the likes of Rollins, Ambrose, Bray, etc. to fill main event roles. Cena can't carry that load by himself, and they're definitely looking for the next centerpiece of the company.