Rambles about the wonderful world of wrestling.
Money in the Bank always manages to be one of the better WWE events. The Money in the Bank matches tend to deliver and in the past we’ve had iconic moments, like CM Punk walking out with the WWE title. However, this year we came into the event just two weeks after Elimination Chamber and such a short build meant that outside of a select few feuds, mainly Cena and Owens, a lot of the build was lacking and felt rushed. However, WWE was still able to scrape a decent show out of it.
Something’s going down in the world of TNA and it doesn’t seem to be a positive thing. With rumours suggesting that Destination America are set to cancel Impact, the company’s future is on, at best, shaky ground and with the further announcement that ROH will be getting a six month deal to appear on a Wednesday night. It looks more and more likely that the network is moving on to a cheaper product. So where do TNA go now?
Last night, The Samoan Submission Machine pulled a fast one on pretty much every dirt sheet out there, when he appeared at NXT Takeover: Unstoppable. This was despite having only recently booked a whole bunch of indie dates for later in the year. Samoa Joe has been linked with the move to WWE since he left TNA earlier in the year and considering the talent set Joe has, it would have been a huge mistake by WWE not to leap at the chance. However, we have seen talented guys go in and out of WWE before and you have to ask whether Joe is one of the guy to make it to the top of the ladder?
It’s hardly revolutionary to claim that WWE need to cut back on the number of PPVs they do (although with the Network they can’t really be called PPVs now), however Payback was one of those shows that reinforced that point. The post Wrestlemania season is always a bit flat in WWE, as they take the foot off the gas after the ‘Showcase of the Immortals’ and you can’t help but feel that the long-term implications of Payback are, well nothing.
I have written a lot about my love for NXT, it is the best wrestling product on TV at this point in time and it is the only one I actually make the effort to watch on a regular basis. However, inspired by a conversation on The Art of Wrestling, I want to take a slightly different look at NXT and how its success might actually end up being a bad thing.
I wrote about why, despite all the odds, I was excited about ‘Mania earlier this week, but figured as we build up to the big show I’d do a quite predictions post.
So Wrestlemania has again crept up on us and this Sunday the Showcase of the Immortals will once again beam around the world. Sadly, the build up has been patchy at best. While at other times it has been R-Truth stealing the Intercontinental Championship (seriously, how insane would you have thought I was if I had suggested R Truth was going to be part of the ‘Mania card six months ago?). Despite this, I can’t help but be excited by the WWE’s Super Bowl. Despite creative consistently shooting its performers in the foot. I reckon the WWE will pull this off. Why? Well let me tell you.
Who is WWE’s biggest heel at this moment? Brock Lesnar? Maybe. But the truth is Lesnar’s not really a heel. Paul Heyman is, but Lesnar has never once cheated or done anything remotely heelish. He’s just awesome at kicking ass. Behind Lesnar you have The Authority, a group most people are jaded with, but who have the brilliant Seth Rollins. He was the guy no one expected to be the heel coming out of The Shield, but has done a brilliant job with it. Behind him, is Rusev. Who isn’t just one of the biggest heels in the company, but also the most credible one.
With just a two month turnover between live specials, the latest NXT Takeover: Rivals, has had roughly eight hours of Network time to promote itself into a strong show. To put that into perspective, the main roster do six hours a week with Raw, Smackdown and Main Event. Therefore, it is a bit of a disgrace that this again feels like one of the best built WWE shows in recent times.
The Royal Rumble is most wrestling fans favourite PPV of the year. Screw ‘Mania, although we tend to love that too, the Rumble is where it is at. While we have had disappointing Rumbles over the years, it is fair to say it very rarely fails to deliver at least couple of fun moments and it also sets us on the ‘Road to Wrestlemania’. We get to know who will be competing for the big one on the ‘Grandest Stage of Them All’. I can’t think of anymore WWE buzzwords to throw in now, so lets just get onto some of my predictions.
Ramblings About Wrestling 