As we all know, Raw is tonight. By show of hands, how many people are planning to bail before the end of the program? If this question were posed to last week’s viewing audience, over 250,000 hands would be in the air right now. That number represents the number of viewers who tuned in for the first hour but were long gone by hour three, and that’s not even counting the 600,000 viewers from the previous week who called in sick and didn’t show up at all.
Since Raw 1000, the program has been a three-hour fixture on Monday night, even though the company has done little with the additional hour in most cases. In all, the numbers show that it’s time to turn back the clock to Raw 999 and cut back to two hours.
Emma vs. Summer Rae in a dance-off? No thanks!
There are a number of reasons this makes sense. Most importantly, this roster is as thin as a two-dollar blanket right now. Take last week’s show, for instance. The company bookended the show with the nearly identical matches – neither of which was particularly memorable. By the end of the first hour, the crowd had already seen every participant in the main event compete in a match (aside from J&J, but they interfered in the Rollins/Ryback match). And please don’t get me started on how many times we’ve seen the Usos battle Miz and Mizdow over the past few months.
It would be a massive understatement to say that the shows have lacked direction in recent months too. I went back and watched a few episodes of Raw from 2012, right before Raw was permanently extended to three hours. Mind you, this was during the dreadful John Cena/Kane “embrace the hate” program, and even those shows featured more direction than the current product.
If the past is any indication, expect to see The Authority opening tonight’s episode of Raw.
By putting less stress on the writers and limiting exposure, they were able to establish a conflict (Kane attempting to terrorize Zack Ryder/John Cena), provide a climax near the middle of the show (Cena kissing Eve while Ryder hilariously looked on), and finally a resolution in the form of a catastrophe (Kane launching Ryder off of the stage).
They were able to build around this central storyline by sprinkling in five matches and a few entertaining segments that highlighted other members of the roster, ultimately creating a neat two hours of wrestling (or sports entertainment, whichever term you prefer). In recent weeks, the program has been an absolute mess, with the typical structure usually as follows:
The Authority starts the program by cutting the same boring 20-minute promo they cut every week and setting up a main event involving Kane and/or Big Show. Next is a match that they say will start after the break, usually trying to invoke some sense of suspense as to which superstars will be involved, but the roster is so thin that we know it will be Seth Rollins or an over-the-hill Authority goon competing against either Dolph Ziggler, Daniel Bryan, Ryback or Roman Reigns – usually ending in a non-finish. We next get a sagging middle with “comedy” matches and backstage segments that rarely go anywhere. Paul Heyman is sent out somewhere near the middle to try to save the crowd. A few more filler matches typically come next, and finally a tag match to end the show, which also usually ends in a non-finish. Eat. Sleep. Lose A Quarter Million Viewers. Repeat.
Even with the help of Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar, Raw lost over a quarter of a million viewers by the end of last week’s program.
The overexposure is killing everyone involved in the process, including talent, announcers, and even the fans, hence the reason they aren’t sticking around for the full three hours. I get that the company is trying to appease shareholders, and increased ad revenue is one of the easiest ways to do so, but in the end, they are doing long-term damage in exchange for short-term ad revenue.
This is also not to say that a wrestling promotion can’t put on an entertaining three-hour program. It is simply stating that this wrestling promotion has proven they are incapable of doing so. There are a lot of problems with the current product, from hotshotting anything that is remotely popular to underutilizing some of the company’s best talent to even dragging out storylines fans are disinterested in. However, the biggest problem with Raw, and perhaps the company as a whole, can be summed up in one word: overexposure.
How would you feel about Raw going back to two hours? Do you think it would improve the product? Voice your opinion in the comments section.
– Ric Flair has reached an agreement with CBS Sports to host a weekly podcast on Play.it The venture is expected to be officially announced within the next two weeks.
In addition to talking about professional wrestling, the WWE Hall of Famer will interview musicians, actors and athletes.
– Next Sunday on E!, Total Divas will air head-to-head with WWE Fast Lane. Here is the synopsis for the episode, titled “Mo’ Money, Mo’ Purses”: “Nattie renovates her mom’s house; Brie tries to help with Nicole’s out-of-control spending habits; and Eva Marie starts to fear the worse for her dad’s health, and so she comes up with a Vegas bucket list for him.”
– Five episodes of Raw from 1996 have been added to the WWE Network vault—June 24, July 1, July 8, July 15, and July 22.
– Roman Reigns is currently trending as the No. 1. topic on Yahoo.com, with John Cena trailing behind at No. 6.
WWE Hal of Famer Ric Flair was recently interviewed by GiveMeSport.com and spoke about fans rejceting Roman Reigns as the next “face of WWE.”
Flair said that he believes Reigns’ relation to The Rock is actually working against him:
“I don’t pay a lot of attention to him talking on the mic but I think he’s okay. Fans look at Roman and they want him to sound like The Rock and that isn’t going to happen,” Flair explained.
Flair added that “The Rock didn’t become The Rock overnight either” and said it took him years to nail down his act.
“Roman has got so much talent that fans are going to have to be patient with him. It doesn’t happen overnight. If people are upset with Roman it’s not over a lack of talent. Fans are always going to have their opinion, but Roman has a fantastic future ahead of him.”
– WWE.com is running a poll asking fans who impressed them more in last night’s Tag Team Turmoil match on SmackDown, Roman Reigns or Daniel Bryan. With nearly 9,000 votes cast, Bryan is leading with 62% of the vote.
– WWE.com has another poll asking fans if the referee was right to stop the Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn NXT Title match at Takeover on Wednesday. With over 8,000 votes, 57% have voted, “Yes – the official’s duty is to protect a Superstar’s well-being.” 43% voted, “No – a match should end by pinfall or submission.”
– Alex Riley returned to the ring at last night’s WWE NXT TV tapings and began a feud with a top NXT star. Riley received a huge reaction from fans and was reportedly in tears after one match due to the response. He tweeted the following about the experience:
– WWE’s new “The Destruction of The Shield” Blu-ray that is scheduled to be released soon will feature two deleted scenes that were originally reported as DVD extras — a look at the Dean Ambrose vs. William Regal feud, and a look at Roman Reigns in FCW as Leakee.
– WWE announcer Scott Stanford has been nominated for a New York Emmy Award in the “Daily or Weekly Sports Program” category for his work with New York City’s PIX11 Sports Desk program. Stanford was also nominated in the news anchors category. The awards will be announced on May 2nd.
– Vince McMahon recently tweeted out the following trailer for the movie “Trainwreck,” which features John Cena.
When I was a kid, I had a trampoline. My friends and I were all huge pro wrestling fans and long before the explosion of “backyard trampoline wrestling federations,” we would watch the matches together, go out on the trampoline and try and reenact what we saw on television.
Of course if you’re this enthused about professional wrestling as a youngster, you’re going to take your trampoline matches seriously and treat them as if they were part of a legitimate organization — for kids. Were we looking to become millionaires or television stars? Of course not. Did we fantasize and treat it like we were right in the middle of a WWE ring on a WWE Superstars or Saturday Night’s Main Event broadcast?
We sure did.
So the next logical step, seeing is how we were taking this so seriously was to purchase replica WWE Championship belts so that when we won “the big matches,” we could crown ourselves the champion.
What was the first replica belt we bought? Well, obviously it was the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, right?
Wrong.
This was during the early-1990s and mid-1990s, when if you were a kid, the best wrestlers and your favorite wrestlers were generally the guys who held the WWE Intercontinental Championship. We thought the belt itself looked cooler than the “Eagle” championship that the main champions wore and we — even as kids — recognized that guys like Bret Hart, Mr. Perfect and Shawn Michaels were much better wrestlers than Diesel or Yokozuna.
Fast-forward to today.
I can’t recall a time when the secondary titles in WWE have meant less. If you’re an Intercontinental Champion or United States Champion in WWE these days, you basically aren’t a champion at all. I can’t even count how many times a pay-per-view would come and go without an I-C or U.S. title match even taking place on the card. If they were on the card, they certainly didn’t come off as anything important or relevant.
With Brock Lesnar as the WWE World Heavyweight Champion and with the main title in WWE being unified, meaning there’s only one “main” champion these days, and due to the fact that Lesnar has such a limited schedule in WWE, why doesn’t WWE take this opportunity to try and make their secondary titles mean more?
WWE Superstars need to cut promos and make the I-C and U.S. titles seem like a goal that is really worth achieving. They need to act like those titles are the be-all, end-all, if for no other reason than the fact that they are the only consistently active titles in the company right now.
There has been a lot of talk about unifying the I-C and U.S. titles and while I have always been in favor of that idea, I’m not so sure if that should be happening anytime soon. While unifying the I-C and U.S. titles would, in theory, make the one secondary title seem stronger, it would also take away even more from WWE live events having title matches.
Right now, the I-C and U.S. titles are the only men’s singles championships that are on the line at non-televised events. For that matter, they’re the only titles that are defended on television. Hell, they’re the only two men’s singles titles that are defended on pay-per-views more often than not.
WWE needs to raise the value of their secondary championships and make those I-C and U.S. titles mean as much as humanly possible. The good part is, when Lesnar does eventually drop the title and the WWE World Heavyweight Championship becomes active again, the I-C and U.S. titles, if they play their cards right, will at that point mean more and all of a sudden you have three titles of value, something WWE hasn’t had in years.
Basically, it won’t seem odd for a big-name Superstar to explain how important it is to win the I-C title at that point, whereas if Roman Reigns or John Cena said in a promo today, “I won’t sleep until I get the WWE United States Championship around my waist!” you would probably look at them like they have four heads. Although with Cena’s current program against U.S. Champion Rusev, we might actually hear a version of that, if WWE decides to make the title an important part of their feud, which of course is doubtful.
Regardless, WWE needs to work on getting these secondary championships to regain the luster that they had when I was a little kid jumping on a trampoline and pretending like my dreams just came true because I won a match and got to hold the — PRESTIGIOUS — WWE Intercontinental Championship high over my head.
What are your thoughts on WWE’s secondary singles titles? Leave your feedback in the “Comments” section below. You can also follow me on social media for continued news and views at Facebook.com/MattBooneWZR and/or on Twitter @MBoone420.
Jim Ross shared his thoughts on several segments and matches from Monday’s edition of WWE RAW in the latest blog posted on his official website.
Below are highlights:
On Roman Reigns’ promos: “Thought Roman Reigns mic work showed improvement. He seems to be the kind of talent who works much better with a bullet point format than adding the additional challenge of ‘remembering his lines’ to the always challenging promo facet of one’s game in the biz. Mic work doesn’t happen over night and too many fans show no patience while these skills are being developed. Reigns is far from the only talent on RAW that needs to work on that phase of their game. It’s an on going process that doesn’t come naturally for every talent. Reigns has great presence and knows that he has to become more proficient with his verbal game and I’m confident that will occur in time.”
On Goldust & Stardust breaking up: “The apparent soon to break up, or not, Goldust and Stardust duo have more interest in their team than any team on the roster or so it seems to me. Seems as if this pair has been on again and off again for weeks but I’m interested in them.”
On the Sting segment on RAW: “Didn’t have any issues with the Sting-HHH presentation but in hindsight I did not need to see the image of Sting entering the ring. Thought the graphics and overall video production was excellent. Looking forward to this confrontation.”
On Rikishi’s WWE Hall Of Fame induction: “It seems that no matter who is announced to be inducted into the WWE HOF some fans simply cannot be satisfied or happy and instead make the announcement about someone that they feel has been passed over or is more deserving. Has anyone been really passed over as anyone not inducted still has a viable chance in being honored in the future. I’m happy for Rikishi and his family.”
Check out the complete blog at JRsBarBQ.com.You can also order JR’s Bar-B-Q products online at WWEShop.com.
The Road to WrestleMania took a brief detour last night, stopping at THE Ohio State University for Raw. Sting finally answered Triple H’s challenge, and the show was bookended by a pair of nearly identical matches. Without further ado, here are the pros and cons from last night’s episode of Raw.
Pros
The highlight of the night was easily Dolph Ziggler vs. Bray Wyatt. These guys have competed over the past two weeks, and have exhibited amazing chemistry on both occasions. There were a number of impressive spots in this one, including Wyatt delivering a brutal blow to Ziggler’s midsection and a devastating clothesline outside the ring that eventually set up Sister Abilgail for the win. Wyatt later cut another promo, presumably directed toward the Dead Man.
Triple H calling out Sting was a close second. The video package, which featured Sting’s makeup being transposed onto Triple H’s face, was both eerie and entertaining. The only downside to this was the absolutely dreadful Sting doppelganger they sent into the ring. With that said, I absolutely can’t wait to see what these guys have planned for Fastlane.
The Usos squared off with Tyson Kidd and Cesaro. Kidd and Cesaro put in some decent heel work by crashing the dinner party on SmackDown, and it’s certainly nice to see them getting some television time.
Rusev continues to improve on a weekly basis, in my opinion. I loved his promo, where he made claims such as, “You don’t want me. I am a hero.” His brawl with Cena was also entertaining and helped further their feud heading into Fastlane.
The opening promo was also entertaining, but nothing to really write home about. Reigns seems to be more confident on the mic each week, despite a minor flub. It was also nice to see Bryan on the mic, taking a humorous shot at Triple H for his involvement in the Katie Vick storyline.
It’s nice to see Axel getting more time on the mic. His promo was humorous, even if he was quickly dispelled after being hit with Dirty Deeds. Barrett’s new BNZ segment could also be entertaining, but I’m not totally sure how much shelf life it has.
Finally, the main event helped further the tension between Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan. The match was nothing incredible, by any means, but there were a few memorable moments, including Dolph Ziggler getting involved at the end. Roman’s spear to Bryan was also the perfect way to end the show. It seems like the next step in Roman’s evolution will be to turn him heel and possibly pair him with Heyman following WrestleMania.
– On Monday’s edition of WWE RAW, it was announced that on this week’s WWE SmackDown show, Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan will go “face-to-face” in the ring, likely for a big promo segment to promote their upcoming showdown at WWE Fast Lane, where the winner of their match goes on to challenge Brock Lesnar for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 31.
– Below is the “Black History Month” video for the legendary WWE Hall Of Famer Junkyard Dog, which aired on Monday’s edition of WWE RAW.
It appears that WWE has once again changed plans for the WrestleMania 31 main event, according to a Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer.
For the better part of 2014, it was expected that Roman Reigns would be challenging Brock Lesnar for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in the main event of WrestleMania 31. It appeared that plans were still on course after Reigns won the Royal Rumble. That was until fans outright rejected WWE’s storyline plans for Reigns in a sign of fan defiance we hadn’t seen since, well, the previous year’s Rumble.
Daniel Bryan was originally booked to wrestle Sheamus at WrestleMania. Then, Bryan and Dolph Ziggler began talking about a potential WrestleMania match on social media. Now, it looks like fans have pushed Daniel Bryan right back into the WrestleMania main event mix.
According to Dave Meltzer, Vince McMahon recently changed his mind about the WrestleMania main event, with Daniel Bryan being added as the third person in 3-way match. The feeling after the Royal Rumble was that Vince McMahon would not want to do another triple threat match to headline their biggest show of the year, since they went that route last year. However, Vince McMahon heard the fan backlash to Roman Reigns loud and clear, held a meeting with top WWE officials and decided on Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns vs. Daniel Bryan.
Of course, plans could change again, but as of now, that’s what they’re going with.
It’s also worth noting that WWE.com ran a poll over the weekend asking who was more deserving of the WrestleMania main event – Daniel Bryan or Roman Reigns – with Bryan earning over 87% of the vote.
Bill Apter of 1wrestling.com has published a recent interview with Chris Jericho, which was conducted on the day of the 2015 Royal Rumble. Jericho spoke about the possibility of Reigns winning the Rumble, noting that the only way we’re going to see if fans buy into him is if WWE gets fully behind him. If Reigns isn’t over by WrestleMania, then it’s time to reevaluate.
“We know that Daniel Bryan is a guy that’s super popular but we all know what Vince McMahon thinks. Daniel is not a Vince McMahon prototype wrestler where as Roman Reigns is. I’d like to see Roman win, I’d like to see him win the title at WrestleMania and see what do we really have with this guy. And if that’s the case, then turn Daniel Bryan heel and put those two together, let them feud for the title back and forth.”
Chris Jericho also did some fantasy booking for WrestleMania, laying out the following card he would like to see.
WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins vs. Daniel Bryan vs. Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns
Sting vs. Triple H
Rusev vs. John Cena
The Undertaker vs. Bray Wyatt
Jericho also said he’s open to writing more books and would like to write something inspirational.
Reddit user MetsFan4Ever, a verified WWE insider with a strong track record of breaking news, has posted an update regarding the main event of WWE Fast Lane and more specifically, the rise of Roman Reigns. Here are the main points:
– MetsFan says that it’s “100% confirmed” that Roman Reigns will be defeating Daniel Bryan at WWE Fast Lane. WWE addressed the Rumble controversy and put this obstacle in Reigns’ way as a way to “silence the marks” for a few weeks while they get Reigns over. Regardless of the mixed reactions he’s been getting, ‘Roman is the man and will be headlining WrestleMania and defeating Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship.”
– Daniel Bryan is considered one of the most physical in-ring workers in WWE, which is why he’s been paired with Roman Reigns. WWE wants Reigns to work with Bryan to get him comfortable working stiff matches ahead of his date with the Beast Incarnate.
– The general feeling amongst WWE management is that fans are going to purchase WrestleMania no matter what and the WrestleMania brand is what sells, not specific matches. MetsFan was told in jest that WWE could put Brock Lesnar vs. Doink the Clown and fans would buy it.
There’s a possibility that plans for a Daniel Bryan vs. Dolph Ziggler match at WrestleMania 31 may be off.
Some are speculating that once Bryan vs. Roman Reigns was made for the WWE Fast Lane pay-per-view in a number one contender’s match that the company had already started heading in a different direction leading into WrestleMania.
While it’s unlikely, there is a possibility that Bryan ends up working against Brock Lesnar for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, however most assume that the main event will remain Reigns vs. Lesnar for the title.
Regarding the Bryan-Ziggler match, there is said to be a reason why WWE has Ziggler teaming up with Ryback for a tag-team match on tonight’s SmackDown show. Apparently there is talk of keeping Ziggler and Ryback as a duo and having them work a tag-team match at WrestleMania 31, which would obviously scrap the possibility of a Bryan-Ziggler singles match.
– Although it was reported on Tuesday via Reddit user “MetsFan4Ever” that WWE officials were considering changing NXT star Kalisto’s gimmick to that of a gay hair stylist, WWE sources reached out today and claimed that is not the case, and that Kalisto will not be changing characters at all.
MetsFan4Ever has since posted an update – stating that his initial report was that the idea was being considered – not that it was definitely happening. It remains to be seen if WWE does pull the trigger on this unique character change, but it was discussed.
– In what could be taken as a sign of a possible Fast Lane spoiler, as of this week the people in charge of handling the actual promotional materials for WrestleMania 31 were still under the impression that Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns will be the main event of the show. In the promotional materials, the workers were told to feature Reigns the most prominently, followed by Lesnar and John Cena.
It’s worth noting that WWE has not included Sting in any of the promotional materials for WrestleMania as of yet, and since he’s all but confirmed for the event, his involvement will likely be a major selling point for the show, so new materials will likely be released in the near future to include him.
As seen on Monday’s RAW, Daniel Bryan vs. Roman Reigns is now set as the main event for the February 22nd WWE Fast Lane pay-per-view, with the winner going on to face Brock Lesnar for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 31.
Prior to the Royal Rumble backlash, the original plans for Fast Lane was to have Reigns defeat a top heel, possibly Big Show, in the main event on the show, while Bryan was likely to lose to Bray Wyatt in order to keep Wyatt strong for The Undertaker.
Regarding booking for Bryan, WWE originally wanted to put him in a match with Sheamus at WrestleMania 31, however Bryan himself requested that he work with Dolph Ziggler instead. It’s worth noting that it’s considered possible that Bryan still ends up working with Sheamus, although it is considered unlikely at this point.
WWE Superstar Daniel Bryan recently spoke to Digital Spy and talked about his appeal to the fans compared to John Cena and Roman Reigns.
“Part of the secret is people love saying ‘Yes!’,” said Bryan. “Even if people don’t like me, they have fun throwing their fingers in the air saying ‘Yes!’ So that is part of the secret, but another thing about John Cena and Roman Reigns – not that they’ve had an easy road to the top in WWE, John Cena was nearly fired before he became WWE Champion for the first time – but they probably had a much easier path than I did.”
Bryan continued, explaining that Cena and Reigns are more of a “prototypical WWE Superstar” than he is.
“They are more of the prototypical WWE Superstars than I am,” said Bryan. “So when I came in I don’t think any of the top WWE people looked at me as, ‘Oh this is somebody who we look at as being a future main eventer for WrestleMania’ or even a future WWE Champion, or even a future Intercontinental Champion!”
He concluded by sharing his belief that the WWE fans see how hard he works and know that he’s not automatically considered a top guy, whereas Cena and Reigns are immediately viewed as such.
“They looked at me like ‘Oh, this guy is good at what he does, he’s a good little wrestler, he can go out there and he can perform – he might get a little bit popular, but he’s never going to be The Guy’. Whereas somebody like Roman Reigns or John Cena – people look at them and they think, ‘Oh, this guy could be The Guy, let’s see what happens’, and that was never me.”
WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross shared his thoughts on last night’s “Stone Cold Podcast” with Triple H, as well as the changes to the upcoming WWE Fast Lane pay-per-view in the latest blog posted on his official website.
Below are highlights:
On the “Stone Cold Podcast” with Triple H: “Enjoyed the Austin-HHH podcast Monday night after RAW on the @WWENetwork and look forward to more programs such as this as they are somewhat easy to produce and more cost efficient than many other original programming concepts. For me the long term key to the Network are the PPV’s and Original Programming. The ideas for original programming are seemingly endless. Both Austin and Triple H were straight forward and once they got on a roll it created some interesting content. I could have easily listened to another hour.”
On WWE Fast Lane changes: “I liked the tweak in the booking as it relates to the the Fast Lane PPV in a few weeks in Memphis as it gets Daniel Bryan back involved, provides multiple ways to go and even potentially positions Reigns as the villain against fan favorite Lesnar. As I said when many fans were knocking themselves out with their uncontrollable knee jerks, the weekly TV between now and WM31 could and should be good programming. I see that happening if the stories are kept simple and not over thought.”
On Chris Benoit in the WWE Hall Of Fame: “The annual Chris Benoit into the WWE HOF topic has reared it’s head again and will likely linger until after the WWE HOF event the night before WM31. I do not endorse Chris, who I hired and had immense respect for until the final days of his life when he murdered his family and then committed suicide. Knowing Chris as I did I feel that he would NOT want to be enshrined into the WWE HOF because of the backlash that it would create and because the story would not be about Chris’s stellar career but instead about the infamous murder/suicide. The entire matter is still a gut wrencher including me representing the WWE at Nancy and Daniel’s funeral services which was a task that was SO hard for me to attend on a personal level. IMO one cannot separate the career of an overachieving athlete from the fact that he murdered his family and then took his own life and no matter the alleged motive.”
Check out the complete blog at JRsBarBQ.com. You can also order JR’s Bar-B-Q products online at WWEShop.com.
After being postponed last week due to snow, the good ole live, in-ring version of Raw was back last night, emanating from the Mile High City. The company was back in full force, with Triple H making a “major announcement” and a big main event between Seth Rollins and Daniel Bryan. Without further ado, here are the pros and cons from last night’s episode of Raw.
Pros
The clear highlight of the night was the main event between Seth Rollins and Daniel Bryan. Anytime you get two guys with this type of talent in the same ring, you know you’re in for a treat. They certainly didn’t disappoint either, pulling off a number of impressive spots and exhibiting impeccable chemistry. The spot of the match was probably Rollins countering Bryan’s Running Knee finisher into a Powerbomb. In the end, Bryan picked up the win and will face Roman Reigns at Fast Lane for a chance to go to WrestleMania (more on this later).
The second best part of the night was probably the segment involving Curtis Axel and Dean Ambrose. It’s sad when the first thing Axel has to say when coming out is, “Don’t change the channel.” It’s like he’s a mind reader or something. Anyway, it was hilarious to see Ambrose quickly toss Axel over the top rope before telling him he’s now eliminated. Even more exciting was that Ambrose called out Bad News Barrett. This is a program that really needs to happen, as Ambrose is the type of guy who could bring some prestige back to the Intercontinental Title after the company has played hot potato with it over the past few years.
Bray Wyatt had a big night. His match with Dolph Ziggler was incredible, and it was nice to see two guys who don’t work together much get a chance to shine. Wyatt hit a devastating Sister Abigail that Ziggler sold better than anyone to end the match. Later in the night, he cut a promo saying things like, “I am the new face of fear” and, “We cannot wait to see you again.” It looks like they are going with the rumored Wyatt/Taker program for WrestleMania and I, for one, cannot wait. If only they had gone this route last year instead of wasting the streak on a part-timer…
Rusev’s beating of Rowan and post-match promo was money. I absolutely love this guy and he played off of the Russian flag miscue perfectly. Please push this guy to the top and don’t feed him to Cena.
Jimmy Uso and Cesaro looked great together. The highlights were a Cesaro Swing into a Half Crab and a brutal uppercut to end the contest. It was nice to see Cesaro pick up a victory, but the only downside was that they are already teasing tension between Cesaro and Kidd. I’d like to see these guys stick together for a while and get a run with the titles.
Finally, the Miz/Mizdow promo was absolutely hilarious. It was nice to see the Miz berate his now former stunt double and put the wheels in motion for a breakup. Here’s to hoping for a payoff at WrestleMania.
– On Monday’s edition of WWE RAW in Denver, Colorado it was announced that on this week’s WWE SmackDown show, which returns to its’ normal Friday time slot on the SyFy Network, The Miz will host a special edition of “MizTV” with his guests being Roman Reigns, and the man he will face at the Fast Lane pay-per-view, Daniel Bryan.
– On part one of this week’s three-part RAW Fallout, Curtis Axel continues to campaign for a WWE World Heavyweight Championship match against Brock Lesnar. You can check out the video below.
– On part two of this week’s RAW Fallout, Bad News Barrett responds to Dean Ambrose’s challenge for a shot at the WWE Intercontinental Championship. You can check that one out below.
– Finally, in the third and final installment of this week’s RAW Fallout, an embarrassed Paige warns The Bella Twins that their “war” is not over yet. Check that one out below.
This week’s edition of WWE RAW opened with The Authority — Triple H and Stephanie McMahon — making their way down to the ring to make their “major announcement” that will “shake WWE to its’ very core.”
After making a bunch of jokes and bad puns about Sunday’s NFL Super Bowl game, the two showed footage of the Royal Rumble match. Triple H talks about The Rock interfering in the match. He also spoke about his face-to-face confrontation with “The Vigilante” Sting at the upcoming WWE Fast Lane pay-per-view later this month.
Finally, they get to the “major announcement.” On RAW, Daniel Bryan and Seth Rollins will go one-on-one in a singles match where the winner will go on to face Roman Reigns at the WWE Fast Lane pay-per-view. Whoever wins the match at Fast Lane will go on to face Brock Lesnar for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in the main event of WrestleMania 31.
We will update you here on the website later tonight when the winner of the Bryan-Rollins match emerges.
In a new blog posted on his official website, WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross shared his thoughts on tonight’s “Stone Cold Podcast” with Triple H, the controversy surrounding Roman Reigns, CM Punk in the UFC and whether or not WWE should sign Bubba Ray Dudley.
Below are highlights:
On tonight’s “Stone Cold Podcast” with Triple H: “Hopefully, the HHH podcast with Steve Austin won’t be the best part of my Monday night WWE viewing as the two former rivals have a tough act to follow after the Austin/McMahon podcast of a few weeks ago. I’m curious to see what twists and turns this interview takes as it should be a revealing and entertaining hour or so of programming. Austin and Jericho are the beneficiaries of having the WWE Network behind them with their respective podcasts.
IMO the more original @WWENetwork programming WWE can create the better in my view. Things like Austin/HHH should be good for the network and is relatively inexpensive to produce.”
On the controversy surrounding Roman Reigns: “Some never say die fans are still complaining about Roman Reigns winning the Royal Rumble but I’d guess by next week it won’t be such a big deal to the vocal minority. None of us know what shape of the WM31 card is going to resemble in it’s final rendition. I’m happy to wait and see as I can’t affect the card any more than anyone reading this.
Plus, my guess is that many who say that they won’t watch WM31 will be unable to resist temptation especially for $9.99.
Question…do you think that most vocal wrestling fans are as passionate regarding other, more important aspects of their lives as they are about pro wrestling? Just curious….”
On CM Punk in the UFC: “After talking with several MMA aficionados over the past several days they agree that it is ignorant for those MMA purists to diss CM Punk for getting into MMA w/ UFC including the fact that Brock Lesnar may well stick is toe back into UFC waters. It’s all about the cash and bringing press to the brand in a positive manner. What it actually is would be a no brainer to sane individuals.
No one in MMA, boxing or pro wrestling has enough box office attractions even if said attractions turns out to be a one hit wonder. That’s why now is a good time to take calculated risks.”
On Bubba Ray Dudley to WWE: “From a creative standpoint, I could easily see Bubba Dudley returning to WWE if for no other reason to allow Bubba to work with the younger talents on the road at live events. Young talents cannot improve working with those who have the same or less than them skill sets.”
Check out the complete blog at JRsBarBQ.com. You can also order JR’s Bar-B-Q products online at WWEShop.com.
Mick Foley recently published a new Facebook blog addressing this year’s Royal Rumble match, Vince McMahon writing Roman Reigns’ promos and more.
Below is Foley’s latest blog:
RUMBLE BLUES
Remember how caught up in the ?#?RoyalRumble? I got last year? I sent out that tweet asking whether WWE hated their own audience, smashed a TV set, and texted all the powers that be – telling them how badly I thought they’s messed up. It’s safe to say that I was pretty mad last year.
I’m not worried about this year’s ?#?Wrestlemania?. I can envision a number of scenarios in which Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar can have an epic confrontation. My suggestion to WWE in this match would be to step aside and let the fertile fields of Paul Heyman’s mind run free and allow Lesnar and Reigns to create the most exciting, physical match possible.
No, I’m not worried about Wrestlemania. But I m worried about the Rumble.
I wasn’t mad after this year’s Rumble. Instead, I was sad. Sad, because the Rumble, which has been one of the most entertaining ?#?WWE? events of the year for so long, might just be in danger of becoming “just another show”, and going the way of “Survivor Series” as a good idea that runs it course and ceases to be relevant. I didn’t see this year’s Rumble, and with the exception of the final few minutes I caught on WWE Monday Night Raw, I don’t envision myself doing so. But I didn’t need to see the Rumble or know the outcome to know what a disappointment it was. All I had to do was watch the people. I dropped 3 of my kids off at the Wells Fargo Center at 6:30, and showed up on Broad Street, just a few blocks from the arena at 10:45, just as the crowd was letting out. No one saw me in my vehicle. But I saw them, and could tell, just by the way people were walking- by the way children were dragging their signs, and shuffling slowly, by the way adults held their heads down, with limited verbal interactions – that there was no joy in Philadelphia.
Let me quote a story I wrote about Zack Ryder several months ago here on Facebook, and hope that the right people in WWE read it – because I think they are on the verge of losing some fans in the fallout of the Rumble. It wasn’t just that one of their favorites didn’t win – it was the brevity of their appearances, the lack of imagination in their involvement and the unceremonious way in which they were eliminated.
“Eventually people get tired of finding out that the WWE Superstars they have supported with their cheers, their purchases, their signs, their follows and their likes aren’t real Superstars – and little by little, those fans lose interest in WWE, find other interests, and become former WWE fans.”
I have no intention of becoming the “anti-WWE guy”. I’m going to take a little break from ?#?Raw? and ?#?Smackdown? for the next couple of weeks, and see what the landscape looks like, heading into the next PPV. I really do think WWE is going to turn out a great Mania, and I’ll be in the crowd watching. But I fear for the Rumble. What was once the start of “The Road to Wrestlemania” has now become a roadblock to the good will and excitement needed for a truly memorable Wrestlemania atmosphere.
One more thing. I’ve heard rumors that Mr McMahon is personally writing the recent Roman Reigns promos. If that’s true, I’d like to personally address Mr McMahon.
WWE’s #1 contender Roman Reigns spoke to Sam Roberts last weekend prior to the Royal Rumble and made some very interesting comments regarding fans feeling that he’s being shoved down their throats as the company’s next “chosen one.”
Reigns made the shaky argument that he doesn’t care what fans think, because they’ve never stepped in the ring and they’ve never cut a promo:
“I’m aware of all of these things. You have to look at it through many different perspectives. For me, as a provider and as a man, I have a responsibility to provide. I can’t look at it like and get down on ‘oh, this is what they’re thinking and this is what they’re saying.’ To be honest I really don’t care. I can only do my thing and do the best that I can. The majority of critics, I would say, are people who have no clue what they’re talking about and have never been in a wrestling ring. They’ve never been a public speaker. They wouldn’t even know how to lock up with me if I allowed them to. If I gave them the opportunity to lock up and tangle with me in the ring, they would have no clue what to do so for them to critique or ever say anything about any performer is asinine and just blows my mind.”
Reigns went on to say that at the end of the day, he’s “just a guy getting rich” – which doesn’t really sound like a guy who is being primed to be the next John Cena:
“It’s one of those situations where obviously the company is gonna do what the company does and the fans are definitely gonna do what they do. That’s what’s so great. The fans have to realize that as opinionated as y’all are in the way you want it, the company is the same way and they’re gonna do what they wanna do…at the end of the day i’m just a guy getting rich.”
One of the big criticisms about Roman Reigns’ act is that his promos still need a lot of work. Reigns revealed that he does read a lot of what fans say about him online, but as long as they’re talking about him, he’s doing something right.
“I see all of my criticism. I’m in a position now that I get a ton of love which is great and a ton of criticism which is great. As long as i’m in people’s mouths that’s all that matters to me. As long as people are talking about me.”
He added, “The majority of the time…the people that are critiquing and bashing me, they’re making me more relevant, I would think. If you didn’t want me around then just don’t talk about me and try and make it silent out there. That’s not the case [because] they make it even more overwhelming. You know, noise is noise. That’s the thing.”
There’s much more to the interview, which you can listen to here:
– Tickets for WrestleMania AXXESS VIP signings are mostly sold out, unless you’re looking to meet Roman Reigns. Signings for Daniel Bryan, Hulk Hogan, Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, Shawn Michaels, Sting and Triple H are all sold out. However, there are still tickets available for the Roman Reigns signing.
– The following footage has surfaced online from last Monday, with Daniel Bryan and Renee Young rehearsing Bryan’s sit-down interview.
As I sat down to write this week, I felt a sense of disappointment. It wasn’t because I didn’t know what to write about (in fact, I’d hoped I could have written about my amazement with the Royal Rumble). It wasn’t because I had nothing to say. The reason I felt a sense of disappointment was because I knew that I was not going to be able to write the article I wanted to. This past Sunday was the Royal Rumble, a once a year event that would be under-described if one were to refer to it as “can’t miss.” True to form, I made a point not to miss it; I cancelled plans, I changed my workout schedule, I did everything I could to make sure I was front and center for the event, because I knew if WWE delivered, I wouldn’t have to think for a second about what to discuss. My hopes were that I could deliver to you, my top five moments from the event, and indeed, I probably still could. After all, Lesnar / Cena / Rollins was easily one of the best triple-threat matches I’ve ever seen, both from a wrestling and storytelling perspective. Bubba Ray Dudley and others appearing from the woodwork to make a few surprise appearances was awesome. For the most part, WWE really did deliver with the event.
However…
When it mattered the most; when the biggest prize of the night was up for grabs, WWE not only let us down, they insulted us. Again. For the second year in a row, WWE ignored the pleas of the crowd; they ignored the wishes of the millions of fans across the universe who united as one loud clear voice under the banner of “Yes.” While it was more than obvious the fans wanted Daniel Bryan as the man to win it all, WWE had other plans for the finish. When the lights went off and the smoke settled, Roman Reigns, a man who many feel was not ready for such an honor, was the last man standing. Unsurprisingly, the rowdy Philadelphia crowd, much like it’s rival fan base in Pittsburgh did the previous year, held nothing back in letting the WWE know what they thought of the decision, and as ticket holders, they had every right to. Outside of the arena, the internet exploded with negative criticism. Things like #CancelWWENetwork were trending worldwide on twitter. Reddit’s top wrestling community, /r/SquaredCircle was buzzing about not just the ending being bad, but the entire match. Fans were so frustrated, in fact, that they jokingly begun the trend known as #Axelgate, in reference to the fact that the man who came in at number 6, Curtis Axel, technically never entered the ring, and thus was never eliminated, demanding that he be allowed to go in and try to eliminate Reigns. Even a surprise appearance by The Rock, which clearly was planned as damage control, could not get the crowd to side with WWE, as Reigns was booed out of the building, even as his arm was raised by the great one. It was obvious, from the moment Bryan’s feet hit the floor, that the turnout was not going to be positive, really no matter what happened.
However, what might not be so obvious was the real reason behind the booing; the reason that shakes every wrestling fan to their core, and genuinely makes us question one of our favorite forms of entertainment. While it might seem at the surface like petty fans acting like babies for not getting what they want, the truth runs much deeper. Ultimately, the fans booing Reigns is not a rejection of the man, himself. It’s not a rejection of the possibility of Reigns becoming one of the future stars. It’s not even a rejection of a super baby face who might one day be seemingly untouchable. Instead, it is the response to being ignored; to being told “You don’t know what you want” over and over again. It is the only way fans can express their frustration with booking decisions that lead WWE down a road fans don’t want to go. Booing Roman Reigns is a symbol; one which represents the fans booing McMahon himself, for having the audacity to tell us that we decide who goes over, and then giving us the exact opposite of what we say we want.