Superstars:
I wonder why this isn't Rose and (say) Slater against PTP?
- D. Young vs. Rose:
Young is definitely a good hand in the ring.
Heck, Rose isn't bad himself.
Nice win for Darren! I think him being in a tag team makes it easy to forget how strong his in-ring work is.
Two former ECW Champions on this team.
- Henry/Swagger vs. Ascension:
That was good for the time it had. Henry's really a "utility player"adding credibility at this point. I like him and admire his years of service, but I think they've gotten just about everything they can from him. I'd like to see one last run in a top position challenging someone like Reigns for the title, but it's all a matter of how much more Mark can contribute.
Everything else from yesterday is after the break.
The former Mason Ryan has joined Cirque du Soleil. That's great! I'm glad he's found something to do post-wrestling(?).
Bobby Roode will defend the KOTM Championship on the debut episode of Impact on Pop. Maybe against a surprise returning/debuting star? I look forward to seeing Roode again.
Tampa Bay Online looked back at the territory days in Florida. A nice look back at a bygone era. Yes, that was the Brian Blair referenced in the infamous Iron Sheik video.
MTV.com looked at why women could be pro wrestling fans and not know it. That was OK I guess.
Chris Jericho says he won't be available for WM32, but he could just be kayfabing. I can easily see Ambrose vs. Jericho happening at that show.
Cracked.com looked at why fans are leaving WWE:
- Judge me one way or another, but I'm generally a pretty big fan of Cracked's content. "John Dies at the End" and its sequel were some of my favorite books other than the toilet humor. I actually used to get Cracked magazine way back when, but this is pretty different from what they used to write then if I remember correctly. Point being, that will probably color my perception of this in some way.
- I don't really like the assertion of "knowing how to fix" things. There's having strong suggestions and putting forth good ideas on how to fix things, but "knowing" is a really strong word.
- It's worth noting Smackdown has always been TV-PG. Blood would also likely be policed pretty harshly in a TV-14 product given what is known today about blood-borne diseases.
- I really agree about characters and storylines being really important, and missing a lot in today's world. Sometimes it's because the actual moves and matches are treated as more important, and sometimes it's because Creative isn't doing their jobs right (possibly because they're hindered by Vince and co.).
- Thank you! Thank you! I'm so tired of "I want to win the match and hold that title!" It's very Boy Scout/"drink your milk and go to church" levels of good vs. evil.
- I still love the Wyatts.
- I do wish Kane was recruited to the Family. That would have followed them kidnapping him and all. Heck, I'd like to see them kidnap some random heel jabronis and turn them into associates (Adam Rose, I'm looking at you). They'd be the Mideon/Brood of the Ministry: The foot-soldiers, so to speak.
- I do think Cena and Rock had more to it than what they said here. These were two all-time greats, and Cena had dissed Rock. There was a real animosity there, and they built from it. It wasn't just "I want to be known as a really good wrestler, so I'm going to challenge a great wrestler from the past in a five-star classic!"
- Telling us why to tune in to the next show should definitely be a given. It should be a rule that we know something to look forward to for the next week. It can be a confrontation or a match or SOMETHING announced in advance. Of course, that would mean they know what they're booking next week...
- Yes! YES! I'm glad someone else gets the title is just a shiny belt unless it's treated as really important.
- I don't think they hit it really heavy here, but I do think the hero needs some odds to overcome. If they can beat the villain several times before the PPV, it's a foregone conclusion they'll walk out victorious at the big show. The villain needs to beat the holy hell out of the hero for a while for it to mean anything when the face wins.
- I do think title changes should be meaningful when they happen. If they did have a hardcore or jabronis (European/Cruiserweight) title, it could change hands a lot on TV for all I care. Heel and face turns should also be meaningful. I hate an unearned turn that's out of nowhere unless there's a really good reason for it (like Rollins' sudden turn, that worked well in hindsight).
- I definitely think heels need to be people we really want to boo because they do such evil, underhanded things. I also really think so many faces are pretty generic "I want to win the matches for the fans/title!" people. This is really bad with some ROH/TNA talents.
- I certainly enjoy ass-kicking babyfaces. I definitely liked anti-authority Reigns more than pandering Reigns, and Thuganomics Cena more than bright colors "never give up" Cena. I see why younger fans are drawn to that, though.
- Some people do want to be Superman! But, yes, flawed antiheroes with human qualities are quite good as well.
- I loved Santino. I wish WWE would use Slater (and maybe Fandango) more as that kind of character we just had fun with. They're not there to eventually hold titles necessarily. I think that's why I like Enzo and Cass in NXT. They're usually the comic relief. Contrast them with the Wolves, two of the most boring characters I've ever seen.
- I think they can have Cena and also your Orton/Dean Ambrose types of babyfaces who don't suck up to people. I do think "smiling babyface happy to please the fans" is really overdone.
- I do think the Divas could be used a lot better on the main roster, with fleshed-out characters who have more going for them than "Face Diva" and "Heel Diva."
- I definitely think there have been improvements with Divas' wrestling on the main roster. Thankfully, the hiring has been more about female wresters than former models. The problem a lot of times is WWE throwing them out there for brief matches. Those two matches are night and day because you have a big clump of wrestlers of varying experience thrown out there haphazardly in the first one and three trained wrestlers with more thought put into their segment in the second one. It's the former hiring practices as well as how the talents are put together.
- A lot of the good Divas' wrestling is either in NXT or hidden away on the B-shows.
- I completely, completely agree about letting performers have more leeway with their characters. Obviously you don't want them going out there and saying something that's going to get the company in trouble, but they definitely need to have freedom to add personality to the directions given to them. Overly scripting performances is really doing a number on how those performances end up. Daniel Bryan doing "Yes!," Zack Ryder doing his thing, and of course a lot of Punk's work caught on because those performers made those characters and put their hearts into them. It wasn't "hey Ambrose you're a wacky guy. Steal a hot dog cart!"
- I think they were just looking for a reason to drop Maddox after so long of having him under contract without really using him. They could certainly loosen some of their restrictions, though.
Overall, I think that was a well-argued article. The humor and language won't be to everyone's taste, but I think there were good arguments made.
For my take on yesterday's PWInsider.com questions:
1. I think either way Kurt's going to take some time off from taking bumps to pursue other things. Depending on how those go, I can see the two sides talking later in the year about him maybe coming in to finish up at WM33. I don't expect him to work Mania this year.
2. Those top two sound pretty much like what I expect. If Rock isn't wrestling, I can see Ambrose stepping in against Haitch. I really hope Cena vs. Taker happens. It's not like we're going to see someone new-ish get a rub from beating Cena at Mania, so they might as well do that dream match while Taker's still taking bumps. As for other predictions, maybe Sheamus vs. Bray as part of an LoN/Wyatts feud? And Owens vs. Zayn.
Nothing to add to 3 or 4.
5. He's worked a grand total of three matches in the last ten years. I don't know if he still does convention appearances or anything, but he still pops up once in a blue moon.
More wrestling tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment