Hello! We're there, it's the 31st Mania Week Blog- and just as we started it's a RAW Review. The Night after Mania is always a fun night- and it's usually the night where we get the hints as to where the WWE intends to go now all of the Part-Timers have for the most part gone home until the next major PPV. We also get the guys from NXT getting the demotion to the Main Roster which is always initially exciting, but long-term crushingly disappointing- so we had all that to look forward, so how did RAW play out?
Paul Heyman w/ Brock, Stephanie Promos
I really liked this, we've had so many ineffective opening segments where the same result could have been achieved in half the time or simply put together in a backstage promo. So it was nice to have a RAW open with a really punchy promo where it didn't feel like they were rambling and dragging it out, mind you when Paul Heyman is involved "rambling and dragging out" aren't words that ever come to mind. Stephanie is a good heel, as I thought Rousey wasn't at RAW which backs up even more my feeling towards the Mania Segment being over-long so her part in this segment was pretty interchangeable. That said it was a solid opening to RAW and it did a good job setting up what would happen later.
Daniel Bryan v Dolph Ziggler- IC Title
Well we didn't have it at Mania, but we had the next best thing- and the match was arguably better than the one they had at Mania because they got a lot more time than they would have gotten on a congested Mania card to really build the match right- and it made this match extraordinary. They built the match perfectly- and the pacing was right; it made Dolph look good and it also made the IC Title look better right from the outset this side of Mania because we had such a match with the calibre of stars that were involved. Even the nuances like doing in-ring introductions enhance the Titles Prestige, which is clearly what they're attempting to do with both Bryan and Cena defending the Titles from the outset.
The Sheamus run-in was pretty good in all honesty, it was quite distracting with his hair-do but take the hair out of the equation it was pretty good, and I'm just happy to see Sheamus as a Heel again- because laughy, jokey Sheamus I absolutely hated.
KiddSaro & The Ascension v The New Day & The Lucha Dragons
It was the first NXT spot of the night, and I do consider this to be the call-up for them despite them working a few Main Events. It was a good debut for the Kalisto- and the way he went super saiyan on Cesaro when he first came in was a good way to announce himself on the Main Roster and to the "casual" fans who may not watch NXT. This was the Lucha Dragons moment, it was good to see The Ascension featured on a RAW- and after they got a good elimination with Mark Henry it does seem like there's a tiny flicker of life still in the Ascension- but as I said this was very much The Lucha's night, and it'll be interesting to see how they handle the Tag Titles now we have so many teams vying for the #1 Contender Spot, because they can't do Fatal 4 Way tags every PPV.
Seth Rollins v Brock Lesnar
I absolutely loved this, I think it's fairly safe to say Brock is a babyface now- but as I've already discussed today one of the ways they may lift Brock's "suspension" is to have him come back and help The Authority. It's been so long since we've had a babyface just wreak havoc and kill people for the simple reason of him being angry- and if you didn't get a kick out of seeing Brock F5 Cole then you simply aren't human. I was wondering how they'd write Brock off until the Summerslam build- and as with the way they booked the Mania Main Event I have to say WWE played it perfectly- the only negative I'd have for this segment is that it wasn't the Main Event. The Stephanie Promo with Renee after was much better from her because she was able to get her heel persona over a lot more than in the opening segment- and I loved it.
Mizdow v Stardust
The match was good for what it was, and what it was a vehicle to set-up the after match beatdown which seemed a bit rushed to me. I understand this is a midcard angle but Miz is a quality heel and I'd hoped he'd have to be dragged off Mizdow because he was so enraged.
Adrian Neville (Who I think lost his first name) v Curtis Axel
I was so conflicted in this match, on the one hand you have one of the legends of our business in Curtis Axel- and then you have Adrian Neville getting the demotion from NXT and making his main roster debut. This was of course Neville's moment, but you have to credit Axel for the way he sold for him- and made him look like the proverbial "million bucks". BUT I'M STILL ON THE AXEL TRAIN, AND THE AXELMANIAC WILL HEAD INTO AXTREME RULES STRONGER THAN EVER BAYBAY!
John Cena v Dean Ambrose- US Title
As with Bryan's match, this was a quality match- I'd argue better even. For me this match told a better story, which isn't just down to Ambrose for those that still hate Cena blindly. I've seen some people saying Ambrose was jobbed out etc., and while he lost he looked amazing last night- I don't know how someone can honestly say Ambrose was being jobbed out when he kicked out of an AA. As I've said I really liked this match- and the story they told. I thought we'd get something a bit different other than a handshake (or slap) and I was fully expecting Ambrose to Snap- mind you that wouldn't have been the crowd to do it in front of if they wanted Ambrose to be the heel. As I said with the IC Title just having these matches contested on RAW with the guys that are contesting them instantly elevates the US Title- and if they can keep on this path with both of the "Secondary" belt I'll be massively impressed.
Seth Rollins Backstage Promo
I liked this promo a lot- it got Seth over as a Heel Champion immensely, and you did have to laugh at something that wasn't really even touched on that Seth was perfectly happy to face Orton "Bad Foot" and all. I'm hoping Orton isn't in the hunt for the WWE Title- because to be frank we've had enough Orton in the Main Event, and he should start to be used to put other guys over.
AJ, Paige & Naomi v Natalya & The Bellas
I've seen some people slating the chants the crowd were doing during this match- so for those that thought it I really hope they come to a Premier League/Football League match just to see their eyes melt. I thought this match was pretty good, it wasn't the best match but within the confines of the 6-Woman Tag and the limited Bellas I thought all in all it was pretty good. It's interesting just from me looking on that Paige didn't get the win on either night because I thought she was the most likely (notwithstanding a Charlotte call-up) to be facing Nikki for the Strap at Extreme Rules.
Rusev v Goldust
The only thing that surprised me about this was they'd given Rusev an actual match as opposed to him just kicking Goldust's head off and then "Accolading" him. I don't think he should have let the Accolade go of his own accord- because he should be absolutely fuming and have to be dragged off by half a dozen refs and a load of agents.
Randy Orton, Ryback & Roman Reigns v Seth Rollins, Kane & Big Show
Given how good the RAW had been before, if you'd had cut off RAW after the Cena match and handshake (slap) it'd have been a truly great RAW. This match just felt like a huge anti-climax. I said it on Twitter and I'll say it again, why would they have Roman wrestle in front of a crowd where they know he'll be booed, with the last image of the whole RAW being him getting booed. They needed to shield (pun intended) Roman from that kind of exposure. I think it felt like such an Anti-Climax because the way they built it as a mystery partner I for one was anticipating an NXT call-up, so when you heard Roman's music it was like your heart just sunk. That said it was an alright match, but the crowd just couldn't get into it (understandably) just because the 6-Man has become such an overused match type. I'd love someone to work out the number of 6 Mans there's been involving Authority Members since the Authority became a "thing".
Thanks for reading as always, I can't tell you the final figure for Mania Week for definite yet because this is of course a part of it but I just want to say thanks to any and all of you who have read any of the blogs I've done this week. I'm always a pessimist so I was expecting this week to lead balloon and I'd lose a load of Twitter followers in the process because of the persistent blog plugs. But instead I've had my best Month yet on my Blog which I thought wouldn't happen for a while when I got 702 on a single blog in February. I was aiming for 2000 by the End of this Mania Month- and I won't tweet out the figure until it's officially March but let's just say the response to this Week of Blogs has been mind-blowing. Of course if you haven't feel free to check over all of the blogs I've done this week and if one catches your eye feel free to read it- they're not going anywhere. Thanks again, and I'm now going to go into a blog induced coma.
Tuesday 31 March 2015
Seth Rollins: "The Light at the End of the Tunnel"
Hello! It's the penultimate Mania Week Blog, and of course it had to be about Seth Rollins. The saviour of WrestleMania. In this blog I'm going to look at Rollins, how I think his WWE Title reign will go, if it'll be a success and the challengers I can see poking their heads up for Rollins' title.
I didn't talk about it in my Predictions just because with Brock re-signing there was enough to talk about as far as the Main Event goes- but I'm proud to say I called what happened in the Main Event roughly 3 Weeks Ago...
I didn't talk about it in my Predictions just because with Brock re-signing there was enough to talk about as far as the Main Event goes- but I'm proud to say I called what happened in the Main Event roughly 3 Weeks Ago...
When Rollins lost to Orton I was almost entirely sure Rollins was cashing in on the night- or at the latest last night on RAW, and I was proven right. It was such a good moment- and as I said in my Wrestlemania Review WWE managed to win a no-win situation with the cash-in and how they managed to execute it, the Main Event managed to make Roman "look strong", it shielded Brock because he wasn't pinned and they managed to get a Full-Time Champion without putting the belt on Roman when he clearly wasn't ready- which thankfully WWE were man enough to admit to themselves before it was too late and Roman was damaged beyond repair. While it is a long road back- as I said in my "Booking Mania 32" blog (Which I'd highly recommend I'm quite proud of it) Reigns is very much like Tommy Dreamer in Original ECW in that he simply isn't respected by the fans- fans do respect Cena, they don't respect Roman that's the major problem- and Roman needs his "Thank You Sir, I'll have another" moment for the crowd to get behind him.
That said, with Brock "suspended"- and the way RAW ended it appears Roman is the initial challenger for Seth, presumably at Extreme Rules where it'll be interesting to see how they handle the match at Extreme Rules; but you have to imagine an Extreme Rules stipulation will open the door for outside interference.
The problem with Brock's "limited" appearances is that it's hard to pack everything you want from a character like Brock. I've already said how I'd handle Brock at either Summerslam or Survivor Series with my "Booking Mania 32 Blog" so I won't go over all that in a great amount of detail- but they could also go down the road of Stephanie and HHH falling out with Rollins in the build to Summerslam and as revenge they reinstate Brock to rip Rollins' head off. In that case we pretty much have a nailed on Summerslam Main Event- with it either being a Singles Match or a Triple Threat with Roman also involved, although I'd have him facing Triple H at Summerslam provided Triple H isn't wrestling The Rock.
I alluded to it a bit in my Mania 32 booking blog I put up as the one directly preceding this blog, but I can see Seth dropping the belt not quickly- but either before or at Summerslam before quickly getting it back again.
This leads into what I've already discussed as my Mania 32 Title Match, Rollins v Reigns v Ambrose. Like it or not Roman is most likely going to be in and around the Main Event for the foreseeable future- and as I've said I doubt he'll be in the Title Hunt at Summerslam, but I can definitely see him being in the Title Hunt once again when next years Wrestlemania comes around. Ambrose is someone who does have main event potential- so it just depends on how WWE uses him, but for me this is a built in Title Match given the history these guys have and as you've seen especially when it comes to Punk's Title Run the Title doesn't necessarily have to Main Event and I've got two "money matches" that'd go on after it. I spoke about it briefly in my Mania 32 blog but I'll expand on the storyline I'd set out for Mania 32 with Rollins, Reigns and Ambrose.
At some point in the next year Rollins will drop the belt to Roman, only to win it back almost instantaneously via The Authority- and that'll give Roman a reason to chase Seth to the end of the world because it's "his title". When you consider Seth will have J&J behind him- and likely Kane, Big Show etc. it's only logical that Roman needs some back-up, in comes his Shield brother Dean Ambrose. But as we've seen since the Day after the Rumble Ambrose is desperate to win a Title so he'll start chasing Rollins as well, which'll lead these two to spontaneously combust without either of them becoming fully-fledged heels. This'll in turn give Seth a bit of breathing space and presumably at Fast Lane next year I'd have Roman & Ambrose wrestling for a #1 Contender Spot- but through shenanigans neither of them win, but just when Seth thinks he's safe it's announced it'll be a Triple Threat. Now all three guys are at each others throats headed into Mania, and it'd be a really good match- and as I've already said provided Roman has his "Singapore Cane" moment I reckon this'll be his crowning.
Thanks for reading as always, we're very nearly there for Mania Week now- I realise I've slightly gone off in tangents during this blog, but in essence this is who I see facing off with Seth for the title between now and next years Wrestlemania- and while I don't think it'll be a continuous run I do think he'll have the Title headed into next years Mania. Anyway not including this one- because you're already reading it there's 29 Blogs I've done so far this Mania Week for you to read whenever you want so have a look over said 29 Blogs and if one or two catches your eye feel free to read it and give me feedback on it. Thanks again for reading and stay tuned for the last blog of Mania Week, which'll be a RAW Review- to give a nice sense of symmetry given that's how we started.
Booking Wrestlemania 32
Hello! We're now very much onto the last legs of this Wrestlemania week- and this is one for future reference as much as it is now, I'm going to do this one essentially a year out- do another 6 Months in Advance and then hopefully compare in the build for Mania 32. This is purely fantasy booking- but within reason, as in no dead guys or someone like CM Punk who I basically can't see in WWE. I'm gonna work on the basis of a 9 Match Card as that was the card we had this year. I'm also going to keep it somewhat realistic, as in El Torito isn't gonna be Main Eventing.
Pre-Show: The Lucha Dragons v The Usos v The Ascension- Tag Titles
I picked these three teams because well, they're the only teams I can see still being together this time next year. I was debating including the Dubstep Duo in this match or Enzo & Big Cass but I think for different reasons they'll still be down in NXT this time next year. I think Los Matadores will be in the spring cleaning unfortunately because I did like Epico & Primo when they were just Epico & Primo, KiddSaro won't last a long time- and as you'll see later Cesaro in particular I have high hopes for- New Day could last if they turn them heel and make them to an extent Nation of Domination 2.0- they're already half-way there with the crowd but again I can't see them lasting the year. I'm not sure who'd be holding the belts headed into this match, I'm hoping in between now and next year we get a Luchas/Ascension 2 or 3 Match PPV Programme with stipulations over the Tag Belts because we know from NXT these two teams can deliver when they're opposing each other. Then I've thrown in The Usos who unless Vince decides to do something stupid and break them up will most likely still be together and most likely still be babyfaces.
Sami Zayn v Cesaro
It's a built in feud, and one I can see WWE putting on first on a Mania card with very little story to it because at least it'll be a good match. Pretty similar to the IC Title Match this year- which I don't care what anyone says didn't have much story to it at all. While Cesaro if built right could be competing in one of the Main Events- for whatever reason Vince doesn't seem to like Cesaro, as such he has an imposed glass ceiling; at least on this card he's not stuck on the Pre-Show.
Sasha Banks v Paige v Charlotte- Divas Title
I thought about this match a lot. The thing you had to think about primarily is whether The Bellas will still be viewed as the top divas (because like it or not they are now) this time next year. I've gone with no just because surely even the WWE know they can't have The Bellas as limited as they are be on top for roughly a year & a half. I think Charlotte is the most likely NXT Woman to get called up ASAP, contrary to seemingly a lot of people I wasn't expecting Charlotte to debut last night because we'd had them go down that route with Paige last year- but I think once Brie turns on Nikki as is seemingly being hinted at going to happen with what happened last night and they have their match- which I hope isn't for the Title & Brie turns on Nikki to cost her the title at either Extreme Rules or the one after that (Payback?), and the person who I think she'll be dropping the belt to is Paige. Then Charlotte will come up and she can work heel, especially if as I hope she starts cutting promos trashing her Dad, and then she'll win the belt and slowly transition into a babyface- then Sasha comes up and starts going off on how she was the one who beat Charlotte for the NXT Belt so she can do the same again for the Divas Title- and that's the hook for this match.
Sheamus v Finn Balor
The Irish Stuff is an aside, and one I hope they don't play up to a great deal. Sheamus is a heel, and I love Sheamus as a heel- it appears for the time being he's going to be in the IC Title hunt, but as you'll see and I'll discuss a bit later on in this I can't see him winning it; that said with Sheamus he's never not going to have a place because well, he's Sheamus and if I were booking him I'd build this angle from the roots up literally. NXT is increasingly become a "3rd Brand" as opposed to a Developmental Territory much to my displeasure- so I'd have Sheamus show up to NXT one week and essentially gatecrash the Main Event and Destroy whomever is involved. This'll be acknowledged on RAW the following week- and Sheamus will cut a promo saying something along the lines of wanting to eliminate the supposed "future" and prove he is the future of this business. He'll then go on a run of destroying people on the Main Roster with even the vaguest links to NXT people like Big E, Xavier Woods, Adrian Neville, Kalisto etc. Then in the Rumble Balor debuts and eliminates Sheamus setting the angle up for Mania.
Bray Wyatt v Triple H
The Authority Angle doesn't seem to be ending any time soon, as such I'm going to put in place a grand plan to End the Authority angle that 99% won't happen- but if it does I'll happily bow down to WWE and renege on any criticism I've ever bestowed onto WWE. This angle started all the way back at Bray's Main Roster Debut when he set his sights on Kane, after Summerslam he kidnapped Kane- but then Kane suddenly just showed up under his own steam and went after the Wyatts before quickly joining The Authority. I propose to you- that Kane has been a Sleeper Agent the whole time for Bray, it's something I thought they were going to address when Bray started cutting promos with the phrase "bring down the machine"- but once again it largely lead to nothing. Bray is a tweener in my opinion, I hate to compare him to Taker- but he is in that sense and he can go after anyone, as such I'd have this be the true end to The Authority angle, with Bray ending it. Bray has now had 2 losses in a row at Mania- so for me he needs a really big win; and what'll be bigger than this (within reason).
John Cena v Daniel Bryan- US/IC Title Unifying Match
Both of these guys are going to hold onto their respective belts for a long time in my opinion- hopefully injury permitting. These two will spend pretty much the whole of this year hopefully elevating the US & IC Titles to a sufficient level where they are legitimised again. Then you get to this storyline. I proposed Bryan turn heel in the build for this Mania and face Cena, and I'm sticking by it for next years Mania. Similar to his World Heavyweight Title Run I can see him turning somewhere along his run with the belt. If I were booking I'd have him get an injury (kayfabe) and then have to defend his title (successfully, but by the skin of his teeth) against someone like Dolph- and then he starts getting angry after the match and kicks the living hell out of Dolph before leaving. The following week he comes out and cuts a Promo blaming the fans for his neck injury and having to relinquish the WWE Title and then doing all the usual heel heat stuff. He'll then set his sights on someone who champions the fans whether they're booing him or not in John Cena, who coincidentally has the US Title- and we go from there.
Seth Rollins v Dean Ambrose v Roman Reigns- WWE Title
These three guys were in a little faction called The Shield not so long ago, I don't know if you remember. However that is just something to put in the video package for the match; it wouldn't be the main focus. I can see Rollins dropping the belt to Roman at some point in the next year, but swiftly winning it back via Authority- and this could get Roman over as a babyface, I'm always reminded of the story Heyman tells about Tommy Dreamer finally getting over with the Singapore Cane match, and something similar needs to happen (within PG limitations) to have Roman earn the respect of the fans. While the Brock match was a good start, in "modern" WWE they need to follow through on it which I have no faith in them doing. The crux of this angle would be you're not sure who the babyfaces and the heels are, because everyone is taking out everyone- and in turn that means you're not sure who you really want to win, and as I've said provided we do get the "Singapore Cane" moment I can see Roman finally getting his win.
The Undertaker v Sting- Last Man Standing
This'll be both guys last match, I can see Sting wrestling at Summerslam or Survivor Series before this- but it'll all be built to this match. This is one of the few "dream matches" we have left- and while I personally don't want to see it, WWE would be stupid if they didn't capitalise on it; because the match no matter what the quality of the match itself is- is money. The reason I've made this a Last Man Standing match- and some of you may have already worked out where I'm going with this it'll end with both guys failing to answer the 10 Count and riding off into the sunset.
Brock Lesnar v The Rock
This is the money match. I'd personally rather see Rock v HHH- and it does seem like they're hinting at this match, but depending on Rock's schedule and his willingness I'd love to see him wrestle at Summerslam or Survivor Series against Triple H. This'd also do a perfect job to set the angle up because Stephanie could lift Brock's suspension on the condition that he helps Triple H win, and of course because he's a "mercenary" he'll do so- and Rock because he's The Rock will get pissed and demand a match with Brock at Mania. It'd be a back and forth- but of course now Brock's re-signed for reportedly 3 Years he'd go over.
Thanks for reading as always, I hope you enjoy these booking blogs as much as I enjoy writing them. While I accept I'm not an amazing booker- I hope some of these ideas have been written down the way I wanted to convey them. Stay tuned for the last couple of blogs that'll be up tonight and for the end of Mania Week- if you want to have a look back over the 28 Blogs I've already done for Mania Week, and if there isn't at least one that peaks your interest I'd be surprised, and if you see the one that does peak said interest why don't you have a read of it? Thanks again for reading, WE'RE NEARLY THERE GUYS!
Pre-Show: The Lucha Dragons v The Usos v The Ascension- Tag Titles
I picked these three teams because well, they're the only teams I can see still being together this time next year. I was debating including the Dubstep Duo in this match or Enzo & Big Cass but I think for different reasons they'll still be down in NXT this time next year. I think Los Matadores will be in the spring cleaning unfortunately because I did like Epico & Primo when they were just Epico & Primo, KiddSaro won't last a long time- and as you'll see later Cesaro in particular I have high hopes for- New Day could last if they turn them heel and make them to an extent Nation of Domination 2.0- they're already half-way there with the crowd but again I can't see them lasting the year. I'm not sure who'd be holding the belts headed into this match, I'm hoping in between now and next year we get a Luchas/Ascension 2 or 3 Match PPV Programme with stipulations over the Tag Belts because we know from NXT these two teams can deliver when they're opposing each other. Then I've thrown in The Usos who unless Vince decides to do something stupid and break them up will most likely still be together and most likely still be babyfaces.
Sami Zayn v Cesaro
It's a built in feud, and one I can see WWE putting on first on a Mania card with very little story to it because at least it'll be a good match. Pretty similar to the IC Title Match this year- which I don't care what anyone says didn't have much story to it at all. While Cesaro if built right could be competing in one of the Main Events- for whatever reason Vince doesn't seem to like Cesaro, as such he has an imposed glass ceiling; at least on this card he's not stuck on the Pre-Show.
Sasha Banks v Paige v Charlotte- Divas Title
I thought about this match a lot. The thing you had to think about primarily is whether The Bellas will still be viewed as the top divas (because like it or not they are now) this time next year. I've gone with no just because surely even the WWE know they can't have The Bellas as limited as they are be on top for roughly a year & a half. I think Charlotte is the most likely NXT Woman to get called up ASAP, contrary to seemingly a lot of people I wasn't expecting Charlotte to debut last night because we'd had them go down that route with Paige last year- but I think once Brie turns on Nikki as is seemingly being hinted at going to happen with what happened last night and they have their match- which I hope isn't for the Title & Brie turns on Nikki to cost her the title at either Extreme Rules or the one after that (Payback?), and the person who I think she'll be dropping the belt to is Paige. Then Charlotte will come up and she can work heel, especially if as I hope she starts cutting promos trashing her Dad, and then she'll win the belt and slowly transition into a babyface- then Sasha comes up and starts going off on how she was the one who beat Charlotte for the NXT Belt so she can do the same again for the Divas Title- and that's the hook for this match.
Sheamus v Finn Balor
The Irish Stuff is an aside, and one I hope they don't play up to a great deal. Sheamus is a heel, and I love Sheamus as a heel- it appears for the time being he's going to be in the IC Title hunt, but as you'll see and I'll discuss a bit later on in this I can't see him winning it; that said with Sheamus he's never not going to have a place because well, he's Sheamus and if I were booking him I'd build this angle from the roots up literally. NXT is increasingly become a "3rd Brand" as opposed to a Developmental Territory much to my displeasure- so I'd have Sheamus show up to NXT one week and essentially gatecrash the Main Event and Destroy whomever is involved. This'll be acknowledged on RAW the following week- and Sheamus will cut a promo saying something along the lines of wanting to eliminate the supposed "future" and prove he is the future of this business. He'll then go on a run of destroying people on the Main Roster with even the vaguest links to NXT people like Big E, Xavier Woods, Adrian Neville, Kalisto etc. Then in the Rumble Balor debuts and eliminates Sheamus setting the angle up for Mania.
Bray Wyatt v Triple H
The Authority Angle doesn't seem to be ending any time soon, as such I'm going to put in place a grand plan to End the Authority angle that 99% won't happen- but if it does I'll happily bow down to WWE and renege on any criticism I've ever bestowed onto WWE. This angle started all the way back at Bray's Main Roster Debut when he set his sights on Kane, after Summerslam he kidnapped Kane- but then Kane suddenly just showed up under his own steam and went after the Wyatts before quickly joining The Authority. I propose to you- that Kane has been a Sleeper Agent the whole time for Bray, it's something I thought they were going to address when Bray started cutting promos with the phrase "bring down the machine"- but once again it largely lead to nothing. Bray is a tweener in my opinion, I hate to compare him to Taker- but he is in that sense and he can go after anyone, as such I'd have this be the true end to The Authority angle, with Bray ending it. Bray has now had 2 losses in a row at Mania- so for me he needs a really big win; and what'll be bigger than this (within reason).
John Cena v Daniel Bryan- US/IC Title Unifying Match
Both of these guys are going to hold onto their respective belts for a long time in my opinion- hopefully injury permitting. These two will spend pretty much the whole of this year hopefully elevating the US & IC Titles to a sufficient level where they are legitimised again. Then you get to this storyline. I proposed Bryan turn heel in the build for this Mania and face Cena, and I'm sticking by it for next years Mania. Similar to his World Heavyweight Title Run I can see him turning somewhere along his run with the belt. If I were booking I'd have him get an injury (kayfabe) and then have to defend his title (successfully, but by the skin of his teeth) against someone like Dolph- and then he starts getting angry after the match and kicks the living hell out of Dolph before leaving. The following week he comes out and cuts a Promo blaming the fans for his neck injury and having to relinquish the WWE Title and then doing all the usual heel heat stuff. He'll then set his sights on someone who champions the fans whether they're booing him or not in John Cena, who coincidentally has the US Title- and we go from there.
Seth Rollins v Dean Ambrose v Roman Reigns- WWE Title
These three guys were in a little faction called The Shield not so long ago, I don't know if you remember. However that is just something to put in the video package for the match; it wouldn't be the main focus. I can see Rollins dropping the belt to Roman at some point in the next year, but swiftly winning it back via Authority- and this could get Roman over as a babyface, I'm always reminded of the story Heyman tells about Tommy Dreamer finally getting over with the Singapore Cane match, and something similar needs to happen (within PG limitations) to have Roman earn the respect of the fans. While the Brock match was a good start, in "modern" WWE they need to follow through on it which I have no faith in them doing. The crux of this angle would be you're not sure who the babyfaces and the heels are, because everyone is taking out everyone- and in turn that means you're not sure who you really want to win, and as I've said provided we do get the "Singapore Cane" moment I can see Roman finally getting his win.
The Undertaker v Sting- Last Man Standing
This'll be both guys last match, I can see Sting wrestling at Summerslam or Survivor Series before this- but it'll all be built to this match. This is one of the few "dream matches" we have left- and while I personally don't want to see it, WWE would be stupid if they didn't capitalise on it; because the match no matter what the quality of the match itself is- is money. The reason I've made this a Last Man Standing match- and some of you may have already worked out where I'm going with this it'll end with both guys failing to answer the 10 Count and riding off into the sunset.
Brock Lesnar v The Rock
This is the money match. I'd personally rather see Rock v HHH- and it does seem like they're hinting at this match, but depending on Rock's schedule and his willingness I'd love to see him wrestle at Summerslam or Survivor Series against Triple H. This'd also do a perfect job to set the angle up because Stephanie could lift Brock's suspension on the condition that he helps Triple H win, and of course because he's a "mercenary" he'll do so- and Rock because he's The Rock will get pissed and demand a match with Brock at Mania. It'd be a back and forth- but of course now Brock's re-signed for reportedly 3 Years he'd go over.
Thanks for reading as always, I hope you enjoy these booking blogs as much as I enjoy writing them. While I accept I'm not an amazing booker- I hope some of these ideas have been written down the way I wanted to convey them. Stay tuned for the last couple of blogs that'll be up tonight and for the end of Mania Week- if you want to have a look back over the 28 Blogs I've already done for Mania Week, and if there isn't at least one that peaks your interest I'd be surprised, and if you see the one that does peak said interest why don't you have a read of it? Thanks again for reading, WE'RE NEARLY THERE GUYS!
Monday 30 March 2015
Which NXT Stars Deserve a Call Up?
We're now removed from Wrestlemania, which means its usually around this time of year a handful of NXT guys get the demotion to the Main Roster from NXT. This isn't going to be like the Top 10's I've done just because I'm simply going to list off who I think deserves a call-up, how I'd book them- and their chances of succeeding on the Main Roster. Also not this is in no particular order- this isn't a ranking, simply a list.
CJ Parker
No Really. The world needs jobbers, its a fact of life- and it definitely helps that Parker is a good talent, who I think is quite underrated. His Eco-Activist type gimmick is perfect for the 2015 WWE Crowd to hate, any type of preachy gimmick is. Parker could end up getting some steam behind him as a Midcard Heel. He'll never become WWE Champion, but not everyone needs to, to be considered a success in my opinion- and as long as Parker continues to play the role he has been doing in NXT he might get over in a weird way especially in front of smarky crowds who love to be different. I realise I'm somewhat insulting myself given how much I've been going on about Axelmania the last couple of months but c'mon... Its Genius.
Tyler Breeze
This is a heel with so much Main Roster potential, similar to Parker he's a heel everyone will hate provided they get mic time and a proper build. He has the best heater in the business now with the Selfie Stick- and although we get the "Breeze is Gorgeous" chants- he's generally a heel when he's matched up against the right guy. Again, as with Parker I'm not sure he'll reach WWE Title level- but he can definitely reach IC/US Title with ease. The good thing about Breeze is his gimmick has enough potential to get over, which'll make it even more of an annoyance when Vince buries him within 2 Months.
Adrian Neville
He along with another guy are the two most obvious names on this list, given the amount of time they've now spent in developmental- and the performer they've now become. Especially now Mysterio is officially gone the Main Roster needs a true high-flyer, who can offer 5* Matches and potential Main Events down the line. Neville is a guy I'm praying they don't drop the ball on- because much like I continuously go on about Shelton Benjamin- Neville is that caliber of an athlete, and if they build him right he will turn into at the very least someone who appears to be on the cusp of the Main Event.
Sami Zayn
Another of the unsurprising names on the list is Sami Zayn, and he has the most upside of any babyface down in NXT by a clear margin in my opinion. Zayn is the most over guy in NXT bar none and if they protect him when he gets called up he has the potential to be on the same level as Daniel Bryan with regard to Main Roster babyfaces. That said I can't see him coming in just yet because there's still a loose end to be tied up with Owens & Zayn before Zayn can properly move on.
Finn Balor
In terms of their stints in NXT Balor is the least experienced of the 5 Guys I chose for this list. That said given his amount of prior experience, and the way he's taken to the "show" aspect of the WWE makes him one of the ideal guys to get called up in my opinion. He has enough about him as does Neville & Zayn to eventually get a run in the Main Event- I'm not sure if they're intent on promoting the "Devil" Balor persona- or they're open to varying the body-paint, but if they are willing to diversify Balor using Facepaint that he's already done on the Indies like Venom etc. would only add to his character- especially for things like Wrestlemania- where similar to Wyatt, his entrance was made for a Wrestlemania situation.
Sasha Banks
She is the woman I'd most like to see be called up. In terms of "being ready" Banks is the most "ready" in my opinion- she's definitely the most well-rounded of all the Women down in NXT. The only thing detracting from it all is that she's perfectly suited to the Heel role, and whether we like it or not the Bellas are taking up the Heel Role on the Main Roster- so I'd rather Sasha stayed down in NXT until they've turned/taken a step back rather than be 3rd choice heel right off the bat.
Charlotte
In terms of likeliness of a call-up Charlotte is the most likely of the Women in my opinion. With Sasha picking up the belt roughly 2 Months ago, it seems as though they're gearing up Charlotte for a Main Roster debut- and I can see her debuting as early as tonight. That said- I'm not sure she's the fully rounded "Diva" yet, that said considering the caliber of some of the Girls we have on the Main Roster that's perhaps not a big concern for the decision makers.
Bayley
I thought the perfect time to bring Bayley up storyline wise was when A.J. was looking for a partner week-in week-out against Paige & Fox and bring her up with her current gimmick of basically being a massive fan of everyone- and that eventually transitioning into her becoming a Mickie James stalker type heel eventually leading to a big match at the Mania thats just gone. But what do I know I'm just a lunatic with a blog. It all depends on what they want from the call-up, because if they want the sympathetic babyface Diva- Bayley is the perfect pick. It was a toss up between Bayley & Becky for this third spot in my mind- but purely because Bayley's gotten more experience of the NXT system I decided to pick her.
Thanks for reading as ever, we're coming into the last legs of this Blog Marathon so thanks for all of the reads thus far, and I hope you make it over the line with these last few today and tomorrow. If you haven't already have a look back over all of the ones I've done this Mania week- and if a few take your fancy feel free to read them. Thanks again for reading, and thanks for all of your support. I'm now going to patiently await the angry tweets I'll be getting as a result of this blog- remember to set the Caps Lock On.
CJ Parker
No Really. The world needs jobbers, its a fact of life- and it definitely helps that Parker is a good talent, who I think is quite underrated. His Eco-Activist type gimmick is perfect for the 2015 WWE Crowd to hate, any type of preachy gimmick is. Parker could end up getting some steam behind him as a Midcard Heel. He'll never become WWE Champion, but not everyone needs to, to be considered a success in my opinion- and as long as Parker continues to play the role he has been doing in NXT he might get over in a weird way especially in front of smarky crowds who love to be different. I realise I'm somewhat insulting myself given how much I've been going on about Axelmania the last couple of months but c'mon... Its Genius.
Tyler Breeze
This is a heel with so much Main Roster potential, similar to Parker he's a heel everyone will hate provided they get mic time and a proper build. He has the best heater in the business now with the Selfie Stick- and although we get the "Breeze is Gorgeous" chants- he's generally a heel when he's matched up against the right guy. Again, as with Parker I'm not sure he'll reach WWE Title level- but he can definitely reach IC/US Title with ease. The good thing about Breeze is his gimmick has enough potential to get over, which'll make it even more of an annoyance when Vince buries him within 2 Months.
Adrian Neville
He along with another guy are the two most obvious names on this list, given the amount of time they've now spent in developmental- and the performer they've now become. Especially now Mysterio is officially gone the Main Roster needs a true high-flyer, who can offer 5* Matches and potential Main Events down the line. Neville is a guy I'm praying they don't drop the ball on- because much like I continuously go on about Shelton Benjamin- Neville is that caliber of an athlete, and if they build him right he will turn into at the very least someone who appears to be on the cusp of the Main Event.
Sami Zayn
Another of the unsurprising names on the list is Sami Zayn, and he has the most upside of any babyface down in NXT by a clear margin in my opinion. Zayn is the most over guy in NXT bar none and if they protect him when he gets called up he has the potential to be on the same level as Daniel Bryan with regard to Main Roster babyfaces. That said I can't see him coming in just yet because there's still a loose end to be tied up with Owens & Zayn before Zayn can properly move on.
Finn Balor
In terms of their stints in NXT Balor is the least experienced of the 5 Guys I chose for this list. That said given his amount of prior experience, and the way he's taken to the "show" aspect of the WWE makes him one of the ideal guys to get called up in my opinion. He has enough about him as does Neville & Zayn to eventually get a run in the Main Event- I'm not sure if they're intent on promoting the "Devil" Balor persona- or they're open to varying the body-paint, but if they are willing to diversify Balor using Facepaint that he's already done on the Indies like Venom etc. would only add to his character- especially for things like Wrestlemania- where similar to Wyatt, his entrance was made for a Wrestlemania situation.
Sasha Banks
She is the woman I'd most like to see be called up. In terms of "being ready" Banks is the most "ready" in my opinion- she's definitely the most well-rounded of all the Women down in NXT. The only thing detracting from it all is that she's perfectly suited to the Heel role, and whether we like it or not the Bellas are taking up the Heel Role on the Main Roster- so I'd rather Sasha stayed down in NXT until they've turned/taken a step back rather than be 3rd choice heel right off the bat.
Charlotte
In terms of likeliness of a call-up Charlotte is the most likely of the Women in my opinion. With Sasha picking up the belt roughly 2 Months ago, it seems as though they're gearing up Charlotte for a Main Roster debut- and I can see her debuting as early as tonight. That said- I'm not sure she's the fully rounded "Diva" yet, that said considering the caliber of some of the Girls we have on the Main Roster that's perhaps not a big concern for the decision makers.
Bayley
I thought the perfect time to bring Bayley up storyline wise was when A.J. was looking for a partner week-in week-out against Paige & Fox and bring her up with her current gimmick of basically being a massive fan of everyone- and that eventually transitioning into her becoming a Mickie James stalker type heel eventually leading to a big match at the Mania thats just gone. But what do I know I'm just a lunatic with a blog. It all depends on what they want from the call-up, because if they want the sympathetic babyface Diva- Bayley is the perfect pick. It was a toss up between Bayley & Becky for this third spot in my mind- but purely because Bayley's gotten more experience of the NXT system I decided to pick her.
Thanks for reading as ever, we're coming into the last legs of this Blog Marathon so thanks for all of the reads thus far, and I hope you make it over the line with these last few today and tomorrow. If you haven't already have a look back over all of the ones I've done this Mania week- and if a few take your fancy feel free to read them. Thanks again for reading, and thanks for all of your support. I'm now going to patiently await the angry tweets I'll be getting as a result of this blog- remember to set the Caps Lock On.
Top 10 Moments from WrestleMania 31
Hello! This is another Mania Week Blog- and it's the third I've done directly off the back of- and related to Mania. This blog is me discussing individual moments from last nights WrestleMania that I absolutely loved, and I've decided to rank them- just because that seems like something a person who actually knows what they're doing would do, so let's do this!
10. The Rock & Ronda Rousey take on The Authority
I've said my piece with regard to how long this segment went, BUT it was still a really cool moment. Any time The Rock shows up especially now it's a special event, especially at a WrestleMania. Although it wasn't announced I had a fairly good idea Rock was going to show up as I'm sure the majority of people did when they saw The Rock's Mum in the front row after the Cena match when he went to hug someone in the crowd. That said it is still a great moment when The Rock shows up it's great- then when you factor in arguably the most talked about athlete in a non-team sport in Ronda Rousey it truly was a WrestleMania Moment, especially when you consider they were opposite to arguably the two best heels that are currently on WWE TV.
9. Triple H's Terminator Entrance
I saw some people calling this entrance OTT and a bit stupid, but isn't that truly what Wrestling is about? I do think we as fans have a habit of taking Wrestling too seriously- that's why I kind of inherently latch onto the insane gimmicks like AxelMania & in the past 3MB because Wrestling should be fun, if I wanted fighting and grappling I'd watch UFC, Wrestling is a show- and WrestleMania is the Show of Shows; that's why I liked this. I respect people's opinions without a doubt- but I do think Wrestling Fans (myself included) where we have to check ourselves and remind ourselves that this is meant to be OTT and a bit Stupid, as long as it's executed well it's still good and effective. You only have to listen to how the crowd reacted to the entrance to know if it was effective or not.
8. Brock gets Busted Wide Open
This may not be on everyone's list, but I thought this was one of the best moments on the show in all honesty. I said in the Blog directly preceding this one that Brock & Roman told the best story of the night in my opinion- and the blood only added to the match. I love a stiff match- in my opinion in the right circumstances a match needs to be worked stiff in order for it to get over, and I hinted at it in the build to this match that this wasn't going to be a technically sound match- so they should go down the other road of just making it as hard-hitting as possible. Blood I'll be the first one to admit became used too much at one stage in Wrestling; but now we're in a PG world and Blood is seen so rarely to see Brock cut open the way he was after he hit that pole- I genuinely thought he'd bladed for a second and it took the match to another level in my opinion.
7. Dean Ambrose goes Through a Ladder
Let's be honest, this match wasn't going to not have a Ladder Match spot in it- it just wasn't going to be possible. This spot was the stand-out one by quite a long way when Harper powerbombed Ambrose through the Ladder. I touched on it in my other two blogs I've put up today that this Ladder Match was somewhat limited in terms of time and the number of spots they managed to fit in; this was in my opinion the stand-out moment of the match. It's funny Its become a yearly thing I listen to all of the Sam Roberts WrestleMania Interviews and he had Ambrose on and they asked him about Deathmatches and he said he liked doing them because he was bored. While I'm not comparing what he did last night to some of the stuff they do in CZW it's all relative, and for 2015 WWE it was a crazy spot.
6. Scott Hall takes a Back Bodydrop
I'm going to talk about the Triple H, Sting moment a bit later on in more detail- because perhaps unsurprisingly given the number of legends that were involved it's perhaps unsurprising there's a few moments from that match in this list. That said I thought I'd single this match out just because it was probably my favourite bump of the night without a doubt. With all the stuff Scott Hall has been through both over the last couple of years with DDP and all the stuff he went through before that Back Bodydrop at Mania was a miracle in itself- and I absolutely loved it.
5. Bray Wyatt's Scarecrows
The thing I was perhaps most concerned and hung up on in the build to this match was Daylight. It's weird that so much of a Wrestling Show could hang on the Sun, specifically when it came to Taker & Wyatt's match entrances were perhaps even more anticipated than the actual match. When it became clear that is wasn't going to be fully dark for Bray (and Takers) entrance I thought it'd lose some of its effect, and I do thing Taker's entrance suffered a bit because it was "just" a pretty standard Taker entrance without any gimmicks or props, but I thought Bray's Entrance was great. Scarecrows are inherently creepy, and just they way Bray worked the entrance and his mannerisms as he "gave life" to the Scarecrows as he made his way down the ramp- and the way it was shot with it being very close to Bray the whole time and you saw the scarecrows slowly assembling behind him into a small army it was one of the best moments of the PPV hence why it is where it is on this list.
4. The nWo take on DX
You could make the argument, and I'm sure given Triple H is where he is the WWE will try and make it seem like it, that this was The Monday Night Wars boiled down to the two biggest parts of the Wars. I'd disagree with that- but this was still a very cool moment, which I think we should have seen coming in all honesty given the tagline they were pushing for this match was "14 Years in the Making"- but just seeing the original nWo and DX (nearly all of it, don't google the other one) collide was amazing
3. Shawn Michaels Superkicks Sting
3 out of the Last 4 I've discussed have been from the same match, I think it pretty much sums up why I ranked Sting & Triple H as the #2 Match on Last Nights PPV. Even with the DX & nWo stuff I still didn't see this coming, just from me watching it was a completely left-field moment ONCE AGAIN WE SHOULD HAVE SEEN IT COMING. I'm still not sure if Michaels is a Heel or a Babyface from his run with Bryan- so this has completely done me in.
2. Bray Wyatt/The Undertaker Spiderwalk/Kip-Up
People may rank this lower if they weren't in my shoes, but for me this was an amazing moment. I'm not going to go into all my being a huge Bray Wyatt fan stuff again because I've done enough of that this week- that said, this moment was close to perfection in my book. The Sit-Up with Bray already doing the Spiderwalk and Bray dissolving away was a great moment, in a match that had it's ups and downs this was a stand out moment not only of the match but of the whole PPV.
1. Seth Rollins Cashes In
Was it going to be anything else? As I've already said today, this was WWE winning a No-Win situation- which made the moment even greater from a fans perspective in my opinion. Just the energy surrounding any Cash-In is good, and something I discussed what seems like a lifetime ago when I ranked all the Cash-Ins earlier on in the week for a Cash-In to happen at Mania in the Main Event made this a truly great WrestleMania moment.
These were my Top 10, and of course it's open to interpretation and people will have differing opinions- this is after all a personal preference list.
Thanks for reading as always, we're nearly there now for this Wrestlemania week of blogs, so I hope you stay tuned for the last few that'll be up soon and if you haven't already I'd encourage you to look back over all of the blogs I've done dating back to a lifetime ago i.e. Last Tuesday and if you see one or more that takes your fancy I hope you read them and you aren't disappointed.
10. The Rock & Ronda Rousey take on The Authority
I've said my piece with regard to how long this segment went, BUT it was still a really cool moment. Any time The Rock shows up especially now it's a special event, especially at a WrestleMania. Although it wasn't announced I had a fairly good idea Rock was going to show up as I'm sure the majority of people did when they saw The Rock's Mum in the front row after the Cena match when he went to hug someone in the crowd. That said it is still a great moment when The Rock shows up it's great- then when you factor in arguably the most talked about athlete in a non-team sport in Ronda Rousey it truly was a WrestleMania Moment, especially when you consider they were opposite to arguably the two best heels that are currently on WWE TV.
9. Triple H's Terminator Entrance
I saw some people calling this entrance OTT and a bit stupid, but isn't that truly what Wrestling is about? I do think we as fans have a habit of taking Wrestling too seriously- that's why I kind of inherently latch onto the insane gimmicks like AxelMania & in the past 3MB because Wrestling should be fun, if I wanted fighting and grappling I'd watch UFC, Wrestling is a show- and WrestleMania is the Show of Shows; that's why I liked this. I respect people's opinions without a doubt- but I do think Wrestling Fans (myself included) where we have to check ourselves and remind ourselves that this is meant to be OTT and a bit Stupid, as long as it's executed well it's still good and effective. You only have to listen to how the crowd reacted to the entrance to know if it was effective or not.
8. Brock gets Busted Wide Open
This may not be on everyone's list, but I thought this was one of the best moments on the show in all honesty. I said in the Blog directly preceding this one that Brock & Roman told the best story of the night in my opinion- and the blood only added to the match. I love a stiff match- in my opinion in the right circumstances a match needs to be worked stiff in order for it to get over, and I hinted at it in the build to this match that this wasn't going to be a technically sound match- so they should go down the other road of just making it as hard-hitting as possible. Blood I'll be the first one to admit became used too much at one stage in Wrestling; but now we're in a PG world and Blood is seen so rarely to see Brock cut open the way he was after he hit that pole- I genuinely thought he'd bladed for a second and it took the match to another level in my opinion.
7. Dean Ambrose goes Through a Ladder
Let's be honest, this match wasn't going to not have a Ladder Match spot in it- it just wasn't going to be possible. This spot was the stand-out one by quite a long way when Harper powerbombed Ambrose through the Ladder. I touched on it in my other two blogs I've put up today that this Ladder Match was somewhat limited in terms of time and the number of spots they managed to fit in; this was in my opinion the stand-out moment of the match. It's funny Its become a yearly thing I listen to all of the Sam Roberts WrestleMania Interviews and he had Ambrose on and they asked him about Deathmatches and he said he liked doing them because he was bored. While I'm not comparing what he did last night to some of the stuff they do in CZW it's all relative, and for 2015 WWE it was a crazy spot.
6. Scott Hall takes a Back Bodydrop
I'm going to talk about the Triple H, Sting moment a bit later on in more detail- because perhaps unsurprisingly given the number of legends that were involved it's perhaps unsurprising there's a few moments from that match in this list. That said I thought I'd single this match out just because it was probably my favourite bump of the night without a doubt. With all the stuff Scott Hall has been through both over the last couple of years with DDP and all the stuff he went through before that Back Bodydrop at Mania was a miracle in itself- and I absolutely loved it.
5. Bray Wyatt's Scarecrows
The thing I was perhaps most concerned and hung up on in the build to this match was Daylight. It's weird that so much of a Wrestling Show could hang on the Sun, specifically when it came to Taker & Wyatt's match entrances were perhaps even more anticipated than the actual match. When it became clear that is wasn't going to be fully dark for Bray (and Takers) entrance I thought it'd lose some of its effect, and I do thing Taker's entrance suffered a bit because it was "just" a pretty standard Taker entrance without any gimmicks or props, but I thought Bray's Entrance was great. Scarecrows are inherently creepy, and just they way Bray worked the entrance and his mannerisms as he "gave life" to the Scarecrows as he made his way down the ramp- and the way it was shot with it being very close to Bray the whole time and you saw the scarecrows slowly assembling behind him into a small army it was one of the best moments of the PPV hence why it is where it is on this list.
4. The nWo take on DX
You could make the argument, and I'm sure given Triple H is where he is the WWE will try and make it seem like it, that this was The Monday Night Wars boiled down to the two biggest parts of the Wars. I'd disagree with that- but this was still a very cool moment, which I think we should have seen coming in all honesty given the tagline they were pushing for this match was "14 Years in the Making"- but just seeing the original nWo and DX (nearly all of it, don't google the other one) collide was amazing
3. Shawn Michaels Superkicks Sting
3 out of the Last 4 I've discussed have been from the same match, I think it pretty much sums up why I ranked Sting & Triple H as the #2 Match on Last Nights PPV. Even with the DX & nWo stuff I still didn't see this coming, just from me watching it was a completely left-field moment ONCE AGAIN WE SHOULD HAVE SEEN IT COMING. I'm still not sure if Michaels is a Heel or a Babyface from his run with Bryan- so this has completely done me in.
2. Bray Wyatt/The Undertaker Spiderwalk/Kip-Up
People may rank this lower if they weren't in my shoes, but for me this was an amazing moment. I'm not going to go into all my being a huge Bray Wyatt fan stuff again because I've done enough of that this week- that said, this moment was close to perfection in my book. The Sit-Up with Bray already doing the Spiderwalk and Bray dissolving away was a great moment, in a match that had it's ups and downs this was a stand out moment not only of the match but of the whole PPV.
1. Seth Rollins Cashes In
Was it going to be anything else? As I've already said today, this was WWE winning a No-Win situation- which made the moment even greater from a fans perspective in my opinion. Just the energy surrounding any Cash-In is good, and something I discussed what seems like a lifetime ago when I ranked all the Cash-Ins earlier on in the week for a Cash-In to happen at Mania in the Main Event made this a truly great WrestleMania moment.
These were my Top 10, and of course it's open to interpretation and people will have differing opinions- this is after all a personal preference list.
Thanks for reading as always, we're nearly there now for this Wrestlemania week of blogs, so I hope you stay tuned for the last few that'll be up soon and if you haven't already I'd encourage you to look back over all of the blogs I've done dating back to a lifetime ago i.e. Last Tuesday and if you see one or more that takes your fancy I hope you read them and you aren't disappointed.
Match Ranking, After
Hello! I Promised a Part Two to my Match Rankings Blog- so here it is, I'm both going to rank and compare to my "Before" blog basically to see how wrong I was. This is a bit similar to my Mania Review, but this is purely on the match quality now as opposed to the way it was built and every single match is on a level playing field- and to the absolute best of my ability I'm going to try and eliminate bias from the equation.
9. A.J. & Paige v The Bellas (Predicted: 8th)
"Give Divas a Chance" that chance just happened to be in arguably the worst spot on the card in I think the shortest match of the night. That wouldn't even have been that bad if the title was on the line so it actually meant something. But what we got was a pretty clunky match in my opinion, it was pretty much summed up by A.J. nearly botching a Tornado DDT that didn't look smooth at all- I said I'm going to try and eliminate bias from the equation- but I will make this statement and I'll stick by it- if something happens to prove me wrong I'll be over the moon... The Bellas (either of them) will never be involved in a "Great" Match. They may have good one's here or there but I can't ever see a scenario where I would go "You Know that Bella Match Stole the Show". Given the limited time they had they didn't use it all that well in my opinion- I at least thought given they were selling an injury angle with A.J. that that'd come into play but it meant absolutely nothing.
8. Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal (Predicted: 9th)
I never really like what you'd label a "traditional" battle royal where everyone starts off in the match. It's just too many moving parts to contend with at the start and until you get to the back-end of the match there isn't any kind of story. The way I see it the main guys in terms of spots should have been Big Show, Ryback, Axel, Miz and Mizdow and those were the guys I featured prominently (in different ways) in my Battle Royal- but Big Show winning after we'd had the great Mizdow moment just felt like a huge anti-climax and left me cold.
7. KiddSaro v Los Matadores v The Usos v The New Day (Predicted: 5th)
As I said in my Review, this match trod a fine line between being good and being a complete cluster. Unfortunately I think the moment where Nattie put Torito into a Sharpshooter and we had Naomi jumping onto everyone it crossed that line- and once any match does it's incredibly hard to salvage it. There were some good moments, but considering the guys involved if there weren't I'd be incredibly surprised- and it is bizarre that Cesaro has been on the Pre-Show two years in a row because while there are others he along with Harper are two guys I'd push to the moon if I were in charge. In short the reason why I've ranked this so low was because they tried to pack too much in and the 4-Way with so many moving parts didn't do anyone any favours.
6. John Cena v Rusev (Predicted: 4th)
It may be because I'm British, so this match was definitely not aimed at me- but this just left me a bit cold. The end of the Fast Lane match where things seemed to click between these two meant I had relatively high expectations for this match but in all honesty I don't know what I was expecting from this match because it was going to be the patriotic win with Cena taking all of his best shots but powering through it all because Murica. I guess the problem with this match was we didn't have a stipulation that meant this match could get violent to fit the build, so it felt like a bit of an Anti-Climax.
5. Randy Orton v Seth Rollins (Predicted: 3rd)
I said it in my Review, and I'll say it again now- I thought this match felt a bit too rushed. Yes, We did get a really cool RKO- but given the story we had in the build to this match, which WWE invested a lot of time into and had it main eventing RAWs much to my chagrin I thought we'd get a lot more of a story in this match and I definitely thought they'd get more time and spots. That's why I've ranked this somewhat in the middle because although we did get the good ending to it all, and overall it was pretty good for what it was- it could and should have been a lot more in my opinion.
4. The Undertaker v Bray Wyatt (Predicted: 2nd)
I said it in my Mania Review that I'm honestly not sure what I expected from this match, I love Bray- but as I said in my "Worst Mania Build Ever" blog nearly a week ago now there's only so much of a story you can get in a build when only one guy is actively promoting it as was the case in this match. The whole build was centered around Bray calling The Undertaker out- so I thought Bray would be a lot more dominant than what he was- because after Brock won last year we (within kayfabe) wouldn't know if Taker had anything left in the tank and he'd take all of Bray's moves and we'd genuinely believe if they told the story right that Taker would lose again- and considering the guys involved that's a formality. I expected a slow paced match, but I do think it trod the line between being slow/methodical and being too slow- for me personally it didn't cross that line but I would understand those who say it did. This was bumped up a spot or two because of "that" moment which is what you'd call a "WrestleMania Moment".
3. IC Title Ladder Match (Predicted: 1st)
I said in effectively Part 1 of this Blog that one of the things that could hold this back is the weight of expectation on it headed into the match. Everyone spoke of this match as the one match that was a guaranteed 5* match. Then when you factor in the fact that they had a pretty limited time frame as far as Ladder Matches go, and they had to stick to "just" Ladders- it was the opener, but it wasn't so good it was unassailable as a match; and do think this match suffered from any kind of meaningful story headed into the match. Yes, they all wanted the Belt- but aside from that and the traditional babyface/heel stuff there was hardly anything that really meant anything- especially from a casual perspective who doesn't follow along on Twitter so doesn't necessarily know the hype there was at some point between Bryan and Dolph.
2. Triple H v Sting (Predicted: 7th)
I do think I was right to an extent that I ranked this match so low on my "Before", because the match itself was pretty ordinary. It was a slow paced match- while Sting was in the Shape of his Life I don't know how many times he's wrestled since he left TNA before Last Night but I do think "Ring Rust" was a factor so for some of the match. That said, I had goosebumps when all the pieces started to fall into place- when DX came out I genuinely thought for a second Booker T and Samoa Joe would come out, then I remembered the Main Event Mafia doesn't exist. When the nWo came out that was a proper moment to remember- and it truly became the whole of the Monday Night Wars into 1 Match- it truly was WCW v WWF(E). Then when Shawn came out and Superkicked him this match was made. I'll liken this to The Rock v Hogan in that if you take the crowd out of the equation it's a pretty ordinary match, but put the crowd in it's an instant classic. Take all of the outside influences on this match out of the equation it is a 7th placed match- put all that stuff in and it's 2nd.
1. Brock Lesnar v Roman Reigns (v Seth Rollins) (Predicted: 6th)
That last sentence is somewhat applicable here, without the Rollins Cash-In this may not have been the #1 Match. That said I thought even before Rollins came out these two told the best story of the night in my opinion. I said I had an open-mind for this match, and it's not going to go down as one of the best matches in Mania history- but for what it was it was great. Lesnar killing Roman for the majority of the match, and not because Brock is a former UFC Guy but when he's in a match it looks like he is legitimately going to kill whoever he's facing. Then we had Roman's flourish- and after the 2 Spears I was genuinely on the edge of my seat thinking Roman had won, at the end of the day the best thing WWE can get a fan to do is suspend their disbelief and abandon their pre-conceptions that they had into the match, and that's exactly what they did. Then when you factor in the finish with Rollins I genuinely loved it.
Thanks for reading as always, we're now very much into the final stages of Mania Week- so feel free to have a look over any of the blogs I've done this week and stay tuned for the last few that'll be up later on today and tomorrow. Thanks again for reading, I'll happily debate with you over this list- or for that matter any of the blogs I've done this week- and very much like an Oscars Speech I'm going to thank you again.
9. A.J. & Paige v The Bellas (Predicted: 8th)
"Give Divas a Chance" that chance just happened to be in arguably the worst spot on the card in I think the shortest match of the night. That wouldn't even have been that bad if the title was on the line so it actually meant something. But what we got was a pretty clunky match in my opinion, it was pretty much summed up by A.J. nearly botching a Tornado DDT that didn't look smooth at all- I said I'm going to try and eliminate bias from the equation- but I will make this statement and I'll stick by it- if something happens to prove me wrong I'll be over the moon... The Bellas (either of them) will never be involved in a "Great" Match. They may have good one's here or there but I can't ever see a scenario where I would go "You Know that Bella Match Stole the Show". Given the limited time they had they didn't use it all that well in my opinion- I at least thought given they were selling an injury angle with A.J. that that'd come into play but it meant absolutely nothing.
8. Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal (Predicted: 9th)
I never really like what you'd label a "traditional" battle royal where everyone starts off in the match. It's just too many moving parts to contend with at the start and until you get to the back-end of the match there isn't any kind of story. The way I see it the main guys in terms of spots should have been Big Show, Ryback, Axel, Miz and Mizdow and those were the guys I featured prominently (in different ways) in my Battle Royal- but Big Show winning after we'd had the great Mizdow moment just felt like a huge anti-climax and left me cold.
7. KiddSaro v Los Matadores v The Usos v The New Day (Predicted: 5th)
As I said in my Review, this match trod a fine line between being good and being a complete cluster. Unfortunately I think the moment where Nattie put Torito into a Sharpshooter and we had Naomi jumping onto everyone it crossed that line- and once any match does it's incredibly hard to salvage it. There were some good moments, but considering the guys involved if there weren't I'd be incredibly surprised- and it is bizarre that Cesaro has been on the Pre-Show two years in a row because while there are others he along with Harper are two guys I'd push to the moon if I were in charge. In short the reason why I've ranked this so low was because they tried to pack too much in and the 4-Way with so many moving parts didn't do anyone any favours.
6. John Cena v Rusev (Predicted: 4th)
It may be because I'm British, so this match was definitely not aimed at me- but this just left me a bit cold. The end of the Fast Lane match where things seemed to click between these two meant I had relatively high expectations for this match but in all honesty I don't know what I was expecting from this match because it was going to be the patriotic win with Cena taking all of his best shots but powering through it all because Murica. I guess the problem with this match was we didn't have a stipulation that meant this match could get violent to fit the build, so it felt like a bit of an Anti-Climax.
5. Randy Orton v Seth Rollins (Predicted: 3rd)
I said it in my Review, and I'll say it again now- I thought this match felt a bit too rushed. Yes, We did get a really cool RKO- but given the story we had in the build to this match, which WWE invested a lot of time into and had it main eventing RAWs much to my chagrin I thought we'd get a lot more of a story in this match and I definitely thought they'd get more time and spots. That's why I've ranked this somewhat in the middle because although we did get the good ending to it all, and overall it was pretty good for what it was- it could and should have been a lot more in my opinion.
4. The Undertaker v Bray Wyatt (Predicted: 2nd)
I said it in my Mania Review that I'm honestly not sure what I expected from this match, I love Bray- but as I said in my "Worst Mania Build Ever" blog nearly a week ago now there's only so much of a story you can get in a build when only one guy is actively promoting it as was the case in this match. The whole build was centered around Bray calling The Undertaker out- so I thought Bray would be a lot more dominant than what he was- because after Brock won last year we (within kayfabe) wouldn't know if Taker had anything left in the tank and he'd take all of Bray's moves and we'd genuinely believe if they told the story right that Taker would lose again- and considering the guys involved that's a formality. I expected a slow paced match, but I do think it trod the line between being slow/methodical and being too slow- for me personally it didn't cross that line but I would understand those who say it did. This was bumped up a spot or two because of "that" moment which is what you'd call a "WrestleMania Moment".
3. IC Title Ladder Match (Predicted: 1st)
I said in effectively Part 1 of this Blog that one of the things that could hold this back is the weight of expectation on it headed into the match. Everyone spoke of this match as the one match that was a guaranteed 5* match. Then when you factor in the fact that they had a pretty limited time frame as far as Ladder Matches go, and they had to stick to "just" Ladders- it was the opener, but it wasn't so good it was unassailable as a match; and do think this match suffered from any kind of meaningful story headed into the match. Yes, they all wanted the Belt- but aside from that and the traditional babyface/heel stuff there was hardly anything that really meant anything- especially from a casual perspective who doesn't follow along on Twitter so doesn't necessarily know the hype there was at some point between Bryan and Dolph.
2. Triple H v Sting (Predicted: 7th)
I do think I was right to an extent that I ranked this match so low on my "Before", because the match itself was pretty ordinary. It was a slow paced match- while Sting was in the Shape of his Life I don't know how many times he's wrestled since he left TNA before Last Night but I do think "Ring Rust" was a factor so for some of the match. That said, I had goosebumps when all the pieces started to fall into place- when DX came out I genuinely thought for a second Booker T and Samoa Joe would come out, then I remembered the Main Event Mafia doesn't exist. When the nWo came out that was a proper moment to remember- and it truly became the whole of the Monday Night Wars into 1 Match- it truly was WCW v WWF(E). Then when Shawn came out and Superkicked him this match was made. I'll liken this to The Rock v Hogan in that if you take the crowd out of the equation it's a pretty ordinary match, but put the crowd in it's an instant classic. Take all of the outside influences on this match out of the equation it is a 7th placed match- put all that stuff in and it's 2nd.
1. Brock Lesnar v Roman Reigns (v Seth Rollins) (Predicted: 6th)
That last sentence is somewhat applicable here, without the Rollins Cash-In this may not have been the #1 Match. That said I thought even before Rollins came out these two told the best story of the night in my opinion. I said I had an open-mind for this match, and it's not going to go down as one of the best matches in Mania history- but for what it was it was great. Lesnar killing Roman for the majority of the match, and not because Brock is a former UFC Guy but when he's in a match it looks like he is legitimately going to kill whoever he's facing. Then we had Roman's flourish- and after the 2 Spears I was genuinely on the edge of my seat thinking Roman had won, at the end of the day the best thing WWE can get a fan to do is suspend their disbelief and abandon their pre-conceptions that they had into the match, and that's exactly what they did. Then when you factor in the finish with Rollins I genuinely loved it.
Thanks for reading as always, we're now very much into the final stages of Mania Week- so feel free to have a look over any of the blogs I've done this week and stay tuned for the last few that'll be up later on today and tomorrow. Thanks again for reading, I'll happily debate with you over this list- or for that matter any of the blogs I've done this week- and very much like an Oscars Speech I'm going to thank you again.
Wrestlemania 31 Review
Hello! Its the big one, its the Wrestlemania Review. I've made no secret of my feeling toward the build of this WrestleMania, but I was still pretty excited for it in all honesty- because, It's Wrestlemania dammit. Anyway, let's kick off this review before I start rambling- I mean I'm gonna be rambling anyway, but its rambling with intent.
Pre-Show: KiddSaro v The Usos v The New Day v Los Matadores
This match trod a fine line between being exciting and being a cluster. One word could have made this match infinitely better- and that word is "Elimination". They booked themselves into a corner with this one because they tried to pack 4 Teams into the Tag Match, and then they gave them about 10 Minutes which just wasn't enough time to get a proper match going. That said I did like it to an extent because of how chaotic it all was, and we did get some cool spots contained within the 10 Minutes (approx) they were given. It did seem like they were rushing to pack everything they wanted to pack in into such a short amount of time and you either like that frenetic style of match or you don't- I personally didn't.
Pre-Show: Andre Battle Royal
MY BATTLE ROYAL WAS BETTER DAMMIT. I Rarely criticise matches for being too long, but I just felt given the story they were trying to tell the amount of time it took to get there was unnecessary- and while I'm not exactly sure I'd guess they have around double the amount of time the Tag Match had some of which was a bit unnecessary. I didn't even massively like the "AxelMania" stuff because I think it would have been so much better if he'd gone after Big Show, and especially with the way the Battle Royal played out I think they should have had Miz go back in and eliminate Mizdow leaving Axel & Show in the ring and Axel will hilariously fail to bodyslam him and be eliminated. I just felt the crescendo was a bit overlong as well- I get the whole telling a story type thing, but when Mizdow wasn't even winning why couldn't Miz come back in give him a SCF & then Big Show eliminates him? It would set up the feud a lot better and the Heel Big Show wouldn't have earned his win- or is that something heels do now?
IC Title Ladder Match
In my "Match Ranking, Before" Blog I said the only thing two things that'd hold this match back were time constraints and the weight of expectation on the match. Both of which I think came in to play in all honesty. There were some cool moments, but there were hardly any spots that I'd call WrestleMania worthy- which I do understand to an extent because this was the opening match and you don't want to wear the crowd out; but when you open with a Ladder Match, especially with the guys that were involved I kind of expected more.
Randy Orton v Seth Rollins
As with the IC Title Match, I felt this match was a bit rushed. Orton in particular is one of the best in the ring psychology wise; so when they don't have an awful lot of time to tell the story it makes the match suffer quite a bit. That said given the time constraints they did have I thought this match was pretty good- and of course the RKO was amazing. I've seen some people saying "Best RKO Ever", and I guess it's all down to personal preference at the end of the day- but I still prefer the Evan Bourne one.
Triple H v Sting
While I predicted Sting in my Predictions, I also conditioned it with Triple H could well be going over because Vince hates anything vaguely remembering WCW- but I thought it would just be a 1 v 1 match with Triple H going over. Instead we essentially got WWF (E) v WCW with DX against the nWo being the side story- and as soon as saw that tangent happening I knew Triple H was going over. This match was overbooked as hell, the actual "wrestling" in the match was pretty bad in all honesty- and worked at a painfully slow pace; BUT I LOVED IT. Everything from the initial DX run-in to the nWo actually taking bumps to Shawn Superkicking Sting- I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT.
Daniel Bryan Backstage Promo
This was a really good rub for Bryan with all of the legends "endorsing" him- and I'm hoping this combined with the events of the US Title Match means they're finally elevating the "Secondary" Titles.
Paige & AJ v The Bellas
I actually liked this match, there have been endless questions over how much longer AJ is going to stay with the company- and while there probably isn't anything set in stone the fact Paige wrestled the majority of the match was good, and probably puts her in the position to wrestle for the Title soon; and they could of course go the "I Did all the Work" line for a mini Paige/AJ Feud for the #1 Contender Spot.
The HOF Stuff
This was as always a feel-good moment- I'm still not sold on Nash being the headliner- but it's not worth getting hung up on.
John Cena v Rusev
This was pretty much the formulaic USA triumphs match I thought it'd be with Rusev giving Cena all his best shots and the overwhelming supp- 35/65 Split Support for Cena would come through and he'd do it for the people, even though most of them were booing him. That said I did think it was an alright match, I stand by my Fast Lane Review where I said they didn't have much chemistry- while this match was better than the one at Fast Lane it was far from outstanding which I thought it would be given the way the Fast Lane match ended. I think Rusev crashing into Lana was so she could go back off to film with Edge and the teased tension should be a good angle provided they book it right. I've seen a lot of people worried about where Rusev is going now he's lost his undefeated streak, but he was built properly in the build to this match so I'm not overly concerned (for now) over Rusev's future.
The Authority, The Rock, Ronda Rousey stuff
I had someone lay into me for being a "smark" because I slated this thing for going on too long and that this would get the mainstream media exposure etc. and I do understand why they did it- but I thought this was a way too long segment for a pretty bad payoff. I do get they're most likely setting up Rock v HHH at 32, but I don't see why they had to have this thing at Mania when they wouldn't have got any extra PPV buys from an unannounced Rock cameo, and while I'm not ruling it out I highly doubt Steph will face Rousey- especially judging by the lack of anything that vaguely resembled something painful when Rousey and Steph tangled. I don't see why they couldn't have done this on RAW like they did with Rock & Cena a few years back.
The Undertaker v Bray Wyatt
I'm not sure what I expected from this match in all honesty, I've made no secret of my affection towards Bray and his character so I was perhaps looking at this through rose tinted glasses but I did really like this match. It was never going to be an up-tempo match, but I thought the story they told was a good one. The main criticism I'd have is that it felt a bit too condensed at times like they were just moving from spot to spot but I did still love it and the Undertaker kip-up, Bray Spiderwalk picture is a Mania moment that'll last forever.
Brock Lesnar v Roman Reigns
I said in one of my blogs in the build to this, I genuinely can't remember which one that I thought this match would be better than the Bryan match at Fast Lane because Roman would just have to sell for the majority of the match- and I inadvertently called the whole thing to a T, so you're welcome. I thought they did a good job in all honesty of building Roman in this match- I fundamentally disagreed with Roman kicking out of 3 F5s because of the Undertaker permutations but that's the way they wanted to go so more power to them.
Seth Rollins v Brock Lesnar v Roman Reigns
Sometimes you do have to give credit to WWE, they managed to win a no-win situation with the end of this Mania. I'm not exactly a hardened smark but I do criticise WWE quite a lot- but sometimes you do have to credit them and they got it right last night. I did call it on Twitter 3 Weeks ago, which I was very proud of- but Rollins cashing in during a match was perfect booking- and it's what I thought they should have done with Orton at Summerslam with Bryan and Cena because it shields both guys to an extent. Seth pinning Roman keeps Brock looking strong while heading into some time off- and it gives Roman the Rematch at Extreme Rules because it looked like the tide was turning in Romans favour. I've seen some people say Roman being pinned means it's the end of his push (for now) as a Main Eventer, and while I can't say for definite I highly, highly doubt this is the end of Roman's push- and it's not going to surprise me if Roman is Champion before Summerslam- or is at least still in the hunt.
The build for this Mania was atrocious, I think in hindsight even Vince would probably admit to himself that it was atrocious- that said this Mania was pretty good, I'm not going to say great just because the way it was all booked I'm not sure after tonights RAW what the landscape of WWE will like with so many people headed off into the sunset. That said Bryan, Cena and Rollins who are probably the three biggest workhorses (for different reasons) in the company gives me a lot of hope for a good build to Summerslam.
Thanks for reading as ever, we're now headed into the home stretch of Mania Week- in case you weren't already aware I'm doing 31 Blogs for Mania Week which I started with a RAW Review last Tuesday and I'm ending tomorrow with a RAW Review so stay tuned for the one's I've got still to come and if you see any of the one's I've done and it catches your eye nobodies gonna stop you from reading it. Thanks again, stay tuned for my blogs coming up later on today and why dontcha join me on Twitter for RAW- it'll be a fun one.
Pre-Show: KiddSaro v The Usos v The New Day v Los Matadores
This match trod a fine line between being exciting and being a cluster. One word could have made this match infinitely better- and that word is "Elimination". They booked themselves into a corner with this one because they tried to pack 4 Teams into the Tag Match, and then they gave them about 10 Minutes which just wasn't enough time to get a proper match going. That said I did like it to an extent because of how chaotic it all was, and we did get some cool spots contained within the 10 Minutes (approx) they were given. It did seem like they were rushing to pack everything they wanted to pack in into such a short amount of time and you either like that frenetic style of match or you don't- I personally didn't.
Pre-Show: Andre Battle Royal
MY BATTLE ROYAL WAS BETTER DAMMIT. I Rarely criticise matches for being too long, but I just felt given the story they were trying to tell the amount of time it took to get there was unnecessary- and while I'm not exactly sure I'd guess they have around double the amount of time the Tag Match had some of which was a bit unnecessary. I didn't even massively like the "AxelMania" stuff because I think it would have been so much better if he'd gone after Big Show, and especially with the way the Battle Royal played out I think they should have had Miz go back in and eliminate Mizdow leaving Axel & Show in the ring and Axel will hilariously fail to bodyslam him and be eliminated. I just felt the crescendo was a bit overlong as well- I get the whole telling a story type thing, but when Mizdow wasn't even winning why couldn't Miz come back in give him a SCF & then Big Show eliminates him? It would set up the feud a lot better and the Heel Big Show wouldn't have earned his win- or is that something heels do now?
IC Title Ladder Match
In my "Match Ranking, Before" Blog I said the only thing two things that'd hold this match back were time constraints and the weight of expectation on the match. Both of which I think came in to play in all honesty. There were some cool moments, but there were hardly any spots that I'd call WrestleMania worthy- which I do understand to an extent because this was the opening match and you don't want to wear the crowd out; but when you open with a Ladder Match, especially with the guys that were involved I kind of expected more.
Randy Orton v Seth Rollins
As with the IC Title Match, I felt this match was a bit rushed. Orton in particular is one of the best in the ring psychology wise; so when they don't have an awful lot of time to tell the story it makes the match suffer quite a bit. That said given the time constraints they did have I thought this match was pretty good- and of course the RKO was amazing. I've seen some people saying "Best RKO Ever", and I guess it's all down to personal preference at the end of the day- but I still prefer the Evan Bourne one.
Triple H v Sting
While I predicted Sting in my Predictions, I also conditioned it with Triple H could well be going over because Vince hates anything vaguely remembering WCW- but I thought it would just be a 1 v 1 match with Triple H going over. Instead we essentially got WWF (E) v WCW with DX against the nWo being the side story- and as soon as saw that tangent happening I knew Triple H was going over. This match was overbooked as hell, the actual "wrestling" in the match was pretty bad in all honesty- and worked at a painfully slow pace; BUT I LOVED IT. Everything from the initial DX run-in to the nWo actually taking bumps to Shawn Superkicking Sting- I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT.
Daniel Bryan Backstage Promo
This was a really good rub for Bryan with all of the legends "endorsing" him- and I'm hoping this combined with the events of the US Title Match means they're finally elevating the "Secondary" Titles.
Paige & AJ v The Bellas
I actually liked this match, there have been endless questions over how much longer AJ is going to stay with the company- and while there probably isn't anything set in stone the fact Paige wrestled the majority of the match was good, and probably puts her in the position to wrestle for the Title soon; and they could of course go the "I Did all the Work" line for a mini Paige/AJ Feud for the #1 Contender Spot.
The HOF Stuff
This was as always a feel-good moment- I'm still not sold on Nash being the headliner- but it's not worth getting hung up on.
John Cena v Rusev
This was pretty much the formulaic USA triumphs match I thought it'd be with Rusev giving Cena all his best shots and the overwhelming supp- 35/65 Split Support for Cena would come through and he'd do it for the people, even though most of them were booing him. That said I did think it was an alright match, I stand by my Fast Lane Review where I said they didn't have much chemistry- while this match was better than the one at Fast Lane it was far from outstanding which I thought it would be given the way the Fast Lane match ended. I think Rusev crashing into Lana was so she could go back off to film with Edge and the teased tension should be a good angle provided they book it right. I've seen a lot of people worried about where Rusev is going now he's lost his undefeated streak, but he was built properly in the build to this match so I'm not overly concerned (for now) over Rusev's future.
The Authority, The Rock, Ronda Rousey stuff
I had someone lay into me for being a "smark" because I slated this thing for going on too long and that this would get the mainstream media exposure etc. and I do understand why they did it- but I thought this was a way too long segment for a pretty bad payoff. I do get they're most likely setting up Rock v HHH at 32, but I don't see why they had to have this thing at Mania when they wouldn't have got any extra PPV buys from an unannounced Rock cameo, and while I'm not ruling it out I highly doubt Steph will face Rousey- especially judging by the lack of anything that vaguely resembled something painful when Rousey and Steph tangled. I don't see why they couldn't have done this on RAW like they did with Rock & Cena a few years back.
The Undertaker v Bray Wyatt
I'm not sure what I expected from this match in all honesty, I've made no secret of my affection towards Bray and his character so I was perhaps looking at this through rose tinted glasses but I did really like this match. It was never going to be an up-tempo match, but I thought the story they told was a good one. The main criticism I'd have is that it felt a bit too condensed at times like they were just moving from spot to spot but I did still love it and the Undertaker kip-up, Bray Spiderwalk picture is a Mania moment that'll last forever.
Brock Lesnar v Roman Reigns
I said in one of my blogs in the build to this, I genuinely can't remember which one that I thought this match would be better than the Bryan match at Fast Lane because Roman would just have to sell for the majority of the match- and I inadvertently called the whole thing to a T, so you're welcome. I thought they did a good job in all honesty of building Roman in this match- I fundamentally disagreed with Roman kicking out of 3 F5s because of the Undertaker permutations but that's the way they wanted to go so more power to them.
Seth Rollins v Brock Lesnar v Roman Reigns
Sometimes you do have to give credit to WWE, they managed to win a no-win situation with the end of this Mania. I'm not exactly a hardened smark but I do criticise WWE quite a lot- but sometimes you do have to credit them and they got it right last night. I did call it on Twitter 3 Weeks ago, which I was very proud of- but Rollins cashing in during a match was perfect booking- and it's what I thought they should have done with Orton at Summerslam with Bryan and Cena because it shields both guys to an extent. Seth pinning Roman keeps Brock looking strong while heading into some time off- and it gives Roman the Rematch at Extreme Rules because it looked like the tide was turning in Romans favour. I've seen some people say Roman being pinned means it's the end of his push (for now) as a Main Eventer, and while I can't say for definite I highly, highly doubt this is the end of Roman's push- and it's not going to surprise me if Roman is Champion before Summerslam- or is at least still in the hunt.
The build for this Mania was atrocious, I think in hindsight even Vince would probably admit to himself that it was atrocious- that said this Mania was pretty good, I'm not going to say great just because the way it was all booked I'm not sure after tonights RAW what the landscape of WWE will like with so many people headed off into the sunset. That said Bryan, Cena and Rollins who are probably the three biggest workhorses (for different reasons) in the company gives me a lot of hope for a good build to Summerslam.
Thanks for reading as ever, we're now headed into the home stretch of Mania Week- in case you weren't already aware I'm doing 31 Blogs for Mania Week which I started with a RAW Review last Tuesday and I'm ending tomorrow with a RAW Review so stay tuned for the one's I've got still to come and if you see any of the one's I've done and it catches your eye nobodies gonna stop you from reading it. Thanks again, stay tuned for my blogs coming up later on today and why dontcha join me on Twitter for RAW- it'll be a fun one.
Sunday 29 March 2015
Can Roman Reigns become "The Guy"?
Hello! It is something that a lot of people will have opinions on and as we climb closer and closer to Wrestlemania it's a topic that'll likely heat up over the course of the next few days and beyond. It seems whether we like it or not Vince is determined to make Roman Reigns a Main-Eventer, but having a run in the Main Event and becoming "The Guy" are two entirely separate things.
When you think of "The Guy" in WWE you think of people like Hulk Hogan and John Cena as the stereotypical "WWE Guys" who have been the "Face of the WWE" which was of course the hot topic headed into last years Wrestlemania. The way I see it being "The Guy" is something that can't be forced on anyone, whether we like it or not John Cena always elicits a reaction- and his Merchandise is #1 for a reason- and that's the reason he is where he is and is booked the way he is. The thing about John Cena is it's unlikely in 2015's "Smarky" Wrestling Climate we'll get another John Cena who'll be able to position himself in the Main Event consistently- and while it's not universal kids are impressionable so if they see a 60/70% crowd against Reigns it is likely they'll follow suit.
The thing about John Cena is, and it's something a lot of people don't give him credit for- Cena always has at least 1 Match of the Year Contender come the supposed "awards" at the end of the year, and you can try and pigeon hole himself as "5 Moves of Doom" and all that stuff- so in that respect I'd say he is one of the most underrated workers we have in the WWE. I realise I'll probably get some angry tweets because I've said I like Cena's ring work- but say I'm wrong, I dare you. Contrast Cena's and Reigns' ring work- and you'll see the first issue I have with Roman potentially being positioned as "the guy". I genuinely can't remember a single Reigns singles match, he was involved in good matches as part of The Shield but that was largely because of Ambrose and Rollins' work- and since The Shield broke up he's had a forgettable feud with Orton, where the Summerslam match was well- forgettable; then we had with a feud that could've been something and helped Reigns progress in terms of his ring-work when he was opposite Rollins- but his injury set him back, and meant his total Singles Matches that have been televised are pretty minimal when you consider he's about to Main Event a Wrestlemania.
Just the way Reigns has been built leading into this Wrestlemania is laughable- characterised by the Main Event of RAW a few weeks ago when his only impact on the show was to be the Third Wheel in the Main Event segment- which was used to further the midcard match of Rollins v Orton. There would be a lot less ill-will toward Reigns if he at least demonstrated he is somewhat capable of grabbing the proverbial bull by the horns in matches and getting his moveset over. I can only name a handful of moves Reigns actually does; The Spear, The Superman Punch, The Dropkick onto the Apron and I think he does a Samoan Drop. I hardly ever pay attention to Reigns matches just because it never entices me to watch- and that hasn't been helped by him facing people like Big Show and Kane- or being the "Hot-Tag" guy in Tag Matches.
Another thing about Cena is he never takes a day off, on his "off" days he's making media appearances or doing Make a Wish's or doing something else for the company. John Cena is a brand now as opposed to a Superstar because he never stops. Its impossible to say how Reigns will react to that level of responsibility- and I'm not going to say how he'll react because I don't know his body or his mentality; but it is a lot of responsibility, and as we've seen with people like Punk it does burn someone out pretty quickly.
Essentially I would narrow the characteristics of being "the guy" of in this order being Fan Connection. Work Rate, Having "The Look", Ring-Work. Whether we like it or not ring-work doesn't make someone become instantly a Main Eventer unless the guy can make a connection with the crowd it means nothing, and its something the stereotypical internet fan has to acknowledge. His Work Rate is yet to be discovered for a Main Event level superstar and it really is a case of throwing Roman in at the deep-end in that respect- and if he drowns WWE will well and truly have egg on their face given the way they've built Roman over the last year or so. Reigns definitely has a marketable look, but I'm still not sure Reigns has made the proper fan connection even with what I'd call the "Cena Audience" judging from his reactions in the build to the match, and I'm reminded of something I can't remember someone said "The Man makes the Title, the Title doesn't make the Man" and that's what I fear WWE are trying to do in this case.
In short, do I "think" Roman Reigns can become the guy at this stage of his career- no. I think Reigns will end up being an "in and around" guy for the next year or so- until his character becomes a lot more well-rounded and he's got a lot more singles matches under his belt. You only have to look at some of the people who have Main Evented a Wrestlemania in the past most recently The Miz to know a Mania Main Event doesn't guarantee future success- which I do think a lot of people lost site of.
Thanks for reading as always, and thanks for the support on all of the blogs I've done this side of the Wrestlemania- and the crushing disappointment. As always if you want to look back over the Blogs I've already done this week and if you see one that takes your fancy nobodies going to stop you. Stay Tuned for the Mania Review tomorrow- and in the more immediate future why don't you tag along for my dulcet Twitter tones during the actual event.
When you think of "The Guy" in WWE you think of people like Hulk Hogan and John Cena as the stereotypical "WWE Guys" who have been the "Face of the WWE" which was of course the hot topic headed into last years Wrestlemania. The way I see it being "The Guy" is something that can't be forced on anyone, whether we like it or not John Cena always elicits a reaction- and his Merchandise is #1 for a reason- and that's the reason he is where he is and is booked the way he is. The thing about John Cena is it's unlikely in 2015's "Smarky" Wrestling Climate we'll get another John Cena who'll be able to position himself in the Main Event consistently- and while it's not universal kids are impressionable so if they see a 60/70% crowd against Reigns it is likely they'll follow suit.
The thing about John Cena is, and it's something a lot of people don't give him credit for- Cena always has at least 1 Match of the Year Contender come the supposed "awards" at the end of the year, and you can try and pigeon hole himself as "5 Moves of Doom" and all that stuff- so in that respect I'd say he is one of the most underrated workers we have in the WWE. I realise I'll probably get some angry tweets because I've said I like Cena's ring work- but say I'm wrong, I dare you. Contrast Cena's and Reigns' ring work- and you'll see the first issue I have with Roman potentially being positioned as "the guy". I genuinely can't remember a single Reigns singles match, he was involved in good matches as part of The Shield but that was largely because of Ambrose and Rollins' work- and since The Shield broke up he's had a forgettable feud with Orton, where the Summerslam match was well- forgettable; then we had with a feud that could've been something and helped Reigns progress in terms of his ring-work when he was opposite Rollins- but his injury set him back, and meant his total Singles Matches that have been televised are pretty minimal when you consider he's about to Main Event a Wrestlemania.
Just the way Reigns has been built leading into this Wrestlemania is laughable- characterised by the Main Event of RAW a few weeks ago when his only impact on the show was to be the Third Wheel in the Main Event segment- which was used to further the midcard match of Rollins v Orton. There would be a lot less ill-will toward Reigns if he at least demonstrated he is somewhat capable of grabbing the proverbial bull by the horns in matches and getting his moveset over. I can only name a handful of moves Reigns actually does; The Spear, The Superman Punch, The Dropkick onto the Apron and I think he does a Samoan Drop. I hardly ever pay attention to Reigns matches just because it never entices me to watch- and that hasn't been helped by him facing people like Big Show and Kane- or being the "Hot-Tag" guy in Tag Matches.
Another thing about Cena is he never takes a day off, on his "off" days he's making media appearances or doing Make a Wish's or doing something else for the company. John Cena is a brand now as opposed to a Superstar because he never stops. Its impossible to say how Reigns will react to that level of responsibility- and I'm not going to say how he'll react because I don't know his body or his mentality; but it is a lot of responsibility, and as we've seen with people like Punk it does burn someone out pretty quickly.
Essentially I would narrow the characteristics of being "the guy" of in this order being Fan Connection. Work Rate, Having "The Look", Ring-Work. Whether we like it or not ring-work doesn't make someone become instantly a Main Eventer unless the guy can make a connection with the crowd it means nothing, and its something the stereotypical internet fan has to acknowledge. His Work Rate is yet to be discovered for a Main Event level superstar and it really is a case of throwing Roman in at the deep-end in that respect- and if he drowns WWE will well and truly have egg on their face given the way they've built Roman over the last year or so. Reigns definitely has a marketable look, but I'm still not sure Reigns has made the proper fan connection even with what I'd call the "Cena Audience" judging from his reactions in the build to the match, and I'm reminded of something I can't remember someone said "The Man makes the Title, the Title doesn't make the Man" and that's what I fear WWE are trying to do in this case.
In short, do I "think" Roman Reigns can become the guy at this stage of his career- no. I think Reigns will end up being an "in and around" guy for the next year or so- until his character becomes a lot more well-rounded and he's got a lot more singles matches under his belt. You only have to look at some of the people who have Main Evented a Wrestlemania in the past most recently The Miz to know a Mania Main Event doesn't guarantee future success- which I do think a lot of people lost site of.
Thanks for reading as always, and thanks for the support on all of the blogs I've done this side of the Wrestlemania- and the crushing disappointment. As always if you want to look back over the Blogs I've already done this week and if you see one that takes your fancy nobodies going to stop you. Stay Tuned for the Mania Review tomorrow- and in the more immediate future why don't you tag along for my dulcet Twitter tones during the actual event.
WM31: Match Ranking, Before
Hello! This is yet another Wrestlemania Week Blog- and we're within touching distance of the Actual Event now- and this is a blog where I attempt to predict the match quality of the 9 Matches on the card.
I'm considering all aspects of every match, and in the end I've come to this list where I've ranked the matches before the event which is coming up later on today- and then tomorrow I'm going to do in essence a Part Two for this blog where I do the actual order after the event (as I see it) so it'll be good to compare when all is said and done.
9. The Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
I spoke about it in detail yesterday with my "Booking the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal" blog I put up, but unless we get a Curtis Axel "AxelMania is Running Wild" Spot which I would love this match is going to be pretty much the definition of filler, and if Cesaro is anything to go by the winner will gain absolutely nothing from winning the match- especially when you consider the Battle Royal is even less pushed than it was Last Year. Even when it's
8. AJ Lee & Paige v The Bellas
I feel like I have to explain myself to an extent having this match so low down on the list, but I'd like to think the majority of you lot reading it will already understand it. I am a full supporter of the "Give Divas a Chance" stuff, and if I were put in charge of the Womens Division I could pretty much guarantee I could get good stuff from it, that said the "Divas" never get massive amounts of time at WrestleMania, so when you factor in this is arguably the most disposable match on the card it means these 4 women who are capable of so much more will probably get around the same amount of time The Shield got against the New Aged Outlaws did last year- if that, which isn't conducive for a good match. After all we have to have multiple musical performances to enhance the show!
7. Sting v Triple H
I don't know if people were expecting miracles when it comes to this match, but Sting by signing with WWE hasn't found the fountain of youth; age is a straight line and he's older than he ever has been (surprising isn't it) as such I'm not expecting much from the match- these two are without a doubt two of the best ever and their ring psychology could pay off to the extent they put on a good match- but unfortunately I can't see it. In Triple H's run as a "Big PPV" Part-Timer he's always been opposed by someone who can really go whether it was Brock or Taker and in both cases they had a great story-line going into it, which in my opinion this one hasn't been. I'll happily be proven wrong- but this is where I've ranked this match for the "Before".
6. Brock Lesnar v Roman Reigns
I Realise this is to an extent a contradiction because in Previous Blogs in this poorly thought out 31 Blog Week I've said I'm staying open-minded on the Main Event and it could turn into a good match. But now we're so close to the event I'm starting to put my cynicism hat on (You can get them on Amazon) and for the sake of this blog I have to look at Brock/Reigns as it is looking in the build to this PPV- and it's looking pretty ugly. In some of the previous blogs I've written this week I've spoken about a specific spot that would turn this match into a memorable one but as I said in the "Memorable Spots" blog it isn't highly likely to happen as such I can see this match with no stipulation turning into a pretty good RAW Main Event, but I think it'll just look out of place as a Wrestlemania Main Event which has a certain expectation to it.
5. KiddSaro v Los Matadores v The Uso's v The New Day
The only thing preventing these guys from being in the Top 3 is the time constraints, although they're relegated to the Pre-Show along with the Battle Royal I still can't see them getting anything north of 15 Minutes and when you consider there's 4 Teams that need to make an impact on the match, with no elimination stipulation I can't see this match becoming "extraordinary". Had they have put in an elimination stipulation I could see this match turning into a "Top 3" match because we would have eventually ended up with presumably KiddSaro and The Uso's who we know can put on a good match even if the pairing is stale. That said the guys involved are of sufficient quality to put on a good match which is why I've ranked it pretty much in the middle.
4. Rusev v John Cena
With a 9 Match Card we essentially have two "in the middle" matches- but I thought this was likely to be the better of the two middling matches. The Predominant reason is that because Cena's involved in the match it guarantees time, I didn't view the Wyatt/Cena match as one of the Main Events last year and it still got 20+ Minutes; so when you consider the build for the match this time around I think it's safe to assume they'll be getting the same amount of time. That said I was pretty torn on their Fast Lane match- I thought everything before the crescendo was really disjointed, which is perhaps understandable because unless I'm mistaken they hadn't been working House Shows together so it'll have taken a bit of time to "click" but now they've had their "sighter" at Fast Lane I'm expecting them to have a lot more chemistry together tonight and it could turn into a really good match.
3. Randy Orton v Seth Rollins
I don't rate this match from a build standpoint, I think I've made that abundantly obvious- this is not one of the so called "Multiple Main Events" so why it was Main Eventing RAWs pretty consistently in the build to tonight was beyond me, Who was buying Mania for Orton v Rollins? That said, and especially now we're down to a 7 Match Main Card with the announcement the other day I'm expecting this match to get a pretty substantial amount of time for what it is- with nothing really riding on it, and whatever you want to say about Orton's Character, or Rollins' outside the ring indiscretions- these two know how to put on a quality match, and I think they'll deliver, I think it's an outside shout for Match of the Night as I'll discuss with the two matches following it, the expectation of the match could mean the actual end product goes down somewhat in their estimations
2. Bray Wyatt v The Undertaker
I know I'm somewhat contradicting myself by ranking this match so high based on the anticipated psychology of it when I've ranked Sting v Triple H so low, the difference is I don't have an awful lot to enthuse me about Sting- I haven't seen him wrestle in ages, and the back-end of his TNA run was pretty dire. Then with The Undertaker with the exception of Last Years Mania where he was concussed he's always delivered in the matches he's been involved in- and then when you factor in Bray Wyatt as opposed to Triple H who is still relatively young in WWE Terms and has proven he can go for 20+ Minutes you have a winning formula. I discussed the Undertaker/Wyatt match in depth in my "Who Needs it More" blog I put up on Thursday that I think Wyatt needs the win more- however unlikely that is to come to fruition, you know Wyatt and Taker will make the False-Finishes proper False-Finishes and fully involve the crowd which'll only add to the match.
1. Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match
There are only two things that'll hold this match back, The time constraints they may put on it- which is almost a non-issue now in my opinion after the announcement on Wednesday reducing the Main Card to 7 Matches- and the weight of expectation that is upon this match to deliver. I've seen a lot of talk in the build to this Mania about how bad of a card it is, and I even joined in because I think it has been an awful build in general- but the one match that people have set their hats on to be a quality match is this Ladder Match. That said I do think they'll live up to said expectations- and I'll divert you to my "Memorable Spots" blog once again where I pitched two spots for this match that'd make the match truly extraordinary, and although one in particular is a long shot I think considering the guys involved this match will deliver, and in this case I hope I'm not proven wrong.
As I've already said this Blog is essentially 1 of 2 Parts, with the "After" Section coming at some point tomorrow. We're getting close to Bell Time now- you can really feel it can't you, the overwhelming wave of hatred that is about to be bestowed upon the WWE once Roman wins.
Speaking of Roman there's only one more blog between now and Wrestlemania and it is asking if Roman Reigns can become "The Guy", so stay tuned for that one a bit later on today- and let's hope Wrestlemania is good eh? Remember, Open Minds!
I'm considering all aspects of every match, and in the end I've come to this list where I've ranked the matches before the event which is coming up later on today- and then tomorrow I'm going to do in essence a Part Two for this blog where I do the actual order after the event (as I see it) so it'll be good to compare when all is said and done.
9. The Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
I spoke about it in detail yesterday with my "Booking the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal" blog I put up, but unless we get a Curtis Axel "AxelMania is Running Wild" Spot which I would love this match is going to be pretty much the definition of filler, and if Cesaro is anything to go by the winner will gain absolutely nothing from winning the match- especially when you consider the Battle Royal is even less pushed than it was Last Year. Even when it's
8. AJ Lee & Paige v The Bellas
I feel like I have to explain myself to an extent having this match so low down on the list, but I'd like to think the majority of you lot reading it will already understand it. I am a full supporter of the "Give Divas a Chance" stuff, and if I were put in charge of the Womens Division I could pretty much guarantee I could get good stuff from it, that said the "Divas" never get massive amounts of time at WrestleMania, so when you factor in this is arguably the most disposable match on the card it means these 4 women who are capable of so much more will probably get around the same amount of time The Shield got against the New Aged Outlaws did last year- if that, which isn't conducive for a good match. After all we have to have multiple musical performances to enhance the show!
7. Sting v Triple H
I don't know if people were expecting miracles when it comes to this match, but Sting by signing with WWE hasn't found the fountain of youth; age is a straight line and he's older than he ever has been (surprising isn't it) as such I'm not expecting much from the match- these two are without a doubt two of the best ever and their ring psychology could pay off to the extent they put on a good match- but unfortunately I can't see it. In Triple H's run as a "Big PPV" Part-Timer he's always been opposed by someone who can really go whether it was Brock or Taker and in both cases they had a great story-line going into it, which in my opinion this one hasn't been. I'll happily be proven wrong- but this is where I've ranked this match for the "Before".
6. Brock Lesnar v Roman Reigns
I Realise this is to an extent a contradiction because in Previous Blogs in this poorly thought out 31 Blog Week I've said I'm staying open-minded on the Main Event and it could turn into a good match. But now we're so close to the event I'm starting to put my cynicism hat on (You can get them on Amazon) and for the sake of this blog I have to look at Brock/Reigns as it is looking in the build to this PPV- and it's looking pretty ugly. In some of the previous blogs I've written this week I've spoken about a specific spot that would turn this match into a memorable one but as I said in the "Memorable Spots" blog it isn't highly likely to happen as such I can see this match with no stipulation turning into a pretty good RAW Main Event, but I think it'll just look out of place as a Wrestlemania Main Event which has a certain expectation to it.
5. KiddSaro v Los Matadores v The Uso's v The New Day
The only thing preventing these guys from being in the Top 3 is the time constraints, although they're relegated to the Pre-Show along with the Battle Royal I still can't see them getting anything north of 15 Minutes and when you consider there's 4 Teams that need to make an impact on the match, with no elimination stipulation I can't see this match becoming "extraordinary". Had they have put in an elimination stipulation I could see this match turning into a "Top 3" match because we would have eventually ended up with presumably KiddSaro and The Uso's who we know can put on a good match even if the pairing is stale. That said the guys involved are of sufficient quality to put on a good match which is why I've ranked it pretty much in the middle.
4. Rusev v John Cena
With a 9 Match Card we essentially have two "in the middle" matches- but I thought this was likely to be the better of the two middling matches. The Predominant reason is that because Cena's involved in the match it guarantees time, I didn't view the Wyatt/Cena match as one of the Main Events last year and it still got 20+ Minutes; so when you consider the build for the match this time around I think it's safe to assume they'll be getting the same amount of time. That said I was pretty torn on their Fast Lane match- I thought everything before the crescendo was really disjointed, which is perhaps understandable because unless I'm mistaken they hadn't been working House Shows together so it'll have taken a bit of time to "click" but now they've had their "sighter" at Fast Lane I'm expecting them to have a lot more chemistry together tonight and it could turn into a really good match.
3. Randy Orton v Seth Rollins
I don't rate this match from a build standpoint, I think I've made that abundantly obvious- this is not one of the so called "Multiple Main Events" so why it was Main Eventing RAWs pretty consistently in the build to tonight was beyond me, Who was buying Mania for Orton v Rollins? That said, and especially now we're down to a 7 Match Main Card with the announcement the other day I'm expecting this match to get a pretty substantial amount of time for what it is- with nothing really riding on it, and whatever you want to say about Orton's Character, or Rollins' outside the ring indiscretions- these two know how to put on a quality match, and I think they'll deliver, I think it's an outside shout for Match of the Night as I'll discuss with the two matches following it, the expectation of the match could mean the actual end product goes down somewhat in their estimations
2. Bray Wyatt v The Undertaker
I know I'm somewhat contradicting myself by ranking this match so high based on the anticipated psychology of it when I've ranked Sting v Triple H so low, the difference is I don't have an awful lot to enthuse me about Sting- I haven't seen him wrestle in ages, and the back-end of his TNA run was pretty dire. Then with The Undertaker with the exception of Last Years Mania where he was concussed he's always delivered in the matches he's been involved in- and then when you factor in Bray Wyatt as opposed to Triple H who is still relatively young in WWE Terms and has proven he can go for 20+ Minutes you have a winning formula. I discussed the Undertaker/Wyatt match in depth in my "Who Needs it More" blog I put up on Thursday that I think Wyatt needs the win more- however unlikely that is to come to fruition, you know Wyatt and Taker will make the False-Finishes proper False-Finishes and fully involve the crowd which'll only add to the match.
1. Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match
There are only two things that'll hold this match back, The time constraints they may put on it- which is almost a non-issue now in my opinion after the announcement on Wednesday reducing the Main Card to 7 Matches- and the weight of expectation that is upon this match to deliver. I've seen a lot of talk in the build to this Mania about how bad of a card it is, and I even joined in because I think it has been an awful build in general- but the one match that people have set their hats on to be a quality match is this Ladder Match. That said I do think they'll live up to said expectations- and I'll divert you to my "Memorable Spots" blog once again where I pitched two spots for this match that'd make the match truly extraordinary, and although one in particular is a long shot I think considering the guys involved this match will deliver, and in this case I hope I'm not proven wrong.
As I've already said this Blog is essentially 1 of 2 Parts, with the "After" Section coming at some point tomorrow. We're getting close to Bell Time now- you can really feel it can't you, the overwhelming wave of hatred that is about to be bestowed upon the WWE once Roman wins.
Speaking of Roman there's only one more blog between now and Wrestlemania and it is asking if Roman Reigns can become "The Guy", so stay tuned for that one a bit later on today- and let's hope Wrestlemania is good eh? Remember, Open Minds!
Brock v Roman: Worst Main Event in History?
In Short No, I got you click with a sensationalist Title and now I almost completely disagree with the statement *Evil Laugh*. But there are some who have been saying this will be the worst Wrestlemania Main Event in History- and I've gotta do 31 of these so I might as well cover it as it is an interesting topic to discuss.
This match won't be a technically sound match- it won't be Flair/Steamboat- but you don't need a technically sound match to have a match that would be described as a classic, look at Rock/Hogan as the prime example- and I'm not saying this match will go down as an instant classic, but as I've said a few times this week you have to approach these things with an open-mind because if you go into a match with a specific mindset chances are you'll see the match through a filter and see what you want to see.
Firstly, the build for this match has all-in-all been pretty good in my opinion. If you take out the fact that Bryan would by most people's estimation be in the Main Event at least with Roman if not instead of the actual build solely between Brock/Heyman and Roman has been pretty good. There is no such thing as the perfect build to match in my opinion, I'm sure for those of you who regularly read these Wrestling Blogs you'll know I bounce around ideas a lot- and some of them would be good and there's others I look back on and cringe (I'm just joking, none of my ideas are bad) and as such you can always pick a hole in a build for a match- even when Paul Heyman is involved. That said some of Heyman's Promos have been beyond top draw and I said it directly after the Rumble that if anyone could turn this situation on its head and get fans behind the match it would be Heyman- and to an extent I was right.
Then when you factor in Brock simply being there is a special occasion- which I do have an issue with on occasion, but I do understand that (albeit contractually) they've kept Brock off of TV- and to an extent that adds to the mystique surrounding him, and does make a Title Defence a Special Occasion; and I would change the PPV schedule to 6-8 a Year to make Title Defences mean more when a Full-Timer has the belt (especially now the Network has made PPV obsolete) but this is to an extent the guinea pig for the less Title-Defences structure because Brock has unless I'm mistaken 2 Title Defences since August. That creates a big fight feel when he does defend the belt- whether some fans want to admit it or not.
I covered this in a lot more detail in my "Who Should be Main Eventing" blog- but I do understand where WWE want to go with Roman Reigns, whether or not I agree with the decision to pull the trigger on him this early- especially when you consider he's been a Main Roster Singles Star less than a year; but I do understand it- and at the end of the day its only WWE who'll reap the benefits or take the heat come Monday.
People have the tendency to get hung up on the decisions WWE make and try and make it all about them sometimes- I'm even guilt of it on occasion; see my rant after the Royal Rumble but the thing about this Mania which isn't exactly a ringing endorsement is it can be used as the stepping stone for future Wrestlemania's and people may end up looking back at Wrestlemania 31 as the start of something- and the start of the Reigniacs taking Over.
The thing a lot of people always seem to forget in my opinion is that the Main Event of Wrestlemania is hardly ever the best match on the card, we will get a lot of excitement in the IC Title Ladder Match- we'll get some great storytelling and psychology from Wyatt/Taker- if they click like they showed signs of doing by the end of their Fast Lane match we'll even get a potential show-stealer from Cena and Rusev. While the Main Event is where everyone aspires to be, it is hardly ever what people end up talking about in terms of match quality- and while that isn't exactly a ringing endorsement for this Main Event it's why I'm open-minded about this Main Event.
As I've already said, this won't be a great wrestling masterclass- but Brock is a freak athlete and in my opinion he'll get a better match out of him than Bryan did just because all Roman will have to do for a large part of the match is sell. I've had this idea for a while and I discussed it in a lot more detail in my Predictions but I'm expecting to see something special from Brock tonight- and while he's in entirely different shape than he was 12 Years ago, perhaps we might see Brock give us a Shooting Star Press that'll actually hit its mark this time.
Thank for reading as always in case you were unaware I've been doing 31 Blogs this Mania Week- so feel free to look back over all of the blogs I've done between Tuesday & Today and you never know a few may even take your fancy. Thanks again- we're edging closer to Mania now, you can almost feel the Keyboard Warriors preparing their Caps Lock buttons. Thanks again, and thanks for all of your support thus far during Mania Week, we're within touching distance of that 31st Blog now and then I can go and crawl under a rock- its currently booked by a bloke named Bill, but hopefully he'll be gone soon.
This match won't be a technically sound match- it won't be Flair/Steamboat- but you don't need a technically sound match to have a match that would be described as a classic, look at Rock/Hogan as the prime example- and I'm not saying this match will go down as an instant classic, but as I've said a few times this week you have to approach these things with an open-mind because if you go into a match with a specific mindset chances are you'll see the match through a filter and see what you want to see.
Firstly, the build for this match has all-in-all been pretty good in my opinion. If you take out the fact that Bryan would by most people's estimation be in the Main Event at least with Roman if not instead of the actual build solely between Brock/Heyman and Roman has been pretty good. There is no such thing as the perfect build to match in my opinion, I'm sure for those of you who regularly read these Wrestling Blogs you'll know I bounce around ideas a lot- and some of them would be good and there's others I look back on and cringe (I'm just joking, none of my ideas are bad) and as such you can always pick a hole in a build for a match- even when Paul Heyman is involved. That said some of Heyman's Promos have been beyond top draw and I said it directly after the Rumble that if anyone could turn this situation on its head and get fans behind the match it would be Heyman- and to an extent I was right.
Then when you factor in Brock simply being there is a special occasion- which I do have an issue with on occasion, but I do understand that (albeit contractually) they've kept Brock off of TV- and to an extent that adds to the mystique surrounding him, and does make a Title Defence a Special Occasion; and I would change the PPV schedule to 6-8 a Year to make Title Defences mean more when a Full-Timer has the belt (especially now the Network has made PPV obsolete) but this is to an extent the guinea pig for the less Title-Defences structure because Brock has unless I'm mistaken 2 Title Defences since August. That creates a big fight feel when he does defend the belt- whether some fans want to admit it or not.
I covered this in a lot more detail in my "Who Should be Main Eventing" blog- but I do understand where WWE want to go with Roman Reigns, whether or not I agree with the decision to pull the trigger on him this early- especially when you consider he's been a Main Roster Singles Star less than a year; but I do understand it- and at the end of the day its only WWE who'll reap the benefits or take the heat come Monday.
People have the tendency to get hung up on the decisions WWE make and try and make it all about them sometimes- I'm even guilt of it on occasion; see my rant after the Royal Rumble but the thing about this Mania which isn't exactly a ringing endorsement is it can be used as the stepping stone for future Wrestlemania's and people may end up looking back at Wrestlemania 31 as the start of something- and the start of the Reigniacs taking Over.
The thing a lot of people always seem to forget in my opinion is that the Main Event of Wrestlemania is hardly ever the best match on the card, we will get a lot of excitement in the IC Title Ladder Match- we'll get some great storytelling and psychology from Wyatt/Taker- if they click like they showed signs of doing by the end of their Fast Lane match we'll even get a potential show-stealer from Cena and Rusev. While the Main Event is where everyone aspires to be, it is hardly ever what people end up talking about in terms of match quality- and while that isn't exactly a ringing endorsement for this Main Event it's why I'm open-minded about this Main Event.
As I've already said, this won't be a great wrestling masterclass- but Brock is a freak athlete and in my opinion he'll get a better match out of him than Bryan did just because all Roman will have to do for a large part of the match is sell. I've had this idea for a while and I discussed it in a lot more detail in my Predictions but I'm expecting to see something special from Brock tonight- and while he's in entirely different shape than he was 12 Years ago, perhaps we might see Brock give us a Shooting Star Press that'll actually hit its mark this time.
Thank for reading as always in case you were unaware I've been doing 31 Blogs this Mania Week- so feel free to look back over all of the blogs I've done between Tuesday & Today and you never know a few may even take your fancy. Thanks again- we're edging closer to Mania now, you can almost feel the Keyboard Warriors preparing their Caps Lock buttons. Thanks again, and thanks for all of your support thus far during Mania Week, we're within touching distance of that 31st Blog now and then I can go and crawl under a rock- its currently booked by a bloke named Bill, but hopefully he'll be gone soon.
Wrestlemania 31 Predictions
Hello! It's the big one, and it's another Mania Week Blog so before tonights big event if you want to have a look back over the 21 (including this one) I've done since Tuesday as part of my massively ill-planned Wrestlemania Blog Week.
Anyway we all know why we're here, so here's a picture of Cesaro.
Now let's get Predictin'
Pre-Show: KiddSaro v The New Day v The Usos v Los Matadores
The way I see it, realistically there's only two teams in the hunt for the win tonight- KiddSaro and The Usos, and in all honesty that's pushing it. If this was the solitary match on the Pre-Show I think there'd have been more of an argument for The Usos as we all know the Babyface usually goes over on the Pre-Show but now we've got the Battle Royal also on the Pre-Show and as I'll discuss a babyface should be going over in that match I think the path is clear for KiddSaro to retain.
Winner: KiddSaro
Pre-Show: Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
If you want my Full, In-Depth Battle Royal Prediction I put up a blog yesterday where I booked it in full (http://t.co/JFLQVC6Iaz), but long story short...
Winner: Mizdow
Now we're getting on to the Main Show, I'm going to lay out the Predictions as the order of the card will be in my opinion; so that in itself is another layer to this Prediction Blog.
IC Title Ladder Match
I think they'll kick-off with this match for a number of reasons, primarily so there's clear blue water between this match and Reigns v Lesnar. I spoke about it yesterday in my "Steal the Show" Spot blog but those were just two moments I singled out looking at this match from the outside- and if they don't do those specific spots I'm sure given the quality of all of the guys involved this match will more than deliver- I'll talk about it a bit more in my "Match Ranking, Before" blog where I'll essentially predict how the matches will be from worst to best but the only two things that could hold this match back are time constraints and the weight of expectation on the actual match. As you'll see a tiny bit later when I discuss Brock/Roman the Secondary Titles may or may not need to be featured more prominently coming out the other side of Mania- and I think it's pretty much accept that Barrett is losing the belt, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. In my opinion it's a straight fight between Bryan and Ambrose for the belt, and bizarrely I think Lesnar re-signing may have had a massive impact on the outcome of this match, but you'll have to wait and see what that impact will be and in the meantime...
Winner: Daniel Bryan
The thing about this Mania is we have a 7 Match card, which by my counting will mean there'll be something going on between every single match with the exception of 2 of the Main Events, which'll be divided by the Divas Match as is the norm- so this means in my opinion we'll be getting a load of quality matches in a row
Seth Rollins v Randy Orton
This is arguably the hardest match to call on this card, which I think has to be a testament to how they've built the match since Orton came back. I made my opinions clear with regard to the stature of the match and where I think it should have been placed on the RAW scripts but they went the way they went with it- and the thing you have to say about these two guys is they know how to put on a show. In my opinion this match has potential "Steal the Show" written all over it- which may not be a massive "out there" statement, but it doesn't make it any less true. If you follow me on Twitter you'll know my feeling towards how WWE has treated the Battle Royal and it's relegation to the Pre-Show but the one positive is that it'll give more time to the supposed "Midcard" matches. Anyway onto the match itself you can make a valid argument on why either guy will go over- however purely because of the way it's been built and in my mind what that means for the match
Winner: Seth Rollins
Sting v Triple H
I've put this match where it is for a number of reasons, but as I've said with all the musical performances and all the self-assuring back patting that goes on during Mania it's not like we'll have transitioned straight from the Orton v Rollins match into Sting v Triple H. I've also positioned this match where it is to subliminally keep the Authority as a tight knit group. I don't think this is as straightforward as some people may assume, primarily because in the back of my mind I remember how Vince treated pretty much every other WCW guy who came over once he bought it- and he's headed into with the exception of Cena the guy who you see as "The WWE Guy" on TV every week in Triple H, that combined with the fact Sting recently said in an interview this will likely be his last match really opens it up. However on the same token I reckon he'll be around for a little while longer if the money's right and I can't see him coming in to lose in his anticipated WWE Debut match.
Winner: Sting
John Cena v Rusev
This match is one of the more straightforward outcomes in my opinion, especially after Monday where Rusev killed him, leaving good ol' John with some serious odds that need overcoming. I said right from the off when I was talking about this feud that I don't mind if Cena does come out on top as long as Rusev is built right, and it's mission accomplished from that point of view- and we'll get the "Murica" moment and everyone will be happy (other than the majority of the crowd that makes up the Wrestlemania crowd and have come from abroad).
Winner: John Cena
The Undertaker v Bray Wyatt
As with the Sting match I don't think this as straightforward as you'd think. I spoke about it in a lot more detail in my "Taker/Wyatt who needs it more" but I don't think Taker needs to win tonight in order to carry on to Mania 32 where he'll face either Sting or Brock before retiring in my opinion. I also said Bray needs the win a helluva lot more and if he does win and vanquish Taker for another 10 or so Months it'll give him a platform to go on an amazing run the other side of Mania. That said I can't see Taker being booked to lose two times in a row unfortunately so...
Winner: The Undertaker
The Bellas v A.J. & Paige
It was weird heading into this match I did my usual PPV Accumulator and AJ & Paige were favourites, which I just don't see happening. I may well be wrong come tonight but with The Bellas hopefully winding down their careers now as was hinted on Total Divas- I think they'll get a Wrestlemania moment before winding down and giving the next generation of "Diva" a chance come Monday.
Winner: The Bellas
Roman Reigns v Brock Lesnar
Roman and this match are dominating today's blogs unsurprisingly, but now Brock's re-signed this match feels less like a coronation and more like a contest. The big question headed into this match is are WWE ready to put all of their eggs into one basket with Roman and put him in a "Sink or Swim" situation, the way I see it Roman is either going to become Diesel or Lex Luger the way they've built him. That said I can't see the keeping the belt on Brock for much longer- even if he does win tonight *hint hint* and I do think Roman will win
Winner: Roman Reigns
As you obviously know I've said Rollins to win against Orton, but if Orton goes over I think a Cash-In at Mania is incredibly likely so even if Rollins loses tonight, it could very well be his night. That said that's not the way I see it playing out and at least for tonight Roman will look strong.
Thanks for reading as always, we're now very much into the business end of this Wrestlemania Week of Blogs so before the event have a look at all of the blogs I've done so far this week and if you see one that catches your eye why don't you read it. There'll be some more blogs coming up tonight- with the majority of them centered around Brock/Roman or Roman so stay tuned for those, and let's keep an open mind eh?
Fantasy Booking: Wrestlemania (Completely Unrealistic)
Hello! As the title suggest this is a blue sky Mania card, but this isn't going to be all matches that would've main-evented a Mania everywhere;. I'm also going to do this card from people who have competed at previous Wrestlemanias so its not completely blue-sky and will also explain why there's not Sting. I'll also point out this is when everyone was in their prime shape ring-wise.
Money in the Bank- Bam Bam Bigelow, Ultimo Dragon, Tazz, Shelton Benjamin, Kane, Sabu, Rob Van Dam, Dean Malenko
It isn't unsurprising for the majority of the guys in my fantasy MITB match have at one point plied their trade in ECW, MITB is in essence a TLC match as such you need so many different combustible elements for it to be successful- of which I think I've covered. Just the image of Tazz in his prime using weapons as part of the variety of suplexes he does gives validation to the match. Then you've got the "high spot" guys with people like Sabu who'll kill themselves for some of the spots they do. Then we get into the freak athlete guys like Benjamin and Bigelow who have such a varied offence it lends itself perfectly to this type of match. Then we've got the power guy in Kane, who we've seen is also capable of a high spot or two, and then we've got Dean Malenko, Ultimo Dragon and RVD who can also bring such varied offence to the table it'll really cover all aspects of what constitutes a good TLC Match. The winner I'd have for this match would most likely be Shelton Benjamin- BECAUSE HE DESERVED BETTER DAMMIT.
A.J. v Lita v Victoria v Trish Stratus- Womens Championship
This is probably the dream Womens match from my perspective- also note its over the Womens Title not the Divas. There is a built in story with A.J. and Lita with her meeting Lita as a kid- As I discussed in my "31 Favourites" blog Victoria was always one of my favourites, and although Lita was a really good heel- Victoria would be the main heel going into the match with her psychobitch gimmick- and there of course can't be a Womens Title match without Trish, and her stories with both Lita & Victoria would make for a compelling story. On balance I'd probably have Lita win, pinning Victoria.
The Dudleys v Los Guerreros v E&C v The Hardys- Tag Team TLC
It won't surprise many of you lot to see a TLC Match featuring The Dudley's, The Hardy's and Edge and Christian has made it to my Mania card. However the added element of Los Guerreros to the TLC match would take it over the edge in my opinion. We've seen how good the Triple Threat TLC Match between The Dudleys, E&C and the Hardy's at a Wrestlemania can be- and add in the almost unmatched ability of Eddie Guerrero and Chavo who is capable of putting on a good match would really take this match over the edge in my opinion.
The Rock v Triple H
The reason I picked this match, and the luxury of this match is Rock & HHH faced off against each other at almost every stage of their career; so there could be a story built in entirely for this feud without even that much effort. If Rock does come back this is the match I'd want to see both guys end their careers with- I was debating Rock v Michaels because thats a match we've never seen on a massive stage before but I valued the built in story as opposed to a "What If?" besides Shawn has his hands full already on the card. Of course The Rock would win, unless you had it as NOD Rock- but I didn't so there.
Andre the Giant v Big Show
This is one of those matches that everyone talks about, and its the spectacle of the whole thing with the two giants going toe to toe that would make this match worth watching. It would never be a 5* Match but giving them roughly 10 Minutes with Andre eventually winning would make this match perfect for what it needed to be.
CM Punk v Stone Cold Steve Austin
This match most likely won't be happening now- and perhaps thats a good thing, but its a match I'm sure 99.9% of fans would have wanted to see. They're both anti-authority figures that got mega-over when they probably shouldn't have done, when Austin had his 3:16 Moment- and Punk had his Vegas Promo they were made. This match with both guys in their prime would be a joy to watch- and thats perhaps why I'm glad it didn't happen, similar to Undertaker v Sting its perhaps best for this match to remain as a fantasy.
The Undertaker v Shawn Michaels
Their match at Mania 25 was probably as close to perfection as I've ever seen in a Wrestling Match. Everything just clicked that night for both guys- and it really was perfection, and if you want to look back on all of my RAW Reviews etc. you'll realise I don't use that word lightly. The Streak wouldn't even necessarily have to be in tact for this match to work- provided they built it right they could get any story over such is the caliber of the guys involved.
John Cena v "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan- WWEWHC Match
This would be a great story, nWo Hogan vs the Stalwart babyface that is Cena- the untitled corporate champion against the anti-establishment "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan. The thing about Wrestlemania Main Events is its very rare they're the best match on the card- and those will be competed with between the Punk/Austin, MITB and most likely won by Taker/Michaels. But depending on where this match was held of course the crowd would be lightning in a bottle- and like both guys or not they can both tell one helluva story.
Thank for reading as always, we're getting close to Mania now; as always if you want to feel free to look over all of the Mania Week blogs I've done so far- you never know, you might end up seeing one that catches your attention. Anyway, Stay Tuned for the further Mania Blogs this week- and I hope you're enjoying them still. Thanks again, this was of course Part 2 to this type of blog so I'd highly recommend you guys go and read my "Realistic" Mania Fantasy Booking.
Money in the Bank- Bam Bam Bigelow, Ultimo Dragon, Tazz, Shelton Benjamin, Kane, Sabu, Rob Van Dam, Dean Malenko
It isn't unsurprising for the majority of the guys in my fantasy MITB match have at one point plied their trade in ECW, MITB is in essence a TLC match as such you need so many different combustible elements for it to be successful- of which I think I've covered. Just the image of Tazz in his prime using weapons as part of the variety of suplexes he does gives validation to the match. Then you've got the "high spot" guys with people like Sabu who'll kill themselves for some of the spots they do. Then we get into the freak athlete guys like Benjamin and Bigelow who have such a varied offence it lends itself perfectly to this type of match. Then we've got the power guy in Kane, who we've seen is also capable of a high spot or two, and then we've got Dean Malenko, Ultimo Dragon and RVD who can also bring such varied offence to the table it'll really cover all aspects of what constitutes a good TLC Match. The winner I'd have for this match would most likely be Shelton Benjamin- BECAUSE HE DESERVED BETTER DAMMIT.
A.J. v Lita v Victoria v Trish Stratus- Womens Championship
This is probably the dream Womens match from my perspective- also note its over the Womens Title not the Divas. There is a built in story with A.J. and Lita with her meeting Lita as a kid- As I discussed in my "31 Favourites" blog Victoria was always one of my favourites, and although Lita was a really good heel- Victoria would be the main heel going into the match with her psychobitch gimmick- and there of course can't be a Womens Title match without Trish, and her stories with both Lita & Victoria would make for a compelling story. On balance I'd probably have Lita win, pinning Victoria.
The Dudleys v Los Guerreros v E&C v The Hardys- Tag Team TLC
It won't surprise many of you lot to see a TLC Match featuring The Dudley's, The Hardy's and Edge and Christian has made it to my Mania card. However the added element of Los Guerreros to the TLC match would take it over the edge in my opinion. We've seen how good the Triple Threat TLC Match between The Dudleys, E&C and the Hardy's at a Wrestlemania can be- and add in the almost unmatched ability of Eddie Guerrero and Chavo who is capable of putting on a good match would really take this match over the edge in my opinion.
The Rock v Triple H
The reason I picked this match, and the luxury of this match is Rock & HHH faced off against each other at almost every stage of their career; so there could be a story built in entirely for this feud without even that much effort. If Rock does come back this is the match I'd want to see both guys end their careers with- I was debating Rock v Michaels because thats a match we've never seen on a massive stage before but I valued the built in story as opposed to a "What If?" besides Shawn has his hands full already on the card. Of course The Rock would win, unless you had it as NOD Rock- but I didn't so there.
Andre the Giant v Big Show
This is one of those matches that everyone talks about, and its the spectacle of the whole thing with the two giants going toe to toe that would make this match worth watching. It would never be a 5* Match but giving them roughly 10 Minutes with Andre eventually winning would make this match perfect for what it needed to be.
CM Punk v Stone Cold Steve Austin
This match most likely won't be happening now- and perhaps thats a good thing, but its a match I'm sure 99.9% of fans would have wanted to see. They're both anti-authority figures that got mega-over when they probably shouldn't have done, when Austin had his 3:16 Moment- and Punk had his Vegas Promo they were made. This match with both guys in their prime would be a joy to watch- and thats perhaps why I'm glad it didn't happen, similar to Undertaker v Sting its perhaps best for this match to remain as a fantasy.
The Undertaker v Shawn Michaels
Their match at Mania 25 was probably as close to perfection as I've ever seen in a Wrestling Match. Everything just clicked that night for both guys- and it really was perfection, and if you want to look back on all of my RAW Reviews etc. you'll realise I don't use that word lightly. The Streak wouldn't even necessarily have to be in tact for this match to work- provided they built it right they could get any story over such is the caliber of the guys involved.
John Cena v "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan- WWEWHC Match
This would be a great story, nWo Hogan vs the Stalwart babyface that is Cena- the untitled corporate champion against the anti-establishment "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan. The thing about Wrestlemania Main Events is its very rare they're the best match on the card- and those will be competed with between the Punk/Austin, MITB and most likely won by Taker/Michaels. But depending on where this match was held of course the crowd would be lightning in a bottle- and like both guys or not they can both tell one helluva story.
Thank for reading as always, we're getting close to Mania now; as always if you want to feel free to look over all of the Mania Week blogs I've done so far- you never know, you might end up seeing one that catches your attention. Anyway, Stay Tuned for the further Mania Blogs this week- and I hope you're enjoying them still. Thanks again, this was of course Part 2 to this type of blog so I'd highly recommend you guys go and read my "Realistic" Mania Fantasy Booking.
Saturday 28 March 2015
Fantasy Booking: Wrestlemania (Realistic)
Hello! This is me putting my cards on the table to speak. This is how I would have booked Wrestlemania- but from quite a realistic perspective with regard to where some people were at certain stages. The only catch is none of the matches I've done can be on this years Wrestlemania Card, but for the record the only one I'd have is Taker/Wyatt; and even in that match I'd have put a Retirement Stip for Taker.
Pre-Show: Bad News Barrett v Luke Harper: IC Championship
For a brief period i.e. 1 RAW we had Bad News Barrett as a Babyface. Harper was Champion before Dolph got it back from him at TLC, and had they not gone down that road- and kept the belt on Harper for another month or so, we could have had Bad News Barrett coming back as a babyface and using his rematch clause to go after Harper. Harper deserved a spot in a singles match on this show in my opinion for the year he's had, but its not the end of the world I suppose. These two guys are the perfect Pre-Show match if that makes sense because they're capable of putting on a great match, and both guys have gotten used to doing so with little build.
Seth Rollins v Dean Ambrose v Roman Reigns- MITB Ladder Match
As I've already said this week, Its 10 Years since we had the first MITB Match- as such I think we should have had something acknowledging that this year. So of course that would have involved Rollins; and in case you're unaware these three guys were in a small faction called The Shield not so long ago, then Rollins turned on the two guys; built in storyline- and crucially in my opinion they could have used this match to position Reigns in a place for a future WWE Title match- or they could have had Roman be on the verge of winning it when J&J, Big Show, Kane and the Kitchen Sink stop Roman from winning- which gives Roman and Rollins a built in feud after Mania, which as you'll see in my predictions we'll most likely end up getting anyway- just higher on the card.
Andre the Giant Battle Royal
We pretty much established the Andre Battle Royal pretty much means nothing with Cesaro well and truly falling off the rails which I covered already in this Mania Week Blog-a-thon. As such I wouldn't take it really seriously, but I would to an extent; the fact is however they want to dress it up its a filler battle royal you only have to see the way the guys in it have been built to see it. Obviously I can't have this matches massively different- but the key guy in this match would be my winner; and he could still be, but Curtis Axel somehow staying in the match until the end and then eliminating Big Show last by in some convoluted way would be.. perfect YEEAAH.
AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA.
KiddSaro v The Usos v The Ascension- Tag Team Championship
The Ascension could go down as one of the most botched debuts in WWE history, I was never a massive fan of them in their v2.0 form- but I saw enough potential to understand why they were called up. But instead of giving them a proper build they turned them into the Legion of Doom and it ended up with them falling flat on their face- I don't blame Konnor & Viktor for that, I just blame Vince for trying to put his "stamp" on something that was working in the WWE system already. This would have been a good match to have on the card because there's enough of a style mesh, and some interesting dynamics for this match.
Cody Rhodes v Dustin Rhodes- Last Man Standing
In terms of recent build this is the match that was most likely to happen, that hasn't actually happened. This is also one of the feuds that has buckets of potential, which in my opinion WWE've missed the boat on now. After we started to get the Stardust/Cody storyline I thought this match would've been a lock for Mania, with Stardust slowly transitioning back into a Heel Cody Rhodes- and then Goldust wanting to fight for his brother abandons the Goldust character and comes out in traditional trunks/tights and wrestles as Dustin Rhodes.
Dolph Ziggler v Triple H
In my opinion this could be the biggest missed opportunity WWE has had not CM Punk related in the last 5 years. After Survivor Series when Dolph was the sole survivor I thought WWE had finally seen Dolph's potential as a proper Main Eventer, of course that hasn't exactly turned out how I hoped it would. That said- once The Authority came back, in my opinion they should have gone after Dolph a lot more than they did; which would've resulted in one of the Main Events being this match. While they have built the Sting match well- I've got a feeling the actual match won't be all that, and contrast it to pretty much any match with Dolph and you'll know why I wanted this match. If it were entirely up to me I'd have a "Authority Gone for Good/Dolph Fired" Stipulation- and via help from Sting Dolph wins. I realise Sting should perhaps have a match on the card, but if they really want to push the Network they'd have top stars on the supposed "lesser PPVs".
A.J. Lee v Paige v Nikki Bella- Divas Championship
Like it or not, the Bellas have to be featured in the Divas match this year. Instead of the meaningless Tag Match we've ended up with I'd have gone for the Title being defended, I don't even mind if it was against Brie- well I do; but... The "Divas" need all the help they can get, so the fact we're getting a meaningless Tag Match instead of having the Title defended makes no sense whatsoever. That being said this match would be good in the role Womens matches always have at Mania as the divider between Main Events and if I was booking this with my WWE hat on I'd have Brie turning on Nikki with Paige winning the belt.
Daniel Bryan v John Cena
This is an interesting one, when it was clear Bryan wasn't going to Main Event- I started thinking about other ways Bryan could be featured in a really good way; and given how consistently over he is with the crowd now- the best way to have Bryan have an impact on this Mania would be as a heel in my opinion. While some people would see it as holding him back etc. etc. and they turned him because he was too over as a babyface- I'd see it as a near perfect build. Bryan turning at the height of his popularity would make the turn mean so much more, and its something WWE rarely has the guts to do anymore. Having Bryan go over on Cena would've set him up perfectly for a great Post-Mania run as a heel, and beyond- and he would've eventually come up as Champion again around Summerslam time at the latest.
The Undertaker v Brock Lesnar- WWE Championship
I pitched this idea in my "Booking Mania 6 Months in Advance" blog (as I did with Bryan v Cena)- of them running vignettes with the usual Taker black magic stuff, ending with the words "nothing to lose". I'm not sure how many Mania's Taker has left in the bag- as such I would've made this his last appearance in WWE, with him winning the Title from Brock in the match that it should have been last year, and at the end of Mania he symbolically takes off his boots, lays the belt down and is about to leave- when we get Bray Wyatt's magic lightswitch with the scene at the end of Mania being Bray in an empty ring staring at the belt in the ring. This could work two ways, with either Taker having a symbolic last moment, or leaving it open for a Bray/Taker match at 32.
Thanks for reading as ever, I hope y'all enjoyed this Mania card- I think its good- but then again what do I know I'm not paid to write wrestling shows.
Pre-Show: Bad News Barrett v Luke Harper: IC Championship
For a brief period i.e. 1 RAW we had Bad News Barrett as a Babyface. Harper was Champion before Dolph got it back from him at TLC, and had they not gone down that road- and kept the belt on Harper for another month or so, we could have had Bad News Barrett coming back as a babyface and using his rematch clause to go after Harper. Harper deserved a spot in a singles match on this show in my opinion for the year he's had, but its not the end of the world I suppose. These two guys are the perfect Pre-Show match if that makes sense because they're capable of putting on a great match, and both guys have gotten used to doing so with little build.
Seth Rollins v Dean Ambrose v Roman Reigns- MITB Ladder Match
As I've already said this week, Its 10 Years since we had the first MITB Match- as such I think we should have had something acknowledging that this year. So of course that would have involved Rollins; and in case you're unaware these three guys were in a small faction called The Shield not so long ago, then Rollins turned on the two guys; built in storyline- and crucially in my opinion they could have used this match to position Reigns in a place for a future WWE Title match- or they could have had Roman be on the verge of winning it when J&J, Big Show, Kane and the Kitchen Sink stop Roman from winning- which gives Roman and Rollins a built in feud after Mania, which as you'll see in my predictions we'll most likely end up getting anyway- just higher on the card.
Andre the Giant Battle Royal
We pretty much established the Andre Battle Royal pretty much means nothing with Cesaro well and truly falling off the rails which I covered already in this Mania Week Blog-a-thon. As such I wouldn't take it really seriously, but I would to an extent; the fact is however they want to dress it up its a filler battle royal you only have to see the way the guys in it have been built to see it. Obviously I can't have this matches massively different- but the key guy in this match would be my winner; and he could still be, but Curtis Axel somehow staying in the match until the end and then eliminating Big Show last by in some convoluted way would be.. perfect YEEAAH.
AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA, AXELMANIA.
KiddSaro v The Usos v The Ascension- Tag Team Championship
The Ascension could go down as one of the most botched debuts in WWE history, I was never a massive fan of them in their v2.0 form- but I saw enough potential to understand why they were called up. But instead of giving them a proper build they turned them into the Legion of Doom and it ended up with them falling flat on their face- I don't blame Konnor & Viktor for that, I just blame Vince for trying to put his "stamp" on something that was working in the WWE system already. This would have been a good match to have on the card because there's enough of a style mesh, and some interesting dynamics for this match.
Cody Rhodes v Dustin Rhodes- Last Man Standing
In terms of recent build this is the match that was most likely to happen, that hasn't actually happened. This is also one of the feuds that has buckets of potential, which in my opinion WWE've missed the boat on now. After we started to get the Stardust/Cody storyline I thought this match would've been a lock for Mania, with Stardust slowly transitioning back into a Heel Cody Rhodes- and then Goldust wanting to fight for his brother abandons the Goldust character and comes out in traditional trunks/tights and wrestles as Dustin Rhodes.
Dolph Ziggler v Triple H
In my opinion this could be the biggest missed opportunity WWE has had not CM Punk related in the last 5 years. After Survivor Series when Dolph was the sole survivor I thought WWE had finally seen Dolph's potential as a proper Main Eventer, of course that hasn't exactly turned out how I hoped it would. That said- once The Authority came back, in my opinion they should have gone after Dolph a lot more than they did; which would've resulted in one of the Main Events being this match. While they have built the Sting match well- I've got a feeling the actual match won't be all that, and contrast it to pretty much any match with Dolph and you'll know why I wanted this match. If it were entirely up to me I'd have a "Authority Gone for Good/Dolph Fired" Stipulation- and via help from Sting Dolph wins. I realise Sting should perhaps have a match on the card, but if they really want to push the Network they'd have top stars on the supposed "lesser PPVs".
A.J. Lee v Paige v Nikki Bella- Divas Championship
Like it or not, the Bellas have to be featured in the Divas match this year. Instead of the meaningless Tag Match we've ended up with I'd have gone for the Title being defended, I don't even mind if it was against Brie- well I do; but... The "Divas" need all the help they can get, so the fact we're getting a meaningless Tag Match instead of having the Title defended makes no sense whatsoever. That being said this match would be good in the role Womens matches always have at Mania as the divider between Main Events and if I was booking this with my WWE hat on I'd have Brie turning on Nikki with Paige winning the belt.
Daniel Bryan v John Cena
This is an interesting one, when it was clear Bryan wasn't going to Main Event- I started thinking about other ways Bryan could be featured in a really good way; and given how consistently over he is with the crowd now- the best way to have Bryan have an impact on this Mania would be as a heel in my opinion. While some people would see it as holding him back etc. etc. and they turned him because he was too over as a babyface- I'd see it as a near perfect build. Bryan turning at the height of his popularity would make the turn mean so much more, and its something WWE rarely has the guts to do anymore. Having Bryan go over on Cena would've set him up perfectly for a great Post-Mania run as a heel, and beyond- and he would've eventually come up as Champion again around Summerslam time at the latest.
The Undertaker v Brock Lesnar- WWE Championship
I pitched this idea in my "Booking Mania 6 Months in Advance" blog (as I did with Bryan v Cena)- of them running vignettes with the usual Taker black magic stuff, ending with the words "nothing to lose". I'm not sure how many Mania's Taker has left in the bag- as such I would've made this his last appearance in WWE, with him winning the Title from Brock in the match that it should have been last year, and at the end of Mania he symbolically takes off his boots, lays the belt down and is about to leave- when we get Bray Wyatt's magic lightswitch with the scene at the end of Mania being Bray in an empty ring staring at the belt in the ring. This could work two ways, with either Taker having a symbolic last moment, or leaving it open for a Bray/Taker match at 32.
Thanks for reading as ever, I hope y'all enjoyed this Mania card- I think its good- but then again what do I know I'm not paid to write wrestling shows.
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