Of course, injuries often screw everything up and no one can predict when top talent are gonna go down and take time off. Now word's come in that Cesaro's out for 4 to 6 months with a damn shoulder injury. But this just speaks to the constant uphill climb. Trying to drain an ocean with a bucket. Everyone hovers around in the mid card, subject to 50/50 booking that makes sure no one ever truly ascends or gets over, until it's too late. Until it's like "Oh s***! We need someone now and we've been doing jack all with no one!"
I have no real problem with Sheamus. I actually think he's good in the ring and on the mic. Better than Roman Reigns in both aspects, actually. He has personality. I'm not a huge fan of his though. Especially as a babyface. And there was a time when hearing that - say - the plan was for mega-over Daniel Bryan to face Sheamus at a WrestleMania induced eyerolls and anger. As did the prospect of watching our billionth Sheamus/Randy Orton match. And then him winning that MITB case when he wasn't over made even less sense. Especially because winning that case indicates that something big's going to happen to the winner in a few months and no one wanted big things for him at that time. Sure, there's always the rare possibility of a "cash in and lose" but that's not ever the plan. It's not like, "Hey, we're deciding ahead of time that this year's MITB PPV and winner will be a big wash so let's give the case to someone no one cares about." That's never the actual plan.
Anyhow, so now we're running up a down escalator again. Sheamus is the champ and now he has to make us care that he's champ. Being an Authority stooge isn't the best route, but it is the easiest as far as heat goes. It's the smoothest slot to slide into. It's basically the same storyline as Orton and Bryan from a few years back. MORE INTERESTING HOWEVER is what happened on RAW this week. No, RAW wasn't great, but I am now more excited about Sheamus because he's surrounded himself with Barrett and Rusev. Sort of like a big, bad bruiser Euro-stable in place to keep his belt secure. A far cry from the comedy antics of J & J Security. Bless their little precious hearts.
So I like these new elevated roles for Rusev and Barrett. Barrett, because he always seems to be floundering, and Rusev because he's been stuck in a crappy, messy nonsensical romance angle for six months. And now he can just be violent again. I especially like this role for Rusev because there was word he had heat on him for the whole TMZ/Lana engagement things. Meanwhile, Lana reportedly still has heat on her for that - and because of some back-and-forth tweeting where she accused Paige of bullying her back in NXT.
Anyhow, Roman's going to chase the belt now, and in doing so he'll have some good hard-hitting matches with all three of these dirty, sinister "foreigners." Hell, I was even surprised that Reigns wasn't even allowed to go over Rusev clean last night given how he was screwed out of the title 24 hours earlier. It all ended in a DQ.What does this all mean for Reigns now? I have no idea. Nor do I have any idea how long Sheamus is holding the belt. Are they really putting Roman through a Daniel Bryan-style wringer with hopes that it'll have the same effect on him as it did on Bryan? It sure seems like it, but it's not going to work out the same. It's just not. Bryan was over in a way that Roman never was before the whole "months of screwjobs" began.
Roman's going to take on Sheamus at TLC, in an actual TLC match. Which I wasn't excited for until I read Groupon's official description of TLC.
Props? Furniture? Clobbering? Big Show? That all sounds positively riveting!
I don't hate Roman, and I'd certainly prefer him as champ over Cena, but I also recognize why he's not catching fire. I don't agree with all of these points, but I do for some of them. Will the fact that he shed actual cry-cry tears after getting screwed out of his title win work to garner him a bit of sympathy or will it just turn fans against him even more? Actually, to be honest, I felt like it was the most human, and real, he's ever appeared in that ring. But let's break it down:
- WWE tried to insert Roman into a spot that most everyone wanted for Bryan. Had Bryan not come back last year, things would have gone very differently for Roman.
- Because of this, some fans have already shut Roman out. No matter what. Yes, we all cheered for Roman to go over Batista in the Royal Rumble back in 2014 because then he was still part of the Shield and Batista was, basically, in the "Roman Reigns" role. Meaning, he was the guy WWE was trying to put in the place of Bryan. So to call some fans hypocritical because they cheered for Roman back then but boo hm now makes no sense. The context was completely different. In fact, fans were booing the SAME guy both years. He was "not Daniel Bryan."
- Roman hasn't come off that well in interviews. He's been prickly and "I'm just here for the paycheck"-y and "haters gonna hate"-y. As if the fans not taking to him was actually getting under his skin and turning him against the fans.
- Roman continues to be the "guy they're grooming to take over for Cena." Which is what it is. Whether or not he's made a "belee-er" out of you over the past year is - well - up to you. But for some he's already a "tainted brand." As in, his very name just evokes negative certain feelings in some people. Like things you won't ever go back to or give a second chance. Like MySpace. Or even, for many people, TNA.
- I don't care if Roman has a limited move-set, honestly. I don't need him to grapple. He's a "sports entertainment" babyface. This is how the game works. Anyhow, some people care about this.
- Some don't like Roman's tactical gear. It worked for the Shield, but the kevlar vest attire makes it seem like he's going into a match wanting to protect himself from harm.
- Roman's mic skills ain't all that ginchy. Some will say - and I agree - that this is the most important thing holding him back. Because, let's face it, most fans will flock to a hero who's amazing on the mic but sub-par to adequate in the ring.
- TURN ROMAN HEEL, DAMMIT!
More from RAW, plus TNA and Breaking Ground on Page 2...
You can read all the things I wrote about Survivor Series over in the live-blog I did during the event. I'm not going to rehash it all here. It...wasn't the greatest. Until right at the very end when Roman wept tears of loss and agony. Again, I loved it for two reasons. One, it worked to humanize him in a way that's never come through in his "fry cook on ecstasy" promos. And two - AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Laughter because crying.
There's a lot more to bring up from this past week. Firstly, the New Day took down country music on RAW. Just a big ol "country music ba-lows!" segment, which was basically a giant babyface move as far as I'm concerned. Sasha Banks faced Becky Lynch on RAW, though in a shadow of a shadow of a shadow of the match they had at TakeOver. A true representation of what the Divas Division has in store for the Women's Division. That being said, Sasha won. So everything is as it should be.
Still, you've got three hours. Three hours that they couldn't even fill properly. They ran a f***ing dream sequence burger ad! Like, welcome back from those commercials, here's another goddamn commercial. Now back to commercials. This burger is more important than our entire roster. All bow down to the mighty f***ing slop burger.
Granted, Paige and Charlotte had a long-ish match in their repeat encounter. A bout that was better than the PPV one, actually. And ended with a double countout so as to extend the feud into the new year, probably. And the Wyatts kept on truckin'. Not sure what's left for them to do right now. Taker's gone. He and Kane definitively beat them and did them in at Survivor Series (just like they did on RAW weeks ago), with no lingering aftertaste to indicate this angle continuing on. So now they're just hovering. Now with Bray and Luke as the tag team, which is weird to see outside of a PPV. By the way, Luke Harper's on the most recent edition of Jericho's podcast. It's a good listen. And his regular speaking voice sounds a lot like Daniel Bryan's. That's got nothin' to do with nothin' except my ears noticed it. They don't have to team up now or anything. Or...wait. I think I...yup. I'm into it. Sorry. Now it has to happen.
Meanwhile, Zeb came out with Del Rio - and this time they had clear instructions for once! Make people hate you. As in, "Hey, despite the fact that the two of you together means that you've put aside bigotry, prejudice, and hate in the name of unity - you're heels! So Zeb, you insult the Americans and Alberto, you make fun of Mexicans. And Zeb, please mention Grindr. What? No. It's nothing anyone will make fun of you about. Or mention in any way on the internet. It's that show on FOX with Rob Lowe and totally not an online smash site for gay guys."
TNA made some headlines this past week after putting together a new TV deal with a new network. Yes, gone is Destination America and coming our way is Pop. Formerly TV Guide Network. An equally obscure channel with even less original programming. But also one that somehow reaches 25 million more homes. So many more people have access to Pop. That doesn't mean many more people watch Pop or even know what Pop is. Or will watch Pop once Impact Wrestling debuts there at the top of January (it'll be on Tuesdays now), but - hey! - TNA got a stay of execution. Again. It's reborn. Again.
Here's where I talk about how it's good to have a place for guys to work. And that's not un-true. People having jobs is great. But - good lord, man - do you know, for health reasons, you're not even supposed to reheat leftovers in the microwave more than once? Every time you teeter on the edge of oblivion, you're going to lose viewers. Every time you move networks, you lose viewers. And every time you change time slots and nights, you lose viewers. Basically, what TNA was looking for this time around was...the same thing they were seeking last year. A network that'd be okay with the ratings the show gets. Which is what Destination America was a year ago when they thought they'd be getting Spike TV ratings. Now Pop hopes they get Destination America ratings.
I'm tuning out of TNA for the rest of the year, and I'll check back in with the new show. I mean, I will. I'll watch the Pop presentation and see how it works out. I'll catch wind of whoever they make their world champ (after two months of matches featuring guys who don't even work for TNA anymore), but that'll be it. On the upside here, TNA doesn't have to be off the air for months like last year. There's a big network change, but there won't be that gap.
This week's Breaking Ground featured both ZZ and Mojo Rawley - two guys on opposite ends of the Hype Spectrum. Mojo is a cartoon ferret after a triple espresso while ZZ is basically a basset hound whose perpetually trying to wake up from a nap. And failing. Both exhaust me, for different reasons. Mojo because he's basically an 8-year-old in a giant's body and ZZ because he's Adam Sandler's Waterboy after getting stuck in the neck with a tranquilizer dart.
There was a point, during the episode, when I felt like ZZ was getting it. Understanding. Not physically, but mentally. This was before he upped and walked out of a training, mind you. Anyhow, he honestly said that age matters. He's 19. Look, I have a 19-year-old. I KNOW how young that is. (i.e. 19-year-olds don't know how young that is). So I do cut ZZ a small slice of slack. He knows that he acts like a fool. But still...the guy's almost not real. Like, he doesn't know how to tie a pair of shoes? It almost feels like he's more tailor-made for the embarrassment that Breaking Ground provides than he was the glory that Tough Enough gave him. And he's all alone. And the episode kept cutting back to "Down in the Performance Center, ZZ still sucks ass." That's gotta sting. Especially when Shatner's saying it. That just makes you hang your head even lower. Kirk's calling you a clowndick.
On NXT, Bayley conquered Alexa Bliss, only to come face to face with...Eva Marie. Who's getting a title shot next week. Which has made people SO SO SO VERY MAD. It's kind of delicious. I'm all on board with Eva Marie and the hate she ignites, except for the part where she's just not at all a good or believable wrestler. Man, if she were actually talented she'd be the perfect heat-seeking missile. And boy did she get frazzled by the tremendous amount of boos she got during her 20 seconds of sentences. She didn't exactly let that roll off her back, now did she? She needs to work on that immediately because that crushing tidal wave of animosity is going to be part of her gimmick.
And here comes Mick Foley. To tell NXT fans - who are just so so happy to have a well-oiled, entertaining, talent-filled alternative to WWE - that they're ruining NXT.
Those @WWENXT fans at @FullSail who THINK the show is about THEM, disrespect the the wrestlers - and make the show far less fun to watch.
— Mick Foley (@RealMickFoley) November 20, 2015
Can't the show be - I dunno - about both? Don't the wrestlers and the fans kind of go hand in hand? When all goes right? Especially in smaller venues? Nevermind. How silly of me. Everyone shut the f*** up and sit on your hands, people are in the ring and working for your pleasure. Behold the work involved! But keep quiet. If you must cheer, or make noise of some sort, please use any of these suggested shouts:
- "I ENJOY WRESTLING!"
- "WE LOVE TALENT!"
- "LET'S GO FOLEY!"
- "I AM THIRSTY!"
I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving. And if you're in a country with no Thanksgiving, just have a pleasant Thursday. Friday can f*** the f*** off, but Thursdays's a keeper. Follow me on the gizmos...
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