Read on for my thoughts on last night's Smackdown.
Hopefully this Christmas episode won't involve someone throwing up or drinking laxatives or something. I feel like that's a theme with Vince's humor.
Golden New Day promo. Them not winning the Slammy was booty.
- Kofi/Big E vs. L. Dragons:
The Dragons impress me every time I see them. They've kind of made Los Matadores absolete.
This is really good so far. Both teams are really smooth.
That was quite the match!!
Santino!!!!!!
I guess Stardust is our Grinch this year.
Ambrose has the attitude of a fighter. That's good in a world of sports entertainers.
- Wyatts vs. Dudleys/Ryback/Kane:
Ugh. The Ryback.
Two big hosses colliding here.
Harper's great.
Ryback's really not a bad wrestler by any stretch. He's just kind of unremarkable. He seems to be trying pretty hard to get better, so I'll give him that.
Good ending.
WHOA! Damien Sandow is actually on TV!!
Kind of a silly segment about Christmas decorations, but we've definitely seen a LOT worse. I think that match could be fun.
- Usos vs. Del Rio/Rusev:
Can two top singles names beat a top tag team?
Nice match so far. Everyone here is a good worker.
Good match overall. I like LoN.
Good post-match. Reigns is a force to be reckoned with.
I think Santino not being part of this match is telling of his status as a wrestler.
- Ascension vs. Titus/Neville:
Neville can do some amazing things in the ring. I think you need a couple of flippy guys, but not a whole division or promotion of them.
Good match overall!
I guess Ziggler being Nicky in the Spirit Squad is no longer canon, since he said the IC Title was his first.
- Charlotte vs. Brie:
I wish Charlotte didn't have to be "Flair's daughter" so much in the ring. She's good without doing his old spots.
Oh, hey. Team B.A.D. is finally getting back involved in the faction war thing.
I wouldn't blame Charlotte for getting counted out to help her friend fend off three people.
I'm not really feeling heel Charlotte, but hopefully it's worth it in the long run.
Neville being the breakout star of 2015 is kind of a joke. He's a great undercard talent, but I wouldn't say he's a future top name.
- Ambrose vs. Ziggler vs. KO:
These three are working together really well.
Funny stuff at the top of the stage.
One hell of a bump from Owens.
This is a full-in collision.
Nice spot with the back senton on those in the sleeper.
Jesus. This is a damn war for the title.
Nice ending. I hope there's more where this came from.
More wrestling coming up.
I completely agree with some of these Slammy decisions being a bit unfair. I think New Day and Kevin Owens easily should have won. I think these awards, for the most part, are slanted for the "face" characters to win with the fans being the sole source of voting.
ReplyDeleteAny word on Daniel Bryan? I read an article about how back in JULY he was waiting for WWE to clear him, but that says a lot when it's been half of a year and he's still not active. Some sources say he may never wrestle in WWE again, and if he does, WWE may limit his traction with his injury history. That would be a complete shame, as he is one of the more "enjoyable" entertainers we have seen in years.
I haven't seen all of your posts of late with being a bit tied up, but what is your stance on booking Reigns as the top guy and champion right now? He is technically a two-time World Champion. I get that Cena, Bryan, and Orton are not around right now and that Lesnar is part-time, but I still continue to believe that he's not quite there. In terms of charisma, he just doesn't have that spark that a Rollins and Cena have had added to still not being completely "over" with the fans yet (but getting there). I'm just always going to be "iffy" with him.
By the way, I found some humor in this article here. I noticed this "rivalry" has been one of the more one-sided rivalries we have seen in years. I've always felt bad for this guy and how he's been booked in that if he had more "personality" to showcase, he might have gained more sustainable traction instead of just about always being used to get guys over. This was a skewed victory with it being at Tribute to the Troops, but still is hard to believe.
http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2015/12/23/10662420/jack-swagger-finally-beats-rusev-at-tribute-to-the-troops
The Slammy Awards/Tribute/Christmas week shows are generally just "feel good" shows where the faces prevail. WWE being marketed to families makes that more of the case.
ReplyDeleteI'm fine with the Slammys just being a fan thing, really. It's kind of a way for the fans to show which wrestlers they really have support for. Of course, a lot of fans are just going to vote for the babyfaces, but in some ways it's a barometer of who's catching on and who isn't. It would be cool for there to be some kind of in-house awards ceremony to see who fellow wrestlers/WWE employees think should win each award, but I think a big part of this was to push WWE's social media accounts. They want to make more money from their digital enterprises, and this is all part of that.
Apparently Bryan is in negotiations with WWE to see what can be done regarding his future as a wrestler. WWE is naturally hesitant to use someone they think could suffer a career-ending concussion with all the press about those lately.
Reigns is the right choice right now. He's not perfect by any means, but we're never going to know if he can grow into the role of world champion unless they give him a real chance with the title. People had reservations about Cena, Bryan, Orton, Punk, and even Brock (pre-UFC) in their early periods as champions. Even if Cena and Orton were there, both have been main eventers many times. It's time to try out someone new. Critics need to give him a chance. He's a work in progress, but it takes a lot of experience to really become a top guy. I think instead of comparing him to Brock, Cena, and Orton in 2015, he should be compared to who they were when they were first being pushed as main eventers.
Honestly, I don't even think Reigns is the top guy. He hasn't even held the title a month. Cena, Orton, Brock, Taker are all more "top guys" than he is given their experience in that role. I might even put Kane and Big Show in that category. He hasn't even begun to be tested as champion/top guy yet.
I really enjoyed Swagger as ECW Champion and World Heavyweight Champion. Zeb Colter is one of my favorite talkers of all-time. At this point, though, Swagger's really "damaged goods" and pretty much a permanent midcarder. Creative is going to find it easier to invest in someone who doesn't have all that baggage of years of losing and not rebounding than rebooting Swagger again. NXT has two standout amateur wrestlers in Jason Jordan and Chad Gable who will hopefully break out as stars when they hit the main roster. I think it's too early to compare them to the likes of Shelton Benjamin and Kurt Angle (as some have) since they're just starting out, but a lot of people (myself included) are really impressed with them.