Extreme Rules - Thoughs After

As you might have noticed, I don't really write all that much here in recent times. It's not because I don't have anything to say, not at all, quite the opposite. The problem is that a lot of the things I do have to say, are pretty much things I have been saying for a long time now and I don't like to repeat myself. That is the advantage I have over "corporate" columnists, I don't have deadlines and expectations, I write only when I want to, whenever it is I want to.

This will not be a full review, but just few, brief thoughts I had after watching WWE Extreme Rules. Now unlike a huge part of the internet wrestling community, I didn't really minded what was going on there, but there is a couple things I want to address.

First thing is the "Kiss me arse" match. While the fight was quite decent, I just don't get the point. Since there was no chance of the stipulation to even be executed, and there is no way it could've been, at least in the "kayfabe" world, was there even a point for it being a thing? Think about it. We spent a lot of time building this match up, a lot of writing, TV time and wasted energy went into making it a thing. And what happened? WWE didn't deliver. Now, don't get me wrong, I absolutely HATE stipulations like this, but if you ink out something, you better make it happen. Making a stipulation just for the sole fact of having any stipulation is just stupid.

The next thing I would like to say something about was the Cena - Rusev stipulation. I don't mind admitting that this used to be an angle I was a fan of, used to be. Since they went full on "USA vs. Russia" mode, everything became so bland and uninteresting. The weekly open challenges don't carry much weight, when you know that no matter what happens in between, at the PPV event the title is going to be fought over by the guys who are actually in the storyline. It got so ridiculous that at one point they almost actually said it is exactly like that. With John Cena coming out to the ring and talking about how Rusev wants his rematch at Extreme Rules. There was no suspense, there was no drama build up. It was just "go from A to Z and stop by B, C, D...". And now we will get another match, match that has no reason to happen anymore. Rusev lost his rematch, he has no loose ends to tie up, the story should be finished. But now, at Payback, we will get an "I Quit Match" with the two. And until then, what? More of the open challenges that no one has a shred of doubt how will be finished?

Moving on there is Roman Reigns. He still has his doubters, but I do believe that given !proper! treatment, he has great future to come. One thing I don't want to happen is another Big Show match. This angle has run dry for a while now and there is literally nothing WWE could do to freshen it up. At this point of his career Big Show has only his size that still keeps him employed. He grew older, he got slower, he isn't really impressive anymore and became basically a very one dimensional character. Roman needs a new opponent, someone from whom he can actually learn and with whom he can evolve. Daniel Bryan was a good example of someone like that, but that isn't going to happen anytime soon. Brock Lesnar might come back, but he will be going after Rollins and Reigns doesn't really have much to grab on to make him involved with them. There are only two ways for Roman now, either he gets involved with the mid card feuds or WWE invents some forced way to stick him into the title picture.

The rest of the event was ok, as I said, I didn't really mind it. If anyone expected a spectacle of brutality and bloody gore, they are morons. If someone wanted to see an event where some of the lesser used stipulations are being used, I guess they got exactly that. And for the rest of viewers, well, there are always other options to explore.

Post Wrestlemania 31/RAW thoughts

This will not be a typical review, as all of those have already been written about what went on on the "Grandest stage of them all" and you can find lot of truth in them, if you look through the fingers. I decided to wait with writing anything about the event until the motions cool down, until I get the fallout from the RAW next day, until everyone who has anything to say about it, already said everything they had to say about it. I needed my time to think. 

With pretty much almost all that is to say about the even already been said, I can focus on thoughts, rather than events themselves and I do like to be in that kind of situation. In the past days there has been a lot of praise being sent to the WWE on the what we witnessed and some of it is earned, I will not dwell on the hypocrites that went out of their way to flack WWE for everything and now are almost bending over to suck their managerial penis. I am not one of those people. I never saw this years Wrestlemania as a tragedy, but a very uninspired period of time in sports entertainment, my mind has not been persuaded to think otherwise and I can still see past the smoke and mirrors. 

When it comes to what went on on Sunday, as I expected, everything was rather average, mediocre even at times. And still, a bunch of people liked it, some even say this was the best even in year. That is just lying to yourself, but let's leave the delusions of some for a different day. Maybe they feel so good about it, because in comparison the previous months were just bad overall? Maybe. Among the matches we got, there was a lot of good work done and no one can deny it. My gripe is not with the wrestlers, not with the performers, not with the commentators (kind of), not with the referees. I have a problem with how those in charge decided to write the scenarios and book the matches.  Now I see no reason to really talk about every match, but there is a few that just don't sit right.

The match 14 years in the making was pointless, no, really, think about it. When you had Triple H and Sting in the ring, you expected to get some kind of motivation, any kind of threat, have the stakes high and there wasn't anything like that. We got an ok match from the craft point of view. Taking into account the age of both men participating, it was better than most expected and that's a good thing. What wasn't a good thing was the intervention in the middle of it. Sure it was a nice thing to see, New World Order vs. Degeneration X, one problem with this one though... Everyone in that set up, except for Hulk Hogan, is good friends with Triple H. There was no reason for Hall and Nash to go out there to help Sting... None, nada, null. And due to respect I have to all involved I will not dwell on how bad it looked when all those guys, CLEARLY pass their prime got into each others faces. It was bad, and I will leave it at that. Some say it was a nostalgia moment, I say it was just a waste of the weeks we spent watching the build for this match in the past weeks. Not only that, but the ending for this match made me feel disgusted with what I saw, honestly - and I am not even exaggerating - I almost turned off Wrestlemania completely. Triple H winning was a slap to the face in it's own merit, showing that since they own Sting now, they will shit even more, than they already did in the past years, on WCW. They bought the company all those years ago and now they own Sting as well. What made the ending even more stupid and sad, was that Sting after a loss due to taking a shot with a sledgehammer to the head, just stood up and shook hands with the old Big Nose. Sure this isn't unheard of between rivals to happen, but the circumstances made it just an idiotic gesture to make. And no, I will not look at this through nostalgia goggles. Adding insult to injury after RAW the next day in an interview Sting said that he hopes WWE has anything else for him to do and if they don't that would be a shame. That just makes me shake my head... The Icon Sting pretty much just bent over and took WWE's cock up his ass and begged for more. 

I was correct on the outcome for the Cena-Rusev match and I am happy I had been. The match was a very decent one and the outcome really gives us a lot of opportunities for the future. Having Cena carry the US title very effectively takes him out from the main event picture for at least a few months. At the same time it releases Rusev to start moving up, since he quite effectively grew out of midcard status and needs to go to bigger things. We definitely will get a rematch, most likely at Extreme Rules and I do hope the results from Mania stay. Of course now that Rusev is no longer the undefeated, like it or not, WWE will have to tweak his gimmick or he will fall into obscurity. Another good thing about what happened is that now we will really be able to see if Rusev can create a more three dimensional character outside of "Me Russian, me better than American". That is really the guy I am worried about being ready for the big leagues.

The guy I am not worried about being ready on the other hand is the guy everyone was saying he isn't, Roman Reigns. In the match with Brock he showed us that he is capable of hanging around with the big dogs and despite what the haters constantly tried to say about this, the match was exactly what you should expect to become. Some say Roman almost got no offense in and while that is the truth, those people don't see the bigger picture. Brock Lesnar was the problem here, he was booked so strong in the past year that there wasn't really any other way to write this match. Lesnar had to be this dominant beast and any offense Reigns got in only made sense after he wounded Brock and got him staggering. It also showed that while Reigns didn't get too much attack, he held up to the suplexes and blows Lesnar was dishing out, which - like it or not - bought him a couple extra supporters. The cashing in by Rollins was also a good move by WWE, in a way they ate the cake and still got the cake. Lesnar no longer can hold WWE hostage, we will finally against see the champion more then once every few months and it wasn't Reigns that took the title of Lesnar. Pretty much everything the fans had problems with solved. And I'm ok with that. What transpired the next day personally I would book completely different. Rollins comes out and brags about winning the title, then we have Lesnar come out and nervous Rollins. Lesnar says "Don't worry boy, I'm not here to hurt you. Enjoy your five minutes of fame, I have a rematch for that *points at the title* so keep that in mind, but today I have other business to finish. Rollins leaves and Lesnar calls out Reigns. That way we could have Seth focus on the angle with Orton to build up some credibility he lost after being booked like a bitch for months and Roman gets more time to build his position up as the top babyface in the company. 

The story they made is not something I like, but I guess we have to deal with it now.

I am not going to write too much about the Battle Royal outside of that it was booked really badly. Hideo Itami who made his debut in main roster got the bitch treatment in his first showing to a big part of WWE fans and got easily disposed off. Cesaro, the winner of the match the previous year didn't even make it to final three, Ryback and Mark Henry got eliminated quickly, Kane almost haven't done anything and was there pretty much just to be there, Sandow who essentially should have won this - since they actually are doing something with his character - lost to Big Show, for whom this win means pretty much nothing and will be worth next to nothing by the next few months.

Outside of that, there isn't anything I really felt like saying. The "oh-so-hyped" by the IWC ladder match did not deliver and in terms of ladder matches, which always been a cluster fuck, was pretty dull. It was good overall, but was not a show-stealer, as was supposedly meant to happen. Randy vs. Rollins was good, Tag Team match was fun as usual, Diva match was... there, Taker vs. Wyatt lost a bunch by having the match happen before sun went down and due to Bray's injury. 

Where to go now? I have some ideas, but since it's clear WWE will do anything they feel like doing, regardless if it makes sense or not, I will bring them up when I will feel they are appropriate to share. 

When it comes to Wrestlemania this year we definitely didn't get the spectacle we all wanted to get and the build up to it was lacking as well. It didn't have much of the "special" feeling. The RAW after Mania had also grown certain type of expectations to it and it was barely above the usual. Supposedly the Mania and after Mania crowds are the best and all I wanted to chant at them was "overrated" and when they started the chant that they are awesome all I said was "oh get over yourselves, we had better crowds on regular RAWs".

WWE Fastlane 2015 - Review

The final big event before Wrestlemania is behind us and the fallout leaves us in a pretty much the same spot we were in before it. Regardless of if you liked it or not, most of the things that did transpire yesterday deem it pretty much pointless and you have to admit that. What do I mean? Well, I'll talk about it in a moment. What bothered me the most, for some bizarre reason, is how slow every match seemed like. Everything, every move, looked sluggish and reserved. I don't know if the cause of that was that it's the last PPV before Westlemania and they didn't want to risk injuries, or maybe the fact that this event was for free on WWE Network for new subscribers. Whatever the case, it irritated me.

 

The situation of Dolph Ziggler didn't change, like at all. He is still one of the more entertaining guys on the roster and constantly gets the short end of the stick. I really do not understand the logic behind what WWE is doing with him. On one hand they gave the win at Survivor Series and everyone thought that this would be the beginning of an actual push for the "Show off", little did we know, the management had completely different plans. Why? He is good in the ring, sells offence better than most of the guys on the roster and can be very good on the microphone, when given the opportunity to do something with it. There is no reason for the situation he is currently in. You cannot say the same thing about Ryback, but he is ok in what he does and people seem to like him. He is popular enough for the entire arena to chant "Feed me more" and is credible enough to be an actual threat. Sure, you could argue that there isn't anything WWE has to offer for him, so it's better that he gets anything than just not be on TV at all. And to a degree I do agree. The problem here is that it's hard to keep invested in what he does, when he doesn't really do anything interesting. And speaking of people hanging in the void of creative incompetence, we have Eric Rowan. Every time I see him I wonder, does the C-team even know what they want to do with him? He needs direction, people! The match itself was had a very throw away feel to it, and seemed to be made just to have Randy Orton have a point of returning, which basically means we will get a match at Wrestlemania, Rollins vs. Orton.

Moving onto Seth Rollins and the gang... I have to admit that I am really getting annoyed with Seth Rollins. Yeah, I know, he is the heel, I am suppose to not like him, I am suppose to root for his opponents. I am well aware of that. But there is a big difference between being a heel and being an annoying cunt and if you don't get what I'm saying, he's the annoying cunt. But I am not blaming him, I blame the fucktards that write his character. There are only so many times you can write "and then cowardly runs away" before it loses all meaning, you dig that? Even the most cowardly heels for time to time did things by themselves. That gives them credibility, that makes them an actual threat to anyone. At this point any opponent of Seth Rollins doesn't even care about Seth, the are more bothered by people who come out with him. You do realize this guy will eventually need to be on his own, right? The whole savior of Authority gimmick is over and forgotten. DO SOMETHING WITH HIM.

The match I actually waited the most for, turned out the best on the card, as predicted by many. The Cena vs. Rusev for the US Title didn't let down. It was exactly what we expected and we got just that. Cena and the Bulgarian Russian going at it in a physical match. The outcome didn't hurt anyone. Cena lost, but it wasn't a clean loss and there will definitely be a rematch, most likely at Wrestlemania. I don't know if you noticed, but this was one of the few matches Rusev actually used heel tactics to win. That's the problem with Rusev character, up to now, except for few instances, he didn't really do anything heelish. Almost every match he won clean, no interference, no dirty tactics. So what happened in this match, while so simple, was actually very meaningful. And because he didn't rely on heel tactics up to now, it also tells about how he treats John Cena as his opponent. As I said, there will be a definite part two to this, so it's still in the air, but I am ok with that. 

Roman Reigns vs. Daniel Bryan was a weird match, to say the least. When it comes to offence the upper hand was clearly on Bryan's side. He was almost constantly on the attack, dodging and reversing most of what Reigns did. And that's the weird part, didn't WWE want Roman to be the "Next best thing"? Should he get more offensive moves in? That is how you win a crowd over, you show the guy can dance with the best and eventually, one by one, people get on his side. What they decided to do was to have Roman get pummeled and every now and then get a hit in. Reigns looked down right shy in this match, almost clueless as to what to do and where to be. He still has a lot to learn about in-ring psychology. It would also help if he didn't rely so much on his big moves, there was a guy in the past who was like that, Goldberg, but he was a different guy and those where different times. Still, with that said, I do think it is a good thing that WWE is pushing him. Why? Very simple reason. If he succeeds that great, we get the new big face of the company with Cena growing older. If he fails, WWE has no one to blame for this, other than themselves.

The rest of the show was kind of dull honestly. The Rhodes match failed to impress. It was slow, almost nothing was going on and the win for Goldust guaranteed a rematch in the near future. Tag Team Championship match fell flat as well, way below expectations, WAY below the capabilities of the involved people. With those teams I expected a fast paced, action packed match... That was not it. We will be able to see it again though, with Kidd and Cesaro winning the belts a rematch is happening in the near future. Diva match was pointless as always, as is most of the things Bella Twins are involved with. And the Intercontinental match outcome was downright stupid. What was the point of having Ambrose disqualify himself here? I mean, he will probably get another shot at the title (because reasons), but logically it should be it. He had his shot, there is nothing left to grab on. 

The highly anticipated confrontation between Triple H and Sting was just a waste of time honestly. Nothing that was said and done couldn't be done on regular RAW. Plus the only thing that was there is that we got a confirmation for the match at Mania between the two and that's it. Whole thing lasted maybe 5 minutes and was a let down. As a side note, I know this was meant to be a one on one thing and they didn't want to ruing Sting's 5 minutes, but where was the rest of the Authority in this when Triple H was laying on his back after being stuck with a baseball bat and Deathdropped?

And lastly a word about Bray Wyatt segment... The challenging sure is nice and all, but shouldn't Taker at least do something? It's a one man show right now and it's not how a wrestling build-up works...

 

Overall the event was quite mediocre. There wasn't exactly anything groundbreaking and honestly I could do without it. Literally nothing would be changed without it, except for the tag titles and Orton's return, but it's not like those two things couldn't happen on RAW or Smackdown. Seriously. Nikki Bella is still the champion, Wade Barrett is still the champion, The Dust feud is unresolved, Wyatt still didn't get an answer from Undertaker, Triple H didn't really say anything we didn't know, Roman Reigns is still going to fight Lesnar as was planned after Rumble. Fastlane was uneventful, almost nothing of importance happened. 3 out of 10 is more than a fair rating.

WWE TLC...and Chairs 2014 - Review

So TLC was on Sunday and this time I haven't seen the RAW yet, nor did I read any spoilers, so if anything transpires there, well, I won't be able to know, but maybe that is for the better. I did read comments made by people about this event though. And in general seem that there is less of a split between people liking it and not, much less then there is usually, at least. What do I think? Well, this was a train wreck, but I did expect that, still, I would lie if I would say it wasn't an enjoyable train wreck at a few moments. 

Some matches played their part as expected, some didn't make a lick of sense, but it already happened and there is no way to turn back time and redo them. With that said, he is a few things I do have to say about TLC and C.

The New Day vs. The Dust Brothers

This match pretty much confirm what I was suspecting about brothers Dust. They lost their push and now are being treated as enhancement talent. Which they do fine, since we are talking about quite talented people. I just don't want to see Cody Rhodes go down too far. Maybe it is time to leave the Stardust persona behind? Maybe it is time for a singles run? I don't know. The New Day wins, the match wasn't even for bragging rights, since there was no story behind it. 

Winners: The New Day

Luke Harper vs. Dolph Ziggler - Ladder Match for the Intercontinental Championship

This was the match of the night for me and for a lot of people, the only problem is the finish. With the recent push for Dolph Ziggler me and a whole lot of other people thought that it will be time for the Show Off to, you know, show-off. But nope, Dolph it is not your time this time. Really, putting a midcard title on a guy with so much star power just baffles me. The only reason I can think about, is that with Lesnar showing up when he feels like, WWE needs to keep midcard titles on guy that do have some drawing power. If it's not that, then this was just a stupid, stupid decision. 

Winner: Dolph Ziggler

The Miz and Damien Sandow vs. The Usos - For the WWE Tag Team Championships

After what we saw in recent weeks this was a very good opportunity to really play Naomi into this match and all we got was just her watching it from backstage. That was one side of this angle that was actually a bit interesting, you know, good looking girl some sleeze offering her career in movies... Yeah, my mind went straight into the gutter, but think about it, when was the last time WWE pulled a story like that? I mean seriously, it could be played very well without crossing the PG rating. They did not do it, obviously, which kind of sucks, since that pretty much sucked out any interest I had in this. The two tag teams will meet somewhere along the line, most likely on RAW, cause you know... TLC recap matches. 

Winners: The Usos via DQ

Big Show vs. Eric Rowan - Stairs Match

This is an example of a match that didn't need to happen and made the situation worse by actually happening. Eric Rowan was on a high going from Survivor Series, his personality and character was only beginning to settle in and WWE decided to fuck it up by putting Big Show over. Why? Just because you want to make something with Roman Reigns later? Rowan could've been legitimately something new, something we never seen in WWE before, but no. I am seriously pissed off about this. They are wasting the potential of this character. Match itself was slow, but what to expect with Show in the ring? The concept was stupid, just a bunch of stairs... Uuuu... 

Winner: Big Show

Seth Rollins vs. John Cena - Tables Match

Another completely pointless outcome. I have been saying this for a while now, Seth Rollins is booked terribly, horribly. Coming out of this match we learned that Rollins cannot beat Cena with the help of his two security guys and Big Show. Rollins cannot beat a guy in a 4 on one situation. Oh yeah, that is the face of the future. That is the greatest threat to Brock Lesnar championship, a fucking pussy. A lousy vagina. Seth Rollins is a vagina. Cena did not need this win, even if they wanted to make the match with Brock happen, it could've been played into later. For example... Cena loses, but wants Brock, so he makes a deal that he will discard the power to bring back Authority if he can get the number 1 contendership back. Seth comes out and says Cena doesn't deserve it, but Cena says to him something like "Why you care, you have that briefcase, when I am done with Brock, no matter who wins, he'll be an easy target". Done, Rollins needed that win, badly, that is the second big event in a row Seth lost. Stupid. Roman's return didn't help it.

Winner: John Cena

Nikki Bella vs. AJ Lee - For the Divas Championship

So Nikki wins, AJ lost her rematch, soooo... Does that mean we are moving forward or it's going to be AJ again? What is really annoying about this is how easy it was for WWE to just throw away the story between Bella Twins. No you don't get a reconciliation without some serious reason behind it after what you two twats put us, the viewers, through.  

Winner: Nikki Bella

Ryback vs. Kane - Chairs Match

Ryback wins, anyone expected anything else? Honestly I am getting tired on commenting how great it is for Kane to push younger talent. No it's not, come on Glen, have some dignity, soon you will be jobbing to Adam Rose's Bunny. 

Winner: Ryback

Rusev vs. Jack Swagger - For the United States Championship

Another win for the evil Russian, who is evil... Because we say so mostly, I mean he's pretty mean... I mean the girl he walks to the ring is mean, look how mean she is, she is almost insulting United States of America. We are a PG show, so she can't really do or say anything really insulting... UUuuuu!!! Evil Russian!!! A match without much of a build up and predictable result. I KNOW with 100% certainty I could write better.

Winner: Rusev

Bray Wyatt vs. Dean Ambrose - Tables, Ladders and Chairs Match

This was just a train wreck and the ending was rather dumb with that monitor, but like I said before. I would be lying if I said I didn't get any enjoyment from it. I decided to not really get into details about this match, cause there isn't much to say about it without doing a play by play. One thing I will say is that Bray needed this win, cause if he would lose again, it would be pretty much it for him. With the rumors of a possible match between Undertaker and Bray going to happen at Wrestlemania... Well, let's just say it is time to do "something" constructive with this character.

Winner: Bray Wyatt

Overall: 6 out of 10 - If you expected wrestling, this was the wrong event to choose, if you don't mind a little mess and "weapons", it's going to be right up your alley, but just barely. The concept was TLC and C and we got... A table match, A chair match, A ladder match and A chairs match. It felt a bit lackluster and a wasted potential. There was also some pointless wins here, which really annoy me personally. So yeah, take it with a grain of salt.

 

 

TLC - Tables, Ladders, Chairs... And Stairs - Predictions

Time of writing 21:18 13th of December 2014

 

Well, I was supposed to post this yesterday, but just didn't have enough time for that, you know... Life. But hey, there is still time to think about it and give you a piece of my mind. As you probably noticed I am not exactly thrilled with the build up and storylines going into the event. Honestly I wouldn't mind if they skipped this completely and used the time to build for the next one. Still, have to work with what was given to me. (the matches are according to the order in the wikipedia article for this event)

 

1. New Day vs. Dust Brothers

There wasn't exactly a whole lot of build for this one, but since in WWE in recent times tag team tell their stories in the ring, it's not a surprise this one is done so as well. WWE's patience with the Dust Brothers is ending, you can see it clearly that they are itching to press the "SPLIT TAG TEAM" button on them. They are constantly losing for no real reason and that doesn't really mean anything good for a tag team. Plus we do have a new tag team as their opponents and a match where there isn't anything at stake.

Winners: New Day

 

2. Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt - TLC Match

This match will be a train wreck, I hope no one expects a nice, clean fight, cause neither of the opponents are capable of such, and with the extra items, it will be a train wreck. Of course, that doesn't have to mean anything bad necessarily. A good hardcore match every now and then is nothing to shake a stick at and from what I see that IS something both of them could deliver. I am choosing Bray going over solely because if he does lose, this story is done and Wyatt has nothing to do. At this point of time Ambrose is the bigger star and has bigger fish to fry. And let's be honest here, Wyatt needs this win and he needs it to be a strong one.  

Winner: Bray Wyatt

 

3. Ryback vs. Kane - Chairs Match

Kane has been used for a long time as the enhancer for the up and coming talent, Ryback is not someone like that, but not counting the Survivor Series, this is the biggest singles match for Ryback since his return and he definitely needs this one to not fall again in the ranks. To problem here is there isn't exactly anyone to go after, after that match. Still, it wouldn't make a whole lot of sense to not give Ryback the win. Especially with what CM Punk recently said about Ryback injuring him. After those comments WWE probably will want to show that they still believe in him and what Brooks said was not true. 

Winner: Ryback

 

4. John Cena vs. Seth Rollins - Tables Match, if Cena loses, he loses the no.1 contender for the WWEWHC title spot

Seth Rollins lost a lot in recent weeks with losing the match at Survivor Series, he needs to regain some credibility lost on that. The logical move here will to remove Cena from the title picture so he can focus on other things, since we all know, Brock and John don't really have anything left to show. Plus we have that stipulation that Cena can bring Tripl H and Steph into power. It just all falls into place too neatly, I feel like I am catching the hook on his one, but I do think Cena will lose. Maybe not clean, but I do believe he will put Rollins over.

Winner: Seth Rollins

 

5. The Miz and Damien Sandow vs. The Usos - For the Tag Team Championships

While I am sure this is not going to be the last confrontation of those two tag teams, I do not doubt the champions will retain. They basically just got it, the "Mizdow" character is getting nice reactions, it would be a shame to take the belts from them. Plus if it does happen, there is little doubt in my mind we will see the two going one on one against each other. The Usos had their year, I think it's not going to matter if they will get the titles again, while it will for the Miz duo.

Winners: The Miz and Damien Sandow

 

6. Eric Rowan vs. Big Show

Kind of the same reasoning behind this one as with Ryback. Here you do have a guy, who jus started his singles career and needs every win he can get to start building up his credibility. This match has to wind with Big Show going down, but I am capable of seeing a possibility of a different result. I don't think I am wrong on this one though. 

Winner: Eric Rowan

 

7. Luke Harper vs. Dolph Ziggler - For the Intercontinental Championship

With Ziggler getting a lot more attention in last weeks, I think WWE is thinking of pushing Dolph at least a level higher. If that is true, there is no point for Dolph to keep the midcard title. Of course WWE did try that once in the past and they abandoned the idea back then. Whatever the result will be, I do think Ziggler will see a high point in his career. 

Winner: Luke Harper

 

8. Rusev vs. Jack Swagger - For the United States Championship

While Rusev has to eventually lose to someone, I really don't think it is the time for it now and I don't think it should be Swagger to do it, unless it happens in the was I planned in my head. The only thing Rusev has right now is that belt and the fact he was never pinned or submitted and if he loses that WWE will have to switch him onto some other task or the month. 

Winner: Rusev

 

9. Nikki Bella vs. AJ Lee - For the Divas Championship

I find myself not caring abut anything a Bella twin touches and this is no exception. Depending on the rumors, AJ might leave WWE soon and if that happens logic dictates that she shouldn't have too much to come back for. 

Winner: Nikki Bella

WWE Survivor Series 2014 Review

I was wondering for a bit from which side should I start my review, top to bottom, maybe the other way, or maybe jump to the point and then talk about the rest. Well, by now I am sure, every one knows what happened at the event, so don't be surprised that I do want to move right to the big match.

 

Team Cena (John Cena, Dolph Ziggler, Big Show, Ryback, Eric Rowan) vs. Team Authority (Seth Rollins, Kane, Rusev, Luke Harper, Mark Henry)

The big match, the main event, the match that will change the face of WWE forever - or it will not, as we will see on RAW next night, but I am getting too far of myself. The actual match was really good, no bullshitting this time. The match vary good, pure and simple. The storytelling was there, we got a twist with Big Show turning on his team and knocking out Cena, we had tension, we had action, we had Ziggler actually finishing the match and we had WWE debut of Sting. Personally as a fan I have to admit this match was exactly what it should have been. I am a master of nitpicking, but this time I will not do that, not that there isn't anything to nitpick on, but I just want to enjoy what I saw. Know the saying giving credit where it is due? Well, for all the shit I throw on the heads of WWE creative, they nailed this one right on the money. And it was for free. Not going to say anything else, it was just good, if you haven't seen it, go and do it.

Winners: Team Cena

 

Fandango vs. Justin Gabriel

So we have Fandango, new music, new attire, new attitude, new partner in Rosa Mendes, great... Same gimmick, same shtick, plus Rosa can't dance. Hey, I might not now how to dance either, but I am not on the stage with thousands of people world wide watching me. I want to see where they will go with that "change", as there is potential here, but WWE is the king of potential... usually followed by a let down in pay off.

Winner: Fandango

 

Cesaro vs. Jack Swagger

So the same Swagger that joined team Cena, for some reason, got kicked out from team Cena, because of injury. Is now wrestling, still as a face, mind you, on the same event team Cena will be fighting. But does WWE use it to do anything with it? Of course not. Cesaro gets his ass kicked again. This is just beyond hopeless. Cesaro, tell me, was the indies REALLY that bad for you? I get money and all, but really?

Winner: Jack Swagger

 

Dust Brothers vs. The Usos vs. The Miz & Daniel Sandow vs. Los Matadores - For Tag Team Championship

When it comes to actual in-ring action, the tag team matches very often are where I go to look for quality. Usually they are fast, action packed, spot filled, but without overdoing it. I am not a fan of "Mizdow" and his antics, but I can see how can it amuse people. Plus he is the one that gets the pin. It is funny tough how absolutely no story can work when you let wrestlers just be wrestlers.

Winners: The Miz & Daniel Sandow

 

Paige, Cameron, Summer Rae and Layla vs. Natalya, Emma, Naomi and Alicia Fox

Face team wins as you could image they did. Those multiperson female tag matches pretty much always end like that. There isn't really anything to say about this since there was no story and the action in the ring didn't last very long and wasn't exactly great either. Predictably Paige was the last one eliminated from the heel team and that's that.  

Winners: Natalya, Emma, Naomi and Alicia Fox

 

Dean Ambrose vs. Bray Wyatt

I knew from the get go that Wyatt will win, but the only part I was worried was that Ambrose would get the short end of the stick with this one. He did not. Luckily WWE figured out how to make that happen with a DQ loss. But as you probably can figure out, there is always a good side to things as there always exists a bad side. While Dean came out of this match very strong, Bray got, both figuratively and literally, buried. Bray Wyatt didn't come into this match with a strong position. Months of constant failure, cause no one will convince me the career from the debut of Bray was a success, took a toll on his credibility. He became a rambling weirdo and no, that is not a good thing. WWE did try to make him seem like a firce to be recon with, but with each attempt they lower his status even more and more. Ambrose on the other hand just came out from a very big feud and this match seemed like a punishment. Like it or not, we will get another one between the two, this time most likely on TLC, which could work for their advantage. 

Winner: Bray Wyatt by DQ

 

Adam Rose and Bunny vs. Heath Slater and Titus O'Neil

Everyone knows that somewhere along the line, there will be a match of Adam Rose vs. The Bunny. We know, we expect it, the only question is, when it will happen and what kind of stipulation it will have, since I don't really see this match going without a stipulation. The best one is the most obvious one, with Bunny getting unmasked or someone taking over the Exotic Express. The match served the only point it could have served, a comedy one and it was just "meh". 

Winners: Adam Rose and Bunny

 

Nikki Bella vs. AJ Lee - For Divas Championship

There isn't a whole lot to say about this match, since it basically ended right when it begun, when Brie kisses AJ for a distraction and Nikki took the pin. The story isn't really anything to talk about either, since the actual story part was about the Bella Twins, which I hate, because in my mind, when there is a feud for the title, said title should be in the main focus of everything related. I get it that they needed to play on the "You are my slave" gimmick, but still, it was for the title and with that kind of booking it seems like it's not worth a whole lot - which is sadly true, but they could at least not point that out so hard. I don't watch Total Divas, so I don't know if it finished, since Nikki got the title, or maybe the whole rumor was just bullshit, which it sometimes is. I will not judge the decision to put the belt on Nikki until I see how they will work from that point. As I stated before, Nikki in the ring isn't horrible, so as long as they give her the mic as little as possible, it might work.

Winner and new champion: Nikki Bella

 

Overall: 8 out of 10 - The whole event was maybe 6, 7 max, but the last match was exactly what I wanted to see and exactly what they should have done in the conditions they created plus we actually saw Sting doing something other then promoting a game. But there is a couple things that do make one wonder. This was a free event in the Network, obvious move to promote the product, and it was really good... I do wonder, how will WWE follow such an event? If you did get new subscribers on board, how are you going to keep them on? After all, there is no obligation to continue the subscription.

WWE Hell in a Cell 2014 Review

Writing a review a day after watching the PPV certainly has a couple perks, as I mentioned before. You get a perspective, in this case, I already seen RAW - a review is coming tomorrow - and there are two words that come to mind... potentially problematic. I will not be doing a play by play, as that was done on enough sites and it is not what I am about. I write about my reflections, feelings and thoughts. So with that said, let's dig into Hell in a Cell. This time, unlike the prediction piece, matches will be in the order they appeared. 

 

Mark Henry vs. Bo Dallas - Preshow

So I guess we can put Bo's winning streak on the shelf of things that got quickly forgotten. A quick squash match by Mark Henry and a quick win. Mark Henry will be going through some changes and they want to keep him relevant and not involved with anything else. Therefore it was necessary to cut any ties left between the two. The potential problem is that there is nothing for Bo to do now. He had his winning streak when he debuted, he lost it in a throw away match. He had his winning streak over Mark Henry, it got thrown out and with authority (no pun intended). I never was a fan of Dallas and unless they change something about him, I never will, but still. The guy right now is just there, to be there. I really don't know what they could do with him and for that thing to make sense. 

Winner: Mark Henry

 

Dolph Ziggler vs. Cesaro - 2 out of 3 falls for the Intercontinental Championship

Clap... Clap... Clap... This was just a great match all around. The only bad part of the match itself was that although it was a 2 out of 3 falls, they only gave it around 15 minutes. Stipulations like this beg for at least 20 minutes, at least! Nevertheless, don't let my words discourage you from watching. Cesaro and Ziggler together stole the show, for me personally. Technically this was the match of the night and if you are a fan of that kind of matches, you will not regret watching. The potential problem coming from this, is that Cesaro is kind of stuck in limbo now. A contender with such prowess should be fighting for the biggest titles against the biggest names and he is just kind of there with only one reason to be... To make other people matches look better. He's great at that, but how many loses he can take, before his credibility starts to take a hit?

Winner: Dolph Ziggler

 

Nikki Bella vs. Brie Bella - Loser is the winner's assistant for 30 days or quit WWE

Ok, I will be honest, even though this barely wants to come out from under my finger tips... This was better then expected. Still pointless, still stupid, but better then I thought it will be. Nikki presents herself in the ring better then her sister, and I am not talking about her plastic tits. Brie, if she's not using Daniel's moves, is kind of transparent and it's very audible in those matches, when she gets a reaction only when doing something her husband used to do.

Winner: Nikki Bella

 

The Dust Brothers vs. The Usos - For the Tag Team Championships

The match itself is not among the best work from either team, but still enjoyable. I commented on this so many times before, there is literally nothing more I have to say, if I don't want to repeat myself. You seen it, I seen it, you know what to expect, you know if you feel like watching. And now the potential problem... What's next for the Tag Team Champions? They milked the matches with Usos as much as it was possible, and there really aren't any credible teams left. Will this be the moment WWE reaches down to NXT and takes a team from there? I guess they don't have much choice.

Winners: The Dust Brothers

 

John Cena vs. Randy Orton - Hell in a Cell for the no. 1 contendership to Brock Lesnar's title.

I liked this match. Yes, I said it. You have Orton and Cena, two workers that certainly can pull out a very good match and no, not out of nowhere. And this was that kind of match. The thing that was unnecessary was the cage. They barely even used it and I feel like it was limiting them more then helping anything. This match was the closest this PPV got to having a main championship match and we should be happy at least with that. Good work from both guys.

Winner: John Cena

 

Sheamus vs. The Miz - For the United States Championship

Really happy that I was wrong about this. Miz does not deserve to carry any championship title. His gimmicks suck, his personality suck, his ring work sucks. On the other hand, we have a potential problem of what to do with Sheamus? There doesn't seem to be any contenders for the US title, or even any interest in that championship. Another guy in limbo? Yeah...

Winner: Sheamus

 

Rusev vs. Big Show

This ended the way it was supposed to end. Rusev wins, United States loses. Woooo... For a match between two big guys, this was as good as it could be. We had an appearance be Mark Henry, which a lot of people thought will turn into a heel turn. Big Show lost, what else is there to say? So who is next for Rusev? Oh, right, there isn't anyone else. Ok, lets see who WWE will throw this time for Rusev to win over. The rumors say that eventually he will go after Cena, but Cena will be busy in the near future, so who is next? 

Winner: Rusev

 

Paige vs. AJ Lee - For the Divas Championship

Well, with this match, Paige is no longer in the title picture. I don't know if that is because, supposedly, Paige is appearing in Total Divas - I don't watch, never did, never will, don't know - or what, but I guess that's the reality. Hard to tell who will be next in line. Maybe Alicia Fox? Since she is pretty much the only one other then Paige to be even slightly interested in the championship. Or is Alicia in Total Divas as well? Seriously, is she? I really don't know.

Winner: AJ Lee

 

Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose - Hell in a Cell

The match that people are raving about and that a lot of people were waiting for. For me, it was just a mess and I am not a fan of those kind of outcomes. And the addition of Bray Wyatt has it's point, but is also potentially problematic. The Rollins-Ambrose storyline seems to be put on hold for now, but without a definite ending, there is a good chance they will restart it sometime in the future. But as I said, there are problems here, at least potentially. As I did watch RAW already, I know that this was not just a random attack, Wyatt vs. Ambrose is going to happen. Problem here is that someone has to lose in this. But who will lose? Do you make Bray, a guy who lost pretty much every important feud since his debut and is now coming back, lose another big one? Or do you take Ambrose, the guy who got figuratively "killed" on cinder blocks losing a feud with Rollins, to come back later and lose another feud with Rollins, lose another feud in a row? There is no winner here, whatever happens has negative repercussions.

Winner: Seth Rollins

 

 

Overall: 6 out of 10 - There are good moments and this event is certainly above average, but a big part of it is a let down as well. And with all the problems that potentially could appear now? The future... looks problematic.

WWE Night of Champions 2014 Review

So I did watch the Night of Champions and I can honestly say, I might have insider information, cause I predicted everything except the main event perfectly. But honestly, it was very predictable, I was even able to predict Seth Rollins's involvement. So yeah, on the surprising aspect, Night of Champions failed badly, but when the quality should be judged, they managed to hold their own. Onto the review!

 

1. The Usos vs The Dust Brothers for the Tag Team Championship

The match itself was very enjoyable and gave us everything it promised. We had action, we had flying, we had drama and by the end, we have new tag team champions. There was only one problem I saw here, we HAVE seen this match on more then one occasion. That is the problem when you don't treat your tag team division seriously, existing teams have to fight each other all the time. What that does is make the crowd expect certain things and lose a lot of excitement over a match, because they already saw it. Nonetheless, I will not take anything away from the match. Both teams looked great and I am sure the rematch will be just as fun to watch.

The winners and the new Tag Team Champions: The Dust Brothers

 

2. Sheamus vs Cesaro for the United States Championship

 

Well what can be said about this match? It was near perfect for what it was. The in-ring work was excellent from both opponents. This was definitely match of the night. Sadly Cesaro had no chance of winning and we all knew it. As I wrote in my predictions piece WWE gave up on Cesaro for now and he was going into this with a basically guaranteed loss. The crappy build for this didn't help either. But, like I said, this was a great match, the only thing that stopped it from being perfect was that bad build.

The winner and still the United States Champion: Sheamus

 

3. Dolph Ziggler vs The Miz for the Intercontinental Championship 

This match was very unlucky. Following a very good tag match and a great US title match, it didn't have a chance really. And just to be clear, the problem was not Dolph, I blame this on the Miz. I have seen interviews and a lot of people that had the "pleasure" of working with Miz, have a rather negative opinion on him. I seriously will never understand why WWE is trying to make him happen, when he clearly proved that he will not happen, ever. Good effort from Dolph and an unwarranted loss. 

The winner and the new Intercontinental Championship: The Miz

 

4. Mark Henry vs Rusev

This was just a dick waving contest. I am sorry, but that is how I will see each Rusev match until they actually give him something to do, other then be the big, bad Russian-Bulgarian. It was a very typical squash match, but with Henry the formula just doesn't work. Who's next? Big Show? O r are we going straight for Cena?

The winner: Rusev

 

5. Randy Orton vs Chris Jericho

Thi was just pure fun match. Absolutely no pressure. Jericho is taking a break, so it was obvious he will lose and Randy had nothing to gain really. What we seen was a great, enjoyable match. Very good chemistry between the two and all what was missing was something to fight for, but maybe it was better this way. I am satisfied after seeing it and have no problems. In-ring work was very good and even though predictable, it still managed to raise my excitement levels. 

The winner: Randy Orton

 

6. Paige vs Aj Lee vs Nikki for the Divas Championship

Like I wrote before, adding Nikki to the match gave nothing back. It didn't raise the stakes, cause we all knew she won't win. It didn't raise the excitement, cause we all know she isn't very good. It added nothing, just made the match unnecessary complicated. Paige and Aj were the center of attention and that is how it should be. Wonder what will happen at the rematch? Will we get a normal, singles match, or will Stephanie do something to fuck it up.

The winner and new Divas Champion: Aj Lee

 

7. Brock Lesnar vs John Cena for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship

So, yeah, this happened. I liked this match far better then the previous one, but on the other hand it doesn't make much sense. So before WWE let Lesnar make a complete pussy out of Cena and that was a no-no. You don't make your champion look like a bitch, unless you want to remove that person from the title picture, as we know, this didn't happen. Lesnar got a monster build after he devastated Cena, from the logic stand point, there was literally way for Cena to have any chance in the rematch, but we have Vince. Vince wanted to make Cena look strong, so we had the couple weeks of very strong booking for John, which in turn lowered the status of Brock - now that destruction of Cena didn't seem like much. Now we had this match in which the much stronger Cena put some actual offense and it wasn't as one sided. It was a much better match. Then we had the Seth Rolling intervention and the WWEWHC title was defended through DQ, hate it when that happens. Now we have a situation in which Cena doesn't have a claim anymore for the title, but this match ended without conclusion. I have no doubts that WWE can get Cena a way to hook into the title out again, but for now, Lesnar has no challenger. Rumors say Cena will go after Rusev, is it true? I guess we will see it at RAW.

Winner of the match: John Cena

Still the WWE World Heavy Weight Champion: Brock Lesnar

 

 

Overall this event was nicely executed and besides a match or two that could have been skipped, I am glad I've seen it. There was some very good action and the card gave more then was expected. I will rate the event on 7 out of 10, it really deserves it.